lucy lemon

It's sure been a while...

2009-02-11T19:53:00.002Z

I think I leave longer and longer gaps between posting on here! To be honest, I love the concept of blogging, but lacking an exciting life, interesting hobbies or an impressive job, there's not all that much to write!

Still, I will be graduating in exactly 5 months and 2 days, and will be starting out in the real world...big, huge, scary place that is is. So maybe I'll have more to write about then.

For now, I really should go and do some reading - this article on non-native speakers of English understanding the Miranda warnings in the US just won't read itself...

Perhaps a better blog post soon :)

An anniversary

2008-11-24T17:37:00.001Z

Today marks 7 years from the day that I was baptised. I can’t even remember the name of the church off the top of my head, but it was a fairly local one that my home church had held services in a few times.

It’s always interesting when I tell people that I became a Christian at about 11, around 2 years before I was baptised. Sometimes it seems to decrease my credibility amongst non-Christians, who believe that I am a Christian purely because my family are, because I’ve been to church my whole life, and that in some strange way this means that I don’t quite understand *real life*. Somehow there seems to be credibility given to those who have suffered greatly, who have rebelled, or who have otherwise risen from overwhelming circumstances to find God. Perhaps my story will never be quite as dramatic as that, but it has nonetheless been an eventful story so far. At 11 I had little idea of how cruel your peers can be at school, and indeed in later life. Didn’t know what angst teenage hormones would bring, nor how long I would wait to feel any inkling of what to do with my life. I certainly didn’t really know what it would feel like to sit in a room full of non-Christians and say “actually, I’m a Christian.” I’ve said it so many times since then, and the circumstances are always interesting. It starts great, thought-provoking conversations and total stereotyping in equal measure. I don’t really mind any more. In some ways, the squeaky clean image is a funny and fairly innocent one. In a lot of ways, it represents just another kind of out-grouping. I’ve found over time that it is far easier to upfront and happy with my affiliations (as it were!) than to hang back and act as if I’m ashamed of it.

The thing is, we humans love to identify ourselves in comparison to others. Like I said, out-grouping. We identify much of who we are in terms of who we are not. I guess that’s why non-Christians often see me in terms of what they don’t believe in and what I’m ‘not allowed’ to do in comparison to them. But, you know, I don’t really see it like that. My struggle to be the best person that I can be is so individual, so unique, that I never want to reduce it to the concept of “I’m me because I’m not like them”. I was created by a great and awesome God and most days I do not even wake up and remember that. I count myself as doing well when I wake up 1 day in 10 and remember the fact that a life lived for God is a beautiful and precious one. Too many days it is more a case of ‘a life lived as a Humanities student is frustrating and tiring’. I am so very far from having all the answers and to being as graceful and assured as I aspire to be, like the Christian role models that I have. I just hope to manage it sometimes, and that perhaps over time I will make changes that support my efforts to manage that more often.

It’s been a crazy 7 years since I made that public commitment to Christ. My dreams that day of showing Jesus’ light to everyone I met for the rest of my life have unsurprisingly been far off the mark! I have met plenty of people who have no doubt thought I was a little quiet, a little unsure of myself, and not all that happy. But I hope I have also met some who got to know me and who have felt that my faith changes who I am. Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time thinking more than I should about things that don’t deserve overthinking, and not thought enough about some things that I should. I have struggled to negotiate my identity in an adult world, particularly in the context of being a student. I have felt constantly challenged with what society says is right and what my faith says is right. I have experienced over and over again the joy of being in a stressful situation and thinking “oh, wait a minute, God’s in control of this”. I have laughed at myself many times for how long it often takes me to reach that moment, and I hope to reduce that! I have learned what it is to love fiercely and loyally, and to occasionally (!) admit that someone other than myself might be right. I have even experienced what it is to trust God that he will make his will clear to me in all things.

Looking back, I sometimes wonder whether finding God made all that much of a difference to the years that have followed. I look back and see so many times when I distanced myself from his promises and securities and tried to do it on my own. But then I think of all the times that were different because of his presence, and I know that I can’t deny the difference he has made in my life. For all my stubbornness, there have been so many times that I was that little bit happier and more confident because of the faith that I have. At times like this, when I stop and think about what it means for me to be a Christian, I am awestruck by how many more of his promises I have yet to fulfil, how many more dreams of his that I have yet to experience. I realise that I have so many things to be thankful for and that the future will only add to that number.

So, seven years on, I hope that I am a little older and wiser, but just as excited about everything the future has in store.

Chocolate!

2008-11-19T20:22:00.005Z

All I can say to this is kudos to Stop the Traffik for their impressive and original campaigning efforts...

...though I couldn't help doubting, as a 20 year old female, that 200 small bars of chocolate does not a 5 month chocolate supply make.

Just saying :)

Oh, and speaking of campaigns and stuff, I was thinking randomly the other day (can you tell it's essay time?!) and I think for Lent next year I might do the Thirst for Life thing where you give up alcohol for the whole 40 days. I tried it one year but didn't really stick to it, to be honest. I've never really seen Lent as something I *have* to do, so haven't ever really bothered. But it's a pretty powerful statement and a very important issue, given how crazy the UK drinking culture is. Right ray of sunshine, aren't I?

Wish I had more time to post...

By way of explanation

2008-11-07T19:22:00.003Z

In future, when people question why I'm so cynical of student culture sometimes, particularly the drinking aspect of it, I'm simply going to direct them to this Flickr album:

I really like the style of the pics - the photographer's obviously very talented and does capture a few funny and sweet moments - but the messy scenes are way too familiar. It just ain't pretty! Need I say more?

Dealing with things 'manfully'?

2008-05-01T15:41:00.009Z

Story from the BBC about a heroin addict who died after jerking the steering wheel out of his wife's hands when she wouldn't drive him to buy drugs.

The BBC reports:

The coroner said Mr Grindley was a young man who had grappled "manfully" with heroin addiction and his death was a tragic loss.

What I would like to know from the coroner is how exactly one grapples "manfully" with an addiction? Does it mean bravely or courageously? If so, perhaps one of those words or one of their synoyms would be more appropriate than assuming that to be strong and brave is to do things like a man.

Also interesting to note that the reporter feels it necessary to mention Mr Grindley's private school education and his introduction to drugs by a former girlfriend, all in the same sentence. Given that two clauses in a sentence are usually linked in some way, what is the connection here? Are we supposed to infer that he had a private education but his aspirations for happy, well-behaved middle class life were ruined by his rebellious former girlfriend? Who knows.

Dear me, I seem to be having a very critical afternoon. Think I'm just still angry after reading about the recent Johnny Vegas incident where he may or may not have taken advantage of a young woman onstage. Nice one.

You don't say

2008-04-25T14:03:00.010Z

•Trying to finish up my computer-mediated communication coursework at the moment. In going back through my notes on further reading, I have just been amused to find that I wrote this without any irony at all:

•Morahan-Martin (1998) Putting CMC research into context – suggests that women find online flaming, sexual harassment, and porn alienating, while men tolerate or encourage all of them. Women are thus discouraged from joining in online and men (according to demographics) dominate.

You mean that women don't like stumbling upon dodgy porn pics when they forgot to put Google SafeSearch on? And they dislike being sexually harassed in online gaming environments just because their profile says that they're female? Shocking, that.

And yes, I learnt the SafeSearch thing the hard way recently. In a moment of bored procrastination, I did an image search for Michaela Strachan and didn't realise that SafeSearch was off until I reached the somewhat graphic naked image purporting to be of her. Well, thanks for that, anonymous person with too much time and photoshop expertise on their hands, I do enjoy being reminded that dodgy porn is alive and well on the internet and appearing on a computer near you. Pffft.

n.b. I should probably note the reason why I happened to be doing the aforementioned image search: I recently discovered that the 30 something male crowd was very much in love with her when they were young (see the Scouting For Girls song Michaela Strachan broke my heart when I was 12). Given that she presented a wildlife programme for kids, I was a bit curious about why she was so sexy to them all! I don't see it, personally.

But then, I'm not an impressionable 12 year old boy. Thankfully.

Convenient sizing

2008-04-23T16:06:00.002Z

One of the advantages to having small wrists, as I've just discovered, is that you can change your bedroom light bulb without having to remove the paper globe thing first.

Sadly, being generally a bit small means I still can't reach high enough when standing on my bed to be able to readjust the globe so that it's as high up as before. So, er, we're going for the funky, low-flying globe look at the moment...

Small joys, eh?

Teen topics

2008-04-17T15:45:00.003Z

One of the articles I'm currently trying to summarise for a horribly-close-to-the-deadline bit of work is to do with gender and identity in teenage blogs. Reading through topics that get discussed and all that made me reminisce a little. Not that I'd go back to being 16 - onwards and upwards, I reckon - but I was talking to an old friend recently and remembering how we used to discuss loads of stuff about identity and world views when we were that age. You know, the examination of who you are, why you feel and think the way you do, what influences all of the above. One of my favourite questions was how far we look at the past with rose-tinted spectacles, and whether that's bad for us or just an instinct. I never did come up with an answer. I guess, in the sense of opinions about the world, I still think about stuff. That's why I blog, I suppose! But even being student age sometimes seems the start to losing that feeling that your identity can be anything...you get used to being the same and you lose that sense of the "examined life". I don't ever want to lose that completely, though. Still, much as I'm a fan of introspection, the experience of once having been a girl in her mid teens makes me avoid inflicting dodgy psychoanalysis on myself at all costs!

Don't know what I'm trying to say, really, but maybe it's an interesting thing to consider?

And yes, it's exam time, as you can tell by the thinking about life and the procrastination.

Knowing your facts

2008-03-19T15:39:00.005Z

One of the more amusing exchanges I've had recently...

[while talking about the impact of segregating people and what happens when it's over]

Him: And then there was all that stuff after the fall of the Berlin Wall, remember?
Me: Er...no.
[Silence]
Me: Was I there then?

Turns out that the Wall fell when I was a year old, so I have a good excuse for not remembering! Ah, the things you don't realise you missed until you add the dates up.

It's kinda weird when you get thinking about what political events happened in your teenage years. What am I gonna tell people one day? 'Well, the war in Iraq happened and no one my age really knew what was going on and actually I still have no idea how it was significant to anyone.' Hmm.

Punctuation like you've never seen it before...

