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Tess Wynn

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DAY ONE; [May. 19th, 2012|08:41 pm]

It's that time of year again, kids! The sun is out! Exams are over! You pack your bags, fish out your passport (and, in my case, dust it off), stash your pots and pans and snow gear, and head off to the airport for the short flight, the long-haul flight, and the middle-length flight. You've got headphones in and red itchy eyes (for the travels must always, for some unknown reason, begin between 2 and 5AM) and you've got a snuggly sweatshirt on, and a large frappuchino in one hand, pulling the biggest, heaviest suitcase known to man across the terminal floor. London Heathrow airport is an interesting place; one of my all-time favourites. The entire spectacle of the world is at London Heathrow; burka-clad women with six children in tow and many Louis Vuitton trademark luggages on a rent-a-cart; fat American tourists with baseball caps and white tennis shoes, talking loudly about funny money; skinny Danish businessmen with silk ties, rolled cigarettes, and perfectly spiked up hair. Airports are fascinating. But the eight-and-a-half-hour flight looms, so you breathe equal parts a sigh of relief and dread when it flashes red upon the screen: "BA2031 Toronto: BOARDING" (or Chicago, or New York, or Boston) and you make your way down the long, long corridor towards the gate.

Flights are timeless things. The day stretches on, artificially long, as you race west in an attempt to outrun the fading sun. Minutes pass as hours (and for some reason hours do not pass as minutes) and you tap feet, twirl hair, and flip aimlessly through magazines while trying not to think too hard about how many feet you are above the ocean and how trapped you are if something goes wrong. Your edginess increases, your airsickness sneaks up on you, and you walk up and down the aisle in an attempt to shake the feeling off. The woman next to you sleeps easily, contentedly, as you pick at your de-oxygenated box lunch. Communications and power supply suspended, the whole world boils down the gigantic (but really so tiny) metal tube hurtling through the sky. Hours, days, weeks, months, eons later, you spot land through three layers of class and miles of clouds, announcements ring, the plane circles, and woozy, dehydrated, nauseous, and exhausted, you land.

The signs welcome you into the country, they funnel you through the roped-off queues. The man in uniform asks, "how long have you been away" and you're not entirely sure how to respond. Five months? Three years? He welcomes you home, and you look around the fluorescent-lit warehouse of a room. Home? Suddenly the 4,500 mile journey catches up with you. Your head pounds, your palms sweat, and your surroundings wobble as your head fills with fuzz. Harsh voices puncture the hall; do you really speak that way, is this really your accent too? Your papers are stamped and you stop to sit down on a bench and let the sensation pass before boarding the next flight, the small plane, head between your knees, reassuring yourself that it's all going to be fine. Just fine. Your mother is on the other end, at the airport, waiting. She will have brought dinner. You can sleep, in peace, soon. It's that time of year.

But not for me. This year, I won't be joining the droves as they pile into buses, trains, and planes headed south, west, north, away. The mass exodus from the university continues but this year, I stay. This small, remote, seaside town will quiet, and then busy itself again with a new crowd, an even more transient crowd. Tourists. It's going to be a long summer, a lonely summer, a static summer-- and hopefully a summer after which I will feel confident of my position in this world as an adult. Only one year left of university, after all. I am nearly twenty-one. 

I hope you will join me on my journey of self-sufficiency and search for happiness and meaning over these next four months. Today is day one (for my university term finished yesterday afternoon). I am too comfortable here, too knowledgable of the town, of the social dynamics, and how I do and don't fit into them. This summer I will try my best to shake it up, to be spontaneous, adventurous, creative, and fresh-- and most importantly, to take important steps in finding myself a place in the world beyond and after my degree.
Linkwe could make the earth turn

THE CAKE/HAIRCUT CHALLENGE, PART ONE; [May. 15th, 2012|03:49 pm]

So my boyfriend and I get into a bit of a debate this afternoon. Well, debate is a strong word (for it implies some sort of academic nature of discussion..... and please, never). And it ends in a wager! Nothing like a good bet to shake things up, I say! The conversation goes like this:

Me: I want a haircut but all the places in this town are so expensive.
Ian: I'll cut your hair!
Me: Have you ever cut hair before?
Ian: Nah, but I've had my hair cut, which should count for something!
Me: Ooh, does it work like that?
Ian: Yes.

Uh. No. It does not work like that. What he's basically saying is that because I eat cake, I could bake one. Because I eat delicious and fancy cake (yes, I'm a student, but you really have to have your priorities, you know?) I could make a delicious and fancy cake. Hmmm. "Yeah," Ian says, "I could do a cake." This is coming from a guy who thinks that microwaving something counts as cooking a nice dinner. Cake, my foot. CHALLENGE! 

Me: OK, fine. If you can make a cake based on having eaten cakes, and it doesn't suck, I will let you cut my hair. And I get to pick the flavour because I would also get to pick the haircut. AND you have to do it from a picture because that's how haircuts work.
Ian: That's not how my haircuts work. I just tell them to whack off some of the top.
Me: That explains a lot and this one is going from a picture. 
Ian: Can I read about cakes?
Me: Yes. And if you win, you have to read about haircuts, too.
Ian: Link me.

So I did. And the cake that he is going to make me is this: 



Ian: What kind of cake is it?
Me: I don't know, what kind of haircut do you get? (I do know. It's a chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake. Shhh!)

So, you guys think he can do it? Is this an idiotic bet I've made? Am I going to end up with one delicious slice of cake and the worst haircut ever known to man? I will update you and let you know ;-)
Link56 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

JUST A BUNCHA PICTURES THIS TIME; [Apr. 30th, 2012|04:12 pm]
Hi-ho, internet! How are you lot? Pretty sure the best way to guarantee that I won't be posting any entries is by promising to update daily. Which I did promise. A month and a half ago. So, uh, yeah, about that. Anyways. Guess there's been things going on in my life; I have a new job, for one. I've written an obscene amount of anthropology. I'm kind of into this guy I know. You know. Life stuff. I could ramble endlessly about any of these things, and lots more, but I think instead I'm feeling a bit visual! Yeah! Let's look at some PICTURES! The theme is whimsical and a little bit melancholy. Which is how I feel today.












( It's not like New York City burned to the ground once you drove away. )
Link10 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

HAIR, DOWN TO THERE, LONG BEAUTIFUL HAIR; [Mar. 18th, 2012|06:47 pm]
This post is kind of stupid, but what-evz I'm okay with it. So, I like hair! I'm definitely a "hair person". There's probably something psychological behind it but I'm not bothered about that, just that I really, really like hair. I like to play with hair and ruffle it and plait it and straighten it and curl it and dye it and cut it. If it didn't involve so many gross chemicals and such little prestige I would totally be a hair stylist! I like long hair, shiny hair, hair that curls into ringlets, naturally red hair, white hair, brightly coloured hair, hair in a lovely messy bun, mop head hair.... the list goes on. What's your point, Tess? How come you're on about hair today? WELL, hypothetical reader asking me questions, I am going to show you some pictures of really cool hair today! Isn't that fun? Yeah! Go!









( 67 images underneath the cut. )
Link22 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

EYES ARE PRETTY MUCH BEAUTIFUL, Y'KNOW?; [Mar. 15th, 2012|06:13 pm]
Hey, guys, you know what happened to me somewhat recently? I got a new camera! Wanna see some of the sweet pictures I took? Yeah, course you do! I know I'm not the greatest photographer that the world has ever seen but I am learning a bit! A friend lent me a very cool macro lens so some of these pictures are really (uncomfortably) close up but eh ;-) Next week, the DSLR and I are going to Spain together so get excited for some beautiful Barcelona in a soon upcoming post....and I will probably do the travelogue like I did in January! Anyways here they are! Hope you guys are living life happily and well. Do something extra nice for someone you wouldn't usually tonight, okay? I probably won't but it would be good if someone did, haha.




This one is obviously an eye, but specifically it's my eye. Look at that blood vessel! Creepy!




My drippy bathroom tap.




An extremely delicious and juicy grape!




This is a bit of pole outside my flat, on the clothesline. Y'know, I was drying my laundry OUTSIDE the other day and I realised I have gone totally native [to Scotland]. Also to note: I just spelt "realized" realised and "spelled" spelt. Who am I?




These are some fairy lights I have on my bedside table!




( Twenty-two more photos underneath the cut. )
Link28 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

A LETTER TO SOMEONE WHO WILL PROBABLY NEVER READ IT (A LETTER FOR MY SAKE); [Mar. 11th, 2012|09:57 pm]

Dear you,
I would call you out, but I know you'd get all pissed and whiney like a twelve-year-old girl about me calling you out instead of owning up to your actions like a twenty-one year old adult man, so I won't-- but you know who you are. You have treated me worse than I have ever been treated in my life. You treated me like dirt, like a piece of someone else's gum stuck onto the bottom of your shoe. You were a massive factor in the ending of my two-year relationship. You lead me on, sucked me in, and wrapped me up in order to stroke your own ego with my affection, and I was enough of a naive idiot to fall in love. You coaxed me into a vulnerable place over the course of seven months, you pressured me into sleeping with you, and then FOUR DAYS after I finally consented, after I gave you my heart, carefully wrapped up and with many many warnings-- you smashed it with a hammer and threw it in the bin. 

You knew everything I was going through and you were the person I trusted the most with my secrets, with my honesty-- and you didn't even respectfully dump me. You told me you wanted to just be friends and yet you continued to turn up at my house late at night, drunk, and tell me how much you didn't love me as you tried to get into my pants. I tolerated a lot from you. I continued to be your supportive and loyal friend while completely failing to understand why you didn't want more than that-- and why you had so suddenly changed your mind after seven months of dedicated woo-ing. I told myself you were just trying to be a good person, a good Christian man, to respect the God you claim to be so devoted to. I convinced myself that you were well-meaning, if not incredibly misguided. Then, two days after you had sworn up and down to me-- in my bed, no less!-- that you were just unable to be in a relationship, unable to be with anyone at all, you told one of my best friends (Are you stupid? How stupid are you?!) that you were sleeping with someone else. And that la-dee-dah, she was wonderful. Understandably, I snapped. I asked you to never speak to me again, to avoid me, to give me space.

