LEATHER BAG!!! :D

Oh today is a happy happy day.

I awoke today to a voicemail from Mr Henry Tompkins of HTLeather, telling me my bag was ready for collection. I literally jumped out of bed, rang my dad and told him we'd HAVE to go and get it today as he doesn't work weekends and there was no way I could wait another weekend.

Originally we were going to go and get it at lunch time but then dad got called into a meeting, so at 3pm we left and headed to his workshop. Oh it's oh so glorious.

Apologies for the quality of the pictures, the lighting is a bit shit in my house. It smells lovely, a proper leather smell, and the feel of it is amazing. Smooth yet very sturdy. I was most nervous about the colour if I'm honest, as he had lots of different colours of leather, and even though I picked what colour I wanted I was still nervous, as even the same colour leather can look different from piece to piece. But fortunately, its gorgeous. And if I want it lighter or darker at all at any point, I can always polish it or leave it in the sun for a little while. But I see no need for that right now at all.

As for the interior, its so roomy!

I don't think the photo really shows just how much room is in there, but I'm seriously excited about how much I should be able to fit in there! The thinner pocket towards the back is for a laptop, or iPad, and maybe an A4 notepad/sketchbook. The two pockets on the front of the divider are great for smaller gadgets or notebooks, and you cant really see, but on the front of those pockets there are some pen slip thingys too. The main front section is huge. It extends under the two pockets really, and is so, so roomy. I can fit some books, spare clothes for the flights, my camera, and all the other gadgets etc in there easily and still have room left over.

The buckles seem really nice and sturdy, as does the strap, though I havent yet figured out how to lengthen it.

I am SO happy. This is basically my 18th birthday present, just a few months early, and I couldn't have asked for anything better. I'm so excited to use it in Australia too. No doubt tonight after badminton I'll simply be found sitting on the floor putting all the gadgets I've already got for the trip in there, just to see what they look like in their home :) I'll probably take some pictures then too, and whack them up on here.

As for the weight of it, its perfect. It's heavy enough to not feel flimsy, but light enough that it wont weigh me down before I put anything in it.

Basically, its perfect, and I love it.

March.

Is it March yet?
My bag should be ready, the Fuji S2500HD will be out, my second GBM and Otterbox Defender iPhone case (courtesy of Alex Dixon, thank you dear) will be here, the 3 Pokemon games from Hong Kong should be here, I'll be on pay&go on the iPhone so saving money, and the uk pricings for the iPad should be revealed.
So hurry up and be next month already!

Sweeeetness!

Today's post was a joyous collection of jiffy bags; Yoshi's Island, Tony Hawk and Dragonball Adventure, plus the Guildhall notebooks for my mum and I. Now the only games I'm waiting for are the 3 Pokemon ones from Hong Kong (Ruby, Fire Red & Crystal) which according to an email received this morning have now been posted, and the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, which should be here tomorrow, in theory.

I've tested out all three games that arrived today, and Yoshi's Island really is the cutest thing ever! The graphics are so cute, the noises are so cute, and, in the words of @Abcmsaj - its got Yoshi in it for fucks sakes! :)

Tony Hawk's is pretty fun too, but I'm going to have to get used to the controls on it methinks. Dragonball Adventure is nothing too strenuous, just general kiling fun :)

So now I'm OH SO eagerly awaiting the Pokemon games and hoping the Hong Kong postal service gets a wiggle on.

War.

I won the bidding war on Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team :D

So that's another one to add to the list of parcels I'm waiting for now.

Still massively debating whether or not to buy that other Gameboy Micro from my friend, its a blue one and I expect its in quite good condition as he says he didn't use it much as he got it just before the DS came out. Not that there's anything wrong with the silver one I've just got, its just that it is a bit scratched, and as I've said before, I'm thinking in terms of Australia too. Think I might haggle with him.

EDIT: I have offered him £15 :)

Gameboy Micro - Pic-cha!

