jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
~ I cannot do 8 things at once, no matter how hard I try

~ Fans are, in general, pretty awesome folk.

~ Codeine does STRANGE things to my brain and my temperature. Very strange.

~ Trying to work while on codeine does not work. There's three hours I won't get back again.

~ I'm never going to be able to knit, but I like watching people do so

~ Never try to write html while utterly exhausted. The results are not pretty

~ I used to write good Housefic. Why did I stop?

~ My husband is made of awesomesauce ♥

~ Never try to work while on codeine. This bears repeating.

Hope y'all are well. This week is even more manic than predicted, which is quite the achievement, so I'll have to catch up NEXT week instead. When I'll be even further behind.

...no, I can't make that work either...
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
Or, at least, lots of difficult things after breakfast. Still, it's actually GOOD to be busy, so that's okay. Plus, I did some beta'ing for Z last night (Rusty, I haven't forgotten yours - I'm printing it for lunchtime!) and yes, okay, so that's where the other half of my brain went. Am feeling much more positive about life in general and my writing in particular this morning :)

So positive in fact, that I have a list. Woot!

ExpandOkay, so it's only exciting to me, but it's still a good sign )

I think that's enough for today :) Although 'dry out' should possibly be on there as well. Call this July? FAIL, WEATHER, FAIL.

How's everyone else doing? Keeping busy
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
As tends to be the way of these things, being busy means less posting around here. And I'm very busy right now. The library's financial year ends with July, so we're spending money like it's going out of fashion, which when added to the disturbing promptness of some of our suppliers (I'm sure it used to take longer than this to get books from Italy) means that work is completely nuts. Good, but nuts. So I'm reduced to list form once again, along with skimming my flist to keep roughly up to date with folks, even if I can't comment.

*I will post about London Zoo and Lille at some point, if only to show you all the pretty pictures. Both were much fun.

*The First Aid course was exhausting, but I passed and I'm fairly confident that I know what I'm doing with most things now. Apparently you usually get an emergency within 2 weeks of passing or 1 month of needing to requalify. I'm bracing myself.

*The Dreaded DPhil is handed in and we're just waiting to hear about a Viva (thesis defence). News from the job-front is varied, with lots of possibilities but nothing definite yet. Since we have housing (our letting agents have agreed a brilliant deal for us, whereby we're on 2 month rolling contract and they haven't put the rent up) and interim work (thanks to J's supervisor), we can afford to hold our breaths for a few weeks while things get sorted out.

*We've booked a holiday in Menorca for the end of August, which is just what I needed. Having something to look forward to makes the weeks go quicker.

*I'm not writing. At all. Make of that what you will.

*[livejournal.com profile] bringthehappy is chugging along nicely, [livejournal.com profile] bau_bigbang first drafts are due tomorrow, and I've decided that unless I have a brainwave this evening, I'm going to drop out of [livejournal.com profile] spn_summergen. Which is immensely frustrating, but how it's going to have to be. See point above.

*The insurance company has agreed to pay out for our stuff, which is good. We're now waiting for paperwork/negotiations, which is bad because I'm impatient and want my baby computer back in time for Menorca. On the plus side, our wallets were found dumped in a local bin store - they're damaged, so still need replacing, but I've got my address book, notes and little cards back as well as the pencil (which sounds petty, but it's a teeny organiser and the pencils are disproportionately expensive!) so I'm chuffed about that.

*My choir's summer concert went well despite the rain. My solo and 'assist' went well (I sang Raoul so that someone else could sing 'Think of Me' without an embarrassing gap in the middle), but the duet went rather wrong. Ah well. Next time.

