Hils's journal

Ok, I've tried EVERYTHING! I've run anti-virus, I've rebooted my PC about 3 times yet STILL I can't get into MSN.com, nor can I get my messenger to work.

Someone suggested emptying my temporary internet files but it seems to be empty already....unless I'm looking in the wrong place.

I don't know what else to do. Nobody else is having problems so it's clearly my PC. GRR ARGH!!!

Nicked this meme from pellmelody

1. What was the first fandom you ever participated in?
Buffy, and hey look, I'm still here

2. How old were you?
20

3. How long ago was it?
Well, I've been watching the show since it started but I didn't get involved in fandom until about 3 years ago when I set up my site and started writing fanfic.

4. Were you popular in that fandom?
Semi-popular I suppose. I certainly don't have the fame that a lot of authors do but I get a fair number of hits on my site

5. Were you a fanartist, a fanfiction author, a confused teenybopper, eh eh eh?
Fanfic author with a bit of confusion thrown in ;)

I'm putting together a soundtrack for the Dark Ages Vampire game. We all chipped in ideas and this is going to be a very cool CD when it's done. Lots of dark, gothic classical music...and Nick Cave. LOL.

Might add a few more modern-ish songs to even it out a bit.

Anyone want to suggest any tracks for the Dark Ages Vampire CD? I've still got a spear 40 minutes to use up. Basically for those of you who don't know it, it's pretty much what the title suggests. Medieval Salzburg populated by vampires.

mrthursday can you remember what you put on the track listing last time? Tom threw away the original so we had to do it again last week, and you weren't there obviously

I think I'll be taking that afternoon off

*sniffle sneeze cough*

Meh!

Played around with the black&white and sepia modes of my camera yesterday. And then I took some straightforward colour ones

( Collapse )

Going to Brimham Rocks imminently and I'm not ready yet as I'm busy catching up with my flist

*runs around and panics*

Very tired. It's been a long day. Brimham Rocks was fun. Did lots of climbing and took lots of photos. Nothing as pretentious or arty as the ones of York but there's some nice ones in there. I'll post them tomorrow when I've had time to upload them and whatnot

Went out for dinner and I was good and had a salad. I've still eaten some fairly naughty food this weekend so I'm not convinces I've lost any weight. I might go for a run tomorrow to try and burn off some of the calories

I was getting bored of the whole diet thing until I was trying to find something to wear tonight and I realised most of my old trousers and skirts don't actually fit me any more. Feh! I am a whale! I mean I'm not huge or anything but I have gone from a size 12 to a size 14. Weirdly my upper body is still small and I can wear a size 10 top and have it be loose on me

So, I shall be dieting for a bit more. REALLY need to get my arse in gear and go to the gym at least twice a week

Right, going to bed now

Dionysus 33% Extroversion, 46% Intuition, 100% Emotiveness, 80% Perceptiveness

Although deeply emotional, you are extremely lacking in self-knowledge. You are somewhat needy, and when bored, may become very hedonistic. Your life is a quest for meaning, above all else. You are most like Dionysus. You are primarily interested in serving others, but your efforts are almost always unappreciated. You aren't confrontational, you're often out of tune with your own needs and unaware of the consequences of your own actions. You are, at heart, a good person. You are very affectionate, and you are very loyal to your friends and family. You are very reluctant to burden others with your own problems, to the point that this in itself can become a problem for the people who care about you. This is a particular of a more general problem. Dionysus sends wave of ruin throughout his personal life. He is the photographer who seduces his subjects. He is the teacher who seduces a student. He is the art student who paints nonrepresentational splashes of color, he is the poet who rejects meter and content. You seek sexual partners more than anything else (this is to exploit the nurturing side of others to help fill your own void). If not sexual partners, this desire to become the object of sympathy with other people can manifest itself in other destructive ways. Stinkfist by Tool explains your condition pretty well. It's very likely that you haven't had many experienced mentors. You don't want them either, because you're the sort of person who rejects criticism and boundaries, but they're also your only hope for reaching any kind of emotional maturity. Famous People Like You: John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Hefner I'd tell you to stay clear of Hermes, Icarus and Apollo, but you could probably learn something from them. You're least likely to hurt The Oracle, Atlas, Prometheus, and Daedalus, but Atlas and Daedalus won't like you very much. Seek out: The Oracle, Prometheus

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on Extroversion You scored higher than 99% on Intuition You scored higher than 99% on Emotiveness You scored higher than 99% on Perceptiveness

Link: The Greek Mythology Personality Test written by Aleph_Nine on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

If You Were Born in 2893...

