Manicness! (With Fudge)

It's been absolutely manic since I last blogged.

I did a week of work, and have started some new hours at the petrol station across the car park from the main shop. That's where I'll be spending my Thursday evenings and Monday afternoons now. On a Monday evening I'll then head over to the shop for a three hour shift. So I now do nineteen official hours per week. Woo! Nice little boost of money for me there for Australia :) That hasn't stopped them asking me for loads and loads of overtime though - sometimes I feel thoroughly overworked and underpaid! But I do enjoy working there - I did an office job for about a year and the solitude was just awful. So the interaction I get with the public in my job is just fantastic, and I keep reminding myself of that when I feel down or upset at work - I could be back in the office - and I'm not as unhappy anymore. Positivity, people!

On the tuesday of that week I did take my best friend out to lunch, though. I always try to keep my Tuesdays free in case we want to do something (it's her only day off of college during the week). We went to Frankie and Benny's, a restaraunt that's an Italian American diner. I haad an all day breakfast, and the sausages were herb sausages. I mean, why? Why would you want it? I found a horrible green thing about half the length of my pinkie finger in a sausage. It's just plain wrong. So I asked for a bag and took the sausages home for my dog. She appreciated them, anyway.

My bestie had a huge bacon burger, which she seemed to enjoy quite a bit. She didn't enjoy dessert quite as much - she could hardly get into the darn thing. It was their version of Pizza Hut's Cookie Dough, and it was literally a cookie with a dollop of ice cream on the top. Only, this wasn't hot like Pizza Hut's, and the darn thing was practically frozen solid. We joked that she needed a chainsaw to cut it up, but she very nearly did. I have never seen someone struggle so much with a cookie.

I, on the other hand, had a white chocolate brownie sundae. Oh yes, it was as tasty as it sounds. I would quite happily go to F&B just for that dessert. It was exquisite.

So then work took me up to half term. Well, I don't actually get half term anymore since I'm not in education, but I was determined to keep this week relatively work-free because I could meet up with Bestie loads. As you can probably tell by now, I don't get to see many people. I have Bestie, and a friend in the village that I've known since like, birth. Village Friend and I go on lots of walks together with the dog, but even then it's not as regularly as I'd like.

On Tuesday work bugged me and bugged me to go in, but as mym mum and I were going to visit a family friend in the afternoon, I only agreed to work till one o clock. An assistant manager grumbled something like 'I suppose that's better than nothing', and I was quite affronted by that. At least I'm doing some hours for you, you ungrateful depressed monkey. (Yeah, positivity!) Then mum and I spent around three hours at our friend's house, in which I learnt the daughter has an obsession with New Zealand. In particular the rugby team. Not much of a rugby person myself, as I don't understand what the hell is going on half the time, but I get the feeling she was looking more at the actual men than the game. It was rather funny when she learnt that I pay rent to my parents; her parents are very very well off, so price is never a problem for her. She really really couldn't understand why I have to pay my parents to help with the bills, bless her... How the other half live, I suppose.

Anyway, Bestie and I decided to go visit our Southampton Uni friend (all these 'friend' tags are long to write. So I'm naming Southampton Uni friend Madison, one of my all time favourite names. Village Friend shall be called Quinn, because she likes that name). We planned it just-so, and on Wednesday I got up at 6:45am (shock to the system much) and left for Bestie's house at 7:20. Arrived at just before 8:00am, and we got in her car and drove to Southampton. Took us about three hours, but it went so quickly. It was an exciting thing for me to do - go on a little road trip - and as such I was such a chatterbox on the way up there. I was playing My Little Pony songs that I'd downloaded (I affectionately call them PonyBeatz) and she was exasperated because as she was driving I was in control of the music. Mua ha ha ha. But she did incredibly well, and I was very impressed and proud of how she handled the M roads. We pulled up in West Quay, apparently the biggest shopping centre in Southampton. By God was it HUGE. seriously, it was gigantic. I commented that I felt like a country bumpkin when we entered it, because I was just staring around me in awe because it was that damned big. Whilst waiting for Madison to finish her lectures for the morning, Bestie and I did a bit of shopping. Trying to navigate the pace was a chore in itself!