So this morning the doorbell rang, I ran for the door, signed the electric thingy, ran into the living room with my parcel in hand, ripped off the copious amounts of parcel tape, and lo and behold, I beheld my Gameboy Micro in silver with games :)

All the games pictured, apart from Rayman 3, came with the console. I've had a little go on each of them, and the first thing I know is that I havent a CLUE what I'm doing on the Yu-Gi-Oh games, so I dont expect they'll be getting much play time. Spiderman 3 is really cute, kitsch and fun, and Crash Nitro Kart is going to get some play time for sure.

Rayman 3 arrived with the normal post, and its awesome. Another one that I'll definately been getting some time on.

I've charged it too, though it had obviously been pretty much fully charged recently as it didnt take long for the blue charging lights to go out, which is good. I'll be taking it with me and playing it in the car while I sit and wait for my appointment.

And now I'm just waiting on all the other games - Tony Hawk 4, Avatar: Last Airbender, FIFA 06, Dragonball Advanced Adventure and all the Pokemon games. I haven't actually paid for the Pokemon games yet, as I requested a total from him and was waiting on a reply regarding postage. I got the reply this morning and sods law he said that he'd be able to give a £5 postage discount when I buy 5 games, which of course was the original plan but I decided to give up on. The cost of the Pokemon games and p&p is roughly £25 whereas it'd cost £35 if I got Fire Emblem and Zelda: Minish Cap as well, but I decided I'd just go for the Pokemon games. I'll have enough games as it is without Zelda and Fire Emblem so its all okay now. Even though I've probably spent nigh on £40 on games by now.

The only other thing I'm thinking about now is buying another GBM, in blue, from a friend on Facebook. I know, I know, but in terms of Australia it might be handy to have two, especially for the plane journeys, in case I run out of battery. Plus, ITS BLUE. He's asked £20 but if I can whittle him down to £15 I think I might just go for it to be honest, what do you all think dear readers?

So hell yeah I'm happy right now, 'cos I have a cute little GBM :)

H.x

Woohoo!

I literally just yelled "Woohoo" a few minutes ago; Why? Because I won Yoshi's Island for my GBM :D I am now, as my dad oh-so hilariously pointed out, "the proud owner of 2 Yoshi's" - My rabbit and the game.

So I have now purchased and am waiting for:

- FIFA 06

- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

- Avatar: The Last Airbender

- Rayman 3

- Dragonball Advanced Adventure

- Pokemon Ruby

- Pokemon Fire Red

- Pokemon Crystal

- Yu-Gi-Oh Stairway to Destined Duel

- Yu-Gi-Oh Reshef of Destruction

- Crash Nitro Kart

- Spiderman 3

All of which makes me a very happy - yet slightly poorer- bunny. (Oh the irony - rabbit - Yoshi - happy bunny... never mind).

Now I just can't wait for them all to get here so I can waste more valuable Wuthering Heights/Jane Eyre essay time playing on them. The console bundle (including the last 4 games) should hopefully get here tomorrow, which means having to get up early as its coming via Recorded Signed For delivery, but in this case I so don't mind. If it does get here tomorrow, it'll be great for another ridiculous reason - I have my counselling appointment tomorrow and normally have about half an hour to kill after I've parked, and I normally take a book but the book I'm reading is too big to fit in a cool little bag my dad was getting rid of but I have commandeered, whereas the GBM will fit. I know - I'm such an excitable loser of a geek sometimes all of the time. I cant help it. Nowadays when I get focused and excited about something, I do tend to pour all of my energy into it. I think its because I have no social life and nothing else to get excited about that I go ever so slightly overboard. Oh well :)

Pokemon!

Okay so this idiot in Hong Kong apparently obviously doesn't want to make a sale because he hasn't bothered to email me back at all today about the Pokemon games. Boo.

So I worked out that he would probably charge the £3.50 p&p for each item, which at 3x£4.99 and 2x£3.99 it worked out to £40.45 for the 5 games, which is a bit much really. I decided I'd give up on Fire Emblem and Zelda Minish Cap for now, seeing as I really want the Pokemon games and they're all basically RPG's I figured I'd just stick with the Pokemon ones for now. If I was to get the 3 Pokemon games from the Hong Kong guy though, it'd cost about £21 which actually isn't bad seeing as the Pokemon games tend to go for near enough £10 each anyway. For the time being I'm watching and bidding on other listings of Pokemon Fire Red and Ruby, both of which end in about an hour ish. If they look like they're going to go for more than the Hong Kong guy's selling them for then I'll just go for his listings of all three. Plus the only Pokemon Crystal I can find is from him, so I'll just see what happens in the next hour. Hopefully I'll end up with Pokemon games.

