Happy Birthday (for yesterday) Colin! - sorry I forgot to txt until 11pm..

What does it say about your life when google adsense advertises "cheese sandwiches" and "canal boats for hire"???

Obviously I am writing an awful lot about these two things!

Shall try to broaden my horizons and talk about non-cheese or canal type things - hard as that may be.
(either that or I will write at least one thing about something odd like "reindeer" in each blog and see what it advertises.. quite intrigued as to how much control i get over those little boxes..)

I love it when everything fits into place..

What a great day.

I had a lift into uni off James (equates to an extra half hour in bed)

We have a really cool project - which we are getting paid £60 to design by Birmingham City Council!

We finished at 11 instead of 5.30

Whilst in the cinema with my friends (trying to come to terms with new found freedom) a man came up to me in my seat and asked to speak to me outside.

I immediately though "oh dear god - is something wrong with my card? are they going to shout at me because my phone was actually turned on?!?"

Man stood outside and said "do you believe in getting things for free?"

Was quite surreal.. thought he may offer me a red and blue pill at any moment..

I stuttered something along the lines of "it depends what I have to do" which, in hindsight, may have made me sound like a prostitute..

He then handed over to me four free tickets to see the movie "perfume" at a special screening a week before it comes out! Pretty cool..

I then met James and had Pizza Express, and then found out that if James hadn't picked me up today I would have been at the station for hours as someone had jumped in front of the train I needed (obviously day wasn't great for that person..)

Am going to sit in front of the fire and watch Friends whilst drinking coffee and researching the technicalities of Grade I, II and II* listed buildings

I didn't realise Emus produced healing oil...

James was talking to me in the car today (whilst firmly lodged in a long queue of traffic on the M6) and reminded me about one of those times where you want to crawl under a rock and shrivel up.

Last time we went up to Grandma's I was sat on the sofa with James when my Grandma marched up to me declaring -

"Here - put some of this emu oil onto that thing on your face, it will go away much quicker."

I only had a small spot on my face that I happened to itch at that moment, although it did make me feel like I had some hideous growth sticking off my face...

Plus - what the hell is emu oil?!?!?

And yes - that is the same Grandma of terror cracker fame.


On a lighter note - I have an evening off!!!! Oh how glorious!

I presented my project today in front of three tutors in the given time limit of 5 minutes. I have never been so nervous. It went well though...

That moment where complacency turns to panic

Well, the weekend was really good. I managed to do most of my work on friday so I was quite laid back about the whole "Monday hand in" thing.

On Sunday (today) I realised that I had forgotten to do alot of work.

Gah.

Am now frantically printing off work (which for some reason has saved the wrong size)

I can't wait till I am employed and I can leave work without this kind of thing happening to me.

On a lighter note -

Hurrah! Coke Christmas advert was on today so have officially declared it Christmas in my world and began drinking from my Christmas mug.. (it is sooo great. It has a reindeer on it that looks like a dog I know..)

Busy busy busy... mainly due to dog

Well, trip to York was quite random (lol.. still can't say that with a straight face)

We got to the uni (which was very pretty) and the rain began. I must say though, pretty as it may be, the coffe bar facilities left much to be desired.. - although must point out the technological advancements of the IT post-grad department - their kettle is linked to some kind of touch screen monitor which lets them have a hot drink and takes money from their account!

Must admit though, put that in an art department and there would be mass confusion resulting in someone either bathing screen in coffee or screen being used as piece of "installation" artwork and a new kettle being put next to it...

Quite scared about finding job now.. I may be job hunting in York or Leeds, which is both far away and not particularly hubs of design..

Also worried that the student apartment type accommodation would not let us have the Kitty.. which - lets face it - is the biggest worry of all!

Oooh also had a very festive day today. Absence of James gave opportunity to wrap his presents and then I was on a roll! I must say that this years colour scheme is quite pretty - have gone for turquoise, purple, blue and silver.

As you can tell I had uni work to do. Obviously cannot work in an untidy room so once wrapped, things needed cleaning, polishing etc. Clothes at end of bed finally got put away.. Was just about to start my work (with my coffee and spaghetti hoops) when caught a whiff of bad smell in room and noticed dog had in fact weed on my lovely wicker bin. Grrr. Then spent another half hour cleaning and disenfecting room.

Not happy with dog - he then proceeded to eat the cat's biscuits. When shouted at he jumped with shock and started choking, throwing up biscuits all over the floor - which he then re-ate.

Lovely..

My laptop has it in for me..

Hello internet!

Once again the laptop broke, leaving me floundering without the internet.. so so lost..

Turned out very useful as I couldn't procrastinate.

For those who care or even just those who like to look at colourful pictures, here is the fruit of my labour...

And my beast of a model which has left my cutting finger limp and dented by my scalpel..

Model is a whopping 600mm x 600mm. So time consuming it was unbelievable.. but all turned out in the end (must point out today that my friend actually managed to super glue her finger to her model resulting in me having to rub "anti-bonding solution" onto her finger with a cocktail stick)

The ups and downs of a week in my third year...

Monday: Spent 5 hours producing my powerpoint for my seminar. grr. Canal regeneration funding and the like. Yawn...

Tuesday: Day before seminar, went to print off a plan in the morning and my computer would not start. It never even got to the loading windows screen. Oh dear God.
Computer diagnosed as buggered by James - this then prompted a nervous breakdown and ALOT of tears from me (all of my work for the last 8 weeks was on there)
James spent 2 hours working on it and retrieved my files. Hurrah!
Turned up an hour late for uni and got told off. (I'm usually an hour early - I have never been late EVER. Evil woman...)

Wednesday: Turn up an hour early at uni for seminar in order to practice and read through notes. (seminar worth 20% of final mark! how scary!)
Turns out I was in fact 2 and a half hours early and had read sign wrong.

