I have a new blog!

I have a new blog if you guys are still interested!

Not sure I'll be updating this one much anymore!

Blog neglect and Em Con woes

I have been (and probably will be) neglecting my blog over the past and next few days due to the amount of deadlines I have coming up. I have about 10 for my work placement and 2 big deadlines for university - work overload!!! Needless to say I'm very stressed.

Em Con was a disaster. I queued for nearly 4 hours. In the sun it was boiling hot. It the shade it was freezing cold. The stewards kept lying about how long the queue was (turned out thousands of people were queuing) and how long the wait would be. Apparently they sold far more tickets than the venue's capacity so it was a one-in-one-out operation. We were often stood without moving at all for over half an hour. It was just so poorly organised. I felt pretty ill considering I hadn't eaten since 10am and didn't get into the convention until 3.30pm, and had been on my feet all day, battling the elements (thank God it didn't rain!!)

There was talk of people without tickets being let in before people with tickets which if it was true (and it appeared to be) is absolutely ridiculous.

I was immensely disappointed because one of the main reasons I went was for the Game of Thrones Q&A panel which I missed the majority of. When we got into the room where all the guests were it was so packed I could barely see them, and probably missed most of them, being crushed by the crowd as we all tried to move around. You were literally touching people from all sides and were sometimes unable to move for 10 minutes at a time. The majority of the event was cramped into a tiny room with all the guests and merch sellers. A lot of the merch and handmade items looked really cool but by the time I'd got into the convention I already felt so sick and tired it was no longer enjoyable, plus most of the tables were inaccessible due to the crowds. I got quite close to Gethin Anthony and Kristian Nairn nearly knocked me out when he stopped for a selfie with a fan and nearly hit me in the face (totally by accident of course!) but I really couldn't see any point pursuing them by this point in the day.

They've moved the venue to the Capital FM Arena next year so I guess that's something. Hopefully it'll be better then...

Healthy eating

So I did a big food shop yesterday and decided that now was the time to start eating healthy.
I think as a student it's easy to shove something frozen in the oven for 20 minutes and eat it but often the nutritional value just isn't there.

I forgot to take pictures which is pretty stupid of me but today so far I have eaten:

Strawberries with blueberry yoghurt (a natural one, not filled with fat and sugar)
A tuna salad wrap

I feel good about myself knowing that the things I'm putting into my body are good for me and ideally I'd like to lose around 5lb as I've put on weight since coming back to university. I've also been trying to actively consume less meat as I'm aware of the atrocious conditions most animals live in and as a result the contents of my fridge, freezer and cupboards are officially meat-free.

I'm not saying I'll be a strict vegetarian forever, odds are it'll be tricky, especially with a meat-loving family, and to be honest I haven't fully committed myself to kissing meat goodbye forever but even if I only eat meat one day a week it's still better than eating it almost every day.

Quorn has been my savior. When I do fancy something meaty I find quorn really fills that hole. I had a "chicken" curry last night and it was fab.

I can't commit fully to healthy eating right now because unfortunately I'm ill with a chesty cough and I feel like I've swallowed a razor. The only thing alleviating my symptoms is ice cream, and Ben & Jerry's was on offer... it'd be rude not to!

PR placement dilemmas

The first problem I have encountered is that I'm supposed to be doing a telephone interview with a person who could not be located!!

I rang twice last week, the first time the receptionist told me that she had worked there for 9 years and had never heard of this woman. She told me to ring back in an hour because there was a woman who might know but she was in a meeting. I rang back in an hour. The woman had finished work. Grrr...

I rang again today and the receptionist knew who I was talking about!! Hooraaaaay BUT this woman was a coach driver and was driving around, so I have to call back in 15 minutes in the hope that she's there and available to take my call. Wish me luck guys...

My second dilemma is that my boss has invited me to go to a business networking breakfast. It's at 6.15am in the city. The buses are irregular at the time, so I would either arrive around half an hour early or 15 minutes late. Plus goodness knows what time I'd have to get up to make it. AND it'd be extremely nerve-wracking I'm sure!

On the other hand it might be a good experience and if I say no I might seem disinterested (although my boss assured me it's totally fine if I can't/don't want to attend).

What do you guys think?

East Midlands Sci-Fi and Fantasy convention

I just booked tickets to the East Midlands Sci-Fi and Fantasy convention!!!! (If you live nearby check it out http://www.em-con.co.uk/)
SO excited!

I'm primarily going for the Game of Thrones cast:
Gethin Anthony
Josef Altin
Kristian Nairn
Luke Barnes
Ian McElhinney

!!!!!

That's all for now I'll probably post later when I've composed myself.

A blogging bonanza

Basically I decided to give beauty blogging a real go. I haven't officially started yet but I've set one up on Wordpress and even though I think Wordpress is harder to use than Blogger and you don't get to experiment much with themes etc without paying, the overall look is more professional.

