Mr Teh Listening to Joe Anderson – Hey JudeA little more than a week ago, I got the very sudden news of Mr Teh’s death which had me shocked in my chair and then crying for the better part of the hour. Mr Teh was a very big part of my time in design college from the very beginning in Pre-Foundation right to the very end and after that, we kept in touch but didn’t really meet up.What do I remember? Charcoal dust and newsprint paper, grids and 4 letter g’s. His various phrases and colourful stories of a hippie youth in Switzerland. Painting hostel floors with mops and becoming Wolfgang Weingart’s handpicked pupil. Swiss German words like liebling and shatz. A promise to drink toady together one day. His rented studio in Wangsa Maju. “meaning to say” and “at the end of the day”. He gave me a couple of books and told me to keep on drawing. And at the same time, “this girl doesn’t stop at all, look at her go!” Rainy lectures in the cabin at the back and conversations at Aunty Pam’s.The last time I saw Mr Teh was one warm night at Palate Palette in May last year. We talked about Naxi writing and he tried to explain something about the world and people and cosmology which I didn’t fully get the gist of. I told him about my acceptance into UEA and that I’d be leaving soon and hopefully becoming a lecturer in the future. He said the course was perfect for me and that I’d be totally awesome, that I had a great voice that would inspire. Years of encouragement and easygoing laughter, too short, too short. Then we went to Sputnik and he gave me a lift home.I wish I’d said thanks more often, or just once more. I wish I’d said thanks for the merriment, love and lessons. And told him what an awesome human being he was. Too late. Here was a gem of a human being and now he’s left the world. Artist. Teacher. Husband. Father. Friend. Mr Teh was a lot to many people.So hopefully, he’s happy in the cosmos, waiting for the rest of us with charcoal and paint. See you later, Sifu. Checker & Isidora One night in Bangkok, I had an extremely vivid dream about a kid I’d never met before. His name was Checker and he was about 11 or 14 years old. I’m surprised because it’s rare that I know so much about a dream person and remember details. He had curly hair, either light brown or vaguely gingery and was very, very smart. He was telling me about a song he’d written called “Isidora” so in my dream, we looked for it on youtube together. It sounded like a very beautiful rumba song and apparently, someone had stolen it from him. So we googled “Checker and Isidora” only to get results about him being slightly famous and Isidora, extremely popular with many fans posting comments. I was beginning to love this poor brown-eyed kid more and more, in his scruffy 90s getup, dirty sneakers and baseball cap. Felt a great deal of sympathy and wanted to help him with copyright issues and stuff.And then I woke up. Bangkok Listening to The Click Five – Time MachineJust got back from Bangkok, spent a couple of days there, my first time in the Thai capital! All I’ve learnt to say in Thai though is Sawadee kha and Kap Kun kha hahaha. It was very hot and rained the whole time I was there, typical tropical humidity. Considering the fact that we had no planned itinerary and didn’t know what to do/where to go/any Thai words, I think we did pretty well. Most people in Thailand can speak at least a smattering of English and there are loads of different dialects. I kinda thought it was like being in KL at sometimes. People are very friendly and I love the gentle way people greet each other. Can’t say the same about cab drivers though, one evil bugger blatantly ripped us off and tried to make us pay for the highway toll and grumbled constantly.Thai hospitality surpassed anything I’d thought was possible :D they really are a gracious bunch! And I think the best part of my time there would have to be…the flowers. EVERYWHERE. And when we checked out the prices, they were ridiculously cheap compared to florists in KL. Not that I’d have been able to buy loads and bring them back. On the topic of buying by the way, loads of people have been telling me that shopping in Bangkok is terrific for us shopaholic Malaysians. However a) I am not a shopaholic and b) it really depends on what you want to buy. Big name luxury brands can be found in both Bangkok and KL. I didn’t go to Chatuchak or Suan Lum (but my friends did) and like I said, it’s good shopping depending on what you buy. In the end, all I got for myself was a small pillow shaped like a dogbone for 35 ringgit (I LOVE IT) and a lovely scroll of speckled gold paper for seven. I’m a cheapskate student, I am. But I do like taking photos and here’s a brief rundown of what else we did; prayed at the Erawan shrine, wandered about randomly a lot, went gaga over flowers, crossed the Chao Praya river, rode a sampan, rode an elephant and watched the Siam Niramit show. Well done, Mags! Now I’m back in KL and we’re gonna catch Wall-E soon. I’ve spent a lot of my time at the movies, mmmmm. NO PATD For Me & Another Teenage Cringe Listening to Panic At The Disco – Mad As RabbitsI really really really want to see Panic At The Disco on Tuesday night but already have plans which I wouldn’t bail out on and more pressingly, I don’t have enough dough for tickets. I’d go with the Orcs but can’t…aaaaargh! I love their music! Guess I’ll have to watch the MTV Asia Music Awards tomorrow night. Maybe next time I’ll be luckier. Sigh.We watched Batman recently which I think was fantastic mostly because of Heath Ledger’s performance. The Mummy this weekend perhaps. For now, I’m trying to watch what I eat and have been reading loads. Thinking of learning Latin from a book, an extremely old “One Day I’ll Do It” notion. On the bright side, I’ve been writing fun stuff again hip hip hooray! Been illustrating too. Have a new character amongst whirligigs of numbers and letters finally drawn up…he was just a small sketch from way back in August last year. Also, did the 12 Chinese zodiac animals and might put up a pic of them.I had lunch with Laurel yesterday and it was really great to catch up on each other’s lives. It’s funny to realize that she knew me when I was 16. I feel so ancient now compared to that teenager. She’s off to Sydney so thank god for the Internet. And we’ll both probably next see each other in a year or so. I’ve been thinking of Reggie and Wazzy lately. The weather’s been extremely hot, the nights cooler. Outdoor barbeque tonight looks promising, only gotta watch out for mozzies, those whiny bloodsuckers. Next week looks promising, will be without Internet access for a few days. Everyone needs a break from technology sometimes! Just Vegging Listening to MGMT - Time To PretendSpent about a couple of weeks in Singapore just pigging out and watching the world go by, got back a couple of days ago. As a result, I've gained a couple of kilos. Not particularly pleased. Am keen to get rid of 'em and do fun stuff at the moment like dancing or painting. But most of all, writing. My inner inkwell seems to have dried up. No new fairytales but plenty of words stumbling over each other inside my entire body trying to get out. Creepy crawlies. But when the pen touches paper...nothing. Not even an illustration. Just a doodle that wanders miserably then gives up.Have little errands to do like blacking my boots, more and more spring-cleaning for peace of mind (and want of space dammit). Am not missing uni as terribly as I did the first couple of weeks I got back. A simple mantra of "9 months is a long time" puts the missingache away neatly. I've gotten my results back and am well pleased with them but hey, first year stuff doesn't count towards your final degree classification so whatever man. I've had an AWESOME first year :D and second year looks even more promising.In the