Sometimes I wonder....

Who is Kathryn Brain?

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 23:14:18 GMT

See what your name says about you. Go to:

http://www.paulsadowski.com/NameData.asp

Accurate or not? You tell me!

You entered: kathryn brain
There are 12 letters in your name.
Those 12 letters total to 60
There are 3 vowels and 9 consonants in your name.

What your first name means:Irish Female Variant of Katherine: Pure. Clear. Innocent. From the Gaelic form Caitlin.
Greek Female Variant of Katherine. Pure.
French Female Variant of Catherine: Pure, clear. Form of the Latin Katharina, from the Greek Aikaterina.
English Female Variant of Katherine. Pure.
Latin Female Variant of Catherine: Pure, clear. Form of the Latin 'Katharina', from the Greek 'Aikaterina'. It was borne by a number of saints, including St Catherine of Alexandria, a 4th century martyr who suffered torture on a spiked wheel.

Your number is: 6

The characteristics of #6 are: Responsibility, protection, nurturing, community, balance, sympathy.

The expression or destiny for #6:
The number 6 Expression provides you a truly outstanding sense of responsibility, love, and balance. The 6 is helpful and ever conscientious, making you quite capable of rectifying and balancing any sort of inharmonious situation. You are a person very much inclined to give help and comfort to those in need. You have a natural penchant for working with the old, the young, the sick, or the underprivileged. Although you may have considerable creative and artistic talents, the chances are that you will devote yourself to an occupation that shows concern for the betterment of the community.

The positive side of the number 6 suggests that you are very loving, friendly, and appreciative of others. You have a depth of understanding that produces much sympathetic, kindness, and generosity. The qualities of the 6 make the finest and most concerned parent and one often deeply involved in domestic activities. Openness and honesty is apparent in your approach to all relationships.

If there is an excess of the number 6 in your makeup, you may exhibit some of the negative traits associated with this number. There may be a tendency for you to be too exacting and demanding of yourself. In this regard, you may at times sacrifice yourself (or your loved ones) for the welfare of others. In some cases, the over zealous 6 has difficulty distinguishing helping from interfering. You may have difficulty expressing your own individuality, because of involvement with responsibilities and causes. Like all with the Expression of the number 6, it's quite likely that you worry much too much.

Your Soul Urge number is: 11

A Soul Urge number of 11 means:
With the 11 Soul Urge, much of your thinking and interests relate to the abstract, the spiritual, and utopian dreams. You are motivated toward idealistic concepts, and the sharing of your ideas and concepts with humanity. This number is not one that is giving in a material or a practical sense, but rather one who desires to help mankind with a more abstract commodity such as religion, spiritualism, occult studies, or even psychic abilities.

If you possess the positive 11 Soul Urge traits, you have a dream of the perfect world; you are highly idealistic and inspirational. Your inner strength and devotion to your beliefs are extremely strong. You have a very good mind that is especially well equipped to handle the higher, more abstract forms of thought.

If there is an excess of 11 energy in your makeup, you may possess some the negative 11 traits. There is a tendency for the 11 to produce considerable amounts of nervous tension which is bought on by a very high level of awareness. You may be too sensitive and overly emotional. In some cases, these sensitivities and emotions are quite repressed, and this tends to add even more to the sense of nervousness in the makeup.

The strong 11 is not a very practical person because of the extreme idealism; often, there is a degree of self-deception present. There is usually a rather fixed idea of right and wrong held by those showing strong 11 traits, and with this very often is a resulting attitude of inflexibility.

Your Inner Dream number is: 4

An Inner Dream number of 4 means:
You dream of being a very solid citizen that people can depend upon. You strive for organization and predictable order. You want to be recognized as a person with a plan and the discipline to make that plan work like clockwork.

Stupid!

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 23:27:40 GMT

I succumbed and asked Steve to email me the photo George took.

Can somebody please explain to me...

A)    Why I didn't have my photo taken with this man?

B)   Why I didn't pay a little more attention?

I am sooooo stupid sometimes!!

And already I've started posting crap!

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 21:58:54 GMT

A
• Are you available?: For the right person
• What is your age?: Old enough to know better
• What annoys you?: Everything at the moment

B
• Do you know anyone named Billy?: No
• When is your birthday?: 8th April
• Who is your best friend?: I don't have just one

C
• What's your favourite candy?: Curly Wurly at the moment.
• When was the last time you cried?: This afternoon

D
• Do you daydream?: Constantly
• What's your favourite kind of dog?: Jack Russell
• What day of the week is it?: Wednesday

E
• How do you like your eggs?: Over easy
• Gone to the emergency room?: Yes
• Have you ever pet an elephant?: No

F
• Do you use fly swatters?: No
• Have you ever used a foghorn?: No
• Is there a fan in your room?: Yes

G
• Do you chew gum?: Sometimes
• Do you like gummy candies?: Not really
• Do you like gory movies?: Yes, but only if they have at least the pretence of a storyline.

H
• How are you?: Ugh, you had to ask! Fed up, pissed off, tired and in pain.

I
• Whats your favourite ice cream?: Vanilla
• Have you ever ice skated? Nope!
• Ever been in an igloo? No

J
• What's your favourite Jelly Bean?: Don't have a favourite
• Do you wear jewellery? My watch, small hoop earrings, my Arabic necklace and a ring.

K
• Who do you want to kill?: No-one. But I could name a few I'd like to send to a special hell for awhile.
• Have you ever flown a kite?: Yes
• Do you think kangaroos are cute?: Yes

L
• Lions or tigers?: Both.
• Do you like black liquorice?: A world of no

M
• Favourite movie as a kid?: Oooh....Grease I think.
• Favourite store at the mall?: Don't have one

N
• Do you have a nickname?: Yes, a few.
• Whats your favourite number?: 8
• Do you prefer night or day?: Depends what I'm doing.

