Tuesday (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} fiere) wrote,@ 2008-12-19 19:14:00 |
|
INTRODUCTORY POST
Well, sort of. It's actually more an amalgamation of friending policies, journal credit, what you can expect to read about here, and a whole lot of random facts about me.
firstly; credit; alter egos; friending; commenting; posting; language; slash; fandoms; me
firstly;
I was windblowntigres and cloudonmytongue before I finally settled on fiere.
icons;
If you see an uncredited icon that's yours, let me know and I'll credit you properly!
mood theme;
Affectionately titled "Spooge", my moodtheme contains bits and pieces of the following:
A fruit advertisement; a note from the Shoebox Project; pictures of the Lord of the Rings actors, Christina Ricci, Rufus Wainwright, James Marsters, the cast of Queer as Folk, Helena Bonham Carter, Kirsten Dunst, Natalie Portman, Drew Barrymore, Tori Amos, Mia Kirshner, The Libertines, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Alicia Witt and Anna Paquin; X-Men, Spiderman, Batman and Nemi comics; HP Puppet Pals; screencaps from the short film before Monsters Inc., Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Gangster No. 1, Legally Blonde and Velvet Goldmine; art by Scout, Lizard, Hibiscus, Amy Brown and Fu-ko Ueda; a painting by Frederic Leighton; a softer world; a drawing of Tori Amos; photography by Howard Schatz, Vava Ribeiro, Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz, Anette Aurell and Asya Schween; GettyImages; a cartoon by Kame; H/D Comic; icons of the characters in Seven More Years, That Was Then and This Is Now; and some lacking yaoi.
thanks;
To Gisken for the invite code (woo, old school!).
alter egos;
I really do love LiveJournal, which you can probably guess from the massive amount of accounts that I have. The main ones are my sporadically updated writing & art journal, one for NaNoWriMo, and one to keep track of books I read, shows and movies I see. I also used to have a private journal and a fangirling journal, but they were both spilling over into this one anyway. A complete list of my active accounts, LJ and otherwise, is here.
friending;
Once upon a time, I added absolutely everyone. Then my f-list grew to unmanageable proportions and I had to stop. I still add most people, and I don't mean to scare anyone away -- it's just not a personal thing if I don't add you in return.
(It works both ways, too: if I've added you, I don't expect you to add me back.)
This journal is more or less public. The only things I lock are posts containing photos, personal information (addresses and things like that), and, very occasionally, random rants that the world doesn't need to be subjected to. All posts before January 2004 are locked as well,so as few people as possible can see what a loser I am since I didn't have the patience to unlock further than that when I went public.
Comment and say hi if you do add me so I know you have!
(A slightly bitchier version of the above can be found here.)
commenting;
One day I'll flood your inbox with comments, and the next I won't comment at all.
If you're on my friendslist, I'm reading your posts. Period. One of the reasons I'm so selective in who I add is so that I can actually keep up with everything these people are up to. If I don't comment, it's because I can't think of anything coherent to say -- not because I'm filtering you out.
On the other hand, if you want me to stop spamming your journal, tell me and I'll do my best.
posting;
Okay, pay attention to this one: I post a lot. Again, this isn't always an issue -- I can go for weeks without posting -- but usually I post at least once a day, if not five times. If this bothers you, please take note of the words skim and defriend. Feel free to use either of those as much as you wish. (I know I would!)
content;
Here's a run-down of the sort of posts you can expect to find here:
1. RL posts: "Today I met A, B and C for a coffee. Here is a complete transcript of our entire conversation!" I try to avoid these because if you weren't there it's a bit boring, but they do happen. I use my LJ in place of my memory sometimes, so posts about trips and parties and things like that are usually pretty detailed. Posts about courses/grades/professors/etc fall into this category too.
2. Fangirling: "OMFG LOOK AT THIS VIDEO/PICTURE/NEWS STORY 8D" These posts show up a lot, and only one "rule" applies to them: If you don't like whatever I'm excited about and are unable to say so without being an asshole, I'd rather you stayed quiet. Fangirling (or -boying) along with me is obviously also awesome.
3. Halp: "I've been coding the same three lines of HTML for an hour and want to kill myself with a cheese grater, plz help." Some people, when they have trouble understanding something, will look to books or Google for help. I exploit my f-list. Point me in the right direction or laugh at me, whatever you prefer.
