hamsters aren't scary

Clarification on some cat wormers and flea drops.

2011-09-24T21:15:00.003+01:00

This subject has been bugging me for some time now, I feel like one of the rare people who actually reads ingredients lists on stuff. Over time the recipes on near enough everything gets "improved" one way or another. Now, I'm going to cover the subject, Drontal cat worming tablets versus Bob Martin cat worming tablets, Droncit cat working drops versus Bob Martin cat dewormer drops and finally Advantage cat flea drops versus Bob Martin double action cat and small dog flea drops... there is no versus, read the ingredients on the Bayer website for those products, make a note, then check them against the relevant Bob Martin products I've just mentioned. This is because Bob Martin acquired the rights to sell Drontal, Droncit and Advantage under their own labels.

I was stupidly getting frustrated by the brick wall attitude from various people in person and on pet care forums of how you should implicitly trust the products your vet supplies and that all Bob Martin products will poison your cat.

My personal opinion, read the ingredients, compare the prices. If your vet sells Drontal cheaper than your local shop sells the Bob Martin cat worming tablets, then go ahead and save money, but if the vet is gonna charge you more for the same product in a different packet, shouldn't you question that sort of thing? (if not with the vet, at least with your own common sense)

For those people who have had issues with bad reactions from the current Bob Martin products, please keep in mind the names of the veterinary labelled Bayer products when going to your vet, because if 20mg praziquantel worming drops cause your cat to froth, become lethargic, gain a rash, then surely it'll make no difference if packet says Droncit or Bob Martin.

Profender, the veterinary only, dual worming drop also contains praziquantel.

OK, rant over.

Now, go, spend your money how you want, I don't care ><

Though I do now have a weird urge to take 2 identical tins of beans, take the labels off, paint one tin red and one tin green, then ask people which taste the best.

But, I'm not quite that bored yet.

*oh, and in case anyone cares, no, i don't own a cat. know plenty of people who do though*

Building websites

2010-02-26T04:14:00.002Z

i've just started building two websites one is a plan to try to get my old newi class mates all in one place (not an easy task) here and the other is because the website i had built using iWeb will be expiring in august as i can't afford Mac's MobileMe subscription any more, so i built a free website using Webs (previously Freewebs) here. i've managed to do something with this website which i hadn't with the other and that's gather together all my pages from various websites such as here, da and youtube and have them all neatly accessible.
i do have plans to add images to these sites and hopefully give them a bit of personality.
i'm having fun with the adding pages bit so far :P
i am getting in the bad habit of starting working on my websites around the time i should be going to bed and end up not getting to sleep until about 6 or 7 am, which is not good when i have things i need to do during the day.

i'd best get to sleep now, i've got laundry that needs doing tomorrow and the last wash at the laundrette is 2:30pm
tomorrow, i shall be zombie ><

*:3

Still here, lurking...

2010-02-24T02:25:00.002Z

Well thanks to Grandad, my flat is pretty well furnished. I still have lots of things in boxes, I get bored of sorting through stuff :P The downsides to this flat are the tenancy renewal fees, which were every 6 months, I've managed to sort this tenancy for 12 months, and electric wall heaters instead of central heating. Those things don't half burn through electric so, with being skint, I've had to do without heating for most of this winter (spring's still cold enough too ><). Therefore, it has been decided that this time next year I need to have found somewhere else to live (and saved up the cash for the deposit and month's rent in advance). I still need to get a better job, this recession ass is not helping. The job needs to pay well enough so that I don't have to rely on benefits from the council for rent and council tax and can actually afford to heat the place and feed myself too ^^ meh, loosing hope on that so far.

I've got my 2 rats and 4 finches keeping me company, thankfully they're better at coping with this cold weather than I am. Though, their tactics are pretty much the same as mine, which is hiding in bed.
I remember it being cold when I moved in here, and that was March. I'm really looking forward to the weather warming up.

*need hugs for warmth*
*:3

Independence

2009-05-16T00:05:00.003+01:00

yes, it's true.
i'm not homeless and i'm not sofa surfing, i'm not even living with friends or relatives, i am now renting a flat of my own ^^
many would say it's about damn time :D and i would agree.

though living all by myself can be damn lonely, minion passing on didn't help, but i do still have my crazy little finches keeping me company. i've started leaving their cage door open so they can get some exercise, for the 1st week of that they wouldn't come out of the cage, now tho i have a job getting the little buggers to go back in, especially on washing day when i want my airer back, mind you, since i've moved their cage so they can see out of the window their quite happy sitting on top of the cage in between mad flights around my head, until i empty the airer again ^^

my next issue is internet access, as this is quite sporadic at the moment, though i may be able to fix the issue come september.

in other news, i've finally got round to getting my lightbox back from a friend whom i'd lent it to, i had been too damn lazy to ask for it back, but i want to get back into using it, i'm thinking, if i can get myself a cheap webcam i can set up a rostrum type thing and might actually be able to animate with it.
so, for one week i may have to forgo the food shopping for a webcam. hmmmm.....

*huggles*
*:3

On the move again

2009-02-28T23:00:00.004Z

sometimes i do think i'd be better off learning to drive and getting myself a caravan, and then i remind myself that not only do i like to collect things such as books, but also pets, and between my books, the zebra finches, the hamster and the fish tank, i don't think there'd be enough space left in a caravan for me.
so, currently i'm trying for the flat option.
i have to find somewhere as i've been asked to leave where i am.
i am quite lucky in that if i utterly fail at this whole flat hunting business there's a sofa for me at my grandparents, though i will most likely have to donate most of my belongings to charity, well, that what's worth actually donating.
it's a sad state when you actually start valuing all your belongings, trying to see if you can scrape some extra cash from somewhere and find you have very little of value. (though, quite amusing when hunting for contents insurance quotes, a new responsibility i've yet to experience)
the device i'm using right now is the most expensive of my possessions, though i'm still hoping it holds the key (or at least one of them) to my long term future, so, i'm not quite ready to part with it just yet.
so, yes, a nice cup of tea, a little more packing for the night, a good nights rest and a very busy day filled with more packing, my plans for the immediate future ^^

hehe, even if i do end up sofa bound my grandparents have got an internet connection.
my sporadic bloggings can continue :D

