Friends and Folklore

I saw Alice and Fiona yesterday. We went for a cup of tea and then back to mine and watched half of eXistenZ. I'd forgotten how dodgy-looking those pods are. And the bio-ports.

Met up with Jenny and Alix today. I was supposed to meet them at 12 but it ended up being about 3 because I overslept by 4 hours. I'd deliberately gone to bed at half ten and everything so that I could be up early, but my body must have assumed that such an early sleep must have been intended as a nap because I woke up at 2.30 and didn't get back to sleep until about half five.
We watched The Ring, which I haven't seen for ages. It isn't as scary now. Maybe it wasn't that scary the first time round- apart from the phone ringing x_x
I remember it scaring me later, when I was up late one night about a year later. I'd had a lot of coffee.

Alix was talking about werewolves for her story on the walk to the train station. Made me think more about them. I'm sure I remember seeing a documentry about a (fairly) recent case of a serial killer who thought he was a werewolf. Think he only killed at a full moon or something. I vaguely reccolect a reconstruction of him going up some stairs into this woman's flat in his wolf-state. I can't find it on google though. Too many search results and I can't think how to narrow it down.
Actually made me think that maybe my own character doesn't have to have any mythical qualities. I was going to make the brothers immortal, and the younger thinks he is a vampire, but now I think they don't need to be immortal. It might make it better.

New Years eve tomorrow. Or today, because it is quartre past five in the morning now. Great excuse to get really drunk. I don't bother making changes at new years. I never stick to resolutions anyway. And you kind of plan them in advance which just makes me think, why wait for new year? Why not change today. Answer: because I can't be arsed.

Christmas

My Nanny forgot all her clothes when she went to Windsor for Christmas. My cousin, Jonathan had to come down on the train so he could pick them up for her. This was Tuesday. It was nice to see him, but my poor nan had to wear my aunt's pyjamas for a few days.

My dad came down for Christmas. It's been quite nice, he got me a Nintendo 64 for Christmas. A vast improvement on last years big glass diamond shaped thing. Think he's going back tomorrow (and I forgot to get him to format a DVD disc so I could copy Hamlet onto it! Maybe he'll have time tomorrow ...).

I got some DVDs that I've been wanting for aages. 'Queen of the Damned'; 'Repo! The Genetic Opera'; 'Doctor Who?: The Movie'; 'The Crow'; series one of 'Supernatural';and some other things. A blue top that I haven't yet tried on. It looks nice, but I'm not sure about the polo neck. I have too round a face. We shall see. Got some other nice things; chocolate, some money too, which is always well recieved.

I really liked seeing Hamlet with David Tennant on Boxing Day. I wanted to go and see it in the theatres so I was very excited about it being on the T.V. I thought it was really good, although Ophelia's dresses did look rather awful on her. I think Shakespeare is much easier to understand when you're watching and hearing it rather than reading it. Nine lines out of 10 I wouldn't be able to understand when reading the play. Then again I probably wouldn't get as much of Hamlet if I hadn't read most of it. The thing is with Shakespeare, that every line seems to have some important message, some elusive double meaning that is difficult to grasp all at once and when there is so much else that you need to understand. And yet it was once meant to entertain the masses ... I wonder if they all instantly understood all of these packed lines. Probably not.

RAG Day

Since my friend, Hannah, has already begun her blog, I thought it appropriate to begin mine.

The year has been a substantially interesting one; living with the evil housemate for 12 weeks now and have finally escaped to phantasmagorical haven of Bridgwater.
Of course I have other housemates beside the evil one and they're lovely, but I think there is a shared feeling of relief to be having a break from him for three whole weeks.

Thursday the 17th (not the 19th as Hannah suggests - that number is today's!) was RAG day. Now, I had no idea that in some places the phrase 'on the rag' means to be having your period, so when I was talking to a bunch of Uni people last year about RAG day I got a few odd looks. RAG stands for 'Raise and Give', for those who don't know. Students of Bridgwater College (and ex-students) dress up for the day and wander round the freezing streets (often in very few clothes- at least no jackets) and collect money. We collected once in the three times I'v attended and got a grand total of £3. No one wants to give money to drunks, you see. Because really, that's what RAG day is about. Drinking. From dawn 'til well after dusk.

This year wasn't that great on account of the lack of friends attending. Most of the Bridgwater lot were sadly still at Uni. I had no real option for fancy dress so I was given some black ears and went as a cat. None of my accompanying friends were dressed up but I didn't feel out of place.

I was amazed by some of the costumes. There was one guy (or I assume that it was a man) with a giant disco ball for a head.

In other news, my mother was taken ill today and had to go to the hospital because her leg seized up and she could barely move at all. The poor woman was in limbo; halfway between standing and sitting. However, she's much better now and my Aunt and sister have gone to pick her up from Musgrove Hospital.

I was supposed to be spending tomorrow evening at my cousins' house in Windsor but I doubt very much that I will be now. My father is coming down on the 22nd to torment us all for an entire week. It might be nice to see him, although I can't help feeling that we would benefit from his visit being shorter. I bought him chocolate tools for Christmas. The only thing he ever gets is chocolate. Occasionally he'll recieve a mug or a diary or something of the sort but he is by far the worst family member to buy for; yet because of this he is also the cheapest. My mother is getting sugar mice (although I might buy her a small bar of Turkish Delight in case she doesn't like them) and my brother's getting gobstobbers. My sister's present is along similar lines but I'm afraid to write it down in case she somehow stumbles across this blog in the next week.

I've been reading 'Oryx and Crake' this week for my Dystopias module next semester. I finished the book about two days ago and have to say that it is one of the best books I've ever read. I got through it much quicker than '1984' and 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep' (both for the same module) and I could hardly put it down. If you have the chance you should read it. In many ways I can see Crake's point. His is a better world in many ways, although not one that I would enjoy living in. He's my favourite character, as anyone who knows me could probably guess.