Self Image...

Watching My Transexual Summer made me think about whether I'd go full time at some point. Thing is though would the result match with my idealised version of 'girl me'. I'd prefer natural hair over a wig long term*, a more feminine face, a slimmer figure and slightly less clompy feet. Of course this is all a pipe dream, I guess seeing girls like this just makes me jealous. I don't think boi me is a looker but it's all I've got to work from. Best work on my make-up/wig styling.

Mind you I really need to get out more, though I don't think Exeter is the best place for such things. The clubs all seem to be based around whoring out freshers and I always seem to get hassle in Vaults (the local Gay Bar where you'd have thought they'd have been tolerant), think I'll have to try travelling for a few nights out next year (though that causes it's own problems if you meet someone)

* Boi me has very little hair of his own - I lost it at 19!
**I do wonder how the permanent MtF's deal with waking up with receded hair pre-wig. I guess I'll have to source that Finasteride

My Transexual Summer

I've been watching My Transexual Summer over the last week or so and while I'm enjoying the series, I do feel that they are concentrating on a couple of people out of the seven, much as Drew and Lewis's stories need to be told, I'd like to find out more about Donna, Fox and Max who haven't really been featured outside of the retreat. Donna is fabulous though, I love her confidence and wish I had as much as she does! UK Types can see the series on youtube - for non UK types the series is available via Bittorrent/Pirate Bay and other dubious sites

Halloween dominatrix

Halloween dominatrix, a photo by Miss Batz on Flickr.

Halloween dominatrix

Video: Leather Opera Gloves

A short video of my new leather opera gloves for Whitby. This year's Manic Monday theme is S&M so I'm going as a Dominatrix! Mind you I do want to improve my fetish looks and definitely have a preference for leather after an aborted flirtation with a boi who was into it (turned out he had a girlfriend and wanted to see me behind her back. While I'm open to polyamorous relationships, I do believe that all parties should be consenting!

Travel: Wave Gotik Treffen

Well it's official. Next year I'm going to the world's biggest Goth festival; Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig. I last went in 2008 and had a blast despite the 15 hour drive, this time I'll be going with a few friends and instead of driving we are going to fly from Bristol to Berlin with Easyjet, have a stop overnight in Berlin before getting the train onto Leipzig the following day. Plane tickets have been bought, Hotels are booked, now just need to sort out the train and festival tickets.

WGT itself is an experience for the UK goth used to small events like Whitby. Firstly the Agra (the main venue) holds more people then attend the entire WGW (and it is one of about 10 venues), secondly the whole thing is very well organised (as you would expect from the Germans) as the city council support the event (even down to giving festival goers free use of the city's public transport system for the duration).

Of course, the line up usually pretty good, with 160 bands spread over multiple venues there is usually something for every taste on the dark spectrum. With VNV Nation having a new album out I'm hoping they are playing next year!

I'm also looking forward to the chance to see a little bit of Berlin, though I'll only be making a flying visit I'll try and make the most of it. Mind you I could try and make a second trip later in the year....

Make-up

I’m giving a lot of thought to investing more in makeup and improving my skills. I’ve just ordered this brush set as my current ones are getting a bit rough around the edges. My thinking is that I can always upgrade incrementally to better brushes when my budget and travels permit (Exeter’s department stores don’t have full ranges, though that might change if and when John Lewis finally opens – Oct 2012 is the latest date I heard)

So do you guys have any recommendations or tips?

Another interesting look…

I love Jennifer Morrison’s boots but Louboutins are way out of my league!

(via Booted up)

Team Fortress 2 and Free-To-Play

This is quite a geeky post - you have been warned.

Valve recently made their game Team Fortress 2 Free-to-Play, with ancillary revenue from the in game MANN CO store providing Valve's income. This has caused some controversy from those that have already purchased the game, but I can't see the issue. If you paid £20 on the game's release back in 2007 you've had four years of play, that works out at £5 per year. I wonder if these people complain when other things they have previously bought are discounted, would you be upset if a game you bought a few years ago is now in the Bargain Bin? If you bought a DVD player before they became available in supermarkets for £15 would you feel aggrieved?

It's not just Valve - other companies are also exploring the Free-To-Play model, with income coming via other sources. I guess it is a reaction to the rise of Facebook games like Farmville, where it is possible to play for free with income coming from people buying things they don't need for gameplay. Things like buildings in Farmville, Hats in Team Fortress are all unnecessary but people still buy them. I can see dynamic in-game advertising becoming more common as well.

