So now we’ve got the German, Russian and Japanese discs of Pimsleur.. All are quite good. Russian seems to bee the easiest to pronounce. Go figure. For some reason I almost say gazpacho every time I’m supposed to say Mrs. (gezpajra?).. And if my mind starts to wander while doing a lesson, I might say the word they’re asking for in the wrong language. So I gotta stay focused. Japanese has too many words that sound the same. But it’s still fun to learn. I’ve only done one lesson of that so far and I can only remember watashi, eigoga, iie, hai and sumimasen. It’ll all come back to me when I’ll do the next lesson. I hope. ^-^

Pimsleur, languages, Russian, German, Japanese

A few days ago, Thursday night to be exact, someone (as usual) was speeding down the winding road where Oliver lives. Since it had been raining, the road was wet (logical..). That would make most drivers want to slow down a bit, right? Nooo, not this guy. So, he loses control of his car, skids hits a wall. Everyone rushes out, to see if he’s okay, etc. Except me.. I was upstairs when it happened and listening to music on the headphones. ^^;; It wasn’t until Oliver came upstairs to get me before I knew what had happened. I mean, I heard a noise, looked outside onto the field, figured nothing major had happened since I didn’t see anything and went back to playing Minesweeper. Anyway, the guy seemed fine, a bit shaken up but otherwise fine. Didn’t seem drunk. He was given tea and then when the police arrived he was questioned. On closer inspection, we noticed that he had plowed through three walls. He probably lost control of his back tires, flew over one wall, broke his axle and flipped his car.

Then Friday night, we went out with Ryan, Shaun and Russell. Darren hung out with us for awhile, but then he had to go somewhere so he didn’t come out to the clubs/bars with us. Anyway, we were at Dempsey’s for about 2 hours, just talking and playing pool. Now since Oliver & I were in the minority, all of the places we went to were gay bars/clubs. Which are pretty much the same as “straight” bars except there’re more guys kissing each other. Anyway, after Dempsey’s we went to Fuel. It was an okay place, except too warm and sticky for my taste. And my feet were starting to hurt a bit since I was wearing heels. Did have fun dancing with Oliver though. To me it seemed like an ordinary club except there were more guys dancing around without shirts. So when Shaun wanted to leave (he was being a bit crabby for some reason.. and he was drunk..) I agreed to go with him. Oliver came with us while Ryan and Russell stayed behind. We went to get some food and then Darren came to pick us up. Now earlier when he had said that he’ll give us a ride back, I imagined he’d have a somewhat larger car than the one he had. I mean, to legally fit six people into his car, they’d have to be pretty tiny. Not five over 180cm tall guys. In the end, Shaun wound up sitting in front with Ryan, Oliver & me in the back. Russell went into the boot. Now, there were three of us against the idea of anyone going into the trunk but in the end, it was the only way we’d all fit. So we all kept talking to him while he was in there just to make sure that he was fine. He said that it was sort of like being in a dark roller coaster.. Well, I assume he wouldn’t have agreed to do it if he’d have been sober. I wouldn’t have.. O_O;;

Btw, I don’t recommend typing with long nails.. which is why I’m gonna go cut mine soon. Oliver won’t be happy though…

So tomorrow I’ll go open a bank account and mail the filled out papers they’ve sent me from Aberystwyth. Plus I need to get more passport sized photos of me.. And according to my dad we’re going to the States next August on vacation and then I’ll be studying in Notre Dame for my second year….

partying, car crash, illegal driving, drinking, gay bars

That was… wow. Some of the best sex ever. I’m so flushed it looks like I’ve been sunburnt. Okay so we were having a bit of a slow “season” these past few months, but after yesterday and today.. *grin*

That’s all I’m gonna say.

WOW.

*grin*

sex

We’ve just completed the 3D puzzle of Big Ben. 1400 odd pieces.. the windows were a real pain. So now it’s standing proudly on the coffee table in the living room. 127 cm in height.. in the end I had to stand on a chair while we attached the roof of it to the walls. No, I’m not that short, this whole thing was standing on the dining room table. So of course I couldn’t reach that high. XP The windows were a real pain to complete but once that was done, the actual walls were easy to complete. Only took us about 2 days. ^-^ Next we’re gonna build the Capitol building. The cottage is already done. That one took us about 2 hrs.. the length of a movie.

