Let's smooch 2009 with a fresh little POST!

And......I've hopped on my blogging bandwagon again. It feels STRANGE, sort of feel self-conscious? Why? I suppose it feels strange to be writing after the crazy amount of time I have created since the last post. 

It's very hard for me to keep this up at Uni, I do have lots and lots going on, but thats a bullshit excuse because I still seem to find time to procrastinate endlessly in front of my computer!

So....one New Year's resolution has to be Blog More, I'm thinking. Days go by SO god damn fast at Uni, it would be nice to remember some of them. 

Another 2009 TO DO is to be more creative. I have all these random ideas typed up and (mac) stickied for Films, projects etc and I need to organise them into some sort of understandable shape. I have a little project on the go, working title "Decant". Let's see how this one turns out!

I got on the board for the QM so that will be another interesting little addition to our 09 landscape, should be fun! Also study...not MORE, jeez actually killed myself the first couple weeks of December cramming, the Library became my Full time husband. Yes, so not more, but more CONSISTENTLY. I did fuck all revision basically until those two weeks - as any respectable first year should I guess - but It really showed when it came to my Sociology exam, the cramming really didn't help as you really have to know things! Oh well, there are always resits.

Most important resolution is to make 2009 truly fantastic, put as much as I can in to squeeze as much as I can out :D

Also to open my mind to anything, I find sometimes that I can be a little closed minded. Not intentionally, but sometimes I guess I get comfy with things and forget to open my eyes. So EYES and MIND will be fully open for the New Year!

But definetely keep the blogging up, was very interesting reading over my posts! especially my cute little worries over starting Uni, seems so long ago now....

Oh and take MORE pictures! Lots of pictures....

Sociology

I don't care what anybody says. SOCIOLOGY IS FUCKING HARD. As I type my Nazi printer is churning off thirty odd pages of notes for tomorrow on Weber, having just spent about 3 hours writing up and going over today's lecture on Marx- has NOT put me in a good mood.

There is just so so much to learn, and it's totally scaring me. Gaah! And we don't start the Anthropology section until November, so it's all Marx/Weber/Neo Marx/Neo Weber at the moment. Joy.

Nobody said it would be so hard! And I want to get involved with things, so I literally have no time to do all my work! Im going to the QM events meeting tomorrow, then straight after it's the film making meeting which I do not want to miss.

Then the night after it's the Vegan society first meeting, which I do want to go to-make a refreshing change from being laughed at (In a nice way of course) in the Kitchen every night! 

It's an experience and a half. Despite the mounds of work, I'm so glad to be here!

Uni type stuff

I went to the QMU events board meeting thing today- want to get involved!! So much. So im running for a Freshers position in November, apparently the people who win give out the best sweets, sooooo I will ask my Mama to send me lots of groovy american sweets, give me the edge!

I love being involved in things, I joined the film making Society and we have already made a little film!

Its great, called "Mervin's Wetmare"

And we won! got a tinfoil star.

Enrolment Day

Yes, yes, we all know that Uni isn't just about going out and having good times.

Just sort of slipped my mind! We had the course enrolment day today, I went to all mine plus a physics one! Haha it was an odd choice, but I had nothing else to to do and I wanted a comfy seat.

And I already have some homework. Jeez! It's french, and actually pretty easy which is a massive relief considering I haven't learned french in a year and was pretty bad to start with.

It was just so much to take in! Also I was mega hungry. But I got through it!  

Need to buy some books at some point, It's the Fresher's Ball tonight. Should be fun! Haha although I am now notorious in the Qmu, after the wristband debacle some time early on in the week, basically I had sellotaped it on painfully stupidly so the security noticed when I went in from a smoke, and made a massive deal out of it! So yeah, Im not allowed to drink.

On the bright side, think how good my first pint of Magic will taste in december! They better all buy me one, seeing as they know my birthday! I guess it is also nice not being some nameless, faceless fresher. So there's always a silver lining!

Token first Uni post

So much has happened! One thing I can say for sure is that I love living here. The block I am staying in is affectionately called "The Ghetto", basically the scummiest place to be but I have the loveliest flat mates ever so It doesn't matter! On the first night we went to a party in Sidlaw, where a friend stays, and it is right over on the other side of the village- the views they get from their balcony (yes, they have a balcony!) are absolutely gorgeous, whilst we are stuck with a wall.

