Booking Through Thursday

Here's the lil meme from Booking Through Thursday:

“So here today I present to you an Unread Books Challenge. Give me the list or take a picture of all the books you have stacked on your bedside table, hidden under the bed or standing in your shelf – the books you have not read, but keep meaning to. The books that begin to weigh on your mind. The books that make you cover your ears in conversation and say, ‘No! Don’t give me another book to read! I can’t finish the ones I have!’ “

Now, I know I have a pile as big as... my arm. Unfortunately, though, I cannot remember all the titles, since some of them are also packed down in boxes. I know, I know. I need to sort through my boxes of books and get rid of some...

So here's the list... eh, so far.

1. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde. (First of his Nursery Crime books... the man is a genius, but I think I was kinda full on twisted fairytale stories when I picked this one up. Still gonna finish it though. At some point.)

2. A few books (Bloodstone, Last Sword of Power, Wolf in Shadow, The Last Guardian) by David Gemmell. (Fantasy, I think. Bought them when they were cheap, haven't even opened them. Yikes.)

3. The Conan Chronicles 1 & 2 by Robert E Howard. (Classical fantasy that I got, tried to read....I swear, I go to sleep when I open the books. Need to get rid of these.)

4. Herakles by Theodor Kallifatides. (Yawn. Christmas gift. Haven't even started to read it... not sure I ever will)

5. Diplomatic Baggage by Brigid Keenan. (Bought it, it was cheap.. started it and lost interest. Meh.)

6. The First Book of Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber. (See Conan.)

7. Spartan by V. Massimo Manfredi. (Gift, and whenever I try to read the book, I just seem to find other things to do...)

8. Night Watch by Terry Pratchett. (Another gift, and I love Terry, but I haven't ...been in the mood to read it. Plus, I have a feeling that I should read some of the books before this one before attempting it.)

9. A trilogy by Michael Scott Rohan. (See 2.)

10. Forging the Darksword by M Weis and T Hickman. (See 2, again!)

11. Warrior Rising by PC Cast (saving this one for my flight to Phoenix next week. Yay!)

12. Kushiel's Justice by Jacqueline Carey (saving it, but I am afraid I will be a lil disappointed by it...)

13. Dreams Made Flesh by Anne Bishop. (just haven't had the time to read this one yet!)

14. Time and the Gods by Lord Dunsany. (See Conan).

Big list. Could be bigger, if I had all the titles. And these are books that are either not read... or I managed to read a few pages. Still, yikes. Need to get rid of some of them!

2001

Kelly/ruby, this one is for you. She picked out a year for me to remember, and see just what kind of important stuff that was going on in my life at that time. Amazingly enough, I do remember this year, and more so! I remember what was actually going on right there and then.

The beginning of the year was pretty on the downside. I came home from Washington DC the Christmas of 2000, and I was pretty much beaten down in my shoes. For one, my au pair/nanny experience had not been very good - I was not allowed to do much by the family, and then I was homesick something fierce - and they complained about me, too. I was not a very happy person at the beginning of the year - I was applying to go university and read medicine, and in the meantime, I had to have some sort of work.

And well, being an au pair was pretty much the only option - only, this time I was not going abroad. I was looking for work within Sweden, and I found a family in Stockholm who needed an au pair. This family was a doctor family (both mom and dad were doctors) and they had three sons. I was to live with them, and do the things an au pair does. If anyone is unclear on what this means - it means that you are taking care of the kids, making sure that they are getting to school, cleaning the house, picking up kids after school, driving them to all sorts of activities, handle all the household chores needed, cook....yeah. It was hard work, but it was better than the position I had in Washington DC - now I could at least go out, and do whatever I wanted in the weekends.

And I had an Internet connection. Yeah, my Internet addiction was for sure there, already, and I had started to roleplay a little online. Not much, and I was pretty careful, still. And I don't think my English was any good, either. -L-

I stayed in Stockholm from February to June, and then I went back home to Falkenberg. And helped out in the summer shop that Dad was renting that year. I can't remember if this was the first or the second year he did that - I think it was the second year, and in that case, it was pretty much a sucky and cold summer. We didn't do very well at all, but we did learn a lot of things. For one, my family has a pretty high level of general knowledge. You see, each Saturday in the summer, we had ...and now I am at loss for an English word, I don't even know if they exist outside of Sweden. Walking quizzes? You go for a walk, and answer questions. Granted, the people who did these quiz walks were pretty much seniors - but I thought they would be much better on general knowledge. They weren't.

