rionaleonhart | Entries tagged with university

Here is an actual conversation that occurred between me and my brother recently:

Riona: Goodnight, Fred.
Fred: Goodnight.
(Riona starts to leave the room, but something catches her eye and she pauses.)
(It is a long pause.)
Riona: ...Why is there a box of matches on the ceiling?
(pause)
Fred: I don't know.
(pause)
Fred: Maybe it'll set fire to the ceiling. While you're pinned to it.
(pause)
Fred: I can't help you with every problem, Harriet.

While we're on the topic of weird conversations, an exchange between me and my housemate when I was living in university accommodation:

Matt: (drinking, frowns) Drinking acidic fruit juice probably isn't all that good for an upset stomach, is it?
Riona: Maybe not. (pause) You should drink bleach.
(pause)
Matt: I should pour this over your head.
Riona: It's an alkali! It makes sense! On some level, it makes sense!
(pause)
Riona: The level on which you're immune to bleach poisoning.
(pause)
Matt: The level of not true?

(My other brother later removed the matchbox. As it turned out, it had been fastened to the ceiling with double-sided sticky tape.

As it turned out, double-sided sticky tape can bring down a fairly large chunk of paint.)

(EDIT: ...what the hell, Livejournal dating system, it is not the twenty-fourth of September. Is - is it?)

I HAVE OFFICIALLY FINISHED MY FIRST YEAR OF UNIVERSITY, GUYS.

IT IS TIME TO CELEBRATE.

STRIKING FEAR INTO THE HEARTS OF BEASTS

THIS IS HOW I CELEBRATE, OKAY.

Who is going to make Final Fantasy-themed photomanips in the comments for me? (HINT: THE ANSWER IS YOU.)

Today's photomanip theme unintentionally brought to you by

meta_sandwich.

I JUST HAD A GIRL FROM MY COURSE OVER AND WE COOKED DINNER AND JUST-ONE-MORE-EPISODED OUR WAY THROUGH THE FIRST DISC OF SUPERNATURAL.

This totally warrants allcaps. I am insanely awkward around people in real life (and also cannot cook), so this feels like a gigantic social achievement. (She had never seen Supernatural before, and now she desperately wants to watch more! VICTORY. Also, at one point she observed that Dean Winchester sort of looked like Richard Hammond. It is obviously the eyebrows.)

Sam/Jess seems to become a little cuter every time I watch the Pilot, which is something I didn't really anticipate but certainly have no objection to. And I find it incredibly difficult to watch the Winchesters without exclaiming 'I LOVE THEM SO MUCH' about twice an episode, which is something I should probably try to keep under control when watching in company. (It distresses me more than it should when horrible things happen to them, and horrible things happen to them all the time.)

Also, I saw 'Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things' yesterday, and now my mind is pestering me with snippets of appalling necrophilia fanfiction. STOP IT, MIND. If you wanted to show me that there are worse things than writing Sam/Dean, you have succeeded! Please return to the relative normality of the incest.

I have now watched 'Salvation', and it is such a struggle not to move straight on to 'The Devil's Trap'. I HATE YOU, SELF-IMPOSED EPISODE RATIONING. Oh, well, I'll just watch the 'Previously On' set to 'Carry On Wayward Son' over and over again. Shut up; you know it's awesome.

(Oh, Dean, you and your obsessive to-the-exclusion-of-all-else love for your family. It is so very unhealthy, but it is also so beautiful. And I can't really blame you, because I appear to have a slightly worrying obsession with your family as well.)

I have just discovered 'What if the Mary who wrote the letter to James Sunderland were actually Mary Winchester? HILARIOUS MISUNDERSTANDINGS FOR ALL' written in the notebook I keep beside my bed for deranged late-night fanfiction ideas. No, self, that's stupid. Also stupid is the fact that I cannot watch Sam having one of his painful visions without thinking of him as Harry Potter when Voldemort is nearby. WHY MUST MY CROSSOVER-ORIENTED BRAIN DESTROY EVERYTHING? (Actually, that Voldemort one is mainly the fault of icon number twenty-four in this batch. It is absolute genius, but it is also completely tension-ruining. (Number seven makes me think of John Winchester as James Sunderland, for some reason, which is a direction in which I really do not want my mind to go. But my 'MARY WINCHESTER WROTE THE LETTER' idea was already sort of going there, I suppose. Oh, dear, I do not want this to become as firmly established in my mind as the image of Sam and Dean in Team Rocket uniforms.))

Regarding my worries about having somewhere to live next year: a fellow English Language student has said that I may be able to rent her daughter's room if said daughter moves away for her studies. It's not a sure offer, but it is an offer, and I am sort of incredibly touched by it.

