I have, perhaps on one or more occasions, extolled the virtues of listening to certain music while travelling. This includes the likes of Angus and Julia Stone, David Bowie, a-ha, George Michael, a real mixture of past-meets-present. And the atmosphere created when the two experiences combine is one of frisson-inducing, zen-like beauty. In case you need me to clarify, 'frisson', generally, refers to a thrilling sensation, but this has also been used to refer to the goosebumps/chills you get when emotionally affected by music. And given how much I love travel, this only makes the journey better, especially when you're a passenger who can simply sit back and enjoy the ride. I mention this because obviously this was my experience for the day while travelling back from the sunny seaside town of Folkestone - my favourite seaside town. It is just so unique and artsy, full of hidden galleries and photogenic alleyways, as well as possessing quite a long high street, perfect for shopping or eating, and an utterly gorgeous stretch of sandy beach and glimmering ocean. Although the real gem was enjoying a classic pub lunch shepherds pie inside a former-church-turned-Wetherspoons, a little off the beaten track.
And speaking of 'off the beaten track', do you ever get that SatNav that seems intent on taking you through every little back road to avoid a few cones on the motorway? There, of course, silver linings to these seemingly random detours, such as passing through several stretches of countryside, tree tunnels, and small villages, all of which pleased my inner countryphile. Thank God I live where I do!
Thursday, 27 September 2018
Sunday, 23 September 2018
Graduation Pains
I'm a day late in making this post but I was just so shattered after getting back from my travels yesterday that I couldn't bring myself to do it. So here I am to regale you with the highs (and expected lows) of my graduation on Friday September 21st.
The journey down to Plymouth (all 6 or so hours, on and off the road) was relatively incident-free, the roads were clear, the weather was fine, and the food (where necessary) was acceptable. Our main issue was getting into the hotel upon arrival at 10am. Our check in was supposed to be from 2pm but we thought it might be possible to get in earlier (we'd had the same luck at the Premier Inn in Bristol for my sister's graduation). This wasn't quite the case here. And to make matters worse, my dad began stressing when my sister didn't meet us on time. I needn't explain this as we all know someone who is a stickler for punctuality and time management and how they react when plans go awry. But by 12pm we finally managed to get into our rooms and eventually get dressed, made up, and head to the venue.
The sun was shining, though the wind was pretty fierce (to be expected in a coastal location) but the moment I entered the graduation marquee I was simply overwhelmed by the amount of people there, many of whom I didn't even know. Having picked up my tickets, I quickly lost sight of my family, only saved when a friend arrived and offered to hold my things while I went to get my gown and cap on. For those who haven't graduated [yet] or even gone to uni, you will never know how awkward both of these garments are. The cap is either too big - meaning you must constantly correct it - or too small - meaning it pinches your head. Meanwhile, the cape on the gown will continually slip from your shoulders and fall tight across your throat. Hardly the outfit for a dignified event in celebration of your achievements; you're left fighting for composure just like you fought for three years for your degree. Wardrobe malfunctions aside, I eventually located my family, got a few photos taken by both my father and professionally, and could breathe a sigh of relief when my boyfriend and his family arrived. By 3.45pm it was time to enter the graduation hall and take my allocated seat. This required me to endure being sandwiched between my fellow graduates and sat behind my former housemate (and now former friend) who will remain anonymous, but at least I had a decent view of the stage. The ceremony itself was much the same as that which I had witnessed during my sister's graduation in July, except of course I was now the one whose name was being read out. I was the one who had to cross the stage which looked so much wider now I was on it, who had to shake hands with a stranger and focus on not tripping as I made my way to the other side to collect my certificate. Thankfully one of my tutors was there to hand me my degree which felt equally symbolic and comforting. The walk around one side of the hall and back down the aisle to my seat inspired a mixture of pride and self-consciousness but this soon faded back into mild boredom as the list of names and faces became unknown to me. I had given my fair share of applause and hollers to my friends, though I couldn't extend the same treatment to those in Acting or Art History. Only when the ceremony drew to a close, the staff filed down the steps and then proceeded to line up on either of the aisle did I feel the sudden significance and emotion of the moment. I was about to pass between the people who had helped me to where I was, to be in that room, and that thought moved me very nearly to tears. I filed out of that tent with a huge grin, out into the coastal breeze coming off Plymouth Sound, and reluctantly up onto a huge metal stand for a group photo.
