200 Posts!!!

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Ileandra Young

I know its a small anniversary, but I still feel like celebrating it. Its a cool kind of anniversary and nod to the fact that I never anticipated that I would get this far (when I began back in 2010!) and that I would keep going! I have no plans to stop, even with the twins on the way, though I may tweak the scheduling when my eyes just can’t stay open from too many sleepless nights.

I’ve spent a little bit of time worrying about how I was going to celebrate here and I’ve decided, since there isn’t much of it on the blog, that I would post a couple of my drawings!

Its been a while since I’ve done any but some of these I’m particularly proud of and, by showing them off somewhere other than Deviant Art, it might encourage me to get back into doing it. At least while I have time. 🙂


You’ll have to click each piccy for a better view of it, but they should be reasonably clear. Even in pencil. ^_^ Most are from 2009 when I was drawing almost every day; hopefully when I have another go I’ll be up to at least that standard!

The other thing I wanted to do here was offer thanks to various folk who’s encouragement (small or large, whether they realise it or not) has done a lot towards keeping me going and letting me know that I’m not doing it all for nothing: The Phoenix Writers, The Denizens of Twitter, Everybody who has taken the time to leave a comment on a post, real friends on the outside that I can touch and feel (waaaay-heeeey!) and game with and LARP with and laugh with. Even my family for looking in here occasionally, if only out of curiosity to see what I’m doing because I don’t phone them enough! :p

Thank you note! openlcipart

Heres to 200 more posts… and beyond!

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80 Post Challenge – Post 50

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Ileandra Young

Name one thing you always wanted to do, but haven’t. What has prevented you from doing it?

Easy peasy!

I want to go to Egypt.Sfinks profilIts such an incredible culture; all that marvellous architecture, that history, the old religion… particularly since so much of SORB’s mythos or beginnings is in Egypt I would love to go there and experience it. The sand, the blistering heat, the shimmer of the sun on The Nile… who wouldn’t want to, right?!

I want to walk across the sand in the shadow of the pyramids and imagine Saar there directing troops against Octavian (don’t worry; no spoilers here!). I want to look up at the Spinx and put myself into the shoes of a man who looked up at the mighty structure and knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life; protect his country from foreign invasion.

And Egypt’s history is so fascinating! The sheer genius behind building such incredible wonders as the pyramids, the agriculture, the religion… particularly religion. I know most ancient histories and their myths seem to have this crazed incestuous aspect (don’t believe me…? Zeus was Hera’s brother!), but the Egyptians win that one without trying. And the crazy things they did to each other, not to mention the vague hints towards necrophilia amongst the Gods as well (meep!).

But as to what is stopping me…? Well at first, there were always other places to go and the Egyptian obsession is relatively recent. Also, there was the niggling thought that I might just be attracted to the country because of films like The Mummy. I’ve since realised that that is not the case and that I truly am interested… which is nice. But by then, I was into University and my holidays were taken up by mapping projects and trips to the Isle of Skye or Isle of Arran. Beautiful, but not the same, you know?

Then University finished and Egypt was a bit expensive for my ‘yey, uni is over!’ holiday, so a friend and I went to Italy instead.

Then… I’ve just never been very good at saving money. I’m doing a damn sight better at it right now (pregnancy is apparently a MUCH bigger motivator), but now that money has elsewhere to go.

Oh, and of course, there was all the political/civil/war-time hoo-haa in Egypt that just did tonnes to make it a rather unattractive holiday destination. Though it seems to have blown over (or the news has enough other stuff to report that they just aren’t talking about it any more) I still wouldn’t feel totally safe going out there yet.

But… that’s not to say it will never happen. I’m 27… there’s still time and, to be honest, if I can share a trip like that with my children, if I can pass on the enthusiasm of something I love so very, very much, then I don’t mind waiting. Not one bit. 🙂

 

 

 

 

My 80 Post Challenge is brought to you with help from Tom Slatin’s 80 Journal Writing Prompts.

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Valentines Day 2012 -_-

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Ileandra Young

Right. I wouldn’t normally do this, but today I just… I can’t help myself….

I need a rant – just a quick one! – and since its about THIS day, it seems that I have to do it on the right day.

Valentine’s Day. The day of Saint Valentine… the day when people go skippy-crazy over romance and love and chocolate and other gushy, gooey crap that makes me want to hurl.

First, I feel its important to say that I’m not single; I’m in a relationship and have been for nudging on three years. I’m so blissfully happy in this relationship that it almost makes me sick and there are children on the way that are going to grow up knowing that both their parents love each other deeply. The current sentiment is left over from when I was single. But… saying it that way is kinda wrong. Because its not to say that I was green-eyed and bitter about Valentine’s Day when I was single, because I wasn’t. I was just sick to death of the hype, and the hike in chocolate prices and the lashings of red everywhere along with flowers and hearts and sappy little rhymes that, on any other day, you would just say were shit. So… single or not… I feel the same way about Valentine’s Day.

