The Crazy Sister Returneth

I know I've been a little absent these last few days but to be honest, I haven't been massively busy nor entertained. I've done some cleaning and cooking, ordered 16 of my second year books (the 80 something total helped by a £50 giftcard from the uni).
But today, after a very early start, my sister is now home, almost reluctantly, from Bristol. She did indeed have a lot of stuff to bring back (perhaps more than me), but with her [boy]friend's help, it all fitted into the car with space to spare for a back seat passenger, my sister herself. We somehow made it home by half 12 after leaving that morning at half 3, and spent the afternoon trying on clothes and larking about. I'd almost forgotten how much fun it was to have her to mess around with, recall private jokes, and playfully insult. 
Also discovered a new American diner in our high street does pretty decent food. 
On a separate note, I'm still enjoying the old Robot Wars.
But now, I need to start getting down to my reading and my plans with family and friends.

3 very different days, 2 potential outcomes, 1 stumped country

It's been another three day gap so I shall do my best to fill it, but before that, the bigger issue is the outcome of the referendum which was close, but ended in an OUT majority, and subsequently a spiral into political unrest and confusion. I won't delve too deep into this because I never cared much for it before and the less I think of it, [potentially] the better. I shall return to more engaging matters.
Friday was my day out in Central London with Jackson. The weather was surprisingly warm and breezy - almost summer-like - but my body had other plans and decided to lump me with period pains which detracted slightly from the wonder of London's complex heart in the sunlight. We stopped off in the Japan Centre in Soho for classic Japanese snacks (sushi, mochi, fizzy fruity drinks) and ended up in St James' Park by The Mall playing Smash Bros on his DS before another wander. By 6pm, we decided it was time to find some proper food so we went to a place in Soho called Shoryu, serving ramen (which was a first for me). That, however, was pretty much the end of our day, having missed the Pride parade which supposedly had passed through Central London that day.

Yesterday I finally got to hang out with my long time best friend Eloise in the larger nearby town of Bromley. Have some lunch, shop, and catch up, whilst avoiding the occasional downpour courtesy of our British summer weather. I ended up buying myself a fringed burgundy suede handbag in a sale in Topshop due to the fact that I didn't have a medium sized bag myself. We ended our day watching a squirrel eat popcorn while hanging upside down from a tree! I managed to get home just in time to avoid a hail/thunderstorm (which Eloise, unfortunately, did not), but jeez was the thunder ever loud! Such a feeling to be out under that sky too!

Today, however, has been a bit of a bore, being that I was taken to Bluewater (again) by my dad out of his desire to buy a professional coffee machine from John Lewis. Granted I scored a sweet dress belt and some surprisingly good coffee (courtesy of Krispy Kreme), but it hardly felt worth the effort.
Back home it was Sunday as usual, doing laundry, making dinner, etc. etc.
And it's another week over again....
Tomorrow, I start ordering my second year books and maybe get to watch another film *fingers crossed*

Brexit will not stop overpriced Italian food!

So, the voting for the UK's future in the EU has officially been closed as of 10 minutes ago, and now we wait for the result. In case you were wondering, I used my vote to keep us IN Europe - I'm not sure if my dad would agree.
Besides that, I spent today chatting to some neighbours for a few hours about all sorts of things before going back home to watch Black Beauty. I'd heard it could be sad and I wasn't disappointed. I highly recommend anyone to watch it - even if horses aren't your favourite animal (they aren't mine).
Had dinner out a new Italian restaurant open in my local high street called Bella Italia. I would NOT however recommend the place. Their decor may be pretty sweet, and the staff friendly enough, but the food does not deserve such a steep price tag. I shall say no more. 
After a decent food shop at Tesco (which included approx. £30 worth of wine), my dad and I came home to enjoy cheesecake and Robot Wars (both so much more worth our time and money).
Tomorrow, I get to see my dear boyfriend again, for a walk around Central London and a dinner date <3

Three Days

My apologies for the short delay between entries but it hasn't exactly been a riveting nor progressive few days.
Monday saw me and Jackson together again for Robot Wars and a turkey shepherd's pie (yes I know it's supposed to be lamb).
Tuesday was a lazy day reading The Woman in White (and making significant progress) and playing Bejewelled until I considered it time to cook up some tuna pasta and end the day with two episodes of the new season of The Musketeers.
Today I managed to bag myself a few sweet shirts from local charity shops and make it home in time for dinner.
Tomorrow I finally get around to watching The Secret Garden again and having more Italian food for dinner!

