hamsters aren't scary

Independence

2009-05-16T00:05:00.003+01:00

yes, it's true.
i'm not homeless and i'm not sofa surfing, i'm not even living with friends or relatives, i am now renting a flat of my own ^^
many would say it's about damn time :D and i would agree.

though living all by myself can be damn lonely, minion passing on didn't help, but i do still have my crazy little finches keeping me company. i've started leaving their cage door open so they can get some exercise, for the 1st week of that they wouldn't come out of the cage, now tho i have a job getting the little buggers to go back in, especially on washing day when i want my airer back, mind you, since i've moved their cage so they can see out of the window their quite happy sitting on top of the cage in between mad flights around my head, until i empty the airer again ^^

my next issue is internet access, as this is quite sporadic at the moment, though i may be able to fix the issue come september.

in other news, i've finally got round to getting my lightbox back from a friend whom i'd lent it to, i had been too damn lazy to ask for it back, but i want to get back into using it, i'm thinking, if i can get myself a cheap webcam i can set up a rostrum type thing and might actually be able to animate with it.
so, for one week i may have to forgo the food shopping for a webcam. hmmmm.....

*huggles*
*:3

On the move again

2009-02-28T23:00:00.004Z

sometimes i do think i'd be better off learning to drive and getting myself a caravan, and then i remind myself that not only do i like to collect things such as books, but also pets, and between my books, the zebra finches, the hamster and the fish tank, i don't think there'd be enough space left in a caravan for me.
so, currently i'm trying for the flat option.
i have to find somewhere as i've been asked to leave where i am.
i am quite lucky in that if i utterly fail at this whole flat hunting business there's a sofa for me at my grandparents, though i will most likely have to donate most of my belongings to charity, well, that what's worth actually donating.
it's a sad state when you actually start valuing all your belongings, trying to see if you can scrape some extra cash from somewhere and find you have very little of value. (though, quite amusing when hunting for contents insurance quotes, a new responsibility i've yet to experience)
the device i'm using right now is the most expensive of my possessions, though i'm still hoping it holds the key (or at least one of them) to my long term future, so, i'm not quite ready to part with it just yet.
so, yes, a nice cup of tea, a little more packing for the night, a good nights rest and a very busy day filled with more packing, my plans for the immediate future ^^

hehe, even if i do end up sofa bound my grandparents have got an internet connection.
my sporadic bloggings can continue :D

*hugs and happy thoughts*
*:3

9 months in a nutshell

2009-01-12T04:45:00.002Z

well, i finished my degree, passed it too ^^
and since then i've been continuing my part time job in a small pet shop.
i was hoping i'd be able to rent a flat nearer to where i work i) to save transport costs and ii) to be within walking distance of scenic green areas i can wander and chill in, but my low income prevents me from being able to meet the deposit and 1 months rent in advance thing.
at one point i thought i was going to have to move to my grandparents as transport to and from work was getting so expensive, but then i discovered cheap weekly bus tickets, which was handy as it turned out my grandparents don't actually have space to put me up, no matter how much nanna wants me to be nearer to the family, i need my own place, not a sofa, i've done that one already.
my current goal is to build up the funds so i can finally rent a place of my own, rather than a room in someone elses house.
*:3

Still working, not long left now >_<

2008-04-03T12:09:00.002+01:00

yes, here i am, still making my way through the 3rd and final year of my degree.

i have until sometime in may to get my final project completed *eep*

so, yeah, a bit of stress, but it's all still fun.

*hugs for all*

*:3

yay i made it, hehe

2007-07-20T00:14:00.000+01:00

i got my letter from newi, the letter of fun that said i'd completed my 2nd year successfully and have met the requirements for year 3. yay! *happy, bouncy hamster*

i'm so happy, hehe.

