kangeiko

 Wow, I haven't posted here in a little while. I've mostly been stolen by tumblr, which is easier to post to from a mobile as I spend far less time doing social media stuff on my laptop. I was thinking about getting a laptop that's a little more portable, which would allow me to write more and blog more; any recommendations?

In the meantime, I wrote some fic and saw some theatre, so here is a short round-up of activity since, well, the middle of last year.

Fic wot I wrote:

Matins (Sherlock BBC)
"I think I would be perfectly alright if you died," Sherlock said over tea. He glared at Mycroft and very deliberately took a sip of Darjeeling.

spilt milk (The World's End)
Five things that never happened to Gary King (and one that did).

I finally finished this! It took me a few months, and in the meantime, I received some glorious fan art for it which made me weak at the knees. 

the ninth month (Coriolanus - Shakespeare / Coriolanus - Rob Hastie & Josie Rourke)
Each step further from her body has led to this. Volumnia has no illusions.


For yuletide I wrote the following:

I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be (Seafort Saga - David Feintuch) for Serenade 
"Why, Holser?"
"I don't know. Maybe now the Captain's dead, being first middy doesn't seem so important. Maybe it's the way Alexi looks at you sometimes, when he thinks you don't see."
Alexi isn't the hero of this story. He can't even remember his lines.

the bone mother (Deathless - Catherynne M. Valente) for dynamicsymmetry 
Look, said Viy, and held out the world for her inspection. Look, milochka, at what I have for you.
The Tsars and Tsaritsas of Widow Likho's black book.

a funny thing happened on the way to the ballot box(Deathless - Catherynne M. Valente / Political RPF - Russian 21st c.) for JJ_Shinnick 
This is what happens when you let your sister matchmake.

such is the breath of kings(Richard II - Shakespeare) for angevin2 
After Richard's death, the Duke of York visits his son. Set within the 2013 RSC version (where Exton's character is subsumed in the character of Aumerle).

northward, with such quiet steps (Frankenstein - Nick Dear) for Kahvi 
Slowly, gradually, the pursuit progressed.

Ouroboros (Frankenstein - Nick Dear) for Kahvi 
Victor collapses in the Arctic. The Creature intervenes.


Reviews of theatre/opera/ballet wot I saw fairly recently: 
- King Charles III (Almeida Theatre)
- King Lear (and here) (National Theatre) 
- Henry V (Noel Coward Theatre)
- Carmen (Royal Opera House)
- Prince Igor (London Coliseum)
- Richard II - RSC (and here) (Barbican Theatre) 
- Coriolanus (and here) (Donmar Warehouse) (& more meta on the play & this interpretation of it is here). My Coriolanus tag is fairly full.
- American Psycho: A New Musical Thriller (Almeida Theatre)

Things that I saw that I haven't gotten around to reviewing are the Let the Right One In (Royal Court Theatre), Matthew Borne Swan Lake (Sadler's Wells), Red Velvet (Adrian Lester - Tricycle Theatre), The Weir (Brian Cox - Wyndham's Theatre), A Taste of Honey (with the wonderful selenak , at the National Theatre), The Full Monty (Noel Coward Theatre), Versailles (Donmar Warehouse), 1984 (Almeida Theatre), Walmsley String Quartet (Royal Albert Hall).

non- theatre events: I attended the Sherlock Apple store event (photos and comments here and here or check out my applelock tag), the Royal Television Society "Anatomy of a Hit" lecture & drinks thing (comments and photos here and here, or check my rts tag), Malala Yousafzai's talk at the Southbank Centre (comments & photos here),

The above reviews are all on tumblr. I'm thinking of starting a blog or tumblr or something focused specifically on theatre reviews. I've been going more and more, and although I do the obvious things like collecting programmes, not writing down my immediate impressions means that I lose quite a bit of the memory of the performance, especially the quirky little things that won't then be recalled easily for a programme perusal. I'm still trying to work out the best format for that; I suspect that Wordpress (then crossposted to tumblr / LJ / DW) might be the best approach. If I treat it as a fairly rigorous this I may well be able to stick to it; it's only ad hoc blogging that I can't seem to get the hang of.

