Monday 30 April 2012

Fill in the Blanks Friday

Its not Friday but I'm filling in the blanks. Friday I was busy sobering up, laughing at my still drunk friends and then going out again for a birthday evening filled with cheesy 90s music and the inability to stop staring at the 30 year old boyfriend of one of our 20 year old friends!

Thanks to Lauren at the little things we do


1.  When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is open my curtains so the whole world can see me sitting in bed, wearing my pyjamas and with my hair sticking in every direction .

2.   I can hardly wait for  my birthday ! 19 days people, there's no excuse.

3.  The quickest way to my heart is   by listening and really hearing what I say  because  I value people who pay attention when I talk, especially if they remember and ask me about it another time.  It shows me you care about me and don't find my company too much of a chore .

4. A little known fact about me is that  I cried when driving down to uni for the first time .

5. The best part about my job is  that I don't have one! Unless you count being a student in which case, the best thing is learning something new every day .

6. Something I just couldn't live without is  pillows. I have 5 on my bed and I maintain that I need them all.  Sitting and lying are made 100 times more comfortable by being able to surround yourself with pillows of varying shapes and sizes. I would be so much more productive without pillows. I'd have to sit at my desk all the time and freeze my toes off .

7.  Something useful that I wish I knew how to do is play an instrument proficiently .

Final semester? Bring it!

How is it that I end up here when I'm desperately trying to think of things to do other than the report I have to submit in 13 hours? Ah well, I'm overdue an update.

I've been back at uni for 2 weeks now, have my expectations been met?

We have done a lot of rehearsing. 6 of the days were full from 10am till 6pm of dancing, singing, blocking and acting. Most of the time it was a combination of 2 or 3 of those things. My throat is sore, my feet are tired and my back aches but it has been so rewarding watching the show develop. We've been able to practise all the songs, choreograph then for even the most challenged of dancers (yep that's me), block all the scenes and run through both acts putting most of the components together. It's good to know that with the show in 15 days, we're on track.

The rehearsal days have given me huge bouts of human interaction however they were spaced at the beginning and the end of the 2 weeks and in between them, I can count the number of people I saw and know on 2 hands. Well, 1 hand and 1 finger. I'm a social butterfly me!

What else did I expect? Oh yes the weather! Well we are technically in a drought right now but at this moment, water if flooding down the path outside my room, there has been 2.2 inches of rainfall in my area and precipitation is up 166% from normal April weather. Some drought.

My Northern accent hasn't been called into question at all- a very pleasant surprise. The kitchen was not a pleasant surprise however. 2 tables covered full of dirty washing up. Some of it had been there since before the holiday by the looks of the furry mould growing inside a couple of mugs and bowls.

As for evening plans... the first week was quiet. There were post-rehearsal events but we were always so worn that going was a drag. We forced ourselves out for a flat meal at Pizza Express which, despite some very odd conversation topics, was a lovely evening. The thirty strong cast ran up a spine chilling bill and filled the restaurant with chatter. So much so that when it became time to leave, I was shocked to discover the place was empty bar our party. We were the life and soul of that place! But I'm not sure the waiters felt that way having to navigate our incredibly long-winded payment system.

On the final night the director and musical director, who conveniently live next door to each other, hosted a BBQ. As women, Emily and myself were banned from assisting with putting up the gazebo or lighting the BBQ so we settle for standing just in the way, watching and giving direction. Fastest person to put up at tent on D of E practise, just going to say. Watching the 'men' struggle was far more fun though and, just as the sun went down, it was declared that we had smouldering coals and could begin cooking. By this point I'd devoured all my food that didn't need cooking and was just huddling around the BBQ for heat and good conversation, not to forget the game of giant jenga.

The rubbish fresher that I am, by 10pm I was shattered and Emily and I headed home. A few hours later I was joined by my friend... shivering, as I initially thought from cold and alcohol. It transpired not long after that the violent shaking was a result of his feverish condition. My flu ridden friend was going nowhere in his state so he stayed and had the very best treatment (don't mind if I do) until I deemed him well enough to walk home 2 days later.

