mrs.becca's blog

just a quick hello to my contacts and friends!

I am still here, although I haven't been very active here the last time... I hope this will change...!

but before that I have to start with my new job tomorrow, move to a new place and get everything going...

So long... take care!

so... this year is going to end and this is my little résumé of it...

my 2008 started in ras al khaimah, uae where I stayed two months to do some research for my thesis. (after a nice barbecue in the dunes the year actually started with a pretty cool helicopter ride...).

go.heli

After coming back it took some time getting started with really writing on my thesis, but after meeting some wonderful people in berlin at the ipernity meeting, I managed that motivational problem.

Monsieur le Grapfonaut

The next month were a bit tough, but I guess that's just how it is...

break these chains

... and I am such a lucky person to have a loving bf who's there for me...

he's there

All this finally had an end in july (i.e. the thesis - the bf is still there for me!!!). I still had a few sleepness nights and bad dreams, about the results then, but in the end I got "very good" marks and that stupid too-ambitious little man in my head was finally happy. (don't ask me what he's doing now... i bet he's buggering someone else now...)

To treat myself, I finally bought myself a DLSR from the money I got for my thesis and took my new baby on some trips the next weeks and months.

"when I'm grown-up, I wanna be…

and then a new phase of my life began: pretenting to be a grown-up, go to work everyday and earn money.(I actually enjoy the last part of it and just ordered a new lens...).

And I guess since then my stream got a little boring, since it's only nature-pics that I manage to take in the weekends or sometimes in the morning on my way to work. I also noticed that the last self-portrait I took is quite a while ago...

before the party

this weekend in the beginning of september was very, very special and I think I haven't felt so good as then... I guess I need to feel good to take self-shots... and as I do not really know if this job I am doing now is right for me, but at the same time have absolutely no idea what I wanna to instead, all I can do it take shots of beautiful nature-stuff (which is better because all the frowning and thinking doesn't make one exactly beautiful...)

für graue tage

well... at least for me that's something that I really enjoy and that makes me happy when I am outside and spot those nice, little things (and sometimes even the pictures of it turn out nicely...).

and so it got autumn and now winter and that's pretty much all that's happening. I imagine that's just another thing you have to accept when growing up...(or not...)

christmas morning #1

so that's it... and whoever got that far - and everybody else - I wish all the best in the new year!!

www.boston.com/bigpicture

- news stories in photographs

A blog someone recently recommended to me (thank you!) and I feel I have to share...

I really enjoy the pictures and it is really interesting... so go and have a big look :-)

... and could scare fishes... =)

... or cats... hrhr...

harolds-planet.blogspot.com/2008/06/fish-and-bowl-balloon.html

Oh I just love Harold... whenever he appears in my feedreader I have a smile in my face :-)

I just love Black Books...

I woke up this morning at a time I would usually just turn around on a Sunday (let's say 8 am ;)) ... but after I had a look out of the window I was wide awake, got dressed within minutes, took the camera and the dog and went for a loooooong walk in the snow... :)

what a wonderful world...

Though the sky was grey the world was just beautiful outside, everything covered in white - and a happy becca in the middle of it ;)

spring? winter?

When I came home my parents already waited for me (or the dog... who knows...) and had already prepared a delicious breakfast --- now that's what I call a perfect (white) Easter...

Happy Easter to all of you :-)

(and thanks for the Easter wishes I got from some of you!)

the impatient dog

oops, dog in the picture

back from the nice temperatures and a crazy place in the UAE... time went by really, really fast and I would have stayed longer.

Now I have to adapt to the cold, tidy up my room (why does unpacking always end in a mess??) and show you more & more pictures of Ras al Khaimah... ;)

and I am looking forward to catch up with your latests posts of course =)

still enjoying the marvellous temperatures here in the UAE, still not in any Christmas-mood, still not bothering and stressing about presents and still digesting my spontaneous Indian second breakfast...

My work here proceeds only slowly at the moment... due to a massive lack of motivation probably... I miss some social life... I mean, the mountains are awesome, but a good girlie-chat with a good friend is something different ;-)

but hey... it's soonish time to count the hours instead of the days until my boyfriend arrives here and then................. *biiiiiiiiiiiiiiig smile*.

I just learnt they have another 3-day holiday + weekend this week... this means, no internet... aaaaah. There goes my (almost) only communication with the world... sigh...

Enjoy the Christmas-time... !

