In my glass: Jasmine Tea
On my iPod: Tchaikosky's Nutcracker Suite
From my bookshelf: Again, Anatomy
Outside: Dark, chilly, great running weather as long as you stay to the lit roads
My mood: Optimistic
So its two days till Samhain (or Hallowe'en for the rest of you), and its a full moon tonight. I went out for my first run in ages under the moon (and the streetlights, too), and its made such a difference in how I feel. I forgot just how good running made you feel.
I got a new game called "Run, Zombies!" which you play just by running to pick up items for your base, and speeding up at times when there are "Zombies" after you. If you're caught, you lose the mission and have to restart. I'm not one for Zombies, but I'm quite enjoying it actually. I enjoy running anyway, but the game aspect makes it rather interesting.
I stopped by at Asda on the way home and picked up what seemed to be the only tin of black parade gloss shoe polish, and the only tube of Kiwi whitener in the whole city, as well as a nail brush for my spats (my old one went walkabout) and a couple of pumpkins.
Currently, the seeds are drying, ready to be roasted, One pumpkin has been chopped up and part has gone into the slow cooker for soup, and the rest in the fridge, perhaps for a pie. The other has been hollowed out and carved, ready for a candle in it.
Interestingly, the whole tradition of carving on pumpkins on Samhain comes from the time of the old Celtic religions, when they used to carve turnips (the idea of which begins in old Irish folklore). The Americans were the ones who started the carving of pumpkins, and in a way, I'm glad. Have any of you ever tried carving a turnip before? Yeah, unless you have a really, really sharp knife and lots of control, its a recipe for sliced fingers. I tried it once, but even with a razor sharp knife, it was difficult at best.
Oh, and I'm actually looking forward to band at OTC for the first time in months. No rhyme or reason as to why. I may very well be there all of three seconds before I change my mind again, but for now, I'm looking forward to things. Don't know why they decided to have mega tuesday on the last Tuesday of the month though, especially when we don't get paid until a mere two days after. But then again, like someone else pointed out, there was a time when people stayed out every Tuesday, so why the need for such a bigged-up event to get people out and about with each other for the night. Meh, what ever happened to doing it just for the sake of enjoying yourself?
I do need to get back to cleaning my spats on Wednesday (I say Wednesday because tomorrow is going to be busy, and NaNo starts on Thursday. Yeesh, where did September go? Oh, yeah, I remember, it passed me by while I was either panicking about uni, or passing time on the sofa. No more. I plan to go to the OTC running club tomorrow, whether I want to or not (that is as long as it is on). Running seems to make a massive difference to my life.
On a different front, here I am, panicking about this anatomy assessment again tomorrow. *argh*. Which means I gotta get to bed so I'm up nice and early to walk to Foresterhill in the morning (and maybe do some last-minute revision on the brachal plexus nerves on the way..)
See you soon!
Monday 29 October 2012
Ramblings: What if you suddenly had to move?
So as I find myself moving quickly from place to place, squeezing past small gaps between people on the pavements, marveling at the seemingly slow movements of many of those around me, and the sheer difference in speed between those who were ambling gently along, and those who were, like me, in a rush to get somewhere on time, I began to wonder about the ability to move quickly.
Of course, the movement of people on the street is an unusual thing in itself - dictated by peoples schedules, attitude, a love for the scenery in a new place, amongst other things, so I quickly found myself going off on a tangent, and finding myself thinking on something I have seen in my time away with the OTC.
One of the weekends just passed, many of the freshers were out being taught various skills for working out in the field. They learnt how to set up bashers (the shelters we use whilst out in the field), cook rations, use camouflage effectively, amongst other things. And in watching a little of the activities of each of the groups, whilst going about my own activities, I saw there were vast differences in some of the sections, and even in the people in those sections, in their ability to do, quickly and effectively, what they were told to. Some people did things almost immediately, and others took much longer.
