Back to the Blogging

It has been a long while since my last post. I could make hundreds of excuses for not writing but the simple answer is I couldn't be bothered. Harsh but true! I have been so busy that when I have had free time i have wanted to do nothing mor than lie in bed with a good book or the Mad Men box set (my latest TV obsession!) So I plan to now rectify the laziess of the last few months by getting back up to date. 

So i guess the first step is to update the dtails of my life these past months. The most major detail would be tha I am now married! wahoo. finally! It feels like I was planning my big day forever before it finally arrived, nd now that it's been and gone I want to do it all over again. There is a big gap where planning my wedding used to be. Luckily I plan to fill the void in my life with a new college course so I will soon be busy busy again! There's the honeymoon to Cuba to talk about too. That was the best holiday of my life so I think deserves a post all to itself (i'll save that for later!). There's been job changes too with more to come i the near future, and a change of living arangements coming up as we have found a new flat that we will move into in the next few weeks. 

So life has not become dull and although I have had a bit of the post-wedding blues, I'm certainly not short on things to do!

xxxxx

Burgled

My news this week is that we got burgled :( Our flat got broken into on Saturday night. We had friends round for dinner and some drinks and left the flat sometime after 7pm. My fiance's band had a gig so we went out early for sound check, went for a few drinks, watched the gig and were back by just after 11pm. We got home and I went straight into the kitchen-our plan was to get the rest of the bottle of wine we had started before we left and curl up on the sofa with a film. Needless to say that didn't happen! My partner went into the bedroom and immediately started shouting about what a mess it was in there, asking why I had felt the need to throw all my clothes around and get out the suitcases before we left....I hadn't. It took a good few minutes for the penny to drop that we had been broken into as there was no sign of damage to the front door-which was locked when we got home. We now believe that the robbers got into the building through an external window and carded our yale lock to gain entry before leaving by the front door!


We looked around to see what was missing and our worst fears were confirmed to note that the TV/DVD was gone along with both of our laptops, the xbox, and the ipad. They also emptied the contents of my handbag across the front room floor (i had left my bag at home and taken my purse and phone) and taken the bag, and pulled out all of our suitcase and taken mine-presumably to carry away all our things without attracting attention-basically they made it look as if they were guests or people going on holiday so that nobody from the flats below who saw them would question them.


It made me very angry to be stolen from but the worst thing for me wasn't the loss of our electrical items, it was the fact that some one had been in my house, in my personal space, touching my things. The items can be replaced and the locks and window have now been replaced but the knowledge that an intruder was in my home will stay with me for a very long time.

Album reveiw: Lana Del Rey - Born to die

Read my review of Lana Del Rey's album-Born to die for Propaganda Magazine:

http://thepropagandamag.com/reviews/album-reveiw-lana-del-rey-born-die

deadbeat darling

Check out my interview with New York band Deadbeat Darling for Propaganda Mag:

http://thepropagandamag.com/interviews/deadbeat-darling-interview

Does the x Factor have a future-discuss…

This is the debate I have been interested in lately. With TV viewing figures for the 2011 X factor final at an all time low and the winners Little Mix being pipped to the post for Christmas number one by the Military Wives Choir is this the end for the x factor?

The argument in favour of the x factor says no this is not the end and merely a one of blip for the show. Prime time television slots need filling, and the target demographic for these slots is the majority of the Birtish public. The broadcasters need to put on a show which appeals to the masses; that has something for everyone and above all is accessible to everyone. The answer it seems is reality TV. Most people can relate to the ‘stars’ of reality tv because they are ‘real’ people and not celebrities. In the case of the x-factor, many people dream of one day becoming rich and famous, this show makes that dream a reality for the every day person and so people want to watch.

On the other hand the x-factor (and other shows like it) can be seen as a fad-part of pop culture that will fade with the fashions of our generation. The shows current superstar status has been created by the followings of today’s tv watching youth. These people will inevitably grow up and find new interests and the youth of tomorrow will have a new show or genre that captures their imagination and the x-factor will become a thing of the past.

