[Aspen/Renaria's Scrapbook] Frozen Wonderland

[Silvy]

oh so cute n sweet! *squees* Charlie is bringing you 'presents'!!! so so adorable! :D <3

[Renaria]

Formula 1 Santander British Grand Prix

So, this is my loooong overdue post on the F1 race I went to, way back on the 10th of July.

Firstly, if you don't know what a Formula 1 car looks like, here you go:

They're extremely specialized cars that make incredible amounts of noise and go stupidly fast.
When I say incredible noise, I really mean it. Every single person in the stands was supplied with earplugs so they wouldn't get hearing damage. Not to say you have to use them though. I didn't for the first 5 or so laps, but then it was just too loud not to use them. It was still loud with them in, so I wasn't missing out! I think the sound they make as they pass you is about 110 decibels. Which is huge noise. Let me give you some perspective. If you were standing next to a 747 plane at take-off, the noise it would making is around 120 decibels. So yeah, it's pretty damn loud.
This link is to a youtube video with soundclips of the noises the F1 cars make. Imagine those sounds at 110 decibels and you'll know how I felt! (The sounds are from a Renault car, which are probably the best sounding)

The cars can reach speeds of up to 330kmh (210mph), but they rarely meet these at the tracks, definitely not at Silverstone where I was. It's more 290-300kmh there.

Anyways, enough of that!


This is the starting grid before the race started. Each team has a ridiculous amount of people! And that's not all the car spots. There are only 5-6 car spots in that picture out of 25!

There are 12 teams in the championship, each with 2 drivers. (Note the quirk here. Earlier I said there are 25 drivers. There are 25 numbered drivers. The real number of drivers is actually 24. No driver ever races under the number 13!)
Also, there are two championships that run parallel to each other. The drivers championship and the constructors championship.
The drivers one is for the racers. Whoever collects the most points by the end of the season is the world champion for the year.
The constructors works in the same way, but this time it is for the car team builders rather than the drivers.

Anyhow, my favourite driver is Lewis Hamilton. He races for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. From his very first F1 race in the 2007 championship I was a fan (:

That is Hamilton in his car at the race. Easy to spot because of the yellow helmet!

As for the constructors, I have always been a Ferrari fan, ever since the age of 3 and my dad got me to watch my first ever race. He's been a Ferrari supporter for ages and ages.

The car in front is a Ferrari, driven by Fernando Alonso. The second car is Hamilton again. They were battling for 3rd place, which unfortunately Hamilton lost


And this is a picture of Sebastian Vettel, the current leader in the world championship by quite a large number of points. He races for Red Bull if you couldn't tell


At the end of the race they have a trophy presentation for the top 3.
It's not the best picture ever, cause they were really far away, but the guys on the podium from l-r are:
Sebastian Vettel (2nd place), Fernando Alonso (1st) and Mark Webber (3rd).
And if you look closely, in front of Alonso and Webber, it's Prince Harry!

And I shall end this with a picture of my face (oh no!)

And yes, I am wearing a raincoat. It's England, of course it's raining in the Summer!
And I'm also wearing my McLaren cap. Go Hamilton! xD

[Bolden Denusk]

Great pics Emma!! Love 'em!! <3 And just look at that adorable you! *hugs*

[Aspen]

So just this morning it hit me that I'm going to need to learn how to manage my money. In a big way.
Of course I've always looked after it, but as a college student (English college, not American college) living at home, it's never been a huge deal if I was a bit strapped for cash at times.

In September I'm going to University (which I believe is the equivalent to US college). I've applied for my accommodation and as soon as my room is allocated I have to pay the deposit. I also got my reading and equipment list the other day (it's huge... seriously), and on top of that I need to buy stuff for my new room and kitchen stuff.

Now, I've never ever had to do anything like this before and frankly, I'm terrified. I mean, I've bought myself a car and gotten insurance for it, bust aside from that everything else has been little things. I've never actually had to pay to live. If you understand what I'm saying.

