ginquinn

The Daily Bollocks

2008-09-09T19:40:00.005Z

Everyday I check the Daily Male website for a good laugh

It is so openly anti-woman, racist and down right stupid, you can't take it seriously.

Take a look at this quality piece of journalism. Yes the Romans are responsible for AIDS, its very important that we have someone to blame.

And then there is this article on how women are single handly fuelling the obesity academic, by both eating too little or too much whilst pregnant. It seems no matter what women do, their babies will be fat.

I wonder what joyous articles the paper will have tomorrow...

Ooops, ginquinn slipped my mind...

2008-09-09T13:20:00.002Z

Damn, I forgot to write here for over an year.

Oh well these things happen.

I did a couple of months ago think about moving this blog elsewhere, however blogger remains the best free blog site I can find. I did try wordpress, but its pants (no changing of templates allowed unless you are willing to pay) and also blog.co.uk which is utter shite.

Anyway I'm back. Booky blog posts and Daily Male inspired hatred to follow.

James's Birthday & Zombie Escape Plans

2007-06-19T20:04:00.000Z

Over the weekend it was James's birthday and like all people turning 31 he has been thinking about his future, no peeps not pension plans, but what he is going to do when the inevitable zombie apocalypse comes...

As a special birthday gift to James I thought I would try to spread this as a meme (as he inspired its creation) and find out how many of us out there have zombie escape plans and also give it a little bit of structure by asking some specific questions to make sure everyone is giving this its due consideration and thought!

So when zombies bring about the end of the world in 28 Days Later/Dawn of the Dead/Shaun if the Dead stylee what are you going to do?

1. Describe your zombie escape plan (generally). Explain your choices.

I think that I will probably head for my work (Watts Building) as it is quite away from the city centre. However first I am gonna grab a bus which I will use to ram raid sainsburys (for food) and then b&q (for weapons). Then I think I will use to the bus to blockade one of the entrances... There are quite a few windows though so I'll need to board them up, but there is loads of furniture so that shouldn't be a problem. There is a kitchen in there too.

If society tries to rebuild itself the building is also close to the trainline and if the power stays on there is plenty of ways to contact the outside world (phones/computers).

2. Who would you choose to have with you and why?

I'll try to stick with as many mentally unhinged people I can find - they will either crumble under the stress and therefore keep the zombies off you for a few seconds or they will unleash their brutal side and go all redneck on the zombies.

3. What is your choice of zombie bashing weapon? Be creative - this is the UK, are you really going to have time to try and acquire a shotgun when the apocalypse comes?

I think I will adapt a scythe and add an extra blade to the other end so it can stab and slice.

4. Finally if your escape plan goes horribly wrong what will you do?

Hide in the toilets and hope it all goes away.

Anyway thats my plan! Kira, Joh, Sophie, Pzalem & Trev you are it! Spread this! And James maybe when your blog is online again you might share your plan?

Finally to get everyone into Zombie fear, check out this remake out of the original Resident Evil Intro...

Fear and Loathing in My Left Ear

2007-05-29T19:42:00.000Z

Today I got a digital hearing aid. I was warned that it was going to be a big change and would take some getting used to.

Since I was 11 years old when I first got a hearing aid, I have assumed that if my hearing had been normal everything would be louder, just how things were with my hearing aid.

The digital hearing aid is far cleverer than a real ear I imagine, it adapts to my surroundings, it quitens in loud places and can make voices clear even with a lot of background noise.

But it feels really strange. Going to work straight after my appointment this morning was a weird experience. Certain noises were oddly loud and making my hearing feel very trippy. Plastic bags I don't like. Toilet doors locking sound really sinster, I felt as though I was in a horror film! And the first task I had to do at work, sounded so unnaturally loud. Stamping coursework made a horrendous noise that echoed loads...

I'm hoping that things will soon feel more normal to me, I'm struggling to get used the fact that although sound in my left ear feels really quiet, I can hear just as well as I could with my old hearing aid. I just need to have a bit of faith in what my new hearing can do.

One thing I do like though, is that with a analogue hearing aid when the battery ran it out, things would get slowly quiter and quieter. The digital one though bleeps at me :-)

Bleepy, bleep.

New Bookie...

2007-05-08T21:34:00.000Z

Today during my lunch break I very excitedly went to amazon uk hoping to order Haruki Murakami's new book, After Dark. Irritatingly it seems that first edition hard back version was only on limited release and I would have to wait a month - a whole month to order the next edition which has a much less interesting cover.

"Fuck that" I thought and off I went to amazon dot com, thank god that either America gets more copies of the book or they have not yet discovered just how wonderful he is (me loves Mr Murakami, he is the bestest writer in the whole world... Ahhhhh.).

Sadly amazon dot com estimates that the book can take anywhere from 4 - 22 days to arrive.

If there is a book god out there, please make it arrive quickly.

Early Birthday Presents - Yay!

2007-04-08T17:52:00.000Z

I have this year managed to drag out celebrating my birthday over several weekends. At first I was a little sad that I couldn't organise something everyone could go to in one go. However I am now seeing that are certain advantages to celebrating on different weeks, which are:

1. Being allowed to have birthday gifts early

2. Being able to have tasty birthday meals without any guilt (any excuse to break dieting - ANY!)

Last weekend I got a beautiful crystal ball - which I quite simply cannot wait to use! I am sure that some point in the future I shall write about it on my the Magician's Toilet, but first I need to finish reading the book I have on how to use it... Might do that in Malta at the end of the month as I have distractions until then.

Yesterday I spent day trawling the shops with my brother who loves shopping in Brighton even on a saturday because it seems that we have have superior shops to those in Surrey. And I got to choose my birthday presents as he was visiting! Was lucky to get another pair of new shoes (have got a few pairs lately - am developing a shoe thing!).

And I get to celebrate my birthday with a different group of people every week until the end of April! Having multiple celebrations is fun!

Baroque City in the Sea...

2007-04-06T08:06:00.000Z

Yesterday whilst researching for some other information about Malta, I discovered this piece at The Register.

It seems that google maps thinks that Valetta, Malta's capital city is in the sea...

I can honestly say that whilst Valetta in my memory is near to the sea, it isn't actually in it. I will double check though on my next visit in a couple of weeks.

Catch Up

2007-04-05T11:30:00.000Z

Apologies for my lack of posting lately.

I have no excuse, I have just been plain lazy, enjoying relaxing evenings surfing through ebay and watching:

Heroes
Ugly Betty
Battlestar Galactica
24 Season 6

I have also spent a fair amount of time cleaning and decluttering my house and I now also have a new housemate, all of which has made my home a much more pleasant place to be. It is still not perfect, but so much better than it was.

And I found another job to apply for - I have an interview on the 17th April, 2 days before my birthday - I do hope it goes well!

To be honest, I have also struggled lately with what to write here, I certainly don't want to give this blog up, but right now my priorities lie in sorting my weight and bitching about all the bollocks written about obesity in the news. But I've been slack about that too!

However I am very much looking forward to a time in my life when getting to a healthy weight won't dominate my brain and I'll be free to mull on other things. I'm very glad that I have finally managed to face up to my weight problem and how to resolve it but I am frustrated by the amount of mental energy it requires, perhaps writing a blog about it wasn't such a great idea…

But equally so it has been good to have a place to vent, rant and moan, this certainly doesn't seem to be the place to have a blow by blow account of my weightloss and I like having the seperation between certain areas of my life…

Anyway just needed to get that all out of my head :-) I will write here when I have something to say.

Brain drain over with.

Filmage...

2007-01-21T19:19:00.000Z

Well I kind of stole this idea from James a while ago, but never actually got round to writing about it...

During January my life felt quite sad and empty, because I was completely deprived of films that I wanted to see in the cinema. The line ups in the odeon, ugc and duke of yorks, just made me want to cry, quite frankly they should have shoved their gritty/'real' dramas up somewhere, ur rude!?!