4. Pictures, and usually lots of them. Dial-up users (do you still exist?) should stay away from these.
language;
I'm fluent in English and Norwegian, but I know that not everyone reading this is. I try to stick to English most of the time, except when something would be completely irrelevant to non-wegies anyway.
spelling, grammar etc;
Bad spelling and grammar drives me insane, and I try my best to avoid it. If I make a mistake it won't be on purpose (thankfully, I have lovely friends that consider it their life's occupation to point out every single little thing). The two exceptions are when I write like dis lol omgwtf??!1 -- kindly do not take me seriously when I do this -- and I also have a LONG AND TORRID AFFAIR WITH MY CAPS LOCK KEY THANKS TO THESE THREE.
I enjoy using the words however, though, also, although, rather and er. I favour British spelling, having grown up in Canada. Also, due to myobsession interest in British literature, I use a lot of expletives and expressions that sound completely ridiculous coming from a non-Brit. Sodding git is the least of them. (My Scottish boyfriend cringes when I do this, but I can't help myself.)
I overuse emoticons, mainly because I'm paranoid about sounding harsh/critical/offensive when I'm just being sarcastic. My favourites & what I mean by them are:
:> - usually means I'm teasing or being sarcastic
:D - this really shouldn't need an explanation
:3 - teasing again, though more silly than sarcastic
8D or 8) - being a nerd and enjoying it
Though I definitely use more than just those. A lot of people feel that emoticons completely undermine the writer's authority and maturity, but I think we're well past that point anyway, don't you? Besides, I'd prefer being considered immature over being considered a bitch any day.
slash, homoerotica and so on;
I read slash. I draw slash. I write slash. I post about slash. I love slash. I am aware that this squicks a lot of people, and of course I don't mind if you're one of them and choose to skip those posts. I won't be posting slash-related things all the time, but it will occur quite often, so if you really can't stand it perhaps this journal isn't for you. Some of it involves real people, too, so the same warnings apply if that's not your cup of tea.
To be a little more specific, non-con and inter-species are my squicks. Everything else I'll read at least once.
fandoms;
Mainly Harry Potter, though I also dabble/have dabbled in, amongst others: Lord of the Rings, Narnia, X-Men, Dangerous Angels, Tipping the Velvet, His Dark Materials, Good Omens, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and bandom (The Libertines & Franz Ferdinand, mostly).
As I mentioned above, I'll slash just about everything, but my OTP is Remus/Sirius. ♥
me;
The short version: I'm a nineteen-year old girl. During the school year I live in Toronto, Canada. During vacations I live just outside Oslo, Norway.
The long version:
My first names are Linn Alexandra. I added Alexandra when I was fourteen after years of being jealous of my little brother, Henrik Alexander. When I was about four I asked my dad why Henrik had two names and I only had one. When he asked what name I could possibly want as a second one I replied "Alexandra!" (I think at this point Dad said something like "We'll talk when you're 30," and went back to reading the newspaper.) (This still happens quite often.) I have two last names, the first is my mum's and the second's my dad's.
Mum is from Oslo and Dad is from Toronto. They met in Malawi and got married in Greece. No, really.
I was born in Toronto, at East York General Hospital. I went to Bowmore PS from junior kindergarten until grade 4. I was the kid everyone hates, raising my hand to answer every question, doing independent projects in the library with the kids from the grades above me, and getting A's and A-'s in nearly every subject. (PE was never my strong side.)
I'm right-handed. I know an ambidextrous woman, which also happens to be one of the coolest words in existence, aside from that really long word that has "volcano" in it and means hiccup.
I became a big sister at the age of four. My brother and I went to the same school until I entered grade 12. We hardly ever fight, and if we do bicker it's because he's borrowed my computer without asking or I've borrowed his money without telling him. I still haven't reconciled myself to the fact that he's about two hairs away from being taller than me.
I've always loved McDonald’s food. It's not even a convenience thing; I honestly think it tastes good.
As a kid I was never afraid of worms, spiders and other creepy-crawly things. I thought this was normal until I told a friend of mine that I had something to show her, "something" being two handfuls of earthworms. As Dad still fondly tells dinner guests, "the poor girl ran screaming from the house, straight across the street and through her front door. We, well, we didn't see much of her after that." After I discovered that other kids didn't share my love for squishy, prickly, slimy things, I was constantly digging for worms to bring to class and stick in other people's faces. In that sense I suppose my parents succeeded in avoiding bringing me up as a "girly-girl"; that, and I know my way around a toolbox.
