If I had a party, here in my little hard-to-get-to village, would you come?

I want one, you see.

I was released from hospital yesterday afternoon. They still don't know what it was, and may never know. Huh.

I still don't feel 100% - my head hurts and I'm a bit woozy, but importantly I am away from the most boring and lonely place in the world.

I learnt quite a lot of medicine. :)

So, my fever is still hovering around 39o/102F and the doctor has decided to admit me to hospital. He says they may well put me on different oral antibiotics and send me home, or they may put me on IV ones and keep me in. I don't know if I'll be allowed a mobile there, but some hospitals do let you. If so, I can post here and get texts and so on. If not, do feel free to text me anyway and I'll get someone to tell me what you've sent.

If I come home later, I'll try and post if I can.

I'm quite seriously iller than I appear/feel, apparently. I have a serious infection. For now, I'm getting antibiotics at home, but may go to hospital tomorrow if that doesn't work. Hm.

Fairly cheerful though, it's more exciting than anything else. Although definitely no Serenity, I'm not contagious at all.

This is probably the fever talking. Oh well, I'd rather be happy and ill than moaning in bed.

So, I booked a site for my very first LARP, this summer.

Steampunk victoriana low-fantasy high-science with a hint of horror and more than a pinch of investigative fun.

August 14-16th, near Birmingham.

Save the date.

I went to play a new larp in Oxford today, Crusade! As the name suggests, it's set in the Holy Land in the late C12th. I'm playing a character called Aelith, daughter of Duke Hugh III of Burgundy, and heir to the terribly-important duchy. I am wearing this hat (note, hat in pic not modelled by me). Plan was, go to game, make a few contacts, perhaps suss out possible eligible bachelors for future heir-making. Only, I ended up kind of engaged to Baldwin V, boy-king of Jerusalem. So... maybe Queen of Jerusalem in a couple sessions time? FOR GREAT WIN.

The game was incredibly free-form. Rules apply pretty much only in downtime - in game all of your skills and merity things are just for flavour. This was partly lovely as I didn't feel anyone was enforcing how I roleplayed such attributes as 'cloistered upbringing', but also a little frustrating as I had no way of checking if I was 'doing it right'.

I really loved that the game has no combat resolution system in uptime. It's a proper Elysium situation: no fighting. Really, no fighting. I spent some time talking to the Anti-Pope, and also to Saladin's son. No fighting. This was lovely. I shall send my armies to crush them in downtime.

There were some really nice efforts in costume, which really helped with the setting, though I think it was sad that some people took 'no costume requirements' so literally as to wear jeans and a hoodie. Plain black clothes go a long way, and most anyone can put a big cross on a t-shirt.

The game is weekly, so everything is very intense. Games Tuesday, DT Friday, DT return on Monday. Must be 8 weeks of hell for the refs, but there are about 6 of them for the 40 or so players, which is a nice number. It means all of them can have juicy NPC roles. Also, of course, there's no need for rules-reffing in a session, so they can enjoy roleplaying too.

Sadly I can't go next week, but hopefully I will manage to get stuff done in DT to advance my evil schemes. It's interesting to see this very different take on LARP as I know it, especially as a lot of the changes are things I've wanted for a long time. See, jitson, this is what I mean.

Applied for JSA today, which took forever and was A CHORE. Also, the person on the phone in April must have been an utter retard, because she got almost everything wrong about me on my form, even down to writing my reason for leaving Crooge as "customer left". WTF?! Seriously, if after 2 years of waitressing that would make me leave... well, that person clearly never worked in customer service. Except for how that was her job. Fortunately, though that could well have jeopardized my application, the guy saw how much other stuff was wrong on the form, (phone number, address, NI number, Crooge address, bank account, application date...) and believed me that it should have said "moved house" instead. So I should all be good.... in two weeks' time. Gah! I want to have a job already by then. Oh well, I desperately need the money, so the backdatedness should kick in right when I'm in Narch for my visit. (25th-31st May) Thank fuck I'll get the money before expensive!time - sorry, Maelstrom.

Also then I had a driving lesson with a new instructor which went appallingly. I wasn't used to his style of teaching or the car so I fucked up a lot at the beginning, and he then decided to treat me like an annoying retard for the rest of the lesson: "Hmm, perhaps a gear change would be nice?"

I am sick of being treated like I have 25% of the intelligence I do. I think I'ma gonna go study me some biochemistry and apply for an MsC. And then derive pi to a thousand places. With a soup spoon. Yeah, bitches.

I found this course when I was looking for a backup to Medicine this week. Thing is, I could do it next year when I'm otherwise at a bit of a loose end, applying for Medicine in October 2009, but not starting till September 2010. I really like the sound of it.

On a related note, would anybody like to help me devise some kind of medical-historical LARP concept? There could be a nice big cash prize...

( This will probably bore you )

Also, I saw Phillip Pullman speak about His Dark Materials on Friday night. He was most excellent and hilarious. The interviewer started spouting literary wank about the Daemons being 'Ovidian' and the cyclical plot in its Homeric structure. Then Pullman was like 'yeah... I steal plot from Neighbours.'
Also he has never seen the northern lights. Been to the Arctic, but every time he's gone they haven't shone. Suck.

I'm settling in here. While I was at Camarilla today, Dad and Trish went to Ikea and bought me a wardrobe and some shelves. My room is very small, and my bed is actually a sofa, but it is starting to seem a bit more like 'my room'. Especially now my kepi and berets are unpacked and in pride of place. I've been feeling a bit odd hatless during the move!

Going to Nottingham for an open day on Weds too.

Today I got to my desk to find two copies of the BMJ with my article on p.565 (actually p.14 from the front) attached to a picture of a hot blonde [doctor]. It's in print, and in my hands.... and says 'Lizy Cooper BMJ'!

Also on my desk? A rough of next weeks cover - concept and art by me.

I so so so don't want to leave. It's amazing here.