Well, not quite rage, but I have been bothered about it. I never thought I'd be discussing music, either.

Anyway, in the UK, there's been a campaign asking people to download the Rage Against The Machine song, "Killing In The Name Of" in order to stop X-Factor winner Joe McElderry's cover of "The Climb" getting the Christmas #1 position in the charts (as far as I know). I've seen people telling us to download the RATM son even if we don't particularly want to, because apparently this will help 'real' music win the battle against 'fake/mass-produced' pop music.

I've never listened to either song, nor do I want to. Neither of them seem like the stuff I'd want to listen to, anyway. To be honest, I don't really care which song becomes #1. I've also heard of the charity aspect that RATM appear to be using in their favour, but I would prefer to donate to any charity directly, rather than have celebrities seemingly use them for extra publicity.

However, I actually feel a bit ashamed of myself for not supporting RATM's cause. A part of me feels like I've selfishly allowed the music industry to decay whilst Simon Cowell gets richer. But I also feel like people should download and listen to the music they want to, rather than obey some campaign urging people to buy the same thing in large numbers.

One of our Yorkshire Terriers became pregnant earlier this year, and on Wednesday morning, I saw here there with 4 newborn puppies! I decided to take a photo of the new canine family today:



It's a bit dark, but I thought it'd be a good idea to turn the flash off. Also, I'm aware that the photo won't show up, for some reason...

When I was travelling on the train today, I looked out of the window and saw a fox! It was the first time I saw one that I can be sure of. Strangely, it was running through a field in broad daylight.

Last week, I'm certain that I saw a deer, too. I wonder if I'll ever see a badger one day...

Finally, I found time to write about it!

On Saturday, I went to my second furmeet, which was in Leeds. Trouble is, we ran into a bit of bad luck.

First of all, we couldn't get into Fibre, the bar they'd originally planned for us to go to. We ended up staying at Revolution instead. There, I met up with a couple of friends, though I didn't really get involved in our conversation. Now, during the meet, we noticed a few gangs of people hurrying past outside, followed by various police vehicles. Later, I noticed that there were security guards standing at the entrance, and that we'd been effectively locked in for our own safety! It turned out that there were two groups of demonstrators who clashed in the city centre that day. I'd actually seen something mentioned about it in the news before I set off, but I decided not to let it deter me.

I got a bit anxious, since I'd planned to leave by around 4:30pm, and it seemed like I would have to wait another hour before I could leave. I wanted to go before it got dark, since I didn't like the idea of wandering around Leeds on my own at night. Fortunately, we managed to walk back to the station in a group. I think things had calmed down by then. I took an electric train home, which I thought was pretty cool. Speaking of trains, it seemed like the Yorkshire rail service was in better condition than in Lancashire, which I'm much more familiar with.

Anyway, while it was nice to meet up with other furs again, it would've been even nicer if we could've done more of the things they'd suggested!

Yesterday was the kind of day that just didn't go as I would've expected.

In the morning, I went to university by car instead of train. Fortunately for me, another student has offered to drive me there on Wednesdays to Fridays. Trouble was, just before we got to uni, a van crashed into the back of the car. Neither of us were injured though, but my fellow student decided it'd be best for her to go home once we managed to reach our destination. I imagine she'll have to check up on her car, but she'll also be taking next week off.

Later on, one of the lecturers gave me £20 for a train home (I later realised the money was the same that my parents had decided to pay her for driving me there). Normally, my dad drives me to and from the station, but he wasn't at home. So then, I decided to take a bus home instead, since I still had plenty of money left. I walked down to the bus station with my mobile phone in my hand, just in case. Stangely, I thought I'd lost my phone when I was on the bus, but it turned out that the bus driver had it! I must have somehow handed it over accidently along with the money.

It was one of those occasions that made me wish I'd already learned to drive myself. Maybe I'll have time to take driving lessons next year over the Summer holiday. Meanwhile, I'd better remind myself that someone is owed something...

One thing that's been bothering me quite a lot lately is how different I am to everyone else. I know they say everyone's unique, but I just think I'm too weird. I always seem to be interested in stuff that no-one else likes, yet I'm hardly ever interested in what everyone else does like. And I often feel a bit guilty when disagreeing with others, because I'm probably the only one who wouldn't agree in the first place. Trouble is, I tend to disagree all the time. It feels like I always have the wrong ideas.

Perhaps I shouldn't let it bother me, but then I start to worry about what other people think and whether they accept me or not.

This week, I began my university studies. Though I've already had a few problems over the last 5 days, I'm still not sure what to make of it. Back when I started college, I never planned to go to university. But later on, they talked about it a lot, and eventually I liked the idea of going.

During the lectures, I often began to lose confidence when some other students started talking to the lecturers about complicated stuff I've barely heard of. I just thought that if they knew these things, everyone else should, too (including me). Lately, I've been wondering if they made some kind of mistake when accepting me on the course.