On the bright side, nobody ever comes out of Uni raving about how great their view was!

I felt at home from about five minutes of living here. I was so worried I'd be stuck with a bunch of arseholes slash agorophopes, but I shouldn't have bothered! Everyone's great.

We did our first food shop today. Another big independent step! I have the receipt tacked up.

I haven't been to the Glasgow Union, despite running through the rain on friday hoping we'd stumble across it. The QM on the other hand! We went to Cheesy Pop on Friday, then Colin Murray on the Saturday. Both nights were incredible! I think I am in love with the place. Though I have gone off the pints of magic since Andy, one of my flatmates, pennied me and I had to down the whole thing! Not a good drink for that sort of thing, as is made up mainly of Cider. 

Had a strange experience this morning, got woken up at 8 having only gone to bed at 5 by the buzzer. There were these two completely sauced guys in the kitchen, trying to convince me that they lived here and had lost their key. They got in because we are idiots and didn't think to lock the door. They were harmless enough, managed to get them out when they went out for a smoke and locked them out. V bizzare!

One small step for me...

It's official.

I'm moving in tomorrow. PROPERLY going to university. Aargh, I know it doesn't sound like that big of a deal, but it so is! For me, it seems like the biggest step of my life, and it's tomorrow. I know I shouldn't sensationalize it, as doing that makes me more nervous, but I can't help it. I am supremely excited though. I'm very lucky with my acommodation choice, everyone who has stayed in Murano can't help but tell me how great it is. True, it may be a bit scabby, but who cares? The point is to be in a social and exciting environment, not locked in your room measuring your carpet's plushness.

I've got my Ikea stuff, my food, I'm pretty much packed. Well, when I say packed I mean in neat little piles all around the house.

I can tell my blogging is making me nervous, as I am chugging Diet Coke like there's no tomorrow.

I Am Sam

I'd forgotten how much this film makes me cry!

Especially when I am fractious and hungover.

But the film just seems to have this perfect chemistry to make me cry! I still love it though. Every time Sam would hug his daughter, with his little expression of joy would make me weepy. I think it's my maternal side to blame. 

On a completely different note, its amazing how much crap you can buy at Ikea with no money.

Gay Bear Dating

Wtf????

What is this???

Gay Bear Dating. Hmmm......

I guess I can see the appeal. If I was a gay man, and had a penchant for large, hairy boys.

This would be my outlet!

What's the girl version, I wonder? Lesbian Beaver Dating maybe....

Aww, they look happy! Let's just leave them to it.

Road Trip '12?

Here's what I want to do. After Uni I want to have a massive road trip around America in one of these:

I mean, could you really get any better than that? I love America, just imagine how much better it will be when we can actually get IN to places. Especially Texas! Didn't have that much of a problem in New York, but it was torture walking the streets of Austin at night, all the live music and people spilling out onto the streets. Every place had some sort of bouncer standing at the door, even my mum got carded in a restaurant!

Roll on 21. 

Grab a bunch of friends, jet off to the States, find some sort of VW rental store (currently can't find any of the web, load's in the UK-just shows how much cooler we are then our Yank cousins!--No offence made, I am in fact part Yank :D)

and then just see where the wind blows us.

I was thinking about an interesting route, not the same old Route 66 spiel, maybe start in New Orleans, work our way through Texas, Albuquerque! Phoenix maybe, definitely Las Vegas and then California.

University Courses

At Glasgow they have a special system where you take Three subjects the first year, Two of those you continue on in second year (plus another first year course), and then you decide what to do for Honours. Pretty Ace! Much better than commiting yourself to a single subject from day one, methinks.

Anyway, I have chosen....

Anthropology & Sociology 

Philosophy 

and

French.

The first two should be really interesting, I like that sort of learning- when it's focussed on human behaviour but not SCIENCEY, like psychology always seems to be. 

French, on the other hand....

French was piss easy in school. I'm not saying French itself is easy to learn, but the Scottish system is  so awful, you'd be better off doing interpretive dance to nursery rhymes for the hour. It didn't challenge or force us to really LEARN french at all, for the final higher exam you were allowed a dictionary and supposed to write an essay we had already pre learned. Well, it was a teensy more involved like that, but it wasn't testing french. Just your memory and dictionary skills. That's why, after "learning" french for at least six years I don't really know the language at all. The university calls for a Higher C grade minimum, I got an A but I feel like this is totally irrelevant as an A in higher french is hardly an achievement! I'm far prouder of my B in maths, because it challenged me.

