What a year!

New Year, New Start, New Hope!

2014-01-08T13:27:00.000-08:00

Hello all! I haven't put up a post in a while, so what has been new with me... well I have a new job. It's better for me, and also secret, and I'm gonna keep it that way. :)

I'm still writing, but my job is more important, so writing is taking a side step. I recently has a scare with my mother, she visited the hospital late in November after having a seizure. Still don't know why she had one, but she's on the mend now.

I worked over Christmas and Boxing Day, sadly. But such is life. I was also working New Years Eve and New Years Day.

But after a week, I'm finally ready to see in the New Year and say Happy New Year!!!

This year I am going to try and do MORE things. I want to take up Tai-Chi (Waterbending I'm such a child) and maybe tone my arse and thighs a bit more. I won't be giving up chocolate though, not even for a two million pounds (if you happen to have more than 2 million, please comment below and we can talk about it).

I have been thinking about the things last year and it was a roller-coaster year. At the beginning of 2013, I saw the new year in, on a freezing cold pier with large bonfire's, spicy fish stew and foil-wrapped baked potatoes in icy, freezing Seocheon, Korea.

We were given a "Wish" to attach to a tree. I can't remember what it was though, the cold got to my brain.

Freezing cold, wrapping up like a bazillion layers, here's me, pointing to the wish that I tied to the tree.

So yes, all of the above was me seeing in New Year 2013. Then of course my students party, the travelling around Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangkok and Phuket, I was one very lucky girl.

Then, I had to come back to the UK and everything went downhill from there. Don't know about my fellow Brits, but it's so depressing being back in the UK. However, I didn't do bad in the job department. Being smart, I applied for jobs and ended up with 4, yes 4! Two were summer jobs, but it was still money at the end of the day, and the other jobs were permanent to a certain degree. And that was it. I had a death in my family, I saw family members who I had never seen in my life and other's that I hadn't seen in years. And my book was published in August.

So what is going to happen this year? I'm hoping for good things. Really nice good things to happen for my friends and family, so fingers and toes crossed. This year started out with a peaceful ending, so I can hope that something will come as a peaceful beginning at the end of the year.

Will try for another book blog soon and try and do a competition for Loving In Time. Just need some ideas.

Ciao for now! xxx

The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom: Interview Loving in Time by AE Kirk

2013-11-07T06:18:00.001-08:00

Hi all! So I started my book blog tour a few days ago. Here is one of my interviews that I've done.

Enjoy the read x

The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom: Interview Loving in Time by AE Kirk: Please share a little about yourself, your genres, any other pen names you use. My name is Abi and I live in Devon, England. I&#39...

Car Ramblings!

2013-10-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

Car Ramblings! It always happens to me!

Umm, okay so I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I may as well.
I have a main job now where I drive around my town. I'm in my car mostly and its when I'm IN my car that weird things happen. So let's start with the first weird thing that happened about a month ago.

Incident 1) (Names in this story have been changed)

I was given a call to go to and I just happened to be about ten minutes early. It's a new call, so I didn't want to be too early. I thought going right on time would be better. So while I parked up, hoping that it was a good place to park, I was waiting in my car and I see this fella leave his house, walk down the side of my car, stop about forty feet away and come back. He wasn't wearing anything weird, or carrying a bag or walking stick. He just left his house, normal as anything I suppose, went for a brief walk and returned to his house. I thought nothing of it after all people down my way, we are pretty nuts, and so after my ten minutes were up, I left my car and headed to my call. Next minute the bloke from earlier runs out of his house and points at my car.

"Is that your car?" he asks. Immediately I feel a sense of dread. It's one thing I hate, not being any to park or parking in someone's place and not knowing it.

I nod and say, "Yes, I'm sorry if I'm parking in the wrong place, I haven't been here before."

The man shakes his head and taking my arm points at my car. "Your number plate"' he begins, "WJ, my name is John Williams," he smiled and I smiled back and nodded. "And 54, I started work in 1954!"

"Oh wow, what a coincidence," I said unsure of where he was going with this.

"If you get rid of your car, you come back and tell me and I'll have your number plate. Okay?"

"Oh yes, of course I will," I tell him and he smiles even more broadly and leaves, heading back into his house.

I walk to my call not really sure how I should be feeling.... To this day I'm not sure how I should feel, happy? Weirded out? You be the judge!

Incident 2) (Names of places changed)

Ahh a blissful Monday morning on a quiet road. I was about 20 mins early for my next call and pulled up outside one of my "normal" parking spots. I thought about getting a book out and continue reading, minding my own business, having some chocolate when suddenly the passenger door opened and a bloke got in.
My heart rate tripled in a matter of nanoseconds.

"I need you to take me to Torcombe" He flashed some money at me, it looked like a fiver. "I'll give you a twenty." I looked at him blankly. Clearly he was off his rocker, still pissed from the night before.

"Mate I can't," I told him, "it's far away and I have a call in a minute," I lied, thinking I'd better give him an excuse to not take him.

"Ah go on, I'm giving you money" he slurred.

"I can't, I don't have the time."

Grumbling, he gets out the car and slams the door. I take a breath and thank God that didn't turn out any worse. But about twenty seconds later the door opens AGAIN and the same bloke gets in.

"Can I have a fag off you?"

"Sorry, I don't smoke."

He mumbles and grumbles whilst swearing and slams my car door again. I watch him walk off a bit and I start getting my stuff ready as I don't want to be in my car anymore. If I make it to my call, I'll be safe.

So I get out and as I'm walking to my call, the bloke follows me.

"Please give me a lift." He asks again. He's holding his phone and it unable to do anything with it. He's pointing all over the screen like a drunkard.

"I can't. There's some shops just over the hill, I'm sure someone can help you out."

"I don't have any shoes on." I look down and see he was telling the truth. He must have been completely pissed and whacked out of his mind.

Next second, I see a cop car drive past. The guy starts following me. I ironically say, "Ask the police to give you a lift."

He gets angry. "Don't be a stupid cow." He continues to walk with me as though he's with me and when the coppers leave I dash across the road and he walks up to the shops. After a minute or so when I know he's out of sight, I run and catch up to the coppers and tell them about the men.

"Ah, that's the drunken idiot we've been after they say" and drive off to find him.

Moral of this story, ALWAYS LOCK YOUR DOOR EVEN WHEN YOU ARE IN IT!!!

Incident 3)

The day before this 3rd "incident" happened, I had been given a parking ticket. Curse you local money-snatching council! So the following day, as usual, I parked where I normally park and I go to my call, my double-up says, "Abi, there's a warden by your car" I freak out as I don't want to get another ticket. I flee the house, almost breaking my legs and shout at the warden to stop. He does so and buggers off, so I moved my car into the driveway. After twenty minutes of doing my job, the doorbell rings and no one is expecting anyone, so I go and answer the door.

A man is on the front step. "Excuse me, but is that your car?" he points to mine that is in the driveway. i am close to boiling point, on the verge of shouting at him telling him that I haven't had any problems before parking but now there's a warden after my arse and where I am parking is off the road and not causing any harm to anyone and if they want me to move my car, they'll have to wait until I have finished my job.

I'm about to hurl this at the man after I say "Yes it is" he then smiles at me and says, "My wife and I are looking for that exact model and colour. We love Yaris Verso's. You have a wonderful car. What mileage does it get?"

Astounded, I end up speaking to the man for about 10 minutes on the Yaris Verso, how fast is goes, the room in the back, the extra compartments, how much I pay a week for a full tank and how many miles I get out of it. I'm not plugging the car, I'm not too keen on Yaris myself, hence why I've named my car Stitch from Lilo and Stitch as Dr Jumba classes his creations as "monstrosities" and that's what my car is, a monstrosity. But the man is happy with the information and as I leave the house, I wave to him and his wife who are still admiring my car from the opposite side of the road.

Wow, just wow. Why do these things happen? No idea, but they do and will continue to happen. I just wonder what will happen next...

Loving In Time, is finally lovingly here!

2013-08-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

Big proud and cheesy moment that I had my promotional books this morning! I am so thrilled that the first step has been accomplished and it's been forever to achieve!

Pic of me feeling achieved:

So, what next? Well... this is where the second hurdle comes into it. The sales coupled with, the reviews. Now, I got good notes and bad notes from Wattpad and I agreed with most and argued with others, but I have put up all of the good ones on my website, here so feel free to have a look.

I'm not saying I'm the best author/writer and I know that my book isn't for everyone, but I am saying that I am one of the most determined and stubborn people to see this through from start to finish. I've gone through hell and back with my writing, I truly have. The road to publishing is not a smooth one, it's not a short one, it's one that takes forever, that ages you, that weighs you down, that kicks you when you've tripped up, but you just have to pick yourself up, brush yourself down and carry on writing!

You can pre-order a copy of Loving In Time here.

Enjoy!

Free Wattpad Promotion! KURO!

2013-07-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Once again I'm back, ending the week with a fantastic story from Wattpad! Not only that, you can purchase this brilliant and unique story!

The link to Michael's Wattpad account is here

To be directed to his story, please go here

And to go and have a look at his website, please go here

So, what is KURO all about?

Synopsis:

In a land covered in eternal night, a young girl is all that stands between Mankind and the Forces of Darkness.

What would a world without the Sun be like?

When the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu-ōmikami, vanished under mysterious circumstances a thousand years ago, she left the land of Kuro blanketed in eternal night. Over time, the people of Kuro have learned to harness what remains of Amaterasu’s power: the precious and finite resource known as the Goddess Essence. Kurokyuu Orbs, miracles of modern technology, harvest the Goddess Essence and provide light and power to all. But there is a problem: the Goddess Essence is running out. And it couldn't have come at a worse time.

Whispers abound of a growing evil in the North; stories of shadows that can only be harmed by the light of the sun. From out of the darkness rises Taiyou-Shi, City of the Sun. Light Spires shine through all twenty-four of Taiyou-Shi's hours, providing artificial sunlight for all. Everyone that is, but the residents of the Utter Darkness.

