092 - Change of Pace

I removed my little weight chart thinger. Why? My head's just not in it right now. Mostly because I really don't like my Weight Watchers class leader. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard, and she gets her facts wrong all the time. Useless. So I'm not going to spend €10 a week just to weigh myself and listen to a woman that doesn't know what she's talking about.

I'm going to do things differently. I'm going to keep eating healthily, but I'm not going to obsess over it. I'll drink diet and zero drinks, I'll not eat chocolate or pizza or pop tarts.... sigh.... and I'll see where I am in maybe a month or so. Watch this space.

091 - Mass Effect (2) Lessons.

I've only played through half of the game so far, but here are some things I've learned already.

It’s easier to have a relationship with an alien than a human.

Good choices make you a fairy. Bad choices make you a prick.

Zombies are never out of style. In fact, centuries in the future, zombies are our heroes.

No matter how big and powerful you are, you will still get Viagra-toting emails.

“Probing Uranus” is funny even when you’re actually doing it. It's hysterical when it becomes depeleted.

Fish need to be fed every five minutes or they die, but space hamsters are immortal. (Zombie?)

When you’re a guy, all the pretty females want to sleep with you.

When you’re a girl, everyone wants to sleep with you.

You can’t date someone unless you tell the other one you’ve been chasing you’re not interested any more, but you can shack up with your assistant and no one minds.

Assassins don’t kill people. People kill people.

You can die, come back two years later with a different face, fly a different ship, wear a helmet and

keep different company, and people will still recognise you.

Letting the assassin live near the life-support part of your ship, and a giant killing machine near the
weapons is a perfectly logical thing to do.

Being assigned on a suicide mission makes you want to collect model star ships and keep small pets.

Sarcastic bastards can still give hugs.

Unless you have an actual countdown timer you can go through an ‘urgent’ mission with your slow motion walk and still complete it.

Even the most skilled scientists might overlook the fact that one killswitch does not satisfy two missiles.

It is possible to drink through a closed helmet faceplate.

You have unread messages.

090 - Resurection

Did you know Blogger keeps your blog for 90 days after you delete it? I didn't. Now I do!

I have to apologise for deleting this this yesterday. Deleting it upset a lot of people, especially my writer friends who made me realise writing is one thing in my life that will never leave and never turn it's back on me. Part of my writing is my blog. So, in a way, my blog is my new dog. You know, dogs... loyal... best friend... Oh, it made sense in my head.

Why did I delete it? Well, someone read my last blog as a direct attack on him, and I'm actually still trying to convince that person that it wasn't. Perhaps I need to highlight the majority of the blog that wasn't about him at all. He didn't drive me to delete this though, oh no. It was his over-protective guard dog that doesn't know her place. She even told me I shouldn't write about things I care about or feel passionately about and accused me of caring more about my blog than about people that it may piss of. Well, some people, perhaps... clearly... but I assure everyone that reads these from an outside perspective that everyone in my blog is fully aware they're in it, most often why they're in it has already been discussed and resolved, and they see it as a general summary of my day. Most people. And generally they know me, or haven't had a few drinks in them at the time.

Oh dear, can you tell I'm still pissed off?

Never make a writer feel that her writing is worthless. It cuts to the bone.

089 - Misery Loves It's Company

I never really understood that song title, because I'm only miserable when I'm by myself... Anyway, it's Friday night and I need to rant, and everyone is busy, so here you go.

All week I'd been planning to hang out with a friend - we'll call him S - and this morning he bailed. This wouldn't normally bother me but this friend really ticked me off a few months ago by bailing on me over and over, and we hit a very rough patch because of it. I knew it was going to happen again today, but there was still a cupful of excitement of getting to hang out and watch a movie, considering I've been pretty much alone and bored all week (no money).

I had another friend - Tiny (remember him?) - who was meant to see me on Wednesday but couldn't, which really didn't bother me then. So my second choice was to see if he was available. And, of course, he wasn't. That's no one's fault. I just wanted to complain a bit about the injustice of timing. He did offer to see me for a short while between work and a music session, but me being the ever-polite happy thing that I am, told him he didn't have to. So he didn't. Which is fine.