Also, whilst I know escalators can be useful, why does there have to be so many of them everywhere? I hate the damn things. After an incident when I was a child, I have had an immense dislike/borderline fear of them. In West Quay the bathroom is only accessible via escalators. Thankfully Bestie knows how much I hate them and lets me grip her hand/arm to death when riding them. 

Once Maddy got there after her lectures we did a bit more browsing of shops ate lunch, walked up to this castle-gate thing in the town, then promptly went back to Bestie's car and headed for Maddy's flat, nearly getting lost on the way. Yay for sattelite navigation!

Maddy's flate is about half an hour's walk from the actual University campus. It's  a lovely little place, very cosy and nice. Her room is so so her - full of nature-y stuff like plants, a wooden carving of a giraffe, a pet rock... And just about big enough to sleep two people. So Bestie and I were to share the airbed, and Maddy on her own bed. We sat for ages, catching up and just talking, and then took a walk to Maddy's Uni. She gave us a tour, and it is huge. I swear, everything about Southampton is just enormous. The library is just insane, though that was only from the outside - as two of our party weren't students there, we couldn't get in. Though according to Maddy it has five levels to it. Like, Hogwarts much? :D

Eventually we came to an art gallery that Maddy hadn't discovered yet, so we went in. Always a bad idea to take me to an art gallery, especially when it's modern art. I can't stand it. So unfortunately that, and a few other factors, put me in a grouchy mood. I feel bad about it now, because it was obvious that I was sort of ruining a happy day. Thankfully it didn't last too long, and a few quiet words after we got back to Maddy's flat sorted things out properly. 

Maddy offered to cook us dinner, and, being tired from the travelling we'd done, we weren't going to say no. She cooked us up a lovely meal of pasta with chicken, and did an onion-sauce-thing for herself and Bestie - she knows I don't eat that sort of stuff. After dinner, the camera came out, and many photos were taken to give us reminders of the day. A couple of hours after dinner, we had woken up a bit and decided to go to the Uni for some drinks. Some of Maddy's flatmates lent us their bus passes (thankyou!) and we ran out in the pouring rain to the bus. Literally, it was chucking it down. Thankfully there was a bus shelter, so we were able to dry off a little bit, but we were still pretty soaked. Therefore, when we got to the Student Union pub, named the Stag's Head, we headed straight to the bathroom and dried off under the hand-dryers. Cool, eh.

Drinks there were an absolutely fab price - we got three for £5.80. It's just incredible. I had an Archers and lemonade, and Maddy and Bestie had a Dissarono and coke. We each bought a round, and that was just enough to make our tummies warm. Bestie did have to drive home the next day, and I just didn't have the money to get drunk. So we stayed there for a few hours, and then caught the bus back to Maddy's flat, pumped up the airbed and settled down for the night. Except I'd only bought a thin sleeping bag-liner, and after an hour I was a bit chilly. So I hopped into the bed with Maddy and was asleep in seconds.

Thursday we got up at six and left Maddy's at eight. The drive home was a bit more stressful than the drive there, purely due to people being idiots on the road. Nevertheless, Bestie dealt with it all fabulously. Except she never noticed when she had to turn her windscreen wipers off due to lack of rain, so I gladly took that job role for her. My catchphrase is now 'Your wipers seem to be struggling a bit, my dear.'

Check me out, right? Official windscreen-wiper-turner-offerer.

Bestie got home at half eleven, and started work at twelve. I got home at twenty past twelve, had a haircut at two, and started work at four. Needless to say, I was knackered. As such, I was grouchy and more picky with my hairdresser, and my hair looks rather good (not to toot my own horn), so I think I may be more picky in the future. I had a nap after my hair was done, and got up at half three to motor myself to work. 5 hours later, I was only awake due to Lucozade, and was incredibly chatty when I got in, much to my parents' surprise.