Ah, what life's all about, right? Challenges. 

Anyhow I don't wan't to be a uni-lingual (word? I don't know) idiot for the rest of my life so I am going to take the plunge and LEARN FRENCH. Properly. Fuck Rosetta Stone, I'm going old school.

Post Soundtrack: 

some of the English Patient soundtrack

Single File by Elliot Smith

Cold Wind by Arcade Fire

Truck by The Octopus Project

Edit- Talking about French, I was browsing ratemyteachers and I came across my old French teacher- hilarious man! Not in a I'm-a-funny-teacher-goddammit kind of way, more dry, dry sarcasm and very quick-witted. 

This made me laugh, some guy has written- 

"Is funny, CAN'T TEACH but who cares. Once had a Mickey Mouse tie on from Disneyland and upon being asked where he got it from he said- without missing a beat- "Why, this was my University tie." "

His outbursts were hilarious as well, because of his way of teaching, we found him funny, but didn't really respect him. He just didn't command that type of control, as he had totally sporadic discipline- usually writing some random french phrase on the board then disappearing into his cupboard  (where we pretended he kept the exchange teachers) for the rest of the lesson. Little digression,  back on outbursts, he would just be talking away about grammar, then totally unexpectedly scream as someone having a quiet little conversation with their neighbour. You haven't been scared shitless until you've lived through one of Mr Allan's outbursts!

Elliott

I've got a lump in my throat. And it's over something so trivial and stupid, something no one can do anything about.

It's over the fact that I will never be able to see Elliott Smith live, It's over the fact that no matter how many songs I listen to, I will never be able to see him play them. It's a stupid thing to get upset over, but the feeling just hit me, sitting here, while I was singing along to Between The Bars. I think it's the finiteness (is that a word?) of the situation that really gets me. It's not something I can strive to do, or wrangle, or save up for, because he's gone. And that really sucks.

Elliott took his own life on October 21st, in 2003. He stabbed himself in the heart with a kitchen knife, twice. He must have been in fairly dark place to stab himself, it just seems unreal. There's this whole conspiracy around his death, some claim it was homicide. He left a post it reading "I'm so sorry- Love, Elliot. God forgive me."

The misspelling of his name fuels the homicide theory, I personally don't really buy it. Someone in the throws of suicide isn't really going to take spelling into account, and it wasn't his real name anyway. He chose it after high school, originally Steven. He thought Steve sounded too "Jockish" and Steven too "Bookish".

I love that he chose it. I myself really like the name Elliott, long before I'd heard his music. There's something so special about it now, knowing that someone as interesting and unique as Elliott chose it.

The lump has gone now :). I must learn not to listen to his music when I am tired and fragile! I just love it too much.

RIP Elliott, We Miss You

My Summer 2008

So I've just made a little video about the summer I've had, please watch and tell me what you think :)

For Summery Goodness click here!

We Came, We Saw, We Left.

I need to be consistent with my blogs, otherwise WHAT IS THE POINT?!

I'm becoming lazy.

Anyway, we all journeyed down to good old Reading, minus one ticket but then what's the point of Touts?

Answer: NO POINT. NO POINT WHATSOEVER.

We figured £200-250 was a reasonable amount for them to charge for a ticket, so we weren't worried. Turns out they were asking Five Hundred.

How the fuck do they sleep at night? Talentless assholes leaching off the success of others.

Anyway this "nice" guy told us he would sell for £300, we just needed to wait for his friend to get off a "delayed" train.

Fast forward an hour and we are still there, idly slumped over various bags and making small talk with equally frustrated festival goers.

He then tells us that his friend is AT the festival, in the pub. Also turns out this friend was actually a guy who had been hovering about almost all the time we were waiting. So in a frantic, last minute blur we shoved into a taxi and chased this fragment of hope/truth/whatever. Obviously he wasn't at the god damn pub, so we went back, sold our two tickets and fucked off to London.

There's always a silver lining...

Got put up in the swankiest Hotel in London for a drastically reduced price (Ellie and her connections), our suite had an adjoining Conference Room, which we used to decide where to go out :)

And have our fairly WASP'y breakfast.

