On the 17th of January 2013, i woke up to discover two unexpected gifts.
I didn't see this coming.
I didn't even think Armin Mersmann would have any knowledge of my blog - it's so little - let alone take the time to write me such a thoughtful, honest and above all, supportive message.
I think i forget sometimes that i'm not the only artist in the world.
That sounds incredibly narcissistic but it's the simple fact that i live with myself every day, i'm only capable of knowing how i feel at all times and i'm not one to share.
I'll put it all over the internet, however.
More making of the sense that is not, my speciality.
I regret not talking to my university friends about the feelings of inadequacy that were debilitating me while i was still in education.
They were probably feeling just the same and would not have been able to fix my problems but perhaps then i wouldn't have felt so small and so alone in my situation.
To be a Fine artist in a contemporary art school is not easy, thus why i fled so spectacularly.
This year i'll be receiving my Ordinary Degree, after 4 years of the university kindly holding my space open so i could complete with my Honours.
Which i can do whenever i wish.
Hopefully they'd reaccept me but i'm not entirely sure DOJ is the place for me.
I'm not even sure if art is the right choice for me and until i know that i won't be returning to any institution of art.
It's really rather hard for someone like myself, who's ultimate goal within university was to receive a 1st and couldn't even bring themselves to start their final year.
It's all i wanted but i was a mess and it shouldn't have been what being an artist at art school was about.
I should have just wanted to create, instead i wanted to win.
Unhealthy but understandable.
I still want that 1st, i think i always will but if i go back to complete my degree, i just want to produce something that touches people.
Something i'm proud of.
But not too proud!
So, thank you Mr Mersmann.
I can't tell you how much receiving your message meant to me and how much it's given me to think about.
Happy Birthday for tomorrow and please keep producing your sublime works of art.
They may leave me timid but they are truly wonderful things to behold.
Also, to anyone who is currently at art school or even doing it solo and finds themselves in the same situation as i, message me if you'd like.
I can't fix it but i can empathise.
With bells on.
My other gift of the day was from my Mum.
It's always nice to wake up to a present, especially when you are utterly undeserving because of the ungodly hour you've finally dragged yourself out of bed to attempt functioning like a normal human being.
I won't tell you the hour but it was pretty bad.
The sun was going back down.
Shame, shame on me.
Thanks Mum.
You may be the only one i have but i still kinda think you're the best one.
Feel free to make barfing noises behind your computer screens at my unabashed soppiness!
I care not!
Listening to: Seamonster 'Bed of Roses'
I was really hoping 'nudge' would be the one word :)
I know things have changed quite a bit since we started talking and that you don't leave so many messages on here now and that it might take us a while to get to 2000 :) But I don't mind. We'll get there eventually. I know you don't have to talk to me at all, but you do and that makes me feel special. It's nice being made to feel special :) Especially since I'm a no one who's done nothing and knows very little about anything. You'll find someone more exciting and interesting to talk to eventually, I'm sure of that. But they might not be so good at talking about nothing as I am. I'm good at talking for someone who doesn't have much to say :)
I know that it might be a long time before you start replying regularly on here again, but I'll keep leaving things every day so long as they make a difference, even if it's just a tiny difference. Please tell me if it starts not to matter whether I leave things or not, because then I'll stop. I hope that never happens, but I wish you'd tell me if it did.
You don't still think I'm going to turn out to be someone who's gonna treat you badly, do you? This is pretty much me. I'm a bit quieter in real life, but just as silly & loserish :) Maybe I shouldn't worry about the future too much, I'm sure we'll be okay. Actually, I'm trying not to think about the future at the moment because it looks a little bit scary, but things will turn out fine and whatever happens, I won't be disappearing. Unlucky for you :)
Seriously, would it be okay for me to send you anime if it was just for you to watch and not keep? I mean, you could keep it if you liked, but you might think I'm buying you too much. You could just treat it as one friend lending another friend a dvd :) That doesn't seem like such a big deal, does it? Anyway, I'd only buy you anime that I wanted to watch too :)
P.S. - I don't say this often enough, but your blog is just my favourite thing on the internet. For ages. Even if we'd never spoken, it would still be my favourite thing. Thank you :) I'm so glad you're enjoying doing it.
I'll text you later to say goodnight - like I always do :)
Hi Lilly. Sorry if this posts twice.
I'm working at Psych 2-5pm today, then Iron Man at 5.30pm. I'll let you know what sweets I get :) I usually finish them before the adverts and trailers are over. They are SO long. There were 2 adverts promoting a holiday in South Africa last time I was there. Seriously, why in the hell do they need 2 adverts for exactly the same thing?! Grumble, grumble, grumble :) Either that or I feel too self conscious to eat sweets during the film. Probably imagining you sitting next to me, giving me evil looks at the sound of every rustle :) During Broken, it seemed way too quiet to start unwrapping sherbet lemons.
I'm helping out at Mareel at the folk festival this weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 6pm. When I say 'helping out', I really do mean helping out. I don't get paid. It's my penance for leading such a worthless life :) I've never been to the folk festival before. It's quite a big deal in Shetland. Not that I'm looking forward to it. I don't do well in social situations. And it's not like I'll be much use as a volunteer. At least no one is surprised when a volunteer turns out to be useless. Still, something good might happen. Optimist :)
My brother took back his tv the other day. He'd put his old tv in my room when he got a new one a few years ago, but for some reason he's decided that he prefers the old one. I don't know how his mind works sometimes. So I'm tv-less in my room again. He offered me his other one, but the rentals have stepped in and decided they want to take it to Sandness. So that's that.
I'm so jealous you got lemon cake for your birthday :) We don't make a big deal out of birthdays around here. We don't even give each other presents. Or have cake! I don't think anyone ever said let's not make a big deal out of birthdays, it just seemed to happen. Like we all just decided one birthday that we couldn't be bothered to do anything and that everyone was fine with it. But I'll make an effort on my next birthday to make it a bit special :)
I used to have parties when I was small. I can't remember how old I was when I had my last party. I remember in high school, some friends practically invited themselves round to my house to watch a film and play football in the park across the road. They said they organised it because I never would have. They were right :) I sometimes forget that I had pretty nice friends.
I went to a lot of parties too. They always seemed to be at Clickimin, either playing football or in the swimming pool. Then you would have burgers and chips in the cafe, and ice cream floats. I seem to remember watching '3 Ninjas' in my house one birthday with a bunch of friends. I must have been very young. At least, I hope I was :)
I found out the other day that they are closing the outside pool at Clickimin. Not that I ever go swimming a lot, but for some reason it made me a bit sad. I remember when Clickimin pool first opened it was so crowded. Must have been the novelty of flumes and a rapid river :) You had to wear coloured bands on your wrists and when your colour flashed on the board you had to leave. It's not like that anymore, you can stay in as long as you like and there's no more queues at the flumes.
Glomp! Just because :)
Hi Lilly. Tuesday. New Films :) Thoughts?
Promised Land
The Host (not the Korean monster movie unfortunately)
The Princess Bride :)
Parker
Beyond The Hills
Hi Lilly. A few very pointless things :)
Todd Rivers (Matt Berry) singing One Track Lover in Darkplace. Too bad Channel 4 won't let anyone upload the video. Good thing someone put the song together with scenes from Superman IV :) I also love the Michael Keaton not-so-subliminal cut.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd2phBHY3nk
Talking of Michael Keaton, do you remember us saying that we should watch Night Shift together one day? That's still on the list, right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tT3rAo2s4s
Guilty pleasure - a bit of glam rock :) I sometimes can't resist the temptation to sing along with the 'yeah, yeah, yeah' bits :)
T.Rex - Metal Guru
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHcI8KlmlLw
I'm working at Psych 2-5 again tomorrow. Then I'll go and see 'The Artist Is Present'. It sounds silly but I felt a little bit lonely sitting by myself in the cinema tonight. I'm gonna go and make some pancakes to cheer myself up :)
I thought of one other place on the way to Sandness. There's a small village called Bixter that you drive through. I don't like Bixter because that's where our 2 dogs went to be put to sleep :( Westside Veterinary Surgery. We used to go there quite a bit when we had the dogs. Went to the sweet shop and bought dolly beads :) Did I ever tell you the names of our 2 dogs? Whisky & Sheba (like the catfood!). My parents got them before I was born. I can't remember how old I was when they died. In primary school. Old enough to remember. Actually, I don't remember when Sheba went on the final visit to the vet so much. I remember Whisky leaving far too well. I never actually went with him. We weren't sure if he was going to be put down or not, but my dad said I should say goodbye to him just in case. I just sat with him in the boot of the car for what seemed like ages. Then my dad took him to the vet, and came back without him.
Sorry, that sounds a little bit sad. It was, but it was also a long, long time ago. Pretty sure I've got over it :) Samoyeds. They look like wolves :) Whisky really looked like a wolf. A white fluffy wolf. Sheba not so much. I used to take them for walks around the Clickimin loch. Little me and these 2 big wolves :) My friends used to be a bit scared of them, but they were really friendly, honest :) I think Sheba did give me a little nip once, but that was it. I don't remember them carrying off any of the small children my mum looked after :)
Hi Lilly. I wish I had more interesting things to tell you, but it's just the same old stuff. I don't know why any of this matters to you at all.
I'm surrounded by my old teachers in Westerloch :) There's one living next door to me. I got him as a supply teacher in a high school a few times. Then, up the road, there's my old PE teacher. A bit further up is a chemistry teacher. She used to be married to my old music teacher. And right behind my house lives my lives my old economics teacher. Surrounded :)
I don't talk to my neighbours much these days. I'm not even sure who half of them are. Even the ones who have lived here as long as I have, I don't talk to anymore. Like I said, my next door neighbour on one side used to be a supply teacher. I occasionally say hello to him because he's at Mareel all the time. That's hardly an exaggeration. Someone told me the other day that he has seen every film they have shown there. His dad used to be a plumber. Gave us a hand when we needed it. I thought he was dead, but then he came around to the house the other day with some post that had been wrongly delivered. I almost felt like saying "I thought you were dead". You can't really say things like that, can you? :)
On the other side of my house lives an ex helicopter pilot. That's pretty much all I know about him. And he's lived there all my life. They are always having barbecues and sunbathing when it's warm and sunny. I'm not sure if this is related to him, but all my life there has been a helicopter flying over my house. Oscar Charlie! The children used to get pretty excited. "Look, it's Oscar Charlie" :) I watched it land on the helipad at Clickmin one summer night not that long ago. I went down the road in my dressing gown at about 1am. I was joined by a few other people. We just sat there and watched it until it flew away.
We're such a special bunch of people living in Westerloch that we have a Westerloch Residents Association :) Actually, I think it's mostly to do with the upkeep of the park across the road. We used to have some kind of neighbourhood party in the park one day a year. I'm not sure if that still goes on. It's probably the sort of thing I would avoid :)
I like the park. There's not much in it. It's mostly just grass. There is a slide, a seesaw, some swings and a climbing frame that doesn't look much like a climbing frame anymore. It has had all its ropes removed for some reason. And a couple of goals for playing football. My friends and I spent a ridiculous amount of time when we were younger moving those goals around the park. Okay, so the park looks a bit bare and depressing, but I kinda like how it hasn't changed much. I remember when they got rid of the old slide and replaced it with a new one - about 20 years ago! The top of the slide was a good place to go and hide :) Other than that, apart from a few paint jobs, the climbing frame not having any ropes, and a new set of goals, it doesn't seem to have changed at all. And not many people use it :) There used to be a pretty threatening sign warning away trespassers. Friendly folk, us Westerlochers :)
You won't be surprised. I swear I don't only listen to female vocalists and indie pop :)
Legs - Two Colours
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yp35U3d4E4
And yeah, I'm still crushing on Young Galaxy.
I've also been listening to Slowdive's Souvlaki album. Productive morning.
Well, that's me settled in for the night. Finally. It seems to take me ages to get ready for bed. Teeth brushing is an epic task. Takes me 20+ minutes. Not that I have more teeth than anyone else, but with all the sweets I eat I probably worry that I'm not being thorough enough :) No fillings! I love telling people at work that I have no fillings, sitting there with a packet of sour skittles in one hand and some m&m's in the other. They give me a hard time about my diet. It's a bit weird working in an office and being the only boy and also being one of the youngest. I feel like I'm being mothered all the time :) Well, I suppose most of them are mothers. I guess they wouldn't let their children eat the rubbish I eat. Then again, even Sarah says something and she not much older than me and doesn't have any children. She deliberately comes through to the office to see what I'm having for lunch just so she can make a comment about it. She even offers to buy me sweets when she's out getting her own lunch :) Totally earned that cheap homemade necklace I made her for the Secret Santa last Christmas.
Anyway, I'm working at Psych 9-5 tomorrow. Hehe, sometimes my messages seem so random and disjointed because I'm writing them over a period of several hours in between doing work stuff. But I have to leave you something for when you wake up. Don't want you to think that something as unimportant as work is going to make me forget about you :) Adore you Lilly.
Text you to say goodnight.
P.S. The Sparklin Clementine-Raspberry Floats, would you add the second (optional) scoop of raspberry sorbet? Is that a silly question? :)
Duh, silly question! Although right now, i may not. I went a little sugar mad over the last few months and i'm having to train myself to just something small once a day. It suh-ucks. I want all the sugar!
You can imagine that at this moment in time i hate you for your ability to eat as much sugar as you wish. And then some! You sugary bastard.
I would admonish you for you diet also. Eat some vegetables Dex! Even sweet potato will suffice.
...
Now i want sweet potato wedges. Fuck. I swear to god you make me hungry. Which sounds kinda weird but you do.
Slowdive 'Souvlaki' = wondrous. I think you should listen to some more tomorrow. Yup.
Speaking of disjointed messages.
I can't concentrate. This message sucks. I'm sorry. I did some yoga earlier and my entire body is not happy. I know. Yoga. Yuck. But i feel the need to not be a sloth and i didn't go for that run, so i needed to do something! Especially as i slept until 3:30pm and did nothing all day! So that's why this message is a bit deadbeatish. I hurt :( After watching some more of Parks & Recreation i think i might sleep some. Or stay up reading into the ridiculous small hours.
Talk later, Fungus
Ps. Don't go and see any of those movies. They all look kinda rubbish. Except The Princess Bride of course :)
Hah, I'm so loserish. Even though you leave messages kinda rarely these days, I still check to see if you've left them all the time. Don't you ever apologise for leaving messages, no matter how disjointed they are. They make me happy :)
I do seem to talk about food a lot :) Sorry, but you make me hungry too, every time I look at your Pinterest boards. Yummy! And I'm imagining you biting me and drinking my sugary blood. Which sounds very weird :)
Yoga! FFS - which doesn't stand for Fleet Foxes Sing :)
I know, i know. I'm the loser that does yoga but they say it's good for stress and i'm super stressed out all the time and just sitting on my ass isn't helping!
Does it make it any better knowing that i did it while listening to Dinosaur Jr? No? Fuck.
And i will drink your sugary blood. It'll be like drinking Tizer. Yummers.
Weird?
Well, we are, so :)
Hi Lilly. You're my favourite person. Don't forget that.
Just had an admin meeting at Psych that last from about 10am-12pm. Spent the first hour of the morning talking about Marina Abramovic with someone at work who had also seen the documentary. It's a fun thing to talk about :)
In accounting higher our teacher made us listen to Mozart because she'd read somewhere that it would help us to learn. I don't know if it helped, but I'm sure we were all grateful to be allowed to listen to music in class, even classical music. I don't mind classical music, some of it can be really lovely, but I'm surprised that I'm not more into it considering my parents listen to it all the time. That's another thing we used to listen to in the car. Classical music. I particularly remember Dvorak's New World Symphony. I think that's my mum's favourite. I'm a little bit disappointed that I don't recognise more pieces. You'd think I'd be able to spot a Mozart symphony or more opera stuff beyond the more famous music but I can't. Mozart's my dad's favourite. Do you want to know what his favourite opera is? Well, I'm going to tell you anyway. The Marriage of Figaro. I can at least name some Mozart operas off by heart. Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, Cosi Fan Tutte. Impressive, huh :) Those are the best ones according to my dad and I trust his opinion on these things :) That's his area of expertise. That and PG Wodehouse. Pretty up on his history too :)
I wish I had an area of expertise.
Did you know Beethoven only wrote one opera? Fidelio. Bow down to my classical music knowledge. I can't recognise any music from these things but I can name them :) I was actually really surprised how much music I recognised from The Nutcracker when I went to see it at Mareel. I didn't know it was from the ballet until I went to see it, but some of the music is so famous that I think most people would recognise it. I don't know if I could sit through an opera. Then again, I didn't think I could sit through a ballet and I managed that just fine :) The Nutcracker is quite short though. Just 2 acts. It's about toys coming to life at Christmas. Most of the famous music is at the beginning of the second act if I remember correctly.
Sorry, I don't know why I'm talking so much about classical music. I do like living in a house with a lot of classical music. Is it horrible to ask parents if they would mind leaving you stuff in their will? I want that classical record collection just so I can say I own a classical record collection. My dad says I can only have it if I promise to listen to it all. He drives a hard bargain :)
I definitely didn't like playing classical music when I was learning to play piano but that was the only kind I ever seemed to play. I wasn't very good. I only managed to get up to Grade 4 and I thought I did well to get that far considering how little I practiced. I probably did better when I was younger because I had a really strict piano teacher in primary school. The teacher in high school was way too easy going.
I still can't believe I got through 4 piano exams. Maybe I'll save that for another day. I've talked way too much about classical music for one day :)
You really should tell me to go away and leave you alone.
Undefeatable - fight scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxkr4wS7XqY
More Samurai Cop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6gk04xzN3U
I know :( And I laughed. A lot.
Undefeatable - the most homoerotic piece of film work i've seen since the Top Gun volleyball incident...and not as well acted.
Samurai Cop - 'Are you circumcised?' Bahaha.
Where you find these things my Dexterous friend?
Random google searches of words that might bring up something good.
You sent me a reply a minute after I closed your blog on my computer at work after having it open all day :)
That sounds about right for us.
You back home now?
I'm all ready to go for my first run...ever. I'm not sure it's a great idea, seeing as after yesterday's foray into the world of yoga i feel like my ribs are trying to split apart and my shoulders are attempting to compress me into the size of a munchkin.
Hmm, i may live to regret this.
All depends on when my sister gets back from the shops as well. I may find myself not running today after all. Bummer?
Yep, after a fairly busy day. For me anyway.
Why does running depend on when your sister gets back?
If you do go for a run, be careful. See, concern :) I'm still a douchebag though.
People do that for fun?!
Runners are stupid. Or i'm just not a masochist...
I hurt so bad and i only lasted like 15 minutes...and most of that was walking...i'll just be hanging my head in shame now.
Enough about my shameful lack of fitness, why was your day so busy? I know you had that thing in the morning. Was there more?
What classical pieces of music can you play?
When i did play, i enjoyed banging out some Clementi. My sister and i used to play it together. She'd stand behind me and play the left hand. I'm rubbish with both hands. My left does not want to work with my right and i was never diligent enough to practice. My whole life story, right there.
I bet you're real good and don't even know it. Hate you. Douchebag :)
Ps. Running depended on my sister cause i had to babysit the house. I don't have house keys, if you can believe it. I bet you can. Plus she's wrecked her back somehow and needs some looking after. We're both broken. Very, very broken. And i've hurt my throat...by running...wtf?
It'll get easier. I think. I don't know. I don't run. I'm so useless. I just texted you geeky words of encouragement 15 minutes too late.
It sounds like you need looking after too. I'd look after you. I'd probably not do a very good job.
"...banging out some Clementi" :) Honestly, I wasn't very good. It's not false modesty, I just wasn't. I wasn't a natural and I didn't work hard enough. I still have my old piano books. I'll look out some of the stuff I used to play. I think my first ever book was the most fun. Probably because it was the easiest.
I'm left handed. We could play together. On the piano.
Oh, and it was a busy afternoon. That's the problem being the lowest of the lows. Everyone else gives you their work to do.
But I shouldn't complain. It sounds like you have it much worse than me. Poor Lilly :( I'd hug you but I wouldn't want to make you more broken.
I'm not sure i deserve hugs. No 25 year old should be this unfit. Right? I can do 40 crunches and some other stuff quite easily. But general fitness? Nah. I'm basically the human equivalent of a very lazy sloth...and all sloths are lazy!
You're a lefty?! Excellent! We can play Heart and Soul together. And we shall whip out our party trick for well, ourselves cause we're antisocial little buggers, or at least i am. I'm still unsure about your social skills. I think you may be a secret social mastermind.
My job at work sounds much like yours but i'm probably a few rungs further down the lackey scale. Sucks being a gopher, doesn't it? I guess the only upside is no real responsibility is given to you, so fucking up is harder to do. Or is that just me being lazy again? Have you heard any more about your job at Psych yet? You'll still have Mareel, right? Have to say that Mareel sounds more fun. But this is coming from a girl that would be happy working in a library or at a radio station in amongst all the records. Not exactly the most exciting of dream jobs.
"I'm left handed. We could play together. On the piano."
Hah. Nice save :) Filth wizard. Almost.
Right, you're gonna make that face at me again - i realise i can't see the face but i can just tell what it looks like - but i'm going to watch the final of Masterchef. You'd probably be ashamed at the number of 'talent' shows i watch and it's only, like, 3.
I forgot to tell you! I saw the Pug Man on Tuesday, when i was walking back from the Doctor's surgery with my mum. He's got a new dog! Not a pug but a poodle-cross looking things. He's golden and curly and looks good enough to eat. I wants him and his little pug friend too!
Ps. I keep checking your Flickr for more uploads. None so far. Get it sorted, Dexterous. No pressure of course :)
Just finished having tea with the family. And chocolate :)
I never did take a picture of something beginning with R. I'll make it up to you, I promise.
I don't know about my job at Psych. Maybe I'll get another 3 months, but it hasn't been approved. I could be finishing 2 weeks on Monday.
Unfortunately, Mareel isn't a real job, I'm just a volunteer. I should apply, but I just can't. It's hard to explain. I must seem very pathetic.
If I had a bookshop, I'd let you work in it. At night. There'd be tea and comfy chairs.
I'm not very social. I'd much rather stay in nights and talk with you, even though you're hundreds of miles away and watching Masterchef :)
And you do deserve hugs. Plenty of them.
P.S. - I like when you tell me about pugs and other animals. You sound so excited :)
I should probably explain the whole Mareel thing. I like being a volunteer. I mean, it's not all good, but it's better than most things in my life. I think I might be the only volunteer they have. Everyone else seems to be being paid, lucky fellows :) I guess that makes me the most unimportant, worthless human being in the whole entire building, but I don't have a care in the world when I'm there. It doesn't matter that I'm useless. I don't worry about losing my job because I don't really work there. I try my best, and it's always good enough because nothing is expected of me. I get to help the people that I like and I don't have to treat them like work colleagues or managers, I just talk to them like normal. I can hurl as many insults as I like :) If I don't feel like working, I can go for a hot chocolate, or buy some sweets, or hide upstairs in the cafe bar, or watch a film. And it's all okay because I'm just a volunteer. I kinda don't want to give that up. I know it doesn't sound right, but it's how I feel. Maybe I'm just odd.
Sorry, I’ve suddenly become very talkative. It's an irritating habit of mine. Don't feel bad about not replying. You know I don't mind :) I just like writing to you in case you're in the mood to talk.
I know it's not the type of fair you're talking about, but have you ever been to a funfair? We used to have them in Shetland. Not a permanent funfair. I'm not sure where they came from but they would suddenly appear overnight in the Clickimin campsite. I only went the once. Had some candy floss and rode on a creepy, I mean crappy, ghost train. The only slightly scary moment was when a hand came out and tapped me on the shoulder. I've had scarier experiences wondering around my house in the dark. They had other rides like a big wheel and something called a twister. I think I may have been too young to go on them. Or too scared. Or too poor. Probably a combination of all three.
