Technical Fault

I have this evening been privileged enough /sarcasm/ to listen to my mum sing on her newly brought game 'We Sing'. She seems to get 'excellent' scores. Better phone Nintendo and warn them there is a technical fault with this game.  At first I was entwined in a small ethical dilemma as although she was offering to buy it, it would therefore doom the whole family and likely to cause injuries to everyone's eardrums on Wednesday, where Dave will be meeting the following:

- Aunty M
- Aunty P, Uncle S and daughter S
- Uncle R
- Uncle W *Who I will warn looks rather like Jamie Oliver
- Aunty H...can't remember whether she is coming :)

- Godmother L and kids L & G who I am really close to :)
- Really close family friends T & D and R & S

- Uncle S and wife T and little C

Probably more who I have forgotten, don't be offended if I've left you out :)

Can't wait to show off my lovely boyfriend Dave to everyone :) I'm sure everyone will love him!

Most likely to get kicked out the kitchen tomorrow as Mum gets a bit territorial about her kitchen XD I suppose I take after her in this area- I love cooking and baking, but mums insisting on doing everything herself food wise on Wednesday, and knowing her, there just won't be enough to go round and we will all starve of malnutrition at increased speed. J/k, we will most likely roll around the rest of the afternoon clutching our stomachs after eating deliciously tasty and highly addictive food made by my lovely and very culinary gifted  mum- one day in my life I aim to get my cooking to her standard!

Back in business!

I have just come back home, and now sat in my own bed which I haven't touched for a week...apart from Thursday night!

I must admit I do miss my own bed and loo when I go somewhere other than home. Is this weird? Probably.

From Monday to Thursday I spent at Daves where he took me to see the epic, amazing, fan-tabby-doozie but also incredibly emotional Disney Pixar Toy Story 3. Anyone who has not seen this latest addition to the Pixar collection must, now.

All I am going to say is that it involves new characters, Andy goes off to Uni, and it will make you cry at the end. I had to fight back tears at the end, not sure if D noticed though. Think I managed to carry off the "I-think-I-have-an-eyelash-in-my-eye" look.

I challenge you all, who have seen the two earlier films and have made the step to Uni to watch this all the way through without getting a lump in your throat and having flashbacks of the day before move in. I think it's impossible.

We also went to have a lovely pizza at Frankie and Benny's with Dave's friend T, who seems very nice but I think I scared him a little, haven't managed to narrow it down to what yet, maybe the third eye that grew on my forehead, or the third leg on my back.

Then we watched the IT crowd together- loved the scene where Moss is in the grabber machine in the arcade trying to get hold of the iPhone. As he said "I have now got a iPhone without having to pay any money to Apple- its living the dream!". Genius!

Then, from Friday to Sunday the Staffy lot and co celebrated celebrated both Vicky's and Becky's birthday (19 and 17). Friday night was quite entertaining as Vicky and Tom did their "Shuttup" routine on the karaoke, although I did decline the invitation to sing Spice Girls with Vicky, dancing on just dance is my limit, as we still have a higher score than Tom (just about the only routine we do hold the high score on!) otherwise I was very nervous that I would give the impression of a deluded X-factor wannabee fail that will cause their audience to simultaneously face palm. 

Sleeping in a tent in a sleeping bag really did give me an insight on the general hardships that worms face in life (the type you would find in the garden, not on a n00bs PC) having to wiggle around to get places. I challenge you to get a sleeping bag, zip yourself in it and move exactly 185cm. Yeah. Hard isn't it? It's not the most aerodynamic way to move and this comment caused hilarious laughter from everyone else. Imagine not having a spine-but still having muscles... how come  all worms don't look like bodybuilders?


Then came Saturday night, and I think alot of people will be suffering very bad hangovers for the next couple of days...and I won't be evil and say exactly what went on.

Won't be on for a week.

I'm going to be visiting my lovely boyfriend and the crazy lot! Will come back with lots of stories and piccies!

Bonjour!