World Class Chips

So, it's been a bit of a busy weekend what with going down to Seaford, Sussex, with my dad to see my uncle. Had possibly THE chunkiest and tastiest chips in a nearby pub - as well Steak Diane mushrooms (tastiest sauce ever) - before pigging out (regretfully) on Banoffee Peanut Pie!
Today, more involved - tending to the grave site (if you don't already know the story behind this, it's best you don't), doing laundry, making apple cake and eventually roast turkey dinner, organising an outdoor freezer because my dad has no organisation of this kind.
But again, treated to an evening watching Robot Wars!!
Tomorrow is another chill day spent with the wonderful Jackson <3

We're coming for you Amsterdam

Guess who's heading to Amsterdam at the start of August? It's me, of course! A 5-day stay in a beautiful canal city in the Netherlands, full of pancakes, boats and....well, we all know the city's reputation. But we'll be taking it easy, indulging in the night life a little.
However, that's all I have to report on tonight and I will probably need to sleep sooner than usual to 1. Get enough rest for an early start, and 2. Catch up on lost hours.
Tomorrow I'm visiting my uncle at last

I am a Gothic Elf

Another successful day clothes shopping in Bromley High Street. Bagged me a dark green t-shirt dress, a patterned white long-sleeve tee, and a lace-front elf type shirt in green. Sweet haul! Tried them out in various configurations with my existing clothes and found myself able to revamp my gothic look with the green shirt and a barbed wire pattern skirt - made me real happy! 
Had Greek chicken and calamari for dinner at Ephesus Meze Bar in my own home town of Orpington and it is genuinely some delicious food.
To end my day, re-watching The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013), a film adaptation of the Cassandra Clare book series, and one which I would have liked to see a movie sequel for, but will instead have to settle for the potentially disastrous Netflix series.
Tomorrow will see Jackson and I finally paying for our August trip to Amsterdam, and I will get to catch up on my reading of The Woman in White.
Soon, however, I will need to get my sleep for an early start.

Another Successful End

Good evening. I have yet more exciting developments to share on the education front in the shape of another 1st for my Critical Theory essays. I have yet to look over the comments my wonderful tutor has left me on my various successes and flaws but I will do that presently.
Today has also been a [mild] success on the clothes front in the shape of a terracotta t-shirt and a pale green bird print scarf (not that I needed another scarf). Hastings itself was pretty agreeable weather-wise, even if my dad and I didn't spend too long there beyond a short stroll through the town and some fish 'n' chips in a local shop. Back home, I made some more fish for dinner (haha I'm trying to stay healthy so it's helping) before watching Non-Stop (stars Liam Neeson) over some tea and biscuits.
Tomorrow: Bromley and maybe some more clothes

The Icing on the Cake

It does feel good to be reunited at last. To cook for and spend quality time with the one I love again. I practically jumped out the door to greet Jackson this afternoon (better late than never).
He is my massage master and it was one of many things which I had missed in our three month separation so I was richly rewarded today.
We have had to put our Amsterdam booking on hold for the moment until he can get the necessary funding, but this looks to be a gorgeous place to stay *fingers crossed*
Though, as if today hadn't already reached a high point, I have just found out that I have been awarded a high first - 76 out of 100 - for my Sensibility essay! This is the best day ever!
Tomorrow: Hastings - and a chance to escape these unseasonable showers

