This week has been rather hectic. I can now rest happily in the knowledge that it is now the weekend, I only have a few things to do over the next few days and very soon I'll be filling my body with lovely alcohol.

I really enjoyed last week and especially last weekend. Em came over and we stuffed ourselves with fast food on the Friday. On the Saturday she ended up paying for a meal which cost over £30, but she has money now so I don't feel too guilty. ;) It was really weird to have her here but also really nice.

She stayed in the Guest Room, whose furniture and general layout seemed to be almost as old as my parents! Seriously. The phone was ancient with extremely dangerous wiring, the TV was at least 12 years old, one of the chairs looked like it was bought during the 70's and I was both surprised and elated to find out that it had a fairly large bath. The only problem with that being that the hot water would randomly stop after about three minutes.

I loved having her over and I'll be extremely disappointed if we don't meet up sometime during December (pre-Christmas or post-Christmas, I don't mind). I love her with all my heart and although I might feel lonely, sometimes I think to myself that having such a nice thing to look forward to once a month or so is worth waiting and studying hard for.

That sounded extremely cheesy and clichéd (eugh, anglicised spelling! NO!) but it's true. I promise not to ramble on about my gorgeous girlfriend until at least the annniversary post arrives. ;) That'll be December 5th, by the way.

Oh and I forgot to mention: It's not too long now until I take the JLPT Level 3 test! I know that some people think it's a waste of money to take it in the UK, but let's face it - I would rather take it here in the UK, properly study for a few years and then just go straight on to Level 1 than take Level 2 next year in Japan and probably fail it. Level 4 means nothing but Level 3 is the sign that you can actually communicate in Japanese and read about 300 kanji.

Anyway, I am currently in the middle of watching a very typical French film called Le Beau Mariage. Woman is having an affair with married man. Married man annoys her. Woman dumps married man. Amélie-esque love at first sight with best friend's cousin. Amélie-esque obsession with best friend's cousin. I'm not sure about the ending but I'll let you know.

Okay guys,
Following the recent fanfiction I posted, I thought it would be good to make a few things clear.

I enjoyed writing the fic and I will continue it. I promised Em that I'd do the whole thing as a birthday and Christmas present in one, and I don't go back on my promises. I've joined communities and might even become active in them. :P

Please, however, don't take me as an ardent slash writer. I don't write slash. I don't even write sex. I seriously have nothing against slash fangirls/fanboys (yes, the male equivalent does exist) and some of my friends and even my girlfriend are fairly big fans of slash. I just can't write it myself. I think it's a pretty wide genre to explore and requires a lot of talent and even experience in order for it to be good, of which I have neither.

If you're after crack and general crazy fic, I might be of service. I usually write poetry though and will continue to post whatever drabbles I can find hanging around my room both here and back home.

I'm sorry to anyone who might be even the tiniest bit disappointed in me. ;) Anyway, I have a French presentation on Amélie Nothomb today so I thought I'd "decorate" this post with a lovely picture of her in one of her many hats. Yes, I will be speaking a lot about her hats.

Title: TGWTG in Shakespeare! (Act I, Scene I)
Author: heirii
Pairings: So many throughout the fic will arise... Critic/Chick, Chick/Michael Bay, Critic/Benzaie, Benzaie/everyone, Spoony/everyone and Chick/Nella
Rating: PG-13
Author's notes: This is crack!fiction (or crack!script, I guess, since it's not actually a piece of prose). By no means is this supposed to be a piece of serious work. I rarely write serious fanfiction as I prefer poetry to prose. I've tried to keep the rhythm of the original as much as possible whilst updating the language at the same time. I may have changed some words for contextual reasons or omitted others, but don't burn me alive for it. I enjoy Shakespeare but Romeo and Juliet is not my favourite play. I did, however, enjoy writing it. Have fun reading!
Oh and I forgot to mention. I've added some French for Benzaie's speech, with me being a French student and all. I've added a translation at the end of each Act.

Oh and the most important point: I don't own Romeo and Juliet. Obviously that belongs to Shakespeare. The characters in the fic all belong to ThatGuyWithTheGlasses.com.


( Read more... )

Eugh. I have eventually got used to the noises outside of my accommodation. The chavs have been rather kind recently, but I suppose it's to do with the weather. Not even amazingly "hard" chavs would want to brave the midnight November cold.
I haven't made much progress on the Romeo and Juliet fic, but that is partly because I haven't had the time. I'm going to post it act by act, just so I can spread it out a little bit.

I'm working a ten-hour shift tomorrow. I know people like Twinkie can't complain, but I just wish it started earlier. I could deal with 10-8, but 2-11? That's going to be worse. Oh well. I'll just bring some pasta and have it during my break (I'm assuming it will be about 6 or 7pm?). I'm working at the Millennium Stadium, so lots of beer-filled New Zealanders galore! Yay!