2008-03-18T00:28:00.003Z

So my 'Culture, language and communication' lecturer started this afternoon's lecture with an old article from that paragon of virtue, the Daily Mail, on the subject of how students are getting into top universities without even knowing how to use an apostrophe correctly, wah wah wah. So far, so normal. Course, then he went on to show some examples of incorrectly punctuated sentences and then you're really paranoid 'cause, hey, the last thing you want to do is prove the Daily Mail right. Imagine.

Anyway, we also had to do the following exercise. I wasn't sure whether to post it as it's not my work, but it's all over the internet so I guess I'll just be next in line. I've copied and pasted from here to save typing it out myself.

So, you start by reading this love letter:

Dear John,
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy—will you let me be yours?
Gloria

And now your task is to alter the letter so that it's a letter breaking up with the man, instead. (Apparently a 'Dear John' letter means just that, but that's obviously a bit of cultural info that passed me by!) The catch is that you can't change anything except for the punctuation.

After a bit of deliberating, I did manage most of it. Here's the answer:

Dear John,
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours,
Gloria

Nice, huh? Just goes to show how important punctuation can be to meaning. Gotta love the cleverness, however geeky it is :)

Here we go again

2008-03-16T11:16:00.005Z

Blah, blah blah...rolling of the eyes to the Telegraph who fell in line with another of those stories on what men look for in women....

The nice thing about it, however, was that a quick scan through the first few comments reveal a load of men either saying that they couldn't care less about those things and have already found and married their perfect woman, or that they haven't yet but still don't go by the results of the survey. That cheered me up a bit.

I couldn't believe that 54% of men wouldn't date a woman that earned over £25k a year though. Ego, much?

So I guess as a blonde haired, blue eyed student who gets about £4k of student loan a year, I must be the perfect catch! So I'm sorry to devastate all the men over at ukdating.com with my unavailability...

* * * * *

Ooh, as a quick side note, there's a press release out announcing the formation of an 'internet safety task force' which is going to work with AOL, Google, Bebo, Facebook, Myspace and a bunch of other organisations to develop some stuff on online safety. One of the co-directors is danah boyd, whose blog I follow. I'm really impressed - it's about time something like this was formed, and (from what I know) danah at least seems to be very in touch with a lot of the issues. Nice one.

'Typical maths nerd'

2008-03-14T14:26:00.006Z

I just scrolled down to the BBC's 'Most Read' stories, as you do, and saw the headline 3.14 and the rest. I immediately thought "Hmm, why are they talking about pi" and the numbers 3.141592654 sprang to mind as I clicked on the story. Turns out, it's Pi Day! Who knew?! Apparently the date is based on the fact that a shortened form of pi is 3.14, and 3/14 is the 14th March in the American date format.

I was suitably amused by the first few paragraphs:

As we're all taught at school, pi represents the number you get when you divide the distance around a circle (its circumference) by the distance across (the diameter).
With just a string and a ruler you can quickly measure that pi must be just over three-and-an-eighth (3.125). With more precise measurements, you may be able to narrow it down to 3.14.
However, if you ask a typical maths nerd, you'll get an earful of pi - 3.14159265 and so on. A surprising number of students have memorised 50 or even 100 digits after the decimal point.

It was the third paragraph that got me: as I just indicated, I've known the first 10 digits of pi for years, and somehow it was still tucked away in a dusty corner of my brain. Which is impressive for someone who has difficulty remembering her own PIN number if she doesn't use it for a week or two. But who cares - I'm officially a maths nerd!

Girls vs. Women

2008-03-13T12:52:00.004Z

So guess what? I'm annoyed at the news again. Nothing changes!

I bought the Independent while I sat down for a coffee earlier, largely because it only costs 30p from student outlets and has a couple of sudokus in it (and no I don't know if that's the right plural, and I don't care). To be honest, I rarely find much of interest in there but for 30p you can't go far wrong. I'm wishing I went for the Guardian now though - I think they were featuring something about Sylvia Plath.

Anyway.

You can read the story that got me annoyed here. Obviously I was annoyed at the whole 'spending thousands of dollars on prostitutes' business...not only is it horribly unpleasant because he's married and it'd also be quite nice if he set a good example, I don't believe anyone that blindly insists that every prostitute in the business is a happy, successful woman who won't feel any emotional consequences and is doing it out of her own free will just to make a bit of extra money. Don't be so stupid. But that's a huge debate which I won't go into now as I'm lacking in time and expertise.

The point I was actually going to make was actually not about the story itself but how it was reported. I recognise that 'call girls' is a widely used euphemistic name for the job that these women do, and I know that this can then be shortened to 'girls' when referring to them. And maybe it's fair enough that the Independent therefore sees fit to use both terms in its article (both online and in print). So my upset here is a general point as well as one about the article today. But here's the thing - they are NOT girls. They are women. In English, we tend to be very squeamish about calling males 'boys' as soon as they're past early teens. The only scenario when you might refer to males as 'boys' is usually along the lines of 'going down the pub with the boys'. For females on the other hand, they are often referred to as girls well past their teens. They themselves perpetuate it by calling themselves 'girls' for decades afterwards, and can pretty much be referred to as such by any man who is older than them. I know this sounds biased because I get annoyed about this stuff, but if you think about it I think you'll realise that is how it works. And, of course, there's the research to prove it...but I won't bore you with that now.

The point is that 'girl' and 'boy' are terms for young females and males. So calling either gender by this 'young' term when they are no longer young is diminuitive. I put up with it, normally. At 19 I feel that emotionally, physically and legally, I am not a 'girl'. I'm a woman, end of. But I usually won't object to it because I am still relatively young and, as such, I can't be bothered to get too insulted. And, coming from those close to me, it can be quite sweet - it can be used as a protective, affectionate term too. Of course, that doesn't mean that any man (or woman) that I don't know should assume I don't mind them using the term 'girl' to refer to me. Stuff political correctness...as far as I'm concerned, it's misleading to call me that, so don't.

The crux of this, if you've made it through this far, is that the women mentioned in the Independent story are just that: women. They aren't girls. I can grit my teeth and get past the 'call girl' title for the time being, as it does refer to a particular role. But, dear newspaper writer, they are not 'girls'. They are all adults, as far as your reporting indicates. So no more 'girls', please. Don't use the diminuitive, because it makes them sound less than they are. They regularly have rich, powerful men paying them to obey and oblige. That's a scary enough power dimension to start with, so please don't go along with it. I know I probably sound uptight and picky to you, and I know you're just trying to do your job, but think about it. Thanks.

2008-03-12T22:01:00.001Z

All I have to say today is that it's hard not to look like Hormonal Woman: Exhibit A when you're in the supermarket queue clutching green tea, dark chocolate and ibuprofen...

Buzzzz

2008-03-11T22:57:00.004Z

Just realised - I don't think I ever uploaded this photo. So apologies if I did already but, if not, enjoy...it was taken last summer with my parents' camera, about 10 minutes before me getting on the train back to Cardiff.

Shaky shaky

2008-02-27T16:12:00.005Z

Well I thought I'd join in the mass blogging about the earthquake...

JonnyB's entry made me laugh, and someone in his comments section pointed somewhat laughingly to the comments over at the Guardian. I think the best comment has to be by 7barrels:
"Small Earthquake hits UK.
Not much damage.

Please send in your stories of how this hasn't affected you very much at all."

I get that, OK, some chimneys have fallen down and it's scary to be woken like that and some people are now going to be faced with injuries and a fair bit of redecorating. I get it, it sucks.

But why so many people feel the need to say "I felt the earthquake. My house shook. Nothing fell over." is a little beyond me. How cynical of me...boo hiss.

Of course, I'm in an easy position to be faintly amused because I was on the phone to the boyfriend at the time of the quake - his house got quite a shaking, though in Wales we didn't get any of it - and his dad's response was "What did you do?!"

I guess you never outgrow that...

Crab cakes and Control

2008-02-24T17:18:00.003Z

I'm loving authors that release their books for free on the internet using a Creative Commons license - I followed a link from another blog to the future of reputation, by Daniel J. Solove, subtitled 'gossip, rumor, and privacy on the internet'. I've only had time to read one chapter but it seems very interesting so far - will probably be read by many people more important than myself, but I found it very accessible.

So big is my desire to not do uni work this afternoon is that I've also been reading a copy of the Nursing Times that the boyfriend left behind. Obviously I don't really know anything about nursing...but it's kind of intriguing to read something that's got nothing to do with me! There's an article on developments in communicating with patients using email and the internet though, which is more my thing. Think I might be looking up the full paper on the internet...

It's been a while since I went on about a book/film that I've just come across, so I thought I'd take a moment to plug the film Control. The official film website is here and the Wikipedia page (because you love it) is here. Wikipedia call it a 'biopic', which apparently is a film "that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people". If you haven't heard about it, it's about Ian Curtis' life, including his rise to fame in the band Joy Division and his eventual suicide when he was just 23. It's based on a book by Curtis' wife. We watched the film last night and I've got to say, I was blown away by it. I knew nothing at all about Joy Division, and even less about Ian Curtis, but it was very moving. It was in black and white, which was different for a start, and seemed to tell a very honest story. It drove me crazy in a way because he really doesn't behave like a very nice person in places, yet you get a sense of how messed up his head is and how he genuinely doesn't seem to be able to understand his own feelings and impulses at times. On top of all the psychological stuff, he ends up on a bunch of different drugs to treat epilepsy which in those days (he died in 1980) definitely involved a very hit-and-miss approach. I didn't know if I'd really enjoy the film, given that I never really watch films of that genre, but I was surprised at how much I got into it. Which is good, given that Ian Curtis is one of the boyfriend's heroes and therefore all talking had to be kept to a minimum during the film!!

So anyway, yeah, watch it if you can!

Not much else to report really...at the risk of making this entirely mundane, I'm experiencing a slight difficulty with a new pair of black jeans which, even after being washed, still get black on my hands when I touch them. (I wore them yesterday without washing them first, as instructed by the label, and had slightly grey legs by the end of it.) Serves me right for buying £10 jeans, I suppose!

