Stolen from Sionnain
Jan. 13th, 2008 06:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skull_bearerTen Things about me.
1- I'm a student at the very eccentric Middlesex university where it seems as though I'm as much in control of the class as the teachers. I talk as much anyway. I'm studying Creative Writing, although I'm seriously planning to take a second degree in Holocaust history (DAMN YOU!). As it goes I'm getting rather good at frightening David, one of my teachers. The others have thicker skins although I get a lot of odd looks. I want to get a first in order to carry on studying in Oxford. I'm going to be in debt forever, but by now I think it's pretty much academic. No idea what I'm going to do after, but a career in history with writing on the side sounds like paradise. Holocaust History ideally, but I'll stretch to include the Third Reich is I have to. WW2 is out, I'm not that interested in battles.
2- I suspect I have a rather narcissic personality, although I do my best to hide it. I can talk about myself and my interests a thousand times and not get bored (although I'm generally bad at telling when other people are), I have a huge ego and hate criticism. Luckily I know it's vital so I grit my teeth and force myself to listen when it's given. I tend to be competitive, and hate that because I always seem to lose and end up in a bad mood for the rest of the day. My moods tend to be very fluid, and I try and keep myself as positive as possible. In a good mood I'm chatty and friendly, in a bad mood I warp into Raistlin Majere and become reclusive and blisteringly sarcastic, while smiling broadly. The worse my mood, the more blase my attitudes become, and more outrageous my references. Mercifully, I don't think anyone has understood the references yet.
3- I'm actually relatively good at writing, having regularly recieved upper second mark in my creative writing classes. I like having room to maneover when being given assingments, and when I don't get this, or have to work with poor ideas, my stories tend to get unpleasant. And very bloody. I write character-centric stories best, and best of all when I have a clear picture of the character in my head. I often write movie-reel style, watching everything happen inside my head and writing it down (the reason, btw, that Past Tense was written in flashbacks. I spent three months trying to build Auschwitz in my head, and finally gave up.). The downside of writing like this is that the characters tend to take up residence in my head. This isn't too bad with say, Raistlin and Dalamar, who never demand much except for the odd D&D book, but Erik can be a pain in the neck. The far side of the spectrum is Schwartz, a guy I invented when I tried to see if I could write from the POV of a Nazi. Unfortunately, I succeeded.
4- I'm an atheist. I tried several religions to se if they fit, and finally gave up because I simply couldn't convince myself that god (or gods) existed. It makes absolutely no sense, while the idea that god is a delusion is actually a very sensible one. Alone in the world, it would be nice to believe we're being watched over. No wonder in Christian Mythology god is refered to as 'the father'. At best I see believers as rather pathetic, that they need to rely on the crutch of belief rather than facing up to the world as it is. At worse are the times I lose my cool and the Godwin's violations start flying. While smiling broadly, of course. I tend to less tolerant of Christianity and Islam, since they're the only ones who have actually started yelling at me. People can think whatever they want about me, but I'll thank them to keep it to themselves. If they don't, well, then I start to get snide. If they press one of my many buttons (homophobia is a big one) I get nasty.
I have few believer friends, and those who do are invariably alternative (two are pagan).
5- I stay by myself most of the time, extended exposure to be people gives me a splitting headache. I need some time to myself and my thoughts. My friends tend to be the sort of people who are unusual enough to keep my interest for any length of time, so I don't have many of them. Our usual meetings involve staying in and drinking and talking about anything at all. Some of my best evenings have involved hanging out and getting plastered and watching a movie or drama or doc. (Incidentally, ifwasetis reading this, best of luck with your assingments, and when do you want to get together for HHH? My DVDs are getting dusty.) I don't go out at all anymore unless it's a band I love. The only exception is when I go to the restaurant, which I love. With company or without, it's always fun.
6- I'm straight and asexual. I feel vague attraction or the opposite sex, none at all to my own, and for the most part I couldn't care less. I'm technically a virgin but again, it doesn't bother me. It's strange since my stories border on the pornographic. I can be fun to write, but I prefer to write emotion rather than physical sex. Despite this, I love read hot and graphic stories about the pairings I love.
I'm tall and lanky, and not particularly pretty, which is just as well, since that means people don't judge me on appearence. As my clothes are generally modest, I'm spared too much attention, which is nice. I worked in a bar and the propositions got old very, very quickly. Considering how much I love travelling, it's just as well.
7- I adore travelling. There's not much that makes me happier (or more apprehensive) than a trip abroad, the further the better, and if I haven't been there it's best of all. This year I have trips to Poland, France and Peru planned, so it's pretty much all good so far. I'm not fussy about food or accomadation, so I travel cheaply and can go further away. I want to re-do my backpacking trip again, visiting a few more places (Russia and Hungary come to mind) and I've more or less resigned myself that my travels will see me to Isreal at some point in the near future. My more exotic travels have been to Malaysia, Cuba, Sri Lanka and Tunisia.
