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October 28, 2006
Hey Leslie!
Now you can change your clock back with us!
Posted by kat at 2:01 PM | Comments (1)
October 27, 2006
it's the end of the world as we know it....and i feel fine
I woke up this morning feeling pretty pants, sore throat, aching body, you know...the man flu kind of symptoms, then I looked out my window and I felt better ~
Posted by kat at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2006
.....i chose life
There are choices in life, sometimes there are difficult ones that involve a sacrifice of some sort. I was posed with one of these difficult decisions today. Something flew into my eye at the precise moment Tom Jones' "It's not unsual" started offending my ears on my iPod....I still to this day have no idea why it's on there, but can't be arsed to delete it off. What does one do in such a situation. I chose to bear the fly in the eye.
On another insectivorous ( I know, wrong adjective, but it sounds nice) matter, we did our jumping things. Looks like the young grasshoppers won this round. The jump far greater distances, as well as had the enjoyment of watching us scramble around trying to collect them. I hurt my bum too. I have no balance what so ever, and my giant leap for human kind landed me on my backside, which I surprised is more boney than I thought. I have a lovely purple kiss on it now, and it hurts to sit.
Also, I'm writing exams 04 Dec, 14 Dec and 15 Dec 2006. I need Good Lucks...k thx bye
Posted by kat at 4:25 PM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2006
i'm now an adult
So tomorrow we have to publically weigh ourselves for some experiment, everyone puts down their weight and we take an average blah blah blah....Now, this would ordinarily creep the hell out of me, but I kind of have gotten over that. I rarely weigh myself, and go by "Do my clothes still fit me?" If they do, great, keep up the good work. Admittedly I was a bit perturbed by this as all the people on my course seem to be these 5ft pixies who look about 12 and probably fit into their clothes too, but then it dawned upon me that these insecure 18 year olds are going to be freaking out more so than a getting-there-confident-23-year-old. I'm comfortable with my body, I go to the gym to keep healthy both physically and mentally, not to lose weight, or change my body shape. People see what I look like everyday, so why should a number faze people so much? If you are overweight, you're going to look overweight anyway, so it'll be no surprise when you hop on the scales and your number's a high one....everybody would have guessed that anyway. The same goes for those more petit people.
Why are people so afraid of others finding out their weight, people have probably tried to guess it anyway? There's also the whole muscle/fat weight thing in that muscle weighs more, so two people of the same size may not weigh the same according to muscle density. What is so fascinating about the magic number. The same goes for clothes sizes. I've seen girls squeezed into a UK size 8 (US size 4), just to say that they wear a size 8. Never mind that the fat is bulging over their trousers, they are wearing a size 8!
I don't look at sizes much hese days as they vary so much in the clothing industry. Some days I'm a size 8, others a 12. It depends on the make and design of the item. A size 10 is right for my height and shape, so I'm happy with the variation to either side there. I'm comfortable prancing around in my smalls, and that's good enough for me. In all honesty, I'm more worried about how I come across as a person than how I look. I worry whether I seem clever enough, or likeable enough, or interesting enough, not whether I have a dimple in my thigh, or enough cleavage (yes, someday Leigh, we will have those!)
I'm going to eat some ice cream now and not give a toss about those scales tomorrow....I did 14km today, my body deserves it ;)
Posted by kat at 9:12 PM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2006
I'm so not "Proudly South African"
Yes, cola does count as one of your daily vegetables. It clearly says on the bottle "contains vegetable extract".
..and also, upon remembering some lines from our very special Zulu dub of Spiderman, I went on a mission to find the whole song...here it is in all it's glory =)
Everybody now ~
Rabobi Rabobi yanga sizwe Rabobi
Mzeweki bo yangangana
Amanzi seko sebo tshabana
Ingozi yanga iRabobi
iYa ditswa kae ke ya gona hoa i barena ba Pita Paka yangana i High School Science Student
hao Chemistry on the higher grade
Di footswa yanga bana metsi i radioactive spida bite Baba change ya Pita Paka ke a Rabobi
Change a motwa yana iChief Whip of New York City haho duma balunga ba defenda of Truth & Justice
Hoa ya cheesa ke Rabobi
Rabobi Rabobi yanga sizwe Rabobi
Mzeweki bo yangangana
Amanzi seko sebo tshabana
Ingozi yanga iRabobi
Domafanya ba ya tsetsie iGreen Goblin baba kae iDr . Octopus Botswa iarch enemies otswa a Rabobi
Rabobi banetsa ispider sense is tingling.