So, my verdict? There was popstars, there was pop idol and now there is the x-factor. Same show, same concept, different name, the formula is still the same and as the careers of many of the winners have faded the popularity of the shows grew and grew until recently. Hopefully this ratings decline will see a return of real music-with real artists who write their own music and live through their songs, rather than wannabes looking for a fast-track to success. 

I’m not saying that nobody who enters these talent competitions has talent, but hoping that the general public has finally begun to see through the sob stories and the fancy costumes and remember that it was all meant to be about the music. Maybe 2012 will mark a turning point in British music and the x-factor chart monopoly will be over allowing the best of British talent to step into the limelight. 

This is my article for Propaganda magazine. With thanks to andy and dani for their input on either side of the debate.

The hunt is on!

Job hunting is ever so slightly soul destroying. The constant rejection, no vacancies, 'you have to apply online'....it all gets a bit much. Thankfully though this wasn't the whole story and I did get a few more positive responses and have a couple of interviews tomorrow. I am keeping my fingers firmly crossed that one of them is right for me!


After the last post where I said I had a bad day I decided I didn't want to go back to my old job. It was making my constantly miserable and I was fed up of being treated like I was unimportant and as if I had no feelings. Nobody deserves to made to feel like that, and recent events have really hammered home the message that 'life is too short'. I had been fed up there for a long time but 'sticking with it until something better comes along'. Which of course it never did as I wasn't really looking hard enough. 


With the decision to leave made I found it much easier to actually start the job hunting process. I refreshed my CV, printed lots of copies and began handing them out everywhere. It was draining and often disappointing but the need to earn money to live, and the desire not to return to my old job kept me going. I just hope it has all paid off, and hopefully after tomorrow I will know! I haven't stopped looking for other vacancies even though I now have some interviews-they might come to nothing so it is always best to keep an eye out. 


In the meantime I have been living the life of the unemployed...the flat has never looked so clean, the washing is up to date, I have caught up on all the TV and films that I have wanted to watch since Christmas and got 'To Do' lists ticked off so its not all been bad!


:) x

A positive outlook will get you far

I had a shit day yesterday.

Thought I would get the negative stuff out of the way first! It was a bad day, I won't go into it, just trust me that it was bad. It was however, followed by a very pleasant evening of food, films and friends :)

I had two options with regards to my bad day, sulk, dwell on it and let it ruin my week or get over. I did the first one for a few hours before realising that by doing so I was 'letting the bad guys win', so picked myself up and got on with it. 

Today I decided recycle yesterdays bad energy and put it to good use. So I completed my PGCE application form and have sent it off! Just have to keep my fingers crossed for an interview now! After I post this I am going to get on with the mind map I have decided to create. I am going to start a scrap book to help me visualise all the things that I want to achieve this year. That way, when things don't go to plan I can take a look at it, remember the end goal and get back on track. 

There are so many things that I want to do this year on top of the things I am already doing. There's my trip to Magaluf with the girls to look forward to first. Then there's my wedding-the result of 18 months of planning, and honeymoon which I am sure will be the highlight of the year. 

I am hoping to get a place on the PGCE course I have applied for, and get some teaching work in the meantime and hopefully clear my debt and start some savings. 

There are lots of things to look forward to and a positive attitude is the best weapon I have i the fight to getting it. Sometimes it is so hard to remember to be positive but that is my biggest task of all for this year. x

x

12 things I have learnt this week...

The things I have learnt this week include the following:


1. Just because more things go wrong than right doesn't necessarily mean it is a bad day


2. This also works in the reverse, as good things still happen on shitty days


3. When you have good friends and good family not a lot else really matters


4. It is possible to eat TOO MUCH fruit-ulcers and stomach ache ouch!


5. You can't please everyone. You can try, but be prepared to fail.


6. If you go 'on a diet' you end up 'treating' yourself for being 'so good' and actually eat more junk than you would have if not on said 'diet'


7. No matter how much you know you should go to the gym, and how determined you were the night before, its unlikely you will go at the crack of dawn on a Saturday!


