"No..... not yet...... just 15 more minutes ...... the sun has barely set yet..... Ok, ok, I'm up. Daol, can't a man sleep? I mean, come on. What? Oh, Daol? Vampire deity. Me? You know me.... Oh, you don't.... Huh? Me, I'm Ilan Restonhart, and I am a vampire.
That is, Lord Ilan Restonhart, by the way. My father is one of the overlords. One of the 10 vampire overlords. Come to think of it, everything here is made in 10s. The 10 Vampire Overlords, the 10 people, the 10 tiers of the city, the 10 cities of Karrakite, the 10 houses of Illustra...... I blame the Illustrans..... There are even 10 members of this household. Well, counting myself, I guess there are 11 and counting the unborn.... ok, 12. So, yeah..... I'm gonna miss them. Huh? Oh, I'm leaving tonight. Pilgrimage. You don't know? Well, whenever a child of Karrakite, vampire, werewolf, magic, fairy or what have you, come of age, they are sent to The Other Place. The mages and wizards say it's another dimension, but what do I know. I'm just a kid, at the hands of destiny. I can't really deny going, now, can I? It's go or be shunned. And that would shame my father, my house and our clans. So, I'll go, like a good boy. How old? Only 40. I'm really botching up this, no? I think so.... Most vampires don't go til they're 45, but Fathers says I'm to clever to wait any longer. And the Oracle said the time is right. It's go now or miss my chance. Chance for what the Oracle didn't say.
Why I'm going to miss my family? Wouldn't everyone miss their families when they were going away? Oh, you want to know about my family..... Well, I have a father. Lord Ewan Restonheart. He's 1/4 magic, which is why I and my brothers and sisters have permanent shadows and reflections. I had never thought of it before, but once I realized a friend of mine had to use magic to see himself in the looking glass. He said I was lucky.... where was I? Oh, right. My father. Yes, he has some magic, but not enough to make him a wizard or mage. Only enough to enhance his vampire magic. He taught me all I know. All I need to know, in my opinion. He loves to play strategy games with me. Says I'll be a good general, should the need rise. I hope it doesn't. He always has his tali at hand. Seldom sees him without Calder. Calder IS a mage. He has studied abjuration for nearly 30 years. Useful, as he keeps up spells of protection around the house. Some days I don't know what to think, though. He's only 8 years older than me.
My mother is a..... well..... a woman..... Don't take me wrong, I love my mother. But she can be.... distant and cold. Especially toward me. Or maybe I'm just imagining that. I was her last. Or, at least I am at the moment. Who knows, she's only 210. And there is more than 40 years between me and my youngest sister. Maybe, in 6 years, she will have another. Stranger things has happened. Oh, Kadali. My mothers name's Kadali. She wanders around the house at night being airy and decides on the latest fashion trends and dotes on her oldest sons pregnant wife. When she's not doting on Iona. Iona is her lover. If I ever wondered what my father is doing with Calder, the same must be said for Iona. What does my mother see in an 18 year old human? I hope I will never know.
I have siblings, too. Older as you might have gathered. Aila and Chaney were womb mates. I wonder if they fought as much inside our mothers womb as they do outside it. I wonder if they ever got along. Aila is that sort, though, so antagonistic. Everything anyone does to her is a challenge or an insult. It must be hard, thinking that about everyone you ever meet. I can swear, when I was a kid, I saw her drink someone until he died.I get the feeling sometimes that my sister is very..... thorough. Chaney is easier. He's always smiling. Especially now, I suppose. Then there is Naoki. He's a warrior. Father says that is because he was a disappointment at his pilgrimage. Father doesn't care, but apparently Naoki does. Naoki wants to prove himself. Unfortunately, Aila has him under her thumb. She is a warrior too, so she's training him. And I see his smile disappear... Umeki is a wonderful sister. She always laughs with me. Mother says she will never grow up. She'll never be a proper lady. I hope not. We always used to run around this house, with her mischief We exchanged the chicken eggs with dragon eggs once. That was a fun breakfast. I never laughed so hard. Hiding the obsidian chess pieces was not so fun. Father was furious for days when he couldn't find them, and when we finally confessed, he was so angry he locked us both in our rooms and threatened to flog us if we stirred. He didn't flog us, though. But he did give us a long, hard lesson in atui, Karrakite honor. After that, whenever I think about what would have happened if it was some other Vampire Lord's chess pieces.....
