polyglot in training

Наша Батьківщина б’ється гордо


July 08, 2023 :: 11:19 AM
Скільки не стріляй в наш край
Скільки не пали поля
Житиме вічно наша ненька
Вродить ще не раз земля

Скільки не стріляй в наш край
Скільки не пали поля
Житиме вічно наша ненька
Вродить ще не раз земля

Наша Батьківщина б’ється гордо
Ми не в пах, а в морду
Наша Батьківщина за свободу
Перегризе горло
Наша Батьківщина тільки наша
Не віддам нізащо
Наша Батьківщина б’ється завше
Збережи її, Отче Наший

Ненька наша рідна, ти потерпи ше чу-чуть
Наші Січові стрільці добре ворога січуть
Око за око наші хлопці точно пики натовчуть
Збройні сили України не дадуть задуть свічу

Скільки не стріляй в наш край
Скільки не пали поля
Житиме вічно наша ненька
Вродить ще не раз земля

Скільки не стріляй в наш край
Скільки не пали поля
Житиме вічно наша ненька
Вродить ще не раз земля

Кулі дебіли полетіли, бо не мали права вони на слова
Воля - це дівчина, шо любить дім, тільки руским би не дала
Кулі дебіли полетіли, бо не мали права вони на слова
Воля - це дівчина, шо любить дім, тільки руским би не дала

Звідти, де волі люд не мали, звідти ті тихі голоси
А звідки чорнила виливали, явно, що там не чистота
Скільки вже наша пережила ненька, така ще молода
Жовте осіннє плаття зняла, а камуфляжне - ти вбрала

А на дев’ятий поверх упало не сонце
Дивлюся на двір через нове віконце
Ангел тут живе мій лише охоронцем, бо
На дев’ятий поверх упало не сонце

Скільки не стріляй в наш край
Скільки не пали поля
Житиме вічно наша ненька
Вродить ще не раз земля

Скільки не стріляй в наш край
Скільки не пали поля
Житиме вічно наша ненька
Вродить ще не раз земля

Око за око, зуб за зуб
Загризуть тут за тризуб
Око за око, зуб за зуб
Наші тихо підповзуть
           No matter how much you shoot at our land
How many fields did not fall
Our grandmother will live forever
The earth will give birth more than once

No matter how much you shoot at our land
How many fields did not fall
Our grandmother will live forever
The earth will give birth more than once

Our Motherland fights proudly
We are not in the groin, but in the face
Our Motherland is for freedom
He will bite his throat
Our Motherland is only ours
I won’t give it away for anything
Our Motherland is always fighting
Save her, Our Father

Our dear Nenka, you will suffer a lot
Our Sich snipers cut the enemy well
An eye for an eye, our guys will definitely crush spades
The Armed Forces of Ukraine will not let the candle blow out

No matter how much you shoot at our land
How many fields did not fall
Our grandmother will live forever
The earth will give birth more than once

No matter how much you shoot at our land
How many fields did not fall
Our grandmother will live forever
The earth will give birth more than once

Bullets of morons flew because they had no right to speak
Volya is a girl who loves home, but she wouldn’t give it to Russians
Bullets of morons flew because they had no right to speak
Volya is a girl who loves home, but she wouldn’t give it to Russians

From there, where people had no free will, those quiet voices came from there
And from where the ink was poured, it is clear that there is no cleanliness there
How much our little girl has experienced, she is still young
You took off the yellow autumn dress, and you put on the camouflage one

And it was not the sun that fell on the ninth floor
I look at the yard through a new window
The angel lives here only as my guard, because
The sun did not fall on the ninth floor

No matter how much you shoot at our land
How many fields did not fall
Our grandmother will live forever
The earth will give birth more than once

No matter how much you shoot at our land
How many fields did not fall
Our grandmother will live forever
The earth will give birth more than once

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
They will bite the trident here
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
Ours will quietly creep up

I’m not Dopey


April 15, 2023 :: 11:08 AM

I totally heard it in the dude’s voice

Marathon Weekend registration was this past Tuesday and apparently sold out in record time.

