A crop of unextinguishable regrets...

Bored as Hell.

2008-05-13T13:24:48Z

Can't even play WoW. Fucking lag-monster of doom just caused me to die by a lvl 6-frickin-wolf. That's just uncool. In the extreme. Guess the network's even slower than it usually is. x__x

Well Fucking Fuck That.

2008-05-13T11:32:48Z

I think I just failed my Greek exam - and I don't mean I'm not quite sure I got all the answers right, I mean I hope I actually answered half of it and I hope some of my wild guesses at words I can't recall ever having seen before weren't too completely far out. What the hell kind of dork cries about a Greek exam anyway?

Three hours' sleep, spent most of it having nightmares, woke up and found I'd been biting my tongue so hard in my sleep that it was bleeding. Fuck intelligent design if the best it can come up with does crap like that.

Entire body in agony. Ran too much. Sunday night, Monday morning, Monday night. Appreciable increase in distance I can run without my lungs exploding, but now in too much pain to move in any meaningful way.

Meant to be going to the cinema tonight and there's nothing on that I actually want to see. Fail.

Should go have lunch, but I think food might make me ill. x_x Will probably manage to fuck up tomorrow's blood test by barely having eaten in 24hrs.

(Backdated - also written last night)

2008-05-12T11:46:15Z

There are thirty-one insects having a party on the ceiling. I've tried making friendly contact but it seems to be a members only kind of deal. Sometimes I wonder if I go a bit strange late at night.

Biggest fucking moth I've ever seen, ever, trying to get through the window which I hastily shut having noticed it hovering around the street lamp outside. Keep expecting the glass to shatter at any second, and the last sound I ever hear to be the terrible whirring of wings. Great... that's going to give me nigtmares. Clearly, not sleeping is the answer. Looks fairly unavoidable in any case. 00:54 and I've still only revised like two Greek History topics. I have to answer questions on at least three. Not good at all. Typical Greek City-State next, I think. Since it's been the very first question on every paper for the last four years. Somehow I'm not expecting it to change, particularly while the title of the module is "Greek History and the City-State".

So, anyone been up to anything fun recently? She asks while waiting for the insects above her head to descend upon her, gouge their way through her skin and revel in her blood. Yeah, see? Strange.

PRODUCTIVE... sort of.

2008-05-12T07:58:34Z

So, my fine-feathered ferrets, guess what I did today?

Went to the moon? Invented a new chemical process that will turn lead into mushrooms? Graffiti-ed George W. Bush's right nostril? No, you're all completely wrong. I went... running. That's right, fellow ferrets, Nadia actually went running. It was win. Zomg, did I run. Reckon it was probably a good 2/3 miles, all told. ^^' Okay, I didn't run all the way, but a fair amount of it! I know, I know. The remotely exercise-y of you are going, “Nadia, that's like... nothing. Wtf are you so excited about?”, except that most of you are neither that blunt nor that harsh. It's probably more like... “Uh... well done, I guess?” But hey, I'm proud. Most of you know me well enough to know how inactive I am most of the time. I really haven't been bothered with proper exercise since I stopped going to Stagecoach and being tortured by Claire the Crazy Dance Teacher and Heather the Equaly Crazy Singing Teacher for a couple of hours every Saturday (Good times.) so this was a serious effort. But we ran.

Yes, you've caught me. It was partially a tactic of avoiding revision, but sue me. I was getting sick of naval empires and oligarchic coups – something that Athens, incidentally, never seems to have done. ;>_>

Running. It was teh good. It was even, dare I say it, teh awesomes! We matched; it was frightening. Both wearing black vest tops and dark grey combats. We looked like two members of a mid-nineties girl band. Or even a mid-nineties boy band – I was getting definite N*sync vibes from these outfits... but neither of us had anything more appropriate to go running in. We have made a dorky but excellent decision that we are going to bleach out the word “SPARTA” on the front of these vests, and the words “For The Win”. Yes, we're geeks. But hey, geekery for the win. I'm a classicist; if I'm not allowed to be a geek, who is, exactly?

And then there was stretching, in the name of not being in complete agony tomorrow (which, incidentally [← new favourite word], I will be anyway but that's besides the point). And I could totally get my hands to touch the floor. They've not done that in a loooong time. Yes, yes, I know you're all horrified at my complete unfitness, but I've not felt this good about myself in quite some time. Glee. I am gleeful. ^_^' ← see my glee.

And then after all the running and stretching and everything... no, this isn't going to get dodgy, just for the more gutter-minded of you. We were like... “Damn. Can't be bothered having a second shower today. But... am all gross from the running and everything. Lame.” So, what did we do in order to counter this? I'm interested to know if any of you could actually guess. Anyway, we had a water fight on the grass behind our Hall. I think the guys smoking probably-weed a few metres away were under the impression that they were imagining us. It must have been a little surreal for the poor guys. And in the absence of water guns, we were forced to use 2 litre Coca Cola bottles. *grin* It was good. Unfortunately, I used up my water supply rather quickly and got about a litre of cold water poured straight down the back of my neck for my pains. At least we were wearing black, not white. That would have gotten somewhat embarrassing, methinks. So then we dripped back to good ol' block B and changed out of the soggy running gear and now I am sitting in the kitchen typing this in an OpenOffice document – since I am geographically without internet – instead of working on my mindmaps as I clearly should. I'll go back to them in a minute.

In other productivity news, I cleared the washing off my floor, took the rubbish out and made mind maps about Athens. Not super productive, but considering that was all accomplished on about two or three hours' sleep I don't think it's too fail, is it? Maybe, who knows. I was pleased with myself.

And Kayleigh now seems to be playing footsie with me from the other side of the table. Well, I'm unnerved. *smirk*

Only two exams left now. Yay. And they're both relatively good ones. I mean, okay, I haven't done nearly enough work for either of them, particularly the one tomorrow: Greek History and the City-State. But hey, the last one's Beginner's Greek, which I have actually been looking forward to. Yeah, geek, been established, move on. Can't wait. And then, THEN, I'm FREE! That's going to be uber. Pretty busy time of it, though.

Might take this moment to update you on the busy-ness of my upcoming social calendar.

