looking for fresh ground

Okay, I have decided that it might be time for me to find a more dedicated blog hosting service - that is, one that uses Moveable Type and MySQL and PHP. Anyone got any suggestions?

utterly utterly dejected

I don't think I have felt this upset in a really long time. I just feel totally let down by all the people who I care about. I didn't get a single phone call from any of my family last night. Whenever I spoke to my Dad earlier, Mum had already told him, but he didn't bother to call me or anything. They didn't call me last night to talk properly. Big Bro didn't acknowledge the msg I sent him. And The Boy had hung up the phone, and then said that he was "out of line" later by text. That is not an apology, and it wasn't even in person. I just felt like crap. I felt like I hadn't lived up to anyone's standards or expectations, and that I was of no import whatsoever. I eventually sent Lil Sis a message:

Neither u nor [Big Bro] nor dad even called to wish me congrats. I had to call dad myself. Thanks for the family support. I really appreciate it.

She called back pretty quick and I shouted at her, and she eventually calmed me down. But it didn't stop me being mad or upset with everyone else. Especially The Boy. I really wanted to talk to him, but I didn't have anything to say that wasn't angry or bitter, and I couldn't face having another fight, since I knew that he would just somehow turn it into being my fault and shout at me. So I basically cried myself to sleep last night. I am so glad I am going to France. It will give me some space from everyone.

To make it worse, The Boy sent me some messages this morning, asking if I was talking to him. I sent him a message back saying

basically you and everyone else I care about totally let me down last night so I don't really feel like talking to anyone right now. I'm totally dejected.

I would have hoped that I might have elicited some sympathy or an apology or something, but no. What I got back was

ok i said sorry. but hey if I am such a monster forget it

I can't even be bothered to deal with it, because I just know it is another fight that will make me cry even more and make me feel more alone. just how you want to feel when you are packing up your life into boxes, right?

a chick i like

Just wanted to link to snazzykat because I liked what I read, and there's no harm in shedding the love, eh?

100th post!

It’s been a dusty day. I’ve been packing everything in my room up, and there is more dirt and grime in there than you could possibly imagine. I have also been attempting to carry more than 12 bags of trash outside, some of which are so unbelievably heavy. They were all left behind by FMN2, who never thought to make sure that the bags were actually light enough to carry. Silly girl. I still have a pile of them to deal with. My room looks like a complete mess, I still haven’t finished packing, and The Boy and I had a fight. What a pissy results day. On top of that, I also ended up practically babysitting S, who I bumped into after getting her results, and she had a compelling need to spend time with someone today, to the extent that she came with me and sat on my bed reading magazines whilst I packed my belongings into boxes. I practically had to kick her out this afternoon.

When I told my parents about my grade, I’m not sure that they were too happy. My brother graduated first in his year, so I think they were used to great things, but that just wasn’t going to come from me. Maybe I’m a little disappointing. I don’t think I’m disappointed though. Just tired, and pissed off with everything else. Thank god I am going on holiday on Sunday.

The thing with The Boy has affected me in a weird way. He was angry at me because I was apparently not listening to his work stress, and that “as usual he would sort it out himself”, and that I hadn’t taken his advice, and I just started giggling, because of course he will sort of his work stress himself, its not like I will rush in and sort it out, and because his advice was nothing that I hadn’t thought myself anyway, so I just thought he was being a drama queen. Apparently not. But he’s been taking his work stress out on me a lot recently, and its beginning to piss me off. Shouting at me because work is shit simply isn’t right and it isn’t fair. And that’s what I’m tired off.

d-day

I got my exam results this morning. I got a 2:1 which is perfectly acceptable. Only seven people do my course, and we had 4 2:1s and 3 2:2s. I don't know whether that shows that it is impossible to get a first in my course, or whether we just weren't very smart people. Anyway, its good enough, and now I'm off to pack my room up. Lifestyles of the rich and famous, eh?

another sleepless night

I was supposed to get my exam results today, but when I went to pick them up, the building was closed. I'll have to wait until tomorrow. How horrible. FMN1 got a 2:1, which is great. Hope I do too. I am currently in a foul mood, and tomorrow I'll have to go alone to find out - very anticlimatic. Pissing hell.

busy little bee

Firstly, its good to know that London public services appreciate local talent; it appears that Euston trani station has hired Jonathon Ross to do their platform announcements.

London was a lot of fun. I had the usual crazy lady sitting opposite me - she babbled to herself teh entire time. Then, what I thought was a nice gentleman gave me a poem that made me not so sure. So plenty of drama before I even got there.

When I finally did, I got the tube to St Pauls, so I could walk over the Millenium Bridge to the Tate Modern. It was awesome. Such a good plan. I had never been to St Paul's cathedral. It's absolutely huge, and gorgeous. I'm not really into church architecture, but I was really impressed with it. Then, you walk along this pedestrianized area and suddenly you see the fantastic aluminium or steel architecture that is the Millenium Bridge leading right up to the Tate Modern: fantastic. I just had this big grin on my face. The Tate itself lived up to my expectations. The Boy, when he went, hateed it, and felt like the interior was designed for parking cement mixers in. I, on the other hand, loved the vast space of the entrance, and how small it made everyone look. The Hopper exhibition was excellent. It was busy, but not obstructively so. I am a terrible art critic - if I don't like something instrant I simply don't pay it very much attention. There were a few I didn't like, especially teh stuff he did in Paris early on, and a few of his Cape Cod ones, and the Nude in the Window, but most I found utterly compelling, dark, and erotic. I surprised myself by falling in love with some of his watercolours, a medium I have little time for, but these were bold and light. I think one of my absolute favourites had to be the very last one, just sunlight streaming into a room, painted a few years before his death. Just beautiful. Unfortuntely, the shop didn't have it as a print, otherwise I would have bought it.

Trip purchases: four postcards for myself, notelets for my mum, muji t-shirt for The Boy, muji candle holder for The Boy's parents, underwear for me, postcard calendar for me.

still here

Am still down in Shrewsbury. The car got fixed, thank goodness, so we are still mobile. Well, The Boy is; I can't drive. Living with someone else's family is weird, and not altogether fun and games. I guess the thing I am resenting is my lack of freedom. I feel like I can't go anywhere or do anything. Things between The Boy and I have been tense, not because of our relationship, but other pressures, and so just whenever I feel like I want to run away and escape for a few hours, I can't, because firstly, there's nowhere to go, and second, absconding for a period of time without The Boy would send some very strange signals indeed. Especially when its mostly late at night whenever I feel these urges to climb out the windows and run away. Ho hum.