There was an episode of Mighty Max about Freako the Clown (scary as fuck) who kidnapped Russian children and turned them into freaks like him by giving them cotton candy.
You don’t have to look at this. I don’t want you having nightmares.
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101103232110/villains/images/2/2b/Freako.png
I want a toffee apple right now. Got any cravings?
I’ve never given blood. And I don’t know my blood type either. Will you be going tomorrow? I’m working at Psych 9-5, just so you know :) Not that it makes any difference. I'll still find time to send messages to my favourite person. And did you ever go to an ice hockey match? I know you probably would have told me if you had.
Ugh, I'm getting more random all the time.
I've never been to a record fair. Could we go together to one some day? Or maybe it's something you like to do on your own, browsing through records. I hope I'm not as irritating in real life as I appear on here sometimes :(
Text you later to say goodnight, Lillyputty :)
I'm craving Sunny D. Tropical flavour. I haven't had any since primary school. My mum banned my sisters and i because of how bad it was for you. I was a very sad bunny. Now i want some. A toffee apple wouldn't go amiss either! But like this, instead of the traditional sort:
http://pinterest.com/pin/572379433861014409/
I really, really want one of those right now.
Y'know i totally get your not wanting to officially work for Mareel. I don't know anybody that actually enjoys their job, it's so rare. So being a volunteer makes more sense. All the fun, none of the responsibility. Fuck. You're a clever little bastard. I want a Mareel. I must find a Mareel! I wonder if any radio stations in the area that will let me play with their record collection. Hmm.
Freako the Clown - How could you?! Clowns are the worst. You may have ruined candy floss for me. And i love candyfloss!
Actually, no, i've thought about it and no. I still love candyfloss. We should get some for our future record fair adventures. We will be shunned and turned away of course. Because we might get the records sticky but at least we'd have the floss. Do you have a colour preference? I had a green apple candyfloss not too long ago. It was a pastely green and tasted of awesome.
Didn't i tell you about Braemar night in Blair? It's a big chavtastic affair in the town centre with rides and games and incidences of people getting the crap beaten out of them. Oh my town. My hick-infested, dinky town. I went once and never did again. Surprised? I remember being really good at the darts game. I like darts. Not to watch though. God no.
If you had a bookshop, what would you call it?
I did put a warning above the Freako link. I know that probably made you want to follow it even more :)
Yeah, you did tell me about Braemar night. I forgot it was a funfair. Is there such a thing as a permanent funfair? I feel stupid. I think I've only ever had the pink candy floss. I feel deprived. Of green candy floss and those amazing looking toffee apple slices. See, you make me hungry too :) And I've already brushed my teeth.
Lilly's Lair, that could a bookshop name. And I wish a radio station would let you play with their record collection. I'd listen to you while I was at work. And at home. I bet you'd be really quiet though and just play the music.
Hmm, Lilly's Lair sounds kind of...porny. I'm not sure about that.
And of course i'd be quiet on the radio! I wouldn't say a damn word. Except maybe, 'Bawk bawk' every now and then. Because that's just how crazy people roll. I would play damn fine music though.
Of course you would. Would you put indie popping female vocalists on every now and then for my benefit?
Didn't I tell you it would be a pornographic bookshop? :) Anyway, I don't want my pet name for you on public display. You're my secret.
Your secret eh? You're just ashamed of me is all :)
Indie popping females for Dexterous? For sure! I can't stretch to Belle & Sebastian though. That's too far.
I just don't want people to know that it's possible for me to like someone so much.
A likely story! :)
I'm off to get prepped for sleeps. Talk to you later buddy :)
Night, lovely
Night night dearest :)
Time to sleep-fight some crime!
Hi Lilly. You deserve to have a more interesting and talented friend writing to you every day. I so want to write you stories for when you wake up, but I can't write. You just have to hear about my pointless existence.
Still, it makes me happy to know that you miss these pointless messages if they're not here. Makes it all worthwhile. Adore you buddy :)
I don't talk about Edinburgh so much, do I? I'd prefer to forget that part of my life. Well, not all of it, but it ended badly. I had a lot of good days though :)
Hmm, interesting things I can tell you about my time in Edinburgh.
I lived in a flat in Blackwood Crescent after the first year. It was a 2 bedroom flat and I went through 3 different flatmates while I was there. I don't have fond memories of any of them. I'm such a horrible person :) My first flatmate was from Shetland. I sat next to him in English higher. Then we both stayed in the halls of residence. He was much smarter than me, more outgoing, and he got tennis lessons. My second flatmate was obsessed with mountain bikes. He kept 3 of them in the flat! Yeah, a sporty flatmate. That was never gonna work out :) The 3rd flatmate was half-German and a ballroom dancer! He moved in on the day I went home to Shetland for the summer. When I came back, the flat was a tip. Things went downhill from there. No normal person can fall out with 3 different flatmates in a row. It must have been me :( Do you still want to live together?
I didn't make any new friends. The best relationship I had was with the staff in the Starbucks next to Waterstones on Princes Street. Sad :) Maybe they just felt sorry for me because I was always on my own. I don't think I ever came in with anyone or met someone I knew. I would just order a caramel hot chocolate and a blueberry muffin and sit by myself in the quietest corner. But I wasn't one of those people who sit in Starbucks all day. I was probably only in there for about 15 minutes. I had other things to do. Waterstones & HMV :) I would get a frappuccino if it was a nice day and have a wonder through Princes St gardens.
Here's something I really miss about living in the city. Marks and Spencer's Fire Roasted Chilli Flavoured Tortilla Chips. We don't have a M&S in Shetland. I can destroy 2 large bags of those easy. Well, I could, but I usually manage to show some self-control :)
Sorry, this is all very random. It's been a busy morning :) I must have gone out a lot in Edinburgh when I was in first year with my Shetland friends. Pubs & clubs. Not my scene :( I can hardly remember any of these adventures. Not because I was drunk, but nothing very interesting seemed to happen. I used to go back to the halls early, by myself, and stop off at this takeaway. The most exciting thing I ever took back to my room was a mushroom pizza :)
Hmm, what else do I remember? My parents gave me my first laptop for my birthday just before I went to university. Took me ages to get it set up. Also the food at the halls of residence. I didn't like it at all, although it probably wasn't so bad. No one else seemed to complain. I was just very fussy. I did have maybe the worst meal of my life there. Chickpea curry. Yuck. Also, I used to buy ridicululous amounts of kinder buenos and chocolate hobnobs from the shop.
Talk to you later, Lillyputty :)
Hi Lilly. I feel like I've neglected you a bit today :(
"The Rubber That Rubs You Out"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlWjt53nIKA
160 Greatest Arnold Schwarzenegger Quotes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDxn0Xfqkgw
I wish I was better at this :(
Roadkill Ghost Choir - Beggars' Guild
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDZLS3H9pb8
The Dig - Break The Silence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb64mMelp6w
Look at what i just posted and tell you're not good at finding music. Go on. I dare you.
'tell me'
fuck.
Nudge
2 photos! I know it's not much, but on top of the left loudspeaker is my cinema ticket for 'The Princess Bride', a USB stick loaded with Camera Obscura songs, my passport, and a volunteers badge with my name on it that the folks at Mareel had specially made for me. See, there was more in those photos than you first thought :) I saw a cat in the garden the other day and I rushed outside with my camera to take a photo for you but it had disappeared. I don't even know if you'd like a photo of a cat. What words begin with R? I can never think of anything.
Well, I'll be at Mareel quite a lot this weekend. The Princess Bride is at 3pm tomorrow (it really does make me a little bit sad that you're not coming to see it with me). Then, I'm volunteering at the folk festival from 6pm to late. Sunday too. And I have to be all sporty on Sunday morning. Don't ask, it's another voluntary thing. I wish all I was doing this weekend was watching The Princess Bride on dvd at home with you. I'd prefer that even to watching it in the cinema.
I've never been to the folk festival before. I think it's a pretty big deal. There seems to be a lot of visitors in Shetland at the moment. I don't know what I'll be doing at Mareel during it. I was told that I'd get to see a lot of the concert, which probably means being put on the balcony to make sure people don't misbehave and then ignoring that misbehaviour because I don't like confrontation :) Nah, I'll step in with my karate moves. I'm a red belt you know. That's the second lowest colour and I did get it about 15 years ago. You'll never need to worry when you're with me :)
Also, I'm not sure what kind of music they'll be playing at these concerts. Folk music probably :) But there are different kinds, aren't there? I hope it's folk pop. Is that even a genre? I hope so. And female vocalists obviously :) Knowing my luck, it'll turn out to be fiddle music. I'll text you as much as I can, because I like to. You might get a lot of one word texts on Saturday & Sunday night expressing displeasure :) I hope you don't mind. You don't have to reply, but if you want to tell me secrets or thoughts or jokes or quotes or just laugh at my predicament, they would all be welcome :)
I didn't tell you what I thought about Iron Man 3 or The Artist Is Present. Iron Man 3 was fun. Pretty much reliant on RDJ to carry it along, but he could so it was good. A nice little plot twist with The Mandarin, and a few silly plot twists too, especially the whole Gwyneth Patrow bit at the end.
The documentary was really interesting, especially seeing all the different things she's done throughout the years. I didn't really understand why some people were so emotional about it all, and some of the talk went above my head, but her story is very entertaining, especially the whole thing with Ulay. They actually met in her flat and went for a drive together a couple of days prior to him sitting across from her at the exhibition. But the most entertaining part was her meeting with David Blaine and his idea to hack her to pieces with an axe at the end of the exhibition which she thought was a good idea! I loved the scene where she was asking her manager if he thought it was a good idea.
"No!" :)
I'll try not be too hard on myself. I'm just struggling a bit at the moment, but I'll get better. And I just know you're going to run off and leave me for a man with a Ron Swanson moustache :) I wouldn't blame you. It is glorious.
Lillyputty :) I'm going to bed but I'll text you to say goodnight. I'll leave you with this.
Birdemic, a film so good it's hard to know where to start.
This scene hasn't been recut. This is how it appears in the finished film. Just fantastic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nObH1R9ONw
And I will be extremely disappointed if you don't start singing this next time you're with your family :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcExOiUDd0g
Plus the incredible special effects
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j5tH_H5aN0
All i can say is, wow.
I just texted you :)
Hi Lilly. I just wanted to leave you something now because I might not be able to later.
I'll probably have to leave the house about 2.30pm today. I need to take a shower and do all the things needed to make me look a little bit more presentable before that like cutting my nails. I'm sure you need to know these things :) I'm doing an impression of a slightly unwashed boy at the moment. I only woke up at 11.30am which is quite late for me but I should have plenty of time after writing this.
I need to get something to eat too. I haven't had breakfast, but it's nearly lunchtime. We don't make a big deal out of lunch in our house. Most days, if I'm at home, I hardly eat anything. Tea and rich tea bisuits :) Sometimes a pizza if I'm really hungry. But we don't sit down as a family and have lunch. If I'm at home during the week I'll usually have lunch with my dad while watching sitcoms as you know :) Often I make us some coffee. I hardly ever have lunch with my mum because she's out at work during the weekdays and they eat breakfast so late at the weekends that it's almost lunchtime by the time they've finished.
I don't usually eat breakfast. It's not that I have anything against it, I just never seem to have the time or I wake up too late. If I have to be at Psych by 9am, I usually have to get up at about 7.30am-7.45am. I usually do most of the things I need to do (shower etc) the night before, so all I have to do in the morning is wash my face. If I'm lucky, I'll have enough time to make myself a cup of tea before I leave the house. To get to Psych on time I have to leave the house at about 8.30am.
Anyway, if I don't have time for a cup of tea, I can just make one when I get to Psych. I usually have lunch really late at work. It's usually after 2pm before I've eaten something. I don't really have a lunch hour at work. I mean, I should, but people don't seem to realise I'm on my lunch hour so they usually give me things to do. That's why I don't feel in the least bit bad about taking time out of my day to write to you :)
Hmm, I noticed that Emma-Louise's Cupcakes has turned into Emma-Louise's Coffee Shop. I haven't been in there in a little while. I sometimes go in and buy 4 cupcakes, then take them to Mareel and share them with the people in the admin office. I'm craving a cupcake right now. And a muffin :) I baked cupcakes not that long ago. Just basic chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. That's the height of my baking skills. I need a baker sister. My brother did cookery at college. He's never cooked my anything, ever. He did once bring me back a lemon meringue pie he'd made. I love lemony desserts :)
Anyway, I wish I had more time. I promise I'll text you as much as I can when I'm at Mareel. And of course I'll let you know what sweets I buy :) Hmm, I wonder what I'll have for tea. I think the only food I've had from the Mareel cafe/bar is a chocolate croissant. There used not to be that much choice, but maybe they've gotten better. We'll see. I bet I'll end up having 39p sweets for tea too.
I'll be thinking of you though. You probably don't want me to, but I do worry about you. Please text me if you're not feeling okay and need someone to talk to. I'll always find the time to talk with you. Hug.
Frickin' fudgesicles, tonight at Mareel is The Isles Gathering. I just saw a picture. Lots of accordions and fiddles. Wish me luck.
Since I might not be back home until about 2am, here are a couple of very long clips to make up for my absence :) Darkplace is a good show, but I much prefer the Illuminatums. Obviously, I don't expect you to watch them. You'll probably have better things to do with your time :) But here they are, just in case you're bored or need cheering up. Well, they cheer me up :)
Darkplace Illuminatum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr6ufGzlcwk
Horrificata Illuminata
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYM1BjRvtvg
You've been so quiet today. I don't just mean in talking to me, I'm used to you being quiet, but everywhere else too. I really hope you're okay. I know there could be a very simple reason, like you've had a busy day in the real world or you're having a rest. Maybe you're just watching the whole series of Parks & Recreation :)
Anyway, I shouldn't have sent you so many texts, but you know what I'm like. Annoying. I should just shut up sometimes. Still, you don't have to read them & you certainly don't have to reply. You know how I feel about you, that's not going to change. Believe it or not, sending you pointless messages is my way of showing you how much I care. Seriously :)
I didn't have a very interesting night but I also didn't feel like hurling myself of the balcony. It was traditional Shetland music. It's okay, but it all sounds the same to me, so sitting through 3 hours of it is not my idea of a good time. I probably just don't get it. Just like I don't get a lot of things. And at least they have some talent which is more than you can say for me. Plus my idea of a good time is sitting in bed watching American Dad. Loser :)
I spent half the night just standing outside the door to the balcony, even after the concert had started and everyone was in their seats. I kept waiting for someone to come and tell me to do something else, but they never did. I think they forgot about me. I'm always being forgotten about, but that's okay when it is to do with work :)
They did give me a walkie talkie. Took me about half an hour to figure out how to put the ear piece on. I eventually had to ask someone. Embarrassing, but normal for me :) I even got to use the walkie talkie. I didn't say over after every sentence you'll be disappointed to learn. Hah, I'm so silly getting excited over a walkie talkie :)
I did watch some of the second half of the concert from the balcony. There was some singing that sounded quite nice. And that's about it :) I was too busy looking for troublemakers. Didn't find any. Phew! The most exciting part was at the end, after the concert had finished, transforming the auditorium like it was Autobot City. If you don't what I'm talking about then congratulations, you're much cooler than me :)
Anyway, I've just had a cup of tea. Might have something to eat since I haven't had anything since I sent you that text about 39p sweets. Then brush my teeth and settle into bed.
Obviously, I'll check your blog and text you to say goodnight :)
It's a good thing I gave this post the quick once over. I very nearly wrote "waiting for someone to come and tell me to do someone else". That would have sounded very wrong indeed :)
Life of Pi - another one of my misses, but I was just happy to see you'd posted something :) It looks beautiful.
In Mareel, I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that I prefer screen 2 to screen 1 even though it is much smaller (there's only 37 seats). I've watched the last 2 films (Marina Abramovic & The Princess Bride) in there and have enjoyed it both times. It's just so comfortable :) There was hardly anyone in screen 2 today for The Princess Bride. It was great :) Surprising, though. Surely more people in Shetland are aware just how fantastic a film it is. I don't think I've ever wanted you here as much as I did today.
Anyway, tomorrow I'm playing squash(!) at 11am in Clickimin, and I'm helping out again at Mareel from 6pm. Is it okay if I send you texts? I mean, I'll stop if you want me to. I do regret sending some of them. Not because I don't want to talk to you, but because I can't think of anything worthwhile to say or I can't think of the right words to express myself so they come out sounding odd and I don't realise it until after I've sent them and I think you'll think I'm some sort of weirdo. I'm like this in real life too :(
I'll leave you with something that made me happy today. I didn't realise desserts was stressed spelt backwards. I was very happy to discover that today. Why did I not know this before? Silly :)
Sorry to post again but it could be Coves.
Coves - Wicked Game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaWEu7MA-og
Squash? Isn't that a posh boy's game?
Desserts/Stressed. I didn't realise that either. Words are cool. And frustrating.
Today i was silent.
I was pretty silent with everyone.
I'm sad.
Disgustingly sad.
I feel...defeated.
And i don't have the energy to pick myself up right now.
So i'll probably remain quiet.
For a while.
Or tomorrow i'll be as happy as a daisy.
Who knows.
Text if you wish.
I never dislike getting them.
I just wouldn't expect any real communication from me.
I'm too tired.
Please don't take it personally.
I hope tomorrow goes well and you don't get hit in the face or any other sensitive part with a squash ball.
Fuck.
I posted that as well.
I'm an idiot.
Thanks, Dex.
I won't take it personally. I'll just go on the same as always. You know I'll stick with you through the bad times. Night Lilly x
Hi Lilly. I told you I'd just go on the same as always :)
Hmm, what wonderfully interesting things can I tell you about my life today? :)
Well, I still don't know what's going on with my job, but that's okay. I've kinda come to terms with the fact that I might be out of a job after the 20th May. It was only a temporary contract anyway, like my last job at the school, so I always knew it was gonna happen. It was ridiculously nice of Sarah to even try to get me a 3 month extension to my contract. Even if I do get the extension, I have to have a small break in between the end of my current contract and the start of my new one if that makes sense. So I'll have a bit of time off after the 20th May, or maybe a lot of time off if I'm out of a job :) At least I managed to reach my savings target last month which was nice. Yeah, I'm such a geek that I have a savings target :) Basically, when I started the job, I set myself a target of how much I wanted to save by the end of my contract in May and I managed it. I'm totally gonna blow my next months wages on cds and dvds, or a holiday. Please let me buy you some anime, or something else that you'd like.
I did think about having a short holiday in Aberdeen with my cousin, but she and her husband have just bought their first house and are moving in sometime in May so it'll probably be a bit hectic staying with them. Even though it's always nice to see my cousin, I'm pretty sure I won't be a welcome distraction when they've got so much going on. Besides, I'd want to go there to relax and get away from all my problems at home for a bit, and it wouldn't be relaxing staying with them at the moment.
Anyway, their new house is really far from the city centre so it'll be harder for me to get to Waterstones and Starbucks :) No more HMV though :( Seriously, where am I supposed to buy dvds and cds in Aberdeen now? That's all I did the last time I was in Aberdeen. Well, I did do a few other things too I suppose. Mostly involving food :) We went to Stonehaven and had lunch in one of the restaurants on the waterfront which was nice. Also went to Union Square and ate at a few restaurants there. And got pizza and watched a film back at the flat. I can't remember what it was called but it had Liam Neeson and wolves. I know I could look it up but I'm lazy :)
Oh yeah, and we also took her dog, Taosi or Tow Tow, for a walk in a park. There was some kind of fair going on. My cousin made her husband ride a mechanical bull for our amusement. She's very mean to him like that :) He fell off after about ten seconds. And then my cousin and her dog had their picture taken by someone from a local newspaper while I ran off somewhere to hide.
We don't have a pizza takeaway in Shetland. At least, not one that's obvious. You probably can get a pizza from somewhere. I like pizza :) Me and my healthy lifestyle.
P.S. - I'll try not to get hit in the more vital areas during squash this morning. I'm playing against a child who has never played before. I like those odds :)
I know you don't like this show, but I so want you to have this image in your head of what went on this morning at squash, particularly the celebration near the end :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1AtAQM1mNw
I listened to this when I got home. I think it's nice :)
Sarah Jaffe - Clementine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3AtRBlRQ-I
In case you're interested, what's happening at Mareel tonight is something called the Foy, which is the end of the Shetland Folk Festival. Basically, all the visiting acts visit several different venues over the course of the night and of of those venues is Mareel. I see that it is sold out. Busy night ahead methinks.
Here is a list of the visiting acts. I've never heard of any of them, but that doesn't mean anything. I haven't heard of most things.
April Verch Band
Skerryvore
Old Man Luedecke
Niamh Ni Charra Band
Woody Pines
Coig
Cedric Watson
Kieran Goss
Rob Heron & The Teapad Orchestra
The Long Notes
Son Yambu
The Leon Hunt n-tet
The Rambling Boys Of Pleasure
Fionia Stringband
Paddy Callaghan, Adam Brown and Danny Boyle
The Isles Gathering
It's so tempting just to turn your nose up at music that's deemed 'uncool' but i've trained myself over the years to give almost everything a chance. I instruct you to do the same this evening. What's the worst that could happen? Bleeding eardrums? You can get that with death metal and some of that's really good! Especially in the a.m. hours. Try it sometime. It's oddly soothing.
I like Clementine. Feel like it needed to soar a little more at some point in the song but altogether, pretty and listenable.
If i could get a job reviewing music, i'd be a happy girl but i lack the words. My sister's an English graduate, twice over with a masters to go with and she's a wordy wizard. I'm that kid at the back of the class that uses the thesaurus too much. She tells me off for that. Quite rightly but i can't help myself.
Savings target? I'm impressed. I spend all my money. Within the first couple of weeks of the month. I may be an internet shopaholic. I looked at my bank statement and was appalled at how much i'd let myself spend. I blame ebay, etsy and my inability to go outside very much.
When i was in my third year of uni, i used to escape to the shopping centre in Dundee, The Overgate. It was only 5/10 minutes away from DOJ so it was very tempting. Especially when you were miserable and needed a pick-me-up in the form of cheap clothes from H&M. I think i spent most of my student loan - which was fucking tiny - in The Overgate.
Good news. HMV has been saved. Some business people have bought it up and plan to rejuvenate it for people who actually enjoy music. Here's hoping it works. Still got FOPP though and it's miles better than HMV anyhow. Yes, i know. They're the same company but FOPP always had more interesting things. Less commercial, more underground/indie. I really missed it when it disappeared from The Overgate in Dundee. It did save me some money though!
I bet you did more than a victory fist punch when you beat that little kid. You heartless bastard. :)
You've been very nice to me over the past couple of days. I appreciate it. I'm a bit of a mess really. I'll sort it out someday.
I'm at Mareel now, waiting for someone to ask me to do something. The concert hasn't started yet.
Oh, someone just has :)
P.S. - nudge
Well, that's me home. They let me go early. I didn't get to hear as much of the music as I would have liked. Just the way things worked out. What I did hear was mainly fiddle based again. It was okay, but I'm much happier now I'm back home with you and your blog.
That's good news about HMV, only because I now have something to do while I'm in Aberdeen :) I don't know if I'm cool enough to shop at FOPP yet. Anyway, they don't have a FOPP in Aberdeen. Do they still have a FOPP in Dundee? It sucks that the one you went to closed down.
And there's nothing wrong with spending your money. I don't even know what I'm saving for.
P.S. - I'm pretty sure friends are supposed to be nice :)
Hi Lilly
You would not believe how long it took me to write that last reply.
You might be wondering why I take kids out at weekends and destroy them at squash or use them as an excuse to eat pancakes. It's just more voluntary work. Something else I got involved with when I moved back to Shetland. I only do it for a couple of hours every 2 weeks. Some of the things I've taken them to do: squash, table tennis, badminton, swimming, baking, horse riding, geo-caching etc. And I'm crap at all these things :)
Geo-caching is interesting. It's like a treasure hunt. There are all these little boxes hidden around Shetland. You find them by using these little electronic devices that you enter the co-ordinates of the boxes into and then it tells you if you're getting closer or not. Clear as mud :) The boxes have little trinkets inside them, and you're supposed to take one and replace it with another. I couldn't drive back then, so we just looked for the boxes hidden in Lerwick. Only found 2 out of 3 because sometimes people nick the boxes. Bastards :) I think it would be more fun to hunt for them all over Shetland.
