T'eyla Minh

Fandom dream last night (filtered), about Ugly Betty. ( Some rather boring pondering thereon. )

Bugger off, life. Go and bother someone else.

(Oh, and the typing faga continues: 1 hour and 45 minutes for half a tape this morning. Which is still better than nearly 6 hours for a full tape, but this morning it was an urgent. In my brain, "urgent" translates as "back within an hour" - and she sent an email in the course of typing it. Or more than likely before even starting it. I might take photocopies of our typing book and highlight the offences to Marie when I have my supervision, whenever that is, because it's getting silly. It reflects badly on me and our team's turnover, because when things don't come back within the expected (i.e. 'my') time, I'm the first port of call for the moaning.)

I should sign this off. I'm far too tired to be trying to think, let alone string coherent sentences together.

Haven't really done anything - quiet weekend, writing fanfiction. Second choir rehearsal tonight and I hope to God this bloody opera stuff gets easier.

Went swimming with herringprincess for the first time in five weeks yesterday and didn't drown - we managed eight lengths but it took a bit longer than usual. I'm hoping swimming will be good for my back, anyway.

The latest Ugly Betty fic is coming on in leaps and bounds, which I suspect is because of the hiatus. I really need to finish the other one, but may post the first chapter of this one (hopefully tonight or tomorrow) as it's now finished, to make people aware of my presence again... It's not like the other one is in plot limbo, I just keep losing inspiration for it...

Vicky (Uni Vicky) has invited me to EuroDisney with her parents and herself (four-people-are-cheaper, obviously) some point next year so that'll be cool. May have to take a day out to go to Paris, though. Also would love to be able to make my own way there via plane and train again, but suspect that would be rather stupid on my own, even though I remember the route. The train navigation was my favourite bit of the holiday in September, second only to the Palais Garnier. I hate being reliant on tour guides and taxis, it takes all the fun out of things...

I think that's about everything. Watch this space for the UB-fic update, if anyone cares...

The past two days were most enjoyable...

On Saturday we did very little indeed except go out to the pub for dinner (mostly because it was such a nice day), ending up a little bit further afield than usual at the Kings Arms (I think), a local Amber Inn pub. I had a chicken madras with a side of potato and spinach, and Paul had a sort of mushroomy peppercorn sauce thing which was apparently very nice...

Then Paul headed off to shabe's birthday / house-warming party and I went home to mess about online for a bit.

I've done a bit of work on my newest Phantom fic, entitled "Whisper" and based on Katie Melua's I Cried For You. I'm currently writing two bits of it at the same time, though not intentionally. I started it somewhat in the middle and then decided to go from the beginning, so hopefully at some point the two bits will meet up... So far, quite pretentious. A beta (or at least a read-through) would be much appreciated just to see if any of it makes sense.

Yesterday was also lovely. We went to my mum's in a taxi, whereupon we had an impromptu barbecue. When the sun was out it was very warm, but the wind was blooy freezing. We battled it nonetheless and the food was very nice indeed.

David had bought mum a mini chocolate fountain so we tried to use that outside... and soon gave up when the chocolate ended up over most of the garden because of the gale. So that was amusing.

David then invited over Blanche and Chloe from next door to help us finish off the chocolate. Apparently David has befriended our previous neighbours-from-Hell as 'damage limitation' - it's Blanche's other, older daughter (Kim) and Kim's brats (Shannon and Courtney - chavalicious!) who are the problem, as they're over there constantly despite having somewhere to live of their own. Hence, David's plan is to try and get Blanche on our side so she can maybe stand up to Kim and make her bugger off to her own home.

In nine years of living at that house, it's the first time Blanche has set foot inside the front door, which I hadn't even realised... She is the self-confessed "neighbour from 'Ell from next doower" (you try and phonetically spell Yammish and see how far you get. :P) but seems to be otherwise pleasant.

Going 'home' always reminds me how much I love the accent. There's something quite comforting about it, something more lilting than Brummie.

Anyway. David got slightly drunk and decided to pay our taxi fare home (he gave the driver moer than enough to cover it, apparently) and I am slightly hungover this morning but at least I can leave early and things haven't been too annoying.

We're going to see Cats on Wednesday night, so that'll be nice... if only because these days, "Jellicle Cats" doesn't make me want to throw myself under a bus. The UK tour ain't London, but it's better than never seeing it again...

As punishment for all the eating out and subsequent overspending, my body has somehow managed to put on half a stone.  Half a frelling stone.  Bringing my weight up to 11st.  Given I was 'officially' overweight at a stone lighter, this is incredibly annoying.

