Book geekery.

I am temporarily suspending my '1001 books' project. I know, I know. Sorry folks. And I suspect it may be a rather long time starting. I have realised how much I loved 'the Black Stallion' and 'the Silver Brumby' serieses. I can't believe I forgot about them! So I've bought 'the Black Stallion' on eBay and two volume omnibuses for 'the Silver Brumby' (I know I have them both at home, but the first disappeared, and I can't jolly well read the second without reading the first, and although there was an auction for just the first volume I'm impatient, and I can always auction them back later as they seem to be going for a lot at the moment).

I realise it's Christmas and my birthday soon, but that's irrelevant. My interest will probably have burnt out by then; I can't wait that long! And besides, I do have 1000 other books that people can buy me. Or they can get me the DVDs! Did you know that the Silver Brumby movie had Russell Crowe in it? I didn't either, until now. Oh! And the cartoons! Hehe, they were so cute, I used to watch them sometimes after school. :)

Amazingly, this was brought about from a tangent about the conflict in Iraq. Don't bother to ask how that happened - I don't even know.

Nevermind my essays, this is all much more awesome. Each series has about 20 odd books in it! I never even realised. Bound to keep me quiet for a few weeks, at least. And then there's 'My Friend Flicka', which I never got into, and that apparently has a very recent film for it (with a girl?! wtf?), and then the sequels, 'Thunderhead' and 'Green Grass of Wyoming' - all of which I do own at home. And then there's National Velvet, Black Beauty...

Yeah. This should set my 1001 books project back by a few months, I expect.

(Now I think about it, I'm rather surprised that 'Black Beauty' isn't on my 1001 book list. I'm not so sure that I picked a very good list to work on anymore, either. I have a feeling it came from this book of the same name; Someone should get me that for Christmas/birthday, I think.)

Work (Woolworths + NW1).

Woolworths yesterday (my first day!) went fine - I was quite nervous when I got there but my fears were completely unfounded. It was busy but not exhaustingly so. There would be a mad rush for half an hour and then it would be dead for another fifteen minutes, so I wasn't completely rushed off of my feet. Everyone was very nice and the guy I was working next to was really helpful and made sure I didn't mess up. I didn't take off the tags from clothing at first as we hadn't been told about that in training, so I felt quite bad when one of the manager's said to make sure I did it - all those poor people had been checked my security on their way out! eek. I was a bit slow serving customers at first but once I got into the flow of it and got a system, I think I was fairly quick.

Work today (at NW1) actually went reasonably well, despite getting drenched on the way there. When I got there Gill asked me if I could try on one of the prototype shirts they'd made for her and see how they fit. They look really cool, one had lots of details like d-rings on the shoulders and straps on the arms, and the other has a very pointed collar. The detailed one was really small (more like a size 8 than a 10), while the pointed collar shirt fitted well except for the shoulders, where it was a bit tight. I liked the pointed collar one; I will have to keep an eye out for it when (if!) they release them.

Phones, horse riding, and book.

I'm now using the Nokia 8210 - it's better than not having a phone at all I suppose. My Virgin contract is even better than I thought - it's £15/month, not £20! I'm having my number transferred over and as soon as that's sorted out my contract with o2 will cancel automatically. I'm probably going to go back to my old phone, the Nokia 3300 - I loved that phone and I seriously regret selling it when I bought the e900. There's one on eBay for £6 with p&p, so I'll probably get that which is apparently in very good condition, and a new battery (since they always run down after a while) which is £3, and keep the 8210 as a backup. Sounds good to me I think :) All's well that ends well, as 'they' say.

Horse riding today went well, and I'm not sore at all! I rode Little Horse (who's not little) and did lots of trotting and cantering. I enjoyed it! I rode with Steph and Ian, who I hadn't met before but both were very friendly and easy to get on with, which was great. Ian (a beginner) rode Bailey and Steph (who's at a similar level to me) rode Marcus.

