If life were a bowl of cherries...

Ok…. I am writing this to the soundtrack of the Rocky Horror Picture show… so if it is a little strange then blame the backing music. :P Fantastic songs though. : ]

Recent Achievements

• Living in my new flat/bedsit for a week a 2 days. (Current song: I’m going home – Funny…)
• Living on my own for 4 days
• Working a full time job for 6 working days.
• Not breaking anything … at all
• Washing my hair without a shower regularly and successful – though not without complaining.
• Cooking tasty (to me) meals without setting fire to my kitchen.
• Not flooding the kitchen when I used the washing machine.
• Activating up a phone line despite BT’s beast efforts to stop me
• Breaking into my bathroom at 2am!

Recent Lessons

• Check to see if you have rice before you start cooking risotto! (although cuscus seems to work OK)
• It helps to remove the filters / analysers before trying to do a basic confocal image of some fluorescing cells.
• Never let a sales person (“some insects called the human race”) start their spiel concerning their current offers… particularly if you KNOW you aren’t interested.
• Irons come with a plastic cover on the hot bit… it helps to remove this before you turn it on. Although if you notice within about 10 seconds the damage can be rectified with patient peeling and then some acetone (nailpolish remover)

Current Aims

• Learn how to operate the storage heaters properly.
• Sort the kitchen out :P

Failures

• Unable to operate the lock on my bathroom - resulting in having to unscrew the lock fixture at 2am!
  

xXx

Wednesday Night: cook pasta and pasta sauce, make two thank you cards

Thursday Night: Buy a bottle of wine and maybe some chocolates... borrow some colours?

Friday Night: Trip out to Soho

Saturday: Walking / Bazaar

Sunday: Walking / Bazaar - need to think through pressies

Monday: Pack!!

Tuesday: Fly back to the UK, dinner with parents, over to Wallingford

Wednesday: Work out what to do now.

xXx

I need to do a full update, but my head is still swimming with everything so I shall give that a miss for the moment. 

I have new reeds. Howarths also offer a very nice Student discount on their reeds so I got 5 reeds and C. P. E. Bach's Sonta in G minor for something silly like £60. :D This equals a slightly excitable (and excited) Ruth. ~ apparently this is a good thing and should be repeated. I also very much like the fact that I can walk in, borrow an oboe and TRY all the reeds before I buy them. This way I have a very good set to take away that includes:

• Some playable now (i.e. 40mins to blow in)
• Some playable later (i.e. a few days/ weeks)
• Some beautifully rich
• Some more piercing but easier to play for rehearsals or long scales/fingerwork practises

It is strange though... I've started reading around science again. Or just having conversations with people. Like the other night we were at the pub and ended up discussing quantum physics vs evolution vs global change vs environment with two complete randomer's who joined our table. I sort of wish I had the confidence to do that - just join a table. But hey, there is time I s'pose. Great conversation though.

Or the other day trying to work out if there was any logic in allowing extra-terrestrial races (in sci-fi plots) to have both evolved, peaked and then died into nothing long before human technology allows us to discover the ruins. The argument was that we have to assume that the big bang is a limiting factor for all species. We also have to assume that is takes a certain length of time to form a planet and then form a planet capable of supporting life (even if their equivilent of a respiratory pigment isn't oxygen). The species on this planet then have to evolve conciousness, then industry, then technology. Ok, planets form at different times and species evolve in different ways and at different rates depending on the selection pressure and the nature of the species (gestation period being a rather obvious limiting factor). But, is there really enough lee-way to invent entire species of *higher* beings that have lived and died whilst our planet was still in its infancy?

I don't think I can actually answer this as I don't know enough about the time frame of the history of the Universe, but I would guess not. Particularly as most of these races seem to be far more technologically advanced and therefore will have developed ways to make themselves resiliant to extinction (so to speak). Mind you, it is true that they tend to have bewiped out by some catastrophy or other and then our daring human pilots and scientists can go in and use all this amazing alien technology that can be so easily adapted for human (no alien) use! ... but that is another debate.

