yet another procrastination post. i'm rewriting the end of my novel, again. what is it with beginnings and endings with me? the whole middle is fine, but i'm not happy with chapter 1 or chapters 33 to 36. hhuuuuuum.
to plants:
the pepper grows about a centimetre a day. it's gotten huge - it's about 2 feet high now. my tomatoes are also growing madly, one of them is really getting big - it's about 12cm tall with 5 leaves. no sign of the strawberries yet. the sun vanished just after i planted them, so i expect they will be a while. the kale isn't doing so well since i thinned it. i have four plants left. one seems to be wilting. two are ok, but don't seem to be growing. the last one seems to be growing ok, but it's the smallest of the lot.
to games:
i finished jade empire. it was fun enough. i figured out a neat fighting style that meant the bad guys couldn't get a hit on me. i don't know what that games problem is, but it seemed horribly unbalanced. the regular enemies could be taken down in about 5 seconds; if they hit you it wasn't a problem - their couldn't do much damage. they were pretty easy to beat. the bosses, on the other hand, were impossible. two hits from a boss and my character was dead. and it took about 5 minutes to beat a boss (that's 60times longer than a regular guy - that seems a bit extreme to me). anyway, i did finish the game, but i won't be rushing back to play it any time soon.
i played through dr ned and got half way through general knoxx in borderlands before i started playing mass effect. it's a fun enough game. for some reason, it seems to lack something. like, i'm kind of just playing it to see what it will present me with. i don't really feel much for any of the characters (my girl is pretty looking - that's about it) and i don't care much for the story so far. in fact, i don't really know what the story is yet. and i'm about 6 hours in... maybe. so i'll stick with it to see where it goes. jade empire was kind of similar - really slow to start and then it got going towards the end. but they spent too long on set-up and by the time the story got going i hadn't fallen in love with the characters. and then it was too late - i was too worried about staying alive.
in fact, i had another gripe with jade empire. it was supposed to be an rpg, but only the first two chapters had quests and stuff. after that, it was all fighting. there weren't even any puzzles or stuff, it was just, 'go here and kill this guy, then kill that mob of assassins, then kill this boss, then kill this mob of ghosts, then kill...' yea - you get the point. yea - schizophrenic game.
so, i kind of hope the bioware guys learned thier lesson from jade empire, and mass effect is better, but so far i'm not seeing it.
penelope_stone is up for the week (or two). it's fun having her around. we're thinking of going to sheila's for dinner some night - we really need to tell sheila about this.
right - it's ten past ten, i really need to get down to writing.
19 July 2010
07 July 2010
tomatoes
tomatoes is the oddest word ever. the plural has an e while the singular doesn't. that confuses me.
anyway. one of the tomatoes has sprouted. it has two tiny leaves. some others are pushing their way up out of the soil. i planted five pots and only two have shown any signs of life. sure, i'll see how they do over the next few days.
my kale is doing excellently. i have a little kale carpet in the pot. i kind of wish it would stay like that forever. it looks really cute and soft. (like tiny green butterflies on stalks.) now i have to watch one or two plants take over and kill all the rest of them. boo.
the pepper is also growing.
that's all my plant-y news. now back to writing. the scene in the middle of the book - the one that has annoyed me since day one - is almost fixed. yeay. just a small realisation and off we go. i also now know how science works in my book. woo for making up science - it's almost as good as making up magic, except it's way harder, because you have to have some basis in reality. anyway - back to it.
(it's a little disturbing that i'm comfortable wearing a t-shirt at 23 degrees (and not a string top). i am going to freeze when winter comes. my skin doesn't even feel warm. if i was wearing a light hoodie, i'd be just as comfortable.)
edited to add pictures:
anyway. one of the tomatoes has sprouted. it has two tiny leaves. some others are pushing their way up out of the soil. i planted five pots and only two have shown any signs of life. sure, i'll see how they do over the next few days.
my kale is doing excellently. i have a little kale carpet in the pot. i kind of wish it would stay like that forever. it looks really cute and soft. (like tiny green butterflies on stalks.) now i have to watch one or two plants take over and kill all the rest of them. boo.
the pepper is also growing.
that's all my plant-y news. now back to writing. the scene in the middle of the book - the one that has annoyed me since day one - is almost fixed. yeay. just a small realisation and off we go. i also now know how science works in my book. woo for making up science - it's almost as good as making up magic, except it's way harder, because you have to have some basis in reality. anyway - back to it.
