NiaH

Growing up...ouch

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 15:45:15 GMT

I'm sure you've heard it before, but this grown up stuff is pretty complicated. One day I feel like quitting my job and switching to a different office, the next I am perfectly fine with where I am now. Today is one of those days. Yesterday I was really dreading going to work, but to my surprise everything turned out quite alright. Monique was relatively calm today so perhaps that's why the need to get away from this place isn't as strong anymore.

And then you've got Ilse. She helped me out perfectly when I started out, but lately she's been acting weird. Whenever I'm calmly doing my job, she's in a bad mood and whenever I'm running around like Hurricane A, she's all smiles. What is up with that??

So I've got a visit to my shrink on my agenda for tonight. It'll be my last one. It's quite a big moment, actually. The minute I walk out her office, a dark period of my life will be successfully closed off. Then I can finally turn the page and move on.

Made an appointment with my dentist earlier today. One of my molars hurts like hell. I think I've lost a piece of this one filling I have. The good news is that I managed to book an appointment for this month (my dentist is a very busy woman - I usually have to wait about two months before she will see me) but the bad news is that the appointment is on October 30th. Which means that I'll have to walk around with this aching tooth for a bit longer than two weeks. Ouch!

SPENDING PROBLEM

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 16:31:20 GMT

I think I've got a minor spending problem. I went out today with the intention to buy one or two little things for my psychologist's unborn baby (she's due in November) to thank her for helping me sort out my problems (for all of you who didn't know, I am a tortured soul who needed a shrink to help her open up...there, my secret is out...well, one of my secrets lol). I came home with a cute little PJ, something to put on his head, and the cutest little teddy bear that I have ever seen...and also with a bag, a necklace and a hair clip thingy for myself. lol And that's not all...Right after I came home, my mum took me to this new shop that has opened up about a month ago about five minutes away from our house. I went crazy and bought some tops, pants and a belt. So yes, I admit it...I have a spending problem.

Anyone out there who "suffers" too?

Silence please

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:06:33 GMT

If there is one thing that does NOT motivate me, it's getting shouted at.

I've got this unbelievably nervous colleague who turns into a madman (well, madWOman) every time something so much as leans towards going wrong. She starts to literally run around the office in the hopes of encouraging the Xerox machine to work just a tad faster, or she (and this is what she did today) begins to rummage through the things on other people's desks. Unfortunately she picked my desk to mess up today. I admit, there were one or two things that I still had to take care of this week but hadn't done yet because I didn't know how. Dear Lord, you'd swear I am the reason for everything that goes wrong in the world (or at least in our office) by the length and volume of her tirade! All I could do was stand there and quietly listen while she loudly questioned my intelligence and capability of working with a computer. I was SERIOUSLY ticked off by the time she FINALLY finished. I have no problem with authority (well, just a little, but who doesn't?) but she took those two little uncompleted tasks too far. Way. Too. Far.

The most astounding thing was that maybe ten minutes later she was all smiles and was calling me over to look over a couple of things with her. Colleagues, PAH. You don't know what to expect from them!

Some good news then…

I am feeling much better thanks to those pesky antibiotics. (yes, I had to take those because my cough came back full-force…hardly anyone knew…I hate being weak) It shows that I am better because on my way to work this morning, about three little ideas for my newest story (publishing starts in November) struck me. It's been a while (cough seven days cough) that I've had so many ideas at the same time.

My plans for tonight…I've got some fun online conversations on my agenda. And of course a new chapter of Dying to Catch My Breath to post. That little break of two weeks (I skipped one posting day) was quite refreshing. I just hope no gangs of unsatisfied readers jump up with their torches and pitch-forks when I hit that POST button. lol

What else…Well, I've got lots of emails to weed through. Thanks to those medicines I was quite lethargic, which basically means that I just let all my email pour in without actually properly reading it and replying. As for this weekend…That's something I'm going to save for my next post. :)

I am alive!

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 15:43:58 GMT

It took me over a week, but finally I have recovered from a mild (mild, my foot! you should've heard me coughing and sneezing) case of the cold. I still have trouble breathing through my nose and my voice is still scratchy, but at least I can sit up straight without hunching over from coughing every three minutes. Let me tell you, it isn't easy typing deeds (or stories for that matter) when a coughing attack strikes at the most inconvenient moments. Anyway, I'm better now...more or less.

