A Study in Contradictions

I did mean to make this entry Some Time ago but, ugh, you guys, I'm still pretty sick. I got sick almost exactly on the stroke of midnight (I'm not kidding, I stood up to sing Auld Lang Syne, sneezed and felt a little wobbly) and have only just come out the other side.

And by that I mean, have been coughing myself to death and leaving people completely ridiculous comments that make less than no sense. With .gifs. And because my friends are, you know, my friends, I am now engaged in TWO gif wars. Obviously.

Anyway, I also left for various Christmas type celebrations on the 16th of December, which I hope goes some way to explaining the amount of LJ radio silence. And LJ kind of sucks these days. But yes, I went and had four days in a tiny room with moogle62 and it was GLORIOUS. I think we had about 20 hours sleep total, there was a lot of time spent in pyjamas, some very dignified feels watching TSN vids at 3am that we had to talk to some ice cream about, some even more dignified feels about Sherlock Holmes 2 (IN PUBLIC GOOD LORD) and her flatmate describing me as "your *lowers voice* *makes air quotes* friend".

So all around a triumph, really.

And then we met up with some beloved marmfish for merriment and tube debacles and ice skating. Last year hanelissar and I spent the whole session hands firmly clasped in each others, with much clutching and spinning and delighting in each safe trip round the ice. When we got back onto dry land the rest of the group declared us married. This year I spent more time than seems, um, socially acceptably telling Moog and altogetherisi to just get their legs further apart, jeez.

And then home to the Isle of Man, which ended up being, to quote Moog, LIKE THE ISLAND ON LOST ONLY INSTEAD OF ACCUMULATING TERRIFYINGLY ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE AND ALSO POLAR BEARS IT JUST ATTRACTS THE WTFUCKERY/INTENSE EMOTIONAL REVELATIONS. So we'll just, move right along with that, then.

And then back to see the boy and his parents, only he got sick, then I got sick, and here we are! Oh, no, only I also recorded three episodes of podramble (more on that later) and wrote my Yuletide fic.

Not If, Only or Even, But Always. And no, I'm still not sure if all those commas are right.

It was for the movie Zombieland, a witty, charming movie which I loved more than I ever expected to, and featuring some of my very favourite faces. In a turn of events to surprise no one, I have a number of feelings about kickass conlady heroines and their sisters and their twitchy, adorkable boyfriends.

Um, if I haven't posted the Fandom Snowflake thing by the end of tomorrow, someone yell at me?

Happy New Year, my dearest flist!

How the devil are you?

Oh man, I am so tired at the moment, and my best girl from school is here, and so I'm totally relying on Past!Lal having achieved things to put any substance at all into this post.

Luckily Past!Lal hasn't been too bad. At least she took some pictures to pretty up the place. And my friends continue to have opinions worth chronicling. Which is handy.

So! I went down to my boyfriend's parents house for a massive family party. After much preparation (during which Nat and I had the most middle-class argument ever. It was about bunting.) many friends of the family and neighbours and extended family descended on the house.

Every second conversation I had, summed up.

Me: Yes, I'm Nat's girlfriend.

Party Guest: OH! When are you getting married.

Me: *thinks* fuck RIGHT off I am TWENTY FOUR YEARS OLD.

Me: *actually says* You should ask (boyfriend's older brother) and (girlfriend)! *forced laugh*

I also met a girl who sat down by me and declared "I love this cake. I would marry this cake. I would make love to this cake." So apparently my willingness to discuss frosting sex is something even strangers can sense. Pictures! Party balloons, party tent, party dress and shoes.


Me: *posts (different) picture of self in dress to Twitter*
Twitter: CONGRATS ON THE BOOBS!
Me: *is very unsurprised*
Then on the following Monday I met my wonderful marmfish loves hanelissar, playwithfyr, hanelissarand altogetherisifor a day of geeky frolics in London Town. We had the best time. We went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at the IMAX in exciting 3D, picnicked outside of Foyles and left TDL bookmarks about the place.

And then we went to see the preview screening of Let's Kill Hitler! SO MUCH EXCITEMENT, OMG.I managed to take one, very faily picture on my phone but oh, wow, you guys, I was SO CLOSE to the front it was AMAZING.


You can read my recounting of this marvellous event at my tumblr. And if you want to talk about the episode, I can finally do that! YESSS. Not spoiling people has been really hard.

Still very conflicted about Steven Moffat. For those of you playing along at home!

