Sunday, October 17, 2004

Ba-Dum.

I'm short on titles, heh. Erm... I can't say I've done much today. I've certainly done less than I was hoping, although it's probably a good thing that I had to uninstall Half-Life, Opposing Force and Blue Shift. I wanted this High Definition pack thingy on it (that I'd never noticed before), but for some reason it wouldn't apply itself to Opposing Force, so I tried reinstalling it. Problem is, it reinstalled itself as Opposing Force Multiplayer and subsequently wouldn't work on what I wanted it to. Bastard thing >.> Uninstalling it frequently didn't have any effect either, so I'm hoping it'll calm down once it's... um... calmed down. A friend of mine bought me a book on Arms and Armour yesterday ^_____^ It's fantastic to look at and has given me a final choice on certain Nazreal character's weapons. I are pleased when I make more progress, hehe. Mum says I've been getting much better with driving my own car, but to be frank she does stress me out a bit when she's telling me how to maneouvre. I do appreciate her helping me but there's something about it that just irks me. And I shouldn't be irked, because it's not good. Ah, another day off tomorrow *grins happily* I'm looking forward to relaxing all day. It took me over three hours to get to sleep last night and I can't figure out why. I guess it's just one of those things that happens every now and then; I couldn't be bothered to eat anything for supper, which probably confounded things a bit... I hope I'll get more sleep tonight, though. I don't really like waking up at 10 in the morning, heh. As much as I like sleeping, I don't want to miss out on my day. Snug as a Bug in a Rug I do love my bed ^____^ It's a pretty expensive mattress, because the old one had been in for about 20 years and was barely holding my weight. If it's something like a bed that you seep on pretty much every night, I think it's worth getting something really nice, because sleep is so important to your general well-being. If you can't sleep, you can't carry on as well as you should. When I first got it, it was a lot firmer than what I was used to: something akin to a big sponge with springs in it. But it was so nice... And still is, although it's softened a bit. After a long day's re-enacting it's still as comfortable as ever to collapse onto, just pulling the covers over your shoulders and drifting off to sleep. Making the bed is a bit of a pain, though- the mattress is bloody heavy and needs to be rotated periodically so the wear's even and it doesn't deform. But since I change the bed so late at night I'm the only one around to do it, and at midnight the last thing you really want to have to do is pick up and move something like that, especially if it goes about knocking over the rest of your furniture in the process. I could do with some more bedclothes, actually. My favourite set is a black, grey and gold set in a sort of gothic marble/stone-effect. Looks lovely when the room's clean, and matches my tiger blanket very nicely ^_^. The other set I have is a... sort of isometric cream, red gold and blue design all set about in diamonds and odd gemetric shapes. I much prefer my sister's purple and green arty thing, or my mum's Japanese sheets. Perhaps I should raid some mail-order catalogues so I can sleep with renewed style, hehe. What are your bedsheets like (if I may be so bold as to ask ^_~)?

Comments (12) | Permalink

Saturday, October 16, 2004

Get to Grips... Strangling Grips >.>

Agh, this computer is driving me insane. I dislike graphics programs, word-processors, sound drivers, Cheap CD-Rs and RealOne Player >.> All of them have packed up at some point today and I've actually lost count of how many restarts I've had to do. I know that two CD-Rs have had to have been binned because they didn't work properly. But that might be down to my incompetence as much as anything else. Mind you at one point, I was only three words away from completely finishing something (apart from a bit of touching up) when a random error message flashes up while I'm typing and the program disappears, taking my unsaved work along with it. "Oh, you bitch!" I spat, much louder than I'd antitipated- I heard a distant 'Oooooh!' from Mum on the landing, heh. *sighs* Still, at least that job's done. All I need to do now is finish... something else, heh. And we have people round all day tomorrow. Whoop-de-do ^_^; They are nice people, but it does put a spanner in the works a bit. The Odd Couple is a very good play. I've read through the first act today and I'm confident I could make it work for my Directing Module. I just need to find the parts... but that'll be done in the sudition on Tuesday, hopefully. Problem is, we've been assigned to groups, and you're not supposed to be allowed to use anyone who's in your own group. three of the people I'd most consider for the parts are in my group, annoyingly. It's not that I dislike everyone else- some people just seem to fit the bill better than others. Um... Oh, the pictures! I'd completely forgotten about them, heh ^_^; Merlin, Mimmi and Romulus. This was taken on the third day because I suddenly realised I didn't have a picture of Mimmi with the doggies. So here they are ^_^ PIGEONS! Albeit only two of them. There were many many more, some with bazookas and sawn-off shotguns... *coughs*... well, okay, they didn't have bazookas. Deck Chairs. All padlocked together, and you had to pay one pound to use them. Why? I bet it's a front for George. he's conspiring with the pigeons to... um... smuggle bread crusts through an underground pipeline to Trafalgar Square, so the fat pigeons can get fatter and George can dig holes for them to sit in. Ah yes, I know your game... My Umbrella- Solo's Eye View. I can't say these are the most exciting pictures of the lot, heh. I have one more yet to upload, though- I um do be needings to talkeh to Misser Heaven's Cloud aboutbout thatness. In Other News... Welcome back Karmi! *waves frantically* It's great to see you again, hehe. Sleep well everyone. Love you lots ^_^