Di gona yoa iGreen Goblin Dr . Octopus
Ya tokoloshi medicine, Hao!
Rabobi ba ya gona Dr . Octopus left right
iGreen Goblin uppercut KO one time
Di ya azipepe ijail
Doa peace no TRC ya New York
Rabobi, Rabobi, Rabobi, Rabobi
Posted by kat at 7:29 PM | Comments (1)
October 21, 2006
Wombats are great
My life would not function were it not for post-it notes. I acquired this annoying habit at work, where my screen would be decorated with post-it's reminding me to do all sorts of things throughout my work day. I had a knack for saying yes to all kinds of projects, so these notes would serve as reminders. A great positive swing off this would be that I wouldn't write on my hand, something I have been doing since I was very young. Homework books just weren't my thing, and diaries, well, they're just there so you can look important when you whip it out to get information (like what the time difference between London and Mount Abu is (GMT+3 1/2 by the way). So these post-its became a way way of life, and the lesser of two evils of reminding myself to do things, as I was saving myself from ink poisoning, which by now I'm sure I have become immune to. Very soon after I started using these post-its, the reminders went on to things like "Meet mother for lunch", "Take lunch between 1 and 2", "Take lunch for God's sake!", which slowly progressed to things like "Drink water" and "Breathe!".
I weaned myself off the post-it junkie thing, but I find myself increasingly not using my diary, and relying on post-its that don't quite stick to my wall. I have a lovely diary, but I just cannot bring myself to writing in it. I think it has to do with my handwriting. If I do write in it, I like it to look all nice and pretty and neat and all that girly type stuff that we females waste time on. Post-its, however, are temporary, they get scrunched up, and thrown in the bin (if I'm having a good day they may actually go in on the second attempt at scoring a 3-pointer from my chair...never the first). I suppose that can be related to me life in general...temporary (can you tell I'm writing an essay at the moment ~ always having to relate and compare things in order to draw up conclusions....*sigh*). The only permanent fixture I have, is my family, and even now I'm drifting off from them to start up my new life, which kind of scares me.
I've been reflecting over the past week, as I like to do all too occasionally, and it dawned upon me, and I mean really dawned upon me as it has often poked its head up a few times, that I hate being tied down, I hate committing myself, I am really a free spirit. I like to be part of other people's lives, but get uneasy when they want to be part of mine. The only people I have really let into my life is my family, and even then they aren't completely part of it. I am closest to my mother, I find it hard to talk to my brother and dad, even though I love the just as much, my mother seems to understand me more. I don't have to say much because she can read me so well. I was telling someone earlier about how if I'm not feeling myself and people ask what's wrong and push me for answers, it rubs me up the wrong way and they get my back up. I DO NOT like to talk about things, I resolve things in my head or by writing, I don't need a two way conversation, the dialogue that happens is in my head. Me vs Reasoning.
My mom usually takes me on a silly adventure or distracts me by keeping me busy rather then asking questions, and over a period of time, if I'm still feeling not right, i'll open up to her. I miss her today. Lots of things have been happening, that I don't want to talk about, but wouldn't mind being distracted from. It's also her birthday on Thursday, and I was hoping we'd get a break between Block 1 and Block 2 (as advertised in the timetable of my course), but alas us Science students plod on, whilst the art students do their 10 hour weeks....
Something that did bring my mood down was Ama and Rok quitting FFXI to embark on their new adventure. I didn't really have the words for them last night. I enjoyed their company immensely when I did get a chance to play with them, but circumstances arose, and I saw less and less of them. What they are doing is a huge leap fo faith, and I can relate to any feelings of nervousness or apprehension, if there are any at all. They're lucky they get to do this thing together. Again, I wish them all the best, that everything goes smoothly, and that when hiccups arise, that they overcome them without hesitation.