meantime, my threadbanging efforts have come to no good end. Just lots of scrap material and torn clothing tossed into the bin. Ack, all those hours of beading and measurements and squinting for nothing! No matter, I now know myself to be more capable of handling a relatively sharp pair of scissors and poking thread into the tiniest of eyes. Got pricked loads of times too.Being home is sweet. Been spending time with my loved ones and doing some wordilicious part-time work so hooray for some summer sweetness! Here's a random bit of prose that's been scuffing its feet about my mind for a while now:"In the meantime, I sit and stare. The skies are grey and the city is grey and the smoke is fey. The smog reaches down to the last few skeletal trees in this noxious city and chokes the budding leaves. The people, old and young, inhale the same thin poison and drag their feet and live their lives -why stop when the going gets tough? We're all heading to the same destination anyway. Why rush to the grave? So many drift about aimlessly in this world and float with green bottles, dried herbs and nasty habits. I sit and choke." I'm Home! NOM NOM NOM Listening to The All-American Rejects - Time Stands StillAnd now I'm home sweet home, it's been almost a week. One glorious week of food. Seriously, I can't remember the last time I stuffed myself like this. I think I eat fairly well in uni on a student's budget, try to get my five a day and loads of apple juice (I'm not so good at drinking milk, it always expires when I suddenly feel like I need some for tea) and well yeah, loads of rice, bread and pasta. I missed my friends and UEA when I first got back but that ended with the realization that I'll be back in 3 months and there's always facebook. I still miss my rascals anyway.Back to nom nom nom, I think my first dishes were fried chicken, pai guat and nasi lemak. Lemme count. At least two Chinese banquet-style dinners, 1 Korean BBQ, 1 Hong Kong Food Culture meal, loads of yummy da pao food (Indian & Malay) and there'll be dim sum soon at some point. Mmmm, the last time I ate out was way back in December when I was last home. It's simply too pricey to eat out in the UK, not that I've missed it very much. Cooking can be fun. Washing up never is. I need to learn how to cook new dishes, that's all.I was awfully jetlagged and spent most of my days asleep and nights spacing out. Been better today. And am wondering where to get a summer job that not only pays but lets me learn on the job and looks good on the CV, like, in a gallery or museum or something. Ach, beggars can't be choosers. And what with the rising costs of just about everything, the world looks a little greyer. Still, I'm thinking of catching The Hulk with the Orcs. Hmmm. It's also been nice to get my paws back on my D70.If I've one fairly new shameful guilty pleasure...it's a cheeseburger. No, Maggie, no! Waterstones & Musings Listening to Ace of Base - Don't Turn AroundGod, it's been ages! I've already done two exams and have one more to go...and then I'll be home in less than a month!! Again, time flies and all I can do is enjoy each moment as much as I can. Waterstones has currently got this great short story competition going on and my entry is number 340-something, I think. Send your story online now! 600 characters limit, though. Neil Gaiman and JK Rowling have sent in their stories too.The weather was awesome and sunny for a little more than a week which was great - people played football, frisbee, had barbeques, picnics and wore shorts and t-shirts. Then today, it went back to normal (that is, rainy and gloomy) so I'm typing this in my room now heh. I can't wait for it to be sunny again!So what have I been up to? Fed rabbits in the dark with Scotty & Derek a couple of nights ago, been out in town for abit looking for a birthday present for a friend, watched "Never Forget" in London, figured out module choices for next year, won an essay competition, read loads of fairytales since I've the free time now :D, went for a meeting on student ambassadorship and mentoring, went for a World Art & Museology masquerade ball, a couple of birthday bbqs, met loads of nice people...life is picking up speed and things are looking up :D Mind you, these are all the 'up' things that've happened in the past weeks only.I've had my fair share of ups and downs, illnesses and heartache, laughter and joy all squished in my first year abroad at a university. And you know, life is short, you've got to pick the ones of love you and leave the ones who pinch you. I miss my family so much, home is where the heart is eh? Can't wait to tuck into a plate of Hainanese chicken rice and holler for teh o ais limau...or sit in Domes with a Chai latte mmmmm! STARS & Revision Listening to Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is DeadI've only just fallen in love with STARS who remind me alot of Broken Social Scene and in fact, the singers have done collaborations with them :D lovely lush music, oh the vocals, lyrics and tunes, everything is sparkling in my head. I really really really want to buy all their albums now! My current favourite is Your Ex-Lover Is Dead but I also like Calendar Girl and Heart (which I'm sure I've heard before)...am gonna listen to as many of them on youtube as I can!How the video reminds me of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind :DI'd definitely see them if they ever came to perform in UEA!I also quite like The Maccabees - Toothpaste Kisses.It was used in a Samsung ad too heh. Kinda cute in a quirky way. The Eyesmith Listening to Ottmar Liebert - After The RainI haven't written in ages, eh? It's been a very interesting first year at university and I think my first semester was better than the second. And now it's the last week of Easter break, the first two of which I spent with Ruby. Planning to go to Cambridge but no set dates as yet. Then in a couple of months, I'll be home for the summer. *shakes head at the speed of time*So since I'm a little tied up with stuff I'm working on for the Art Society exhibition, here's a story just for you. Mad love from me, be back soon. xoxThe EyesmithBy the cliff this bonnie lass lives, in a cottage by herself and a big black cat, the Eyesmith they call her. She does naught but sit in her rocking-chair, so they say, and talk to her black cat, Iris be his name. Young she is and cold as the sea winds, her eyes so pale and her hair such sinful scarlet tresses as be to rob many a villager of his eyesight for a few forlorn days. Blinded by the Eyesmith? None such thing, we whisper hastily, no, not at all. The young missus is very good to us, very polite and always quiet, not like some of the wayward daughters we’ve suffered, oh no, the young missus always treats us well, she does.Sometimes she pulls her rocking-chair out and sits right at the top of the cliff, so perilously close to the edge, her tiny feet too tiny, so dainty she seems, what if the winds blow her off? Nevertheless, she rocks slowly and gazes into the distance, as if she sees past the horizon, nay, there is no horizon for her, only more and more to see. The Eyesmith wanders the beach sometimes at night, who knows what she sees in the dark? Or who or how and why? In sweeping plaid red-and-white skirt and heavy white blouse, she travels up and down the beach wrapped only by her violet shawl all night long. Not a breeze stirs the air when she decides to have her midnight stroll and when the sun rises, she is back under thatched roof again.Never does she come down to buy fish for her cat, or ask the help of a seamstress, or merely to sip a cup of tea in someone’s house. Only to deliver omens or tell us of our sons at sea, how well our brave seafarers are. And in return, we perform these menial tasks for her, no payment of course. The milkman will leave two pints