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Hello merrye hippogriffs, assorted magical creatures, muggles and members of the free peoples on this earth, middle earth or whichever planet you were kicked out from.
I had intended to write a very detailed, random series of entries on here about my current trip, but they have become, like so many before them, mere drafts stuck in my LJ post-drafting program, and every day there's more and more stuff happening, so that the old stuff is suddenly old, even if it happened just a couple of days ago.
I never claimed being good at any of the following:
1. Quitting smoking
2. Notifying people of my whereabouts and/or plans
3. Actually sticking to the above-mentioned plans
5. Keeping a ruddy journal/diary/travel log
6. Quitting procrastination
7. Being... whatever it is that's the contrary of random. The proper word for this state of mind will be greatly appreciated and the person to come up with it duly worshipped until the end of days.
You have been warned.
Read, point and laugh, commiserate, defriend at will.
or how days past went
could also be called the adventures of DND in Muggleland or a number of other things, but I am not really inspired to do any title-hunting whatsoever.
So... for starters, I took up smoking again *cowers from Japs' wrath* BUT (yeah, but) for some odd reason, since I arrived here (you shall know where soon enough, just carry on reading people), I have been strangely uninspired to smoke. No acupuncture, weirdo meds or ANYTHING. I just... lack the inspiration for it, I suppose...
Second, I am currently in ENGLAND, ye merrye Hippogriffs and everyone!! [here's where you all return to the above list and stare at point number 2 (two), and refrain from strangling me to death, which would be very unbecoming for me. Have you ever seen someone being/been strangled? I can tell you, the tongue lolls out and the eyes start like popping (much like a toad's only on the reddish side) and the tongue turns blue/black/purple and every shade in between, and there's drool dripping freely down the chin and onto the floor, and the hand marks on the neck look like a bunch of hickies all over... altogether not a pretty sight. And that is just right after the said strangling. I shall refrain from describing more gory details about the state of a cadaver in later stages, if only out of respect for those of you who might be currently munching on licorice, chocolate, or some other form of nourishment and do not require a mental picture as side dish.] <--Here is where you go and stare at point number 7 of the above list, people.
So yeppers, I am in the UK, moowahahaha! Have been, actually, since July the 3rd, evening hours. [please refer to point 5 of the above list for reasons to prevent from strangling poor little me].
That's right, ye merrye Hippogriffs and assorted magical creatures, I have finally hit the road and left the muggy, stifling, sweltering heat, the awful mosquito-, neeker-breeker-, all-sorts-of-other-nasty-bugs-, and spider-ridden Mediterranean beauty of Cyprus for acolder, rainier, and all-around more pleasant equally hot and sticky place, yet blissfully devoid of mosquitoes at least where I'm at right now : the UK. Better known as DND's version of heaven. Or the closest to it I'm going to get in the next couple of months. Especially now I'm off to Scotland for a few days! Where it's noisy and cold and filled with bagpipe-playing, underpants-lacking strapping ppls...yay!
Yes, that weird, shrill noise you heard was DND squeeing uncharacteristically and most unbecomingly. Look, it stopped at last. Thank Merlin for that tin of chocolate biscuits.
I'll be hopping on and off and around the island until August 22, which is when I am carted off back to Mexico for a few months, until I return to Cyprus in October to stay for a year. <--this point being actually the only set plan on the agenda, mainly because my pro Greek course starts in October and the uni doesn't seem too keen on staring at points 2-7 for explanation. The "I was on my way here but I got distracted by something sparkly along the way" approach is uncompatible with structured upper-level education, it seems...
