To post the link to my 365Days!! Duh...
It's here...
I haven't told too many people about this yet. I'm still a little unsure who or what I'm doing it for! I've been watching a couple of other people's sets grow and grow and am really enjoying the highs, lows and dramas unfold.
So for the lucky few who read this blog, you have the link. And as I get a little more confident about people seeing me everyday online I'll start spreading the word.
The Loose Women said that today is officially the most stressful day of the year. I skipped two lectures just in case... But my shift in the Library was pretty stressful so I guess I didn't manage to escape it.
One assignment down though, and the literature review went quite well, so now it's on to creating a website about this campus before next Thursday. Eek!
xxx
Monday, December 10, 2007
Thursday, December 06, 2007
That was a big gap.....
I didn't realise how long it had been since I last blogged until today! It's been a good couple of months. I'm not going to bother filling you in on what has happened in between, because that would be boring. There obviously wasn't anything blogworthy, so no point in going over it.
I'm back at Uni now, third and final year. I can't believe I've made it this far, I remember arriving in first year and being in complete awe of the third years who were taking on their final projects and dissertations. At the time they were probably younger than me, but I still looked up to them and felt so young and immature next to them. Now I'm one of them and that is even weirder! Do the first years look up to me now? I certainly feel more grown up and intelligent than when I arrived, but I don't think I deserve the respect I gave when I arrived.
The dissertation is under way, it's not going as well as I would like, but it's going better than I imagined it would at this stage. I'm sure it will be the focus of many blogs as the weeks go by and the countdown starts.
I've started my very own 365Days project inspired by last years girl. I don't know what to make of it just yet, a picture of me, or a part of me for a whole year. Is it self indulgent? Is it voyeuristic? Who knows, not me, that's for sure. But we'll see how it goes, there are already a few days this year that I'm looking forward to so now YOU can share them with me.
Right, I'm in the middle of my literature review at the moment.....
Catch you on the flip side.
I'm back at Uni now, third and final year. I can't believe I've made it this far, I remember arriving in first year and being in complete awe of the third years who were taking on their final projects and dissertations. At the time they were probably younger than me, but I still looked up to them and felt so young and immature next to them. Now I'm one of them and that is even weirder! Do the first years look up to me now? I certainly feel more grown up and intelligent than when I arrived, but I don't think I deserve the respect I gave when I arrived.
The dissertation is under way, it's not going as well as I would like, but it's going better than I imagined it would at this stage. I'm sure it will be the focus of many blogs as the weeks go by and the countdown starts.
I've started my very own 365Days project inspired by last years girl. I don't know what to make of it just yet, a picture of me, or a part of me for a whole year. Is it self indulgent? Is it voyeuristic? Who knows, not me, that's for sure. But we'll see how it goes, there are already a few days this year that I'm looking forward to so now YOU can share them with me.
Right, I'm in the middle of my literature review at the moment.....
Catch you on the flip side.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
I heart headphones
Travelling on public transport is getting really old. I'm starting to dread getting on the bus for an hour and a half in the morning, knowing that I'll probably fall asleep with marks on my face and my knees rammed up against the seat in front. Undoubtedly I'll wake up with some old man or fit boy looking at me blinking in the stupid 8am sunshine when I've already been awake for almost three hours. Some days I'll spend £2 on a coffee to keep me awake for the awful journey but then I always spill it on my hands or jeans and end up sticky and smelling like starbucks.
Then there's the journey home. I usually make the 6.30pm bus, sometimes I don't and have to get the one at 7pm, but that doesn't matter. It's always full of old people. And old people smell, and eat biscuits, and smell. I love putting on my head phones. Noise reduction ones that feel like earplugs, but with Belaire, or Rilo Kiley, or TV on the Radio or even the Postal Service when it's been a really bad day. They drown out every single sound without having to resort to top volume. People don't talk to me, or even look at me, even a baby in the next seat can't compete with my lovely sound stopping headphones.
But people still smell. I can take noise, I've got the headphones to tackle it, I can not look at people, my eyes can close. But I still haven't found a way to get over the stench of other people on the bus. I try to sit on my own, but someone always sits in the seat in front or behind. They usually start gobbing or coughing and it makes me feel sick so I turn Avril up even louder and ignore it. But then I can smell them, usually the sweat and stale smell of the great unwashed, why does it bother me so much, I tried to eat mints and kill the smell from the inside. It didn't work. I thought that maybe because my hearing was so drowned out that my sense of smell was heightened. I took out the ear plugs and stared out of the window but the greasy forehead of a teenage goth before had marked the window and I thought I could smell that too. With nothing to distract me the stench got worse. And the bus was hot. So it gets worse again.
I don't know what to do, I can ignore many, many things. But I can't ignore the smell. And I can't wait until I never have to get the bus to Edinburgh again. The rich people are getting the train and the plebs are on the bus. With me, and I hate them.
Then there's the journey home. I usually make the 6.30pm bus, sometimes I don't and have to get the one at 7pm, but that doesn't matter. It's always full of old people. And old people smell, and eat biscuits, and smell. I love putting on my head phones. Noise reduction ones that feel like earplugs, but with Belaire, or Rilo Kiley, or TV on the Radio or even the Postal Service when it's been a really bad day. They drown out every single sound without having to resort to top volume. People don't talk to me, or even look at me, even a baby in the next seat can't compete with my lovely sound stopping headphones.
But people still smell. I can take noise, I've got the headphones to tackle it, I can not look at people, my eyes can close. But I still haven't found a way to get over the stench of other people on the bus. I try to sit on my own, but someone always sits in the seat in front or behind. They usually start gobbing or coughing and it makes me feel sick so I turn Avril up even louder and ignore it. But then I can smell them, usually the sweat and stale smell of the great unwashed, why does it bother me so much, I tried to eat mints and kill the smell from the inside. It didn't work. I thought that maybe because my hearing was so drowned out that my sense of smell was heightened. I took out the ear plugs and stared out of the window but the greasy forehead of a teenage goth before had marked the window and I thought I could smell that too. With nothing to distract me the stench got worse. And the bus was hot. So it gets worse again.
I don't know what to do, I can ignore many, many things. But I can't ignore the smell. And I can't wait until I never have to get the bus to Edinburgh again. The rich people are getting the train and the plebs are on the bus. With me, and I hate them.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Rilo Kiley are making me nervous
It's been a while since I've had a favorite band. Like a favorite over all others, like 'ohmy godifIeversawthisbandliveIwouldcrybecauseIlovethemsomuch!' And that's how I talk when I love a band. What do you mean you haven't heard of TillyandtheWall or RiloKiley?
But this summer, after 3 solid years of me loving Rilo Kiley, they are FINALLY releasing a new album. And they're getting slightly huge, and it's worrying me. I'm going to see them at Connect Festival which has ruled me out of going to see any of their other gigs across the country. (They're not coming to Scotland again, racists) They're also touring all over the world promoting their new album, which hasn't even been leaked on the internet yet (come on people I need to learn the words) which means they won't be back here like ever.
That's not the most worrying part. What if everyone else starts liking them as well? I'll be the idiot who's like "yah, well, I've loved them ever since their 2004 album 'More Adventurous' came out, and I've got their first ever EP, what did you say your name was again?' and then I'll look like a dick and they won't be my friend. It won't be that joyous occasion where you find someone who loves a total unheard of band as much as you do and then you can listen to 'Portions for Foxes' over and over when you're drunk together. It's the basis of many beautiful friendships. Well at least 3.
I know it's selfish, but I want Rilo Kiley to myself. I want me and my friends to like them but not you. It's not that I want people to say 'who?' when I tell them my favourite band and it's not that I don't want them to do well. I don't want them to get massive, then rubbish, then everyone will like them and I won't anymore. But what if I do and they bring out more albums and do more gigs and then they sell out and I can't go. I'm their biggest fan. I need to be there.
But this summer, after 3 solid years of me loving Rilo Kiley, they are FINALLY releasing a new album. And they're getting slightly huge, and it's worrying me. I'm going to see them at Connect Festival which has ruled me out of going to see any of their other gigs across the country. (They're not coming to Scotland again, racists) They're also touring all over the world promoting their new album, which hasn't even been leaked on the internet yet (come on people I need to learn the words) which means they won't be back here like ever.
That's not the most worrying part. What if everyone else starts liking them as well? I'll be the idiot who's like "yah, well, I've loved them ever since their 2004 album 'More Adventurous' came out, and I've got their first ever EP, what did you say your name was again?' and then I'll look like a dick and they won't be my friend. It won't be that joyous occasion where you find someone who loves a total unheard of band as much as you do and then you can listen to 'Portions for Foxes' over and over when you're drunk together. It's the basis of many beautiful friendships. Well at least 3.