The very next day, having got the bus back from London, which takes 6 hours and meant I fell into bed at 6am, I had a hanelissar to stay. She was good to me in my times of sleep deprivation, and we only wept on each other about our Big Bangs a very little bit. A forest for my pines etcetc. Also there was baking, as per. We made all manner of chocolate chip cookies. Pony cookies! Ship cookies!

For his birthday Nat got tickets to Sunday at Leeds Festival, hurrah. It. Was. Awesome. I mean, it was cold. But awesome. I got to see the National live, which I've wanted to do for an age, and I got to see my best friend Lil be in charge of lighting a whole stage, and go stand with her in the technical area which makes you feel all fancy. She is a fabulous lady doing fabulous things in a completely male dominated industry and I couldn't be prouder.

And at the end of the night we saw Pulp and it was the perfect festival experience, thousands upon thousands of people dancing and singing and yelling lyrics into the night.

LEEDS! MUD! SUNSETS! MUSIC!

In the morning I discovered that I'd sent Moog an email at 2am. I do not remember typing this email, but my inbox suggests otherwise. In it, among other, crazier things (and by that I mean all caps versions of the ridiculous AUs that we are not writing, oh no, that would be ridiculous, what, why are you looking at us like that), I continued a conversation that had started a week or so ago on Twitter.
playwithfyr

 Hey you guys!

I got a job! Let the rejoicing commence! A Real Person job where I get to speak French and everything. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! I have been temping for about a year now and it sucks like a sucky thing, so VICTORY ARMS FOREVER I HAVE GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT.

So.

2010.

I was trying to sum it up the other day for Kara, actually, and what I ended up saying was this. The highs were very high, but the lows were really, really low. And in between them there were vast periods that felt like an exercise in survival. If I can just make to the end of the month, make it to the weekend, through this one time. So, yeah. I moved in with my boyfriend and I lost my job. I started writing again in a fandom I love and I was so poor I walked for an hour across town with half of my possessions because I couldn't afford the bus. I got to spend a movie montage perfect week with my best friend and I had to sit helpless on the other side of world while someone I loved was hurting.

I enjoyed all of your company for 2010, and I love you all so much. I have really great memories of 2010 thanks to you, and I hope we get to make many, many more.

In the spirit of the thing, here are some memes! That I totally stole from mcollinknight (sorry about the sprinkles!)

First sentences of 2010:

January: Happy 2010! I had a most excellent New Year's Eve. It involved homemade hats and glitter glue, chocolate fondue, champagne cocktails from the roaring twenties, Nat making friends with a baby, much Inappropriateness and Innuendo("Is Ivy's flange warm?") and The Hat Game, Scattergories and The Humming Game.
February: I went to South Africa and as promised, bring back tales of Adventure. And I even managed not to cause any kind of international crisis (aren't you proud of me mathsnerd ?), though not through lack of trying...
March:  I have been distracted by work (which, that's a whoe other post) and going to the ballet (<3) and not being able to shake this damn cough (When you sound like Satine at the end of Moulin Rouge, it's never a good sign) and doing edits and then Word losing 13 pages of them (*shakes fist*). Huh, actually, when I put it all down, it's been more than a bit of a week. But life goes on, and so must this meme.
April: So! I am 23. It feels much as 22, only less symmetrical.
May: Hey you guys! Not dead, or time travelling. Just faily.
June: So I have been woefully sick for the last few days. It has been most unpleasant and I have been living in a cave of pillows and listening to this weekend's cricket commentary and tennis. The sound of other people excelling at sport is soothing to me!
July: Still not dead!
August: So, I have this temping job and it's kind of soul crushingly, brain atrophyingly dull
September: Currently, I spend a deal of time sitting on trains marvelling at the weather and so, as I told twitter, I want to write all the sunshine filled stories in the world. Colline instructed me to write and I can't really say no to her charming Canadian vowels.
October: I keep thinking about making a real, honest to God post. I am also thinking about some sort of Intro/Masterlist post thing because, hi new people! I'm still trying to work out what people need to know about me. Suggestions?
November: Oh, god, I haven't posted in forever and a day. Or, like, three weeks but whatever. The internet moves at the speed of light and all.
December: This weekend Nat and I went to that there Londontown to catch up with old friends aplenty. There was a concerning few days midweek when the snow got so bad that I got sent home from work and sat in the car with a co-worker (my favourite co-worker and not just because she agreed to drive me most of the way home) and we couldn't see anything beyond the front of the car bonnet. Which was a little alarming, to say the least!

