girlofprey

One of my main projects at the moment, other than playing the computer games I got for Christmas (and not for Christmas), is trying to find a joke 666theheartless666 tells in one of his Alan Wake videos. Except that I can't remember which one it is, and he has about 50 of them, pretty much all 10 minutes each. And there's nothing in any of the descriptions about that bit, and I can't exactly remember when it was, except the vague situation. Which is taking a while. It almost as bad as when I remember a joke I liked on an Adam and Joe podcast, and try to trawl through a couple of MB of them. Not quite as difficult as that. But still.

Besides that, the only annoying thing about having Christmas money is planning what you're going to spend it on, then realising you can't afford everything you're thinking about anyway, probably, and THEN remembering that actually, there's a bunch of stuff you kind of need to buy. Like a new desk chair, and jeans, and really, a Microsoft Office package at some point. However, I am definitely getting Scrubs season 9, Oz seasons 1 and 2, and one of the Oglaf paper copies. And there is just no argument about that. Also a trip to Lancaster. No doubt.

We have so much chocolate and dessert in the house, and I both feel like I can't eat it all, and feel like we're running out. Help.

Hello. I am totally still around. Now I'm going to Prague tomorrow, and I still haven't picked out any clothes to pack, packed, or tidied my room a bit like I wanted to. Eek.

I don't think it'll be too hard to pack for Prague though. We're only going for six days, and two of them are going to involve travelling, so we'll only really be there for about 4 full days. And from what I feel like I know about Prague, and what my mum has seen on the weather forecasts for there, the weather will probably be pretty much like it is in England, if not slightly worse. So I'm mostly planning on taking a few pairs of jeans, maybe some lighter trousers for if it's sunny, some t-shirts, something nice to go out in of an evening, and something to sleep in. Plus the basics, obviously.

What I have done is listened to the Adam and Joe show this morning, which came complete with a bit about Labyrinth, which was lovely because I just rewatched it the other night, so it was very apt for me; went into town today and finally bought another pair of jeans, so I now I actually do have (including the ones I'll be wearing) a 'few pairs' to take on holiday with me; I also managed to get some vests, a nice dress, and a free pair of sunglasses because I spent more than £35 at New Look (the free sunglasses started falling apart not long after I started trying to clean them, but I managed to get the little screws and put it back together, so hopefully that'll be fine); and I also went for my yearly haircut this week, and shaved my legs and underarms, as is my yearly tradition. Mostly I am pleased about my hair. It is short and doesn't get in my face as much. I would like to make a note to try to keep it this short more regularly.

I also got my period this week, not that long since my last one. But there was quite a big gap, I think, between my last one and the one before it, so it's probably fair enough. And as I said to my mum, I'd rather get it now than when I'm in Prague. So hurrah.

So yeah. I've had a fairly busy week. I've also been watching lots of stuff and having things to say about them, but not massive things to say.

One of them, though, was ( Spoilers for Silk, last week's Scott and Bailey, and now next week's Emmerdale, possibly triggery )

I also went to see X-Men: First Class last week. And I have mixed, and then changing feelings about it. ( My thoughts, spoilery )

Anyway. So those are my (apparently fairly long) thoughts on X-Men: First Class.

Right. I have other thoughts, but mostly they are about how I love Becky McDonald and I love David Platt and Gary Windass is acting a bit creepy at the moment. And other things. But I really need to go and pack. I am going on holiday tomorrow. So you probably won't hear from me until next week sometime, at the earliest. So, bye!

So. I've had an interesting and full day. I went to the doctor's this morning, and got my second sicknote. Which was nice, because my mum seemed to think that the doctor I was going to see wasn't someone thought much of mental health issues, or something. She said she'd seen him with my grandma sometimes, and he seemed to be of the opinion that people should just get on with things. But he turned out to be really nice. He asked what the problem was, whether I'd been working before my OCD 'flared up', and where I was supposed to be heading with the sicknote and benefits and stuff. I said OCD, that no I'd mostly been unemployed for the last year or so, and that I was on the waiting list for some counselling, and they'd said they were meant to be contacting me in mid-April, so hopefully I'd hear from them soon. And he said okay, and gave me a sicknote. Hurrah.