My last option was... someone else... and he had a leaving party for one of his workmates that he gave up his Nerd Night to go to. When he heard I was free, he said he'd be done by 9 o'clock, and he could come see me. I told him that he didn't have to if it would be inconvenient. Later, he tells me he's staying on at the party, and that he wasn't planning to. So, I asked him why he was staying if he wasn't planning to and he said "I have nothing else to do." Really? Thanks. I then told him that he could have come over here if he wanted and he said "It's OK, I'll see you tomorrow."

[Insert clenched-teeth smile here.]

The thing is, it got me wondering about what people DON'T give up to see me when I need them. That last person, for example, has only ever given up his Nerd Night (every Friday night) twice in the time that I've known him. One to see his sister, and one for this party of free food and drink. Do I really need to start offering my friends dinner and booze just to get them to come see me? Or will they push me further and further (without realising it, in fairness) until I crack and tell them all to go to hell, eat a bucket of ice cream and watch Supernatural, wondering why all men can't be like the Winchester boys...

088 - Hypocritical?

It was brought to my attention how bad it looked that I spend almost a week going on about loving your curves and lumps and extra pounds while on the other hand I'm trying my hardest to lose weight. I was asked why.

Well, I have to lose weight because I have a condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. PCOS. It's likely that my weight is the main reason I even have PCOS in the first place, and doctors have said that if I lose even a small bit of my weight I'll see improvement in the symptoms.

Now I can hear a few people asking what PCOS is. Google it. And then realise that you probably know someone who has it. And if you have questions, just ask.

087 - Best Gender Friends

Someone said to me yesterday, "If guys could have best friends that were girls, she'd be my best friend." It confused me as to what he was saying and I had him explain further. It was news to me that some guys feel they can't (or shouldn't?) have their best friend be female because it's a little bit, uh, camp. It really got me thinking.

Most of my closest friends are male. If I had to pick one best friend, I couldn't without saying my boyfriend is my best friend and having you all groan and throw up your breakfast. If I could pick, say, five best friends, I could. And only one of them is female.

Is it different for a girl to have a guy best friend than a guy to have a girl best friend?

With that in mind, I wonder how many of my guy best friends would claim me as one of their best friends too. I know two have, for sure, but in fairness they're not the straightest of people.

Can big, butch, heterosexual men have female best friends?

086 - Taking It Easy

The last week was pretty hard on my bank balance. So hard, in fact, that my bus tickets have run out, and all the cash I have to survive on for a week amounts to about €15. So this week I'm taking it easy. No cinema, no eating out, not even much in the way of going out and about and using public transport.

That means I'll get to write really amazing, detailed, meaningful blogs every day, right?

Uhm...

I also borrowed a bunch of Xbox games and invited friends over for two different days so far. It's more likely you'll get blogs about how I should be writing but instead I spent twelves hours solid on a game.

Speaking of...

085 - Stretch Marks

"OH EM GEE! Did she just say stretch marks?!!??!"

Yes. Yes I did. I've talked about fat asses this week because I've grown to love mine and I thought everyone else should too. One thing I've really really hated for a long time and have never talked about before is stretch marks. My stretch marks.

Deep breath.

I have stretch marks on my tummy, my hips, the backs of my thighs, the backs of my knees (yeah OK, what?), my boobs, and on my upper arms. The only ones that really really make me stress are the ones on my arms, because they're the ones people can see in the Summer when I wear sleeveless tops.

I'm one of the people who always associated stretch marks with old age, bad skin and pregnancy, so I've not even admitted to having them until now. Not to the outside world, anyway. It was always just so embarrassing!

So, I was watching that How To Look Good Naked crap and for once I didn't want to slap that Gok fella. (Let's face it, he's really irritating and extremely hypocritical. He was a fat kid who lost a ton of weight to look good, can't even look at his old photos, and he's making a living off of telling women they don't need to change how they look and should be happy with their bodies.) He said how 78% of women have stretch marks.