8- I collect various strange and unusual things, many of them souveniers from previous trips. These include:
A growing collection of swords, axes, daggers and knives, most bought from abroad and many real.
Several skulls, some given to me by my father and friends, some bought, and a beaver skull I found while I was on holiday to Cuba.
A rusty twist of wire from Auschwitz.
A replica roman oil lamp decorated with an image of two men having sex.
Several Inca antiques brought back by my father. My favourite is a monkey-man statue I keep by my desk.
A lump of meteoric iron.
Several semi-precious stones.
Ten gold coins from the reign of napoleon (a nest-egg from my grandmother)
The beginning of a shot-glass collection.
A glass stylus from Venice.
Enough books to start my own library if I wasn't so paranoid as to never loan them out.
As well as a lot of worthless junk I keep to remind me of other times, like tickets to places, cards people have given me, notes I've jotted down and so on.
9- I speak English and French, some basic Spanish, and am trying to learn German, although learning solo isn't being very successful at present. I would like to learn Polish, but have no idea when I can get around to doing that. My father wants me to focus on learning Spanish, but quite honestly, other than to go and visit him when he eventually moves to South America, what's it going to be good for?
10- I write several stories at once. I have two big ones, Ivory and Ebony (dragonlance) and Past Tense (x-men), and I cycle between the two. I really like this method of writing because it keeps me from getting bored or stuck with them. It can happen that both get stuck at the same time, then the best thing to do it write something else entirely, or loosely based on one, and it really helps. Ranting on LJ is another good way of getting rid of writer's block.
Despite my two main stories being fanfic, I'm slowly leaving fanfiction behind otherwise. Both fo the stories are rapidly going into original territory (in Past Tense, I actually own everything except the two main characters and I have been toying with the idea of warping it enough to turn it completely original). I don't write much other fanfic, although I occasionally jot down something, either for x-men or house. Other than my own personal universe, I don't have that much interest in Dragonlance. I like my versions of the characters for more than the canon versions (with the possible exception of Fistandantilus in the Kingpriest trilogy, but those are some of the few really good DL books).
X-men is a relatively new fandom, but one which breaks my heart more often than not. The problem is that it's currently in the hands of a gang of shit-throwing idiots who seemed to be determined to destroy everything that got me into the canon to begin with. Luckily, Past Tense starts early enough that I can control exactly what happens there, and neutralises the worst of the mess. I can't say I prefer my versions of the characters more than canon, because in canon the characters change every five seconds. Still, I like my Erik and my Charles, and that's the important thing.
1- I'm a student at the very eccentric Middlesex university where it seems as though I'm as much in control of the class as the teachers. I talk as much anyway. I'm studying Creative Writing, although I'm seriously planning to take a second degree in Holocaust history (DAMN YOU!). As it goes I'm getting rather good at frightening David, one of my teachers. The others have thicker skins although I get a lot of odd looks. I want to get a first in order to carry on studying in Oxford. I'm going to be in debt forever, but by now I think it's pretty much academic. No idea what I'm going to do after, but a career in history with writing on the side sounds like paradise. Holocaust History ideally, but I'll stretch to include the Third Reich is I have to. WW2 is out, I'm not that interested in battles.
2- I suspect I have a rather narcissic personality, although I do my best to hide it. I can talk about myself and my interests a thousand times and not get bored (although I'm generally bad at telling when other people are), I have a huge ego and hate criticism. Luckily I know it's vital so I grit my teeth and force myself to listen when it's given. I tend to be competitive, and hate that because I always seem to lose and end up in a bad mood for the rest of the day. My moods tend to be very fluid, and I try and keep myself as positive as possible. In a good mood I'm chatty and friendly, in a bad mood I warp into Raistlin Majere and become reclusive and blisteringly sarcastic, while smiling broadly. The worse my mood, the more blase my attitudes become, and more outrageous my references. Mercifully, I don't think anyone has understood the references yet.
3- I'm actually relatively good at writing, having regularly recieved upper second mark in my creative writing classes. I like having room to maneover when being given assingments, and when I don't get this, or have to work with poor ideas, my stories tend to get unpleasant. And very bloody. I write character-centric stories best, and best of all when I have a clear picture of the character in my head. I often write movie-reel style, watching everything happen inside my head and writing it down (the reason, btw, that Past Tense was written in flashbacks. I spent three months trying to build Auschwitz in my head, and finally gave up.). The downside of writing like this is that the characters tend to take up residence in my head. This isn't too bad with say, Raistlin and Dalamar, who never demand much except for the odd D&D book, but Erik can be a pain in the neck. The far side of the spectrum is Schwartz, a guy I invented when I tried to see if I could write from the POV of a Nazi. Unfortunately, I succeeded.
