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*J'en ai marre*.Rachel's Space. 28 November UniversityIt's been a while since I have ritten in any of my blogs. I guess I've been busy and also a little lazy.
I started studying at Newcastle Uni at the end of September.
Freshers Week was supposed to be the bestin the country, but unfortunatly for me, nothing interested me. Twas very unfortunate since I'd paid £49 for the wristband to take part. I did nothing. I didn't even get a free t-shirt. In a way it was my own fault since I didn't sig up for anything or make the effort to go out on the evening. But at he same time it was induction week and so I was pretty tired. The I had to commute - and for someone not used to travelling so far, or travelling by train, it was an exhausting experience.
Nevermind though. First waste of money but not the last.
I've spent most of my student loan on books, books, morebooks and sushi. And Christmas presents.
I have so many books now though - it is amazing. I just love books!
Many of the books I bought are to do with studying languages though. I'm doing Japanese as part of my degree, but I've also taken up Chinese as an evening class. It ends soon, but I'd like to continue in January.
It is going somewhat ok. Having a few problems but I've found Tandem Learning partners. I have a friend from Taiwan and a friend from Singapore who are helping me with my Mandarin Chinese. I've recently found a Japanese tandem partner too.
I'm really exhausted though. I find it difficult juggling so many subjects. I'm doing Combined Studies, with my degree credits being split between English Literature, English Linguistics Studies and Japanese. They are making me take Academic Research and Academic Skills for Combined Studies Students. They are irritating, because they involve a lot of work which I really could do without. I have written 2 out of 3 essays for Literature and I've kinda been neglecting my Linguistics. I have an exam in January but I am not ready for it by a longway. I need to get organised a bit more.
I need to get some sort of teaching experience sorted out. I should start applying to schools.
I am helping run the anime society at Newcastle.
We meet every Tuesday from 6pm till 8pm. It is awesome. We have a room like a cinema and play whatever anime people bring in.
We have snacks and stuff and go to the pub afterwards.
I don't feel like I can type anymore. Off to search the net for stuff. 12 July Anime proposalIt's been on my msn sub-name for a while but I have a proposal for anime fans in the UK.
I have recently signed up for the Anime Network UK.
If I get accepted as a Street Team member, I want to organise a group cosplay in the centre of Newcastle.
That's right. Cosplaying in the middle of the street/or a shopping centre if it is raining.
It is in aid of promoting anime within the UK.
More details will emerge the sooner I get word of what is happening with the street teams and if I gots the job.
If I don't, I might still do it anyways.
I may wait till after I start Uni in September so I can start up an anime and manga society.
But it all depends. If anyone is interested please comment. I need to know around how many people might turn up on a good day lol. 08 June Laptop!I haven't posted for a while, but now is a special occasion.
I bought a laptop the other day. It is awesome. Wireless internet access, 2 and a half hours battery life, Windows Vista Premium which has cool games like Mahjong and Inkball XD
I really like it, and I've been neglecting my desktop PC a bit since getting it. I paid £399.99 for it from Comet, but I originally wanted the £339.99 laptop with a webcam, but the sales guy conned me out of it lol. ended up paying a lot more and he wanted me to even pay an extra £50 for some special add-ons like a bag and a mouse and a years subscription to Norton Security, but I didn't have enough in the bank for it so I had to politely refuse.
My Grandad was quite disappointed by the fact he couldn't barter and haggle with the sales guy. Usually he can get loads of freebies added on and get at least £50 off, but the sales guy was adament he couldn't do any deals. Company policy apparently.
So don't go to Comet for anything, unless it is a last resort.
07 May I'm a nerd? Yay! I have a social group at last!
Yes. I do believe this is quite accurate. I probs would have been a literature nerd if I had actually completed a novel. Alas, I am still writing. I might have been a drama nerd if I'd been brave enough to audition for bigger roles, rather than being satisfied at chorus parts.
Yet, being an anime nerd is not so bad. It's fun. I can now prove I am in a certain social group!