So, that was Thursday. Friday, it was Bestie's very very late birthday present. I got her an Orang-utan Experience at our local zoo. At twenty to twelve, we set off for the Orang-utan enclosure, in tow of it's keeper. I was relegated to the outside of the enclosure, and Bestie went inside, and presumably had a little chat with the keeper about what she would be doing. When I saw the Orang-utan (named Raja) move quite quickly to the gate of the enclosure, I rushed to the glass to see what was happening. And there was Bestie, gathering medicine mixed with cranberry juice in a syringe, and through the gate feeding this great big monkey. It was awesome to watch. It went on, and on, and on... I thought at one point My God is she trying to drug him!? But apparently it was all gravy. Word. 
Then, Bestie went into another bit of his enclosure and scattered some fruit and veg. She never got actual contact with him, and according to the keeper he would have tried to pull her hair a bit, so maybe that was a good thing. Wouldn't want my bestie with a bald patch!
Bestie then left that part, and Mr Monkey entered it to have a go at the food. Bestie then went into the big original part of the enclosure, and scattered more food, putting it in places where Mr Monkey would have to work to get it - stuck in a bottle for example. Just little things like that to stimulate his brain. Some of the things he got to play with in his enclosure we long rope-things that looked like they were made of plastic - I later informed Bestie that these were in fact hoses donated by the local fire station. I has knowledge, like.


So, that's something Bestie can tick off her bucket list - stare an Orang-utan in the eyes whilst drugging him. WAaaaaaaaaaaaaay. 
We then spent the rest of the day at the zoo, visiting our favourite animals - mine being the short-coat-otters, and the sealions, and Bestie being the orang-utans (obviously) and the red pandas. It's a huuuge zoo, and eventually I sat down on whatever ledge I could find wherever we were because I was so tired from Southampton and everything. But that was all fine, and humorous, so no worries there.
However, something amazing DID happen just as Bestie and I were leaving the zoo - I tried some fudge. I'd never had fudge before, and this was homemade milk chocolate fudge. It was incredible. So much so that I'm going to buy it for my dad as part of his christmas present :D I bought Bestie some Devon Toffee Fudge, and she seemed to quite enjoy that too. Fudge all around!


So, Saturday was work. Nothing tremendously ground-shaking happened there. HOWEVER! I did manage to persuade my manager to let us dress up for Halloween! Cue buying a sequin-bat-mask, a sequin top and weird pvc-looking leggins. They weren't pvc, but they... well, actually, I haven't got a clue what they're made of.
Anyway, today was Hallows Eve. And, true to my Taurean nature, I courageously went to work dressed as a 'Sparkly Bat', as I told the customers. I got some very flattering comments, one in particular when a man stepped through the door, saw me, stopped dead and just breathed "Wow..."
Thank you, thank you very much! Quite possible made my life!


Oh no wait, that couldn't have made my life, as seeing The Lion King in 3D made my life yesterday... it was incredible! I was crying within two minutes of the opening sequence because it was just so damned awesome... *sniffles* And I never remembered it being so funny! Scar is hilarious! Haaa I have a whole new appreciation for it. And, of course, I cried when Mufasa died :'( poor guy... I really did like him.


So, Quinn told me that this blog, supposed to be for Australia, isn't really about Australia at all. That, people, is because I'm not there yet. So I can't write tonnes about it. But here's a little update - getting my passport photos done tomorrow so I'll send that off then! Watch out Oz, here I come!

My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic

I have been so incredibly smiley the past few days. Why, you might ask?


Well, because of the ponies from Equestria of course!


Yes, my friends, I have recently discovered the revamped versions of MLP, and it is amazing. I have never smiled so much at a cartoon show, I swear! (Technically, anime doesn't count as cartoon else it'd be a fierce rival against Lucky Star). In the past three days I've contented myself with watching episodes after I get home from work, and last night I finished the first series. Today, I started the second. I'm so pleased to have found it; it really is a gem of a cartoon, and teaches viewers valuable lessons on friendship with each episode.