The next week was rather quiet, the occasional meetings with friends and refusing to hit the gym with my flatmate. We took our friend one night to a cocktail bar where they have live music for a casual drink one evening and then 2 days later planned to go out again. After 2 weeks of no alcohol, my body was not prepared for the half bottle of wine and multiple shots I ingested at pre-drinks. I went to bed earlier than my sober friends that night!

So all in all, only a few nights out but all of them eventful and enjoyable. Now bring on working until the crack of dawn until June 12th, my last exam. See you there!

Friday 20 April 2012

Fill in the Blanks Friday

Morning!
As ever, thanks to Lauren at the little things we do
1.  Today is a great day because the sun is shining, the skies are blue and I have no more plans for the day .

2.   Tomorrow I will write my report! Or at least think about it a bit  .

3.  My favourite time of day is  evening   because  I love the dusk sky and lets face it, all the fun stuff happens in the evening .

4. Sometimes you just have to  say 'forget going to the gym today, lets bake!'  .

5. A song that I just can't get enough of lately is  anything from 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying' because that's the musical I'm in and so I'm listening to the songs on a loop. I'm not letting myself think about other music .

6. My favourite accessory is  my smile?  Cheesy I know but I'm super lazy about jewellery or trinkets and things so I have to work with the things I can't forget .

7.  My favourite thing about this week was  coming back to uni and seeing all the people I'd missed over the past couple of weeks. And being able to share 3 intensive rehearsal days with them, laughing, messing around and occasionally acting.
 
Have a good one :)

Wednesday 18 April 2012

Motivation, what's that?

Coming down off the high of 3 intensive days of rehearsals, I find myself at a lose end. With nearly 2 weeks stretching before me it seems like I have all the time in the world yet I know all too well how quickly the days will pass even though I have no plans. Soon enough, the deadline for my research report will be looming and the word count will still be nil. And yet here I sit at my desk doing absolutely everything but my report.

Saturday 14 April 2012

Expectations of the week

I'm going home tomorrow for a few days of solid rehearsals and I'm anticipating:

- Sunny, southern weather
- Lots of singing and dancing
- COMPANY!
- Being poked fun at for my northern accent
- A hugely messy flat
- Evening plans which don't revolve around my computer

Ahh, the life!

Friday 13 April 2012

Fill in the blanks friday




1.  Today is a good day because   I have a wonderful evening planned with my friends. Were hitting the town and planning to dance all night. Who knows what will happen!


2.   The best thing I did all week was   show my city to a visiting friend. It was really interesting to see it through new eyes, to relive the wonder that I used to feel as a child at the towering churches and wonderful architecture .



3.  The current weather is   sunny   and it makes me feel  like stripping down to shorts and a vest, donning a hat and going skipping along the street. Totally not normal but who cares, it would make me happy. (Insert. I did this. It was lovely!).

4. The best thing about spring is  not having to cover up with thousands of layers to go outside.

5. A fashion trend that I'm dying to try out for spring is  ... Yeah. I can't profess to know any fashion trends for this spring.  I am looking forward to wearing my new straw hat however.

6. A person who made me smile this week was. Oi, you know it's you. It's not the murder on the TV that makes me smile in the evenings, it's the truly lovely things you say. Even if you are infuriating at times :) Have a picture of the moon from me.

source
 7.  The most delicious thing I ate all week was the eye-wateringly spicy vindaloo I just ate. It was sour and sharp and packed quite a punch. After 2 weeks of disappointing, mild curries it was great to sit down and have my taste buds blown off! I am truly not female.

Wednesday 11 April 2012

ABC's of me

Today's letter of wonder is S, Siblings.

Let's brighten this miserable, rainy day with a picture of sunny Devon from 1996. 