Regardless of my illness, I'm feeling pretty good. I got paid on Wednesday (yay for me!), I'm going horse riding later on tonight, I'm going to a concert tomorrow evening, and my parents won't be back from Lisbon until tomorrow evening so I've got the house to myself tonight and tomorrow all day. Well, my sister will be around too, but eh... *shrugs*

I think the most awesome news is that the Almighty Willi has sent me the season premiere of Bones through email! So even though we're still stuck with season one over here, I will be able to follow the third season about the same time it is aired across the Atlantic Ocean. How cool is that?! I just need to finish watching the second season...someday. lol Yeah, I watch the third while I haven't seen the entire second season yet. I'm weird like that. *shrugs again* I already know what basically happens in the episodes I still need to see (among others the famous Woman in the Sand and Gravedigger episodes - aahh, don't kill me because I'm postponing watching them! I want to wait as long as possible before watching them. Don't ask me why though...I guess I like the insufferable tension of having them but not watching them. Yeah again, I am weird like that...) so really, I can easily follow the third season.

In the mean time the countdown to my trip to Edinburgh continues. There's also a countdown to my trip to Cologne with M. I have two exciting trips to look forward to, yay!

Edinburgh & Fanfic stuff...

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 23:08:58 GMT

After a slump of nearly 2 weeks I am proud to say I have finally managed to write something decent today! The basic outline of my NJC entry is sitting safely on my hard drive. I'm having another look at it tomorrow and hopefully I can send it to M then for a thorough Jackass job. ;)

Other important news is that I have found another creative outlet. As you can see, I've got a new user icon -- one I created myself! It's a bit blurry...or pixilated...or whatever it is called, so I absolutely have something to improve! But it's a start, right?

And then...the most important news of all...

I bought my tickets to Edinburgh!

I can't believe it! I'm going to Edinburgh! I'm taking a plane for the very first time! I am so excited! In honour of my little trip, I made this count down clock. Let's see if I manage to put it up here...

Happy Friday...

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 18:04:14 GMT

What a week it has been. To summarize: for the last days I felt (and some say I even looked) like roadkill. Throwing up, dizziness, lack of energy -- you name it, I suffered from it. I went to see my doctor yesterday and she diagnosed me with bad eating habits. I know! What the heck does that even mean?! Well, apparently some of my hormone and other nutrient levels were kind of low. So now I'm basically on this diet that'll help me re-energize. Whatever...lol

Horse riding was canceled (yet again) so I've got a quiet evening at home to look forward to. To my big surprise my boss let me go home one hour early (the entire office actually). I promised myself to clean up my room first, but Musie choose today to roar her head. Right now I'm happily tapping away in Word, relieved that I have found my inspiration back.

I guess cleaning my room will have to wait for another hour!

Travel news!

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:51:12 GMT

I am one happy woman, let me tell you that! Yesterday I got paid for the first time and it was so much more than I initially expected! I thought the government would claim a lot more taxes. I have heard it's got to do something with this special category of employees I'm in. Apparently here in Belgium when you're under 26 and when you start work within 4 months after graduation, you don't have to pay as much taxes as a regular employee. So basically I've got about 7 years of less taxes to look forward to! It's going to hurt like hell afterwards, of that I'm sure.

With the, in my opinion, massive amount of money I have in my account now, I have to prioritize. There are dozens of things I'd like to buy, but I can't very well buy them all at once. jemb has advised me to buy as much as I can this month so that I won't spend all my next pay checks. Call it "satisfying my financial urges". lol gator_md suggested I'd satisfy my most pending needs first, like new clothes and a new phone. They both have a point. I guess I'll have to make a list of what I need and what I want, and go from there.

Two things that are definitely on top of that list are 1) a new cell phone and 2) plane tickets to Scotland. Yes, Scotland. If you scroll a bit down, you'll see a post of mine called "Travel advice needed". When I talked this through with jemb, she offered Edinburgh as a possible travel destination. Believe it or not, but I actually took her up on her offer! So from November 2nd till November 4th, I'll be abroad…with jemb! Woohoo! She's picking me up at the airport of Glasgow (apparently Ryanair only flies to Glasgow, not to Edinburgh), she's letting me stay at her place, AND she's going to be my city guide. You can't imagine how excited I am! Two months from now Sunflower Lily Productions will actually have a meeting in the flesh!