Unfortunately Ian fell off; there were two girls in the school with us (riding their own horses) and one spooked, which freaked out Bailey, who went into a canter then stopped suddenly. He was fine though and got back up, but Sian (instructor) put him on the lunge rein for a while so he could get his confidence back, and then asked the two girls to leave. Little Horse is great to ride - fairly bouncy, but a lot quicker than little Eddie. Steph rode a horse called Marcus, who kept just following Little Horse around and cutting corners to catch up, which got a bit annoying - if I wanted to practise walk/trot transitions I had to make sure Marcus wasn't right behind me because he wouldn't overtake, he'd just crash into Little Horse's bum and walk behind him, which Steph found quite (understandably) very frustrating! Sian was really pleased with me, she said there wasn't a whole lot she could say to me other than keep doing what I was doing and get lots of practise! Which is really good to hear :D

I received a copy of a Jeeves and Wooster omnibus (book) the other day, with 'the Mating Season,' 'the Code of the Woosters,' and 'Right Ho, Jeeves' included. I'm very much enjoying it. Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry did a fantastic job of portraying them on screen - I can imagine them saying every line of the book, and also, unusually the book is just as good as the TV show! It really shouldn't be very good at all, most of the dilemmas involve love triangles, but Bertie's commentary is so entertaining that it's really not a regular mushy love story at all! It's brilliant - I must get the others!

Mobiles.

I never realised how much I relied on having a mobile phone before now. I feel really isolated and cut off from half of my friends, which is silly really when I have the internet!

It's so difficult to get in touch with people when you don't have a mobile (or anyone's numbers, because they're all on my SIM). I've had to organise my week early and stick to it, because I have no way of notifying the persons involved that I've changed my mind or will be busy after all. It's so awkward! I've had a mobile since I was 14 or so and I've never really thought about how much I use it until now.

Thankfully my Dad is sending my old Nokia 8210 up tomorrow but until then..

Welsh Dragon sausages!

From the BBC's 'Farming Today' page:
Trading Standards officers in Powys have told butchers they have to change the name of their "Welsh Dragon" sausages. It's misleading the consumer as to the nature of the product; they're made of pork, not dragon.

Only in Wales!

phones4u.

I was in phones4u for nearly two hours, trying to cancel the contract! The manager (who I spoke to before) was dealing with another customer for 40mins, and then the next hour was spent sales pitch after sales pitch. I could have asked for almost anything and they would've done it!

They offered the tariff that I thought I was getting for the same price, I explained my parents were giving me the RAZR, they offered me the tariff for cheaper, then a smaller Vodafone contract for £20/month, then for half price for 6 months. THEN the manager got the 'code' she needed, talked to the phones4u people on the phone, then I had to talk to them and they gave me another 15mins of pushy sales ("PAYG isn't good value, you'll be wasting your money!" "you know the v3i has been out for a while, it's not as good as the one you've had" "do your parents not like you having a contract?" "is it the money that's a problem?" "I'm sure there's something you're not telling me, this really makes no sense! have the staff said something to upset you to make you want to cancel?" etc etc). And after all that I was finally able to actually cancel the contract, which took another 15mins or so.

Really wish I'd brought a friend along for moral support (and some company during all the waiting!) but at least it's over with now!

NEVER AGAIN.

Books!

I just finished reading 'Thud!' by Terry Pratchett. It's really, really good - I love the ending, even if it was a little predictable. But everyone loves happy ending. I like how Vimes is so dedicated to his son too :)

I borrowed it from John and I think I'll buy my own copy soon. This is a book that I'd definitely re-read!

Mobile phones (again), animal biscuits, and new job!

John came round yesterday - it was good to see him again. We went to phones4u and spoke to the manager (although it was rather embarrassing as the lady who sold me the contract originally was there and I felt really bad!). She said that the deal was definitely 800 mins and 500 texts for 6 months, and she could change it but it would cost me more money, so I said that fair enough, it IS more than I'm using at the moment and more than I'd need ever, but I got it because I thought it was a good deal, but 400 minutes and 250 texts for £35/month really isn't that cheap! Unless you're going to do video calls, download a lot of stuff and regularly use WAP (which I don't) it's not worth it at all. I have to go back tomorrow as apparently they need to get a code to cancel it, though in reality they're probably just hoping I'll have changed my mind by then.

Dad's sending me his black Motorola RAZR v3i, which is a bit rubbish but it's OK. In the end I only want a phone that rings, texts and looks cool - all criteria which the RAZR fills. So mneh. I've also ordered one of Virgin's SIM only contracts. It has no obligation after the first month, and I'll get 300 minutes and 300 texts for £20/month, which is all I wanted in the first place! There is probably a moral here somewhere.

