I won't be here again until Saturday at the earliest. So, uh, no internet, but mobile. Not that I suspect anyone will need me, but hey, it's always nice to know.
Just buy a copy of this book. It's written by Tim Burton, there's not a lot else you need to know.
However, I will present a short extract to entice you, in the form of The Pin Cushion Queen.
And I'm going to look like The Pin Cushion Queen if I don't stop pulling my hair out. -_-
Hum, varying things to cover from this week, because it's been a bit odd. In contrast they probably seem fairly inappropriate, but they've all happened, so they're all getting mentioned.
My aunt passed away on Friday morning. This has dominated things here recently, as you can imagine, but it's all been very different to how I would have thought it. My mum was obviously really upset about it when I found her in the morning after she'd had the phone call, but for some reason it didn't really make me cry until I got to work and had to tell people what had happened. I suppose hearing the facts come out of my own mouth makes it seem more real, I don't know.
It doesn't need to be said that I'm sad to see her go, but the truth of the matter is, I'm relieved for her that it all passed relatively quickly. From what I know about it, and from seeing her, leukemia is a horribly painful thing and it was probably the best way to go for her to just slip away in her sleep. She didn't wake up at all on Thursday, but she'd been visited by some friends of hers from the village on Wednesday, so I think the last hours she was conscious were probably happy ones. When you've got to go, I don't think that's a bad way to end your time.
So her funeral is going to be on Friday, most likely. It's going to be sad listening to everyone talk about how great she was, because she was really cool. I'd come to realise that even more when I saw her for the last time. She was an archetypal spinster aunt. Lived in a little cottage where she grew vegetables, knitted and made lemon curd and was utterly obssessed with owls. I'm so happy I managed to send her one last letter before she died, because I got to print her out lots of pictures of owls, which she apparently enjoyed very much. ^__^ I've got so many amusing memories of her, too. Like how she thought my toy skunk was incredibly creepy for no apparent reason, or how she kept our Christmas presents in a little model house until we came to see her on boxing day. She had a great sense of humour too, which I'll miss so much.
But to be honest, it's all this about her that makes me feel a lot better about not sitting around feeling miserable. She wouldn't have done that, so I'm not going to. I'm not forgetting her by any stretch of the imagination, I'm getting on with life with all the good memories I have. ^_^ She would have entirely approved of how I spent yesterday, I can tell you.
Yesterday was her, sibling unit Alex and my trip to Sheffield. ^__^ I haven't been to Meadowhall in donkey's years, so it was incredibly fun. Shopping was done, (I LOVE HMV! STAND ALONE COMPLEX DVDS IN THE SALE??? YES PLEASE!!), Chinese food was had, and entertainment was partaken of.
I feel we deserve some kind of medal for managing to get not one, but two arcade machines taken apart on our behalf. ^_____^ The FFX-2 keyring gashapon machine would not give us toys, so along came the man with the keys to take it apart and let us choose the capsule we wanted (that's the way to do it, trust me). Then someone had stuck coins in the card slot of the Tekken 5 machine, and once again it was dismantled for our benefit. ^___^ The mechanic was somewhat amused/bemused by our magic touch with these things. ^__^
Then we trundled next door to the cinema, where copious squeeage was had watching Batman Begins. OH. THE. COOl. ^__________^ I so very much need to see that at the IMAX because Scarecrow is so creepy and THE BATS ARE SO PRETTY! ^_____^ Behave, Bruce Wayne, I'd love to stand in a cave full of bats, it'd be amazing.
Anyway, that's what I've been up to. Now I'm going to play X-2 until my arms fall off. Because it's my day off. :p
Well I'm home from work. It might not be long, I might be called in again but when I left we didn't have enough work for everyone. And it doesn't bother me, only working a half day, because it has actually come to the point where the draw of money isn't enough to make me want to do my job. I don't know who spiked the drinking water at my place this week, but everyone appears to have gone psychotic. People are just so angry and unkind, it's no way for anyone to have to spend the day. -_- And I can't even leave my job because I'm so desparate to get together enough money so that we can get to Japan. -_-
I'm in one of those horrible self-pitying moods as usual. I know I shouldn't hate the way my life is now because I have considerably more than vast numbers of people, but I'm just getting so unhappy. -_-
I'm going to book myself some time off. If anyone has suggestions for what I can do with a couple of days off when/when I should take it, I'd be pleased to hear them. Also, if anyone wants to come up here they'll be so much more than welcome.
I need to get away from this job. -_-
That there's always someone around who'll spoil what is an absolutely wonderful time for everyone else? Why? At school it was the little bitch who took it into her head that my life was far too pleasant and she ought to do something to rectify the situation. At first job there was the manager. At Oxford there was my Coptic tutor.
And now there's person who shall not be named at work.
I'm so close to handing in my notice. I'm not paid to take abuse.
But at least I have this.
And in honour of this momentous occasion, I present to you HP Lovecraft/OS-tan crossover art. Yes you read that right.
Iichan is such a bad place. @_@
edit: image is working now. BURN YOUR RETINAS, BURN THEM!!
I will be kind and leave my review until tomorrow because I know a good chunk of people have not watched it yet, but suffice to say you are BAD for not cancelling all other arrangements for The Doctor. BAD BAD BAD!!