Thinking of going to London tomorrow for the Hopper, which would be perfect. A day away to do my own thing, and really relax. I keep having dreams about working for exams, or strange things like that. Results on Wednesday - how weird is that? It feels like I only just finished. Well, its true, I have.

Just got a txt msg from my dad. He pointed out that Lil Sis had sent him a happy father's day text. I don't think that it was a barbed 'why didn't you?', since I had sent them a message wishing them fun in the sun. More of a general family chit-chat.

The Boy has just registered the domain name www.pointonesurf.co.uk as the first stage of his online business. Or our online business. I'm not sure what the plan is, though I think he is hoping that my knowledge of all things techy is going to be used. I've somehow been roped into setting up his mum's business network, something I have never done before, but how hard can it be? Ha. The innocence of the naive.

dear oh dear

Am still at The Boy's. Its been quite eventful. We had a big big chat last night about what we wanted, and it hit some low points but we have made it through to the other side as the song goes.

He is now at the garage since this morning we were driving to town and heard a massive snap, the snap being the clutch cable breaking. So we had to walk home after abandoning the car, and he's getting it fixed, which is the last thing he needs right now. I feel bad for him indeed.

Proper posts when I get back to Edinburgh, or, failing that, back to Belfast after Perpignan. Its just one long holiday for me.

change of scenery

I have come down to The Boy's for a few days r&r. Its been nice so far - reading, lying in, and later I am going to the gym whilst the men watch the football - gender stereotypes or what?! No, honestly, its cool. It means that updates to this page will be kinda on a backburner. One reason is that I simply will have nothing to say. My mind and all its smartness seems to go on lockdown when I come here. Ah well.

I saw next to an oddish man on the train coming down. He asked to read my Vogue, and then asked me a million questions, and it turns out he has never been on a plane because he was scared of flying, and instead, he was going to get the ferry to Sweden. Hmmm. I have never been good with people who don't over come their fears. Yes, I know, I am harsh.

Lil Sis didn't just pass her exams - she came first in her year, again. Just like her older brother. Not at all like me, the black sheep. I'll be lucky to come second in my year of nine. Doh.

domestic bliss

FMN3 has just come in with her ladies. They are incredibly hungover, having been out last night until 7am. I know that sounds fun, but I am so glad that wasn’t me. I have been enjoying not feeling like hell. My body is a temple man.

FMN2 comes home tomorrow. FMN2 is the most tidy, organized of all of us, and it pisses her off that the rest of us aren’t up to her standards. We aren’t slobs, but putting the washing away doesn’t make or break our day. I am so glad that I am not going to be around, because she is coming back to a flat that will have no toilet roll, no milk, no washing up liquid, and is pretty grubby. You know what though? She will take a perverse pleasure in being mad at us, and having to scrub everything up. I feel sorry for FMN3, who is going to be around, because she is the one who will have to face the wrath. And of everyone, it is those two who don’t get along. Eek. I’ll be sunning myself down in Shrewsbury. I think I’ll keep my phone switched off.

Big congratulations to Lil Sis, who passed her second year medical exams today. She’s out getting lashed, but should she read this, she’ll know I’m very pleased and proud of her.

make me puh-retty!!

In order to keep my youthfulness, I have found about a million gorgeous beauty items that simply must be bought. Beauty products for me are a definite weakness. Its particularly annoying since I’m really rather wasteful with them; or rather, they are wasted on me. I simply don’t use them. I still haven’t found a moisturiser I like – right now I’m using Kiehls. I think I might move on and get Philosophy. I adore eyeshadows, and I have more colours than I ever wear. In fact, these days, I really only wear three or four colours – all from Urban Decay. They are: a dark steel one, a pretty lilac one (Grifter), a lemon-lime green one, and sometimes a pink. But Cosmo has given me ideas for much much more. I was very intrigued to get Mischa Barton’s pretty ripples, but then I discovered I would need to buy a hairdryer with a diffuser, some curl defining goo, and a “triple-barrelled wave iron” to get it. I don’t even know what a triple barrelled wave iron is, and I most certainly don’t have one. I guess I’ll just stick with my tangle of messy blonde pony-tails that I have going on.

Oh, in case you too want to go shopping, coral is the new colour for lip-gloss this summer. Make a note please.

blatant steal

I just saw an article in US Cosmo for size 14+ panty-liners. I am sorry if I alienate any readers here, but the thought of such a thing is traumatizing. I know that nappies is not the image I should be seeing here, but I am getting very over-sized, non-discreet products coming to mind. This is yet another example of the “super-sizing” of America, where, instead of handling obesity, people are coming to terms with it, and making accommodation for it. I am all for Southwest charging people for two plane seats if they need; they’re running a business and those people are losing them money. I am not normally that capitalist, but obesity is not something I have a lot of patience with.

I feel like I will run a “scarlettholly reads the mags so you don’t have to” piece, because I have been so amused by Cosmo this month. I actually buy it for the giggles, rather than for the life experience, because obviously you cannot take it seriously. I don’t think that even the writers take it seriously. Anyway, the cover treats are:

MEN UNZIPPED: 5 Down-There Shockers (and how to handle them brilliantly)

CELEB SEX-CAPADES

7 Foods That Go Straight to Your Thighs

3 Things All Guys Crave in Bed

But actually, all those articles were rubbish, unless you want to know how to handle a man with a piercing. And maybe you do, but I’m not going there for the moment. The Boy is jewellery free. But instead, I have found out that 21% of Cosmo online readers have double-booked dates for the same night. I find this amazing! I think I have been on about 10 dates in my whole life, and have never dated two people at the same time, as far as I can remember anyway. I think that I have been wasting my lusty youthfulness.

running freak

Finally went to the gym today, for the first time in 5 weeks. I used to be quite fit, you know? It started badly, with me running slower than usual, deliberately, and still only running a solitary mile, before having to quit. Unabashed, I headed to do some cross-training machine things, and some sit-ups, before deciding to go home. Well, I thought I had decided that, but since my legs were still carrying me, I decided that I had another mile of running left in me, so did that, and yes, then my legs were having problems. I’m sure I’ll feel it in the morning, but I know that it’s better in the long run. Ha! Good pun there.

