happiness is my default position

Its been a long time since I posted again. It's sad really, because I miss LJ so much. Tumblr generally makes me mad and it's hard to have conversations or make friends. I miss the days of joining a community and making friends and being able to avoid wank so much easier.

So an actual update is necessary I think before everyone disappears entirely.

I started a new job two weeks ago and there are good and bad parts to it. The good part mainly being that I get to finish at 3.30 every day now which means I'm home at 4pm. Perfect for cold and dark winter evenings. The bad isn't really that bad. I have nothing to do, which I'm assured won't last for long. They're very laid back back about showing me how to do anything. And I don't have anyone to talk to because my team is a small group of older men who spend most of their time out on the track. On the plus side though I get to take as many training courses as I want to push me up the engineering ladder, which is exciting.

Today I'm starting this "healthy living detox" that my sister had been doing for the last two years. It lasts for three weeks, which takes me up to the 1st of December and I can enjoy the holiday season after this period of no carbs, sugar, caffeine or alcohol. I've actually been looking forward to it all week. Maybe I'll update more with my progress.

I still have to post something about my holiday in Europe with ditchwitchbitch which was fantastic. I also want to get back to writing which I've failed to do as much of this year as I wanted to. I'd quite like a challenge of some sort.

To everyone else, happy Wednesday!

I am celebrating with a day of rest, though it has unsurprisingly turned into a day of productivity the levels of which I never achieve at work. I have been awake for 6 hours. I have taken a test (for a new job as Records Controller - a step up from where I am right now), done my food shopping for the week, done some laundry, played with the rabbits and cleaned their hutch, completed a level of Marvel Ultimate Alliance (only 3 to go), uploaded a few of my fics to AO3 (link below if anyone's interested), painted one wall of my bedroom & two walls of the back hall, and made my lunch.

Now I plan to watch Captain America, because it's the 4th of July and when better to watch it? Not that I need a reason. If I did need a reason, surely these would do...

( Who's strong and brave, here to save the American way? )

Just a few links to things in-case anyone wants to add me on anything:

Tumblr : Bambiesque
Twitter : jacqueline_c
AO3 : miss_whimsy
Pottermore : ProphecyAsphodel14473

So much for posting every day this week. I had such plans too. I am pleased, at least, that I managed to finish writing something.

Title: Five Times Phil Needed a Moment to Compose Himself (and one time he didn’t)
Author: jacqui_hw
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Avengers/Marvel Movieverse
Pairings: Phil Coulson/Clint Barton, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Warnings: None
Summary: Phil Coulson isn't always as unflappable as everyone expects him to be.

(AO3) | ( LJ )

Or more accurately, since I really hate London, "Harry Potter, baby!"

I've been meaning to post this for a while and since I have plans for posts for every day up to July, I thought I'd better do this one before I got side-tracked yet again.

It was my sister's 30th birthday on the 7th and we celebrated first by going to Rockcliffe Hall Spa, where we had a very relaxing day of mud baths, cake and wine. I had an Indian Head massage and then fun exploring the spa while my sister and her BFF finished up with their treatments. I haven't had a really good massage in years (with ditchwitchbitch in Oklahoma), but this one was lovely and she managed to do my whole back as well as my head so I certainly got my money's worth.

( Photos )

On Tuesday we went down to London and were lucky with the weather, because it was the one gorgeous day in a week of rain. We walked from our hotel to Buckingham Palace and then did some shopping, before heading out to dinner and Les Miserables. I'd never seen it before and only knew the barest outline of the plot, so I was pleasantly surprised. It's a fantastic musical. I cried my eyes out and I loved every minute of it.

( Photos )

On Wednesday we went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, which was the thing I've been looking forward to for months. If you're a fan of Harry Potter and ever get the chance to go, do. It was absolutely incredible and they go out of their way to make the whole experience magical for you.

I won't give away too much in case anyone is going, but there are a few photos under the cut.

( Photos )

I have a lot of feelings about The Avengers. So many in fact, this is the longest review of a film I've ever done. My last record was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, so you.

( SPOILERS FOR THE AVENGERS : LOTS AND LOTS OF RAMBLING )

Title: Untitled
Rating: PG13
Pairing: Gen, Clint/Coulson pre-slash, shades of Clint/Natasha, BFFs all round
Warnings: Spoilers for the Season 4 finale of The West Wing. Bad-language. Non-graphic representations of kidnapping.
Summary: Phil Coulson is working undercover at the FBI. Everything goes to hell. Enter Natasha and Clint.

( The Avengers/The West Wing Crossover )

I was doing so well at the start of the year and I've failed to keep up with updating like I wanted to these past couple of months. That's going to change now, since I have a busy few weeks planned and there will be lots of updates.

So Psych has reached the end of its 6th season. Overall it was a vast improvement on Season 5. There isn't an episode I wouldn't watch again. It didn't exactly end the way I hoped it would. I really want Juliet to find out about Shawn, because I don't like that she's dating someone who is lying to her every single day. They need to address it and deal with what happens next. That said, what actually happened wasn't at all what I was expecting. I really hope the aftermath is something that they go into properly next year.

Community continues to be the best thing on TV. Troy and Abed's break-up and reunion were heartbreaking and adorable in turns. Jeff and Annie are adorable and the evolution of their relationship and how close they're growing is making me so happy. As is Troy's love for Britta. The last episode was amazing.

I have been catching up with Gossip Girl. I stopped watching Gossip Girl just a few episodes into season 3, but my Tumblr has been full of Dan/Blair recently, so I decided to buy myself seasons 3 and 4 and catch-up with what I missed. In general I hate it and everyone in it - especially Serena, omg - but now half-way through season 4 I have finally hopped on board the Dan/Blair train. They're incredibly cute together.

The Avengers is only a week away. This time next week I'll be in the cinema watching it. Time is moving too slowly. I would appreciate it if people would stop putting spoilers in their fic tags though. Surely that's bad form. I'm hoping I'll be able to finish my own fic before it gets jossed next week.

Who wants to talk to me about how awesome Phil is? If you haven't seen the full version of this, you're missing out on bamfy awesomeness in the extreme

Life stuff in a separate update.

This weekend Syfy has been showing a Buffy marathon. 10 episodes yesterday and 10 today, counting down the top 20 "greatest" Buffy episodes as voted for by the people watching Syfy in the UK.

( Cut for length of rambling, lists, spoilers, etc )

My great-aunt's funeral is tomorrow in Newcastle, so I'll be going up for the day. I just wish it was under better circumstances, since it's my mum's birthday on Tuesday.

My back isn't as bad as it was, but it's still aching almost constantly. I tried taking the pills I was prescribed but they make me tired, dizzy and gave me terrible nightmares, so I felt even worse when I was taking them. I went back to work on Thursday, which was probably stupid but I felt guilty about leaving my colleagues to do my work since my route is one of the two busiest on the railway and therefore my inbox is always full.

Everything's set now for Shawn to move in on the 17th of March. I'm still a little nervous about it, but I know it's a good thing and it will help with a lot of stuff. He's very excited at least.

I've also got everything planned for my sister's 30th birthday in May, which is a relief, and I've made a start on booking things for my holiday in September with ditchwitchbitch. I have my flights booked and all the hotels in Italy are sorted. I'm excited now I know it's actually happening.

I'll be back to posting more this week, including a new top 5 as soon as I work out work to do next. Any suggestions?