First Post of 2015!

It's a New Year and I'm back here! To be honest I always have things to blog about running through my mind, but most of the time I'm either too tired, or have something to rush, or is doing some other hobby, or am out.

So I've abandoned this place for awhile, and judging from the coming months of IB horror I don't think I'll be here much until after my finals (I'll definitely be around more often after May) and I guess I'll be updating all the backlogs here by then.

May 2015 be blessed with sparkling joy!

Things have changed quite a bit since I last posted (when ah? September omg I've been MIA for 3 months) and I'm here to update the important bits, since this place functions partly as a diary as well. I've been procrastinating as usual on work, but I managed to rush some of them out in November right before December holidays, so I GUESS I'm still on track, but I haven't started my EE, as in start writing, and Ms N wants the whole thing tomorrow so maybe this will be my last post as I lay dying.

I'm quite sure I can finish my EE (as in, a good draft, not a draft that needs 5-6 times of correction like everybody else) in 2 weeks, but I need to finish all my other IAs so that I can concentrate D:

I'm doing good on the cosplaying side, attended Comic Fiesta 2014 in December. It was a total blast despite super sore feet and having to rush around on tight schedules, so I couldn't really see every booth, but there were so many people and even though most of my friends and groupmates met me for the first time, they literally ran across the place to hug me >3< I think it gave me a lot of motivation since the cosplay drama can be horrific and like in every community, there are mean people around :(

Here's a collage made by a friend of all my cosplays (except the bottom left) in 2014 :D

I didn't even know that I already did 7 characters :D I guess time really flies. I'm redoing Asuna's again though, since it was my second one and I sucked somewhat back then, and I really love her :D
I'll be cosplaying more characters (mostly from Love Live!) this year, and I really hope to meet more new and friendly people as well as being good at reselling my stuff so I can fund myself lolol.

In the university section, I've gotten four offers as of now from UK. Initially I wanted to apply to the US and Canada, but then offers started coming in so I supposed it didn't matter that much anymore that I apply elsewhere, and so I have only applied to the UK (also that I'm a huge sloth so I didn't even manage to prepare my certs and stuff for US lol)

I'm glad I applied early because I got my offers earlier, even though it didn't make any decisions easier to make. I've gotten Conditional Offers from:

• University of Edinburgh
• University College London
• King's College London
• Lancaster University

I got LU's first, but since that's one of my safeties, I didn't make a big deal out of it, but when I got Edin's offer I was shamelessly mini-screaming in the Student Success room LOL since I really like Edinburgh's course and not-big-city kind of place. Then I got King's College offer, which made me laugh because I applied for English Lang and Linguistics but mentioned nothing in my PS about English Lang since I applied Psychology and Linguistics for the other unis. And they sent me an offer which actually surprised me haha. Well I guess I get to back out of Psych if need to :P

UCL just sent in their offer (like, a week ago) and I was actually happy because UCL has the best tailored course to my liking (as in almost every unit they make me study is useful for my future pursuits instead of general shiz that has nothing to do with life, like, you know, integration.)

And then Oxford sent me an invitation for interview, which surprised me so much that I literally died and came back alive because I wasn't expecting for an invitation. It's not that I don't think I've got the potential, but more like I applied half-assedly because there was one more space in UCAS and I don't have any other universities in mind, so it's more like "hey, let's yolo and try Oxbridge".

Initially I wanted to apply to Cambridge because they sent their reps here to conduct interviews, and the counsellors from University Placement suck in the sense that nobody can confirm that Oxford offers Skype interviews. Anyway the college sucks a second time by putting the internal deadline one whole month earlier than the actual deadline, so I missed it (and even though I already finished all the forms and COPA and shiz they still don't let me apply even though I missed only by a week).

So I ended up applying to Oxford without really thinking too much about it. I was even like "if they don't let me Skype, I'm not going then". lol. I didn't really include it in my future plans, but instead put Edin and UCL as my most interested plans. I even yolo through the preliminary tests. One of the reasons why I had wanted Cambridge was because they don't ask you to sit for tests first, but Oxford screens you with quite-expensive tests, which for me were TSA and MLAT. TSA is a Thinking Skills test with 60 questions (which I didn't finish) and a TOK-ish essay (which I had no idea what I was writing, something about "how sure are you if reality is not another dream?"). MLAT on the other hand is (for me) a Linguistics test, which I didn't finish in time but manage to scribble some shot-in-the-dark answers. MLAT was fun though.