I've also bitten the bullet and just bought Tony Hawk 4, Avatar; Last of the Airbenders and FIFA 06 too, all under £4 each, bargain.

I'm also avidly watching another listing of Yoshi's Island after I unfairly lost out on one yesterday. This one ends in about an hour too, and I so badly want it. I'm watching Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red team too which ends tomorrow, because it just looks so cute! You get to BE a Pokemon! Did I mention that already?

So the game hunt is going...meh. Okay I guess. Didn't realise how many games I was getting til I wrote them all down earlier! Which means I'm also going to need some cases in all likelihood...

EDIT: Fire Red bidding gone. Might as well get that one from Mr Hong Kong. Just waiting on Ruby now.

Notebook geek.

Yes I am an utter notebook notebook/stationary geek, as you should well know by now.

I thought I'd be super cool today and introduce you to my four favourite of the many notebooks waiting to be used, because I really am just, that, cool.
First off, I'm currently using a hardcover pocket ruled Moleskine, and a ruled pocket Moleskine Cahier for my day to day scribbles.

Top left is the Alwych notebook; cute little size, feels perfect in the hand, nice spaced lines on nice thickness paper, and the edges of all the pages are blue. I kind of dont want to use it, because I'll feel like I'm marring it.

Top right is a cheap police style flip top hardcover notebook I picked up from The Range randomly the other week. The pages are a bit rougher than in any of the other ones, and I'm not entirely sure what I'd use it for as I'm used to using normal left spine notebooks. Perhaps I'll use it Australia...although thats kind of what the Ciak and Moleskine's are for.

Bottom left is a pocket SOFTcover ruled Moleskine, which I'm very excited about using, because I'm used to the hardcover Moleys so know more or less what I'm in for. Will be interesting to see how well the softer cover holds up to being bashed around though.

And finally, the Pocket Guildhall notebook. Essentially a version of the Moleskine, but I'm excited about using it anyway. It looks slightly cooler in my opinion, what with the stitching around the edges of the cover, which is slightly softer and slippy-er than the Moleskine's cover. The lines inside are slightly different too, with a top line you can actually use, and nice spacing.

I've also got another one of these on order on its way :)

So yes, notebook geek = me.

Gamezzz.

Now have;

- Rayman 3

- Dragonball Aventure

- Yu-Gi-Oh ...destined duel

- Yu-Gi-Oh Reshef of destruction

- Crash Nitro Kart

- Spiderman 3

for definate on the gbm.

I'm still waiting on a reply email from the guy in Hong Kong about the others, which is fucking annoying seeing as the items finish this evening. I could just risk it, buy them all and then negotiate a p&p discount, but I'd rather not. Just check your emails mate!

Kerching.

I so need to stop spending money. But I so cant.

Had a nice reminder from mum and dad though that it is in fact my birthday in a few months, so I'll be getting some money then I expect :) Silly me for forgetting.

eBay is just my life at the minute.

:/

And now I've seen screenshots of Yoshi's Island and NEED it.

Web of the Week.

Seeing as I spend the majority of my life on the internet these days, I've decided to start doing a 'Web of the Week' portion on my blog. Whether or not I ever remember to do it again is another matter, however.
Some of the websites I'm including this first post are regular favourites that I love visiting.
So, some of my favourite web pages, articles, videos etc, from this week;

http://pleasefixtheiphone.com/
http://www.modojo.com/features/20061023/125/rip_game_boy/1/

http://blackcover.net/

http://www.penaddict.com/

http://awkwardsleepramblings.blogspot.com/

http://moleskine.vox.com/

http://lamehoo.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jO3dRl4V9Q&feature=player_embedded#

Right, now I'm already a bit bored, and the Ski Cross is demanding my attention.

