Wow.

Family coming over next weekend, will be ACE to see them. Been a while... And what with me being in sunny England all Summer, I haven't spent more than a week with them since June. Odd! They're only coming for two nights, but it's still be tremendous. Going to good old manc on the Sunday for a cultured day with Teh Mickey :)

Got quite a lot to do at the moment, but I still want to do more. Will be ringing some schools tomorrow to see if I can do a volunteer teaching thing one day a week. Seeing as I have two full weekdays off uni a week I might as well fill one of them with something sensible. And unpaid.

Creative Writing is a bit mental. Not got LOADS to write but I think I need to pick it up a notch. Both in terms of words, and the quality... Decided I will do 2000 words a day. Every day. It doesn't all have to be publishable - or even submittable - so long as I get my ass into gear type thing. Have joined the nanowrimo (http://www.nanowrimo.org) so in November I will write 3000 a day - that's 2000 for the novel and at least 1000 for *other*... The thing is.. I need to do it. Maybe not for my degree, but just to prove to myself I can work when I need to, not just the night before a deadline. So far today I've written zilch - but there's still 3.5 hours to go! Haha.

Did I tell you bout Brum? Brum was ace. A minor disappointment involving a.. misunderstanding.. but I had a fab time with Tara, Karin, Lynne, David and Daz. And Brum is just amazing. I'm afraid I spent way too much money - on clothes and fabrics. Will make sure I post the results of my current sewing spree (which will probably end in about five minutes, but y'kno..).

Am planning on going to Bowland's Christmas ball - and I've even convinced Mike to come! Our first date.. hehe. Was surprised that he agreed, I think he secretly enjoys getting dressed up in a dark suit and dancing the night away with a pretty lady... (that's me, for those of you who didn't get that). And anyway, my point WAS that I'm making my dress for it. Although I bought three very nice, fancy, shiney fabrics, so it'll just depend on which one turns out nicer.. Have started a brown satin one, trying some boning for it which I've never done before, might well blow up in my face. Literally. Will ask opinions when they're all done.

Speaking of.. opinions. Why aren't you commenting? I KNOW people are reading this.. and I know I may not be the most interesting blogger ever but come ooooon... ;)

I'll try harder if you do. Haha.

xx

I'm pretty stressed right now. Yes, I've nearly finished the bloody thing. And I think I'm about as happy with it as I could possibly be. But y'kno. Still stressed. Finishing the last little bits and bobs, and it annoys me. I hate deadlines. But then again, I hate exams more. Well.. do I? I don't know.

Mike's coming tonight, thank God. Just need to relax for a night. All this stressing is making me ill, I think. My entire body is just aching, and I've had a headache for the last few days. Typical lurgy - fresher's flu? Haha. I'm gonna say it's the stress, cos paracetamol haven't been helping at all. Switching to beechams now...

Working yesterday went really well, the boss rang me up this morning saying I did SUCH a good job, I am PERFECT for the position, and I'm a great mixture of calm and relaxed, and efficient and intelligent. Haha, I'm wondering what's shes' basing that on - my ability to move chairs? To hand out papers? To be friendly to old ladies? Either way, I really enjoyed it. Could imagine a similar job in the future actually.. But yeah.

Had a good idea for my next dissertation last night - forensic phonetics. Cos let's face it, I'm good at it. And I'm interested in it. And my supervisor is as well. Sooo... I'm just waiting for him to reply to my email, see what he reckons. This time I swear I'm going to do everything right. Starting next week.

..anyone believe me?

Stef is cooking blue cheese pasta downstairs, it smells really nice.. But don't think I can eat anything right now. Had food not too long ago...

I just read something I haven't read in a long time. Well, two things. The first one is a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 'the Yellow Wallpaper', which we read in English a few years back. It was amazing. Well, it's still amazing. More than a hundred years old but still quite modern. Read it, if you haven't already. Second thing I read, was the bottom of my lunch box. It's a Lenore lunch box, and there's a pig saying... 'Oh...um...Hello there. I am a hidden piggy. For some reason, I was put on the bottom of this really heavy box. Each time you put this box down, it hurts real bad. Please don't hurt me anymore. I was thinking that maybe you could fill it up with like marshmallows or something. You like marshmallows.'

I'll leave you to ponder the little piggy's words of wisdom now.

Until next time!

xx

So last night/this morning an old mate phoned me. Woke me up, but it was absolutely ace talking to him again... It got me thinking, I am so very very bad at staying in touch with people. Started writing letters, got to.. one. Lucky Karin! Heh. I keep meaning to. And it's not like I don't have the time to do it... As I have so few hours at uni, I can divide my time up as I want. But am thinking that maybe I need to get into the 'swing of things' (as Dave so eloquently put it) before I write letters? There will be enough writing this year as it is, but I just don't know where to start.

Well. The number one priority THIS week is finishing the LING232 dissertation. I don't know where I stand. I read it and re-read it and I go back through my notes and I think I've got it all down. Some minor things left to do, few more paragraphs on the lit review, as well as in the conclusion. Apart from that, just need the acknowledgements and the abstract, really.