I know it's selfish, but I want Rilo Kiley to myself. I want me and my friends to like them but not you. It's not that I want people to say 'who?' when I tell them my favourite band and it's not that I don't want them to do well. I don't want them to get massive, then rubbish, then everyone will like them and I won't anymore. But what if I do and they bring out more albums and do more gigs and then they sell out and I can't go. I'm their biggest fan. I need to be there.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
There's nothing you can do about it now.
As I was sat on the bus this morning dreading the 90 minute journey from Glasgow to Edinburgh because I forgot to bring a book and my ipod battery died just after my newest headphones broke. I was staring out of the window in fear at what terrors were about to fall on me. Like I'd have to just look out the window at the M8 for an hour, or stare at the clock that was reading 1812 at quarter to eight in the morning, or I could look directly at one of the four security cameras that are so unnervingly places next to the air conditioning. But worst of all, I was scared that someone might actually talk to me, or catch my eye and horror of horrors, look at me when I had no where else to look. I've seen many sights on the Citylink between Glasgow and Edinburgh so trust me. A distraction is just necessary.
As a last ditch attempt at something to look at, I pulled out my notebook and started reading all my notes for work. It's really just a square lined jotter with phone numbers, to do lists and website addresses, but on the second page I found this. Which I thought was very fitting. It made me smile, think 'I suppose it's not such a bad day' And then I fell asleep and woke up as we were passing Edinburgh Zoo. So here is what I found. I wrote this.
Not waiting, no expectations, just a whole lot of travelling. Not the stressful part where you part with your hard earned cash. Not the part where you have to be constantly alert, waiting for your platform to be announced, then finding it just in time to realise you don't have a ticket and the ticket office is all the way on the other side of the station... And closed.
Travelling isn't a stressful business really. It's exciting. The "in transit' bit is like another world. Sitting staring out of the bus window, in a perfectly controlled temperature or even better, flying 30,000 feet above the ground with your phone switched off, your life is in someone else's hands and it's blissful surrendering it to them with your boarding pass.
No one talks to each other either, (unless you're shoehorned into a megabus which is another story for another day) that suits me just fine. I'm not on the bus to make friends. I'm here to get from A to B, probably via C, D, G, X and S on the way. But that's ok too, it doesn't matter what route your chosen vehicle takes. It's the being in Limbo that matters. The not really doing anything but being swiftly carried to your destination. Once you've handed over your ticket and stepped aboard, there's not much else you can do. Everything is outwith your control, if you forget that your life is in someone elses hands and it could all go horribly wrong and there's nothing you can do about it you can travel in blissful ignorance.
Have a pleasant onward journey.
As a last ditch attempt at something to look at, I pulled out my notebook and started reading all my notes for work. It's really just a square lined jotter with phone numbers, to do lists and website addresses, but on the second page I found this. Which I thought was very fitting. It made me smile, think 'I suppose it's not such a bad day' And then I fell asleep and woke up as we were passing Edinburgh Zoo. So here is what I found. I wrote this.
Not waiting, no expectations, just a whole lot of travelling. Not the stressful part where you part with your hard earned cash. Not the part where you have to be constantly alert, waiting for your platform to be announced, then finding it just in time to realise you don't have a ticket and the ticket office is all the way on the other side of the station... And closed.
Travelling isn't a stressful business really. It's exciting. The "in transit' bit is like another world. Sitting staring out of the bus window, in a perfectly controlled temperature or even better, flying 30,000 feet above the ground with your phone switched off, your life is in someone else's hands and it's blissful surrendering it to them with your boarding pass.
No one talks to each other either, (unless you're shoehorned into a megabus which is another story for another day) that suits me just fine. I'm not on the bus to make friends. I'm here to get from A to B, probably via C, D, G, X and S on the way. But that's ok too, it doesn't matter what route your chosen vehicle takes. It's the being in Limbo that matters. The not really doing anything but being swiftly carried to your destination. Once you've handed over your ticket and stepped aboard, there's not much else you can do. Everything is outwith your control, if you forget that your life is in someone elses hands and it could all go horribly wrong and there's nothing you can do about it you can travel in blissful ignorance.
Have a pleasant onward journey.
Monday, August 06, 2007
New Hair, No Desk and Alcohol Breath
Oh the life of a journalist, I was at the lovely 'Hey You Get Off My Pavement' yesterday outside the even lovely-er Mono in the not so lovely rain. So now I'm feeling back to normal (I think I was still drunk when I woke up) but ever so slightly concerned about the fact that I slept in and didn't have time for a shower this morning. I'm trying desperately not to move about too much, I've smelt alcohol on people before and it's not pretty! I don't think I smell, but you know. I might.
Also it was my new hair cut's debut at work today and it looks slightly dishevelled, half of the reason being standing outside in the rain all day yesterday and the other half of the reason is that I fell asleep on the bus. For the WHOLE journey. That's like nearly an hour and a half. And I missed my stop and had to walk all the way from the bus station. It was a good wee sleep though, better than sleeping on the train where people look at you and stuff.
So here I am without a desk (I borrow from those who aren't in work, but during the festival it seems that everyone likes to show face!) Looking for a partner in crime to see Simon Amstell (YUM) on Saturday night, preferably someone who won't mind when he decides that he's no longer gay and is in love with me and I have to run away to Spain with him.
Any takers?
Also it was my new hair cut's debut at work today and it looks slightly dishevelled, half of the reason being standing outside in the rain all day yesterday and the other half of the reason is that I fell asleep on the bus. For the WHOLE journey. That's like nearly an hour and a half. And I missed my stop and had to walk all the way from the bus station. It was a good wee sleep though, better than sleeping on the train where people look at you and stuff.
So here I am without a desk (I borrow from those who aren't in work, but during the festival it seems that everyone likes to show face!) Looking for a partner in crime to see Simon Amstell (YUM) on Saturday night, preferably someone who won't mind when he decides that he's no longer gay and is in love with me and I have to run away to Spain with him.
Any takers?
Friday, August 03, 2007
So here we are again
So I'm back at the List, imagine that! I always said it was my dream job, my ambition was to do just this. So what next? I guess anything else in the future is just going to be a bonus but how to build on a dream come true!
It is pretty amazing if I'm honest, I just wish I was as busy as everyone else seems to be, although I think they're keeping me free to do all the jobs they don't want to do. Which is fine by me, it's all a novelty when you're still in your second week.
My only problem right now is that I've got my own office. Well, it's not mine, but I'm the only one who uses it all day. Freelancers pop in on occasion, but last night was the List's festival party so I doubt we'll see much of them today. I'm stuck in the attic office with the beams in the ceiling and the beautiful window that opens onto the roof looking down onto a courtyard at the back of the building. I know, it's a tough life.
I'd still prefer to be downstairs in the thick of things, like the work experience folks are. I'm papped off to the side to get on with it and I'm still not exactly sure what 'it' is that I'm supposed to be doing!
And I'm finding my own company very distracting, that and myspace, and my emails and the fact that I've suddenly been locked out of my Facebook account. That's annoying. I'm not bored though, because only boring people get bored, you know that. And I am getting on with my work it's just that I don't feel like I'm doing quite as much work as everyone else is, and it's lonely up here in the lovely office with my own computer, phone, toilet, water cooler and occasional freelance friend.
I have managed to get my wee name in the mag again though, here it is: http://www.list.co.uk/article/2558-kids-are-alright/
You're going to have to copy and paste that baby into your browser because for some reason, the wee linkthing has dissappeared. So of I go back to the good ship editorial assistant (who's not actually in the editorial office, but in the freelance office, not doing anything freelance) hmm and lunchtime, List festival party last night has left me with some considerable muncies. I've eaten my yogurt and my nutrigrain it's off to Greggs for me. Sausage Roll party.
It is pretty amazing if I'm honest, I just wish I was as busy as everyone else seems to be, although I think they're keeping me free to do all the jobs they don't want to do. Which is fine by me, it's all a novelty when you're still in your second week.
My only problem right now is that I've got my own office. Well, it's not mine, but I'm the only one who uses it all day. Freelancers pop in on occasion, but last night was the List's festival party so I doubt we'll see much of them today. I'm stuck in the attic office with the beams in the ceiling and the beautiful window that opens onto the roof looking down onto a courtyard at the back of the building. I know, it's a tough life.
I'd still prefer to be downstairs in the thick of things, like the work experience folks are. I'm papped off to the side to get on with it and I'm still not exactly sure what 'it' is that I'm supposed to be doing!
