Seraph7

Just got back from Ben's wedding reception which was actually quite fun. They had it at Quainton Railway Centre which was a creative venue to choose. It was a bit of a nightmare to get to, though especially in the dark. Ben and Loren looked very happy, and the bride's dress was lovely. I can't imagine myself ever doing but they're happy enough and they've been together for years.
Quite a few people turned up to the do, so that was good. I even managed to be civil to Nicola. You would have been proud of me. I did feel a bit lonely and wished I was there with someone but I think that's just the nature of weddings, isn't it?
I bought a brilliant pair of Flat Black boots for the do which I'm in love with. I was a bit worried they wouldn't fit but they were perfect. The only quibble I would have is that the calves were way too big for my liking but I can't complain that hard about it considering they were knocked down to £15. I also realised that I really do need to actually buy going out clothes as I normally don't and then when there's an event I have no freaking idea what to wear.

I don't really want to work tomorrow but I'll just have to grit my teeth. The interview is on Tuesday so I need to get the CV ready and then put it out of my mind. I think that it going to be my best option. As for the other issue well to be honest he started it. I didn't have to participate but it's done now. I just have to trust that we can both be mature about it.

Read a couple of Gay Romances which were interesting enough. It's nearly time for another Reading Challenge post. I don't think I reached my target of 20 books, but I made a respectable stab at it. Perhaps 20 books a months is a little ambitious with all my commitments and trying to write as well.

* Today's been kinda stressful to be honest. I work up a bit late but I could have handled it just fine. Then I attempted to ring a taxi, only to find the phone wasn't ringing out. Nightmare. I had to go to the corner shop to get money for a taxi. Meanwhile my father just looks at me running round like a blue arsed fly. Eventually he comes out with 'Oh, do you want to phone for a taxi?'. He really does make it so damned obvious that he cannot be arsed doing anything for me at all. Anyone else in the family he would actually offer a lift. I'm lucky if I get grunted at. Frankly it pisses me off. The way I see it, if you wanted to do things for someone you would. The fact that you never bother tells me everything I need to know. You should heard him the day of my birthday when he realized that he hadn't bothered. In fact none of them had actually bothered but that's by the by. I should have expected this when I went out of my way to buy present for Christmas and got nothing. He started burbling about 'Oh, I'll get you something later' but I knew nothing would materialise.
Can this entire family make it any more obvious that I am an afterthought, lowest on the totem-pole? I wish I didn't care. I wish I could have a family that's close. Maybe it's just as well I work as much as I do, and write in my spare time. If I didn't it would probably bother me a lot more. Writing fills a gap in my life in the same way fandom does I think. I just wish it wasn't so lonely sometimes. I don't really have many fandom friends as such.

* We did the training which was a bit of a waste of time. I bought some books from the Tuesday market including 'The Great Gatsby' because it's about time I read some classic literature and seeing as they're making the film soon I wanted to know the story. It was OK, I suppose. I really don't think that it needs to be in 3D for a start and I have some reservation about the proposed casting. I can see Carey doing a good job of Daisy Buchanan even though I have to say I didn't much like the characters with the exception of Gatsby himself and even then...
I also bought a book on Stalingrad which should be interesting as I loved the film and some erotica. I kind of gave some of the erotica books the side-eye especially one called 'Sense and Sensuality'. I will report back on just how dodgy it is even though I will probably read the entire thing. Yes, when it comes to historical smut I have little to no shame.

* I'm going to try and read some Dorothy Dunnett this month and Jilly Cooper. Perhaps I should try for the whole Rutshire series from Riders which is a huge doorstop of a novel to Jump. I know I have read these book numerous times and they are a bit trashy '80s bonkbuster but I enjoy them. I love the characters and Jilly just makes it so enjoyable and easy. I don't always like her heroines for some reason. But I just love those book so much. I am definitely an unashamed fangirl and I don't think there's anyone else with the exception of Gabaldon that I enjoy so much. Of course there's the whole anti-fanfic thing which did make me think less of Gabaldon, and I was bemused by some of her choices especially in the latest book, but ever since I read Outlander I admit I have been addicted. Apparently they're making a film of the book. I can't imagine if they'll be any good because they are huge doorstops of novels and they're bound to leave something out. I dunno how they're going to tackle the whole Black Jack Randall thing either but I will have to check the train wreck.

Looking back at this post I do seem a bit low. I think if I were getting on with the novel I would feel less grumpy and mopey about life. Perhaps a bit of 'Social Network' on DVD might do the trick.

I finally got 'The Social Network' and the book 'The Accidental Billionaires' by Ben Mezrich when I went to Oxford. I haven't had a chance to re-watch the film, but now I'm having the day off I might indulge. Seeing as it's all cold and rainy. I'm not sure if I actually want to go out in this weather. The book is very interesting. I don't know how true to life the entire thing is, but one of the things I liked about it was the fact that you did more of a sense of everyone's viewpoint . You could see why the characters in the film made the decision that they did. I like that, seeing everyone's viewpoint on an event and how it differs.
In terms of the reading challenge I haven't read as many books as I'd like. I will have to make a list again at the end of the month , and see if I can squeeze a couple more in before the deadline.

I went out on Thursday and it turned into a bit of a heavy one. On Friday I usually work in the evening so I wasn't planning to rush to get to town. So I was pretty annoyed when I get a phone call from my manager at noon basically saying: 'where the hell are you?' They'd scheduled me to work even though I'm not available on Friday days. I had to do an all day shift in kiosk which was not fun with a fucking hangover. It's really spoilt my day, let's put it like that. Seeing as I do more hours than every one else and I usually have to work all weekend all day without fail, I think I am being quite reasonable if I say I can't do those mornings and they should abide by it and not try and sneakily screw me over.

I have a documentary on Joan Sutherland called 'The Reluctant Prima Donna' to watch so I'd better do that and take notes for 'Songbirds'. I have used quite a few elements of Joan's life in the character of Flora, but naturally you have to change things and twist them to suit the story. It's meant to be a odd kind of tribute I suppose.

As for progress on the manuscript, I think I will probably crack 75k. I would love to aim for 80k but we'll see. I have to try and get the story finished soon as I'm meant to be starting the sequel for novel_bigbang soon and it's going to be tricky starting to do that if I haven't resolved this first one. I need to start doing some planning and more research on country house opera companies. I feel some of my details are a bit sketchy and it never hurts to bolster one's research.

I promised to put down my list for the Historical Romance challenge. I've read 4 of them , but I just need to write the reviews. I want them to be around 500 words each in length , so when I'd finished the set that's 10k towards my Milwordy challenge at least.

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