Your Name Would Be: Baan Irb And You Would Be: A Comet Chaser

Had an amazing time in London this weekend. It's weird but the more time I spend there the more I like it. Still don't want to live there though.

Friday
Train arrived 45 mins late (surprise, surprise!) but the tube was running fine and I was soon at Derek and Matthew's. They cooked me a lovely meal (which was a little too spicy for me but I managed most of it) and we had chocolate cheesecake for pudding. WHEE! We watched a few episodes of American Dad and Matthew had me cringing at the episode that involved a sci-fi/fantasy convention. I was pretty tired after that so I went to bed.

Saturday
Had breakfast then went to Canary Wharf and had second breakfast. LOL. Took a boat up the Thames a way and had to make an inpromtu stop so I could get some batteries for my camera. Looked at HMS Belfast and some weird sculpture thing which I think was supposed to be a ship and then carried on. We went and had a look at The Golden Hinde which is a reconstruction of one of Francis Drake's ships. It was quite small and we didn't go aboard because it was quite expensive but I took some photos of the outside. We had lunch and met up with one of the girls I used to work with. We then went for a walk and wound up climbing the 311 steps of The Monument. My legs ache still! Got some nice photos at the top though. After that it was time to go to the IMAX to see Superman Returns. I didn't realise some bits of it were in 3D! Very cool! And on the biggest screen in the UK too. After that we headed to Chinatown and had dinner. We finished the evening with a drink in a nearby pub and then headed home. Somehow I ended up staying up until 2am watching selected highlights of Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Matthew was horrified to discover that I wasn't a Star Wars fangirl. Hehe!

Sunday
Had a reasonable lie in, watched some Baywatch and Hollyoaks and then headed out. Took some photos at Canary Wharf and then took the train to Greenwich. If I was going to live in London (which I'm not) then this would be the place. Got off the train, rounded a corner and there was The Cutty Sark just sat there (not moored, it wasn't on the water). I bounced and squeed. Before we went to look at the ship we went to Ottakar's because Matthew had mentioned seeing a book he thought I might be interested. That book was Vampirates. Seriously, they are vampire pirates. How cool! It's actually a kiddie book but then so is Harry Potter. I bought the first Vampirates book and if I like it there is another one. Was amused to see that the junior novelisation of Superman Returns completely ignores the subject of Lois having a child. Clearly it might have raised issues about sex which the author didn't want to be responsible for. LOL.

After that I went aboard The Cutty Sark while Derek and Matthew went and found somewhere for us to have lunch. Took lots of pics. To be honest, I preferred the Trincomalee. The entire lower deck of The Cutty Sark was just filled with figureheads from various ships. Not that interesting really. I took lots of pics though.

After lunch we went for a walk up to the Maritime Museum. Didn't have time to go in unfortunately, just for a poke around the shop. Managed to resist buying anything despite there being two bookcases full of nautical books of both fact and fiction. Vampirates was there too. Hee!

Then I had to make a frenzied rush back and I caught the train back to York with 3 mins to spare. LOL

I must say thank you to Derek and Matthew for indulging my Age of Sail obsession all weekend. I had a great time, guys!

I think I might cancel the birthday meal this year. No one seems to be free that weekend and it's the only weekend I can do it

:(

I'll just stay home, get drunk and watch my favourite films

My new leather coat has arrived and looks fabby. It comes down to my calves so it's a lot longer than my old one but that's not a bad thing

Will post a piccy tomorrow (after I've sorted out all my London pics)

I've seen As Good As It Gets several times and it never fails to make me feel happy when I watch it

Why don't I own this film on DVD?

*adds to wishlist*

I need to stop signing up for challenges. I'm not the fastest writer in the world these days. I've just finished my CLFF Wave 22 fic and am about to start my old_school_clex Halloween challenge fic. Then I need to do my absolut_lex art challenge fic and by the time I'm done with that it'll be time for CLFF Wave 23

At this rate I very much doubt I'm going to get any of my own fics done before the end of the year. My Reckoning fic feels like a distant memory now. LOL

When I read over a fic at 1am which I thought was finished I see everything that's wrong with it.

