Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in shorty_monster's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008
10:55 pm	People should not fear their government... Maybe I should stop watching political documentaries? Maybe I should watch more of them. This is going to be a bit of a strange one I'm afraid, half introspection, half rant, so anybody with better things to do wit their lives has my permission to stop reading now and go about their lives. ( Thinky ) Normal service will now be resumed. Current Mood: contemplative (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 18th, 2007
1:05 pm	rant-a-rific Course is going great, but... ( Read more ) I need something to do on a Wednesday. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, June 19th, 2007
2:31 pm	I'm gonna be a student. So, today was the day I had to go to college to sit through an induction and then take a couple of tests - literacy and numeracy - to see if I was access course material. I really needed to get on this course if I ever wanted to get a degree, so I was more than a little nervous. After sitting in the same room as the other people hoping to get on this course for more than five minutes however, I realised I was probably the most qualified person there. There were at least five single mothers (not bitching at that, my mother is single, it's just that I'm almost thirty, not six, and my mum isn't twenty), and after reading between the lines of their reasons for going on this course, it's for the free child care and short hours. It is supposed to be a mature students course and I was one of only three people over the age of twenty-six. When the Q&A session started I didn't feel the need to ask questions that I could have found out by simply reading the prospectus that was provided with the application form, because I had read the prospectus. My results from the testing put me straight in at level three, the fast track course so I only need to be there for one year, and that was with me missing a couple of pretty easy geometry questions. We then had write a page and half reason why we should be on the course and why we chose to go on the course. One of the girls, crack-whore Sarah, if anyone knows who I mean, had trouble managing more than one paragraph. I know this because she announced to the room that she needed another sheet of paper so she could spread out what she had written to take up more space. Once that was all finished, it was personal interviews to let you know what course level you would be on, arrange timetable and set any extra help if it was needed in maths or English. On the timetable that everyone had received when they were invited in on the day it said this could take up to three hours to get through everyone. Since my surname begins "T" and that means I'm usually near the end of such things, I took a book with me (The Long Ships, if anyone is interested) so I wouldn't get bored. Other attendees decided to spend that time - as it turned out only half an hour - complaining about how long it was taking and that they should have organised it better. Even though they were warned. So, rant over. Good news; I'm going to college in September. Bad news; I won't get a student loan and will have to pay about £250 enrolment fee. I really need a job. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 14th, 2007
9:24 pm	My life and the things that may be changing So. Wow. Been thinking for a while now about trying something new with my lfe but never been entirely sure what. Today I had a thought; university. I am now trying to enroll in a history course, with museums and heritage studies modules. No, really. It's something I'm very interested in and would love to find out more it about anyway, doing it with the possibility of getting a killer job at the end of it is just almost too good to be true. Do people think I'm CRAZY!? (9 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 1st, 2006
9:31 pm	bad news. I don't know what to do. I feel sick. As soom of you will know I started a new job recently that is going great. Bad news is because my circumstances changed it took me a while to get the money I was owed from the benefits agency. Sadly that meant that when BT tried to take my phone bill out, there wasn't enough money. Not to bad, I was given a few extra days to sort it out and the money from my ;ast payment went in on time. Now for the really fucking bad news. My bank wouldn't wait. They have charged me thirty-five quid for not having the money in. When the money did go in, that means that I was thirty-five down. Sadly there was onlt twenty in there. That means I have gone into an overdraft I don't have. Which they will charge me for. That also means that when BTtry to take the money out of my account again tomorrow, there won't be any money in there, in fact I will be on negative money. That means that the bank will charge me another thirty-five quid. That I don't have. BT will then cut my phone line off, which means we also lose the internet. So, thats twenty quid to BT, plus what ever it will cost to re-connect, plus if I do manage to get re-connected within a month, I won't be getting paid until a week after the next bill is due, so I may owe them even more. The bank will then have charged me seventy pounds for not having funds to pay for the direct debit, plus whatever they charge me for being overdrawn without having an overdraft. I have no idea how much this is going to cost me over all, but i know I can't afford it. When I get paid from the new job, I will have a month and a half worth of rent to pay, plus ninety to get me into work, plus whatever else I will need to eat and survive. I feel sick just thinking about it. I honestly want to throw up I feel so worried. Current Mood: scared (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, May 16th, 2006
