Sometimes I worry that doing a degree based entirely on reading – okay I have to pause now to inform you that one of my housemates just yelled up the stairs at me that she’s making chocolate orange cake, happy days – anyway, where was I?! Oh yeah, my degree. I’m worried it’s ruining my love for reading. I’m worried that I’ve chosen the wrong degree and that I should have done a more objective degree. I’m worried that I look around me in lectures and see a lot of people much more suited to this degree than me, especially some of my best friends, and I’m worried that I have a creative project to submit in 4 weeks when I’m not a remotely creative person. It’s got to a point when I’m delaying starting work, ‘cos I’m convinced it’s not going to be great. Right now, I should be analysing Keats for goodness sake!
My birthday’s a week today, I would normally be buzzing. I’m not. I can’t even quite pinpoint why, it can’t all be due to my educational breakdown surely? I’m happy I’m going home this weekend. Some home comforts should sort me out, as well as a big old catch up with my oldest and bestest.
I didn’t really plan this blog, it just happened because I felt despondent. I’ll stop feeling sorry for myself now and get my arse into gear, then reward myself with the well-timed chocolate cake.
P.S. I definitely just fulfilled one of my New Year’s Resolutions whilst simultaneously breaking a different one.
Some of you may think this is too early to get excited, especially as I’m only turning twenty, which is not a milestone, but it does signify that I’ve spent two decades on this planet of ours which I personally think is pretty cool. Plus, you only get one birthday a year! Unless the Queen is reading this, in which case, your majesty, you are the exception with two.
So in my twentieth year of living my aims are to:
Get a tattoo.
Get another piercing, in my ear, nowhere else.
GET A JOB. This one is the most important and prevents me from sounding like a total waster.I really want a relevant job, related to books, if possible. So if you’re a big time publishing/editing type, hit me up!
And finally to stop worrying so much, I’m too young, and need to stop dwelling on stuff that doesn’t matter. For instance, I’m a student, I’m allowed to be in my overdraft occasionally!
I do have other things to look forward to prior to mon anniversaire, such as returning to Lancaster (I have a long Christmas break okay!) and a netball umpiring course, and 4 essay marks returned. See no, I don’t really have that much to look forward to, so Birthday hype it is.
Before my birthday I do have my boyfriend’s birthday to get excited about but he’s a grumpy sod and won’t let me be too giddy, I hope that doesn’t happen to me when I turn 24...I’m going to exert all my efforts into giving him the birthday excitement bug this week, but I don’t think it’s going to work, even though his presents are AWESOME.
Speaking of presents, would it be terribly pretentious of me to write my list here? It would, wouldn’t it. Damn. Here’s a subtle hint instead:
As we know, I do love Christmas. Only thing that would have made it better this year was snow. But alas this Christmas has been the wettest I can recall. Still wonderful though.
Over the past couple of weeks I have eaten lots and drunk copious amounts of alcohol whilst listening to excessive amounts of Frank Sinatra. His Christmas tunes make me happy. So now it’s the 1st of January and I am suffering from a serious festive hangover. As usual on New Years Day I've woken up vowing to never drink again, but we all know that won't happen. I wonder what 2012 will bring, I’m hoping for good grades, world peace and MORE BLOGGING. Yes, that is my resolution folks.
I've just finished the second Game of Thrones book, I just love a good fantasy novel. I need to read the new Terry Pratchett book too, but can't afford to buy the hardback, sad times. Another reason to love the Christmas season, I have time to read books other than the ones on my University reading list!
I’m gonna leave you with my favourite photos from my little brother’s fancy ass camera. Check out my dog Max in his Christmas pudding outfit. He lost all his dignity on Christmas Day.
Happy New Year! I hope every one of you has a delightful and prosperous year.
Well technically, I’ve already driven home. With my momma, and en route we stopped in Ingleton and had cheese scones and a large pot of tea. I feel this is an omen for the rest of the holiday period. Good food, good drink, good company. I absolutely adore Christmas.
I don’t currently have much of a voice. I like to think I sound sexy, all husky, but I probably just sound ill. This is the remnants of the start of the festive season. At my university house, the girls and I hosted a 12 person Christmas Roast and it was quite spectacular. Three whole chickens! Then on Friday we had our last Uni night out of 2011, and on the following Saturday I went out in good old Bingley with my home girls.* Over the course of those 3 days, I probably had 4 bottles of wine...my poor liver! I am in recovery mode, not drinking til Christmas Eve Eve!
Oh my days exciting news, tomorrow I’m getting my haircut. The first time since June 2010, and I’m getting a fringe! I will post pictures, unless it looks terrible, in which case I will hide for a good few weeks. Not that it’s hard to hide from a blog, as you can probably tell from my 5 week absence...
If it helps ease the pain, in these 5 weeks I’ve had 3 essays and an exam so I’ve been reasonably swamped and have only been neglecting my blog because it’s been necessary! I’ve also been neglecting my Christmas present buying duties, 5 sleeps ‘til Christmas and I definitely still have 3 and a half presents left to obtain...little brothers and women who own their own shops are officially difficult to buy for, I wish everyone just wanted classic books from Waterstones like me!
It makes me so sad that I have to rely on other people’s cameras these days for photos. My 16 year old brother is doing photography A level and his camera is lush, so I might steal it for a few Christmas-esque photos for my next blog, but until then the wise words of Dr. Seuss will do.