I managed to get out loads of books. I noticed that some people had already started getting them out for their presentations/essays, so I realised that although mine aren't due in until Week 10 and Week 12 respectively (I'm one of the "middle" ones), having them due around this time was a bit tricky because the earlier people might renew the books or the later people might reserve them. Hence I've reserved them before the later people can get their grubby hands on them. ;) I've written my introduction on pilgrimage. Unfortunately, all the books on Japanese pilgrimage have been borrowed and aren't due back until late next week. I managed to get two books out on Japanese religion, though, and the books that I have with me already have a few chapters on Shinto and Buddhist practices. This will keep me going, I reckon!

With regards to my presentation, I've done the first few slides and started on notes. It's on Japanese nationalism so I managed to get a good amount of books out on that (we all have our own separate topics to do a presentation on). I'm going to do a pattern of one hour reading and one hour typing up every day, with one day being my presentation and the other day being my essay. Since my presentation is the most pressing one at the moment, today will be for that. ;)

On other matters, I am in love with Ovaltine. Actually, I might get some now. Mmm....

I know it seems to be ages since I've posted on here but it has only been four weeks. Now I actually have accumulated interesting things to write about, I feel it's time to make a post.

University has been a mixture of hectic seminars, boredom due to lack of social events and annoying housework. A lot of procrastination probably fits in there too. Well, so far things have been rather good. I've made a few new friends like Eleri and the Japanese international students have settled down and managed to get to know us all. :) They're all friendly and are very keen to learn about England as much as we're keen to learn about Japan. Hopefully they like me!

My room is rather large, although not quite as large as it was last year. Oh well. At least the silverfish are absent from my room. Plus I have a chair! Okay, so at the moment it has my kanji and heavy bags on top of it but I plan to go shopping and buy a nice little fabric throw and maybe a little cushion for it. Who knows? I might go all out and buy a teddy, since I don't have Twinkie Bear with me!

The only problem with my room is that it's at the front of the building by a road. A rather busy road and one which is used by both students and residents alike. This is fine during the daytime, but come night the amount of chavs and skaters is unbelievable. People actually skate outside at midnight. They then group together outside Aberdare Hall for a random 2/3/4 am chat (depends on the night) and make jokes about the building. They know nothing about it apart from that it's 'old and scary'. How very diligent in their research they are. Eugh.

Flute-wise, nothing has started up because I haven't been able to get hold of Will. I'm thinking of looking for someone else over the weekend. I really want to keep my flute-playing up and am going to order some new pieces to encourage me. ;) I keep taking it out of its lovely case and then don't manage to pick it up and do anything save play a few scales quickly. Damn.

What else can I say? I can't believe that I've only been out twice so far, but I wouldn't have wanted to do any more than that. The All-Welsh Air Guitar Championships (yes, that is actually what it was called) was an absolute blast because it was so ridiculous. So many of them just looked like they were playing their penises and there were some pretty crazy dance moves out there.

I've been missing Em loads recently. I think it's the mixture of getting back into the university routine and her finding a job. She's coming over next month, though, so I'm really looking forward to being able to see her again. Silly things like this really make your day. They're life's little pleasures. I also asked some of my friends if they'd like to come out for a drink when Em comes over or maybe go clubbing with us, but it would probably be in Pulse and that's not really our thing. I'd actually rather sit in with my amazing girlfriend and listen to her random hippie music whilst stroking her hair and chatting. We end up in this 'never-ending chat' mode when we're together; we just have so much to talk about and everything we want to say just comes out all at once.

So, this is it for now. I promise to update again soon. I have a fanfic to upload, anyway!

This speaks for itself:

Legacy is transforming the successful medical mystery series "House M.D."
into a compelling game for both the PC and Nintendo DS(TM) where players
make life and death decisions in the role of their favorite physicians
from Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. In the game, players will
take turns stepping into the shoes of the skillful staff of the Diagnostic
Medicine department which includes Dr. Taub, Dr. Hadley (AKA Thirteen)
and, of course, the maverick medical genius himself, Dr. Gregory House.
Players are part of the diagnostic team that attempts to diagnose and
treat a variety of patients with complex illnesses. The game consists of
five unique cases that represent the rare and fascinating types of
maladies that viewers have come to expect from the popular medical drama.

Have I already mentioned my hatred for
1. games created on the back of the success of a TV show and
2. Thirteen?

If you don't know who she is, have a quick look:

http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0041162/

She gives us bisexuals a bad name, is not pretty and I don't understand why people think she's hot. Gillian Anderson is hot. Dr. frickin' Hadley isn't. Then again, I don't always see people's attraction to (Season 5) House sometimes.

