Fringe benefits

Today, while bored, I decided that it was time for me to stop procrastinating and actually tidy up the impenetrable curtain of hair that has been my shield versus cameras for a while now. So I got some scissors, and after randomly hacking away for a while...


Straight fringe! Oh my god, I can see! What's more, I am more accepting of my glasses, instead of constantly hiding from people's sight while I have them on. Though hopefully I will get better ones later.

I can also do twintails now! For tsundere goodness. First the tsun, and then the dere.

あんたバカァ?!

デレデレ

Every time I've cut a fringe before, I have somewhat regretted it (perhaps due to spending the first ten or so years of my life looking like a terrifically weird Rock Lee clone.) But we'll see how it goes!

さよなら。

Yesterday, Ariff left for home. First, a pub lunch (cod and chips!) followed by crowding round his flat and cleaning. While the others set about dusting and vacuuming, I managed to remove a lot of exploding food splashes, along with a stubborn rusty-looking mark in the sink. And what's more, no-one even made any 'get back in the kitchen' jokes! Missed opportunity, guys.

While idle, I took pictures of butts. Haha.

So, when we left it, the main room actually looked fairly presentable! Bathroom less so - the toilet still had a thick crust of sedimentary rock forming in the bottom (yeah, I thought it took centuries of pressure, but apparently it takes two years and Ariff's sense of hygiene.) At least Isao had managed to make the sink shiny!

We then saw him off to the airport. Following a lot of sitting around, queueing and repacking, we gulped down some farewell drinks, and said goodbye at the gate. We'll miss you, Ariff! :o

Today, Anders left for home as well (temporarily, unlike Ariff!) So quiet around here now. But I have a lot of projects lined up, so that should keep me busy.

Tei! Ten Ten Tei!

Ariff is leaving! How terrible. No idea why he'd want to go back to Malaysia of all places... And so we accompanied him in omiyage shopping. Another visit to the M&M's store - as expected, tourist central and full of useless junk. (I can safely say I have never in my life experienced a craving for an M&M's branded silicone spatula.)

We also stopped by at Hamleys, revelled in our geekdom at Forbidden Planet, and became painfully aware of our poverty at the Burberry store. 'Anything around the £300 level...?' 'Hah!'

So, afterwards, we headed back to Piccadilly Circus to Ten Ten Tei, our staple Japanese food place. We handed over our poorly-concealed presents, and settled down for a meal. And so the first photo on this blog goes to...

Salmon ikura don! So pretty, like little orange pearls. And I love the feeling of crushing the eggs, releasing rich, fishy oils. >w< (And presumably fish foetus. Heh.) Though it's expensive as fish goes, it is lovely - strangely filling for such tiny things. I also had a couple of squid nigiri along with it, along with some salmon and tuna sashimi which Anders was allergic to. More for me!

I've gotten quite fond of this place. I've had salmon ikura don twice in a row now though, so maybe next time I will see if they have chicken teri don.

Afterwards, a little light drinking at our favourite pub, and drawing of farewell messages on his new, massive sketchbook. A good day, though it's sad we'll have to say bye to him soon!

Inevitable 'well, that failed' post

And so by throwing 100 Tissues into the lake, I revive this blog!

So yeah, a lot of stuff has happened. Turns out I got a 2.1 - not entirely unexpected, but I have now brought grave dishonour to ancient Chinese famiry name. Luckily no-one cares about me when there's a possible-medic sibling to support, so my lack of a First will hopefully slip by unnoticed, like Snake in a cardboard box.

And then there's been a bunch of outings with friends and friends-of-friends, hooray! Drinking, nice food, pleasant conversation and balancing things on people. We went to see a few museums as well! In which there was SCIENCE. And rocks, and dinosaurs. Turns out Utahraptor looks crazy, and that carrot cake can be pretty expensive. Nobody opened doors, got on floors or walked the dinosaur though, regrettably.

Now I am working on some projects! I'm gonna try my hand at clothes-making and maaaybe make myself a wallet of some sort (this may be beyond me. If it is, I'll make myself a medieval money pouch instead, like I used to carry.) Should be fun! And hopefully I'll find time to ramble a bit more here.