Again!
I need to stop leaving these massive gaps in between posts!
Since the Christmas/Winter Boiler posts, there has been very little going on apart from Uni work. I very cleverly decided I would spend my three weeks Easter holiday 'resting', when I had a massive amount of work to do.
It was only when I got back to Uni, that I realised just how important this work was for me and my degree, and thanks to Lady Gaga, I managed to keep enough momentum to finish the immense project that was my 40 page comic, illustrating the first chapter (of three), of a story about the beginnings of a humble pet shop rat, and his turbulent journey through life.
Graduating is a terrifying prospect. The degree show went well, and I really hope I get more than a plain 'pass'. I now have a new illustration website too, found at www.jessutcliffeillustration.weebly.com
Yes, I know it's a weebly site...but it's pretty good for now. I've also had at least one job since since joining HireanIllustrator, which was great experience and I can't wait for more!
Custom Search
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Monday, December 06, 2010
Broken Boiler
*sadface* This is the second time this week. The first time, it was making this horrific scraping noise so we switched it off til the landlord sent out an engineer. He showed me his Gas Safe UK card, which was all fine so I let him in. He took the cover off and had a look around. Ah, a blocked siphon, nothing to worry about then. He drained the built up water and cleared out the siphon (that's a tiny funnel to you and me). I was shocked by the sheer amount of rubbish that came out of it! (all in the sink, covering the dishes that were waiting to be washed by newly heated water...)
Anyway, he put it all back together, switched the boiler on and hey presto! The F L status had vanished, instead there was a reassuring little 'c' in its place, and we had hot water! Straight away, I started to reheat the house, a couple of degrees at a time due to the fragility of my poor rats, who at this point were on heat pads and extra toilet paper bedding. We thought we'd be fine for the rest of the winter now....but are we that lucky? Nah.
The boiler started making the scraping noises again today, not only that, but the hot water has just cut out completely. I've had to reset the thing 3-4 times and it still doesn't work! The house temp is dropping rapidly and I've had to send a slightly more desperate sounding email to my landlord's go-between.
Students, in this situation, either buy an electric heater if you can (there's ones that cost only a penny per hour to run in electrical terms) or go to friends, or home to your parents if you can.
Anyway, he put it all back together, switched the boiler on and hey presto! The F L status had vanished, instead there was a reassuring little 'c' in its place, and we had hot water! Straight away, I started to reheat the house, a couple of degrees at a time due to the fragility of my poor rats, who at this point were on heat pads and extra toilet paper bedding. We thought we'd be fine for the rest of the winter now....but are we that lucky? Nah.
The boiler started making the scraping noises again today, not only that, but the hot water has just cut out completely. I've had to reset the thing 3-4 times and it still doesn't work! The house temp is dropping rapidly and I've had to send a slightly more desperate sounding email to my landlord's go-between.
Students, in this situation, either buy an electric heater if you can (there's ones that cost only a penny per hour to run in electrical terms) or go to friends, or home to your parents if you can.
Christmas is coming!
Most students at this time of year are really scraping the bottom of their bank accounts, it's only a month til new payments arrive but the most expensive holiday of the year is coming up!
I've come up with a couple of pretty simple ideas that I'll be implementing this Christmas myself, to see if I can cover everyone(who's important)'s presents.
- Take full advantage of penny auctions on eBay : I've already bagged a couple of pretty presents for family members, for a fraction of the price!
- Get creative! Craft little presents for friends and family. If you don't do clay modelling, knit something (very much appreciated in this weather!) or paint, create a very personalised Christmas card to make it extra special.
- Get the oven gloves on, and make some festive treats! This year I'm going to be using the fantastic recipes created on this site: http://allrecipes.co.uk/ to make Peppermint Creams, Fudges and Gingerbreads for my family (and myself!) and present them in cute little organza bags that you can buy very cheaply from eBay or craft shops!
It doesn't have to cost very much, and you can manage to include all the important people on your Christmas list. Will post about my attempts at baking when I get started (with pics!) so watch this space!
By the way, I've been looking at my stats and have noticed a teeny tiny trickle of traffic.....HI!!!! *waves* If you're reading this, please leave me a comment with a message saying..well, anything! If there's any topics you'd like me to write about, or if you want to see more rat related articles, just let me know!
I've come up with a couple of pretty simple ideas that I'll be implementing this Christmas myself, to see if I can cover everyone(who's important)'s presents.
- Take full advantage of penny auctions on eBay : I've already bagged a couple of pretty presents for family members, for a fraction of the price!