And horse riding. Have you ever done horse riding, Lilly? I had to wear a ridiculous purple and green hat. It wouldn't have been so bad, but my clothes didn't match it at all. I was dressed in really dark colours and on top of my head was this bright purple and green hat. Anyway, it wasn't very exciting. We were just led around the yard and along the road. Big horse though :)
Baking was a good one. We used the kitchens at Islesburgh hostel. I hadn't done baking in ages so I had to do a few trial runs at home. Just the usual chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. They turned out okay. Sorry, these stories are going nowhere :)
I only got involved in voluntary work because I wasn't doing anything else. It wasn't out of concern for the community or anything selfless like that. My parents just forced me to go to Voluntary Action Shetland one day and see what they had to offer. I picked up Shetland Arts and the one I've just told you about. I had to go on a course, 1 night for 8 weeks with 11 other people.
Sorry Lilly, I just wanted to leave you a little bit more since my last comment was so short. I know it's not very interesting. But you might have been wondering why I take children out at the weekend. You might have thought I'd fathered a couple of mini Dex's and neglected to tell you about them :)
Well, I'm going to drink some water because I'm very thirsty and brush my teeth. You so wanted to know that :)
Hi Lilly. Just a couple of songs. I don't know if they're any good. I'm quite tired. Just wanted to find you something.
Sons Of The East - Hold On
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLKV5cvL6VI
Gypsy And The Cat - Bloom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0IjFkY0Ino
Hi Lilly. Please tell me if you want me to stop leaving you messages. I like writing to you, but I don't want to keep bothering you either. Especially since you're probably tired of hearing stories of my pointless existence. You really could find someone so much better than me to talk to. They'd be lucky to have someone like you to talk to. I'd just disappear quietly. But not today :)
I can tell you a little about the school I used to work in if you like. Well, obviously what I mean is I'll write stuff down and you can read it if you want to :)
I used to work in a school. The end :)
Not really. I'm trying to remember how long ago it was that I worked there. It seems like it was so long ago but it wasn't. August 2011-April 2012. It was just a temporary contract and only part-time, but I was lucky to get it because it was my first proper job. I did have an after school job in The Shetland Times Bookshop but that was way back in 2004. Anyway, after school jobs aren't proper jobs. So I used to go to job interviews with no work experience. And I didn't leave university with any qualifications. I still don't know how I managed to get that job in the school without any real work experience and only my qualifications from school. Probably my volunteer work :) Also, no one else must have wanted the job. I mean, it was temporary, part-time, and you had to travel by ferry every morning to get there.
It was on Bressay, which is to the east of Lerwick. About a 7 minute ferry crossing. Then a 15 minute walk to the school. I used to do a lot of walking some days. 30 minutes from my home to the ferry terminal in Commercial Street, a 7 minute ferry crossing, a 15 minute walk to the school, and back again. I did get a lift sometimes. Strangers on Bressay would stop and offer me lifts in the bad weather which was nice of them.
It was a small school. There were only 11 pupils in the primary and 4 in the nursery. Shetland has a lot of schools like that, some even smaller. I'm pretty sure there's a school in Shetland with 1 pupil! Bressay didn't always have so few children. They have school photos on the wall of the canteen and I could see that they used to have a lot of children at one point. Anyway, the 11 pupils are all in the one classroom with the one teacher and a classroom assistant. I suppose it was seem quite strange to have the P1-7s all in the same class. I was strange to me because I went to Sound Primary School in Lerwick and the had 2 classes for every year (1a and 1b, 2a and 2b etc) I was a b. b's were the best :)
I was just doing clerical stuff at the school. I was the only admin staff they had. I preferred it to the job I have now because it was quieter and I had an office to myself. I work better when I'm on my own. Not that it was particularly interest work, just the usual admin type stuff. Still, it was a bit more exciting than Psych. There always seems to be stuff happening in a school, even a small school.
At Psych, I'm in an office with one other person, but there are always other people coming in and out all the time. And there's a lot of talking. Coffee breaks are ridiculously long at Psych sometimes and by the time we've finished it's almost lunch time. At the school, people didn't really have time to sit around talking. I probably had the time, but I had no one to talk to :) There was only the head teacher who was also the nursery teacher, a nursery assistant, a primary teacher and a classroom assistant. So not many people, and they all worked in the classrooms. They also had visiting teachers who came in to do things like art, p.e. and music. The p.e. teacher was actually one of my old teachers.
Oh well, I'll tell you more boring stories about the school another day.
Just ignore me, Lilly. I won't stop leaving you leaving messages and I won't be disappearing. I don't know why I say things like that. You do what you need to do to make yourself happy and don't worry about me. I'll just be here if you need me, writing random messages about nothing in particular and linking you to wonderful films like Samurai Cop :) You're not neglecting me. I'm quite capable of amusing myself by doing silly things like this:
"Now I'm telling these son of a bitches that we respect the Japanese of this country who are honest businessmen and yeah, this is the land of opportunity for legitimate business, not for death merchants who distribute drugs to our children through schools and on the streets. Now I'm telling these motherfuckers that if they continue killing our children to make their precious millions that they deposit in their secret Swiss bank accounts, councillor, before your lawsuit even gets off the court clerks desk, I'll have their stinking bodies in garbage bags and ship them back to Japan for fertilser. Got it! And you too."
Samurai Cop :) Totally worth writing all that down.
P.S. - I'm at Psych 2-5pm today. I like you to know these things :)
Lillyputty, I am still a little bit worried about you. You will be okay, won't you? I may leave a few messages on here tonight. I hope you don't mind. You don't have to read any of them. They'll just be here :)
Here is another film that I always try to watch whenever it is on tv. It's pretty old, but so good. And this is my favourite line. I love when they swear in old movies :)
The League Of Gentlemen (1960)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOY9fMpfWZ8
Listening to Allo Darlin'. Maybe a bit saccharine for you :)
Capricornia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGrnXEBq3QE
Tallulah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV8Pj5VbkfQ
My Heart Is A Drummer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57eii7Bdf3g
Kiss Your Lips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3iFqhReoic
Europe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtAsBSxOR60
Oh well, time for a cup of tea and a chocolate.
Hi Lilly. Would you like to hear about my day? You're still okay with me talking about myself so much? I don't know what else I can talk about. I don't know anything else.
I didn't even do anything today. Woke up late, had lunch with my dad. Well, I didn't really have lunch. A handful of chocolate buttons and a cup of coffee. We were interrupted by a visitor, a friend of my dad's, so I slunk off to my room. Anyway, it was nearly time to go to work. I went to Conochies first and bought a twix, some skittles and a packet of m&m's :)
I had an embarrassing moment at work today. I mean, apart from the usual comments about my sweets and chocolates :) Several of my co-workers noticed that I was wearing red jogging breeks underneath my jeans. They thought it was very bizarre and amusing. I suppose it is :) Sometimes, and I can't explain why, I don't like the feel of jeans on my legs! Not all the time, it just depends on my mood :) So I wear something else underneath. The reason I was wearing red jogging breeks is that I often wear them around the house. They're so comfortable :) So comfortable that I'm often reluctant to take them off. Obviously, what happened today was that I was wearing my red jogging breeks in the morning, had to go to work, couldn't be bothered to take them off because they were so comfortable and I thought jeans would be so uncomfortable, that I just put my jeans on over the red jogging breeks and went out of the house :) They were kind of wondering how I managed to get the jeans on without the jogging breeks rolling up my legs. Well, they did roll up my legs, but they rolled down again after walking around a little bit :)
Yes, this is what goes on in my life. Do you still want to be my friend?
Dude. Laziest thing i've ever heard! Still friends though.
I talk too much. I should keep these things to myself :)
Nah. I enjoy hearing that you can eclipse my laziness sometimes. It's reassuring :)
Then I'm glad I told you :)
Random question:
Would you always prefer getting a film on blu-ray instead of dvd?
Hi Lillyputty :)
I'll try to remember a few more of the things I've done on holiday.
I've been to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The only thing I remember doing is taking a photo of the Petronas Towers, the twin skyscrapers they have over there. I just took the photo standing at the bottom, looking up. They were the tallest buildings in the world back then. Have you seen Entrapment. They feature a lot in that film, Sean Connery trying to break into them and steal something, I can't remember what it was. Something that was going to make him a billionaire. I only mention it because that's another film I watched about a million times on a plane journey. I can't remember if it was on the same holiday.
I wish I could remember more about Hong Kong & Singapore, but I can hardly remember a thing, only that I'm pretty sure we stayed in a skyscraper hotel looking out over the city. I'm not even sure which city. Maybe we did that in both of them. Also, going on a cable car. Again, I have no idea where that was. I'm sure my parents remember. I really should ask them first, so I actually have something to tell you :)
I've also been to Bali in Indonesia. I don't remember much about that either :) Damn parents, taking me to all these amazing places when I was too young for them to leave much of an impact. I do remember staying in a hotel. It only stays with me because I think it was the first time my brother and I got a room to ourselves and didn't have to share with the rentals. Also, chocolate on the pillows :) These are the things that stay with me.
I used to think it was so much fun staying in hotel rooms by myself or with my brother. We'd just talk for half the night, or watch cartoons. Or get locked out of our room :) I liked ordering room service. We were allowed to do that sometimes. Like that time I watched Cartoon Network all night in my hotel room on my own. Remember that we talked about going on a Cartoon Network holiday. Hotel room, room service and cartoons. We're still on for that, aren't we?
I always preferred going on holiday if my brother came along with us. He's six years older than me and there came a time when my parents allowed him to choose not to come on holiday with us. I was always trying to convince him, I think I even succeeded one time, but he mostly chose not to go. I don't think he likes the hot climate. I don't either, but I wasn't given a choice. I remember he got really bad sunburn one time. He wasn't allowed to stay at home though, when we were away, he had to stay with our relatives in West Kirby.
I really didn't like going on holiday without my brother. It meant I didn't have anyone to talk to about silly things :) It doesn't sound like much, but it made such a difference to me. Travelling with my parents can be quite stressful because they can get stressed quite easily. That's what brothers are for, to exhange glances with when parents are stressing out :)
I ordered something for you today. You should get it this week. It's only something from Amazon, and you don't have to keep it if you don't want it. I just thought you deserved something nice.
Unacceptable!
Like I said, you don't have to keep it. I won't be upset.
I sound ungrateful. I'm not. You just don't need to buy me things. For any reason. Plus it's buggering up my plans for our birthday!
I'm looking forward to our birthday :)
I think I'll buy myself a Mega Drive. I miss my old console. I think I went off video games when you had to use a memory card to save where you were in a game. There's no way I'm playing a game that takes me more than a few hours to complete :) If I need a break, I'll just press the good old-fashioned pause button. Of course, I'll get frustrated when the screen freezes and I have to reset the console, as would happen every so often. Do you remember blowing furiously on the cartridges to cool them down? Or was that just me who did that?!
:)
Did you have Street Fighter for the Nintendo? Which character did you usually choose? Everyone had a favourite character :) I usually went for Vega. My brother would choose Chun-Li and lightning kick the crap out of me. The best Street Fighter game will always be Street Fighter II: Champion Edition :) Hah, listen to me, getting all excited over old computer games :)
Good grief, did you watch the Street Fighter film starring Van Damme. It's been on tv a couple of times over the last few weeks. It's fucking awful. Apart from Raul Julia, who I've always thought to be awesome.
"Bisonopolis shall be the wonder of my world, but I think the food court should be larger."
"The day Bison graced your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday."
I'm such a geek :)
Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie, on the other hand, is fucking awesome :) Definitely THE anime of my youth. And I've told you this before, it has to be the english dub. For one thing, it has a totally different soundtrack which is a million times better.
I also used to like Mortal Kombat. Actually, I only had Mortal Kombat III for the Mega Drive. I really wanted the first 2 games, but I never got around to buying them. Did you ever play games like Mortal Kombat and Street Figher, select the 2 player mode even though you were on your own, and just practice doing special moves? Are you thinking 'loser' right now? :) Ugh, I'm ashamed to say this but I was even excited about the Mortal Kombat film. It's definitely not as bad as Street Fighter, but still pretty bad. They actually released cartoon on video called Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins to tie-in with the film. It was much better, but it stops half-way through the story and they never made a second part.
Talk to you later. Or text you to say goodnight. I know you might be quiet again. Adore you Lillyputty :)
P.S. - Do you remember Gamesmaster with Patrick Moore. Hah, I almost wrote Patrick Stewart. Now, that would have been awesome :)
Oh well, I might go to bed soon. I'm not working tomorrow morning, but I might go into Mareel. I haven't made my mind up. Psych in the afternoon. And that's about it. My life :)
I know I just seem to the talk for the sake of talking and that the things I say might as well remain unsaid. It's just that you're very quiet these days and I'm worried that if I stop talking I'll lose you. I don't want to lose you.
Hi Lilly. I just thought I'd tell you a little bit more about...well, about anything. It doesn't really matter, does it? :)
One of the things I didn't like about going on holiday to the Philippines was that there were too many relatives. I have a ton of cousins, and aunties, and uncles, living in Bohol and I have no idea who most of them are, or how they are related to me. For a start, my mum has quite a few brothers and sisters (I don't even know how many), and I'm pretty sure they all have several children. Seriously, I'd struggle to name one of them. That's awful, isn't it? I'd actually really like to know who all my first cousins are. But I'm not sure if I'll ever go there again.
It's much easier with my dad's family in England. I have one first cousin and that's it :) Not the one living in Aberdeen. She's from my mum's side of the family. It has been ages since anyone from my dad's side of the family visited Shetland. They used to visit sometimes when my grandmother was alive and still able to travel. We used to alternate at Christmas. One Christmas we'd go to West Kirby, the next Christmas they'd come up here. When I say 'they', I really just mean my grandmother and my uncle (dad's brother). I remember they came up during the really heavy snow one winter, so my brother and I had to dig a path from the driveway to our back door.
Actually, maybe it has not been that long since someone from my dad's family visited. My first cousin and his girlfriend came up for my parents 25th wedding anniversary. They had a party in the town hall. I did a lot of Shetland dancing if you can believe that :) And no, I'm rubbish at it, but I thought I should make an effort. It was okay though, because I had someone good to dance with.
Sadly, my cousin and his girlfriend missed the party because they were delayed by snow, but they came up the next day and stayed for a week. He's the son of my dad's late sister, just so you know. His dad is the uncle who keeps saying 'ooh!' to everything :) Do you remember me telling you about him? Every Christmas, 'ooh, chocolate', 'ooh, cream', like everything is a such a fucking luxury :) It's hilarious. Then again, I think everything's hilarious :)
I also had a great uncle (great as in he was my grandad's brother, not that he was particlarly wonderful). He used to visit Shetland too. My parents used to let out a groan when he said he was visiting :) He really was a nuisance. Not that we didn't like him. I've heard so many stories of things he's got up to. My favourite is the one where he lit a catherine wheel and accidentally let it roll down the garden into a shed full of fireworks :) I wish I'd seen that.
Hah, I was meaning to tell you more about the Philippines. I do remember a few of my cousins. There was one who had motorbike. I didn't think it was unusual at the time, but my parents let him take me out on his motorbike without a helmet! Frequently. And my parents are the type of parents who worry if I'm out late in Shetland :)
Well, there you go. Now you know a little bit more about my not-very-interesting family, no offence to them. They're all way more interesting than me. I'm the boring one :)
Hi Lilly
Here Are next week's films at Mareel. I have a pretty good idea of which one you are going to recommend :)
Love Is All You Need
The Look Of Love
A Bug's Life
Star Trek: Into Darkness
A Late Quartet
You'd better be careful when you open the parcel from Amazon. It might contain a piece of paper with my real name on it. I don't mind if you look, but you'd probably prefer not to.
You'd be right in my recommendation. A Bug's Life is awesome but not worth a cinema visit.
I'm going to see Star Trek with the family sometime this week or next. Think i'd prefer to go later rather than sooner. Crowded cinemas. Yuck. Especially when full of small children, teenagers and tall people. They're the worst and i always manage to be stuck next to all of them at once!
If i could rent out a cinema just for my family and i, i would. Saying that, if i could rent out a cinema just for myself i'd do that as well! I could seat hop whenever the fancy took me.
That reminds me, you asked where i like to sit a few messages back. I used to like the very back of the cinema when i was younger. Typical teenage choice. But now, not surprisingly it's always full of teenagers being far too comfortable in their surroundings. Do i want to see adolescent couples make out when i trying to watch an awesome movie? No i do not. So now i sit maybe 8 rows down from the back. Sometimes at the very bottom of the back section of the theatre. Do you know what i mean? Right where the stairs start and in front of them there's the front section of seats? I'm sure you know what i mean. You've been in a cinema after all :)
I hate sitting in the front section. It hurts my neck. Sitting where i do hurts my neck as well but it's not as bad. My friend Katherine went to a cinema in Belgium and they had seats that were horizontal and the screen was on the ceiling...i want that.
I won't look at your name but i may have to later on in the year. Can't send packages to places of business with a name they don't recognise! Actually, that's actually something i'm unsure about. Would i send you birthday present to Mareel? Seeing as you might not be working at Psych for much longer? You'll have to let me know or i'll keep all your presents for myself :)
When you come to Shetland, I'll book screen 2 in Mareel for a private screening, just for us :) People do that from time to time. Someone did it not that long ago for Finding Nemo.
We'll worry about addresses nearer the time, but I'll probably just give you my home address, if I'm still there :) You wouldn't mind, would you? I mean, I'd still send your stuff to the opticians. You wouldn't need to give you your address. Anyway, that's in August. We don't have to talk about it now :)
Hmm, I wonder where you'd sit in Mareel. It's quite a bit smaller than big cinemas down south. It doesn't really have sections. Screen 1 has 11 rows and 161 seats, and Screen 2 has 4 rows and 37 seats, I think. I've actually been having trouble deciding where I'd like to sit in screen 1. I keep changing and everytime I find something wrong. I'm fussy :)
Screen 2 is really small, and has only one aisle, the other side is up against the wall. You might find it a bit too small, but I've really enjoyed the 3 times I've watched films in there. Watching The Princess Bride was fantastic, I really wish you could have been there. I sat in B1 which is up against the wall, and there were only about 7 other people in the cinema. I sat in C1 for Marina Abramovic and I really enjoyed that too, even though it was quite full. But I didn't have anyone sitting next to me at either film which, unless it is you, I much prefer :) I'm a bit worried it would hurt your neck though, to sit in a cinema with only 4 rows, but we could try :)
That cinema in Belgium, add it to our list :)
I hope you enjoy Star Trek when you do go, and that the cinema is empty except for you and your family :)
Just a song I found today. I really struggle to find songs that I like. I'm glad I have you :)
Beat Radio - Sleepwalking
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_9Z3UAoIaQ
Lovvvve that. Reminds me of Mid-90s grunge and the sunniest of summers.
:) Sunny here today. And warm. So nice. These are the days I was telling you about, when I wish you were here and we could go to our secret place.
"You'd probably be ashamed at the number of 'talent' shows i watch and it's only, like, 3."
I should have asked what the '3' are? :)
Masterchef
X Factor
The Voice
...
I'm so ashamed.
Lillyputty :)
I used to watch Quizmania in the early hours of the morning.
Hi Lilly. This might be a bit bitty. I've been adding to it throughout the morning. I'm at Psych.
Another place I used to visit when I spent Christmas in West Kirby was Martin Mere, a nature reserve. My parents and uncle are quite into birdwatching. They even go on holidays for that specific purpose. Anyway, I went to Martin Mere a few times. My most vivid memory of it is how beautiful it looked in the snow. But I get bored very easily at these kind of places, I'm sad to say. Either that, or I feel the cold so much that I can only think of finding some place warm to hide :)
It was always freezing when we went to Chester Zoo. I couldn't wait until we got to the batcave. It was so warm in there :)
I saw a very bizarre sight while out for a walk while staying in West Kirby. It was a freezing cold day. We went to this beach, I can't remember exactly where it was, and all along the water's edge, for hundreds are yards, were what seemed like millions of dead starfish, shellfish and jellyfish. It looked like they'd been involved in a massive sea war. On a happier note, I also remember finding a stick that I spent the whole day throwing up in the air and catching. I'm like an excitable puppy when out on a excursion :)
I've done a lot of walking in my life. My parents like walking. They walk every morning to my mum's nursery when the weather isn't horrible, and my dad walks home again. That takes a little over an hour. My brother walks to work too, but he doesn't have much choice. He can't drive, and he leaves the house at 6.30am. There's no way I'm getting up to give him a lift. I'm so horrible :) That's not quite true. I drove him to work every day for a little while when he had something wrong with his leg, and picked him up too. It was quite scary, he actually had a blood clot in his leg at the end of last year. It took them ages to figure out what was causing the swelling in his leg. It was really strange. We took him to hospital because of his leg, but they found something else wrong with him and treated him for that instead. It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that they discovered he had a blood clot. So I was having to drive him everywhere: to work, to the hospital and health centre for appointments, to the chemists to pick up prescriptions, even to his friend's house :)
I didn't mind, though. It was a good job I'd just passed my driving test :) My parents were away over Christmas & New Year, while his leg was still bad, so I was the only one who could drive him places. I took him to work on New Year's Day at 6.30am. Nearly had an accident on the roundabout because I wasn't expecting to meet any other cars. Totally my fault, but nothing happened :) I've told you he works in a hospital kitchen, haven't I? Which is why he has to sometimes work on Christmas and New Year.
I keep forgetting that I've only really started talking to you since the beginning of the year. It seems so long ago. I used to be so excited to wake up in the morning and check to see if you had written me an epic reply :) Sometimes I'd wake up in the middle of the night and check your blog, see that you'd left me something, then fall asleep happy. I'm such a ridiculous excuse for a human being.
That's a coincidence. I was going to link you to a Ryan Adams song last night, until I saw that it was already on your last.fm page's loved tracks. I think I saw an advert for a war film, which made me think of Behind Enemy Lines, which made me think of the song that played at the end, which was Ryan Adam's Rescue Blues. Train of thought :)
Also, and I know this is a ridiculously delayed reaction to something on your Pinterest page, but I remember Ophelia Lovibond from Nathan Barley, which was written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris. I don't know if you've ever seen it. It only ran for one series, but it does have some well known faces in it, like Julian Barratt.
Hehe, this is definitely one of the best things I have ever said and it happened years ago. I'm still inordinately proud of it :)
My brother came home very drunk after playing darts one night. So drunk that he had to be carried by his friends. The next day, he was explaining to my uncle how his darts match went, and he said something about how each set was the best of 5 legs. And my uncle asked him if he did well.
"No, he came home legless."
Yes, I rate that as a personal highlight. Pathetic, really. But totally worth a Quintesson laugh:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juc69G6F-q0&feature=player_detailpage#t=36s
I'm such a weird, little loser :)
Hi Lilly. More randomness.
Some odd films that I've watched.
Black Christmas (a good horror film to watch on a winter's night)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG_zlex3PoI
Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (I don't really like it, but it is just so frickin' unusual, especially Z-Man)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBzAcmHvS8o
Other guilty pleasures: Hostel & Hostel 2 :) I bet I look so uncool to you right now. I mean, even more than usual.
You don't have to answer this now, but please tell me what you'd like for your birthday. Or don't tell me. You might like surprises :)
I'm gonna have some supper, then watch American Dad and hang around your blog if that's okay. I like looking back and finding things that I'd forgotten about.
I'm working at Psych 9-5 tomorrow. Should be quite quiet since there will be very few people in the office. I'll just raid your last.fm page again :) Then I'm at Mareel until whenever I've finished the cinema attendance figures. It's a boring life, but I like sharing it with you :)
Nudge
Hi Lilly. Random school stories.