I would like to think that it's because the swimming has been doing some good and turned the fat into muscle (which is, of course, heavier), or my scales are rubbish, but somehow I don't believe either of those, and the real reason is that I'm a big fat pig.

( On and on and Ariston... )

I had a lot more to say but since having a bath my eyes are tired and I need to sleep...

Last night was odd...

I started feeling incredibly tired as soon as I got on the bus, to the extent that I read a bit of the Birmingham Mail I'd picked up for Paul, then sat staring out of the window. Too tired, even, to remember to put my MP3 player on.

I got in and asked if he wouldn't mind cooking, then went to lie down for a nap, in which I probably got about 20 minutes total sleep in the hour and a half I was in the bedroom.

At about 7.45 I gave up and dragged myself back out of bed, still deathly tired, and went to watch some rubbish television while Paul cooked (and filled the kitchen with smoke - our grill needs cleaning again), then went online for as long as my brain could cope, then watched Big Brother, then went to bed and attempted to sleep until 1.30am.

Obviously, I was too tired to sleep, as well. My eyes were aching but my brain wouldn't shut up, and then I'd just nod off and Paul would wake me up (either with "Are you awake?" or just by snoring...) so, all in all, a horrible night's sleep...

And naturally, I am today exhausted. Apparently I even look tired, which is an achievement. At least it's Friday. Tomorrow I need to take my bike down to Halfords for them to have a look at it... hopefully it WILL only be £25 to give it a service and not anything more.

Talking of Big Brother, I realised last night that Charley really, horribly reminds me of Sandra. I think it's the accent more than anything else, but wow. She has the same typical Londoner attitude and doesn't know when to shut up. She even looks a little bit like her...

*shudders* I just can't get rid of the woman.

I think that's about it. Finale of Ugly Betty tonight, and even though I'm thoroughly spoiled I'm still very excited. At least the fandom is steadily growing and there should be a fair amount of fanfic to keep me going between seasons... besides, end-of-season fanfic is ALWAYS fun. :)

Today was one of those days of running into people I know, and all in the space of 30 minutes.

Firstly, I Becky P (a trainee who has now moved on to pastures new) spotted me on the bus, though at first I didn't recognise her due to her hair being different...

Then I spotted broken_sticks bus surfing as he got off.

And then I saw composim coming out of work as I got off the bus.

Small world, really, innit?  Kings Heath, I mean. ;)

Today has been quite productive.  This morning I put some washing out to dry, and put the bed linen in to wash.  Messed around online for a bit, and then paul helped me put the bed linen out before we popped out to Somerfield to buy cheese.  Well, technically we went out for broccoli, but since the only cheese left in the drawer was parmesan, a cheese shop was overdue.

We came back with mature cheddar, wensleydale, red leicester and brie.  So at least now when we offer you cheese and biscuits, the options won't be "Er... oh.  Cheddar."

And then we had a bit of a spring clean.  Paul vaccuumed the stairs for me and then I did the landing and hallway, and we put boxes in the attic so the bit at the top of the stairs is now clear and ready to receive bookcases.  And once we have bookcases I'll be more inclined to sort through the boxes in the attic properly...

The washing has been brought in, also, because the neighbours are having a barbecue.  I am muchly looking forward to Alison's barbecue on the 19th, even though it does fall on the same day as my concert.  Barbecued food will be a nice reward, I think. :)  Oh, and if Alison is reading, there's a gas barbecue being sold for just under £60 at the discount 'miscellaenous furniture' store by McDonalds.  Failing that, apparently Somerfield are selling various types of barbecues quite cheap as well.

I am going to attempt to make a strawberry parfait for said barbecue, if I can get a tin to freeze it in.  I may make lemon cake as well.  It depends how creative or culinary I'm feeling. ;)

As mentioned yesterday, the overhead views of Birmingham on GoogleMaps are now in more detail, so in honour of the occasion, have some random icons:



Rather self-explanatory.

If anyone wants one (and you live in a well-developed area, i.e. not a small village in the middle of nowhere), gimme your postcode!  And any, er, distinguishing features about your house that I could spot from the air, i.e. "bright pink car on drive" or "second house after the gap" or something like that.  A house number won't really be any good ;)  They will obviously be subject to the level of zoomification that Google gives; most major cities seem to have a very close zoom level, but then there are sections of field where you can see each blade of grass, but not the house ten minutes down the road.  I suppose it depends on where the satellite is.

I will screen comments in case people are uber-paranoid about people stealing their postcodes.

