I don't quite believe I only have one day left at home.  I mean I'm excited about going, but I don't think it's quite sunk in that I won't be coming back after a week or two..  Lots of people seem to have gone already, and from what I've heard are having a good time, so that's pretty encouraging.  Roll on Tuesday!

Anyway what have I been upto..  Friday saw me going out to axeman2002's house before driving (well he drove) to a riding school in Buxton.  We'd been talking about going for months, seeing as I love riding and he'd never been, but only just got round to it.  As ever I got beaten to updating so there's not much point in me repeating what Mark's already said.  Should be enough to say that we both had a great time and both just about got the hang of the rising trot :)  My legs feel pretty sore now though, more painful than achey so it could be from the repeated loss of rhythm leading to colliding with the saddle rather than from any actual exertion on my part :P

Yesterday (Saturday) was my last ever day at Roses :'(  I'm actually really sad about it, possibly more than when we left school.  The three new people started so we had to train them up.  Luckily it was quiet but they all caught on really quickly and were serving people themselves by dinner time!  They seemed nice too, although Charlotte and Becky assured us that we are better :P  There were nine of us in the very small shop though, so it was really very chaotic.  And we finished all the cleaning by half past one :|
Gill called in after dinner and myself, Helen and Anisa were each given a card and a bottle of champagne, which none of us were expecting.  Was so sweet of them, so sweet in fact that Gill and Charlotte started crying, hehe.  We hadn't thought about cards and such so after work me and Anisa went to get a nice thank you card which we all signed and shall be dropped in next week :)
Met up again a bit later to go for a drink with Helen, Charlotte and Nisa in broomhill.  Was really fun, making me wonder why we never did it before in the 18 months I've worked there!  Got a bit more drunk than intended as I hadn't eaten for many hours, but oh well.  Managed the walk home without falling over so all is good :P

Today I started ripping up old shirts to complete my castaway costume for the vet party, but it turns out I'm not strong enough to rip fabric cos after a while the fabric ripped my finger :S  Leaving it for tomorrow I set off over to Adam's for the last time (I know we're going to the same uni, but it's the last time I'll see his family) to have one final sunday dinner before we go.  Was delicious as ever and we both fell asleep for a few hours afterwards, ah good times.  Managed to find Rosa for a goodbye before I left to resume packing.  Haven't actually done more packing, but have done quite a bit of sorting of all my letters and papers and such as well as finishing my bus pass.  All the more to do tomorrow *shudders at thought*

So this morning my Dad kindly drove me out to Brough to purchase the items on my kit list need for the first week.  Luckily they had everything I needed, so I returned home with some (huge) green overalls, safety wellingtons, waterproof gear and a lab coat.  Tried it all on again this evening and while I can fit the overalls comfortably over my clothes, and the waterproofs over that, I can hardly move with them all on :P  Too much fabric for any heavy joint movement and for some reason I lost my balance :S  Perhaps because the wellies are toe-heavy?!




Later I went into town to meet Adam where we shopped for more last-minute Uni supplies.  Going shopping again tomorrow with Mother, also need to sort out bank accounts and such.  So much to do, so little time!  Sent off more forms and money the other day and I'm now pretty sure I've done everything I'm supposed to have done.  Still have to do all my proper sorting, and packing, although I haven't made any certain plans about what I'm taking.  Will probably resort to the usual packing plan or standing in the middle of my room with a bag, and chucking anything I see in :P

Will try and update a bit more in the next few days, especially seeing as I don't know when I'll get round to it once I'm away (leaving Tuesday btw).  But until then, night!

Ahh, it's already September 7th!  Which means that I haven't updated since last month, and I'm going away very soon :D

Soo, what have I done *ponders*  Hairdressers and dentist (from my last post) were both fine, dentist did something with a bit of metal that felt like she was scraping my gums out which hurt, and hairdresser decided that having short bits of hair at the front cut at an angle would be good.  I'm not complaining, I assume they both knew what they were doing!

In an attempt to get slightly fitter I ordered a USB dance mat from Amazon which came on Saturday, so after some more uni-shopping at Hillsborough (towels and storage boxes etc.) I got dropped of at Adam's to test it out.  It's actually rather good with about 20 songs and different modes and levels.  I've done at least 20 mins a day since Saturday and there's a noticable improvement in both my stamina and general dance-mat-ing ability :)

Tuesday I worked what may be my last ever weekday shift at Roses :(  Which is really rather a sad thought, although I never liked weeks that much anyway and way too many school kids come for lunches!  Oooh, also evil Jane finally got caught drinking at work and has been officially suspended :D  Turns out she was sneaking vodka into her can of ginger beer, which we all thought wasn't a half-bad idea.  Not sure how to feel bout it, I mean she must have some pretty big problems to be driven to that but I never actually liked her anyway :P
Took Treacle for a check-up that evening, which was the first time I've seen Anita (the vet) for a while.  She was really happy for me which was great, and spent a good half hour talking about various vetty things.  Also promised to get me my clinical books cheaply through her BVA membership, and told me that I have to go back for w/e to update her and Rob on the Liverpool gossip :)

Last night I met up with Pete for a last drink before departing our seperate ways.  Even though we haven't talked properly since before we broke up for study leave conversation flowed fine and I had a really good time.  Took him to flares which was amusing as we were the only people in the bar.  As I had money in my purse I decided to fulfil a small ambition and have a pina colada, which wasn't how I'd imagined but still pretty nice.  Unfortunately we both had to bus home so couldn't stay out that late, so had a long and sorrowful goodbye before I stood in the freezing cold for 30 minutes (!!) before the bus came.

