Good Days

Good things have been happening.


In all, three people replied to the messages that I sent out last week. The fourth, I'm pretty sure, doesn't check her facebook that much. But I never had any arguments/issues with her anyway, when we parted almost seven years ago. She's just an old friend that I'd lost touch with, and I'm sure that she'll contact me someday. 


The fifth, I think, may be a case where we won't reconcile. But that's her call, and I'm actually okay with it. Like I said in my last post, I'm glad that I made the effort. I'm a bit sorry about not finding common ground with her after all, but it's not the end of the world. 


Wise words to keep in mind: You can't please everyone.


I'm feeling happier these days.


And I got my unconditional offer from Dundee! I had been worried about it, honestly, but I thought that I should just give it time instead of overreacting. I don't think I'm becoming mellow, exactly. More like I'm calming down. So I waited, and finally got it yesterday. Well, yesterday being Friday. It's past 1:00 a.m Sunday morning right now.


Bruno's at the vet's. Nothing serious, but we thought we'd get him checked up, and the vet wanted to keep him overnight. She picked him up in the evening, and we'll be getting him back in the morning. It's so weird, how used to his presence we are. Mum poked her head in, barely two hours after the vet's driver had come and taken him, asking if we'd seen the dog, and that he's not in his bed. When I reminded her, she kind of got this sad look on her face and went, "Oh."


And he's turning 6 on the 21st! My big baby has grown up so much. Well, physically, anyway. He's still a puppy in mind, with the way he still lunges for his squeaky toys. It's completely adorable. Several times a week I threaten to eat him because he's acting too cute (sarcasm, but he doesn't know that), and he should act more German-Shepherd-y. Not that he listens. He kind of just runs off with the toy, and then turns back to make sure that I'm chasing.


Which I usually am. 


I recently discovered The Hunger Games (don't worry. If you haven't read it, there won't be spoilers in this post). Recently meaning I discovered the books at the beginning of March, and became an avid fan immediately. I wish I'd known about the books sooner, if only because it's that good, but in a way I'm a bit relieved that I discovered it mere weeks before the movie's release...thousands of other fans had been waiting for so much longer. Me, who entered the scene so late in the game, still found the wait interminable, so I can hardly imagine what the older fans had to go through.


I'll recommend the books and movie(s) to anyone, though. Honestly, I was genuinely so very pleased with how the movie had been done. It covered all the main points, and did it so brilliantly. In the books, we've got the benefit of the protagonist narrating everything, which isn't there in the movie. Regardless, the directors/screenwriters have done an excellent job of conveying everything they needed to without words. Again, I cannot stress enough how very impressed I was.


One of the people that I subscribe to on Youtube recommended another book for Hunger Games fans. I took his word for it and went out and bought the entire series, called The Uglies. I've just finished the first book, and I'm quite happy with it. The book follows a girl called Tally, a 15-year-old who will soon be turning 16. And on the day you turn 16, you get an operation (government-sanctioned, completely free) that turns you from an "ugly" into a "pretty". Only things don't exactly go the way they're supposed to, and...well. Read the book. It's good, so far. A bit slow at first (but then, so was THG), but it really starts picking up as you start reading, and you kind of crash to a stop at the edge of a cliff when you get to the end.

THIS is why I buy series all at once. Because I hate not being able to pick up the next book immediately.


Ja ne.

Just Wash Your Cares Away

I haven't blogged about it because it seemed too final. I didn't want it to be set in stone yet.

The time has come (oh wow. I didn't realize how dramatic it would sound until I wrote it out.)


Basically, I couldn't get my visa in time. The last date to join the university was apparently the 26th of Sept. Since we applied late for the visa (Dad switched jobs, meaning a whole new residence visa, meaning having to wait to apply, meaning I didn't get it in time), it is entirely our fault. But, things happen for the best, I guess. If Mum had been with me in Scotland, chances are she wouldn't have been able to get to Sri Lanka in time for her father's funeral.


So I'm taking a gap year and applying to Dundee for the 2012 term. I was so massively disappointed, but oh well. I suppose it'll be nice to be stress-free for a year. Plus dad feels so guilty about the whole thing, he's promising me gifts left right and center. It's quite nice. I doubt I'll ever quit being Daddy's Darling, really, but this is lavish even for him. Not that I'm not taking advantage of it. Because I was seriously upset.