I don’t know about any other women, but after I finish a work-out, I never put a bra on. The same whenever I’m hungover. The thought of wire and structure coming near my body is just anathema. I am not that well-endowed, but I’m not teeny either (36B if anyone’s interested), so for an evening its no big deal if I’m letting my babies hang loose, but does anyone else do the same?

running freak

Finally went to the gym today, for the first time in 5 weeks. I used to be quite fit, you know? It started badly, with me running slower than usual, deliberately, and still only running a solitary mile, before having to quit. Unabashed, I headed to do some cross-training machine things, and some sit-ups, before deciding to go home. Well, I thought I had decided that, but since my legs were still carrying me, I decided that I had another mile of running left in me, so did that, and yes, then my legs were having problems. I’m sure I’ll feel it in the morning, but I know that it’s better in the long run. Ha! Good pun there.

I don’t know about any other women, but after I finish a work-out, I never put a bra on. The same whenever I’m hungover. The thought of wire and structure coming near my body is just anathema. I am not that well-endowed, but I’m not teeny either (36B if anyone’s interested), so for an evening its no big deal if I’m letting my babies hang loose, but does anyone else do the same?

FUUN!

I made paper dolls as a kid, and now I can do it again. Wasted afternoon coming my way I see ...

booo

I can't find a decent kaftan anywhere. My great plans are scuppered. Oh well, never mind. The only bank balance couldn't really take the hit anywhere. Plus, my friend Cat has cancelled out afternoon date. Silly girl. Its just not working out for me at all today. What's a girl to do?

the future of social networking?

I was reading in Wired about dodgeball.com , which apprently is the future of social networking. It basically is a location-based service that texts to your friends and yourself about who is where. It seems like a damn nifty zervice to say the least. Of course, its only available in big cities like Boston, Chicago, LA, NY, Philadelphia, Portland, San Fran, Seattle and D.C., but if anyone is actually using it, let me know how it works out.

IQ Test

I just took anIQ test. My IQ is 133, and I am a

Your Intellectual Type is Visionary Philosopher. This means you are highly intelligent and have a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a variety of different ways. Like Plato, your exceptional math and verbal skills make you very adept at explaining things to others — and at anticipating and predicting patterns.

.

Not bad, I guess. I think I was really hoping for higher, but aren't we always?

gmail

Hey y'all. I am a nice nice girl, and I have a gmail invite to give away. Leave me comments on why I should leave it to you, and you never know, you might get lucky! Remember to leave an email address too.

memories

I was just thinking about how last summer, The Boy and I were working on Cape Cod, and we used to go to the beach, and he used to throw me around in the water. This summer we won't get to do that, and its making me nostalgic.

i hate my bank balance

Its official. I truly hate my bank balance. There is simply not enough money in it to do what I want to do, or even last until the end of the month. What a total bummer. I could ask my parents for a loan, and I think they might be okay with that, but it would still suck. Money sucks. Being unemployed most definitely sucks. I think I might have to dust down my CV and start applying for work. The words "boo" and "hiss" spring to mind.

The Boy has just told me he hasn't budgeted for an anniversary present for our very first year together. Should I be pissed? I'm not sure.

reading list

As promised, here are the books I picked out for reading over the next few weeks. Once done, you'll get some tasty reviews.


Bringing Down the House: How Six Students Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich

Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination by Robert Macfarlane

Finding Myself by Toby Litt

Elegence by Kathleen Tessaro

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.

And that's it. I also bought the US editions of Cosmo, Glamour, Vogue, and Wired. I have just been flicking through the Amazon reviews of my books, and all of them are apparently great, which means nothing, apart from Toby Litt's, which only gets two stars. That does not bode well. Oh well, I can always try and flog it on Amazon, or if I think it won't sell, I'll bookcross it.

uh-oh, she's in trouble

FMN3 is in trouble. Boy trouble. Having spent about a half hour bitching to me about her weird psycho stalker ex, she ended up staying at his last night, and then had lunch with him today. Now she has no clue whether she has randomly started dating him again, and whether this means she can keep dating another guy who she likes. Confused? Most definitely.

retail therapy

I think that as soon as you decide that you want something, all shops refuse to stock it. This has been my theme of the day, as I have trekked around Glasgow in search of a pink kaftan to wear with a big funky belt, to no avail. The same goes for a book on CSS, but that’s no big deal, since I’ll just go to Amazon to get one. I have bought a ton of books, which will take up a later post. Expect reviews soon. I also got my white Birkenstocks, which I am very pleased with, since my old, faux-Birks were actually a liability. Now I see that I should have just invested in the first place, rather than splitting my toe open, not once but twice due to my inferior quality sandals. I also got my pink slippers from Office. Very cute indeed. They aren’t the only things that are cute; my feet have shrunk from a 7 (US9) to a 6 (US8), which is awesome. I can finally start feeling a little more like a lady and less like a over-sized monster.

how to use your blog to get a job

As you well know, I am about to become unemployed, but do you know what? That's ok, because I have just read "how to use your blog to get a job" so I know that everything is going to be alright. I've just got to sit in front of my computer for the next 4wks solidly, typing up everything I find. Nae probs pal.

random tired thoughts

The girls are not having the best time with boys right now. FMN3 is having to deal with people thinking she has slept with a guy when she hasn’t, as well as a shitty ex-boyfriend who is verging on creepy stalker status, and both she and FMN1 have been getting booty txts, which neither of them are pleased about. They are not happy girls, and I can see why. I’d be pretty pissed as well. Makes me feel very lucky about having The Boy around.

The Sunday papers all look so inviting, and I really want to read them, but everytime I start to try and concentrate on an article my mind goes flip-flopsy, and there is not a hope of me understanding what is going on.

My dad sent me an email fact today about the FBI and Courier text, and interesting as it was, I was really hoping that the email had told me he had made a contribution to the post-exam party fund, but no such luck. Bit of a shame, because I am not sure how I am going to make it through the next few wks without some form of injection into my bank balance. Maybe I’ll have to sell parts of my life. Or set up a Paypal asking for contributions. Not that anyone would actually do that.

My midge bites have all swollen up and gotten really itchy. FMN1 says its because I’m not Scottish, and they only bite foreigners. What lovely little beasts.

partaaay

So, the Final Quest party. I have never been to a party when I felt so rough beforehand, but I knew that it was going to be worth it: 160 Questers exchanging stories about their travels, and a chance to celebrate finally finishing. Excellent. And it was. They had rigged up a projector showing everyone’s pictures on the wall, which meant that our bums were up there a total of three times, which was a bit embarrassing, but George and Pete’s team had got totally nekkid far beyond the call of duty, so I don’t think people really noticed our bare asses.