in the mornings. The butcher will send his finest. The fishermen will wrap the fish well to place upon her doorstep, some aside for the cat. Sometimes a woman will send her son up to weed the garden, her daughter to keep the place spick and span. The Eyesmith barely seems to pay much attention to these offerings but from time to time, we feel her gaze upon us, her presence, her pale eyes.She seems especially fond of little children. If they should skip through her gate with flowers in grubby hands, she welcomes them in and their mothers need not fear for their safety. The children say she has a never-ending jar of biscuits and the cat purrs on their knees. Some find this hard to believe because Willie has a scratch that’ll never heal, I needn’t say where on his face. But Willie has always been a boisterous lad. And just before they leave, she lets them sit on her lap and casts those pale eyes upon the little faces. And then her voice takes a distant tone as she lays her visions before them:“You, Sara, to be the wife of Jonathon, to take care of the quaint shop, to be kind to strangers and thus live long by the sea. Be good to your mother while she is still here. Stay away from Captain Forst. Step carefully when you pick your flowers.”“You, James, to leave your parents at fifteen, to be shipwrecked and found, to be garbed in velvet in the king’s court. Never pawn your grandmother’s chain. Don’t kick mongrels. Eat your spinach tonight.”“You, Alan, to stay here forever more, to watch your father’s last breath, to marry twice and almost drown once. If you tease the horse again, it will give you a right kicking. Your brother Philip is doing well and will be home in six months. Your sister will wed soon. Be good and don’t forget to deliver the letter to the schoolmaster.”“You, Fay, to leave when you are nineteen for the city, to marry a writer and bear six children, the youngest much like yourself. Be wary of city folk, they might do you harm. Wash your hair, your aunt is visiting tomorrow for tea and will not look kindly upon you if you stink. Share your cherries with Jess more often.”And so on and so on. And home these children would go, sometimes forgetting the strange words she spoke and sometimes remembering fragments of advice in years to come. The Eyesmith’s prophecies never failed. The years would pass, the children would grow up, grow old and die and still more would sit on her lap and listen to her.The people here never suffer blindness, not even in old age. Not once in the history of our sleepy village has anyone failed to see the grit on the doorstep, the smallest fish in the net, the dust on the mantelpiece, the brilliant red of the blooming flowers. And rocking by the fire at night, we recall a time when we, too, were young, we recall those white fingers stroking our hair, the edges of our faces, our eyelids, rocking, rocking and the Eyesmith’s eyes, so pale she might be called blind by one who didn’t know better.I am nearing my ninetieth year now and I can still see the tiny eyelashes of newborn babes, both deep and fine lines in my palms, the quivering throats of the birds by my windowsill, the explosion of sunlight and colours all around me. This should not be so yet I remember the voice, “You, Nathan, to…”. Ah, splinters and shards in my mind’s eyes! I cannot remember the words, only the gentle voice and tracing fingers, but does it matter now? Did she dictate our lives to us because we were going to live it or did we live it because she had dictated such to us?They say that when we die, the Eyesmith leaves her cottage to grace us with her presence. And because she leaves her dwelling only for us dying ones, no one else around us can see her. Again, the flash of her red hair, the swish of her violet shawl, the gentle voice, the colourless eyes, her white fingers over our heavy lids and fading vision as she bends close to cover them with her glorious mane. Blindness. Peace. And the voice of our beloved Eyesmith:“You, Nathan, to reach the realm of shades…” Library, Literature & Carbon Listening to Classical Guitar on Sky.fmCurrently working very hard on an essay about iconographic analysis that's due next week right now. Been spending the past few days in the library, right up till it closes at midnight sometimes. I love that the opening hours are so long and hope they stay the same. It's currently a trial period of six months but I don't think the library staff are too happy about it. Apparently there's been complaints of student litter and drunkenness or something like that. Well, I'll be grateful for the library in Easter break since all my flatmates and friends are going home in two days time for a whole month. It worries me. Alot. But for now, the essay.It's St. Patrick's LCR tomorrow night and I'll be out with the flat which should be fun and very green. Tonight, I've gotten hold of some lamb for dinner and marinated it for the past couple of days so...yum! And tomorrow, all I've got on my plate is one Literature seminar which I've loved turning up for on time all this semester because...for some reason, I feel really intelligent for that whole hour. I've had two amazing Literature seminar tutors this year and love them both for being so lovely and patient with me. I think I will miss them terribly once the second year smacks me in the face!On Monday night, there was a SEAsoc dinner which I thought was really great even though I couldn't stay for long. Went to the Carbon Footprint Festival with the Terrors after it and chickened out of the charity fashion show. As I scampered away, me and Vegan decided that we'd never heard Ruby yell "MAAAGGGIIIEEEEE" so furiously before. Good fun, I painted Vegan's face nicely too, see, all that Green Man research for last semester's seminar came in handy. Got a red heart and lucky clover (shamrock?) painted on my cheeks, good fun. Silent Disco & Left Foot Aaargh Listening to Classical Guitar on sky.fmBeen ages since I last blogged eh...been very busy with essays and now I've got just one more due in a week or so probably on iconographic analysis, will have to read up on that. I can't help thinking that last semester was alot more fun than this one but I suppose that's just how it is. In your first semester, everything and everyone is bright and fresh and new. Though, I'm not the only one who thinks that the workload seems to have tripled if not more. Last semester's stuff was very easy to understand and get into, this semester it all kind of jumped skywards and we're all flapping our wings. It's fun to soar, mind you.Pic is from Silent Disco which is probably the best LCR night I've had, spent it between my Suffolk Terrors, lovely HK folk and Norwichians who come over to the Terrors from time to time. You get headphones and two stations to choose from so you can flick when you don't like the tune on one. At the same time, everyone has headphones on and if you take your pair off, you can hear a low rumble of singing. Hilarious night. Four conga lines went around and because it was relatively silent, people were actually having conversations on their handphone. I want another Silent Disco!Last Saturday, some big chick on 3-inch stilettos stepped on the fleshy bit of my left foot whereupon a lump instantly swelled to the size of a huge duck's egg. Very unhappy. Same ankle I dislocated in Singapore last year. Went to see a nurse and sprayed stuff on it, it's healed well but is still abit stiff. I find it extremely frustrating when I can't move about as I like, been in bed and library ever since. Can't walk, can't jump, can't dance, can't skip aaargh. Weather was pretty crappy but today is nice. On Tuesday night, we went to a couple of pubs to meet Kascottie, lovely Norwichian couple, and had a good night laughing and talking and shouting in a old folk's pub. Not that old. Well, the