*hugs and happy thoughts*
*:3

9 months in a nutshell

2009-01-12T04:45:00.002Z

well, i finished my degree, passed it too ^^
and since then i've been continuing my part time job in a small pet shop.
i was hoping i'd be able to rent a flat nearer to where i work i) to save transport costs and ii) to be within walking distance of scenic green areas i can wander and chill in, but my low income prevents me from being able to meet the deposit and 1 months rent in advance thing.
at one point i thought i was going to have to move to my grandparents as transport to and from work was getting so expensive, but then i discovered cheap weekly bus tickets, which was handy as it turned out my grandparents don't actually have space to put me up, no matter how much nanna wants me to be nearer to the family, i need my own place, not a sofa, i've done that one already.
my current goal is to build up the funds so i can finally rent a place of my own, rather than a room in someone elses house.
*:3

Still working, not long left now >_<

2008-04-03T12:09:00.002+01:00

yes, here i am, still making my way through the 3rd and final year of my degree.

i have until sometime in may to get my final project completed *eep*

so, yeah, a bit of stress, but it's all still fun.

*hugs for all*

*:3

yay i made it, hehe

2007-07-20T00:14:00.000+01:00

i got my letter from newi, the letter of fun that said i'd completed my 2nd year successfully and have met the requirements for year 3. yay! *happy, bouncy hamster*

i'm so happy, hehe.

*:3

summer U

2007-07-16T17:08:00.000+01:00

well, the summer holidays began with a trip to annecy in france on a uni visit to the animation festival there. which was cool.
since then i've mostly been looking for a new job since the petshop got shut down in march.
still not had any luck so far, but still trying.
one minor moment of excitement was when i got a letter from newi in the post saying that there was a workshop for writing for games happening. the letter had an itinerary of the two days, but not when they were. thankfully, it also had the website of the organisers so i could get the important information, like when to turn up XD
it was quite an interesting event. on the 2nd day, after i'd finished at the workshop i had an interview for a part time job locally, that was last tuesday, so i'm not getting too hopeful over that. ah, well, it's just back to the joys of filling in mind-numbing application forms. yay.

i'm looking forward to getting back to uni, though, it's not like they haven't given us plenty to keep us busy during the holidays. this is a good thing, i think. well, it's good for giving me something to do other than dwell on having no cash. and i miss my job.

anyhow, enough of being grim and mopey, it's the summer, and.. it's.. raining... and rhyl is full of tourists... and i'm just a miserable git XP hehe

right, well i think i've done enough cheering everyone up for one evening.
*take care all*
*:3

my world, aren't chavs lovely?

2007-05-23T23:35:00.000+01:00

this has happened to me on three seperate occasions now.
i'm walking down the street, minding my own business and i here these teenage lads across the street (note, i am the only other person walking along the street at this particular moment in time) and i hear, "nah, that's gotta be a bloke" another lad says, "what, that woman over there?" (also note that on this occasion i happen to be wearing a knee length skirt), first lad, "yeah, no way are they women's legs" third lad, "hehe, you wanna go check?"

oh, oh, please excuse me for not being blessed with dainty anorexic legs.

i can quite happily accept that i have chunky legs, i have never in my life been a slim or slender person and i think the only time i might be is after i've been buried and all that's left is my skeleton, but that does not make me manly!

do i really have to start continuously wearing my hair in bunches and really tight t-shirts that are probably an evil shade of pink (like barbie, eugh), possibly glittery with some sort of stupid girly phrase on and trousers to hide my "manly" legs, though the trousers must also be glittery somewhere or other, with flowers or butterflies embroidered on them.

yeah, right.
if one of em had to over to have a check, i'd have used my "manly" legs to give him a swift kick in his supposed manly area.

it's always teenage chav lads that have difficulty in discerning as to whether or not i'm male or female, maybe for them females only exist in one form, the type usually found on page 3 of the sad newspapers i make every effort to avoid.

i'm quite glad that they're not sexually attracted to me, i just don't want them deciding to start on me cos they think i'm a bloke.

ah, well, that's my rant for the evening.
*take care*
*:3

fingers crossed

2007-05-23T10:40:00.000+01:00

well, i've had my end of year two assessments and i really hope that i'm gonnna get into the final year of my degree.

i think i've done everything i was supposed to, during the assessment the tutors were even deciding for me what my final project should be, so, surely this is a good sign.

i won't be happy till i get the little bit of paper that says "welcome to year 3"

well, if anything, i've got the annecy trip to look forward to.
8 days in france, animation festival and all my friends, should be cool.

well, now the assessments are over and my major project for this year is done maybe i can get some images posted on deviant. i have been doodling, but it's all still in my sketch books.

*mini note*
to keep people amused when i don't write so often, i've left a virtual minion for you to play with. (the real one is sleeping right now ^^)

*hugs for all*
*:3

an update, at last!

2007-01-28T18:42:00.000Z

hello there,
like many others i have succumb to the world of warcraft.
i currently have a tauren druid, and i'm using up my free 30 day trial :D
*yay for freebies*
something else i'm looking forward to is that where i live is finally upgrading to broadband, the best signal i get so far is at uni, but the tutors don't appreciate us turning up to play games :3

uni is going ok, i've got my major project for the year, a critical studies essay, a collaborative project and our tutors want us to take part in the animation side of wrexham's scientriffic event.
so, just a bit busy.

at home, i'm getting a bigger room, so maybe my room won't look so much like a store room any more :D ooooh!

*hugs for people*
*:)

oh, really...

2007-01-05T19:17:00.000Z

recently they've started to cover the school of art with words, to inspire us maybe, meh.

apparently the future lies beyond this grim looking door
O_o
*:)

seasonal greetings

2006-12-26T02:59:00.000Z

so, here i am, in liverpool, all stuffed with goose, roasties, cheese and cake :P
currently finishing off a can of guinness.

i hope everyone else that likes to celebrate the winter season are all having fun.
*actually, i hope everyone's having fun, celebrating or not*

i haven't been on here much, kind of got myself loaded up a bit with also having a livejournal, deviantart account, gaia avatar, 3 e-mail addresses and my uni course.
i have 2 forums that i have been neglecting to visit :'( which is sad, cos i like reading about what the people on there have been getting up to.

i really need broadband at home. dial up is way too slow when waiting for pages to load :(
i am impatient.

well, i need to sleep now, i got distracted by my cousin on msn and it's now 3:42am.
night all and warm wishes *:)

Green My Apple

2006-10-03T20:43:00.000+01:00

i found this GreenMyApple whilst nosing on greenpeace. it asks, if other pc manufacturers are willing to try to go green, then why isn't apple.

so, if you're an environmentally minded mac user, go clicky :D

*:)

i've missed you, broadband :')

2006-10-03T09:49:00.000+01:00

hello peoples
i'm in uni right this very minute, ooooh :P

we're supposed to be doing cgi walkcycles right now, but the room has been doublebooked >:(
1st there's not enough machines, now they're double booked O_o

well, i'm off to go and inspect deviant.