But due to some mix-ups with me and mum, who'd given me a lift to the doctors and then went shopping, and me having not much credit on my phone and not calling her when I got out of the doctors, in favour of going to buy some toothpaste, and my phone being on silent so I didn't hear when she tried to call me, she ended up driving home from town without me. Which meant I had to get a £1.30 bus journey home, and then walk back from the stop, with my OCD kicking in all the way. Which led to me crying on the bus and in the street. And then at home when I sort of confronted my mum about it. It probably wouldn't have been so bad, but I really didn't expect her to go without me, even if I didn't call her; and I have no idea what it is, but I had the sheets changed on my bed the other night for the first time in a while, and the duvet sort of moved around so it's not so heavy, and since then I've had really weird unsettled sleep, waking up every few hours; and after I got upstairs after talking to my mum I started having some adbominal twinges, which suggest I'm going to be having a period soon. We sorted it all out, she came upstairs and we hugged, and I apologised for crying at her, and she apologised for going home without waiting to speak to me. I do think it was a bit weird of her, but I probably overreacted a bit, and we got it all sorted out.

Anyway. But then, my mum informed me that unfortunately, today was the day when we - or my mum and my dad - were meant to be taking both my nephews off my sister and her partner's hands so she and he could have some time together alone. My parents did this a few weeks ago, and I assumed it was a one-off, but apparently no, it's something they're meant to be doing every month. So. Anyway. My mum said that she and my dad would take them out, so I wouldn't need to see them or play with them until the evening when they came back to the house for their tea. But they were planning to take them to Halfords for some helmets to ride on their bikes with, and then to the park. And then it started raining in the afternoon, so they ended up bringing them back here. It wasn't too bad though, there were a few fights and tears, and then the rain stopped and they went out to play on their bikes and there was a bit more bad behaviour, and then it was about time for them to go home, and then there was a lot of bad behaviour. But they were pretty okay most of the time. It did feel like a different day to the one where I went to town this morning though. But anyway. Then my parents and I had our tea and watched tonight's So You Think You Can Dance. I disagree with the judges pretty often in that show, but I do tend to enjoy the dances. Especially the hip hop dances. I might start trying to watch that regularly again.

And then I came upstairs and went on my computer, and started listening to the rest of the Adam and Joe Show from today that I missed on the radio today. Hurrah.

In between all of that I have been watching more old Coronation Street episodes I have found on Youtube. Oh. I have found things I had almost forgotten about, and things I never saw and wished I did. I did not get to see the episode where David and Gary met for the first time, but I saw the episode where the Windasses moved in next door to the Platts/Mcintyres. It's weird how crazy and violent Gary was when he first came to the street. In some ways I kind of miss crazy thuggish Gary and evil mastermind David, who were obsessed with each other. Always with the underlying feeling that if some greater evil, like a MOTORCYCLE GANG came to the street, they might band together, and become an unstoppable two-boy gang. It's nice to see it though. I just recently saw the episode where David freaked out at his mum for letting Anna hug her, because he can't stand the idea of 'physically touching' one of the Windasses. Oh. And it's sort of the start of Steve and Becky's relationship, properly, and oh God. The first time they properly deliberately had sex, and it wasn't just a drunken mistake, Becky stopped and wasn't sure what she was doing because she'd never had sex sober. OH. In some ways Steve was her first. And these are also the episodes with Sad Detective Maria, who's convinced that Tony is a murderer and had Liam killed, and everyone else is just telling her she's mad. I'd almost forgotten how great she was then. It's weird, but even now, watching it back, I kind of hope she uncovers Tony's lies and gets him sent to prison. Even knowing like I do what happens later, and loving it so much. It's just good writing I guess. I LOVE OLD CORONATION STREET. I AM GOING TO KEEP WATCHING TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS AND WHAT HAPPENED.

Livejournal just stopped working for me for a bit, in a NEW AND EXCITING WAY than it usually doesn't work for me. But it's back now, so never mind.