8. Newspapers will do almost anything for a story


9. Be prepared to go above and beyond for a friend in need because you never know when you might really need them


10. Sometimes you have to give up the things you have wanted for a long time to prioritise the things you now know to be more important


11. No matter how busy you think you are someone will be busier than you! (Usually Alice!)


12. Sometimes even the happiest news can still make you feel sad but a smile from the right person will brighten up your day.




You really do learn something new everyday! Oh, and I also learnt how NOT to make cream cheese frosting....but the cake tasted absolutely delicious anyway!!

Beat the eggs, not your husband!!

My friend and I have tonight been attempting to bake a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. It was the first time that either of us had made cream cheese icing and the first time I had made carrot cake. 


I love baking, its fun. It also really de-stresses me. It is what I do to relax if I have had a particularly hard week. Beating the eggs, creaming the butter and sugar together, getting those arm muscles going as you mix in the flour-it really calms me down, and by the time the cake is in the oven I feel like I can sit back and chill out. The boyfriend doesn't exactly mind my baking either...It means I take my anger out on the ingredients not him, and bonus! He gets to eat the results too. 


This being the first attempt at tricky cream cheese frosting it didn't go exactly to plan first time-especially as I don't own electric whisks so usually do everything by hand. There was just no way it was all going to combine in that tiny bowl so, drastic times calling for drastic measures, out came the liquidiser and in went the now mashed up ingredients. A few whizzes in the liquidiser and we had some very runny cream cheese on our hands.


This needed to be corrected, preferably without having to start over. I consulted the many baking forums on the internet and now feel like I know everything there is to know about cream cheese. For instance, did you know that English cream cheese has more water than the US or Aussie varieties, so you need to firm it up in the fridge. Also, American icing sugar has cornflour in it so their frosting ends up thicker too.


So now you also know almost everything there is to know about cream cheese frosting too. I'll let you know how the cake tastes once I've scoffed it all in a sec!
xx

lalalalalaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

It is moments like this that I realise I shouldn't take everything so seriously, and that sometimes its better to sit back and enjoy the ride....


Yesterday was a bad day. From the moment I woke up after a turbulent nights sleep the day was bad bad bad. One thing after another went wrong and problems popped up left, right and centre with no solution in sight. I felt stressed, I felt upset, I felt panicked. The world was not a good place to be....


A cheeky glass of wine before bed and I slept like a baby, and today the world seems full of joy and light. I have had a complete transformation of outlook. Solutions to yesterday's problems pop in to my brain from nowhere, the bad things that happened yesterday appear trivial and I can see the good times in sight just around the corner.


The point I am (very badly) trying to make is that life is what you make it. If you take everything to heart and make mountains out of mole hills then you will be miserable. Sometimes it is possible to be trying TOO HARD! Just relax, don't let the moment pass you by and when you wake up in the morning, things might not look quite as bad as they seemed. :)


xx

Band of the day

Check out my Band of the day blog on the Propaganda website....


http://thepropagandamag.com/articles/band-day-clement-marfo-frontline


Enjoy!

back to school...?

It's like being 18 again. The personal statement, listing your GCSE grades, deciding which course is right for you and where you're going to apply....back then it was on UCAS, this time round I'm.doing it all on GTTR.




I am currently in the process of applying for a post-graduate course and the application process is just as scary as the first time around! In fact, I think this maybe even more so as I have no one to help me this time!




At 18 all of my peer group were applying for uni so there were people I could discuss the application process with. On top of that there was the help and support of our tutors and specialist carters staff to guide us through! Now its just me, hoping for the best! Eeeek!!!