*blows dust off journal*

[jadesfire]

Is there anyone still out there? LJ's been pretty quiet, and I've been even quieter, although I have been lurking in various journals over the last week.

So what have I been doing, since I haven't been here?

~ Last Wednesday, miss_zedem and I had a nice day out in Bristol, which isn't somewhere I'd thought of visiting before (it just happens to be more or less halfway between us) but I'd go to again. Lovely, lovely day.

~ From Friday lunchtime to Sunday evening I did 7 lots of singing, which was fun if exhausting. With Oxford City Singers I sang carols in the local shopping centre* and square, then we had our concert on Saturday night. For my church, I sang carols in the square, then lead the morning service, then did two carol services in the evening. Both of the evening sessions were the exhausting ones, the concert because we had an audience of 300 (squee!) and the services because the choir was small and my brain was fried. It all went off pretty well though, and my solo at the concert was fun to do, even though I only got one rehearsal and I was rather nervous about it. Once I got going it was fine though, and I'm already planning what I want to sing in the summer :)

*There's a video here if you're really keen - I'm the one with the tinsel belt in the front row ;))

~ I have been crocheting more than I knew was possible, although that's partly because crochet grows at a brilliant speed. It's definitely a craft for impatient people! I have 4 projects on the go right now, and I think they'll all get done by Christmas if my fingers hold out. And I thought writing by hand made my muscles cramp *ow ow ow*

~ I had a few days off last week and wandered round Oxford looking at the lights, the Christmas tree and the giant Menorah on Broad Street. It has lightbulbs rather than flames, but it's ten feet high, which probably makes up for that! Will try to get a picture of both at some point when the city isn't shrouded in fog.

~ I dropped out of reel_torchwood and the Podbang at amplificathon, due to lack of time and creativity, but I still plan to finish up sga_santa and get my Yuletide fic done. My new year's resolution for 2009 was to write less, which I've succeeded only too well at! It feels like there's a lot of activity over here without much time for creativity, which probably isn't doing my brain much good. The resolution for 2010 is definitely going to be to find a better balance.

Speaking of writing, is there anyone who could give me a super-quick typo-check on an SGA fic this evening? I won't have time for major editing, but I'd feel better if someone else made sure I haven't committed too many crimes against the English language!

The journal-silence has been down to a combination of the ridiculous busy-ness chronicled above and a continuing mental wobble, in which I convince myself that no one wants to hear what I have to say anyway, that writing in my journal is making a fuss about nothing and that if I enjoy it, I shouldn't do it. ...yeah, those last two don't even make sense to me. IDEK. I'm rather bleary and still slightly ill at the moment, so it's hard to know what I think, if I'm honest. But whatever it is, I'm fairly sure more coffee will make it better.

And just 6.5 work days to go before 2.5 weeks off \o/ It's going to be a busy holiday season, but as long as people let me sleep as well, it should be a good one :)

How's everyone doing out there? Hanging on okay?

Comments

[with-apostrophe.livejournal.com]

Speaking of writing, is there anyone who could give me a super-quick typo-check on an SGA fic this evening? I won't have time for major editing, but I'd feel better if someone else made sure I haven't committed too many crimes against the English language!


Me! Me! Me!

I can do that! I'll PM you my email address.

Regarding the having to drop out - I know it makes us feel bad, but it also takes off so much pressure. At a time of year where there's added pressure anyway, I think it's good to give up what you can't cope with instead of getting to the point where you're punching the screen and screaming in frustration. (Why, yes, I have done this in the past 2 weeks.)

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

You're a star, thank you. I got your PM and will send along the story later - as I say, I don't have time for a full re-vamp (even if it needs it) but I'm tired enough that typos are bound to creep in.

Heh, yes, that sounds familiar. I hate dropping out of exchanges, but the Mods were lovely about it, and I'm the only one beating myself up about it. There are definite over-commitment issues at this time of year, especially when you go to a church where everyone goes *somewhere else* for Christmas and so isn't around for services!

[crashbarrier.livejournal.com]

If you want a secondary opinion on the story I am around :) I always enjoy a read:D

As for other things. well so/so, it is cold it is wet. We are hip deep in exams at work so I am running round like a nutter trying to get the admin stuff sorted. Plus trying to figure out christmas presents for people.. why is this time of year so much chaos :).

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Thanks - I'll see how I go :)

why is this time of year so much chaos
I wish I knew! My other half and I promised ourselves we'd do better this year, but...yeah. Not so much. We'll get there, though, if I have to drag myself along by my fingernails!

