April 30, 2002
Honesty
I can't think of much to say anymore. In an attempt to prepare for exams I've pushed out real life in favour of books and revision notes. I dream English literature, and read math notes... And really being an all around bore I know.
As a result of my not getting out much, and my not really 'thinking' so much as memorising stuff, I'm drawing blanks. So really, what I think I'm trying to do with this is offer an advance apology for any nonsense that appears until May 22, when my exams are finished.
In other news, according to my school bulletin, there's a short story contest, with a limit of 55 words. Really short. I'm going to try to come up with something.
Posted by Laura at 10:03 PM | Comments (1)
April 29, 2002
Question 8
What are you looking forward to most about this summer?
Posted by Laura at 08:53 PM | Comments (15)
Nokia
After I swaped my phone today for a spiffy new Nokia (Okay, so I switch plans and they give you a free phone hehe), I decided to check out their website: club nokia.
After signing up they ask if you want them to send your login information so that you have a copy. Just now I got 4 e-mails. One telling me I'd signed up; one with the login name; one with my password; and one telling me I'd gotten the login information.
Now if only I.E. didn't crash when loading it.
Posted by Laura at 08:43 PM | Comments (0)
April 28, 2002
Pills
"I'm fine, just have headache. I didn't take any pills."
"What's that supposed to mean, 'I didn't take any pills'?"
"He took pills!"
"How many pills did you take."
"The green ones on the counter."
"Green pills!"
"You crazy? How many did you take? The whole bottle?"
"Yes the whole bottle."
"See I told you he'd try to kill himself."
"Call the hospital!"
"Wait. For all you know they could've been vitamins. He could be the healthiest person in the room!"
I just watched the old 'Odd Couple'.
Posted by Laura at 11:15 PM | Comments (1)
Blech weather
I've been in my room most of today reading up for my English exam on friday. It's not the most exciting thing ever. I would be studying outside, but it's absolutely pouring.
Just one of those days when nothing seems to happen.
*twiddles thumbs*
Posted by Laura at 06:24 PM | Comments (0)
April 27, 2002
Grass
'If the grass is greener on the other side it's time to buy some fertilizer.'
I'm groaning... Okay?
Posted by Laura at 01:19 AM | Comments (1)
April 26, 2002
The Friday Five
The Friday Five
1. What are your hobbies? Photography, writing, webdesigning, reading. I don't know where the line is between a hobby and 'stuff I do a lot'.
2. Do you collect anything? If so, what? I collect postcards, mostly the free ones from cinemas and coffee shops. I used to have some up on my wall, but when I moved everything around I took them down and put them with the others in shoeboxes under my bed. I have several angel statuettes mostly from gifts. I also collect letters and at least one evelope from each person. Oh and ticket stubs, mostly from the movies.
3. Is there a hobby you're interested in, but just don't have the time/money to do? Not that I can think of.
4. Have you ever turned a hobby into a moneymaking opportunity? I've made webpage designs for some people, but it wasn't with the original intention of being paid. It just ended up that way.
5. Besides web-related stuff (burbs, rings, etc.), what clubs do you belong to? In 'real-life' I don't belong to any real clubs. I have been, but they come and go. My mother belongs to a book club, and we read all the books at the same time, so we can talk about them (giving her ideas of what to say at the club meeting), but I'm not officially a member.
Posted by Laura at 01:27 PM | Comments (1)
April 25, 2002
old collections
Today my mom gave me a book for the piano which I thought was absolutely brilliant. It was for a bunch of the Beatles' singles and gave the simple piano, advanced piano, and guitar cords. It also came with a cd which played the song with each of those and then the proper single, so that for people like myself, who play by ear, can learn to play the songs easier.
Well, since I'm not allowed to play the piano after 9pm my mother and I started playing the instrumental cd and trying to sing a long which was hilarious, but never quite as it was supposed to be. The only song we managed perfectly was 'The Fool on the Hill' because it required only 3 different tones and had repetitive lyrics.
After we decided to look for some of my Beatles tapes, because I bought a bunch on sale years and years ago. While I was rumaging around in shoe boxes under my bed I came across a bunch of unlabelled tapes. I went through them and they were tapes I made of the radio before I moved to London, so that I could remember...
I can't tell whether I want to laugh or cry.