78% of women have stretch marks.

That's almost 4 of every 5 women look like a kid drew train tracks over their skin. I wonder how far a train would go if you laid all the women together...

OK, mind wandering now...

Only one member of Girls Aloud DOESN'T have stretch marks. Hah! That's a satisfying thought!

Not only that, but it really made me realise how these women get their stretch marks. Yes, some just have skin prone to it, some have had kids, but quite a lot come from weight loss or gain, which almost every woman goes through, and even puberty. Yep, that's when mine started showing up for sure. Just getting taller and growing can give teenage girls stretch marks.

Amazing, isn't it? So many women have them that saying "I hate my stretch marks" is like saying "I hate having dry skin" or "I hate having dark hair".

Look around you, girls. The woman right next to you probably has them too.

For the guys that have them, I wouldn't know where to start to talk about it. Like I said before, most people associate stretch marks with being pregnant, so that in itself is potentially demeaning for a guy. There is the thought that guys are less sensitive to body issues and lacking self-confidence, which I think is total bull. Guys just don't complain as much as we do. That doesn't mean they don't get self-conscious.

Guys get stretch marks from growing and weight fluctuation just like women do. And if women have a hard enough time dealing with them, imagine what it's like for the men.

But, men + stretch marks = taboo.

Or so it seems.

Hey, why don't we just call them Growth Scars instead?

And to all the women without stretch marks.... just you wait.... just.... wait...

084 - Blonde

Do blonds have more fun? If so, why?

And which is really [stereotypically] better? Blonds, with the fun, beauty, carefree attitudes, easy raunchy sexiness (uhm...), more likely to get their own way (apparently...)

Or brunettes, with the sophistication, mystery (I don't know... I'm writing what I've been reading), intelligence (again... don't hate me), respect...?

Or, indeed, redheads, who are reportedly scary, fiery, sassy, with mean attitudes. And I'm not arguing there at all. I doubt any of my ginger... I mean, redheaded friends... would disagree.

Which is more attractive, on men or women, and why? Which will get you further in life? Which will earn the right kind of attention? Just go with the questioning, I'm not saying there is really a ranking... or, does that mindset make me brunette anyway?

083 - Demon In The Dark (Lush Review)

It's the green soap with the black skin.

Firstly, make sure to peel the wax off before you use it. That's the purple/black stuff. Why they use it, I don't know, and it's a bitch to peel off, but it has to be done.

If you like warming mint-ness, you will love this soap. It smells so damn good. It'll wake you up in the morning if that's what you're looking for. It makes your skin tingle too, which is a strange feeling, let me tell you...

If you really love the smell you can leave it on your desk, as the peppermint (and clove bud) is meant to stimulate the senses and the brain, and get those creative juices flowing. Strangely, my boyfriend could smell the clove bud more than the peppermint, and I was the opposite, but whichever way you get the whiff, it does the same thing: wakes you up and leaves you ready for the world.

Don't, however, use it right before going to sleep, unless you want pretty active dreams. That might just be me though.

Unfortunately, I think my skin just isn't suited for most Lush solid soap. Nearly every one I've tried dries my skin out. Though after I plough it with moisturiser you can tell it does at least leave the skin brighter and smoother. The dryness was definitely worth it for the smell. I'm a sucker for mint!

082 - Love Your Lardy Butt!

I was going to say "Love your curves" but if you're like me, you'll read the word "curves" and think, "I have curves... lots of curves... rolls of them!" So, here goes...

Love your fat ass.
Love all your lumps and bumps, love handles and turkey thighs.

The number of good male friends I have with girlfriends: 5
The number of those girlfriends that are a size 18 and over: 4

The number of size 16+ girls I know: 5 (not the same girls)
Number of them with boyfriends: 5

(See the pattern yet?)

Number of single guy friends: 15
Number of those single guy friends that are gay (in the name of accuracy): 3
Number of those single guy friends that say their perfect woman is size 16+: 10
Number of those single guy friends that say their perfect woman is size 20+: 8

Ladies, big bums and hips are sexy. My friends are sweet, charming, loving, [somewhat] gentle men, so if you've come across guys and girls who have said they don't like bulge, well, you're talking to the wrong guys, and they're probably pond scum.