The only "less pleasant" side of this whole thing is that you have to have a credit card to order plane tickets with Ryanair. And since I've got enough common sense not to have one, I can't order tickets…But fortunately I have an uncle who does have a credit card. Hopefully he'll let me use his. Or maybe I should just take jemb's advice once again and get my own card so I have something to fall back on in case of emergencies…I'll have to thoroughly think this through. (Try saying that 3 times in a row! lol)

Some fanfiction news then…On Monday I posted Vertigo, a new SLP collaboration. Yesterday I closed the NJC August challenge by posting my own entry called 206 Facts. Tonight I'm posting the 8th chapter of Dying to Catch My Breath and my CBPC August entry which is called 53. (I just noticed that the titles of my two last one-shots strangely resemble each other, with the numbers and all…) Hopefully I won't forget to post the links later on tonight! (I can't now. I'm at work. Everyone would give me weird looks if I dared surfing to FF.net to retrieve the links for my stories. They're giving me weird looks even now when I'm typing this post in Word…)

Oh, another tidbit of news I want to share! gator_md has invited me to come down to Stuttgart! We haven't really discussed the details yet, but I think it's safe to say that in December we're both going to Köln to do some sightseeing (well, cathedral seeing really) and to check out the Christmas market. Yet another trip I can look forward too. Yay!

Travel advice needed...

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 15:53:50 GMT

So I just realised how long I've neglected my LJ! It's been ages since I last posted here. Oh well, what's happened, has happened…

It's nearing 6 p.m. over here - almost time for me to go home. This morning I had to be Hurricane A again, but by 3 p.m. things had quieted down considerably. Usually the phone never stops ringing, but it has been silent for about half an hour now. Maybe all our clients want to give us a break…Yeah right, like that's ever going to happen! It's unbelievable how demanding they can get! I guess it's the same everywhere, but still…A girl can dream of a world without pesky clients, right?

Only two or three more days to go before I receive my pay check. Yay! I've already got a list of things I want to buy. A new cell phone is on number one. My current phone regularly dies on me so yeah, I need a new one. I have already agreed with a good friend of mine to go shopping on September 8th. We're going to terrorize the poor shop owners of Ghent! I've never been there before so it should be a thrilling experience. I can hardly wait to spend my hard earned money and come home with tons of bags!

Another exciting thing I want to share is that I'm doing some "research" about possible travel destinations. I haven't been abroad since the beginning of this year (I spent New Year in Germany) so you can imagine that I'm just itching to pack my bags and go someplace new. So far I haven't made a decision yet. There are dozens of places I want to visit; I can't choose! If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to share them. Just keep in mind that a) I have never been on a plane before so if you insist on putting me on a plane, make sure it's not a long trip, b) I'm not planning on spending thousands of euros on one trip since I'm not rich, and c) I can only do a trip abroad on weekends, preferably the first weekend of November because I've got two days of public holidays then.

-- FANFIC NEWSFLASH --

Tonight I'm posting a new story! It's called Vertigo and it's the second co-written piece of Jemb and I. I'll probably post the link here, but in case I forget you can certainly find it on the Sunflower Lily Productions homepage.

Worst...Day...Ever

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:31:36 GMT

Remember that comic book shop guy from the Simpsons? Well, imagine him saying this: Worst…Day…Ever! Trust me when I say that this has been one hell of a bad day! I overslept, I nearly missed my train, and when I finally got on the train the only available spot was right next to someone carrying two huge ferns. (Beats me why someone would drag ferns with him at eight in the morning…) So I was stuck for half an hour with plants pushing up my nose…literally. Not cool, so not cool. Bad luck kept me company at work too. Not only did I accidentally hang up twice instead of putting someone through, I managed to fax three letters to the wrong people. And then there was the "it's raining paper" accident…Someone on the phone wanted to speak to one of my colleagues. I put him on hold and went on the search of aforementioned colleague. I rushed through the small hallways at our office, checking every room on the way, but I couldn't find her. So I went back to the main working area in the hopes of finding my colleague. I didn't find her, but I did find a client…carrying a large stack of paper…which I sent flying everywhere…Yeah, that's what I did. In my hurry I rounded the corner and ran smack dab into one of our biggest clients. Thankfully he didn't end up on the floor, but all the files he was carrying did. It took me half an hour to straighten everything up. I really hope things will get better once I leave the office because later on I've got an appointment with my hairdresser. If my bad luck keeps up, chances are I might not make it through the day with both my ears and all of my hair!

Creative buzz

Sun, 12 Aug 2007 13:15:03 GMT

Good God, I'm on fire! Not literally...duh...Yesterday I managed to write the 13th chapter of Dying to Catch My Breath. I also tinkered with my NJC one-shot. It's looking pretty good so far, if I say so myself. I just wrote my entry for the Booth Express dancing challenge. With a bit of luck I can get it corrected before tonight so I can post it. I just thought I'd quickly drop by here before I get to work on another story. Maybe Dying, maybe my NJC entry...Je ne sais pas encore.