It usually wraps up each episode with Twilight Sparkle writing a letter to Princess Celestia about what she has discovered about friendship - kind of like the moral of the episode. Since this show is primarily aimed at young kids, I think a moral about friendship is a fantastic thing to show them. Kids can nowadays be so caught up in stuff like mobiles and computer games that they may forget what really matters. This show teaches them right from wrong when it comes to friendship, and I really think that is fantastic.


But wait, my friends! MLP: FiM is not just for young kids! Ohh yes. It is loved by adults as well. This fun, colourful, insightful program is such a joy after the depressing/repetetive things on television for adults. You have the soaps - Home and Away, Holby, Casualty, Corrie, Eastenders etc. You have the sports - football, rugby, golf, tennis etc. You have the documentaries - history, geography, animal life etc. The worst perpetrator is... THE NEWS! Hardly anything happy is ever broadcast on the news. I have personally stopped watching it. I get my information from newspapers (which always have at least two happy stories in it) and gossip. Whilst I don't condone the latter, it's much better than watching the news.
All of these TV programs may have some good points, but seriously? Where is the fun? Where is the colour, the laughter, the rainbows? WHERE ARE THE GOD-DAMN PONIES?!


So, whether by happy mistake or for their child/sibling's sake, these teens+ have stumbled across My Little Pony. Eh hee hee hee! And oh, how they are hooked! Male fans of the show call themselves Bronies (inventive, eh?) and I do believe that the females call themselves (even if they don't, I will) Pegasis. If I remember rightly, the best comment I ever read from a FiM episode was by a Brony who wrote - I am an adult male and I watch this instead of porn. That's right I said 'instead of', not 'as well as'.
MLP is helping to cure men of the lure of pornography, people! Bravo, I say!


MLP is even a popular tattoo design. This is a great example of a Brony, though the pony is not from Friendship is Magic. This Brony is just awesome too! Much err... respect is not the right word, but I was slightly impressed at first. And lastly, this pony is Rainbow Dash from FiM :D


Of course, my favourite is Fluttershy! *Squee* She is so adorable. So so adorable. There is no one more adorable than her on TV. Even Pocoyo is having a hard time competing against her adorableness. But I wouldn't want to get on her bad side! I have the Sparta Remix on 'You're going to LOVE ME!' on my phone, and Flipped Fluttershy is scary Fluttershy. BEWARE THE FLUTTERAGE!


Now that I've got all of that out of my system, I hope that people may be inspired to watch this brilliant thing. I was a mega fan of MLP when I was growing up; I watched my VHS of Rescue at Midnight Castle so much that we had to throw it away in the end because the quality got so bad. But this is a fantastic revival of My Little Pony, and has an uber uber UBER thumbs up from me!

Zwei - Clubbing, Buddha and Pikachu.

In the past month-ish, not too much has happened.


It was my best friend's nineteenth birthday in early October, and we went clubbing for that. Unfortunately all of our friends have gone off to Uni, apart from herself who is doing a one-year Art course at a different college, and myself who is just working to save money for Australia. Ergo, not many people were there. It was upsetting for her, and as she was upset so was I. So in the end it was just myself, herself, her boyfriend and another guy friend of ours.
It was a good night,and she seemed to have a time despite the lack of people, and to have played a part in that made me rather pleased. It wouldn't have said much about our friendship if she was out with me and had a bad night.