C'mon, imagine the last guy to tell you you're not attractive... pond scum, right? You're too good to date that anyway.

The bottom line is, if you're not happy with yourself, you CAN change... but you really don't need to.

Unless you're 400lbs and riddled with diabetes or something... then your lardy butt might be killing you. Just a thought.

081 - Life Is Short

Everyone has heard it said before. Almost everyone reading this has probably said it themselves. "Life is short." I've been wondering how many people have actually really thought about what it means. I was left to my own devices of boredom this morning and ended up really thinking about life - my life in particular.

I've lived approximately one third of my life already, or just under.
One third.
33.3%
Four slices of a 12" pizza.

That's a lot. I know I'm young still, I'm not saying that 24 years old is ancient. Hell, it's barely adult. But it is a large chunk of the average lifetime.

And what do I have to prove my 24 years? Not a lot. And that's the clincher. Sure, I know people older than me who still live at home with their parents and never had a substantial relationship and never held a job. I also know people younger than me with families, careers, the first stepping stones of the path that is the rest of their lives.

My obvious train of thought was that I generally suck - no job, no family other than the one I was born into - but then I got over myself and really thought about the things I have achieved. There is some success in my life. It's a delicate balance between it and the vast expanse of blah. True, I don't have a lot of stuff to show, but I have some things, and quite often they're drowned in the shadows of the blah.

I never finished college, but when I look at my designer friends I feel thankful that I didn't. It's not ideal to say that you're a drop-out - I wouldn't recommend it to anyone - but when I picture myself in the career I was set to achieve, all I can see is the maltreatment, stress, low wages and zero advancement potential that 90% of my designer friends currently deal with. Do I want that? No. If working as something less glamorous means I don't have to put up with all that, I'd be happy. Now, just to find a crap job... hmm...

As for relationships, I've had my fair share, and most of them were horrible. Do I regret them, so? No, not really, because they all helped make me the kind of person I am in a relationship now. I learned what to do, and what not to do. I learned what kind of guys yo stay away from and what kind of guys would break my heart (and, in some cases, other girls' hearts at the same time). And the result? I knew what I wanted and how to keep hold of it... er, him... uhm... so far, anyway. Haha... ha... uh....

080 - Does Size Matter?

This blog is not suitable for kids or the innocent...

I've written a few blogs now about beauty and appearances, social acceptance and expectations when it comes to the female physical form. I've not said anything about the guys.

I have a very good friend... let's call him "Tiny"... who, despite being extremely tall and possibly seeming quite intimidating at first because of it, his penis is actually smaller than your average big toe.

Now now, don't hate me, just let me explain.

He likes being teased for it. Not many people know about his little mister, as far as I'm aware, but he really does love the humiliation. Each to their own, whatever floats your boat, etc. etc. Some people like bondage, he likes being laughed at.

So, partly per his request, this goes out to the girls (and guys) with opinions on the subject. Does size matter? Do the girls who say "No it doesn't" have a limit, a minimum size before it is actually too small? Has anyone ever had a tiny lover that was better than a larger one? Or larger guys that were just crap? Or is anyone just not satisfied with anything smaller than a battering ram?

Don't hold back now...

079 - Some Riddles!

How could I put a book on the floor where no one could jump over it?

There is a common English word that is nine letters long. Each time you remove a letter from it, it still remains an English word - from nine letters right down to a single letter. What is the original word, and what are the words that it becomes after removing one letter at a time?

What do Superman, Moses and The Cabbage Patch Kids have in common?

078 - I'll Show You!

In the newspaper today there was a story about a young woman who recently climbed Mount Everest, despite only taking up climbing last year. Reportedly, she was seventeen years old when she first said to her dad that she was going to climb Everest,and he laughed and told her she'd never do it.

It got me wondering about how many people do things just because someone says they can't. Or how many people want something more because they're told they can't have it.