And I'm finding my own company very distracting, that and myspace, and my emails and the fact that I've suddenly been locked out of my Facebook account. That's annoying. I'm not bored though, because only boring people get bored, you know that. And I am getting on with my work it's just that I don't feel like I'm doing quite as much work as everyone else is, and it's lonely up here in the lovely office with my own computer, phone, toilet, water cooler and occasional freelance friend.
I have managed to get my wee name in the mag again though, here it is: http://www.list.co.uk/article/2558-kids-are-alright/
You're going to have to copy and paste that baby into your browser because for some reason, the wee linkthing has dissappeared. So of I go back to the good ship editorial assistant (who's not actually in the editorial office, but in the freelance office, not doing anything freelance) hmm and lunchtime, List festival party last night has left me with some considerable muncies. I've eaten my yogurt and my nutrigrain it's off to Greggs for me. Sausage Roll party.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
So where were we?
This blog wasn't supposed to be very personal when I started it, but finding the time to sit and write a report, or a feature, or just an articulated well written rant is difficult. It's so much easier to sit at my computer and spill. I'm not one of those people who is comfortable writing about every minute detail of their lives and publishing it online. But then, I don't really know who I'm writing this blog for.
It started as a seminar excersise at Uni, and it stayed that way for a few posts. I hated the idea that so many blogs were started then left with only one post somewhere in cyberspace, forgotton and relegated to the depths of the internet. So I kept going, I've posted about everything, and I did try to keep it professional, but now, I'd hate for an employer to see my emotional rants about life, the universe and Neighbours.
I'm pondering taking stock and deleting the emotional debris, but when I read through the posts it's like a diary. A diary of the things I thought too trivial to talk about, too boring to make into a story but also those things that I did think were important. Things that struck a chord or things that made me angry. I occasionally wrote to style, I occasionally wrote something that resembled a feature. I posted Uni work, competition entries and things I'd tried hard to write.
But now this blog is littered with both emotional and professional posts. I'd delete some, but then it would be incomplete, who really (apart from maybe a future employer) wants to read an entire blog made up of my news stories and half hearted features? It's boring, I suppose it's up to me to make my writing exciting, but how can you link a 3000 word feature on music festivals to a news story about the Thelwall Beavers and keep it interesting. And, what employer is going to actually look at a blogspot.com webspace?
I don't know what I'm trying to achieve, I'm lost in a number of parts of my life. It sounds like I'm trying to take stock. Make everything into something and have direction and show the passion that I really do have. I promise! But at the same time stay professional and interesting.
It's a hard balance to strike and I don't think I've achieved it here. I know what I want this to look like, but it's hard.
Oh, and I'm not starting another blog to keep both parts of my life seperate. That's rediculous. One or both of them would end up unused and forgotten, then dragged up on me when I'm on 'This is Your Life'!
Thanks, to whoever reads this, I occasionally get comments and emails, but not enough to make me think that I have an 'audience'. Maybe that's why I share.
It started as a seminar excersise at Uni, and it stayed that way for a few posts. I hated the idea that so many blogs were started then left with only one post somewhere in cyberspace, forgotton and relegated to the depths of the internet. So I kept going, I've posted about everything, and I did try to keep it professional, but now, I'd hate for an employer to see my emotional rants about life, the universe and Neighbours.
I'm pondering taking stock and deleting the emotional debris, but when I read through the posts it's like a diary. A diary of the things I thought too trivial to talk about, too boring to make into a story but also those things that I did think were important. Things that struck a chord or things that made me angry. I occasionally wrote to style, I occasionally wrote something that resembled a feature. I posted Uni work, competition entries and things I'd tried hard to write.
But now this blog is littered with both emotional and professional posts. I'd delete some, but then it would be incomplete, who really (apart from maybe a future employer) wants to read an entire blog made up of my news stories and half hearted features? It's boring, I suppose it's up to me to make my writing exciting, but how can you link a 3000 word feature on music festivals to a news story about the Thelwall Beavers and keep it interesting. And, what employer is going to actually look at a blogspot.com webspace?
I don't know what I'm trying to achieve, I'm lost in a number of parts of my life. It sounds like I'm trying to take stock. Make everything into something and have direction and show the passion that I really do have. I promise! But at the same time stay professional and interesting.
It's a hard balance to strike and I don't think I've achieved it here. I know what I want this to look like, but it's hard.
Oh, and I'm not starting another blog to keep both parts of my life seperate. That's rediculous. One or both of them would end up unused and forgotten, then dragged up on me when I'm on 'This is Your Life'!
Thanks, to whoever reads this, I occasionally get comments and emails, but not enough to make me think that I have an 'audience'. Maybe that's why I share.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Nude No More
Have a look at the new shirts on Threadless they're all incredibly cheap at the moment. If you buy two, with shipping it will only cost you £15. How amazing is that.
Friday, June 01, 2007
What now?
So now that I've worked at a newspaper for six weeks, I think I've decided that local news isn't for me. Well, I had already decided that, but this has confirmed it.
I'm the girl who left Glasgow because she thought it was too small, I'm the girl who packs her bag and leaves for Sweden or Belgium at two day's notice and I'm the girl who hates nosiness and bitching. It seems that reporting the local news is all about that.
I think this job would be better suited to someone who actually likes living in a village, maybe someone who cares that a section of one of the hundreds of local primary schools is going to be demolished, or someone who cares that there is going to be a new disabled parking space on Stockton Lane.
Maybe someone who hasn't seen that there is more to life than one village, more to life than the Thelwall beavers and what ex students of the local college are doing now (most of them by the way are travelling abroad and getting jobs in London). I'm just not suited to knocking on people's doors asking them why they started a hat hire company or opened a funeral home and I'm definitely not suited to sitting in a small dirty office rewriting press releases when it's the first sunny day we've had in weeks.
I've always said that only boring people get bored, but really, when you're not getting paid to rewite a story about a horse that was born at a farm 12 miles away or you're stuffing envelopes with newspapers so that the locals can have their very own copy it's hard to stay focused, never mind awake.
It's not the job for me, but I don't know what is. I do get excited about seeing my name in print, but then I get excited when I see my favourite band's name in print too so that doesn't say much. I'm finding it very difficult to muster up enthusiasm for an office job with no prospects and no cash. But even if I was getting paid for this, there is no room for promotion, no room for improvement, the boss already loves me and I don't even think I'm working hard. She's got no room to go further, how could she praise me for doing better when she already thinks I'm the best.
Ok, my shorthand leaves a lot to be desired and so does the occasional grammatical or style slip, but really, once I've finished my degree those things will be spot on. What do I get to do after that? It's very unfulfilling.
But then I don't know what is. There are hundreds of young journalists out there who would absolutely love the freedom that I have to write what I want (as long as it's in South Warrington) and the deadlines and the so-called pressure (see my last post for my uneventful and frankly boring experience of a deadline) but I don't want it. They can have it, infact the job I'm doing now is advertised in this issue of the South Warrington News.
I don't know what I'm destined to do, I'm creative, but not creative enough, I'm dedicated, but not dedicated to something that's not my own, I'm committed, but not disiplined enough to start something like a business so I don't know what's next. I miss being arty and I'll always have crafty bits in my blood, but I'm not good enough at anything to start a business, I don't even think I'm good enough at writing to write for a publication that I love.
So who knows what's next for me, I can feel a change coming (again) but I don't know what I want. I'll finish my degree and I'm absolutlely going to do the best I can at it, but after that, I don't have a clue, it's a blank at the moment, and it's a bit scary.
I'm the girl who left Glasgow because she thought it was too small, I'm the girl who packs her bag and leaves for Sweden or Belgium at two day's notice and I'm the girl who hates nosiness and bitching. It seems that reporting the local news is all about that.
I think this job would be better suited to someone who actually likes living in a village, maybe someone who cares that a section of one of the hundreds of local primary schools is going to be demolished, or someone who cares that there is going to be a new disabled parking space on Stockton Lane.
Maybe someone who hasn't seen that there is more to life than one village, more to life than the Thelwall beavers and what ex students of the local college are doing now (most of them by the way are travelling abroad and getting jobs in London). I'm just not suited to knocking on people's doors asking them why they started a hat hire company or opened a funeral home and I'm definitely not suited to sitting in a small dirty office rewriting press releases when it's the first sunny day we've had in weeks.
I've always said that only boring people get bored, but really, when you're not getting paid to rewite a story about a horse that was born at a farm 12 miles away or you're stuffing envelopes with newspapers so that the locals can have their very own copy it's hard to stay focused, never mind awake.