A slightly downbeat entry, but.....
.....brought to you by Post-it(r)
By the way...cryptic title...ne?
Posted by kat at 9:16 AM | Comments (0)
October 19, 2006
Anybody got the time?
Sweet Lord, where does it all go. One moment it's Sunday, the next I'm scrambling around trying to get all my work done for deadlines tomorrow. I was most pleased with myself yesterday as I did a 10km run, but paid the consequences and had to have a wee afternoon nap. I woke up not hurting at all, and really wish I had more time today to pay the gym a visit, but they may have to wait until tomorrow and the weekend, when I've handed in all my work. Still have three things to do for tomorrow and I have to dash off to a tutorial now. I just wish that I had time to actually enjoy the assignments instead of frantically rushing around piecing information together.
Highlight of my week, well I have two. The first has to be our Plant lecturer. He gave the most outstanding lecture, that I probably would pay to see again. I cannot describe how funny it was, and most people probably wouldn't get the jokes, but he likened the Angiosperms way of surviving to atrocious crimes such as prostitution and GBH (both involving orchids!!). You'll just have to take my word for it that we were crying with laughter.
My other highlight? 90% for my Chemistry Practical. I still hate Chemistry, and my marks will get worse. I reckon I was just lucky. This week has been very busy, with 5 deadlines, which makes it the most demanding by far (with exception to examinations, of course), so not much fun has been going on. Actually, saying that, we did miss our coach back to campus on our Plant trip, which was quite amusing at the time. We had to get a regular bus, and as we were all students, we are all used to walking and had no idea where we were going. It took us about 15 min milling about like sheep around the timetable to decide on the correct bus to clamber on to. Yeah, that was the funniest thing that happened to me this week...I missed the coach.
Wait, now I'm remembering things. We saw a giant lily pad in the pond section of the Botanical Gardens Greenhouses, which someone mentioned could hold the weight of a small child. The weight of a small child you say? How convinient that there was a child, that had the weight of a small child, standing near to us....and no we didn't test our hypothesis as good scientists should, the parents gave us withering looks, so we backed off.
Anyway...a rather haphazard entry, my thoughts are not all together, neither do I feel particularly like entertaining. I think I need a bit of me time.
Posted by kat at 2:01 PM | Comments (0)
October 15, 2006
sunday, bloody sunday
Yes, it's bloody Sunday again...oh the joys. Went out to the pub last night...I played cards. It was fun. I also laughed alot at other people and had The Count from sesame street stuck in my head. I woke up at 7:20 with high expectations, then thought "sod it, i'm off to bed again", followed by me waking up at 11:45 with language that would offend even the Irish at my lateness for I had only 15 minutes to shower, get ready and be at someone's house 10min away. I must say my washing hair and brushing teeth simultaneously skills did rise somewhat this morning.
All in all, my student skills are getting alot better. Despite a slightly bleary-eyed start to the day, I actually got a hell of alot of work done, plus I found a place that sells really really cheap food. Whether or not I'll survive from eating it is another question, but I'm saving the pennies.
We have a new lecturer, who I swear is no older than me, but he seems to be rekindling my love for plants. I hated plants when I studied with the OU, but he must be the funniest Professor of plantiness alive. He likes to shout out "SEX!" at the top if his voice to wake up the students who have fallen asleep, and equates vascular plants becoming dominant by "Exterminating" the non-vascular plants...and yes, he does use the Dr. Who voice. His lectures are rather amusing and strangely educating at the same time.
Anyways, have to get all ready for my trip to the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens.... what fun^^
Happy Monday Peeperonies
Posted by kat at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2006
i want you for your manga
So, today has been really fun, and for once I am not being sarcastic. In fact, I feel just fabulous. I'll start with Friday then, shall I ? So, I tootle off to my final thing for the day, which happens to be a tutorial. 5 minutes in, the fire alarm sounds. Did I mention it was BLOODY FREEZING on Friday...well it was, and I was not pleased. Needless to say, the lesson was cut short, which was a good thing, and we left early as well, because the tutor could not be arsed to give us half a lesson...hoorah hoorah.