*I want to learn something. Anything, pretty much. At the moment I'm trying to decide whether I want to do a creative writing type thing (I might want to do the Diploma/MA at some point, so it'd be as well to start practising), a science type thing (maybe Maths A-level) or a computer type thing (anything, really). Computer thing is probably most use, writing is where my heart is, but I'd love to do some advanced maths at some point. Thoughts? What could I teach myself fairly easily, and what would I need teaching? I'm still working on the flute, but I'm going to need to start setting time aside for that properly. All advice gratefully received!
ETA: Hmmm...I can get most of the computer tutorials I want through w3schools, so I probably don't want to pay for those...

My brain is struggling at the moment. It needs input and stimulation, and work just isn't quite enough. So come on, folks, what should I learn to do?
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
Oxford Folks! Are we doing Blackwell's today? I couldn't work out if anyone was around but I'm actually free for once :)

Woot :) See you there!
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
We're back! For those who aren't on Twitter - I love being able to post to it from my phone! - on Saturday morning, I was whisked away on the Eurostar to Lille for the weekend, which was just awesome. I have photos and stuff of course, but we only got back at midnight last night and my brain still isn't working properly. Once I've had some coffee, I shall tell you all about it.

In the meantime, what did I miss? Did anyone break anything? I've got some superglue around here somewhere, and there's always string in the kitchen drawer. When I'm suitably caffeinated, I shall probably try to get back to Friday night and catch up *pauses for hysterical laughter*, but I'm bound to miss something, so please drop in and say hi. [ETA: So, it turns out that skimming to avoid spoilers means my flist feels really, really quiet] I'm not caught up on Torchwood yet, so no spoilers, thanks - I've got today off, so once the case is unpacked, I can settle in with the computer and the iPlayer :)

*waves madly* I had a fabulous time, but it's nice to be home ♥
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
On Friday, I confidently declared that I would be back today, refreshed, re-caffeinated and ready for the week. In fact I am tired, in pain and waiting for my rather shortened day to finish. Best laid plans of mice and men etc etc.

There's so much I want to write about, from the trials and tribulations of thesis submission (keep track of those references, folks!) to the zoo to a wonderful meal by the river and a magical walk along the South Bank, but it's all going to have to wait until I am no longer buried under invoices and books and spreadsheets.

Hope y'all are well and had a nice weekend. I'll try to catch up on comments from last week tomorrow, when I don't want to curl up round a hot water bottle and cry.
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Fluffy duck)
I probably won't be around much over the weekend, what with one thing and another, but I'll be checking emails when I can. Thanks for sticking with me this week, folks - it's meant so much, I can't begin to tell you, and I shall return on Monday refreshed, re-caffeinated and with 5 words for lots of you.

In the meantime, this is a very swift note to say that I've put an announcement in [community profile] bringthehappy opening this year's fest, sort of. It includes some appeals for help, so anyone who has graphics skills better than my own (which only extend to MS Paint) I'd be most grateful, thanks.

Enjoy the weekend if you can and catch you on the flipside.
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
Thanks to everyone for last night. I will get around to replying to comments and "WORDS!" requests probably this afternoon, but right now, my brain is stuck at MOAR COFFEE, since we didn't get to bed until 12.15am.

The thesis is still broken, sadly. Endnote has had the hissy fit to end all hissy fits, and has randomly selected references, duplicated them and generally screwed with everything so badly that it's almost impossible to tell what's right and what's wrong any more. For a few wonderful minutes last night, we thought that copying it across into a new document had done the trick, but sadly not. Magic!IT guy at the lab may be able to help, otherwise we're at the 'add all the references by hand' stage, which is lengthy, but at least I know my brain works. Endnote, I don't trust further than I can throw it.

IS FIXED!!!! They had to fix references by hands but it now seems to be back together again! Woo hoo!!! And thanks to all for good wishes and prayers - much appreciated :D

Anyway, the plan for today is currently 'survive' and 'don't fall asleep on the keyboard'. There's probably more, but you'll have to wait until I wake up for that.