*hwyl fawr*

*:)

tut tut

2006-09-29T22:02:00.000+01:00

the complaints are already plentiful about the state of newi.
1) we're all still intermingled as design communications.
2) the clean/tidy/computer studio only has 4 (or 6 if you're lucky) reachable mains sockets.
3) mac:student ratio too low for the maya lessons.
4) technicians wiping the hard drives of machines we have work on without warning. (they forgot to wipe them over the hols, so today when a student found the machine wouldn't let him save his line-test the technician took 5 mins to decide to wipe all hard drives there and then. we were given briefs on monday to be complete for next monday. many who thought their work was complete and ready for the review on monday will now have to re-do that work)
5) why can't those who live more than 2 miles away get free buses like colleges have or even low rate university buses like liverpool and covenrty have?

no matter how many complaints are made, i'm here now and i'm not giving up, despite the inadequacies.
*i made it to the 2nd year! yay!!!*

*:)

wow, so soon!

2006-09-05T00:50:00.000+01:00

it's september already, woooooooooo.
spooky :P

not long now and i shall be once more invading newi, yay!

ben's been chatting to dave on msn and aparently he can't wait for uni to start again so he can see us all again. well, everyone here does miss ben, life is so much quieter without him around.

i also miss my group.
yay for year 2!

jen's been complaining that only her, dave and nick are going to london this year because they didn't go last year. she doesn't think it'll be as much fun being a small group. personally, the trip was ok, i enjoyed seeing what goes on on a professional level, it's the write up afterwards i didn't like.
paperwork is dull >:P
(though, i like research, hmmm...)

one of my homework tasks has been character development. i've been having fun with the hamster of doom, i just need to come up with some good ideas for a few other characters. i've been doing some experimenting, but so far nothing is grabbing me quite like the hamster. though the hamster concept has been with me for many, many years now. oh, well. i'm sure i'll find something that works.

i like the idea of including a dragon, i just need to find a suitable style, one very different from the scruff monster.

i quite like the dnd style of dragons, i just need to find a way to simplify that design, yet not chibify it.

i'm sure, whilst i'm on this course i'll find a style i like.

*take care*
*:)

i am connected!!

2006-06-24T00:37:00.000+01:00

yes, it is amasing, i am actually on the internet (make the most of it!) hehe.

this is going to be brief, yes, i know i haven't been to these parts in a long while, but i need a bath and i have work in the morning. so there.

hmmm, so what have i been up to since last leaving anything here...
well, my tyranids (hamsternids) still need painting, dnd is going a bit mental. a friend of nick's is back from uni in bath and they all like to play dnd epic. it's getting compicated and confusing me, too many numbers to sort out. i need help from our dm, lots of help. thankfully they are a patient bunch.
i've been getting better at halo, i actually managed to get double figures for my kills in one game. usually i'm lucky to get more than 6. getting lost on the map helps me not get killed.
and on the subject of halo, nick got the red versus blue season 4 dvd. now jenny says "blarg honk" randomly all thanks to the 'alien auditions' section.
caboose quote:
i am an alien, i am an alien, i am an alien...

yay for caboose, hehe.

other than the people i live with i've only been in contact with 2 other people from my class since the holidays started. i hope everyones having fun.

we've had some really nice weather and some very toasty weather. on one of the toasty days me and jen went skating along the sea front. i have roller blades, but i'd prefer normal roller skates like jen's. oh, well. it's still good exercise anyway.

yes, well, i have to go. i keep getting distracted by csi and i should be having a bath. it's getting so late.

*take care one and all*
*:)

newi

2006-05-04T16:00:00.000+01:00

well, here i am in a maya lesson getting completly confused.
i haven't updated for ages because there is only 1 computer with internet access in may's and it's usually in use.

3d computer animation isn't hands on enough fo my liking. i'm enjoying the cut-out project my group is currently doing. my character is geoff :D he's the imaginary friend of prunella (a fat lady, who sings) and he likes biscuits.

i'll have to get round to scanning him into the machine and put him on deviant.

i now have tyranids, they need putting together then painting. then they can go and eat everyone elses army (warhammer 40,000).

well, it's nearly time to head home.

*huggles for everyone*

*:)

oooOOOooo newness (U)

2006-04-22T00:07:00.000+01:00

well, i've done it. i have moved out of scumblock.
yay for me!

anyhoo, tis all madness. still got stuff to unpack and arrange. got work in the morning, so i can't stay on this long.

>:P i hate early mornings. oh well, nevermind. i have to earn my wages, then i get to buy stuff (>u<) hehe.

ah, uni starts up again on monday, then it's back to the routine. well, it's not quite routine, but it is structured, and fun.

nite nite world, the hamster needs sleep.
see you soon, maybe.

*:)

mmmmm choccy choccy, hehe

2006-04-14T17:09:00.000+01:00

tomorrow, when i've finished work, i shall be heading off to coventry. yay!
i haven't been to visit my friend in ages.

considering it's supposed to be the holidays i haven't been relaxing much o.o
i have been needed at work (which is great for the extra cash, does mean early mornings though), i have been packing the last of my belongings ready for the move to rhyl, i've been packing ready for my trip to cov and i have been filling in many forms and typing up my new cv.

i'm looking forward to this mini break.

ooooo, on a side note, brian's getting huge. i'll post some piccys as soon as i get some good lighting on him. as my room in scum block is on the ground floor i keep my curtains shut all the time. great for keeping algae down in the fish tank (not so sure brian's happy with this, yay for algae wafers) bad for taking photos with a phone with no flash.

*take care, hwyl fawr*

*:)

fear me!