So! I had planned a very nice and detailed entry prepared for y'alls, going day by day since the moment where I realised I hadn't packed/confirmed my ticket/done the laundry [ogle point 6, peeps] on July 2, up to now, when I am sitting on a purloined, very comfy computer chair in my uncle's study, on an equally purloined DSL speed connection, drinking purloined tea and looking for synonyms for 'stolen/nicked/nabbed/etc, etc, ad infinitum, ad nauseam' to describe the state of most of the things now available for my indiscriminate use, free of charge and all. [said items include, but are not limited to: an F-huge-arsed paddling pool, a cupboard full of fluffy, big and colourful towels, Sky television (with Charmed on, yay!!), twenty-three thousand five hundred and eleventy-nine bazillion childrens' videos and DVDs, tons of sockets to charge up my computer, handheld and mobile, a washing machine, three ovens, a microwave and a talking!! (wtf...?) fridge, apart from the more basic necessities like...my own house key!
Ahem. Shall now move swiftly along.
DND is in the UK, as said loads of times before. Doncaster, in Yorkshire, to be exact, seeking safe quarters here after being in London until... the 6th of July. But more on that below. Brought Siri along, all sun-tanned and droolworthy as he should be, even if neither of us is quite adept at spotting/understanding Yorkshire accents, although we're both quite able of communicating with the natives of this neck of the world.
A quick recap is in order, then, and probably it would be best to just give you the bit of the entry that never was:
July 2-6 [ages ago]
July 5: Presently perched on a really comfy (albeit a tad smelly) sofa in the smokers' lounge [YES, JAPS, I AM A WEAKLING--more on that later] of the Carter Lane Youth Hostel in London, being stared at by a weirdo Jap bloke as if I had grown a tail, furry paws and matching ears. Which is not entirely too far from the truth, as some of you most illustrious of Billywigs will no doubt remind me, amidst much pointing and laughing. To which I can only reply that your antlers are a nice sitting room decoration. Do not make me try and turn you into a leather jacket, รก la Legends of the Fall. But I digress.
So, as stated above, I'm happily settled in a sofa, playing zoo attraction for a staring public after another day spent in a long foray to the outer world. Which, as most places one visits for the first time, is very, I say, very interesting at the present moment.
However, I am not going to give some random, weirdly disconnected account and/or limit it to today's adventures [which include, but aren't limited to: near-death experiences, weirdo-watching, ghost-hunting (fruitless, unlike yesterday), shopping and (yes!) eating rubbish food], but I intend to bore you lot to tears with a full-blown account of the entire trip, starting July 2-3. That's like, ages ago, so don't expect a three-word post.
I could really term the date June 28-July 3, because it became a single, exceedingly long day in my already blurry memory, but the events of those days are known and not relevant to this tale, except for the fact that DND discovered that she could be fully functional for as long as six days with a minimum sleep rate of 1 hour [random zoning does not count, because I claim I was awake even if my brain wasn't].
It all starts July 2, when DND, our fearless, reckless [often klutzy] heroine realised she had not packed. Or bought pressies. Or said goodbye to 23.45 bazillion people. Or washed her laundry. Or, in fact, confirmed her flight ticket [which is why she still firmly believed she was to leave on July 3, at 04:00 hours. Yep, before daybreak and the best hour for inspiration].
So it was that, after wrenching self from compy in bouts of as long as 3 hours at a time, DND found out that her flight was due to go at 16:00 hours, which was a blessing for, as stated above DND is a f-huge procrastinating being and prone to being distracted by something shiny at random moments.
*end backflash*
So I stayed in London until late the 6th of July. I was bemoaning the fact that I could not transfer my ticket for the 7th and had to miss the Olympics celebration, a Nine Inch Nails concert AND Kofi Annan's speech of unitification of people against world hunger or some such rot... until the 7th rolled along and then I was very, I say, very glad I did miss these very exclusive events. Though, people, to tell you the truth, I would hardly have been out of bed by 10 am the next day. Not after crazy partying and dancing and stuff until the wee hours of the morn.