I don't just mean wanting chocolate when you're on a diet...

When my parents have ever said that they didn't think I'd be able to do something, I usually took it to heart and believed them. Thankfully this hardly ever happened. If a friend told me I wouldn't be able to do something I might argue and then it could go either way, whether I would do it or not. However, if someone I didn't like told me I was incapable of something I would go out of my way to prove them wrong.

Is that bad?

077 - Nerd Love

A conversation at lunch today between Matt and I. We were talking about going to see Hot Tub Time Machine and Matt said something like how it's more fiction than science..

Me: It's about a time machine! How is a time machine not science?!
Matt: It could be magic.
Me: Phfft. There's no such thing as magic.
Matt: What about Harry Potter?!
Me: Harry Potter isn't real...
Matt: Yes it is!
Me: Know how I know it's not real?
Matt: How?
Me: Because I never got my Hogwarts letter...
Matt: ... aww, you look so sad...

076 - Goth Juice (Lush Review)

Buy it because it's purple and the tag line is "Made from the tears of Robert Smith."

For the record, I hate the Mighty Boosh, but that line makes me laugh.

ANYway, Goth Juice is Lush's medium hold hair gel. They have a firm one and a soft hold one too, which I will never review. Why? Because Goth Juice is so damn perfect! (But please, if you want a different hold strength, do go for one of the others. If you're undecided, try this one and see how it works out for you.)

I have extremely curly hair and was reluctant to go near anything with 'gel' in the product description. It took me several years to build up the courage to try one of Lush's.

Regular hair gel makes my hair sticky and hard. Goth Juice doesn't.
Moose makes my hair crunchy. Goth Juice doesn't.
Spray makes my hair mat together. Goth Juice doesn't.
Serum makes my hair greasy. Goth Juice doesn't.

It is a little pot of perfection.

You wash your hair as you usually do, condition it well (especially if you have dry hair, which you would be conditioning anyway, I think), and rinse. Now, the key is to apply it to wet hair. Not towel dry, not dry dry... wet. Use a little bit (my hair is shoulder length and only requires me to dip two fingers into the pot and use what comes out on my fingers) and work it through your hair, and scrunch it or twist it if you've got curls. Then leave it to dry. It will be perfect, believe me.

And the best part? It's actually GOOD for your hair, unlike almost all styling products out there.

The smell though might not be for everyone. I love it, but I love trees and forests... yes, it smells kinda like musky trees. I think it's the Oakmoss.

075 - A Crash Course In Skincare (Lush Review)

I know, I know. Two Lush Reviews in a row. Well, both were so important (for different reasons) I had to...

A Crash Course In Skincare is a fresh face mask. And it's being discontinued. SO GO BUY IT NOW WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!!

Admittedly it is one of the more expensive ones, but if trust me, if you have dry skin you will not want to miss out on this before it's gone completely.

Firstly, it's super smooth. I don't know if it's always smooth but my batch was. Every other Fresh Face Mask I've bought from Lush has been lumpy, but not this one. Not that that matters terribly.

Secondly, it smells like a lemon cheesecake! Lush have a lot of lemon and citrus products on their shelves (Lemslip, Lemony Flutter, Sexy Peel, etc) and for the most part I'm not a fan (except for Lemony Flutter...) but A Crash Course In Skincare is made not only with lemon, but avocado and yoghurt, so it smells almost creamy and dessert-like. Mmmm.

Apart from smelling like you could eat it, it really leaves your skin soft and moisturised, but not too much. It just sucks that I only discover the best face mask for my skin right when they retire it. Sigh.

074 - Lush Love

I went for almost a year without buying Lush products. Ok, maybe not a year, but it was a very long time that felt like a year! I can't even remember the last things I bought, since I had won two of their Facebook competitions and I'm still working my way through what I got.

