Every journey starts with a single blog post about how you intend to take a step

Few things are as painful as the horrible realisation of your true self. All the little personality flaws, all the foibles that your closest friends and family know only too well (and like you too much to point out). In fact the only thing I can think of right now that is MORE horrible than that, is when you have to do something about it.

So here, in the privacy of my own public blog, I've decided to confess to a few of my faults with the express intention of weeding them out of my personality.

ONE.
If there is no drama in my life, I will create some. I'm nowhere near as bad as I used to be, with my weekly breakdowns at Soul Cafe where people would need to reassure me about all aspects of my body and personality, but I'm still pretty bad. Take Gavin for example. Occasionally - up to and including this weekend - I'll continue crying at him because it takes a lot more effort to calm down and be rational about things. This is clearly unacceptable.

TWO.
When I say I'll do something, I mean I may or may not and it certainly won't be soon. Despite my many layers of organisation - both an online and physical diary, phone reminders, www.rememberthemilk.com etc. - I still find ways of postponing pretty much everything. This comes down to poor time management; something that I will have to keep very tightly in check when university starts again. If it starts again. Oh God.

THREE.
I must, must, MUST work myself back into sensible sleeping habits. I've seen the wrong side of dawn far too many times in the past week, now being a prime example. If I am to have any hope of catching a worm, ever, I must stop relying on the blackout blind to provide me with an artificial night.

So! You may all bear witness to this pledge to better myself. I shall start tomorrow with a reasonable rising time (i.e. actually in the morning), a healthy breakfast, and a tidying spree.

Why can't I improve myself in a montage? Montages are easy. Rocky got a damn montage.

This house will self-destruct in 3...

Every home has a few quirks. Doors that rattle, floorboards that creak, a mad woman locked in the attic; you know, the usual. Well, having been in my newly-renovated home for three weeks (gosh, is that all?), I'm starting to discover the little things that make this house unique.

One time in ten, turning on a light will blow the lighting circuit. The emergency lights go on, I go downstairs, get out the stepladder, go to the fusebox, flip the switch, reset the house alarm thing that beeps, put the stepladder away, and resume my activities.

Nine times out of ten, trying to use the tumbledryer will blow the appliances circuit which also blows the lighting circuit. For some reason this results in NO emergency lights. So I have to get out the stepladder in complete darkness, go to the fusebox, feel around for both switches and flip them, reset the house alarm thing that beeps, put the stepladder away, and resume my activities.

Yes, the house alarm thing, I think that warrants explanation. Basically, its job is to beep when something's wrong, despite the fact that we can tell something's wrong by the way the lights have all gone out / the dishwasher isn't working / we're all burning to death in a horrific inferno (delete as applicable). Still. Nice of it to let us know.

Beep.


Beep.


Beep.

And every time it does beep, I have to stab about in the darkness, hitting the loud waily siren button a couple of times, and a number of other buttons, before I find the reset button. Why does it HAVE a loud waily siren button?! And what are all those other buttons FOR, if not to make it harder finding the "Dear-God-please-stop-the-beeping" button?

All the other little quirks are fairly standard. A cold tap that doesn't turn. A shelf in Leon's room that fell off as soon as he put something on it. Ten square centimetres of kitchen storage for each of us. STILL no internet connection. But for all that, it's a lovely little place, and I'm settling in nicely.

In other news, I bought some amazing shoes that make me feel great and I only feel slightly guilty about that. They're not as expensive as I hope they look. As a new heels-wearer I haven't hobbled into town in them yet, but they seem pretty easy and comfortable as well as being diabolically sexiful. Hooray!

I've relapsed into my addiction, by the way. Boots Meal Deals. I start getting the shakes if I don't have one for a few days. The chicken fajita wraps... mmmm... I'd happily live off them! With the resulting Boots points (loyalty cards for the win), I hope to save up for a pencil or something.

Interesting Thing of the Day, courtesy of gavD: Lego in ruins. Awesome!