OUCH!

This morning i was brutally jabbed by a nurse in order to take my blood :-( I had SEVEN blood tests this morning and it was bloody horrible! They tried taking the blood from my arms and stabbed me a couple of times (and subsequently bruised me) but couldnt get anything out of me, so they had to take it from my foot! It is the most unpleasant thing i will ever experience!!! So when i came out i was walking like dolly daydream with a slight limp and covered in plasters :-( Kate was nice enough to buy me a Coke when i got to work which made me feel better. Last night was misspent watching 'Trap Door', which took me back to my youth (well, i suppose i'm still technically a youth....you know what i mean!). Had a few meaningful chats with Psy about the nature of men and a few less meaningful chats about explosive cherry pies. Naidel's parents are heading off to the South of France tomorrow morning so they are busily packing, which leaves us girlies to fend for ourselves (thank god Psy can cook!). Did the weeks shopping last night and managed to resist filling the trolley with jaffa cakes (i have a odd obsession with jaffa cakes at the moment) and ice cream (mostly because *shock horror* there was no decent ice cream and NO BEN AND JERRY'S!!! Personally i was disgusted and will not be shopping there again for that reason). I even managed to get everything on the list that Psy wrote me (except the ice cream obviously...will have to try and get that tonight). So looks like we're all set for the week :-) No doubt we'll be will too busy plotting the conquest of earth.....er...i mean, painting each other's nails....ahem....to worry about food. Yes..... *looks shifty*

Bouncing up and down like a loon

I have just had word from Naidel, and it looks like he's coming home for RnR even sooner! He' s now due home in roughly 3 weeks!!!! I am so excited i could burst! I have been bouncing up and down like a loon and now i'm getting very odd looks from my boss....he must think i've been at the Red Bull again. Well, there goes all my energy for the day, i'm back to sleepy mode now (but a much happier sleepy mode). I bought Stephen King's 'Carrie' for Naidel yesterday and I couldnt resist the temptation to read a bit of it.....which was a mistake because i was a) So gripped by it that i sat up til 3 am reading it; b) So disgusted in places i almost felt the Ben and Jerry's i had for tea coming back to meet me c) Scared silly so i then couldnt sleep and spent the rest of the evening watching 'Firefly'. So now i am knackered and trying to keep my eyes open....hmmm...where's that box of matchsticks?
You will be please to know that Psy passed her theory test with flying colours and is well on her way to being able to drive the Pap Mobile without 'L' plates =) I took her for ice cream last night to celebrate which was gooooood, but i foolishly bought a large and was upset when i couldnt finish it all :( The good news is, it didnt make me feel ill! Which means i can finally eat ice cream again, which is shiny =)

Right, back to work, i've got a universe to master.

A winter's day in summer

Gosh its cold today!!! I can see my breath - and i'm in the office! Today has been cold,wet and dismal, continuing the cold, wet and dismal theme of the bank holiday. Work has been thoroughly boring today and time is dragging along like nobody's business. To pass the time, Lay and I have produced a piece of poetical collaboration. There is no title as of yet, so lets just call it 'Poem'.

POEM

Rain mists the windows, obscuring the world
Cold creeps around, grabbing at ankles like tentacles
Water gurgles, rushes busily along the gutters
Children splash puddles in wellies patterned and bright
Streets transformed into a vicious umbrella sea
A cold winter’s day marks the beginning of summer.

Psy is about to go into her theory test and is bricking it, bless her. I am sure she will pass, as she has the power of the pink paperclip behind her! (Plus she is clever and has actually been studying and practicing, which helps). Myself and our team of Ninja Kitties are sending her lots of luck :) Soon she will be able to drive the Pap Mobile without the need of L plates i'm sure :)

Lights out!