Right, I'm actually going to go and do some work now. Though in case you're wondering, before I go, the 'crab cakes' in the title of this post refer to the very nice crab cakes I had in Prezzo the other night. I hadn't been there before but the food was gorgeous! Menus are here if you want to tutor me on how to pronounce the Italian! A big group of Italian blokes arrived there soon after us, presumably in Cardiff for the rugby, which I guess says something about the authenticity of the restaurant. Plus, from where I was sat I could giggle at the chef tossing pizza bases around in the air :)

That's my answer

2008-02-16T16:10:00.007Z

From http://thatsmyanswer.com:

So, tell us, do you have a special place? Where is it? Have you been there in real life?

This actually got me thinking. I don't actually do the thing that the writer describes, of closing my eyes and actually imagining myself somewhere else. Still, if I was going to - and who knows, maybe I'll start doing it! - my special place would have to be the armchair in the lounge at home, sometime around 9pm when the house is warm, there's a glass of red wine next to me and a good book in my hand.

I'm sure there are cooler answers than that, but there you go. I'm afraid that my special place is probably never going to involve a hot, sunny beach somewhere, as wearing very little in public and slowly baking in the sun both rate relatively low on my list of fun things to do.

On another tangent, going back to yesterday's food theme, I can't help but wonder how many people worldwide every year burn their mouths while eating a heated pain au chocolat? It happens so horribly easily...the pastry doesn't feel too hot so you take a big, happy bite and end up with a mouthful of scalding chocolate. I gave in to a multipack of mini ones yesterday and 24 hours later, after some rather enthusiastic microwaving and stuffing them in my face, my mouth is feeling rather tender. Still, I suppose it's my own fault.

Tuna and chips, aye or nay?

2008-02-15T22:05:00.003Z

I feel that this blog has been lacking in pointlessness recently, so here's a topical question:

Is it appropriate to serve tuna steak with chips?

I think it entirely is. I did it earlier this evening and it tasted good. You get chips with regular steak. You get chips with gammon steak. You get chips as a side to your tuna mayo baguette at lunchtime, for goodness' sake. Also, I was served chips with my tuna steak by a posh restaurant just last September. (Before you ask, by posh I mean that the bill came to more than £50 for two of us and I was probably the only student there).

However, the other half says that this is totally wrong. He is possibly just being snobby before he also cooked tuna for tea tonight but his was seared and was on a bed of rocket and something or other. Leaving aside the fact that I hate rocket and anything that's ever touched it, I understand that this is a nice, lighter alternative to my chips.

But still, are the chips really wrong?

Opinions welcome...

And don't worry, I've forgiven him for his attachment to salad leaves and the proper way of doing things ^^

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Grace

2008-02-05T01:57:00.004Z

I was watching the last episode of Season 2 Grey's Anatomy, and it contains a song called 'Grace' by Kate Havnevik

It contains this one line that caught me - turn my grief to grace. I love the concept...grace is one of the qualities I constantly desire more of for myself. Grace to accept myself as I am, grace to love and treat others as they deserve, grace to leave behind any bitterness and resentment, grace to live the life laid out for me without constantly doubting it.

And I'm sure you'll appreciate that this was quite deep thinking given that Patrick Dempsey was onscreen at the time...

Chicken vs egg

2008-01-31T14:30:00.000Z

I'm just doing some reading for my computer-mediated communication module (which I will no doubt go on about as I love it a little bit) and the authors refer to "the problem of the chicken and the egg". Which reminded me...

Is it only me that puts into practice her knowledge of once being a small child and visiting a farm? 'Cause as far as I remember, eggs hatch because a chicken lays them and then keeps them warm by effectively sitting on them in the nest. So unless you're telling me they had infra-red heaters back in the beginning of time, I'd said you kinda need some chickens to hatch those eggs! Therefore...the chicken wins.

Or, of course, you can look at it biblically (shock horror for the scientists!) and believe that it makes more sense that God really did put a bunch of animals on the earth than him putting down a bunch of unhatched chicken eggs or whatever. I mean, really.

Either way, the chicken wins it!

Rapists do read, right?

2008-01-14T15:44:00.000Z

So...I got to this article in the Guardian from The F-Word and couldn't help being slightly amused. The concept is that police in rape cases are planning on using a controversial new technique (borrowed from the US) to catch the perpetrators. Victims are asked to make a phone call or send a text message - such as "how could you do this to me?" to the accused rapist, in the hope of getting a response that amounts to an admission of guilt.

It's an interesting idea, and I really hope it helps, because I think we can all agree that more approaches to solving rape cases are needed. But for me, the story does beg the question...what if the aforementioned rapist reads the Guardian?

That might sound flippant, but how do you know?!

Home again

2007-09-04T10:07:00.000Z

OK, so here's the thing. I've been doing a full time job for 2 months, and now I'm back to being at home, pretending to be a useful member of society and all that.

And, as ever, I've ended up doing stuff on my laptop with the TV on next to me. And it never fails to disappoint. Already I'd enjoyed a Kate Nash video, and her excuse for singing. And then one of those lovely Dulux adverts, which somehow seeks to show that their paint colours match by depicting Exotic Spice's underwear strewn along the floor alongside Red Stallion's tie.

Hmmm, nice one, Dulux.

Monday Melee'ing for once

2007-07-23T18:20:00.000Z

Turns out I really can't do this 9 til 5 thing without sleeping 5 til 9 afterwards, hence the lack of blogging. Sigh.

1. The Misanthtropic: Name something (about humanity) you absolutely hate.
That Stone Age tendency to form tribes and excommunicate anyone who doesn't fit.

2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
The myth that chocolate in large quantities might not be that good for you. Don't be ridiculous.

3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
Feeling incompetent at work. It's not that I dislike the job, but I'm sort of used to being alright at everything I try, so it's a bit hard to get used to simply not getting it.

4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.
The kind of friend who sends you a message after you've seen each other to say how nice it was. (I thought of it and then...didn't.)

5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I'm gradually learning that not everyone thinks sarcasm is an appropriate form of communication. Astonishing, I know, but there you go...

6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
A nice hot bath...

* * * * *

Listening to: Our Earthly Pleasure - Maximo Park

Love it.

2007-07-03T19:28:00.000Z

So...I am now employed in pensions and investments for the summer, which has been a bit of a culture shock for the last few days. It involves being awake, fed, dressed and groomed by 8am (rather than the usual 9/10/11am etc) and such things. I'm not gonna go into what exactly I do or where, as I have signed an alarming number of forms and they basically mean, as far as I can work out, that no one is liable if the company decide they don't want me, and there's a whole bunch of reasons why I could upset them. So not that I am exactly in a position of huge importance, but I'm leaving it out anyway.

What I have learned, at least, is that the Financial Services Authority own everyone's backsides in the pensions world, and that investment types aren't happy unless every other word used in a report or conversation is an acronym. Everyone I work with is lovely, or I would probably enquire whether they'd feel happier calling me by my initials.

I may have a few posts planned, so hopefully I'll post a bit more regularly when I've got more used to waking up and going to sleep at more regular times. I have beautiful new wireless internet which I will no doubt pay homage to later as well.

Oh, and did I mention how much I am in love with The Goo Goo Dolls' Dizzy Up The Girl? Well...I am.

Teapots

2007-06-21T18:12:00.000Z

I have a moan, I'm afraid. I would merely like to comment on cafés that, when you ask for a cup of tea, bring you a little metal teapot all to yourself. What is with this? It's not quaint, because it's a metal teapot. It's not like we're talking fine bone china here. And frankly, the fact that it arrives in a teapot does nothing to disguise the fact that by the time it's been poured and brought outside and you've paid the bill and put some milk into your cup in preparation, the tea is actually very stewed. And any tea that only tastes ok when it's got a tonne of milk and a sachet of sugar in it is not really worthy to be called tea, in my book.

Anyway, moan over. I can already feel the 'get over yourself and your tea obsession' eyes rolling at the screen.

Ironically, I'm logging off now to make a cup of tea.

Random wanderings through Exeter

2007-06-16T12:53:00.000Z

I started my day totally confused in Waterstones. I can only assume that this sign is some kind of literary reference, but Google doesn't come up with anything. Who is this Eugene and what is going on with their lamp? Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

In a small shop tucked away in an arcade, I discovered some pretty cool vintage clothing. Sadly I decided to abstain as I am still unemployed for the summer, but I did have to take a photo of these hats, knowing that they're the kind of thing my twin would probably try to get away with. (All in the excuse of 'fancy dress', of course.)

Just down the road, in 'Kitsch U Like' there was also a lot of fun stuff, including handbags made to look like boom boxes. It was only walking back past later on that I saw this refurbished dentist chair in the window. Words fail me, frankly. But it's yours for £250. If I was rich and flippant I'd be tempted to send it to my old orthodontist as a token of my straight-toothed gratitude.

Quite possibly the quaintest cup of coffee I've had in a long time, served to me at the very originally named Riverside Café.

Sitting being thoughtful by the riverside I found myself wondering if you've got to be English to find this sort of view inspiring. But no matter - I enjoyed it, anyway.

Saving the rainforest, one biscuit at a time. It's gratifying to find even pubs on riversides serving fairtrade coffee and accompaniments.

This has got to be one of the shortest ferry journeys ever! It just goes to show how your perception of the world changes as you grow up...I remember that foot ferry crossing a huge distance.

Perfect girls, starving daughters

2007-06-12T15:05:00.000Z

I've just seen an advert online for a book called Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body by Courtney Martin.

So it's not JUST me that finds that frightening, then? I am glad...I've expressed my confusion time and time again that surely it's not right that I end up feeling big-headed simply because I don't hate how I look.

I think that book's going on my reading list!

Hello, this is your cat speaking.

2007-06-07T09:03:00.001Z

Hello, this is your cat speaking. Sorry calling you at the office..., originally uploaded by Vimrod1.

I get the 'Vimrod Daily Dose' cartoon email sent to me every day, and it makes me laugh every time!! I would love to meet the people that create them - I'm so sure sometimes that that humour exists somewhere in a dark corner of my head!

And imagine if your cat really could do that? Now that's an awkward neighbour situation.

Well, just thought I'd post today's 'Dose' as it amused me so much. And sign up at Vimrod.com! You won't be disappointed!

No milk for Monday

2007-06-04T23:38:00.000Z

Right, so I forget the Monday Melee for the billionth week. But I did like doing it before, so I'm gonna try and cheat and submit this blog entry as if it were yesterday. Sneaky stuff!

