Pooooonies
So I put together another 3 pages of thesis; I've got like 12-ish now. There's one last section I want to fluff out, then it's time to schedule a meeting with my adviser.
Basically I just want to have something at least a bit substantial before we meet; even if it needs tons of editing or whatnot, at least it shows I'm putting in effort and producing SOMETHING. Plus you can't edit a blank page and all that, I figure it's easier to say what you need to change then end up being like 'welp you have to write a lit review basically'. So, at least a little progress has been made.
Gotta buy course books tomorrow. I'm actually super bummed at having to get up at a reasonable hour, work hours start at 9am for me Tuesdays through Thursdays. I mean, I set the hours myself specifically because if I'm not forced to get up early I'll just sleep for ages, but I still don't LIKE it. You guys I love sleep SO MUCH, seriously, it is super great.
Some good news though, I'm going to be collaborating on a book chapter at the lab. It's not a huge deal, but a) it'd be a publication credit, which is important, and b) it is a chance to show that I'm useful, which is also important because what I'd really like is to finagle my way into a full-time position after I graduate. I know the lab just got a few new grants, so there might be funds and need for another RA. The book chapter will be kind of lit-review-ish, so my hope is that if I'm useful on that project, it will lead to other projects, and so on.
It's also good because I'll be working with some lab members who aren't part of the study I was actually hired for. The study team are all nice and whatnot, but I kind feel like...they don't really treat me as a team member? Either that or the team is just not that great at communication, which is honestly also possible. It's like, last semester the project felt really disorganized and I often felt like I was out of the loop, and I haven't heard at all yet what's going on with the new schools we're trying to work with. I've seen people on the other project teams like...actually mentor the student workers and discuss things with them, so I think it's an aspect of the specific person heading my project and not of the lab. I think our project leader is just kind of...this is her first time leading a research project, and she seems kind of bad at delegating and communicating with the team? A lot of things were disorganized and we were constantly falling behind and things kept falling through the cracks. Kind of a bummer, but eh, I figure I'll just do the best I can to contribute wherever I can.
So that's what's going on with the job. I also I spent like two hours today searching for journal articles and not finding them, no idea why this shit is so obscure, it's cited by a bunch of dudes. But on the plus side, I did make an entire set of Eragon-themed My Little Ponies with a pony generator I found on deviantArt. I am SUCH a good judge of what is a good use of time. Side note, I ALSO made some detective-themed ponies last night (meaning Alan and Svyrnn and that crew). ...making ponies is kind of addictive lol.
First up is Eragon, he is SUPER ADORABLE lol. And he has a cowboy hat. Because he's a farmer? You guys he has tiny freckles, it's--it's so cute. He has a horn and wings because he's a dragon rider, I went with horn = has magic, wings = dragon rider, but they also have magic so they also get a horn. His wings are tiny because he's just a baby dragon rider. :3
And here's Murtagh, looking very serious and downcast lol. He is the emo child of the group. I made all of these based on their ReEragon characters, not the canon ones. I think I probably could have found a better mane, but eh. No horn or wings because he isn't a dragon rider YET. I guess they'll just...sprout later. XD
And here's Brom! He has an Appaloosa pattern because he's old basically, and since I was using gray for Murtagh the gray alone didn't cover it. Broken horn because his dragon died. Idk about the pose, I was thinking somewhere between 'about to take off' and 'scheming'? He is kind of scheming lol.
And here's Saphira! I think she is also adorable, haha. Her face kind of reminds me of Terezi for some reason? I was considering not giving the dragons manes, since they're, y'know, reptiles, but it looked so cute that I kept it. :3 Plus her tail looks sort of like a flame, which I like. She definitely looks scheming. XD
And of course Thorn as well. He is even tinier than Saphira because he's just a baby. And he's also cowering miserably, haha. Poor Thorn, it only makes sense that he's Murtagh's dragon, they're both the problem children lol. Sadly his tail is mostly blocked by the folded wings. Having the wings folded was a must though, it makes him seem much more sad and huddled up.
And here's Arya! She has a different style of horn, I used this style for all the non-dragon-rider magic-users. And she's also pink. All of the other non-dragon characters are actual horse-colors, so...idk, I was going to have her be cream or white, but then she looked a bit too similar to Durza, so I went with pretty pink, lol. I guess the elves are all ludicrous colors? And she's wearing pretty jewelry because she's a princess. XD She also has a different eye style from the others, because she's an elf. Also also, she's slightly taller than Eragon. I made Eragon short for some reason, although now that I think about it I don't think he's actually that short...