(it's a little disturbing that i'm comfortable wearing a t-shirt at 23 degrees (and not a string top). i am going to freeze when winter comes. my skin doesn't even feel warm. if i was wearing a light hoodie, i'd be just as comfortable.)
edited to add pictures:
06 July 2010
fairytales for adults
my birthday present from lordkilljoy arrived today. it's somewhat of a tradition for me to get birthday presents at the start of the summer. it was so that i'd have all summer to play with them, rather than getting birthday presents and then having to go back to school the next day. so i couldn't resist opening it and reading it.
and what was my present? i hear you ask: the adventures of the princess and mr whiffle; the thing beneath the bed by patrick rothfuss.
i read the whole book in about 15 minutes. the art is super-cute, the story is a little disturbing. You can read my review on goodreads: princess and mr whiffle review
that's all i wanted to say, really. my kale is growing. the shoots are about 1mm in diameter now, and about an inch high, with leaves that are about 5mm wide. they are cute, and there are billions of them. i think i'll let them fight it out amongst themselves for who gets to grow and who doesn't. i think i may have killed my cherry tomatoes. one of them has mould growing on it. that can't be good.
right so. bye then.
and what was my present? i hear you ask: the adventures of the princess and mr whiffle; the thing beneath the bed by patrick rothfuss.
i read the whole book in about 15 minutes. the art is super-cute, the story is a little disturbing. You can read my review on goodreads: princess and mr whiffle review
that's all i wanted to say, really. my kale is growing. the shoots are about 1mm in diameter now, and about an inch high, with leaves that are about 5mm wide. they are cute, and there are billions of them. i think i'll let them fight it out amongst themselves for who gets to grow and who doesn't. i think i may have killed my cherry tomatoes. one of them has mould growing on it. that can't be good.
right so. bye then.
02 July 2010
Plants (but no Zombies - they are alive)
Golly geepers, I'm learning stuff about plants. This is amazing. My pepper wilts in the afternoon, and I just learned this is because it can't draw enough water from the soil to keep up with what's evaporating from its leaves. If it recovers by late afternoon, it's fine, but if it doesn't that means it needs watering. My dude is recovering already (the sun's gone in). This is so cool. I never imagined plants were so reactive.
I just wrote the title of this post and it made me wonder what an undead plant would be like. I'll bet you could write a weird sort b-movie about it.
I just wrote the title of this post and it made me wonder what an undead plant would be like. I'll bet you could write a weird sort b-movie about it.
More Plants
I now have a whole little garden happening on my windowsill. The pepper plant is doing well and has been joined by scarlet kale and cherry tomatoes. The other two haven't grown yet, though. I only planted them yesterday. I keep looking at them though - in the hopes I’ll see a shoot. I think it might be another while yet before I see anything. They get direct sunlight from about half 12 to 5ish. I don't know if that's enough to warm the soil and let the seeds know to start growing. Sure, we'll just have to wait and see.
Bad news, though. I found a greenfly on the windowsill today. I just hope I killed it before it got to lay any eggs. I'd hate to have to throw all these plants outside. I cleared away the plant graveyard yesterday - threw them all in the bin.
I'm starting a new scene in my novel today - as in brand new. I got 500 words in before I got distracted with music. Oh well.
I'm playing Jade Empire at the moment and am quite enjoying it. I've wanted to play it for a long time, but never got around to it. And then lordkilljoy started a game of it on the xbox, and I thought it looked really clunky. So that put me off. But it's not clunky. Well - it is a little. The combat system does have it's annoyances, but as long as I toggle between targeting on and targeting off, it does ok.
I finished Borderlands on the PC. It is such a brilliant game. I may go back to it when I'm finished Jade Empire and do playthrough2. Or maybe lordkilljoy will want to play something on the PC by then.
I don't have much other news. I'm settling into my new work well enough. And still getting time to write, which is good.
Right, so. I'll go now.
Bad news, though. I found a greenfly on the windowsill today. I just hope I killed it before it got to lay any eggs. I'd hate to have to throw all these plants outside. I cleared away the plant graveyard yesterday - threw them all in the bin.
I'm starting a new scene in my novel today - as in brand new. I got 500 words in before I got distracted with music. Oh well.
I'm playing Jade Empire at the moment and am quite enjoying it. I've wanted to play it for a long time, but never got around to it. And then lordkilljoy started a game of it on the xbox, and I thought it looked really clunky. So that put me off. But it's not clunky. Well - it is a little. The combat system does have it's annoyances, but as long as I toggle between targeting on and targeting off, it does ok.
I finished Borderlands on the PC. It is such a brilliant game. I may go back to it when I'm finished Jade Empire and do playthrough2. Or maybe lordkilljoy will want to play something on the PC by then.
I don't have much other news. I'm settling into my new work well enough. And still getting time to write, which is good.
Right, so. I'll go now.