I was taught practical technical by a teacher with only 3 fingers on one hand. The other hand was okay :) I heard he lost them when he was cleaning a circular saw and didn't realise it was on. But you hear a lot of things that aren't true in school. I shouldn't laugh, but his name was Mr. Handley. Hahahaha...sorry. I wasn't very good at practical technical. I dropped it as soon as I could. The one thing I remember making is a photo frame because we still have it in the house. It is a bit squint.
There were many subjects I wasn't very good at. Home Economics, I never looked forward to, probably because I shared a cooker with the worst behaved boy in the year. We got on okay, but he would always fuck up our recipes. One time, we got into trouble because we made enough soup for an army. Then again, it could have been my fault. I have no idea where we went wrong, only that we came to the point where we couldn't fit any more ingredients in the pot. We had to poor most of it away.
I'm trying to think of subjects I was paricularly good at. I don't think there were any. I mean, I was okay at most of them, just not great. I did Maths, English, French, Geography & Accounting for my highers in 5th year.
I used to have a real problem in Geography watching videos. I couldn't stop myself from laughing. I think I suffer from a mild form of hysteria. Standard Grade Geography was a good class. Probably my favourite teacher, and a good group of people I sat with at my table, even though they used to get very annoyed with me because I made fun of everything. My uncle once called me facetious, which hurt, but he was right. And my parents once gave me trouble for making too many jokes while on holiday because they said I was offending their friends. I just keep quiet now.
I did Maths at university, although I didn't last very long. I should never have chosen it. I totally failed advanced higher Maths in 6th year. I didn't have a very productive final year of high school. I think that was when I became very lazy. I did Maths, Economics, Computing & Russian. Failed the first 2, just passed the others. And Russian was only an intermediate. One of my worst memories of Maths was this video link we did with Japanese students. They were so much smarter than us, me in particular, that it was just embarrassing.
Computing was okay. Again, good teacher. Nice and sarcastic, just the way I like them. Economics, I also had a good teacher, with a glorious moustache. There were a couple of teachers with glorious moustaches, and they're both neighbours of mine. Obviously, they got called things like Chuckle Brothers & Super Mario.
I don't know if I had a teacher I really disliked in high school. I remember I got searched for a computer pet by the modern studies teacher on my first day of school. I was sitting with my hands under the table, and he just came up to me and started poking around my sleeves! I didn't have one, just so you know. Don't ask me what I was doing with my hands under the table, I have no idea. Still, he liked me after I was the only one to volunteer to argue for the death penalty in a debate. Actually, I'd misheard what he'd said.
Hi Lilly
Just a trailer for an interesting looking sci-fi film.
Cargo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4u_ekLrWsA
Damn. I want to see that. I hope it's one of those 'in space' movies where you don't see the monster though. With exceptions, it's always more terrifying to not see it, than be accosted with really bad cgi. Super 8 for example. I loved that movie. I had Coach from Friday Night Lights in it, how could i not love it?! But showing the monster was a mistake. When i initially read about Super 8, i though the monster could only be seen on that type of film stock and to me, that was a really cool idea. That way you could see the monster but no directly. Then they went and fucked it up!
It's why i really loved Attack the Block. Apart from it being Joe Cornish's baby, i thought it was really cool and the aliens were so, so good. The fact that they were so dark and the only part you saw distinctly were the luminous teeth was a stroke of genius on his part because that way you could see them but you couldn't at the same time. Like some black, primordial goop with glow in the dark fangs. Really should watch that again. I've been meaning to since Christmas.
Ps. You can speak Russian? Even just a little? Unfair.
I can only speak a tiny bit of Russian, and I'm not even sure I can still read the alphabet. I'm at Mareel at the moment trying to get through 2 weeks worth of Cinema Attendance Figures. I'll message you soon, promise :)
P.S. - I've never even heard of Super 8. Definitely looking that up when I get home.
Super 8 is well worth a search. Not the finest in alien invasion movies but it was J. J. Abrams creation, so i was all in no matter what. The man gave me Alias, Mission Impossible 2, Star Trek, the upcoming Star Trek and he's one of the only directors i would put Star Wars in the hands of. It's still gonna suck but it might be okay and i'm cool with that. Plus! He's written for Fringe! A series i've seen a fair amount of but never watched in sequence but there are alternate dimensions and weird shit going on left, right and centre. So up my street.
I think i get too excited about tv. All i can think about right now is buying the Twin Peaks collection and American Gothic...and some other stuff that i'm trying to not to think about cause i'm spending waaay too much money right now. Worried for my bank account :/
Anyhow! How're the attendance figures going? Have you fallen asleep yet?
I'm home now :) I only did the first week. I'll go back in and finish them another time.
I was in the middle of writing you a message, but I'll save it and post it another time. You really need to educate me on tv. It's embarrassing how little I've watched. And I like when you get excited talking about things :)
What did you think of the Star Wars prequels?
Did JJ Abrams direct MI2? I had no idea and I've seen it. Silly me. Will you hate me a little for saying I prefer the first film?
I don't like to talk about the prequels. Except from when i refer to Anakak Skywanker - his official title in the Boyd residence. Ugh, so bad. Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi? That decision makes me want to vomit.
John Woo directed MI2. Abrams was 3. I like the all. Even the latest one, which didn't really have a story...
I haven't watched as much tv as i could've and there's stuff i should have seen, like The West Wing. Tv royalty, right there. And my taste isn't always to be trusted. I get addicted to rubbish stuff like Hex. The first time i ever saw Michael Fassbender! I keep finding myself watching Charmed in the afternoons just now. It's making me hate myself a little...cause i'm kinda enjoying it...
Anakak Skywanker - fantastic :)
I haven't seen MI3. And I didn't even know there was another one!
Charmed. Is that a bit like Buffy, but with witches? The only thing I know about it is that it starred Alyssa Milano. And I only know her because she's in Commando :) I watched True Lies last night. Yay, Ahnuld.
Talking of Michael Fassbender, did you see X-Men: First Class? Was it any good? I've only seen the first 2 X-Men films. Didn't really like the first one, except the chess scene at the end. Although it looked like Professor X was being wheeled through a giant condom! The second one was much better, I thought.
Isn't it your baker sister who marathons West Wing?
Nah, that's the crafty sister. She does bake sometimes but not as much as the other one. I don't know which sister i am. I hope i'm not the cleaner sister. That'd suck. My only use being able to tidy the house.
I've seen all the X-Men movies and they all blow! Not impressed. Elements are perfect like McKellen and Stewart but i cannot stand Halle Berry as Storm. She was so cool in the cartoon and Berry sucks the life out of her. I'm not a fan of hers anyway. She may be beautiful but she sure as shit can't act and uggggh her turn as Catwoman was pathetic. Anne Hathaway kicked her bony ass at it. Michelle Pfeiffer's still my favourite though. Meow :)
A confession: I've only seen the dance scene in True Lies. The highly derogatory dance scene, may i add.
My sister loves it, is it worth a watch?
Oh Dex, i may not forgive you for comparing Charmed to Buffy. That's just, no.
In my defense, I've never seen Charmed. Forgive me? :) And yeah, I'd say True Lies is definitely worth a watch. It's like an action film that's been cut in half and had a comedy inserted in the middle.
I love Batman Returns. One of my favourite films. I've avoided the film Catwoman like the plague. It's just one of those films that I can tell I'm going to hate just by looking at the front cover. I mean, that costume! And I watched the X-Men cartoon. The theme tune rocks :)
My mum brought me back some scones and jam and whipped cream from the nursery. She was having a parents' evening. Actually, it's more like a party in the garden with the parents and the children. I never did tell you what's happening with my mum's nursery. It's being moved to a different building along with another nursery. I don't know what this means for my mum's job, but I'm sure she'll be okay.
I didn't ask if you got your money back. I just assumed everything had gone okay because you didn't say anything. You should let me know about these tv shows that you don't want to think about buying for the sake of your bank balance. I promise I won't do anything about it until August. Have you given any thought as to what you want?
Maybe you could be the finder sister. The sister who finds awesome things.
P.S. - Any baking/desserts adventures you want to share with me?
Dessert's like porn for you, isn't it? :)
We had a bit of a disaster today. My sister made a nutella coconut slice thing and it just turned to weird tasting mush. Like oddly tasting, gloopy porridge. Not good. Sooo not good. The coconut crust was good though. I ate a fair amount of it :) My love for coconut is insane. The desiccated kind at least. My dad bought me coconut chunks last week and they just tasted kinda weird!
I did experience Baileys Häagen-Dazs for the first time this week. NOM! And i really don't like Baileys at all but i'd eat a bucket of the ice cream version. But if i had to choose between Cookies & Cream Häagen-Dazs or Baileys Häagen-Dazs, i'd always go for C&C. It's my favourite. I fucking love ice cream but i can't eat very much of it. What with the lactose intolerance and all. I can consume maybe half of a mini pot and then i'm done.
That reminds me! I had Tiramisu Cart D’or a while ago and it was magnificent! You should try and get your desserty paws on some.
Another ice creamy fact: Somewhere around Dunkeld, a small town near to Blair, there is an ice cream cafe. They have their own cows and make their own ice cream from them. They have flavours like Chocolate & Chilli. I was taken there once by a childhood friend on the way back from a Summer afternoon hanging around Dunkeld with my best friend who worked there at a Hilton hotel at the time. It was some of the most awesome ice cream i've ever had but i can' for the life of me remember where it is. I'm not in touch with that friend anymore, so i can't ask. I'm starting to think i imagined it all :(
Hah! Holy crap. I just found it!
http://www.stewart-tower.co.uk/index.html
I must tell my sister...but she is asleep next to me. Idiot.
Another fact: I loathe whipped cream and i'm not very fond of scones. Jam is the food of the gods though. I could eat a jar of it with ease, if i didn't feel so guilty about it.
Real glad to hear about your mum's nursery. Would suck for something like that to get closed down. But what about the fish?!
Money's returned but i'm keeping my account locked for now. Don't want the thieving bastards to get back into my account of clear me out!
Birthday's are for surprises. That is all i shall say :)
I think maybe I like hearing about your desserts because I'm so deprived of them in my house :) Honestly, no one in our house does any baking. Well, my mum, occasionally, but she's way too busy most of the time. My dad and brother wouldn't know where to start. Yes, this is the brother who did cookery at college :) I have made cupcakes. That makes me a baker. In my eyes, no one else's :)
I want a Stewart Tower ice cream cake right now. See, you're the finder sister :) I'll look out for the Tiramisu Cart D’or when I'm out shopping. I promise not to pour cream on it, even though I like how it coats the ice cream and makes a shell. I've told you that before, haven't I? :)
"What with the lactose intolerance and all." I didn't know that about you. I'm gonna have to go through this conversation one day and compile all the factoids I have on you. You're allergic to face paint and wool, right? That's why I can't buy you a Burra Bear. And you like coconut. Noted :)
I forgot to ask, how did the room rearranging go?
To be fair, i'm not 100% sure i'm lactose intolerant. I don't get most of the symptoms but when i have dairy, particularly when it hasn't been messed with too much like, well, milk, ice cream, yoghurt i get this feeling in my stomach like it's churning and my throat gets coated with this sticky stuff. Aw man, you're SO lucky i tell you shit like that. Aren't i delightful?
I have cereal everyday for lunch and ever since i started taking it with lactofree milk, i haven't felt awful at all. It's awesome. I may actually prefer it to regular milk! First thing i have ever tried that's an alternate to regular food that's taste good, even better. I might have a gluten intolerance as well and i tried tried gluten free bread, pasta, pretzels! and it was just tasteless, cardboard...wrong! Never do it. I don't eat that much bread now though. Makes me sad :( Carbohydrates are my favourite.
Correction: I would marry coconut!
The room rearrange never got started. I had to tackle the enormous pile of laundry that needed folded before i did anything and that took forever! I will start though. At some point. I've had two pots of paint to decorate since July last year. I'm the greatest procrastinator that ever lived.
I don't like mess though, so redoing my room will make me very edgy. I'll have to move everything and i like where things are already! It genuinely makes me so unsettled to redo my room. I don't like it. I need order! Fuck sake, i'm so worried for my brain.
Cupcakes totally count as baking. They have ingredients. They go in the oven. That's baking!
Yes, I am lucky :) Please don't stop telling me this stuff. Obviously, I will not be telling you about my bodily functions. Just pretend I'm a robot. If I was a robot, I would function pretty well, if I do say so myself :)
Talking of robots, have you ever seen a film called 'I'm A Cyborg, but That's Okay'. I haven't, but I want to, just because I like the title.
I reckon I could totally get into Parks & Recreation. I saw one episode on tv (it had something to do with Venezuelans) and it looked like my kind of thing, but I've a knack of missing programmes I want to watch. It'll probably turn out to be on tv right now while I'm typing this and watching Ruins, a film on BBC1 about man-eating plants. Do you have the dvd of P&R?
I see they're having a time travel weekend on Film4. Any favourite time travel films, Lillyputty? I linked you to this one a little while ago but I put it with so much rubbish you might have missed it. Or maybe it just didn't float your boat :) Anyway, I was on a bit of a foreign sci-fi kick this afternoon at work.
Timecrimes (unfortunately, they're not showing it this weekend)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcqZwJutyeo
Remember I said that if you ever come to Shetland, we can redo the spare bedroom in Sandness. I bet you'd turn it into something awesome. And it'd be like working on a blank canvas, there's hardly anything in it. I must insist that you find a place for the Master System :) Good luck with the room decoration when you get around to it. I'm sure it'll turn out some kind of wonderful at the end of it all, knowing you :) You'll have to send me a photo of your new lair.
P.S. - We hardly ever have bread in our house :( I like it, but both my parents avoid it most of the time.
Haha, I love how you just used the phrase 'holy shitballs'.
Nooo! Ruins is on? That shit is crazy awful but watching annoying teens get maimed by ancient, evil carnivorous plants is too much fun. I'm not turning P&R off for it though. No way. Rob Lowe just turned up and he's a masterful master of masterdon. That made perfect sense in my head. I personally don't have every season of P&R available but my baker sister does and she lets me watch so we can nerd out together about how amazing Ron Swanson is and the rest!
You should watch it. The first season is okay, not great but it really gets going by the second season. It's so sweet! But not in a barf-worthy way. In a sadistic, i wanna give them all a cuddle whilst flicking their forehead kinda way.
Favourite time travel movie? Dude, it's so obvious! Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure! The finest time travel movie of all time. Their music saves the world! I can't wait for the newest movie. It's gonna be aweeesomely bad but it's Bill & Ted reunited. Best. Thing. Ever. Apart from Rufus being a little too dead to be a part of it :(
What's your favourite time travel movie?
Have you ever had tiger bread? It's the bready food of the gods. Every time i get it i take at least 5 minutes to just inhale the bready goodness of it all. Is that weird? I don't care. I sniff bread and i'm not ashamed!
I would make Sandness a nerd's haven with a little bit of lumberjack's cabin thrown in.
Timecrimes has been in my Amazon wishlist for ages! You know what i like :)
It just has to be Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure :) I didn't know Rufus was dead.
I've never had tiger bread. I had to look it up. Does your sister make it? Are are you sniffing stranger's bread? I know you probably have very little use for it, but does Blair have a good bakery? Shetland is totally lacking in decent bakeries. There are a couple in the country (Walls & Sandwick), but they're not that good. They all use sweetened cream, which makes me feel sick. I have it in my head that it's a Shetland thing. Not to make people feel sick, but to sweeten cream.
Thanks for the mini review of P&R :) I only came across it a little while ago, but I see they are already on season 5! Surely they can't have been showing it on BBC4 that long. Then again, why am I surprised? I'm always missing out on things.
I love things like Ruins. I'd never seen it before, but reading the synopsis I knew I just had to watch it. I watched a film last year about a group of travellers in Brazil being pursued by a doctor after their organs. I can't remember the title, but I'm sure it had the Dr's name in it.
Are you really gonna go to Stewart Tower Dairy for ice cream? I really hope your sister drives you there. Well, I am a bit jealous too :)
I'm going to Stewart Tower Dairy even if i have to walk there :)
It wasn't called 'Turistas' was it? That's the closest i can find in google. I wold totally watch that.
We don't have any really good bakeries. It's saddening. I wish for freshly baked bread when it's still warm and steams when you break it open. Luckily though, i have two sisters who can make damn fine soda bread. You hate me, don't you?
I'm away to bed. Gots me a book to finish. Have a nice day tomorrow, Dexterous.
Night!
Yeah, Turistas :) Dr. Zamora's name was not in the title. You were misinformed.
Night Lilly. You have a nice day too. Enjoy your book.
Hi Lilly. Thanks for talking to me yesterday. I've really missed our conversations. I thought maybe you didn't like me, or like talking to me, so much anymore. Maybe you don't, but it's very sweet of you to still put up with me.
I've told you before that I used to work in a bookshop. The Shetland Times Bookshop. I went there on work experience and a little while later they offered me an after school job. It was okay. One of the things I remember most is that 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' came out while I was working there. I've never read any of the Harry Potter books. I see you have. I hope you don't mind that I look through your Bookshelf page from time to time. I really do trust your opinion on things. My go-to-girl :)
Yeah, so I've never read any of the Harry Potter books. I've seen the first 2 films. My mum made me go with her to the Garrison Theatre to watch the first one. I think the only thing I liked about it was Alan Rickman. I think I'm one of those snooty people who has an aversion to anything that's too popular. I told you I was a total film snob in high school :) I actually own the first 3 films on DVD and I have no idea how I got them. I think I may even have bought them. I've tried to watch the 3rd film but I have a really short attention span sometimes.
Anyway, back to the bookshop. I remember the whole big deal with 'the Order of the Phoenix' when it came out was that someone died at the end and everyone was trying to guess who it would be. The books arrived with really specific instructions about how they were to be stored. They made it sound like you would be killed if you didn't follow them to the letter :) The bookshop opened at midnight to sell the book. I wasn't working though.
Have you read all the Harry Potter books? What do you think of them? And the films?
The Shetland Times Bookshop wasn't much of a bookshop to be honest. It was only one floor and it was kind of a bookshop/stationery shop. A lot of local books too. The best thing about working in the bookshop was that I got a 33 1/3% discount which is quite a lot. Guess what people were getting for Christmas :) It wasn't a very pleasant place to work. It was okay, but there was a lot of bitchiness and complaining amongst the staff. I just had to listen to it all.
Anyway, that's all very boring. I only really wanted to know what you thought of the Harry Potter books and films. That's the long way of asking :) I'm about as exciting as one of Rimmer's risk stories.
You deserve a slightly more interesting story. I once spent a night on the streets of Aberdeen. It was before my cousin lived there. A cash machine ate my card and I needed money for the boat home. By the time I got to the bank, it was just closing and they wouldn't let me in. I was so upset, but I met this girl called Irena, who had also been trying to get to the bank before it closed, and she totally took pity on me.
Actually, this reply has gone on a bit too long. I'll continue my story later :)
This is what I was going to say yesterday, but I didn't want you to run away.
Please don't freak out, but I found something last week and I didn't want to tell you about it. You might think I'm some sort of internet stalker. It was your myspace page. I'd visited it before, years ago, and it still had the same address. I'd forgotten it and I didn't want to ask you, but I suddenly remembered. You probably wish I hadn't. Don’t worry, I have no intention of creating a myspace profile and sending you a friend request :)
But I just wanted to say something. Lilly, you have a lovely profile picture. You look so pretty in it, you really do. In such a natural way too. I mean, you look like you're barely trying and it's only a small photo, but you still manage to look beautiful. I wouldn't say that if I didn't mean it. Please don't run away after me saying that. I promise I won't look at it again if you don't want me to.
So you have 2 baker sisters. WTF. Right, I'm just off to slam a phone book on my sibling's nether regions for being so useless. Here, have a music video. It has dancing skeletons.
Islands - Hallways
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czi0F_Ovaws
P.S. - I hope you dreamt of friendlier animals last night.
Lillyputty :) I've been listening to some of the music you've posted over the last few months and just rediscovered 'Put A Light On' by Generationals. Frickin' fantastic. You're so awesome. Thanks.
Pretty super song, isn't it?
Just so you know, i'm not ignoring your messages. I'm just stuck in a perpetual state of panic at the prospect of rearranging my room. I have no idea where to start and it's making me freak out a little. I'm not very good at this. Wish there was nothing in here so i could start again. That'd be easier than trying to move around 25 years worth of crap...
Anyhow, i'll get round to messaging you properly later. For now i have to sit on my floor, clutch my knees and commence rocking back and forwards.
Only slightly kidding about that :)
Please don't freak out too much. You'll get your room rearranged and redecorated soon enough and it'll look awesome :) And take your time about replying. I'm not going anywhere. Nudge.
I'll continue my story about Aberdeen if you like :)
Where was I? Oh year, I was outside the bank and had just met Irena. Anyway, she was kinda pissed at the bank being closed too, but she was very nice and walked me to another branch that was still open. So I got my money, all the money I had in the world, which was just enough to buy me a passage on the boat without a cabin. Travelling to Shetland is quite cheap if you don't need a cabin. I think it's about £30. So yeah, £30 was all the money I had at the time. I was very poor :) Not my family, just me. Just before we parted, Irena gave me her mobile number so I could call her if I missed the boat.
And I did miss the boat. It was very frustrating. It was still in the harbour, but they wouldn't let me board because I had missed the check-in time by about 10 minutes. But I didn't call Irena. I have a real problem with asking people for help. And I couldn't ask my parents for help because it was after 5pm, so even if they had been able to put money in my account, I wouldn't have been able to access it since I didn't have a card and the banks were closed. I did call them though. Asked them to put some money in my account the next day. I didn't tell the about the predicament I'd found myself in because I didn't want them to worry. And I didn't know anyone in Aberdeen.
So it was about 7pm, and the next boat wasn't until the next evening. About 24 hours to kill and only £30 :) So I went to a cinema just off Union Street. I didn't go to see a film though, I just went to the cafe/bar, bought a coke and a chocolate bar, and just sat there reading the film leaflets over and over again since I had nothing else to do.
Luckily for me, there was a film quiz on later in the night :) I was originally just going to be on a team on my own, but I worked up the courage to ask these two guys about my age if I could join their team and they said yes :) That was a really good night. They were good fun, a bit geeky like me, so we made a decent team. I can't even remember their names though. That's pretty terrible. We didn't leave the cinema until it was closing time, and then we parted. I didn't tell them I had nowhere to stay. It would have been too awkward. Anyway, that takes me up to about midnight. Only 15 more hours to kill before I could board the boat.
To be continued. Hope you're having a good night :) Just after 10pm. You're probably having a cup of tea. I'm gonna do the same and watch some tv and eat some scones.
Hi Lilly
That's okay you didn't want to talk tonight :) I couldn't find the Salem t-shirt either. I'll say goodnight in a little while. Hug.
The theme to Midnight Run turned into a pop song set to clips from Disney films :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQoIEG5vfFI
Hi Lilly
Welcome to the third part of my not-very-interesting story about my night on the streets of Aberdeen.
Okay, so I had just left the cinema and parted with my new friends whose names I can't remember and whom I've never met again. I wouldn't even recognise them. I'm such a horrible person when it comes to these things :( Anyway, it was midnight. I can't remember what time the boat was sailing. It's either 5pm or 7pm and you can board 2 hours before. So I still had at least 15 hours to kill. I think I had about £25 left after the cinema. But that didn't bother me too much. I knew that my parents would be putting more money in my account the following morning so I only had to last until then with the little money I had on me.
I don't know what night it was. I mean, whether it was a Friday night or whatever. I think I decided to just have a wander up and down Union Street. It seemed like the safest thing to do. I must have wandered up and down it a ridiculous number of times over the course of the night. I did find a 24 hour shop so I could buy some food. The one thing I remember buying is Maryland Chocolate Chip Cookies.