Anyway, my rant is over. There are only two days now until university and I still haven't packed. I am just a born procrastinator. I was woken up by my parents this morning arguing over something my mum had put into the suitcase (an impractical skirt, I think?) and was immediately worried that they'd bark at me to get packing. Luckily they didn't. I feel sad that out of all the books I have, I can only bring three or four extra this year. How am I supposed to live with a measly amount of books? I still have plans to buy loads more - I have my eyes on a non-Twlight mentioning Wurthering Heights. My mum said she had a copy in the attic (the attic!) but it turns out she didn't. I'm stealing her edition of Tai Pan by James Clavell, though. :) I've really got into him.

At the moment, I'm reading Gaston Leroux's Le Mystère de la Chambre Jaune. They compare it to Conan-Doyle's Sherlock Holmes but I'm not sure it should be. Ah well. I miss reading. I really should make myself time to read more, to be honest. You see, Em's dad and I'm sure your own parents (whoever may be reading this) buy books, right? They are actually interested in reading. My parents? You wish! My mum hasn't read a single non-Danielle Steel book in years. It's such a shame; she loves reading but like me makes this horrible excuse of "not having the time".

Starting a new year at university is a bit like making a heap of New Year's resolutions: I plan to join the choir, to join karate, to carry on tutoring, to grow my nails, to wave my hair, to get more exercise, to see friends like John and Debbie more, to spend time with Shinedo-san and Em and of course to work hard throughout the year. The last one goes without saying.

The next post I make will be from within the confines of Aberdare Hall. Until then, fingers crossed that I get the packing done in time...

I know my slash-filled icon makes my title a bit of a paradox (a post about girls but with a guys rule icon... oh, the joys of bisexuality), but let's put that aside. Girls are awesome. I have many girl crushes and I've just developed a recent one, backed by my new friends on a forum dedicated to her. Amélie Nothomb. Japan-born, Belgian, ex-anorexic author of currently eighteen books. Wears black, has long hair, loves French and loves Japanese. *swoons*

What are crushes, though? They're nothing compared to love. I don't know Amélie. I never will. I'm in love with the most amazing girl ever. This is the main reason why girls rule. If someone so cute, so funny, so amazing, so strong, so patient and most of all, so loyal has to be a girl, then damn it, make me the most butch, clean-shaven lesbian in the world. The girl knows who she is. 5'9, blonde hair, curvy, has a penchant for guys with eyeliner... and named after a Hot Chocolate song.

People don't choose to be gay, lesbian or bisexual. If it's natural, go with the flow. I turned down the most amazing chance in the world twice because of conventions and stupidity. Luckily, I was given a third chance. The third chance was my first ever date with what is now my girlfriend of over three years. If it feels right, do it. Oh dear. That sounded rather cliché. I'm sorry. :)

I've been a member of many fandoms. I even knew one where the girls were so idiotic, they believed that the person whom they fangirled over would magically fly over and marry them. Granted we were only twelve at the time, but I've never been that kind of person. I always believed my true love would be a normal, kind, loving person who would always stand by me. I hoped it would be a guy when I was fifteen. When I was sixteen, I was so desperate that I didn't care. The opportunity came along for me to be happy. It took a lot of convincing from her but I took it. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Twinkie, happy anniversary. I love you so much.

Thanks to Shinedo-san's heads-up, I watched Cardiff try and defeat King's College London on University Challenge. We did rather well considering we were mostly first and second years (and yay for Sophie!). Our opponents were older. I didn't get many of the answers (I got about 4 or 5?) as this episode was rather heavily based on philosophy, but now I've been looking up Kant and Ayer so I can be prepared for next time. ;) I think Ayer is rather interesting but surely not the first philosopher to discredit metaphysical philosophy? His wording is also rather convoluted and his grammar not 100% perfect. Kant sounds a whole load of fun with his idea of the categorical imperative, moral ethics and whatnot. It makes me wonder which religion he practiced. ;)

Anyway, I've also been watching some episodes of The Angry Video Game Nerd whilst Em hasn't been online. I'm actually enjoying his videos although they are beginning to become slightly monotonous. I still prefer That Guy With The Glasses. I might try The Irate Gamer just to see how much of a rip-off he actually is. At least the Critic actually has different areas to review, a different character and a different style.

Tonight I'm going out again. Poor Emma didn't manage to get everyone together to celebrate her birthday and I can spare £10 so I've decided to go out with her tonight. She seems thankful for it, bless her. :) Well, I've got her presents so I hope she likes them. I wonder what she'll think of the birthday card? Since she actually works at a Card Factory, I was wondering whether she would actually appreciate a birthday card after seeing and handling so many of them. It's a bit like a groundskeeper hating grass as he sees it at work all the time.

Last but not least: I'm taking the JLPT 3 test in December! Yay! I'm really excited. The application form arrived a few days ago. I went into town today to get some photographs for it (yes, they ask for photographs). I needed to get some anyway because I also need to get my passport sorted out - it expired in April. Once those are both sent off on Monday, I'm then ordering my books for this semester. Yes. I still haven't ordered them yet. Well, dad keeps umm-ing and ahh-ing as to whether he'll help me out or not and he's only just agreed - for good - to subsidise my books.

