Here are the photos of my new room that I promised.

Points of interest:
- my huge new desk from ikea
- my coffee table (OMG I have a coffee table!)
- the mural on my wall (painted by my flatmate)

I walked to work this morning. It felt soooooo good! It only took me 25 minutes. No more sitting on the train for 2 hours, oh no. This is amazing.

The rest of the flat needs a bit of a clean, which I'll do once I get time (when will I have time? I'm going to flipping Milan next weekend).

I miss my parents to a certain degree, and I miss my old housemates to a greater degree. But! I think I'm going to enjoy living in this place (did you see that I had a coffee table?)

Who wants to pay me a visit? (n.b. You are only allowed to visit once I've cleaned the toilet. Yes, it is that bad (I have to be careful when I go to the toilet because I'm really scared of splashback)).

In other news about my down-belows: I've been getting pains every now and then, but is it just wind, or is it a bladder problem?

I'm in my new room! And I'm completely unpacked (almost).

More on that story later.

I'm moving house tomorrow! I'm a little scared and a lot excited.

Time to pack up my whole life again; ohgod I hate doing this.

Hopefully photos will come when I get a chance to take some in the week.

The fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot.

But there ain't no gunpowder, treason or plot here. No fireworks for me this year. Hmmm...I don't remember the last time I went to a fireworks display for Guy Fawkes Night. Oh well, sparklers are the only fun things anyway.

This weekend I are been mostly sorting things out for my big move to my new place next week. This has involved buying new bedding and a frying pan, and also throwing out remnants of my childhood that I don't need anymore (this generally involved lots of reminiscing). The good thing is that I now actually have shelf space for my manga, hurrah!

I will try to draw today, but I also have to watch this weeks anime downloads, and also apply for postgraduate education. Oh yes.

I've found a room in a flat in London town to live in!

I move on the 12th. Good good what-ho.

I've been to look at five different rooms in London this week. They were all so tiny it was astonishing. I can't have a small room. I need a room large enough for a desk for my laptop; without my laptop I might die, or get a life or something, it would be awful.

I'm going to view three rooms today (God, my whole weekend seems to consist of travelling backwards and forwards from London on the train). Two of the rooms sound like they will be quite large; hopefully one will suit my needs and the people will want me to live there. I'm so tired of house-hunting and I've only just started!

As a treat yesterday, I decided to buy myself Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, while I was poking about Paddington station. From what I've read so far, I like it. It's set in the early 19th century; what gumption; I like that. Now, as if I'll ever have time to finish reading it (I've been reading Anna Karenina for about a year now) HAHAHA

I had a horrible dream last night, where the archive I work at burnt down over the weekend, and my boss died trying to save it; it was only when I burst into tears that the people in my dream seemed to care about what happened. Man, I need to stop having nightmares (I dreamt I was in the Grudge last week, which was horrific scary).

Also, plz ignore the forum, it is full of spam. I'll sort it out later or get a new one or something.

I've been drawing pictures of characters from my comic, but I haven't really had the time to devote myself to a whole new page. As I may have mentioned before, new pages will come when I commute less, which will come when I move to London. I'm going to view a house tomorrow, so wish me luck and I may be moving soon *excited*

Anyway, here's a quick sketch that I did of Simon.

No, really, it is Simon, I just haven't coloured in his hair. I don't remember when I drew this; it's been sitting on my desk for weeks *shrugs*

Here's one I drew yesterday. I'm seekritly a little proud of it.

This is what happens when you listen to funky disco non-stop for a couple of hours. I had the idea while on the on the train, to draw a series of pictures with characters wearing headphones. It seems that Kate was the only one to make it onto paper. Crikey, drawing dancing is hard; I think this one might need a little bit more movement to it. Hmmm...what would Kate be listening to? I'm not sure, something pop/dance-y probably.

Right, another week of work looms ahead. I'll try to post here sometime.

Hey all! I've been mighty busy recently. Mostly I've been getting increasingly tired and then getting ill. Commuting T_T

Oh, I also went to Norwich last weekend to see Theresa and Colin (and Jake) and their house. I saw a tractor and felt like I was well in the country.

The do was Colin's birthday and he was having a Murder mystery party with his friends. I was there to make up the numbers :D

I was playing an Irish hitman, hence the green. I like the fact that even though it wasn't my party, or my house, I didn't even know the majority of people there, I insisted on being centre stage in the photo.
Me: 1 Rest of the world: 0

Seeing as the new anime season started not too long ago, I've taken on a lot of new series to watch. It turns out that most of them are awful. Here is my rundown:

Asatte no Houkou: The character design and story were kinda cute. I don't think it would be too difficult to keep a mild interest in what's going to happen. But I don't feel like target audience enough to enjoy this one, slightly too much fanservice for the male viewers I think. I don't think I'll continue watching.