In general, I've always preferred boys to girls as friends. I say in general because many of my closest, most trusted friends through the years have been girls, but I would still prefer to be in a large group of boys. There tends to be less drama, for one thing.
Throughout my life I've collected stamps, rocks, snails (live ones), pressed flowers, those Spice Girls stickers you got in gum sticks, the boxes fake chocolate cigarettes came in, toilet paper, candy wrappers, shells, beach glass, straws, foreign money, Pokémon cards, various comic books, candlesticks and key chains.
The summer after grade four my family moved to Norway. Apparently, this had been the plan all along. Mum had agreed to move to Canada when she and Dad got married, but only on one condition: that we lived in Norway an amount of time equal to that which she had spent in Canada. She ended up living in Toronto for thirteen years, so we compromised and said we'd live in Norway for three, and then decide whether to stay or go. (Compromising isn't exactly a family trait.)
This was, at the time, a traumatic event. I was pulled away from my friends, my school and the house I had grown up in, and stuck in a country where I didn't know anyone save my family. I came directly from the wonderful world of North-American public schools to a Norwegian Waldorf school with wood floors, soft lighting, and no computers in sight. Mum had always spoken Norwegian to Henrik and me, so we understood it, but we answered in English and never wrote or read it, so both our spelling and pronunciation were horrible. My habit of flinging my hand into the air at the slightest twitch from the teacher earned me a bit of ridicule as well. After a while, I learned, and ended up making quite a few friends. Now I wouldn't give up these last few years for the world. By the time my brother finishes high school, we'll have lived in Norway for exactly thirteen years, so the deal worked out pretty well after all.
I've fractured my wrist twice in a week, but never broken a single bone in my body, fainted, been put under for an operation or been to Australia. The last one is the only one I wouldn't mind experiencing.
I went to a Waldorf School for grades five through eleven. (A crash course in the Norwegian school system: Grades 1 - 7 = primary school. Grades 8 - 10 = "youth school". Grades 11 - 13 = high school.) For grades twelve and thirteen, I did the IB program (International Baccalaureate), an experience I would probably not repeat, given the chance to go back in time, if it wasn't for all of the amazing people I met because of it. I met my current boyfriend there, for one thing; it's kind of hard to argue with that.
If anyone understands the IB system and is curious, I took English A1, Norwegian A1 and History at High Level and Math Studies, Biology and Visual Arts at Standard Level.
I'm currently majoring in English literature and drama and minoring in art -- the last two being the practical sort of drama and art, not the kind you just read about -- at the University of Toronto. My best friend Una and I planned to do this way back in grade 9, and now we're here. Most people didn't expect us to even be friends after the craziness of high school. At this point the most likely career for me looks like something within web design or development, which has nothing to do with my chosen subjects. Whatever, a BA's a BA.
I've had several obsessions come and go, but the two that have stuck around are music and writing and reading (shh, they count as one thing).
I think my love of music started with my dad singing to me when I was still in my mother's stomach. Both he and Mum continued to sing me to sleep throughout my early childhood. I've always loved singing; from singing along with my parents to making several "bands" throughout primary school that broke up within a week or two to singing very loudly at any given time with my friends. My mirror has always been a very faithful audience. I go crazy if I can't have my music around me. My various music "periods" are, in order:
1. Whatever my parents were listening to. Crash Test Dummies, Alanis Morrisette, Jimmy Buffet, Sarah McLachlan, Anita Skorgan, Jewel, Jann Arden, Loudon Wainwright.
2. Early 90's pop. Ace of Base, Michael Jackson, Backstreet Boys, Hanson, Aqua.
3. Spice Girls. And only them. For a very long time.
4. Whatever "the cool people" (and I use that term loosely) were listening to. Britney Spears, Westlife, 5ive, N*Sync, All Saints. (I still listened to my Spice Girls music in secret, though.)
5. Whatever my boyfriend was trying to interest me in. J. Lo, Ja Rule, Jay Z, Snoop Doggy Dog, Puff Daddy and other hip hop crap. (Yes, I dated a rapper for about a month at one point. It's the bit of my limited dating history we don't talk about.)