Pizza, Pubes and 'Penetrating' the 4th Wall

So, I didn't come back from Bluewater today with half the stuff I expected to. Wanted/needed new clothes and instead return with two bottles of nail polish, a sun hat and some cupcakes!
On the flip side, the hat is the cute, I found a new nail polish colour (Thunderstorm - which I have yet to try), the cupcakes are delicious, and I had Italian for the first time since Cervinia (in place of sushi which, to be honest, I wasn't even in the mood for).
Made meatballs when I got home as we'd (that being me and my dad) had our Italian at 1pm and therefore were hungry again.
Got to enjoy a cupcake with a steaming mug of tea and some rather crude humour courtesy of Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled. The individual who made the crude humour I do not know the name of, but she has written a rap song in the style of Bob Dylan using many words for a vagina, and has made countless mustaches at her shows out of people's pubic hair. Yep, I can almost hear the wrinkles forming from the collective cringes of disgust. I thought she was funny only for how ridiculous her actions were. Fortunately I was saved after it was over by a much missed episode of Robot Wars!!! And then back to crude humour with the F-bomb loaded Deadpool to round the night off.
Tomorrow *holds breath* I get to see Jackson at last!!! <3

Not-so-lazy days - and - Falling in Love with Old Clothes

It's still hot! And that doesn't help when you're racing round the house and being kept busy by some many tasks to complete. 
Food shop - that went ok for the most part, though the vast quantity of fresh produce is now clogging up our fridge.
Laundry was aided in its drying by the gentle and cool breezes and the warm air which meant I could hang it outside.
Sorting out which clothes I no longer wanted, however, was a bit of a headache/heartbreak and it wasn't as easy as I had envisaged. So much of my stuff was bought because I liked it (obviously) and in some cases, the stuff I hadn't wore in ages (not taking it to uni or weather-restrictions aside), I still liked. So yeah, though I have emptied two large bags worth of clothes out of my wardrobe and drawers, it doesn't feel like I've put a particularly large dent in my existing collection, and therefore there's not much room for change. I may need to be ruthless and think what I don't wear anymore, that's been around a while and I'm just hanging onto for sentimental reasons.
Managed to fit making dinner into the mix somehow - large turkey breast roast dinner.
Fast forward and now it's time for bed once again 
Bluewater tomorrow where I'll get some new threads!

HOME!!!!!

As predicted, I am home! After my dad couldn't message me to let me know he had arrive [early], he resorted to throwing stones at my window and calling to me until I heard and let him in (oh dear! haha). But once everything was loaded into the car and my room check went through swiftly and successfully, it was onto the 4 1/2 hour car ride home (with a pit stop for fish finger sandwiches and coffee along the way).
Once home, unpacking EVERYTHING - and I learnt the extent of just how much extra crap and clothes I have actually accumulated. Hint: it's a lot!
So tomorrow will see me culling not just my wardrobe and drawers of clothes, but pretty much everything.
Anyway, I've been up a bit earlier than usual today so won't spend too much longer awake. See you then!

One Room, One More Night

So this is it. My final night in my uni room before I head home for the summer. Boxes and bags cluttering the floor aside, it's so empty in here now....
I've eaten pretty much all of my remaining food, cooked up all my fish fingers to have in sandwiches tomorrow, and soon I'm going to have to sleep a little earlier than usual so I can be rested enough for a 6am start.
It's been a busy day almost from start to finish, having my last shower (which surprisingly didn't turn cold on me like it has been these last few times), doing my laundry (and having to go change up a £5 note because one of the dryers didn't want to work and I didn't have enough change), and then finishing packing. Got rid of a few things in a charity shop too and cleaned my room a little. 
The weirdest thing is, I'm not sure how much I'll miss this room once I leave it behind. It's been my 'home' on and off for the last 9 months. I've studied, cried, thrown up, danced, relaxed, got drunk in it. I've decorated it and stripped it again; I've had Jackson stay over once, in a sleeping bag on the floor; I've hoped a dove would nest here; I've prepped myself for classes and days/nights out in here; watched hours of Breaking Bad and Vampire Diaries on Netflix in here. On two occasions, people have climbed in my balcony (not such a high point but that stopped happening come the new year). I've honestly spent more time in this room during this year than I should have. But it's had its virtues, so I suppose I'm justified. 
Tomorrow I will hand my key back, and it'll belong to someone else to make memories of their own in here - kind of interesting to think about really.
Okay, the next time I write here, I will be home. It's been a long time coming.