In this forsaken place, Mina, a young orphan, is forced to beg and steal on the streets to sustain herself in the hardscrabble way of life.

In the darkest corners, Marauders lurk, hunting little girls, searching for the one known only as “The Maiden”.

When Mina falls captive to a roving band of Marauders, she is faced with a life-altering decision: reveal the secret she has been hiding her entire life or stay silent and risk losing her already meager existence?

When people die as a result of her inaction, Mina realizes her secret is no longer hers to keep. A secret that lies in a most unusual ability: The power to manifest sunlight...

Brilliant stuff!

I asked Michael a few questions about himself. Let's see what he had to say!

Name/Wattpad username/Pen name: MichaelLimjoco (incidentally, also my real name).

Country of Origin: United States

Place(s) of inspiration: Countries of Asia (Japan, China, The Philippines, and Korea).

Current finished work(s): Kuro is my first novel

Genre and why you like writing in this genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy. It's a bit of a release writing in this genre for me. Also, I feel I have far more freedom because I'm not bound by any laws (physics, world, etc). I enjoy building worlds.

Published works of inspiration: Game of Thrones, Dune, Lord of the Rings, early Anne Rice novels (her florid writing style was a big inspiration), Weiss and Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles.

Editing process: Professionally edited by Dr. Debra Doyle (published author). Professionally illustrated by Nuriko-kun.

Reaction of friends and family who have read your works: To be honest, only my brother has read my work! He loves it, but is totally biased! My wife hasn't even gotten past chapter 2. But Kuro has been read on WP and Critique Boards (for the last year or so), and has received some good response. Anything planned for the future with your writing: Kuro is a planned trilogy, so I am working on Book 2 at the moment.

Well there you have it folks! Thanks to Michael for his time answering my questions and I wish him all the best for the future!

Free Wattpad Promotion!

2013-07-14T04:57:00.003-07:00

Hey Guys! This week I have been promoting Storyaddict from Wattpad!

Go here for their Wattpad user page!

And to see their story, go here!

Name/Wattpad username/Pen name: Storyaddict

Country of Origin: Philippines

Genre and why you like writing in this genre: Teen Fiction, because we mostly can see readers from the age of being a teenager so teen fiction stories bring out our emotions.. we

can probably learn something out of it

Reaction of friends and family who have read your works: well, they said it was good but some has errors on it :)

Anything planned for the future with your writing: I really wanted to make a story that has me, potentially writing... I plan to be an author someday but I think I'll start off with writing stories from then and now.

Wattpad FREE Promotion! The City is Silent

2013-07-05T09:17:00.001-07:00

Hey guys! This week I have have the pleasure of promoting Midnightaria and her book The City Is Silent

To view her profile, click here or to go straight to her completed story, click here

Here is the summary:

After a car-accident leaves her mother paralysed from the waist-down, Grace isn’t sure if she can ever experience happiness again.

Change is the reason her mother is a different person; the reason her pianist father plays only bitter melodies and why her outgoing-self diminished to an introvert who cannot express herself verbally, but with artistic creations.

The times she spends scrawling in a sketchbook are moments she cherishes most. For that tiny amount of time, her broken life is forgotten -and, as impulsive as any other career decision, Grace knows she wishes to make it her future.

In order to embrace the competitive world of art, however, artists need to repeatedly alter their techniques and skills to match their opponents.

But how can somebody, so afraid of letting go, chase her unstable dreams?

And what about MidnightAria? Let's have a sneak peek at how and why she writes!

Name/Wattpad username/Pen name: Ramisa R or MidnightAria. You are welcome to call me Remy.

Country of Origin: Bangladesh, although I currently reside in the warm glory of Australia (so much sun!)

Place of inspiration: Anywhere, really. I can honestly write whenever or wherever I want, as I believe writing is more subjected to discipline rather than inspiration. However, if we're talking in terms of inspiration, I love reblogging things on tumblr (midnightaria.tumblr.com) of things that inspire me. Sometimes, when I click on my website, I find inspiration. :)

Current finished work(s): Currently, I have completed The City Is Silent and have uploaded it on Wattpad. I plan on completing Violet Ink before the end of this year.

Genre and why you like writing in this genre: The City Is Silent is literary fiction/coming of age fiction. Coming of age will forevermore be my favourite genre. Watching a character differentiate from the beginning of a book to the end (not always in a good way) is beautiful beyond words.

Published works of inspiration: Like the novels I write, I am also extremely fond of the coming-of-age genre. I simply love watching the main character change, in any situation, from the beginning to the end of a book. My favourite authors do just that: Siobhan Dowd, Maureen McCarthy and Kate McCaffrey. My favourite book of all-time is a non-fiction book written in the prose of a narrative (Joan of Arc, Lili Wilkison) which revolve around the actual adventures of Joan of Arc but told in a rich, engaging way.

Editing process: I actually tend not to edit until I've got my first draft, as editing gives me the "writer's doubt" and will result in an uncompleted manuscript.

Reaction of friends and family who have read your works: My family and friends don't read my works. My parents are too busy, and my friends in reality have a life (!). However, my internet friends are wonderful, beautiful supporters --they are my family and friends.

Anything planned for the future with your writing: I plan on writing many novels once my OP (senior years) are over. I am thinking of a main character with a mental illness, a science fiction story questioning humanity and a lighthearted comedy about the life of comedians (while also exploring the darkness in their lives).

Thank you for this opportunity to interview you and for wanting to promote! if anyone hasn't had the chance to check out Wattpad, do so now at www.wattpad.com :)

Have a great day! :)

IndianWriter Free Wattpad Promotion!

2013-07-01T00:57:00.001-07:00

For week 2 I am promoting IndianWriter from Wattpad!

Indianwriter is my next client for Free Promotion from Wattpad!

Wattpad is a great place to read and write any kind of books in any genre! It boasts over 10 million users from around the world where a few have landed multi-book contracts with one of the top ten publishers in the world AND one writer has even had their book rights bought by the film industry! Anything can happen! So, what are you waiting for? Sign-up free today and see where your imagination takes you!

Indianwriter has been on the site for a year and has written a variety of stories as well as poetry!

Click here for their profile page

Click here for their story that I'm promoting, Endless Love

So, what is the book about?

Summary-

Shira has expressed all her feelings and thoughts into those letters which are for Neman. Shira loved Neman a lot. Neman too loved her. They were best friends from an early age. But as they grew up they realized their love for each other. They planned their future, to get married and have a family. But the truth Shira has hidden will shatter their lives and all their hopes will be lost. How will Neman react to the secret? What will happen to their relationship?

This story will be in forms of letters and sometimes as in some characters point of view. Hope you all like it. :)

Let's sneak a peak about IndianWriter! :)

Name/Wattpad username/Pen name: IndianWriter

Country of Origin: India

Place of inspiration: My family and friends

Current finished work(s): Endless love, The Tribute

Genre and why you like writing in this genre: Romance, Poetry and Non fiction. I like to write them because I can relate to the emotions very well and they are close to me. They create interests in me.

Reaction of friends and family who have read your works: My family and friends always encourage me. They are proud of me. My teachers also have appreciated me many times. Some teachers have also asked me to write for them.

Anything planned for the future with your writing: I have published some of my works in the school magazine, but I want to publish my books on an international level. I plan to write till my last breath.

And there you have it! A wonderful inspired writer all the way from India!

Good luck with your future writing!

Next week I'll be promoting , Midnightaria and until then, have a great inspiring week!

Lores Of Lyra! Free Promotion Client!

2013-06-21T06:31:00.001-07:00

Free Wattpad Promotions!

Hello and welcome to what I think will be an interesting few months. Each week I will be posting blogs about Wattpad's writers. I will be promoting finished works, no matter how long or short.

Let's start with my first client, Maja!
Here is her profile on Wattpad.com
And here is her story!

So what is the synopsis?

"The Blurb: [Winner of "Fantasy - On The Rise" in Watty Awards 2012]
Stars. For a millennia, humans have stared up at the sky, watching them light up the night. Unknown to more, they've been watching back; protecting up and keeping us safe from dangers. However, in the land of Astron, two girls are struggling to keep themselves alive. Miriam has a dark secret, living a secluded life with all the benefits that wealth provides. While Annabell, is a poor orphan with a natural born gift of getting into trouble. With the help of two handsome lads, they have to uncover the truth about the prophecy that the Elders have worked so hard to hide- which isn't easy when none of the girls knows of the others existence. Change is coming, and Darkness is growing. In a race against time, they have to find the Rising Star before it's too late. Solem, help us all."

Name/Wattpad username/Pen name: Maja D Jørgensen, xxmajaine

Country of Origin: Denmark

Place of inspiration:Inside my head. XD

Current finished work(s): The Lores of Lyra - Rising Star The Lores of Lyra - Shattered Star

Genre and why you like writing in this genre: Fantasy, adventure, paranormal and spiritual. The main genre would be fantasy, and I like writing it because it gives me a chance to create new worlds and new Species. I can make my own rules.

Published works of inspiration: There's too many that I like, and I can't remember which gave me inspiration around the time I wrote it. I was mostly inspired by wattpad writers and how beautifully they wrote tales of places I'd never visit.

Editing process: Even though I've spent much time on the books, I still consider them both to be first drafts. I have a long way to go before I'm ready to call it finished.

Reaction of friends and family who have read your works: Most people compliment the originality in the story. Stars aren't that widely used apparently.

Anything planned for the future with your writing: I'd like to publish one day. But for now the primary focus of me is simply to write and have fun with it.

What goes around just keeps going!

2013-06-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

Hello humanoids! Prepare to be amazed!

IRON MAN 3

KICKS

ARSE!!!

Now normally, I don't get involved in random movie critics' dribblings but I am glad that I managed to get in to see Iron Man 3 and love and laugh and become immersed- gripping onto my partners arm for dear life! It was mind boggling, funny, witty, snappy, trippy, funky, harrowing at one or two times, but I loved it and... want to see it again! Extortionate prices are cinema tickets these days, I know, but Iron Man 3 is so very worth it!