This year, I am going to:

Lostprophets at the Astoria – yaaaaay, I get to see LP, finally. Been wanting to see them since forever. Also, going with a dear friend I haven't actually seen for like a year or two. ^.^
Ed Byrne in Tuffnel Park – yay for live comedy. And he's such a cute, skinny little guy. And oh, so funny. ^^
Death Cab for Cutie in Brixton – Squee! DC4C! One of those other bands I've wanted to see for ages, but never thought to do anything about seeing until recently. I think I discovered the concert by accident actually, yay for random chance.
Idlewild – WIN. C'mon, almost all of you know how I feel about Idlewild. Love them so hard. This'll be the fourth time I've seen them. >.> And this time I have a t-shirt. I can be a proper fangirl. I has all their albums. FTW.
Dylan Moran – Not until December, but still. Yaaay. Going to be one HELLUVA lot of fun. ^_^
A Midsummer Night's Dream – Yeah, the Shakespeare play. At the Globe. I love the Globe, even if it is damn uncomfortable. I need to be kept out of that gift shop, though. I buy terrible things. Terrible mostly for their price and quantity.
Frontline – Also at the Globe. 'tis about Camden, apparently. Should be good.
Liberty – Yes, you guessed it, also at the esteemed Globe. About the French Revolution.

And next year, I'm going to see Jude Law as Hamlet. Yes, I'm well aware that David Tennant would be cooler. But you try getting tickets for that. Seriously.

Shame Eddie Izzard isn't playing anywhere this year. Or Placebo. That would be true win. James are playing in December, which I may yet try to get tickets to. Or, I think Bon Jovi are playing in like June, but that's probably sold out now. Either of these might be good to go to with the sister, particularly since I might be able to get her to pay for the tickets. ^.^ *innocent* Although, I am slightly of the opinion that moshing with my sister would just be a little odd. *shrug* It'll all work out, doubtless. Sister may be descending upon me some time this week while the kitchen's being redone. Won't that be joyous, kids? Don't think I'd actually mind all that much, though...

But anyway, I have about another navel empire, Thucydides, the decline of Sparta and ancient democracy to revise before 9:30 am tomorrow. ;>.> I'd better stop distracting myself with a post I won't even be able to post until tomorrow, because when I get back to my own room where there is internet I will likely fall straight into bed and make burbling noises to myself until I pass out from exhaustion and dream disturbing dreams of Spartan-Syracusian alliances and Alcibiades lisping about Thorax having transformed into a raven (Emma will know what I'm talking about, hopefully – got that into one of my Greek Lit. exam essays the other day ^_^).

Ta ta for now, my darlings. Love and sparkles to you all.

And, before I go, check out my win-ness.

Chapter 13: In Which Nadia Hates Royal Holloway for a Variety of Reasons.

2008-05-07T16:14:33Z

Are you safe inside your head?
Songs to serenade the dead...
~ RCHP

So, sick (sick, SICK, I tell you) of being messed about by Royal-fucking-Holloway - mm, tmesis (anyone about mention the semantics of tmesis should be strongly advised against doing so). Apologies to anyone who's already been forced to hear this rant; there may be new bits here, but don't feel at all obligated to read. Not that you would, and no reason you should.

1. College Cards
So, here's the set-up. Lost my college card in Camden on Friday. For those of you unaware of this mental system, my college card is the ID I have to use around campus, it also has money on it like the DCHS lunch cards (a slightly less mental system, if anything, which gives you an idea of how little I think of the one I'm actually describing); it also, and this is the real crux of the matter, gets me through my front door, through my flat door and throughmy bedroom door. Without it I am entirely locked out. Well... not entirely. Front door hasn't locked since about Christmas and flatmates can get me into the flat if they're there. But my room is a tricky one. Only way I could get in - upon arriving back at college without my card was to go to the Hub (don't squee, Torchwood fans, it's just the New Halls reception/diningroom/laundry/postroom) and get a temporary card. And this is where the fun starts. I'll lay out a little dialogue for you:
(Italics = unspoken)

Nadia: "So, I've lost my college card."
Recepton Guy (hereafter RG): "You mean you're locked out?"
Nadia: Yes, genius.
RG: Get security to let you in.
Nadia: *sigh* "No, I've actually lost my card. Not just locked it inside my room." (Did I mention I hate our automatic locking doors a LOT?)
RG: Oh... you'll need a temporary card until you get a new one, then.
Nadia: Yes, that's why I find myself standing here beating my head on the brick wall that is your spotty-faced incompetence. (I'm not normally petty enough to hold acne against anyone, but he was irritating me and my feet hurt and I was not in a tolerant mood.) "Yes, thought I might."
RG: *programming temporary card* "You'll have until six o'clock Tuesday on this, alright?"
Nadia: *nods calmly, take card with a ver strained smile, returns to Hall contentedly*
And you will note at this point, NO ONE saying "And if you haven't got a new college card by like 2:00pm Tuesday, you will be locked out of your room and only one person on this entire fucking campus will be reasonable about matters.

I'm not going go into dialogue-detail for the rest of this story; it's going to get long enough as it is. So, ladeeda, Nadia goes through her weekend thinking to herself "It's a bank holiday weekend, clearly no one will be IN the RCS office. I'll go along on Tuesday and everything will be fine and dandy." Not so. What a naive little child I was, and oh how jaded now. At about 2:00pm on Tuesday, I was meant to be revising with Melanie and Phil. They arrived, we set up camp in the kitchen, everything was going swimmingly... until Nadia wanted her copy of Catullus from her room and discovered that her temporary card that she had been going to replace with a proper card about an hour from then was no longer working. Strange since she was supposed to have another four hours in which to use it.

Down at Hub reception (I know I said I wouldn't dialogue, but too bad.):
RW (Reception Woman): "But you only hve 24 hrs to replace your card."
Me: "...it was 18:30 on a Friday."
RW: "Well, obviously you get longer at the weekend.
Me: "Bank holiday..."
RW: "Oh... yes... well, I'm afraid I can't extend this card. You only had 24hrs."
Me: *trying to remain alm and not murder anyone, very aware her friends are waiting for her*
RW: "So, you'll need to go up to Founders now and get a new card."
Me: "You mean the one I need ID and £5.00 to get?"
RW: "Yes."
Me: "The one for which the ID and money are both locked in the room you won't give me a key to get into?"
RW: "Well... I'm sorry. That's not my problem. When you get your new card, tell them to program it for you."
Me: ... ... ... ... ... *goes to Founders*

@Founders:

- Reception: "The RCS is right opposite us on the otherside of the building."
- Random opposite office: "It's right below us."
- Sign outside office: "If you need a new RCS (college) card, you need to obtain autorisation from the Student Support point upstairs before we can print it."
- Student Support point: "Well... I really need to see ID." LUCKILY, this woman was lovely and the only sensible person anywhere. I explained as calmly as I could with my head in my hands on her counter that my ID was in the room that could now not get into. "...I'll just tell them I've seen ID. *writes out form*"
Me: "OMG, I love you, thank you!!"

