Oh my goodness. I am so in love with the Count of Tuscany by Dream Theater. It's such an Ianthe song.

spotify:track:6WZwr2O4eOvXD59oJstogh

Several years ago
In a foreign town
Far away from home
I met the Count of Tuscany

A young eccentric man
Bred from royal blood
Took me for a ride
Across the open countryside

Get into my car
Let's go for a drive
Along the way I'll be your guide
Just step inside
Maybe you'll recall
a cannibal curator
A character inspired by my brothers life

Winding through the hills
City far behind
On and on we drove
Down narrow streets
and dusty roads

At last we came upon
A picturesque estate
On sprawling emerald fields
An ancient world
Of times gone by

Let me introduce my brother
a bearded gentleman
Historian
Sucking on his pipe
Distinguished accent
You're making me uptight
No accident

I wanna stay alive
Everything about this place
Just doesn't feel right

I don't wanna die
Suddenly I'm frightened
For my life

I wanna say goodbye
This could be the last time
You see me alive

I may not survive
Knew it from the moment
We arrived

Would you like to see
A secret, holy place?
I come here late at night
To pray to him by candlelight

Then peering through the glass
I saw with disbelief
Still dressed in royal clothes
The saint behind the altar

History recalls
During times of war
Legend has been traced
Back inside these castle walls

When soldiers came to hide
In barrels filled with wine
Never to escape
These tombs of oak
That's where they died

Down the cellar stairs
I disappeared
Like the english heir
The end is near
Come and have a taste
A rare vintage
All the finest wines
Improve with age

I wanna stay alive
Everything about this place
Just doesn't feel right

I don't wanna die
Suddenly I'm frightened
For my life

I wanna say goodbye
This could be the last time
You see me alive

I may not survive
Knew it from the moment
We arrived

Could this be the end?
Is this the way I die?
Sitting here alone?
No one by my side

I don't understand
I don't feel that I deserve this
What did I do wrong?
I just don't understand

(I just don't understand)

Give me one more chance
Let me please explain
It's all been circumstance
I'll tell you once again

You took me for a ride
Promising a vast adventure
Next thing that I know
I'm frightened for my life

Now wait a minute man
That's not how it is
You must be confused
That isn't who I am

Please don't be afraid
I would never try to hurt you
This is how we live
Strange although it seems
Please try to forgive

The chapel and the saint
The soldiers in the wine
The fable's and the tales
All handed down through time

Of course you're free to go
Go and tell the world my story
Tell them about my brother
Tell them about me
The Count of Tuscany

I've told some of you before how much I enjoyed doing the MBTI personality test... the results are so spot on for me it's ridiculous!

Here are two results (two different MBTI tests):
--
ENFJ- The Teacher

You scored 100% I to E, 42% N to S, 14% F to T, and 47% J to P!
Your type is known as the teacher, or the educating mentor. You also belong to the larger group, called idealists. You tend to bring out the best in other people. You lead without seeming to do so. People are naturally drawn to you. You expect the very best from people which takes the form of enthusiastic encouragement which is so charming that people try their best not to disappoint you. You share your personality type with 3% of the population.
You need to feel a deep and meaningful connection to your romantic partners, and go to great lengths to understand and please your mate. Harmony is vitally important to you, and you often put others' needs before your own. You have a pretty thin skin and are easily hurt. Although you strive for harmony, when your values or ethics are violated, you can be very emotional, confrontational, and even punishing. However, you are very insightful about the underlying cause of conflicts, and an excellent communicator, so you have the tools to bring about a quick and peaceful resolution as long as you can keep control of your facilities. You want to be appreciated for your thoughtfulness and compassion. You need your partner to make a real effort to get to know you. Above all, you need to be able to express your feelings and have them taken seriously.
--
The Giver

You scored 81 Extroversion, 65 Intuition, 72 Emotional, and 42 Spontaneity!
ENFJ

Outgoing and friendly. ENFJs cheif concern in life is other people, and fostering harmony and cooperation, between themselves and others. Warm personal interactions-strokes of approval and appreciation- keep them going in life. Sympathetic, cooperative and tactful, with high ideals, they make a consistent effort to say and do the right thing. They are patient and conscientious and make an effort to stick to a job until it's finished.

Relationships
ENFJs put a lot of effort and enthusiasm into their relationships. To some extent, the ENFJ defines themself by the closeness and authenticity of their personal relationships, and are therefore highly invested in the business of relationships. They have very good people skills, and are affectionate and considerate. They are warmly affirming and nurturing. The excel at bringing out the best in others, and warmly supporting them. They want responding affirmation from their relationships, although they have a problem asking for it. When a situation calls for it, the ENFJ will become very sharp and critical. After having made their point, they will return to their natural, warm selves. They may have a tendency to "smother" their loved ones, but are generally highly valued for their genuine warmth and caring natures.

Strengths
Good verbal communication skills
Very perceptive about people's thoughts and motives
Motivational, inspirational; bring out the best in others
Warmly affectionate and affirming
Fun to be with - lively sense of humor, dramatic, energetic, optimistic
Able to "move on" after a love relationship has failed
Loyal and committed - they want lifelong relationships
Strive for "win-win" situations
Driven to meet other's needs
--

So true! It's as if they found me, and made the type based on me!

