Language Learning Log 2022 Week 20 (16/05 - 22/05)
Banner photo: My dad came to visit this week, and he brought freshly-laid eggs from his chickens. I used them to make omelettes, and my God they were delicious!
Norwegian
1x journal entry
2xHistoriske kjendiserpodcasts
1xNorskpoddenpodcast
2xEkkopodcasts
1x italki lesson (60m)
1x article
Japanese
Duolingo
1x italki lesson (45m)
10x Nihongo con Teppei podcasts
Attempted to read NHK Easy News
Reviewed vocabulary
It’s been a busy week, but I’m glad I managed to get a little studying in (even if the majority of it was podcasts and Duolingo - it’s still something!). My Japanese teacher told me about NHK Easy News, so I decided to check it out. And I understood one of the titles! That was about as far as my comprehension went There were a few titles where I understood all the words, but couldn’t figure out what they all meant together, so I used google translate to help (along with maybe a couple of sentences). I think it’ll be a long time before I can read a full article!
Speaking of Japanese though… this week I’m increasing my lessons from 1x45mins and 1x30mins to 2x45mins and 1x30mins. I’m really excited! At the moment I’m mostly going over very basic grammar and practising speaking/learning extra vocabulary in my 45-minute lessons. Which is nice and absolutely necessary (and I’m getting really comfortable with the basics), but I’m starting to get a bit impatient So I’m hoping that by taking 2 45-minute sessions a week I’ll be able to get through the basics faster and get on to learning something new/more useful.
I discovered a new Norwegian podcast this week - Historiske kjendiser. It’s about historical figures from both Norway and other areas of the world, and it’s pretty interesting! This week I learned about Vidkun Quisling (who was an arsehole) and Roald Amundsen (also a bit of a dick with an ego by the sounds of it). The presenters speak vestlandsk/sørvestlandsk dialects, but I’m not having too much trouble understanding.
I also got my Bergenstest results! I’m SO happy I managed to get C1 overall! Of course, it’s a little frustrating to only get B2 on the written production/interview report sections, but I think those really suffered for (a) the exam conditions and (b) my lack of sleep the night before. My tutor always gave me C1 on those sections, but on the day I second-guessed myself in the writing section and played it safe a lot more than I would’ve done normally. In the interview section, my concentration wavered more than it might normally have done, and I honest to God had no idea what the guy said at the end of the interview, so I kinda had to take a stab in the dark.
I indulged in a little Spanish this week… ahh, it’s such a lovely language! Kinda wish I had time to learn it But given I barely have time to study Norwegian and Japanese, I’ll refrain from trying to add Spanish in too (although I did a quick search on italki and there are Norwegian-speaking Spanish teachers… ohh the temptation!). But I will come back to it one day. Why are there so many languages in the world and so little time to learn them all?
Read 5x nynorsk articles [5/5] - I actually didn’t read much at all this month, but I did make an effort to read nynorsk articles over bokmål. I think I’ll continue to do this!
Read 200 pages of Kakerlakkene[54/200]- Normally I read in bed, and because I’ve been so busy this month, I’ve been going to bed really late and feeling really tired, so I ended up not reading so much.
Watch 10x TV episodes [1/10] - Yeah, as I said, I’ve been busy this month, so this didn’t happen. I’ve listened to a number of podcasts because I can squeeze them in while driving, but TV episodes just don’t fit into my life.
Japanese
Finish watching How to be Likable in a Crisis [2/4]- Same as above.
Finish the first 4 chapters of Genki [2/4] - Same as above (also the use of romaji just drives me nuts, so I’ve not really wanted to use it actually :/)
Increase 4 Duolingo skills to level 5(Routines, Home 1, Intro 3 and Counting) and 2 to level 4 (Family 1, Restaurant) [6/6] - Duo’s pretty easy to fit in, so this was the easiest one for sure. I also managed to increase the level of two other skills.
Language Learning Log 2022 Week 21 (23.05 - 29.05)
Banner photo: I did another tarot reading this week: Strength, Judgement and Queen of Wands appeared in my 3-card spread. Then the Wheel fell out too. That’s a pretty strong reading (3 major arcana and a very strong minor arcana!) and three of those cards have all appeared in recent spreads too. Now is definitely the time to seize opportunities that come my way!