It's not the job for me, but I don't know what is. I do get excited about seeing my name in print, but then I get excited when I see my favourite band's name in print too so that doesn't say much. I'm finding it very difficult to muster up enthusiasm for an office job with no prospects and no cash. But even if I was getting paid for this, there is no room for promotion, no room for improvement, the boss already loves me and I don't even think I'm working hard. She's got no room to go further, how could she praise me for doing better when she already thinks I'm the best.
Ok, my shorthand leaves a lot to be desired and so does the occasional grammatical or style slip, but really, once I've finished my degree those things will be spot on. What do I get to do after that? It's very unfulfilling.
But then I don't know what is. There are hundreds of young journalists out there who would absolutely love the freedom that I have to write what I want (as long as it's in South Warrington) and the deadlines and the so-called pressure (see my last post for my uneventful and frankly boring experience of a deadline) but I don't want it. They can have it, infact the job I'm doing now is advertised in this issue of the South Warrington News.
I don't know what I'm destined to do, I'm creative, but not creative enough, I'm dedicated, but not dedicated to something that's not my own, I'm committed, but not disiplined enough to start something like a business so I don't know what's next. I miss being arty and I'll always have crafty bits in my blood, but I'm not good enough at anything to start a business, I don't even think I'm good enough at writing to write for a publication that I love.
So who knows what's next for me, I can feel a change coming (again) but I don't know what I want. I'll finish my degree and I'm absolutlely going to do the best I can at it, but after that, I don't have a clue, it's a blank at the moment, and it's a bit scary.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
On a Deadline?
Well, I don't know if it's me or this paper, but if this is a deadline I'm going to be a journalist for the rest of my life.
Maybe I'm just super organised or super calm (I'm not by the way) but it just seems that everything is ready to go and I've actually got LESS work to do now that most of my editorial has been sent to the subs.
STOP THE PRESS: Actually, the sub editor has just phoned in sick after six years of never missing a deadline. Whoops. Think I jinxed the place.
But I do feel surprisingly calm, I don't know if it's my editor. She is a stressed out kind of person, but thrives on it and gets the job done. So maybe I'm only stressed by stressed out other people and thats why I'm so calm here.
Also, I'm not exactly working at the Sun so I suppose theres less pressure to start with. But the editor and the last journalist that worked here warned me about how busy it was and how stressed they always got. Maybe I'm just work experience so am kept out of it but no one really seems that bothered about the deadline.
And I get to go home early today, fair enough I started at 8.30 this morning but I still get to go home at 12.30! Totally looking forward to that, I've got nothing to do here! My editor said to me yesterday "if this doesn't prepare you for working in a newspaper, I don't know what will!"
I smiled politely but this is not my idea of journalism, I thought it was exciting and pressured and busy and creative. This is sitting in a back office in Stockton Heath rewriting press releases about cows farting. (Fact, I got an email about that earlier this week).
I also heard a fact recently that journalism is one of the most stressful of all careers. I thought my first ever deadline would make me cry. In fact, I'm bored and am going to make a cup of tea.
Maybe I'm just super organised or super calm (I'm not by the way) but it just seems that everything is ready to go and I've actually got LESS work to do now that most of my editorial has been sent to the subs.
STOP THE PRESS: Actually, the sub editor has just phoned in sick after six years of never missing a deadline. Whoops. Think I jinxed the place.
But I do feel surprisingly calm, I don't know if it's my editor. She is a stressed out kind of person, but thrives on it and gets the job done. So maybe I'm only stressed by stressed out other people and thats why I'm so calm here.
Also, I'm not exactly working at the Sun so I suppose theres less pressure to start with. But the editor and the last journalist that worked here warned me about how busy it was and how stressed they always got. Maybe I'm just work experience so am kept out of it but no one really seems that bothered about the deadline.
And I get to go home early today, fair enough I started at 8.30 this morning but I still get to go home at 12.30! Totally looking forward to that, I've got nothing to do here! My editor said to me yesterday "if this doesn't prepare you for working in a newspaper, I don't know what will!"
I smiled politely but this is not my idea of journalism, I thought it was exciting and pressured and busy and creative. This is sitting in a back office in Stockton Heath rewriting press releases about cows farting. (Fact, I got an email about that earlier this week).
I also heard a fact recently that journalism is one of the most stressful of all careers. I thought my first ever deadline would make me cry. In fact, I'm bored and am going to make a cup of tea.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
So... The exhaust fell off my car today.
Yes, another thing in the long, long list of problems with my car. Not even a month ago I had a new head gasket, starter motor and water pump. That all came to the grand total of £700. I was skint at the time and managed to scrape it all together. I seriously mean scrape. I had absolutely nothing in my account after that fateful day.
So today, I was leaving campus and heard a funny clunking sound. Then the car started to sound like a jet. Not a jet garage, a jumbo jet. I'm sure they heard me coming all over Warrington. So I continued to ASDA, it was a shoe emergency and when I got back. A fellow student flagged me down and gave me the middle section of my exhaust. It's now sitting in the back seat.
Needless to say, I'm not particularly keen to get it fixed, I'd rather push it in a canal. But unfortunately, I need her, I like her no matter what huge expense she throws at me, but I still am not looking forward to the three mile drive to Kwik-Fit tomorrow. And if I'm perfectly honest, I just can't wait to get rid of her now!
That drive to the garage tomorrow, people will stare, others will flash their lights as if I don't know that my exhaust is slightly louder than theirs... Ok the loudest you have ever heard. It's going to be embarrassing, then when I get to Kwik-Fit, they'll see wee me coming and add 90% onto their prices and fob me off with a half hearted job that will cost three times the price. They will think I don't know what I'm talking about but to be honest, I know absolutely everything that can go wrong on a car. And how, when you think that it's as bad as it can possibly get and the price is as high as you think it will rise. Things will always get worse. And more expensive.
This really is the last repair. I can't take it anymore. But then, the MOT is due on June 3. And that will probably fail. Just because it's me, and it's Beryl and we don't have a very good relationship at the moment.
So today, I was leaving campus and heard a funny clunking sound. Then the car started to sound like a jet. Not a jet garage, a jumbo jet. I'm sure they heard me coming all over Warrington. So I continued to ASDA, it was a shoe emergency and when I got back. A fellow student flagged me down and gave me the middle section of my exhaust. It's now sitting in the back seat.
Needless to say, I'm not particularly keen to get it fixed, I'd rather push it in a canal. But unfortunately, I need her, I like her no matter what huge expense she throws at me, but I still am not looking forward to the three mile drive to Kwik-Fit tomorrow. And if I'm perfectly honest, I just can't wait to get rid of her now!
That drive to the garage tomorrow, people will stare, others will flash their lights as if I don't know that my exhaust is slightly louder than theirs... Ok the loudest you have ever heard. It's going to be embarrassing, then when I get to Kwik-Fit, they'll see wee me coming and add 90% onto their prices and fob me off with a half hearted job that will cost three times the price. They will think I don't know what I'm talking about but to be honest, I know absolutely everything that can go wrong on a car. And how, when you think that it's as bad as it can possibly get and the price is as high as you think it will rise. Things will always get worse. And more expensive.
This really is the last repair. I can't take it anymore. But then, the MOT is due on June 3. And that will probably fail. Just because it's me, and it's Beryl and we don't have a very good relationship at the moment.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
I only realise what I miss when I get it back again.
When it was sunny, i was happy. I loved it, wearing sunglasses and pretty shoes and feeling warm all the time. I liked driving with the windows down and stopping for ice creams. I liked watching boys play football and I liked going to bed with the windows open. I didn't like the suncream and getting in the car when it had been parked in the sun, but those were small sacrifices for barbeques and beer gardens.
But then, as the days got darker and more grey and eventually when it got cold, wet and windy again, I realised that I'd missed it. I hate the way my hair frizzes though, and I hate when my feet get wet because I wore ridiculous shoes for the weather and when my jeans soak up the puddles. I hate it when the windscreen wipers only wipe the passenger side of the car and I hate when I'm totally unprepares and don't have an umbrella or a hood.
But I like the rain, I really do. And I miss it when it's gone. It's Britain though, and the rain is never far away, but I like the noise it makes on the window and I like walking in it when I don't care about getting wet. I like looking out when it's rainy and feeling pleased that I'm dry. I like the smell when it rained and the ground was hot. And like my wellies although I don't wear them unless the rain is torrential or at a festival.
