September 2003 Archives

I've finally registered, it only took me 5 minutes, it was quite funny compared to last year when it took me 2 hours... Eheheh. I even helped a completely lost American girl who is doing her MA at SOAS and didn't have a clue of what was going on... ;)
So, this year I'm doing the following courses:
Theory and practice of contemporary development
Politics of development
South East Asia on film (cool isn't it?)
Government and Politics of South East Asia
It's not bad is it? Eheheh, I'm quite proud! :)
Anyway, gotta go and find out about the phone line, blah blah blah. Tomorrow I'm going to be at uni at 9 again... Help! ^^;;;

So, I'm in London, I've been for a while now, and it's been wonderful and weird at the same time...
The flat is the sweetest little flat you can imagine, exactly what I was looking for, in a big old Georgian building, I love it to bits. We even got an armchair from the street (someone was throwing it away), and we've got lots of cushions everywhere, it's the best.
Something happened with someone, I don't want to get into the details because I don't know if it will work out or not, it's pretty confused and... I don't know.
My uni was on strike so I still haven't registered, which pissed me off a bit really, but well.
I thought that when I finally got on the internet I would write for ages about everything, but I can't do it, sorry... You know, life without the internet is good sometimes. This is the first time I touch a computer in ten days and it feels good... So, yeah, I'll write something else pretty soon, I promise... Love you all!

In 24 hours:
- It will be an hour earlier for me! *lol*;
- I'll be in Stoke Newington in the flat;
- I'll be with Sophie again (and Paul, I think), finally;
- I hope I'll be drinking nice French wine in our living room *lol*;
- I'll be in LONDON;
- I'll feel at home again.
I'm so happy I could cry. I mean, I know it's stupid to be so... I don't know, emotional, but... It's going to be like a dream coming true again... It's just amazing what life can be.
Coming to the serious stuff, I won't be blogging for a bit. We don't have an internet connection in the flat, but I'll try to find an internet café as soon as possible. But still, I will have lots of things to do, I'll hopefully find a job very soon, so we'll see. Obviously I won't ever close the blog, because it's way too important to me! So, don't worry! *lol* ;) Anyway, I'll try to check my email as soon as I can...
Until I come back with (let's hope) broadband, have fun guys, and lots of love to everyone. *^_^*
I'm so incredibly happy, it's like I felt last year but ten thousand times better. Seeing my friends again, being in the city I love the most in the world, they are the most important things in my life. And I'll finally be able to walk on the street and tell myself "I'm in London again, I'm dreaming again".
And I have this strange feeling that when I get out of the Eurostar terminal, I'll start crying.
I... I just want to live there forever, I want to be with my friends forever. And I don't care about the rest, I don't care about all the material problems, money, jobs, university, as long as I'm there.
Now, look, I'm all emotional again, but what can I do? I don't know if you can understand how important this is to me... I don't know who to thank because I've been blessed with so much damn happiness. I'll go now, because I'm really babbling too much, and I have to do lots of stuff tonight...
So, yeah, have fun! ;) Oh, and download Black eyed peas - 'Where is the love?'. I just love it. *lol*

