I want...
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Now all I need is a zillion squillion quid -______-;

On my last day in Romania, I decided to do nothing. I thought I would go to Bran, accepting that there was no way I could go to Poenari Castle. It is this which motivates me to one day come back to Romania. I walked all the way across town, bought two local bus tickets, found the bus stop, but in the heat perhaps I felt very lightheaded. My money was dwindling and I was starting to think that if I did go to Bran, which I didn't particularly want to anyway, I wouldn't have enough left for the other things I needed to do. So I went back to my hostel and sat on my arse indoors for a few hours, away from the evil sunlight.

I awoke at 5am the following morning for my bus trip to Rome. When making this booking, it had not occurred to me how long this trip would be. The site was entriely in Romanian so I think I had just been proud of the fact that I had managed to book it, and was never informed of the duration. In the end, this bus trip was just over THIRTY FIVE HOURS long.
It started off well. I had a few provisions, two rings of poppyseed bread, a packet of crisps, and some chocolate. It took twelve hours before we were even out of Romania, and at some point, the road became less of a proper road and more of a dirt road smeared with ashfelt. Many of the people are wildly religious, there were people on the bus crossing themselves whenever we passed a church, and there were crucifixes randomly everywhere on the side of the road. I saw more of the country which I suppose is good. There were many people getting around on horse and cart, we passed loads of those. Small towns with chooks wandering around, stray dogs everywhere, and stereotypical gypsy-looking women; large nose, warts, grizzled grey hair, headscarf, missing teeth etc. My conslusion is that Romania is a weird blend of the old and new, an old fashioned place struggling it's way into the 21st century.

Anyway, for the most part of this lengthy trip, I had been sitting by myself. Infact, no one sat next to me until all the other seats were full, and the only one left was the one beside me.
Eventually I was stuck sitting next to a rather large man, typically. Sleeping, let alot sitting, was extremely uncomfortable. He said he could speak English but he really couldn't. No one on the bus spoke English really, not even the drivers, so I was stuck talking to myself as usual. There were several people who it seemed, didn't know how not to stare at me.
I did drift to sleep every now and then over the night, but awoke ever half an hour or so not because I was on a moving bus, but because of the ungodly pain in my neck. I'd get up and move and my neck and back would make an audible cracking. My knees were also in pain from having to keep them bent, and we had to stop at every fucking station under the sun, and wait at each one for ages. Also, when we crossed the border from Romania to Hungary, the patrol took my passport off me and it was about half an hour before a random girl gave it back to me.
The bus trip, to say the very least, SUCKED, but atleast now I can say that I've been to Hungary and Austria aswell. Astoundingly, my ipod lasted the distance, which ensured I kept my sanity.

Over thirty-five hours later, we finally arrived in Rome. But the fun doesn't stop there!
The bus dropped me off at a random station, and suddenly I found myself stranded somewhere that I had no idea where the fuck I was. I tried asking for help at a ticket desk but the woman didn't speak English. I called up my accommodation who recommend me take a bus, but could I understand the buses, or find the right stop? Of course not.
I approached a random man who couldn't speak english, but I asked him, "Metro?". He took my arm and pointed across the street. I said thank you and crossed the busy road, and soon enough, found myself in a train station. I tried to decipher the confusing train map and by some amazing works of cleverness, I got a train to the central termini station. From there I found my way into the metro to get to Barberini, where I needed to be. It took me ages to find my hostel because there was no sign outside, but in the end, a staff member waited outside and hailed me over. I was eternally grateful to have a comfy place to sleep.

(From Yesterday)

Well today was another huge writhing pile of fun. I'm actually genuinely surprised to find myself sitting comfortably in my hostel, talking to a large group of Antipodeans. I decided to go to Sighisoara, but was not 100% sure exactly how to get there. First I went on a mission to find food and came away with two bananas and a pack of mini croissants which are to last me for two days. I then needed to get some more money changed but all I had was some left over Danish Krones, and £60 worth of Scottish banknotes. I brought 20 Euro with me for backup, not wanting to use it since I have Italy and France still to go to. I went into around a dozen different exchange places and banks, but no one would take the Danish Krones or the Scottish banknotes, they'll only accept English. In the end I had to change the Euros or I would have no money for anything.

Then I was unable to find the bus that goes to the train station (which has a bus station next to it) so I cheated and took a taxi. I located the elusive Maxi-Taxis, and after much poor communication with people who could only speak Romanian, I found a minibus to Sighisoara. It left the station a full two hours after I arrived there, and while I was there, met another Kiwi bloke and his English girlfriend. Chatted to them for a while and they were just as baffled as I was. The station was filled with shady characters. Two men kept coming up to me, one came up three times before I eventually just said, "stop talking to me!".
I got on the bus, paid 26 Lei, and pointed to a phrase in my Romanian phrasebook for "Can you let me know where to get off?", and two hours later, I was dropped off in Sighisoara. Fortunately, there was a young man on the bus who could speak english quite well, and was translating for the bus driver for me. They told me where I could go to flag down a bus back, and when the last one was. I thanked them and went wandering.