6. I'm so emo hardxcore lol. Avril Lavigne, Pink, Linkin Park, Marylin Manson, Good Charlotte, Sum 41.
Now I listen to things like Tori Amos, Rufus Wainwright, Coldplay, The Libertines, Alanis Morrisette, Nirvana, Nerf Herder, Placebo, Sarah McLachlan, Maxïmo Park, Franz Ferdinand, Feist, Seth Bernard, Vienna Teng, Regina Spektor, Razorlight... and the list goes on. And on. And on.
As for the written word: I'm addicted to reading. I'm addicted to writing. As in seriously mind-numbingly addicted. Some of the results of this can be found here, although that's just the fanfiction. My original writing is limited to a handful of short stories, one half-finished 30K-word NaNoWriMo novel from 2004 and two 50K-word NaNoWriMo novels from 2005 and 2007, all heavily unedited. Hopefully some of them will eventually see the light of day.
Some of my favourite authors are Neil Gaiman, J. K. Rowling, Francesca Lia Block, Warren Ellis, Bruce Coville, Haruki Murakami, Sarah Waters, Alan Moore, and Edgar Allan Poe.
I started biting my nails at two years old, when my parents sent me to a daycare where they told you to shut up if you started crying. They took me out again after about a week, but the habit stuck. I seem to have finally managed to stop now, but we'll see. This is the fifth time I've tried to quit. I'm never touching drugs; I'd be in rehab for the rest of my life.
My family had a cat named Mamba from a few years before I was born until we moved. She couldn't come with us to Norway because of the quarantine laws, so a friend of the family in Toronto took care of her. She died of a stomach tumour a week before my grandpa (Dad's dad) died. In 2002 we got another cat, Tinkerbelle, from a shelter. She enjoys chewing my hair elastics to pieces and then hiding them under the bathtub. Eventually I'd like to get a big grey cat and a small black one, and name them Padfoot and Bellatrix Elladora Black. Yeah, I'm one of those people.
I'm addicted to chocolate and Coca-Cola. The only thing I hate more than Pepsi is Diet Coke and the various spin-offs thereof. (Diet Coke with Lime? Wtf were they thinking?)
My lucky number is nine. It was whatever my current age happened to be from when I was about five, until I stopped at nine.
I'm still afraid of the dark.
Posted; April 19th, 2004
Updated; July 22nd, 2008
Well, sort of. It's actually more an amalgamation of friending policies, journal credit, what you can expect to read about here, and a whole lot of random facts about me.
firstly;
I was windblowntigres and cloudonmytongue before I finally settled on fiere.
icons;
If you see an uncredited icon that's yours, let me know and I'll credit you properly!
mood theme;
Affectionately titled "Spooge", my moodtheme contains bits and pieces of the following:
A fruit advertisement; a note from the Shoebox Project; pictures of the Lord of the Rings actors, Christina Ricci, Rufus Wainwright, James Marsters, the cast of Queer as Folk, Helena Bonham Carter, Kirsten Dunst, Natalie Portman, Drew Barrymore, Tori Amos, Mia Kirshner, The Libertines, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Alicia Witt and Anna Paquin; X-Men, Spiderman, Batman and Nemi comics; HP Puppet Pals; screencaps from the short film before Monsters Inc., Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Gangster No. 1, Legally Blonde and Velvet Goldmine; art by Scout, Lizard, Hibiscus, Amy Brown and Fu-ko Ueda; a painting by Frederic Leighton; a softer world; a drawing of Tori Amos; photography by Howard Schatz, Vava Ribeiro, Steven Meisel, Annie Leibovitz, Anette Aurell and Asya Schween; GettyImages; a cartoon by Kame; H/D Comic; icons of the characters in Seven More Years, That Was Then and This Is Now; and some lacking yaoi.
thanks;
To Gisken for the invite code (woo, old school!).
alter egos;
I really do love LiveJournal, which you can probably guess from the massive amount of accounts that I have. The main ones are my sporadically updated writing & art journal, one for NaNoWriMo, and one to keep track of books I read, shows and movies I see. I also used to have a private journal and a fangirling journal, but they were both spilling over into this one anyway. A complete list of my active accounts, LJ and otherwise, is here.
friending;
Once upon a time, I added absolutely everyone. Then my f-list grew to unmanageable proportions and I had to stop. I still add most people, and I don't mean to scare anyone away -- it's just not a personal thing if I don't add you in return.