In the OTC, and the army in general, the ability to move quickly, and accurately, is exceptionally important to the welfare of all the people involved. Going out on your first exercise or two, you very quickly learn that you have to be ready to move at all times, and if you're smart, you'll pick up ways to do things faster, and vastly reduce the time it takes to get things done.
You keep things all packed away when you aren't using them. You sleep with your webbing and rifle next to you so that you can throw them on in seconds if you're attacked in the middle of the night, and you learn the fastest way to throw on all your kit Leaving enough space in the middle section of your bergen to shove your sleeping bag in without the need to roll it. Using the time it takes for your food to cook to shove some extra polish on your boots to help keep the water out, or change your socks, or dry out your boots, and feet if water has already found its way in. You buy extra bungee cords to tie your bashers up with so that if you need to run in the middle of the night, it only takes seconds to take down and stuff away, and you don't have the palava of cutting down strings. All these things are done so that we can move immediately if the need strikes, and so we try hard to learn.
When we were on annual camp, against one of the other OTCs, the plan, and the harbour area changed very quickly. Our ability to move quickly as a platoon, and as a company served us very well throughout the course of the exercise, and made a massive difference to the way the exercise turned out, even though we were a much smaller company.
I guess, being used to this kind of preparedness, and ability to move quickly over bad terrain, or just move quickly in general, you find yourself pushing the new freshers to move quickly, and getting annoyed at those who either ignore your advice, or don't seem to be able to move with any amount of speed, as both my colleagues and I found at the weekend, although we know that those who last in the OTC and enjoy being there will be the ones who eventually pick up tips, and indeed come up with their own ways of speeding up, because being able to do things at the speed people want them done means exercises become much more enjoyable, and in camp, you end up with more time to do as you want once the important stuff is out of the way. In short, the people who learn to do things faster will have more time to enjoy themselves.
So in the field, we can all learn to be quick, on time, etc. but how does that translate into the real world?
Well for a start, I hate to be late. I've always disliked it somewhat, and made an effort to be on time to everything. Now I truly can't stand it, and I don't like it in other people either. That's why you can find me pounding down the road between campuses in an effort to make it to my next lecture on time, even if I do usually end up being there 5 or 10 minutes early, before most of those with bicycles or cars have even bothered to come into the lecture theatre.
Usually, its also obvious when the fire alarm goes off. My stuff if almost always packed away all together in a bag at my feet. It doesn't take two seconds to grab when the alarm goes off. As much as you're told not to take your stuff when the fire alarm goes off, who doesn't grab their most prized possessions if they're close at hand, be it their phone (which is usually in my pocket as it is), their laptop, or something more personal. I generally think that what they mean is "don't grab your stuff if it will take time, and don't go back for something you've left." Most people can grab a bag and jacket at their feet as they stand up, and not take any more amount of time to do it. That said, people, please do what your fire drill says: Never go back for something if the fire alarm goes off.
On the other hand, this is in no way true for my flat. If I had to move out immediately, it would probably take me a good few days to do. If not much longer. My flat is my haven from time constraints. The only thing I've to ever worry about is what time I have to leave. There is no way I could apply the same high energy speed techniques as I do to the OTC to my home life. I need time to relax, rewind and reboot. My home is time for that.
Of course, flat-time is not my only reboot-time. Most Wednesdays, after lectures have finished, I will take a wander around the botanical gardens, regardless of weather, and have some down-time in nature. I'll wander aimlessly, and watch others do exactly what I do during the rest of the week - rushing around - and enjoy the gentle quietness of free time.
I guess you could say I'm hard-wired to work hard, play hard, but that wouldn't be entirely true either. I work hard, then relax. There is rarely a reason for me to play harder. Sure I socialise, and go out with friends for a pint often, but thats only part of my relax-time. My time off (when I'm not doing OTC or uni work) is often spent carving miniatures from wood, sewing, painting, or writing, often to gentle music. In otherwords, doing relaxing, gentle, time-wasting, slow things. And I love it like that.