Posted by Laura at 10:26 PM | Comments (1)
Soulmates
'Soulmates are like catching stars. When I catch one, I'll wonder if it was made for me (and I will never know).'
Posted by Laura at 01:12 AM | Comments (0)
Question 7
Have a weak spot for _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ?
Posted by Laura at 01:03 AM | Comments (4)
April 24, 2002
Swedish
Spread the kindness: How to be abusive in Swedish.
Perhaps it helps that I have friends who would understand?
Posted by Laura at 10:55 PM | Comments (2)
insane
I went out for a walk with my parents and we ended up at out local pub at the end. My mom and I sat outside while my dad got the drinks, because it was loud and busy inside with the football match on. All of a sudden these three guys at a table near us lean over and ask if we're eating chicken. No, my mom replies, we have popcorn kernals.
"Where are you from?"
"Canada."
"That Canadian popcorn."
"Ugh no." *reads label*, "Argentinean."
"Ah. We don't like them. Bloody footballers. We popped and there they are in your bag."
Even when my dad came back we talked to 'Doug' (from Green Bay, who wouldn't stop doing 'Canadian' accents and talking about North Americans), Cliff the Spliff ("Yeah, I work for a big DIY group. Home Base. I'm charge of.... erm... Lumber... And plants... And well a lot of other stuff. Worked there four months.") and this other funny guy.
As we left laughing, they yell after us, "Ever seen an American werewolf in London?" One of them starts howling and the others start shouting "Stay to the path... Stay to the path...."
Posted by Laura at 10:41 PM | Comments (1)
pranks
All wrapped up in being down yesterday I forgot to say about our pranks. Some of the guys, running a prank which they didn't want to let the rest of the grade in on, bought water balloons which they filled up and threw at people as they left through the front door. Some other people had shaving cream which they were covering each other with.
Some friends and I bought some Fairy (liquid dish soap) and whipped cream. We put the Fairy in the toilets so they filled with foam (it lasted about 2 hours) and used the whipped cream to write "the pigeons are coming" with splatters around it, across part of the courtyard. Andy said it was still there today. Heh.
Posted by Laura at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)
Better
Feeling better today. I found some new projects and studying to keep me distracted. Maybe it helps that it looks so beautiful outside?
Posted by Laura at 12:10 PM | Comments (0)
Hatred
I hate crying... And I hate people for lying to me through actions... And I hate having to smile and joke when I know everything doesn't feel okay...
(I decided to write it down in the journal.)
Posted by Laura at 12:16 AM | Comments (3)
April 23, 2002
Expectations
Whatever I was expecting... That wasn't it. It started off okay; the teachers realised they couldn't make us work, so some of us were playing cards and hopsotch in the garden or just enjoying the sun. Durring the assembly the teachers made all these farewell presentations, which was suprising considering they kept telling us we were the worst year they'd ever had. Considering I saw what they did for the H4s last year (they did way more for us), they must have been lying. Heh. Then everyone had their own pranks, which was fun, but would have been better if the whole grade had done some together.
Somehow in the afternoon things turned sour. I just don't feel like talking about it here... yet.
Posted by Laura at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)
Last day
So here goes. Last day!
Posted by Laura at 08:20 AM | Comments (1)
Fonts
Fonts baby.
Posted by Laura at 12:59 AM | Comments (2)
April 22, 2002
Star Wars
Yeah I've got a ticket to go see Star Wars: Episode II on the 16th down at the Leicester Square odeon. (Also where I saw Lord of the Rings on the opening night). It's really great to see movies there on the opening day, because the cinema is so big, but also, eveyone there is there because they are fans and want to enjoy the movie; so unlike three weeks after the release at any cinema, where some people talk and just don't seem care. There's also the whole excitement of being there!
So I owe a friend, not only because he bought a ticket for me (a whole group of us are going) but also for letting me drag along my brother, because we had a deal to be together when we saw it for the first time.
Dork? Yeah, sure.
Posted by Laura at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)
The end
Today it really hit me that this is the end. I still don't know what to make of it. Tomorrow's my last day of high school classes; I had the last French, Math, and English today. I went for a coffee with some friends and we couldn't really think up a good leaving prank (go figure). I have the impression that some of the guys have thought up one, although they've done a good job of keeping it a secret from most of the grade.