Earlier today, I was feeling fairly miserable; I was thinking about the fact that I don't really have anyone I can consider a friend at university, and that I'm so terrified of everyone that it took me four hours of hiding in my room, absolutely starving, before I could work up the courage to go into the kitchen and cook my supper when there were strangers in there.

And then the quiet girl to whom I had barely spoken came into the stranger-filled kitchen and put her food into the fridge, looking as unnerved as I had felt, and I took heart from this and told her about my four hours of pathetic nervousness and asked her whether she watched Torchwood, and she invited me into her room and let me watch it with her and we mocked the Torchwood team together.

Guys. Guys. I interacted with a real person.

I am so happy right now.

Also RHYS RHYS HEARTS FOR RHYS, and 'this is quite homoerotic' was brilliant. Jack/Rhys, anyone?

Current Mood: AWESOME

My lack of posting for the past few days can be blamed on panic over an essay and a test, both for today and both now finished. GLORIOUS FREEDOM. I'm not terribly happy with the essay, but the test (although I did run out of time on the last question) went better than I was expecting, and I genuinely believe that this can be attributed entirely to my receiving the following e-mail from

th_esaurus this morning:

HAY RIONA HAY HAY HAY
YOU HAVE GOT AN EXAM TODAY!
IT'S OKAY, IT'S ALL FINE
JUST REMEMBER TO GO ON TIME!
WEAR A SMILE, NOT A FROWN
GET THOSE ANSWERS WRITTEN DOWN!
MODERN ENGLISH IS A BLAST
TXT SPEAK, LOLCATS, IDIOMS PAST

IF YOU GET STUCK (UNLIKELY ANYWAY)
JUST WRITE ABOUT THE HOMOGAY!

I love my friends so much.

You know 'Talk Like a Pirate Day' and 'Talk Like a Hypello Day' and 'Talk in Al Bhed Day', which I've never heard of but which probably exists? Why isn't there a 'Talk in Rhyming Couplets' day? Actually, scratch that: why don't we just talk in rhyming couplets all the time?

(For those curious, the title of this entry is an anagram of 'Because Talking In Anagrams Would Just Be Frustrating'. SEE HOW PRODUCTIVELY I SPEND MY TIME WHEN I HAVE FINISHED MY WORK.)

I GOT AN 'A' FOR MY FIRST EVER ENGLISH LANGUAGE UNIVERSITY ESSAY.

HIGH-FIVE, YOU GUYS. HIGH-FIVE.

Seriously, that comment on the English Literature one made me utterly miserable and I was feeling terribly incompetent and wondering whether I had made a horrible mistake in thinking I would ever be capable of university-level work and now I cannot stop grinning. I can totally do this.

In other news, it sounds as if the Doctor is going to end up with so many companions next series that giving him the Top Gear team as well could hardly make a difference. Go on, RTD! Doctor Who has canonically been crossed over with Big Brother, What Not To Wear and The Weakest Link already; having the Top Gear trio show up wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

...actually, a Top Gear-crossover episode of Doctor Who isn't completely implausible, is it? They're both made by the BBC, after all, and Doctor Who has already showed its willingness to incorporate other programmes. It is highly, highly unlikely, and it is even less likely that Jeremy Clarkson will ever end up as the unfortunate Doctor's companion (oh, the Internet would absolutely explode and I would laugh so hard when I had been revived from my glee-induced unconsciousness), but it's not the stake-your-life-on-it never-going-to-happen scenario that, for example, the trio as House's underlings is.

You may think 'now that she's said that, the Top Gear trio are totally going to end up as House's underlings, aren't they?' That is, of course, exactly my intention.

THE WEEK OF A THOUSAND MINUS NINE HUNDRED AND NINETY-SEVEN ESSAYS IS OVER. JOY.

In my Approaches to Literary Studies seminar, one of my fellow students said, "So there aren't actually sexy times in The Prelude?" It was marvellous. Then someone made a truly terrible joke along the lines of "What do pirates drink? L-ARRR-GER", and I spent the rest of the seminar thinking about dreadful jokes (one of the highlights of my October was a series of 'bee jokes' batted back and forth between my brothers, beginning with the already fairly awful "Why do wasps buzz? Because they like to BEE annoying" and completely deteriorating to "Why do bears live in the woods? BEE-cause... they can") and bursting out laughing at inappropriate moments. LOOK, THE WORSE A JOKE IS THE MORE HILARIOUS I FIND IT. DON'T JUDGE ME. IF YOU WANT TO TELL ME SOME REALLY BAD JOKES, FEEL FREE.

(I love my Approaches to Literary Studies seminars. We always end up getting completely sidetracked and discussing the similarities between Hamlet and The Lion King.)

Also, I am catching up on Series Four of House - I've just watched the fourth episode of the series - and I have developed a distinct fondness for Thirteen. She sort of reminds me of Cameron, back when Cameron was lovely. PLEASE DO NOT RUIN THIS ONE, HOUSE WRITERS.