The last two members of our household is my mother's sister and brother. I hardly know them, they only just came here a week ago, and I have been busy planning my pilgrimage. But I will get to know them, when I come back. I wonder how That Other Place is. No one will tell me. That's part of the challenge But the Oracle said I would find something there, a gift or unfortold wealth. Something important that I could bring back here. I'm nervous. Dotes' bloody eyes, I'm scared....."
Showing posts with label New Project. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Project. Show all posts
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Monday, October 8, 2012
Food project preamble
Yeah.... Food... We all eat it. Even Yaoi Anime Characters. Buuut.... this project isn't about that. I have another food project waiting that is ALL about Yaoi. No, this is my own little curiosity crusade. See, this is a glorious country I live in. The government even tell you what to eat. And how much it should cost. Ok, tell you is a little... strong... but both Konsumentverket and SLV actually have a 4 week menu on their websites. It's essentially the same menu, all I really found differing was that SLVs version was more detailed, and some days were switched. Now, granted, I only checked the first week.
So, what am I after? Well, my Hypothesis goes: There is NO WAY you can eat everything on that menu for the allotted coin. According to those two government agencies, you are supposed to be able to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2-3 small meals or snacks every day. And a couple of handfuls of candy, crisps and some dessert spread out over the week. Like, dessert one day, chocolate one day and so on. And... hold on to your seats.... 1 glass of wine and 2 light beers a week. Ok, small disclaimer; I'm not sure the sweets and the alcohol is actually in the calculated budget, but I will include the sweets. Not the alcohol, as I don't drink alcohol. Yes, I'm a bore with issues. But as long as you don't try to shove alcohol down my throat, I wont stop you from shoving alcohol down yours. Anywho, the budget for one female in her 20's (that would be me) is 1720 kr (that would be 260 dollars and 73 cent in the US) per month. This include homemade lunch. In Sweden, it's fairly common to bring homemade lunch to work, either specially made lunch boxes or the leftovers from yesterdays dinner. School lunches are free for the little kiddies up to at least 9th grade. Often also our (age-wise) in Swedish equivalent to High School.
I have 3 issues with these menus and their budget. 1: There are no recipes This creates a problem, as you could go how cheap or expensive as you like. I'm aiming for the cheap-moderate end of the scale. Even with recipes this is a problem, of course, but if you had recipes you'd at least get a hint. 2: Sometimes you HAVE to make food for 4-10 even if you are alone. I intend to solve this by relying on my freezer and let this project run for 8 weeks rather than 4. That should get me some days when food costs cut to 0 week 5-8. 3: There are some things on the menu i CAN NOT EAT. Allergies and some absolutely vile menu items answer for that. But that's easily solved. Subbing out some things might be possible. But I promise to at least present the original menu for each day, and tell what I sub out.
So, here's my thought, or, my plan rather: I will be counting 3 ways: What it costs to purchase the ingredients, what it costs to cook the food, (that is, you don't pour the whole salt package in the food, and you can't really purchase only one teaspoon of salt, can you?) and how much each portion cost. The two first will have a budget of 3000 kr (454,77 USD) just because I KNOW it's impossible to purchase all the food for the budget for 1. 3000 kr is the budget for 2 adults who eat lunch at work, so 5 lunches are not in that budget, but that is a side note as I knew I needed a bigger budget. See... already I've busted this hypothesis Also, I will for the first few days have two "purchase costs". I wanted to go into this with entirely empty cupboards, but 1: that would mean throwing out a lot of stuff, and 2: I think they have not counted on the "staples". Salt, pepper, flour, cooking oil and some other things i cant really think of right now is probably not in the budget. It is in my budget though, as they are actual costs.
Side note, and side effect, on this project is, as with most food projects, health effects. Including weight. I will NOT treat this as some kind of dietary weight loss project, but as my weight is a concern (to my doctor, i don't really care), and my eating habits (eating habits, people, NOT food habits) are kind of dismal, it will be interesting to see where this leads me. I will only note, each Monday, if I have lost or gained weight, and if so, how much.
