Naira's Journal

Not dead

2009-03-29T23:16:46Z

Wow, a year has gone by...

What can I say? It seems I'm too busy with my PhD...

Snow!

2008-02-16T08:48:51Z

It snows! It's very nice to watch the snow falling. It rarely snows here. Everyone is talking about how in this part of Greece it is very cold etc. and it is true that you can see snow on the mountains around my town during the winter but it rarely actually snows in the town. I had planed a little excursion and now I won't go. It kinda made me sad in the morning but now that it's snowing and my boyfriend is coming over I feel good.

In other news, things are moving slowly as far as my Master is concerned. I am stuck with implementation issues and message synchronization etc. Sometimes I think I should have chosen a field where no distributive computing is needed just for the implementation issues...

Boredom

2008-02-07T11:28:12Z

I am at my University office trying to get some work done but I cannot. Today is simply one of the days I cannot do any serious work. I read a paper on sensor routing but not anything more. I really really hope my boyfriend won't be performing any of his experiments this afternoon and we can do something more interesting together. Maybe go for a cup of coffee and send the applications we want to send.

Do you people have these "cannot-work" days as well?

Fanart album

2008-01-24T19:43:35Z

Some weeks ago I decided to close my site but I didn't like not having my collages uploaded somewhere. So, I created a Picasa album here to host them. It's not a real gallery but I just didn't want to leave them off-line.

Memories

2008-01-07T18:42:45Z

I miss the fanart community. I miss being a part of it. I'd like to have the time and inspiration to start playing with Photoshop again. And have my site back. Active, that is.

I also want to make this journal active and nice and use it to communicate with old and new friends. But I feel so cut off from the people I used to know... Where is everyone? Is there such a thing as that fanart community I remember or has everyone moved ahead? Are there sites like the ones there used to be or has the community moved to blogs etc?

Who knows...

Lady-bug 2.0 I

2008-01-02T14:14:19Z

Happy New Year everyone!

It's time to actively try and lose some weight again. Last year I lost 16 kg! That was way more than I expected. I am now 79 kg and looking good. However, I think it will be better for me to lose some more weight. Ideally, I'd like to end up being around 67 kg. My goal for now is 72 kg. That's 7 kg to go. I hope I'll be able to lose them this year and keep them away. No reason to hurry.

I made a new weight counter because the old one kept me motivated:

January 2008

Job impressions

2007-10-18T09:06:34Z

Yesterday was my first "real" day at work. (By the way, I eventually got 10 hours/week, yay!) My job is to teach, but it seems rather challenging because even though most of these "kids" have been there for a couple of years they don't really know much stuff. Which seems weird to me because some of them are even older than me.

I also have a bit of a trouble because the things I have to teach them this semester are actually too few to make a good, nice flowing curriculum. I'm just used to different rhythms. Anyway, I'll try to do my best so that these kids can actually learn a couple of useful things.

Life sucks

2007-10-08T16:24:16Z

I mean... *really* sucks!

I need a break. I need everything to stop moving and spinning around so quickly until I manage to catch my breath and be ready to face it all. I just need everything to stop.

I want a break. I want some months off. I want things to stop being like this.

I want life not to suck.

My first real job!

2007-09-29T14:02:30Z

My first real job has just been confirmed! I'm going to teach at a higher institution (something like a University) for 6 hours a week! The course is Artificial Intelligence. I was hoping for 8 hours but they all had to be on he same day because I can't be absent from my full-time "job" as a post-graduate student for more than a day every week, so it was hard to fit the program around my needs.

If I could spend two days a week on this new job it would be great because then they would give me 16 hours and the money would be much better (bear in mind, I'll need around €50 per moth just for gas to drive there - it's ~70km away). If I did not have my Master's degree to complete, it would be a very good opportunity.

But it is a nice start and good for my CV, after all it *is* a higher institution!

Wish me luck!

Naira's Web is no more

2007-09-28T14:11:28Z

I decided to close down my site. I wish I was still active in the fanart community but I'm not. Thank you all for all the sweet memories.

I'll still be around here though!

Lady-bug XI

2007-09-28T14:02:47Z

No change in my weight. I'm somewhere between 78 and 79 kg. I guess I stopped losing weight without trying. I have to find time to prepare my meals but now that I spent my time at the University, it is not that easy...

September 2007

New layout

2007-09-22T13:05:49Z

I made some modifications and changed my layout over at Naira's Web a bit. I wonder if I should close that site already. I've had it for years and I don't want to let it go. But that does not change the fact that I don't update it anymore...

Lady-bug X

2007-08-30T07:16:54Z

After 10 months I've reached my target weight! I'd never thought I'd do that. It was easier than it seems. I hope I've lost that weight the right way so I won't take it back. I'm 78 kg people! :-D I've changed my target weight to 72 kg. That's 6 more kg witch I hope to lose in the following 6-8 months.

August 2007

Lady-bug IX

2007-07-22T16:58:29Z

After nine months I'm almost there! I seem to have lost another 2 kg this month and there is only 1 kg left to reach my target. I need to re-adjust my target but I'm not changing my weight counter until I see that little red lady-bug go all the way down to 78!

July 2007

33 Questions

2007-06-19T17:21:28Z

I told Thia (inxsomniax) I'd post this so...

1.)Q. Can you cook?
1.)A.

2.)Q. What was your dream growing up?
2.)A.

3.)Q. What talent do you wish you had?
3.)A.

4.)Q. If I bought you a drink what would it be?
4.)A.

5.)Q. Favorite vegetable?
5.)A.

6.)Q. What was the last book you read?
6.)A.

7.)Q. What zodiac sign are you ?
7.)A.

