jenepel

So many things to tell, so little time!

I have a ton of new icons - I am actually at my icon limit right now, which never happens because I like the feeling of space. But I'm sure some of those will fail out at some point. Part of the great influx was a request batch by visualthinker11 which included the Nimbus one above. How freaking cute is my cat? Seriously! I forsee a lot of use out of this one.

I had a super busy weekend, or at least it felt like that at the time, although now that I try to think it doesn't seem like it. It was our first May bank holiday. (OMG and I'm taking this Monday off too, plus we have another at the end of the month. Oh the decadence!) I didn't have anything really planned though, except room cleaning. Friday was unexciting, I came home with plans but then fell asleep around 9PM - shocking! :) But that was good, because Sat I went out to meet up with some friends of friends (long story) and ended up staying out until 6AM.

( Blah, blah, blah I am a whiner. )

So Sunday/Monday. Um, Sunday Kaite and I watched hours and hours of Joan of Arcadia. And I'm sure more stuff happened. But I can't think of it now. Monday (thank goodness) I finally got some work done. I bought these shelves at Ikea because my room has been insane for ages now, and I need a place to organise. So I spent most of Monday sorting through the six boxes/suitcases that I hadn't unpacked since we moved in, um, 8 months ago (true) and then having Seb help me make my shelf so I could start to fill it. And then while I was at it, I decided to change my room around. I have a lot more space now, although my wardrobe is slightly harder to get into. But so far it's working for me. Now all I need is to put pics on the walls!

( Click to see new room setup! )

Those shelves aren't filled right yet, nor have the white plastic containers been gone through, but it's still an improvement. So yeah, yay for actual productivity! Not much else at the moment. I have a long post half-done, but it's taking me a while, so not yet.

In the best news ever, we are going to (box) karaoke tonight for the first time in ages. There has been massive squeeage about this in our house ever I booked the slot. We do love our karaoke. And it's a group of eight, so it should be a very enthusiastic time. Rach and Seb and I had a random flatmates dinner out last night, and as we walked back from Muswell Hill we (well, mostly Rach and I) sang any song we could think of, quite loudly, in preparation. I'm sure people thought we were drunk, but nope, we were just us. We were mostly silenced when, as we were belting out "part of your world" from the Little Mermaid, a schoolgirl went by us with a supercilious look. Mass giggling on our part, but it did send the singing down a notch. Too bad Lucky Voice doesn't really have any Disney songs though. Or musicals! What's karaoke without lots of musicals? Silly people.

I'll sing one for you all.

It feels like it's been a while, although I guess I did post twice last week. However, posting just to complain about online flight searching (still not booked btw) probably doesn't count. What I need to do is sort out the pictures from the Turkey trip and actually put them up, but that isn't happening yet.

I went to my parents' for the weekend as planned, which was great. It's just so relaxing to be there, and so comfortable, which I suppose comes of being in the house you grew up in. Our house hasn't changed much in the past twenty years or so, which makes me feel like a kid. Or something. You might remember that my dad retired last year, so this has been his first week of not working, while my mom still has a year to go. (Let's just see how long before that becomes a sore point!) Anyway, they looked at houses while they were in America this summer, and I had to be shown all the pictures. They seem to have decided for sure on North Carolina (who knows why - we don't have family anywhere near there). It's so strange to think of them in one of those huge American homes - our house is decent sized by UK standards, but what they'll be able to get for the same amount of money (actually probably not all the money since they're talking about maybe getting a smaller place to keep here) is much larger and fancier looking. US houses are truly amazing to me. (Not to mention all the beautiful flats my friends in the States live in. Argh!) On a similar topic, I was reading this blog today and enjoyed this: '"Move to London?" at least 306 cousins, aunts, uncles and one great-aunt spluttered. "Why don't I just sit in a room full of car exhausts and burn 20s with a lighter? Bugger off!"' Yup. Sometimes it feels like that. But back to my parents, the point is (and pretty much everyone I know asks me about this) that they haven't lived in the States since the 60's. And now they are talking about moving back there permanently. It's weird. No wonder my mom wants to buy a smaller house here so they can go back and forth. I would be scared to death. I mean, you don't see me moving back there anytime soon, do you? [ETA: I'm not saying the US in itself is scary - just that moving there after 40 years of being here will be qutie an adjustment. So no one get all offended please!!]