Today I met Mother in town and we went off to meadowhall for yet more shopping (and some returning).  As well as regular clothes and such I wanted a top for the school disco in freshers week, and something to make me look like a castaway for the vets fancy dress thing.  Found a rather nice shirt in Primark for £3, and a bikini top in H&M for 99p so was rather pleased with myself!  Still don't know what a Castaway looks like so I'll just make something up, oh and keep watching Lost ;)
We were waiting to get on the bus outside MH when I nearly walked into a guy queueing from the other side of the corner.  Only turned out to be Pete :P  So much for goodbyes eh? Had a nice chat on the way to town before another final farewell.

So now I'm sat here at home.  Tomorrow I'm off to Adam's before going to the cinema and bidding Ned a fond farewell.  It feels so unreal that we're actually all going away so soon, yet strangely I feel "ready" which I never did before.  I think I'd be a lot more nervous if I was going by myself (and I'm lucky that I'm not) but I've talked to a couple of people online and I'm now quite looking forward to meeting them.  And getting started on the course, wonder what I'll be doing?!

Memeness, because I is bored...


And on that note I shall depart for the hairdressers followed by the dentist.  How fun..

First thing first, wanted to say thank you to everyone who commented on my last post, really meant a lot :)

Went to Corporation on Monday night avec Adam, Ned, Ian, axeman2002, joebarnsley, maidenite and samegrazedknees!  Had a jolly good time, more drinking and less dancing than last time but it it was the same every time it'd get boring ;)  Called to get food on the way home, where Ads, Mark and Joe stopped at mine.  Apparently we weren't as quiet as we were supposed to be, but I'll be gone soon and then they'll miss my noise *nods*

So today I met Adam and we walked down to Hillsborough to get uni stuffs.  Ended up buying:

~ Pens, pencils, ruler, pencil case, glue sticks, blu tack, sellotape
~ Tea towel, little chopping board, knife, peeler, can opener
~ Shampoo, conditioner, comb, eyelasher curlers (ok I didn't exactly need them), more hair dye
~ Laundry bag, purple cardboard storage boxes, probably some other junk

Then walked uphill to walkley, uphill more to crookes, and across to crosspool!  Was very tired after all that but only stopped at home long enough to open, fill in and re-envelope my clearing passport before going back to crosspool to post it *phew*  Then I went home and collapsed before falling asleep.  Was a good nap.

Looked online tonight to see an email telling me that I got my first choice of accommodation :D  Means I'm in the same building as both Adam (yay) and Mark (bah), but in a different section.  Also get a washbasing in my room which is good.  Still need to actually sort out my room...

I am in shock.  Delerious shock.  This morning went as planned, calling around shops in town and the Meadowhall, enquiring about vacancies and leaving CVs.  I even got a job interview for next Wed.  In Meadowhall we'd just finished lunch and were off to get another application form.  My phone started ringing, saying private number.  I figured maybe one of the shops was very keen and was calling me already.  I answer, and heard a distinctive Scottish accent.  Liverpool?!  No, wait...it'll be about the grades I need to get for next year.  Ah well... But wait a minute...

somebody dropped out... do I still want a place?

Well duh!?!  And so:  I'M GOING TO UNIVERSITY :D:D:D

Couldn't be happier, still don't quite believe it's real.  I have no idea how it's going to be sorted (I withdrew from UCAS yesterday), and god knows if I have anywhere to live.  But I'm going, and I'm going in just over three weeks.

I am so lucky.

I don't know how to feel.  Started looking at jobs and stuff for this year, found an ad for a veterinary receptionist post that sounds pretty ideal.  Send CV off yesterday but who knows if I'll even get an interview.  Tomorrow I'm off round town/Meadowhall to try and leave CVs in as many shops as possible...

I keep flicking between feeling quite excited about getting a job, maybe learning to drive, lots of weekends away, and just feeling sort of indifferent to the whole thing.

Last week on the phone Liverpool told me that I'd just have to increase my biology total by 5 points to get it up to an A.  Today I get a letter that says they want me to end up with AAA overall.  It's not impossible, but it would mean retaking up to 4 modules, and I don't really want to suffer a third august results day so it'd be a lot of work between now and January.  Guess I'd better e-mail them to find out for sure :S

So, today was results (like that might have somehow escaped somebodies attention).  Hopefully it went ok for everybody, unfortunately I didn't have chance to talk much because I was busy calling and crying and such.  I know I'll get asked whether I got in so here's my day (hopefully in brief):


Other recent events worth a belated mention:

~ Corp last Monday
    Went with Ads, Ned, Mark and Kev and had a jolly good night.  Much moshing and milk-drinking to the early hours, followed by staying over and hungover thunderbirds watching!

~ Emma's Party
    Very fun afternoon/evening with lots of randomness.  Apart from the swing incident (oww :P) I had a good time, was nice just to chill out with everybody.  Bit too much icing perhaps..