The sun was already fading so I decided it would be wise not to stay for too long. I scribbled a map of the path I took so that I could find my way back. I had no idea which way to go so I guessed, and evidently correctly, because I almost immediately found the places I wanted to see. Well it wasn't hard really, Sighisoara is fairly small. Unfortunately, they were doing alot of roadworks and quite a few of the cobbled streets had been torn up and were occupied by diggers and tractors, which did a good job at spoiling the atmosphere. I found Vlad Tepes's birthplace, which is what I had wanted to see the most, I suppose. It's now a café, so I didn't go in, but was sure to take atleast one stupid picture of myself standing infront of it.
I took a wee few pictures, which I will have up soon. I only spent an hour in Sighisoara after all the effort I gad gone to to get there. I was actually rather worried about not being able to get back to Brasov. So I followed my map back and found the spot where a bus might stop. I waited by the roadside for some time, and made myself a little sign reading 'Brasov'. A couple of buses went past, but going to other locations, and I kept trying to stifle the worry I felt about being stranded in this piffling, tiny Medieval township. Luckily, a bus went past with 'Brasov', amongst other locations, written on a sign in the window. I held up my sign and flagged the bus down with my other arm, and it stopped. The driver only spoke Romanian but let me on when I told him where I wanted to go. I couldn't believe it had worked and that I was going to get back, I was so happy, BUT! It was probably the scariest bus trip of all time, the driver drove like a fucking nutter, and at one point, pissed off a guy from a taxi. I had no idea what was going on but there was alot of shouting and police around when the bus pulled over. Then the guy from the taxi got onto the bus for the rest of the trip, and the shouting and arguing continued, and then another man got involved and I really wanted to tell them to shut up, but after ages they finally did. I wasn't sure if he was taking his anger out on his driving, or if he always drove like that badly. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I got back into Brasov and the driver charged me 15 lei, no idea why the trip back was so much cheaper. Got a bus back to the hostel, and by this point had a splitting headache and thought I might fall over. Hopefully tomorrow will be smoother, whatever I end up doing with it. Something easier, methinks. So now I am watching crappy movies in the hostel, still plagued by the headache caused by the stress of the day, and am very much looking forward to bed!

Finally I have some photos up of my mighty journey so far. Each link will open into a new window where you can see my pics form each place.

Images of BERLIN, GERMANY.

Images of COPENHAGEN, DENMARK.

Images of BRASOV, ROMANIA.

It's been a fairly lovely day which somewhat makes up for the shitty one yesterday. It's been sunny but mild, and I spent somewhere around six hours walking around the town. It's a long narrow town, so it only took me about 15 minutes to walk from one side to the other. I saw most of the sights to see in Brasov, the remains of the medieval wall that once enclosed the town, the Black Tower, the Weaver's Bastion, Strada Sforii (Rope Street), the Black Church, St Nicholas Church, the Schei Gate, and two Synagogues, one of which I went into. It was beautiful inside, all decorated in gold, but everyone was walking around praying to things so I thought I probably shouldn't hang around.

I've been sort of living off iced tea and am having difficulty obtaining proper food. Today I bought a chocolate covered, chocolate filled croissant, and a small thing of bread, but that's it. Yesterday I had half a calzone. The day before that I had a bread roll and a hotdog, and the day before that I had an apple. That's all for the whole four days, and I'm beginning to feel crappy because of it. Maybe I'll lose some weight, but probably not if I eat things like chocolate covered, chocolate filled croissants. I would happily kill for a vegetable or piece of meat right now.

During the times while I wasn't walking today, I was sitting down and writing things for my books into my diary. I did this for ages, because for some reason I seem to find this place highly inspirational. One point I remember was particularly nice, I was sitting near the Black Tower with bushes all around, and the bells from the nearby Black Church were all ringing for ages and it sounded so cool. The air was smokey, the birds were chirping, the sun was out, and I had somewhere to write, it was lovely.
I plan on spending the rest of today planning what to do with the next two days. I really want to see Sighisoara. I was pondering hiring a car and driving to the ruin of Poenari castle, Dracula's actual castle (not Bran castle, the one they pretend is Dracula's castle for tourists) but three things are holding me back. One, they drive on the other side of the road, two I can only hire a manual car and I can only drive an automatic, and three I haven't driven for over a year. I'll probably end up going to Bran castle anyway. Well I'll update tomorrow probably and can let you know what I ended up doing!

Holy fuck did I ever have a shit day. It started at 5am (another early morning, hurrah) in Copenhagen where I successfully got to the airport on time. After that it all started to go pear shaped. First I had difficulty checking in because I had checked in online the night before, but was unable to print out the boarding pass. So I was sent to three different places until I ended up back where i had started and the whole thing could have actually been very simple. Still being in possession of several hundred Danish Krones that I didn't need and couldn't get exchanged, I thought I'd spend some at the airport. For the first time ever I bought one of those massive things of sweeties that you always see in the duty free area, it cost me a fair bit but was still cheap considering it's massiveness. I was looking forward to making them disappear and thinking that so many would last quite a while, but oh no, I left them on the plane, what a stupid bitch.