Downstairs, I GET my lovely shiny new card, paid for with the money on said card. ("I can DO that?! WIN." -- think I may actually have said 'win'.) And I ask, conscious now of the need to follow instructions, for the man to program it for me. "No, I'm sorry, you'll have to ask them to do that at the Hub." I blinked. I said thank you and headed back through the tiresome, blazing sunshine down the slope to the Hub.

"Hi, me again. They said I'd have to get it programmed down here."
*stony faces from everyone behind the desk* Apparently, they'd just sent an email out on Friday telling Founders that THEY had to program cards for our front doors. "We can program it for the internal doors...."

"Thanks." Just a good thing our front door hasn't locked for more than a term, or this would almost be inconvenient.

And there ended that particular episode. Still haven't got the card programmed for the front door. Good thing they haven't fixed it.

But all this actually caused me slightly less trauma than today's incident. This tale of woe slightly less for the faint-hearted. Where to begin...

2. Possible Health Conditions

Well, for the last couple of years, Nadia's menstrual cycle which she used to be able to predict to within a day without fail has been about as regular as a suburban bus service at four in the morning. Nadia's initial GP was very uninterested in this. Nadia (as most of you will have encountered at some point) is something of a hyperchondriac and was dissatisfied by this response. Went to the health centre (who have a history of pissing me off by being at lunch when I require their assistance) and doctor suggested I go on the pill. *shrug* No particular complaints here. Although this was followed by the decision that I probably had polycystic ovaraian syndrome - for various reasons that I shan't go into. Largely, a common and un-serious condition, but does affect which form of the pill you can take. The other downside of PCOS is an increased risk of diabetes, particularly if you're overweight *cough*. Couple of routine questions later, inc. family history, she decided they should probably test me for diabetes at the same time. One or two of you have heard me angst about this over the last week; yes, I know diabetes is managable and that there are millions, billions, of worse things. I don't have AIDS, I don't have cancer - as far as I'm aware and I have had a number of inconvenient scans for it. But... I don't want to be diabetic. I don't want to never be allowed to drink coke or eat chocolate again (don't say diet coke or diabetic chocolates, they're both utterly foul.) And I don't want to actually have to be responsible and remember to take insulin or check my blood sugar or eat at the same time every day. In the grand scheme of things, it would barely affect my life at all, as long as I don't die of heart disease like Dad or liver failure or Hyperosmolar Syndrome or any of the things diabetes makes you more suseptible to, but it's just another thing to deal with that I do not want to have to think about. And particularly something I don't want to have to tell my mother. "How are you, dear?" "Diabetic." "...what?"

Should point out, because this rant's lost track of it a little, that as far as I'm aware I do not have diabetes. I'm merely setting the scene of my general distress this morning on my way to the health centre for my blood test. And I should add to this the fact that I have something of a fear of needles which I always completely forget I have until someone actually wants to stick one in me. I was in a bit of a state, but being fairly inconspicuous about it, I think.

To cut a long story short, the blood test I had gotten myself so worked up about did not happen.

Because I am just not subtle enough to comprehend the cryptic instructions of doctors. Evidently I lack the intelligence to realise certain basic facts about human interaction; for instance, when a doctor tells me, "It needs to be a fasting sample so don't eat anything or drink anything expect water after midnight the night before your test", I take her at her word and do as she says. Apparently this was actually code for "Don't eat anything after 7pm the previous night." *blinkblink*

No gentleman dines before seven.

Aside from that, I frequently only eat one meal a day before cooking requires effort, and that meal rarely if EVER happens before 7pm. With tears in my eyes at the unfairness of it all, I departed, forced to make another appointment. They helpfully suggested tomorrow, but I have exams every week day until next Wednesday. Was not going to happen. So I have another week to fret myself into a stupor, and that's just before the TEST, let alone the results. I hate the health centre. I hate the bureaucratic (or however the fuck you spell it) mess that is Royal Holloway. I swear, DCHS was more sensible and as most of you are only too aware THAT'S SAYING SOMETHING.

So, rant done. I'm going to go and panic about my lack of revision now. Bye all.

Felt the Pic was Appropriate

2008-05-06T00:03:34Z

Mreeeee. ^^ Just finished reading Anansi Boys. Gorgeous book. I love Neil Gaiman so so so much; I think he's probably my very favourite author. To those of you who have read this splendid book and remember it to a certain level of detail, I say, "The lime! <3". The rest of you will not understand. Read the book and start a fanclub for the lime with me.

Yes, I should really be working or cleaning my room or sleeping and trying to get rid of my cough - for which I can see people wanting to garotte me in my next exam, but feckit. I'm pleased with my readerlyness. I have now read 9 books this year. I know, I know. Nothing compared to a lot of you. But it's frickin' win for me. This time last year I had read three books: Hart's Hope - Orson Scott Card, Walking on Glass - Iain Banks and M*A*S*H - Richard Hooker. This year, I have managed:

1. Fragile Things -- Neil Gaiman *
2. Prince Caspian -- C.S. Lewis *
3. The Savage Garden -- Mark Mills
4. Alexander: Child of a Dream -- Valerio Massimo Manfredi
5. Torchwood: The Twilight Streets -- Gary Russell *
6. Hotel World -- Ali Smith
7. Jennifer Government -- Max Barry (not sure if this should be counted as f/s-f. It's dystopic, but most of the technology etc.'s not far removed from our own and it's set on Earth and everything.)
8. I Am Legend -- Richard Matheson *
9. Anansi Boys -- Neil Gaiman *

Italics denote my favourites, small font = the really really poor ones (in my opinion). Asterisks (*) = fantasy/sci-fi. Going to try Scar Night*, Lies of Locke Lamora* or possibly Specimen Days next.

Beloveds, Wish Me Well. Wish Me Well.

2008-04-28T21:00:07Z

So, off to do my last minute revision. Can't help but thinking leaving myself half a day to do ALL my archaeology revision wasn't smart, but that can't be helped now. Even if I may have possibly bought enough Pro Plus to keep me awake until my birthday, even I'm not stupid enough to think staying awake all night before an already probably atrocious exam would be smart. So Archaeology will just have to be doomed. Never liked it anyway. Even if it is what I've got my highest essay marks in all term. Bleh.

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you.”
~ William Arthur Ward

Lear, Mutilation, Plague and Nostalgia. Oh, and did I mention Blind Terror?