Did you give me this space? Absolutely not. You didn't even respect me enough to let me get over you in peace. Every time you saw me for months you attempted to catch my eye, to talk to me, to get my attention. You are so self-centered and immature that you couldn't even give me that small wish, to be left alone. There is no one in the world I know personally that I think less of than you. 

Now here's the big moment, here's the point in the letter where the climax appears, where things take a sharp turn: I forgive you. I forgive you for everything. In fact, I thank you. Thank you, for teaching me a valuable lesson about humanity. Thank you for showing me that trustworthy, loyal and caring friends (note: not you) are so very precious and that I need to hold onto them as much as I can. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to grow and mature into the individual that I am today. Thank you for teaching me that harboring anger and hurt will only lead to more anger and hurt. Thank you for giving me the experience of holding in this anger and hurt for six long months-- and for permitting me the beautiful, glorious, freeing experience of letting it all go. In short, thank you for being such a scumbag! Without you and your dickwad actions and complete disregard for my feelings, my well-being, and my dignity, I would not be the independent, capable, confident woman of twenty that I am today. Thanks to you, I am ready to move on to my next relationship (whenever and with whomever that may be) with a grace and awareness I would never have been able to manage without you. So, honestly, thanks!

Without hate or resentment; with peace and self-reliance,
Tess // [info]jolteons

P.S. Also, just FYI, because I can't miss this opportunity to let you and the world know: you have a small dick. Yep. I just went there. Sucks to be you, mate!
Link30 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

AND TWO QUICK MORE STOP-MOTIONS OF MY FRIENDS; [Mar. 10th, 2012|04:18 pm]
I think I've decided not to blog every single one of my people stop-motions. I've at this point already filmed twelve, and if you guys find them interesting, you can either subscribe to my youtube channel or you can follow me on twitter to get them instantly. I think that I will still continue to share my very favourite video projects here, but they will all be tweeted and uploaded to youtube so don't despair if you think you might miss them! :-)

So these are the last two I will post here, I hope you enjoy them! I am learning how to use my new DSLR, but it is obviously an on-going process. This first video is of my friend Carson as she practices dance.


Carson has been a friend of mine for years, and even though we don't keep in as good of touch as we used to I very much enjoyed the afternoon I spent filming her. I had never seen her dance before (as it's something she does in New York mostly) and I had no idea she was this talented! For me, this was a very enjoyable video to make. The lighting was good so it required minimal post-production editing and her spontaneous dance routines were just the right length and amount of movement.

This next video is of two of my friends from pool society at my university, Ian and Sam. They took me as a guest to their social club and allowed me to film one of their pool matches (they are very even players and often bet one another for money). This one was a bit fussier to edit and my models themselves were a bit obnoxious at times (boys don't sit still well..... even well into their 20's) but I really like some of the angles of the shots I got, and I love pool so I had such a lovely time with it in the end.

Link10 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

SOME OF THE COOLEST STOP-MOTIONS OF ALL TIME; [Mar. 8th, 2012|06:01 pm]

HEY internet! I'm super into blogging lately it seems. Who wants to see some incredibly awesome stop-motion videos? I make stop-motion videos, sometimes. Not gonna lie, I think mine are pretty cool......but oh, are there some videos out there that are simply and completely mind-blowing. These are my five favourites of all time, in no specific order. (I had a hard time choosing, but in the end, each of these speaks to me in a different way.)



The creativity here is cool, but I'm mostly just impressed by the smoothness of the animation, not gonna lie. That, and, I am obsessed with guacamole, so uh, yeah. Also: the tomatoes and onions are diced, get it? Ba-dum dum. And chips!




This one I really like 'cause of the emotion in it, the innocence, and the juxtaposition!




This one, and the next two, are all three advertisements. It's pretty unfortunate, I suppose, that most of the coolest stop-motion films are funded by corporations..... but at the same time, without that crazy budget, we wouldn't get the amazing animation that we get to see :-) I just think it's so cool that this one is little bitty!




This is one of the first stop-motion films I ever saw. I love so much that it is a stop-motion within a stop-motion and in particular I am impressed by the fact that they made a stop motion with FILM. With FILM guys!!




I really wanted to include a claymation but I had trouble finding one that I thought was as awesome as the general stop-motions out there. I wish this video was in higher quality, but I still appreciate the awesome-ness. Also, this one had a production team of HUNDREDS, which is crazy large for a stop-motion project!
Thoughts?
Link13 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

ON WHAT BEING A WOMAN MEANS TO ME; [Mar. 6th, 2012|01:24 pm]

Yesterday, I wrote about wanting to fall in love and today I am going to talk about feminism in an attempt to explain my background and further show (as perhaps I wasn't clear--- I forget that everyone else does not see the world through these ridiculous spectacles of mine) why I do not believe that dreaming of romance makes me in any way not a feminist. As if I need to be saved by a prince charming!

If you had asked me last summer if I was a feminist, I would have been a bit affronted. "Do I look like a feminist?" I would have said. "Uh, I shave my armpits thank you very much! I have long hair! And a boyfriend!" This is nineteen-year-old me confusing feminism with being a crunchy granola lesbian....common thing in this day and age, eh? I love to make sexist jokes (at the expense of both sexes) and I performed a rather successful experiment last summer involving the amount of cleavage which I exposed and make-up which I wore at work and the direct ratio that my tips took. By all means, middle aged drunk men, continue to behave in a slightly creepy manner as I serve you hamburgers as long as that extra dollar bill in change goes directly into my tip jar, thank you! Errr, is that prostitution? Let's just call it customer service. Oh, America!

My mother is a very impressive woman. She was born to parents without highschool diplomas who worked at the paper-mill in Menasha, Wisconsin. She was the first in her family to go to college, on a full scholarship, and on to Harvard Law School. She is now one of the board members and head of the finance team at a prominent Milwaukee law firm. There is very little that my mom can't do. She single-handedly brought up two very difficult children (one of whom, obviously, is me.... and I was quite the terror!). She bikes up mountains in the desert and she cooks the best food I have ever tasted. She has supported me financially and emotionally with everything I have ever dealt with in my ongoing transition from child to adult. So yeah, my mom's pretty cool. My childhood was not one of an environment in which there was not equality of the sexes. I played ice hockey for 12 years, guys. I'm pretty damn liberal.

I forget, though, that not everyone is fortunate enough to be me (har, har) and doesn't necessarily see things the way that I do. My flatmate, for example, bless him, can be one of the rudest chauvanists on the planet. He is constantly making "jokes" about how I ought to stay in the kitchen and cook and clean for him. Oh yeah, Kelechi? I will happily do your cooking and cleaning when and only when you start paying my rent. How do you like them apples, eh?! Thought so. Now, I honestly don't know if perhaps Nigerian society (for he is Nigerian) has more divided gender roles, but I will give him the benefit of the doubt and call it a cultural thing so as to avoid punching him in the face! Humph! So let's be clear here: when I talk of love, I am not talking about and absolutely would not tolerate a relationship in which I was a dependant to anyone, be it man or woman. Neither am I, however, a female supremacist (of course not!) and by the same token I have no intention or desire to "take care" of anyone. Pfff!

If we look at feminism as being "belief in equality of the sexes" well, then, I am indeed a feminist, and a particularly proud one. Although, I personally believe perhaps we would be in that case better off calling the phenomena "equalism" or something..... because, again, I really would like to be clear: I'm not a hairy granola lesbian. Not that there's anything wrong with that!
Link22 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

THE STIGMA OF WANTING TO FALL IN LOVE; [Mar. 5th, 2012|10:36 pm]
You know what, internet? Screw the fronts. Here's a confession. Ready? Ok. Fuck it, I'm a romantic. You know me, or you at least know someone like me: the girl who pretends to vomit into the nearest rubbish bin when she sees an adorable couple holding hands; the girl who doesn't believe that relationships should be a male-dominated affair and silently rolls her eyes when girlfriends claim that they could never make the first move. It's like, is this 2012 or what? Grow some balls, eh? I am offensively direct. But at the end of the day, I just want to be swept up off my feet and fall madly, hopelessly in love! I want surprises and weekends holed-up and over-the-top cheese-- but please, please don't tell anyone. I don't want to ruin my rep (I say, as if I have a rep to uphold or something).

I have now been single for seven months (EONS when you're twenty and mightily hung-up on your ex), and distant friends and awkward family members have begun to give me the "So... Tess... you've been single for awhile..." lead in. Shut up, guys. As if I'm not already giving that fact way more thought and attention than it deserves! But you know what? That's not something I ought to necessarily be ashamed of. As if wanting a boyfriend is some sort of personal failing on my part! That's not a personal failing on my part, that's a basic human instinct! Wanting a boyfriend does not make me weak or overly needy! Why does society get to dictate such things?! There's such a stigma to it! Even as I sit here and logically and intellectually recognize that I am not someone who should be in a relationship right now, or at least not a "serious" relationship-- I still want one! And there is no shame in that. 

So this is a post about celebrating the romantic side of myself-- And to do that, I am going to share with you some photos. Photos that make my heart ache and my stomach lurch. Photos with emotion and love, photos that speak to me. Some of them are perhaps a bit "obscene," but you know what? I don't think that sex is always obscene. Sometimes it is beautiful. I think these photos are beautiful. I hope you enjoy them and I hope that they light a spark of romance in you as well.