And now Durza. If you're wondering why he's a zebra, all of the desert people are zebras. The elves have that weird butt-patch, the dwarves are pintos, and...old people are appaloosas I guess, lol. Yes, these are not just Eragon ponies, they are surprisingly well-thought-out Eragon ponies! I uh, sometimes get too into projects. But anyway he's gray because he's a shade and they have spooky corpse-colored skin! And he has a vampire cape because...it just seemed like it fit lol. He was originally meant to have a grumpy expression, but combined with the pose it actually looks sort of whistful/poignant. Which also works, he has like the single most depressing/messed up backstory of any character.
Next up is Orik! He's tiny but bulky, what with being a dwarf. And also a pinto. I went with brown and gray because they're rock colors. Sadly the pony generator I used only has those tiny goat beards, so no bushy beard for Orik, heh. The foot things are because they look vaguely armor-ish, btw. He looks chill/amused, which I like, because he and Hvedra are the two characters who basically facepalm at all the emo teens around them. They're only sensible ones lol.
And with Orik of course is Hvedra. Originally she had more reddish-brown hair, but it looked a bit too similar to Orik so I changed the color palette a bit. Pretty sure she does have reddish hair in canon, though. I guess they do look kind of similar? Eh, whatever. She, too, looks chill yet amused, as is befitting her status as Nasuada's babysitter. Orik is Eragon's babysitter. Because in this story, the dwarves are basically the only competent ones.
And here is Nasuada, right after her babsitter. She's crouched down because she is INVESTIGATING, lol. In ReEldest she recruits Trianna, Durza, and Hvedra to basically form an extremely incompetent detective agency? Highlights include Durza's horse being way more useful than him and them all putting points in the Jumping to Conclusions skill. They are the worst detectives. She has gold bracelets because she's basically the Varden's princess, right? I like her hair, it's stylish yet practical. She came out way cuter than I expected, I think because I used the round eye style. The round eyes are just so cute!
And the last member of the detective agency, Trianna. I realized halfway through this post I forgot to give her a horn and went back to add one, lol. I love her hair too, it's kind of fancy. Suits her personality. She has the gold bracelet because her familiar is actually stored in a gold bracelet she wears, and a sparkly cloak because she is a sorceress lol. She, too, has a scheming look. Most of the characters in this story are scheming something. Those who aren't are mostly a bit dim (Eragon falls in this category).
And finally, Nar Garzvog, looking very majestic lol. I had a hard time picking out good antlers for him, most of the horn options were kind of small and urgals have giant horns; these were the closest fit. He's the largest character. One weird thing about the generator I used is that as you increase the height, for some reason the head size doesn't increase...creating a slightly pin-headed look for very tall ponies. Eh, it's not that noticeable. I went with a very trim hairstyle here, because I think urgals have less hair/more fur? Something like that?
And that's the whole set! WOW did I go overboard with this lol. Well, fun way to spend an evening, I guess. ...lol now I kind of want to make pony!Eragon comics, too bad I can't actually draw. XD But anyway I kind of love these, making ponies is ridiculously fun.
And as a side note, yes, I am working on ReEldest! I sent off all the existing drafts to a friend who betas fic. Sadly, I never in any draft got to the end of the story...the furthest ever reached was basically the end of the middle. Nasuada's detective agency is one of the better parts of those drafts lol. For some reason I only enjoy writing about very incompetent characters...well, actually, there are three competent characters: Orik, Hvedra, and Durza's horse. The horse is probably the MOST competent character, and the only one who has achieved self-actualization. Most of the others are buckets of angst lol. This is probably why the horse adopted Durza and wants to adopt Murtagh, he realizes somebody has to. XD
So yeah! I do intend to actually finish ReEldest. Even though somehow the plot devolved over time into being mostly about the character's multitudes of personal problems. ...I think it's the curse of writing a redo of Eldest, that book didn't really have a plot either. But yeah, in two of the three drafts of ReEldest, Durza's horse saves Adjihad from assassins. He is the best horse, you guys. His life goals include adopting Murtagh because Murtagh needs a father-figure in his life. Still undecided on what Murtagh will think about this plan, but admittedly, Durza's horse would PROBABLY be a better father than Morzan post-going-crazy.
And that...is pretty much all that is going on in my life at the moment. Main goal currently is to keep working on the thesis a little every day, I figure that way I'll steadily make progress. Well, I'll have to figure out a schedule a bit more once my class starts and I know the workload for that. But as of day one things seem okay, I guess!
