A heart to hold you won't be far...

I feel fantastic and I'm STILL ALIVE.

rpgamera — Sat, 15 May 2010 17:12:06 GMT

Right. So, no entries since shortly after my wedding eight months ago. I've found most of LJ land also follows me on Facebook, so I confess to keeping random snippits of my life up on my Facebook wall instead of LiveJournal. You know, cause it's easier to be snappy and interesting.

Here is the laundry list of what has happened:

Successfully completed my MA in Japanese Studies, got a Merit on my dissertation (a bloody 68! I did not fall flat on my face!) and on my degree program on the whole.
Went to my graduation and got said MA on a lovely piece of paper.
Went back to America soon after my wedding to visit family and friends who couldn't attend, which was a massive whirlwind tour but still VERY fun. Also returned in January to attend Anime Los Angeles, where the convention had invited The Spoony Bards to play as Musical Guests of Honor. It was, officially, my last concert with the band. And it was AWESOME. We were treated like kings and queens, I met some really awesome people in Los Angeles, caught up with some old friends and saw palm trees. Palm trees, man!
I applied for and successfully got an extention to stay in the UK for two more years, on the basis I'm married to Stuart, as well as the right to work in the UK.
When I came back from America in January, I started a diet based on a book I found there: The Glycemic-Load Diet Cookbook. Basically, after cutting out solid starches and sugary drinks from my diet, by mid-April I had lost about 30 pounds without starting serious exercise to complement it. I've dropped two clothing sizes, and also got a new haircut: a short blunt cut that I've always wanted, but been afraid to get because of my formerly 'round' face. Like'a this.
From the end of January until late April, I did nothing but look for work. It was an emotionally exhausting, demoralizing and frustrating time, but I am thankfully clear of it much quicker than I was the first time I was unemployed. I have small anecdotes from the period, some of which are funny and some of which were very frustrating. Took approximately three months to find a job.
I now work for Enterprise Rent-a-Car in its administrative offices in a town called Aldershot, providing administrative support to a team of salesman who sell on former rental cars to car dealerships across the UK. My co-workers are about my age, incredibly nice and supportive, and so far my job is pretty darn cool. Very clerical/administrative and not super focused on customer service. The format is exactly what I was hoping for to serve as a 'bridging' job for my lengthy record of customer service positions.
In a funny twist of fate, Enterprise's global headquarters are in St. Louis, MO. I knew this coming into the interview, but it certainly made the "What do you know about our company?" question in the interview a cinch to answer.
Stuart and I are facing possible eviction from our house, as it's currently on the market to be sold. It's owned by Stuart's brother, who is now expecting a son to be born late this year. It's not big enough to house him, his fiancee, and the baby, so they need to sell it. If the house sells by the end of the month, we may be very quickly shuffled out into Stuart's parents' house temporarily while we save up enough money to put down a deposit on a flat. If not, we'll be allowed to rent at a higher rate to Stuart's brother. It's an awkward situation, as I want Stuart's brother to do well and have what he needs for his new baby, but I really don't want to be kicked out of the house at the last minute just while Stuart and I are about to recover financially from the slump induced by my continued unemployment.

And now, for not so serious things, in no particular order:

I've played Aion and Star Trek Online at their releases since the year began, and abandoned both. Aion had brilliant potential, but turned into a grindfest at level 20. Star Trek Online swayed me because it was Star Trek, but it wasn't the MMO I had hoped for. Space combat isn't my favorite aspect of the game, and the away team missions were rubbish. I just wanted to be a Medical Officer, sit in a sickbay, and heal people.
Stuart and I are officially back on the EU servers of World of Warcraft, exploiting the Refer-a-Friend system to create a host of level 60 characters in all the classes we want, and then cherry pick the ones we want to progress. Saving a couple classes for fresh starts when Cataclysm comes out.
Temporarily played Final Fantasy XI again for a while with powermitch and xell, but had to cancel it due to financial difficulties. Enjoyed the mechanics of it immensely again. Found it very hard to will myself to play on my own, though. Not a game for the faint of heart, which is rather refreshing.
My friend Ron said, "You would give up your firstborn to get in the Final Fantasy XIV beta." While he's not exactly correct, he is incredibly close. I have been looking forward to XIV with ridiculous anticipation. Like, the kind of anticipation some people have about Starcraft II, or Diablo III. That's me with FFXIV.
Tabletop gaming is still going very strong; the folks who we play with regularly are fabulous folks. Stu and I have gotten very close to a lovely couple about our age, with very similar personality types.