It was when I arrived in Bucharest that everything became horribly stressful and scary. Firstly I could only change a few pounds into Romanian Lei because they would only accept the English notes, not the Scottish. The people were very rude and unhelpful, which sucked because most of them didn't speak a word of English.
I had read on several places online that the best, easiest, and cheapest way to get from Bucharest airport to Brasov was to walk out to the main road and flag down a Maxitaxi, and that it should cost only 20 Romanian Lei for the trip, which is about €4.70. From the moment I stepped out the door I was hounded by taxi drivers competing for my custom. The first man offered me €200, another €100, one €60, and one €25, they kept trying to haggle and I kept trying to get rid of them. Eventually I was shouting at them and telling them to fuck off and leave me alone, but more kept approaching and were like, "Lady, lady! Where you go?". The worst was one guy who followed me in his car very slowly and shouted at me down the street as I strode angrily away, shouting back and him that I don't give a fuck, please leave me alone. It took a very long time for me to reach the main road because of these arseholes.
I made it to the main road and stood there for about an hour, several Maxitaxis came past but none of them were going the right way, eventually I threw a wee tantrum and walked back to airport, carrying my case the whole way because it's still being retarded. It was also really hot which made it suck oh so much more. The Maxitaxi idea was NOT as simple as the internet had made it out to be, infact it failed on several levels. I was besieged once more by taxi drivers as I went back into the airport, it was bloody awful.

Anyway I found someone inside who spoke a smidgeon of english and told me where I could get a bus that would take me to Gara de Nord, the northern train station. I didn't much like this option because I had heard that the train system is really complicated. Anyway I found the bus straight away, didn't know where to get a ticket, jumped aboard thinking I could just ask the driver, but he was behind a window and the doors shut behind me and the bus started moving, so an hour later I found myself in Gara de Nord, for free.
There were no signs in English in the train station so I sort of had to guess, and again, everyone spoke only Romanian. Amazingly, I ended up with a train ticket to Brasov, for 35 Lei. Fortunately for me, a man must have over heard me, because he came up to me and told me that he was going to Brasov too, and showed me where to go. He was Romanian but spoke some English because he lived in Chicago. I told him I was going to follow him which he was fine with, and stuck with him the whole way. We shared a compartment with another woman who he spoke to while I listened to music and watched the scenery change around me. For a while I felt like I was on the slow train to nowhere, since the trip took over three hours.
Being in Romania feels a little like being back in the Czech Republic, only that it's dirtier, poorer, and has more gypsies. I swear that everyone here has the same face. There's a strange similitude in all the people that makes them all look like they could be related.
Many of the houses in the little towns I passed looked like they were about to fall over, and there were alot of places that looked completely abandoned. It was like everything was built ages ago and then left to fall apart. There was alot of pretty scenery around that, however. At one point, the man told me to come out into the corridor so that I could look at the view, which was of towering, intimidating mountains with a river slithering past. In the end I think it was better to take the train.

I could hardly believe it when I reached the hostel, I would have jumped for joy, had I had the energy. I'm sore all over and I had a headache (which has finally gone, thankfully) and I truly cannot wait to go to bed. The hostel is very nice, feels like being in a big house. They give you a free drink every night you stay, free tea and coffee all the time, free laundry service, and free internet, nice! I think I'll be utilising the free tea and coffee quite alot. So it was an interesting day, to say the very least, but as always, I managed and got where I wanted to be.

The journey from Berlin to Copenhagen was long and interesting. I had to get up at 3am so that I was nice and early for a 7.30am bus. My first great achievement was finding the Zentraler Omnibusbahnhof which was right on the other side of town from where I was staying. I got the right busand was on my way to Denmark! I had to leave Paddy behind as I had booked him a plane from Berlin back to Edinburgh, so the rest of the journey I am doing alone. I prefer travelling alone sometimes. Anyway, the whole trip took eight hours including a ferry across the Baltic Sea. I saw ALOT of windmills on the way. We stopped in a place called Rostock where a man speaking German came onto the bus and gave us detailed instructions entirely in German. So feeling completely baffled, I followed everyone else onto the ferry where they all dispersed. I sat outside and watched Germany shrink into the distance for a while, before going back to sit inside, all the while wondering how I was to find my bus again. Fortunately, I saw a couple whom I recognised from the bus trip, and followed them.
When we finally reached Copenhagen, and I shouldn't have expected to end up in some sort of bus station, oh no. The bus driver (who spoke only German) let us off somewhere random, and I was like, "Ah!". Having no idea where I was, having no map and no one around who spoke English to ask for help, I used my amazing sense of direction and cunning to find my hostel. I walked for over an hour in the heat, using a rough map I scribbled from a bus stop. To make it so much worse, my bag decided that it didn't want to roll (the wheels kept going inwards) so I had to carry the fucking thing. I kicked it many times and shouted expletives at it, but it still wouldn't cooperate. I had blisters on my hands at the end of it. Eventually, inexplicably, I found my hostel, Sleep-In-Heaven. It's also a very nice place, and all the people here seem so friendly.
Feeling fucking shattered, I slept for about 12 hours.

I awoke before 7 O'Clock and prepared myself for my one whole day in Copenhagen. I had breakfast and two cups of Earl Grey (which seems to be the only English tea they have here) before heading out into the city, my first mission being to conquer the Metro system. It was very easy, since they have only two lines, and it took me about three minutes to figure out. Testing my new found knowledge, I went two whole stops to reach a mystery destination, with no plans of what to do after that.
Fortunately, I immediately found an open-top bus tour, so I decided to do that. I'm glad I did, for I got to see all the touristy things in the city that I wanted to see. I saw lots of beautiful old buildings, fountains, statues, the infamous 'little mermaid', a palace, little sail boats, and so much more. I learned quite a bit too which is always nice. i got off for a bit where I got my ice-cream. For some unknown reason, it has always been on my "Life To-Do List" to eat an ice-cream in Copenhagen. So I did, photos to follow ;) I also wandered Strøget, got my mum the souvenir fridge magnet which she demands from every location I visit, and a hotdog in a bun, another Copenhagen must-do apparently.

