The Happy Thread IV

[Varnafindë]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

I guess you'd call them langskøyter
They're for speed skating yes, and very different from what you wear for figure skating, ice-hockey and whatnot.

Close enough - we call them lengdeløpsskøyter

The skates for figure skating and for ice hockey are designed to help you to be able to turn around quickly, which you don't need to do in speed skating.

Instead with the skates for speed skating, the blades are longer (a bit like roller blades), so that there's more contact with the ice to spread your weight on and to keep your balance better, and to kick against the ice with - to get a good kick-off

[Mari]

I have both and do both (though our ice isn't good enough for it (yet?) ). We call the long ones 'Noren' though. Mind you, the Dutch for Norway is Noorwegen, but the inhabitants are also called Noren.

I'm glad you had a good time. Skating on natural ice with good skates is awesome!

[Jonathan]

Yeah, I understand the Dutch are quite the fans of skating with long, straight blades.

[Varnafindë]

Originally Posted by Mari

We call the long ones 'Noren' though. Mind you, the Dutch for Norway is Noorwegen, but the inhabitants are also called Noren.

So not only 'Nordic' skates, but 'Norwegians'?

[Tessar]

I've had such a feeling of euphoria since Saturday night, but particularly Sunday morning, when I figured out how to sing with so much more ease. I've been hoping for years to figure out how to sing without it making my throat uncomfortable, and I finally did. I can actually do what I love to do with all of my heart and it doesn't feel like it comes at the cost of a sometimes painful throat. Today I totally floated through rehearsals and it made me SO happy to be able to sing like I did.

AND I'm still enjoying Dragon Age... more than ever now that the plot is continuing to unfold.


This has truly been the MOST AWESOME CHRISTMAS SEASON EVERRRRRR. It's gonna be almost impossible to ever top my 2009 Christmas .

[Varnafindë]

Originally Posted by Tessar

I've been hoping for years to figure out how to sing without it making my throat uncomfortable, and I finally did. I can actually do what I love to do with all of my heart and it doesn't feel like it comes at the cost of a sometimes painful throat.

That's great, Tessar! I'm really happy for you!

[Earniel]

You realise of course that this means we want sound clips.

[Varnafindë]

I second that

[Tessar]

I will try to see if I can get a good recording during one of my upcoming voice lessons .


I went grocery shopping for the first time by myself (because we're totally out of food and everyone else had too much going on today) and it was awesome. Aside from being paranoid about spending too much, I had a great time .

Instead of soda I got lots of juice and tea/coco mix, plus I got tons of healthy snacks (like apple sauce cups and baby carrots) instead of the usual fattening stuff my parents tend to buy, and I got lots and lots of salad fixings . All of that, plus the regular stuff we need, and I came in under what my dad usually spends. I was surprised... I was really afraid I was going to end up spending a ton more because of buying the healthy stuff and juice.

Hopefully it wont turn out that I ended up missing a bunch of stuff we need, but everyone helped put the list together last night, so I don't think I did.

I may have to try to coerce my family into letting me do the shopping from now on, assuming they're all happy with what I got. I hope they are . I am SO FREAKING HAPPY to have healthy snack food instead of poptarts, greasy chips, and other fat food because I'm always hungry :-/. I have a pretty fast metabolism, so I end up eating a ton of crappy food just to fill up because we don't have enough healthy stuff.

[Mari]

Why did you never do grocery shopping on your own before? *looks confused*
Doing grocery shopping is great I'm glad you seem to be good at it

[Tessar]

Originally Posted by Mari

Why did you never do grocery shopping on your own before? *looks confused*
Doing grocery shopping is great I'm glad you seem to be good at it

Just never really needed to or had time. My schedule usually keeps me at school from early in the morning till as late as nine or ten at night if there's a concert I have to attend/perform at or a performance rehearsal. My parents (typically my dad) go on the weekend, which is usually when I'm either sleeping all day, doing homework, or at another rehearsal .

But this semester I think my schedule will be less crazy. I'm only taking 12 hours, which is gonna be AWESOME SAUCE. So I'll have time to go shopping.

After the delicious stew I made for dinner tonight, my family voted that I should get to do the shopping from now on. So yay.

[Mari]

I scored an internship at the place I wanted: a publisher of educational materials. Yes!
Now I have to call them to decide on the department I will be stationed, English, Dutch, German, French or Spanish. I think it will be either English or Dutch, but German will suit me just as well ^_^

[Varnafindë]

That's great, Mari! Sounds really interesting ...

[Tessar]

Originally Posted by Mari

I scored an internship at the place I wanted: a publisher of educational materials. Yes!
Now I have to call them to decide on the department I will be stationed, English, Dutch, German, French or Spanish. I think it will be either English or Dutch, but German will suit me just as well ^_^

Congratulations!!!

[Mari]

Thankee ^_^

[Tessar]

WOOOHOOOOO!!! I got a tiiiiiiiiiiiiny part in the opera .

Two tiny parts, actually. In the first act, I'm a mover, and I walk into a room and clear my throat really loudly before moving a couch off set!!!!!

Then in the second act I have three lines to sing! I'm a stage-hand from New Jersey (or something...) and I'm telling the 'actors' to hurry up their love scene.

I practiced my Jersey Accent... I sound jewish, and it is surprisingly difficult to sing with an accent after you've spent your entire day learning to sing operatically . I couldn't figure out how to make him sound like his dialect in the script ("youse guys" O_o) till I tried sounding jewish, and that sounds okay... so I'm gonna go with that .


It's somehow way more exciting than just doing ensemble . Plus I get bonus points for doing it because it was originally going to be one of the other guys, but he didn't come to our first rehearsals because he lives far away... so the director gave the part to me, which frankly surprised me. He always says that you'll lose your part if you show up not knowing music, or if you don't come to rehearsals, but people have done both things numerous times without repercussion, so I dunno why he decided to start now especially with two such tiny, tiny parts.

[katya]

Two cans of Vault for the price of one from the vending machine! Score! Yay for little happinesses

[Tessar]

So last night my mom and I went to mass together, and without realizing it I picked a seat behind her boss and the boss' husband. O_o After the mass (the masses at out parish always involve a LOT of singing from the choir and from the congregation, and pretty much everyone sings so I don't feel uncomfortable about singing like I do at most churches where the congregation almost never sings) the couple turned around and just started complementing me on my voice. It was really sweet of them.

Best. Mass. Ever. Hehehe.


The best part was afterwards when my mom said, "You weren't even singing full out, were you?" and when I said no, she replied, "Yeah, I didn't think so, your voice is pretty big."

^_^

[Midge]

Engagement pictures today! See the picture links thread.

[Midge]

You know.. I'm not really sure WHY I feel happy. Like.. I'm getting married and I can't wait, but that's like four months away, and I have the whole semester to get through and I'm already ignoring my homework (what else is new?) and I feel overwhelmed between school and wedding and work. On top of all that, my fiance isn't picking up his phone at the moment. But my overall feeling is happy. It's weird.