Mum got back yesterday from Lanka. She's much better now, disregarding the increase in headaches she's apparently suffering from. 


This entire week, I've had to take care of the house. My god, you never quite realize what you have until it's gone. I swept the entire house the other day (not the entire house. Not the third floor, because no one ever goes up there), and I'm telling you now, there is no exercise like a sweeping exercise. I was sweating so much! I can't believe that Mum does this on a regular basis. Given that I positively hate any sort of weight-reduction exercise that isn't fun (oh how I loathe the gym. Give me dancing any day), it was just awful. Mum must be in much better shape than me, really. I am never challenging her to a race again - not that she ever accepts. I think she hates running as much as I do. We're quite lazy people, really.


At first, I relished the thought that I had the keys to Mum's BMW and could go out whenever I liked. But oh my god, it turns into such a pain. I had to pick Aehshaan up from the metro station every single day, and then go to the mall and do the grocery shopping and buy lunch. I had no idea that eggs ran out so fast. Or bread. Lord, the bread.


And Shamiana is a COMPLETE AND UTTER rip-off. 38 Dhs for just two curries! One small butter chicken curry and one daal (dhal? dal?) curry! Dad wanted curry, so we went there, but holy cow, such a waste of money.


Never going there again. Ever. 


And then there was the fact that I had to take care of the dog. We delegated the tasks of taking him out to morning and night sessions. I got the night sessions, since Aehshaan is deaf to everything once his head hits the pillow. I don't think I've got a full night's sleep this entire bloody week. And then I had to wake up at 7:30 in the morning to give him his breakfast. The one time I thought it would be okay to just give it to him at 9:00 a.m, I discovered that my dog thinks that he is royalty and will not eat his food unless given at the proper time.


He was as happy as I was to see my mother, though. It was quite cute. His ears and head went down and he went snuffling around her legs, around and around, jumping onto her and trying to give her face a good lick. He did that weird shivering thing with his fur that he does when he gets super happy to see someone.


Which is only ever someone from the four of us, seeing as he's a bit mad.


Since I've lost my house key (again) and Aehshaan kept forgetting to leave his before he went to school, I couldn't leave through the front door when I had to go and pick him up and all. I had to go through the kitchen, lock the door from the inside, and then take the backdoor out. The first time I did that and came back in through the kitchen, Bruno was standing out there with his head tilted to the side as if to say, "Well. Alright then, if that's where you want to live now."


My best friend Adnan's birthday is tomorrow, but he has family coming over so we hung out yesterday instead. I was going absolutely mad looking for a present for him. I asked him what his favourite thing in the world was at the moment (I meant material goods. Clearly.) and he said, I kid you not, "Boobies and titties."


So then I remembered that he'd been asking for a Canon Mug for literally over a year, and I saw one at MOE the other day, so I decided to get that for him. But then while we were on the phone, I zoned out (he talks a lot) and suddenly when I got back he just kept saying, "Canon Mug. Canon Mug. Canon Mug." And I was like, in absolute horror, How did you know?! And then it turns out he didn't know what I was getting him, but he was asking for it. So that was that.


In the end, I got him a t-shirt that said Parkour Man on the front (a long-running joke between us) and Shimali's Best Friend on the back. I thought it was a pretty damned good gift, meself.


Someone asked me the other day if Adnan really could Parkour. And I said, "No, but he thinks he can. He falls a lot." 


That's it for now, this post is long enough.

Ja.

Phoenix Rising

Erm. I found this post under my drafts - apparently never posted the thing. So here it is.


A bird decided to make its nest in the tree right outside our house. I think it was a sparrow. Either way, there was a tiny little baby bird within about 2 or three weeks, and our family was thrilled. We never touched it, of course, because we didn't want to freak out the Mummy Bird, and we didn't want to disturb the nest.


Yesterday, Mum noticed that the nest was tilting onto its side. She wanted to go correct it, but Aehshaan and I dissuaded her for fear of causing more harm than actual good. We figured the Mummy Bird would do it herself. It's her duty, after all, isn't it?


Not so. This morning, sadly, we found the poor little thing on the ground right outside the tree. Such a shame, too. I really regret not getting Mum to interfere after all, but at the same time, I'm kind of glad she didn't. Not out of any sadism or anything - merely because right now, she is determined to blame herself (and us, mind you) for the bird's death. If she had gone and done something to the nest, and God still killed the little bird, she would blame herself much, much worse. At least this way there's less pain for her, I guess?