At around 8pm last night, i was taken hostage by Team Paperclip's arch nemesis, Proton. The evil head of the Board of Electricity plunged our street into darkness whilst i was transmitting an inportant report to Team Paperclip HQ. There are a few thoeries on his motive for this recent attack. Some say he did it for kicks, some say he planned to bring down the whole city and my villiage was just the beginning. However, after conversing with Psy using my highly technological equiptment (i.e mobile phone), we believe he was targetting us directly. Last week he launched an attack on Psy leaving her with electricity and *shock horror* without caffine for many hours. We have a theory that he was trying to weaken me, as i cannot use my special powers if i cant draw from electricity. (Please see the Team Paperclip website for Psy's frantic report). So instead i spent the evening hudled around a torch in the living room with Naidel's parents and brother, attempting to write a rhyming poem (which, FYI, are really really hard to write!) for my darling Naidel. I managed to get 3 stanzas in about 3 hours. As the electricity had not returned by 11pm, we all decided to go to bed, when i remembered that my laptop had battery power. Sadly i couldnt go online and warn Psy because the wireless router needs electricity. So instead i watched 'Serenity' until my laptop died, and then i went to sleep. Its incredible how much we need electricity these days isnt it? We couldnt even boil water for a cup of strawberry tea because the damn cooker is electrical too!!!!
I woke up an hour or so ago to yet another day of rainyness and cold.....and no power. Thankfully the power returned 10 mins ago, hence my ability to transmit this message to you. Its Bank Holiday Monday, and it looks like i'll be studying yet again. I'm going to head down to gym this afternoon (I havent been in soooooo long its probably going to kill me) and then it'll be back to studying. Oh well, theres Jaffa Cakes in the cupboard and orange juice in the fridge, so im happy.

Blindfolded driving, websites and unicorns

We went to the TA Welfare day yesterday and sadly it was crappy weather for a BBQ! The task this week was to direct a man driving a Landrover blindfolded around an assault course. It was extreemly amusing and us ladies couldn't stop giggling! I managed to win the competion, though Matt who was in the Landrover for health and safety reasons spent most of my go with his hands over his eyes!!! Yesterday evening was spent building our website with Psy (who is a graphical design GENIUS!), and now Team Paperclip are officially in business! The home of Team Paperclip can be found here > > > http://team-paperclip.livejournal.com/ < < < CLICKY. I had planned to get out and about today and pop down to the beach, but sadly its pants weather yet again - freezing cold and piddling down with rain :( So instead i have been attempting to tackle this poetry issue. Today we have mostly been studying Line and Syllabic poems, and i have managed to come up with this:


THE UNICORN

The unicorn trotts through the forest
to the call of the maiden unseen.
The morning dew collects on his hoofs
and the animals mark his passage.

The maiden sings to the unicorn
a song of magic and power.
She draws him to her with words of love;
harmonies of friendship and laughter.

The unicorn runs to her melodic call
and nuzzles her beautiful face.
She mounts her new magical friend
and together they ride to the stars.

Only four weeks to go until my Naidel is home for his break!!! I'm starting to get all excited about it! I think i'm going to have to clear up our room before he gets back tho - you can barely see the floor for poetry books and my notes!!!

Ah well, i'd best head off, i've got a universe to master.

I have keyboard-shaped indents on my face!

I have reccently woken up to discover i had fallen asleep on my laptop again. Its a good job i didnt drool isn't it?!?!I woke up to a load of messages from Psy asking me if i was still there! When i woke up Naidel was online, which was nice, and he and I had a good long chat before he was summoned back to duty. I am missing him like crazy right now. I just want him to come home. I hate being apart from him and having to live my life without him around. I guess it has made me appreciate how wonderful he is and how much he looks after me. I know now that he's the only man for me, forever (even if he does bugger off to war every now and then), and i don't want to live my life without him. Oh well, only 4 weeks or so til he's home for his RnR leave! :)

Ack, look at the time! I'm late! We're going to the TA Welfare meeting today - apparently we're doing some blindfolded Land Rover driving??? Could be very interesting......

'Me time' is doctors orders

Back from the doctors. Apparently i'm stressed and exhausted! My blood pressure was a little high, my weight has fluctuated and my hair is falling out. I have to go back to the doctors next week for squidgy millon blood tests. I'm under doctors orders to get more exercise, get more fresh air, and have some 'me time' because apparently I don't have anywhere as much as I should right now! Hmmmm I guess i'll have to try and de-stress!