While I was home I read quite a bit of my old writing, including random stories/poetry/journals from various ages. That never fails to be amusing. I pulled quite a few embarrasing quotes out which I have now emailed to my brother for his enjoyment. Also, (on the subject of bad writing, HAH!) I read Breaking Dawn, which is currently in my purse ready to be returned to Waterstones. Not in some sort of protest move, just in a pre-planned "I don't want to pay for this book and give her more money" sort of move. (I gave up on the library - I'm weak!) It was...not as amusing as I wanted it to be. basilm and I have been exchanging links about it, but other than that, it was mostly a slog. Girl needs a good editor! I have a feeling that the reason the earlier books were a bit tighter (although still not GOOD) is that someone was willing to cut stuff out and ask her questions. I would guess that once she got to this point they were happy to publish whatever. Not that I think the first three were that much better written, but they were a little less like crack!fic. This one was kind of the combination of every bad idea you could think of that would solve every possible problem. A cross between wish fulfillment and insanity. Moving on...

In other news, I finally made it over to J&K's house, so Kathleen can quit sending me threatening messages on facebook. Also, S&L (their in-laws and my brother's best friends) are coming over (from the States) in two weeks. So I'll actually be back in Norfolk again, for a whole weekend of fun. I went ahead and worked this Bank Holiday Monday so that I could take a three day weekend when they get here. FUN! It's good, because I need to save time off for November and Christmas. My boss decided to stay in Spain for another two weeks (yay) so he won't be back until Sept 5th. That would make for a quiet office, except the construction work is still going on. Now he has me taking daily pictures to email to him. Anal much?

Other things going on this week are possible karaoke-ing on Thursday night (if iamseb and teaatsix would come out of the woodwork) and tennis on Wednesday. Also, flat-hunting SOMEDAY. On Sat I have a wedding (wow, one that I don't have to fly millions of miles to attend) of one of my friends from the Embassy. Should be interesting. I have no idea what I'm wearing though, since I can't seem to figure out how fancy it will be.

Blech. This entry is pretty boring, but I think that's reflecting my mood at the moment. I need to go home. I was considering going out tonight, but we'll see how much enthusiasm I have as the time grows nearer.

[ETA: I had to mess with this for ages to get the codes to work. I suck!]

So it’s Wednesday night – is that too late to talk about my weekend? I think not.

I feel the need to chronicle because it was nice and busy and I did things and hung out with people. I feel like it was really ~productive~ but in actuality, I think it was only productive in a social way. (As in, I didn’t stay in my bedroom watching things on my computer and sleeping in; I actually woke up and did things with people. Right.)

Things I did!

• Russian cooking
• home leg waxing
• wine drinking
• Running in the park
• Ikea
• Crying conversations
• Skype

(  Intrigued? (Okay I doubt it!) Read on…  )

Also, pics! I wanted to post Oliver pics since he’s so darn cute, but I really didn’t take any this weekend. So instead you get screenshots from when I talked to him and his mom on Skype.

( They’re a bit blurry due to the webcam, but not too bad. )

Now I have to pack and make sure my room is clean. I leave on Friday and then River will be here on Monday, so I gotta be ready! Lots of plans. On the good side, I actually got some sleep last night since I fell asleep (on accident) around 11. Good news for my sleep-deprived body. Bad news for the virtual season peeps since I wasn’t around when posting was happening. It was the most I have slept in about two weeks though, so that’s something.