2008-04-28T07:37:15Z

So, to take a point neaaarly at a time, King Lear at the Globe was awesome. Favourite characters/actors = Edmund, Goneril (sp?) and Lear's Fool - who probably has a name but I do't have a copy of the play on me to check. In terms of mutilation, the eye-ripping-out-scene was fairly gross. Mum and Jay were completely horrified. I couldn't help but think it was missing something - like gold broche pins or something. But then, I'm just weird. *grin* Aha... Plague. This refers to a particularly adorable giant black rat hand puppet named Batholemew. Which now belongs to me. Really, I should be kept out of that gift shop at all costs. It caused me to get:
Batholemew the Rat (name was my choice)
A few new badges, two of which I distributed among flatmates, the others of which were mostly replacing ones I'd had and lost.
Two pots of goooorgeous calligraphy ink a very vibrant blue and a really awesome, poisonous green. ^^
A pencil case, saying "I call for pen and ink, and write my mind."
And a couple of fridge magnets: "Something Wicked This Way Comes" aaaand... can't remember what the other one says. I forgot to get it out of mum's bag on my way home.

The nostalgia is the first part of this wholly unrelated to King Lear. Although... actually the broche pins reference could be considered a link, I suppose. I miss Challoner's. Not in an OhMyGodSchoolwassomuchbetterIhateuniversity way. I'm still loving university (although if Katarina has another episode before the end of term I might go crazy - I'm much more of the listening and not being judgemental supportice person. I'll happily stretch to taking custody of sharps/alcohol if asked. Pulling knives/glass bottles out of people's hands is slightly outside my sphere. Yeah, last night was fun, in case you couldn't tell.) But anyway, returning to Challoner's [which I am in fact, on May 1st, to talk at the UCAS evening - I know. WTH.]... It's SUMMER outside And there's a building opposite my window with brick very much the same colour as the circular builing. ...which, as another aside, I don't think I've ever typed before; it looks really weird written down. Anyway, so... yeah. I was just very strongly reminded of everything that goes on at Challoner's in Summer. The begging teachers to have class outside - almost always refused, the going in for exams (yeah, even the exams have become rose-tinted), the lounging around on the fiel- okay, steps of the science block and/or grass in Lt. Chalfont. Gods help me, I even kinda miss that rush of instant boredom when one of the teachers starts talking about how hot weather doesn't mean the sixth former can wear revealing clothes.

Anyway, I guess I just miss being somewhere that has all its own traditions already. And I just discovered my Greek exam's on a completely different campus. Which doesn't mean much of a walk - at least it doesn't look it, from the map, but I've never been there before, so I may be into a Wahbi Ayoub style excursion to find it before I actually have to be there for an exam at 9:30 in the morning. But I think once I've found it, I'll trust it to stay more or less where it is, rather than spending more time going back and checking that it hasn't moved.

And last but not least, Blind Terror. First exam: Society and History of Rome (The Julio-Claudians) is at 9:30 tomorrow morning. Cue panic. At least it's somewhere I can find. I'm so SO not prepared. But I'm even less prepared for Materials and Methods which is the following day, also at 9:30 - at least that one's not an entirely exam-based module, though. And I got a 1st for the coursework. I haven't even had a single one of the Roman History ESSAYS back! And we have no practice questions. I'm going to fail. But hey, so is everyone else.

All but one of my exams are at 9:30 am. This saddens me. Means actually getting up on time. Roman Lit's at 2:00 pm though. Far more friendly.

29th April: Roman History
30th April: Materials and Methods in Classical Archaeology
8th May: Roman Literature of the Republic
9th May: Introduction to Greek Literature <- we have to answer three questions and you cannot do Epic AND Tragedy. What a mindfuck.
12th May: Greek History and the City-State
13th May: Beginner's Greek <- only one I'm not worried about.

Barely Awake and Sentimental

2008-04-27T01:16:30Z

I love you guys. Really.

I totally, completely love you guys.

You're all awesome.

Never go away, kay?

*instigates teh massive group hug and falls alseep on*

Writing, Reading and Revising

2008-04-26T15:42:42Z

I simultaneously hate and love the way really really critical exams give you the sudden impetus to accomplish all those things you spend the whole term telling yourself you should get around to at some point. Does mean that you don't get any revision done - or you drive yourself insane trying to ignore the urges - but at least you accomplish something.

Free downloads are grand, yes. Firefox, OpenOffice and Safari For The Win. But I have never hated any program, even Works Word Processor, as much as I hate Paint.NET. I'm probably just too inept with art programs to use it, but it seems to be to be completely intractable. I hate things that don't deselect when you click away from them, for a start. And things that don't give text its own layer - and therefore don't allow you to edit text at all once you've deselected it. And things that will not let you change the transparency of layers. And things with no ability to highlight or soften edges. In short, I miss MS photo editor. Which is a largely crap program, but I've been using it for years and it more or less did everything I wanted it to except that the freehand painting option was rubbish. [/rant]

I'm totally sending my manuscript to Daw books when it's done... they're one of the publishing houses responsible for most of my favourite books. Daw (part of Penguin USA), the Orion Group (which includes Gollancz <3) and Orbit UK. The problem with the last two is that they categorically will not accept unsolicited manuscripts, which means finding an agent first. Which I realistically need to do anyway, but... meh.

Anyway, I just finished Jennifer Government (awesome book, everyone go read it right now) and I'd reaaally better get on with something halfway useful. TTFN, all.

Ah ^_^

2008-04-25T14:13:50Z

I like this new layout. It's prettiful. Quill pen!

I know, I know - the title and subtitle are completely emo, but I love them. First one's Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness), second one's Albert Camus (The Stranger). I also considered: "To live is to war with trolls." - Henrik Ibsen.

Another couple that I found while investigating quotes:
They killed the flirt whom folks called Life for leading them on. Making them think the next sunrise would be worth it; that another stroke of time would do it at last. Only when she was dead would they be safe. The successful ones — the ones who had been there enough years to have maimed, mutilated, maybe even buried her — kept watch over the others who were still in her cock-teasing hug, caring and looking forward, remembering and looking back.

Toni Morrison, Beloved

The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.

Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms

Dude...

2008-04-24T06:28:46Z

Just worked out what the weird-ass noise outside the window that sounds a little like someone tapping two 2 pence pieces together is. They're actually engraving something on the giant rock.

That's right, Yugioh-the-abridged-series fans, we have a giant rock, which it would - indeed - be tough to beat. Actually, it probably wouldn't: it's not particularly huge as giant rocks go and, unless that's what they're up to at the moment, there aren't any good carvings or anything. Nothing to suggest the Ancient Egyptians played Duel Monsters or anything. Still...

It's a big rock. Can't wait to tell my friends... they don't have a rock this big.