2006-04-10T10:18:00.000+01:00

What Type of Villain are You?

mutedfaith.com.

the best of both worlds

2006-04-09T17:10:00.000+01:00

ooooooooh,
new intel macs can be partitioned to run os x and windows.

this means that if i get a new intel mac i can still use all my favourite software, that i'm familiar with and use on my course, but i'll also be able to get animation software that is currently only available for windows machines.

this would mean that i would also need very good protection software since while under the influence of windows the shiny new mac will be vulnerable to everything any other pc is.
risky, but possibly worth it.

i think this could be a very worth while investment.

for those who want more information about apple mac go here.

*:)

lots of birthday's

2006-04-08T23:00:00.000+01:00

there are three people i know whose birthday is today,
1) my mum (^U^)
2) my uncle howard
3) phill

mum had to work on her birthday today, but i was there to help. all our family came to the shop in turn to drop cards off and wish mum a happy birthday. one of our regular customers even bought mum a plant with pretty red flowers. once we got back to my mum's we had take away for tea, then mum had an early night cos she's in work again tomorrow.

oooooh, busy, busy.
she's chuffed cos she gets easter sunday off though.
also, with it being the holidays she gets a bit of a break when i cover shifts.
kerching, hehe.

now, i'm going back to watching the new version of battle star galactica. i miss the old cheesy version. bring back re-runs! :)

*:)

getting kicked when you're down

2006-04-06T17:10:00.000+01:00

at my workplace we've not been having much fun recently.
1st the water board close the road our shop is on, then the kwiksave close and all our customers think we are closing too. the article in the evening leader didn't help when it talked about an old man being unhappy that he wouldn't be able to have a cuppa at the complex any more. mum phoned up and complained so they printed an article titled 'we're still open for business', which can be found here.
as it's not today's news you have to type the word 'business' into their search engine and the title should be listed, the date is the 31/3/2006.

today i arrived to open the shop at 8am and found the outer doors wouldn't open. then as i looked more closely at the news agent's shutters oposite i saw something was wrong. they had been prized open. i looked across and saw that the shop nextdoor had a hole in the wall. then i saw that the petshop shutters had suffered the same fate as the news agent. my next thought "where's this waste of space security then?" i found them round the corner sat in their car and was told that there was a break in last night and that the police weren't letting anyone in.
i went round the back to see what was happening. there was a police woman there waiting for csi to turn up, until then no-one could enter the building. she took my name and mobile number and told me she'd let me know when i could get in, so i went to tesco for a cuppa, then another cuppa and some breakfast, then i still hadn't heard anything and it had been almost 2 hrs so i got bored and went back to the petshop. i could see a woman inside the shop moving things around, she was wearing gloves, so i assumed csi must have turned up then. then i spent an hour letting customers know that there had been a break in and that we couldn't open till the police said so. eventually i got in. all the shops were allowed to have a look to see if they noticed anything in particular that was missing. with us it was just the money from the safe. other shops had stock stolen, the wallpaper shop even suffered vandalisation. paint and varnish were thrown everywhere. it was completely senseless. there are some idiots in this world.
this is what they did to our safe

i didn't take any pictures of the shutters. they've been fixed now.
we're fighting so hard to keep our cutomers coming to us and we're only small businesses, but we will not be squashed.
these idiots had the cheek to leave a note in the bakery saying "thank you very much, ha ha ha!"
they must be found and punished. there was no need to do this to us.
we're all very angry.
there's already an article in today's flintshire evening leader, i'll add the link as soon as the put it on the website. *still no sign of this article on ther site*7/4/06
somerfield have let us down. they removed kwiks and left us vulnerable, the security situation is beyond a joke. one manager has demanded over night security, it's the least we deserve, all the shops in the complex pay rent.
that's my angry rant for the day.

*(")

yes, ok i know there are no pictures, but still...

2006-04-05T17:37:00.000+01:00

i feel like sharing this :P

today i got myself my new young person's pass, yay for cheap rail travel.
also i wasn't happy with my cv so i went to the careers office for some advice and left with loads, more yay (*U*)

i have lots of work to do.

while i was in the careers office, 1st i mentioned my cv.
i had no luck with my present one when phill helped me hand them out to various shops accross wrexham, or more recently when i decided to try my luck with some of the new shops that wrexham has recently aquired on the plot of land that was once the wrexham lager brewery.
why do i miss that smell?
anyhoo.

so, yeah, they're going to help me write a cv that no future employer will be able to ignor (mwahahahahah)
ahem, carrying on,

i also mentioned that i wanted to do some work experience over the summer.
the lady was impressed, aparently most students wait until the final 2 weeks of their degree to go "oh, no! i need work experience!"
ha, i win :D *cheezy*

i have some e-mail addresses to get in touch with. hehe.

and, to help plan for my future i can even start learning how to set up my own animation studio, which is so far my prefered final aim once i finish my degree.

busy, busy, busy, yet bouncy. yay!

*:)

my list of links is growing

2006-04-05T00:45:00.000+01:00

it's like a tiny seed that germinated, oh look how it grows.

hehe

it's one way of giving my bookmark list a break. my poor little laptop, tis only small.

i'm also quite chuffed that i'm managing to make some use of my deviant art account, though it's mostly socialising rather than uploading loads of work.

i want to come up with something that i can actually be proud to display.
(i know there's the scraps option, but some of my sketches i'd rather not show to the world)

sometimes i think to myself "how can i ever be a good animator, i clearly don't draw often enough" then i think "shut up stupid and get on with your work!"

sometimes i shouldn't think so much. v_v
hehe

anyhoo,
that's it for now.

*hugs for everyone, we all need hugs!*

*:)

party pics

2006-04-03T02:45:00.000+01:00

here are some pics of my family at uncle billy's party
(the quality is poor since i used my phone :P)

and here is uncle billy surrounded by his children

thankfully my grandad brought a better camera so i can ask him for some nice photos of uncle billy.