And then, in the autumn, I went to university. But no, I didn't get into medicine, which was a dream of mine for a long time. I went to Gothenburg, and took a course in English. I was commuting at this time, which meant that I was on the train for two hours a day. That was a bitch. Also, afternoon lectures is not my thing. I can fall asleep right in front of the lecturer, and that is SO not good. But I do think I did rather well with English - well enough to apply for another course the next year - to be taken abroad, in Brighton.

This was also the autumn when I got more involved in the online roleplaying. More being the keyword, and I stayed up just a little later than I should have. This was when I met my first online love, too. And the man who is currently in my life now, even though I did not exactly...know him very well at this point. Yeah, it is dangerous to roleplay and fall in love with another character, and the player behind that character, but that's what I did. Eventually. Internet sure did get more and more interesting, and I do believe, this was the year when I seriously got into creating avatars.

In hindsight, this year, I realized quite a lot of things.

• Creating graphics and design is something that I got hooked to, and addicted to. It was something I wanted to expand on, learn more, and perhaps do even more.


• Life doesn't always go like you want it to. I thought I was going to be a doctor, but as it turned out, I got into language...and I continued down along that road and got into design and web design eventually.


• I am never going to be an au pair or nanny, ever again. Nor will I ever hire one for my own children - if you are going to have kids, you are supposed to bring them up yourself, and not leave it to strangers.


• My family is unique, and I love them to bits. Even if they drive me mad now and then, they are always there when I need them, and give me all the support I could ever need.


• Love can appear in the most strange places. And you never just never know.


• Friends can appear in the most strange places as well, and you just never know about this either.

There. It turned out to be a lot of things going on this year, and I actually realized more than I actually thought I had. An awesome idea, this post, all the credit to you, kelly, for coming up with this, and making me think! Thank you!

Meme

What time is it
00:50.

What are you most afraid of?
Losing family members, that I will never get a job, that I am not going to lose the weight put on

What is the most recent movie that you have seen in a Theater
Christ. No, that was not the most recent film....eh. I think it was the Narnia one?

Place of birth
Halland

Favorite food
Pizza.

What's your natural hair color
Medium blonde

Ever been to Alaska
Noo.

Ever been toilet paper rolling
Noo.

Love someone so much it made you cry
Hell yes.

Been in a car accident
Dinged the car? Yes. In an accident with another car? No.

Croutons or bacon bits
Croutons

Favorite day of the week
Saturday

Favorite restaurant
Don't have one?

Favorite Flower
Sunflowers, anemones, gerbera

Favorite sport to watch
Showjumping

Favorite drink
Red wine? Or Coke. Even though I am not allowed to drink it any more.

Favorite ice cream
Plain vanilla from Sia Glass in Falkenberg!

Disney or Warner Brothers
Disney

Ever been on a ship
Ferries, yes. And small sailing boats.

What color is your bedroom carpet
Don't have a carpet in my bedroom - it's hardwood floor?

How many times did you fail your driver's test
None!

Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail
Eh. From someone wanting to buy school books from me?

What do you do when you are bored
Read.

Bedtime
Laaate.

Who will respond to this meme the quickest
Bah. Who reads my blog?

Who is the person least likely to respond
See above answer.

Who is the person that you are most curious to see their responses
See above answer, again. And because I am not reading enough blogs myself.

Favorite TV show
Pushing Daisies, CSI, Xena...and the list goes on.

Last person you went to dinner with
My parents.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
Considering that I haven't had a vacation in years...anything warm works for me.

What are your favorite colors
Blue!

How many tattoos do you have
None.

How many pets do you have
A cat and a dog. And yes, I do consider them mine cause it's me they go to.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg
Um. The...cell?

What do you want to do before you die?
Now that is a long list. Not to be posted here, cause the blog will die.