I got a little bit bored of Union Street after a while, so I thought I'd try and go a little bit further when I got to the end one time and see what I could find. All the while munching on cookies. I found some quiet and respectable looking residential area with a park bench where I sat down for a while and ate my cookies. My feet were pretty tired, but I didn't want to sit down for too long. It was too cold. Walking around kept me warm. And it felt like a pretty safe neighbourhood to wander around in.
Time did seem to be going by really slowly, and there were only so many times I could walk past the same houses. So I decided to walk in the direction of the boat terminal. There's the long road called Market Street and I wanted to see what was at the other end. Turns out to be the River Dee. I crossed over at one point, just to have a look. Then I went back again.
I can't remember how long this went on for and nothing particularly interesting happened until about 5am in the morning when I was in Union Street. You might find this hard to believe, but I was approached by a prostitute! I can't remember exactly how the conversation went, but it went something like this:
"Can I do you a favour?"
"What kind of favour?"
"The sexual kind."
"Oh, er, um, no thank you."
For a start, I didn't have enough money :) Not that I asked her for a price list. Is it weird to wonder how much she would have charged me? Yeah, that's just weird.
So that takes me to the following morning. Things get a bit more normal in the daylight. I'll conclude this story a bit later.
I'm probably going to make you really annoyed with me for saying this :( It seems like a while since you've sent me hugs or nudges or anything like that, or called me pet names. I can't help feeling that it means that you don't feel the same way about me anymore. I wish you'd tell me. I was wondering if you want me to stop saying those things too, because maybe it's making you feel awkward. It makes me feel a bit awkward now. I don't want to stop, but they don't seem to mean anything to you anymore and that hurts a bit :( I'm really sorry for saying these things because I don't want to make you feel upset, but I really need to know what's going on with us because it seems different now. It's not your fault. I wouldn't hate you if you told me that you didn't like me as much as you used to. I know you've been in a bad place recently, and I've not been much help, but maybe things really have changed and I just don't realise it.
Do you know what the most frustrating thing about you is? Whenever I think I've found a song you'll like, I see that you've already listened to it on your last.fm page :) I was gonna post Twin Sister - Ginger. You had one Twin Sister song amongst your loved tracks and it was that one :)
You'll just have to put up with something pretty and listenable :) It soars a bit more than Clementine though.
Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk - I Lost Myself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJMLeZyTedw
I hope you're okay Lillyputty, and that I didn't hurt you with what I said earlier. I really do like you very much.
I see the anime 'Black Rock Shooter' is coming out tomorrow. To be honest, I don't think it is worth buying. I think it's supposed to be very similar to Puella Magi Madoka Magica, only not quite as good. Still looks fantastic, though. Probably looks better than it actually is, if that makes sense :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loR4HV1rNwM
I bought a vienneta today. Haven't had one of those in ages. Couldn't find a Tiramisu Cart D’or. Also a chocolate croissant, a chicago town pizza & a new flavour of pringles. My diet gets worse and worse :)
Hi Lilly. I think you deserve a friend. Not a needy friend, who demands your attention all the time :) Just someone to be there for you when you need them. That could be me :)
I'm so excited for the new Camera Obscura album :) Excited, but prepared to be a little bit disappointed. I mean, for me, it's hard to imagine anything topping My Maudlin Career. You know how I feel about that album :) There are at least 8 songs on it that I can listen to a ridiculous number of times without getting fed up. It surprises me that it's not as highly thought of as Let's Get Out Of This Country. Not that it matters :) I love that album too, but there are only a handful of songs that I think are on the same level as the best of MMC. The first 2 albums are good too. Well, the first one is a little bit boring, but I like it. Happy New Year & Swimming Pool are probably the stand out songs for me. The second album, Underachievers Please Try Harder, I like a lot. So underrated. It really does have a lot of very good songs on it. Maybe none that are truly outstanding and the sound is nowhere near as lush as on the later albums, but I find it really easy to listen to and the songs stick in my head, which is always a good sign :) The one thing I don't like about it is that Ms Campbell doesn't sing all the tracks. Why? I don't know. Maybe she didn't write all the tracks. Still, it doesn't hurt the album too much. I actually like the songs she doesn't sing, but they would have been better with her vocals. Everything sounds better with her vocals :) My favourite song from UPTH is Keep It Clean, just so you know :)
Camera Obscura - Keep It Clean
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_uDLbtnYAA
And here's a song from the new album:
Camera Obscura - Do It Again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHryk07Rs_k
Sorry to go on about Camera Obscura (I'm not really). I know you don't like them as much as me. Forgive me sounding like an excited puppy. This may last until June 3rd. I'll tell you what I think of the new album.
And for some reason I have an overwhelming desire to list every Studio Ghibli film available on DVD.
Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind
Laputa: Castle In The Sky
Grave Of The Fireflies
My Neighbor Totoro
Kiki's Delivery Service
Only Yesterday
Porco Rosso
Pom Poko
Whisper Of The Heart
Princess Mononoke
My Neighbors The Yamadas
Spirited Away
The Cat Returns
Howl's Moving Castle
Tales From Earthsea
Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea
The Secret World Of Arrietty
Hmm, the length of this list depresses me :) Apparently there's also a film called 'From Up On Poppy Hill' that hasn't been released on DVD yet. Also, I see Mr Miyazaki is making a new film called Kaze Tachinu scheduled for release on July 20th. I should try to get them to put on a Studio Ghibli season in Mareel, not that anyone would listen to me.
Amusing nicknames that I heard today. Well, they made me laugh :)
Sly Bacon - because he's sly and he likes bacon!
Fine Day Freda - because she doesn't come into work on sunny days.
Have some more happy vibes, Maggot :)
Just a couple of songs I found today and thought were quite good.
Psychic Twin - Strangers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erkqspQxjTY
Psychic Twin - Dream State
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWu2RzM6b7A
I thought I posted these songs earlier. I must have forgotten to do it. Silly me :)
Psychic Twin - Strangers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erkqspQxjTY
Psychic Twin - Dream State
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWu2RzM6b7A
Hi Lilly :)
I didn't tell you that I got my 3 month extension for the job at Psych. I suppose that's good news. I mean, it's not the best job in the world, but at least I don't have to worry about looking for another job, which is something I hate doing. I have to take a week off in between the end of my current contract and the start of the 3 month extension, so I get to have a small holiday from the 20th-27th May. Yay :) I start the 3 months on the 28th May and it ends on the 27th August, our birthday. That's a bit of a coincidence :)
I don't know what I'll do with my week off. I haven't made any plans. I always look forward to these things so much, and they always turn out to be a let down. I should probably order a few things of Amazon this week, so I have something to watch or listen to. Actually, I should probably watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood before I even think about ordering more stuff. It's embarrassing that I haven't watched it yet. But 64 episodes! That's quite a committment :) Still, it is supposed to be one of the best animes ever. And it was a total bargain.
Talking of bargains, I see you can buy Death Note the complete series for £24.98. Tempting :) I haven't seen the film, but the anime is supposed to be fantastic. I've watched a few clips on youtube and it looks good. L could turn out to be one of my favourite characters ever, the little panda eyed weirdo :) And £24.98 for 37 episodes. That is a really good deal. I don't know what you thought of the film as a whole, but if you liked it, maybe you'd like the anime too. I'll tell you what I think if I ever get around to watching it.
I was watching clips of Ron Swanson on youtube last night too. I completely understand your love for the man :) I see that, apart from Season 1, Parks & Recreation is not released in the UK just yet. I'm guessing your sister bought her DVDs from the US. I'll just have to wait until 17th June. I don't like waiting :)
But I'm used to waiting. I've been waiting for them to release more series of Whose Line Is It Anyway? for ages. Maybe I'm the only person who wants to buy them. It's something I always search for when I go on Amazon, and I'm always disappointed. Not surprised, just disappointed. They did release the first 2 series, eventually. They're pretty good, but not as good as some of the later ones. I think series 5-7 is definitely the peak. I'm such a Whose Line geek :) Oh well, there's always youtube & 4od. But 4od haven't uploaded series 5 or 7 yet :( Fortunately, another user has uploaded most of them, but I'd still much prefer owning them on dvd.
Anyway, enough of my complaining
:) I'll tell you a film I've always wanted to see: The Duellists. I think it was Ridley Scott's first film and considering his next 2 films were Alien & Blade Runner, I'm guessing it's very good.
The Duellists - trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8nGgvepXCk
Hi Lilly
It's Tuesday again, so new films at Mareel. Well, one new film - The Great Gatsby. I remember you 'mehed' the book :) I won't be going to see it because every screening is in 3D. I might finally get around to seeing Star Trek though, since there are so many screenings of it next week. 20 to be precise, all in 2D.
So not many films for me to ask your opinion on :) But I still wanted to let you know what was on, just in case you thought I'd forgotten to tell you. The Great Gatsby reminded me of another DiCaprio film I saw in the cinema in Edinburgh - The Aviator. I'm always forgetting the films I've seen in cinemas :)
This was another thing I was doing on youtube yesterday. Do you remember I told you the game 'Shinobi' was the first game I ever bought for the Sega Master System? Well, I never did manage to defeat this bad guy, so I looked on youtube to see if anyone had posted how to do it. They had :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBApVoRCYaA
Look at those graphics. That's what you can look forward to when you come to stay with me :)Fortunately there was a really easy cheat that allowed me to choose whatever level I wanted, so I didn't have to get too frustrated at always dying :)
Hi Lilly. I've been listening to Japanese music this evening :)
Asobi Seksu - Thursday (I know you've heard of them because I saw a song on your last.fm page, I think it was the one that was used in Skins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTAm9Gjimfs
And a few songs from a band called Pastel Blue.
Pastel Blue - Low-Key (It's really just noise, but the kind of noise I like)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8_a2IYmdOM
Pastel Blue - Airship (a bit more poppy)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgWLemysCYQ
Pastel Blue - Ariel (back to the noise)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExL4opUUWwM
Oeil - After The Rain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcxlSRJpG2A
A finally, a song from a band from Indonesia. I don't think I've ever listened to a band from Indonesia before, but I thought this song was quite good.
Gunver - Metropolis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqxE8zyvdSg
Sorry to flood you with so many songs tonight. I was just in the mood :) Hope you're okay, Lillyputty. Glad to see you're still using fantasty :)
Hi Lilly
What interesting facts can I tell you about myself today? :)
Well, it was raining this morning so I gave my brother a lift to work, nice fellow that I am :) I've told you that he works in the kitchen at the hospital. Gilbert Bain hospital. That's the only hospital in Shetland. It's where I was born. I don't think I've ever had much reason to go to hospital. I used to have my dentist appointments there. My dentist had a moustache and liked classical music. These are the things I remember :) Actually, despite the fact that I hated wearing braces, I didn't mind going to the dentist. I found it quite relaxing. I don't know if I'm odd or if a lot of people feel the same way about going to the dentist. The one thing I didn't like was the sensation of being choked when they would put all that stuff in my mouth. Now that would be odd if I liked that :) Have you ever had a mould of your teeth made, when they get you to bite down into that blue gunk? That was fun :) Oh, and I love the Mr. Bean dentist sketch. Probably my favourite one :)
Other hospital memories. I went to the opening of the new cafe with my dad when he worked for the health board. That was ages ago. There was a whole unveiling of the new name thing. Da Casual Tea. That name pisses me off so much you would not believe :) Not only because it is so unoriginal and there must be a million hospital cafeterias around the country with the same name, but I hate how they put the word 'da' at the front to make it sound more Shetland. I can't stand that :) It happens all over Shetland, places substituting the word 'da' for 'the' even though every other word is in english. But I've gotten over it. FFS, Da Casual Tea! Anyway, I had a nice rice pudding there one time :) I sometimes have lunch there with my brother, and blame him when I don't like the food. I'm such a meanie.
Oh, and there was the end of last year when my brother was in hospital quite a lot. I spent a lot of time visiting him. It's so boring visiting people in hospital, especially when they are not there half the time :) He was always having tests done on him, and I was left alone in the visitors room watching tv, reading magazines about subjects I have no interest in and playing board games against myself. He hated being there. Good thing I was around to cheer him up :) I bet if I was the one in hospital, he wouldn't visit me, even though he works in the same building. Seriously. If you knew my brother, you wouldn't be surprised :)
I'm so mean to my brother sometimes :) Especially when the parents are away on holiday. I go into full blown house nazi mode, even though I'm the youngest. All my rules that he has to follow. The golden rule is 'don't do anything to piss me off'. That's pretty much anything and everything :) I really shouldn't be so mean. He sometimes buys me awesome presents. Last year, he bought me a mini mega drive. Not a game gear, but something that you could play like a game gear, but also plug into the the tv and play like a mega drive, if that makes sense. Also the entire series of the 1990s Spider-Man animated series. Yes, these are the things I get for my birthday :)
Hi Lilly
Just something very silly. I think I said a while ago that I had Mortal Kombat 3 for the Sega Mega Drive. I used to practice the fatalities all the time :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuIweJfkG9w
Interesting things I learned today. The place Aith in Shetland is pronounced Aid. One interesting thing. Actually, it's not even very interesting :)
Do you remember I mentioned I had a friend in high school who spoke with a really strong Shetland accent? Well, she sent me an email the other day and she writes exactly how she speaks. I love that :)
"Doo said ti e-mail d a lang time ago, un I just figured oot how ti use the address book (incredibly simple I tyeen- but I wis over fillin it we information un never finnin du neems I hed ti).............
Onywy- how's doo?"
I probably write the way I talk too. Like a very boring person. She'll just have to put up with a very boring reply.
Anyway, stir fry for tea tonight. Nom nom. And my dad’s philosophy group brought some good biscuits yesterday. That's the only reason I don't mind them coming over to our house. Actually, I still mind, but the biscuits help a little. You should see the mini strop I throw when they don't bring good biscuits :) I'm at Psych at the moment. Have been since 10am. I'm here all day tomorrow too. And Friday. But then I get a week off :)
Have some more happy vibes, Maggot. I really hope you've had a good day. I'll send you a message later. And text you to say goodnight. I hope you still don't mind me doing that. I'm sure you'd tell me if you did :) I'm probably disturbing you reading your awesome new books :)
I watched Mission: Impossible last night. Or was it the night before? What's wrong with my memory? Whatever night it was on, it's a great, great film. Personal favourite (forgive me for sounding like Patrick Bateman). I have a terrible habit of buying films on DVD, and then only watching them when they're on tv. What's that all about? I'm a frustrating and frustrated human being. I think the first time I watched Mission: Impossible was at a friend's house. We rented it from Da Cellar (ugh, the word 'da' again). That place doesn't exist anymore. It used to be in Bolts, Shetland's own mini shopping mall. I bought a copy of The Fugitive from there. It's still in the hallway. That's a good film too :) Anyway, I love Mission: Impossible, right from Emilio Estevez getting an uncredited eye gouging to Henry Czerny's unbelievably cool delivery of the line "good morning, Mr. Phelps" :) He's in 'Clear & Present Danger' too, another personal favourite :)
And you know this, but I love the Indiana Jones trilogy, and this may be my favourite moment in the entire series :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgfpIV29Ccc
Out of all the great moments in those films, that's the one I pick as my favourite :)
I'm sorry I've linked you to so many songs in the last couple of days, probably none of them very good. But you should totally take credit for all my song finding, since I only look for them so I come across as a bit cooler in your eyes. It's probably having the opposite effect :) Seriously, I hardly ever used to look for music before we started talking. It's like me and anime. You've got me back into these things. Thanks so much, Lilly :)
I know I shouldn't, but here's one more. It's just the first Stars song I ever heard, from their Sad Robots EP.
Stars - Undertow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoWN0N1MG2s
And since you told me a shameful secret a couple of nights ago :) I'll tell you one. Well, it's not really a secret because I'm writing it on here and I've probably said it before :) I often look at your blog and all your pages like pinterest, deviant art, last.fm, bookshelf etc. and I feel...I don't think jealous is the right word. I like you too much to be jealous of you, but inferior. I know you'll probably think I sound crazy, but I look at your pages and think you're so much cooler and more talented and more knowledgable than me, that I feel like I'm wasting your time. That's why it took me ages to say anything. I was waiting until I'd done something worth talking about. I still feel the same way. I've just learned to accept that you don't mind talking to a loser like me :) I am trying to be less of a loser, though. Honestly :)
I wish you found a bit more confidence. You really are so talented, Lillyputty. Anyone can see that.
Even though I am trying to be less loserish, I'm still gonna spend the rest of the night on the internet and watching American Dad :) "Just wall-to-wall Beetman action. Gonna beet it 'til my hands come off" - I should probably choose a better role model than Stan Smith :)
P.S. - I see you've just had a crappy day. Hug. At least you have awesome books and lovely people around you :)
P.P.S. - Please don't reply just because I keep leaving you so many messages. Too many? I just like writing to you. It's okay that you're quiet. Y'know, I never thought I'd be referring to myself as the chatty one :)
Hi Lilly
I've had a busy morning. Filing. I hate being a clerical gofer. Maybe I just hate any type of work. I'm lazy. Except when it comes to writing to you. I put a lot of effort into that :) It probably doesn't show. I make writing about nothing seem so effortless :) Do you know what someone in the office made me do the other day? Of course you don't, you're not fucking psychic :) She made me go to the Eurovision website and watch her favourite entries. And I just sat there and did what I was told. She was so enthusiastic, I didn't want to burst her bubble. "Yeah, I thought it was good" was what I said after every song. You're probably going to tell me you love Eurovision :)
I watched a couple of episodes of Parks & Recreation last night on BBC4. Just after I finished typing that message to you, I went to see what was on tv and there it was. I think it was from Season 2. I thought it was really good. Ron Swanson answering every question with a question :)
I think I'm just gonna hide up here and write to you while they have their coffee break. It's fucking unbearable sometimes. And I'm severely pissed off at everyone today for no particular reason. I hate so many things about my job.
Okay, so I did end up having break with my fellow human beings :) It's just as well I did. I was about to launch into a tirade about all the things I hate about my job :) I probably would have said something I'd regret or didn't mean. It has just been one of those mornings. Me and my mood swings :) And as soon as I tell you how annoying everyone is, someone is kind enough to make me a cup of tea. It wasn't very good, but it's the thought that counts. I couldn't exactly take it and run, could I? I'm not even pissed off now. Welcome to my ever changing world :)
I'm always so quiet at break time. I don't usually say anything unless anyone asks me a question. This morning, I didn't say a word. Not one word :) They spent most of it talking about the boat journey from Shetland to Aberdeen. I won't tell you what they said because it might put you off coming to visit :) They also spoke about what they would be doing over the long weekend. That's not this weekend, but the one after, I think.
My parents are going to Aberdeen on the 23rd May for the long weekend, to see my cousin and her new house. So I get a bit of peace and quiet :) Well, I always say that, but things always happen to put me in a bad mood. I have a really hard time relaxing. It's so frustrating. Probably one of the things you should know about me. I know the reason too. I like quiet and space and privacy. And people are too noisy, to nosy and always invading my space :)
Kind of like what I'm doing to you all the time :) But I'm far away and you only have to talk to me when you want to. I only talk so much because you're so far away. I sometimes wonder what would happen if I stopped writing to you. I'd be scared of losing you. I promise that I'd give you all the space, quiet & privacy you'd need if we were together, because I'd need it too. We're not normal friends, are we? I don't think I'd want us to be :)
Hi Lilly. I hope you're feeling a bit better today. Very informative text last night :)
I worry about silly things. Like what if my last message didn't post and you think I haven't sent you a message when I think I have. That's why I send 2 or 3 messages sometimes, just in case. That makes me sound crazy, doesn't it?
But I'm like that with everything, thinking I haven't done something when I have. Like all my checks at night. You have no idea what I have to go through before I can relax and go to bed. I have to check that the doors are locked, the lights are off, the cooker is off, the taps are off, the phone has not been left on, the fridge doors are closed, the tv is off etc. You get the idea. Sometimes I have to check again because I'm not sure if I have already checked even though I've probably done it 2 minutes beforehand. Ugh!
And another song. I don't know why I post so many these days. I much prefer the stuff you find. Still, I shouldn't be so lazy :)
Dum Dum Girls - Lord Knows
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQyT6o8QYdw
Hi Lilly.
That is one big book :)
I once saw an action film where the hero was tied to a chair being slapped in the face repeatedly by a baddie with a massive book :) I can't remember what it was called. I think I saw it on holiday. That's one of the joys of travelling, watching foreign television. In Norway, I saw a programme that was literally 2 girls typing on computers. For hours. I know this because I watched them for hours :) I was waiting for something to happen. Nothing ever did, and I still have no idea what they were typing. Actually, something did happen. At one point, one of the computers broke down and had to be fixed by someone off-screen while the girl sat there doing nothing for about 15 minutes. That's good tv :)
Did you know that April from Parks & Recreation was in a music video? I bet you already know that, but I thought I'd better bring it to your attention, just in case :) And she does one of the voices in the english dub of "From Up On Poppy Hill", that Studio Ghibli anime I mentioned the other day. I also kinda want to see 'Safety Not Guaranteed', since we were talking recently about time travel films.
And here are a couple of songs. Please don't be annoyed with me. I don't expect you to listen to them. They're just here if you want them. Anyway, it's good for me to have them written down somewhere so I can find them again quite easily :)
Julia Holter - In The Same Room
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NM-WnjqB8EY
The Besnard Lakes - Albatross
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXB87SRv8Yg
I'll text you to say goodnight. Enjoy your books :)
Hi Lilly
Can't say I dreamed of being in Whose Line Is It Anyway? last night. I wish I had. I was watching it last night, just before you sent me that text :) One of the Stephen Fry episodes (he only appeared in 3). I don't have much time for Mr. Fry these days, not since he acquired national treasure status, but he is so good each time he appears in that show. Series 1, Episode 10 was the episode I was watching last night. I have the DVD of series 1 & 2. I'm sure you're desperate to learn these things :) Anyway, very good episode compared to a lot of the first series, but that's pretty much entirely down to Mr. Fry's contributions. Haha, the sheep rap, and talking in Blue Peter style about the dangers of having sex on a window sill - "And that could very easily have an eye out." :) Too bad he only appeared in 3 episodes (not including the compilations). He was in 2 episodes of the first series (including 1 episode with Peter Cook), and made one more appearance years later in series 9. His trendy vicar is one of my favourite things ever - (talking about Jesus) "he's a bit like a gangster rapper".
Sorry Lilly, I'm so in the mood to talk about WLIIA? :) I'd write episode reviews if I could handle not feeling like such a loser :) Here's some geeky WLIIA? knowledge for you. At the end of every series, they have 1 or 2 compilation episodes of bits from the series that they couldn't fit into a normal episode. And series 3 & 4 were split between being filmed in the UK & US. I'm sure you're a better person for knowing these things :)
Also, I sometimes forget that I used to quite like Stephen Fry. At least, I thought he was part of some very good things. Blackadder II :) Blackadder II and Blackadder the Third are definitely two of my favourite series ever. I don't like Blackadder Goes Forth so much, but General Melchett is hilarious :)
"It's a blank, featureless desert out there." (looking at the wrong side of a map).
Me and my rubbish quoting :) I also don't mind 'A Bit of Fry & Laurie'. I mean, a lot of the sketches weren't very good, but it was okay compared to most other sketch shows. And 'Jeeves & Wooster'. My dad is a huge P.G. Wodehouse fan & he thought it was okay. Coming from him, that's something :) He even thought some of the episodes were very good indeed, if they stuck to the books. I remember we used to have 4 episodes recorded from the tv on this one tape. That tape was one of my favourite things to watch when I was younger :) They were definitely 4 of the better episodes. Just a quick look on wikipedia tells me what they were called (Jeeves Saves the Cow-Creamer, Pearls Mean Tears, Jeeves in the Country, Jeeves the Matchmaker). Sorry, I just had to write those down :)
One last Stephen Fry thing. Promise :) This Footlights revue must have been one of the first things he ever did on tv.