So there's a high school assembly to say good-bye to us tomorrow. *sigh*
Posted by Laura at 08:46 PM | Comments (1)
April 20, 2002
Oh-no
When Andy got home from his drama camp he came to my room to see my new player. It was obvious he was bit jealous, but I told him we can both use it, which is fine actually, because it's pretty loud for just me. Being a lot better at figuring things out right away I handed him the remote and he realised I can run the tape from the remote, and set all the radio stations, and fooled around with some other stuff. Then we got to fooling around with some minidiscs so I pulled out a bunch of old recording I had made from tapes recorded off the radio (yeah... okay, so obviously not going to be the best sound quality). 'Hey, lets play this one,' I had said of one that Andy and I had taped from a long car trip. 'It's bound to have something interesting on it!' So I stick it in, it reads and I press play. It starts for 3 seconds and stops. 'Opps. Let's try again.' I press play and it does the same thing. 'Lets try track 2.' Same thing. I try a bunch of other tracks and I'm thinking that this isn't a good thing. Brand new and it won't play some of my MDs. 'I... ugh guess it doesn't like this one. I'd better check another just in case...' Then Andy starts laughing, and I ask what's funny. He gets up and hands me the remote.
"I was trying to keep from laughing. You can be stupid. I was lying there pressing the remote you dolt. Anyway... I'm going to bed now. Have fun playing..."
Argh. heh.
Posted by Laura at 11:03 PM | Comments (4)
Question 6
There's something about _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
Posted by Laura at 11:03 PM | Comments (17)
Xbox
"MICROSOFT shocked the world of computer gaming last night by dropping the price of its Xbox console just five weeks after its British launch.
The price cut, from £300 to £199, followed concern among analysts about lower-than-expected sales only weeks before Nintendo launches its rival GameCube console, priced at about £150, on May 3.
Although Microsoft insisted that sales had been “in line with our expectations”, speculation had been growing that the Xbox was failing to dent the dominance of Sony’s PlayStation 2 (PS2) console, even after a £350 million marketing campaign..."
Posted by Laura at 06:31 PM | Comments (0)
music
I went out looking for a new CD player this morning with my Dad. It's amazing how much stuff they stick on to sell it.
"Look at that one. Lights like some kind of alien ship."
"Ack, that one has more buttons than functions."
"Would that even fit in your room?"
"It looks pretty but how to you actually get the CD in?"
Now I've got music and it's gorgeous.
Posted by Laura at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2002
pollen
All I want now is to curl up in bed with some soft kleenex, and a blanket and sleep.
Today the pollen warning was at 5. Tomorrow and Sunday it's predicted to be 7. Yeah! *sigh*
Posted by Laura at 10:58 PM | Comments (4)
ITGS
In class we were going through the ITGS (Information Technology in a Global Society) syllabus.
"1.2.2 Describe two situations where it is more appropriate to use a person than a machine."
"Answer 1.2.2
* kissing"
Well if that's the kind of answers they want...
(And no. I don't think that is a serious exam answer. heh)
Posted by Laura at 04:54 PM | Comments (3)
Friday Five
I don't really like this weeks friday five, only because I can't really answer them. I hardly ever watch t.v. anymore (maybe a couple hours a month). Oh well.
The Friday Five
1. What's your favorite TV show and why? I have a strange fondness to ER and Airport. Sometimes I like watching Deep Space Nine. What can I say?
2. Who is your favorite television star? Nope.
3. What was your favorite TV show as a child? Probably the Suntots.
4. What show do you think should have been cancelled by now? Clampers. It's like Airport, except it follows traffic wardens around. I didn't know that watching people getting parking tickets constitutes quality entertainment but hey.
5. What new show do you hope escapes the axe this season? New show? Ummm... yeah.
Posted by Laura at 07:40 AM | Comments (1)
Strepsils
I'm beginning to think Strepsils are addictive.
Posted by Laura at 12:55 AM | Comments (4)
passwords
I manage a website for my family (aunts, uncle, cousins, etc) which uses Greymatter as well, so everyone can post their own 'family' news. Today I was adding new author names and passwords, which I'd been assigning on a pretty basic formula. Then I realised, what kind of reflection does giving a relative the password "dodo" have?
Needless to say I came up with something different in the end.
Posted by Laura at 12:25 AM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2002
I owe
I owe some people e-mails. Bad me.
