Thursday, December 31, 2009

So excited you might burst....

I'm sure thats how a lot of you are feeling right now, I know this time last year there was the feeling of was I going to fit in? What were classes going to be like? Was I going to manage to keep up? Was I going to get everything done? Who are these scary people who know so much?

Do you want to know whats maybe worse? my first term there were 40 of us in Slytherin house and I still didn't say anything til about half way through the term, it was scary - there were all these awesome people, now we're up to 135 per house.....thats massive and very easy to get lost in - your snake nest can help, it gives you people to talk with, ready made friends to cheer you on

The anticipation can be almost too much, I know we've all been there no matter how many terms we may or may not have under our belts. Does it get better with time? of course it does - well a little bit, there's still the rush of the brand spanking new classes each month and getting to know your new friends in the dungeon.

So in that spirit I would like to offer a few words of advice for the new and the overexcited (not necessarily the same people) for when the classes go up tomorrow.

Firstly - Breathe - simple eh? sit up take a deep breath it makes a difference

Secondly - take your time to read the prompts, make notes, jot down idea's , get up walk away and come back, think about it. You don't have to cast on on the first just because the classes go up - sometimes I've only cast on something the day that assignments are due (gasp).

Thirdly - ask questions if theres anything you are unsure about - BUT read the first few pages of each class - you may find that the question you have has already been answered - your professors will thank you for not asking the same question 500 times - trust me on that ;)

Fourthly - use your big/middle snakes to bounce idea's off - especially for OWL's

Fifthly - be realistic - by now you've probably read about - The Slytherin Quest - and while it may sound appealing, it's not possible for everyone and this is good. For every crazy (yes i hold up my hand to this - my name is Cattiekins and I'm Crazy) doing the Slytherin Quest there are the equally awesome snakes who work full time, have a family to look after and do an OWL and one class a month - we are all awesome.

Sixthly - so you want to get as many things done as possible - remember that you can often get bonus points for larger objects and that there are starting points - so you don't finish - hand in for starting points - you'd be amazed how often starting points can bump up a houses score.

Seventhly and last of all, pay attention to ways of getting bonus points - house colours don't mean they have to be Slytherin - any house will do, use purple and claim it as house unity colour and remember to SAY in your hand in that it is house colours -we sometimes miss what isn't pointed out and with potentially 500+ assignments handed in for each class, the more you tell us the better. Photograph it in interesting ways, babies and cute kids/ pets, thoughtful poses, inspiration pictures they can all help.

Ok I've talked your ears off I'm sure, I hope it helps and if anyone else has some advice - leave a comment :D

Tracy
who will be back to the regular schedule of posting the oooo look at the pretties we've made once term gets into the swing of things

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

In the Dungeon: Day 1: OMB!

First off, hello! I'm Jamie, a.k.a. suenosdejmi on Ravelry. I'm one of the Slytherin Prefects and my main blog duty this term is to post the what/what of the Slytherin Common Room. For reference, any Official Slytherin News will always be in the main header of the common room, but will probably be posted here too.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the 1000+ posts of Day 1, just tune into the blog, where every few days (a minimum of once a week, honest!) I'll be posting the coolest things that have happened in the common room as of late. These are what I think are cool (or useful), so if you don't like it, well, read the Common Room! :P

Day 1:
  1. HOTTIES. Loads of Hotties have been posted today. An easy way to see them all is to use the pictures only feature of the common room.  (there are also lots of cats in this, strangely enough...)
  2. Big Snake/Middle Snake/Little Snake nest assignments. They're also posted here on the blog.
  3. For those of you who are seekers of the Slytherin Quest, we dubbed LNS the chick in charge and started talking about some rules. Ultimate Quest anyone?
  4. There's a chat room. Seriously. There is.
  5. Scarlettb is made of awesome.  And Clooney is hawt!
  6. Last Term's Owl Exam rules are here. They might be different this term, but they are great guidelines to get an idea beforehand. New ones will go up with classes on the 1st.
  7. Quidditch will be made of awesome and the guidelines will come out soon! Some hints and details are here.
If you have any questions about the above, or anything else, comment here, or PM me on Ravelry. I heart questions!

Nest assignments!

Adder’s Nest, cattiekins
Middle Snake: Holycuteness
Little Snakes: AracalecelticmemoryCiariel,
knitknot and phoenikoi


Cobra’s Nest, kikipotamus
Middle Snake: dnatheory

Rattler’s Nest, Folk
Middle Snakes: Dee2 and Nightowlknitter

Viper’s Nest, Snowqueen73
Middle Snake: airmidm

Coral’s Nest, jjkawano
Middle Snake: Ranalome
Little Snakes: bidibidcibecjacindaski4life
and 
onlyplaying


Mamba’s Nest, suenosdejmi
Middle Snake: linuxchic
Little Snakes: biteyfishdannibeezdippygrirova,
and 
lunathecat


Sea Snake’s Nest, Sea-Jelly
Middle Snake: QallieQBubblesTiggy

Copperhead’s Nest, crazyredheadchick
Middle Snake: fosterson

Python’s Nest, SarahJoKnits
Middle Snake: seakame

Anaconda nest, caitirin

Introductions!

Phew!  With Sorting today and new classes on Friday, this week is getting pretty hectic!

First off, I'm Kara, or dnatheory on just about every internet site ever, and I'm going to do my best to keep everyone in the loop with the Dungeon goings-on this term.  My plan is actually to foist off the Gossip Girl title onto Suenosdejmi, but I'll be posting lots of different fun things in addition to her summaries of the common room.

First-years and transfer students, I'm also your Welcome Witch, so feel free to ask me anything at all if you're lost or confused.  Slytherin is (surprisingly?) full of friendly and wonderful people, so jump right in and make yourself at home.

Finally, just to make sure everyone is on the same page:  classes go up on Friday, so try not to cast on anything new until then!  You're free to start projects at midnight PrincessOnica time (Pacific time).  You can swatch and photograph OWL supplies before then, but don't start working on your OWLs until after they're approved by the examiner (ours is Fricknfrack).  OWLs and Quidditch are totally voluntary, but definitely encouraged!

Stay tuned; there will be lots more fun stuff posted here as the term gets underway.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Welcome to the Dungeon...

...we have fun and games...

Well, we do.

Anyway, welcome Slytherins to the new Dungeon Blog. We'll be posting suggestions for classes, tips and plans for Quidditch, and juicy gossip from the Dungeon Bar (and the Hottie Bartenders) throughout the term. I'm ScarlettB, the Head of House. Zanahoria12 is your Quidditch Captain - she'll be doing some Quidditch Plotting throughout the term, as we gear up for the Ravelympics. Your Prefects are Suenosdejmi and Sea-Jelly, who'll be keeping an eye on everything. Your Head Snake (aka The Queen of the Big Snake/Little Snake Program) is Kikipotamus - she'll let you know what Nest the new Firsties are in, and who their Big Snakes are. And DNATheory will be acting as our Gossip Girl, filling you in on all the most important happenings, in case you go away for a day and come home to find 596 posts written in your absence, and just want the Cliff Notes version!

Add this blog to your bookmarks, favorites, and RSS feed - you're not going to want to miss a word!