Just noticed it’s been quite some time since I’ve written an update about my running progress. This probably has something to do with the fact that there has not been that much progress to speak of. Since last summer I’ve been running quite irregularly.

This December however Sinterklaas gave me something I’ve been looking forward to ever since it was announced to be in the making: the nike+ sports kit (commercial video here, but of course also on the official site, when it’s available again -_-). Of course Nike wants you to believe this baby only works with special Nike+ shoes, but you can use it with any shoe you like, as long as you can connect it in such a way that the sensor is positioned horizontally. Phew, nice money saver. The sensor is pretty accurate. Opposite to what some people say, this is not - not! - just some pedometer. It contains an accelerometer, and is actually pretty accurate. And if it’s not good enough for you yet, you can finetune it on some 400m course.

Since my new year’s resolution is finishing some semi-marathon, I’ve been looking at quite some schedules. I’ve even gave it a try to make one myself, but since I’m not really an authority in this field (*cough*understatement*cough*) in the end I’ve decided to go with the schedule on nikerunning.com. You only need to run 3 days a week (most schedules want you to give 4), the schedule is only 12 weeks (so even if there’s some delay, there’s still a chance to get it done for the enschede marathon in April), and apparently nikerunning is also connected to nikeplus in some way, so it tracks my runs as well - handy!

Some delay already occurred. Last week I wanted to run 10km, but sprained some muscle in my foot at 7km. That was the first time I noticed I had nothing with me to help me in a situation like this: no money or OV to take public transport, no cell to call somebody to pick me up… So I had to stumble those final 3km home. My foot felt kind of okay today, so wanted to try a short distance, but now my foot hurts again just like it did before. Foot vs Kageki: 1 - 0. Foot wins! Next week I will not run even 1m!

author: Clamp
original title: RG Veda Seiden
publisher: Shinshokan 1990, Tokyopop 2005
rated: T(een), 13+

Sorry to disappoint you guys, but there’s no summary on the back of this manga, neither on the first nor the second volume. I guess I’ll have to describe the basics myself.

300 years ago, Taishakuten the god of thunder killed the heavenly emperor and took the throne, and the emperor’s wife. He’s not really a nice guy (euphemism), but fortunately there is a prophecy that indicates his end is near. Stargazer Kuyou informs our hero Lord Yasha of this legend, and Yasha takes on the task of making the prophecy come true. For this he needs to first find the child incarnation of Ashura, but many tasks will follow before the world will finally be freed of Taishakuten’s tiranny. And of course Taishakuten will not just stand there and do nothing!

RG Veda was the first real manga series published by Clamp, their breakthrough. The story is somewhat mythological, based on the Hindu scriptures Rigveda.

storyline: I don’t know the Rigveda scriptures, so I have no clue how much is Clamp and how much is based on the religious texts, but the story is interesting, dramatic, dynamic, mysterious.

artwork: The artwork is old clamp style. Pretty! Yasha reminds me a lot of Izark from From Far Away, but of course Clamp was first. Of course it is Ashura who is the cute human with the demon inside in this story. (yeah yeah, a From Far Away review will also appear some time in the future ^_~)

character development: There is some character development, but also new characters are introduced on the fly, so so far there has not been much room to get really into it I guess.

final verdict: 8 - First of all I love mythical stories. Secondly, this story is so promising I just want to keep reading. Unfortunately these are the only two volumes I have… so far *g*

My sense of time seems wacked. Summer went by far too quickly. Just half a year and the college year is already over again. WTF? I just got started!

Anyways, before I forget: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! May create juices flow and may relaxation be with you always. Oh, and love, and affection, and money, and time, and oh well, whatever you want *g* (damn you needy people ^_~)

Other news: recently I’ve been getting these drawing urges, and lots of ideas for four-frame comics too. Not that they’re all that great, probably (I really can’t judge my own type of humour), but hey, at least I’m drawing again. I think it’s because of the manga reading - nothing better to fuel those manga urges.

New years resolutions? I did pretty well on last year’s; a couple of months ago I found that list, and the only resolution I failed was drawing a full manga story.

Next year I’d like to:

• Keep drawing - no full stories necessary, a yonkoma every now and then will do.
• Keep running - I want to run at least one semi-marathon. Preferably I want to do the ING Enschede marathon in april, just to finish it; and try to improve on my time during some semi-marathon somewhere in autumn that year.
• Keep it easy - I know me, and I know I will just have to stay aware that I should not take on too many new hobbies or whatever. I want to stay stress free; for myself, but also for the people around me.