Norwegian
1x journal entry
1xHistoriske kjendiserpodcast
1xEkkopodcast
1x italki lesson (60m)
Read 22 pages of Kakerlakkene
Japanese
Duolingo
FluentU
2x italki lessons (1h 30m)
Listened to the radio
2xHow to be Likable in a Crisis episodes
Not the busiest week language-wise because I’ve been very focused on work. I’m feeling pretty burned out right now, but gotta wait 3 weeks until my week off. I can’t quite believe how crazy booked up I am right now on italki! I already have over 80 lessons booked in June, which considering I’m taking a week off as well is quite a lot! I think this month I’ve taught something like 130 lessons? Crazy. That’s the most since I started teaching and I was inundated with trial lessons. Normally I average 100-110 a month (although that dropped in February and March when I was preparing for the Bergenstest and closed a lot of my calendar). I’ve had a number of students messaging me asking me if I can possibly open time slots for them because they can’t find a slot in my calendar. I wasn’t planning on raising my prices until July, but maybe I’ll have to raise them sooner. Who knows, maybe I really can make it as an ESL teacher!
I continued watching How to be Likable in a Crisis this week. I still don’t understand more than an occasional word without the subtitles, but it’s still good because I’ll often recognise words I’ve recently learned and it makes me feel like I’m making progress (even if it’s small and I’m a long way from actually understanding!)
I got a free trial of FluentU. I don’t think it’s worth $144 a year, so I’ll cancel my subscription before the end of the trial, but for now it’s okay. I’m learning new vocabulary and I quite like its reviewing method (seeing the vocabulary in sentences and repeating a few times, plus being able to build your own flashcard decks) but other than that I’m not that impressed lol. For $144 a year I’d expect more original content and grammar/culture tips, but it’s mostly just fancy flashcards (with questionable pronunciation) and Youtube videos. I’ll stick with Duolingo thanks (which also has questionable pronunciation but at least it’s free).
I hope that a year from now I’m still doing italki sessions and enjoying them and making progress and finally starting to feel like I can actually speak Norwegian rather than just understand it.
A year and a half later, I’m still doing italki sessions and enjoying them and making progress and I finally feel like I can actually speak Norwegian rather than just understand it!
And I hope that a year from now I’m still taking Japanese lessons and enjoying them and making progress and starting to actually speak, read, write and understand Japanese instead of just being able to say a few simple sentences and understand the occasional word here and there!
always nice when you stumble across a vocab list you made like a year ago and you look at the words on it like “oh! there was a time i didn’t know these words! but now i do! and i can use them in a conversation!” yay progress!
I know for those who might not have seen my update last week that you’re probably thinking this update is super early! That’s because it’s the Jubilee long Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK, so I wanted to get this out before that short break!
As well as get very happy about the fact Chapter 13’s writing is complete! :D
It still needs editing, but I tend to do better at leaving editing for a bit before doing it. Coming back with fresh eyes to it definitely means I’m more effective, as well as giving my brain time to work on how I want to rewrite certain bits!
But it was also an awesome chapter as I finally got to reveal Nate/Nat’s long awaited [Redacted] endearment for the MC! We got in contact with a really lovely translator, who not only confirmed what I was hoping to use, but she was kind enough to offer other options as well! One of them had me really torn and almost changing my mind, but I ended up sticking with the original as it’s become so much a part of N’s character for me now.
I’m working on some editing on Chapter 8 for SpunkyCat today. So close to sorting out all the mess for that chapter! It’s a real struggle to get through it, but the end is in sight!
So when I get back next Monday, it means I’ll be straight onto Chapter 14! Aahhh!!
Chapter 14 is a big one again. It’s pretty much 4/5 different versions of it because it is the ‘date’ chapter with each love interest…Been looking forward to writing these scenes for a very loooongtime!
Social media days will also be the week I get back, but I have gone ahead and scheduled in some of the Character Q&A asks for Patreon for the weekdays.
I hope you all have the most fantastic time! We’ll be offline, so I’ll update you all again on the Friday I get back! <3
*pterodactyl screaming* Aahhhh! I wrote a scene this week that I was SO proud of and got me SO pumped like you wouldn’t believe!
It wasn’t even the original plan for the scene, hehe! :D
I realised that the scene I had just didn’t have enough emotional punch to it for the LI split scenes afterwards (where there’s a lot of aftermath emotion happening) to make sense.