Also officially the first people to traipse into the Auldrige in Wellies.

So all in all a fairly bizarre 24 Hours!

Just around the Frigging corner

In: Bel Air in lovely LA, on a massive couch, sending love to my body clock for waking me at half five and not at some obscure time in the afternoon.

Okay, it is now officially ONE MONTH until I move into halls. I am having this deluded flashback of watching this boy freak out last year over the same situation on his "Vlog", this was during my crazed Google addiction where I would trawl the web for anything remotely Glasgow Uni related. Obsessive, much?

But anyway I remember thinking how relieved I was because it was happening to him, and I still had so much time left to prepare, emotionally charge etc etc.

Well now it's happening to me!

On the other hand, I CAN'T WAIT! At the end of the day, even with all these crazy paranoid thoughts running through, I've just got to rationalise them with UNI IS GOING TO BE AWESOME. 

Smoking is bad...

I can't believe I used to smoke Lucky Strikes. And Marlboros. And Gauloises. Hmm... making myself sound like a complete smoke-a-holic, which I wasn't! No, It's just the fact that I was so god damn oblivious!

Apparently they all do really extreme animal testing, like cutting holes in throats and making them inhale smoke etc etc. I just felt sick after reading that, I couldn't believe I'd been supporting that with such a selfish cause.

And I call myself a Vegan...

American Spirits are the way to go! And I don't need to fall In love with them, as they are already liked! They are the only tobacco company that doesn't test on animals.

Plus I like the colours...

Hayseed Dixie

Don't you love it when things seem to unfold just for you? I mean, in the grand scheme of things it's just a happy coincidence, but it's nice to pretend. 

Anyway, these guys played an incredible set down at good ole Glastonbury, transformed Club Dada into a little barn dance, but somehow I just wasn't feeling it at Lovebox. Thing was it wasn't them, they were creating a little banjo inferno, I think it was just me being in a bad mood. And there is nothing worse than being in a bad mood when you want to be having fun so badly, yet you just can't get there. 

Well....the QMU (one of the student unions for glasgow) just announced their line up and these guys are on the Tuesday! What are the odds....

Has made me very happy! It's like I get a second chance or something.

They also haven't announced the 'main' event, apparently it's worth the wait. Better than Hayseed Dixie? Wowza....

Lovebox & Co....

If we never knew pain, then we'd never know pleasure, right? Well this weekend was certainly a testament to that. Well a watered down version I guess...

A Highlights & Lowlifes is in order I'm thinking;

• Death Cab for Cutie were AMAZING. So so good! I had to pay fifty friggin pounds for the ticket, in all my last minute glory, but it was so worth it. Another fly in the ointment was that we had seating tickets! I have never sat for a gig in my life. Before they went on I was a stitch huffy, looking down at all those lucky people grooving away, BUT oddly enough when Death Cab came on it didn't matter. And it was nice not having to crane my neck to see them as per usual. Their whole set was totally dynamic (word of the weekend), but the most amazing songs were "When Soul Meets Body", "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" and "The Sound Of Settling". They must have gotten my little psychic message, they saved the best to last. "Transatlanticism" had me in tears, it was so beautiful! Little geek that I am, but I promise that when live music moves you like that, It's such a good feeling.

• Friday was a nice little decoration on our weekend, we did the typical London Shopping thing, including the massive massive Topshop. Made us feel like such little country bumpkins! It was a very eye opening experience. Also had some really good Mohitos somewhere.

• Ah Saturday. Well, we had to get a lot of buses, mainly because we kept getting off in at the wrong place, and when we finally got to Victoria Park we were at totally the wrong end! It was very frustrating. Also, we went in the wrong direction and wound up having to walk around the entire arena to get to the entrance, it was during this insanely long walk that we came up with "The Frozen Grape Situation". Let's journey down my sister & I's V deranged train of thought! As we could hear the music but not see any form of entrance it totally reminded me of something Id learned years and years ago in some random lesson at school. Basically it was a Greek myth about a man who had "sinned", so he was placed in a pool of water under a fruit tree, and every time he would bend down to get a drink, the pool would dry up, and when he would reach up to eat something the fruit would shrivel up and die. Tada, we have a grape situation! The "Frozen" part was added on as we were v v cold. Anyway, we got there in the end and wound up being early! Was very strange, we even managed to get to the front of the queue, which meant we were exploited by every loser wielding a camera, made to shout "Lovebox" and dance around excitedly etc etc.