Speaking of things I can't get the hang of, I appear to be doing too many Nine Worlds things. Like, far too many. Two panels for sure, and maybe helping on others? This may not seem too many, but I have recently handed in my notice (because I have a wonderful new job that I am VERY excited about) and Nine Worlds is falling fairly soon after I start. I don't think this is a problem, but it means that I need to sit down and think out what I need to be doing for all the things I've committed to, rather than blindly trusting that things will work out in the end (because that way needless stress lies). 

In order to avoid needless stress, I will be taking a glorious 3 weeks holiday in between finishing current job and starting new job. This will probably involve a few days abroad, although the details are tbd. My mother seems fairly keen for us to go away to a spa in the Czech Republic for a week (I'm not entirely sure where in the Czech Republic, I suspect it's in the middle of a forest as all spas tend to be), and I'm fairly keen to spend a few days back in Paris doing art things, so who knows. It's quite nice leaving that all up in the air deciding nearer the time.

My Italian study has faltered since Christmas (as in, I've done fuck all since then), but this is mainly because I've actually been rather sick over the last quarter and have also been job hunting. Work has also been so spectacularly bad, we are the source of astonished entertainment for other teams. If I saw these plotlines on a show, I'd complain they weren't realistic. But that's mostly resolved now - plus, fantastic new job. So phase 2 of my new year's resolution (fix work, health, long-term life goals) is now moving on to a focus on health. This probably wasn't helped by eating doughnuts today, but let's assume that I'll be, er, healthier somehow with the Easter impetus. I'm definitely going to be indulging in some pilates classes, and will actually dust off that gym card as well. I suppose Italian self-study is the sensible thing to slot into my new schedule at this time as well... well, we'll see.

I was totally intending to do a travel round-up, but I'm struggling with the connection. Instead, I'm going to whine about working on a giant spreadsheet that gets more complex with every added formula. Why, world, why? This is why I don't like project work. Or, well, I do, but I feel like I've been dropped in the middle of it with no briefing, and am struggling to make sense of everything in the allotted time.

On the plus side, I'm definitely travelling in-country in a couple of weeks, which should be awesome. On the downside, the rest of my time seems to be pencilled in to interview panels and workshops, with no actual time to get any of the work done. ARGH. Plus Monday is a bank holiday! And my normal lift has her sister visiting so probably won't want to drive us around!

Oh, I totally forgot to mention that I've been driving a giant 4x4 pick-up truck in Africa. THIS IS SO COOL. Also terrifying. And painful. I can't change gear without sacrificing a wrist-bone. And no one here indicates, and pedestrians don't look, but walk in the middle of the street, and there are no street lights. I'm so not ready to be driving myself around anyway (at least not for the next couple of weeks), but I'm putting in the time behind the wheel, which is good. I've been trying to persuade the business manager to let me borrow a car over the next few weekends so we can go to the beach, but he just moans something about likelihood of me ending up a mangled wreck in a country with poor medical coverage, and changes the subject. BORING. Just because the lake-side roads are rubbish and inter-city traffic is hideously dangerous and we've suffered several car accidents as an org this year already...

ANYWAY. No beach until the end of the month, when we're gonna try to persuade a colleague to drop us off. Er, 200km out of his way, but whatev. Better than the mangled wreck option.

In any case, when I get back to the UK, there will be Top Gear Live!  Front row centre seats, bb, oh yeah!

Yes, I can be fannish, what of it?

Safely back from Burundi. The placed was beautiful, but the conference was very stressful. I had hoped to have some time to write, and I did, a bit, but it really wasn't the most conducive environment for creativity, so I got neither of my help_japan fics done, for which I apologise. I'd hoped to get them done by the end of June, but that's looking less likely by the second. I got back on Friday morning (by virtue of saying "sod it" and getting a flight a few nights earlier), and on Tuesday I leave again, this time for full immersion security simulations, complete with men in balaklavas and toting AK47s. Then I get back, repack, and set off for the Isle of Wight, to see an old friend I haven't seen for months. Then I get back, repack, and set off for women traveller-specific security training, i.e. The Rape Simulation Exercise. That one promises to be a barrel of laughs for all concerned. Then I get back, have a couple of days at work doing admin-y things, repack, and set off for the Superprix at Brands. Then I get back, have a week at work, and 84 celebrations are in that weekend. Then I have another week at work, and then pack and set off for the MSVR weekender at Brands Hatch. Then I get back, etc etc.

