Of sunburn and other afflictions of summer.
| Rupert Giles 63% amorality, 45% passion, 63% spirituality, 72% selflessness |
| Utterly calm and resolute in the face of danger, utterly devoted to his loved ones and comrades in arms, and utterly willing to do what is necessary to ensure that good overcomes evil. Giles knows the score, he knows that sometimes virtue relies on good men getting a little messy, and he's willing to take that on himself, largely so that others don't have to. You might share some of that. Thanks Again! -- THE 4-VARIABLE BUFFY PERSONALITY TEST |
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My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people:
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3rd January 2006 - Oct. of S. John, Ap. and Evan.
I got home from my New Years away last night. Tired and painfully sunburnt but otherwise pretty damn good.
On Friday after a day of packing and otherwise arsing about Tim picked me up, then after picking up Oli, Lyall and half a supermarkets worth of food we headed to Oturehua for the night. The trip was nice, as was an evening in the Maniototo - even if it was much, much greener than it has any right to be. Grass being green up that way seems creepy and wrong. It's just not done.
After going to bed a little late, not sleeping well and then being up early to get back on the road I was a touch tired heading off on Saturday morning, to the Queenstown Events Centre in Frankton for the cricket. The cricket was very cricket like, if a bit boring due to how much we were kicking arse. I'm a fan of closer games, watching sport works better for me if there is some tension or drama. I ended up watching the crowd more than the game. There was much exposed flesh as people burnt themselves leathery under the stupidly bright sun. Skin-cancerific. Even with near constant reapplication of sunscreen I ended up burning my knees (where my shorts rubbed the sunscreen off) and the inside of my ankle (which I think I just missed with the sunscreen - and which is now all shiny and pink and serious burn like). After the cricket, and purchase of moisturiser for the burn, we headed to Kingston for New Years. It was a great night of barbeque and alcohol consumption. I got quite drunk but still behaved myself quite well. Though being up till after four in the morning, after a long day started tired, lead to my drunkeness being more of the finding everything funny kind.
New Years day was spent arsing about Kingston. We climbed up a "expert trampers only" track to a lookout a bit of the way up Mount Dick (the punning was plentiful on that one) but otherwise had a pretty relaxing day of barbeque and drinking. Followed by an evening of drinking inside after weather started to happen. We all went to bed around midnight as a result of having started drinking a bit early in the day.
Yesterday, awaking after a sensible 12ish-8.30ish sleep (very unholiday like) there was a quiet day of pottering about. After lunch a group of us headed back (as one of the drivers had places to be and in order for everyone to get back some of us had to leave a day early and being tired and painfully sunburnt I volunteered (and we will be pretend my on-going infatuation on said driver played no part in it)). So after a nice drive back, I came home to an evening of reading (after my computer decided if wasn't going to work for me - though since seems to have come right (I think my Back-UPS may be dying, which will piss me off) and has managed to not turn itself off on me unexpectedly today). Before going to sleep I finished Lirael - which follows from the Sabriel I read a couple of weeks back. Still not convinced the author is any good, there seems to be a lot of potential for being above average that is just never followed through on. It's frustrating as it comes across like the author could have done a bunch better. I think I'm going to go get the end of the trilogy from the library today and see if the problem is that all three of the books need to be read for it to 'work'. Or I could just be wasting chunks of my life that would be better spent on thesis.
| Pure Nerd 56 % Nerd, 47% Geek, 39% Dork |
| For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd. The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful. Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST |
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My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people:
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6th January 2006 - Epiphany of Our Lord.
Woot, twelfth night.
On the 3rd, after writing the above, I returned Lirael to the frustratingly closed library. On the way home I impulse purchased Fable: The Lost Chapters at half price. And that is pretty much all I've done the last few days. It's a mix of computer game addiction, laziness and illness (I'm quire grossly sick as usually happens when I take some time off).
On the fourth the only time I left the house was to go try Dunedin's Hell Pizza - it was good but failed to live up to my recollection of Wellington Hell Pizza. In the one excursion I also managed to get caught in a surprise downpour of hail. I also came very close to renting Wadd out from the video store. But decided dodgy documentaries probably weren't needed and I'd spent too much on Pizza already. Otherwise the whole day went to Fable.
Yesterday at about lunch time Fable crashed on me when I was moving between quests. So I decided to go buy lunch - and as all that was open at the Gardens was the supermarket I got the food of gods (Southland plains dairy gods), Chocolate milk. I came back and discovered Fable had eaten my character. After some searching of the net and working out what had happened I started over. Two days of my life wasted. But it meant I know what to avoid to lessen the chances of it happening again and I started over.