Much love to all and I'll keep you posted...
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
At about 9.30 this morning, I developed a blind-spot and I mean that literally. For about 10 minutes, I simply couldn't see what was in the bottom right quarter of my field of vision. It was only when I also started to see flashing lights that I started to think maybe it wasn't eye-related but brain related. When I told a colleague, her immediate reaction was "you're getting a migraine. go home."

Judging by the pain in my head, she was right, although I'm getting off lightly, and it's bearable for the moment. And no, I don't intend to look at the screen for much longer. Even I'm not that daft. Well. Not quite. Probably.

So now I have a whole new exciting field to research - I like to know what's happening to me, especially when it involves brain cells, and if I'm going to get migraines, even mild ones, I want to be ready for it. Research skillz - I has them.

Assuming things done get worse, there will be fic later (thrilling, I know, but try to contain your excitement ;)) and some proof-reading of the [livejournal.com profile] tardis_bigbang website. We go live tomorrow and still so much to do!

How's everyone doing? Do drop in to say hi. I'll be here all day, in between headaches...
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
I only made it to skip=400, people. Have you all been away as well?

It's so nice to be back, although I have a head full of STUFF that needs dealing with at some point, and a flat full of STUFF that needs putting away, tidying up, washing or filling out. As long as I don't get them mixed up, I should be fine.

How's everyone doing? Not that there's ever anyone around on a Sunday, but still. *waves* Y'all alright? Anything exciting happen while I was gone? I'll give you a full report of the conference later, but suffice it to say that I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would, and have enough food for thought to see me through the long summer.

Please do link me to stuff - yours or other people's - that you think I might like. [livejournal.com profile] major_jim is still up to his eyeballs in thesis, so I need distracting.

Hope everyone's well! Do drop in - I'll keep the coffee coming and am making banana bread for whoever wants it (actually, if anyone has any good banana cake recipes, I'd love to know...)

(Thalia, Hllangel, I got ALL the emails and will be in touch once the flat no longer looks like it was attacked by a small, messy whirlwind)

ETA: Shopping has been achieved! Tidying is next, but I need more fortifying first. Also, I've discovered that one of my Tweets was re-tweeted on a 'good_education' Twitter account (the one about spelling that did nasty things to my blood pressure). I've never been RT'd before. It's a very odd feeling, especially when you only find out 2 days later.

If anyone's listened to any good motivational music/programmes lately, I'd love to know about them. It could be a long day *rolls up sleeves*

ETA2: For three days, someone has presented me with food of some form and all I had to do was eat it. The fact that I'm now bursting out of my 'fat' trousers is testament to this. But I appear to have forgotten how to prepare my own food. The kitchen is a baffling place.

ETA3 ExpandWell, it's better than spamming, right? )
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
My entry for [livejournal.com profile] tardis_bigbang is finally, finally submitted. It's about 27,100 words and is quite the oddest Torchwood story I've written. No team bonding, nothing blowing up, and not even much in the way of violence (for me). Just Jack. Being Jack. All by himself. It was sort of fun, in a masochistic kind of way.

But it's now DONE DONE DONE, and I can go catch my train without feeling guilty. If anyone's looking for me over the next few days, I'll be on Twitter (this username), and I should hopefully have wifi at the conference.

Of course, because I'm me, I'm now thinking "hmmmm...three hour train journey...how much of my [livejournal.com profile] bau_bigbang could I get written in that time." If someone locates an 'off' switch for my brain, I'd be most grateful. Although who knows how much I might be able to write in three days of limited internet access.

Have fun without me, try not to break anything and I'll catch you on the flipside

*waves*
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
Seriously, what is it with the weather at the moment? We had 4 glorious days (or thereabouts) and now? It's raining so hard on the windowed roof of the library that it's hard to hear youself thinking in the main reading room. Apparently the weather doesn't know that the library is a silent study area :S Still, we're water-tight for the moment, so that's something. The readers, on the other hand, are arriving looking like they waded through swollen rivers to get here.

