I figured I ought to start watching them, so I can get caught up and get some context for the latest Doctor Who episodes. I'd already seen the first one, so on to the second...

More than 20 years down the line, Liz Sladen CONTINUES to be hot. Maybe not quite as hot as she was back in the 70's, but hot.

( And cut for what few spoilers there are, just in case you care. )

So, out front of my house, there is now a little fountain-thing. It's big, it's ceramic, it has little birds and frogs on it. It also lights up and, well, dispenses steam.

The other day, my dad told me where it came from. He'd bought it off of the locksmith next to his office.

Now, there are two more pieces of information needed here:
The locksmith occasionally gets called in by rental companies to go into properties they own, remove everything inside and get rid of it, and re-key the place.
About three weeks ago, there was a prostitution ring bust, about four or five different brothels in the area, everyone was arrested, the properties vacated.

And that is where the the fountain comes from.

I've also picked up the habit of calling vacations holidays, apparently.

Why have I not yet made a huge post with many pictures?

Well, one, I'm too damn lazy.
Two, I can't find the cord that connects my camera to the computer at the moment.
Three, somewhat related to number one, is that vorindi has introduced me to this game called Battle for Wesnoth and I've spent the past few days playing it obsessively, despite being absolute rubbish at turn-based strategy games. (Noooo! Mermaid, why did you die?)

Apparently the first thing I said when I saw my mom was "I have a necklace with a cicada in!" and she's been telling everyone about it.

And, as usual, I should clean.


Also. Happy belated birthday to brassydel! Because there's nothing like jumping on a bandwagon late.

I was running around in a big building that seemed to be some strange amalgam of my high school and all of the buildings in Smith that had classrooms in (this place was SERIOUSLY huge) trying to find obsidian in the gemstone cabinets from Burton and Sabin-Reed. Why?
There were Others in the gym.

The Others looked absolutely ridiculous. Also, at some point in the dream, there were Transformers. (I blame this on having watched most of the movie the other night in the hostel.) And I remember fending off one of the cold zombies that the Others make with one of those candle-lighter things, before we threw her in a bonfire. It was sad, because in weird dream logic, I knew she had been my friend.


Back in London after a lovely few days in Cardiff. Time to make plans for a couple of day trips! And go to the British Museum at some point.

Also, my birthday was a few days ago, but I didn't actually realize it was my birthday until about two in the afternoon, at which point I spent another couple of hours sitting in Roath Park watching little old ladies in wheelchairs feed the ducks and geese. One of them was lying to the goose she was feeding, telling it she had no more bread, while the not-quite-as-old-but-still-old lady pushing her wheelchair told her she ought to be ashamed, lying to the goose like that. It was adorable.

In many major European cities, a group called New Europe does free walking tours. The tour guides work on a tips basis, and the tours themselves are always both interesting and funny. Well worth going on, and really, even a £5 donation is a large donation for these guides as well as being far less than you'd pay for any other tour.

Now, one of the things you probably won't hear about on any of the other tours is how the pelicans in one of the Royal parks... well, they eat pigeons.

Really. They do.

Flight one, tomorrow morning at 10:40. Whee.

See you all in two weeks and change.

I don't hate Cersei. I don't think anything will make me like her, but on this read through, I don't quite hate her the way I did on the first read through. I feel a little bit sorry for her, and think she's probably a little bit manic-depressive, or bipolar, or some other strange mental illness that really is all you can expect for coming from the type of family she came from and getting the type of upbringing she got.

Also, Renly Barantheon and Ser Loras... for some reason, there is this little niggling feeling that they were, well, having sex.
The ladies would be so sad.

Now, back to packing! And cleaning!

...and my collection of them, and why I like them and pick them up and keep them.

But then I got derailed when I realized I have a rock with a nipple.



Almost related - I need to make a Facepalm!Cat icon.

First, I would check and see if it was wrapped in nice swaddling clothes, made of brocaded silk, as befits a child of high rank.
If it were, I would keep it, and name it Gwri Wallt Euryn.





What, like I'm not going to take every opportunity to make oblique references to Pwyll Pedeuic Dyuet?

A week from tomorrow, I am heading off to England for two weeks. I'll spend most of my time in London, and five days in Cardiff; what I would ask of my Friends List is the suggestion of good places to take day trips to out of those two cities and good places to go within them. I'd rather have suggestions of fun areas or cities to wander around than your average big tourist attractions, though I will, to my shame and probable delight, be doing the Doctor Who thing in Cardiff. (I'll admit. I'm a dork.) And I have been ordered by my high school German teacher to go see Stonehenge. (Apparently Salisbury's pretty cool as well?)

So! Any suggestions from those who have gone there or live(d) there?

My grades are passable. I will graduate.

It is now time for me to clean and pack.

And soon, I will be home for the summer.

And then I will go to England for a bit.

That's about... it.

Two out of four classes out of the way, both in the form of very crummy final papers. But they are done!

I do not even want to think how poorly I have done in Graph Theory, though. Well, not Welsh either. But they are done and it does not do to brood on them.

Now! Now my goal for the day is to get one of the other two finals out of the way. I kind of wanted to take the Modern Algebra final first, to get it out of the way, but given my lack of proper sleep last night, I may take the Spec Fic final first, as I am reasonably confident of my ability to hack my way through literary analysis on minimal sleep.

I mean, I must be. There's no other reason I could have done as well as I did on the first paper for that class unless I was capable of that.

...was quite fun as well. It included a scarily accurate skit of myself and vorindi, borrowing of boots belonging to harp_of_israfel, silly dancing, and the following senior prophecy, courtesy of 3rdragon:

Madison, having been accepted to library grad school, will of course go, and, to all appearances, embark upon a path of eccentric librarianhood. However, one morning she will awake from troubled dreams to discover that she has transformed during the night into a large and fluffy cat. Many people will attempt to break the spell, but nothing will work and Madison will be very happy, for no one expects a cat to do anything other than be herself.

Now, if only I can manage to get a job at Unseen University...

...was more fun than expected.

My senior prophecy started with Library Science grad school, went to frell, and ended with a sonic screwdriver. Clearly, I am going to have an exciting life!

Also, the seniors got mix CDs with every year since 1985. I think they might count as getting Rick-Rolled, but I'm too busy dancing the Macarena to care.

...and because everyone's doing it...

The character meme!

1) Choose one of your own characters.
2) Make them answer the following questions.
3) Then, tag three people. I don't care about this one.
4) Feel free to add some questions of your own.

( A zombie prostitute and a short angry Russian walk into a bar... )

The problem with wandering around rubbing the shoulders of anyone who consents for however long you can keep it up is that eventually, you pay the price.

My forearms just fell asleep and started twitching.

I KNEW it.


I knew it I knew it I knew it.


Subset of this manic cackling: I'm not sure I should watch this week's Doctor Who this week during library hours. We might want to wait until we get the second half, because this is one HELL of a cliffhanger.

Also, I love being cryptic.