[Scraps of Est] In the Coulisse

[Estrellir Konrath]

Bear with me.

Again, I have been relatively absent and again, with good reason. I've been writing my Bachelor's thesis. The deadline happens to be tonight (talk about last minute!), so from tomorrow on, I'll work on catching up and then getting all the plots started we've been discussing.

Please bear with me,
Est & Gwin



Ade - That sounds just as creepy, but thank you for stalking! It's always good to know that I'm not talking to myself here!

A) Yes, Eurovision! I've been an avid viewer for years. Needless to say, I was doubly excited being a resident of the host country this time! I have to list some of my favorite songs later - although Austria's entry was a disappointment. All people seemed to remember from it was the burning piano... After watching the preliminaries, I would have sent a different candidate too. I guess living up to Conchita was hardly possible in the first place though!

Anyway, which entries did you like best?

B) Wow, unexpected question. No plans at all. Est isn't a romantic person, so I haven't even considered her finding a long-time partner. One-night stands, yes. Flings, okay. Relationships? Nope. There is the possibility of political marriage, but I've always portrayed Est as the daughter who supports her family through work which gives her a kind of immunity to matchmaking in my imagination. But who knows! I'm definitely open to the idea, I just don't see it happen anytime soon...

[Estrellir Konrath]

Black is the color.

Finally I'm back to full activity. This month has been fairly busy: submitted the thesis on the 15th, volunteered to help at a manga & anime convention from the 24th to 26th and spent today with my three best friends from high school. Throughout the entire month, I've also been participating in Camp NaNoWriMo (writing mostly crap, but who knows) and put some books and manga up for sale online, a small step in the eternal attempt to declutter my room.

This is a heads up too. I will be away next week from August 6th to 9th - visiting relatives and spending time in the sunny south of the country. It shall be fun, but there shall be little to no writing. Apart from that, I plan to write through the rest of August and September without any distractions though!

Here's a song I discovered reinterpreted by a Japanese singer. KOKIA mostly writes anime and game music, but also covers folk classics like this sometimes. She's lovely and incredibly good at what she does.

[Estrellir Konrath]

Grades.

Two days ago, it found its way into the system - the last puzzle piece I needed to graduate as a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese Studies. I was worried about passing, so believe me, what I got was not at all what I had expected.

Secret :

See the word Note to the right and the small number 1 underneath? That's the grade for my Bachelor's seminar and thesis. It's the equivalent of an A (grades range from 1 to 5 here). An A! After worrying so much, it seems I passed with flying colors!

This is only one step down the road, an important one, but not the last goal yet. This degree means I can study translation and aim for the Master's degree starting this October. This is beyond exciting!

[Sayana]

Whoot! Just wanted to pass along a big congratulations. It can be tough waiting on an important grade that might decide your future. I wish you the best in your pursuits in translation.

[Estrellir Konrath]

To do.

Thank you, Sayana! I'm really excited, although uni doesn't start for another month.


So I've been unexpectedly absent in August, but I'm finding my way back. Caught up on threads now, I'm posting a to do list to keep track of various plots and plans across accounts. Don't worry, I'm terribly slow now, but haven't forgotten a single thing I promised and will get to everything eventually.

Estrellir
Figure out reason for migration
Plot with other Kenash PCs
Migrate
Get new job
Finish old job threads
Thread with Jayce

Gwin
Thread with Lilun
Finish music composition solo

Other
Grade Kenash threads
Grade WR threads
Boxcode requests

[Estrellir Konrath]

Sweet Melodies.

So I’ve been listening to a lot of piano and some violin music while writing for Miz lately. It fits Gwin like a glove. Est only tolerates it during her quiet ponderous moments, but she’ll be quiet and ponderous for most of the season. She’s just homesick is all (not that she’ll ever admit that to anyone).

Uni starts next week. Having finished my Bachelor’s degree, I have to adjust to a completely different schedule and timetable this year, so I’ll probably be busier than I used to be during October. I’m pretty excited though – studying translation is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time! Here’s to hoping my Japanese is good enough for a Master’s degree. It looks like we’re starting with general introductions and methods though, so there should be time enough to refresh my grammar and kanji memory.

If I take longer to reply, you’re warned. Anyway, keep writing!
Est & Gwin

[Estrellir Konrath]

This is odd.

So I’ve been known to disappear from Miz for weeks or even months before, but most of those absences happened due to a shocking lack of motivation. I found a new project or hobby to play with, I was busy with RL or a combination of everything usually played into that.

This time, however, is different. About two weeks ago I had a dream about Miz. In that dream, I had been banned from the game across all my PCs for reasons not included. That wasn’t the real surprise though – it was the fact that I didn’t particularly mind not being able to play Miz. And that got me thinking. Both Estrellir and Gwin are at a point where I can retire them comfortably and without letting too many people down. Gwin has been retired and resurrected before. In any case, retirement will be temporary. I want to be able to bring them back, should I feel like it – after all, nobody knows what changes of circumstances and mind the future will bring.

I guess that’s it. Miz has always been second priority to my personal writing. It’s almost November again which means NaNoWriMo and novel writing, so that’ll eat a lot of time. Also, I’ve felt before that Miz holds me back from focusing on my personal writing. Those stories have always been more than a hobby. Besides uni and work, I want to dedicate as much free time to them as possible and follow my dream. So that hasn’t changed. What has is this: Miz doesn’t feel as welcoming and friendly as it used to anymore. I won’t go in depth about this here or anywhere else as I’m not sure about the why myself. Part of it might be the recent wave of people retiring or announcing their absence. It looks like Miz was my place to be for a while, but isn’t anymore. The clouds might pass. Maybe it’ll become my place again, maybe not. Either way, I had a lot of fun and learned a lot of valuable lessons here – those times will never be forgotten.

At the moment I’m planning to finish threads with Gwin and get to all remaining boxcode requests in my thread. After that, Estrellir and Gwin will get a break (they deserve it).

One point I’m not sure about is the new PC I created a few months ago. He’s still fresh and fun to write, so maybe I’ll continue playing with him on a small scale. Just two or three threads at a time. I don’t know, but guess I’ll find out through writing him some more. If I stay on that account, I’ll probably cut back on posting ooc and scrapbooking though.

So that’s it. All I have to say is: Enjoy yourself and follow your dreams because everything is possible. Don’t listen to those who try to tell you otherwise, just make it happen.

[Estrellir Konrath]

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Still struggling with the former, but doing the latter as much as possible. I'm visiting London in late July, if anyone from the area wants to meet up, PM me!

And yes, Estrellir is back again. I just can't leave Miz, no matter how much I try, and I've forgotten why I keep trying.
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[Estrellir Konrath]

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Writing Sounds

Lately I’ve been listening to ambient sounds a lot while writing. This website provides a myriad of different sound environments made up of a handful of sound effects each. You can tweak each effect to make it louder or quieter, make it come from your right or left (provided you use good headphones), adjust frequency etc. Apparently you can even put together your own atmosphere, but I haven’t tried that yet. The Harry Potter ones are amazing – I’ve been listening to the Slytherin Common Room and Hogwarts Library while writing Estrellir posts which has been so relaxing and inspiring! Some of the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars (Jedi Academy!) ones are good too.

Just thought I’d share so you can check it out too!
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[Estrellir Konrath]

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