29 June 2010
planting procrastination
procrastination post. yeay. i haven't done one of these in ages.
i defrosted the freezer last night. it was kinda fun - going with the hair dryer, watching the ice melt away and fall into the little collecty bucket at the bottom. the freezer has significantly more space now, and you can actually see the metal bits that conduct the cold around. all the compartments open properly now. it was so bad, actually, that the ice had shoved some of the shelves off their rails. but they are fixed now, too.
the little pepper plant is still alive. the fern is also still alive. the dracaena got put out in the corner of the balcony reserved for dead plants. we can call it the plant graveyard. i put them out there in the hopes that the weather outside will bring them back to life. i suppose it's kind of a silly viewpoint, but it's always what used happen to dead plants at home. none of them ever came back to life either.
i think the bonsai might be making it way out there soon. poor plant just keeps on loosing its leaves, and when they grow back they are yellow and weedy. i took the dead bits off the other dracaena. it's looking good again. all green.
all this planty goodness has me wanting to plant the seeds from a cherry tomato. and we have black kale too. i could have a whole little garden happening on the window sill in here. it's a weeny (meaning small) windowsill, but it's the only one in the whole apartment that gets sunlight.
right so. i don't have much other news.
just to note - dinner is on (yes, before 10:30am). and all the windows and doors in the apartment are open in an effort to cool the place down. it was way too hot last night.
i defrosted the freezer last night. it was kinda fun - going with the hair dryer, watching the ice melt away and fall into the little collecty bucket at the bottom. the freezer has significantly more space now, and you can actually see the metal bits that conduct the cold around. all the compartments open properly now. it was so bad, actually, that the ice had shoved some of the shelves off their rails. but they are fixed now, too.
the little pepper plant is still alive. the fern is also still alive. the dracaena got put out in the corner of the balcony reserved for dead plants. we can call it the plant graveyard. i put them out there in the hopes that the weather outside will bring them back to life. i suppose it's kind of a silly viewpoint, but it's always what used happen to dead plants at home. none of them ever came back to life either.
i think the bonsai might be making it way out there soon. poor plant just keeps on loosing its leaves, and when they grow back they are yellow and weedy. i took the dead bits off the other dracaena. it's looking good again. all green.
all this planty goodness has me wanting to plant the seeds from a cherry tomato. and we have black kale too. i could have a whole little garden happening on the window sill in here. it's a weeny (meaning small) windowsill, but it's the only one in the whole apartment that gets sunlight.
right so. i don't have much other news.
just to note - dinner is on (yes, before 10:30am). and all the windows and doors in the apartment are open in an effort to cool the place down. it was way too hot last night.
27 June 2010
kerry
go visit three corner square, my website. It has two posts now, one containing some advice about writing different drafts for a novel. i must write a new post soon. i'm thinking of doing something on making the editing process more efficient, but those kinds of articles are rather prevalent on the net already.
on to the regular news.
i have spent the last 5 days in the wonderful company of ms penelope_stone and liam. we went for walks on the beach, flew super-powerful kites, wandered in the forest, watched glastonbury coverage.
in between that, i attended the beach wedding of mytholder and emopod. it was pretty amazing. the weather was perfect, the sky was the lightest shade of blue, the sea was the deepest shade of turquoise.
the weather stayed pretty good for the whole time. we had a barbecue last night and the only bit of heavy rain in the whole week fell as we were lighting it. ah well - it stopped as we were cooking and we got to eat outside. the sun even came out again near the end.
not much else happening. i'm heading home tomorrow. i'd love to just stay here for a month. but it will be fun to go home to borderlands. i'm sort of worried about what kind of state the apartment will be in, though. ah well. i'll be taking a pepper plant home with me, and a renewed vigour to treat my plants with care and kindness.
on to the regular news.
i have spent the last 5 days in the wonderful company of ms penelope_stone and liam. we went for walks on the beach, flew super-powerful kites, wandered in the forest, watched glastonbury coverage.
in between that, i attended the beach wedding of mytholder and emopod. it was pretty amazing. the weather was perfect, the sky was the lightest shade of blue, the sea was the deepest shade of turquoise.
the weather stayed pretty good for the whole time. we had a barbecue last night and the only bit of heavy rain in the whole week fell as we were lighting it. ah well - it stopped as we were cooking and we got to eat outside. the sun even came out again near the end.
not much else happening. i'm heading home tomorrow. i'd love to just stay here for a month. but it will be fun to go home to borderlands. i'm sort of worried about what kind of state the apartment will be in, though. ah well. i'll be taking a pepper plant home with me, and a renewed vigour to treat my plants with care and kindness.
18 June 2010
june
Right so. I've been ordered by penelope_stone to update, so I am updating. However, I don't really have anything interesting to say. I'm half way through draft 3. It's going quite well. I get kind of caught up in the story and forget to edit, and then I have to go back over what I just read and I find loads of mistakes. It's kind of funny.
Speaking of funny, I am realising that writing humour to lighten tension is exceptionally hard. I've tried to find places in my novel to add in humour and I have failed. I might make a blog post about it at some stage.
I guess it's time I mentioned that I ported my website to wordpress. Wordpress is a great tool, and so easy to use if you have a little knowledge of HTML and PHP. The website isn't 100% done yet. There are a few quirks to work out and I don't have any proper posts yet (working on that - should have one this evening, maybe).
I'm playing Borderlands on PC at the moment. It is such a good game. This is my third full playthrough, and my sixth partial playthrough. lordkilljoy also got Fallout3 and Burnout Paradise on PC, so I've been messing around with them too.
I'm reading Retribution Falls at the moment. I'm really enjoying it. Non-stereotypical adventure fantasy is so hard to come by these days. In novels, anyway. Or maybe I just can't find it.