This week I've been in Lush three times. I bought Lemony Flutter (cuticle butter) the first time, Goth Juice (hair gel) the second time and got some Jungle (solid hair conditioner) for free, and then the third time I traded in 5 Black Pots for a free face mask. See, I only wanted the free face mask the previous two visits but they had none I wanted so I had to keep coming back. I got my A Crash Course In Skincare, the face mask that is now sadly retired, and an ickle Vit E toner tab, because the little girly boy said to, and my sister loves her toner tabs.

All in all...

I love Lush. And I smell like Lush now too. Yay!

073 - Manflu?

Early in the week I found out that the horrible housemate that makes living here unbearable changed his mind and is not moving out after all. So, I'm back to browsing letting websites to find somewhere else for me to live.

Today I thought I found it. I went to see a studio apartment in a beautiful, old abbey in a really nice part of the outer city. It was stunning from the outside. Huge gardens, massive buildings, black iron gates I had to throw my full weight against to get open... you get the idea. The area too is pretty. Full of old buildings and trees everywhere, and you can see the mountains. Inside, the rooms were really huge too. Pretty perfect. Why am I not moving in now? Because it's unfurnished. And I can't afford the furniture.

I tried getting in touch with another place I wanted to view, but didn't hear back until I was half way home. Why was that annoying? Because the place was just a few streets away, and from here it takes an hour and a half to get to the south side of the city. Garrrrrr.

So, I'm going to see that second place tomorrow (Thursday). And I have a cold. Or, rather, a giant throat infection and something that is quickly turning into a flu. I think it might even me manflu, because I can't stop complaining about it.

Oh, and I left my phone charger at my parents. The lovely Matt came to my rescue and bought (as in, volunteered to pick one up and then wouldnt take the money for it) a new one. He also bought me something else - something pretty - that makes him gosh darn awesomesauce, and it made my week a whole lot better.

072 - 100 Facts About Pandas (Book Review)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! HHAAAAAAA!!! HAHAHA HA haha... ahum....

T'is funny.

It's the kind of silly funny you have to have the mind for, but if you do, and you want to be in fits of giggles in just a few pages, give this book a try.

It has 100 'facts' that comedian David O'Doherty (yep, him that is currently on tour with Flight Of The Concords) and two others - Claudia O'Doherty and Mike Ahern - came up with. It's hysterical. For example...

Fact #16

Such is the static electricity generated by the thick hair of the panda's coat, in remote parts of China, bears are sometimes brought in from the wild and used as defibrillators to shock heart attack victims back to life. These bears are known in Chinese as Miracle Voltage Bears.

Fact #38

Owing to a quirk of evolution, the panda has retained the same lung capacity as its mammal cousin the blue whale. Potentially, this allows the bears to hold their breath underwater for up to two hours. Unfortunately, evolution has also given the panda a phobia of fish, so they never get the chance to demonstrate this feat.

071 - Dream Cream (Lush Review)

Lush cite their Dream Cream hand and body lotion as "as good as it gets." It's also their best selling product, so I thought my probably regular reviews of Lush stuff should start there.

The first thing you notice is the scent. It's is strong and I understand how it might not be for everyone. Lavender, chamomile and rose make you feel like you've just fallen face first into a summer flowerbed. I wasn't too fond of the scent at first, but after I used it for the first time I couldn't leave it alone.

It really is a little pot of comforting, soothing magic. Use it on red and blotchy skin after you shave or wax, on dry patches and any kind of irritation, or all over your body if you really want to indulge. Its soothing effect is almost instant. I used this when I waxed my eyebrows (but only a little, as it is a hand and body lotion and will sit heavy and greasy if you use it as a face moisturiser - remember, the skin on your face is very different to the rest of you) and within a minute the redness vanished and the itching stopped. It's also great to soften tight scars and stop them from cracking.

If you like floral scents, get it.

If you want something to cool and calm skin that makes you want to cry, get it.

070 - Teeth

No, not the movie. Don't see that. Or, do, if you want an awkward laugh.

I'm talking about the dental kind, and in particular those people who don't brush their teeth. That annoys me. I mean, how hard is it to brush your teeth for two minutes twice a day?