H.x

Gameboy Gamezzzzz :)

So having now won a Gameboy Micro on eBay, I'm going nuts regarding games.
The console comes with: Spiderman 3, Yu-Gi-Oh Stairway to Destined Duel, Yu-Gi-Oh Reshef of Destruction and Crash Nitro Kart
No idea if the Yu-Gi-Oh ones are gonna be any good at all, but I'm excited about Spiderman and Crash Nitro Kart.
I've also bought Rayman 3 on eBay and that's meant to be a good game, and I'm apparently winning the bidding on Dragon Ball Z Adventure, which if it goes cheap then fine, but it does look quite cool.
Now the thing is money really. While each game isnt exactly mega bucks, it does all mount up, and though I've got a bit more money at the moment its not a bottomless pit, for shame. The other thing to consider is whether or not its worth it as I may only play each game once, but the way I figure is that if I do play it and then dont want it, well, that's what eBay is for, right?

So, the games that are currently enticing me;
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 - cos it looks fun
- FIFA 06 - a football timewaster is always a good buy
- Avatar: The Last Airbender - looks cute, cool, and fun
- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap - never played Zelda and want to
- Fire Emblem - apparently a great game and it looks gorgeous

And of course, some Pokemon games;
- Ruby
- FireRed
- Crystal
EDIT: - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red Team - get to BE a pokemon! So cute!

The last 5 on the list are all available from a guy in Hong Kong, so I'm thinking a postage discount should clearly be on offer if I do go for the 5 of them, and the other 3 are from the same person in the UK too, but as its free p&p, not an issue.

So I'm wondering if anyone reading this has any experience with any of the above? Am I making a mistake by even thinking about any of those games? Of course, Mr Alex Dixon and @Remy_Foster have told me what they can about the Pokemon games, thank you boys, but if anyone else has any opinions please feel free :)

Oh yes, and I've also changed my blog theme yet again.
Obviously.

:D

A picture of all the important gadgets for Australia ;)



Starting at the top:
I have an iPhone, but am debating whether or not to unlock it before I go so I can put an Australian SIM in it, or to get the Blackberry. The former is the cheaper option, but the latter is the geekiest/gadgetiest.
I also already have my trusty iPod 80gb, but for the next couple of weeks I need to make a start on putting all of my CD's on it, and I can then sell all the CD's on MusicMagpie.com.

The Ciak, Moleskine and Uni Ball Jetstream pens are all sitting happily on my desk, and because I got 3-packs of both types of pen I've been happily using both for my musings, scribbles and every day life. Yes I'm a stationary freak, but these really are gorgeous pens to write with.
The Gameboy Micro I've just paid for on eBay and have been emailed to say it'll be sent out on Monday. Managed to get a good bundle on eBay - the console, cases and 4 games for about £30 - good when you consider there aren't masses of these around and they do tend to go for about £30-£40 anyway.

The Polaroid PoGo is also sitting happily with the journals and pens, along with a few packs of films.
The Freeloader is something I'm borowing from my auntie for the trip, so when we all go up to London in May to pick my sister up from the airport I'll grab that and check we've got all the connections we need and eBay for the ones we're missing.

Now, the camera.
I've been wanting something a bit more substantial, a step up from the point and shoot affairs I've always had, but not as expensive and knowledge-heavy as a DSLR, for a while now and started looking into it a few months back. Now in general, I'm camera thick, but after a lot of research I decided I liked the look of the Fuji bridge cameras, which have massive optical zoom lengths and afford a bit more creativity with more manual controls. I stumbled upon the Fuji S2000HD, which had another draw for me over the other Fuji models in my price range: HD video recording. So I decided I'd go for that one and then I can sell my old camcorder for a (little) extra cash. However, my dad then noticed (on his rifling through the Argos catalogue for his FIRST digital camera, bless) that Argos had listed the Fuji S2500HD, the upgrade to the S2000HD. After yet more research I discovered that Fuji had announced new models, among them the S2500HD, but they weren't yet on sale anywhere. More research yeilded the knowledge that Argos were expecting a delivery of the new model on 17th March. When I saw the S2500HD in the catalogue I knew I didn't want to just go and buy it without looking, so waiting was inevitable, as I'd want to maybe wait and see some of the reviews or at least hold it myself and see if they've made any changes to the body from the S2000HD. I'm hoping they haven't. THEN we found out that the Devon Camera Center is apparently getting them in next weekend!!!! Therefore, next weekend it is :)

