Christmas Tree Quilt

Christmas Tree Quilt

My mom made me a quilted Christmas tree to hang on my apartment wall, since there was no space for a real 3D version of a tree. It's complete with normal lights and ornaments!

I photoshopped out the background (our messy hallway, the lightswitch, the electrical plug, and the Japanese flashcard-esque notes taped to the wall) so that you can focus on the prettiness of the quilt, rather than the weirdness of my apartment.

My mom and I are rather proud of this particular quilt. I designed it (sketched a miniature version, then did a full-size semi-colored pattern of it), and my mom pieced and quilted it. We picked out the fabrics together.

I've been evil and modified the date of this post to reflect when I actually received the quilt and took pictures of it. I can do such things. Muahaha!

Categories: quilting, photos

Friday 3000

You see that? Yes, that means I wrote (more than!) 3000 words today. In the Arthaey-time sense of "today," which means Friday because I haven't gone to bed yet. I still have to write a ton more to be an official winner, but it's okay. :)

The Squirt and I have, sadly, already discussed that we could at least call ourselves only semi-loser if we finish at the 50k mark with 31 days of starting. Let's see, that would be... *does calculations* Sunday, December 21st. On the 22nd, we become total losers, if we don't have 50,000 words in hand.

Nothing like a deadline and competition to push you to do craziness! ;)

Woot!

Woot, I say! Back on the writing horse. Or something like that. I wrote 2595 words today, which is the most I've written in one day since I started this craziness. The Squirt and I went to two local cafés (their winning quality was not quaintness, but rather free wireless internet access; we have our priorities). She was kind enough to let me use the laptop while she wrote out her story longhand, since she has almost twice my word count. Ah, to have as little homework as she has. :P

I'm only at a quarter of the total word count I need to accumulate by the end of the month in order to "win." I don't know if I'll actually get there by the 30th, but my spritits are high tonight and I'm hoping!

Now, how to sneak off to write while we're at my aunt's new house for Thanksgiving tomorrow...

Falling Behind

Between writer's block, homework, feeling sick, and getting sidetracked by creating a searchable online Asha'ille dictionary (!!), I'm very very behind on my word count for NaNoWriMo. At this point, I'm really counting on a sprint to the finish line this Thanksgiving break. You hear that, squirt? We must write! Write write write. (Well, you don't have to write. I do. ;)

Hope springs eternal! Here's lookin' at you, kid! Bottom's up!

Writing Muses

Writing Muses

The official NaNoWriMo book suggests wearing something to signify that you're in your Novel Zone. Some people wear funky fingerless gloves or plastic Viking helmets; I have my muses on my shoulders. That's a schnark and a glow-in-the-dark Devil Ducky, in case you couldn't tell.

I realized while reading the book that by the end of my first week of writing (which corresponds to the official Week Three, but who's counting?) I was starting to take my writing commitment too seriously. I had lost track of the fact that NaNoWriMo is supposed to be silly!

These guys are here to remind me, every time I turn my head. Also, one of 'em keeps insisting I kill off everyone, Orson Scott Card-style. I'll let you guess which muse suggests such things. ;)

Categories: writing, NaNoWriMo, photos

Jumpstart Writing via Book-Reading

I almost forgot I had one of my classes today 'cause I was thinking so much about getting home to do my NaNoWriMo thing. Noveling can be a dangerous thing.

For two days, I had a severe lack of self-control in making myself write. I managed a paltry 42 words in all of yesterday! Then, last night at B&N (after Farmers' Market, where I bought yumminess), I got the "official" NaNoWriMo book. I read a bit last night, and more today in class (yes, yes, I know that's bad ;). And suddenly I really wanted to write some more! Yay! I'm at 385 words in 20 minutes and counting. :)

I mean, how else am I going to catch up to my sister if I don't keep writing? How else can I find out what happens with Seiran and Reed and Chikaji? I must press onward.

Photos!

Look out, I may end up liking posting photos to my blog... It makes my blog look more lived-in, I think. :) And really, I don't think I *need* to be using Flickr at this point, but I'll keep it around for now. Maybe there's some benefit to having the account over just linking to images on my computer.

Strawbale Shack

Strawbale Shack

Around 15 people put up this small building in a few hours. It is a load-bearing structure whose walls are entirely bales of straw.

More testing. I attended a strawbale workshop (given by the Solar Living Institute) back in September. This is a photo of how the shack looked at the end of the first day. We plastered it the day after. Much fun.