O
• What's your one wish?: If I tell you it won't come true.
• Only child?: Hardly. I'm the youngest of six!
• Do you like the colour orange?: I do.
• What's one thing you want to do before you die?: Live. REALLY live!

P
• What are you most paranoid about?: Being liked.
• Piercings?: Ears
• You know anyone named Penelope?: No

Q
• Are you quick to judge people?: No. I tend to start off liking most people only to be disappointed later.
• Do you like Quaker Oats?: Yes.
• Know anyone that makes quilts?: No

R
• Do you think you're always right?: No, although I don't like to admit to being wrong.
• Do you watch reality TV?: Yes
• Reason to cry?: There's always a reason to cry. Fortunately there's usually a reason to laugh too....and often it's the same reason!

S
• Do you prefer sun or rain?: Sun
• Do you like snow?: To look at, yes. But the cold, wet reality is not pleasant.
• Whats your favourite season?: Love them all for different reasons.

T
• What time is it?: 22.51
• What time did you wake up?: 7.35a.m

U
• Can you ride a unicycle?: Do I look as though I balance well?
• Do you know anyone with a unibrow? Not that I know of.
• How many uncles do you have? 3 living, 1 deceased.

V
• What's the worst vegetable?: Celery
• Ever considered being vegan?: No. Was vegetarian for a year or so in my teens and that was tough enough.

W
• What's your worst habit?: Avoidance.
• Do you like water rides?: Yes. I just wish they provided drying areas!
• Been inside a windmill?: I think so, when I was a kid.

X
• Have you ever had an x-ray? Several.
• Ever used a Xerox machine?: Yes
• Play the xylophone?: Only in school.

Y
• Do you like the colour yellow?: Love it. But not to wear.
• What year were you born in: 1975
• Do you yell when you're angry?: Yes

Z
• Do you believe in the zodiac?: Only if I can make my horoscope apply to my mood.
• What's your zodiac sign: Aries.

Crap day!

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 21:48:06 GMT

It's on days like these when all I want to do is curl up and sleep. Unfortunately, due to the stubborn nature of my body and mind I'm still running on LA time and sleep is not likely to arrive for several more hours.

The day started badly when my Manager came into my office and announced she needed a meeting with me to discuss "some comments you made to the auditors" before my holiday. I asked her what comments and her reply was "I don't know offhand. It's a 4 page report and I can't look now because I have a meeting" so I was left dangling for several hours wondering what the hell she was referring to. I wasn't worried as such because I'd only told the auditors the truth and therefore if anything was being done incorrectly it wasn't my fault anyway...but it was still something I could have done without.

One of the comments in question was about how quickly the budget reports are checked after we receive them. I'd said that we do them "as soon as we can, workload permitting" which led my Manager to go into a long patronising tirade about "are you coping? If you're finding it a struggle then we're failing you as a department and maybe we need to get you some more training or something." I explained that training (or lack of it) wasn't the problem and that I only find the workload a challenge at times because they cut my hours by seven hours per week!! Grrr!

After work I went to my GP's office to see the nurse about my bad neck. I explained that it has been hurting for over three weeks now and that movement is restricted. She examined me and said I have torticollis (muscle spasm in the neck and shoulders) and prescribed some anti-inflammatories. She said that if it's no better in a couple of weeks I should go back to see her because it may require physio and also an x-ray as I may have a touch of arthritis in my shoulder. Oh what joy!

On the plus side, I've had enquiries about cakes from three different people today. Extra money...hurrah!

The Writer or the Reader?

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 22:30:55 GMT

I've been moaned at by a couple of people lately for not keeping my LJ updated. Unfortunately, I can't seem to summon any enthusiasm for doing it at the moment and I've been trying to think of why that might be. I think it might be a combination of a couple of reasons, one being that I'm now spending my working day in front of a computer and so I don't want to spend all evening online like I used to. The lovely summer we've had is another reason. Spare time during the day was spent in the garden, and the evenings were just too damn hot to sit upstairs at the computer.

And now all this pondering has left me curious............who is this journal for? Is it for me to get my feelings out and be able to look back at the events of my life? If so, then why is it available for all to read? I mean, if someone pisses me off I'm hardly going to write it somewhere where that person could read exactly what I think of them at that point in time. So am I writing it for others? My life really isn't that interesting. The few comments my posts attract reflect that fact! My friends already know what goes on in my life, they have no need to read it. And why should I lay the details of my life out for total strangers? So maybe it's for acquaintances? But if acquaintances had any real interest in my life they'd pick the phone up occasionally!!!

Hmmm, too much thought for one night. I need my bed.

I'll try to update events at the weekend, but may discontinue soon. Keep it as "a year in the life" type thing. We'll see. I'm probably just pms-ing!!

"Tonight's the Night"

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 23:38:38 GMT

....or at least it was on May 22nd for that is when lola_xox and myself went to see it at Birmingham Hippodrome.

"Tonight's the Night" is a musical written by Ben Elton using songs by Rod Stewart, in the same way as "WWRY" uses the music of Queen and "Mamma Mia" uses the music of Abba. Unfortunately, I don't think that Rod Stewart's music quite has the same magic. With the exception of a few songs, most of the music was unfamiliar to me and whilst that's not a huge problem in itself, I didn't leave the theatre wanting to buy either the soundtrack or a Rod Stewart album. The story is a reworking of the faust tale, which again isn't neccessarily a bad thing; it just didn't capture my imagination. I didn't care about any of the characters although "Stoner" made me laugh a lot. I couldn't find fault with any of the performances but there was no-one who really sparkled. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it was all very average.

To top it all off the show over-ran by 20 mins so I missed the last train home and ended up staying at Lou's. I ended up getting home at about 10.30am the following morning......fortunately I'd alread booked the day off work!! Nothing more to add to that really other than that I'm glad I've seen "Tonight's the Night" because it's another one to cross off the list......but I won't bother seeing it again unless someone I like is in the cast!

Silly survey!

