cjk1701

fly-by dog post

2012-09-22T21:25:47Z

( Doggy grins under here )

These are our* dogs. The tricolor collie is Mike (Aaron von Appelhülsen)**, Sunny's half-brother by the same sire. Sunny (Belinda von Appelhülsen)** is, obviously, on the right. And in between is Rocky. Rocky is... a good dog. Really. He can't help being a labradoodle, poor thing.

( Another picture of the siblings under the cut. )

* Mike belongs to one of my parents' closest friends who also happens to be mum's and my boss. Rocky is her daughter's dog.

** breeder's website with lots of pictures of collie puppies at http://collieranch.npage.de/

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A dialogue

2012-07-22T10:48:11Z

*ring ring*

Me: Hello?

Dad: Hi, the connection is awful. Talk to you later. Bye!

Me: ...

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Avengers

2012-05-22T11:53:56Z

So I gave in to peer pressure and watched Avengers (and the second time totally doesn't count because it was for reasons). I'm left with three impressions:

1) 3D is the work of the devil: an overpriced, distracting, uncomfortable, stupid idea, at least until they come up with better technology for it.

2) I want to be Tony Stark when I grow up. In the meantime reading all the Tony Stark fanfic there is and catching up on my Ultimates and Civil War lore is the thing to do.

3) I tried to resist, really, I did, but I dare you to try and watch this movie without ending up shipping Thor/Loki, at least in a bromance way. That is to say, if I didn't ship Thor/Loki before, I certainly do now.

3a) Loki needs a hug.

And a bonus fourth impression: Natasha Romanoff as played by Scarlett Johansson is fantastic and gorgeous although ( very mild spoiler ) made me and my brother crack up in a full cinema.

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Go family!

2012-04-28T09:07:45Z

Today's theme: the combined feeling of overpowering awe and vague envy when you are told that your stepsister is going to be doing postgraduate work at the Central School of Speech & Drama in London come autumn.

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Teenagers, honestly!

2012-04-16T10:18:37Z

Me: We'll have to work on that essay of yours. There is no coherent argument there, just a lot of emotion and ranting.

My student: But I worked really hard on it!

Me: Yes, and I appreciate the work you put in. Still, we need to streamline it, show how you want to get the reader from A to B, that kinda thing.

My student: You don't understand! I worked on it for two days!

Me: Yes, I understand, and you did very well. We still need to work on the line of reasoning, though.

My student: But I put in so much effort!

Me, rapidly losing patience: Look, I can put in as much effort as I can spare into trying to speak French but it will still come out as crappy French. Or, you know, I can put in some effort to be really good at swimming two days from now but I will still be abysmal at it. Do you see the difference?

My student: You just don't care about all the work I put in!

And this isn't the first student I've tutored that I heard that from. At what point did schools start blurring the line between effort and quality to that extent?

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Puppy progress

2012-01-13T19:35:41Z

This is Sunny on her very first day at home:

( Little Sunny )

This is Sunny yesterday:

( a little bit bigger )

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Dogspam

2011-10-11T15:15:51Z

Amazingly, puppies grow. Who'd have thought?

( two images under the cut )

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Grar

2011-10-11T11:59:18Z

Dear brother,

when I ask you to please walk the dog until she's pooped I really don't mean "walk the dog until you get tired of it and call it done" because she *will* poop in the living room and I *will* have to clean it up. You're just as special as dad this morning, with his "wait, let me shave first" upon which, you guessed it, she pooped in the living room and I had to clean it up.

Absolutely no love,
me

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RL sundries

2011-09-27T09:22:48Z

Today, amusingly, the puppy was kept occupied by a carrot *and* a stick. She happily chewed up both.

On another topic entirely, what a difference twenty years make. Last Sunday mum and I went to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried, to take care of the grave. As the weather was glorious we enjoyed a long stroll; it's very beautiful there. What's interesting and heartbreaking is that so many of the older graves also have the names of the sons and brothers who fell in WWI and are buried somewhere in France, while so many of the modern graves have additional brief listings for family members along the lines of "lost in Poland in 1941" or "Auschwitz 1942".

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Fannish perspective

2011-09-09T09:51:00Z

I was re-reading the memoirs of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich for the xth time, except this time I suddenly thought they'd make very nice research material for some Vorkosiverse fic.

In RL news, Sunny is growing at an amazing rate. Her snout and tail are getting longer and, very importantly, she is slowly getting the idea that peeing is best reserved for the outside.

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New baby in the house

2011-08-21T18:53:53Z

Ladies and gentlefolk, may I introduce our new baby: Belinda von Appelhülsen aka Stop that! aka No! Not on the rug! aka Sunny.

This is Sunny as a baby with her mother.

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And all I wanted was the achievement...

2011-05-29T13:53:29Z

You know your Sunday is off to a bad start when you solo Magister's Terrace without pausing but then die a painful death in the Wailing Caverns.