It's the same with people and things, I miss my family and friends from home but I only realise how much when I actually get back home. Then I'm too busy enjoying myself there to realise how much I'm missing Uni and my friends there. So when I say I miss you, I mean it, but I'll mean it more when I see you again. I suppose I've been lucky. I think I'll count my lucky stars the next time. I won't always get another chance.
But then, as the days got darker and more grey and eventually when it got cold, wet and windy again, I realised that I'd missed it. I hate the way my hair frizzes though, and I hate when my feet get wet because I wore ridiculous shoes for the weather and when my jeans soak up the puddles. I hate it when the windscreen wipers only wipe the passenger side of the car and I hate when I'm totally unprepares and don't have an umbrella or a hood.
But I like the rain, I really do. And I miss it when it's gone. It's Britain though, and the rain is never far away, but I like the noise it makes on the window and I like walking in it when I don't care about getting wet. I like looking out when it's rainy and feeling pleased that I'm dry. I like the smell when it rained and the ground was hot. And like my wellies although I don't wear them unless the rain is torrential or at a festival.
It's the same with people and things, I miss my family and friends from home but I only realise how much when I actually get back home. Then I'm too busy enjoying myself there to realise how much I'm missing Uni and my friends there. So when I say I miss you, I mean it, but I'll mean it more when I see you again. I suppose I've been lucky. I think I'll count my lucky stars the next time. I won't always get another chance.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
23 Days to go...
23 working days that is. I'm counting down already to the end of work placement and the beginning of the summer. I've always hated it when people "wish their life away". Always waiting for the weekend or counting hours till the end of the day. You only live once, why shouldn't a Monday be as fun as a Saturday? Surely there's something in your day that makes it worthwhile.
But here I am, doing everything I hate. Counting hours and days and wishing they were over. I hate myself for it, but the working for free isn't really filling me with much joy. I'm finding it hard to concentrate on my work because no one is really expecting anything amazing. I think that will change next week though when I'm under the pressure of a deadline!
My expectations of this placement were immense. I had visions of me working 20 hours a day with no thanks and no support. It's turned out better than I expected but I still can't help myself wishing the day away. It doesn't help that every night when I finish work placement I have to go earn actual money in my real job. Not a job that I particulary enjoy or am inspired to do well in but it buys me food and beer and pays my bills.
I hope one day that I can have a job that I truly love and that I don't mid getting up in the morning for. It has happened in the past and I hope it happens again sometime. In the meantime though, I either want to be a proper student who works part time and moans about how hard it is to write a 3000 word essay or a journalist who gets paid to sit in the office and re write press releases. Neither of which is happening right now! I'm doing the latter, but doing it for free and I think we've established that this is not the kind of thing I can see myself doing for 20 years. (Or less, depending on when I get bored or have a quarter life crisis).
So good luck to all of you on placement at the moment, I hope that something is giving you joy and it's not just the thought that there are only 4 hours left of your working day or 23 days left of your entire placement. Just think, when we finish all of this, there are still 3 weeks until the end of term. That's a whole lot of Piazza action!
Have a lovely day.
But here I am, doing everything I hate. Counting hours and days and wishing they were over. I hate myself for it, but the working for free isn't really filling me with much joy. I'm finding it hard to concentrate on my work because no one is really expecting anything amazing. I think that will change next week though when I'm under the pressure of a deadline!
My expectations of this placement were immense. I had visions of me working 20 hours a day with no thanks and no support. It's turned out better than I expected but I still can't help myself wishing the day away. It doesn't help that every night when I finish work placement I have to go earn actual money in my real job. Not a job that I particulary enjoy or am inspired to do well in but it buys me food and beer and pays my bills.
I hope one day that I can have a job that I truly love and that I don't mid getting up in the morning for. It has happened in the past and I hope it happens again sometime. In the meantime though, I either want to be a proper student who works part time and moans about how hard it is to write a 3000 word essay or a journalist who gets paid to sit in the office and re write press releases. Neither of which is happening right now! I'm doing the latter, but doing it for free and I think we've established that this is not the kind of thing I can see myself doing for 20 years. (Or less, depending on when I get bored or have a quarter life crisis).
So good luck to all of you on placement at the moment, I hope that something is giving you joy and it's not just the thought that there are only 4 hours left of your working day or 23 days left of your entire placement. Just think, when we finish all of this, there are still 3 weeks until the end of term. That's a whole lot of Piazza action!
Have a lovely day.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Back to School
I've been off Uni for the Easter Holidays since the end of March and today was the first torturous lecture back. I don't know if torturous is a word but the spellcheck seems to accept it. But funnily enough has a problem with the word spellcheck!
Anyway, the only module I have this semester is Work Based Learning. I'm sure I've moaned about it on here before but it seems like free labour for a greedy employer for me. I've already done half of my hours at the List and I'm so, so grateful for that. That placement was amazing and I'll probably be focusing on that one in my report. However, my next placement is really taking the piss. (Sorry, couldn't think of a more elegant way to put it.)
By boss is already taking full advantage of my nice nature, inability to say no or do a half hearted job and my absolute desperation to get good marks in this module. She's got me running ragged around Warrington for her before my placement has even started! I've also found out that the journalist that I'm supposed to be working with has left. I'm going to be running the stories by myself. Lets just go over that; sourcing stories, getting interviews and photographs and writing them up for printing in the paper.
Fair enough its going to be a brilliant experience, but I have absolutely no idea how a local paper is run. I have no idea what kind of stories to cover and I have absolutely no contacts in Warrington or anywhere else for that matter!
Work experience is taking over my life at the moment and I'm kind of wishing this placement was over before it's even started. I don't want to be given that amount of responsibility when I'm only on work placement. I shouldn't be expected to have perfect shorthand, research and writing skills. I know I should be at a decent enough level to be able to write. But to do absolutely everything myself when I know for a fact the editor isn't in the office all the time is a bit unrealistic.
So basically, I'm scared. I feel like too much is being asked of me already, in a place where I'm not too keen to try and excel. We'll see how it goes. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised!
Anyway, the only module I have this semester is Work Based Learning. I'm sure I've moaned about it on here before but it seems like free labour for a greedy employer for me. I've already done half of my hours at the List and I'm so, so grateful for that. That placement was amazing and I'll probably be focusing on that one in my report. However, my next placement is really taking the piss. (Sorry, couldn't think of a more elegant way to put it.)
By boss is already taking full advantage of my nice nature, inability to say no or do a half hearted job and my absolute desperation to get good marks in this module. She's got me running ragged around Warrington for her before my placement has even started! I've also found out that the journalist that I'm supposed to be working with has left. I'm going to be running the stories by myself. Lets just go over that; sourcing stories, getting interviews and photographs and writing them up for printing in the paper.
Fair enough its going to be a brilliant experience, but I have absolutely no idea how a local paper is run. I have no idea what kind of stories to cover and I have absolutely no contacts in Warrington or anywhere else for that matter!
Work experience is taking over my life at the moment and I'm kind of wishing this placement was over before it's even started. I don't want to be given that amount of responsibility when I'm only on work placement. I shouldn't be expected to have perfect shorthand, research and writing skills. I know I should be at a decent enough level to be able to write. But to do absolutely everything myself when I know for a fact the editor isn't in the office all the time is a bit unrealistic.
So basically, I'm scared. I feel like too much is being asked of me already, in a place where I'm not too keen to try and excel. We'll see how it goes. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
I don't know what else to do...
The last post on here was depressing and unfortunately this one is the same. I promise to write about Uni and the weather again soon but here goes.
If I was in the position that the BBC journalist Alan Johnston is now, I'd hope that everyone would do everything in their power to get me returned safely. There have been unconfirmed reports that he has been killed, but that's even more reason for those who can to try harder for his release.
Here is a link
to a BBC petition, I don't know how much it will help, but it's worth a try.
If I was in the position that the BBC journalist Alan Johnston is now, I'd hope that everyone would do everything in their power to get me returned safely. There have been unconfirmed reports that he has been killed, but that's even more reason for those who can to try harder for his release.
Here is a link
to a BBC petition, I don't know how much it will help, but it's worth a try.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Terrified into owning a gun.
It's devastating to hear of the students killed in the shooting in Virginia today. In the UK we are so protected from gun crime that most of us have never seen a live firearm up close. From what I've gathered, in America it seems that people believe it is their right to own and bear arms. It sounds to me that families think someone is likely to walk through their front door and gun them down while they watch tv. That fear would make anyone want to own a gun but its not likely to happen. But unfortunately people in America seem to think that it will, and that they need to be prepared for it.