We held a small burial for the bird, in a corner of the garden. It was beautiful, really. It was buried under a tree, with flowers on the grave. I said a few words.


I really hope that little bird does rest in peace. And if it's true that all animals go to Heaven, then all the better. It had a short life, but it was loved for the time it was here. 


Maybe the bird's meeting up with Prince and Shadow as we speak. They must be having a good time up there. For those who don't know, Prince and Shadow were two of my dogs. They died a fortnight apart from each other, taken by the same disease - Shadow on the 31st of January, and Prince on the 16th of February.


I may as well use this post to say something about them.


I got Shadow from an old lady who didn't have the time to take care of her. She was about 2 months old when we got her - a tiny little thing, really. Terrified of other dogs (We got our other dog, Rover, on the same day) but fiercely defensive of the property, even at that age. She was very easy to love, too. She was a mongrel, but she didn't eat like one. She picked at her food, and generally got bullied out of eating by Rover. We had to stand and watch to make sure Rover didn't chase her off and eat all the food herself.


As for her name, we knew that Shadow was what you would call a male dog. However, we'd already planned names for our dogs, and eating plans, and everything (we were at that age *grin*). So when we got two females instead of two males, we just decided to keep the name. 


We got Prince last year. He was only 6 months old at the time, born February 14th 2011. We brought home him and his sister, Persia, from an aunt who had about a dozen dogs already and wanted to give these two away to good homes. We took them both because we didn't want to separate them. They were our Valentine Dogs.


Prince was lovely. He and Persia were both pitch-black, so that you couldn't see them at all at night. Prince wore a dark red collar, Persia a choker. Yes, they were named for the movie, The Prince of Persia. Haha, that was my idea. 


Anyway, a mosquito-ridden disease somehow infected Shadow. I can't remember the name right now, but it affects your heart. Shadow died on a Monday, but I didn't find out about it until the following Wednesday. This was due to my mother knowing how much I loved my dog, and how I would react. I reacted as predicted, of course. I cried for days.


And then we found out that Prince was sick with the same thing that took Shadow, and that he wouldn't make it. I cried about that too, but praying about these things doesn't seem to work. If they're going to go, they're going to go. When Prince died, it still came as something of a shock to us. I think deep down we believed that he would be saved or something - that God couldn't be so cruel as to take both of them from us at the same time.


Persia managed to survive, miraculously. She caught it too. When I say miraculously, I mean because Prince was always the stronger of the two. We didn't actually expect Persia to make it too, but she's a fighter. She did.


I miss my dogs all the time. Even more so now, knowing I won't see them again. But life goes on, and time heals all wounds. Just because the pain of their deaths have faded, doesn't mean the love has. And they will always live on in our memories.


So. Rest In Peace; Shadow, Prince, and little baby bird. 


You were are loved.

Catch Up

The dog has recently taken to sleeping in my room in the middle of the day. This very rarely happened, before. In the old house, he'd sleep in my room when I had exams coming up and needed peace and quiet to study. I liked to think that he was warning my family off from bothering me.


I can think of two reasons for this new habit of his.


One. Bruno has sensed that I'm going to be leaving him behind soon, and so has decided to spend all his spare time with me. He'll show diamonds who the real Girl's Best Friend is.


Or two. Bruno has sensed my impending departure, and is staking his claim on my room.


In other news, I'm nowhere near prepared to leave. I still have so many things to buy! I keep thinking of stuff in the middle of the night that I have yet to get, and adding it to the never-ending list that's lying on my table. But I kind of feel bad asking Dad for the money, since he has enough to think about what with the actual uni tuition fees and all. So I've been trying to just use my own pocket money. 


Yesterday, I bought Aehshaan a going-away gift with said pocket money. He's my only brother - I figured I could spare the expense. It was a game he wanted but couldn't buy because he's saving up for a game coming out on the 18th - Modern Warfare 3 or maybe Gears of War 3? I don't know, it's some fighting game, either way.


So I got him Deus Ex: Human Revolution; Excellent reviews, and I really liked the look of the game trailer.


From my side of the gaming board, Junichi Masuda is apparently going to make some grand announcement on the 18th (yes, same date as Aehshaan's whatever game release) about some surprise addition to the Pokemon games. People are speculating that it's Pokemon Gray, to go with Black and White. I don't know about that - seems a bit too early for it, in my opinion. Black and White released worldwide only last March, after all. Maybe it's an event?


