Berlin is amazing.

Two gigs done, two to go. I never want it to end, despite the bruises, the tiredness, the extreme coldness... I love it here, I love my friends and I love Rammstein.

The live show is just amazing, as it always is. There are no words, and anyone who may like them but hasn't seen them, please do so. It is incredible.

Till Lindemann is fucking gorgeous as well.

Got invited backstage by the Combichrist drummer but he only had two passes... he wanted Liz and I to go but we couldn't leave our other friends. It was the hardest thing I have done!

I LOVE IT HERE!

I have an emetophobic cat. She just let out an unearthly sounding howl before running downstairs and throwing up! It's not the first time she's done the same thing. Who'd have thought it: a cat who doesn't like being sick! Haha.

Did CAL test at uni today. That's one down, two to go!

Did I mention that I passed my calculations test with 100%? I can't remember if I did or not. Well, anyway...

I passed my calculations test! I got 100%!

Even though I got the results in the middle of last week, I'm still quite chuffed about it!

I have three more tests this week. It never ends! I can't believe that there are only three more weeks left in this semester. It's gone by so, so quickly and I have settled in so well. It feels like I've been there forever, but not in a bad way :)

I passed my first piece of coursework! Whoo hoo :D I got 91.7 ... whatever that means! I'm assuming it's percent. I am celebrating by drinking Kopparberg mixed fruit cider. YUM.

Day TWO of November.

I know yesterday's update was shit, but I want to do NaNoBloMo and I only remembered it was the first of November when I was in bed last night. Haha. It still counts.

University is going well, although there is a lot of work, and a lot of procrastination on my part. I keep saying I will do things and then I just don't. At least I went to all of my lectures today. Plus I actually wrote a title page for my essay!!! The essay is still to be started, though. Ten days until it needs to handed in and I just don't know how to start it. Oh well, maybe it'll come to me in a dream.

Reckless spending has caught up with me. Looked at my bank balance earlier and got a shock! I mean, it's still plenty, more than enough, but it's just decreased a lot more than I thought. Being careful with money starts right now! Kinda wish I didn't spend £70 in TopShop on Friday, oops.

Pen got DJ Hero yesterday which is really fun! There are some good mixes on there and it's really addictive. I've also been addicted to Guitar Hero 5 which has Du Hast by Rammstein on there. So cool.

Thinking of Rammstein... now it's November, that means I'm going to Berlin next month! Wow! That rolled around quickly, didn't it? :D

such a nice weekend but back to real life tomorrow!

Day off uni today, whoo hoo!

My presentation last Friday went really well. My heart was thumping like crazy while I was waiting for my turn, but I got through it and managed to appear reasonably confident - according to my friends, anyway. I'm very glad it's out of the way. Speaking in front of people is one of the things I really, really hate doing!

The amount of work I have to do is slowly creeping up on me. I have an enzymes practical write-up to submit at the end of the week which is starting to freak me out quite a bit. I was working on it last night and it's something I'm not that good at - graphs and gradients and calculations. I've got a little bit left to do now but I'm not really happy with what I've done so far. I definitely need a new piece of graph paper because I got chocolate cake all over one of them, haha. Oh well. I'll give it my best shot.

On the whole, I'm really enjoying university :D Perhaps that's because the real work hasn't started yet.

Oh, I got a pay-rise in work which I totally wasn't expecting! Only 12p more an hour but hey, every little helps... as our enemies Tesco would say :P

Ugh, the end of the day turned out bad too. Liverpool lost to Lyon. Our record this season is BAD.

This morning did not go to plan. I was due in uni at 9.30am so I was able to have a small lie-in and have a shower before going to uni. First of all I got stuck in traffic but still managed to make it to the car park opposite the building with ten minutes to spare. Then the real disaster struck - the stupid machine wouldn't accept my card so I couldn't buy a ticket! I tried several times and even tried a different machine but it kept saying it couldn't read the card. Of course I didn't have any change in my wallet so I was buggered. I had to drive to the multi-storey car park much further away from the building and then run back to get to my lab. I was half an hour late in the end! I will never go to uni without change again!

The rest of the day was alright though :)

Yesterday I got two great things!

First thing was Rammstein's album, Liebe ist für alle da. It was leaked on the Internet several days ago but I refused to download it and impatiently waited until I had the CD in my possession. Anyway, I returned home from town to find it amongst the pile of bills which had been shoved through my letterbox. Promptly ignored all bills and ran upstairs to my hifi. Played it LOUD. Love it love it love it! It made me cry! I'm such an idiot but I'm so happy they're back. They'll never make an album as perfect as Mutter, it's impossible, but this is pretty damn good. I cannot wait until December. Two months to go and I'll be there! Wheeeee!