And there you have it, the compuslory wall of text. Nice, huh?

The Nutshell

rpgamera — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 21:13:29 GMT

4000 words left of the dissertation before Friday. I can do this. I gotta believe! But I very well may not be able to see my mother off at the airport for me to do it, which has me bummed. I'm pretty sure she'll understand. I don't know what the end result of it will be, but as the case has been with most of my other classes at Sheffield, I'm looking for a pass and not a stellar grade. Wedding + move in to new house + dissertation all in the same 3 months has not been easy.

Speaking of which, Stuart and I were married on Friday. My husband (!) has been so incredibly supportive, patient, and loving since I started this crazy dissertation business back in May/June along with planning the wedding side by side. I love him to bits. I'll post a photo when the photographer is finished post-production. :3

TL;DR: Got married, almost done dissertation. Life is looking good.

Bite-sized updates

rpgamera — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:58:01 GMT

I've been really unlucky with illness the past 3 weeks. First a cold at the start of my research in Sheffield, and then just as it ended, a bad case of tonsillitis. Viral, too, meaning to get over it it's had to run its course. No antibiotics. I think it's better today than it was yesterday or the day before.

Dissertation work is slower than I wish it were because of it. Ugh.

So is gym attendance. Argh.

To prepare for Youmacon, and Anime Los Angeles and finally get back in the game, singing wise, I've picked up a voice teacher. I'll start meeting with her at the end of the month. She specializes in contemporary music, and is somewhat close to me. Never been taught any other style than classical, so this will hopefully be fabulous. Will have to monitor finances for this. It could get pricey. But it's something I very, very much want.

Started up a meetup group for tabletop gamers local to my area, and found 8 or so people so far. Have been working on us getting divided into groups for two campaigns. (SO excited about this.) We just need more players for the weekend group. The weekday group is go for launch. We're playing D&D 3.5 first, and Stuart will be playing his first tabletop RPG campaign ever. D'aww.

Have purchased a very, very lovely headpiece and shoes for my wedding dress. When I'm feeling better, I desperately need to take the dress to be altered.

Throat still sore. Going to make potato mash.

Wall of Text!

rpgamera — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:53:23 GMT

So, mini-updates on Facebook (shameless Twitter ripoff, but it reaches more folks I know, so it's won my battle for usage) have comprised most of my life updates as of late. It feels like it's time to get a good old fashioned journal entry in for once.

I've finished the taught part of my Master's program at the University of Sheffield, assuming I don't receive a devastating email in the next couple of weeks advising me to come in and "discuss the results of my final examination" (which would mean I failed it, and thus the module). Even if that happens, I have a final opportunity to retake the exam in late summer. With the first exam, I wasn't entirely sure how I did on it, but I passed. The exam I just took had two sections on which I felt particularly confident compared to last time, but the composition component was quite difficult. I've never really subscribed to the motto "C's get degrees!", but I've had to with this program; it is BRUTAL, though thoroughly educational. Assuming all goes well, I have from now until September 11th to research and write an 18,000 word dissertation.