Now onto more interesting things. Had a nice chat with my publishers and they want the book, Loving In Time, out within the next month or two. Sounds class, but not sure if it's quite there just yet. I know that it will be out soon enough but there are things that need to be finished first. Well I have the cover, and I have a sporty picture of me, somewhere on the back of the book, so all I need now is the manuscript polished beyond reason and I have my awesome Canadian friend doing that for me. I shall wait until she has finished with it. After all, she's doing her PhD in English and I could not be more proud of her!

One more thing to mention, Kingdom of Fantasy is finally out! If you have an iPad, check out here for the itunes down link. It's £2.99 a pop or $4.99 for those over the pond! Check out my column and read the beautifully created comics of Rouke and the Enchantment Agency!

One other thing :) Now that I am back on Wattpad, I'm nearly finished with one of my stories. Love Is Green. The title sounds weird, like some jealous love triangle, but it's far from it. It's about a detective who's turned into a parrot... I shall say no more than that. Click here to be taken directly to the first chapter.

Over the past month or so, it's been good and bad. My 97 year old Grandma, Sarah, passed away, I was given a permanent job (and in this climate it's rare), I was taken ill for over a week and so my job has been put back, and I now find myself feeling stuck with nothing to do. Huff and puff! The only thing that keeps me sane is reading and writing and getting annoyingly involved in Neopets <don't ask LONG story. But yes, so let's see what happens next month, shall we? Whatever happens, what goes around, just keeps going...It is what it is.

Three Jobs and a whole lot of writing!

2013-05-19T18:38:00.001-07:00

Well it's been a while since I last posted... so I'm back with some things to say.

While I had finished my job in Korea and then traveled around Asia and loved every moment of it, I was frightened to return home... why? Well because of the job situation. There are hardly any jobs, so it scared me that I'd be jobless and I am NOT one for staying jobless. I hate the concept. So, within the first 4 days of getting back into the country, my job at the National Trust, though shorter hours, was there still. So I applied and I got the job. Then I find out 3 weeks later that my old job at Kents Cavern was up. I applied, auditioned and got the job. And THEN I saw a job for a Carer in my local town of Torquay and applied and I got the job. So, I'm a happy bunny. But not only that, the Kingdom of Fantasy Magazine is up and running on Apple now, so my helpful girls Christina and Anna are taking on and rating submissions for me while I try and sort out a sci-fi competition that is running alongside Wattpad... Oh I forgot to mention, I am not back on Wattpad. I couldn't resist, clearly.

So, now that I am back on Wattpad I have been writing like a maniac... However not so much as I have been in the past, I hardly wrote while I was in Korea and when I did it was mostly editing. So it'll take a while to get back into the swing of things, but I don't mind the long haul. I have other things to do now also.

Sad news though for me only a week ago that my Grandma passed away. She was 97 which was a damn good age for her. So there is a long week where I am not doing anything, so I'm just going to tend to the family and read. Not up for writing, not this week. I'll miss her very much though, I just wish that there were more people who would miss her as much as I will.

But on a happier note, my awesome Little Canadian friend, who will soon become a Doctor of English and I am SO proud of her, has kindly offered to edit Loving In Time, as such, it'll be a bit more of a delay, but I'd rather wait this long for it to be perfect, then to hand in sloppy work. I owe her a present when she's finished.

I'm going to reveal the book cover on here and see how many people read this haha. There will be tweaks, but I liked this from the very start and I feel it will suit the actual story and not what people may think it could be. < If that makes sense? O_0

Anyway, here is the cover- surprised?

The Number 202 and 7 flights in one month!

2013-03-04T08:36:00.001-08:00

Good morning, afternoon or evening.
So I have now left Korea and I am deeply upset about it. I loved my students to bits and it was so sad when they shouted out, "We love you" as I was on stage bowing to everyone as the vice-principal explained that I was leaving. I said a little piece about missing them, loving Korea and telling them to be good for their next teacher. But as I got onto the plane to leave South Korea, I broke down crying.
As lame as it may seem, one cannot truly understand the love and respect I had for my students and the respect that they gave me. I shall miss them so much and, sounding big headed, I know they'll miss me. They won't ever find a crazy a teacher as me and I'm proud and happy I was apart of their lives for such a short time.

However, before I left my secondary home, I went up to the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone) and found myself depressed. I cannot explain the feeling you feel when you go there. It's mind blowing to see how coveted and strange they are towards the outside world. for example, there is a fake village that one can see from the Southern side. I say fake as the houses are empty. No one lives in the 20+ houses. There's just painted on windows and chimney's with no smoke during the winter. The North Koreans just have it there to show the world that they all live in hoses like these and that everyone is happy... Seriously warped mind.

The white houses in the distance is in North Korea. These houses, are fake!

A photo line. You were NOT allowed to go past this point with a camera. CCTV and soldiers patrolled this area heavily armed!

The last most northern station in South Korea. The North Koreans just have to finish their side for the path to be opened, but we will never know if this will ever happen.

Of course over the past couple of months we've seen and heard a lot about North Korea. And I will say... who are people kidding when you see North Koreans happy and content? You can't, you don't know. I am betting that there are some out there who love North Korea but in truth, they have been brain washed and I feel so sorry for South Korea who, are still at war with them, and yet yearn to be back together with them, to be unified. There is a train station that cannot go further as it's the end of the line and the northern most part of South Korea at the DMZ. The North Koreans have yet to finish the railway and while I am being optimistic and saying that I hope this will happen... I have to be pessimistic and say that it'll be a VERY long time when this occurs.

So now after the DMZ we went out in Insadong for a last Korean meal. I had Kimchi broth, (which I adore) and ribs that we BBQ'd. Very nice :) And I shared the meal with my boyfriend and three friends. But the weird thing was... that just as we were about to eat a fire broke out in a dis-used building right opposite the restaurant! Before we walked into the restaurant I had smelt something funny but didn't realise it was a fire. The next thing I know there's grey smoke billowing everywhere, a fire engine and about 6-7 fire fighters tackling an electrical blaze. Damn! Sparks went flying and my friend told me and my boyfriend to pose in front of the fire! Damn we've been Koreanised! >< Any-who, after that we had the meal, the fire was put out and we headed off for some drinks then parted ways the following day.

I am now in Cambodia! Siem Reap! First flight was from Incheon to Guangzhou airport where we stayed for about 4 hours and the second flight was from China to Siem Reap. We have 5 more flights to go, which I'll explain in another blog.

So, we arrived in Cambodia on Sunday. Today we went around a lot of temples, even the Ta Phrom temple, aka the Tomb Raider Temple where Angelina Jolie filmed. It was awesome and the other temples were fantastic. Took so many photo's that I used both of my batteries! So now they have been updated and there's just the matter of taking my pictures out of my camera and putting them on facebook!

Look familiar? This was the tree in the temple from Tomb Raider!

The monkey was a bit of a surprise. Poor buggers were so thirsty. And then not long after we saw some Indian elephants traipsing past.

Part of a temple that has been restored.

Some restoration that is going on now. This was India's section. The men work 8 hours a day and get paid $3! That's it! I felt so sorry for them.

Tomorrow we are going to go to the Angkor Wat temple. I couldn't do it today because my shorts didn't go past my knees. So I need to wear something longer to cover my knees for tomorrow, we also get to see the sunset at Angkor Wat, so that, I think, will be fascinating.

In truth I am liking Cambodia better than Vietnam. I was told today that Vietnam is richer than Cambodia, well maybe so, but Cambodian people seem to be cleaner in a way and they are looking after their heritage alongside 5-6 other countries like India, Japan, China and Czech Republic and a few others. They are all working away to try and restore Angkor Wat and I think that is amazing!

That Awkward Moment When...

2013-02-24T18:49:00.002-08:00

So this post today is something of a confession to what I do and also to what closet weirdo's do. Please don't take offence, I am merely just stating a fact that people don't really want to say this out loud, or indeed write or blog, because well... it's kind of embarrassing.

The other day on facebook a friend posted something about changing direction in a street. Now we all have those moments while walking, when we either go in the wrong direction or find ourselves lost and need to turn around. Well I don't know about you but I get so embarrassed when I have just walked down a road, find out I have got lost and I know I have to turn around and go back the way I came... Don't ask me why I get embarrassed but my face flushes red, my palms sweat and I feel like there's a neon sign over my head saying, "This girl is an idiot, she went the wrong way, everyone stare and point and laugh at her". Bit excessive? Well yes, but that is how I feel.

So how do I combat this embarrassing moment of having to change direction? I use the trusty mobile phone of course. I pretend someone is calling me, I flip out the phone and loudly say, "Oh hey, you're in town? Oh I'm not far away from you. Hang on, I'll be there in a minute. Ok bye!" Putting the phone down, it gives me a good reason to now turn around and head back the way I came without looking like a fool.

I then ask myself, why did I just do that? What was the need? I remember once talking to a housemate some years ago and he said, "You have a right to walk in any direction you want, don't be so stupid. Who cares if anyone sees you change direction?" And it got me thinking, though normally I wouldn't care about what people think of me, it's those weird moments that you've seen people do on the street and you judge them in seconds!

When I was younger, maybe 15/16 I saw this guy walking towards me, he then stopped, turned around, walked five paces, turned around again and came towards me. His head snapped up and looked right at me as if to say, "What are you looking at?" and I can remember thinking, "What a pillock, doesn't he know where he's going?" How judgmental of me! It didn't occur to me at the time if had something important on his mind or he was worried about something, I just automatically assumed that he was a complete numpty for not knowing where he was going.

Because of this incident, I have always felt embarrassed walking in the wrong direction and it's reflected on my driving.
I don't drive recklessly, my father, who is a driving instructor, taught me how to drive. So I'm a pretty good driver, but I shall be honest and say I have done some stupid things. Not breaking the law things, but this one junction I came to, I had to turn right and when I did I went all the the way around the bollard just to the right (I nearly ended up on the pavement because the bollard wasn't supposed to be driven around.) How blond was I! And then I ended up ducking in my seat driving home as I didn't want people staring at me.