I have a feeling...

I am feeling rather chuffed at the moment, as those who are familiar with the post below will know I encountered some problems with the host of my forum, Staffs Uni Chat. Not only have I managed to re-skin and build a completely new forum, but it seems to me that it is going to become way more active than the last one, as it has already beaten the old forums post count, although its less than 24 hours old!

My Project, take 2.

Those who know me well will tell you that I am a very determined person. So, when I found out that my forum which had just started to take off, host had been shut down, yes I was not a happy bunny, but I'm not going to let one little knock be the end of things.

The new link for the Staffs Uni Chat site can be accessed here: http://staffsunifresherschat.b1.jcink.com

Hopefully things will pick up as the link starts to circulate!

Thoughts.

According to my boyfriend Dave, and interestingly my mum as well, have commented that my blogging seems to be well written when I do it in the early hours of the morning. Since it is 02.50, I think I ought to manage to produce a relatively good quality post.

Yesterday, as you probably already know, Dave came over for 1 and a bit nights (a bit being he left about an hour ago because for some odd reason he prefers driving at night. I don't drive, so maybe I can't comment on that seeming a little odd but apparently the roads are clearer.).

We had a fantastic time, although my mum insisted on showing him the most crushingly embarrassing baby videos whilst I was in the corner of the room with my face in my hands, thinking to myself that a CD-R can only hold 700mb of footage manically trying to reassure myself that it will come to an end soon.

After my dad offering Dave a stiff drink (he declined but I was willing), my brother entertained us all with stories of his work shadowing week with the Police. You would imagine work shadowing would equate to being the tea maker and fax machine worker, but my brother decided he would do things a little differently!

He was a hostage at one point and even got 'arrested' quite a few times (and asked if he could just sit down rather than being floored as 'These are nice jeans" (lol). However, knowing my brother would always try and spice up certain situations he decided he would lay a few 'traps', including using chairs to block doors, accidentally set off a fire extinguisher he thought wasn't live and placing manikin like dummies  of victims in rather compromising positions. Typical. Suppose you can't make things too straightforward and got to prepare them for any situation, but honestly...

Today Dave was incredibly lovely and took me out to Pizza Express which was oh so gorgeous and tasty, their pizzas much have some sort of addictive endorphin inducing substance as quite simply it was an exquisitely tasty pizza!

Afterwards we nipped to Tesco for indulgences where I got some chocolate raisins. I feel I can justify them when I'm healthy eating as they are dried fruit, lets just forget the small detail they are covered in chocolate... anyway- will try and keep my DDR up as well, one day I shall get to "Difficult" and get an C at least (we live in hope).

Whilst we entered Tesco, I noticed a slightly built girl (who will know exactly who she is if god forbid she ever reads this blog), which I didn't mention at the time, who used to take great joy in telling me in what a "Retard" and "Spaz" I was in my Year 11 Science classes. The same girl used to push my buttons constantly, whilst taunting me with her 'cronie' (Who has since manned up and apologized for his immature behavior, and even stated, in his very own words what a tw*t he was- something I realise, although not right to do in the first place, takes a hell of alot of balls to do- and I appreciated it, something I have personally told him).

I looked at her, she noticed me, and I could tell she could tell I recognized her for all the wrong reasons. She even had the tenacity to give me as what could be only described as a dirty look. However, I refuse to let her bother me anymore. I have a gorgeous boyfriend, a lovely group of friends at both University and home and passed my first year without referrals and even got full marks in one.  I have grown in confidence as a person and have become happier because of University and the amazing people I have met there and have come to realise people do these things to try to hurt people and be a sheep to try and fit in with the crowd because they are highly insecure about themselves.

I somehow doubt, with my first year out the way, acing certain modules, my bloody amazing group of friends, my lovely Dave, and the fact I have developed as a person that she can say the same.

N00b

Well, I thought I would share a few gems with you, as me and Dave had a hilarious laugh yesterday at all the noobish websites I created when I was 10/11/12, the old blog I had when I was around 15, and my blog I had around Sixthform, right up to before I went to Staffs Uni.