Before I came upstairs and Livejournal wouldn't work for, I was downstairs watching an episode of Life On Earth that seemed to be from the 1980s, and it had some of the most perfect 1980s-style background music you've ever heard. It gave me a proper yearning to watch Watership Down again. Sometimes I think about showing Watership Down to my nephews, and then I remember the slightly horrific bits and I think maybe not. Not till they're 16. Also, they don't always sit and watch films at the best of times. So not till they can both handle and appreciate it. Anyway. It was just quite a nice blast from the past. Also, I learned interesting things about insects and how they and plants evolved once they stopped living in water. So it was all good.

My dad bought a shelf for the Playstation yesterday. But my youngest nephew was here, and when he'd gone my dad was watching Holby City and Silk. Also, it probably takes a while to safely and correctly put up a shelf. But mostly I'm so sick of waiting I feel like I want to punch things. Which is pretty unreasonable. But still. The game I ordered online that I was interested in, and was thinking I was going to have to OH GOD WAIT to play is here. And I have nothing to play it on. Hmph.

( Here I talk about some fantasy film and TV shows I have been thinking up, you don't have to read this )

In other news, Employment and Support benefit is very confusing. I was told they wouldn't be deciding whether to give me it until they'd done an assessment. But then I got a letter last week saying they'd decided to pay me, and how much they were going to pay me. On the same day as I got a questionnaire, which I assume is part of the assessment, which says I don't need to return it until 6th May. Which is long long after my current sick note runs out, although to be fair they didn't have that until after they sent me the questionnaire out. Then today I got another letter saying they'd be paying my Employment and Support into a (correct) bank account, and that they'd already paid £1.42 into it. I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT AT ALL. But I'm going to carry on with it, obviously.

It hasn't stopped me from spending money, though, obviously. My birthday money is already pretty much gone, on that game I ordered. And on commissioning a piece of jewellery from Alys Power, who I love. I've asked for a Little Red Riding Hood themed charm/recycled necklace. It's been on my to do list for some time, so it's nice to finally be getting a move on it. Also, commissioning a piece of jewellery in general is sort of on my to do list for my life. So it's sort of killing two birds with one stone. A hopefully beautiful stone.

But I do need to be thinking about money again, really. I'm pretty sure my mobile phone bill will have sorted itself out by now, and I can stop worrying about that. So I just need to cancel the phone insurance I'm paying for with a direct debit and don't really want now, and check that my bank balance is in credit so I can cancel my overdraft. And then I won't have any bills going out really, and I'll be able to just look at my account and see what I have to spend. At the moment it's a bit tricky though, because I'm pretty sure I don't have much to spend, and my LJ paid account is apparently about to run out. And I'd really like to go to Nottingham at some point in the next few weeks to see an exhibition by this artist, who I really like. And I should probably start saving up for Connotations at some point. So hmm.

I have an appointment in Wakefield tomorrow, and an appointment in my home town on Friday, and then on Friday afternoon my oldest nephew will be coming to our house. But on Saturday Adam and Joe are coming back! So it's not all bad. I need to remember to buy a card for Mother's Day on Sunday though. Probably tomorrow, while I'm in Wakefield. Also, my dad has come home since I started writing this post, and it sounds like he's drilling and installing a shelf in the bedroom next door as we speak. So I could well be playing on a Playstation, or at least working out how to play on a Playstation, before the night is out. Yay.

So. Christmas Day and Boxing Day are over for another year, and with them go our obligations to have lots of the family and both kids over to our house at once. And the days themselves were only mildly harrowing. Mostly because my mum was working a night shift at the hospital last night, and my sister sort of took pity on her and left early yesterday and today.

