Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Jol's new armor




So I came online, being well rested after a long sleep.

Did absolutely nothing and got a new armor.

















Then shortly after I saw these strange things and it turned out to be but a dream

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

A holiday season + Greetings!

Hallo allemaal,

Last post for this year, so evidently I'll be wishing you all a very merry christmas, the good luck for you New year's resolutions and the best for the 2nd decade of the 21t century. (According to the christian calendar ofcourse.) But there's some other stuff I want to write about, thoughts and contemplations.

1,5 year have past since I left the Netherlands, a decision I have not regretted for a single minute thusfar. I told you all about the job I do and parts of the life I live. Daily routines involve, waking up, taking a piss, getting out of bed and wondering why I keep forgetting to get out of bed first. Going to work, answering calls from customers, picking my nose, browsing the web. Or during the summer holidays, answering calls, answering calls and answering more calls. Already the Summer period bothered me, but due to these thoughts, the works monotony and the feeling of running around instead of following my own way. I rarely feel satisfied, not even outside the work environment. Instead I sit around the house and stare at another computer screen. very much like the ones at work. Motivational issues cause slips and bad decisions ar work, which in turn lead to aggitation with the superiors. It's all minor things but recently the have piled up a little. Work has been good to me and I have a few pennies saved. So the urge to just quit and do something else is pressing under the surface. And the cirle is round again, because my motivation will not get any better without a proper perspective.

So why do I stay? Motivation has always been my nemesis. During my school, during jobs, during my periods between jobs. I only motivate myself for a walkabout in Cantha, or when I write. But from my posting history and GW sleepytime, it is clearly visible that I'm not motivated very often. I've given myself another 1,5 year before returning to the Netherlands and start studying. Signlanguage Sciences, I made this choice and I'll force myself to persue it. (woohoo motivation) But how to spend the remaining period? Well I guess I can get through another few months of work, which in turn will add to the savings I have. With that money I should be able to get out of the way of work for a while before starting a student's life. It's no solution to my problems, but it is a lifeline of sorts. Holding on right now, will eventually help me to pull myself from the maelstrom like vicious circle that's dragging me down.

Self reflection, that contagious disease that contaminates anyone with too much time on their hands. Espacially around this time of year.

Jelmer/Lyon/contemplative
P.S. I gave you my best wishes on the top of this message

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

A place to stay. (2)

Wesh les gars,

Ok, I promised a more regular update of my blog here, two posts ago. If anybody actually bothered to red them. Turned out more difficult then I had hoped. But here I go again, little update of my life outside the OBE community. Don't think bad of me, for not connecting to GW anymore, I'm safe and sound sleeping in Nim. Why the same title? Because there's another aspect then just myhomeI want to write about. Because it takes up a whole lot of time and is worth the mention because I know you guys will love the concept.... If you don't know it already.

COUCHSURFING:
The word is pretty self-explanatory. Couchsurfing is a worldwide network, of people proposing their couch as an alternative for Hostels/Hotels. How does it work? Simple, you subscribe to the site, you fill out a profile and you wait for a request from a nearby traveller. Travellers that are looking for a little more then just sight-seeing whatever it is travellers go to see when sightseeing. They are suposed to be interested in the person that is hosting them and would like to see how a local enjoys himself in a town that the travellers know nothing about. Last March the site welcomed it's 1.000.000th member and it's still growing. As with many sites that get some publicity the growthrate could probably best be described as an exponational curve upwards. Word to mouth being the best, quickest and most reliable way to do this.

I started about a year ago and I have been investing more and more time. I've recently become one of the sites official translators, on a purely voluntary basis ofcourse. So not only do i host people in our house, but I also translate the site's content into Dutch. I Enjoy the occasional couch in a foreign city and I contribute to the creation of a major event held in my home-town, Lyon.
But how does it really work, a simple but effective examplary paralel could be presented. Take hitch-hiking, everbody know how that works right? You set your goal and you stick up your thumb. You never know who is going to pick you up, a reason for many not to use this way of transportation. Now let's look from the driver's point of view. He doesn't know who he will be picking up, but he goes on his instincts. He's taking a risk, as does the hiker ofcourse. It's the driver's general trust in people that persuades him to pick up the lone person by the side of the road, sometimes there's more then one. So does a couchsurfing host. The biggest difference lies in the fact that you can't request a place to stay without a profile and the site's creators and contributors don't stop to tell new members that you'd probably be better of hosting someone who has filled out his profile properly. This permits you to get a first glance impression of ho you could possibly host. For travellers it's basically the same, you request a place to stay with someone who seems trustworthy and interesting. As you get more experience as hotstraveller you learn how to pick out those people that you can really connect with. A level of participation in the site and it's content is a pretty good indication.

