clo_again

But no! The Gnomes of Fate decided my life has been filled with the uncomplicated lately and from half five onwards phone calls and texts have come trickling in, each designed to make my life that little bit more complicated. Helped wonderfully by the fact that I now have a grand total of 1p of phone credit and no money in my back account.

Why do you hate me gnomes? What did I do?

One specific phone call from the parental now means I'll be spending the rest of the night in the company of Simon Pegg's commentary on Big Nothing and many, many bags and boxes as I pack up my stuff two days earlier than I thought at 4:30pm this afternoon. Everything else is being poked and prodded in a faintly despairing attempt to make it fit around said parental's arrival at lunchtime. Maybe. Sometime around then. If I gave them a timeframe like that I'd get hung up on. Add to this the fact that it's slowly dawning on me how much I don't want to leave and I swear, I will break the next thing that annoys me.

And oh Jesus I need to empty and clean the big fish tank too, crap crap crap. My parents owe me for this.

IN OTHER NEWS OF THE GOOD AND SHINY KIND. I figured out how to add extra space between my journal entries. Plus. Miko made us delicious sushi last night and the birthday cake I made for her and K turned out wonderful (already have a tag for cake. Am genius.) Plus. At least one of the annoying things tomorrow has been sorted via use of flatmate's phone; as long as the parental is on time, it'll all be shiny. Plus. Went to cinema. Only to see Fantastic Four 2 which was fairly dire (the dialogue was pretty much uniformly cliche with the odd hilarious line that made all the crap worthwhile. "Killed by a rockslide." *sporfles*) but still mildly entertaining. Plus. Henman won today. Plus. Simon Pegg asked me to marry him-- no wait, that's a lie. Actually I'm all out of pluses but life is pretty good regardless of tomorrow's insanity. Except I keep missing Wimbledon but I'm not sending the desktop home with my stuff tomorrow as originally planned for Thursday because I'll be damned if I'm missing four whole days of it. Yes. Dammit.

A gets her degree results tomorrow. I freak out a little more with each person because it reinforces that I'm getting mine Friday. Only, there are five people on this floor alone who'll be walking up at 11:30am to check our results. We all want to walk up by ourselves. There is *one door* out of our flat.

I suspect there may be a slight logistics problem. Hm.

It's taken me like two hours to type this entry and I still haven't started packing. Should probably go do that. Maybe after a bacon and egg sandwich. Mmmmmm. Sandwich.

edit: Also, in light of the suckiness that is me leaving university (ignore that I'm coming back in two weeks for graduation. IT DOESN'T COUNT. REALLY.) have decided to indulge myself in a happy lady-crush on Edgar Wright. Not only is he pretty but he's the only person I've seen outside of superhero movies that could truthfully wear a "Mine is an evil laugh!" shirt. He genuinely has an Evil Overlord laugh. Head thrown back and everything. See? Doctor Evil's laugh wasn't that evil.

It's fantastic.

There is some serious hilarity going on over on fandom_wank. I suspected that last wank about gay rights might set something going splodey but this is new levels of unrelated-splode. Though playing the drinking game of 'drink a shot every time another comment uses the word 'serious' would make for fun all round. Also, there are macros. Yay!

It was our end of term festival today. Dodgemsomg. I have video of me driving very badly and cackling while Miko yells about people not being able to drive these days in the background.

But you can't have it. Because I don't have the camera cable to transfer it. Alas. You can't have the one of me trying to stay on the bucking plastic rodeo bull either. Thankfully.

Also, I won a stuffed horse on Hook-A-Duck (I say won; that game is surprisingly easy when you're twenty-one instead of six and can actually hold the pole) which for no logical reason (nothing to do with me having won it via a duck game actually) has been christened Cartmel Duck. The queue for the face painting was too long though. Bitterness. But I haz a cheezeburger instead.

And Doctor Who starts in less than an hour.

In conclusion: today is made of awesome.