Oh yeah, I had a Sunflower Lily Productions meeting with Jemb last night. Some interesting topics were discussed...a new co-written story among others. It looks promising! We hope to have it ready by the end of August. We're having a small meeting again later on. Can hardly wait to see how that one goes!

Fanfic stuff

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 11:17:44 GMT

So after a couple of days of anxiously awaiting the CBPC results I am proud to say my story placed second! :) Apparently Shifting appealed to the judges. Don't you just love the usericon I got? *pokes the pic* Doesn't Booth look adorable? lol I have no idea if I'll be able to come up with an entry for the August challenge. I already got an entire series and one multi-chap fic about the squints going away on vacation. But, who knows, my muse might just toss me something interesting. She did so last month (originally I was going to write something about Angela, but I decided differently after I noticed I couldn't fit my storyline into a one-shot) so maybe she'll do that again this month. We'll see.

Other fanfic news. Today Sunflower Lily Productions will publish its first baby. My partner Jemb is going to post our story on her account after she gets home from work. It's only a one-shot, but it'll be a nice introduction of our partnership. What surprises me most is that we respected the deadline. You see, we had agreed to have the notes ready by Saturday and if it was possible to post the story on Monday. To our (well, certainly mine) big surprise we wrapped the story up last night so now it's ready to be posted today. Gotta love organization, punctuality and a hard working partner! :)

Dead tired...

Fri, 03 Aug 2007 21:35:45 GMT

Just stopping by to let everyone know that I survived my first week of work...Well, not an entire week, just 3 days, but still...It was pretty calm at the office. They couldn't give me a lot of work because I haven't been properly trained yet and as you know, the person who's supposed to help me will be back on Monday...Maybe even Tuesday. It all depends on her mood apparently...

At one point I had to accompany this lady who was going to get a copy of the plans for a house. As you may or may not know, those plans have been registered so they normally can't leave the office (I work at a notary's office for those of you who don't know already) but apparently an exception was being made now. So I had to go with that lady to verify that she didn't steal those plans. I felt like a police officer. lol

Anyway, I'm going to call it a night. I have to get up early tomorrow because I'm going horse riding and I want to be awake the rest of the day as well because I really really REALLY want to get some writing done. I've got inspiration dripping out of my pores. I better make the best of it then, right?

A world of it's own

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 11:46:51 GMT

Guess what time it is...Yeah, lunch break time. I went outside for a walk...didn't want to be cooped up inside the entire day. Weather's rather nice...even though they're predicting rain...While I was outside, I made a "startling" discovery. Loads of people have lunch by themselves! On every bench in the park there's only one person quietly eating his/her sandwiches...no colleagues or other friends in sight. I guess I'm not the only one who's alone during lunch. It made me wonder if eating together with friends is a typical high school thing...I guess it is unless you've got great colleagues or a good friend who works close to where you work.

Last night I've made up my mind. As soon as I have my paycheck I'm buying a new iPod...A 30 GB one. Right now I've got this 2 GB nano and it won't fit all the songs I'd like to take with me. When I went to take a look at possible iPod accessories, I was blown away by the impossibly large collection! You have no idea how much covers, chargers, docking stations, headphones, etc etc there are! I'm definitely going to have fun rummaging through them all until I have found something I like.

Sebastian just stopped by. Guess what he gave me...my own set of keys! Now I no longer need to ring the doorbell like a client. Woohoo! lol

My first day

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 11:43:07 GMT

So I'm on my lunch break now...Yeah, the 90 mins one...How I am going to survive every day, that's a very good question. A couple of you suggested I'd spend it writing...Very good suggestion, absolutely thinking about following it...But then one of my colleagues informed me that there's a nice and quiet spot in the park across the street (Yes, there's a park across the street. I can see it from my desk on the 4th floor.) perfect for reading a book. So I think I'll be trying that spot first (whenever the weather's good of course) before I lock myself away with my computer. There's also this shopping street 10 mins away so you can expect me to spend a lot of time (not to mention money) there once I've got my first paycheck.

My day has been pretty quiet so far. Two of my colleagues are away on vacation so it's relatively calm at the moment. The person who's supposed to train me won't be back before Monday so that means...Exactly, lots of random assignments for me to take care of. How wonderful...

