Before I write about that though, I just want to mention the fact that I had a great time camping.
Camping? Yes, camping!
Me, Jamie, Mike, Carl and Kim decided to go camping in Wales for two nights and although I was very apprehensive about it, it turned out to be a hell of a fun two days. However, the journey there was not.
The night before, the five of us went out in town and I had seven pints of lager, which is a lot and obviously I was drunk, but I still felt fine. Jamie asked if he could sleep in mine that night so he could go to work in the morning as he works nearby me so I said sure and we got a cab back to mine together.
In the morning, I awoke feeling a little dizzy and hungover but nothing unusual. I made me and Jamie something to eat and then he went to work and I went back to bed. At about 10am, I woke up again and the ceiling was spinning. I felt awful. I managed to get back to sleep, but not for very long.
Eventually, I had to get up and get ready to travel to Wales. I was hoping that the dizziness would pass like any hangover, but it was right around the time I threw up orange juice through my nose that I knew this was going to be a bad day.
I haven't thrown up for at least a year or so because I just don't get that ill over anything (thankfully). But for some reason, this morning was just awful. I just kept throwing up. Have you any idea how disgusting it is to have orange juice coming through your nose?! It's not right at all and it burns. But I just couldn't help it. My head felt awful and so did my stomach.
Around 1pm, Jamie came back as we were heading into town to meet Mike, who would be driving us to town. When he arrived, I was still sitting on the toilet and simply felt like dying. I hadn't even packed anything yet.
Painfully slowly, I managed to get everything packed, although I still didn't feel like I could manage a trip to Wales. And I told Jamie that too.
"I'm just saying", I said to him "that right now, there's a good chance I'm not gonna be coming".
"Ah come on dude", he replied, "you've just got a hangover!"
But it felt much worse than that because I never throw up simply because I might have had a bit to drink.
Very very reluctantly, I headed to town with him and on the way, I picked up some powdered hangover cure thing that you're supposed to mix in with water, but I just emptied the sachet into my mouth and drank half a bottle of water. Probably not the best idea, but I just didn't care about anything right then.
When we met Mike, I was still in two minds whether to come but it was now or never. And in the end, I chose now.
So, although I was feeling like I was about to die, the three of us set off on a two hour trip to Wales.
Except it took us four.
What followed was the funniest road trip ever for the sheer fact that we went down every single alleyway, sheep path and ant bypass possible in Wales. For some reason, Mike's satnav decided that we wanted the scenic route and took us the long way. The very, very long way.
There were points where the road was so narrow, that the raised verges on either side were pressing against the car. And then there was the dead badger in the middle of the road and the only way to get past it was to, well, run over it. That was...nasty. I'm glad I wasn't behind the wheel for that!
Then there was Mike trying to mow down a duck in front of us and the duck running down the road trying to escape. Absolutely hilarious if you were there.
After two and a half hours of this, we were starting to wonder why the hell we weren't there yet, when Kim and Carl, who had set off an hour earlier than us had gotten there in two hours. The roads we were on just kept getting narrower and narrower, along with any kind of civilisation disappearing. Just more windy paths, sheep and trees.
It didn't help that I still had a very dodgy stomach and was very much needed the toilet.
"If we don't get there soon, you're going to have a very messy back seat", I told Mike.
After four long, long hours of driving, we were worn out, but we had finally made it to the campsite. It was absolutely crazy the amount of time it took us to make a two hour trip!
By now, it was about 6pm and we were hungry so we headed to the nearest pub for a meal. I still didn't feel like eating much, though and didn't finish mine, but I was feeling a little better by now.
After the meal, we headed back to the campsite and Carl got some firewood from the cottage that run the campsite and for the rest of the night, we sat around a fire, freezing our arses off and/or getting blinded by hot ash. And although that doesn't sound particularly fun, it was. It was great just being with friends and laughing about stuff.
Sadly, I had completely forgotten that I needed a bit more than my thin jacket to keep me warm on a bloody field and so was pretty damn cold, even with a fire. Thankfully, Carl had brought a very thick coat that he didn't need and I was very grateful to borrow it.
Around 11pm, we all went to bed, in 3 tents. Mike and Carl were in one, Kim and Jamie in another and me on my own. I was happy to sleep on my own, but holy crap that was a cold night, even with a very thick sleeping bag. I ended up putting Carl's coat over my head to keep the warmth in. It didn't help that it also started raining and the fact that the tent was on a slant, so I was sleeping at a 45 degree angle! Still, I managed to get a fair amount of sleep.
The next day, we went for some breakfast and then planned to go up Snowdonia on the train. I felt better in the morning, but I chose to stay away from food and booze as much as possible.
The train up to the top of the mountain took an hour and we were all quite looking forward to it. But none of us realised just what it's like at the top of a mountain.
Cold.