For my dissertation, I will be examining political cartoons published by Japanese newspapers during the G7/8 conferences from the mid 1970s until approximately the late 1990s, and see if the way in which Japanese depicted themselves in relation to the the Western powers of the conferences in said cartoons is an appropriate gauge for the way Japanese people viewed themselves as a people over the duration of 20-25 years. Arguably, because of the economy booming and then busting in the 1990s, there was a change in dialogue amongst the Japanese at this time; they went from being particularly proud of their economic success and attributed it to particularly unique Japanese only traits (some of which were compiled in a loose body of works known as the nihonjinron: discourse on the Japanese), and into self-blame when the bubble burst in the 1990s. I want to investigate a), if examining this kind of visual media is an appropriate and powerful form of primary source in which scholars can deduce further evidence of this change in identity amongst the Japanese and b) if there is a correlation between these attitude changes as they are understood in Japanese studies literature, and the depictions of the Japanese in their political cartoons of this event over 20-25 years.

Phewh.

So, that's my project over the next three months, and that doesn't even count getting married a week after the dissertation is due, and adjusting to living with my fiance.

I moved (most) of my things down from Sheffield this past Tuesday, and moved into a tiny townhouse in Godalming just today. Stuart and I have spent most of the day putting things away and sorting out the house just how we like it. We also cooked some, bought perishable groceries, and have spent equal amounts of time working and flopping on the bed whilst complaining how tired we are. It's tiring work, but wonderful work. I've only lived with a housemate one other time, and the experience of living jointly with someone you love is exhilarating. We do, however, have our computers in different parts of the house, just so we can still get time to ourselves whilst doing what we love: namely, computer games and web browsing.

We're looking into buying two gym memberships for a Fitness First that's less than 10 minutes walk away from our house. Rumor has it that they are much more expensive than we first thought; Stuart's brother said he believed it to be £500 a year. My own estimate is that it's something closer to £300. Neither is particularly cheap, but I would expect £300 from a gym, as that's about the going rate for the gym in Sheffield if joining as a non-student. Needless to day, if it's closer to the tune of £500, we may just invest in a Wii, Wii Fit, and some healthy eating cookbooks instead.

Hell, we may end up doing that anyway if the money holds out. But that's me being incredibly optimistic.

My wedding dress arrived to Stuart's parents' house on Tuesday, and thankfully it looked absolutely lovely on me. The alterations it needs are minimal; namely, some pinching in on the bust as I was not blessed with particularly large breasts. That, or I suppose I could just stuff myself. xD

A disappointment, though, was the bolero jacket that came with it. While lovely, the sleeves are entirely too long and look goofy as they are. They also don't do much for covering the scars on my arms, as the sequined ornaments on them are on places that don't need much coverage. I have a feeling the sleeve length could be altered if the jacket were ripped apart at the seams along the jacket body, but the material is a very, very fine white mesh. I'll be taking it to a professional tailor hands down, but I don't even know if it's something they could work with, as the fabric is just incredibly fine. Worse comes to worse, I may end up having to bare my arms and all, and cover the rest with makeup or something.

oh shi-

rpgamera — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:30:28 GMT

http://kotaku.com/5276066/ps3-exclusive-final-fantasy-xiv-announced !!!

I was not expecting to hear about this, er, ever. But Stuart is now super-excited. I have a feeling we'll be here on release day. We both met in Final Fantasy XI, so there's some nostalgia to it, too. I liked the world of FFXI a ton, but it became too much to play after my return from Japan.

If it ends up being a grind-fest punishing game like XI, then we'll leave. But there will definitely be an attempt on the part of both of us.

wat.

rpgamera — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:14:54 GMT

Thanks to silvershadows86, more of my childhood has died. I think these are safe for work, but mildly troubling.

As I said to her, "I am not supposed to want Prince Phillip's ass. Nooo."

rpgamera — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:30:52 GMT

I've got good news and bad news.

Bad News: I'm killing myself trying to work on the second Classical Japanese assessment, because it is thoroughly evil and awful and DIFFICULT.

Good News: I'm eating Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies while agonizing about said Classical Japanese. :3 An American friend's wife brought them for me when she came to visit said friend a week ago. I shared about half a pack with my British gaming friends and converted about half of them. The other 4 are in my belly, and two more are very happily inviting me to eat them.