Second good thing... I now have a pet corn snake! I have been planning this with a friend for some time. She had four baby snakes and I managed to persude Pen to let me have one. So yesterday I bought a heat mat and picked her up from Adina's house. She is beautiful! I say she but I have no idea if it's a boy or a girl... well, she's called Fluffy and she is so lovely. If it turns out to be a boy, it's okay because Fluffy is unisex. I dare say the name will change several times, after all I don't think she will ever realise what I'm saying to her, hehehe. When I got her home last night she decided to go for a dip in her water bowl, it was so sweet. Today I've been holding her and letting her have a wander. Tilly is extremely interested in her but I never take her out when Tilly is in the room. She's very small right now and Tilly would easily kill her!

I am mega happy :D

My "freshers flu" got worse!

I missed three lectures on Monday due to sore throat from hell, little sleep and a lost voice, but I dragged myself in for the fourth lecture and for labs. Labs are compulsory so I'd have to go in if I was literally dying. Anyway, that was okay. I felt better once I was with friends and the day went quickly.

Yesterday started reasonably well too. I was slightly late but made it for both of my lectures, and then went out for lunch with my friends. Excellent. Went home and noticed I had a headache but put it down to lack of caffeine and the cold. Had a doctors appointment for something unrelated and then went for coffee in town with Emrah to cure my headache. Or so I thought.

Probably should've taken painkillers earlier than I did but I thought it would go on its own, but no. I went to mum and dad's for dinner, eventually took some ibuprofen and settled down to watch a film (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas). The ibuprofen didn't work, the headache got worse and worse until I was crying with pain. Bad times. Mum managed to find some paracetamol which I never take because it seems to upset my stomach, but I was so desperate for pain relief that I took two. Things then ( got worse! )

Went downstairs, Dad had kindly paused the film so I could watch the end (Sky HD is useful) and then I waited until I felt almost better and Pen drove me home. Just feel all snotty and tired today. Haven't eaten yet but will have to soon! Thankfully today is my day off uni and I don't have work until 5pm.

No anxiety after all that. Very weird. Very impressive.

Freshers flu is a bad bad thing :(

Uni is going amazingly well! I know it's only been three days but I am loving it :) I'm even adjusting quickly to getting up at 7am :D

I've officially started uni now. Got my student card and my photo is so squished that it looks like I have a very fat head. Met some people who seem nice and already have some new friends from my course on Facebook so I've done well so far, hehe. Got my labcoat yesterday so I'm all ready for Monday. I have three(!) Pharmacy Practice lectures, one Microbiology lecture and then a Microbiology practical in the afternoon, so I'll be growing things methinks. Nervous but excited to meet some more of my fellow coursemates! :)

Work tomorrow, boo. I've had the past two days off so I've been trying to get things organised, get the house clean and the washing done. All the boring stuff that has been accumulating while I've been either working or at uni!

At my mum's right now watching Strictly. Waiting for the results. I'm not knowledgable when it comes to dance but I think Jo Wood should go. Her plasticness scares me.

Hope everyone is okay with my friends list. I've tried to keep reading and commenting but everything has been so busy!

post-results edit: Grrrrrrr.

I had a nice day in Bristol with Dad and Pen today. Looked around various bike shops as Pen is interested in getting a bike and taking up cycling after watching it for so many years. Also had a delicious meal in Wagamama, coffee in Starbucks and wandered around many other shops... but didn't actually buy anything! Saw many nice things though, but they'll have to wait until payday.

I had a reply to the text message I sent to Jessi. The response was negative, so that's that. Nobody can say I didn't try as I've attempted to make contact three times this year. Twice my attempts were turned down and one attempt was ignored. So that's all. She made it clear in the text message that she can't trust me, she wants to make her own life and that life doesn't involve me. So there we go. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad about it. When I received her response, I had just started work. I had to leave for a while as I started crying and needed to compose myself. Oh well.

Yesterday I went to Jan's daughter's wedding reception. I went with a couple of the girls from work. It was really nice and great to see Jan so happy after she's had such a difficult year. Jan's grand-daughters are both gorgeous, too :) There was lots of food, most of it was vegetarian which was great for me, and there was cake! All good. I wore a dress from Topshop with a blue and black flowery pattern and blue and black shoes. It was fun to dress up nicely!

Going to this reception and seeing the bride in her beautiful dress has got me thinking about my own wedding... ;)

Oh, and Pussy by Rammstein, both the song and the video, was everything I expected and more.