Do you remember this game?
It's the ILM shuffle mp3 game or "Load every single MP3 you have into WinAMP, hit 'shuffle' and list the first ten songs that come up"!
So, here we go: 1. Justin Timberlake - Like I love you feat. Clipse: Well, Justin is Justin. I love him, he's sexy and this is like one of the songs I love to dance to (in the 'normal clubs' category, when it comes to raves it's different, eheheh). Vely shexy.
2. No Doubt - Running: Never really listened to this one. It's not bad actually. By the way, I never bought the album ('Hella Good'), I won it in a tv quiz thingy, I just left my name on some site and then I got the cd. Duh.
3. Counting Crows - Colorblind: *sniff* As I already said before, this song makes me cry, and so does 'Cruel Intentions', and they both make me think a lot. It's one of my favourite songs ever (the soundtrack from 'Cruel Intentions' rocks).
4. Ms. Dynamite - It takes more (Bloodshy main mix): From her album, 'A little deeper'. Very good indeed. Did I ever tell you that my parents went to her concert without even knowing her? I bet they were the only people who were over 40 at that concert. And then, well, she's British. Everything British rocks in any case (I'm joking!!! Eheheh *^^*).
5. Michelle Branch - You set me free: From 'The Spirit Room'. I downloaded this at the same time as Avril Lavigne and Vanessa Carlton... And I love the three of them! (yeah, I do like Avril Lavigne, even if she's just a little girl who tries to be cool) Gotta download Michelle Branch's new album though. When I get broadband in London...
6. Vanessa Carlton - A thousand miles: Lol, see, she comes up next! I really like this song. It's sweet. If I ever have a serious boyfriend again (:P) I'll tell him I love him with the lyrics from this song. (what the FUCK is wrong with me now?)
7. The Magnetic Fields - The death of Ferdinand de Saussure: I downloaded this thanks to Ruby. I really like the song, even though I've never even read the lyrics... *ops* But it's good.
8. Ivy - I think of you: This is a French band, slightly similar to... Air, maybe? But not really. The kind of music you listen to when you drink a coffee in a nice café (like the ones in Croatia, luff' them). 9. Amr Diab - Aktar Wahed: From Buddha Bar IV - Drink. Did you know I really like the Buddha Bar compilations? But I've never actually been to the real place (it's in Paris). But I don't have anyone I can go with!!! ;__;
10. Garbage - So like a rose: I'm kind of a fan. I only have 'Version 2.0' and 'beautifulgarbage', but still... I really like them. It's the same thing for The Cure, luff' them, but I don't know them that well (I only have 3 albums I think). Those are two of the bands I NEED to get to know better.
So, voilà! These are only 10 songs out of my 'collection' which counts 1000 mp3s (on this computer, and I have even more on the laptop). Yeah, I do spend a lot of time downloading songs! Eheheh. *^_^*

So, is anyone having problems reading the blog? Someone left me a comment saying "it's hard to read a black font on a gray background"... Ehm, excuse me? The background is green and the font is dark green, you know? ^^; Anyway, I'll see if there are many people having problems reading the site, and in that case I'll find a solution (using an even darker shade of green for the font, or something).
My parents both left for Scotland, so I have the house all for myself until Sunday morning. I'm already packed (my suitcases are already closed, I only hope the three bottles of wine inside one of them don't break *brrr*) and I have nothing to do, but well. I'll just watch tv and download scanlations and download music... I'll try to use the internet as much as I can because I won't have it in London, at least for a couple of weeks if not longer. I really hope there is an internet café near our flat!
My plan from Sunday on is: go shopping for food and stuff; get my stuff from storage; get a photocopy of the flat contract or something like that; get a bank account; look for a job, possibly in a clothes shop. Can you imagine, discounts on clothes! *yaaaay* XD~~~~~~~~ And in general, get drunk and stoned and whatnot! *lol* I'm going to go crazy this week, I promise.
Mmh... Nothing else to say really. I have to start copying files from this computer to put them in the laptop (emails, new version of the blog, mp3s, scanlations, etc.). Lalala. London I'm coming!

I'm about to upload the new layout! I hope everything is going to be fine, in the end it's only my second layout using movable type... (*help*)
Just wanted to warn you, don't worry if something doesn't work! *ehm* ^^;
[edit] So, what do you think? I'm quite proud, it's simple but cute, and I customized every page I could... (more or less) Well, get used to it because it's going to stay where it is for a looooong time! *lol* Doing layouts with movable type it's just too much of a hassle, really. So, yeah, enjoy! [/edit]

I've started to pack. It's hell. I don't know what to bring. I really have _NO_ idea of what I am supposed to bring and what I am not supposed to bring... I don't knoooow! I want to throw away half of my clothes, seriously. Wouldn't it be simpler if I only had like 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of trousers, 4 t-shirts and 2 jumpers? It would be like... Heaven? *lol* But the nice (or maybe it's bad?) thing is, I have two very big suitcases and I'm coming back to Paris in a month anyway, so... Even if I forget something it's not a problem... I guess? Heeeeeelp!!!
Anyway, to the important stuff. My dad (through my mum's friend who lives in England) has paid the deposit and the rent for the first month (fucking 860 quid, why is London so expensive why why why???), so the flat is ours! Sophie is moving in on Friday/Saturday... Oh, and I also found out that there's a bus that goes directly from Waterloo station to Stoke Newington! Very useful for two reasons: I don't need to get on the tube when I have my Eurostar, and the bus also stops very close to Rusell Square, meaning that I don't have to change buses to go to both campuses. Stoke Newington rocks, seriously. *lol* Uh, and Sophie and me have a plan of finding a nice gym somewhere near where we live so that we can swim a bit. Fuck! I HAVE to remember to bring a swimsuit. *ehm* Ok, I'll go back to the packing (which, by the way, has been going on since this morning in a completely random way)...

