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The thing with beliefs is they're faith-based... you can never know for sure if they're real, no matter how deeply you believe them. And then sometimes, you can look at yourself and raise a brow, and wonder if you're just a modern-day Don Quijote, tilting at windmills and deluding yourself more deeply each day. That maybe you're just trying to find a reason, an explanation, and you cling to it because you can't make yourself let go. You don't want to. Because in spite of your occasional doubts, you honestly do believe it. Even if it's crazy. Even if you'll never get anyone to believe you. 'Cause it really shouldn't matter if they do, as long as you know it's right. But how can you know...? Ehh... vicious circle. Pff.
Dec. 29th, 2006
Xmas review
Dec. 29th, 2006 01:32 pmMan, I slept 'til midday again ^^; Whoops. Okay, gonna actually do that proper post about my trip back to London now. Three days late, but oh well.
Okay... so, the journey. Getting there wasn't too bad. Took about three hours, plus a 15 minute service stop break at Moto. There's a really cool futuristic-looking wind turbine thing en route that's always fun to look out for. Sadly, my MP3 player's headphones decided to not work (sound was only coming from one side), but I picked up some tacky £5 earphones from the service station which at least worked, even if not brilliantly, for the rest of the journey. Pulling up into the driveway of the house felt REALLY weird. It was weird because it felt so normal and natural, even though I hadn't been back there in 4 months. It just felt like coming home. Weird.
So, within the first half hour of return, I managed to set my usual trend by spilling tea all over my lap and dropping the glass, having it shatter all over the floor x.o I'm so clumsy. Ah well. No one really cared XD They're used to it. My mom was more worried about the fact that my brother and dad had the heating permanently on full whack for four months o.o That's gonna be one hell of a heating bill :\
Aaanyway... my mom and I bought all the Christmas food the day before, and brought it down with us. My mom cooked THE most delicious Christmas lunch on the 25th. Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, sausages, bread sauce, cranberry jelly, roast chestnuts, vegetables, gravy, etc... and M&S chocolate puddings for dessert. And Baileys to drink. Mmm. SO GOOD. Best part of the trip by far XD
There wasn't much for me to do there. I did manage to check my email a couple of times, but my brother was in his room with his girlfriend a lot, and when he wasn't, my dad was using the computer >/ Oh well... I actually survived XD I'm proud of me. I was kinda bored a lot of the time, especially on the first day, but by Christmas day, I at least had some stuff to do.
I watched a couple movies while I was there. Cars and Monsters Inc. Neither movie was brilliant but they were both fun and it was about time I saw them. My mom and brother watched both the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, but I think I've been turned off from them for life by Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrow fangirls ^^; Aw well.
So, what did I get for Christmas?
- Terry's Chocolate Orange (Tangy edition)
- Hair highlighting kit
- Scarf
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Blue Rescue Team
- Those fighter plane books I already showed
- Cheque for £100 (my mom REALLY can't afford that :\ I tried to get her to take it back but she just... wouldn't. It was so sweet of her, it almost had me in tears ;_;)
- Sonic t-shirt, regular gloves, fingerless gloves, candy canes, and a couple other things (from Sphix - the guy is INSANE XD But so so so awesome :P)
- Yoshi's Island DS, candy corn, and two Archie comics (from Jei-ji, but she hasn't sent them yet due to having to wait to get the 2nd comic and for YI to arrive. She's sooooo awesome ^^)
- About a dozen cards from various online friends (thanks guys!)
So all in all, it was a MUCH better turn out than I expected o.o My mom got me everything on the list aside from those marked otherwise, despite the fact that she CANNOT afford to do that >/ But as soon as Xmas break is over I'm gonna start job-seeking again in earnest and I WILL repay her.
Sooo... I spent the majority of the trip in my room eating the chocolate orange and a box of Cadbury eclairs, reading those 'plane books and playing Mystery Dungeon.
