Things about me

[schneefink]

There is another DW friending meme and I met new people :D Hi new people!
Should I do a short intro? Hi, this is me. *waves* My last intro post, after the last friending meme, is here. A few things changed since then.

So what have you been up to? / Major life changes? Same old same old?
I moved out of my parents' house and into my own apartment! It's very exciting. I've been living there for a little over a month now and I'm still getting used to it, but I like it :) All the important furniture is there, but there's still some stuff left to do (insurance, third flatmate etc.)
I hoped to finish my bachelor's thesis in spring, but I underestimated how much time the preparation for the move cost. I will finish it soon though! I hope. I think. I will.

What fandom are you in/do you spend most of your time in?
My main fandom is still hockey, my second fandom is hockey RPF. Kinda, it's complicated, this is my first RPF fandom and I'm still (after years) getting used to it. (Wow, it's been years!)
I also regularly flirt with other fandoms, usually only for a short time. Recent examples are Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Killjoys. And I read fic in pretty much any fandom if I find something I like.

Where do you hang out online?
My favorite site and the one I use the most is dreamwidth. I still have my LJ account but I only use it sporadically. I like Tumblr for the pretty pictures, I'm teddybearsandspaceships there, but I don't interact with people much there. I also have a Twitter account since recently, akaenn: I got it solely so I could follow hockey journalists and atm that's all I'm using it for.

What are you reading?
Mostly fic, and a lot of it. I recently bought "Rosemary and Rue" by Seanan McGuire and I'm looking forward to it. Next on my list is probably "The Game" by Ken Dryden, but it will probably be something else that I'm suddenly in the mood for.
A while ago I thought it'd be nice to read more German books again, but unfortunately there's not that much German SFF that's appealing to me. There must be some I don't know yet, but it's hard to find.

What are you watching?
The last thing I watched was The 100, which I liked, and before that Killjoys. It's been months since LK, AV and I got together to watch Babylon 5! I miss it. AV is very busy right now but he said he probably has time in about two weeks.
Soon hockey season starts again, and then I will of course watch hockey games. I already started, with the Pens' rookie tournament. Hockey is just so pretty.

What are you making?
I'm getting better at cooking in my new home :) Now for the first time I have enough groceries at home that I can cook several things without having to go shopping first. Yesterday I made banana pancakes with maple syrup (yum) and some kind of experimental vegetable-and-chicken stir-fy, it was good.
I'm also writing. I had to drop out of all the challenges I signed up for (I knew there was a reason why I didn't sign up for exchanges - although exchanges usually manage to motivate me more), but there's one fic that is 2/3 done that I'm pretty sure I can finish and several kinkmeme prompts I want to try my hand at. Yuletide is also not so far away.

What else is on your mind?
Dinner. I should go eat something.
I'm feeling guilty because I did very little but procrastinate this week. At least I met/talked with people and ate regularly, and I think next week will be better.
I went to a street festival with LK and MSZ in my new district today, it was fun. I bought a pretty dragon bookmark that's hanging on my desk lamp right now.
It got a lot colder in Vienna, when I visit my parents tomorrow I'll definitely take the warm blankets with me that last time I thought I didn't need yet.
This got random. Part of the accurate introduction, maybe. If you want to know anything else about me feel free to ask.

Comments

[myrdschaem]

Ahh, congrats on moving out, it is not easy living alone. Also excited for any reaction to The Game, I knew it was going to be good but Ken Dryden is just super good there. I should reread that. ^^

[schneefink]

The reason why I haven't read The Game yet is because I'm still in the middle of The Greatest Game by Todd Denault, which also covers among other things Dryden's time in Montréal. It's an interesting book, but unfortunately to me not very gripping and so I haven't finished it yet. Or maybe it's because I'm in the middle of a chapter about the Flyers ^^

[myrdschaem]

Oh, I need to find this. I want to know everything when I get into a fandom, so I want to read all the hockey books. But most recommendations are hard to get in Europe. ;__; Hard times

[schneefink]

It's impossible to know everything in this fandom! But finding out more is fun :)
I know the book exists in ebook format so you could probably at least get it this way.

[myrdschaem]

I mean it is, but I'm giving it a good try anyway! :P

Ahh, I'm behind times I haven't gotten an ebook reading platform yet. It probably will happen, until then I'll see what amazon can ship.

[isis]

What's the difference between hockey as a fandom, and hockey RPF as a fandom? I mean, I take it that you follow hockey as a traditional sports fan, but is there media-fan type activity there as well?

[schneefink]

Good question. The lines between the two are of course blurry. I started treating hockey as a separate fandom when I realized that if hockey RPF suddenly disappeared I'd still follow hockey as a sport, but it's more than that, though I'm not sure how to best explain it. I'm not sure what exactly falls under "media-fan type activity", but I do feel like I participate in hockey-as-a-sport fandom and don't just follow it, the same way it feels different to be in a show's fandom and to watch a show. In addition to watching (highlights and some full) games I read a lot of articles and blogs, I'm familiar with the narratives and I can and do build my own, I enjoy manips and other "fanart" coming out of hockey-as-a-sport fandom, and I participate in discussions on places like r/hockey. The similarities and differences between media fandom (and RPF fandom) and traditional sports fandom are fascinating. Several things started making a lot more sense once I realized for example that many paid journalists are basically BNFs.