- Get creative! Craft little presents for friends and family. If you don't do clay modelling, knit something (very much appreciated in this weather!) or paint, create a very personalised Christmas card to make it extra special.
- Get the oven gloves on, and make some festive treats! This year I'm going to be using the fantastic recipes created on this site: http://allrecipes.co.uk/ to make Peppermint Creams, Fudges and Gingerbreads for my family (and myself!) and present them in cute little organza bags that you can buy very cheaply from eBay or craft shops!
It doesn't have to cost very much, and you can manage to include all the important people on your Christmas list. Will post about my attempts at baking when I get started (with pics!) so watch this space!
By the way, I've been looking at my stats and have noticed a teeny tiny trickle of traffic.....HI!!!! *waves* If you're reading this, please leave me a comment with a message saying..well, anything! If there's any topics you'd like me to write about, or if you want to see more rat related articles, just let me know!
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Updates...
Well life has been pretty uneventful the past few months. I have gained some sort of employment with a newly set up website called Cardsmonster.com. I designed their mascot and am working on their home brand of greetings cards.
My poor old manrat, Hugo has developed a tumour on his hip, meaning he's needing some extra TLC and close watching. I gave his colony a bath last night, to great success I think :) I might have to bathe my oldies more often!
I'll try to update with something more interesting and coherent over Christmas...I want to make tiny Santa hats for my boys!
My poor old manrat, Hugo has developed a tumour on his hip, meaning he's needing some extra TLC and close watching. I gave his colony a bath last night, to great success I think :) I might have to bathe my oldies more often!
I'll try to update with something more interesting and coherent over Christmas...I want to make tiny Santa hats for my boys!
Friday, September 24, 2010
Alton Towers!
On Wednesday, I lost my roller-coaster virginity! Myself, OH and a group of friends made it to Alton Towers and despite my horrific travel sickness and general nerves, I was eager to try out some rides.
As pretty much all of the kids have gone back to school, the place was surprisingly quiet...well, not empty but it was hardly heaving, it was pretty nice, as was the weather! I've sat through 9 weeks of solid rain in my hometown, this day was my whole summer holiday rolled into 6 glorious hours of fun.
We decided to break ourselves in gently with the Runaway Mine Cart. I'm the only one who's truly scared of rides but I want to go to Disney World so badly that OH wouldn't take me unless I went on some rides here. First ride was a doddle, and very fun for such a small coaster.
Then there was the Congo River Rapids. I don't like boats either. These things aren't on tracks or held down in any way, which made me seriously nervous...so why did I go on it twice!? Got soaked, and we tried to pose for a funny picture with the map in the middle.
After we'd gotten that over with, we headed over to Air, the only large ride I was excited to go on. But there was apparently a 45 minute wait, so I was dragged, kicking and screaming over to Nemesis. The thing looks horrible. Not to mention sounds horrible...the roar of the coaster as it flies over your head when you're in the queue was almost enough to bring me to tears. I didn't know whether to have a panic attack or cry...
Luckily I did neither. I got on that coaster, and despite having my eyes closed for the majority of the ride, I did it. That was my first true roller coaster ride, and whilst it was a little too intense for me, it was my first 4 g's at 50mph, and set me up for everything else.
After conquering Nemesis, we headed back to Air. The waiting time still said 45 minutes, but we were on within about 20. It was the best.
I couldn't believe how comfy the seat was, and how comfortable I was with being held face down about a meter off the ground before it took off. I really felt like I was flying! Any ounce of fear in me was long gone, and I even managed to keep my eyes open the whole way around, even flying upside down was a breeze. I will definately ride that one again. I didn't even notice the 3.5G's at 46mph.
After a very short lunch, we headed over to Rita: Queen of Speed. I thought "meh, it'll be a blast" ...I was unpleasantly surprised. I'd misread somewhere that Rita goes at 48mph...not true. Her true speed is closer to 60mph, with a G-Force of 4.7. It was just a little too much for me, and I decided not to try her again.
Between coasters, we sampled the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ride, and Duel: The Haunted House Strikes Back, which I thought was hilarious. The music in there was fantastic and the bad quality of some of the figures in there made it all the creepier!
I think Hex came up next. Again, I was aprehensive because I knew it was a 'pirate ship' type ride, but the theme intrigued me so I had to try it out just once. The backstory and the location really added to the atmosphere, and once we got on the ride and that room started spinning, I didn't know where to look! The room itself is beautiful, and I was so impressed by the way they got my head to spin! Wouldn't be doing it again, but it was great just to see what it was all about.
Another ride I wasn't at first keen on was Thirteen, that new one...I kept seeing the ads for it and worrying that it'd have some sick twist that made it even more terrifying than any other ride in the park, but it was so much fun!