1. The Misanthtropic: Name something (about humanity) you absolutely hate.
Students in halls who make a ridiculous amount of noice when they get in at 2 in the morning...and then don't stop for over an hour! 'Nuff said. I'm in a bad mood.

2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Revision is clearly phony. It would much better for me to go and nap in the park with a thermos and a picnic. (But I won't.)

3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
The milk had vanished from our fridge this morning so I'm drinking black coffee with sugar, which was the only viable alternative to tea without milk. And it just doesn't taste as enjoyable. It tastes like something you'd drink if you were pulling an all nighter to work and had to keep awake. Which isn't the case as I am in need of sleeping better at the moment.

4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.
One of my friends has taken to texting me most nights to check I'm alright and not working too hard, which is nice. My last exam is on Saturday and I'm living and breathing language revision 24/7 right now!

5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I reckon I'm learning to control my bad moods better. Sure, I still vent to people sometimes, but I think I've got better at not inflicting my sporadic grumpiness on whoever is nearest.

6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
For the job interview I'm going to be in at this time next week to go well and for me to actually have a job for the summer.

* * * * *

Listening to: Come What(ever) May - Stone Sour
Last ate: Toasted bread roll with marmite. No milk for my cereal.
Thinking: My chest muscles hurt from the gym last night. Didn't even know my chest muscles existed!

Happiness formula?

2007-06-03T10:58:00.000Z

The BBC report that the government in Bhutan must consider how every policy will affect not only Gross Domestic Product but also 'Gross National Happiness'.

The article outlines some of the ways this is carried out - for instance, banning plastic bags, tobacco and MTV because they don't bring happiness.

I think I'm emigrating ASAP!

My week...in flowers

2007-06-02T23:40:00.000Z

I have a soft spot for gerberas. I also have a soft spot for my mum (obviously). And she gave me these so that's double special-ness. Mmhmm. I didn't even edit the colours here at all:

Au naturel:

I was sitting under this blossom just hours ago, eating lunch in the shade. My dad presented me with this 'bouquet'. Impressively, it looks brighter after the train journey in my suitcase than I do (though I wasn't in the suitcase, of course).

I'm not going to rant about the train journey now. It would spoil the pretty flowery vibe.

Get it away!

2007-06-01T06:48:00.000Z

You know it's not good when you get up and turn on the TV and even the Big Brother housemates are asleep.

I should add very swiftly that I didn't watch them intentionally! - I turned on the TV and it simply came up with the the last Freeview channel that I'd watched. My thumb has never moved so fast to switch channel! I don't think I'll say any more about the horror that is BB, lest I end up contributing to what is no doubt already a huge area of internet debate. All I can say is that I didn't need even my local paper to have the launch in it. Also, I've lived for the past 9 months or so as part of a group that is mostly made up of 10 girls. And, good as uni's been so far, I am slightly amazed that the producers of the show think that 11 women living together is going to be all fun and frolics. It ain't.

As I type this, I do have another TV-related observation to make. (Yes I've had it on a lot but no one's around so I need the company!) My oh-so-clever observation is that it is simply too early in the morning by my standards for the music channels to be playing Rihanna's 'Umbrella'. Oh, wait, no...there is never a time of day when seeing her dance suggestively down an umbrella could be a good thing, tepid romantic lyrics or not.

One music video that I did get excited about when I first saw it the other day was the new Maroon 5 song. I quite liked them last time they were around, so I had high hopes. But I'm not sure about this one. I liked the song and the lead guy's voice, but I wasn't convinced. Not that I know much about putting songs together, but I really felt that his voice was too weak against the music. You don't listen to it and pick up the words, really. In fact, I have no idea what the song's about. Not a great way to get people to sing along to your new song!

Right, time to turn the TV off and do some work, I reckon. Well, maybe after I've eaten. I have been up for 2 hours, after all.

Pseudonyms

2007-05-30T20:47:00.000Z

So. I'm watching Indian School on BBC 4. It's quite interesting actually - this episode is about the boom in the Indian IT industry and how that's affecting schools and kids. A lot of it is good stuff although there's also cases of children and teenagers already becoming addicted to computer games. Nice one.

I already knew about the huge IT industry there, but one little fact did stop me in my tracks. An Indian guy who works in a call centre was being interviewed at work and answered the phone as 'Derek'. He then explained that they get a lot of American callers so it's been decided that workers there should be given pseudonyms like David and Derek to make it easier for their names to be understood. I do get the logic of this - I can't pretend that I wouldn't find David easier to pronounce - but to actually be given a fake name to use at work? A little harsh, methinks.

On a side note, the narrator has just informed me that 200 new motorcycle licenses are issued in Pune every day. Blimey.

Stereotyping?

2007-05-24T11:16:00.000Z

Is it too much of a stereotype to assume that the reason the club I went to last night seemed to have a different, more chavvy (yes, I know, very un-PC of me, tut tut...) atmosphere was because there had been the Liverpool football match on and loads of people had come straight from watching it? I guess so, but my friend and I couldn't help wondering. the funny thing was that the music seemed to change to reflect it - less of the usual cheese/indie/alternative and more unrecognisable stuff that only facilitates dancing like a very repetitive drunk robot. Which, you know, I'm clearly not. But there you go.

I was mostly dropping by here to express my excitement about going to see the third Pirates of the Caribbean film tonight! I really didn't like the second as much as the first, but I still have high hopes. Though I hadn't realised that it's nearly 3 hours long, so I won't be leaving the cinema til after midnight, which'll be a bit weird.

I'll try to sit down and say a few words afterwards though...

* Update: It turns out that the Student Union nights are mostly not happening at the moment because of exams, which explains why the entire student population was trying to fit into the same one or two clubs last night. Which explains the music and the impression we got of the clientele - the union nights by and large subscribe to the idea that everyone present is hideously drunk and therefore won't notice the rubbish music that they're playing.

Off you go, kids

2007-05-18T10:15:00.000Z

Something about Lord of the Flies going live for reality TV weirds me out. I studied the book during my GCSEs, as many people did, and I have mixed feelings towards it. I think it is a very impressive and powerful book, but it really does have a dark side. And I always found that dark side to be quite believeable, to be honest. You can imagine how things could just go crazy.

Now I know that it's going to be filmed and all that, and I can't find out whether there's going to be any level of intervention if anything goes wrong. But really, 40 kids aged 8 to 15, abandoned in a ghost town for 40 days? Maybe I just got taken in by the original book, but the idea scares me. A lot. Who knows what could happen?!

Put your red dress on

2007-05-15T07:29:00.000Z

So, what, to get women to take up the opportunity of health screenings it is necessary to entice them with the chance to see pretty dresses? Apparently so.

Riiight.

But on a different note, the Fratellis album is good. I do love a good bit of indie. And kudos goes to Amazon as the CD arrived 4 days after I ordered it, which is unprecedented to my mind, especially considering our mediocre postal service in halls. Nice one.

On another random note - man, I need to work on my coherence! - I watched The Queen last night and was really impressed. I don't know that I would've understood all of the context and background stuff without one of my housemates commentating, but I guess inserting any more info into the actual film would've made it too documentary-like. I thought it portrayed Blair very well, and it got me thinking that 10 years is a very long time to keep working hard at that job. It was quite sad at points, though we were all debating the hype from the public over Diana's death. It's a hard one because she clearly did have a huge impact on the British people, but behind all her stoicism the Queen rightly pointed out that they were grieving for someone they didn't know, not someone that was the mother of their grandchildren. Some interesting points were raised, and I'd like to watch it again!

Told you so

2007-05-09T21:44:00.000Z

It made me smile in a rather big-headed fashion that over at the f-word they've also talked about Patrick Moore's comments about the BBC.

Though this feeling of gratification is marred somewhat by the embarrassing experience of finding out that I really should have known who he is. Ah well. From the sound of it, he wouldn't like me anyway.

So...it's OUR fault?

2007-05-08T21:49:00.000Z

You have got to be kidding me.

Reuters seems happy to report Patrick Moore's opinions on TV today: "The trouble is that the BBC now is run by women and it shows: soap operas, cooking, quizzes, kitchen-sink plays. You wouldn't have had that in the golden days." He adds that "I used to watch Doctor Who and Star Trek, but they went PC -- making women commanders, that kind of thing. I stopped watching."

I've got to admit that I don't know who he is. But, to be honest, I don't think I want to. Who comes out with stuff like that these days?! I agree that there is a fair amount of rubbish around on TV, but I hardly believe that that is the fault of women. And there are more educational and intelligent programmes around, because of the increase in sheer number of channels and all that. I say we start a revolution in better TV by getting rid of him and his incredibly sexist views.

Pfffft.

Headlines

2007-05-08T09:38:00.000Z

Arts students 'less keen on work': Thanks for that. Apparently we're less "pro-active". I grant you that at the moment I don't know what exactly I want to do after uni. But what is supposed to be surprising about "The UK Graduate Careers Survey [...] found a much more confident, work-focused, approach from students on work-related courses." Apart from the argument that all degrees are 'work-related', people on supposedly more work-related courses are blatantly going to be more work-focused. I mean, one of my friends studies Optometry. Except for the private vs. NHS decision, her focus is pretty much sorted - she's gonna be an optician. That's the reason why you study the course. And yes of course arts students expect to end up in low-paid jobs. We spend 3 years drinking cofee and reading news headlines about how unmotivated we are. What were you expecting?

Germans stay home for eco-holiday: Not much to say - good on the Germans, sounds cool that many people there are becoming more aware of the environment and the impact of holidays. What made me laugh about the article was this description... "Giggling by the sea - and lying topless in the sun - are Martina and her three environmentally friendly colleague [...] "I think it's better for the climate to stay here in Germany," Martina told me, once she'd put her bikini back on." Did you even need to ask whether the writer of that article was a man or a woman? Thought not.

Nurse sexually assaulted at work: Obviously nothing fun about the assault - bit horribly, really. I only wanted to question the news that detectives are looking simply for a "white man with a London accent." That, er, won't be difficult then.

Of course, one could consider the linguistic side of the article, in that the headline uses the unmarked term 'nurse' to refer to a woman, knowing full well that you will assume the nurse/woman link without thinking. But perhaps that's a consideration I should keep confined to my language seminars! Sadly I can no longer read the news and stuff without thinking of the theories from my course. D'oh.

Well, I better be off to do some work. Wouldn't want to not be hard-working and confident now, would I?