I won't go into detail about the interviews right now because it's 3am and college starts tomorrow, but it was a horrible and awesome experience at the same time. I'll update again about it (I think it deserves a post on its own because the fun part was really fun), but I walked away feeling that I won't be surprised with either decision (accepted/rejected) and that it's kinda a 50% chance. I'm not sure what they base me on since I'm pretty sure my test results suck (and there everyone is worrying about tests on the forums lol) so I guess I'd like to think that my PS helped a lot, since that's the only part I really put effort into.

The decision will come on 7th of July (tomorrow technically since it's now 3am) and even though I won't be surprised either way, I'll still be ultra nervous while opening my mailbox (UCAS never helps by putting the subject as "SOMETHING HAS CHANGED ON YOUR TRACK" orz). And I'll be equally delighted/disappointed either way, I suppose I am human after all LOL.

I suppose that's all I'll be writing tonight, I'm going to snooze now so that I can face Ms N with a straight face tomorrow and tell her I have no EE to show. Oh well. At least Mr K will be happy that I finally send in my 8-month-delay Math IA (because I suck at Math).

P.S: I don't really have a habit of making New Year Resolutions haha. I suppose I will make a list if I have time tomorrow.
Gnight!

The Truth: My Childhood UK Dream

Blyan's drawing when he had the word England in Draw Something 2
I would have drawn that when I first had a childish vision of my future, at 6. :3

Meh. Too busy, so any further tutorials will have to wait (since I need to plan them out, as opposed to just writing here like now..) I am bogged down by so many problems that I can't function without constantly worrying about shit. And the cherry on top is none other than university applications. First step: I need to stop lying to myself.

So I have this funny friend who kept battling with herself between a medical degree (which her family wants) and an art degree (which she wants and has talent for) for ages and ages. She sought friends out to talk about it, but I always knew it was just to hear herself speak her mind. She doesn't need advice; she already has a clear choice consciously muddled by herself. Brainwashing herself wasn't successful; she ended up completely certain doing medicine is ultimate bullshit (no matter how she convinced herself that she loves the profession and helping sick people) and wasted time, energy and money.

I thought that was pretty foolish, but now that I think about it, I supposed I am rather like my friend. Not sure if this is an INFJ trait or what, but we tend to talk ourselves into the most ludicrous things, and we end up never truly trusting ourselves anyway because we know better than us about ourselves (what?) and regret not following our feelings. Since, you know, we're F. I don't think we really trust our own feelings (which leads to our downfall).

Old reprint of the book. Nowadays cover illustrations are more modern, but lack the feel..

A 6-year-old me would cheerfully tell me that believing I would love US more than UK is the most ridiculous thing I can tell myself. It took only two words that I came across in an article about Harry Potter to slap me back to reality: Malory Towers. I supposed most people will have never heard of it, but it's one of my favourite book series by Enid Blyton about life in a boarding school. And I didn't just love school stories either - my entire childhood unfolds in front of me: sticking my nose into every single Enid Blyton book I can find in my mother's school library since I was six. All through four years of studying in the same compound (my elementary school and my mom's high school are built on the same grounds) means carrying books up to my chest every week back home from the library. It was Enid Blyton, then J.K Rowling, and later, Agatha Christie. Of course there were also C.S Lewis, Malcolm Saville, Roald Dahl and a bunch of random classics.

Even though I do read American books like Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys and like them, the majority of books I was exposed to ever since I could read were British. As such I have read many different genres as well - adventure, mystery, school life, fantasy, crime...and of course the lovable short stories by Enid Blyton (I owe my love of reading to her). And because 50% of my life used to be dedicated to reading (especially when the Internet was mostly only for adults at work, cost the ceiling and children were not allowed to use it), it would be quite true to say that my childhood is spent half in Malaysia, and half in 20th century England.

