Having one Hellboy of a weekend

Today I've been a little lazy. I spent most of the day in my PJ's either sending up the Z's or snuggled up with the one I love getting an education in using the force...yes I've been sucked in to the phenomenon that is Star Wars. My OH took me to see the new Clone Wars film the other week and thoroughly confused me because I'd only ever seen episode 4 (what was originally the first film in the trilogy before Mr Lucas made the prequels). We spent the whole journey home plus another 20 mins on the drive with him trying to explain to me who it was I'd seen in the film. I thought it was Luke Skywalker but apparently it was his dad and now he's bad. I was more confused having watched the film and had it explained to me than before I'd watched it! Consequently I made him play the films in chronological order of the storyline. So prequels and then the trilogy. We've just finished watching the 4th one which makes so much more sense now I've watched the prequels and I've banned my OH from telling me how any of the characters are related!

In fact I think I might have become a little bit addicted to them. But shhh don't tell my OH ;)

With our tastebuds wetted from our half marathon of the Wars we went out to meet OH's mates and went and saw Hellboy 2 at the cinema preceded by a very tasty KFC. I can't say I enjoyed it as much as I did the first film. I think it was one of those sequels that didn't really need to be written. A bit like The Mummy 3. That was a complete waste of film reel. For starts they'd replaced Rachel Weiss in the role of Evie (big mistake. If they couldn't get her then they shouldn't have bothered to make the film. Her and Brendan had on screen chemistry). Hellboy didn't really need a number 2. The first one pretty much told the story. Devil boy fights evil and saves the one he loves. It sort of came to a conclusion.

Hmmmm I wonder what other sequels should never have been made?

 

Air on a G.......force!

Today I've been out on Bournemouth seafront with several other thousand people. Yes I've been watching the Bournemouth Air Festival watching the brave boys (and possibly some girls) from the forces twisting and turning about the sky in their various flying contraptions. From the ancient and I can't believe it's still remaining airborne to the new age voice controlled eardrum piercers.

Of course most people were there to watch the Red Arrows display team... that was apparent by the mass exodus of bodies off the beach once they'd finished (and thanks to the parents in front of me who decided to let their little cherub then do circuits of their encampment. I particularly enjoyed this toddler height display of how sand obeys the laws of gravity when you let it go out of your podgy hands!). The arrows display was quite amazing to watch however (I think I'm easily pleased by a bit of coloured smoke) and I've included some pictures below of their exploits in the air.

There were several things that I discovered whilst I was out today:

1. Even if it's cloudy if you look up into the air for long enough with a camera pressed to your squinting eye a) you'll get eye strain from focusing too hard on trying to spot a plane and b) your face and chest will turn the colour of a beetroot. I refer my readers to the very good advice Baz Lurhman once gave!
2. If there is a child located less than 100m away from you (of any age and this includes men as we know they're still boys at heart) then you can guarantee that you will be caught in a sandstorm
3. Even if you wanted to see the wing walkers you won't be able to because they will either be obscured by the person in front of you whilst you try and take a photo, appear as if an ant clinging on for dear life to their chosen aircraft or simply be shrouded in smoke that said aircraft is billowing out!
4. When you get on the bus to go home. The driver will make it his mission to go around every roundabout and corner at breakneck speed and leave breaking decisions to the last minute while you play sardines behind his seat.

 

If you fancy joining in with all these fun and frolics then you still have a chance. The airshow is on Saturday and Sunday and the Red Arrows will be there both days. Google for details. Oh and the show is completely free (well save parking and what not).

 

Click to enlarge!

Internet Addiction

It's surprising the hold that the Internet and computers have on society. I was a child born into the age of the computer and as such remember very little about life without one. My parents both have degrees in computing and as I've grown up I've been surrounded by all sorts of technological gadgetry.

When I moved away to university I almost went into culture shock. My student halls had yet to be linked up to wi-fi or any kind of network let alone the Internet. I was forced to go to the library every time I wanted to check my email, bank online or simply faff around on myspace. It also resulted in me getting a hell of a lot more fresh air than I did once they installed wi-fi in my halls (I was forced to go and play outside rather than sitting playing video games).

