I just realised it was a leap year!
That is all.
Friday, 29 February 2008
Schedules
You know that feeling when you realise it's suddenly Friday and it felt like the week only began yesterday? That disconcerting shaken feeling that time has been lost, slipped through a haze of menial tasks; when it felt like you were being productive you discover that it seems you have done nothing at all. This is how I feel. It's Friday and the last thing I remember was it being Monday and having a week to get back on track after my weekend of madness brought upon me by my friend from Edinburgh. I also remember being busy, doing work, getting things done, but I look at what I have done in these past 5 days and can't find one thing that deserves any recognition as an achievement.
The last time I wrote my blog I was preparing for my friend's arrival. I had all these plans which mainly involved drinking and meeting people, but did have the visit to the beach and a trip to the cinema. The beach did not come about largely because the weather was pretty poor. It had been lovely and sunny, for the four days she was here it was grey and cold, and then up until today it has been lovely again. The word that leaps to mind is 'typical'. However I am not entirely sure we would have been productive in this respect even if the weather had been better.
She arrived on the Thursday only slightly later than I had anticipated. She managed to catch the airport bus immediately, but on arrival at the train station she discovered that all the trains had been cancelled due to a fatality on the tracks. This was bad. Not only because she might have to wait around for a long time, but also because I was on my way to the pub thinking I'd have only just over an hour to wait for her, finding out it would be longer and trying not to be drunk when she got there as she would be tired and not too appreciative of this. Fortunately the trains were put back on not much later and although the next train from Swansea wasn't due to leave until half past 10 it left at half 9 and by 10.30 she was in the pub with me and a group of merry people. A couple of drinks turned into many and a late night trip to Tesco to buy beers before arriving at mine and drinking until the early hours of the morning much to the annoyance of my flatmates.
The Friday was probably the only day everything went to plan. We left a little later than intended, but we wandered around town, had an overpriced and not too impressive lunch at the Rose and Crown. Although my friend was working in the kitchen so I did get a smiley face in the salad. We then went back to mine and got ready to go out to the union. The music was poor, but the company was excellent and it was another party at mine afterwards, the best part of the night, until the even earlier, or later I'm not sure how I would phrase that, hours in the morning. That was the first time I drank aftershock. Not the first time I tasted it. Back at a school party I was offered what I think was cinnamon flavoured aftershock and immediately spat it out in the face of whoever gave it to me. However the union was out of tequila and I cannot stand Sambuca and my friend is incredibly persistent when it comes to alcohol or anything that will get us obliterated so it was that or aftershock. I tried mint flavour and loved it. After a few of those the music was still terrible but a bigger party at mine seemed the only option when the union doors closed.
I woke up on Saturday still feeling like the night before. Two nights drinking and extreme sleep deprivation left me feeling completely wired and the more I buzzed the more worried I became of the crash that was to follow. In the shower the night before came back to me in waves. One thing I remembered as our weak shower trickled hot water on me was our decision to get something pierced. Thinking my friend would not be so keen in the light of day I mentioned it to her. The next thing I know an unbelievably hyper me and my sleepy yet chipper pal are sitting in Nobby's Tattoo Parlour; me getting my tragus pierced (the inner ear bit) and her getting her upper ear and the lobe pierced and bleeding a lot. A lot. Mike, the piercer, joked if we'd had a bit to drink last night. An exchanged look and embarrassed and slightly manic laughter ensued. We were meant to go to Swansea and see 'Be Kind Rewind' but by the time we left and then had it done we had missed the train and although it might not have been the best idea (we were hardly in the state to make sensible decisions) we went to the pub.
On Sunday it was a fry up, a film and not very much conversation. Understandably.
On Monday I had a nice new piercing which really didn't hurt at all and the sudden realisation that I have an essay due in next week. Since then I have tried to order myself into doing all the reading I need for the essay and start planning it out and eventually writing it. Along with catching up on my creative work and all the other reading I have to do for my other modules. On top of this our house is falling apart. Our washing machine is bust and although the guy did turn up on Wednesday he said he needed to return with a new pipe and hasn't. So none of us have clean sheets or clothes and it's not nice. The drawers in the kitchen are all falling off along with the freezer doors and yesterday the hob's started clicking like mad for no particular reason. Curiouser and curiouser. I did have a particularly productive day on Wednesday though; paid off the water bill, bought many bits and bobs for our crumbling abode and wrote almost 2,000 words of my story. Despite this it is now Friday and I feel worryingly behind in my essay, the washing machine is still not fixed, I need to write more, my flatmates are going away for the weekend and have left behind a sitting room floor covered in tobacco and roaches, days old dishes by the sink and a general disgruntled feeling. It is also raining. However as soon as I finish this blog I am going to write a schedule. Not only do I enjoy writing them, but they are useful in organising my frazzled life.
I must get a substantial amount of work done before I go out tonight. My hair is still very orange and I bought a sparkly green Collection 2000 eyeliner the other day which is amazing. I love it.
I had to experiment with it and I loved using it underneath the eye with the normal black I do on top. The eyeliner lasts wonderfully as I am not one to be particularly careful with my make-up once it's on. I think it looks best directly on skin as it wouldn't come out as bright over a powder eyeshadow, although might work over a dark creme shadow. This photo is with the flash and the one underneath is without.