• Interesting parts of the day- schmoozing along to backstage, Okay the SMALL backstage, but still pretty exciting! We met an artist called Leon Jean Marie and his band, really cool guys and great to chat with! Their set was great, what with them all jumping about in a red and black whirl. Watching Laura Viers was a really nice part, she is a very talented lady who also gave me her pick after her set! Officially my Lucky Pick. We also went backstage to meet Johnny Foreigner after their set, two new security guards seemed to have grown since we last had been there so the best we could do was beckon the singer, Alexei over, who turned out to be a really sweet guy. After that we moseyed along to the main stage to watch Groove Armada, who of course were great, I See You Baby got me really nostalgic for the days of dancing on the kitchen table to my Now 44 tapes (interspersed with the Vengaboys obviously). 

• Sunday wasn't as good, had a bit of a lazy day as there wasn't really any bands that we had to see. Before Lovebox we had to check out Portabello Road, very eclectic and cool! I clutched to my bag for dear life though. We met some very interesting artists, they were a bit tweaked out but otherwise lovely. Made it in for Hayseed Dixie, who were unsurprisingly amazing, but used exactly the same stage banter as at Glastonbury. That's their call I guess, banjo skills win! 

• TOTAL annoyances- Steward CUT MY WRIST BAND OFF, apparently that's whats "done" at Lovebox. As I am the Bag Lady's answer to hoarding wristbands, this did not go down well with me. We scotch taped it, NOT a good idea! fell off the next day which put me in a total panic, scouring the streets of London and the like. Gorgeously it was found on my kitchen floor after we got back. Not bad! Back to annoyances, my Laptop speakers are broked! major major annoyance.

On a softer note, an email I sent myself a year ago wound up in my inbox! Was a very tender moment. I'd completely forgotten about it, yet there I was, rambling on about how worried I was about exam results and getting into University! I just wanted to reach into the mists of time and give myself a hug! Email capsules are so genius, if nothing else it guarantees you a good day a year from now...

Exciting New Discovery

You can get Wifi on the train. Free Wifi on the train. How amazing slash useful is that?!!

It was an exciting time for me...

Anyway I'm on the train to London avec the sister, Death Cab for Cutie tonight then on to Lovebox on the weekend! 

I love trains, it's such an interesting way to travel. To quote Samantha from SATC, "You never know who will be getting on, or getting me off!" 

You've got to love her.

Though we have backward seats. I always feel slightly uncomfortable in these, like I'm falling down a hole....

Running Up That Hill by Placebo is making love to my ears right now. Do yourself a favour and put it on right now!

Slow Ride

How much do you love this song?

It's got such a lazy, carefree vibe.

Was talking about Road Trips today and got me thinking about it.

Just Noticed...

I seem to squint in every single photo taken of me! Should I be worried? Makes Kodak moments less special and more retarded somehow...

And no, I wasn't high. 

Rastafarian Beliefs

I love these;

• Salvation on earth- They believe in earthly salvation, rather than heavenly. I agree with this much more than the Christian way of things, we should enjoy the benefits of what we do in this lifetime IN our lifetime, rather than leading a sin-free (or trying to) life just so that we can get "rewarded" when we die.
• Supremacy of Life- They look after themselves. They believe human life is very important, and should not be wasted. We should all believe this.
• Respect for Nature- They respect animals and the environment. Good Ole Rasties. 
• Power of Speech- They believe that what we say is very important, and they take this with a very positive approach. For example, instead of saying "I Understand," , they will say "I Overstand." How much do you love that!

They are powerful, interesting people. But I'm not loving how they treat their women.

Apparently women are inferior to men.

Note to Rasties, I love some of your beliefs, especially your dedication to smoking the doob!

But drop the God Complex, and respect your equals.

Don't Laugh...

I only just watched this.

10 million YouTubers will be rolling over in their grave! Or wherever they happen to be, too early for that.

Where The Hell Is Matt?

I wish I was Matt. What an experience! Something to show the Grandkids at least. 

I like things that make me smile without realising, it's a gorgeous feeling. 

The thing with this film is that it feels so connecting, when it comes down to it we are all so similar, and compassionate for eachother- this gets across through the simple medium of dancing. I love that.

I also love his dancing! Very unique.