However there is quite a few films in the near future that I cannot wait to see! And this is where I steal James's idea and write about the films I am very much looking forward to in 2007. Thanks James ;-)

Anyway here is my list:-

The Foutain - It has got some awful reviews but I want to see it anyway.

Notes on a Scandal - going to see this on Sunday - you can't beat a good film about someone's messed up obession!

Epic Movie

Hot Fuzz

Science of Sleep

28 Weeks Later - Some of my friends didn't particularly like the 'army' section of this 28 days later, but I didn't really have a problem with it, as surely, at the end of life as we know it - some people would go a bit loopy and alpha male on you... Looking forward to this regardless.

Sin City 2 - Loved the first one - so hoping this sequel is great too!

I was also looking forward to seeing Bobby - which I watched last weekend, it was a little cheesy in places but overall quite good, an interesting mix of stories and Sharon Stone was great - I didn't even realise who she was until she glammed up at the end.

Five Things

2007-01-10T19:08:00.000Z

Uh-oh I'm it, Joh got me.

Well, urr, so five things that people here are unlikely to know about me...

1. I was a weird child, being imaginative unfortunately for me meant that I developed some wacky ideas. I wanted to be Indiana Jones, not a princess. I wanted to be pasta so that I could fully understand the human digestive system and become a scientist - who knows why? Who cares! I wanted to be PASTA! I also wanted to be water, I some how got the romantic notion into my head that if I was water and went down the plughole, at some point I would be part of waterfall.

2. I have two brothers (I'm in the middle (middle children are meant to be messed up) which may explain point one) who I have very little in common with, but love to bits. I am to this day convinced of my childhood belief, that my older brother is the funniest person on the planet. I wish I could see them more often.

3. I wear a size 6 shoe. Fascinating. And I have freakishly small hands - just compare them to yours, next time we meet...

4. I wrote my first book when I was 11, it was called What's Wrong Doctor and was about my hearing problems (I am partially deaf) - I still have it around somewhere. It was used to raise various bits of money for a disability charity and my junior school gave me a book of puzzles because they were so pleased of my achievement.

5. I have three tattoos, 2 dolphins, one is on my arm, the other on my left hip. I also have the chinese symbol for peace on my right hip. I would like to get a forth and final tattoo when I get to my target weight.

I now have to pass this on, but I don't have masses of friends who maintain a blog - so those of you out there who don't have a blog - hurry up and get one, all the cool kids are doing it! Instead I am going to pass this on via the social whoring webiste, myspace... So Kira, Magic Pete, Marcus, Trev and Thea - you are it!

Happy New Year

2007-01-05T20:25:00.000Z

Hello!

Happy New Year!

Had a very relaxed Christmas, only marred by occasional moments of hyperventilation and panicking about my job interview next wednesday. Santa was kind enough to drag me around various shops in Malta to buy lots of new clothes. Sadly however I also discovered, that one shop I visited, called Promod - has an english on-line shop, this could be very bad because I want to buy all of their clothes... Anyway I have now made the resolve not to buy any more new clothes because if I am going to carry on losing weight, they'll soon no longer fit me and once again I'll live in fear of exposing myself ;-)

Maybe I'm getting old but I can't really remember much about the start of 2006, but the summer of it was horrible, too hot and I thought I was going loopy from time to time thanks to some horrid medicine I stopped taking. And from September onwards its just been the GI Diet and a lot of joy from discovering that I can actually shrink. Plus I no longer care that everyone might know how much I weigh - I have lost all shame about that one and now I feel real pride in my achievements so far. Unexpectedly it also has taught me that I don't need to keep a smiley face all the time, that it is quite okay to let people know you are human and hurt too.

I hope 2007 is going to be a good year for me - I certainly don't feel that I need to make any resolutions as I have already been slowly working on fixing all that need to be put right...

Is it Christmas?

2006-12-22T18:48:00.000Z

Here in Malta, it doesn't feel like Christmas!

It is not too cold and most of the time so far its been very bright and sunny here. The only give away has been that shopping has been a slightly stressful experience, which will continue tomorrow as my parents will both go off shopping to buy an Christmas present for each other (I'll be looking at the cheap clothes as I did my Christmas present shopping ages ago!).

And now I am finding it difficult to think about Christmas as I have discovered that i have a job interview on January 10th. Scary! Hate interviews. But I guess these things have to be done...

As if by Magic

2006-12-14T21:50:00.000Z

Recently I started to face up to the fact that I need a new job.

Some plans that I had hoped would come to fruition, never materialised, so I was left with no plan - which I hate not to have. So I got thinking...

What I would really like to do is spend a couple of years working hard with a decent paying job and then:

a) Do the sensible thing and buy a home

or

b) Do some studying, I would very much like to do an MA in some kind of English related discipline. I also would love to learn astrology and how to make clothes too. Maybe then I could return to the decent paying work and then buy a home?

I mentioned to Garfield that getting a decent paying job was hard because I lack two particular skills - budgeting and timetabling - neither of which I want to do. So basically I want administrative management job with no budgeting or timetabling. Which don't exist.

Or so I thought, an administrative management job with no budgeting or timetabling just appeared.

I have applied.

I really hope I get invited to an interview. Although I am little scared to as I will need to do a presentation if I do get an interview.

You gotta try though.

Hello Again!

2006-12-06T15:03:00.000Z

Apologies for the lack of posting lately.

I have been doing the very wintry thing of staying at home watching films and TV shows, when I have gone out its mainly to go shopping or to the cinema. Dieting has been taking up a lot of my mental energy - I part of me can't wait for the dieting to be over with, equally though I am very much enjoying buying new clothes and my new found speed in the squash court.

Next Saturday I am off to Malta again and I can't wait to see my parents (and the beast/kitten) and hopefully being able to spend some time writing and maybe even practising using the runes I got for my birthday (sorry Kira).

I am feeling very positive about 2007 - even treated myself to a very expensive and plush diary from Paperchase (THE BEST STATIONERY SHOP IN THE WORLD! YES I LOVE IT) so that I can make all sorts of exciting plans!

At the moment I'm most looking forward to January 18th - as Garfield has to submit the first draft of his PhD thesis then - hopefully afterwards I can have my boyfriend back! I am also planning to offer my tarot and palmistry skills professionally through tarot parties, I am thinking that just to start a well placed advert outside infinity foods will be good and as my lovely friend Jodie mentioned the other day - offering a free reading to the party organiser would hopefully make me a popular choice… Anyway I will certainly see how it goes!

Going back to staying in and watching films and television…

I have recently been to the cinema to see The Prestige and Pan's Labyrinth.

The Prestige was one the of the most exciting films in ages - the build up and conflict between two characters was amazing, especially as each magician became more convinced of the other's ability to do 'real' magic. Very cool - I may try and watch this in the cinema again if I can.

Pan's Labyrinth was also great - very sweet and touching and so, so sad too. Won't say too much but I want a Mandrake Root baby…

I also got to watch the original Wicker Man last week, which I had never seen before and very much enjoyed it - I can't really understand now why there had to be a remake with Nicholas Cage of all people? I can just see now that he'll probably ruin it and break out of the wicker man at the end with a machine gun or grenade...

As Lost and Battle Star Galactica have decided to do the irritating American thing of stopping mid season, I managed to get my addictive TV fixes through watching Numb3rs and Heroes. I am especially liking Heroes, although I worry where the story is going - very interesting concept though and I particularly adore the character Hiro - he's soooo sweet!

Ooh well I guess I better be off, there is dieting to be done and stuff to be watched...

Bunnies!

2006-11-02T21:37:00.000Z

... My brain just can't cope with this - sooooo cute! I need a bearded bunny...

Ooops.

My brain exploded.

Little Red Riding Hood Lost in the City

2006-10-31T22:34:00.000Z

At the weekend I went to London to visit and catch up with some friends (who are former workmates).

We did some celeb spotting straight away - we happened to go to a pub where Vanessa Feltz was having lunch. Whilst in the pub we reminisced about old drunken times, many of which contributed to my nick name of ginquinn...

