Darkling, I Listen

Today...

2008-09-10T01:41:20Z

I sold my first short story. :D

You will now be returned to your scheduled programming.

2008-08-09T23:46:30Z

I realize I'm hardly posting here anymore. Rather than make it entirely defunct, I think I'll be posting comments more than anything--those of you who do post are dear to me, and I don't want to fizzle out completely. The truth is, between the writing, the job, and the other blog, I just haven't had enough time to put anything other than passing memes here. If you want to know what's up with me, just email me or visit the Aldersgate Cycle Blog over at Wordpress. :)

elvardia @ 2008-07-30T21:47:00

2008-07-31T01:48:06Z

Obligatory, yes. Saw this one a while ago, and had to counter merynetjeru . :)

Your result for The Steampunk Style Test...

The Aristocrat

You are the Aristocrat, the embodiment of steampunk elegance and poise. For you, dressing steampunk is first and foremost about simply looking good, with accessories and details to follow. However, this does not mean that you ignore the demands of creating a “steampunk look.” Your outfits weave together a balance between technology and style, and between period accuracy and beautiful anachronism. While your fashion inspiration may come from anywhere across the Victorian social spectrum, you always find a way to make your outfit beautiful. You will probably be found in the clothes of the steam age elite simply because of the greater elegance available to them. Chances are you dress this way because you like it, and you would still dress in this manner even if steampunk was not a popular interest.

Try our other Steampunk test here.

Take The Steampunk Style Test at HelloQuizzy

elvardia @ 2008-06-25T14:25:00

2008-06-25T18:26:32Z

Being home sick sucks when you're an adult.

Blah.

Flights of Fancy

2008-05-30T14:00:54Z

Tor is giving away free ebooks!

I can't of course vouch for the quality of anything, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. Personally I'm excited to see some free books; the first one I got is endorsed by George R. R. Martin... so. Yay! :)

Sign up. Get free stuff! I like that.

elvardia @ 2008-02-24T10:19:00

2008-02-24T15:21:45Z

Everyone in my house is sick. I was sick, Liam was sick, now Michael is sick.

Meh. Saddest thing ever: an 18 month old with a fever :(

Peculiar Meme :) I love it.

2008-02-13T00:58:55Z

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Her Most Noble Lady Natania the Blossoming of Lardle St Earache
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Lady Elvardia the Woebegone of Waldenshire under Throcket
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

elvardia @ 2008-02-12T19:55:00

2008-02-13T00:56:15Z

you are mediumorchid
#BA55D3

Your dominant hues are red and blue. You're confident and like showing people new ideas. You play well with others and can be very influential if you want to be.

Your saturation level is medium - You're not the most decisive go-getter, but you can get a job done when it's required of you. You probably don't think the world can change for you and don't want to spend too much effort trying to force it.

Your outlook on life is brighter than most people's. You like the idea of influencing things for the better and find hope in situations where others might give up. You're not exactly a bouncy sunshine but things in your world generally look up.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

elvardia @ 2008-02-12T17:00:00

2008-02-12T22:06:11Z

What is interesting to me is how the characters respond, how they change and grow by facing what often seem overwhelming difficulties.
--Terry Brooks

It begins with a character, usually, and once he stands up on his feet and begins to move, all I can do is trot along behind him with a paper and pencil trying to keep up long enough to put down what he says and does.
--William Faulkner

The test of any good fiction is that you should care something for the characters; the good to succeed, the bad to fail. The trouble with most fiction is that you want them all to land in hell, together, as quickly as possible.
--Mark Twain

Characters take on life sometimes by luck, but I suspect it is when you can write more entirely out of yourself, inside the skin, heart, mind, and soul of a person who is not yourself, that a character becomes in his own right another human being on the page.
--Eudora Welty

elvardia @ 2008-01-31T11:22:00

2008-01-31T16:22:55Z

OMGWTFBBQ.

I hate Microsoft!!!

I hate IE! HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE!! DIEEEE.

... ahem.

Getting the sick on.

2008-01-30T01:43:16Z

I have a cold. Liam has a cold. He has also been throwing up.