Friday evening approached far too quickly, with only half an hour to spare at home to half-arsedly get ready, which basically involved putting my hair up and transferring all my possesions in my handbag, into my coat pockets. So I tootle off to there, and I was really apprehensive at first, but I am glad I went, as I now have met some of the most awesome people, who welcomed me so warmly and quickly into their group. Hell, I ended up carrying equipment to one of the guy's flats, where we all sat in a circle and spoke about everything, apart from anime.....they are actually normal people!!!
So, Saturday whizzes by and I venture off to the Labyrinth, which was closed...go us. So instead, we find an American Diner, and eat cheeseburgers and drink beer (out the bottle) like Real Men! Ok, I had never had beer before that. My whole university experience is to do things I normally wouldn't do due to my mindset, my opinion, or any other obstacle I would have placed in my way. I always refuse to drink beer, but I never actually had tried it properly. I must say, it's not my favourite, but at least I've tried it now. Besides, it was fun being all manly and attempting to belch, which I very much suck at.
Anyways, moving on to Sunday...I attempted to do some work....period. Opperative word in that sentence ~ "attempted". Got an iddle bit done, but nothing to be proud of. Yesterday was all go go go, with my 9-5 at King's Buildings.
Today I had a lecture at 9 (and one later at 4), so I decided to hit the gym. Ok, I haven't exercised properly in like years, apart from the odd run every now and then. I had to tear myself away from the machines after an hour. I forgot how much fun it was....*glee*. So I ran 6km, but the ironic thing is apart from my pounding on the treadmill, I had already walked 8km today anyway (including the walk back), and will be walking a further 5km to and from campus at 4. Oh, then I'll be walking probably another 2km later on today. Let's see... that's 21km in one day. Why did I join the gym?
Oh yes, and who needs happy dance music to run too when you have Marilyn Manson. Seriously...fun running music. The industrial sound has a nice pace to it. I don't make a habit of listening to him, it just happened to play a song on my ipod, and I was like "hey...this is pretty good to run to". Currently listening to Palookaville, and it makes me happy. It's a lovely Autumn day out, and I squirrel too....it went like this ".......
Life's good =)
Posted by kat at 12:47 PM | Comments (2)
October 6, 2006
it's all coming together...i think?
I'm trying out the uni computer labs, and am somewhat self-conscious about what I type, which is silly considering what these people read over my shoulder, is perfectly accessible to the rest of the world with a simple google search. This may end being a short entry as this keyboard is driving me crazy....
I have a few birthdays coming up, as well as Christmas and ZA visiting gifts to buy, and I have realised that I am absolutely hopeless at thinking of gifts for people. I don't think the "gift of friendship" will pass off either (unless anybody has any objections at me using that old excuse again). This year, I am also on a budget, which sucks. I have to weigh up the decision of food, or uber gifts for friends and family, however, the government has spent a bit of money on me, so I will need to eat to keep my concentration to prove that I was worth the investment.
Speaking of food, I think they should really have a fat tax. Healthy food should be really cheap, and the not so good for you stuff should have an increase in price proportional to the damage it does to you. It can get quite expensive eating fresh fruit and veg everyday, when you have the delights of Tesco 8p noodles looming. Oh well, I seem to be doing ok, probably better than when I was on the island, as I am now conscious of all my bodily processes and the requirements for real food and nutrients to keep my brain, and the rest of me, on top form.
So...looks like I overcame the keyboard problem >< Going off to an art cinema to watch some films this evening with the anime crew I am yet to meet, hopefully they'll be a decent bunch, with other interests apart from Japanese cartoons~that could be just weird talking only about animations, or would it.......
Hmmm...what else exciting has happened this week. The lectures seems to be coming together with the tutorials and practicals, so my previously knocked confidence is slowly restoring itself. I was beginning to panic that all my work these past few years was as futile as the resistance against the Borg, but it seems things are falling into place.