Finally, I just wanted to say that there’s a whole lotta coding (for me) in this because I’ve been messing around trying to remember all the LJ codes. That’s why there are bullet lists and pics and etc. So there you go, adinarj, you better be proud. Just here’s hoping it works! I’m about to hit post, so we’ll just see how much I have to correct b/c I’ve gotten it wrong!

I'm not having the best of weeks.  (The Piz hate icon two days in a row?  That's bad.)  Anyhow, today would have been fine, except that I woke up around 3AM last night with a raging headache and a sore throat.  This morning I felt like absolute crap, and it only got worse during the day.  Also, I threw up at work.  I can't even believe that!  It makes me feel like I'm 10 and in the nurse's office at school.  The worst thing was that I couldn't even really go home because we were crazy busy.  The deadline is Monday, plus we've got the stupid postal strike putting the country on stand-by, and so the office was crammed with people trying to turn things in on person.  I had to go through everything, process all the cheques and send it all off to the States.  And Monday is only destined to be worse.  I did get to leave an hour early, so that was something, but I barely made it through the day.  I think it might explain my crappy mood yesterday though, because I would guess it was kind of starting in my system.  I suppose it was inevitable, since both my flatmates have been sick in the past two weeks.  I was really hoping to avoid it though.

Oh, and the most ridiculous thing?  Today the clinic was doing free flu shots for all employees.  However, they wouldn't give me one because I'm sick.  Seems ironic somehow.  At least they are coming back at the end of next week so I can get one then, but it was still annoying.

So I'm home and in bed.  The plan is to get a few things done for the virtual season, maybe watch an episode of Everwood, and then go to sleep.  I went by Boots and got some medicine, so hopefully that will knock me out.  I'm supposed to meet Lis tomorrow to go to a cross-stich fair at Ali Pali, but I don't know if that is going to happen or not.  We'll see how I feel in the morning.

Blech.

(P.S. Hee!  There's a mood category for sick!)

Just wanted to mention two random things that happened this weekend, just to make it a little more interesting.

1.  A bus I was riding on had an accident.  This has never happened to me before, and of course I ride the bus ALL the time.  It really wasn't a big deal, barely an accident, but it was so unusual that it merits a mention  He must have been a new driver, because what happened is that he turned down the wrong road.  So then (like an idiot) he starts to back up.  I mean I know he maybe didn't think he could figure out a way to get right, but still!  And it was one of the bendy buses too, which are long and unwieldy.  (I think a double-decker would be easier to maneuver.)  So he's backing up and trying to turn at the same time, and everyone behind us is honking and trying to back up to get out of the way, and then he ran into someone.  Lovely.  So we all had to get out and change buses and all this jazz.  So much excitement.

2.  Star sighting!  The place I was headed to on the bus was this scrapbook/stamping/papercraft fair that my mom was meeting me at.  So that was pretty cool.  But just as we were leaving, I turned around and there right in front of me was Helena Bonham Carter!  Just standing in front of me.  Very cool person to see.  Oh, and that reminds me (on the topic of star sightings) that a few weeks ago when we were out in Brick Lane, my flatmate and I saw Pete Dougherty.  He just walked right past us.

That's all I've got.

Oh, new episode of the virtual season tomorrow!

So today was a boring day at work, but that's mostly because it was the Friday before a bank holiday, so half our staff was off. The office was SO quiet; it was freaky. Also, I was really looking forward to tonight, so the time went slowly. And then after work I went and met up with vegi_b and biscottimoment(Ina). YAY! I love meeting TWoPers in RL. Well, actually this was pretty much my first time, but it was so much fun. We just hung out, found a cafe, spent about an hour on public transport (lovely London), shopped for junk food, and then went back to mine to veg out. We watched Buffy and GG and ate poptarts. How cool is that? I actually got to watch GG with people who appreciate and love it - probably a first for me. And we are definitely hanging out more before they leave. So that's definitely a high. (Although you should have heard my mom when I said I was going to meet people I knew from the internet. She was so worried!)