So, my CLFF Wave 22 fic isn't actually finished. Not to the point where I'm happy with it anyway

*sighs*

Snagged from kittygoth


Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.

1. PDA
2. XBox 360
3. Nintendo Wii
4. Ipod Nano

Dave has just been going through my Amazon Wishlist and started suggesting items which should be deleted due to poor taste

Aparently I should remove Dukes of Hazard Season 1, Desperate Housewives Season 1 and an Anita Blake book

Well, I might give him the Anita Blake one. LOL

What can I say? I have an ecclectic taste in stuff. Hehe

Is it possible to have a Clex fic with Lana as a sympathetic character? I'm not sure I've ever read one

Problem is my CLFF fic has Lana being nice and tring to help Lex (I think Static broke my brain!) but if I have Clark and Lex take their friendship any further I'm going to have to do something with Lana to get her out of the way

Tricksy!

We Need To Talk About Kevin freaked me out so much that there's a High School shooting episode of One Tree Hill on at the moment and I had to leave the room.

That's one powerful book!

Dude! Sometimes I forget how incredibly hot James Marsters is.

I'm making my OMWF icons and practically melting

( Collapse )

I'll just be over here in a pile of goo

Tiredness is not my friend. I'm getting all emotional and weepy because my CLFF fic needs a lot of work doing to it and I don't think it'll be ready in time for the deadline.

I should not be crying and getting this wound up and upset over a fic challenge!

It's frustrating though. The idea I had was simple enough and I just can't seem to get it right and it's really upsetting me.

Going to sleep now. Tomorrow is another day.

1. The Life of Nelson - Robert Southey
2. The Last Days of Krypton - Kevin J. Anderson
3. New X-Men - Grant Morrison
4. This Thing of Darkness - Harry Thompson
5. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
6. Superman Returns - Marv Wolfman
7. Shakespeare - Bill Bryson
8. Buffy Omnibus vol 1 - Misc
9. Buffy Omnibus vol 2 - Misc
10. Spike: Shadow Puppets - Brian Lynch
11. A Portrait of Lord Nelson - Oliver Warner
12. Anything Goes - John Barrowman
13. 500 Reasons Why I Hate The Office - Malcolm Burgess
14. Watchmen - Alan Moore
15. Superman: Birthright - Mark Waid
16. Fray - Joss Whedon
17. Iron Man - Peter David
18. Nelson: A Personal History - Christopher Hibbert
19. Sharpe Cut - Linda Blandford
20. Queen of the Slayers - Nancy Holder
21. Finding Serenity - Jane Espensen
22. The Fourth Bear - Jasper Fforde
23. Smallville: The Official Companion: Season 1 - Paul Simpson
24. Smallville: The Visual Guide - Craig Byrne
25. The Death of Superman - Dan Jurgens
26. World Without A Superman - Dan Jurgens
27. The Return of Superman - Dan Jurgens

That was...kind of confusing but also kind of good. I think I enjoyed it. LOL!

Next on the list is Green Arrow/Black Canary For Better Or For Worse

After this I get to read a proper book with no picutres ;)

I wouldn't be a true Brit if I didn't grumble about public transport (and the weather) once in a while.

Dude, what is going on with the buses at the moment? Any of my fellow Yorkies have any idea?

I only get the bus twice a week to go to aerobics. On Monday the bus was massively (20 mins) late but I managed to get a seat and consequently missed the first 5 minutes of my class

Today I sat for 30 minutes, watched four of the bus I want go past me in the opposite direction, and when it finally arrived they let about six people on and then said it was full.

So I've missed my class and I am not amused! And I got wet walking home (just to add a gripe about the weather)

Spike is not amused!

drusplace and I have taken it upon ourselves to enlighten all those who are new to the wonder of James Marsters. She posted a picspam yesterday as well as some interesting JM factoids.

I, sadly, don't have any interesting factoids but I do have lots of pics. These are all special to me as they're all pics that I took during my various meetings with James over the years.