It was all right, but it just wasn’t…enough. And you know me and my angst, hehe!
But at about 3am one morning (which is when a lot of my best ideas form. Who needs sleep, right? :D) I thought of the most AMAZINGLY painful scene that would work.
And it did!
I was so excited by it that I had to share it with someone, so I made Nai read it even though it was completely out of context for her, and she had no idea what was happening, lol!
Not only does it have the weight to it that I needed, but it also shows a character off in a slightly different light—especially because that light can change again depending on your relationship and reactions with them!
Phew! So yeah, I was very pumped this week!
Chapter 13 is coming together sooooo smoothly. Not only am I already at the split scenes, but I’ve finished one and am almost finished with another! I’ll definitely get that scene done by tomorrow, and possibly another started, which means it’s possible I might be able to finish Chapter 13 next week!!!!
Next week, I do have to take some time for sorting more of Chapter 8 for SpunkyCat, as well as starting on the Character Q&A questions for Patreon!
I had SO many awesome asks for the Character Q&A that I will definitely be doing one a day throughout the whole of June! Thank you so much to everyone who sent those in! I won’t be able to answer them all, but I will put any I don’t get to in a file ready for next time!
It’s the long Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend at the end of next week in the UK, so it’s a three-day week. But I’m really determined to get so much done in those days! It would be amazing to go into that break knowing I could come back to writing Chapter 14!!!
Hope you all have the most fantastic weekend! We’ll be offline as usual, so I’ll update you all again at the earlier day of Wednesday! <3
I thought I was going to be finishing it off at the beginning of this week, but instead I blasted through it last Saturday and got it done!!
Which meant on Monday I could do editing, and on Tuesday I started Chapter 13!!!And then, I’ve been hammering through Chapter 13 too!!
Yeah, it’s been a seriously good week, hehe!
Though I do have to give a HUGE thank you to DashingDon for being a massive help when I had trouble this week with the edit version. They were straight on it and got it fixed so fast after I’d been struggling for soooo long.
They really provide such an amazing site for choicescript creators! Definitely deserves all the support we can give! <3
But after finishing fighting with that and getting some Chapter 8 edits up ready for SpunkyCat to look over, I did move onto Chapter 13. I should have done more editing really…but I was way too excited to get onto 13, especially as I knew what was coming up and have been itching to write it for a very long time!!
Is there some angst in 13?…Oh yeah.
Do we got a little peak at what a heartbroken love interest could look like in 13?…Oh yes we do.
Chapter 13 is also a much more straightforward chapter without any split scenes until the end third section, so I’ve been managing to blast through it. It feels soooo good to make such major progress.
The branches and variations are what I want Wayhaven to be about, but it is nice to have a chapter where it’s just the MC and one other character. And this scene certainly brings a lot of tension to the mix because of it just being the two!
Next week, I’ll be continuing on with Chapter 13, though may have to take an afternoon or two for more editing depending on how SpunkyCat gets on. She’s a lot quicker at editing than I am!
Hope you all have the most wonderful weekend! We’ll be offline as usual, so I’ll update you all again next Friday! <3
Ok, so I know you guys are probably sick of me talking about the retreat by now, but it was SO amazing! I learnt an absolute ton, and it was so awesome to have someone explain it to you right there.
Reading writing advice in a book or online is fantastic, but it really does make a difference when you can have someone there explaining how you could adapt that into your own style of writing!
We did a class on character introductions, which was very timely as I was writing that at the time. But one piece of advice—about how your reader is more likely to remember a side character if they have at least a paragraph of interaction with them—made me rethink how I was writing it. So I went back this week and redid that, and now I LOVE it!
Not only will it help with that, but I got the chance to show a bit more of these new characters’ personalities in those moments because of that extended interaction (each of them got a choice set for the MC to choose from on how to introduce themself).
But one of the biggest things I had fun with there was one task we had where we had to do reversals. We had to take our love interest (I had to pick one) and take our antagonist (again, I had to pick just one, lol!) and flip them.
The love interest became the baddy, and the antagonist became the love interest.
It was…very interesting! Especially as I have been writing the characters for over half of my life, and these good guys have always been good guys, hehe!
