Saturday, March 27, 2010

Chapter 14 - In which Naria laments that money does NOT grow on trees

Hello blog. It's me. I apologize that I am using you, once again, for the purpose of my complaining... then again, that's what I created you for...

Here it goes...

I bought the pattern for my Erica Fontaine costume. It's a FANTASTIC pattern!! A little hard to do, as tailcoats are, quite obviously, not the easiest garment in the world to put together, but a great pattern nonetheless. It's actually the pattern for a woman's tuxedo, complete with tailcoat, tuxedo shirt and dress pants instructions. It's a beautiful thing, really! I've already cut out all the paper pattern in my excitement to start on the cosplay too. And the best thing about this pattern is that, should I find some awesome gold sequin-y fabric before next Halloween, I can totally make a Columbia (yes, THE Columbia) outfit for myself based on this wonderful, wonderful pattern!!
(And for those who wonder why I'm thinking about my Halloween costume already, know that the night of Samhain is my favourite time of year and that, as soon as the revels of the night/weekend are over, I am already thinking about my costume for next year... damn me and my love for theater and costuming!)
Aaaaaaaanyways. Back to the Erica Fontaine costume. It is a wonderful thing that I found this pattern for it. I was actually getting quite desperate at Fabricville, looking through catalog after catalog, and no tailcoat in sight... But then I stumbled upon it and almost shrieked with glee, so it's all good. I am going to have to modify said pattern quite a bit (no tailcoat comes with huge semi-circles cut out of its front instead of buttonholes!) but that's not a big issue. I'm going to redraw the few pattern bits I'm planning to change, so that the original remains unaltered for Columbia and a smashing Rocky Horror costume...
I bet you're wondering "when is she going to lament?" well, it's coming up, I beg for your patience...
So, I also looked through the store, glancing here and there in search of the perfect red fabric for the outfit. I found it. It's absolutely stunning, wonderfully light and blood-red velvet!! I love it! I'd buy the whole roll of it if I could! The texture of it... the lightness of it... it's just... delicious!! Wonderfullest (yes, I invented a word - leave me alone!) fabric EVER! There is one catch though... 22.99$ a meter. And I need at least (at least!) two... and then I also need to buy white fabric. The perfect white is a lovely, pure white (seriously - so pure white, it BLINDS!) stretch fabric... don't remember whether it's polyester or nylon or something... but it's wonderfully stretchy and yet quite opaque despite being white. This fabric is PERFECT for the shirt and boot covers for the Erica costume. The issue: 19.99$ a meter. And this one needs at least three!! Sigh.
(And now, the complaining bit...)
I hate being broke! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it!! I feel bad for complaining about it all the time, but I just don't have the time to handle school and a job as things are standing now (finals fast approaching, and important stuff to do every weekend - homework, essays, visiting mum, etc.). So I am earning no money, and yet I am spending. I'm not even spending much of it on myself. The pattern cost me 7.00$ for crying out loud! And that's ALL I spent on myself lately!! The rest all goes to rent or food. And now that we have a new apartment (yay!!! we have a new apartment - everything went according to plan and we are taking over Margaret and Laura's place...) we have to pay next month's rent plus the first month's rent for the new apartment as a down payment... GRAAAAH!!!! Why does money NOT grow on trees!! I need it so badly right now!!
I honestly, truly wish I could have a job right now. I hate having to ask my parents for money. But I really can't handle a part-time job right now and keep my sanity. I am going insane as it is and I'm only doing SCHOOL!! Essays are driving me up the wall, writer's block is getting the better of me, I am dreaming about MATH PROBLEMS (which I haven't done since high-school!) and my fingers are itching to sew, when I should be doing other stuff... I am going to turn into a squirrel if my life stays this nuts!! I couldn't fit a job into my schedule if I wanted to, and I have looked around too. NOBODY is hiring!! Sigh. And so I'm guilt tripping every time I have to ask people to help me out financially. I mean, I really do want to take care of myself on my own... but it's so darn HARD as a full-time student!!
So... yeah... Yay! We have a new apartment... Boo! Because it means I'll have to spend TWICE as much as usual when April hits us. Huzzah!! *unenthusiastic, lazy wave of the hand*

There you have it. The lament is done. I apologize to those who read this for my whining, but it's true and I just couldn't bottle it up anymore.

On the plus side... red velvet is REALLY pretty.... I just can't afford it. *cries*

*Edit: Here's to make up for my lamenting. This is a HILARIOUS video! Nothing new, but dead funny anyways. Watch and enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTvjRyv0c5M
I guess it's not only European men who enjoy their toilet paper rough...! :P

Friday, March 26, 2010

This pisses me off so much, I HAD to post it...