[mous22]

Moving out of your parents is great, but takes a little getting used to.
Sometimes just meeting people and eating is enough for a week.

[schneefink]

Small steps :) And it was good food, that probably counts for something.

[mous22]

Good food is always worthwhile!

[umadoshi]

Nice to meet you!

Out of curiosity, have you read anything else of Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant's?

Hooray for your own apartment! I hope you keep settling in well. ^_^

[schneefink]

Thanks! Next week I'm planning to get a lamp for my reading chair and a functional radio.

I haven't. I started following her on Tumblr for a reason I can't remember and have been vaguely planning to read one of her books for a while now, but first I couldn't decide and then it took a while because I'm reading way more fic than books these days.

[umadoshi]

Ooh. A reading chair/space is so very important!

Seanan's Tumblr is a lot of fun. ^_^ Even when I'm otherwise not using Tumblr much at all, I make sure to check her account (although that's partly to make sure I don't miss anything she says about her worlds/characters, since she's my favorite author).

Part of the reason I ask is because the first couple of Toby Daye books are fun and I like them fine, but IMO it's very clear that they're her FIRST novels, and every once in a while people seem to read them, go "meh", and not be inspired to check out her other stuff (or read further in the Toby series, which--and this is obviously personal--didn't click until the third book or so).

(I also asked because her Newsflesh series are the books of my heart. *g* It's been my primary fandom, wee as the fandom is, for about three years now. But I love all of her worlds.)

[schneefink]

I heard good things about the Newsflesh books. But I'm generally not a big fan of zombies, or horror in general, so I decided to try her other series first.

I'm a fan of the Dresden Files books (despite their flaws) and they also didn't start out great. I'll read the first Toby Daye book and then ask people familiar with the series if the aspects I like less get better in later books, hopefully that'll get me a more accurate picture of if it's worth continuing if I have doubts.

[umadoshi]

I heard good things about the Newsflesh books. But I'm generally not a big fan of zombies, or horror in general, so I decided to try her other series first.

Seems very reasonable! I hope you enjoy Toby. ^_^ Overall I'd say that series is still my least-favorite of Seanan's stuff, but that's not a reflection on the quality. I have several friends who love it best of her worlds, so mileage varies wildly!

When I fell so hard for Newsflesh, it was genuinely hilarious when I told various friends about my new burning love and what the books are about, because my tastes in fiction generally do not run anywhere NEAR zombies. Or politics. Or virology. Or journalism. (Or horror in general, although personally I'd file these more under sci-fi.) Newsflesh should not remotely be my thing, but I love the characters so much. And the friends who know my usual tastes would just STARE sometimes when I explained what I was into.

As a data point, I know quite a lot of people who aren't into zombies who love the books anyway, but it's obviously not true for everyone. I know a couple of people who just can't handle zombies in any form and thus can't read the books, and sometimes that's just how it goes.

The Dresden Files books are on my to-read list (which is terrifying, so I never have much idea when I'll actually get to any given book), so that's good to know about the first one(s) not being all that great.

...this comment got long. Oops?

[schneefink]

It's been some time since I read the early Dresden Files books. Iirc the first few are good but not outstanding, and it picks up a lot somewhere between book 3 and 6 (ymmv.) The series does have some great female characters, but sometimes Harry's chivalry and the author's male gaze get annoying, so I'm really looking forward to reading a series with a female protagonist!

I also had my "I never thought I would enjoy this"-books/movies/etc (my friends' reactions when I told them I got into hockey were hilarious), but I'm much more likely to check things like that out in fic. (Or, let's be honest, when they're free. That reminds me, I need to check how many fiction ebooks our library offers by now!)

[umadoshi]

Seanan is very good about female protagonists! To the point that when she said that a male character would be narrating books 3 and 4 of InCryptid, it took me a while to fully process because it just seemed so WRONG. *g*

Libraries seem to be so hit-and-miss about ebooks! Or at least my local library system is, and I gather from things other people say that it's far from alone on that front. :/

[geckoholic]

Yay for the apartment! Man I remember that feeling. XD

I've been meaning to check out The 100, but my subscription service keeps cockblocking me, lol. Ah well. Eventually.

[schneefink]

Still several months to go until the third season :( So plenty of time to catch up if you want to.

[umadoshi]

Still several months to go until the third season :(

There may have been gnashing of teeth over here when that was announced. :/

[schneefink]

Usually I'd read fic in the meantime, but my brief look at The 100 fic on AO3 wasn't very promising. When I found longer non-AUs, preferably gen, they often didn't correspond with my own character interpretations and/or headcanons. I'd love recs if you have some :)

[umadoshi]

No recs, I'm afraid. :/ I don't tend to go seeking fic much, because I'm perpetually behind (WAY BEHIND) on the fic my friends write or rec, and I don't know anyone who writes or recs for The 100. Alas.

[geckoholic]

Ohh, I will. Just waiting for technology to finally let me. /grumbles

[amnisias.livejournal.com]

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