Derren Brown is a shockingly, delightfully rude man. Not sure what I was expecting from Tricks of the Mind but it certainly wasn't Noel Edmunds and rimming included in the same sentence (something which has scarred me for life, Derren, and for which part of me will never forgive you.) I'm only a couple of chapters in because I keep forgetting it's a very interactive book - he expects you to make pendulums and do card tricks and such - and I keep picking it up about 3am for 'something to read before I go to sleep'. Have to say, the pendulum trick is pretty nifty though. Ideomotor movement. Why can I learn new words and facts easier from a delightfully rude Derren Brown than mindlessly dull English tutors hm?

And why am I excited about the Hot Fuzz DVD when there's still more than a week before I'll get my hands on it? *Why*? I can't remember being this excited about a DVD release before. On related-lines, kinda sad Miko won't be here to come see Run, Fatboy, Run with me in September. I'd forgotten how fun it is to have the same fangirly passion as someone you see everyday. I'll have to get hill2k and dukedee to come and fangirl with me instead. ;) And maybe by the time Pegg/Frost have the next one written and filmed she can come back for a visit.

I just realised that the several fics I've memorised, over many months, in one fandom, are all by the same author. Even though I watch two fanfic comms for that fandom and read anything with my favourite pairing. I'm not sure if that says something about me or something about the fandom.

Seen 17 episodes of Heroes. Still speechless at the sheer awesome of it all (and the Stan Lee cameo had me flailing into falling off my chair. The man gets everywhere! Like sand...) May have more coherent thoughts when I've seen the whole series. But I love Hiro, bless his geeky little socks. And Mohinder is useless but very pretty. And in the last couple of episodes? Peter is getting very cool. I foresee possible bitterness in my future.

Sssshhh. Say nothing. I'll hamstring anyone who spoils me for this, ;) It's that good.

... one of these days, I'll get dressed before 1pm. Really.

And life returns to normal with Sullen Fresher screaming in the next room and me taking Miko's suggestion to play Don't Stop Me Now very loudly. Only I was watching Hot Fuzz through Media Player the other day and fiddled with all the sound settings to get rid of the slight tinny-ness and the first way through the song had some very weird bass stuff happening. *blinks*

I'm all LJ-complained out, through tirdness rather than forgiveness at their spectaculary backpedelling apology. It's something but kinda too little, too late. Sorry but it really took some time to figure out how messed up this was. Was it the over-10,000 comments to the news posts, the 24,360 (and rising) member count of fandom_counts or countless angry emails, phone calls and faxes that finally clued you in? The wonderful fandom_wank has more discussion in the comments as to why it doesn't measure up.

It all makes more sense when Brad admits he doesn't work for LJ anymore.

I don't know, I've still lost faith in 6A/LJ-the-company. What I have gained though, is an appreciation of the wonderful community that is fandom and the knowledge that we really could take over the world. (Though only if it involved porn. ;) )

Dad is dropping by later on his way back from a meeting, to pick up some books and give me my American present, of which he said "Oh, I can put it in my pocket." -_- Men. That does however, mean I actually have to sort out which books I need to send home.

*stares blankly at overflowing bookshelves* Um. Yeah.

edit: Also, I promise to answer comments today. I'm sorry for sucking at it lately. Here I am bitching about how LJ 'must do better' but I should be applying it to me too.

Yayyayyayay Hot Fuzz! There was some sort of technical fault for about 25 minutes at first and I had "Nooo, you cannot ruin my all-week-plans!" panic but they fixed it and omgitwasawesome. I thought maybe I'd built it up in my head too much and it'd be disappointing but no, it's still up there with the best.

I don't know -- couldn't say -- if I like it more than Shaun, having watched it again. Maybe I like Shaun the tiniest fraction more because Simon Pegg seems more comfortable -- not better mind, just more *comfortable* -- playing the 'normal' guy for funsies rather than the straight man. Not that anything about him and Nick Frost is straight ahem.

Loved it. Thinking to see it again tomorrow. Anyone in Lancaster, 6:30pm in Bowland. You know you want to. Go on. ;)

Miko went with me and loved it too. To the point where she was non-too-subtly asking about Simon Pegg on the walk back and I promised to lend her Shaun. ^_^ Mwahaha, Pegg-love! Spread it around.

In more disturbing news, His Webbyness saved Lewis? Whiny-weasel-Lewis? Clearly he thought Daniel was simply too much of a threat to Orlando Bloom Lee, who I agree with kindoftrouble on and think it's pretty much his competition to take now. He was awesome this week.