I was sitting in the neurologist’s office with my husband asking about options… but I’d already decided against trying Dopey again.

Right now, I don’t have the interest in running a marathon. 6 hours of running isn’t really what I want to do right now, and I doubt I’ll ever get fast enough to cut that time down.

So, I passed.

I did register for Wine & Dine, though. I think if I start training in earnest now, and maybe follow some of the Dopey / Wine & Dine rD training plans, I’ll be fine with the half marathon.

I need to redeem myself for the crappy runs I’ve had lately…

I have been pretty good about putting in some miles every day, though. They may not be quality miles, but they are miles.

I even started doing a lot of iFit workouts that are hilly or walking intervals, so I’m getting some variety in.

I’m doing the Space Coast South Half Marathon this Thanksgiving, and that should be fun. The South course has no time limit and I’m going for the experience - mostly because some of my favourite Dopeys are going.

I’m at peace with my decision, but I’m having massive FOMO this weekend (Springtime Surprise) because I love the medals and theming, but by the time I decided I wanted to do it, it was sold out.

- - - - - - - - - -


In other news, I’m writing my first original piece of fiction in a long time. (AND it’s het!!!! Yeah. I don’t know where that came from either.) It’s a wee bit autobiographical, but I got inspired by reading these absolutely terrible books about women who work for sports teams.

I’m four chapters in, and it’s getting there. It’s a totally shitty first draft. I mean, really shitty first draft, but it’s a nice break from throuples and soulmates and statutory rape. (Wow. I write the full spectrum, don’t I?)

- - - - - - - - - -


As if I don’t have enough hobbies I’m ignoring, I’ve decided to learn how to crochet.

So… that’s knitting, counted cross stitch, scrapbooking, sewing, photography, web design, and a few others that I have all this stuff for, but will probably do nothing with.

But, look at how cute Pierre is!

 

- - - - - - - - - -

I should really do a photo dump here… I made a friend at the Ft Lauderdale half and the concerts have been amazing, but I don’t have the energy.

I know I should be scheduling Ukrainian lessons, but I don’t have the energy.

I know I should be doing… anything but I don’t have the energy.

I’m very obviously depressed, but having to watch a beloved family member deteriorate in front of your eyes will do that to you.

It turns out he tested negative for DM (but may be one of the 2% affected by it and doesn’t have the carrier gene for it), but it could be a spinal tumour or a herniated disk. It’s $5,000 for a doggy MRI… and then, he’d probably need surgery to fix either issue. He’s 12. I’m not putting him through all that… and as much as I love and will do anything for him, let’s be honest. It’s stupid to spend that much on him. It’s not going to increase his quality of life and I don’t want him to spend whatever time he has left dealing with the repercussions of those decisions.

We’ve got him on prednisone, but it’s a temporary fix.

We’ve bought some time, but I don’t know how much.

Fun times.

FIVE FOR FUCKING FIVE


March 05, 2023 :: 2:19 PM

just like the real citgo sign, it only works about 85% of the time

Favorite American Artist: Matt Nathanson
Concert: 10 February 2023, Fort Lauderdale
Ticket Acquired: ✅

Favourite Ukrainian Band: Океан Ельзи
Concert: 27 April 2023, Miami
Ticket Acquired: ✅

Second Favourite Ukrainian Band: Антитіла
Concert: 18 October 2023, Miami
Ticket Acquired: ✅

Third Favourite Ukrainian Band: Бумбокс
Concert: 8 March 2023, Miami
Ticket Acquired: ✅

New Love: KALUSH
Concert: 10 March 2023, Orlando
Ticket Acquired: ✅

If you’ve been around me for any length of time, you know how much live music means to me. I mean, fuck, I used to drive to Upstate NY as much as I could to see Black Mountain Symphony. There were countless trips to Connecticut for Instrument and All Crazy shows. That doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what I jokingly called “Scott-the-Roadie: Live at UConn” - all the BiG MiSTAKE, Frogboy, and Spring Heeled Jack shows I used to attend with him. Then, there were the nights at The Sting, and the nights at Toad’s Place. A random concert in Maryland. The day I went to a gathering at Bird’s that turned into an impromptu concert only to leave and catch BMS in Providence. (That, my friends, was probably one of my more ridiculous weekends: I drove through four New England states in less than 24 hours.)

