2009: The Year in Pictures

In which I look back at some of the most memorable moments (for me) of the last year. Well, the ones I have pictures for anyway.

My friends are key to nearly all these photos, whether we're messing around outside, or having a laugh indoors (usually at someone's house).

OUTSIDE

"Look, a Tesco!" "We made it back to civilisation, then?"

This is the first time I wore a chullo. As you can see I am very happy about it.

Mykel and Louis: The best couple I have met for pulling weird faces.

Heather is also good at awesome faces.








HOLYSHIT YOU GUYS THIS COFFEE IS SO FUCKING GOOOOOD








Sometimes we like to get in touch with the great outdoors so much that we even stay there for a while. As a result there exist a lot of camping photos from the last year, of which a few are shown here:

                                  The witch coven and I.

"CHEAT!"

Making s'mores is a precise and fine art.








Later in the year (about a week and a half ago) we had some snow! This made for some even more brilliant pictures:
Simultaneously the strangest and best face I have ever pulled.

Everybody was snowball fighting!

Bravely running away.

"You'll never take me alive!"

"Can we come in now? It's bloody freezing."



















We also have a lot of fun making arses of ourselves indoors, especially round people's houses.
INSIDE

"Did someone just take a picture?"

Louis realises a lifelong dream of wanting to sound more attractive to birds.

HAY GUISE

Positively terrifying.

I can't remember what I was laughing at but it was clearly hilarious - maybe Mykel's Halloween costume?

Well that's enough excitement for one day.











A lot of this year was spent at college, so a lot of photos were taken in and around there. The best ones happen when we're desperately trying to find something to do with ourselves.
COLLEGE

Sudoku: A lot harder than it looks.

...You had to be there.

Two hours later and I still haven't finished the sudoku.

When boredom sets in... badly drawn (and sideways) band logos happen.

No matter how stupid they look, they always manage to brighten up my day.








Over the year various amusing happenings also happened in the world of cyberspace. I present to you some of my favourite screenshots (and the like) from 2009:
INTERNETS

The face rape makes her happy.

O RLY? YA RLY.

I don't really have an explanation for this one. You can't really argue with a horny Ponyta though.

What is known technically as a Maths or Algebra penis... yeah. Thanks Sam.

It's amusing how long Wikipedia took to edit this page back to normal. Maybe they liked my improvements too.

Amy struggles under the weight of her GIANT ACOUSTIC GUITAR!







A few pictures were taken with family this year too (I tried as hard as I could but it's impossible to avoid). A couple of them are surprisingly good:

HOLY SHIT THESE CRASH HELMETS ARE SO FUCKING EXCITING

What the crash helmets were used for.











I'll leave you with a few group shots of the people who have made this year: my friends.

Starting a mosh pit at Kayleigh's and Sarah's birthday party was definitely a very good idea - even if me, Chris and Adam were the only ones cool enough to be in it.

Tom's birthday party - an altogether more civilised affair.

Getting a bit over excited...

At the end of the year, we're all together again. A musical blog post will be arriving tomorrow!

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all had a good one and got everything you wanted. I know I did with the exception of one thing, but I wasn't expecting to get it (if I did I'd be a very lucky boy indeed). I'm not going to go into that further here, it's kind of a secret.

It seems a bit ridiculous that we only have one week left until college starts again, I always forget how quickly the holidays go. I still haven't done any work yet, I'm determined to start tomorrow though and carry on throughout the week (though that probably means I'll think about it tomorrow then delay it until Thursday or something). I'm very bad with procrastination (actually I'm very good at it, but that's the problem...) and to give an example I had this blog window open for about an hour before I actually started writing. Speaking of Thursday, I really do hope something fun happens for new years! Whatever happens, it's bound to be better than what happened to me last year, it seems very strange that a whole year has passed since all that happened... Oh well, I can say it's really far in the past now and move on (though I've been over it for a while now, this feels like proper closure). I'm considering letting people come to my house, as it was such a success at Halloween... is that really a good idea? I'll have to think it through.

Whatever you're all planning, I hope it goes well! I WILL start on the end of year blogs this week, I promise.

The people I know are some of the best people around

Quote of the Day - "I built my dreams around you" - The Pogues

16:16 I finally seem to be coming out of this stupid illness (suitably dubbed 'winter man flu') so I am attempting to blog again. It's actually pretty annoying, this year's Christmas holiday would be one of the best I'd ever had if it wasn't for the fact that I've been ill for well over a week... Oh well, this year's holiday has been bloody brilliant already, despite that. The reason for this is my fantastic friends. I have already mentioned that I went with Amy to see Paranormal Activity recently and in that post I focused mostly on the film. However we would have had just as good a time even if we hadn't seen it, simply because she's so brilliant. Last Friday (originally the last day of college, but got canceled thanks to snow lulz) I went out to see all my college friends (well, they were nearly all there) despite the fact that I felt like death, only with more of a runny nose. We had coffee and exchanged secret santa gifts, amongst other little things. I personally enjoyed it a lot because I got to see my little group of college friends again, after not seeing them for a few days thanks to the winter man flu. It's a little bit weird, I didn't think I'd miss their company as much as I did while I was stuck at home endlessly blowing my nose. We just all get on so well, and have such a good group dynamic. Someone even commented that our little meeting in the coffee shop was like an advert for an English version of Friends and I can't say I disagree with that analogy. We then went outside to play in the unbelievably thick and wonderful snow that was literally everywhere. We hardly ever get snow over here and whenever we do it is never this good (I don't think I've ever seen it snow so much in my entire lifetime). Playing in snow is one of the most fun things you can do, I reckon. It was like we were all kids again, just writing this makes me wish I could go back to that afternoon and do it all over again.

21:59 On Saturday Mykel hosted a really fancy dinner (I had to wear a suit and everything!) that I was lucky enough to be invited to. It was like a real life episode of that Channel 4 program Come Dine With Me, only good. We had traditional Caribbean dishes (she's from around there) so I hadn't eaten anything like it before, it was all delicious though. Probably one of the best dinners I have ever had, really. After the meal Hannah and Yaz proceeded to have a laughing fit that went on for a good few hours (it actually started while we were still eating) which was obviously really fun for all those not involved... I was originally going to sleep round (Mykel lives like a bajillion miles away and I didn't fancy walking that far in the ice and the dark) but then Heather and Ness decided to get a taxi, so I went with them despite having no money (yet again, the amazingness of my friends shines through) because I decided I would very much like to sleep in my own bed, what with the feeling pretty ill. I paid them back yesterday, I'm an honest lad me.