The nerds will rise I tell thee! Rise we shall!
And the preppy cheerleadery-jock types and the charvs will be the first to fall!!!!!!
In fact, they will be the only to fall. We have no beef with anyone else.
Yeah... how's that for random :P 23 January Maintainance QuizYou're an ego free zone!
Wow, you don't need much to feel satisfied! You're either incredibly laid back, or you don't have very high standards. Then again, you could be self-sufficient, practical and gorgeous, or just slightly unkempt. Either way, you tend to think that top-of-the-line products are unnecessary and excessive, and you don't indulge yourself with more than you need. You're a firm believer in the philosophy of "less is more" and we think it's a safe bet that you don't spend much time grooming yourself. The fact that you don't always feel like you have to look your best could be the result of either a super-healthy level of self-confidence or a disregard for the opinions of others. You are also very laid back in your relationships, but could it be that you don't think highly enough of yourself to deserve their respect and attention? If you are truly satisfied with your relationship and don't have any unfulfilled expectations, then congratulations - your low-maintenance attitude probably makes both you and your partner very happy! http://uk.tickle.com/test/maintenance.html
Which Literary Heroine are you? QuizYou're the all-knowing Miss Marple!
Why are you bothering to read this? We get the impression that someone with an inquiring and well ordered mind such as yourself will have no doubt already worked out that you should be matched to this famous geriatric sleuth. The logical signs are there, you seem to enjoy looking at a situation from a number of angles rather than just making a snap judgement. You show an active interest in the world around and we wouldn't mind betting that you like to be right all of the time. However, this doesn't make you a bore as we bet that you know how to bend the rules when necessary – only when it's for a good cause naturally. So if someone accuses you of playing to win rather than to have a good time, you can scold them to mind their own business, while you pour yourself a nice pot of tea. People will always learn not to underestimate you as you always have the last laugh! My Lucky NumberYour Lucky Number Is: 6 - The Loyalist
Your flies are undone! Oh dear, you 6's are so gullible. Probably because you're such the Loyalist - very trusting. Cheer up, your friendship is rarer than a faithful politician. And if there were more 6s out there, the world would be a better place. The only problem is, once you've been burned, your trust flees the scene like a scared rabbit. As a result, it's possible to come off a little cold and standoffish. Bad first impressions might stick with you, so if people don't pay their share of a dinner bill, it might taint your view of them as potential friends. On the other hand, your BS radar is one of the sharpest around. That's why you may prefer shooting pool with mates instead of jockeying for position at the local singles' night. As a loyal Number 6, you're short on chat up lines and long on eye contact. If you find security within yourself, you might become less affected by the mistakes of others. So if you find a little extra support in life, you'll be well on your way to joining the ranks of other famous 6s: Mel Gibson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tom Hanks, and Julia Roberts. Photo QuizYou're the official photographer!
We can see that you have more of an analytical mind than most people and that you're probably on hand to take record important events regardless of whether it is a wedding, graduation, or just the time when a group of friends came round for dinner. 10 January My Life Grade
10 September Silly Personality Quiz... with weird results
personality tests by similarminds.com 12 August New Music... because it's cute!Rotating so soon I know, but it is such a cute song I have to put it up.
I've just discovered the awesomeness of Ouran Koukou Host Club (Ouran High School Host Club) and this song is just the most genki-kawaii thing in the world! I love Honey-sempai, because he is soo adorable. He reminds me a lot of Momiji from Furuba, only cuter (if you can believe it) since he is much less whiney :P
The song is called "Doki Doki Waku Waku" which.. I'm not sure but I think means something like "Nervous, Nervous, Excited, Excited", 'doki doki' being the onomatopaoeic description of a heart beat in Japanese. Tis sung by Honey-sempai's seiyuu, Ayaka Saitou.
Listen to the uber-cuteness!
