shoes (1st of many)

these arrived today. they are awesome.

thanks, customs

xmas presents still not here, apologies given to friends/family who are lacking in presents...

£13.60 customs charge for holding up my parcel for 2 weeks, because the obvious reason someone would buy 7 different sized/styled/gendered tshirts to arrive BEFORE xmas is that they are selling t shirts for profitzzzz. ye.

i paid extra for quick delivery, A MONTH AGO.

jobsh

what are the odds that u go 2 an interview with experience in student funding (college) and get topped by someone who's done student funding (uni)? i mean really lol that is a bit of an unlucky one!! still, time to sort out my swancoll app! :-)

to add to that, applying for jobs i already do doesn't seem to work either, as i applied a few months back to be paid for one of the jobs i ALREADY DO FOR FREE and na-da. maybe in april it will be considered that i am paid.

and then, like, in june i applied to be paid for a job i had been mostly doing for free for NINE MONTHS and i wasn't even TOLD for 6 weeks that i hadn't got the job!!

sometimes i wonder why i still bother, tho now i am putting togehter an application for a job i used to do (really well) and i would hope to actually get seeings as i can actually do the job lol i wouldn't be surprised with my shitty luck if i didn't get it due to being struck by lightening etc on the day of the interview. or i lost out on interview points, or messed up some stupid data entry test.

recipe of the day and it aint even lunchtime yet

noodley thing

2 chunks of noodles put in boiled water for a bit til they go a bit soft
3 birds eye chillis chopped up really small
packet of mangetout and sugarsnap peas
the rest of the coriander plant
a big chunk of ginger chopped up into little matchsticks
half a massive white onion, also chopped up in small strips
2 green peppers
a hella load of garlic
3 tsp sugar
generous amount of soysauce
oil, and also some sesame oil later on
some lime on da top

this is where a picture of it will never do justice to how it tastes nom nom nom

Ernie Brooker

http://www.ernestbrooker.co.uk/

this is an awesome website :-) it is made by 84 y/o Ernie Brooker

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.

the man

man do i miss my bubble of friends at the college! what a lovely happy safe place to be! for all the annoyances of data entry in the morning they are such a lovely team to be in.

and now i'm out, where am i?

back to being relief really, bottom of the pecking order in a few places no real power to change much, less voice and less support. this isn't a failing of my other workplaces, they are lovely too, but at a part time relief volunteer backup spacefiller you can't help but realise you aint fully part of it!

i had a dream last night that i fought the man and lost. maybe i am reading too much jezebel. i also could do with another job quicktime. i'm hoping that my trip home this weekend will improve rather than ruin my spirits!