*:3

summer U

2007-07-16T17:08:00.000+01:00

well, the summer holidays began with a trip to annecy in france on a uni visit to the animation festival there. which was cool.
since then i've mostly been looking for a new job since the petshop got shut down in march.
still not had any luck so far, but still trying.
one minor moment of excitement was when i got a letter from newi in the post saying that there was a workshop for writing for games happening. the letter had an itinerary of the two days, but not when they were. thankfully, it also had the website of the organisers so i could get the important information, like when to turn up XD
it was quite an interesting event. on the 2nd day, after i'd finished at the workshop i had an interview for a part time job locally, that was last tuesday, so i'm not getting too hopeful over that. ah, well, it's just back to the joys of filling in mind-numbing application forms. yay.

i'm looking forward to getting back to uni, though, it's not like they haven't given us plenty to keep us busy during the holidays. this is a good thing, i think. well, it's good for giving me something to do other than dwell on having no cash. and i miss my job.

anyhow, enough of being grim and mopey, it's the summer, and.. it's.. raining... and rhyl is full of tourists... and i'm just a miserable git XP hehe

right, well i think i've done enough cheering everyone up for one evening.
*take care all*
*:3

my world, aren't chavs lovely?

2007-05-23T23:35:00.000+01:00

this has happened to me on three seperate occasions now.
i'm walking down the street, minding my own business and i here these teenage lads across the street (note, i am the only other person walking along the street at this particular moment in time) and i hear, "nah, that's gotta be a bloke" another lad says, "what, that woman over there?" (also note that on this occasion i happen to be wearing a knee length skirt), first lad, "yeah, no way are they women's legs" third lad, "hehe, you wanna go check?"

oh, oh, please excuse me for not being blessed with dainty anorexic legs.

i can quite happily accept that i have chunky legs, i have never in my life been a slim or slender person and i think the only time i might be is after i've been buried and all that's left is my skeleton, but that does not make me manly!

do i really have to start continuously wearing my hair in bunches and really tight t-shirts that are probably an evil shade of pink (like barbie, eugh), possibly glittery with some sort of stupid girly phrase on and trousers to hide my "manly" legs, though the trousers must also be glittery somewhere or other, with flowers or butterflies embroidered on them.

yeah, right.
if one of em had to over to have a check, i'd have used my "manly" legs to give him a swift kick in his supposed manly area.

it's always teenage chav lads that have difficulty in discerning as to whether or not i'm male or female, maybe for them females only exist in one form, the type usually found on page 3 of the sad newspapers i make every effort to avoid.

i'm quite glad that they're not sexually attracted to me, i just don't want them deciding to start on me cos they think i'm a bloke.

ah, well, that's my rant for the evening.
*take care*
*:3

fingers crossed

2007-05-23T10:40:00.000+01:00

well, i've had my end of year two assessments and i really hope that i'm gonnna get into the final year of my degree.

i think i've done everything i was supposed to, during the assessment the tutors were even deciding for me what my final project should be, so, surely this is a good sign.

i won't be happy till i get the little bit of paper that says "welcome to year 3"

well, if anything, i've got the annecy trip to look forward to.
8 days in france, animation festival and all my friends, should be cool.

well, now the assessments are over and my major project for this year is done maybe i can get some images posted on deviant. i have been doodling, but it's all still in my sketch books.

*mini note*
to keep people amused when i don't write so often, i've left a virtual minion for you to play with. (the real one is sleeping right now ^^)

*hugs for all*
*:3

an update, at last!

2007-01-28T18:42:00.000Z

hello there,
like many others i have succumb to the world of warcraft.
i currently have a tauren druid, and i'm using up my free 30 day trial :D
*yay for freebies*
something else i'm looking forward to is that where i live is finally upgrading to broadband, the best signal i get so far is at uni, but the tutors don't appreciate us turning up to play games :3

uni is going ok, i've got my major project for the year, a critical studies essay, a collaborative project and our tutors want us to take part in the animation side of wrexham's scientriffic event.
so, just a bit busy.

at home, i'm getting a bigger room, so maybe my room won't look so much like a store room any more :D ooooh!

*hugs for people*
*:)

oh, really...