( Exactly thirty-three more images under this cut )
Link38 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

A FORTY-DAY CHALLENGE OF EPIC PROPORTIONS; [Feb. 25th, 2012|01:19 pm]

So, internet, I've embarked upon a great adventure. "An adventure," you say, "now Tess, that's pretty cool. Are you travelling to the continent again? Have you adopted a particularly rambunctious puppy? Have you taken up cliff-jumping?" The answer to your pressing questions, my friends, is no, no, and only that one time and honestly I do not recommend it. Nay, my newest adventure is more about what I'm not doing than what I am doing, and what it is that I am doing is a six-week detox diet. It's pretty intense. I am now on day four of forty days of meat-less, wheat-less, sugar-less, alcohol-less, additive-less, dairy-less, caffeine-less life. No pasta. No biscuits. No cheese sandwiches. No apple pie. No bread. No coke. No diet coke. No diet caffeine free coke. Yes to water. Wham, bam.

So what's left that's a "safe" eat? More than you'd think. There's potatoes and rice and onions. Bananas, blueberries, and oranges. Curry paste. Eggs. Tuna. Cucumbers. Oatcakes. Wait, no, that's about it. It's getting easier. Sort-of. The first two days were an obnoxious and at times nearly unbearable blur of cravings for sugars. Sugars! Sugars! You would be so surprised how much added sugar we eat in our diets! (Err, maybe me more than most. Y'know, student diet and all that....) I've hidden all my non-perishable "bad" forbidden foods in a blue plastic bag behind my sitting room chair. My pantry food shelf looks like a blast from the past; three potatoes, one sweet potato, two onions, salt, pepper, some raspberry preserves, one bag of lentils and a kilo of rice. How boring is THAT? I am so bored. But to that, I suppose, is where the adventure comes in. ("Uh, Tess, are you sure you don't just want to go travelling again? Anything but this!") Creativity must abound, and I do love to cook! 

Will the benefits outweigh the costs? I hope so. Our bodies aren't designed to handle the sorts of food I've been giving mine. I start my day carboloading and I end it with carboloading. How am I not truck-sized? This is the wake-up call I need. It is only day four and I already feel more energetic. I feel a great sense of contentment and happiness although in all fairness, I did buy a new vacuum cleaner yesterday so really we could attribute my immense satisfaction to my freshly vacuumed surroundings. (My flat has reached new heights of cleanliness! Which I reckon are about everyone else's average level of cleanliness...) Or the sunlight streaming in through my sitting room window. Or one of any number of factors, but for the sake of argument I am going to say that I feel great because I haven't been stuffing my body with enough E-numbers, and fats to.... to.... ah, to make an average university student (me) cranky and tired and headachey. I guess logically I ought to lose some weight too. In conclusion. Conclusively. Or perhaps inconclusively. We'll see, eh?!

I leave you with a recipe, one that I made up myself, and which I highly recommend. My friend Johannah (who is doing this detox with me) calls it "the daily spread," because it is fast, delicious, easy, and smacks all the nutritional components right in the face..... whilst still being legal under our ridiculous dietary requirements:




"The Daily Spread"

1 large onion
1 tin of tuna (150g)
1 cup (approx 250ml) garden peas
1 large baking potato
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and chili pepper to taste

Right, kids. Stick your potato in the microwave in a bowl with a couple of inches of water at the bottom (or boil it, whatever) and cook 'er up. Fry your onions and when translucent, add in your peas. Mash up your cooked potato nice and mash-y (maybe add some more oil if needed) and then mix that shiz all together vigorously with the tuna, too. Shake, shake, shake some salt and chili flakes on it and dig right in. Yum!
Link20 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

MORE VIDEO-MAKING, AND A VERY EXPENSIVE GIFT FROM ME TO ME; [Feb. 20th, 2012|12:19 pm]

So I've been, like, surprisingly busy! I mean, come on guys, you know me! I don't do anything with my life! But I've been taking my stop-motion film project really seriously. (I am making a series of stop-motion videos of dudes "doing their thing," that is to say, people being themselves on film-- generally showcasing a talent. I aim to make these videos personal and engaging.) I've now filmed six and published four (the first two of which can be seen here if anyone is interested).

This post is featuring the second pair of videos I've made this semester! The first video is one that I made with Stefan, who was actually just visiting Scotland from Australia for a couple weeks, so it was really cool that I got this chance to film him! He is a film student in Brisbane so he had some really awesome ideas for his video, although they didn't really fit in with the premise of my project: he wanted to have an imaginary girlfriend, go on a quest for a mundane object, and stage fight-- crazy ideas!..... although we ended up just having him go for a very long walk, which is something he actually does often do! So in the end it was a good representation of his life and personality and I am very happy with the video. I am especially happy that this features the beauty of the town that I live in, St. Andrews, because it really is a lovely little place. Check it out!



The second video I did ended up being a bit different from the series, although it was not intended to be. My friend Helen, who is very active in church, wanted to have me film her worshipping the Lord, but she was feeling ill on the appointed day and decided not to be filmed. Since I had my camera all set up and everything I took pictures instead of the band at evening church service and made them into a similar video. I guess it's a representation of the service itself in a way! I am honestly very unhappy with this video because I had a really hard time taking photos in the lighting. The camera that I used for this, and for all of my videos to date is a Canon IXUS 220, which I love, and which has served me really well, but is not ideal for stop-motion films because there isn't a true manual settings adjustment. This is the result that I got!



I had been toying with the idea of purchasing a DSLR for some time, although on a student budget it is hard to justify. I have been taking photography and animation more seriously lately (my big new year's resolution!) and the difficulty that my camera had last Sunday really pushed me over the edge and I jumped right in and bought this Canon EOS 500D! I haven't gotten it yet since it's being delivered by Royal Mail (ha!), but I am actually so, so, so, so SO keen to start learning DSLR photography! I am going to have so much fun, and also eat lots of rice since I spent upwards of £450 on something that is not student fees or flat rent! Eeek! So get excited for more from me, guys!

OK, now I'm off to do very busy and important things. That season finale of Pan Am and roll of chocolate digestives won't watch and eat themselves, you know! ;-)
Link15 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

MUSINGS ON THE FUTURE AND MY OWN NATURAL STATE OF BEING; [Feb. 17th, 2012|12:29 am]

Hello. My name is Tess. I am twenty years of age and I am a master of what we can euphemistically call The Easy Way Out. On a scale from one to hard-worker for the ages, I am approximately a one point four. I'm not being hard on myself; I am being honest. Luckily for me, I am naturally clever. I have managed to skate my way into a very well respected university, when, in all fairness, I oughtn't have made it into university at all. I'm smart. I am. I'm not trying to brag; I am being honest. Unfortunately, I am also incredibly lazy. I don't necessarily think that I lack passion-- I can get wrapped up in a project, if I am inspired by it. But plop me down into a university lecture or essay research or even job-hunting and after approximately four minutes I will zone out and engage in whatever procrastinating activity is up my alley at the time (currently whipping my way through the angry birds franchise, for example). I live my productive life in four-minute spurts.

Not that I can't do ANYTHING for more than four minutes. I make stop-motion videos and I can literally sit with my camera in hand for hours on end clicking away. I can work as a cashier all the live-long day, having mundane conversations with strangers and counting out money. I can talk to my friends about their problems and pound out what I think is decidedly solid advice. I can write blog posts. I can clean and organize things. But you know what? That's about it. And I can only do these things on a good day. A day of concentration hotspots. A day of inexplicable clear-mindedness.

I am an anthropology student. I was signed on this summer to do some Proper Real Actual Fieldwork; I was going to spend six to eight weeks of my summer researching. I was keen. I was almost keeno #1. But then, last Friday, I went to the first lecture for the pre-dissertation class. I was to READ BOOKS, NOT JUST ARTICLES BUT BIG ASS BOOKS LOTS OF 'EM. I was to WRITE THOUSANDS OF WORDS OF PLANNING and I was to FILL OUT A WHOLE CRAPTON OF LEGAL FORMS. This was all before even starting my actual research--- nevermind the dissertation animal itself. And then, BAM, guess who decided that she didn't really want to do a dissertation after all? Yours truly, of course. And then I was almost even TOO LAZY TO SWITCH OUT OF THE CLASS. Because that takes effort too, you know! (Eventually the grand fear of ALL THAT WORK caused me to send the necessary three e-mails sheesh.)

I took a trip to France last month. It was an absolutely lovely trip! Five days in Lille, hanging out with an old friend. Immediately after, I decided that I really, really wanted to be fluent in French and that in order to do this I was going to work in France this summer and totally immerse myself in the language and culture. Okay. Cool. What does this entail? I am going to need to write a CV in French. I am going to need to send out applications, dozens of them, considering the current economic climate. At least 30 applications! Did I mention I would need to do this in French? I am going to need to get a work visa, seeing as I am not a citizen of the European Union. Also in French. I am going to need to find somewhere to live. An apartment. In French. I am going to need to plan out my life so that I do not get lonely, or anxious, or depressed living on my own in a foreign country where I do not fluently speak the language (although I am sure given three weeks of immersion I would be fine just fine..... I did take six years of the freakin' language, after all). IN FRENCH, did I mention I needed to do these things in FRENCH? Errr, right. Um, going home to America again this summer sounds a lot easier, doesn't it?

Yes it does. Going home is comfortable; going home is always comfortable. I can live with my mom and drive my old car and do some whatever Wisconsin job and take naps in my old bed and eat lots of cheese that doesn't suck. I mean that would be cool, right? I can maybe take a photography class (if I can be bothered) and you know, fight with my little brother some. Whatever. But I mean, come on, what is that going to do for me? Is it going to help me grow as a person into the secure, independent, cultured adult I want to be? Probably not. The status quo is rarely the way to elicit personal growth, and obviously so!

