Friday, September 22, 2006

Straggler!
Ah, I have a lot of comments to comment on, and no time in which to do it >.>; But one thing I will say:

Azure: Your wang may be larger, but my technique and stamina is way better than yours, and thus while the outward pride of your wolfpack is bigger, mine just sits here and smiles to itself knowing it doesn't have to prove anything to anyone because it's just that damn good :p

Anyway, without further ado...

Update!
So many things have been happening recently it's been hard to keep tabs on it all. I've pretty much all but left the Boards now, for one thing. While it wasn't something I intended to do, I'm just not enjoying it any more, and it seems pointless to force myself to browse threads out of habit and just get depressed rather than occasionally update here, where I actually want to be. Actually, blogging on all fronts has been pretty sparse of late. Sorry to those of you who I promised more frequency to. And I WILL finish that USA diary when I can collect my thoughts.

But I'm still doing okay, and I'm looking after myself well ^_^ Dan and I spent almost eight hours playing with Lego on Monday and created this fantastic research base thing, complete with moving machinery, spaceships, a Half-Life resonance cascade thingummyjig and... a device that turns fat kids into octopuses. We also went and bought the massive Lego Star Destroyer which we're in the midst of putting together. T'is huge!

Mourn-iversity
Lots of people have been leaving to go to Uni/Drama School these last couple of weeks. In fact, a lot of them have, and I've only been able to say goodbye to two of them. Which in one way is kinda nice because it means I haven't been feeling as down about it as I might have been, but I would've liked to have seen them off anyhow. Dan's girlfriend leaves on Sunday to go to Oxford, I think, and it was sad to see her go; I just worry a little about how Dan'll take it. But I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't have faith in him ^_^

Erm, what else... the battles at Herstmonceux went well, and I finally managed to get some elbow armour, thank god. Although the other week when we were fighting at Chichester I managed to hit myself in the face with my own sword... that wasn't very nice. It was my five-and-a-half foot one, and I just raked the massive crossguard into the bridge of my nose. I was sure I'd broken it, but it's still in tact and in shape. if you feel it, though, it has a massive square dent in it ^_^;

Counting up the scars, I've had four new ones on my right hand since the beginning of the season- three from one day (a Norman event when I had no gauntlets) and the one where I got stabbed a few months back. I keep finding mysterious bruises on my arms, even when I haven't done anything for days. Weirdweird.

We've started work on a new project- a play: Harold Pinter's 'The Caretaker', and I'm acting in it this time. Should be good ^_^

Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy is one of the best games in the world, by the way.

That's all I can think of right now. I hope you're all well ^_^ Take care, now.
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Wednesday, August 30, 2006

AAARGH!!
What the hell is up with all the endings for Starfox Command?

Geebus, that leaves nothing to work with to create RPGs. I'm so pissed off >.>;
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Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Legacy
Comments

Mamma Vash: I guess an English breakfast buffet would consist of baked beans, sausages, bacon, fried egg, mushrooms, tomatoes, occasionally black pudding, toast and hash browns. Oh, and sometimes sauteed potatoes. That's what we always have on the way to reenactment trade fares ^_^

Oh, I'd've loved to have tried out for AX Idol. But as it was, I didn't know what i was going to be doing with the company. Maybe next year, if I get the chance to go again.

Shin: Yay, infamy!

I really didn't want to risk not being able to get in over some silly technicality. I would've killed myself, heh.

---

My hospital appointment had been looming for some time now; this time I actually get to see the state of my hip for the first time in about five and a half years and have its prognosis discussed.

I wasn't really nervous until I was due to be called into the doctor's room. The consultant I was meant to be seeing was away, meaning I didn't even get in to the initial meeting until an hour after my scheduled time. He had a quick look at the X-Ray, and I caught a glimpse of my hip. But he wanted to see my other femur in comparison, so I was sent off for two more X-Rays to be done.

I was so tired, having had a late night last night and having to get up early this morning. I was almost reading NEO Magazine in my sleep. I only had it by chance- I'd forgotten the NGamer I'd intended to read.

Anyway, I was X-Rayed by the same nurse who did me last time. She was nice, although one thing I hate is having to pull my trousers down in front of them... and then needing them adjusted.

So anyway, they were fast-tracked through for me and I took them back to the doctor, who clipped them all to his little light-up board thingy.

I foud out for the first time today what my initial problem was actually called- a unicameral bone cyst. I've just been reading up about them on the internet, but I stopped after it made me feel sick. Pictures aren't exactly a help, but for those who are interested they tend to look something like this. Except mine hasn't got that dark line (most likely a break) through it. I also found out that I didn't just break my femure on my eighth birthday- it pretty much collapsed. The bits above and below the cyst got crushed together and my leg shortened by a couple of centimetres.

Now, things are pretty much okay, aside form the odd pain or two I get every so often (and which began persisting again today after the doctor examined me rather harshly. Damn him >.>;), except that the top of the femur is displaying signs of dysplasia- it's mis-shapen and doesn't quite fit the joint properly. There's very little loss of movement, but it will develop osteoarthiritic problems later, and I'll probably need a hip replacement at around 40, which is ages away. Unless it gets worse in the mean time, that is.