So, turns out the USA bred a stupid bitch called Anne Coulter, who came to make some hate speeches in Canada. She states that she's in the right to do so and that Canadians are unintelligent for not appreciating her...
It's people like Anne Coulter that cause so many smart American students to study elsewhere because she's such a bleeding c*nt!! (sorry for the rudeness!)

Here's an article about her latest speech...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-rowe/sorry-ann-coulter-canadas_b_513865.html

Please read it. And then compare to what the complete twat had to say. I cannot tell you how offended I am that someone as ignorant as her DARES to insult the intelligence of Canadian university students (saying our IQ is 0 and such...)... http://www.anncoulter.com/

Thank goodness she didn't come to McGill, or even I would have found the time to stop working on essays and join the "riot"! Hell, I would have lain down in front of her car if it stopped her reaching the campus - I don't want her to befoul the soil of my dearly beloved school... Unfortunately, she has already tainted the country with the dirty soles of her expensive shoes, earned by promoting hatred...

Sigh. Okay. Rant done. I. Hate. Her. I hope she gets put away and confined to the USA.

Chapter 13 - In which Naria still hates her essays and slash-fiction fangirls will squee

This post is dedicated to my favourite yaoi-girls! ;D Oh, come on! You know who you are!!

So...
The essay that is presently bogging me down is for the subject called English Literature and Folklore. Now, don't get me wrong: the class itself is fascinating! I wouldn't have chosen it if it weren't! We are studying Medieval literature and how folklore and folktales are included in said literature. It's fascinating what people believed back in the Middle Ages and how much of it transpired into their literature... And it's not just stories about King Arthur and Merlin either! You've got giants (in Ireland), fairy mistresses and lovers, journeys to the fairy otherworld, outwitting of magical foes, and many nonsensical references to how Britain and the ancestry of British monarchs is somehow descended from Troy... (I still don't understand how the Old Kings of England thought it made them more noble and honourable to be descended from Troy, when the Trojans are the morons who were gullible enough to let the horse in... oh, and when Trojan royalty was dumb enough to think they could get away with kidnapping another king's wife!)

Anyhoots. So the class is AWESOME. It's really interesting and very inspiring to someone like myself who loves Medieval lit and folktales... however...
the readings suck.
No, seriously, they SUCK!!
I said so in the previous post. On a literary aspect, when one looks at the style of writing, it's really, really bad!! The stories are interesting, but they are just not readable.
Right now, I am reading The Mabinogion. This book includes the four branches of the Mabinogi as well as a few other stories from Wales. Yes, I am reading Medieval Welsh literature. Of course, it's translated, because I can't think of anyone who's fluent in Old Welsh anymore. Even the Medievalists of McGill can't read the language fluently, though, to their credit, they can pronounce the tongue-twister weird-ass names really well! They can even understand scraps of Old English, Old Welsh and Old Irish... but, let's face it, no one really speaks any of these three...

Now, for my essay, I am focussing on the third branch of the Mabinogi. Here's an example of how badly written the thing is. What follows is a rape scene:
But that night, Gwydion son of Don and Gwilfaethwy his brother returned to Caer Dathyl. And in the bed of Math son of Mathonwy, Gilfaethwy and Goewin daughter of Pebin were put to sleep together, and her maidens were forced out violently, and she was taken against her will that night.
I guess that censorship isn't really required here, is it? The girl isn't even upset about the rape the next morning. She's more freaked out by the fact that now she has shamed her lord than by the fact that she was raped... I mean, seriously???!! This was the rape scene?! Even the state of Michigan would rate it "G" for "general" - this text could go into a family movie an no one would know the difference!

And now I'm getting to the slash... Yaoi-fans attention!
So, the two brothers from the paragraph I quoted earlier raped the girl. Okay, you follow me so far? Check. Now, mister angry husband comes in, and he happens to know magic. So he decides to punish the brothers...
You got me: MEDIEVAL SLASH FICTION BETWEEN BROTHERS!!
The king turns the two brothers into animals, one into a male and the other into a female and he orders them to reproduce. The year after, he changes them into the oposite sex, the brother who was female becomes male and vice versa. And they MUST reproduce again!! And this was written in the 12th century!!
Now, I don't really understand what you slash fangirls really enjoy about some boy-on-boy (especially because gay men are just not interested in women - ergo: a complete waste!), but I have come to understand that incest between brothers is rather popular in fiction these days... Turns out, it was in the past as well, lol.
Oh, and the funniest thing? When, after 3 years, the brothers are turned back into humans, they immediately forgive angry husband man, even though he forced them to live like animals and reproduce... they must have had a hell of a good time then, eh? ;-D

Okay, I've ranted enough... I've probably traumatized my mum...
XD

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The votes are in!!!

THE VOTES ARE IN!!!

And the winner of "Who will Naria be Cosplaying for Anime North?" is...

ERICA FONTAINE (battle outfit) from Sakura Taisen!!
Congratulations Erica!