The modern version of England

And having said all that it isn't far-fetched to deduce that my dream has always been going to the UK. I come from a fairly well-off middle class family who prides itself on being careful with money. I have never been to anywhere outside of Southeast Asia, not even Australia, let alone UK. A holiday there is expensive, and my parents have always told me this: "When you grow up, you study hard, get a scholarship, then you can go to the UK. And if you wish, you can also travel around Europe as a bonus during summer holidays."

And as such I have looked forward to achieving my dream, working and toiling over all the exams, all the hurdles, staring UPSR, PMR, SPM dead in the face and feeling like I could never make it after all at each point in life. I supposed rich people who get to go everywhere they like every holiday (like the kids at my college) wouldn't understand; after all they can just ask and get to fly the very next day. But for me, it would be a dream come true, something that I have wanted all my life. Something that I strive for all this while in the long run.

And so even though I understand how wonderfully liberal a US education is and how flexible they are with majors and course structures, and it would be really exciting for me to be able to pick every single course that I would like to study, I couldn't bring myself to love it over the opportunity to finally go to the UK. Of course, one might say that I can always travel on my own later, but it isn't the same as living and breathing the place everyday for a few years. One might say too, that it wouldn't be the same as it was in early 20th century, and there will be more skyscrapers than rolling green hills. But there still are plains and meadows and hills, and cottages and farms and rustic buildings in the suburbs. And they are all authentically English; not somewhere in the world to make up for the real deal that I read about.

This was Enid Blyton's home, Old Thatch :D
The place where she wrote two of my most favourite series ever: Wishing Chair and Magic Faraway Tree

Oh I like US, it's a fascinating place where everything's happening, and I'd really like to visit Seaworld, and Disneyland, and Universal Studios. I'd like to walk along the streets of New York, feel the Californian sunshine and be dazzled by the lights in Las Vegas. I really wouldn't mind having fun in the US and going to all the parks, entertainment and natural alike. Which is why I am applying to three or four universities in the US too, just to be safe.

But I have been lying to myself for too long. Everyone has been dissing UK's education, how rigid and uncompromising it is, how unfriendly and stiff the British are, and how US is the smarter, better choice. There is no better choice. There are only love and dreams, just like how my friend has always wanted to study in New York, how my senior has always wanted to go to Harvard, and how I have always wanted to live a British life, eat good scones with strawberry jam, have sandwiches instead of tortillas, find out how treacle on porridge taste like, and talk about nothing but the weather. I don't need to lie to myself and say I'm passionate about one thing when it's another thing I really want.

Lol I didn't expect this to be so long, and I still have a bio lab conclusion to write. So I'll end it here..this is just my personal little rant on myself. I didn't like how I was lying to myself and trying to tell myself US is as good as UK..when it isn't in my heart. Obviously if I end up going to the US I'll fall in love with the place, get used to the over-enthusiastic Americans, love huge portions of food, and start to watch baseball (and god forbid, call it football!). I'm a pretty adaptable person once I get over myself in my head. But I need not be a sheep and follow the typical IB student (except for aspiring medical students) whose dream is to pursue a US education. I am grateful for the encouragement to go there, but first, I need to try and reach my dream. :)

I'll feel better if I accept that this is what I really want, and go for it. Even if I don't end up in UK (and end up in US or Canada), I'll still feel better because I know that I've been truthful to myself and I did my best. :3

And I'm applying to Scotland! Degrees in Scotland universities take four years, have a much more flexible structure than traditional UK degrees, allow students to pick courses and specialise only in the second year. And best of all, Scotland is just next door to England, not a world away. And it is still considered the UK. :P

I'm coming.

Blog Tutorial: Make A Slideshow Header

Hero!

I know I said I've no idea how to make a slideshow header, and I still don't, but I've decided to post the code for my own slideshow header (not created by me) up here. It's from TheBlogDecorator (go check them out if you want a professional to design your blog for a small fee!) They designed my slideshow header for me. I've also tried this on a separate blog to see if it works with any blog and it appears to be fine.