Yea. So that's been my life for the last month.
Speaking of funny, I am realising that writing humour to lighten tension is exceptionally hard. I've tried to find places in my novel to add in humour and I have failed. I might make a blog post about it at some stage.
I guess it's time I mentioned that I ported my website to wordpress. Wordpress is a great tool, and so easy to use if you have a little knowledge of HTML and PHP. The website isn't 100% done yet. There are a few quirks to work out and I don't have any proper posts yet (working on that - should have one this evening, maybe).
I'm playing Borderlands on PC at the moment. It is such a good game. This is my third full playthrough, and my sixth partial playthrough. lordkilljoy also got Fallout3 and Burnout Paradise on PC, so I've been messing around with them too.
I'm reading Retribution Falls at the moment. I'm really enjoying it. Non-stereotypical adventure fantasy is so hard to come by these days. In novels, anyway. Or maybe I just can't find it.
Yea. So that's been my life for the last month.
25 May 2010
weekend joys
the weekend was great. i got to meet more cousins i've not seen in about 10 years. everyone was in great form.
then on sunday my whole family came over to the apartment and stayed until today. it was cool.
we went into town yesterday and i bought some plugs for my ear. it's at 6mm now - has been at that for the last few years. i always figured i'd put in the effort to get it to 8, but i was just never bothered. so it's staying at 6 forever. i bought three really cute plugs - i have photos.
yea. they are the motivation behind this post.
i spent today (after everyone left - that really feels like yesterday, or last week or something) editing draft 3. chapter 1 is considerably different now. a little more action packed. penelope_stone tells me the book is too action packed as it is, but i'll sort all that out when i get to it. for now, the start needs more action.
hmmmm, yea. i got a bit sunburned over the weekend. lordkilljoy is off in australia and we are getting better weather here. it's mad. but good. nothing like a bit of warm sunlight.
then on sunday my whole family came over to the apartment and stayed until today. it was cool.
we went into town yesterday and i bought some plugs for my ear. it's at 6mm now - has been at that for the last few years. i always figured i'd put in the effort to get it to 8, but i was just never bothered. so it's staying at 6 forever. i bought three really cute plugs - i have photos.
yea. they are the motivation behind this post.
i spent today (after everyone left - that really feels like yesterday, or last week or something) editing draft 3. chapter 1 is considerably different now. a little more action packed. penelope_stone tells me the book is too action packed as it is, but i'll sort all that out when i get to it. for now, the start needs more action.
hmmmm, yea. i got a bit sunburned over the weekend. lordkilljoy is off in australia and we are getting better weather here. it's mad. but good. nothing like a bit of warm sunlight.
19 May 2010
deadlines
oh my god, i hate tight deadlines. always in college i'd get stuff done a week or a few days before the deadline so there was never last minute stress.
i just finished an assignment and was editing up to the last 10 minutes. i got it uploaded with 8 minutes to spare on the deadline. phew! what a rush. and not really in a good way. it wouldn't really do to miss a deadline on my second assignment.
ah well, it's done now. all i can do now is wait for feedback on stuff i got wrong. hopefully not that much. i spent ages going over it to make sure it was ok.
i kinda feel like i have loads to do and no time in which to do it. hmmm. i should make out a list. that will definitely help to de-abstractise things. :giggle: i just made up a word. it's amazing how this still entertains me :)
Yea. i think i'm tried. i get to the end of a paragraph and my brain just goes: stop, no thoughts here.
yea. i'm going to go now.
i just finished an assignment and was editing up to the last 10 minutes. i got it uploaded with 8 minutes to spare on the deadline. phew! what a rush. and not really in a good way. it wouldn't really do to miss a deadline on my second assignment.
ah well, it's done now. all i can do now is wait for feedback on stuff i got wrong. hopefully not that much. i spent ages going over it to make sure it was ok.
i kinda feel like i have loads to do and no time in which to do it. hmmm. i should make out a list. that will definitely help to de-abstractise things. :giggle: i just made up a word. it's amazing how this still entertains me :)
Yea. i think i'm tried. i get to the end of a paragraph and my brain just goes: stop, no thoughts here.
yea. i'm going to go now.
16 May 2010
washing randomness
i put two white sheets into the wash today. one came out light blue, the other came out a dull sort of purple. (yes, i do just chuck everything into the same wash regardless of colour, because the only non-coloureds we have are sheets, and it's not worth putting on a whole wash just for them.)
and i wouldn't even mind, but it's not like we don't have colour catcher sheets. and they do work. oh well. that's what i get for assuming / hoping stuff won't run. the blue sheet looks kinda good, though. it died very evenly. i even had to ask myself if we'd actually been sleeping on a blue sheet. but no, we hadn't. the other sheet is pretty evenly died (a little darker in the corners) but it's not a very nice colour. it can be the spare room's spare sheet.
so yea. they are now drying in the sitting room. they don't really fit on the clothes horse and now that lordkilljoy is gone away, i can put the clothes where ever i like.
