- I'm moving in with the girl next month. Scary fucking biscuits, but exciting, too. We've been living together, along with two other girls, for six months, but this is Just Us. Waaaaaaaah. We've already had a mini domestic over an omelette pan. I'll post some pictures of 'The Garden Apartment' (yes, really) when we've moved in.
- We're off on our jollies on July 1. All that's left to do is: book accommodation, sort out money, figure out how we're getting to Luton airport, move house...
- I don't like Twitter.
- I fell out with the parental guidances on Friday and cried for most of the weekend. They drive me up the wall, but they are truly the sweetest things. I am supposed to call them tonight; we'll see how that goes. The three of us are going to Leeds this weekend for my sister's art exhibition. Friday's showdown could make for an interesting car ride.
- I might volunteer to walk retired Greyhounds on Sunday mornings. I can't have a dog until I own my own home; this seems a rather good substitute. Is Sheffield really rubbing off on me this much? It'll be flat caps and pie & peas next.
- Disgusted at a) the voting turnout and b) certain results for the European elections. I hope there is some serious examining of consciences taking place across Yorkshire and the Humber; however, I doubt it.
- H and I visited pretty Chester on the weekend with our friend Fairy, whose hometown it is. We stayed with Fairy's mum and dad in their lovely house. We might have seen someone getting gang-beaten on the way home via Snake Pass. Fairy and I saw nothing (I was driving, she was asleep) but H is certain she saw four guys next to a car in a lay-by, standing over someone/something, wielding a baseball bat. We reported it to the police anyway; better safe than sorry.
- While in Chester, we went to a party where everyone had to dress as characters from computer games. Since I already had the outfit, I went as a pilot from Flight Simulator. Although given the obscene length of the costume, perhaps Flight Stimulator would have been more apt.
(It says COCKPIT on the knickers. That's not an invitation.)
- I'll upload some Prague pictures soon.
So now I've been compared to Peaches Geldof (more than once) and Billie Piper. I don't see it.
- It was my birthday party on April 3rd. Thirty of us raised hell at Wagamama noodle place, then hit some bars. Fabulous night. Perhaps a bit too fabulous...
(I was making cheese on toast for the girls, honest).
- The girl and I fly to Prague on May 10th for a five-day break. Cannot wait!
- I joined Twitter. My verdict? The jury is still out.
- The girl and I visited a butterfly/reptile/animal farm on Saturday. It was possibly THE best place ever. I held a butterfly, giant centipede and snake, cuddled some adorable kid goats, fed some farmyard animals, spoon-fed an exotic bird some nectar with a spoon, was greeted with 'Hello!' by the same bird, and stroked a skunk (thankfully minus stink glands). Pics to follow in another entry.
- We then drove to Leeds to visit my sister and went to Wax:On - a dubstep/drum 'n' bass/electronica event. Awesome night.
- My phone has a broken 9wxyz key so I'm having to think up all sorts of
chavtasticinnovative ways to spell things ('Happi birthdai!' 'Thanks for ur monie'). Don't be offended if I don't put a kiss the end of my message to you. I can't.
- I now own a credit card for 'emergencies' (car trouble, getting stranded somewhere, pretty things). Mum and dad are sceptical, to put it lightly.
- I have been commissioned to write a magazine article for a friend on the subject 'How far have you gone for love?' Stories must be true. So if you've hitch-hiked across a country for a lover, stalked your prey for months before snaring them or tattooed a crush's name across your forehead to attract their attention (just a few examples there), I'd like to hear from you.
- I bought this Topshop dress. The size 10 was too big; the 8 too small. I bought the 8 and am now going to have to skinny down to fit into it. It's okay, though. After buying said dress, paying for Prague and possibly having to buy another phone, I can't afford to eat anyway.
- I've never used the 'rushed' emoticon for an entry before - it's kind of cute.
- I have also never used the 'rich text' format on LJ, preferring instead to make a hash of my entries with my skewed HTML skills. The word 'nifty' springs to mind.