Today has featured Fable-playing, all you can eat indian for lunch with my father and going to the library to get the final book in the Garth Nix trilogy.
7th January 2006 - Keys of Septuagesima.
Before getting up today I finished the Garth Nix book, so the trilogy is now done. It meant I didn't get up till early afternoon and as books go probably wasn't worth it. Things about it bugged me a lot. I like more internal consistancy than that trilogy offered.
Otherwise my news for the day is that my sunburn from the cricket has finally stopped hurting, gone a gross bruise purple and started itching and peeling. It's a step toward better, but more annoying than the pain was. Itchiness annoys me a lot.
Also beginning to bore of Fable, even though I've not quite clocked it yet (past the original game and into the bonus 'chapters').
9th January 2006.
Today, I finally went to the office. I got some work done, but the whole being slightly sick still thing got in the way. I'm over the being conquered by phlegm, but still coughing and cranky. Still, was good to get out of the house and be productive. I also got a Boris and Julie fantasy art calendar for my office - which should leave everyone in my office thinking I'm some dodgy creep who likes his women mostly naked and being mindlessly paraded around. It's a good look.
Anyway, I should be sleeping. Must get sleep patterns. Patterns good.
12th January 2006.
The cold I had finally beaten down to just a dose of the extra manly sniffles has come back today with teeth, or possibly friends. I feel like crud.
My headaches and I'm coughing my lungs up and generally I'm just not feeling good.
Buggerit. I hate being sick.
Anyway, past few days have featured stuff. On Monday I clippered my beard as it was getting stupid.
Tuesday I had lunch with Michiel and my father. While at lunch I almost went and talked to Si in the queue for coffee but realised that was one of my stupid decisions and stopped before following it through (I am known for my stupid decisions - i.e. Shiny). Mid afternoon my father dragged me off to a movie. The movie he had chosen, Nanny McPhee. It was a family movie, and pop corn at that. Not terrible but not really worth recommending except for the scene where the children ate the baby - that bit was worth it.
Yesterday Alana and I caught up with Rach, to celebrate her birthday a couple of days late. Lunch of wontons - fantastic things. Afterwards I went to the office and achieved very little as my head was feeling a bit weird. After walking home, most of the way with Michiel, and having dinner my brother turned up to borrow DVDs and stayed for ages.
I woke up when the road works started outside my flat thins morning and then fell back to sleep and slept half the morning away. Falling back to sleep is never a good sign, I only ever do it when I'm sick, and surprise, surprise, I wake up sick and gross.
I need to get me an immune system. Wait, I have a great one when it comes to inappropriate responses it is just sucking at stopping colds recently. Grrrr.
You scored as Biology. You should be a Biology major! You are passionate about the sciences, and you enjoy studying cell growth and evolutionary concepts which enable living organisms to survive. Pursue that!
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What is your Perfect Major?
created with QuizFarm.com
Clearly I majored in the wrong subjects.
13th January 2006 - Oct. of Epiphany. Middle lessons of S. Hilary.
I stumbled out of my room yesterday as I was getting ready to go to the supermarket for such exotic things as milk and bread and my flatmate commented on how I didn't look very well. I must have looked pretty bad as normally when I'm sick he seems to imply that he thinks I'm just slacking off. This was just after I showered and noticed this bug has come with a rash - unfortunately the symptoms are otherwise non-meningococcal-like. Unfortunate as having it seems pretty fashionable. it'd be nice to finally be cool... it would be like having HIV in San Francisco - all the cool kids are doing it.
Anyway, today I'm feeling somewhat less gross. Still gross, but not as bad. I can drink water without feeling like it might not stay down, I can even eat mostly normal okay. Actually, the throwing up feeling is always the worst when you know it's just a feeling a nothing will ever come of it. Time for me to get back to getting well or just spending my time coughing up a lung.
16th January 2006 - Marcellus, Pope and Mart.
The world needs Pope and Martyr combinations more.
I hate being sick. After missing my first chance to see Wormgirl in many, many month because of it on Friday and then spending Saturday still pretty much trapped inside, I was finally feeling a bit better yesterday. Enough that I went to the office for a while and managed about an hour of work.
This morning I'm coughing constantly and feeling like crud again. And the end off my nose hurts from all the blowing. Stupid disease. All viruses shall suffer torment eternal.... I think it is time I sign up as a minion of darkness so I can work on making that happen.
Superhuman quantities of snot.... Things are not looking pretty.
Hayfever on top of a cold is messy. Gross cold snot being pumped out ay hayfever snot speeds. Not attractive.