~ Han's Pre-results Bash
   Much fun!  Included more walking/roundabouting than anticipated but I'm not complaining!  Certainly did the job of taking my mind of today, which as it turned out was a good thing.  Cheers Han :)

Stupid Cat!
So there I was, happily watching Countdown and talking on msn.  The cat kept miowing, but she usually does that for an hour or two before she's fed (she gets fed her tea at the same time every day, she isn't psychic or something).  I figured that she'd either shut up or go away.. a reasonable thing to think, so I ignored her.
What I didn't count on was her trying to climb onto my knee, which happened to be beneath the laptop, so she climbed onto that instead.  And locked me out.  All I have to do is put in my password...  Thing is, I didn't set the laptop up, cos it was a present.  And Father did tell me the password before they went away, but I assumed I wouldn't need it and promptly forgot it.  So now I'm sat on the computer waiting for Mother to turn her phone on, get my text and call me.  Fun...
(Edit: I hope she doesn't leave me another dead mouse to apologise >_<)

What's really really annoying is that I aquired a good 3-4GB of new music yesterday, which I haven't yet found time to listen to because I have the laptop on while watching tv.  And here I am, unable to see a tv properly, and I don't have the music on this pc :(  Ah well, if I can't have variety I can at least have decent volume ;)

I don't feel much like updating properly.  On Wed I had a party, but seeing as you (mostly) all came then you knew that already.  It was fun, there that's a proper comment :P  Nothing got broken, although I got far more jelly beans/ice thrown down my top/trousers than I would have liked.  And (later on) there was some close proximity "group bonding" on an airbed which should probably never be mentioned of again.  Oh, and we stained the coffee table :S  Apparently the attitude of "don't worry it's only water, it won't stain" doesn't apply if it's left overnight on varnished wood - there's now a huge bleached ring where the dish was.  Oops!

Anyway, last night I was lying in bed - it was late, and I was tired, and I knew I'd have to get up early for work, so obviously I couldn't sleep.  Instead I found myself wondering: why are pillows not as long as the width of a single bed? I mean it makes sense if you think about it.  Bed are a pretty uniform size, as are pillows, but they don't match.  If your bed's in an alcove like mine is then two pillows definately can't be made to fit across, so you're stuck with a gap on one side.  And really it isn't impossible for two people to sleep comfortably in a single bed, except one person ends up with the edge of the pillow!  If pillows fitted nicely across the bed (like the duvet does) it would look much nicer, and you'd be less limited with repositioning during the night because more bed would be available with no less comfort to the head.
Perhaps I should make one and apply to Dragon's Den? *muses*  I'd better be quick though, because roughly 3 days ago me and Adam had a great idea, only to find the EXACT invention on Dragon's Den last night! :O  It even looked like in my head, bah.

And now I believe I shall go and select myself one of a number of extremely similar meals.  As previously recorded I did go shopping for interesting food, but it was so interesting that we've eaten it all already.  Bah.

Another over-due post (what am I saying? I never write about anything while it's still current :P).. So, what's happened since I returned from the other side of the pond *thinks*  I lazed around for most of the first week, until Saturday night when the family and Adam went out for a belated birthday meal.  Mother found a little Italian place on Ecclesall Road which sounded nice, and luckily it was.  We ate three huge courses, all of which were delicious, and returned home full and satisfied.

On Wed I had another belated celebration - this time at Wetherspoons in town.  Admittedly most people reading this were there, but some couldn't be (such as callita and joebarnsley) so I'll mention it briefly.  Me and Adam arrived about 7.15, to be joined by Pete as I was getting drinks (did he plan it? :P), then everyone else arrived over the next hour or so.  We went upstairs to check out the garden terrace/terrorists and ended up sitting around three tables shoved together.  There weren't many other people upstairs so it felt quite private and nice.  The evening went really fast and people had to get buses quite early, so I didn't get the chance to catch up with people that I would have liked to.  I did however have a good catch-up with pete, which was great :)
Thursday I woke up surprisingly not hungover, which was good because mother made me walk all the way into town, get a bus, and then walk from the bus stop to the supermarket.  Bleh.  Got lots of nice food, so that she was reassured that I wouldn't starve while she's on holiday, before being picked up by father just in the nick of time (I was bored, hungry, and standing next to a trolley of food).
Friday I worked at Roses from 8.30-2pm, which left my tired with very painful feet for some reason.  Adam came over afterwards which was nice, and we got excited at the idea of my family departing the next day, leving us an empty house.

So, here I am.  The family are gone and I'm responsible for a cat, two rabbits and a goldfish.  Oh, and me :P  It going ok so far, I haven't burnt anything...  I did do some washing this morning and only just remembered about it though, so fingers crossed I'll have trousers tomorrow!  And I noticed something wrong with Poppy's eye on Saturday, which seemed to be getting better, but now the other eye looks sore and swollen :(  Adam's coming over early tomorrow so I'll try and make an appointment at the vets and he can help me carry her down (she's a very heavy rabbit).  It's time like this that I'm glad I know the vets *g*  Hope she's ok...

Honestly, I have intended to update, I just sort of...well, haven't!  Poor neglected LJ  *pats journal*  It feels like so much has happened since I last wrote anything that I either attempt to blog it all (which is kind of more effort than its worth), or skim around the edges, which make this entry rather pointless *sigh*  People keep asking me about America, so I suppose I shall try to sum up two very busy weeks in a couple of paragraphs...