- Mood:
rushed
Rules: Go to Google and type in quotation marks your name and then "likes to" (ex. "Steve likes to"). Type in the first ten things that come up and repost in your own post.
Emily likes to win!
Emily likes to play with the other girls at school
Emily likes to eat pasta, chocolate and tomato soup
Emily likes to dance
Emily likes to wander the streets without much planning
Emily likes to hide
Emily likes to play the guitar and write
Emily likes to twist the swing around and climb aboard
Emily likes to come in France
Emily likes to play tricks on her co-workers
- Music:Massive Attack - 'Unfinished Sympathy'
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
blue_condition has died.While I didn't know Pete outside of LJ, I feel desperately sorry that his life was cut so short.
Life is fragile, folks. Cherish it.
In memory of Pete, here is my favourite comment from him:
'Ugg boots and jogging bottoms - the sure sign that Aunt Flo is visiting.'
From: Mum (xxxxx@hotmail.com)
** Message **
Dad saw this story on the BBC News website and thought you should see it.
From: Dad (xxxxx@hotmail.com)
** Message **
You have to read this - especially the bit about 'secreted in the pants'
** Cash-in-buttocks man in M25 ban **
A thief who stole from rail passengers and hid the cash between his buttocks is banned from the whole of London for two years.
Not the sort of email you'd expect to receive first thing on a Monday morning - from your parents, no less!
Incidentally, here's the story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/e
- Mood:
amused
drocera gave me the letter T, which means I can cheat by using definite articles.1. Tunes. Of the music variety - not those dodgy throat sweets.
2. Texts. Both the literary kind and the mobile phone kind.
3. Treats. An unexpected postcard, coffee with a friend, a cupcake, a surprise outing. Who doesn't like treats?
4. Thinking. Always thinking.
5. Touching, and being touched.
6. Talking, and listening to others talk.
7. The colour green. I've loved it from when I was a toddler; from the day I started to learn colours.
8. Travelling.
9. Technology. I'm fairly useless at it, but it continues to amaze me. I think it's wonderful that you can wave to someone when they're on the other side of the world, converse clearly with someone in a far-flung country - even on another planet - and send and receive messages instantly. I'm the sort of person who still goes into raptures when a fax comes through.
10. Tits. Sorry, but I really do.
- Mood:
thoughtful
Paracetamol.
A five-pack of Mars Bars (one of which I'd torn the wrapper off before the kindly cashier had even handed me my change).
I should have just gone all-out and hung a sign around my neck saying 'painters in'.
That aside - as you can tell by my grumblings, I'm back safe and sound from Marmaris. I will post pictures soon.
- Mood:
cranky
Look after yourselves, folks!
:)
Including Kate and Anne, the two girls that run Cocoa, eleven of us - all female bar one - turned up. I thought it quite a good number for a book group considering Cocoa is the café equivalent of a thimble, although undoubtedly it'll expand as more people hear about it. The ages ranged from around twenty-three to late fifties, which will prove interesting during discussions, and we also managed to amass several nationalities - namely Welsh, Scottish, Irish, American and Polish - which was odd, but nice.
We will meet monthly to discuss our chosen books, our first assigned read being 'The Lollipop Shoes' by Joanne Harris (if anyone has read this, please feel free to comment). I've borrowed it from the library and am going to have a good bash at it on holiday. Other reads in the pipeline include 'Alice in Wonderland', 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' and 'The Kite Runner' - conveniently bought for me as a present by
sadeanheroine a few months ago (thank you, sweetheart!)Friendly people, intelligent debate, rich hot chocolate, beautiful decor and books. What's not to like?
- Mood:
excited
I sit here typing this, battered and bruised but otherwise happy. No, my girlfriend hasn't turned to domestic violence - apart from during the occasional heated moment in the bedroom, but hey, this is a family-friendly post. Rather, I gave blood last Wednesday for the second time.