I guess I'm just freaking out that I wont have enough for the room rent each term, or I'll run out of money to buy food with or something. At the moment, I honestly don't know how I'm going to afford everything on the list I got sent. I'm studying photography which, lucky for me is one of the most expensive things you can choose. I'm serious, it's up there with learning to be a doctor or a vet or whatever.

[Silvy]

You're gonna be great hon! You're brilliant and talented so I just -know- you can do it. You are already a very strong person with good judgement. Trust in yourself and things will work out well. You're good at managing time on Miza right? Look at your CS's and threads and being an Aspen of storytelling awesomeness of all things! You've proven time again that you're good at managing time and assignments. You really are brilliant--I believe in you. *endlessly big big hugs*

[Aspen]

So today has not been a good day.

I had work this morning, which I don’t actually mind. I work in a little supermarket. And I mean really little – it only has one aisle! Anyway, I’m part of the floor staff which means I do till and stock work. Tills in the morning, stock after lunch. It’s not that bad at all, unless we’re really busy, then I get stuck on the tills all day. Which is not fun. At all. The screens are really shiny and we have strip lighting right above them, so after a few hours of staring at them and trying to read them you get a headache. Plus, I have a screwed up knee (yay). With knees, you’d normally have to rest it, but in my case I need to keep moving, else it cramps up and is really painful. We have standing tills, and I was behind them for 6 hours today.

Going of on a mini-tangent, just to explain a little. At new year I was skiing in Austria and I had a really bad accident that left me hospitalised. While skiing I skidded and fell about 12 foot down the side of the mountain slope, flipping and sliding as I went. I fractured my knee in such a way that it would not heal on its own – the bones would not fuse and my nerves would get torn up. So they admitted me to hospital for an operation. (I also fractured my arm, but that’s fine). I had the op to align the bone and had 2 pins put in to hold it all together. And now, over 6 months on I still need major physio. It’s a pain, literally.

So anyway, side-tracking over, I had to stand behind the till with a headache and knee pain, and try serve all the customers with a smile and all that. Though I think all the rude customers were out in force >_> I don’t have to pack people’s shopping for them, but I do it because I like to be helpful. However if they bring their own bags I let them do it themselves. The locals are fine with it; they’re lovely and know what I’m like. It seems the holiday makers don’t like it though. One guy practically threw his bag in my face. I’m serious. Then there was the one where I was packing the carrier for a customer and they snatch it out of my hand going. ”Oh give it here!”. They really did that. The bag ripped up the side (it was a plastic one) and she just glared at me and demanded a new one! And then you have the people who dump their stuff, grab it from your hands once you’ve checked it, dump their money and go. They don’t even look at you. Now, call me self-centred or whatever you want, but it’s actually nice to be appreciated sometimes! And don’t even get me started on the people who try to argue prices. If it doesn’t come up on my till, it’s not on offer. That’s that. I’ve worked in that place for over 2 years, so I think I’m a little more clued up than them.
Yep, I had them all today.

And just to top it off, I went to physio after work and turns out I’m no better than last time I went. Apparently I tip my feet in when I walk. Not actually turn my toes in, it’s more I lean into my instep. Apparently it’s not helping and I need better shoes. Which I really cannot afford at the moment.

On a slightly lighter note, I just found out that my best friend from my college class is going to be in the same apartment block as me at Uni. Or in the one over. Which is awesome.


So... I apologise now to everyone. If I don't post for you on any of my pc's today - it's because I am really not in the mood for it. I have big trouble writing when I'm all wound up like this.

[Silvy]

Aww you poor sweet dear! Your doctor should prescribe you a bucketful of chocolate, a catnap and nice bath! *hugs n hugs* Make taking care of you a number one priority! *offers a fluffy pillow and some choccy* <3

[Renaria]

To make up for the latest ranty entries, here are some cute bunnies. (I didn't take this one!)

[Gossamer]

OKAY... omg that's cute. I have such a soft spot for bunbunners.

[Growl]

Caption: Get in loser, we're going shopping! Please say you know what movie that is from.... please. And yay for cute bunnies... just thought I'd add more.