2007-01-05T19:17:00.000Z

recently they've started to cover the school of art with words, to inspire us maybe, meh.

apparently the future lies beyond this grim looking door
O_o
*:)

seasonal greetings

2006-12-26T02:59:00.000Z

so, here i am, in liverpool, all stuffed with goose, roasties, cheese and cake :P
currently finishing off a can of guinness.

i hope everyone else that likes to celebrate the winter season are all having fun.
*actually, i hope everyone's having fun, celebrating or not*

i haven't been on here much, kind of got myself loaded up a bit with also having a livejournal, deviantart account, gaia avatar, 3 e-mail addresses and my uni course.
i have 2 forums that i have been neglecting to visit :'( which is sad, cos i like reading about what the people on there have been getting up to.

i really need broadband at home. dial up is way too slow when waiting for pages to load :(
i am impatient.

well, i need to sleep now, i got distracted by my cousin on msn and it's now 3:42am.
night all and warm wishes *:)

Green My Apple

2006-10-03T20:43:00.000+01:00

i found this GreenMyApple whilst nosing on greenpeace. it asks, if other pc manufacturers are willing to try to go green, then why isn't apple.

so, if you're an environmentally minded mac user, go clicky :D

*:)

i've missed you, broadband :')

2006-10-03T09:49:00.000+01:00

hello peoples
i'm in uni right this very minute, ooooh :P

we're supposed to be doing cgi walkcycles right now, but the room has been doublebooked >:(
1st there's not enough machines, now they're double booked O_o

well, i'm off to go and inspect deviant.

*hwyl fawr*

*:)

tut tut

2006-09-29T22:02:00.000+01:00

the complaints are already plentiful about the state of newi.
1) we're all still intermingled as design communications.
2) the clean/tidy/computer studio only has 4 (or 6 if you're lucky) reachable mains sockets.
3) mac:student ratio too low for the maya lessons.
4) technicians wiping the hard drives of machines we have work on without warning. (they forgot to wipe them over the hols, so today when a student found the machine wouldn't let him save his line-test the technician took 5 mins to decide to wipe all hard drives there and then. we were given briefs on monday to be complete for next monday. many who thought their work was complete and ready for the review on monday will now have to re-do that work)
5) why can't those who live more than 2 miles away get free buses like colleges have or even low rate university buses like liverpool and covenrty have?

no matter how many complaints are made, i'm here now and i'm not giving up, despite the inadequacies.
*i made it to the 2nd year! yay!!!*

*:)

wow, so soon!

2006-09-05T00:50:00.000+01:00

it's september already, woooooooooo.
spooky :P

not long now and i shall be once more invading newi, yay!

ben's been chatting to dave on msn and aparently he can't wait for uni to start again so he can see us all again. well, everyone here does miss ben, life is so much quieter without him around.

i also miss my group.
yay for year 2!

jen's been complaining that only her, dave and nick are going to london this year because they didn't go last year. she doesn't think it'll be as much fun being a small group. personally, the trip was ok, i enjoyed seeing what goes on on a professional level, it's the write up afterwards i didn't like.
paperwork is dull >:P
(though, i like research, hmmm...)

one of my homework tasks has been character development. i've been having fun with the hamster of doom, i just need to come up with some good ideas for a few other characters. i've been doing some experimenting, but so far nothing is grabbing me quite like the hamster. though the hamster concept has been with me for many, many years now. oh, well. i'm sure i'll find something that works.

i like the idea of including a dragon, i just need to find a suitable style, one very different from the scruff monster.

i quite like the dnd style of dragons, i just need to find a way to simplify that design, yet not chibify it.

i'm sure, whilst i'm on this course i'll find a style i like.

*take care*
*:)

i am connected!!

2006-06-24T00:37:00.000+01:00

yes, it is amasing, i am actually on the internet (make the most of it!) hehe.

this is going to be brief, yes, i know i haven't been to these parts in a long while, but i need a bath and i have work in the morning. so there.

hmmm, so what have i been up to since last leaving anything here...
well, my tyranids (hamsternids) still need painting, dnd is going a bit mental. a friend of nick's is back from uni in bath and they all like to play dnd epic. it's getting compicated and confusing me, too many numbers to sort out. i need help from our dm, lots of help. thankfully they are a patient bunch.
i've been getting better at halo, i actually managed to get double figures for my kills in one game. usually i'm lucky to get more than 6. getting lost on the map helps me not get killed.
and on the subject of halo, nick got the red versus blue season 4 dvd. now jenny says "blarg honk" randomly all thanks to the 'alien auditions' section.
caboose quote:
i am an alien, i am an alien, i am an alien...

yay for caboose, hehe.

other than the people i live with i've only been in contact with 2 other people from my class since the holidays started. i hope everyones having fun.

we've had some really nice weather and some very toasty weather. on one of the toasty days me and jen went skating along the sea front. i have roller blades, but i'd prefer normal roller skates like jen's. oh, well. it's still good exercise anyway.

yes, well, i have to go. i keep getting distracted by csi and i should be having a bath. it's getting so late.