...Google! Five years old, that's quite a lot isn't it? ^_^
Righ now I wish that this Winter I will be able to: have a wonderful flat and decorate it a lot; go to a couple of evening courses at St. Martins (like drawing, or sewing, or accessories design, bags bags!, or graphic design, or jewellery making...); buy myself a digicam; have a nice job, possibly in a cute clothes shop (do you need any experience for that??? Mmh, because I don't have any ^^;;;)... Lots of stuff, lots of stuff.
But I'll be happy enough when I'll be in my flat in London, smoking a cigarette in my living room! Bwahahah! ;)

I just called Sophie to sort out some stuff, and I realized just how much I've been missing her, and everybody else, and London, and everything! I can't believe I'm going back in 4 days, waaaah! It's just so... Great, I don't know how to explain it, it makes me so happy! *^_^*
I'm meeting up for a random guy I gave a cigarette to in the street for a spliff in like 15 minutes. Should I go? Well, I'll go, who cares! *lol* I'm crazy.
So, yeah the guy wasn't there! I waited for 20 minutes and I just got bored... *lol* I swear, I've gone crazy! Crazy!
I called James just before going out and... God, I missed him so much. I can't believe we won't be living together anymore... Oh well, I have to go and see his flat, he's exactly at the other end of London, lol... Life's like that! But we'll definitely meet up as soon as possible...
You cannot even imagine how I feel right now... I feel like a dream is starting again, I feel like I'm going home, to the people I love, I feel... I'm just so happy I want to cry.

So, yeah. Friday Five, late as usual. ^^;;
1. What housekeeping chore(s) do you hate doing the most? I absolutely hate to make beds. Hate it hate it hate it. Duvets rule the world! Bwahahah.
2. Are there any that you like or don't mind doing? I actually like to wash the dishes and iron stuff. What can I do, I'm weird! :)
3. Do you have a routine throughout the week or just clean as it's needed? Well, here in Paris there's a woman who comes to clean, in London last year we didn't have to clean either (apart from our rooms but that wasn't a lot really), so I don't have a routine yet... We'll see now in the new flat.
4. Do you have any odd cleaning/housekeeping quirks or rules? Uh... Eh... Ehm... No?
5. What was the last thing you cleaned? An orange leather bag, does it count? *lol* I haven't cleaned anything in the house for a loooooong time. When I'm here I'm just lazy. Eheheh.
So, the Jackson Hole is open! It's quite cool, a themed (can you say that? Ehm) collective blog. Basically, every week we choose a theme and then every member has to write about it. Can't wait. I'm already thinking about the theme I'll choose even though I'm going to be the last one to choose! Eheheh. :)
I went into a complete manga-download frenzy, and I'm desperate for some more HanaKimi. I don't know why but the volumes 1-8 or so are like, impossible to find. Mmh. This will need some research.
Less than one week to London! On September 14, 2003 at exactly 11.18 I'll be there! Bwahahah! London, wait for me!
By the way, while reading Gokinjo I felt a lot like Mikako. Well, she's in London too! Eheheh. I want pink hair too!!!

