It's been a busy weekend so far!

On Friday, Jason and I went to Liverpool so that I could take some photos around Liverpool One and Albert Dock. Waking up in the morning to a clear blue sky, completely cloudless, was an excellent start – better lighting, after all, means better shooting conditions. We got ready to go, played Skyrim a bit to pass the time, and when it was time to set off, the day was suddenly overcast.

We'd originally planned to go on Thursday, but that had been called off due to poor lighting, so I decided we'd take a risk and go regardless; we needed to get some shopping done anyway so it wouldn't be an entirely wasted trip. On the way there, the sun came out again – it would turn out to be one of those days where it was in and out of the clouds all day long.

( Liverpool, Family Visits and Other Stories... )

Yesterday I was up at the miraculously early time of 9:30am, but only because I'd asked Dad to wake me up for the Saturday flea market. It had been ages since I'd gone, so I thought I'd have a gander and see what was on offer, maybe pick up a few records.

All four of us went; Dad because he needs a crowbar to complete his Gordon Freeman Halloween costume sort out the fence (he's still planning on getting a German Shepherd, but as you'll recall the rescue people who did the home visit said our fence wasn't secure enough on Crazy Dope Guy's side), Nathan for the walk, and Ashley because he's still got a tenner burning a hole in his pocket since his 17th birthday last month.

Dad got his crowbar, Ashley had an embarrassing incident in which he bought a full-face bike helmet for 50p, tried it on, it was too small and he had to take it back. Lesson learned: try before you buy, if possible. As for me, I found three records quite to my liking, which came home with me...

( But because I'm a dreadful person, they're under the cut... )

Okay, I hope this will be the very last in the long lime of 'O Hai, I'm Back Again *Swiftly Disappears For Another Month*' posts. I basically went through a very tough time over the last three or four months and didn't really update much as I didn't feel much like ranting... I didn't want to remind myself about how difficult things were.

If things are so bad that I can't even bring myself to rant, said things must be mind-bogglingly bad.

So, what's happened on Planet Kelza since my last post?

( Some tidbits of very important news under the cut... )

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In no particular order...

My Dad. He isn't perfect, but despite all that he raised me right and I'm so grateful to have had such a father figure in my life. Without my Dad, I wouldn't be the eccentric, independent and creative person I am today.

Nathan and Ashley, the best siblings you could ask for. Because they're like me (placid/can't be arsed wth bickering), I've been able to grow up in a household with people I can always have a laugh with; people I'm on the same wavelength as. They're nuts and I love them to bits!

And now the one you're probably all expecting. Jason. We've been going out nearly eight months now and he is my everything. He's generous, funny and handsome, appreciates me for who I am and makes me feel good about myself without making me depend on him to make me feel that way, if you know what I mean. He's so good to me; a lovely, fun person who never fails to make me smile. I'm so excited about the future we have together; I know that as long as it's with him, my future will be beautiful. I've never felt as lucky to have someone as I have about him. <3

I'm going to be working really hard these next few days to get some stories done and dusted in the hope that they'll get into either this week's or next week's paper. Like I've mentioned in a previous entry, I've got some good ones going on. It's great to be able to get my teeth into some of the more intriguing stories.

This week is set to be a fairly interesting one, actually. It got off to a good start in that I was able to stay over at Jason's - more on my use of the word 'able' in that sentence later. Tonight I'm going to be giving blood and on Friday I'll be going to a charity paranormal night, getting in free as I'm a reporter. I'll be live tweeting from the night itself and writing an extensive account of the freaky goings-on. If you're a fan of that kind of thing, watch this space!

The event will be run by UK Ghost Tours, and Para-Project will also be attending; if you've ever seen 'Spooks School' on the telly you'll be familiar with them. All funds raised will be donated to Cheshire Search and Rescue, who cover a vast area - despite their title, I believe they attend incidents all over the North West, St Helens included, and are a vital service to whom many owe their lives.

I'll be doing this event on my own. Jason, at first, grudgingly (and I mean really grudgingly; he took some persuasion!) agreed to come with me, but it was obvious that he really wasn't happy with it - he did confess that he wasn't a fan of the paranormal. At first I'll admit that I thought it was a bit silly. I didn't think he was the type to even believe in that kind of stuff. But it turns out it runs a wee bit deeper than that.

Okay, I'll warn you now. I'm going to go off on a bit of a tangent here. Just so you know.

( Said tangent is under the cut... )

I went to St Aelred's this morning with Dad and Nathan, conscious that the academic year was drawing to a close, in order to pick up my artwork before it all got thrown away. The weather was glorious, ELO on the car stereo, sun on my face - I was quite looking forward to seeing my artwork again after all this time - to feel the weight of the sketchbooks and the sheer size of that bloody huge A1 piece I'd done for my exam. A whole academic year had gone by, I realised, since all that stress, all that mithering, all those all-nighters with the thick aroma of coffee choking out my room.

We arrived and were received by a receptionist who asked what we were visiting for as we signed in. When I explained with a smile that I was picking my artwork up (at last!), she gave me this blank look and said that I'd be lucky if it hadn't been thrown out. She just said it, direct and devoid of sympathy. Gave Dad and I our visitor badges and hurried us on.

( Panic set in as I led the way to Mr Kelly's art classroom... )

My meeting with Vicky has been rescheduled for Wednesday after work, which means that Jason will be tagging along - it'll be a nice little reunion! One with lots of teasing about, as Vicky put it, mine and Jason's 'love affair'. Should be interesting.

I seem incapable of typing today; I've just had to amend three typos in that first paragraph. Anyway...

Work's been quite busy the past few days. I've been trying to keep organised and on top of things but I've got so much going on at once that things have just blurred together - if you were to ask me about something that stood out I wouldn't be able to tell you.

Dad asked me to buy a couple of throws for the living room today. Our settee and armchairs are in horrendous condition and I guess he's just feeling a little awkward about letting Jason visit when they're in that state - not that he'd admit anything of the sort. So I went looking around... and if I'm honest, he can bugger off. I'm getting disastrously short on cash as it is without spending £24.99 and two lots of £17.99 (that's £60.97 in total) on the cheapest throws I can find that will cover our furniture. And I know there's no way he'd ever pay that back.