Personal

I (heart) dancing. Especially when it’s with a guy who knows what they’re doing! Or even sort of close to knowing what’s supposed to be done. Today, at dance practice, I danced with four guys: Luke, Pete, Martin and Jan. In that order. Each time getting better than the last. From the beginning then. Luke is a beginner. We did waltzed together. He kinda forgot steps, but that’s okay seeing as this was his second lesson ever. (He kinda looks like Ron Weasley. As in the way I imagined Ron Weasly to look like before I say any of the movies.) Then it was time for Quickstep. That I started out dancing with Pete. It went okay. I don’t think that he was taking it too seriously though. He feels more like a “fun” person than someone who actually wants to practice dancing. Soon though, he had to go do some team stuff, so he passed me onto Martin, another guy from the “team”. Quickstepping with Martin was a whole lot more fun than with Pete. I think it’s because Martin actually did seem to want to practice and neither one of us was too clear about doing the turning so we kinda learned how to do that together. Plus, he was fun to talk to while we danced. Then came Jan. Wonderful dancing Jan. He’s from Holland and has been dancing for five years. An excellent leader I must say. He had me doing twirly things and stuff. Made me actually feel like I could dance. We only had time to do the cha-cha (or is it chacha?) before we (as in the whole dance group) were kicked out of the room because the stupid Sports Cage had double-booked the room and hadn’t told us about it. Grr.

The dance social was tonight at the Cambrian. Had a raffle, played pass the parcel (won candy and a condom XP) and there was a quiz. My team won the quiz by a point. We got 20/30. And all I could really contribute to it was my knowledge of what’s in a screwdriver (the drink, not the actual tool) and what the breastbone is called. Oh and who drew the “Peanuts” comic. All three of us got a stuffed toy; mine was a cow while Tom got a turtle and Dani got an electric blue monkey which she immediately dubbed “Bananas”. Then at 10:30 the party headed to the Pier for Peer Pressure. It didn’t really sound like my kind of fun, so I came back. Have had a nice cup of tea and chatted with Becky on MSN. And I’m getting kinda sleepy now, so I’ll end this here.

Oh, and today the weather was awesome. Sat on the beach doing homework for an hour, enjoying the sun. I love being so close to the sea. :)

Type one: Okay, so a recap of Tuesday: OMG my teacher is so hot! I mean, seriously. I am so lucky to see him once a week for two hours at a time. *grin* He just seems to exude this confidence, an intellectual sexiness. He seems to be the type of person who’d know how good wines. It’s some sort of finesse that he’s got. Plus, he’s young-ish. As in I doubt that he’s much over thirty, if that. Unless he’s got really good genes like Steve who just doesn’t seem to age (I swear, he looks pretty exactly the same now that he’s 39/40 [can’t remember which] as he did when he was 20). Okay, so my teacher’s kinda got this camp thing going on, so I’m not too sure if he’s gay or not, but that does *not* detract from his attractiveness. And my flatmate Hannah agrees with me! So it’s not just me with weird taste. If someone else thinks that he’s gorgeous as well, then he must be. ;)

Then last night there was the fire talk. Afterwards, Gabe and I first came to my flat so that I could eat dinner. There was a bouquet of red roses on the counter (in a Dolmio pasta sauce jar, just so you know that we’re still students XD). I said something about never getting roses and Gabe just offhandedly said: “Well, I’ll buy you some. When I’ve got money that is. Or just one, ‘cause they’re expensive.” *grin* Then afterwards, we went over to his flat because he felt that it was his turn to make tea (he’s been pretty much drinking a lot mine :P). So we just hung out in his room chatting and drinking tea. Then at some point I said that I don’t like poetry and he was just gobsmacked. “You don’t like poetry?!” “No, not really.” He took a book off his shelf and read me a poem from there. When I still wasn’t too impressed, he kept on finding more online and read them to me. This must’ve gone on for at least half an hour. He did eventually find a poem that I did kinda like (The Lady of Shalott), but I have to say, I’m still not a fan. (this here was cuteness type two) But it was nice to be read to. I think that’s why I like audiobooks so much. Someone else is telling me a story instead of me reading it. ^-^ Yesterday we also tried out a new way of getting to each other’s flats without having to go outside and crossing “the quad” (as Gabe dubbed it). It was actually pretty cool. No need for shoes anymore!