So, I've been warned off heavy-contact sports. I didn't tell them that I did historical reenactment, hee hee. And I'm not intending to stop that anytime soon.

So... yeah. It's pretty much what I was expecting and I'm not particularly worried about it, but actually seeing it again and knowing more about it makes me feel rather uncomfortable all the same.
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Monday, August 7, 2006

My US Trip: Day Two
Comments!

Kei: Thank you ^_^ It's actually been recorded by someone's DVD camera, so if I can rip it I'll stick it on YouTube, hehe.

Lea: I will. Glad to see you back, hehe.

Shy: I don't know, actually. I don't think Netflix has a UK branch, but I'll look into it ^_^

And you're coming up, don't worry. I've lots to say :p

Mamma Vash: I'll try that, too ^____^ Thankee.

Arcadia: Well, I'm not usually a pork pie person, but these were particularly nice ^_^

If you're in the Uk for your next birthday I'm sure I could arrange something for you :p

---

I'd bought an alarm clock on the plane because I was worried about there not being one in my room, only to find that there was one sat on the bedside table, looking very prim and proper. You can even see it in the dark. So I wasted £17 *shrugs* But now I have a battery-powered clock that projects onto the ceiling in four different colours! Bargain!

Anyway, I can't really remember what time I woke up the next day; probably about 8am. It was incredibly sunny outside, but the thermostat in my room kept everything at a lovely 72 degrees Farenheit. Although the temperature I wanted to be typically lay somewhere between 72 and 71, so I'd either feel slightly too cold or a little too hot >.>; There's no pleasing an Englishman when it comes to temperature.

So, my lack of food yesterday evening notwithstanding, I went downstairs to partake in breakfast. Swanning down into the lobby (not that there's much room for swanning in a lift), my only choices were Starbucks or one the hotel's restaurants. The other one I needed to be 21 to enter, damn them. Still, this looked appetising and I could read the menu from outside. I hadn't heard of most of the stuff they had on it, though, so I opted for the all you could eat breakfast buffet. Sensible choice, no?

I was sat down by a very friendly... waiter? attendant? Spanish guy who offered me toast, and once I understood what he was actually saying, I said 'yes please, thank you very much', then went to get food.

I was a little puzzled at first because I couldn't see the plates. I sat back down for a second and waited to see if one got brought to me, but upon closer inspection I saw them sitting inside one of those plate-warming 'holes'. So I picked one out and began circling the trays of yumminess. Or at least, I hoped they'd be yumminess.

The first thing I came to was scrambled egg, which looked... slightly dubious. I never ranked scrambled egg as being the most aesthetic of foods anyway, but this was slightly less aesthetic than I remember. But I was hungry and I've recently started liking poached and fried eggs, so I figured there couldn't be that much difference. I scooped some up and plopped it onto the plate.

Next was ham. I'm always one for ham and meaty things, so on that went. Same with the bacon. Then I came to these weird things that looked a little like spring rolls make with pancakes, but shorter and fatter. The sneeze-guard told me they were a species of 'Cheese Blintz'. I like cheese too, and although I could guess that the majority of this three centimetre-wide behemoth was pure cheese I took one (and thus limiting the damage that were to be done if I were to have taken two) and placed it at the edge of the plate. Some slices of bacon (which had more the look of a stained-glass window than meat, I must say) and some breakfast potatoes later, I poured myself some orange juice and sat at my table, where two slices of toast and some of the strongest coffee I've ever tasted was waiting for me.

Knowing that the eggs would probably be the least favourite item that I'd selected, I had them first. They needed a bit of salt and pepper, and by the time I'd finished I decided that I didn't really like scrambled egg very much.

The toast was gorgeous though- thick, warm and with real butter. The ham was more like what I'd know as bacon, which was a little bizarre. Perhaps even more bizarre (but not entirely unexpected) was that the bacon tasted pretty much like pure fat, so I wasn't as impressed with that as I'd hoped. Still, I was hungry and I needed sustenance, so I ate it.

The first high point of the meal (and subsequent meals) was/were the breakfast potatoes, though. Oh my God, the taste was amazing. I love breakfast potatoes so much it's unreal. If you can make them I will marry you and love you forever. They're either sliced (or, as they were for most of my stay) thickly grated potatoes, fried with bits of onion and red and green peppers. I picked out the green peppers cause I'm fussy, but I was suddenly not afraid to eat in America any more.

I still had the mysterious Cheese Blintz to go yet, though. Once the potato ecstacy had worn off I inspected it and dragged it over to the centre of the plate with my fork.

This thing was a surprise from beginning to end. I stuck the knife in and dissected it about a third of the way along, expecting to see something like Mozarella inside- instead I was greeted with what looked like cottage cheese. Immediately I was put off because I'm not a cottage cheese fan, but I was determinted to try different things, and since I didn't know when i'd be coming back to the US again I thought better of myself than leaving it alone.