So I've got this work bag...Last night I quickly shoved some stuff in it and this morning I discovered I had forgotten a couple of things. Namely, a handkerchief, my sunglasses (Yes M, I forgot them even though you told me to pack them.), a pencil and a crossword puzzle. What I did take with me was my iPod (can't survive without music), my wallet, my umbrella (stupid weather), a book, lunch and a few sheets of paper (Yeah, I brought paper but no pen...). My question for whoever reads this is: What do you take with you to work? Maybe I'll get some ideas then.

Conclusion of today: I need a bigger work bag. lol

Oh, and I have also posted my CPBC entry last night. It's called Shifting.

Sunflower Lily Productions

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 19:05:20 GMT

I am incredibly proud to present the website Jemb and I have been working on. What it exactly is about is all explained in the welcome post.

Sunflower Lily Productions

Can't stay for too long. I have my CPBC entry to post!

FF is down again...

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:23:09 GMT

...and that's like the millionth time in less than 2 weeks! I'm dying to see some story and review alerts pop up in my inbox! I've missed loads of great stories because the author alerts are down again. I hope they fix that problem really soon. It's frustrating to see the site act so weird.

Nothing exciting happened today. I cleaned my room, drove around for a bit, and went grocery shopping. The weather was quite nice so I sat outside for a couple of hours. Sadly enough I couldn't enjoy it to the fullest because my mind kept turning to the fact that it's my first working day this Wednesday. Only one more day to go and then I'll be cooped up in an office 5 days a week. Eek, scary!

Tomorrow should be fun. I'm going out to lunch with a good friend of mine. Afterwards I might stop at a bookshop to buy me some reading material (after all, what else am I supposed to do during my 1,5h lunch break?) or maybe just to check out the new books. (Yes, I'm a bookworm.)

Strangely enough I haven't written one single line yesterday and today. It's probably the nerves...God, I hope it's the nerves!

Too Many Cookies

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 18:55:45 GMT

Did you ever feel like you were going to burst into a million pieces? Or did you feel so bloated that you expected to float up any second? Well, that's how I'm feeling right now. I visited my grandmother this morning and she stuffed me with tons of cookies like a typical grandmother does. Result? I feel like I'm 8 months pregnant!

I also drove my sister to a friend's house (she's going to this concert thing) and I cleaned up my room. When I finally sat down to do some writing, my muse was giving me the silent treatment. Just what I needed today! Thankfully I remembered my muse's love for chocolate (he he) so now she's giving me bits and pieces. Yay for my bribing techniques! lol

A quick one

Sat, 28 Jul 2007 08:38:42 GMT

So it's Saturday...Saturday morning to be precise (about 11 o'clock actually)...and I am already busy with mood themes (for the community) and header images (for the Booth Express). Seriously, I need a 12 step program...

What I wanted to say is that I'm glad willgirl accepted my volunteering and that she's letting me design a header for the Booth Express. You won't be sorry, Willi! I've already created 2 headers, I'll create some more hopefully tonight. I can't this afternoon since I'm meeting up with my best friend in town. We're going to hit the shops and go out for a drink afterwards. It's been a while since I've seen her. I wonder how she's coping with her job...(she joined the workforce July 1st)

As for my writing...I have never been busier! Dying to Catch My Breath is nearing its end (I'm working on the 12th chapter), my CBPC entry for July is almost as good as ready, my part for the first chapter of One Step Closer (the co-written piece of me and Addictt) is coming along nicely and the co-writing with jemb is also going well. I hope to get as much as possible done before Wednesday because I have a sneaky feeling I won't have much time to write the first week (or maybe even the first two weeks). Oh well...C'est la vie, I suppose?

Right, it has stopped raining for a second so I'm going to go for a run now. Nothing like running to clear your head!

The Bones craze continues

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 20:01:53 GMT

First of all - I'm pissed off because of FF.net. The damn site has been acting crazy all day (and the last two days too). It even deleted one of my stories! I hope the problem gets fixed soon. Now that I'm not away on that beach trip I'd love to post the third chapter of DTCMB this Thursday. I have to admit that I'm still gobsmacked by the massive response I'm getting for that story! I hope everyone will stay with me until I post the final chapter (which will be the 15th). So yeah, I'm pissed. Big time. I'm not posting any new one-shots until the site's behaving again. I've got two babies waiting to be posting so FF.net better get its act together really soon!