Basically I just want to have something at least a bit substantial before we meet; even if it needs tons of editing or whatnot, at least it shows I'm putting in effort and producing SOMETHING. Plus you can't edit a blank page and all that, I figure it's easier to say what you need to change then end up being like 'welp you have to write a lit review basically'. So, at least a little progress has been made.
Gotta buy course books tomorrow. I'm actually super bummed at having to get up at a reasonable hour, work hours start at 9am for me Tuesdays through Thursdays. I mean, I set the hours myself specifically because if I'm not forced to get up early I'll just sleep for ages, but I still don't LIKE it. You guys I love sleep SO MUCH, seriously, it is super great.
Some good news though, I'm going to be collaborating on a book chapter at the lab. It's not a huge deal, but a) it'd be a publication credit, which is important, and b) it is a chance to show that I'm useful, which is also important because what I'd really like is to finagle my way into a full-time position after I graduate. I know the lab just got a few new grants, so there might be funds and need for another RA. The book chapter will be kind of lit-review-ish, so my hope is that if I'm useful on that project, it will lead to other projects, and so on.
It's also good because I'll be working with some lab members who aren't part of the study I was actually hired for. The study team are all nice and whatnot, but I kind feel like...they don't really treat me as a team member? Either that or the team is just not that great at communication, which is honestly also possible. It's like, last semester the project felt really disorganized and I often felt like I was out of the loop, and I haven't heard at all yet what's going on with the new schools we're trying to work with. I've seen people on the other project teams like...actually mentor the student workers and discuss things with them, so I think it's an aspect of the specific person heading my project and not of the lab. I think our project leader is just kind of...this is her first time leading a research project, and she seems kind of bad at delegating and communicating with the team? A lot of things were disorganized and we were constantly falling behind and things kept falling through the cracks. Kind of a bummer, but eh, I figure I'll just do the best I can to contribute wherever I can.
So that's what's going on with the job. I also I spent like two hours today searching for journal articles and not finding them, no idea why this shit is so obscure, it's cited by a bunch of dudes. But on the plus side, I did make an entire set of Eragon-themed My Little Ponies with a pony generator I found on deviantArt. I am SUCH a good judge of what is a good use of time. Side note, I ALSO made some detective-themed ponies last night (meaning Alan and Svyrnn and that crew). ...making ponies is kind of addictive lol.
First up is Eragon, he is SUPER ADORABLE lol. And he has a cowboy hat. Because he's a farmer? You guys he has tiny freckles, it's--it's so cute. He has a horn and wings because he's a dragon rider, I went with horn = has magic, wings = dragon rider, but they also have magic so they also get a horn. His wings are tiny because he's just a baby dragon rider. :3
And here's Murtagh, looking very serious and downcast lol. He is the emo child of the group. I made all of these based on their ReEragon characters, not the canon ones. I think I probably could have found a better mane, but eh. No horn or wings because he isn't a dragon rider YET. I guess they'll just...sprout later. XD
And here's Brom! He has an Appaloosa pattern because he's old basically, and since I was using gray for Murtagh the gray alone didn't cover it. Broken horn because his dragon died. Idk about the pose, I was thinking somewhere between 'about to take off' and 'scheming'? He is kind of scheming lol.
And here's Saphira! I think she is also adorable, haha. Her face kind of reminds me of Terezi for some reason? I was considering not giving the dragons manes, since they're, y'know, reptiles, but it looked so cute that I kept it. :3 Plus her tail looks sort of like a flame, which I like. She definitely looks scheming. XD
And of course Thorn as well. He is even tinier than Saphira because he's just a baby. And he's also cowering miserably, haha. Poor Thorn, it only makes sense that he's Murtagh's dragon, they're both the problem children lol. Sadly his tail is mostly blocked by the folded wings. Having the wings folded was a must though, it makes him seem much more sad and huddled up.
And here's Arya! She has a different style of horn, I used this style for all the non-dragon-rider magic-users. And she's also pink. All of the other non-dragon characters are actual horse-colors, so...idk, I was going to have her be cream or white, but then she looked a bit too similar to Durza, so I went with pretty pink, lol. I guess the elves are all ludicrous colors? And she's wearing pretty jewelry because she's a princess. XD She also has a different eye style from the others, because she's an elf. Also also, she's slightly taller than Eragon. I made Eragon short for some reason, although now that I think about it I don't think he's actually that short...