Yesh, there's always an argument against a site of even the idea itself. Everybody can create a identity on the internet, an avatar in a MMORPG is the perfect example. There will always those that try to take advantage in order to gain benefit. There's plenty of people that only recently heared about the site, subscribed, hopefully to save on hostel expenses during their trip through whatever part of the world they are in. They use it, but once they're back where they came from, never bother to do some hosting themselves. A fact I have to live with as a Couchsurfer and I usually send them a kind reply either saying that the couch will not be available at the requested time or inviting them to do some hosting first, in order to gain the experience.

Hope you're all interested and excited about Couchsurfing now, I could probably have done a better job selling the project, but I think it's a fair picture I drew for you. You can always find me if ever you might need a place to stay in Lyon. A reference to OBE is a garantueed succesful request.

Maybe see you around, IRL or in-game.
Jelmer / Lyon / Done for the day

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

A place to stay.

Salut tout le monde,

About the place I live in, what...?
Last May I moved to a 'colocation.' This means rentsharing, so yeah I live together with a bunch of Frenchies. It's terrific, fantastic and fun. But let's start with where it began.

I'm living in Lyon, since I moved there for a job, a year and a half ago. Housing always poses some problems. Either to small or to big, too expensive, not in the right place and in some cases not the right people. The trick is to find the right balance. I started of in a empty campus, during the summer it was inhabited by co-workers and me. But as campusses go, they are empty during holidays, but inhabited by students during the rest of the year. So I had to move at the end of August 2008. At the time I wasn't on a permanent contract so the employer still took care of where to live. They chose a hotel where you could rent little appartments. I moved in there with two other collegues and we had a blast, unfortunately it was not near town, nor work. For some reason they figured I had a driver's license and a car. I don't have either of them, so public transport became a big part of my daily occupations. Time to look for something else. Nearing the end of a two month period I wasn't getting along with the other two inhabitants anymore, so I should move on.
Through freshly made friends I got in touch with a landlord who had a room for rent right in the centre of town. We met and visited the appartment and it was great. 30m² Bathroom including bath, mezzanine, a little storage space, fridge. Downsides: no natural light as it was on the interieur of the building and frankly I need people around. Not even talking about the price. Me being a Dutch citizen, and French law demanding that you have somebody to back-up payment in case you can't manage yourself proved a problem for the landlord, He didn't accept m parents, my parents didn't accept his demands, meaning he wanted to know about their payslips and taxes. Fin bref... We decided I could rent the appartment on a fixed contract for 6 months, 2 months payed in advance as a garantuee. I happily accepted and moved in. These 6 months I build up friendships, getting to know town and basically get sorted and settled in France. One of the best things I started was to get into Couchsurfing (more of that later.)
6 months passed quickly, but I was aware of this, so I started looking for a new place in time. Set my goals low. Cheaper, together with somebody or more, good connection to work, possibility to go out into town. and so the search began. Plenty of options available in March, because the students use to start their internships during that period so place opening up in plenty colocs. I think I have never moved around town more, visited more appartments/people then before. I usually take the first thing I like. But this time it didn't come as easy. The don't call us, we'll call principle applied quite a lot. More often this meant they didn't call me anymore, but I wasn't sitting around waiting. Finally... A positive reply, or rather an invitation to come to the party they were throwing later that week. Never turn down a party offer from a possible future roommate. Wow, it seemed like such a nice small appartment, but it was crowded and if I was any indication these people could all be there to be the one to live there. No worries, here comes the host and she starts talking to me. Try juggling alcohol, foreign languages, girls and house searches at the same time and you know what I want through. But somehow I managed, because she actually told me that she was interested in having me as her future roommate. They were living with 5 of them at the time and 1 would move out a month before the others. To keep the balance they'd take a girl first, but 1 of May would perfect if I still wanted the room. Location: check, Price: check, People: check and the date: Double CHECK!!
That was however not where I'm living now. And in retrospect, thank them ever so much for their late cancelation of the spoken agreement. Halfway through April I dropped by to ask when I could start moving my stuff in. When the so delicately notified me they had no place for me anymore. Shit... I had stopped searching and now time wasn't on my side anymore. Time = relative, or at least some famous scientist suposedly proved this. Luck was on my side.
I checked out the usual sites for possibilities and send a few requests. Next morning I get a phonecall. How would I like to come and dine with the coloc? That's funny, usually you sit down for half an hour, they fire some questions at you, show you around the appartment and then the door. The place is situated on one of the buslines from work, so I go right there after. First impression, the iron gates open to a beautiful garden. My old dutch reflexes kicked in for a second, and I offer a hand to the girl welcoming me, instead of the more usual cheek. Why...? No matter though there's plenty of more people to meet and I adapt quickly. I meet 7 out of 9 people living there that night, plus a few people just hanging around. We have dinner with 13 people in total. Sit down for a drink afterwards and I go home totally overwhelmed and with the knowledge you don't come across places like this often.
Two days later a text message, asking if I would like to come by again, the other 2 people would be at home that evening. When I meet the first of the 2, he greets me and mentions that it's just a formality, because basically the decision was taken the day before. What did you just say...? Oh if you want to you can start moving your stuff in this weekend and will you be sleeping here or at your old place tonight? All this before I even meet the last of 9 people.