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 16:12:07 GMT

1. Do you still talk with the first person you kissed?
Nope. I don't even know his last name!

2. Have you ever seen your best friend naked?
Nope, that'd just be weird.

3. Are you obsessed with someone?
Oh come on, I'm ALWAYS obsessed with someone!

4. What is the best thing about your job?
I'm surrounded by people who make me smile.

5. Did you get any compliments today?
I did. Three different people told me that my cakes were very pretty and really tasty!

6. Where are you going on your next vacation?
Does London count? Next vacation abroad is an LA/Alaska combination!

7. When was the last time you kissed someone?
An innocent little kiss was my mum before I left for work this morning. Snog....I can't remember!

8. Are most of your friends guys or girls?
Probably 50/50

9. Do you own any furniture from Ikea?
Not a thing!

10. If you could have one super power what would it be?
To "orb" like Paige in "Charmed".

11. Where do you see yourself in 4 years?
Probably still here, doing all the same shit I didn't think I'd still be doing 4 years ago!

12. What's your favorite smell?
The ocean, as long as it's real and not some synthetic ocean scented air-freshener!

13. What is your least favorite sound?
Crying.

14. Are you moody?
At least once a month!

15. Favorite movie of all time?
The Shawshank Redemption.

16. Have you ever done anything hurtful to a classmate?
No, I was a good girl.

17. Have you ever gone to therapy?
No, that's what friends are for.

18. Have you ever played spin the bottle?
Yes, but it was the "truth or dare" kind rather than the "snog whoever it lands on" kind.

19. Have you ever liked someone but never told them?
All the time. I told one once...never again!

20. Have you ever gone camping?
Nope.

21. Have you ever had a crush on your sibling's friend?
Nope.

22. Have you ever gone to a nude beach?
Nope.

23. Have you ever gone streaking?
Kind of. *shudder*

24. Have you ever had a stalker?
No, I've never hit the big time!

25. Have you ever gone skinny dipping?
I have, though I prefer to call it "fat dipping"

26. Have you ever been in love?
I thought so at the time.

27. Have you ever been betrayed by your best friend?
Yes.

28. Have you ever lied to your parents?
Do you read my journal? Only white lies though.

29. Last song you listened to?
"Defying Gravity" from Wicked.

30. Are you a jealous person?
Unfortunately, yes.

31. Have you ever spied on someone?
Not with malice.

32. Have you ever slept with one of your coworkers?
Nope.

33. Who was the last person who called you??
My sister.

34. When was the last time you slept for 12 hours straight?
Friday night.

35. Have you ever been cheated on by someone?
Nope.

36. Have you ever stolen anything?
Yes.

37. Have you ever consumed egg nog?
Nope!

38. If you could be anywhere right now where would it be?
Poolside at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Domesticated. May 17th - 21st 2006

Sun, 16 Jul 2006 20:40:25 GMT

On May 21st it was my dad's 75th birthday. Initially, he wanted him & mum to go on holiday to celebrate but they couldn't find cruise dates, duration and locations to suit their requirements so instead they went to Weymouth for a few days whilst I stayed at home to care for John and the pets. They went on the Wednesday when I got home from work, and were returning home on the Saturday.

As soon as mum & dad left I set to work making some shortbread. Dad had said that he didn't want a party for his birthday but mum and I decided that we couldn't let the day pass without some sort of celebration so we arranged a surprise party for the Sunday. I invited all his kids and grandkids (and all but Ken could make it), the woman who co-ordinates his volunteer driving & her partner, our neighbours, and dad's oldest friends who he's known since before he married mum. Of course, with mum being away it meant I was in for a busy few days!!

On the Wednesday night Lizz, Strass & I went to see Pacific Overtures at the Haymarket. I have such fond memories of the last time the show was on so it was great to see it again. Mel, Dougal and Yaa (from Hot Stuff) were all in it so that was an added bonus. After the show Lizz, Strass, Kerryson & myself all went out for an Indian and then I got a cab home arriving not long after midnight. It was a fabulous night but I couldn't completely relax knowing that John was at home alone and that he was my responsibility for a few days. He's sometimes left at home alone for hours and there are no problems, but it was different this time because I was responsible.

Thursday was spent baking a birthday cake and various goodies as well as making sure the house was running smoothly. Normally if I have loads to do I'll just grab a snack as & when, but of course I also had John to feed so I ended up stopping for proper meals. I also had to go into town to order a decoration for the cake which meant getting the bus both ways, so a 20 minute visit to town took over an hour.

Friday was more of the same. I decorated the birthday cake, put the finishing touches to various things and went into town to do the main grocery shop. John was a great help in the kitchen as he did all the washing up as I was making the mess. By Friday night we were both knackered.

On Saturday morning I hid the cake at our neighbours house and then rushed around the house tidying. I think I even made a huge dish of pasta ready for mum & dad coming home.
The folks got home early afternoon and told us all about their trip. They said they'd had a good time although it was a little early in the season to be going to the seaside.

(I'm now bored writing this and it's too bloody hot up here so i'm gonna hurry it up!)

The parentals went out on Saturday night so once again I was rushing around preparing everything in advance that I could. I cooked dozens of sausage rolls, veggie rolls and vol-u-vents and got them all put in boxes, hidden in the garage. I prepared carrot & celery sticks, and cut all the tray-bake type goodies into squares just so that there was less to do the next day. Of course, I also had to make sure that the kitchen was odour-free by the time mum & dad got home!!

On Sunday morning (dad's birthday) we pretended everything was as normal. Dad opened his cards and presents and we even sent him to the supermarket because mum said we had no joint in for dinner! Lizz arrived at 11am and told dad she was taking him out for awhile. We'd been trying to think how we could get dad out of the house so that we could lay the table when I came up with the idea of Lizz taking dad on a trip down memory lane. My dad and grandad both used to be grocers and owned shops in Leicestershire, so Lizz bundled dad into the car and took him to visit each of the shops. I think Lizz found it a bit emotional but dad seemed to love it too.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch......