Wow. 'm crazy tired and I miss a proper keyboard. Plus, laundry day tomorrow. But Hot Fuzz was awesome and that's what counts. ^_^

Just to say that the dissertation got handed in (ten minutes before the deadline. Even when I try not to be me, I can't help it) bound and hopefully correctly footnoted and with a copy on cd and everything. It looked very smart all properly bound and I felt hugely guilty because I still don't think it turned out that well, so having it look so official felt kind of a fraud. But A has ordered me not to think about it anymore and I won't, especially once I sort the giant stacks of books lurking around my room. Tomorrow. Tonight, I sleep.

Have decided to buy two new fish on Monday, because Kermit is looking lonely all by himself and Gonzo's too imbalanced to go back in the bigger tank. I would get them tomorrow but I need food and I can't carry both. In keeping with the Muppets theme, they're going to be called Beaker and Bunsen, short for Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. One day there will be a Miss Piggy but it needs to be the right fish. I'll miss saying Rizzo. It's such a fantastic word. To be honest, I can't see Gonzo lasting much longer the way he is, although I said that over two months ago too and yet he's still half-swimming around at odd angles.

A also just pointed out that in three weeks, I'll be finished at university (unless I end up resitting this year. *touch wood* Don't laugh. I've barely read a Shakespeare play all year and my exam is in three weeks.) Finished forever. It's an unspeakably depressing thought. Which is why I am buying fish, because I need to be distracted with shiny things.

Going to bed now. If I can make myself move and work out how to change my sheets while majorly sleep deprived. Cannot brain today. Have the dumb. *So much* dumb. Which is why I'm still on hiatus from life and the internets until at least tomorrow.

Sitting around the kitchen table with some flatmates:

Religious Fresher: *puts some postcards down on the table*
M: What's that?
Religious Fresher: Oh, just some church postcards. For the Easter services in case you know, you wanted to come along and find out what Easter's all about.
The other three of us: ...
Me: ...Easter's about chocolate.


I have been good. All year I've not said a word about religion, complained about the endless stream of Christians holding tea parties in our kitchen or, in any way, used my favourite joke about me worrying I'll burst into flames every time I set foot in a church. But if she so much as thinks of trying to push us churchwards, I will buy and wear that "I found Jesus: he was behind the sofa the whole time" t-shirt I've wanted forever. Wear it *all the time*.

She gave S a photocopied thing about 'what being a Christian means to me' too. It is a seriously depressing day when I'm getting preached at in my own flat. Honestly.

Maybe I should leave a copy of The Satanic Bible on the table. To make a point.

Just spent over an hour reading through part of K's dissertation for her, because it has to be handed in later today

And oh my god, I am never doing biology. Because dude. I started out trying to understand what I was reading but after dictionary.com-ing every other word for a couple of pages -- and half the time not understanding the definition either -- gave up and just grammar and typo checked it. Wow. My dissertation, not so much with the sheer mind-boggling levels of complicated.

Have new respect for crazy Science students. Ouch.

Walked into the kitchen expecting to find M's minions and instead found Miko with five people, who may have been three or four different nationalities between them. They're making sushi.

One of them's called *Salvador*. And another *Iko*.

You know, sometimes I love being in this flat. It's like the most interesting people on campus gravitate towards Miko.

Unfortunately this means spag bol will have to be postponed until after Top Gear since, as big as our kitchen is, more than three people cooking at once makes it feel crowded. Six, well that's asking for boiling water to get split and accidents with knives. I have cookies though. And tea. All is good.

*Salvador*. He said people call him Salva as a nickname. It's doesn't get cooler than that.

I should probably be using this next hour to do work, given that I've mainly spent this weekend hennaing my hair a couple of times (red with faint stripes of black. Coolest. Thing. Ever.) Only, I'm playing on Photoshop right now.

I have a *week off* after this week. I have no excuse for this. Bah.

edit: Was talking to A yesterday about the so-called evils of Harry Potter and she mentioned her Religious Studies teacher in school told them all Harry Potter was evil. To which I said he'd probably -- certainly -- have been fired if he'd done that in this country and she looked a bit blank and said they aren't that strict in Cyprus.