Getting Toasty

It's my penultimate night here in Plymouth - and my uni room - and I'm just scrolling through Facebook, in that odd state of mind where I'm not sure if I'm missing home (and all the stuff that goes with it that I mentioned in yesterday's post) or not. I suppose I'll only know how much I've missed it all once I'm reunited with my bed, my house, my family, Jackson, and the rest of my friends. I'm definitely going to want my sister back but she's away for another 2 weeks after I get home....
Huh, I haven't even mentioned how today has been. Well, it's pretty much been reorganising book shelves in the library from 10.30 until 2.20pm (this involved getting books down, then putting other books back - and getting very dirty fingers in the process) then coming back to my room for breaded chicken and rice, and beginning to pack away some of my kitchen equipment into a spare supermarket fruit carrier my flatmate Charlotte left. Now tomorrow is going to be the final stretch to use up what perishable food remains, do my laundry, clean my room, and proceed to pack every last item of clothing into my suitcase (and various other bags if/because it won't all fit). Will need to drop a few things off at a charity shop too. 
On an unrelated note, I have fallen in love with toast, mostly because I've been having to use the bread in my freezer up, but it's just so tasty all the same!
Anyway, going to have to get my sleep on real soon as I have a busy day ahead of me in the morning. Wish me luck and I'll see you around this time tomorrow.

Only know yourself when you let others go

And so the packing up of my first year here in Plymouth has begun. My walls are bare, my shelves and drawers empty, and there are boxes, bags and a suitcase crowding my bedroom floor. Going to start on the kitchenware I don't need to use for the next two days tomorrow after my final trip to the library. I can't start on my clothes until after I've done my laundry which I plan to do Friday, but it's happening all the same. 
I think I'd like to record all of the things I will/won't miss about this place now, starting with the noisy dude who lives below me; I won't miss him and his shouting/bass heavy tunes/occasional sex noises (?). I won't miss the taps that can't decide if they're hot or cold; I won't miss the biker who decides to zoom up and down the alley below my balcony; I won't miss the Wednesday 3pm fire alarm test which [almost] always scares the crap out of me; I won't miss the shitty Wi-Fi which makes Skype calls all but impossible; I won't miss the smell from my en-suite bathroom; I won't miss the general sounds of slamming doors, shouting, singing, screaming, which permeate the air and the building at all hours of the night.
What I WILL miss is my shower which is SO much better than the lukewarm dribble I have at home; I will miss the privacy of my room here, and having stuff which is solely mine; I will miss being able to play my music out loud; I will miss just cooking for myself - in short, I will miss the independence and solidarity of being here, even though I recognise my need to socialise (which I have failed to hold up on my end of the plan).
Yet I know what home means to me too: it's my cosy bed which I sink into and which doesn't hurt my ass from sitting on for too long; it's the fully stocked kitchen which means I never have to cook weird food combinations; it's the comprehensible buses; the stronger Wi-Fi; the calm and quiet of the country. And most importantly, my family and friends who I have missed, but which my love of solitude failed to let me acknowledge. I may complain about having to share stuff again, but that's only because I've been selfish for so long, I've forgotten what it's like. And love. I may have forgotten what that's like too. I may get smarter here, but I sure never thought I could be lonely.

There's something about starfish....

So another day over - and for once in a little while, it hasn't involved library work. I took today off to get some reading done before making a fish finger sandwich to take with to the aquarium (haha, yes, you heard me right - eating fish while looking at fish). Met up with my friend Alicia and we went to the aquarium together to gaze at jellies, sharks, rays, starfish, and corals (among other marine creatures) which didn't take too long. Found starfish to be a little unnerving in their complexity of moving parts though. Then it was time to sample triple chocolate milkshakes from a simple little gelato bar on the Barbican, take in some sun, and chat about school life - pre-university. 
Eventually, I had to say bye and return to my room to read until 6 when I decided to make tacos.
Ended my evening with some tea and How to Train Your Dragon - so cute!
Tomorrow is the true start of me packing my stuff up in preparation for Saturday - it's getting so damned close now!

