| The new me |
[Apr. 18th, 2006|11:43 am] |
I'm looking at an oversized easter egg at the moment. Well, an egg and three boxes of chocolates to be precise. I can see that the diet is not going to be starting this week!
but I have started on a campaign to be a little more elegant. I went out and bought myself some new trousers and a new blouse, and I bought a lot of new earrings and some necklaces (from a wonderful sale counter in BHS - most of the earrings were 75p :). So I'm trying not to leave the house without putting something smarter on and some jewelry. Welcome to the new me!
Next on the list has to be diet and exercise - two of my least favourite words (although "sputum" comes a close third). I actually bought a yoga DVD, and I even watched it. That's "watched" as in sat on the sofa and observed of course, not as in actually tried the poses. But small steps an all... |
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| Y oh Y |
[Mar. 30th, 2006|01:22 pm] |
My updating is slowing here... but this is still the longest I've ever kept any sort of a journal. I didn't even write about the arrival of my new computer - which was shiny as promised, and so much nicer to use than my poor old thing. That is going to a new home with a charity that recycles old computers
I've spent a lot of the week so far working on the name change of Wikicities. We are now Wikia instead. I think it's a better name, and it will be good to not have to explain that it's not a wiki about cities! The best bit is that I get to use a bot for the first time. It's one written by ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) lithiana and it changes "Wikicities" to "Wikia" all over the site. It's quite a simple little thing, it just shows you a page title and location, and the text that needs changing, and then you type "y" if you want the change to go ahead. Of course, I mucked it up straight away - instead of changing Wikicities to Wikia, I got it to type "y" down the screen a few hundred times. That's what comes of giving me access to these techy things. |
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| Shiny! |
[Mar. 16th, 2006|12:33 pm] |
My computer crashed yet again. And this time, when I was in the middle of some long and complicated edits on Wikicities (no, I didn't think to save part way through... I know, I know). So I gave up waiting for the new tax year, and took my poor old thing to the doctor to see if it needed to be put to sleep. The diagnosis wasn't good. There are a few things I can improve, a bit more RAM, a larger hard disk, this that and the other... but basically I would still end up with a machine that can't do what I want it to do - like get off Windows 98 (no, I'm not switching to Linux, stop nagging me, you geeks).
So, I ordered a whole new one! I know I could probably have got a better deal shopping around, but I like the security of it being from my local shop, and I like the idea of helping to keep that little shop open. And it still seems a pretty good deal anyway.
So I'm currently waiting impatiently for my new baby - with happy thoughts of two 80 gig hard drives and a gig of RAM. I know all my techy friends are going to tell me I chose the wrong thing, but I think it'll do just fine. And most importantly, it's going to be SHINY! |
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| breathe out and pull your stomach in... or was it out... |
[Mar. 14th, 2006|12:40 pm] |
I had a relaxation lesson today. An hour of being taught to breathe out the bad stuff, and breathe in the good... which kept me thinking of bongs and joints, but maybe that's just my twisted mind.
The bit where she went through each part of the body in turn, and I had to concentrate on relaxing each, seemed to work quite well. But the visualisation method was really hard, and not so successful. There was I, visualising a beautiful beach, and imagining the sand between my toes and the wind in my hair... and I think... "humm... I hope there is no dog's mess hidden in this sand". Not the general idea. |
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| GSOH? |
[Mar. 10th, 2006|03:26 pm] |
I wrote and added my first ever Uncyclopedia article yesterday! Something that reddragdiva said was very true: it's harder to write for Uncyclopedia than it is for Wikipedia. It's harder to post too, I think that putting your sense of humour up for review is more scary than putting your researching skills up - although it took a surprising amount of research to get the effect I wanted. I'm not really happy with the images, abigailb suggested that I put a railway line across the empty fields, which is a great idea, but my first attempts just don't look right. I think it may be better to find an image with the line already in and adapt that.
My next Uncyclopedia project may be my user page. I have something of an idea for that... |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 7th, 2006|09:48 am] |
I'm improving my computer in stages at the moment. Now I'm working on it, it gets frustrating when it glitches and I'm in the middle of doing something. So I got a new keyboard (old one had a sticky space bar) and a new mouse (old one had a sticky everything). Annoyingly, neither was very good at all. I struggled with them until yesterday, missing 90% of capital letters and having to fight the mouse to actually position it, and then took them back to the shop. The replacements seem much better. The keyboard was cheaper, but the mouse cost quite a bit more. But at least the damn things work!