Not like I could get into any of it, anyway. Something's wrong with our internet connection - my DS can't connect. I haven't accessed Dreamworld in over a month now. 


Mum told me to pull out the suitcases from the cupboard under the stairs (HARRY POTTER!) today. Start packing all my things. I'm a bit lazy, to be honest. I really can't be bothered. I've been sort of down with regards to that, seeing as my course officially started today. I really hope they don't do anything seriously important - I hate being behind, having to catch up. 


Ah well.


Ja ne.

A Short Excerpt From The Lives Of A Dysfunctional Family

The fact that I can't get a hold of my UK visa is annoying. Irritating. Just a plain bummer.


Dealing with the University, though, has been super helpful. I informed them that I'd need to matriculate late and all, and they've replied reassuring me that everything will be okay. I even just got a call from the people wanting to know when I'd be collecting my keys. 


Two days ago, I sent an e-mail saying that I would be late to the architecture course to someone I assume will be one of my professors, Cameron Wilson. The thing is, I've only ever known Cameron Diaz. So I addressed the e-mail as, "Dear Ms. Wilson".


The reply, although very nice and all, was signed exactly like this: 


Kind Regards
(Mr.) Cameron Wilson.


Oh lord, the shame.


If brown people could blush, I'd be beet red. I shrieked when I saw it. My God. I don't know how I'm going to face this professor when I see him. It probably won't be as bad as I'm imagining, but still. My parents burst out into peals of laughter when I hung my head and related the story to them, informing me that I'm an idiot for not realizing that Cameron is generally a guy's name.


In other news, Aehshaan was in my room just now, talking about something or the other (I wasn't paying attention). Suddenly, he falls silent and kind of cocks his head in the direction of the door. His eyes narrowed, and he hissed, all cool like, "The dog's gone for my burger."


And he was out of there like a shot.

Really, between my e-mails and the relationship between my dog and brother, it's a miracle our family functions normally in public.


Ja.

The Bugs. Oh Lord, The Bugs.

The new house is not exactly doing its best to endear itself to me.

Not only have I come across an abnormal number of geckos here, but today, I found a bug on my lamp.

Okay, first thing you should know: I don't kill bugs and lizards and stuff just randomly. I threaten to do it a lot (mostly to the said bugs and lizards, and occasionally to my animal-loving mother). But I'm terrified of actually touching a bug, so getting close enough to kill it is not usually an option. 

I took the dog out earlier tonight. As usual, I let him out the back door. As I waited for him to finish up, I turned back to the house. The door was open, allowing a bit of the air conditioning from inside to reach me - it's really, really humid outside these days. I was going to take step toward it, when I glanced down.

Bug. HUGE bug. On its back, moving its legs madly and trying to flip the right way up again. I am basically trapped outside the house, because no way in HELL am I stepping over that thing. A genuine fear was that it was going to fly up my shorts. It would finally manage to get to its feet and zip right up there in the second it took for me to step over it.

So. Bruno's absolutely no help, because he's still doing his business. Even if I had called his attention to the bug, he'd have done something stupid. Like eat it.

So I walked all the way around the house to the front. Walked up to the doorbell. Rang it. I couldn't yell for anyone to come downstairs from the back door because then the neighbours would hear, and they'd be all, oh, look at that eighteen-year-old girl afraid to go back into her house because of a little bug.

WELL THEY'RE NOT WEARING SHORTS.

So my brother came down to see what was the matter. He came to the back door, bless him, instead of going straight to the front. I think he knows I'm an idiot.

He saw the bug, grabbed the broom, and swept it right out to where I was standing. I screamed (screw the neighbours), leaped onto the bit of wall next to me, and Bruno came running. At least he didn't eat the bug. Didn't even see it, really, just came to see why I was yelling like the massive scaredy-cat I am.

We went inside, and that was that.

And we're back to the bug on my lamp. This entire episode is like I'm living in Sri Lanka again. I love the place, but damn. Too many bugs.

I freaked out, but everyone's sleeping right now. It was past 2 in the morning, see. It's 3 as I write this. I couldn't scream, lest I wake everyone up. Keep in mind, I don't kill bugs lightly. I am terrified of them, and I generally don't like to kill them unless they're sucking my blood, or there's the possibility of them crawling into my ear. In that case, as they say, From God we came, and unto Him we shall return.