Stuart is now laughing at me. Apparently my disdain for his reed-soaking abilities is comical! (NEW REEDS)

Anyway... it seems the dichotomy is still there. Music? Science? Music and science? Teaching? Performing? Writing? Lifeguarding? Proffesional snake charmer? ... and I still want to own that cafe!

Poly-chotomy seems a more appropriate term.

But I fear I am being anti-social and shall vanish (like magic, or some strange alien technology :P) - forgive me my childishness, new music does this to me!

xXx

All this decisiveness must be bad for my health... I shall stop soon.

Having a lot of trouble getting things done at the moment. This is partly because I have probably half the amount of time I need to do to all the jobs I have. But also because the list looks so daunting that I can not face it.  To remedy this second issue I have decided that I will set myself a maximum of 3 tasks to complete each day. These three tasks must be completed... all others are just a bonus.

Today I shall: help angela, sort my visa and do oboe.

xXx 

Well actually, asides from lack of sleep and a slight degree of over-exercise yesterday, I am not *ill*. I do however have the other half of on of my wisdom teeth decided to break through my gum and destroying the back of my mouth. This makes it very hard to eat, drink, talk and indeed sleep... let along smile. The right side of my jaw is swollen and perpetually aching.

And I think the quantity of bonjella and blood I swallowed during the night has upset my stomach. 

But tbh... I know 2 people in a worse and much worse state than me (the later I have never met but still close enough to count) and I really shouldn't complain.

On the other hand... OOWWW!!!! and it is my blog, I can complain all I like!

xXx 

Keep meaning to update.... but I am currently struggling to grapple my way over the *mountain* of things to do that were postponed until the holidays. So this weekend I intend to sort out:

• visa
• current account for next year
  
• holiday
• workout and put in my hours form
• oboe
• organise singing lesson
• organ
• DVLA (DONE)
• Pay Jo
• list of things to buy for next year
• return Francis' book
• book oboe in to be serviced
• buy / give leaving presents to teachers
• organise Go Ap trip
• organise picnic for next friday
• organise drinks with sue
• hand in repeat prescription to the doc!
• sort out seeing Steve at some point
• sort out seeing kit at some point
• tidy my room
• do the washing
• Join the Old leysians
• go through old paperwork I havnt bothered to read
• sort through chuck out most of the last two year's notes.
• lessons for next year?
• music I need to buy?
• email Alamty conservatoire
• learn Russian (SOME!)

Im sure there are a few more things that I have forgotten. :P

Such is life

and my irritating amazingly lovely and considerate boyfriend took it into his head to lend me a slightly addictive computer game!!

Which I havn't played yet today so I am pleased with that.

working from 3:15-8:45 but going to go kayaking before and do organ afterwards. :D Hopefully there is someone else on over dinner so I will have a chance to eat. 

xXx

I have 6 exams.

They actually matter.

I have two years work to learn for all 3 subjects.

Only ONE of the papers is NOT synoptic.

I am trying to move country next year.

I am trying to set up 3 or 4 different bank accounts.

I don't understand my phone company.

The Customer Services for orange play AWFUL music when you are on hold.

I have no time to either exercise or play music.

I have two music lessons in the next week.

Everyone is wanting me to sort out the summer.

I am going to get no work done this weekend either :(

I have lost my favourite bra - at school somewhere.

THEY HAVE LOCKED MY ROOM for me!

My room is covered in notes: the walls, the bed, the floor... havn't got to the window yet!

AND I HAVE TORN THE LIGAMENT IN MY FOOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

xXx 

7:30 - Wake up (suppsedly so I can FINALLY DO some organ practise)... turn over and go back to sleep

8:45 - Wake up... still have headache and bleary brain, but find tea and clothes and get up

9:30 - Cycle into town 

9:45 - buy a dress for my sister (I hav a student card)

10:00 - meet a friend for coffee...

....

....

15:00 turn up at the Sports Hall for Lifeguarding

21:00 Leave the Sports Hall after cleaning up and all that fun!

