girlofprey

So I'm finished with all my preliminary essays and seminar work, as of this morning. Now I can focus on my essays. One of which is due in next Thursday. Then one the next Monday, and one the next Thursday. But I've done a quick survey (of my housemates and, like, two other people) and apparently everyone is feeling much the same stress and has done about the same work, except for the ones killing themselves with Dissertations. So I get to blame the weather and season and general mood, I think. Spring is a rubbish time to do essays anyway, all sunny and distracting with the promise of things to come. And there's always a sunny heatwave during exam periods, before the thunderstorms of summer, damn it. But at least it'll all be over in 3 weeks.

I comfort myself with good TV. ( Doctor Who and Green Wing talk )

In conclusion: tired, should be doing lots of work, will probably end up going to see Slither in town instead. Not even pretending to not be eyeing the flist anymore, though sporadically. This may end soon. Catch you later.

Right. Easter's over, and I'm about ready to head back to Nottingham. Where I'm sort of planning to pretend you all don't exist for a few weeks. In favour of trying to get some actual work done. Sorry. I may, of course, fail miserably at this...and I'll still probably be checking my email quite regularly, so if any desperately needs to contact me for some reason (alien invasion? Recruitment for a political movement? You've run out of socks?) I'll be in touch, but - yeah. Self-imposed fandom hiatus for a little while.

At least until Mickey does something spectacular in Doctor Who, anyway.

So I hope you all had a good Easter, and I'll speak to you soon! And see some of you in June! ::waves::

ETA: Also, at the moment I'm mostly swinging between procrastinating and being too bored to procrastinate, and there's probably nothing I'd like to do more than explain at length about the EPIC GREEN WING CRACK!BUNNY that has taken over my brain, and HOW I COULD TOTALLY BRING CASSANDRA BACK FROM THE DEAD AND GIVE HER A SHINY DRESS AND A MOTORBIKE, and possibly I will write both when my head hurts from studying, but I really do need to focus on uni. Properly. For a while.

Having done some thinking last night, I realised I've - somewhat underestimated my workload for uni.

A week on Monday, I have to hand in my book review for Creative Writing (I haven't started researching this yet). The day after that, I have a two day takeaway exam for Arthurian Literature. And when that's done, I have two and a half weeks to hand in two 3000 word essays, for which I've done no real research yet, and my 4000 Creative Writing portfolio. For which I don't have one finished piece yet. And haven't shown any unfinished ones to my tutor to be checked over. And through most of this I'll still be having seminars and lectures, for which I have to read quite a few relevant passages of Malory, two novels, and watch 'The Hours' so I can take part in a presentation on it. And then when all of that's done and handed in, I have 7 days to revise for my Adaptation and Appropriation exam.

All of which means that I can't really do anything else, for the next month or so.

Probably this won't stop me squeeing over Green Wing, but - still.

Eek.

Does anyone have any idea what they want to do after university? I used to have a vague idea that involved Mexico, a jeep and a crossbow - I'm not sure how or why - and other than that, I'm sort of drawing a blank. From what I've gathered through conversations with other people (read: Newcastle taxi drivers) that seems to be pretty much the norm for today's students though. We're the Aimless Procrastination Generation, apparently.

I watched the first four episodes of Stargate: Atlantis due to randomly picking up the DVD. ( Some thoughts )

I really feel like I want to get out of the house, since I haven't been, anywhere, apart from the supermarket and Leeds once. Sadly, if I'm going to actually DO anything, it probably ought to be uni work. An old school friend (whom I love) has called to ask if I want to go out with her and some others on Friday night, and I'm tempted because I haven't seen her in a year, and y'know, social shut-in. But there really is not much I hate more nowadays (or ever) than that bit at the end of one of those nights when they're all drunk, and I'm sober, and my feet hurt, and we've been in the same club dancing for 2 hours, and I just want to go home, but we can't till the club closes! And they kick us out! And we've waited half an hour in the rain for a taxi! Hence, I'm torn. Probably I will cry off and suggest cinema and pizza at a later date, perhaps.

Also, I've decided what Green Wing really needs is an old boarding school chum of Guy's to turn up, equally rich and broad and insensitive, with whom he can have proper hugely insecure, no-mercy-to-the-death, incredibly homoerotic contests and Guyball matches and probably some physical wrestling with, causing the girls/everyone to be all 'well, I suppose insensitive boarding school twats actually are quite attractive, when they're PRACTICALLY SHAGGING ON THE FLOOR OMG'. And about whom Mac will be all 'Oh, Guy's new friend? He's nice isn't he? I hate him', and jealously dragging Guy off on the back of his motorcycle to have astonishingly passive-aggressive arguments Guy doesn't completely understand.

Just a thought.

And hurrah, the next Futurama is the one with the worms! I love it so much. "This is my home! My ancestors came over on the Sandwich! I raised a cloud of children here!" :D

The tulips I got for my birthday are wilting. I think I sort of prefer it. In a scary Funhouse kind of a way. They look like this:

( Tulips )

My ruby bracelet, on the other hand, looks like this:

( Rubies, omg )

And I love Carl from Emmerdale, who looks like this:

( Carl )

Or did in 2004 anyway.