folk were older than us anyway. Okay, I gotta get back to reading now. Pirates, Asian Cha & Chef Mag Listening to Massenet - MeditationPirates LCR was great fun and I spent the night with my Suffolk Terrors and various Art History mates. Last night, I cooked vaguely Malaysian food for 18 people at the Terrace...and am still surprised at myself! Firstly, I am no chef. Secondly, I have never cooked Malaysian food before. Thirdly, I have never cooked for other people...and there we were, all of us 18 hungry university students! It was good fun but very tiring, about 5 1/2 hours of cooking and delegating. Had lots and lots of kitchen helpers, all of them lovely people. The dinner was a success and we even had lots of leftovers with the meal costing just three quid a person, brilliant!On Wednesday night, I went to see the Alice Underground production at the Drama Studio on campus. We have some amazingly talented drama students here, I'm well impressed! Looking forward to their next performances, it's a nice way to spend a night differently and not too late as well. I think they usually begin at about half past seven and end at nine-ish with a 20 minute interval halfway through.Also, here is The Gardener at Asian Cha, enjoy it! Scroll to the bottom of the Contributors page for me.And here's something I found randomly on youtube while looking for 5-sec movies (Sin City's the funniest!)...I recognized the song and now I really would like to watch this anime! But I have an essay on Modernism to write now... Skool Daze & Valentine's Listening to Will Young - Light My FireHappy Valentine's everybody! Hope you're all having a good day and making memories. For 2008, I went to a Literature seminar on liberal humanism and A Passage To India then made knob-shaped cookies in the flat kitchen with Ruby. They didn't turn out knob-shaped though because they spread out into a massive almost-blob and we ended up making round ones with almonds in the middle. Very well-spent afternoon, highly productive IMHO. She was just about to leave and I was walking her down when our Pinoy came running up the stairs with 10 red roses, one for each girl because "they were cheap, I think the stall's closing now though".Pic for today is from Skool Daze two nights ago. Some people think that three times a semester is too many but I ain't complaining because it's easy to dress up and I like the 90's-ish music they play on Skool nights. I think next week is Reading Week but I'm not too sure, got a couple of big essays coming up hence the large volumes in my room on Egyptian art. Just to sorta have fun on Valentine's Day, some of us are probably going to Brown Sugar which will be nice...maybe I'll wear my red dress just to get into the mood of things. And it is already the 8th day of Chinese New Year!! Gangsters, CNY & Sunshine Listening to Ingrid Michaelson - BreakableAnd here I am with my favourite people in the flat, pre-Gangsters LCR in our kitchen. It was a very nice night to dress up for because I love the way everyone wore white/grey/black outfits and hats and suspenders/braces mmmmm!! I sort of regretted not buying white suspenders/braces but I had a white tie and black shirt which I tied in a knot anyway so I was pretty happy. Loved the company, loved bumping into coursemates, had a great night. And then it was Chinese New Year.Went with Meilisa to a dinner where I met a really nice bunch of Malaysians and Hongkongers plus a SIngaporean whom I'd met last semester at Dancesport (which we both dropped out of lol). It was a nice & spicy steamboat dinner but somehow just not the same as being at home. Though, I did like them very much and could probably take courtesy lessons from them (and Cantonese ones too)! Been indoors reading, reading, reading all week. This week's book is "A Passage To India". Got hold of a collection of essays about it from the library and am wading through that too.So last night I went to the Union Pub with most of the Suffolk Terrors and had a good time chatting and laughing. Still, my days go quietly in the company of words and iTunes. Student life can be fun but really, there's alot of reading to do in my course. Library hours on weekdays have been extended to midnight which is great for digging out books heavy enough to concuss myself. Been watching my budget and drinking lots of juice because my cough came back and I hate it.Weather in Norwich has been awesome for the past four days - consistent sunshiny days!! Went for a walk around the lake with Ruby a couple of days ago and she said her little brother is coming up next weekend. Maybe they'll go on a pub crawl for him but also, a couple of Terrors are celebrating their birthdays together :D it's always nice to break the monotony of books and lectures.Speaking of books, head over to Neil Gaiman's blog, it's its 7th birthday and he's gonna be giving away a free book all month long, you gotta vote!! The Beat Is Rockin' I like this one, it's nice to dance to :D Been really busy reading as usual. Last week's "The Life & Death of Harriet Frean" by May Sinclair was an easy-to-read text but somewhat chilling. It depressed me and made me wonder about how people live their lives. I also wondered if the rest of the texts were gonna make me go all existential again. This week we've got Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" which I'm still wading through. It's gonna get heavier. But for now, "The Beat is Rockin' And Never Stopping".Beanie came over for the weekend with Beanieboy and we had dinner at the Prince of India last night along with Teddy & Meilisa. I would've watched Sweeney Todd with them if I hadn't already seen it with my flatmates. Johnny Depp is...GOD. It also snowed in Norwich in the weekend for a few hours and we woke up to slush the next morning. It's been very cold and windy, my skin is cracking and last Thursday, I was literally blown across the carpark, my boots failing to find purchase on the pebbles, scrabble dabble. On the whole though...I am happy in university although pangs of homesickness are starting to dig their claws into me.It's the first time I'm not home for Chinese New Year. Mini Pub Crawl & Norwich Castle Terror Listening to Aaliyah - It's WhateverLast time, this pic wouldn't upload but basically that's me and a pretty third-year I met while we were waiting for some barkeep's love. Like I said, it was a great night. Been experiencing SAD and it is awful but I suspect, over, thank God. Was in absolute misery for more than a week but now that I'm healthier with the occasional nose-blowing, I'm starting to feel sparklier.On Thursday night, me and some of the Terrors went for a mini pub crawl starting at the oldest pub in Norwich, the Adam & Eve, which was opened in 1249. Very nice and cosy and I drank J2O all night long which is basically a yummy fruit drink. Went on to have another one in another pub nearby and then we ended up at the Wild Man which I liked best of all. Had a good night with them just talking and laughing in the cosiness but all good things come to an end and we shivered for more than 20 minutes waiting for a bus to take us hooome.Been spending my days in the library reading up on Egyptian creation myths and trying to teach myself to read hieroglyphs with little success. So yesterday I put the books away and went to the castle museum where I shit myself every other minute. There are exhibits that move in the shadows and light sensors that come on without warning only to show you that there was a mummy staring at you where you thought there was nothing. Also, the mannequins are alot larger than life size which is terrifying in the bottom level of the castle keep. I kept trying to observe artefacts and read the information on the wall but every now and then, a visitor or someone working in the castle would make the floorboards creak