Samuu's ramblings

2:42pm: A meme:

Leave me a comment.
I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can get to know you better.
Update your journal with the answers to the questions.
Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.

Answers to questions asked by urbydizzy under the cut.

( Answers to questions )

11:39pm: *Has some time off now, is happy*. ^_^

Really must finish the cross stitch pictures I'm working on over the next few days. Got two work in progresses at the moment so I'm not working on 16-count fabric all of the time. I shall be looking forward to some time curled up on the sofa with Dave stitching while we watch some programmes and films together I think. :) It's really cold here so the chance to curl up warmly under a blanket is very welcome. ^_^

I'm also planning to write some Christmas fics and answer some meme things. Got a whole bunch of fic tribbles in my head I need to type up. :)

11:01pm: It snowed here today. It looked kinda weird though, there was loads of snow on the lawns, cars and so on but not on the roads or much on the pavements. What there was was pretty though. I just wish it wasn't so cold.

Looking forward to having a bit of a break at Christmas. :) Staying snuggled up under a blanket when the weather's really cold knowing you can stay cozy is a lovely feeling. ^_^

Watched more of One Man and His Dog this evening. I really do love that show. :) It's cool how some of the dogs understand whistled commands. ^_^

Also watched Transformers 2. Didn't enjoy it as much as the first one. The inclusion of Ravage was very cool though. :)

10:41pm: Royal Variety Performance was cool. There were some really good acts on it this year. :)

Also, speaking of television: I am extremely happy to see One Man and His Dog back on TV again (for anyone who's not heard of it it's basically a programme full of sheepdog trails). This has been the cause of much good-natured teasing (both because of my Colette-like-ness including liking dogs and also because of the fact that I grew up in a fairly rural area) but it is something that I love watching and I really don't know why. XD

6:34pm: Proof that I'm easily amused:

Dave is playing Rabbids Go Home which has inspired us to be making Rabbid noises at each other. It's still amusing after half an hour or so (although admittedly we've not been doing it constantly).

10:44pm: A meme:

Comment and I will comment back with a picture of the fictional character that most reminds me of you. Then post the same in your journal.

11:38pm: I've just watched the last Next Generation episode.

I'll admit that I cried. Only a little bit but I cried. ^_^; It is a good episode, and the end, the very last bit, is just, just so.

I'll miss those guys...

9:35pm: Dave and I have gotten to the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Dave was going to put it on but I wasn't sure if I was ready to watch it yet. ^_^; XD I've really enjoyed these series so much it feels sad that it's about to end. (OK, there's a couple of movies, one of which I've already seen, but still, it's not the same). On the one hand Dave (and other people too) have told me it's a good episode. On the other hand... last episode...

Without a doubt my favourite characters are Data and Beverly (the doctor). Not sure about my absolute favourite episode yet, although I can think of a 'top five' but not in any particular order list. Will have a think about it again when I've seen the last episode.

In other non-Star Trek related thoughts: I'm really pleased with the Christmas card pictures I've stitched so far. ^_^ Metallic thread's not my favourite thing to stitch with but I really like the way the ones I've stitched with it have turned out. Worth the extra effort of stitching with the stuff I think. :)

11:24pm: Once again I'm offering Christmas fics. :)

If you'd like a fic please leave a prompt or two (or three or however many, although I can't promise to write something for every prompt). The fic I write will probably be short because that's what I usually write. (Plot? What's a plot? ^_^;; ). I'm happy to write for my usual fandom (including Tales of Symphonia 2 which I've finished with the good ending, so no worries about spoilers). If you'd prefer a different fandom ask and I'll see what I can do, although it would need to be something I'm familiar with (e.g. Star Trek, Pokémon, something like that).

Leave a prompt including which characters you'd like to be included and the prompt details (and fandom if it's not my default ^_^; XD ). The prompt doesn't have to be Christmas themed (although it can be a festive prompt if you'd like it to be) and I don't expect a fic back in return.

This is open to my friends (and also Dave, who doesn't have a Livejournal but has already requested his ^_^ ).

Also, speaking of Christmas fics, one written from a prompt I was given last year (I finally got around to typing it up) http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5539768/1/Snow_Sculpture Very belated Happy Christmas/belaged Happy Thanksgiving/happy Friday Manna. :)

6:56pm: I believe that today is a day when people in a certain part of the world have a celebration involving turkey which isn't Christmas right? :)

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it. ^_^ And to anyone who doesn't Happy Thursday. XD

10:15pm: Work In Progress is now finished:

Finished picture.