So far, folks, that is all I have to say. I'm now off to continue watching a story called Yuki no Monogatari (Yuki's story), which is  JLPT 3 e-book created for JLPT students wanting to improve their listening and grab a bit of interesting vocab while they're at it. :) Ciao!

Yesterday was the dreaded reunion and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Karl didn't get into St. Andrew's so he has been moping about and instead getting obsessed with anything Liverpool. Bless him.
I think that after a few rather interesting experiences (let's say, walking around Cardiff at 6am with no shoes and scaring poor Shinedo-san and her flatmate), I much prefer to drink to loosen up a bit. It's not really one of my goals to get completely inebriated up to vomit-and-hangover level and never really has been. Hmm. I've been writing a lot about drink recently, haven't I? :)
Anyway, I have money! :D £316 of it to be exact. This now means I can get my bum into gear and order books tomorrow. Loads of lovely, shiny books on modern Japanese society and politics. I think there's also one on the shinkansen to order. I can't wait to go on the shinkansen.

I can't believe it will be only a month now until the second year. I'm looking forward to starting as an older member of the academic community and someone who can help the little guy. Well, the first years of my subject don't seem too bad although I notice they are all very hardcore gamers. We've never had that before in our Japanese student community. *ponders* They've added a few of us to Facebook and all quite inquisitive. By inquisitive, I mean: "How many kanji do you have to know by the end of the autumn term?" I should have told them that they need to memorise all 2000. ;)

Now is the time to say bye-bye again to mummy and daddy and be myself. I'm not excited about it in the way I was last year, but I'm still rather excited about it. New room, new modules, new books and a new menu to eat from!  I've just finished reading Shogun so I'm going to wrap up what I've written here with a rather quick summary and critique.

Shogun is the brainchild of an author who had personal experiences of Imperial Japan's power during the Second World War and so no doubt wanted to make sure he portrayed this unique and rather homogenous nation in a way no other Western author had done before. I suppose one could say that he's done that. He writes about the rise of power of Elizabethan England, Jesuit Portugal and feudal Japan during the later stages of its Sengoku period (what would have been, in real life, the Azuchi-Momoyama period). Based on the story of the Council of Five Elders and ending with the Battle of Sekigahara, it is rather historically correct. Language-wise, the Japanese is shaky but I can forgive that. ;) Clavell, the author, for some reason decided to write in American English instead of British English despite being in our Royal Navy. Ah well.

The story gets rather tedious in some places - heavily laid-out battle plans with descriptions lasting almost two pages, heavy ship vocabulary and so forth. Once you get past that and the sometimes awkward - but in some places cute - romance between Blackthorne (based on William Adams, the famous English pilot) and Lady Toda (based on real-life Lady Gracia, a famous samurai daughter turned Christian known for her gift of the tongues), the story is really good. There is only one anarchronism - the mention of martial arts such as judo and karate when they weren't invented until the 19th century. Kudos to Clavell for agreeing that geisha did not exist at this time, though - these were not common until the later 17th century up until the early 19th. Geisha are not and never were prostitutes. ;)

To conclude, it is a good book. I'm not sure about the television series but no doubt I will be reading it again. I can see why Dr. Hood recommended it to us and I'm glad I was the only one who decided to give it a try. It doesn't beat books written by actual Japanese people, but for its time and for an old war veteran who doesn't speak a word of Japanese, he did well. :)

Well, on Saturday my parents entertained. I've known their friends since I was extremely tiny and their children are around my age and trainee chavs. My favourite couple has to be Carl and Jayne; two people who are a decade apart in age from my parents, share the same music and television interests (bleugh) and are generally rather boozy. Good times were promised and had by all - even me! I'd have to admit that I snuck upstairs at about 11.30pm to read the rest of Shogun (only about six chapters to go now) but as I said to my parents, it's not my job to be social to a bunch of drunken forty-somethings.

Do your parents do strange things when entertaining/showing off to their friends? Mine have this obsession with plugging their video camera into one of the A/V sockets of the television and giving a slideshow presentation of photos of general rubbish or showing a video of one of the many holidays to Turkey. As the slideshow progressed, pictures of Pippa I'd never seen sprung up and some rather... interesting?... pictures of my parents being slightly too intimate for my liking. Eugh. I've got over it now but seriously, guys!

I have a party to go to on Thursday as well. I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be a school reunion as such - I haven't seen some of these people in a good couple of years, although most I've seen either over the summer or when I came back for Christmas/Easter. I know most of them to be rather light drinkers and I'm dragging Karl to the event, although he's got to be on his best behaviour. Drinking with Karl is fun but tiring and doesn't last very long. It's basically the incessant buying of cider after cider, with intervals of vodka and cokes. Then it finishes with shots, him trying to kiss me and me getting annoyed with him.