Then we went onto the Eat and Two Veg - a lovely diner that only offers vegetarian dishes - I had a delish curry and can't wait to go back to try more food!

In the evening myself and Boley decided to visit a club in Bank which was having a halloween fancy dress party. Unfortunately we got to the club a tad bit early and ended wondering around the deserted financial capital, dressed like this.

We were very glad when the club opened...

Uber Laid Back...

2006-10-27T20:16:00.000Z

...Yep thats me.

I had no idea quite how stressed, tense and on edge I was prior to my holiday in Malta. It's only coming back now that I realise how much I needed a break.

It was wonderful to spend a week occasionally sight seeing and just wondering around shops and supermarkets with my parents. There was also the cute animal therapy of my parents Kitten, although after hugging sophie/beast a lot, I am now pretty much certain that I am allergic to cats.

Whilst I was in Malta I was thrilled to discover that there was a tarot exhibition taking place (especially as Malta is quite a devout Catholic country) in the Inquistor's Palace. The exhibition had an impressive array of old and rare Tarot Cards.

Somewhat more bizarrely, I also went to the pub (the pub is called 'The Pub') in which Oliver Reed died in... And is now a Shrine to Oliver Reed.

My parents also spoiled me a lot with meals out and some new clothes and boots (the boots were a bittersweet experience).

I can honestly say that I can't wait to go back in 47 days time - so that hopefully I'll continue to stay so mellow...

Show Your Best Friend How Much You Love Them...

2006-10-12T06:36:00.000Z

...By making them bleed and feel pain as a birthday gift...

I received that kind of gift from my brother for my 19th birthday.

Tattoos do make great gifts - they require no wrapping, the person receiving gets to choose which one and they last forever.

Anyway Happy Birthday Kira - glad you liked your gift!

Human Bunny Hybrids!

2006-10-06T13:31:00.000Z

Its all true...

Well according to MSN UK.

Don't why they are bothering though. I am pretty sure that I am at least 50% bunny already...

Really though it is a bit freaky and I do wonder where they got the Bunny DNA from :-(

Cushiony Goodness

2006-10-01T18:48:00.000Z

I forgot to mention that Jo did like her cushion gift, I got one hug when giving the cushions to Jo and then another when I told her I had made them. Two hugs for a gift - most impressive.

Meanwhile Joh has created a super cushion - it's size is very impressive ;-) looks uber comfy - I am sure that lying on it would feel like lying on the totoro's tummy...

New Description for this Blog

2006-10-01T18:43:00.000Z

What does El Diablo mean?
It's like Spanish for like a fighting chicken.
(Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby)

This is quite possibly the best quote in the world, in my opinion.

I am a Fighting Chicken, well thats what my blog says now :-)

Pirates Vs Ninjas

2006-09-29T09:06:00.000Z

This week was the start of term.

So its been question, question, question and more f**king questions!

Although I do enjoy my job, I hate the whole customer service element of it. I've been forever jaded by my experience of working in a central london university with abusive students. At my current workplace the students rarely so much as raise their voices, but they still irritate me. Irritating because they read nothing, notice nothing and some have been here three years and still know f**k all! ARGH!!!!!! Bloody middle class/posh students.

Anyway to celebrate the end of the week I am going to Deviant for their Pirates Vs Ninjas night, where I shall be a pirate and drink water (no Rum allowed as dieting).

Sadly though I suspect there may be many students there too, but at least the won't be any work.

Ta Da!

2006-09-19T06:20:00.000Z

Well here is a pic of the finished cushions!

Sorry for about the poor lighting, but there was an asleep Garfield to consider.

I am most pleased with these babies - hope Jo likes them...

Confession Time

2006-09-17T20:26:00.000Z

At the moment I am thinking that this post never happened :-(

My emails of interest have so far been ignored, but I am guessing that the person who asked if I would be interested in writing her company's blog is too busy to respond at the moment...

Anyway this all came about because my secret blog and its contents. Yep I've been blogging somewhere else.

Well I have now decided not to keep it secret because its contents are thoroughly important to me and although I am reluctant to share it at times - I equally want to share its happier posts with the world and those that know me.

Well here it is:

http://curvygoddess.typepad.co.uk/

It is a blog about my weight, plus size clothes and obesity in the UK. Some the of the 'diary' entries are not so chirpy, but have got better since I have started to lose weight.

When and if I hear from a certain person I will explain how the Curvy Goddess lead to someone asking me to write a blog for them, but as before - if I don't hear from them none of these posts happened... :-)

Cushions!

2006-09-16T19:39:00.000Z

Have started making a pair of cushions today for my friend Jo as a house warming gift (I am 99.9% sure Jo doesn't read my blog, or know what a blog is...) .

Anyway making one at a time because I don't have enough pins. Almost finished the first one and quite impressed (I'll put a pic up when I am finished).

My parents very kindly bought me a sewing machine before they moved to Malta, which I am still afraid to use, especially after my first use with stretchy fabric (I don't recommend that to anyone!). However this first cushion has made me feel much more confident using it! Non stretchy fabrics are the way to go!

Smug Brother

2006-09-16T09:36:00.000Z

The last week at work has been tough - I have masses to do and never enough time to do everything. More and more I am getting excited about my forthcoming holiday to Malta so that I can escape the madness of my work.

My older brother has been in Malta during the last week and has taken great glee in sending me text messages such as:

"Hey me, mum and dad are on the beach!" - Whilst I was stressing about my examboard...

"Guess what I am in the pub where Oliver Reed died! Me, mum and dad are getting pissed" (I am so going there!) - Whilst I was still stressing and somewhat needing a drink, but I can't drink at the moment because of the diet I am doing.

So this morning when my mum called to talk to me I was delighted to hear that it had rained most of the week, that when they went to the beach it was too cold so they had to leave... That my brother got drenched in a cave and most amusingly that my brother had got his plane time muddled and that he missed his plane.

I do love my brother to bits. But I can't wait to take the piss out of him for not reading his tickets right.

2006-09-09T12:47:00.000Z

How Superman Should Have Ended

I do love you tube. This is most amusing...

Excitment!!

2006-09-08T22:02:00.000Z

I can't say too much yet but I may soon be blogging professionally... An opportunity has been put to me that I hope very much works out!

So excited now - hope I don't explode. I am smiling far too much at the moment. Could start to look a little like the Joker from Batman...

Will explain all when it happens, if it doesn't this post never happened.

:-)

Big Fish Games

2006-09-05T20:50:00.000Z

Doom reminds me of a particular Sunday where as usual I was trying avoid thinking about going back to School the following day... My younger brother suggested that we play a game he had discovered on my Dad's computer. It turned out to be more of a single player game, so I watched whilst my brother swung backwards, forwards, to the left, to the right. And then I felt as though I was going to puke.

And so there it started my mysterious weird nauseous feelings whenever I watch (or play) any kind of 3D computer game, or anything generally moves forward and is jolty... So over the years I have had to sit with my back to friends or leave their houses all together to prevent the horrible sick feelings. I am grateful that I was spared Soul Calibre - for some reason 3D beat-em-ups seem to not make me feel ill! However my fickle games nature leaves me feeling bored quickly by such games.

This strange nausea has also meant that I am excluded from most MMORPG's, including World of Warcraft. I have often felt sad and bitter about this ;-) and instead spout the virtues of all the free time I have to do more productive things, rather than wasting my time pretending to be something cooler, in a far more exciting world... (I think also it may be a blessing in disguise as I already have far too many hobbies and not enough time for them.)

Garfield, taking pity on me has made it his quest to find me computer games that I can play. For a while we battled over playing Civilization 4 on his computer, but I soon became bored of it, not being a natural war lord. Then recently he discovered this...

Yes a some what sad little game in which you have discover objects in still pictures - the perfect game for me! No movement or sickness guranteed!!! Of course the game sounds quite dull considering all the competition out there. But me and Garfield are hooked in a competitive way (I will win it first, not him! And I'll do it in faster time). There are three games of this variety and I bought the third one on sunday... No doubt we will have soon completed it and then?????

