But it's a beautiful day and I should be outside enjoying myself. Only problem is there's nothing to do...apart from uni work which I know I have to do but I don't want to. I spent all day yesterday trying to decide what pieces I'm going to write about in my second essay on American lit and I'm still not sure. Drama's the one thing I'm quietly confident on, and we STILL haven't got our studying fiction essays back!! It's a nightmare. On the upside my cake went down well. It's a little bit HELLO I TASTE OF ICING SUGAR but other than that it's pretty nice, if I do say so myself.
I'm going to have a cup of tea and change the channel so I'm no longer listening to Tina Turner...

Off to Kidderminster tomorrow...hopefully I'll be able to get a bunch of flowers and a couple of cards from SOMEWHERE although I've left it a little late methinks. Though she should appreciate me turning up so that should be a Mother's Day present in itself. I know, I'll do the washing up. I just hope nothing goes wrong since I'm stopping till Monday.

Also I'll be knackered since its technically quarter to 2 and I'm still up.
And we have to sleep on the floor in the living room at the moment since we've just decorated our bedroom (it looks lovely) and it stinks of paint. So that's great.

On the up side I got a B for my drama essay which I thought was rubbish and it was handed in a day late. It said it was excellent in places but got confused, which was surprising since I thought it was confused all the way through. At least I was confused all the way through... so that's 1/5 of the module passed.

Incidentally, Gene Hackman just killed a man by knocking him out of a train window with a fire extinguisher. Innovative man, that Gene Hackman.

Suddenly this semester we've been given about 3 times the amount of reading we had last semester. About six plays, four books and loads of 'extracts', short stories and poems from the American literature anthology (which cost me 42 of my had earned pounds).
So, even though I have four day weekends, I can't do anything with them because I have to concentrate on catching up on reading. And I have three essays to complete in the next three weeks. How come they spring everything on you all of a sudden? It's week 4 already and it feels like I've only been back a week.
And I'm ill. Mike has a cold, his mum had a cold, so now inevitably, I have a cold. Luckily it's not so bad because I'm drinking tons of orange juice - on Friday I had about 4 days worth in one day - so I think my immune system must be working overdrive.
I also have an application form for a weekend job at the new Costa Coffee being opened, I need to give that back to the jobcentre soon. I don't have the time - but I need the money desperately.
Especially since Mike's almost decided he wants to go to Download again because Metallica and Korn and the Deftones and Bullet for my Valentine are playing, but camping sucks so I don't know how to get round that. It would be ace though.
Anyhoo, back to North and South!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRR I missed the bus today because the stupid website only gave me the timetable for Saturdays and, on arriving at the bus stop in time for the quarter past three bus, I looked at the timetable next to the stop which told me that on a weekday, the bus is at ten past three! No fair!
Anyway I couldn't be bothered to get a train and then a bus back, so I emailed the tutor asking if I could go on Friday mornings instead. Mwuhahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
I hope he says thats fine otherwise I've missed a week of Idea Of A Theatre. And that would not be good.

I go back to uni on Monday. I can't wait. All this having time off business has turned me back into a lazy arse who can't be bothered to do anything. I just don't really want to do the 5 till 9 module, but needs must. And, after all, I can get Mike to meet me at the bus stop, especially if he's working till 10. The other thing which really bothers me is my paranoia that uni actually started ages ago and I've missed loads of it. I used to get that at school, convincing myself the term had started earlier than it actually had or that it wasn't really non  uniform day, just some sick joke everyone played on me to make me look a fool.
Recently I've been watching films on top of films on top of films, since Mike now has 10 free rentals a week. Spongebob Squarepants (random), Lost In Translation (disappointing), R-Point (Japanese weird), Wolf Creek (predictable) and Switchblade Romance (confusing) among others have been keeping me up till way past my bedtime. I also went to the cinema twice to watch Jarhead, which was excellent, and Underworld Evolution, which was alright. I've had my fill of films now.
Luckily the lovely people at five have put the "Nick-gets-buried-alive-and-eaten-by-fire-ants" episode of CSI on tonight, and the new series starts on Tuesday. Wahey! Also, and yet disappointingly since NOBODY TOLD ME, I noticed that ITV3 are showing my favourite programme ever on weeknights - Due South - but I missed seeing it from the beginning and I won't be able to watch it either because of someone else's viewage of soaps. gah. Damn I worshipped that programme. Dreamy sigh.
At least I have lovely ice cream to cheer me up.
Lovely chocolatey and caramelly and marshmallowy ice cream.
Wooooo.

