Oh deary me, I’ve got into a pattern of leaving journal-writing for far too long and having excessive stuff to talk about. Well, I’m sure you’ll cope.

Work is still dismally dull (and I’m working in the weekdays now as well), but I’m getting desensitised to the boredom. And I’ve discovered new ways of cheering myself up, such as saying, “a-flom-flom-flom”. I have no idea why that works, but it does.

So… my birthday was on the 30th… I’m officially Grown Up now. I don’t feel any different, but I did get a letter from my MP saying “You don’t have to vote for me, but I’d like it if you did! *cheesy grin*” which was very thoughtful of him. And it came with a thing explaining how the whole voting thing works, which was genuinely helpful, remarkably enough.

I didn’t do much on my birthday, I just wanted to be with my family. We went for a walk with the dogs on the Devil’s Dyke and managed to find lizard orchids! We’d been looking for them for a while, and it was great to be able to see them! And I got a ridiculous number of presents, including a laptop and things to go with it, books, CDs, necklaces, clothes, stuff for uni, one of those bells you can ring for service at hotels (I can think of a million uses!), money, and a cuddly bacterium (Shigella dysenteriae, a stomach bug; I’ve named it Dave)! So a success all round.

Then not much for a week except work, and then I had my birthday party, which was a lot of fun! We played stupid board games and charades and Hide ‘n’ Seek, and my friend dressed up as a Darlek! Oh, Darleks are aliens from a British TV program, for those of you that aren't in the know. And my birthday cake was shaped like an anteater! (Which I felt very bad about cutting up...) A couple of friends slept over and we played Wii games and watched Father Ted (another British TV show, and, in my opinion, the best comedy ever). As you can tell, I am embracing my newfound adulthood.

Oh yes, dA version 6. I quite like it, although it’s taking a bit of getting used to. And the glitches are getting on my nerves now. I can’t edit deviations at the moment, which is really inconvenient for the Haikuwrimo, and generally for editing my poetry. Grr. Is anyone else having the problem? Everything works fine except that it says "Processing, please wait" for a very long time indeed after I’ve edited. I would say forever, but I haven’t waited that long yet. And if I save changes, the deviation is exactly the same as before. So, no new haikus at the moment (I am still writing them, and, if the worst comes to the worst, I can always stick them in a new deviation).

I’m off to Cyprus on the 19th for two weeks. I’m looking forward to it to a degree, but I’m a bit worried about the plane journey (I’ve been on planes before, I just always get a bit nervous), and generally about having to spend 2 weeks with my family when we will undoubtedly argue in excess. But, overall, I’m quite optimistic about it. Which is a rare thing indeed.

And I’ve let my comments and deviations build up again, and they’re nearly all literature deviations, and it’s only going to get worse. I’ll have to try and get as up-to-date as possible before my holiday.

Now for my summer project to-do list:
big painting – currently sketching everything out on the canvas
learning to drive – not going all that well, but I’m trying
emptying message centre
Haikuwrimo
writing a play – written the plot out for a dubious comedy with the working title ‘Bureaucracy’, but I’m not sure I’ll go anywhere with it

Oh yes, and my light switch is broken, so I'm stuck with a load of lamps which make the room feel a bit gloomy, but never mind. Just thought I'd get that off my chest.

Hope you’re enjoying the comparatively lovely weather if you’re in the northern hemisphere, and if you’re elsewhere then I hope you have a nice warm jumper.

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FEATURETTE

A Catalogue for Enlightenment by =leoraigarath

This won `Beccalicious’s monologue contest, and rightly so. =leoraigarath brings us a unique character, gives her depth and makes her believable. His attention to detail in terms of the way his character, Daniel, talks and how much thought he has put into the background of this unashamed whore is really impressive.

“Daniel: That’s what I fucking do. Heh. Fucking do… that’s a little word play there. Heh. Well, what can I say – give me a fifty and I’d do you too. Seriously. Tell me when and where and slip that green-slip and I’ll bark like a rabid puppy, if that’s your thing. I know what I do, and I don’t care to admit it, I’m a whore, a fornicatrix. I’m a prostitute, a sales-woman, a slut, a harlot, a drab, hooker, Sandy, Mindy, Trixi, Pixie, Moses – whatever is your thing, for a price I’ll be it. Hell yeah!”

The Players' Epilogue by *orphicfiddler

And this one won the scene contest, another good choice. There are so many brilliantly funny moments in this, and I think the concept is excellent. *orphicfiddler masterfully breaks the fourth wall in this hilarious exploration of the fate of lesser characters.

“X: I demand compensation! I demand a more equal part in this production! Why should we be relegated to the sidelines while our entirely melodramatic hero sips away the attention span of the audience? It is we who prevent this play from growing too dull, and yet you kill us off with as little regard as a farm-boy hacking off the head of his least favorite chicken! You are inhuman, Almighty Playwright! You, who delight in dashing our lives with vengeance upon the parquet floor of insanity! (Emits a piercing wail.) You make me ill…

Y: ‘Cause that wasn’t melodramatic at all…”

Click here for the second place and honourable mention entries!

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ARTISTIC PLUG

*Adopt-A-Writer provides the opportunity to mentor others or be mentored yourself for poetry, prose or both. I’ve been adopted by ~Myror and have adopted the charming *kitit21.