I have 1 sister, exciting times. That's me on the left and my little sister on the right with our Dad. Being so close in age (my parents were frisky ;) we're only 15 months apart) we have a rather love/hate relationship. More love now that we're older but we still have our fair share of arguments. Living away from home has certainly helped our issues; we're no longer in each others faces the whole time and so when we are together it's much calmer and less explosive. I love my baby sister. She's the friend who will always be there for me. She's the girl who got me rather drunk on holiday but also got me my first kiss.
I'd do almost anything for her.

Tuesday 10 April 2012

ABC's of me

Short and sweet today
R is for right handed


On an unrelated note, it was warm and sunny all morning so I decided to go for a run. I put on a bit of factor 15 and 10 minutes later got caught in a rain storm. I was not happy. And after my run it hasn't rained all day! Sometimes I think I should take the hint, exercise isn't for me.

Monday 9 April 2012

ABC's of me

Movie Quote:

This one is really tough for a number of reasons.
1, that I rarely watch films so the number I have to choose from is rather limited and 2, I have an awful memory for film lines. So I'll pick my favourite line from the most recent film I watched, Finding Nemo, with my future flatmates. We decided to have a movie night instead of going to the last day of term event at the union. Hard core! 

'Heeeey Mr Grumpy Gills...'


I love love love Dory, she is such a babe. So clueless and ditzy,she makes me smile. It had to be a Dory line.

Sunday 8 April 2012

Dream catch me when I fall


They say your teddy bear will protect you from the monsters lurking in the shadows so why can't they protect you from dreams that freak you out. Last night I dreamt that my hair was falling out, that I was decorating 32 chocolate Easter eggs with the cast of the musical, making a Christmas tree from paper with a girl I used to go to school with before receiving a text from a friend telling me they were never coming back, in one word. 
I woke up kind of freaked out, felt my hair for reassurance and decided more sleep wasn't on the menu. An hour long skype call with my friend in Lithuania made me feel much happier, even if I have now corrupted her with the desire to watch The Human Centipede. Sorry hun!

Happy Easter

Saturday 7 April 2012

I should probably get a tumblr account

So that I can repost millions of pictures, eh.

Happy Birthday Mumma Goose

Is this a really depressing present to make for someone? Or does it show you love them and care for them?
I know that personally I'd be thrilled to receive this because they'd obviously put a lot of effort into it. 
More than anything I want to buy all the components and package them, then keep it for myself!

ABC's of me

P is for pet peeves

One thing (and I'll keep it to one otherwise this post could be incredibly long) that really grinds my gears is when people jiggle their legs when they're sitting on a bed or sofa, so much so that the whole set moves and I find myself bouncing up and down. It's just so irritating! Keep your legs still.
On the few occasions that I've been guilty of this I have been absolutely ripped into. It's not fun. I might try and be more tolerant. Bah, no chance.

Wednesday 4 April 2012

Suffocating

My god I can't breathe

I'm sitting in the living room, Annie Lennox is the only sound I can hear and all I want to do is escape. I need to leave, to move, to see something new. I want to walk outside or talk to someone or see someone who isn't related to me.  I need something I can't have.

I can't walk outside on my own, here it's not safe.
I can't talk to anyone, they're away, or tucked up in bed, or across the world.
I can't just get in my Mum's car and drive across the country all because I want is to be with a friend.

It really could be anyone. If I thought my friends here were awake and willing, I'd go and get them. I'm sure they would wake up and get in the car with me but what would I even say? I just needed to leave? I really want to say- lets drive till we see the sun or the ocean, whichever one we get to first.

It's times like this I wish I smoked or took drugs or something just to release my mind from these ties. Maybe I should take this opportunity to use the emptiness of my mind and think? Maybe not.

ABC's of Me

Overnight hospital stays is the theme for today.
Shall we stick to the 2 most recent ones? I had a bad summer in 2011.

