20 May 2008

Exams, knots and bunnies

What the hell am I doing online anyway? I've got my first exam on Thursday, and it's just beginning to dawn on me that I have some 700 pages to read - both this year's and last year's Norwegian textbook. Literature & literature for the last thousand years, plus literary analysis. There will be four or five different essay topics to choose from so there really is no reason to learn everything, but the more I know the better, right? Anyway, I'm just going to forget about literature after the 1960s because a) I don't understand all that modernistic and post modernistic crap (does anyone?) and b) I'd rather fail the exam than spend two days reading Kjartan Fløgstad.

Instead I'll focus on Old Norse and saga literature :) Who knows, I might be lucky...

Then I've got another Norwegian exam on Monday (gotta love living in a country with two official variants of the same bloody language) and a maths, physics or chemistry exam next Thursday. It's the sneaky Norwegian exam style - they tell you the subject two or three days in advance.

I was going to start reading those 700 pages weeks ago but because of the russ celebrations I kinda forgot... I got a fair few knots though...
Smarty was my russ name. The knots from left to right:
Paper with 'That 80s show' written on it: Participated in the russ revue (which was called That 80s show)
Half a russ card: Ate the other half
Paperclip: Held a 10 min lecture on a totally irrelevant topic (42 & the meaning of life) for the first years
Pencil: Joined the first years for a science class
Lego guy: Bought ice cream for an entire kindergarten
Candle: Was at school every day during the russ time
Eraser: Sat under my desk an entire lesson
Bohus-logo: Went into a furniture store (Bohus is a furniture store) and asked for 'faenskap'. It's a very bad pun. 'Skap' is Norwegian for closet, cupboard. 'Faenskap', however, means something like devilry.
Pointy stick: Barbecue outside the fitness centre (yes, evil, I know)
Retroreflector: Traffic control with a retroreflectorvest and a hairdrier. The cars actually slowed down, rotflol
Bicycle bell: Gave my answers in Jeopardy style during an entire lesson ("Pliiing! What is...?"). It was hilarious. Everybody joined in.

Knots I wanted to take but didn't (because nobody wanted to come with me - you need two fellow russ as witnesses)
Entertain the audience for five minutes before the movie starts in a cinema
Camp in a roundabout
Earn 25 kr by dancing and singing in the street
Guide a bustrip

17 May was, for once, great. They always organise these extremely old-fashioned and cheesy parades (kids with plastic smiles stuck on their faces, marching in neat lines and waving flags *gag*). Well, as a russ I could finally do what I've been wanting to do for the last ten years (ever since they forced a flag in my hand and told me to be happy): wreck havoc. It wasn't difficult. I just walked straight into the parade, annoyed the marching band (all russ are equiped with very shrill whistles...) and then gave all the little kids russ cards. Chaos ensued! The primary school teachers were so extremely pissed off (rotflol). One old hag almost punched me in the face.

And, you know, I think the plotbunnies attack only when I'm busy. The Leif Eriksson bunny has disappeared, but I'm stuck with a 'Geese of the Capitol' bunny plus new ideas for both NaNo06 & 07.
2007 is going to need a total cleanup. Imerix will join the new Batavian cohorts right after the revolt and fight some random battles in Britain before Frontinus' campaign. I'll have to sneak Finvagar in as a recruit (and btw Finvagar, who told you you could die? I've got other plans for you damn it!). And Istill have to figure out whose side Flavius Labeo is on (and find a new name for him).
2006 will get a prequel to explain the whole conflict between Geravan and Embric. It goes back two generations, to the Frisian revolt (28 AD) and the attack on Flevum. To make this work, Embric has to become a Frisian. The Frisian Bob family will be Bructeri instead.
There are still a lot of things to figure out. Claudius Labeo for one - prefect of the Batavian cavalry and Civilis' enemy, yet he led the cavalry against the Romans, thus deciding the outcome of a battle (but afterwards he waged a guerilla war on Civilis, possibly because Civilis sent him into exile instead of saying 'thank you'). I've decided to let Thiadulf kick Labeo aside and take command of the cavalry. Which brings me to problem two... Thiadulf the Heroic Freedom Fighter just doesn't fit. Especially now that Embric becomes one of Civilis' most important allies.
So there'll be hostages. Liaueld (Geravan's & Thiadulf's sister) will be sent to the Frisians to ensure the brothers don't murder Embric, and Geravan will be in a hostage-ish situation with the Cananefates for a while so that Thiadulf cooperates with the cavalry and all. This is getting confusing. Finally, there's Verax. I have several ideas for him, but I dunno which will fit.

Right. That's it. I'm off. Henrik Ibsen is calling.

15 May 2008

Computer trouble

It's my computer's fault I haven't been online for nearly two weeks. First msn started giving me error messages, then I couldn't access the control panel anymore, then it refused to load google search results and blocked half of the websites in the world (including blogger and hotmail).
The virus scanner, which is supposed to do an automatic virus scan every three weeks or so, apparently deleted itself a while ago (which is why there was no warning).
Luckily there was still some anti-spyware programme installed, and fortunately I was able to download a new virus scanner (good thing that site wasn't blocked), so I'm slowly getting things back on track.
Msn and the control panel are still giving me error messages (though only on my account, not on my brother's), google still refuses to load, but I was able to check my email & blog just now.

Obviously I've still got a lot of patching up to do. I hardly have time for that now, so I might not be online until June. Exams start next week, and tonight I need to work on a chemistry project which is due tomorrow. I dunno what I'll do - try to wrestle it from my computer or start over again.

On the bright side, I got the results of my Dutch exams - passed them all.

(If you hadn't already guessed, I'm writing this on my dad's computer)

4 May 2008

...

Let me tell you about my fantastic week.

1) Got an email from the IB-Groep. They're the guys who keep messing around with my uni stuff (though they're not actually connected to the uni - they're in charge of scholarships and entrance exams and demand that I send everything in threefold, maybe because they lose two out of three files). Anyway. The email said I needed to apply for a scholarship. I go to their website, read through eight paragraphs of, well, crap. "With this you can benefit from the ease of our fantastic new system while you're studying". At least they have a sense of humour. The small text at the bottom reads: "Unfortunately you can't use our fantastic new system if you live outside the Netherlands. You'll have to fill in these forms instead". Bugger. To order said forms, I had to call them. Unfortunately, they'd all decided to take a week off. That in itself is no crime. I mean, it's hard work, messing up people's applications. But it should at least be possible to order forms by clicking on a link on their website. It's the 21st century, after all.

2) My physics teacher thought it'd be a good idea to have a 5 hour physics test on Wednesday. In the middle of the russ celebrations. Eeeeeevil.

3) I'd been planning a trip to Trondheim with friends for the last two weeks. Then, in the last minute, my friend's parents decide they're going, which means we can't go because my friend has a slightly insane dog which can't be left home alone. Never mind the fact that we're russ only for seventeen days and want to get some knots in Trondheim (there are a couple of hilarious ones which can't be done where I live). Hmpf.

4) Remember the painting of that Batavian guy with the crocodile slippers? I've been working on it for months (though only about an hour or two a week, I'll admit that). It's gone. Can't find it anywhere. I'm sure I left it on it's usual place by the paint supplies at art school, but it's nowhere to be found.

5) My chocolate supply seems to have vaporised, and a Leif Eiriksson plotbunny is nibbling at my toes (this is not a good time for that!)

I'm whining, sorry. Bad case of pms.