Mum & I were frantically preparing food when Dad's oldest friends arrived. Fortunately they offered to help so were put to work buttering bread rolls!! All the hot food was still to be cooked as well as putting out the fresh food. Gradually more people arrived and everything was ready by the time Lizz and dad got home!

Dad was genuinely surprised to see everyone and said that he had an inkling I'd made him a cake because he noticed we'd used a lot of eggs, but other than that he had no idea. We grumble at him quite a lot as he's getting older, but he's a good un really so it was nice to be able to do something special for him. I was completely knackered by the end of it all, but it was worth it.

Looking back, the only thing that pissed me off a little was that all dad has told anyone about is how Lizz took him to the shops and to his old house. Everything was my idea and I did 99% of the work, and yet Lizz still manages to get the recognition. Don't get me wrong, I didn't do it for praise. I did it so that dad could have a memorable birthday. It's just......well.....you either understand or you don't.

WWRY (13th May 2006)

Sun, 16 Jul 2006 19:50:47 GMT

If you read my previous "catch up" entry you'll know that on the Saturday night of "Not Fade Away", lola_xox & I decided to go into the West End to see WWRY. We had an amazing night (ok, I'm cheating on the show details and reading Lou's LJ because it was so long ago I can't remember the specifics of the show). The audience was really up for it, which is often the case for a Saturday night. As much as the show is always great on Saturday matinees, the audience can sometimes be quite laid back and there's just not the right atmosphere. Saturday nights usually rock!

The cast were full of fun, pulling faces at each other and making each other giggle. It wasn't enough to spoil things for newbies, but it gave us regulars something a bit different to smile at.

Despite me wanting to get back to the Thistle at a reasonable hour, a trip to WWRY wouldn't be complete without a visit to stage door so we trundled round after the show. Ian and Virna made an appearance but Ian had to leave so Virna stayed with us for awhile. We spoke to Peter J and commented the the cast "seemed a little......" and he finished the sentence with the word "drunk!" He explained to us that there was a film crew over from Sweden doing a documentary about him and that they'd been filming portions of the show. After Peter left, the cameramen came over to us and asked if they could ask us a few questions about Peter. We agreed and they set about asking questions along the lines of "Do you think Peter is a good Galileo?" and "Do you think it matters that Peter is blonde?". I think we gave reasonable answers until we were asked to "say something nice about Peter" and we all just stood there going "Ummmmmm!" for several seconds. Not our finest moment! Still, it was all in good fun and I'm sure we made a lot more sense than some of the people they could have asked!!

After giggling a lot about being "Swedish TV stars", Lou and I headed back to the Thistle for the remainder of the convention!

Photo meme (& quiz)

Sun, 16 Jul 2006 12:52:43 GMT

Stolen from rosebud81

Google Image search the answer to these questions. Then either post the first picture you find for each question or include a link to it. No cheating: the picture MUST be the first one shown.

1. Your age on your next birthday:

2. Your favourite colour:

3. Your middle name: (I don't have one so I entered the name my friend used to tell people was my middle name)

4. The last meal you ate:

5. Your bad habit:

6. Your favourite fruit or vegetable:

7. Your favourite animal:

8. The town you live in:

9. The name of your pet or past pet (not counting fish):

9. Your best friend's name:

10: Your first name (nickname):

11. Your last name:

Some of those pictures don't make a lot of sense, which is where the "quiz" part comes in! Big brownie points for the first person who can decode the pictures to answer the questions! :)

It's been awhile.

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 22:22:11 GMT

I haven't updated this for so long, it's beginning to feel like a chore rather than something that should be for fun. Therefore, instead of trying (and failing) to remember in detail everything I've done in the last couple of months, I'm going to make a few short(er) entries and fill them out with photos.

Not Fade Away (12th-14th May 2006)

Starfury's final Angel convention seemed set to go out with a wimper rather than a bang and I know I wasn't the only con regular who wasn't particularly looking forward to it. The majority of the guests announced had been over several times, and whilst it's good to see familiar faces I wasn't really excited about seeing them (with the exception of Andy Hallett maybe because cruise guests are just fab!). A couple of days before the event I'd heard rumours about surprise guests, but Sean harry had catagorically stated that he wasn't having surprise guests anymore because attendees didn't appreciate them....so I didn't know what to think!

Lou & I arrived at the Thistle on the Friday lunchtime and met up with the usual convention crowd (Clair, Angie, Clare, Gail, Toni, Maz, Davina & Singleteers) and finally got to meet Ely_Jan! . Nothing new to report about the hotel or Starfury.

The Opening Ceremony on the Friday night proved that the rumours of surprise guests were correct and that as well as the announced guests (Amy Acker, J. August Richards, Christian Kane, Steve Carlson, Adrienne Wilkinson, Dayne Johnson & Andy Hallett) we were also going to be joined by Clare Kramer, Keith Szarabajka and Vincent Kartheiser. It was finally turning into more of an event.....but I still wasn't in a convention frame of mind.

(Apologies for the layout of the photos. Any advice on how to place them where you actually want them to go would be greatly appreciated!!)

Lou & I stewarded a on photo sales and then went to join Clair and Angie at a Chinese restaurant just up the road.

I've left this report way too long and am now sketchy on the details, but seem to recall Saturday daytime mainly being spent stewarding. We caught a couple of guest talks, but I don't remember what was said. I don't think there was anything we hadn't heard before.

Feeling decidedly underwhelmed, Lou & I decided to take ourselves into the West End on Saturday night to a place where we knew we'd have a good time. Dominion Theatre anyone? More on that in a different entry. However, upon turning my phone on during the interval I was greeted with 2 texts from Vickie, the first saying "Guess who's here....JONATHAN!" and the second being a little photo to prove it! There was also a voicemail from Adi, Gail & Toni saying the same thing, albeit far less coherently! Never have I so badly wanted to be in two places at once!