The hair colour is over 2 weeks old now and although isn't as vibrant as it was originally it is still brilliantly orange. I have decided to dye it orange again when I need to redo my roots, which won't have to be for another few weeks, so I went on the website beeunique and ordered the 'Napalm' Orange and a 'Limelight' Green for my friend. I was going to go blond after the second time I dyed it orange as although I love having bright coloured hair it is a bit of a hassle redying it when it fades even if it is only once a month. However as soon as I logged on I started thinking about other colours I might want to go. I've been pink many times and purple, but never blue and they have a wide variety of shades. So I bought 'Blue Haired Freak' for when I have done the orange for the second time. It's not going to cause such a stir as the orange did when I was suggesting it to my friends but I am actually more worried about it than the orange. I have also got the piercing bug back again which is worrying as there isn't anything left that I want done except ear stuff and I don't want to weight them down with silver. Must. Control. Myself.
Now I need to quickly write a schedule so I can think about what I'm going to wear tonight!
The last time I wrote my blog I was preparing for my friend's arrival. I had all these plans which mainly involved drinking and meeting people, but did have the visit to the beach and a trip to the cinema. The beach did not come about largely because the weather was pretty poor. It had been lovely and sunny, for the four days she was here it was grey and cold, and then up until today it has been lovely again. The word that leaps to mind is 'typical'. However I am not entirely sure we would have been productive in this respect even if the weather had been better.
She arrived on the Thursday only slightly later than I had anticipated. She managed to catch the airport bus immediately, but on arrival at the train station she discovered that all the trains had been cancelled due to a fatality on the tracks. This was bad. Not only because she might have to wait around for a long time, but also because I was on my way to the pub thinking I'd have only just over an hour to wait for her, finding out it would be longer and trying not to be drunk when she got there as she would be tired and not too appreciative of this. Fortunately the trains were put back on not much later and although the next train from Swansea wasn't due to leave until half past 10 it left at half 9 and by 10.30 she was in the pub with me and a group of merry people. A couple of drinks turned into many and a late night trip to Tesco to buy beers before arriving at mine and drinking until the early hours of the morning much to the annoyance of my flatmates.
The Friday was probably the only day everything went to plan. We left a little later than intended, but we wandered around town, had an overpriced and not too impressive lunch at the Rose and Crown. Although my friend was working in the kitchen so I did get a smiley face in the salad. We then went back to mine and got ready to go out to the union. The music was poor, but the company was excellent and it was another party at mine afterwards, the best part of the night, until the even earlier, or later I'm not sure how I would phrase that, hours in the morning. That was the first time I drank aftershock. Not the first time I tasted it. Back at a school party I was offered what I think was cinnamon flavoured aftershock and immediately spat it out in the face of whoever gave it to me. However the union was out of tequila and I cannot stand Sambuca and my friend is incredibly persistent when it comes to alcohol or anything that will get us obliterated so it was that or aftershock. I tried mint flavour and loved it. After a few of those the music was still terrible but a bigger party at mine seemed the only option when the union doors closed.
I woke up on Saturday still feeling like the night before. Two nights drinking and extreme sleep deprivation left me feeling completely wired and the more I buzzed the more worried I became of the crash that was to follow. In the shower the night before came back to me in waves. One thing I remembered as our weak shower trickled hot water on me was our decision to get something pierced. Thinking my friend would not be so keen in the light of day I mentioned it to her. The next thing I know an unbelievably hyper me and my sleepy yet chipper pal are sitting in Nobby's Tattoo Parlour; me getting my tragus pierced (the inner ear bit) and her getting her upper ear and the lobe pierced and bleeding a lot. A lot. Mike, the piercer, joked if we'd had a bit to drink last night. An exchanged look and embarrassed and slightly manic laughter ensued. We were meant to go to Swansea and see 'Be Kind Rewind' but by the time we left and then had it done we had missed the train and although it might not have been the best idea (we were hardly in the state to make sensible decisions) we went to the pub.
On Sunday it was a fry up, a film and not very much conversation. Understandably.
On Monday I had a nice new piercing which really didn't hurt at all and the sudden realisation that I have an essay due in next week. Since then I have tried to order myself into doing all the reading I need for the essay and start planning it out and eventually writing it. Along with catching up on my creative work and all the other reading I have to do for my other modules. On top of this our house is falling apart. Our washing machine is bust and although the guy did turn up on Wednesday he said he needed to return with a new pipe and hasn't. So none of us have clean sheets or clothes and it's not nice. The drawers in the kitchen are all falling off along with the freezer doors and yesterday the hob's started clicking like mad for no particular reason. Curiouser and curiouser. I did have a particularly productive day on Wednesday though; paid off the water bill, bought many bits and bobs for our crumbling abode and wrote almost 2,000 words of my story. Despite this it is now Friday and I feel worryingly behind in my essay, the washing machine is still not fixed, I need to write more, my flatmates are going away for the weekend and have left behind a sitting room floor covered in tobacco and roaches, days old dishes by the sink and a general disgruntled feeling. It is also raining. However as soon as I finish this blog I am going to write a schedule. Not only do I enjoy writing them, but they are useful in organising my frazzled life.