7:57 pm	Stolen from.... someone You scored as Toreador. You belong to the Toreador bloodline. Often regarded as vain or shallow, the Toreador are blessed with a striking, almost supernatural beauty. Toreador are so driven by the pursuit of beauty that they are often highly connected with art, music, or theater. While they do have a uncanny ability to seduce and manipulate mortals, many other vampires simply dismiss them as decadant pretty-boys. </td> Tremere 67% Toreador 67% Brujah 54% Gangrel 46% Malkavian 46% Ventrue 29% Nosferatu 21% What vampire clan do you belong to? created with QuizFarm.com (Comment on this)
7:37 pm	Got a job! Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job!Got a job! Current Mood: ecstatic (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 10th, 2006
4:15 pm	Job evility Still waiting to hear back from last interview. The one for the killer job as manager of a toy shop. I was happy to wait a while because I was told that I would get called back even if I didn't get the second interview. All I want right now is a bloody answer! In good news I do have another interview coming up. Not quite as cool as being a manager, but it is full time and permanent at least. It is at the Borders bookshop in Leeds. I have the interview on monday, so people should be sending out good vibes at around 2. Busy weekend planned. Saturday afternoon is the filling in of the tattoo. It is going to hurt so bloody much. George is a freak, but I am normal, so it will hurt me loads. Getting a tattoo hurts a lot, getting a tattoo done over an area of skin that has already been repeatedly stabbed with needles hurts like you wouldn't believe. That night I am going to my sister's leaving party. She is moving to Dublin to be with her boyfriend. He came here originally, but he is a trained bar man, and in Dublin that's a really well paid job. You have to do a full three year modern apprenticeship and get paid the same as most managers would get over here. He couldn't make ends meet over here, so my sister is going over there. She is a fully qualified nanny and should have no problem getting a job over there. I would say I was going to miss her, but I barely see more than once a year as it is. Sunday morning is the yearly trip to New Mill for me and Jo. Her Dad's birthday and she goes up there to the field her dad's ashes are scattered in every year. I like that she goes up for his birthday instead of when he died. And then in the afternoon a nice game of rugby. After watching the Giants last week and had so much fun when they stopped the Saints' winning streak by being the first team this season to beat them. Lets hope that I am lucky mascot and they win again. Current Mood: anxious Current Music: Dirty pretty things, bang bang (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, April 28th, 2006
8:52 pm	A happy post What a great fucking day! Woke up this morning and went down to open my mail to find my last payslip and P45 stuff from Ottakar's. What I wasn't expecting was holiday pay. I had been told that I wasn't entitled to holidays in the same way as other people beause I was on a temporary contract. This didn't bug me because I had told the boss that I could still have timeoff for the nationals and Leeds Fest if I was still working there at the time. As a result, I had taken no time off in over four months. They have paid me for holidays not taken for the hours I had worked. Meant I got paid over twice what I was expecting, a cool £550. As you can probably imagine, I was in a great mood after that. I was upstairs doing a little victory dance when Ritchie's mobile buzzed and it was her Mum telling her that her Gran is going to send her £110! I was doing my extra special victory dance at this point. So, when I then got a phone call offering me a job interview for the position of store manager for Toymaster in Huddersfield, I had to invent a new, super special dance! And hopefully if the interview goes well, I will have to top that in a week or so. To celebrate the money, I bought myself a new phone (same number) and some more books and DVDs. Silent hill is ok by the way. Current Mood: happy Current Music: theme from Have I got news for you (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, April 22nd, 2006