I retired early and decided to take the Metro back in the direction of the hostel, since I'm unfamiliar with the buses. However, I got onto the train, and was stuck in it for some time while the doors refused to close. A voice speaking Danish kept coming over the speakers, and the people inside started getting rowdy. It was very packed and hot and I had no idea what was going on. It's hard for me not to worry in these situations, but it was alright, and soon enough I was able to travel my two stops and return to the right area. I searched for dinner but was unable to find any. I went to a supermarket and came away with cheese, chocolate milk and iced tea, which was nice but not really dinner in anyway.
So that was my day in Denmark, shame I couldn't really have longer, but tomorrow morning I am off to Romania! Speaking of which, I must get to bed now since I have yet another early plane, yay.

I've created an online blog, http://itsblackfriday.blogspot.com to publicly log my adventures. So I've copied and pasted this from that. Oh, and photos will come! Soon!

After not leaving Edinburgh for eleven months, I decided it was time to do alot of travelling at once to make up for it. It's not like me to stay in one place for so long! So, after weeks of frustrating and complicated bookings through foreign language websites, I am finally on my way with a three week long journey around Europe of mighty proportions.
The first step was wicked fun. On 16th September, I awoke at 2.20am after three hours of sleep, to get ready to catch a flight to Berlin at 6.30am. At 4.30am Paddy (my beloved Irish man-thing) and I were on a bus to the airport. Having had little sleep and a scoffed slimfast shake breakfast, I was feeling a little crook and my brain was not in the best condition. The trip on the plastic aeroplane was somewhat rendered with anxiety but in the end, I survived, and we arrived on time in Germany.

My friend Saul who was living in Berlin was nice enough to meet us at the airport and help us find our way to the hostel. We stayed in the Sunflower Hostel, which was lovely by the way! Large bathroom with a nice shower, comfy bed, cheap and nommy breakfast, and the whole place had great character and atmosphere. The Common area even had a wee pond and was decorated so awesomely. I had a really nice time there, and met two Canadians who we spent quite some time hanging out with, Maiesha and Spiro.
We stayed in an area called Friedrichshain, the 'alternative' area, which was brimming with metal pubs and cool shops. Kebab shops were in no short supply, infact we pretty much ended up surviving on kebabs. I promised myself copious amounts of chocolate should I ever go to Germany, so that wish was fulfilled too. I bought a shit load of Tofiffee and flavoured milk. Most of our time was simply spend hanging out in the park, enjoying the sunshine and drinking beer. You can drink anywhere you like pretty much, so I felt like such a scummer wandering the streets drinking out of a wine bottle. I made the most of the cheap wine, mainly buying Saurkirsch Wein and Erdbeere Wein, but I did try Satan Beer, because I simply had to.

Berlin, at first glance, seems to be a grid of large, stern looking grey buildings which are covered in graffitti. But within those building are all sorts of amazing things. I wish I'd had more time and money to explore more, especially all the weirdly themed pubs and clubs.
On our first night after going for a kebab with the two Canadians, we all went to a metal pub where the cocktails were named after different metal bands. I had a 'Slayer' cocktail, which tasted like bubblegum candy.
On the second day, Paddy and I went on a nightmarish journey into the centre of the city to locate the start of the Sandeman's free tour. We were 15 minutes late, but made the tour anyway, phew! Feeling very thankful and relieved, we joined the tour, and had a really good time. There was a Danish woman in the group who was being a bitch, but other than that it was good. I got to see all the sights I wanted to see; the Berlin Wall, the site of Hitler's underground bunker, the hotel that Michael Jackson dangled his baby from out the window, the Reichstag, some though-provoking memorials, and lots of beautiful buildings. I felt feeling well informed but of course, I'll never understand all of the horror that the city once saw.
On the third day, we did bugger all, which was exactly what I wanted to do. I bought more Tofiffe, hung out in the park with Saul, Paddy, Spiro, and Maiesha, before once again, heading out to get a kebab.
I enjoyed Berlin, and found it relatively easy to get by in. I utilised my limited knowledge of German and overall had a good time :)

My day involved alot of tartan and bagpipes. Infact, it was completely awesome, and one of the best days I have had for a very long time. I attended The Gathering, a huge event with clan meetings for well over 100 clans, aswell as Highland Games, Highland Dancing, and lots of piping. It was spectacular, and even better is the fact that I got to go for free :D It was a beautiful day too, perfect for such an event. At the end of it was a huge clan parade up the Royal Mile (to be in it you had to pay alot and I couldn't afford it) but as the MacLeods went past, I got a huge cheer from them! I spent much of today down at Holyrood Park (where the gathering was held) looking for my clan chief, Hugh MacLeod, who I've been looking forward to meeting. But I reckon I must have seen every other chief that there was, mine had to be the most elusive! I didn't get to see him until he walked past in the parade, but better luck for meeting him tomorrow perhaps. Yes, it continues tomorrow, hurrah! And also, I've been asked if I'd like to come to a Clan MacLeod Ceilidh tomorrow night, of course I'm going!