I chose Adam/Ava, and I turned their past and their ‘trying to always choose the logical choice’ as their main traits to twist.
For the antagonist…well, that would be spoilery, hehe! I chose a baddy who is a bigger player later in the series.
But oh my word! We all remarked how disturbingly easy it was was to flip the traits around and make them baddies! But the class leader was saying that was kind of the point. Characters should always have that balance to them. If it was difficult to flip them, then you’ve made them unbalanced, and it’s a great way of seeing how to fix that.
I got Nai to read it, and I was seriously thrilled at how surprised she was that Adam/Ava still read like Adam/Ava. She was expecting them to be all baddy, but they were still them just scarily the baddy. If that makes sense? :D
And with it being social media days this week, I typed up that scenario (minus a few super spoilery bits!) and have that scheduled as the Monthly Bonus Content #2 for you guys on Patreon later this month.
Hope you enjoy Adam/Ava in all their villainous glory, hehe! :D
But yeah, I was super keen to get back to writing with all this new info in my head! So after social media days, I was back into like you wouldn’t believe! I’m actually going to finish two of the three split scene sections for this chapter by tomorrow!
Which means I might just be able to finish Chapter 12 next week!!!
Phew! That was a lot of blabbering in the update this week :D I’m just still buzzing about the retreat and how well I’ve done this week!
Hope you all have the most amazing weekend! We’ll be offline as usual, so I’ll update you all again next week! <3
July 26th, 2021: We’re really nearing the end now!
Leftover Sales Update: Leftover Sales closed, and packages/digital bundles all sent out! Everyone should have received an email with their digital items and/or tracking info:)
Donating to Carity: WE NOW HAVE 425USD TO DONATE TO NIWRC!!! We’ll be sending the donations to our charity in a few days, with an update here on our soicals!
Want more details and nice pictures with your biweekly announcements? Join our Biweekly Brews Owl Newsletter!Both are brought to you by Organ(isation) Potions Master Humanbob; both tell the same news, but the newsletter reveals extra information on them! Regardless, you will receive all the essential info.
If you have not received the email newsletter, yet you are sure you have signed up for it, please email us at [email protected] .
May 18th, 2021: Been a while, everyone! Here’s what’s coming up:
Shipping Update: All packages have been shipped! If you have not received your package, please let us know by May 20th - after that, we will be unable to help! If you have received it, Please post a pic of your bundle when you receive it and @ us !!
Once you have received your item, please also make sure to remove the protective film on the charms and wooden pin!
Leftover Sales projected to be on June 5th!
Digital items will be sent before Leftover Sales open!
Want more details and nice pictures with your biweekly announcements? Join our Biweekly Brews Owl Newsletter!Both are brought to you by Organ(isation) Potions Master Humanbob; both tell the same news, but the newsletter reveals extra information on them! Regardless, you will receive all the essential info.
If you have not received the email newsletter, yet you are sure you have signed up for it, please email us at [email protected] .
April 5th, 2021: Been a while, everyone! We’re currently almost done with shipping!!!
Shipping Update: The remaining 12 packages will absolutely be sent by Wednesday the latest! You’ll receive an email once your package has been shipped. Thank you so much for your patience!
Please post a pic of your bundle when you receive it and @ us !! We’d love to see that it has arrived in one piece and that you are happy with the products!
Once you have received your item, please also make sure to remove the protective film on the charms and wooden pin!
PROJECTED Dates: All items shipped by Wednesday, digital items to be sent out by end of April, and leftover sales in May! Full pieces to be posted durign leftover sales :^)
Want more details and nice pictures with your biweekly announcements? Join our Biweekly Brews Owl Newsletter!Both are brought to you by Organ(isation) Potions Master Humanbob; both tell the same news, but the newsletter reveals extra information on them! Regardless, you will receive all the essential info.
If you have not received the email newsletter, yet you are sure you have signed up for it, please email us at [email protected] .
March 15th, 2021: Been a while, everyone! We’re currently almost done with shipping!!!
Shipping Update: We have now shipped out 67/79 packages! Those with their packages shipped have been sent tracking info. The packages remaining that are still yet to be sent, I aim to send by end of this week. Thank you so much for your patience!! Please post a pic of your bundle when you receive it and @ us ! We’d love to see that it has arrived in one piece!!