At least one or two of you will appreciate that, and to you - I smile. *smiles*

The Princess Royal's meant to coming and opening our Halls, today. That's right - the Halls we've been living in for six months now. They're actually being Opened. That said, you'd think the residents would be the OPTIMUM people to invite to something like that... but are we? Are we fuck. BUT! We lucky members of Butler Block B Flat 1A happen to have a kitchen window that precisely overlooks (it's less than thirty feet away, I reckon) the place where it's going to be held. Granted, it'll be indoors, but Kayleigh and I are going to go hang out in there with some revision and see if we can spot anyone interesting. Not because we care, as such. Just so we can laud it over those who do.

Just recently, I've been thinking I'll actually be quite sad to leave Butler. Really does feel like home now. Living off campus - while probably awesome - just won't be the same. And I'm going to miss living with Kayleigh, Katarina and Wani, as well. To be honest, I don't really see enough of the others to form any huge attachment to them. Although I do sometimes find myself sort of nostalgic for the days of Shanna and Nicole: NOT something I ever expected to happen, to be quite frank. To make what Alston would call 'a bit of a naughty leap', I know which room I'm getting in the house, now! Yay at Chris not having wanted it. And Melanie didn't seem to want it either, so it's MINE. Yaaaay. It's got lots more floor space than I'm used to having, although I worry just a smidge that it'll be difficult to fit all my stuff in. Never mind, I'm sure it'll all work out. And I thiiiink, I might have the router in my room, at that rate. Which wins because think of the tragedy if it was in the room of someone who couldn't have little green lights on while they were asleep? It might get turned off at night! And then where the hell would I be? Getting a lot more sleep, probably... But also lonely as feck and bored out of my head and internet withdrawally like nobody's business. (I like how I just tried to correct the spelling of 'withdrawaly' to include a second L. As if to say, right. That's DEFINITELY a word, now. : p)

On a completely different note: one of my toenails has split almost the whole way down the middle. It hurts. And catches on my socks. Ow.

On a SUNNIER note: Emily sent me the most PWNSOME card for ~~St. George's~~ Dragon Day. ^^ It's goooorgeous <3<3 It owns my soul. It has this aaawesome red dragon on it (whom I've decided to name Rufus) and gliiiitter, oh such glitter there is. Not to mention teh handy four-leaf clovers for exam survival. Yay. Emily & glittery dragon cards FTW.

Peace out, y'all.

Grr.

2008-04-21T16:41:54Z

My mother's been checking my bank statements. I mean... not that there was anything suspicious in them that I didn't want her to see, especially. But I resent the practice on principle. First I'm not mature enough to spend a weekend alone, and now I need my mother scrutinising how I spend my money? How messed up is that? I am deeply irritated by this. And I did actually find her reading them, but you know, in a situation like that you just can't protest because no matter what you say it will look like you're deliberately hiding something, which I wasn't.

Alice brought me coke. She's allowed to stay. I suppose. She's threatening to come stay with me this term because we're having our kitchen re-done. Not completely sure I will be able to cope with this, but haven't said anything to this effect. I'll proooobably manage. If Wani can have her sister sharing that room most of the time, I'm certain I can put up with mine for a week or so. And she can commune with Kayleigh and Katarina - with whom she has things in common. =D Ah, it'll probably be cool.

Meh. And my room is still a tip. Not looking forward to having to tidy my room at college as well. Kayleigh can testify to the fact that it looks as though a bomb's recently gone off in it. Although... a bomb that conveniently removes some of the stuff while leaving the rest of it intact but everywhere. ;>> And I bet my plants are all dead.

I just ordered a new flashdrive - 4gb - from Amazon to replace my old one, which I love but has lost its lid. And I'm really not comfortable carrying it around without one. It's getting kinda old and decrepit anyway, and it would be the most fail thing in the world if it died. It's got eeeeverything on it. Which I'm going to back up on my hard drive before I copy everything onto the new one as well. I may also have ordered a new microphone so that I can actually use Skype for phone calls and the first series of new Doctor Who. Yay, Christopher Eccleston! Emily, I need to give you your DVDs back sometime soon! Okay... maybe there is reason for Mum to check my bank statements.

And I really FUCKING wish she'd stop threatening me with dropping out of uni and getting a job. Does she honestly think I haven't realised that this is what happens if I fail all my exams? Strangely enough the thought has actually occurred to me. Why, WHY, does she think I'm really that incompetent?! God, I hate being at home. Seriously. Moving out as soon as I POSSIBLY can. x____x Always thought I'd hate the idea of leaving home, but after having been away at university I can really really understand why people leave and don't go back.

Ohhh, Not Good

2008-04-18T16:16:57Z

I really suck at revising. I've done like NOTHING. And my first exam is just over a week away. *woe and spazzing* And I'm not going to make it back to uni until Monday, because mother is too busy to take me and I've got far too much stuff to lug on the train. Gaaaah.

And to top this off: I'm stuck here this weekend because mother, aunt and sister are all going down to Rhye to visit uncle, aunt and cousins (of doom). Mother now thinks I should go with them - wasn't planning to because I hate the cousins and need to do some work, cleaning etc if I'm not going to be back at uni - because apparently the nineteen year old is too incompetent to be left in her locked house for ONE NIGHT. Gods. *le sigh*

Also: I watched United 93 - the film about the 9/11 plane where the passengers tried to take back control of the plane. I haven't cried so much at something I was watching since the first time I saw Journey's End. My God, it was so depressing. Awesomely done though. Creepy moments included passenger who looked like my dad and terrorist who looked like my cousin, Assam. I was impressed by what I'm affectionately referring to as the Reverse Disneyism (or Reverse Aladdinism): that is, the Arab terrorists were the best looking people on the plane, as opposed to Jafar who is the only Arab-looking character in Aladdin and the ugliest one as well.

Had to resort to watching Save the Last Dance 2 in order to cheer myself up. Didn't work too well. My GOD that movie's crap. I mean, the first one was like... daft but lovely. This one was just... ew. And whatever happened to Derek?! Who the hell is Miles?! I didn't see the first half because the films overlapped. So... y'know. Wtf.

Anyway, my dears. How have you all been?

And by the by, can ANY of you see my mood icons? Jess can't and I can't work out why.
Edit: I've just thought of something, Jess. Go to customise your journal and see if there's an option for "view custom icons" or something like that. And if it isn't ticked, tick it. I think I remember there being something like that in the options, and that could be it. I don't think it ticks automatically.

-.o

2008-04-13T13:28:15Z

Haven't posted for two whole days! Oh noes!