Then I pointed out that the same people who denounce Harry Potter are often the same people who believe and read the Bible right? And the Bible is full of miracles, people rising from the dead, food magically multiplying, ground rising beneath Jesus' feet, amazing cures and so on. And she said right. So, what's the difference between miracles and magic? In a way, the argument could be made that the Bible is just a 2,000 year old version of Harry Potter (or Harry Potter a 2,000 years more recent version of the Bible, yes, I know. Shush, you're distracting me from my rant).

And she looked a bit blank and said um. At which point we left the conversation, because even though she's far off being religious, she's still more of an advocate of it than me and we generally step aside from the point where it might become an argument.

But really. I got pissed enough at being forced to say the Lord's Prayer every day at school without so much as being asked what we thought about it. Teaching kids that Harry Potter is evil? In *school*? There are so many ways I find that unforgivable.

... And a random Japanese girl just walked into my room. Huh. You ever feel that you're living in a weird sitcom?

On the plus side, I have Jack Daniels fudge. Downside, I finally updated Media Player and it crashed my computer. Twice. Which I have to say, is bloody irritating.

HOWEVER. Aside from that and my sudden lack of ability to make any icons worthy of the title, I did get Robin Hood tonight (the first time in a couple of weeks I've actually got to watch it on Saturday), plus spag bol, plus I've sat around all day re-reading an old favourite book so it isn't exactly as if I have anything to complain about. The flat's unnaturally quiet with all sorry, two of the freshers and one of the third years (random: I found out the other day that her last name is Tam and had a total Firefly-geekery-squee moment), so that's nice. Amusingly Obsessive Religious Fresher is still here 'til Tuesday (she's coming back on January 1st too, which is vaguely baffling given that most freshers give their left arms to go home and stay there). She was wearing the CU (Christian Union) hoodie she lives in when Dad was here to pick up my stuff and I could see him boggling when she came into the kitchen while we were there. I have to admit, it's more than a little disconcerting to have someone's clothes asking you "SO WHO'S DIED FOR YOU TODAY HUH? HUH?!! NOBODY, THAT'S WHO, BECAUSE THEY ALL SUCKETH IN COMPARISON TO OUR GUY! HAH HAH!"

Okay, it doesn't say that. It's just, that's kind of the meaning it conveys. And no, I have not cracked up or made any comments or even flinched at the stream of invitations to carol concerts and church get-togethers. I am however, having to resist a childish urge to buy a "I found Jesus: he was behind the sofa the whole time!" t-shirt over Christmas and wear it when I come back. Because dammit, I am not three years old.

At least-- not most of the time. Watch this space.

Okay, so yeah I'm bored and exasperated that everyone in this entire fandom makes better icons than me. Still, chillin' and idly picking a train time to go home on Monday. Not to mention my Pirates advent calendar gleefully informed me that there are only nine days left to Christmas. NINE DAYS. Scary.

I actually started this post a good two hours or so ago, only to be distracted by A dropping in for her nightly chat. Mentioned the Accusatory Hoodie thing to her -- somewhat cautiously since I've always had the impression that she's more religious than me -- only to have a bonding session over faith and people's attitudes toward it. We both agreed that the Doughnut-Bribing Christians on main square are hilarious in their utter missing of the point. "Have a doughnut! Embrace Jesus!" is basically their message. I kid you not.

We also digressed into the topic of swearing -- Accusatory Hoodie Fresher (from now on to be known as AHF) has said she doesn't, so it was a sort-of-related topic -- and it's made me want to watch Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back again. So, I'm thinking I will since this is the last night this year I'll be able to stay up late without having to worry about parents or getting up early the next morning.

Disclaimer: I mean absolutely no offense in the mockage contained within this post. I'm mocking AHF and perhaps the CU's ill-advised choice of hoodie slogans, not the wider institution. Okay, maybe a little bit. But you know, meaning nothing by it.

However, I make no promises about not buying That T-Shirt. We wants it. ;)

edit: I originally started this post three hours ago to say that yes, I know I'm behind on comments and flist stuff and, well, life, but I will catch up sometime soon. Hopefully tomorrow but this is me and my laziness. If I say tomorrow, it'll make it Tuesday. So, hopefully. :)