There were so many people there, lots of whom I didn’t know, but lots who I did, so it was a big night of drinking and giggling. We were very organised and actually brought our own wine glasses; we knew the chances of finding any when we got there were pretty slim, but unfortunately FMN1 had a lapse of attention around 2am and just plain dropped hers in the middle of a conversation with someone, which was quite funny. I also got into a long conversation with her ex, and told him he was the most insensitive person I had ever met. He actually took it rather well, but we have always got on very well, mainly because we don’t really take each other very seriously. We had a long conversation about why he had dumped her, and actually, it was very good, because it gave us all a chance to air our opinions, which, actually, were quite similar. Odd.

We all ended up very very drunk, mainly because everyone was absolutely exhausted but quite exhilarated by our efforts. The boys who won were some of my favourite guys at uni, so I was very well pleased for them. It was also really nice because they hadn’t put in loads of planning and military strategies to what they were doing – they just had fun and happened to wrack up the most points. It was pretty cool. They gave me their caps, so everyone thought I was on the winning team which was pretty nifty too.

I decided to go home at around 3.30, although the party was still quite packed. I just had got to the drunk stage of having had enough, and I had talked to all the people I had wanted to talk to. I walked home, and the sun was just about to rise, which is my favourite time of day; it was so beautiful. In my drunken state I decided to sleep on the roof, in order to see the sunrise. Of course I didn’t see any of it because as soon as my head hit the pillow I fell fast asleep. I woke a few hours later stiff from lying on the concrete and wondering why the hell I was on the roof. Back to bed I went.

partaaay

So, the Final Quest party. I have never been to a party when I felt so rough beforehand, but I knew that it was going to be worth it: 160 Questers exchanging stories about their travels, and a chance to celebrate finally finishing. Excellent. And it was. They had rigged up a projector showing everyone’s pictures on the wall, which meant that our bums were up there a total of three times, which was a bit embarrassing, but George and Pete’s team had got totally nekkid far beyond the call of duty, so I don’t think people really noticed our bare asses.

There were so many people there, lots of whom I didn’t know, but lots who I did, so it was a big night of drinking and giggling. We were very organised and actually brought our own wine glasses; we knew the chances of finding any when we got there were pretty slim, but unfortunately FMN1 had a lapse of attention around 2am and just plain dropped hers in the middle of a conversation with someone, which was quite funny. I also got into a long conversation with her ex, and told him he was the most insensitive person I had ever met. He actually took it rather well, but we have always got on very well, mainly because we don’t really take each other very seriously. We had a long conversation about why he had dumped her, and actually, it was very good, because it gave us all a chance to air our opinions, which, actually, were quite similar. Odd.

We all ended up very very drunk, mainly because everyone was absolutely exhausted but quite exhilarated by our efforts. The boys who won were some of my favourite guys at uni, so I was very well pleased for them. It was also really nice because they hadn’t put in loads of planning and military strategies to what they were doing – they just had fun and happened to wrack up the most points. It was pretty cool. They gave me their caps, so everyone thought I was on the winning team which was pretty nifty too.

I decided to go home at around 3.30, although the party was still quite packed. I just had got to the drunk stage of having had enough, and I had talked to all the people I had wanted to talk to. I walked home, and the sun was just about to rise, which is my favourite time of day; it was so beautiful. In my drunken state I decided to sleep on the roof, in order to see the sunrise. Of course I didn’t see any of it because as soon as my head hit the pillow I fell fast asleep. I woke a few hours later stiff from lying on the concrete and wondering why the hell I was on the roof. Back to bed I went.

Suffolk and Good take on The Final Quest

Ohmigod I feel so hungover. But of course, the last 48hrs have been worth the pain that I am in now. They have been awesome.

I finished my exams (finally) and got the obligatory spraying with champagne by my friends, and a boozy lunch. All well and good. However, by 3pm I was being bundled into a car to embark on “The Final Quest”. The Final Quest was a 27hr scavenger hunt around Scotland organised by a couple of boys in our year. They had created a map with about 70 clues all around the country, from John O’Groats to Skye to Loch Lomond to Loch Ness down into the Borders. It was incredible. Obviously you couldn’t do the whole thing, so we just picked and chose what we wanted to see. For us, that meant driving from Edinburgh to Stirling to Fort William to Loch Lochry on the first night, stopping along the way to do moonie shots in lakes, pick up random photo shots, toot at canoes, and mucho general hilarity. Helen drove, and she did the most awesome job. The road to Fort William was pretty good. Not motorway, but not the one lane wonders that we would spend so much time on the next day. We stayed in a random youth hostel with lots of Dutch people who hated us, mainly because we arrived late, were noisy, tried to put our bedding on in the dark with much giggling, and just were very bad bad hostellers. Lots of fun. Poor WPT. He had to go in the boys dorm which he said smelt v v v bad, and had a lot of people snoring. Not a good night’s sleep. At least we slept. There were loads of people who drove through the night and didn’t sleep at all. How horrible. Plus, those wee Scottish roads would be a total nightmare in the dark. They are so narrow and windy. One group hit a deer, which wrecked the car. Nasty.

The thing that keeps the tourists out of Scotland, as opposed to the West of Ireland, is the midges. They are impossible. I have bites all over my arms and neck and we weren’t even outside that much, being involved in a race against time and the 40-odd other cars that were doing it. It was hilarious – we all had stickers on our cars, and you would be in the middle of nowhere, and suddenly you would see another wee car with a sticker racing along. Fun times.

Our second day had some amazing scenery. The night before, we had been at the foot of Ben Nevis, but the clouds were down, and it was raining, so we couldn’t see anything, which was a shame. However, the skies lifted as we drove through the Highlands, seeing the Five Sisters, and driving through various passes on the smallest, windiest roads, that took hours to get anywhere on, but they had to be taken to get the precious points. We did some awesome things: Loch Garry which looks like a map of Scotland; the most amazing bench view on the road to Applecross; a random seafood festival at Applecross; lots of sheep and hairy coos (Highland cattle). So beautiful and amazing. We met some brilliant people too, and got cheered out of Applecross’s festival. This was a town that was only a street long, and we got right in the middle of their summer festivities. So cool.