(It works both ways, too: if I've added you, I don't expect you to add me back.)
This journal is more or less public. The only things I lock are posts containing photos, personal information (addresses and things like that), and, very occasionally, random rants that the world doesn't need to be subjected to. All posts before January 2004 are locked as well,
Comment and say hi if you do add me so I know you have!
(A slightly bitchier version of the above can be found here.)
commenting;
One day I'll flood your inbox with comments, and the next I won't comment at all.
If you're on my friendslist, I'm reading your posts. Period. One of the reasons I'm so selective in who I add is so that I can actually keep up with everything these people are up to. If I don't comment, it's because I can't think of anything coherent to say -- not because I'm filtering you out.
On the other hand, if you want me to stop spamming your journal, tell me and I'll do my best.
posting;
Okay, pay attention to this one: I post a lot. Again, this isn't always an issue -- I can go for weeks without posting -- but usually I post at least once a day, if not five times. If this bothers you, please take note of the words skim and defriend. Feel free to use either of those as much as you wish. (I know I would!)
content;
Here's a run-down of the sort of posts you can expect to find here:
1. RL posts: "Today I met A, B and C for a coffee. Here is a complete transcript of our entire conversation!" I try to avoid these because if you weren't there it's a bit boring, but they do happen. I use my LJ in place of my memory sometimes, so posts about trips and parties and things like that are usually pretty detailed. Posts about courses/grades/professors/etc fall into this category too.
2. Fangirling: "OMFG LOOK AT THIS VIDEO/PICTURE/NEWS STORY 8D" These posts show up a lot, and only one "rule" applies to them: If you don't like whatever I'm excited about and are unable to say so without being an asshole, I'd rather you stayed quiet. Fangirling (or -boying) along with me is obviously also awesome.
3. Halp: "I've been coding the same three lines of HTML for an hour and want to kill myself with a cheese grater, plz help." Some people, when they have trouble understanding something, will look to books or Google for help. I exploit my f-list. Point me in the right direction or laugh at me, whatever you prefer.
4. Pictures, and usually lots of them. Dial-up users (do you still exist?) should stay away from these.
language;
I'm fluent in English and Norwegian, but I know that not everyone reading this is. I try to stick to English most of the time, except when something would be completely irrelevant to non-wegies anyway.
spelling, grammar etc;
Bad spelling and grammar drives me insane, and I try my best to avoid it. If I make a mistake it won't be on purpose (thankfully, I have lovely friends that consider it their life's occupation to point out every single little thing). The two exceptions are when I write like dis lol omgwtf??!1 -- kindly do not take me seriously when I do this -- and I also have a LONG AND TORRID AFFAIR WITH MY CAPS LOCK KEY THANKS TO THESE THREE.
I enjoy using the words however, though, also, although, rather and er. I favour British spelling, having grown up in Canada. Also, due to my
I overuse emoticons, mainly because I'm paranoid about sounding harsh/critical/offensive when I'm just being sarcastic. My favourites & what I mean by them are:
:> - usually means I'm teasing or being sarcastic
:D - this really shouldn't need an explanation
:3 - teasing again, though more silly than sarcastic
8D or 8) - being a nerd and enjoying it
Though I definitely use more than just those. A lot of people feel that emoticons completely undermine the writer's authority and maturity, but I think we're well past that point anyway, don't you? Besides, I'd prefer being considered immature over being considered a bitch any day.
slash, homoerotica and so on;
I read slash. I draw slash. I write slash. I post about slash. I love slash. I am aware that this squicks a lot of people, and of course I don't mind if you're one of them and choose to skip those posts. I won't be posting slash-related things all the time, but it will occur quite often, so if you really can't stand it perhaps this journal isn't for you. Some of it involves real people, too, so the same warnings apply if that's not your cup of tea.
To be a little more specific, non-con and inter-species are my squicks. Everything else I'll read at least once.
fandoms;
Mainly Harry Potter, though I also dabble/have dabbled in, amongst others: Lord of the Rings, Narnia, X-Men, Dangerous Angels, Tipping the Velvet, His Dark Materials, Good Omens, Pirates of the Caribbean, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, and bandom (The Libertines & Franz Ferdinand, mostly).
