Weird? Pretty much.

[Arjan]

I did a course on learning and communicating at university and watching yourself on video and then discussing it with the other students was obviously very useful but not something I like to repeat.

[Dina]

I imagine it is quite akward. I admit is useful to watch oneself in video, but it is a little cringeworthy too.

[Fcrate]

Video is fine, but I always get such a shock when I hear my own recorded voice. That is NOT how I sound in my head.

[Dina]

I know! I hate hearing my voice too. My own Whatssap audios are my sworn enemies.

[Regenbogen]

Hey, all you weird people! 
I am so sorry. I tried to say hello several times in the last days, but each time I logged in, something urgent came up.

I am a little bit frustrated with the lack of information about JB's writing progress. I know, I should not complain, he will update, when he is ready. But I can't help my feelings. Sorry.
On the other hand I am tentatively happy, because there is hope that I could switch department at work soon, meaning in the next few months, depending on how well the negotiations will go, once my bosses know, I want to leave. I know, they all want to keep me, but I don't want to stay. So, deal with it, bosses. You should have been nice to me before.
In fact, they have been nice to me, but they have been ugly to others. But I have eyes and ears and I won't work for people like that, and I they know, because I tend to speak my mind. I did everything I could for the others, but now it is time to look after myself.

I used to hate hearing my voice, but I made peace with it long ago. I still feel awkward when I have to SEE myself, though.

I introduced my oldest daughter to the DF. She is very mature for her age. But she can't read it in English yet. I managed to find the books in the online library. And I needed to test them, of course. I think I told you once, that my friend wasn't that thrilled about the translation, but I can say, it's mostly OK. I just intended to read Storm Front, to try out the online library and how it was translated, but I ended up with the first three. Now I'm taking a break and read Good Omens.

And I put my feet into the river a few days ago. They didn't freeze, lol.

Edit: I don't know, if I have told you, but for some time in my life I thought about becoming a translator. But as I'm not comfortable around people, I wanted to translate script. But I thought, that might be boring doing that all day, all year, all life. So I didn't.

[Dina]

Glad to see you back!

Beginning for the end, it is nice about the river. Here today it was quite cold, first day in the year.

I hope the things in the job work for you. I know you have been complaining about your bosses mistreating other people for a while now, so I really hope you can leave and find a place where you are more comfortable.
I totally get it about JB, I feel the same. I do not need to write faster, he should write at his own rhythm. I just wish someone told us what he is doing, even if it is "he has been busy learning to play the violin and he has not written a page yet" It bothers me that his official website still speaks about PT and BG being released "this year", or things like that.

I have less problem with my image than with my voice, because I see me in a mirror everyday 

It is amazing about your daughter! Is she liking it? I was really hooked with the DF in Summer Knight, so you are just in the verge of that. I wonder what her reactions will be. I am glad the translation was mostly good, and yes, I remember we talked about that. I have never read the DF in Spanish. I am not planning to do it in the near future either.

[Regenbogen]

She is not that far by now. I think she might be a bit after the first meeting with Marcone, but so far she likes it. She is reading several books at the same time. I was like that myself at that age.
She wanted to read my Harry, as we call it. I told her, there is magic, murder, blood, stupid bad guys, cool bad guys, and Harry is technically a good guy, but circumstances tend to make it difficult for him to keep being a good guy.
She likes cool bad guys, bloody murder and destruction. So I said, she could read it, she might like it. LOL
Thank God my friend has the first 3 as paperbacks. You can't buy them new any more, but sometimes there is someone selling a used one. But I would rather like to buy them in a new translation, if I ever will. It would be for my kids then or other friends who can't read English.

There is one thing that annoys me. Harry's character is one who doesn't show a lot of respect, especially if he doesn't think, the other deserves it. So he definitely wouldn't use the polite form to address for example Marcone or Hendricks. That sounds really weird and out of character. And it feels weird to use the polite form with someone you date. At least not in the 21st century.  And in the few times he addresses the reader directly. It just doesn't fit.

And there is the case with the gruffs I think I also wrote about once: the translator used a completely different fairy tale for them. The wolf and the seven young goats. That doesn't fit at all.

[Dina]

Oh yes, I remember you telling us about the change about elder gruff. How weird.

Your daughter sounds like a child I like  . She will probably enjoy Harry. Oh, I call him "my" Harry too.

Your talk about the polite form made me wondering how Harry would be in Japanese. Also, I ask you. How is people WITH Harry? Are they polite with him? (I feel Harry disrespects people but too many people disrespects him back. It is not the case with Marcone though. He is a jerk and says hard things to Harry, but his manners are good.

[Regenbogen]

Oh yes, I remember you telling us about the change about elder gruff. How weird.

Your daughter sounds like a child I like  . She will probably enjoy Harry. Oh, I call him "my" Harry too.

Your talk about the polite form made me wondering how Harry would be in Japanese. Also, I ask you. How is people WITH Harry? Are they polite with him? (I feel Harry disrespects people but too many people disrespects him back. It is not the case with Marcone though. He is a jerk and says hard things to Harry, but his manners are good.