On Monday I saw Avatar in 3D! I'd been looking forward to it for ages, but it wasn't quite as good as I'd hoped it would be. This was pretty much all down to the story being ridiculously cheesy and very very clichéd. The CGI and the landscapes were better than I thought possible though. It's easily worth seeing for the visuals alone, even with the off plot you get the feeling you're watching a masterpiece. When I look back I realise that I had stupidly high hopes for it, which I suppose is probably because of the huge hype machine that surrounded it when it was being released. I thought it was a bit silly that James Cameron (and all the other main players in the film) were all acting like the film wasn't a big deal, even going so far as to be trying to calm the hype down. This was silly because they were all clearly loving all the attention it was generating, I'd be surprised if their supposed nonchalance fooled anyone. These people are supposed to be actors as well! (some of them are, anyway). I greatly recommend it though, you'd be missing out on something quite special if you didn't see this while it was still in the cinema. If you can see it in 3D, then even better.

Yesterday was the best day of the holidays yet. Me and my college friends organised a 'Family Christmas Dinner' (brilliant, I know) where the basic idea was to have a traditional family Christmas but without the family part. To be fair though, our group is so tightly-knit now that we are like one big family. I know it sounds a bit silly, but I really do love 'em. It started off just like that traditional English Christmas; drinking in the early afternoon, bad dancing to very old songs, terrible festive costumes (apart from Heather who came as a fantastic Tiny Tim... you all looked stunning though) and more food than 20 people can eat... you get the idea. The dinner itself worked out brilliantly, compliments to the chefs! No one even cared that we were all squashed into Hannah's tiny front room eating off of paper plates... in fact that probably made it all the more better. Of course, the evening did quickly (almost frighteningly so) degenerate into an incredibly messy house party (we can't help it, we're built for this kind of stuff). I mention the mess because it really was one of the messiest houses I had ever seen, there were bits of Christmas crackers everywhere! It was a very long day and a lot of things happened (I was there from 5pm-2am, some people were there even longer) but it sadly all went too fast and before I knew it I was sitting on the floor in Hannah's front room playing strip cheat. Yes I typed that correctly, we played strip cheat. It was going to be strip poker, but no one could remember how to play poker (a fact which I find hilarious). I'll skip all the nasty details and get right to the end, when me and Heather won (because you can't play cheat with two players). I only won because no one ever called me and I have no idea why (maybe I just have a very trustworthy face?) and Heather won because she was sitting next to me and I never called her, instead playing my cards right away before anyone else could. We made a pretty amazing team, to be honest. I never thought I'd feel so awkward while still fully dressed. It was fucking weird. After that the party started to wind down, but I don't think I ever truly stopped singing and/or dancing until I got out of the front door. I could have slept over, but my parents were expecting me back so if I did they'd be all "where the fuck is Harry?!" in the morning, and we couldn't be havin' that now could we? Luckily Heather had to be going back too, she had a 9am coach to catch to Manchester this morning (not so lucky for her, a 6 hour hungover coach journey must be terrible in anyone's books). So we did eventually end up leaving at the early time of 2 in the morning, walking back along the icy roads together right in the middle. There was no traffic and it is bizarrely the only situation I've been in where it's safer to walk right in the middle of the road than on the pavement. We sang a bit of Fairytale of New York (the best Christmas song) with me singing the female part and Heather singing the male part (obviously) which reminded me of how brilliant The Pogues are. I have been listening to them for most of the day and it's taken me back to being a small child again, so thanks Heather. A sweet ending to a fantastic night.

A good time was had by all. In the words of Tiny Tim (Heather to me): God bless us, everyone.

Ill

Sorry there hasn't been anything for a week, I haven't been feeling very well (bloody winter...). I will start working on the end of year review posts soon.

11 days to go...

Paranormal Activity

(Sunday night): I went to London yesterday (Saturday) to see my friend Amy (it was her birthday recently and she's one of my best friends anyway, so we figured why not) and had a brilliant time. I had to take a bit of a risk as I don't think my parents would have liked the idea of me going off to London on my own to meet someone they don't know, so I had to lie to them. I know that might not seem like a big deal to most people, but my parents really trust me and take stuff like that pretty seriously. It was totally worth it though, I got away with it as well! We walked through Sutton (pretty glamorous, amirite?) and (surprisingly) got tired of it pretty quickly. Amy suggested we go to the cinema, in fact it was the only thing she could think of doing (she planned this day well, as you can see) so we went to have a look at what was on. We went past an odd looking vending machine that vended (I kid you not) some kind of popcorn ice cream. The picture on the machine literally looked like multicoloured blobs of what can only be described as some kind of hybrid snack. They really know how to live down in Sutton.

We simultaneously decided on Paranormal Activity once we had seen the film choice (it was a pretty cool moment, we are pretty cool) and so we bought a couple of tickets. (Monday): The actual film wasn't on for about another 45 minutes though (yet again fantastic planning) so we walked around Sutton again (oh, the joy). The highlight was visiting the pet shop and watching Amy go all gaga over a chinchilla. It was pretty damn cute though (and so was her reaction). Someone should get it for her or something, she'd be ridiculously happy. After a while we trudged back to the cinema (Amy complaining the whole way because it was up a slight incline) and took our seats over to the far right.

Now, I wouldn't really call myself a very big fan of the horror genre (although I have seen a few good horror films) but Paranormal Activity was one of the best films I've ever seen, easily capable of converting even the most horror-averted of people. I won't spoil any of it for any of you readers who are considering seeing it, but it's just done so differently to the 'stereotypical' horror films you seem to see everywhere; it really does defy all the clichés. Okay, well maybe it sticks to one. The whole film is based around the classic 'things that go bump in the night' scenario and though that doesn't sound very original, it has been filmed with so much realism that you almost feel like you're experiencing the film yourself. The film gets progressively scarier as you get more and more into it, as a result the ending is the scariest and best ending to a film I have ever seen (everyone in the cinema jumped a few inches off their seats). Unlike other horror films that rely on gore, violence and vividly disgusting scenes designed to shock the viewer, Paranormal Activity relies on very basic human fears and emotions to create something that is very believable (despite the idea of the paranormal being central to the story). There is hardly any gore or violence explicitly in any of the shots, but I don't think I have ever been more scared than when I was watching it. I urge everyone to go see it, it is a thoroughly enjoyable film and a very unique one too.

Amy also took some pictures of me with her very flashy camera because quite frankly, she knows beauty when she sees it. Her camera has a very long extendable penis I mean lens, she is compensating for her tiny one. The pictures produced from this high quality photoshoot were both amusing and good, she just needs to upload them to facebook now and we can all be happy...

I'm back!

10:27 (Friday) Did you miss me?

