Awww, you guys are the best...

[bluestocking79]

I got my Portus postcard in the mail today! To my absolute delight, it's been signed by many of my friends, favorite authors and all-around awesome lj people! What a fabulous treat! I adore it, and I assure you that it's the dearest souvenir I could ever hope to have, because it makes me think of all of you. I keep staring at it, marveling at

Comments

[chillit]

Happy Fandom Birthday!

I've been around awhile, just quietly though, because I'm a reader as opposed to a writer!

[bluestocking79]

Thank you! I hadn't thought of it as a birthday, but that's a really great idea. :D

I lurked for a longtime before I participated in any way, so I didn't so much as set up an LJ until right before DH came out. I'm so glad I did it, though!

[morethansirius]

Happy Anniversary! Time flies when you're having fun and it sure would seem like you're having fun to me.

[bluestocking79]

Thank you! It feels both longer and shorter than a year, if that makes any sense--both like I just joined yesterday, and yet also like I've been here forever. I suspect that last bit is down to how comfortable I feel here. I most certainly am having a lot of fun, and I hope it continues. :D

[duniazade]

I'm so happy you came on LJ! It wouldn't have been the same without you.

It would be nice to make it to a con, wouldn't it? Maybe in Orlando...

*dreams*

And congratulations on your TNL award - you know I adore that story.

[bluestocking79]

Thank you! I'm so glad I came here as well. I can't imagine how I went all that time without, now. What was I so scared about?

I'd love to make it to a con, and it seems that a lot of people are already mentioning Orlando. If you're there, I will be there, no matter what. :D I'd love to see you in Paris before then, but I have to say that while LeakyCon's a question mark for me, I'm definitely putting Orlando on my must-do list. Besides, with two years to plan, that's plenty of time to get ready to do it right. I'll have a real job then and not be on the slave wages I'm paid now.

~dreams with you~

And thank you! You were so supportive of me, doing something that out there. I really appreciated that, because I'd never written anything that graphic before, and I was very, very nervous.

[duniazade]

I lurked for a very, very long time before even commenting on someone's journal - not fear, but getting the hang of a completely new universe. I've learned so many things since, but I have still loads to learn, and I enjoy that.

I definitely hope to see you in Paris. My in-laws house is in the process of being sold, but if we plan in advance (say, two or three months) I'll find a way to accomodate you.

I didn't even know about LeakyCon - or is that another name for Terminus?

[bluestocking79]

I lurked a long time as well, for similar reasons, though for me, not knowing the territory = fear. I want to be sure I'm doing something right before I do it. It's the dratted perfectionist streak in me! That's what makes me so awkward when I socialize, I suspect--don't want to put a toe wrong, so I look as uncomfortable as I feel.

Yes, there are always new ways to challenge yourself here. I like that. I'll never be completely satisfied with what I've done, and that's good, because I always want to get better, learn new things.

Oh, I'd let you know several months in advance of a trip to Paris. You know I'd very much appreciate any guidance or assistance you could offer! You are my oracle of all things Parisian.

LeakyCon is a con that's being held next May, in Boston. I know that firefly_124 will be there, and I know lady_rhian is hoping to go, but I don't know enough about it yet to go either way on it. To be truthful, I've never been terribly fond of the commentary on the Leaky Cauldron--they're rather more worshipful of JKR than I am--so I'

[duniazade]

I'd like so much to have a perfectionist in my life! Outside of the kitchen, I'm irremediably messy. I generally can find what I need when I need it, but things just don't look tidy, ever, and I'd like them to look tidy.

I'm not terribly fond of the Leaky either, for the same reasons. But you're not very far, and Boston+nice friends make a lovely combination.

I am very much tempted by cons, but on the other hand I realise that I'm not trained at all in spoken English. I do know the words and everything, but it goes too fast. I wonder if there's a really efficient teach-yourself method for that.

[bluestocking79]

My RL best friend is also irremediably messy, and to be honest, it's the one reason we've never actually shared living space, other than when traveling together. We're afraid we'd drive each other nuts and have an argument and it would negatively impact our friendship (which is in every other way excellent). I know she's always embarrassed when I come over to her house, but you know, it's not like I expect everybody else to be as much of an intense perfectionist as I am. Frankly, I'm glad they aren't! It reminds me to relax a bit and breathe--which is sometimes hard when things that are not quite as perfect as they could be feel actually physically wrong. That's one thing that always resonated about Severus with me--I could absolutely understand why he wanted things to be precise, why he would be so irritated people who didn't take it as seriously as he did.

But you're not very far, and Boston+nice friends make a lovely combination.

Exactly. If I go, that's why I'll go. I suspect the programming wouldn't be to my taste.

I am

[duniazade]

I totally identify with Severus' need for precision on the language plane (at least in French). On the material plane, I'm a real Nazi in the kitchen (call that the Potions lab), but not elsewhere. Strange stuff... I wonder if my fooling around with three languages hasn't left me with a somewhat compartmentalized personality.

Or, you know, you can hang about with me, and we'll chat in French. I've no doubt that my French is poor compared to your English, but I so rarely get the chance to converse! :-)

That's awfully nice, and it has also given me an idea. If I can procure a free phone line to the US, would you spend time chatting with me? We could do it alternately in French and in English!

[bluestocking79]

That's an interesting idea, about the different languages and compartmentalization! I do feel a certain 'shift' when I really go into speaking one language or the other. My voice even sounds a bit different in French. There could be something to that idea...

If I can procure a free phone line to the US, would you spend time chatting with me? We could do it alternately in French and in English!

That would be incredible! Let me know what you find out, and I'll send my number along.
:D