The best part of yesterday was definitely animal biscuits though. In my multipack there are NO bags with elephants on! I had one with a lion on and said to John that he should get an elephant one because the helefants are cute and he looked through them ALL and there wasn't any! OMG RACIST. I was deeply disappointed. And we compared animals for ages. It was quite fun. XD "A hippo!" "I have a hippo in his pjyamas! or a burglar hippo!" "HELEFANT" ".. what?" "HELEFANT!" "... I have a lion!" "HELEFANT!" "Mine is squirting water!" "OMG. Mine is just it's face!" We are so easily amused. :)

In other news, I got the job at Woolworths. Go me :) I called them back on my Dad's recommendation, as the lady had said she was going to ring today but hadn't yet, and she said that she was going to ring me on Monday coming to let me know I've got the job. She's going to call me back on Monday afternoon to arrange training. I obviously didn't do half as bad in my interview as I originally thought!

Pizza Hut and last night's (weird) dream!

Last night I went to Pizza Hut with Louis, Dave and Adam. It was pretty good.

On the drive there I nearly tipped the car over. Whoops. I need to remember to slow down for roundabouts. It generally helps. I just didn't realise how tight a bend it actually was. Going at 40mph round it wasn't a good idea. I didn't even remember to brake after I realised!

Pizza Hut was funny - the waiter kept getting our orders wrong. He brought me a 7Up instead of a Tango at first, then kept writing our pizzas down wrong (I nearly had ham on mine!). Then when the pizzas did arrive, he had accidentally put Adam's order in wrong so they'd made him a small margarita pizza (which he had for free), instead of a medium meat feast, and gave Dave a large margarita, instead of a medium. then when we ordered desserts, I wanted an Ice Cream Factory and Louis wanted an ice cream sundae, and he just brought us both ice cream factory bowls. Then when the sundae did arrive the cream was a total shambles (it was everywhere, instead of a neat whippy bit) and we just burst out laughing for ages. We got the desserts and the drinks free in the end, as well as the small pizza. A pretty good evening, I'd say, even if the Cineworld arcade was closed so we couldn't shoot zombies after dinner.

I had a really weird dream last night. I was in a big posh house and had a big poofy dress, and the walls were covered in this really intricate design with animals and birds and flowers and the occasional cross/crucifix on it (all painted) and then a load of scary monks were like "NO! You can't have imagery! PAINT THEM WHITE!" and then tried to smash up the massive chandelier and everyone in the house (even the servants) were standing round it. "Not the chandelier! Anything but that!" "Why do you care? You smash up the place all the time?" "It's called REDECORATING! It's DIFFERENT! Arg!"

I think I have been studying Henry VIII far too hard.

Test.

Pizza Hut ftw!

Work.

Work today sucked a bit!

I had one customer. In three hours. At 4.45. They bought a badge, worth 50p.

OMG.

New music. Woot!

I found some new music on my PC that I didn't know I had!

I love it when that happens. Especially when it's really good music!

I recommend everyone takes a listen to 50FOOTWAVE. You can download their EP 'Free Music' there, which, as the title suggests, is completely free - there are download links on the page in either mp3 or FLAC. It's really catchy! It's the same lady as the singer in Throwing Muses, which doesn't really mean anything to me but maybe it will to you. She has a slightly croaky voice.

But anyway, it's totally free, go take a listen - no excuses!

WHERE DID POO BUG GO

:(

Window

Ho hum.

Hahaha!

I don't know how I managed it, buuut..

Yesterday I walked out of Bangor's phones4u with a Sony Ericsson W850i, a 1gb memory card, and £100 in cash. Totally legally.

Score!

Mobile phones. Humph.

I have had enough of o2. I'm currently on their off-peak call package. I pay £20 a month and get 1000 off-peak minutes to o2 mobiles and landlines, 25 off-peak minutes to any mobile, and 100 text messages. However, I usually make about 200 or so minutes of calls (some during the day, some evening, to my parents landline and mobiles on a variety of networks) and send about 150-200 texts. My bills (with VAT) end up costing me £30+, even if I try really hard to stick to my 100 texts. So it's not really such a good deal after all.