Comments (3) | Permalink

Friday, October 15, 2004

Hmm >.>

Something definitely isn't right somewhere. Or perhaps in... several somewheres. My phone just died on me. That's the first itme it's ever done that. And it was right in the middle of an important text message. Perhaps it's a sign of some kind. Anyway, my application form should be finished by the end of next week, which'll mean I'll have sent it off with lots and lots of time ot spare. That's promising. I'm still apprehensive about moving away from home. I've accepted that one way or another I'll be doing it, but I don't know where, or even when. I don't like it much. Aah, I need to think of something light-hearted and interesting to update here with, but all I'd be doing is trying to cover up how I really feel, and that would... well, it's not lying, but it's not very honest. I'm not depressed or anything, just rather worried. And in someone like me it can be rather destructive, heh. I need a post filler. Surveys are forbidden from TehSillyCircus2, so... um... I'm going to kill this sodding computer. The sound was a little screwy ever since it as passed on ot me, but now it's getting to be unuseable because it keeps jarring and slowing down so much. I can't even listen to CDs properly- I dread to think what havoc nine AIM conversations would cause (seeing as I'm on far less than I'd like, that's how many I tend to get myself into whenever I log on). It's frustrating because I wan to be able to relax here, and most of the time my music accompanies my relaxation, but I just get more tense if it's interrupted or just does that stupid 'millisecond of track played every half-second' crap that it often enjoys pulling. Rrr, not a happy bunny. Still, I have a weekend break. That's something to look forward to, heh. EDIT: Oh! I still have photos to put up. Those'll be here tomorrow, hehe. Sleep well!