Consequently when I moved into my first student house I made it my mission to have working Internet before I would even consider setting foot in the house. Boy was that a traumatic experience and moving house the next year didn't help as I had to start all over again setting it up (who thought moving 3 doors down could be so complicated for a telephone company to work out?!). What made things worse was the fact that I had a newly found boyfriend who I'd met via a forum ( yes thanks to the Internet you can now trawl through an even bigger net of fish rather than your local rag's lonely hearts column. Of course you still can't guarantee that they won't turn out to be a 50 year old pervert who likes watching episodes of Bargain Hunt whilst dressed as a penguin. Thankfully none of those describes the love of my life.) and all of my communications with him were largely done via the Internet. Therefore I had a vested interest in getting it going again ASAP.

So great was my want and need of the Internet I would stop at nothing to get my net connection working. I've even stooped to contorting myself into interesting positions and cladding my aerials in tin foil to get a better reception.

 

God help me and other geeks and net junkies if the big www. ever shuts down.

Have they heard about climate change?

It's day 2 in my 40 day blogathon and I found myself contemplating earlier today whilst I went about my daily trawl of the job pages (unemployment sucks!) what should I blog about today? Luckily a post lunch jaunt onto facebook sorted that out.

I've recently been on holiday to fabulous Las Vegas and such is my inability to be smug about where I'd been sunning myself the last few weeks I'd posted up a selection ( 600+ is a little much to handle, no?) of pics from my trip. One of my nearest and dearest had spotted this particular photo below and decided to leave me a little note. How lovely you say and yes it was. Their comment read:

"have they heard about climate change?" my response was of course witty but it got me thinking.

I've seen numerous news reports about the 8 year drought that Vegas has been suffering (although quite how you're meant to have a drought in a desert I'm not sure). I went on trips over and to the Hoover Dam and saw the chalk lines that marked where the water should be. A quick Google search tells me the water line is apparently 102ft (31m) lower than it should be. Rather amusing was the comment made by  Patricia Mulroy who is the General Manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. She said that "[Las Vegas] is realising... that they need to adapt to the desert" Common sense says that if you build your house on a great big sandy barren piece of land then the chances of you being able to grown pine trees and lots of lovely greenery on it and tap it for it's water supplies are slim love!

Homes and businesses all over Vegas are being made to dig up their grass and put down astro turf or make 'desert gardens' (a jazzed up way of saying turn it into a nature garden by letting the local weeds populate it), builders have stopped putting swimming pools into new properties and only the big hotels have been able to keep their fountains. Fountains which to Vegas' usual standard are breathtakingly huge. I bet you could get a fare few baths and showers out of the amount of water the Bellagio's fountains use.

As if Nevada's population didn't feel harassed enough into ensuring their water usage is kept to a respectable level they now have water police patrolling the street investigating every dribble, drip and puddle which looks suspicious. If I was a water policewoman I'd be speaking to those people who own stores that blow out water mist at you. Utterly pointless. The wind is never blowing in the right direction and they never cool you down (not to mention I'm too short for them to reach me).

Whilst they're all having a flap about how much water they're using haven't they stopped to take any consideration of the other resources that they're wasting? Everyone grumbles about the price of fuel (if the Americans think they have it bad they should take a trip to the U.K. to compare prices) but how much are we doing to conserve fuel. I bet 99% of people who have cars use them to make silly errands down the road for a loaf a bread when they could quite easily walk. And as my nearest and dearest pointed upon gazing at the photo of the gigantic video billboard that adorned the entrance to my hotel what about the huge amount of electricity we consume without thinking (you're using it right now to read this post). Will the electricity police be next? Following us around making sure we turn appliances off and don't leave lights on? If that's the case then I'd like to nominate my father to be chief inspector. He's remarkably good at turning lights off unfortunately he usually does it while people are still in the room and need their use!

Whilst Vegas is an amazing site to behold and experience it does serve as one huge example of how  the opulence of something could bring its downfall. If Nevada doesn't recover from its drought then Vegas will fast become a ghost town.