00:45 (Saturday) Even though my original intent was to post at least once a day (this eventually decreased anyway) I'm glad I took a break from writing. Looking back on my posts from a couple of months ago I can see I was really moody/whiny/annoying and worse of all *shudder* quite a bit emo. I am sorry for that, but there's no point dwelling on the past and I wish to move on to brighter and better things!

A couple of exciting things have happened in the time I was away from here:
1. I saw Muse live on Friday the 13th (a good day to see them, apparently) of November. This is pretty huge for me, they're definitely the band I have waited longest to see and fulling deserving of their 'best live band in the world' title. I am a bit sorry I didn't blog about it right after I saw them, I could've written a corker of a post I reckon. Oh well.
2. I handed in my UCAS form (at long last!) and the offers have been rolling in already! (well, 3 out of 5 so far). To all those who don't get what I'm on about, I am basically on about my university application (or 'college' application to all you Americans). This has obviously got me very excited but also terribly nervous. I had my first interview on Wednesday as well, I was shitting myself quite a bit beforehand but I think it went alright in the end (mostly thanks to some quality advice from my father on the way there - thanks Dad).

I suppose that's about it, November wasn't that eventful really. It never seems to be a very exciting month, I think it might be because it's too damn cold and the fact that Christmas is STILL too far away to look forward to... No more though! Only 20 days to go until Christmas crackers, excessive amounts of 'acceptable' alcohol, the opening (and subsequent disappointment) of really shit presents, embarrassing aunts and far too competitive uncles. Then there's also the really shit TV (including your yearly dosage of Shrek), the one good bit of TV that everyone else ruins (Doctor Who) and the ridiculous Christmas food. I don't think at any other time of year will so much food be consumed, nor will it be combined in such a bizarre way.

Despite what I said in that previous paragraph, I do actually enjoy Christmas and I will be looking forward to it just as much as anyone else. I just can't help thinking what a ridiculous festival (and time of year) it is.

#42

I think I'm going to take a break from this for now. Blogging isn't something I particularly feel like doing very much at the moment (I doubt I'll be missed anyway). There's more to come though, you ain't seen the last of me yet!

Halloween was really really good, I think this year was one of my favourite Halloween's yet. I want to thank everyone who came, as without them it would've been absolutely rubbish. I have some awesome friends! I had a great time, even if I was a bit sick...

Busy Busy Busy

The last couple of days have been very busy and that is set to continue all the way through to Monday, when I will probably still be busy, only a bit less. So sorry for no writing. Can't wait for tomorrow!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLEIGH

Islands

The xx - wow! Sure, they made a couple of mistakes towards the start, but they sound so much better live. Definitely one of my favourite bands of this year. I have tentatively decided on zombie Matt Bellamy to dress up as for halloween. I don't know how I'll manage that though...

I don't have to leave anymore
What I have is right here
Spend my nights and days before
Searching the world for what's right here

Underneath and unexplored
Islands and cities I have looked
Here I saw
Something I couldn't overlook

I am yours now
So now I don't ever have to leave
I've been found out
So now I'll never explore

See what I've done
That bridge is on fire
Going back to where I've been
I'm froze by desire
No need to leave

Where would I be
If this were to go under
That's a risk I'd take
I'm froze by desire
As if a choice I'd make

I am yours now
So now I don't ever have to leave
I've been found out
So now I'll never explore

Halloween

I am damn excited for it now, my parents are letting me have people round. I still don't know what to be though, I even considered Ash Ketchum this morning. I wish pokémon was real, it'd be awesome! Team Rocket would get incredibly annoying though. My room is in need of a thorough cleaning for Saturday, at the moment it is a couple of crumbs short of disgusting. I expect I'll do that eventually, probably at the last minute...

I'm seeing The xx today!

Story 5

It's odd how when I have a lot of things to think about, I write less about them.

On a completely unrelated topic, if you want to experience something similar to a hangover without actually drinking then go to a LAN party! Fucking hell.

Seeing as I don't really know what else to write, have some more recycled creative writing.

Five: Parting


“I’ll come,” I said quietly. She turned around quickly and stuttered “W-what?!” She didn’t seem to believe what she was hearing. “I said I’ll come.” I repeated, slightly louder. With that, a grin slowly spread across her slender face and she said “Well come on then! What you waiting for?” I walked up to her warily. I had never travelled much further than Bournemouth before and I had no idea what was going to happen to the both of us. She took my hand and led me along the sand. When we got to the edge of the cliff blocking the alcove off from the rest of the beach Ella simply turned and flew out over the dark water, hovering an inch or so above it. I had to follow suit or get wet. Naturally I chose the former. We reached the other side of the cliff face and stepped out onto the sand again. It was at this point I remembered Sarah.


I must have forgotten about her, what with Ella and the flying. I turned to look at Ella, wondering what to do, or indeed what to say. My thoughts were still fairly mixed up and I managed to mutter “Err... Wait here. I’ll be right back...” before running off over the sand towards the cliff. When I reached the cliff I looked back to check on her. She was watching me with her big blue eyes, but she didn’t seem to mind my sudden departure. She was standing perfectly still in the spot where I had left her. Oddly enough, it even seemed to me like she was waiting for my return. I turned back to the rocky cliff face before I got too mesmerised by those eyes and was about to start climbing when I remembered. I could fly. I began to feel the air flowing past my hands almost as soon as I had the thought. I was getting really good at this. I started to hover at a comfortable pace straight up next to the rock. It felt different this time though. Somehow flying wasn’t as exciting without Ella by my side.


I got to the top of the cliff and looked back again, expecting Ella to have at least moved. But she looked the same as before, seemingly fixed in position. I shook my head and turned back to the cliff top path in front of me. Beyond where it ended, lights from houses twinkled gently in the distance. They seemed to be a long way away. With this in mind, I started off down the bumpy path at a quick pace. After about 10 minutes I reached the end of the path and turned onto the main road, leading into the outskirts of the city. I passed by ornaments of my home on the pavement; an old lamppost here, a cracked sign there. I wouldn’t normally have paid attention to seemingly normal things like them, but I didn’t know how long I would be gone, or when I would see any of Bournemouth again. I hesitated. The adrenaline rush from before had dissipated a while ago, so I could think a lot more clearly. Could I really trust Ella? Besides that, what about Sarah? Would she be alright without me? Come to think of it, would I be alright without her? I was filled with uncertainty. I couldn’t just abandon my home of fifteen years. Or could I? I hadn’t led a very interesting life at all so far, and I’d pretty much achieved bugger all in Bournemouth. There was a part of me, a small part of me, which yearned for adventure.