* * * * *

Listening to: Hot Fuss - The Killers
Drinking: The special selection Cafédirect coffee. Bliss.
Reading: An email from my dad, aww.

Holiday reads?

2007-05-07T09:29:00.000Z

Very excitingly, I actually got round to starting a new book last night! It's The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif. I bought it ages ago when I had some Waterstones vouchers - it's one of the Bloomsbury 21 Great Reads. Haven't got far into yet as I was only reading a few chapters to take my mind off coursework before I went to sleep. It seems good though! The introduction talks of it being many things; it's a love story about crossing the cultural boundary between England and Egypt, but also covers history and the boundaries of past and present, and east and west. Seems good so far, anyway.

It amused me that the back cover of the book has the usual reviews, including one from the Daily Telegraph. They claim that the book is "A page-turning holiday read." Fair enough, it is a love story and everything, but I feel that they're missing a vital fact. Namely that the book is about 2 inches thick. That doesn't really strike me as a 'lazing around on your sunlounger' sort of dimension.

But I'm making assumptions. I read Anna Karenina on a balcony in Italy, so I'm all for tackling these books on holiday. Funnily enough, Soueif herself lists that as one of her favourite classics. So there you go.

Zzyzx

2007-05-06T21:45:00.000Z

There is something way too beautiful about the song Zzyzx Rd by Stone Sour. Google it...you won't look back.

And that is all I have to say for today. It's been a long one and I'm ready for a new week.

I still don't get it

2007-05-04T17:48:00.000Z

This story just came back around, which I mentioned before. The one about the teenager who shot a 22 yr old man and later claimed that he didn't know that the gun was real? Well he got a life sentence, to be fair, as the court said that it was deliberate, rather than adequately provoked.

But what I still don't get is this idea that he didn't know that the gun was real. I mean, he acquired it by whatever means, carried it around with him, and then aimed it at someone and pulled the trigger. At one point would you think "oh, it's ok, this gun couldn't possibly be real?" I don't understand at all.

But there you go. End of rant. I'm feeling fairly happy other than that as I just participated in a psychology experiment. Was really interesting as I studied it at A level and always wanted to see what it was like to be in an actual study. I had sensors on me and everything! After 2 years of laughing at people that do stupid things in studies, I thought it was about time! Lots of my own work to get on with now though...sigh...

* * * * *

Listening to: Grown - Kendall Payne
Feeling: Mellow
Happy because: I've just been given a box of maltesers

Very important lesson

2007-05-03T14:20:00.000Z

If you should happen to be living somewhere which doesn't offer decent lighting in the bathroom for putting makeup on, I have some crucial advice. If you have a double sided mirror which has a magnified side, remember your science lessons from school. The magnified side can and will reflect the suns rays and magnify them on a small point, should the sun be in a suitable position. And as it turns out, laptop keyboards are not particularly appreciative of sun being magnified onto them.

Yes, you guessed it. Picture the scene: it's about half 7 last night and I'm getting ready to go out. I'm sat at my desk with my mirror propped on my laptop, straightening my hair and doing my makeup. A great arrangement because it gives me natural light and I can distract myself with social networking sites as I sit there. And I can also admire the sun gradually going down.

I did realise that the sun was being reflected onto my keyboard, and moved the mirror, but didn't think any more of it. I was in a rush so when I was done I really quickly removed the mirror and shut my laptop lid. It was only just now that I looked at my keyboard and thought "hmm". I feel very very stupid and also kind of upset - the keys still work but I've sort of defaced my laptop a bit, and I love the thing. That and I can't afford a new one, really. Look:

:(

Just passing through

2007-04-30T10:31:00.000Z

I can't decide if my philosophy on life (for today, at least) is good or simply just lazy. I was going to go to the gym this morning and then I thought "nah, I'll go later" purely because I fancied hanging around drinking tea, admiring the blue sky and picturesque hills, and reading the news.

Let's face it. I'm one of these people that will retire to France and while away her days drinking coffee and red wine in little cafés and bars on dusty side streets. Yeah.

Can you tell that I went to church last night and am now infinitely happier/more content than I was before I left? Three nights out in a row didn't make me this happy! (And plus, I now ache from so much dancing).

Good stuff.

* * * * *

Drinking: Lukewarm tea
Just ate: Berry Special K with yogurt
Excited because: The language essay is being handed in today - good riddance!!

Yawns...

2007-04-23T21:45:00.000Z

The Monday Melee

1. The Misanthtropic: Name something (about humanity) you absolutely hate.
Men and women using language differently. Because I have to write an essay on it.

2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Tesco 'Green Clubcard points'. What do they ACTUALLY do?

3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
The fact that I'm sleepy despite not doing anything of note today.

4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.

Just had a text from a friend to say she's back home, having travelled from Lampeter to Swansea (and then back) simply to go to the cinema. I am both impressed by her effort and am pleased because now I can phone her.

5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I remembered to actually join in the Melee this week.

6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
A hug.

WWJD

2007-04-18T23:44:00.000Z

So there I am, wandering through blogs, like you do if it's a Wednesday night and you're a few hundred miles from a decent night at the Welsh Club. And I came across this post which asks "What Would Judith Do?" about a particular feminist issue.

And I experienced a mix of laughter and sadness. Laughter because I knew exactly which Judith was being referred to. Sadness because I recently spent the best part of 2 days working my way through a rather complex extract of her Gender Trouble book and it's a slightly traumatic memory.

I wasn't sure I entirely appreciated the use of WWJD but hey, it's late and I'm sleepy, so it's off to bed for me.

Pretty in pink

2007-04-18T11:01:00.000Z

In a superb moment of grown-up-ness yesterday, my flatmate and I found ourselves wandering through Next, looking at homeware. Not that we can technically afford Next, but we're excited about our house next year and, well, furnishing it somehow seems rather exciting.

However, the thought occurs that I really will need a summer job if I am to get in the habit of desiring things like this £20 bread bin:

Ha.

Nothing much else to say today as my essays beckon. Sigh.

D is for Dangerous

2007-04-16T13:14:00.000Z

1. The Misanthtropic: Name something (about humanity) you absolutely hate.
The seeming inability to have clever academic theories AND write about them in a clear and concise manner. I've just made my way through a Judith Butler reading which just makes the mind boggle. She's got some interesting ideas but they would be so much more powerful if she used the occasional everyday word to talk about them.

2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
The facility to listen to previous Radio 1 shows online - it's telling me that I'm listening to Jo Whiley's show from this morning, but it can't be it because I already listened to it and it doesn't sound the same at all. Yeah, I am such a cool person that I feel the need to listen to the Arctic Monkeys' Live Lounge performance twice in one day.

3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
It's all sunny outside and I've just been offered a trip to Borders in Southampton which would combine my joint love of books and coffee, but instead I am staying home to continue my essay on sex and gender for Cultural Criticism. Hmmph.

4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.
Edith on Radio 1 has literally just started playing the Arctic Monkeys cover of that Amy Winehouse song that they did this morning. Result!! Good woman.

5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I intelligently figured out that working my way through my entire bag of dark chocolate covered espresso beans from Whittard would not end well (i.e. with a rather hyped up Lucy) so I let my mum eat some.

6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
Haha, Alex Turner. 'Nuff said. For his voice and the fact that he isn't yet confident enough to not sound nervous on the radio.

* * * * *

Listening to: Favourite Worst Nightmare - Arctic Monkeys (YouTube has spoilt the surprise there)
Drinking: Redbush tea with lemon
Feeling: Fuzzy headed from too many hours working. Wimp!

Can I just mention...

2007-04-15T13:09:00.000Z

...how much it amuses me that Prince William's split from his girlfriend is in the headlines of my news feeds for the second day in a row. I don't think I've ever had this happen to my headlines, except for cases like political crises where the situation has developed overnight.

What exactly is being updated here? They haven't turned round and said that they've made a terrible mistake and want an imminent engagement, right? So basically all I'm being updated with is more quotes on why they might have split up. Excuse me, but they were together for 4 years and were just about to experience the joy that is the long-distance relationship. Do we really need to ask why they might've decided to call it a day? And if it wasn't for those reasons, do we really need to analyse them til we figure it out? Thought not. And if anyone can explain why the BBC quoted someone from Hello magazine I'd appreciate it.

Adventures in eating

2007-04-13T14:40:00.000Z

I just remembered that I tried calamari last night. Well, it was called that on the menu. It's supposed to be squid apparently, but my parents insisted that what was actually on the plate was octopus. And no I do not want to know how you can tell the difference.

I don't know what came over me. I had a reckless moment. Or maybe it was the drinking red wine on a stomach of pineapple and maltesers. But as I sat there picking my way through my caesar salad starter, I found myself uttering those words..."Dad, can I try a bit?"

(In case you hadn't figured it out yet, I am not a fan of anything much that has ever been underwater. Or anything that is blue cheesey, spicy, hot etc etc)

So, my verdict is: alright taste - I'm not big on fishy sorta stuff but it was quite nice. The batter stuff that was on the outside was good. But the texture? Not so good. It just didn't feel right when I chewed it. The image of an innocent octopus that I had in my head probably didn't help, but I just didn't like how it felt to actually eat it. But hey, I tried. I'm the kind of person that doesn't like jelly on the basis that it tastes slippery, so weirdly textured foods are never going to be my favourite choice. I've come round to mashed potato though...
I must be growing up.

AI (Animal Intelligence)

2007-04-12T23:14:00.000Z

I couldn't help but think today, as I glared at the seagulls that were disturbing my peaceful lying in the sun, that they must get a bit confused sometimes. I mean, in the winter they see those human types driving past in their cars and huddling up in raincoats and big jumpers, always hurrying somewhere. And then the sun comes out and all the humans are suddenly lying prone on the ground. It must seem a bit weird.

Then again, my younger brother figured out that simply gesturing as if you were throwing bread makes the seagulls fly in that direction, even if you are in fact not holding any bread. Bless, I don't think they're particularly intelligent.

Sadly my other animal experience today involved a certain amount of death. One of my brother's 3 and a half year old gerbils died, which kind of wasn't a surprise as they're old, but still. The thing that got me was how the other gerbil reacted when it (sorry, she) got out of bed and discovered her sister (?) was dead. She nudged her a few times with her nose and then put both front paws on her side and did what remarkably resembled the presses you do in CPR. It seemed like such an intelligent reaction somehow. Poor thing - it's hard to tell how much they understand. But that could turn into a big philosophical debate and it's late. Maybe later.

