Bits n Pieces
First of all - I've finished my chemo!!! w00t. So there. I'll be having some radiotherapy after I've seen Prill off to uni:P but that shouldn't be anywhere near the hardship:) My hair has started to grow back as well:D so now I've got quite a dark collection of fuzz on my head. They've told me it might grow back a slightly different colour n stuff, so we'll just have to wait n see - it doesn't look drastically different as yet... And also - my income support has finally come through (hehe). A huge big fat cheque for £377.58 and hopefully they'll be some more on the way until I start work in Tescos. And when I do start work, I can carry on claiming for a while - it's called "Return to Work Credit". Hehe it's all gravy.
Anyway - went to stay with my cousin near Newcastle if you didn't know, partly coz my rents are planning to move up north when they retire, so they wanted to have a look at some areas up there to start thinking about. Don't worry, they ain't gonna be living close to the university, but it will be kinda handy having them within an hours drive. Also I got to meet the choral director-person, coz I'm planning on going for a choral scholarship. So I had a chat & he seems a good bloke - bit of a laff. He tested my range & said it sounded promising, so I'm gonna go back there sometime in the next calendar year for a proper audition, after I've got around to organising some singing lessons back at school. So yes - if you're one of those people who has another year of fun-filled Felsted frolics, then I might be visiting every now and then:) Oh yeah, and while I was in Newcastle, I spotted a few rather amusing place & road names that I thought I might share with you. One place called "Wide Open"... hmm... a little strange, but it doesn't compare to living in the wonderful village named "Dirt Pot". Seriously - we found it on the map... who could live in a place with such a name? Eh? A Place name that could be interpreted as the crapper, as my cousin astutely pointed out:P Also - we travelled along the road called the B1337 - so be jealous everyone.
Right - on a more serious note, I wanted to write about the hostage situation in Russia, but since it was a while ago, I've probably lost my momentum, but never mind. I was watching it on the news, as you do. Maybe it's just coz I haven't seen a real life tragedy on TV for quite a while, but anyway it just hit me really hard. Especially one image of a father holding his lifeless daughter in his arms, with the mother nearby pacing up and down, crying, not knowing what to do. I think it was because I haven't watched the news properly for quite a while, and haven't seen anything like this for ages. I've read the newspapers, but it's not the same as seeing moving images. This may not be a very nice thought, but can you imagine holding someone like that - someone that only a few days ago would have been hugging you back, full of smiles - suddenly gone, dead, now just an object, no longer able to interact. Also - something that Podgy said "Each human life has its own dreams" - I remember one of the boys who was killed in all this apparently wanted to open the first Macdonalds. Could seem a little silly, but yeah - everyone has the right to have a go at whatever they want, as long as it doesn't harm or hinder anyone else:( Sorry - I know this paragraph probably contradicts my last blog, in that I want everyone to be happy & here I am writing depressing stuff. Anyway - I know that in the short term, it probably would be better to give Chechnya its independence - coz the terrorist attacks would most likely stop. But what if there were other areas of Russia who then thought that if it worked for the Chechens, then why can't it work for us? Cue more terrorist attacks because they think Putin is easy. I can't actually name any regions that would want their independence in Russia, coz I ain't no expert. But even if there aren't any other such places, technically it only takes one person, so anything could happen. So maybe it is better not to negotiate in the long run, but then... the Chechens will just keep on killing anyway, right? So I dunno, tis a tough one.
Now on a lighter note, I've just finished reading Lirael. It kicks. Simple as that. So anyone who's reading this - go read Sabriel & then Lirael, coz they both r0x0r. Can't wait to read the next one:D Oh yeah, just remembered - if you didn't know, now you can get paid to put ads back on your blog. It all depends on how much people click on them, but yeah I'm gonna give it a go. If it's really crap and annoying then I'll remove them, so feel free to leave angry comments on the subject.
Anyway - onto more recent happenings. I had an awesome birthday:D hehe. Prill's written about it already, so you can go look there if you haven't already. But yeah, the driving wasn't too challenging, the place we stayed at was perfect - the owners were very nice indeed, and Alton Towers was amazing, as expected. Sorry we couldn't make it an outing with more peeps in the end:( would have been awesome. But anyway, had a good time. Prill managed to smuggle a Happy Tree Friends birthday cake up in the back of my car, hehe which was a very nice surprise:D Here we go:
And, to add to that - the owners of the B&B knew it was my birthday, coz, well, we were chatting about it, so they left a bottle of champagne in my room:D hehe. Prill didn't really like it, so... well... I had to have it all to myself:P hehe I finished it over two days, but had most of it on my birthday:P which was incredibly good timing, since I had only just finished on my antibiotics that very morning:) Anyway, Oblivion & Nemesis were awesome, apu, although Prill didn't like Oblivion:P d'oh! And the new one's pretty good as well - Spinball Whizzer. Twas my fourth visit to Alton Towers - still great stuff:D Oh yeah - Prill's rents got me a pressie as well:D a mini 40GB portable hard drive, just like hers:D Was very nice of them indeed. Tis awesome.
Anyway, to counter the depressing bit earlier, I'm gonna stick another quote in... oh and tell me if you hate them btw, I just think they're funny - these ones are all real life quotes methinks, it's just the first page, I'll put the next one in on my next blog:
"The Lawyer's an Ass:
'Now, doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know anything about it until the next morning?'
'The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?'
'Were you present when your picture was taken?'
'Were you alone or by yourself?'
'Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the war?'
'Did he kill you?'
'How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?'
'You were there until the time that you left, is that true?'
'Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?'
Q: 'She had three children, right?'
A: 'Yes.'
Q: 'How many were boys?'
A: 'None.'
Q: 'Were there any girls?'
Q: 'How was your first marriage terminated?'
A: 'By death.'
Q: 'And by whose death was it terminated?'
Q: 'Can you describe the individual?'
A: 'He was about medium height and had a beard.'
Q: 'Was this a male or a female?'"