The exact results are as follows (and I swear they were very hard to compile: I got votes via email, via blog, via facebook... I could never remember who had voted what so I kept going back to double-check)

Erica: 7 votes

Eclair: 4 votes

Lunamaria: 5 votes

Good job to all contestants! XD Incidentally, I noticed that all characters I proposed wear a massive amount of red... What IS it and my obsession with RED??? And here I thought I was a fan of the colour purple... This is so strange and I am positively befuddled (I went through my wardrobe yesterday and I really do have an overarchingly red selection of clothes...) But anyways, it seems I like red, and Erica wears red, so all is good.

So... what does this mean?
1 - I'll go out hunting for fabric after class tomorrow... hopefully I can scrape up some credit card money to buy nice red fabric...
2 - I need to find a pattern and I need to modify the daylights out of it, because no tailcoat pattern will come with weird, overblown, silver buttons...
3 - I need to buy a long, auburn, wig for a reasonable price and make sure it shows up in the mail in time for the con, preferably before departure for Germany (I should get on that right now then, shouldn't I?)
4 - I need to figure out how to do the weird metal knobs on Erica's shoulders and make sure they hold firm.

It should all work out nicely... one step at a time... *sweatdrop*

On another, side note, I loathe, hate and despise essays!!! As much as I love fairytales and folklore, having to write about them SUCKS!! The Four Branches of the Mabinogion are just not that interesting a read, frankly (at least not stylistically speaking... many "And the hero did this. And then he did that. And then there was a feast. And then... and then... and then..."... *massive sigh*) And I haven't even started on reading up on the Tain yet, and it's incredibly hard literature with loads of Old Irish words that I couldn't pronounce if my life depended on it. I swear there is a whole in my tongue from trying to pronounce names like Llefelys and Medb (which is, in fact, pronounced "Maeve"... all my efforts wasted on something spelled weird, but in fact, easy to pronounce). .... Okay, complaining bit is done.

I will soon start on my cosplay (hopefully) HUZZAH!!!

And, I promise, next post will be another "In which" chapter...

More Pictures II...

So here are some more pictures from Fischer Fine Art. They are gorgeous! The shoot turned out really great!


Robin Hood and Maid Marian... before he leaves for Sherwood Forest... (^___^)



My new, absolute favourite! This could be the Lady of Shalott (except that I need to be inside a boat if I really want to look like a Waterhouse painting, lol!)


Hope these are appreciated!


And again, thanks to Fischer Fine Art for the fantastic photography work!!



Oh, and because I've changed my image up at the top, for nostalgia's sake, here's the Snake from the book of Genesis picture!

The Serpent in the Book of Genesis (or Lilith, however you wish to see it). It's basically a personification of Temptation, my first self-sewn costume, that I made for last Halloween (2009).

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Some pictures from last Saturday's shoot...

So here is the first batch of picutres from Saturday's shoot! They turned out really nicely!! I am really impressed by the added effects that give the whole setting a little more of a medieval feel... ^___^

All credits for the photography go to Fischer Fine Art. Thanks a lot Gordon!!

This was taken in Westmount, Montreal... great setting!

I think this is my favourite so far!


And this one was taken by the really nice looking Church at the location!
I hope you like them!

Monday, March 22, 2010

TIME FOR A VOTE!!

Okay people! I'm having a poll here - time to vote!! (What do you mean, "make your own decisions?" Everyone loves a vote!!)

What are you voting for? What I am to cosplay at the upcoming Anime North. I'm NOT letting another year of AN pass me by without me being there! That's just a no-go!!

So here are the costume options...


1. Erica Fontaine (battle outfit) from Sakura Taisen 3

Erica is the character on the left (*edit: she's actually the one in red, on the right... my bad), with the red outfit and the brown hair. Love her boots!! ^__^

2. Eclair (main red outfit) from Kiddy Grade

Note on the costume: the middle cross bit is skin - not a patch of white, so the dress basically has major cleavage... also, the skirt is ultra-short.

3. Lunamaria Hawke (Zaft Uniform) from Gundam Seed Destiny

This is very basic: jacket and pleated skirt with some boot covers, though the jacket has a lot of weird details that'll need some pattern tweaking... sorry I don't have a front view!

Okay - so, to your keyboards and.... VOTE!! (vote in the comments)

Thanks!!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Chapter 12 - In which the best book in world history has been unearthed

Yes, you got me... "unearthed!"

Note: The post that follows should put a smile on your face.

So, I was out at the Eaton Center today, in order to have some prints of my latest facebook pictures to send to family and grandparents in Germany. Since I selected the "print in 1 hour" option, I had to kill one full hour at the mall (can you IMAGINE???)