Can't Stop the Music

rpgamera — Sat, 16 May 2009 19:02:35 GMT

If you aren't watching the edit series TNG (which is aptly described as Star Trek: The Next Generation getting the Sealab 2021 treatment), you're missing out on something great.

Case in point, the latest episode. Many of the episodes are more enjoyable if you've seen all episodes up to date, but this one is enjoyable by itself.

Nothing comes between Picard and his flute. Nothing.

Shameless bragging

rpgamera — Thu, 07 May 2009 23:10:26 GMT

Allow me this one tiny indulgence, because I'm super excited about it.

I'm going with Stuart and my friend Rachel to see Waiting for Godot with Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart starring, on July 25th.

Happy Birthday to meeeee!

We also have seats in the third row from the stage. Mwahahaha.

That is all. Thanks for indulging me.

My Weekend

rpgamera — Sun, 03 May 2009 20:24:04 GMT

Met ifotismeni, and power-toured London. SO FUN. I wish I could hang out with her on a regular basis; I felt so comfy around her.

Instead of going home from my 'day trip', stuck around and went to Stuart's instead without telling him, surprised him, stayed the night, and high-tailed it back to Sheffield.

Worked on paper due for Tuesday the entire time on the train, making notes and writing paragraphs. 1200 words done out of 3200, and I have all of tomorrow to work, and a plan of what I'm writing tomorrow.

Definitely a good weekend. Will be even better once I finish this bloody paper.

Also! Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella! is very good on the whole. I absolutely hate a few of the tracks on it, but there are a couple gems. Magic, Selfless, Cold, and Composed, Fair, and Army are the best executed, and The Luckiest made me (and Stuart) melt.

I didn't think SC and C could be done a capella, but I was proven wrong, and I am so HAPPY to have been wrong.

Won't touch Jesusland anymore with a 10-ft pole, and the more I listen to Evaporated, the more I hate it.

Interesting Facts

rpgamera — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 23:27:20 GMT

St. Louis folk:

President Obama spoke in front of Fox High School on his 100th day in office!?

That's kinda cool, knowing I lived less than 10 minutes away from there, and several of you went to school there. If I were still living in the States, having never come to England, I'd have been happy to go (though still sad I wasn't in England, admittedly.)

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/04/president-ob-29.html

A little dose of what.

rpgamera — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:19:35 GMT

For those of you who don't know, or want some "WTF" in your diet.

Go to www.espn.com
Input the Konami code using your keyboard while at the site
Watch what happens.

This is really legit. First broke news through Kotaku:
http://kotaku.com/5230185/the-konami-code-makes-espncom-magical

Edit: No longer working, it seems. Disregard. But it was quite funny while it lasted.

Mini-movie rec

rpgamera — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:54:46 GMT

And now, I will whinge just a little bit about the BAFTA awards, because there's something you folks in the States need to watch if you ever get the chance.

There's a one-off, 80 minute long production by the BBC called Einstein and Eddington, which talks about... well... Einstein and Eddington, and the series of letters they sent to one another talking about Einstein's radical theories before there was proof behind them. Eddington's photographs of a solar eclipse in 1919 gave the first credible proof to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. It's a really good drama chronicling British panic at German scientists in the midst of World War I.

David Tennant played Eddington (and was brilliant), and Andy Serkis played Einstein (and he was really brilliant).

The feature was up for a BAFTA, and it lost. It was the only thing I cared about in the show, and oh I was so sad.

But yes, srsly American folks: Einstein and Eddington. Highly recommended.

More Progress

rpgamera — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 11:29:07 GMT

This is an exercise in self-motivation, bragging, as well as self-applied pressure:

This is what I must have done before April 27th:

* Writing homework essay for Nagai-sensei (blue homework) on statistics, using actual statistics to write. Should aim for full page front and back, bare minimum

* Extra homework assigned to us by Ishiwata-sensei, adding some youtube link and writing about something or other

* Class preparation for Japanese to English Translation, and Classical Japanese

* Transcribe written homework thus far into blog entries for an online journal for students going abroad to Japan (yeah, not me, but required anyway), and provide URL of new blog to teacher

* Finish writing down notes for kanji for weeks 8 and 9

This is what I must have done before April 29th:

* Supplemental postgraduate assignment for Japanese: reading article in Japanese, translating a good junk of it, and answering questions about it in English

So, I'm left with a paper, a dissertation proposal, and about 800 characters worth of writing.