The first of my stays was in June and in Portugal. I had a migraine and a touch of sunstroke. Result: a really pleasant bout of sickness, awful dizziness and complete exhaustion. My friends never see me during the worst of my migraines and despite all my protestations that it was normal and that I'd be fine, insisted on taking me to the hospital. It was a horrible night, attempting to stay awake and coherent, vainly trying to communicate with Portuguese doctors and a nurse telling me my EHIC was out of date. To be honest I mostly just sat back, looked ill and tried to keep my stomach contents down, letting my friends be superstars and deal with all the chaos. After a long night hooked up to an antibiotic drip I was finally allowed to go home. I spent the next 3 days in my room and only on the last day hauled myself out of the flat and to a local restaurant before flying home where I curled up in my own bed for another few days. Great holiday.

The other one that year was only 3 months later in September. Stomach cramps and insane abdominal pains sent me rushing to the hospital. Twice, in fact, because the first time they sent he home with  painkillers. Never let it be said that the NHS don't give their patients adequate treatment. So I spent 3 nights in 2 hospitals hooked up to antibiotics, fluids and morphine, undergoing ultrasounds and CT scans. On the plus side, I met a really sexy doctor, even my Mum swooned a little bit. On the down side, I only saw him for a few days and he was a fair few years older than me. And sexy doctors tent to have hot doctor girlfriends, shame. But despite all this, my Mum still stage whispered to me that 'he's lovely looking, isn't he. He'd be good for you'. Thanks Mum, you always have my back!

It was an eventful summer but the past 6 months have been hospital and major illness free.
Hip, hip, hooray!

Kitten times


My cat loves being eaten :P

Tuesday 3 April 2012

The Little Things

Morning.
Since being at home my days seem so much longer. I think it's because the whole household gets up by 9.30 and then the rest of the day stretches out in front of you. This isn't good if, like me, you don't enjoy breakfast and want to skip straight to lunch because it's not really acceptable to eat a bowl of noodles or samosas for breakfast but the wait is so long! A few times already I've found myself at a loose end and have had to be very creative in order to avoid doing actual work.

Yesterday I visited my Nan for the first time in nearly 4 months. Listening to my Nan and Dziadziu (Polish grandfather) bicker is absolutely hilarious. My Nan will order him about and he'll whip out his puppy dog eyes, walking around, hanging his head dejectedly until my Nan gives in, laughing. It was a really lovely afternoon.

Monday 2 April 2012

Fill in the Blanks Friday

I might have missed this in Friday, whoops! I was busy going into town and napping and spending time with friends watching the magic that is Finding Nemo!

But now it's time to fill in some blanks!!



1.  My greatest strength is  not thinking about things. It's a completely useless ability with no practical value but I have the ability to turn my thoughts off where a particular subject is concerned. I can just not think about it. It can be bad though because issues can be put aside and then never really get resolved but mostly I'm good at putting them aside and dealing with them later, like in the shower where they don't stress me out.

2.   My greatest weakness is putting things off, and off, and then never doing them. I'm really good at making lists and have the best of intentions but so many of my plans go unrealised. I just never set them in motion.

3.  People always compliment me on  my legs. I don't really understand it because I'm not particularly fond of them but in the past 3 days, 4 different people have mentioned them to me so I'm happy with that.

4. If you found me procrastinating you'd probably find me  the Internet certainly and more specifically than that, either skype or tetris.

5. The most cozy place in all the world is  in someone else's arms. Being cuddled close is such a lovely, safe, comforting feeling. I could stay there for hours... if i didn't get distracted.

6. Something new that I tried recently was  making films. I joined filmsoc, learnt how to use an HD camera and to set up the lighting and then edit the footage. It was really great to see our idea come together like that.

7.  This week(end) I would like to. Well since I missed the weekend I'll plan for the week. This week I would like to spend lots of quality time with my friends and family and then on Sunday, gorge on chocolate and a delicious roast dinner!

Sunday 1 April 2012

Home :)

Currently the best thing about being at home:

Not having to walk to the gym to work out.
And then being able to walk around with no clothes on after having a shower without my flatmates or pervy people seeing me through my window.