I managed to persuade Becky to donate a pint of the red stuff too, so we went along together. Despite having three tattoos, Becky claims she's terrified of needles so I half expected her to bail on me. Happily, she didn't - in fact, she 'performed' better than me. Not only did she take less time than me to donate (nine minutes to my fourteen), but she sat up afterwards and was as right as rain.
Now, I've never been squeamish or fragile when it comes to any sort of bloody or medical procedure. Quite the opposite - last time I gave blood I nearly fell off the gurney because I was leaning over to watch my blood bag filling up. I'm certainly not one for fainting or feeling dizzy. But this time, I felt most out of sorts.
I was sitting there on the trolley quite happily after donating, pressing my wad of cotton wool against my arm, when my nurse - who clearly knew what was about to happen before even I did - asked me if I was feeling alright. I replied that I was fine, and continued to sit there. Seconds later, another nurse asked me the same question, but with a slightly elevated level of concern in her voice. Cue my response: "I feel fine, honestly. I'm quite happy just sitti... oh my God, I think I'm going to faint." The nurses leapt into a well-rehearsed routine, lying me down, putting a fan in front of me and an ice pack on my forehead, placing a sick bowl next to me and, finally, pulling a screen around me (I assume, in addition to guarding my privacy, so as not to put off the people who were waiting to donate - hardly the best advert!) If it hadn't been for their conservative, starched uniforms, it would have been hot. Literally ten seconds later I felt absolutely fine - most peculiar. The nurse scribbled something down on a napkin and told the lady on the desk to add it to my file, so next time I donate the computer will undoubtedly announce 'This one's a big pansy and will probably pass out on you'. But I got juice, biscuits and a blood donor keyring, so it was well worth it, if you ask me. There are pictures of my war wounds; these will be posted as soon as Becky uploads them.
In other news:
*I had the most wonderful time at home in Wales over the bank holiday weekend. Noteable highlights were shopping, eating, dogging - yes really; don't ask - seeing friends and family (thankfully not at the dogging sites), the Eurovision Song Contest (we were brawling in the gutter for last place with Germany and Poland, I was amused to note) and a barbecue.
*I'm off to Turkey a week today. Marmaris, for a fortnight, with Becky and our friends Rachael and Stacey. Although I'm looking forward to it, I've barely thought about it. I had to produce the newspaper on my own this week as James was away, so my thoughts have been with that.
*Finally, I feel as if I'm one of the very few people with ovaries in the United Kingdom - nay, the world - who doesn't give a flying fig about the
sadeanheroine reminded me), 'Three hookers and their mom'.- Mood:
relaxed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manc
Absolutely ridiculous. All this over - to pare it down - twenty-two men kicking a bit of leather around a pitch.
Then: I was 14; she was 15.
Now: I am 23; she is 24.
Then: We both lived at home with our parents and younger siblings (mine a sister; hers a brother).
Now: I live with friends; she is a homeowner.
Then: I was busy dating lots of hormonal 14-year-old boys; she was in a long-term relationship with Roo.
Now: I am in a long-term relationship with a girl; she is living with and engaged to Tom, her boyfriend of five years.
Then: I had my GCSE exams to
Now: We both ended up studying journalism at university and now we're working girls - although not in that sense.
Then: Long, handwritten letters. Neither of us had mobile phones and the internet wasn't common in households. MIX TAPES!
Now: Phones, emails, Myspace, Facebook, CDs, iTunes.
Then:
That picture was taken the first time we ever met - in a photo booth outside Asda in Cwmbran, Wales - in 2000, I think.
Now:
Taken 2008 in Corporation rock club, Sheffield. She now has glasses and I have a fringe, but I don't think we've actually changed that much considering nearly a decade has passed since we first met.
I still have all of her letters stored in a box; the mix tapes (yes - tapes!) she made for me; the handmade, multicoloured beaded bracelet she sent me with one of her first letters. Next February we will have been friends for ten years. Holy cow.