and make me squeak. Met a couple of kids who looked about my age. I couldn't tell if they were a couple or a brother and sister because they looked so alike but the conversation went like this:She: "Is that really a mummy? A REAL MUMMY?"Me: "Yeah."He: "Really?"Me: "I'm so glad you guys are here, I was really freaked out two minutes ago!"She: "Why are you here alone???"The Egyptian gallery is very small and claustrophobic. Nevertheless, I left with the sort of feeling you get after a day at the theme park. Next time I wanna do some research up there...I'm dragging a friend along. Winter Bug Listening to The Zutons - ValerieBeen ages since I last blogged, I know. I've now been back in uni for a week and a day and most of it was spent SICK. I hate being sick, I really do. Went to see the doc yesterday and have now got myself a week's worth of antibiotics. Ok. Feeling much better too after days and days of coughing and nose-blowing. The skin under my nose is now red and dry :(Like I said, I landed then went to my room and had a good hot shower then lots of bread and Nutella and then I was off to the second half of my first class of 2008, Time & Tradition In Ancient Egypt yay! However, the jet lag hit me a couple of hours later and I missed the Lit in History II lecture. Been getting my grades back for last semester's work and am pretty pleased with them.On Tuesday night, I went to see my much-missed Suffolk Terrors and we went to the Skool Daze LCR and had a blast. It was a really great night but everything went downhill after that because I caught some winter bug and my flatmates tell me that at this time of the year, it's common for people to be really ill and depressed. Yaaargh. Will blog more when exciting stuff happens...as it is, I have a long week of reading and a Powerpoint seminar to prepare for. Love & Madness Listening to Enrique Iglesias - Somebody's MeAnd now it’s the ninth day of the first month and time is flying, flying, flying by me. I had lunch with my Tropicaldarling on Monday and she gave me awesome Xmas presents. I love you and you know it. It was too short a lunch but hey, next time I see you, you’ll be driving us around town in your flashy little car. Yesterday, I had lunch at Kim Gary in Sungei Wang with Reggie and that was short too. Have started packing because I’m leaving on a jet place too soon.Got my hair trimmed today hooray! Also went to see the dentist because my filling fell out ages ago and that needed some toothwork. Tomorrow and the day after and then one more and then I’ll be gone till June. Have been stuffing myself with too much food and am not so pleased with the way my body looks now but I’m a pretty happy eater. Looking forward to Friday’s Indian vegetarian lunch.As I threw out a lot of junk, I found this little treasure from college days, an illustrated story by Belly (who is getting married soon!). I’d scan the A4 sheets but then it seems like infringement of intellectual property seeing as Belly took the time to write and draw all the little icons so here’s a wordy version for you to enjoy:Love & MadnessA long time ago, before the world was created and humans set foot on it for the first time, virtues and vices wandered bored, not knowing what to do. One day, they were all gathered and bored more than ever when Ingenious had an idea: Why don’t we play hide and seek?And all of them liked the idea, and immediately the mad Madness shouted: “I want to count, I want to count!!” And since no one else was crazy to seek for Madness, Madness leaned on a tree and started to count, 1, 2, 3…And as Madness counted, the vices and virtues went into hiding.Tenderness hung on the horn of the moon, Treason in a pile of garbage. Fondness curled up between the clouds. Lie said he would hide under a stone BUT he lied and hid at the bottom of the lake. Passion went to the centre of the earth. Avarice entered a sack that he ended up breaking.And Madness continued to count, 79, 80, 81, 82…All the vices and virtues were already hidden by then, except for LOVE, whom as undecided as he is, did not know where to hide. And this should not SURPRISE us, because we all know how difficult it is to hide LOVE. And Madness was already at 95, 96, 97…and just at the moment when she arrived at 100, LOVE jumped into a rosebush and there he hid.And Madness shouted, “I’m coming! I’m coming!” and as she turned, the first one she saw was Laziness, thrown to his feet because he didn’t have any energy to hide. Then she saw Tenderness on the horn of the moon. And Lie at the bottom of the late. And Passion at the centre of the earth…Discovering them one by one, finding all of them but one, Madness was getting desperate, unable to find the last missing one, until ENVY, envious for not having been discovered last, whispered to Madness: “You are lacking LOVE, and he is hiding in the rose bush.”And Madness took a wooden pitchfork, and stabbed at the rosebush, and stabbed and stabbed, till a heartbreaking shout made her stop. And, after the shout, LOVE came out covering his face with his hands, and from between his fingers ran two threads of BLOOD, out of his eyes. Madness, anxious to find LOVE, had taken out LOVE’s eyes with the pitchfork.“What have I done? What have I done?” she shouted. “I have left you blind! How can I repair it?” And LOVE answered, “You can’t restore my eyes. But if you want to do something for me, you could be my guide.” From that day on, LOVE is BLIND and always accompanied by Madness. Happy 2008! Listening to Daft Punk - Harder Better Faster StrongerAnd what did you do on New Year's Eve? Now that worst of the cleaning up and moving about has been done, we had a quiet one at home with lots of lamb, a baguette, salad and sausages followed by red wine on the patio in the cool night, rudely interupted by a drizzle at about 10:30pm. Tomorrow, life will resume as normal but my first day of 2008 will be happily peaceful.And now it's four in the afternoon and the balmy afternoon air has indeed given way to darker skies. Dinner tonight? Siew ngap fan, yum! I'm over at the Orc's place again and typing this from my iBook. Checked my email for a pleasant surprise...Cha: An Asian Literary Journal wrote back to say that they'll be including my submission in their second issue! I think I'd emailed them a couple of months back, it'll be out in February. Isn't it lovely when people like your words? If it gets edited a little, maybe I'll post up the original version, ok folks? Cheers...*beams*Also, as part of my looking back over the previous year, I started to wanderlust horribly only to realize that I had gotten about abit. And that there's no place like home. But I still really want to see more of the world. Can't quite describe this wanderlust but I know I posted something about it a long time ago which pretty much said it all and I can't recall the link so here it is: From whence comes the desire to travel, to simply pack up and leave one’s place with one’s belongings or nothing at all, the thirst that cannot be quenched until all is seen, heard, tasted and felt, when the heart is filled with wanderlust that cannot be killed, when the hat sits rightly upon the head and the staff fits certain into gloved hands as the boots stride forth out of the door, away from the familiar and into uncertainty? How can one explain the first heartbeats which palpitate but lightly at first and then quicker as the mind grasps the true intention of the coat, the hastily thrown necessities and hidden smile, when the mirror catches a glimpse of the grin and dust decides to settle, this time to stay, and the idea of ‘stay’ no longer exists in the consciousness?I've been toying with the idea of getting a camera but am reluctant to spend alot on it in case I lose it or something. My D70 is too much of a hassle for me to carry around everywhere. But just