Micro-review of MD:
I like it. But it's REALLY not as good as the mainstream Pokémon games, by a long shot. Certain things about it frustrate me. For one, it really takes a while to get into the main story (although it's VERY interesting once you do). For another, the battle system is so weak compared to the regular games. There's still a certain amount of strategy to be had if you try, but more often than not it's so tempting to just set a powerful move and use that over and over, replenishing with max elixirs when your PP runs out. Powerful items such as max elixir and oran berry are found FAR too easily in the dungeons. So far there's been absolutely NO puzzle-solving elements in the dungeons, and they can really get rather tedious. I'm told that the same people also made a Chocobo mystery dungeon game which played with an almost identical formula. The dungeons aren't brilliant... I don't like the fact that you can't return to previous levels after you take the stairs. I also don't like the way the stairs are totally random each time, and sometimes you'll literally appear next to the next steps up and you won't even have to search that floor o.o Also, if the Rescue Badge can warp you and your client out of the dungeon, what do you need escape orbs for? However, having said all that, the story itself is very captivating, and I absolutely ADORE the expressions and things my 'partner' in the game says XD I chose Charmander (I was a Bulbasaur, thanks to the initial quiz), and he's SO awesome XDD Also, some of it really is very touching... I don't think I've given any spoilers there, but anyway, I think I can give the game 5 or 6 out of 10. Very playable but nothing special... I'm waiting on Diamond and Pearl to deliver my usual fix of Poké-excellence ^^
So that's that. And of course, I spent time cuddling Fox because he's my baby and I missed him ;_; We might have to smuggle him into the apartment for a short while if the house gets sold before we buy out here n.n;
Anyway, the main downside of the trip was, as always, my dad. Example: my mom gave my brother some money in cash as a Christmas gift. He looks in the envelope and £20 is missing. Turns out my dad had just... taken it without asking, assuming my brother wouldn't mind. Bah. And the usual 'debate' between my parents occurred. The things my dad says makes me want to hit him and/or cry ._. But there's no changing a man in his late 70s who's lived a life like that. I could go into it, but what's the point. He doesn't think there's ANYTHING wrong with the fact that he considers his status in the business world FAR more important than his family. Or that he's never been there for us. He's a complete and utter twat, and nothing will change that. It even makes me feel a little sorry for my brother who has to live with him, because my dad is IMPOSSIBLE to live with. He's the kind of father who if you come home from school with an A- will want to know why you didn't get an A. Nothing is good enough. He'll outright say that he would NEVER get a menial job such as working in a shop to support the family because he has degrees from prestigious universities and it would be beneath him. He's not abusive, thank god, but he is THE most arrogant, self-centered, un-empathic person I have EVER known in my entire life. He has NEVER apologized for ANYTHING, even for the fact that he wasn't there when I was born. That hurt my mom incredibly... he chose a business meeting over being at the hospital for my birth. And he's always had an 'it couldn't be helped..' attitude about it. That's the kind of guy he is. Only thinks of himself, always.
Soooo, that's about the gist of it. We came back on the 27th... the return journey was HORRID. There was a crap-load of traffic, so it ended up taking about 4 hours. But it sure was good to be home. At least I'm spending the New Year here ^_^ So yeah. That's all.
Ciao!
Okay... so, the journey. Getting there wasn't too bad. Took about three hours, plus a 15 minute service stop break at Moto. There's a really cool futuristic-looking wind turbine thing en route that's always fun to look out for. Sadly, my MP3 player's headphones decided to not work (sound was only coming from one side), but I picked up some tacky £5 earphones from the service station which at least worked, even if not brilliantly, for the rest of the journey. Pulling up into the driveway of the house felt REALLY weird. It was weird because it felt so normal and natural, even though I hadn't been back there in 4 months. It just felt like coming home. Weird.
So, within the first half hour of return, I managed to set my usual trend by spilling tea all over my lap and dropping the glass, having it shatter all over the floor x.o I'm so clumsy. Ah well. No one really cared XD They're used to it. My mom was more worried about the fact that my brother and dad had the heating permanently on full whack for four months o.o That's gonna be one hell of a heating bill :\
Aaanyway... my mom and I bought all the Christmas food the day before, and brought it down with us. My mom cooked THE most delicious Christmas lunch on the 25th. Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, sausages, bread sauce, cranberry jelly, roast chestnuts, vegetables, gravy, etc... and M&S chocolate puddings for dessert. And Baileys to drink. Mmm. SO GOOD. Best part of the trip by far XD
There wasn't much for me to do there. I did manage to check my email a couple of times, but my brother was in his room with his girlfriend a lot, and when he wasn't, my dad was using the computer >/ Oh well... I actually survived XD I'm proud of me. I was kinda bored a lot of the time, especially on the first day, but by Christmas day, I at least had some stuff to do.
I watched a couple movies while I was there. Cars and Monsters Inc. Neither movie was brilliant but they were both fun and it was about time I saw them. My mom and brother watched both the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, but I think I've been turned off from them for life by Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrow fangirls ^^; Aw well.
