An Apology

I would just like to make a quick post today, to apologise to Briony for my 'ditsy' comment. I feel bad that she would take it to mean that I think she's silly, because I don't; I think she's immensely cool. And being ditsy is just part of her coolness.

I have nothing against ditsy people, indeed I have my ditsy moments myself. I'm sure Claire will recall a time in Australia when I remarked; "We're not really seven miles from the sun, are we?" Sometimes we say things before thinking and then think, 'hang on, now that's not right is it?'

So, in conclusion, Briony's cool, as are all my hallmates, and I'm ditsy too.

The End.

Life has a funny way...

... of making you look like a complete arsehole at the most typical of moments.

Today I was walking down to a lecture with a couple of girls off my corridor, whom I don't really know that well, and it had been raining, so the smooth parts of the pavement were quite slippery.

We decided to take a short-cut down a back-alley, since we were running a bit late, and the surface was comprised of flagstones. I observed to Kat; "I hate walking on these when it's wet - I always think I'm gonna fall on my arse..."

Well, you can all guess what happened in that very instant. I was on my arse quicker than you can say 'slippery flag', and I'd dirtied my clean-on pants, looking like a right tramp.

Sometimes I think life is just laughing at me...

On Feeling Way In Over My Head

With Fresher's Week at University nearly over, I must say the past seven days have been nothing short of crazy!

In Halls, I've made loads of great friends on my corridor -

Becky: 'I wouldn't mess with her, she's a Jordy, she'll nut yer!' - not really, she's lovely and probably the girl I get on best with - great to go out partying with but not full of herself.

Nicola: Nicola's great - she's like our Mum, telling us off for nicking chalk! She's also great at getting things done, like her passion for recycling and getting a toaster for our miniscule pantry!

Clare: Clare's our guide to Shef, living only 30 mins away, she's lovely and she's our rock queen, with piercings in places I didn't know you could get pierced!

Briony: I thought Briony was really quiet at first, but once she came out of her shell she's really funny, especially with her ditsy moments - do coffee and electricity mix?

Jennie: Jennie is so cute and posh! She's from Cambridge you know...

Vicky: She's my OAP pal, both of us having taken a gap year, we're the older and wiser ones of the bunch, or so it would seem! She also shares my passion for 'taking-the-piss' dancing!

The other girls on the corridor are great too, but there's a silly door in the middle which really segregates us, and although they're fun to chat to, this sadly doesn't happen very often.
..........................................................................................

Fresher's Week events have been so much fun, we had Pop Tarts at the union on Saturday night, competitions in the halls on Sunday, Kingdom Nightclub on Tuesday (though Kelly Llorenna was terrible!), Gatecrasher on Wednesday (me and Becky getting trashed on £1.50 doubles!), Bar One on Friday (then planning to come back via the Bottleo and have a party at home but them being all closed :( ), and Fever in the bar last night. It's been great, and I've not been to bed earlier than 2am all week, and my friend in Leeds, CB, assures me it probably won't get any quieter!
.......................................................................................

My only worries are my course (which is hardly suprising), but I just feel like I'm in way over my head, and it's not even started yet! Firstly, my department has decided to put ALL of my course materials on the intranet (which led to a mad rush to get my PC online), and can I just take this opportunity to express my complete dislike for web-based learning? Surely it would be so much easier to produce handouts! This way I'm paying every time I need to print off a handout and it's incredibly irritating!

It also means I have to keep a constant eye on the intranet and make sure there's no new messages or announcements, or I'll miss something really important. The thing is, everyone is missing really important things, such as a change of time to our introductory lecture last week. LOADS of people turned up at the same time as me, which turned out to be the wrong time! So, really, it seems like a VERY inefficient way of running a department to me. Especially when we're encouraged to broadcast our problems and queries via the message boards, as opposed to actually consulting a member of staff. What if we need an immediate answer?

In addition to all this apparent reluctance to keep up with modern technology on my part, I also feel like I really don't know what's expected of me, with regards to how much background reading I should be doing, how much preparation for lectures, which books I should be buying (do I wait and see if they tell us in lectures or is it on the intranet, and if I wait will there be any left by that time?), I don't know what the difference between a lecture and a tutorial is..... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! Panic!

My only assurance is Becky telling me to chill out cos I'm a stress head, which is probably true. And like my Mum says (my beacon of calm), they can't expect you to know everything in the first week. Everyone else on my course is probably thinking the same things I am right now. So I think I probably do need to just chill out. We'll see...

Illness in the Family

As if coming home from travelling and being laiden with university worries wasn't enough, I was also welcomed with the horrific news that my Grandad has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

He has a tumour which stretches from the top of his left lung to his bronchiole. It's also incurable and the only treatment recommended is radiotherapy which, if successful, could prolong his existence by 12 months, if not 5 years.