*:)

uncle billy's party

2006-04-02T01:03:00.000+01:00

tonight was my uncle billy's retirement/birthday party. he is now 65.
he is one of my nanna's two brothers, and to be honest i can't remember if he's the older or younger.
anyway, there was a big party with the whole family. i took some pictures with my phone, which i shall upload at some point.
another thing that made this party such a big deal is, a while ago we found out that uncle billy is suffering from a type of cancer and recently we were informed that the treatment he's been undergoing has had no effect. in a sad way this was a kind of 'this could be the last party we see him at' or even 'this could be the last time some of us actually see him' party. i may not visit him all that often, but that doesn't mean i'm not upset about what's happening to him. it's hitting my nanna quite hard, which is highly expected.
i suppose that sometimes you don't realise how much you've been taking someone for granted till you find out they're being taken away from you. it's too easy to allow your mind to slip into 'well, of course they'll always be there'.
we all need to make the most of the special people in our lives.

well, that was a grim post.
next post shall have pictures of people having fun. so there.

hmmmm, this blog could soon end up looking like a photo album, hehehehehe :D

*:)

ps
madness is contagious, you have been warned :P
so says the hamster of doom!

it all flies by so quickly

2006-03-31T22:20:00.000+01:00

neeeeeoowm!

hehe

one third of my degree is almost over, it's scary, yet cool.
after the hols (which start now) i should get the marks for my 1st critical studies essay, ooooh :D

i shall also have a new home, yay for escaping scum block.
important info for all student that use trains in the uk
*the young persons pass works for students of any age*
i mention this because i don't think it's made clear enough, i myself was under the impression that once i hit 25 i'd be too old to use the pass.

i found this out as i was trying to make sure that there wasn't any student discount for transport i'd missed at all. persistence and thoroughness (couldn't think of another word for it) pays out (*U*)

more uni news
i discovered that there's a darkroom available in the art building, it's hidden behind the line test machines and is currently being used as a storeroom. i've been told that if i can gather together enough interested students they'll get it in a working condition. i'm going to make some posters to let the other students in the art building know that the darkroom exists. we have a photography technician, i think we should make proper use of him and the darkroom :)
everyone's complaining about us not having enough facilities and then there are some facilities just lying dormant, with the students oblivious to their existence. i hope to change this.

hmmm :) the things i have to plan for over the next three weeks. hehe.

i'm really enjoying this degree so far.
the next thing i have to get sorted is work experience.

busy, bouncy bunny
boing

*:)

wow, i love technology, and now, it's mine >:D

2006-03-22T17:50:00.000Z

ok, to start with, all but one of my line tests are now on deviant. i haven't figured out how to force feed it my force, weight and volume piece. nevermind, i won't be beat.

to the good news, yesterday i bought myself a scanner/printer. along with being an important piece of equipment to help me with my course, it also means i can infect my da account with various random doodles, possibly of hamsters. hehe.

i have also just bought my self a bluetooth adaptor, so now i can get all the pictures i've taken for my course off my phone :D

this is one of the first things i had to do with newi. they took us to blackpool, put us in teams and got us to make sand-sculptures for the theme 'time and tide wait for no man'. they weren't kidding, see how close the water got, we only just made it back up to the prom.

*:)

deviant art (o)

2006-03-16T02:59:00.000Z

i have found that you can view my line-test animations in all their glory (rather that postage stamp size) through deviant art, yay!

here's the link for materials. i'll add the rest asap.

*:)

London Trip

2006-03-13T00:05:00.000Z

this was my room at the royal national hotel

yay!!!!!!!!!!!!
i went to see some ace animation studios :)

the 1st studio my group went to see was cartoon network, it was more of a broadcasting centre than an animation studio, but it was still cool. most memorable aspect: FREE JELLYBEANS!!!!!!!!!!!! hehe
the staff that work on the cartoon network floor in the turner building in london get a gumball machine permanently topped up with jellybeans everyday for free. there's no coinslot on the thing, it's just twist and there's your jelly beans :D
while i was there i did also see people working and got plenty of good advice, it wasn't just jellybeans ;P

studio number 2 was framestore cfc. not the kind of place i'd want to work in, they mostly add cgi to live-action. 1 example would be that they did the under water stuff in harry potter and the goblet of fire. we didn't get shown round much since all their staff were free-lance and all of their client stuff was top secret.

studio number 3 was uli meyer, it took us 30 minutes to get there and when we did there were barely anystaff there since they were currently in a slow spot. they'll soon be working on new adverts for raid bug spray. the bloke who met us didn't seem to be expecting students wanting a tour. after showing us a show reel he asked us to leave any we'd brought with us and then go. we explained to him that all but 2 of us visiting his studio were 1st year students and that we hadn't developed show reels yet. that visit lasted no more than 15 mins. my group were dissapointed, especially since no staff accompanied us, we were expected to find our own way to each of these studios even though one of them (the next 1) was over 7miles from our hotel and none of was really familiar with london. much grumbling was done on the way back to the hotel.

studio number 4, collingwood o'hare. this studio was cool, it's a great in house studio. this means that they do all their own animation, they don't send it off somewhere abroad where cheap labourers will do all the frames for them (unlike cartoons such as the simpsons). this is mainly due to the fact that their animations aren't hand-drawn. programs like cell action are used to draw and animate their characters. the only thing they don't have in their building is a proper sound recording studio, so that has to done in another part of london. tony collingwood himself came and talked to us about the company he helped found. this is the kind of studio i'd like to set up myself oneday.

the final studio i went to was be animation. the problem was that before going to the studio i decided to go and visit carnarby steet, which wasn't too far from the hotel i was at in russel square. unfortunatly i got a little lost on my way back, i found myself directly underneath the bt tower. i knew that was definitly wrong, since from my window i could see the tower but it wasn't that close. after an hour of walking i found my way back to the hotel, but my group had already set off to be. so then i had to find my way to the studio which is by waterloo. nearly an hour after my group had already arrived at the studio i got there. thankfully the directions we'd looked up on the internet worked well. also thankfully, my group were still in the studio. the battery in my phone had died and i had no way of finding out where anyone was. i caught the last 10 mins of the talk.