Comments (7) | Permalink

Thursday, October 14, 2004

Stand A Chance

(My favourite track from the Big O soundtrack, heh). I have some good news: Enter the Net shall be returning soon. I can't guarantee how soon exactly, but I'm working through a couple of the chapters again now and things seem to be going okay. I have a habit of being incredibly unreliable when it comes to things like this though (and I can't apologise enough to people who are still waiting for stuff from me- I promise I'm doing everything I can at the moment >.>). Keep your eyes peeled and I'll give another notice a few days in advance, heh. Subjective Realities I've always been brought up to question the information handed to me. In some cases I do it better than others- usually when it comes to TV adverts and scientific research. And sometimes when I receive a big piece of news (good or bad), I'll sometimes be sceptical about it. There's this really fun programme on SkyOne called Braniac: Science Abuse, and basically it's all the stuff that made science interesting- excuses to blow up as much stuff as possible and the experiments that have relevance or interest to every day life, or some that are just... well, that you didn't know you wanted to know. Or didn't, perhaps. Some things are just incredibly pointless, mind. Like finding a million different ways to stop a cassette player from working, including plowing it up with TNT, firing a 2-bore shotgun at it and setting it on fire. Why? Because they can. One of their experiments today was to try and see how a sportsman's performance was altered by having a distracting crowd right behind them, in sports where there's usually dead quiet everywhere; namely tennis, golf and bowls. The conclusion was that while golf suffered as a result of having a crowd of maniacs behind you, tennis and bowls' accuracy increased. It's flawed as a true experiment though, because there were no repeat performances and no average taken for better results. Noise doesn't always aid concentration, and it would depend greatly on the person. Sometimes noise can create a feeling of discomfort which throws you off, but at other times it might intice you into focussing more clearly on what you have to do while trying to completely blank outside influences. They looked at one person per sport, which isn't a great representation, heh. But even though it had its faults, it was a pretty interesting experiment. It would have been nice to see whether different kinds and levels of noise made a difference- like rock music compared to a yelling crowd and some roadworks, for example. But it's only an hour-long show and there's a lot of other stuff they need to get in, so it's not really viable to do it over and over again. But this is why I rarely believe the research I'm handed on adverts. 90% of cat owners prefer Whiskas, eh? They probably stood next to the Whiskas section and asked people who chose it whether it was what they prefereed to buy or not. And even if they did say yes, it means absolutey nothing. The research is probably funded by that very company to get the results they want. And you even have to be careful with bits of information that aren't necessarily research, but are cleverly-crafted phrases to make you think what you're getting is assuredly safe. There's a new range of foods created by Bird's Eye for kids, which is 'nutritionally balanced'. 'Nutritionally balanced' is one of the most innately deceptive things you could use to describe food. All it's saying is that there's as much good stuff as there is bad. For convenience food, all you're getting is trash anyway. Don't expect premium fresh free-range food bursting with vitamins and goodies. But even the foods that advertise themselves as 'low-fat' aren't as healthy as they appear to be. Yeah, the fat's low, but that usually leads to a compromise in taste value, so they have to pump other stuff inside it to make it palateable. Check the salt and sugar contents, for instance. I won't go into everything else in food that's bad for you cause I'd be here all night, but it's disgusting stuff. [I was sure I'd written something about this already somewhere o_o; Maybe I'm only thinking I did...] There was this documentary about what parents let their kids eat a couple of days ago and what it showed was disgusting. The documentary created their own brand of kids' yoghurt specially for this experiment, called 'Fit N Fruity', which actually contained about as much nutritional content as a bag of sugar. And they played kids an advert of it during their normal TV programmes, then sent the parents and the kids off to the supermarket. A lot of the kids immediately went for the stuff they'd seen on TV and most were allowed to have it, despite the fact that it was one of the unhealthiest things available there. When someone from the food industry was confronted about hos misleading the yoghurt was, he said it was absolutely fine, even though there was nothing 'Fit' or 'Fruity' about it. And I won't even think about how much I loathe McDonald's. I'm not saying 'be suspicious about everything given to you', but you certainly need to make sure you know what you're letting yourself in for. Not everything is as clear cut as it might seem, heh. Sleep well ^_~

Comments (7) | Permalink

B33R!

I've read through three-hundred and sixty-something MegaTokyo comics today. It's amazing stuff, heh. In a way I wish I'd seen it much earlier, but at least this way I don't have to wait for days/weeks at a time for story updates, heh. I don't want to finish it today, though >.> Hmm, I'll post something more worthwhile up later. I'm not even dressed yet and I need some lunch, heh ^_^;

Comments (11) | Permalink

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

In Your Dreams...

You have an intense kiss! You and your partner connect when you kiss and you forget about the rest of the world. Hey, call me!!! ^_~ What anime kiss are you? brought to you by Quizilla Ambition stems from wanting, a burning desire to do something more than what you already have. I was thinking about this late last night and I didn't really know what my main ambition in life was. I can think of lots of short-term things, primarily those involved with learning to drive and to get onto next year's Stage Combat course. Others aren't quite so defined, but are just as important- trying to make myself more organised and finish things I start more promptly, for instance. Some I know I can easily achieve. Others are further away and harder to get to. But the ones that are easily achived can be just as important to you as the ones that are further away, even though as you near the more unreachable ones, they start to take over. But why aim for less if you can see exactly what you want in front of you? There are lots of things I'd like to do in life: -learn to draw my Nazreal characters well. -learn to play a musical instrument -learn Japanese -pass my driving tests -get onto this course -star in an anime -go to Anime Expo and so-on. Some I know I'm on the way to accomplishing, and others aren't quite so realistic. But at least I have something to aim for. The problem is that on a day to day basis I do very little becaue the things I want to do seem so uge and far away, but really I should be doing all I can to mke sure I'm at least making some sort of headway. I won't devote my life solely to myself, but I could be doing more. Especially if I know there are things I don't like about myself that need improving. What are your ambitions in life? EDIT: My god, I can't believe my spelling -___________-;