I need a kick in the ass. Hard. It's easy to sit here all comfortable on my couch sippin' peppermint tea and say that. It's a lot harder to actually get out there and MAKE IT HAPPEN. Living and working in France this summer would not be a slice of perfectly made pumpkin pie, you know. It would be challenging and stressful and I would probably very unhappy for a solid portion of the time. I would certainly get very lonely, moving somewhere I don't know a soul without any real framework for meeting friends. But I know that if I could actually dig down into the admittedly limited depths of my willpower, I would genuinely gain from the experience in so many ways. That's all well and good, you know, but can I actually force myself to do the necessary work to make this happen? I truly don't know. I feel the tipping point is nigh.

Simultaneously hopeful and cynical love,
Tess / [info]jolteons
Link22 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

I TELL MYSELF TO LET THE STORY END; [Feb. 11th, 2012|07:49 pm]

I had a boyfriend once. Many of you will remember him. His name is Fraser and we were together for twenty-two months (yes I just finger counted). I loved him, and he loved me too; more than I realised. Maybe everyone has that one person, that they must systematically NOT THINK ABOUT because the wound is enticingly fresh, elegantly deep, and embarrassingly leads to tears in public places.

Fraser and I needed to break up, because I needed to grow up. I thought we needed to break up because I thought I was in love with somebody else, and maybe I was-- but that is not what is relevant here. Timing is everything. When you wrap yourself up in a serious relationship, at eighteen years of age, to cover up your anxieties, homesickness, and insecurity.... well, I think we can all see in retrospect why that was a mistake. The me of two and a half years ago was so wrong about so many things! (I am sure future me will say the same about present me, but there you have it.)

Fraser is a wonderful guy in many respects. He is kind and ambitious. He is generous, dedicated, and loyal. He is a fantastic cook. He is extremely patient. Incredibly intelligent. He dresses well. He is a year away from a master's degree at one of the best universities in the country. He has a Scottish accent. The list goes on. He is of course, by no means perfect, but a year ago I would have sworn up and down that I was going to marry him. We lived together. I did his laundry and cleaned his flat. He cooked for me. I used his toothbrush. You get the point.

Things were rough. There was an ocean between us. We never quite understood each other. The day after we broke up, I slept with someone else. It needed to happen. I have learned so many lessons. I regret it immensely. I lied. I confessed. We argued. I cried. He cried. We both felt wronged, and I think we both were. He has not spoken to me since. And yet, somehow, life has continued on. I go to class, I make breakfast, I write blogs on the internet. I attend church. I travel. I make animations. I play my guitar. I run. I see my friends. We laugh, we joke. I sometimes even find myself thinking about and chasing after another boy. I am happy, happy enough. I find meaning in life.

But I miss him. There is a hole, an enduring hole. It has been six months. Six months is simultaneously such a long and such a short time. I understand why some people say that some things should only be done in a marriage. I don't mean sex, or at least not only sex. But when you spend so long in the "us" mentality and then suddenly you are just "me," it's not a nice or a simple adjustment to make. Intellectually, I know that I will love again and that I will love another. (Probably.) Most of the time I do a fairly good job of pushing him and his memories to the back of my mind. But when I'm alone in my apartment on a Saturday night because my friends are busy, it's hard to resist the urge to turn up at his house and demand that he talk to me, provide closure, take me back. Obviously, I will resist that urge, because I'm not CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND #1 (maybe more like #3 or #4) and instead I will post this blog, allow myself a good cry, and then put something happy to watch on TV and push on through.

Love a little bit unconventionally tonight,
Tess / [info]jolteons
Link24 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

TIME COMMITMENT AND A SHOT AT ARTISTRY; [Feb. 11th, 2012|10:20 am]


This semester, in addition to the two social anthropology modules that I am taking (I must of course always remember that university classes are MOST IMPORTANT, even if they are least engaging), I am also giving a huge portion of my time to a series of projects-- animated videos depicting the people I know "being themselves", that is to say, doing the things that they normally do in the ways that they normally do them, on camera. The goal is to capture people's personalities in a series of photos that are engaging and emotional. I have finished two of these so far and I would like to share them with you here!

The first is a morning spent with my friend Sydney as she reads and drinks tea in various fancy cafés. Sydney is an exchange student from Texas at my university and she studies theology! She is very kind and accommodating and was a really excellent model! She's got very good taste and super pretty blue eyes. She's a treat! Here's her video:



My second video stars my friend Peter, playing his guitar and telling stories about his life. Peter is a 22 year old Latin scholar who is the proud owner of three different passports: British, American, and New Zealand(er)? Turns out I do not know the adjective to use there. But anyways! That's just being greedy with ethnicities if you ask me! He is polite, serious, and pensive. Top conversationalist! I am honestly less happy with this video than the one I did of Sydney, although I am not sure exactly why! I hope you guys like them!

Link10 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

A VIDEO I MADE ABOUT LONDON; [Feb. 8th, 2012|11:19 pm]
Hey there dudes and dudettes! How are you all rocking this February up?! Hope it's awesome! Since I've returned to university from my many travels, I haven't done too much that's noteworthy... Just hanging out with some cool kids, sorting out my classes for this semester, playing me some pool, and taking lengthy afternoon naps!

Here's a stop-motion video I made while I was in London a couple weeks ago! Finally got around to editing it today (because my projects and full memory cards are really starting to pile up!) I hope you guys like it!

Link24 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

WHY I LOVE CHURCH EVEN THOUGH I AM AN ATHEIST; [Feb. 7th, 2012|01:47 pm]

This blog post is my attempt at explaining why, in the words of my friend Molly, I am the "most devout non-religious person" that she knows. It is no secret to my friends and family that I love church, and that I both attend a Christian church at least once on Sundays (sometimes evening service as well) and also take part in a small bible-study group evening every Thursday. Similarly, it is also not a secret that I do not believe in God, and that I am, in fact, an atheist. Understandably, this confuses people. "Why do you go to church then?" people ask me, when they discover what seems to them, to be an oxymoron about my life. "What is the point of pretending to be religious?" They are even more flummoxed when I explain that my family is not religious either, and that I do not come from a religious background.

To be clear: I am not pretending to be religious. When asked or if it comes up in conversation, I will happily explain my worldview to others, but I do not go around advertising and broadcasting the fact that I do not believe in God while in religious circles. (I honestly think it is neither appropriate nor necessary for me to do so.) So what is it, then, that I love so much about church and religious settings?

I guess what originally drew me to the church that I go to (which is called Kingdom Vineyard, in St. Andrews, Scotland), is the atmosphere. The sense of celebration that is evident from the moment that you walk in the door-- if you are on your own, someone will immediately come round and introduce themselves and offer you coffee and a doughnut (and who can refuse a free doughnut?!). There is never any question as to whether you are welcome or not: you absolutely are.

The service begins with what is called "worship"-- instead of a traditional choir, a band at the front plays, usually a couple of singers, a guitar, keyboard, drums, and sometimes various other instruments. Words flash across a screen on the front and everyone sings along... it's basically like a big Sunday morning karaoke session for God. We have this saying in my family (well known world over for our utter lack of musical talent) and it goes like this: "If you can't sing good, sing loud." This version of worship works perfectly for me! I often find that recorded Christian music can be quite dull, but the energy levels found with the Kingdom Vineyard worship are almost un-matched! I honestly have no qualms interpreting celebration of divine creation as celebration of existence-- and at the end of the day, biblical preaching is by and large about living a moral and kind lifestyle-- something I personally think is crucial to happiness as an individual.

I have met the friendliest, funniest, fashionable, and most fantastic (check out that alliteration, eh?) people through my involvement with the church, some of whom have become close friends. I am a university student and because the church is in part a student church, I feel perfectly at home with the demographics of the congregation: it's not made up primarily of the pensioners that one generally associates with church attendance. Are there people who go to my church who I find to be offensive in some way? Of course! Are there aspects of the church teachings and proceedings that I am uncomfortable with or object to? Absolutely. However, offensive people and ideas can be found most anywhere-- and, frankly, the individuals who run the photography society at my university (another one of my interests) could take a leaf or two out of the church booklet on making people feel comfortable! If one approaches religious activity with the same open-mindedness that is essential for all walks of life, finding people to relate to and appreciate is not hard!

I love to be inspired. I love sharing my life with others, and supporting them with their endeavours and being supported in return. These are important aspects of my church experiences and I have not managed to find other groups here at university that fill those roles in my life. Finally, I think I just really love food. My Thursday bible study group? We cook each other dinner! When I have a dinner party, who is by far most likely to attend? My Christian friends! Meal-sharing is emphasized in Christianity and there is little else in the world I appreciate more than good food and good company at the same time.

So yes, I love church. And no, I don't believe in God. I hope that is okay with you, but even if it isn't-- that doesn't matter to me, since I have a whole bunch of friends from my church who love me anyways :-)
Link77 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

COLDEST TEMPERATURE RECORDED IN EUROPE!; [Feb. 2nd, 2012|10:09 pm]


Oh gosh, where to begin with the rest of my time in Latvia? Honestly, I think the main point that needs to be made is: cold. Cold! Cold cold! Cold. Cold cold. FREAKING COLD. I am talking -22C cold. Jo's boots literally cracked open as we were walking through town from the cold. That is cold. Ok. Are we all in agreement that it has been cold in Latvia? Okay, good. Where did I last leave off? Tuesday afternoon? I talked with Emils' mum a bit, though he had to act as translator, and she really just seems so lovely! Emils is a really good guy, he is very kind with his brother and his family, and Jo and I. I didn't really know him much at all before this trip but he is a real treat, haha :-) 

Then Jo slept some more (recurring theme on this trip), we watched the New Zealand version of Napoleon Dynamite, and I bonded with Emils little brother, Edward. Edward is honestly one of the happiest two year olds I have ever seen. According to my mother, I was not exactly the most content toddler (and I believe it lol) but Edward is pretty smiley. He impressed me a lot with his understanding of how to work my iPad, which he adored. He figured out pretty much every basic command (volume, home button, mute, power) within five minutes, and could locate the bubble wrap game and doodle jump, which were his favorites, within seconds. LOL, technology children. Obviously at two he can't read or write, and he only knows how to speak Latvian, but he managed to tweet a few nonsense tweets from my account and beat a few angry birds levels! Imagine that!