Fred turned up by the way, but one of the platys died. Why I can't keep platys I just don't know. I certainly won't be adding any more, even if that's not ideal for the poor remaining lonesome one. |
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| Polishing the fish |
[Feb. 28th, 2006|10:28 pm] |
I gave my aquarium a good clean today, it's something I've been meaning to do for a while and now it looks great. I'm a little worried because I haven't seen Fred for a few days. That's not too unusual, he may be the largest fish in my tank, but he's also the least visible. He spends most of his time either under his log, or behind the filter casing. What I'd really like is to get a proper photo of him as an adult - if only he will stay still enough. The last good photo I have of him was when he was still a youngster:
I've made some progress on my Depression Wikicity this week. The new, improved, and hopefully non-depressing logo is up and looking very yellow. And I've made a start on the first article. I nicked the category structure of Mindspillage's Photography Wikicity, it would have been great if Wikipedia had started off with Categories, maybe they wouldn't be so confusing now if it had. |
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| Agh, my eyes! |
[Feb. 23rd, 2006|08:09 pm] |
I had the dubious pleasure of my first viewing of tubgirl today. Pretty good going to have avoided it this long I think. But, such traditions of the Internet can't be avoided forever - especially when some dear person decides to steal bandwidth to post a picture on a forum.
I wonder how long it will take to get that delightful image scrubbed out of my brain. Probably about as long as goatse took. |
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| How do you draw depression? |
[Feb. 21st, 2006|09:27 am] |
Well, the feedback on my logo was that it is "depressing". Not quite the effect I was aiming for, I was hoping for "stylish" or "elegant". I suppose it at least means that it reflects the wiki topic, but I really need something more uplifting. But how do you draw depression?
One of the guys on IRC came up with a nice idea - the same flower, but fading from full colour to grayscale. I think that might work. So I'll be spending some time this week trying to get the effect right. The only other idea I've come up with so far is a tragedy theatre mask. That might look good too (or be even more depressing). |
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| Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo... |
[Feb. 19th, 2006|08:52 pm] |
Some friends called up this morning to invite me on a family trip to Colchester zoo. Now I am not the impulsive type. I need at least three days notice to think about going anywhere. Two hours just isn't enough worrying time ;) But I love the zoo, and I don't get enough chances to spend time with my friends and their two daughters. So, just this once, I took the plunge and said OK.
And I had a wonderful day. They had a new lion (currently still having punch-ups with her husband to be), a baby chimpanzee and a baby spider monkey, and even bonking tortoises! What more could you want from a zoo visit? And having a two year old along means you get to play in the ball pool - there's a tip for anyone planning a visit.
I think this fella was my best photo, I forgot to write down what species he is though:
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| A photo of depression |
[Feb. 17th, 2006|01:19 pm] |
So my new Wikicity is going to be all about depression. I'm pleased, it's a subject that I know enough about through personal experience to get started. There is a lot to do though, so I hope I can get some people interested in joining. I've been looking around to find what sites are out there, and what sort of information is available. I want this Wikicity to be a really useful place to find out about the disorder and its treatment. I think that the thing I found most useful when I was looking for help, was hearing about other people's experiences, and knowing that it wasn't just me going through this. Maybe a wiki could be useful for that too.
mindspillage is going to be doing photography. That's a good one too, I'll certainly be looking at that - there is so much that I'd like to learn. I tried taking a photo of a flower for the Depression Wikicity's logo this morning. I thought something like my LJ icon would be a good start. But the only flower I had was yellow - a bit too dark once the colours were reversed. I think I'll try again with a white flower as soon as I can get one. |
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| A working woman |
[Feb. 15th, 2006|01:23 pm] |
I thought I'd celebrate my new job with a new try to keep a journal. I think I'm going to enjoy this work, I've never had a job that requires you to be on IRC during working hours :) And I love that I'm working in my own home and that the hours are so flexible. I am going to have to upgrade this damn computer though.
I doubt that anyone has been waiting these many months to find out how the new flat worked out... but it's great. A really nice little place. A bit tatty round the edges, but comfortable and easy to live in. I hope to stay here a while.
It's amazing how things seem to be turning round at last. |
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| compact and bijou with a sea view |
[Mar. 24th, 2005|06:50 pm] |
I've just agreed to move house. My landlord offered me a better flat, further from town, but a nicer area and a bit more comfortable than this one. It's still quite scruffy and small, but I think it will be an improvement. He claims it has sea view, but it's the sort that you need a pair of binoculars and a step ladder to actually see - "that bit of blue over there, between the trees and the yellow house, that's the sea! Lean over a bit further, stand on one leg and squint a bit, then you'll see it!"
I just hope I've made the right choice. |
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| salad days |
[Mar. 24th, 2005|02:11 pm] |
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I just found an avocado in my bed. I wonder what that says about me? |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 22nd, 2005|11:21 pm] |
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Well now... I've been reading a few people's journals for a
while: abigailb, reddragdiva, lithiana,
vampwillow... so now I've taken the
plunge and got one of my own.
So... what to write? How much to say? How much to
reveal? I'm quite reluctant to give
away too much of myself, although - when I look back - I've actually already
said quite a bit about myself while using this nick. Some of it is on my Wikipedia user page, other bits are scattered
around here and there, and some I've said while on IRC. Yet I still like to have the illusion of being
unknown and private.
And
then I decide to start a public journal, what a strange concept that is. Still, I've never actually managed to keep a
journal of any type for more than a few days, so maybe this one will just get
lost in no time. Watch this space. Or don't. I'll probably be more comfortable with the second option really.
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