The bollard in question. While others bypassed it, just cutting past it on the right, I went around it... ><

When I get lost on the road, I panic. I hate getting lost and I hate looking stupid if I take a wrong turn. I think it's because I don't want to be judged. Living in Torquay, I see groccles all the time. They come from miles around, to enjoy the seaside. But like most of us who live there, we get annoyed at the Sunday Drivers, who drive so stupidly slow EVERY DAY! In truth, they are just lost, unsure of where things are, but we get angry and it's that judgement that reflects on me when I go to someplace new.

In the future I think I shall try and not feel so self-conscious about walking or changing direction, or indeed getting lost in a new place, but I know for a fact I am not the only one who feels like this. And yet I wonder who else would blog about something so stupid as what I have done just now! :)

Updates and Vietnam

2013-02-17T16:49:00.002-08:00

Ok where to start...

I've never been one to keep things going, I mean blogging and stuff like this, I'm just annoying like that, but on the up side, I have good reasons for lacking in the blog department.

Lets see... from November I finished NaNoWriMo within 2 weeks-ish, then December I was given the chance for my short fantasy stories to be put into a new fantasy magazine, then by January, I was asked to be a freelance copy-editor for the magazine. Not only that some of my stories will be published and I'll have my own column in there. Wow!

So the magazine... what is it? Well it's called the Kingdom of Fantasy and it's a monthly magazine that can be downloaded on the Apple Store and on Kindle. :)

To see their facebook page go here, and for their website, here.

The magazine contains fantasy comics as well as fantasy stories. Each month there is a theme running throughout the pages. The first edition is witches! I will give you no more info than that, you'll have to check it out yourself.

Also in January I have updated my website a little bit, added some colour, some new music and put up a new story for FREE download. Click here, to go to my website!

So what else is there to say? Well I went to Ha Long Bay just recently! If you aren't sure where it is, I shall give you a clue, (if you've read the book) Tara, Saskia flew around the islands and found Rhea! Guessed yet? Ha Long Bay is in Northern Vietnam and is a World Heritage (UNESCO) site. It's a pitted bay that is chock full of limestone outcrops, blanketed in luscious greenery and hides away the floating villagers who have never once stepped onto dry land their entire lives! It truly was inspiring and picturesque! Below are a few pictures from my journey!

This was one of the floating villages in Ha Long Bay. Never stepping foot on land, the people trade with fish for rice, poultry and vegetables!

This was our Junker, part of Glory Cruises. Inside our cabins were so pretty! Smooth sailing throughout our entire cruise!

A beautiful view on top of an island. Ha Long Bay has nearly 2,000 islands! There are only a handful where people can live on as many of them are difficult to climb onto.

The mouth of Sung Sot Hang, or the Amazing Cave! It has three chambers, each one is bigger than the last. I saw many people had carved or painted their names on the side of the walls, one dating back into the 1800's!

The sun setting on our last day in Ha Long. It was a beautiful place to go! I'm very lucky!

A Very Odd Wordy Fortnight.

2012-11-05T17:52:00.000-08:00

A Very Odd Wordy Fortnight.

Last week I was meant to do so many things: eat homemade pizza, have mid-week drinks, go to a trip with the teachers and have a trip in Seoul but unfortunately for me, most of all last week I was ill. Huzzah :/ My co-teacher sent me home on Tuesday because she said, and I quote, “You do not look very good”…cheers. So I got packed off home. Wednesday wasn’t much better and I had to take another day off. I could barely get out of bed. Blah!

Thursday, I dragged my sorry tired arse into school- however a friend was kind enough to give me a lift. Was still unsure about the Cultural Festival with the Foreign Native English teachers from the province, but at 9:45am my co-teacher says, “Abi, let’s go!” WHAT! Not a single word and it’s “Abi, let’s go” ?!?! Typical. So we met outside of the Chungnam Board of Education Office and got on a very nice coach to Dangjin. Took a few hours to get there, stopping off for 15 mins on the way. When we arrived we had kimchi broth, tofu and noodles. It was so-so. My stomach wasn’t up for it, so I didn’t eat much. The festival itself was interesting to say the least. First 40 mins was being entertained, Korean style, with the Chungnam Philharmonic and they were awesome! It was brilliant to hear.

We then had various talks from teachers and a very funny man from the American Embassy- all talking about teaching and living in Korea. I’ve heard it all before, but I got some interesting ideas for my students. So I’m planning some lessons.

Over the weekend two lovely ladies from Janghang and three of us from Seocheon, went to Daejeon to catch a coach to go to Seoul for a Cultural Trip. Good lord almighty!

Had to catch the 6:06am train, so Gez and I had to get up annoyingly early, it was a rush to get on trains in the cold and rain but finally made it onto the coach in Daejeon, sleep deprived and a little wet.

Seocheon and Janghang ladies, plus boyfriend at the Gyeongbokgung Palace @ Seoul Cultural Tour!

Got to Seoul and had chicken for lunche which was Samgyetang: A whole young chicken stuffed with rice and cooked in a ginseng broth! It’s lovely! We then walked up to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Gez and I had been there before back in April though when we went it was drier but much colder. We had a tour around the palace again, getting new pictures and remained relatively dry. After a walk around, we headed off to Insadong for a Korean show- dancing and singing. It was great fun! The costumes were brilliant and the dancing fantastic!

Then after a tiring time, we got back on the bus and headed to a fancy restaurant that was in the shape of the main Gyeongbuk palace. It was very fancy, but cool!

Eugene Hallock gave a speech about his time in Korea and we then had an 11 course Korean meal! Good lord it made me fat after the first 5 courses- and I ended up eating my friend’s courses too as she hates fish and shell fish and the majority of the courses were made up of fish. :s

We then went to the next stop which was Seoul Tower, aka Namsan Tower. But it was awesome as the city was lit up in a dazzling array of sparkling buildings. Very cool!

After that short trip, we mooched on over to our 4* hotel called, Best Western Premier Seoul Garden Hotel. Bit of a mouthful but it was awesome. All paid for by the government.

After chilling out for a bit we headed to Hongdae and saw lots of people in costume and the last dregs of the Zombie Walk. After ¾ of an hour wondering around, we saw a very drunken friend from Seocheon. Screaming COFFEE at the local punters, she gave us all a sloppy bloody Zombie kiss and headed out into the world to find her friend. Heading back to the hotel I passed out within seconds. So darn tired!

On the Sunday we headed out early after a nice breakfast! Went to the National Museum of Korea. It’s actually close to Yongsan station, so Gez and I will go there again when we have the time. The museum was brilliant! So many things to see and our group was privileged to be taken around by one of the museum curators.

We then played with clay! We could either make a Korean style pot or a pig. Since I could not make either, I decided to make an Asian style dragon…

Had bibimbap for lunch (rice, steamed vegetables, chilli pepper paste, egg and sometimes meat mixed together)…wasn’t bad but didn’t fancy it at the time. We then headed off to the Four River Project in Gangcheon-bo in Yeoju. Interesting place but there’s really not much to say about it.

The group were so knackered so we decided to call it a night and leave the rest of the bigger group and head back down to Seocheon. Mad rush to get the 7pm train and it was packed to the brim! Couldn’t even stand and this is a huge long arse train. 18 carriages and all packed.

Got home at a very late time of 9:45pm and after I figured out what I was going to plan with my students and their lessons for the following Monday and Tuesday, I promptly passed out again.

So…this week!

Monday and Tuesday: Students ended up watching Nightmare Before Christmas. It’s Halloween week and they deserve a week off from me.

Today I got wonderful news. An editor for an on-line magazine has accepted me to publish a few short stories, and I have a deadline by the 23^rd of November! Also NaNoWriMo starts on the 1^st of November, 50,000 words in one month AND I also got the first proofs for Loving In Time, which has to be done within 29 days. Good lord! So much to DO and not much time to do it in!

Over the weekend I managed to finish my novella, Spirit of the Water Nymph, and I put it on my website for all to download if anyone wanted.

www.abi-kirk.webs.com

21 Years of Bullying

2012-10-15T22:44:00.003-07:00

This week I have been troubled a lot by the recent tragedy of Amanda Todd, a 15 year old Canadian from British Colombia who sadly took her life after 3 years of extensive mental abuse from an on-line stalker and physical abuse from bullies at school.
I cannot stress enough how bullying affects people even well after they have left college.

I’m going to share with you my past, which I haven’t done publicly. Bullying is something that people don’t’ really talk about during the time it happens, that people are afraid because of the backfire it causes to friends and family and that’s how bullies get away with it.

*Note:* All of the names I have mentioned are not the true names of those involved. All of the incidences are true to my knowledge and while others may have a different account, I say: each to their own. I do, however, keep their privacy because I have settled my peace with them. I hold no grudges, what was done, was done.

I was bullied throughout my entire childhood even into adulthood.

I was bullied at home, the girls on my street stole my bike, nearly broke my bedroom window throwing rocks, nearly blinded my dog with a laser pen, threw fruit onto my grandparents roof and over the garden fence nearly breaking our car’s windows, and once we got into a physical fight. Unfortunately for her, I was taller than her. At primary school it was no better. One girl liked to kick me and punch me and got away with it because her mother was the dinner lady. I got mocked and taunted at ballet school, on the bus to secondary school, at secondary school, in 6^th form and at work up until last year when I was 25. That’s 21 years of my life I have been bullied- even by adults. When will it end?!

Unfortunately for Amanda she didn’t have any help, she sent out a cry for help and while others believe it was attention seeking, there is one vital thing people need to realise. There is a BIG difference in attention seeking and a cry for help. With my story, I am going to show you that difference. Though my own bullying was not as cruel as Amanda’s, it still torments me because those who were responsible for bulling me never apologised and I doubt I will never get an apology out of them. I however have forgiven them for their acts towards me. I knew they were cruel, I knew they were hateful spiteful and deceitful and at the end of the day when all that was said and done, I found out that I was right. I hate injustice just as much as the next person but I finally got my own justice when I saw that I was right and karma came.