Let's talk about the code first. So here's the code (it's very long! Be sure to copy all the highlighted code):

<br/><script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.6.0/jquery.min.js"></script>
<style type="text/css">
/*Make sure your page contains a valid doctype at the top*/ 
#simplegallery1{ //CSS for Simple Gallery Example 1 
position: relative; /*keep this intact*/ 
visibility: hidden; /*keep this intact*/
border: 0px solid #ffffff; 
border-radius: 0px;
}
#simplegallery1 .gallerydesctext{ //CSS for description DIV of Example 1 (if defined)
text-align: left; 
padding: 2px 5px; 
font: 10px normal verdana, arial; 
}
</style>
<script type="text/javascript" >
var simpleGallery_navpanel={ 
    loadinggif: 'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdiPU_iy0wqYyGC2w6RDr6NPaYSSJLzlWo6XwmvsYNOWoYMVR6nhnjikWGPffDnMznoad3DiJF-QjCkRiDHNEliZucbHZmSYxyKiuV1ORpG7q0Zsoptb48xCMTMCDCjqA41PT3fOIYwM/s400/ajaxload.gif', //full path or URL to loading gif image 
    panel: {height:'0px', opacity:0.5, paddingTop:'5px', fontStyle:'bold 11px Verdana'}, //customize nav panel container 
    images: [ 'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXkqMXnY-eB75kI9-VMGITKA_E3WcwdPFMy_ifeWlzQIq5JKYYe-vima1VIHpFgZD9TnRPjKeondYge4ULFicACs4QA29bKMlwjZhKdH8Yi2m_m78I0DVLoJbkMP0G-nm4_0R0q4rQjN4/s400/left.gif', 'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Vs-ZstUcRI5uJPLVt-5y9Za8P34WwxXkt5JYC37eJRItXNtqXkdPPfisWLhCWTvR-9IRLolr9xNUp9a-jTDdjG0eQMsBDBodjlZia2d_d3V_SledaSLGqCpvA5EnUO3h7_oOybZiA3g/s400/play.gif', 'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLgz2-9EgTi7molzZm3KgfFiytIyioYo6t1l_ktcm_iNTET2o7duu7oE1jzYzfcecIqrgnRcBM1HPyRqtvjU6uGazFv35VJ5gaoBiincPuuo5MLZ30XOmLiXvWs-yhJZ378OzS6CPw6c/s400/right.gif', 'https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidav_nztZi42hyphenhyphenbu12x41WV_qtJqKqi6jSARIRSCr209Wqhuib6TXx5LoSF9gQddX-CwE0xXemHnR_T-lBo2pj7hSk2b1eaeS8-ztIML1LC9iAcvQJglZDbW91ZwOlSb_4R7BiSfxNQF4/s400/pause.gif'], //nav panel images (in that order) 
    imageSpacing: {offsetTop:[-4, 0, -4], spacing:10}, //top offset of left, play, and right images, PLUS spacing between the 3 images 
    slideduration: 200 //duration of slide up animation to reveal panel 
}
function simpleGallery(settingarg){ 
    this.setting=settingarg 
    settingarg=null 
    var setting=this.setting 
    setting.panelheight=(parseInt(setting.navpanelheight)>5)? parseInt(setting.navpanelheight) : parseInt(simpleGallery_navpanel.panel.height) 
    setting.fadeduration=parseInt(setting.fadeduration) 
    setting.curimage=(setting.persist)? simpleGallery.routines.getCookie("gallery-"+setting.wrapperid) : 0 
    setting.curimage=setting.curimage || 0 //account for curimage being null if cookie is empty 
    setting.preloadfirst=(!jQuery.Deferred)? false : (typeof setting.preloadfirst!="undefined")? setting.preloadfirst : true //Boolean on whether to preload all images before showing gallery 
    setting.ispaused=!setting.autoplay[0] //ispaused reflects current state of gallery, autoplay[0] indicates whether gallery is set to auto play 
    setting.currentstep=0 //keep track of # of slides slideshow has gone through 
    setting.totalsteps=setting.imagearray.length*setting.autoplay[2] //Total steps limit: # of images x # of user specified cycles 
    setting.fglayer=0, setting.bglayer=1 //index of active and background layer (switches after each change of slide) 
    setting.oninit=setting.oninit || function(){} 
    setting.onslide=setting.onslide || function(){} 
    var preloadimages=[], longestdesc=null, loadedimages=0 
    var dfd = (setting.preloadfirst)? jQuery.Deferred() : {resolve:function(){}, done:function(f){f()}} //create real deferred object unless preloadfirst setting is false or browser doesn't support it 
    setting.longestdesc="" //get longest description of all slides. If no desciptions defined, variable contains "" 
    setting.$loadinggif=(function(){ //preload and ref ajax loading gif 
        var loadgif=new Image() 
        loadgif.src=simpleGallery_navpanel.loadinggif 