Yesterday was my first dance lesson. I had loads of fun. And, there were tons of guys there! Which I was surprised about. I don’t know if they’re all going to stay (I kinda doubt it) but at least yesterday there were almost equal numbers. I did the Chacha and Waltz with a guy named Alan, then Jive, Quickstep and Rock’N’Roll with Monika (a girl from Spain). I know that neither of them are coming today because they’ve got classes, so we’ll just have to see who I get to dance with today. ^_~

Since it is so nice outside right now, I think I’ll go sit on the beach and do my homework there. :)

Okay, so the earliest class I have so far is at 11:10 a.m. Now, that may not sound so bad, but I need to leave an hour before class starts, otherwise I’m all icky and sweating when I get to class. And I need to be up two hours before that to make breakfast and pack a lunch since I’m not coming back to my room in between class and dance practice. So that means I have to get up at 8. Not so easy when you consider that I keep staying up until at least midnight just working on creative stuff (like Christmas presents!). So I’ve been up since 8. I made breakfast (that was a fiasco in itself, I kept spilling stuff everywhere and it just wasn’t pretty) and when it finally was done, I decided to check my e-mails. I got one from my Writing Project tutor. She just gave a basic outline of what we need to bring to our next session which she wants to have next Wednesday at 9 a.m.! Meaning that I need to get up at six a.m. *weeps* Oh, and I know that she means well by wanting us to be structured in our writing and that it’s supposed to help us but I just don’t write like that. I go where the story takes me. I don’t write it all up and do literary research in advance. It’s more like: “Oh hey, this guy seems to want to talk about trains. Guess I should look up some stuff,” instead of deciding before I even start writing “This guy is a train addict.” Plus, I’ve already got a story I want to work on that I’ve already written. I don’t see a point in me starting a new story because that’s something I know how to do (you should see the amount of drafts and just one page scenes I’ve accumulated); I’d rather work hard at revising what I already have to make it as close to being published as possible. Well, I’m meeting her later today so I’ll discuss it with her then.

I’ll write about yesterday later. Now I have to go make lunch.

My tea tastes of pipes. :(

And I overslept again. I really need to stop staying up until two. Although, that is when I get my brilliant creative ideas for stuff. Like last night I was working on my mom’s Christmas present. And no, it’s not knitted.

I was just reading Miss Violet’s (of the hilarious Lime&Violet podacast) old LJ entries and came upon this question:

If you could meet yourself at aged ten, what would the ten year old you think of who you are today?

She’d be surprised that I’m so into knitting (especially since I wasn’t too keen on it when I had to do it at school). Actually, the 10 y/o me would probably think that I was nuts when she found out about my stash. ^_^;; She’d be pretty impressed that I *can* actually speak French (even if it isn’t the greatest in the world) and glad that I’d had the chance to live in the States for a year. She’d also probably be comforted to know that eventually I did get a boyfriend who’s really great. She’d most likely offer me ice cream to make me feel better. Think that it’s no wonder that I moved to the UK since I like tea so much. And wonder why I *still* don’t have my driver’s license. Be amazed that I actually like dogs now and would prefer to get a puppy as a pet instead of a kitten.

She’d probably think a whole lot more things about me, but all in all, be pretty happy with what I’ve become in the following 12 years.

And now I’m going back to knitting Jaz’s Baudelaire socks and watching Buffy.

It was the weirdest thing. I was walking down Marine Terrace, going over my shopping list in my head and I see a guy with longish strawberry blonde hair coming towards me. We both do a double take before saying “Hi!” It was Tucker from UM! It was kind of surreal realizing that I know this person who I just happened to take a class with last autumn in the States and now he’s just someone I can run into at the oddest times.

And then when I was coming back from Somerfield’s, I walked past Scott, the guy who sorta lived with us in Rosser because he was friends with all the guys and therefore spent a lot of time over at our flat. He didn’t notice me though. And I didn’t realize that it was him until after we had passed each other.

I’m just glad that I’ve gotten back into the habit of making an effort in my appearance (as in actually brushing my hair and putting on make-up) before I go out. I wonder who else I’ll run into this year.

Oh and yesterday, a pigeon flew into the kitchen and scared the crap out of me. It just sat/stood on the kitchen table before it flew out the window again. Next, we’ll probably have a flock of seagulls picking through our trash can.

I think there might be someone in Freddy’s old room now. I heard voices as I was going past.

Why won’t the red just fade away? I mean, it says that it will on the package. It’s all gone from most of my hair, it’s just being really persistent at the roots for some strange reason. I wonder what would happen if I just added some honey blonde color on top? Would it turn orange?

Went out last night with Gabe. Met some international students, had a tour of Aber and then had coffee in this great little place called Fresh Ground Café. Afterwards, Gabe and I just hung out. Well, I kinda made him stay late because I had a latte and I was wired and I wanted company. I was up until three a.m. No, he didn’t stay that late, only until like 11:30, but I was up just watching Desperate Housewives and playing Minesweeper until three.