Posted by Laura at 11:21 PM | Comments (0)
drowsy
Yeah, hopefully the new allergy pills and spray I picked up today will work! So far so good except... they make me... very... very.... drow...s...y..... zzz.... zZZz....
(I don't think I'm going to finish my English essay at this rate)
Posted by Laura at 08:32 PM | Comments (3)
April 17, 2002
fonts
Know where I can download (neat) fonts from?
Posted by Laura at 10:44 PM | Comments (5)
Strepsils
Apparently "sunny yellow" is an ingredient of strepsils. Now all the commercials with sunny fields of flowers makes sense. And all along I thought it had to do with the invigorating effect of taking one.
Posted by Laura at 08:31 PM | Comments (0)
cross-over
Slightly worrying cross between Bridget Jones and Lord of the Rings found.
Posted by Laura at 03:57 PM | Comments (0)
caps and gowns
They gave us our caps and gowns for graduation today. We were all laughing about the rehersal day in May, and I realised today was my last Wednesday of classes. I started thinking, and this ending is not like that sad feeling I used to get when it was June and we were spliting up for summer break. It's doesn't feel like anything, and that scares me.
Posted by Laura at 03:00 PM | Comments (3)
blank paper
"You're creative. Isn't a blank piece of paper intimidating?"
"Only lined paper."
Posted by Laura at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2002
CD player
I really need to get a new CD player. I could live with the radio not working, because I can stream XFM or Virgin off the internet if I really want to. When the CD player didn't work everytime it got annoying. Now, though, it's taking the CDs down with it; they've all started skipping a lot. Hmph.
Posted by Laura at 11:45 PM | Comments (5)
Blech - hotmail
I really don't like the new status bar of how much of my hotmail inbox is used up. Maybe it's the message "you may not be getting all of your mail" or the horrid red colour that's causing it.
Posted by Laura at 10:59 PM | Comments (6)
Well connected
Well connected
Heard of the 'Six Degrees of Separation' theory?
Well according to a study done in a New Scientist feature, on the internet, the same thing happens in 19 clicks through webpage links. More, that if the number of webpages were to increase by 1000% it would be 21 clicks.
Posted by Laura at 08:43 PM | Comments (0)
Pigeons
Google's way to efficiency: PigeonRank.
The "rubber-coated steel bar", boosting "ranking by including images on their pages of bread crumbs, bird seed and parrots posing seductively in resplendent plumage" and wing-span vs. beak speed graphs really got me.
Posted by Laura at 06:38 PM | Comments (1)
Gibberish
I was wasting time and came across this. A good reason to be weary of online translators. It turned:
"Please hold my pen while I tie my shoes"
into:
"It arrests to me requests to the average programs of reading of the matita one ignition, when the ice-slides of the mine of the shelter."
Posted by Laura at 05:40 PM | Comments (5)
Grumps
Some people are complete grumps in the morning.
Posted by Laura at 08:23 AM | Comments (5)
April 15, 2002
Yeah - found
Ah-ha, finally I found the case-study. Okay, I honestly wasn't looking that hard for a while. Nope, after I'd moved some laundry, had written a bit, read some, I decided really, it wouldn't hurt me to check. Plus it might shut up that voice that calls itself my conscience.
First place to check, that massive pile of papers that iI never bothered to give folders. Before finding the case-study, I found 5 copies of the exam case study, 3 grading assessment sheets for TOK and 3 assessment sheets for business. Opps.
Posted by Laura at 10:50 PM | Comments (0)
opps - biz
I think I lost the extra case study I was supposed to read for business. I think we're going to have some kind of test on it tomorrow. This probably means I'm equally dead and stupid. I hope the teacher forgot or gets distracted.
Posted by Laura at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)
Peacocks
Argh. The fox is in the park again, terrorizing the peacocks. If you've never heard a peacock scream, it's something a akin to "a strangled cat."
Posted by Laura at 09:01 PM | Comments (2)
Friday
I woke up and seriously thought today was friday.
Posted by Laura at 08:22 AM | Comments (2)
April 14, 2002
Squeak
Posted by Laura at 12:17 PM | Comments (1)
last day
It's already the last day of spring break.
Posted by Laura at 11:47 AM | Comments (0)
Argh
Me: well I dont know yet. I actually dont know that I'm even going to buy a prom dress
X: why would you not buy a prom dress?
Me: because I'll find something I already have to wear
X: but why?