I took medicine yesterday that made me feel like I was going insane. BAD cold medicine, BAD! But somehow its direct counterpart puts me to sleep beautifully (Tylenol AM/PM Head Congestion or somesuch). I tried to write through the crazy drug-induced haze, but it didn't work. I spent most of today, sans medicine, writing. It went well. I think. But that could be just the cold making me think that was the case.

Other than that, nothing much to see going on here. I got my diploma last week and hung it up. :) That's nice.

elvardia @ 2008-01-24T17:36:00

2008-01-24T22:38:30Z

Borrowed from merynetjeru.

http://www.fuzzysquid.com/LJ.php

It shows the last 50 pictures posted to LJ.

Meme-time!

Load (and load it once, don't reload, that's cheating) that page and show us -- on your own journal, please -- what YOU think is the most interesting image you are shown.

Now that's a high-risk job.

elvardia @ 2008-01-21T17:29:00

2008-01-21T22:29:47Z

It is not time or opportunity that is to determine intimacy;-- it is disposition alone. Seven years would be insufficient to make some people acquainted with each other, and seven days are more than enough for others. -- Jane Austen

elvardia @ 2008-01-15T22:49:00

2008-01-16T03:50:49Z

I went to close Scrivener for the day, and realized I'd hit 100,000 words.

Well, huh. :) I guess I was more productive today than I realized, eh?

Ah! range.

2008-01-14T23:41:05Z

About to go to the Wooden Nickel with borea and our husbands. :)

And new userpic. IT"S ORANGE!

New Times, New Names

2008-01-11T16:45:21Z

I was doing some thinking last night, which is something I have a habit of doing.

I've had this LJ for a very long time. And yes, when I started it, I was very much Tookish. But it occurred to me that this name, while adorable and in reference to one of my favorite authors, is not really me.

So, you will find me as elvardia now, in reference to a special place in one of my own stories. I think it's better suited to me.

Band Namey meme

2008-01-11T01:28:28Z

So, here's what you were supposed to do:

1. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random. The first article title on the page is the name of your band. Write it down.

2. Now point your trusty web browser towards http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3. The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album. Write it too down, not too large, not too small, somewhere in the same place as the name of your band. (Only kidding, just write it down however you want...)

3. Our third and last visit on the internet shall be http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/. The third picture, no matter what it is, and no matter how attractive the other pictures are, will be your album cover. Don't cheat on this one!

4. Lastly, open up your favourite graphics program and apply your editing skills to combine all three, and post the results.

I tried this, yesterday, to really abysmal results. So I decided that was not my day.

I tried again, and here's the results. The funny part is, Me'asha is the name of three RABBIS--but when I first read the entry I thought it said RABBITS. Hence, the picture is even funnier. Not to mention my childhood penchant for adopting pets.

The Aldersgate Cycle

2008-01-09T14:51:17Z

Well, I'm about 85K words into my latest novel endeavor. I've set up a blog where I'll be posting excerpts. The bulk of the book has taken shape, and I have to go back and do a lot of editing early on--but there's some good sections I thought would be intriguing to post.

You can take a look at it over here.

elvardia @ 2008-01-08T20:24:00

2008-01-09T01:24:08Z

Philip Glass is a freaking genius.

New Year Meme

2008-01-04T01:34:40Z

I don't typically like memes about things like the New Year, since I think the Western New Year is kinda arbitrary and all. But I liked this one. Self reflection is good. :) Ganked from merynetjeru.

What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?
I reared a child. I got a Masters Degree.

What places did you visit?
I went to MA for a funeral, and then had an incredible trip to San Francisco.

What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?
Time!

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Teaching Liam to give kisses, getting my MA.

What was your biggest failure?
Losing track of myself.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had the flu, but that was the worst of it.

What was the best thing you bought?
Probably my MacBook.

Whose behavior merited celebration?
Liam is such a good kid!

What do you wish you’d done more of?
Writing!

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Dragging my feet and feeling sorry for myself.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don't recall hating anyone last year.

What was the best book(s) you read?
Probably Greg Keyes' series.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
Samuel Barber.

What did you want and get?
A new house :)

What did you want and not get?
More time for myself.