I was an only child, skinny and had no social life because I was constantly at ballet school. Though I had only a handful of friends at primary school and one real best friend, I was bullied at ballet school by my peers and those older than me, those who I looked up to. I was the oddball and was constantly mocked and jeered at. My friend’s parents told me I was mocked and jeered at because I was a good dancer and had the body of a ballerina; I put it down to the fact that I was weird, awkward and with very knobbly knees.

My mother told me to stand up for myself and I took her advice. During one ballet class a girl came up to me and asked me to take off my golden retriever t-shirt as it reminded her of her dog who had sadly died. I refused. It got worse after that day because I stood up for myself. The taunts and jeers came in like a tumultuous wave that constantly crushed my spirit, breaking me away bit by bit, wearing me down and because of that and I hated ballet, because of the bullies. Tap, however, was much more fun; mostly because I couldn’t hear them name calling me over the noise. When we were put into groups, it was bad. We forced each other to get along but still the bullying persisted.

I look back on that and wonder if I would have done the same thing if I was ten years older. I think the answer is quite simple, no. I wouldn’t have done it, not for her. Unsure if she was goaded into asking me, I don’t think I will ever know, but I remember thinking if I were in her shoes, if I would have asked the same thing and d’you know what? I don’t think I would have. I’m not sure if it was stupid of her asking, or cruel of me having a t-shirt that resembled her dog, but in all fairness I can understand if she was upset, but I won’t kowtow to someone like that. I thank my mother on that little boldness, but also look where it got me? I was shunned from then on, even when I was in my middle teens I was still tormented at ballet school.

But what about back at school where bullies seem to extend into most of your life as you have to attend school 5 days a week and I was lucky to cut back for ballet school only going 4 days a week (note sarcasm).

Well the first year of secondary school (11 yrs old) I was so-so on the friending, after all we were all in the same boat; coming from different primary schools and not knowing many people. The two boys who came from the same primary school as me, were split up. I hardly got the chance to speak to them, and them me. So essentially, I was alone.

I sought out a small petite girl with long blond hair and within a few weeks we became fast friends. We went over to each other’s houses after school and genuinely had a good time. I didn’t have skirmishes with any of the other girls as cliques began to form and thankfully, I was bully free, in school, but not on the school bus.

Unfortunately for me, I lived a fair ways from my secondary school and had to use a bus. It had about 10 stops. On the first day of school, I found out I was the first pick up and chose my seat, like my mother instructed, behind the driver, his name was Lance. There were 4 bus drivers, Lance was the least likable of all. Ben, Simon and Darren. Darren was my favourite bus driver. He didn’t stand for crap and everyone respected him, he brought tapes and played them on the TV. Then there was Simon. Nice bloke, had a chat with us and was a nice guy. Ben was nice but he had a lot of problems and after shouting at a couple of bad boys on the bus, got tormented by them until he quit.

Anyhoo, the first year of the bus to school was a nightmare. I only had one friend, Kelly, who was two years older than me and sat beside me on the bus. I liked her a lot and we had a lot in common. But one girl who I could not stand and who hated every part of my body was a girl who I shall name Dawn (not her real name). Dawn and I didn’t really get along in the first year. She was cosy with her boyfriend and because I knew him, she despised me. I was taunted, jeered, things were thrown at me and I still sat in that seat behind the bus driver. Lance and Ben didn’t really get involved, while Darren did. When Darren was on the bus, she didn’t do anything, in fact on a few occasions she came down to the front and sat next to me pretending to be friends. But when Lance and Ben were on, I was target central.

Second year of secondary school aged 12.

Ah this wasn’t a good year. Though I still had my little blond friend, there were others who were pulling me in a different direction and for that, I was punished for it. One girl made my life a misery. One day we were best friends, the following day she hated me and got everyone to gang up on me, calling me names, pushing me, sending me threatening emails, then the following week we were best friends again. Never in my life had I known such a messed up friendship as us.

One girl who was demur and quiet and liked reading a lot told me to be careful. I didn’t get it then, but I get it now. After 5 months of a volley of friend-enemy relationship, I was finally seeing a new light within a small group of people who were really there for me. My little blond friend had moved away from me, after a fight and fall out where she and two others ganged up on me and gave me the silent treatment for a month or two, but soon they sought greener pastures with some of the popular girls and I went in a different direction. To witchcraft.

I had become part of a coven and with that along came the dark music, the obsession over gravestones, black make-up and black clothes, basically anything freaky and unnatural. I liked it. I could be free with this and it made me happy. In my third year of secondary school, when I was 13/14 I had a new best friend at school. I was happy, my grades were ok, as usual and things started to work out. Our group grew and we became known as the Bench People at our school. Emo’s didn’t exist then, and so we were a collective of Goths and freaks. Didn’t trouble anyone, liked our dark music, talked about poetry, Buffy and Charmed and generally had a good time on Friday nights in our local town. Though, I was still tormented by the same girl from the previous year with the friend-enemy friendship. She had once again managed to screw me up and someone managed to send me more hateful and threatening emails to me.

During the time I was 15/16 things settled down. I got bullied by a few girls who were younger than me who decided to push me against the wall and threaten me (just outside the teachers class no doubt) but I explained that they had got the wrong end of the stick and mistook me for a girl who was similar looking to me. She didn’t understand that I could not be in two places at the same time. I was in Cornwall with my mum and she was at home being picked on by a girl who looks like me. Funnily enough the girl who looks like me is called Michelle. Michelle if you are out there…thanks!

So…Then after my GCSE’s when I was 16, I moved onto 2 years of 6^th form at the same school to study A-levels in Biology, History, Social Studies and Drama. It all went downhill from there.

I wish I had been prepared for what was to come, but it came out of the blue. Starting AS Level in September, everything was going fine until the winter of 2002.

I’ll never forget it as long as I live. It was Carnival night and I saw one of my friends and her parents in the crowd and waved to them. My other friends then dragged me away saying that they didn’t want to be near her or say hello. That upset me first off…I thought we were all friend’s right, what’s changed? Half an hour later we met at one of our local spots and after discussing if me and my best friend should go and see a movie together, she explained that she couldn’t. Within minutes the others turned on me, telling me that I was wrong that I should respect her decision. But that wasn’t why I argued with her, I just didn’t understand her excuse at the time.

That was the first blip in what was going and it escalated from there. One girl who I was friends with decided to give me the silent treatment after she found out I like her boyfriend saying I got my friend to break her and her boyfriend up and that never happened, thus so it got progressively worse.

In a matter of weeks I was alone, completely friendless and all I heard was them bitching about me openly in front of anyone who would hear, talking behind my back, making me feel that I was alone and in fact, I was. One girl who acted as a friend but who sided with them, still talked to me and explained to me what was going on; the girls blamed me for everything, said I was homophobic, I couldn’t be trusted and I was mean and nasty and bitched to others behind their back. But how could I bitch to anyone? I didn’t have any friends.

In 2003 it sunk to a new low on so many levels. I have always hated Valentine’s Day and that year wasn’t any better. One of my former friends decided to hand out Valentine’s Cards to everyone in our tutor room. She didn’t give me one, obviously as she hated me, but one cruel thing was leaning over me to give a card to someone sitting next to me. I was in school for 30 mins before I called my mum and asked her to pick me up, I couldn’t bare it. My grades were slipping because I couldn’t be in the same school as them. I felt pathetic, I felt weak; unable to do or say anything. And the teachers didn’t help, why would they? Teachers don’t really see anything. After failing to turn up to my biology class where the others were, I was told off by my science teacher. He gave me the janitor talk, said I wouldn’t amount to anything. I didn’t have any fight left to explain to him what was going on. I was just fighting to get through the day, fighting to only cry for a minimum of 4-5 times during the day, if I was lucky and fighting constantly against my better judgement of staying in school, even if it was torture for me every day.

A month later, a very dear friend, who was much loved by many people in the school, suddenly died. I’ll never forget that girl as love as I live. She was such a character and a brilliant actress, she made so many people laugh and her own laugh was infectious.

While we were being given the devastating news, I remember sitting in the lobby of our “Common” building that the 6^th formers shared. The group walked by me as though I was s*it on the floor. No hug, no I’m sorry or having a talk. That was a heavy blow; even during a friend’s death they tormented me.

The death of my friend hit me hard and the cold cruel people who had had taken my reason to smile and live my life, had made it worse. A week or two after my friends funeral I had the darkest notion ever, I wanted to end it all. As dramatic as it sounds as it’s used in so many films and books and what not, it was the lowest side of me that I never want to be in again. No one knew of my pain and if they did, they ignored it and my parents didn’t understand either. I was being dragged back by the group over and over again. I couldn’t escape them, couldn’t get away from them because they were there, lurking behind any form of happiness I got at school and sucking the life away from it. School was not a happy place to be anymore and neither was my home. I wasn’t happy anywhere, I was constantly sad and depressed. But I never sought medical help even when it came to the lowest of the low. For some reason I was afraid of getting help, afraid of someone noticing that I had failed to pick myself up on my own and it gave me a thought.

During my 17^th birthday, I didn’t celebrate it. Instead I was in my room crying. It’s quite odd really, during the time my friends had their birthdays when we weren’t speaking, I still got them a card and a present and I had no one and nothing. Not even a text, but it was then that I had a choice to make. I could either let them continue to hurt me, or I could move away from them and start fresh with a new life, new friends. I had to move schools.

Everything was done, sorted and I was on my way to start a new school. I thought about having a last ditch effort to pull myself together and let my them know why I was going and I told her and walked away. There was a great sense of relief when I said what I said. It might have been small but it was a small victory at the fact that I was going to a place where no one knew me, they didn’t know my baggage or any of my previous friends.