I had a plan to cook tonight. But on the other hand there is a cottage pie and ready-made salad in the fridge. So probably I'll actually do that. I'm not an expert on Adaptation and Appropriation yet. Woe.

I feel like I want to say something about the Avian Flu thing. I don't really know how I feel about it. When I see the papers saying things like 'AVIAN FLU', I don't care so much, but when people are on TV saying 'now, people really shouldn't panic...' I start to get worried. I try to reassure myself that flu epidemics, like the ones we're regularly supposed to have, usually mostly effect the very young or very old - except that I've got a one year old nephew with a dodgy chest, and a wobbly old grandma. So it's worrying me a bit. But probably it'll be one of those things like BSE and Foot and Mouth that mostly effect the farming industry and no-one else. Hopefully.

Anyway. It's Green Wing night tonight! That came round awfully quick again. Please to have another half-naked Mac and Guy wrestling scene please. With the same music. Oh, and I finally watched episode 2 of Life on Mars! WHY has no-one yet made any Sam or Gene 'For Great Justice!' icons? And possibly a Warren 'all your bases/witnesses are belong to us'? It is a SHAMEFUL crime. Shameful.

And I'm going to London! I'm going to see Have I Got News For You! I think! I need to look up train prices and things. And some nice person ::waves to them:: offered me a place to stay if I want to go to London to see Wicked. Which is nice. Actually...would anyone on here like to go see it with me? I'm thinking especially of people who I know have read and love the book. Just a thought.

Also: Elle just asked Toadie if he was okay, and BLATANTLY MEANT 'a gay'. FACT.

ETA: Omg! The girl leaves, and the pants come off! ::agog::

According to Warren Ellis in the latest issue of Fell, the only two animals that could be completely removed from the ecosystem without causing its collapse are wasps...and dogs.

Which should make nerdcakes happy.

He goes on to recount stories of horrible things dogs are doing in Detroit. Which I won't repeat here.

I think Amazon post would be more impressive if it was actually delivered by Amazons. Or if their dispatch centre was in the heart of the Amazonian jungle. I'll settle for the cheap books and DVDs, though.

I still haven't done any work for university. Lalala. The plan for today is to read at least a little of my Adaptation and Appropriation book, and look up those small-press short story publication magazines on the internet. Otherwise...ritual suicide.

So, it's a been a week (and more) since I came home from Easter, and I haven't done a whole lot other than watch TV, check my flist (excessively), and scoured the internet to find out exactly where I can get the DVDs I want for the lowest possible price, without actually buying them. It turns out that even a wealth of time and 24 hour internet access won't bring me that Drop the Dead Donkey Damienslash epic, so probably it's time to do some actual uni work. Given that some of it is due the day I go back. Also researching that whole Cuba trip I'm so on fire for. Yes. I miss living near a city. Where you can just get on a bus, and have the best the retail world has to offer at your fingertips (including, apparently, Waterstones books for 99p). Well, I can still get a bus to the city. But it takes, like - 30 minutes longer. Shut up! I know what I'm talking about.

Went into town yesterday, since my grandmother gives me £20 for just sort of being there, an offer I'm not about to refuse. Mum took the opportunity to secretly tell me my dad's been mentioning that they're 'crying out for engineers' in Dubai. To which my response was "DUBAI?!?!". I tried to explain to her why she couldn't go to Dubai, for at least ten years or so, but I fear I just sort of flailed. She apparently thinks it's quite a silly idea as well though (which is a relief), what with taking care of my grandma, and my sister and nephew still needing lots of assistance. And y'know, my whole plans for Life After University being really quite unconvincing. And she'd have to quit work. And and everything!

It's a secret, though. So don't tell anyone.

Hmm. In fandom news, I finally saw episode 1 of Life on Mars. Sam really quite crazy and investigate-y. He's great. Neil is quite a bastard, but randomly runs off quite hilariously. And Gene isn't half the complete bastard I assumed he was, from what people said. Maybe that will come in episode two. Also; Dora's saying the last time she saw [1970s murdered girl] was "in her dreams"? Femmeslash backstory now, please. In Emmerdale, Carl smiled with some awful prettiness, and I don't understand why Matthew is with Sadie, and I don't think he does either.

And I finally saw Episode 1.2 of Green Wing! ( Talk of that )

And Mac is pretty much coming off as a sort of non-entity to me, I've realised. I can't take characters who are just "in control" like that all the time. And I think Caroline thinks he's something he's not, so that whole relationship comes off curiously Uninvolved to me. The only times I really like react to Mac are his scenes with Guy (suprise!), usually because Guy has done something no-one would ever ever do, hence blam! Not all "in the know" anymore. Just all either pissed off, or smiley and lovely, and it's like 'emotions, yay!'. Otherwise I'm just sort of 'meh' about him.

I have been helping take care of my nephew. It is indeed a 3 person job, and involves much tag-teaming. We took him for a walk on his reins and taught him the good old-fashioned English children's pasttime of putting stones down grates. Then my sister came, and funnily enough, things got more complicated. She is gone now. I watch DVDs and do nothing else for the rest of the night.

