Closure 2011
Jan. 1st, 2012 04:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beelikejHappy New Year, everyone! I spent the night at my mom's and started 2012 with a luxury shower \o/ Hope the rest of the year will be just as awesome:)
Now that I'm back home, I want to properly close off the previous year by getting some issues off my chest and by finally finishing book- and filmreviews...
Feel free to scroll down for the fireworks video, this is me letting go of stuff. (Reviews will be posted later;)
That broken arm
I wish I could really ignore the arm and never mention it again, but unfortunately I still suffer from the consequences of the broken elbow. It's been almost a year now since I fell off my bike, but I've been waking up with a stiff and sore arm even after the bones healed. I was warned about not being able to fully stretch anymore and having a crooked arm, but no-one mentioned everlasting pain. I don't mind that my arm is a tiny bit out of synch with the other, but I'm having trouble dealing with the pain in the mornings and after seemingly insignificant movement. I hate that it brings out the bitterness and bitchiness, I hate that I can't let go. I am doing better though: I'm not as angry as I was and I think I can still detect improvement every few weeks, but it will be a continuing struggle to not take the frustration out on my body or surroundings.
That fandom experience
I had a magnificent time with most of my art-challenges in 2011: I truely managed to improve my work and had fun working with authors and making new friends. But there was one event that sucked so much time and energy out of me that it almost made me forget about the awesomeness of fandom and creating artwork.
I'm posting these behind-the-scenes photos of my personal process to put the bad memories behind me.
My personal notice-board has been on my wall for years. (If I remember correctly I moved it from my previous apartment as it was...) Even though I don't deal with change very well, I decided to use it for an artwork prompt. Before I took it down I made a photo, so I could put it back as it was after the challenge was done. This was early September 2011...
My wall was empty longer than I anticipated though. :(
To be able to make clean photos for the challenge and to make changes to the collage while working on the story, I put the notice-board with the artwork up in my hallway.
A late posting date, communication fail and a different direction from the original prompt were just a couple of reasons why I ended up just looking at the collage every day for months without ever working on it. After I finally posted the -very different- artwork, it took a couple of weeks before I could admit to the failure of my project and finally take the damn thing down.
On December 24th I put the original photo from September up on my screen to help me change the prompt back to my own notice-board.
Tadaah. There are obviously differences between the original notice-board and the way I managed to put it back together. I can't explain how much this pains me. I do feel better now the empty wall feels slightly familiar again. *sighs*
There you have it: two events that had a huge impact on how I remember 2011. I'm glad I have kept a journal, so I know I had really good times too. Concerts! Travels! Fangirls! Gishwhes! Fandom! All amazing. I'm gonna focus on those memories:)
And now, to symbolically blow up all the stupid issues: fireworks!
In the Netherlands it is tradition to light your own fireworks at midnight on New Year's Eve. Due to people buying waaaaaaaaay too much fireworks to get it all up in the air within an hour (as it was in the past) the government in its infinite wisdome decided to stretch the rules and allow lighting fireworks from 10.00 a.m. on Dec. 31st until 02.00 a.m. on Jan. 1st.
I was surprised people still had fireworks left at midnight. This is the view from my mom's balcony, about fifteen minutes into the New year. Enjoy!
(Selling fireworks is only allowed two days in advance, but somehow you can hear them from late November and it's still being lit as I write this in the late afternoon of January 1st...)
Mom and I have our own tradition; we light six huge sparkles before enjoying everyone else'smoney being blown up in the air spectacular fireworks:)
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
Now that I'm back home, I want to properly close off the previous year by getting some issues off my chest and by finally finishing book- and filmreviews...