I'll have to wait for the next in the series to come out and that could be ages! Oh well in the mean time I have the current game to complete - best get to it...

Looking Forward

2006-08-31T19:44:00.000Z

At the moment I mainly seem to be thinking about things that are a few weeks away.

I think it is because at the moment my life seems to be revolving around work, the GI Diet and ebay!

In October I have another trip to Malta planned - I can't wait to go and all the more excited now I have found that my parents have a Kitten (who may be called 'Beastie' or Sophie...).

My friend Jo recently moved away to Oxford - so I am now very much looking forward to my first visit to see her and getting to know Oxford (never been before).

And I can't wait for the end of this messy academic year! Oh how I look forward to October when my office will become chilled and empty - for a short while and then I can start my yearly duty of planing the Xmas party/dinner...

Adam & Joe's Crystal Maze

2006-08-24T17:25:00.000Z

Made me chuckle!

I Cheated...

2006-08-23T20:26:00.000Z

...And got Garfield to change my layout.

He did it in a matter of minutes.

I would have probaby ruined my template and spent hours trying to make it look good.

Copied everyone else and got me a Flickr zeitgeist...

Lookie Blogy Blue!

2006-08-23T12:40:00.000Z

Decided that the black template was a little tough to read so changed the background to blue - it is much easier to read now...

Argh! New template has destroyed all four of my links though!!! NOOOOooooo!!!!

Oh well time to update them anyway - will do so later. May ask techie Garfield/feed me chocolate even though I'm doing the GI diet boy to help. Maybe I should do it myself? Or I could ask him - he managed to install a new dvd player into my computer last night in a matter of minutes.

I think its time I started trading tarot lessons for HTML ones again...

Nine Days...

2006-08-22T20:57:00.000Z

...Till pay day then I can buy this! And a couple of other Handsome Family albums!

I suppose I could ask Garfield to download them for me, but it is nice occasionally to have CD's rather than MP3's. Especially as Retro Goth media player seems to be obsessed with playing Depeche Mode at the moment - bloody random option isn't so random.

Anyway it also seems that the Handsome Family also may be touring here soon - although no where near the south of England, unless you count the unconfirmed London date :-( poopy.

Been listening to this particular track a lot lately:

The Giant of Illinois
The giant of Illinois died from a blister on his toe after walking all day in the first winter's snow. Throwing bits of stale bread to the last speckled doves, he never even felt his shoe full of blood. Delirious with pain, his bedroom walls began to glow and he felt himself soaring up through falling snow. And the sky was a woman's arms. A boy with a club foot had sat next to him in school. Once upon a summer's day they went wandering through the woods. They spotted a sleeping swan on the banks of a muddy stream and they stormed it with rocks till it collapsed in the reeds. They lay out on a green lawn full of chocolate and lemonade, but under the blue bowl the giant was afraid because the sky was a woman's arms.
(Handsome Family, Through The Trees, 1998).

I hope when I die the "Sky is a woman's arms", because death doesn't sound so bad that way
:o)

4th August 2006

2006-08-20T14:33:00.000Z

On the 4th August my friends George and Luke got married!

After hearing on the news recently how a lot people don't back up their digital camera pics (me included!) I decided to set up a flickr account so that some of my pics are stored elsewhere.

Anyway the first bunch to make it on to flickr are my fav pics from George and Luke's wedding!

Lady in the Water

2006-08-19T08:05:00.000Z

Last night I went to see Lady in the Water and it was every bit as good as I hoped it would be. Garfield, who had only seen a little of the trailer was also pleasantly surprised as he expected it to be some sort of cheesy horror flick...

The characters in Lady in the Water were wonderful, especially some of the families, who were comical. It was also quite interesting how the story worked by following a story within a story, about a Sea Nymph called Story!

I think I also loved it because a former Six Feet Under actor was in it. Rico/Freddy Rodriguez was playing a bizarre man who only exercised one side of his body... Plus I also have a fondness for Paul Giamatti after watching Sideways a while ago. Every time I go out to a restaurant now I always say that:

"If anyone orders a bottle of Merlot, I'm fucking leaving!"
(Sideways, 2004)

Anyway, I think the next film that I am looking forward to seeing is Children of Men, which is out in September...

Gimme that T-Shirt

2006-08-14T13:22:00.000Z

I want this t-shirt.

Haven't wanted a slogan top for a while. It all started many years ago with Barbie is a Slut.

Active and Lazy at the Same Time...

2006-08-14T13:07:00.000Z

During the last week as part of my new healthy regime I have been spending quite a bit of time clambering up and down stairs, playing squash with a an EVIL hangover and using my weights...

Over the weekend I watched The Stand part 1(again - but was in the mood for something apocalyptic - Garfield's influence!), Nacho Libre, Pride and Predjudice, The Stand part 2 and An Ideal Husband...

Pride and Predjudice was lovely and made feel all happy! As did Nacho Libre...

Anyway it was nice to be sooo lazy over the weekend after much activeness.

I am a saddo...

2006-08-11T08:55:00.000Z

...because I am soooooooo excited that I know when Lost Season Three starts!!! Roll on Ocotober 4th! I'll be downloading it on the 5th!

And Battlestar Galactica season three also starts in October.

Anyway excitment over, back to work - my inner geek is calm again.

English Value

2006-08-07T10:47:00.000Z

Reading the Guardian website today, I came across this article in the Education Section.

Made me feel sad to think that English is a dying subject...

"Is English as an academic pursuit dead, dying, moribund, or on the verge of a great new chapter in its long history" (John Sutherland).

I would like to think that it is on the verge of a new chapter - especially if English theory is embraced at all levels (maybe my A'Levels would have been more fun if theory had also been involved).

Emo...

2006-08-02T15:01:00.000Z

Found this through the Guardian website.

Now I know that dressing emo is so much more than swiping a fringe across my face and reading a catcher in the rye...

Films, films, films!

2006-08-01T14:25:00.000Z

Yesterday I was feeling quite poorly so didn't go to work.

As I wasn't tired I spent quite a bit of time surfing the web and discovered lots of films I want to see when they come out:

The Science of Sleep

Clerks 2

Lady in the Water

Children of Men

The Prestige

Who Killed the Electric Car

Really hope they all come out soon - I want to see them!!!!

However I managed to ease the new film need by watching V for Vendetta (which I hadn't seen before) - it was bloody amazing. If only all films were like that.

I also discovered in horror - that this will be in our cinemas next year. And too make things worse it is in 3D so will make me physically sick* too!

*I don't know why but 3D computer games, moving images and jumpy camera work make me feel sick (motion sickness except no movement involved).

Will Have to Wait Until I am Rich :-(

2006-07-26T20:32:00.000Z

Yesterday lunch time it was just too hot to go out. So rather than getting fresh air - I settled for sandwitches and the web... As work is often filled with foreign teenagers shouting, breaking the lift etc at the moment, this article very much caught my eye on the Guardian website.

And now I soooo wanna go to the Witchery!!! And stay in the Library suite - its got a secret bathroom - how cool is that!!!!! But at £295 a night its gonna have to wait until I have loads of cash...

(I figure that I'll need at least a grand for 2 nights there, travel to Edinburgh, one meal in the Witchery (the menu looks lush!) and you know pennies to fritter away....)

Well a girl can dream... And bizarrely thinking about Edinburgh and looking at the site actually makes me feel cold because my head thinks Scotland = Cold.

Anyway thats enough over-heated induced rambling for one night.

Phantom Newspaper Thief Strikes Again!

2006-07-21T13:01:00.000Z

Well despite the Head of School sending email out to say "hey stop stealing the newspapers...' the newspaper thief has struck again.

Fortunately due to my early lunch and reading of the Gurdian's G2 and Music/Film supplement they managed to survive their flithy clutches.