EDIT: Wait! I have foundeth the lyrics to this song! Got em here, which actually took em from here. Isn't stealing great? At least we thieves give credit and links to those who did the work ;)
Haninozuka Mitsukuni - Doki Doki • Waku Waku
Japanese:
楽しい事が待っていると いつだって楽しんじゃえる！ 探検うさちゃんと一緒！宝箱探して！ うれしいことがあった日はメガトン級のスマイルで！ 魔法の杖でいとふりするとうさちゃんがくまちゃんに変身 探検みんなと一緒！宝箱探して！ 探検うさちゃんと一緒！宝箱探して！
Romaji: tanoshii koto ga matteruto itsudatte tanoshinnjaeru! tanken usachann to issho! takara bako sagashite! ureshii koto ga atta hi ha megatonkyuu no SUMAIRU de! mahou no tsue de hitofuri suruto usachan ga kumachan ni henshin tanken minna to issho! takara bako sagashite! tanken usachann to issho! takara bako sagashite!
English Translation: If there is something exciting waiting for me, I can have fun anytime! Adventure with my bunny! Find a treasure box! When there’s a day where something happy happens, smile a hundred-bolt smile! When I wave my magic wand once, my bunny turns into teddy! Adventure with you! Find a treasure box! Adventure with my bunny! Find a treasure box! 08 August Happy Birthday to my dearest Ben-kun!!!Yesh today we shall celebrate, for it is my darling boyfriend's birthday at last.
My dear Benjamin is 17 years old today and I wanna shout out a big
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! to him. (Told you it was a big one XD)
*has now just discovered that font size and colour can be easily changed in blogging....* I may just go overboard with my new found ability :P
I haveth a chocolate covered birthday cake and 2 wrapping wrapped presents for him as well as the compulsary 2 cards. Why two you ask? Well my parents are not gonna ignore the fact that it is his birthday are they? They love him too XD
And tonight Ben and his family have invited me out for a meal to celebrate the fact he is now 17 years old, so I am quite happy *blushes* XD
And yet, despite me being 17 since March 29th, I have only recently recieved my provisional driving license, as I was too lazy to send off for it, yet Ben send off and got his before he even turned 17. And he starts his first lesson today since his Dad is a driving instructor :P Lucky him :D
Anyways, I shall probably post later, perhaps with a Big Brother-y update, since former housemates get voted into the secret house tonight... I hope Nikki ish one of them XD And I hope Aisleyne is up for eviction... 07 August I've been busy :PToday is my mother's 41st birthday XD Just thought I'd announce that to teh world. She'll kill me if she founds out I put her age up on the web but meh XD
So I handed her gifts over to her about... well.. 11.15pm last night XD I couldn't wait. I've had her presents in a pink gift bag for like 2 or 3 weeks or something, since I got gifts out of the way while I had money before I spent it selfishly on myself. Me and my brother both inputted into the gift. I bought the cards and the bag, as well as the 3 CDs she asked for ( the news albums from: The Kooks, Corinne Bailey Rae and Jack Johnson) and Matthew, my little brother, bought her a Special Edition "Willow" DVD, since she loves that movie.
She loved the stuff we bought her :P which made me feel like I wasn't a completely useless daughter who can't make a cup of tea. Yes she actually told me to my face that I make terrible cups of tea. So I swear never to fill a kettle again. Unless they tell me to at least, cos then I'll have to, and it'll be their fault if I ruin it.
Anyways, today I went shopping with my mam and dad. Basically, I helped them spend more money than they usually do XD I got the ingredients I need to bake my dearest boyfriend, Ben, a birthday cake. Yes, I am trying to prove, once again, that I am not useless in domestic chores.
I had to bake it this evening, since according to my dad, we're going out tomorrow, to Beamish. That kinda sucks timing-wise, since it is Ben's 17th birthday tomorrow and I'm supposed to be going out for a meal with his family at 6pm, and he was hoping I'd spend the afternoon with him after his driving lesson (12.00pm-2.00pm). If I am at Beamish I can't be there. And I'll end up rushing to get ready to go for the meal, when I get in at 4pm after a day out. Depending on the weather though really. If it is anything like today, it'll be hot and I'll be sweaty and tired after a day in the sun, or it'll rain (as my luck would have it) and I'll be depressed and soaked. Beamish is an awesome place though. I just wish I could bring Ben along though. I wonder if my grandparents will join us? They have a habit of agreeing to go somewhere and then cancelling at the last minute with some excuse, which we usually translate as "can't be bothered".