Facts:

• I'm suddenly finding it harder to drink coke, as with the new cans with wider holes, I keep having the fear that I'll accidentally stick my tongue in and the metal will slice open that huge vein underneath. Yes.


• The Scorpion King is really quite awfully bad.


• Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice-cream is really quite good.


• tiniago's handwriting is really quite scarily like my own.

Also, my random and slightly unsubtle attempt to April Fool my mother by telling her I thought I was in love with K (my female housemate) backfired a bit when she said she wasn't suprised, but didn't think it would go anywhere. Which was fun. I resisted the urge to text a friend I hadn't seen in a while to say I thought I might be pregnant. Possibly this would have been terrible, BUT HILARIOUS. But I didn't, no.

I will now watch the American Gothic where Lucas apparently seriously does some leaning over Matt Crower, and those two episodes of Green Wing. And probably you will hear about them later on.

In one week, I will be going to see the Mighty Boosh with K.
In two and a bit weeks, it will be the end of term.
In two and a half weeks, I will be 21.

In three and a half weeks, my Green Wing DVDs will be delivered :D

It's slightly terrifying that it's already practically the end of term. Although this has been a short term, and we're still having some lectures and seminars after Easter. But we also have a couple of assessed pieces and a Takeaway Exam pretty much straight after Easter. And the fact is, I haven't really been doing any work so far except the basic reading/workshop exercises. I've read no theory or historical/contextual stuff. I've written nothing (I don't think the Craig/Wade angst will count). So I feel like I should be panicking. Or settling in for a stressful Easter.

The birthday thing is just plain odd. I'm going for a meal with the family, and as far as I know they're (well, mum's) still deadset on buying me some fancy lump of gold or platinum 'keepsake'. Which is lovely, and I'll probably appreciate it in years to come when I sell it for crack?, but seems like not the most useful thing I could get. Although to be fair, if I was to get what I wanted it'd probably be a short list of DVD boxsets and a trip to Cuba. So usefulness is probably not my key arguing point here.

American Gothic is out soon. And Barty Crouch Jr Goblet of Fire. Still no word on the Crime and Punishment DVD. I live in hope.

I discovered this icon yesterday. I don't even like it all that much, but all of a sudden I want to write a book about a post-apocalyptic world (or, perhaps, just like our world, but without electricity and cars and such) wherein books are suddenly seen in the same light as drugs - not necessarily illegal or harmful, but just sort of wasteful and self-indulgent now the world's gone to hell. And the library's are now 'owned' by the criminal underworld, and there are gangs of hardcore literature-heads like the Modernists, and the Sci-fi crew, and the Romantics (they will fuck your shit up), and you can get literally stabbed for a book. Also there are some fires. Possibly there are a hundred books like this. Possibly I will write it anyway. Except that the thought of a world without central heating, where you just have to be cold, all the time makes me want to cry a bit. Possibly I will save it and do Nano. Possibly you'll never hear about it again. Yes.

Skip 120 on the flist. That was fun.

I commented hardly at all. I'm rubbish at commenting. I know that. For some reason I either don't know what to say (this usually applies to icon posts, from which I would FLEE WITH THE SHINY TREASURES, if only my conscience would let me. Um...more often...), or I just sort of open the comment box and witter for ages. I try to stop, but the fingers won't let me. And then it seems like it's just not ending on the right note, so I just keep going till it does. I have paranoia that sometimes I just horribly intimidate people with the sheer size of my comments. Though you probably don't care. I'm probably not going to stop any time soon though. So feel free to spam me back in impotent rage.

The weekend has been quiet. J has been mostly keeping to his room. With my televideo. Which has become basically communal, and we only watch videos on, and I hardly ever use. But still. Mine. In his room. For three days. Except for when I stole it back to watch my single video on Friday night. About which I felt very awkward. But yeah, we've basically been in separate parts of the house, not speaking much. My parents came down and took me away for a bit on Saturday though, which was nice. We went for pizza, and watched Seven Swords at the UGC.It's a new and hideously confusing martial arts film, and not in a 'complex' way. In a shoddy editing/'who's that guy?' kind of a way. But I still really enjoyed it, and recommend it if you like that kind of thing. I need a fabulous sword from Mount Heaven, dammit. ( The fannishness, possibly with slight spoilers )

The single video, by the way, was that Chiller thing with John Simm. I'll probably talk about it tomorrow. I'm still really annoyed they haven't brought out the DVD of the Crime and Punishment he starred in. Yet. I'll probably email the BBC at some point and hint that he totally made their Monday Night fortunes, and now is the perfect time to cash in. For the sake of his career, of course. And the fact it was slashy as hell. But for now I have to a) go food shopping, b) finish Great Expectations, c) watch the last episode (::sniff::) of Life On Mars, and d) welcome K back from The South, without seeming to be doing too much of b and c if she needs attention and such. Which should be wild.

I always want to dance like a crazy person to this song. I don't know why.