I went to the library to pick up a book to read and spread some germs around. Got to share the snot..., I mean, love.... I met up with my father there and had lebonese for lunch. It was tasty. he also gave me a surprise gift of money - as I kept not picking shoes when he tries to buy some for me. So instead of buying shoes on the way home, I got the missing Xena DVDs and completed my collection. Xena shall aid in my convalescence.
That and Hell Pizza. Which will either make me well or just extremely fatter.
18th January 2006 - Prisca, V. and Mart.
Still at home sick, and have pretty much spent the last two days in bed. I have conquered the phlegm - still have the cough, and the headache and the nausea. Actually, since the phlegm has gone the rest seems to have got worse. I'm still hoping I'll wake up well tomorrow though. And I slept through my first brain poking of the year and was woken up being rung to ask if I'd forgotten.
19th January 2006 - Wulstan, Bp. Conf.
Less gross than yesterday. Though phlegm is back. I'm blaming the weather. I also have the most bloodshot of eyes - I got up and my flatmate commented on the Ren and Stimpy-ness of my eye, I went to the mirror and discovered he wasn't wrong.
I'm not a fan of mirrors.
Might try going to varsity this afternoon if the cough has dropped off a little.
After lunch I was dressed to go to varsity and was just waiting for my washing to be ready to put on to rinse and suddenly it was after five and I had slept the day away - fully dressed and accidentally. I guess varsity will have to wait until tomorrow. I hate being sick.
21st January 2006 - Agnes, V. and Mart.
Yesterday I actually got work done at varsity, though I suspect my cough was pissing off my officemates. Then I spent the evening at home coughing like a freak and being all antisocial. Should have been at a party, but didn't realise it was on as I had left my cell phone in the bottom of my school bag.
Today I'm going to a civil union ceremony - a first for me. Weddings are old hat, but I'm not sure what to expect from today. Could be interesting.
22nd January 2006 - Vincent, Mart.
The ceremony was nice. It was more wedding like than the last wedding I went to, but it was sweet and that is what matters. It was even in a church, which did leave me wondering why they had a civil union and didn't just get married. Anyway, after the ceremony, which had been in Outram, Midget and I sat in a cafe in Mosgeil for a while filling up on chocolate dairy-filled beverages. Lactose is bad. Then some last minute present shopping in town and off to the reception. They had the same caterers who were at the early childhood conference thing I helped out at last month - the food was fantastic. I was being behaved about my alcohol consumption for most of the night, worried I'd be over friendly toward one of the catering minions were I drunk. Later int he night though Alexandrea proved a bad influence on me. By the end of the night she'd filled me with whiskey and green ginger wine and I was drunken. Drunken and havign photos of me and Alexandrea taken of that sort that would get me in a lot of trouble with her husband had he not been taking them.... Her husband is great though, I really should have made more of an effort to get to know him better, and it could be a bit late now as they are about to skip the country. Though he seems to have done a much better job at working me out than I have him. But thats a story that can wait.
Just got a phone call from Tim inviting me out - so time to leave the house.
23rd January 2006.
After rushing off from writing the above yesterday I met up with Tim, Oli and Briget at Eureka and proceeded to get very drunk at Tim's expense while chatting to various random Linux conference people. So many geeks in one place and me drunk, rude, drunk and obnoxiouser than usual. It was a great night, though the getting home drunk after midnight hasn't helped with the getting rid of my cold.
Today had a slow start but I still made it to varsity a bit earlier than I usually manage, and with a packed lunch. I was pleasantly not hungover - yay for happy surprises. I ate lunch with Michiel while mocking the linux lot loose on campus. In the afternoon I had a doctor's appointment. The new meds I've been on (Plendil) didn't do squat, so I'm on to meaner naster version of the same sort of thing (Felo). Same drug, but bigger and made by Pharmacy Generic instead of AstraZeneca. This is where I'll get side effects instead. I've also put on weight over the last three months. I'm now 96kg. So not much gain, but still change in the wrong direction. I have to get skinny so I can steal Tim's blue sun t-shirt. My doctor also commented that I was doing Michael Jackson proud. My vitiligo has got worse by enough for my doctor to comment - which isn't ideal but not something he is worried about at all.
And now is time for me to go sleep.
26th January 2006.
Haven't got up to much this week. Just working on my thesis, slowly but surely.
On Tuesday night I realised I hadn't played the Sims all year, so a little bit has been played in the last couple of days. Mostly just thesis, tv and sleep. And not even that much tv.
Today, I finally bumped into Tim around varsity - after having decided he was too busy being cool and hanging out with the linux geeks to acknowledge me - and went with him for lunch (not eating though, as I'd just got back from lunch with Dad). And for the most part he has been too busy with the linux lot, or just not thinking to ring me when doing anything more social. I still don't have my hat.
