What I do is what I feel

[dolorosa_12]

^Me. I figured since I've probably got a few new people reading here since the fandomsecrets friending meme, I might as well do an intro post of sorts, so that you all know what you're getting in for!

So, my name is Ronni and I am a PhD student working on medieval Irish literature. While I normally study at the University of Cambridge in Britain, I am spending this academic year on exchange at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, in Germany. And I'm actually Australian. I also work as a freelance book-reviewer and features-writer for a newspaper back in Australia, a job which I've had since I was sixteen. (I also spent a rather miserable year working for that paper as a sub-editor, but the less said about that, the better.)

Surprisingly enough, I enjoy spending my spare time reading/watching/listening to/otherwise engaging with texts, and writing about them. I follow a ridiculous number of literary, pop cultural or social justice-related blogs, as these are the topics that interest me the most. My own fannish writing tends to be mainly meta and reviews.

The big fandoms in which I'm involved are the Whedonverse, Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend of Korra, Once Upon A Time, Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries and Teen Wolf. I lurk around the Harry Potter, Daria, Supernatural and Avengers fandoms. But to be honest, I'm much more involved with, and emotionally invested in, my tiny fandoms, which are mainly for various Australian YA books from the 90s, Sarah Rees Brennan's The Demon's Lexicon series, sophiamcdougall's absolutely breathtaking Romanitas trilogy (my default icon on DW is from that series) and deadish fandoms like Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Veronica Mars, Being Human (UK) and Robin Hood (BBC). I'm always looking for more fandoms, and I mostly get into things through other people's recommendations (mainly through the incomparable thelxiepia), so I look forward to hearing about other people's fannish interests.

I am absolutely obsessed with music, and you'll find that I quote song lyrics a lot (this post's title, like a lot of my titles is a quote) and write over-the-top emotional reviews of certain musicians and HOW THEY SPEAK TO MY SOUL. I also adore '90s culture in general, and in particular have never met a '90s teen movie that I didn't like.

Other than fandom, I love travelling, cooking (and eating), hiking, swimming in the ocean, history, linguistics and dancing (badly).

Up until this point, my LJ has been my primary blog, because most of my friends are there. If you're on LJ, you can add me here. Here is where you can find me elsewhere online:

My Wordpress blog, which is where I post longer, more serious, essay-like posts.

Longvision, my (deadish) fanblog for the Romanitas trilogy (told you I was obsessed).

Beyond Selidor, my blog about my experiences here in Germany. When I post on these three Wordpress blogs, I always link to them on my LJ/DW.

Twitter.

Tumblr. (I should warn you that I'm taking a break from Tumblr because I follow too many social justice blogs there and it was starting to cause problems for my mental health.)

Last FM.

Feel free to add me on any of these places if you'd like. And also feel free to ask me any questions you can think of.

Comments

[ansley15]

Wow, Cambridge AND Heidelburg? I am so awed and jealous in the best way possible! There's not much I wouldn't do to spend time in either of those universities! That is so fantastic, though, good for you!

And you like Daria and Veronica Mars as well? Awesome, I knew we friended eachother for a reason :)

[dolorosa_12]

Aww, thank you! I am pretty lucky to go to those universities, and I really love studying at both. It's a bit stressful, though, as I have to finish my PhD by the end of next September or my funding will run out. (British PhDs are only funded for three years.)

I love Daria and Veronica Mars (although to be honest I don't really like the second or third seasons that much and try to ignore them as much as possible). But I am very happy to find someone else who likes them both!

[ansley15]

Only 3 years? I could not imagine! In the States, we get funding for 5, though I know several people who have continued working on their doctorates long after funding has run out. Best of luck to you!

[dolorosa_12]

Well, the difference is that in the first two years of a US PhD, it's more like a Master's degree in that you do coursework and exams and stuff (if I understand things correctly). In the UK you're meant to start working on the thesis right from the start, hence only needing three years. Most people I know take somewhere between three and four years (as I will hopefully do).