We went to Rotherham yesterday. Got the Russian Pimsleur discs. Learning Russian is a bit more fun than German. Probably because I’ve studied German earlier and I wasn’t learning new stuff that often. Although I hadn’t heard about doch (or however it’s spelled) before listening to Pimsleur. I now know how to say “Excuse me” and “I understand a little Russian” in Russian. Which is true. I understand it when someone asks me if I can understand Russian. XD Of course my vocabulary is very limited right now but it’ll have the chance to grow if we keep listening to one lesson a day.

Puzzle 3-D, Big Ben, Pimsleur, Russian

Well.. I still don’t know when I’m going to Belgium. I called my dad today and he said that he’ll call me tomorrow.. This is getting really annoying. I mean, I’m not like my parents. I’d like to know at least two weeks in advance what I’m doing. But noooooooo.. still no clue. I might be going over to Brussels on Saturday, I might not. I’ll know tomorrow. In a way, it’d be good if I didn’t go back this weekend because then I could open a bank account here before uni starts. I need to hand in a filled out DirectDebit form to a British bank account or have the whole amount to cover the costs of tuition & accommodation ready before term starts. If not, they won’t let me attend. So… if I stay here, my parents could mail me my UCAS papers where it says that I’ve confirmed my place in Aberystwyth which I’ll use to open a student account at NatWest or HSBC or something. Plus, I’d get to spend more time with Oliver. ^_^ Then again, I want to go back to Belgium so I can see what things I want to take with me to Aberystwyth. I know I want my stereo but I’m not gonna take my whole CD collection or my entire wardrobe or make-up collection. So before I go over to Wales in September, I want to go back to Brussels for at least a few days. (And that way I’d get to catch up on things with Auri..) Apparently, there’s a sports week thingy in Aberystwyth for the first year students starting on the 20th of September. A decision has to be made by the 9th.. I might go. Don’t know yet. Sounds like fun though.. we’ll see… ^-^

Well, I lost. Oliver and I were playing poker.. betting with Monopoly money. Lost all 30 whatever the currency is. XD But I am getting better at it. At one point I had managed to win back all the “money” I had lost, but then.. well, I thought Oliver was bluffing and lost it all. ^^;; But we’re gonna keep playing later tonight. I wanna get the hang of it. This game was called Texas Hold’em.. A completely new game to me. But then again, I don’t know many poker games.

Oliver bought me the complete Season 4 DVD set of Friends. Since it was pre-owned, I figured that there might be minor scratches or something that might make an episode freeze for like two seconds then continue running. Which is what happened. Only worse. Every single episode on side A on discs 1 and 2 freezes at 7 minutes and a few seconds. Finally I decided to check the third disc. All of the episodes on that one are fine, no scratches, no freezing.. but they’re SEASON ONE. I mean really. So we’re going back to Gamestation in Rotherham tomorrow and complaining. I’ll prolly be the one doing most of the complaining since Oliver doesn’t like to do it. I, on the other hand, have no problem with telling people that there’s a problem with whatever I’ve bought. I don’t know what they’ll do.. give us a refund or store credit or what. We’ll see tomorrow.

I’m going back to Belgium next week. Don’t know what day yet, but it’s pretty definite that I am going away soon. So Oliver and I are hitching a ride from his dad, who’s got work in London for the next few days, and we’re staying at Anji’s. Double bed.. :D I don’t know what it is about that bed.. maybe it’s the mattress? Anyway, all I know is that I always get a good night’s sleep whenever I stay over at her place. We’re going over there on Thursday, which means that we can go with Anji and Steve to the pub! I like going out with them. Always interesting convos… And there might be a BBQ at.. erm.. I can’t remember who’s place it was. But apparently it sounds like fun as well. So now I’m all packed, stuff squashed into my suitcase and backpack. Really heavy, but since I’m not using RyanAir to get back, weight isn’t an issue. ^-^

