new guitar

I am very excited because this week I am going to invest in a good guitar. My teacher NF is going to look for one for me so that I don't buy a pile of rubbish again. I can't wait! To be able to play chords without my fingers being ripped apart by an egg-slice! I'll post a picture as soon as the purchase has been made! Woo!

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And here it is! I'm not sure I like the cut-away corner, but it plays nicely and my guitar teacher said the sound is 100% better than my old one ;-) I really do have to keep up my practise and lessons now!

look at me!

Just to prove that I DID go to Tenerife and swimming too~ It was good to see the sunshine even if I came back with an evil cold and can't hear or smell anything (poor me).

It was hard to be in a foreign place and not only not be able to speak the language (well, I tell a lie - I can tell the time in Spanish) but also not be 'allowed' to practise it. It's such a shame that the island has been over-run by Brits and Germans who fail to make any attempt to use Spanish, even when it comes to saying 'thank you'. Something in me was stopping me from using English, so I ended up pointing a lot and nodding.

Despite being thoroughly annoyed by the ignorant Brits (except my parents, of course, who are at least trying!) it was a good couple of days. My back hurts from the sunburn and my nose is running non-stop, but I love to do spontaneous things like that. And the apartment is nice (especially the sofa!)

Judy and the Dream of Horses

I found the tab and it's easy to play! Well, the chords are anyway... Don't know if I can do all the fancy stuff but I'm managing to play along with the song (to some extent!) So, it's going to be my motivational first song on the guitar... (That's if NF agrees to teach it to me!)



I might be off to Tenerife this weekend (!) Due to the rubbishness of British solicitors and Spanish law I might be needed to sign important documents out there (well, at least it would be sunny). British weather is only good for depression.

Edinburgh

I had fun in Edinburgh this weekend! I want to post some pictures but not sure that those on them would be in agreement, so they're on

flickr

Take a look!

I had my second guitar lesson on Friday. NF is a good teacher. He has so much good advice, and I reckon if I do exactly what he says and practise loads then I might have a chance of getting better! I have to start thinking of tunes I want to learn. There're so many B&S ones I'd like to play, but how do I choose~

My only purchase of the weekend was Devendra Banhart's Nino Rojo. Nice album cover!



I have also ordered Jamie's Dinners - it's been ages since I got a new cookbook (excluding my Be-Ro one). Who wants me to cook for them?

summer festival!!

Anyone interested?

What: O2 Wireless Festival
Where: Harewood House, Leeds
When: Sunday 25th June
Who:

THE FLAMING LIPS
THE WHO
THE ZUTONS
SUPER FURRY ANIMALS
EELS

Come on people!

compulsory voting?

I just voted. I had to walk around Springfield Lane looking for the primary school (nursery section) in the heat carrying my super-heavy Beanies bag full of textbooks/flashcards/randomness. I eventually found it, with a bit of s struggle. I had a bit of a discussion should we say with S at school yesterday who disagreed with voting being a duty. I told him it was. He didn't agree! But it SO is!! Isn't it? Marcel Berlins in the G2 yesterday agreed with me:

"They (crititcs) claim that we have a right, in a free society, to abstain from participating in the democratic process. We don't. What we've got is a duty as citizens to play our part in shoring up democracy, just as we have a duty to the criminal justice system to sit on a jury".

Yep. I think so. I didn't want to cast my vote, because it wouldn't do any good and to be honest I don't feel like voting for anyone right now. That's my fault though - I should have found out about my local MP and candidates, but am too lazy, like the rest of the country...

Some good things happened today:

1. I spoke to my new HoD who really put my mind at rest - and gave me good advice about where to search for a place to live (a place called Beeston in Nottingham where there're lots of good pubs and nice shops, apparently!)

2. I practised the guitar and I think (maybe!) I'm getting a bit better!

3. I had a surprise phone call, which was a very, erm, nice surprise!

4. I found a quick way to make the millions of hiragana flash cards I've decided to make, thanks to a random man called Tadashi who is very kind!

But found out I can't go to the Festival of Japan at Masham because it's on a weekday (rubbish!) :-(

Don't want the day to end because that means it's Tuesday tomorrow and back to school. Oh no.