Thinking about it, I’ve probably spent more of my life at live shows than I have engaging in any of my other hobbies in my life to date.

Of course, I don’t have the luxury of getting in the car and driving to NY anymore. It breaks my heart to think of the ridiculous logistics nightmare leaving Florida has become. There’s a plane ticket, and a hotel, and a rental car… I hate shit like that. I just want to get in the car and go. The drive itself is as therapeutic as the live show. All planes, hotels, and rental cars do is stress me the fuck out.

There is one unexpected perk of being exiled to Florida - the massive Ukrainian community in Miami.

I haven’t been kidding when I’ve babbled on about how thrilled I am about the opportunity to see ALL of my favourite Ukrainian bands.

Granted, I hate the reason why they’re all on tour, but… at the same time…

I GET TO SEE ALL FOUR OF MY FAVOURITE UKRAINIAN BANDS THIS YEAR!!!!

 

- - - - - - - - - -

I went on a deep dive in YouTubeLand to find live video of KALUSH and… expectations matched reality.

Seriously.

This video confirmed that I’ve been to too many shows.

When you can perfectly imagine a show just by listening to the recorded versions of songs, you know that shit needs to be a resume-level skill.

 

 

Topping from the bottom


January 22, 2023 :: 10:54 AM

I. Can’t. Believe. This. Happened.

I’m always that person who takes charge of a group project when people are slacking… this time, I bulldozed a Captain.

In my defence, not a single person on the team was offering anything up, and I have charities that mean a shit-ton to me.

FRC is attempting a new format for racery - teams of five people randomly chosen, a fundraising component, and all the shenanigans we’ve grown to love.

I’m really looking forward to this one. The last few just haven’t been fun because people talk offline and make teams full of super cappers. They take off and are impossible to catch… but, with random people creating teams? We might actually have a chance to have fun this go ‘round.

So any way - I wanted to choose Cobblestone for our charity, but that didn’t work out. (Cobblestone hooked us up with with our trip to Lviv, sent us the most amazing tour guide ever, and now are helping support his family through donations. I donate as much as I can, when I can.) Unfortunately, Cobblestone isn’t a registered charity in Canada yet.

I asked if we could fundraise for Razom for Ukraine. This is a better known charity and absolutely massive. I’d rather donate to them, if I can’t directly donate to Ukrainians hurt by the lack of tourism.

Razom is the transliterated version of разом - the Ukrainian word for together. (It’s pronounced “rah-zom”)

The team ran with the word, brainstormed different ways to use razom in the team name, and we settled on razoomies, because, well, we’ll zoom.

Razombies was also thrown out there. I loved that one, too.

Our team colours were also chosen for us. The Ukrainian flag serving as inspiration.

I know it’s trendy right now to care about Ukraine, but - of course - this means so much to me, personally.

I’ve been crying on and off, I’ve been so touched by the interest.

I have bunch of hashtags chosen for the race itself and I’m so excited to use them.

If we’re friends on Facebook, you’re about to get sick of the relentless posts sending you to the racery fundraising link. And I’d apologise, but sorry, not sorry.

Together we zoom!

 

SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT


January 14, 2023 :: 5:34 PM

OH MY GOD. THIS BOOK IS EVERYTHING I WANTED IT TO BE AND MORE.

Image shamelessly “borrowed” from Bunnywest’s tumblr.

OK. So.