Actually, I was out the week before that, too. With my sister, which is a very rare occurrence in itself as we don't exactly get on brilliantly. But hey, I had a good time. The only weird thing about it was that, as she socialises with people a bit older than herself, we were spending our night out with a guy who's in his late 30's. He was genuinely lovely though, and we got on fabulously. So much so that he kissed me before I got into the taxi. I was a bit freaked by that, because he's like twenty years older than me. He also invited me for drinks, but as he's engaged and is quite a bit my senior, I haven't mentioned it. Neither has he, thankfully. He was so lovely, it was just a shame he wasn't my age. That's the way my life goes, I suppose. Meet a fantastic guy who seemed to be everything I would want from a man, but he's 30-odd and engaged. Typical.


I haven't done much else really. I've not even been meditating that much, which I suppose could be a good thing - meaning I'm not as stressed or lonely so don't feel the need to. Although I did do a tarot reading for my sister yesterday, and convinced her it wasn't just 'messing about' as all of my family seem to think. So that was nice :) When I went out to a garden centre I stumbled across some CDs for spas and salons, although they are brilliant when meditating and simply to chill out to. With names like Inspiration, Relaxation, Freedom, Serenity, Bliss etc you can kind of get the idea of what they sound like. In any case, I love them, and bought four of them to add to the three I already had. Along with two new cream candles and holders, I think I'm doing pretty well. Sometimes I feel like a Bhudda :') But then I remember that if I see a spider I kill it, so I remember I'll never be a Bhuddist.


The other day however, I rather felt like a Pikachu. I work at the Co-Operative, and on Wednesday we were dressing up to raise money for the local Air Ambulance - a very worthy cause, cause you'll never know when you'll need it. Well, anyway, since I already had a Pikachu suit (£60 eBay, thank you very much!) with a tail and everything, so I thought it would be a good excuse to wear it out of the house without getting too many funny looks. One of my colleagues was dressed as Red Indian, two came together as 118, and I pressured another into coming as a pirate. I even bought the costume in for her to make it easy! She did enjoy herself in the end, so I don't feel too bad for pressuring her into it. I can't pretend that I didn't enjoy it myself, because actually I love the spotlight. I was totally in my element. I dressed up (sort of) as a nurse on Friday, for the same charity. I just wore smart trousers and a white blouse, a badge with Consultant written on it, and a little silver disc taped onto a black alice-band. Et voila! Semi-nurse-thing. I told a customer I couldn't really be bothered after the great effort I had done for Pikachu, and we agreed that as I was a half-nurse, I was a Nur. I have finally found a customer with my sense of humour! *Fist-pumps*


Today has been a slow day. Well, it's a Sunday, so it's supposed to be slow anyway. I checked to see if any of my favourite fanfictions had been updated (they hadn't, so I read some of the older chapters), checked ma facebook, and then decided to write a letter to my friend at Uni. Letters are a lot of fun to write, actually. They're also more personal than an email, and I think also a lot more in depth than texts. I don't like writing long texts but I'll gladly spill my soul onto a piece of parchment. So once I'd finished my letter, added in a drawing and written the address, I thought I'd be uber special and seal the envelope with wax and stamp it, like they used to do in olden times. But first I needed a stamp.
So, I found a small block of wood from the shed, rid it of the cobwebs that had gathered on it and grabbed a Sharpie. Drew a great big 'M' on the side, grabbed a scalpel (very carefully) and got to work. After a while my throat felt a bit sore and I realised I'd probably inhaled some sawdust, so I grabbed a bandanna and tied that around my nose and mouth. I was proper impressed with myself for coming up with that.
I did about six trial runs with the stamp, to make sure I'd get it right on the envelope. Of course, the only one to go wrong was the one on the envelope >.>
The wax dribbled all over it. I'm not sure what the postman is gonna think when he sees it. He'll probably peel the wax seal off. Douche. If it doesn't arrive in your mailbox with the seal, babe, I'm so sorry but it isn't my fault. It was on there when I posted it.


I also filled out my passport form today - yay! Now I just have to go into town and get a photo taken for it, and I can post it off and be that one step closer to going to Australia! So looking forward to it.


So I think that's about everything. It was just a little update on my humble life. When I said nothing had happened in the past month, I'd obviously forgotten everything that had.