I guess a good analogy would be the Low Cost Airlines. Flying to Dublin with Flybe in May, the actual fare was £0.00, of course I had to pay airport tax etc which made it £40 but on the fare breakdown the airline claimed that their share of the amount paid was nothing. (how much they add to the taxes is unknown). However then come the optional extras (the Tractors, Buildings and Hats)

• Seats are assigned automatically - but if I wanted to chose my seat on the plane = £6 each way
• Hand Baggage was free, however hold baggage was extra.
• There was advertising both in the in-flight magazine, on the seat backs and headrests.
• There was a stand promoting the airline's credit card in the departure lounge.

It's possible to avoid these extras (apart from the advertising), much like I've yet to buy anything from the Mann Co. Store in TF2

Of course airlines take things further. Ryanair have advertising over the PA during boarding and flight and have many many more extra charges and have grown to be the largest airline in Europe.

Could we see more of the Games industry going this way with games being free or very low initial cost and optional extras providing the company's profit.

A Gothic Fetish Look

I must say that I love this look....

Not sure about the hair though and obviously it would be for gothy/fetishy things :)

A Style Idea

Images from Come Over to the Dark Side

I love this look, while it's probably a bit fashionista, it would fit my own style quite well. Now to find a nice long skirt!

Birthday Drinks

Birthday Drinks, a photo by Miss Batz on Flickr.

This was what I wore for my birthday drinks. I love the way the dress and boots work together, plus low heels are good for the uneven floors in the White Hart

Forgive the angle, I didn't have time to set the tripod up, so improvised!

Weekend!

I've had a rather fun weekend.

Saturday was the munch at the City Gate, and I decided to go girl* (usually for this munch I have to go straight from work for the last hour only). It was pretty good to catch up, even if some factions are way too noisy and need to calm down a bit, while the pub doesn't have a problem with kinky conversation, shouting such things when there are families with kids at nearby tables might cause problems.



I think it's good that I'm getting my girl confidence back, much as I hate to admit, it would appear that I did take a knock when I had the run in with arseholes a couple of months back. (I also find it ironic that the only place I seem to get hassle is in the gay bar!)

Then on Sunday, I was up early to take some friends out to the RSPCA at Little Valley to collect their new rattie boys, then in the evening we met up again for Pizza and to watch Scott Pilgrim vs The World. I love that film so much!

Now just need to endure work tomorrow before my birthday weekend!

*Outfit for those that are interested was the grey dress and pink hoodie from Tuesday with skinny jeans and flat over the knee boots.

By the River

Had a rather good day off from work on Tuesday. I tackled most of the Washbasket of Doom™ and then played with makeup and clothes and then went posing by the river.

A belated Dublin post

I'm afraid I didn't really take to Dublin as much as I'd hoped, it was nice during the day time but in the evening it felt like a ghost town, the major bomb scare on the Wednesday morning didn't help. I really liked the walking along the waterfront to the point. and there were some very interesting buildings but as a whole it didn't seem to click with me.

The flights were good too, my heart sank a bit when the airside bus drove past the Embraer Jet and up to a Dash 8 turboprop, but the flight was quiet so I managed to get the window seat, which meant a fantastic view of Exeter on takeoff and I could see my flat! I'd also forgotten how fast those things accelerate.







North Devon


Approaching Wales






I saw a few buses with this advert, then spotted one waiting at the lights on the other side of the river! Can't see the ad being passed for use in the UK!






I tried to make a panorama of the spire (it's 400ft tall!) but can't get it to stitch correctly!





*curses that Alstom Van*


No inflight pictures on the way back, the seat belt sign stayed on the whole flight! This one was scheduled to be a Dash 8, and the example provided was very clean and shiny; the reason: it was brand new (googling the registration gave a delivery date from the factory of mid April)

A Voice

Am trying to work on my voice a bit, a few people have suggested CandiFLA's videos for a tutorial. I've only watched two so far and there is hope for me!









So far my attempts have been a bit more strangled cat/minebird then sultry, but will try and record/video my efforts at some point.

Just trying to make it through work today, the idiots seem to be more idiotic even by the standards of the Great British Public, this weekend we've had complaints that we can't give times for local buses in Italy. Does make you wonder. Still I have tomorrow off, think I'll finish tidying and play with makeup and further squawking voice work.