Feel free to scroll down for the fireworks video, this is me letting go of stuff. (Reviews will be posted later;)
That broken arm
I wish I could really ignore the arm and never mention it again, but unfortunately I still suffer from the consequences of the broken elbow. It's been almost a year now since I fell off my bike, but I've been waking up with a stiff and sore arm even after the bones healed. I was warned about not being able to fully stretch anymore and having a crooked arm, but no-one mentioned everlasting pain. I don't mind that my arm is a tiny bit out of synch with the other, but I'm having trouble dealing with the pain in the mornings and after seemingly insignificant movement. I hate that it brings out the bitterness and bitchiness, I hate that I can't let go. I am doing better though: I'm not as angry as I was and I think I can still detect improvement every few weeks, but it will be a continuing struggle to not take the frustration out on my body or surroundings.
That fandom experience
I had a magnificent time with most of my art-challenges in 2011: I truely managed to improve my work and had fun working with authors and making new friends. But there was one event that sucked so much time and energy out of me that it almost made me forget about the awesomeness of fandom and creating artwork.
I'm posting these behind-the-scenes photos of my personal process to put the bad memories behind me.
My personal notice-board has been on my wall for years. (If I remember correctly I moved it from my previous apartment as it was...) Even though I don't deal with change very well, I decided to use it for an artwork prompt. Before I took it down I made a photo, so I could put it back as it was after the challenge was done. This was early September 2011...
My wall was empty longer than I anticipated though. :(
To be able to make clean photos for the challenge and to make changes to the collage while working on the story, I put the notice-board with the artwork up in my hallway.
A late posting date, communication fail and a different direction from the original prompt were just a couple of reasons why I ended up just looking at the collage every day for months without ever working on it. After I finally posted the -very different- artwork, it took a couple of weeks before I could admit to the failure of my project and finally take the damn thing down.
On December 24th I put the original photo from September up on my screen to help me change the prompt back to my own notice-board.
Tadaah. There are obviously differences between the original notice-board and the way I managed to put it back together. I can't explain how much this pains me. I do feel better now the empty wall feels slightly familiar again. *sighs*
There you have it: two events that had a huge impact on how I remember 2011. I'm glad I have kept a journal, so I know I had really good times too. Concerts! Travels! Fangirls! Gishwhes! Fandom! All amazing. I'm gonna focus on those memories:)
And now, to symbolically blow up all the stupid issues: fireworks!
In the Netherlands it is tradition to light your own fireworks at midnight on New Year's Eve. Due to people buying waaaaaaaaay too much fireworks to get it all up in the air within an hour (as it was in the past) the government in its infinite wisdome decided to stretch the rules and allow lighting fireworks from 10.00 a.m. on Dec. 31st until 02.00 a.m. on Jan. 1st.
I was surprised people still had fireworks left at midnight. This is the view from my mom's balcony, about fifteen minutes into the New year. Enjoy!
(Selling fireworks is only allowed two days in advance, but somehow you can hear them from late November and it's still being lit as I write this in the late afternoon of January 1st...)
Mom and I have our own tradition; we light six huge sparkles before enjoying everyone else's
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!
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no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 04:38 pm (UTC)It's the same in Norway - we fire up our own firework at midnight (Although - in the largest cities - like Oslo - there is not allowed to fire up your own fireworks in down town anymore, so the previous 3 years or so, there has been a municipal firework at midnight instead.)
The previous 4 years, "small" fireworks - the ones with one stick, has not been allowed, so onlt the "batteries" has been allowed. They are serisouly expensive - but damn, they do look good! I have never bought fireworks though - I just watch other people burn off their money.
-- Good luck with your arm. I hope it won't be long until it doesn't bother you at all anymore.
-- I am so glad that you had fun with the challenges this year, and it DID SHOW in your art! Although - yeah - that one challenge! I am so sorry!
2012 is gonna be a great year - and we are going to have so much with our art challenges this year!
no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 09:02 pm (UTC)I'm doing another challenge in february, can't wait to get started.
2012 is gonna rock \m/
no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 07:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 09:05 pm (UTC)*raises water bottle* May 2012 be full of fun fangirls (fine, possibly boys too) *g*
no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 09:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-01-01 09:14 pm (UTC)