When we got to the top, we were 2,000 feet above sea level. When we started out, it was a beautiful, warm day but at the top of a mountain, it was like Winter. As the train driver opened up all of the doors, the gush of ice cold wind was very quick to chill everyone on board the train. We all got off and explored nearby the train including me, who, as I said before had only bothered to bring a very thin jacket. So, here I was in essentially nothing but a tshirt standing on top of a mountain. Needless to say, I was freezing my arse off, but it was hilarious because so was everyone else.
The train is due to stop at the top of the mountain for 30 minutes, but after 10 minutes, everyone was back on the train because they were freezing. It was definitely a worthwhile experience, though.
Back down to warmth we went and we were quite tired after that.
Another meal at the same pub and then we headed back up to the camp site for another night around the fire, which again, was great fun. And this time, I had a pretty good night's sleep, even though it was just as cold.
The next day, it was just me and Mike in the car as Kim wanted Jamie to go with her and again, Mike's satnav wanted him to go a crazy way. In the end, I took over from the satnav and guided him back to Liverpool via Chester.
A great, great weekend.
In other news, my appointment of a web developer didn't end up working and although I had paid him �65, decided to fire him because he just wasn't doing what I wanted. I don't have the money to hire someone else so my redesign will just have to wait.
In more fun news, I decided to join DatingDirect.com. I figured my singledom couldn't really get any worse that it already was. I've signed up for many many free dating sites in the past, but thought that maybe if I joined one that wasn't free it might increase my chances of finding someone who is genuinely looking for someone.
The first night of my membership, I decided to message a rather insane amount of people. In retrospect, it probably wasn't a good idea, because it took three or four days for my profile to get approved, which means that although people were reading my email, they were viewing a blank profile. Still, with the amount of searching I was doing, I managed to find one or two girls that I thought sounded nice and talked to them on the site's inbuilt chat.
There was one girl, Nikki, 22, from Manchester, that I began talking to. She wasn't what I would call my ideal match, but, well, honestly, more someone who I thought might be interested in sex.
Over the course of about a week, we ended up speaking on MSN and texting each other, flirting lots and ended up arranging to meet for much more than just a coffee.
I ended up getting a hotel room and although I wasn't actually 100% sure I liked Nikki, decided to go through with it and meet her. So, with �85 spent on a hotel room and with the knowledge I'd end up spending about another �100 over the course of the night and the next day if we got on, I set off to Manchester.
I decided to arrive an hour earlier than when I had told Nikki because I wanted to check into the hotel room and drop off my bag, since it was nearby the train station. I was very curious about what the hotel was like, because although I had paid �85 for the room, it should have been �200. It was only because I had booked it via the Internet that I got it that cheap.
After I'd booked in, I went up to the room and I was very impressed. The room was huge, with a huge bed, flat screen TV and even a minibar. Very very nice room indeed.
I dropped off my stuff and myself look and smell nice and then went back to the station and waited for Nikki to show up. In the photos that she had sent of herself, most were slightly blurry so I didn't have a good idea of what she actually looked like and I was looking nervously at everyone that passed me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her and she walked over. She was how I thought she'd be and I did think she was attractive.
On MSN, we had flirted with each other and told each other what we wanted to do when we met up and if we went back to the hotel room, but the night didn't really turn out to be anything like what I had thought it'd be.
After meeting, we went for a drink and talked for a bit. I felt at ease and wasn't really nervous at all, but I think she was. She had said she was a big talker and she certainly proved it. I think some of it was probably because she was indeed nervous, though.
After the drink, she suggested we go somewhere else and she took me to another bar for another drink. I didn't actually mind, just that it was nothing like we had talked about online.
I wanted to kiss her, but there wasn't really a right time or place to because she just kept talking and talking. I don't really mind when people talk more than me because I don't really talk that much and I'm happy to listen most of the time but man, this girl can talk. Thankfully, she switched the conversation onto whether I liked her or not and I said I did. And then I kissed her.
"So how long you wanted to do that for?", she asked.
"A while", I replied.
From there, I think perhaps she felt a little easier with me and after we finished our drink in that bar, I thought perhaps it might be a nice idea to go back to the hotel room and kiss a little more, but instead, she suggested we go to another bar. Again, I didn't mind too much, just that I wasn't really in the mood to drink, especially after throwing up so much when I went camping.
Again, she talked lots and lots and again, I really don't mind usually, but I was just kind of bored by now because I hadn't really wanted to do the whole bars/drinking thing.
Although I had met her at 3pm, it was about 8pm before we went back to the hotel and on the way, we went into Tescos to pick up some stuff, since there was no way I was breaking into the minibar!
Although Nikki is very kinky and very horny, she was also very nervous and it was easy to tell, but because I live half my life online, it's easy to forget sometimes that many people don't really mean everything they say online and this was one of those times. It was just clear that although she sounded very confident online, she was much more nervous in person.
She ended up making some tea and looking around the room and switching the TV on and basically doing everything but, well, er, pay me some attention. It was kind of a turn off. I mean, there was just no mood there.