Amanda went through some very harrowing ordeals and in this day and age it was much worse than mine because it was cyber bullying which no one can really get away from. Cyber bullying is a form of mental abuse, but mental abuse could be just as bad as physical abuse, because the scars are still there, even after so many years has passed.

Amanda is still getting bullied even now, over a week after her death. People continue to call her an attention seeker after her plea for help over youtube. This is where I shall educate you in attention seeking:

-Attention seeking: adjective attempting to attract the attention of other people, typically by disruptive or excessively extrovert behaviour.
-Cry for help: a way of saying that you need help. Most suicide attempts are really a cry for help.

Amanda was crying for help, she wasn’t attention seeking. The help she wanted she didn’t receive and as a result, her life is now ended.

If you are being bullied hear what I say: Your bullies have NO right in treating you the way they do. They are NOT allowed to make you feel miserable, or cause you mental or physical pain. You have one life in this world; do not let your tormentors take your happiness away from you. You are not alone, even if you have no friends, your family doesn’t listen, you are still NOT alone! There are help-lines to guide you, new school to go to, teachers to talk to. You have the power to change your life, you! You have the right to a happy life, a happy school life and a happy home life. Do not let your bullies get away with it. They are not allowed to treat you the way that they do.

If you know someone who is being bullied you can do something about it. Help them out, even if it’s anonymously. Tell a teacher or another friend, be there for them. This world is dark enough as it is; don’t let someone’s life slip away in front of you because you didn’t want to get involved. BE involved, help someone out, be a big brother or big sister to those who need help. Don’t stand by and watch people hurt; their pain will forever be with you if you refuse to act. Don’t have any regrets, help someone have a better life.

Bullying needs to stop. Amanda’s message is the start of something that should be recognised. Bullies have no right to do what they do. This must stop!

I am holding a Candle Vigil for Amanda a month after she took herself from this world. Please click on the link below and join the event over Facebook. All I ask is that you light a candle for Amanda and for anyone else who is being bullied on Nov 10th.

Candle Vigil for Amanda Todd

Botched Haggling and Janghang Ho!

2012-10-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

The other weekend my friend Rachel from uni came over to South Korea for a few days after touring in China for a month. Meeting her outside Angbok station we went to the palace of Changdeokgung and had a look around. Pictures below!

The palace is stunning and beside it was the Secret Garden where we had a tour. Pictures below!

Seoul really is wonderful and it’s so amazing to realise that you are in one of the most largest cities in the world and yet are completely cut off from all the hustle and bustle of the outside life.

I then took Rachel to a Korean restaurant. We had Kimchi broth with tofu and pork, Galbi, which is tender pork where you fry it before you and bibimbap which is rice, spicy sauce and vegetables. Very nice! Rachel loved it a lot and wants to look for a Korean restaurant in London when she gets back to the UK.

That night we went to see the Fireworks display. So many people were around the place, but it was spectacular! The people quite literally lit up Seoul. As Rachel said, it was raining gold!

Following morning we went into Itaewon. Now Itaewon is an area in Seoul which is very Western and you’ll find a lot of western shops for clothes and food (I got gravy packets, custard packets, Gummie Bears, Apricot Jam and tarragon) and so forth. Well finally after many, many months I found a shoe shop with my size! Most of Korea and actually Asia have shoe sizes that go up to 6, or 250, well it’s sod’s law that I am a 255, or 6 ½ or a 260, a 7. And many shop assistants give me such a look when I asked for 260 in women’s shoes. Grumble. But! This shop had 260! And I got some boots for my 1 yr anniversary with my boyfriend aww…sad fact though that the bloke wanted the money in cash, so the boyfriend used my money to buy my present for me….Typical.

Anywhoo, so walking down the road, minding my own business and the boyfriend says, “Look gloves.” They were black and leather and something that I really don’t like. But I looked at one and a woman suddenly sprang up on me and started talking to me in broken English and Korean. She said it was discount from 80,000 to 45,000 and I said it was too much, as they were. I only had 20,000 on me so she asked how much. I told her 20,000 and she shook her head and gave me some other gloves that were worth 20,000 and I said no then walked off. She then called out 35,000 and said no, too much then as I walked away for a second time, she said, ok, ok, very irritably and I made a bargain of 20,000 from “80,000” 45,000 pair of gloves.

On the train home I looked at my new gloves, relishing in the fact that I finally made a bargain and then became somewhat distraught when the woman gave me two left hand gloves…asdfghjkjhgfdsdfghsdjhgfdjhgsd!!!!!!!!!!! Serves me right I suppose. Buggeration.

The following weekend…

Last night our little Seocheon group (in South Korea) visited Janghang, the next town over and we brought with us a newbie from Ohio. He had only been in the ‘Cheon (nickname for Seocheon) since Wednesday and hadn’t met any of us.

First we headed over to the samgyupsal place in Janghang, along with quail eggs, kimchi, fried fish and the traditional bbqing pork in front of you- we had a brilliant time with beer, soju and cola! Then we moved away and went ten pin bowling! I’m not a good bowler and after winning 2 games out of 3 and only getting 3 strikes, we then drunkingly moved off to noraebang. Noraebang is basically karaoke. A booth with alcohol, munchies, 2 microphones and 2 tambourines, the 13 people from both groups melded together like chocolate and caramel and got stuck into any and every random song. Twas very, very fun!

Our little newbie from Ohio got quite drunk to the point he passed out…bless. And our usual strip tease from a friend didn’t happen as it’s getting quite cold. But we did have a good time and I managed to hit the high notes in Avril Lavigne’s I’m With You and Ugly Coyote’s Can’t Fight the Moonlight. So I feel proud of that! J

I now have a week off invigilating for my students as they do their mid-term exams. During the week I am going to prepare for NaNoWriMo and finish off my little spin off. Writing for a week! Bliss!!!

Just another day in paradise.

2012-10-05T05:14:00.001-07:00

So let’s get this blog started shall we?

Let's have a look at a positively wonderful library from my on-line newspaper...

Library from Kresmunster Abbey in Austria

Alternatively you can view my pins and my boards from Pintrest. http://pinterest.com/abikirk/

Back to why I am blogging today...

Question, How many of you are on Linkedin? Or maybe I should ask, do you know what Linkedin is? Well to put it plainly, Linkedin is like Branchout on Facebook; a website that connects people through profession, jobs and interests and whatnot. I joined about 2 weeks ago and after joining a group, “Book Writer” I began a topic which really needed to be addressed. Amazon book reviews.

Now if you are an author, published or not, then you know about reviews. There are some good and some bad- it comes with the package of being an author and you know for a fact you are not going to please everyone. However, there are some reviews which are, to put a too finer point on it, appalling. The reviews are basically troll work where other authors have stooped so low as to bitch about someone’s book without ever reading it and then shamefully boast about their work and how it is better in contrast. Abysmal!

Though my book is not out on the shelves or indeed in Amazon’s warehouse at the present time, I know for a very sad fact that there will be one horrid review on my book from someone who dislikes me, instead of hating my book.

I was unsure how to take this when I found out and though I don’t understand the person’s real motive to do something like that, I feel that it should be said. I am not going to name names, for unlike them, I am not horrible. They know who they are.

But it got me thinking about reviews in general. There have been a fair few authors who have plugged their work on other authors newly published books. I have seen two authors do that to a few author friends and it upset me that there are actually very nasty people out there who rip authors to shreds because in truth, they are either jealous of the attention or really has some beef with that particular author.

I don’t really leave reviews on Amazon as I prefer Goodreads, if truth be told and while there is more response to reviews on Amazon, I find myself categorically adamant that there are more troll-like reviewers than actual reviewers who give the author some positive criticism.

Not everyone will like the best book in the world as no one can please everyone- there are over 8 billion people, odds are they’ll be a fair few who don’t like your book for one reason or another, but does it give those people a right to hate your book so much that they won’t read it and STILL leave a review?

When the masses of messages poured into my email account after posting about the Amazon Reviews on Linkedin, I found it interesting to point out that one clever chap mentioned that Amazon sends an email to you within 24 hours of purchasing a book from them, asking to review it. Well I’m not a speed reader so I couldn’t possibly leave a review within the first 24 hours of buying a book. Maybe after 3-4 months after I’ve finished it- and even then I’d choose my words carefully when reviewing.

I’m not a good reviewer, I’m quite poor. Usually I tend to say, “This book was amazing, you have to read it” and not give a clear reason on why it must be read, ergo with something that I know needs a review, I shall gladly give a positive one, even if I sort of didn’t like the book.

There have been some terrible books that I have read. Most of them have got bad English, spelling, grammar and other nasty things like rape, bad sex and acutely bad swearing. That does put me off some books, especially if they are meant to be targeted towards teenagers. Bad form, but that's my opinion.

When I was a bookseller, I gave my opinion and I gave reviews of the books for my customers. Then it was up to them on whether to buy it or not. Going slightly off topic here but I once had a customer who wanted something for her grandson, he was 14, nearly 15 and she wanted a funny, intelligent book. I told her to start off with Colour of Magic by Terry Prachett. You can't go wrong with him. She then told me about the Vampire books that she's heard about. Naturally I told her I had read Twilight and the P.C Cast books and gave her my honest opinion but I also told her that they were receiving much praise. She then asked me about the swearing and the sex and that was the point where by telling her the truth she flatly refused to by them.

While teenage girls love the fantasy of a mythical being sweeping her off her feet, there are only a handful of teenage boys who would want to read those types of books. However with the boys who I have spoken to who have read Twilight, Sookie Stackhouse and P.C Cast, they have all said the same thing, "Where is the action?" Made me laugh and to tell them honestly, you won't find that type of manly action. It's for girls right? Teenage girls who just want sex, swearing and a badass book they can brag about to their friends.

For e.g. a 14 year old came into the store and bought three P.C Cast books. On the cover they practically screamed out "Not suitable for under 16's" but she bought them anyway, thanks to mummy and as she was leaving the store she said out loud and proud, "None of my friends have these, they'll be so jel!"

Need I say more?