[edit quite a long time later]
guys, this is NOT a board to exchange links on where to download scanlations. NO, i won't send you an email telling you where to download fushigi yuugi or this or that. i don't have time and to tell you the truth, i can't be bothered. if i managed to find scanlations online, so can you. and it's easy as well, just try this place, ok? and leave my blog alone... i repeat, THIS IS NOT A MESSAGE BOARD, it's a blog.
[/edit]
I'm so happy, thanks to Lora I've found out about the wonderful world of scanlations! *__* Yes, it might seem weird but I really didn't know there was so much stuff scanlated! So I'm downloading lots of nice manga (mostly shoujo), such as Anatolia Story, Alichino, HanaKimi, Imadoki, Prince of Tennis, Good Morning Call, Gals!, 20th Century Boys... Lots of stuff to download! And as I don't have the money to buy manga in french anymore, it's quite useful because I'll finally be able to finish reading Angel Sanctuary and Ayashi no Ceres. Bwahahah! And there's a lot of unknown manga I want to find out about... Like small shoujo series that seem so cute! Waaaah! I'm excited.
Went to the cinema with my parents. Dirty Pretty Things is suuuuch a good movie, seriously. Scary as shit, because you really wouldn't expect a story like that taking place in LONDON! Now I understand why it wasn't very appreciated in England, it does give quite a bad image. But still, it's a story that could be set anywhere in the world, really. The actors are absolutely amazing, and it's so weird to see Amélie (Audrey Tatou) in the role of a Turkish immigrant... I have to say, she's quite good though. I was very impressed.
Rika-chan, I have serious a serious lack of culture when it comes to movies. ;__; But I've been wanting to watch Velvet Goldmine for a long time, also because I absolutely adore Ewan McGregor! So, it's one of the next movies in my download list (I'm a student, I'm broke, what can I do? I download anime, I download manga, I download music, I download videogames, I download movies! *lol*)... Eheheh.
Gotta go download some more manga, read some more manga too (I'm also reading Fushigi Yuugi 'on paper' again), and maybe play with Sim City 4... Mmh. The night is still young!
(I actually wish I was London partying in a club... *sniff* Another two weeks and I'll finally be able to go out!)

So, I've spent the last couple of days playing with Sim City 4 (it's friggin' hard >__<) and reading all the Yazawa I have. Nana (Nana Komatsu does cry a LOT...), ParaKiss (it's soooo cool XD And Joji is very hot indeed... Can I have my own Joji? *__*), Kagen no Tsuki (I finished reading it at 3 in the morning and I was crying soooo hard *lol*) and now Gokinjo Monogatari, which is still wonderful... And I am starting to appreciate characters I didn't like at all, such as Mariko and Ayumi... :) I also read all the issues I have of Ao no Fuin (Il sigillo azzurro per gli Italiani) by Chie Shinohara, which is really nice too. Lots of blood and stuff like that, bwahahahah! *ehm* Well, yeah, so I've abandoned Les liasons dangereuses for a couple of days to read manga. But still, I've got like 20 books I have to read! ;__;
Yesterday I finally went out to buy a plastic box to put my manga in (the ones I'm putting away) and stuff for London... A blue toothbrush (I only use blue or bluish toothbrushes, how weird... *^^*), a nice deodorant (I am obsessed with deodorants, I think I have like 15 different ones), some teenagerish stuff to wash my face (you know, that stuff that cleans deeply and bla bla bla - well I'm still 19, I do have pimples and shit *sniff*), and shampoos... My usual sheer blonde by John Frieda and a Klorane one (does Klorane exist only in France? It's a really good brand), almond shampoo for give volume to the hair... Bwahahah. You know, you would think I'm a girly girl who spends her time taking care of her body and face and hair, but I'm really not... I just buy all this shit and then use it from time to time, to patch up the terrible situation. *lol* Oh well.
So, today it's Chiara's birthday, she was my best friend in Junior High, gotta call her... Tomorrow is my ex-boyfriend's birthday, and... I know Freddie and James have their birthdays around now, but I don't really remember whose is when. *fuck* I'll call James later and just confess this horrible thing. *lol*
So, yeah. Gotta go, Sim City is crying out for me.