I must apologise for the quality of the early pics. They were before I got a digital camera. In fact the main reason I bought my first digital camera was to take better pics of James. LOL

( Collapse )

Hope you enjoyed it. I certainly had fun going through all my old pics

( Collapse )

6. Do a fandom picspam that involves no faces (but still has some meaning etc.)

Ok, so this is a semi-SPN post as I have trawled through all my saved screencaps to see what I capped that had no people in them

( Collapse )

9. What's the most embarassing thing you've done ever/this week?
Well, touch wood, nothing embarassing has happened this week *touches wood*

Overall I think getting so drunk I fell flat on my face at one of the London Merlin meetups is pretty damn embarassing

And that brings me to the end of alinoradesancto's prompts

awehla asked How you feel about turning 30 and did you have a "need to do before I'm 30" list when you were younger or do you still have one?

I. Am. Freaking. Out.

It's totally irrational too and I know this.

I had a long chat with Greg last week because he just turned 30 and I was wondering if he went through this whole thing. He seemed pretty ok with it and was very reassuring.

To be honest I don't know why it's bothering me so much. It's not like I feel that there are things I should have done that I haven't, or that I need to change my life in any way. I'm perfectly happy. I have a lovely flat, awesome friends, a job that I enjoy. I can't think of anything I would change to be honest

I guess it's just the feeling that time is moving along. I dunno. I'm not sure I can really put it into words. It's just an anxious feeling I get whenever I think about it.

I probably did have a list of things to do before I'm 30 but I think learn to drive was the main one and I have done that. Can't think of anything else really. Possibly own a house was on there but I'm really not bothered about not having done that.

And before you all jump in and tell me that 30 is young and I should save the freaking out for when I turn 40/50/60 that does not help. This is how I feel and I can't help it.

flickums and artharsil are coming tomorrow for a premtive birthday visit. There will be Buffy/Smallville/SPN and much squeeing (Well, Ant probably won't squee)

Then on Saturday Mum-Ra is taking me to the cinema to see The Time Traveller's Wife as a little birthday treat. Better get the book finished before then.

YAY! This is going to be a fun weekend.

Last night jacqui_hw and I had a miniature birthday party because she's going to Florida next week and won't be around for our actual birthday. We had a yummy meal in my favourite restaurant, cocktails in my favourite bar and then we exchanged gifts

I also took a load of photos of her bunnies because I don't think I've posted any yet

( Collapse )

Right, TTFN folks. I'm off to Roadhouse for the weekend. Back Sunday

supernaturalhel have an amazing day tomorrow! Can't wait to see pics!

It's been a bit of a shitty week so after seeing Harry Potter I decided to indulge in some retail therapy. I needed a new pair of jeans anyway and I just happened to find S1 of Vampire Diaries on sale on Bluray.

I watched the first disk tonight which I think was 6 episodes. It's...well, it's fairly terrible. Teenagers angsting, and 150 year old vampires angsting as though they were still teenagers. The first few episodes were very heavy on the melodrama without much actually happening but it seems to be picking up a bit now. I've been assured that the second half of the season actually has an plot arc so we shall see.

All this so I can be caught up for when Sebastian joins the cast this season. Urgh, I swore I would never watch crappy TV for a specific actor again.

Oh, well.

Guise, I am ridic excited about my sassy_minibang. I've written 3200 words in two days and Cas has only just shown up. It's been so long since I got a thrill from writing like this.

I hate to say it but I am starting to think I might be done with Dean/Cas. Not reading-wise. I still love reading fics about them but I think in terms of writing I might be done. I'm just not having any fresh ideas and the pairing just doesn't inspire and excite me the way it used to.

I don't know. Maybe it'll get rekindled when the new season starts, or maybe it'll just add more fuel to the Sassy fire.

Or maybe Cas will die and the whole thing will be irrelevant.

Time will tell.