I don't care if your teeth fall out from rot (which they will eventually) but what does bug me is when people who clearly haven't brushed their teeth talk to me. Or come within two .... three feet of me and mouth-breath. The smell of bad breath is the worst smell in the world. It actually makes me cringe and sometimes makes me feel sick.

Don't think people can't tell, because they can. Or, I can at least. Remember, I have a super sense of smell. Unfortunately. I'm like a frickin werewolf. Oh, and chewing gum doesn't work. It lasts a few minute before the stink of a day or two of food, drink and anything else you've been injesting comes creeping back out of your gob like a vile, acidic monster. Ugh, and don't get me started on Juicy Fruit gum. That stuff smells worse than the breath it's meant to cover up.

Hell, do what I do and brush your teeth before leaving the house, especially in you plan on being all up in someone's personal space. That very much includes sitting next to someone on a bus or trying to sell someone something.

Maybe I like the smell of toothpaste too much, too. Mint is easily in my top 5 smells. Bad breath, top 3 worst ones, next to vomit and poop. It's like bad breath is vomit in gas form.

Eeeeuuuuuuuggggghhhhh

BRUSH YOUR FRICK TEETH, PEOPLE! We're not in the middle ages any more. You have no excuse.

069 - Pandora

You've heard of the Pandora jewellery, right? If not, I'll explain in a second.

Everywhere I go I've been seeing Pandora bracelets. A few months ago I came across them once in a blue moon, and now they're everywhere. They even have cheaper versions that are "Pandora-like" but not actually Pandora.

Pandora make charm bracelets. They make other jewellery but their charm bracelets are what they're most noted for. I've always thought that while they were extortionately expensive they are very pretty. So I thought I'd take a look at the website.

You can buy bracelets full of charms already if you want to - though I don't know why you would - like this one, for GBP£860. Yes, most of that is glass and silver...

Why I like Pandora stuff is because they have every kind of charm imaginable. They have glass ones and enamel ones in any colour and pattern you could want. There are themed ones too. The one on the left, for example, is a silver bunch of flowers with 'Love' on a gold label. How adorable?! That one's £35. And it serves perfectly for what I'm getting at. There is also a little silver suitcase which is so cute! And various animals, toys, etc.

The bracelet without the beads can cost between £35 and £250 depending of what you want it made of (they do leather chord right the way up to 14k gold).

What I'm trying to say is, guys, (namely, one little brother of mine who might be stuck for romantic ideas in the near future and I'll forget about this kind of thing when/if he asks) for not too much money (unless you're broke, in which case never mind, but in case you wanted to do something nice) you can get a girl a bunch of roses (that would die in a week or two) a box of chocolates (that once you leave her alone will last about thirty seconds) and a teddy... which is awesome anyway...

OR, you can buy her something like a charm bracelet, just the bracelet with one or two charms. You'd be buying something more romantic that would last, and giving her the beginnings of a tradition. You could buy her a new charm for any special occasion... graduation, engagement, special birthday, marriage, kids, travelling... Hell, how awesome would one of these be instead of a promise ring? (That's what all the kids are doing these days, right?)

Just, make sure she's the right girl. Otherwise it'd be kinda sucky.

Alright, alright, all I've managed to do is convince myself that this sort of idea would be great as a sub-subplot for one of my stories... moving on...

068 - Flight Of The Concords

Why, yes, I did get to see them last night.

Before I went, all I really knew of them was what I caught on youtube or random songs my sister gave me.

They were amazing. Their support act was awesome too. David O'Doherty, an award winning comedian who co-wrote a book called 100 Facts About Pandas, which is just ridiculously silly and hilarious.

I've never been to a show where the crowd and the performers yell abuse at each other so much. It was great! Well, to an extent...

To the guy that wouldn't stop shouting 'BELFAST!'... you're a fucking idiot. (Let it be noted that on his third try the entire crowd yelled at him to shut the fuck up. Made me proud to be Irish.)

To the girl who kept kicking me in the back the whole time... I hope you twist your ankle in your pointy high heels.

Anyway! Flight of the Concords are awesome. That is all.