Of course, the movement of people on the street is an unusual thing in itself - dictated by peoples schedules, attitude, a love for the scenery in a new place, amongst other things, so I quickly found myself going off on a tangent, and finding myself thinking on something I have seen in my time away with the OTC.
One of the weekends just passed, many of the freshers were out being taught various skills for working out in the field. They learnt how to set up bashers (the shelters we use whilst out in the field), cook rations, use camouflage effectively, amongst other things. And in watching a little of the activities of each of the groups, whilst going about my own activities, I saw there were vast differences in some of the sections, and even in the people in those sections, in their ability to do, quickly and effectively, what they were told to. Some people did things almost immediately, and others took much longer.
In the OTC, and the army in general, the ability to move quickly, and accurately, is exceptionally important to the welfare of all the people involved. Going out on your first exercise or two, you very quickly learn that you have to be ready to move at all times, and if you're smart, you'll pick up ways to do things faster, and vastly reduce the time it takes to get things done.
You keep things all packed away when you aren't using them. You sleep with your webbing and rifle next to you so that you can throw them on in seconds if you're attacked in the middle of the night, and you learn the fastest way to throw on all your kit Leaving enough space in the middle section of your bergen to shove your sleeping bag in without the need to roll it. Using the time it takes for your food to cook to shove some extra polish on your boots to help keep the water out, or change your socks, or dry out your boots, and feet if water has already found its way in. You buy extra bungee cords to tie your bashers up with so that if you need to run in the middle of the night, it only takes seconds to take down and stuff away, and you don't have the palava of cutting down strings. All these things are done so that we can move immediately if the need strikes, and so we try hard to learn.
When we were on annual camp, against one of the other OTCs, the plan, and the harbour area changed very quickly. Our ability to move quickly as a platoon, and as a company served us very well throughout the course of the exercise, and made a massive difference to the way the exercise turned out, even though we were a much smaller company.
I guess, being used to this kind of preparedness, and ability to move quickly over bad terrain, or just move quickly in general, you find yourself pushing the new freshers to move quickly, and getting annoyed at those who either ignore your advice, or don't seem to be able to move with any amount of speed, as both my colleagues and I found at the weekend, although we know that those who last in the OTC and enjoy being there will be the ones who eventually pick up tips, and indeed come up with their own ways of speeding up, because being able to do things at the speed people want them done means exercises become much more enjoyable, and in camp, you end up with more time to do as you want once the important stuff is out of the way. In short, the people who learn to do things faster will have more time to enjoy themselves.
So in the field, we can all learn to be quick, on time, etc. but how does that translate into the real world?
Well for a start, I hate to be late. I've always disliked it somewhat, and made an effort to be on time to everything. Now I truly can't stand it, and I don't like it in other people either. That's why you can find me pounding down the road between campuses in an effort to make it to my next lecture on time, even if I do usually end up being there 5 or 10 minutes early, before most of those with bicycles or cars have even bothered to come into the lecture theatre.
Usually, its also obvious when the fire alarm goes off. My stuff if almost always packed away all together in a bag at my feet. It doesn't take two seconds to grab when the alarm goes off. As much as you're told not to take your stuff when the fire alarm goes off, who doesn't grab their most prized possessions if they're close at hand, be it their phone (which is usually in my pocket as it is), their laptop, or something more personal. I generally think that what they mean is "don't grab your stuff if it will take time, and don't go back for something you've left." Most people can grab a bag and jacket at their feet as they stand up, and not take any more amount of time to do it. That said, people, please do what your fire drill says: Never go back for something if the fire alarm goes off.
On the other hand, this is in no way true for my flat. If I had to move out immediately, it would probably take me a good few days to do. If not much longer. My flat is my haven from time constraints. The only thing I've to ever worry about is what time I have to leave. There is no way I could apply the same high energy speed techniques as I do to the OTC to my home life. I need time to relax, rewind and reboot. My home is time for that.