Me: because. Is it so incrediably wrong to not buy a prom dress?
X: i just don't see why you wouldn't.. i mean your mom was asking me where, she's obviously interested
Me: Well I've talked to her. Can you just accept that I might not be getting a prom dress?
X: if you give me a reason
Me: why the hell do I have to do that?
X: because then i might accept it.. what next, you're not going to prom either?
Me: yeah... that's it. *rolls eyes* Because I own two dresses, and another really nice outfit already.
X: and there's something wrong with having another dress?
It got worse, and spiraled off into a lot of things, one of which was telling me that this site was unneccessary, and another about spending money. I hate the fact that right now, I'm very, very upset.
Posted by Laura at 01:23 AM | Comments (3)
April 13, 2002
Psycho
My Internet Explorer's gone crazy. It either won't load pictures, styles or anything the first time I try to access a page, or it won't load at all. Second time works perfect. I think I'm just going to redownload it instead of fixing it...
Posted by Laura at 11:54 PM | Comments (0)
Everything
I can't be everything to everyone. Sorry if that's not good enough.
Posted by Laura at 11:52 PM | Comments (2)
Movabletype
I was fooling around with the templates on Movabletype and none of the changes were showing up so I check out the help section. It suggests emptying the cache, which I do, but maybe my computer didn't like that, because now my IE is being wonky.
Posted by Laura at 11:37 PM | Comments (0)
GTA
I was watching Andy play Grand Theft Auto 3 on the playstation, and he was showing me the different radio stations. While he was playing I was trying to listen, and one had ads like,
Man: "Tired with man's best friend?"
'barking'
Child: "Sorry Fido, but we're just going to have to drown you."
'more barking'
Man: "Instead why don't you get..."
Maybe it's better if you aren't paying attention.
Posted by Laura at 10:13 PM | Comments (1)
Brighton?
Yesterday, a friend and I were walking to the tube station when this car pulls up behind us, and a guy hops out to ask for directions.
"Can you tell me how to get to Bri........."
"Pardon."
"Brighton."
"Brighton?"
"Yes."
"Well... Um... You're in central London."
"Oh, we are? Well we got a bit lost."
"Yes... Well... Well I can't exactly tell you, but I can direct you to the motorway there."
"Okay."
We gave directions to the A40, then the M25 then repeat the instructions, he thanks us and they drives off.
How you can not realise you're in central London is funny, but asking for road directions to Brighton is more than a little strange. Usually it's just directions to the tube station.
In case you were wondering here's a map of the 'island' so you can see how strange that was.
Posted by Laura at 11:53 AM | Comments (4)
insomnia
I can't sleep.
Posted by Laura at 03:15 AM | Comments (2)
April 12, 2002
The Friday Five
Friday Five
1. What is your favorite restaurant and why? Recently, it's been this Thai restaurant near my house called the Blue Lagoon.
2. What fast food restaurant are you partial to? Superburger. It's a family tradition to stop there when we're driving to our cottage, even if it's the middle of the night. It's about 20 minutes north of Orangeville, so we're usually all up for getting out of the car.
3. What are your standards and rules for tipping? Anna and I usually leave about 10%. Otherwise I'm out with my family and then my parents deal with it.
4. Do you usually order an appetizer and/or dessert? Very rarely. I don't get that hungry.
5. What do you usually order to drink at a restaurant? If I'm out with friends usually water or coke, but if I'm with my parents I might have some wine.
Posted by Laura at 11:52 AM | Comments (1)
April 11, 2002
Crooks
I just watched Small Time Crooks.
"I met this really nice guy downstairs. He said I reminded him of his dead wife, but I think he meant while she was still alive."
I seriously needed a laugh.
Posted by Laura at 10:45 PM | Comments (0)
Mirror Project
Oh, and another mirror project.
Posted by Laura at 07:40 PM | Comments (1)
HMV
What I really don't get, is that at the big HMV on Oxford street why they have that huge screen showing music videos, while playing completely different tracks. The result is those in the music videos look like a bunch of idiots pracing around, which really can't boost their album sales can it?
Posted by Laura at 07:39 PM | Comments (0)
inspiration
It’s a rule of thumb that inspiration always strikes at the most inopportune times.