Now, what to do when you have an hour to kill and no money to spend? Well, personally, I like to resort to a trick known only to us literature majors and bookworms (generally all the same people anyway): I go to the bookstore. Not with any intention of purchase. I go to either a) find out if there are any new awesome books and sit down in a shady corner to read or b) to talk about books with the employees.
And so, I set off for Indigo, my favourite bookstore in all of downtown Montreal (and Toronto). They have computers there, where you can type in the name of a book, author, etc. and find whether they've got it in stock (I suppose they put that in to keep people from over-harrassing employees... but, for some reason, the employees get harrassed anyway). On that computer, I typed in the name of my favourite author: Diana Wynne Jones. Now, most of the books that showed up in my search and were available in store were books that I already owned... except for one.
The Tough Guide to Fantasy Land.
Yes, that is the title of the ultimate awesome book of awesomeness! It is rather small, despite being a hardcover book: only 6 1/2 inches by 4 7/8 inches and only 1 1/4 inch thick. It has a nice glossy paper cover on top of the red cloth-bound harcover, with lots of colours to attract a potential reader's straying attention. The computer said it had three copies left in it's "Bargain Books" section. Well, that section is a true maze of books; books of all kinds, shapes and sizes are piled in tottering piles one atop the other on a total of about 12 tables and 1 measly row of shelves. Try finding a book there: not an easy task. Especially not when your book is as small as this one. But I didn't know that yet. I just looked at the mountains and towers and ruins of books and wondered whether I would ever find those three copies.
So I went to my favourite reference person in all of the Indigo store. Her name is Frankie. She's an older lady, with gray hair, and about a head shorter than me. She's really nice and loves books as much as I do. And so we both set off on the quest for this fantastic book. We found it, after about half an hour of searching, disecting and demolishing the piles of books. It turned out that Diana Wynne Jones' books were neatly tucked away in a corner of the set of shelves, but they were so small that I had overseen them... on several occasions. This is why the book has been "unearthed."

Now, about the book. Why is it the best ever? Because, without even opening the first page, you break into the greatest fit of giggles you'll ever experience in your life.
First, the cover. It looks like this (illustrated by Douglas Carrel).

Awesome, no? Then comes the awesome title: The Tough Guide to Fantasy Land, and the even better subtitle: "Actually very little to do with The Lord of the Rings". And the name of Dianna Wynne Jones in happy bright yellow letters.
The back cover, warning Lord of the Rings fans - this is genuinely hilarious, has "comments and critiques" about the book... The back cover is written as follows (parentheses are my own comments):
"An indispensable guide for anyone stuck in the realms of fantasy without a magic sword to call their own." - Terry Pratchett
"I've got a magic sword, actually, so I'll stick to that if you don't mind. Even if it is broken." - Aragorn son of Arathorn
(awesome!!! *squees*)
"Would have been a lot more use on the quest than three Elven hairs." - Gimli son of Gloin (even better! *fan-girl scream*)
This may look like just a Gollancz parody, but Diana Wynne Jones is actually a really good author. Look:
"I'd vote for Dianna Wynne Jones as a British National Treasure." - Locus
"Most adults with taste have been reading her books for years." - Good Book Guide

Okay, back to me now. This sounds good (and funny) already, no? But if you look up the book summary, it's EVEN BETTER!! I won't recopy it, because people might start hating me for it, but I will state that one of the features included in the book is "A map (obviously)".

Needless to say, the end of my hour was killed off pretty quickly. I bought the book. It was five bucks (fine, 5.66$ with taxes), so no regrets - that's waaay affordable. I bought it and just sat down and started reading... and giggling so hard people must have thought I was completely, utterly nuts! - wait, I am that way already, aren't I? Oh well...
So yeah. AWESOME BOOK! It just makes my desire to go to the UK and give Diana Wynne Jones a huge-ass hug even greater! She is awesome, worship her like I do!

Oh, and buy the other two copies of the book if you can. It' really worth it!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Chapter 11 - In which Naria has no idea what title to give

Yeah, sorry about that. I wanted to call the chapter "in which a nice day was spent," but that's just too fromage for my taste. I did, however, have a truly wonderful day. I have a bit of a sore throat, which would put a damper on things on any normal day, but today was a really relaxing, enjoyable Saturday... so no harm done by the sore throat.