Obviously, I don't have an iPad yet. But I will have one. Oh yes. The thinking is (for Oz in particular) that we might need a laptop of some kind while we're over there, if only for storage of photos etc, but any one of our laptops would take up a huge chunk of travel weight, so something smaller is needed. When the iPad appeared, I had my solution. It's light enough and slim enough, and with the camera connection kit we'll be able to free up memory cards left right and center, wherever we are. Plus, it's amazing :)

And the bag? You may remember my interest and consequently my wallets' displeasure in the Saddleback Leather company, and then my later wondrous discovery of a (very) local leather bag maker. I went to visit him, showed him the modifications I wanted after perusing both his website and my imagination, and an agreement was reached. He said it should be ready around about the end of February/beginning of March, so it shouldn't be long now, happily.

Obviously I left off all the little gagets, such as camera memory cards, batteries, cables, chargers and pouches for all said little stuff, etc.

So all I have to do now is wait for deliveries (which reminds me, I ordered a rectractable iPod cable the other week and it's still not here...harumph) and monitor my money. I've enough to buy the camera and have a bit left over, which could be more if my stuff on eBay sells, if I sell the camcorder and Magpie the CD's.

:)

Exciting stuff eh?
(I know you hope that was sarcastic. It wasn't.)

H.x

Update.

Afternoon all. Apologies for not having posted for so long, been rather busy.
The past few weeks have been a bit...meh. The depression hit with a vengeance again a couple of weeks back, and I had a weird episode/fit on Sunday night, meaning that I am now back on anti-depressants (which is a medicine at the moment and tastes VILE) and am going to have to have a brainwave scan.

College work is coming along nicely, although I'm still struggling with it, my tutor is pleased with my progress and keeps telling me to believe her when she says I'm doing well... I'm trying to! The other side of the college work is going into college, which I've been finding very difficult due to my growing agrophobia and paranoia - being in public is funtimes for me! But I'm getting there; each time I go in I find it a bit easier. I've finished one bit of coursework and am starting the next, which is a bit achievement for me.

Money wise life is going good; I managed to sell the 2 guitars, amp and keyboard, all in total for around about a cool £400 which has certainly boosted my bank account. I'm thinking of selling my video camera to get a bit more money too. All of which means I have enough money for a new camera :) I'm loving the look of the Fuji bridge cameras, specifically the S2000HD, and its new upgrade the S2500HD. The S2500HD is in the Argos catalogue but not actually released yet, but the Devon Camera Centre is apparently getting the model in stock in just 2 weeks :D its around £200 and I cant wait.
I was also going to upgrade my iPhone 3G to the 3GS when my contract runs out in April, but seeing as there are so many rumours of an iPhone 4G coming out in September, I'm thinking that it would be more prudent to just stick with the 3G for now, especially seeing as I'm going to need/want to pick up another phone/Blackberry for when we're in Australia, AND gonna want to get the iPad, it seems financially sensible to wait. I guess my brother will have to wait a bit longer for my iPhone.

In terms of all the gadgets and what not for Australia, the list is ticking off nicely!
I've ordered a leather bag from a local leather man, I've got the travel journal and yet MORE pens, (the Uni Ball jetstream SX-210 and SXN-217, both BRILLIANT pens) and I've also now got my Polaroid PoGo!!!! (And spare films. Ha.) I'm also waiting for the retractable iPod cable I've ordered which will be a great space saver whilst travelling, and my Guildhall pocket notebook, another essential for while I'm away in terms of verse writing.
I cant wait for my bag to be finished, shouldnt be much longer now though :)

So all in all things are ok. The diet is coming along ok, I'm back on medication, money is sorting itself out, and gadgets are rolling in :)

H.x