        return jQuery(loadgif).css({verticalAlign:'middle'}).wrap('<div style="position:absolute;text-align:center;width:100%;height:100%" />').parent() 
    })() 
    for (var i=0; i<setting.imagearray.length; i++){  //preload slideshow images 
        preloadimages[i]=new Image() 
        preloadimages[i].src=setting.imagearray[i][0] 
        if (setting.imagearray[i][3] && setting.imagearray[i][3].length>setting.longestdesc.length) 
            setting.longestdesc=setting.imagearray[i][3] 
        jQuery(preloadimages[i]).bind('load error', function(){ 
            loadedimages++ 
            if (loadedimages==setting.imagearray.length){ 
                dfd.resolve() //indicate all images have been loaded 
            } 
        }) 
    } 
    var slideshow=this 
    jQuery(document).ready(function($){ 
        var setting=slideshow.setting 
        setting.$wrapperdiv=$('#'+setting.wrapperid).css({position:'relative', visibility:'visible', background:'white', overflow:'hidden', width:setting.dimensions[0], height:setting.dimensions[1]}).empty() //main gallery DIV 
        if (setting.$wrapperdiv.length==0){ //if no wrapper DIV found 
            alert("Error: DIV with ID \""+setting.wrapperid+"\" not found on page.") 
            return 
        } 
        setting.$gallerylayers=$('<div class="gallerylayer"></div><div class="gallerylayer"></div>') //two stacked DIVs to display the actual slide 
            .css({position:'absolute', left:0, top:0}) 
            .appendTo(setting.$wrapperdiv) 
        setting.$loadinggif.css({top:setting.dimensions[1]/2-30}).appendTo(setting.$wrapperdiv) //30 is assumed height of ajax loading gif 
        setting.gallerylayers=setting.$gallerylayers.get() //cache stacked DIVs as DOM objects 
        setting.navbuttons=simpleGallery.routines.addnavpanel(setting) //get 4 nav buttons DIVs as DOM objects 
        if (setting.longestdesc!="") //if at least one slide contains a description (feature is enabled) 
            setting.descdiv=simpleGallery.routines.adddescpanel(setting) 
        $(setting.navbuttons).filter('img.navimages').css({opacity:0.8}) 
            .bind('mouseover mouseout', function(e){ 
                $(this).css({opacity:(e.type=="mouseover")? 1 : 0.8}) 
            }) 
            .bind('click', function(e){ 
                var keyword=e.target.title.toLowerCase() 
                slideshow.navigate(keyword) //assign behavior to nav images 
            }) 
        dfd.done(function(){ //execute when all images have loaded 
            setting.$loadinggif.remove() 
            setting.$wrapperdiv.bind('mouseenter', function(){slideshow.showhidenavpanel('show')}) 
            setting.$wrapperdiv.bind('mouseleave', function(){slideshow.showhidenavpanel('hide')}) 
            slideshow.showslide(setting.curimage) //show initial slide 
            setting.oninit.call(slideshow) //trigger oninit() event 
            $(window).bind('unload', function(){ //clean up and persist 
                $(slideshow.setting.navbuttons).unbind() 
                if (slideshow.setting.persist) //remember last shown image's index 
                    simpleGallery.routines.setCookie("gallery-"+setting.wrapperid, setting.curimage) 
                jQuery.each(slideshow.setting, function(k){ 
                    if (slideshow.setting[k] instanceof Array){ 
                        for (var i=0; i<slideshow.setting[k].length; i++){ 
                            if (slideshow.setting[k][i].tagName=="DIV") //catches 2 gallerylayer divs, gallerystatus div 
                                slideshow.setting[k][i].innerHTML=null 
                            slideshow.setting[k][i]=null 
                        } 
                    } 
                    if (slideshow.setting[k].innerHTML) //catch gallerydesctext div 
                        slideshow.setting[k].innerHTML=null 
                    slideshow.setting[k]=null 
                }) 
                slideshow=slideshow.setting=null 
            }) 
        }) //end deferred code 
    }) //end jQuery domload 
}
simpleGallery.prototype={
    navigate:function(keyword){ 
        clearTimeout(this.setting.playtimer) 
