Stress (by sarah)

Well last week I had to go and tell college I didn't have enough money for the tuition fees and what actually was going on here - this wasn't pleasant but they said to carry on anyway for now and to sort out doing my minni project.

For this project I have to choose one of the listed subjects talk to the supervisor, keep a log book of meetings etc.... collect the data, learn about the analytical technic and then do a 7000 word write up (oh and background reading) and an oral presintation including a powerpoint presintation.

They handed out the topics before Christmas and said choose over christmas and talk to the supervisor after christmas or if you are really keen you can do it before Christmas. We handed in our second 3000 word essay (On carbonado diamonds in my case) pretty much on the last day of term.

I then wasn't sure if I was going to be allowed to stay and we only went back on Monday last week. I tried to go and see the supervisor last week but he wasn't in his office except when I was actually heading to the lecture - he wasn't in it before hand and he wasn't there afterwards.

So I came in early to see him today and the other girl from my course was in there with him - this was fine we had discuessed it and I knew she was going for the project too. I had even checked with the course coordinator that two people could do the same project.

The other girl only does planetary stuff and as it was the only planetary project I felt she should have first dibs at it.

So I had stealed myself for being told no, but thought there was a good chance of a yes as I had checked the previous week. What I wasn't expecting was to be told that its too late to be starting the projects and that they should have been started a month ago! Which would have actually been Christmas >:(

I was already feeling out of sorts and this was a blow. I went back to the classroom and one of the others asked me how I was - I couldn't speak I just shook my head.

Then Nesha asked me how it had gone and I told her what had just been said. She was upset that she'd pipped me to the post by 10 minutes but I told it was ok - turns out he told her off too :/ She gave me half her chocolate bar which was nice and made me feel alot better.

It was the being told off that I had issue with - I was prepared not to get the project and as a geologist I have more options open to me than her. (She did both moon essays).

Anyway I had just finished explaining what other project I would go for when one of the guys came in and said he'd had to change direction as the project he was going to do the data wouldn't be avaliable until just before the deadline. He'd chosen my second choice - I think an expletative left my lips but he said that he'd just checked with the course coordinator and she'd said that two on a project was fine - sigh.

I had had a stressful morning anyway with the fact that Barbara came in when we were trying to get out of the house (late as usual) and gave me information about a guy to use for scouts but she said II had to phone him before 12 as she said I would and it was 11 already adn I was trying to get to Stroud for my train.

Anyway I tried to phone and it was a wrong number :/

And I knew that it would all end up some how being my fualt that I hadn't contacted him before noon :/ I phoned Al and left an answer phone message and later on he tried to find Barbara but she was out.

This and money worries and the genrally feeling that the world is coming to an end and winter just isn't going away ment that during my actual lecture which was really interesting (Geochronology) I was asking my normal barral load of questions but with a difference.

My stutters back.

It was so bad the lecture was having to finish my sentances for me 🙁

I think it must be stress.

Tony Hart :( (by sarah)

It turns out Tony Hart has died aged 83, as without him the Wiggly Pets would never have existed I felt it only right to do a post about him over on Salaric Craft. 🙁

It would have been nice to actually meet him.

Bizarlly this and watching the old Wind in the Willows with Jean has made me want to annamate the Wiggly Pets once more. I remember speaking to a BBC bod about it a couple of years ago but then never heared anything about it and then that thing on CBBC appeared which looks similiar so I think they must have already had that in the pipe line :/

Oh well went I get some spare time (next millenia at this rate) I will animate them myself - I have a few other things I would love to turn into animations too! And as always being me they cover a broad range of tecnics that are probably now redundent with modern pooter power which makes me all the more excited as maybe I can just muck about on the pooter and get something that looks right.

Not right now though - far to much stuff to do:/

RIP Tony and thankyou.

Muddy Jean (by sarah)

Why oh why did I ever get Jean white mittens? Jean likes going over and helping Barbara with her housework and laying the fire etc... then they turn up and I put Jean in coat, boots, hat etc... and they wonder off to do various things in the garden.

Then between 15 and 45 minutes later a very muddy Jean invariably comes back into the house having to jump for the door handle.

This day I had her mittens freashly dry from having gotten the stains from last time out. Her pink coat was still drying but there is a nice long navey blue one which Violet gave us. Jean went out in that and her hat and mittens.

She returns with mud all up the back of the coat and the blackest pair of mittens I have ever seen - 'my glubs are wet mummy!'

And so they are back in the wash leaving me scrabbling for another pair were she hasn't lost one of them :/ I am reminded of Beatrix Potter to be honest - well she is three and I'm sending her out side were there is mud - mud how does it get into her hair?

Jean’s Introduction to Economics (by sarah)

Jean keeps telling me not to work 🙁 She wants me to play with her instead but I have to do some work when she's about, though I really don't like doing it and it really depends on weather she's in the sort of mood were she's happy to say just sit and paint.

Our conversation went like this:

'Mummy don't work - play with me!'

'I will play with you in 20 minutes Jean I have to finish this first.'

'No'

'Yes'

'Why?'

'So that we can get money'

'For my house?' (her money box)

'No so that we can buy food.'

Jean hits the heater in annoyance, 'DONT DO THAT IF YOU BREAK IT WE CAN"T REPLACE IT AND THEN WE WILL BE COLD!!!'

'We can just go out all day.'

'No we can't Jean you need money for that.'

'Silly mummy we go shopping!'

'No Jean you need money for that.'

Puzzeled look, 'I'll get my house and horse.' (again her two money boxes.) I had explain it wasn't enough money and thats why I was working besides it's hers and would she like to pay it into the bank? Things then got a bit abstract and I was engander of doing a Mr Brown in Padington Bear.

'Oh ok, I'll make dinner mummy, to help.'

'Good girl Jean.'

A blue toy pot appears with a plastic chicken leg and some construction blocks from something that isn't lego. 'Soup mummy to keep you warm.'

'Thankyou Jean.'

Monster Blogs Sorted (by sarah)

I have spent the last few hours sorting out an issue on the Monster blogs(Blue, Red and Yellow). As some of you might have noticed the links were broken and appearing as non-clickable ugly text with all the markdown visable 🙁

We had been trying to chase down the problem for weeks when another blog I set up was showing the same issue - I was in the visual editor.

It turns out there is now a visual as well as HTML editor on WordPress blogs. This has cuased me lots of unnessascery work involving manually going through and removing unwanted tags :'(

I have gone into more detail on the Web-Empire blog as I felt it was information that needed sharing.