My mind was so occupied with all these questions that I didn’t notice when I walked up in front of my own house. Sarah and I lived in a little cottage in a quiet part of the town, liking to keep to ourselves. It was a nice little cottage, with a picket fence and a messy, unkempt lawn. Sarah liked it that way. So did I. I walked up to the front door, painted a plain white. I raised my hand to knock, but then considered otherwise. It was very dark by now, and I checked my watch. It read twenty to ten. Sarah was probably asleep by now, she liked her early nights. She was used to me being back late and she didn’t seem too bothered by this fact. She just trusted me, I suppose. I was very grateful for this, and felt guilty about leaving her. I rummaged around in my long coat pockets for my keys. They always proved a challenge to find at the best of times, and this was why I usually knocked. I eventually managed to find them, and entered the house as quietly as I could. The lights were all off; as I suspected, Sarah must be asleep. Sure enough, I could hear faint snoring from upstairs. I walked down the hallway to the small kitchen. Unlike the garden the kitchen was pretty tidy, aside from a few bits and pieces scattered around the room. I turned the light on and found a scrap of paper and a pen on the side. I scribbled a short note, hoping Sarah would understand:
“I’ve gone away for a while.
I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I definitely will be, one day.
Don’t worry about me, I’ll be alright.
See you soon, much love,
Alex”
I folded it and put it where she would see it, and crept out of the house, as quietly as I’d entered.


I flew as fast as I could back to the cliff. The night wind chilled me to the bone and swept the tears from my face. I felt absolutely terrible about what I’d just done. But I couldn’t turn back. Not now. However, I silently promised myself I would return one day. I had to. I floated gently down to the beach and looked up to see Ella, still waiting for me in exactly the same place. She glanced up at me as I approached her, and smiled. “Sorry about that...” I said, my voice cracking with emotion and my eyes tearful. Ella didn’t say a word. She just took my hand gently and led me away from the waves towards the grass at the bottom of the cliff. There she lay me down on the ground, with her lying next to me. She looked at me in silence, our faces mere inches away from each other. Slowly she wrapped her arms around me, and embraced me. I felt her warmth, and held her. All the grief and remorse within me slowly sapped away and I was finally at peace. We fell asleep like that, in each other’s arms, under a blanket of shining stars. She didn’t even say a single word.

Fuck You

What kind of sick and twisted person would fake his own death to his best friends and then reappear a week later to say "sorry guys, I was just kidding". Seriously?! Apparently Steve's reasoning for faking his own death to all of us was to "collect information". Why the fuck? What an attention whore. Whatever "information" he collects, I hope he realises how damaging his "death" was to us. Some of the people closer to him were in a constant state of depression so bad that I didn't even recognise it (despite being quite sensitive myself) and who knows if they caused further damage to themselves? I suppose the only thing that I have gained from it is that I know the kind of thing to expect in future when someone actually dies. I could go on more, but this is one of the most horrible things I have had to write about and so I don't particularly want to.

I am listening to Florence + the Machine. I never knew she was so good.

Steven Nethery, R.I.P.

Sorry there hasn't been anything new for a few days (nothing has happened to me, I'm still here) but I haven't really had much to write about, let alone wanted to write anything. I hate to use it as an excuse for me not writing, but I think the events of last weekend are still affecting me a great deal. It suddenly hit me earlier on in the week that Steven is gone forever and there is no way of bringing him back. When the wave of reality passed over me I was almost reduced to tears, but luckily I managed to stop myself breaking down right in the middle of college. Since then I have recovered a bit and I no longer feel hopelessly depressed, I suppose I didn't know him that well (although I wish I did) so I'm getting over it faster than others. However I still think about him a lot and it still affects me greatly, I feel apathetic about everything often and I am constantly tired. The only way I seem to be able to be happy right now is if I briefly forget about it, but that's quite hard to do. I have been listening to the (relatively new) Radiohead song Harry Patch (In Memory of) a lot recently. They wrote it for the last surviving WW1 veteran, Harry Patch, who passed away recently. It is a beautiful tribute and although it was originally meant to be for someone else I would like to personally dedicate it to our friend, Steven Nethery.

Radiohead - Harry Patch (In Memory of)


I decided to look through my father's Jools Holland DVD yesterday and found to my delight that I actually knew and liked a lot of the bands on there (the last time I watched it I knew hardly any of them). One of the bands was The Libertines performing Up the Bracket and this inspired me to listen to The Libertines again, as I hadn't for quite a long time (even though I quite like them). I got through all the songs that I have by them and found that I liked them even more than before I watched them on the DVD. This got me thinking about the past as The Libertines broke up over 5 years ago but I would have really loved to see them live (this also seems to happen to me with a lot of other bands that I like). If I had been born about 10 years earlier than when I was then I would have grown up surrounded by my favourite bands! I really wish I could time travel but only to go back in time, I don't want to spoil the future for myself (the past would be so much better anyway). Seeing as I am so lovely I have found The Libertines' performance on the intarwebs for you to view at your convenience:


I have also been listening to Coldplay again this week for the first time in ages (I don't know why but I suddenly decided I should) and I found that they aren't as bad as I thought they were. I used to really like them but I got very bored of them after a while (also Chris Martin gets on my nerves quite a lot). After listening to them again this week I have decided that they aren't anywhere near as good as people say they are (seems obvious to me) but despite this some of their songs are brilliant. So I like Coldplay again, which I didn't really see coming. Wolfmother have a new album! I have been listening to that these last couple of days as well, it is deliciously heavy. It's been a long wait (their last album came out in 2005 for raptorjesus' sake) but I am so glad they are back.

Death

"There's no colour and no sound
In black and white town
I've been ten feet underground
In black and white town" - Doves

Yesterday was the best day I have had for a while, I saw so many epic people (some of which I hardly ever see, hell I even met a few new people). I was hardly home at all yesterday, just out having lots of fun, something I need to do more often.

Something terrible happened today, it was such a big thing that nothing that happened yesterday really matters. Everything has been put into perspective for me but despite this I do not know how to feel. Steve (from #cranbaux) was shot by burglars in his home. His body was found today. Nothing like this has happened to me before, I don't know what I'm supposed to do or say. How does one react to death anyway? I wasn't even that close to the poor guy but I still feel deeply saddened by the news. I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel for those that were close to him, some of whom are my fellow IRC friends.

I'll admit I have a lot of problems with myself and my relationships with those around me. But those just seem completely irrelevant now, how could those matter in the slightest when my friends could suddenly not be around anymore? People forget how fragile life is and I know I'll never take it for granted ever again. My friends too, I'm determined to let them know how brilliant they are and how much they mean to me and never lose sight of that myself. I know what has happened, but my mind refuses to believe it. It's something which has never come this close to me before, death. It's only now that its ugly head is reared right up in front of me that I realise how terrifying and horrible death is.