        this.setting.totalsteps=100000 //if any of the nav buttons are clicked on, set totalsteps limit to an "unreachable" number 
        if (!isNaN(parseInt(keyword))){ 
            this.showslide(parseInt(keyword)) 
        } 
        else if (/(prev)|(next)/i.test(keyword)){ 
            this.showslide(keyword.toLowerCase()) 
        } 
        else{ //if play|pause button 
            var slideshow=this 
            var $playbutton=$(this.setting.navbuttons).eq(1) 
            if (!this.setting.ispaused){ //if pause Gallery 
                this.setting.autoplay[0]=false 
                $playbutton.attr({title:'Play', src:simpleGallery_navpanel.images[1]}) 
            } 
            else if (this.setting.ispaused){ //if play Gallery 
                this.setting.autoplay[0]=true 
                this.setting.playtimer=setTimeout(function(){slideshow.showslide('next')}, this.setting.autoplay[1]) 
                $playbutton.attr({title:'Pause', src:simpleGallery_navpanel.images[3]}) 
            } 
            slideshow.setting.ispaused=!slideshow.setting.ispaused 
        } 
    },
    showslide:function(keyword){ 
        var slideshow=this 
        var setting=slideshow.setting 
        var totalimages=setting.imagearray.length 
        var imgindex=(keyword=="next")? (setting.curimage<totalimages-1? setting.curimage+1 : 0) 
            : (keyword=="prev")? (setting.curimage>0? setting.curimage-1 : totalimages-1) 
            : Math.min(keyword, totalimages-1) 
        setting.gallerylayers[setting.bglayer].innerHTML=simpleGallery.routines.getSlideHTML(setting.imagearray[imgindex]) 
        setting.$gallerylayers.eq(setting.bglayer).css({zIndex:1000, opacity:0}) //background layer becomes foreground 
            .stop().css({opacity:0}).animate({opacity:1}, setting.fadeduration, function(){ //Callback function after fade animation is complete: 
                clearTimeout(setting.playtimer) 
                setting.gallerylayers[setting.bglayer].innerHTML=null  //empty bglayer (previously fglayer before setting.fglayer=setting.bglayer was set below) 
                try{ 
                    setting.onslide.call(slideshow, setting.gallerylayers[setting.fglayer], setting.curimage) 
                }catch(e){ 
                    alert("Simple Controls Gallery: An error has occured somwhere in your code attached to the \"onslide\" event: "+e) 
                } 
                setting.currentstep+=1 
                if (setting.autoplay[0]){ 
                    if (setting.currentstep<=setting.totalsteps) 
                        setting.playtimer=setTimeout(function(){slideshow.showslide('next')}, setting.autoplay[1]) 
                    else 
                        slideshow.navigate("play/pause") 
                } 
            }) //end callback function 
        setting.gallerylayers[setting.fglayer].style.zIndex=999 //foreground layer becomes background 
        setting.fglayer=setting.bglayer 
        setting.bglayer=(setting.bglayer==0)? 1 : 0 
        setting.curimage=imgindex 
        setting.navbuttons[3].innerHTML=(setting.curimage+1) + '/' + setting.imagearray.length 
        if (setting.imagearray[imgindex][3]){ //if this slide contains a description 
            setting.$descpanel.css({visibility:'visible'}) 
            setting.descdiv.innerHTML=setting.imagearray[imgindex][3] 
        } 
        else if (setting.longestdesc!=""){ //if at least one slide contains a description (feature is enabled) 
            setting.descdiv.innerHTML=null 
            setting.$descpanel.css({visibility:'hidden'})
        } 
    },
    showhidenavpanel:function(state){ 
        var setting=this.setting 
        var endpoint=(state=="show")? setting.dimensions[1]-setting.panelheight : this.setting.dimensions[1] 
        setting.$navpanel.stop().animate({top:endpoint}, simpleGallery_navpanel.slideduration) 
        if (setting.longestdesc!="") //if at least one slide contains a description (feature is enabled) 
            this.showhidedescpanel(state) 
    },
    showhidedescpanel:function(state){ 
        var setting=this.setting 