>< 頑張ります！

Progress!

rpgamera — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:15:50 GMT

This is what I must have done before April 27th:

* Writing homework essay for Nagai-sensei (blue homework) on statistics, using actual statistics to write. Should aim for full page front and back, bare minimum

* Extra homework assigned to us by Ishiwata-sensei, adding some youtube link and writing about something or other

* Class preparation for Japanese to English Translation, and Classical Japanese

* Transcribe written homework thus far into blog entries for an online journal for students going abroad to Japan (yeah, not me, but required anyway), and provide URL of new blog to teacher

* Finish writing down notes for kanji for weeks 8 and 9

So far, so good!

Also, I wanted an excuse to use one of the new icons I found this evening. Or morning. Whatever you prefer. It was long overdue that I find some Dr. Crusher icons, but this particular one I couldn't pass up.

Time for sleep! @_@

Where'd all the Japanese come from?

rpgamera — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:21:42 GMT

If any of you are wondering where these two Japanese language entries came from, they're part of an assignment for Japanese where I have to transcribe the written assignments I've done so far onto a Japanese language blog that could be updated whilst in Japan or otherwise. If I end up adding more of these in the future, they may just pop up on your friends list, but are otherwise easily accessibly from a link on my journal's homepage if you're curious.

Towards the top of my page in the links, you should now see a link that says ~日本語のブログ~. Clicking that will get you every entry I've written tagged as "日本語". Anything else I do to write about Japanese language class will just have "Japanese" as a tag, so it shouldn't be that confusing. :3

That's about it for now. Get back to your regularly scheduled lives, as I keep working on Japanese homework and preparation!

授業について

rpgamera — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:07:42 GMT

こんにちは！先週は自己紹介と東アジアの学科の先生について書きましたが、皆さんはシェフィールド大学について色々な質問がまだたくさんありますね。日本学の勉強している人は、もちろん日本語を履修しなければいけませんが、他の必修科目は何でしょうか。日本と日本人は分かるようになるために、日本の社会、歴史、文化、政治も勉強すべきですから、今日のブログで「現代日本における社会」と言う必修科目について書きたいと思います。

日本学の二年生と大学院生には「現代日本における社会」が春学期の日本語ではない必修科目です。この授業は講義とゼミの二つからなっています。毎週、最初は講義ですが、二、三日後で担当の先生がゼミを指導します。第二次世界大戦の終わりから現在までシング先生は日本の社会と国際関係について講義をします。最初の講義へ行く時、「これは普通の授業でしょう」と思うかもしれません。しかし、ゼミに行ったら、その気が変わるでしょう。なぜなら、ゼミはシング先生にとても上手に指導されているからです。シング先生はいすも面白い質問を聞くし、学生に学生の意見を支えさせるし、とてもいい先生です。シング先生のおかげで、日本や日本人についての意見は強くなってきました。

日本の歴史と社会について知るばかりなのはあまり役に立たないですが、自分の意見を強くすれば、「知る」事は「理解」になるでしょう。

では、今週のブログは終わりですが、質問があったら（授業のアセスメントなど）、コメントをして下さい。また来週ね！

ブログの自己紹介

rpgamera — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:46:00 GMT

私のブログへようこそ！これから、英国の留学生活について書きたいと思います。よろしく！私はアメリカから来た大学院生のベロニカ・ヘンリーです。学部生の時、専攻したのは歴史でしたが、「東アジア学」の　証明書ももらいました。高校の時から、日本への興味を持っていますが、最初はその興味熱心じゃなかったです。私の世代では、若かった時ゲームをよくした人が多いですが、私も例外ではないです。９０年代に作ったゲームの中で、一番面白いのは日本製でしたので、その理由で日本への興味が生まれてきました。