Comments (6) | Permalink

Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Kick Up the Proverbial

I've been getting more driven to do things that I should have been doing in terms of my college work and housework recently, which has left me feeling rather... lost, I suppose. I don't know what it is- perhaps the tail end of this illness. Either way, something's eating at me and I can't figure out what it is. I think it's the impending inevitability of having to move away and fend for myself away from the luxuries I currently put so much stead by. Money's being spent to prepare me for this course- mum and I are interested in getting this all-in-one multigym to help develop my muscles, and we're organising martial arts lessons with Derren soon. It's all... rather scary. I'm sure everyone who's already started at University will be able to certify this, heh. I guess the bottom line is that I don't want to go yet, but I do have at least the rest of the year until I'll know for sure. I might not even get onto the course, in which case I'll have another year of bumming about. In more news, we're going to be performing The Wind in the Willows after all. I'd have preferred The Incredible Vanishing, but meh. It would have been triple-cast though, and that would only have meant six or so performances for everyone, which just... it's not great theatre experence, really. We'll have to sing, though >.> I guess with Children's Theatre it's near enough unavoidable, but hopefully my lessons will help seal the fate of poor voice-ness. Uhm... yes. I need to send out a PM or two which I've fallen behind with, but somehow I don't think I'll manage to get it done tonight unless I listen to lots of music, heh. Oh, but I do need to give Mimmi her Literati Square word, heh. Methinks I'll do that... EDIT: Bloody spelling >.> I'm sure I must have some mild form of typing dyslexia.

Comments (8) | Permalink

Monday, October 11, 2004

*coughs*

Bother, I'd forgotten I'd not written an update here yet. Erm... * * * A deserted island in a sunny archipelago. From the room in his Town Centre, Hugo the Third (descendant of the rulers of the pround Mongol race) observed the land that would one day house his empire. So far it was only three villagers and a scout strong, but soon, very soon, he would be triumphant. His blue-robed people would one day cover the entire map! Immediately he set to work- sending his villagers to build houses for the immanent arrival of more workers, and sent the scout to round up some sheep for food. He stroked his long Mongol beard and sat back in his chair. Yes, this empire wouldincredibly prosperous. It was a rocky start- while the people multiplied, new research was carried out and more buildings were erected, the resources were dwindling, and it frequently alternated between not having enough wood or food, both of which were vital. His stockpiles of gold and stonehad hardly be touched- they would be needed later, though. Suddenly- news from the other kingdoms! The others had progressed much further than he'd anticipated- already they had Barracks, Archery Ranges and Stables. This was preposterous! How dare they challenge his empire with such petty means? He was the one true ruler. He and his allies, of course (the Japanese and Byzantines, red and purple ees respectively), but they didn't matter that much. They mainly went about their own business and said "Gold, please" whenever they were short on resources. You would never see Hugo the Third beg for gold. Never! There was no glory in begging. Conquest, however... As soon as the Feudal Age came about he started creating the foundations of a formidable army- Archers, Skirmishers, Scout Cavalry, Men-At-Arms- everything was beginning to come together. he even had the beginnings of a navy- three small but effective War Galleys waiting by the Dock, while Fishing Ships darted in and out, providing him with the means to feed his glorious empire's citizens. But hark! More news! The ememies (The Duke of Gloucester) were attacking his allies, Emperor Matsumoto of Japan! This was unfortunate indeed. Hugo the third stroked his beard again and thought abuot building up his defences for the inevitable invasion. The Castle Age appeared, giving Hugo the Third much more scope to expand his empire- ship upgrades, new research and the introduction of a Monastery for increasing his ties to the land and people. Wih Monks studying the ancient Relic found on his lad, gold was slowly being leeched into his pocket, to be spent on ships and weapons. But no! The old was disappearing! The huge mines on his land had been compltely purged of all possible trace of the precious metal- all he could do was wait until he had enough and then spend it on the most necessary materials. And all the while, the farmland was beginning to die- his workers were not working efficiently enough, and attacks from the English, Spanish and French ships were constantly playing on his mind- if they broke through the line of Guard Towers, they would be finished! As soon as he was able, he upgraded his armada of ships to Galleons to aid his plight. Alas, the English would not leave him alone! Their ships were faster and attacked harder than his- something had to be done! Creating another armada of Elite Cannon Galleons, he stormed the coast of the Spanish country and decimated their castles, giving him leave to plant some more Guard Towers (soon upgraded to Keeps)to aid the defence of the realm. The Turning of the Tide! The Spanish had fallen! His Elite Cannon Galleons had a much greater range and attack power than their buildings, and their villagers were made short work of by his Paladins and unique Mangudai units, who excelled in archery and had an affinity for destroying siege weapons. He stroked his beard agaIt was three against two now. The odds were looking to be in his favour... Suddenly, another discovery! The French had not returned a Relic to their Monsatery! A waste of gold, indeed! Although across the map from him, Hugo the Third saw his chance- it meant risking the tiny Transport Ship through English territ, but it was a risk worth taking. He ordered his single monk on a long and perilous voyage. Knowing it was for a good cause (and gold), the monk obeyed. Where years seemed like seconds and the constant attacks were beginning to subside, the Mongol Monk returned and brought with him a gateway to more gold, and more power. Hugo the Third had hence learnt of another small island covered in gold and stone, both of which he was in desperate need of. A surprise attack by the French left him short of cavalry- while the villagers basked in the security of the castles, he was busy balancing resources on a knife-edge, training up more Paladins and Hussars to aid his quest. once the troops were ready to leave, they left. The Path to Victory is Laid With Gold! The mines established, gold was being collected rapidly- he could now build a navy forty ships strong! Galleons, Fast Fire Ships, Elite Cannon Galleons- he was ready to launch his assault on the remaining two powers. Stroking his beard for a final time before his immanent victory, along with the Japanese infantry he razed the French castles to the ground and obliterated the English fleet, stopping only to reassure his farmers that they would continue to prosper throughout history. When the final message of abdication reached his throne, he laughed a laugh that shook the world. Yes, he had been victorious. * * * Meh, this is a bit of a crap interpretation, but I enjoy Age of Empires II all the same.

