walking home from the station at about ten thirty last night, i had one of those moments where being alive feels perfect. there was a beautiful fireworks display going on, which somehow lasted exactly the amount of time that it took me to walk from the station, to my house, and was always visible. ice had settled on the puddles, and frost was making everything glitter under the light of the fireworks, and the street lamps. i was listening to 'the wreck is not a boat' by Sons of Noel and Adrian (www.myspace.com/sonsofnoelandadrian) on my iPod, and even though it was so cold, i could no longer feel my chin, it was still a really wonderful moment.

speaking of chins, a moment of vanity is necessary here: i have noticed recently that my chin is really horrible. i barely have to bend my head down at all, and there it is, all double, and horrid! i hate my jaw-line. but anyway, i don't want to turn this into a thesis on my self-loathing...

it is five days until my birthday. i am quite excited because this is the first PARTY i have ever had, but this does give rise to some stress because now there is the whole issue of people perhaps not turning up, and/or not enjoying themselves.

my friend elbe is MAKING me a dress. It is a surprise, so i am going for a "blind fitting" on tuesday. i will have to wear a blind-fold and gloves, so i can't even feel the dress fabric with my hands! it is really exciting, because she is a good dress-maker. she made her own prom dress last year and it was really striking!

today i went for a walk in the country with jacob. we got sheets of ice out of a small lagoon thing, and then threw them onto the plates of ice floating on the top of the water and watched them shatter into thousands of glittering icy shards. it was really beautiful. everything in the countryside shines. then we walked by the river, and sat about in the cold for a bit. it was not an eventful day. but it felt just like a sunday should, i suppose.

yesterday, we made a lot of money with our busking! here we are, busking:
left to right: freya, me, kat, tilly. we busked at a fair-trade fair at a quaker meeting house, and in other parts of the town. i wish that chair wasn't in the way in the photo, because without it, the photo would be really nice.

my plans for the week are as follows:
monday: Do the rest of my Sylvia Plath gender essay.
tuesday: Go for my "blind fitting" for my birthday dress.
wednesday: "christmas day" at kirsty's house. this will involve christmas carols around her piano, destroying mince pies with colourful icing, and creating mayhem in her kitchen.
thursday: last minute preparations for my birthday party, including shopping for bits of food, satsumas etc, and er... washing my hair hahaha!
friday: on this day, i plan to receive lots of gifts, and have a party. after my party, i am going out for late dinner with Kim, Tash, Tilly, Kat, and some others.

so, to bed with me now, for i am mighty tired.

i might listen to some heavy duty Rachmaninoff before i do though...