Anyways, right now I feel stuffed, since I baked Ben's cake and had tons of chocolate left over. Plus my Mam bought herself a huge chocolate birthday cake from Asda when we went shopping, so I am so chocced out. I never thought I'd be sick of chocolate... but I am. Shock! Horror! Noooo... I take it back. I love chocolate :P
Ooooh and before I forget to say : I have tickets to the footie match on Wednesday XD I hope Sunderland win! We are sooo hopefully gonna win the Championship and get promoted! Come on Quinny's Lads!
Ahem.. yeees, well. I have a new shirt to wear to the match. Bought it from Asda. It says "Proud to be a Mackem" and looked a billion times better than the Geordie version, since red and white and much nicer colours than black and white. I'll have to take a photo and post it up.
Ok. I fixed my e-mail account. I havn't recieved e-mails into my Incredimail box for months and now I'm getting 218 e-mails since my Dad sorted it out somehow. He doesn't know what he did, but whatever it was it worked.
I could be up all night waiting for them the speed my computer is at the moment lol.
But this new turn of events means that I can finally update my fanfiction, since I'll be able to recieve reviews at last.
Finally! My life is getting back to normal.
All I need now is TotallyChibi and it's forum to return to the internet and I shall be back to the days pre-internet failure.
Afterall, my internet clicking off problem has been dealt with and pieces are starting to fit together nicely. I may be completely sorted by Septemeber in time for college.
Yeyness for that!! 05 August New Music!After much debate with myself, I have put up new music.
I couldn't decide between something by Tommy Heavenly6, the new Disney Tarzan Musical for Broadway, or the in progress Disney Musical for The Little Mermaid.
I eventually decided on the last one there, since this song is sooooo pretty. It is Ariel and Eric's duet, "If Only".
To make it clear, Ariel is singing in her thoughts, since she lost her voice to Ursula. He is singing aloud.
It's basically Ariel singing about how if only he could read her more closely, he would find out that she is the one, and Eric is singing about how he will know the one he loves/who saved him when he hears her.
I love both of their voices and the piano music is just gorgeous. I can't wait till the musical is finished, since the sooner it gets on broadway, the sooner it'll arrive in the UK and I really wanna see it!!! XD
So enjoy the prettyful music from the broadway edition of Disney's The Little Mermaid. Oooooh shiny...I just got the new MSN thingie... about 3 months late or something but still XD It is quite shiny and cool. I can't wait to try out the shared foler things. Sounds cool.
I'm taking this oppourtunity to update my MSN Space again.. maybe put some new music up and stuff. XD
I get to use pink on my MSN.. and change my font. Excellent *glomps MSN* 18 July I have returned!Been meaning to update for a while but my internet went all dodgey. Kept shutting off after 5 mins so holding an msn conversation was difficult.
But I think tis all sorted out now.. except I haven't recieved any e-mails.... so i am worried about that because I should have hundreds backed up for about 2 months or something.
In my absentness from the internet I have worked on my webpages and also on my fanfiction though, which ish good.
I was ill with gladular fever a few weeks ago. I missed the last 2 weeks of college :( Very important weeks too since they were gonna tell me what i'm doing next year and how to apply to universities and stuff.
Speaking of universities, I went to Sunderland Uni the week before I was off ill for a look at the teaching courses, and it seemed so cool I'm thinking of going. I would if it weren't for my need to do Japanese, so Newcastle is my University of choice.