I don't really know how it well it will go to be honest, I don't have a great quality camera or anything so it's hardly going to jump out at people but hey ho.

If anybody is interested in hearing about my PR placement I've set up a blog about that http://amyonplacement.wordpress.com/. It's mainly to stop me from ranting on here and also so I can keep track of how many hours I'm doing.

I'm currently debating what film to watch tonight. I'm tempted to watch Wake Wood as my obsession with Aidan Gillen does not seem to be waning anytime soon.

P.S. You have all been graced with a profile picture (lucky you!!)

Wild weekends

I am really excited for this weekend and it's a reflection of my introverted side that I plan to spend pretty much the entire weekend by myself.

My plans?

• Eat Chicago Town takeaway pizza which I bought on offer from ASDA
• Eat Ben & Jerry's Half-Baked... which I bought on offer from ASDA
• Netflix

I'll probably have to admit defeat and do some work for university, and also do my laundry, but really I'm looking forward to this.

Basically it's all because the flatmate I am closest to is going home for the weekend, two of my other flatmates are busy, and the other two don't socialise. 

Bring on the calories...

Unmotivated but gettin' PREACHY (sort of but not really)

The title pretty much sums it up.

Feeling unmotivated. I haven't been pro-active about my placement work, my university work or arranging nights out. I haven't even made much progress with The Tudors!

The only thing lately that's really moved me is watching the documentary everybody seems to be talking about... Blackfish. And I was reduced to tears. I don't consider myself an animal lover. I respect animals and I care about their welfare but I didn't think I'd be reduced to tears!

Anyway there's a petition here urging Richard Branson to stop selling trips to SeaWorld and I signed and if you also want to that'd be cool.

P.S. PANCAKES TONIGHT!!!!

Migraine-addled musings

If this post is a bit garbled I'm recovering from a 2 day migraine and I'm still feeling a bit fragile so I can only apologise!

My first article for the placement has been published - on the front page of the newsletter! - and it is SO rewarding seeing that my work has actually been used. I'm so so grateful for this placement.

I've spent the past two days in lectures/seminars and watching Netflix. I finished House of Cards - that ending!!! - so now I've started watching The Tudors in the evenings. So far I'm not enjoying it that much but I think it's because I've seen pretty much the whole first season before, I just got out of watching it. Hopefully the following seasons will be more interesting. In my days plagued with illness I've been watching Stephen Fry in America which I'm finding seriously interesting. My dream of travelling the USA has only been strengthening. I think it's the vastness that captivates me - the landscape is so huge and the culture is so varied.

I'm currently in the process of trying to sort out a house for next year. The estate agents are being awkward and won't allow me to see the tenancy agreement until I've paid my deposit and my mum has signed to be guarantor so I'm going in tomorrow to try and sort that out. Surely it can't be right????

Getting a takeaway tonight so the healthy eating kick is definitely going to take a hard hit tonight but I still feel too tender to cook!

I haven't been out drinking for a couple of weeks so this is my reward I guess.

I'm out Saturday for a lunch date with my friend and then I'm going to a house party that night.

I really need to stop spending money... I'm going to be out £320 tomorrow if we sort out the housing complications!!

Recent events

I submitted my first article for placement. I really hope it's okay and that it gets published. I tried really hard to get it to a standard I was happy with - and which I hope all parties involved will be happy with. It'd be a nice addition to my portfolio (which so far is pretty much non-existent).

I went to see Jake Bugg tonight. He was absolutely incredible. I don't know about anyone else but going to concerts with artists and music I love makes me feel really emotional, although I guess that's the point. It's almost euphoria. You just get lost in the music and before you know it you're up and dancing without even having had a drink, not caring that you probably look like a total idiot. Nobody in my block was even standing up and yet when one of my favourite songs came on - Lightning Bolt - I was up straight away dancing and singing, and slowly but surely most people seemed to join in! Guess there's always got to be someone to jumpstart the party! His voice, his instrumental ability, his songwriting, it was all so incredible. And to top things off he was just a lad from Clifton (where I currently live) and his home city is Nottingham so I empathise with him a great deal. Nobody from Nottingham ever gets famous really, apart from Paul Smith, Torvill and Dean and Robin Hood - and there are many claimants of him... plus he may not even be real! I guess I feel like if he made it, that means I could too. I'm not trying to break into the music industry or anything like that, but it just shows that if you have the talent and the will - in any arena - you can make something of yourself, even if the odds are against you.

Here's the preachy part: I watched a documentary called Gasland and it made me really concerned over the impact fracking will have on the environment and the animals and people who live in that environment. I won't go into it a great deal but people were lighting tap water on fire and there are cancer spikes around those areas due to the carcinogen containing chemicals pumped into the ground in order to release natural gas. It's not even an infinite resource. Instead of guzzling up the fossil fuels we have, we should concentrate on a long-term solution. That's enough ranting but check it out.

