She's a SuperGeek...SuperGeek...She's SuperGeeky!

Oh yes...I may be the geekiest of them all now. A few weeks ago, Andy and I rushed off to Aldi to buy a digital notepad that was on sale, and I have only just now had the chance to really try it out. After initially feeling that it wasn't very intuitive and would possibly be very annoying to use after a while (the pen leaves much to be desired when compared to my lovely, comfortable Sensa pen), I have now sussed the handwriting conversion software and think that it could be pretty freaking cool.

Now that I have begun using the wonder that is Microsoft OneNote (yes, I know Microsoft is evil, but I really like OneNote!) for my course (notes on readings, etc.), I think that I could very easily use my digital notepad to take notes in class or to take notes while I'm reading but don't have easy access to my laptop. Later, I can convert all of my handwritten notes to text and dump it all into Microsoft OneNote, making it easier for me to integrate it all into future essays and the like. I type a hell of a lot faster than I can write, but sometimes, it's just not easy or feasible to lug around the laptop and take notes (i.e. I'm too lazy to lug it around or to bother getting it booted up for my 45 minute train journey), so the digital notepad could be a solution.

Right now, I have handwritten notes in my notebook, other notes typed up in OneNote, and other notes in my brain that haven't been written at all because I didn't have handy access to my notebook while reading. As I really should be getting my ass in gear for my 4000 word essay due on 14th Jan., perhaps I should start carrying the digital notepad and a random book wherever I go so I can get some work done. This may also be a good solution for Christmas Day when all the guys in Andy's family are either falling asleep on the sofa or watching football on tv and when all the women in Andy's family are having a good chat that generally involves child rearing and/or people I don't know. Both of these activities do not really involve me, so I can try to be a good little student and actually do some work, which I have been avoiding like the plague until the last couple of days. Of course, even in the last couple of days, I have done the bare minimum (I think I actually managed to read two and a half pages of a book yesterday before I got distracted by something else). So...it's really time to get to work. Honestly, 4000 words is really nothing, but as I'm writing on a subject that is relatively new to me (putting on a museum exhibition), I probably need to do a pretty decent amount of background reading on top of some of the relevant material I've already read for class.

Ahh...the wonders of new gadgets and the extreme geekiness it brings out in me.

If only I were a cat...

I am finding myself becoming increasingly jealous of my cats. They get to sleep and eat whenever they like, and they can curl up in pretty much any position and be comfy. They don't have to work. They don't have to buy clothes or worry about transportation or any of the other mundane things that are part of human life. They've really got it pretty easy, as they're house cats. They may think they want to wander in the great outdoors, but we're so close to some busy roads that they'd be very unhappy if we were to lock them outdoors. The one time Hex ran out the front door without me noticing, he immediately regretted his brave escape. I heard this rather pathetic howling coming from the front of the house, and when I ran into the hallway, I saw that Hex had jumped up, dug his claws into the wood trim below the window on the front door, and was peering through the window, plaintively pleading for someone to let him in. I ran to the front door, opened it, and he hung on for dear life until the door was completely open. He then launched himself into the house, trying to escape the scary, noisy, busy outdoors.

Of course, later that same day, his brother tried to make a break for the front door. And the very next day, Hex decided he was curious about the great outdoors again and tried to sneak past me...through the front door. Either they are very forgetful or they think that the world outside our house changes very, very quickly.

They are currently cuddled together on the sofa, paws wrapped around each other, looking exceedingly cute. I really would like to come back as a house cat (in a good, loving home, of course) in my next life.

First Post...or How boring can I be?

I've tried keeping up with writing blogs in the past, but generally, interest wanes after a short while (both on my part in terms of writing the blog and on the part of my friends and family in terms of actually reading the blog). However, I'm going to try my hand at it again and see if I can actually keep the momentum going for a while.

I certainly don't promise anything deep or meaningful; this blog may end up containing nothing more than the mundane happenings in my every day life. However, I may occasionally have something interesting to say...but again, I don't promise anything.

Anyway, on to more interesting things: We put up the tree and got the lights wrapped around it, but that's it for tonight. The decorations will be sorted out tomorrow....so at least we'll have a week of enjoying the tree before Christmas. This is odd for me, as when I lived in the US, my family always decorated on Thanksgiving. My mother has continually asked me why we're bothering to put up a tree when it's so close to Christmas because she just can't conceive putting up the tree any later than Thanksgiving. Of course, she's got an enormous tree and boxes and boxes and boxes of decorations, so it takes her days upon days just to get everything set up. So, putting her decorations up just a week before Christmas would seem like a waste; when you have to put that much effort into decorating, you want to enjoy it for at least a month!

I have tomorrow off and am only working Tuesday - Thursday this week. The College is closed on Friday and won't open again until 7 January, so I have two blissful College-free weeks ahead of me. I'm also finished with University until 23 January, although I have an essay that is due on the 14th of January. I haven't even started on it, although I have a rough sketch of it in my mind. So....my free Friday may be spent at the library in Bristol, reading and making notes for my essay. Good times.