Posted by Laura at 01:12 AM | Comments (2)
April 10, 2002
Busy
Well, when I woke up this morning, I really didn't plan on doing that. I knew we'd be going out to Ikea for a new bookcase for Andy, and if I saw one a new CD rack for me but that's about it. Only when we got there, I couldn't think of where to put any of the racks (on the floor there was little space because my room is full and tiny, and on the wall there were all those postcards). So I debated and bought three new shelves/cases which I'll put up tomorrow. I also bought a rack for some of my magazines, three prints and 3 clips frames, which also go up tomorrow.
Of course, I read my measurements wrong, and where I planned to put the shelves there wasn't room (by five inches) so time for a new plan. First I pulled down all my postcards. I collect those free postcards that you get at the cinema, and for the past 4 years have been sticking those one my wall until all the walls were competely covered. I literally had hundreds up. You should have seen the blue tack I collected taking them down.
Anyway, those went, and the posters, although I might be putting a few back up, once the prints are up. Still I had no place for the shelves. So I had a brainstorm, pulled Andy along, and we re-arranged my room. (During which someone kicked my CD player, and now it doesn't pick up any radio stations. Opps.) The furniture is on different sides of the room now.
It'll take a lot of getting used to, but now it feels a lot more open.
The one thing I learned from this was I have a lot more stuff than it seems. I need to stop being a pack-rat.
Posted by Laura at 11:20 PM | Comments (0)
Changing rooms
Up early today to go to Ikea. Before anything happens I have to strip my walls (they're completely covered in the free cinema post cards). The blue tack I'm collectiong is amazing. Heh.
More when I'm done.
Posted by Laura at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2002
New look
I know I said I probably wasn't going to change the layout until after exams, but I got bored of the old one. The new one works at 800x600, but looks a lot better at 1024x768+ (sorry). All the links should work, but if one doesn't tell me.
Well, I like it.
Posted by Laura at 09:06 PM | Comments (5)
Question 5
Know a good book?
Posted by Laura at 09:01 PM | Comments (10)
around the gym
I'm at the gym when I notice this guy looking at me. Now I do my best to ignore him, but it's hard to think about something else when you're being stared at. I started to think I could feel his eyes on me. So eventually I move across to the other side, away from him. After a couple minutes he shows up near me again, and is looking at me. Now I'm starting to get freaked out. So I move to the lower floor and he follows. Seriously, what's up with that? Now I justed wanted to work out,not deal with this so I walk up to him and ask if there's a reason he's following me.
"Ugh. You look familiar."
He disappeared after that. Strange and freaky.
Posted by Laura at 07:40 PM | Comments (0)
Blood tests
I hate blood tests. I don't mind needles. They're fine to inject me full of medicine, but I don't want them sucking stuff out. It's not so much the actually taking of blood I mind so much, but the after effects. Do they really need a separate vial for every test they're doing, because that seems like a lot to me.
But after, when I'm cold sweating, unable to hear properly, nauseous and fainting... That's the bit I hate. Blech.
Posted by Laura at 11:33 AM | Comments (0)
Not mad
I haven't gone mad (yet). The previous two entries weren't me.
Posted by Laura at 01:16 AM | Comments (2)
What are we doing up at 1 am?!
LOL... I should never ask myself that question... *ahem*... enough Spam.. more work ;)
*me likes*
Posted by Laura at 01:09 AM | Comments (0)
Weee
This is a test... lookin good ;)
More more and more text!
Posted by Laura at 01:07 AM | Comments (0)
April 08, 2002
frustrated
I am very very very frustrated (understatement). I'm working on a new design, which relies on a background image, but where the background image ends (because I don't want it to repeat) the background becomes black. I've tried all sorts of tags for it to be white and it stays black.
I'm begging. Can anyone suggest anything???
Update: It works! It works!
Posted by Laura at 11:44 PM | Comments (3)
Confused
I've got a bruise over my ribs on my left side. I'm confused because I can't remember anything that would have done that
Posted by Laura at 09:32 AM | Comments (3)
April 07, 2002
Weather
Went for a walk through Kensington Park today. At first I really couldn't be bothered to go out because the wind was freezing, although the clear blue sky and bright were was deceptive if you didn't have a window open. Eventually I did decide to go out and take a break from studying because the weather isn't likely to stay this nice. Not in London.