Having said that, we badly mistimed our drive home, and had to drive from Ullapool to Edinburgh in only three hours, which is simply undoable. We were exactly four hours late, which really isn’t too bad. We were absolutely knackered, but had had a great great time. We’d also got rather blasé about having our bums out in the open air, having moonied beside a road, and at a castle. Awesome. FMN1 went from being quite reluctant to to being the most keenest moonie planner. All in the name of points. WPT was the only boy, and he got the role of photographer and artistic director, claiming that no one wanted to see his big bum, and would rather see our little ones. Hmm.

More to come later, but right now I am far too hungover to write anymore.

weird and weird blogger

Hmm. Blogspot just didn't publish a post I made. Well, in case it never shows up, it was about the most gorgeous site I just discovered, Stephen Charles' weblog, and basically, I think that it is so gorgeous that I might just steal it all, apart from that would be seriously foul play. But gosh, its gorgeous.

swoon swoon

Stephen Charles's blog wins my prize for beautiful beautiful site. Mmmm. I love it. I want to steal it. I am sure that is very very bad of me. Ha ha ha.

T Mobile Sucks

I'm in Starbucks and I thought that for a treat I would go online there, and check my email and stuff. Never again. It won't load up the blogger page properly, or even hotmail. What a pathetic service. Never ever again. Plus its super slow.

Anyway, in the meantime, in 24hrs I will be free from exams, never to have to take one again for a very long time. I'm a little nervous and very excited. For those of you who check back everyday, this isn't going to be updated for a few days whilst I go out and get very drunk and then very hungover. Yes, I am most definitely looking forward to that. Woo-hoo!

My surprise from The Boy has arrived, and I have no idea what it is. I think I might just wander home to see it. He he.

Anyway, wish me luck on finished it all up.

gorgeous

Today I wished I had a digital camera. I was walking home along George IV Bridge, and it had just been raining, so everything had that just washed look, and there just enough cars to make gorgeous reflections on the road, coupled with the gorgeous domed building at the top of the street, and the blue-ish light, it would have made the most gorgeous photograph. Perfect for my title header.

blurgh

As we speak, FMN1 & 3 are out getting very very drunk at the Opal Lounge, because they have finished all their exams. Yes, I know that that will be me in 48hrs, but 48hrs seems a very long time from now, and also not very long at all. I'm honestly not sure that I will do at all well in this exam. In fact, in all honestly, I am likely to do absolutely shite, because I lost all interest in taking it about 2wks ago, whenever I finished my 4MA exam. (The big hard one that nearly killed me and I have almost definitely got a 2:2 in). Blurgh. I just want to be done, to not feel worried or stressed about having to do anything. Plus, then I can not feel guilty about doing the things I like, like posting to this, or going down to see The Boy, or getting horribly horribly drunk. He he. I can't wait for that.

before I put on my make-up

I've noticed something recently. I'm not much of a make-up girl, and for most of the year, I haven't even worn mascara, but for most days whilst I've been doing all this studying, I've been putting on a full-face. Ok, full-face for me means some interesting eyeshadow. Today its a sparkly lilac which really brings out my green eyes - thank you Urban Decay. Yesterday, it was a mixture of blues and greens courtesy of Stila. I guess I must have some sort of feel-crap-look-good thing going on.

starbucks chat

Woohoo!! Starbucks gave me free coffee today - both a free cup and some ground stuff to take home. Its a pity that I spilt it in the bottom of my bag instead though. Its always nice to get something for free though. The new girl there also has a lovebite on her neck, which is making me giggle. I didn't think people over the age of 14 had those anymore. Shows how much I know. My latest Starbucks observation is that no one talks in this on (Stockbridge, Edinburgh). NO ONE. It reminds me of a coffee shop that I used to go to in Chapel Hill, Caribou, which used to be like a library serving drinks. If some poor souls who didn't know the rules came in for a chat, they got the evil-eye from everyone until they left. I loved that place.

package today!

I got an HTML book today from Omnibooks, who I found on Amazon and I would definitely recommend them. They are cheap, and seriously quick. The book is quite dry, but I'm sure I'll learn a lot from it once I get my head down and start working on it. I started drawing out the redesign of my page today, so we'll see how long it takes me to translate my lovely drawing into actualy stylesheets etc. Could be a long wait people.

Hot Damn I Feel Dumb

Sheesh. I'm going to leave my Hot Abercrombie Chick post up, but according to overstated she is a he - nothing wrong with that, but s/he is also trolling lots of other blogs to keep his/her blogdex ranking high. I am not even sure of how to do this, apart from leaving lots of comments on other people's pages, I think, so if anyone feels like explaining, I would love to hear from them. Anyways, I'm kinda intrigued as to the kind of person HAC is, so I'll keep visiting. Weird or what?

weird dreams

I had very very weird dreams last night, which explains why I slept in. They all involved me having to pick shattered glass out of The Boy's skin. I know that it is one of my favourite things to do with my shoes, but still. Strange. Does it mean that I want to hurt him, or help him? Also in my dreams was him going and getting drunk with my guy friends. This has never happened before and he always complains about the fact that he has never met them. Why would I be dreaming all this?

hmmm

I thought about the fights that The Boy and I have. Basically, he says or does something that hurts my feelings, I tell him so, and then he gets angry at me. How fucked up is that? But never mind. He just called me, so I'm guessing that's his way of making peace.

gmail on ebay

So, I've been given a gmail invite, and I'm debating what to do with it. I could either use it on gmail swap except there is really nothing on there I want, I could try and sell it on ebay, which would probably make me about £20, or I could be nice and give it away, apart from no one I really know would appreciate it. Hmmm. What's a girl to do?

late night

The Boy and I are fighting. I’m not entirely sure why. I have a feeling that I precipitated it, but I don’t really know how. All I know is that we were having a conversation, he was being really pedantic, and saying that everything that I said was “another lie”, when it was just me saying dumb things like “I haven’t eaten a bagel for three weeks”, when apparently I ate them two weeks ago. Riight. Like that’s important. Anyway, I decided that I wasn’t having any fun anymore, so said that I would call him tomorrow, and apparently he took the huff and has told me not to call him until I am done with my exams. I have already been the bigger person by sending him two txts, so there is nothing more to be done. I wish these random disagreements wouldn’t happen. I honestly have no clue why he has got so upset.