The Web Design world will now most likely disown me and I know every single one of you will think "FAIL" but here goes...

A real gem. Ellie and Sarah you really need to click on this.

Extreme n00byness.

My old blog before I left the 'dump'.

My blog through Sixthform up until the day before Uni (Vicky & Rach should remember this!)

Yep, I was a n00b. I have to say it :P  Still can't find my first html page anywhere, that one was a monstrosity to the human eye. Think yellow background. Think blue text. Think marquee. Think several animated GIFs and a MIDI file. Yep. *Shudders*.

Point is, we all have to start from somewhere...

Apart from giggling at the fact I was a general n00b when I was younger, I have made a rather nice bacon dish which I seem to be addicted to recently:

I am going to challenge my readers to guess the ingredients. :) But it tastes lovely.

Really excited at the moment because Dave should be setting off any minute now :)

Not long until nearly every shred of my dignity disappears...

Oh no. I need urgent suggestions. The 'rents told me, when I informed them that my gorgeous boyfriend Dave was going to stay over, that they were going to show him my baby videos. Not just any, but the ones that make me cringe so much inside that return tickets to flee the country in time for tomorrow evening and back on Friday morning would be extremely welcome. They informed me that it is part of his 'Initiation Ceremony'. Since when did loving parents put their own daughters through such things?

Apart from that, life seems to be pretty good. Done my DSA paperwork for next year, my TV license and the only problems left are the fact my printer won't print (think its a dodgy hardware issue or a fault with its internal software. It won't recognize any bloody cartridges. Especially at the point when I have quite a few things I need to print. My laptop is also in the wars, a few weeks ago I tripped with a DVD in the DVD tray and it got wedged in. I tried to gently prise it apart but the bloody thing just popped out completely. :/ So, I now have a laptop with a large hole in the side, and a DVD tray/ribbon on my bedside table, as you do. So waiting to hear back from WBS to see what they have to offer (the guys who provided me with my DSA equipment).

Got the family getogether on the 28th which is always highly entertaining, and Dave has got an awful lot of people to meet, some he knows rather alot about already :)

I am now a twit.

Follow me on twitter here: https://twitter.com/webbygeek91

Vicky 2, I am trusting you!

Hello world!

Here we go again. I'm starting a new blog, and this time, this time, I vow to keep it going. The longest blog I have kept going is 2 years, hopefully this one shall be The Chosen One.

Right. Now that we have the basic promise of not forgetting my viewers out the way, I think its time for a small introduction.

I am 19 year old Second year Web Design student at Staffordshire University. I apparently have a warped sense of humor, but people like that. Apparently it makes them giggle. They also tell me I know way too much useless crap. To my brain, factoids are something to be collected. I would say my two main passions in life are Web Design, and Dog training. I like chocolate, cooking, reading, Wiing, good cheesy romcoms and Pixar movies. I hate ignorant and uneducated people who have no idea what they are talking about, who don't listen, lie to impress and act like a sheep to blend in whoever is around them. I am also a self confessed computer geek, and have a lovely boyfriend who I love to bits and loves me that way (and shares the same warped sense of humor) , and a very greedy but adorable 11 year old red fox yellow Labrador Retriever called 'Archie'.

I am incredibly chuffed at the moment because I have passed my first year of University- this means no Java or Maths referrals-two things I am pretty rubbish at. However, I did in one module, not only get a first, but full marks, as you probably know already as I have been telling everyone in sight, and chances are, you know me in person.

I feel the first year of University has positively changed me as a person, and I have a lot of people to thank for that. Basically, it is no exaggeration to say that thanks to me getting to know my amazing friends (and lovely boyfriend!) at Staffs Uni, has helped me develop, mature and gain confidence as a person, much like my extremely supportive Sixth-form did.