There is no divisional line between children any more. It's blurred. Heck, when I was 15 I was reading Enid Blyton as well as Goosebumps, Animorphs and Harry Potter...the good old days of innocence in children is fading and teenagers are becoming adults before they realise that they have no childhood to speak of, which is a shame. Books, even in their brilliance, brings about a sense of devastation to teens and when children as young as 13/14 read mummy's 50 Shades of Grey, there is no hope for the world of books, teens or their mothers...I won't get onto 50 Shades of Grey...I'm too happy to annoy myself right now...

Any hoo, back to the topic of this blog...

For reviews, specifically for Amazon, I believe that if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. If the book wasn’t for you say so, but don’t destroy it by blasting the author because you don’t like him or her, or the book is violating your copyright, or they have stolen your ideas. Preposterous!

Books are our children. We created them from scratch, we’ve nurtured them, changed them to our ideals; they are part of us. So just think about that the next time to review a book you may not like or I may just tell you blatantly, “I don’t like your snot nosed child!’ See…it’s not nice, is it? And I don't even know your child (if you have one). But the point I am making should be clear, don't judge a book by it's cover or synopsis. Give it a chance and even if you don't like it, make a positive review with criticism. We are meant to be helping authors and readers.

I leave you with a lovely quote...

Where the heck have I been?

2012-09-23T03:33:00.000-07:00

Where the heck have I been? South Korea!

Ooh dear, well so much for trying to keep this blog afloat. Well in all fairness I have been really busy- to the point where my mind has gone bonkers and I'm finding out way too many interesting things with my life, which doesn't normally happen. Gosh where to start it's been a while... First of all I am now in South Korea! Joy! Teaching 1st and 2nd years at two schools has been a fun and it's been an interesting 6 months and now I am winding down the last couple of months until I go back home. Here is a pic of my school!

Teaching has been interesting, never thought I could, but I guess even I can surprise myself. Here are my English Conversation class discussing the lesson.

I got through English Camp, which was 2 weeks of fun in English, learning songs, writing a musical, finding an English name. Had a lot of fun.

Then the boyfriend and I went to Hawaii, Oahu for a week! That was so much fun! Saw Jurassic Park scenery and LOST scenery! Made my day that did!

Also I saw some rare Green Sea Turtles! That was lovely!

And some brilliant sites on the island.

Now I have started back for 2nd semester and things are going a little bit better. Also during which I was picked up by Pegasus Publishers for my book, Loving In Time. So that will be out in PB in a few months time. My literary agent is back in business and is searching for a publisher for Tattoo of the Black Angel, and I've had a word or two with some excellent people so I have a surprise for Wattpad people in a few months time. But I can't say anything at the moment... Next week is the Korean holiday called Chuseok- where relations go to the eldest brother's house or the family house and pay respects. The Waygooks and myself are going to Busan/Pusan for the holiday, to chill out, eat good food and have a brilliant time before the end of the nice weather!!!!

Clogs Are Turning!

2012-01-09T06:02:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to another mindless brain numbing blog about random stuff.
Firstly, I hope everyone's New Year's were particularly memorable, especially to those who weren't drinking themselves into the hospital. Secondly, I hope that your New Years resolutions are still going strong.
Now, I don't smoke, or drink (maybe the occasional celebrational drink for my b-day/a friend's birthday or a wedding but they happen very rarely) and so, I wondered what could my New Years resolution be?

I got to thinking (it pained me to think so hard) but I came up with a very tricky resolution: To NOT listen to any K-Pop. Now being English you'd think it would be easy, but nope. I will be jetting away to South Korea in Feb and I refuse point blank not to listen to any weird K-Crap as I'm now dubbing it.

For those who listen to K-Crap, then well that's your own fault really, I have no patience for your mindless screaming, "I LOVE MBLAQ" or "I LOVE SHIN-ee" ;) I tolerate the screams of teenagers and their incessant yodelling of the members names on their fb page; to each their own.

And as because K-Pop, sorry K-Crap, is big in South Korea, it will be very hard to not listen to it. I have, therefore, devised a cunning plan (rubs hands like Bauldric), apart from bringing my iPod with me, THANK GOD!, I am going to be listening to K-Rock!

Now, I'm not quite sure that many people know this about me, so I'll say it loud and I'll say it proud. Many moons ago, I used to be a Goth. Black clothes, make-up, rocking out and shoved in a mosh pit to Korn, Nirvana and the like, and retaining that part of my very strange teenage life, I have decided that I like K-Rock. I heard a few songs from Youtube and I did like the music, the melody and the notion that they created their own music traditionally and organically. Yes and I know that sounds weird, but being a musician myself, I know how difficult it is to create and write a song and the repetition of learning it off by heart and the recording of it etc. That is a true artist, a person or band, who can play their own instruments, that's taken them years to practice> not someone who found out they look good, or are "Eye candy" as it's now called, think they can sing, get shoved in front of a microphone, can only shake their arse after told they'd get a load of dosh (money) if they open their mouths and pretend to sing while a computer makes their voice sound pitch perfect. That does NOT a musician or singer make.

I took singing lessons when I was younger and it was difficult, not because I was crap at singing thank you!, but because I had a certain range or pitch and my music teacher had to help train me to reach certain pitches, both low and high, in order to expand my singing range. I ended up being Soprano, when I used to be Alto. So I felt better in myself for reaching such high notes.
Anyway, after saying all this I hope I am trying to make a valid point in that pop is crap and fake, rock is hard work but authentic and rap is...don't even get me started on it.

So summarising, I'm not going to listen to K-pop at all for a whole entire year while living in Korea.

So as it goes with my writing. A'hem! Good! ^^ Yesterday I managed to remember something from over a year ago and I decided to write out the plot, go me, another fantasy story, only worth one big fat book over 200-300 A4 pages, but I've only written the plot and the prologue! I will still stop writing when I'm off to Korea. If I have ideas, then I'll write them down, but I can't miss anything while I'm there, it's a new country, a new experience and a new year that I don't want to miss.

x

No Freaking Way!

2012-01-02T13:05:00.000-08:00

Ok so, for starters, sorry I have been neglecting the blogging thing, I've just been uber busy. Again with the bullet points:
-I got a literary agent who wants to publish Tattoo of the Black Angel
-I have got so many books now from work my floor will break and I shall fall into the room below me
-I have finished Scar of the Centaur (WHOOP)
-I have finished Journey In Time (Sequel to Loving In Time)
-I finished my NaNoWriMo story and will soon commence the second in the series, albeit very slowly.
-Still preparing for South Korea, cannot wait to go!
-Going to go on a whirlwind tour of Wales to see all my friends in the 2nd week of Jan, my friends don't know this yet, so I think I may need to tell them soon...
-I watched season 7 of House within 2 days
-I ate two Terry's Chocolate oranges in two days
-My Canadian friend is just awesome, I love her to bits and her present is coming with me to S.Korea!
-I own my own mini Zanpakuto kasa! I feel very cool, just like Ichigo from Bleach! hehe
-Getting nervous about going to Korea but doesn't everyone?

Right I think that is everything bullet pointed so far to the point of being updated within a month or so.
Now then, onto business. What to discuss?

Being an "author" or "writer" or "soul spiller", whatever you want to call it, I get very strange questions from my readers. So here are a few things which I hope will clarify some questions.

Question: Do I like myths?
Answer: Blatantly obvious and a resounding, Yes! I love myths/mythology and everything in between, however, I rarely read mythology stories... =/ I know, weird right? I haven't read Percy Jackson or Hunger Games (not mythology but still a question that people annoyingly keep asking me) so please...STOP ASKING ME!
But in all fairness, I prefer action books, like Andy McDermott and S. Larsson. Their books are just frigging awesome, but they are also adult books and I know a lot of my readers wouldn't read them because they may find them boring. Sorry, but being an archaeologist, I must love McDermott it's my being to love him and forever more! (The main character is an archaeologist called Nina)

Question: How do you write out your plots?
Answer: Depends. Sometimes I write it on paper when I'm taking a walk or I'm away from my computer, or sometimes when I'm at the computer I have my notes right in front of me. Personally, I think it's imperative to plot down the backbone of the story and give yourself a reason on why you are actually writing, what are you trying to accomplish? I'm not sure about other authors, I suppose they have a great idea and must write it down for entertainment, but for me, I think it's about finding that moral, that "something special" that makes a book. Think it corny of me for saying, but I want to show that behind my weirdness that people deem "flippant, idiotic and childish" about my personality, that there actually is something about me that should come across the pages that I write and will say "Oh so that's who Abi is?".
Recently I paid a visit to some of my old managers. I won't mention any names or professions, but when I told them that I had written 12 books within a year and a half and I had got a literary agent, they were dumbfounded. They thought I was a "special" girl and not in the sense of a gift, they thought I was a little "mad up-stairs and slow" and so I was belittled by my colleagues. It hurt so much, but with their words, I decided to change tact and keep at it and I have surprised everyone around me.
With this determination to let go of those who thought ill of me, I have strived to write out all the plots of my stories from the very beginning, or else I may lose sight of what I am intending to write: A inspirational book that gives insight into other cultures, old religions, hopeful and good morals and also teaches some amount of education in history.

I hope that everyone has had a good New Years. Congrats to my two wonderful friends Dave and Mand who have recently got engaged. <3 you guys!

Oh the drama!

2011-11-18T14:43:00.000-08:00

Right so the last time I blogged it was the end of September...
You may think I'm boring and have no life because I haven't blogged since then, well you'd be so very wrong.
Don't really want to talk about me so I shall hurry up in bullet points since the end of September:

-Finished National Trust Contract at end of October
-Didn't do Halloween but listened to awesome Halloween music
-Got accepted to Korea after having an interview they got back to be 4 hours later with a "Yes"
-Now working in Waterstones until Jan as I didn't get a permanent contract (see rant below). Surrounded by books is awesome, my friends will be getting books for Crimbo.
-Participating in NaNoWriMo
-Trying to finish 2 other books- Yikes!
-Bought two dresses from TU today, which make me look like a 1980's teacher!