Onto other things. I have made a few discoveries tonight. (1) microwaved porridge has a rather solid, gelatinous texture that is not exactly appealing. This seems to have no adverse effects on the taste though. The reason that I am eating porrige is two-fold. It is all that is left in my cupboards, or rather, strictly speaking, FMN3’s cupboards, and also, because, despite the fact that the rest of the country is having a heatwave, we have fog and I was freezing by the time I had finished walking home in my sandals. (2) my new revision snack: Rice Krispie Squares. The Boy will kill me (no wait, he won’t even know about them!) because we are supposed to be on a health kick. That can wait until next week and my exams are all done. In the mean-time, a chewy, high-sugar snack is going to keep me going through the next three days. Something has to.

new addiction

I have a baad new addiction. It used to be del.icio.us but now its BlogTree. Basically, you put in your blog information, who inspired you, and you get all these other people who were inspired by the same things - how cool is that? I would totally recommend it to anyone. Its very addictive.

Hot Abercrombie Chick!

My, Hot Abercrombie Chick has a lot to say for herself. Actually, she reminds me a lot of FMN2, so its quite cool to read her stuff. Its actually quite intelligent. She does a lot better than me at random thoughts, in that she actually forms them into an argument. Make mental note. Ha. But then again, I'm also a hot abercrombie chick, or so the The Boy would say. Its rather depressing, that's what I'm wearing head to toe today. But then again, it also makes me feel right at home in that its what I'm most comfortable in, and makes me think of the times when I was living in the US.

overheard

"Its like Mastermind but they take off their clothes when get a wrong answer" - 2 business men chatting today in Starfucks. I think they were in the med-ya.

Microsoft Iliad

So,
Microsoft have rewritten the Iliad in IM chat stylee. It would be great if I could get a hold of this travesty in linguisitics. Actually, I'm serious, I think it would be interesting. My friend Katie did some sort of thesis of linguistics using AIM, so I think its a totally legitimate comment on language. Its cool. If I could only find the whole text. Sometimes, although my lovely iBook is gorgeous and I wouldn't trade her for anything, I wish that it would behave like PCs, so I could take part in these cultural comments.

confused

So, yes, I am confused. I read in the Guardian today that Channel 4 are cancelling the OC. I was a little surprised by this, since just about everybody I know watches it, which is more than can be said for most of the crap they show. Even The Boy watches it, although he watches lots of telly. Why, is beyond me, since, apart from the aforementioned show, there is just about nothing worth watching at all these days. Unless I want to buy a house, decorate a house, sell a house, or watch 8 people live in a boring house. Anyways, now that I've googled it, I can find nothing about this apparent cancellation. Can anyone fill me in?

small changes

Yes, so last night I got around to making some small changes to the blog. I really just added some links, which I admit isn't drastic, but it was the first HTML I have written in about five years, so I felt pretty good being able to put things where I wanted them. Its all thanks to webmonkey and their guide to CSS. I promise I'll do more work on it whenever my exams finish.

As for the transit of venus? It was cloudy, so we didn't really see anything. That didn't stop FMN1 and I both trying to look up at the sun and nearly blinding ourselves. Now we understand all those health warnings.

NOT FAIR

So not fair. Just when I get my hopes up that the sandals I love are online so that I can just buy them and wait for them to be delivered to me, rather than have to check with the store about my size, they don't have my size online. Every other one, but not mine. I'm a seven, and they have sixes and eights. I thought about buying the eight anyway, because the six was really when I tried it on. Hmmm. Debate. I think I might have to.

Ok, going home. No more online shopping.

Transit of Venus

Don't forget everyone: the Transit of Venus happens tomorrow between 6.19am and 12.23.pm BST tomorrow. Apparently, we aren't supposed to look with our bare eyes, or with sunglasses, but it still should be pretty exciting. I remember the solar eclipse in 1999, apart from being in Belfast it was only a partial eclipse, and not half as much fun as all those people down in Cornwall who got to go mad with the crazy apocalyptic signs.

Since I'm going stir crazy trying to work, I think I might go home, have a shower, and finish up there. Not that I have ever been any good at working from home, but anything has got to be better than my current pathetic attention span. I am also super thirsty, and I think it is from all the dried pineapple.

I have also just finished my book, Drop City, which was okay, I guess. It was enjoyable enough to read, but I definitely would be happy enough to give it away. I'm going to start a Dave Eggers one tonight, And You Shall Know Us By Our Velocity. I have never actually read a full Eggers book before, so this might be very hit and miss. I just need something that isn't history to send me to sleep and not have me dreaming of Reconstruction debates. Gosh, I am so BORING sometimes.

breaktime!

I am needing to take a break from this study malarkey. I actually think that my best plan might be a change of scene, so in a minute I'm going to nip over to bean scene and get a coffee and a table, and guess what? Do so more work, this time on Reconstruction. That's the period after the Civil War, in case anyone was wondering. There are a few things I want to print out, but I don't feel like giving the evil printer anymore of my money. I have spent £2.90 on it already today, although admittedly a lot of it went on printing Webmonkey tutorials out, because it is shutting down, and it was always my free source of know-how. Especially since as soon as my exams finish the bland "Blogger made this!" template is getting ditched and I am redesigning the whole thing.

My attempt at healthiness today is munching on dried pineapple, which was part of my binge shop at the student union store. Somehow, 4 pens, some filepaper, and some other little things came to £8!!! I think when the time comes for me to start budgeting, I am going to be royally screwed. Still, I'm not even going to think about it until after I have graduated. I have far too much fun coming up in the next few weeks, including a scavenger hunt around Scotland, going down to see The Boy for a period of longer than 48hrs, going to London, going to the south of France, and oh yeah, scrubbing my flat down from top to bottom. So much to do, so little time. I was also going to attempt to hike the West Highland Way, but I don't see how I am going to fit that in. Although, if I can, I most definitely will. A good hike would do me good. Clear my head out, get in touch with what's important, all that sort of stuff.

Right, I am going to wander off and get some fresh air, which will hopefully put me in a good place to continue on doing some learning, because so far I haven't actually managed to get very far. I am so badly prepared for this exam. Its not even a case of not knowing stuff, its just the random haphazard nature of what I have decided to learn. I think I might be right-royally screwed when the time comes to take the exam, but by that stage, I really will have stopped caring.

beautiful

I am not exactly sure how I found seriocomic but it is absolutely gorgeous. Plus, he lives in New Zealand, and is therefore proof that the country is not stuck in the 1970s, which is what plenty of people have told me. I am thinking of moving there with The Boy in a year or two, mainly because it is a very beautiful outdoors place, and lots of people have told me I would do well there, and be happy. But probably unemployed. Ach well. I'd have to become a kept woman or something like that.