Yesterday, we spent the day wandering around Riga. Such fun! We met up with a friend from university who is working in Latvia, Julianna, for the afternoon, and it was so nice to see her! We saw an old Orthodox cathedral, and went to a couple of amazing vintage shops and designer boutiques-- I got some absolutely gorgeous earrings! Three pairs, one that has handmade beading, one with crazy fringe, and one with little plastic planes just like the tattoo that I want! We also got drinks at two VERY cool independent cafés, Riga really is a bit of a hipster paradise I think (or maybe that is just Emils haha). Then last night we went off to a very trendy bar-- it was called Piens, which means "milk" in Latvian-- and it had all sorts of really niche lighting and these really high couches around the bars instead of bar stools. We met a bunch of Emils' friends there and they all spoke such impressive English! I really loved Kristine in particular, she is such a joker-- if she does work in Chicago this summer, I will definitely go and meet up with her.

The food in Latvia was both amazing and quite the experience! Johannah didn't appreciate it the way that I do, because, well, Latvian cuisine definitely makes use of dairy, and, hello-- I am a Wisconsinite here! There were these amazing little cheesecake bars that I just couldn't get enough of, and we also went to like, the Latvian version of a Old Country Buffet (LOL) and I got some amazing chicken and potatoes with soured cream. Though, we went to this Russian dumplings fast food place yesterday for lunch, and Jo told me that this very spicy white relish was potato mash, and I took a big spoonful-- never have I ever tasted something so disgusting!!! Hahahaha, I am sure my face was hilarious.

Now, I will leave you with this little gem of an anecdote: when we were at dinner last night, I went to use the bathroom-- and when I was done, I began to wash my hands in what I thought was a weird, eastern block sink.... But there wasn't any soap! When I turned around to look for it, I realized that the sink was actually behind me, and what's more, I had been washing my hands in a urinal! Hahaha! The romance of traveling, eh?

Love,
Tess / [info]jolteons
Link23 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

SOME MORE LATVIA LIFE FOR THE AGES; [Jan. 31st, 2012|09:53 pm]
Snow outside my house Pictures, Images and Photos


So my first day in Lativa has been pretty crazy! When Jo and I arrived in Riga last night, Emils met us down at the airport and we went back to his flat, which is very nice and modern, with lots of light, wood floors, and a big screen TV. We then went into downtown Riga to a very cool, student-y pub where, believe it or not, I actually tried a beer that I liked! I am well known for being a top beer hater (I mean, it is just not a tasty drink!) but Emils suggested I try "Brenglu" and it was delicious! Colour me so surprised! I don't think it is available in the UK, which is really unfortunate! 

After that we went back to Emils apartment, where his friends came, Anete, Christine, Patrick, and Alpha. They were so lovely! Christine and Patrick especially were very silly and they sang and joked about; it was very funny. When Anete heard that I had been in New York earlier this month, her big question (of all the possible things to ask about New York) was, "Does it really smell like urine there?" Hahahaha!! Uh, no?

Then we ate really delicious potato pancakes that Emils' mum made, with soured cream and cheese and tomatoes! Soooo good! Christine then cooked a crumble with banana and apple, which was also amazing! Poor Jo though, got food poisoning (we think from the chicken sandwich she ate at Prêt at Stanstead Airport) and spent the whole night feeling faint and throwing up! Six times I think! Even today she has still not managed to keep any food down and needed to rest often, but she has had lots of coca-cola! As Jo said, you really can't get beyond the fact that we are very good friends now that I have been awoken several times in the night by the lovely sound of her vomiting. Eek! I feel very bad that she is so ill but I think that tomorrow she will be better!

Another thing about Emils is that he has an absolutely adorable little brother, named Edward, who is two and a half years old. We are good friends now (I tend to get on pretty well with kids, hahah-- probably something to do with being somewhat of a child myself!) although he doesn't speak a word of English, and me, not a word of Latvian. Edward seriously is like the poster child for cute little kid, with big blue eyes and blonde curls and a big smile!

Today, we went to Emils sister's godmother's home, where she runs a vintage shop, and we all tried on lots of cool vintage clothes and things. Jo bought lots of stuff, including a hilarious, hilarious sweater that has little dolls bathing in the sea on it! (Banter or bust) After that, Emils took us down to the harbor where he used to hang with his friends when he was younger, and I got lots and lots of cool photos. Jo started to feel quite I'll again, so we came back to his flat so she could sleep, poor Jojo! Tonight I will cook tomato and parmesan pasta for Emils and his family, who are all vegetarians.

Latvia is FREEZING cold! And I mean FREEZING, -13F and -19C--- Brrrrr!! Why did we come to this crazy place?! It does get this cold in Wisconsin, where I am from, but man I am not used to this!!
Link26 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

LIFE IN COLD AND FRIENDLY LATVIA; [Jan. 31st, 2012|09:21 am]
latvia Pictures, Images and Photos

Hey there Internet! I am currently on the extraordinarily hyper-safe RyanAir flight to Riga, Latvia. I think Jo and I are the only non-Latvian people on the plane, because, well, who visits Latvia in January? We do, apparently. RyanAir are TOP dicks, you know. Top, top, top dicks. Our flight was due to take off from Standstead airport at 12:45PM this afternoon, and we went to check in and print off our boarding passes at approximately 8:50AM..... Three hours and fifty-five minutes before the flight. Apparently, however, this is too late for the ever-timely RyanAir and we were forced to pay £60 each once we got to the airport in order to print out our boarding passes for us. ARE THEY KIDDING?!?! I am sorry, but sixty freakin' pounds to print off a boarding pass?! That is just being assholes. So that has put a bit of a damper on our trip thus far, because, well, no one likes to spend all that money just 'cause homies are being rude, but I am sure it's going to be a lovely trip all the same!

The moral of this foray to Latvia is, of course, "banter or bust"! Let the jokes commence. Jo already got hit on by the guy who was working the airport Prêt (the presence of which cheered me considerably-- being charged extortionate amounts of money is always nicer on the other end of breakfast!) who offered to let us sit in for no extra fee (lol) and apparently speaks Latvian.... Guess we could have brought him along to translate. I mean, he's no that-guy-who-might-have-been-named-Steve from church last night, but you can't go wrong with the Prêt boys........ It fits in nicely with banter or bust stipulation: husband hunting, in which, Jo has pointed out to me, I only have a year and a half before my British visa expires, at which point, in order to get leave to remain in the country I need to have either 1) a well-paying, respectable job, or 2) a husband with a British passport. Which is easier to find? You tell me.

I wrote a song about my RyanAir experience today. Here's a sneak peek excerpt:
They'll gleefully ruin your fun
Before the trip has even begun
Whether you're traveling to rain or to sun

RyanAir, RyanAir
Charge ya 60 quid, they don't care
As you empty your bank account and cry,
"It's just not fair!"

85% of their flights land on time.
But do the other 15% land at all?
Landing safely is an extra £32.95
Payable by cash or by visa debit please.

Everytime I fly I make a vow
Never again, this nonsense I allow
But then I see the adverts on the bus
"Riga from £3.50, easy, no fuss!"

And it's back to RyanAir!
(they just don't care)

Coming up next time: My first day in Latvia in which: Johannah lives out the "gap yeah" video in real life-- chundering everywhere, Emils friends teach me a thing or two about what is and what isn't sexual innuendos and how to keep warm in Latvian winter, his brother Edward informs me that I don't know how to eat citrus fruit properly (he is two and a half and speaks no English, but the message was clear) and I actually find a beer that I like the taste of!
Link24 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

LONDON EVERY DAY, EH?; [Jan. 29th, 2012|11:56 pm]
church Pictures, Images and Photos

Another fabulous day in south London! Had the absolute best breakfast this morning, Jo's mum made what are sort of the equivalent of American pancakes, except a bit thicker and with a slightly crunchy outside; they're called drop scones, and they're served with fresh cream and mixed berries! What a treat! They were playing some kickin' classical tunes at the breakfast table and I felt like I was having afternoon tea at some posh hotel ;-)

Then I went to the Lewisham shopping centre with Jo's sister Abigail. It's a pretty interesting place, really, a combination of the standard British high street (M&S, Primark, Boots, etc.) and market stalls. There was this guy selling mattresses on the street! I'm just like, alright, who is going to be like, "yeah, I'll take one that one love, can I have a bag please?" Pigeons are pooping on 'em! It's just not hygienic! I was going to buy mittens for Latvia, since I forgot mine back at uni, but get this-- Johannah's mum hand- knit me some this afternoon!! How lovely is that?! I am very appreciative! She made them pink and orange so that they match my hair, haha!! Handmade mittens, eh! I did get some thermal socks at the shops though, Latvia is going to be very, very, very, VERY cold this week!

I went to church this evening with Jo and her sisters in South Kensington, and it really was quite the experience! The church is called Holy Trinity Brompton, and it had a very "mega-church" feel. There was a full rock band playing the worship songs, with a drum set, two electric guitars, a keyboard, and about six singers! Everything was hooked up to video and sound systems, so you could watch the band from anywhere in the church, with the words flashing across the screen and fancy video effects and transitions going as well; I was surprised they didn't have a jumbotron! Ha. And then on the way out the door they were giving everyone a free egg roll!!! Hahahahahaha!! I mean, standard, gotta get your Sunday service egg roll! Don't forget the sweet chili dipping sauce!