10:24 pm	Live game success It worked!!!! YAY!!!!!!! Sadly my good friend little Dave couldn't make it so I only had five players for my first game, but it worked quite well for what I wanted to do. Everybody seemed to enjoy it and I deli to deliberatly left big gaps in the plot points to give the players plenty of time to interact with each other and I can already see some nice little interpersonal relationships starting up. Some of them shocked me. A couple of clans that never usually get on working quite well together. I have even done some downtime for the game this evening and it is really nice that my players are getting into it so much. I am now sat on the sofa watching never mind the Buzzcocks and laughing loads. Current Mood: bouncy (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 18th, 2006
7:10 pm	Summer thinkings. For the first time in four years I am thinking of not going to Leeds Fest this yera. The only problem with that is that I already have the ticket. Myself and Jo were two of the lucky two thousand and six who managed to get their tickets after the last years festival, before we even knew which bands were playing. This has meant that we saw the line up, and instead of the usual shouts of, "Get in there", we just went, "oh". Very uninspiring. We considered Download, but nothing to write home about there either. I think if me and Jo were just pure moshers, we would have just jumped at Download. Sadly, we both have varied tastes. That is why we usually love Leeds. You can go from some really good metal to some killer punk, to a great bit of guitar rock, and after all that, there is still the comedy tent. Current thinking is just flogging tickets on Ebay, taking the money and having an actual holiday. We still aren't sure though. I like the fest thing, but money and good holiday sounds good too. It's not that I am getting too old for this. George and Brick will vouch for my drinking ability as can several people who attended the nationals. I think I was one of the last half dozen people drinking on both nights. I love going out and having fun without having to stress over work or other responsabilities. Especially if it is in the middle of a field in Leeds. Current Mood: thoughtful Current Music: Scrubs theme music (Comment on this)
Saturday, April 15th, 2006
9:55 am	I steal things. Comment, and... 1. I'll respond with something random I like about you. 2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you. 3. I'll name something we should do together. 4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me (or just me). 5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you. 6. I'll leave you a quote that is somehow appropriate to you. 7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you. 8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal so you can do the same for other people. Current Mood: cheerful Current Music: Narles Barkley, I remember when (16 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 12th, 2006
5:12 pm	full of snot! Blurgh. I usually get over colds pretty quickly, within a couple of days at least. That seems to be what is happening to me at the moment. Unfortunatly, I also seem to be getting a cold every week. I spend half the week full of snot, the other half fine. For three freking weeks! In other news, I'm really looking forward to my darling girlfriends first experience as a GM. I bought her the 7th Sea books a while ago, and I have been waitint for a while for her to build up her confidence. It's happened and she is loving planning her campaign. I'm thinking of playing a Usuran. Big russian type for people who don't know. I keep thinking I should play a magic user at some point instead of a big fighty type, but it's more fun to wade in with the huge silly combat moves. I love the cinematic feel to fighting. Current Mood: apathetic Current Music: musac from the sky box (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, April 10th, 2006
2:08 pm	Nationals Sleeping seemed like a great idea. It did mean that I was in better form than usual on the Sunday, but I missed loads of fun on Saturday night. I missed the quiz and the Fluxx-a-thon. Which was a shame. Today I will be eating vegetables. And watching Bill Bailey. My games were fun this year, but nothing mind blowing. The other superheroes group won 3rd and 2nd, but only the only player out of our group who deserved to place, managed to get the 1st. I was mostly uninspired. The plots were very straight forward, owing almost everything to the four-colour world of early DC and most Marvel. Most people who read comics will know that even in the meta-human genre there is more out there than that. Not a single plot twist. Current Mood: disappointed Current Music: Bill bailey, the jazz news (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, April 6th, 2006