PROJECTED Dates: All items shipped by end of this week, digital items to be sent out by beginning of April, and leftover sales starting on April 15th! Full pieces to be posted durign leftover sales :^)
Want more details and nice pictures with your biweekly announcements? Join our Biweekly Brews Owl Newsletter!Both are brought to you by Organ(isation) Potions Master Humanbob; both tell the same news, but the newsletter reveals extra information on them! Regardless, you will receive all the essential info.
If you have not received the email newsletter, yet you are sure you have signed up for it, please email us at [email protected] .
February 16th, 2021: We’re moving on to shipping now everyone! Read below for more info!
Production Update: WE HAVE RECEIVED ALL OUR PRODUCTS!!!! CHECK OUT THIS LOVELY VIDEO WE POSTED ON OUR YOUTUBE of all the products! It’s now time for SHIPPING!! Please email us if you need your address changed!
PROJECTED Dates: I’m giving myself the goal to ship everything by this coming Sunday! Digital items will be sent out early March, and then leftover sales, along with full pieces being posted, will happen in April!
Want more details and nice pictures with your biweekly announcements? Join our Biweekly Brews Owl Newsletter!Both are brought to you by Organ(isation) Potions Master Humanbob; both tell the same news, but the newsletter reveals extra information on them! Regardless, you will receive all the essential info.
If you have not received the email newsletter, yet you are sure you have signed up for it, please email us at [email protected] .
PROJECTED Dates: We’re just waiting on the zines which will be expected to arrive mid-February, so Humanbob will aim to ship out mid/late February, digital items sent out mid/late-March, and then leftovers sales and full pieces posted in April!
Want more details and nice pictures with your biweekly announcements? Join our Biweekly Brews Owl Newsletter!Both are brought to you by Organ(isation) Potions Master Humanbob; both tell the same news, but the newsletter reveals extra information on them! Regardless, you will receive all the essential info.
If you have not received the email newsletter, yet you are sure you have signed up for it, please email us at [email protected] .
December 26th, 2020: hello hello dear Magical Folk! Happy holidays, we hope you are enjoying the last few days of 2020. We really made it past such a wild year! Here is a well awaited update on our production phase - we have a lot of amazing things to tell you!
Production Update: We are well into production, with about half of our products received! The images above show our items, along with a sneak peek of Youtube videos we will be posting which will give you a closer look to our products!
Zine = proof received, will be making some formatting changes before buying bulk. Bookmark + Recipe cards = proof received, bulk ordered. Stickersheet + Wooden pin = proof received, bulk ordered. Washi tape = bulk ordered. GitD charm + Double-sided charm = bulk ordered. Pouch + Tote bag = bulk received. Apron = bulk received. Tea bag = bulk received. Packing material = bulk received.
PROJECTED Dates: We’re aiming to receive the rest of the items by the end of January latest, so Humanbob will aim to ship out in February, full pieces posted in March, and leftovers sales in April!
We’ve started a Youtube Channel! We posted all the Cauldrons Chat, along with an intro video, please check them out! We also have some brewed potions videos!
Want more details and nice pictures with your biweekly announcements? Join our Biweekly Brews Owl Newsletter!Both are brought to you by Organ(isation) Potions Master Humanbob; both tell the same news, but the newsletter reveals extra information on them! Regardless, you will receive all the essential info.
If you have not received the email newsletter, yet you are sure you have signed up for it, please email us at [email protected] .
We’ve started a Youtube Channel! We posted all the Cauldrons Chat, along with an intro video, please check them out! We also have some brewed potions videos!
Want more details and nice pictures with your biweekly announcements? Join our Biweekly Brews Owl Newsletter!Both are brought to you by Organ(isation) Potions Master Humanbob; both tell the same news, but the newsletter reveals extra information on them! Regardless, you will receive all the essential info.
If you have not received the email newsletter, yet you are sure you have signed up for it, please email us at [email protected] .
We have some updates for you all regarding preorders! Thank you all for your support thus far. We greatly appreciate it and hope you’ll continue to support us!
We’ll be discussing, Preorder Extension, Stretch Goals and Add-On Changes, and Proofs and Potion Brewing! Check out the information below the cut!
Organ(isation) Potion Master Humanbob will now be taking on finance and shipping! Finance/Shipping Potion Master Cate had to step down due to life circumstances unfortunately - we really do wish her the best and thank her for all she’s done so far!