Eat your heart out, relative or not, time is no issue.
Jol Rael / Lyon / Distracted

Friday, September 18, 2009

Un tous petit mot

Salut, Comment allez vous?

Ok enough of that language I've been speaking it for over 16 months now and I hardly ever find the chance to speak/type some English. SO.... I thought I could maybe use the blog as a way to keep my English in good shape and you informed. Admittedly I wasn't good at posting my messages in the forum. So why would the blog be any different? Dunno... Honestly.

A view things I do want to inform you about, short and effective.
- I live in a new house, since May, but who have I spoken to, in between (do you even remember the flying dutchman)
- I cut most of my dreads (yesh, most. sentimental value was given to a few)
- I'm not so damn busy with my work, when it's not the summer. (I work in tourism)
- I can't stand myself for still feeling connected to OBE, but acting not accordingly. (Buying a computer would help)

Now, maybe you have some questions, maybe not right away. I thought of one directly: How does he manage to post a message at this time of night, if he claims not have a computer?
Ok so what I mean is that I should get 'myself' a computer, not borrow it of somebody who I happen to live with.

Well, for now that should do. I'll rant about my summer in a little while. Read: Some frustration left after my own holiday
Jol Rael / Lyon /Sleepy

Friday, August 28, 2009

Xunlai Dance Stance

Sited in all outspots since yesterday.
Greetings from Xunlai Agents, exclusively for me.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Xunlai Party





Special VIP parties for people who think inside the box!

Collectors Edition of Bugs





Friday, July 20, 2007

Guild Portal found in Serbia





Once upon time, in a strange land called Serbia, one flying dutchman, and one true viking landed on our roof...

Behind the Screen


U may know them as Ryumi Chueei and Jol Rael.


Yes it is them! Behind my pcs. They completely took over them.

Yes Vana we do feed them!


And they do sleep...






But this flying Dutchman
was all over the place.
Mad!






















We showed them to all our friends :)

Goofing around





We definitly had our share of fun.


But tell me... Can a true dance ever be replaced with a virtual one? Or virtual hug with a true one..?

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Mighty Warriors

Yes, yes, 3 mighty Warriors set out to fight Galrath the Villain.

Vana, who was that Warrior guy again? T_T
(sorry, really can't remember, but I promised to post this xD)

Monday, April 16, 2007

Old Days

I looked back at the pictures of my old capes too, and realised that one of them was pretty similar to the one I wear now.

This picture is from the days when Vana was member of the highly rated I Seek Guild H K [香港]. The Hong Kong flag consists of a white Bauhinia flower on a red background, so the white flower was chosen for this top HK guild. Those guys were seriously into PvP, hoping to win lots of real money in prizes one day. But to Vana, that didn't make them as much fun as hanging out with OBE and their allies.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Back in the days part II

Back in the days...

when my Characters were male...



when my Guild used to be 1337...


or even 443...

when famous Guilds used to hire me...

things weren't half as fun as just chilling in OBE ^__^

Morning Exercise ^__^

A young Binary Stars doing her training above old Ascalon early in the morning!

PS. I looooved this cape so much, so this is my entry to the proposed new cape competition. ^_^

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Something Scary


Now, I don't know what scared to young Iridescent Moon so much here, but what ever it was, it was terrifying! Oo

Monday, April 09, 2007

April 1st

I seem to atract boys... in body of girls...
when I am a girl in a body of a... boy...
Hmm I got me confused allready, damn!



Merry April Fools day.
And wellcome to
Virtual Genderevolution!

Friday, April 06, 2007

Going back in time

Ok, I attached my old harddrive to this computer downstairs and it has all of my old GuildWars memories stored on it. I'm going to take you back in time with my GuildWars history =D

(excuse the quality, haven't got any good gfx software on here)


01.12.2005, aka the day I met Kali ^^

Well of course we met dancing xD

I'm the Ranger playing the airdrum, Kali is the Warrior playing the airdrum.

I met quite a few people that day that I still remember. I think Kali remembers some of them, too =)






03.12.2005 aka I'M AN OBE MEMBER!!!

Possibly the first meeting of the legendary Three Witches Kali Morr, Ryumi Chuuei and Iridescent Moon. Also probably my first day as an Astral Traveller.










And we danced and danced and danced xD