I must get a substantial amount of work done before I go out tonight. My hair is still very orange and I bought a sparkly green Collection 2000 eyeliner the other day which is amazing. I love it.
I had to experiment with it and I loved using it underneath the eye with the normal black I do on top. The eyeliner lasts wonderfully as I am not one to be particularly careful with my make-up once it's on. I think it looks best directly on skin as it wouldn't come out as bright over a powder eyeshadow, although might work over a dark creme shadow. This photo is with the flash and the one underneath is without.
The hair colour is over 2 weeks old now and although isn't as vibrant as it was originally it is still brilliantly orange. I have decided to dye it orange again when I need to redo my roots, which won't have to be for another few weeks, so I went on the website beeunique and ordered the 'Napalm' Orange and a 'Limelight' Green for my friend. I was going to go blond after the second time I dyed it orange as although I love having bright coloured hair it is a bit of a hassle redying it when it fades even if it is only once a month. However as soon as I logged on I started thinking about other colours I might want to go. I've been pink many times and purple, but never blue and they have a wide variety of shades. So I bought 'Blue Haired Freak' for when I have done the orange for the second time. It's not going to cause such a stir as the orange did when I was suggesting it to my friends but I am actually more worried about it than the orange. I have also got the piercing bug back again which is worrying as there isn't anything left that I want done except ear stuff and I don't want to weight them down with silver. Must. Control. Myself.
Now I need to quickly write a schedule so I can think about what I'm going to wear tonight!
Wednesday, 20 February 2008
Entertainment
I know it's only Thursday tomorrow, but for a student with as little hours as me it's the beginning of the weekend. I have a lecture from 12.15 until 2.15 and that is the end of having to be in college. Now on any other week I would go home and do work and continue to do work over the weekend provided I wasn't either going out or feeling hungover, but this weekend a very old and good friend from Edinburgh is coming down to visit. This means that I have been trying desperately to get my flat clean, do as much work as possible so that I can take the weekend off guilt free and, the most exciting and most challenging, find enough to entertain her for an evening, a morning and two full days. Her flight is due to arrive at 6.45 tomorrow evening which means that she'll probably arrive in Carmarthen train station between 9.30 and 10. The length of her journey depends on the terrible bus system between Cardiff airport and train station/town centre. There is no internet access, as far as I am aware, for bus times to and from the airport so it really is a matter of arriving in enough time to be able to miss the bus and catch the next one. When this bus comes hourly, as it does Saturdays and Sundays, this requires leaving a lot of time. It's every half hour on weekdays which isn't much better. And with Arriva trains fixing the tracks, or whatever they've been doing for the past 2 and a half years or more, on a Sunday it means that Sunday is a write off for travelling. It is impossible to go anywhere on a Sunday. So if I was getting a flight at 3 in the afternoon on a Friday, one of the easiest days in the week as the bus comes every half hour, I would have to leave hours. I would have to arrive an hour, an hour and a half early, so let's say 1.30. This means the latest bus I could get from the train station, which takes half an hour to get there, would be at 1. The bus comes every half hour, but I don't know when exactly so I would have to get there to catch a 12.30 bus so that it would definitely come in between then and 1 and I would get there on time. Of course once my friend did this and the bus didn't turn up at all and she had to catch a £30 taxi, but in this hypothetical situation let's imagine the bus, as useless as it is, at least arrives on time. In order to get to the station at 12.30 I would have to get a train from Carmarthen at around 10.15. So for a 3 o'clock flight I would have to leave my house at 9.45. And this is on a quick day. The maths is far too much for me on a slow Sunday. And forget travelling in the morning as the bus is not 24 hour. At all. So in general it is completely useless so if it's winter wrap up warm and make sure you have something to keep you entertained and away from frustration.
As I was saying, she arrives at 6.45pm, it will probably take up at 3 hours to get home, so let's amend my original time to between half 9 and half 10. That seems reasonable.
So there won't be too much to do that evening. It is a shame she isn't arriving earlier as it is the last performance of 'From Morn till Midnight' by the non touring half of BA3 Theatre and Performance. I live with two theatre girls; one Acting and one Theatre Studies and they have been in two separate groups over the first terms back and so far until the week after next when they join together to do one main production of 'Alice through the Looking Glass'. The 3rd year splits up into two groups; one goes on tour and the other does main house at the college's Halliwell Theatre. Then they change over. Before Christmas they did 'The Handmaid's Tale' as a touring piece and 'Playhouse Creatures' for main house. Last week there was a performance of 'Be my Baby' which has been on tour for almost two weeks now and yesterday I went to see 'From Morn till Midnight' which is also on tonight and tomorrow evening at the Halliwell Theatre. I saw it last night and although there are places which need working on there are moments of brilliance. It is a shame that my friend will arrive far too late to take her to it. We will probably just go for a drink.