However, I have 7 months left of it - until June. And I can't just afford to keep this contract, nor cough up the £140 necessary to buy my way out of it. So. I have the clever idea of selling my Samsung e900 (unfortunately it's fashion over function - the LG Chocolate touch sensitive buttons look great but I keep pressing them by accident and ringing people, even after having my phone for 3 months or so) which should raise about £120-150, as it's like new and unlocked, and I have a spare charger, 1gb memory card and a PC adaptor. I don't have a spare phone so I can't just go back to Pay as You Go (300 texts and 150 evening minutes did me perfectly, thanks) as I can't really afford to buy a new mobile. Thus I'd have to get into another contract (defeating the point one may say) but not with o2, and obviously one that actually reflects my phone useage rather than some smelly boy.

I really like the look of T-Mobile's Flex-T. Online they're offering £5 off each tariff, so I could get their usually £30/month package for £25/month, and get £90 worth of calls/texts/whatever. It's an 18 month contract but I guess I can ignore that since my phone use hasn't particularly changed over the past 5 years or so, and I can't imagine it changing now. Sounds perfect, right? Well. Then I saw the £3 charge for paying via anything other than direct debit (and I really do prefer paying by card over the phone or 'net or sending a cheque, so I can make sure I have enough money in my account first), and they also charge £1.50 for itemised paper billing. Humph. Suddenly not such a good deal.

Then I looked at Virgin, who have an internet only £25/month package offering 300 anytime any network minutes and 300 texts, which are rolled over for a month if you don't use them all up (how handy!). It's 12 months, and if you want to continue with the contract after that, the price lowers. But what if I go over the limit? 35p/minute?! (And I don't know anyone on Virgin mobile, as far as I know, so I can't take advantage of the 5p calls and 3p texts.) Also, it means Richard Branson.

I tried looking at 3's website but I don't get their tariffs. I don't want video calls. I don't want WAP. I want to call people and text people and maybe take photos now and then when/if I can figure out how to do it. I want a fancy phone that I can show off to people/thieves and increase my street cred (debatable). And I want it to work (the most important thing I suppose) and last me for the next year or two (because I really don't like all this phone swapping, honest guv'na).

Help?

I love history trips.

The trip to Dublin on Thursday was great! I don't even know how I woke up at 6, but I did. My room was freezing so it was a big effort to get up. It was still even dark outside! I had bagels on the ferry, but it was almost all cheese. They must have dumped the whole pot of cheese onto the bagel - the cheese was thicker than the bagel was! I had expected a tiny butter sized pot of cheese with it but they were generous (which was awesome because I like Philly cheese).
The actual history stuff was kind of boring. We looked around a museum that had lots of shiny things, pimpin' walking sticks and midget Egyptians (OK, so that wasn't so bad). I bought buffalo flavour crisps and an 'archaeology for dummies' book!
After lunch we went to a library that had lots of old books in it and a pig that played the bagpipes. We also were shown around Dublin by the lecturer's friend, who was really smart and kind of geeky and wore a tweed suit with a detective coat and hat and had a slicked down posh schoolboy style haircut that was parted down the middle, and he had Harry Potter glasses. He knows everything! He must have remembered every single book he's ever read to the word, it was kind of scary. He kept interrupting the Irish librarian and she didn't seem too pleased. And he walked really fast, and my bag got really heavy (I was carrying rocks or something) and I only have short legs, so I tended to lag behind most of the time.
We saw the cathederal and the really posh university and another big Church, and lots of shops.
Oh! I went shopping on the ferry with the other 3 girls on the trip and we spent ages looking at perfumes. I bought my Mum her Christmas present! We were half hour late for the seminar (a few people did their presentations on Irish stuff on the way there). It was okay though, no one seemed angry. But us girls were always (fashionably) late, which was a little unfair.
The ferry on the way back was fun. I bought a double gin and lemonade from the bar, and the barlady just didn't care at all about keeping to the shots. My glass was almost all gin (and I'm not exaggerating!) with a bit of ice and lemonade in. For £3 I certainly got my value for money! (Not like the Irish posh bar where I had a double gin/lemonade for 6 euros!) We talked about Blackadder and Red Dwarf! Afterwards a few of us went to the pub and had cocktails and had fun trying to exchange numbers, which took far longer than it should have (technology argghhh!). Then John walked me home.
The end!
To summarise: shiny things + pig playing bagpipes + buffalo flavour crisps + alcohol = good day XD