I visited there too. I was supposed to be there for 3 days but i went home after the first night. I was too ill. My gland had been swollen since the Saturday, on Monday i went to Sunderland and felt crappy, but by Wednesday I was very ill and the doctor said I had a virus or something. I went away on Wednesday morning and we had induction and stuff, then we had icebreaker activities which reminded me of a school sports day. We were in groups (I was in Group 14) and we had to work together on things like "Raising the Titanic" plugging up holes in a drainpipe while filling it up with water to get the little boat up to the top, and we did egg and spoon races and stuff. It lasted the whole afternoon and then afterwards we went to the Metro Centre to go bowling. It would have been great if I hadn't had a neck like a sausage, my gland was that swollen. It had gone from golfball to huge sausage snaked around my neck.. horrible.. So i was taken back to the dorms early and I called my mam and went to bed. n the morning I didn't feel any better so instead of doing yoga and having tours, I was picked up by my parents and had a day of rest in bed. The doctor eventually after a week found out it was "mononucleosis" aka gladular fever and I had to stay off college for the next 2 weeks and missed out on a lot of stuff. I also had to rest for 4 weeks (currently week 3 of 4 I think) because if I exercised (*snigger*) my spleen would rupture, since it was inflamed along with my liver. More bad news, since I wasn't allowed to drink. I was on antibiotics and had a bad liver. So no rum and coke on a Saturday with my tea :( I had drank for 4 weeks or something and so now I've not had alcohol for about 6 or 7 weeks... *sigh*
I'll be going to the doctors for another blood test tomorrow though. 18 February Buying stuff online rules *throws peace sign anime-style*Yesterday my 2 manga came :) I was sooooo happy. I finished reading them both within an hour and a half, which is a shame considering I spent 2 weeks wondering when they were coming and one day waiting for them in the post after getting word they were coming. *sigh* They were worth it though :D
Finally I have a printed copy of a volume of Full Moon wo Sagashite rather than having to refer to the manga scanlations I downloaded. Ultra Maniac is so cute! I'd already read the first few chapters scanlated and I've seen the fansub of the entire anime series (which I'll soon be buying too ;) ) so I know what happens sorta. Mangas are usually a little different to the animes though.
On Thursday I ordered some stuff from amazon.co.uk and it actually came this morning, which I found surprising. It was so fast!
So today I read all of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and I watched "Emma" (the Kate Beckinsale Version, not the Gwynth Paltrow one). I watched the first 10 mins of "Sense and Sensibility" too until my mam came in and said she was sick of watching "those films" and I had to turn it off.
Before I go to sleep tonight I'll start on either "North and South" or "Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure"
Maybe the latter, as it is shorter lol.
My room is being redecorated and my Dad's almost done wallpapering. I'm praying he'll finish the final wall tomorrow so I can start painting. It's taking forever....
Well, I'm tired so I'm gonna go read and probably fall asleep while reading lol.
16 February Things to buy, read, do, watch and so on...It's been half term since Friday night and I still haven't done any homework.
I only need to do French I think... but I can't bring myself to do that right now lol.
I've hardly left the house except to go and sort out a bank account, but I haven't been bored at all.
I finally finished reading "Emma" by Jane Austen which contrary to what I thought when I began it, is actually a really good book, but I should have know as it's by the wonderful Jane Austen. Funnily enough I can see some paralels with my own life :P So in finishing "Emma" I have now read all of Jane Austen's major novels and can put in a list my favourites.
1. Pride and Prejudice - obviously the best novel ever written ;)
2. Northanger Abbey - the earliest of her novels, published posthumously.Quite funny, parodying Gothic novels.
3. Emma - It's delightful and Mr Knightley, though not as wonderful as Mr Darcy, is quite the romantic hero :P
4. Persuasion - Austen just takes the mick out of upper class and cheers for the poor guys who won the war.
5. Mansfield Park - Really long but some good villain-type people in the Crawfords.
6. Sense and Sensibility - It's a good story, but I just couldn't enjoy it.
My top three are in the top three because I feel I can relate the the characters better.
Elizabeth Bennet is always teasing and is quite playful but sticks to propriety.
Catherine Morland is naive and lets her imagination get the better of her.
Emma Woodhouse is always meddling in other people's lives but pays little attention to her own.