        var endpoint=(state=="show")? 0 : -setting.descpanelheight 
        setting.$descpanel.stop().animate({top:endpoint}, simpleGallery_navpanel.slideduration) 
    } 
}
simpleGallery.routines={
    getSlideHTML:function(imgelement){ 
        var layerHTML=(imgelement[1])? '<a href="'+imgelement[1]+'" target="'+imgelement[2]+'">\n' : '' //hyperlink slide? 
        layerHTML+='<img src="'+imgelement[0]+'" style="border-width:0" />' 
        layerHTML+=(imgelement[1])? '</a>' : '' 
        return layerHTML //return HTML for this layer 
    },
    addnavpanel:function(setting){ 
        var interfaceHTML='' 
        for (var i=0; i<3; i++){ 
            var imgstyle='position:relative; border:0; cursor:hand; cursor:pointer; top:'+simpleGallery_navpanel.imageSpacing.offsetTop[i]+'px; margin-right:'+(i!=2? simpleGallery_navpanel.imageSpacing.spacing+'px' : 0) 
            var title=(i==0? 'Prev' : (i==1)? (setting.ispaused? 'Play' : 'Pause') : 'Next') 
            var imagesrc=(i==1)? simpleGallery_navpanel.images[(setting.ispaused)? 1 : 3] : simpleGallery_navpanel.images[i] 
            interfaceHTML+='<img class="navimages" title="' + title + '" src="'+ imagesrc +'" style="'+imgstyle+'" /> ' 
        } 
        interfaceHTML+='<div class="gallerystatus" style="margin-top:1px">' + (setting.curimage+1) + '/' + setting.imagearray.length + '</div>' 
        setting.$navpanel=$('<div class="navpanellayer"></div>') 
            .css({position:'absolute', width:'100%', height:setting.panelheight, left:0, top:setting.dimensions[1], font:simpleGallery_navpanel.panel.fontStyle, zIndex:'1001'}) 
            .appendTo(setting.$wrapperdiv) 
        $('<div class="navpanelbg"></div><div class="navpanelfg"></div>') //create inner nav panel DIVs 
            .css({position:'absolute', left:0, top:0, width:'100%', height:'100%'}) 
            .eq(0).css({background:'black', opacity:simpleGallery_navpanel.panel.opacity}).end() //"navpanelbg" div 
            .eq(1).css({paddingTop:simpleGallery_navpanel.panel.paddingTop, textAlign:'center', color:'white'}).html(interfaceHTML).end() //"navpanelfg" div 
            .appendTo(setting.$navpanel) 
        return setting.$navpanel.find('img.navimages, div.gallerystatus').get() //return 4 nav related images and DIVs as DOM objects 
    },
    adddescpanel:function(setting){ 
        setting.$descpanel=$('<div class="gallerydesc"><div class="gallerydescbg"></div><div class="gallerydescfg"><div class="gallerydesctext"></div></div></div>') 
            .css({position:'absolute', width:'100%', left:0, top:-1000, zIndex:'1001'}) 
            .find('div').css({position:'absolute', left:0, top:0, width:'100%'}) 
            .eq(0).css({background:'black', opacity:simpleGallery_navpanel.panel.opacity}).end() //"gallerydescbg" div 
            .eq(1).css({color:'white'}).end() //"gallerydescfg" div 
            .eq(2).html(setting.longestdesc).end().end() 
            .appendTo(setting.$wrapperdiv) 
        var $gallerydesctext=setting.$descpanel.find('div.gallerydesctext') 
        setting.descpanelheight=$gallerydesctext.outerHeight() 
        setting.$descpanel.css({top:-setting.descpanelheight, height:setting.descpanelheight}).find('div').css({height:'100%'}) 
        return setting.$descpanel.find('div.gallerydesctext').get(0) //return gallery description DIV as a DOM object 
    },
    getCookie:function(Name){ 
        var re=new RegExp(Name+"=[^;]+", "i"); //construct RE to search for target name/value pair 
        if (document.cookie.match(re)) //if cookie found 
            return document.cookie.match(re)[0].split("=")[1] //return its value 
        return null 
    },
    setCookie:function(name, value){ 
        document.cookie = name+"=" + value + ";path=/" 
    } 
}
</script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var mygallery=new simpleGallery({ 
    wrapperid: "simplegallery1", //ID of main gallery container, 
    dimensions: [1170, 470], //width/height of gallery in pixels. Should reflect dimensions of the images exactly 
    imagearray: [ 
                 ["INSERT PICTURE LINK HERE", "INSERT LINK HERE", ""],