In the mouth it goes, and... it's sweet?! What the hell kind of cheese is this? Apart from the fact there's a tiny bit of fruit in it (whether it was meant to be there or not I never found out), it was more like a sweet, half-solidified yoghurt than any kind of cheese I've ever had. It was nice, but of the most surprising consistency and texture ever.

I ate it, not entirely sure whether I'd be tempted into a second. Pondering the potential fat content, I decided against, and went for my orange juice.

Cue second high point of the breakfast, and one of the high points of the entire trip, actually. That orange juice was bloody spectacular. I want to go back just to drink some again. Worth it, worth it, worth it.

Little did I know that there were actually three more sections of the all-you-can-eat area: a section where a chef makes an omelette of your choice right in front of your face, a cereal/muesli/fruit bit and a whole section entirely devoted to muffins and croissants. I stole away some bananas and an apple and stuck them in my bag for later.

Pre-Reg Queue Goes On and On and On and On...
Thank God for iPod.

I took my first set of photos (which I'll start showing off tomorrow) that morning, outside the convention centre. I couldn't believe the size of the trees, as well as the buildings and the roads and the entire area in general. Once I'd finished marvelling at the pyramid-shaped ash trays I went inside to see where pre-registration was. I didn't know if I really intended to join the queue at this point, but I did anyway. And considering the size of it even at that stage, I didn't want to be much further down the line.

MyiPod and the first two volumes of the Bleach manga helped me feel like I was part of the queue- everyone else was with friends or reading manga, so I guessed I should be doing something similar. I didn't feel particularly confident with socialising at the point, so being antisocial came pretty easily :p

It was about an hour before the line started moving into one of the convention halls. We were directed to one of the three large computer stations at the end of this massive, massive empty hall. Our queue was the shortest by the look of it, but I figured that didn't necessarily mean we'd move any faster.

Some people behind me started playing Monopoly on the floor behind me- I guessed that was a cue to sit down and prepare to wait for a long time. I started on Bleach Vol 2, and immediately wished I'd ordered more ^_^; till, even though my iPod batteries were starting to run low at a rather alarming rate (I'm sure it's not 14 hours like they say it is), time passed relatuively quickly. The queues filled up slowly, with more and more people filing into each line. Some were in costume already.

Even though I had my lovely converted Luftwaffe jacket I still felt a little annoyed that I couldn't make a proper cosplay outfit. I was beginning to recieve compliments from a number of people (even one of the AX staffers with a video camera said that "I win at life" when I told her I'd put the design together myself), but it wasn't quite the same as having a costume that people can recognise and want to have pictures taken with. I have big plans for the London Expo next year ^____^

At about half past twelve, a massive cheer went up from the crowd as the AX staffers manned the comouter points and began processing everyone's badge pick-ups.

I was a little unsure as to whether I could tear it in half or not- above a perforation line it says 'Do not tear above this line before registration or else your ticket will be invalidated', or something like that, which had me petrified of even touching it until walking in the next day. To save myself the embarrassment in case I was being a paranoid itiot, I folded it up neatly inside the clear plastic badge holder instead, and nobody was any the wiser ^_^

Straight after picking up our badges we were marshalled to a place where hundreds of slaves volunteers were packing bags of freebies behind a big black curtain. I got a cool set of badges and the usual 'this is what this convention's about' bumf that is near enough essential if you want to find out what's going on. I had a feeling I didn't need to print off all those schedules before I left >.>;

I had a quick flip through the two Expo books and thought I'd pass the time by finding out where the House of Blues was. According to the map I'd looked at, it was only down the road.

God knows what scale that map was in though, because the roads are bloody massive. I got to the end of the junction for the Convention Centre and turned round because it was too hot, and Disneyland Drive looked to be at least a mile away. So I decided to go back to the hotel room instead ^_^

That's where I spent most of the day. I wandered around some of the hotel floors and the convention centre area, hoping I'd see someone I knew or that someone'd strike up a conversation about my badge. Unfortunately neither happened. But upon discovering the hotel had its own gym, I found a new way to spend my afternoon/evening ^_^

I like weight lifting, heh. I feel really good about myself when I get down to it.

Still, there's only so much you can do in one evening. I would have gone swimming as well but I didn't have any trunks and I didn't particularly feel like buying any. I didn't have anywhere I could dry them anyway, even if I had dunked myself.

I don't really remember much of that evening. I think I just read a couple more volumes of manga and went to sleep. I had a feeling it was going to be a pretty uneventful day in the grand scheme of things. I was really looking forward to the next day, though. I set my alarm for very early and geared myself up for shopping, costume sighting, voice-actor workshops and other such pleasures...

To Be Continued ^_^
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Thursday, July 27, 2006

O_O
Comments

Jaguar: I've never seen as wide a variety of people as I saw in LA. It was such a shock coming back to England. In comparison, the cultural diversity where I live is so little.

