Thoughts on the Journey

I was going to try and finish doing the last bits of paperwork so I can get credit for my internship, but the SI site has decided not to load.

So I'll do a fun little meme from weaverandom Comment and I'll pick six interests of yours, which you then have to describe!

Here are the six she gave me and I think tonight or maybe before I go to work, I'll empty my camera so I can spend the next week posting leaf and food pictures.

Diana Wynne Jones
DWJ is one of my favorite authors, but for the longest time I had no idea how many books she'd written. I had a copy of Charmed Life that I read and reread. It wasn't until I was in New Zealand and getting involved in Milliways that I was aware of all of her other stuff, mainly thanks to bookelfe. She's a brilliant author who writes real people and her books are funny and scary and all sorts of good things.

New Zealand
New Zealand is where I realized I could support myself and felt like an adult for the first time. I lived there for three years, one year in Dunedin in the South Island and two years in Wellington in the North Island. I have a bachelor of honours from Victoria University in Classics and a couple of New Zealand places on my resume and would go back there in a second given the chance. Its a beautiful country full of kind people and I just love it. Also I need to get back to that part of the world since I haven't spent enough time in Oz and there are people to see there.

Robin Hood
I've loved Robin Hood since I was about twelve and read Paul Creswick's version with illustrations by N.C. Wyeth. I love how many variations the myth has and how in the end it all comes down to love of home and strong friendships. The best retellings always get that the Merry Men are built around loyalty to a great man and trust among the men. Will Scarlett is my favorite, because the dynamic of his friendship with Little John perfectly captures all the things I adore about the myth.

Shatterverse
Shatter is a beautifully done post Apocalyptic game run by tinylegacies and canadabear, I played in it for a little while as some great people pulled me in. In the end, it wasn't really my type of game. I tend to play pups that need a way to get back to their homes, but I enjoyed the time I did play there.

Tall Ships
I adore tall ships and the world of maritime history, there's just something about sailing that makes me so happy. I interned at a maritime museum in Philadelphia after I graduated college and loved getting lost among the logbooks and seeing the Delaware river outside my work. I love thinking about the voyages and the complex hierarchies that were created to keep things stable. Patrick O'Brian's books are so beautifully done and a reminder of how fascinating the world of ships really is. I once got to ride on a tall ship out of Lewes called the Kalmar Nyckel on a sunset cruise as a present from my parents, it was so lovely.

World Myths
I studied Classics as an undergrad and I've always been fascinated by how myths shift and change. I was trying to find a good way to capture the fact that I'm interested in stories from all over the world. Most of my favorite writers of fantasy are the ones who pay attention to the stories that are out there and look into them like Charles de Lint, Seanan Macguire and many others. Also the things that I love to study the most are connections across worlds and ideas since there are themes that keep popping up and I adore finding and thinking about them.

This is an interesting meme and it reminds me that I probably should update my interests. I also keep meaning to change my layout too, but I've yet to find the right image to construct it around.

This morning my internship proposal was accepted and then this afternoon, I started sorting the books. I'm feeling tired and excited, because I alphabetized their non-fiction books and they weren't missing that many. There's a whole pile of books that weren't in the spreadsheet, which means this is going to be fun and confusing.

One of the first things I did though when I arrived in the center this morning was to read through their tutor handbook, which was actually quite useful. The tutors have to do planning ahead of time for their lesson plans, which means not being able to find the right book can cut into their time to plan. So I can already see how finding the right database and having the books sorted out will make a huge difference for them.

I'm so excited for this project and to finally have some structure in my summer. I have some other business things I need to do online for the internship, but for now I'm going to celebrate and relax.

Tomorrow I'm having lunch with my mentor and the woman runs the tutoring program, which should be fine. Overall life is good and now for a night of enjoyable RP and watching Top Chef and maybe The Princess and the Frog.