Other news - I have succumbed to the Bones layout for my LJ. Well, it's not really a Bones layout, more like another layout and a Bones picture I threw in. If there's anyone out there who's willing to teach me a thing or two about LJ designs, don't hesitate to contact me! I've also discovered this technique called "blending". I'm always up for something new so I gave it a try. The results are below. It's two possible headers for the LJ community Jemb and I are going to set up one of these days.

The first header:

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g157/niah1988/SunflowerLilyProductions_4.jpg

The second header (my personal favourite):

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g157/niah1988/SunflowerLilyProductions_1.jpg

What else do I have to share...Well, a good friend of mine has sent me the entire second season of Bones on DVD so I'll be busy watching all those epis. I hope to see at least 5 before I start work (which is next week Wednesday - eekk). So far I miss Goodman, Cam's growing on me and I'm in stitches every time there's a BB car convo. I should try to write one sometime...

Oh right, an update about my writing! I'm currently writing the 12th chapter for DTCMB, the first chapter for OSC (will soon reveal for what the abbreviation stands for) and I'm toying around with an idea for another one-shot. My CBPC entry for July I hear you ask? That one's already written! It's one of the two babies I previously talked about. :) I think I'm going to post it close to the deadline. That way there'll be some time between the next DTCMB chapter and a one-shot. (Yes, I plan when I post. I'm that obsessed.)

Bones and Internet addiction

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 06:06:22 GMT

It's like 8 a.m. over here and I'm already surfing the net. How obsessive is that?

Not as obsessive as my love for Bones, I guess. I knew I was some sort of a fan because I loyally watched the few episodes they aired here. I felt like flinging my tv out of the window when the show got replaced by 24. I hugged my parents for nearly five minutes when they gave me the DVD set of season 1 for my birthday. Same goes for when one of my close friends (who happens to live in another country) asked if she could burn the second season on a disk and send it to me. I got an FF-account so I could properly read Bones fanfiction. I even began writing myself! I joined the Boneyard so I could learn more about Bones. I followed my fellow club members to the Booth Express. I'm part of two fanfic production companies (which only exist virtually sad enough) and now...Now I've got Bones userpics, a Bones mood theme and I'm thinking about changing my LJ layout to a Bones one and use a Bones background image for my desktop (now I can do that since I've got my own laptop). I mean, how obsessive is that?!

Main point of this message - check out my new usericons and my mood theme! I'm in love with them. lol

Announcements

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 13:01:01 GMT

I'd like to announce a few things. The most important news I want to share with you is that my beach vacation has been cancelled. I was supposed to leave tomorrow morning with my friend, but because of the awful weather we cancelled the whole thing. Instead we're going to the Belgian coast for only one day later this week, when the weather's a bit better. On one hand I'm said that I'm not going away because I was looking forward to a change of scenery for a couple of days. But on the other hand I'm quite relieved that I get to stay home. You see, yesterday my friend blattantly announced that part of her family would be staying with us for 3 days. I was ticked off to say the least. Her family can't stand me and trust me, the feeling's mutual! So all in all, it's maybe for the best that we're only going away for one day.

The second announcement I'd like to make is about a new Flumour production. After A Little Fun Under the Sun, Addictt and I are now working on a new co-writing adventure called One Step Closer. We hope to start posting this fall. Yes, this fall. It'll take some time to get most of it properly written. The story will be posted on Addictt's account so I suggest you keep an eye on her account in September.

The third thing you should all know is that I'm now part from another fanfic production company. Well, maybe company isn't the correct word. It's more like a thorough writing collaboration plus other stuff like a challenge and a campaign. The great jemb is my accomplice in this one. We've named our baby (a.k.a. our partnership) Sunflower Lily Productions. We've got loads of plans so I suggest you stay tuned. Within the next 2-3 weeks we should have our own website up and running. The link I will post here of course.

So um...I'll be pretty busy the next couple of days. Got themes to pick, songs to select, stories to read, muses to listen to, projects to set up...I so love being busy!

Watch out, grannies!