As I mentioned above, I'll slash just about everything, but my OTP is Remus/Sirius. ♥
me;
The short version: I'm a nineteen-year old girl. During the school year I live in Toronto, Canada. During vacations I live just outside Oslo, Norway.
The long version:
My first names are Linn Alexandra. I added Alexandra when I was fourteen after years of being jealous of my little brother, Henrik Alexander. When I was about four I asked my dad why Henrik had two names and I only had one. When he asked what name I could possibly want as a second one I replied "Alexandra!" (I think at this point Dad said something like "We'll talk when you're 30," and went back to reading the newspaper.) (This still happens quite often.) I have two last names, the first is my mum's and the second's my dad's.
Mum is from Oslo and Dad is from Toronto. They met in Malawi and got married in Greece. No, really.
I was born in Toronto, at East York General Hospital. I went to Bowmore PS from junior kindergarten until grade 4. I was the kid everyone hates, raising my hand to answer every question, doing independent projects in the library with the kids from the grades above me, and getting A's and A-'s in nearly every subject. (PE was never my strong side.)
I'm right-handed. I know an ambidextrous woman, which also happens to be one of the coolest words in existence, aside from that really long word that has "volcano" in it and means hiccup.
I became a big sister at the age of four. My brother and I went to the same school until I entered grade 12. We hardly ever fight, and if we do bicker it's because he's borrowed my computer without asking or I've borrowed his money without telling him. I still haven't reconciled myself to the fact that he's about two hairs away from being taller than me.
I've always loved McDonald’s food. It's not even a convenience thing; I honestly think it tastes good.
As a kid I was never afraid of worms, spiders and other creepy-crawly things. I thought this was normal until I told a friend of mine that I had something to show her, "something" being two handfuls of earthworms. As Dad still fondly tells dinner guests, "the poor girl ran screaming from the house, straight across the street and through her front door. We, well, we didn't see much of her after that." After I discovered that other kids didn't share my love for squishy, prickly, slimy things, I was constantly digging for worms to bring to class and stick in other people's faces. In that sense I suppose my parents succeeded in avoiding bringing me up as a "girly-girl"; that, and I know my way around a toolbox.
In general, I've always preferred boys to girls as friends. I say in general because many of my closest, most trusted friends through the years have been girls, but I would still prefer to be in a large group of boys. There tends to be less drama, for one thing.
Throughout my life I've collected stamps, rocks, snails (live ones), pressed flowers, those Spice Girls stickers you got in gum sticks, the boxes fake chocolate cigarettes came in, toilet paper, candy wrappers, shells, beach glass, straws, foreign money, Pokémon cards, various comic books, candlesticks and key chains.
The summer after grade four my family moved to Norway. Apparently, this had been the plan all along. Mum had agreed to move to Canada when she and Dad got married, but only on one condition: that we lived in Norway an amount of time equal to that which she had spent in Canada. She ended up living in Toronto for thirteen years, so we compromised and said we'd live in Norway for three, and then decide whether to stay or go. (Compromising isn't exactly a family trait.)
This was, at the time, a traumatic event. I was pulled away from my friends, my school and the house I had grown up in, and stuck in a country where I didn't know anyone save my family. I came directly from the wonderful world of North-American public schools to a Norwegian Waldorf school with wood floors, soft lighting, and no computers in sight. Mum had always spoken Norwegian to Henrik and me, so we understood it, but we answered in English and never wrote or read it, so both our spelling and pronunciation were horrible. My habit of flinging my hand into the air at the slightest twitch from the teacher earned me a bit of ridicule as well. After a while, I learned, and ended up making quite a few friends. Now I wouldn't give up these last few years for the world. By the time my brother finishes high school, we'll have lived in Norway for exactly thirteen years, so the deal worked out pretty well after all.
I've fractured my wrist twice in a week, but never broken a single bone in my body, fainted, been put under for an operation or been to Australia. The last one is the only one I wouldn't mind experiencing.
I went to a Waldorf School for grades five through eleven. (A crash course in the Norwegian school system: Grades 1 - 7 = primary school. Grades 8 - 10 = "youth school". Grades 11 - 13 = high school.) For grades twelve and thirteen, I did the IB program (International Baccalaureate), an experience I would probably not repeat, given the chance to go back in time, if it wasn't for all of the amazing people I met because of it. I met my current boyfriend there, for one thing; it's kind of hard to argue with that.