When we were finally allowed to return to our families and partake of the free food, my old nemesis, the stomach cramp, decided to make a come back meaning I couldn't eat (though the complimentary glass of Prosecco seemed to ease the storm in my mind). It was as if all the stress I had accumulated over my degree had returned on this one day. This was exacerbated by the meal we had later that night. Greek/Turkish cuisine will always be my favourite, yet the pain in my gut would not allow me to finish more than half the plate. The manager (I assume he was) was a very cheerful fellow (as all Greeks tend to be) and he made the experience that much more bearable, but by the time we left, I was struggling to stay upright, and it was a good 15 minute walk back to the hotel. Somehow I made it, and could do no more than collapse onto my bed and let my dad and sister celebrate in the hotel bar without me. It was certainly not how I imagined the day going - this was my day and I wanted to celebrate with my family. But I will just have to accept that is the way things go. There is plenty of time, when I am fully recovered (my gut is still playing around a little even now), for celebratory drinks, with my father or my boyfriend. And today provided a small silver lining in the shape of a strawberry topped Victoria Sponge baked for me by a neighbour. So it's not all bad.
I hope with my next entry I can provide some more positive news. Until then...
The journey down to Plymouth (all 6 or so hours, on and off the road) was relatively incident-free, the roads were clear, the weather was fine, and the food (where necessary) was acceptable. Our main issue was getting into the hotel upon arrival at 10am. Our check in was supposed to be from 2pm but we thought it might be possible to get in earlier (we'd had the same luck at the Premier Inn in Bristol for my sister's graduation). This wasn't quite the case here. And to make matters worse, my dad began stressing when my sister didn't meet us on time. I needn't explain this as we all know someone who is a stickler for punctuality and time management and how they react when plans go awry. But by 12pm we finally managed to get into our rooms and eventually get dressed, made up, and head to the venue.
The sun was shining, though the wind was pretty fierce (to be expected in a coastal location) but the moment I entered the graduation marquee I was simply overwhelmed by the amount of people there, many of whom I didn't even know. Having picked up my tickets, I quickly lost sight of my family, only saved when a friend arrived and offered to hold my things while I went to get my gown and cap on. For those who haven't graduated [yet] or even gone to uni, you will never know how awkward both of these garments are. The cap is either too big - meaning you must constantly correct it - or too small - meaning it pinches your head. Meanwhile, the cape on the gown will continually slip from your shoulders and fall tight across your throat. Hardly the outfit for a dignified event in celebration of your achievements; you're left fighting for composure just like you fought for three years for your degree. Wardrobe malfunctions aside, I eventually located my family, got a few photos taken by both my father and professionally, and could breathe a sigh of relief when my boyfriend and his family arrived. By 3.45pm it was time to enter the graduation hall and take my allocated seat. This required me to endure being sandwiched between my fellow graduates and sat behind my former housemate (and now former friend) who will remain anonymous, but at least I had a decent view of the stage. The ceremony itself was much the same as that which I had witnessed during my sister's graduation in July, except of course I was now the one whose name was being read out. I was the one who had to cross the stage which looked so much wider now I was on it, who had to shake hands with a stranger and focus on not tripping as I made my way to the other side to collect my certificate. Thankfully one of my tutors was there to hand me my degree which felt equally symbolic and comforting. The walk around one side of the hall and back down the aisle to my seat inspired a mixture of pride and self-consciousness but this soon faded back into mild boredom as the list of names and faces became unknown to me. I had given my fair share of applause and hollers to my friends, though I couldn't extend the same treatment to those in Acting or Art History. Only when the ceremony drew to a close, the staff filed down the steps and then proceeded to line up on either of the aisle did I feel the sudden significance and emotion of the moment. I was about to pass between the people who had helped me to where I was, to be in that room, and that thought moved me very nearly to tears. I filed out of that tent with a huge grin, out into the coastal breeze coming off Plymouth Sound, and reluctantly up onto a huge metal stand for a group photo.