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:22:31 GMT

Okay okay, so it's one day later than I promised. I tried stopping by LJ, honestly, but I got caught up in a brainstorm session. It'll be the same scenario tonight. I have so much to do before I leave for beach vacation (I'm going to the Belgian coast for 5 days). I won't have my laptop or Internet connection for an entire week---I can already imagine the withdrawal stuff kicking in. I'm a serious Internet addict so I don't know how I'm going to survive the week. Especially with a very annoying friend as my only company. Yeah, I'm going away with someone that annoys the tickles out of me. I'm crazy, I know. The thing is that I don't have anyone else who likes to travel. (Even though I would going away to the Belgian coast hardly call travelling.) So by the end of the week, I'll probably feel a strong urge to jump into the sea and swim to England. I better pack some food and clothes in a waterproof bag. lol

Anyway, enough stalling. I just wanted to let you guys know that I passed my driver's exam! :) I'm a licensed driver now, woohoo! Grannies beware! lol This time the exam was much more fun. The test guy was in hysterics all the time because of the antics of my mother and I. (My mother never knows when to stop talking. I've already looked for her OFF-button, but I can't seem to find it. Not that I'm any better. In stressful situations I need to talk to relieve the stress.) So um...Yeah, I passed. Your visual must've worked, Fab! Thanks for the image btw. ;)

So now I've got the whole house to myself for the entire day. After I've done my chores, I'm going to curl up with my iPod and my laptop. I'm feeling creative today so who knows what I end up writing.

Ugh!

Tue, 17 Jul 2007 22:21:33 GMT

What on earth is up with the weather nowadays? Two days ago, I nearly melted away while yesterday I nearly washed away. Yes, washed! If you thought the weather was awful the past two weeks, you wouldn't have believed your eyes last night. Lots of lightning, even more thunder, and a torrential pourdown. I'm not kidding here. It rained so bloody hard the fish in our pond nearly swam around on our terras! And of course I was out for a drive...Tomorrow morning I have to go in for my second try at obtaining my driver's licence so I really needed to go out for more practice last night. It was dry when we left, half an hour later we (we as in my mother and I) were stuck in a very wet nightmare. The rain pelted down so hard I had to pull over because I couldn't see a damn thing! We sat there, in complete silence, watching the water come down. And then the strangest thing happened. I had to think of a one-shot I wrote less than two weeks ago---Sometimes It Rains. Is it bad when you begin thinking about your writing while you're in the middle of doing something that hardly has anything to do with writing.

Speaking of writing, I'm currently working on my July CBPC entry. (All guidelines for the new challenge can be found at the CBPC homepage reachable through the link in my link list.) I decided to give Angela's POV a try. The plotline is alright if I say so myself, I just find it difficult to get inside her head. She's a beautiful character and I'd hate to not do her justice. It'll be hard work to get in touch with her character. I just have to get past my frustration and my minor case of writer's block.

A friend of mine has started her new job on July 1st. She preferred starting work right after graduating---something I can only understand to a certain point. I specifically asked my boss to begin on August 1st since I wanted to enjoy at least one month of vacation. Now I'm wondering if it maybe wouldn't have been for the best if I had started somewhere halfway July. It must be the writer's block. Whenever I have writer's block, I have to get my mind off writing for a while. But since I'm stuck at home, I can't do anything else but writing, but because I've got writer's block I can't even do that. Talk about a vicious circle!

So a friend of mine (the great M) has just taken a gander at what I've got so far for my CBPC entry. She managed to voice what felt wrong about it. It's not one-shot material, more like small multi-chap stuff. So I guess I'll have to come up with a different idea for the July CBPC. It'll be close this month. I'm leaving for the Belgian coast upcoming Monday and I won't be back until Saturday, or maybe even Sunday. The challenge closes on Tuesday so I'll have to write like my life depends on it. But first I've got to come up with a new storyline. On Thursday my parents aren't at home so I guess I'll have a brainstorm session with my iPod then.

It's after midnight over here now. Only 10 more hours to go before I have to do another driver's exam. I'm already a bundle of nerves. I hope everything goes alright. I really want to obtain my driver's licence. It's the equivalent of freedom to me. I don't have enough money to buy my own car afterwards, but my mother said that I could borrow her car every once in a while. I can already imagine myself tearing along the highway, music turned up high, and singing along to whatever's playing.

And on that note, I'm going to call it a night. I'll let you guys know tomorrow how everything went.

Bad luck anyone?

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:11:42 GMT

So I know it has been a while since I posted in my journal. I have no problem with sitting down every evening to get some writing done, but I never manage to make it to my LJ in time. Oh well...

A lot has been going down lately. I had my driver's exam (didn't pass - they said I drove too fast - have to go back next Thursday), I signed my contract (will have to start work August 1st) and in general I have been enjoying my last guilt free weeks of vacation.