Of course, flat-time is not my only reboot-time. Most Wednesdays, after lectures have finished, I will take a wander around the botanical gardens, regardless of weather, and have some down-time in nature. I'll wander aimlessly, and watch others do exactly what I do during the rest of the week - rushing around - and enjoy the gentle quietness of free time.
I guess you could say I'm hard-wired to work hard, play hard, but that wouldn't be entirely true either. I work hard, then relax. There is rarely a reason for me to play harder. Sure I socialise, and go out with friends for a pint often, but thats only part of my relax-time. My time off (when I'm not doing OTC or uni work) is often spent carving miniatures from wood, sewing, painting, or writing, often to gentle music. In otherwords, doing relaxing, gentle, time-wasting, slow things. And I love it like that.
Friday 26 October 2012
6 days to NaNo!
In my glass: Hot chocolate (It started snowing today folks)
On my iPod: Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
From my bookshelf: I'm afraid I haven't been reading much lately, unless you count my anatomy textbook
Outside: getting dark, cloudy, some remnants of snow on the ground
My mood: Just glad its Friday...
Facebook quote of the day: "Dreaming of a white....October??"
So I told you in the last post that I'm trying my hand at NaNoWriMo again this year. Hopefully this time I'll make the 50,000 mark. Realistically. its debatable, with the rehearsals for remembrance, and lectures to work around. I've signed up to the Skeleton Marathon held by the Municipal Liaison of Elsewhere, Scotland, which means I have to update my word count Every Single Day, or answer to Igor, and all the others in the Marathon. (that'll be fun trying to fit it in on remembrance day. I see a very early start happening to get some words written down. In the middle of the week-two wall, too.)
Here's an online copy of my pledge. I've already pledged towards this on the original sign-up thread. This means that I can't back out anymore... oh dear.
“I, Tigereye, am joining the Skeleton Marathon. I promise Anastasia, my family, friends, all the folks at NaNoWriMo and most of all myself that I will write something on my novel every day during the month of November. I will faithfully update my word count each day by midnight GMT. I will not make excuses, I will not give up.”
Anyway, now that that's out of the way, I can start jumping up and down in excitement, and shrinking back in horror. ONLY SIX DAYS!!! I can't believe it. I have my plot noted down in word and I'm trying to fit in the dares that my local Aberdeen NaNo group have come up with, I've downloaded the NaNo trial version of Scrivener, I have meals in the freezer and the fridge stocked up, I'm taking my multivitamins to attempt to keep the cold at bay, and I'm shoving together some blog-post drafts to get my writing up to speed (they are, however, in great need of editing, so whether you will get them or not is debatable. December is editing month. We'll see then :D )
There is no way my book will fit into 50,000 words. I may need closer to 90k for the amount of plot I have planned, but I can always finish it another time.
Time for a little sneak peek
Meet my protagonist, Aria. The story revolves around her and her friends when they find some dragon eggs. The power of the clash from the hatched dragons shifts her world into another, the land of Glaewyn. There, the story follows them as they attempt to return the exiled dragons to the kingdom.
Meet my main antagonist, Landon, or as he later turns out to be, Austria. She is in charge of the kingdom after she accidentally killed the king whilst attempting to assassinate the kings brother.
The second antagonist, which appears to be on the side of the protagonist for much of the story, turns out to be the kings brother near the end, and is using the protagonists quest with the dragons to return him to the throne.
As for the story, you'll just have to wait and see. Maybe I'll give you a snippet now and again, but who knows. I need to write it now.
Oh, and as for cover art, one of my fellow NaNo-ers down at the forums put together a cover for me (Isn't that kind?!). It looks great, I think. (I cropped my name out, that's why its slightly odd dimensions)
Have fun, everyone! Time to get back to planning...
On my iPod: Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
From my bookshelf: I'm afraid I haven't been reading much lately, unless you count my anatomy textbook
Outside: getting dark, cloudy, some remnants of snow on the ground
My mood: Just glad its Friday...