- Mood: nostalgic
- Music:Ladytron - 'High Rise'
- Mood: amused
- Music:Dandy Warhols - 'Down Like Disco'
I find it quite obnoxious. It's the cyber equivalent of blocking a stranger's path in the street, waving your arms and shouting: "YOU'RE NOT COMING PAST UNTIL YOU NOTICE ME!"
Similarly, I can't abide the emoticons that emit some sort of cackle or screech if you accidentally brush them with your cursor. When you're alone in the house it's bloody frightening, I can tell you. Unless it's possible to purchase brown trousers tied firmly at the ankles, this needs to be sorted - pronto.
*My birthday and the subsequent cards, presents, cake, alcohol, etc.
*My Bad Taste party - obviously!
(That's me as a dead Marilyn Monroe, wrapped in a bedsheet - note the drug paraphernalia!)
*Seeing my regular friends lots.
*Catching up with old ones.
*HEADPHONES DISCO!
*Having two 'victory' meals cooked for me by two different people (hint: never make a food wager with me for a rugby or football match. I WILL win and I WILL eat your food).
*Manchester this weekend (possibly).
*Watching Ellie, Tim and Isabelle doing the Theo 10k charity run on Sunday for Sheffield Children's Hospital.
*The arrival of Annelies and Ellen (my former Belgian housemate and her friend, respectively) on Friday 25th.
(I LOVE Tim's face in that pic!)
*ROLLERDISCO! Oh, we are so dressing 80s funk.
*Sharing a bed with Annelies for four nights - I'm well up for girly gossip in the dark!
*Picnics in the park.
*Ellie's Sunday roast with all the trimmings.
*A girly visit to Cocoa - the most sumptuous hot chocolate café I've ever been in. I can't even begin to describe the decor - it's just fabulous. Think Parisian chic - gilt birdcage; gramophone; roses; fur rug; petal-strewn fairy cakes on a silver platter...
(rubbish small pic of Cocoa - sorry)
*Anne (my German friend) arriving on April 30th.
(Anne = blue top)
And they're just the ones I can think of!
Oh, and it's not strictly April - but my penpal Sara (who I've written to since I was 14) is coming to stay with me at the beginning of May. I've met her lots of times before but haven't seen her for a while and she has never visited me in Sheffield, so I'm really excited about it.
Good times.
- Mood: excited
I had a wonderful 23rd birthday – thank you to everyone who made it what it was.
However, I am sick to the back teeth of the hand-wringing and plaintive wails of “We’re getting so old!” that seem to accompany the passing of each year.
( The delicate subject of age - a huge rant )
It was a long dream and it didn't have a definite sequence of events, but it remains clear in my mind all the same. Essentially, Michael and I were best friends - about as close as two people can be without it becoming romantic or sexual. We were very tactile and very open with each other. In the dream I accompanied him to several show venues, staying backstage while the band played. Oddly enough, Peter and Mike didn't feature strongly in it - only right at the start, when I was lying on a wooden floor with the three of them (okay, I never claimed my dreams were normal!)
The noteable parts were:
1. Michael's teeth in the dream - they were quite stained and uneven, and I remember wondering why he didn't get them seen to.
2. Michael and I discussing his boyfriend - he said to me (in a very camp, excited voice) "We have curtains in our house now!" and I replied: "Curtains? That's a much bigger sign of commitment than any ring, darling!"
3. Michael picking me up and swinging me around all over the place, as if I weighed nothing. We also lay side by side, held hands, cuddled a lot, etc.
4. How gaunt Michael was - his arms were like matchsticks in my dream.
5. In one of the show venues, the backstage area was extremely primitive - almost shack-like - with wooden floors, no seats, etc. Michael became really grumpy and diva-like, demanding more comfortable facilities etc. while I tried to placate him.
6. How odd Michael was. I can remember very little of what he said, but I remember a lot of what he said was very cryptic - almost spoken in riddles.
I've absolutely no idea what any of it means, but I thought I'd share it all the same.
- Mood: thoughtful
In other news - I am mildly annoyed at you. And, if you're honest, I think you know why.