Picking up from my last entry - we got up about 6am on Sunday to be picked up in a huge taxi at 7.  I slept most of the way to Manchester, waking up in time to just miss the rush to check-in.  After a few hours in departures we finally boarded the airbus (complete with TVs in seats and downstairs toilets :P).  The flight was ok, spent most of it staring at the little map of where we were flying though.  When we finally landed and made it out of the airport I was a bit overcome with the heat.  So hot!  I don't think the sight of swaying palm trees helped, although the rain was amusing.
After picking up the car we drove a few hours to Barstow (during which time I threw up, funfun) where we stayed for the night.  After a swim in the pool the next morning we set off on the long drive up to San Francisco.  Every time we stopped the car we were hopeful, but the air wasnt noticably cooler until we actually got to SF.  The travel-lodge was really really disgusting, so we went down to the wharf and came back at late as possible..
Next morning we found a new (much better) motel, and went for a walk up and down some hills to the wharf again.  That night we went down to the bay to watch the 4Th July fireworks.  Well wow, they were the most amazing fireworks I've ever seen!  It felt like the whole city turned out but we got a good view of the colourful displays in the air as well as those that came lower and lit up the water.  The next day we walked in the opposite direction (towards the bridge).  Lots of people warned us that it might be too foggy to see the bridge, but we must have just missed the "June gloom" because it was clearer each day.  We walked back towards the wharf along the front before changing at the hotel and catching the bus down to chinatown.  I'm sure it's nothing compared to what Joe's been seeing but I thought the buildings were beautiful and there was a great atmosphere.  We somehow selected a restaurant which (yay!) did veggie food :D  Made a nice change from fries :P  The next day (our last in SF), we drove around the bay to the zoo.  It was pretty impressive and the weather was almost warm!  That night we found a lovely little bar/restaurant with a live jazz band for my (pre-)birthday dinner.
Friday was my birthday :D  I had some cards, jewellery from my parents, and a big toy bear from Adam to open before we packed up and piled in the car to go to Yosemite.  It was a long drive, and the weather got suprisingly hot quite soon.  Once there we had a picnic before walking a few miles to see a big tree (they all looked pretty big to me, but I wasn't going to complain :P).  We drove further into the park and got out to admire the views, before going on to Yosemite village.  Unfortunately it was getting late, so we had to drive back through the park and on to Fresno where we found a nice motel.  Everyone was too tired to go far so we went to the nearest fast food place and tried out large portions - got a reasonable portion of fries but a BUCKET of coke :P  Me and Adam had trouble finishing it between us..

On Saturday we completed the drive back down to Vegas, which took us until about 6pm.  The villa was just as gorgeous as in the pictures we'd seen, complete with pool table, swimming pool and hot-tub (all of which I injured myself on at some point).  After having a swim (during which I didn't freak out but did graze both legs, one quite badly) we went to the supermarket to stock up and got a good old pizza hut take-out.  For some reason it tasted better than at home, hmm odd.  Oh, and I confused the girl by asking for Margarita, apparently over there it's just called "cheese" :P  The next day we just relaxed around the house and went to the Strip in the evening - looked round the Venetian (very impressive yet rather tacky) and the Mirage (good volcano and huge aquarium in the lobby).  The following day we lazed around again before seeing Pirates of the Caribbean 2 in the afternoon.  Nice cold cinema!  Film wasn't half bad either ;)

The next day (I keep saying that, dammit) we got up pretty early and drove about a half-hour out of Vegas into some of the surrounding mountains, known as Red Rock Canyon.  Here me, Adam and Matt signed up for a hour-long horse ride, the perfect way to view the beautiful scenery!  We were told that it was a Western style trail ride, but the only noticable differences to me was holding the reigns with one hand, and having leather thingies covering your toes (useful for bashing into spikey bushes).  My horse was pretty well-behaved, although it stopped every so often and turned its head back as though to admire the view :P  It was really fun though, and I'm very glad we did it :)  Afterwards we hung round the house for a while, cooling down.  In the evening we caught the bus to the Strip, where we looked around Ceaser's Palace (good, similar to Venetian but I didn't like it as much) and the Bellagio (weird decor, cool fountains outside).

On Wednesday we had another early morning as we set off for the Hoover Dam.  It was, um, big and man-made-y? :P  Photos look impressive but it was really hot, and I couldn't help but think about how people had spoilt a beautiful place by sticking walls and wires and pylons all over it.  Ah well.  Back in the car we drove across the wall to Arizona, then the long way to the Grand Canyon, stopping a few times for refreshments and leg stretching.  Well wow!  It was just huuuge :P  We stopped at one point on the north rim, and walked across to the edge to get the first proper view.  Although the outcrop was teeming with tourists you could still see so far.  While there we drove further along the rim to look at more different views, all spectacular.  It's a shame we couldn't go down into the canyon, as it was almost too big to actually get a grasp of, but you can't have everything :)  We ended up not getting home until 11pm, because we got lost in Vegas in the dark, long day!!

After a lie-in on Thursday me and Adam decided to get the bus into the Strip, with the intention of going to the Stratosphere.  On the way we popped into a mall, in case I saw some cheap converse.  We thought it would be all expensive fashion shops, but it turned out to be similar to Meadowhall - except cool, spacious and not packed to bursting!  We then spent all day in there :P  I did get some converse for a mere $20 though, as well as some gifts, badges and half-price earrings from Macy's ^_^  Later we got picked up in the car to drive to the other end of the Strip.  The first stop was New York New York, where me and Adam borrowed some money (yes, we spent every dollar on our persons) to go on the Manhattan Express rollercoaster - it was so fun!  Terrifying and painful to the shoulders, but very cool.  From there we passed through the medieval-themed Excalibur hotel to the Luxor, a big pyramid shaped building.  The egyptian decor was cool, but I didn't fancy staying there!

On Friday it was Matt's birthday, so he rented a Harley and took Helen out (which she was thrilled about).  We stayed in for most of the day until everyone decided they wanted to see this mall we'd raved about.  Seeing as we were shopped out we went for a frappuchino while we waited (yay for Starbucks the world over!).  On their travels the others found a nice-looking Italian restaurant hidden at one end of the mall.  Turned out to be really good inside, with a very accomplished waiter.  He wasn't lying when he said the portions were huge, me and Adam shared a portion of (delicious) mushroom ravioli which was almost too much.  Of course not too much to miss the best cheesecake I've ever tasted *drools at thought* :P

Saturday we packed up and left the villa *sniff* We visited the MGM Grand to have dinner and view the lions (which were asleep) before driving away from the Strip to our hotel for the night.  Turned out that it was a huge place, containing several restaurants, a casino, a bowling alley and a cinema.  Me and Adam had a look round before going to see X-men 3, which I really rather enjoyed. Don't know whether it'd have been quite as good if we hadn't just been to San Francisco, but it made quite a good end to the holiday.