Basically, I will be lucky to have time to breathe, let alone write, for the next few weeks. GAH. My existential writer-angst is made all the more poignant by the fact that both of the people I bid on for help_japan have already finished their fics for me, and OMG they are EXCELLENT. I mean seriously, overwhelmingly good. Stuck as I was with minimal internet connectivity, they even emailed me copies I could download and read offline, which made me a very happy camper indeed.

So, without further ado, I urge you to go and read the following excellent fic. Both are Top Gear RPF, J/J, and both are NC-17, so use your own judgement if RPF troubles you.

Wise Man by marginaliana [locked to AO3 registered users only] is set during the Middle East episode because, well, I was a little bewildered that no one was writing about it when it could be the source of so much angst. So I asked for it specifically, and marginaliana obliged with a sweet, angsty, hot fic from Jeremy's POV, centred around James's accident.

and

Well After All byblacktofade , which is also set during the Middle East episode, this time from James' POV. blacktofade asked if I had any particular wishes or kinks, and I immediately said, "awkwardness and uncertainty during first-time sex, please!" And Well After All delivers. Boy, does it deliver. Hot and funny and awkward and brilliant.

Both of these fics are absolutely amazing, and I swear I didn't arrange it to have one from James's POV and one from Jeremy's, but it made me insanely happy. You wanted Middle East fics? THESE ARE THE DEFINITIVE ONES.

My throat is feeling rather sandpapery. In fact, my throat has been feeling rather sandpapery for a few days now, which I attributed to a lurking hangover, but am now forced to concede may be due to something else. I am supposed to be having a lovely dinner with friends tonight, but am tempted to just head home and have some of my mum's home-cooked food and acquire magic health points. (Yesterday's raid on the parental fridge was a resounding success, with several meals and vegetable health-related items pilfered.) OTOH, dinner with friends, always a plus, and I haven't seen them for a while. (Saturday.) So I think gulping some paracetamol might be my best bet, and then possibly having a shorter (shortish?) day tomorrow.

In the meantime, I am trying to write a setof report guidelines that have grown from a sensible 3 pages to an unwieldy 7 pages. Nobody reads 7 pages of report guidelines. To the red pen of doom!

(Also, I watched Doctor Who 5.3 and wasn't impressed, especially as I am also currently watching The Talons of Weng Chiang. On the one hand, massive, massive race!fail. OTOH, plot and script and acting to blow you out of the water (and a companion to make me want to ship it liek whoa. Is there Four(/&)Leela out there? Preferably with her playing bodyguard?)

I probably have more to say on the subject of Who, but my overall (non-spoilery) impression is that the acting is spot-on for both 11 and Amy, but the last two scripts have felt rather under-developed, which is a shame. Maybe there is better to come as they get into the swing of it?)

I got a little slip of paper today that invited me to sign on the dotted line and have my contract become permanent. *does dance of BIG FUCKING JOY*

Does this make me ridiculously, stupidly, helplessly happy? HELL YEAH. I was gonna try for nonchalance but given the current economic climate (a phrase that seems to precede every. single. fucking. opinion I issue), I am ready to celebrate being employed by spending some of my hard-earned cash on helping the economy recover. Through the purchase of shoes. And sex toys.

*

Because there was a big 'yay', there has to be a little 'boo'. My wisdom teeth have attempted to emerge from their corral once again. Previously kept at bay by a small amount of space made available through root canal (yes, it was in the middle of my finals, why do you ask?), they have staged a rebellion and are attempting to emerge. Slight issue: there is no room. None. Prior X-rays showed that they are too close to several rather crucial nerves, and so surgical removal is also not so hot an option. I have a dentist's appointment on Monday to see if the situation has changed at all in the last few years.

*

Meanwhile, I ate my weight in food that is either sugary, fatty or otherwise bad for me. This has to stop, seriously. I tried to be good at work today - had cereal for breakfast, hard-boiled egg for lunch, soy yoghurt for a snack. This was somewhat ruined by the fact that I apparently looked pale enough for a ghost, or for someone nursing wisdom tooth pain. My colleagues were lovely, and responded by getting me: chocolate, pastries, and an orange balloon. (The balloon was lovely, and non-fattening.) I also made wounded faces and rubbed my head a lot (not consciously, you understand, but I do have Work!Mummy and Work!Daddy hovering like concerned Work!Parents), and was sent home like a sleepy child to have a nap. I apparently aimed for 'professional', but hit 'endearing' instead.