Well anyway, in the park I was surprised by how many people were out. They were everywhere, playing football, reading, picnicking, sunbathing, rollerblading... I've seen it before, where there isn't a quiet free space of grass, just like this, but it never fails to amaze me. While I'm grumbling about the cold and walking aimlessly about the park, other Londoners come out, sit on the grass and mumble about the cold together. It's an amazing sense of community. Secretly, after our winters we're glad for any sun.
Now I know why weather is always such a big conversation topic here.
Posted by Laura at 11:23 PM | Comments (0)
Trying
Today I've trying to get Movabletype 2.0 to work. I'm not replacing Greymatter, I just want the thing to work. First I tried a clean install thinking it would be the best way to make everything work because I was plagued with problems using 1.2 and 1.4. That seriously failed. So I went and upgraded MT 1.4. I'll admit that 2.0 is beautiful and so far easy-ish to use.
Just when I got to test a new note it tells me:
An error occurred:mkdir /archives/: Permission denied at lib/MT/FileMgr/Local.pm line 88
And it's as good as not working. Heh.
It works! It works!
Posted by Laura at 05:41 PM | Comments (0)
April 06, 2002
Mirror Project
Far from flattering. My latest submission to the Mirror Project.
Posted by Laura at 11:05 PM | Comments (2)
Jackson
Somehow the whole family ended up infront of the television late tonight, watching 'The story of: Michael Jackson'. The single Black or White came on at some point. Way back, right after we had moved houses and I muct have been 7, and my parents bought me a walkman, and the first tape I played on it was the single for Black or White, one side with vocals and the other without. Heh. I was cool.
Posted by Laura at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)
April 05, 2002
Missing
Several people, whose weblogs I read, including the first one I ever found have been closing down. But wait, they aren't allowed to pull the plug. I've developed an affection for these people, many of whom don't know I exist.
I'll survive, but somehow it makes things seem just that much smaller.
Posted by Laura at 10:12 PM | Comments (7)
paper shredder
My mom got a paper shredder.
Wednesday morning she wakes us up and tells us to get ready, we're going out. So eventually we're ready, so where are we going anyway? You'll see. We get out to Shepards Bush round-about and then onto the highway and other than going to the airport I have no idea. Then we pull off at Office World. She parks the car and tells andy to get a cart, a big one. She moves through the store like a pro. She knows which filing cabinet she wants, which coloured binders, waste paper bins... And then the display is there on the way to the tills.
Paper shredders.
Her office is a mess, but I always attributed it to the small space. But she's a pack rat with paper. If asked she can produce all my homework from the second grade, and it's really bordering on insane.
So after much deliberation she choses a medium sized one, which shreds sinifigantly small enough, and enough sheets at one time. We pay and load all the stuff into the trunk and drive home.
She has spent the last two days locked away in her room filing and shredding... And as if to keep us away from her toy, at night she hides the 'shredding' bit so the rest of us can't use it.
Posted by Laura at 09:41 PM | Comments (0)
in common
"Really we had a lot in common like soup. Snow peas. Talking and not talking. We could think of thinks to not talk about forever."
Posted by Laura at 09:15 PM | Comments (0)
Out
Andy and I watched the procession carrying the Queen Mother to Westminster on the television today.
Now we're going out rollerblading in Hyde Park. I don't want to jinx it, but it's the second nice day in a row. We can actually see the sun!
Posted by Laura at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
The Friday Five
The Friday Five
1. What are the first things that you do in the morning to start your day? Well I usually wake up before my alarm clock, so I stay in bed for a bit, and when it goes off I get up. Usually I go downstairs and sit with Andy while he has breakfast and I take my medications. Most of the time I flip through the news paper for quirky articles.
2. What are the last things that you do at night before going to bed? Take some more medications. Then I decide on a 'sleepy' CD, put that on. Brush my teeth, etc. and then go to bed where I either read or write for 15 minutes before falling asleep.
3. What daily routine have you recently added to your day? Opening all the windows when I get up, because the weather's so nice. That and spring allergy pills ;)
4. What routine do you wish you get rid of? The medicine...
5. What's the one thing that makes you feel like something is missing if you don't do it some point within your day? Don't know. I don't often get that feeling. Maybe writing, because I do that all the time, but if I can't think of something I don't feel bad about not writing for a while.
Posted by Laura at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2002
I spent this morning installing
I spent this morning installing Greymatter into one of my subdomains. I tried Movabletype first but what was suddenly working stoped, and the images were being fickle. I've still got version 1.4 but I didn't get the templates on that. Heh.