Finally, HOUSE OF FRICKIN' CARDS. This show has taken over my life. In a great way. I'm trying to slow myself down because I'm already over halfway through season 2 and I don't want it to end!

P.S. I watched The Walking Dead and it seems to have picked up somewhat after the dismal post-mid-season finale episode. I'm hoping for bigger and better things.

In other news

I got my first assignment for the PR company I'm doing my placement with today. I'm going to be writing a 200 word newsletter article for a relatively well-known UK company. I am both nervous and excited.

Secondly, I was majorly disappointed that Leonardo DiCaprio didn't receive any BAFTAs. The Wolf of Wall Street is an incredible film and I'd definitely recommend it.

Don't worry Leo, I still love you...

I smoked on Saturday night and now I feel bad

Here's the story.

My parents are TOTALLY anti-smoking. Neither or them has ever even tried a cigarette. They both had parents who smoked and I guess it put them off.

I never thought I would smoke either. I know the health risks, I work in a health clinic where stop-smoking services are offered. I know how hard it is to quit and I've lost count of the amount of times the patients have told me to never take up smoking.

I'm 19 now, and up til this point I've never smoked. I've been offered. People have even tried to pressure me but I've never caved. I never felt the need to.

A few weeks ago, a guy I was on a night out with asked me to hold his cigarette for him. I took a drag.

I don't know what made me do it, I guess I was just drunk and curious. I inhaled properly and didn't end up coughing or feeling sick like everyone always seems to. It wasn't that special. It just felt like breathing in hot air yet I felt cool and free. I'm guessing it's because my parents have instilled their views in me so much. I'm finally living alone and feeling confident enough to be my own person, so maybe this was proving a point.

I felt a little guilty but didn't think too much about it.

My flatmate is a smoker, he smokes every time we go out. He smokes daily and I've been around it often and never been tempted. I always thought he was kinda dumb.

Saturday night I made a comment that I tried smoking and it wasn't special. Just breathing in hot air. So he told me to try his which was menthol. It was an offer I could easily have refused but I wanted to try it. I had a drag. This one was different from the previous hand-rolled cigarette I'd taken a drag of. The smoke was thick and the menthol caught in my throat. Again it wasn't particularly exciting. Yet when he offered another drag I took it. I don't know why. I was pretty much sober from our night out. I feel like maybe I'm just trying to test my limits and try things, yet now I can't stop thinking about it.

I'm not craving a nicotine or anything like that, it didn't make me feel relaxed or dizzy or anything that people have described. It was just warm I guess. And I felt in control. But now I feel worried and guilty. Guilty because I feel like I've let myself down. And it's weird because I know if I never smoke again my health will never be impacted, and it won't really matter. Most non-smoking adults I know have tried it at least once. Many used to smoke throughout their youth socially and stopped with ease. I'm worried that if I'm offered again I'll want to smoke. Has anyone else ever felt this?

I think the test will be next time I'm drunk and someone offers me a drag. I hope for my sake I'll want to say no.

Here we go again

Decided to give this thing a whirl again after God knows how many years (3 or 4 I think). Google+ has sure made it more difficult than it once was.

I don't have a great deal to say.

I secured a placement with a PR company so should be starting work on that anytime soon which'd be great because I'd actually like to have some hope of getting a job I enjoy after graduating. No disrespect to anybody, but I'd rather not be a receptionist all my life...

Really unsure what to do for 'V Day'. I'm supposed to be going to a traffic light party where the colour you wear advertises your availability. I wanted to go for orange (can be persuaded/it's complicated). Typically, the outfits I have are green (totally up for it) and red (you haven't got a hope in hell son). I could go as green however I have visions of being approached by many horny, desperate boys, who are bound to assume I am in the same state as them, which frankly I'm not. Being single after 4 years is absolutely great and whilst I'd maybe be open to dating someone super special, I doubt I'm going to find them at a Valentine's traffic light party.

This leaves me with option 2) stay in, get a takeaway, and watch horror films or something of the like. Strictly NO rom-coms. I'm just not that sadistic. However the problem with this is that my flatmate thinks she'll end up depressed, which won't exactly be great for my mood.

Whilst in relationships I thought V Day was a big chore, but now I'm single it's even MORE of a chore. Who'da thunk it?

UPDATE: there was a huge storm so my flatmate and I ordered Domino's takeaway - you know the Winter Survival Deal with 2 large pizzas, garlic pizza bread, twisted dough balls and wedges? Yeah, that one. Naturally we saved a pizza for dinner the next day. We spent our evening watching The Hangover followed by The Purge, and I'd say it was a night well spent!