This morning, I was feeling stressed and panicky about my essays and generally fairly miserable.

And then I saw a seagull snatch a man's food out of his hands, devour it in front of him, and then sit there smugly while he stared at it in horrified disbelief for a good twenty seconds. It brightened my day immeasurably. (That sounds a bit Schadenfreudish, doesn't it? It just seemed extremely amusing at the time.)

Also, I have decided to switch essay questions for Literature! This does mean that I have to start from scratch, and the deadline is about twenty hours away, but it has the huge advantage of meaning that I now actually understand what I'm supposed to be writing my essay about. And I may be able to include discussion of the Unexpected Mansnogging in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight! Thumbs up!

I've written a thousand words of Thursday's essay, too. They only need to be 1,500 words long. I - I might be able to do this?

(P.S. I love you guys and your stories of videogames creeping into your lives. You are all so wonderfully insane!)

Regarding Episode Five, Series Ten of Top Gear: asfdjkgjhfdjhfgh, I need to write so much Richard/Oliver.

Except I don't; what I need to do is write two essays. LOOK, RIONA, I KNOW YOU LIKE TO RELAX AFTER COMPLETING AN ESSAY, BUT YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO WHEN YOU STILL HAVE ONE DUE IN ON WEDNESDAY AND ONE ON THURSDAY. THE ESSAY FOR TOMORROW ISN'T EVEN PROPERLY FINISHED. CALL THAT A CONCLUSION?

It doesn't mean I wouldn't like to write lots of silly man/car fiction, though. (No! I must be strong!)

Still, the episode was a little island of joy in the midst of all the panicking. Richard's beautiful love for Oliver never fails to make me smile, and it becomes even better when the other two are mocking him for it. Also, the Stig being confused and alien is adorable, and I found the 'big red car' unaccountably hilarious.

(It's November, Riona. NaNoWriMo participants are writing thousands of words a day. You can manage two essays.)

Remind me to write huge amounts of man/car fanfiction when this academic nightmare of a week is over.

I am supposed to be reading the 1799 Prelude and one of its later (and much, much longer) revisions this week. I have been neglecting this somewhat, because dude, three essays, The Prelude can wait (NO, OBVIOUSLY UPDATING MY LIVEJOURNAL CANNOT, ahahaha oh dear I'm such a bad student), but I found this part at the beginning of the 1799 version and felt compelled to share it with you:

Sometimes strong desire
Resistless overpowered me, and the bird
Which was the captive of another's toils
Became my prey; and when the deed was done
I heard among the solitary hills
Low breathings coming after me, and sounds
Of undistinguishable motion, steps
Almost as silent as the turf they trod.

WORDSWORTH IN SILENT HILL, YOU GUYS. I shouldn't be allowed near, well, anything. Is there anything at all in my life that Silent Hill hasn't crept into somehow?

It is poll time!

Yes, I know, you're thinking 'Oh, God, she's going to ask "with which member of your flist would you be most likely to have a passionate affair?"'. But no! Because this is not one of those Random Inappropriate Question polls; it is research.

Basically, in two weeks' time I am going to be called upon for a presentation on the different meanings of the word 'mad'. So I have decided to gather data to help me get my thoughts in order. If you could help, that would be fantastic.

This is a truly crap poll. I apologise for that. If you find it too boring, I suppose you could tell us all which member of your flist you would like to have a passionate affair with instead.

[Poll #1073468]

Also, could a resident of the US possibly tell me in the comments whether 'mad' is commonly used to mean 'insane' over there? For a long time I was under the impression that 'mad' was only used to mean 'angry' in Americaland, but I've been uncertain lately. Presumably the 'angry' meaning came from the 'insane' one - after all, we say 'it's driving me insane' (or, indeed, 'driving me mad') to mean 'it's making me very angry' - but has it entirely supplanted it?

Thank you so much!

There was a guy with a Griever necklace in my Approaches to Meaning in English lecture. I stopped him on his way out and told him how awesome he was and asked him where he'd got it from and generally made a complete prat of myself, but I have an excuse, and that excuse is Griever necklace.

Also, I have got more post, because you are all ridiculously lovely. I will talk about it under the cut, because I imagine most of you are fed up with my 'eeeeee, post!' entries by now.

( Squeeing about post from draegonhawke, reipan and twilit_wanderer. )

I have realised, rather to my alarm, that the way in which I write Balthier can sometimes make him sound very similar to the Master. I'll have to make them meet at some point and see what happens. (If Balthier hadn't been a hero, he could have made such a good villain.)