Today (thursday feels like it didn't even happen - time going too quickly!) : TTrain took 50 minutes to get to Birmingham. Work had to be on my desk before ten. Alot of pannicking occured! Have been selected for entry in the RSA competitio though! Hurrah! Although now I have to pay £25 just for the priviledge..

Last night James got to witness the madness of my former life first hand.

Mum and Dad were up for the weekend and their mate Jeff was throwing a bonfire party.

Everyone there had had quite a bit to drink and when this was combined with the fact that we had a firework store full of rockets which wouldn't be out of place in a professional display and a garden about 4 metres long, it made for a nerve wracking time!

It didn't take long before the first set of fireworks fell over, hitting me in the side whilst I reluctantly used my very pretty umbrella as a shield. (it's a radley umbrella.. too pretty to ruin..)

Erik and Rosie, meanwhile, were sat terrified in the van. And so the evening ended with Rosie clinging to me shaking and James trying to drag a traumatised Erik from the back of the van, pulling off his collar and making my big fluffy boy look like a wimp in front of all the onlooking children.

Very weird walking around Belgrave again.. I swear I have grown about a foot since then as everything seemed so much smaller...

Introducing Herr Fish

After a horrid day it went a bit better this evening.

I got my new fish (i couldn't be bothered to take a picture so I drew him on paint.. ahem...)

The Dentist told me I wasn't needed back for 6 months and I got to have a cool x-ray (also did not get charged for check-up or x-ray?!?)

I found out that James's dad is friends with a man who works for British Waterways on regeneration schemes - I have my primary research! Hurrah! Am going round to interview tomorrow... All comes good in the end!!!

Argh! It's all getting too much!

Damn working.

And Damn Uni..

This degree better be worth it!

Stupid tutors have decided that our project will be assessed and go through selection for the RSA competition next Friday.

THS tutor has decided that we must do a seminar on our dissertation worth 20% of our mark next Wednesday. (I must point out that we are the first year to ever have this as part of our dissertation)

Have got to create a decent 20 minute powerpoint presentation with a week and a half notice whilst compiling all of my design work to reach the Friday deadline and due to THS tutor have now got to visit the office of British Waterways and take a trip to Manchester to get primary research. Explained this to other tutor who told me I should only do work for THS for a half day on a Wednesday.

Well that is great advice. Apparently I can be in Manchester, visit an office in Fazeley, write an entire script for seminar and create powerpoint slides in 4 hours.

Add this to the fact that I have to visit the dentist again tonight (yes, yet another £15 wasted) and you may be able to gauge the extent of my misery today..

Have been sat at James's uni on my own in the computer room writing up dissertation seminar script for the last 3 hours. Oh god it's so boring!

Alas, tis the end of Mr. Fish....

My newest edition - a loveable goldfish called Mr. Fish - passed away this afternoon.

Like many of the fish I had in childhood the cause of death was fin rot.

There is a very wrong and petty part of me that is bitter that it was my fish who died and not James's.

Am ashamed..

Have decided that my next fish will continue his legacy and will be named Herr Fish.

A Date with my Arch Nemesis

Oh god, having your picture taken in a photo booth is a traumatic event...

There was a man outside waiting (he was a bit creepy.. very strange leery smile..) so after the 8th count of the woman saying loudly "if you would like to re-take your picture press the green button" I got incredibly paranoid that man would think that I was either crazy, obsessive or just plain vain and just pressed ok..

I'm not even going to show the faceless people of my blogging world the horrific site that beheld me as that slip of shiny paper dropped from the machine.

I swear I've seen that image on crimewatch.

I have a theory that those machines are statically charged so that your hair goes crazy as soon as you sit down. That added to the fact that it appears to defeat even the strongest concealer gave me a haggard, tired and "mad cat lady" look.

Which I suppose I am..


Oooh also! I am being plagued by pond liners! After my sighting about a week ago, where I had to swerve to avoid one in the middle of the road, I spotted yet another today perched on top of a hedge on the road towards Sutton.. Very strange..

Brown? Really? Hmm

I suppose it is fate.. I should have waited for advice..

After last post I got all over excited and went and bought some brown hair dye 
(about 5 minutes after asking for advice... Ahem)

Did as the instructions said, I even wore the gloves that looked suspiciously like condoms..

After 15 minutes I rinsed off the dye to reveal that it had not done anything! 

Infact my hair now looks even more bland than before!

Dammit..

Will have to go to hairdressers after all... 

Please Give Input!

Hmm

I am at that point once more when I am bored with my hair. The stupid hairdresser woman did a crazy hair style which I hate and am now in the process of "growing out" - yes BG, in the same manner we had to before...

So as I can't have any more hair taken off without fully transforming into my alter ego German Boy once more, the only thing left to do is colour.

Now, my hair has gone into what I like to call it's Winter Coat, where it loses all shine and goes from blonde to a dull blondy-brown.

Do I dye it brown? I would like to.. I think... although I always struggle to pick the right colour (obviously am v. pale and would like to not look Dead) Or do I go blonder? Hmm...

Any input?

I suppose it could happen to anyone.. or at least anyone with a tiny cat

On the odd occasion I like to get some housework done.

With a blind cat alot of stuff gets knocked over/spilt/soiled..

Whilst tidying a pile of post on the floor I suddenly realised that at some point the cat had actually managed to climb up onto my neck without me noticing and was now fast asleep on my back.

Gah. Cannot stand up!

I waddled over to the cat hammock and tried tipping the cat off my back but, alas, the cat could not be moved. (lets just say there were claws involved)

Realisation that if this incident happened when I was alone in the house I would in fact be stuck. There is no easy way to remove a cat from your upper back without the aid of another person.