i've been listening to deftones' new album, diamond eyes. i'm enjoying it. beauty school is my favourite so far, followed by the title track. it's very deftones. but i love their sound, so i'm good with that.
i went to see robin hood yesterday. it was an engaging 2 hour 20 minute diversion. but that's all it was, really. a fun thing to watch to pass the time.
afterwards, i went out to dalkey quarry, and ran up the hill to the top (there are stairs). it was good. the views from up there are spectacular - you can see way out into the irish sea on one side, and over dublin on the other.
then me, penelope_stone and liam went to nandos. yum. and then we went home and watched gladiator (skipping over all the boring bits). heh. i could call it a ridley scott afternoon.
and i wouldn't even mind, but it's not like we don't have colour catcher sheets. and they do work. oh well. that's what i get for assuming / hoping stuff won't run. the blue sheet looks kinda good, though. it died very evenly. i even had to ask myself if we'd actually been sleeping on a blue sheet. but no, we hadn't. the other sheet is pretty evenly died (a little darker in the corners) but it's not a very nice colour. it can be the spare room's spare sheet.
so yea. they are now drying in the sitting room. they don't really fit on the clothes horse and now that lordkilljoy is gone away, i can put the clothes where ever i like.
i've been listening to deftones' new album, diamond eyes. i'm enjoying it. beauty school is my favourite so far, followed by the title track. it's very deftones. but i love their sound, so i'm good with that.
i went to see robin hood yesterday. it was an engaging 2 hour 20 minute diversion. but that's all it was, really. a fun thing to watch to pass the time.
afterwards, i went out to dalkey quarry, and ran up the hill to the top (there are stairs). it was good. the views from up there are spectacular - you can see way out into the irish sea on one side, and over dublin on the other.
then me, penelope_stone and liam went to nandos. yum. and then we went home and watched gladiator (skipping over all the boring bits). heh. i could call it a ridley scott afternoon.
14 May 2010
typing myself into oblivion
news, news, news.
i did my first assignment over the week. i ended up typing over 10,000 words in 8 hours. my hands were a bit sore afterwards. typing up voices takes an incredible amount of time. and i don't really think it matters how fast you are, because you get to a bit where you can't hear and you spend about 20 minutes just trying to decipher it. anyway - i had fun doing it. people speak really weirdly when you actually listen to them.
penelope_stone is coming up this weekend. that will be fun. i was going to go to carlow, but that's not happening now.
i'm back playing oblivion again. :scratch head: yea. i didn't think that would happen either, but i decided to play it on the xbox - just a quick run through of the main quest (and possibly the thieves' guild quest line, because i never finished it) and i got hooked. i'm going thieves, mages, main and deadra quests (and some random stuff). and once i get better at killing stuff, i'm going to join the dark brotherhood. hmmmm. i was only going to play for a week or something... oh well. (oh yea, my character is kind of pretty too. not as pretty as her in my icon, but pretty enough.)
i'm messing around with wordpress at the moment too. it's incredibly flexible with designs and layouts and stuff. you can design it any way you want. it's brilliant.
lordkilljoy is in singapore at the moment. i had an awful dream last night about being at home on my own, and all these men got into the house and were chasing me around the place. i tried to hide in the bathroom, but they broke down the door. it was awful.
i did my first assignment over the week. i ended up typing over 10,000 words in 8 hours. my hands were a bit sore afterwards. typing up voices takes an incredible amount of time. and i don't really think it matters how fast you are, because you get to a bit where you can't hear and you spend about 20 minutes just trying to decipher it. anyway - i had fun doing it. people speak really weirdly when you actually listen to them.
penelope_stone is coming up this weekend. that will be fun. i was going to go to carlow, but that's not happening now.
i'm back playing oblivion again. :scratch head: yea. i didn't think that would happen either, but i decided to play it on the xbox - just a quick run through of the main quest (and possibly the thieves' guild quest line, because i never finished it) and i got hooked. i'm going thieves, mages, main and deadra quests (and some random stuff). and once i get better at killing stuff, i'm going to join the dark brotherhood. hmmmm. i was only going to play for a week or something... oh well. (oh yea, my character is kind of pretty too. not as pretty as her in my icon, but pretty enough.)
i'm messing around with wordpress at the moment too. it's incredibly flexible with designs and layouts and stuff. you can design it any way you want. it's brilliant.
lordkilljoy is in singapore at the moment. i had an awful dream last night about being at home on my own, and all these men got into the house and were chasing me around the place. i tried to hide in the bathroom, but they broke down the door. it was awful.