* The use of the phrase home girls is not me trying to be gangster, just differentiating between my Uni girls and my girls at home. Keep up, I'm not remotely gangster, I had a hot water bottle in bed last night for goodness sake! (And loved it.)
I’m writing to you on the verge of my first reading week of the academic year. I figured this would be a good idea as it eliminates the possibility of me writing a blog as a form of procrastination during the next 5 days when I should be waist deep in library books, quotations and literary criticism.
Prior to reading week, I decided to give my liver a week off. I’d been feeling terribly run down recently and unable to shake off a cold so unless my mother’s speculative worry that my house has a gas leak is correct, I find myself blaming my intake of alcohol. As a result I feel wonderful! However, the amount of times I was in bed before midnight last week is positively embarrassing so I think I’ll slot back into my usual schedule this week, especially as I have no pesky lectures to get up for! Ho hum this week could go one of two ways, who wants to wager whether it will be pro-active or regressive? I suppose it’s a test of self-discipline, rather like the decision on the way home from a night out, curly fries or no curly fries...
I’ve been venturing on a vicious circle of late. I keep feeling despondent about money, or the lack of it in this instance. I’m already wary of having enough funds to buy my loved ones Christmas presents so have found myself watching the pennies. Yes I’m aware it’s only just November, but I ain’t no Scrooge, I bloody love Christmas and I enjoy being able to buy people presents that I know they actually want/like. In fact Christmas anticipation will almost definitely be the subject of my next blog...Anyway, back to the circle, basically I’ve been getting a tad grumpy due to my inability to buy myself fancy things. I know that’s the student lifestyle I chose, but wah! Websites like Pinterest and Gifted Penguin torture me. But then, after suffering from these feelings of gloom I subsequently feel guilty for being so shallow. And then, politically minded me erupts and gets angry about being a product of the capitalist system, a conditioned consumer, and finally I feel like a loser for thinking in such Marxist terms. An hour later, I’ll find a notebook to die for, and the circle starts again. Coincidentally, an essay I intend to write this week is about Marxism. Actually, that’s not remotely coincidental; studying Marx this year has probably caused these intellectual conflicts. But to be honest folks, as long as there are dresses like this around, I will have shopping lust regardless of my conscious.
So that’s the end of another whirlwind blog, I feel there’s actually a slight thread of relevance throughout to my reading week? Or is that just wishful thinking? Have a delightful week/whatever time lapse occurs between this blog and the next. Let’s be frank, a week is optimistic.
P.S. For those of you that were anticipating the next instalment in ‘the journey of Lauren’s desk’, I can happily inform you it arrived the day it was scheduled to, in its full IKEA glory: white, shiny and eagerly awaiting the attachment of it’s legs.
Monday, Week 3. Life as a 2nd year has started, and I can already feel that it’s gonna be a lot tougher than the last. Unfortunately, my bed this year is also much comfier than last year. This could prove to be a problematic correlation. However, we won’t know for sure ‘til August some time, so we won't worry about that just yet...
I’m not going to bore you with Fresher’s Week stories; nobody wants to hear about a silly fresher throwing up on me, do they? Or the fact that last Fresher’s Week I got thrown up on too?! Seriously, is it third time lucky? I’m already on edge for next year.
So the most exciting news, for all those avid Furness College netball fans, is that we are getting netball dresses this year! Oh yeah, we are going to look professional. In these cheeky numbers I’m not even bothered if we lose, ‘cos we’ll look so hot in the process. For those of you that know me well, you’ll know this isn’t true. I’m ridiculously competitive. I once fell out with my little brother over a game of Cluedo, and no I wasn’t young and foolish, I think it was last Christmas...But NONETHELESS, we will look ace, and I will be a proud Vice.
Speaking of competitiveness, we have an ongoing contest in my house at this moment in time. The toilet roll contest. One of my housemates, who I won’t name for legal reasons but whom I promise is reasonably normal and doesn’t often suggest criminal activities for us all to engage in, thought it would be a good idea to start acquiring toilet rolls from the university campus. And of course this is a wonderful idea, as toilet roll usage is a constant menace in a house full of girls with many visitors. I am currently 3rd in the table with 5 rolls. I plan to improve this.
By the way, our house is lush. (I’ve been asked by someone to reintroduce that word into my vocabulary so there you go.) It’s a bit rough around the edges, but aren’t we all? Of course stairs to the cellar would be nice Mr Landlord. In wonderful news though, a stray kitten appears to have adopted our backyard. Hooray! We’ve christened it Helena, after our darling Austrian friend, who enjoys skanking food off other people, just like this scavenger kitty. I keep meaning to post pictures, of the kitten and many other things but I still don’t have a blasted camera! Also my room isn’t finished yet as I am awaiting the arrival of my desk. When that’s here, supposedly tomorrow, I will finish my picture putty upping and dazzle y’all with the beauty of my humble abode. Perhaps.
I would apologise for the unspecific nature of this blog but this appears to be the genre I’ve casually set up camp in so I feel I can no longer justify an apology. To be fair, if you don’t like it, don’t read it hey! Wish that would extend to my degree...Thomas Hardy’s Return of The Native is looming over me like a thundercloud bursting with excessive scenery descriptions. What an awful analogy. Ah well, it’s late! In fact my desk is now technically scheduled to arrive today, how delightful. Night night. Here's a lullaby for you, one of my favourite songs from one of my favourite bands, can't get this out of my head at the moment. It's befitting.