Of course some academics don't read their emails - after all why should they? No one would contact them surely? No not even students, admin staff or perhaps their fellow academics.

So the wicked newspaper thief remains out their, uncaught - a threat to your newspapers - beware of them!

(PS I really, really don't want to write up my minutes - they are soooooo boring...)

Cluedo

2006-07-19T15:02:00.000Z

Someone in the department I work in keeps either stealing the School's newspapers or hiding them in cupboard...

There is now much speculation as to whether it is a loony academic or a mischievous one.

Personally I think Professor Plum did it in the cupboard with the candlestick ;-)

Academics - you gotta love them.

Melting...

2006-07-19T11:57:00.000Z

...I am you know, melting in this weather :-(

Some how despite my part Maltese genes I ended up with pale, pale skin (fully embraced the Scottish genes) that is uber sensitive to the sun. Not fair! (Grrr Scottish Parent!)

Thankfully at work I have my own lovely, spinny fan. But at home I don't so I'm going on a fan hunt after work - I hope there are some left!

Garfield's Birthday

2006-07-18T07:20:00.000Z

It is Garfield's birthday today.

He doesn't like birthdays so I got him an appropiate card.

Taking him to Terre a Terre to eat away the birthday blues...

Happy Birthday.

Gimme that Book!

2006-07-13T09:00:00.000Z

I knew it was coming but somehow amongst recent events it slipped my mind.

Haruki Murakami has a new book out. I may not have mentioned it before but I LOVE Haruki Murakami's books - all of them!!!!! I can't wait for his next novel - but some short stories will get me by for now.

The Guardian review of it sounds wondeful although I personally disagree with Tobias Hill's statement that Murakami is better a short story writer - i love that his novels are:

"meandering things, full of delights but often frustrating in their combination of brillance and laxity"

So I think on saturday I shall drop by a book shop and pay the full price for it, rather than wait for a cheap version from amazon...

Pirates Stole The Story!

2006-07-12T18:28:00.000Z

Last Thursday evening I left the cinema so disappointed - I had been very much looking forward to Pirates of... but no matter how excited I was, the film sucked. It was as if the writers had got their story stolen by pirates! Actually probably more like that the producers thought - lets make lots of money - who cares if there is a story or not? And thats why I felt that Pirates of... was crap - there was no bloody story - it was just a series of mildly entertaining scenes that went no where.

Will still watch the third one though when it comes out.

:-(

Cool...

2006-07-12T12:56:00.000Z

Once I was lucky enough to get a free dinner through work, occasionally we get a free lunch...

Today I got a fan - hehehehe its all lovely and cool at my desk...

Small gestures - they go far, especially with office staff.

The Plan

2006-07-05T12:35:00.000Z

Yesterday James asked me what my long term plans were.

I have no bloody idea!

All I could think about when being asked that question is work I've got to do right now - but some how sorting coursework today is not going to have any massive impact a few months from now.

However not knowing what my long term plans are didn't make feel sad - which is a relief. But I did feel like I should have a plan - especially as my optimistic nature is fuelled by knowing that I can have anything because I can see the path (and plan!) from A to B. Thinking about it more I think I lack long term plans because I would rather have short to mid range plans (I want it now!!!). So my plans for the near future are:

1) To finish writing my novel - I've got a day off next friday and I fully intend to use this day to write.
2) To start another writing project (some informative style writing) that I've had lingering in my brain for a while - I'll make a start on this on sunday.
3) To get healthy - this requires organisation and planning ahead.
4) To go and see Pirates of the Caribbean tomorrow (nope thats not long term - but I'm really excited about going to see it!!!!!!!)

Anyway thats my lack of life planning rant over with - I'm happy to avoid the long term for a bit longer...

And besides I could never fufill my childhood dream of becoming Indiana Jones so I'll always be jaded about long term plans that are out of my reach ;-)

Flagging...

2006-07-04T19:59:00.000Z

Been incredibly busy over the last couple of weeks, its been work, work and more work. Administering examboards along with a load of other responsibilities has been hard. I've also been taking care of friends and of course ebaying myself into the ground...

The Ebay Tarot thing is being quite successful - James told me tonight that I was obessed with it - like some of my friends have been about WOW - I need World of Warbay!

Cocktails and Spiders...

2006-06-17T17:25:00.000Z

Thursday was a stressful day at work - so I was glad that my friend Sass decided that we should go out for drinks and dinner. A jug of Sangria, Polish cocktails and another jug of cocktail later we decided that we were too drunk and should get some coffee... ...After going in to Cafe Rouge we realised that it wasn't really the best atmosphere to sober up in as we were talking a little too loudly and it was somewhat quiet. After two cappuccinos and a dessert we could no longer stand the stuffy cafe so headed out to get some 'fresh air'. A walk by the sea didn't help - although it was cool and sunny.

I was quite grateful when I finally got home to just lie on my bed. But I spotted a very active spider. I hate spiders, its not their fault - they are not evil - but my brain feels otherwise. Unfortunately for the spider my housemate who normally deals with spiders was not around - so I got the hoover. Yes the hoover - whenever there is a spider crisis in the house and no one to get rid of the things - I hoover them up. And so this was my plan - however trying to direct the hoover when drunk is inadvisable. Thankfully another housemate intervened and hoovered the spider for me.

Friday was hell... Hangovers and examboard preparation don't go well.

You Fool!

2006-06-15T06:19:00.000Z

Sorry to be focused on work but yesterday an academic told me something that me laugh.

A student submitted coursework along with a disk, when the academic came to mark it she was expecting to see the student's work on the disk. Instead she found a pirated Black Eyed Peas album...

Phew and Oh S**t Part Two

2006-06-08T21:37:00.003Z

Yesterday I saw many a stressed academic.

One cried and sobbed at me about her immense amount of marking.

A usually sweet and fluffy academic got stroppy with me when I told her that I couldn't have her marks ready for an internal board with the time frame she was giving me.

Another academic was not happy at me stating the industrial action was 'resolved' in an email requesting marks and insisted that it is 'suspended'. Yeah you're right but I need your marks god damn it - so don't give me no shit!

Today the academics were better but I nearly cried when I found 11 cases of cheating in coursework on my desk this morning... Fortunately my boss intervened and its now only 4 cases...

But I wasn't alone in my mood swings - my fellow colleages were one minute silent and beavering, the next laughing about receiving marks on scrappy bits of paper or cigarette packets and then stressing...

Oh the joy that is Higher Education.

Phew and oh S**t

2006-06-07T08:14:00.000Z

Well its all been sorted...

Now the examboard panicking has started!!!!!!!!!

ARGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've Died and Gone to Bunny Heaven...

2006-06-02T15:25:00.000Z

Some crazy people on Flickr have created this! An absolute bunny-fest. And the picture? He's a lop lion bunny - how cute is that! Once again I love cuteoverload - its total genius...

Awwwwwwwww!

Rachel Happy!

Heheheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Free DVD's!

2006-05-31T20:55:00.000Z

At the moment I've been trying to obtain as many free DVD rentals I can from the various home rental systems (the ones where DVD's are sent to you via the post) and today I received my first free DVD which was 'But I'm Cheerleader'... And I've gotta say it - but Amazon must be bloody psychic - had a terrible day at work and was in a foul mood - but that film was brilliant for cheering me up and making me laugh - a lot! I really want a 'Straight is Great' t-shirt but I can't seem to find any on the web :-(

Hoping that the other home rental DVD companies will also prove to be telepathic...

Oooh and sold another tarot reading - that's three! :-)

Tarot Success

2006-05-30T18:36:00.000Z

Well yesterday I finally finished getting everything ready to sell tarot readings on ebay and within in an hour of listing them I had sold one and this morning I had sold two!!!! Yay! I may have discovered a niche within the ebay tarot market (which I shall keep to myself!). Just hope it lasts so that I can clear some debts with it!