What were your favorite films of this year?
I have to say Superbad probably gets my vote. Overall, a kinda dull year for movies, I though.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 26, and I spent it with my family.

What is one thing that would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Get something published :)

What kept you sane?
Classical music and WCPE.

What was the biggest surprise in 2007?
The Red Sox won the series!

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Love is work, but worth it.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
Out on the ocean sailing away,
I can hardly wait,
To see you to come of age,
But I guess we'll both,
Just have to be patient,
Yes it's a long way to go,
But in the meantime,

Before you cross the street,
Take my hand,
Life is just what happens to you,
While your busy making other plans,

Beautiful,
Beautiful, beautiful,
Beautiful Boy

elvardia @ 2008-01-01T14:43:00

2008-01-01T19:43:39Z

Happiest of New Years to all, this season.

We've had guests all week, and are now just winding down. Michael and I are going out on a little walk through Hillsborough, then off to have dinner with the 'rents.

Hopefully a lot of quiet this evening. :)

It's been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely lonely lonely lonely time...

2007-12-18T21:59:05Z

I love Led Zeppelin, but that is not the point at all.

I was sick last week and completed a series of sketches, chapters, and songs. Actually, I'm still sick now, with the remnants of the flu and the crypt cough. But I am slowly feeling better. I've been trying to eat better, and it's amazing how much easier it is to wake up in the morning.

Thursday is graduation day, and I'll officially have my MA.

The most exciting thing of late is the realization that I'll have time to write come the New Year. I've never been much of one for resolutions--although this Journal itself was a resolution once--but I really do want to give my craft its due. I love singing and drawing, but nothing comes close to the utter compulsion I have to write. It's like being in a fever dream, sometimes. Sure, I could use a good editor; I could use a lot of improvement. But I am utterly passionate about it. Come hell or highwater, I want to get this thing done. Not saying it'll happen next year--but I just want it to be on my mind, and a part of my daily consciousness. So I made some new icons from my sketches to encourage me.

Anyway, I'm heading out for the evening now, after a long day at work. Hope all is well with everyone.

elvardia @ 2007-11-27T11:29:00

2007-11-27T16:30:09Z

I have finished my thesis.

I will be graduating. :)

Amusing. From Filby.

2007-11-19T16:56:08Z

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) - Lady Lucy

2. GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) - Chocolate Milano

3. DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) - Pink Lemur

4. STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) - Barna

5. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, first tool that comes to mind, put “The” at the beginning) - The Green Hammer

6. STRIPPER NAME: (favorite candy, the name of your favorite perfume/cologne) - Dove Contradiction

7. PORN STAR NAME: (First pet and street you live on) - Lady Birmingham

The Ancestral Known

2007-11-14T15:29:49Z

I've always been intrigued and fascinated by genealogy. I inherited the little obsession from my uncle Denis, who was the first in our family to research the extensive Paquins of Quebec. My mom's family is wonderfully easy to research, I've found, and over the past few years have discovered some rather amazing family connections.

Yesterday, I went on a little genealogical journey researching one of my relatives with a unique name, Numedique Paquin. I came to find a rather baffling assortment of sites with family names and links that I had no idea existed. People always seem to concentrate on the paternal side of families, but I always wanted to know about the maternal sides. And boy have I been surprised!

Like, for instance, two of the family names in my tree--Vezina and Billy--are in fact, English. The de Billy family goes back to the 1100s in France and England--and they originally hail from Yorkshire. The Vezinas are from Glouchester. And the Trottiers, my maternal great-great-grandmother's family, arrived from an area in France called La Perche, which seems precisely the place I'd like to go next. They're cheesemakers and winemakers, and it's pretty much stayed the same since the Middle Ages.

I know some of these relations are very distant. And really, who can vouch for true paternity, anyway? But connecting my family to all parts of Northern France (including some born right in Paris itself) and England is just... well, quite thrilling for me. Not to mention the connection to lange d'oil, and my obsession with Marie de France and the Breton tradition.

These people are reduced to names and dates now, it's true. And as a special I was watching the other night explained, after a certain number of generations, your great-great-great-great-great relations get narrowed down significantly. But as a history buff, and a sometime medievalist... wow. It just boggles my mind. :)