And then to bring it all back down to Earth, I think I got my phone stolen today. It's missing, and I can't think of another time I had it out/place it would be. I'm going to call the cafe we were at tomorrow (once I get a phone to call with) and check, but I don't hold out much hope. For some reason I'm almost sure that it has been stolen - I just have this weird feeling about it. Stupid London. At least I have fairly recently emptied it of photos/videos. I'm not very good about noting people's numbers in other places though, so now I'm going to have to use email and facebook to rebuild my list. What a pain! Really the thing I feel the worst about is all the old text messages on there. I know it's stupid, but I'm kind of sentimental about things like that. It's always getting full, because I only delete the really inconsequential ones. Anyway, if it did get stolen, it totally sucks! Although I have to say - at least it wasn't my whole handbag. That would have been far far worse. Bah humbug!

Back to highs, just a note to say that V-fest was incredible. A picspam is coming your way just as soon as I manage to retrieve the proper camera cords from my parents' house so I can actually put them on my computer.

Oh, and happy birthday wiscck! I hope your day was all highs and no lows!

NOTE: So I wrote this at work on Thursday but since I still haven’t looked up how to email an entry in I just emailed it to my home address…which means I’m not posting it until now. So it’s a bit out of date, but still a trip update, so whatever…

It’s already Thursday – I just can’t believe that! I meant to write this entry on Tuesday right after I got back (or even start on the plane Monday and then post it afterwards) but other things just got in the way. I’ve actually been pretty exhausted ever since I got back – whether it’s jetlag (which I never like to admit to) or just the fact that my body is tired after all the activity and lack of sleep on the trip, I’m not sure. I got in around 11PM on Monday, left the flat at 7AM Tuesday for work, got home at 6PM and went straight to bed. Last night I lasted until 8PM before I crashed, so I guess that’s an improvement. Maybe tonight I can make it till 10PM?! [NOTE: didn't happen!]

Anyhow, I want to at least write a little about my trip, so a quick run-thru is under the cut…

( details... )

So now I’m back at home, and back at work, and that’s fine. I do enjoy the States, but it was SO NICE to get back home to England. I was only away for a week and a half, but I missed it. Plus, it’s always a little bit of a relief to end a trip and get back to normal life. And there is a lot going on in the next month or so – I’m already trying to plan out my weekends to see when I’ll stay in London and when I’ll go to my parents and when people are going to be visiting, etc. So yes, life goes on.

But I still miss Trevor!

I have been totally obsessed with Literati fanfic this week - not sure why.  It's been ages since I read any, but then I watched the ep where Luke and Rory go to see Jess at Truncheon and I got all obsessed with "what if she hadn't said all that about Logan and they got together again" and started looking up stories, and then there we were...

I FINALLY saw OoTP last night.  I was actually a little disappointed, probably mostly because I just reread the book this week and also people kept saying really good things about the movie.  I think my expectations were a little high.  I want to write out a proper response to it but don't have time right now.  My main complaint?  NOT ENOUGH GINNY.  She's my absolute fav and she really comes into her own in that book, but they didn't show that at all.  It's a crime.

They have just announced the release of the full series DVD set for GG (here) and I am not happy with the artwork.  I've waited for ages not buying the DVDs (ok I had the downloads, but still) and then they change the artwork for the full set?  I reserve judgement til I have seen it in person, but it doesn't look promising!  It looks kind of tween-ish to me, and I quite liked the season sets.  BAH humbug!

I saw a mouse in our flat today.  Seriously, a mouse.  It ran across the floor and into a hole in the wainscotting.  I didn't scream or anything though, just calmly watched it go and then went downstairs to tell my flatmate.  I mean what can we really do about that?  Traps?  It's such an old house and there are several flats here, so I can't see it really happening.