We have the whole day on Friday however so I plan to take her out in town, show her around in the day. If it is a nice day maybe take a train to the beach which is also a possibility for Saturday although the weather doesn't look too great, showers and clouds have been forecast. Friday evening will probably be spent drinking, either heading down to town or going to the union as always. I haven't been to the union for almost a month however so as long as there are a lot of people out then I will be there. Otherwise town. Or maybe both. On Saturday I was thinking a day trip to Swansea to have a hungover lunch and watch a movie. This was only my plan as of yesterday when I found out that 'Be Kind Rewind' comes out in the cinemas this weekend. I highly suggest visiting the site by the way as it's very entertaining which bodes well for the film. Michel Gondry, the director of 'Be Kind Rewind' also directed 'The Science of Sleep' and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'; two absolutely stunning films. This one stars Jack Black which has put me off a little bit as although I have nothing against Jack Black as a slapstick type comedian I don't see him up there with Gabriel Garcia Marquez and other kooky actors. But then I have never rated Jim Carey and his performance in 'Eternal Sunshine...' is wonderful. Regardless of my preconceptions I honestly believe this film will be incredibly entertaining.
In the middle of writing this blog I was interrupted by the friend that is visiting me and after reeling off various plans she seemed to agree with the aforementioned one. This is excellent. I do hope the beach works out at some point although I did go to Tenby last Saturday once is just not enough.
More sun I say.
As I was saying, she arrives at 6.45pm, it will probably take up at 3 hours to get home, so let's amend my original time to between half 9 and half 10. That seems reasonable.
So there won't be too much to do that evening. It is a shame she isn't arriving earlier as it is the last performance of 'From Morn till Midnight' by the non touring half of BA3 Theatre and Performance. I live with two theatre girls; one Acting and one Theatre Studies and they have been in two separate groups over the first terms back and so far until the week after next when they join together to do one main production of 'Alice through the Looking Glass'. The 3rd year splits up into two groups; one goes on tour and the other does main house at the college's Halliwell Theatre. Then they change over. Before Christmas they did 'The Handmaid's Tale' as a touring piece and 'Playhouse Creatures' for main house. Last week there was a performance of 'Be my Baby' which has been on tour for almost two weeks now and yesterday I went to see 'From Morn till Midnight' which is also on tonight and tomorrow evening at the Halliwell Theatre. I saw it last night and although there are places which need working on there are moments of brilliance. It is a shame that my friend will arrive far too late to take her to it. We will probably just go for a drink.
We have the whole day on Friday however so I plan to take her out in town, show her around in the day. If it is a nice day maybe take a train to the beach which is also a possibility for Saturday although the weather doesn't look too great, showers and clouds have been forecast. Friday evening will probably be spent drinking, either heading down to town or going to the union as always. I haven't been to the union for almost a month however so as long as there are a lot of people out then I will be there. Otherwise town. Or maybe both. On Saturday I was thinking a day trip to Swansea to have a hungover lunch and watch a movie. This was only my plan as of yesterday when I found out that 'Be Kind Rewind' comes out in the cinemas this weekend. I highly suggest visiting the site by the way as it's very entertaining which bodes well for the film. Michel Gondry, the director of 'Be Kind Rewind' also directed 'The Science of Sleep' and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'; two absolutely stunning films. This one stars Jack Black which has put me off a little bit as although I have nothing against Jack Black as a slapstick type comedian I don't see him up there with Gabriel Garcia Marquez and other kooky actors. But then I have never rated Jim Carey and his performance in 'Eternal Sunshine...' is wonderful. Regardless of my preconceptions I honestly believe this film will be incredibly entertaining.
In the middle of writing this blog I was interrupted by the friend that is visiting me and after reeling off various plans she seemed to agree with the aforementioned one. This is excellent. I do hope the beach works out at some point although I did go to Tenby last Saturday once is just not enough.
More sun I say.
Monday, 18 February 2008
Sunshine, piercings and aliens.
It's been almost a week since my last post and the weather is still sporting clear blue skies and glorious sunshine. It's not always particularly warm, in fact sometimes it's freezing, but an icy breeze is enjoyable if noticed when brought forth by sun. This is why people who are from hot countries are friendly and happy and incredibly good-looking: they have sun. Sun = happiness. It's not exactly a scientific equation, but for me it rings true. Britain is known to be a miserable country and our weather is grey rain and clouds. It makes sense. So, naturally, I have been taking advantage of the beautiful weather in order to be as happy as possible while it lasts. Well, that is what I should have been doing. Only on one day out of the last five have I actually done anything made for the sunshine. On Saturday I went to the beach in Tenby. I was taken on the premise that I had never been there before and I was to experience a part of Wales that was new to me. In that respect I failed, remembering as soon as we arrived that I had already been there with my flatmates last year. Despite the fact it was not a new and surprising experience it was still thoroughly enjoyable. It was absolutely freezing cold and absolutely beautifully sunny so I was rocking the thick woolly hat and giant sunglasses look. One of the best things about February weather is being able to wear sunglasses.
I am now not poor, but completely penniless, so buying anything is not an option, meaning I shall have to make do with what I own and create new and recreate old looks and be satisfied with them. This is not an easy thing for me to do, but I will and I am hoping that I will discover bits and pieces that were forgotten and see some things in a new light. I hope. This inability to buy anything new has proved annoying after the ball on my lip ring fell out. Again. I have gone through a black one with a silver one with a small black diamante decoration, a black one, a silver one, a tiny conical spike, another silver one, another spike and now another silver one. The screw on the hoop seems to be backwards as nothing screws on to it properly. This has meant I have been trying, for a couple of months now, to buy a new hoop but it has been incredibly difficult. Of all the online shops I have been to none of them seem to do hoops, spiral ones, smaller than 10ml and that is far too big for me. Also there is only one piercing and tattoo shop in Carmarthen which didn't have any and weren't able to order any either. I have become frustrated with only having one ball on the end of my ring, meaning it keeps sliding off, and am now wearing a stud which I really don't like. It takes a while to get used to the end of it which seems to be constantly hitting off my teeth. I am still on the look out, however, and I'm sure I'll find it eventually.