Not that anybody wanted to know that.
I was in Worcester with Em who I haven't seen in about 3 months, which sucks, but since I have to go to Worcester all the time for uni, and she will be at uni too soon hopefully, I'm gonna make more of an effort. And I will take her up on her offer of showing my beloved the wonders of Jam Night at the wunnerful Marrs Bar, which I haven't been to in months and months. The wonders being - Sweet Home Alabama, Black Magic Woman, and the brilliant guitarist in the house band who is the man.
Anyway that's all I really wanted to say. I am really tired since I'm not used to getting up while the hours are still in single figures, so I'm going to sit on the couch and cuddle Mike and try to stay awake until after he's cooked me dinner.
Night night. Or should that be afternoon afternoon.
ZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz  

THEY CAAAAAAAAAAAALLLL the riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiising suuuuuuuuuuuuuun.

Ahem.

It was my dad's birthday gathering yesterday, in his favourite place, the pub. Despite not really wanting to be faced with my mother after the events of Christmas Day and Boxing Day (for which she has apologised but I'm not willing to forgive her because it's not like she's gonna learn from it), I knew I had to go to see my daddykins.

So. I got on the bus, then the train, then arrived in Kiddy after already telling my uber-reliable brother that it would be there at 12. Andrew arrived at 20 to 1. By this time, I was cold, desperately needed a wee and had bumped into someone I used to go to school with who probably thought I was a right Billy no mates.

But at least I got there before my dad arrived, thus ensuring that he would be surprised when he walked in. Pleasantly surprised, I hope. It seemed to go alright, anyway. I've developed a new fondness for apple and mango J2O and drank that all day. I'd have bought my dad a drink but every time he finished one he was out of his seat heading towards the bar, so I didn't really get a chance to offer. Mum moaned that I wouldn't buy her a drink, so I told her quite calmly and rationally that I'd be more than happy to buy her one if it was squash or orange juice or lemonade. For that I recieved a scowl.
My brother went and got my dad's guitar, which I can't play because I haven't played guitar in months and his strings make my fingers sore, so one of the barmaids got her acoustic which mercifully had nylon strings, so we tried to remember Whiskey in the Jar before settling on House of the Rising Sun, which every self respecting guitarist should know how to play. For those who don't, it's Am, C, D, F, Am, D, E....Am, C, D, F, Am, E, Am.

But after playing guitar all day yesterday, it's given me the bug and I want to start playing again. Dad asked me if I knew how to play Nothing Else Matters by Metallica, so I'm gonna whip out my Black Album tab book and learn it for next time I go round. I also want to learn how to play Lola by The Kinks.

When I got home I found a present from Mike on the bed. It was a really really cute sausage dog teddy with "I love you this much..." written on the side. I've been carrying it everywhere with me because it's so great. I even tried to create a D&D character called Sausage dog, but I wasn't allowed to make a character 3 inches tall.

Anyhoo...That's enough from me...(that's all the hero I neeeeeed beeeeeeeeeee)
I'm going upstairs to whip out my trusty axe. Or my guitar, whichever I get my hands on first.

Things I must do in this time:

1. Read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell, The Remains of the Day by someone whose name I can't remember, and Bliss by someone else whose name I can't recall.
2. Buy more paper & file away all my stuff from the modules I've just done.
3. Do some writing while I have days to myself.
4. Get a job. Saturdays and/or Sundays only. In a shop. Within walking distance.

Interesting things that have happened recently:

1. My essays, and the final uber definate letter from the student loans people telling me I need pay no tuition fees and I can have a grand all to myself, were handed in. Not very interesting in itself, but I did manage to prove that in spite of having been there since September, I still barely know my way around uni, or how to direct somebody there in a car from Worcester City Centre. Sigh.
2. Mike is being fought over by two rival jobs who want him. Both are really good jobs that he will like, and they're trying to outbid each other hours wise. He doesn't know what to do now.
   
3. A letter was recieved telling my aforementioned fiance that his poem is being published in a book in America, and for $80 he can have a copy. Thing is, he wrote the first thing that came into his head, not even meaning it to be taken seriously, so it's quite ironic that all the poetry buffs must have been sitting there in their berets scratching their metaphorical beards and saying "this is soooooo deep" (Though I'm stereotyping. Not all poetry buffs wear berets. Some have inexplicable sunglasses too)
4. I got a pre-owned Nintendo DS all to myself. Now I can draw Pac-men at any time in the day or night. Not good for my health, because now I see Pac-man when I close my eyes. He's everywhere!

Things I will be doing today, even though I want to be busy:

1. Listening to music. Possibly REM (from the looks of it outside it's a NAIHF day), maybe even Beck, or if I'm feeling adventurous, something I don't normally listen to, like The White Stripes.
2. Playing on the PS2 / XBox / DS. When did I become a games fanatic?
3. Missing the new series of CSI in favour of the Amby. I may tape it.
4. Probably not writing, or reading Northanger Abbey. Almost definately not reading Northanger Abbey.