I found the sermon very inspirational, though! It was all about how you have to get out there and really live your life, you know? You can't just sit around waiting for a sign or for opportunities to come along! You just gotta seize the moment and live your dreams!! Don't be afraid of failure! WHAT ARE YOU DOING GET UP OFF THE COUCH AND MAKE THINGS HAPPEN!

Now that I've shouted at you all, here is some absolute BANTER for the road: When we were waiting for the tube back down to Jo's house after church, I whined to Susannah about how I was really thirsty. Her response? "Do you want me to spit in your mouth?" Jokes! Anyways, I am leaving for Latvia in just a few hours so it is waaaay past my bedtime here! 

Love,
Tess / [info]jolteons
Link14 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

A LITTLE SLICE OF HOME TO BE FOUND; [Jan. 28th, 2012|11:52 pm]
london Pictures, Images and Photos

JOKES life with the family Alltimes in South London, guys. Currently sitting around with Jo's parents and her three siblings (but not Johannah herself, haha!) playing a rousing game of Articulate! Too funny!! Jo's family reminds me a little bit of my own extended family sometimes, definitely true with the extremely competitive side of them, just like life with the Glasheens! They even dance around the room yelling "LOSER!!" (Impossible to get homesick, here) So yes, such good laughs tonight! I am a bit rubbish at Articulate! but luckily they are too polite to tell me off :-P Her dad is now ROCKING out to some Kylie Minogue, and apparently he does this daily! What fare, eh?

I took about a thousand pictures for my London stop motion film today! (Not even an exaggeration, haha.) This morning, Susannah and I went off down to the local farmer's market and train station, and got footage there, and then Johannah and I took the bus over to Blackheath and Greenwich, and got LOADS of photos there, which was really nice. I really look forwards to putting my film together! I think it is going to turn out so nicely!

Another amazing thing that happened was when Susannah told me that she saw one of my YouTube videos online the other day, and she found it just by links through another site, not from me on Facebook or twitter or anything! How incredibly cool is that? Jo was explaining my video to her, and she was like, "hey, I just saw that the other day with my mum! I didn't know YOU made that!" So, so, so cool!! My videos are actually getting genuine views!

Late last night, Jo and I had such banter! I always forget how fun sleepovers are, even at the age of twenty, haha! I was feeling pretty rubbish 'cause I am crap at social situations and I totally misread some nonsense and embarrassed and put myself in a rough position, and, man, we just brought the jokes and I was SO cheered! You know, I think I have a new life moral, and my new life moral is this: banter or bust! If you can't find jokes in a situation, get yourself the heck outta that situation! Life is absurd and hilarious and people are such gems! Treasure your friends and treasure your sense of humour. Pain is the price we pay for wisdom, yes (one of my favourite quotes), but you know what? There is no need for pain because laughter is the best medicine!!

As far as the actual London in my life, I mean, I suppose I could be most anywhere and still have the same experience, but at the end of the day, the best holidays are made so because of the people that you are spending your time with and not because of the place that you're in. It's January as well-- cold and dark all through Europe! (That being said, there just isn't anywhere like the Cote d'Azur and WOW I just can't wait to go back. Blue sea! White sand! Brilliant sun! Lovely old towns! Huzzah!)

That's all from me for today! 

Love,
Tess / [info]jolteons

P.S. Honestly, I really feel such a compelling need to emphasize the amount of hilarity that has gone on this evening. My cheeks hurt from laughing and I honestly need to go upstairs and lie down quietly to calm myself from the jokes. Hahaha, is this even real life?!
Link6 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

TAKE ME DOWN, TO LONDON TOWN; [Jan. 27th, 2012|07:18 pm]
Drinks Up Pictures, Images and Photos

Wahey! Well it is now Friday night and the last time you heard from me was Sunday morning so I thought I would give a cheeky little life update, eh? I am in London! I am loving me some London. I got here yesterday evening and promptly found myself treated to a fantastic dinner cooked by my friend Johannah's family, who are absolutely lovely. It was such a treat! Lamb, and potatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet corn, carrots, parsnip and more gravy than I have ever been permitted to have in my life, haha! It was such a party, with all six of the Alltimes family, then me and Emily and Tola, and Jo's friend Stephen! Like christmas dinner. 

Then we went into a part of London that I am told is called Shoreditch, and we met up with Yannick, Kitan, and Claire (and two of her American friends) (also, what right do I have to call people someone's "American friends"? Lol) at a fairly standard pub before we all went out to a very strange dubstep club called Plastic People. When we first got there I was just like, what?! Because it was pitch black and the music was pretty quiet. Like so quiet that we were able to hold conversation on the dance floor. And then when I say pitch black I mean it was DARK like in Yannick's words, "Even when I close my eyes in the middle of a power outage it is not this dark" so since I am five foot one on a good day, that involved a lot of getting bumped into since no one could see ANYTHING. So at first I was just like, this is absurd. You know how sometimes when you're at a club, and you're like, oh man, it is like everyone else is having the time of their life except me? (I can't be the only one who thinks this sometimes..... Probably something to do with always being sober, haha) But this time I was like, this is so awkward, no one else seems to be having fun either! Hahaha!

Then the DJ switched up though and it got better! They turned the music up and I got used to the ridiculous darkness, which had a hilarious bonus--It means no one can see you not knowing how to dance LOL. So in the end it was a good time, although I missed what is generally my favorite part of going out in big cities, people watching!! Then we got the 3AM night bus home, which was a laugh in of itself, as I got a good look at the other patrons of the 3AM night bus! Jokes. This morning, Tola, Jo and I went down to a Jamaican place in her neighborhood and I got some absolutely amazing fried chicken and rice for only £3-- what a deal!! Tola then got the train back to Kent and Jo went to work, so I went back to sleep all afternoon :-) 

Going home this week ended up being a pretty solid idea, I think. I managed to sort a lot of my financial stuff out with the university, my bank, and my landlords, which has definitely lowered my stress levels! Plus it was just really relaxed, I love being in St. Andrews when the university is on holiday 'cause it just has such a tranquil feel. Also I watched basically an entire season of Arrested Development, and how could THAT not lower stress levels? Ha. So that's the dealio with me, I am sorry that I didn't post my photos of France and Ukraine before I left, I was really busy, um, washing my hair........ But hey at least my hair is clean! ;-)

Love,
Tess / [info]jolteons
Link14 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

TWO BLOGS ON MY TIME IN UKRAINE; [Jan. 23rd, 2012|09:08 am]


Today, y'all get an update two-fer. I know it's a CRAPTON of block text, but this is more for posterity's sake than to actually think anyone would read it. Lets go!

This was written on 21 January, at approximately 6PM:
Wow Ukraine, what an experience!!! I have been here in Kiev a bit more than 24 hours and I am in a fairly intense state of culture shock, I think. Lucy, the friend I am staying with, lives illegally in a two-room top floor, 1950s soviet flat out in the suburbs. I am surprised by how small and run down it is, but I shouldn't be, because I know Lucy. We lived together last year and she is a very "free-spirit" type, you know, loves the romanticism of shabby things. I am slightly ashamed to admit that, as a girl who has grown up in a middle class American household, I much prefer houses and things that, well, you know, work...... Eek.

The architecture in the old section of Kiev is absolutely beautiful! Very eastern and grand-- glamorous! Today, Kathleen and I walked around in the city centre and Lucy's flatmate, Marina, showed us some of the sights, including a stunning old cathedral from the 10th century, and the Ukrainian version of the white house! Marina is from central Ukraine and has been studying at a state university in Kiev for five years. Her English is fantastic, really, and she is so kind. All the Ukrainian girls and women are so well made-up, in tiny skirts and high heels, even with 8 inches of snow on the ground and un-shoveled sidewalks! I mean, even by American standards, I am pretty low key of a girl, you know, ponytail and jeans etc, so I am sure that I stick out like a sore thumb!!

Everything is so very..... Soviet, as well! The metro cars are rickety and painted with ukrainian flags and everyone looks so eastern to me! They all wear fur and they never smile!! All the Russian and Ukrainian is so overwhelming! The only word I know is "nyet", which means "no". I have never been somewhere before where I didn't know the language because I really can speak French, when it comes down to it, and literally everyone in Norway speaks English. Also, Norway and France are Norway and France ya know? Not the same as Ukraine!

Even just the way that things are explained, how Marina says that it is dangerous to cross the road in the rich part of the city because the rich don't pay attention because they know that nothing will happen to them if they hit someone with their car, or how Marina very badly wants to go to visit the Shengen zone, but it is extremely hard for girls to get visas if they are unmarried, unemployed or employed in entry-level jobs, and do not own a house or a car, because governments are afraid that they will try and stay in Europe and that they will either try and marry a European man or become a prostitute! How unnerving! I guess I just never realized how many doors are open for me because of my American passport. I have always in many ways focused on the inconveniences that I face as a non-EU immigrant in the united kingdom, ya know?

Haha, the other thing is that Lucy has an adorable kitten! His name is "smurdiak", which means "bad wine" in Russian. He is about two months old and oh my gosh how cute! I am definitely a cat girl so the playful kitten just makes me melt :-)

Okay, I think that is about all for today. I am trying to be as honest as possible so I will admit that I find the whole thing rather scary, but I am here for four more days and I will do my best to make the most of it!!

Love,
Tess / [info]jolteons


And this one was yesterday about 2PM-ish:
So although I have not posted my last entry yet, as I haven't had any internet access, it has been approximately another 24 hours since I last wrote! Due to a sad and complicated chain of events I would rather not get into just now (bleughh), I am now on a plane headed for the UK! Four hours! What a flight! Although it is unfortunate that I didn't get to spend my full week in Ukraine, I am looking forwards to getting home tonight. I guess I was only in Ukraine for three days, but I got over a hundred photos and it has definitely left an impression on me! I will upload the photos from my trip as soon as I can!