End of the Day

Yes, its the end of the day, and I'm going home, so I have a few things just to add before I do. First, I just talked online to my friend JP, who neatly defined not being 'exclusive' to me - it means we fight like we are dating and can see other people. Neat. I'll try to avoid that one.

I spoke to my Dad on the phone today. I swear, he is the original metrosexual. He was just about to run outside and grill some sausages, but before he could do that, he got all excited about the clothes he had just bought for a trip to France. "I got some, what are these called, oh yes, distressed jeans, and a pair of closed toed sandals, and I'm very excited about a Hawaiian shirt I just ordered from Lands End". No wonder I am obsessed with clothes, with a father like that?

The Boy has developed a new character that makes me laugh uncontrollably. Previous characters have included the Pufferfish and the Dancing Cowboy. His latest is the Dirty Old Man. This involves him breathing whilst making a disgusting rattling sound in his throat, which conjours images of men dressed in formerly white wife-beaters with sweat stains and grey Y-fronts. He created this whilst we were driving back from Cornwall and I discovered an ad for 'open-minded telephone operator' paying £10/hr. Since I am the biggest prude ever, and can't even say certain words such as pussy (I can type them, but my mouth won't make the words. Believe me, I've tried), I doubted my capabilities for this job, but The Boy thought it would be helpful if we did some role-playing to test my aptitude, hence the Dirty Old Man. Needless to say, I failed hopelessly.

should have known

So, I really should have thought this one through. Sitting in a library munching on a chocolate bar called Crunchie was not my best plan. It definitely lived up to its name. And I have managed to do absolutely no work whatsoever in the hour and a half that I have been here. I talked to The Boy online, and it turns out he has bought me a present, but I have absolutely no idea what it could be, but it will arrive on Wednesday or Thursday. Very intriguing. I love me a surprise.

flatness

My flat seems so lonely right now. I came back yesterday at 3.30pm, and haven't really seen anyone yet. There are little signs of life here and there, but not so much. FMN2 has gone back to Zurich, leaving us all a little bit more relaxed, FMN1 has finished, and is therefore out having fun and/or earning money, and FMN3 is either at the library or on hot dates. I'm not much better, not having been in lots myself. We are like ships crossing in the night, passing only to eat each other's food or hang up laundry.

Spiderware and the New York Times

I just checked on Technorati and found that Spiderware had linked to me, shooting me up the rankings, which was great. However, he was a bit miffed that I had linked to an NYT article about blogging that he could no longer get. Just to give him the low-down on it, it basically was saying how blogging was becoming addictive, and there were people who couldn't go on holiday without taking their laptop, and that some people were quitting posting so often because it was taking up so much time. Furthermore, it didn't seem to matter whether anyone was reading or not, it was just the sheer act of writing that people were addicted to. It also had a story about a wife walking into the bathroom of the remote mountain retreat that she and her husband were staying at and finding him typing away there. D-I-V-O-R-C-E was the implication of the article. Its me or the blog, baby.

Hope that satisfies everyone's desires.

Super Size Me

I think I must be seriously behind the times, but I read an article today on Super Size Me, the movie about the guy who lives on McDonalds for a month. Ew gross. I can't imagine anything worse, but I love how McDonalds are taking a very DL approach to it, as far as I can see, and are even acting upon some of it. The new British McDonalds adverts right now are excreble, all about the "new" people who come to eat at Chez McDo for their tasty healthy salads. Whoever commissioned that campaign should be shot, since it makes me run a mile from any of their fabulous new salad range, for fear that I should turn into a bland 'Teresa' or whatever the chicks' names are. But yes, am very much looking forward to the movie, even if it puts me off McDonalds forever. That would be a shame, because I would have to find a new hangover cure. Until now, two hamburgers and a medium fries has been foolproof.

Boys and Books

So, according to The Observer, Penguin is launching the Good Booking campaign in order to get men to read. I am all about this. I know loads of guys who never read, and they are seriously missing out. Although they would probably say that I am missing out by not knowing the joys of Sony Playstations. I don't really know just how this publicity stunt will work, but maybe I will try it on The Boy. I seriously doubt he would be up for it though. The only books he would go near have big waves on the cover and maps on the inside telling him how to get there. Having said that, the chance to win a grand for reading isn't bad.

Five days and counting

Yes, tis only five days to go and I am definitely going round the bend trying to concentrate and not let myself be distracted. I have willed myself to go to the library tonight and not go to an OC party with FMN1 and S, who also called me last night, providing a nice little distraction. I got home from The Boy's and was vaguely trying to read over my notes whenever I got a nice little text message from her, saying that her camp flatmate was driving her crazy since he had his very young girlfriend over, and could we go for a drink? What could I do? She was a friend in need. Of course we could go for a drink. But actually, I was very well behaved, and only drank coke (yes, I am a cheap date). We just bitched about her boyfriend and the fact that he's getting fat, planned a post-exam trip to London to see the Hopper exhibition at the Tate Modern, of which somehow I've been roped into going to an opera, which I will definitely have to get out of. Nothing extraordinary, but it was a nice little diversion nevertheless.

So, today is my dramatic study comeback. After faffing around doing nothing, I am back in Starfucks with my head down. Although I have only five more days to go, I have technically been 'revising' since March 13th. How crazy is that? And why do I still know nothing? Three months go by and there is no amelioration of the intellectual condition. Random surfing trips, and very funny and brilliant boyfriend don't help though.

Sitting in Starfucks I was unsurprised to overhear a group of teenage girls bitching about another girl. However, I was a little amazed when they were replaced by a teenaged boys in baggy jeans and skate shoes bitching about girls drinking what looked to be cappuccinos but was probably hot chocolate. But still, when did metrosexuality descend down the ranks to teenage boys? Aren't they supposed to be obsessed with their playstations and who does the best ollie? I think I am well behind the times these days.