And after this week is over... I'm taking a weekend off EVERYTHING. Lol. Cos that's unusual! After that, I need to think of a topic for my LING201 diss... Am wanting to do something on acoustics and phonetics, not sure what though. Any suggestions welcome.

And then... Creative writing. This term I'm doing both intermediate and non-fiction, next term intermediate and long fiction - all work due right before Easter. Soooo... planning ahead? Be a good student, Julia, work hard and you won't get stressed in the end. Buhullshit! Best get cracking fair soon anyhow.

Now to the fun parts... Karin is coming next week!!! YEY! Can't wait. We shall most definately be going to the Sugarhouse, so if you're a lancastrian (obv, someone I know...) you'd best be there and meet our Kalin! Bwahah.

Last Thurs in Sugar was pretty good, we managed to drag Gill along :-) Stef and Katy didn't enjoy it though - shocker. Haha.

I'd best be off before this turns into another very teenagey, uninteresting post... I read other blogs and feel guilty cos I don't put any effort into this, it's all me-me-me... I could at least TRY to amuse yous.

ttfn

xx

So I am officially self employed. How very grown up!

Went to Brum for Warren's birthday on Monday, was an ace night! And cool to meet Rose (and Chris, obviously!). Will def make more of an effort to go to Brum more, it's like.. the best place ever. Well, nearly. And Warren's family is lovely as well!

Andandand I would like to see the Johns, not been there in ages and feeling kinda bad.. Have pretty much lost touch with them:( Next time I'll go for longer! And see more people! And spend a lot more money in the ace market! Only bought a jacket this time... It's very glittery, not sure what to do with it. Will post a picture, if I can be bothered.

So yeah, self employed. Do taxes and NI and all that jazz... It's for the translation work. Now I'm just hoping I will get some more assignments from them so it will actually be worth the hassle.. lol.

Have a job interview Friday with some retail company thingy. Wish me luck! Problem is, the interview is in Preston. Well, that isn't the problem. The problem is a lady from uni wants me to do the international arrivals, and come up for an 'informal chat' at the end of this week... Which is all good and well, but will I be able to make it to uni before they go home Fri afternoon, if I'm in Preston at 3? Hope so... Emailed the retail lady to ask if I could do the interview a bit earlier, if she doesnt spot my email tomorrow I'll have to ring and ask... Ah, it will work out! If nothing else, I'll go to Lancs, meet with uni lady mid day, then go down to Preston... Lots of travelling, but hey... 'those who don't travel only read the first page' Haha.

Bored now, more writing later.

xx

So I am officially self employed. How very grown up!

Went to Brum for Warren's birthday on Monday, was an ace night! And cool to meet Rose (and Chris, obviously!). Will def make more of an effort to go to Brum more, it's like.. the best place ever. Well, nearly. And Warren's family is lovely as well!

Andandand I would like to see the Johns, not been there in ages and feeling kinda bad.. Have pretty much lost touch with them:( Next time I'll go for longer! And see more people! And spend a lot more money in the ace market! Only bought a jacket this time... It's very glittery, not sure what to do with it. Will post a picture, if I can be bothered.

So yeah, self employed. Do taxes and NI and all that jazz... It's for the translation work. Now I'm just hoping I will get some more assignments from them so it will actually be worth the hassle.. lol.

Have a job interview Friday with some retail company thingy. Wish me luck! Problem is, the interview is in Preston. Well, that isn't the problem. The problem is a lady from uni wants me to do the international arrivals, and come up for an 'informal chat' at the end of this week... Which is all good and well, but will I be able to make it to uni before they go home Fri afternoon, if I'm in Preston at 3? Hope so... Emailed the retail lady to ask if I could do the interview a bit earlier, if she doesnt spot my email tomorrow I'll have to ring and ask... Ah, it will work out! If nothing else, I'll go to Lancs, meet with uni lady mid day, then go down to Preston... Lots of travelling, but hey... 'those who don't travel only read the first page' Haha.

Bored now, more writing later.

xx

Mike's birthday was Saturday, was a great night out!! Mark came out, as did Rob, and Sarah... So happy they did, they're all ace! Hehe. Ended up staying in Lloyds for ags, not the best bar ever but it did me. Then we, for some inexplicable reason, went to a karaoke bar. I think we stayed there about 20 minutes before we buggered off. Interesting night after that, I love trying to convince two drunk lads they wanna walk home;) Heh, wasn't that bad really!

Sarah moved to Spain today... going to miss her so much! But I suppose it's an excuse to visit Madrid. Made her a card, hope she liked it...

Going up to Lancs tomorrow for a meeting with my dissertation tutor. I'm positively petrified! But I'm sure it will be fine... Just need to know what to say. And it's too late tonight to figure it out, maybe on the train tomorrow? Hehe.

Tried to get the storage company to deliver our things tomorrow, think I managed to pissed them off good and proper. It was good fun. In the end they said they needed at least a week's notice - "First we have to find the container, then we have to find the boxes..." What, do they not keep records of where they store things? Such tools - so I can't get my things tomorrow. There goes sorting my room out! Ah well, not like I'm in a hurry anyway.