As for FF.net - I've been incredibly busy over there. It's almost like I've been writing non-stop in my spare time. I'll give a recap of what I've posted so far:

Sometimes It Rains -- One-shot, Hurt/Comfort, my entry for the NJC (I have been told to put up a tissue warning so uh...TISSUE WARNING lol)

~~> NJC is the abbreviation of Niah1988 Jemb Challenge. Yup, jemb and I created our own challenge. Basically we pick out a song each month and write a one-shot based on that song. It's not supposed to be a songfic contest, but a challenge where you have to write about the feelings the song evokes in you. In case you're interested, here's the link to the NJC forum we set up. All the guidlines can be found there ~> http://www.fanfiction.net/forum/NJC/33019/

Heat Wave - Chapter One: Mirrage -- Careful, M-rated!

~~> Yup, that's right. I wrote an M. I couldn't have done it without Willgirl though. Thanks girl!

The Cottonball Crusade - Burning Hot -- My entry for the Cottonball Crusade started by Willgirl.

~~> So Willgirl started this thread at the Boneyard. Challenge is to write a fluffy one-shot that follows a couple of guidelines. Unfortunately the thread has been taken down, but now we've got our own LJ community where we can post all the smut/fluff we like!

Dying to Catch My Breath - Chapter One: On the Edge -- A Drama/Friendship piece

~~> Remember that drama fic I told you about? Well, here's the first chapter. I finally mustered enough courage to put it up.

Right, that's all for tonight. I'll probably post again tomorrow because... *drum rolls please* ... I'm getting my own laptop in the morning, yay!

So many changes, so little time

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:19:16 GMT

It's unbelievable how fast one's life can change. Only one week ago I was anxious about doing two job interviews. Now I've graduated, I've got a job and a driver's exam to look forward to, the June CBPC is over, I'm a staff member of a C2 and a moderator of a forum (another forum will be set up really soon; there's a chance I will be a moderator of that one as well), I've met new people and I have come up with some new story ideas. Hard to believe only seven days have passed!

First things first - my graduation. Last Wednesday there was a graduation ceremony at my school. They showed this slide show with pictures of everyone. Of course they had picked my "best" shots. I was either eating, talking or laughing so you can imagine the funny faces I was making on every photo. Our class counted four people, but only my best friend and I were present. The two of us had barely walked off stage and back to our seats when they asked me to go back. Apparently I had the best results of the entire year - 86% to be precise. Got a nice box of chocolates for my achievement!

wolfmyjic and I have just decided on the top three for the June challenge. The winners are announced on the CBPC homepage reachable through the link in my link list. Let me tell you, the judging was everything but easy. Picking a story apart and putting a score on it isn't exactly a walk in the park. But overall it was a fun experience.

Remember jemb? One of my co-writers of The One Where Bones Is In Danger? My proof-reader for Animal? Well, she's got this C2 called Under 1,000 on FF.net. It's a collection of all good stories that count less than 1,000 words. She's made me a staff member, yay! She has also assigned me as co-moderator of her Character Dialogue forum. That's just so cool! Now I'm a moderator of two forums (the Flumour section at Wolfmyjic's website is the second forum) and a staff member of two C2s (the Boothy Bunch C2 is the other one). Go me! lol And go Jemb of course!

Another thing that we're collaborating for is the Campaign for Better Reviews. Information can be found on Jemb's as well as my FF-profile.

Next topic is new story ideas. I have been convinced by someone I know at the Boneyard to try my hand at an M-rated one-shot. Just so you know, I was in stitches while I wrote it. It was harder than I had anticipated to sort of stay poetic about... Well, you know. What else did you expect from me, someone who's used to writing humorous stories with a hint of fluff? I hope to have it up somewhere this week. I'll certainly post the link here.

About my second multi-chaptered story... (Yes, it's my second one if you don't count in the ones where I collaborated with other authors) I'm rewriting the whole thing. The story line is okay, the fluff bits were fine, it was the drama part that had me worried. After a chat with a medical student I know (yes, you Kat!) I discovered that half of the medical stuff I had written wasn't exactly realistic. Kat's helping me with that now. The posting date of the first chapter will remain a mystery for now. I want to rewrite at least five chapters first, then they have to come back from my beta, and finally I'd like to have Addictt and M have a look at it. That'll take time, but it has to happen since I really want to make this story work. I'll keep you posted on any new developments.

And last but not least, my take on the June CBPC. You know I'm not someone to back down from a challenge so I decided to write something following the challenge guidelines. If you'd like to read it, just click on the link below.

June CBPC - Hey Dad

I have my driver's exam in a couple of days. I'm not really nervous right now, but I'm sure I'll be a bundle of nerves by 3 p.m. this Wednesday!