Some more Richard Alston quotes to hopefully keep you all giggling through your revision.

In an Archaeology lecture he took us for - Death and Demography

"I've been let out to corrupt you by talking about bodies..."

"No lecturer was complete without a stick because you could point and gesticulate and feel important!"

"If you want to murder someone - and never say that Classics is not an all-inclusive subject - can I suggest that you take the body, burn it, then mix the ash in with a lot of other debris from a funeral pyre, bury it, and leave it for 2,000 years. The 2,000 years could be a problem, but it does work desperately well."

(Looking for an OHP slide of a male skeleton.) "Let me find Charles... -sounding really quite upset- Charles! Where are you, Charles? You've left me! ...Charlene will have to do."

(If he was stripped of clothes, skin and flesh...) "I'd be Daniel Craig! ...although yoou miht not be able to tell that I wasn't Nicole Kidman. I might also be Will Smith."

(Learning about diseases from skeletons) "This person nodded a little too violently and their head fell off..."

"You may be shocked to know that Nick Lowe is 4723 years old. We did a tree ring analysis on him the other year. Professor Powell is 14." (For extra laughs, Prof. Powell is the extremely serious head of the Classics dept.)

I don't think I gave you his Pliny's Villas ones either...

"Of course, Pliny isn't trying to sell us his villa. And if he was, we couldn't afford it."

"Christians are horrid and eat babies."

"The window's quite attractive. We've ot some lovely... uh... yeah..."

"Why don't you go upstairs? Better views up there. Other spaces that you can... explore..."

Aaaaand a couple more Jannett Morgan ones too. All from a lecture on Numismatics.

"The important thing to remember about coins is there's two sides to it..."

(On unknown switches that might fix the computer projector.) "I'll press it and blow us up, but you show me what to do."

"Greece was actually quite weeny."

Revision Going Well...

2008-04-10T19:05:56Z

Heh. Heh. Heh.

I may already have posted these, I'm not sure. But Roman History needs livening up somehow – and I don't think I've bored/entertained you with these yet. If I have, forgive me.

These are nuggets of wisdom and wonder from my Roman History lecturer, the inimitable Richard Alston. Let's face it – he's almost as awesome as Nick Lowe. I mean, no epic beard, but he's got to be at least as mad.

On the safeguarding of food in Halls. “I am a God. You do not eat my food. Execute that girl...boy... thing!”

On Gaius Caligula's sex life. “Polymorphously promiscuous!”

“Who else bridges large stretches of water? Well, Xerxes when he's trying to join Hollywood in 300...”

“The Romans don't really like their leaders to be gods...”

On university education in ages past. “You'd nearly all have servants. Of course, I have several... but that's because I'm fabulously wealthy. ...on my professorial salary...”

On our divisionist view of history. “No, I'm a High Medievalist, because in my age they washed their socks with Persil! ...Ah, but in my age the coins were really really shiny!”

“I'm going to be like Gladson. I'm going to wear a frock coat and read Homer every couple of weeks and save fallen women off the streets and I'm going to make 14 hour speeches, mostly in Latin...”

“The old time piece, it starts talking to you...”

“If someone goes out to the baths and has 20 respectable people following them...”

“The next week, the Emperor might say 'Well, Kevin, we have had our disagreement, but it's your daughter's birthday. Here's a present.”

On social networking and patronage in Ancient Rome. “This is a kind of ancient Facebook...”

“This is a little bit of a naughty leap...”

On friends. “Well, most of us kind of know how to make friends, and mostly we sort of know how to keep them... *after thinking for a few seconds* Yeah, I do have one... but then, he is imaginary.”

On social convention. “If you stand too close to someone, you're unlikely to get arrested.... well, if you stand really close to them you might, I suppose.”

On... I can't even remember what. “But it's interesting to think about what kind of soap opera Gaius might have made... and what role there would have been in it for his favourite horse. Something to think about later. ...or now. I'm quite intrigued...”

“And, tomorrow, the joys of being mad!”

“This was a brilliant lecture at a quarter past midnight.”

On the machinations of Messalina. “This is Fatal Attraction but with togas and vine leaves!”

Having been describing the Roman family. “Of course, my sister's children regard me as a living God. ...but that's just because I am.”

On hospitality. “[It] does hit the Old Roman button.”

“Comfy sofas are the end of virtue!”

On the culture of difference. “Oh, look, Indians! They've got teeth... well, most of them. And they've got the required number of legs...”

[And just because I found them while flicking through my masses of unsorted notes:

Courtesy of Jannett Morgan, one of my Archaeology lecturers.

“I am the kylus (drinking cup) of Bob!”

“I am not obsessed with pots!”

“I have here some OHPs that were put together by friendly guinea pigs..."

<3

2008-04-08T21:23:41Z

This song makes me cry... Mainly just something about the chords in the backing. I know that it's therefore a bit ridiculous to just tell you it makes me cry then give you the lyrics. But...*shrugs*

She held the world upon a string
But she didn't ever hold me
Spun the stars on her fingernails
But it never made her happy
Cause she couldn't ever have me
She said she won the world at a carnival
But she could never win me
'Cause she couldn't ever catch me

I, I know why
Because when I look in her eyes
I just see the sky
When I look in her eyes
Well I, just see the sky

I don’t love you I'm just passing the time
You could love me if I knew how to lie
But who could love me?
I am out of my mind
Throwing a line out to sea
To see if I can't catch a dream

The sun was always in her eyes
She didn't even see me
But that girl had so much love
She'd wanna kiss you all the time
Yeah, she'd wanna kiss you all the time

She said she won the world at a carnival
But I'm sure I didn’t ruin her
Just made her more interesting
I'm sure I didn’t ruin her
Just made her more interesting

I, I know why
Because when I look in her eyes
I just see the sky
When I look in her eyes
Well I just see the sky

I don’t love you I'm just passing the time
You could love me if I knew how to lie
But who could love me?
I am out of my mind
Throwing a line out to sea
To see if I can catch a dream

Anya's back tomorrow. ^_^ Seems ridiculous: spent six months feeling like she'd be gone forever, and for the last couple of days, it's been like "Wow, she's coming back, already?" I fail at party planning. (But no more than Jess does.)

Just typed "nto" instead of 'no'. Aw, N'to... (irrelevant and meaningless to all but about three of you, I imagine.)