If you remember, the entry where I talked about dicks. (Lots of dicks. ALL THE DICKS.) you’ll remember that I completely orgasmed over a Bunnywest fanfic. (And I actually searched for the entry so I could link to it ! Look at me!)

Weeeeeeeelllllll, she wrote a book.

And I devoured that fucker in between bouts of swearing at iTunes / Apple Music / whatever the fuck Apple is calling it now. DEVOURED.

YES. IT IS SO GOOD IT DESERVES SOME SERIOUS ALL CAPS LOVING. AND THE REALLY GOOD LUBE.

There is something amazing about her writing, and whether it’s Steter / Stetopher / original characters, she always delivers. I think the majority of my AO3 Teen Wolf bookmarks are her stories.

I don’t remember how I found out about it, but now I see that she’s co-written an entire series of LGBTQIA+ stories with Discontented Winter. (And - rabbit hole alert! - this just made my entire fucking, um, 15 minutes.)

I’m going to need to get a tumblr account again just to follow those two.

Just like I had to get a new twitter account for the balloon ladies tracker.

Every time I think it’s OK to get rid of an orphaned account, AS SOON AS I HIT “DELETE MY ACCOUNT”, shit happens.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -



An entire lifetime ago, when I bought the new MBP, I decided to shelve the old iMac. I didn’t need two computers on my desk; not when one of them basically served as a jukebox.

I took my little LaCie drive that had my iTunes library on it, (bought a FUCKING ADAPTER. For fuck’s sake, Apple. STOP IT.), and fired up the Music app.

Holy Jesus motherfucking crispy Christ on a fucking bike.

I had multiple versions of songs. And I don’t mean twelve different versions of R.E.M.‘s “It’s the End of the World…” - I have twelve of those because it’s on Best Ofs, bootlegs, and studio albums.

I mean I have six different “Spin, Spin, Sugar” files in my hard drive, each one sitting happily as a line in the iTunes song listing.

Apparently, the app made a habit of creating a music folder when 1) it downloaded a song and 2) every time it decided / forced me to “organize” my library.

So, I had music folders in music folders in music folders in music folders in.. you get the gist, yes?

And every single one of those folders held MY ENTIRE MUSIC LIBRARY.

I filled up a massive external hard drive with music because Apple decided to duplicate my music folder every fucking time it felt like it.

I’ve been cleaning it up in bits and pieces because when you have a dozen files named “01_Intro” you have to be VERY FUCKING CAREFUL. (Why do bootleggers all name their files like this?!?! I mean, I love the consistency, but I can’t tell if that intro is from Boston ‘95 or Boston ‘03. Just sayin’...)

I’m also overwriting the metadata on the music files - I HATE transliterated Ukrainian, so I’m putting everything into Cyrillic. Now, everything shows up in iTunes the way God intended it to. (But seriously, fuck record labels who use transliterated Ukrainian on albums.)

I’ve been buying new music on the phone and then downloading it to the computer. THEN, I have to go into the new, clean, pretty, hard drive, REMOVE THE MUSIC FOLDER, and put the songs where they actually fucking belong.

It doesn’t seem to like the fact that my music folder is “LaCie/iTunes/Music” - I’m pretty sure that’s what’s confusing things… but when I have the location as “LaCie/iTunes” Apple rejects the location and claims it can’t find my iTunes library.

I have some random files still to find and I am missing entire R.E.M. bootlegs, so that’s going to be a search. I also need to pull the playlists off the iMac at some point.

But, I’m considering the task done.

I can listen to music when I’m sitting at the computer again.

I’ll take that as a win.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -



In other news, I only finished the 5K and the 10K this year. Dopey attempt #2 shat the bed.

(The husband was there to watch the epic fail, but that’s a story for another time… it only took a $50 gift card to Pure Hockey (which I bought before he became an unsupportive ass thankyouverymuch) for him to understand what it means to support someone. grrrrrrrrrrrrr)

I know there’s a lot of factors at play and the asthma seems to be the biggest issue. I was struggling to breathe after pushing myself for 9 miles and a medic practically forced me off the course.