First things first. I did not sleep in today. So if any of you like to fancy that I enjoyed my day because of sleep you're... not entirely wrong. I woke up at 8:30 this morning, but I had a replenishing nap around three in the afternoon... Which was just really, really nice. But, aside from the nap...
I woke up at 8:30 this morning at at 9:00 I went out for breakfast with Michael to a small deli around the corner of our place. Since we decided to make it a nice day, we decided to eat out for breakfast, as we rarely ever do that.
After that, we went home and got ready for my photoshoot. That's right, a real photoshoot! I have recently put up my modelling profile and a photographer contacted me for a shoot. It wasn't a paid shoot - sadly - but as I am still a beginner, I don't mind. Eventually, I'll ask for a salary. But I can still do a few shoots for free to embellish and perfect my portfolio. It was a really cool shoot. Remember the medieval gown of awesomeness?? Yup, that's right! It was a shoot all about that dress!! We shot at a super nice location in Westmount, close to the mountain, where there are these really nice old buildings made of stone... the gold and red of my dress really popped against that scenery! It was GREAT!! As for my hair, I "italian taped" two strands on either side with some ribbon... it looked really pretty. It reminded me a little of Juliet in some classic presentations of Shakespeare's famous (cheesy) tragedy. (No offence, Will Shakespeare! I love your work, but seriously - you could have done better on R&J, they are the two biggest twats in the history of theater!)
Okay... I'm veering severely off course just now... ^__^ To get back to the shoot, it was really fun. Quite short and sweet to be honest: we only shot for about an hour, max an hour and a half. Unfortunately, it turned bloody cold. Considering yesterday was about 10 degrees and today was windy and overcast (and slightly rainy) with only 5-6 degrees celcius... I sorta froze my cute butt off. But it was well worth it. I think we did some good work. I'll post some pictures up soon (we need to take out some anachronisms (i.e. cars and streets lights) out of the background). Too bad it was so cold or I think I could have done the shoot even longer!
Then I got home and had a nice long nap... of two hours I think...
And then I found this online, careful, fashionistas and fans of vintage clothing: you may have to severely squee upon seeing this website. This is my new website of what I want and covet: http://www.pinupgirlclothing.com/pinupgirsigl.html
Check out the evening wear, but the day wear - all the cherry clothes and sailor clothes - are my favs! Absolutely gorgeous! And they match some of my high heels too!! I totally want some of these dresses for the summer... *sigh* Why must I be so broke? *cries*

Anyhoots... conclusion of this extensive, yet wonderfully random post, I had a really great day today! <3

Friday, March 19, 2010

Chapter 10 - In which Naria is feeling rather frustrated

Yes, Naria has decided that, from now on, she will adress herself in the third person at all times...
No, we're just kidding: we will henceforth be using the royal plural on ourselves...

Okay, enough kidding around. I just didn't think that "In which I am feeling rather frustrated" made a good chapter title! Now give it a rest, thank you.

So, why am I feeling frustrated. Well, one, it could be because I'm in class and bored out of my skull - but that happens regularly and it doesn't frustrate me all that much... it makes me sleep, but no more. Which, incidentally, is why am blogging right now: I look like I'm taking notes, but my attention to the class has gotten lost somewhere in time-space continuum. Please don't hate me (should my professors stumble upon this page inadvertantly).

Anyhow... back to frustrations...

1. Apartment issues
Okay, I didn't have the chance to tell you yet that I have encountered the ABSOLUTE. WORST. DOUCHEBAG. ON. THE. PLANET!!!
He was the landlord of my dream apartment. Now, I must describe that apartment to you: large and beautifully spacious, windows in EVERY ROOM, the wall of the living area (living room, dining room, etc.) was LINED with windows and even had a door to a balcony!! The floors were hardwood. It had two closed bedrooms with large windows and closets and had two further closets, not including another linen closet, in the apartment. The ceilings where high, the walls where white... it was just gorgeous... Oh, and did I mention it was a NICE hardwood floor consistant throughout the apartment? None of those cheap looking parquet floors... The dining area was somewhat seperate from the really LARGE living room, though not seperated by an actual door and the kitchen was seperate from the dining area too. It had loads of cupboards, was a decent, real kitchen size, and had a DISHWASHER!!! The only not-so-nice thing about the apartment was the horrid wallpaper in the building's lobby: unchanged since the 1970s, it looked like someone had regurgitated their yohgurt parfait all over the wall... but otherwise, the place was clean, secure, and nice and at a GREAT location...
So, why didn't we get that apartment, because, BELIEVE ME, we wanted to... well, it's because the landlord refused to rent to us. He said, at first, that it is illegal for 3 people to reside in a 2 bedroom apartment. I knew that was bogus, as when I lived on Cote-des-Neiges with my dad, we were also 3 people in a 2 bedroom. So I called the Regie du Logement and checked. It is not illegal. In fact, Montreal law states that there can be up to 2 people per room (not bedroom, ROOM) in an apartment. That means we could have had 10 people in there before infringing any law. Of course, there is another, Quebec law, that states that the ammount of people in an apartment can be of any number, so long as every single person in the dwelling can live comfortably and in sanitary condition. Which in an apartment this size would definately have been the case for us 3. Now, Michael and I had our lovely roommate call the landlord (not letting him know she was with us) and enquire again about renting the apartment. He refused, saying, again, that renting to 3 people was illegal and that "THIS ISN'T STUDENT HOUSING."
WHO CARES??? I have lived in an apartment all year that ISN'T student housing! So long as we pay the rent, what's your bleeding problem??? Someone should surgically remove the metal bar rammed up your arse, mister! Anyways, the guy was a total jerk, he would cut accross us and never let us finish our sentences or let us explain that we had good references from other apartment owners. If I had the time to spare, I would try to bring him to justice.
But anyways, now that I know how the guy is, I wouldn't want to live in that apartment: the landlord is too much of a jerk.
So it's up to plan B: Margaret and Laura, two really good friends of ours, are moving out of their apartment because they were looking for a different place. Margaret has been living in said apartment for 2 years and there haven't been any problems with the landlord... And, talking on the phone with the landlord, we found out they were REALLY NICE. So we're thinking of taking over that place... It's right beside Berri-UQAM metro, so easy of access to a lot of stuff... but still, not as many windows as the dream apartment... *SIGH*