I'm so hungry, and mouth is well dry. Bought some rubicon earlier, it's just heavenly. But so addictive. And not that cheap.. Ah well.

I'm off, take care lovelies.

It's getting to that time of night again. You know, when you're starting to feel it's too late to go to bed, and you're quite tired but at the same time you're not.

Uni has charged me for stuff they claim is wrong with my room - I don't agree with it all but there's no way I can complain really, won't ever get it back. It's only 15 quid anyway. Ha, there's the danger. How long do I have to work to get 15 quid? Three hours. Yes, I get minimum wage. And what could I do with 15 pound? Buy lots of food. Buy good books, keep me entertained for a few hours. Buy part of the bus pass I need to get to and from uni. Buy hats! Lol.

People have been telling me they read my blog... Well, why don't you comment? Am feeling very unappreciated here - no one reads, no one cares... No one appreciates all the time and effort I put into this glorious blog. I am, of course, joking. But comments, reactions (at least to my more serious posts) are appreciated!

Have been doing quite a bit of work on my dissertation lately. No silly amounts, but still. You know, the one on Family Guy? I think I could get it to be quite good actually... not to be bigheaded or anything;)

Am going to Lancaster next week, move some stuff in and meet with my dissertation tutor. Oh, and a night out for Dave's birthday type thing. Will be good to see the house where I'll be spending most of my time this year! I tell a lie, of course. I mean, my intentions for this year are good, but am I really going to keep them? They're only intentions, after all. I'd write them on here, but I'm afraid some of you lovely people will show me up when (sorry, if) I don't stick to them... Hehe.

So, should I bring my sewing machine to Lancs next week? That way I can't be tempted to use it for the next few weeks.. and can focus entirely on teh loveleh dissertation. But then there's charity shops that sell books, there's the internet where films can be downloaded and people can be chatted with, and there's a bed to sleep in... Where there's a will to be distracted, there's a way. So maybe I should keep it, at least that way some of my distraction time will be spent doing something vaguely useful.

Speaking of usefulness of distraction methods (or something?), I just read the Da Vinci Code. And liked it! Surprisingly enough... Have to read it for crewri anyway. Well, in the lent term. Lol. But it's good to be prepared! Next, the Magus or Catch 22.

Right, that time of the night is over... time to lean back with a cig and listen to the Doors. Joke!! I'm just well funny, aren't I? Sleepy..

TTFN

The worst experience of my life, to date.

I was happily sitting on the toilet, going about my business. As i was getting toilet paper, unrolling the layers, I see a massive, gruesome, disgusting spider that has crawled INTO THE ROLL, in between the plies.

Needless to say, I nearly panic, chuck the bog roll as far from me as I can on the bathroom floor... Just to see the spider creeping out of the roll, onto the floor, crawling towards me... to attack me!

Me? I'm all itchy and nervy, not wanting to stay in the house and DEFINITELY not going to the bathroom again. Ever.

Now then!

Today has been spent.. mainly in bed. Had some pasta for lunch, messed about on net and with trying to create a dual boot (well, Mike did.. I pretended to have a clue what he was on about. I'm such a girl).. And not he's at work, and I tried going to the shops but.. would you believe it - they're shut! So now I'm sat here, without a clue what to have for dinner. Takeaway? Chinese, maybe? Haha.

Tomorrow will alsp most likely be spent achieving absolutely nowt (should have just stayed in bed like I know how)... Working at night though. And Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Bank holiday... Oh well, I don't HAVE to stay late every night, and I DO get paid for it. So it is worth it, really.

Still haven't heard back from H&M - TOSSERS! Interview was over three weeks ago, and I've even rung to ask where I stand.. But to no avail. I mean, I can take a hint, I know I didn't get the job.. But couldn't they even send out a letter? That's the main reason I'll be phoning them tomorrow.. It's just common courtesey isn't it? I come in for an interview and they can't even spend an A4 sheet and an envelope on telling me "Sorry, no"...

Oh well, I'm happy anyway.

Might tidy this room tonight, can I be bothered? It's a lot of effort.. But at least I will have done something with my day. Tomorrow... library maybe? Ah but then I'm working at night... I think Tuesday is much better for librarygoings. (Monday is Bank Holiday, and on Friday I'll have worked the night before and will work that night.. soooooo. Yeah.)

xx

Joanna has moved to Falun. W00t?! lol. Her flat is well nice, she will be sharing with a girl called Marie, whom she has yet to meet. Anywho, I'm sure she'll love it - living on own, going to uni, make a new set of friends... etc. Not that there's anything wrong with her old ones, I just mean .. a girl can't have too many friends! Hahaha.

Nah, it's a nice town, the uni looks all new and full of resources - they have access to labs 24/7!! And so on.

Weird though, my ickle sister is old enough to move out... Eek.


Back in Manchester now, it's.. grey. But feels good to be back!

Will write more later...

xx