Yes, others are polite to him, too. Even Morgan. Polite while insulting
I am going to read the others as well. I want to know, when he starts to talk to Murphy like friends. And if he really stays that polite with Marcone.

[Dina]

Ok, when you do, share with us, please. It is always interesting.
This reminds me, in my country, we have a "friendly" mode, which is the way you talk with your friends and coworkers. Sometimes also with colleagues you do not know but are around your level. If you want to talk with a boss, an eminence or someone you consider of a higher rank, you use a formal mode. That formal mode is also the one you use for strangers on the street (unless they are too young), store owners, elder people and so on. Well, the point is a couple of decades ago, there was a TV producer who did several shows which were quite realistic except that for some reason the romantic couples used the formal mode with each other. It was hilarious and now sometimes when people think that you are using the formal mode when there is no need for it, they tell you that you seem like a character of those shows. 

[Regenbogen]

Book 5 and still polite.

I remember some old movies, where people (dating couples as well as bosses to their underlings) used the polite form, while using the given names. I always thought that weird. Because if you use the polite form you would address people by their last name and put Herr or Frau in front.
Then I was in 10th grade and the teachers had to ask us if we would prefer them to still use the familiar form or if we would prefer the polite form for grown-ups. The decision depended on the teacher and the whole class would be addressed the same way.
If we decided to be addressed like grown-ups, then the teacher used the given name and the polite form. Felt weird at first, but I got used to it. But usually it is used with the last name. Used with the given name it causes a feeling of inferiority which when I think about it was the case in the old movies, because the boss was a man an he addressed his female secretaries that way, while they used his the polite form too, but with "Herr" and last name.
And the dating couples both used polite form with given names.
But the couples still felt weird.

There was a doctor who was my boss for a while. He sometimes called some of us by their given name using the polite form, too. But with him it was just that he sometimes forgot their last names, lol. And among ourselves we use the given names, so that's what he heard the most. But he always set "Frau" or "Herr" in front of the names. That's not how it was done, but he was a nice boss, so we let him. He is long gone, and there are still some that address each other that way for fun to keep him remembered.

[Dina]

I like that way to honor his memory 

I know what you meant about feeling weird. I have a ph. D. That means that I am often introduced as Dr. GivenName FamilyName ( ). In normal circumstances, when among colleagues or students at the university, I am called just GivenName. But in formal circumstances, mainly with someone mentiones me speaking with another person, I am Dr. FamilyName. That is the norm. But some years ago, I went to México, and even when I was formally introduced same than here, at work, even among colleagues, they called me Dr. GivenName. It was superweird. "Dr." goes with FamilyName!
(it was not personal for me, all ph.D were referred as Dr. GivenName, while the graduates (not ph.D) were called "Biologist GivenName"

Piece of almost random trivia. In Spanish, a given name is a "nombre de pila". The funny thing is that "pila" is also the Spanish name for battery. So, it sounds as if you were saying "name of battery" (yes, like Duracell). But in actual fact, "pila" has several meanings (including "a ton") and one of them is "pila bautismal", which is the baptismal font (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptismal_font). So, "nombre de pila" is the name you receive at the baptism. Obviously, not everybody is baptised now, but that is the origin of the expression.


In other topics, I am super thrilled because I was the assistant director of the final work of a student who was graduating as biologist. He presented his final dissertation last week and all went well. I am happy and much lighter than last week! I was stressed.

Luckily I will be able to relax in the Holy Week.

Also, today (yesterday actually) I had the first virtual class after a couple of classes at the university. I really like teaching online 

[Fcrate]

Hello everyone, hope you are doing well.
We don't use surnames or middle names here. Only first names (and informally, the father's name if the name itself is too common, like Mohammed), followed by the father's name, then grandfather, sometimes with a family name after that. It sounded confusing to me when I learned about surnames in school. I mean, potentially, a small family can have 3 Mr <insert surname here> ;while an extended family can have tens of them. I'm typing on my phone so I'm not going to discuss the philosophy of it. Lol

[Dina]

Yes, but that is normal for us. We think your names are too long. I mean, the actor playing Bashir is Siddig El Tahir El Fadil El Siddig Abdurrahman Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Karim El Mahdi.  Ehrm... I know he went by Siddig El Fadil and later Alexander Siddig, but still, that is his name. By contrast, we rarely have more than 4 names (Given names + Family names). In Spain is common 2 given names and 2 family names with an "y" in the middle of the family names (y="and"). I like it because those family names were mother and father. I have two family names but both are my dad's (he had my grandad and my grandmom's though). But we don't use the middle y.

[Fcrate]

I don't know this actor, but we only ever use the first name. And in school or large meetings where names might get repeated, it'd be two names (You and your father).
only the government ever uses more than two. Ours uses 4 names in your ID and official papers.
So, formally, you'd call that guy Mr Saddig.