We arrived back at the Thistle a little after midnight and I immediately spotted Jonathan chatting to a small group of people outside. I'm not usually one to approach a guest and interrupt a conversation but hey, it was Jonathan and the conversation was probably a load of nonsense anyway!! I was greeted with a hug and kiss and we stood with our arms round each other for a few minutes, chatting. Some random girl came over and grabbed Jonathan's arse which he was none too pleased about. He kind of laughed it off whilst letting her know she was out of order. He then introduced me to her as his "ass-protector". She asked me if she could have a feel, and he subtly squeezed my shoulder to let me know how to answer! I told her to "back off, bitch!". Ok, so I didn't. I told her that she wasn't allowed but I felt like screaming at her. How dare she treat him like public property? I'd never dream of just grabbing someone like that. I have friends that I wouldn't just go up to and pinch their bum! Some people! Grrr!

Lou & I went into the main hall and found the singleteers, Gail & Toni. There was some girl from the Starfury boards having her head shaved for charity and Jonathan ended up with the scissors so I stayed to watch that and then hung around with a very drunken Gail & Toni until the wee small hours.

Sunday involved an early start because we were stewarding yet again. I wasn't best pleased to discover that when collecting our towels on Saturday morning, the maid had also collected my cream, Egyptian cotton bath sheet and sent it to the laundry! I had a little moan at reception and they said they'd try to get it back before we left.

Stewarded on photo sales with a fab woman called Rebekah. She made me giggle...a lot!

We saw most of the talks on the Sunday but again, there was nothing really new.

I only purchased a couple of 10x8's over the weekend and had only planned to have the group photo, but ended up getting pics with Christian and Jonathan too. There were new photographers which seemed strange because Starfury and Dave Sumner just seemed to go together, but I'm pleased with the results from the new guy.

On Sunday afternoon Jenny asked if I'd help with stewarding for Jonathan's autograph session as it was unscheduled and therefore there were no stewards arranged. I had to think about it for all of half a second! It was quite a cushty little job as I got to sit down near the autograph table and basically just tell people to move along! At the end of the session I got my autograph from Jonathan and said goodbye as Lou and I would probably have to leave before the Closing ceremony.

Indeed, the closing ceremony had only just started when we had to leave to get our taxi to the bus station. Typically, when we arrived at the bus station we discovered our bus was delayed! It was only half an hour though so wouldn't have made too much of a difference.

All in all I had a good weekend. It was good to see some friends whom I don't see as often as I'd like, although I missed Baby Nai and Eonie. Going to the theatre was a great way of spending the Saturday night as we still had plenty of partying time when we got back. And Jonathan turning up was the highlight of it all. But if you know me then you knew that anyway!! :)

1000 words? Sod that!

Fri, 26 May 2006 19:11:07 GMT

Snagged from ely_jan

Ask me to take a picture of any aspect of my life that you're interested in/curious about - it can be anything from the house I live in to my favorite shoes. Leave your choice here as a comment, and I will reciprocate by taking the pictures and posting them as an LJ entry. That way you get to know a little bit about my life.

Fabulous idea. I just hope you guys indulge me. :)

50 of the MOST Random Questions Ever

Tue, 09 May 2006 22:17:18 GMT

1. Where were you 1 hour ago?
The same place I am now!

2. Who will be your next kiss?
No idea.

3. What is the largest amount of money you spent in one store?
Not shitloads, probably £2000

4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?
Yes thankyou.

5. When is the last time you went to the mall?
A week ago.

6. Are you wearing socks right now?
Yeah

**What happened to number 7?**

8. When was the last time you drove out of town?
I don't drive, and haven't been "out of town" for about a week.

9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?
No

**Where did number 10 get to?**

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
A very British cup of tea.

12. What are you wearing right now?
Clothes

13. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it?
Don't have a car due to the "not driving" thing!

14. Last fast food you ate?
Fish and chips

15. Where were you last week at this time?
Watching "Lost".

16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
Nope.

17. When is the last time you ran?
Ran? Do I look as though I run?

18. What's the last sporting event you watched?
A little bit of the snooker final but only coz someone else was watching it. Through choice? Baseball.

19. What is your favorite class?
As long as you have class, it doesn't matter what sort! ;)

20. Your dream vacation?
World cruise.

21. Last persons house you were in?
My brother's for my niece's 18th birthday bash!

22. How old are your parents?
Mum 73, Dad almost 75

23. Are you in love?
Not now and never have been

24. Do u miss anyone?
Yes

25. Last play you saw?
Not a "play", but last thing at the theatre was Stephen Sondheim's "Into The Woods" a week or so ago.

**26 is out playing with 7 and 10**

27. What are your plans for tonight?
The night is almost over but i might watch "Lost" before I go to bed.

28. Who is the last person you sent a message to on MySpace?
Andy Evans

**29 went to look for 7, 10 and 26**

30. Ever go to camp?
As in "Summer camp"? Not sure if we have those here so I'll make it a "holiday camp" and the answer is yes, when I was a kid I loved Butlins!

31. Were you an honor roll student in school?
There's never been anything honourable about me!

32. What do you want to know about the future?
Other than next week's lottery numbers? I'd rather take it one day at a time thanks.

33. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne?
Nope.

34. Are you hungry?
Nope.

35. Where is your best friend located?
I have 3 best friends. One is downstairs, one is in Kidderminster and one is in Cornwall.

36. Who is your best friend?
My mum, Louise and Catherine.

37. Do you have a tan?
No. I managed to spend one day in the sun and then the weather changed and it's been raining all week!

38. How old do you want to be when you have kids?
Old enough to not feel as though I've missed out on my own life.

39. Do you collect anything?
Not really.

**Change title to "45 of the MOST random questions**

41. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over?
Never have.

42. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw?
Er...yeah.