For the moment, permanent contract in hand... it'll do.

I've just completed an intensive course in assertive presentations at Greenpeace. It was disconcerting to discovered that my default utterance - accounting for perhaps 30% of everything I say during a difficult presentation - is 'um'.

It was also disconcerting to discover that this course may have managed to cure me of using it in just two short days. Seriously. Day one, am: a million 'um's. Day two, pm: not a single 'um'. I have the video evidence to prove it.

The loud buzzer they used any time anyone um-ed and er-ed (and the points they deducted from the person's team) may have had something to do with this. Now attach that to some jump leads, and I may divest myself of 'basically', 'actually', and 'as you can see'.

Saw Casablanca with wingsmith and queenspanky yesterday at the ICA. I'd never seen it before, and wanted the first time to be on the cinema screen. I'm so glad I waited, it's instantly become one of my favourite films.

I spent the rest of the day clearing out years' worth of accumulated clutter. Ten recycling and ten charity shop bags later, and I am... nowhere near finished. *sigh* At least there is now space for athena25 to move her stuff in this coming weekend.

I generally hate V-day, either because there are cards and messages (which makes me angry, see previous posts), or there aren't (which makes me depressed). This year, however, I was generally quite happy spending it with my friends and squeeing about Africa.

Next week looks something like this:
1. work work work work work
2. an assertive presentations course at Greenpeace, the mere concept of which never fails to crack me up.
3. final shopping - memory card for newly acquired digital camera (Canon, point-and-click, and yes, it's pink, sue me), anything else I've forgotten.
4. washing clothes, packing
5. flight.

Eeep.

For those curious on the continuing shenanigans of the Woman-Who-Would-Be-My-Boss, she recently had her ass kicked by my actual boss. I have a meeting with the two of them tomorrow, which should be hilarious. Will keep you posted.

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In other news, one of my very dear friends had a baby yesterday. Yes, that's a right - a Valentine's Day baby. Audrey Kathryn is named after her grandparents, and is 7 pounds and some ounces, and 22 inches long. And a week and a half late, so there was some trauma with the emergency C-section, but both mother and baby are doing well and will be going home on Tuesday. I am very eager to see them, but given that they live in Oregon, this might not be any time soon. *sigh* Still, there will be pictures soon (they are still sequestered in the hospital), and I am very much looking forward to that.

I realised I did a "my job hangs in the balance!" post, and totally left you at that cliffhanger. Le sigh.

Good news: ( Not fired! )

Less good news: there is talk of extra travelling (which is good) at really inconvenient times (which is bad). I don't know. Until someone actually approaches me with firm dates (and goals) for this trip, I'm assuming it's not happening.

Jewellery news: ( of pearls and mattresses )

Other news: I'm looking forward to flatmate Z moving out, I think. We've reached the stage where everything we do is annoying the other person. For instance: ( bitch whine moan ), and various other offences. Grr. She's away this weekend, I think, which should be nice.

Finally: Did I mention I had yesterday off, and today as well?? W00t!

I wanted to say this before I forget, because it's actually a rather important thing (at least for me) -

( in which I rock )

I am now planning for my Africa trip more or less full-time. ( Work work work biscuit work work )

Now all I need is to work out how I'm going to last 11 hours on a plane without screaming and jumping out the airlock, and it's all going to be just fine.

*

( On the job front )

( Also next week )

*

Finally, I have purchased two pairs of jeans. And a cute dress. I plan to wear the dress - with these really cute brown patent leather Mary Janes I bought a few weeks ago - to the office at one point. Not yet, though. It's a cute outfit, and I'm saving it for when I need a pick-me-up. Or after I've spent a month on Malarone and lost buckets of weight as a result.

Yes, I can be shallow. What?

Ten million not unimportant things to do, head may explode. Send endurance and wisdom in many, many packages, addressed c/o kangeiko.

My life, in exclamation marks:
( Travel! )

( Responsibility! )

( Trauma! )

( Needles! )

Normal service will resume shortly.