In Virginia where the shooting happened today, you or I could walk into a shop and buy a gun with no checks whatsoever. You can't even rent a flat in the UK without a background check. But sadly the laws in America are never likely to change and again, it was so sad to hear that after the last time in America where 12 people were killed, the gun laws have been relaxed. Why, are people allowed to be so terrified into owning guns. Surely people should feel safe enough in their neighbourhood that they can sleep without a rifle under their pillow.
Ok, I'm exaggerating, I'm not naive enough to believe that every family in America is packing a shotgun. But if what I've heard is true, then its certainly normal. I understand that any responsible parent wouldn't let their child near the family firearms, but I bet that many do. And I bet that those children grow up with the fear that their parents did and get themselves a gun to protect their family.
It really is so sad to think of those kids in Virginia who thought they were in a safe place. Living away from their parents, studying and living with friends. I bet some of the 33 who died today were exactly like me and my friends. Except they happened to live in a culture where guns are acceptable. Where guns can be bought down the local Tesco and where 33 innocent people are allowed to die because some maniac felt like it. Those kids should be protected, how many more have to die before gun laws in America are tightened.
This won't be the last killing spree in the States. The NRA will see to that.
And its heartbreaking to think of the families of those killed today. How will they feel when we see the next time, and the time after that? But nothing will change, why would it? George Bush thinks its acceptable for people to protect themselves with guns. The NRA are one of the most powerful organisations in the world. And oh yeah, they have guns. How are we supposed to compete with that?
In Virginia where the shooting happened today, you or I could walk into a shop and buy a gun with no checks whatsoever. You can't even rent a flat in the UK without a background check. But sadly the laws in America are never likely to change and again, it was so sad to hear that after the last time in America where 12 people were killed, the gun laws have been relaxed. Why, are people allowed to be so terrified into owning guns. Surely people should feel safe enough in their neighbourhood that they can sleep without a rifle under their pillow.
Ok, I'm exaggerating, I'm not naive enough to believe that every family in America is packing a shotgun. But if what I've heard is true, then its certainly normal. I understand that any responsible parent wouldn't let their child near the family firearms, but I bet that many do. And I bet that those children grow up with the fear that their parents did and get themselves a gun to protect their family.
It really is so sad to think of those kids in Virginia who thought they were in a safe place. Living away from their parents, studying and living with friends. I bet some of the 33 who died today were exactly like me and my friends. Except they happened to live in a culture where guns are acceptable. Where guns can be bought down the local Tesco and where 33 innocent people are allowed to die because some maniac felt like it. Those kids should be protected, how many more have to die before gun laws in America are tightened.
This won't be the last killing spree in the States. The NRA will see to that.
And its heartbreaking to think of the families of those killed today. How will they feel when we see the next time, and the time after that? But nothing will change, why would it? George Bush thinks its acceptable for people to protect themselves with guns. The NRA are one of the most powerful organisations in the world. And oh yeah, they have guns. How are we supposed to compete with that?
Friday, April 06, 2007
It's almost over
I can't believe I've been at the List for two weeks now. I've most definitley not enjoyed getting up at 6am every day but I'd usually forgotten that as soon as I picked up my Metro. It's been full of mostly highs and I'm totally sad to leave. There is so much more for me to do here, and yes, even after 2 weeks of working for free, I'd still give my eye teeth to work at the List.
Look out for the next issue people, it's lovely. And look out for my name, oh yes. I've got a by-line. My first ever by-line and it just happens to be in a magazine that I've been reading since I was about 17. I've got myself some free stuff too, perks of the job you know. One of them even happened to be a free bar! Not advisable though, I'm sure the image of me the next morning was pretty scary.
So this is the last thing I'll be doing at my trusty wee mac, it's been slow sometimes, but I'm loving it now. I had my own desk for a week and it's about to be passed down to the next pleb cum budding journalist that walks through the door. They're going to love it here, and who knows. Maybe I'll be walking through the door as an actual employee one day.
We'll see.
xx
Look out for the next issue people, it's lovely. And look out for my name, oh yes. I've got a by-line. My first ever by-line and it just happens to be in a magazine that I've been reading since I was about 17. I've got myself some free stuff too, perks of the job you know. One of them even happened to be a free bar! Not advisable though, I'm sure the image of me the next morning was pretty scary.
So this is the last thing I'll be doing at my trusty wee mac, it's been slow sometimes, but I'm loving it now. I had my own desk for a week and it's about to be passed down to the next pleb cum budding journalist that walks through the door. They're going to love it here, and who knows. Maybe I'll be walking through the door as an actual employee one day.
We'll see.
xx
Monday, March 26, 2007
Wow, The List.
Is so not what I was expecting. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't what I found. The offices are in what looks like converted flats and they're like a maze of corridors and passages and rooms with way too many doors. Everyone there seems lovely but older and much more subdued than I was expecting. Again, I don't think I was expecting 19 year olds swinging from the rooftops and those who do work there aren't much over 30. I know that I did expect to feel totally inadequate with all their fountains of knowledge, and to a certain extent I was, but t looks like my years of reading the magazine and trying my best to always know whats happening in town have paid off. I wasn't completely over my head and yes, I did feel cool sitting at my very own desk with my very own computer drinking tea and doing some research for a feature.
I'll have some skivvying jobs aswell I'm sure. Although I haven't made my own cup of tea yet! And I'm sure the getting up at 6am and getting home at 8pm will become normal. I hope.
But there is something nice about travelling by train, theres also something cool about having a rail card. It's like a status symbol that says: "yeah, I do this all the time. I'm bored of it now, I'll just sit here listening to my ipod or reading my paper." When really I'm like: "yeah, look at me. Commuting." I'll get used to the early starts, it's all in preperation for my next work placement which is going to be as big a mission as this but in different ways.
So back to the capital tommorow, doing my dream job for free and finding out it's not quite as glamourous as I imagined. ALthough I was impressed when a voice came from somewhere in the distance and shouted: "Who wants press accreditiation for Glasgow Fashion Week?" I was desperate to shout out but you know, take it slowly. I'm sure the credits will come next week.
I'll have some skivvying jobs aswell I'm sure. Although I haven't made my own cup of tea yet! And I'm sure the getting up at 6am and getting home at 8pm will become normal. I hope.
But there is something nice about travelling by train, theres also something cool about having a rail card. It's like a status symbol that says: "yeah, I do this all the time. I'm bored of it now, I'll just sit here listening to my ipod or reading my paper." When really I'm like: "yeah, look at me. Commuting." I'll get used to the early starts, it's all in preperation for my next work placement which is going to be as big a mission as this but in different ways.
So back to the capital tommorow, doing my dream job for free and finding out it's not quite as glamourous as I imagined. ALthough I was impressed when a voice came from somewhere in the distance and shouted: "Who wants press accreditiation for Glasgow Fashion Week?" I was desperate to shout out but you know, take it slowly. I'm sure the credits will come next week.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Home isn't really home.
I'm home apparently, well home where my parents live and where I grew up for all of my teenage years and most of the rest. I don't really have a bedroom as such, none of my stuff is here and I'm living such a different life to my friends here that it's hard to stay in touch and catch up when I'm here.
All my stuff is at Uni. My computer, my music, my clothes, what I would call my bed, my TV, my boyfriend, my clothes (my shoes however have remained here in Glasgow throught my Uni life) and worst of all I think I left my social life there along with my house keys! Although calling what I have at Uni a social life is a huge overstatement if I'm honest. I don't make plans, I don't go anywhere other than the Uni bar or someone else's room and I never have any money to do anything else.
When I'm in Glasgow however, there's everything going on and everyone to do it with but I still feel like I'm just visiting. I've been gone for so long and had the easy life for equally as long that I don't really know how to get back into the swing of things. Phoning round and seeing what people are doing is the option. Did that. Found out everyone was out last night when I was stuck outside my own house after forgetting my keys and driving 200 miles.
So now it's Sunday, I'm watching a repeat of Top Gear because this series has finished and hoping that by reaching out through my mobile and this borrowed laptop I can find some civillisation and some entertainment tonight before I start working for free (read 'making tea') for those lovely people at the List tommorow.
All my stuff is at Uni. My computer, my music, my clothes, what I would call my bed, my TV, my boyfriend, my clothes (my shoes however have remained here in Glasgow throught my Uni life) and worst of all I think I left my social life there along with my house keys! Although calling what I have at Uni a social life is a huge overstatement if I'm honest. I don't make plans, I don't go anywhere other than the Uni bar or someone else's room and I never have any money to do anything else.