43. How do you like your drinks?
Room temperature. I have hiccup issues!

44. Do u like hot sauce?
Occasionally.

45. Last time you took a shower?
This morning.

46. Do you need to do laundry?
As in right this second...I don't feel the need.

47. What is your heritage?
Complicated.

48. Are you someone's best friend?
I hope so.

49. Are you rich?
In monetary terms, no...but in lots of other ways I am.

50. What do you think of the person who took this survey before you?
I think he's creative, complicated, brilliant, impulsive...and even more random than these questions!

Worth the wait!

Tue, 02 May 2006 20:24:42 GMT

Isn't it a great feeling when patience is rewarded with something better than you'd hoped for in the first place?

MONTHS ago I ordered something online but it never materialised. I gave a couple of gentle reminders just to ensure that I wasn't forgotten, but basically told the seller that I knew they'd send it when they had the time and that there was no hurry.

I just got in from work to find a couple of cute little packages had been delivered this morning. Not only did they contain the item I'd ordered, but there were also several extra little goodies that brought a smile to my often fairly miserable face!

Yeah, I had to wait for the item I'd ordered...but I ended up smiling far more than I would have done if just that item had arrived on time. I guess good things really do come to those who wait!

Boring!

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 13:30:31 GMT

I've come to the conclusion that I'm either VERY boring, or I'm way too free with my thoughts and feelings! How have I reached this conclusion???

I give you all carte blanche to ask me ANYTHING you want, and only one person takes me up on it!

How rude!!!

Brain's brain!

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 23:26:43 GMT

Your Brain is 66.67% Female, 33.33% Male

Your brain leans female

You think with your heart, not your head

Sweet and considerate, you are a giver

But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Six questions

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 23:01:08 GMT

YOU CAN ASK ME SIX QUESTIONS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

__________________________________________________

No matter how random, revealing, sexual, rude, or pointless

__________________________________________________

I'll try to answer them 100% truthfully

__________________________________________________

Out of the six questions, I reserve the right to answer one privately. The other five I will answer publically.

__________________________________________________

[[[Repost this to see what others ask you...]]]

WWRY...again!

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 23:58:22 GMT

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!

I hope you've all had a lovely Easter. Mine was spent doing a couple of my favourite things.....watching WWRY and eating chocolate!!

My brother John has been dropping hints to lola_xox and myself for months that he'd like to see "We Will Rock You" but we told him that he could only go if he practised the hand claps and arm waving ready for "Radio Ga-Ga", "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions". On Friday night, after watching Queen on American Idol, we finally told him that we thought he was good enough to see the show! His face lit up like a Christmas tree!!

We left for the train station at 9.30 Saturday morning, in plenty of time to get the 10.30am train. We arrived in London just before noon and made our way straight to the Dominion where we met up with Ed and Ian. I'd bought the new cast programmes for myself and John on Wednesday so that he could get some autographs as the cast were going in, as they always seem more willing to spend a few minutes chatting then.

Ed took a picture of John, Lou & me before anyone arrived...just to try out the camera obviously!

The other Ian arrived and brought Lou and myself huge Creme Egg Easter eggs...thanks Ian!

John did MUCH better than Lou and I on our first visit....he got autographs from all the main cast as well as some ensemble, had photos with Peter, Jenna, Rachael, Colin, Mazz and Simon and even managed to sneak in kisses for Mazz, Rachael and Jenna (who said she'd never wash her face again!). Brownie points for the day go to Alex B who was sooo sweet with John I wanted to hug him. We told him how John had been practising his hand claps, so he asked if we were sitting at the front and told John that if he went wrong he'd look at John for what to do. He did look down at John during the finalé and gave him a thumbs-up; and then after the show he asked him if he'd enjoyed it, but it was the fact that he said "Did you enjoy it John?" that meant so much. Alex...thank you for being so sweet. You're a gentleman.

As for Lou and myself....we had a girly day getting photos with fit blokes! I resisted the temptation to ask Simon for a photo myself though.....didn't want to appear too obsessed! We got Ricardo's autograph as he went into the theatre but didn't ask for a photo as he was in his bike leather's and helmet. However, when he left the theatre a little later on wearing "normal" clothes, I took the initiative upon his return and asked him "Can we please have a photo now you've got your gear off?" which caused tittering amongst the others!! Still, it got us our photos....

We also got photos with Colin and the lovely Alex B.

The show was excellent despite there being a rather subdued audience. There were a couple of bloopers which made it all the more fun for us regulars, and John just loved the whole thing!

After the show I went to grab a photo with Rachael, which Lisa almost walked into so I grabbed her for the photo too.

After everyone had drifted off our little gang went to the box office to book tickets for the evening show of Lou's birthday, and then stood outside chatting because we didn't want to leave. Eventually we realised we'd better go and so Lou, John and myself made our way back to St Pancras and got the train home.

We did the traditional "stop for a Chinese" on the way home, watched the end of a DVD, exchanged dozens of silly text messages with "the boys" and went to bed late, feeling very tired!

Another great day out!

Extended birthday celebrations.

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 23:12:48 GMT

lola_xox was on another course in London last week, but because it was Good Friday her course was running from Mon -Thurs. I was working Mon - Wed so was only able to join her on Wednesday night. We'd arranged to meet up with Ed, Tony and Ian and went for dinner at TGI's. We all ordered "ultimate" cocktails ~Tony had a Screaming Orgasm and Lou and I had our usual Piná Colada's!

After waiting forever for our food and then eating it as quickly as humanly possible, we rushed over to the Dominion with minutes to spare before curtain up! Lou and I were sat in "Simon Seats" which we usually consider to be a great view, but are now making us increasingly embarrassed during "Play The Game" when he's gyrating only 3 feet in front of us! Still, I'd rather sit there than not. :D

What is left to say about the show? I still frikkin love it! It's awesome every time. The audience can make a difference, but even with a shite audience it's still an amazing show. Love it, love it, love it!

