Teacup.

You know, it’s not a hidden fact that even though I’m doing this biomedical-science degree, I have zero intention of becoming a doctor. My friend asked me what I wanted to do with this degree and I told her that I wish to go to poverty-stricken countries, or third-world countries, or pretty much any area which requires health aids in particular because they need people to help them, and I want to help. Then she said to me, “…you’re such a good person.”

In my heart of hearts, ‘good’ is probably one word I wouldn’t use about myself. My dad says I’m prickly as a porcupine, my mum says I’m pretty much bitch all the time and my brother says I’m a grumpy person…all the time.

I wouldn’t say it’s like a ‘calling’ to me, but it’s like…I have to be there to help them because they don’t have the resources to even help themselves.

And uh…yeah. New layout. Ho ho ho, about time too, me thinks. This layout was good in that it requires only the most essential data to be shown. Off the top of my head, one of the non-essential data that did not make the cut is the “currently-playing” meta-data. I’ll miss it that’s for sure. But a big change with this layout is the addition of pages! I was pleased with that. Only the archives page is active at the moment but I’m hoping to complete the other pages soon.

And I love the font-size on this. Not tiny at all, no sir-ree!

I’ve spent the last week or so coding line after line of…a new layout I’m working on. It’s quite ready for public viewing I think, but I do want to make sure it’s as bug-less as possible. Most drastic of changes though would be navigation links! To actual real pages! I know! What a shocker!

As I’m typing this post, I’ve upgraded to WP 3.1 and testing a few things out, most notably the Math Comment Spam Protection plug-in which just basically tests your ninja-1337 mathematical skills to make sure you’re not some spam bot trying to spam the database. It’s been seriously problematic since I started Teacup, has been problematic, is still problematic, will always be problematic for me in the near future as well… *has lost all hope*

EDIT:
MCSP is working! One of the most silliest error contributing to MCSP’s failing is the ” symbol. But this plug-in makes it inconvenient when upgrading WP automatically as I’ll have to edit the comment.php file directly. Blurgh.

I’ve been toying with the idea of releasing the upcoming theme and this current old-as theme for the public under the Do What The Fuck You Want To Public License. I’m not too sure yet but I’ve got my reasons why but won’t ramble on about it until we have to cross that bridge.

In real life, I’m sure nearly everyone who doesn’t live under a rock has heard something of the Christchurch Earthquake which happened just last week. I don’t live anywhere near it but I have a relative that lives around there and they are safe. There was another earthquake last September, also in Christchurch but there were NO casualties as it happened in the early morning hours. This time, the quake happened during the LUNCH HOUR on a weekday so…casualties are expected.

If you know someone that lives in Christchurch, I hope they are safe and well.

The last few months I’ve been hopping, skipping and jumping around scouting for some inspiration for a new layout for Teacup and Playroom, my TCG post.

There were a few times that I was so close to finish when I just deleted everything because it just wasn’t meant to be. A few things I’ve noticed about my design…skills/fetish is that I’m a mega-huge fan of Courier New or monospace font types. I’m not too sure what about it that just screams “put me in your layout!” — I just do. In every single layout I’ve made, I can guarantee you that monospace font types were included somewhere, be it the in-your-face header, or sneaky-and-subtle links.

I can’t guarantee that the next layout will not have monospace font types…but…I just feel a bit weird that I can’t deviate from that. It’s like…I’ve lost my flexibility, the feeling that I can’t give a different font type a chance to shine. I can almost say that I rely on the monospace font types to set the tone of the layout. Which is freaky.

Well, we’ll see how my next layout comes along. I don’t mind if it doesn’t have monospace font types. I just need it to look…like it belongs to where it is, and relates to what the content is. Maybe that’s hoping for too much at this stage.

On a similar note, I was looking for a micro-blogging software that was similar to Twitter, but without the social network component. Which led me to the P2 theme for WordPress. I don’t want to gush on and on about it, but I have to. It is sheer genius work! I think this theme highlights how flexible WP is that you can have it like a micro-blog, or a heavy CMS, or a photo gallery…or whatever you want it to be!

No…nope, Teacup is staying as a blog. Micro-blog for a side project. Put your fear to rest, my minions…

Forgive me if I sound like some poser gangster. It’s this new song from Rain that’s making me do it. Be prepared for how gangsta this motherfucker is. Heh.

Rain (Bi) – Hip Song (Rough Lyrics & Translation)

Don’t know if I’ve mentioned this earlier but the first anniversary of Teacup went by a few weeks earlier (not too sure of exact date). I didn’t even realize it until I saw my earliest WP post was more than a year ago. I think it’s a milestone worth noting for myself as I never was able to keep a blog for more than six months. But Teacup has not only surpassed it’s one year anniversary, it’s still alive and kicking. I’m going to take this opportunity to once again, thank Modi for hosting this blogger who rants and rave more often than a psychotic clown on ecstasy.

To pile on some more good points in my life currently, I am officially employed again. Not temping, but an actual permanent position with ongoing hours and weeks. I think this is fantastic! I might be able to start as soon as next week as long as all the paperwork are finalized on-time. The location is a bit like out in the wop-wops but I think that’s a minor detail compared to what I’ll actually be doing right?

Well, I think that’s about it for now. I need to take the clothes in before it gets darker than it is.

Hmm, would you look at that. This post ID is exactly 999. Must mean something…?