Drinking with Shinedo-san is my favourite. :D We have enough to get us tipsy, talk random crap, dance with each other (sometimes random people join in) and walk back together after a night out which lasts pretty much all night. It'll be even better this year as she's staying in the same accommodation as me. ;) Drinking with Twinkie has its highs and lows; if she's in the right mood and keeps to alcopops, it's a load of fun and usually ends in *ahem* more. Give her too much to drink and something on her mind to think about and she becomes sick and depressed. Recently, she's been handling her drink well and enjoying herself whilst keeping her self-respect and wits about herself. I don't want to mother my own girlfriend but after past experiences, I'd rather have it like that and make sure she doesn't drink too much. Nights out with my two favourite girls will hopefully be on the agenda again.

Anyway, daddy has been rather good and promised me £10 a week as long as I keep at least £50 of it saved up. This started technically three weeks ago. I put £10 into my bank and saved up £20 for going out on Thursday. I know it doesn't sound much, but Heirii has a plan. ;) I shall deploy it about two hours into the reunion. The reason we're doing this reunion on Thursday is because it'll be results day and so all of the Tamworth student community will be celebrating with us. Karl will be the only one of us getting his results.

Anyway, until then I bid you farewell. ;)

Poor Pippa. :( I can't believe it was only yesterday morning that I saw you and joked about the state your little bed was in. Then I had to find you dead yesterday afternoon. You were the best pet I had and hope you're enjoying it up there in Hamster Heaven and I bet you've got all the cheese you could ever want. ;) So yes. Yesterday wasn't the best day, but Pippa's had a good life and she wasn't long for the world. We buried her in a nice little spot in the garden with her favourite toys.

Anyway, it's been a week or so since I last posted in here. I haven't been doing much to be honest - just lazing around as usual. I had Fran over yesterday which was fun. She's my oldest friend since we've known each over for over 15 years now. Oh and her hair was bright red, which was pretty funky. :D I can't wait to re-dye mine a (decent!) dark purple. Heirii the raisin-haired girl shall strike again!

We've also managed to acquire Sky+ HD. I don't really see what all the fuss is about but I'd have to admit it's nice to be able to record the whole of Season 9 M*A*S*H with no real hassle. Well, apart from the fact that the first episode I recorded didn't turn out to be the best quality. It kept skipping and then randomly going on hyper-talk mode, which was funny for about three seconds. I managed to get the gist of it, though.

The big question lies here: do I really want to have Thirteen's spider eyes in HD? Do I really want House's piercing eyes in HD? *ponders* The latter I have no issue with, just don't make me suffer Thirteen's awful acting and her incessant attempts to be Ice-cold Tall Bisexual Trout-lipped Princess of the Fucking Year (we've had Angelina Jolie take that title for over five years now). Merci de votre comprehension.

In other news, I just need to add that Twinkie has been amazing as always. She's so patient and selfless that it makes me feel guilty for not always being the same. I couldn't ask for a better person to be with and honey, you complete me in everything you do. One more thing to add: yes, you do have a good sense of humour and you know it. ;) Observational humour and snark are the best, after all! Millions of kisses to you and many hugs to everyone else who is reading this. I assume that would just be Shinedo-san.

I've realised that recently, you've been doing all the hard work. I just want you to know that I appreciate every little thing you do; from that special text at night to that way you know how to cheer me up, from your personality to your smile, from your hippie nature to your liberal views and belief that everyone can achieve. Sometimes, I never want to go to sleep because I'm imagining you there next to me. Your face looks so beautiful in the moonlight and I can never forget that time we kissed in the rain under the purple summer sky. Sometimes I never want to wake up because I'm having amazing, phantasmagoric dreams with you, dancing on clouds and going to places that are limited by sheer reality. You are everything to me and I couldn't do without even an iota of you. You're the most precious person in the world to me and always will be.

We have our differences but that is what makes us unique. You teach me things I would have never known otherwise. I hope that in return I can teach you a few things about the life I've lived and together, we can raise a family one day. That's for the future, though. I know you're scared of it but I suppose I'm always raring for an adventure.

I just thought I'd say all this so that you remember that I love you very much. That is all and apologises for the lack of eloquence. My gifts usually aren't much but this poem I wrote is dedicated to you because I thought of a person who you liked very much when writing it. You'll see what I mean.

Upon the stage of proud starlight
He steadies his wings and takes gentle flight.
Clouds of magic dust, purple dyes
Trail behind in his dark fantasy sky.
Tears of silver, just to be worn,
Adorn the prince of a new talent born.
The shackles of greed, used to spurn,
Like the unanswered prayers, help one to learn
The word to make him a great king
As he learns how to dance and smile and sing.
As he sits on his coronation throne
He lays down his crown that once shone.
Like the fairytale that he was once told,
He grows up to never be old.
Ephemeral boy-king of modern times,
He plays among the act of mimes
When night's grip is harsh and the sky is free.
He sings to worlds of never be,
Worlds of never tell and never believe,
His fleeting desires to achieve.