I seemingly forgot how to wrap presents on Christmas Eve, but it all came back to me once I gave up and just started scrunching the paper down. And I managed to get my various bedroom Christmas decorations up before (or around) midnight even. Despite my best efforts to go to bed and get some sleep (at about half 3), my messed up sleeping patterns, being wound up about Christmas and the full bottle of coke I drank only a few hours before going to bed meant I was laid awake until at least ten to seven, but I definitely got some sleep because I woke up, all confused, at nine or so when my alarm went off. I didn't know what my family were doing, because my mum was doing a night shift, but I listened out and they were up, so I got up and went downstairs, with the hopes of getting all my unwrapping out of the way so I could come upstairs and listen to Adam and Joe's Christmas show at 10 o'clock. However, I mentioned it to my parents and because they are lovely and it is Christmas, I guess, they found out how to get it on the TV and let me have it on down there. For three hours. They truly are lovely.

There were plenty of quite lovely gifts, including a new electric toothbrush which it turns out you have to plug into shaving sockets and charge up and stuff, so that'll be interesting to use, at least. Probably the best present was Jon Burgerman's Pens Are My Friends book, which I've been looking at and meaning to buy for some years, and it keeps going in and out of stock, and I get angry with myself every time it goes out for not having bought it yet. But now I don't have to, since I totally have it. Anyway. But the biggest present was. Well. I'd asked for an iPod, because I have a little MP3 player but it's full now and I like enough songs on it that I don't want to have to be removing a lot of them to put new ones on, or removing ones I want to keep to put albums on and then find out I don't care about half the songs on them. So I wanted something bigger/massive. So anyway, I got through most of my presents, and there was only one big box left. Way too big for an iPod. So I opened it, confused, and it was a brand new laptop. Because I'd been talking about having had this one for about 6 years now, since I first went to University, and it keeps playing up because the memory's too low and there's too much on the disk. But I couldn't really afford a new one. So my dad bought me one for Christmas. This is why it's difficult to hate him properly - he's irritating in a number of ways, but then he occasionally goes and does something like this.

So yes. I have a new laptop. And most of the stuff I actually want to keep from this one is already backed up onto a portable hard disk, as of the other week, when I was finally freaked out enough about the idea of my laptop burning out and dying suddenly that I made the effort and backed it up. So setting that up will probably take up some of my Christmas and New Year. And I've decided to be a bit more hands-on or at least pay attention to it this time, because loving my laptop so much and yet not really knowing a thing about it or what to do with it when it has a problem seems fairly ridiculous as of the last few months. So. That's a decision I have made, possibly a New Year's resolution already, if I'm still setting it up/yet to set it up by then. The problem with my small MP3 player remains, my dad apparently told my mum that he was getting me the laptop instead of the iPod/new MP3 player, and if she got me one he wouldn't get that for me. But one of the happy things about my birthday is that it's only three months after Christmas, so if there's anything I don't get then I can always try again then. Hurrah.

Anyway. So, presents, laptop, Adam and Joe. The Adam and Joe show was lovely, complete with ( Spoilers )

Anyway. After the Adam and Joe show, I found a programme about Morecambe and Wise on the TV and watched it, and thoroughly enjoyed it. They're doing a new programme about the early years of Morecambe and Wise and their friendship, and at first from the picture I thought Matt Smith was going to be in it, but then I found out that no, it's my first strange-faced TV love, Bryan Dick. So I was interested anyway. And it is quite lovely, how much they loved each other, and a lot of the sketches are still quite hilarious, even now. There was a bit of weird homophobia surrounding the stories about/celebrity reactions to the bed sketches. But apart from that it was quite lovely.

Shortly after that I finally got dressed and stuff, and shortly after that my sister, her partner, and the kids appeared, in a haze of wildly ripped off wrapping paper. Someone had had the brilliant idea to get one of my nephews a pretend drum kit, so that made things interesting. Then we had dinner, which was a buffet-type affair, and we couldn't all have it at once because there was not enough space in our fancy new dining room. Which mostly meant my dad had had to have his on a tray in front of the TV before going for my sister, her partner and the kids. But we got through it, and then my mum went upstairs for a nap/lie down before her night shift, and my sister, oldest nephew and I played on a new Wii game for a while. My youngest nephew decided that would be a great time to start playing on his new drum set, and we had a bit of a time trying to explain to him that that was fine, but he had to try to do it quietly, since my mum was in bed and she was working later. To his credit, he did do it sort of quietly. For a bit. But anyway, then my sister and her partner decided it was probably time to go, and did so without too much fuss, and my mum came down, and went off to work, and everything was pretty fine.