I'd researched it enough to pretty much know everything that happens, but actually riding the thing was great! That first drop is amazing! I'm surprised we only had lap bars it was that steep! The drop in the 'shed' was also unexpectedly further than I'd anticipated, but I couldn't stop laughing the whole time. Definately a fun one for someone new to rollercoasters!
As the day went on, OH and I sat out on Oblivion. We agreed it wasn't much of a rollercoaster, more of a 'thrill' ride, which we're not into. I was here to ride coasters and I could barely handle the speed of Rita horizontally, let alone a vertical drop at a similar speed. Our friends went on it though, and reported that the car tipping over the edge isn't the worst bit - it's the drop. After that it's fine, but there's nothing else to it, so not that great then.
The day was wearing on, and OH and I wanted to get at least one more fun coaster in before our time was up, so we headed over to the Sonic Spinball, previously known as Spinball Whizzer. OH was convincing me it was a kiddie ride, but in the queue, we could see it was something more than that.
Once we were on it, we could see why people were screaming with delight! Very intense for such a small coaster, but so much fun! At the first climb though, OH got a mouthful of flies - I somehow avoided it! But yeah, Sonic Spinball was definately good fun! It is reported online that the ride's sponsorship with Sega will end in 2013 and the ride may be moved somewhere else and rethemed after that. I think regardless of theme, it's a great ride.
After that, we realised the park would be closing soon so the majority of the group quickly headed back for one last go on Rita. I never got my second go on Air unfortunately, and I am still rather gutted I didn't come home with a prized plushie...I will get a Shadow the Hedgehog one of these days >3<
Anyway, that is my recollection of the super-awesome trip to Alton Towers that got me over my fear of rollercoasters! DisneyWorld Florida - Here I come!!!
As pretty much all of the kids have gone back to school, the place was surprisingly quiet...well, not empty but it was hardly heaving, it was pretty nice, as was the weather! I've sat through 9 weeks of solid rain in my hometown, this day was my whole summer holiday rolled into 6 glorious hours of fun.
We decided to break ourselves in gently with the Runaway Mine Cart. I'm the only one who's truly scared of rides but I want to go to Disney World so badly that OH wouldn't take me unless I went on some rides here. First ride was a doddle, and very fun for such a small coaster.
Then there was the Congo River Rapids. I don't like boats either. These things aren't on tracks or held down in any way, which made me seriously nervous...so why did I go on it twice!? Got soaked, and we tried to pose for a funny picture with the map in the middle.
After we'd gotten that over with, we headed over to Air, the only large ride I was excited to go on. But there was apparently a 45 minute wait, so I was dragged, kicking and screaming over to Nemesis. The thing looks horrible. Not to mention sounds horrible...the roar of the coaster as it flies over your head when you're in the queue was almost enough to bring me to tears. I didn't know whether to have a panic attack or cry...
Luckily I did neither. I got on that coaster, and despite having my eyes closed for the majority of the ride, I did it. That was my first true roller coaster ride, and whilst it was a little too intense for me, it was my first 4 g's at 50mph, and set me up for everything else.
After conquering Nemesis, we headed back to Air. The waiting time still said 45 minutes, but we were on within about 20. It was the best.
I couldn't believe how comfy the seat was, and how comfortable I was with being held face down about a meter off the ground before it took off. I really felt like I was flying! Any ounce of fear in me was long gone, and I even managed to keep my eyes open the whole way around, even flying upside down was a breeze. I will definately ride that one again. I didn't even notice the 3.5G's at 46mph.
After a very short lunch, we headed over to Rita: Queen of Speed. I thought "meh, it'll be a blast" ...I was unpleasantly surprised. I'd misread somewhere that Rita goes at 48mph...not true. Her true speed is closer to 60mph, with a G-Force of 4.7. It was just a little too much for me, and I decided not to try her again.
Between coasters, we sampled the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ride, and Duel: The Haunted House Strikes Back, which I thought was hilarious. The music in there was fantastic and the bad quality of some of the figures in there made it all the creepier!
I think Hex came up next. Again, I was aprehensive because I knew it was a 'pirate ship' type ride, but the theme intrigued me so I had to try it out just once. The backstory and the location really added to the atmosphere, and once we got on the ride and that room started spinning, I didn't know where to look! The room itself is beautiful, and I was so impressed by the way they got my head to spin! Wouldn't be doing it again, but it was great just to see what it was all about.
Another ride I wasn't at first keen on was Thirteen, that new one...I kept seeing the ads for it and worrying that it'd have some sick twist that made it even more terrifying than any other ride in the park, but it was so much fun!