4:01 pm	paranoia and drinking The paranoia thing is a pain. The worst of it has thankfully past. It all started because an old kind of friend turned up in Huddersfield again, and was talking to my amazing girlfriend. That didn't bother me. What was bothering me was he did something very shitty to me a long time ago, involving my then girlfriend. She didn't tell me about it straight away because she didn't want me getting mad at him for what he tried to do. In my recent life, somebody I thought was a friend tried a similar thing with the amazing Ritchie. From what she told me, he told her he loved her, and tried to make her dump me for him. She carried on being his friend and he seemed happy with this, recently however he has stopped talking to her except to cry like a big girl about her. The thing that made me paranoid was the thought that he may have done more than the gorgeous Ritchie has let on. Be it trying to kiss her, sending her porno txts or emails, or worse. I have now been convinced that nothing like that happened, but even if it did, she is only not telling me because it would get me more pissed off. I don't blame her for that. I really don't. I don't think I will ever be able to trust him though. He could have done stuff. Bastard. Luckily, as I said, I'm fine now. Just wanted to rant for a while into the internet void. Went out last night after the game, which was awesome again. It is really nice to go back to Fifty as a GM. I spent some drunken time talking to many people, found out that the girl who insulted me on a forum recently, had also been badmouthing me when we were working together. Unfortunately, after the night out, when I was drunk, I misunderstood something the beautiful Ritchie said on the way home, and because we both thought we were in the right, neither of us wanted to back down. It turned into a big argument. There were tears and shouting. Luckily, I realised where I had misunderstood her and was then willing to back down. It's not that I was wrong, if she had said what I thought she said, I was right. But I'm not going to be such a bastard as let that stop us making up. It turns out the reason the wonderful Ritchie was getting so upset is she thought I was just arguing to try and find a way out of our relationship. After my stupid paranoia, I don't blame her for thinking that. In every other relationship I have had, its about this time, approaching 18 months, that I start thinking of exit strategies. I see the grass on the other side, and it looks so green. So very green. Not this time. This time all I see is the barbacue that has been left outside since summer, full of rain and scum. The broken swings. For people who don't know me, or haven't realised yet, I'm in love. I don't want it to end, and even if stupid paranoia turned out to be true, I would still live her. Now for more bad news. My best friend is going through money troubles. For people who know her, it's Jo, and I would appreciate it if nobody tells her any of this. I owe her a bit of cash, and she needs it for this month, I wasn't expecting her to want it this month, I thought I could get it back to her in a while. What this means to me is I probably won't be able to afford to go to the Nationals. I was going to be struggling as it was, but now, I think I will be spending the weekend at home. I weekend away from the divine Ritchie as she is going. The reason I don't want anybody to tell Jo is I don't want her to feel guilty. I DO owe her the money, it's not her fault I'm a bit short this month. (insert short joke here) Other than that, life isn't too bad. I have a new shiny C.V. so I can start looking for a new job in earnest. And I am in love with best girl I have ever met. Current Mood: optimistic Current Music: Green day. American Idiot. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, April 1st, 2006
11:12 am	Sleep manages to avoid me again. I thought that my lack of sleep over the last couple of days may have had something to do with a previous entry. I figured my sleep patterns were just a bit messed up as a result of the 13 hour drinking session. But even last night, I was having trouble. I was informed by my GF, Ritchie, that I was occasionally snoring, so I must have hit deep sleep at least once. All I can remember is constantly looking at the clock and time appearing to stop. I think my mind is playing tricks on me, and my dreams at the moment are all about me not getting any sleep. Why does my brain hate me so? So, here I am laying in bed, completely knackered but not able to sleep, listening to the very annoying Vernon Kaye on Radio 1. Putting off getting out of bed. In better news, the first downtime/character creation thingy for my new game is on monday. I hope it goes well. I don't have as many players as I would have liked, but I remember when the Indy game had less players than I have now. I just hope they can all work together and make it a good game. As important as the ST is in a game, if the players can't get it together and get themselves immersed in the world, it just won't work. I do wish I never had a reason to stop running the indy game, that way I could have carried on running a game for all my friends who do live games. Instead of the few, who are still great people, who were willing to give this a game try. I wish all the luck in the world to the Indy game, and I hope at some point that more players from that game will decide to give mine a go too. Current Mood: nervous Current Music: Zutons, who won't you give me your love (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, March 31st, 2006
9:19 pm	Stolen from many people. Do your worst. o1. who are you? o2. are we friends? o3. when and how did we meet? o4. what am i to you? o5. would you date me? o6. give me a nickname and explain why you picked it. o7. describe me in one word. o8. what was your first impression of me? o9. do you still think that way about me now? 1o. what reminds you of me? 11. if you could give me anything what would it be? 12. how well do you know me? 13. when's the last time you saw me? 14. ever wanted to tell me something but couldn't? 15. are you going to put this on your blog and see what i say about you? Current Mood: dorky Current Music: South Park theme (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, March 30th, 2006