Seeing as my lamp is right next to my bed, I find that I am justified in the killing of this one. 

So. Three layers of tissue paper. A silent scream as I grabbed it with the tissue, and the thing you do with your legs where you're all, "OMG EWWWW" in your head. You know, like in the movies. And then a quick dash into the bathroom, and flush.

I'm not even going to get started on the gecko that I happen to know is living in my room.

Just Chill.

Well, this blog post is actually a few days late. I meant to put this up two or three days ago, but I couldn't be bothered doing the crap I'd need to in order to get this video up here.


Basically, Bruno had been pawing at the door and so I leashed him up and took him into the garden. Only, once out there, he decided to plop down into the grass and fall asleep. I looked at him and thought, well, that lucky bastard. If only I could do that too, you know?


And then I figured, why the hell not? No one's stopping me. The grass is green and clean (I hope), it's a hot summer day, why on earth shouldn't I lie down in the grass next to my dog and just chill?


Well, I'm not stupid. I headed in, grabbed an old cushion and my camera, and then came back out and slept in the grass next to Bruno, my head nicely cushioned, the rest of me at the mercy of whatever bugs were out there.

We stayed out there for ages. It was actually quite nice. Birds flying overhead (I genuinely prayed none would shit on me), Bruno trying to do a full turn (he managed it!), and myself just making sure the dog stayed in the camera's frame. 

In other news, exams have been going okay. I'm not failing, at least, so there's that. *grin*

I've got Physics tomorrow, Mechanics on Thursday, and then the final Biology exam on the following Wednesday. I've high hopes for the Physics paper (I have genuine feelings of love for this one. It's just such a nice paper, you know?), not so high for Mechanics, but I'm working on it. And Bio? Bah. Bah, I say.

My fanfiction days have dwindled to nothingness. I blame the exams, of course, and other stressing issues. I fully plan to get back to it as soon as the 1st of June is over. That's the day, after all, that high school officially ends for me.

Also, I've gotten back into watching some anime. Not the usual romantic drivel I used to favour. Nowadays, I'm watching stuff like Deadman Wonderland, The Blue Exorcist and Sekai'ichi Hatsukoi.

Of these, Deadman Wonderland is actually very gore-y, but also very, very good. Really makes you think, wince, feel and all. The Blue Exorcist is pretty funny. You burst out laughing in the very first scene.

And Sekai'ichi Hatsukoi is by the same group that did Junjou Romantica, so I'm watching it out of loyalty to them. And, it's really really cute. =3

And really, I should be studying. But screw it. I can't be assed.

Ta.

Do Bow, Dear Sir.

Yesterday, while I was meant to be studying for my Biology/Maths exams, I felt like I needed to do something productive. Yes, yes, studying is productive, I suppose.


It is also tearfully dull.


So. I decided to train Bruno to do something, since I haven't trained him past any of his usual tricks. He can sit, go down, heel, come, and more recently, sleep and bow.


I taught him Sleep about a month ago, when I had another of these I'm-so-bored fits. Yesterday, I taught him how to bow. It took me a while, but I maintain that he is the smartest dog in the world - he got what I was trying to teach him pretty quickly, really. I'm quite proud that he remembered the command today as well. I think eventually, I'll turn it into a whole martial-arts sequence. Make him bow, and then go into combat. That sounds cool, no?


The video I've put up was taken today - this morning, in fact. You can see for yourself how well he's learnt. There were a few hiccups, of course, and I had to repeat a couple of commands - but do bear in mind that he is, in addition to being intelligent, hopelessly stubborn. Stubborn enough that you have to literally drag him out of a room via his rear legs if he decides he's too lazy to stand up and move himself.


And. Mum says to please ignore the laundry in the back. I think it proves we're a normal household, but apparently not. *shrugs* Up to you.

Enjoy.

In other news, Physics went alright. You know how you think you did pretty well, and then people start talking about it and you're like, "uh, shit. I'm failing"?


Yeah, well. My advice? People. Stop, for the love of all things ice-cream-related, talking about the exams. The paper's over. There's no need to make the rest of us feel so shitty.


Recently, I wrapped up some loose ends with some old friends. We'd been in an argument in which I was in the wrong. I wrote a massive apology though, sent it, and all seems to be well. I'm glad. I'd really prefer not having any enemies or such when I leave for Uni. Fresh start and all that.


Anyway. Biology beckons.


Ta.