2. Job issues
I'm broke. And I hate it. It sucks. Why am I a student? It means you're permanently broke... Anyways, in order to solve the broke-ness of my wallet, I tried finding a job after Pirates of Penzance was over. Guess what? Nada! Niet! No jobs! No place is hiring, not even some sketch, skeezy, creepy stores on Sainte-Catherine. Trust me, I've checked! Nowhere is hiring, and I've failed to get into places where I've applied... How's that fair? I'm over-qualified for most of the stuff I apply for anyways... But it's not that that frustrates me (though the gaping hole in my wallet is DEFINATELY annoying me!)
I had applied to Air Canada, to become a Toronto based flight attendant for the summer. I got DISSED! They sent me an email saying that "they will proceed with more qualified candidates"... THE JERKS!!! They didn't even bother testing my language skills before passing judgement! And, believe me, I spoke better German than most people who showed up claiming to speak that language. It's not FAIR!! Why do I keep applying and showing up to their stupid hiring process every year if they complete ignore me, if they don't even TRY to see me for what I'm worth? I KNOW I could do the job! I KNOW I am probably more gifted with languages than a lot of those who show up... so WHY???????!!!!! Graaaarrrrrgh!!!

Okay.

I have vented now.

Sorry - this was a very angry post. Don't mind the caps lock... I wasn't screaming at any of you... my mind was just screaming at the jerks in the world...

*Deep breath* All better now... I think...

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

More Pictures...

Not much, just some more pictures of my dress... taken with a real camera.




New front views, taken with a flash camera in a well lit room. The colours really are that resplendants, so I thought I ought to post them.



A back view, just to let you know the gown has a bit of a train at the back...

So... yeah... that's my gown, for now. We'll see if I find some trims to add to the sleeve edges and neckline some other time.
I'm planning on sending it to a contest organized by Fabricville. Wish me luck! I do hope I win something... like a serger, maybe? :P



And good luck to you mom! I love you!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Chapter 9 - In which prayers are asked for

Hi to anyone out there.

I found this video - nothing new - simply Monthy Python, but, as we all know, Monthy Python is awesome. There's not much more than that to say. I'm sure that, when the Monthy Python crew has died, they will be second to God in heaven, as a team and make sure that the world looks like some huge themepark or something! :D
Anyways; here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M68GeL8PafE
Now, mum, I hope you'll read this. I know this video isn't exactly encouraging when thinking of doctors, but I wouldn't worry - so long as your surgeon doesn't have a moustache and a handkerchief on his head! (hihi) Ich druecke dir ganz, ganz fest die Daumen, und der Michael auch. Wir lieben dich und senden viele positiven Gendanken in deiner Richtung...

And now, for everyone else. Why do I ask for prayers? Well, my mum is getting operated tomorrow morning. I want the whole WWW to pray for her and for the team of doctors. As my mum said: we want to make sure they're all well awake during the surgery. Please, please, please people: I would be very greatful if your thoughts were with us on this! You know I would do the same... So keep my mum in mind tomorrow morning! Thanks.

And the last word today goes to... Bones. YAY TEMPE BRENNAN!!! My friend, Margaret, lent me the entire first Season DVDs. It's awesome! I love the series! Cool lines of dialogue and fun relationships between the characters. I'm really enjoying the series. Especially as I had never seen season 1. Oh, and Booth is awesome... really, really HOT!! XD

Anyways, remember to pray (or send vibes, or whatever you do depending on your beliefs) and I'll update again soon!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Chapter 8 - In which success has been achieved

Despite all my complaining, things are going well!! :D

I HAVE FINALLY SUCCEEDED COMPLETING MY MEDIEVAL GOWN!!! ADORE ME, FOR I AM AWESOME!! (no, really, I am!)


Front view of the dress, there is a red underskirt... I won't post the back view, as it's sort of boring. You can check out my facebook if you like.