Seriously. I am sick of Facebook. I have decided to officially boycott it because I am sick of people ignoring me. Yes. I know they're not interested in talking to me. What annoys me is the fact that it was them who added me in the first place!
I know this sounds quite ridiculous. It's just that some of these people seemed really interested in me, and then all of a sudden they decide that I'm not funny/clever/good-looking/rich enough to be worth their time. Newsflash: I come from a working class town in the suburbs of Birmingham. In this part of the UK, we don't all go to theatres (although I'd love to), play the flute to Grade 8 level at age 12 (this person knows what I'm on about), go on trips to far-flung places like Goa or Malaysia or shop at Waitrose. I was lucky enough to get a bottle of fizzy drink at the weekend. My holidays were either in Cornwall or the Canary Islands. I am even going to give them a heart attack now and tell them that there are people so much worse off than me! Oh, how would they treat them? Facebook just seems to be full of what I'd deem "fake friends" or mere acquaintances.

Facebook is nothing but a social networking tool for people who don't actually have a real social network, in my opinion. I've noticed that apart from a few very socially busy people, the most properly "popular" people don't tend to need Facebook unless they want to invite people to a party or get a lost phone number off someone. When I get ignored by people and even get my comments taken off a Wall when it was nothing but a simple hello, that annoys me. I'm sensitive and very polite. It's not my fault. I just think that it's very bad social networking manners to do such a thing. ;)

Ah. MSN, I think I actually love you. LiveJournal, you're not a social networking tool for me but I can bet that the kind of people on here are so much friendlier than most of my Facebook contacts. Actually, that was a bit mean. I do have loads of really nice Facebook contacts but it's the horrible ones which drag the whole experience down by about ten points. I'm starting a piece of crazy House fanfiction which should get a few 15-year-old boys irate and fill the rest of us with pure elation as it is a Thirteen death!fic. Oh, the joy! :D

In other news, I've started playing chess. I'm currently rather bad at it although I know most of the beginner rules like castling and en passant. I just have this annoying habit of moving all my pawns too early and not using my Queen to her advantage. I know she's important but used in the correct way, she's an indispensable piece of tactic awesomeness. ;) Anyone want a game when I actually get decent at it? :)

I'm suffering from a chronic case of MTS: Missing Twinkie Syndrome. She's gone for a week to Portugal so it's just me on my lonesome, playing The Sims (I know it's about 8 years old now but ah well) for the PS2 and chatting with Shinedo-san and Karl. I received a letter yesterday from Cardiff University informing me that they're allocated me a place in Old Hall on the first floor, ten doors up from Sinead. It will be interesting to be in the old, Victorian part of the building. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm enjoying annoying my parents by watching M*A*S*H every day. We have struck a deal: I can watch all of what's left of Season 7 and I'll let them have the television from 7pm-8pm after that once Season 8 starts. I have Season 8 on DVD already. Don't you just love compromising? ;) I'm not very good at it - usually I just demand instead of offering something in return - but it's quite satisfying knowing that both sides get a deal. Besides, I wouldn't want to really watch something on TV when I already have a DVD of it, right?

As you can see, I've also made a new icon. It's not very good and I might get rid of it once I get Photoshop back up and running. I made it very quickly with Paint in a frenzy and out of desperation for a new icon. Apologies in advance. ;) I just don't have the time nowadays to make decent icons. A great iconmaster (that's right, there's a profession with its very own noun) once told me: making an icon isn't something you can do well in five minutes. It takes a subtle blend of filters, fonts, lighting and contrast, combined with the right size and placement of any text or any other items to create a really good icon. I've always believed this and yet never taken the advice to heart.

Anyway, I must leave you all now to pursue my daily Japanese grammar obsession. Love and hugs to you all.

Actually, one last note:
I just tried the Detect facility for the Location tag and it came up with United Kingdom, Bristol. Haha. It's about 180 miles out! Don't you just love routers and their IP-masking abilities? ;)

My French teacher for GCSE and A Level is the nearest I've ever had to such a person. She was kind, caring and had amazing anecdotes of her life as a student. She was an ex-Communist, single mother of a boy (she has just had another child now, according to Karl) and was given the rare opportunity (would you call it an opportunity?) to learn Serbo-Croat during the Balkan troubles around 1994. She once wrote in a report that I was talented at French and noticed how I'd gone from a C to an A* in the matter of a little less than two years of GCSE. I didn't get any prize but I don't really mind - that went to some chav who was predicted no grade and got a C. Big deal. I would have liked the Helen Taggart award after A Levels (in memory of my old German teacher who died of a heart attack), but that went to someone else probably for just being half German although she was pretty decent at languages. Meh. I got the ICT prize instead. :)

In other news, this weekend with Twinkie and Shinedo-san was thoroughly awesome. The weather wasn't the nicest although the rain did kind of behave itself, the British Museum is beautiful and I got carried away reading the Japanese in the Japan section (and getting help from a Japanese woman who was behind me without my knowing). Camden was fun although slightly tacky and too touristy but if you have a guide there, it's easy to get past the rubbish and find the hidden treasures within it. That's why it was so nice to explore Camden with Shinedo-san and I loved the little market shop where she got her earrings. I would have bought some pan pipes there if I could have spared £7. Maybe next time, hmm?