I didn't really go into Anaheim much. I was driven through it, but it might have been nice to walk around a bit... were the roads not so HUGE.

And yeah, I didn't think about that. When I first heard the statistic I assumed it meant there were more cars being driven in LA than there were people. Which wouldn't make sense. So I'm dense :p

Mamma Vash: I'd've enjoyed it more if I weren't so tired and hot. At least I wasn't in a particular need to be somewhere at a specific time, unlike the journey back.

It was a pretty nice meal on the plane, actually ^_^ Chicken and pasta with veg. The broccoli wasn't great, but processed vegetables are often a bit dodgy.

Haha, if I ever play soccer with cars, I'll use an inflatable ball. And a tank.

Mistress Mo: I had a quick glimpse up the stairs when I was on my way out of a plane. If I ever have the money to travel first class I'd quite like to, even if it was only once.

It's annoying that travel's become so expensive now. And as of October, getting into the US is probably going to be difficult if they scrap the Visa Waiver Programme, or whatever it is that's happening to it.

And my birthday and the premiere were amazing... more on that in a second ^_^

Shin: I'm still not sure how afraid of turbulence I am. We experienced a bit and it wasn't too bad, but they're made to withstand a fair buffeting, aren't they?

Yeah, it sounded pretty exensive, but the only other option was to order from Domino's Pizza, and if the one in London is anything to go by I never wish to eat from there again. It was shocking. God knows how they can get away with saying all their ingredients are fresh, because I have never seen a more processed bit of 'steak' (which were rectangular lumps of what looked like packed-down suasage) in my life.

John: The food at the Hilton was incredibly nice, actually, and in rather sizeable portions for the most part. But a burger for $13 (not including a $2 eat-in-room charge and compulsory tip for room service), however nicely it was described, seemed too steep. And I wanted sleep more than food.

The Premiere was at the Earnley Concourse, about half an hour away from me.

Shin: Thanks ^________^

Megan: Starbucks is my favourite coffee entity for the Chai Tea Lattes they do. and they sell Innocent smoothies ^____^ Then is Cafe Nero, because their hot chocolate and Mochas are amazing. Costa's not so good, but their paninis are alright.

Yeah, $13 is around £6. But even in the UK that's a lot for a burger solitary.

---

Aah, so much to talk about!

I guess most importantly I should describe the film premiere and my birthday, then I'll get back to my vacationaries.

I'm 21 now. I don't feel much different at all as a result of the number change. The events that unfolded on my birthday have probably altered me a little, though. Read on...

...if you like :p

What's coming to you
I had to get up pretty early on Sunday, cause I needed to get ready to be at Arundel Castle for 9am; as well as that I needed to pack a set of normal clothes and what I was wearing to the preimere, the rest of my Civil War kit, as much of the screening equipment that would fit in the car, and my massive canvas tent. What with everyone else in the house going in different directions as well, it was pretty stressful.

Anyway, I got there and we set up the tents, and Paul gave me (most of) my birthday present from him. There were loads of different-sized parcels, and I was told to start at the smallest one and work my way up.

First of all was a pack of ball-point pens, so I'd always have something to write with if I needed it.
Next was a pad of paper, so I could always write my ideas down on something if I thought of something.
Then I was given a clothes labelling set, in case I forgot who I was ^_^;
In case I got bored, I was given a K'Nex set
To bring colour into my life, he bought me a set of coloured pens,
And the final gift of that day was a booklet he'd put together himself, featuring a series of about twenty cartoons of me that he'd drawn spanning my four years of reenacting. It was so lovely ^____^

He tells me I have another present coming in about three weeks, and I'm a little apprehensive as to what it can be. I'm getting it the weekend of the next Arundel tournament...

I was due to be executed in the Castle Keep that day, too. I had no idea what to expect, but it was quite a harrowing experience being marched through the castle with people ahead of me clearing the public out of the way yelling 'Execution Detail!'. When we reached the keep, I counted four muskets. Bearing in mind the keep is like a fairly wide, open cylinder, it was going to echo something horrible. I was more worried about the noise than anything else.

I was placed against the wall, then turned around to see... seven muskets. This time I was actually starting to get pretty nervous. And then Derren took my hat away so everyone could see my face (this was all open to the public).

My crime was read out- I'd been drunk on duty, a crime punishable by death. Just before they were due to shoot, one of the ladies of the group rushed to my side (almost slipped up) and demanded that I weren't killed because I was the father of her children.

Needless to say, I was as shocked as everyone else.

She was dragged away and the squad prepared to fire. Once they'd finished the fourteen-command loading drill (which was drawn out to give me ample time to look back on my actions inregret), they took aim, I closed my eyes and they fired.

We'd been given a rundown of what was supposed to happen beforehand- the first volley would miss and I'd be okay, providing an opportunity for much humour for the public.