*take care one and all*
*:)

newi

2006-05-04T16:00:00.000+01:00

well, here i am in a maya lesson getting completly confused.
i haven't updated for ages because there is only 1 computer with internet access in may's and it's usually in use.

3d computer animation isn't hands on enough fo my liking. i'm enjoying the cut-out project my group is currently doing. my character is geoff :D he's the imaginary friend of prunella (a fat lady, who sings) and he likes biscuits.

i'll have to get round to scanning him into the machine and put him on deviant.

i now have tyranids, they need putting together then painting. then they can go and eat everyone elses army (warhammer 40,000).

well, it's nearly time to head home.

*huggles for everyone*

*:)

oooOOOooo newness (U)

2006-04-22T00:07:00.000+01:00

well, i've done it. i have moved out of scumblock.
yay for me!

anyhoo, tis all madness. still got stuff to unpack and arrange. got work in the morning, so i can't stay on this long.

>:P i hate early mornings. oh well, nevermind. i have to earn my wages, then i get to buy stuff (>u<) hehe.

ah, uni starts up again on monday, then it's back to the routine. well, it's not quite routine, but it is structured, and fun.

nite nite world, the hamster needs sleep.
see you soon, maybe.

*:)

mmmmm choccy choccy, hehe

2006-04-14T17:09:00.000+01:00

tomorrow, when i've finished work, i shall be heading off to coventry. yay!
i haven't been to visit my friend in ages.

considering it's supposed to be the holidays i haven't been relaxing much o.o
i have been needed at work (which is great for the extra cash, does mean early mornings though), i have been packing the last of my belongings ready for the move to rhyl, i've been packing ready for my trip to cov and i have been filling in many forms and typing up my new cv.

i'm looking forward to this mini break.

ooooo, on a side note, brian's getting huge. i'll post some piccys as soon as i get some good lighting on him. as my room in scum block is on the ground floor i keep my curtains shut all the time. great for keeping algae down in the fish tank (not so sure brian's happy with this, yay for algae wafers) bad for taking photos with a phone with no flash.

*take care, hwyl fawr*

*:)

fear me!

2006-04-10T10:18:00.000+01:00

What Type of Villain are You?

mutedfaith.com.

the best of both worlds

2006-04-09T17:10:00.000+01:00

ooooooooh,
new intel macs can be partitioned to run os x and windows.

this means that if i get a new intel mac i can still use all my favourite software, that i'm familiar with and use on my course, but i'll also be able to get animation software that is currently only available for windows machines.

this would mean that i would also need very good protection software since while under the influence of windows the shiny new mac will be vulnerable to everything any other pc is.
risky, but possibly worth it.

i think this could be a very worth while investment.

for those who want more information about apple mac go here.

*:)

lots of birthday's

2006-04-08T23:00:00.000+01:00

there are three people i know whose birthday is today,
1) my mum (^U^)
2) my uncle howard
3) phill

mum had to work on her birthday today, but i was there to help. all our family came to the shop in turn to drop cards off and wish mum a happy birthday. one of our regular customers even bought mum a plant with pretty red flowers. once we got back to my mum's we had take away for tea, then mum had an early night cos she's in work again tomorrow.

oooooh, busy, busy.
she's chuffed cos she gets easter sunday off though.
also, with it being the holidays she gets a bit of a break when i cover shifts.
kerching, hehe.

now, i'm going back to watching the new version of battle star galactica. i miss the old cheesy version. bring back re-runs! :)