Eventually however, she began to feel relaxed and we ended up kissing lots and getting naked and having sex and it was great. As I said, she's very kinky and enjoys the kind of things I do and we had a lot of fun but even while we were messing around, she kept talking. It just kind of ruined the mood. We still had lots of fun, but sex plus talking just doesn't work. Still, as I said, we had fun and fell asleep about midnight.
In the morning, before we had to check out of the room, we had more sex that was much better. It's just a shame that we had to leave because I think we could have probably had a hell of a kinky day in bed.
Instead, after checking out, we went to see The Dark Knight on the IMAX and I have to say, I was actually quite disappointed with it! The IMAX, that is, not The Dark Knight. I was just expecting a more interactive experience and instead, it was just a bigger screen. I don't know what I wanted exactly, but something more than just a giant screen.
It was about 3pm when I finally had to get a train home although I didn't actually want to because I was having fun with Nikki. It wasn't like I had anything waiting for me at home, but I certainly couldn't afford to spend more time in Manchester as I had already paid out near �200 in total.
At the station, I kissed her lots and hugged her and although she was paranoid that she was going to be a one night stand, I promised her that she was not and that I would want to see her again and I did want to. I don't think she quite believed me, but the next week, we did indeed meet up again. This time, she came to Liverpool.
Although we couldn't play with each other, I wanted to show her that although I do love lots of sex, I can have a fun day without it and I showed her around Liverpool. We ended up spending about five hours together, just walking about. As I said though, she can't half talk. It's really hard to get a word in sometimes and it can get boring, but for the most part, I enjoyed our 'proper' date.
I was due to go and stay at hers last week and although I said I would, I forgot that I would be having to pack to return to Chester. I had told myself that I would return September 1st so I could do lots of work before I restart Uni on the 29th. So, unfortunately, I didn't see her last week.
On Tuesday, I came back to Chester. I was the first one back and I was quite sure that I'd be the first one of the five of us that live here that would be back. I was hoping that I would have the pleasure of the house to myself for at least a week or two but sadly that was ruined when the an old new housemate, Johana turned up about 5 hours after me.
Johana was a housemate here two years ago and I think she decided to take a year out before doing her last year of Uni this year. I was 'lucky' enough to meet Johana in my first weeks of living here last year and I found out quite quickly that I wasn't really that keen on her. She's from Buckinghamshire and she has a "I'm better than you" snobby attitude towards everyone/thing. She's also quite twofaced. This was compounded by the fact that she asked me if she could have the cupboard where I had stored my food for the last year because she had had that cupboard two years ago. I suppose it's nothing big and all the other cupboards were empty for now but it's just the fact that she asked. I didn't want to say no because I didn't want to see petty.
In return for my cupboard however, I've said that I want a freezer drawer to myself, since there's only 4 drawers to 5 people. She said she's ok with that, but we'll see in a few weeks.
In better news, Nikki is coming to Chester this Friday and it will be for two nights. I was quite happy for her to stay here with me but unfortunately, I only have a single bed and I don't even have a spare duvet/pillow so one of us couldn't even sleep on the floor. Instead, it will be another hotel room, but much cheaper than the last one and she's paying for one night and I am too. I don't mind that too much, but I know it can't go on for too long because I just can't afford it. I have much less money than this time last year because I haven't had any design work. This is because Spira Creative don't really like me much these days.
In my last entry, I wrote about how they had been quite unwilling to pay me what I'm worth. Not because I was being unreasonable, but because they simply don't understand the value of a graphic designer and how they should have added my costs onto their client's quote, rather than including it in the quote they already gave them.
On the plus side however, I was finally paid the �325, along with an extra �25 last week. Eventually, what had happened was the client had decided that they were going to stick with their original website. I was quite shocked because their original website looks terrible and the one that I designed looks much better. I believe the reason for their change of mind is because Spira are not good at explaining why the change is an improvement. Spira only care about being paid so if the client wants a shit looking website, Spira will give them a shit looking website, whereas I will try my utmost to explain to a potential client why a redesign is beneficial to the business.
Regardless of the above though, I was paid, as arranged, the �325 I was owed and the extra �25 was for some extra work on some banners. I don't believe I'll be getting any more work from Spira any time soon. You could pretty much feel the cold shoulder in the last email Matthew sent me, regarding my payment.
"Ok, it's done", was pretty much the gist of it. There was no mention of a "Thanks for your work", or "Sorry the client didn't use your stuff in the end", or "We'll be in touch if we need anything else from you". Simple, "Ok, it's done", with regards to transferring �350 into my account.
To be honest, I don't care if I don't hear from them again as everything I do for them seems to turn into crap, sadly.
And lastly, just some news about the work I've been working on, starting from today. It's the Summer project that I have to do for Uni. I have to design some posters for Oxfam, trying to get more people to donate stuff to them. I have to have it complete before the 29th, which means I have to do so so much work before then. I've been doing some tonight and managed to do about six pages worth. If I keep that up everyone day, that's 150 pages! I'd be very happy if I got to that.
That's about it for now. I'll try to remember to update in a few days, after I've done some more work and seen how it goes with Nikki.