Then to start revision I put the last hundred sheets of my chemistry notes into plastic sleeves. Go organisation!
Posted by Laura at 05:49 PM | Comments (0)
April 03, 2002
tiger
I bought Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon today. It was on sale, and it was such a beautiful movie.
Also on the subject of movies, this is the second time Empire has suggested that someone is making a new film of Solaris. Hmm.
Posted by Laura at 11:33 PM | Comments (1)
Busy girl
Okay, here's how the study course went:
Thursday: Took my stuff to Anna's house because her Dad was driving us up to Oxford. Since there was a large traffic accident (last I heard on the radio there it was 100 cars, 2 dead and 13 in hospital, eek) we had to take a major detour along routes none of us knew. Eventually, and just on time, although missing lunch, for us to be introduced to the teachers, and be sent off to a half day of classes. Our class was one of the last to be called out, and hearing all those names made me realise how many other people actually take the I.B. Of course I knew there were tons, but it didn't really register.
The French class was only four people, a girl from Ghana living outside of London, a (very cute) boy from Sweden living in Switzerland, Andrew (who goes to my school) and myself. The teacher seemed pretty nice, but he corrected us on every single mistake, which was annoying at first but towards the end was helpful.
After class I saw some people who moved away from my school a year ago and some people that I met over the summer during an organised university tour. Anna and I then went out of the college to find some groceries to bring back to the college (mostly crackers and water) because when we stayed at Keble College over the summer everything was covered in cheese. Everything. Then I was up for a bit writing a french essay (homework) and unpacking my stuff.
Friday
If I had thought 3 hours of French class straight was tiring, 7.5 is worse. You start thinking in french (albeit badly conjugated), although maybe that's the intention. Amazingly some of the more obscure (to me) tenses started making sense and I felt a lot better about being there.
Anna went out with some other people from school that night, but I stayed in because I had homework (essay rewrites and a past paper 1) and was dead tired.
Saturday
Ditto the 7 hours. In the late afternoon we finished the French course and went off to our next courses. Two people, including a boy who'd asked me out on the summer university trip turned out to be in my class. I almost died of laughter at the faces Anna was giving me across the lunch room when that happened.
After half an hour of class we were given a paper 1 (for chemistry, it's 40 multiple choice questions) to do for homework. That was easy enough, and I'd done that one before in school I think. My friend Andrei came down to visit his girlfriend Ashley (also from my school) so we all went out to dinner together, which was a bit of a failure in the end. Of the nine of us who went out only 5 stayed to eat after we'd waited for out table of nine. Then after dinner Ashley felt pretty ill so we all just headed back to the college.
Sunday
Anna and I opened some Easter presents that my mom sent with me to Oxford. We both got some chocolate eggs and bunny. I also got a special tea mug and The Joshua Tree - U2. We laughed because we both got the same card, which my mom had also sent to Anna's parents at Christmas. I have the feeling she bought them in bulk at Costco.
The people in my chemistry class were stupid. Not as in they didn't understand anything, but more that then understood all the difficult higher level material (I.e. Organic chemistry) and not the easy stuff (I.e. Perodic trends and electronegtivity). The teacher was at lot like my one at school, telling the same kind of jokes with similar was of explaining things. Maybe that kind of personality is prerequisite to being a chemistry teacher.
Maybe it was because of daylight savings that I was so tired.
Monday
During lunch Anna and I walked into town to find the Queen Mother had passed away.
I will never complain about a double period of chemistry again.
Tuesday
Packed my stuff up the night before, so all I had to do was throw my towels and pjs into my bag and take it to another room to be stored. We didn't do much except past paper revision in class, which was okay because we were all so tired.
At noon my mom and Andy came to pick us up. We drove Anna home and then I came home and slept.
It wasn't exciting, but alot of work, and being tired. It was really useful though, so I'm glad I went.
Posted by Laura at 11:21 PM | Comments (4)
April 02, 2002
Test
As if some final test of patience, my computer crashed just as I reached the end of a long and eloquent recount of my week in Oxford. While not cross, I am tired, and so I'll have to settle for the moment with this small note saying that, when rested and fed, I will attempt a rewrite.
If only my computer wasn't so greedy in gobbling up my words...
Posted by Laura at 11:41 PM | Comments (2)