Grumpy

I'm not happy...

The painter didn't turn up

I am getting a cold and feel rubbish

I had to stay in yesterday and work, and it was lovely outside

I've woken up way too early

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

The week

I've been terrible at blogging again, but I do have a few excuses!

Tuesday night was good, the Americans seem to be able to sink more than us, I have a sneaking suspicion they're trying to take advantage of the low age laws for buying alcohol here, as they were all under 21. I bailed at 2am, but I heard Mannington didn't get to bed until 7...ouch!

Needless to say Wednesday was therefore slightly unproductive, I got pretty much nothing done, however I'd also forgotten that I was going to see Maximo Park in Nottingham that evening. After meeting Jonah and Nadine at Blockbusters and wondering up to the station we discovered that Jonah's new swatch was about 10 mins slow and we missed the train, causing a rather long and tedious game of "I-spy" for the next hour.
Once in Nottingham, we headed up to the Rescue Rooms for a (non-alcoholic) drink before heading into the venue where I promptly lost Jonah and Nadine in the crowd.
Art Brut were on first and were interesting and witty, although not really my cup of tea, but we had a good vantage point which I promptly lost by moving an inch the wrong way.

By the time Maximo Park came on it was packed, and I could see the grand total of bugger all, so off I trotted and managed to scoot in next to some rather nice (if a little drunk) skin heads who decided that they'd look after me (I didn't have much choice at this point) but they did have harsh words with a man that fell into me, and let me stand so I could see the stage (which was nice considering I was about a foot taller than them)
Maximo Park were brilliant as always - its the second time I've seen them, and they are truly fabulous so much energy, and catchy songs and thankfully they seem to attract a slightly older and more intelligent crowd so we weren't packed out with kids.
A brilliant, if exhausting night, and I slept all the way home in the taxi!

The days for me have been taken up with my project, I've managed to get the majority of my 200 parts cut, and the test assemble went surprisingly well considering I've lost 4 pieces....
Consequently I've been knackered from hauling around huge pieces of MDF all day and have come home shattered - which equates to not much work getting done.

Today I'm still exhausted but I need to crack on with some design for the manufacture of my seat (I had a particularly productive meeting with a concrete expert) however I should be working in the living room as the decorators are in my room today. I say that but its now 10am and there's no sign of them, so it looks like I've packed up my room for nothing - not impressed.

Hopefully a proper service will resume on Monday, with daily beautiful things and posts...
Bye for now

Upbeat

Today has been a good one, I've been very productive, everything from prepping slabs for concreting, to returning library books and de-stamen-ing my lilies.

I am happy now, but knackered, however we've got some American students over at the moment, doing workshops etc, and we're heading out tonight - I feel a bit sorry for them, they've only just become legal in their own country to drink and we're going to be showing them the wonders of Guiness, cider and flatliners...I doubt many of them will be up tomorrow morning...

Anyway, this means I need to get ready so a better post tomorrow...

3BT

1. Walking home in just a t-shirt

2. Finding a smell that I can't quite place, it takes me all day to realise that its the smell of the summer, that fresh, warm smell

3. Being up and in the workshops for 9am, and working through the entire day.

Olive Branch

Well, once again I have been completely slack at blogging, but now I'm back in Lufbra, I think I'll be blogging everyday.

So to ease myself back into it gently (and ease my hangover) here are 10 beautiful things that I have been saving up

1. The smell of warm rain on the tarmac

2. The first BBQ of the year and the inevitable debate over how to cook the meat properly

3. Listening to From Our Correspondent on Radio 4 and feeling a little bit more educated

4. Having our bathroom repainted and it's pristine whiteness finally feels clean

5. Finding a new book called Unimaged, a positive look at the life of a man growing up in the UK and dealing with the clash of his Muslim heritage and the opportunities of his reality

6. Handing in the dissertation, there is only 1 module left

7. A creamy, crumbling, strongly, mature cheddar that melts in my mouth

8. The lines of cherry blossom trees by the college that flutter petals to the ground

9. Getting into jazz, and feeling like its summer

10. New friends

The last few days

Well I tried to post last night, but being incredibly stupid, I tried to plug my camera cable into the on/off button of my computer, and it shut itself down...bugger

Anyway I can't really remember what I was going to post so I'll have a stab in the dark!

