I always get disproportionately unsettled when I end a good book or film. I tend to take a long time to read, but when I’m really enjoying a book I tend to slow my reading down because I’m scared of getting to the end! Anyway, I’ve finished Self Help.

Talking of endings. I’ve been watching a lot of films recently. There are a number of reasons for this. There are a lot of  films that have been out and I have really wanted to see but haven’t found time for yet. Anyhow, in the past I would get really annoyed when a film ended badly. It would frustrate me if the ending wasn’t unrealistically happy and positive. I suspect most children are like this, since practically all children’s films have such endings. But now I feel quite the opposite. One of my favourite films ends in the destruction of the earth.

Summer is coming to an end and I’ll soon be back in Durham. And I can’t remember the last time I made a post on this site. The truth is, my failure to adequately maintain this site is just another example of everything I do- I just don’t have the self-motivation to do anything which requires work unless forced. Maybe the important thing is that  I don’t give up, who knows, so this new post is evidence to YOU that I’m still here. If I do find some motivation to do something in the next few weeks, it probably won’t be for this site, since there are a few other things I’ve been wanting to do for quite a while.

Anyhow, I just recently did resits of my first year university exams, three of them to be precise (which is half of all the ones I did), and they went, well, as best as they possibly could have went I suppose, given my last of adequate preparation as always. I feel a lot better to have them over, and yet still feel somewhat….stressed. I don’t really know why. Maybe it’s because I’m not doing anything. Maybe this stress is here to tell  me to do something productive with my summer holiday.

I’m reading a few books- ever since I got an e-reader (my first was a Sony, and I now have a Kindle Paperwhite, which I highly recommend, by the way, even though the backlight does run down the battery)- I’ve read multiple books ‘simultaneously’. Which is ironic, since I probably read at a slower rate than the majority of the reading population. Currently I’m reading, among others,  a book called ‘Self Help’ by a British author called Edward Docx, and I really like it. It is significant to me in the fact that it is one of the first modern novels not written for teenagers, that I have ever read, and more importantly, enjoy immensely. Because I think pictures are beneficial to the online experience, here’s the cover of said book.

This is the wonderful view from my home. As you can see, the snow is very heavy. As you may not be able to see, we have been stranded here and without mains power for 55 hours and counting, and I am not happy. That is all.

It’s very good, I would recommend it, as the articles are well written and don’t seem to follow the normal stories found in most news sources. For example, the lead story was arguing that the United States is not in decline, and that this will become apparent in Obama’s second term. I can’t be bothered to go into any more detail, but I just thought that I should have updated any readers on my progress.

In fact, I’ve decided to take out a subscription with the magazine. For anyone else thinking of doing so, I recommend using the promotional code EB12B to get 12 magazines for £29.99 (which works out at £2.50/magazine, RRP £4.50).

Buy my phone! It is new (as in unused). I only deliver to the UK. Please contact me if you want to give me an offer. I know I posted this a white ago, but it’s been relisted. It’s got a high quality Mugen Power extended battery, among many other batteries and the battery-charging cradle, as can be seen (it’s also unlocked). It is a Galaxy Nexus.

Hi guys. Oh dear, oh dear. So I was looking for an HTC One X on the eBay, since HTC are my new favourite phone make and they never failed me with the Nexus One and earlier G1, unlike Samsung. And I like the build quality, and some other stuff. So basically, an HTC One X for me. I’m leaving for university on Friday, and therefore on Sunday evening, even though I hadn’t sold my Galaxy Nexus yet, I wanted to get one sent out to me as soon as possible.

I put a generous bid, £265, on a used but apparantly as new One X. But the reserve was not met. I contacted the seller later. After a trustrating negotiation, we settled on £265 (as well as £8.75 for delivery, which wasn’t next day Royal Mail bazaarly, which would cost the same, but 2-day Parcelforce). I paid it via Paypal, and was on Monday given a tracking number.

So far so good. But the tracking status tells me no parcel has been collected, even today, Tuesday, when the seller told me he would send it yesterday. If tomorrow I receive the parcel, then I can happily blame Parcelforce for their incorrect tracking. But if I don’t receive it, I will have to take other measures, such as Paypal’s Resolution Center, which I am not convinced I should rely on for my money. And, I didn’t mention, the seller hasn’t replied to 3 communications I have sent between yesterday and today, as of writing.

So, it doesn’t sound like I’ll be getting my One X before leaving for uni. I’ve got a Blackberry I’ve borrowed from father, so I can wait until I get this problem sorted, or at least get my phone sold, before I see my One X. Which isn’t a terrible situation, since it gives time for prices to fall. But an over-confidence in a happy ending is apparent. Whether I will take a risk like this again will probably depend on if Paypal will indeed be able to help me, but I will almost certainly ensure the seller have more seller feedback (this one had over 50 buyer feedback which was all positive, but no seller feedback).

I slightly got carried away in the negotiation, and although I may have had in mind the desire to get the phone quickly, I didn’t check the prices similar phones, specifically locked ones, were going for, which was more like £240. And I needed to unlock it, when the next day a couple of unlocked models went for £260 and £270 (with next-day delivery I think). But I didn’t think much at all of the inherent risk of the transaction, especially considering the large amount of money at risk. I didn’t even know that Paypal could help resolve disputes, since I remember a year or so ago hearing on the news an outrage at this specific lask of protection (I presume the resolution procedure has been introduced since then), which made it even more risky from my perspective.

Oh well. I managed to choose my modules for my first year at uni, which I had been worrying about. Always look on the bright side of life.