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

in which I convince myself that no one wants to hear what I have to say anyway, that writing in my journal is making a fuss about nothing

I made myself post every day last week, and you're right, it has been quiet around here, which isn't great for convincing yourself people want to hear what you have to say, either. Posting or not posting, it seems it's not easy either way. But I'll tell you that I've missed your posting and I always want to hear what you have to say.

Hooray caroling and solos and crocheting! It sounds like you are producing a lot of beauty for the world. I'm sorry you're not feeling good. ::pours more coffee::

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

I can't work out if it's a fannish-lull - nothing's on, lots of my friends are out of fannish joy, and I'm not exactly gagging for the DW Christmas special myself - or if folks have just got bored and wandered off.

*smishes you* Thanks, hon. People are so kind when I do post, that I need to keep remembering that!

It would be nice if my state of mind was keeping up with the amount I'm doing! Or if the sun would come out, which definitely isn't helping - it hasn't actually got light here at all today which is Not Good :( More coffee is very welcome, although I think I'm going to have to switch to Chai tea for the sake of my stomach! *sips* Thanks :)

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

Maybe people are busy with other things and don't have time for LJ. That's what I'm hoping. I've been around a lot, but I'm about to be off myself (or at least around a lot less) -- which practically guarantees more of my friends will start to be active online. Heh. My fannish joy has been leaning toward Classic Who lately, and I have plenty of that to go around, but it's not in high demand, so as usual I've been writing a lot of posts that I don't actually post.

gagging for the DW Christmas special

Oh, how interesting... dialect observation/question! Is this a common BrE term for looking forward to something? To my AmE ears it sounds pretty gross, and it seems strange that something you want would make you gag. Do you have any idea what the origin is?

Ahem, sorry, I get carried away.

I hope the sun comes out for you today. ::hugs::

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

You should definitely post them! Then those of us who are trying to keep up with Classic Who (thanks to you ;)) would have somewhere to come and chat. Which reminds me, I must email you about that...

Oh! Sorry about that. Yes 'gagging for it' is pretty common BrE slang for being keen, but it has a slightly derogatory note to it. You'd most commonly hear it used by blokes, saying a girl is 'gagging for it'. There's an implication of 'too keen' built into it, a slight desperation that's implied.

*rummages* Here you go, right from the OED:
intr. to be gagging for: to be desperate for, to require urgently.
Originally with reference to air; subsequently also (slang, chiefly Brit.) more widely, esp. in sexual contexts. to be gagging for it: to be desperate for sexual intercourse.

1942 C. MYTINGER Headhunting in Solomon Islands ix. 65 Both spinners have choked the engine liberally, with the result that if there is any gasoline at all the engine is gagging for air.
1962 A. SEXTON All my Pretty Ones 25 Didn't I die, blood running down the post, Lungs gagging for air.
1990 Viz Dec. 45/5 Join the army cos all the birds are gagging for squaddies.
1996 H. FIELDING Bridget Jones's Diary (1997) 71, I was going to point out that three potential eligible partners gagging for it plus half the house and the pension schemes wasn't exactly nothing, but I bit my tongue.
1998 Cycling & Mountain Biking Today Apr. 40/3 The best of the Brits are all gagging for a chance to show off their jumping skills.

It's almost 3pm here, which means it's due to be getting dark anyway *sigh* My lamp is helping, but what I really need is a working netbook (boo) and a duvet to get this fic written! Not my day, I think...

[travels-in-time.livejournal.com]

Aw, the carol singing was beautiful, although about halfway through I realized that I was subconsciously waiting for flame-throwing Santa-suited aliens to show up. :D And I love your tinsel belt!

LJ has been very quiet. I hope it's just lack of anything new on TV and lots of holiday busy-ness. Along with all the RL stuff, lots of people have signed up for exchanges and are quietly freaking out right about now. I've never understood why Christmas is such a popular time for these things (aside from the lure of giving and receiving presents, I guess) because everybody's so busy anyway. Looks like February or March would make more sense. I miss wrisomifu--aside from the language, the people were very friendly and it was a very sociable comm to hang out in.

I always want to hear what you have to say! I miss you when you don't post.

But whatever it is, I'm fairly sure more coffee will make it better.

*nodnod* This is my life philosophy! Although for purposes of not going through the coffee stash too quickly, I've switched to hot tea in the afternoon. It's not quite the same and I have to fight the tendency to nod off around 4:00 PM, but I'm getting used to it. *g*

2.5 weeks off! Wow! Enjoy it!