A new era in blogging

Today marks a new era in my blogging.

I've had this blog since 2005 but I've hardly ever used it. I blame numerous distractions (a very attractive man for one!) and the fact that I never got into a routine. I've kept numerous private diaries and found it very therapeutic sharing my thoughts and feelings and I've come to the realisation recently  for several reasons (that I'll maybe share another time) that it does me a whole lot of good to do to get things of my shoulders that are troubling me. I'm hoping though that this this blog will be more than just me moaning.

To help me get into the groove of writing and enjoying this blog I gave it a major spruce up. It's got a whole new template that I'd love to say I made all my myself but I actually had a little help from the standard templates. I used it as the starting block and tweaked the colours created a background image and header in Photoshop and also fiddled with some of the other fixtures and fittings. I'm very pleased on the whole with the way that it looks and I hope everyone else is too.

I've also changed the name of the blog. The old one was so naff I'm ashamed to admit what it was. I've gone for a more punchier title which probably reflects my personality a whole lot better than the last one did. I'm a glass half empty kind of gal and "life is a lemon" just sums up my outlook sometimes. Despite that though I could probably say that though I mostly think my life sucks a lot of the time I try my best to make lemonade with it!

So I've got everything prepped now and I'm ready to blog to my heart's content. I've rather adventurously decided that for this to work I'm going to have to post on a whole lot more regularly. What is it they say 40 days to make a habit? Well sure why not then. I'm going to try to blog for 40 days straight in the hopes that I'll catch the blogging bug!

Hmmm does this count as blog post number 1?

Yes I know that it was already open but this is it's offical re-opening! This is the start of a new blogging era.

Bar humbug!

Christmas is already beginning to seem like it's going to be rubbish. I had a great weekend at my boyfriend's but now I'm back at home and I'm back to my sister being the golden child. Even when mum nags her about doing her essays for uni she apologises for doing so (she never did that for me!). She's just had a go at me for eating too many chocolates out of the tin of celebrations that's for the whole family. For f**k's sake it's chocolate and I didn't have that many. If you don't want me to eat them either don't buy them or just pronounce them yours, sister's and dad's. You act like you're the only members in the family anyway so you might as well cut me out of the chocolate share too.

Yeah yeah I know you're probably thinking it's older sister syndrome but there are so many things in my life that have happened that make me think my family didn't actually want me and whenever something happens that means me and my sister are head to head. She always wins. I have a complex now.

I was looking forward to this Christmas. My second one with my first ever boyfriend (I was a geek at school and not one of the Barbies who always had dates). But there is something about the idea of being cramped into a room with someone else every night due to lack of bedrooms and an increase in relatives and the fact that more than one of the relatives are incredibly annoying and make the christmas period unbearable. What's worse is that because we're all cramped into rooms there is nowhere to escape when you feel like s**t and just want to escape for an hour.

Bah humbug!

Why is life so rubbish?

Yeah yeah I know, I haven't posted on here in yonks but sometimes you just have to vent don't you. Well today is one of those days. Well actually I wanted to vent yesterday and big style but there wasn't much opportunity to get on here and do that. Why? Well because I was too busy trying to be nice to someone I'd been truthful to who decided that asking me to tell her when it was too much wasn't really what she wanted. She just wanted me to keep stum and suffer instead.

I shall explain further. I've just started a new course a uni one which is probably one of the most challenging things you could ever do. I'm doing a teaching course called a PGCE. I have new housemates this year (don't even get me started on the last lot!) two are doing secondary teaching and one is doing Primary like me. One week into this course and Primary housemate goes and breaks her leg. She's now in plaster and my housemates and I have been treated like her slaves. The doctor has told her any movement in the bone and she'll have to have surgery and that having a wheelchair to go round college in would be useful. Her mum asked if I could push her round in a wheelchair which was o.k. I suppose but the thing that gets me is she says it's because her daughter can't do it herself..... rubbish. I've driven and wheeled a wheelchair myself before. I'm smaller and slightly thinner than her and I have the strength to push both me and her round in one so I was a bit miffed by that but agreed. This housemate said to me, at the start about 5 weeks ago now, if it gets too much just tell me.