Ooh! Rainbow! Pretty colours. Can’t see the second bow though. The left side is slightly darker than the right, but it’s not that obvious. I can see.. 5 colours? Red, yellow, green, blue and purple-y? I really have no idea what they’re called. And I thought that someone had decided that there were seven.. documentary Oliver made me watch at 2 a.m. So I don’t really remember that much about it. Except that the rainbow is always at a 42 degree angle to some shadow…

Speaking of colours… I have Crayola crayons! o/ Okay, so it’s only a box of 24 but it’s still better than none. I love Crayola crayons. They’re great. And the names they give the colors are really cool too. Like tickle me pink and periwinkle. Sadly, those two didn’t come in the box. But now I know what I’ll put on my Christmas wish list. A box of 120 Crayola crayons. That costs $9.99. Plus shipping I guess.. But still, it’s a really cheap present that’ll make me really really happy. *hint hint to anyone wanting to get me a Christmas gift* I miss my Crayola markers. They’re in storage somewhere.. but hopefully I’ll get to my stuff soon.. like next week! XD

Friends, rainbows, poker, Crayola, crayons

I was asked an interesting question recently. Have I already begun to plan my wedding? Now that immediately assumes that I’ll get married some day. At one point, I was pretty sure that I didn’t want to get married. Just being together with someone without involving the authorities, like Dharma’s parents in Dharma & Greg. Staying together because they chose to do so instead of because a piece of paper legally bound them together. I don’t feel that way anymore. I would like to get married someday. But not in the next few years. I still need to experience what it’s like to be totally independent, living on my own, earning my own money, paying bills.. Okay, so I’ve already worked and earned money, but I haven’t moved out. Not quite, even though it sometimes feels like I have. That’s another thing that I like about uni, it brings me another step closer to freedom by letting me live on my own.

Back to the subject of weddings though. The answer is yes, I have begun to plan mine. Nothing concrete, but I’ve begun browsing magazines just to see what’s out there. The variety of flower arrangements, dresses, cakes, decorations, trinkets, invitations.. it’s pretty overwhelming. I don’t know how they do it, the ones that actually manage to plan their own wedding. Then again, the groom has to be consulted a bit so it does narrow down some things. For instance the season when the wedding’s supposed to take place. If one hates the cold then why have it during the winter? Then there’s the honeymoon destination… if both have their hearts set on going to a tropical island, then going during monsoon season isn’t that bright of an idea. XD Then there’s the question of how big will it be, where it’ll be held, use traditional vows or come up with new ones, the budget… Sure it’s fun to think about all of that, but it’s more important to plan the actual marriage than just the wedding. The wedding’s only one day, the marriage (hopefully) will last a life time. That’s what I’m looking forward to, more than the wedding day. Which is why I’m not rushing to get married, I need to know for sure that the man I marry is someone I can and want to spend the rest of my life with. And I don’t think I know that yet. It’s way too soon.

wedding, marriage, love

I do not like being hungover. Seriously, the headache.. no matter how much fun I had at the BBQ, it’s not worth the results the next day. Now I’m fine though. Yesterday.. meh. According to Ryan, I looked like I was dying when we were in Meadowhall. Once we got back to Oliver’s and I got to lie down, I was fine. So now I know, I need a whole day to recover from a night of drinking. The problem was that we didn’t know how much alcohol there was in Sangria or white wine & lemonade. Oliver drank more than I did.. but he wasn’t as affected as I was. Faster metabolism even though he weighs less. It was actually quite fun being drunk. Talking to Ray was quite interesting. And I did know at the time that I was drunk. So next time, I won’t wear high heels. Because I was really wobbly on the way back. I feel sorry for Oliver’s mom who had to support both me and Oliver when we were walking. I managed to trip in the driveway and I caught hold of the small concrete wall to stop myself from totally falling flat on my face. Really scratched up the skin on my right arm. Still hurts a bit. But at the time, didn’t feel a thing. Just thought it was funny. Being drunk is a bit like whenever Jaz and I get our giggle fests. No one else understands what’s so funny, but we can’t stop laughing to explain why we’re in stitches. What I don’t get is why they kept filling my glass when they saw that I was drunk. I never asked for a refill, they just kept pouring me more. Then there was the fact that Oliver kept saying: “Oh go on.. where’s your sense of adventure?” while someone was going around with the pitcher. So I wound up drinking at least 3 Sangrias (about 2 dl each) and 2 white wine & lemonades. *shakes head* Ah well. This doesn’t mean that I won’t drink anymore, just not that much. I’ll limit myself to one or two drinks. That’s it. Amazingly enough, I can remember a lot of what went on at the BBQ. I wouldn’t have thought that I could, seeing how drunk I was. At least I didn’t throw up or blackout. So all in all, it was a fun BBQ, even if the ones serving the drinks were a bit irresponsible letting me drink that much. I remember telling them that it was my first time drunk and apologizing a lot for my behaviour. I think I was the youngest one there. One plus point about being drunk is that you stop feeling the cold. At around 10 o’clock I was thinking that maybe I should quickly nip back to Oliver’s to get my coat but I decided to wait until I felt like I really needed the coat. By the time I probably would’ve needed the coat, I was too drunk to feel temperature changes. It’s amazing I’m not sick with the flu right now. I just hate to think of the damage I did to my liver that night. Which is another reason why I’m gonna limit myself from now on.

