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... )

Well then, people of the Blogosphere! I am writing to you all from my very own laptop! Isn't that exciting?

It's a £369.99 HP Pavilion g6 in purple, and IT'S MINE. At last, my very own laptop! No more fixing the mess that other users have created; I can download what I want, and have my ENTIRE music collection on the hard drive, because nobody else has a say. I can take it to university and avoid the cut-throat competition for library computers during exam times. I'll never again have to ask 'when can I go on?'.

I have my own laptop, and it's just as glorious as I'd always envisioned.

( Mum and I went to town together for the first time since my arrival today... )

I have made like a genius and made a whole bunch of Amazon orders... mere days before Christmas. Consequently, my inbox has been quiet these past few days, save for the odd bit of spam e-mail here and there. The only e-mail from Amazon is one that begins with 'due to the adverse weather conditions...' yadda yadda. You can pretty much write the rest yourself.

Where have I been, this past week or so? Well, I was stranded in Lowton for the first three days, Due to the Adverse Weather Conditions. The rest of it I've spent working at the shop, watching Bleach, attempting to write... and generally doing anything but writing on here.

So here I am. Back. With a vengeance? No. More like with a slightly sore stomach.

( It's under the cut because I'm a horrible person who likes making your f'list shorter... )

Right, people! Now that I'm done waffling about myself, what can I do for you lot this Christmas? Would you like to see some artwork up here (as it's been literally years since I've done anything worth posting)? Would you like to see more writing being posted, perhaps? Tales of my musical conquests? Anything else? Harass me. You have my permission.

I had a good auld chinwag with Laura before. We were on the phone for 47 minutes and now I have a really bad case of phone arm. It hurts quite a bit! Anyway, we've arranged to go out about St. Helens on Wednesday, so my era of boredom may not last for much longer.

This means I've only the gap of Tuesday to fill in. What to do on Tuesday... there's the usual, I suppose; take a bath, read, write, practise guitar and paint, but I could always go for a walk as well, drop in at the library ad finally apply for a card, sit and read a book in the grass at a park. If I took a flask and some food, I could stay out a little while, maybe write a bit as well.

There's my plan, then! Library, then walk to the park and have a little picnic while I read, write and get out of this bloody house.

I've set my alarm to 7AM, anyway, so I'll be up in plenty of time. For now, though, the main order of business is my novel.

I'd like to mention before I go that I've had a bit of a texting session with my Irish family:

( Said session follows, beneath the cut... )

Guess who knows about my excursion to Ireland now? Dad remembered out of the blue earlier that he has my older sister, Gail, added as a friend on Facebook. He contacted her; she phoned us and then phoned Mum who said 'yay!', and then she phoned us again. My surprise is down the drain, but I now have a secure means of transport (i.e. my stepdad) and I've saved £35.

As it happens, Mum is in Newcastle for the summer, staying at the caravan at Mourneview. I'm so glad she still has it, as it means she has somewhere nice she can escape to virtually for free. So, she's willing to have me over (Gail's exact words were 'over the moon'), which means I can have a proper holiday!

Wow. When on earth did you last hear the words 'Kelza' and 'holiday' put together? "Kelza ruins neighbours' summer holiday by playing loud music"? "Mr. Holiday accuses Kelza of performing unethical tests regarding black holes and his favourite nail clippers"? And why can't I think of an example which doesn't involve me causing other people bother?

Let it be known, world: Kelza is going on holiday, for the first time in about five years. I actually can't believe it!

Now all that's left is to pack tomorrow, go and hope my ID gets me onto the plane...

It's nearly eight in the morning and I'm awake before everyone else. This is partially due to my excitement, but also because I'm intent on going out this morning to buy aforementioned SD card. It is, however, absolutely piddling it down, and I don;t much fancy going out in that!

I don't know how many people thought Mike Oldfield crazy when he wrote about his 'atmosphere antennae', but I can really see where he's coming from. Certain days and situations really do seem to have particular atmospheres to them. Summer evenings in August, for example. The first day back at school after summer, which I probably won't feel for another year or so if all goes well. The beginning of the Christmas holidays.

Years ago, when Mum had the money to come over here and take us back to Ireland for two weeks, the two days before she was due to arrive would feel great, like one of those promising days, only they've been electrocuted or sent on a sugar rush. It's been a long time since I've had that feeling, and when I woke up this morning it struck me smack-bang in the face. I'll be heading over there in less than two days' time, and today's got that "I'm about to travel!" excitement to it.

Dad's getting up, now. I can hear him bumping about, coughing and wheezing. Perhaps I can scrounge a lift to the flea market to avoid walking in the rain and getting soaked.

I checked my e-mails again this morning and there's no reply from Mum or Claire. It matters even less, now that my plan's free from holes.

It occurred to me recently that I'd love to write a book about Canterbury; something that would be part travelogue, part insight into the city's history and culture. I'd go there myself on foot (taking the safest route, of course), write about my journey and my experience there - interlinking the stuff about the city itself - and it would be my very own Canterbury Tale. To do that would be tremendous fun.

While I'm at the flea market, it might be of benefit to look into new shoes as well, while my orange ones ended up ruined.