( Click for tartan overload, lots of pictures! )

So far I'm having a really shit day. It started off well when Letitia, my friend from work, came by my place with the 'Vitamin Truck' and personally dropped me off four cases of free Vitamin Water, which was so sweet of her to go to the trouble. So that was very good but everything since then has gone wrong.
I've been feeling very unhappy lately, no specific reason, perhaps just a combination of small things. I really felt like I needed a break and do something I really enjoy to make me feel better, and to prevent me from simply going mad. I want to punch the next tourist who approaches me with a camera, a stupid question, or a vacant expression. I took two days off this week for that purpose, and today planned on going ice-skating. I knew the rink had been closed for a few weeks but Paddy assured me that it was open now and had been for a while, because he often does work at the stadium next door. So I got myself all ready, packed a bag, made sure I had bus fare etc, and went out into the pouring rain. It has been raining in Edinburgh for fucking days, and I, and I'm sure everyone else, is completely sick of it. On the way to the bus stop I got soaked as a bus drove through a large puddle as it passed me, and I got sprayed with a huge wave of mucky water in a very movie-like fashion. The ice rink is quite far away, so I took the bus out there, very much looking forward to it as I had been for days, only to get there and find that it is still closed. For another two fucking days. So I just stood there in the rain feeling very disappointed.
Just for the reason that it made no difference, I walked through every massive puddle on the way back to the bus stop until my boots were full of water. Now I doubt that I'll get another chance to go at all.
On top of that, now that I'm back at home, I keep managing to drop things and make noise while Paddy's trying to sleep (he's working a night shift and must sleep during the day) so I just know that he'll be pissed off when he wakes up. The rain goes on outside and I have no idea what to do with the rest of the day now apart from sit here and feel sad and disappointed. Bleh.

I need no update on my life other than to say that I'm going insane. Anyway, now for something pointless!
A week or so ago we decided to have Baking Day at work. It didn't become the big official momentous event that we had hoped for, but it was alot of fun and we did end up with very full bellies at the end of it. Of our staff, Natasha baked brownies, Hayley made Peanut Butter Square, and Letitia made Mars Bar Slice.
They were all so yummy! I made Bleeding Heart Cupcakes, behold:



And here's a shot of the of all the contributions, I added fake blood to my plate of hearts:



They came out alright, but they were meant to bleed. They had strawberry jam in them, but it all sank to the bottom, aww! If I make them again, I'll know for next time do do it differently. I got the idea from Epicurious, but methinks I need more practice before they can look and taste as nice as they're meant to.

Oh how I want to sit in a tearooms with a cup of tea, a cheese roll and a lamington. I want to go to Outram Glen, fill up on raspberries from the orchard across the bridge and then try not to drown in the river. I want to go to Roxburgh and have a Jimmy's pie. I want to drive around Central Otago and get one sunburnt arm, then jump into a lake. I want to go into the mountains and light a mighty fire. I want pumpkin soup and the company of my Mum's friends on a saturday. I want pavlova with strawberries. I want to curl up in my own bed in my own cottage with my precious cats.
But I don't want to be bored shitless, work my ass off for no money, not be able to dress up as much as I've become accustomed to, and spend the rest of my life achieving nothing.

I also want to revel in the beauty and enchantment of my surroundings as I walk home from work each night. I want to eat haggis and wash it down with Irn Bru. I want to hear bagpipes every time I walk out the door. I like the feeling of always having something to look forward to. I love the feeling of looking forward to going to work each day. I want to know that I'm a bus ride away from London, and a short and cheap plane trip away to every fascinating country in Europe.
But, I want to be away from all the Neds, Chavs, liars, thieves, and other cretinous pieces of scum that call themselves people. I want to pay less than $9 for a cup of coffee. I want a pie that has meat in it and not just fat and gravy. I don't like the fact that there is both 'organic' and 'normal' milk. I also resent having to pay council tax and gas bills.

Homesick? A smidgeon. Torn? Quite. Time is ticking by, and I am still torn between Britain and New Zealand. Well, when it comes down to it, I don't get to make that decision, the embassy does when it comes time to deport me anyway. There are both good and bad points about being here or there, and neither outweighs the other in either place. I suppose I'll go back to New Zealand for a few months and see if I go crazy, then I can decide what to do. I've been gone over a year now, but cripes it has gone so fast, just as I knew it would.