So. Let's get on it. With no further ado. BTW, are you sure it's preamble? Not pre-ramble?
So, what am I after? Well, my Hypothesis goes: There is NO WAY you can eat everything on that menu for the allotted coin. According to those two government agencies, you are supposed to be able to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2-3 small meals or snacks every day. And a couple of handfuls of candy, crisps and some dessert spread out over the week. Like, dessert one day, chocolate one day and so on. And... hold on to your seats.... 1 glass of wine and 2 light beers a week. Ok, small disclaimer; I'm not sure the sweets and the alcohol is actually in the calculated budget, but I will include the sweets. Not the alcohol, as I don't drink alcohol. Yes, I'm a bore with issues. But as long as you don't try to shove alcohol down my throat, I wont stop you from shoving alcohol down yours. Anywho, the budget for one female in her 20's (that would be me) is 1720 kr (that would be 260 dollars and 73 cent in the US) per month. This include homemade lunch. In Sweden, it's fairly common to bring homemade lunch to work, either specially made lunch boxes or the leftovers from yesterdays dinner. School lunches are free for the little kiddies up to at least 9th grade. Often also our (age-wise) in Swedish equivalent to High School.
I have 3 issues with these menus and their budget. 1: There are no recipes This creates a problem, as you could go how cheap or expensive as you like. I'm aiming for the cheap-moderate end of the scale. Even with recipes this is a problem, of course, but if you had recipes you'd at least get a hint. 2: Sometimes you HAVE to make food for 4-10 even if you are alone. I intend to solve this by relying on my freezer and let this project run for 8 weeks rather than 4. That should get me some days when food costs cut to 0 week 5-8. 3: There are some things on the menu i CAN NOT EAT. Allergies and some absolutely vile menu items answer for that. But that's easily solved. Subbing out some things might be possible. But I promise to at least present the original menu for each day, and tell what I sub out.
So, here's my thought, or, my plan rather: I will be counting 3 ways: What it costs to purchase the ingredients, what it costs to cook the food, (that is, you don't pour the whole salt package in the food, and you can't really purchase only one teaspoon of salt, can you?) and how much each portion cost. The two first will have a budget of 3000 kr (454,77 USD) just because I KNOW it's impossible to purchase all the food for the budget for 1. 3000 kr is the budget for 2 adults who eat lunch at work, so 5 lunches are not in that budget, but that is a side note as I knew I needed a bigger budget. See... already I've busted this hypothesis Also, I will for the first few days have two "purchase costs". I wanted to go into this with entirely empty cupboards, but 1: that would mean throwing out a lot of stuff, and 2: I think they have not counted on the "staples". Salt, pepper, flour, cooking oil and some other things i cant really think of right now is probably not in the budget. It is in my budget though, as they are actual costs.
Side note, and side effect, on this project is, as with most food projects, health effects. Including weight. I will NOT treat this as some kind of dietary weight loss project, but as my weight is a concern (to my doctor, i don't really care), and my eating habits (eating habits, people, NOT food habits) are kind of dismal, it will be interesting to see where this leads me. I will only note, each Monday, if I have lost or gained weight, and if so, how much.
So. Let's get on it. With no further ado. BTW, are you sure it's preamble? Not pre-ramble?
Monday, August 13, 2012
Confessions of a Female Otaku....
Yeah, yeah, yeah..... I confess....