10 May 2010
crickets, crickets everywhere
lots of news. going to sum up the main bits, and go into detail on the kerfuffle in the kitchen today.
right - since i last posted, i got a job. i'm doing freelance transcription, which is great. i get to write (even if i don't get to create), i don't have to worry about getting into dublin for 9 in the morning, and i can go make tea whenever i want (it's work-from-home, if you hadn't guessed). fantastic.
saturday was my cousin, audrey's, confirmation. i went over to their house with denise. their house is beautiful, and so big. the day was good, got to meet aunts and uncles, and granny again. and i get to do it all again this weekend, because it's my cousin, conor's, confirmation. i'm looking forward to it - i'll get to see even more people.
i've started draft 3 of my novel. lots more changes in this draft, but not quite as drastic as the changes between drafts 1 and 2. i'm tackling the first chapter this week. i'm giving myself a week on ch1 and then a day for the rest of the chapters. until ch 14 (or whatever - the one that used be chapter 6) then i have to devote some time to making large changes again.
so today, or more accurately this evening: it seemed like a normal evening, had dinner, watched doctor who. and then i decided to water yoshi's tank and clean out his pool. normal enough tasks. but while i was at it, i decided to clean his little waterfall / fountain thing. i lifted off the top "rock" and in the pool of water underneath was a little floating island of critters. or critter larvae. all swimming around like bacteria under a microscope. awful. anyway i dumped them down the sink and washed out the waterfall and all was well.
but the god of tricks wasn't done with me yet. thirsty after my exertion, i got a drink. as i closed the glasses press, the smoothie maker fell from the shelf above it. but it didn't just fall onto the ground (no - that would have been too easy). it fell onto the tub of crickets (yoshi's food) and crickets, cricket poo, porrige and shed skins went everywhere. well the last three fell on the ground and on the counter and stayed put. the crickets fell on the counter and on the ground and immediately scurried for the closest dark space.
they ran under the dishwasher, under the washing machine, behind the cooker, under the microwave - even into the cracks in the tile grouting. we picked up as many as we could find, but i know for a fact there are at least three still loose in the kitchen. gooo. i'll be seeing them scurry across the floor for the next month - if not more.
right - since i last posted, i got a job. i'm doing freelance transcription, which is great. i get to write (even if i don't get to create), i don't have to worry about getting into dublin for 9 in the morning, and i can go make tea whenever i want (it's work-from-home, if you hadn't guessed). fantastic.
saturday was my cousin, audrey's, confirmation. i went over to their house with denise. their house is beautiful, and so big. the day was good, got to meet aunts and uncles, and granny again. and i get to do it all again this weekend, because it's my cousin, conor's, confirmation. i'm looking forward to it - i'll get to see even more people.
i've started draft 3 of my novel. lots more changes in this draft, but not quite as drastic as the changes between drafts 1 and 2. i'm tackling the first chapter this week. i'm giving myself a week on ch1 and then a day for the rest of the chapters. until ch 14 (or whatever - the one that used be chapter 6) then i have to devote some time to making large changes again.
so today, or more accurately this evening: it seemed like a normal evening, had dinner, watched doctor who. and then i decided to water yoshi's tank and clean out his pool. normal enough tasks. but while i was at it, i decided to clean his little waterfall / fountain thing. i lifted off the top "rock" and in the pool of water underneath was a little floating island of critters. or critter larvae. all swimming around like bacteria under a microscope. awful. anyway i dumped them down the sink and washed out the waterfall and all was well.
but the god of tricks wasn't done with me yet. thirsty after my exertion, i got a drink. as i closed the glasses press, the smoothie maker fell from the shelf above it. but it didn't just fall onto the ground (no - that would have been too easy). it fell onto the tub of crickets (yoshi's food) and crickets, cricket poo, porrige and shed skins went everywhere. well the last three fell on the ground and on the counter and stayed put. the crickets fell on the counter and on the ground and immediately scurried for the closest dark space.
they ran under the dishwasher, under the washing machine, behind the cooker, under the microwave - even into the cracks in the tile grouting. we picked up as many as we could find, but i know for a fact there are at least three still loose in the kitchen. gooo. i'll be seeing them scurry across the floor for the next month - if not more.
29 April 2010
jobs and less formal news
right, since my last post, i've had two interviews and a writing test. the first interview (admin in a recruitment agency) went well, but i didn't get the job. the second (supervisor in a language school) went well and i'm on to the second phase - a technical interview. so we'll see how that goes. the writing test was fun, and i'm waiting to get some feedback on that as well. it will probably be tuesday.
yea... this supervisor job, though. i'm just not sure. it's part-time (2 hours a day, five days a week) and pays just over minimum wage. so, i would waste 3 hours getting there and back for two hours of work. and the pay barely covers travel expenses and bills. but it would be another notch in my CV, and some experience.
i'd like it if this writing thing came through. working from home saves so much money. no travel, lunch costs about 70c, all the time i'm not working i can spend writing. but we'll see.
i went to see "how to train a dragon" today. bit late, i know, but still. i got to see it and i'm so glad i did. i could watch a whole movie that involved a winged creature soaring through the air, pulling mad stunts, a backdrop of exhilarating music. yea... it was good.