One thing that really surprised me about Ukraine was the smoking culture. I have never really been exposed to much smoking in an indoor setting, as it is illegal in public places both in Wisconsin and Scotland, and I don't really have many friends who smoke, but oh my gosh! Shocking! The other night we were in this like, sealed-off basement pub, and everyone in the entire place was pretty much chain smoking! I had not realized to what extent the smoking culture is very world-wide. Kathleen was explaining to me that smoking is highly prevalent basically everywhere in the world except America and to a certain extent, western Europe. In some ways I am very naive, and drinking/smoking/drugs is basically the top of that list for me!

I really wish I could understand Russian! First off, what a beautiful language! I didn't realize, since I can't hear the different between Russian and Ukrainian, but Russian is actually the most prominent language in Kyiv. I had expected that Russian would be spoken by mostly the older generation who had used it more during the Soviet era, but in fact, Russian is more the language of the youth and the language that the education is done in. I have learned one more Russian word-- bringing my total for the trip up to two, lol-- which I don't know the spelling of, but sounds like, "peh-jaal-suh" and means "please" :-)

Depending on how things unfold, I will probably be back on track with my travels on Thursday. I will just have to buy myself a train ticket down to London and all will continue on as planned :-) We must always persevere, you know! London and Riga await me! I look forwards to a couple days of down-time though definitely. I am still being sued about my flat, after all, and I do need to deal with that, and it is unfortunately the tip of the iceberg of my financial issues as apparently my rent has not been paid this month either, though as I am fairly careful with my money I am assuming that has to do with my student loans not having come through yet! Luckily all my travels had been paid for already!! I also need to start worrying about what I am going to do this summer. My really absolutely lovely time in France last week has left me really pushing to reach fluency in French, so I will certainly look into a summer work visa there. Hopefully I will be able to spend some quality time with the couple of friends I have who are still at university during the holidays. I also plan to cook a big pot of delicious chili. There is always an upside to every bad situation! :-)

Please keep well guys, and always remember to be kind to those whose paths you cross in life, for you never know who is carrying a heavy load.

Lots of love,
Tess / [info]jolteons
Link25 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

12 HOURS IN BELGIUM; [Jan. 19th, 2012|09:38 pm]

Oh my gosh what a day today in Belgium! So much qui s'est passé and wow how unhappy I was for parts of it, but in the end oh how wonderful in total! This is the first time I have ever left one country in the morning, spent the day in another, and gone back to the first one by bedtime! En fait, it is just 35 minutes on the super fast TGV train from Lille to Bruxelles, and so Lucie and I got there bright and early! It was absolutely pouring down rain like there was no tomorrow for most of the day, so that did put a bit of a damper on the day, and oh my gosh how cold and wet I was all day! But I could tell Brussels is such a beautiful city when il fait beau! Oh, so we started by trying to go to the chocolate museum, but it was closed (WHY?!) so we had to settle for the "Brussels History Musée" ha! Which was actually quite nice, I particularly enjoyed all the costumes of the peeing kid statue...... And just generally LOL the peeing boy statue!! I had never heard of it before today but omg lol the Belgians are literally obsessed with it. Ha.

Then Lucie and I went to a little restaurant where for 9,50€ each, we got a full plate of mussels (which I had never had before, what an experience!) and also fries. It was really a very good lunch and the restaurant was absolutely adorable! It was in some basement with a gorgeous chandelier and a lovely sloping exposed brick ceiling. Overall, I think the architecture was my favorite part of Bruxelles by far. I took lots of pictures but of course not as many as I would have liked to, on account of the terrible rain, trying not to et my camera wet, and trying t get from one place to another as quickly as possible!!

After that, we walked around a good deal, and basically just checked out some sweet old buildings and stuff. Then we took a tour of the European parliament, which was actually pretty damn cool. It made me want to work in the European administration lol. I got a gauffre with white and dark chocolate and strawberries, which was so delicious but I started to feel SO nauseous afterwards.... Though to be fair I am not sure if the waffle was to blame. But probably lol. Then we still had a couple hours before our train back to France so we of course went shopping! What was really interesting to me were the number of homeless people in Bruxelles! For reasons I am not really sure of, in my head, everyone in Belgium is rich and white-- but this could not be further from the truth!! I saw very few people who I would assume to be of "Belgian" origins and so many children begging on the streets! How very sad!! I make it a habit not to give to beggars-- for several reasons-- but oh my gosh the distinction between the poor and the rich was so evident. Even more so perhaps because food is so freakin' expensive! I live in the UK so I am used to very cheap food-- even at home in Wisconsin the food prices surprise me with how high they are. France and Belgium are killing me guys. Haha.

Tomorrow at 6AM I leave for Ukraine! I am very excited but also a little bit scared!! I hope I will be able to keep my travel anxiety in check! I am excited to stop speaking French because I do love to talk, but it really takes a real effort to tell bad jokes in a foreign language, you know? But at the same time I am just starting to get used to all the French after five days of immersion so I am sad that I won't truly get the chance to amerliorer! I need to really spend extended time in a francophone country if I really want to become truly fluent, which I do!

Now, it's time for bed, since the alarm rings at 5:40 tomorrow morning!
Link19 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

UPDATES ON THE NEVERENDING FUN OF FRANCE AND RANDOM MUSINGS; [Jan. 17th, 2012|06:40 pm]

The wonders never cease! Here I am, back as promised with unsolicited "Tess-goes-travelling" update number two! Just now I am playing a super fun game. It is called "Tess-versus-the-internet". The internet is winning so I am typing this lovely blog entry in my "notes" app instead of tweeting and Facebook chatting to my heart's content. I imagine my brief absence of several hours from the online world will result in tens of emails, hundreds of notifications, and thousands of @-replies. JOKES. 

Today, Lucie and I walked all around Lille. We got some tasty kebab (french speciality. Ha.) and I ended up buying a really cool 1€ headband and some gold eyeliner. I got lots of awesome pictures! Lille really is a lovely city with some fascinating architecture. I am sure once I get home I will flood you all with my photos of buildings. And honestly, so far, little else. There are a few selfies of my mug. Ha. Workin' it. 

Afterwards, we went to get hot chocolate at a lovely little café and had some really good chat! I feel more comfortable today with my French than I did yesterday, of course. I know that I really need to spend some extended time in France if I genuinely want to be fluent in the language, which of course I do. Perhaps I could work this summer at a resort in the south. I think when I get back to university I will look into it. Although that being said, I already have many plans for the summer at home in Wisconsin that it would be a shame to miss, including the half-marathon I am planning to run! In the end, I didn't bring my running stuff on this trip, but I suppose I will just have to train very hard upon my return. But I'm a real man, yo. I can handle it :-)

Tonight, apparently, we are all going to a club! This is a bit unfortunate, because I didn't bring any nice "going out" clothes, but I suppose I will wear earrings and lipstick with my jeans and hoodie, and that will have to do! We'll see how it goes! I have always been very self-conscious about my dancing, but as my main resolution for this year is to be more adventurous and less anxious about things I will do my best to ignore my insecurities and have fun! I will, of course, bring my camera and take pictures. I think Lucie and Cécile go clubbing quite late, haha, as I have been warned that we may not return until four in the morning! I know that I am twenty and I really ought to have, but I've actually never been to a club so I am looking forwards to it!

And finally, a bit of a revelation from the desk: everyone, everywhere, it seems, is discussing the great "future unknown"! That is to say, we, collectively (me and those I know) are in university. What comes next? When I was home over Christmas, my friend Katie's mom asked, "the uncertainty is almost as bad as applying to college, isn't it?" Well. No. It is much worse. There was never any question in my mind as to whether or not I would get into university. In fact, I knew where I was going to go almost a whole year before arriving! Will I find an "acceptable" job? Ha, that is rather iffy. Sciences Po Lille, much like where I go (the University of St. Andrews), is hyper-competitive. I just don't buy in, guys. All I want is a job and a nice apartment and maybe a husband or something haha. If what is going to make me happy is to run a corner store or teach a bunch of third-graders, so be it!!

À bientôt, mes amis!!
Tess / [info]jolteons
Link30 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

RIGHT NOW IN MY LIFE (TESS GOES TRAVELLING); [Jan. 16th, 2012|07:08 pm]

Hey there internet! How are things? Here comes unsolicited travel update #1 from me:

Just now, I am sitting in an anthropology lecture at Sciences Po Lille. 'Cause I am just that boss. And that into anthropology that I must attend lectures in another language in another country on my first Monday of holidays ;-) Jokes, I am trying my bestest but the French is of course a bit overwhelming! Tis the first time I have spoken in French since January 2010! That is two years homies. But I got this. Lucie and her flatmate Cécile are extremely kind and their top floor flat is absolutely charming and so quirky! I will take pictures. Unfortunately, I probably can't upload them until I get back to Scotland cause my iPad won't connect to my camera, but they'll be on the Internet eventually!

Lucie and I have been friends for quite awhile. We met, in fact, on livejournal, waaaay back when.... I think I was either a sophomore or a junior in high school. Then, in summer 2008, she came to stay with me in Wisconsin! It was the first time we met and honestly very brave of her to travel all the way to America by herself to stay with a family she had never met! Though our parents had spoken of course and everyone's identity had been checked out so it wasn't top creepy, hahaha. We had a really nice time although to be fair I wasn't exactly the hostess with the mostest as I was quite ill at the time and sleeping about 14-16 hours a day. In my first year at university, I visited her and her family in Amberieu-en-Bugey, which is a little town a bit outside of Lyon. Now two years later I am visiting her at her own university in Lille! How cool is that, eh?