On another completely unrelated topic to that of my frustrations, my most recent parcel arrived. How happy I was! I spent all morning rocking back and forth on my bed awaiting the buzz of the doorbell, watching the clock and wondering if it was infact going to arrive that day. But it did!
I got my pink dress with the (extremely ostentatious) matching hat, black dress with pink butterflies, and plain black shirred dress. I also got a piratesque blouse, a short black blouse (which as it turns out, looks ghastly on me), two pairs of knee-length bloomers, one black and one white, and a long coat with tiers at the back. Freyja is a happy Freyja. Oh yeah, and I've decided to change my name to Myrtle for the time being too. I just thought it might be fun. I'll try and provide some photos but it's always a challenge since I can't take them of myself, and Paddy sucks at taking photos.
Also, my books are coming along! I know I keep saying that but lately I've made some real progress. I have a few annoying niggly things to fix in book one, but I'm hoping that within the year, that one should be finished. The whole plot finally makes sense, and now I just have to work out some creatively gruesome methods of killing people. I've found an artist whom I plan on commissioning at some point soon, and if she provides me with a suitably impressive picture, I might ask her to do the front cover. Squee! One of out newer guides, Ewan, has leant me the use of his video camera, which is awesome!
What I've filmed with it so far is mostly crap, since I seem to always bring it out with me on particularly crappy, dull days. I'm going to film Edinburgh, some of the antics within my workplace, and do some videoing in the vaults, buahaha.
Last night, some random woman thought it would be cool to sing operatic songs very loudly right outside my window. I put up with it for a while, but eventually stuck my head out the window and shouted, "Shut up! It's two in the morning!". She got the message thankfully! Such are the joys of living on Rose Street. Every night is filled with the sounds of drunks walking around singing, shouting and fighting, and the irritating 'ding ding' of the pedicabs as they go by. Sometimes I even get to hear bagpipes, fiddles or guitars being played by buskers in the dead of night.
Also, I have 'the sickness'. I don't think it's swine flu, although apparently there are something like 1000 cases of it over here. I've been guzzling Lemsip and Beechams down every few hours to try and prevent myself from feeling like I have a cold. I hate being sick, I had enough of it over winter, so I'm fed up with it now. There're alot of things I have to do today, but somehow it's 3pm already and I'm still in my pyjamas. Meh well. Think that's about all for the noo, so yeah bye!

BlahaaaahararararRrarararaAAAAAARRARA my parcel arrives in two days and I'm having severe difficulty being patient!!!!! I need stuff nooowwww! Oh yes, and I had a fabulous day today. No real reason, it was just nice :) Except for the bit where I felt impATIENT!!LK!JKJ!HK!H!!!!!!! *splode*

Well, it has been a curious few days, and I will relay the events in reverse order. Starting with this evening. It was an evening of Jumping Out for me like any other, infact, a very quiet night. While few of the tours ran, I sat in the office memorising Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" and have so far managed to learn 10 of the 18 stanzas, which isn't too bad for one evening!
Anyway, Hayley (one of the tour guides) and I were locking up at midnight after I 'jumped' on her 10.30 tour. From when I had entered the vaults, it felt immediately as if something was watching me. Not something friendly or mischievous, but something mean. I get that alot in there though.
When I went into the vaults and passed the first vault... the 'feeling' hit me. There was a strong presence, I couldn't deny it, it felt extremely angry and it wanted me out. I ran past the first vault and up the little flight of steps towards the haunted vault to scream at the end of the tour. After that, I walked through the rest of the vaults, past the 'boat vault' which also had a strong, evil presence in it. Recently I've had a scary experience in that room. I let the tour group into the pub, and heard Hayley saying, "Fuck that, fuck that!" as she walked out.
When she and I had to go back into the vaults alone, we were both terrified because we could both feel the overwhelming evil presence. It sounds completely insane I know. You're allowed to think I'm insane, but I don't care. Remember I'm talking about one of Britain's most haunted locations! She told me she had heard a very loud crash from the subvault behind the 'haunted vault' when she had announced the South Bridge Poltergeist. This subvault is full of stuff (broken wood, broken tables, random equipment etc) and there was certainly no one there. We ran out, because whatever was there felt... violent and wanted us to leave. I quickly shut and locked the vault door. I could still feel the evil presence, it was like we had disturbed it by being there, and I felt I ought to apologise. So I said, "We're sorry!" and then, a bang came from the other side of the door in response. Both of us nearly crying, Hayley and I locked up and legged it. It was the feeling more than anything, but I've never felt so genuinely scared in there ever. I've been into the vaults countless times, but it felt very in there different today.

Last night, I watched a film called 'Freaks' which was made in 1932. It was great, but so very weird. Apparently it ruined the director's career, and I can see why! It's more than a bit controversial, and a fair bit offensive aswell. It featured real people with deformities, like siamese twins, people with missing arms or legs, and even a man with no arms or legs, watching him light a cigarette was amazing.
The other night, I spent 12 hours in the office, which was awesome. I started work at 1.30pm and didn't finish until 5am, because the BBC were in the vaults filming again. There was a guy form Eastenders named Joe Swash who had won some competition and was rather unfortunately being doomed to spend a night alone in the vaults. On arrival he had no idea that this was what he would be doing. We set up a camp bed for him in the 'haunted vault' since I thought that would be the meanest possible thing to do. It is the biggest, darkest room of all, and most of the weirdness happens in there. But since I was just in the office while he was up there ghostbusting alone, I was able to write almost a whole chapter of my book. Nice! Walking home at 5am when the sun was streaming through the sky and the city was deserted save for a few birds, was positively lovely too. Well I have to be up again in 6 hours so I suppose I should finish writing now and go to sleep. Byeee!

Wow! Today felt like summer, something I thought I had forgotten. A whole day without having to put on a jacket, or gloves, a scarf, earmuffs, nothing!? Infact, it was actually hot! I even got very sunburnt in the little patches where I missed applying my SPF70. Yes, I am genuinely astonished by this sudden beautiful weather in Edinburgh... it NEVER happens! It didn't even rain, oh my fucking god! The feeling of not being frozen seems foreign to me. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed my 7 hours of flyering today. It was a pleasure to be out bedevilling tourists, since for the first time in months, I didn't have to worry about losing the tips of my fingers to frostbite.
Since I got home, I've done little else but add to my ever-growing wishlist. There are so many pretty things in the world that I want to own *pout*. I did however, after ages of pissing about, finally place an order with F+F, so in two weeks or so I should get a pink dress (and hat?), black and pink dress, a plain black dress, a cream blouse, a black blouse, another steel hoop petticoat, and two pair of bloomers. Oh yes :D Just this time, hopefully, Parcelforce won't be cunts and charge me fucktonnes for the customs.
I'm torn as to whether or not I should curb my spending on pretty things. I should be saving my money for journeying around Europe and having savings for when I return to wee Aotearoa, but I also know that there's no way in hell I'll be able to get away with wearing any thing like that back in Dunedin, and feel that I should make the most of it now. Hmmm! >____<;

More later, bye!