Silly, Silly Nadia

2008-04-08T21:09:12Z

So, Nadia did a very, very stupid thing. She discovered World of Warcraft. I know, I know, groans from all quarters, but it's fun! Lots of. Not that I pretend I'm a fully-fledged geek, yet, or anything. In fact, I am quite impressively incompetent at it, but... fun... <3

Why is it that, every exam period, I manage to discover a new way to waste time instead of revising? I sense it may be down to some terrible flaw in the human condition, perhaps symptomtic of some dark purpose that has brewed - since our arrival on the planet - within our very souls. Or not, what do I know? Don't ask; I really don't have a clue.

In other - wonderfully exciting - news, my laptop all works again! Hoorah! Means I need to put MSWord on again (so very sick of f--king about with that program) but actually I might not bother... I've been using Open Office which I swear works basically as well for more or less everything that I ever used Word for. And it opens Word files, which Works Word Processor bloody won't. I ask, because not knowing ~~much~~ anything about computers I can't honestly say I know: is there ANY advantage to Works Word Processor over Word? Because as a user, I can't find anything complementary to say about it, which makes me assume that Microsoft just placate their customers with some kind of nearly unusable word processor (that is - none the less - a very, very small step up from wordpad but only because you can justify the margins) while snickering to themselves, content in the knowledge that everyone will go out and spend vast sums of money on Microsoft Word to replace it. This doesn't seem at all unlikely to me, but the idealist in my head who constantly maintains a valiant fight against the cynic in me so wants to believe that they really are stupid enough to think people LIKE WWP. So, anyone? Is there any ground on which WWP is superior? I personally suspect not.

Such Love for These Guys...

2008-04-06T19:56:35Z

"Who could love me? I'm out of my mind!
Throwing a line out to sea, to see if I can't catch a dream..."

So, yes, someone has the new Panic At The Disco album, "Pretty. Odd." I know, I know, I'm a deplorable and utterly incurable emo. But that aside, I love this album! So much! It's so pretty! And it has such awesome lines!

"Hey, moon, please forget to fall down
Hey, moon, don't you go down"

I think the examples don't really work because you can't hear them. But, I don't know... I acknowledge that they're not to everyone's taste, but there's something about the cadences and harmonies they use that just make the musically-inclined part of my soul melt with rapture. ^_^ I love them so much. And, alright this is only their second album while Fall Out Boy are on their fourth, but FOB's album really rather disappointed me, so I think P!atD may have just edged a little ahead of them in my favours with this album.

Best songs:
Nine in the Afternoon
Northern Downpour
Behind the Sea
She Had the World
The Green Gentleman [Things Have Changed]
Mad As Rabbits
From a Mountain in the Middle of the Cabins

Bear in mind, there are only, what, 15 tracks altogether and I've just highlighted 7 of them.

Something Adorable

2008-04-06T17:06:21Z

I was just flicking through my old WeBlogImages account and found this. I totally didn't make it, or anything, I just found it ages ago and thought it was completely adorable. Maybe I'm overimpressed by it, but I love it. <3<3

Challenge

2008-04-05T23:33:25Z

You've heard of Lolcats, or I presume you have at least, because if you haven't you're missing out like WOAH and I don't want to believe anyone's life is that distressingly empty; anyway, I digress! You've heard of Lol/cats/, but now I have a new challenge for you.

LolYEAST

(No one mention infections, please, that really wasn't where I wanted this to go. ;>.>) So, annyihra was making nan bread a while back (when I originally wrote this post in a notepad file which I just rediscovered) and I was showing people cat pictures with amusing captions, and the two have now combined in an unholy union of humour and microbe.

Early suggestions include:
(The editor would like to note that this is the only use of chatspeak she is willing to condone.)
+ All ur breadz r belong to us.
+ In ur recipe, inflatin' ur breadz
+ Microbes of the world unite!

Please add your own. (And validate this sad excuse for a pastime!)

Thank all the Gods...

2008-04-04T15:14:45Z

Yes, yes, the essay of doom is finally finished. And yes, emailed. Hoo-fucking-rah - and that's not sarcasm. And as well as the Gods, praises be to the wonderous annyihra and thedarkenedhalf, who somehow managed to stop me going insane along the way. Less thanks to my sster who nearly drove me nuts over it. ;>>

And to prevent myself from descending even more into Accademy Award Acceptance Speech mode, I'm going to go get ready to trundle off to Costa. See... a lot of you fine people in a couple of hours' time. And the rest of you, avete atque valete. <3

And once more Happy Woot Day.

Also, if anyone wants to read the dreaded article...

What does Calgacus’ speech at Mons Graupius tell us about Tacitus’ moral reading of Roman imperialism?

Most works on Tacitus’ Agricola will make at least some reference to the enigma that is Calgacus’ speech before the battle of Mons Graupius. A number of different interpretations have been discussed, including but not strictly limited to those I am about to cover. What this portrayal of the rebel leader cab tell us about Tacitus’ views on Imperial Rome is an important question, but we must also ask if it does not tell us more about other elements of the historian’s world – Domitian’s culture of informers and show trials, for instance – or indeed whether we go too far, altogether, in trying to assign controversial indictment or allegory to a mere narrative device. While no single discussion is likely to provide the answers we seek, I will hopefully outline the strengths and flaws of some of the more prominent readings of this baffling speech.

Firstly, we must look at the possibility that, by awarding the great Roman gift of elevated rhetoric to Calgacus and a disgraceful reputation of “robbery, butcher [and] rapine” to the Roman invaders, Tacitus hoped to illustrate Rome’s decline in morality and nobility as a result of their imperial greed. “The wealth of an enemy excited their cupidity, his poverty their lust of power.” The Roman view of Britain – “a frontier where reason met resistance…” – certainly provides an adequate symbol for the Rome that Tacitus knew under Domitian’s government which went to great lengths “to banish the professors of philosophy and exile all honourable studies” This role reversal - the undoubtedly ‘Roman’ nature of this speech, full of appeals to libertas, and its descriptions of the Roman imperial army’s savage behaviour - lead us to the conclusion that Tacitus considered Rome’s conduct as an imperial force to be not merely detrimental to their society, but as powerfully negative enough to reduce the Roman race to the level of a rampaging barbarian horde. While Tacitus took a complex enough view of history that he could comfortably show the sympathetic sides of its ‘villains’ and the flaws of its ‘heroes’ (other examples are easily found in the Germanica and the Dialogus as well as the major works) , Calgacus’ speech demonstrates a surprising level of hostility; this indicates that the author truly believed in the words he assigned to Calgacus making them far more than part of a recurrent method of characterisation.

