Grayt News! June 2009
Contents
Grayt News!
June 2009
Compiled by Liiane al'Rhuidea
Before anything else, many congratulations to our newest Gray Aes Sedai, Iteran Sedai, and our newest Aspirants, Addelyn, Ajailyn and Arie! Also, congratulations to Velaris Sedai, our new Head of Ajah, Alyria Sedai, the new Mayor of Tar Valon, and Niniel and Jordan Sedai, our new Sitters.
Also, congratulations from all of us to Ajailyn on her recent wedding! You are a very beautiful bride!
Gray Member of the Month
by Camlyn Sedai
So June has quickly passed us by. All you wonderful people up north are enjoying your sun while down under we are fast approaching our winter. Sunday isn't far away and neither is our member for this month.....drum roll please....
Roshen Aldazar, Aes Sedai of the Gray Ajah and bonded to Therian Gaidin.
a.k.a
Nicoletta (Nico, Nicky, Nic), newly employed by Blizzard!
How long have you been a member for?
OMG, I don't remember really >.< I think I joined in 2004-2005? something like that Sorry I can't really remember the exact date
What do you like the most about being a member?
Mmmm, I liked meeting like-minded people and also I formed some very strong friendships. I'm grateful for that
Which forum is your favourite out of them all and why?
The Gray Ajah forums. I don't have to think if I can write something or not and how people would react. I really feel at home there. I also like the Media and Technology forum cause I'm a geek at heart
Have you been to a real life event?
Yes I have been to several events. Euro Party in Sweden 2005 and some local brits parties.
One of my strongest memory is to get pied together with Ehlana at the euro party. We got blindfolded and we had no clue what was going to happen. We were playing games so we didn't suspect a thing Until I found my face covered with whipped cream
Real life to you is…?
Friendship, love and daily practice to become a better person.
When real life occasionally eats you, as it does to us all, what keeps you coming back?
The fact that people actually care about me and that no matter how far we are and how well we know each others, we are Gray Sisters at heart.
How are you “Gray” on the site and/or in real life?
Very I tend to be diplomatic or anyway I try to create harmony and solve conflicts in real life. I try to always be objective, whenever it's possible. I'm the person my friends call if they need advice and my Warder can confirm that ^^ I am not "cold" by any means tho. I'm very passionate and I care deeply about people. Just don't want any drama so I try to solve it or snap it on the bud
What are your hobbies aside from reading?
Writing, photography and WoW. Yes WoW takes a lot of my time
What do you do for work or school in real life?
I'm a customer support officer. I deal with queries and complains and try to make people happier
I have been studying for a degree in Psychology but I didn't finish it yet. At the moment I have been looking for a new job and I am waiting for an answer from a job I really really hope to get
Once more we find ourselves at the end of our interview. We hope that you feel as though you know our sister Rosh a little better now. Until next month, here is a little gem care of Rosh for you to ponder....
"Nothing is a problem unless we allow it to be"
Pie of the Month
Niniel's wonderfully amazing apple and blackberry crumble!!! (Honorary pie!)
Ingredients 6 Apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks 1 pint water, 3 heaped tbsp Sugar 2 handfulls of fresh or frozen Blackberries, or mixed berries
For the crumble: 170g plain flour 75g Butter 75g brown sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.
Put the apple chunks and water into a saucepan over a lowish heat and cook until the apples are soft and mushy; this should take about 15 minutes. With 3 minuets left add the berries to soften slightly.
You can use cooking apples for this but I find normal apples are much sweeter and you have to add less sugar.
Drain off access water. Add the sugar. Taste and add more sugar if needed.
Transfer the apple pulp into individual bowls or one big pie dish.
To make the crumble, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles very coarse breadcrumbs. However, if you rub it too much the crumble will not be crunchy.
Combine with the sugar.
Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the apple and bake for 15 mins for small crumbles or 30-45 mins for larger crumbles.
Best served warm with custard.
Grayt Exclusive
The 
icon has been questioned and debated time and time again. It’s almost as famous as the old question, “Is it gray or grey?” To settle the matter once and for all, a debate thread was posted in the Gray sitting room where Gray Aes Sedai, Aspirants, and other guests were allowed to vote on what exactly the Gray Aes Sedai is holding in the icon.
Many stuck to their guns and insisted that the Aes Sedai in was holding a flashlight. Alyria Sedai posted: "You know how I feel about this" as she has made a stand for the icon many times in the past. Including in another thread where she gave http://www.cafepress.com/tarvalon/1055974 as proof.
But our grayt HoA, Magz Sedai responded, Oh, I agree with you, Lyri! That chick is totally holding a lantern or torch of some sort to light the way! However, this chick is holding a megaphone filled with french fries: And I wouldn't have it any other way."
The conversation went on to include that Elays Sedai thought fries were “the bomb” and Lii Sedai being sad that they weren’t onion rings instead (which was echoed by many other grays ). In fact, the “flashlight” option had two votes. It is a mystery who the other vote was from.
Another option was a “pie shooter” which also got two votes. Arie, a Gray aspirant, posted, I completely support it as a Pie Thrower (Mine is named 'Snoops'!), however when I first saw it I thought 'Demeter', Persephone's Mother, with her bushel of wheat. Fair, Motherly and all that. Both fit, but it honestly looks to me like a Goddess holding Wheat. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Demeter.png"
The other vote was from Aja, another Gray aspirant, who said, "Totally my vote is pie shooter! PIe is much more lickable!"
There was an “other” option in case somebody thought it was something totally different than the suggested items. Melearlin Sedai posted, "I rather think it looks like a broom!"
The most popular option is that the Aes Sedai is holding fries. This option received six votes! Velaris Sedai, Aspirant Addelyn, and myself made three of the votes. At the most recent Gray gathering (a party at Vel’s house), Velaris, Addelyn, and myself sought proof that it was fries and found it...
Overall, there were 11 votes. Eighteen percent of the votes were for “flashlight” and another eighteen percent were for “pie shooter.” Nine percent voted “other” and thought it looked like a broom. But the winner of this debate is FRIES with over half of the votes at 55%
Quitter's Journal
Quitting Part 2
By Jordan Rayne
Okay everyone, I FAIL!!! I didn't write a little blurb about quitting, then edit and shorten it for everyone to read easily... which is what I was planning to do. Instead, I'm just going to tell you.
Using the Nicoderm CQ patches has helped a lot with the physical withdrawl symptoms... but not so much with the motions. So I've taken to listening to audio books and crocheting... sometimes... Also, I've been chewing gum and taking my dogs for walks and doing yoga. All of it has helped so much!
The first two weeks was the hardest for me. My roommate smokes still, and so I'd follow her outside and have a drag or two off her cigarette... once or twice I even had a whole one... but I didn't buy any!
Then I decided if I was going to quit, then I was going to QUIT!!! Another week goes by and I still hadn't smoked. And all of sudden, I noticed that my friends stink!!! It's disgusting! And I can't believe I ever smelled like that!!!
Week 7 of not smoking is starting now, and we just bought our second box of Step 2 patches. Next week we'll get Step 3, for two weeks, and then we're done! Trust me, you will all know if it's a success!
I do doubt at times, even now, that I'll be able to stay a quitter... there have been some really stressful days that have been a true test, and honestly I didn't think I'd make it through those, but I did. I'm still here, and I'm still a quitter!
Stay tuned for the last chapter in the Quitter's Journal!
'**Around the beginning of June, Jojo let me know that she successfully went off the patch, and has stayed a non-smoker since.**
That's it for now -- we'll be back next month with more news, pies, and totally relevant information!
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