Chris Rock - my new hero

Okay, I have never seen Chris Rock in action, or even watched him in a movie (or rather, one that I can remember), but I did read this in The Guardian today: "You know the world's gone crazy when the best rapper in the world is a white guy, the best golfer in the world in a black guy ... and the threw most powerful men in America are names Bush, Dick, and Colon". Made me laugh anyway.

worst dumper ever

So I just read on smitten about someone getting dumped by txt message. I'm actually not particularly surprised by this - quick and painless for the dumper. All done in 160 characters. I've even done it once in a particularly drunken state. The words I used have gone down in infamy of bad drunken moves: "I'm writing you out of my life". Why? I think that I lost all dignity in that move. It was a long time ago, I'm pleased to say. Txt msg has got to be one of the worst ways to go, but my least favourite would be in a comments page on a blog. That would be no fun, and include acute public humiliation. Nothing worse.

PC posting

I am posting from The Boy's house, which is quite difference, since it's on a PC instead of my beloved iBook. We have had such a wasted day, between spending long hours at the vet's taking his cat (which, in mine, and also the nice vet's opinion, looks like he has been smashed in the face with a brick), and then somehow we got roped into going to Sainsbury's for his mum. I had one of those frosted cupcake things, which always look really yummy, and then taste of nothing and are a total let down. Why do I never learn?

However, that is not the real chat of the weekend, which is that the surfing was awesome. I am a complete and absolute beginner, and am therefore rubbish. I also seem to be making very little headway, BUT, this time, I did my very first proper duck-dive, which I was so pleased about. I put my knee down, stuck my bum up and everything. Of course I was so surprised by this feat that coming out the other side of the wave I was completely shocked and nearly fell off my board from laughing so hard with delight. There was an awful lot of laughing, smiling, and therefore getting large mouthfuls of seawater yesterday. The water was absolutely gorgeous and it was totally worth it. I am addicted again. The Boy wants to get me surf lessons this summer, which I want to do as well. He was looking at Costa Rica though, and I was thinking somewhere a little closer to home. Although North Carolina could be cool - see some friends at the same time ...

gone surfing

Feel a strong urge to go get bashed around by some big waves. Gone surfing. Back sometime soonish. May post from The Boy's.

silly silly student flat

Now I definitely know that my fridge is too cold. I found bits of frozen yoghurt in my muller-lite. And no, it wasn't nice. But not half as amusing as hearing a thumpedy-thump in the hallway and go out and fine FMN1 sprawled on the floor, half-laughing, half-crying as she had tripped over her own trouser legs. Very classy indeed.

wasted night

Inventions that would make the world a better place: nice pretty coloured cd marker pens, that came in lilac, turquoise, and pink for example. That would definitely make writing track lists on CDs much more fun. And would also maybe stop all my CDs from looking the same.

FMN1 has been blethering away at me all night. She has pre-exam chatterbox mouth, and just hasn’t stopped all night, meaning that all the good work that I was supposed to get done so that I could get on a train to see The Boy tomorrow has not been achieved. Uh-oh. It looks like I’m going to have to bring my iBook with me. And then make sure that he doesn’t steal it to play Tony Hawk, which I keep threatening to delete.

It turns out that FMN2 is also not best pleased with either me or FMN1, since we didn’t call her after she finished her exams yesterday. It didn’t even occur to me, and nor do I feel particularly bad about it, since I would never expect any of the girls to do that to me. I mean, it would be nice and all, and I’m not saying that we aren’t involved in each other’s lives, because we most definitely are, but more that we just left her to do her own thing. Whatever dude, as FMN1 and I both agreed. She’s gone home already anyway. And I am going to try and catch up on work. Ha.

me so BORED!!!

Yes, tis true, I am well and truly BORED. And since I am bored, and therefore not concentrating on the incredibly important issues at hand (emancipation and reconstruction if anyone's asking), I have been wondering what The Boy is up to today. I know that he is off school, and therefore probably quite happily relaxing at home, chilling out. Its definitely what he deserves. Even in my state of ennui I can be happy for his detendre. However, he has his heart set on going surfing in Cornwall this week, and I am severely hoping that I can go to. That's why I've got my head down so far in my books and have been in the library all day. So sad. And my fate is kind of resting in the hands of the guy in charge of one of the libraries in Edinburgh, the history library. Of course, its a tiny departmental library, which means that it is never open when you need it to be, and I really don't feel like spending 12 or 13 quid on a book when I really want to just photocopy it anyway so that I can draw all over it. And of course, the book is the essential text of the course. So its quite important that I read it. And of course, because Edinburgh University is so short of money, it is not in the proper library, where people might want it. Because, you know, that wouldn't be useful.

I only recently found out that Edinburgh was one of the first ever Fair Trade campuses, which is quite cool.

National Parks on NPR

Have just been listening to a discussion of funding problems of the US National Park service on NPR which totally renewed my desire to go back and hike around the parks there. They are just about the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life, and to go for a few days wandering the back country in Yosemite or the Tetons would be just so wonderful. There are gorgeous places to hike of course in Scotland and Ireland, but nothing quite as awe-inspiring or beautiful.

Have just realised something. The Boy is a lot funnier than me. Well, rather, he can make me laugh easier than I make him laugh. Maybe I should take up humour classes or something. Actually, I make lots of other people laugh, like the Flatemates and Lil Sis. He quite also has no clue why I’m laughing, although I’m not sure that most people would giggle at a Channel Five documentary on Spontaneous Human Combustion. Lil Sis would, that’s for sure. But we might be in a minority.

Boo. Its raining, and I’m about to walk to uni. Not fair. Aha! All is forgiven, Flatemate Number Three. She has offered me a lift to uni. God bless.

morning musings

Hmm. I have a feeling that The Boy is ignoring me, but I’m not sure why. I’m not sure as to what I might have done wrong. I know he wanted me to come surfing with him this week, but I had to go and see my DoS and also work out just how much work needs to be done for this exam. To be honest, I’m not still not sure how much work I still have to be done. I’m going to have to do a full reconnaissance this morning. The course is so badly structured and taught its very hard to know what is demanded of us. So he might be annoyed about that.

But I’m annoyed, although not with him. I have been letting Flatmate Number Three use my gorgeous periwinkle blue pashmina for the last few weeks, and I have just discovered a tiny burn in it. I know that I probably shouldn’t be annoyed, and that it was most definitely an accident and could have happened to anyone. But at the same time, grrr.

Flatmate Number Two just left this morning to go back to Zurich for a few weeks to earn some money and to escape from post-exam boredom. She finishes very early, and therefore doesn’t have that many people to play with in her euphoria. Her boyfriend has gone on a rugby tour to Australia and New Zealand, the lucky bugger.