Whatever the reason, I got to Doncaster, after visiting: Madame Tussaud's wax museum, every blooming church with a creepy history, London Bridge, London Tower, Soho, the meatmarket where they used to burn people for being "against the crown" or some such tosh, a boat ride that was hilarious only because that old dear granny got motion sickness, the London Museum, the Natural History Museum, etc etc, it was a very cultured experience, you'll notice, riddled with dungeons and gore and blood and bits of history and stuff, the highlight of it being the three ghost tours I went on at different days [paying only for the first and second, and tagging along for the third, which was easily the funniest... and scaring the knickers off two of my guides using the information provided by the first], but also there were tons of skating near-limb-loss experiences, a taxi ride of hell and two tipsy returns to the youth hostel, much lugging luggage around, and loads of pointing and laughing at anything remotely funny.
Whoa, that is a long list.
So far I've also been to Doncaster to get cds, York to ogle more museums in the heat and be subjected to the worst ever delay in the history of the British Rail, stupid train took bloody AGES to arrive and I tried EVERYTHING to keep self's bounciness under control and juggled, read fanfics, wrote more on Time, more on The First War, tried to do a handstand [NOT! kidding, I did try], which is not recommendable with a busted wrist, but buggeritall, I was BORED TO TEARS!!
Ahem.
Other destinations have included: Sheffield, Leeds, my cousins' school for the end-of-term summer concert thing, where I was treated, along with a select audience, to the mangling of some of the world's best-known tunes (Ode to Joy, Amazing Grace, the James Bond theme [..w...t...f...?] amongst others), and it was an Ode to Joy to survive that, and I was amazed at the grace of the teacher who allowed us poor cultural nimrods a five minute break before treating us with the most amazing shredding of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
DND duly spent almost the entire time pointing at laughing at cousins, had to lug a cello home, but!! 10-y-old cousin bought DND sour sticks at the post office as a token of his appreciation for, and I doth here quote his immortal words: "you made it all funny, it was dead boring...have some more candy." Same cousin kicked DND's appreciated arse no less than 25 times on the playstation not two hours later, but it's the thought that counts.
*pantpant* Well. This has become an eternal post. I shall now leave it at this, and hopefully add some pic spammage in the near future, because my camera refuses to work/yield the results of my photographing exploits.
Yours et cetera, many hugs and glomps and licorice for Japs!! [humbly so, because DND sucks]
~DND
I had intended to write a very detailed, random series of entries on here about my current trip, but they have become, like so many before them, mere drafts stuck in my LJ post-drafting program, and every day there's more and more stuff happening, so that the old stuff is suddenly old, even if it happened just a couple of days ago.
I never claimed being good at any of the following:
1. Quitting smoking
2. Notifying people of my whereabouts and/or plans
3. Actually sticking to the above-mentioned plans
5. Keeping a ruddy journal/diary/travel log
6. Quitting procrastination
7. Being... whatever it is that's the contrary of random. The proper word for this state of mind will be greatly appreciated and the person to come up with it duly worshipped until the end of days.
You have been warned.
Read, point and laugh, commiserate, defriend at will.
or how days past went
could also be called the adventures of DND in Muggleland or a number of other things, but I am not really inspired to do any title-hunting whatsoever.
So... for starters, I took up smoking again *cowers from Japs' wrath* BUT (yeah, but) for some odd reason, since I arrived here (you shall know where soon enough, just carry on reading people), I have been strangely uninspired to smoke. No acupuncture, weirdo meds or ANYTHING. I just... lack the inspiration for it, I suppose...
Second, I am currently in ENGLAND, ye merrye Hippogriffs and everyone!! [here's where you all return to the above list and stare at point number 2 (two), and refrain from strangling me to death, which would be very unbecoming for me. Have you ever seen someone being/been strangled? I can tell you, the tongue lolls out and the eyes start like popping (much like a toad's only on the reddish side) and the tongue turns blue/black/purple and every shade in between, and there's drool dripping freely down the chin and onto the floor, and the hand marks on the neck look like a bunch of hickies all over... altogether not a pretty sight. And that is just right after the said strangling. I shall refrain from describing more gory details about the state of a cadaver in later stages, if only out of respect for those of you who might be currently munching on licorice, chocolate, or some other form of nourishment and do not require a mental picture as side dish.] <--Here is where you go and stare at point number 7 of the above list, people.