On a work related note I am becoming increasingly aware of how much I have to do and how little I have done. I have an essay on Midnight's Children due in, in less than 2 weeks and I have to read a book about an alien invasion for this Thursday. Aliens do not particularly excite me. However I will remain open minded about the book. I have to. It might turn out to be absolutely fascinating. My plan is to find a nice spot in the sunshine and read it there. As I mentioned everything is great in the sunshine. Even aliens.
I am now not poor, but completely penniless, so buying anything is not an option, meaning I shall have to make do with what I own and create new and recreate old looks and be satisfied with them. This is not an easy thing for me to do, but I will and I am hoping that I will discover bits and pieces that were forgotten and see some things in a new light. I hope. This inability to buy anything new has proved annoying after the ball on my lip ring fell out. Again. I have gone through a black one with a silver one with a small black diamante decoration, a black one, a silver one, a tiny conical spike, another silver one, another spike and now another silver one. The screw on the hoop seems to be backwards as nothing screws on to it properly. This has meant I have been trying, for a couple of months now, to buy a new hoop but it has been incredibly difficult. Of all the online shops I have been to none of them seem to do hoops, spiral ones, smaller than 10ml and that is far too big for me. Also there is only one piercing and tattoo shop in Carmarthen which didn't have any and weren't able to order any either. I have become frustrated with only having one ball on the end of my ring, meaning it keeps sliding off, and am now wearing a stud which I really don't like. It takes a while to get used to the end of it which seems to be constantly hitting off my teeth. I am still on the look out, however, and I'm sure I'll find it eventually.
On a work related note I am becoming increasingly aware of how much I have to do and how little I have done. I have an essay on Midnight's Children due in, in less than 2 weeks and I have to read a book about an alien invasion for this Thursday. Aliens do not particularly excite me. However I will remain open minded about the book. I have to. It might turn out to be absolutely fascinating. My plan is to find a nice spot in the sunshine and read it there. As I mentioned everything is great in the sunshine. Even aliens.
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
Orange Hair
When I first had the idea to dye my hair orange the first person I told was incredibly supportive. Not supportive, in fact, but actually thought it would look great and that i should absolutely go ahead and do it. After her, however, the support vanished behind quizzical eyebrows and sceptical comments. There were comments such as "ooo I don't think so" to "orange?! Oh no no no", and threats of taunting me with "ginger minger". Despite my clear explanation that it was not going to go ginger and I was aiming for a bright reddish orange people were very negative about the whole thing. I managed to get a few reluctantly convinced when I gave the example of Mila Jovovich in The Fifth Element 
as something I was aiming for, although I was actually intending to go more red than that, as that is very orange, I think it swayed a couple of people because she's incredibly hot as opposed to their love of her hair colour. Although I was a little disheartened that nobody was going for the idea I remained determined that I would do it and that it would look good. I challenged my friends to tell me they didn't like it, claiming that they would have to take everything they said back as it was not only going to look good, it was going to look amazing. I believe I used the term "frikkin awesome".
Yesterday I died my hair, incredibly nervous about the whole thing as my peers scepticism weighed down on me, but I was relieved and very pleased when the colour turned out to be exactly what I wanted and to suit me wonderfully. The hair dye glows under blacklight, therefore it is brilliantly bright; shining up and out of any heavy doubts and glowing through the town. So far my flatmate, one of the severe sceptics, and another uncertain ginger friend were forced to admit that it suited me and not only that, but that it looked good. I am feeling very smug about the whole thing. And I have great hair. And the sun is shining.
Now where's the U.V. light?
as something I was aiming for, although I was actually intending to go more red than that, as that is very orange, I think it swayed a couple of people because she's incredibly hot as opposed to their love of her hair colour. Although I was a little disheartened that nobody was going for the idea I remained determined that I would do it and that it would look good. I challenged my friends to tell me they didn't like it, claiming that they would have to take everything they said back as it was not only going to look good, it was going to look amazing. I believe I used the term "frikkin awesome". Yesterday I died my hair, incredibly nervous about the whole thing as my peers scepticism weighed down on me, but I was relieved and very pleased when the colour turned out to be exactly what I wanted and to suit me wonderfully. The hair dye glows under blacklight, therefore it is brilliantly bright; shining up and out of any heavy doubts and glowing through the town. So far my flatmate, one of the severe sceptics, and another uncertain ginger friend were forced to admit that it suited me and not only that, but that it looked good. I am feeling very smug about the whole thing. And I have great hair. And the sun is shining.
Now where's the U.V. light?