Any of my other Buffy fandom friends remember this song? I remember one of my fandom BFFs at the time making me a mix CD that contained this song as I didn't have a CD burner of my own

*is old*

Phil/Clint (Avengers)
Good Morning, Boise by the_wordbutler
Phil wakes up in Idaho, alive. Kind of.
Love seeing the different ways the Avengers react to Phil coming back

Don't Fear the Reaper by sin_stained_ink
It’s hard to fear the reaper when he’s been one of the only consistent things in your life.
This is really awesome! Touching and chilling all at the same time

Doesn't Matter If I Bleed by topaz
Clint's never pretended to be deep. He's just the guy who sits back and watches, the guy who makes the shot when he needs to. He's seen a lot of crap in his time, sat through a lot of fucked-up scenes to get to where he needs to be, but this, now--he can't stand another second of it.
This is a really great look at both Phil and Clint dealing with the after-effects of The Avengers (both physical and emotional)

As the World Turns by grydo2life
“So, I want to hear about this cellist. Is that still a thing?” Pepper asks.
A somewhat unusual fix-it.
This is a brilliant spin on the whole cellist thing. Love it.

Steve/Tony (Avengers
Science and Progress (do not speak as loud as my heart) by sirona
Steve's body is not the only thing affected by the Super Soldier Serum.
This is such a great idea! Tony’s reaction, too, is just perfect.

This is a desperate plea made in desperation.

I post my Avengers Reversebang fic on Friday and I'm still actually finishing it off. I suck!

Anways, I'm aiming to have the draft finished either tonight or tomorrow. Can anyone help me with a beta?

It's Phil/Clint and will be around 5k long. Obviously because I suck I'll need a fast turnaround on it so if anyone can help it'll really save my bacon.

God, remember when I used to be able to write 30k fics and get them done in plenty of time? No, me neither!

Bored so I meme. Stolen from kath_ballantyne

1. What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now. I don't tend to use soap as it dries out my skin and I don't tend to take baths either as I much prefer a shower. But I've got some Radox ocean minerals body wash which I like. The bottle claims it's for men but bollocks to gendered washing products. So stupid.

( Collapse )

Started Season 4 tonight and it's a pretty major change in tone. Gone is the lighthearted banter and in its place is a more grim and serious spy show.

It's not necessarily bad and to a certain extent it's a nice change from some of the utterly ridiculous plots of Season 3 but I do miss Illya and Napoleon teasing each other and Waverly being the ultimate troll.

That being said the first episode of S4 (The Summit Five Affair) was EXCELLENT! One of the best I've seen. But oh god did it give me feels.

( Collapse )

Since I got an account over at Imzy I've been making a point of posting every day. It's occurred to me I should probably cross-post here too so I shall do that from now on. I used to post here all the time!

After a good night's sleep I am over the stress of yesterday and ready to enjoy my weekend.

I've listened to the soundtrack for In The Heights twice now and it's definitely one that grows on you. I kind of love it now I'm a bit more familiar with the stories and the characters. Looking forward to seeing it on stage next month even though I have NO idea what to wear.

Weight loss has slowed down a bit this week. Primarily, I think, because Ros wanted to get pizza last night. So I've only lost 1lb this week but so long as it's going down that's all I'm interested in. If I manage to lose 3lbs this week I'll have lost 1st in 3 weeks which is pretty good going I think.

Although it's probably going to go up again the week after because I have a friend from Germany visiting and it's my birthday. As much as I enjoy the food I get to eat on my diet I am not forgoing cake and a nice meal on my birthday :-p

But anyway I don't want to be one of those boring people that just talks about weight loss all the time. I'll be one of those boring people who talks about sport instead ;)

HOCKEY IS BACK THIS WEEK! First of the pre-tournament World Cup games starts on Thursday and Sweden are playing in Helsinki so I'll actually be able to watch a game without it being the middle of the night my time

I've been watching In The Room this week which is a behind the scenes documentary done by the Pittsburgh Penguins. It's quite interesting and I'm learning stuff. It's also weird because I know the players by name but I don't know what a lot of them look or sound like. Usually when I see them they're in their gear and covered in playoff beard :D

It's giving me little tidbits of ideas for things to put into my fics. I learned yesterday that Sid and Phil are the most competitive. Not against each other necessarily, just in general. Like if the boys are having any sort of contest Sid and Phil are the ones who HAVE to win. So I've filed that little bit of info away :D

Also, I'm finding it very distracting that Geno sounds like Arnold Swarzenegger. It's just the deep voice and the accent. He didn't sound like that AT ALL when I was reading fic :-p

Weather is pretty crap today so I think I am going to do some food shopping and then have a video games day.