I'd researched it enough to pretty much know everything that happens, but actually riding the thing was great! That first drop is amazing! I'm surprised we only had lap bars it was that steep! The drop in the 'shed' was also unexpectedly further than I'd anticipated, but I couldn't stop laughing the whole time. Definately a fun one for someone new to rollercoasters!
As the day went on, OH and I sat out on Oblivion. We agreed it wasn't much of a rollercoaster, more of a 'thrill' ride, which we're not into. I was here to ride coasters and I could barely handle the speed of Rita horizontally, let alone a vertical drop at a similar speed. Our friends went on it though, and reported that the car tipping over the edge isn't the worst bit - it's the drop. After that it's fine, but there's nothing else to it, so not that great then.
The day was wearing on, and OH and I wanted to get at least one more fun coaster in before our time was up, so we headed over to the Sonic Spinball, previously known as Spinball Whizzer. OH was convincing me it was a kiddie ride, but in the queue, we could see it was something more than that.
Once we were on it, we could see why people were screaming with delight! Very intense for such a small coaster, but so much fun! At the first climb though, OH got a mouthful of flies - I somehow avoided it! But yeah, Sonic Spinball was definately good fun! It is reported online that the ride's sponsorship with Sega will end in 2013 and the ride may be moved somewhere else and rethemed after that. I think regardless of theme, it's a great ride.
After that, we realised the park would be closing soon so the majority of the group quickly headed back for one last go on Rita. I never got my second go on Air unfortunately, and I am still rather gutted I didn't come home with a prized plushie...I will get a Shadow the Hedgehog one of these days >3<
Anyway, that is my recollection of the super-awesome trip to Alton Towers that got me over my fear of rollercoasters! DisneyWorld Florida - Here I come!!!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
New Things
Hello, just thought I'd update.
Our friend has moved in with us, bringing with her copious props, fabrics and other bits and pieces, meaning we've made a start on our own cosplays.
I've cut out all the fabric I need for ONE item of clothing for Link at the beginning of Twilight Princess which needs sewing together.
OH is currently cutting out his sleeves for Seymour Guado from FFX. Can't wait to see how the wig will look XD
What else...my four girls have had their second dose of spot-on tonight, which Shank is currently rubbing up and down my arm as she is in my sleeve right now.
Mimi and Mochi are being surprisingly timid. I guess I need to spend more quality time with them.
Oh! And me and OH had flu this week, yay! Ugh it was awful, but it's behind us now! Our symptoms are ebbing away and we're starting to feel more and more...alive.
In other news, we still need jobs. I'm trying to get some art commissions here and there but no luck so far. The search continues! My girls need a new cage, theirs is rusting and I'm not happy with it. They also gotta eat, and so do I!
Our friend has moved in with us, bringing with her copious props, fabrics and other bits and pieces, meaning we've made a start on our own cosplays.
I've cut out all the fabric I need for ONE item of clothing for Link at the beginning of Twilight Princess which needs sewing together.
OH is currently cutting out his sleeves for Seymour Guado from FFX. Can't wait to see how the wig will look XD
What else...my four girls have had their second dose of spot-on tonight, which Shank is currently rubbing up and down my arm as she is in my sleeve right now.
Mimi and Mochi are being surprisingly timid. I guess I need to spend more quality time with them.
Oh! And me and OH had flu this week, yay! Ugh it was awful, but it's behind us now! Our symptoms are ebbing away and we're starting to feel more and more...alive.
In other news, we still need jobs. I'm trying to get some art commissions here and there but no luck so far. The search continues! My girls need a new cage, theirs is rusting and I'm not happy with it. They also gotta eat, and so do I!
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Sick Day Today
Well, OH has come down with the dreaded man-flu, so we had to cancel plans for today, especially since it's raining.
I'm quite happy to stay indoors actually, just don't feel up for going out at all.
Yesterday we went to the market and managed to bring in the WEEKS shopping for around £20!!!
We've started eating so many vegetables it's unreal, we got almost all our veg for like £5! Then we got about 21 chicken breasts for £10!!!! We worked that out at supermarket prices and it would have been in the region of £35-£42!!!
So we're feeling fantastic about that at least!
I'm quite happy to stay indoors actually, just don't feel up for going out at all.
Yesterday we went to the market and managed to bring in the WEEKS shopping for around £20!!!
We've started eating so many vegetables it's unreal, we got almost all our veg for like £5! Then we got about 21 chicken breasts for £10!!!! We worked that out at supermarket prices and it would have been in the region of £35-£42!!!
So we're feeling fantastic about that at least!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)