Gaming and Shinies

If you were wondering why I've been a bit quiet Portal 2 came out on Monday and with a new second hand video card, I've been doing a lot of gaming. The card has given my PC a huge performance boost, for example on Dirt 2 going from 4fps on Low Resoultion and Detail to 100fps with most things on high! As for Portal 2 - I'm loving the dark humour, especially when it comes to background signs, like Best Before dates for Test Subjects and signs like this [may be a spoiler]Safety First sign and the almighty Leopard Print Turret King.

Other then that I received a large box today from Donna containing many shinies!



Hope to model them soon, though I do feel a little sad at the lack of Goth/Fetish stuff in Exeter now, I mean I have so many pretty things but nowhere/one to wear them to/for...

Gorgeous Panorama

I love this view, especially the way that all the houses seem to be both brightly coloured and unique. Unfortunately a lot of UK houses are built to very regular designs with unpainted stonework. In Lille I was surprised by how flamboyantly styled the new apartment blocks near my hotel were. Mind you even purely functional constructions like pylons alongside the railway had a certain flair to them.

Some Places I'd like to visit...

Just thinking about some places I'd like to visit as and when I have the money. (Think I need a new job first!)

San Francisco

I've always wanted to visit San Francisco, it always seemed to be such a cool place with houses clinging to the hills, the bay and bridges and the deep history.

Switzerland

I've been to Switzerland before, but would love to return and explore more.

Berlin

Germany is somewhere else I've always had a fasination with, its full of history and has a beautiful landscape.

More to come!

Trip: Lille, France

My trip didn't get off to a good start, I'd just boarded the train to St David's (Exeter's main station) when I realised I'd left my camera at home. Luckily I'd left enough time to get a taxi back to my house, grab the camera then back to the station before the train to London. Because of works on the main line to London my train was diverted via a much slower route (taking the Waterloo route to Yeovil and then cutting up to rejoin the normal route at Castle Cary) which added about an hour onto the journey. All was going well until the train caught up a late running stopping service at Slough and then being held at the junction for Heathrow, arriving at Paddington about 20 minutes late.







On arriving at Paddington I made a dash for the bridge to the Hammersmith and City line station (Paddington has two underground stations, the H&C has platforms in the mainline station, other lines have a seperate station outside the main entrance), only to find it barriered off, so headed for the main station, which was also shut, just the Bakerloo Line connecting with the H&C at Baker Street. So I squeezed onto the Bakerloo, and dashed up to the H&C platforms only to find a 10 minute wait for the next train. By this time it was getting close to 15 minutes before my Eurostar departed, check-in would have closed (officially shuts 30 mins prior to departure for 2nd class) and I was expecting to have to wait for the next Eurostar that stopped at Lille. Well I arrived at Kings Cross/St Pancras station, ran towards the Eurostar check-in, showed my ticket to and told to run! Security pushed my stuff straight through the X-Ray and the French Border Police saw me running up with an open passport and waved me straight through. I made it with about 2 mins to spare!

The journey to Lille was very quick and I took the opportunity to relax. But not for long as when I alighted I realised I couldn't find my phone. Fuck! So I thought I'd try and find the Hotel then see what I could do. So I took the metro to Grand Palais, and then spent about 20 minutes struggling to find the hotel. Turned out some twat had turned their cable tied sign around. Still the room was nice, even if the view was only good if you liked Autoroutes and TGVs (it overlooked the ring road and the railway sidings). The good news was that I'd bunged my phone in my bag rather then in my pocket.

I spent the rest of the day nosing around town and admiring the local architecture and fashion (no Jack Wills and the only Uggs were on a tramp!), the French are so stylish even the chavs looked smart!

Sunday was pretty much the same. Though I made sure to visit the Palais de Baux-Art which I can highly recommend. My regret was that I didn't manage to borderhop to Kortrijk, but things conspired against me (ie I got to the station to find the next train was due very soon and the queue for the ticket office was longer then the time before the train was due out!





















The journey back was very smooth with no mad rushes and I was back in Exeter about 4 hours after leaving Lille (with a 45 minute wait at Paddington) - I really want to go again! The French have a reputation for rudeness that I didn't see at all, everyone was polite and forgiving of my broken French (and fall back of Parlez-Vous Anglais) - even the Transport Police hit squad who decided to blitz one of the Metro stations for ticketless travellers were polite.



Somewhere under the Sea!

Kent at 180mph

Dartford Bridge

Back to St Pancras


more photos here