Bit of background info:

I have a few things that means my brain is wired slightly differently to your typical person. Let me give you a brief overview of what they mean, as I'm very open about them and they will probably come up sometime in this blog in the near future.

I have a condition called Dyspraxia. It effects around 7% of the population, 2% severely (me). It is more prevalent in males than females, so I suppose I am the odd one out, as I am female. It is a disorder of the Central Nervous System that means messages to and from the brain get delivered a bit jumbled up, don't get there at all, get there too intensely or not intensely enough. Think of it as if its on a wild goose chase. To the untrained eye, it is a hidden condition and you can't (normally) tell who has it. I also have mild Ataxic CP, which means that, put bluntly, I am medically intoxicated virtually 24/7.

With me, it means that alot of my life is made rather interesting. My co-ordination, spatial awareness, depth/distance perception, balance, sense of direction and short term memory are not exactly my strong points. Lots of people will tell you it is like my body is in slow mo. I can explain it as your brain being 12 steps ahead than your body. For the computer geeks out there, the sequence of movement has a rather slow buffering speed.

In real life terms, this means that I bump/trip into/over everything possible, tend to get disorientated around large crowds of people in unfamiliar places, can't remember any telephone number apart from my own home phone, and often ask the same thing to be repeated in a short amount of time, as I am virtually the human version of Dory out of Finding Nemo. I also don't like crossing busy roads as I am rubbish at judging how far away vehicles are from me. I also need to rely on either friends or my mobile GPS app if I am more than around 100m from my home or uni (with very few exceptions), as my brain cannot sequence or process where I am meant to go. I also write at the measly speed of 10 words per minute and I have a tremor in my hands that makes them shake when I write for too long, causing the physical act of writing to be impossible.

However. It does have its bonus features. Although I have hypersensitive senses (SPD is common in Dyspraxics), meaning that I can hear Bluetooth dongles, chargers and what you are talking about 10 doors down, find certain materials unbearable against my skin (wool, lace and denim to name a few) and have a nose like a bloodhound, you can probably appreciate that this part of the condition has its uses and often can freak your flatmates out (much entertainment can be gained from bat like ears).

Another positive thing about these conditions, is that I believe they have made me a more determined person, more committed, more motivated, educated, informed and compassionate than I think I otherwise would be. I have always had special interests in certain things, at the moment that is everything web, gadgets, dog behavior and training, medical stuff (I was a weird kid, probably my mums fault, as when she was training to be a midwife I liked nothing more as a bedtime read than a BMJ/midwifery/physiology textbook- for some reason I have always been fascinated by the stuff) and that interest still hasn't waned thanks to medical science and research documentaries on 4OD and BBC iPlayer. As my lovely boyfriend D said: "I love the fact we can watch programs like this about serious stuff and have discussions about scientific research without you saying you would rather go and do your hair and makeup!".

My pleasure D, my pleasure. I love the fact you appreciate what I am interested in and would prefer to watch a medical documentary than the World Cup!!

Unfortunately, the above led me to get severely bullied at secondary school because of the fact I wanted to work hard, do well, and had the desire to do well in life rather than following what everyone else did like sheep (apart from my small group of close friends, that seemed to be conduct mating rituals with anything with a heartbeat, slap on orange makeup with a shovel that I swear had the ability to glow in the dark and treat anyone in authority or who was different with disrespect). This included everything from verbal abuse and insults, theft of personal property, being physically pushed and tripped, dragged along a classroom floor, being crowded by a load of people in PE with me ended up sitting on the floor with my back pushed against the wall whilst people screamed and laughed at me, all of which made me feel incredibly anxious, threatening phone calls and death threats in person. Oh, lets not forget the time when someone thought it would be funny to try and stuff a Ferraro Roche wrapper in my face (I am allergic to nuts, and last time I ate them my throat swelled up, so I hope you can appreciate the concern here).  My confidence was pretty much rock bottom, and simple tasks such as picking up the phone to a unknown person, ordering a pizza, getting a cinema ticket and getting the train was, as pathetic as it sounds, nerve-wracking. Needless to say, my memories at Secondary school weren't the happiest, but thanks to my lovely group of friends, I got through it in the end.