Did i mention i was playing splinter cell: conviction? I finished it the other night. really enjoyed it. now i have to get lordkilljoy to play co-op with me.
i finished joe abercrombie's trilogy too. i didn't like the end at all. the first book was ok, the second better, but the third was such a let-down. i have best served cold, and i'll probably read it because people said it was better, but it will be a while.
i'm starting the painted man today. can't wait to read it.
yea... this supervisor job, though. i'm just not sure. it's part-time (2 hours a day, five days a week) and pays just over minimum wage. so, i would waste 3 hours getting there and back for two hours of work. and the pay barely covers travel expenses and bills. but it would be another notch in my CV, and some experience.
i'd like it if this writing thing came through. working from home saves so much money. no travel, lunch costs about 70c, all the time i'm not working i can spend writing. but we'll see.
i went to see "how to train a dragon" today. bit late, i know, but still. i got to see it and i'm so glad i did. i could watch a whole movie that involved a winged creature soaring through the air, pulling mad stunts, a backdrop of exhilarating music. yea... it was good.
Did i mention i was playing splinter cell: conviction? I finished it the other night. really enjoyed it. now i have to get lordkilljoy to play co-op with me.
i finished joe abercrombie's trilogy too. i didn't like the end at all. the first book was ok, the second better, but the third was such a let-down. i have best served cold, and i'll probably read it because people said it was better, but it will be a while.
i'm starting the painted man today. can't wait to read it.
22 April 2010
i am the strangeness
i'm completely insane.
and i meant that in the best possible way.
i was getting nothing done earlier, and so (with much sighing and reluctance) i went out for a cycle. normal enough - nice weather, good cycle, i think i'm getting less fit - but anyway.
since i cam home i've been laughing away to myself to really silly things. i mean, it doesn't help that claire alerted me to the presence of this silly website, but then davidnarby was talking to me on google and i was just chuckling away to myself. hmmmm.
i mean, it's good. it's just odd. but a good odd.
and i meant that in the best possible way.
i was getting nothing done earlier, and so (with much sighing and reluctance) i went out for a cycle. normal enough - nice weather, good cycle, i think i'm getting less fit - but anyway.
since i cam home i've been laughing away to myself to really silly things. i mean, it doesn't help that claire alerted me to the presence of this silly website, but then davidnarby was talking to me on google and i was just chuckling away to myself. hmmmm.
i mean, it's good. it's just odd. but a good odd.
typing speed
wow - i can do audio typing at 60wmp, not very accurately, but i can do it. so now, i am applying for a job as an audio transcriber. 60wpm is their minimum. i tried 80wmp but fell behind, and my accuracy was even worse.
So anyway - i can now officially say i can type 60wmp, even though i don't. i type about 40, because anything faster is just stressful.
yea... i don't really have anything much to say.
So anyway - i can now officially say i can type 60wmp, even though i don't. i type about 40, because anything faster is just stressful.
yea... i don't really have anything much to say.
20 April 2010
and the sun pours down like honey
i got my space adventure finished. i'm debating posting it on the absolute write forums for critique. i'm so paranoid, and doubly so because i want to submit to an ezine. i got davidnarby and penelope_stone to read it and they liked it. i did some more edits to it today, and i think it's as good as i'm going to get it without critique from someone who has better writing skills than me. and because it's going for submission, i can't just post it on the web. oh well.
in other news: i played hard rain for a bit. my verdict - it would be better if it was a movie. it lacks the essential ingredient that makes a game a game; fun. it's not fun at all.
i'm playing splinter cell conviction at the moment, and really enjoying it. but i think their writer got a bit carried away with them-self. half the dialogue is too wordy / badly structured to follow. i found myself zoning out and at the end of the scene going "i have no idea what they just said." but that's a minor thing. i love sneaking around (even if i'm really bad at it) and getting sneaky kills on guys (even if i feel bad for it - i'd like to have the patience to play the whole game without killing anyone.)
emmm. i'm still looking for a job. i applied for a computer room tech job in a language school. i would absolutely love if they called me for interview and offered me the job. i always wanted to be a tech. i'd see the ones in CIT doing their jobs and i was like: i could do their job better than they are doing it. but sure. we'll wait and see.
so, i think that's all my news.
in other news: i played hard rain for a bit. my verdict - it would be better if it was a movie. it lacks the essential ingredient that makes a game a game; fun. it's not fun at all.
i'm playing splinter cell conviction at the moment, and really enjoying it. but i think their writer got a bit carried away with them-self. half the dialogue is too wordy / badly structured to follow. i found myself zoning out and at the end of the scene going "i have no idea what they just said." but that's a minor thing. i love sneaking around (even if i'm really bad at it) and getting sneaky kills on guys (even if i feel bad for it - i'd like to have the patience to play the whole game without killing anyone.)
emmm. i'm still looking for a job. i applied for a computer room tech job in a language school. i would absolutely love if they called me for interview and offered me the job. i always wanted to be a tech. i'd see the ones in CIT doing their jobs and i was like: i could do their job better than they are doing it. but sure. we'll wait and see.
so, i think that's all my news.