They loaded again and six of them fired, taking down not me but the two guards either side. I started to panic and run around, whereby I was shot by the other musketeer (much to the crowd's disappointment). Apparently something actually left the gun barrel and hit the wall- people saw something spark off the flintwork o____o;

It was a great crowdpleaser though, and when I returned from the dead and back to the campsite I had a massive cake waiting for me ^_^;

I couldn't believe how much everyone had done for me. I suppose... sometimes it's hard to know how much you're really appreciated by the people around you. That even if they don't say anything they like having you around. It was just... so touching.

Anyway, after the second skirmish in the arena (I've never fought with muskets going off less that six feet around me- it was an incredible experience), I had to bomb off to the Earnley Concourse and help Dan set up.

Moments of Truth
When I arrived Dan guided me off-road between a whole load of trees (possibly the weirdest bit of driving I've ever done) to the back of the conference hall where the screen was to be set up. He'd done a fair bit my himself already, but I helped secure the rest and sort out the bits and pieces that we needed from the Concourse (just a couple of replacement plugs).

By this point I felt hideously sweaty though, and could really have done with a shower. Problem was, the hotel rooms at the Concourse were all booked so the only place I could shower was by the swimming pool. It could not have been made more public, either. But luckily for me I'd pre-emtively packed a spare pair of boxers, so I wore my other ones in the shower. That's the second time I've done that, but I don't remember when the first time was...

Anyway, while I was cleaning myself Dan went off for food. he came back with a weird Beef Salsa sandwich and some gorgeous pork pies ^_^

We were both getting really nervous though, and he didn't want to eat anything much. I ate what I could, but once I looked at my watch I couldn't manage any more.

The feeling of anticipation was incredible. We were due to have about 100 people, all of whom we both or individually care about (or are trying to impress) in this intimate space to show something we've been working on for the last six months and have no concept of what the reaction was going to be. having watched it so many times, you just lose track of what the audience sees and you only focus on technical things- like whether a shot's out of focus or there's a dodgy edit somewhere. And I had to give a speech beforehand. Dan told me it only needed to be a thank you to everyone for coming and to let them know about the DVD Pre-Order forms that they could collect later. But I had something else that I felt needed to be said.

Starting the speech I was pretty nervous- having only written it the night before I hadn't been able to practice or anything, but everyone reacted to it much more than I thought they would. I told them how much we wanted to thank them all for their help and support, and the usual 'It's been a lot of work, but here it is' kind of thing.

The rest of the speech I can't really describe, so I won't try. It'll remain one of my favourite memories, but trying to type it won't do it any justice ^_^

So, once I'd finished being emotional the film started and a massive cheer went up amongst the audience.

The first few minutes were pretty tense. The beginning's probably the weakest bit of the film, but it was still getting some laughs. Gradually, the audience reactions increased and Dan and I both became more confident. When the closing credits rolled up, massive applause continued until well after it had finished, and once we both stood up another round of cheering began. It was such a wonderful, surreal experience. Then people started hugging me and I almost passed out, heh ^_^;

Everyone made their way into the bar and Dan and I did the rounds, talking to all the guests and finding out thier views. And on the whole, everyone really liked it. They said it was funny, original, well-written and that the music was great. Which was just what we wanted to hear ^_^ We even managed to keep two people notorious for falling sleep in movies awake through the whole thing, which is quite an achievement.

I couldn't have asked for more on a birthday. It was easily the best I've had so far, and one of the best days of my life.

A Sail With No Wind
Unfortunately the euphoria of the premiere hasn't continued onto the other screenings, and we've had relatively few people coming to watch them all. So we're operating at rather a loss at the moment. I'm going to try and negotiate with the people we hired the equipment from to try and lower the invoice amount, but it's such a shame that people just haven't turned up. Even people who said they would didn't. We need to find a way of making more money now, just to try and break even.

But all the same, everyone who's seen it has enjoyed it (aside from this stupid old woman who was just... ridiculously inobservant and mentally rather vacant), so it's nice to know that, had we been able to draw more people, it's definitely what they would want to see and could have been something fairly spectacular.

Here's hoping for next time ^_^
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Friday, July 21, 2006

My Trip to the US: Day One
Comments!

Shin: Urgh, that ear wouldn't leave me alone, even on the last day >.>;

I need to resize all of the photos, so it may be some time before I get them up. I'll do the written update and then post up piccies once the film screenings have finished.

Mimmi: Yer, that they be. They really need to think of better ways of stowing children for long-haul flights :p

Kei: I am teh overred it ^___^ Just about. A slight sore throat comes by every now and again, but I vanquish it with much Vitamin C.

Miss Mo: Hehe, I'll get everything I bought for myself together and take another picture of it. My sawg's less impressive now I've given everyone the presents I brought back for them, but it's still pretty cool ^_^

Mamma Vash: Hey! Good to see (well, read) you again, hehe. Oh, that car soccer was incredible... I'll have to get a copy of that.