[livejournal.com profile] white_hart, [livejournal.com profile] dyddgu, if it's still like this at lunchtime, I might be staying in the staff room...

In other news, I slept last night. Yes, yes, I know, generally that's news on a par with 'water wet, sky blue (or, you know, grey)' but for me at the moment that's HUGE. A whole night's sleep! From about 11pm to 5am. JOY! I also have some feedback on my Big Bang which makes me giddy-happy. I LOVE getting nit-picky notes where people make me really *think* about what I wrote and whether I meant it, and how I can re-write it so it works for both/all of us. Editing is much for fun than writing for me, which is probably why I plan to scrap the last chapter and start over. Nearly there! And we've had so many stories and so much art in already that it's AWESOME :D

No list today, because there's so much to do it seems largely pointless - I could do something off it by the time I've finished typing it! Instead, let me recommend Zoo Borns to you again and show you what I got in my email this morning. ExpandBrace yourselves for the cute + bonus bird picture )

How's everyone doing out there? Less damp than Oxford, I hope! And just think, we're a day closer to the weekend. Woot!
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Lightning hands)
It really shouldn't surprise me that my flist has an endless supply of funny, crazy and generally happy-making videos and websites. If anyone else needs cheering up, I can't recommend the comments on this post highly enough, and I haven't even finished working through all of them myself.

Things are much better today - the worst thing with the hormonal stuff is that I just don't care about anything. I know I should, but I don't, and I end up just spiralling down and down and down, not doing anything, not caring that I'm not doing anything, then getting furious at myself for not caring, which just drives me further into myself and... Well. You get the idea.

But my brain is crawling back to what it calls normal and with a long day ahead of me (I'm working til 7 tonight), I hope to get lots done on all fronts. No list, because I have one in pretty colours sitting on my desk, and I'm just going to pick things at random and achieve them.

Thanks, folks. You rock and I couldn't do it without you.
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
Despite sleeping extremely badly last night - which I'm putting down to heat and allergies - I'm feeling much better this morning than I did yesterday. Not quite back to myself, but definitely on the way, especially since washing my hair is always theraputic, even if it does need a cut.

Huge thanks to everyone who thought good thoughts etc about the STUFF I was talking about last week. Nothing's going to happen on that front until at least July, but we have good news to be going on with. Work is also still going well, and I'm starting to pick up and put right all the mistakes I made earlier this year when I was not quite as on top of things. I like being good at my job, and it's definitely something with lots of room for improvement!

I'm also encouraged because while the beginning of my [livejournal.com profile] tardis_bigbang story sucks like a straw, the final 3rd is actually not too bad. Since I do my best writing under extreme time-pressure, that's not really surprising, I guess, but it's given me hope for finishing by the weekend. My [livejournal.com profile] spn_summergen prompts are perfect for me and I feel like my brain is starting to come back online and wanting to do stuff.

Speaking of which, today's list looks long, but most of these are small jobs:

~ Listen to podtour
~ Record podtour
~ Go through flagged messages
~ Send stamp to Dawson
~ Send book to Houtschild
~ Covers to BR
~ Update Georgia list
~ Create East Asia fund
~ Untangle Brill invoices
~ Copy serial invoices
~ Sort order folder

~ Find ALNM tickets
~ Choose Red Letter Day
~ BAU Big Bang admin
~ Tidy new story list
~ Buy shampoo, anti-histamines, lunch Shampoo, conditioner, drugs, fruit, paper and roll achieved for under £8. Result!
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Lightning hands)
I love radio programmes that can make a verbal joke using punctuation :)

My good mood has more or less lasted, despite being horrendously tired this morning. *yawns* This was helped more than a little by choir last night, which was excellent. The atmosphere is relaxed – trying hard at the music but not taking things too seriously – and the standard is good. Most of all, people were incredibly friendly, not waiting for me to say hello before introducing themselves, and happy to just sit and natter in the break. All in all, a great experience although one that leaves me with a dilemma. ExpandIn a good way! )

Before choir, I had to return an enormous pile of books to the library and pay my fine, and I swore I'd only get one or two other books out. Thirteen's not that far off two, right? *looks shifty* I've started Capote in Kansas by Kim Powers, and it's absolutely brilliant. Very much my kind of writing and a fascinating story. More when I've finished it.