I guess that’s it. Apparently I’m pretty content with my life as it is right now ^_~

author: M. Alice LeGrow
original title: Bizenghast
publisher: Tokyopop, 2005
rated: T(een 13+)

summary (on the back): When a young girl moves to the forgotten town of Bizenghast, she uncovers a terrifying collection of lost souls that leads her to the brink of insanity. One thing becomes painfully clear: The residents of Bizenghast are just dying to come home.

It is not often that you find mangas in the horror genre. And… this is not a Japanese manga, this is a comic by one of the runner up’s of the Tokyopop Rising Stars of Manga contest!

storyline: (slight spoiler) Somehow the main character, schizo Dinah, unwittingly signs a contract to help free some souls. These souls need setting free because they did not die prettily - a nice setting for some disturbing scenes. Fortunately she has a friend, Vincent, to help her out. There are a couple of exceptions, but generally each chapter a soul is set free by first solving a riddle, then solving the problem why the soul is trapped. This could result in many volumes, but since this series has only two, I’m kind of curious how it will all come together in the final issue.

artwork: I like her style, and I just love the cover. She pays attention to detail, although some other scenes seem to be a bit rough. You can tell the author likes to cosplay: there’s lots of pretty costumes ^^/

final verdict: 6 - It’s interesting, but I think it could have been a lot better if the author would have had the space to elaborate more. There is a lot of story on just a few pages, but as a whole it feels rather hasty and shallow. I am curious about the final volume though!

P.S. Original site of the author: bizenghast.com

Author: Clamp
Original Title: Tokyo Babylon
Publisher: Shinshokan 1991, Tokyopop 2004
Rated: Teen (13+)

Summary (on the back): Welcome to Tokyo, cultural and economic hub of the Eastern world. Nowhere on Earth will you find such majestic and splendor… and such excess and discord! Lurking below the surface of this great city simmer restless spirits and lost soulds, products of society’s insatiable greed and vanity… But there are those among us who live to save us from ourselves. This is the story of Subaru, the 13th head of the Sumeragi clan. He gives peace to the dead.

I’m currently in the process of trying to get some of that huge lent manga collection back to the rightful owners. Of course I do want to read each and every volume. Today I had a Clamp urge, so I brought Tokyo Babylon with me to read during lunch break. Thanks Kanako, for letting me borrow it!

Tokyo Babylon is one of the earlier mangas by Clamp, but it has everything: the prettiness, the gay relationship, and ghost stories. In 1991 already! Actually it’s pretty amazing that they have created so many different series with those very same elements. I love them all!

Storyline: This first volume seems mainly an introduction of the three main characters, already inserting a nice amount of intrigue. Of course in the mean time there are a couple of ghosts that need to be helped into the next world and stuff like that, side stories to keep you going while you actually want to know more about the main storyline ^_~

Artwork: Well, it’s Clamp, and this manga looks very typically Clamp, of course in their earlier style. Their more recent works are somewhat modernized.

Current verdict: 7 - *fangirl squeal* Next volume please! If you like Clamp, you will also looove this series. If you don’t have any experience with manga by Clamp yet, you might want to try more recent series first however.

P.S. There’s also an OVA based on this manga series. Could be worth checking out.

I’ve been making drawings for Niels’ stories for over a year now. Currently he is writing a story called Scarlet Codex. Since the story is his, I can’t post it without his permission, but this here is the drawing for the second part. Since I currently have no scanner it is all done digitally. Tsk, I can’t seem to be able to draw a single straight line! But I like the result (as long as you don’t zoom in too much) ^^

Later this afternoon I have a meeting with the braintechnology professor to see whether we can put a combination of courses together that would work and be acceptable from the human media interaction point of view.

As for other news, my physical stress symptoms only seem to get worse now I’m taking it slow >_<

Within a year I have to decide what I want to do for the work experience part of my studies, and what would be interesting to write my master’s thesis about. If I can think up something good, I might even be able to do research for the university after I graduate - which would be great!

Slowly the idea has been growing that it would be great to do something in the field of brain-computer interaction. Some experiments already have been done in this field. Basically there are two options: an implant in the motoric part of your brain, or a ‘hat’. The first sounds scary, but it has good results - you can even train to think you’re moving a cursor, as if you would think you want to move your arm for example, and the cursor will actually move. The second is a little less ‘detailed’, but at least you won’t need any scary thingies in your brain.

The current experiments are mainly directed towards disabled people, even to the point where they can only move their eyes. Of course for these people it would be great to be able to move limbs again, even if it is artificial, and it also provides them with faster means of communication.

But what about the future? Personally I think brain-computer interaction could be interesting for everybody. No external input devices necessary meaning no more RSI and smaller computers which will be easier to have with you all times (of course there’s still the element of output towards the user…). No extra help necessary for people who are disabled in any way.