When I'm in Glasgow however, there's everything going on and everyone to do it with but I still feel like I'm just visiting. I've been gone for so long and had the easy life for equally as long that I don't really know how to get back into the swing of things. Phoning round and seeing what people are doing is the option. Did that. Found out everyone was out last night when I was stuck outside my own house after forgetting my keys and driving 200 miles.
So now it's Sunday, I'm watching a repeat of Top Gear because this series has finished and hoping that by reaching out through my mobile and this borrowed laptop I can find some civillisation and some entertainment tonight before I start working for free (read 'making tea') for those lovely people at the List tommorow.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
It's nearly Easter!
And I can't quite believe it. I've just submitted my penultimate piece of work for this semester and it's a little scary. Not only because I've had my last Journalism lecture of 2nd year but because I don't really know where 2nd tear has gone!
One minute I'm stressing out because I've got 4 exams in a week and the next I'm planning my trip home for Easter. Before I know it, it's going to be work placement. (That I've managed to arrange thank you very much, at a free local Newspaper in Warrington where I'll be a reporter for 6 weeks) Hopefully that will lead to my name in print and probably also to me swearing never to set foot in another newsroom again!
I've got to decide this week also whether or not to do the dreaded dissertation. 10,000 words on a media/journalistic topic of my choice. It's optional, but the other options are considerably worse. So I'm condemning myself to the torture that my friends are going through right now and this time next year I'll be cursing my want for a decent degree while staying up all night frantically writing thousands of words on a hideously defined topic that I'll be sick of by Christmas.
I thought it was a great idea to get myself a degree. I don't think I could do it again, I think I;m old enough and reclusive enough to not want to put myself through another freshers week and having every single person on campus come up to me and say "oh my god, you're scottish!" I know that, I have seen my passport and know Glasgow well enough to say, "yep, I live there." Two years ago I was so up for it I would have won the coveted Adam Palfrey Up for it award. But this year I'd be lucky to win an honorable mention!
Half of me can't wait for this year to be over, the other half is terrified of third year and its finality. Who knows what I'll do after that, to be honest as one of my friends said the other day. "I don't really think I want a graduate job after this. I think I just want to lie down!"
One minute I'm stressing out because I've got 4 exams in a week and the next I'm planning my trip home for Easter. Before I know it, it's going to be work placement. (That I've managed to arrange thank you very much, at a free local Newspaper in Warrington where I'll be a reporter for 6 weeks) Hopefully that will lead to my name in print and probably also to me swearing never to set foot in another newsroom again!
I've got to decide this week also whether or not to do the dreaded dissertation. 10,000 words on a media/journalistic topic of my choice. It's optional, but the other options are considerably worse. So I'm condemning myself to the torture that my friends are going through right now and this time next year I'll be cursing my want for a decent degree while staying up all night frantically writing thousands of words on a hideously defined topic that I'll be sick of by Christmas.
I thought it was a great idea to get myself a degree. I don't think I could do it again, I think I;m old enough and reclusive enough to not want to put myself through another freshers week and having every single person on campus come up to me and say "oh my god, you're scottish!" I know that, I have seen my passport and know Glasgow well enough to say, "yep, I live there." Two years ago I was so up for it I would have won the coveted Adam Palfrey Up for it award. But this year I'd be lucky to win an honorable mention!
Half of me can't wait for this year to be over, the other half is terrified of third year and its finality. Who knows what I'll do after that, to be honest as one of my friends said the other day. "I don't really think I want a graduate job after this. I think I just want to lie down!"
Sunday, March 04, 2007
I wrote this....
I'm entering the T Break competition for music journalists with this piece. 500 words is looooong for a review! Tell me what you think. Leave me a comment at the end.
Waiting by the old piano in the Night and Day Café is an exciting but nervous experience. Austin Texas’ Voxtrot have been on stage for about 20 minutes but haven’t played a note. They are anxiously checking and rechecking equipment that doesn’t seem to work for them. The lead singer Ramesh Srivastava dons his guitar and steps to the front stony faced only to encounter a silent microphone. He looks to his right to see the sound engineer rushing to his desk. They’re ready to begin.
Ramesh apologises for the technical difficulties and launches energetically but hesitantly into “Mothers, Sisters, Daughters and Wives”. The vocals are muffled and Keyboard player Jared Van Fleet, also known as Sparrow Hall, frantically signals for them to be turned up. Something else is way too loud and the band is looking nervous. Ramesh looks uncomfortable but storms through the first song with his usual excitement and vigour. He looked much more comfortable on stage at Optimo in
After the disappointing first song, a quick scan of the crowd shows the majority squeezing their way closer to the front. Voxtrot have overcome the problems and the crowd want more. The far from sold out Night and Day is intimate enough to reward persistence, being at the front gives a rare glimpse of the band close up. Drummer, Matt Simon, looks bored to begin with and the rest play stony faced through the first few tracks where the obvious lack of a sound check causes problem after problem. The silence between songs feels like respect, but the nervous faces on stage must think it’s something more sinister.
The band soon relaxes though and Van Fleet dances behind his instruments and bass player Jason Chronis sings along. Voxtrot storm through the rest of their optimistic poppy set with Van Fleet working up a sweat behind his multiple keyboards. Ramesh really looks as though he’s enjoying himself and dances awkwardly but energetically through song after song of catchy rocky pop. Not even a broken microphone stand as Ramesh takes to the keyboard for “Soft and Warm” can stop him bouncing along. Voxtrot have been likened to Belle and Sebastian and the uplifting keyboard effects only back this up.
Voxtrot don’t say much during this gig, Jason Chronis reluctantly takes the mic, as Ramesh tunes his guitar for the third time, and introduces two new songs before giggling nervously and slinking towards the back staring at his bass. The gig ended on a massive high with “Missing Pieces”. The band overcoming all earlier obstacles to play like we knew they could. This might be the last time Voxtrot play the Night and Day Café but it certainly won’t be the last we hear of them.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Paying for an education
I had a lecture today. Being a student, that's not particularly surprising. But it was a lecture on internet research. Again, with a dissertation to do next year that's hardly surprising either. But what is absolutely shocking though is the lecture, that was supposed to be an hour long, lasted a mere half an hour and the lecturer only talked about how to search on Google.
Now, I'm 24. I've had the internet my whole life, I do remember it in it's infancy but again, I've been using it the whole time I've been in education. Thats a long time. And I know how to use Google. I could have understood if the lecture was on useful ways to narrow searches in databases such as online journals or bibliography databases. But no. This lecture really was on how to use Google.
There's not much else to say on it really. I got up at 9am for a lecture and was back in my room slightly stunned at what juat happened a mere 35 minutes later! I've ranted to everyone around me at my astonishment and now I'm telling you. I'm paying about £7,000 a year and getting myself into an unimaginable amount of debt to be taught about how to search on Google. It's not even the best way to search! I'd fail if I cited it in an essay so what was the point? Your guess is as good as mine.
I might write a stronly worded letter. Then again, being a student. Neighbours is on soon, so I probably won't.
Now, I'm 24. I've had the internet my whole life, I do remember it in it's infancy but again, I've been using it the whole time I've been in education. Thats a long time. And I know how to use Google. I could have understood if the lecture was on useful ways to narrow searches in databases such as online journals or bibliography databases. But no. This lecture really was on how to use Google.
There's not much else to say on it really. I got up at 9am for a lecture and was back in my room slightly stunned at what juat happened a mere 35 minutes later! I've ranted to everyone around me at my astonishment and now I'm telling you. I'm paying about £7,000 a year and getting myself into an unimaginable amount of debt to be taught about how to search on Google. It's not even the best way to search! I'd fail if I cited it in an essay so what was the point? Your guess is as good as mine.
I might write a stronly worded letter. Then again, being a student. Neighbours is on soon, so I probably won't.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Night and Day Sucks!
Well there's a phrase I never thought I'd type! Night n Day officially made me a little upset tonight. The brilliantly poppy but not trashy Voxtrot played tonight and spent about 20 minutes standing on stage not doing much before the lead singer said: "Ok, we're ready" into a silent mic (I know because I was poised next to the piano waiting for them to start) only to find the sound engineer still standing next to the stage chatting to his pal.
Then they started with all their usual vigour and zest (I love that word) but the singer couldn't be heard, something was waaaaay to loud and everything else was a bit muffled and confusing. I knew the words but couldn't make them out and was truly hoping that they would sort them out and play like I know they can. After calling for more vocals about three more times and stopping to tune up twice the band looked uncomfortable with the silence in the not so packed Night and Day.
