x-posted from DA Journal.

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Ye--ah. So, I'm not around much, maybe you've noticed?

There's a number of reasons - the main one being, I'm not doing much that can be put here on DA, or that I want to put here on DA anyway. So, not having anything to put up here, I'm not here often. Want proof of that? I just opened my messages to find I have 1,231 Deviations, 134 Messages and 12 Notes. Wonderful, eh?

My sub has run out, and I don't plan to spend on another one (firstly because I'm broke and secondly because I don't really support some of DAs TOS changes.) There's not really that much of a difference, so it doesn't bother me overly-much.

Another reason is stress - Matt's mom (my almost-mother-in-law) has been in and out of hospital over the past couple months. In fact, a couple weeks ago, she was released but had an almost imediate relapse and refused to go back - she had to be forced after her GP went to her house and told her - well, he told her some things that forced her to go back in.

Anyway, just yesterday, Matt and I found out that she has to go back in again and have an MRI - there are fears that the infection she's been battling (Septic Arthritis in her knee) has spread to her spine. Which is a bad thing. She's already had numerous waking-ops on her knee, and one sleeping-op.

Stress as usual, but added to it is the fact that Matt and I live over a hundred miles away from his mom and niether of us can drive, nor can we afford to pay the transport fees to visit her. So all our news is over the phone, given by a tearful mother-in-law, when she can get to a phone and when she feels well enough to talk.

Fun.

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In other news, I've not been using ANY of my messenger systems much, even when I am online. You're better off sending me an email, at the moment, if you want to catch me. I'm feeling stressed and apathetic, and pretty much don't want to talk to anyone these days. (It's not a slur on you guys, just how I'm feeling recently - and by recently, I mean about two, three months now... c.c )

I'm attempting to sort out the courses I need to take over the next year, to be able to qualify for the PGCE I want to take. I've been working on my portfolio and there's a couple of much larger projects in the works - maybe one day soon, I'll have a small gallery show or something. Maybe.

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The only real bit of mildly interesting and good news I've got is that I joined a band.

I joined the town Samba Band, the Calnvalistas. I play a Cyrdu (I think that's how it's spelt) which is a Very Big Drum and we practice once a week, on Wednesday evenings, from 70 to 9:00. Last Friday evening, we had a gig in Bath, for the Bath Music Festival - it was my first ever gig, and the first time I've ever performed anything in front of an audience. Ever. Seriously.

It was exhilerating to say the least and I'd only had two practices before doing it c.c

I fluffed up a couple times, but for the majority, I amazed myself and not only kept up, but didn't fluff up when one of the long-time members did and nearly threw the entire rest of the band off

Anyway, it's fun, it's social and it gets me out of the house one evening a week. I have my third practice tonight, my first practice post-gig. There's a bunch more gigs over the next couple months, nothing in September scheduled yet.

If anyone in the area (Wiltshire/Avon) would like to see us perform (we really are pretty good for an amature Samba Band using second hand instruments!) give me a buz and I'll let you know when the gigs are and where.

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Other than that. Oh - I had to get new glasses. I've been getting fucking nasty headaches and sore eyes the past couple months, which has served to make me very irritable indeed. So I had an eye-exam and it turns out I need new glasses and some eye-exercises. Much fun.

However, I couldn't afford to buy the blasted things. That was embarrasing as all hell - sitting there, looking at these glasses that I want and having to put them back, saying 'Maybe I can aford them next week' to the woman selling them to me >> They were the cheapest frames there, and even with the Income Support voucher, I couldn't afford the bloody things.

Brilliant. So I still have a headache and sore eyes and I'm still irritable. I'll probably have to borrow some money off my parents to get them. And considering my Dad is about to be let go from work, that's not as good thing.

Meh. Anyway. I have to go feed the cats.

H