vervet_monkey

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:04:16 GMT

I cannot learn languages. This is what I have decided.

I'm trying to learn Swahili before going to Tanzania. Just a little to give me a starting point. I can't. I can read the book and listen to the CD and do the exercises, but as soon as I put them away, they're gone. Except for the odd word, which gets stuck in my head and won't leave (ninatoka at the moment, meaning I am going to...). I'm trying, really. Lots of short bursts and writing and speaking and listening to it when ever I can, but no. Nothing. Hello, how was your morning, how was your journey and I am going to. That is the extent of my vocabulary. Grrrr it's frustrating.

Spent this weekend visiting the parents. Built a log store with Dad on Saturday, as well as pulling up lots of beetroot and picking raspberries. (The raspberries all got eaten, but I managed to accidently steal some beetroot). Brother and his girlfriend joined us out to dinner, which means we spent the meal acting like 5 years olds. Me and my brother tend to get excitable when we see each other, I think his girlfriend must think I'm insane, I'm always giggling and talking complete rubbish. Shopping with parents on Sunday. Not that I needed anything but it seems to be the default activity. Although I do now have a pair of jeans without any holes in them (Mum did confiscate my old pair of jeans before I came back home, I definitely missed out on her fashion genes completely).

It was also apparently my birthday. I always thought I was born in December but Mum has decided that in order that she doesn't get sad this Christmas it was my birthday last weekend and will be Christmas when I return. I had cake and presents and everything (Biodegradable soap, hand sanitiser and a waterproof laptop case, they know me so well!). All a bit odd but who's going to say no to cake (chocolate and beetroot, yum) and presents?

No newts to report, as per usual. My normal partner has gone on holiday, so I'm being very nice to people still in Southampton and a surprising number are willing to get up at stupid hours to help me.

There is a spider trying to climb up my wall but he keeps falling off. I thought spiders were supposed to be good at climbing?

Sticking with the wildlife theme, we have a sparrowhawk in our garden. She's visited us a few times now, generally with a frog to eat, perching next to the compost bin. She is very beautiful, I keep trying to photograph her but I left my long lens at my parents so I haven't been able to get anything passable yet. But it does please me to see her out there every so often.

Sherlock is rapidly becoming another obsession. Which is daft, I've only seen them once and there's only three of them. But apparently my head likes it and isn't letting go. I've been reading fanfiction for the first time in about 4 years (I'd forgotten how sad it could be...) and brought my copy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles books back to Southampton with me. I may have to see if I can aquire a second hand copy of the DVD's at some point soon.

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Sherlock

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 10:47:06 GMT

Just seen the last episode of Sherlock. Really? Really? That's how it finishes? Not Fair!

I hate that man!

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Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:23:31 GMT

This entry is basically me trying out whether I have dreamwidth crossposting to LJ. Which means I don't really have anything interesting to say, but I will anyway.

Went riding on Saturday. Was a little disappointed when I arrived as I had been promised a horse (we have some amazing horses, £30,000 competition horses. Amazingly talented but also very capable of just pinging you out of the saddle because they are so powerful, and their owners are normally scared we'll break them) but because of the other people riding (who are far better than me) I was riding one of the ponies instead. We were going to go out and bomb round the field, popping over a few of the cross country jumps with him, but took him into the small school first as he was trying to break out of his stable, which can mean he's in a foul mood. Except this time I think someone must have told him I was supposed to be riding one of the competition horses, he was amazing (and worse on the ground than normal, which is typical of the competition horses!). Didn't end up taking him into the field, he was just so responsive and off the leg and coming round. Really beautiful. And I could just hear my old instructor in my head going "a horse is only as good as it's rider" when people would turn up to comps with horses that were too good for them, and we'd beat them on our little riding school ponies. So not so disappointed after all.

Spent yesterday in bed with a cold that was actually trying to kill me. I knew it was coming, but being me rather than taking it easy so that it didn't get worse, just ignored it until it wouldn't let me any more. Watched a lot of Who and read the briefing for Tanzania. Feeling mostly better today, have come into town to do shopping for Tanzania and use the internet. And buy ginger beer, which I was craving yesterday.

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