Bartender: This looked interesting and then turned out to be boring. The first episode was about a man who hated bars, but the amazing bartender made him love them again. WHY AM I SUPPOSED TO CARE? I've watched one episode but no more.

Busou Renkin: This seems to be the easiest to watch of the shounen 'fighting-monsters' animes that I've seen this season. The main character, I forget his name, is quite amusing. The plot, however, doesn't hold my interest at all; I'll probably stop watching it.

Code Geass: I've only watched one episode so far. I'm not normally a fan of mecha at all. But the animation in this one is nice and I have to keep watching it because the character design has CLAMP all over it. Pretty pretty characters! I can see two Fay lookalikes, one Syaoran lookalike and the main character has Kamui written all over him, he even has the cape!

Death Note: As I've said before. This is briliant! I've watched the first three episodes now and I'm loving it. I love the tension and the suspense that is as much due to the background music as it is to the good animation. I'm very intersted to see where the plot will go, I also love the fact that Light is completely mental. (Although hearing Light with Tamaki from Ouran's voice is slightly disconcerting.) I can't wait to see more of this.

D.Gray-man: Another monster fighting shounen series. As such, the plot isn't doing much for me. The character design and animation quality are ok, but historical inacuracies are annoying me. WHY IS THE GIRL WEARING A MINI-SKIRT BEFORE THEY'VE EVEN BEEN INVENTED? OH GOD! I think the only reason to keep watching this would be for the guy in charge at the organisation, because he seems a little deranged, in an amusing way; I don't really think that's reason enough.

Ghost hunt: I don't really know where to place this one. I think I'm watching it because the character design is ok. The plot may turn out to be interesting too. Hmm...I've only watched one episode, so I'll watch another and see.

La Corda D'Oro: I think this is the kind of series that Ouran High School Host Club was parodying. Girl sees fairy, fairy gives girl a magic violin, girl has to compete in music competition with a group of bishounen from her school. I'm betting that they all fall in love with her...but who will she choose? Haha, the concept is laughable, but the character design is kinda nice, and I might continue watching it for a bit because I'm a loser.

Le Chevalier D'Eon: I've been watching this one for a number of weeks now. I am completely unable to understand what's going on with the plot; the animation quality is often less than nice; and D'Eon, despite looing like a lady, is kind of annoying. But I do like the more realistic character designs; and I adore the pretend historical accuracy that they're going with in the ending credits. I'm going to keep watching it.

Nana: Still watching this one. I am sort of embarrassed that I'm enjoying an anime with so much shoujo drama, but I do enjoy it! I don't really care about Nana's lovelife, but both Nanas are quite endearing, and I do enjoy a story about making a new life in the big city, seeing as that's how my life is headed right now.

Red Garden: This one is really weird. The character design is unusual, and by unusual I mean ugly. The story seems kind of harrowing in a tiring way, and what's with the singing in each episode??? I may watch a bit more of this just to see where the plot is trying to go, I'm not sure.

Shounen Onmyouji: As soon as I saw the name of this show I thought of Subaru ^^;; I wish this show was about Subaru, it would be better. The character design didn't look to bad for this one. The plot looks kind of like uninspiring shounen fair though. Hmm...I've only watched the first episode, so I'll watch one more before I pass judgement.

Tenpo Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi: This one looks like it might be ok. I think I'll have to watch a little more to see.

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge: Watched the first two episodes. This is a rather manic, unfunny comedy. Even four 'bishounen' won't get me to watch any more of this.

So, the ones I'm definately going to keep watching.
- Nana
- Le Chevalier D'Eon
- Death Note
- Code Geass
- The last few episodes of Tsubasa Chronicle (even though I'm aghast that they travelled from Rekord country into filler episodes)

The ones I'm not certain about:
- Ghost Hunt
- La Corda D'Oro
- Tenpo Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi
- Shounen Onmyouji
- Red Garden

Right right, I'll post more later, maybe with a new drawing.

I'm listening to Franz Ferdinand's first album. Oh I almost forgot how good it is. There is only one word to describe this album and that's SSSSSSSSEXY

In other news: I'm going to Milan in November for Deborah's birthday. I fly out really early on a Saturday morning and fly back really late the next day; I am going to be so tired oh god what am I doing?

Right, my extra sleeping time and also house hunting means I've had very little time this week. I'm going to visit Theresa in Norwich at the weekend. I've got so many emails to catch up on and stuff to sort out and I have no idea when I'm going to do it D:

I think I'm getting more competent at my job, which is nice. I feel useful now, and I like feeling useful.

Watched the first episode of D.Grayman this week. It was nothing too special. I'll watch the second episode because this series is supposed to be fantastic. But what's the point of setting a series in victorian London if you can't be bothered to at least try for historical accuracy? THERE IS A WOMAN IN THE POLICE FORCE AND SHE IS WEARING TROUSERS AND NOBODY BLINKS AN EYE?