Also, the last episode may make you implode in your own glee.
In related news, I cannot face life without Doctor Who and have bought myself dvdage. >_<
ooh we have ice lollies...
...blog properly at some time, but the way things are in la vida de Katy at the moment, it's probably best left out. In time-honoured style, here's a summary.
- Being in Oxford probably did me good. Being around people who didn't want to shout at me and weren't averse to the odd hug was pleasant.
- Other people's home baking is so much better than mine.
- Angelina Jolie.
- Finishing the first season of Standalone Complex in one big glop like I did may not have been the best idea. Did I watch it all? Yes. Do I remember what happened? Urm....Motoko was there...
- D is the best. He bought me a big box o' Jo, also known as the Bakuten special edition. ^______^ It makes me happy.
- I'll be so happy when I'm out of this 9-to-whenever lifestyle. It's not for me. -_- I know that makes me a big smelly loser/social reject, but yeah...
Anyway, let's shut up now, eh Katy? o_0
mr and mrs smith
ANGELINA JOLIE WITH A PUMP ACTION SHOTGUN!!!!!
*keels over from the cool*
I'm in Oxford. Come and see me, one and all. I dragged myself aaaaaall the way on the train last night so you betta reco'nise!!11oneetc
I'm still amused by the vertiable frogmarching I received when I arrived from my welcoming committee. All in the nicest possible way, of course. ^___^
Pleeease, if anyone's going to be around next weekend, do try and see me. I know it's going to be eighth week, and I should really come this weekend instead, but...I'm being a misery guts, I'm particularly bad company and all of me is incredibly tired. I can't face any more travelling of any kind this week that isn't going to end with me being in my bed. -_- I know I'd said I'd try and be down this weekend, and I'm very sorry if that's screwed up anyone's plans, not that I think it has, but...yeah.
Oh and D, I'll phone you when I get home from work, if you're reading this.
I love those random quotes on Waterstones' bags. And they ought to offer something to amuse me, given the amount of money I've spent with them this week.
Anyway, um, yeah. I disappeared this week, thanks to family problems. Not that anyway will have missed me except work, cause uh, I'm here and not anywhere important. @_@ I got to work on Tuesday morning and within five minutes my mum phoned to say we needed to get down to Salisbury because my aunt had taken a turn for the worse. So I dashed to my boss, who already knew about what has been happening, and told her the news. At which point she gave me a huge wodge of advance wages and one of her good luck charms and told me to call her when I had news. I love my boss. She may well work us incredibly hard sometimes, but she's been there when I've needed help recently.
So I sped home considerably faster than I've done before, piled some clothes into a bag, stuck Humberto on the back seat (in his cage, not loose @_@) and we were off. Long journey to Salisbury, arrival. Wandering around hospital looking for the right ward. Bad signposting. We did eventually find my aunt, who was in a relatively pleasing condition. Compos mentis, good-humoured and not too obviously poorly on the outside. But then what does someone with leukemia *look* like?
So Tuesday night, Mum and I slept at the hospital and kept my aunt company as long as we were allowed to stay on the ward. They had a little bungalow where people can stay in emergencies like ours, when we hadn't had time to arrange somewhere to sleep. Siblings joined us again the next morning after going back to my grandma's house and took me in to Salisbury for a break.
Bookshops were visited, people are going to have Sputnik Sweetheart thrust at them. It's all Ivan's fault for giving me Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - I am now in love with Haruki Murakami's novels. Sputnik is one of the saddest books I've read in a very long time, but I'm not telling you anything else about it lest you decide you don't want to read it. Suffice to say I've spent a lot of the week hiding in books.
Today we came home, since elder sibling and I both have to go back to work tomorrow. It's only hit me in the last half hour or so what an exhausting week I've had. And I haven't even hit on the situation involving the parentals at the moment. Oh yeah I enjoyed the four days when I didn't hear from dad once, i really did. His phone was broken, apparently, and I do believe him, but it doesn't make the situation easier. All that is up in the air at the moment anyway. Dad eventually came home, then all this happened with my aunt and no one has been home to argue or otherwise. Goodness knows what will happen when everyone is back.
At the moment I feel like I could do with just curling up somewhere warm and sunny with my next book and ignoring reality. I could really do with seeing D right now too, not to sound too much like an irritating long-distance-relationshipper. It's not as if I do it often, just ignore it. -_- Not only do I miss him horribly, but I'm just getting to the point where I feel like being particularly self-centred (more so than usual, now that's a scary thought :p) and D is the only person I can realistically ask to put up with me in a mood like this. But things aren't the simple, neither should they be, I suppose.
I'll snap out of it soon enough. I'm just tired. Sorry this went a bit wrong at this end of it.
So the rest of my life might still be royally screwed, but this morning it doesn't bother me quite so much.
I HAVE MY VISA FOR JAPAN!!
YEAH WOO!
God bless the Japanese Embassy and all who sail in her.
Because this isn't going to be a very happy blog entry. In the past week I've a) found out that my aunt has leukemia b) found out my dad doesn't want to be with us anymore.
That was a great surprise to come home to tonight, my dad packing his bags. Probably only topped by having to tell him to go because it was upsetting my mum too much the way he was dragging it on. -_-