1: I'm not a blogger. I hate blogging. Ok, HATE is such a strong word, but still. I'm just not good at it. Which is probably why this blog hasn't had any update in like a month. I mean, what do people blog about anyway? To me, it seems like the blog topics, at least for women, are clothes and feelings and clothes and family and clothes and children and clothes and food and clothes and the occasional movie review and clothes.... ok, fashion....Me, I hate clothes, uh, I mean, fashion, clothing stores, even on the internet, gives me panic attacks. I cant blog about children and family, cause I have none of those, all I really have is my ototo and onee-chan (honorary family member), and a very small number of friends that are busy with lives of their own. And feelings, well.... I've never kept a diary, EVER! I hate writing about my own feelings, maybe because all I ever dealt with was my parents feelings about my mother getting breast cancer when I was eight. Don't take me wrong, I love my mother. She died waaaay to young. Food.... well, everyone needs food... so, maybe some food blogging... yaoi-related, of course. Is it just me, or are people in manga always eating? Or talking about food, or cooking? Movies.... ok, I'm not a movie critic.... usually, I like movies others hate, or at least dislike. For example, take a look at the movies that got a 10 from me at the big great database... (In no perticular order): Fanny och Alexander, The Fellowship of the Ring, Schindler's List, Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi, The Lion King, The Return of the King, The Green Mile, Beauty and the Beast, Rosemary's baby. Inconsistent? Very. Good movies? Very. All deserving a ten? According to the sites rating, no.... closest we get is Schindler's List and The Return of the King with an 8,9 tie, Closely followed by the Fellowship at 8.8. Honorary big fail mention: Queen of the Damned which I gave a 3.... and the audience: 4,9. My rating movies seems to be in the 6-10 span rather than 1-10.... I gave Bambi 2 an 8 for heavens sake... something is wrong with me.... Also, I have a hard time focusing on the movie itself, as I am one to Loooove source material and side material. and for that reason, i actually happen to kinda like the Star Wars Episode 1 movie. So, shoot me! I see where they're coming from and what they're going for, because i read all the books around the move. I even read the book The Phantom Menace. Sure, it was written with screen play in hand, but in my humble opinion, Terry Brooks did a good job with it.Ok, ok, ranting movies.... moving on....
2: This is supposed to be a fan fiction yaoi blog, but you know what? Well see what happens with that. Fact is, I write by HAND in a NOTEBOOK..... ok, like 20 notebooks, but whatever. I simply think better when lying in bed at two in the morning, wonder what time it is and why I'm not sleeping yet. Same way i take my books, thank you very much. So having too write things twice.... meh! Maybe, well see... But I'm always thinking about doing it. Yeah, I hear you! "Why not just write on the computer, you obviously have one." Well, the reason for that is that IT'S NOT A LAPTOP! I cant have my stationary computer in bed with me, too cumbersome. I am thinking about buying a laptop for the soul purpose of writing on it, but that seems like an unnecessary cost, especially when one's not as rich as one wishes.
3: I'm a nerd... Ok, that we already knew.... let's see.... Oh, yes! I AM NOT A BLOGGER! And on top of that, I have no sense of aesthetics. This will never be a pretty blog, unless someone takes pity on me and helps me out. And that's not likely to happen. EVER! *Cries a little.* Anywho, I guess it is what it is. I don't really care anymore. I've surrendered to the fact that i can barely draw a stick figure, but that's it. That's where my skills in the fine arts end. I can write and I can sing *she confessed reluctantly*, but that's it.I FAILED art class when I was in school (Swedish equivalent to junior high). I mean... who FAILS art? Honestly? Ok, there was this whole other thing going on in my life making me not care, but WTF, if you excuse the language. So, now you know why this blog looks like it does.... and yea, I also have no camera, not even on my cell phone, cause that phone is from the last millennium. I'm not kidding. It's from 1999.... or 2003, but still!
Now I'm done ranting. I'm going to kick of my two big new projects that are probably going to last for a year or so, IF I really do it. I'm going to do my very own "Let's play..." series with the crap video games others has already done... but through the eyes of a girly yaoi otaku of course. First out: Dragon Age! All of them.... Secondly, and this I have been on a while, making VERY slow process: I'm going to read EVERY SINGLE book I own. Even the once I inherited from my grand-mom. Even the once I inherited from my grand-mom that are in Hungarian! Nah, skip those, it's mostly tourist book over museums that don't exist anymore anyway. The 1960's come and gone loooong ago.... I wasn't even born then. First out among those? I have NO IDEA, we'll see once I've blogged about the once I've already read.
And in the immortal words of Pippi Longstocking: Please leave now. If you don't go home today, you can't come back tomorrow.