It's going to be hard for all of us to get through this, you will be missed by all. Rest in peace Steve, we will never forget you.

Poetry

I tried my hand at some poetry today. What do you think?

How could I tell you how much I love you
When I love you more than words could say? 

And how could I tell you how much I need you?
When I would be so lost without you that I wouldn’t know where to turn 

Before you came and cared for me I was a shadow of a man
But with your love I am stronger where I stand 

I am proud to be yours, my lover, my best friend
You are the one I share everything with

My love for you will never end.

Story 4

As I said earlier, here is part 4 of the story. In case you've all forgotten what the fucks been going on (I know it's been a while) here are links to the first three parts: Part 1, 2 and 3.

Four: Sunset

Ella and I flew and flew, the landscape flowing below us, with the waves cresting and falling under a pale blue sky. We held hands and spun each other round until we both got dizzy, stupid grins across our silly faces. Everything felt right. I got better and better, and I was soon able to keep up with Ella’s speed all on my own. She smiled at me from across the sky and mimicked applause. She flew across and clung onto my back; I looked back at her in surprise. She gave me a knowing smile and I felt her soft breath in my ear, “Take me faster, Alex. I want to see what you can do...” I looked back at her again in slight disbelief, but she simply gave me that same look, watching me intently. I turned my head round again and started to increase my speed. I felt the air currents rushing along the lengths of our bodies as we got faster and faster. My heart was racing, but when I looked back to check on Ella she seemed not to notice our by now ridiculous speed. She whispered again, “Good boy, now take me down.” I complied and took a large arc around to the beach, descending slowly.

We landed gently on the soft sand and Ella jumped off my back. I turned to face her. She gave me an encouraging smile and said “Well, that was certainly... impressive. I am proud of you Alex.” I replied, “Err, thanks. Y’know, for the whole teaching me to fly thing as well...” I was blushing as I mumbled this, but Ella’s smile only widened. “Don’t mention it, it was fun!” she exclaimed, grinning. Ella turned then and started skipping away across the sand, humming to herself. I simply stood there in wonderment at this frankly incredible girl who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She turned back to me again when she realised I was still standing there. She looked a little puzzled and said “Aren’t you coming?” I looked back, slightly confused by this. She seemed to know what I was thinking. Then Ella said something which would change my life forever. “I’m going home. Want to come with me?”

I had no idea what ‘home’ meant for Ella. She looked anomalous wherever she went; or to put it more simply, she stuck out like a sore thumb. I guess this was another reason why I liked her. She was different, unique. I had never come across anything like her before, not even in dreams. I looked back at her in surprise, not quite knowing what to say. She looked at me expectantly, as if she was waiting for a certain response. I asked, hesitantly, “What... What happens if I don’t come with you?” She looked solemn then and replied “In that case... I suppose this is farewell...” She turned again and started walking away, not the happy skipping of before but a slow and gloomy walk. At that point in time, thoughts were flowing through my head as if they were liquid. I had so many questions to ask Ella, so many things left to do with her. There was no doubt for me that Ella was brilliant and the journey home with her seemed so tempting. Was it worth leaving my home for her? I had no idea to be honest, but everything about Ella compelled me to go on... I couldn’t think clearly at all. My pulse was racing from the flight and my thoughts were coming at me so fast I hardly had any time to put them into any sort of logical order. How could I say no to her, really? So that was how, on a winter’s day under a pink sunset on a Bournemouth beach, my life changed forever. I never looked back.

EXCITING

I am getting gradually more and more excited about drawing perilously closer to the end of this year (I dunno about you guys, but mine's gone REALLY fast). You may be wondering why this would excite me so much but I actually get excited at about this time every year. For some reason I always get it into my head that the next year will be even better than the one just finishing (although this hardly ever happens). I get excited about all the new music that will be released and all the gigs I will go to, as well as all the new relationships I'll form with the people I'll meet. It is also a time for me to reflect on everything that has happened to me in the year that's just gone past. Despite usually being let down when the next year actually comes around, looking back this time 2009 has exceeded the norm. It's had it's major ups and downs but overall 2009 has been a good year for me (much better than usual). The end of this summer and the start of autumn have been particularly good, with the rest of autumn looking even better. I'm thinking of doing several blogs at the end of the year to go into my 2009 (as well as the exciting things in 2010) in more detail, which I'm quite excited about.

Another reason to be excited at this time of year is of course CHRISTMASSSSS. Only 71 days to go!

Yesterday Live Forever came on on the radio and as it is one of the only Oasis songs I really like I decided to give Definitely Maybe a try as it is meant to be ridiculously good (I already had it on my computer but I never really bothered with it). I discovered it is very good! I am amazed that I found an entire Oasis album that I really like, I mean I've always listened to What's the Story but I don't think it's exactly amazing or anything (shit is so overrated/overdone). I even learnt Rock 'n' Roll Star! (which by the way is also awesome) I had no idea Oasis were ever so good, it's a shame they lost their imagination and creative talent after that really. In my opinion they should have burnt out in spectacular fashion soon after the first album rather than ending the way that they did. Oh well, I can't rewrite history. I am still addicted to Björk, I have finally put all of her studio albums on the computer now and they are all amazing and totally distinctive from each other in their own unique way. I think I may be slightly in love with her (I'm allowed to have unconditional love for people like that, right?).

Not to be egotistical or anything, but I took some pictures of myself yesterday for the first time in a while. What's even rarer is that I actually quite like them. I managed to produce 7 that I liked, of which 2 are shown below:

As you can see I am wearing my amazing new chullo, which is featured in all 7 photos. It is the warmest and softest thing I have ever known, seriously. Yes that is a 21st Century Breakdown (coincidentally one of my favourite albums of this year) poster in the second one, I am so damn cool (obviously).

The more observant among you may have noticed a change in my blog's appearance. This is because I got bored of the old one and I just generally felt like fucking around with the settings anyway. I like it a lot better, I hope you do too! I will put up some more creative writing later this evening. It will be part 4 of that story that some of you may have already started to read. I am doing this as I realise it has been a couple of weeks since I posted the last part of it, so I want to put up the next part before you all forget what happened...

Always the summers are slipping away

As you may have figured out from the title of yesterday's post, I have been getting into Deadmau5 recently. He is an electronic music producer from Canada and the music he makes is very cool, lots of nice lush soundscapes. Listen to him if you haven't already, he's really good. I am currently listening to Porcupine Tree, they are a band that I listened to for a bit a long time ago but I never really got into them. However one of my friends at college went to see them the other day and it's kind of persuaded me to listen to them again, so here I am. They're a lot better than I remember actually, kind of really melodic but fairly heavy spaced out rock (if that makes any sense). Anyway listen to them as well, some of the songs I have are pretty darn good.