I sent Jessi a text last night, asking her if she wanted to meet up for a chat to clear the air. I would really like us to at least be civil to each other, even if she doesn't want to be friends. I was talking to Sarah in work about it and she suggested making contact to try to fix things, and then Mum was feeling sad about it all so that prompted me to try. No reply yet though, and it's been over twelve hours since I sent it, but we'll see.

Uni is a week today...

Saturday night was a good night. I wore my new contacts which initially seemed like a mistake because my eyes felt scratchy and bad, consequently making me worry and feel ill. However, once I had settled down in the restaurant, I was distracted by conversation, so didn't worry about my eyes again :) There were seven of us all together and we went to an Indian restaurant called Indian Empire. It was quite nice but I wasn't that impressed by my food. Eating out is hard being a recent vegetarian, as I always have to try something new which is scary in itself, and it's hit or miss whether I'll like it!

After the meal we went to Adina's house. She has snakes! I held a baby snake and the mummy snake and I really, really want one... They didn't feel anything like I imagined, they're cool and sort of silky to the touch, not slimy or scaly or anything like that. They're really heavy too, and so strong! It would be great to have one. I'd have to learn a lot though, as I've only ever kept furry animals before. Anyway, we all settled down, the boys drank home brew and we all watched Match of the Day. One of Adina's cats took a shine to me and sat on my lap most of the night :) she's a fat black cat and totally lush...

Work yesterday was immensely boring. I really didn't want to be there as Pen went to the beach with his friends and they wanted me to come but I couldn't :( plus I was knackered because we got home so late the night before so work was a real chore. Eventually got home and got ready for axania's birthday frolics. It was a great night :D I had cocktails and was extremely merry. We all wore Disney Princess tiaras, even the boys! There are many photos so when I get hold of some, I'll put them on here.

Today is back to quiet normality. I'm going into town soon to have some coffee with Kaye, and then work is a bit later on.

I can't believe I'm going to uni next week!

Busy times, busy times.

On Sunday I went to see The Time Traveler's Wife with axania. It was a mad rush to get there, as I was out geocaching for most of the afternoon and evening with Dad and Pen. We made it, however, and even had time to get pick and mix before taking our seats. The film was okay but nowhere near as good as the book, but I wasn't disappointed because I already knew that the film could never match up to such a complex book. It was just a shame that so much had to be cut out.

I can't remember what I did on Monday. I went to work in the evening, I know that much.

On Tuesday I went into town to get my eyes tested. Right eye is the same, left eye is worse, which explains the headaches. One day I will get new glasses but right now I can't afford them. After that I met axania and we had tea in Coffee #1 and a giant teacake. Quick visits to Topshop, H&M and Blue Banana before going back to my house and having more tea. At 5pm I had to go to work for overtime, boo. It was a really quiet night.

Wednesday... I woke up scarily early and walked to Asda in the morning to buy some stationery and things for uni. It was two weeks until uni on that day... eek! Didn't do much else that day until 5pm rolled around and it was back to Asda for work. Uneventful.

Thursday was a bit of a crappy day, had to start work at 8am which sucks after working until 10pm the night before. Had a bad IBS attack while I was there which made the early start much worse. It settled down by lunch though but it was an uncomfortable few hours! Went home at 3pm, drank lots of water and ate bananas. Went to the gym with mum but took it easy. Had dinner at parents' house. Dyed hair "red black" (or was it "black red"?)

Yesterday turned into a reckless day! Went to opticians again for contact lens assesment and walked out of there a while later glasses-free! Even though I tried contacts last year, it was still an ordeal to get them in and out. Met axania AGAIN and spontaneously decided to go to Cardiff. Went shopping, bought things, ended up down Cardiff Bay drinking pear cider and eating chips. Perfect! Went to mum and dad's again in the evening, watched Ratatouille and had dinner. Best day of the week, methinks.

Aaaaaaaaand today so far, just work. Shame I had to work because today was beautiful! I'm going out with Pen later to meet his friends at an Indian restaurant. Should be good.

-#
{@{;

16: Havenstar - Glenda Noramly

I borrowed this from a friend ages ago and finally got around to reading it last month. I really enjoyed it, despite inital reservations as I haven't read many fantasy books. This one really sucked me in. I loved the lead character, Keris. She's a strong and independent woman who desperately wants to follow in her father's footsteps and become a mapmaker, but the current laws say that women are not allowed to work in such jobs. Keris rejects these ideas and, after the death of her father and with the encouragement of her terminally ill mother, sets off on a journey to her father's place of death to find out more. However, on becoming acquainted with her fellow group of travellers, most notably the guide Davron Storre, Keris' journey takes her further than she could ever have imagined, and eventually she is involved in a battle to save the world from Lord Carasma and from Chaos.

Excellent read!