I'm actually more worried about what'll happen later on, such as whether I'm capable of doing the work or not. Will I have to study so much that I'll lose all my free time (which is likely to drive me crazy)? Also, will I end up being forced into a job that I'll hate doing? I know they were just trying to help when they informed all the students about what to expect from university and afterwards, but it all overwhelmed me. To me, it seemed like they were telling everyone that they'd fail at everything if they didn't start planning all these things immediately.

However, I'll try my best with the work and see if I enjoy it. The tutors themselves seem nice and helpful, but I usually feel ashamed about asking for help. Anyway, if I graduate, I think having a degree can only be an advantage.

I have to do this, apparently:

-'Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper.'
-'Explain in no more than five sentences why you're using that wallpaper!'
-'Don't change your wallpaper before doing this! The point is to see what you had on!'



Well, I like to change the colour every week, and it just happened to be orange!

Today, I went to my first ever furmeet! It wasn't quite what I expected it to be, but it was quite an interesting and enjoyable new experience.

First, I met up with the others at Manchester Piccadilly Station. After a few minutes, they got up and walked out, so I followed them. I wasn't sure where we were going, but we actually went to a Nexas, a strange little café. I remember that Stuart Otterson, who didn't show up until later on, suggested going there.

My favourite part of the meet was when Littletiger gathered me and a couple of other furs around to play a card game called 'Citadels'. One thing I noticed was that it was created by someone whose first name is Bruno!

Last weekend on Saturday, my Mum bought me a new laptop. I was very much surprised when I just went into the shop with her, and she asked me to choose one! It pretty much overwhelmed me, since I was still thinking about having my other computer repaired. As thankful as I am, I have to admit that I'm more accustomed to using a desktop computer, especially for things like games. There's also the question about what'll happen with the computer I built myself.

I registered for ConFuzzled on Monday, and yesterday I found out that my current status was 'PAID'! I'm quite excited about it, though I'm a bit nervous too. After all, this will be my first furry convention. Anyway, it's a good thing I don't live too far away from Manchester!

I saw this survey after brown_wolf mentioned it, and decided to take part. It was quite interesting, actually. Knowing me, though, I've probably skewed the average results a bit!

The computer I built was sent off to be repaired again, and I got it back yesterday. After testing it today, I was pleased to see it working at last! Now though, I have to think of how to replace the computer I'm currently using with my new one. I'll need to consider things like installing my old programs and connecting to the Internet.

I actually did something yesterday. Last evening, I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It was a pretty good film, and more exciting than I expected!

Last night, I was stunned to hear about the death of Michael Jackson. He was probably the first mainstream celebrity I ever recognised, and I was always impressed at how unique he was. Even though I hardly ever listen to music, I have to admit that his songs were some of the only music I was interested in. To me, Michael Jackson seemed like the kind of person who would never die...

I've seen a few of his music videos, too. The 'Leave Me Alone' video stands out quite vividly in my mind...

Yesterday, I went to Alton Towers with college as part of their end-of-year trip. I went there before a few years ago on a school trip, but this time I felt brave enough to go on some of the bigger rides, like Nemesis and Air. My favourite ride was Rita - Queen of Speed. I was thrilled at how fast it went!

Here's a list of questions I saw on skyfirefox's journal, which I agreed to answer and repost:

IF YOU'RE ON MY FRIENDS LIST, I want to know 28 things about you. I don't care if we've never talked, never really clicked, or if we already know everything about each other. I really don't. You are obviously on my flist, so let me know with whom I'm friends!

1. Your Middle Name:
2. Age:
3. Single or Taken:
4. Favorite Movie:
5. Favorite Song or Album:
6. Favorite Band/Artist:
7. Dirty or Clean:
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:
9. Do we know each other outside of LJ?
10. What's your philosophy on life?
11. Is the bottle half-full or half-empty?
12. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?
13. What is your favorite memory of us?
14. What is your favorite guilty pleasure?
15. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
16. You can have three wishes (for yourself, so forget all the 'world peace etc' malarky) - what are they?
17. Can we get together and make a cake?
18. Which country is your spiritual home?
19. What is your big weakness?
20. Do you think I'm a good person?
21. What was your best/favorite subject at school?
22. Describe your accent
23. If you could change anything about me, would you?
24. What do you wear to sleep?
25. Trousers or skirts?
26. Cigarettes or alcohol?
27. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together? (If you have no idea, just say something crazy, it'll entertain me!)
28. Will you repost this so i can fill it out for you?

Today was my last ever day of college, where I've been at for the past 4 years. By September, it's likely that I'll be starting university.

Sorting out student finances shouldn't be a problem, but I am quite nervous about going to university. I'm not sure how well I'd fit in, and it might even be the first time I live away from home.

Anyway, I should make the most of the free time I have over the summer. I think I ought to go out more, and enjoy myself along the way! Perhaps I could even try going to a furmeet, but I don't know how I might explain that to my parents...

Since I never really have much to say on LiveJournal, I decided to take the other Non-Serious quiz, just for a little fun. I've never watched this film, to be honest:

I decided to try out one of the 'Non-Serious' tests on similarminds.com: