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.

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)

...

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.

Russ celebrations - Norway at its best

I've mentioned russ a couple of times in my posts, so I thought I'd better give you a full and detailed account of what exactly russ are.

According to Wikipedia, the tradition goes back to the time when there were no universities in Norway (in other words, before 1811). Norwegians who wanted to study had to go to Copenhagen (I wonder how 18th century Danish bureaucracy was compared to modern Dutch bureaucracy, lol). They took entrance examinations and then put horns on their heads which they weren't allowed to take off before they got their exam results (and passed). Apparently, the word 'russ' comes from cornua depositurus, 'bound to put aside one's horns'.
Modern Norwegian russ celebrations started in 1905, which was also when the russ caps were first used. Russ are now students in their last year of high school. Back in the good old days exams were held around 10. May, and then the russ would celebrate for a few days afterwards, until 17. May, which is Norwegian Constitution Day.
Well, in the 70s some bright politicians thought the partying was getting out of hand and decided to move the exams 'till after 17. May so that the russ would spend more time studying and less time drinking. Needless to say, it didn't work. Today, russ celebrations start sometime during the first days of May or the last days of April, and last until 17. May, with exams shortly afterwards (yaaaaay...).

There are different types of russ, depending on your high school course, and each type has its own colour. Allmennruss (general studies) have red as their colour, the others are hardly worth mentioning since they're not half as cool as the red russ. All right then. Blue is for economics, black for vocational courses, green for agricultural studies.
Russ wear uniforms in their respective colours. The uniform consists of a pair of trousers, a russ cap (more about that later) and in Trøndelag also a long white coat (like a lab coat) which is then decorated.

So what do russ do? Well, we (yes, obviously I'm a russ this year, or I wouldn't be writing this) celebrate. I have no idea what we celebrate, though. Russ time is an excuse to do things which you couldn't (or wouldn't) do normally. Like talking to brick walls, camping on roundabouts or having a pet can of tuna (maybe that's what Merula's been doing...)
For these things you get awarded: a small item (simply called a knot) is tied to the russ cap (it's got a long string attached to it). Every school makes its own 'knot rules'. You can get knots for everything from public nudity and showing up drunk at school to going swimming (in the fjord) in April and spending a night in a tree.

Then there are the russ vans (or buses, if you live in Oslo and have rich parents, lol) and the russ cards (which kids collect).

To the right is my russ card (the cap I'm wearing is the russ cap).

Below is the back of my russ coat.





'Pholloruss' simply means 'russ from Phollo'. The place where my school is built is called Follo (it used to be a farm), but the russ have always spelt it Phollo.

And the front of my coat...













I've got Snoopy at his typewriter, a Roman legionary from Asterix, an ethanol molecule, the four Led Zeppelin symbols, Pink Floyd's refracting prism, a Kvikk Lunsj (Norwegian KitKat, just ten times better) and in the place of honour (on the back) Findus.

It took me hours and hours, but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I just need to put something on the sleeves, it looks weird now.

Wanted: bookends

Several heavy volumes fell right on top of my alarm clock, but unfortunately they didn't manage to smash it.

Does anybody remember me?

I'm finally back after a long absence, though I fear I'll be leaving again pretty soon. Russ celebrations are coming up (17 days of madness) and exams are right after that (whose bright idea was that?). And I'm still catching up from those two weeks of school I missed while I was being nerdy in Oslo. Gah.

Who cares. Those were two great weeks :) A couple of others participated in both the chemistry & the physics finals as well, so there were a lot of geeky inside chemistry jokes floating about. I've started using ångstrøm instead of metres in everyday conversations. Much more fun, especially the funny looks I get :)
I got 6th place in the physics finals btw (but do you think that matters to my physics teacher? Nooo... he hasn't even mentioned it! *glares*)

Okay, on my to-do-list this week:
Finish that bloody religion project I've been 'working' on for weeks
Study for a religion test
Clean - no wait, disinfect my room
Do half a chapter of maths (ah bugger, that's due tomorrow *head --> desk* )
Write four Norwegian essays
Read fifty pages about changes in the Norwegian language in the 20th century (the guys of the Norwegian Language Council really had - and have - too much spare time on their hands)
Finish (actually I still need to start) a horrendously boring chemistry project about iron (why can't it be about crystal structures?)
Physics. Physics. Physics
Study for the international chemistry finals
Paint my Russ coat. Yaay.
Eat chocolate (what? I want the satisfaction of at least getting one thing done)

Blah blah blah. Pic? Of course you want a pic.