I have a new favorite animal: the camel...

camel race #2

And I like this place more and more..... :-)

The weather gets a bit cooler and less humid which is just perfect (in my opinion) now. Also the mountains finally appeared and I am still stunned whenever I see them (from my window, in the driving mirror... everywhere :-))

So now I am sitting in my favorite Internet Café, overlooking the Lagoon (in beautiful afternoon light) with its mangroves, some high-rise buildings and the even higher mountains in the background... sigh... Bloody hell I am really busy with my work here and cannot drive around or sit at places like this the whole day...

Have a wonderful weekend! :-)

Hello to all. - I miss you and your pictures... :D
I am here in Ras al Khaimah, UAE since alsmost a week now. It's not bad
and I am perfectly fine, but some things are still so unreal to me...
but that's hard to describe and will probably take a bit more time for
myself to realize what exactly that is... ;)

Actually most of the work for my thesis is being conducted in front of
the computer, so I stay in my apartment most of the time (which is okay,
because it's still very warm (YAY!) and humid (not so yay...) here). But
of course I want to get to know this place and so I often drive around,
try to find interesting places (mostly archeological sites, as the
shopping centre gets quite boring after a few days ;)...

Today I decided to make a short trip to Jazirat al-Hamra ("Red Island" -
but it's not an island anymore...).

Jazirat al-Hamra

Jazirat al-Hamra is said to be the last authentic and traditional town
still standing in the United Arab Emirates. I went there (it's not far
form here), because I thought I could get an impression of this
traditional architecture, as my own work down here is to reconstruct and
visualize the old town of Ras al Khaimah. When I finally found the
village (I saw the tower of the fort and somehow found a way to drive
there...!) it was the same as in Ras al Khaimah: A very run down place,
broken buildings, a lot of rubbish and not a very inviting place.
If Ras al Khaimah ever wants to attract tourists (and because they are
trying to copy Dubai, they actually want!) they really have to learn
about keeping those places and make them at least able to visit for
tourists without being scared!
Well... maybe my work can help to raise some consciousness for that...
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

(Btw: Ipernity really IS blocked down here. as well as skype... but as
you can see, I found a way.... but... *shhhhh*!)

As people already asked if I was still here (or already there...) and of course, I want to let you now...

ras al khaimah

I am still here!

- nevous, excited and a bit sad (to leave my boyfriend here)...

but my plane leaves tonight (very late)...

my suitcase (actually it's the first time I am travelling with a *suitcase*...) is almost packed, I have instructions on how to find my flat in Ras al Khaimah ("the house is mud-colored and has no entrance-door"....?!?!) and my lecturer at uni already reassured me he would leave his mobile switched on day and night in case something happens (like I get lost or something... ;))... I am even prepared in case the government down there blocks ipernity... :)

I also got enough information (of people from uni that have been down there) on how to behave as a woman (No, I don't have to wear a veil...!) and on where to eat... as well as a warning to be aware of scorpions in my flat... 

apart from the scorpions the only thing that really worries me is my thesis... if I will get all the data I need, if everything will work out as it's meant to... Well, I will see...

I still don't know where I will blog regularly... So if you understand German and if you are interessted, have a look at ringelsocken.blogspot.com

I won't have internet in my flat, but still I'll try to come here regularly to see what's going on... :-)

aaaaaaaaaah. it's over... :)

I had my last exam today - I will never have to study for any exam again... (at least I hope so...). This feels so good :-)    (the exam itself went quite well... At least that's my feeling... I guess the results will take quite a while...).

But now life goes on... rather quickly in this case... in 2 1/2 weeks I will fly to Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates for my master thesis. I will be there for two months so be prepared for some sandy pictures... ;)

Until then I will be really busy with my job as an assistant student at university, important things my lecturer needs me to do (yay, I am so important, LOL). And of course there are enough bits and pieces to prepare for my stay in Ras al Khaimah (Does anybody know if they block ipernity there? And if so also a way to work around the blocking? ... I know there were ways for flickr, which is blocked in the UAE).

But for tonight... I think you all know what I will be doing.... hehe... ;)

UPDATE

Like I supposed in the end (as nobody else had - or mentioned - this "problem") my new pro-status was a present from someone... I should have known from the beginning... ;)

So... THANKS VERY MUCH to my sponsor for supporting Ipernity by this :D

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I am pro and didn't know...

I mean... I just realised that I have a pro account, but I didn't buy one...

Finally a nice bug ;)

Did anybody have the same "problem" before?

Or did somebody give me a pro account (but then... wouldn't I have been noticed...)??

funny..... :-)

a few things happened the last days that gave me the slight feeling that I am being "conspired".

It all started with the bad weather this weekend ("the general weather conspiracy") by which they assured that I stay at home instead of spend the weekend hiking in the Alps.

