♠ Eddie Izzard's birthday is two days before mine. Which also makes it the same day as James Spader's. I like it when (famous) people have birthdays near mine.

♠ I am considering watching the Xmas special of Lark Rise to Candleford. I hate costume dramas - even the lure of Philip Glenister could not get me to watch this, so why now? Because Tim Curry will be in it and, as we all know, Tim Curry is pure, condensed awesome.

♠ I have done two days of work so far. I am so. very. tired. But it is interesting, and I think it will be a good job, to be honest.

♠ YAY NEW WALLANDER! (That actually happened on Saturday, but I am still all capslocky glee about it because that's the reaction I have to it all the freaking time).

♠ Been reading some stuff and slowly but surely it is all clicking into place why I was so freaking unhappy last year at college (I mean, I'm better now, but I'm not fantastic. So to speak). I wish I could talk about it, really, but it's quite hard for me to do that at the moment. I know I don't have to, but I feel like I am lying by not talking about some stuff. Right now I want it to all go away, but I know that isn't going to happen (and frankly, I'm in the state I'm in now because of hoping shit would all go away).

So. Sorry for the mood whiplash :s

♠ Okami is still fun despite a) fucking frustrating digging mini-game, b) even more fucking frustrating fishing mini-game (honestly, I could reach through the TV screen and happily smack Issun about every time he says "Didn't you see the fish, Ammy?" YES YES I FUCKING DID. IT'S NOT MY FAULT THE GAME IS STUPIDLY PRECISE ABOUT HOW YOU SLASH IT TO LAND IT) and c) scary as all fuck ship. If you've played the game, you know what I'm talking about. Seriously. There's this hand thing. It picks you up and pulls you into the water. IT COMES FROM NOWHERE. There will be nightmares about that, I can see it (because seriously, it's like someone was in my brain. I used to hate those stories/urban myths about the giant who snatched you through your bedroom window for that precise reason).

♠ Um. That's your lot.

I got my very early birthday present the other day - AKA Okami.

It is an awesome game. It is not stressful (apart from the boss fights but - I'm about a quarter to a third of the way through and I've only had two so far - the important part of this game is NOT the fighting, which is awesome. I can live with that!) There is loads of space to explore and millions of things to do (which can some times detract you from the main quest, but that's not a problem as you are never under pressure to do anything in a hurry).

The soundtrack is awesome, and is based on traditional Japanese music - and is composed (mostly) by Masami Ueda. Who I love already because of the Resident Evil soundtracks (one of my favourite instrumentals is by him *g*)

The only really frustrating part I've found so far is the fishing mini-game which is integral to the plot on two separate occasions (otherwise I'd leave it the fuck alone because I'd rather chew my own foot off). I don't know why the Japanese assume everyone likes a fishing game (at least I don't have to pay attention to the one in P4 if I don't want, and FFVI's is just downright depressing*).

OH OH AND: of course, there are the drawng/painting bits too. Although all this does for me is prove that I can't draw shit with my left hand (I'm sure I could reconfigure the controls so I'm using the right analogue stick, but that's probably not a good idea). Issun keeps telling me off when I mangle a paint stroke, and I keep wanting to tell him I ought to get an off-hand bonus for this sort of thing.

Long story short: very pretty and non-demanding game with awesome music. I keep thinking I ought to recommend it to hmpf, as I think she'd like it, but I doubt she has a PS2 :(

Also it's a bit like what I imagine playing Shadow of the Colossus is like (not that I'm gonna know about that any time soon).

~*~

*I don't care what anyone says. I have yet to see Cid live. I do not believe it can happen.

The final boss of Persona 4 is a cheating bastard. Otherwise, I might have actually finished it by now. So instead, I gave up in disgust (maybe I need to formulate a proper strategy *sigh*), and carried on with FFV. Which, I didn't get very far with that - I only had time to get through Kelb and see plot relevant flashbacks and save on the other side. Apparently I am on my way to some valley of dragons, or something (it's been so long since I played that I forgot *for shame*).

(I also forgot to mention that I whupped Gilgamesh's arse last time I played this, primarily because Lenna was equipped with a Mage Masher and that, luckily, cast Silence on him so he couldn't cast Haste, Shell, or Protect. See, I don't play by strategy, I play by pure dumb luck. That will probably be my epitaph).

~*~

I finished Guilty Pleasures. I am now onto The Laughing Corpse.

I remembered what happens in the graveyard in GP. I could've sworn it was a different book. But I mostly enjoyed it. I did notice that already Laurell is abusing the "He made it a question" phrase. Yes, Laurell, I can see he's making a statement into a question by that funny old thing called a question mark. Also I'd forgotten about how much the whole "re-learning how to breath" phrase irritated me. I get the point. Once is clever. Three or four times in the same book? Vaguely annoying.

Other than though, it was all right. Now I remember why I used to like these books! Anita does stuff! She raises zombies! (Remember when she raised zombies first and anything vampire related came second? I MISSED IT. I didn't realise till now, though).

So, first things first! I HAVE A JOB! (sort of). Long story short (because it is long and boring), I got an email asking me to ring a guy who works for a digital archiving company regarding possible work experience. Which I nearly didn't do, because I hate talking on the phone (apart from to my friends, obvs). But I did, and he said if I turned out to be the right person for the job, he might even give me a paid job (hence the sort-of-a-job). Anyway, I went in for a chat on Monday, and it sounds like this may possibly be the best job ever (I hope so, anyway).

After chatting to my job-advisor-woman about it, I rang him back and said I'd take up his offer. So I am going in on Thursday for some training. Got to talk to the job centre and see if we can wangle it as my New Deal placement (that way, they'll pay my bus fares - since I'm not being paid an' all).

~*~

Secondly, re-reading Guilty Pleasures has reminded me of why I liked these books in the first place. Anita is cynical and, above all, human; I'm able to relate to her better. (Mind you, now I'm more familiar with LKH's writing style, I do notice some clumsiness in the way she states things, but other than that, it's mostly all right. And no sex).

~*~

( blather about P4 - probable spoilers )