Categories: strawbale, photos

Testing Flickr: My First Snowman

First Snowman

This is the first snowman I ever made. It was up in Oregon, at a friend's family cabin by Mt. Hood.

I've signed up for an account at Flickr, a photo blog thingy. Testing.

Categories: photos

Dragging Myself Onward

Drag, drag, drag... Oi, it's hard to write so continuously. I feel like I've been the the writers' gym after having been a writing couch potato for years, and now all my writing muscles (especially the ones in my brain) are sore. 5710 words so far... My sister is already past the 9k mark; 'grats, you. :)

But I'll make it! I will! I'm taking a walk now to get some breakfast and do some plotting, and then I shall write until classes at 3...

Password Protection

Vik'aenejiv iyari seni ne nanoraimo seni eg jhénela. Cha'gashav ... [explanation]

Or, in English:

My NaNoWriMo story has gone under password-protection on my own server now. Holler if you would like an account to read the story.

B?a Shar?dim

aenejiv ['enEdZIv] v. guard. from ineji.

gashav [gA'SAv] v. say loudly. from gir, shav.

iyari [I'jAr\I] n. giver; server (comp.). from i–i, arev.

Go sis!

Daedh emaelivejh pali'san seni ne nanoraimo! Jhor'no t'vae saea. Cha'lisev n'o. [explanation]

Or, in English:

My sister is writing a NaNoWriMo too! It's here. Go read it.

NaNoWriMo

I'm attempting NaNoWriMo; that is, to write a novel (50k words) by the end of the month. I started today, so I'll be pleased to get 25k. I have a new blog, On Eta Telourous X, where the story will be continually updated. It's a field journal of one of the first Terrans on Cresaea, so the post format of a blog works well with it.

I have an automatically-updating meter by Jeff Lee and a pretty graph by Paul Hawke off on the right, which do make things look crowded, but it's only until the end of the month.

Meeting & Greeting

— Jhor'aerdilsa t'aet.
— Kre'viken. Jhor'en i t'Arthei.
— T'ves jhor'en i t'Iyimadhi. Vel'geithesa jhurla.
— Daedh vo.

[explanation]

Or, in English:

The phone conversation only works for when the answerer actually does already know the caller. (The answerer calls the caller a "stranger" only because when he first picks up the phone, he doesn't know who it is. Zeijha, jhi jhor'Arthei implies that the answerer recognizes Arthaey.)

But what about if you meet someone you don't know? It would be weird for the conversation to go, "I don't know you." "I'm Arthaey." "Ah yes, so you are." if the first speaker didn't already know Arthaey. So how would that situation actually go?

— You are a stranger.
— No longer: I am Arthaey.
— And I am Iyimadhi. Hello, acquaintance.
— Same to you.

Answering the Phone

Aló, en'llavpeni ne ve adáshavon done ifoni vedá'asha ille vek'nes bichún kek. Chenil:

— Jhor'aerdhilsa t'aet.
— Kre, jhor'en i t'Arthei.
— Zeijha, jhi jhor'Arthei. Vo na no?

Daedh jhorjo'sarith niyen t'sshak jhor'aerdhilsa. Daedh sshak aerdhilsa.

Kal adáshav ne ifoni ne sshak jhurla hello ... <translation-laziness struck here>

Or, in English:

So I learned how to answer a phone in Asha'ille this morning. For example: /

— You are a stranger.
— No, I am Arthaey.
— Ah, yes, so you are Arthaey. What's up?

That first line could also be Jhor'aerdhilsa, or even just Aerdhilsa.

You can't answer the phone with jhurla hello, since in Asha'ille that only works when greeting someone you know. Jhurilla welcome also doesn't work — although perhaps your answering machine could welcome a caller, if you view the machine as more of a location than an entity.

Bía Sharídim

bichún [bi'tSun] morning. from bí'a, chuna.

fon [fon] phone. from phone (contributed by Aaron St. Ferret.

jhorjo ['Zor\dZo] could be. from –j–, jhor.

kal [kAl] not allowed, by convention (not a person). from *k.

niyen ['nijEn] line (of writing).

Testing

I'm just testing the BlogThis plugin for Firefox. Also, Firefox was being weird about not displaying anything in the edit textarea for my blog. Don't know what exactly in my cookies or cache was causing it, but Blogger Support was pretty prompt about getting back to me about my tech issue. Thanks, anonymous Blogger employee(s)! :)

Blog Relocation

I'm hosting my own wiki now, so my blog will now be a part of that. Here's a direct link to it.