A mother sings a lullaby to a child
Sometime in the future the boy goes wild
And all his nerves are feeling some kind of energy

A walk in the woods and I will try
Something under the trees that made you cry
It's so erotic when your make up runs

Ghosts 'n' Stuff

Today is the second (and far more important) anniversary. I feel very happy right now, that's all due to one person and she knows who she is.

I have been using IRC more and more over the last few weeks and it has gradually become an integral part of my everyday life. I am beginning to get to know the people who inhabit the place I call home within the internet well and there is a right mix of personalities there. It's odd that something like that can affect me so much (as well as several others) in quite a few ways.

IN OTHER NEWS LOOK WHAT ELISA FOUND TODAY ON THE INTARWEBS. That .gif pretty much sums me up. A small orange-pink crab that plays acoustic guitar. She also drew me this:

I doubt anyone will really understand the full meaning of this other than us two, but it is a lovely picture. I love you ridiculous amounts.

I GOT A MOTHERFUCKING CHULLO

YEAH THAT'S RIGHT, I FINALLY GOT ONE. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS:

ONLY IT IS BLACK AND HAS FUR ON IT. THAT WILL BE ALL FOR NOW.

One month

That's right folks, it's been a whole month since I started this thing! It's been a fairly eventful month for me and I'd like to think that all those following this have enjoyed reading about me for an entire month (although I know I'm not exactly the most entertaining guy ever). I hope (against all of the odds) I have made a good impression of myself. I didn't think I'd keep it going this long, so well done me I guess (but I suppose my posts have been getting shorter recently...). Above all, thanks to everyone reading! You guys are the best.

I tried my luck at applying for jobs this evening, what a waste of time that was. The online application process (this probably applies to the traditional one as well) is so long and complicated and even the simplest of jobs require you not to make a mistake anywhere along the line. I realised that getting myself a job will be a lot harder than I originally thought and this depresses me a fair amount. I'm going to go out tomorrow and try handing out CVs around town, see if I have any luck. I am feeling very pessimistic about it though.

I am still feeling totally rubbish so I can't be bothered to write more, although I will say that another, even more important, anniversary is coming up soon.

Sick

I have suddenly become quite unwell with something flu-like today, so there will be no writing. Goodnight.

Do you feel like a chain store?
Practically floored
One of many zeros
Kicked around bored
Your ears are full but you're empty
Holding out your heart
To people who never really
Care how you are

So give me Coffee and TV
History
I've seen so much
I'm going blind
And I'm braindead virtually
Sociability
Is hard enough for me
Take me away from this big bad world
And agree to marry me
So we can start over again

Do you go to the country?
It isn't very far
There's people there who'll hurt you
Because of who you are

Your ears are full of their language
There's wisdom there you're sure
'Til the words start slurring
And you can't find the door

So give me Coffee and TV
History
I've seen so much
I'm going blind
And I'm braindead virtually
Sociability
Is hard enough for me
Take me away from this big bad world
And agree to marry me
So we can start over again

So give me Coffee and TV
History
I've seen so much
I'm going blind
And I'm braindead virtually
Sociability
Is hard enough for me
Take me away from this big bad world
And agree to marry me
So we can start over again

Oh... we could start over again
Oh... we could start over again
Oh... we could start over again
Oh... we could start over again

boringpost

I haven't got much to say today other than I HAD MY LAST EVER ORTHODONTIST APPOINTMENT TODAY FUCK YES NO MORE TOOTH PAIN EVER AGAIN WOO (!!!!!1exclamation mark).

Another thing. I have a scarf on top of my laptop screen, the ends are draped down the sides (kind of like it's framing the screen). Thanks for that Elisa, I honestly do not know what I would do without you.

Only a few weeks until I see the xx again!

#25

 Quote of the Day - "In a heart full of dust lives a creature called lust; it surprises and scares, like me, like me" - Björk

Sorry I haven't been blogging as regularly as usual, I've had quite a busy weekend. I think I need to start doing more of my homework during the week, I have literally spent hours just working today. It gets a bit depressing after a while and I don't think my brain can work properly for that long, it just plain sucks really. My vision went blurry after taekwondo today, it was like what the fuck. My head was also very painful and I am still suffering from a splitting headache right now. I have no idea why...

My mother cleaned my room a bit yesterday. It looked so weird, I'm so used to it being dirty all the time. On my pillow she had put my childhood teddy bear. I don't know where she found it, I haven't seen the thing in years. It's really small and kinda scrappy, but I loved that damn thing. In fact, I'm only a little bit ashamed to say that I still do.

I am still in love! I do not know how this has happened or how it has managed to last this long already, it's ridiculous. Yet we somehow become closer all the time. I even did some of her homework for her today. The things I'll do for love...

I really really want to do some more creative writing of some kind but I keep not finding enough time. I don't know whether I will continue the long (ish) story I was doing, it's kind of old. I can't remember if I mentioned this already but there are seven parts already in existence, which will probably all appear on here eventually. I want to write a poem or just a short story or a skit or ANYTHING. Even a new song could happen. Raptorjesus knows I haven't tried anything like that for ages. My songs always end up sounding like pieces of shit, so I gave up a while ago.

I should probably sleep, I'm going to hate myself in the morning. I have been listening to Eminem recently (my favourite is Stan), I was surprised rap music could be so clever.

OW MY FUCKING KNEE

OH MY GOD I DIDN'T DO A POST YESTERDAY THE WORLD MUST SURELY END. I decided that I wouldn't make myself do a post every day from now on if I don't want to, its a pain in the arse when I really don't want to write.

AAAA FUCK MY FUCKING KNEE IT'S LIKE ON FIRE OR SOMETHING FUUUUUUUUUUU-

Tom gave me a biscuit today and told me to write it here, so THERE YOU GO TOM. Happy now?

I LOVE YOU ELISA.

That will be all.

edit: WAAAA WE ARE IN OCTOBER ALREADY WTF

Fear

What? So many fears and anxieties all spiralling round and round, I can't fucking think straight. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

I wish things were different.

A lonely boy walks through a dark wood, the hostile trees closing in on him as pressure builds in his heart and he stumbles. He shivers and shuffles onwards, the arctic wind biting at his pale skin. Something moves in the far distance and he loses all sense of feeling in his legs, falling to the icy ground. He doesn't even cry out, his voice lost with his consciousness. After several moments, the boy gets up again and continues on his course without hesitation. "I must carry on" he grimly tells himself. 