My trip to Atlanta has hit an interesting complication - I may be going sooner than I thought.  I was supposed to fly out on Wed but now I might leave on Sun to deliver stuff for work to an office there for a trial that starts Monday.  They are all going crazy about it getting there on time and then suddenly someone remembered I was going and an idea was born.  It only remains to be seen if they agree to pay the $860 (I KNOW) that it would cost to change my ticket.  Insanity.  I hope so much it works out though, because although I am not remotely ready, I would get travel comp and also work hours for mon/tues since I was supposed to work them anyways.  Plus I would get three more days of holiday - fantabulous!  Does anyone live in Atlanta btw?  I keep meaning to ask people and posting it but no one seems to.  What's up with that?  Also I will be in Colonial Williamsburg for two days for a wedding.  Should be interesting...

I just have to end by saying HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TO OLIVER - only the cutest baby in the world!  He's my little (unofficial) nephew and he's such a sweetie.  Picture under the link.

I wish I had an Everwood icon, but I can't be bothered to search for one right now.

Also, I worked on the Rory summary for the VS today and totally got excited about it all again.  I had kind of put it by the wayside, so it felt good to be actually thinking about it properly once more.

I've had just the loveliest weekend, partly because it was the best weather we've had in ages, and partly just because of good friends and good old London. It was actually sunny and warm (20's) all weekend and I was outside for most of it. I didn't get done any of the things I was meant to do, but I did a bunch of other, more fun things!

Friday night I went for drinks and dinner along the river (Southwark/London bridge area) after work with a few of (new flatmate) Nic's friends. Then they were all going home, so I rushed over to the Leicester Square area because Tau were playing at the Red Room of the Comedy Club pub. Quite a cool venue actually. I just randomly ran into Phil on the tube on the way there, which was quite funny, but good since I wasn't sure of the way. So we had a quick drink just the two of us before going down to check on the rest. We are totally the Tau groupies! He's been to every gig and I've just missed the one. So Andy and (the other) Phil were setting up when we got down there, and Anna had a friend from her Uni there too who was nice. There was an acoustic guy on first (decent), then them (Tau), and then another band that I wish I knew the name of because they were quite good. Tau were okay, although they are still minus a drummer as Tim is in Serbia. And Andy is still using the megaphone for a few songs, which drives me crazy! I'm just waiting for him to introduce the clarinet, which he keeps threatening to do. :)

So we were there quite late just hanging out and then caught a bus back to Andy and Anna's. Phil and I just ended up crashing there since neither of us could be bothered to take the hour long ride in opposite directions to get home. Not an uncommon thing really - it's such a pain that even though we all live North we still don't live close enough. Thank god for night buses though. So the next morning we all had a lie in then got up to tea and pancakes. I love staying at A&A's!

We went into the city centre all day Sat to see the Tour de France start out (first time ever in London!) and just walked around for ages, then had lunch, then walked some more. There were so many people, and they had the roads all closed off for traffic - it was crazy. I'm glad we did go in though, because it was cool to see. And the weather was so nice, just absolutely perfect for it. We talked about going on the London Eye, but couldn't be bothered for the queue. Then we went to the design museum to see an exhibit of a graphic designer Anna likes. It's really an incredible museum - I need to go back to see more of the other exhibits. Then we just had a wander down the South Bank; there is some outside music art exhibit there at the moment, and then home. I just absolutely crashed - it was such a crazy long day and we had been walking nonstop. Fun though.

Then today I slept in, got a few things done, and then headed over to Phil's place with some drinks for a picnic. They were practicing (the other band - not Tau - they're called Caramel Nut Fuzz) and so Anna and I watched the end of that. It's pretty funny because it's a much less serious band; it's all covers of cheesy 80's stuff: Poisen, Boston, Europe. I hope they get a gig because they will be great fun to watch once they've polished it a bit more. It was also the first time I had seen Phil's new place, so that was cool. It's really nice, and it has an awesome roof terrace. Then we took the food and drinks out to Hampstead Heath for a picnic while the weather lasted. Between all that suddenly it was 9PM - it's still light out so it sneaks up on you! Took the train home and now here I am, watching Scissor Sisters on T in the Park.

Lovely, lovely weekend. It's the kind that just really makes me love living in the city. And now, work again...!