Sunday we went to the airport, did lots of queueing, spent the last out our money (on booze, mainly) and finally boarded the plane. The trip back was just kind of long and dull really, we both got a bit irritable and generally bored.  Still, it was great to be home, in nice (cool?!!) England :)  Since then I've done a few things, but that'll have to wait for another post because my fingers are getting tired!  At least I'm now a little better at typing on this laptop.. :P

ETA:  Most of my photos are now on Ringo, so go there to see what I'm trying to describe!

One last post before I leave :)

Am currently copying music onto my mp3 player, which is difficult as I don't know what to choose and I feel that I should put at least some thing that Adam and possibly Daniel will like too *sigh*  Plenty of compilation CDs it is then :P  Oh, and "Viva Las Vegas" and "San Francisco"!

Going over to Chateau Peck after dinner for watching of Dr Who and Lost, and general excitedness and early night avoidance.  Actually have no idea what time I have to be up tomorrow, the flight's at 12 from Manchester, so it'll almost definately be earlier than I'd choose to get up >_<  Oh well, I'm sure I'll be far too excited to care...

From Manchester we fly the long, long flight to Las Vegas, pick up the car/van, and drive to Barstow for the first night.  Then it's off to San Francisco for a few days, through Yosemite on my birthday (Friday), and down to Vegas for a week in a rented villa.  Yay :D
The villa supposedly has a computer with internet access, so not only will I be able to send a couple of e-mails I may even be able to update :O  That's if I can be bothered of course *g*  It does mean that if anybody cares to e-mail I should be able to pick them up before I get back... *angelic grin*

And now I shall sign off and go do a last minute suitcase check (i.e. throw some more things in "to be sure").  I know I'm gonna miss everybody loads, be ready for some sort of gathering around July 17th!
Much hugs all round,

Snuffles xx

Argh, how is it a week since I last updated!?  I keep meaning to come and ramble s'more but failing miserably..  Ach, well I'd better jot something down now seeing as I probably won't have time tomorrow.  Shall do a run-down of the last week, hurrah (sorry for the expected length and lack of conciseness!)

Monday
Monday morning was the chem exam, which I'd spent most of the weekend revising half-heartedly for.  After a killer week I really struggled to maintain an exam mindset and instead spent a long time taking little in.  Giles came round for a last-minute lesson Sunday evening which reassured me a lot, as well as freaking me out a little (being Christian he asked if he could pray for me then proceeded to do so right there at the table o_O).  Anyway, the exam itself wasn't too bad.  The main paper wasn't great but then the long-answer questions were better, and I found the multiple choice paper pretty easy :)
After the exam I rushed off home to see Adam and have a very quick lunch, before returning to school for his exam.  Finding the study room empty I went and handed some books back before returning home (again).  I'd just settled down to become better aquainted with my shiny new guitar when axeman2002 turned up and dragged me off to Starbucks.  Damn him, for though creamy icy coffee-based drinks are good, they're no guitar...  Returning home (yet again) I talked to Mother for a bit before going to meet Ads from his exam (not just because I'm nice, also cos I was bored :P).  He came back to mine for a bit before getting a lift, and that was Monday.  Yay for no more exams! :D

Tuesday
Erm, what happened on Tuesday :S  Oh yes, Adam had a politics exam in the morning, so I met him and Ned about midday and Ned drove us to Adam's.  Finding no food in the house we went up to the shop to purchase some BOGOFs.  Upon returning to the house I experienced my very first Pot Noodle :O  Was very exciting, as I'm sure you can all imagine..
Few hours later I was picked up by Father and we went down to Hillborough to purchase a USA voltage-able battery charger (or something like that making more sense) so I can photograph anything and everything next week.  Hurrah!

Wednesday
Having talked Mother into taking the day off we went on a last-minute shopping trip to get all the things I need for a holiday but didn't already have.  Such things included: a hat, a skirt, waterproof mascara, more tops, sandals, nail varnish, shoes, and an epilator.  That last one she bought, because I talked her into it *mwahahaha*  Saved me buying some sort of dangerous looking home waxing kit!  I also purchased the official Desperate Housewives book, because it was only £2.99, but tis far too big and heavy to take on holiday :(
And that was Wednesday - somehow quite a short paragraph considering we were out for about 10 hours :P

Thursday
Thursday I had a bit of a lie-in, lovely!  Adam dropped a suitcase off (which I have so-far left empty :P) before heading into school and leaving me to venture into the world of epilation.  Can only really say that it's weird!  But hey, my legs were left hairless and not bleeding so that was nice :P
Nipped down to the shops to post some over-due photos to Liverpool and purchase suncream while also road-testing my new sandals.  Im very not used to walking in pretty strappy shoes >_<  My little toe kept falling out the side, but otherwise they were fine :P
Later I went into school to meet politics people, then got some money changed to dollars, before being picked up by Ned to go to the park.  Arrived to find Mr Criticos there, which was a bit confusing, but he didn't stick around long.  Everybody eventually turned up and the BBQ was lit.  Food was cooked and eaten (including by a little dog, hehe), frisbees and footballs were thrown, a hot-air balloon was watched, and cones were worn on ears.  I took lots of photos, which are now on Ringo :)
After that we went to get chips, and proved to be such delightful (and late) a bunch of people that the nice lady gave us extra chips and sausages for free.  These were transported to pruniepie's house in the small convoy of cars before everybody tucked in while Fran showered.
From there we went on to somebody's house (Chris I believe?) but he had dangerous chairs, and we left shortly after one of them bit Adam :(

Friday
Today I went shopping with Adam for even more last-minute holiday supplies before heading back to his for a few hours.  Well, we intended it to be for a few hours but ended up falling asleep on the sofa and waking up considerably later feeling.  Alas :P

And that was my week!  Wow, long update...