I don't get it

2007-04-10T15:38:00.000Z

What exactly is the Sarah's Law trial supposed to achieve? Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but what good does it do to know that there might be a paedophile living in your general area? Considering the number of stories in the news about kids and teenagers being attacked or raped or abducted, surely it's better for parents to assume that they always need to keep a close eye on their kids. It seems to me that the best you can do as a parent is be aware of where your kids are, what they get up to, and make sure they know how to look after themselves. Whether or not a paedophile might live a few blocks away from you doesn't rule out anything else that could happen to your kid. The thing is, I'm the first to say that of all the crimes a person can commit, paedophilia really makes me sick. But a part of me still wants to believe in second chances, even when it's hard to be convinced that anyone can reform from that.

Of course, I'm saying this from the point of view of not being a parent, and I guess there are parents out there who really want this law. I get that if you've got kids you're not going to want to take any chances with them at all. Sadly I can only find the story on Reuters so I haven't found many opinions on it.

On a lighter child-related note, I was sent a photo of a friend's baby niece this morning, and she's gorgeous! I was almost jealous, in a don't-want-one-of-those-for-a-long-time-yet sort of way.

* * * * *

On in the background: TMF (Avril Lavigne playing at the moment. No comment.)
Eating: Incredibly dark chocolate, mmm.
Waiting for: My parents to get home and admire my hoovering.

Ever so slightly single-minded

2007-04-09T23:13:00.000Z

Just enough time left in my area of the world to do The Monday Melee...

1. The Misanthtropic: Name something (about humanity) you absolutely hate.
Teenage girls that deicde to bring their mum to an Arctic Monkeys gig and let them dance wildly in front of particularly small members of the audience. Brownie points for mother-daughter bonding, but minus several hundred for totally blocking my view of the Sheffield lads and also getting me hit in the arm a few times.

2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
The people selling knockoff band t-shirts outside the venue. Much as I'd like to get a cheaper one, I'd feel bad if my money was ending up nowhere near the actual band. Though the bands could do with bringing the price down a bit - the face value of my ticket was £19.50 and the official t-shirts cost £17.

3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
The fact that I am home alone and very hyper still, but with no one to express this fact to.

4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.
The Arctic Monkeys!!! Because tonight was a fantastic night and they put on a really good gig. And Alex said nice things to the audience. And happens to have a very gorgeous voice.

5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I remembered to buy bread, milk and juice today, so that my parents don't come back from Spring Harvest to an entirely empty fridge.

6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
For my videos of the gig to play on my laptop so that I could share them online, despite the understandably dodgy sound quality.

Hmm

2007-04-08T23:36:00.000Z

It is only now that I'm getting round to some contemplation. The folks down at Minehead started today with a 7am service on the beach. Me? I started the day at 8.30am, sleepily shoving coffee and croissants in my mouth before jumping in the shower to be ready for church on time.

This is the first time in 8 years that I have been at home on Easter Sunday. I spent the previous 7 at Spring Harvest. Which by my maths also means that I have been a Christian for 7 years. It's funny to think of my tiny blonde self making that commitment all those years ago with no idea what was ahead, just knowing that it was the right thing for me at the time.

In many ways I feel like this should be some kind of birthday celebration. Of course, sat here with my cup of tea and easter egg remains, it is not exactly that.

But I still reckon that it's good to have done something with my life that, 7 years later, still seems like a good thing.

Whatever you say

2007-04-07T19:55:00.000Z

According to an advert for L'Oreal collagen filler, the product contains "collagen biospheres", along with many other scientific-sounding things.

Call me naive, but until now I thought biospheres were those things at the Eden Project that contain the rainforest plants and everything.

Pffft.

"Shake it!"

2007-04-07T10:09:00.001Z

So, I've had the house to myself quite a lot over the last few days. I've got into the habit of having all my stuff - phone, coursework etc - in the lounge, with the TV music channels on in the background for most of the time. I like having them on for background noise and to catch good songs that I haven't heard yet. But after quite a lot of hours with them on, the visual aspect is starting to get to me. They're all scantily clad women gyrating and men in baggy jeans grabbing their own crotches. The one thing that both genders have in common is the fact that they're all very very toned.

It's sort of tiring to watch while you're eating breakfast in your pyjamas.

* * * * *

Drinking: Instant coffee
Eating: A banana
About to: Make more notes on gender and language...yeah!

Hangin' around

2007-04-05T11:11:00.000Z

Answering a few days of Question of the Day.

What color will we never ever ever see in your wardrobe?
Yellow. I don't think I have ever possessed anything in yellow, and I don't intend to start now. In fact, I think the only yellow clothing I own is my grey and yellow striped knee socks. Which are sort of retro so it works. But yellow is just never going to look good on me - I am incredibly pale and, well, it wouldn't be pretty.

What is one item that you own that has minimal monetary value, but has such sentimental value that you wouldn’t sell it for any amount of money?
I have a little koala soft toy that was in my incubator with me after I was born. It even has one of those hospital wristbands around its neck, saying who it belongs to. I like the fact that it was in there with me even when I was basically in a hi-tech plastic box. And it's gratifying to see that I am now a lot bigger than it.

Does killing time damage eternity? What do you do to kill time?
I don't know about damaging eternity. I mean, what does that entail? But I do think it can be a bit rubbish from the point of view that there's often way more productive things that you could be doing! Which is hugely hypocritical coming from a student who is very good at killing time, I realise. I do often think that I should pick up the phone and call a friend instead of staring blankly at *just one more* episode of ER. But there you go. My killing time usually involves the Internet - wandering through blogs, checking the news headlines...and, that student staple, going on MySpace. No, I know, I'm not proud of it. But it keeps me in touch with people, alright? (As you can tell, I'm slightly sensitive about being called part of the MySpace generation as if I don't have an IQ.)

* * * * *

Thursday Thirteen - #87

13 things, constructive or otherwise, that I could do this week while my family are all busy:

Watch rubbish daytime TV
Do my Language essay
Do my two Cultural Criticism essays
Bake things
Watch old Disney movies and reminsce
Get up to date with paperwork stuff like my mobile phone contract
Take lots of baths
Attempt some form of exercise
Drink the bottle of wine that my parents bought me
Back up my laptop files
Invite my friends over and watch endless amounts of DVDs
Spend my student loan online
Drink lots of real coffee from the coffee machine

* * * * *

Listening to: E4 Music
Drinking: Spanish orange juice
About to: Use a facial steamer thing to try to ease my very attractive hacking cough

Loadad Questions

2007-04-04T20:34:00.000Z

Hypotheticals: If you could be a character in any novel, who would you be?
Sophie, from Sophie's World. What a cool way to learn philosophy, and you even get trapped in a philosophical game yourself.

Anything Goes: What outdoor activity do you consider the most dangerous?
Skinny dipping. Freezing cold, could injure yourself when you dive in, and - of course - huge embarassment factor. Why why why would you do this.

No-Brainers: What is your favorite genre of movies?
I'm never sure. I like ones that make me think or that teach me stuff, but in reality I end up watching romantic comedies most of the time, for sociability purposes.

Personals: How good is your long-term memory, on a scale of one to ten?
8, though I tend to remember the pointless stuff!

Wise words

2007-03-30T14:42:00.000Z

I've heard some intelligent things recently.

I just came across the best book title I've seen in a while. (The last best was 'Love and other near death experiences'.) So, the latest winner is: Life Doesn't Begin 5 Pounds From Now. I want to read it just to show my appreciation for the title.
Our taxi driver last night drove us right into our student village, as one of the girls is on crutches, and he looked quite surprised when we arrived. I quote: "It's like a whole other city." So true. All the blurb about university integrating young people into adult life isn't so much the case for our generation, as far as I can make out. The mentality is more like it's one last party before you get chucked into fully fledged adulthood.

Sadly, it would be misleading to imply that I've said anything wise recently. The friend who phoned me last night for relationship advice probably wasn't very impressed at my sleep-deprived efforts. But I got 10 hours sleep or more last night, so I'm raring to go now! So maybe I should actually go pack now. It's funny - somehow the last day of term, with students carrying cases everywhere, makes me think about Hogwarts. I keep looking out for the Gryffindor Quidditch captain but no luck yet.

* * * * *

As I'm in a rather upbeat and happy mood, I'm participating in a 'foolish' themed meme from Five on Friday:

1. When was the last time you felt at least a little foolish?
Dancing to 'Everybody Wants To Be A Cat' in a friend's room at half 2 in the morning. I suspect that other people might consider this a foolish way to behave though actually I don't think so. It was fun!

2. What is the most zany thing you've done in the name of fun?
Well I had to check what 'zany' meant (bizarre, clownish, or ludicrously comical, according to Wiktionary). And I think the above answer would probably be the most recent example that fits that definition.

3. How well do you receive practical jokes?
Um, I don't think I've had one played on me in years. But, truthfully, probably not very well. Too much pride I suppose - I much prefer word play where I can easily fit in my own joke back.

4. Which topics or aspects of life do you feel should be off-limits from jokes?
Much as I think that political correctness can become too anally retentive in some areas of life, I really believe that off-colour jokes about stuff like sexual orientation and ethnicity don't need to be shared. I also feel uncomfortable with xenophobic or 'dead baby' jokes. I'm all for having a laugh but I have often heard the (predominantly male, it seems) argument that dodgy jokes are ok if you're just hanging around with your mates. This doesn't convince me - the act of sharing those jokes embeds them into the culture you surround yourself with and on some level must surely make you think that homophobia and the like are ok in everyday life. It puts you and your mates into a opposing category to gay people, or whoever the joke concerns. And that makes me annoyed.

5. What's the funniest practical joke or prank you've heard about or thought up?
I'll get back to you on that one, I can't remember right now...

* * * * *

Listening to: By The Way - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Drinking: Cold tea. Not so fun.
Need to: GO AND PACK!!

Not impressed

2007-03-29T07:18:00.000Z

Why my body thinks it's a fantastic idea to wake me up at some unearthly hour after a night out is beyond me. I woke up at 7am. Which brings my total sleep count to 2 and a half hours.

And right after waking up, my phone turned off by itself and now appears to have lost most of the 200 messages in my inbox - I only have the texts stored on my sim card left.