I watched the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special, and it turned out I'd spoken too soon about Matt Baker not dancing on my TV for me anymore. And he looks kind of brilliant red. And even Gavin was there. Hurrah. I don't normally watch the Christmas special, I think, and it was a bit more of a shambles than the usual show, but John Barrowman was good, and I like that the judges like Erin and Vince, even though I thought he was a bit stiff, and it was nice to see Matthew dancing again. Then dad and I watched Murder On The Orient Express, and I don't know what other versions of it are like, but this one seemed to end with the moral that ( Possible spoilers )

Anyway. When that finished I came upstairs and eventually got round to checking the new Yuletide stories. I think. I find the archiveofourown website quite confusing. But I was rewarded with new The Baker story, a new Jonathon Harker from Dracula story, a lovely How To Train Your Dragon story, a lovely Despicable Me story, and a Whitechapel Chandler/Miles story! Don't get me wrong, I see and even quite like Chandler/Kent. But Chandler/Miles is about a hundred times slashier and more beautiful, in my opinion, and I had sort of despaired of anyone else in fandom liking it. SHOWER SCENE. Omg. Anyway. And today I found a Bite Me! story, and a Hark! A Vagrant story. Yuletide does not cover all of my best-loved fandoms, sadly, but it still quite brilliant all the same.

Today mostly involved my sleeping in to catch up on all the sleep I didn't have yesterday, watching bits and pieces of various films on TV, talking to my grandma who I haven't seen in quite a while, and then us having my sister, her partner and the kids over for dinner again. Things got a little bit tense, mostly when my sister and her partner and my mum and dad were eating, after my grandma and I had eaten, and we were left in charge of the kids. But it was all pretty fine. And then, as I say, they left without too much fuss before 9 o'clock, and my grandma had left just before they did, so now it is basically all over. Ah, Christmas.

I was thinking of going out shopping tomorrow, since everyone seems to be going a bit nuts with the sales, and I don't want things I like to disappear before I've even had the chance to get them. I might be knackered though, so we'll see. And I'd like to catch up on the Christmas and pre-Christmas soaps that I didn't see because of various things. And my dad wants to try setting up the new computer maybe, and backing some more of my stuff up from this one maybe. So we'll see. Mostly I am thinking of random bits of jewellery and some scarves from Accessorize that they're probably not going to put on sale until February/March, when it isn't cold anymore. So it's probably not that pressing. But maybe.

In any case - Merry Christmas, to anyone who celebrates it. And just general yay, to anyone who does or doesn't. :D

Things I have done this week:

• Went to see my grandmother at her house - I haven't been up to see her since she got back from the home, partly because I never really went to see her regularly, partly because I knew she was settling back in and having some problems with her carers coming round and getting back into her routine, and partly because everyone who went up there talked about how horrible it was and she couldn't remember anything and would argue with you about nothing. But my dad said he thought she was 'fading away', and said he meant in body as well as in her mind, so he thought it would be an idea if I went to see her. I went up last Tuesday, and it wasn't too bad. She thought I was my cousin at first, and said before that she'd thought I was my sister, but eventually she remembered properly who I was. We had the usual problems with her not remembering what I'd said and asking the same questions again and again, and me trying not to mention too many other members of my family so we hopefully wouldn't end up arguing, but it was alright. She knew her memory was going a bit funny, and asked me to come up regularly so she wouldn't forget me altogether. I was planning to anyway, but I am going to try to go up once a week from now on.



• Went with my mother to take our dog, who is 11 or 12 now, for the first walk he's had in a year or so, I think. We played fetch and went for a walk up a long track and it was a really warm day, and he ended up walking in a wobbling sort of way and we wondered if actually the walk might be a bit too much for him, and if it might kill him. But he seems pretty alright now, he was probably just tired. It's another thing I'd like to do regularly, especially now that the weather is getting warmer and will probably be decent for a few months.