It is my birthday two weeks today (which I don't actually feel excited about :S), but due to convenience Adam brought my present over today - it being an electric guitar, amp, strap, bag etc :D  Was very exciting!  I neglected to mention to parents that he'd be calling round, or that he'd be bringing a guitar, but they didn't seem that bothered :P  In fact Father said rather hopefully "you won't be taking it to university, will you?", hehe.  Havent had a proper chance to play it yet as there isn't a near enough socket in here, but I did say I wasn't going to until exams are all over... *sigh*

On the subject of exams, I'm feeling really unsure about how they've been going.  Biol resit on Tuesday was ok, but I thought it went ok last time and ended up with about 50%.  So yeah... :S  Environment module was straight after, which again I think went ok but I'm not entirely sure.  Definately couldn't do some of the last question, as I hadn't revised proteins (or wildebeest :P), but hopefully I put enough right answers to do ok!
Wed I had one day to pretty much master Health Physics and learn 4 modules of Biology >_<  Obviously the best tactic in such a situation is to ignore it all and pretend it doesn't exist, which I did when Adam came round for lunch, then returned after his psychology exam.  Got rather excited about America, and the fact that we're going in just over a week.  I really cannot wait, need a rest!
Before he left, Ads also went over the General Studies booklet with me ready for Thursday morning (politics is really not my forte).  The exam wasn't very good, I've always hated comprehension, let alone comprehension about sources I don't quite understand.  Hopefully managed to say something vaguely relevant, although it's not part of my offer so it doesn't really matter if I fail.  Would just be nice to get a reasonable grade in return for the 5 hours I spent in an exam room :P
After Gen Stud I canvassed a few more signatures for Pete's card before dashing home for urgent last-minute physics cramming.  Which actually turned out to be surprisingly useful, and made me look at revision methods in a new light.  I got back to school in time to chat to people and chill a bit, which definately made me less stressed.  The exam was surprisingly do-able (was it an easy paper or had I just revised it properly?) aside from the last question, but I could do some of that so all is good.  No idea whether I'll have done well enough to get an A, but that'd be a nice surprise if I did :)  Afterwards ended up sat in the study room for a couple of hours with mischa_craven,  axeman2002, Ems, Souter, DJ, Brice and Andrew, talking about lots of randomness.
Today I got up, panicked that I had very little time to learn an awful lot, and proceeded to watch Frasier :P  Then frantically switched between marking a Unit 7 paper, reading AS notes, and scanning anything that may be vaguely useful.  As it turned out I couldn't answer the basic questions on the first page of the exam, but it went uphill from there.  The microbes paper was ok, and I found the experimental whatsit questions easy :S  The essay was good too - talk about the shape of cells!  Managed to fit it all into the time limit nicely, and hopefully I'll have scored quite highly on that :)
Afterwards returned my stash of textbooks to Jukesy, and visited the tadpoles... ex-tadpoles... they're tiny tiny frogs!  Only about a cm long each, and all upside-down on the lid of the tank.  Very cute ^_^

Posted Petes card on the way home, which pretty much brings me back to where I started.  What a long entry considering I didn't think I had much to say!  Working tomorrow as usual, then hard revision till Monday morning.  Three hours of chemistry and I'm freeeeee! :D

Once again I've been meaning to update for ages, and keep putting it off/not getting round to it.  axeman2002 rudely pointed this out last night, and seeing as stared blankly at about as much physics as I can bear, here I am!

Sooo, what's been happening *ponders deeply*  Well the chem resit last week went ok, I didn't like the paper much but I definately knew/understood more this time round so hopefully I'll get an extra few marks at least.  The shopping trip was lovely, included a rather large (yummy) picnic in the Peace Gardens, handing in of those darn forms, and purchasing of some bits&bobs.
The remainder of last week was spent revising/sunbathing, alhough a) I still don't feel as if I know anything, and b) I don't have a decent tan yet :P

Saturday I worked as usual, this week's afternoon madness involved switching the letters round on the sandwich board to read such things as "botted peef", "not sandwiches", and "scream 4 pickles".  Actually I think that last one's still there...  Shall have to see if Jayne notices ;)  After work went to Adam's where I felt strangely motivated and, inspite of the heat, did half an hour on the exercise bike.  Typically Ned then phones, asking if we fancied going down to rivelin to "hang out".  Lack of actual entertainment lead us to scramble around on some "footpaths" (read: gaps in the foliage) where I got a bit nervy and screamed when Ned sneezed very loudly behind me :P  We then found a detention slip carelessy dropped by a Myers Grovian and contemplated delivering it to her.  None of us knew where the road was though and we got distracted by the playground so never did make it back to Ned's to find out.  It started getting dark about 9.30 so we all headed home, which for me meant a tiring climb up Hagg Hill, along Back Lane and up past the allotments.  Oh I slept well that night ;)

Yesterday Ads had a Psychology resit so popped in for lunch, which was great as ever :D  Unfortunately he had to rush off as Rosa (the very small cat) had been stuck in a tree all day :P  He did eventually get her down, by climbing onto a shed, then a garage, then holding out the washing basket and persuading her to jump in.  Silly cat!