I don't think that this is the best start to my day.

Having said that, I danced to this song last night, and am still smiling. I used to love that film.

Launderettes and such things

2007-03-28T14:41:00.000Z

I have always approached the university launderette with some trepidation. A few weeks into the university experience I had an encounter where, in the very busy launderette, I was knelt on the floor taking my washing out of the dryer. And stood right behind me was some guy who was obviously staking his claim to be the next user of that particular dryer. These days, I'd make a smart remark to move him back a few paces. I mean, I was struggling to unload all my underwear into my bag, and he's stood about a foot away looking over my shoulder. But I didn't. I was young and innocent and was only just beginning to understand all the unspoken rules of uni launderettes.

The weird thing is that it's been fairly empty in there for months now. I think everyone else has stopped washing. Or has cottoned on to going home every few weeks and having their mum do it. Sneaky.

But anyway, I just got back from transferring my washing to the dryer, and was quite amazed at what goes on in the washing machine. You think the clothes just go round, right? Well my pyjama trousers and my gym trousers had actually got knotted together. My sheets had twined round each other. And a pair of trousers, a t-shirt and 2 socks had all managed to climb into my duvet cover. Whatever happened to just spinning around?? I was hoping to just move everything over, not spend 5 minutes sat untangling my washing like it had had an argument with itself.

My washing had also inexplicably taken 10 minutes longer than it was supposed to, which gave me time to read a copy of the Cardiff student newspaper that was lying around. Get this: Charlotte Church is allegedly planning to marry in 'Castell Coch' in Cardiff. Which is very sweet and all but maybe someone should tell her that, last I saw it, it was partly covered in bright green netting and scaffolding. I went there with my family about a month or two ago. It was nice actually, though a bit on the small side for a castle. On the plus side, the press probably won't be able to find it...the route to it is up a hill and through some small and complicated villages.

I also discovered that The Feeling are definitely playing at our summer ball. The Fratellis and Girls Aloud are also rumoured, but they may just be rumours. Never mind the expensive shoes and dresses, I'd go just for the music. (Not if the Girls are playing though.) Alas, I'm not gonna be there. But it's outside so maybe I'll just stroll past and listen out, eh?

* * * * *

Just unearthed a pic from the castle. Here we go, Charlotte.

* * * * *

Listening to: Who The F*** Are Arctic Monkeys? - Arctic Monkeys
Munching: Reduced fat Maryland cookies. Not as good as the original for obvious reasons.
Next on the To Do list: Seminar prep for tomorrow. Fun.

Late again

2007-03-27T19:44:00.000Z

Oops, I'm late for The Monday Melee again...

1. The Misanthtropic: Name something (about humanity) you absolutely hate.
The people that design stuff over at Accessorize. How dare they design such pretty rings with abalone in, knowing that I will end up spending my (OK, not that hard earned) money on one! They could at least do a size small enough for my ring finger.

2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
All the people that were strolling round the city centre this afternoon, looking all tanned in their sunglasses and flip flops. It was surprisingly sunny today, I grant you, but we're still in Wales. There's been about 3 warm days so far this year. So if they were expecting me to believe that their glowing tans were real, well...

3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
My hamster is pretty much dying, by the sound of it. And although I know he's a hamster and relatively small in the scheme of things, part of me wants to rush home to give him a cuddle as I'm not home for Easter til Saturday evening. I never tamed him as much as I should have, but he recognises me when I walk in and is generally great.

4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.
Upon realising that the bottle she'd put in the fridge last night was in fact rosé champagne, rather than rosé wine, my flatmate decided that a night in with me, a rom-com and Chinese dim sum was as good a special occasion as any, so we went ahead and drank it. It was good.

5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I'm staying in to read library books instead of going out tonight, so I can be all prepared when it comes to writing essays over Easter. Zero cool points but hopefully a decent essay at the end of it.

6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
Some fresh flowers. My daffodils are positively wilting.

* * * * *

Aww, here we go, a photo of aforementioned hamster. His name is Deuteronomy. Isn't he cute?

Not much else to say, really. I read an article on the f-word blog about a supposed equation that has been produced by some economists to explain prostitution. I couldn't quite believe it but the article is informative and also amusing in a twisted sort of way, so have a look. I was shocked in a more scared way by the BBC article about the 18 year old that shot a 22 year old man and claimed in court that he didn't, according to the Reuters article, think that the gun was real. What I don't understand is that the BBC quote him describing how he was on the phone and saw the 22 year old coming towards him angrily, so he "pulled out the gun and started shooting". Why was the gun in his pocket? Where did it come from? Why would he think it wasn't real? As I often feel when reading the news, I wish I could ask more questions. On the surface it sounds like he's covering up, but how do I know?

On a lighter note, I did laugh at the story in the Guardian about the two schoolgirls who discovered that there's almost no vitamin C in Ribena, and have landed GlaxoSmithKline in court. Why did they advertise the high vitamin C content when there wasn't any? In this day and age, you just know that someone's going to catch you out on it later. And I'm glad that it was those two girls - it amuses me somehow. I can sort of imagine my younger brother making some such discovery one day.

However, I do have to share an amusing story here. He recently switched secondary schools, and the other day he wandered off to school in his jumper, as you do. But our wonderful mother discovered his school jumper still in the house after he'd gone. It turned out that he'd managed to walk off wearing the jumper with his old school logo on it. And the two local secondary schools have been rivals for years!! Thankfully mum caught up with him before he got to school. I can't help but think that his limbs would not been in such good working order now if she hadn't! What makes it funnier is that he happens to have a brain the size of a planet. It's nice for the rest of us if he has a blonde moment once in a while.

And yes, I did fit in a sneaky Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference there.

* * * * *

Listening to: Audioslave (self-titled album)
Drinking: Tea

Shoe throwing

2007-03-25T14:27:00.000Z

I am currently reading Words in Ads by Greg Myers, for my Communication lectures on advertising. It's relatively interesting as I obviously see adverts all the time, and also the author happens to be quite funny at points.

In the chapter I'm currently on, Myers uses the example of a US television advertisement for a company that sells bonds, with the slogan 'Nuveen. The Human Bond.' On this, he comments:

"A viewer may either come to see the financial instrument in terms of their familial links, or throw a shoe at the television to express their disgust that all human relatioships were being reduced to a financial investment. (I threw a shoe.)"

The slogan was an example of a polysemic pun, by the way.

It made me smile to imagine this highly intelligent lecturer throwing a shoe at his TV in disgust :)

And I also had to smile at the thought that I am not the only one that occasionally gets that particular urge. On one particular occasion, when I was at the cinema waiting for a film to start, I witness one of the Remington adverts that contains the slogan It's what's on the outside that counts. Someone on LiveJournal describes the adverts well here. I actually did want to throw things. But as I was wearing boots and have appalling over-arm technique, I decided against it.

Of course, the film I was waiting to see was The Devil Wears Prada so if I wanted to be presented with a message that wasn't "You don't have to be beautiful but it sure helps" then I was admittedly in the wrong place.

Well, on with my reading...* * * * *

Listening to: Come What(ever) May - Stone Sour
Wearing: Pyjamas and a hoodie...yeah!
Daydreaming about: Johnny Depp in Chocolat - was on TV last night.

This time last week

2007-03-24T15:28:00.001Z

Home, originally uploaded by lucylemon.

I was there...

Tom: Israel's new friend

2007-03-24T11:09:00.000Z

Ah, reading the news in the morning is often a bit of a despondent activity. But today, in amongst the death and corruption and legal arguments, was something that made me smile. According to the Guardian, Israeli officials have set up a MySpace page to represent the entire state of Israel. Their MySpace page is here.

I think that's fantastic! "Excuse me, I'm off to go add Israel to my friends." How much can we bet they start a worldwide trend among governments now?

Actually I really am going to add them now. See you later.

* * * * *

Drinking: Coffee. The CaféDirect one. Yum.
Listening to: Half Light/Tourist - Athlete
Mood: Content

Encounters of the debatable kind

2007-03-23T20:26:00.000Z

I was in the gym just now and while on the cross-trainer I was recalling a conversation I had with a friend last night, and I suddenly saw a different side to it. I got so distracted thinking about it that I then managed to knock myself across the knees on the rowing machine. Twice. You can't say I don't take this stuff seriously!

So the other night we were in an 'alternative' club which I hadn't been to before. The fact that it's 'alternative' basically means that the music is more Fall Out Boy than Five, there's more black clothing, it's darker and dingier than your average club, and there's less lipgloss when you look around. I feel at home! The alternative nature tends to also mean, for reasons I'm not entirely sure of, that it's a bit less touchy-feely. Which can only be a good thing. So I was there, after we'd been there a while, dancing with this guy. And I'm aware of my mate dancing near us, and she's obviously looking over to check I'm alright or whether I want her to interrupt. We were joking about this last night, saying we should work out a secret signal to say "yes I'm ok" or "no, come and drag me away". I mean, I'm perfectly capable of walking away from someone when I want to go back to dancing with my friends (and as a rule this takes about 2 minutes to happen) but it doesn't mean that you don't meet guys - usually at the bar, bless 'em - that are a bit persistent.

The thing which occurred to me earlier was that I can't imagine your average bloke going through the same process. Sure, I've seen girls drunkenly throwing themselves around, and it isn't pretty. But the impression you get is that power on the dancefloor is the male prerogative. To take a more extreme example, there certainly are some men that will go up to two women at the bar, or whatever, and offer them money to kiss. But I have never ever seen or heard of a woman going up to two men and offering them money for the same reason. Because that's not what we do in society, is it? In prostitution, where money is offered for sexual favours, 'prostitute' is an unmarked term for a female. 'Male prostitute' is the marked term for a man. This is significant in linguistics, because it's one way that inequality is embedded in language without us realising - if someone says something about a prostitute, you will tend to assume it's a woman that's being referred to. Granted, I believe there are more females in prostitution overall. And, whether they come to prostitution through trafficking or not, I can only assume that the reason there are more women involved than men is because there is more demand for them. Indeed, to take a current example about the 2012 Olympics, the BBC paraphrase the Home Office in this article as saying that "An influx of young male sports fans, such as happened during the 2006 World Cup in Germany, could see a rise in demand for prostitutes".