So yeppers, I am in the UK, moowahahaha! Have been, actually, since July the 3rd, evening hours. [please refer to point 5 of the above list for reasons to prevent from strangling poor little me].
That's right, ye merrye Hippogriffs and assorted magical creatures, I have finally hit the road and left the muggy, stifling, sweltering heat, the awful mosquito-, neeker-breeker-, all-sorts-of-other-nasty-bugs-, and spider-ridden Mediterranean beauty of Cyprus for a
Yes, that weird, shrill noise you heard was DND squeeing uncharacteristically and most unbecomingly. Look, it stopped at last. Thank Merlin for that tin of chocolate biscuits.
I'll be hopping on and off and around the island until August 22, which is when I am carted off back to Mexico for a few months, until I return to Cyprus in October to stay for a year. <--this point being actually the only set plan on the agenda, mainly because my pro Greek course starts in October and the uni doesn't seem too keen on staring at points 2-7 for explanation. The "I was on my way here but I got distracted by something sparkly along the way" approach is uncompatible with structured upper-level education, it seems...
So! I had planned a very nice and detailed entry prepared for y'alls, going day by day since the moment where I realised I hadn't packed/confirmed my ticket/done the laundry [ogle point 6, peeps] on July 2, up to now, when I am sitting on a purloined, very comfy computer chair in my uncle's study, on an equally purloined DSL speed connection, drinking purloined tea and looking for synonyms for 'stolen/nicked/nabbed/etc, etc, ad infinitum, ad nauseam' to describe the state of most of the things now available for my indiscriminate use, free of charge and all. [said items include, but are not limited to: an F-huge-arsed paddling pool, a cupboard full of fluffy, big and colourful towels, Sky television (with Charmed on, yay!!), twenty-three thousand five hundred and eleventy-nine bazillion childrens' videos and DVDs, tons of sockets to charge up my computer, handheld and mobile, a washing machine, three ovens, a microwave and a talking!! (wtf...?) fridge, apart from the more basic necessities like...my own house key!
Ahem. Shall now move swiftly along.
DND is in the UK, as said loads of times before. Doncaster, in Yorkshire, to be exact, seeking safe quarters here after being in London until... the 6th of July. But more on that below. Brought Siri along, all sun-tanned and droolworthy as he should be, even if neither of us is quite adept at spotting/understanding Yorkshire accents, although we're both quite able of communicating with the natives of this neck of the world.
A quick recap is in order, then, and probably it would be best to just give you the bit of the entry that never was:
July 2-6 [ages ago]
July 5: Presently perched on a really comfy (albeit a tad smelly) sofa in the smokers' lounge [YES, JAPS, I AM A WEAKLING--more on that later] of the Carter Lane Youth Hostel in London, being stared at by a weirdo Jap bloke as if I had grown a tail, furry paws and matching ears. Which is not entirely too far from the truth, as some of you most illustrious of Billywigs will no doubt remind me, amidst much pointing and laughing. To which I can only reply that your antlers are a nice sitting room decoration. Do not make me try and turn you into a leather jacket, รก la Legends of the Fall. But I digress.
So, as stated above, I'm happily settled in a sofa, playing zoo attraction for a staring public after another day spent in a long foray to the outer world. Which, as most places one visits for the first time, is very, I say, very interesting at the present moment.
However, I am not going to give some random, weirdly disconnected account and/or limit it to today's adventures [which include, but aren't limited to: near-death experiences, weirdo-watching, ghost-hunting (fruitless, unlike yesterday), shopping and (yes!) eating rubbish food], but I intend to bore you lot to tears with a full-blown account of the entire trip, starting July 2-3. That's like, ages ago, so don't expect a three-word post.
