facebook, uni, old people.

when i started at uni, as far ago as 2004, i looked online for forums of new students. i 'met' a good few people on there, some i'm still in touch with, others i know as people who also take up space on forums and non-facebook interspace.

it wasn't until 2006 i hit the book of face, it was, to me, 'dull as a box of hair' in those days. in many many ways, it still is. no matter how lively it gets, it doesn't beat a good forum thread... also its just so.. serious! i miss in a lot of ways the relative anonymity of forums and blogs. this is the first point at which i feel like i'm growing old...

from the age of about 12/13, i've had a mobile phone. since then, i've always wondered how people met up with each other or arranged anything before such devices existed. i was interested in the common sense approaches of those only a little older than me. 'we just rang each other at home and said we'd be at a place at a time and then we just were there and so was the other person...' pah! what if you were running late? the other person waited...

anyway.

i went to uni before facebook existed. (for me)

there will be people out there, with the same curiosity i had about pre-mobile phone yoofs, about me, a pre social networking student.

first-world problems

now trying to find somewhere to honeymoon with my honey in a country that is warm in november and has a fairly decent human rights record, not too far away from the uk. any suggestions??

start as i mean to go on...

THE WELSH ALPHABET: (28 letters)

A, B ,C ,Ch, D, Dd, E, F, Ff, G, Ng, H, I, L
Ll, M, N, O, P, Ph, R, Rh, S, T, Th, U, W, Y

(Note that Welsh does not possess the letters J, K, Q, V, X or Z, though you will often come across "borrowings" from English, such as John, Jones, Jam and Jiwbil (Jubilee); Wrexham (Wrecsam); Zw (Zoo).

THE VOWELS: (A, E, I, U, O, W, Y)

A as in man. Welsh words: am, ac Pronounced the same as in English)

E as in bet or echo. Welsh words: gest (guest); enaid (enide)

I as in pin or queen. Welsh words: ni (nee); mi (me); lili (lily); min (meen)

U as in pita: Welsh words: ganu (ganee); cu (key); Cymru (Kumree); tu (tee); un (een)

O as in lot or moe. Welsh words: o'r (0re); don (don); dod (dode); bob (bobe)

W as in Zoo or bus. Welsh words: cwm (koom), bws (bus); yw (you); galw (galoo)

Y has two distinct sounds: the final sound in happy or the vowel sound in myrrh Welsh words: Y (uh); Yr (ur); yn (un); fry (vree); byd (beed)

All the vowels can be lengthened by the addition of a circumflex (ä), known in Welsh as "to bach" (little roof). Welsh words: Tän (taan), län (laan)

THE DIPHTHONGS:

Ae, Ai and Au are pronounced as English "eye": ninnau (nineye); mae (my); henaid (henide); main (mine); craig (crige)

Eu and Ei are pronounced the same way as the English ay in pray. Welsh words: deisiau (dayshy), or in some dialects (deeshuh); deil (dale or dile); teulu (taylee or tyelee)

Ew is more difficult to describe. It can be approximated as eh-oo or perhaps as in the word mount. The nearest English sound is found in English midland dialect words such as the Birmingham pronunciation of "you" (yew). Welsh words: mewn (meh-oon or moun); tew (teh-oo)

I'w and Y'w sound almost identical to the English "Ee-you." or "Yew" or "You": Welsh words: clyw (clee-oo); byw (bee-you or b'you); menyw (menee-you or menyou)

Oe is similar to the English Oy or Oi. Welsh words: croeso (croyso); troed (troid); oen (oin)

Ow is pronounced as in the English tow, or low: Welsh word: Rhown (rhone); rho (hrow)

Wy as in English wi in win or oo-ee: Welsh words: Wy (oo-ee); wyn (win); mwyn (mooin)

Ywy is pronounced as in English Howie. Welsh words: bywyd (bowid); tywyll (towith)

Aw as in the English cow. Welsh words: mawr (mour); prynhawn (prinhown); lawr (lour)

THE CONSONANTS:
For the most part b, d, h, l, m, n, p, r, s, and t are pronounced the same as their English equivalents (h is always pronounced, never silent). Those that differ are as follows:

C always as in cat; never as in since. Welsh words: canu (Kanee); cwm (come); cael (kile); and of course, Cymru (Kumree)

Ch as in the Scottish loch or the German ach or noch. The sound is never as in church, but as in loch or Docherty. Welsh words: edrychwn (edrych oon); uwch (youch ), chwi (Chee)

Dd is pronounced like the English th in the words seethe or them. Welsh words: bydd (beethe); sydd (seethe); ddofon (thovon); ffyddlon (futh lon)

Th is like the English th in words such as think, forth, thank. Welsh words: gwaith (gwithe); byth (beeth)

F as in the English V. Welsh words: afon (avon); fi (vee); fydd (veethe); hyfryd (huvrid); fawr (vowr), fach (vach)

Ff as in the English f. Welsh words: ffynnon (funon); ffyrdd (furth); ffaith (fithe)

G always as in English goat, gore. Welsh words: ganu (ganee); ganaf (ganav); angau (angeye); gem (game)

Ng as in English finger or Long Island. Ng usually occurs with an h following as a mutation of c. Welsh words Yng Nghaerdydd (in Cardiff: pronounced ung hire deethe) or Yng Nghymru (in Wales: pronounced ung Humree)

Ll is an aspirated L. That means you form your lips and tongue to pronounce L, but then you blow air gently around the sides of the tongue instead of saying anything. Got it? The nearest you can get to this sound in English is to pronounce it as an l with a th in front of it. Welsh words: llan (thlan); llawr (thlour); llwyd (thlooid)

Rh sounds as if the h come before the r. There is a slight blowing out of air before the r is pronounces. Welsh words: rhengau (hrengye); rhag (hrag); rhy (hree)

The most common expressions that Welsh-Americans come across are Cymanfa Ganu (Kumanva Ganee); Eisteddfod (Aye-steth-vod); and Noson Lawen (Nosson Lowen)

PRACTICE
Read the following, written using the Welsh alphabet:

Gwd lwc. Ai hop ddat yw can ryd ddys and ddat yt meiks sens tw yw. Iff yw can ryd ddys, dden yw ar dwing ffaen and wil haf no problems at ol yn lyrnyng awr ffaen Welsh alffabet.