*this is in fact an extract from my livejournal post, i extracted the bit about london. i have decided to now use my livejournal account for ranting and getting things out in the open and this blog shall be kept for reporting on how my degree's going so far*

*:)

stuff from term 2

2006-02-22T04:16:00.000Z

after the christmas holidays the animation class was split into 4 groups. i was put into group2, shortly after starting our 1st brief as group2 we decided to rename ourselves team mushroom.
our 1st brief involved the technique known as smudge n click and this is what we came up with
"and they fly apart like leaves..."

a brief definition of sumdge n click:
it's where you have your medium (paint, pastels etc) smudge it a bit, take a picture and do this frame by frame. simple, messy yet fun :)

*:)

animation stuff

2006-02-20T02:18:00.000Z

well, first attempts anyway.
i'm putting links to them because they now appear to blink and there's no point warning people of flashing images when the warning's on the same page.

they're also tiny. i don't know how to upload quick time files to my blog for free, so i put the files through adobe premier and managed to export them as gifs, which means i could upload them to photobucket.

canaries

force, weight, volume

hamster aka pose to pose

materials
this was done by me and three other class mates. mine's the lamp post.

there was another of these line drawn animations called 'anticipation', but it wasn't on my usb key and i fear it may have been wiped to make space on the line testing machine. the tutor should have a copy on dv tape somewhere though. if i get a copy i'll add it to this post at a later date.

these animations were line draw on layout paper and filmed frame by frame using istopmotion.
my uni won't use premier because they said that adobe aren't making it for the mac any more >:P it's not like they've got the latest machines or software in this place. i need to save up for my own camera, rostrum and lights, then i can use premier to my hearts content.

*:)

gwyliau yn y caribi

2006-02-19T23:46:00.000Z

(@.@)

2006-02-15T20:45:00.000Z

yes, ok i have abandoned this blog for a while,
but not completely.

i have the tendancy to only leave stuff here when i'm bored and feel i have nothing else to do or when i'm angry.

recently i found myself completely preoccupied with either uni or my boyfriend, but since he's been learning how to start his own business i've been feeling a bit neglected so i have come back to my blog.

i suppose i could try to motivate myself to leave even small posts every now and then, we'll just have to see how my brain goes.

* 1st thing i'm going to get off my chest here and now:
why have i ended up in a building full of way more morons than there were in the young persons homeless hostel i lived in?!?!?!
this lot are all supposed to be 18+ yet the 16yr olds i was in the hostel in were way more mature.
i suppose there was the fact that the 16yr olds understood that if they did anything to piss the staff off they'd get evicted, here they don't care, if it comes to the worst they can always go home.
speaking of home, i'll be needing a new one by may. i was planning on staying in halls for as long as i could but they've already got all the rooms booked for summer school students. nice of them to let me know, i had told them in september that i wanted the longest lease possible "no problem" they said "we'll sort all that nearer the time", i hate being lied to >:(

flats to rent are more expensive than i'd have thought in wrexham, i've applied to the local housing association and asked around my class mates to see if there are any spare rooms going, so far there's a possible one in rhyl. i'd rather get a room in a house full of my class mates than move into one full of strangers.
all phill goes on about is that i have to make sure it's got parking, or how else is he going to visit me. the way things are going right now he's going to be too busy to visit me until he gets his business sorted, so i don't see the problem. so long as i have access to public transport, i'm fine.

i'm going to figure out a way to put some animations i've done in class on here. the rest of my class mates are on deviant and they want me to join them, but i don't see the point especially with the history i have with updating blogs goes. i haven't even looked at my livejournal one for months.

so, this is my plan:
i'm going to try to bring more life into my fluffy-scruffy blog.
let's see how it goes hey.

*important word of warning, when a nurse tells you that a biopsy won't hurt, it's all lies!!!!*
(unless you've been given anaesthetic of course)

*take care everyone out there*
*:)

cyborg names

2005-08-30T16:33:00.000+01:00

width="240" height="180"
alt="Functional Lifelike Unit Fabricated for Forbidden Yelling"
border="0">

width="240" height="180"
alt="Synthetic Cybernetic Replicant Used for Fighting and Forbidden Yelling"
border="0">

width="240" height="180"
alt="Handcrafted Artificial Machine Skilled in Thorough Exploration and Repair"
border="0">

*(")

i am still a student, yay!

2005-08-30T15:29:00.000+01:00

after all the waiting i found out that i had enough points to get into newport, but i've decided to go to newi instead.

i've already had homework from them,
1) create a visual diary
2) produce a storyboard for a public information film

my diary's currently floating round the back of my boyfriends car while he's at work. we went camping near hellsmouth at the weekend, so i thought it'd be a good idea to bring it. it stayed in the car the whole weekend, but i did find things to stick in it, just need my glue gun.

the storyboard hasn't passed the initial planning yet.

i'm going to be staying in halls for the first year.
aiming for an en suite, after having lived in youth hostel type places i want my own loo.

sometime soon i'll be able to pick up my btec national diploma certificate. all the tutors said was the beginning of september.

more good news, by the 3rd of september i'll have been going out with phill for 6 months, i'll have to plan something nice.

*take care everyone*
*(")

more stuff by me

2005-07-31T21:47:00.000+01:00

well, i went on to the ucas website to see if i could find out what was going on as far as getting into uni is concerned and it didn't tell me any more than i already know.

newport university, caerleon campus, conditional/firm choice

newi, wrexham, unconditional/insurance choice

i'm bored of waiting

so, here's some pics i took:

before

and

after

i wasn't there to see the actual demolition, which was a shame, i did live near it for a year and 1/2. so, anyway, that used to be the sheil road block of flats in liverpool.

*(")

incy wincy spider

2005-07-27T20:52:00.000+01:00

i have been playing with the camera on my phone.
this spider was kind enough to pose for me, unfortunaly if there's not quite enough light i get these stripes on my pictures.

*(")

2005-07-25T23:50:00.000+01:00

in case anyone's wondering (or even reading this) the dark dangly things off the telegraph wires between the houses are shoes, thrown up there by the local scallies.
a victim is spotted and has "where'd you get them shoes from?" screeched down their ear before shortly being overwhelmed by a small group of youths (usually wearing trackies and shiney white trainers) who then remove said shoes, tie the laces together and fling them over the wires till they stay there. the sad little creatures find this highly amusing.

i once had the "where'd you get them shoes from?", luckily the three girls following me didn't attempt to remove my shoes (which were actually boots).

i really think some people shouldn't breed.

*(")

pictures

2005-07-25T23:38:00.000+01:00

i'm attempting to use photobucket to pics on here, but the blog option just keeps coming up "page not found" so i'm going to try the old copy and paste option.

well, it worked, but this image is huge. in future i'll have to make sure i link to massive pics instead of uploading the whole thing.