So yesterday I had a bit of a straw broke the camel's back moment. Plastered housemate gets a taxi to college every morning as she can't get there on foot (or wheelchair it seems!). Now the taxi is meant to be here at the house at 8.30 am so we're into college in time for 9am lectures. Now whilst it's not her fault he is more often than not late, I can't be waiting around for him to arrive (I go with her as I wheel her once she's in college (sigh)) I have a big year ahead of me and I need to be in all the lectures and arrive on time if not early. If the taxi isn't there by ten to nine then I have to walk it. It's my last chance to get there on time. Yesterday the taxi got to our house at 8.55! I could have gone before then but plastered housemate was standing in the doorway blocking my way. We finally got into college at two minutes to nine I frantically pushed her to the other side of college where our lecture was and we made it there 2 minutes late. I was so frustrated. Then because she can't climb stairs and some rooms don't have lifts to them our tutor came to talk to her and said you'll have to switch tutor groups this afternoon and asked me if I minded going with her. I said no I didn't but was thinking I really rather not. I need space. The last month hardly anyone has talked to me because she interrupts them or they don't like her and think I'm her mate but I'm not. So I've felt like a social leper and when people do chat to her they talk to her and not me. It's like I'm an extension of the wheelchair and if I go anywhere without her they ask where she is like I'm her minder or something.

So I went to my tutor at the end of the lecture and explained and she offered some suggestions and told me to talk to plastered housemate. As soon I'd finished talking to the tutor plastered housemate was like what was that about was it me (she's incredibly nosey). What else could I do but tell her. I'm not coping I need some people to help get you round college or some more help from you. With that she burst into tears and wailed that it was all her fault which I said it wasn't she couldn't help her condition I just need help I can't go on like this. Then I never heard a peep from her till next lecture. I got "do you want me to go home?" I said no with a surprised tone thinking how on earth did you come to that conclusion? Then at the end of that lecture it was lunch. Plastered housemate said she had a lunch date so I said ok and someone who'd obviously noticed I was upset invited me back (co-incidentally the only one who had as the rest were cooing over plastered housemate). So we both parted. I talked over my situation over lunch and my mates agreed I was right to do what I did. I texted plastered housemate to see if she needed any help as I don't mind doing the odd bit. She said no. I went to my seminars with the mates i'd had lunch with. Texted again to check plastered didn't need a push to the taxi....NO.

Walked home alone which felt liberating. Texted the secondary housemates to let them know the situation. Then braved stepped over the threshold and went straight to my room as I was feeling bad. But also knew she was mad and couldn't quite fathom why considering she'd told me on numerous occasions that I was to tell her if it was too much. Girl secondary housemate (GSH) turned up and tried to mediate between the two of us. Plastered was having none of it saying that I wanted her out my room (I swapped mine room for hers as mine is on the ground floor) and that I wanted her to leave. Absolute nonsense I said nothing of the sort. She refused to talk to me. I was happy to have a discussion and sort things. Then I went to talk to her. I apologised for telling when I did and probably less tactfully than I could have. But she said she was mad because I told the tutor first. Sigh, how childish. I spoke to the tutor first because I needed help.

Then she made this big thing about how she was leaving forever. GSH and boy secondary housemate (BSH) spent 3 hours convincing her to stay. By the end of it was happy and chatty. She even cheerily told me to come chat. Me who'd spent the last 3 hours upstairs feeling rough as s**t because of her. When her parents came I was so miffed because she said you may want to go upstairs as my mum will be cross with you....... Pah! The cheek of you I spent 5 weeks wheeling you round she should be bloody well grateful and if she had had a go I would have given my 2p worth I tell you.

 

We're now of the opinion she was putting a spoiled little girl act on. The one little kids do when they say they're leaving home, pack a case, toddle to the end of the road then look back to see who's following and begging them to stay. We reckon we've been had and she'll be back Monday like nothing happened. Well if she is then she won't be fooling us again. Just because you're parents are rich doesn't mean you can get away with murder!

Digital Spy Forums - Hollyoaks - Justin#post10783057

Digital Spy -Justin Thread

This has to be the best thread in the world!