Shakespeare Masterclass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL5aBB1ZPtE
Dracula
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKdGwfMD8u8
P.S. - Is that what James Spader looks like now? I guess I'm just used to long haired 'Sex, Lies & Videotape' & 'Stargate' Spader. I know they were a long time ago :) I think the last thing I saw him in was 'Secretary', spanking Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Hi Lilly. More happy vibes :) Hope you're okay.
Nearly the weekend :) I had to walk to work in the rain this morning, but it was light rain. I've had worse, especially when I worked on Bressay. So much rain that it breached the defenses of my waterproof boots. They're useless now. I still wear them, though. I'm wearing them at this very moment :)
I'm also wearing a Tian Shan t-shirt. Tian Shan is a large system of mountain ranges located in Central Asia (thanks wikipedia). My parents tend to bring me back t-shirts from their holidays. I'm not sure which country they went to so they could visit the mountains. I remember they went to a mountain called Khan Tengri whcih is located on the China-Kyrgyzstan-Kazakhstan border (thanks again wikipedia). They took a long panning shot on the video camera of the helicopter journey along the mountains. Way too exciting a holiday for the likes of me :) But I have the t-shirt, so it looks like I went :)
I'm going swimming on Sunday morning! Haven't done that for a while.
And as if the size of your anime wish list wasn't already scary enough, here's another dvd.
Angel Beats - Complete Series Collection (Blu-ray). I think it's about pupils at a school for people who have died battling against angels, or something like that :)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Angel-Beats-Complete-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B00791E8OC/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1368801562&sr=1-2&keywords=angel+beats
Send you a message later, Lillyputty :)
Hi Lilly.
I have to correct this :)
In my description of Angel Beats I wrote 'it's about pupils at a school for people who have died battling against angels'. There should be a comma in there. They didn't die battling against angels. They die first, and then they battle against angels. It's set in the afterlife. My brain :)
My cousin got the keys to her new house today. I know that means nothing to you, but I like to share happy news with you. She was very excited :)
Anywyay, here's another song.
Little Green Cars - The John Wayne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua7OT1nmWFU
I'm sorry I talk about myself all the time. I'm not this self-absorbed in real life. I just don't want to bother you with questions at the moment.
I'll text you later, Lilly. Hug.
Sorry to bother you again. I'm such a chatterbox :)
One more indispensable piece of information. Do you know is so special about May 17th in Shetland? It is Norwegian Constitution Day! Probably celebrated a little bit more in Shetland than in other parts of the country :) There was a parade down the street. I didn't see it, but I could hear it going on while I was working. I'm so lazy I couldn't be bothered to take a walk to the window :) Shetland has quite a strong link with Norway. I think they owned us a long time ago. My parents were at a party at the town hall held by the Norwegian Friendship Society. That's not a made up thing. Shetland really does have a Norwegian Friendship Society. And my parents are members! I always have to make them a cup of tea when they get back from their social functions, no matter how late it is. I made one for them just a few minutes ago :)
http://www.totalmunch.com/products/396
I just ate that.
I feel sick.
It was tiny.
My tolerance for sweet goods is pitiful.
Does Lerwick have a celebration every week or something? You people never sit still! Is it because you're an island? Has it made you all insane? Cause i'd fit in. I really would.
Hey! You're a beverage slave. So am i. I make tea for my parents every night after dinner. My mum calls me Genevieve. You know, cause i'm a tea jenny. Jenny? Genevieve? Get it?
Now, are you going swimming of your free will or is this another entertaining a child thing with something random thing again? Where do these children come from by the way? Is it to do with Psych?
I still feel sick.
Blech.
But i kinda want some toast.
I don't understand my body!
You make me hungry :) I love Cornetto cones. Did it have the solid little bit of chocolate in the tip? Sorry, I'm probably making your feel even sicker :) I think dry toast is what you're supposed to eat when you are feeling sick. I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere. Maybe your body does make sense after all. Unless you're planning to smother the toast in nutella :)
Genevieve is the name of a film I used to watch with my parents. It's one of the very few films we liked to watch together. So I think it's a nice name. It bring back happy memories :) I'd never heard of a 'tea jenny' before. I had to look it up.
tea jenny - a person who drinks a lot of tea; a tea addict
I love that :)
Yeah, there always seems to be something happening in Shetland. Not that I'm involved, I'm too busy watching American Dad at night :) I barely celebrate my own birthday. Charity events are a big thing in Shetland. You could hold a charity event for anything and you'd raise a lot of money.
Have you been feeling a bit poorly recently? I'm just wondering because of the Swanson medication and you said you'd been sleeping a lot the last few days.
P.S. - Yes, I will be trying to outswim a child on Sunday :) It's nothing to do with Psych, though. It's just this voluntary organisation that I help out with.
Hi Lilly
I'm writing this while I'm still in bed. I have a very old bed. I reckon it must be at least 30 years old, maybe even older. My dad brought it with him when he moved up to Shetland. I think it originally belonged to my grandparents. But I've had different beds at home. There was the one I used to sleep in before I swapped rooms. And I'm sure I had a bunk bed at one point. I think the bed I'm in now used to be in the music room. I'd completely forgetten about that until I thought about it this morning. It was so long ago, but the music room used to be a spare bedroom.
We don't have a spare bedroom these days. And we still have people staying with us from time to time, which is very frustrating. My parents usually give up their room, or tell me to give up my room, if we have guests. Or they give up their room, then throw me out of my room so they can use it themselves. I usually end up with a mattress on the floor of the living room, quietly cursing to myself :) Damn my brother for making his bedroom uninhabitable. Seriously, no other living creature could live in there. I'm scared to go in. It's like entering the jungle :)
I think my main point is that I hate when we have people staying with us. I'm a very private person and I need a room to myself. That's why I used to hate going to West Kirby. I had to share a room with my uncle! He snores too :( I don't like that house at all. My brother used to get a room to himself. Admittedly, it wasn't much of a room and the door didn't close properly, but at least he had somewhere to run off and hide. It sucks being the youngest sometimes. One of the things I do remember about West Kirby is that my uncle used to have an exercise bike in his bedroom. I used to go on that when I was bored :)
I'm always talking about West Kirby as is I'm never going again. There doesn't seem much point. I only have the one relative living there now. Everyone else has either died or moved away. If I did go, I'd just be staying in the same house, probably escaping to Liverpool most days on the train - Starbucks, Waterstones & HMV :) Still, I might start feeling nostalgic and wanting to visit. You never know. It's the same with the Philippines. I don't have any desire to go back there at the moment.
I do feel like I want to go back to Edinburgh though. I used to wander all over the city, feeling like a loser because I didn't have a job, had dropped out of university & hardly had any money. Still, I liked exploring :) I found some pretty nice, hidden places. It'd be nice to explore it again. When I lived in Edinburgh, I bought a Lonely Planet guide to the city, and used that to help me find things :) That pretty much all I did in Edinburgh for a long time. Wandering around the place on my own, not doing very much at all. It's funny the things I miss. I'm a very odd human being :)
Oh well, time for me to get out of bed :)
Hi Lilly
In response to your text last night, yes, you really do tell me the best stuff :) I said it last night, but I'll say it again, Cornetto cones are fantastic. My favourite kind of cone :) I had no idea you could buy them on their own. And just so you know, out of the 3 classic flavours of Cornettos, I would normally choose mint :)
Community - there's another show I've never seen. I remember that muppet gif with the eyebrow you posted a little while back, though. Fantastic :)
Do you know what tv programme always makes me hungry? Inspector Montalbano. It's basically an Italian cookery show masquerading as a detective story :) And I really wish Clue was on tonight. It's a film based on the game Cluedo. I've never seen it the whole way through, but it looks like the kind of film that would cheer me up with its silliness. Maybe lacking the human element of my favourite films. Oh well, I can always watch Bowfinger or Midnight Run. The ultimate feel good films :) I don't think you'd ever put up with me in real life. :)
Clue - trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkwqw4lPz64
Another film I've been thinking about lately is 'Thank You For Smoking'. I bet you've seen it. It's one of those films I keep missing on tv.
Thank You For Smoking - smoking in space
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E-YkAk0ZOA
Send you a message later, Lillyputty. Glomp :)
I had sirloin steak for tea tonight. Jealous? :) Now I'm going to the shops with my brother. Hmm, I wonder what I'll buy. Probably sweets, chocolate, pastries & desserts :) Sorry, I just like telling you what I'm up to. I know it's not very exciting.
Hi Lilly. I hope you've had a not-so-crappy kind of day :)
Here are another couple of songs to deposit in my song bank :) I think I linked you to a Pastels song ages ago. This one is possibly their most famous and probably my favourite.
The Pastels - Nothing To Be Done
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn-njpBoVEE
I don't know if you'll ever make it to the end of Cowboy Bebop, but this if the final song of the series. It's not perfect, but you can play 0:43-1:38 continuously at my funeral. Okay, that's way too depressing :)
Cowboy Bebop - Blue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03qBqP2I4p8
I'll text you a bit later to say goodnight. I know it's silly, but I like doing it.
Hi Lilly.
I'm sorry that you had so much trouble sleeping last night. Was your bed being all uncomfortable again? And I see you watched Inferno. I was thinking about watching that, but I couldn't be bothered. Lazy :) I always complain about missing things on tv, but I really have no one to blame but myself. I don't watch things even when I know they are on. I don't think I've ever seen an Italian horror film before. They do seem a bit too garish (I don't even know if that's the word I'm looking for) for me, a bit like Hammer Horror. I like to judge things I haven't seen. I remember telling you ages ago that I should do that :) I'm sure you're gonna tell me that they're nothing at all like Hammer Horror and that I should get over myself and watch them :) Either that, or you're gonna tell me that they are like Hammer Horror, but that Hammer Horror is amazing and I should get over myself and watch all of these things :)
I'm sorry if this message seems a little bit rushed. I'm trying to get it done before I have to go swimming. For some reason, it bothers me to think that you might wake up and not see a message from me. I know it probably makes no difference to you whatsoever. I'm just a very odd person :) Considering you didn't fall asleep until after 5am, I reckon I'd have time to go swimming, come home, have Sunday lunch and still have plenty of time to write you something before you woke up :)
I'm going swimming at about 11am. At the Clickimin pool. It's just inside the Clickimin Leisure Complex. That really nearby as I'm sure you know by now, since you have a perfect map of Lerwick in your head :) Normally, I'd walk because it's only 10 minutes away, but I have to pick up the kid on my way there. I still don't like driving. If I take the car to work, I park it really far away at the flower park because there is always plenty of parking space. I don't like parking in small spaces :) That's what I do, park really far away from the places I'm going too :) And I always have to park my car perfectly inside the lines. There's a page on facebook that someone in Shetland has made called 'your parking is shit'. It's basically photos people have taken of other people's bad parking around Shetland :) Also, I consider it a bad Shetland trait (although it probably happens everywhere) that people always park as near to the place they're going as possible.
Anyway, I was going to talk about swimming. One thing about Clickimin swimming pool is that it has 2 of the most boring flumes in the world. You could almost fall asleep going down them :) There's also a rapid river. I'm sure that it gotten weaker over the years. I remember getting stuck in it when I was young for about half an hour and not being able to get out. I'd try and swim away, but I'd just get sucked back in again. It was kinda fun :) You can probably tell that I'm not really in the mood for swimming this morning.
Sorry, this message is gonna have to come to an abrupt end. Did you just let out a sigh of relief? :) I'm sorry if it didn't make much sense. Damn my busy Sunday mornings :)
Well, that's me back from swimming. Nothing terribly exciting happened. Went around the rapid river about a thousand times. Bought some sweets. One of the most disappointing things in the world is when sweets marketed as very sour turn out not to be very sour at all. Liars! I never did tell you what I bought at the shops yesterday. Jelly beans & kinder buenos :)
I just had a look at your text from last night. I spent the whole night and morning thinking you wrote 'I just ate my lip balm' and wondering how the fuck you managed to accidentally do that :)
Song. Only one today. I promise.
Onsario - Empty Seats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmUQhjVjdks
Hi Lilly
More essential information :) There are 8 leisure centres in Shetland, each with its own swimming pool.
Clickimin (Lerwick)
Unst
Yell
Whalsay
Scalloway
North Mainland (Brae)
West Mainland (Aith)
South Mainland (Sandwick)
Why did I bother to learn this information? I don't know. Why did I bother to tell you this information? I don't know. I blame you, though. Before I started talking to you, I never bothered to learn anything about Shetland :)
I kinda want to go to all of them. That would be some trip, a tour a Shetland's leisure centres :) I'd probably have trouble finding a travelling companion. I don't know what I'd do when I got there. Swim, I suppose. Test the vending machines :) Vending machines frustrate me. I like the idea of buying chocolate without any human interaction, but the odds of the thing I want getting stuck on its way out seem to be so high. I feel very nervous when I put my money in :)
I'm working tomorrow. Last day before my week off. 7 whole days to myself. Yay! They'll probably suck like they always do. I promise I won't write to you every time I'm bored. You're probably already sick of receiving so many messages.
A strange thing happened to me in Zlotys the other day. Someone actually remembered me! I mean, someone I hardly knew. The sister of one of my friends at high school. Actually, not even that much of a friend, more like someone who happened to be in the same year as me. She actually called me by my full name. That never happens. I couldn't even remember her name. I felt like such a terrible human being :( I was happy to get my order and run away back to work.
And then I got that email I told you about, from that girl I went to school with. So, we've been emailing each other the last few days and she's told me some pretty interesting things. Apparently, one of my old classmates is in Moscow, selling chandeliers!
Hope you're doing okay, Lillyputty. Hug.
Hi Lilly
Last day in my old job at Psych. I'll be back on Tuesday 28th May doing a brand new job. Actually, it's pretty much the same job, only with a bit less pay. It's been a busy morning, typing up letters for people. Exciting stuff :) We were going to go out for lunch to celebrate the exceptional work I'd done over the last few months (!) but that has been postponed until a week on Wednesday. Monty's Bistro - it's quite a nice place to go for lunch. To be honest, I feel a bit uncomfortable at these things. I don't much like being the centre of attention, even if it does mean that I get my lunch paid for :) That's another thing, I'd much rather pay for my own lunch, because I feel like I shouldn't order so much when someone else is paying. I want dessert :) Oh well, I shouldn't complain about people being nice to me. I don't know what I'll have for lunch today. I'm hungry now, thinking that I could have been going to Monty's. Maybe I'll get a toastie from Zlotys if there isn't a queue. I don't like waiting :) And I promise to also have something exceptionally sweet :)
I think I'm becoming addicted to kinder buenos. I told you I bought a pack of them from the shops the other day. A large multi-pack that I put in the fridge. They are so nice after they've been in the fridge for a little while :) I demolished them all over the weekend. And I've been buying them from Conochies and putting them in the fridge at work for the last couple of weeks. I go through phases like this, when I get obssessed with a particular kind of food :) I used to buy kinder buenos all the time when I stayed in the halls of residence in Edinburgh. They were a great comfort to me :)
I didn't realise Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. was going to be a tv series. I thought it was another Marvel film. I wonder if Samuel L. Jackson will be in it. He plays Nick Fury in the films, doesn't he? I realise I could look this up myself, but I can't be bothered :) I remember telling you about my love for Jim Steranko's artwork on the 1960s comic books of Nick Fury & The Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. :) Even though I used to read the comic books a lot when I was younger, I have no problem at all with the fact that they make so many adaptations these days of my favourite superheroes. Just so long as they're good :)
Hah, we just had coffee break and they gave me a present of a box of chocolates and a large bag of confused? skittles :) The problem with getting a box of chocolates for a present is that society demands that you open them then and there and share them with everyone. I'm greedy :)
And just because I'm am still so excited for the new album, here is a list of my 10 favourite Camera Obscura songs in no particular order:
My Maudlin Career
Forests & Sands
You Told A Lie
Honey In The Sun
Let's Get Out Of This Country
The Sweetest Thing
French Navy
James
If Looks Could Kill
Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken
I reserve the right to change my mind at any moment :)
Adore you buddy x
Lillyputty :)
Nearly the start of my holiday :)
Talking of superhero adaptations got me thinking about the Tim Burton Batman films again. You know how much I love those movies :) I think I prefer Batman Returns ever so slightly, mainly because it is a bit darker. There are only 2 things that I really dislike about the first film.
1. The Prince songs
2. The way the Joker's henchmen dress. They look ridiculous in their leather and shades.
So many things I like, though. I love the title sequence with the theme tune. Possibly my favourite film theme ever :) I love how they re-use it for the opening credits of Batman Returns, but change it slightly to make it a little more twisted. It suits the film :) So many good scenes too. I love the shoot-out at Axis Chemicals, Michael Keaton's "let's get nuts" moment, all the quotable Joker lines. Tough to choose a favourite :) Maybe "uh-oh, he's been using Brand Xsssssss", in the advert with the man strapped to a chair and the caption 'NOT AN ACTOR'. I'm such a geek :)
And the endings to both films are just perfect :)
It sucks that I haven't been able to listen to music from your last.fm page today. Too many other people in the office :( They always listen to Radio 2. Some of the songs they play are okay. For example, they played a piece of music from Kill Bill vol.1 that I quite like. It's from the duel at the end in the snow garden, a scene I love because it reminds me of somthing from Dead or Alive 2 for the Sega Dreamcast :) I was a little bit disappointed with Kill Bill overall. I guess my expectations were just way too high. Still, it had a lot of things that I like: the anime sequence, the music, the sword fights, the yellow Bruce Lee jumpsuit, Chiaki Kuriyama and her psycho stare :) Could have done with more sword fights & Uma Thurman had all the charisma of Samurai Cop, only without the humour :)
Oh well, I'm going on about nothing. As usual :)
Talk to you later. Have some more happy vibes since you deserve to have a good day.
Hi Lilly
It bothers me that I said Kill Bill has Uma Thurman wearing a yellow Bruce Lee jumpsuit. It doesn't. It has Uma Thurman wearing a yellow tracksuit inspired by the yellow Bruce Lee jumpsuit. These things matter :) I think the tracksuit version looks way cooler. I mean, the jumpsuit is iconic, but it looks a bit stupid. I've thought about this way too much :) You've probably not seen 'Game Of Death'. It's the film in which Bruce Lee wears the yellow jumpsuit. I wouldn't recommend watching it. In fact, I'd recommend avoiding it at all costs :) You see, he died before it was finished, so they cast a stunt double look-a-like in the lead role and shot new scenes and mixed it all together with the original footage. The result is as dire as you'd expect. This is probably the worst example from the entire movie. Question: How to make it look like Bruce Lee is in this scene. Answer: Take a cardboard cut-out of his face and stick it on a mirror :) Please note the cardboard cut-out towel at the very beginning of the clip!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bAdMrMxMm0
I'm embarrassed to say that I have this film on dvd :) I don't even like Bruce Lee films anymore! But it's worth owning for a good audio commentary and the original cut of the footage shot before his death. Bad acting aside, it looks like it would have been awesome. Look at the different plots to see how much this film was fucked with.
Original plot: 3 martial artists fight their way up a 5 storey pagoda, defeating a different bad guy on each floor.
New plot: Hong Kong film star intimidated by racketeering syndicate.
WTF! :)
Oh, and the most exciting thing about 'Game Of Death'. In the film (and worn by Uma Thurman in Kill Bill as a tribute), Bruce Lee wears a pair of yellow Onitsuka Tigers :) I read Onitsuka Tigers and I thought of you :)
I'll text you later. Hug :)
"That thing you have, that means you've lost your memory. I can't remember what it's called."
My brother :)
Well, that was a happy coincidence. My cousin phoned this afternoon, so I could question her about the house. It's in Eday Road. The area seems nice. Quite a few trees. So, there you go :)
I had a small dream about you last night. A really small dream :) I dreamt that I went on your blog because I wanted to see the post about hyperrealism, but found that you'd replaced it with something else. The end :) That wasn't much of a dream, was it? Not really a dream at all. Something less than a dream :)
We have a calendar in our house that we got from the Chinese takeaway at New Year. It says our characterstics for the year we were born.
1986 (Tiger) - Determined, aggressive & selfish, having craving for success.
1987 (Rabbit) - Talented, honest & gentle, yet sometimes can be indecisive & passive.
Now we know. You're talented and I'm selfish. They got some of it right :)
One of the best things about having a bunch of old videotapes in the house of stuff recorded from the tv is the old adverts :)
Robin Hood & Weetabix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XOvVz8zwxc
Also, I've been trying to find this clip for ages. It's one of the many awesome scenes from Street Fighter 2 - The Animated Movie :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsJrhHrm85c
Time well spent :)
Hey, my comment from this morning didn't post! That's why I always write more than one :)
Also, it's a good thing I save my comments in a word document :) Here it is again. You were probably wondering what I was talking about when I said it was a coincidence that my cousin phoned. Hopefully it makes more sense after reading this :)
'Hi Lilly
I'll try to enjoy my holiday. My parents go away on the boat on Thursday night & come back on Monday morning. My cousin and her husband have moved into their new house, so that's where they will be staying. They are also going to get the car serviced. So, exciting holiday for them :) They did ask me if I wanted to tag along. I couldn't say 'no' fast enough, ungrateful little git that I am :) I'm not sure where the new house is. I asked my parents yesterday because I wanted to tell you, but I've completely forgotten what they said. The flat my cousin used to stay in was really near the city centre (in a road called Park Place) so I could easily go to HMV/Waterstones/Starbucks (yes, these are the only places I care about) if I was bored, and I get bored very easily :) I'm a very boring person who gets bored very easily. I don't know how that works :) I'm pretty sure their new house is in a quiet, residential area near the hospital where my cousin works. Anyway, I'll tell you when I find out. Something to look forward to :)
I remember the last time I went to stay with them, we got pizza from Domino's and watched The Grey, a film about Liam Neeson & his friends being hunted by a pack of wolves in Alaska. And talking of Liam Neeson, Taken is another film I tend to watch every time it is on tv. Don't look at me like that :) It's on my list a kidnap films I love (Taken, Breakdown, Hush etc.) I can't have been paying attention to The Grey. I have no recollection of Dermot Mulroney being in it!
I'll probably clean my room today. I know, I should be doing something more fun with my holiday, but it's feels nice after I've cleaned. I'm more relaxed. I had a chilled kinder bueno for breakfast :) But now I want some Maple Oat Breakfast Pie. I know you say I make you hungry, but every time I go on your pinterest page, I get cravings. It's usually the last thing I look at at night. I'm surprised I don't dream more about food and cats :) I also kinda feel like buying some stuff on Amazon, but maybe I should wait until the end of the month. Camera Obscura - Desire Lines - 3rd June!!!!!! :) Please don't tell your grammar nazi sister. It seems so far away, that I was going to buy the 2 Allo Darlin albums to tide me over. Not your cup of tea, I think :) But they are so similar to Camera Obscura that I think Elizabeth Morris could be Tracyanne Campbell's long lost sister.
You'd probably judge me very harshly if I bought a Belle & Sebastian album :) I only have 3. 3 too many? If You're Feeling Sinister, The Boy With The Arab Strap, The Life Pursuit. I reckon most people would say in their best Patrick Bateman voice "If You're Feeling Sinister is the group's undisputed masterpicece" :) Actually, I dispute it. I much prefer The Life Pursuit. And I've been thinking about buying Dear Catastophe Waitress, mainly because it has 'Piazza, New York Catcher' & 'I'm A Cuckoo'. We're still friends, right? :)
More happy vibes, Lillyputty. You're my favourite person, and don't you forget that :)'
That would have been a lot to type out again :)
Hi Lilly
I almost forgot, it's Tuesday again, so new films at Mareel :)
Epic
Dark Skies
All Stars
Lore
Kummerspeck :) I love your blog.
I wish I could tell you some fun things that I did today, but I did sweet fuck all. I did go outside twice, to put the rubbish out & to take a photo of a cat. A ginger and white cat. I saw it from my bedroom window, so I grabbed my camera and rushed outside. I failed miserably :( I couldn't switch the camera on and the cat ran away. It wasn't very friendly. I felt a bit conspicuous chasing a cat around the garden in my dressing gown :)
I didn't even watch any tv. Did I tell you that I saw Alec Baldwin on The Barefoot Contessa the other day? :) I really need to get a life. I might go to Mareel tomorrow.
