The internet probably isn't an appropriate place to talk about this, but I need somewhere to straighten my head out. Plus, I can be safe in the knowledge that my audience is small (and loved all the more due to its selectiveness!), so this won't go very far.

My brother - infuriating git and stalwart sibling both - has had an awful year. There's no other way to describe it. I don't think I could even hyperbolize just how terrible the year has been for him. I'm not nearly as close to him as siblings can be, but that doesn't stop me from worrying about him.

( The full story ) 

Whatever else happens, I want him to be all right. I wish it were this time next year, so that he didn't have to go through the terrible process of picking up his life and putting it back together. I don't know how to make him stop hurting...I don't think it's possible. But I hope that he knows somewhere, deep down, that he will come out on the other side of this. He won't feel this awful for forever. And I hope he doesn't do anything drastic or stupid. He has people that love him and we want him to get through this. I'll help in any way that I can.

I just don't understand, why him? Nobody deserves this, but it seems worse because he's my brother and I love him. (Though I'd had difficulty saying that to his face, of course! Siblings don't like to admit these things!)

Thankfully, whilst I did get horrendously drunk on Saturday night (to the point of calling somebody a twat, only to find them standing behind me...and then asserting that "Well, it's true...you are!"), I managed to avoid the hangover the next day. Instead, I ended up having to apologise profusely to said person...to find out that he hadn't remembered it until I mentioned it! Luckily, he found it all rather amusing, so I haven't suffered too much for my debauchery! kizna1200 should be glad to hear that I have survived relatively unscathed. (Incidentally, hello! I have returned from the aether to see what's been going on around here!)

I honestly don't know why I didn't go for a friend catch up sooner than this. I'd forgotten that not everyone left behind from Secondary School was a nutcase. Just had a rather enjoyable afternoon catching up on gossip, blathering about general geekery and being awed (and made jealous) by music. Quite pleasant as all I expected was a coffee!

In other news, I'm getting girly time this weekend - hurrah! I'm wondering whether I might actually convince the whole gaggle to go out this time...if it happens, it will be amazing indeed. My only slight worry is that this will be the 10th weekend on the trot that I have gone on a big night out. (Whilst at university, I know this would have been classed as wussy, but in the real world, this is tiring!)

I think it's interesing how many people have taken up the banner to defend wasps this year. I'm as yet undecided - I'm perfectly fine with them, as long as they leave me well alone. However, having been stung by one, I also feel that it should be understandable if I'm a little bit skittish where they're concerned. I've never swatted one (mainly due to my poor aim), nor do I ever plan to do so. They, like the bee, live very short lives, so why should I cut short what little time they have?

One of the pro-wasp arguments
Also, do not forget that, without the wasp, we many never have invented paper as we know it today. Instead, we would all be reading books printed on leather or papyrus (sounds very romantic, but books are expensive enough as it is, thank you!) The Chinese observed the way that wasps pulp wood in order to make their nests, and managed to take this a step further to create useful paper.

On the other hand, we need to remember that, this time of year, wasps don't really have much left to do. The nest has been built, the Queen has laid all the eggs to provide wasps for next year, and the remaining workers are out of a job. So, instead of buzzing away constructing an impressive nest of pulped wood, they swarm around fruit as it begins to ferment and...well...they git a bit tipsy. And just like humans when they get tipsy, the wasps then decide it's time to get some food! Alas, this quite often coincides with the human obsession with sunshine = picnic time. And this is where the problems begin. The wasps see food - we see pests. And the fight begins. Drunk as they are, the wasps do the only thing they can do - sting you until you leave them alone!

My stance remains the same - wasps are fine and everything, but I won't be inviting one to alight daintily on my finger anytime soon.

Well, goodness me, it's been rather a long time since I last posted on this old thing! I thought it was about time I gave livejournal another go, so here I am, returned, with a few different colours and a good few years of experience to add to the mix! So, to start, I think it's time for a quick catch up.

Education and work

I've finished at university and come out clutching my Geography BA. Sadly, I haven't had much opportunity to use it as of yet - current economic climate and stiff competition have put paid to my dreams of a career in local government or waste management. So, instead, I have opted for the retail route: I currently work in the stockroom of a large NEXT store and I have to say, I actually quite enjoy it. Plus, it provides me with a steady source of income whilst I continue to hunt and apply for jobs more along the career line I wanted. The people I work with are by turns incredibly annoying and incredibly amusing, so I can never claim to get bored at work!

Extra-curriculars

I'm still keen on my arty pursuits, including singing. I'm a member of quite a well-respected amateur choir, Reading Phoenix Choir, and will be singing in the BBC choir of the year group finals this November. Fingers crossed! I'll also be going on tour Easter 2011, though I have to admit that I'm not quite sure where it is we're going yet!