8.)Q. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?
8.)A.

9.)Q. Worst Habit?
9.)A.

10.)Q. If you saw me walking down the street would you offer me a ride?
10.)A.

11.)Q. What is your favorite sport?
11.)A.

12.)Q. Negative or Optimistic attitude?
12.)A.

13.)Q. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
13.)A.

14.)Q. Worst thing to ever happen to you?
14.)A.

15.)Q. Tell me one weird fact about you:
15.)A.

16.)Q. Do you have any pets?
16.)A.

17.)Q. What if i showed up at your house unexpectedly?
17.)A.

18.)Q. What was your first impression of me?
18.)A.

19.)Q. Do you think clowns are funny or scary?
19.)A.

20.)Q. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be???
20.)A.

21.)Q. Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?
21.)A.

22.)Q. What color eyes do you have?
22.)A.

23.)Q. Ever been arrested?
23.)A.

24.)Q. Bottle or Draft?
24.)A.

25.)Q. If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it?
25.)A.

26.)Q. Would you date me?
26.)A.

27.)Q. What 's your favorite bar to hang at?
27.)A.

28.)Q. Do you believe in ghosts?
28.)A.

29.)Q. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
29.)A.

30.)Q. Do you swear a lot?
30.)A.

31.)Q. Biggest pet peeve?
31.)A.

32.)Q. In one word, how would you describe yourself?
32.)A.

33.)Q. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same?
33.)A.

Lady-bug VIII

2007-06-19T16:05:02Z

I thought I'd lost 1 kg this month. But I see know that I lost more. I was taken by surprise. Well, not bad, ha?

June 2007

Lady-bug VII

2007-05-19T16:54:52Z

Two more kilos gone this month! People tell me that I look thinner and I like that a lot!

May 2007

Spiderman 3

2007-05-07T05:48:39Z

I saw Spiderman 3 last night. It was OK but not anything really good. I liked the actors and the feel of the film but the plot was a bit off at some points. Plus, *spoiler* Harry dying in the end was just lame *spoiler end*. All in all, a pleasant film to spend an evening in the theater though.

Lady-bug VI

2007-04-20T07:15:22Z

All the stuff we typically cook and eat during the Easter holidays didn't help, so I'm just 1 kg down this month. But it's OK. It's 1 kg closer to the target! And for he first time the "lost" kg are more than the "to lose" kg! :-p

April 2007

Harry Potter Icons

2007-04-15T18:14:41Z

I found those nice Harry Potter desktop icons today. They are really good, so I'm sharing the link.

Get them here.

Easter

2007-04-11T17:04:22Z

I spent the Easter holidays at my mother's village for the first time this year. It was nice. Fewer people and stuff.

Creative is back!

2007-03-27T11:19:27Z

Our beloved fanart community is back! Go visit!

Lady-bug V

2007-03-22T15:02:25Z

Down to 87kg! Half-way to the target. It feels great! The best part is that I do not feel like I'm on a diet. I just changed some things about the way I eat. I rarely feel hungry.

March 2007

34 Questions

2007-03-10T18:39:50Z

Taken from at_midnight.

1. Can you cook?
Yes. I don't do it every day but the results are almost always quite good.

2. What was your dream growing up?
Having a nice house with plenty of room and a garden and a happy family to share it with.

3. What talent do you wish you had?
Listening to a melody and being able to play it on my keyboards.

4. Favorite place?
Anywhere with lots of sunshine and silence.

5. Favorite vegetable?
Ahm... tomatos?

6. What was the last book you read?
"The Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy: So long, and thanks for all the fish".

7. What zodiac sign are you?
Cancer.

8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?
One piercing on each ear.

9. Worst Habit?
Drinking my coffee quickly.

10. Do we know each other outside of Livejournal?
Nope.

11. What is your favorite sport?
I see lots of football games recently. Hockey on ice seems interesting too.

12. Do you have a Negative or Optimistic attitude?
Optimistic.

13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me?
Talk?

14. Worst thing to ever happen to you?
Nothing major. I think that loosing whole months to the study-routine is not good.

15. Tell me one weird fact about you.
I like to "crack" my toes.

16. Do you have any pets?
No. I want to have a cat some day, when I have that house with the garden I mentioned above.

17. Do you know how to do the Macarena?
Yes! We used to dance that way to the beach when I was in a Guides' camp in 1996.

18. What time is it where you are now?
20:32.

19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary?
Not actually scary but definitely not cute. I don't like them.

20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
My hair. I'd like it to look good without me having to spend time to fix it.

21. Would you be my partner in crime or my conscience?
It depends on how well I'd knew you.

22. What color eyes do you have?
Brown.

23. Ever been arrested?
No.

24. Bottle or Draft?
I don't really care.

25. If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it?
Save it for later.

26. What kind of bubble gum do you prefer to chew?
Soft ones.

27. What's your favorite bar to hang at?
There is a place on the mountain which has a view of the whole city and the lake in front of it. I like that one.

28. Do you believe in ghosts?
Not really.

29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
Driving along with my boyfriend and our friends to places with lots of sun-shine and have pic-nics.

30. Do you swear a lot?
No. I am not used to it.

31. Biggest pet peeve?
Aligning everything perfectly on reports, presentations, websites etc.

32. In one word, how would you describe yourself?
Calm.

33. In one word, how would you describe me?
I don't know you that much to describe you in one word. You seem easy-going though.

34. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?
Sure.

Going on-line

2007-03-07T13:52:54Z

Today I saw - for the first time - a video with me and my friends on-line. I knew it was probably going to end up being posted on-line but it still seems a bit weird.