Production Update: WE HAVE THE PROOFS FOR THE TOTE BAG AND POUCH! Stickersheet and wooden pin proofs are also on their way :D
Formatting: Due to some life circumstances, our Graphic/Format Potion Master Reah had to step down. However, Yelhsa has officially taken over and has completed a Zine PDF draft - we’re currently having our contributors review it, and are expecting to order a proof early November!
Want more details and nice pictures with your biweekly announcements? Join our Biweekly Brews Owl Newsletter!Both are brought to you by Organ(isation) Potions Master Humanbob; both tell the same news, but the newsletter reveals extra information on them! Regardless, you will receive all the essential info.
If you have not received the email newsletter, yet you are sure you have signed up for it, please email us at [email protected] .
Organ(isation) Potion Master Humanbob will now be taking on finance and shipping! Finance/Shipping Potion Master Cate had to step down due to life circumstances unfortunately - we really do wish her the best and thank her for all she’s done so far!
Production Update: WE HAVE THE PROOFS FOR THE TOTE BAG AND POUCH! Stickersheet and wooden pin proofs are also on their way :D
Formatting: Due to some life circumstances, our Graphic/Format Potion Master Reah had to step down. However, Yelhsa has officially taken over and has completed a Zine PDF draft - we’re currently having our contributors review it, and are expecting to order a proof early November!
Want more details and nice pictures with your biweekly announcements? Join our Biweekly Brews Owl Newsletter!Both are brought to you by Organ(isation) Potions Master Humanbob; both tell the same news, but the newsletter reveals extra information on them! Regardless, you will receive all the essential info.
If you have not received the email newsletter, yet you are sure you have signed up for it, please email us at [email protected] .
May: Bob packs+ships (most likely starting with merch/planner-only bundles). Sends tracking info to recipients. Digital items are sent out. June - July: Wait to see if anyone has not received package. August: Leftover sales. September: donations, project closed~
Collectors Cards and Posters: bulk approved, estimated to be delivered to me by this weekend!
Packaging (recyclable padded mailers and eco-friendly glassine bags): purchased!
Zine: Andi is currently working at the PDF finalization! There are some more things she needs to communicate with Hope about, but hopefully it will be done by next weekend.
Tentative Schedule:
End March - Early April: Bob packs+ships (most likely starting with merch-only bundles). Sends tracking info to recipients. Digital items are sent out. April - Early June: Wait to see if anyone has not received package. Mid June - Mid July: Leftover sales. July: donations, project closed~
January 07th, 2022:Hello Supporters! It has been a while, happy new year! This is the return of the Biweekly Checkpoint, a post giving you updates on our production progress and (soon hopefully) the shipping progress!
Production Status:
Pics above!
Zine: zine proof PDF seen by contributors, editing based on feedback.
To be purchased: collector’s cards, poster, packaging.
Tentative Schedule:
Feb - March: Bob packs+ships. Late Jan/Early Feb: Shipping Address Change form emailed to customers. March: Bob sends tracking info to respective recipients. Digital items are sent out. March - May: Wait to see if anyone has not received package. June: Leftover sales. July: donations, project closed~
Rules: write the latest line from a WIP and tag as many people as there are words in the line. Make a new post, don’t reblog.
Tagged by @athina-blaine !! Also im breaking the rules and doing a full paragraph
–
That’s it, isn’t it? Wil’s guitar. The final, missing piece to his ironic, unfinished symphony. His personal memorial. Tommy pictures it now: leather strap slung over his shoulder, hands hovering over well-worn wood. Not quite touching– Wilbur never had gotten around to teaching him– but reverent fingers tracing the strings, fluttering over the fret. Tapping out the off-beat rhythm of a song Wilbur had sung, back when loneliness grew over their home with the tenacity of jungle vines.
![NorwegianRead 5x nynorsk articles [5/5] - I actually didn’t read much at all this month, but I did m](https://64.media.tumblr.com/f9b87392d43e00483505842dfa7f2809/254fa3b6bd06e61f-87/s1280x1920/bbc94a15876c6fd805132c7ac3aae876a6dfa641.png "NorwegianRead 5x nynorsk articles [5/5] - I actually didn’t read much at all this month, but I did m")