I still write profusely, but I have abandoned fanfiction in order to start playing with my own characters and settings. Eventually, I hope to finish one of the many novels that I've started, though I think that it will take a good few years of tweaking and re-writing before I'm happy with anything I've written. Ah, the perils of being a perfectionist!

Social life/ love life

I have a group of close friends who I absolutely adore. I feel very lucky to have kept in contact with these people from my school days, and to see them as often as I do. I'm also in the process of rediscovering a few old friends and making a few new ones. Thankfully, despite getting a bit shyer with age, I've managed to retain enough ballsy pseudo confidence to trick people into thinking I just might be cool! I think this is a skill in and of itself. 

My previously disastrous love life has been sorted with the help of a match-making friend. I've been with my partner for 15 months, and I plan to make it last a long time yet. 

Any other information?

Over the last 6 months or so, I joined the weightwatchers programme in order to lose weight and then maintain a healthy weight. I managed to go from 11 stone 4 to 9 stone 7 and am very happy with the results. I hate to sound smug, but I do feel quite proud of myself! It wasn't easy to make such big changes to my life, but now it all seems like second nature. I'm much healthier and I feel much happier with regards to my looks. It's also allowed me to meet a lot of lovely people who understand how difficult it is to struggle with extra weight, and the support I received from fellow weightwatchers members was invaluable. 

I'm addicted to my Nintendo DS. I cart it around everywhere, complete with a small collection of games. Final Fantasy 3, various Pokemon games and Ninja Town are my favourites! I doubt I will ever get over my geekery, and I'm glad of it. 

Current news stories that irk/amuse me

Children being dragged down by 'toerag parents' This amuses me because, whilst it highlights a huge social problem - namely that a worryling large proportion of parents do not seem to know how to parent effectively - the way that Mr. Field wants to tackle the issue is very difficult to implement. I would prefer to see a scheme where prospective parents had to take a test to prove their parenting skills before being allowed to have children. I know that this is leading towards a very nanny-state approach, but...well...honestly, anything would be better than the current lack of decent parental skills at the moment. With a mother who is a teacher, I hear various stories wherein the parents deposit their children at school, assuming that it is the teacher's job to form the little hellions into upstanding members of the community. If said parent doesn't set the right example at home, then how is this going to work? Not very well seems to be the obvious answer, if we look at the high rates of teenage drinking, violence and pregnancy. Just show the kids how to behave like decent human beings, spend some time with them, and you'll be very surprised with the effects!

Nuclear plants on track for 2018 and about bloody time too! Nuclear is the perfect stop-gap whilst we toggle with renewable energy resources. It's so much more efficient than oil, gas or coal, and the amount of waste produced is much less. Plus, as we're not in Soviet Russia, if there are any problems, there isn't going to be a Chernobyl repeat. Rolls eyes. That seems to be the only argument against that I keep seeing crop up. The other one is regarding the disposal of waste, but suitable sites are easy enough to come by, and far enough from human habitation to prevent them causing any perceivable threat. Thank goodness. Also, the idea of selling renewably rescourced energy back to the National Grid is a stroke of genius I wouldn't have expected from this government. Nice.

Chinese landslide Just awful. Keep these poor people in your thoughts and if you can, do something (however small) to help the rescue and recuperation efforts.

***

Well, I believe that that is it for now. I should be back in a few days with a less information laden (and thus, hopefully, more fun) post.

Cor, it's been a while...I think I'll just say you should consider this journal on hiatus. I don't ever seem to have the time or compunction to write in it anymore.

Lalalalalaaaaaaaaa, it's sunny, I'm having a BBQ with the family, and so far, we haven't had a fight with each other - things are looking up :D

Sometimes I really dislike being the acting chief 'mother' of my group of friends - firstly, I'm the youngest, so wtf? Why am I the mum? And secondly, OH GOD is it stressful trying to control the sodding lot. I gave up in the end last night, and now I think some people will have done things that they wil later regret, and I feel terrible for giving up on mothering.

Cannot win.
Off to Mordor.

OK everyone, just so you know, this hobbit is off to Mordor Cardiff, in order to destroy the one ring visit her Munchkin sister and be generally tiny together girly for a while. So, from tomorrow evening (being Wednesday) until Sunday evening, I shall be largely absent (well, even moreso than normal anyway!) from the glorious internet, and if anyone needs me, they're going to have to either text or email, and hope for the best I'm afraid!

OMG, just back from a concert with FYC and Gondwana (Australian choir) - AMAZING! I now have all of no voice and I don't care cos I got to sing sing sing, yay!

(Slightly less hyper entry sometime later on...maybe...)

YAY! I am a geek for teh singing!