I hated the pulmonologist I saw, so I have to find another one.

I’m also trying to figure out what I do about running… I had a goal to move every day, even if it’s just a mile on the treadmill in my jammies.

And I promptly threw that plan out the window and have been sat here, licking my wounds, and refusing to even think about the treadmill.

2023 and I are not getting off to the best start.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Oh wait.

I lied.

I’m a lying liar who lies because…

I HAVE HIT A MUSICAL TRIFECTA.

I’m seeing Matt Nathanson (Mike Nickerson? Matt Petty? Whatever the fuck his name is.) in February. Dropped a shit ton on the pre-show hang, too. Love those extra moments with him. Even if I can’t remember his name.

I’m seeing БУМБОКС(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) in March. They’re finally coming overseas. I mean, I forgive them for cancelling on last March’s show, and I hate that this a fundraising / awareness raising tour, but they’re FINALLY coming.

And and and and and and and and and and and and…

MOTHERFUCKING ОКЕАН ЕЛЬЗИ IS COMING TO MIAMI IN APRIL.

Bonus: Антитіла is coming overseas in the fall. No idea where or when, but I’m there. Even if I have to get on a plane.

Still pissed I missed KALUSH because of Wine and Dine, but…

Бумбокс, Океан Ельзи, and Антитіла are the Ukrainian OG Three and I get to see ALL THREE OF THEM THIS YEAR.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more satisfied, music wise.

(Also, I think it’s time to be frightened by the amount of time I spend on the internet. I wanted to find out what “a trifecta but four” was and, wow, that was the first autofill suggestion google came up with. I don’t know if I should hang my head in shame over that or laugh hysterically.)

(Spoiler: I laughed hysterically. And fell off the damn chair.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -



I did not fuck dragons today. (OMG. ANOTHER LINK. I AM ON FIRE!) (But not literally, because that would suck.)

To be honest, I had forgotten about it and scheduled a dog grooming appointment in that time slot instead.

For what it’s worth, I was completely overwhelmed at the amount of information there was. It just seemed like too much work for a one-off. Yeah. Despite having a bunch of pocket friends who play, I’m just not interested.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -



I thought I’d end this with my most favourite songs from the four bands I’m seeing this year, but some of them have already been posted. And besides, how do I pick my favourite????

I’m just going randomize that shit and give you whatever the magic wheel spits out. (Just like a Mike Nickerson show!)

We’ll start with The Infamous Wheel just so you get the joke. (Bonus! We were at this show.)




When the sun is getting lower // and your wildest days are done // and they ask you ‘bout a photograph // from back when you were young // well, baby, you don’t have to tell ‘em // what we did when we were us // but when I think about it // I hope you blush, just a little bit…




Скажi менi, чому не можу // Забути те, чого нема.

Tell me why I cannot // forget what I do not have.




Хворі ми хворобою однією // На щастя ще не вигадали від неї панацею // На голову мов злива впала ця вразлива манія // Діагноз – меломанія, в нас з вами – меломанія

We are sick with the same disease. // Fortunately no panacea for it hasn’t been discovered yet. // This vulnerable mania has fallen on my head like a rainfall. // The diagnosis is melomania. We all have melomania.

[Melomania: A singular passion for music, that is beyond all reason. An abnormal love of music. A hobby or even an excessive fanaticism for music.]




Люби вільно, цілуй поволі. // Прощай швидко, або ніколи. // Часу мало, маєш дійти. // Хочеш правди? Мусиш знайти. // Люди далi прокидаються. // Люди далi не ховаються. // Нова глибина напроти нас. // Отакий цiкавий час.

Love freely but kiss slowly. // Forgive faster or never know it. // There’s a few time for you to come // You need the truth so find it now. // People keeping waking up. // People no more hiding now. // There’s new deepness here ahead. // Interesting the time we have…

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