そして、大学に入学したら、その興味はますます大きくなりました。最初の日本語の先生のおかげで、それはより深くなりました。ゲームや色々な表面的な理由の代わりに、日本の歴史、社会科学、文化人類学などを勉強し始めました。もちろんゲームよりその科目のほうが面白かったです。その大学は日本学科がありませんでしたので、評判がいい日本学科がある大学院へ行くことに決めました。そして、シェフィールド大学に来ました。

東アジアの学科はとても親切だし、いつも助かります。日本語の先生の研究室は門戸開放政策を使っていますから、質問があったら、たいてい先生のオフィスに行って聞いてもいいです。それに、先生達はEメールに速く返事をしますので、いつも助けがもらえます。

では、今日のブログはこれまでですが、質問があったら、コメントをして下さい。私は速く返事をするようにがんばります。またね！

The Academic To-Do List before May 5th

rpgamera — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:10:43 GMT

This is an exercise in self-motivation, bragging, as well as self-applied pressure:

This is what I must have done before April 27th:

Writing homework essay for Nagai-sensei (blue homework) on statistics, using actual statistics to write. Should aim for full page front and back, bare minimum

Extra homework assigned to us by Ishiwata-sensei, adding some youtube link and writing about something or other

Class preparation for Japanese to English Translation, and Classical Japanese

Transcribe written homework thus far into blog entries for an online journal for students going abroad to Japan (yeah, not me, but required anyway), and provide URL of new blog to teacher

Finish writing down notes for kanji for weeks 8 and 9

This is what I must have done before April 29th:

Supplemental postgraduate assignment for Japanese: reading article in Japanese, translating a good junk of it, and answering questions about it in English

This is what I must have done by May 1st:

1000 word assessed dissertation proposal, worth 5% of the total mark. MUST polish up from previous proposal, decide whether examining manga or Japanese political cartoons, and set a time frame/point of comparison (Will explain dissertation topic to LJ folk later)

This is what I must have done by May 5th:

3500 word final essay for Contemporary Japanese Society. Question needs to be ratified by Dr. Singh; need to ask Dr. Dryburgh if I can knowingly write an essay that may build on similar research to what I know I'm doing for a dissertation without being tagged for "double submission" or some such

Let the games begin.

facepalm

rpgamera — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:28:26 GMT

Okay, I'm really REALLY sorry to say it, as I know a couple of the people involved in the production of this video... but this is the most embarrassing thing I have ever seen as a person with an interest in Japan, let alone as someone who enjoys watching anime and playing video games.

An enthusiastic tribute which inadvertently turned into cruel parody/satire. It's painfully funny and infuriating, especially because it clearly WASN'T intended as parody. Rage or laugh; I can see the case for both.

Oh, and if you've been seeing random weird pictures of a chubby kid covered in black and white face paint shouting "GIRUGAMESH", this is the source. You're welcome.

ウェディングドレスを買ってしまった

rpgamera — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:43:36 GMT

I finally got around to buying "Teh Dress", which only cost approx £275.00.

I loved it the first time I saw it. It's a bit of a risky business, but I haven't actually tried on a sample. Talked to the shop from which I'm buying it, and they advised me on an appropriate size. It will likely need some alterations, but I'll have plenty of time for that. Dress is scheduled to arrive in early to mid-June. ^^

The wedding is going to be pretty informal; only immediate family and 3 or so close friends of Stu and I at a registry office will be in attendance, so I wanted to go for something pretty but simpler. Hopefully, I'll get my hair to be fantastic. I'm thinking a tiara in lieu of a veil, but that's way down the line.

A reception or other party is tentatively scheduled for September 19th at a restaurant/hotel in Godalming called The Inn on the Lake. We've got a spot booked, but we'll be going up there to eat this weekend just to test out how well they cook. Best part of all is, with the price they quoted, they're MUCH more reasonable than what I first anticipated, and there's no venue rental fee!

