A bit of a change
This entry was posted on April 28, 2008
I’ve always been a fan of major re-vamps, and I’m constantly trying to improve my site. I’ve spent the last few weeks agonising over this layout, trying to refine it as much as possible. I’m pretty pleased with how it has turned out. Loading times should be fairly low due to the fact that it’s image-free (I really wanted to experiment with CSS).
You should notice a few major changes already on the site. My footer is now more useful than it was before, and I have a magically-changing sidebar for each page (thanks to a shed load of code, and Melissa’s tutorial).
The layout is good to go now (as far as I can tell) - all that remains is to start adding new content!
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10 facts meme
This entry was posted on April 24, 2008
I was tagged by the lovely Daniela to write about 10 facts, habits, goals, or other stuff about myself. I think I’ve done something like this before, so I hope I’m not about to repeat myself!
I’m fascinated by torture. I especially love reading about medieval torture methods. They had some twisted people back in those days! I love it. Yes, torture is a horrible thing that I wouldn’t wish on anybody, but there’s just something about a rack and some thumbscrews that has me intrigued.
I suck at reading. I try to read books, but I usually always fail. Hell, I haven’t even finished HP7 yet! I buy books with the intention of reading them, but I never seem to be able to manage it. I find myself reading the same paragraph over and over again, and not taking in any part of it.
I feel like everyone’s sister. My closest friends are all either only children, or have a single brother. Looking at the statistics, that’s eight people I can think of off the top of my head. I get on great with every single one of them, and I think that’s partly because I adopt the “sister” role that they don’t have otherwise.
I’m a very calm person. I’m nearly 21 years old, and not once have I lost my temper with anyone. I don’t even yell at people. It’s so strange to me when I hear about people having screaming matches with siblings / parents, because that never ever happens with me. I’m far too calm for that sort of anger.
I’m a massive High School Musical fan. I have two Zac Efron calendars, DVDs of both movies, a High School Musical (HSM) book, and HSM sticker album, HSM hairbands, and HSM bracelet, and HSM bag, and HSM pencil case, and some HSM postcards. I’ve also had HSM chocolate lollipops, and I have both movie soundtracks on my iPod.
I live in the countryside. Like… deep in the countryside. I can walk for ten minutes from my house and I’ll end up in the middle of nowhere. Our town is famous for being “near” things, and I kind of like that. We’re close enough to things to be able to access them, but far enough away to have plenty of empty space.
I have an oyster card. An oyster card is a way to get cheaper transport around London, which is weird because I don’t even live in London. I’m not even a regular visitor. And yet, I still have an Oyster card!
I can’t click my fingers. I hate the fact that I can’t click my fingers. I’ve tried so many times, and I’ve had various different people try and teach me, but nothing works. I’ve even tried different techniques, but nothing works! I fear that my fingers will eternally be silent.
I can say the alphabet backwards. In primary school we had an “elite” club, where in order to join, you had to be able to say the alphabet in reverse order. I was the first member when I was 8 years old, and I haven’t lost the talent since.
I write HTML like I write English. It’s a language which comes naturally to me now, and on more than one occasion I have found myself “closing” my written paragraphs. I even tried to italicise my handwriting once, but needless to say - it didn’t work. I guess my notebooks don’t interpret HTML in the same way my browser does!
As is the law with memes, I now have to tag people. And in true Calm Banana tradition, I am tagging you.
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A very busy weekend
This entry was posted on April 21, 2008
The reason I haven’t blogged in the past few days is not because I’m dead (thank God!), it’s because I literally haven’t had the time. I haven’t touched a computer since Thursday morning, and I’ve barely even checked my email. My phone has web capabilities, but for some reason it hates Wordpress, which has kept me from blogging on my phone.
So what have I been up to? Well, I spent most of Friday in a queue outside the Astoria, waiting for the doors to open so I could go in and see Simple Plan. I almost froze to death (I swear the corner of Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road is the windiest place ever) so I invested in a scarf and a pair of socks, which just about kept me warm until the doors opened and we were allowed in.
After being patted down (ooh er!) and having my bag searched (no contraband here) I made it into the main hall and managed to grab one of the few remaining spots right on the barrier. I’m not sure I know words to describe how excited I was. This was the fourth time I’d seen Simple Plan (SP) and the first time I’d been able to stand on the left hand side of the stage (which is where my two favourite members of the band stand).
The support act (Kids in Glass Houses) weren’t that bad, and when SP finally came on at quarter to nine, the crowd screamed louder than any crowd I’d heard before in that sort of environment. It literally made my ears hurt. The band opened with “Generation” and the show carried on in a similar style, mixing songs from their new album with some of their classic tracks (such as “Addicted” and “Shut Up”).
The Friday night show was the best show I’ve seen in my life (non-SP bands included). It was so energetic, and enthusiastic, and fun, and loads of other adjectives that I won’t list because I’ll sound too much like a crazy fangirl. I lurked around afterwards to try and meet the band but there was a big crowd waiting and unfortunately I didn’t get to meet them.
Saturday I slept in, and then hiked it up to Birmingham with my friends. After dumping our belonging at my friend’s house (didn’t really want to take my pyjamas and dirty underwear into the SP show) we trundled out to Wolverhampton on something called the “metro”. We got there ten minutes after the doors opened, so absolutely no queuing was needed at all!
I found a spot at the side, but the venue was horrible. It was too hot, I was too exhausted, and I didn’t appreciate young girls jumping on my feet repeatedly (even though it was nice to see people enthusiastic for SP). The opening act were double-booked and so had to cancel at the last minute, leaving someone “local” to perform. This “local” person was a drunk-sounding Irish man with a guitar and a synth. Let’s just say he didn’t go down too well. This was the first time I’d witnessed boo-ing at an SP show.
SP came out, and I lasted about a third of the way into the show before I started to feel faint. I eventually found the bar hidden behind some doors (what kind of venue hides their bar?!) and then when the water didn’t help much, I headed out to the foyer to get some fresh air.
I spent about 15 - 20 minutes talking to Patrick (SP’s merch guy) about the band, etc. etc. and he dragged me back into the hall to see SP play “What If”. It was a great performance, and I enjoyed it a lot. Still, though, the hall was far too hot for me, so I went back out to the foyer. One of the security staff told me not to sit with my eyes shut because it made me look like I was unconscious.
During “Perfect” (played during the encore, and the one SP song that always makes me cry) a girl came and spoke to me. She asked me why I was sad, and I explained that just because I wasn’t smiling, didn’t mean I was sad. We talked a little bit about what “perfect” means, and she told me that she sees the imperfections in people, and then loves them because of that.
After the show, there was a much smaller crowd waiting to meet the band. Sebastien came out first, followed by Pierre and then David. David mentioned that Chuck and Jeff were still in the shower (he even winked and whistled at that), but eventually Jeff came out. Someone managed to persuade him to text Chuck to get him to come out as well. So far I’d managed hugs and pictures with all four members.
After nearly freezing to death (it was gone 1am at this point), Chuck eventually came out to meet everyone. I say “everyone” and I mean “the seven people who were still waiting in the cold”. I didn’t ask him for a picture or an autograph (I was too cold) and he was sweet enough to ask me if I was okay. I playfully replied that I’d have a hug if there was one going, and he gave me a lovely hug (even if he did accidentally bash me in the face with his shoulder).
Having eventually tracked down a legal and safe-looking taxi, we eventually made it back to my friend’s house at 3am. I slept right through till gone noon, and finally made it home at 8pm. I was cold, tired, stiff, headachey, and completely shattered… but it was the funnest weekend I think I’ve ever had.