When we were finally allowed to return to our families and partake of the free food, my old nemesis, the stomach cramp, decided to make a come back meaning I couldn't eat (though the complimentary glass of Prosecco seemed to ease the storm in my mind). It was as if all the stress I had accumulated over my degree had returned on this one day. This was exacerbated by the meal we had later that night. Greek/Turkish cuisine will always be my favourite, yet the pain in my gut would not allow me to finish more than half the plate. The manager (I assume he was) was a very cheerful fellow (as all Greeks tend to be) and he made the experience that much more bearable, but by the time we left, I was struggling to stay upright, and it was a good 15 minute walk back to the hotel. Somehow I made it, and could do no more than collapse onto my bed and let my dad and sister celebrate in the hotel bar without me. It was certainly not how I imagined the day going - this was my day and I wanted to celebrate with my family. But I will just have to accept that is the way things go. There is plenty of time, when I am fully recovered (my gut is still playing around a little even now), for celebratory drinks, with my father or my boyfriend. And today provided a small silver lining in the shape of a strawberry topped Victoria Sponge baked for me by a neighbour. So it's not all bad.
I hope with my next entry I can provide some more positive news. Until then...
Thursday, 20 September 2018
Time to Graduate
So, it's the night before my graduation and I'm not sure how I'm feeling about it. Nervous? Yes, because this is partially what the last three years was all leading up to. Excited? That too, because I'm seeing my friends again after nearly 3 months. Stressed? A little, because I need to arrange to meet my sister and my boyfriend's family who are both coming to the event without too much fuss or difficulty. But I know this will be a great day, and I just need to enjoy it whatever happens.
In other news, my dad has bought us a replacement sofa set with one large sofa and one large armchair (which Laura Ashley refer to as a 'snuggler' - how quaint). Hopefully these will arrive (at all) around the time of my birthday in mid-November. Fingers crossed for no more disasters - because I am seriously starting to think my dad is just attracting bad luck given the amount we've experienced these last few months alone.
Anyway, best be preparing for bed because I'm up super early tomorrow to travel down to Plymouth. I'll see you when I'm back!
In other news, my dad has bought us a replacement sofa set with one large sofa and one large armchair (which Laura Ashley refer to as a 'snuggler' - how quaint). Hopefully these will arrive (at all) around the time of my birthday in mid-November. Fingers crossed for no more disasters - because I am seriously starting to think my dad is just attracting bad luck given the amount we've experienced these last few months alone.
Anyway, best be preparing for bed because I'm up super early tomorrow to travel down to Plymouth. I'll see you when I'm back!
Friday, 14 September 2018
Photos, Fish, and Funky Hair
I must apologise, it's been a little while again, but I have been busy so at least I have something to say this time. Wednesday was my day out in London with my boyfriend Jackson and my best friend Eloise. Being the sophisticated chap that he [likes to think he] is - and given that we were in the London borough of Chelsea at the time - we ended up having brunch in The Ivy (of all places)! It was a very tasty and Instagram-worthy spread we had with colourful mocktails and open sandwiches, before launching into a jaunt around the expensive neighbourhoods and parks for some photography. I hope to upload the pictures to my Facebook in the next few days so watch that space if you know me. Around 4pm, we eventually returned to my boyfriend's house to play video games, eat junk food and have a laugh until it got late and we needed to get to our respective homes.
Yesterday was more chilled, helping my dad tidy the garage (as you know we've been doing sporadically these last few weeks) and making a very delicious Jamie Oliver dish: Green Tea Salmon (which you can check out on this link: http://hotcooking.co.uk/recipes/70/jamie-oliver-15-minute-meals-green-tea-salmon) I did, of course, make a slight change in that I didn't have all the necessary ingredients and ended up substituting the coriander sauce in this recipe with a standard coconut milk-based curry sauce. Still tasted - and looked - fabulous (which made me sad, when I was doing the dishes, that I hadn't snapped a quick photo for Instagram).