Monday, 11 February 2008
New Season - New Style
The main concern I have with new trends is that, as exciting as they are, they are inevitably going to go out of fashion. This is not exactly a revelation, but for someone like me who, despite trying to buy everything that is in the shops, cannot afford to buy something that is in one month and out the next. There are certain styles, however, that are always going to be in. Not all year round, but every winter, every summer, spring, autumn. Aviator sunglasses will always be fashionable in the summer. Wellies emerge with the festivals and continue throughout autumn. Flower print skirts and dresses will always bloom during summer. These things are obvious and therefore dependable. Something like nu-rave, however, is a trend which needs to be approached with caution. Well, not anymore, now it needs to be avoided completely. Exactly why when it was fashionable anyone who felt youthful enough to wear neon leggings should have considered seriously the repercussions of such a fashion decision.
Last summer I dived head first into dresses. A line and baby doll shaped dresses began filling up my wardrobe, needing to be pinched in with a waist belt for the winter, now awaiting permission to be let loose again and float in the summer breeze. The flower print has been a key theme of these dresses.
The flower print dress. Not ideal for the depths of winter, but not exclusive to summer either. In Autumn it can be accessorized with an oversized knitted cardigan and wellies and a very similar thing can be given to it for the Spring, but instead of an approach into winter it needs to show an emergence from it; a slow stripping off of heavy layers until the dress can be worn with nothing but a pair of flip flops.
I took one of my dresses, one I bought in Urban Outfitters in Washington last July, a dress I haven't worn since Autumn and decided it was time to start wearing it again. The current weather situation is absolutely clear blue skies and there is no way I am going to pass up an opportunity to wear a dress that lives for the sunshine. The trouble is that the sun is deceitful as it in fact still quite cold, not freezing, and today didn't require wearing a hat, which I must say I have become so used to I felt quite naked. So the dress is not quite ready to be worn without tights and with flip flops. A perfect opportunity to accessorize it with some of my new purchases. Although I bought a dark brown heeled brogue ankle boot in Glasgow I couldn't resist New Look's black shoe boot brogues with a low heel. New Look shoes
Not as sophisticated as the brown heels, which are almost witch like and more adult, these shoes go perfectly with a baby doll style, and of course they are black so go with a lot more than the brown ones. Different colours are essential. I wore these black shoes with black tights, my flowery dress and a black waistcoat left open to give it a quirky Indie edge.
Just throw a warm coat over it or a loose knitted cardigan with a wooly hat would go perfectly. I decided to punk it up, largely because I am still in love with my leather jacket and it gave me an excuse to wear my new 80's sunglasses from Urban Outfitters. As it's black leather it will soon become inappropriate when the sun is not the only sign of summer, but at the moment it works very well. I simply threw that over and along with the sunglasses it clashed well with the dainty floral pattern.
With this outfit the heels are fine, but black tights with thick socks over the top and some chunky black boots would really make this dress work. The clashing of the light floaty material with heavy leather is perfect for this time of year when there are signs of summer, but it is still slightly hidden under the cold days and frosty nights.
The leather jacket was £34.99 from H&M and is honestly a fantastic purchase. I can wear it with anything and although I am not in love with the chunky bangles over long gloves trend I do think that slipping a chunky bangle over the tight sleeves of the jacket looks very good indeed.
This particular one was given to me as a gift so unfortunately I don't know where it came from, but it works well as it is covered in silver glitter so sparkles against the black backdrop of the leather. So anything with bright colours or an eye catching pattern would go well.
The sunglasses were something that I have wanted for a while, but have been very aware of how nauseatingly trendy they are. I like fashionable items and sometimes cannot help buying something I am well aware many people will have because I like it so much, but although I wanted these glasses I didn't want them THAT much. However when I saw these in Urban Outfitters they were quirky enough for me to change my mind.
I hope it is visible enough in this ridiculously posey photograph; the frame is decorated with a leopard print pattern. A spot on trend pattern on an otherwise generic pair of sunglasses. I am not claiming these are unique or even very quirky, but they are just that little bit different from the regular black ones sold in TopShop.
Now all I need is some rockabilly music playing in the background and the title of posing idiot will be mine.
Last summer I dived head first into dresses. A line and baby doll shaped dresses began filling up my wardrobe, needing to be pinched in with a waist belt for the winter, now awaiting permission to be let loose again and float in the summer breeze. The flower print has been a key theme of these dresses.
The flower print dress. Not ideal for the depths of winter, but not exclusive to summer either. In Autumn it can be accessorized with an oversized knitted cardigan and wellies and a very similar thing can be given to it for the Spring, but instead of an approach into winter it needs to show an emergence from it; a slow stripping off of heavy layers until the dress can be worn with nothing but a pair of flip flops.
I took one of my dresses, one I bought in Urban Outfitters in Washington last July, a dress I haven't worn since Autumn and decided it was time to start wearing it again. The current weather situation is absolutely clear blue skies and there is no way I am going to pass up an opportunity to wear a dress that lives for the sunshine. The trouble is that the sun is deceitful as it in fact still quite cold, not freezing, and today didn't require wearing a hat, which I must say I have become so used to I felt quite naked. So the dress is not quite ready to be worn without tights and with flip flops. A perfect opportunity to accessorize it with some of my new purchases. Although I bought a dark brown heeled brogue ankle boot in Glasgow I couldn't resist New Look's black shoe boot brogues with a low heel. New Look shoes
Not as sophisticated as the brown heels, which are almost witch like and more adult, these shoes go perfectly with a baby doll style, and of course they are black so go with a lot more than the brown ones. Different colours are essential. I wore these black shoes with black tights, my flowery dress and a black waistcoat left open to give it a quirky Indie edge.