drinking, hangover, alcohol, night out

Haven’t listened to Pimsleur’s German for a few days. Tsk tsk. But at least we’re one ninth done. They had us repeat the one of the worst sentences ever: “jetzt nichts essen”. I can’t do that in the normal speed one’d use in a conversation. The different S sounds are too confusing. Just like back in school when I first learned the word Franzözich. For me, that’s incredibly difficult to pronounce. The two on the CD having the conversation.. they’re funny. The guy’s trying to find out when the two of them could go out to eat together. The woman suggests a time and the guy always says: “No not then. An hour later?” Well, he susbstitutes the hour later part with the actual time he’s suggesting. At one point the woman obviously gets frustrated and says: “You don’t understand German!” Which just promts the man to ask again does she want to go eat with him. *rolls eyes* They’re really rude too. Keep inviting themselves over to the other person’s place for a drink or to eat. That’s not something one’d do in normal circumstances. It’s impolite to invite oneself over to another’s home. Or maybe it’s different in Germany.. doubt it though. At least Pimsleur works. I can remember everything they’ve taught me. At least I think I can. Still feels like we’re going way too slowly, but I am learning things. ^_^ Just too bad that they’re so expensive. Hopefully they’ve got Pimsleur stuff in the libraries in Aberystwyth. I want to continue learning.

Pimsleur, German, learning languages

We finished playing Silent Hill 2 a few days ago. Got the “Leave” ending. Was pretty much what I expected it to be, after playing Silent Hill and Silent Hill 4. There were two things that got me by surprise. 1) the newspaper article about Walter Sullivan (and then later finding his grave) 2) the writing on one of the walls in a store or something: “There used to be a HOLE here.” To me that just proves that when they were making SH2, they were sorta thinking about SH4. Still, the stories are separate enough to be played on their own without having to know the story of a previous game. I just kept expecting to see red notes slipped underneath the doors. Blame SH4. I really liked the Riddles (played it on Hard). As usual, we had to take out pen and paper to solve one. But that’s the whole fun of it. Making you think before allowing you to continue. The baddies were funny.. although not as funny as the two-headed babies burping everytime they were hit in SH4. Still, the headless mannequins (like always) they managed to scare me whenever they jumped out from behind a corner. Really did not like the Pyramid Heads. The music was pretty good too. I liked the tune the music boxes played (also a good riddle, even if it does assume that one knows fairy tales). Most of the sound effects managed to make me jump, so they were as effective as they were supposed to be. Oliver thought I was being ridiculous hugging the pillow whenever there was the ominous sounds in the hallways of the apartment buildings, but.. but.. sounds scare me! Even more than images. Sounds can be terrifying. That’s when my imagination gets going. I’d probably hate being blind.. not mind being deaf. Although that’d mean I couldn’t listen to music anymore. And I’m straying from what I was talking about. Back to SH2. The people who thought of these games.. they’re twisted. Really weird plots. I mean, really. Dead people, cults, holes in the walls.. what’s up with this whole alternate reality? Really confusing. Especially without a map. Anyway, over all it’s a pretty good game. Frustrating at times, but that’s what spoiler free walkthroughs are meant for. XD

Silent Hill 2, Playstation, PS2