Lately, it seems that I've become one of those very strange people. In the absence of long work days, I now find myself idle. Today, for example, I spent a long time putting my hair into ringlets, applying makeup in shades of grey and silver, then sitting at home by myself all day reading old poetry and working on my books. But! It has been constructive. I've been able to sit down for 7-8 hour periods and just do writing or fixing up the zillions of fuck-ups I've made in my books over the last two and a half years.
I had written a big, elaborate recount of what I've been up to over the last couple of months, but I managed to lose the whole thing. Yay! That was a few days ago, and I still can't be arsed retyping the whole thing. But, in a nutshell, things are good. The whole flatting situation which felt like a train wreck that just kept going, is now all fixed, and in the end, Paddy and I got to keep out lovely flat, didn't have to pay shitloads extra, and are now living with two lovely Welsh girls. Hooray for Mr Gibb, my new hero.

At the end of April, Edinburgh celebrated Beltane, and in Edinburgh's usual style of taking festivity to the extreme, the event was massive. No fewer that 11,000 people attended the huge fire festival that took place atop Calton Hill. Paddy and I were able to each get a small job in it, selling programmes and getting paid a commission. We found out the night before that we had to dress as pirates for it, so I spent all day searching the city for pirate costumes. I didn't come away with much but we looked alright in the end, and it turns out that Paddy makes a very good pirate! We didn't get home until stupid O'clock in the morning, but left with £75 each. But but but, when we got back home, we got txted by the people in charge, apologising for overpaying us and asking if we could both please give £40 back! Well! If you're wondering, no I didn't give it back and neither did he.

I think the great divine is trying to deter me from internet shopping, really. I have a dress waiting in the post office (which is fecking miles away) which they are trying to charge me £175 for for customs, duty, tax etc!! WHAT!? The reason why is because the value of the item is written as $800 Hong Kong Dollars, which is actually only £60. Stupid bastards. Apparently there's very little I can do, so because of their fuck-up, I have to pay more than twice what I paid for the dress originally. I'm expecting a satin dress too, which I have not recieved, and the seller has not replied to my e-mail. I ordered some shoes, and yesterday had to remind the seller that I had infact placed an order and did still want to recieve them. Jeeeeebus. I finally got the stripey dress after 5 months of waiting for it, but I've lost weight now and it's way too big! Also, I had to pick it up from the far away post office, and while taking the bus out there, I got horribly lost and found myself running down a long road with nothing on it wondering where the fuck I was. I'm trying to place an order with Fan Plus Friend again, but Paypal's all like "No" so I have no idea how I'm going to pay them, damnit. I thought this was meant to be easy! It's not!

As I mentioned, I lost some weight (about a stone) and am missioning very hard to continue. I've been asked to do a pin-up photoshoot for a band's t-shirt, and not wanting to miss the opportunity, I'm feeling all motivated at the moment. I'm a bit proud of myself and feel good knowing that I can actually do it (she says as she eats a big slice of cake). Well I think that about concludes things for now, I'm off to continue being a weird reclusive author. Bye!

A proper post soon to follow, promise.

First, a scary photo...