We're all going home - and - Libraries have their perks...somewhere

All I can say about today is I spent approximately the same amount of time that I did yesterday, wandering all over Woodlands, in the same small building i.e. the library, carrying, sorting, and reorganizing books. 
Arrived at 10.30am: Moved books from one table to another, then organizing books piles on the floor into authors.
Had coffee break at 11.30.
Brought more books down and put those into the floor piles until 12pm when I had a talk with an elderly man about history until he left and I had to take care of the [empty] library for half hour (I didn't offend him so that he left or anything drastic by the way).
Then it was back to dragging more books downstairs before sequestering myself in one small corner of the library while a group of elderly folk subtly criticized The Secret Garden (a book I am rather fond of) but I didn't say anything as I was too busy alphabetizing books....
By 4pm, when they had left and I was done, I went home to have my last portion of curry - and forget to eat the naan bread I had heated up in the oven so had to eat it separately.
Wow for a simple and slow day I've managed to write a fair bit. 
Tomorrow, though, is maybe more library work but more importantly, aquarium and gelato with Alicia ^^
Oh and as of this morning, my two initial flatmates have now moved out so it's just me and the sweet international girl Mirel until Saturday (it's getting so close now!!!!)

Summer Ball Bombed - and - The Secrets of Woodlands

Me in my extra special dress
(another thing probably more worth £45)

Well I would like to start by saying that I have paid a total of £55 for the two events I attended this weekend: £45 for the Summer Ball and just £10 for Woodlands with the Rock Society, and you know the worst thing? Those prices would have been more justifiable if they had been switched.
Ok ok, I know what you'd say. The Summer Ball required a large ticket price to pay for the free champagne (cheap bottles of plonk, though), the tents and the music, etc. but it really didn't live up to the hype of the video I watched for last year's event. I got myself dressed up in a bit of a hurry last night because I still couldn't paint my nails properly without risking them smudging.....sigh. Then I forgot to pluck my eyebrows with only 1/2 hour to go! Somehow made it out to meet my friend Jenna by 7.10pm. We walked the red carpet to enter, received our free plastic 'flute' of 'champagne' and wandered the area of campus covered with tents, music stages, and two fairground rides, and came to the conclusion which I mentioned. We even had to pay for the food and drink (which was also rubbish - £6 for a pot of greasy noodles). Only when another two friends arrived did we try to enjoy ourselves and dance. But by 11pm, stuck in a heavy jostling crowd of drunk and raving people, I figured, Craig David or no Craig David (he was the only musician on the set that night which i knew), it wasn't going to get any better so I called it a night and went home.

Derpy farting dino!!

Today it was an equal rush to get out in time, and when I got to the meeting place, there was no one I knew well, so I spent today all on my lonesome. Not that I'm complaining; I've found I'm my own best company when exploring new places like this. Found a valley of dinosaurs with motion-activated sound (the Apatosaurus sounded like it was farting!); found a secret path through the Fantasi Forest; petted a few goats and pitied the sad looking bunnies and snakes and porcupines. In the nocturnal creatures dome, there was a cage labelled Hamsters with one hamster....and one gerbil......(well done) it was a place I kept returning to, though, because you were asked to be quiet inside and it was dark, just the sound of the gerbil running on its wheel.

Evita <3

I did, however, find a falconry enclosure which was heaven for me because I LOVE birds of prey. In the entrance was a bird called a Caracara whose name was Evita and she was BEAUTIFUL (felt so sad for her being caged up - like all the others). Each bird I could imagine seeing soaring through some forest or across a mountain range in Canada or Australia, and it filled me with wonder. I stayed so long I drew the attention of the guy tending the area and we chatted for a little while before I wandered off to get ice cream (strawberry double cone - mmmm)
It was such an interesting place, all in all. You can hopefully see the justification for saying it would have been worth £45 instead of £10, though the only expense required was petrol to get us there and entry fees. I am glad I brought my own food, though, as it saved me money, the only things I paid for were the ice cream (£2.60) and a bottle of water (£1.20). 
There is a lot more I might have been able to remark on but as this entry is getting pretty long - and I don't think anything further would be of significant interest - I shall sign off. I ate a lot of fish fingers when I got home, though!
Tomorrow is going to be a busy day at the library again so let's hope I can get up early enough.