Twinkie seemed a bit bored sometimes but I think that was more tiredness. It was so fun to be with her in a totally new place and getting dragged around the tube system. :P Would I do London again? Yes, but not until Christmas. Which is why after I see her again in September and November for her birthday, we're definitely going to London for Christmas shopping, my JLPT test and awesome times in Harrod's. Twinkie was beautiful as always and I miss her terribly but you know something? I've got used to saying goodbye to her. I just remember that it won't be long until I can give her a very tight, loving hug. Of course I also miss Shinedo-san and can't wait until we become social butterflies in September. :D

I have realised something.
I have my first OTP! Yay! *grins and takes a bow* It is funny, slashy, crazy and quite rare. The pairing are obnoxious to each other, one of them is a inherent prankster and the other is a tight-lipped jobsworth who, despite his aura of saintliness and chastity, has a rather passionate thing for our very own Hot Lips. It's Frankeye, everybody!

I hate it when fans mishmash two names together. For this reason, the name of Frankeye in the way I see it shall not leave this LiveJournal. The only time you'll see it is with the new icon I quickly made. Oh, I hope you like it. :) It's nothing amazing but I'm still happy I made it. Tonight I'm going to make one which actually has Frank and Hawkeye in the same picture. The reason this one has Frank and Hot Lips is because I couldn't find any pictures of Frank with Hawkeye which were readily available. This is a job for my DVD, methinks!

Other news: being at home on your own is boring, I am looking forward to crazy theme park rides at Thorpe Park, my love for Japanese has not yet been abated, I've managed to find two places which are looking for part-time staff and handed my CV into them, and there is another place looking for staff to whom I'll hand my CV in on Friday. Job-wise things are looking fairly okay. I'm not going to hope for too much, but at least there is a bit of optimism hanging in the air.

I'm going to end this entry on a bit of a gripe. I've been twice to Birmingham with Karl in the past two weeks or so. On the first occassion, there were many copies of Le Monde in most of the WHSmith stores that we went into. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough money to buy one there and then so I told myself I'd get a copy (and maybe Le Figaro just to compare them) the next time I was in. Well, last Saturday I was in Birmingham again and there was not a single French newspaper in sight! I don't understand how they could have disappeared. It annoys me. Newspapers are a fairly vital part to a linguist's knowledge of important events and many contain very interesting and specific vocabulary. As a dual linguist, I need both the Asahi Shibun with furigana and Le Monde or Le Figaro on hand whenever I can get the time to buy them.

I can understand why Tamworth doesn't sell any foreign language newspaper. It is a small, working-class town whose population of bilingual or trilingual students is very low. With regards to French and English bilinguals, there are probably five to ten for each school at any one time in Tamworth. There are five schools so that makes twenty-five minimum, fifty maximum. Fifty school-age people in Tamworth able to read a French newspaper! *faints*

I know, apart from me, three others: Karl, my friend Ellie and my friend Madihah. Now all of us have left school, it's up to upcoming Year 13s and Year 12s to create, out of about 60 or so students, at least five who can speak, read and write French well enough to actually read a newspaper with no problems. Eugh. It's embarrassing. It shouldn't mean that Birmingham can't sell these newspapers. For the love of God, Birmingham is the second largest city with a large European migrant population! It's ridiculous. If I lived in London, I'm sure I wouldn't have this problem. Peace out.

I just wish I had the time to make some new icons. I've been thinking of capturing as many Hawkeye/Frank moments and making a little montage. Yes, I'm that sad. Some of them will then turn into icons. I'm not sure when that'll happen, though. I've watched all my DVDs so I might get Season 3 and Season 6. That way I can get a mixture of Frank and Winchester, just in case I need to make some Winchester icons later. ;)
I don't take other people's icons. I'm not sure why. Most of them are pretty well designed and don't ask for much in return. However, I feel that it would kind of be cheating this journal. Mind you, the design isn't mine. I could make my own but I just don't have the time.

Anyway, this scorching heat is unbearable. Yesterday, even Sammy the budgie was suffering. She was dipping her head and toes into the water compartment at the same time because she was so warm and was seeking shade under her mirror. I found the bird bath and filled it up but to my annoyance, she wouldn't get in it. I called mum to seek advice and she advised to spray her lightly. The problem is, you see, that Sammy has lost most of the feathers around her chest area and is very susceptible to colds, flu and pneumonia. Poor thing. :(

I sprayed her a few times and put her under a more shady area in the living room. She soon perked up and cooled down. For an animal which is originally from Australia, these birds can't handle the heat. Neither can I for too long nowadays. Even sitting down and reading for half an hour gives me a fuzzy head and I'm urged to drink loads of water and lie down in the shade. Half a frickin' hour.