Anyways, here is a pic of Psy's Ninja Kitten, as promised. Mine hasnt arrived yet :-(

A Ninja Kitten has arrived....

A Ninja Kitten high-kicked its way onto my desk this morning....unfortunately there was only one...which is bad because i ordered TWO! He is very cute and shockingly deadly! You can even remove his little Ninja outfit!!! Hopefully the other one will make its way onto my desk by tuesday evening. When i get home i shall take pictures and post them so you can all see Team Paperclip's new Weapon of Ninja Destruction!!! Take that, evil pie-rates!!!!! Mwah ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaaa!

Study group girls, fabulous gardens and poetical attempts

Study group was bril, as usual, though as always there was lots of talking and only a little writing! Shelagh and Anna's TMA submissions were brilliant (as i expected), and Lay had written a poem comparing a love to a library, which was really really well written. We read some of the poems that our tutor has had published, which were really amazing....i really hope she doesnt expect that kind of standard from her students!!!! We sat in Shelagh's garden, which is absolutely amazing! Its like loads of different types of garden in one! And she has an incredible view over the rooftops and Whitlingham Broad! It is definately a writers paradise! We managed to get a bit of writing done, below is my contribution. Lay gave me the title to write from, and i have to say i found it very difficult!!!


BOB DYLAN'S VOICE DEPRESSES ME

I like sky, and sun, and life
I like bright colours, and laughter, and dance;
Uncontrollable giggle and random hiccups.
I like to walk to a beat but dance to a waltz.
Melody and harmony, tuneful and catchy;
Songs sung in class when you're suposed to be studying.
I smile at people on the bus
I say hello to strangers
Whats the point in frowning?
It only depresses people
Like Bob Dylan's voice depresses me.
People say this world is changing
And not all for the best
But if people smiled a little more
And danced and sung and enjoyed the sun
Maybe it would not rain so much.

Hopefully by our meeting next week i will have tackled a bit more of the text book. I really enjoy our study group meetings, and even though we probably do more talking than writing, i always get a lot out of them. Plus the girls are fab :)
Got home to an email from my beloved Naidel to say he'd received his most recent package (filled mostly with toys and trinkets from my recent trip to Belgium). I can't wait til he's home for his 2 week leave! We've been apart just over 3 months now, so we're pretty much at the halfway point...that is, assuming he doesnt get extended. I wouldnt say that being apart gets easier, you just get used to it. The pain is always there though, it never goes away and you never forget it. You just learn to deal with it. Some days it hits me harder than others, and some nights I still cry myself to sleep. I have just learnt to paint on a smile and pretend everything is tickedy-boo. Oh well, i guess this is what I get for falling in love!!!

First attempts at poetry (please don't laugh or run away)...

Well, i have been making many attempts at this poetry stuff, and below are the first products. Please read and attempt to not laugh, or run away or be sick (I am not a Vogon, honest guv'ner)

SHOE OF LOVE

There are thousands of different shoes out there
Different sizes, different colours, different styles.
There are so many different shoes out there
So how are you supposed to choose?

So many shoes are wrong for us
They inflict pain on our poor delicate feet
They cause us to fall and stumble
And make us wary when buying shoes again

Thankfully, my love, you are my perfect size
And rather stylish too!
You protect me from rain and raging storms
And keep the cold from biting at my toes.

You are soft and comforting to my weary feet
You are supportive in all the right places.
You are always there for me as I walk through life
And there’s no-one I’d rather walk it with than you.


GHOST WORDS

They looked at each other.
So much said in the silence
Words spoken without being said.
Ghost words.
They drift in the open air
No sound or taste to them
Just the feel of them in your mind.
They whisper, sing, laugh and scream.
So much said in the silence
Words spoken without the power of speech
Just ghost words dancing on the breeze.

The results are in!