This is a cookie that has been soaked in liquid oxygen, and then set fire to. Those chemistry olympiad people were insane, but it's shiny.

And for those of you who prefer bits of old stone...
A sculpted rope, to strengthen the window. This is from the Dom Church in Utrecht. Apparently, medieval stonemasons had a sense of humour.

I'm back! And off again...

I'm sorry I didn't post earlier! There was just too much homework to do (and my PE teacher's decided it's time for another six week period of writing training schedules, damn her).
Anyway, Oslo was great, the Netherlands was great, the airports were not so great. We were planning a trip to Xanten as well but that had to be called off because the rest of the family thought the weather wasn't good enough.
No Romans for me, in other words. I had to settle for the Dom Church of Utrecht, which is interesting enough to be sure (plus it's built right on top of Roman Traiectum).
Het Pandhof, the herb garden of the church. It's a bit more colourful in summer :)

I've got more pics but I'll have to post them when I get back. Tonight I'm off to Oslo again, this time for the finals of the physics olympiad (but I'm not going to stress now, I can't go to the international finals anyway since I already qualified for the international chemistry finals). I'll read up on all the posts I've missed when I get back as well!

Budapest!

I qualified for the International Chemistry Olympiad! Second place in the Norwegian finals!

Had a great week. Lots of nerds; but everybody was nerdy in a cool way :)

And Amsterdam Uni, apparently, has decided to mess up my application even further. I got a letter saying I have to take an entrance exam in English. Wtf for two reasons. 1) I signed up for a TOEFL like it said on their website (which should be good enough), and 2) their exam is a colloquium doctum thingy and you have to be 21 to take those.

Typical

I was biking to school on Friday - probably the last time this year that I'll bike on ice and snow. I've biked on old ice and new ice, wet ice and dry ice, frozen slush with bike tracks and ice so smooth you can hardly see it. There have been moments when I wondered if I'd wake up in hospital, but I've always managed. Until Friday. There was a thin layer of fresh snow with ice underneath where my bicycle decided to throw me off - and of course there was gravel where I landed (this was downhill, so I flew a couple of feet). I've got a lovely bruise on my forehead, my knee is bright purple and the palm of my hand has been ripped open. Nothing serious, but it is rather annoying that it should happen the last time I bike on ice (characters' revenge maybe?)
And, typically, the purple on my knee is exactly the shade I need for a painting (I spent half an hour mixing paints at art school and I still couldn't get the right shade).

Anyway, I'm leaving tomorrow for the chemistry finals. I'll be back on Friday, though only for a few hours - then I'm off to the Netherlands to take my Dutch exams.

I still need to pack but the muse won't let me. So I'm rewriting the first chapter of NaNo06. I'm terribly sorry, Geravan, but I'm going to have to break your arm.

See you in a week or two!

Busy, busy, busy!

They've published the results of the second round of the Physics Olympiad. Guess who qualified for the Norwegian finals! *grins* March & April will be quite busy for me. I'll be in Oslo for the chemistry finals for a week, then I'm off to the Netherlands to take my Dutch exams, and then it's back to Oslo again for the physics finals.

Of course the muse chose a time like this to come back with a ton of ideas...

I've decided to put NaNo07 away for the time being and start editing NaNo06 instead. I've rewritten a few scenes here and there and already I'm getting new walk-ins and plotlines. Geravan suddenly decided that he has an uncle who really needs a role, Thiadulf has deserted from the Roman army (ahem, wtf??), Marcus has become suicidal (I thought I knocked that out of him last year...) and Embric has finally told me his backstory. Well, technically Thiadulf told me which makes it even more complicated, because how the hell would Thiadulf know?

I've also started another writing project - a trilogy about Knut Hamsun and penguins. A friend of mine was so inspired by my penguin snippet that she decided to write about it herself, and now we've decided to do it together. We've got most of the plot worked out already (including why the penguins want to murder Hamsun) and my friend has a few scenes written down already. It'll be awesome :)

Bits of old stone, from Rhodes.

Not impressed

I got a letter from the Uni admission office. An entire page of educational laws paragraph this-and-that - basically it said I needed to get my diploma plus pass Dutch and English exams. It also said I'd find information about further entrance exams and subjects and whatnot in the envelope. The envelope, however, was empty.

And their knowledge of geography is a bit, well, how should I put this? My place of birth, according to them is "Utrecht, the Netherlands, Norway".

Then I got an email from the admission people, telling me they were very sorry, but they couldn't verify my personal details, and could I please send them a copy of my passport.
I have. Twice, as a matter of fact.