LET ME JUST SAY, I AM UNSURPRISED THAT MANY OF MY ENTRIES START WITH AN APOLOGY.
( 2 more memes under the cut! )

30. One wish for '11?: Success, Batman and shininess for all

Today I found out that my contract at my horrid temp job has ended. Hopefully this means that the universe is going to reward me with work that doesn't involve feeling my IQ drop by the minute, and dealing with Dicks.

Anyway, I have fabulous adventures to relate to you!

On Friday I headed off to celebrate the birthday of the excellent playwithfyr , aka Pyro but mostly aka Play. It was a Fish Birthday Meetup, with Isi and Bec and Lisa, oh my, all there too.

Me: *arrives*
altogetherisi : Thank god you're here. They don't like Lady Gaga!
r_hayburn : Would you like a glow in the dark gecko?
lisaheron : Why is the ukelele being like this? 
playwithfyr : It's okay, Lal is here now to be the Responsible Adult.
Everyone: *looks doubtfully at Lal*
Me: I also go by "Corrupting Influence"?

We had barbecue food indoors, because the summer conspired against us. During the meal we talked about Many Things, such as pirates and demons and the Guardian of the Dead and booklust and memes. There was also debate on what constitutes shipping and what is some separate thing where you don't need anyone has to like each other or be happy, you just want them to have really, really hot makeouts. (I do not call this shipping)

Isi and I also told everyone about our RPS conversations, aka The Greatest Conversation Ever Had In A Starbucks Before An Adam Lambert Concert.

Isi: It's like Lal and I were saying, once you've slashed the President of the United States, there's no going back.
Me: Don't forget our metaphor! RPS is like a slippery slope...
Isi: But a slope into a really fun place. More like a slide...
Me and Isi: Like a ball-pit!

It's the truth, people.

Then we went out to the campfire and toasted marshmallows and made s'mores. I would say that it was the sugar high that made us go slightly crazy, but that would be a lie. A terrible lie.

People were supposed to be teaching me how to play the ukelele but we kept getting sidetracked by, well, everything. We did a LOT of singing. It turns out that you can sing almost any song in the world to 4 chords played on the ukelele. You haven't lived until you've heard Take On Me, Don't Stop Believing, No Happy Ending and Let It Be all sung together. 

The plan had been to go inside and watch the first episode of Firefly (because there were people present there who hadn't seen it!) but the plan ended up devolving into Lal and Isi quote the first scene then fall asleep. This was after some discussion about how Bec might be a werecatapillar. 

The next day Lisa thoughtfully woke Bec by jumping on her and then we had cookies for breakfast. That pretty much set the tone for the day.  We were meant to be going on a picnic, but it was raining. A lot. But we were determined, so we packed the car full of food and set off.

Lisa: We are five fish and a ukelele. Sounds like a band!
Isi: Or a bad euphemism.
Play: The Bad Euphemisms would be a great name also.
Isi: In ~your~ endo...
Me: I'd like to double ~your~ entendre.
Bec: Now we have two album titles.

Then we sat in the in car, balanced food on every available surface and had a very fine picnic. We were occasionally beset by spies, and then the End Of the World (or at least the part where the sky turned into water and then fell on us) happened. But we sang the Zombie Song and braved it out.

Sadly then I had to leave. But, it was because it was Nat's birthday! We went to a huge family barbecue at his brother's girlfriend's father's house, and it was great! I made pistachio cupcakes for Nat, by the way, and it took a really, really long time. Turns out finely chopping 100g of pistachios without a blender will <i>break your spirit</i>. They are delicious, though!

I think the evening can best be summed up by this conversation, which I am naming A Treatise on the Perils of Drinking

Girl I have just met: Hey I like your necklace. It very much compliments your breasts.
Dude I have just Met: Even as a gay man, I can appreciate that those are very good breasts. 
Me: Er, thank you?
DIHJM: I also like your top!
Me: Thank you! I like your top too!
DIHJM: You should come into this room and swap tops with me!
Me: OK!

So that was fun!

As for the rest of my life.

It looks like this. ALL THE TIME.
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ETA; YOU GUYS, WHY IS MY .GIF NOT GIFFING?

So, I plan to do a proper round up of the last year, like I did before with pictures and things and I want to find a good writing meme (if not I might just make one up but anyone seen any good ones floating about?)

But for I am going to talk about Christmas!

How did it go for y'all?