For those of you who don’t know this… Saint Valentine (Christian saint(s) by the way) are a bunch of folk who were brutally murdered in one form or another during various persecutions. Lord knows where the romance element from, but its pretty damn depressing if you ask me. I think Chaucer has something to do with making this particular saint (or set of saints) as famous as they are now – or at least starting it off – but I really can’t be arsed to read the wiki. You can if you like, its here.

I just… GAH! I get so sick of it; every year, the red pops up just before the Easter-Craze (as I like to call it) really kicks off (though you can by mini eggs in shops now -_-) and then its impossible to find a birthday card because every shelf is rammed with heart-encrusted, frilly crap. Even at work, there are heart mobiles dangling from the ceiling… very pretty I’m sure, but a shit load of effort for one day, when people will barely notice them because they’re too busy working!.

Dave and I aren’t doing anything today. In fact, I’m doing my hair *snerk* It needs the attention and since today is the only free day that’s when its going to be done.

The point, really, that I probably should have started with (before skipping off into a frothing rage) is simply this:

Why oh why do you have to wait for a specific day to declare your love?

Why not just when you look into each other’s eyes one night?

Or after you’ve had a tremendous fight?

Or when you’re looking down at the scans of your babies currently growing bigger and bigger day by day?

Or in the middle of the night when you’ve just elbowed him in the face because you’re wriggling about trying to get comfortable?

Hell, why not every damn day…?! Do something to show it, express it, even if you don’t expressly say it?

Love isn’t about one day, its forever, and if you really feel the need to express it to massive, excessive and often ridiculous proportions on one day of the year… one one day out of 365… then are you expressing it enough?

I don’t bloody think so.

Humph.

/rant

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Film Review: Daybreakers

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Ileandra Young

I remember when this came out at the cinema. I was terribly excited about it, because its an Ethan Hawke film and I’ve grown to really like him. Throw Willem Defoe and Sam Neill into the mix and I’m as happy as Larry.

So… this film is about vampires in a not too distant future who have become so common place that the human race is reduced to about 5% of the overall world population. Yikes, right? Sounds bad for humans until you realise that the vampire’s food supply is running out. Now it sounds super-bad!

Cue vampire haematologist Ed Dalton (Ethan Hawke) who works tirelessly to produce a blood substitute to bolster the dwindling supply. This is particularly important since vampires who are unable to drink human blood in sustaining amounts are rapidly de-evolving into crazed, mindless monsters who will attack anybody (human or vampire) to find their next meal.

Sounds pretty good right? Even without the greedy pharmaceutical boss added into the mix.

I thought so; even before I knew that much about it.

But then I watched it. Not to say that it isn’t very well done and beautifully acted, but I just feel like something was missing from the whole film. I’m still struggling to put my finger on what that is; which is a pain because I don’t usually have a problem with venting about vampire films.

I very much liked how vampirism had become so normalised and that society had just adjusted itself to make sure that vampires fit. It pretty much had to happen in plot, since vampires were very much the top of the food chain. Seeing sparkly eyed creatures dolling out coffee, sweeping streets and conducting business deals was a special kind of treat for me that I really, really enjoyed. Even the subsiders – the result of severe blood deprived vampires – kept me happy. Ugly, bat-like things with freakish strength.

Still something irked me and I think it may well be the blood soaked ending and final scene. Both seemed lacking something that the rest of the film had been very much able to deliver with little or no effort. I don’t want to call it class (it is a vampire film after all) but I’m hard pressed to find another word for what was missing. I expected something much, much more from the ending and it just didn’t quite live up to the rest of the film for me.

Unfortunate, but I’m still very glad I watched it. It starts well and so long as you don’t expect masses from it, you may well feel different about it. Give it a watch if you have 90 mins spare. 🙂

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80 Post Challenge – Post 49

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Ileandra Young

Quote the nicest thing anyone has ever said about you

“You’re going to be an cracking mother.”

Now… I realise that this has only become relevant recently, but I can think of nothing else that is as nice as this. Or something that I needed to hear from someone I trust and respect as much as I do. I just… Its hard to describe.

I’ve had a lot of fears and panic attacks and thoughts about motherhood. Since September last year, there has been no other subject that has returned to my mind so often. Not even writing. Though I’m not massively surprised by that; this is the biggest thing to happen to me, ever, ever! So that’s going to be the case.

But early on there were so few people I told. The traditional ‘better wait until the three month marker, since then we’re out of the danger zone‘ kinda thing. But one chap in particular I told made me feel very much better just by saying those words. Or something to that effect (he has a way with words that I don’t always manage to reproduce here exactly, but I do try). Anyway in the turmoil of everything else in my head, to hear that from someone who wasn’t Dave, or my mother, father, or any other family member was exactly what I needed. And to know that he thoroughly believes it for the truth is even better. ^_^

So… thanks m’dear!

And to everyone else who has told me something similar since; thank you all too. Little boosts such as those are really helpful at a time like this. They aren’t just empty words coming from you guys and I treasure that. 🙂

 

 

 

My 80 Post Challenge is brought to you with help from Tom Slatin’s 80 Journal Writing Prompts.

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