I'm looking forward to my expidition tomorrow around the city with Polish/Chinese/Dutch girl (shall we call her PCD for short?). I am planning to get VERY lost, perhaps aided by a trip to the pub, as I have not frequented one of those since I got here. In fact, I haven't touched alcohol in about 6 weeks, not that I drink that often anyway, but it's a bit on the odd side...student who doesn't drink, people will start thinking I'm a Seventh-day Adventist or something.
Managed to find the Registry as well, so I now have my government money, not that I was short of money, just that I was worried they'd send the cheque back if I didn't collect it >< I was very much tempted to find me an Apple store and spend it all at once, but my superhuman powers that I have recently acquired when it comes to saying "No!" to buying things kicked in....saying that, I really should have a superhero name or something...like "Budget Girl", or "The Penny Saver"...or not! It's amazing how much money you can save when you don't have a social life...haha! My social life includes my $20 subscription to FFXI a month, brilliant^^
The sadness that I had from leaving everyone behind, has slowly been replaced by a fondness when thinking of what great times I had with everyone. I was thinking about the ride up to here, and how ridiculous the situation really was, with me crammed within an inch of my life amongst books, pc's, fluffy slippers and a boot sticking into my neck, all the while playing not-so-20 questions, as Leslie proceeded to chose American "it" people Drew and I didn't know, and Drew choosing the likes of Peabo Bryson (wtf!).....I'm still amused by the fact that he actually knew who Peabo Bryson was....which inevitably ended up in me having "A whole new world" from Aladdin in my head for the best part of the trip...big up the Bryson!
I suppose another highlight of my week was speaking to me homegirl Leigh, who once again had me in hysterics about paedophiles and her attempts at high class hooking, and how it really isn't as seedy as it sounds. She'll be landing her feet on English soil very soon, along with Caroline, which I am very much elated about. My two favourite girls in the whole wide world coming to live on my turf^^ I'm so lucky to have friends like them...we don't speak for months at a time, yet can pick up from where we left off without any hesitation, although mostly coaxed by a bottle of wine or two ;) To me, that is true friendship, just being completely comfortable that any gaps in our histories provide no awkwardness.
Oh well, I have a lecture in an hour's time, and a magazine to get through, so I best be off. It's great being an "oldie" at uni...the first years give up their seats as they think you are post-grad and senior, whereas, in truth you're just old =( *reminds herself to get some anti-wrinkle stuffs*
Peace out dudes!
Posted by kat at 11:26 AM | Comments (1)
October 4, 2006
the mehness of chemistry
So....chemistry still sucks, but things are looking up in other areas....I might...just might...have a friend, and I'm not talking about the 20 Polish kids who insist on sitting next to me, behind me and in front of me, literally engulfing me into their group (not fun, I don't understand what they're talking about). Anyways, my new aquaintance is not of the Polish Peep Clan, but she is of Polish heritage (I'm still questioning as to why there are so many Polish people on this course~nothing against them, I just find the numbers odd!!).
So this new friend and I will be exploring the city on Saturday...this, my dear friends, is a bad thing. My map reading skills are most challenged. Anybody on FFXI will be able to verify, mine are pretty much close on Naku's. In fact, I think I may take her title, as I got lost in Gustaberg the other day...not pretty. Those lizzie's got a beating. Oh, and here's the ironic thing about Saturday, we're off to find a Labyrinth....if you don't hear from me for a while, you'll know what happened.
My attempts to go to the gym and swim were thwarted by the announcement that the pool is "Out of Action" (surely they'd say Out of Order?) due to "technical irregularities" or something to that effect. Hopefully it'll be sorted by Saturday morning, as I do want to get into a routine as soon as. Need to get fit and afb for my summer visit back home. No one likes a person that resembles a jellyfish, although they are a most interesting family. I have completed my first Practical Report, and have another to do shortly. Then I have to knuckle down and study some Physics and Chemistry.
Not much else to report, there are 3 camp people talking about coffee in my kitchen, and poor Borris looks very bewildered, especially as they were suggesting turning the kitchen into a disco >< Happy Wednesday peeps...only 2 more days!
This should keep you entertained until then...if only Physics really was like this
Posted by kat at 2:35 PM | Comments (0)