After the show we all filed round to Stage Door. Tony had told me he had a surprise for my birthday and I was thrilled when Tony Bourke (drummer) appeared and handed me a drum head that he'd signed for me. It's a great souvenir of the show and I'll treasure it forever. Thanks Tony! (Both of them!)

We said quick hello's to the cast and then went round to Hugo's to make the most of the fact that we didn't have to rush to get home or back to Lizz's. Tony Bourke was already there when we got there so we joined him and sat drinking for a couple of hours. Hugo's has been (is in the process of being) renovated and is really quite comfortable now. About 20 feet away from our table sat Simon B, Alex B and Ricardo so Lou and I were more than happy with the view. Apologies to the Tony's, Ed and Ian for looking over your shoulders all night!

As the drinks were downed, the cameras came out and the photos got sillier!

And never let it be said I'm afraid to make a fool of myself......

Tony B and Ed were the first to leave, due to having to catch trains home but Lou, Tony, Ian and myself stayed till just before 2am. It was a great night, thank you to all concerned. :D

It was only when I got home on Thursday that I realised how the whole London/WWRY thing makes me feel. I told Lou about it yesterday and she kinda laughed at me, but it's the only was I can describe how I feel. You know the movie "The Wizard Of Oz"? How Dorothy's life in Kansas is in black & white, and it's only when she gets to Oz that it becomes glorious technicolour? That's how I feel when I'm in London/at WWRY/with friends. I feel as though my day to day life here in Coalville is played out in B&W, and it's only when I escape from that for awhile that things turn into colour. Everything is more alive, more vibrant.....and much more fun. Does it sound daft? I don't really care if it does. It's honest, and I'm not one for hiding the truth.

Birthday.

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 22:03:50 GMT

Firstly, let me begin by saying "thank you" to all those who sent me birthday wishes. I had a quiet but very enjoyable day. The morning was spent having a lovely lie-in. In fact, I only got up when I did because Mum was asking "are you ever planning to get up and open your cards?".

I had lots of very nice cards...even one that was posted in Australia! Pressies included Dvd's of Acorn Antiques and Phantom, flowers, money, a WWRY book and keyring (lots of squee involved), and cd's of Journey South and Jamie Kane (even more squee! Seriously, it was squee-city!) lola_xox, I'll love you forever! ;)

My day was spent re-arranging photos in a huge frame to go on my bedroom wall. I've spent months collecting and printing enough photos to fill the damn thing and I finally had enough so Lou and myself got creative. I'm really pleased with the result. If you can see yourself in the following picture then it means I love you loads! :) Either that or I fancy you like mad!

Saturday night Lou and I went to the NIA in Birmingham to see the Sugababes. Originally Eóin and Lou were gonna go but then he couldn't go and I said I'd like to, so he very generously gave me his ticket for my birthday. He also gave my the Phantom DVD so I'm a very lucky lady. Love you Irish!

Sugababes were excellent. Lou had emailed me the set list and given me the songs to learn on iTunes so i was well rehearsed.

As always it took forever to get out of the car park after the concert so we were quite late getting home.

The good news is that although I was only outside for about 5 minutes at a time, my rash didn't come back at all! Woohoo! :D

All in all it was a good day. You know, this being in your thirties thing isn't too bad at all!

Bandwagon jumpage!

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:05:49 GMT

I've joined the MySpace lot! Dunno why really coz it's confusing me. I guess I was bored. Anyway, I'm here....

http://www.myspace.com/katbx

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 14:08:17 GMT

Candy Striper
You scored 78% Do Gooder, 54% Drive, and 60% Intellect!

(That's STRIPER, not Stripper) You are a very helpful person indeed, always ready to lend a hand, ear, shoulder, or any other body part that may be required. You are warm and caring, as well as resourceful and effective. You are actually one of the best categories of human beings on this test. You're smart, but not too smart for your own good. I think you could benefit from some self-preservation because you are such an unselfish giver who is willing to help at a moment's notice. Not that that's a bad thing, just make some time for yourself now and then. The world would benefit from more people like you.

All human being categories are: Lazy SOB, Rebel w/out a Cause, Evil Mastermind, Henchman, Criminal, Dictator, Frat Boy, Socialite, Philosopher, Stunt Double, Upstanding Citizen, Teacher, Cheerleader, Sister Mary DoGood, Benefactor, Loyal Sidekick, Candy Striper, Goody Two-Shoes.

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 87% on Do Gooder

You scored higher than 29% on Drive

You scored higher than 25% on Intellect

Link: The What Type of Human Are You? Test written by weeredIII on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

I want to scream!

Wed, 05 Apr 2006 18:41:06 GMT

I have no idea what I'm gonna write here but I just need to let off some steam and have a good old whinge!

I'm pissed off! I'm having an "I hate my life" day and am seriously considering going to bed just so that the day can be finished with. Work was ok this morning but then Sue came back at lunchtime and didn't even bother to say hello to me. I could hear her chatting to Vic and then making some comment about me. It was nothing nasty, but I didn't like her tone. She was implying that I'm useless. Maybe she's right. I'm not much good for anything thesedays.

I can't go outside for longer than a couple of minutes. Dad has been taking me to work and picking me up again but because of his volunteer driving it meant I had to be at work from 8.10am till 4.30pm today. I know that's usual hours for most people but it made it a long day for me so by the time I got home I was really achy.

I have the most stupid fucking allergy in the world! I washed my hands at work today but becuase i didn't let the water warm up first, 5 minutes later I had hands that were bright red, swollen and itching like hell!!

Mum is in a grumpy mood too. She's mad at my Dad for practically everything (some of it justified, some not) and then she just wants to moan about him to me. I really don't want to hear it but know it'll upset her if I tell her that coz she'll think she has no-one to vent to. What I'd really love to do is get the dog and go for a nice long walk....except, oh yes...I can't fucking go outside!!!!

ARGHHHHH!!!!!!!

I need to emigrate!