After the first song they got on form and played a stonking few songs but as the lead singer took the keyboards the mic stand broke and ended up with a random in a dogtooth hoodie of all things holding it up for him! I sadly had to leave just before the end but Voxtrot grabbed every opportunity to pull the gig back in their favour and worked it to their advantage but as I left sadly during the last song I thought this will be the last time we see Voxtrot in the Night n Day. I just hope they've got it all sorted out before Tilly and the Wall next week!
Yes, Tilly and the Wall in the Night n Day next week. I blue myself in anticipation. I cannot wait. They stomped all over Indian Summer and will do the same in Manc. Bad sound or no bad sound. I'm just hoping my cars fixed in time so I don't have to leave before the set's even halfway through!
Then they started with all their usual vigour and zest (I love that word) but the singer couldn't be heard, something was waaaaay to loud and everything else was a bit muffled and confusing. I knew the words but couldn't make them out and was truly hoping that they would sort them out and play like I know they can. After calling for more vocals about three more times and stopping to tune up twice the band looked uncomfortable with the silence in the not so packed Night and Day.
After the first song they got on form and played a stonking few songs but as the lead singer took the keyboards the mic stand broke and ended up with a random in a dogtooth hoodie of all things holding it up for him! I sadly had to leave just before the end but Voxtrot grabbed every opportunity to pull the gig back in their favour and worked it to their advantage but as I left sadly during the last song I thought this will be the last time we see Voxtrot in the Night n Day. I just hope they've got it all sorted out before Tilly and the Wall next week!
Yes, Tilly and the Wall in the Night n Day next week. I blue myself in anticipation. I cannot wait. They stomped all over Indian Summer and will do the same in Manc. Bad sound or no bad sound. I'm just hoping my cars fixed in time so I don't have to leave before the set's even halfway through!
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Nude No More
I love t-shirts. I love design. I love art. I love being creative and other creative people. I also love threadless.com. Trawling through the thousands of submitted designs by ordinary Joes like you and me you often come across some piece of genius. You also come across an extraordinary amount of crap but it's worth it all for the gold. I've only managed to buy myself one tshirt and one hoodie so far but I have converted many others to dedicated followers of Threadless. Many days have passed where I bump into someone and they say "Oh, have you seen the new Threadless shirts? They went up tonight" or on submitting your own text slogans a conversation interrupted with "Brilliant, thats a Threadless slogan right there!" Your design submissions, if you are so creatively inspired, can win you up to $2000 in cash and a host of other Threadless goodies including a years membership to the exclusive "12 club" where every month you receive a surprise design from Threadless' select designers. Your slogan submissions really only need an Americanised form of wit to win $100 cash and $100 Threadless credit! Not bad for a bit of sarcasm to proudly emblazon your chest.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
The Decemberists
After arriving during the first song to a surprisingly sold out and very crowded gig we managed to get a good spot with a couple of cans of Red Stripe and where tiny little me couldn't see as usual (You get used to judging a gig on sounds rather than what they look like on stage). The most surprising thing of all though was the silence. The crowd were either shocked stunned or possibly just in admiration. The Decemberists gave it their all on stage and even got some audience participation going during a brilliant rendition of "16 Military Wives" but the audience remained respectful and quiet in what felt like awe during most of the set.
Laughing politely at the Americans jokes the audience only sang loudly when prompted and even more shockingly I even heard a loud "Sssshhhhhhhh!" from behind when someone dropped a bottle. Although this was the case, the band picked up on it and continued to play a blinding though subdued set and came back quickly to play an encore.
They didn't play "Shiny" though and I know I wasn't the only one who missed it.
Laughing politely at the Americans jokes the audience only sang loudly when prompted and even more shockingly I even heard a loud "Sssshhhhhhhh!" from behind when someone dropped a bottle. Although this was the case, the band picked up on it and continued to play a blinding though subdued set and came back quickly to play an encore.
They didn't play "Shiny" though and I know I wasn't the only one who missed it.
2 Weeks of nothing.
This part of the Uni calender is always quiet. Exams are finished, we've all spent our student loans and there's still a week before we have to start the next semester. Lots of time to reflect on the negatives of student life. Like no money when your car breaks down, can't go home when it's your friends birthday or you have to start eating plain pasta again until your dead end job finally pays you after the Christmas hole in your student bank account.
On the other hand though, I still have that wonderful work placement to look forward to and I'm a little more optimistic about that than I was last time! There is also time now to do such time wasting things as watch two whole series of "House" or "CSI" or to watch an entire series of 24 in 24 hours (thats scheduled to start on Thursday night).
And time to make big plans like: "Now my exams are over I'm going to... go back to the gym, eat less sweets, drink less (after re-freshers of course), and get all my coursework done early so that I'm not doing it all at the last minute. All brilliant when you've got nothing better to do with your time, but by next week when everything is back to normal will go straight out the window with last weeks pasta and a bent frying pan.
On the other hand though, I still have that wonderful work placement to look forward to and I'm a little more optimistic about that than I was last time! There is also time now to do such time wasting things as watch two whole series of "House" or "CSI" or to watch an entire series of 24 in 24 hours (thats scheduled to start on Thursday night).
And time to make big plans like: "Now my exams are over I'm going to... go back to the gym, eat less sweets, drink less (after re-freshers of course), and get all my coursework done early so that I'm not doing it all at the last minute. All brilliant when you've got nothing better to do with your time, but by next week when everything is back to normal will go straight out the window with last weeks pasta and a bent frying pan.
Monday, January 15, 2007
I'm back...
Well, as I know full well that the majority of blogs online get created and never get updated I'm determined to keep using mine! I do feel like I'm talking to a blank corner of the internet and it's just me here. But I can practice my writing and tell whomever stumbles by what I'm protesting, sorry, discussing at the moment.
It's just gone Christmas and that means exams again, I have many this semester and obviously blogging is taking a much more important spot in my life! I've ranted on before about how much I hate exams so I won't repeat myself, my only addition is that I'm going to get better marks this time, or at least continue on the 60%'s I got the last time!
I've just been reading through some sponsored blogs by people that I vaguely know and am convinced they have this in built ability to make the most mundane event sound ever so exciting and that's what I'm practicing here. Yes, I know it's not quite there yet, but give me time. Reading them and stealing their ideas is going to do wonders for my own writing style, just you wait and see.
My current aim (after finishing my exams thank you very much) is to get myself a decent work placement for the wonderful part of my degree called Work Based Learning. I'd like to think of myself as a writer so ideally I'd like to work in a newspaper or magazine, but being me I don't want to be stuck at the Warrington Guardian reporting on the local council meeting where someone complained AGAIN about Asda trollies being left in the street! I want something exciting and new and me and somewhere I can get free stuff! We'll see how it goes though and hopefully my pitiful blogging here will flourish into the most articulate exciting set of ramblings you ever read on the internet. I'll win a Pulitzer prize one day, you wait and see. (That is in the same way I'm getting a 1st on my degree, I have my doubters but we'll see!) So yeah, if you know of anyone looking for a journalism student to do some free slave labour for 6 weeks, get in touch!
Well, may aswell make it a new years resolution since I can't remember the last time I even made one never mind the last time I kept one to keep my blog up to date.
We'll see.
xxx
It's just gone Christmas and that means exams again, I have many this semester and obviously blogging is taking a much more important spot in my life! I've ranted on before about how much I hate exams so I won't repeat myself, my only addition is that I'm going to get better marks this time, or at least continue on the 60%'s I got the last time!
I've just been reading through some sponsored blogs by people that I vaguely know and am convinced they have this in built ability to make the most mundane event sound ever so exciting and that's what I'm practicing here. Yes, I know it's not quite there yet, but give me time. Reading them and stealing their ideas is going to do wonders for my own writing style, just you wait and see.
My current aim (after finishing my exams thank you very much) is to get myself a decent work placement for the wonderful part of my degree called Work Based Learning. I'd like to think of myself as a writer so ideally I'd like to work in a newspaper or magazine, but being me I don't want to be stuck at the Warrington Guardian reporting on the local council meeting where someone complained AGAIN about Asda trollies being left in the street! I want something exciting and new and me and somewhere I can get free stuff! We'll see how it goes though and hopefully my pitiful blogging here will flourish into the most articulate exciting set of ramblings you ever read on the internet. I'll win a Pulitzer prize one day, you wait and see. (That is in the same way I'm getting a 1st on my degree, I have my doubters but we'll see!) So yeah, if you know of anyone looking for a journalism student to do some free slave labour for 6 weeks, get in touch!
Well, may aswell make it a new years resolution since I can't remember the last time I even made one never mind the last time I kept one to keep my blog up to date.
We'll see.
xxx
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