But anyway, that leads me on to today, and my hair cut. It has been a good while since I last had my hair professionally cut - around May 2016 I believe - so it was both a treat and a nightmare to go back. A treat because who doesn't love it when you get to sit back and have someone massage conditioner into your head? A nightmare because I wasn't particularly good at describing what I wanted to have done, and only the picture of the model whose hair vaguely resembled what I wanted seemed to save me so much fuss. As my stylist was snipping away, I became less and less certain that the asymmetric crop look I had hinted at was what I wanted. Only when the hairdryer was brought to bear on my remarkably straight hair, along with some layering, feathering, straightening, and wax, could I finally see just how much of a miracle worker my new stylist was. Sweeping around from the middle of my right ear to level with my chin on the left, this was a look both experimental and familiar to me. I loved it! Just as I loved my Fino Pitta at the Nandos my dad treated me to afterwards.
So yeah, it's been a good couple of days, my mood hasn't been too bad, and now all I need to do is decide how to form my outfit for graduation a week today and try not to panic.
Yesterday was more chilled, helping my dad tidy the garage (as you know we've been doing sporadically these last few weeks) and making a very delicious Jamie Oliver dish: Green Tea Salmon (which you can check out on this link: http://hotcooking.co.uk/recipes/70/jamie-oliver-15-minute-meals-green-tea-salmon) I did, of course, make a slight change in that I didn't have all the necessary ingredients and ended up substituting the coriander sauce in this recipe with a standard coconut milk-based curry sauce. Still tasted - and looked - fabulous (which made me sad, when I was doing the dishes, that I hadn't snapped a quick photo for Instagram).
But anyway, that leads me on to today, and my hair cut. It has been a good while since I last had my hair professionally cut - around May 2016 I believe - so it was both a treat and a nightmare to go back. A treat because who doesn't love it when you get to sit back and have someone massage conditioner into your head? A nightmare because I wasn't particularly good at describing what I wanted to have done, and only the picture of the model whose hair vaguely resembled what I wanted seemed to save me so much fuss. As my stylist was snipping away, I became less and less certain that the asymmetric crop look I had hinted at was what I wanted. Only when the hairdryer was brought to bear on my remarkably straight hair, along with some layering, feathering, straightening, and wax, could I finally see just how much of a miracle worker my new stylist was. Sweeping around from the middle of my right ear to level with my chin on the left, this was a look both experimental and familiar to me. I loved it! Just as I loved my Fino Pitta at the Nandos my dad treated me to afterwards.
So yeah, it's been a good couple of days, my mood hasn't been too bad, and now all I need to do is decide how to form my outfit for graduation a week today and try not to panic.
Monday, 10 September 2018
What Success Tastes Like
Today has, despite not consisting of much, felt like a good day. Having recently defrosted both freezers in my house (which required using up a reasonable amount of their contents), it was necessary to restock them with pizzas and breaded fish and so forth. This was achieved today with a remarkably cheap shop for the amount of produce stacked up in the trolley. Another milestone in the garage renovation was partially reached today as my dad - with a small amount of my help - fixed the wood up beneath the gutter. From what I have heard, asbestos is bad, and yet somehow our garage roof is made of it and my dad made it his mission to tidy this - which led to me forcing him to wear a tea towel (in the absence of a proper face mask) over his mouth to stop him breathing in the dust (it's a wonder he has lived this long with this attitude!) But my crowning glory of the day had to be the potato, salmon, and asparagus pan fry, with saute chard, cabbage and sprouts. Sometimes I get those days in the kitchen where I can multi-task like a wizard, and on these occasions, cooking is both a joy and a breeze and usually I am ready to serve before I even anticipated. Today was one of those days, with the cherry on top being that I also managed to prepare and cook an apple and blackcurrant crumble to perfection. (A tip for anyone wanting an alternative crumble topping: mix together oats, sugar, butter, vanilla and maple syrup - it is divine!)