067 - Chameleon Circuit

Chameleon Circuit are a bunch of lads that got together over youtube and invented 'T-Rock' or trock - which I think is meant to be Tardis Rock. They write and record songs all about Doctor Who. One of the members is Alex Day, who I linked before for his Alex Reads Twilight videos. The other is Charlie McDonnell, who is another popular youtube guy, notable for doing random and stupid things.

Anyway, here is one of their songs. They have lots, so if you like this one, check out the others.

066 - Yay, Cheese and Cheese

I can breathe a sigh of relief today. I was scared about going to a new beauty clinic to get my eyebrows done in case they messed up. It's like going to a new hairdresser and not knowing if they're any good or not beforehand. Well, they didn't mess up my eyebrows. They're different, sure, but not bad different. Just different different.

I also had the best tasting cheesecake I've ever had. Mannings Bakery (found in Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, or The Square, Tallaght, or Thomas Street, Dublin 8) have little tub cheesecakes that are really really really good. I had the strawberry one but I'm sure the others are great too. I think they have vanilla and lemon or something.

Despite having huge cheeseburger last week, with chunky chips, I still lost weight. See, this is why I love Weightwatchers. You can eat whatever you want. It's all about when and how much, and controlling what else you eat too.

065 - Sim-ple Life...

My xbox 360 broke quite a while ago, and since then my "gaming" (if you could call it that) has been restricted to mucking about on my Wii. Today I was introduced to The Sims 3...

I played at least one of the others on both Playstation 2 and PC, and I had all the expansion packs, and while I liked it for about a day I couldn't really see much appeal in the limited gameplay. The most I did was build and decorate houses that my Sim would never be able to afford.

Sims 3, however, is a whole different kettle of fish. It sings sweet serenades to my heartsick imagination and role-playing enthusiasm. You can literally do anything you want in that game. Its taken all the nice bits about Sims 2, made them totally excellent bits, and thrown in about five times more excellent bits for good measure. It is very awesome.

Now I just need my own copy...

064 - Comfort

I just wanted to say that I was surprised to discover that I'd forgotten how to be completely relaxed and at ease around someone other than my sister. I have many friends that I love being around, having fun and getting up to no good, but when the fun and excitement dies down I often find myself ever so slightly uneasy. Like I should be doing something to amuse someone.

This weekend there was a period of no excitement, sitting still, not doing much of anything, when I realised I was really content and comfortable with the doing of nothing. The pressure and discomfort I expected to feel didn't exist at all, and it felt good.

063 - Revelation

Thanks to the lovely Matt, I've realised the reason I left Facebook had a very simple and effective solution. I had no idea you could specifically block people! To the point where they don't even exist! Nearly. They don't show up anywhere as far as I can see, and that includes other people's pages, info, and anything else you can think of. So my block list has grown considerably and Facebook should now be fun once more. For now, anyway.

I went to see Iron Man 2 yesterday, again, and it is still great.

I also got a new phone. You can't see from the picture, but the back is white with a Hello Kitty picture on it. And it's touchscreen, and has a lot of features that have been impressing my dear *cough* and many iphone user friends. And it only cost €99.

I think... win?

062 - Iron Man 2 (Movie Review)

I sort of didn't want to go see this, but I somehow managed to get roped into telling two different people that I would see it with them. Yup. I went from not wanting to see it to having to see it twice.

I went with my sister yesterday, because she's my sister and while Iron Man was never really my thing, she loved it and funs time with my sister is always, well, good fun. So I said I'd go. And uh...

IT WAS FRICKIN' AMAZING!

Well, ok, its no Avatar (don't kill me) but it was a really great movie nonetheless. It was hysterically funny even I, who has never read a comic book, enjoyed it immensely.

I wish I could talk about the parts that I liked, but I really don't want to ruin it for anyone. If you liked the first movie, you'll love this one. If you didn't like the first movie, or never saw it, give this one a go anyway.

Robert Downey Jr. is very easy on the eyes, at least. And Scarlett Johansson is hott. Yep, she gets two 't's. Don't hate me. You know you would too.