So, I might add a trim or two to the neckline and the sleeve edges if I find a trim that pleases me. Also, I wanted to add fur trim to the bottom of the dress, but unfortunately I couldn't find a faux-fur that suited my taste (they only had fake leopard... and God knows that in the early 15th century, they had not the slightest clue of what a leopard might look like). I am super picky. Preferably, I'd have trimed it with real fur (rabbit - it's okay because people eat them, so I don't need to feel too bad): but, as a broke student, I don't exactly have the means to buy real fur. Result: no fur at all, at the moment. That can always be subject to change! :P

So, my dress is complete. I'm really happy with it, as I finished it in about three days, with only very minor swearing. It's also the first time I've ever worked with grommets. I feel good about myself. Success at sewing feels VERY rewarding.

Now, where to wear this? I really want to wear it to Casa Loma Renaissance Faire in Toronto, because Michael keeps talking about it and it sounds fun. I'd prefer wearing it to a Faire in Germany, but, alas! Germany is not for me this year. Once again, I'll be stuck working all summer *sigh*... and I was soooo looking forward to it too! *pout*

Anyways, I'm starting to not feel so desperate about my sewing skills anymore. It's fun. But I still need a serger!! Desperately!!!

And, with that said, my next project will be... an early Elizabethan gown!! Yay me and complex projects!!! :D
..... No, I'm not crazy! Why would you think that?

Friday, March 12, 2010

this isn't even worth calling a chapter...

Screw the dress form! I'll build myself a duct tape dress form!! Thanks Victoria! You're awesome! The advantage of the duct tape dress form is that it's about 20$-30$ instead of 200$ like a commercial one, it turns out... however, it is time consuming to make.
However, there is something I DO need... A SERGER!!
I NEED A SERGER! I WANT A SERGER! I NEEEEEEEEED A SERGER!!! I'm getting insanely irritated at how much my gorgeous gold brocade fabric is fraying!! Graaaah!!! Someone save me!!!
God! Please, have mercy and send me a serger!!! *cries in despair*
That's it.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Chapter 7 - In which a dress form is sorely needed...

This promises to be a short post...
I have (FINALLY) started sewing again, and the project I had started, to make a pretty medieval princess gown based on the Landshuter Hochzeit Princess costume, is now going very well. I was getting depressed, looking at my gorgeous gold brocade fabric and not doing anything with it. I'm sewing this gown for the Casa Loma Renaissance Faire... I know that late 15th Century is not quite Renaissance yet, but I was too scared to start on a Tudor gown yet. And I WANT to go to Casa Loma (Michael's been ranting waaaay to much about that faire!)
Btw: this is the Landshuter Hochzeit princess gown:
(I'm hoping to find some fake ermine for the bottom trim, the dress won't be identical, however, I'm kind of doing my own thing... this was just inspiration.)

Considering I'm still a beginner, sewing is going super well. However, there is one really ANNOYING problem. I don't have a dress form. Most people wouldn't see why that is a problem, but I ask you: have you ever tried to pin yourself into a floor length gown with a train? And, if you have, have you managed to do so WITHOUT stabbing yourself half to death? My sides and legs look like they had chicken pox!! Now, you might think it's dumb for someone to basically sew themselves into a dress, but, as it is very form-fitting, I don't have a choice if I want it to fit me well.
Conclusion? I NEED A BLOODY DRESS FORM!!!

Thank you! (sorry, I wasn't yelling at anyone... just venting some frustration through caps lock - it always makes me feel better... :D )

P.S. - My legs are finally feeling better and NOT sore!! Yay!!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Chapter 6 - In which there was curiosity and a mild offence taken

So, last evening, Michael introduced me to this weird thing called "chat roulette". It's basically a chat website with webcam, where you are connected to a completely random stranger and you can keep clicking and meet more completely random strangers. The point is - russian roulette with random strangers who are crazy enough to use this chat website.

Now, it is curiosity that led me to use this last night. It was funny. The first guy on the site I chatted with looked super uber skeezy... I mean, he was wearing sunglasses in the dark!! He turned out to be from Hamburg, Germany though and we spoke in German for the rest of the conversation. He was a really cool guy, and decent - which was a pleasant surprise!

And the following conversation is where it starts getting weird. This young guy, looking more decent than the first one, in a brightly lit room, looked about 14. His first reaction upon seeing me was: "you're pretty, show me your boobs." I told him it was a no and that I wouldn't show him in a million years. Why was that weird? Michael was sitting RIGHT BEHIND ME! The guy could see Michael in the webcam! And yet, he was determined to see my breasts! He kept asking Michael to "share the love". The guy looked no older than 14. Anyways, his effort should be commended, as he keept at it for about 20 minutes before I got tired and switched to the next random stranger the website would give me...