I've also finished another geeky cross stitch:

Totoro

I love spending time relaxing in the sunshine. Feeling completely relaxed settled with Dave on the beach feeding the sparrows biscuit crumbs, for example, is wonderful. :)

8:57pm: A couple of episodes of Star Trek later and it might be a bit more obvious what the work in progress is... Anyone like to guess yet? :)

Work in progress picture two

6:48pm: A random, hopefully fun idea:

I've put down a huge cross stitch project I'm working on to work on a little one. (The large one's on 16 count fabric so I thought I'd do a quick one on 14 count to give myself a break from working on smaller stitches). I'm currently working on the outline of it. The outline's not finished but I thought it might be fun to see if anyone can guess what it is yet. ^_^

Picture of Work In Progress

I'm guessing that urbydizzywill be the most likely to guess what it is. (That may be a clue ^_^;;; ).

7:07pm:
In the not too distant future I'm planning to work on some writing. I'd like to work on the alphabet fics project but don't have prompts for all of the letters yet. I'd really appreciate it if anyone'd like to leave a prompt or two, original post for this is here: http://lil-samuu.livejournal.com/114861.html

Also, while on the thought of fics, once again I'd like to do Christmas present fics. Feel free to leave a prompt of two for that too. :) I know it's a bit early but I've been working on some Christmas sewing projects because I've got quite a few I want to finish so I can think about ideas while I stitch. ^_^ As usual Tales of Symphonia (and ToS2) prompts preferred but I'm willing to have a go at other fandoms if I'm familiar with them.

Speaking of stitching, Dave thought of a new motto (or whatever you want to call it) for me earlier: "I stitch therefore I am". XD

You know you've been watching too much Star Trek when you have a kind-of-serious discussion about transporters, the way (you think) they'd work, why it might be scary to use one etc. Admittedly the episode was about, amongst other things, a character who was afraid of using the transporters but still, yeah. ^_^;; We're watching series six of The Next Generation at the moment and I'm very much enjoying it. :)

1:45pm: There is something very pleasing about having a good tool that makes the job you want to do fun rather than seeming like a chore. I've often found the way that my sewing machine works (it's simple and easy to use, I always enjoy working with it) an example of this and recently I've found another one.

As well as cross stitching patterns that other people have made I like to make my own as well. Sometimes I've used graph paper to design them, sometimes I used to use a cheap computer programme. Graph paper works fine for quick, simple things like 8-bit style sprites but there were patterns I wanted to make that were more complicated, hence why I got the software.

I've never been completely happy with it. It worked OK but editing stuff seemed really clunky with it and the way it showed the patterns on the screen meant that I found myself switching between displaying them in one format (colour blocks) and another (symbols) a lot to be able to see what I was doing.

I'd seen another programme recommended on a couple of stitching websites and decided to have a look at the demo version. Within a couple of minutes it seemed clear to me that this was much more what I wanted and, now I have the full version of the programme, I can happily say that it's an intuitive programme that's a joy to use. :) The way it displays patterns on the screen is much clearer and the editing tools are much better. ^_^

In other crafts related thoughts: I've had my first go at making something with Hama beads. :) (Hama's the brand name of the ones I used, there's another called Perler too). As I had the right colours to make one with and it's a pattern I'm very very familiar with I decided to make a FFI style White Mage. While I didn't do the most fantastic job of ironing it evenly for my first go at working with the beads it turned out OK. :) I'll post a picture later.

11:12pm: I'm thinking that, instead of working out how long some of my sewing projects have taken me to finish in minutes/hours/whatever I should, instead, work it out in how many episodes of Star Trek/movies I watched while working on it. XD *Should probably have a sign saying "geek" above her head or something*. XD (Although, to be honest, it's probably fairly obvious anyways XD ).

4:03pm: Having finished quite a few random projects recently I'm feeling pretty productive at the moment which is nice. ^_^ Been tidying and organising the place as well as working on craft projects so it's a nice mix of stuff to have accomplised. :)

I'm really pleased with some of my sewing projects. I'm also very amused by one of them. Scraps of fake fur, some scrunched up newspaper and a packet of marbles (to weigh it down) make a cute, amusing and cheap draught excluder. XD It's one of the sillier things I've made but it makes me smile and it actually works quite well too so. XD ^_^ (Yes, I did make it in the shape of an animal, couldn't resist having fun with it. As the fake fur scraps I used were ones left over from the Teto costume (golden brown and dark brown) I made a lion as that seemed to suit the colours).