I'll also upload the Pac-Man and Box Man videos onto YouTube soon ^_^

Megan: Mmm, Ryanair leave a lot to be desired. Like leg room >.>; I don't know if I could go travelling for a while again, though ^_^;

---

Right, then. The updates on this tale are going to be pretty sporadic, as I'm either in for very short periods of time or I'm not in at all. I've wanted to start this for at least a week, heh.

Well, I started packing on the evening before I left, which was never going to be a good plan. I was rather stressed and panicking about the whole thing, not least because I still needed to hear from some people urgently about the status of the film (and specifically whether we were going to have to fork out an extra £500 to get it rated), and that I was leaving Dan to do far too much work while I did nothing productive.

Still, I slept... a bit, and packed my washbag the Thursday morning, awaiting my lift from Jeremy. He was lovely enough to offer to drive me all the way up to Heathrow, and also to pick me up and drive me back again ^__^

I think Mum was pleased, excited and slightly nervous that I was going away to America by myself. I promised to text her when I arrived, though. It hadn't quite sunk in just what going out to another country by yourself actually meant at that point, so I was feeling okay about it.

The drive up was... fairly agreeable, actually. I was getting a little hot in my newly-adapted Lufwaffe jacket (which I received a lot of compliments about *grin grin*), but I was determined not to have to pay anything for extra baggage weight. So, everything that would fit into my pockets went in there. Sitting was uncomfortable.

And sitting was what I did a lot of for that day. Although between bouts of sitting were interminably long periods of standing in queues. Thankfully Jeremy stayed with me while I checked in- I'd have gone insane otherwise. We were stood there for about an hour and twenty minutes, leaving me about forty minutes to get food, eat it, and get to the gates before they closed.

The food in Heathrow Terminal 3 isn't particularly nice, by the way. I wouldn't recommend it. Mind you, it kind of befits some of the customers you get there...

We were waiting to eat at this canteen equivelent of a greasy spoon, which served different kinds of meat with baked beans, fries, etc, and on the menu to the right it lists everything you get with the particular option you want. Ergo, if there's something on the list you don't like, you can either pick something else or, get this, ask not to have it. Now, this choice seemed to appeal to every one of the three people in the queue ahead of us, except they had no concept of timing. This stupid, thick-set bloke from (I guess) Northern ireland was being served, and asked for an All-Day Breakfast- sausages, bacon, black pudding, baked beans, hash browns... and every single time the lady put something on his plate, or had just started to do so, he'd say 'No, I don't want any o'that. Can't you put something else on?', or 'Can you give us some more?'. In all, he was the most annoying person I witnessed throughout the entire holiday (although there were some hot on his heels), which was pretty good going seeing as I'd only been out the house for four hours. But then, these two oriental girls did exactly the same thing! Although, to be fair, they did leave after a minute, deciding that they didn't actually want to eat from there after all. And I was having second thoughts now too. I've no idea what my stomach was up to, but food certainly wasn't one of its short-term plans.

I forced the stuff down me anyway. It was pretty bog-standard, and not something I'd enjoy eating again. The seating area was horrifically cramped, too. I think Gatwick's the nicer airport, even though it's much smaller. Something to bear in mind for arrivals into the UK *nod nod*

So, with about twenty minutes left, I said goodbye to Jeremy and left for the plane, and got to the gates five minutes before they closed. I then saw on the little boarding pass the lady at the check-in desk had given me that they recommend checking in at least three hours before your flight. Whoop, I'd allowed two >.> Thank you Expedia.

Up, Up, and... Up Again
So, I'd never been on a 747 before. This one didn't look as big as I was expecting it to be from the outside; or the inside, actually. I was expecting them to be about eleven seats across.

I had an isle seat. Score! I'd forgotten that's what I specified when I booked my ticket. But I was sat next to this rather odd French-Lebanese family who I had to help fill in their Visa Waiver forms. I have now discovered that my French accent must be awful, judging by they way they couldn't even understand 'J'habite en Angleterre'. Although, my English accent is probably just as bad, as they didn't understand me when I talked about 'capital letters'. I was hoping I could get away quickly before their visa forms had to be handed in just in case they decided to come after me for giving them bad instructions.

Take-off was quite smooth, surprisingly. I wasn't as scared as I thought I would be, although I still froze and grabbed the seat arms every time the pilot adjusted our altitude.

I'm pretty sure that you never actually fly anywhere, though- they just load you and your luggage into this massive simulator which plugs into the shell of a real plane, then you get driven away on the back of a lorry. Because on the extending tube you walk down, you only see a tiny bit of the plane which could easily be a wall made to look like a plane door, and the tiny windows are probably TV screens, and the flight attendants roll the blinds down so they can change the tape over mid-flight. That's all it is- a really, really expensive ride in a simulator. Then, once you've been driven to your destination, they plug the simulator into an awaiting plane 'shell', and you look like you've flown thousands of miles. Isn't it clever?