And now I'm all fireworky.

I just realised I'm actually pretty boring. Nobody really wants to read about my timetabling problems, do they?
So from now on I'm only going to blog about stuff that's interesting about my life.





I have an essay to do. I'm going to listen to Beck now, he's interesting.
Getting crazy with the cheese whizz and all that.

P.S. Let's all send healing thoughts to Phill's leg so he can play badminton quicker, because the world isn't right when Phill's not right.

Yesterday I ate a Crunchie. It was good. And now I'm taking a quick break from essaying to blog. My Plays essay is going well currently, and my Contemporary Literatures, well I know what I'm going to write. If I can get them written and printed out by tomorrow night...then I can go to uni on Friday, hand them in early, and spend the next three days panicking about Poetry. Sounds like a plan.

I'm not looking forward to going back, though, to be honest. At first I had the choice of times (Monday night or Friday morning) for a particular module, then I looked yesterday and it had changed to just Monday night. Which means I finish at 9...same problem as with my other Drama module that I changed, but I don't think I'll be able to unless I seriously moan about it. Also in Reviewing Theatre Performance, all the plays we're going to see will be on a Thursday when I have 2 lectures, so will they be in the evening? And if so will I be able to get back ok? Argh! This would be so much less complicated if only I lived on campus, but obviously I can't do that. I will have to find out if the friend I get the bus with is doing those modules to find out what to do about it. I wonder if I can get her number. Sigh.

Anyhoo, enough about my stupid times for lectures. Who in their right minds puts lectures 5pm till 9pm anyway? I'll be pushing it to get the 9.15 bus back, otherwise I get stuck in Worcester till half 10. And it also means that instead of having Mondays and Tuesdays off, I have Tuesdays and Fridays off which seems daft to me. I want four day weekends, dammit!

I've been having some odd dreams lately. Night before last, my mum sold my bed to "the old battleaxe", as I've renamed my favourite great-aunt, which upset me greatly, then I went to work with Mike which involved running round trying not to let the car get stolen. Last night, I went to my grandads in Norfolk about three times in a week and Sid Owen was there looking and sounding remarkably like my brother. And Craig from Coronation Street had a laptop with "cheese magic" and I cried because some girl nicked my bread.
Dunno what I've been eating lately...
Ooooooooooh, I don't wanna miss a thing is on the radio =)
*goes all soppy and turns radio up*
*goes to make hot chocolate and carry on with essay*

...until I realise that I have some yummy chocolate covered toffees in the fridge and Mike's probably getting some Roses or something soon, so yeah that promise isn't going to last very long.
At least I managed to buy pressies, but only for my parents and Mike. I got him Peep Show series 2 and The Bends by Radiohead, I got my mum a Eurythmics CD (which I nearly yoinked back when it all went pear shaped) and my dad a Stranglers CD.
I didn't get much personally, but then again I didn't really want much, I've got everything I need. Mike bought me a PSP game which he just sold on Ebay because he took his PSP back. He wants a new computer now, originally he said he'd give me the money he got for it but now I'm getting a PC game instead hopefully. Bring it on, The Sims 2!!! =)

My mum now has shingles. A cynical mind would say it was karma, but that might be construed as being a little mean. Then again, she's mean to me.....but she's my mum so I have to be nice to her if only to keep my dad happy.

I made the mistake the other day of saying "I like sprouts, me" so yesterday my plate of roast pork, spuds and other veg was concealed under a layer of the damn things. But they are yummy, and I ate them all, and Mike's singular sprout, as it were, which was hidden underneath his carrots.
I make food mysterious. OOoooooh.

I'm going to put the kettle on now, then have something to eat, then settle down and write my three essays in the next week. My fingers will be stumps. I hope I get B's, that would be good.

Happy New Year people

Just thought I should mention that I actually dislike Crimbletide immensely. I hate shopping amid crowds of people (because I always leave it to the last minute), I hate being bombarded with adverts of stupid kids toys and that woman from Atomic Kitten doing something quite scary with a mince pie or sausage roll, I can't tell which...I hate looking forward to it only to have my hopes dashed by a massive argument or the sight of my entire family passed out in front of Singing In The Rain. So I just don't look forward to it.
And that makes me happy =)
And currently I'm hating having 3 essays to do over Crimble. In fact I'm planning on taking my work to my mum's so I have something to do when everyone falls asleep. Obviously I'll be eating chocolate at the same time.
Just re-read that and it makes me sound like a right miserable cowbag, I'm not, I just don't like Crimble anymore. I'm going to do some work, talking about Englishness and national identity. Actually I'll probably make a cup of tea and go upstairs to play Burnout. It's cold down here. Brr.