Well, it's been a bad start to the day. I struggled so much with my poetry last night that I forgot everything that i had to do and spent the whole night concerntrating on it. I think i fell asleep at 2am, and when i woke up, the light was still on, my laptop was still on, the big red book was on my chest and my pen was still in my hand. When i got up, i went to go and iron some trousers and a shirt and when i plugged the iron in it tripped all my electricity. So with the iron broken and a wardrobe full of crumpled clothes....i was not happy as you can imagine. So i had to dress in creased trousers and unmatching non-creased top. Then, i picked up my new sunglasses and they fell apart in my hand! I got to work and was told that i am "turning into a porker", which makes me feel great about myself (note the sarcasm there) and a huge spot has appeared near the left hand side of my mouth, making me feel even less great about myself. All in all, not a good start!!!

But...(drum roll please).......THE TMA 02 RESULTS ARE IN!!!!!

Okay.....reading mine now............
Its not too bad. A 71, which is fairly respectable i would say. In fact, its better than that because i do believe that its classed as a first (a first is a tye of pass...and a good one at that)! Her comments are very positive, seems like i made some fairly basic mistakes in the presentation of my characters and may have over-done some description. My tutor has given me lots of very positive and constructive feedback so i'm very happy. As long as i've passed i'm happy! I have always been a bit uncomfortable with someone reading and criticising my work (which is really bad considering i want to be a writer), but I'm much more comfortable with it now. Once upon a time i would have gotten upset that it wasn't a 100% score and i would have thrown the criticisms in the bin and given up for a few months, but i don't feel the need to do that now....in fact, i feel the need to rewrite it and improve it :) Hoorah, maybe i have finally grown up? (Pah, like thats ever going to happen!) Shame i am stuck at work.......on yet another nice day :( Not sure how the other girls did yet, i have only heard from Lay, and she did really really well. I'm sure the others will tell us tonight at the study group :)

Anyways, i guess its time to go back to work land! There is naff all to today, so methinks i may be able to sneak some poetry work in......

(Still no Ninja Kittens!!!!! They'd better come tomorrow!!!!)

Quotes of the Week

"They weren't cows inside. They were waiting to be but they forgot. Now they see sky and they remember what they are." River Tam (Summer Glau); Firefly ep 5 - 'Safe'

"Yes sir, Captain Tight-pants" Kaylee (Jewel Staite); Firefly ep 4 - 'Shindig'

"Dear diary, today i was pompus and my sister was crazy. Today we were snatched by hill folk never to be seen again, it was the best day ever..." Jayne (Adam Baldwin); Firefly ep 5 - 'Safe'

"I would help, but I'm IN the box. Do you see?" Bob; Weebl and Bob ep - 'Pikea 3'

"I am made of Jelly. Do you see?"....."I think you'll find you are meerly INSIDE a jelly. How do you breathe in there?"....."Errr....." Bob; Weebl and Bob ep - 'Jelly'

"Dont bake oneeeeeee, Dont bake one, Don't bake twooooooo, Don't bake two, Bake me threeeeee, 'cause two just wont dooooooooooo" Weebl; Weebl and Bob ep - 'Paper'

"I'm down in the well, Now i'm up in a tree, I am the Monkey and you can't catch me"....."Yes I can, with my handy cannon"...."No you can't 'cause its poorly maintained and you filled it with gammon.' Monkey and Weebl; Weebl and Bob ep - 'Anyhoo'

"I'm thinking about growing a moustache. I'm a traditionalist." Simon Tam (Sean Maher); Firefly ep 10 - 'War Stories'

Still no results......

I have been copiously checking but still no results.........

Woooooooooh sugar!!!!!!

In order to get me through this incredibly mind-numbing day i have invested in many sugar-filled treats and am currently bouncing about my office like a loon. If you were here, you would see i am in fact typing squidgy-million letters per minute and talking even faster!

I am definately in a better mood than yesterday (though that may be in part down to the sugar), and I am looking forward to enjoying some quality sunshine after my daily prison sentence in this office, tho i have a hell of a lot of studying to do when i get home......i am determined this poetry crap will not beat me!!!