Just to illustrate how much of a wasted day it has been, this is the kind of thing I have been looking up on youtube:
Golden Axe for the Sega Mega Drive
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKL9oG-ZGuQ
Just shoot me. To be fair, it was an awesome game :) And I did get around to cleaning my room, so that was something. And writing to you is never a waste of time. I'll text you to say goodnight. You're my best friend :)
Hi Lilly. Hope you're okay. Hug.
I have way too much time on my hands. I've been looking up fork etiquette this morning. And I still haven't found what I'm looking for. You see, I hold my fork in my left hand and my knife in my right, and I was wondering if that was normal for a left-handed person. Y'know, some left-handed people do a couple of things right-handed. I thought that might be one of things I did right-handed. But I couldn't find a definite answer. I did learn a lot of other stuff about fork etiquette, thought :)
According to wikipedia, there's a European style of holding your knife and fork, and an American style. In the European style, you hold your fork in the left and your knife in the right (it doesn't say if this depends upon whether you are left or right handed, so maybe everyone is expected to eat the same way). In the American style, you start off the same way, but then you put your knife down after cutting off a single bite-sized piece of food and transfer the fork to the right hand to put the food in your mouth. That seems like a very long-winded way to go about eating :)
I have a bizarre fascination with how people use their knife & fork :) Y'know, there's those people who turn their forks upside down and manage to pile an ridiculously enormous amount of food onto them. How do they do that? :) Every time I try, the food keeps falling off. I don't think I've ever truly mastered the knife & fork. I'm too lazy to cut my food. I tend to hold my food down with my knife and tear bits off with my fork. Please say you know other people who do that. I don't want to be a weirdo :)
Yes, I realise I spent this entire post talking about fork etiquette :)
I'm probably being very paranoid splitting my post into 2 parts. I think blogger is out to get me, banishing my comments to the eternal void :) It's not that I think my words are so wonderful that they need to be read (I know they are mostly nonsense), but I don't like you to wake up and see that I haven't left you a message. You might think I've forgotten about you, when I haven't. Silly, I know. It probably doesn't make any difference to you :)
This is a completely pointless things to say, but did you know Chiaki Kuriyama (Gogo from Kill Bill) was also in Battle Royale? Not the most interesting fact in the world, I know :) I used to really like that film (I even bought both the original version and the special edition), but I've gone off it a bit. I mean, it's still fun to see a bunch of teenagers being forced to kill each other on a deserted island, but I just can't stand all the high school cliches and the whole thing is pretty poorly scripted and not even that well acted. Still, I like some bits, like the instructional scene at the beginning, and a couple of the characters are okay. My cousin in Aberdeen looks so like Mitsuko it scares me a little bit :) The guy who played the teacher, Takeshi Kitano, is the same Takeshi from Takeshi's Castle! He's also a director, but I've never got around to seeing any of his films. Some of them are supposed to be quite good (Sonatine, Fireworks, Zatoichi), if a little bit odd. Anyway, that's the long way of saying that I don't like Battle Royale as much as I used to. I haven't seen the sequel or Hunger Games (which I suppose is sort of a remake).
Oh, and just because I like fucking up my holidays, I said I'd go into Mareel today to do the cinema attendance figures :) Talk to you later, pretty girl.
Well, that's me back from Mareel. I'm helping out at a concert on Saturday. My inability to say 'no' :)
I forgot to tell you a fun fact about last weekend. There was a boat show on at Clickimin. It's like a car show, but with boats :) They have car shows too. New cars and classic cars. I used to go to the classic car show quite a lot. It's fun when you're a kid. I always associate the classic car show with summer. In my mind, it was always a nice, sunny day with all the old contraptions chuntering away in the car park :) In reality, it was probably pissing down with rain most of the time :)
Also, we used to have a party in the park in Westerloch every summer. Westerloch Fun Day :) Actually, I don't know if it was called that, or if it was much fun :) I think we had barbecue and played football. I wonder if they still do that. Great, thinking of barbecue has made me hungry :) Caribbean stir fry tonight, prepared by the Globe butchers. Lazy family :)
And just to be random, WarGames is another film I love and will always try to watch whenever it is on tv. And it made me very happy to remember these old shows :)
City Guys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xphmqW_5zvA
Hang Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meD8-BGc6oY
Okay, so they were probably pretty terrible :)
Have some more happy vibes, Lillyputty :)
Hug. Just in case you need one.
Starflyer 59 - Fell In Love At 22
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nieGqSUDRWI
Anime, book, blanket, girl, cat :)
http://24.media.tumblr.com/2dd498e167f2e5cec2b9724b6d274f10/tumblr_ml680ykUpE1s8eeeeo1_500.gif
Text you to say goodnight, Lillyputty.
Hi Lilly.
It's quite windy in Shetland today. I'm glad I'm not the one going on the boat tonight. Unlucky parents :) I'm not even that great on the boat when it's quite calm. I have to lie down in my cabin for almost the entire journey. But I have survived some pretty rough trips. I remember one time I was stuck on the boat until 3pm. The boat usually gets into Lerwick at 7am so that was an extra 8 hours of fun :) That was horrible, waking up at 7am and being all ready to disembark, then hearing the announcement that we weren't arriving until 3pm. And I didn't have a cabin to myself, which made it suck even more. Another time, I had to share a cabin with a couple of religious guys who kept trying to talk to me. How do I find myself in these situations? :) I was glad that the bunks had curtains you could draw across. As soon as I could, I drew them and hid for the rest of the trip. In the morning, I woke up to find they'd left me a card with their contact details! Have a guess whether or not I gave them a call :)
We sometimes get religious people coming along our house. Y'know, Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses. I used to hide when I saw them coming, but I felt so pathetic hiding in my own home :) I've become very good at answering the door and telling them very politely to go away :) Then again, some of the religious people who come along our house are invited. One of my parents friends is a Methodist minister. He doesn't live in Shetland, but if he visits, he always stays with us. For about a week! That really pisses me off :) I hate people staying in our house. The last time he visited, I went off on holiday. It wasn't a coincidence. I went on holiday because I was so annoyed at having a guest staying with us. I'm the most unfriendly person in the world :) I went to stay with my cousin. So she had to put up with me being a guest. But I'm a wonderful person to have around :)
Part 2 :)
Do you remember me telling you about those black & white Marvel reprints called 'Essentials'? Would you like to know which volumes I have? Of course you would :)
Essential Spider-Man volume 1 (Amazing Spider-Man #1-20 & Annual #1)
Essential Spider-Man volume 2 (Amazing Spider-Man #21-43 & Annuals 3 & 4)
Essential Spider-Man volume 3 (Amazing Spider-Man #44-68)
Essential Spider-Man volume 4 (Amazing Spider-Man #69-89 & Annuals 4 & 5)
Essential Fantastic Four volume 1 (Fantastic Four #1-20 & Annual 1)
Essential Fantastic Four volume 3 (Fantastic Four #41-63 & Annuals 3 & 4)
Essential Doctor Strange volume 1 (Strange Tales #110, 111, 114-168)
Essential Captain America volume 1 (Tales Of Suspense #59-99 & Captain America #100-102)
I liked writing all that down :) They were all worth buying, except for Essential Spider-Man volumes 3 & 4. I don't have much time for Spidey post-Ditko. I sound like such a geek :) I don't really read them anymore, although I'm suddenly in the mood for hilariously dated 1960s superhero stories :) Essential Spider-Man volume 1 methinks. I mean, look at all the fantastic villains Lee & Ditko created in those first 20 issues:
1 - The Chameleon
2 - The Vulture
3 - Doctor Octopus
4 - The Sandman
6 - The Lizard
9 - Electro
13 - Mysterio
14 - The Green Goblin
15 - Kraven The Hunter
20 - The Scorpion
And in Annual 1, Spider-Man fought the Sinister Six (Doctor Octopus, The Vulture, Electro, Kraven The Hunter, Mysterio & The Sandman). With the splash pages! Full page panels drawn by Mr. Ditko as Spidey defeats each villain. Sorry, I got a little bit excited :)
My geekishness knows no bounds. I'll understand if you don't want me to talk to you again :)
Please don't be annoyed with me for ignoring what you said in your text last night and working at Psych tomorrow. Someone has decided that I don't need to take a week off between jobs and they are short staffed so I got a phone call this afternoon. I could have cried :( This is why I am so unhappy. I like having time to myself, and people come along and fuck everything up like it's nothing. And then there's this concert at Mareel on Saturday. I wish I was in a Dex-sized area next to you right now :) The next time I have a week off work, I'm going away. Or I'm telling everyone that I'm going away, so no one asks me to do anything :)
I'm sorry to take out my frustration on here, Lillyputty. I'm not that unhappy, really. Just very pissed off with myself and the whole world, except you :) Anyway, things could be much worse. And I cheered myself up by buying a couple of cds from Amazon. Actually, I bought them late last night before I knew what today had in store for me. I always feel like I really shouldn't buy nice things for myself, but today made me feel like I deserved them :)
Have some more hugs and happy vibes. Adore you, Lilly :) I'll send you a message a bit later. A happier one, I promise :)
Hi Lilly
I think I'm gonna have to learn how to cook so we can live together. One of us has to be able to. It's a good thing I've got your pinterest page to look at for inspiration. I really should try to work my way through some of those recipes. It'd be nice to have the real thing rather than attacking the computer screen every night trying to get at the food :) Also, it wouldn't hurt me to cook for myself occasionally. I mean, tonight my parents are away so I'm having Chicago Town pizza. I'm sure I can do better than that :)
Talking about comic books earlier today reminded me of those Fables covers by James Jean that you told me about ages ago. I'd forgotten just how fantastic they are. I'm very lucky to know someone who shares these things with me. Thanks Lilly :)
And just when I thought I wasn't having such a great day, I accidentally came across a music video starring Isy Suttie and all is well again :)
Emmy The Great - God Of Loneliness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx2sUd5vPmE
Text you later, Lillyputty. Hug.
Hi Lillyputty :)
It's really hectic this morning at Psych.
Do you know what I found in my bedroom yesterday, on top of the wardrobe? Of course you don't, but I'm going to tell you :) A book called 'The Long Patrol', which is from the Redwall series. I don't know if you've ever heard of Redwall. They are children's fantasy books, except that all the characters are animals instead of humans. I think I got that book from the school book club. I don't think I ever read it! Hmm, what else did I get from the school book club apart from Redwall & Mr Majeika books. Fact files :) I remember I got a Spy fact file & a Survival fact file. They were awesome :) The Spy fact file told you how to be a spy (obviously). Y'know the kind of thing: disguises, coded messages etc. I was a super cool kid :) The Survival fact file was actually pretty useful. Or it would have been if I'd ever gone on Lord of the Rings type adventures. I so wanted to :) I wish I could find it. I can't remember what food I should take with me on a long journey. That's another thing I found on top of my wardrobe, a Tolkein quiz book. Geek! :) And my samurai sword, but I knew that was there. It has a lot of little dents in it from when I was fighting my brother with his samurai sword. Ever had a fight with samurai swords? It's super fun :) Don't worry, they were blunt and fairly harmless. And we were unashamedly careful with them :) But we stopped because of the damage it did to the swords. But it didn't matter because it wasn't as much fun as stick fights. Stick fights are just about the most fun thing ever invented by anyone in the history of the world :)
Hi Lilly
I know it's not Tuesday, but Mareel produce a film booklet every month to tell people what films they are bringing up. So this is what's coming up in June:
The Hangover Part 3
The Stone Roses: Made Of Stone
Populaire
Spring Breakers
The Gatekeepers
Epic
Man Of Steel
Fast & Furious 6
Chimpanzee
The Big Wedding
I'm So Excited
World War Z
Mud
I Am Breathing
Despicable Me 2
Byzantium
Aguirre: The Wrath Of God
The Audience
I'll still send you the weekly film listings every Tuesday, just because I like to :) Have some more happy vibes, lovely Lilly. I bet you're sleeping right now. I wish I was. Cling :)
Lunch time :)
I used to eat something really ridiculous when I was on holiday in the Philippines. Orange powder. I think it was called Tang! :) You were supposed to make a drink out of it. It sucked as a drink. I suppose as a powder it was a bit like sherbet. Yep, it sure was a fun time I had over there, getting lifts on motorbikes without helmets, drinking Royal out of glass bottles & eating bowls of orange powder. Didn't quite make up for all the relatives & the boredom & the mosquitos, but I have to remind myself that my holidays weren't all bad :)
Ooh, that's right I said 'ooh' :), I remember some amazing food stuff I got at the mall in Cebu. A cookie that seemed to be full of hot fudge, and an unbelievably concentrated hot chocolate. They only gave me a small cup though.
And I did like staying in the resorts. I seem to recall them being really quiet, which suited me :) Bohol Beach Club was a place we always went. The white sand was so hot I couldn't walk on it with my bare feet. That was a nice place. I liked swimming, in the sea and the pool. Also, they had a games room with a table tennis table. That was fun :) I used to play against my brother when it was raining. It's really heavy when it rains, like being in a power shower :) And I liked the sizzling food. I'd hear them bring it to someone else's table and I'd order it just because I liked the sizzle :) I can't even remember what it was. Some kind of steak probably.
Anyway, I'm talking about nothing, as usual :) All this is just a long way of saying I like you, Lillyputty :) Really hope you have a good day. Hug.
Looking at your blog page just now, I don't feel quite so bad about having a bunch of Marvel Essentials in my bedroom. You're so awesome, Lillyputty, and you know it :)
I see you were watching Man On Fire last night. I saw that in the cinema. When I came out of the cinema, it was all misty. Or foggy. I had to look up the difference between mist and fog. The only difference is visibility. I'm gonna say it was foggy because that's worse :) I had no idea where I was. I still have no idea. I tried to find it on google maps this evening, but failed. I'm pretty sure it was on the east side.
I'm such a sad case. I've been using google maps this evening to find some of the places where I used to walk. I did find one of my favourite places, so I'm pretty happy :) Also my Allo Darlin' cds came today, so I'm doubly happy :) It looks like an okay evening ahead of me. After some house cleaning. I've got chilli beef for dinner, prepared by the Globe butchers. Nom :)
You have a good evening too. I'll check in a bit later and bother you with some more words if you're okay with that :)
Hi Lilly
I'm such an idiot :) I was talking about Edinburgh in my last comment. I didn't mention that. East side! East of where? :) The favourite place that I used to walk was along Braid Burn.
http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/01/05/010593_604c01f1.jpg
I used to walk there all the time, which is a bit crazy because I lived in flat a couple of miles away in Blackwood Crescent. But I had a lot of time to spare. I would walk down past King's Buildings and go through Blackford Glen Road to get to the burn. It was nice. I was a bit sad most of the time though. One time I walked past this couple and the man said "cheer up, it might never happen." I must have looked miserable :)
Anyway, I used to walk along the path by the burn and end up at the other side in Braid Road. That was miles away from where I lived! Looking at google maps made me realise how ridiculously far I used to walk. For no reason :) That must have taken me most of the day. I can't remember how I used to get back :) I do know I didn't go back the way I came. I remember walking through some nice residential areas, wishing I lived there instead of in some grotty flat. One summery day, I heard the sound of someone playing piano coming from one of the houses. I remember silly things :)
I had to look at google maps to figure out the road names :) I probably never even knew them. I don't know how I ever managed to find my way around. I guess I liked exploring :) I'll go back some day and find the route I used to take. I'm sorry, Lilly. It's not much fun listening to me go on about a city you don't much care for and I'm probably repeating myself a lot :)
I'm guessing you're having a cup of tea :) I'm just about to do the same. Text you to say goodnight, lovely girl :)
P.S. - I really like Lord Huron.
Ughhhh i hate it when random people say crap like that when all you're doing is walking along, minding your own business. What if you just have a natural frown or what if your puppy just died? Are you allowed to have a grumpy expression then? Is that allowed? Is that more socially appropriate?
More reasons why i hate everybody! Minus a select few (you're included, don't fret).
At this very second i am watching Mission Impossible 3. It's my favourite. And that has quite a lot to do with Jonathan Rhys Meyers delightful presence throughout the movie. That and Phillip Seymour Hoffman being a malevolent badass. It's so weird when you see him in stuff like Patch Adams or Twister. He's so...friendly! I think my favourite instance of the Hoff - the true Hoff, not that silly Baywatch man - will always be Almost Famous. He's just so beautifully jaded, drunken and downtrodden. It's kinda magical.
He's gonna be in the next Hunger Games movie. Looking forward to that. He's playing a small but integral character to the story and he's basically the person i imagined to play the part. I hope this second one's better than the first. Went to the cinema to see it with my sister and was more than underwhelmed. Didn't stop me getting it on dvd and watching it twice already.
I'm sorry i haven't been replying much at all lately. It's really bad form on my part but hopefully you'll forgive me cause you know i'm just lazy and not wilfully ignoring you!
And don't worry about telling me stories about your life. Even ones from your time in Edinburgh. I do think it's a very pretty city. I'd just like it better sans people.
Talk later bud. Got to get me some tea.
Thanks for not lumping me together with the rest of the human race :)
I've never seen MI3. I know I could get up off my arse right now, go to the living room and switch on the tv, but I'm lazy too. You know I wear red jogging breaks under my jeans because I can't be bothered to take them off :) I've seen plenty of the Hoff though. Off the top of my head: The Big Lebowski, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Magnolia, Boogie Nights. I reckon most people are fans of the Hoff, only they just don't realise it :)
I really need to watch more Cameron Crowe films. I know you're a big fan of his soundtracks. Another area I need an education in :)
And I've never seen The Hunger Games. Y'know, I'm one of those annoying people who avoids anything that looks like it's becoming too popular :) When The Hunger Games came out, and they had the books all over Tesco, I decided then and there that I was going to hate it :) Which is just silly, I know. Some very popular things are really frickin' awesome :) Anyway, I've seen The Running Man & Battle Royale. That's the next best thing to watching The Hunger Games :)
For some reason, I suddenly remember your total U-turn on Lawless. Random :)
You don't need to explain why you're so quiet these days. I don't want to say it here, but you know how I feel about you. That hasn't changed :)
Hi Lilly
I'm sure tonight at Mareel won't be too awful, although it doesn't sound like my kind of thing at all. This is what's on (I'm quoting from the Mareel website).
'...an evening of live music from local band Wind-Up Projectiles, who are launching their 6 track E.P An explosion of Dirty Rhythm...They play on inventive fusion of Hip-Hop and Rock...'
It's gonna be difficult, but I will try to keep an open mind. Anyway, it's not so much what's on that's making me not look forward to tonight. I just don't want to go out. I've got that nervous feeling that I sometimes get when I feel self-conscious about going out to a place with a lot of people and knowing that I'll probably meet someone that I know. I'd much rather stay at home, listen to the music on your last.fm page and write to you.
They will probably have me tearing tickets on the door. It sounds easy but I hate it. My hands are really shaky when I'm nervous, and I'm nervous when people are watching me. Half the tickets always end up being torn quite badly. Or they'll put me on cloakroom duty. I have to write the numbers on people's wristbands. Shaky hands again. I don't know why I bother, no one is gonna be able to read my scrawl.
So yeah, looking forward to tonight :)
It always makes me feel a bit sad to read on your blog about how much you've been hurt by people in your life. I wish I could do more than just write you words to make you feel better. Hug.
More randomness
In general, I much preferred playing 2-player games for the Mega Drive to 1-player games. Golden Axe, Streets of Rage etc. Rex from Rex-Kwon-Do was right.
"We use the buddy system. No more flying solo. You need someone watching your back at all times."
That is my attitude towards computer games. I used to like being Tails in Sonic 2. You can be Tails and follow Sonic around the entire game and it doesn't matter how many times you die, you always come hovering back into view and land right next to Sonic. I used to do that with my brother. He's much better at these things than me. That's why he was always Sonic and I was always Tails. Then again, he would usually leave me behind. "Wait for me" I would say in my whiniest voice.
I keep saying I had a Sega Mega Drive. It was a Sega Mega Drive II. It had red buttons. These things matter.
In Streets Of Rage, you could call on back up if you were in trouble and had enough credit. A police car would come into view, and a guy would appear through the sun roof and fire a rocket launcher or mini-gun killinga all the bad guys. Level 5 was set on a boat and you could still call the police car. It would appear on deck. Delightful ridiculousness. Also, the big bad guys at the end of every level.
Level 1 - Boomerang bad guys
Level 2 - Bad guys with wolverine claws
Level 3 - Wrestler bad guys
Level 4 - Fat, fire breathing bad guys
Level 5 - Acrobatic bad girls
Last level - Machine gun bad guy
Why did I write that down? Because I'm a loser, that's why.
Ugh, it's probably very sad to wish I had someone to play computer games with now.
One of my favourite bits from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure:
"Everything is different, but the same. Things are more moderner than before. Bigger, and yet smaller...it's computers...SAN DIMAS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RULES!"
And from Naked Gun 2 1/2, the best way to introduce yourself:
"I believe I've used some of your restrooms."
Did you see Carlton & Will Smith dancing on tv last night? I didn't, but I watched it on youtube. Yes! That is all I have to say.
I hope you're okay, Lillyputty. I know you don't want me to, but I do worry about you. I'll text you from Mareel.
I know we already said goodnight, but I just want to say again that I really am very sorry for what happened last night, pocket dialling you like that. It was a total accident. I'll be much more careful in future, especially since a quick look at my call history revealed that I've pocket dialled several other, probably non-existent, phone numbers. My excuse is that I had a ridiculous amount of stuff in there including a walkie talkie and a torch! It was a very small torch :)
Just so you know, I would never deliberately call you out of the blue. I woudn't call you unless you wanted me to. I'll admit that I've wanted to sometimes, despite my own aversion to phones, but I promise that I won't because I think I know how you'd feel about that. Anyway, you probably wouldn't pick up :) I'll tell you all about my Mareel adventures after I've slept about 8-10 hours, althought there's not much to tell. It was just long. 7 hours long. My feet are really tired.
But I haven't had too miserable I day. I hope you can say the same. I wish we could spend a day together. Even if it was just in bed, watching films. That would be really nice. Sleep well, you lovely girl.
Hi Lilly
I know you're just desperate to hear about my adventures at Mareel last night. Yeah, right.
To be honest, it was very boring. They had me tearing tickets for the cinema. I did a little bit better this time, probably because there weren't so many people which meant I didn't get too flustered. I also had to help clean the cinema which I was a little bit annoyed about. I really don't like cleaning up other people's mess. I do enough of that at home. I can't stand people who make a mess in cinemas. I mean, how difficult is it to get popcorn from your hand to your mouth?
Even though me and my shaky hands did okay this time at tearing tickets, things did get worse when I had to put wrist bands on people going into the gig. It's bad enough having to smile and talk to people, but having to touch them...I did not like it at all. It's no fun trying to put wristbands on a bunch of drunk girls. Ugh, the number of times I had to tear the wristbands off and start again because I fucked up was embarrassing. And I had to be assertive (!) and ask people very politely to leave after the gig had finished because the girl who should have been doing it was too timid. I don't blame her because I'm usually just the same. But someone had to say something or we would have been there all night and I wanted to go home. That's enough incentive for me to be a little bit braver, selfish fellow that I am :) And they did leave. Yay!
I was trying to work out where I was when I pocket dialled you. I was either outside of screen 2 waiting for the film to start (but that was very quiet because everyone had gone inside) or I was just starting to put wristbands on people, which sounds more likely if you heard laughing. It wasn't me, I promise. Or maybe it was. I told you I get slightly hysterical in public situations. Not that it matters very much where I was. The message I left must have been several minutes long. My call duration says 4:22! We should make an album - the sounds of Mareel :)
The worst thing about being a volunteer is that everyone asks me why I'm a volunteer and why I don't apply for a job and get paid for being there. It makes me feel very awkward sometimes.