I'm a major Hollyoaks fan and Justin is one of the best characters on it. What's more this forum thread has to be the most friendly place in the world and we get major recognition on Chris Fountain's (the actor who plays Justin) website ( http://www.chrisfountain.co.uk ).


Check it out!

Freddie my hampster

Boris Johnson is on the front bench?....NOOOOO

I can't believe it Boris has a job as shadow minster for higher education. I laughed for about half and hour then cried. O.k so despite what people think he is quite intellegent but why higher education, especially while i'm in it!

One tiring weekend

This weekend was really hectic, we had a music group practice on Friday, cleaned church and went to see the new harry potter on saturday and installed a new vicar on Sunday whilst also trying to finish a 3000 word essay for today ( i managed it thank goodness). I was so exhausted today though. I've slept virtually all afternoon. We got a letter through the other day about the christmas market, it looks like it's going to be a nightmare to get around when it's on. Oh well it's only for 4 days we'll just have to like it or lump it.



You're Ron Weasley! You're a little shy, and
sometimes overshadowed by you're friends. You
don't mind too much- you'd do anything for
them- but sometimes you dream of doing
something amazing to get YOU noticed. You're
enthusiastic and funny and your friends often
look to you for cheering up. Go Chudley
Cannons!


The Harry Potter Personality Quiz
brought to you by Quizilla

Bad sleplres of the wlrod uinte!

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorant!

Ban Comic Sans!

Why is it that everyone in the world seems to use comic sans? Is it that great a font. I can think of tonnes of other fonts that people could use. And those big corporations who use it should be shot. Surely they have enough ingenuity

to come up with their own font its not that difficult or expensive!

Sorry for that outburst but it's been driving me round the bend for years now and i've finally got it off my chest!

Forgive me father for I have sinned...

Me: Bless me father for I have sinned It has been 19 years since my last confession

Father O'haddock: What is your confesion my child?

Me: I had fish and chips for Lunch. I was doing so well father. I go past the fish and chip shop nearly every day on my way to and fro college. But today Father I sucumbed to it's devilish scent and alluring advertisements.

Father O'haddock: Say four our fathers and two hail marys and your sins will be forgive my child.

Phobics of the world unite!

I have them how about you?

I'm afraid of moths (Mottephobia) and Butterflies (Lepidophobia - not on the list but it is one others believe I looked to make sure it had a name!). I even belong to a website/forum of people who hate them. It's amazing what you can find on the internet.

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy!

Doing revision for my test on the old testament. Did you know that the ealriest mention of the Israeli nation outside of the Bible is on the Stela of Meneptah and is dated around 1230 BCE? Well if you didn't then there you go! And did you know that Satan does not appear in the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) Strange that because most people think that the Snake in the Adam and Eve story is satan yet it never mentions that he is, it doesn't even say he's a devil or anything.

Sister 2 Sister: A day of tranquility

If you check out the link above you can see how my day went, I explained it to my sis in her blog and frankly I can't be bothered to do it again it was bad enough the first time!

Yay I'm an ugly duckling!

You Are A: Duckling!

The cutest of the cute, these baby ducks are often spotted in the spring following closely behind their mother. As a duckling you will grow up quickly, becoming one of the adult ducks seen commonly in ponds and streams. Playful and timid, charming and vulnerable, ducklings are nature's very definition of innocence.

You were almost a: Lamb or a Bunny
You are least like a: Parakeet or a SquirrelWhat Cute Animal Are You?

I hope I grown into a beautiful swan because I don't think I can stand looking like an overipe banana on legs forever!

I hate pants

Now I know why blokes spend most of the time with their hands down their trousers it's because there underpants are wedged up their butt crack! The pants i'm wearing the pants i bought yesterday and they keep giving me a wedgy apart from that they're really comfy, I think i may buy more pairs but slightly bigger ones so they stay where they're put!

Yay Pokoyo is on! I know, it's a kids t.v program but he's so cute and i'm going through a Stephen Fry phase at the moment and he narrates it... so that's my excuse and i'm sticking to it!

elee!