The boy is not very tall, or wide. In fact, if you did not look closely you might say that he was a frail and sallow child. But if you were to look closely you would see that there was a wisdom and sadness beyond those pale blue eyes that suggested far more than his figure. He doesn't stop, there is an urgency to his walking despite the bitter cold slowing him down. His thoughts race, spiralling round and round in an endless staircase, each step a bullet through his heart. The darkness closes in on him, suffocating him of energy. He nearly falls again, his vision blurry. He regains balance, his own determination keeping him going. 

At last, he finds it! It is a place which he has never seen before, but he knows it. He knows it because it is a place which he has been looking for his whole life, although he didn't realise it. It looks just like the rest of the forest...

There is a girl, standing amongst the trees. Her shimmering hair flows down in beautiful contrast to the stark trees, a faint glow emanating from her perfect skin. She is looking the other way and so doesn't notice the boy nervously approach her. He stops.

"I love you"

The girl inclines her head slightly, as if noticing a change in the wind. She turns fully and looks straight through the boy, her clear green eyes unseeing.

"What?"

She shakes her head and turns back to the trees.

The boy collapses.

Just trying out a bit of creative writing, based on a trail of random thoughts and ideas. This is the first I've done for several months, so it's probably shit. You can decide.

Blank

Really can't be bothered with any kind of blog today. Sorry.

graaaaaarrrrrrgh

Wow, what a shitty day. My family abandons me this morning, which should be a good thing right? Wrong. I have a mountain of homework to do (obviously) and my teachers are so nice they have set all of it for Monday. What the FUCK. I went into town today with Matt to buy Tom a present for his birthday (if you're reading Matt, this was actually the only good part of my day) and when I came back I got straight to work. Got some done (there's still a ton left) but I had to stop because I wanted to go to taekwondo today. It's pretty far away on Sundays, normally this isn't a big deal, my parents just drive me there. Today however they weren't here so I had to take the bus. I knew it was going to take a long time to get there by bus, so I made a note of the bus timetable earlier in the day. I got to the bus stop a few minutes earlier than when my bus was supposed to arrive, only to find that it had already left. Why do they even both making a timetable for these things if they aren't even going to follow it?! Anyway, the next bus that would be on the route I wanted wasn't due for ages (although what significance does that even hold?) but there was a different one due in a few minutes. I looked at the bus routes to find that this one was a very similar route, so I thought I may as well get on that one and see what happens. I eventually realised that after a point it was just getting further and further away from where I wanted to go, so I got off at a random stop in the middle of Idon'tfuckingknowwhere. I managed to find the place just in time by walking around, but I was very lucky I think.

Obviously when the class finished I needed to take the bus back, but I then found out that the next bus wasn't for half an hour... I started walking, not knowing what else to do. I rang my parents to see where they were, but they wouldn't be back for a while yet, so I was on my own. I didn't really know where I was going, but I just kept walking in what I thought was the right direction. I didn't know what else to do. It didn't help that all of the roads around there looked exactly the same, plus the fact it was dark by then. My parents eventually called about 40 minutes later to say they were back and that they could pick me up. By then I was on the verge of giving up. I was already exhausted from taekwondo, I'd been walking for 40 minutes on top of that. Then there's also the fact that I hadn't eaten anything for several hours. I also hadn't a fucking clue where the fuck I was. When I saw my parents again eventually they had the nerve to say I was lucky (lucky?!) because they had stopped me from having to walk the whole way on my own. To be honest, I doubt I would have found home anyway. I might have done, but only after a very long time. I also knew that as soon as I got back I would have to do all of the rest of my work. I suppose I should do that now then...

And if you complain, once more...

...you'll meet an army of me. Don't really want to write today, too ill/tired/ill/tired/ill. Björk is AMAZING and Elisa is even more so and oh wow I love her a lot. I have nothing else to say really.

>insert blog post here<

Quote of the Day - "There's definitely no logic, in human behaviour" - Björk 

15:51 I feel really shit today for a number of reasons. Not sure if there will be more blog later, right now I don't really care.

23:09 Matthew came round today, so all was not lost! We did some painting, it was pretty fun. It sounds pretty lame, but it feels quite special for me personally that I am a major part of his first steps into the world of Warhammer. Today was the first time he had ever had a go at painting any Warhammer and he didn't too badly at all! It reminded me of the first time I attempted to paint Warhammer and what an abysmal failure I was. I was pretty damn proud of myself at the time but looking back, I was a rubbish painter (still, this was several years ago now). I actually think I'm rather good now, I have moved on a lot from those early days and can actually make my models look good, given enough time. It was cool to be able to put myself into Matt's shoes and help him through his first painting attempt. I also got into Björk today, put her first album on the computer. It's so good! Listening to it cheered me up a bit, so it must be very good indeed. I still feel a bit rubbish though, so I will go now. I miss her so much.

Story 3

What a wonderful feeling it is to be in love. Can't be bothered with proper post today, sorry (taekwondo tonight is making me feel a particularly special kind of dead). You'll have to put up with the next part of the story, I'm afraid beggers can't be choosers in this business. I will say one thing though and it is this: it is getting fucking odder and odder with the people coming up to me and telling me about my blog. More people do it now, they just come up to me in college telling me about my blog, what they think of it etc. One guy even apologised to me for having not read the latest entry yet! Don't stop guys, (I like having fans, despite how few they are in number) it's just fucking WEIRD. Here is the story:

Three: Flying

I wondered how Ella would be able to fly. I believed her though, if she said she could do something, I believed she could do it. Anything seemed possible for her. She gave me another brief smile and closed her eyes, taking in a slow breath as she did so. As she slowly let it out again through her lips, I felt the air moving gently upwards against my hands. We lifted up from the ground, slowly at first but gradually increasing in pace. By the time we were level with the top of the cliff, the air was rushing past our bodies. We were still holding hands, and to my surprise she twirled me around mid-flight. I realised I was laughing and when Ella saw this she started laughing too. I hadn’t felt this happy for ages; usually I wasn’t even happy at all. She took me higher still and the little alcove with the waves splashing against it just kept getting smaller and smaller. That’s one thing I remember very clearly about flying; how small everything looks. The air rushing against us was fantastically refreshing and I suddenly felt very light. It was intoxicating, this flying business. I would have to do it more often.

Ella took me soaring in a big circle over the tops of the cliffs and gently brought me back down to earth again. She looked at me expectantly, but I could only manage one word. “...Wow.” She smiled at my reaction and asked if I would like to learn how to fly. I immediately said yes, of course I would. What I had just done was extremely unnerving, but I wanted more than anything to do it again and again. Ella inclined her head briefly and walked up to stand next to me. She closed her eyes and placed her hands by her sides, so that the palms were facing downwards towards the sand. I felt a breeze move upwards alongside her, and the sand started to kick up around her bare feet. She rose up a few inches and stayed there, hovering. I stared, open-mouthed. She laughed; it sounded like a dawn chorus of birds in the spring.