Watched the first episode of Death Note too. This was AMAZING! I am definately watching more of this. I personally found the manga (I read the first few chapters) to be slightly too fast paced and a little ridiculous (but then maybe I just read it too fast). The anime has good direction and very good music, which both come together to create a really good atmosphere. Everything about the production says psycological thriller. Very good.

I finally drew some more!

New page of Clematis up here.

I drew all this while listening to the camp disco-pop sounds of the Scissor Sisters' new album. Who'd have thought?

Today I watched the final episode of Honey and Clover.

I feel like crying.

This was a brilliant series. It managed to be both happy and sad, serious and funny, heart-warming and heart-breaking; and it managed all of this with a level of maturity that you don't normally see.

I felt particularly in-tune with this series because it seemed to relate very much to my life at the moment.
Graduating from university and leaving all your friends is not easy. I used to live with my friends, and we had so much fun, but now everyone has moved away to start new careers; when will we all be together again? I don't know.
However, as they said in Honey and Clover, we'll always have the good memories, and I wouldn't change anything for the world.

I like the fact that there wasn't any real conclusion to Honey and Clover. Life doesn't have any real conclusions. Graduation from university isn't an end, and distance doesn't break friendships; rather, time moves ever onwards, and so do we.

;__;

Well, I started work on Tuesday. Things have been a little hectic because I have little time in the evenings due to so much time spent commuting (I'm hoping to move to London in the next few weeks so I won't have to commute so much).

Work is quite exciting because it's new. I've never worked in an archive while being paid before, so I feel that's an added pressure. Because I've only just started, I have no idea what I'm doing, which I don't really like, but hopefully I'll enjoy it more and more as I start to get a feel for things. Dealing with researchers on my own is quite stressful at the moment and generally consists of me saying:
'I'M SORRY!!!! I'M NEW!!!!!' and then getting flustered while trying to find what they want. Luckily though, they all seem to be quite understanding so far, so it's ok.

I went to a talk yesterday by Quentin Blake. Excerpts of Roald Dahl books were read by actors and Quentin Blake then illustrated them live. It was quite awesome. I loved Roald Dahl as a child and his books wouldn't be the same without Quentin Blake's illustrations; so this was a lovely bit of nostalgia.

I was rather swept up in things on earlier this week because I finished reading all of X that has been released so far. Now I can understand the uproar when CLAMP put it on hiatus because...what a clifhanger! Be that as it may, I still read it mostly to find out what happened post-Tokyo Babylon.
So, will X restart soon? It may do, what with this CLAMP Newtype Platinum coming out. But I'm not too sore about waiting, because I started reading X knowing that it was incomplete. Besides, I'm quite content with following Subaru and Seishirou in Tsubasa at the moment although I'd be more content if we hadn't had such a lack of Fay recently, I'm dying here.

So I'm back from holiday in the Peak District; it's a nice place, full of hills, sheep, disused lead mines and an interesting interplay between industry and the countryside.

We spent a lot of time walking around the countryside, and I do enjoy walking around the countryside, although I do have a slight fear of walking through fields with cows in because...they're kinda big. What time wasn't spent walking was spent eating chips, or, at least, it felt that way.

I was able to spend a lot of time reading about history, which is a nice change from manga, but I spent my nights dreaming about manga, so it seems that my subconscious didn't feel quite the same about the situation.

I also read "Eats, Shoots and Leaves", which was surprisingly interesting. I like to think that my knowledge of punctuation has improved greatly since reading it. The only part I didn't enjoy was the shocking attack on emoticons near the end, because clearly smileys are the best form of communication ever :D
In fact, I think the world would be a better place if emoticons weren't sidelined to text messages or the internet, but made more mainstream. For example, here are some of today's news headlines (from the BBC) with added smileys:

- Many dead in northern Iraq blasts D:
- Nato hails Afghan mission success \o/
- Pope sorry for offending Muslims ^^;

See? Clearly much better. The author of "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" doesn't know what she's talking about; this is especially obvious when she cites :-) and :-( as examples of emoticons, when, of course, these haven't been used since the 80s. She is clearly not an internets whizz like what I am.

And now for something completely different: some photos of my holiday:

Have a quick picture of Watanuki.

He's so domesticated <3

You know, I've never really drawn Watanuki before. I don't know why, I just haven't really had the inclination nor the inspiration. Yesterday I had the inclination, but not the inspiration, so that's why he's doing the laundry and has a peg (I said PEG) in his mouth.

Watanuki's character has really grown on me during the course of xxxHolic. At the beginning he just seemed angry and spazzy and rather silly. But then you realise that he's actually really kind and has had such a difficult (and lonely) life and then I start getting sad ;_;

Alright, I go on holiday tomorrow! See you in a week or so!