imagine, something small and sleek that captures good photos which will be handy on field trips and which if I so happen to carelessly lose, won't be so much of a loss that I'll spend days moping over it. Any recommendations? The Spider Mother At youreadonline.com Listening to Sade - By Your SideIn case I don't blog anytime soon, Happy 2008 you lot! xoxAnd here's something for me to giggle daftly about as 2007 comes to an end. I've been sending my stories out whenever the fancy strikes and The Spider Mother got published online at youreadonline.com where it enjoys 2 and a half stars out of 5. If you enjoyed it when I posted it on this blog previously, please head over and comment on it...because it's been automatically entered into their competition! The highest rated story currently has 4 stars and is a decent read, I sort of glimpsed the ending coming after the Titanic bit.The winner will be announced in January 2008 and will receive £100 while one runner up receives £50. The winning story will also be published in a short story anthology and the closing date for deadlines is December 31st. If you loved my words and want to help a poor Art History & English Literature student, start commenting and raise my stars and you'll have my love :DThis morning was spent at the tailor's because the Tot had given me her old blue cheongsam and it didn't quite fit me the way it should. I'm thrilled, it's lovely light blue silk and demands either dramatic eyes or just sweet makeup. Not that I'll be here come Chinese New Year :( it'll be the first one I'm missing...oh, how I'll miss the whole fussing about, redness, family, decorations and food. Oh yeah, and ang pows. Oooh, that's gotta be a major bummer.*sings Cai Shen Dao! Cai Shen Dao!...runs out of Chinese words* Home! WoW, Shot Game Listening to Aaliyah – More Than A WomanMerry Christmas & a Happy New Year! So now I’m home and have been stuffing myself with glorious local cuisine. Probably will be doing so all the way till mid-January in which case I get back on a plane bound for Norwich. Because of the way the world turns, the trip TO is about three hours longer than the trip FRO plus the stopover will be four hours instead of one. I will arrive miserable, groggy and fugly…and then go to class about an hour after arrival. Not looking forward to that!On the whole though, I think I am an incredibly lucky person :DChristmas was quiet. The whole troop went for a ridiculously overpriced dinner buffet which wasn’t great and we celebrated the Tot’s birthday nearby. Been very busy unpacking and throwing away a horrendous amount of rubbish…didn’t I just do this not too long ago??? My Christmas holiday really isn’t much of a holiday but that was only to be expected. Not going anywhere, not even Singapore, but never mind, there’s always next summer init? Heh.The Orc got me the best 2007 Christmas gift ever…six shot glasses arranged around a glass Spin-the-Arrow drinking game! Very simple design in shades of red, grey and black. I LOVE the Orc & Kinny. He’s also been teaching me how to play WoW which is horribly addictive and therefore I refuse to install it. In any case, I am without Internet access and have to go over to his place. It all fits neatly.My days go roughly like this: Up at 9am. Quick bite. Run errands. Back in the afternoon. Lunch. Unpack and clean out junk. Bath. Dinner. Continue with junk. Bed at 3am. And so they’ve been since I got home last week.I’m quite desperate for a haircut. It’s outta shape and looks like some rats chewed on all the ends while I was asleep. I hate feeling unpretty…somebody save me! The Musician & The Muse in the Event I almost forgot, heh. They published my little tale in Concrete's 210th issue and I've gotten positive feedback from this one dude doing Political Sciences & Philosophy (er, I think so, might be wrong) which made my rainy day a little brighter. I used to see him around in Suffolk and now I just bump into him around campus. The dude wears flip-flops with his pants rolled up to his knees in this weather, it never fails to amaze me. Very friendly & cheerful person though. Wino, WAM Ball & Nutcracker Prince Listening to Amy Winehouse - Love Is A Losing GameShe might be a mess right now but Amy Winehouse has a gorgeous voice and talent seriously. I'm getting in the Christmassy mood already heh, working steadily on a coursework on childhood & Romanticism right now, good progress, I'm pleased. About a decade ago, I was entralled with a Christmas animated cartoon called The Nutcracker Prince which I never forgot but never got a chance to watch again. Guess what? I found on it on God Blesseth Youtube. It's a little over an hour and makes me wish I had an Uncle Drosselmeyer of my own - he is the coolest cat ever!Last night, me and Ruby went to the WAM Ball at Indulge and partied with the rest of the art historians, archaelogists and anthropologists in the course. It was an awesome night...hooray! I'm in high spirits today. Let me think back to what else has happened since my last post. It was Meredith's birthday last Monday and also my flatmate Kitty's last Thursday which saw us dressed up Xmassy. Finished my essay on Degas' Little Dancer aged 14 and how to approach writings on art. Was abit depressed and grumpy at one point. Spent alot of time in the library. Ate mince pies and tried mulled wine. Made wrapping paper at Art Society for charity. Got a surprise call from Cazzy :) Went to see hellogoodbye with Meilisa & Teddy. Went to an hour-long Japanese lesson with the Pinoy. Lots of lectures and laundry. And of course, reading, reading and reading. My head feels like a mini-library sometimes. All of this is not in order, mind you, heh. Ok, back to my essay now, cheers! Skool Daze, Doriyaki, 2 Birthdays & A Dress Listening to Coldplay - We Never ChangeI've had an awesome week :) but now that deadlines are looming, this weekend will be spent indoors on Degas' Little Dancer. Been eating quite a few M&S quiches this week but it's hard to resist 2-for-1 offers that are a bargain considering the fact that they're yummy and healthy. Been eating lots and lots of potatoes too heh. Here's a pic from a few days ago. That would be me and the schoolkids in the corridor all spiffy for the Skool Daze LCR. People kept trying to steal my hat but in the end, I did go home with it though minus the small black ribbon.I got my WAM Christmas Ball ticket! Have an outfit in mind for it...I'm not keen on wearing a dress but whatever. I'm happy with a smart shirt and vest and a one-quid necklace a sweet old granny sold to me at a yearly (might be twice a year but I'm not sure) fair at St. Andrew's and Blackfriars' Hall.Last night was spent at a Japanese Society dinner with the Pinoy where we met lots of really nice people. Because we turned up late, the food was cold but one of his friends who is an absolute sweetheart saved a couple of plates for us and the rice dish and katsudon were especially yummy. Lots of Japanese loving mmmmm! We tried to learn some words but mostly it was good company and fun. Then I went over to Suffolk for someone's belated birthday party but it was a wee bit too small and quiet...after 10 minutes, we rounded up and headed for Norfolk Terrace because Mr Hat turned 34 and it was a blast wheeee!!! Felt guilty for turning up without a gift so I spent an hour scribbling a Harlequin for him in his bedroom, "Cheers from Maggie and the rest of Suffolk Block _ Flat _", all the while chatting with the lovely Honkyangel. Then out we went for more cheer and cider. Hee-man and Tomtom cleaned up their flat kitchen after the party...I'm very impressed! Hee-man is the cleanest dude I've met in UEA so far and very sweet. Honkyangel and I couldn't help giggling at the gazillion towels he has in his room.Got up today and it was beautiful, bright and sunny. Met up with Ruby in town where we went dress-hunting for her...with sweet success! Now she's got a really nice black dress with flowers for the WAM Ball. After that I met up with Heff, Pinoy and Leaf for Christmas decoration shopping. It's getting very cold now but no worries. Okay, back to Degas for me now. Two Cats, Temples & A Crock Of Gold Listening to Mogwai - Take Me Somewhere NiceThat's definitely one of the cutest things I've seen for a while now...Makmak posted it on facebook, heh, Makmak finds all kinds of interesting stuff and is probably one of the main reasons why I'm possibly still aware of (some) stuff that's going on in design. I'm very grateful but don't really know how to say it without coming across as some kind of fawning moron which is probably why I keep that gratefulness to myself lol...And this is AWESOME, I mean, that is absolutely...mind-blowing. As Falco says in the article, "They are to remind people that we are all capable of much more than we realise and that hidden treasures can be found within every one of us once you know how to access them."