Nothing's really been going on chez Ellie, yesterday was spent trawling round 4 DIY stores to find cement and I still didn't find the right stuff - I'm off to the garden centres today to see if I can find some of the right stuff.

In other news, I have succumb to legal music downloads and I've downloaded Amy Winehouse's album and I'm listening to it so I get my money's worth - lets hope I don't get too sick of it!


Yesterday I also helped Mum and Stu strip the living room and dinning room for a new carpet - Stu burn the tiniest hole but Mum insisted on having the whole thing replaced - which is happening today. So last night it was homemade burgers picnic stylie...







3BT

1. Climbing to the top of Cley Hill and admiring the view, if a little hazy

2. The warm weather, lovely for working outside

3. Getting 2 questions right on the final of University Challenge...I can't remember what they were now...d'oh.

Tales of Yore

So the last few days have been quiet chez Ellie, mainly just beavering away at my dissertation, and true to my time plan I finished today (which makes for a happy Ellie)

Although there was slight hilarity this morning when Will our computer technician came to visit...he got all embarrassed - I don't think he was expecting a young lady to be in residence and blushed the majority of the time, whilst studying his shoes...poor thing :D

So now the fun begins...I am going to start assembling my scale model for my heating bench tomorrow, so PVA glue, MDF, and G clamps ahoy! It should be fun tho, I haven't got my hands dirty and stuck into any woodwork in a few years...I can't wait if I'm honest - for the posh lady I pretend to be, I'm happiest in my overalls covered in grease, dirt and glue...

...which reminds me of a fateful day back in my first year.
Imagine the scene, a young and innocent Ellie has been assigned to a group project manufacturing a rope traversing system (ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz). The afore mentioned Ellie volunteers to produce the cogs from wood discs and cam belt drivers...only the belts needed to be bent back on themselves, almost like trying to turn a tyre inside out...hard! So super glue was the order of the day, only it was summer; hot and sweaty, causing the men of dear Lufbra to start removing shirts etc.

I *may* have got a little distracted by a certain gentleman, and I *may* have glued my hands together...

I'll leave you with tails of incompetence, I'm going to go read a book and/or drool over Daniel Craig some more...

Much love


3BT

1. Finally finding a pair of T bar sandals that fit my huge man feet.

2. Going out for a walk in the early evening, it really is starting to feel like summer despite the chill in the air

3. Enjoying a dark chocolate egg *yummy*

Opps

I think someone forgot something quite big and important...

Hatred

I have one very good reason for hating this time of year, you know the time when the (posh golden) bunny comes to visit us; I'm obviously not talking about the resurrection (or "birth") of Christ. And anyone who thinks I'm stupid for that comment about the "birth" of Christ, then you aren't in the know.

Anyway back to the reason I hate Easter.

It's the chocolate. The damned stuff has given me a mouthful of ulcers and means I can't enjoy the nice 70% cocoa dark chocolate I had been saving for last.

Bastard sugar.

*waltzes off in a huff*

Clear, Again and Too much

1. The most crystal clear blue sky

2. Finding out my cousin is pregnant (again) so cousin number 4 is on his way

3. Finishing the first draft of the dissertation, unfortunately a little over the word count at 12,175/9,000...

Shiny and New

The New Dress :D

Ashamed

I'm sorry dear readers, that I have been neglecting my blog for the last week. The short answer to why is because I've been working very hard on the dissertation, which has come into the final stages - I've got 8795 word of 9000 but still have to discuss my findings and conclude, so it's not going to be that easy sailing. Nonetheless I'm getting there, which is always good!

In a longer answer I might mention that Facebook, BBC News and Monsoon have taken up the rest of my time...but I'll pretend I didn't just say that, and let you continue to believe I'm a hard working swot.

I did go to Bath yesterday, which is something I can't avoid mentioning, and I got a few new pieces funded by the Bank of Mummy; they're very lovely there and always a pleasure to deal with. The most spectacular part of it was the new silk dress, in turquoise, brown and lemon, (sounds revolting, looks fabulous), it's 100% silk so I'll have to pick my occasion well, but its lovely nonetheless. Photos will be coming soon...