Moved to a New Apartment

Ajhar, asardav n'i t'mlen i ejh ne chiyuna cresin sejhim 'da bí'a. Mmavtecim mlejhim illenim 'sa aeg ne das nom; vik'keyevotejhim n'om... [explanation]

Or, in English:

Yay, I've moved in to my new apartment with my boyfriend. Three of our friends help us move all the stuff in; now we have to unpack it...

Bía Sharídim

chiyuna [tSi'jun@] temporary. from chi, chuna

chiyuna cresin apartment.

keyev [kE'jEv] uncontain. from kre, e–e

Gmail!

Sirevni ne Gmailith velane 'sa dibía! Ajhar! Illev ne Google, chenil. Zeijha vep'jhor en'i t'i Blogger i. [explanation]

Or, in English:

I have a beta Gmail account! Woohoo! I love Google, y'see. Yay for being a Blogger member.

Bía Sharídim

ajhar ['AZAr\] woohoo. from jhelle, –ar

dibía [di'bi@] beta. from di'ay, bía

velane [vE'lAnE] account (e.g., e-mail). from "Vla!"

New Job

Vik'nechuna ne sarith runa! Nyal, jhor'n o gir'deth t'arishavon ne omaenom, t'lisevon ne ashámaenim, t'en llavon ne mlas jhorním rojh. Teir éjhillevni ne jhi tanoravon (--)... [explanation]

Or, in English:

First day of work today! Unfortunately, it mostly involved filling out forms, reading documentation, and learning everyone's names. I hope I enjoy the actual programming once I get to it...

Bía Sharídim

ashámaen [A'SAmen] n. written explanation, documentation. from ashav, emaen

deth' [dET] adv. half, partially. from demi

jhorní [Zor\'ni] n. name. from jhor'en i, compare to lnar

nyal [njAl] interj. unfortunately, shucks. from nyaiye, –l

omaeno [o'meno] n. anything written with pieces meeting. eg, form, questionnaire, quiz, exam.... from emaen, o

runa ['r\un@] n. work-time. from ruriv, chuna

tan [tAn] n. force, control. from –t–

tanorav [tAno'r\Av] v. program. from tan, lorán. lit. control lorán

Cheese

Pas emaelivleni mlen'i ejh ne ssha imadh'illevimadhnilimadhejh imadh sshak. Jho... [explanation]

Or, in English:

My boyfriend wrote to me, "Cheesily the cheese — the cheese and I — love you and the (other) cheese." Yes...

Bía Sharídim

Imácata [i'mAcAtA] a region of Cresaea. from imadh, catán

Imácatash [i'mAcAtAS] the dialect of Asha'ille spoken in Imácata. from Imácata, shav

jho [Zo] yes..., right.... from jhi

Grammar note: Apparently he speaks a dialect of Asha'ille (let's call it Imácatash) that allows dropping the ve. He also uses nouns (strictly speaking, narídim) as conjugations. How very interesting. ;)

Friends' Blog Links

Jhor'lomaelim t'vae shalthanim so'illenim. Kyar'lisevdas n'o, t'ves daed n'o seni.... ;) [explanation]

Or, in English:

Blogs are where friends' links belong. Not that anyone is going to read them, or mine either... ;)

Bía Sharídim

kyar- [kjAr\] when applied to a verb, it signifies "negative hypothetical". (existing word, new meaning)

Small Update

Asardav ne bí'a shalthanim. Cha'kénillev. [explanation]

Or, in English:

New links added. Go look.

Just Read! Lesson 02

Jhor'eyen lle te:

- Jhor'nes aerdhisa t'noh.
- Jhor'n es t'Jan.
- Na Jin.
- Jhor'Jan t'chi sarn.
- T'ves jhor'nes aerdhida t'noh.
- Jhor'n es t'Meri.
- Jhor'no t'chi sin.
- Jhi, jhor'no t'chi san.

- Énillev Jan na ajhejh.
- Jhi énillev ne gir'ejhejh.
- Daedh vo Mari na ejhejh.
- Kre, kr'vo ne ejhejh. Vo ne migrá.
- Vep vo na migrá.
- Vep'jhor aerdhida t'bored.
- Because she is bored.
- Is she really bored?
- Jhi jhor.