And this is the part where I got offended... or rather, didn't know how to react. The first things the next guy (he must have been 13 or 14! couldn't be older than that!) said was: "flash 'em granny!" - Needless to say that, as a 21 year old woman in the flush of her youth, I do not understand how he could have called me that. I LOOK NOTHING LIKE A GRANNY!! What a jerk... but it doesn't stop there. There was a 2 second pause after that first comment... and then the guy started giggling. "OMG" he repeated twice. "OMG: you're a dude!" And, grossed out, he disconnected. HOW THE F*CKING HELL CAN I BE MISTAKEN FOR A GUY!??! I clearly have a feminine figure, thank you!! *offended pout*

So I don't know what to make about that guy... I had another few conversations after him, some really nice, one that was really funny with a guy from Holland (he said that he worked in the wine industry and that he hoped that we were drinking wine out of our coffee mugs). Others, still, persisted in attempting to have a glimpse of my chest. They don't get that I have high standards... Oh, well...

But, seriousy... how can I be mistaken for a GUY??? *cries*

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Chapter 5 - In which there is much aches and pains

Ouch.
My quads hurt. My muscles are killing me!! T__T One of the great problems of student life is that people tend to hit the books, rather than hit the gym. Realizing this, and thinking my legs are too big for their own good, I decided to go to the gym with my mum yesterday, as she has a gym membership and had been insisting for months that I go with her...

So I went. With Michael. We did this super-intensive training class thingy... and now I'm in paaaaaain!!! My body is aching all over, screaming "why? WHY? WHYYYYY???" I haven't trained my body since the summer of 2008. My body is not very happy with me and it's taking revenge on me by making me feel pain at my every move... Sitting down is a real pain in the a**! And in the knees... XP

Also, I am still getting good comments on MM. It makes me rather happy. However, financially - I still totally need a job. I need money... I want to buy some new, awesome stuff, but I'm completely broke! 'S not fair!! T_T

Okay - I'm ranting again. (Note, Starwars ep 3 is playing in the background -Michael was watching it... God! Hayden Christensen SUCKS BALLS!! How could this guy ever be hired as an actor? It's offensive!! He's not even that cute so that his looks make up for his shitty acting! Then again, that Twilight dude is the same too... *sigh* where are all the good actors gone? - oh, and Darth Sithius is a dumb name!)
Anyhoos. I'm in pain. I applied (AGAIN) for Air Canada, to see if I will be a flight attendant or not. We'll know more tomorrow...

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Chapter 4 - In which there is some catching up to do

Sorry to anyone out there who might take an interest in my rantings!! Stuff came up and I didn't get the chance to post AT ALL though I wanted to. I have scribbled notes all over my Japanese notes of little quotes and things I wanted to post on my blog.

Life is going, relatively, well. Why relatively? Because my mum has had some recent health problems that concern me... a lot. I was really shocked, because I'm used to my mum being healthy like a bull. I could go into a rant about this, but every time I mention it, I get upset, so best avoid the topic at the moment.

Otherwise, though, life is good. Life is very, very good! ^___^ Michael, Vanessa (who is my friend and new roommate) and I have found our new apartment for next year. It is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! It is HUGE with lots of windows, a balcony, 5 closets and hardwood floors!! It's a little more expensive than where I life now, but totally worthwhile! The only disadvantage of the place is that the bathroom is a horrid pink colours... but, you know what, I think I can live with that!! (Let's hope my beloved Michael can survive it too... :P )
The apartment is located in a great, quiet, and lovely neighbourhood. It is really close to the school (about 10-15 minute walk if you walk at a comfortable pace), but it's a little bit of a hike, as it is halfway up the Mont Royal! However, this makes me very happy, as it means some daily exercise!! The building is also very secure, with cameras and stuff. The lobby is a little... uhm... a little bit of a turn-off really, as they haven't updated the wallpaper since 1970... It looks like someone regurgitated a wild-berry-peach mix yohgurt all over the wall. But, once inside the actual apartment, the walls are white and pretty - and we can paint 'em the colour we like!

Another thing (and I'm super giddy about this): I FINALLY HAVE MY MODELLING PROFILE!!! I feel so happy! I get lots of comments and people want to have me for their photoshoots! I feel prettier than I ever have in years!

And, before I go (as there is much to be done - homework, mostly) I just need to say one last thing about that prof that was mentionned in chapter 2. The other day, I was in class with that ignorant prof. She said that the gothic lolita style is inspired by - and I kid you not - "the 1920s high Victorian style". There are no words to describe how stupid this remark is. It was even in her slideshow of notes she showed the class!! 1920s and the Victorian era, especially fashion- and manner/habit-wise cancel themselves out. They are complete opposites! I have no IDEA what she was thinking!! Yes, there is some Victorian inspiration to the Gothic Lolita, but also some Edwardian, Roccoco, Medieval, etc. is thrown into the mix... there is no sign of the 1920s!!........... *deflates* Okay, enough said. This was one of the notes scribbled in my books... sorry!

I promise I'll keep up with my updates better from now on!