4- I'm an atheist. I tried several religions to se if they fit, and finally gave up because I simply couldn't convince myself that god (or gods) existed. It makes absolutely no sense, while the idea that god is a delusion is actually a very sensible one. Alone in the world, it would be nice to believe we're being watched over. No wonder in Christian Mythology god is refered to as 'the father'. At best I see believers as rather pathetic, that they need to rely on the crutch of belief rather than facing up to the world as it is. At worse are the times I lose my cool and the Godwin's violations start flying. While smiling broadly, of course. I tend to less tolerant of Christianity and Islam, since they're the only ones who have actually started yelling at me. People can think whatever they want about me, but I'll thank them to keep it to themselves. If they don't, well, then I start to get snide. If they press one of my many buttons (homophobia is a big one) I get nasty.
I have few believer friends, and those who do are invariably alternative (two are pagan).
5- I stay by myself most of the time, extended exposure to be people gives me a splitting headache. I need some time to myself and my thoughts. My friends tend to be the sort of people who are unusual enough to keep my interest for any length of time, so I don't have many of them. Our usual meetings involve staying in and drinking and talking about anything at all. Some of my best evenings have involved hanging out and getting plastered and watching a movie or drama or doc. (Incidentally, if
wasetis reading this, best of luck with your assingments, and when do you want to get together for HHH? My DVDs are getting dusty.) I don't go out at all anymore unless it's a band I love. The only exception is when I go to the restaurant, which I love. With company or without, it's always fun.6- I'm straight and asexual. I feel vague attraction or the opposite sex, none at all to my own, and for the most part I couldn't care less. I'm technically a virgin but again, it doesn't bother me. It's strange since my stories border on the pornographic. I can be fun to write, but I prefer to write emotion rather than physical sex. Despite this, I love read hot and graphic stories about the pairings I love.
I'm tall and lanky, and not particularly pretty, which is just as well, since that means people don't judge me on appearence. As my clothes are generally modest, I'm spared too much attention, which is nice. I worked in a bar and the propositions got old very, very quickly. Considering how much I love travelling, it's just as well.
7- I adore travelling. There's not much that makes me happier (or more apprehensive) than a trip abroad, the further the better, and if I haven't been there it's best of all. This year I have trips to Poland, France and Peru planned, so it's pretty much all good so far. I'm not fussy about food or accomadation, so I travel cheaply and can go further away. I want to re-do my backpacking trip again, visiting a few more places (Russia and Hungary come to mind) and I've more or less resigned myself that my travels will see me to Isreal at some point in the near future. My more exotic travels have been to Malaysia, Cuba, Sri Lanka and Tunisia.
8- I collect various strange and unusual things, many of them souveniers from previous trips. These include:
A growing collection of swords, axes, daggers and knives, most bought from abroad and many real.
Several skulls, some given to me by my father and friends, some bought, and a beaver skull I found while I was on holiday to Cuba.
A rusty twist of wire from Auschwitz.
A replica roman oil lamp decorated with an image of two men having sex.
Several Inca antiques brought back by my father. My favourite is a monkey-man statue I keep by my desk.
A lump of meteoric iron.
Several semi-precious stones.
Ten gold coins from the reign of napoleon (a nest-egg from my grandmother)
The beginning of a shot-glass collection.
A glass stylus from Venice.
Enough books to start my own library if I wasn't so paranoid as to never loan them out.
As well as a lot of worthless junk I keep to remind me of other times, like tickets to places, cards people have given me, notes I've jotted down and so on.
9- I speak English and French, some basic Spanish, and am trying to learn German, although learning solo isn't being very successful at present. I would like to learn Polish, but have no idea when I can get around to doing that. My father wants me to focus on learning Spanish, but quite honestly, other than to go and visit him when he eventually moves to South America, what's it going to be good for?
10- I write several stories at once. I have two big ones, Ivory and Ebony (dragonlance) and Past Tense (x-men), and I cycle between the two. I really like this method of writing because it keeps me from getting bored or stuck with them. It can happen that both get stuck at the same time, then the best thing to do it write something else entirely, or loosely based on one, and it really helps. Ranting on LJ is another good way of getting rid of writer's block.
Despite my two main stories being fanfic, I'm slowly leaving fanfiction behind otherwise. Both fo the stories are rapidly going into original territory (in Past Tense, I actually own everything except the two main characters and I have been toying with the idea of warping it enough to turn it completely original). I don't write much other fanfic, although I occasionally jot down something, either for x-men or house. Other than my own personal universe, I don't have that much interest in Dragonlance. I like my versions of the characters for more than the canon versions (with the possible exception of Fistandantilus in the Kingpriest trilogy, but those are some of the few really good DL books).
X-men is a relatively new fandom, but one which breaks my heart more often than not. The problem is that it's currently in the hands of a gang of shit-throwing idiots who seemed to be determined to destroy everything that got me into the canon to begin with. Luckily, Past Tense starts early enough that I can control exactly what happens there, and neutralises the worst of the mess. I can't say I prefer my versions of the characters more than canon, because in canon the characters change every five seconds. Still, I like my Erik and my Charles, and that's the important thing.