Here's the entry I forgot to email home yesterday. I would put it under a cut, but there are cuts within it...

---

After my last entry on Saturday I finished the majority of chores (put half the clothes away, had tea), had a bath, and watched the end of the 100 Greatest Tear-Jerkers thing on Channel 4. I was quite horrified to discovered that Titanic came third (must... kill... public...) but that was made up for by The Green Mile coming second. I can't remember what was first... I might go and see if the full list is on their website as I'm intrigued what ended up on there... What was more annoying even than Titanic was the fact that it was being presented by Jimmy Carr. They'd have this lovely, melodramatic clip from a film dealing with a sensitive issue (like Sophie's Choice or The Elephant Man), and then he'd open his big mouth and make me want to slap him. There are times when sarcasm is appropriate, and times when it isn't. A list of great tear-jerkers is one of those latter times.

Jimmy Carr has apparently studied the 'science' of jokes, or so he was saying to Jonathan Ross. Which, I suppose, rather explains why he's such a crap comedian. There's no point finding out what makes a 'perfect joke' if you can't deliver it properly, or with any sense of self-deprecation. He takes himself FAR too seriously to be even remotely likeable.

On Sunday, we didn't do very much. We had to pop out, firstly for eggs, and then for more beer for Paul. Luckily, both the halal butcher/greengrocer and the off licence were open.

Paul played more of his silly UFO game (five hours) and I watched the first two episodes of a Channel 4 dramatisation of Zadie Smith's White Teeth, the first chapter of which I remember reading at uni. Might look for that on Amazon... There are still two episodes left to go, so I'll see if I can squeeze them in this week, before they disappear off the replay thing...

We cooked our enormous leg of lamb (£7.00ish from Aldi) and invited Lisa up for Sunday lunch. The lamb was frelling gorgeous, if I do say so myself. We watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (I'd forgotten how funny it was) which Noel got me for Christmas, and then Lisa went downstairs.

I've taped a programme on the Turin Shroud and The Passion of the Christ to get around to watching at some point. I say 'at some point' because I still have a load of stuff to watch from when we moved in, let alone Christmas...

On Monday we had lamb sandwiches for brunch and then headed out to go to the cinema to see Sunshine. ( Reviewish and spoilers )

We also saw lots of trailers for several things, including 28 Weeks Later. I'm not sure on the plausibility of a sequel for 28 Days Later, but it looks as visually interesting as the first one and might be worth a look... My favourite bit of 28DL was the swooping shots of a deserted London, and I'm not sure how they can top that...

I need to make a list at some point of all the stuff coming out from May onwards so that I don't miss anything. There are at least six things on the list already:

1. 28 Weeks Later (11 May, I think)
2. Spiderman 3 (which I'm not THAT keen on, but will only kick myself for not seeing at the cinema afterwards)
3. Shrek 3 (WOO!)
4. Pirates 3 (*bounces*)
5. Harry Potter 5 (must finish book before June.)
6. The Simpsons Movie (in July)

Plus a few others, no doubt. Saw IV should be due at Hallowe'en as well...

Anyway. After that we tried to get a drink in the Figure of Eight. The barmaid had poured my drink and THEN decided that she was going to check for ID. According to the Wetherspoons magazine all of their pubs are now cracking down / joining in with the "Under 21" rule. So that rather put a damper on things, and after that I couldn't be bothered with pubs any more so we went home and got a curry.

At this rate I'm going to have to carry my bloody passport around with me, which can only result in my losing it right before I actually need it.

( Pub Moan )

ANYWAY. Moaning aside... er, here's more moaning.

( Work Moan )

Just as well I'm not at choir tonight (we get this week off) and I can leave at a reasonable time. They probably don't even need me here today, but since Noor is off (seriously, you have to book you leave three years in advance to beat her to it...) I have to be in. Ordinarily at Easter I take the concessionary on Tuesday and then Wednesday to Friday as leave, but that isn't an option here. I've got next Monday and Tuesday off, but that's only because it's our anniversary.

We're supposed to be going to Bacchus, assuming they're not shut or something equally annoying, and possibly Dudley Castle, as it's nearer and cheaper than Warwick Castle. I also wanted to get some photos in Warstock Cemetery but I doubt my camera will hold together long enough and I'll spend most of the time trying to keep it in one piece.

ARGHEVERYTHINGISANNOYING!

I will be calm. I will. I am only in for four days. *breathes*

(Added, 1.40) Apparently Noor is going to be off sick for two weeks, which means two more weeks on my own seething at being 'helped' when there's not enough work to warrant it. I am SO taking some well-earned leave at the end of this, dude. Maybe the rest of the week off after the first May bank holiday...