While it is possible that Tacitus was sincerely troubled by the Romans’ treatment of the British ‘barbarians’ – which is certainly how Jones interprets this speech in his re-examination of the provinces – this would be an unlikely view to take at the time. In Tacitus’ period – the late first and early second centuries AD – there was no popular talk of the undesirability of Empire or the abolition of slavery, both extremely modern ideas; therefore, it requires a stretch of the imagination to believe that Tacitus’ focus on the great “facta moresque” of his father-in-law and his declamations of the horrors perpetrated under Domitian wanders for the duration of this speech to the condition of enslaved foreign populations. It is far more likely that Calgacus’ eloquent propaganda for liberty and defiance have significance to Tacitus.

“The Agricola, it has been truly said, does not wear its meaning on its face.” An alternative interpretation – and the one that I, personally, find most convincing - is that Roman imperialism is, at this narrative point, a red herring, and that the root of Calgacus’ furious oratory is to be found back in the heart of Rome as well as a few years back in recent history at the point of the Agricola’s circulation. We can read Calgacus’ speech entirely from Tacitus’ point of view and identify Domitian, “from whose oppression escape is vainly sought by obedience and submission” , rather than Imperial Rome as a whole as the intended target. Tacitus writes that there are those who, “having similar characters, think that the crimes ascribed to others are aimed at them” and in this case it seems that Domitian would be justified in believing as much – more reason than ever for the Agricola’s publication to wait until after the tyrant’s assassination. The connection between the rebel leader and the oppressed citizens of Rome explains the curiously Roman style of the speech in a new way – in that Calgacus is assuming the voice of the Roman citizen population as a whole (and the Senate in particular, as Tacitus’ greatest sphere of concern) in order to address his outcry against slavery and domination. In the opening paragraphs of the Agricola, Tacitus described Domitian’s “war on culture and merit” , and by disguising Calgacus in the rhetoric of Roman declamations Tacitus exemplifies this perfectly. This interpretation can also make some sense of the passage’s more confusing elements; the dishonour felt by the men’s wives and daughters, “though they may escape violation by the enemy” , may refer to the informer culture which thrived under Domitian’s rule, under which “friendship and hospitality” were next to meaningless: “Under Domitian more than half our wretchedness lay in watching and being watched, while our very sighs were scored against us…” Tacitus recollects much later, lamenting the loss of loyalty and solidarity to Domitian’s insane paranoia.

The constant references to the loss of liberty even in those sections of the work not directly referring to the despot himself, using not only the Britons but the Gauls as well to illustrate the Rome’s downfall to and corruption by its own leader , make this the credible interpretation it is. It is the task of other discussions to labour over Tacitus’ obsession with Senatorial history, but it cannot be omitted from this that the reduction of Britain and Gaul read very easily as allegories for the Senate’s position under Domitian, Tacitus’ own “record of subservience” .

The last interpretation of Calgacus' speech which will be covered here is, almost inarguably, the weakest and most implausible. This theory is that Tacitus' inclusion of the speech is, first and foremost, a literary device. It allows him to arrange the prelude to Mons Graupius as a debate in the Classical style of other works of literature, like conventions of Greek comic and tragic theatre or traditions of epic poetry both Greek and Roman. Placing speeches in the mouths of generals to represent, but not accurately record, speeches they made in real life was a well-honoured habit of histories, Thucydides being perhaps the most pertinent example. Some historians have explained away the incongruous speech as a token attempt to broaden the work’s perspective or prevent a banality of style . And it has been suggested that the speech was included with the intention of identifying the Agricola as a history rather than merely a biography . This argument, however, seems to necessitate a gross understatement of Tacitus’ capabilities as a writer and historian. Why should this have been his primary aim, rather than simply a factor in the speech’s construction? It is far more likely that – if this was one of his considerations – then it was a secondary intention.

Here, then, is our answer to the question “What does Calgacus’ speech at Mons Graupius tell us about Tacitus’ moral reading of Roman Imperialism?” And our answer appears to be that we are probably told little about Tacitus’ morality vis-à-vis the Empire. Instead, mass interpretation seems to indicate that Tacitus had more pressing messages to communicate, barely an estimated two years after Domitian’s demise. It is eminently credible that after surviving that tyrannical regime Tacitus both felt eager to confess Domitian’s corruption and that of his own senatorial class and, at the same time, feel lingering caution about doing so. “We should have lost our memories as well as our tongues had it been as easy to forget as to be silent…” Tacitus wrote, clearly indicating that they were unable to forget the events they had suffered, disclosing – long before the beginning of Calgacus’ speech in chapter 30 – the thrall under which he was held by the recollection of Domitian’s persecution. The historian offers us his own justification for what follows in the later chapters; why, if imperial conquest and the yoking of weaker nations were his main concerns, do they not appear in the opening chapters? Why does Tacitus, instead, leave us the following: “Rome of old explored the limits of freedom; we have plumbed the depths of slavery… Yet even now I shall find some satisfaction, however unskilled and unpractised my tone, in recording the servitude we once suffered.”

Word Count (inc. footnotes): 1,534

Bibliography:
Bédoyère, G. – Defying Rome: The Rebels of Roman Britain – Tempus 2007
Jones, T. & Ereira, A. – Barbarians: An Alternative Roman History – BBC Books 2006
Liebeschuetz, W. – The Theme of Liberty in the Agricola of Tacitus (The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 16, No. 1 – The Classical Association 1996
Martin, R. – Tacitus – Batsford Academic and Educational Ltd. 1981
Tacitus (trans. Mattingly, H.) – Agricola – Penguin Classics 1948

Shocking!

2008-04-04T08:32:26Z

My THIRD post of the day and I only just remembered! My gods, I fail. Anyway,

Happy Day-Formally (or Fomerly - hi Charli, Happy Incident Day) -Known-As-W00t, Guys!

Ferrets and Weasels, Alive, Alive-oh!

2008-04-04T08:22:31Z

"Can I suggest
That you invest
In something more
Than hopelessness?"

Procrastination May Be the Enemy, but So's Another Line...

2008-04-04T07:13:07Z

Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.
- Langston Hughes

Ooooh, this is weird. I'm back on the downstairs computer because my room is driving my nuts. And everything's weeeeeird. No tabs! The browser windows have NO TABS. I've got about for IE (I know, pity me) windows open at the moment. And I foresee more.

Essentially, I'm putting off opening my actual essay because my laptop ran out of battery last night while turned on and I'm struggling with the thought that I can't remember when I last saved the damn thing. Also, Word sucks to high Heaven on this computer. It's buggier than the end of the first Men In Black movie, and Nadia is going to be shot for bad jokes.

So, wasting time with posting and customising. Joys. I'll hate myself for it later, it'll all even out. And I have pretty quotes.

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.
- Oscar Wilde