Ella had always said there wasn’t anything particularly hard about flying. For me, who had just seen something that seemed impossible beforehand, this was very hard to believe. She told me that all I had to do was feel the air around me; it was as simple as that. I copied what she had just done, with my eyes closed and my hands facing the ground. I waited for a short while, but nothing happened. I opened my eyes to see Ella looking at me with curiosity. I told her I couldn’t do it, but she just frowned. She said that to feel the air I first had to know the air. She had a look of contemplation on her face and it seemed she was having difficulty explaining to me what I had to do. I guess she didn’t teach people how to fly every day. All of a sudden I wanted to fly not just for me, but for her too. I took her hand and gave her a shy smile to encourage her. She looked at me and her blue eyes were filled with brightness, as if they were charged with electricity.

She squeezed my hand in hers and repeated what we had done before, when I flew for the first time. This time she did everything slower; I guess she wanted to emphasise what she was doing. I felt the by now familiar breeze rise up around my feet, then around my hands and finally brushing against my face. The air seemed to mirror Ella in that it was also moving slower than last time. I noticed something else that felt very different from before, but I couldn’t quite pinpoint it. It was as if I could feel the curves of the air flowing around my body. Ella moved my hand slightly to the right so that it was closer to her body, and something very strange happened. I suddenly realised exactly what Ella had meant. She must have moved my hand directly into the source of the air currents, because the shapes of the curves felt a lot more distinct. I could feel what felt like the individual air molecules moving past and over my hand in little streams and eddies. I never really questioned this; it just sort of seemed to make sense to me. The air could be manipulated on a large scale, why shouldn’t it be manipulated on a tiny scale too? I looked at Ella at this point, and she seemed to know what I was thinking. “Yes Alex, those are molecules of air that you can feel,” she said with a wry smile. “Now you know the air.”

Ella began to speed up the flow of air and soon we were floating upwards, supported on cushions of molecules she so easily moved to her will. We were a couple of feet from the ground when she asked me to see if I could now ‘feel the air’. I closed my eyes, took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, allowing all my muscles to relax. I felt the breeze on my hands and sure enough, I could now recognise a faint flow of molecules, appearing to me as a regular pulse. I struggled to manipulate them however, but after several tries I managed to push some of them away and pull some of them back. To manage this I moved my hand towards them and away again, but I had to do this within the stream of molecules. That was the knack to the manipulating bit. Once you have the right rhythm and speed, you can do anything. Ella seemed to notice that I was having some success and she looked on me with a bemused expression. All of a sudden she let me go. I was taken completely by surprise, but just before I hit the ground, I stopped moving. I was hovering, literally only about an inch above the sand. I looked up at Ella, but she simply shook her head and grinned at me. Somehow I had managed to instinctively manipulate the air below me just in time. I flew back up to Ella with ease, to my complete surprise. She looked very pleased with herself and said “Now you can fly, Alex.”

I want to live like common people

Quote of the Day - "The boys all loved you but I was a mess, I had to watch them trying to get you undressed" - Pulp

I decided today that I really, really, really don't like my new chemistry teacher. The guy's a complete dick, he's convinced that boys basically can't do anything compared to girls (or, as he called us, 'males' and 'females'). When he was explaining this clearly genius theory to us he actually used members of the class as examples. He seemed to think that constantly putting down the 'males' and complimenting the 'females' would make the 'males' do better. Not that we fucking need to. I don't see how we are in any way worse. I mean, do I need to remind the fucker that I got straight As last year? What does it fucking take for teachers to be pleased (even just plain satisfied will do) about me around here?! There are other retarded things he does too. For example, when he was going through last lessons homework today (I hadn't done it, thank raptorjesus) he was basically just tossing all the guys' ones aside and just completely tearing them apart (not physically but verbally). He didn't actually use these words but what he said was along these lines:
"Oh look this one was done by a boy, it's shit"
"Oh look this one was done by a girl, it must be A grade work"
...and so on. He even went into detail on some of the more unfortunate people's work. I'm not saying that those people's work wasn't very good, I suspect it was largely pretty good. He just made it sound bad by pointing out EVERY tiny mistake. He thinks he's hilarious as well, making ridiculously awkward jokes every 5 minutes. He gets on my nerves so much, I have a feeling I won't be enjoying chemistry this year. Shame really, it was my favourite subject last year.

Debated with myself for a bit after college about what I should do with my afternoon. Homework, or play Halo? Halo won out in the end (obviously) but I got what was coming to me a while later when my computer overheated and died while I was playing. Luckily Halo autosaves, so all was not lost! Anyway I took this as a sign to do something more productive (I wouldn't have been able to play it for a while anyway what with dead computer) but I still managed to avoid homework by getting into more painting instead. I know it's really nerdy, but I'm seriously getting into it again. Painting my little skinks is so fun! Matt will be coming round on Friday so I can give him a crash course in Warhammer painting (he's never done it before) which I am very much looking forward to.

I discovered Pulp today. I finally put Different Class on the computer after meaning to for a few weeks (it's still playing now) and it's fucking brilliant. It's one of those albums that perfectly encapsulates the adolescent frame of mind, so ideal for me. I have come to the conclusion that Jarvis Cocker is a genius, albeit a damn dirty one. So many of the lyrics within Different Class are just downright dirty or have some kind of double meaning! Cocker you dirty bastard you. Had an interlude inbetween the much Pulp listening going on today for a jam on the guitar. I played through Uprising several times, I'm getting better at it (I think)! After that I had a play through several other Muse riffs before breaking into the main riff from the Radiohead song Bodysnatchers. I hadn't played it for ages, so it took a while for me to remember how to play it but once I did it was easy. It's so fun to play I played through it about a hundred times before stopping. I played it so much that I had actually started improvising riffs based on it towards the end. It didn't sound that impressive, but oh my was it FUN.

I did eventually get round to some homework, I did all of my chemistry (fuck you Gordon! That's my teacher's name) and a bit of maths. However it took me so fucking long to get around to it, I had so much time today after college and only got around to it late in the evening. To be fair, I think I put the pro in procrastination. I also spoke to thizzley for a good couple of hours, we had a nice deep chat about the way things are currently. They are currently very good indeed. I am so grateful for her, I can't quite believe how lucky I am. One last thing. Ffion (my epic Welsh friend) has come back into my life. WOOHOO!