Just throw a warm coat over it or a loose knitted cardigan with a wooly hat would go perfectly. I decided to punk it up, largely because I am still in love with my leather jacket and it gave me an excuse to wear my new 80's sunglasses from Urban Outfitters. As it's black leather it will soon become inappropriate when the sun is not the only sign of summer, but at the moment it works very well. I simply threw that over and along with the sunglasses it clashed well with the dainty floral pattern.
With this outfit the heels are fine, but black tights with thick socks over the top and some chunky black boots would really make this dress work. The clashing of the light floaty material with heavy leather is perfect for this time of year when there are signs of summer, but it is still slightly hidden under the cold days and frosty nights.The leather jacket was £34.99 from H&M and is honestly a fantastic purchase. I can wear it with anything and although I am not in love with the chunky bangles over long gloves trend I do think that slipping a chunky bangle over the tight sleeves of the jacket looks very good indeed.
This particular one was given to me as a gift so unfortunately I don't know where it came from, but it works well as it is covered in silver glitter so sparkles against the black backdrop of the leather. So anything with bright colours or an eye catching pattern would go well. The sunglasses were something that I have wanted for a while, but have been very aware of how nauseatingly trendy they are. I like fashionable items and sometimes cannot help buying something I am well aware many people will have because I like it so much, but although I wanted these glasses I didn't want them THAT much. However when I saw these in Urban Outfitters they were quirky enough for me to change my mind.
I hope it is visible enough in this ridiculously posey photograph; the frame is decorated with a leopard print pattern. A spot on trend pattern on an otherwise generic pair of sunglasses. I am not claiming these are unique or even very quirky, but they are just that little bit different from the regular black ones sold in TopShop.
Now all I need is some rockabilly music playing in the background and the title of posing idiot will be mine.
Thursday, 7 February 2008
Music and Midnight
The first Thursday of February and I feel as if I am being incredibly productive. I now have a job working in a very nice little pub in town, I am a third the way through writing my novella which when I say it like that makes me sound very intelligent which I like, and I know where I am going with it which for me is an achievement as I usually hide from plots and cower away from structure. These two things are very good. I have a lot of reading to do, but I don’t think that will change at all and in fact will only get worse. I am currently desperately trying to finish ‘Midnight’s Children’ by Salman Rushdie, reading a collection of Postmodern theorists such as Jean-Francois Lyotard and Jean Baudrillard and I’m about to begin reading ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles and ‘Childhood’s End’ by Arthur C. Clarke. I’m sure these are all interesting and very good books, but I cannot seem to enjoy anything as much as I should when I have to read it for a class. ‘Midnight’s Children’ for example is a wonderful book, but as the class we’ll be studying it in draws nearer I begin to focus entirely on getting the thing finished and the enjoyment of it gets thrown out of the window. Despite this I go on. So as far as university and money goes I have managed to become organised and I am feeling pretty good about the whole thing. However, in terms of breaking out into the social scene I must admit I have become somewhat of a recluse and although I may know about a small collection of things to do so far I have failed to partake in anything. As far as films go I have been invited to see ‘Cloverfield’ which I know little about apart from that it was written by the same person who wrote ‘Lost’. As yet I haven’t seen it so mentioning it is not much use to anyone who will be reading this. However if you want to read a review of it by someone who has actually seen it I suggest visiting The List website, the Scottish equivalent of Time Out which I have always relied on and seeing as there is no Welsh equivalent of either as far as I know I rely on that for general reviews of films.
Someone who loved 'Cloverfield' was Lightspeed Champion who my friends are going to see in Cardiff at the Barfly tonight. He is the former member of Test Icicles; a band I absolutely detested as I, in general, prefer being able to understand what the singer is saying instead of listening to, what is as far as I can tell, just screaming. However, Lightspeed Champion is apparently quite different, although I have not heard him myself, and only know of him because of the massive press he has been getting recently. In other music news I am aiming to finally get organised and book my brother’s band to play at our union in April. His band is called Ruby and The Emeralds and they play a mixture of psychedelic funk, reggae, rock, soul and general madness. They are absolutely brilliant and despite my uncertainty of how popular there music will be with my sometimes backwards college, I am sure that their charm and wackiness will confuse and entertain all spectators. Much better than the Beatles tribute band we had playing at the college last Friday. Not to say they were terrible, they weren’t, they were surprisingly good, but I suppose they were playing excellent songs so they were already half way to being brilliant. Ruby and The Emeralds are better though and although I could be a tad biased it is the truth. When they’re playing in Carmarthen Union this blog will have an exclusive of the dates.
Watch this space.