Have you ever been to Hawaii
Nope.

Have you been to countries outside the U.S.
LOL. Yes, I live in one. Apart from Sweden - UK, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Tunisia.

Type the first word that comes to mind.
Innocent

I've been tagged...

Ok, I was tagged by Rachel, but seeing as how she tagged all the people I know, I am not tagging anyone else.

7 random or weird facts about me:

1. I am a frozen kind of person. I can freeze when it is 25 degrees Celsius outside, and I definitely do it now when it is around 1 - 2 degrees outside. Brr.

2. I own too many books. Now, that is not something you would have expected to hear from me, but after lugging the damned boxes around, I have definitely come to the conclusion that I own too many books. Not that I would throw any away, though. Oh no!

3. I believe in....a lot of things, come to think of it. I do believe in karma, I do believe in a female and male aspect of the Power Above. Eh. Let's just call me a pagan, without any real practice done.

4. I have been living out of boxes since...April last year. Do you know how utterly depressing it is to not even have your clothes unpacked? Very depressing.

5. My name is mentioned in the dedication of a printed, well-selling book. Livets Källa by Saga Borg. (I won a naming contest on that author(s) website, and got a signed copy of one of their books, but as I found out when I bought this one - My name is in it!

6. I hate writing tutorials. I have been doing that for the last couple of days, and it is very annoying to have to think so much, be so specific and careful and - ohyeah. I am writing tutorials for a tutor program in graphic design. Perhaps should have said that.

7. I am in a relationship with a man I met on the Net, and still haven't met outside of it. This year...it will be four years.

Month Meme

Wasn't tagged with this, just thought it was fun. Hehe. And I am not tagging either...oh well!

1. Mention the person who tagged you and create a link back to them.
2. Copy-paste the traits for all the twelve months (see below).
3. Pick your month of birth (see below).
4. Highlight the traits that apply to you.
5. Tag 12 people and let them know by visiting their blogs and leaving a comment for them.
6. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve done it!


- Active and dynamic. Depends on how you interpret it. I am not a very active person, physically (regretfully), but my mind is. VERY much so.
- Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Decisive, yes. Once I make up my mind, I have made up my mind, and so on. Tends to regret on the other hand...well, not too sure, but oh well.
- Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Wha...? Just to myself? Now that sounds odd. I am not that egocentric!
- Strong mentality. Strong mentality, you betcha.
- Loves attention. Well, who doesn't, now and then? Not constantly, though.
- Diplomatic. I am the born diplomat. Honestly!
- Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Or at least I try.
- Brave and fearless. Bwahaha. No, fearless, I am not.
- Adventurous. Not...all that much, no.
- Loving and caring. Loving and caring, yup.
- Suave and generous. Don't know about suave, but I would like to think I am generous.
- Emotional. Heh. Ohyeah!
- Aggressive. Not...so much. Sometimes.
- Hasty. When I have made up my mind, I have...and it can be done in a second. And on the other hand, tougher questions, I tend to mill over and over again.
- Good memory. Somewhat!
- Moving. What does this mean? That I move other people? Naah.
- Motivates oneself and others. Would like to think so?
- Sickness usually of the head and chest. Eh. No?
- Sexy in a way that only their lover can see. What? No...don't think so. More like I am private about that sexiness rather than letting everyone know!


All Months:

JANUARY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Ambitious and serious. Loves to teach and be taught. Always looking at people’s flaws and weaknesses. Likes to criticize. Hardworking and productive. Smart, neat and organized. Sensitive and has deep thoughts. Knows how to make others happy. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Rather reserved. Highly attentive. Resistant to illnesses but prone to colds. Romantic but has difficulties expressing love. Loves children. Loyal. Has great social abilities yet easily jealous. Very stubborn and money cautious.

FEBRUARY: Abstract thoughts. Loves reality and abstract. Intelligent and clever. Changing personality. Attractive. Sexy. Temperamental. Quiet, shy and humble. Honest and loyal. Determined to reach goals. Loves freedom. Rebellious when restricted. Loves aggressiveness. Too sensitive and easily hurt. Gets angry really easily but does not show it. Dislikes unnecessary things. Loves making friends but rarely shows it. Daring and stubborn. Ambitious. Realizes dreams and hopes. Sharp. Loves entertainment and leisure. Romantic on the inside not outside. Superstitious and ludicrous. Spendthrift. Tries to learn to show emotions.