Seriously.

Oh glorious insomnia!

Total amount of sleep last night: 0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds!

After tossing and turning for an hour or two, I figured, what the hell, it's not like I'm going to get to sleep anyway so I might as well do something useful. So I read up on my Dutch grammar and realised I should be doing just fine next month (Uni entrance exams, lol) since my dialect is as close to standard written Dutch as it is possible to get. And then I read The Eagle's Prey by Simon Scarrow. I like the Eagle series, but why do the Batavians always end up getting slaughtered? 'S not fair *sulks*

I managed to crawl out of bed sometime after dawn (no school this week, muahaha) and felt a bit of a wreck. Looked like it too. I mean, I always have dark circles under my eyes (which is totally the Romans' fault, where's the PFJ?) but today I looked like I'd been punched in the face.
Nothing an inch of concealer can't fix - helped of course by liberal amounts of tea and a handful chocolate covered coffee beans. Then I was all hyper for hours but now the after-effects of this morning's caffeine haze are starting to wear off. My eyes are burning and the head feels like cotton fuzz. But I don't feel like sleeping. I hope it's not going to be one of those several-all-nighters-in-a-row weeks because I have an eight hour shift at the deli tomorrow.

But right now there's only one thing to do! Rewriting that scene where Marcus comes stumbling into Mainz half dead. 3/4 dead is probably more like it.

The pigeon invaded my post without permission.

Because I'm too scared to read about the theory of relativity

Memes are more fun anyway:) I stole this one from Kirsten's blog.

What’s the last thing you wrote?
Today I've written a few paragraphs for "Suddenly, ninjas arrived", which is my NaNo07 novel about the Romans in Wales (I still need to find a good title for it).
Technically, though, the last thing I wrote was something physics related about electromagnetism.

Was it any good?
The physics was good. It had an integral symbol, and they make everything look smart. Very good indeed.
I'm not so sure about the fiction I wrote, though. I always write a very rough and extremely messy draft first just to get the ideas down on the paper, and then I edit later (and I procrastinate a lot when it comes to editing). So those paragraphs contain some ghastly prose and maybe some grammatical errors as well, but I think I'm getting somewhere plot-wise now. Ingomar won't be too happy though, because I've decided he's going to be the human sacrifice instead of Butimas.

What’s the first thing you wrote that you still have?
Probably this little beauty:
It's (supposed to be) Dutch and basically means "The hot sun beams reach the earth if the sun doesn't leave quickly we'll be burned finally the sun has left" (who cares about punctuation anyway?). I think I was five when I wrote this... Can you believe I still haven't found a publisher?
And then I have some stories I wrote when I was seven or so about a butterfly and a spider, and one about a rabbit (which I never finished, and that bothers me, because I stopped with a cliffhanger), plus some books I wrote (and drew) with my little brother when I was about eight.

Write poetry?
Not much. I wrote quite a lot when I was younger.

Angsty poetry?
Never. It only makes me laugh

Favourite genre of writing?
NaNo-genre! (aka historical fiction with the odd ninja thrown in) Fantasy is rather fun to write as well because you don't have to follow the laws of physics.

Most fun character you ever created?
I'm not sure. Geravan maybe. He usually listens to me but still has a personality of his own. Same with Marcus, though he tends to be whiny. Oh, and Merula (when he doesn't talk to trees, that is).

Most annoying character you ever created?
Hmm... Verax. He is actually historical, but his personality was created by me. He's an opportunistic, ruthless bastard who keeps messing up the plot. Embric is a close second (do you mind *not* getting Geravan accused of treason??).

Best plot you ever created?
When I started, "Suddenly, ninjas arrived" had a decent plot, but now it has become so messed up that no two paragraphs fit together. So I think I'll go for NaNo06, which is about the Batavian revolt (and pretty much titleless). It follows Tacitus' account closely but I've built the plot around it in a way I'm quite pleased with. And now that I've left the thing alone for a few months all sorts of new ideas are starting to form. Muahahaha! (Sorry, Liaueld, but my mind is made up)

How often do you get writer’s block?
When I have time to write, I usually manage to write. PMS sometimes scares the muse, but usually he just flies into a murderous rage and I end up killing half the walk-ins just for the heck of it. By looking at NaNo06 I can actually tell which bits were written when I had PMS - every 40 k or so there's a flurry of completely unnecessary and very violent deaths. It's scary.

Write fan fiction?
No.