If anyone understands the IB system and is curious, I took English A1, Norwegian A1 and History at High Level and Math Studies, Biology and Visual Arts at Standard Level.
I'm currently majoring in English literature and drama and minoring in art -- the last two being the practical sort of drama and art, not the kind you just read about -- at the University of Toronto. My best friend Una and I planned to do this way back in grade 9, and now we're here. Most people didn't expect us to even be friends after the craziness of high school. At this point the most likely career for me looks like something within web design or development, which has nothing to do with my chosen subjects. Whatever, a BA's a BA.
I've had several obsessions come and go, but the two that have stuck around are music and writing and reading (shh, they count as one thing).
I think my love of music started with my dad singing to me when I was still in my mother's stomach. Both he and Mum continued to sing me to sleep throughout my early childhood. I've always loved singing; from singing along with my parents to making several "bands" throughout primary school that broke up within a week or two to singing very loudly at any given time with my friends. My mirror has always been a very faithful audience. I go crazy if I can't have my music around me. My various music "periods" are, in order:
1. Whatever my parents were listening to. Crash Test Dummies, Alanis Morrisette, Jimmy Buffet, Sarah McLachlan, Anita Skorgan, Jewel, Jann Arden, Loudon Wainwright.
2. Early 90's pop. Ace of Base, Michael Jackson, Backstreet Boys, Hanson, Aqua.
3. Spice Girls. And only them. For a very long time.
4. Whatever "the cool people" (and I use that term loosely) were listening to. Britney Spears, Westlife, 5ive, N*Sync, All Saints. (I still listened to my Spice Girls music in secret, though.)
5. Whatever my boyfriend was trying to interest me in. J. Lo, Ja Rule, Jay Z, Snoop Doggy Dog, Puff Daddy and other hip hop crap. (Yes, I dated a rapper for about a month at one point. It's the bit of my limited dating history we don't talk about.)
6. I'm so emo hardxcore lol. Avril Lavigne, Pink, Linkin Park, Marylin Manson, Good Charlotte, Sum 41.
Now I listen to things like Tori Amos, Rufus Wainwright, Coldplay, The Libertines, Alanis Morrisette, Nirvana, Nerf Herder, Placebo, Sarah McLachlan, Maxïmo Park, Franz Ferdinand, Feist, Seth Bernard, Vienna Teng, Regina Spektor, Razorlight... and the list goes on. And on. And on.
As for the written word: I'm addicted to reading. I'm addicted to writing. As in seriously mind-numbingly addicted. Some of the results of this can be found here, although that's just the fanfiction. My original writing is limited to a handful of short stories, one half-finished 30K-word NaNoWriMo novel from 2004 and two 50K-word NaNoWriMo novels from 2005 and 2007, all heavily unedited. Hopefully some of them will eventually see the light of day.
Some of my favourite authors are Neil Gaiman, J. K. Rowling, Francesca Lia Block, Warren Ellis, Bruce Coville, Haruki Murakami, Sarah Waters, Alan Moore, and Edgar Allan Poe.
I started biting my nails at two years old, when my parents sent me to a daycare where they told you to shut up if you started crying. They took me out again after about a week, but the habit stuck. I seem to have finally managed to stop now, but we'll see. This is the fifth time I've tried to quit. I'm never touching drugs; I'd be in rehab for the rest of my life.
My family had a cat named Mamba from a few years before I was born until we moved. She couldn't come with us to Norway because of the quarantine laws, so a friend of the family in Toronto took care of her. She died of a stomach tumour a week before my grandpa (Dad's dad) died. In 2002 we got another cat, Tinkerbelle, from a shelter. She enjoys chewing my hair elastics to pieces and then hiding them under the bathtub. Eventually I'd like to get a big grey cat and a small black one, and name them Padfoot and Bellatrix Elladora Black. Yeah, I'm one of those people.
I'm addicted to chocolate and Coca-Cola. The only thing I hate more than Pepsi is Diet Coke and the various spin-offs thereof. (Diet Coke with Lime? Wtf were they thinking?)
My lucky number is nine. It was whatever my current age happened to be from when I was about five, until I stopped at nine.
I'm still afraid of the dark.
Updated; July 22nd, 2008