I don't like May

2006-05-17T19:01:00.000Z

Some people don't like Mondays. I don't like the month of May. For some reason its always difficult for me. I don't know why I dislike it so much - it could be that its a post birthday month or that its the strange cold spring weather merging into warmer summer weather... Maybe it has something to do with more painful previous experiences happening in May, particularly on the forthcoming bank holiday.

History aside, right now everything feels a struggle. Work is busy, work is uncertain - regardless of the politics of the lecturers striking/withholding marks or what I think, I soon may have to face up to no exam boards and losing my summer time of catching up and planning. My home life is uncertain, I can't predict how people will react or what they will do. The home security I have been craving so much since my parents moved to Malta is once again slipping away from me. Friends are moving away and changing. And I have stupidly made too many plans this month and not allowed any time for myself, no time to plan or work on something to make forget.

I'm looking forward to June when I hope I will know more and that my least favoured month will be over.

Rice Pudding

2006-05-16T11:49:00.000Z

Last night I decided to be brave and try a food I was sickened by as a child...

Over the years I have found that various foods I hated when little - I now enjoy. Most surprisingly for me was fried eggs - which were so hated by me previously that would pretend to eat them, carefully spitting it out into my napkin at the same time. The napkin was then disposed of in the giant dried plant pot which I knew wouldn't be cleaned for ages (Hehehehe).

Now I love fried eggs!

So yesterday whilst shopping in Sainsburys I decided to by some Rachel's Organic Rice Pudding - as Garfield pointed out to me - it even had my name on it. On the packaging it looked so delicous... When I got round to eating it - I was horrified how could something so creamy have lumps in it! It was gross! Luckily Garfield likes the stuff so he ate it.

I guess that we sometimes have to trust our childhood taste buds - afterall I still think they were right to reject baked beans - tomato sauce CANNOT be orange.

And that will teach me to eat sweet things especially after being good and playing squash (even if very badly) and missing James read out a story at the SWIM thing at the sanctury cafe (because of squash - sorry James).

Oh well back to the Squash playing and healthy eating thing. (Next week I am going to teach my friends Sass and Jo how to play squash - it will be comical...).

Lunch

2006-05-12T11:42:00.000Z

Today work was giving away free lunches... Of course I found this out after I had already bought and eaten my lunch - bollocks!

Oh well I do now have orange juice and the penguin bar that came with it may have to be eaten. The rest I shall give to Garfield later...

Bad at this Blogging Thing

2006-05-08T21:46:00.000Z

Well its been ages since I posted - I am far too slack about blogging!

Anyway since I last posted... My skirt survived the test - after a drunken Rachel it was still intact so I am sure it will last forever! Well maybe a few more drunken Rachel's.

I've been working my arse off! Its busy, busy at work and things are NOT looking good for the summer. Having been through the marks/strike trauma before in my last job - I am not looking forward to possibly repeating myself over and over to students, parents, employers etc or complicated student records or rushed examboards. Whilst I appreciate that academic staff work very hard and are underpaid - I hate the industrial action, it seriously fucks things up for a lot of students and causes insane amounts of work for admin staff! GRRRR! Oh of course we will also get a pay increase when the academic staff do but as I said earlier having been through this before I can honestly say that an extra £50 a month will NOT BE WORTH IT. I really hope it all gets sorted asap, before its too late.

On a happier note my friend Sass has come back from Poland - Welcome Back Sass!

On a sad note my friend Thea is going back to London at the end of this week. I know London isn't far away but I am really going to miss her...

I have been bugging Garfield to get on with hisPhDd through stalking him via phone calls, early morning wake up calls, coffee and waffle therapy and offering the use of my room which has no evil, distracting 3D computer games (they make me ill - I am a freak).

I went to a wedding at the weekend near Cambridge (one of Garfield's friends) which was fun - but evil shoes meant that I did far too much hobbling and no dancing :-(

Anyway thats all for now. Next week I am hoping to finally be able to offer Tarot Readings througheBayy and I am going to see a Mid Summer's Night Dream with James - looking forward to it all!

YAY! Woo Hoo! I made something!!!!

2006-04-21T21:37:00.000Z

Well its taken me just under a week and some days off work to complete it but I have done it and I'm very proud of the end result... Especially as it is the first skirt I have ever made.

Will wear it at my birthday party tomorrow - if it can survive a drunken Rachel then I am certain it will last for a long time.

Quite relieved its over with too though - I can move on to other projects now.

Skirt Making

2006-04-18T19:24:00.000Z

Hard at work making a skirt (from scratch! well a pattern...). Have discovered that sewing machines and stretchy materials don't get on. Have successfully managed to set up my sewing machine and I have not sewed my head to anything yet so I guess that's good. Doing a bit of hand-sewing on it at the moment. If all goes well I may even finish it tonight!!!!

If it looks good I will post pictures of the finished item. If it looks crap or goes horribly wrong I will never mention it again and condemn myself only to ever make cushions...

Urgh... Post Holiday Brain Meltdown

2006-04-06T19:18:00.000Z

I am not sure holidays are such a good thing. A week in the sun - exploring Malta was great... But since coming back I have hardly managed to do anything! Bags are strewn across my bedroom, there are bills to pay, I need to ebay stuff, I need to write and I need to desperately tidy my room so that I can find/do all of the above. For some strange reason I have sociable though - I have made plans with a friend, cooked a Maltese dish for two others and I have even delivered holiday gifts... However it is now Thursday and this week it seems I have only worked, cooked, watched Angel/Stargate Atlantis/Lost and slept - my brain feels like mush and I am sooo tired...

I want to go back to Malta!!!!!

New Other Blog!

2006-04-01T19:36:00.000Z

I have been bad - I haven't posted here for ages - mainly because I didn't have much to say! I do now have lots to blog about but before I do I must write a little about my new other blog... For a while I have been wanting to set up another blog that is more focused than the drunken ramblings of ginquinn...

So I have created (actually Blogger has created!) a new blog - The Magician's Toilet which will focus on my divinatory interests which I feel will be out of context here.

There's not much there yet and I am not happy about the template so it will gradually look better as I play with it and seek the help of Garfield. Hopefully it will be filled with interesting magical writings/ramblings... Ginquinn will remain as my unfocused happy blog!

Will post again soon...

New Favourite Cards

2006-02-23T12:40:00.000Z

Edward Monkton's cards have been a firm favourite of mine for quite some time, but today I discovered the Santoro Stickmen Cards, which I now think are even better! The picture of my favourite one can be seen to the left... Really made me chuckle.

Oooh the Irony

2006-02-22T22:14:00.000Z

Last night as I left the Sussex Arts Club and got closer to the exit I noticed a bright yellow sign on the door, I could almost read it, when I suddenly fell down a step. I looked up from the floor to see that the sign said 'mind the step'.

GRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

Things Getting Better...

2006-02-08T16:11:00.000Z

Since last week's rant on moaning things have vastly improved.

1. The moaning has stopped - replaced by pleasantness - woo hoo! Hope it lasts…
2. I feel happier generally because the moaning around me has stopped.
3. I have started writing again - I actually believe I can finish what I have started for once - yay! And I don't mind the work I will have to put into it…
4. Have heard from one of my best friend's - Sass - about the fun she's having in Poland and the hard work! Do miss you Sass!

I'm going to do some writing tonight and then treat myself to some battlestar galatica! Must do a lot of writing over the weekend though. I will damn it!

Moany People... Grrr!

2006-01-31T20:33:00.000Z

At the moment I seem to have a real intolerance against moaning... So I guess that ironically this is going to be a moan about people moaning... Actually I have decided this is more of a rant!

Why do people do it? Why do they sit soooo close to me moaning about utter crap? Why!!!! Why can't they see that they actually have it easy... Do they not realise that every moan edges me closer to jumping out of window? Or tempts me to put my head in the paper shredder?

Why don't they ever have anything positive to say? How did they get sooo bitter from the mediocre events in their life! And why can't I put thick, smelly socks in their mouths to shut them up? Grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!! Breathe Rachel.