See? Simples!

Anyway so let's have a rant about the economic crisis...and yes I know people think it's blah and well they can think that if they want. I heard a fully grown man, in his 60's at least, say that he never wanted to get into politics as he didn't see the point...I guess he votes for Labour then.

I'm not gonna b*tch about parties because there are several things I'd like to say about Cameron right now, but I won't bore, instead I'll just say that I AM ONE OF THE 99% and because my country has failed me, after hearing about over 1 million people in the UK is unemployed, I'm buggering off 5,000 miles for a job. Damn, I hate this stupid government.
Anyway I don't agree with the man that he never wanted to get into politics, because if you don't get at least the basic then you don't understand how to see the country is failing or improving and it's best to keep on top of this rubbish.

Greece, I am so sorry. You have had such a poor year and I meant that in the state your country is in, not in money, but how you have been poorly run.

Italy, I am so sorry for you are heading in the same way as Greece and Germany cannot afford to bail you out.

France, Ireland...good luck in the Euro and Germany, really Merkel? REALLY? Tut tut woman, for shame on you.

China, I totally agree with you, I wouldn't give the EURO money either.

America, finally you are beginning to realise that your country and indeed the rest of the "civilized" world (can we really call the UK civilized after the London riots- most Londoners are yobs anyway and can't speak properly- and they want to get rid of the Queen's English- it's the only accent that foreigners can understand for God's sake!)is run by a big computer on Wall Street. May you try and occupy your entire country but bare in mind the 1% which is part of Obama runs your country and you did vote for him- reap what you sow...the UK is paying for the price too, and so is Greece and Italy.

To the UK, we are going back into a double-dip of recession. If you have the chance, get the hell out of the country for a few years. Social unrest is all around- London sparked off what the UK will turn into if we don't claim back our country, our land, our history! And damn it, our Ancestors would weep in their graves if they saw what our country has turned into. Damn it, never had I thought that I was being forced out of my country; but there you have it folks.
I am 25 with a Masters and I'm unemployable- either too young or over qualified. The UK is sh*t, why people come here to live is beyond me- oh yes, to take our benefits, I forgot! Doy!

Anyway, so apart from that annoyance in the world currently, I wish that things pick up better soon; a great dark cloud looms over our heads in these times. Too many evil acts in one world, where's all the good gone? Well I try and do my best where I can, give to charities, help the old people and write for those who wish to be entertained. It's small but I try and do one ARK a day - (Act of Random Kindness) Try it, it makes you feel better by making others happy, even for a brief moment. :)

Live long and prosper! x

OOOO I forgot- Books I bought within the past two months:

Inheritance- C Paolini
The Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest- S Larrson
The Girl who Played with Fire- S Larrson
Destined- PC Cast
The Power of Six- Pittacus Lore

I'm on a reading roll!

2011-09-29T16:08:00.000-07:00

So, two months ago, actually it may have been longer than that, I was lent "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". Now normally I don't read books like that, mystery is just not my genre and at the time, I wasn't reading anything else apart from Naomi Novik's historical/fantasy book Temeraire which is an odd book and I kept at it just because I hate not finishing a book. Anyway. So after the weird dragon book, I started with Stieg Larsson's book and it took me ages to get into it. I found Lisbeth to be a goth with a bad attitude, Blomkvisk was annoying because even though he was clever he kept missing things out and it took him ages to get the ball rolling...HOWEVER...after persevering, I finished it and I must say I now know why it became an international best seller.
With the book not being my genre, I really did like it and I give it a 4/5*.

So of course with me as soon as I finished the book I wanted to watch the film...didn't know that the Swedish had made an original! Shocked as I was unaware of this, I bought and downloaded it from iTunes and low and behold, I watched and enjoyed.
Now, praise for the film keeping to the book, sort of, a lot was missed out which was a shame, but they got Lisbeth Salander spot on in my opinion. And I saw the new trailer for the American version and the new Lisbeth, I'm sorry but I'm not quite sure...I'll have to wait and see but meh...

Anyway, so now I got "the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" over and done with, guess what I am reading now? It's a sequel, it's about aliens and the power of 6! That's right! Pittacus Lore's Power of 6 and OMG it's just awesome. I love, love, LOVE this book also. Nearly finished it and when I have done with that I am going to re-read all the Eragon books for the last and final instalment, Inheritance.
Aren't we all just gagging to read Inheritance though? Come on! I've been waiting for what...4 years, maybe heading 5 years for that book to come out! The final one! EEEP! So many theories are flying all over the place and I do not doubt for a second and Wattpad will have a new fanfiction of the Eragon series...I'm just waiting for that to happen.

As I said that I wouldn't talk about me, I won't, but I will talk about a new series I am going to start writing soon. The first one will commence in November and I am using NaNoWriMo to finish the first book called "The Trial". The series is called "The Barcode Series" and its a sci-fi story with seven books in total. It is a BIG project I am taking on and I dare say it will take up most of my time.

Currently I am writing the last book of the Tattoo of the Black Angel Trilogy, which Scar of the Centaur should be finished by November (fingers crossed) and Journey In Time, which again I am heading for another 30 chapter book approximately 120/130 pages, should be finished also around November.

So many things to do and not enough hours in the day.

Rainbow Themed Wedding and a Sunburning Dig!

2011-08-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

Ok so weddings...When I think of them, I think a lovely little church, big white candles, tasteful flowers, THE white dress, the vows, the vicar who should be Rowan Attikson, the bridesmaid who should be dressed up as Dr Who like Alice Tinker did in Vicar of Dibley, the lovely music like Watermark by Enya.
All your friends are around you, you stand as the bride enters and everyone goes "aww" as the little flower girls walk down the aisle in lovely little dresses as they throw petals on the floor...
Ok I'm being too gushy here and too out dated. Man, I need to re-think these weddings, or at least be invited to a traditional one. Hint people, HINT!
So, the wedding was definitely 1980's born adults, aka my era. The awesome cheesy music was played, a fantastic Hog roast was cooked and I danced like a pillock for the better part of the wedding or well actually until the very end! Cupcakes were lovely, lollypop flowers were cute and tasty! And pictures of drunken friends were taken. It was a fantastic day! Not to mention I ended up getting lost and found myself in Kent...after taking 5 poor buggers with me, sorry guys but we had much mooching around a graveyard (we're all archaeologists) when we found out a castle was closed...sigh.

Ok so the following day after the wedding, we, myself and two partners in crime in my car, drove back to Bristol to park up and then head over the Sunny Wales! Met up with a mate in Cardiff and went to the Cardiff festival and listened to Attack Attack and Funeral for a Friend aka emo music. After little children picked on me as I sat down and stared off into space, my three tall handsome fellows came to my side and rescued me, sending off the 20 odd little gits who wanted to pick a fight with me. So when two friends left, there was one and he took me back to his caravan to begin a fun weekend excavating!

Friday night, when we arrived in Trellech, was entertained by the A level students who did nothing but demand for alcohol, poor little sods. Met two very rambunctious boys who were very funny. Friday we began to excavate, I got my archaeological hat on and was tested on the finds that came up in the past 5 years at the Medieval site. I didn't do too badly considering my period is Bronze Age and the area the Med, not Britain! So I felt somewhat cool and hip! Then off to cleaning up the tower, found pieces of pottery and slag then helped the boys with the top soil of the trench. It began to rain, so it was over and I found out, I was annoyingly sunburnt. Damn my pasty white sensitive skin! But we were all, getting lost *cough* I mean, going out for an adventure to the Forest of Dean, yes that's mentioned in Harry Potter, and having a stroll around the forest! But then by Sunday, I had to go back, but not after a mornings worth of excavating and telling a little toss-pot of a 17 year old that he needed to either dig or sod off and either do context sheets, drawing or pot washing. You can't just sit there and stare at people working! I don't agree with that!

So I was driven back to Bristol and ended up driving back home on the M5 through a fricking thunder storm with lightening! Called on a friend in Dawlish, had tea and fresh bread and jam (cheers my little Canadian) and went to parents house to see my dogs lol and give my mum her 60th b-day present and card THEN got home...

All in all a fantastic few days and I wouldn't have done it any other way...apart from wearing sunblock! haha I'm such a spanner!

I am Number Four! Ok I'm not really shifty eyes

2011-07-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

Well after knowing about the film since December last year and going "Oh, I'd like to see that" and then finding out it was an actual book first well I forbade myself to watch the film until I read the book. Well, can you believe it, it took me 7 months to buy the book and after I finished reading it within 2 days I then went and bought the DVD, I loved it THAT much and I do not love often.

The book was just phenomenal. I have read sci-fi books before, but this was just excellent and mind blowing. Normally I tend to read fantasy books, like Harry Potter, for example and Andy McDermott with is action/adventure with a little bit of fantasy thrown in. But this wasn't cheese! It was cream! (and please don't be disgusting here people.)

After reading the book, I obviously did a bit of research and found out the next book isn't that far away, at the end of August! Already I have pre-ordered and bought Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, which I CANNOT WAIT to read, but I may also have to pre-order The Power of Six also. Exquisite in writing style has Pittacus Lore, just brilliant!

So, my reading is back on track and unfortunately my writing suffers for it. Haven't written a thing in 3 days and I feel awful, so this weekend I am going to write until my hands bleed as this following week I have a wedding to go to!
TKMaxx has once again provided for me and I bought a very lovely tight, body hugging dress to show off my slim figure and curves...well, so my parents say... =/ The dress is from Rachael and Chloe...I haven't heard of the name, though I am impressed with the style of the dress. I already have my shoes, I bought them from Next last year for about £40, I named them "I'm going to look sexy in Rome" shoes. They almost killed my feet, but after a year of breaking the little buggers in, I have won and my feet no hurty any more, but I am stupidly tall! Which is all good.

Right well I think I have waffled for a good while, so toodleloo and I shall be back with another thrilling adventure of Abi's What a Year!