Anyway, on the plane I watched bits and pieces of Hoodwinked. The best part was that squirrel talking about the Di-Nah-Mi-Tay (Dynamite) candles, and the rest was pretty bad. I watched about half of Aeon Flux, an episode or two of Scrubs and some other stuff... I can't really remember what. Oh, A Cock and Bull Story, which was... okay, I suppose. I wouldn't watch it again. Ah, I remember! Zathura! That was cool, cause Jumanji was, too.

They also had this interesting kids' animated series called Jane and the Dragon, a CGI thing by WETA. For a kids' series, the dialogue was really well written and the quality of the animation was good, too. Good English accents, too. But they only had one episode of it, which was episode 4. Most kids' series haven't heard of the phrase 'story arc', though, so it's not as if I was missing out on important story or character elements or anything.

Why is it that as soon as a plane stops, everyone immediately unbuckles their seatbelts even though the Captain says at least seven times at each end of the flight that you must not take off your seatbelts until the overhead light says you can? The cabin crew must get so pissed off.

Los Angeles was hot. And smoggy. And full of cars.

[Note: I'd heard one (obviously rubbish) statistic that there were more cars in LA than people. If that was the case, who is driving the rest of the cars? You can't have more cars than there are people to drive them. Buh.]

Once outside I was directed to this guy who was the share-a-ride firm's Man At The Front for LAX, who said he could get me to Anaheim. He radioed in this guy, and about twenty minutes later he turned up. Looking back, he could only have been about five metres away, judging how the rest of the journey went. We left LAX at... must've been seven pm. He had a few other people to drop off before he got to the Hilton, though, which I was fine with. They were all on the way, apparently.

As was the case most of the time when I was driven somewhere, the traffic was pretty good. Our PrimeTime minibus driver, however, left me feeling pretty annoyed. He didn't appear to know hos way around much, and then almost ran out of petrol- his warning light was on for the entire journey, and I had nightmare visions of us breaking down before I got there. By this point all I wanted to do was sleep.

I got to see a fair number of the places surrounding LA and Anaheim, though. Fullerton, um... some other places...

When we actually arrived what was unmistakably Anaheim, we saw the Disney fireworks. The biggest individual fireworks I've ever seen, I must say. Very pretty, too. Although after every single night that must lose its novelty value pretty quickly.

We arrived at the Hilton some time after 9pm. I reluctantly tipped the driver (after raeding how compulsory tipping was in the US I was scared not to tip anyone) and walked inside.

The Hilton Anaheim is a lovely, lovely hotel. Crisp, cool air blasts from the air conditioning, and it's all decked out in creamy marble and green colours, with a massive lobby with a water feature in the middle of it. And there's a Starbucks on the ground floor, amongst a number of other weird shops. I can't say I was really surprised, but it felt a little surreal. it's a far cry from some rural bed and breakfast in England.

I checked in and was given the (!) swipe card to my bedroom. I actually sort of broke one, because it was next to the magnet on my phone case, and wouldn't work... I had a spare though, so no biggie ^_^

My bedroom was huge, although there wasn't that much actual space. A lot of it was taken up with huge bits of furniture. My bed could easily have fit six people on it.

I perused the room service menu for a few minutes, debating on whether I should order something to eat. The restaurant had closed once I'd got upstairs, and I was starting to get a little hungry. It was the prices that put me off, but it took me a while to realise that, of course, it wasn't thirteen pounds for a whatever-burger, but thirteen dollars. Even so, it still seemed rather steep.

Deciding instead to flake out and save myself for breakfast next morning, I... flaked out ^_^; I could pick up my ticket for Anime Expo the next morning, and all would be well... I hoped.

To be continued...

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We're gearing up for our premiere on Sunday ^_^; Which is also my 21st birthday. Waah, I feel so old. The figure value '21' hadn't registered as being significant until I saw it on the OB Birthdays bit on the calendar. I'm a little scared, actually. I'm not sure why ^_^;

It's been pretty stressful, actually. While dealing with the BBFC (we didn't have to pay that £500 extra, by the way), on Wednesday we got a call back saying the encoding on the DVD was wrong, and I went into a blind panic thinking that we were going to have to redo everything in time for the screening on Sunday, but a phonecall from Dan (albeit several hours later) calmed me down and said that it actually wasn't a problem at all. Goodie. And even the initial problem's been fixed now, which is a relief ^_^;

We picked up all the screening equipment today- the screen, projector and speakers. Seeing it on a ten-foot screen is just... amazing. It looks like a real film now, and I can't wait for the Premiere. I'll let y'all know how it goes, if I'm not able to post again tomorrow ^_^

*hugs* hope you're well. Take care!
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Thursday, July 6, 2006

Been Around The World...
...or half of the northern hemisphere, at least.

I'm back, and amongst my anime merchandise and copious amounts of photos I have also imported a flu bug which I've been suffering from since the night before my flight. As a result I'm pretty damn knackered, but I'll give a full update as soon as ^_^

Had a fantastic time.
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Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Another Experience of a Lifetime...
Comments!

Mo: Yeah, 'U' stands for 'Universal', which is the exact equivalent of a G-rated US film.

