Random checks, new LJ people and a lot of sugar

And the day begins at six thirty am, when my alarm clock beeps. If you remember my slight tendency that way, you won't be surprised to know I have broken five alarm clocks, and while I've never broken the soft one, I've slept through it until it's been beeping for an hour. But none of that is the point. I had to get up earlier than usual today because Pedar flew in this morning and last night I begged to come and pick him up rather than go to school. The begging somehow worked - my mother agreed, especially as it meant I could navigate and she didn't have to get lost.

Anyway, we were late. She overslept, I overslept, we left late, and we ran into huge traffic jams on every motorway going, and we finally reached the airport forty-five minutes after Pedar did. He was not very happy, but he was pleased to see me and did not think it at all unusual that I was there and not at school. It appears that he enjoyed himself over there. However, the journey was not so good and he was "random" checked. Random, the hell. He took the same flight I did when I flew home in July, and we were both random checked. Several times. On both flights, at both airports. We both had notes left in our luggage to say it had been opened. The hell it was random. If you're not white, you're checked. Simple as that. And it's not getting better. I had my bag, jacket, boots and earrings taken off me - Pedar had all of that, plus his belt, but unlike me his sandwiches weren't taken. That was just an example of the world conspiring against me.

Anyway. We got home at about ten, and I went to school about half an hour later. I missed Chemistry, and went to English in a falling-asleep kind of way. That was the recurring theme for all my lessons today. Falling asleep. I ought to go to bed early today, but I doubt that's going to happen, somehow.

The geographers are still... geographing? They're back later tonight, and it's been rather quiet without them. I didn't have anyone much to talk to at lunch today, and toddled off to the computer room and met Smeeta. And Elena and Miranda. They are mad people, but one of them is on LJ which is a redeeming feature. Meet quackaquacka. Mad as a hatter. But like a lot of you people, believes in the inherent slashability of pirates. Believes in slash, full stop. I think I'll have to force her to update more. The other two are shortly to arrive on LJ - I'm digging out codes as we speak.

The afternoon, then. Politics, which I didn't like for a number of reasons - the people, mainly - and Biology, which involved huge amounts of sucrose solution and chopped-up bits of carrot. By the end of it, everyone was stuck to everyone else. Steph went round picking up the bits of carrot for her horse. The fact the carrots are infused with sugar seemed to bother her not a whit. I have to write up that experiment, but I cannot be bothered. I did my Biology coursework yesterday and rather hoped that would be it for a fortnight. Evidently not.

I'm tired. I mentioned that, didn't I? If I may go on to mention things I had not, as yet, mentioned, I may have to actually go to assembly from now on. People who tried skiving it yesterday have been gated. That's about half of the entire sixth form, not including me (thankfully), all gated. I hate the very idea of it. It makes me irrationally paranoid. But as I said, I'm not gated, not because I didn't skive assembly but because I didn't get caught. Argle. In any case, it's not much to do with anything. Apparently whatshername, Becky Johnson, had something of a screaming match with Mrs Custard of all people. I wish I'd seen that.

I got home a little earlier than usual today - Pedar picked me up. He got me something from when he was in America, for no reason other than he thought I would like it. It's a simple, faded denim jacket-type-thing, but it has that soft sheepskin stuff inside it and while it doesn't sound like something I would like, it really is. Pedar has good taste. So does Nupur, who apparently helped out with the choice. Nupur herself and her mother have sent me a whole lot of food. It's mostly American junk food that you can't get here - cinnamon Altoids, for one thing, and macaroni-cheese-in-a-box, and red Cheetos, and microwaveable popcorn and sundry things like that. Lots of unhealthy, fattening goodies. And some Hershey's chocolate. That stuff is an embarrassment to the name of chocolate. I should have sent them some Cadbury's, I think. Apparently you don't get that in America.

Enough. I've been writing this for half an hour and I'm hungry.

But before I go - the icon revamp continues. This is my new default icon. If you noticed it was different from the old one, full marks for observation.

Edit: Aargh!
I missed Beta Appreciation Day!

So, my betas:
purplerainbow - grammatically nitpicky and betas in purple. What more do you need?

hathy_col - World's Fastest Beta.

language_idling - World's Slowest Beta. :)

gamesiplay - deserves canonisation. Or beatification. I'm not entirely sure which is which. She's wonderful - even more of a grammar whore than me, tells me what I can do about my structure and euphony and other stuff I generally do unconsciously, and is generally the best beta ever.

All right, I'm done now!