Then I got a cleaning bug today. Kinda bored, so I figured I might as well. I wiped clean my windows and walls. There was some really icky brown spots all over the place. I have no idea what it was or how it had gotten there, and frankly, I don’t really wanna know. Now, if only I could actually open the windows properly and wash them both inside and out… Then when I couldn’t get the walls completely clean, I decided to stick some photos over the really dirty spots. So now I’ve kinda decorated in a nature theme. The photos were taken by Michelle (my first roommate in Montana) during the spring. At least I think it was spring when she took them. Anyway, I really like them. I actually kinda miss Montana. I had fun there, even though the workload was like triple of what I’ve got here.

Gabe dropped by around dinner time. And when I say dinner time, I mean late afternoon, not lunch. Just so we’re clear. Anyways, I had just finished eating when he came over offering to cook so I just went over to his place to keep him company while he cooked and ate. Also watched “The Skeleton Key”. Chatted while enjoying the view in the kitchen with a nice cup of tea.

I’m just listening to the waves right now. They’re actually kinda loud. I dunno if I want to sleep with my window open. I think I can get used to the rhythm of the waves, but it’s the drunken guys just under my window that I’m not too thrilled about. *rolls eyes*

I just joined Aberystwyth’s Dance team. Cost me £38 (because I need a Club Sporty card to join and that costs £33 *rolls eyes*). But I will be getting exercise at least twice a week, three times if I can be bothered to go there on Friday nights as well. I tried convincing Gabe to join as well, but he is resolutely set against dancing. More of an intellectual guy he is. *nods*

So, I didn’t really do much else today. I mean, I walked up the hill (an event in itself), I joined the dance team and then I met up with Gabe and went to the movies. We saw something called “Tales from the Earthsea” or something like that. Japanese animation based on Ursula K. LeGuin’s story. Not something I would’ve chosen to go see myself, but now that I have seen it, I think it’s pretty good. Since Gabe picked out this movie, I got to choose the next one. On Tuesday, we’re going to go see “Atonement”. ^-^

Oh, and before when I said that I live with Tom, Freddy and Sarah? Well, two amendments to that. Her name’s actually Hannah and Freddy moved out yesterday. He disliked his room so he got a seaview en-suite for an extra £300.

I just licked my teaspoon and put it back in the drawer (it’s the only yellow spoon there is and it’s only used for tea anyway).

So as the admirable Chandler Bing put it: “You licked… you licked and you put!” XD

My dad did eventually show up at 10 a.m. He’d been stuck on the M1 for two hours. So we quickly packed up the car and off we went! Let me just say that the road from Sheffield to Glossop has some really beautiful scenery. The Peak District is awesome. ^-^ So is Northern Wales. The dense greenery, the huge Bala Lake that we passed, the hilly-ness of it all. Love love love. And speaking of wonderful views… I LOVE my room! It’s right on the seafront. I wake up to hearing the waves crashing on the beach, then I get to see it once I’ve opened the curtains that just let the light flood in. The way the sea changes color and is multiple colors at the same time. The white caps all over dotting the surface. How the peeking sunlight forces its way through the clouds. The wind blowing seamist everywhere… Can you tell yet that I adore this place?

Well, we got to Aber at around three o’clock. I checked in, got my keys and then schlepped all of my stuff in. My dad took a four hour nap while I unpacked and chatted with my new flatmates. There are four of us in total, all of us studying English (at least I think we all did English, not too sure about Freddy). Anywayz, I’ve talked to Sarah and Tom the most so far, but I did run into Freddy in the morning. All of us except Freddy are in our final year. I do have at least one thing in common with Freddy though: Civ4. He saw it this morning when he was using my computer to register for his classes (the same way I used Sarah’s to register for my classes).

So I didn’t really do that much yesterday. Today, I had breakfast with my dad, then a bit later we went up to the Penglais campus so I could find out what my schedule is going to be like and then we were off to Morrison’s to do some stocking up. Oh the amount of stuff that was bought… *shakes head*. I should be fine with all of that for at least a month. Of course, I’m not talking about the perishables, but I’ve got enough grain-y stuff to last me quite a long time!

Just a little while ago before my dad left again, he cooked me a proper steak with an excellent creamy pepper sauce. There was some extra sauce so that’s in the fridge waiting for me to use it up some time soon. ^_^

Ooh and my dad said that I’d lost some weight! Yay. Hopefully I’ll lose some more now that I need to climb that hill at least once a week and have to get pretty much everywhere I need to go by using my two feet. :)