- T'jhor Jan t'vae.
- Jhor'Jan t'vae saea.
- Zeijha, jhi. Jhor'Jan t'vae saea. Jhor'Jan Meri t'illem a.
- Jhi jhor'aerdhisom t'illem.
- Jhor'nom t'iyen llem.
- Jhi, jhor'Jan t'iyen lli, t'ves daedh jhor'Meri t'iyen lli.
- Jhor'en llath enfeiran t'vae lesh saea kae.
- Jhi jhor. Vik'kret Jan Meri kr'vae en'llath enfeiran kae kik.
- Vep nom kr'vae en'llath enfeiran kae.
- Vep'jhor viken t'aruna.
- Ojo jhor'viken t'aróth alunun jhi.
- Jhi, jhor'viken t'aróth. Kret'jhi daedh jhor'no t'aruna.
- Zeijha. Ajho, jhor'geithesa aet t'noh.

Or, in English:

The lesson reads:

- Who is this?
- This is John.
- Who is John?
- John is a boy.
- And who is that?
- That is Mary.
- Is she a girl?
- Yes, she is a girl.

- Is John happy?
- Yes, he is very happy.
- Is Mary also happy?
- No, she is not happy. She is angry.
- Why is she angry?
- Because she is bored.
- Is she really bored?
- Yes, she is.

- And where is John?
- John is here.
- Oh, right. John is here. Are John and Mary friends?
- Yes, they are friends.
- Are they students?
- Yes, John is a student, and Mary is also a student.
- Is there a school near here?
- Yes, there is. But John and Mary are not at school now.
- Why aren't they at school?
- Because it is early.
- Isn't it sunny?
- Yes, it is sunny. But it is still early.
- Ok. Who are you, by the way?

Bía Sharídim

aruna [A'r\un@] early. from aró, chuna

viken ['vIkEn] now, as a point in time. It can be described by any condition, including time or weather. from vik, *env

Just Read! Lesson 01

UniLang Wiki. Jhor'eyen lle t:

Jhor'Jan t'vae saea.
Jhor'aerdhisa t'chi.
Jhor'no t'enire.
Jhor'no t'chi t'enire.
Jhor'Meri t'vae kasaea.
Daedh jhor'aerdhisa t'chi.
Jhor'no t'kr enire.
Jhor'no t'yimóth.
Jhor'no t'vastille.

Énillev Jan ne ejhejh.
Kr'énillev Meri ne ejhejh.
Énillev Meri ne shola.
Daedh énillev ne migrá.
Énillev ne shola t'migrá.

Jhor'Jan t'chi sarn.
Jhor'Meri t'chi san.
Jhor'Jan t'chi sarn, t'ves jhor'Meri t'chi san.
Jhor'aerdhisa ar t'enire, kret'jhor aerdhisa ah t'yimóth.

Jhor'Jan t'iyen lli.
Daedh jhor'Meri t'iyen lli.
Jhor'Jan Meri t'iyen llim.
Jhor'aerdhisom t'iyen llim.

Jhor'aerdhisom t'chi.
Jhor'Jan t'vae sae, kret'jhor Meri t'vae kasaea.
Kor'aerdhisa ar t'vae kasaea, t'ves jhor'no t'vae saea.
Kor'aerdhisa ah t'vae saea, t'ves jhor'no t'vae kasaea.
Kr'énillev Jan ne migrá, kret'jhi vo Meri.
Kr'énillev Meri ne ejhejh, kret'jhi vo Jan.
Énillev Jan ne ejhejh, kret'vo Meri ne migrá.
Jhor'Jan Meri t'illem.
Jhor'aerdhisom t'illem.

Or, in English:

Over at the UniLang Wiki, I'm starting to contribute with Asha'ille. Probably no one will read it, but oh well. The lesson reads:

John is here.
He is young.
He is short.
He is young and short.
Mary is there.
Mary is also young.
She is not short.
She is tall.
She is beautiful.

John is happy.
Mary is not happy.
Mary is sad.
She is also angry.
She is sad and angry.

John is a boy.
Mary is a girl.
John is a boy and Mary is a girl.
He is short, but she is tall.

John is a student.
Mary is also a student.
John and Mary are students.
They are students.

They are young.
John is here, but Mary is there.
He is not there; he is here.
She is not here; she is there.
John is not angry, but Mary is.
Mary is not happy, but John is.
John is happy, but Mary is angry.
John and Mary are friends.
They are friends.

Bía Sharídim

enire [E'nir\E] short (in height). from Catherine

eyen'lle [E,jEnl@_X'lE] lesson. from e—e, en'llav

iyen'lli [I,jEnl@_X'lI] learner, student. from i—i, en'llav

kasaea [kA'se@] there (close by). from kr, saea

nir [nir\] . backformation from enire

yimóth [jI'mOT] tall (in height). from Timothy