Yes it is a wig, a white one I bought a while ago but haven't put up any pictures of yet.
Anyway, as life continues, so does the never ending shit I keep encountering. Infact, I think I've just been screwed over worse now than I have been so far, which really is saying something. Allow me to explain and do try to keep up, it's a little confusing...
Paddy and I have been sharing a flat with another couple, who we thought were very nice people. Oh how wrong we were. When that thieving Korean bitch's tenacy ended on the flat we were illegally living in, we decided that we would legally take the flat over ourselves. With four of us, we could easily afford the rent.
They said they would stay for six months, the same as me, so we could take out a six month contract. I was so happy, and so relieved to think that Paddy and I would finally have a home here properly. Finally, I thought, something was going right. Wrong.
Literally ten minutes before the four of us were due to go down to the letting agency to sign the tenancy and make it all official, they come out of their room to tell us that they've decided not to stay in Edinburgh.
I thanked them very much for fucking us over. I was so furious and upset with them that I couldn't look them in the eye all day. Anyway, we did all go down to the letting agency in the end, albeit a bit late.
We came to an agreement. The other couple would stay for another month, so they would pay for the bond, plus the first month's rent. In the meantime, we'd look for someone else to replace them as a tenant.
Paddy and I paid our half, which came to £670. They said they had no money on them and had to go to the bank first, and would return to the office later on. This they did, but they did not pay anything. When they got back to the office, they were told that they'd have to pay another month's rent in two weeks time, so they refused to pay anything. The woman who had dealt with us during the lease signing had mislead us, so we thought we wouldn't have to pay anything more until the end of May, when we really did have to make another rent payment at the end of April. This is particularly bad because Paddy and I only just managed to pay for the first lot... this was all because apparently the lease had started from the end of March, not from the day we actually signed the lease which was in mid-April.
So it came to the point where Paddy and I had paid up and were living legally in the flat, but the other two hadn't paid a penny, and were still living there, using the power and gas etc. I got mad every time they turned on a light switch.
Paddy went down to the letting agency and spoke with the director of the company, who so far has been extremely nice and helpful to us, one of the first people to be. He came up with a small plan which was put into action bright and early this morning.
The director of the company came banging at our door this morning, and came in, and banged on the other couple's bedroom door. He said to them in a furious voice, "Rent and deposit, paid now, or get out!" Of course they paid nothing, and immediately got to packing. I am personally glad that they're gone, but now they've left me with having to pay THEIR rent for last month, plus the WHOLE rent for the flat in a week from now, and the rest of the deposit. This comes to £1290 (NZ$3,387), which I err... don't just have lying around in my pockets.
Never before have I seethed with so much hatred towards anyone, well I mean I've hated people before, but this time it was a new feeling. I'd love to skin them alive. I spent this morning cursing at the sky and wishing doom upon them. If karma works then I hope they'll feel the same sting that they did to us.
Paddy and I spent today moving into their room, because it's bigger and nicer, and a bright sunny yellow. It took ages to clean up their shit, and I had to sanitise everything with my fancy new steamer. Now I'm searching for a new person or people to take the other room. It's a good deal, they'd get a bedroom and a sitting room to themselves.
Blargh, all of this is making it difficult to save up for the things on my wishlist. I'm already working over 50 hours a week, which is awesome, but I don't know what more I can do. Rob a bank, I suppose.
Apart from all the shite, life is alright. The weather is improving gradually, and now it finally feels like spring. Paddy and I even sat and had cakes in the gardens which was lovely, so sunny! So weird for Edinburgh. The city just doesn't seem like itself unless it's raining. Well that's enough ranting for now and you've probably stopped reading already anyway. So till next time, cheeeeeeerioo.

I've decided, and this time I mean it, that I'm going to try to lose weight. I'm sick of being that 'little bit too chubby' so I'm making a concerted effort to become thinner. Being the dreadful choco-sweetie-cake-oholic that I am, it won't be easy. Wish me luck!

Ahoy thar! I have my laptop back, so I am happy and reconnected to the world. The charger plug's a wee bit dodgy so I have to be super careful with it. But now I can write my books again (thank feck, I thought my brain was going to explode with backed-up ideas) and can once again indulge in the joys of internet shopping/oogling at things I can't afford. But but but! I just bought these shoes! ----->>>> ( view cuteness )

And perhaps in another post I'll put up a wishlist of the things I'm hoping to get. I'm in such an "I need stuff" mood, hehehe. I'm also getting more and more creative (now bordering on weird) with my hair extensions I'm making. I need to buy more hair so I can have other colours and play more, and I'm waiting on a steamer in the mail which will make it easier to set them. My latest and most evil creation are single dreads that can be twisted into any shape, eg spirals, squiggles, horns, whatever. No idea who would want something like that or why, but I thought I'd make them anyway, they look awesome in a bizarre way!

Also, I think I might have had a man arrested. I'm not totally sure what the outcome was but let me tell you the whole silly story from the start.
I was on the Royal Mile, when along came a black man with two buns tied in his hair. He was standing in the middle of the road shouting at the top of his lungs, preaching the word of god, and telling everyone about how Jesus saved him. He was going up to kids and holding their hands, bothering passers by, and distracting people from the roadside stalls. He wandered further up the street until he was preaching loudly infront of a photograph stall, owned by a fellow I know named Blair. Blair went up to him and politely asked him to move on, but the man refused and kicked up a fuss. Blair went from mild to wild in about three seconds and was soon shouting expletives at the man, threatening to pour water on him if he didn't fuck off. He didn't fuck off, so he ended up very wet. Hehehe :p I was watching and having a bit of a laugh, but I decided I should do something about it all. I went into the nearby police room and pointed the man out to a police woman in there. Blair came in after me, trying to calm himself down. The police woman said she would get an officer to come out and chat with the man. After Blair left, the black man walked in, very unhappy (and soaking wet), and was even more angered when the police woman told him that people are complaining about him. I, being the only other person in there, became the focus of his aggression. He had a go at me and tried to lunge at me, but the police woman stopped him. As he made to walk out, he turned around dramatically, pointed to the police woman and I, and said, "You two are part of a system... a system that is corrupt!".
LOL what a nutter. The police woman and I had a good laugh after that. Eventually a police van came by, the man was in there for ten minutes chatting, before they took him away. HAH, that's what you get for preaching.

Now for an update on that awful financial situation I was in with previous flatmate Sheree. The whole thing got worse and worse and was absolutely doing my head in, so not wanting to think about it anymore, I'll let you know what the outcome was. I WON. I won the war, aw yeah, yay me. I got all the money back that was due to me and she didn't get a penny. :D So yeah, happy. Tomorrow I'll possibly find out whether or not I get to continue living in this flat. I really like it here so hopefully the letting agents will be kind and allow us to stay.
I'm sure there's probably loads more to update about, but I can't be fecked and this post is already long enough anyway. My birthday was a bit of a nonevent, all I did to celebrate was eat way too much cake and chocolate, but I thought that was adequate. Well that's enough for now, opff to make my wishlist up.
Byeeeeeee!