["INSERT PICTURE LINK HERE", "INSERT LINK HERE", ""],

["INSERT PICTURE LINK HERE", "INSERT LINK HERE", ""],

       
    ], 
    autoplay: [true, 3000, 20], //[auto_play_boolean, delay_btw_slide_millisec, cycles_before_stopping_int] 
    persist: false, //remember last viewed slide and recall within same session? 
    fadeduration: 1500, //transition duration (milliseconds) 
    oninit:function(){ //event that fires when gallery has initialized/ ready to run 
        //Keyword "this": references current gallery instance (ie: try this.navigate("play/pause")) 
    }, 
    onslide:function(curslide, i){ //event that fires after each slide is shown 
        //Keyword "this": references current gallery instance 
        //curslide: returns DOM reference to current slide's DIV (ie: try alert(curslide.innerHTML) 
        //i: integer reflecting current image within collection being shown (0=1st image, 1=2nd etc) 
    } 
})
</script>
<div id="simplegallery1"></div>

Here's what you need to change:

PURPLE : If you want more pictures, simply copy and paste a purple line. If you want five pictures, there should be five purple lines with the exact structure.

Insert the link to your picture (uploaded on Photobucket or somewhere else) and the link that will be directed to when people click on the picture. For me, my "link" will be my blog homepage. So when people click on my slideshow pictures, they will be directed there.

RED: The dimension of your pictures. All of your pictures should have the same width and height. The first number stands for the width, the second for the height. Change it accordingly. For best results, it should be the dimensions of your previous header.

GREEN: Change this number (to 1000, 1500, 2000, or whatever you want) to speed up or slow down the fading effect between each picture.



Okay now here's how to put the code in:

1. You'll want to first remove the header gadget (click HERE to learn how).


2. Then paste this code in a HTML gadget and put it at the very top of your layout (where your header should go!)

Save and view your blog! It should be there now! You can use this nifty tool to align it if it's out of place... click HERE.

If it's there and perfectly moving now, yay! You can stop here now :D

P.S:
IF THE PHOTOS DID NOT SHOW UP....IF IT IS A BLANK...
TRY UPLOAD THE PICTURES TO A PAGE. HERE'S HOW:

1. Click on Pages and make a new page:

 2. Upload your pictures onto the page.

 3. Make sure that your pictures are in their ORIGINAL SIZE. (which is the dimensions that you've already cropped for header use)

4. Save your page and view it!

5. Scroll to your picture, right-click on it, and open the image in a new tab.

6. In the new tab, copy the link given at the top (the link address of the tab). This will be your PICTURE LINK. Paste it into the slideshow code.

7. Do the same for every picture, save your slideshow code again and view! Pictures should be visible now!

Btw, the pictures above are for demonstration purposes only, they are not cropped to header size lol.

Did this work for you? Email me if there are any questions, or comment below if you would like to offer thanks! Hope it helps! :D