And that, my friends, pretty much concludes the highlights for today. Tomorrow doesn't look to be that much more interesting but I shall update as and when I can remember.
And that, my friends, pretty much concludes the highlights for today. Tomorrow doesn't look to be that much more interesting but I shall update as and when I can remember.
Saturday, 8 September 2018
Silver Linings
Hmm, I need to learn to see the silver linings to my misfortunes or I may start to question if I'm being cursed with my dad's unfortunate breed of bad luck. Went to the hairdressers today - for the first time in many months - with the intention of booking myself in for a half head of highlights along with my usual cut and blowdry. Having been given a small skin test for the dye, I am sent on my way, only to find I'm reacting to it about half hour later. So no dyed hair for me - despite never having had an allergy test for hair dyes in the past and being fine. I shall have to find out exactly what it was they put on me that I reacted to. I guess the silver lining there is, at least I'm paying less for it now. In other news, my extracted wisdom teeth are behaving themselves for the first time in a while, though I still have no real sensation in the right side of my tongue. I'm getting used to it at this stage, but obviously complacency is no real cure - unless this is permanent, in which case, I'm doing fine. By Tuesday, I hope to be seeing someone again for a brief check up, and from there I can know what to expect/do over the next few weeks. My only wish now is for my motivation to improve enough to get me doing more things like writing or venturing into the city or even looking for voluntary jobs to help build my skill set. But for now, it would seem, it's just baby steps towards success.
Thursday, 6 September 2018
The Black Dog Cometh
Days can go from good to bad very quickly, but when you wake up knowing a day is going to be bad, it only makes it that much worse. In contrast to yesterday, when I invited my boyfriend and best friend over for games and drinks, today has felt like the end of the world. Household troubles, an inability to find any suitable jobs to apply for, and a general air of depression has plagued me all day. But I'm slowly bouncing back. I'll update you tomorrow hopefully with sunnier news
Tuesday, 4 September 2018
My talents lie elsewhere...
Painting a garage can be difficult, especially when there's an exact way to do it that you haven't yet learnt. Today, I decided to stay away from all things paint, and instead found myself revisiting a really old hobby of mine: character invention for books/movies/TV shows. Having decided to rewatch the old Pirates of the Caribbean movies from the start, I remembered that I had created a character for this franchise (I'm a little too self-conscious to want to share the details of said character with you). Looking through the list I had made of various others characters, some downright cringe-worthy (I was about 15 when I made them), and some that held promise for development, I decided I would update it (remove the cringe, etc.) This, of course, I must now juggle with my job applications. Wish me luck. I need a little bit of entertainment and self-indulgence.
Monday, 3 September 2018
Garage Posts
Not exactly off to the best start with this blogging business, I am? Oh well, I'd say my first job rejection in a few years is reason enough, which in a roundabout way means, I didn't get the job I was hoping for, so it's back to the grind-stone again, pumping out more applications in the hope that someone wants me. I guess the up-side of this is I can, at least, try to enjoy my freedom for a little bit longer. However, my writing appears to be suffering; I can't seem to get the motivation to write anything. I said I'd use this blog as a way to keep up my writing practice but it's not the same style. I think my solution might be to just aim to keep up my free-writing and find an appropriate slot in every day. I might share it on my writing blog if I think it's up to scratch.
Outside of my mental and personal concerns, I have been helping my dad fix up the front of the garage and clean it up a bit inside which keeps me busy (and has subsequently kept me away from my emails/job applications all weekend). Now, with most of it done, I can return and get things up-to-date.
For now, that is all, friends. I will (hopefully) return soon with any updates.
Outside of my mental and personal concerns, I have been helping my dad fix up the front of the garage and clean it up a bit inside which keeps me busy (and has subsequently kept me away from my emails/job applications all weekend). Now, with most of it done, I can return and get things up-to-date.
For now, that is all, friends. I will (hopefully) return soon with any updates.
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