10:04pm:
I'm amused by the fact that I seem to have radar/a magnet/whatever for really nice, soft fabric. Doesn't matter where they put it in the fabric store I go to I'll automatically be drawn to it it seems. XD

 

Which is quite useful actually, because quite often it's what I want. ^_^ Like today, I found exactly what I wanted straight away. Soft, warm blue fabric (winceyette) with which I'm planning to make myself a coat like Dr. Crushers (Star Trek: The Next Generation). I don't want to use it for cosplay, I just came to the conclusion (having seen the coat loads of times recently, been watching a lot of Star Trek) that it looked like a very comfortable, practical garment that would be nice and warm but quite smart at the same time.

I was also amused today by the fact that Dave seemed amused by the fact that I described the fabric I bought as (amongst other things) "yummy". XD (It really is absolutely lovely fabric ^_^ ).

8:03pm: I just managed to finish Fire Emblem (Shadow Dragon) chapter 14 in ONE GO! ^_^ No needing to re-start from the last save, all of my team are still alive. ^_^

OK, so it did take me AGES to figure out the reason why my land-based units couldn't cross the river (the bridge was broken) and that I had to go the long way round... ^_^;; But still, I didn't have to restart so that's good. ^_^

Also: yay pegasus knights. :)

11:39pm: *Does a happy little happy dance*. I have completed Chapter 13 of Fire Emblem (Shadow Dragon). *More happy dancing*.

I'm now vaguely wondering how long it'll take me to finish the next chapter. XD

Randomly: it amuses me that, apparently, I'm amusing to watch when I'm playing video games. XD

12:26am: Every time I look at the scale model for the masquerade costumes I want to build for the next Minamicon I find myself thinking how much I'm looking forward to both building and wearing them. :) On the one hand they're quite simple but, on the other hand, from a construction point of view, they're actually going to be more complicated to build than King of Red Lions was because I'm going to make them as 3D as possible and because I'm planning to make them out of as few pieces as possible.

Yes, they will involve large amounts of cardboard and paint. Yes, they may well end up being slightly awkward to transport to the convention. And yes, I'm thinking they should be worth it if they make people smile/laugh like I hope they will.

I really want to do the best job I can on my next batch of costumes, not just the masquerade ones. I want to improve and be able to feel really happy with what I've made. And I will happily admit that I'm looking forward to wearing some costumes made out of fleece again, they're just so comfortable. XD

7:17pm: I've never started a meme before but this seems like it might be a fun idea so. :) Feel free to re-word it if you can think of a better way to write it. ^_^

What do you think would be a good job for me? Suggestions can range from the serious (e.g. video game tester) to the impossible (e.g. engineer aboard a United Federation of Planets ship). Keep them nice though, it's meant to be fun. ^_^

Had a really wonderful day with Dave yesterday, went for a walk in the sunshine and saw some good live music. ^_^

10:03pm: Yet again more geekyness:

when you spot a van with something along the lines of "Pheonix bakery" on the side of it on the way to work and promptly start making jokes along the lines of "OBJECTION! This bread isn't wholemeal!". (Dave made much funnier jokes at the time but can't remember any of them now).

When, while discussing makes of car, you start cheering "Jaaaaaguuuuaaaarrrr" in a Space Channel 5-style way. :)

*Is easily amused*.

11:40am: I find it amusing that I have to think about it before I can remember how old I am now. XD I can remember my date of birth fine but if someone asks me how old I am I have to pause before I can remember exactly. ^_^;; Time seems to have been flying by, especially this year, so it seems somehow weird to think I'm the age I am, but then on the other hand to me it's kinda an unimportant number and doesn't really mean anything kinda specific to me anyways if that makes sense?

Still not exactly sure about how I'd define what an adult is either, something I've often found is an interesting thought.

On a totally unrelated note: sunshine makes me happy as does cuddling with Dave all snuggled up under a blanket listening to BBC Radio 2. :) Lazy, dozy time on Sunday mornings is very nice. ^_^

11:58pm: Yet another "you know you're a geek when..." Star Trek moment:

when you compare something in Star Trek to an 8-bit video game to try and explain how (you think) it works.