On the subject of photos, The Silver Fox fell asleep in the car...

Genius, Mating and Soothing

1. Getting one question right in University Challenge

2. Spotting a pair of robins nesting on the front of the house

3. A mid afternoon shower that washes away the frustration of not being able to settle to some work

Ladies' attire

It seems to be the time of year for reunions, judging on recent posts by Mr Higgs, and it left me pondering the rules for ladies wear to evening events.

I have to admit, for once in a lady's life, evening dress seems to side with us poor females - whilst the gents of the group must don dinner jackets (don't even try to call them tuxedos...what are you? a stupid American??) and, as Mr Higgs correctly points out, tie your bow tie properly, wear your cumberbund upside-down and look the same as all the other men; the ladies get to shine.

I was looking through my vast array of evening dresses, going from the barely tasteful figure hugging, to the graceful embroidered floor lengths; the simple summer cocktail dresses for Henley and Wimbledon to the Christmas evening frocks, I realised that although we don't have the strict rules to adhere to, we certainly have slight nuances to the appropriate attire, that without, can leave a lady under dressed even at the most casual of the social events.

Take for example, the evening dinner, depending on the hostess and the venue one might wear a floor length with suitable shoulder covering, however if it is a more lively affair, a cocktail dress might be appropriate. This, I've learnt, comes down to judging on experience, to what is acceptable. I imagine in the past the beginners like myself must have been closely scrutinised by the rest of the party, to see if they naturally got it right, for completely missed the boat.
On the other hand, for the outdoor events of the summer season, one must have a head covering of some kind - this harks back to the days when no-one left the house without a hat.
Although the younger ladies will always be daring and wear a simple fascinator, or a collection of feathers in their hair, the "proper" ladies will always wear big hats. No matter how small your hat or fascinator; a hat is a hat, and to go without is a cardinal sin...

**I hope you all realise I have no credentials in this area, and the majority of that was complete bollocks...**

Anyway, I'm not going to be wearing any frocks this season...bin bags will be my attire...Glastonbury ahoy!

Making Wellies and skirts fashionable - Glastonbury 2005

Playing catch-up

I need to catch up with some 3BTs...

Saturday
1. Finishing my transcriptions of my interviews and having to elaborate on Mannington's single syllable Neanderthal grunts

2. Getting tipsy on wine for the first time in a long, long time

3. The Let Down by Radiohead, it's depressing to some, but soothing to me.

Sunday
1. Having a mid afternoon nap, and feeling the sunlight streaming in through my windows onto my face as I wake up

2. Sitting and reading in the conservatory, watching the bird playing and bathing in the newly dug pond, oblivious to my presence

3. Helping Mum out in the garden, she's struggling with removing nails from a piece of wood and I go down to help her. We end up planting her water lilies and reeds, before hammering back a fence panel. She rewards me with a drive in her new car.

Doubts about going back

The last few days seem to have blurred into one now, just endless working and sleeping and eating, with not much in between.

On a brighter note, I managed to get tickets for Glastonbury so that's quite good, I'd have been gutted if I'd have missed out, so thankfully it was all ok!

Another thing that's weighing on my mind is whether to go to my school's reunion...I think for me, school wasn't the most pleasant experience, and until Facebook came along and overtook my life, I had made a conscious decision not to keep in touch with many people I went to school with.

I always felt judged for the person I was when I was 12, not the person I had evolved or become. So leaving school and moving on was the best thing for me, I could start afresh and be who I really was.

I now have a good solid base of friends, and I worry that if I head back to my old school, see all these people who made my life hell, that I'll turn back into that horrible, stand-offish teenager I used to be...and that people won't see me for who I really am.
I guess I'm also apprehensive about seeing these people who I almost despised for so long (I don't think to presume that they are those same people form back then, I'm sure they've all grown and matured and are great people), but I know how I felt about them, and I worry that I'll treat them the way I used to, that we'll all end up reverting back to what we used to be.

If I'm honest, I'm a little scared of them all, what they'll think of me. Whether they'll see I'm actually not as bad and nasty as I was, that I've grown up and I'm different now or whether they'll write me off...I can't bare to think of people hating me.

Maybe it's easier to hide away, then take the chance.