And now Durza. If you're wondering why he's a zebra, all of the desert people are zebras. The elves have that weird butt-patch, the dwarves are pintos, and...old people are appaloosas I guess, lol. Yes, these are not just Eragon ponies, they are surprisingly well-thought-out Eragon ponies! I uh, sometimes get too into projects. But anyway he's gray because he's a shade and they have spooky corpse-colored skin! And he has a vampire cape because...it just seemed like it fit lol. He was originally meant to have a grumpy expression, but combined with the pose it actually looks sort of whistful/poignant. Which also works, he has like the single most depressing/messed up backstory of any character.
Next up is Orik! He's tiny but bulky, what with being a dwarf. And also a pinto. I went with brown and gray because they're rock colors. Sadly the pony generator I used only has those tiny goat beards, so no bushy beard for Orik, heh. The foot things are because they look vaguely armor-ish, btw. He looks chill/amused, which I like, because he and Hvedra are the two characters who basically facepalm at all the emo teens around them. They're only sensible ones lol.
And with Orik of course is Hvedra. Originally she had more reddish-brown hair, but it looked a bit too similar to Orik so I changed the color palette a bit. Pretty sure she does have reddish hair in canon, though. I guess they do look kind of similar? Eh, whatever. She, too, looks chill yet amused, as is befitting her status as Nasuada's babysitter. Orik is Eragon's babysitter. Because in this story, the dwarves are basically the only competent ones.
And here is Nasuada, right after her babsitter. She's crouched down because she is INVESTIGATING, lol. In ReEldest she recruits Trianna, Durza, and Hvedra to basically form an extremely incompetent detective agency? Highlights include Durza's horse being way more useful than him and them all putting points in the Jumping to Conclusions skill. They are the worst detectives. She has gold bracelets because she's basically the Varden's princess, right? I like her hair, it's stylish yet practical. She came out way cuter than I expected, I think because I used the round eye style. The round eyes are just so cute!
And the last member of the detective agency, Trianna. I realized halfway through this post I forgot to give her a horn and went back to add one, lol. I love her hair too, it's kind of fancy. Suits her personality. She has the gold bracelet because her familiar is actually stored in a gold bracelet she wears, and a sparkly cloak because she is a sorceress lol. She, too, has a scheming look. Most of the characters in this story are scheming something. Those who aren't are mostly a bit dim (Eragon falls in this category).
And finally, Nar Garzvog, looking very majestic lol. I had a hard time picking out good antlers for him, most of the horn options were kind of small and urgals have giant horns; these were the closest fit. He's the largest character. One weird thing about the generator I used is that as you increase the height, for some reason the head size doesn't increase...creating a slightly pin-headed look for very tall ponies. Eh, it's not that noticeable. I went with a very trim hairstyle here, because I think urgals have less hair/more fur? Something like that?
And that's the whole set! WOW did I go overboard with this lol. Well, fun way to spend an evening, I guess. ...lol now I kind of want to make pony!Eragon comics, too bad I can't actually draw. XD But anyway I kind of love these, making ponies is ridiculously fun.
And as a side note, yes, I am working on ReEldest! I sent off all the existing drafts to a friend who betas fic. Sadly, I never in any draft got to the end of the story...the furthest ever reached was basically the end of the middle. Nasuada's detective agency is one of the better parts of those drafts lol. For some reason I only enjoy writing about very incompetent characters...well, actually, there are three competent characters: Orik, Hvedra, and Durza's horse. The horse is probably the MOST competent character, and the only one who has achieved self-actualization. Most of the others are buckets of angst lol. This is probably why the horse adopted Durza and wants to adopt Murtagh, he realizes somebody has to. XD
So yeah! I do intend to actually finish ReEldest. Even though somehow the plot devolved over time into being mostly about the character's multitudes of personal problems. ...I think it's the curse of writing a redo of Eldest, that book didn't really have a plot either. But yeah, in two of the three drafts of ReEldest, Durza's horse saves Adjihad from assassins. He is the best horse, you guys. His life goals include adopting Murtagh because Murtagh needs a father-figure in his life. Still undecided on what Murtagh will think about this plan, but admittedly, Durza's horse would PROBABLY be a better father than Morzan post-going-crazy.
And that...is pretty much all that is going on in my life at the moment. Main goal currently is to keep working on the thesis a little every day, I figure that way I'll steadily make progress. Well, I'll have to figure out a schedule a bit more once my class starts and I know the workload for that. But as of day one things seem okay, I guess!