So today was General Studies.  Fun fun fun.  I was really kidding myself when I thought I could still understand German.  No chance!  I did hazard several guesses however, and then managed to spew out a few pages of nonsense about migration.  In contrast the science paper was so easy!  The questions were mostly spacial awareness and logic but I'm not complaining.  Was also delighted to see one about Pantographs, as I'd been trying to explain the concept to Ian in the pub a few weeks ago and he seemed doubtful of their existance :P  Then wrote a small essay on crude oil, and came to the conclusion that I have no essay writing skills whatsoever...

Ads came back here after the exam, and we eventually finished watching fight club.  Well, it was good, but weird!  I managed to miss both sumbliminal penises so Adam insisted on rewinding and making me watch *rolls eyes* I apparently also managed to look away for every time that Tyler flashed on the screen at the start, although he couldn't point that out to me until the end :P

Tomorrow is physics synoptic paper, which I'm rather dreading.  The questions don't seem to relate much to the syllabus, and they'll ask you about anything in any depth >_< Argh!  Ok, I need 50% to get a B...

Oh, I also pulled something in my back the other day and it now hurts/aches to move, breathe, walk... :P And spending 3.5 hours hunched over a desk this afternoon didn't help either *sigh*  Less than 2 weeks till it's over...

Soooooo... First exam be happening tomorrow morning.. Don't actually feel bothered in the slightest, perhaps a touch of over-confidence?  I've done a practice paper every morning for the last few days, so at least I'm used to getting up and doing chem :P  I'm averaging above what I got last year, which is the whole point of the re-sit, so hurrah.
Went over everything again with Giles last night; he seemed pretty impressed at my actually remembering things, especially when we disagreed on an answer and it turned out I was right (and I pay him why...?) :P  He even gave me a pat on the head and said "well done" as he left.  How charming!

Anyway, after examness in the morning am off to town with Mr Peck.  On the to-do list is handing in loan forms (shall be so glad to get rid of it >_<) and purchasing a beach towel, if one can be found.  Where do people buy beach towels from?!

I've been feeling in a really artistic mood the last few days, which always happens when I have work to do!  Really wanted to try vector art after reading a tutorial earlier, but I don't think I have a compatible program, or at least if we do I'm not used to it.  So I'm doing a vaguely vector-inspired possibly self-portrait type thing in photoshop.  Which I realise completely defeats the purpose of vector art :P Oh well, it's quite interesting to say the least :P
I also keep picking up my pencil and attempting to draw any of a number of  characters, although I don't have a clear enough image of them in my head, or the skill to get a picture I actually like.  Very irritating, I want an actual reference of what I think they look like!

Well that was a slightly disjointed and random entry *g*  Much apologies folks, I'll write a proper entry when something vaguely interesting happens.  Promise ;)

(And to finish, quote of the day (because I said I would):  "well as long as you don't put it IN my mouth :P" And that made perfect, innocent sense when said in context  :P)

Well it's been a whole week of study leave/holiday so I feel the need to write about what has or hasn't happened.  Also wish to comment on the weird scent I can smell, I can't quite place it :S

So.  Monday and Tuesday I stayed in like a good girl and revised, albeit not very hard.  Attempted to catch up on Health Physics notes, and did a Mod 5 Chem paper.  Turns out I need to do a lot more work :P  Giles (chem tutor) came on Tuesday night and went through the paper with me; he seemed ok with what I got so perhaps I'm not doing so badly after all..

Wed I had a day off (yay!) to go bowling :)  Me and Adam bumped into K and Jamie at the place, so we had a game of pool while we waited for everyone else.  Adam beat K and me easily, but I potted a grand total of one ball so I was pretty pleased :P  Once we were all there (all being Joe B, axeman2002, samegrazedknees, maidenite, Fran, wormlover and totally49) we obtained sexy bowling shoes and split into two groups.  Somehow I managed to actually knock some pins (PINS!) down, despite my insistance that I can't bowl.  I couldn't last time I went! >_<  Adam (playing as Aragorn) won both games easily, although I managed to not come last, beating K (Boromir) by about 2 points each time *g*
Some dance machine-ing later and we went off to Pizza Hut for (you guessed it) pizza!  Had to wait a while for some veggie ones but twas all yummy.  Plenty of random conversation going on, including Hazz calling Kev a monkey (or something like that, he wasn't too impressed) and Joe trying to explain a fear of cows :P  We probably stayed longer than we should've done, but we are young and do not care ;)
The obvious thing to do after pizza was go round Toys'R'Us!  Had muchos fun cuddling huge toys, admiring Aragorn dolls, and fighting with toy sharks (teehee).  After that decided to return home, so me and Ads got the tram and bus back to mine.  Had about an hour before he got picked up, which we made the most of :)

Thursday I once again stayed in and worked.  Did two past papers for my Module 2 Chemistry re-sit on Wed, and improved by 1% during the course of the day :P  Starting to get a bit worried about it now, although I'm only re-doing it for tactical purposes so I might be ok if I don't pick up many/any more marks...

Today I went over to axeman2002's house for Biol re-sit revision.  Typically it was a beautiful warm day to be out in the countryside, although sitting inside working wasn't so appealing.  We established that we're both quite bad at biology (our scores from Jan were equally shocking), and concluded the areas that need most work.  Doing that work proved difficult as neither of us could really concentrate (I blame the fact that we were sitting in a shrine to geekdom :P), but we managed a reasonable amount.
After a yummy lunch of pasta we took a break from the procrastination and took Trixie for a walk :D She wasn't too happy about it though so we didn't stay out long, instead cracking back down to muscles and neurones >_< Why does it have to be so boring..?