*sigh*I sent in The Musician & The Muse to the university's student newspaper and they're gonna publish it in the issue that's first out next year. But that's not what excites me...she gave me a mini critique which I am thrilled with! The point is, she enjoyed the story. *buzz of happiness*Been spending my time with books, the latest being "PUERILITIES Erotic Epigrams of The Greek Anthology" translated by Daryl Hine and a wonderful book by Stephen James called "The Crock Of Gold" which you can read as an e-book somewhere online. Neil Gaiman thinks it's not for everyone and he's probably right, it starts like this:"IN the centre of the pine wood called Coilla Doraca there lived not long ago two Philosophers. They were wiser than anything else in the world except the Salmon who lies in the pool of Glyn Cagny into which the nuts of knowledge fall from the hazel bush on its bank. He, of course, is the most profound of living creatures, but the two Philosophers are next to him in wisdom. Their faces looked as though they were made of parchment, there was ink under their nails, and every difficulty that was submitted to them, even by women, they were able to instantly resolve. The Grey Woman of Dun Gortin and the Thin Woman of Inis Magrath asked them the three questions which nobody had ever been able to answer, and they were able to answer them. That was how they obtained the enmity of these two women which is more valuable than the friendship of angels. The Grey Woman and the Thin Woman were so incensed at being answered that they married the two Philosophers in order to be able to pinch them in bed, but the skins of the Philosophers were so thick that they did not know they were being pinched. They repaid the fury of the women with such tender affection that these vicious creatures almost expired of chagrin, and once, in a very ecstacy of exasperation, after having been kissed by their husbands, they uttered the fourteen hundred maledictions which comprised their wisdom, and these were learned by the Philosophers who thus became even wiser than before."I LOVED IT! It goes on and on and makes you laugh unexpectedly and there are leprechauns and policemen and an ongoing battle of the sexes...I don't want to write a book review. It's a book that should be read by everybody! I do believe that there is a "Crock Of Gold" play that they stage in Dublin on St Patrick's Day...hmmmm... Strange Feeling Listening to The Postal Service - Such Great HeightsI've got a fairly busy week ahead. I can see what's coming on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday already and actually feel quite up to it! Am quite liking how my life has settled into a fairly routine work hard play hard sort of lifestyle. Been watching my budget carefully too and not overspending or anything and on the whole my health is alright. Could do with more exercise though, methinks. And my complexion's abit shabby now, one too many stir-fried meals.But I don't like going to the gym and weather's been quite shite lately. Especially tonight - it's possibly 5 degrees, raining and the windiest it's been since I arrived. It's already snowing where some of my flatmates come from...Northampton, I think. Which they tell me is a surprise since snow is generally expected in Feb/March. Just glanced at my meagre wardrobe. Somehow I'm not sure if I have enough to wear. This is worrying. Very.I wonder if I'll be getting a White Christmas while I'm here. I'm also wondering, more nervously, about global warming. Okay, enough of that.It's just so strange when you get the feeling that you've got to write something down but then you don't know what exactly it is you feel the need to scribble. So you go through your playlist and hope that music will inspire you but the songs are too familiar, the lyrics drift away lazily.Trying to imagine. This isn't writer's block, is it? And I've been wondering about that - writer's block? I thought I knew what that was but when doctors don't have good days, do they stop treating patients? Do construction workers get building blocks? Pardon the pun...But isn't it a strange feeling? It's like scratching white marble, scritch scritch scrittle, but your fingernails do nothing to the shiny surface. Or like using a sieve to put sugar in your hot drink. Scratch that. Or sitting down and staring at your bottles of white, black, red, blue and yellow acrylic paint, unable to mix the right shade of the colour you have in mind.Drumming fingers. I'm staring at my copy of Wordsworth & Coleridge's "Lyrical Ballads". Heavy reading for a week. Don't get me wrong, I love reading...I just don't like pausing to look at the clock, only to realise with a start that three hours of my life has just gone by. I get abit irritated. Flutter of sheets. The wind is moaning outside my window and sometimes I hear little taps. It's scary.I feel like watching "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind" but have no idea how I'll get hold of a DVD at this moment. One of best films ever. Seriously.I still don't know what it is I wanted to write. It slips about like an eel, slithers silver in the ripples, its round eye flashes. I'm bemused but also anxious, knee-deep in the green water, my brown pants rolled up and my chequered blue and white shirt cool to the skin. Adjusting the broad brimmed straw hat now. I'm tossing the fishing net down. Time for bed and dreamings.Dive in. Be The Blog Listening to Daniel Powter - Bad DayI just got tagged - my first blogging award ever comes from Jeanie. Apparently, it's a blogging award for successful bloggers and the person who started it defines successful bloggers as people who "make it their own, stay with it, are interactive with their readers, and just plain have fun." Kinda cool...and easy! Thanks Jeanie, it's awesome when people like what you write :)I picked pink outta the three because you hardly ever see pink on this blog eh? Snh snh snh. And now I'm gonna tag a couple of you for making my time on the Internet more entertaining, you "successful bloggers": Cazzy and LMD. I'd tag Neil Gaiman too come to think about it.Now scoot, pick up your award at Me and My Drum!I'm currently reading William Anderson's "GREEN MAN" which is absolutely wonderful - lots of pictures, nice size and best of all, it's very well-written and therefore easy to read. It's a good thing I borrowed this book yesterday because today's bright and sunny (first sunny day in ages) and I'm in bed with such a nasty flu. Week 8 now, guess I got mine later than most. Honey & Lemon, Crappy Chinese & Suger Listening to awesome musicI'm addicted to Mathieu Bouthier & the Muttonheads "Make Your Own Kind of Music" and can't get enough of this stuff! It's French house, right? Love love love whatever it