I'm considering mid-June or early July for the theme park trip/s, so watch this space. I'll post entrance fee/train deal details nearer the time to get a better idea of numbers.

---

Yesterday evening I went to bed at 10.30 because I was tired (it's paid off, though, as I actually feel like I got enough sleep for once). I'm sure Paul thought I'd gone to bed early because I was annoyed with him for snapping at me. Amazon are selling Dead Like Me season 2 and Life on Mars series 2 at discounted prices (DLM2 for £30 instead of £40, and LOM2 for £21.85 [ish] instead of £40.) There are also a couple of books I want to get as well. Knowing that Paul also wants to see DLM and LOM series 2, I suggested we should get them, to which he replied that "we don't have the money".

To which I replied, "I'll remember that the next time you want a crate of beer". He'd had a bad day at work and was cranky, which is fair enough, and it's not like I don't take my bad days out on him, but still. I was thinking of him when I suggested it.

( Money Moan )

*sigh* I'm sure it'll get better. It's just been like this since about February, and it's frustrating.

Roll on the April pay rise, please. I could do with a few extra quid a month...

I shall now stop moaning and get this emailed / posted...

I have an inhaler, thanks to wrysprygoat.  :)  I need to give it back when I've got my prescription on Tuesday, so will most likely pass it to herringprincess on Wednesday evening.

Ahhh... clear lungs!

So, yes.  Paul has gone to play badminton with Drew, hopefully to be a weekly thing as part of his new 'exercise regime'.  I will clean the kitchen floor and probably do the washing up and give the bathroom a bit of a clean as well, after this entry and when I've cooled down a bit.  It's a lovely day. I went out to get toilet roll and pick up said inhaler from Drew, and ended up having to take my coat off.  Also, I've put the washing outside to dry for the first time since we moved in.  Which reminds me, I must collect all the stuff from upstairs as well...

Early this afternoon I watched Birth.  I admit to having zoned out for about 10 minutes in the middle because it was slow-moving and a bit confusing, but what I saw was very good.  I have no frelling clue what it all means, but I think some of it was quite daring.  Might try and watch it again if I get chance, as I think it would benefit from further viewings...

I have nothing much else to say.  I am currently working through reading all of Midasgirl's fic on FFN, as I was out of the fanfic-loop for so long I missed an entire story.  And then I'll work on reading Reine's.  I really want to get back into fanfiction again.  I stayed up to finish reading a story last night until five to one in the morning, and I'd forgotten how much fun it was.  The emotions run so much higher in the small hours, and it makes the whole experience much more satisfying.

Ho hum. Chores to do, anyway.  Also need to change the bed and vacuum the mattress...

( Under here )

Well, today was a bit mad in terms of work.  They were helping me this morning because - again - the pile was full of stuff from last night.  In the meantime, a whole bunch of urgent stuff came in, so I wasn't getting through the yesterday-stuff in the slightest, so they kept coming up to get rid of it... so by the afternoon, when they'd cleared the 'backlog' but there were STILL urgents coming in, I was starting to flounder a little bit... but after some manic super-fast typing, I managed to calm it all down again... there's about six things in the tray for tomorrow, plus whatever comes in overnight, and then the saga starts again. ;)

I suppose I'm just so used to NOT getting any help that it's a rather alien concept... but given the fiasco yesterday with the amendment that took 50 minutes of retyping, sometimes the help is less t han helpful.  I think I need to take a list into my 1-to-1, if it ever happens...

I must post a picture for jackiesjottings to show her the current length of my hair, at least before I cut it all off again.  I've still got the bright pink dye from last year that I was going to use for Pride and didn't get around to, so I've decided - or at least half-decided - to cut my hair short again and dye it pink for the duration.  I don't know what work will have to say about it, but at least the pink eventually dyes out and turns blonde.  Once the blonde has grown out I'll cut it again, and then start to grow it out - at least with straighteners that annoying in-betweeny stage won't be too aggravating.

It's just reaching a point now where it's getting annoying... it tangles as soon as look at it, and my original reason for growing it was that I was bored with it being short becuase I couldn't do anything with it - and I'm not doing anything with it now anyway.  Besides, I don't want to spend another summer like the last one with a huge mass of hair at my neck.  Yes, short, easy-to-manage hair for me, I think...  I'm only growing it out again because Paul has moaned so much about preferring it long...

So, yes, a photo, for posterity.

And that's that.  At least it's Friday tomorrow.