Facebook quote of the day: "Dreaming of a white....October??"
So I told you in the last post that I'm trying my hand at NaNoWriMo again this year. Hopefully this time I'll make the 50,000 mark. Realistically. its debatable, with the rehearsals for remembrance, and lectures to work around. I've signed up to the Skeleton Marathon held by the Municipal Liaison of Elsewhere, Scotland, which means I have to update my word count Every Single Day, or answer to Igor, and all the others in the Marathon. (that'll be fun trying to fit it in on remembrance day. I see a very early start happening to get some words written down. In the middle of the week-two wall, too.)
Here's an online copy of my pledge. I've already pledged towards this on the original sign-up thread. This means that I can't back out anymore... oh dear.
“I, Tigereye, am joining the Skeleton Marathon. I promise Anastasia, my family, friends, all the folks at NaNoWriMo and most of all myself that I will write something on my novel every day during the month of November. I will faithfully update my word count each day by midnight GMT. I will not make excuses, I will not give up.”
Anyway, now that that's out of the way, I can start jumping up and down in excitement, and shrinking back in horror. ONLY SIX DAYS!!! I can't believe it. I have my plot noted down in word and I'm trying to fit in the dares that my local Aberdeen NaNo group have come up with, I've downloaded the NaNo trial version of Scrivener, I have meals in the freezer and the fridge stocked up, I'm taking my multivitamins to attempt to keep the cold at bay, and I'm shoving together some blog-post drafts to get my writing up to speed (they are, however, in great need of editing, so whether you will get them or not is debatable. December is editing month. We'll see then :D )
There is no way my book will fit into 50,000 words. I may need closer to 90k for the amount of plot I have planned, but I can always finish it another time.
Time for a little sneak peek
Meet my protagonist, Aria. The story revolves around her and her friends when they find some dragon eggs. The power of the clash from the hatched dragons shifts her world into another, the land of Glaewyn. There, the story follows them as they attempt to return the exiled dragons to the kingdom.
Meet my main antagonist, Landon, or as he later turns out to be, Austria. She is in charge of the kingdom after she accidentally killed the king whilst attempting to assassinate the kings brother.
The second antagonist, which appears to be on the side of the protagonist for much of the story, turns out to be the kings brother near the end, and is using the protagonists quest with the dragons to return him to the throne.
As for the story, you'll just have to wait and see. Maybe I'll give you a snippet now and again, but who knows. I need to write it now.
Oh, and as for cover art, one of my fellow NaNo-ers down at the forums put together a cover for me (Isn't that kind?!). It looks great, I think. (I cropped my name out, that's why its slightly odd dimensions)
Have fun, everyone! Time to get back to planning...
Sunday 7 October 2012
I'm back... But I'm leaving again.
I'm back from Colorado, and straight back into the thick of Uni. Spent a week in bed ill during freshers, then it was first week of lectures, OTC etc etc. so things are getting busy. The National Treasure concert was over before I even got the chance to tell you all about it. I played for the Queen again, and never told y'all, but then again I can't even remember if I did last time or not either.
Now NaNoWriMo is on the horizon. For those of you who don't know, that's National Novel Writing Month, and it happens worldwide throughout the month of November. We have meets every week, after my anatomy lab. It does mean, however, that I'm busier than ever trying to organise my life to do writing, uni and OTC, not to mention trying to sort out whether or not I'm playing in a competing band next year.
So I might be away for a while. I'll try and get back at some point. See you all later :)
- Posted using BlogPress
Now NaNoWriMo is on the horizon. For those of you who don't know, that's National Novel Writing Month, and it happens worldwide throughout the month of November. We have meets every week, after my anatomy lab. It does mean, however, that I'm busier than ever trying to organise my life to do writing, uni and OTC, not to mention trying to sort out whether or not I'm playing in a competing band next year.
So I might be away for a while. I'll try and get back at some point. See you all later :)
- Posted using BlogPress
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