MARCH: Attractive personality. Sexy. Affectionate. Shy and reserved. Secretive. Naturally honest, generous and sympathetic. Loves peace and serenity. Sensitive to others. Loves to serve others. Easily angered. Trustworthy. Appreciative and returns kindness. Observant and assesses others. Revengeful. Loves to dream and fantasize. Loves traveling. Loves attention. Hasty decisions in choosing partners. Loves home decors. Musically talented. Loves special things. Moody.

APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see.

MAY: Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered. Attracts others and loves attention. Deep feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally. Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding. Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing. Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling. Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having many children. Hardworking. High spirited. Spendthrift.

JUNE: Thinks far with vision. Easily influenced by kindness. Polite and soft-spoken. Having ideas. Sensitive. Active mind. Hesitating, tends to delay. Choosy and always wants the best. Temperamental. Funny and humorous. Loves to joke. Good debating skills. Talkative. Daydreamer. Friendly. Knows how to make friends. Able to show character. Easily hurt. Prone to getting colds. Loves to dress up. Easily bored. Fussy. Seldom shows emotions. Takes time to recover when hurt. Brand conscious. Executive. Stubborn.

JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.

AUGUST: Loves to joke. Attractive. Suave and caring. Brave and fearless. Firm and has leadership qualities. Knows how to console others. Too generous and egoistic. Takes high pride in oneself. Thirsty for praises. Extraordinary spirit. Easily angered. Angry when provoked. Easily jealous. Observant. Careful and cautious. Thinks quickly. Independent thoughts. Loves to lead and to be led. Loves to dream. Talented in the arts, music and defense. Sensitive but not petty. Poor resistance against illnesses. Learns to relax. Hasty and trusty. Romantic. Loving and caring. Loves to make friends.

SEPTEMBER: Suave and compromising. Careful, cautious and organized. Likes to point out people’s mistakes. Likes to criticize. Stubborn. Quiet but able to talk well. Calm and cool. Kind and sympathetic. Concerned and detailed. Loyal but not always honest. Does work well. Very confident. Sensitive. Good memory. Clever and knowledgeable. Loves to look for information. Must control oneself when criticizing. Able to motivate oneself. Understanding. Fun to be around. Secretive. Loves leisure and traveling. Hardly shows emotions. Tends to bottle up feelings. Very choosy, especially in relationships. Systematic.

OCTOBER: Loves to chat. Loves those who loves them. Loves to take things at the center. Inner and physical beauty. Lies but doesn’t pretend. Gets angry often. Treats friends importantly. Always making friends. Easily hurt but recovers easily. Daydreamer. Opinionated. Does not care of what others think. Emotional. Decisive. Strong clairvoyance. Loves to travel, the arts and literature. Touchy and easily jealous. Concerned. Loves outdoors. Just and fair. Spendthrift. Easily influenced. Easily loses confidence. Loves children.

NOVEMBER: Has a lot of ideas. Difficult to fathom. Thinks forward. Unique and brilliant. Extraordinary ideas. Sharp thinking. Fine and strong clairvoyance. Can become good doctors. Dynamic in personality. Secretive. Inquisitive. Knows how to dig secrets. Always thinking. Less talkative but amiable. Brave and generous. Patient. Stubborn and hard-hearted. If there is a will, there is a way. Determined. Never give up. Hardly becomes angry unless provoked. Loves to be alone. Thinks differently from others. Sharp-minded. Motivates oneself. Does not appreciate praises. High-spirited. Well-built and tough. Deep love and emotions. Romantic. Uncertain in relationships. Homely. Hardworking. High abilities. Trustworthy. Honest and keeps secrets. Not able to control emotions. Unpredictable.