I would turn my hearing aid off if I could. But I really can't afford to. I want them to go away, the evil moaning scummers! GRRRRRR!!!!!!!!

Okay, okay rant over now.

Maybe I should start singing next time they moan. Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights would drown them out, hehehehehe!

Heathcliff, it's me, Cathy, come home. IÂ´m so cold, let me in-a-your window.

Yep, that sang high pitched enough would shut them up. If only I was brave enough...

I LOVE CUTEOVERLOAD!

2006-01-28T14:30:00.000Z

Just look at him isn't he the cutest!!!!!!!!!!

Cuteoverload is just the best website!

Writing...

2006-01-23T19:22:00.000Z

Start. Stop. Cup of tea. Mmm idea... Nope its gone.

Text message. Six feet under :-) no can't do that. Bad Rachel.

Tea. Focus. Type. Delete. Type. Delete again.

Grrrrr. Bollocks. So many ideas...

...

Writing is hard, I wish that writing stories was as easy as writing a poem. Must carry on though. Surely it will pour out my head soon?

Damn it!

Got a plan! But too tired...

2006-01-19T19:56:00.000Z

This week I was meant to do sooo much:

1) Some writing
2) Some research into protecting against curses
3) List more stuff on ebay
4) Prepare tarot lessons

I've only managed the tarot lessons. Instead I've gone to the pub, ate thai food, watched Angel, watched six feet under, ordered plane tickets and been continuously tired. Well there is still the weekend I suppose.

And I just want to add that British Airways are money grabbing bastards and that I can't wait until easyjet starts operating in Malta and kicks their greedy arses! GRRRR! Oh well it will be worth it for the surprise my mum will get on the 22nd of March.

King Kong

2006-01-08T11:59:00.000Z

Finally went to see King Kong last night. It was sooooooooooooooooooo sad, but beautiful too.

Thinking about it though - it was highly likely that I would love it as I have enjoyed all of Peter Jackson's films so far (exception to the very early ones - but its not the films themselves but the gore - I'm far too squeamish!).

The trailers were interesting too. Although I've heard the book is terrible (in the literary sense) the Da Vinci Code did look entertaining and I cannot wait for the new Pirates of the Caribbean film to come out! And it would seem that remake is in fashion at the moment... The other day I found out there is a remake of the Omen coming out and in the cinema yesterday there was a trailer for Poseidon.

A Maltese Christmas

2006-01-02T16:04:00.001Z

I didn't really get a chance whilst I was in Malta to describe all the wonderful and strange events that happened (too many buffets to attend), so here is a little sum up...

23rd December 2005

Went to Mdina 'The Silent City' which was fairly quiet. Went to the Mdina Dungeons, The Mdina Experience , Palazzo Falzon (an medieval Building - very well kept) and The Knights of Malta Experience after which I was VERY aware that there was an earthquake in 1693 and that Mdina was invaded several times by Turkey (sore point I guess). In the evening I went to buffets number One at my Uncle Tony's house. Discovered a new alcoholic drink - Red Vermouth...

24th December 2005

Taken to some shops - then dropped off in Valletta. Gerald (My big Bro), Sharon (his girlfriend) and myself all decided to eat outside. Big mistake - the place we chose to eat at took 45 minutes to bring our food out which was cold and I received some carbonized chicken which was so hard I could have knocked out the waiter with it! Then went on to a much nicer cafe with tasty food. Returned to my parents place by Malta's fantastic bus service (only costs 20 cents to go anywhere on the Island!)... Then went to the Park with all the cats - see pictures. In the evening we all took my dad out for dinner - I had an amazing green dessert :-)

25th December 2005

Yay! Christmas day! My Dad made a lush Xmas dinner. Watched Ghostbusters 2 - didn't watch the Queen's speech! In the evening went to Buffet number two.

26th December 2005

Helped my parents prepare Buffet number three for their Christmas party. It was quite hard on Ged, Sharon and myself to smell all the tasty food but not be able to eat it. Whilst we were all out trying to by our parents pencils (for a quiz my Dad had organised for the party) we popped into McDonalds. Another poor choice of food - it was grim so we packaged it up and fed it to the cats in the park. They liked it...

Buffet number three and the quiz went down well with the family members (40+ of them) - mass cheating took place which was very amusing. There was uproar about one question which they were asked to name all of the reindeer mentioned in the poem T'was the Night Before Christmas (use of the internet was banned).

Unfortunately for me my Dad had told all my family that I can read palms so I spent the later part of the evening reading palms... Oh well it got me out of the washing up ;-)

27th December 2005

After a long lie in went to Dingli Cliffs - which had some stunning views. My dad then drove us around the villas which used to be the army camp he was posted in. We had lunch in Paceville which is the local clubbing area - was amused by a long step of steps which were covered in broken glass, rubbish, vomit and cigarette butts - apparently its cleaned once a week.

In the evening went to buffet number four - was very tired and full.

28th December 2005

Got up at 5am to drop my brother and his girlfriend at the airport for their flight home. Spent the rest of the day exploring places my parents hadn't been to before in Malta (have no idea how to spell or say these places - too many Q's and X's in them) - also went to two Markets where everything was shockingly cheap (we are soooo ripped off in England!). In the evening finally buffet free my mum made me my favourite Maltese Dish - Baked Rice/Ross Il-Forn - I ate it all!

29th December 2005

Once again was disgusted by English prices for stuff as I got a gorgeous pair of leather lace up boots for Â£20!!! Then sadly it was my turn for the airport. Was quite tough leaving as my mum got weepy and I hate seeing her upset - I do hope the leaving will get easier with time!

So thats a Maltese Christmas for you it was much lessreligiouss than I expected - although when ever I walked around I was freaked out by the number of evil doll babies in windows (probably supposed to be Christ!). However as mentioned above - I was over buffeted if there is such a word or condition.

And I was once again given the chance to deal my extreme hatred/emotional problems with doillies - as I was surrounded by them practically all the time - as they were in every house I went to and sold everywhere. I was good - I did not burn them...

Change...

2005-12-25T14:04:00.000Z

Well this Christmas has certainly been different so far...

Yesterday my brother, his girlfriend and myself kept saying how it didn't feel like Christmas eve as we sat outside waiting for lunch in Valletta . Christmas eve was further made surreal by my brother insisting I came with him to the local park (which has been built into Birkirkara's old train station) to see the masses of cats in the park. He wasn't joking. There must have been in the region of thirty to forty stray cats living in this park. And my brother and me took great glee in feeding the cats some ham. I was very reassured to see a cat lady come along to feed the cats cat food and give them fresh water.

Today (Christmas day) feels more like Christmas - although I am in Malta, there has been presents, phone calls to family and yummy Christmas dinner (I supplied the paxo as Malta does not have any it seems!).

Far too Excitable

2005-12-17T08:48:00.000Z

I am very excited at the moment...

Lots of stuff is going to happening over the next week or so and I am so EXCITED about it all.

This evening I am taking Garfield to see Fantasmagoria by Vodoo Vaudville at the Komedia - he wasn't supposed to know what we were doing but he guessed... Anyway very much looking forward to seeing it as neither of us has ever been to the Komedia before.

I now only have three work days left and then I am off until the 4th of January! And after my last day on wednesday I am going to watch the Burning of the Clocks on the beach... Last year's was amazing and the first time I had ever been - I want to go every year now! After the fireworks myself and Garfield will hopefully be going to see King Kong and making the most of the orange wednesday offer.

And then best of all on Thursday I am flying off to Malta. I am sooooo looking forward to catching up with my parents - I haven't seen them since the end of August and it feels far too long to have not have visited them. I am also looking forward to the warmer weather!

The Yellow Shop...

2005-12-07T19:50:00.000Z

I have been recently wondering what the 'Yellow Shop' sells on Oxford Street in Brighton... Me and Garfield keep imagining that if you went in there you could by a bag of pure yellow... I think if you went out back they would be able to show you the sun in a cupoboard. Garfield thinks they keep the purest yellow hidden at the back.