I can't believe how much class they have here at Sciences Po Lille. Frankly, this last semester, I had four hours of class time a week! Lucie and Cécile have 24! Ha, France. Actually I believe the French amount is very similar to the amount of class that I would have if I attended university in America.

I spent a lot of time this morning fighting with a scanner. I know I mentioned that I'm being sued the other day.... Basically the story behind that is that there was a miscommunication or several when the couple I was meant to live with this year at university broke their housing contract and moved to Spain. Consequently, there is money that has not been accounted for. Also, they're crazy, so there's that..... But mostly it has been miscommunication and I personally blame the letting agency. Anyways, luckily for me, my mom is a contracts lawyer, so I am trying to scan and send her the huge 71 page document so she can read through it and advise me own my next steps (either pay, or go to court about it..... Stressful, though less so on the other side of the university exams I had last week! Also now it has sunk in a little bit....)

On Thursday, Lucie and I are going to take the train to Bruxelles (Brussels) in Belgium! So excited to get another country on my crazy trip but sad that they won't stamp my passport, haha! After this trip I think I will have doubled the number of countries I have visited! Okay, I think that's all for today but I am sure I will be back tomorrow with more to say...... I always have more to say!

Love or rather, Bisous!
Tess / [info]jolteons

P.S. The picture of the fries is because I am in France, duh!
Link23 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

AN INTRODUCTION OF SORTS AND A RECAP OF SORTS (NYC JANUARY 2012); [Jan. 15th, 2012|12:13 pm]
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So, in about an hour, for the first time in my life, I'm going ~travelling~. Not travelling. (Am I spelling "travelling" wrong? Spellcheck seems to think I am...) But actually properly ~travelling~, you know, with a backpack and a camera and my infinite street smartz. #jokes. I am actually a bit concerned about my lack of streetwise-ness. Small-town Wisconsin and small-town Scotland don't really lend themselves very well to urban knowledge...

I'm headed off to Lille, France; Kiev, Ukraine; London, England; and Riga, Latvia for a bit less than a week each!! I have packed my life away into a stupid purple backpack. I am leaving my computer at home. It is going to be a rough, computerless month. HA don't despair too much for me guys I have an iPad and I am bringing that. Ha. You all thought I was legitimately going to be making myself suffer..... Of course not! How d'ya expect I'm going to update this blog with unsolicited tales of my trip? Though, in all honesty, I am not sure if I will be able to format my entries as I usually do. Now how is THAT for a first world problem, eh?

Mostly, I am just excited that this afternoon I will be using my French! It's been so long since I've spoken French and I love it so!! For now, however, I am going to show you some pictures of my LAST trip instead, which was just seven days ago, when my mom and I went to New York City for the weekend! It was my first time in the big apple and I had an absolutely fantastic time!


Dreams really do come true, you know... and I often dream of Prêt-a-manger!



Times Square, of course!


( About fifteen or so more pictures underneath the cut here. )
Link52 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

HOW TO CHEER YOURSELF UP (MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE); [Jan. 13th, 2012|02:33 am]
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You know what, guys? Today sucked a whole big arseload of stale nasty poo. Charming visual, I know, but also strictly necessary: I woke up at the wonderful hour of before sunrise in order to sit a university semester exam. And you know what I did? I totally flopped about and wrote about ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and would not be shocked if I failed the living crap out of it! Afterwards, I went to the post office and found myself summarily greeted by, I swear to God, a LAWSUIT. I AM BEING SUED. It's a long and boring story in which I naturally claim total innocence and those who are suing claim I am the child of satan, but unbeknownst to me, they filed a lawsuit against me in the European small claims court for £1360 on 20 October 2011 in central Spain. You know what just snaked its way up to me here in Scotland? That. On top of it? It's that time of the month. You know what I wanted to do all day long? Curl up and cry because you know what REALLY FRICKIN' hurts? My stupid baby-maker. THANKS FOR THAT, BODY. Gah!

But frankly, this rant is not the point of this post..... although I did get a bit carried away there, haha! The point of this post is to introduce all y'all to the patented [info]jolteons bad-times-turn-around how-to. Because you know what I know how to do? Make myself feel better, regardless of what is going on! Here is how:

1. Listen to Lady Gaga. I dare you, play through The Fame at top volume and tell me that you don't feel even the slightest bit better afterwards. Don't bother. I know you'd be lying.

2. Indulge in desserts. You know what I did? I went into the bakery and bought myself a £4.50 slice of double-chocolate cheesecake. And then I ate it. The whole thing. Right there on the street. With my hands. Did people judge me? I don't know, I was far too busy shoveling creamy sugary goodness!

3. Exercise. I'm not kidding. Bad times lead to pent up frustration and there is no better way to unwind than to let a little bit of that energy out in a physical way. I went for a 2.5 mile run even though it was the LAST thing I wanted to do and I hated myself just a little bit whilst running but afterwards it was just, you know, that "ahhhh" feeling. And can't beat a good runner's high, you know! (Note: this step combines excellently with step #1)

4. Take a long, hot shower. Pamper yourself! (If at any point, you need to cry, this is the best time to do it. Crying in a hot shower is extremely cathartic and you aren't even all puffy and red at the end!!) 

5. Clean. That pile of laundry from last week? Fold it. Pesky food splatter in the microwave? Scrub it. Lint on the carpet? Vacuum it. House already clean? Organise your sock drawer. Rearrange your tinned foods. Go through your iTunes. Trust me. Clean something. You'll feel very fulfilled and find it so strangely cheering! (Why is it so cheering though? History's great mysteries!)

6. Rant to someone. Phone up your favorite confidante and tell them in minute detail about all the shit things happening to you. Listen to their loving words. Rinse and repeat with your next favorite confidante. Continue as necessary until shock factor of bad time has worn off and those around you have assured you that it is Not Your Fault and How Completely Unfair and Wow That Sucks So Much! Haven't got any friends conveniently placed? Call your mum. No motherly love? Go out on the street and find SOMEONE to talk to. You need it.

7. Take a meditation break! Close your eyes and get comfortable and let your mind wander freely for fifteen minutes. Voila! Instantly refreshed! :-)

Can't go wrong guys. I dare you! Next time you're feeling shitty, do all seven steps of my seven step shit-be-gone plan, and if you're not feeling better, guaranteed, I will give your time and money back save $7.95 shipping and handling.* (Allow 4-6 weeks for refund.)

*Time can be substituted for money up to the $7.95 shipping and handling charge which we here at [info]jolteons inc. use for r&d and cheesecake. That was such a poor joke. Hahaha.
Link47 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

ALL THE THINGS YOU'D SAY, THEY WERE NEVER TRUE, NEVER TRUE; [Jan. 11th, 2012|05:40 pm]
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This is a post about tattoos. I know that tattoos can be a controversial subject, at least in my household (I have one and my dear mother disapproves of it deeply) but I think they can be one of the most beautiful and original ways to adorn your body. I have also seen my fair share of tattoos that I believe are absolutely awful, and I do think one can be excessive or unwise in their tattooing-- it is going to be there on your body forever, after all! I've only had mine for about five or six months.... but I love it! Ask me again in twenty years if I regret it. Maybe I will!



This is my tattoo, in case anyone is interested.
It is the state of Wisconsin, the place I call home!

I recently photographed the process of a tattoo being done! I had never actually SEEN a tattooing before, since I couldn't see mine (on account of it being on my back and all) (and not actually having eyes on the back of my head!) I then turned these photographs (having taken over 2200 of them!!) into a stop-motion video of the process, which I am going to show below. WARNING: there is a bit of blood in this video....I didn't think it was a big deal but my test audience of my unfortunate friend Emily was highly traumatised. But it's pretty neat. I think it has come out nicely and I would say it is my best project to date..... or at least it's certainly the longest!! It's a four-hour time frame in four minutes:



Below the cut there are a few more photos of some of my all-time favourite tattoos.
(I have a folder on my computer of the ones I consider all-time best)

( But there's a side to you that I never knew, never knew )
Link50 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

A LETTER, AND A SPARK OF CREATION; [Jan. 10th, 2012|03:03 am]
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I have many friends here at university who blog. They post interesting, profound, introspective things. I enjoy reading them. One thing, as many of you know, I am not devoid of, is opinions. I am not a particularly private person. Therefore, blogging is probably also for me. Although I know Tumblr and Blogspot are more popular, livejournal is my home. I have had one livejournal account or another since 2002-- and I have made friends through livejournal who are some of the most amazing people I know. Friends across the world. Friends I have visited, friends who have visited me. In fact, this weekend, I am going to Lille, France to stay for a week with one such friend. Livejournal has changed my life in many ways. It is one of the primary reasons that I ended up, I believe, at university overseas.

For this reason, I have decided to embark on my blogging journey on livejournal. I have been writing at [info]jolteons since 2008. When I have been at my lowest points, livejournal has empathized with my pain, and when I have been at my highest, livejournal has celebrated with me. Over the past two years, I have found my usage of livejournal to taper off. I am much more social at university than I have been in Wisconsin (mostly due to living in such close proximity to so many awesome, incredible, kind friends) and I find that I have made connections and relationships that fill a similar role in my life that my friends on livejournal did in high school. I feel I have matured, I have changed, I have developed. And I am now ready, not to leave livejournal behind, but to change my direction and my goals in writing. I have set all of my previous entries (all 513 of them-- WOW!) to private, and I plan to write only public entries from now forwards. I shall be, if you will, blogging!

I hope to stay in contact with as many of my friends here as possible. I do not know exactly how and if my writing style will change (other than being marginally less personal and less complaining/writing about relationships HA), but I hope you will continue with me on my journey through life.

Love,
Tess / [info]jolteons
Link56 revolutions|we could make the earth turn

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