X-Men 3 is well worth watching, but I didn't find it as gripping as X-Men 2, and the structure's a little loose in places. But oh! Pirates of the Caribbean 2! EEE! I can't wait ^____________^

I finished packing this evening, and I'm due to leave tomorrow at 10am. My flight's at 3pm (my time), and I arrive at 6:45 California time. Then I get the bus (I presume) to Anaheim and sleep for a bit. Then it be teh Friday, and I can wander around Anaheim or mayhaps visit LA, methinks.

Kei: My camera only consented to take pictures of Shin so long as it can add a digital tutu and tiara. I'm currently in negotiations to reduce that to just a tiara.

But yeah, I'll have plenty of photo food ^_^

Thanks for letting me know about the Hyde question! I posted mine yesterday afternoon, hehe. I doubt it'll get asked, but you never know ^_^

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God, I'm so nervous. I'm not really sure why; I can't remember feeling this anxious in a long time. Earlier I felt like I was actually going to throw up while rushing around finding T-Shirts.

I looked at the weather forecast for Anaheim and OMFG it's hot there. That's over core body temperature >.>; Looks like it cools off a bit later in my stay, though. That's nice. I don't like being too stuffy (although I imagine I'll be sweating like a mad thing anyway).

In...erm... probably about 24 hours, I will be on the same continent as Kei, Sara, Mo, Panda, Ben, Shin, Shy, John (yes?), Ozy, Roxie, Gavin, Megan, Azure, Des, Dagger, Karmi, Sennen, Nerdsy... ooh, what a thrill ^_^

And I'll be within 40 miles of YOSHIKI's house! Yay!

I'm going to get myself ready for bed. Not that I'll sleep, mind, but I can take it fairly leisurely all the same, heh.

See you soon ^_^ I'll try and update while I'm out there, but I imagine an anime convention's going to fill up most of the internet cafes in the vicinity >.>;

Take care!
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Sunday, June 25, 2006

Gets Me Every Time...
Comments

Sara: *blushes*

I'm not currently being beaten up with swords, no. I had training this morning and got hit on the elbow, but nothing serious. I am being careful ^_^;

Kei: I'm looking forward to it, whatever happens. A lot of people are complaining already that it may get stale, but considering the amount of time they'll have had to think about stuff while not working on the show, I think it's going to be pretty good. Like they often say on their commentaries, there's a lot they didn't get to do, and this'll give them a chance to flesh stuff out more. Perhaps some two-parters, or a bigger story arc?

John: Aha, I didn't choose that. T'was Dan's genius ^_^

Shin: I thought you'd be excited ^_^

And thank you ^_^

Ajeh: Ajeh! Where you been, dawg?

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I went to see Over the Hedge this evening, and I must say that i really did enjoy it. The first 'U' classified film I've seen in years. And there is something about well-written, wholesome family films that warms your heart. Well, mine anyway. Cause I am a softie.

It got better as it went on, and although you could tell exactly how things were going to plan out you let yourself get dragged along by it anyway, because it's not meant to be taken as a serious piece of drama. And in some way I think I had a better reaction to it than when i went to see Tha DaVinci Code, because I was always looking at the story and the acting, and all sorts of things like that. Films where you can immerse yourself in their world are the better ones, I think. I think children's films achieve that better than almost any other genre.

Or maybe it's just me.

After a while I do tend to feel kind of depressed and lonely after watching a really heart-warming film, though. I'm not really sure why. I guess it's just the relationships they have there and the way everything works out... having to go back home and get on with proper stuff seems more than menial ^_^; But that's life.

Everything I read, or see, or every programme I see about writers makes me want to write my story more. Films inspire me (either through good, involvong storylines or crap ones where I can analyse what doesn't work), and programmes about writers make me jealous to the point where I want to rattle off my story just to spite them already being on TV for writing something I don't like.

And that's another reason for writing my books- I want to do it because I'm too fussy about other people's stories. Every plot point or character that seems out of place I want to re-write how I'd see it. It's a little... spoilt, I guess. But if it helps me get everything down and leads to an eventual publish then I won't complain. Then I can blow smoke out of the arses of the people who inspired me, heh.

I'm really looking forward to this holiday.
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Saturday, June 24, 2006

Filmy Filmy Film
Comments!

Kei: He have been teh BOO-ed!

Shin: Ah, that'd be awesome ^_^

Akamaru: One of the questions nobody's been able to get right, actually, which is a little rude of me for phrasing it in a rather inobvious way. I've had four blogs: one on Bolt.com (which was where my first e-mail address was), one BlogSpot, MyOtaku and MySpace. I just wanted to see how many people'd take it, heh ^_^

Domon: Hey, not seen you around in a while. Welcome back ^_^

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Exciting news! Not only is Futurama coming back for 13 episodes on 2008, and Half-Life 2: Episode 2 out in the last quarter of this year, but we have a new trailer online for our film!

Go and see!

In this one, you will hear a voice over. Three guesses who it is :p

I am off to lunch. Very very hungry now >.>;
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