On Saturday I went for a run, taking mp3-player no.3 with me, because mp3-player no. 2, some chinese ipod-fake, annoyed me and no.1 I tought was broken. Actually no.1 is still working fine, just the batteries - that my beloved boyfriend gave me assuming they were new - were damn flat. That's actually the "partnership-conspiracy": they make him do all that stuff that makes me crazy in the one way or other. Anyway... the hardest thing to take that day was the result of their "technical conspiracy": mp3 player no. 3 was only playing the playback-versions of all the songs! WTF?! (Sometimes you could understand a line of singing, the rest of the voice seemed to have gone... I checked all the different settings... nothing...!!!)

I actually thought there wasn't anything worse than running without music. Now I learned that there is... And... well... yes... I tend to get aggressive when something is spoiling my "running-hour". They know that obvioulsy... And not enough of that... mp3 player no. 3 is my boyfriend's one and so I had an hour time to consider whether he might have by any chance ever noticed the playback-problem or not... (I really cope better with those things when they are definitely *my* fault...).

Then, on Sunday I planned to go to the library to study for my next examination (which is part of their "boring life conspiracy") when I - after 3 metres riding on a somehow wobbly bike - found out that the frame of my bike was broken... Perfect! And well done, because that's part of their strategy to wear you down by constricting your basic needs (also known as "transportation conspiracy"). I decided then to walk, which was not so nice because my pulled muscle (or whatever... which I probably got because of too aggressive running the day before) ached. (Which btw also meant I couldn't go running which would have been really necessary due to some of their "partnership-conspiracy" as well as "I hate my life-conspiracy" activities...).

Monday (today)... went quite fine... until... mr.boyfriend and I wanted to go to the fitness-classes which the university offers. Due to their sucessful "transportation conspiracy" (broken bike) and "general weather conspiracy" (pouring rain) we wanted to take the car. Guess what happend when he wanted to start the car...?!

Right... Nothing! ... So we stayed at home - another success of the "boring life conspiracy". ... Well... only partly a success, because they forgot to keep the rain going, so I could at least go for a run (I really hate it when they cross all my plans...!). ... Problem was that after a while I felt that aching pulled muscle (or whatever) again.

_Might_ be that in this case it was not their conspirational work, but my own unreasonableness... but then... who do you think got me addicted in the first place...?!?!

and I already let you have a guess, where I have been "on holidays"...

So?

knights of cydonia (1)

knights of cydonia (2)

And no... a students budget is not very likely enough for a trip to the moon...

But... as I was told: "Geographers are never really able to go on holidays"... So maybe this explains why I was so keen to travel to the Eastern part of our Republic to see some opencast mines...

moon-making

The "moon-pictures" were taken in an inactive opencast mine (with a guide...) that is going to become a lake by 2018. There are lots of other lakes in the region that are already fully flooded or will be in the next few years. So there is a lot of change visible in the landscape which was very interesting (at least in my opinion...).

By the way... I was inspired to this whole trip by a picture I saw here on ipernity - so thanks to extranoise :-)

the inspiration

The photo shows those very interesting towers and following his link I learned that there is the Internationale Bauaustellung with some interesting projects in the region... And as I have never seen brown coal opencast mines before, but always wanted to, and as there wasn't a "big holiday" planned for the summer anyway - that's what we did... ;-)

More about this trip in German (sorry...) and a few more pics of the area here...

...having a little holiday.

Take care and lots of interesting pictures... :-)

See ya,

-rebecca

Not worth mentioning, but I am usually very happy when people comment on my pictures (especially when they say they like it...). Polite as I am I would now like to thank those people...

But... somehow I don't really like it when every second comment under my picture is by me saying "thanks" (using the reply button). And when I just say thanks after a few comments (not using the reply button), people will only see that when they come back...

So... I don't really know what to do... I probably will keep replying to comments I really have to say something or that made me *extremely* happy ;-)

Any other suggestions?

Well... for those who don't get a personalized reply from me (are there people who expect this? tell me!): In general, I really appreciate your comments and I am always glad when people like it (or tell me what they don't like...) or it makes them laugh or they get inspired or whatever...

we just got out my boyfriends old super nintendo. I even agreed to play... (wtf came to my mind?!)

but now after falling down those pixels again and again after attempting to jump back on that yoshi-thing (I admit, I'm not very well-coordinated) I'm pissed and let him finish the levels for me ;-)

either I'm not patient enough (which might most probably the case!) or I'm just not talented... the only game I could ever get the hang of was Tetris... (I still have my old gameboy...!).

... so now I guess I will really have to make an effort to stop him playing - otherwise I'll have to listen to that ringel-ding-ding-music the whole night ;-)