Someone who loved 'Cloverfield' was Lightspeed Champion who my friends are going to see in Cardiff at the Barfly tonight. He is the former member of Test Icicles; a band I absolutely detested as I, in general, prefer being able to understand what the singer is saying instead of listening to, what is as far as I can tell, just screaming. However, Lightspeed Champion is apparently quite different, although I have not heard him myself, and only know of him because of the massive press he has been getting recently. In other music news I am aiming to finally get organised and book my brother’s band to play at our union in April. His band is called Ruby and The Emeralds and they play a mixture of psychedelic funk, reggae, rock, soul and general madness. They are absolutely brilliant and despite my uncertainty of how popular there music will be with my sometimes backwards college, I am sure that their charm and wackiness will confuse and entertain all spectators. Much better than the Beatles tribute band we had playing at the college last Friday. Not to say they were terrible, they weren’t, they were surprisingly good, but I suppose they were playing excellent songs so they were already half way to being brilliant. Ruby and The Emeralds are better though and although I could be a tad biased it is the truth. When they’re playing in Carmarthen Union this blog will have an exclusive of the dates.
Watch this space.
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
internet
Just to say apologies as the previous blog should have been posted yesterday but my interent just stopped working at the moment i clicked on 'publish post' and it hasn't picked up again since. I'm back to college computers which are no fun, but the need to get out of my house in order to write a blog might motivate me to do so more regularly once more.
Sun is shining, hair is pink (not red), Napalm Orange has been received in the post along with a pair of black tights with red lips all over them and I'm working in the pub tonight.
Hope the sun is shining wherever you are too!
Sun is shining, hair is pink (not red), Napalm Orange has been received in the post along with a pair of black tights with red lips all over them and I'm working in the pub tonight.
Hope the sun is shining wherever you are too!
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Thunderstorms and Sunshine
We're six days into February and apart from the unseasonable weather in London when I was there over the weekend, hints of Spring are beginning to emerge from the cracks in the clouds and occasionally it feels like it could be warm enough outside to emerge from my heated sitting room with a jacket instead of my heavy winter coat, albeit I have to wear three or four layers underneath. However, the attitude that severe determination will bring me to the Spring weather I deserve combined with my new leather jacket make the layering a more favourable option than wearing a warm coat despite its complete lack of practicalities. I say new, I mean the leather jacket I purchased in Glasgow which was over a week ago now and therefore not new in the terms of any shopaholics wardrobe. I purchased it as a celebration of extending my overdraft. Perhaps not the smartest of decisions, but an irresistible one and one that I am quite surprised I don't regret in the slightest. I expected a leather jacket to be a whimsical purchase, one which would not last longer than the already extended season. Granted it has only been slightly over a week so I can't predict how I will feel about it, but since I have been wearing it (as often as I can except when it clearly would not go and when I wanted to wear the blazer I bought as we were approaching winter and it was clearly too cold to wear it), it seems like something that I will be able to wear for many years to come. Hints of spring as aforementioned might connote to some people images of baby lambs, blossoming flowers, clear blue skies with an icy breeze and other beautiful things, but what I meant was occasional sunshine splattered with downpours, sometimes pleasant weather blown away by strong gusts of wet, grey wind. This is what spring means to me and what I associate with this time of year. Perhaps as it reaches Spring Proper the idealised image I described will come forth from the depths of the thick dull sky, but I honestly doubt it very much.
Despite what appears to be a gloomy outlook on spring and perhaps Britain's weather in general, I take this sporadic changing of the weather as entirely a good thing. Naturally I am not in the best mood after trying to walk home after work (yes I am now employed - who would've thought it?) when it is raining very hard and at the same time the wind is hurling my umbrella into a number of awkward positions, yet it is not cruelly cold anymore and that is a small shuffle forward in my mind.
Yes, I am working at a wee pub in town. I have only done one shift and that was last night so it was painfully quiet and I was only serving regulars, but it was giving me the opportunity to accustom myself to working there and I think I managed fairly well apart from the need to be able to add in my head. I spent so long pinning down maths at school as something completely unnecessary, but it might have been a good idea to learn how to add and take away without making a foolish error or freezing up completely. I will look forward to Saturday night to see how well I do.
I am also half way in to the orange hair stage. I have died my hair red - photos of many things to come in my next blog. It turned out a very pink red, but I like it very much. I am only concerned about the transfer to orange, but I will just wait until it fades out dramatically before I dye it and it shouldn't affect the colour too much. Exciting stuff.
Despite what appears to be a gloomy outlook on spring and perhaps Britain's weather in general, I take this sporadic changing of the weather as entirely a good thing. Naturally I am not in the best mood after trying to walk home after work (yes I am now employed - who would've thought it?) when it is raining very hard and at the same time the wind is hurling my umbrella into a number of awkward positions, yet it is not cruelly cold anymore and that is a small shuffle forward in my mind.
Yes, I am working at a wee pub in town. I have only done one shift and that was last night so it was painfully quiet and I was only serving regulars, but it was giving me the opportunity to accustom myself to working there and I think I managed fairly well apart from the need to be able to add in my head. I spent so long pinning down maths at school as something completely unnecessary, but it might have been a good idea to learn how to add and take away without making a foolish error or freezing up completely. I will look forward to Saturday night to see how well I do.
I am also half way in to the orange hair stage. I have died my hair red - photos of many things to come in my next blog. It turned out a very pink red, but I like it very much. I am only concerned about the transfer to orange, but I will just wait until it fades out dramatically before I dye it and it shouldn't affect the colour too much. Exciting stuff.
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