*:)

getting kicked when you're down

2006-04-06T17:10:00.000+01:00

at my workplace we've not been having much fun recently.
1st the water board close the road our shop is on, then the kwiksave close and all our customers think we are closing too. the article in the evening leader didn't help when it talked about an old man being unhappy that he wouldn't be able to have a cuppa at the complex any more. mum phoned up and complained so they printed an article titled 'we're still open for business', which can be found here.
as it's not today's news you have to type the word 'business' into their search engine and the title should be listed, the date is the 31/3/2006.

today i arrived to open the shop at 8am and found the outer doors wouldn't open. then as i looked more closely at the news agent's shutters oposite i saw something was wrong. they had been prized open. i looked across and saw that the shop nextdoor had a hole in the wall. then i saw that the petshop shutters had suffered the same fate as the news agent. my next thought "where's this waste of space security then?" i found them round the corner sat in their car and was told that there was a break in last night and that the police weren't letting anyone in.
i went round the back to see what was happening. there was a police woman there waiting for csi to turn up, until then no-one could enter the building. she took my name and mobile number and told me she'd let me know when i could get in, so i went to tesco for a cuppa, then another cuppa and some breakfast, then i still hadn't heard anything and it had been almost 2 hrs so i got bored and went back to the petshop. i could see a woman inside the shop moving things around, she was wearing gloves, so i assumed csi must have turned up then. then i spent an hour letting customers know that there had been a break in and that we couldn't open till the police said so. eventually i got in. all the shops were allowed to have a look to see if they noticed anything in particular that was missing. with us it was just the money from the safe. other shops had stock stolen, the wallpaper shop even suffered vandalisation. paint and varnish were thrown everywhere. it was completely senseless. there are some idiots in this world.
this is what they did to our safe

i didn't take any pictures of the shutters. they've been fixed now.
we're fighting so hard to keep our cutomers coming to us and we're only small businesses, but we will not be squashed.
these idiots had the cheek to leave a note in the bakery saying "thank you very much, ha ha ha!"
they must be found and punished. there was no need to do this to us.
we're all very angry.
there's already an article in today's flintshire evening leader, i'll add the link as soon as the put it on the website. *still no sign of this article on ther site*7/4/06
somerfield have let us down. they removed kwiks and left us vulnerable, the security situation is beyond a joke. one manager has demanded over night security, it's the least we deserve, all the shops in the complex pay rent.
that's my angry rant for the day.

*(")

yes, ok i know there are no pictures, but still...

2006-04-05T17:37:00.000+01:00

i feel like sharing this :P

today i got myself my new young person's pass, yay for cheap rail travel.
also i wasn't happy with my cv so i went to the careers office for some advice and left with loads, more yay (*U*)

i have lots of work to do.

while i was in the careers office, 1st i mentioned my cv.
i had no luck with my present one when phill helped me hand them out to various shops accross wrexham, or more recently when i decided to try my luck with some of the new shops that wrexham has recently aquired on the plot of land that was once the wrexham lager brewery.
why do i miss that smell?
anyhoo.

so, yeah, they're going to help me write a cv that no future employer will be able to ignor (mwahahahahah)
ahem, carrying on,

i also mentioned that i wanted to do some work experience over the summer.
the lady was impressed, aparently most students wait until the final 2 weeks of their degree to go "oh, no! i need work experience!"
ha, i win :D *cheezy*

i have some e-mail addresses to get in touch with. hehe.

and, to help plan for my future i can even start learning how to set up my own animation studio, which is so far my prefered final aim once i finish my degree.

busy, busy, busy, yet bouncy. yay!

*:)

my list of links is growing

2006-04-05T00:45:00.000+01:00

it's like a tiny seed that germinated, oh look how it grows.

hehe

it's one way of giving my bookmark list a break. my poor little laptop, tis only small.

i'm also quite chuffed that i'm managing to make some use of my deviant art account, though it's mostly socialising rather than uploading loads of work.

i want to come up with something that i can actually be proud to display.
(i know there's the scraps option, but some of my sketches i'd rather not show to the world)

sometimes i think to myself "how can i ever be a good animator, i clearly don't draw often enough" then i think "shut up stupid and get on with your work!"

sometimes i shouldn't think so much. v_v
hehe

anyhoo,
that's it for now.

*hugs for everyone, we all need hugs!*

*:)

*hamsters aren't scary*