I could really term the date June 28-July 3, because it became a single, exceedingly long day in my already blurry memory, but the events of those days are known and not relevant to this tale, except for the fact that DND discovered that she could be fully functional for as long as six days with a minimum sleep rate of 1 hour [random zoning does not count, because I claim I was awake even if my brain wasn't].
It all starts July 2, when DND, our fearless, reckless [often klutzy] heroine realised she had not packed. Or bought pressies. Or said goodbye to 23.45 bazillion people. Or washed her laundry. Or, in fact, confirmed her flight ticket [which is why she still firmly believed she was to leave on July 3, at 04:00 hours. Yep, before daybreak and the best hour for inspiration].
So it was that, after wrenching self from compy in bouts of as long as 3 hours at a time, DND found out that her flight was due to go at 16:00 hours, which was a blessing for, as stated above DND is a f-huge procrastinating being and prone to being distracted by something shiny at random moments.
*end backflash*
So I stayed in London until late the 6th of July. I was bemoaning the fact that I could not transfer my ticket for the 7th and had to miss the Olympics celebration, a Nine Inch Nails concert AND Kofi Annan's speech of unitification of people against world hunger or some such rot... until the 7th rolled along and then I was very, I say, very glad I did miss these very exclusive events. Though, people, to tell you the truth, I would hardly have been out of bed by 10 am the next day. Not after crazy partying and dancing and stuff until the wee hours of the morn.
Whatever the reason, I got to Doncaster, after visiting: Madame Tussaud's wax museum, every blooming church with a creepy history, London Bridge, London Tower, Soho, the meatmarket where they used to burn people for being "against the crown" or some such tosh, a boat ride that was hilarious only because that old dear granny got motion sickness, the London Museum, the Natural History Museum, etc etc, it was a very cultured experience, you'll notice, riddled with dungeons and gore and blood and bits of history and stuff, the highlight of it being the three ghost tours I went on at different days [paying only for the first and second, and tagging along for the third, which was easily the funniest... and scaring the knickers off two of my guides using the information provided by the first], but also there were tons of skating near-limb-loss experiences, a taxi ride of hell and two tipsy returns to the youth hostel, much lugging luggage around, and loads of pointing and laughing at anything remotely funny.
Whoa, that is a long list.
So far I've also been to Doncaster to get cds, York to ogle more museums in the heat and be subjected to the worst ever delay in the history of the British Rail, stupid train took bloody AGES to arrive and I tried EVERYTHING to keep self's bounciness under control and juggled, read fanfics, wrote more on Time, more on The First War, tried to do a handstand [NOT! kidding, I did try], which is not recommendable with a busted wrist, but buggeritall, I was BORED TO TEARS!!
Ahem.
Other destinations have included: Sheffield, Leeds, my cousins' school for the end-of-term summer concert thing, where I was treated, along with a select audience, to the mangling of some of the world's best-known tunes (Ode to Joy, Amazing Grace, the James Bond theme [..w...t...f...?] amongst others), and it was an Ode to Joy to survive that, and I was amazed at the grace of the teacher who allowed us poor cultural nimrods a five minute break before treating us with the most amazing shredding of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
DND duly spent almost the entire time pointing at laughing at cousins, had to lug a cello home, but!! 10-y-old cousin bought DND sour sticks at the post office as a token of his appreciation for, and I doth here quote his immortal words: "you made it all funny, it was dead boring...have some more candy." Same cousin kicked DND's appreciated arse no less than 25 times on the playstation not two hours later, but it's the thought that counts.
*pantpant* Well. This has become an eternal post. I shall now leave it at this, and hopefully add some pic spammage in the near future, because my camera refuses to work/yield the results of my photographing exploits.
Yours et cetera, many hugs and glomps and licorice for Japs!! [humbly so, because DND sucks]
~DND