For interest, the rest of the books are Expandunder the cut )

Disturbingly, my desk is more or less clear at the moment, so I'm falling back on longstanding jobs, which is probably a good thing. This looks like a long list, but it's all little things really:

~ Create East Asia Fund
~ DASH/BLASH report
~ Mooting videos
~ Invoices
~ Serial POs
~ Check order folder

~ Transcribe beta for Donut
~ Red Letter Day

With the sun shining, this all feels like it might be manageable, plus TOMORROW IS THE WEEKEND *\o/* SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

How's everyone else doing? Plans for the weekend?
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Fluffy duck)
I get more done between 8.30 and 11 than I do for the rest of the day, I swear. It's almost lunchtime and I have huge piles of stuff and huge piles of meh. Maybe it's the rain, but I'm just feeling restless and moody for no particular reason. This is not acceptable when I have lots of work, most of which is already overdue.

On the plus side, I work in a place where the fact that I am typing with a small toy pig cradled in my arms doesn't raise any eyebrows. So it's not all bad. And the pig is very comforting.

Right now I would like some real coffee, some no-fat chips, a blanket and a new brain. I am going to have to manage with the pig, a glass of water, the prospect of burgers and a pile of Indian law books which are covered in dust. *sigh*

What do you guys listen to while you're working? I usually go for Radio 4, but it's not helping today. I'm contemplating my Queen playlist, but I can't settle to that either. Maybe it's me.

Right, this my little list for today, slightly less comprehensive than usual, but hopefully actually achievable.

~ Receive all the Indian books
~ Transcribe Podtour
~ Transcribe Donut's beta
~ Check all the orders are placed

That's not too bad. Oh, I need to add a fifth:

~ Do not eat all the cakes in the staff room. This is important.
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Default)
Happy birthday, [livejournal.com profile] aeron_lanart!!! Hope it's a good one, hon.

~ Today is a bank holiday and I am at work. There is something wrong with this picture. On the other hand, after spending all Friday lying on the sofa and most of yesterday dozing, I'm actually ready to get some stuff done. And did I mention that my work is awesomely understanding about my health? I'm so lucky on that front, and it's a counting my blessings kind of day today.

~ I'm not going to be around as much as usual for the next few weeks, since we were broken into at the weekend and my netbook was stolen *cries* (as well as our wallets and J's laptop). I will be getting another, just not for a little while, which is going to curtail my online access. BTW, those of you with netbooks, what have you got and what do you recommend?

~ Less surfing might not be an entirely bad thing, since I have a stupid amount of stuff on my writing plate right now, and maybe less time online will mean more words on the page. Anything's possible, right?

~ I am busy every night this week. All with good stuff, but I'm starting to wonder if this is what it's like to have a social life. Weird.

~ Flautists on my flist, how do I play a 'C' without dropping the flute or losing the note? I'm teaching myself at the moment, and right now I can only manage one or the other...

~ ExpandThe return of the list of dooom )

~ Yes, you did read right in that table. Because we are a bad influence on each other, [livejournal.com profile] greyias and I have signed up to co-write for this year's [livejournal.com profile] sgabigbang. That's THREE Big Bangs for me this year, plus the SPN Summer Gen challenge. Bring it on *wibble*

~ There's probably more, but I need to get coffee before my 3 hour enquiry desk shift. Hopefully the students are all in exams or Bank Holidays *crosses fingers*. There's so much to do!

~ I am rather vague today. This could prove problematic.

