Here we go again.

[clo_again]

Had first tutorial of the new term, our new Poetry module to replace the old short story one. I miss George. Oh the new guy is nice, Irish, cheerful, friendly but after an hour and a half of *making* myself focus on poetry I can already tell this part of the course is going to be an uphill struggle. A tiny part of me is still stuck on the idea that the vast majority of poetry is written by people who can't/can't be bothered to write short stories, with the notable exceptions of people who write poetry well. Which is such a tiny number that wading through the reams of -- to pick up a word from our new tutor -- shite to get there seems too tedious to be worth the effort. Not to mention we were looking at a poem and he said rather disparagingly that it would take a short story writer two or three thousand words to say the same. Um, no, it could be done quite neatly in five hundred, in a drabble of one hundred by someone good enough but most short stories tend to be longer because people want to feel they're getting value for their money when they buy anthologies. (And because non-internet people seem to have this whole attitude towards drabbles; I handed in ten drabbles written around a theme to my creative writing group last year and the tutor dismissed them as "an exercise".) Fill an anthology of hundred-word drabbles and I'd bet money on it selling less than an anthology of three-thousand-word-long stories. Yet people will cheerfully pay more money than I'd spend on a novel, for a book of poems. Beats me as to why.

Thankfully we talked him into putting the deadline for submissions back from 9am Wednesday to 9am Thursday. he was thinking of having it on Tuesday! Considering I have a 5pm deadline on Monday for my other seminar... yeah, that would've been fun. Thursday morning I can cope with. And hey, at least the seminar is first thing Monday and then it's gone, I don't have to pretend to be interested in poetry -- apart from when I have to write my own terrible stuff to submit -- for the rest of the week.

I meant to spend some time catching up with everyone last night. I was so proud of myself because I'd spent two solid hours reading Middlemarch and reached page 100, so I was going to reward myself with a lazy few hours watching Curse of the Were-Rabbit, maybe drinking a JD & coke, generally getting ready for lectures. Only, joy of joys, flatmates happened. wolves8 --who I was enjoying talking too after a month of not seeing her, when said flatmates decided to invade join in -- tactfully extracted herself after a few minutes which I thought might be a hint to the other two but no! They then spent the next hour and a half looking up train ticket prices and looking for hostels in Edinburgh on my computer, after we'd agreed to sort it out Tuesday because I was too busy today. It gets to the point where you're tired and the time you'd wanted to spend relaxing is all gone and they just have to look at one more fucking map of Edinburgh when we're not even going for two weeks. I was ready to commit murder -- that or burst into tears -- by the time they actually noticed I was getting desperate and left at close to midnight. It's not even like they come to see me, they come because they're bloody well bored and think that I must equally have nothing better to do so they'll come and waste my time as well as theirs. Which is the point; I always have stuff to do, I don't mind them coming to see me for a little while but an hour and a half doing nothing particulary important, at almost midnight on a Sunday when I'd *told* them I had a busy day today -- that's pushing it.

So, I now have a Post-it that reads "PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB" stuck ready to the back of my door. When I particulary want to be left alone, like when I'm working or watching something on TV that I don't want to miss or when I just need an hour of me time, then it's getting stuck on the outside of my door. And when it's there I'm not letting anyone in, I'm not acknowledging anyone who knocks because if they're too dumb to read the post-it then it's not my problem. If I can guarantee just a couple of hours a day when I can be absolutely positive that no one will disturb me, then I think I'll cope with the uninvited invasions better. I won't have to tell them to go away, I won't have to explain when I'm feeling shitty, I just stick the Post-it up and they'll know to just leave it until later. I'm going to road-test it with Hamster's show later. I'm tired of flatmates using me as a distraction technique because they need to waste some time. They can bloody well go and get a hobby.

Oh crikey, this is an appallingly boring entry. o_O Hello Monday. Are you over yet?

EDIT: Oh Timmy, you break my heart. :( I'd even give up an Andy/Roger final for you to win Wimbledon this year you know.

Andy is, for once, working on a 'no stress for fans' principle and seems to be sailing along quite happily. Though Roger would probably mock him forever for losing to a qualifier -- mock in that quietly, teasingly smug Roger way -- so it's not like he had any choice but to walk right through this match. :)

Comments

[kindoftrouble.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I've never had to deal with flatmates, really, but that sucks :( *hugs*

It all went so wrong for poor Tim :( *gives him a hug*

I liked what I saw of Andy's match. It had moment of stress, but mainly he was having fun and just ripping his forehands, and he obviously didn't want to bagel his opponent but he was pulling off shots which totally shouldn't have gone in near the match. That was great fun. Mats Wilander and whoever was with him spoke for 15 minutes on the bendyness of Andy Roddick, which just amused me. I swear he's bendier than the last time I saw him play.