The Dawn of the Ball

mmm churros

Good afternoon! It's another bright and warm day out, and yes, I didn't blog last night but that was because of a failed Skype conversation with Jackson being substituted with a phone call which went on until 11pm. As to the rest of yesterday, I was dealing with dusty books in the store room again before heading into town to take advantage of Plymouth's Flavour Fest, a big food event in the town centre which is going on now and tomorrow. Lunch that day came in the form of a chicken and chorizo pasty, and some delicious and much-missed churros (which are like long Mexican donuts if you didn't know that and look like this - above). Having devoured all of this, I headed back to my room with the intention of going for a walk a little later but I ended up napping all afternoon from 3-6pm (shocker!) and then realising I wouldn't be hungry until late. Wanted to go make tuna stir-fry at 7pm but my flatmate had a few friends over for [early] pre-drinks before a boat party (I have yet to experience such a thing) and so I stayed away for a little while until they went. The rest, however, you know.
Today I was busy again carrying books around, down ladders and onto tables, floors, etc., but I genuinely enjoy doing it and Chloe (the woman who works there) always admires my hard work. 
I've had another lot of tacos today for a late-ish lunch which should see me through til tonight where there should be more food (haha I love to eat) as well as drink and music and damn! I saw some fairground rides set up on campus too - this Summer Ball is going to be great if all goes well.
I'm going to get myself prepped in about half hour, however after today, I may not get to write again until Monday OR Sunday evening as I have the Rock Society Woodlands trip early tomorrow morning (which will mean getting in just enough sleep tonight). Wish me fun and luck!

Brand Spanking New Clean Balcony and Taco Burns

I have returned sooner than I thought. But it has been a productive afternoon/evening. Having donned my white leggings and shirt (mildly stained from the Campus Colour Dash in March), I proceeded to dismantle the dove's nest built by Peachy and Dexter over my balcony. It was surprisingly strong and took a little tugging to pull apart, but with that done, I could move on to cleaning the windows of my door (they used to be so filthy I could barely see out of them) and then scrubbing the floor of the balcony itself. 
Using a cheap nail brush, I swept all the loose dirt off before pouring cups of water and a little cleaning product on and scrubbing to erase the rest of the marks. After a while, I sort of didn't care what anyone passing by might think of me, scrubbing away, all in white - I actually enjoy cleaning sometimes!
There are supposed to be two pipes which allow the excess rainwater to drain off, unfortunately they are clogged - which explains why my balcony floods in wet weather.....
Haha oh the dog is an addition from Facebook - because I felt so proud of my efforts that I had to show the world!
I'm about 90 pages into Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White and it's honestly a good read so far (which bodes well for when I actually have to use it for work next year). 
One last thing - Tacos are delicious, I know this to be true. So it's unsurprising that I manage to burn my mouth AND hands eating one (the contents was still steaming and sort of spilled into my palm.....ouch) - hopefully the next time, I won't be so hasty.
And until next time, see you!

I bought too much food again!

I believe I got sidetracked by Vampire Diaries last night (which I have managed to get back into after the sadness of the Season 5 finale) so yesterday's events have not been committed to a webpage (shocker!)
Well it wasn't a particularly eventful day though, apart from doing my final (and maybe a little too big) weekly shop. It's going to take a bit to get through everything before next Saturday but I will do my best. 
My CV was given a bit of an update and redesign, though I can't say I'm that much happier with it. 
And I made a reasonably tasty chicken teriyaki rice for dinner. There's parsnip and kale in there too.
Today, however, having returned from a short stint at the library organising dusty biographies, I will be cleaning my balcony as it is filthy (why I never thought to do it earlier I don't know but hey, at least the next person can hopefully get more out of it) as well as remove what remains of the dove nest (because someone is bound to charge me for that....)
Then it'll be taco time and...I'm not sure what after that. We'll see. Until next time!