Sarah Churchill-Bennett passed away last night :( She was the most fantastic pet - filled with love and podge and I will miss her dearly. She is by far the most obese rat that has ever been part of the family but I'm sure this was due to a conversation Richard had with her when she was only little telling her that it was her job to be fat mouse and love only the calories. She did us all proud. Her sister Winston seems a bit lost without her (even if slightly happy that her treats are not being snatched from under her!).








I will always love her and miss her dearly. The podge.

Ok, so after that sweet little message I decided I needed to rant. I am so annoyed right now with lying. I feel like I need to get this off my chest but then again I don't want to hurt anyones feelings because some of the people involved are people I care about. I might just use fake names or something - I'll see how it goes.

Why do people have to lie? Now I'd like to clarify, I don't mean little white lies to get out of doing things - I think we are all guilty of that one. It's much easier to say "I'm already doing X" instead of hurting someones feelings by saying "I don't feel like it". That's one thing. It doesn't hurt anyone.

What I am talking about is blatant lying. Lying when it is really not necessary or really hurtful. Now before I go and vent about other people I should own up to my own deceptions. There are a few times in my past where I have lied. In one case, I assumed something completely wrong and told everyone about it as if it was fact. I must admit at the time, I did believe it to be true but it wasn't and in retrospect I shouldn't have been so silly. On another occasion, a friend of mine went away and I said she had said I could have something of hers (which she didn't). It was really shitty of me and I still feel guilty about it to this day.

So the first rant is about a three situations with the same kind of lying.

In the first situation, I was still in high school and some silly boy went and told a friend of mine that I had given him her number. To this day I'm not even sure what the deception was even about but he tried to use me as a scapegoat. Why? I don't know. But the worst thing is the friend involved might have even fancied him and then it turned into a situation where she didn't know who to believe. I never gave him her number. It didn't happen. Why the hell did he need to lie?

In both the second cases the person involved BLATANTLY lied about me. They said I had said X and Y about a friend of mine when I *really* didn't. I didn't even say anything close. Funny that both of these situations affected the same friend. I think the world of this friend and these people lied and made it out like I didn't. In both cases I think it was for personal gain... or even to make them look better against me, or something like that. I don't get it. And it really hurt this friend of mine. It hurt me too because I still don't understand why exactly they would say such things. Ok maybe in the one situation it was to get into my friend's pants! Hmmmmm. It makes me so angry. And then my friend has to spend time forgiving me for these things that I never bloody said. AH!

Then there is lying for no reason. And it is SO obvious that the person is doing it. I find it disrespectful. I try and understand that it might have something to do with insecurities but surely if they want someone to care about them, they want it to be for who you really are - not some nonsense person that they make up in your head. Why can't people be comfortable with who they are. Ok, maybe I am being insensitive. But don't lie. Find something interesting to say, it doesn't have to be a lie about yourself to make yourself look cool.

Then there's lying to cover someone's bum. And even worse, continually elaborating on the story to cover up the fact that they lied in the first place. Again, it's so obvious from the beginning that they are lying and every single time they add more bullshit to it, it hurts me again. HOW CAN YOU RESPECT ME IF YOU LIE TO ME.

AAAAH. I am so worked up right now.

Do I have a giant sign plastered across my forehead that says "Please lie to me. Please lie about me."

I just don't get it!

I will now go back to attempting this evil example in separation logic and try and not be angry.

Time has flown past since the last time I updated my LJ. Things are going well :D You can see my uni website at http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~isah1 where you can see my first year report and find out what I've been spending all my time on. It's crazy to believe that the first year of my PhD is already over... one step closer to Prof. Hind. I hope you are all well and getting up to suitable nonsense. I think it's about time I added some new photos - I'll get onto that soon. Muchos love to you all.

I just got a phonecall this morning from my supervisor - note, not potential, but actual! - and I have been accepted for a fully funded PhD! It's in Diagrammatic Reasoning (applied to software verification!) Dr. Hind here we come. I'm so so so so so happy! :) :) :)

What a day. I have an unclassified degree since my dissertation and 2 courses haven't been marked. I found out I have a yes from both my potential PhD supervisors but funding for neither project. OMG. Now I need to decide what on earth I'm going to do. Stress. I am going mad. Apparently I'm not a very nice person to be around right now :(

Oh my goodness. Yes it's true - I am still alive. Imagine, isn't it quite shocking. I have two assignments left to do, neither of which I care to do. I'm burnt out and I need a holiday. But wait, I have exams in just over a month - so much for that plan. 7 exams coming to take my soul. I need to do well. I have to do well in order to get my PhD with Plotkin. So much drama. So little time. Madness. In case you were wondering, yes - I have in fact finally lost the plot. In other news I played football on Saturday and was in the winning team... woo hoo - go eye. Click on the image for a clearer copy. Here's the evidence. Love you lots.