[kindoftrouble.livejournal.com]

Er, near the end of the match. *pokes brain*

[clo.livejournal.com]

*giggles* I didn't even notice. :)

[clo.livejournal.com]

*hugs back* I think it just gets to me because I'm not the most social of people. *sighs* Hopefully if I can get them to stop bugging me while I'm watching TV it won't be so bad, because that's the one thing that really gets to me. *hugs back some more*

:( Definitely poor Tim. I wish he could do well, just to shut all the journalists up for once. He's so much better than they give him credit for. *hugs him too*

That sounds great. :) He really didn't look like he was having fun towards the end of last year, so hopefully it's all working for him again now. I love him when he's playing great tennis; he's just so much fun to watch. And now I really want to see him to compare bendyness. I didn't think it was *possible* for him to be bendier! Mmmm... bendy.

[kindoftrouble.livejournal.com]

Heh, yeah. Last year I was forever telling people that no, I don't want to go drinking with them at least four nights a week, and yes, I would prefer to stay in and watch DVDs. Sigh. Why aren't there more people like us?

I know, he's so much better than he gets credit for :( Stupid British press, though I guess Andy gets it with the American press too. I really wanted him to win. Well, I wanted him to win fast ;)

The end of last year he looked exhausted and as though he wanted to be anywhere but a tennis court. His injury break obviously did him a lot of good :) I've missed Andy. Well, the Andy that just goes for everything and plays well because I just love watching him. It's possible that I think he's more bendy because the last match I saw him play in he was injured. Mmm, bendy, indeed. I told myself I had to stop thinking about the bendy.

[clo.livejournal.com]

They've all sort of got the drinking thing now, though I still get pestered to go to the rock nights. (But new series of House interferes! Alas. ;) ) I don't get how going out all the time and spending a ton of money can be as fun as crashing in front of a good movie in pyjamas, with stacks of junk food. What we need is an option box on application forms, for people who'd prefer to stay in to tick so we all get put in the same flat. :-) We're a minority group, we should stick together.

Everyone who doesn't watch tennis seems to just go with the newspapers say about him and it's really sad. :( The press should support their athletes, not attack them at the slightest sign of weakness. Winning would've been nice, winning faster even better. ;)

Never thought I'd say it but I'm glad he ended up missing TMC and having the extra time off. It was so sad to watch him at the end of last year; having our Andy back makes up for the insanity that was TMC. I love watching Roger but it's like watching a textbook sometimes; Andy's much more... unexpected I guess is the word. Watching his serve is just awesome. Mmmm, whichever way, I'm glad we have a truly bendy Andy again. And don't repress the bendy! ;) It's fun to watch Andy matches and think about how to... *utilise* the bendy in interesting ways. ;)

[tasheila.livejournal.com]

His Swiss opponent looked like him. I spent about 20 minutes cheering for the wrong guy!

Jim Courier is back! Can't wait till he starts teasing The Kimster. ;)

[clo.livejournal.com]

*giggles* I've cheered for the wrong people at times. An Andy lookalike on tour; that could actually be fun.

Aw, I wish I got commentary on Livescores. Though I don't know who'll be doing commentary on the matches the BBC are showing... I love the interesting commentators. :) They make the match even better.

[fionaandlossi.livejournal.com]

Eugh, flatmates -_- the stories I could tell, the pictures I could show...

What are you coming up to Edinburgh for? I'd offer you a cheap spot on my floor, but my room is a tip w/ barely enough room for me to walk across the floor right now. :p

[clo.livejournal.com]

They can be the most annoying things at times can't they? -_- Ggrrr.

Just general shopping and sightseeing, since out of the five of us going, only me and I think my friend L have been before. Are you in Edinburgh?! Oh I need to keep up with these things. *headdesk* Hostels are looking pretty cheap and I wouldn't dump five of us on you because that'd just be cruel - ;) - but you want to meet up for a coffee or something? I have a sad lack of tennis slashers around me; meeting up would be awesome. :) And don't worry -- my floor is desperately in need of being hoovered right and I can't be bothered to do it. We don't need tidy, it only gets messy again!

[fionaandlossi.livejournal.com]

One of them, is lovely and sweet and Irish...the other two...Let me put it this way, the two of them managed to transform our kitchen into this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/Lossi/MankyKitchen/DSCN1933.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v614/Lossi/MankyKitchen/DSCN1932.jpg

That's the mess of two fucking people >.<

Sure, coffee (or in my case something w/ sweet, sweet caffiene sans coffee taste) sounds good. I think there's just a lack of tennis slashers in general. I don't see why it's not more popular, I mean it's a fandom filled w/ pretty and talented men who take their shirts off on a regular basis!