I... I... I have my own fanlisting, I mean, a fanlisting dedicated to me, I mean... WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! XD
look look look look look look look look look look look look look look look look!!!
Lu, sei un mito. ;__; Non sono commossa, di più! Ehi, perché non la joinate? Eh eh eh? Su, dai joinateeeeeeeeeee!
(translation: why don't you join to show me love? Please? *^^*)
It's such a good birthday present, seriously. I love it. XD
[edit 10 minutes later] So, yeah, after a cigarette I've calmed down a little. I mean, I'm soooo happy that my parents are not here, they would be worrying by now, I've been talking to myself for 20 minutes! *lol*
And now Cat too, she's going mad! She's made two buttons for the fanlisting! *lol* I love you guys, seriously, you're crazy (and that's why I love you).
Well, judging from my birthday, which is for me the start of the new year, this year is going to be amazing. I've had the best presents I could wish for, I got to spend my birthday in Croatia with Jana (and Maya and René), I got this crazy present, I finally had my birthday cake (on Sunday, two weeks late but who cares, it was a quatre quarts aux poires, with only one candle, can you say candle or is there a specific word for it?), and in less than two weeks I'm going back to my city, my other friends and my life...
You know, I'm still amazed by what this year has been, the people I've met, the places I've seen, the things I've done, everything, every single little thing... But most of all the people, in real life and on the internet (and the two are a bit of the same thing now). I don't want to repeat myself, but all these people I've met, they deserve it, because they're all fantastic, intelligent, nice, everything I could wish for. So thank you, I love all of you, you've made everything so special...
So, yesterday I went to the cinema with my dad, to see Pirates of the Caribbean and... Apart from the fact that Johnny Depp is hot and Orlando Bloom is even hotter, it was such a good movie! I was seriously impressed, it was very funny and everything was so well done (the special effects and all of that stuff). So, go and watch it!
Sim City 4 is really cool, I've been playing non stop all day, I'm such a geek! ^^; But it's soooo good, and quite hard too (much harder than the other Sim City games).
Oh, by the way, I said I would post my compilation, so here it is (the songs are still in random order because I haven't burnt it yet):
placebo - the bitter end
kyo - je cours
travis - turn
counting crows - big yellow taxi
bjork - bachelorette (rza remix) (thanks to René for this one)
stereophonics - maybe tomorrow
david gray - the other side
jack black - let's get it on (it's from the High Fidelity soundtrack)
the white stripes - well it's true that we love one another
coldplay - don't panic
the verve - sonnet
indochine - le grand secret
noir desir - le vent nous portera (I don't think they'll make any other album will they? *ehm* ^^;)
the wannadies - you and me song (Romeo + Juliet soundtrack)
james taylor - her town too
ash - candy
doves - catch the sun
Voilà, what do you think? It should be quite good (it's the first time in my life I put so much effort in choosing really nice songs, seriously ^^;;;).
Well, so I wrote everything I wanted to write... I'm still laughing, I mean... Thanks Lu, again. ;) [/edit]

I'm drinking some decaffeinated spiced chai my mum found somewhere. Chai is yummy. I love Chai. From now on I will drink liters and liters of Chai.
In the house in front of us (I live in a small street, and I can see into people's flats on the other side) there is this one flat, which has been changing owners almost every year since we've been living here. Right now there are some young people. I can see a very white living room with a very red armchair and a girl dressed in black working. It's so visually appealing...
I'm starting to feel scared, you know, for the flat, living on my own for real and all that shit. I mean, now it's dead serious, bills, rent, jobs, uni. Aaaah. I guess I'll get used to it.
Lately I've been writing in this weird way, very confused, lacking any kind of logic... Mmh. Oh well. Goodnight, drink Chai and download Kyo!

So. Yeah. I might go to Japan for 10 days in December. Stay at some friends' of my parents in Tokyo and then travel around.
What can I say? I've been waiting for this for years and now I am shit scared. And I would be travelling completely on my own for the first time, basically.
Fuck.
Japan.

I only noticed there was a new Friday Five two minutes ago. Da-ah.
1. Are you going to school this year? Yes I am, indeed. This is my 14th consecutive year of school. *lol*
2. If yes, where are you going (high school, college, etc.)? If no, when did you graduate? I'm going to uni, and I'm going to graduate (well, let's hope so) in the Summer of 2005.
3. What are/were your favorite school subjects? In high school, my favourite subject probably was Italian literature... This year, it has been Development, yes yes yes.
4. What are/were your least favorite school subjects? In high school it was: I HATE PHYSICS I HATE THEM HATE THEM HATE THEM. Now it's more like: I HATE ECONOMICS I HATE THEM HATE THEM HATE THEM.
5. Have you ever had a favorite teacher? Why was he/she a favorite? Well... My math teacher during the last year was very sweet (la Caffau!). And then Ray Kiely (my Development lecturer last year), he's been the best teacher I've ever had. Hearing about your teacher getting drunk in Cuba or somewhere is just too funny.
So, this morning we went to the Porte de Vanves, a big flea market. I bought two marvellous dresses, entierment d'epoque (they do look like they really are from the 70s), for 1 euro each. I rock.
Then I had to listen to my parents arguing with my brother. Then I could finally be on my own and smoke a cigarette by the window. Then they were back and I had to help my mum cooking. Then two friends of my brother's came by and we had dinner. And now here I am. Nothing else to say, really (I'm not in the mood to write nice things and all my thoughts and all that shit, no no no).
Goodnight.
[edit] Hey, it's September! London is getting nearer and nearer. [/edit]