Also my back's started hurting again from too much time at computer/bent over a desk :( Ow..

I think I'm genuinely suffering from stress. I keep getting chest pains and feeling slightly sick; I'm sure that's not normal >_<  I broke a glass stand thing at work today.  One minute it was in my hand, the next there were pieces all over the floor.  I kind of just stood there for a while, argh, I need a holiday...

Anyway, I feel obliged to write about Wed seeing as it was a "monumentous" occasion in my life (totally did not feel like it).  Assembly was silly and dull, as promised by Mr Bradbury.  Mr Bowes decided to forsake sensible comments and instead tell us about his friend Bob who drove into a tree and punctured his heart with his rib.  All that really made me think was that I wished I had a friend called Bob *sigh*

I have no lessons on Wed mornings so spent a good few hours "hanging round".  P1 was spent in the computer room obsessing over ye olde "Facts for Life" book from physics, which nobody other than me and Pete understood.  Really hit me how much I'm going to miss him :'( Hunger caused myself and Adam to wander off, and we ended up meeting people after maths and being talked into a physics party (w00t!).  There was much eating, photo-taking and general sillyness.. much fun :)  After break the same was repeated but with more Mrs Conheeney and chocolate cake, and less dancing chickens.  (Edit: I've just been reminded that there was in fact a small moment of passion between myself and mischa_craven as we accidentaly locked lips >_<  Amusingly however the guys had been on at us to do so for several days, but because it was unplanned they all missed it! Mwahaha! :P)

After we officially finished lots of people headed up to the Crosspool Tavern (I mean lots of people, it was bursting with ex-taptonians).   Myself, Adam, Ned, axeman2002, DJ, Ian, Emma, totally49, mischa_craven, samegrazedknees, maidenite, wormlover, Fran, Tonks and Renno sat around drinking, signing books and consuming sherbert straws.  Yum yum.  Also many (more) pics were taken, hair got plaited, and a few chocolatey delights were eaten.  Somehow got talked into walking all the way back down to school with Adam, Ned and Mark to get a lift home, where (with only 2-3 hours left) I started getting ready :P

I was sorted for about 6.20pm because Joe B was supposed to arrive at half past.  He turned up about 2 minutes before Ned's Dad pulled up in the car so there was much frantic shouting and getting ready en route..  Somehow Mark beat us there, despite setting off from the same place after us!  Even after waiting for Kev, Hazz and K we were still almost the first people there, so stood around awkwardly until enough people arrived to mingle effectively.  The place was both very posh, and very full of big mirrors, which was rather groovy. Martinis seemed the drink of the night (I think it was the suits that did it) so we all stood sipping them in between enthusiastic greetings and picture taking.

Soon enough it was time to eat.  The food was nice, but nothing that exciting, although people seemed more interested in talking than bothered about what they were eating.  Despite big breaks between courses for talking and getting drinks the meal went really fast.  The awards were given out (mostly to "our lot") which was cool.  The "popular lot" weren't too impressed though so made up a load of awards for their friends.  Most stupid :P My feet really hurt so I sat back down after that, typically missing the teachers getting flowers and such!  Dammit!
After that it was pretty much dancing all night.  The music varied from great to awful, made much better of course by the Time Warp ;)  During that and the Macarena I swear the floor was actually shaking!  Lots of glow bracelets were passed around and some wonderfully unflattering photos got taken of people dancing :P
It all came to an end about 1.15am (which was late enough, I could hardly walk).  Got some food for thought while everyone got jackets and such, before myself, Peck, Ned, Mark and Joe B all piled into a cab with a number-plate saying "EGG" (I was very impressed with this, although I'm sure I wasn't tipsy..).

Back at my house Ned decided to walk home, so packed his bags and left.  I returned to find Adam half-asleep on the couch, and the others getting comfortable (read: undressed).  They didn't seem bothered that I was there, insisting that it's normal guy behaviour, so we ended up sitting talking till about 3.30am.  I very nearly just curled up on the floor with them and fell asleep there, but I figured my parents might not be too impressed so eventually crept upstairs :P
The next morning Joe left pretty early to go to the cinema, so myself Adam and Mark settled to watch Rocky Horror.  Woo!  Adam was about as impressed as the last time (ie. not especially bothered either way), but am pleased to say that Mark may be converted to the way of a Rocky fanatic :D  Now all I need is that photo of Pete in a basque...

Well, that was Wed!  I worked 12-5.30 on Thursday, not the best of shifts as I had a full mind and had to try not to get a bit teary at times.  Anyway, that's pretty much sorted now..  Friday I stayed in and did a little bit of work before going to see a band at the Boardwalk with Mother, Adam and his parents.  I was so tired I couldn't even face standing up but the parents seemed to get on well and that's what matters :)

This has been a long yet relatively un-detailed entry, however it's late, and I was writing about things that most of you were there for anyway!  So for now, goodnight!

ETA:  Forgot to mention, sister used up all our dl limit in a day (and nobody knew) so we're well over for this month.  As a result my pics won't be on Ringo until next week, but do not fret for they shall appear!

Ok, so wormlover and totally49 may have seen llamas on the way home, but myself and Peck saw a dog driving a car :P


Here, he is looking happy for the camera, right before driving off...

Bloody Mother!  How can she shout at me for being immature while not trusting me to fill a fricking form in myself?!  I cannot wait to get out of this place...

On a sidenote, I just realised I'm very very hungry...