pilvi: (Edith happy)
I used to write such posts for my livejournal, and I think I would like to continue the tradition here. So, from now on in English:

Tv-series of the year: different versions of the story of the Borgia family kept me busy watching and re-watching throughout the year... until I stumbled upon Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and, very recently, Versailles. But, I suppose, The Borgias, Borgia and The Borgias (oh, those almost identical titles!) are still the winners in this particular contest.

 
Book of the year: this has been almost exclusively a Borgia-related non-fiction year, and it would be hard for me to pick one particular book.
 
 
Movie of the year: I have been watching a quite a lot of movies with Sean Harris this year. For this summary I think I will choose 24 Hour Party People, because it had some impact on what I listened to as well.
 
 
Music of the year: I suppose it would be Zaz and Nemnogo Nervno. Also, discovered Joy Division. A couple of Nemnogo Nervno songs:


 
 
Website of the year: italki.com where I teach and study languages. Also, scil.tampere3.fi which I worked on last summer. And, definitely, Instagram is an important addition to my social media accounts, starting as work related and staying after the work was done.
Month of the year: actually, not sure.
 
 
Season of the year: summer. Made very challenging by a full-time internship, a part-time job and several online courses – but also very exciting.
 
 
Part of the day: evening.
 
 
Dish of the year: huge chicken legs. I confess I buy them marinated – something I avoided before. Oh, and apple pies – now if my mother brings too may apples, I know what to do about them!
 
 
Drink of the year: tea, now often with lime or lemon and curcuma.
 
 
 
Purchase of the year: summer fingerless gloves from Etsy and a wide-brimmed hat, to help me cycle on a sunny day.
 
 
Thing (or is it item?) of the year: yarn, especially iris yarn.
 
 
Disappointment of the year: the realization that I should have majored in another field, but it is too late to correct it. Luckily, though, I got a chance to add the right choice to my CV through the previous internship.
 
 
Achievement of the year: Surviving the summer :) Also, finding the second internship placement quicker than expected – I actually phoned them to ask if it was too late to apply, because the ad had been there for over a month, and they said I could just come right away. Another proof that a phone call can be very useful :)
 
 
Language of the year: Italian.
 
 
City of the year: Tampere.
 
 
Place of the year: TAMK main campus. Stayed there all summer for the internship – and, I must say, it is even nicer there with less people around, especially at the library. Here is a photo I took of it back then:
 
 
Colour of the year: black and purple.

 
Trip of the year: study trip to Antwerp, all the way from Tampere by car. Hard, but a change an adventure. Even though it did end with the realization I wrote about above, I liked the trip itself.
 
 
Tradition of the year: let me see... This is not a good year for traditions, actually, since for the first time I am not celebrating in Moscow. So, no decorating Christmas tree: my cypress and the small pine-tree are too fragile for decorations. But I will, as usual, go online after midnight to allow myself all those youtube clips and searching for avatars and fanfiction that I don’t usually have time for during the year. This time, though, not until 6 AM: my internship starts on January 2nd, 8 AM :(
 
pilvi: (flowers)
 After a very busy summer, I'm enjoying a more relaxed Autumn: since most of the cross-study options were on the same day as my mandatory course, I could not fill all my days with studies. Well, ok, the last two semesters I actually managed to make a timetable with overlapping courses (again, if only I had a time-turner!) but this time they would overlap too badly.

So, as a result, yesterday and the day before were spent mostly marathon-watching series. So nice to have the opportunity! - even though not for long, since I will have more courses in October.

Game Of Thrones -7 was covered in just two days, two episodes on Sunday and the rest on Monday. Well... I guess i liked it, though no strong emotions. Maybe it's because this is no longer my main fandom, though I'm still very attached to the books and waiting for The Winds Of Winter. Or perhaps my lack of criticism is mainly due to the fact that this time I've got no book to compare the series to, and it is very relaxing for someone who wants the adaptation to be as close to the source as is only possible.

Sort of speaking of which, yesterday I was re-watching The Borgias -1, and, surprisingly, I'm starting to think that even though it is inaccurate, it's not like these are some kind of terrible inaccuracies that turn everything completely upside down. More like, it cuts down and simplifies... but I am still going to write a post about both of the Borgias-related series. (Three, actually - I've finally watched the 80's version, only this one should be in a separate post.)
But this tolerance might be the result of watching Reign, after which most of - what should I call them? - distortedly historical series and movies can seem... well, quite ok.

But now is Twin Peaks time... was supposed to have started over half an hour ago, actually, but Internet is very absorbing.
pilvi: (studies)
 For the first few days of studying Italian on Duolingo, it seemed like all the words and forms just slipped out of the brain the next moment after I'd heard, read, typed and repeated them - just like sand through fingers. Then, however, I noticed to my surprise that I remembered some of them- and could even cautiously formulate something of my own (strictly within the limitations of those most basic things, though).

This way of learning a language is totally new to me - it has always been with a textbook before. Duolingo is convenient for someone who doesn't have much time, and it is fun - but, on the other hand, unnerving, because I'm used to learning grammar and pronunciation more systematically.

I've looked at some textbooks, too, at TAMK library - but haven't borrowed anything yet. I want to try pure Duolingo till the end of August, see where it gets me with 20 minutes a day.

Although there is one other thing that I don't like there - I'm used to write when learning a language, not type. Typing makes it all feel even more fragile.
pilvi: (studies)
 Another book about the Borgia family arrived today. A thick hardcover, Sarah Bradford's Cesare Borgia: His Life and Times. Added it to the growing pile on my table. At least one more expected shortly - great, now I've even lost track!

It would be wonderful, if it weren't for one thing: with a full-time internship, a part-time job and online summer courses (five at the start of summer, now two) I simply don't have time for much reading! Speaking of courses: not far away from the historical pile, there is a Risk Management textbook which I'm supposed to finish within the next couple of weeks...

Every time I make a mess of my timetable, I tell myself that "next semester will be less crazy". Somehow the next one is always worse! - only when I see all those courses on offer, I can barely resist the temptation. After all, it's probably the last time I'm getting a full-time education, whatever they say about life-long learning...

In short, I need more hours in a day.

By the way, I've already wondered on Lj, but nobody suggested an explanation. In the third Harry Potter, why did Hermione not use the time-turner just to get some more sleep every once in a while?

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January 2019

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