Then, I decided that enough was enough and decided to change to an amazing Sixth-form that specialized in IT and Business, with amazing tutors and facilities, and I learnt that education did not equal having to take crap all the time. That was the best decision I have made in my entire life, as I have become a much happier person because of it. Everyone who knows me well enough has since commented this. Those at that Sixth-form should be proud of what a condusive and outstandingly supportive environment they have created there. They know who they are. I cannot thank the staff enough that I had over those two years.
 
Then, afterwords I decided it was time to come to Staffs Uni, and I think a few thank-yous are in order:

- Rachel: You are quite frankly, one of the loveliest people I know. You have an amazing sense of humor and you have pulled me through many all nighters, been my companion through mind blowing java lectures /sarcasm and have been a fantastic person to talk to about everything under the sun (and we mean everything XD). Thanks so much for being so much than just a study buddy, but well, just being amazing! Rachel's Dave: Thanks for showing us the ropes to uni life and the basics of java programming- without you I would of failed my first year.

- Parryss: Well. What can I say. We both have mucked up sleep patterns and because of that we have had some pretty awsome chats, and some other ones where I know you probably thought I should be sectioned. Thanks for being there to laugh with when on that fateful night we both heard *the noise* and therefore scarred for life. XD Please don't end up in the Priory because of your trainer/oreos/lucky charm/maryland cookie addiction though!

- Tom: You are hilarious. Thanks for giving me the confidence to have a go at things that I would of never touched before- its thanks to you I now know Bad Romance dance moves by heart, and your awful influence that I have developed a slight addiction to DDR on the Wii. Thanks for appreciating my cooking and giving me the confidence to go out and meet new people. And thanks also for straightening my hair all those Friday nights (that I wouldn't of gone out without your encouragement and your effort of teaching me to (vaguely) dance! ) even though you swear there is no point because its already straight, promise me you can tell the difference!

- Vicky: I will never forget that first day when we thought Parryss was going to be some sort of gangster- I must have that first text from you somewhere XD And the first night when you asked if we all wanted to come out, vodka in hand whilst the rest of us were in our pjs sipping hot chocolate and eating nachos. You always make me smile- I remember that first lecture we had when you whipped out your roller and I was like OMFG you can't do that in the middle of the lecture!

- Az: I must admit at first I thought you were extremely big headed, but I've warmed to you a hell of alot more- you have an amazing sense of humor (remember the turban conversation in the library?) and appreciate my cooking so therefore a nice person :P

- Karl: You are a very genuine guy who has a good sense of humor and an amazing ability to perceive emotionally how other people are feeling. Very interesting person!

- Jon: Hug monster. You must of been deprived of hugs at birth. I will always remember that SM tutorial when I was told to use force if necessary to shut you up. Your face was priceless.

- Georgia: I am going to thank you for that time when we sat in Parryss's room with Tom and you thought that mate of Vickys was creepy. No offence Vicky, but he was very, very weird. Georgia, thanks for listening to me when I had to make the frantic getaway!!

- Jamie: You are a lovely guy and you appreciate my cooking, therefore awsome :P

- Leslie: Mad as a hatter,but very entertaining person to drive to the point of distraction in SM and design concepts.

- Ken: Nice guy, thanks for the ride for me and rachel to the chip shop XD

- Rhiannon: I'm glad I got to know you better over the end of the year and next year we can carry on making Leslie loose his will to live ok?

- Becky: Only fair you get a mention as an honorary flatmate, I will never forget that amazing weekend. Thanks!!

And, last but definitely not least, my AMAZING, GORGEOUS and HILARIOUS boyfriend Dave. It has been 2 very quick months and it feels as though I have known you since forever! You are understanding, caring, lovely and smart. We are both incredibly lucky to have eachother. I love you!

So, hows that for a life story? Think I might log off and sleep now...