There are probably a lot more advantages - I haven’t read that many research papers yet. But it does open a lot of interesting possibiltiies. The new instant messenger: Telepathy - brain to brain communication via the internet ^_~

Yesterday I discovered that we have a professor at the university who has actually done research with brain-computer interaction with implants, who also gives lectures about neurotechnology. And there are also lectures about neurofysiology, a basic course about the brain which would also be very applicable.

The only question now is whether they will let me take these courses for my master, since they’re not exactly standard human media interaction topics. I’ve already sent out a couple of e-mails. I hope the replies will be positive, cause I really really want to do this *crosses fingers*

Discovered a great new series last week! Well, it’s not that new, it’s from 2004, but it’s new on Dutch television: House MD. Nonono, it’s not another one of those hospital series… Alright, it is, but this one is interesting! Dr Gregory House is a perceptive cynical bastard, an expert in virusses and that sort of thing, with lousy bed side manners. Of course after some character development you learn that he’s not a bad guy - he will do anything to make certain his patient lives on (if there is still a chance), he is just - in grey’s anatomy terminology - damaged goods. This series is so great ’cause you keep watching just to hear what he will say next. So go watch next Thursday evening on SBS6 (or just check Demonoid for the first two seasons) ^_~

Meanwhile, I’m still trying to take it slow, and I have the feeling I’m failing miserably. Inspired by Anneke’s schedule I decided to make one too, for an opposite result: to limit the time I spend on useful things and increase relaxation time. So far I’m just happy with the rhythm it provides - no clue whether it will actually help. The problem is that I need to feel useful, but obviously I need to relax as well. With all this free time however the most extravagant projects enter my head… It’s so hard to say no to all of them T_T

P.S. Yes, I’m making a post because WoW is still offline *g*

Yey! My highest level character hit level 50 yesterday! For a while I was a bit negative about my pally, because she hardly does any damage, and she can’t heal properly even though she is holy. But yesterday when I played solo for a while I started noticing the postive points again: I don’t have downtime, and I can handle many foes at once ^^b

Solar and I are going in vacation - today! ^^/ I wish the weather would be better, but it’s not just sun/sea/beach why we are going. We need to get out and away! And you can do that even while you just sit in a tent listening to the rain ^_~

Aangezien ik op dit moment zo min mogelijk dingen wil doen waarvan ik het gevoel heb dat ik ze moet doen, blijven er weinig dingen over. De actionscript lessen zijn er daar een van. Hier issie dan toch echt: Hoofdstuk 1 - Hello World (pdf).

Zoals ik al eerder aangaf wil ik het tempo zo laag mogelijk houden, dus feedback over onderdelen waar ik misschien toch te snel ga is erg welkom, maar ook over andere onderdelen natuurlijk ^_~

P.S. This post is in Dutch because the tutorial is in Dutch *g*

Since yesterday, I’ve been doing a lot of internet research about stress and burn-outs (which is not an english, but a dutch term! - I read somewhere), and apparently I have enough symptoms to be officially ‘overspannen’ (which some sites say is equivalent to having a burn-out, but personally I feel a burn-out to be one step futher, a point where you feel like you can’t motivate yourself to do anything. But that’s not my problem. I’m still motivated. I just can’t continue.)
Well, that’s step 1 isn’t it? Accepting you’re stressed out, and being willing to change? Of course I should have taken this step a lot sooner, when it would have taken me a lot less time to get back to the way my energy levels were, but I’m glad I’ve finally convinced myself ^_~

I’ve also been talking to family and friends about this stress thing, and people gave me many different advises. Here is what I’m going to do for now:

Breaking the Circle
How did I get this stressed out, what role does my environment play in it, and what did I do myself to contribute to this? How can I break the circle and recognize when I’m going to the wrong way again? This is my main problem I think: I don’t notice I’m running out of energy until it is all gone. There must be some kind of symptoms right?

Change My Way of Thinking
My mom brought up this one, and I think it will have the most impact. Essentially, I have to change my way of thinking into her way of thinking. My mom is a very relaxed person, and this is why:

• What is the worst that could happen if you would not do it? What if things don’t go perfectly? Does it really matter? It might even result in less work ^_~
• What if you wouldn’t have been born? The world would still turn, wouldn’t it? (Yup, apparently I’m an egocentrical bitch ^^;)
• If nobody else takes responsibility, why would you? This one really hurts, since I’m kind of a ‘world improver’, but hey, why should I stress about something nobody else is willing to stress about?