ETA: I am gagging for the Christmas specials! But more because once I can see what they've done with it, I can construct my own fic universe and move in comfortably there, as I feel certain there's going to be a whole lot of wasted opportunity. :D

[phoenix64.livejournal.com]

Hello there! I'm afraid things have gotten a bit nuttier around my neck of the woods but I'm hanging in there.

I'm glad to hear the crocheting is going so well!

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

Heh, so it actually *is* kind of gross! The "gagging for air" origin makes a lot of sense though, and it helps the phrase work in my head, though I still can't separate it from the image of someone choking, possibly with something stuck in their trachea. Thank you for the OED stuff!

Aw, man, I'm sorry about your netbook. Can it be fixed?

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

aside from the language, the people were very friendly and it was a very sociable comm to hang out in.

It was very sociable and people were encouraging. I'd like to note, also, that there really wasn't much in the way of swearing -- there's a swear word abbreviated in the name of the comm, and occasionally people's icons or a mod post would feature the word in a humorous context, but hardly anybody in the pages and pages of comment discussion went around dropping the f-bomb. (Or other language of the sort.)

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

(When you don't post much I have to make up for it by spamming your comments, apparently! Sorry.)

Watched the video. Fun and festive, and the little Spanish-speaking lady wandering around in front of the camera is adorable. That is a very tall tree! And I like your tinsel, too. :)

[crystalshard.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a lovely video. I think I can hear you in there putting everyone else to shame. I adore the tinsel belt.

I'm glad you had a good time out last Wednesday. And don't worry about the dropping out thing - I'm thinking that it would have been more sensible for me to have done the same, but I'm currently frantically typing in the moments between work, sleep and rehearsals. I will get this done!

[in-the-bottle.livejournal.com]

Reading, just too tired during the week to post much, stupid work. Making up by spamming on weekends. Am twittering quite a bit though.

[aeron-lanart.livejournal.com]

'ello there! *waves*
Nice to see you having so much fun singing on the video.

LJ quiet? I suppose it is. Having said that there's been something posted every day at consci_fan_mo all in nice bite sized chunks so you don't get bogged down - including a wonderful Torchwood/Bagpuss crossover (yes, you read that right) by idontlikegravy. I really do recommend a vist to the comm, there's some great stuff there and there's not quite a week left to go.

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

*sticks oar in*

If you look at the definition if 'gag' in the Merriam-Webster you may find it more helpful (emphasis mine).

Middle English gaggen to strangle, of imitative origin

intr.

1 a : choke; also : to suffer a throat spasm that makes swallowing or breathing difficult b : retch
2 : to be unable to endure something

My guess would be that the concept of excitement being associated with shortness of breath, possibly even loss of ability to speak, would lead to a semantic association with physical gagging.

This isn't odd if you think about it - how often do we say that someone 'choked' with nerves? We don't mean the nerves got literally stuck in their trachea, we mean that they were unable to speak. Metaphorical extension, basically, so in the case of 'gagging' in Britspeak, it probably started out as a metaphor and has just passed into common phrase with use.

[/language geek]

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*giggle* Thank you! Doctor Who does lead you to expect the unexpected, doesn't it?

Hopefully things will pick up after the holidays, as you say. Everyone seems very busy right now.

That sounds like a perfectly good reason to be waiting for the specials! I think that having been somewhat underwhelmed by the last few, I'm mostly trying not to get my hopes up...

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Glad you're hanging on! Things always go a bit nuts at Christmas, don't they? Hopefully January will be calmer :)

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

You're always welcome here, as much as you like :)

We had great fun doing the singing - glad you enjoyed!

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Heh, yes, I do make quite the noise, but someone has to ;)

Eep! Hope things calm down for you soon!

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Oh hon... I follow you on Twitter, but hope you get some rest over Christmas and can do some LJ-ing too!

*hugs*

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*waves back*

I follow consci_fan_mo but haven't had a chance to do much reading. It doesn't feel like people are posting much in their own journals lately, which kind of makes me think they're out doing things instead of writing about them. Hopefully we'll all catch up properly in the new year :)

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

The #2 definition you cite is interesting because it's a very close description of the colloquial usage we have for "gag" here (US, at least in my region) -- it has to do with extreme dislike and it relies on retching or vomiting imagery. The way I understand "gagging for," it's more complex in that it means "unable to endure waiting for something." It's a bit more of a circuitous route back to the original/literal meaning. I'm just going to have to retrain my brain with regard to the word. :)

Thank you!