I had a lovely Christmas. It involved not doing very much for the first coupla days, which was awesome because, OMG SO TIRED. I went to stay with my boyfriend and his family in Warwickshire, so leading up to Christmas I had so many conversations that went

Me: Oh, I'm going to stay with Nat for Christmas.
Other Person: Oh REALLY?!
Me: It's not a big deal! All my family are abroad! This does not make me a grown up!

until when people started raising their eyebrows at me I could barely managed a defensive noise. Until

Me: YES, I'm going to stay with Nat's family, ok?
Other person: Oh REALLY? Ooo!
My Most Excellent Housemate Elliot: But no, it's not a big deal, all her family live abroad. Please don't freak Lal out. I prefer it when she doesn't wander our house muttering to herself.

I knew I was living with him for a reason that wasn't that he says "Epic Win!" a lot, and makes falafel.

But yes, I went and was generally fed and spoiled by Nat's mum, who is a good Jewish mother and frets that we do not eat properly. She also got very excited at having a girl to buy presents for after years of just Nat and his brother, so I ended up with all sorts of cool presents including green nail polish and some very swanky purple gloves. Whenever I put them on I feel like a femme fatale or other things that suggest I should stop reading so much fic *looks sternly at AI*

I also got an extension cable with a fuse from Nat (amongst other things, she says quickly, before he cries misrepresentation) because he worries that my bedroom is an electrical fire waiting to happen. We are so rock and roll!

Anyway, I also saw some random famous people (members of a band called The Enemy) in a oub, bringing my celebrity total for December up to 3. I think I might have forgotten to mention that I met Tracey Emin. She was selling her wares in a fake flea market in the Tate Modern.

And I had a wonderful time and liked all my presents very much, although I think my favourite and present of my HEART was that Kara got an artist to draw the first scene of my AI steampunk story!

!!!

Which I might put up someday when I get round to, you know, getting on with the story. It is the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen and I kind of want to pet it and look at it forever.

Plus I got cards from various exciting places (I got yours today taurenova ! Happy Hogswatch!) and what I am counting as an early present from Kaz, a tag of my very own (I just like tags, okay?)

I also got a very excellent Yuletide fic!

It is Nest Building and it is the most adorable thing that ever adorabled. I will never have a bad day again because I can just read this fic! And it sounds just like the book, I mean, exactly, pitch-perfectly like the book :D:D:D:D

I do not think that anyone has guessed my Yuletide fic yet (apart from the people that I told about it :D). There are prizes! Alright, there are no prizes. But there could be? Or clues. There could be clues. 

And then I went off to London for two days to see the marmfish! We had so much fun, I cannot even tell you. Well, I can, and I will, as soon as I rescue my camera and upload my pics. Suffice to say, it was amazing and the marmfish remain amazing and I kind of miss them already,

And I do not have to go back to work for aaaaaaaaages because next week I am off to South Africa to see my Dad and two (TWO!) cricket tests. So you must all remind me to blog plenty before I leave.

Merry Between Times to you all!

So, I am now a working girl.

No, wait.

I am a Person with a job and a title and everything. It is European Relations Executive. Most people I know's reaction can be summed up as such

.... AHAHAHAHAHA.

Anyway, SOME people were slightly less hysterically amused and decidedly more awesome. Like kaiserkuchen , who drew me AN AWESOME PICTURE OF AWESOMENESS.

( Srsly! )

!!! Hi Kris hi!

And by some fluke, she drew Kris sitting on an EXACT COPY OF MY CHAIR AT WORK. Look at his adorable PLAID TROUSERS AND EXPRESSION OF SRS BNS. This means I should add Sexy Librarian Kris AU to my List of Things To Write List*, right?!



You know how sometimes people on your friends list post about stuff going on in their life, and all of a sudden you think "Wait a minute? Since when were they working THERE? Since when were they dating HIM/HER? Since when!?" And then you wonder how you could have missed all that seemingly pretty standard information, but somehow you feel too ashamed to ask for clarification because it seems like info you should already know? It happens to all of us sometimes.

If you like, copy the topics below, erase my answers and put yours in their place, and then post it in your journal! Please elaborate on the questions that would benefit from elaboration. One-Word-Answers seldom help anyone out.

You guys feel free to ask for further explanation or anything you have ever wanted to know!

FIRST NAME: Lal! Well, not really. But really! I guess half of you know my real name by now, but I really love being Laliandra, it's so pretty.


AGE: 22. Mmm, symmetry.