1: I'm not a blogger. I hate blogging. Ok, HATE is such a strong word, but still. I'm just not good at it. Which is probably why this blog hasn't had any update in like a month. I mean, what do people blog about anyway? To me, it seems like the blog topics, at least for women, are clothes and feelings and clothes and family and clothes and children and clothes and food and clothes and the occasional movie review and clothes.... ok, fashion....Me, I hate clothes, uh, I mean, fashion, clothing stores, even on the internet, gives me panic attacks. I cant blog about children and family, cause I have none of those, all I really have is my ototo and onee-chan (honorary family member), and a very small number of friends that are busy with lives of their own. And feelings, well.... I've never kept a diary, EVER! I hate writing about my own feelings, maybe because all I ever dealt with was my parents feelings about my mother getting breast cancer when I was eight. Don't take me wrong, I love my mother. She died waaaay to young. Food.... well, everyone needs food... so, maybe some food blogging... yaoi-related, of course. Is it just me, or are people in manga always eating? Or talking about food, or cooking? Movies.... ok, I'm not a movie critic.... usually, I like movies others hate, or at least dislike. For example, take a look at the movies that got a 10 from me at the big great database... (In no perticular order): Fanny och Alexander, The Fellowship of the Ring, Schindler's List, Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi, The Lion King, The Return of the King, The Green Mile, Beauty and the Beast, Rosemary's baby. Inconsistent? Very. Good movies? Very. All deserving a ten? According to the sites rating, no.... closest we get is Schindler's List and The Return of the King with an 8,9 tie, Closely followed by the Fellowship at 8.8. Honorary big fail mention: Queen of the Damned which I gave a 3.... and the audience: 4,9. My rating movies seems to be in the 6-10 span rather than 1-10.... I gave Bambi 2 an 8 for heavens sake... something is wrong with me.... Also, I have a hard time focusing on the movie itself, as I am one to Loooove source material and side material. and for that reason, i actually happen to kinda like the Star Wars Episode 1 movie. So, shoot me! I see where they're coming from and what they're going for, because i read all the books around the move. I even read the book The Phantom Menace. Sure, it was written with screen play in hand, but in my humble opinion, Terry Brooks did a good job with it.Ok, ok, ranting movies.... moving on....
2: This is supposed to be a fan fiction yaoi blog, but you know what? Well see what happens with that. Fact is, I write by HAND in a NOTEBOOK..... ok, like 20 notebooks, but whatever. I simply think better when lying in bed at two in the morning, wonder what time it is and why I'm not sleeping yet. Same way i take my books, thank you very much. So having too write things twice.... meh! Maybe, well see... But I'm always thinking about doing it. Yeah, I hear you! "Why not just write on the computer, you obviously have one." Well, the reason for that is that IT'S NOT A LAPTOP! I cant have my stationary computer in bed with me, too cumbersome. I am thinking about buying a laptop for the soul purpose of writing on it, but that seems like an unnecessary cost, especially when one's not as rich as one wishes.
3: I'm a nerd... Ok, that we already knew.... let's see.... Oh, yes! I AM NOT A BLOGGER! And on top of that, I have no sense of aesthetics. This will never be a pretty blog, unless someone takes pity on me and helps me out. And that's not likely to happen. EVER! *Cries a little.* Anywho, I guess it is what it is. I don't really care anymore. I've surrendered to the fact that i can barely draw a stick figure, but that's it. That's where my skills in the fine arts end. I can write and I can sing *she confessed reluctantly*, but that's it.I FAILED art class when I was in school (Swedish equivalent to junior high). I mean... who FAILS art? Honestly? Ok, there was this whole other thing going on in my life making me not care, but WTF, if you excuse the language. So, now you know why this blog looks like it does.... and yea, I also have no camera, not even on my cell phone, cause that phone is from the last millennium. I'm not kidding. It's from 1999.... or 2003, but still!
Now I'm done ranting. I'm going to kick of my two big new projects that are probably going to last for a year or so, IF I really do it. I'm going to do my very own "Let's play..." series with the crap video games others has already done... but through the eyes of a girly yaoi otaku of course. First out: Dragon Age! All of them.... Secondly, and this I have been on a while, making VERY slow process: I'm going to read EVERY SINGLE book I own. Even the once I inherited from my grand-mom. Even the once I inherited from my grand-mom that are in Hungarian! Nah, skip those, it's mostly tourist book over museums that don't exist anymore anyway. The 1960's come and gone loooong ago.... I wasn't even born then. First out among those? I have NO IDEA, we'll see once I've blogged about the once I've already read.
And in the immortal words of Pippi Longstocking: Please leave now. If you don't go home today, you can't come back tomorrow.
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