This won't surprise anyone who's ever played with me, but of course I died by falling off something.

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Poetry vs. reality

2011-05-18T08:48:09Z

Dear writers, poets and others,

if you still labour under the delusion that nightingales are somehow romantic birds renowned for their beautiful song, do you want to borrow mine?

The one that lives right outside my window and starts singing precisely at 2am and goes on till I have to get up for work, and beyond?

Alternatively, please lend me a shotgun.

No love,
me

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Oops.

2011-04-07T15:54:44Z

Note to self: If an Orthodox colleague tells you that today is Annunciation, the proper response definitely isn't "Oh, when she found out she wasn't having a girl?"

Facepalming forever.

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There and Back Again

2011-03-31T12:37:00Z

Many thanks to those who told me to go to Foyles, it's the absolute best. Among other things, I got a signed copy of rj_anderson's Arrow as well as The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

Back home now, and Berlin is quiet and drab in comparison, but so, so SO much more comfortable. We have lifts! And accessible escalators! And cheap(ish) public transport! And a total lack of customer service! And no pubs!

...dammit.

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London miscellany

2011-03-28T16:27:08Z

I forgot how much of a workout it is to use the tube. Must be great fun for anyone not perfectly fit and healthy. Need better shoes and lots of ibuprofen.

Also, why do people anywhere on this planet all dress better than those in Germany? It's just sad.

And skirts. Women wear skirts here. I'd almost forgotten what that is like.

NTS: Must stay away from Liberty in the future. Soooooo pretty. Soooooo expensive.

Saw a really cool remote controlled UFO at Hamley's. Not to mention the lunar lander. Or the Jane Austen miniature figurines.

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Geography

2011-03-27T19:43:07Z

I semi-accidentally ended up in London for the next three days. Any suggestions regarding good bookstores or other worthy places to visit? My favourite Waterstones was a bit of a disappointment this time around.

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Back!

2010-09-21T10:51:42Z

Am back home. Moscow was as gorgeous as usual, but so very much not made for people. Too wide streets, no wheelchair access in public transport (or anywhere else), rather explosive prices for pretty much everything save lumbago belts, etc, etc.

We had a slight change of plans (the flat we were to live in had been broken into and robbed just before we got there, so we stayed elsewhere), met a lot of people, went to museums, and got five pairs of earrings between the two of us. I'd say the trip was a success.

( Big (and slightly odd) pictures under the cut, captions underneath. )

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Moscow!

2010-09-12T04:28:52Z

And with this I'm off to Moscow, back on the 20th. Will be sadly internet-less unless a miracle happens.

See you all on the 20th!

I did remember to leave out my toothbrush for this morning. However, I still had to sprint to the other bathroom for some toothpaste. *sigh*

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Moscow 2010

2010-09-06T22:59:43Z

Today our visas came through (panic over), and so mum and I are going to be in Moscow 12th to 20th. Sadly, I'll be completely cut off from the internet unless I find an internet café. But there's plenty to do offline as well. ;)

Yours in omg-what-presents-do-I-need-to-buy frenzy and last minute shopping.

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DW codes

2010-08-19T11:46:03Z

So it appears I have 12 Dreamwidth invites? If anyone is still in need of one, shout.

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cjk1701 @ 2010-08-15T12:22:00

2010-08-15T10:29:22Z

My stepdad, talking to a millionaire friend of ours: "Well, I must say I know this sphere already. I also had a yacht as a young man, you know..."

After I'd picked myself up from the floor and stopped gasping for breath, the addendum: "I would have told him that mine had been a few times smaller, but he'd already put the phone down..."

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cjk1701 @ 2010-08-08T14:10:00

2010-08-08T12:16:12Z

Favourite German pastime, picking fights with one's neighbours. I could understand our downstairs neighbour being annoyed when we ran our washing machine at night when all of us were working, and he thought it too loud, but now he came up to argue that our geraniums are shedding petals all over his balcony and we need to turn them to face inward.

Next place I live it had better be on the ground floor. *mutter*

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Wherein I spam.

2010-08-02T18:15:32Z

Mum: *looking at ticket prices to Moscow* So this one's to Vnukovo. Though it doesn't matter, really. Ira can meet us at any Moscow airport.

Me: Huh, why? The traffic in the city is insane, she'll be stuck all day. We'd be better off taking a train.

Mum: ...so tell me again why I should be going there?

Me: Um. Becauseyoulovemeverymuch?

Mum: Riiiight.

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cjk1701 @ 2010-08-02T18:55:00

2010-08-02T17:01:07Z

Duisburg's mayor Sauerland said he wouldn't resign over the Love Parade deaths, but would "face the deselection process according to the municipal rules of the state".

Which is a lot less impressive than it sounds, considering he must face said process, since it's the law. He can hardly refuse to be removed from his office by public vote, after all.

Meh. Politicians.

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