Of course, this was bound to happen sooner or later, with him being a smoker since his teenage years. At the moment he is really positive and upbeat, not leting it get him down, which is a great attitude to have and I'm proud of him for that. I do feel for my aunt and uncle though, his daughter and son, living in Wales and the USA respectively, they don't really know what's going on and can't appreciate his optimism.

To be honest, I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I feel really angry, but I'm not sure whom to direct this anger at. At times it makes me so sad, and I see people smoking and just think, "You stupid fool". The smell knocks me sick, the sight of smokers irks me.

So this is a call out to all you smokers out there... just pack it in, before it packs you in. The pain it causes yourself and your family just really isn't worth it.

Which Mixed Drink are you?

You Are a Strawberry Daiquiri

You're a fun, playful drinker who loves to party. You may get totally wasted, but you're always a happy drunk!

What Mixed Drink Are You?

Brief Encounter in FYE...

Ok, so I'm in this CD shop near Radio City Music Hall, in New York City, not far from Times Square, on Labour Day the other week. I'm on the headphones deciding whether or not the old John Mayer album is worth buying or not (personally, I don't think so - 'Heavier Things' is a lot better), when a member of staff comes into the aisle, which is solely occupied by me, accompanied by this guy whom he's showing where something is.

I looked at this guy and thought: "I recognise him... How do I know him?" Then I just thought maybe it was cos he looked a bit like my Uncle Patrick. But then it hit me - it was Jeff Goldblum!

Now you may ask: "Who is Jeff Goldblum?", to which I would look at you with disdain and say: "Why, he's only the guy from 'The Fly', 'Independence Day', 'The Tall Guy' and 'Jurassic Park!" You probably still wouldn't know who he is, but that is merely because you are an uneducated, uncultured, ignorant freak, and not because he isn't famous. You're not taking this away from me, damn it!
...................................................................

Now, I've had my fair share of famous people, okay? During my time working at Boots in Bolton I served/saw many famous people coming into the store. We had John Thompson ('Cold Feet', 'The Fast Show'), Ralph Little ('The Royle Family'), Vernon Kay (T4, Radio One), Peter Kay ('That Peter Kay Thing', 'Phoenix Nights'), and Dan from Hollyoaks come in to buy various pharmacy products (I won't disclose what, cos frankly I can't remember...) So I don't need to boast about my celebrity acquaintances. This is just the first, famous, American I've met.

Unfortunately, I was too starstruck to offer anything other than a smile, and didn't even think to ask for a picture of autograph. But the experience was cool all the same!

I Can't Stand the Noise of...

... people whispering - no matter how quiet you think you're being, you're really not.
... people rustling plastic wrappers or bags when you're trying to sleep.
... people eating with their mouths open (it doesn't seem to be loud when closed).
... a dry broom on plaster or concrete.
... squeaky trainers on linoleum.
... the warning siren of an open cast mine.
... saliva. In any form.
... THE SOUND OF OUR FIRE ALARM FIRST THING IN THE MORNING.

I think that's about it. I may add to this list as I go along.
What can you not stand the noise of?

The Trouble with being a Light Sleeper

My, how I envy those people who could sleep through a nuclear holocaust if they felt so inclined. Not only do they sleep through maddening night disturbances, but the vast majority of them actually snore, in a blatant mockery of my distressing insomnia.

I had cause to reflect on this notion last night, for the hostel in which I am staying, in Philadelphia PA, at present, decided to place me in a 24-bed dorm, right next to the door. Now don't get me wrong, I am very grateful to have a bed in this busy city, yet I can't help but feel the situation is slightly unfair.

I retired last night at the reasonably late hour of midnight, giving plenty of time for everyone to be settled in my room. Indeed, some girls had already gone to bed and were fast asleep. Thirty minutes later, two girls decided this was a fine hour to check in, and that it was highly necessary to wander in and out of the room at least 15 times, throwing light on my bed and generally keeping me awake. I attempted to fall asleep with the aid of my discman, but alas, to no avail.

Once they'd finally decided to settle down, some considerate soul outside decided it would be really clever to revv a motorbike on the street outside our room for about ten minutes, just to see how loud he could get it. To his humiliation, I'm sure, his engine actually sounded like a pile of junk, which would've been funny, had it not been pushing 1.30am.
..........................................................................................

It was not always like this. When I was younger I could sleep no problem, so long as there was a night-light on. Now, I am much more of a fussy sleeper. It has to be pitch-black and deadly silent, for the slightest noise will wake me up. I had an interlude from this rigid pattern whilst I was in Australia - I could well have slept through a nuclear holocaust then and I would never have known it. However, that seems to be the only exception.

So, in conclusion, I'm a very fussy sleeper, and there's probably no changing it. So you can turn that light off and shut up, thank you very much.