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 19:32:38 GMT

Lou, my family and I were trying to figure out what was causing me to break out in hives. My latest prescription of painkillers were a different brand so we thought it could maybe be that...until Mum checked the box and saw that I hadn't actually used any of those yet. The only thing that seemed to link my "outbreaks" was being outside. Could I be allergic to fresh air?

When we got home on Saturday night, mum said she'd been talking to a woman at the bingo who said that her daughter breaks out in a rash if she goes out in the cold. Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? So on Sunday I put it to the test and went out in the garden for 5 minutes. Guess what happened? That's right. Nothing. Not an itchy blob anywhere!!

So this morning I get up for work at 6.30am and leave the house at 8am. I'm absolutely fine.....until I get to the bus stop 5 minutes down the road. Now my hands are itching. I try to stay calm on the bus and I'm ok when the bus gets into town. I then get off the bus and have to walk to work, less than 10 minutes away.

By the time I arrived at work my legs and hands were itchy as hell. My fingers were so swollen I could only just bend them, my neck was one massive hive and I even had blobs on my eyelids. I took one look at myself in the mirror and burst into tears. Naturally the boss let me come home.

I made an appointment to see the doctor and plastered myself in anti-itch cream!

Meanwhile, I googled. Apparently "cold urticaria" (allergy to the cold) is not as uncommon as you'd think. The test to see if you have it is to hold an ice cube on your arm for anything between one and 5 minutes, then remove it and see what happens. If a hive appears, you have cold urticaria.

I held the ice cube on my arm for 20 seconds. This was the result 2 minutes later.

I passed this info on to my doctor who told me that I was possibly the third person he'd seen with this complaint in 40 years! The problem may go away in time, but it may not. He prescribed some different anti-histamine tablets but said that the only thing I could do was "emigrate" and "try to keep warm". Unfortunately the NHS won't pay for me to move to LA!

Now you'd think that with a reaction like the one above, I'd be careful and use common sense wouldn't you? Noooo, not me. Sometimes I just don't think things through at all.

A couple of hours ago I got a craving for an ice lolly. I went to the freezer, got a lovely strawberry mivvi and started sucking.

Five minutes later my lips were tingling and I suddenly thought "Oh shit!". Upon looking in the mirror, this is what I saw.....

I looked like I'd been pumped full of collagen!! Scary part was, not long after my throat began to swell too. Luckily it wasn't enough to restrict my airway, but there'll be no more lollies or ice cream for me for the forseeable future!!

Right now I'm feeling extremely sorry for myself and am wondering how much more shit the universe intends to throw at me!!

WWRY (01-04-06)

Mon, 03 Apr 2006 18:58:23 GMT

Before you switch off thinking this is gonna be another "isn't WWRY fabulous" entry, let me advise that there is some stuff that might interest you in this entry. I'm not promising anything mind....

It all started on Friday morning. I got up, showered and dressed and then noticed that my legs were itching. The itching soon spread to my back and shoulders and I noticed that I had a rash that looked similar to a heat rash. An hour later I was still itching so made an appointment to see the nurse later that day. Naturally, by the time of the appointment the rash had all but gone, but the nurse took my word for it and gave me some anti-histamine tablets. She said it looked like an allergic reaction to something and that I may never find out the cause. I got the prescription filled and waited outside for my neighbour who'd arranged to collect me. As I stood outside I could feel my chest and stomach itching and by the time my neighbour arrived 20 mins later, my chest was bright red and covered in little white lumps. I got home and phoned my dad to ask him to call at the chemist for some calamine lotion to calm the itching. By this time, the entire front of my torso was covered in hives.

Dad arrived home with some anti-itching lotion which quickly took effect. It took a couple of hours for the rash to disappear though. For the rest of the day, I was fine.

On Saturday morning Lou and I got up and got ready to go to London. Fortunately, the train wasn't leaving until 10am this week so we didn't have quite such an early start. I was nervous as I was getting dressed in case my rash re-appeared, but an hour after I got out the shower I was still blemish free! Not for much longer though.....

We left the house a little after 9am and just before that I'd felt my back and legs itching. I put some lotion on my back but couldn't be bothered with my legs and thought if I ignored it, the itching would disappear.

25 minutes later we arrived at Leicester station and my legs were itchier than ever! By the time we'd left the car and walked over to the platform to wait for the train, I could feel my neck and hands getting hot and itchy too; and by the time the train arrived I had the rash on my chest, neck, face, hands and wrists!

Strangely enough, it had improved an awful lot by the time we got to London so although I wasn't happy, I wasn't too concerned either. Silly silly me...I should know better!

In the time it took to walk from St Pancras to King's Cross (all of 5 minutes), my face, neck and hands were once again itching. Lou and I went straight to TCR where we bumped into Ian who accompanied us to Boots so I could buy some more anti-itching stuff.

Next stop was McDonald's for a quick snack (and a plastering of the anti-itch cream) before heading round to stage door.

Mission for the day was to get a photo with Julie Stark as we'd not managed to before and she's leaving next Saturday. As you can imagine, I was thrilled about the prospect of having a photo taken whilst looking like the elephant man! Fortunately, the redness in the rash disappeared during the show so when we saw Julie afterwards, the lumps were barely visible. The photo is ok, my skin just looks a little dodgy!

Julie was on for Killer Queen during the show. She can sing the part, but I don't think she has Mazz's stage presence. Having said that, not many people do!

I was happy that Simon said "hello" to us before and after the show and was full of smiles. I was a little concerned that after last week he'd think I was a nutter so I emailed the webmaster of his site and apologised. I got a reply saying that both he and Simon were fine about it but it was still reassuring that Simon didn't run in the opposite direction when he saw me!

Ooh, I almost missed out the highlight of the day!!! Alex Bourne.....suntan......flash.......I will say no more!! It's a memory just for me and Lola!!

Didn't hang around for too long after the show. Sat at St Pancras for an hour then got the train back to Leicester.

Got home, ate curry and went to bed!!

A great day that would have been amazing if I hadn't been so itchy and stressed!!