Anyway, I will stop being stereotypically British for a while and talk about something else. My flute plans haven't managed to continue growing into eventual fruition. I skipped yesterday and the day before. I'm going to do an hour tonight though, hopefully. Wish me luck?

A house party last night? Not quite. I don't think I'm that popular. Karl came round and we played around a bit on his laptop, listened to Elvis, drank cider and went through a few of the photo albums. I haven't seen some of them in a while. It makes me appreciate being able to sit with someone and pore over good old-fashioned nostalgia. Once a week, my dear beloved and I will look over photo albums and laugh at all our past antics. ;)

I managed to find some of my mum's photos from the 60's. She was really pretty. :) My dad was also quite handsome back in the day. The 70's album is basically just the same but in places like Tenby as Weston-Super-Mare. The 80's album has to be my favourite: loads of cute baby photos of my brother and I, Christmases and 80's fashion! I have to boast that I was the cutest baby out of the two. It was also strange to see pictures of him in the early 90's (yet another album) when he was actually shorter than my mum. I can't even imagine it.

It's funny to think that in the click of a photo one can preserve something so precious yet so elusive. That Christmas will never happen again, that baby will grow up and that holiday was over in a week or two. I think I want to get back into photography, especially as I still have the Adobe software. I used to be quite the photographer when I was young. I used to talk regular trips to our local park and snap birds, trees and people franctically.

Now I have been advised that the Nostalgia Critic and the Nostalgia Chick alike have put up reviews of the two Transformers films so I'm going to watch them and see what I think. I saw the first film and thought it was rather mediocre but maybe a better one by Michael Bay. That is by no means a compliment. I'm not even giving a tiny iota of consideration into watching the second so I'll just watch the review and see what is said about it. You know what I'd like to see reviewed? Terminator. Ah, good old Arnie.

I am sick of those adverts for Season 5 House on Sky One. As much as I love the show (or at least what Twinkie showed me), there is only so much of depressed!Cuddy I can take. I also don't know what to feel about that kiss. My mum certainly liked it. I just can't seem to imagine House as a stable person with a loving, stable relationship. I think that *might* be the fault of the writers (please note the sarcasm). What is it with medical shows nowadays?

In other news, life is good but very boring. I've been practicing my flute every day for half an hour since a few days ago and already I feel my breathing improving a tad. It's been so long that playing some pieces which are at least 75% mezzoforte or over is rather therapeutic, especially as most are extremely pretty and Mozart. Well, my books are from Grades 1-4 so what do you expect? They love Mozart right up until intermediate grades and then introduce you to craz(ier) Austrian and Hungarian composers. Or so I'm told... ;)

This summer's going to be a very long one. I hate not having a job. I hate this economic climate. I also think it's ridiculous that as more people are entering university, they are actually REDUCING places and not increasing them. This is going to be a year of very ugly overspill in most demains; jobs especially. Talking of which, I wonder what happened to Blue Banana? They never did ring me back...

The only thing I can afford is to go and see Sinedo-san and Twinkie in London. As long as it's still on, I'm happy. I don't mind being bored out of my brains for the rest of the holiday as long as that weekend is perfect. Which it will be. We're going to Thorpe Park and I plan on trying as many rides as I can. I will be extremely irate if the height restriction is over 147cm as some go up to 150 or even 152cm (around 5' and 5'1). Safety? I laugh in the face of safety, ha-ha-ha-ha!

My parents are going to leave me around £100 and I'm allowed to spend some on this trip. I probably won't, though, just to be safe and know that I won't accumulate a large debt when they return. They're off to Portugal for two weeks. I upset them slightly when I said they were 'leaving me', and they reiterated that it had been my choice back in September 2008 to not join them. It was just too early for me to decide whether I'd want to go on holiday with them or not. Now I know I would have liked to, it's a bit depressing. I'll survive though.

I received an e-mail this morning letting me know the results of my French language exam are up. I'm happy: 77/100 and joint fifth best out of over a hundred students! The best was 85, I think. Then there was one who got 81, one who got 79, one who got 78 and then me. This makes me very happy indeed. The good thing about published university results is the anonymity. You have no idea who got what unless you memorize peoples' student numbers.

I can only concentrate with three albums, weirdly enough. End of an Era (both discs) by Nightwish, flute and harp concerti from Eine Kleine Nachtmuzik (any version really, however I have a Classic FM version) and 101 by Depeche Mode. I think I could probably concentrate with anything by Massive Attack as well but I haven't got any of their albums. Not even their Best Of. *pouts*
I'm not one really to listen to music when studying. I think the music is for afterwards when you're relaxing with a nice pint of cider/glass of wine/small glass and vodka and coke in your hand. ;)