DECEMBER: Loyal and generous. Sexy. Patriotic. Active in games and interactions. Impatient and hasty. Ambitious. Influential in organizations. Fun to be with. Loves to socialize. Loves praises. Loves attention. Loves to be loved. Honest and trustworthy. Not pretending. Short tempered. Changing personality. Not egotistic. Take high pride in oneself. Hates restrictions. Loves to joke. Good sense of humor. Logical.

Layers Meme

LAYERS MEME
LAYER ONE: On the Outside
Name: Sara
Birth date: 2 April
Birthplace: Falkenberg
Current Location: Söderhamn
Eye Color: Bluegreen
Hair Color: Medium blonde
Height: 1,73m
Righty or Lefty: Righty
Zodiac Sign: Aries

LAYER TWO: On The Inside
Your heritage: Swedish, through and through
Shoes you wore today: Foppa slippers
Your weakness: Procrastination. Definitely. And having too many things to do at the same time.
Your fears: Heights. Not being able to move forward, learning new things, etc.
Your perfect pizza: Capricciosa.
Goal you'd like to achieve: To one day have a published novel.

LAYER THREE: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Your most overused phrase on AIM: Don't use AIM.
Your thoughts first waking up: Oh god, morning so soon?
Your best physical feature: My eyes.
Your bedtime: Hehe. Oh, it ...varies.
Your most missed memory: Wha? I lost a memory?

LAYER FOUR: Your Pick
Pepsi or Coke: Coke
Mc Donald's or Burger King: Burger King.
Single or group dates: Uh. Single?
Adidas or Nike: Does it matter?
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Oh yuk to both.
Cappuccino or coffee: Coffee. Definitely!

LAYER FIVE: Do You?
Smoke: NO.
Cuss: All the time.
Sing: All the time
Take a shower everyday: Yup.
Have a crush(es): Sure do.
Think you've been in love: Yes.
Like(d) high school: Sure...?
Want to get married: Yes...
Believe in yourself: Oh, I try.
Get motion sickness: Mmm...no.
Think you're attractive: Some days.
Think you're a health freak: Oh no.
Get along with your parents: Pretty much, yes.
Like thunderstorms: No, not really. They make me turn off the computer!
Play an instrument: I played piano. Very badly. Years ago.

LAYER SIX: In the past month...
Drank alcohol: Ohyes.
Smoked: Never
Done a drug: Never
Gone on a date: ...no.
Gone to the mall?: Yes
Eaten an entire box of Oreos: No
Been on stage: No
Been dumped:No
Gone skating: No
Gone skinny dipping: No (kinda cold in December)
Dyed your hair: No
Stolen anything: No

LAYER SEVEN: Ever...
Played a game that required removal of clothing: Ohyeah!
Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Yup.
Been caught "doing something": Yup.
Been called a tease: Yup!
Gotten beaten up: No...
Shoplifted: Afraid so!

LAYER EIGHT: Getting Older
Age you hope to be married: Yikes. No idea. Before I am 40?
How do you want to die: Old age. Preferrably in my bed, too.
What do you want to be when you grow up: Yikes. I am grown up...no idea still!
What country would you most like to visit: Hmm. Good question. I have a lot of countries I would like to visit.

LAYER NINE: In a girl/guy
Best eye color?: Not that important...partial to dark eyes, though.
Best hair color?: Not that important.
Short or long hair: Uh...doesn't matter.
Height: Tall. (but not a giant, either!)
Best articles of clothing: Hehe. Oh...a tie, maybe? Ties are sexy.
Best first date location: Yikes. No idea.

LAYER TEN: In The Numbers...
Number of drugs taken illegally: 0
Number of people I could trust with my life: around...10, or so.
Number of CDs that I own: Uuuugh. 40ish? 50ish?
Number of piercings: None.
Number of tattoos: None.
Number of times my name has appeared in the Newspaper?: Oh...maybe...3 - 4?
Number of scars on my body: Eh. 10, maybe?
Number of things in my past that I regret: I regret nothing...

What does your name mean?

Hippolyta

H is for Heavenly
I is for Innocent
P is for Proud
P is for Philosophical
O is for Openhearted
L is for Lively
Y is for Yummy
T is for Thrilling
A is for Abstract


What Does Your Name Mean?