*(")

Photobucket

2005-07-25T23:30:00.000+01:00

This is a test post from Photobucket.com

horrible scary things!

2005-03-11T15:33:00.000Z

assessors are so scary.

we've just had to hand in everything ready for the assessor who's coming on monday to see how our work's doing so far.
:(

we handed everything in on wednesday, i was a stressed little bunny, phil managed to cheer me up though.

i could soon have a new home for my little beasties. a lady came into the petshop and left her phone number, going to go to leeswood on sunday to see what kind of home they'll be going to.

i've not been too impressed lately. every fortnight, on a wednesday it's the tiv's line clean, which mean the bar staff get to finish off what's in the lines before the water comes through and the lines are ready for cleaning on the thurday. this works out quite nicely as we're not always guaranteed a staff drink (which tips are supposed to fund, apparently). recently i haven't been on the rota for a wednesday for a while now, so no free beer. not only that, i really could do with 3 nights pay rather than just the 2. well, i will go working for the tiv again.

well, i'm off now.
i would write more but i spent 1/2 hour doing this and i have to go now.

*take care everyone*
*(")

if this is just a dream, DO NOT WAKE ME!

2005-03-09T11:45:00.000Z

the sceptical pesimistic part of my brain keeps telling me that this can't last.
i want to beat it into submission.

i'm happy right now, i want to enjoy this and i can see no reason as to why i should think differently on the matter.

i'm going to uni,
i've found myself a really nice bloke, we haven't been going out long, but so far everything's great.
*buzzing, happy hamster*

haven't heard from keri for a bit. hope she's ok.
can't even check her lj to see if there's anything in there.

got to go now.
class is over, though i could invade the lrc.

*see ya soon*
*(")

*(^U^)

2005-03-07T12:19:00.000Z

hello there, everyone.

it's me again with another one of my rare visits.

well, my date on thursday went very well.
we went to the wine bar in mold.
now when someone says to me wine bar i think of somewhere like yate's, or somewhere posh, only selling wine :P so how chuffed was i to find that this beer sold more varieties of beer than wine, i was a happy bunny, then my date arrived and i was a happier bunny.
we talked loads, drank a bit, did a pub quiz (and got 22/45, not bad considering the highest score was 27).

on friday he came to the tiv and got very drunk. well, that's what happens when you mix your drinks. he had a headache the next day, so i sent him a hug via text message.
we met up last yesterday. first we wandered aimlessly round chester chatting away and freezing, so the we went to the telford to defrost. at the telford there was a wailing man with glow sticks before a guitarist, two saxophnists and a tuba player took over the stage. then it was getting late and i had to get back to liverpool. he was going to drop me off at the train station, til he found out that mum was going to bed and i wouldn't be getting a lift from lime street, so he drove me to liverpool and i managed to get him lost. not good considering i've been living there for over a year now. we got there in the end though, then he had to find his way back home again. whilst trying to find the tunnel he managed to take a detour to the airport. i got a text at 1:18am letting me know he'd arrived home safely.

i'm planning on meeting him again tomorrow.

other good news, yesterday my nanna handed me my 'replying to offers' letter from ucas.
all i need to do now is post it. yay!

bit of panic going on in class. the assessors have recently decided to tell our tutor that they've changed the way btec national diplomas are to be marked. this means he has to remark EVERYTHING :( i think i'll cry now.

after dinner i'm going to find out how i'm doing so far with this latest brief.

mum's still trying to see if any of the regular customers at the petshop would like to rehome my pets. i'm hardly ever around these days and i'm planning on going to caerleon for september.
ah, well.

*take care*
*(")

it's been a while hasn't it?

2005-02-28T14:44:00.000Z

hello there,
well, this is going to have to be my regular blog now as thed landline's been disconnected at mum's and the college has put a block on livejournal.

just have to drag keri over this way.

well, since i last left anything on here i got a new job at somewhere where i've worked in the past, the tivoli nightclub, i worked throughout christmas and new year, i came down with a bug that lasted three weeks and a lad who was a colleague and a friend hung himself.
most recently the assistant manager whom we all like is leaving us for a club he worked in previously. he says the pay's better there.
as a kind of leaving do we're all going to invade chester tonight.
oh, yeah, i also have a date on thursday :)

i applied to three universities, had three interviews which resulted in one definite NO, one unconditional offer and one conditional one. so, september i shall be starting a degree in animation, yay!

i still miss my livejournal :(

i'll just have to get used to using this blog though.

*take care*
*(")

2004-11-07T23:45:00.000Z

well, so far last weekend i went to keri's for her stag-do, it was a mini pubcrawl round coventry, that was fun. it had been a while since i'd last seen her. spent last week studying hard, i'm now just over 1000 words through my 3000 word essay on animation (needs to be in the week before the end of term) and this weekend i was in work.
this week i have an open day in newport's university of wales to look forward to, nanna's been watching the news and keeps panicking about me using trains, she even wants me to phone her when i arrive (at least 10:30's not too early). then keri should be popping up at the weekend while tom has his hen-party/pubcrawlish type thing.

to sum up how i'm feeling right now i put this on my livejournal:

that hamster feeling

do you ever get that feeling,
when you want to block things out
and be all warm and snuggly,
not hearing people shout.
fluffy, warm and cosy,
happy and content
wrapped up in a duvet
away from ill intent.
jusy like a little hamster
when it's curled up in a ball,
hiding in it's bedroom
in the cage along the hall,
happy feeling safe and sound
for hamsters have their rules
sharp teeth in the fingers
for nosey human fools.
i'd like to be that hamster
when i want to be alone
and no-one would disturb me,
peace and quite all my own.
forget the 'don't disturb' sign
on solitary nights
the sign upon my door shall be
'beware this hamster bites!'

*take care*
*(")

human conditions beginning with o and x

2004-10-16T01:37:00.000+01:00

ok, i've just tried experimenting with photobucket.

if this has worked, the only two letters with animations are o and x (the rest of the class are doing the other letters).

this is what my typography work looks like so far, i'm hoping that when the whole dictionary is put together it should look cool. thankfully the tutor's dealing with putting everything together for the cd-rom.