I also had two linux conference geeks assume on seeing me that I was one of their number and ask me what sessions I was going to. I didn't think I looked that unfortunately geeky...
High point of the day, catching up with Scott for a while - I really should try and be social more often.
27th January 2006 - Julian, Bp. and Conf.
For the second night in a row I've woken at about four in the morning and taken ages to get back to sleep for no noticible reason. Vague notion of freaky dreams but still.... Tiredness and crankiness are in my nature which means they really do not need help.
I should go be productive. It is like quarter to ten in the morning and I am already grumpy and fed up with the day, if I don't do something soon I'll probably not.
29th January 2006.
Friday was semi productive in the office. I've finished with primary text references (something a sensible person would have done first, which I did but changed topic focus afterward so ended up redoing it looking for different things much later than it should have been left). and after only a couple more articles I think I'll finally actually be finished with the research part and can just focus on getting the beast written. This is all relying on my supervisor actually coming through and uncharacteristically supervising.
Friday evening I met up with Tim, Oli and Briget and proceeded to get very drunk. It made for a good night except once drunk I was being annoying and getting on my nerves. Still a fun night was had, and Erin dropped me home saving the drunken stumbling and increasing the amount of sleep I could get.
Still wasn't enough though. Stupid roadworks people starting stupid early on a Saturday. I had been wanting a lot more sleep than I got (being that I haven't managed an even near decent sleep in ages). The day that followed was a mix of laundry doing and stuffing about.
Following this was a quite social but bad-mental-health evening. I headed to Alana's for dinner and ended up feeling very third wheel, not through anything they were doing just through my own craziness. I just felt they'd be having more fun without me. This was a trend that would continue through the night. Later in the night I felt the same thing breifly hanging around Midget and co. The peak though was once I settled in for the evening with Oli and Tim's lot. I managed to think myself into thinking I was an entirely unwelcome tag-along (Suzy-Hang-Around-ish) and that everyone was just being too polite to tell me to leave. There was no logic behind it, and not really any alcohol either (I was mostly not drinking as I'm broke and was feeling far too much like people didn't want me there anyway to ask Tim to shout me - as much as he is pretty good that way). Even after a couple of the girls were being friendly and huggy I still found myself all on edge waiting for someone to just come out and say how much they'd have rathered I wasn't there. The point at which the insanity of it all become obvious to me (I'm pretty good at just going along with my madness without realising it) was when I was sharing a Taxi with Erin and found myself feeling like I was an interloping thing disrupting her quality conversation time with the Taxi driver. Worryingly things had to get that crazy before it all fell into place that I was just being a complete insane-o.
Anyway, got home and lay in bed feeling like shit for ages before I managed to sleep. So today is again with the tiredness and the grumpiness.
In lighter news, I had a nice chat with a high school crush last night. It was nice.
Today was good. I was just heading in to the office when Tim texted with plans so I met up with him, Oli, Briget, Robin, Tina (not MarTina but a different Tina), and Erin for a stupidly expensive cafe lunch and then spent the afternoon hanging out with them until Tim headed off to the airport. Then after watching some more TV at Oli's I came home with the intention of reading a library book that really needs read and just ended up watching TV and playing some Sims.
I have my hat now. Tim came through. It's a bit ugly, but I like it.
30th January 2006 - Batildis, Q. V., not Mart.
Woot, my counter on this thing has passed 3,000. Which means some people are actually going in through the title page still and haven't just rudely bookmarked further in (like I have) or perved around having found this thing through search engine searches on unlikely topics.
Had a pretty damn unproductive day. I went to the office and just couldn't concentrate. The only productive thing I achieved was adding extra file boxes to my collection and sorting some articles into them.
This evening I've actually been chatting to Si, which is kind of weird. Turns out my assumption that our not talking meaning he wouldn't read this thing was flawed.
I guess that means I owe Renate an apology; and were I a bigger man I'd probably even give it to her.
31st January 2006.
I have run out of excuses to keep putting off the reading of the Queer Theory I'm supposed to be using in my masters. So today went to that dread task. So far the summary of what I have learned from it: Queer Theory is a ridiculous joke; Queer Theory makes no sense; Queer Theorists all deserve fiery death; and if a woman is straightforward she is a lesbian.
We hates it, it burns us.
I'm finally reading the Paul J. McAuley book I got out from the library when I was sick. It is not his usual style at all. It is set early in the recent Iraq war, and part of it is set on the set of a film that has already made it to New Zealand tv The Elemental (which is a crap "horror" film). Book is good so far though.
Woot, the weird factor of the book turns out to be real.