Do you type or write by hand?
Both. When I have ideas I prefer to type because it's faster, but when I'm not sure what to write I prefer writing by hand. Pages fill up faster that way and I worry less about editing. Plus I can write during class (add a few Romans and double religion is suddenly tolerable)

Do you save everything you write?
Yep.

Do you ever go back to an old idea long after you abandoned it?
Sometimes. The notebook with the outlines for the fantasy story I started years ago is pulled out of the drawer every month or so.

What’s your favourite thing that you’ve written?
It has to be NaNo06. Yaay for the Batavian revolt!

Do you ever show people your work?
Hardly. If I'm really really happy I might post a snippet here. It's mostly because everything is just a messy first draft (like a stick figure drawing compared to the Mona Lisa I hope it'll be eventually)

Did you ever write a novel?
Yes (and it feels so good saying that!). I finished the first draft for a novel about the Batavian revolt last autumn. I cried like a baby when I finished it. It requires heavy editing, but I've written it!

Ever written romance or teen angst drama?
No. Not really my style.

What’s your favourite setting for your characters?
At the moment it seems to be the northern fringes of the Roman Empire, 1st century ad. But they thrive in my fantasy world as well.

How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Actually writing: 1
Editing in my head: 3
Plotbunnies I've pushed under the bed: Half a dozen or so

Do you want to write for a living?
Mmm... no. Yes. Maybe. I dunno. I want a 'normal' job and then write in the evenings. Because otherwise I'd probably have a deadline (one that is less friendly than the NaNo deadline)

Have you ever won an award for your writing?
If top grades for essays count, haha. I've never entered any writing contests, so no.

Ever written something in script or play format?
Just for school. I wrote a few sketches for the Russ revue last autumn - made fun of the local "news"paper and the firstgraders.

What are your 5 favourite words?
Vraisemblablement (French). Try saying it ten times fast. Oh, and caribou. Nice, woody sort of word (okay, no more Monty Python for me). Hmm... I don't really have favourite words.

Do you ever write based on yourself?
I hope not.

What character have you created that most resembles yourself?
Oh, that's difficult. I don't really resemble any of my characters (I think...). There are just a few personality traits and quirks. Marcus shares my horrible sense of direction and Geravan is the lucky winner of my short temper.

Do you favour happy endings, sad endings, or cliff-hangers?
It depends on the story. Happy-open like in The Lord of the Rings is probably my favourite, but some stories just need different endings. Like The Mark of the Horse Lord by Rosemary Sutcliff.

Have you written based on an artwork you have seen?
Maybe unconsciously. I see so much art that it's impossible to remember everything.

Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
Yes. It's messy enough as it is without grammatical errors. I usually don't make mistakes (I hope, haha), except when it comes to compound words. In Norwegian these should be written as one word, whereas in English you seem to be allowed to add spaces wherever you like (I write my fiction in English). So when I write 'snowballfight' or "stickfiguredrawing" and that red line comes up I always want to kill that stupid spellchecker. Spell checker. Whatever.
Oh, and when I'm tired I mess up homonyms. So far my favourite is "The lake was covered with a thin layer of eyes"

Does music help you write?
Of course. Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the LotR soundtracks, Gåte... And I howl along to the music as well, much to my brother's displeasure (I can't sing to save my life).

Quote something you’ve written.
From the titleless novel about the Batavian revolt:

Ercuin shook his head. ‘The revenge of one man can't be allowed to ruin the future of an entire people.’
‘The revenge of one man?’ repeated Geravan. He gave a hollow laugh. ‘Oh, yes of course. And you think that Civilis’ motive was not revenge? Do you think that he would have attacked the Romans if his brother hadn't been executed, or if Labeo hadn't just been promoted?’
‘That was then,’ said Ercuin. ‘This is now. Listen, Geravan. I knew your brother well; we served in the ala together for many years-’
‘But you will not let me avenge him?’ said Geravan bitterly. ‘You can't have been on friendly terms, then.’

This is probably the best meme I've done in a while because it helped me find a name for Ercuin. Up till now he's gone by 'Batavian4'. Stupid walk-ins.

At art school today...

... I got to be the canvas!
*grumbles*

Owowow!

I've strained a muscle, in my shoulder neck area somewhere. I can hardly keep my head up. It hurts when I lie down, when I sit and when I write.

Just what I need right now.

I have to write an essay about Quisling, finish a chemistry report, do 20 physics exercises about electromagnetic induction, read 40 pages about astrophysics, write an essay for religion and study for a Norwegian test. All within the next two days >.<

Badminton training tomorrow will be fun, for sure.