may be. Used to listen to lots of Dimitri from Paris five years ago, think I may just wander that way again...So the reading week is pretty much over tonight and I spent most of it struggling on a Renaissance Lit coursework and then the rest of my nights at Ruby & Vegan's kitchen. Do I daresay I know their flatmates as well as I know my own, if not better? Last night we made apple crumble at 2am and I devoured mine in a mug. Anyway, today I got up late (mmmmm, Sunday mornings) and spent my day at the library reading about Norwich Cathedral's stone bosses. The Green Men have gotta be my favourite, exactly the half-wild things in my mind that I wanna write about. Future inspiration for stories then.Have abit of a sore throat and some phlegm. I was afraid this would lead to a fever because with me, they go hand in hand and it's terrible. So far so good though, keep drinking honey & lemon.Dinner tonight? There we were at Spicky's window looking out for the Chinese takeaway man's car, just me, Spicky & occasionally Thew and the hungry lot were gibbering, "I'm hungreeee, where is heeee, what does heees car looook liiike". To which one of them replied something along the lines of "Just look out for his crappy Chinese car". There was a short silence and then cries of "You muppet!" and "Melonhead!" and a defense of "It was just a racist joke, that's all!" whilst I stood bemused, and then the car came. Our cute Pinoy was elected to fetch dinner. As he walked out into the dark drizzle, he kept glancing back at his hungry audience by Spicky's window as they jabbed fingers, pointing frantically at the car. Hilarious. I didn't order takeaway, having fried way too much rice the night before so dinner tonight was last night's experiment.And now I'm reading something Abbot Suger wrote about St. Denis with three (again, difficult) comprehension questions due in a couple of days. After that I can munch on A Companion to the Fairy Tale. Yummy. Eh, this is my 300th post. And here's my Aspie score apparently. Hmmmph. Scored a 27 and took it again, only to get a 24.Edit 10:05pm: Jeanie pointed out to me that this post might be offensive, eeps! I am now writing to say that I do not mean to cause offense to anyone out there. I expected to score a 15 or along that number. Again, I repeat, no offense was meant and I am sorry if you are upset, feel free to comment. Peace. Mad World, BMW & Sparks In The Park Still listening to BeckAnd here's a pic of me and the various ghoulies who live here in the corridor this Halloween. I'd give photo credit but I can't be too sure who was wearing the mask. Might've been the Flower's skeleton friend. See? I remember the costume but not the face haha. I went as the Cat in a Top Hat. Meeeeoowwrrr.Earlier this year I was haunted by this song I couldn't remember and guess what? Mari has put it up on her blog and now I know...it's Gary Jules - "Mad World".By the way, this one from overheardinnewyork has yet to fail to crack me up..."We Can Keep Sleeping Together Though, Right?"Guy #1: Okay, so this news I have to tell you...Guy #2: Yeah...Guy #1: You're the first one I'm telling, so don't mention this to anyone yet -- I wanna be the one to break the news to everyone. It's big. And I don't want this to change anything between us or the guys -- I'm still the same James*. But it just feels right... I feel like it's time.Guy #2, looking very uncomfortable: Uh, dude...Guy #1: I know, you're gonna tell me I'm crazy. But I've actually been thinking about it for a long time [pulls velvet box out of jacket and opens it to reveal huge diamond ring].Guy #2: Whoa, bro...Guy #1: Dude... I'm gonna ask Danielle to marry me.Guy #2: Oh, Jesus. Dude, that's awesome -- that's really great! Wonderful! I'm so happy for you!Guy #1, accepting huge hug from guy #2: Wow, dude, you're really happy about this.Guy #2: Bro, you have no idea what I thought you were gonna say.--Park bench, Central ParkOverheard by: Highlight of my day"Summer babies whaaat? Well, yeah, I suppose that's news for me and pretty funny for some reason. Hmmmph. Check this out if you've got time, love the music and it's filmed beautifully - BMW Commercial 006 "The Follow". I dunno much about cars but these ones are sexxxy. Had to watch it a couple of times before I got it, heh, slow.Had a pretty fun Halloween on campus, it wasn't so fun in the city. I felt that I'd totally deserved it because I got my coursework done on time but the next two weeks are gonna be alot quieter. Have two really difficult Lit essays due on both Thursdays and I really wanna get them done well. Just because that's how I see it, duh. If you're gonna do something, whatever it is, you might as well do a good job of it.And how have your days gone? I'm curious. Tonight will be spent at Sparks in the Park and there will be some fireworks probably because it's Guy Fawkes around the corner. I don't think it'll be very big because it's basically gonna be in that green field nearby but some sparks are better than no sparks, eh? Work, Blood & A Social Listening to Beck - Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes on youtubeSo it's 2am on a Saturday night and I am working on an assignment that's due in less than a week. It accounts for 30% of this module's grade and is probably a grand total of a bare minimum of 1,200 words. I'll probably hit at least a couple hundred more than that because there's only so much you can summarize before your brain gives up and goes for a stroll. Which is precisely what Neil Gaiman does with his dog (I love it when he posts pics of Cabal) and I couldn't help laughing at his photo and description of the tree which at night "catches and strangles any living creatures that get close enough" but because it's such a beautiful day "even it looks practically normal".I picked this module over the other (which I'm told is much easier and you just turn up for one-hour lectures three times a week). Not that I'd give this one up for the other, there's simply too much interesting stuff. Plus we're told what to read before we die such as the Maqaddimah (did I spell that right?), Ovid's Metamorphoses, philosophical novels like The Green Child and various other bits of classical literature. Which is precisely what I've wanted for ages!I just didn't expect so many words in so little time. But mostly I'm whinging right now because of a couple of bruises on both my arms. Went to get my blood tested but had to do it twice which equates to four jabs because my "veins are difficult" - an absolutely hilarious thing to be told while you stare out the window at the bleak sky, wide-eyed.University life is good, not easy but good, and I've had my fair share of fun with Ruby & bunch I suppose. If I get this coursework done early enough, that means I get a really fun Halloween night simply because it's due right after that and when the brain is knackered, it simply won't get up. Today, me and the Pinoy went grocery shopping and he thought that he was simply coming along to carry my stuff (which is so sweet, bruised arms [inner elbow] are only so strong). He ended up buying a little more than I did and we had a good laugh about it. It's yet another woefully quiet weekend in our flat as almost everyone has gone home yet again, I think there's only 5 of us here now...till tomorrow night anyway.Last night there was an Art History social in which about half the people in the course turned up and then we headed for Wetherspoons. Ruby and I eventually got bored with the small talk (which was polite and lasted for an hour or so) but just as we left for the Waterfront, things were getting nicer as people got tipsier. Nice people though. No worries, someone will probably organize another one as we seem a pretty decent bunch. Okay, back to work. Tonight, the clocks go back an hour. Cinderella would love this, eh?