So, what did I get for Christmas?
- Terry's Chocolate Orange (Tangy edition)
- Hair highlighting kit
- Scarf
- Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Blue Rescue Team
- Those fighter plane books I already showed
- Cheque for £100 (my mom REALLY can't afford that :\ I tried to get her to take it back but she just... wouldn't. It was so sweet of her, it almost had me in tears ;_;)
- Sonic t-shirt, regular gloves, fingerless gloves, candy canes, and a couple other things (from Sphix - the guy is INSANE XD But so so so awesome :P)
- Yoshi's Island DS, candy corn, and two Archie comics (from Jei-ji, but she hasn't sent them yet due to having to wait to get the 2nd comic and for YI to arrive. She's sooooo awesome ^^)
- About a dozen cards from various online friends (thanks guys!)
So all in all, it was a MUCH better turn out than I expected o.o My mom got me everything on the list aside from those marked otherwise, despite the fact that she CANNOT afford to do that >/ But as soon as Xmas break is over I'm gonna start job-seeking again in earnest and I WILL repay her.
Sooo... I spent the majority of the trip in my room eating the chocolate orange and a box of Cadbury eclairs, reading those 'plane books and playing Mystery Dungeon.
Micro-review of MD:
I like it. But it's REALLY not as good as the mainstream Pokémon games, by a long shot. Certain things about it frustrate me. For one, it really takes a while to get into the main story (although it's VERY interesting once you do). For another, the battle system is so weak compared to the regular games. There's still a certain amount of strategy to be had if you try, but more often than not it's so tempting to just set a powerful move and use that over and over, replenishing with max elixirs when your PP runs out. Powerful items such as max elixir and oran berry are found FAR too easily in the dungeons. So far there's been absolutely NO puzzle-solving elements in the dungeons, and they can really get rather tedious. I'm told that the same people also made a Chocobo mystery dungeon game which played with an almost identical formula. The dungeons aren't brilliant... I don't like the fact that you can't return to previous levels after you take the stairs. I also don't like the way the stairs are totally random each time, and sometimes you'll literally appear next to the next steps up and you won't even have to search that floor o.o Also, if the Rescue Badge can warp you and your client out of the dungeon, what do you need escape orbs for? However, having said all that, the story itself is very captivating, and I absolutely ADORE the expressions and things my 'partner' in the game says XD I chose Charmander (I was a Bulbasaur, thanks to the initial quiz), and he's SO awesome XDD Also, some of it really is very touching... I don't think I've given any spoilers there, but anyway, I think I can give the game 5 or 6 out of 10. Very playable but nothing special... I'm waiting on Diamond and Pearl to deliver my usual fix of Poké-excellence ^^
So that's that. And of course, I spent time cuddling Fox because he's my baby and I missed him ;_; We might have to smuggle him into the apartment for a short while if the house gets sold before we buy out here n.n;
Anyway, the main downside of the trip was, as always, my dad. Example: my mom gave my brother some money in cash as a Christmas gift. He looks in the envelope and £20 is missing. Turns out my dad had just... taken it without asking, assuming my brother wouldn't mind. Bah. And the usual 'debate' between my parents occurred. The things my dad says makes me want to hit him and/or cry ._. But there's no changing a man in his late 70s who's lived a life like that. I could go into it, but what's the point. He doesn't think there's ANYTHING wrong with the fact that he considers his status in the business world FAR more important than his family. Or that he's never been there for us. He's a complete and utter twat, and nothing will change that. It even makes me feel a little sorry for my brother who has to live with him, because my dad is IMPOSSIBLE to live with. He's the kind of father who if you come home from school with an A- will want to know why you didn't get an A. Nothing is good enough. He'll outright say that he would NEVER get a menial job such as working in a shop to support the family because he has degrees from prestigious universities and it would be beneath him. He's not abusive, thank god, but he is THE most arrogant, self-centered, un-empathic person I have EVER known in my entire life. He has NEVER apologized for ANYTHING, even for the fact that he wasn't there when I was born. That hurt my mom incredibly... he chose a business meeting over being at the hospital for my birth. And he's always had an 'it couldn't be helped..' attitude about it. That's the kind of guy he is. Only thinks of himself, always.
Soooo, that's about the gist of it. We came back on the 27th... the return journey was HORRID. There was a crap-load of traffic, so it ended up taking about 4 hours. But it sure was good to be home. At least I'm spending the New Year here ^_^ So yeah. That's all.
Ciao!
