17/3/09 9:02 AM
Sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been lazy… and haven’t really been doing much. I figure you guys wouldn’t be that interested in hearing “Saturday, went to market, got some donuts, brushed a fist-sized wad of fur off Gizmo, had her knead my leg enthusiastically in pleasure from the brushing, watched TV, read, surfed the internet, went to bed,” day after day.
And that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing. Minus the brushing, actually. I did brush a fist-sized wad of fur off Gizmo (fist-sized AFTER it was wadded down… how can a short-haired cat shed that much!?), but then she had bad dandruff. I suspect it’s because she can’t clean her back properly (too fat), and so it gets all flakey and ick, and the brushing that loosens the fur on her back also loosens the flakey, but Sally suggested no brushing for a while. I just started brushing her again last night, and she about died from happiness. Gizmo really is a most expressive cat.
I’ve been watching Deal or No Deal, too. The UK version is much better than the US version… I think. I’ve never actually seen an entire episode of the US version, so if you’re a US fan, you’ll have to correct me if my assumptions are wrong.
With the UK version, the prizes range from 1p to £250,000. The money is in red boxes, 1-22. The lower 11 monetary values are blue on the board, and the upper 11 are red, leading to chants of “Blue, blue, blue, blue!” and “I hope it’s a blue, just for you!” (<3 Stephen!) There are two wings in which the boxes are laid out, and behind each box is a contestant—not a model. A contestant. This is the biggest difference. One of the contestants is chosen at random to bring his/her box to the ‘crazy chair,’ and on the next show, that contestant will be replaced with a new contestant. Contestants open boxes for 20-30 shows, on average, before they get chosen to have their own show. What this means is that the contestants become really good friends and talk among each other, wish each other luck, joke and jest and make comments, offer advice… Stephen, who is an absolutely HUGE African body builder with a deep voice, will always say, “I hope it’s a blue… just for you,” before opening his box, especially when it’s a lady contestant. :D David is another contestant. He’s 21, and the show’s biggest fan. He set up and runs the biggest fansite for Deal or No Deal (www.dond.co.uk). As a result, though, he’s pretty canny about how the game gets played, and he usually gives good, solid advice to contestants if asked. Derrick is a very old man who always wears bright colored shirts and very loud bowties and vests. For the past few shows, Noel, the host, has been teasing him because his fingers always slip off the seal when he goes to open the box, giving him the nickname ‘Slippery.’ Yesterday, though, his fingers didn’t slip and the whole studio burst into applause. Yaaaaay, Derrick! One time, the contestant had set up a trick with a Dutch-speaking contestant the night or two before, that if he was picked, he’d have a conversation in Dutch so that the Banker couldn’t hear what was being said. He learned a couple words in Dutch, had no idea what he was saying, but impressed everyone in the audience. When the Banker called the first time, he revealed that he did, in fact, know Dutch and that the guy was just speaking gibberish. Hee!
The other day, last Thursday, I believe, was the second-ever £250,000 winner. It was quite an exciting and tense game. Ironically, the £250,000 was won by young women (early 20s) from the same city in Southern Wales. The Banker was sobbing and wants to cut Wales off from the country and sink it.
The next game after that win was a young man named Wayne, and he brought the £250,000 to the table for the second time in a row, but he ended up dealing at £21,500. In that game, though, the Banker was fired for losing so much money during a recession, and the new guy was named Geoff Trump. Geoff ran a bar, so all his offers were money + a pack of peanuts, or + a Scottish egg, or + some sort of bar food. Wayne kept turning him down. Geoff was rude, though, and tried to tell off the contestants for giving Wayne advice (David talked back to him). He got fired for his rudeness, and the original banker came back.
In yesterday’s game, a middle-aged woman from Southern Wales was the contestant, and she said that she didn’t want to pace around, but she wanted to sit. Noel asked her why, and she said, “Because I don’t want my bum to look huge. I’ve noticed. Bums always look bigger on TV than in real life. YOUR bum looks bigger on the telly than it does here.”
Noel looked shocked, and then the phone rang. The Banker agreed with the woman: Noel’s bum did look big. Noel nudged the lady out of the chair and sat down himself to keep his bum concealed. The woman ended up winning £10,000.
So… that’s been my biggest exciting thing. Deal or No Deal. It’s on every weekday at 4:15 and 5:15 (I only watch one), and Sundays at 4:45. Gizmo comes and cuddles with me as I watch it, and I pet her until clouds of fur fly everywhere.
Still no luck on the job hunt. If I don’t find a job in the next week, then I’ll have to try to get my plane ticket changed to come home the week after Easter.
I did meet a very nice couple while volunteering in the Chapter House. They were originally from California, but had moved to England a while ago. We got to talking, and they asked what sort of job I wanted. When I mentioned academic publishing, they told me about their daughter, who is working for a textbook publishing company in California. They gave me her email address and theirs, and told me to get in touch with her. We also talked about cats for a very long time. The wife loves cats as much as I do. :D I’ll probably contact the daughter next week or so, give them time to let her know that I’ll be contacting her first. This company, apparently, has a branch in London, and if you work for them for ten years, they’ll transfer you, if you want.
I want!
Not too many pictures in this update. My camera’s not working. Well, it is, but it’s not connecting to my computer, so I can’t show you pictures. These are a few I got off before it stopped working.
The cloisters by night, same place that I took the cloisters by mist shot.
Gizmo, because you haven’t seen her for a while! I had a mug of tea, a bar of chocolate, a good book, and a cat. Couldn’t ask for more, right?
I’m running out of books, though! I have a stack beside my bed that I need to get rid of, but I have just one more book to read…
Posts