*this animation belongs to the liverpool community college.*

o and x

this is a shockwave file so you need the shockwave player plugin to view it, if you haven't got it you can download it free from:
macromedia

*(")

(if at first you don't succeed...)

laughing isn't a crime (right?)

2004-10-07T23:55:00.000+01:00

all i was doing was chatting to keri on the phone and laughing.
more often than not my main ways of communicating with keri are by either text message or e-mail, the phone calls are a rare occurance. yet everytime mum's fiance happens to be in when i either make or receive one of these rare calls i get glared at whenever i laugh. i've begun to try to avoid laughing all together when he happens to be in, i don't like being glared at. i either watch films i find funny in my room or wait till they've gone to bed before watching bbc3 or red dwarf or anything that might make me laugh. (i can't get a signal in my room, my tv's only useful for dvds or video tapes)
i'm under the impression that his way of thinking seems to be "how can you possibly laugh when we have no money? debts are piling up, we can't even afford a loaf right now and you laugh" either that or he just doesn't like me and seeing me show happiness in any way, shape or form bugs him immensly.
i do know that his moods can become more irrational when cash is running shorter than usual, i'm just getting fed up of being on the receiving end on most occasions. yes, being skint is crap, but it's not then end of the world, so why should i behave as though it is!
in nine months time i'll be going to uni, nanna wants me to go somewhere close, whereas currently i want to move as far away as i can.

i wanted to cheer myself up earlier so as soon as mum and gus went to bed i watched the pilot episode of invader zim, might put my monty python meaning of life cd on before i go to bed.

people ask me why i don't smile.
perhaps i don't permanently smile, doesn't mean i never smile. clearly those people can't have the knack (^U^)

*take care*
*(")

surely things must go to plan at some point, right?

2004-10-05T23:28:00.000+01:00

this month is going to be mental. things i wanted to do were, go to 2 uni open days in south wales and go to keri's stag do in coventry. i had been saving up some money for train fare, but mum's fiance needed to buy more tile adhesive or something for the bathroom (still not finished). he swears he'll pay me back in time, but i don't see how. he's still trying to borrow money off friends to pay off debts including what he owes other friends. i fear his plan may backfire in the near future. i've been managing to book time off to visit keri, though it's doubtful it'll count as paid holiday. my boss hasn't a clue, he leaves that sort of thing up to the lady who sorts out the wages, and she was on holiday last week.

good news, my sister finally has her own place now. she calls it a shoebox, but it has to be better than being a resident in a housing association dive full of dysfunctional teenagers and junkies. i should be going to visit her on thursday.

also, i have nearly finished my last typography project, it still needs sound but hopefully it should fit together with the rest of the classes work and we should have a fully functional cdrom of the alphabet of human conditions.

that's it for today.

*:)

grrrr!

2004-10-04T01:13:00.000+01:00

someday soon i may get the hang of this blog.

had started writing something at 11:30pm but got nosey and started messing with the settings before publishing or even saving.

for tonight, i surrender.

*take care*
*:)

sisterly love

2004-09-29T22:58:00.000+01:00

*innocent eyes*
my little sister's staying here tonight. mind you, she's now taller than me. the caption under the photo was her idea. it's one of those rare moments when we're both smiling in the same photo.

she's got no money so she's doing MY overtime tomorrow. 13hours of stock take so she can go out for a friends birthday. how nice am i giving this up for her.

oh yeah, in case anyone wants to know i'm on the left and that's my sister, tina, on the right.

got a phone call from keri today to plan some more the final details of the events of her stag do and wedding. i never asked what tom was doing for his hen party, hmmm...

can't wait to see her, it's been months since we last met up. plans for the summer holidays didn't happen.

well, i must go to bed now, tina has to be up for 5am >:)
that's one thing i won't miss about tomorrow.

*take care*
*:)

things i'm looking forward to

2004-09-27T12:27:00.000+01:00

here's a short list of things i'm looking forward to.
*1/2 term, or there abouts, my friend keri is planning on having her 'stag do' sometime around then :D
*samhain, i really want to celebrate properly this year. so far all the festivals have had to take a sideline because the house needs doing up.
*my birthday, that's when keri's getting married.
*wouldn't mind trying to plan something for yule too.

hmmm... that's about it for this year.

next year:
*mum's getting married in cyprus in may.
*hopefully i should know which uni i'm going to and should be able to start sorting accommodation for me and my fluffies.

*take care*
*:)

pets (U)

2004-09-26T23:21:00.000+01:00

*cute lil fluffy bunnies*

meet malibu and randi, two of my pets that are currently invading mum's house with me. (well, they live in the yard now, mum's allergic to their fur). when i get my own place i definitly need a garden. these poor bunnies are having to do with dried grass for now, but hopefully they shouldn't have to wait too long.

i'm in college in the morning. our latest brief is based on dan eldon's 'the journey is the destination'. we have to produce something based on our journey to and from college. my piece will most likely be an animation. still coming up with a plan on exactly what is how it's going to look.

*take care everyone*
*:)

the weekend yay

2004-09-26T00:27:00.000+01:00

i need a job where i don't work saturdays. today was the day of liverpool's first pagan conference 'sequana', there were talks, stalls with all kinds of lovely things to buy and fun workshops. where was i? bagging up birdseed while kwiksave was having it's roadshow >:P i'm so glad they're not allowed to paint our petshop that fluorescent yellow.
unfortunatly these conferences are an annual thing and i'll probably be in uni in south wales or somewhere by then. so, gutted.

i'll just have to make the most of the monthly moots then.
this months was fun. the usual organiser was stuck in manchester and the room hadn't been booked, what else could we do but gather in the bar :D it was a shame though, the guy who was supposed to be doing the talk this month had brought in all his notes, ohp sheets and handouts, for it all to be stuffed in a corner while we all drank and chatted amongst ourselves.

ah well,
back home now, watching telly.

must go, bunnies need feeding.
*:)

fluffy-scruffy has arrived

2004-09-25T22:22:00.000+01:00

hello to all who care to visit.

i'm fluffy-scruffy, not quite sane, a student, got too many pets for my own good and decided to start a random blog for no good reason.

i'm not going to guarantee good reading at all.
i wouldn't class myself as interesting.

i just like having the chance to ramble and rant.

*take care*

*:)

*hamsters aren't scary*