Comments (6) | Permalink

Sunday, October 10, 2004

Doot-doot...

By the way- if people see me online at OB and try and send me a PM asking me to come online, nine times out of ten it won't work, because I probably won't see it. I tend to browse OB for about five minutes (or more if there's a topic I'm interested in), sort out anything that needs sorting out and then go and do something else. Or, I might be typing out a lengthy RPG reply, in which case going on AIM/MSN simply makes even trying to reply pointless- all I do is talk and the RPG just gets forgotten, heh. So yes, it generally won't work. I'm still ill *grumbles*. But in different ways, and I'm slightly less annoyed about it because I no longer have to go anywhere and I have a full day off tomorrow to continue recovering. I might just lie in bed for most of the morning; hopefully by tonight I'll shake off this sicky feeling so I can relax and actually get some decent sleep. Last night wasn't exactly comfortable >.> Anyway, the murder mystery went like most other murder mysteries do, except we were in a different place: The Keep of Arundel Castle. It's quite nice (if windy), and very interesting (unless you're sat in the same place for an hour and a half), but not very good if you suffer from vertigo. I know vertigo's an actual condition which I don't actually have, but I'm bloody scared of heights at the best of times so I did my best not to look down or up when moving anywhere. Once we were on the ground it was fine. I didn't kill anyone. Hah. Although I felt like I could have done something when I was listening to some of the comments one of our number was making. It's odd how your perspective of someone can change when you see them out of a familiar context. And some of the things were just... well... Heh, I must warn you now that I'm so very anti-smoking I could go postal over it. I don't often, but I will go off on one at the slightest push. Luckily for today I managed to hold it in, but it was so tempting to say something. I think her parents already had though, from the sounds of things. That aside, I came home, feeling slightly more worse-for-wear than I did when I left, so I sat and played a bit of Half-Life (it's odd that even when a game can get to irritate you so much you feel like you have to finish it anyway), then started learning to ride a horse ^_^ Hi-ho Nugget, away! A friend of mine (Tony, from the animal sanctuary) is teaching me how to ride a horse. He's got this beautifully natured (if rather dirty *grimaces at state of trousers*) white horse called Nugget who you can pretty much do anything to and he won't bat an eyelid. Great for learning, so that's what I shall be doing as and when I can ^_^ Nicey nicey. But now, having eaten this phenomenally spicy chicken stuff in tortillas, I am feeling rather sick. I would lie down, but that would make it worse and I don't feel like doing anything much else. I guess... blah, I can't even write when I feel ill. Everything just kind of slumps. *looks at time* O_O; It's only 7:25? I thought it was much later than that. Whoodles. I have more time, hehe. That's good news. Uhm... I feel I should come up with a decent overall lengthy topic to discuss, but I really can't think of anything. Thank you for all the well-wishing *hugs everyone* ^_____^ It means so much to me. For now, I need to go and sit somewhere warm. Be well.

Comments (6) | Permalink

Bleh -_-
Ill, have to go out, don't want to.

Woke up last night thinking that my throat was bleeding. Not very nice, kept waking up after odd dreams.

Will elaborate further once put up with stupid people asking me stupid questions at a stupid castle in stupid medieval clothing with non-stupid Paul. Paul's cool, but I don't want to go. Problem is I can't pull out now, so it's... just bleh, heh.

*eats paracetamol*
Comments (10) | Permalink