[I'm just going to keep adding 'ETA's to this as I remember things. By the time Californian folks see it, this post is going to be epic]

~ I made a lemon drizzle syrup cake last night, and it is exceedingly yummy. I meant to bring it to work for those of us slaving away while everyone else is at home, but it's still sitting on top of the bread-maker in the kitchen. It's one of the easiest and yummiest cakes ever, and I've put the recipe under the cut. ExpandTyped from memory, so apologies for randomness and to Nigella Lawson )
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Fandom - TW - Gwen wine)
After spending most of yesterday asleep (and the fact that I slept through the night despite 4 hours of deep sleep in the afternoon suggests that my body doesn't work probably and it's a shame it isn't still under guarantee), we spent most of today out and about. There is STUFF which had to be discussed and has been, and there is an end in sight to some long-running STUFF, which is good, I think. Sadly, there is no fic, but I'm sure a few more days of waiting won't kill anyone.

I would also like to note that seeing someone through a PhD is not for the faint-hearted :S But I am assured that it ends at some point, and the advantage of being in Oxford is that there's plenty of people who've been here before and warned me it was like this. Doesn't mean I'm not knackered, but at least I was braced for it.

Things are going to go very, very quiet around here for the next month or so, as I try to put all my energy into my work and getting my husband to handing in his thesis, but hopefully I'll be able to pop up with stories and betas every now and again.

So this is what having a life's like, eh? *looks round* Huh. I thought it would be shinier...
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Random - bicycle and umbrella)
First and most importantly: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DONUTSWEEPER!

Have a great day, hon. I do have a present for you, but Stuff got in the way of my finishing it. I promise to send it before it becomes a Christmas present ;)




Speaking of which, do I owe anybody anything? I mean, I know I have deadlines coming up for various things, but I have this nagging feeling that I've forgotten to return something to someone. As far as I know, the only beta-work I'm sitting on right now is for [livejournal.com profile] apiphile, which doesn't count as work because I'm enjoying myself too much. Oh, and [livejournal.com profile] donutsweeper, I know I've got yours too, but that'll have to wait til the weekend, if that's okay (do let me know if it isn't and I'll *make* time - not a problem). I need to print it and go through it by hand, which is definitely my preferred method of editing.

I have things that would probably make a post, but right now, I'm too hungry to put them in a sensible order (I don't get off the enquiry desk for another 40 minutes *gnaws furniture*), so I've just tried to put my list together instead.

One thing I do know is that I need a couple of hand-holders to get my SGA pirate!story done, but I don't know who from my regular beta-group is around/has the time to help. So if you remember 'Port Call' and are able to help me put together a follow-up, I'd much appreciate some people to bounce ideas off.

ExpandIt's thrilling as ever, and I plan to keep copying, pasting and updating it, hence the layout. I like tables ;) )

Home alone

May. 6th, 2009 08:10 am
jadesfire: Bright yellow flower (Animal - puppy nose)
The other half is off to Berlin today, for two nights, but it's more like 3 days, since he's now on the coach and won't be back until Friday night. On the other hand, he has WiFi on the coach, so he's probably reading this right now *waves* HI, HONEY!

Because he is generally wonderful, he's left me with a list of things I should eat (I get flustered if I have to make up a meal on the spot) and 2 seasons of NCIS to make me happy :) After yesterday's incident, I'm taking today off as well, hoping it'll get me over the shakes and weakness and leave me strong enough to do some long days Thursday and Friday. I want to be completely up to date by the weekend if I can manage it.

In the meantime, today's list consists of 'lie on sofa' and 'make medical appointments' neither of which require more energy than I have. I'm also working on my [livejournal.com profile] tardis_bigbang story, which needs a bit of life injecting into it, and prodding at some other things. But mostly, I'm going to be squeeing at Gibbs and the gang. *squees*

Mid-point of the week folks. It's all downhill from here! I'll keep the coffee on all day if you want to drop in. Just prod me if I doze off ;D