Good luck: I hope that you can read this, and that it makes sense to you. If you can read this, then you are doing fine and will have no problems at all in learning our fine Welsh alphabet.

old

me: ... and then they'll spend it on cars which they'll probably go out and stack...
j: stack?
me: yeh stack, u know, like crash
j: who even says that?
me: what! don't you live in crawley anymore?
j: yeh i don't live in crawley like 5 years ago
me: aw. :-( omg i am totally OLD now.

leaving double

at the start of my 22nd year, i had 2 part time jobs, and was doing a youth work course.

i finish my 22nd year with 2 part time jobs, and i'm doing a part time youth work course.

to say i stalled this year...

maybe 23 will be the year i actually get somewhere in the werld of werk and training. we can but dream!

z0mg! (people modding)

blimey! here's a list of the top 10 modified people! i am clearly a wuss.

Body dysmorphic disorder (swiped from the independant)

* Plastic surgery addiction usually arises from "imagined ugly syndrome", also known as body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).

* According to Adam Searle,former president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), sufferers may "express distorted ideas about their body".

* Repetitive behaviour such as excessive grooming and obsessive checking of appearance in reflective surfaces are also symptoms.

* Sufferers may seek plastic surgery to correct their imagined defects. Often, once one perceived problem with their face or body has been "fixed", they will develop a new fixation.

* It is not known how many people suffer from BDD, but the best estimates suggest the figure could be about 1 per cent of the population.

* According to a survey last year, 33 per cent of plastic surgeons said the number one reason for turning potential patients away was owing to their unrealistic expectations and the belief that surgical procedure would "solve all their problems".

* Thirty per cent of surgeons also turned away patients wanting unnecessary surgery, including facelifts in their thirties.

* Five per cent of BAAPS surgeons said patients who were "obsessed with celebrity looks" was also one of the most common reasons for refusing treatment. www.baaps.org.uk Amy Oliver

... I just thought it was interesting...

cooking

it's been ages since i did a cooking related post, and since i am too brain dead to write much else tonight, here's what i cooked

um...

i call it sweet potato-onion surprise.

we had a big ol' bunch of onions (which was the style at the time)
a load of sweet potatoes we hadn't used up due to the fact that they are long to prepare
and um, no rice! argh! so.. some... couscous

i boiled the sweet pots for a little while (boiling them too much results in sweet potato mash, it makes mash whether u want it or not so u have to keep an eye on the little fiends) and fried the onions and some frozen peppers i found with a whole bunch of spices, mostly tumeric and chilli powder so it was lovely dark orange-y and a big squidge of garlic paste then i made some couscous and bunged that in too. it was really nice, if a little bit 0niony lol but srsly, bargainous way to use up stuff.

in other news, the reason i am using up stuff is cuz teh mello will be coming to stay on weds and i figured i'd take her f00d shopping so we can get stuff she actually likes.

i bet she is really excited about this lol... i know how 2 show my friends a good time! supermarkets!! wooo!

got sum work

w00p i have got some work! and a badge with my pic on it! and it is (sort of) with yoofs!

i'm quite liking being back at college as a paid geek0r, but i find it quite funny that i am supporting some dyslexic students, whilst waiting for my own study support...

toothpaste

before running off to work, no matter when work is, i need to brush ma teeths. so i am faffing around in the bathroom, and teh swede walks in

swede: hai!
me: hai
*i rummage around bathroom looking for toothpaste*
swede: ru ok?
me: no!!
swede: what are you looking for
me: grrr i can't find the fucking toothpaste!!
...
swede: it's in ur hand

it's started, folks.

slimy, yet satisfying

*random note - the titles of my blog posts are not spell checked by the comp the way the rest of my wordz are. as a result, i think a few of them are spelled wrong but hopefully u get me anyway. i refuse to believe that the above is spelled correctly, and am twitching at it. i am sure i am wrong. gaarraaggh!!

on with the post...

today there is a cheesecake in my fridge. does that sound rude to anyone or have i been left alone too long with kids that chuckle at... anything?

i love cheesecake, i think i have posted about it a few times before. my love of cheesecake is like my love of lemon iced cakes, but much much munch more.

i can't eat it... still. this is just *wrong* - right i'll explain... too much sugar (especially when eaten without anything else non sugary) makes me hyper as a 3 year old on smarties, and about half an hour later, i crash in a big way, hot/cold/tired/nauseous/headache - it's why on shopping trips i can top up with a chocolate bar, if i am tres hungry i will take the crisps instead. this is often the problem with going out drinking as well, i'm pretty sure i get half the buzz from the mixers!

i am usually pretty good with this, cuz i know exactly how rubbish the after effects are. feel pretty crap right now. wanna go to bed but am twitching. meh

so i fixed myself some munch.

in a hypercrazy mood i will cook anything and everything, and i crave more sugar cuz i think it will take me back to the hyperness -- so i have to be careful

i cooked:
a veggie sausage
the remains of some curly fries
a super noodle??
some peas
some mushroom soup that i used as a pasta sauce yesterday with sweetcorn

man that was some slimy food!

i just realised that this post is going nowhere in a grampa simpson kinda way so i will just conclude with 'it asome nice munch and now i am writing about it cuz i am bored and can't move cuz my legs ache'