13 April 2010
the sun should shine and i should go for a cycle everyday
about an hour and a half ago, i decided to go for a cycle. i'd had enough of staring at the sky wishing i could jump into it, and swim around in its smooth blueness, and decided i should enjoy it some other way than just in my imagination. so i filled up my water bottle, put on my helmet and went out on my bike.
and i didn't want to come home. i did my usual 12km route, then continued on along the canal because the day and the sunshine and the warm air were just too much of a delight. and to stall going home even longer, i sat under the brand-new, spring-green leaves of a chestnut tree. pure bliss.
and now i'm sitting here, with both the windows open (a little paranoid that a wasp will fly in) and dream of being outside again.
and i didn't want to come home. i did my usual 12km route, then continued on along the canal because the day and the sunshine and the warm air were just too much of a delight. and to stall going home even longer, i sat under the brand-new, spring-green leaves of a chestnut tree. pure bliss.
and now i'm sitting here, with both the windows open (a little paranoid that a wasp will fly in) and dream of being outside again.
12 April 2010
of rayguns and space aliens
i feel like i haven't updated in ages. i've been looking for a job and drafting a query letter. both are very slow processes.
i went home for the weekend. it was good - got to hang out with my parents and go to taleweavers. and the weather was beautiful. i went from wearing 4 layers on thursday to wearing one on sunday. i'm wearing a t-shirt now (and jeans, obviously) with the window open and it's so warm. it helps that the sun is almost full on me - ahh delightful sun-heat.
in writing news, i'm drafting a short story for crossed genres (an e-zine). i'm really excited about it. it's a sci-fi. i love writing sci-fi short stories. it involves a girl and a ship (obviously - i couldn't possibly write a sci-fi if it didn't involve a girl and a ship). i should have draft one done by tomorrow or the next day. it's only going to be 1 or 2,000 words - i should be able to write it in a day, but i'm a little out of writing practice - i've been editing for so long.
ooh - while i was at home, the shed was open and i was rummaging around in it - just looking at all the random bits of things that are broken or gathering dust. and i saw this cool thing that looked like a ray-gun. it was the body from a power washer. but with a little paint it will make a cool space laser-gun. :) i was so excited when i saw it. i took the hose off the end of it and ran around the house pulling the trigger and making pew-pew noises. i can't wait to show it to lordkilljoy. i can't wait to paint it. it's going to be hyperion yellow (anyone who has played borderlands will understand) with black trim and red and silver innards. and maybe a bit of electric blue somewhere to be a little laser-y. and then i'm going to dress as a space-fighter-pilot at every fancy-dress occasion. and if lordkilljoy ever runs a star wars game i'm going to play a roguish captain and have my trusty blaster bedside me. :)
this laser-gun and me: we're going to have some adventures together. :)
can you tell the sun is shining?
i went home for the weekend. it was good - got to hang out with my parents and go to taleweavers. and the weather was beautiful. i went from wearing 4 layers on thursday to wearing one on sunday. i'm wearing a t-shirt now (and jeans, obviously) with the window open and it's so warm. it helps that the sun is almost full on me - ahh delightful sun-heat.
in writing news, i'm drafting a short story for crossed genres (an e-zine). i'm really excited about it. it's a sci-fi. i love writing sci-fi short stories. it involves a girl and a ship (obviously - i couldn't possibly write a sci-fi if it didn't involve a girl and a ship). i should have draft one done by tomorrow or the next day. it's only going to be 1 or 2,000 words - i should be able to write it in a day, but i'm a little out of writing practice - i've been editing for so long.
ooh - while i was at home, the shed was open and i was rummaging around in it - just looking at all the random bits of things that are broken or gathering dust. and i saw this cool thing that looked like a ray-gun. it was the body from a power washer. but with a little paint it will make a cool space laser-gun. :) i was so excited when i saw it. i took the hose off the end of it and ran around the house pulling the trigger and making pew-pew noises. i can't wait to show it to lordkilljoy. i can't wait to paint it. it's going to be hyperion yellow (anyone who has played borderlands will understand) with black trim and red and silver innards. and maybe a bit of electric blue somewhere to be a little laser-y. and then i'm going to dress as a space-fighter-pilot at every fancy-dress occasion. and if lordkilljoy ever runs a star wars game i'm going to play a roguish captain and have my trusty blaster bedside me. :)
this laser-gun and me: we're going to have some adventures together. :)
can you tell the sun is shining?
25 March 2010
more random postings
do you think applying for just one job a day is a little lazy? that's five applications a week and 20 a month. maybe if i applied for 2 jobs a day i'd have a better chance. that would be 10 jobs a week and 40 a month. hmmm. perhaps i should do it that way.
maybe i'll stick with 5.
i'm so silly. as soon as i send off an application my heart starts pounding and a litany starts up in my head: please don't let them call me, please don't let them call me.
right.
ow, ow - my neck just cramped up. that really hurts.
ok - i'm going now.
maybe i'll stick with 5.
i'm so silly. as soon as i send off an application my heart starts pounding and a litany starts up in my head: please don't let them call me, please don't let them call me.
right.
ow, ow - my neck just cramped up. that really hurts.
ok - i'm going now.
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