During a conversation about societies at the university, and more specifically about the Pirate Society (no, really):

Hamish (a Computer Science student and one of the very few people at the university with whom I have actually had any social contact; yes, I am rubbish at meeting people): There should be a Zombie Society.
Riona: (immediately takes notice)

(You know, I actually wasn't that interested in zombies when I wrote the first fic involving Zombie Piers Morgan. Since I gained the (at the time entirely untrue) reputation of 'that girl with the zombie fixation' in the Top Gear fandom, I have been becoming more and more obsessed. Clearly, I need to get a reputation as 'that girl who can fly'.)

Hamish: Yeah; we could get guns and cricket bats and go out zombie-hunting.
Riona: Oh. I was thinking of ripping our clothes and putting on zombie make-up and walking around campus like this (attempts a zombie-esque walk).
Hamish: Yes!
Riona: We should have a zombie drill. Two or three people start out as zombies, anyone they touch has to dress up as a zombie, and we can see how long it might take for everyone on campus to be infected when there's an actual zombie attack.
Hamish: There'll be one guy who didn't hear about it and has no idea what's going on. He'll be hiding in bed, absolutely terrified, with the rest of the uni clawing at the walls.
Riona: So, how do we start the Zombie Apocalypse Society?
Hamish: You'll need to apply to the students' union for funding. You know, for make-up, prosthetics, fake blood...
Riona: Well, they can't turn us down, can they? We'd be doing the university a service.

My tea's gone cold; I'm wondering why
I got out of bed at all.
The morning rain clouds up my window
And I can't see at all
And even if I could, it'd all be grey,
Then I play my ukulele;
It reminds me that it's not so bad,
It's not so bad.

I am being perfectly serious when I say this: if you're ever feeling unhappy, buy a ukulele. I was having period pains and feeling panicky and homesick and the Internet wasn't working and the person I'd got on best with since arriving was unexpectedly called home for an indefinite period of time, and I cried for half an hour and then tried playing my ukulele. It did amazing things for my mood. Also, the Internet started working half-way through, which I have decided to attribute to my ukulele having magical powers.

Started crying again while typing this, played a bit more and now I'm fine! Seriously, it is the most effective antidepressant in the world.

So far, my Exciting University Adventures have included 'failing to buy a tea towel' and 'picking glue off the walls'. Thrilling! Also, I spent fifteen minutes last night trying to fry a piece of turkey on a part of the hob that wasn't actually turned on, as I have no sense of left and right and had therefore turned the knob labelled 'front right' and merrily started trying to melt the butter on the front-left heater. STOP LAUGHING.

I HAVE THE INTERNET.

The Internet-connection cable was being sold in the university bookshop, so obviously every student in Sussex had gone down there to buy it. When she realised that I was buying books as well as the cable, the assistant actually did a little flail. I immediately adored her.

I am in my room at the moment. It doesn't feel like home, but it doesn't feel like Hell, either. I haven't really got my head around the fact that I am actually going to be living here, but I think I might cope.

Last night, I met a girl who knew nothing about fanfiction but quickly became interested in the concept. Barely an hour after I had started explaining it to her, we were discussing the possibility of the Master raising a Jigglypuff while hanging out with Professor Moriarty. I don't think starts get much more auspicious than that.

I love you all so much.

In two days, I set off for my new home at the University of Sussex.

I am so incredibly not ready for this it's unbelievable.

Sage advice, survival tips, fanfiction about Jeremy Clarkson making a bigger cock-up of going to the University of Sussex than I ever could and 'hey, I live within hugging distance of where you're going to be!' would all be much appreciated. Unless I don't know you at all, in which case the last of those might unnerve me slightly.

Should I bring a TV? Apparently the reception on campus is fairly poor, and I wouldn't like to fork out a hundred and forty pounds for a TV licence only to discover that the television is unwatchable. Maybe I should wait to see whether the other residents are having problems.

ALSO AAAAAAAAAAAAAH.

Profile

Riona

AO3

Trabia Garden

Entries tagged with university

The Invisible War.

"Not Like Any Wendigo I've Ever Seen."

It's Your Grief Counsellors; We've Come To Hug.

Dean Winchester Has Issues For The Whole Family.

Am I Dramatic?

A Futurist Bed Just Masking An Ascertainable Gnu. Growl.

It Takes Decades To Fully Evolve A Time Lord Type.

Pedantry High-Five!

All I Need Is For My Entire Flist To Perform A Beautifully Choreographed Cheerleading Routine.

I'm Not Even Sure You Understand The Literature Question.

You Know The Furies Made Orestes Hallucinate His Way Through Silent Hill.

Exciting Language Adventures!

Don't Listen To Ondore's Lies!

Yes, I Expect You To Do This In Your Own University.

Still Can't Play Without Damaging My Wrist, Though.

Also, Robot Dorothy.

WHERE DID A YEAR GO?

Profile