LOCATION: In front of my laptop, my far too cold attic bedroom, my delightfully multicoloured house, my cobbled street, my city, The Frozen North, En-ger-land.


OCCUPATION: I actually have one of these now! I translate and write blurbs about perfume (it is hard to resist being passive aggressively bitchy about Paris Hilton's perfume) and put things in boxes and tell people where their stuff is (usually where it is supposed to be). I have to get up CRAZY early, and get the bus to work. But the people I work with are cool and put up with me saying things like "OMG Anderson Cooper's mother has her own perfume!" and "Oh damn, I shoulda used the subjunctive there. Want to know something cool about the subjunctive?"


PARTNER: Is a word I dislike. Unless you use it for Partner In Crime. I do have a boyfriend, who goes by the name of Nat round here, and we have been going out longer than we both like to admit. Luckily we are both really conflicted about being romantic! <s>He makes me smile</s>


KIDS: They're great! I genuinely like children and have the Gift when it comes to making babies smile. I used to be a children's party entertainer. But oh god, not for MANY years. I want to do a lot of unchild-friendly things first!


BROTHERS/SISTERS: Nope! Make sweeping only child statements AT YOUR PERIL.

PETS: Sadly not. I have had many over the years, but uni life is not for pets. Me and Sal very nearly bought a kitten last year. We really shouldn't be left alone with fluffy things...


LIST THE 3/5 BIGGEST THINGS GOING ON IN YOUR LIFE:
@ My new job
@ Organising meet ups with various peoples
@ Planning going to see my Dad in South Africa and catching some sun and some Test Matches there, too.
@ My WIP/ Things to Write List**
@ Trying to get my bed mended (lame but important! It could fall apart under IN MY SLEEP)

PARENTS: My parents met at my Dad's birthday party. He was dressed as a chorister and my Mum thought he was gay (Drama student, you see). The next party was thrown my Granny (Dad's Mum) and was a tarts and vicars theme with a genuine priest and a genuine prostitute. Granny was the Madam. This should probably tell you all you need to know about my family. My Dad is tall and has distinguished grey streaks in his hair. He writes adverts for a living, or he does occasionally, mostly now he bums around South Africa. He is a great cook and a hopeless speller. He is obsessed with penguins. Both my parents had South African fathers and non SA mothers. My Mum was a bluecoat and when she was 20ish ran away to Spain to become a go-go dancer and when that didn't work out she sold her own blood to buy her ticket home. She used to leave me notes everywhere. She was madly in love with David Bowie and Stephen Fry. She worked in marketing, so I think about advertising more than is normal, I fear. She never forgave me for not growing one shoe size more so that she could steal my shoes like she stole my jackets. I stole right back, of course.


WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS? Well, like C, I think I have separate groups. I have the friends I went to school with (one of whom is getting MARRIED in less than a year!). They are mostly silly, darling, spectacularly geeky boys, apart from Cat and Lil. Who are still silly, darling and geeky, but also very foxy ladies. I've known them all a long time. We have History. We mostly keep in contact by phone and Facebook these days, but I'm still glad I have them.

Then I have my uni friends. Apart from a couple of people, they have all sadly upped sticks and moved South. Apart from Nat and Elliot, and I'm keeping a careful eye on them! Anyway, most of my unii friends are marvellous, smart, funny and girls. I lived with 3 amazing ladies while at uni, and I miss them so badly! I need people to watch Strictly Come Dancing with, talk literature with, discuss our invisible friends and Gaudi and Falafel, our imaginary goldfish, with... But I'm going to see them all in London soon!

And then I have you guys! I have my fabulous spammers, I have Kaz to text me 7 times in one hour about Adam Lambert. I have the Marmfish (seriously, people, MEETUP?!). I have the lovely C to drag into fandoms with me. I have my Campfire ladies, who are so marvellous I have no words. OHTEATHREE, OKAY? I have some dear friends who I chat with through the internet and I'm happier for it.

So, OMG, that got much longer than expected! As a reward, footly bits aka footnotes.

* The List - Lessons in cookery for TDL marmfish, Something Royal-y for Havemercy peeps, Love is Not a Zero Sum Game or Venn Diagrams are fun!, A Beginners Guide to Bromancing, Sexy Librarian AU ;), More Postcards from Nowhere, More NbNW.
** - WIPs - Kradam talk food, game shows and ninja-ness for Kaz, YULETIDE, SPAU,

Snippets and explanations given freely and with love to anyone who asks. You made it this far, you deserve a reward!