Our TMA results are starting to come back today which is fab because I dont think i stand the suspense much longer! Me and Lay have been constantly checking the eTMA system to see if they are in yet! Nothing in so far, so i'm guessing it'll be later this evening or tomorrow.



I have added pics from Psy's birthday last week in which Team Paperclip was first established

(no Ninja Kittens yet......hopefully tomorrow!!!)

(pics top-bottom: 1) Kyle - "Please Miss can i have a bigger bit?" 2)Psy cutting through the middle of Eeyore's face 3) Team Paperclip is here! (L - Squiffyknees, R-Psy) 4) Amazing what you can do with conical party hats (me) 5) Kaiorli/Squiffyknees and Psy, bestest friends since our High School days (so long ago!!!) )

DnD, Cider, Larks and Japes

Well, DnD wasnt so bad after all, tho i did nearly slap DM for the pirate thing. Psy was absent due to her struggles with the Examination Demon, but has now apparently overcome said struggles by the power of the Pink Paperclip :) Drakey turned up for a bit to tell us all about his new girlfriend (bless him he's so ecstatically happy!). We managed to get to a point to leave the campaign at the mo - DM is taking a break so Kyle and myself are taking over for a bit.....i will resist the urge to throttle him....promise :)

We went to the pub and had a catch up and a laugh, which was really nice, and they introduced me to cider, which was coooooool. I forced the first (draft) chapter of the fantasy book i'm writing upon my friends to read, and they seemed to like it, which is faboo, because the more people that like it, the more i'm likely to put it in for publishing.

Ack, is that the time?!?! I'd best be heaading off to sleepy land as i've got work in the morning and i need as much sleep as poss so i can keep my sanity (or comfortable level of insanity).

Damn you poetry, you win this time.....

I am having major issues with this poetry stuff. It is apparently not as easy as just stringing together a bunch of flowery-sounding words. It appears one requires TALENT to write poetry, which means i was lied to and now i'm very upset. So far my poem is word soup. DAMN YOU POETRY.....DAMN YOU TO HADES!!!! Ooooh, that quite good......maybe i could write a poem about damning poetry to Hades....hmmm................

They should fit some kind of warning sign to me....BEWARE! HORMONAL WOMAN ON RAMPAGE!

Its one of those days. I had a doctors appointment booked for 8.30am, which meant i should have gotten to work at 9.30am and only have to sacrifice 30 mins of my lunch hour. TWO buses didn't show up, so not only did i miss my appointment, I crawled into work at 10am and have lost an entire lunchbreak. I am not, as you can imagine, amused. When i did eventually get to my office everyone grunted at me or ignored me. Someone told me off for eating crisps too loudly. Someone told me off for eating.
I would say that at least when I leave work I can go to DnD and have a laugh with my friends, but all of them seem to have developed some kind of insanity recently (except Psy and Fos....Fos is as he always was and Psy is her usual comfortable level of insane that I can relate too). Drake has a girlfriend and is thus ecstactically happy and keeps says how much he misses her after only one day, which is annoying to those of us whose boyfriends are fighting a war in a far away sandy place and have been gone for 3 months. DM for some reason has an obsession with pirates at the mo, is taking to dressing as Jonny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean and insisting we call him Captain Jack Sturman. Asking for a fight if you ask me. And Cat and Kyle are their usual cutesy sleves....which again is fine if you're not me and craving love and attention from a boyfriend very far away. I would be able to deal with all this if my dear Psy were not too busy wrestling with the evil Examination Demon to come and keep me from going out of my mind.
And of course, then theres the poetry......so i have resisted setting my text book on fire and cackling like a witch so far, but if my day gets any worse, i may just do that.
I supose at least i have the sunshine to be thankful for......which on the grand scale of thins is bugger all.
Oh well......who knows what tomorrow brings....hopefully cake, chocolate, Ninja Kittens and my boyfriend but somehow i doubt it....