....

The dots repressent a combination of gyming (because I dont ache quite enough today so should go again), organ (Because I MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST MUST do some) and Music Revision (Because Ditto)....

That said, it is the practical paper first and my chorales seem to have become entirely mood dependant... I shall do them anyway. And get JMJD to mark - make his day to be able to go through them again with his "CONtraVERtial" (drawled tone and the CAPS indicate accent) and his look of glee at finding (numerous in my case) parallel fifths.

Today is a day for parenthesis.

xXx

Well actually I reckon it is there and reasonably active at the moment. Although not in a good mood with me.

Currently my immune system is fighting wars on all fronts.

I have a tummy bug which is making me sick and not helping me maintain anything like a reasonable appetite. On top of that I have cut my lip open (bitten it about 7 of 8 times in the past 4 days - once it is swollen the chances of biting it again increase exponentially!) so they are fighting all sorts of bugs off there. Summer has kicked in with a vengence (No sun :( :( ) and my lungs are playing havoc - on top of that my boyfriend and my sister seem to have a caugh, so even if I havn't contracted it I am still fighting yet more bugs.

I am sleeping well periodically, but in a near constant state of fatigue which means I am in glasses for almost everything an cease to be functional at around 6pm. Headaches and dizziness have become a standard state of affairs. 

And I have just let the nurse inject me with (I'm assuming dead) forms of Hep B. Which REALLY hurt.

Anyway... that can't please it as now it also has the task of making me lots of Memory T and B lymphocytes for that as well...

Might go and find some neurofen in a moment, but I am living off the stuff.

Either way, I have decided to give me immune system a hand. Firstly by remembering to *take* all my asthma drugs and anti-histamine. Secondly by drinking enough water. Thirdly by putting bonjella on my lip - reduces swelling so less likely to bite it! Fouthly by taking in sufficient Vitamin C / Mg / Ca etc... (mostly orange juice so far :P although I intend to stew some apples in cinnamon for lunch). Finally I have on my desk a large mug of strong, sweet coffee that I fully intend to finish drinking,

This is just a comfort thing

xXx 

I bid you greetings

All you angry men
And outraged women
Who sit and stare - for hours on end -
At the news reels on your TV screen
Who scroll through pages of

INTERNET HEADLINES

Tut and shake your head
Or shake your fist
And swear about injustice

I bid you greetings

You! Who's blood boils
And who's muscle trembles
In contempt
At the Dictators, the TNCs, the Banks, the Presidents, the Priests and the Teachers

As you sit and stare
And wait for the next headline
As you sit and stare
Eagar for the next to fuel your mindless fury
As you sit and stare

As you sit

As you sit

AND DO NOTHING

You sit and stare

At the woman beaten blue by a teenage daughter
At the vicar up in court, or the poedophile for rape
At the athlete torn apart by a long forgotten mine
At the young girl in the brothel waiting for her client
At the father searching in the ruins of a blowout
For a wife, for a parent, for a child, for a cousin, for an uncle, for a grandson, for a friend... for anybody?

You sit and stare

At a natural disaster wreaking havoc on a city
And swear hatred at the leaders,
At their lack of human pity

You sit and stare

And do nothing.

In your youth
In your passion
In your strength
In your self

You who have the power to shake the mountains
Who have the might to tople the steeples
And tear down the palaces

You have the feet that could teach the world to dance
You have the hands that could heal the scars that still deform
You have the tongues that could bring wisdom
You have the minds that could imagine something better

Most of all you have the hearts
The anger
The passion
The blood and the guts


Most of all you have the heart
That could
Give you

Strength

To change things

But you don't
You sit and stare.
In your selfish, smugness and self-centred pious righteousness
You watch the world go to hell in a handcart
And shake your head
And shake your fist

Then turn the TV off

And go to bed.

At least those without the wit, or the compassion...
Without the heart or the soul to be angry...
At least they can sleep

Without their own hypocrisy tainting their dreams

I bid you greetings
And I bid you goodnight

You sicken me.

xXx