(PS. If any says they sell watches etc. I'll beat them up with a bag of yellow)!

Scaring Myself Silly

2005-11-26T22:16:00.000Z

Although halloween has been and gone I seem to be in the mood for scaring myself. Tonight I watched Deadbirds which for a good part of the film I was hiding my eyes in Garfield's arm. As the film went on, in typical horror film fashion it just became more grusome as it could not in story terms sustain itself.

On Wednesday evening me and Kira are going to see The Exorcism of Emily Rose which will probably be even more terrifying as its based on a true story, apparently... Anyway looking forward to it! Ooooh I do like a good scare! I wonder if its acceptable for me to take a cushion to the cinema to hide behind? Obviously if I should ever become possessed my cushion will save me ;-)

(Garfield is the name of some who wishes for his real identity to remain secret so shall always be referred to Garfield...)

Spells!

2005-11-14T20:23:00.000Z

Last week I got a wonderful delivery from Amazon...

Two brand new and brilliant magic/spell books.

1. Eileen Holland's Grimoire of Magickal Correspondences - this book is going to make spell making so much easier! It lists every ingredient or deity that you have ever needed for any type of spell - extremely useful!

2. Judika Illes's The Element Encyclopaedia of 5000 Spells - I wasn't sure about this book, I thought it might turn out to be a bit fickle like a Titania spell book. Fortunately the book proved me wrong and is actually very useful. Its more like a history of magic in the sense that it lists thousands of spells from many traditions and goes as far as having a disclaimer saying that the writer does not expect some of the spells in this book to be used as they were only relevant a long time ago. Its also very handy that this book mainly lists the actions required for a spell, allowing the reader the freedom to add their own chanting and ingredients if required.

Both will come in very handy for something I am working on that hopefully will make the whole spell making process, much, much easier... (even if just for me)

The Weekend

2005-11-07T17:24:00.000Z

Had a great weekend.

Visited my brother on Friday night in Sandhurst to help him with his CV and to get him signed up to MSN messenger. For my visit he specially bought a box of fireworks for us to set off in his garden! Which we did - unfortunately we picked the biggest and best ones first so the last few were a bit of an anticlimax...

...And unfortunately whilst the fireworks were going off I inhaled just a bit too much smoke which is not good with my current sinus problems (seems to be made worse by smoke) so I couldn't breathe properly on Saturday - I struggled to walk up the Lewes Road! Anyway thanks to a bit of homeopathic medicine its getting better now and in short while I hope I will be able to play a game of squash. Fingers crossed.

Ooh and at my house it was Jemma and Rachel's joint birthday party - which was fun - apart from the smoke and far too much archers...

Maybe Third Time Lucky?

2005-11-01T18:08:00.001Z

Yesterday I had a day off.

Had it all planned.

Yes a relaxing breakfast, to be followed by some listing of stuff on Ebay.

I took my time preparing the stuff for ebay - leisurely putting items on the Turbo Lister. Listened to Marilyn Manson (haven't done for a while - had an urge to listen to the 'Nobodies').

And of course the whole I knew that I should leave about 2pm so that I could visit the psychic in Worthing...

...Of course I then encountered some technical problems with my internet connection - spent ages faffing about with that and actually left around about three!

Somehow, magically got to the shop in Worthing about 4:30 - only to find that the shop had closed early! Oh well maybe third time lucky...

Not a completely wasted day - listening to 'The Nobodies' has inspired me to start working on a particular story again.

I'm Learning!

2005-10-30T19:41:00.000Z

As you may now be able to see the Custard Pie posting has pictures!

On friday at work I was able to attend a workshop on how to use Adobe Photoshop - it was very well taught and as can now be seen equipped me with the skills to put pictures here! Although I don't have Adobe Photoshop - at least I now understand better the picture editing software I have.

Very excited as tomorrow I have day off work - which I am intending to spend writing and visiting the midget psychic in Worthing...

Meet the Boyfriend Party

2005-10-24T16:39:00.000Z

Over the weekend I went Worthing to spend some time with my friends Jo and Sass. We were all hoping to see a midget psychic, but unfortunately she was having a day off :-( anyway we are now hoping to see her on Halloween which will be interesting!

And I was very much looking forward to giving Jo her present from Cadburys World which I got her in August. Sadly our Joey was suffering with gallbladder problems but now its been removed she is able to enjoy the chocolate again! I given loads of people chocolate as a present over the years but watching Jo open the box and being delighted at the smell of the chocolate was quite wonderful.

In the evening we went to Portsmouth to our friend George's house were she was holding a party so that her friends could meet her new boyfriend. Really it should have been curry party as the amount of curry that was available was unbelievable! Anyway the curry was great George's new man is lovely and best of all it was highly entertaining to watch George continually nearly fall over in her heels due a little too much booze (it used to be me who always fell down).

Alone in the Office

2005-10-20T17:17:00.000Z

Currently all alone in my office at work and bloody Xfm keeps featuring an advert with a screaming person!!!!!!!!!!!!! But no must focus on my work.

But first I just have to say that I saw the worst film last night Alone in the Dark its based on computer game and probably should have just stayed that way. I slept through the 'scary' bits thanks to years of de-sensitising myself by watching the Aliens films over and over (ooh and going to the Alien War thing in London).

Hopefully I won't get eaten in my office...

Hanif Kureishi

2005-10-19T16:40:00.000Z

Had a great time on Monday evening. Myself and my friend Sass went along to a reading/book signing by Hanif Kureishi at Brighton Uni. He started off with a reading from his newest book My Ear at His Heart' which was quite entertaining as it described his Father's first visit to a brothel...

There were lots of questions put to Hanif about his books and stories that look at racism particularly after recent events. Despite the seriousness of the questions he was still very witty about it all!

Was quite nostalgic for me and Sass as we felt as though we were back at university in a lecture... Ah if only!

Custard Pie Fight

2005-10-16T09:35:00.000Z

Last night my house celebrated my best friend Kira's (and house mate) birthday. Kira had always wanted to have a custard pie fight and last night she sort of did... Instead whipped cream in a can was put on plates and the fight began. Well not before having a civilised discussion as to how the fight would work. It was decided that Kira could throw the first 'pie' which she very kindly threw at her brother Trev...

I was the photographer so stayed custard free! Will put pics on when i figure how.

Promiscuous Old People?

2005-10-15T17:05:00.000Z

Was quite shocked today to see a big queue of OAP's outside the family planning clinic...

Upon closer inspection I found out that they were not waiting for free condoms, pregnancy tests or STD tests, but to receive the latest flu jab.

Amused though for a few minutes...

The Beginning!

2005-10-15T16:46:00.000Z

Well I have decided to do this as part of my new commitment to make sure I spend more time writing and doing stuff that makes me happy.

Working, paying the bills and a social life is just not enough - my brain needs more!

So I will do the following when I can:

1) Write creatively
2) Write with aim of making money (sooner I am debt free the more freedom I will have!)
3) Make stuff with my sewing machine to find out if I am really doomed to make them break (one broke when I used it at school and more recently when my mum was teaching me stuff on one of hers that she was about to give me, something inside it exploded and smoke came out... I have new one now!)
4) Read (probably do more than average person - but I must read more!)
5) Learn Astrology
6) Learn more about witchcraft

So thats my list of all the stuff I'd like to do more of and know more about. I am sure over time there will be more stuff that interests me but I think thats a fairly realistic set of aims for me now...

There is also my passion for ebay but I am not sure how much more time I should dedicate to it. I have made a fair bit of money from it but equally so I love buying stuff on there! I am just going to have to assess over time how much commitment I should give it...

Oh and ginquinn? Thats nickname someone gave me a while ago. We both had very stressful jobs at a university in London, I won't say which but the bizness students who we dealt with were pure evillll! So we used to work hard and party hard - which meant a lot of drinking. And a lot of gin which rhymes with my surname Quinn.