Other things that happened this week:

• I discovered Bad Machinery



• The Betty Boop figurine my mum ordered for me just before my birthday arrived in the shop, hurrah! It is a 20s-style figurine, and very beautiful. The only unfortunate thing is that my bedroom is still a tip so I can't really put it up. But still! I've got it.



• I started making a list of my pairings/OTPs, which I've been meaning to do for a long time, just so I can try to remember them all. The problem is, I've realised that now I've started doing it I really need to try to do it all pretty close together, so that I remember what I've already put. Of course, though, I found it quite hard to remember all of my pairings at times while doing it. I have a lot. The quest continues.



• I learned some Coronation Street spoilers for next week. ( Upcoming Coronation Street spoilers )



• And I went to see Kick-Ass again, so I could see the bit I missed when I was running to the bathroom last time. ( Kick-Ass spoilers )
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Another thing I am trying to do is find the Adam and Joe podcast where they talk about Liam Steele, the guy from Empire of the Sun. But I have a lot of Adam and Joe podcasts, and it is very hard. Argh.

I love Tony Gordon. His crazy is brilliant. His eyes are beautiful. Oh. I hope Carla and Maria just sort of get over it, and they all move in together, and bring the baby up. Hurrah.

Snow. We had some. On the first day of the year I went to work. On the first week of the year I had to work. It was sort of lovely, actually, I was down near the castle, and on Monday when I peeked out from under my hood, I got to see the castle and the cliffs and everything all covered in snow. Let me tell you, there is no cave like a cave near snow. The two things don't even compare. Yesterday, however, they kept talking about closing the office because of the weather, after some or all of the bus services were cancelled (the city ones reopened, if they were ever cancelled). The words 'at any minute' were used at about quarter past eleven. We finally went home early at about 4 o'clock. Growl.

Other things - the people who made Samorost are making a full-length game called Machinarium. It's meant to be in shops some time in the first half of the year. Mostly it made me rediscover Samorost. And discover the game they did for a band, Polyphonic Spree. And the game they created for BBC Bitesize. Mostly, I'm really in the mood to play a full-length game like that at the moment. Really very much in the mood.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird is apparently not being released anywhere near me. I don't entirely understand why.

And...and and and. It might snow again tomorrow. But someone said it was going to snow today worse than yesterday, so who knows. I have bought soup in any case. I need to do some clothes washing, so I hope it's not too bad. Also to go to the bank. On the other hand, it would be nice for it to snow on a day where I don't actually have to go outside. So. We'll wait and see, I guess.

Adam and Joe are back tomorrow, I think. Hurrah.

Meme stolen from whatho. Once you have been tagged, you have to write an entry with 10 random things, facts, goals, or habits about yourself. At the end, choose 10 people to be tagged. You can't tag a person who has tagged you. Except I also won't be tagging anyone.

( 10 Random Things About Me )

I have an InsaneJournal now, in case of impending Livejournal disasters. I'm under the same name, if anyone wants to friend me, and I’ll be cross-posting, probably more often when I get the html figured out. I came to realise how vaguely pointless it was to have a back-up GreatestJournal and never update it. Or actually sign in to it. Oh well. I'd like to second whatho's question, though, what is all this about Inksome? Is it better than other journal sites?

As an aside, I was listening to Adam and Joe from Saturday on Listen Again at the site. Is it just me or has Joe been getting progressively more in love with Adam since the summer? Possibly earlier, as I only started listening to it then. I think it KILLED HIM A BIT that Adam was attracted to a man and it wasn't him. Dude.

( Tonight's Doctor Who )

Also, if I'm going to be listening to the Adam and Joe show with the music in, they're going to have to stop playing such beautiful songs. I can't afford it. If Fopp keeps selling CDs for around £3 maybe I can afford it. But still. STOP.

I got my mum a birthday present and card. I need to tidy the flat and do the washing. And I'd really like to get the plants potted soon, with my flat rocks from Scarborough, because the Busy Lizzies, which are growing and wilting and trying to migrate across the windowsill, apparently still have the red and white flowers I first saw on them, and I'd quite like them to live and keep growing. But I'm not going to do that while it's raining.

Has Have I Got News For You finished for this series?