5:00 pm	drunk I'm sorry to hoppy for calling him at 6 in the morning. And I'msorry my fone battery died so we couldn't finish the conversation. I'm too damn old to stay up drinking til 8 in the morning. Current Mood: tired (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 28th, 2006
4:35 pm	Big cars and the silly people who want them In the recent budget, Mr. Brown made it more expensive to drive big off-road 4X4 cars. I like these kind of cars, because I like going off-roading. I love being in the back of a 15 year old Land Rover while it bombs down a public byway. I like seeing if we can get mud up all the sides and the roof, all while trying to stop my skull from being driven through said roof and my spine from driving through my pelvis when we crash back down to earth. I love it, and I can see why people should still pay extra. For a start, it's practically a fun fair ride, and they are usually expensive. Secondly, they are crap for the environment. It's true, they are. So, I was listening to a Radio 1 DJ the other day talking about how her lifestyle has changed and her Audi TT is no longer useful. Getting her child seat in the back is apparently a problem in a two door coupe. Shock horror, you dippy bint. Her solution; She has to get a 4X4. No, you really don't. Have you heard of the Estate class of car? They are large with plenty of room, have 5 doors, massive boots, and are not as bad for the environment. If you think driving an estate will lower your cool rating, get a Saab, they call their's a sports wagon. See, that sounds cool? And I'm sure it's only a matter of time til Volvo bring one out that runs on rainbow juice and the only thing that comes out of it's exhaust will be fairy tears. Current Mood: bitchy Current Music: Linkin Park, Breaking the habit (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 26th, 2006
5:48 pm	A most eventful night. So, yesterday I got up around noon, had a bath, watched some Firefly, and went home. My housemate and best friend, Jo, asked me if I fancied going for a drink in Leeds with some friends. I said yes. Oh dear. It started off fine, in the Head of Steam having a quick pint and meeting people. Then on a train with beer, the more drunk amongst us hassling a guy reading a Pink Floyd book, most of us just being noisy. After that it was the Dry Dock and seeing some old friends. From there, several pints later to a very nice pub that was geek heaven. Really. I can't describe how good it was. I may have cum. We got quite drunk in that pub and most people left, leaving just me and Jo, getting more drunk. We started on the spirits. We left a little later than planned and had a bit of a wait for the next Huddersfield bound train. Luckily there is a pub in the train station. The police got involved for the first time a little later. I saw a very cute dog tied up outside the pub that had been there for a while so I complained and the nice police woman made sure the dog was ok. During this we met a nice young lady who joined us at our table. Sadly her male friends weren't that nice and tried to steal my drink. Understandably, I was unhappy with this. I was quite vocal. The lovely policewoman was lovely again and led the young man away. We then went on to the platform and decided to have a little beer sponge at a fast food place. For people who don't know, I like hats. I in fact own a cowboy hat. Its very nice and leathery. I wear it a lot more than it is probably reasonable to wear a cowboy hat, and I was wearing it last night. For some reason, people don't like the hat. Some people were being vocal about their lack of love for the hat. I don't like people who are like that, and I do not back down over things like that. I will not be intimidated out doing what I want. I want to wear a cowboy hat. I almost got in a fight. The lovely police woman took a statement, and we tried hard to convince that one of the guys that was arrested was just doing his best to stop six guys beating up me and my mate. For people who don't know Jo, she is a girl. There was SIX if them about to beat up a guy and girl because the guy was wearing a hat they didn't like. Eventually I got home to find out about the stuff that has so annoyed my girlfriend, the lovely Ritchie (madam dorothy). I will not mention it here, they don't deserve to have it mentioned again. I was more annoyed than I had been all night, a night that had involved talking to the same police woman three times, and almost getting in two fights. My bedroom wall has two dents in it now. One of them may require the work of a plasterer. My hand has swollen up somewhat. I can live with people calling me names. I honestly don't care that much. It's the reason, and how. But that didn't annoy me anywhere near as much as I was annoyed by the way it made my girlfriend feel. In other news, Green Day ROCK! Current Mood: confused Current Music: Some starnge version of "under the sea" (8 Comments |Comment on this)