I'm dyeing for some Girl Scout Cookies!

rpgamera — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:12:21 GMT

So, I'm dyeing my hair at the moment. I hope Rachel is right and that it isn't completely terrible and/or terrifying as I think it will be.

6 minutes or so until it's done. Merp!

----

Also, for friends in the States, I have been made aware that Girl Scout Cookie season is upon you. Is there any way a woman of my kind could score some boxes of Thin Mints and Samoas? ;_;

On my wish list.

rpgamera — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 01:59:10 GMT

Addition to list of Things I Want But Will Never Have:

- A voice like Annie Lennox's. (Will also settle for Diana Krall's voice, or a contralto voice of any kind.)

Watched a video of her recording a version of Walking on Broken Glass on the BBC iPlayer. She's so freaking talented.

I wish I could hire a voice teacher to start training me again. ._.

Learning how to Min-Max Vacations

rpgamera — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 22:47:30 GMT

In a RIVETING day of learning how to cheat the internet, I concocted a 4 day, 3 night stay for two at a 3-star Disney Resort hotel in Paris with unlimited park access, breakfast included, and round-trip Eurostar train fare for both included... for 900 pounds over Easter break.

I then suddenly remembered I will not have my passport because the Border agency will be reviewing my Certificate of Approval application, and thus all of my dreams were shattered for a Paris holiday.

I then found an Executive suite in the center of London for 3 nights for only 270.00 on a WEEKEND, but Stu mentioned wanting to do a waterpark, and thus I started looking at packages for Alton Towers (think like... a big Six Flags in Britain, for you Americans).

The website said 4 days, three nights across all parks was 900. I refused to go for this, as I wasn't even leaving the country and Disney was giving me a better deal in Paris.

I then discovered Alton Towers charges tickets for its attractions by the day, so when you get "unlimited access" during a 4 day, 3 night stay, you're actually paying for "4 days worth of tickets." If you don't want to go to each park every single day, that's a huge waste of money. It makes infinitely more sense to book only the hotel, and then go only on the days you actually want to do stuff.

I opted for Alton Towers because they have a spa, and a spa experience is something I've ALWAYS wanted to do.

Thus, paying by the day, even with at-the-gate rates, I whittled a 4 day, 3 night stay down from 900 to 685, giving us each one day at the main theme park, one day at the water park, and one day to go to the Spa/snuggle in bed. It would be even cheaper if I booked a non-resort hotel, but Alton Towers is one of those places that is extremely unkind to get to via public transport. Off-site hotels were even more of a nightmare without our own car, so we nixed the idea.

And seeing as how we're splitting the cost... that's a pretty sweet deal. ^^

Now, pardon me while I attempt to min-max my Japanese homework.

遅くなって、申し訳ございません。

rpgamera — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:21:42 GMT

Okay, folks in school. I've got a funny story for you.

Have you ever had a really late night, been a bit foggy in the head, or simply woken up late to discover you have class in 5 minutes, and then stumble into class 30 minutes late (much to the chagrin of your professor)?

I'm guessing this has happened to folks at least once, or you've seen it happen. Cool

Now picture this.

You're sitting in class, waiting for your professor. 10 minutes pass from the time class is due to start, and they're not there. Then another 5 minutes pass. This professor is never late, ever. Someone goes to the general office to check if class is canceled. They come back and say, "No, the professor's here. He was just seen 20 minutes before class was due to start. Apparently, he thought our 10am class started at 11 today."

And eventually, stumbling into class 35 minutes late, is your professor apologizing profusely for being a bit foggy in the head and mixing things up. I have never had a PROFESSOR forget he had class. It was epic.

Oh, and for you one or two folks who may be reading this who are alumni from the University of Sheffield, it was Dr. Tranter who, at the end of class smiled apologetically again, proceeded to say 申し訳ございません and then bowed prostrate, head and palms touching one of the desks in the room, just as you might expect from him. XD