Sorry, this is turning into a bit of a tirade :) Have some more happy vibes, Lillyputty. I shouldn't complain so much. I know I have it pretty easy compared to a lot of people, including you. Have an extra hug too.
More of my sucky taste in music. I'm getting worse at this, if that's possible. But at least I've got them written down somewhere. It worries me how much music I like that I forget. It took me ages to find Bleached - Dead In Your Head today. Remember, you posted that a while back. I really like that song. Thanks Lillyputty :)
Down In The Valley - Peaches
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E69SC3gUeKs
Opus Orange - Crystal Clear
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSZiNDTkRJs
The Airplanes - Paper Hearts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbVAhe7TFdg
Talk to you later. I hope it's nice weather in Blair. It is in Shetland. Then again, you might be wanting rain.
I'm relieved to see you survived the dust bunnies :) I remember when we spoke of keeping fragments of my soul in a mason jar on your bookshelf to feed off fantastical stories and dust. You can have another one if you like :)
I bet you were cleaning your room to awesome music :)
I was too embarrassed to tell you earlier, but when you texted I was just about to watch Fun House on Challenge. It was fantastic. Pat Sharp & his magnificent mullet, the twins and their pom poms, the clothes, the prizes, the go karts, all the running around. They don't make shows like that anymore :)
Nudge. Just because.
Hi Lilly
I don't know if you've seen this film. For some reason, the ending is something that has always stayed with me. Also has Heroes/Helden playing over the credits.
Christane F
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJrPlja6p3s&feature=player_detailpage#t=669s
Text you to say goodnight, Lillyputty. I'll probably hang around your blog for a bit longer. I'm always finding lots of things I like that I've forgotten or missed. Working tomorrow though.
Hi Lilly
I'm at Psych. So much for my week off :) The rentals (I like stealing your words) returned home this mornings off the boat. It's a good thing too. I was just about ready to kill my brother. I told you I go into house nazi mode whenever they're away. No wonder my flatmates in Edinburgh hated me. Anyway, the rentals saw my cousin's new house. It's still in the unpacked, unfurnished stage. I'll bestow my presence upon them when it's in the warm, cosy & clean stage :) Maybe the next time I have a week off work. I'm definitely going away because this week has been so miserable. Y'know, when what you think is going to be a quiet week turns into a busy week and you hate everyone else under the sun for causing you so much bother. Well, I do, but I'm a horrible person :)
I don't hate everyone really. I like you, for example :) It's just that I wish people would leave me alone sometimes. Then again, I don't leave you alone, so maybe I'm just as bad. At least I'm a million miles away and you can easily ignore me :) And it's my own fault that I've been so busy over the last week because I just say yes to everything. Shetland has seemed very small over the last few days, like I'm within reach of everyone. I've got to get out of here methinks, to stop myself from going insane.
In the last 4 years, I've only been out of Shetland twice. Once to go to funeral (so not much of a holiday) and the other to stay with my cousin in Aberdeen. But she invited me to visit when they get their house in order so that'll be nice even though they live way too far from Starbucks & Waterstones :) I'll just have to find other stuff to do. You probably wouldn't want me dropping down to Blair for a day to visit.
Long coffee break today :) We were talking about how rubbish Shetland is for nice, little shops and cafes, which you might think is quite surprising. I think that a lot of people imagine Shetland as being full of these things. It's not. For example, there doesn't seem to be a seafood restaurant in Shetland. Can you believe that? I really want you to come up here, but most of the shops and restaurants are so awful, I'd be a little bit embarrassed to show you around. We'd just have to stay in Sandness and turn it into something awesome. I didn't say anything at break, but I was thinking that it would be cool to open an independent music shop in Lerwick. That's something we could do together :) We probably wouldn't make much money though. We'd just be happy for a little while.
Or we could travel somewhere. I wonder if we'll ever have enough energy and courage for that. I used to think I would go travelling by myself when I was younger. I even asked my parents for a Times Comprehensive Atlas for my birthday. It's still in the living room. I don't look at it so much these days. One of the very loserish things I used to do was buy Lonely Planet guides and make detailed itineraries for places I'd like to go. A waste of time, I know. I don't think I'll ever get to see Kyoto & Tokyo. Edinburgh & Glasgow will have to do :)
I sometimes wish I had a set of encyclopedias. But I suppose that would give me one less reason to go to the local library :) I used to do that quite a lot in Edinburgh. Reading encyclopedias in the library and taking ridiculously long walks were 2 of my main methods for killing time when I didn't have any money :)
I'm listening to Young Galaxy, Belle Mare & Lord Huron in the office today. Adore you buddy. More hugs & happy vibes. I wish I was with you at the moment.
I think you may have created a new word with pyschoradiology, always a wonderful thing to do.
Have some anime for being so fantasty.
Sword Of The Stranger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4PiVbdc2pk
I'll tell you a secret, Lillyputty, just so you know that my bad mood has nothing to do with you. I'm just a bit sad because that friend from school who emailed me a couple of weeks ago stopped replying after a few days. That made me feel really low. Silly, I know. But I'm a silly person. I wish she'd never emailed me at all.
See, my bad mood is really for nothing :) And WLIIA? will cheer me up.
"Come and have a seat on the admiral."
It doesn't take much to cheer me up :)
Here's something really stupid I used to do. I had a computer game for the PC called Top Gun: Fire At Will (yup, based on the film). It's the most relaxing game ever, believe it or not :) Well, it was the way I played it. I think I could turn the sound of the voices off so I just got the plane noise, and I would fly around not doing very much. If a bad guy appeared on the radar, I would go in the opposite direction. I can't remember doing any missions. Occasionally, I would get the urge to lock a missile on a target or fire the machine gun, but I'd usually prefer to take a nice, quiet tour of the countryside in my F-14 or whatever kind of plane it was. I'm odd :)
Talking of PC games, I wish I had Asteroids built into my laptop. That was fun :)
Hi Lillyputty
Tuesday again! Cinema listings for next week at Mareel :)
Epic
Evil Dead
The Great Gatsby
Chimpanzee
Good Vibrations
Olympus Has Fallen
In The House
I know it doesn't make much difference to you, what is on at a cinema 384 miles way, but I still like to tell you. I'm at Mareel at the moment, doing the cinema attendance figures. It pretty easy work :) I'm already nearly done. I might reward myself with a hot chocolate from the cafe. I haven't had one of those in a little while. I also feel like going to Emma Louise's Coffee Shop for a cupcake. I really shoudn't. I had 2 chilled kinder buenos for breakfast this morning. Ugh, I'm disgusting.
It's a lovely day in Shetland. Well, lovely if you like sun and breeze. I should go for a walk, but I probably won't because I'm so lazy. I did have the urge to walk up the hill behind my house this morning, up the path where I used to go sledging. The path looks like it has been re-layed since I last walked up it. It looks a bit more like a road now. I don't like it. I miss the rocky path.
I also miss walking along the small causeway that goes across the Clickimin loch. Part of it is gone. There's a gap in it now. I reckon I could jump across, but I'm too much of a coward to try :) I mean, a bit of it has been missing since as long as I can remember, but it used to have the world's smallest wooden bridge to fill the gap. For some reason, it's not there anymore. Someone was probably desperate for bonfire wood.
The internet wasn't working at home when I left this morning. My parents brought back this wireless booster from Aberdeen to strengthen the signal and now the network has disappeared. Well done rentals :) So that's part of the reason I'm here at Mareel. I had to write a message to my favourite person. Nudge :)
Less than a week until Desire Lines :) It seriously bothers me that I left Careless Love off my list of 10 favourite Camera Obscura songs. And I have no idea which song I would replace to make room for it. That's why top 10 lists suck :) Also, I haven't listened to the Allo Darlin' albums that came a few days ago. I just haven't been in the mood. I was gonna listen to them today, but waking up to be told the internet network had disappeared ruined my enthusiasm for anything cheerful.
When I was staying in the flat in Edinburgh, I didn't have a laptop for quite a while so I couldn't access the internet from there. The laptop I had in 1st year uni broke and I couldn't afford to replace it. Or I couldn't be bothered to replace it. I just spent the money I had on cds & dvds (sod food). I don't know what I would have done without music and films to keep me entertained throughout the nights. Frasier marathons :) I hardly ever went out at night. I would leave the flat very early in the morning though, if it wasn't raining, and go exploring while the city was really quiet. You're right, Edinburgh is so much better sans the people :) I liked that feeling when I was walking somewhere familiar, and then I'd think what would happen if I went a little bit farther, and I'd end up somewhere really nice and unfamiliar. One of the nicest feelings in the world :)
So I used to be able to cope without the internet. I probably still could if it wasn't for you :) I miss you when I can't access your blog. I'm sure I first came across your blog while I was staying in the flat in Edinburgh. I remember, when I didn't have my laptop, there used to be an internet cafe around the corner from the flat. I went there quite often, sometimes daily. I looked it up on google maps, but it seems to have closed down now. I'm not surprised. It was usually very quiet. I liked it :) It was a nice, comfortable place to go. And the guy who ran it knew me well enough to offer me free cups of tea :) But I'd much rather access the internet from the comfort of my own bedroom. So maybe I didn't cope quite so well without the internet in Edinburgh :) Ugh, the amount of money I spent on dvds, cds, books, caramel hot chocolates from Starbucks, internet cafes etc. I probably could have bought a million laptops :)
I'm going home now. I'll text you later if the internet is still down. Hug. Just in case you're not having a good day :)
Just a couple of songs. I'm not even sure if I even like them that much, but they're okay :)
Dakotafish - Midnight Lemonade
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCBfMkmXxpQ
Radical Dads - Recklessness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7JXRCgsdqE
Hi Lilly
I know you probably don't read my comments that much these days, so I don't know why I am asking this here :) but last night, when you said you were quite well, that made me think that maybe you weren't okay. Quite well just doesn't sound to me like something you'd say if you were okay. I'm probably completely wrong. I hope so. You'll think I'm being a little stressball again :) I would have asked you about it last night, but you sounded like you wanted to sleep. You would tell me if you weren't okay, wouldn't you? Not that you have to tell me. I'd like you to, but you don't have to. I know you don't like talking to me so much at the moment. That's okay :) It's just that I still worry about you even though you're always telling me not to :)
Sorry to be so serious :) I'll talk about something else now.
I'm working this afternoon at Psych. Do you remember last week I told you I was going out for lunch today to Monty's (I almost called it Captain Monty's) with people from work just to celebrate the totally uncelebratory action of me moving from one admin job to another admin job? Well, I'm not sure if that's still on. No one has said anything & I'm too embarrassed to ask. I'm not that bothered about the lunch, even though I'm pretty hungry :) It just means that I don't know what time to go into work. If we're having lunch, then I suppose I should be there by 12 as that is usually the time we go for these kind of things, but I don't start work until 2. So am I really going to go 2 hours early just on the off chance that they've remembered we're supposed to be going out for lunch? I suppose I'll have to. It would be even worse to find out they'd all gone out to lunch without me. The last time I missed one of these things, they pretty much accused me of doing it on purpose since they know I don't like going out. Honestly, I didn't! I just forgot. I would never say I was going to be somewhere, then deliberately not go because I couldn't be bothered. It's not my style :)
I discovered something the other day that is so pointless but made me stupidly happy :) In Jurassic Park, John Hammond says this line when the guests are in the cars, just about to start on the tour:
"The voice you are now hearing is Richard Kiley. We spared no expense."
I found out who Richard Kiley is. He played the murderer in one of my favourite Columbo episodes. I have it on dvd. I'm sure you're as excited to learn this fact as I was :)
The first Jurassic Park definitely my favourite. The Lost World is okay, but it always has a ridiculous number of cuts when they show it on tv. Why watch a movie about dinosaurs eating people, if you don't get to see the dinosaurs eating people? :) And I know they don't play a couple in the film, but if they did, Vince Vaughn & Julianne Moore would have to go down as one of the most annoying screen couples in film history. I can't stand them!
Another film they always cut on tv is Crodocile Dundee. There's a scene, when he's at a party, with a guy doing lines coke in the kitchen. Obviously, Mr. Dundee thinks the man has a cold, so he fills up a bowl with boiling water, dumps the coke there and drapes a towel over the man's head and tells him to inhale. Cheesy 80s cinema at its finest :) I think I've seen that scene once. And when he's talking to the prostitutes, they like cutting that scene too, so it seems like they're laughing for no reason.
That reminds me of one of my favourite Stan Smith quotes from American Dad season 6.
"Tomorrow, I'm playing golf with Senator Buckingham. At his golf club. The same one Brooke Hogan belongs to. Her father is Paul Hogan, professional golfer. Brother of Hulk Hogan. I don't think any of that's right." :)
Followed soon after by:
"I'll set him straight. Straighter than Chuck Norris. Because he's so obviously hetero. Well, maybe it would be funnier if you were looking at his face like I am." Cut to screensaver :)
Anyway, talk to you later, Lillyputty. You're my favourite person & don't you forget it. I hope you have a more relaxing day. Hug.
Stan Smith's Chuck Norris screensaver:
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110410230628/americandad/images/5/5c/Chuck_Norris.jpg
And this girl is a hero:
http://funnyaussiesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/floppy-disk-400x376.jpg
I hope you have as fun an evening as I'm about to have. Pizza & gardening. I'm not sure in what order. Thanks for the texts, Lillyputty. I like surprise one word texts when I'm at work :)
P.S. - I'm so jealous of you and your albums :)
Nudge
Just because I don't want to disturb you with a text. I must be so annoying, but I miss you even though we texted about an hour ago. Vomit inducing, I know :)
Hi Lillyputty
I'm working at Psych today, 9-5. We did go for lunch yesterday to 'Captain' Monty's :) I'm gonna start calling it that all the time from now on :) I had the Moroccan lamb. It was okay. And they did pay for my meal, so I didn't order dessert. You're not really supposed to order more than one course in those situations, are you? Or maybe I'm the only one who worries about these things :) I sound like an ungrateful Twatt (always spell it like the Shetland place name), but I'd much rather pay for my own meal and feel like I can order dessert. I frickin' love dessert. Have I told you that before? :)
Actually, I didn't feel like having my meal paid for anyway. I really fucked up at work at the end of last week. I sent something very confidential to the wrong place. Fortunately, nothing bad happened and we got the document back, but things like that make me want to swear loudly at myself, pinch my arm really hard, and punch my reflection in the mirror. Don't worry, I don't to all those things :) I bet they're wishing they hadn't offered me a 3 month extension to my contract now. I starting to wish they hadn't either. Another example of my ungrateful Twattishness :) I'd wish I'd gotten that job I was interview for a couple of months ago. It might have sucked too, but I like that gap between leaving one job and starting a new one :)
Oh well, the end of the month tomorrow. I did say I'd go on a spending spree to celebrate reaching my savings target last month. I don't know, though. I'm pretty thrifty :) I always think there's a 99% chance I'm not going to enjoy the thing I buy. I feel the same way about going on holiday. Why travel a million miles to feel the same way I do at home? I'm such a miserable sod :)
I'm not like you. I hate my postman :) He always makes me sign for parcels that aren't for me. It's actually a little embarrassing. For some reason, he thinks I go to college and keeps asking me about it. I don't know why I haven't corrected him. Apparently, I'm doing quite well at college in my imaginary life :) Anyway, the rest of my family love buying things. We get a ton of parcels. My brother gets all these parcels from Japan. Books! He piles them up in his room. I've probably told you that before. They fell over last night. That happens quite often :) I always have to check that they haven't fallen on top of him. We're an odd family :)
I'm going to be even more boring that usual and talk to you about the weather :) It was so warm in Shetland yesterday. According the the Met Office website, the temperature outside got up to 18.1C. Okay, maybe for other places that's not very high, but it felt really warm to me. It was quite nice though, because there was a breeze. Not that I made much use of the fine weather.
Hmm, there's not been much rain here recently. I don't like that. I worry about the stupidest things. We get so much rain, but I worry when it doesn't rain for a week. That's not normal to worry about things like that when you live on an island in the North Sea, is it? :) And I like the sound of running water coming down the hill when I'm walking around the Clickimin loch :) There's this spot half way that I used to spend ridiculous amounts of time when I was a child watching the running water. It was like a tiny waterfall :)
I remember you telling me about spending summers walking along the river in Blair. I had to go back and read it. The river, the bridge, the beetle :) It sounds lovely. I hope we can do that together one day. Hopefully, it won't be so hot we have to make for cover :) And you asked me all those months ago, in the same post, if I was ever bothered by giant moths in the summer. I didn't answer. Sorry :) I was going to talk to you about moths because they always start appearing in our house at this time of year. They are not giant moths, though. I see them outside, beating against the window, but they never get in. These are just the small variety I have to deal with. I hate them! I'm nice to most creatures, but with moths I am fucking ruthless and sadistic :) I can't relax if I see one. I have to destroy it immediately, even if it requires hunting it around the house. Please don't think too badly of me.
And Lilly, I really do miss you very much, but I understand that you need a lot of time to yourself. Just so you know that I'm not trying to make you feel bad by saying that I miss you. I'd never want to make you feel that way. Just because I miss you doesn't mean I'm sad or upset or anything like that. I'm happy just knowing you're okay. You be as quiet as you like. Please talk to me only when you feel like it, and it's okay if that's not very often at all. No matter how many texts or blog comments I write, I never expect a reply. I just like writing to you because you're my Lilliputian :)
I heard this on Radio 2 today. I was desperately trying to listen to the lyrics so I could look it up. I was pleasantly surprised :)
Fleetwood Mac - Sad Angel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AR9R88pzAo
Hmm, I'm always wishing I'd taken my camera with me when walking through Lerwick on a fine day just because of the number of cats I see :) I wonder if it would look odd, seeing someone whip out a camera to take a picture of a random cat. Oh well, I'll definitely tell you if I manage to find the courage, and upload any cat photos to my very neglected Flickr page.
Also, I'm exploring the hell out of your last.fm loved tracks at the moment. I'm trying to get some ideas for albums I'd like to buy. I'm embarrassed to tell you how few I own :) I mean, I know I've been posting a lot of tracks on here recently, but they tend to be one-off songs that I like. But I do feel very guilty sometimes about listening to so much music and buying so few albums so I'm determined to do something about it. And I do like owning albums. It sounds silly, but there's something different about listening to a song from an album that you've bought, that makes it better than listening to it over the internet. I don't know why, it just feels different to me.
Here are a couple more songs. I like looking for music now even though I don't really expand my horizons. You find stuff that I would never have thought of listening to, but end up really liking. Maybe one day I'll post something that isn't so poppy. I said maybe :)
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper - Aubergine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEVWbzn9X1o
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper - The Nothing Part II (mainly because I like to watch people getting covered in pie)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdqsUML8wv0
Text you to say goodnight, Lillyputty. Hope you've had a good day. Hug.
Hi Lilly. You're up early today. I haven't even had time to write you a message :)
I'm at Psych 9-5 again, while you're out gallivanting in the fine weather (thanks for the photo) :) Hopefully, after 5pm today, I won't be in here until next Wednesday afternoon given how my new hours work out (1.30-5 Wed, 9-5 Thu & Fri). I might try to get this afternoon off since I'm owed about 7 hours from working Monday. That all depends on someone coming in this afternoon to cover the office. Someone should be coming in, but the last time she was supposed to, she didn't, so I won't hold my breath. I'm the only one in the office this morning. Everyone else has gone to visit Charlotte House because that's where they are all moving. So it'll likely be a fond farewell to Bank Lane in a few months time. I'll probably be long gone by the time they finally get around to moving. I hope so. It'll suck being here just in time to help everyone pack everything up :) Despite being on my own this morning, I'm not having a particularly good time. I've a ridiculous amount of filing to get through. And everyone will probably be back in the office in about half an hour to shatter my peace and give me a ton of tasks to do. It's not great being the lowliest person in the office. Aren't you glad I tell you about my exciting job? :) I sound like I don't like it. Honestly, it's okay, but it's been a little bit too much for me recently. I don't know why. Maybe I'm just not so good at my job any more, if I ever was any good. I'll try not to complain so much in the future. I hate when I write whinging posts :)
I'm sorry I talk about myself all the time. I’d like to ask you more questions, but I stop myself from doing that. I feel bad asking you questions. It feels like I'm demanding answers of you :) If I do ask you questions, please know that I don't expect answers. I just like asking them :) I mean, I like when you tell me things about yourself, but it doesn't upset me if I ask you something and you don't answer. None of this probably makes any sense at all :)
P.S. - I'll tell you one genuinely sucky thing about work. I can't access your Deviant Art pages or your Pinterest page. They're blocked! I hope you don't mind that I was looking around your old Deviant Art page last night. I would have asked you for a drawing for my birthday, but that would have been asking waaaayyyy too much. I'm seriously excited about getting a mixed cd from you, though :)
P.P.S. - And you know that I want you to tell me all about your day when you get back. I don't mean right away. You'll probably be tired just like me when I get in from a day in the sun. Just whenever you have the energy :) Or you don't have to tell me at all, but then I'll just imagine what you were doing at a rape seed field, and I have an odd imagination :)
Hope you’re having a good day, Lillyputty. Hug.
I'll tell you what I had for lunch today. Chilli doritos, a peanut butter kit kat chunky bar, and milky way crispy rolls. I hadn't had milky way crispy rolls for years. I thought they'd stopped making them. I was very excited to see them in Conochies. That was the highlight of my day. Not exactly comparable with your day :) Happy birthday to your sister. I bet you're having awesome cake.
I hate the thought of you coming home to find that I've flooded you with messages. So here's another one :) Seriously, don't worry about replying. You've probably had a very busy day. I won't bother you any more tonight. I really only wanted to link this song because I know I'll forget about it if I don't. That's my excuse, anyway :) I like her voice and it's not quite as poppy as some of the stuff I listen to.
Deep Run - North
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMjotyOX3YA
What else? Hmm. Like I said, I'll understand if you're very quiet tonight. You don't need me to say again how I feel about you. Nudge :) I don't post so many messages to make you feel guilty. Honestly :) I wouldn't post so many if I thought they made you feel that way. And I'll be quite happy by myself, watching WLIIA? I don't need an excuse to post some of that. Moving People is a game that seldom disappoints me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf_opkuXJCc
"Put the margarita down, Jed." :)
Text you to say goodnight x
P.S. - I know I hid it well (!), but I really am so jealous of you getting to see Star Trek, especially as you thought it was amazing. I could have seen it if I wasn't so lazy these last few weeks. And if I had my Lillyputty to go with. I really need a cinema partner :)
Hi Lilly
I hope your sister had a nice birthday, ate lots of cake and got a ton of cool stuff. And she got to see the new Star Trek film. Lucky girl. Hmm, I wish I had cake. Or pastry. I like pastries for breakfast. Very continental :) There's an apple crumble in the fridge (store bought of course, since I don't have a baker sister), but no cream. I like my warm desserts with cream. You're probably thinking 'yuck' :) Totally uninteresting fact about me, I prefer single cream to double cream. You know what I like, jelly with cream. I won't eat it happily without. I even put cream in my coffee sometimes. Take that expression off your face :) We usually have coffee in the morning on weekends, made in the coffee machine. Before we had that contraption, my dad used to make lattes. I miss the lattes. Also, I've been desperately trying to find somewhere in Shetland that makes frappuccinos, my choice of drink in the summer. Well, it was in Edinburgh. Frappuccinos from Starbucks. Is it wrong for me to think that Shetland could do with a Starbucks? And a Waterstones. Hmm, it's not an opinion I'd tell anyone in Shetland. But the local shops and most of the cafes are pretty awful. I don't like going in the shops. You can't browse like you can in a Waterstones or an HMV. Ugh, Shetland Arts used to make me delivery leaflets and posters to the local shops. I hated doing that. They treat you bad enough when they think you're a customer :) Actually, I don't know if we need a Starbucks. I wouldn't want to see Emma Louise's Coffee Shop close down. That's a nice place. I'd miss it, even though I don't go in as often as I should. Maybe they do frappuccinos now, since they changed their name from Cupcakes to Coffee Shop. I must investigate.
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