Structure
Plan in your day, but don’t forget to also build in lots of rest, healthy food and some sports activity. And if things don’t fit, don’t give up the planned rest, just say ‘no’. I read that everywhere, and of course, it’s so true >_<

Give and Take
Make a list of what gives enery and what takes energy, and do a lot more of the first than of the latter. It’s like a reverse diet: instead of having to burn more energy (calories) than I take in, I have rebuild my energy reserves ^_~

So, this is my plan for at least the next two weeks (of course that is easy to say when the second week I’ll be on Vlieland without a pc and internet, so I can’t do anything even if I wanted to). Let’s see how it works out. Of course I don’t expect to be cured within two weeks, but it’ll probably be a nice change ^^

P.S. Thanks for your reactions. I hope you don’t feel obligated to react or anything. I’m mostly writing this down to get things clear for myself. And of course I’m happy to read any tips and support ^_~

I got totally stressed out this evening. Again. Not good.

I actually had to call my summer job employer to say I can’t finish the job in time. He gave me time off for the next couple of weeks, after which I will have to decide whether I can finish the job or whether he will have to find somebody else to do it. I’m glad he took it this well. I hated making the call, since I seriously dislike having to quit something, and I dislike it even more to have to admit I can’t do it.
I’ve got two problems:

1. I don’t see it coming, so I can’t say to myself: well, yes, now you have to stop and take some time off.
2. I keep making it come, because all these fun things keep coming my say and I keep saying ‘yes!’.

I don’t want to get a burn out, but I’m heading straight towards it. I have to stop myself. Maybe I should put myself drasticly on a free-time only diet. No plan-making. No summer jobs. As little Abunai as possible. Take one course less next quarter. Cancel my manga-buying for the student library. Maybe even quit Abunai next year?

It is so hard. I love doing all those things, but if at some point I do push myself over the edge, then I have a far bigger problem. My parents have already said many times that they would not mind me taking it slow with college. My boyfriend is doing everything he can to prevent my from taking on any more things. Why can’t I just say: “You are right. I have to cut down on my… everything. Relax. Get back to the point where I used to be.” What am I? Some kind of masochist? Why do I even have to think about this? T_T

I’ve been watching Honey & Clover recently. I must admist I’ve only seen the first three episodes so far, but I’ve totally fallen in love with one of Hagu’s outfits.

I really want to make this. I could probably even wear it casually. It’s so cute! So, I’m thinking maybe next week, when the summer job is finished, I could try to make it. It doesn’t look that difficult. The hardest part is probably finding cloth in that color ^^; The top part can be just two straight strokes I think. The bottom skirt can also be kept quite simple, and I could put in some elastic on the sides so I don’t have to do anything with zippers and such. Insta-cosplay ^^/

48 hours and 10 minutes to be exact. 6 normal workdays, or 8 short workdays, or 2 days nonstop. Just one more week and my summer job will be over. done. finished. ^^/ I must say I like what I have to work on right now. A complete multiple choice question system in php and mysql, with users to create tests, users to create questions, users to answer the questions, and so on. If all goes well it will even be used in November already!

My boyfriend has decided he wants to lose weight by exercising and has voluntarily proposed to join me in my running. This is great because he runs faster than I do, and I’d really love to run faster than I do by myself. After the first run he had muscle ache for days though. Maybe I can get him to run again today.

Yesterday my parents, sister, bf and I had a biological dinner with some new friends my dad made. The woman is very alternative and.. anthroposophic? It’s quite interesting. Her husband apparently studied computer science and can cook delicious Indonesian food. And they have two sons, stlil quite young. They live on a farm which needs a lot of work before it will be fully inhabitable, but the space! And their garden is beautiful! We talked a lot about many things, but when the conversation turned to pregnancies my dad wanted to leave pretty quickly ^_~ It was fun though - everything was biological: the juice, the cookies, the cake, and of course dinner. And it tasted great!

Last night Psychick finally answered my calls, which resulted in quite a strange conversation:

• Me: Hi! When can we start doing something fun again? Can I come to your place some time?
• Psychick: Erm.. no?
• Me: o.O
• Psychick: You’re too hyper for me.
• Me: @.@
• Psychick: This it not really about you, I just can’t handle it right now.
• Me: T_T

She is kind of infamous for her inconsiderate honesty, which is also a part I admire about her, but I’m not certain how to take this ^^; She did want to drop by here though, sometime next week, so I guess she just doesn’t want me over. Even though Thriftstar did go see her the evening before. It’s funny how suddenly the two of them got so close. It’s great though, they have a lot in common.

Ma, ii ka…

Since everybody wanted to go to the pirates of the carribean dead man’s chest I thought it might be fun to all go together, but apparently everybody already had made plans for herself, so I ended up very romantically with my bf today in the cinema. Well, it would have been romantic, if we had not chosen to go for the afternoon show at 3pm… with hoards of teenagers playing with their mobile phones even during the movie!

The movie is great though. Funny as the first, but with lots of even nastier scenes than the first one, and even the jokes don’t really help making you leave depressed. Could somebody have warned me that this is only the first half of the story? >_<

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