With the heroines in the last three, I can't really relate to them as much and I don't fine their characters interesting enough.
Anne Elliot is to quote Tracy, the student teacher, "a bit pathetic". I found the fact her best friend was an old woman to be a little sad really.
Fanny Price is a nice person but I don't approve of her falling in love with her cousin. I'm glad she stood up for herself in the novel but she is a bit like Anne Elliot really.
As for Marianne and Elinor Dashwood, Marianne reminded me a bit of Lydia Bennet in her obsessing over Willoughby and Elinor was too much like Anne Elliot and Fanny Price.
I'm hoping that maybe re-reading the last three will raise my opinions of the main characters a bit more.
I've been reading Pride and Prejudice fanfiction and re-reading some of my favourites. I love reading other adaptations and interpretations of the novel. Seeing what would happen if there were a few changes is always interesting. In one fanfic I read Mr Collins came a year early and was rejected by both Jane and Lizzy, married Charlotte (as in the novel) and Elizabeth visited the Hunsford Parsonage a year earlier and met Darcy before the whole Ramsgate affair with Wickham. It was quite good :P
I think I'll post a list of the P&P fanfics I've read and enjoyed....
I've just been on Amazon.co.uk and bought a load of stuff.
I got the books "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "Henry V" for my English Literature course as well as buying some of the £1.99 classics books. I got "Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a woman of pleasure" and "North and South".
I figured I'd read "North and South" before buying the BBC tv series, which looks good. I hear it's like a Victorian Pride and Prejudice and I've heard nothing but good things about the lead male character Mr Thornton, as he's been said to rival Mr Darcy :P
I bought the BBC adaptation of Emma starring Kate Beckinsale too, since I don't really like the Gwynyth Paltrow version, and also the movie version of Sense and Sensibility, in the hopes it may lead me to like the main characters more.
I should be getting them by next week.
I got an e-mail from united publications finally! They have now despatched my order of Full Moon wo Sagashite Volume 1 and Ultra Maniac Volume 1. They should arrive by Saturday with any luck.
I'm drawing up a list of books I need to read this year. I'm going to buy most of them, and get any others from the library. I'll also be re-reading all my Jane Austen novels and hopefully buying a book of her letters and her juvenalia and minor works/incomplete novels.
Oooh, I've had no lunch yet.. and now I'm starving so I'd better go get something...
15 February New song upI put a new song up on my WMP.
It's by the late, great Hide (pronounced Hee-deh).
The thing is I'd just started getting into the music of X Japan (the band he was in) and into his solo work when all of a sudden I find out that he is dead. I find this out almost 8 years after the event of course and I was quite saddened when I heard of it. I even watched a clip of one of his public funerals and almost cried hearing the remaining members of X Japan sing "Forever Love". I can't hear that song without feeling sad now.
Apparently, he died because when he was drunk he decided to play a joke on his girlfriend and for some reason though it would be funny to pretend to hang himself. He accidentally did hang himself and his girlfriend found him, still alive, but in a critical condition and he died on the way to hospital :(
His death even led to some fangirls committing suicide which made things even worse...
But Hide will always live on in the hearts of his fans and through his music he can still reach new fans.
Just listen to his guitar work and you realise the guy is a genius. He just couldn't control himself when he was drunk that's all... :( poor guy.
To make things worse, he was such a cute guy too. With his pink hair and adorable-ness...
Anyways, enjoy listening to "Dice" by Hide. Tis a great song. 13 February Celebrate!Woooohoooo!
I wanna celebrate because I'm happy!
Not just because it's half-term either.
My diet has worked! I dropped a jean size and lost half a stone!
I can fit into size 12 jeans now!!!!!! I feel so not-fat right now XD I'm not gonna announce my weight though.. it's still not really perfect but it's half a stone less than it was at the beginning of the year, even after devouring a whole box of Pocky yesterday lol.
Now all I need is to tone up a bit and I can wear a swimsuit without being completely embarrassed with myself :P
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