I know it's a bit of a stretch of imagination to compare clubbing culture to prostitution, and obviously I'm aware that plenty of couples meet in clubs and it's all happily ever after. And my night out never gets spoiled by a bloke...I'm hardly suggesting that I can personally relate to the pressure or environment that prostitutes face! It's just that I've never really thought about it so much before. I mean, a guy coming onto a girl in a club isn't noticeable. But a girl making a move on a guy is a lot more likely to get comments about it.

Pffft, I just thought I'd have my little debate with myself on this one! I should probably add that student culture is always a bit of a world of its own. And I'm not protesting at people being able to openly admit that they're attracted to each other. It didn't work for the Victorians so I'm not suggesting it will now. But, you know, it just feels a bit one sided these days. And, to be honest, a bit more grace and respect all round wouldn't go amiss. It feels a bit trite to moan about guys making moves on girls, and I know that not all of them are hoping to get sex out of it. But I feel that it's a relatively harmless level in a bigger scale of things. Abusive relationships. Date rape. Prostitution. Trafficking women. Trafficking children, for that matter. One blog that I read recently, which I sadly can't find the link to, talked about the problems that come up in date rape cases because the (typically female) victim may have consented to one sexual act but not another. There is controversy over this, with the courts often seeming to imply that consenting to one act means that the other must have also been consented to. Or, put differently, that saying 'yes' to one act means that the woman is expected to be happy with another. The feminist blogging circuit understandably argues that this is simply not how relationships work, and a woman should not have her rape case thrown out because she consented to some level of foreplay and then wanted to stop there.

Of course, there is a flip side to everything. Women manipulate men into things too. Women domestically abuse their husbands too. We know that. But, as far as I'm aware, the stats say that it is women that bear the brunt of these kinds of problems. And anyway, it shouldn't be happening to anyone, regardless of gender, age etc. This inequality business makes me want to change things, but until I figure out how to I can at least articulate my feelings, right? Good good.

* * * * *

Listening to: Ta-Dah - Scissor Sisters
About to: Cook chicken with chopped tomatoes, red pepper, peas and rice
Next task after that: Find my Charmander on Pokemon Yellow

Tea and...transexuals

2007-03-22T22:20:00.000Z

Yeah, look at my daffodils!

Sadly that has to be the worst flower arranging ever - I couldn't find a suitable vase in Tesco, so I went for a mug instead. Their bright yellow-ness makes me smile though.

It's funny how when you get to uni you suddenly realise all the things you just assume will be there when you need it. There aren't vases hanging around, there's not random stuff left in the freezer that you can use on a lazy night, there aren't packets of flour around if you fancy baking, there's no landline... It turns out that all these things I thought magically resided in cupboards permanently are actually put there! By my mum! So there you go.

It's been a bit of a bizarre day as I didn't surface til about 11 and since then have had a lecture, made notes on sociolinguistics reading, eaten, phone a friend, etc. I had to go to a Cultural Criticism screening of Paris is Burning, which was a bit eye opening. You can look at the IMDB summary I just linked to, but basically it's about the 'drag' circuit in New York in the 80s. I can only assume that this links to the stuff we're doing on gender next week! The strange thing was that in one of the scenes one of the women was talking into the camera. So I'm happily watching away and then she says "one of the things I really want to achieve by 1988 is to get my sex operation done so I'll be a total woman". That totally got me because I just assumed she was a woman. Funny what you take for granted. Or perhaps I was just being a bit naive - I hadn't really cottoned on at this point! I did actually miss the first 25 minutes of the film, which probably didn't help. It wasn't the kind of film I'd usually watch, but it was certainly interesting, and I thought that the producers got some very honest and thought-provoking images and words from the people involved.

Must go, talking to a friend on MSN Messenger after she made me. I feel 13 again. I'm simultaneously talking to one friend about her break up with her boyfriend, and with another about our night out last night and her attempts to convince every emo in the place that he was Adam Lazzara. Dear me.

* * * * *

Listening to: This New Day - Embrace
Feeling: Slightly pained - I overenthusiastically ate my chips really fast last night and burned my mouth
Hoping (randomly): That I will get to go to Greenbelt again this year.

Tea and daffodils

2007-03-21T15:24:00.000Z

Ah, the sun is shining. The seagulls are cawing away happily. The clouds are white and suitably fluffy. It's funny how a bit of sunshine cheers everything up. The last 2 days in Cardiff it's been so cold that the skin on my knuckles was starting to crack. In fact, the skin on my hands still hurts slightly. I naively thought that as it had been getting warmer recently I wouldn't need my fleece-lined mittens. Wrong again, obviously. Of course, my happiness may also be due to my newly bought daffodils or the apple and cinnamon hot cross bun that I just ate. Yes, kids, money won't make you happy but what you buy with it in Tesco just might!

Anyways, I thought I'd update about the last few weeks as I keep meaning to do it and I've got half an hour until I need to collect my washing from the tumble drier. It's my fortnightly session of 'what will the university washing facilities do to my clothes this time'. I shrank 3 pairs of trousers before I realise that you should never tumble dry jeans there.

So...I went to be in the audience of Trisha Goddard the other week. It won't be shown for another few weeks yet but I'm hoping I'll be home to see it, as I don't have a TV here. The trip was organised by our Language and Communication society, and about 20 of us went. It's quite nice as the Trisha people put on a free coach from Bristol to Kent, where it's filmed. It was interesting to see who else was on the coach - there were people of all different ages, including couples, groups of girls, and even a family. You get a sheet when you arrive, telling you the stories that are appearing on the show. Then some guy that would have been perfectly suited to being a Red Coat at Butlins (very overenthusiastic and had obviously given the same spiel ten billion times) told us all about what was going on, and gave us strict instructions on the need to clap at any given opportunity and ask any question we could think of. What cracked me up was that during filming, there's a load of the filming crew stood at the side with their hands waving in the air, to politely remind you to ask a question. Having listened to dire threats on the subject of trying to take photos inside the studio, we went on in. My friend and I were directed to seats in the middle of the studio, on the front row. Cue slight panic. Trisha later spent most of the show stood either behind or in front of me. I suddenly became very much aware of the amount of times that I flick my hair back or shift the position I'm sitting in! Ah well.

It was great seeing all the set up and stuff that goes on, and how they move the cameras around and all that. I doubt I'd ever go into filming or something like that, but it's still enjoyable to watch how it works. I should probably mention that I don't think I've ever watched a whole episode of Trisha in my life. I've watched it while eating my breakfast a few times at home, and have always tended to ridicule it. I can't help wondering why, if your problem is that intense and personal, you would go on a public TV programme to bitch about it. In retrospect, I do still hold that view to some extent. But watching it up close does make you see it on a more personal level. I've done counselling training before, albeit at a low level, and much of what Trisha said to the couples was in keeping with the sort of stuff I was taught: encouraging people to state their arguments clearly, to consider their own behaviour, to think about how past events might have influenced their current behaviour. Of course, it's still often a case of taking sides and letting their audience chuck their opinions in. But for 2 of the 3 couples, at least, I felt that maybe they'll go on to get counselling and any other professional help that they need, and the experience will benefit them. Someone I was with said they'd heard that participants are offered free counselling after the show, and suggested that some probably make an appearance for that. And, well, counselling can be very expensive. Sure, there are ways to get it free, but it might just be that some people don't know how to go about it. That ain't so bad!

Having said this, I'm not going to become an avid Trisha fan. Even if I had a TV, I still get the unsettling feeling that some people that go on there are doing it for attention and to give their argument maximum impact. Sure, I'm glad they're gonna get help, but it doesn't mean it doesn't irritate me to watch it.

That's all for now - my washing's done and I want to go to the gym after I've collected it. More updating later.

* * * * *

Hypotheticals: If you were any animal, what would you be?
A black cat. Looking sleek, curling up by the fire, being cuddled all the time...I'd be great at it.

Anything Goes: What animal do you enjoy seeing most at the zoo?
I always love the lemurs. Absolutely no idea why.

No-Brainers: What store is represented most in your wardrobe?
It's probably a tie between H&M and Primark. Affordable, and their clothes don't tend to be cut to favour uber-skinny, flat-chested women.

Personals: What is it about you that people find irresistible?
Pffft, I've never thought about it. In people that know me, maybe the fact that I'm quite WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get, for the non-geeks). Those that don't know me don't tend to get past the stage of figuring out what they're seeing.

* * * * *

Listening to: The Life You Always Wanted - the Bittersweets
Drinking: Green tea and lemon
Eating:Tesco reduced fat rich tea biscuits. I used to brush them off as the fodder of middle aged christians, but now I love them. I must be growing up. (Meant in the nicest possible way...middle aged christians make up at least half of the people I respect most :)

Not much to see here

2007-03-20T20:00:00.000Z

So, here's this week's version of The Monday Melee. It's a little late as I forgot yesterday!

1. The Misanthtropic: Name something (about humanity) you absolutely hate.
The fact that all the textbooks go on about natural selection and survival of the fittest, yet we still haven't mastered natural immunity to the common cold. I don't know what I've got but it doesn't feel nice.

2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
The whole debacle with Flintoff falling out his pedalo at 4 in the morning. As far as I'm concerned, if you've got a career that demands that much devotion and is that much in the public spotlight, you have to be a little bit sensible about it. I know plenty of people get drunk and do stupid things, but I think his position forfeits him the right to do that. His choice.

3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
I am currently playing Pokemon Yellow (I looked out my old Game Boy Color, yeah!) and I am totally lost. I seem to still be getting somewhere, but I have no sense of direction at all. Which is a little demeaning - somehow I believe that I should have improved with age.

4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.
I think that credit should go to the woman who was supervising my giving blood last December. She had to sit fiddling with the needle thing to keep the blood flow going, and after 12 minutes I was still 100ml away from the fully pint. I then felt faint and ended up lying around for a while, before sitting quietly in a corner eating biscuits for a while longer. She was lovely throughout the whole process, despite the fact that they couldn't even use my donation as I didn't reach the required amount.

5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
For some unknown reason my muscles ache and my head is killing me and I keep feeling randomly sick, yet I have been nice to everyone around me all day. Anyone that knows me will surely appreciate this feat.

6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
Lasagne. I had it yesterday and I'm craving it again - anything that isn't chicken or penne pasta! I may just go and buy another one. Comfort food, much?

* * * * *

Listening to: White Ladder - David Gray
Last text message sent: "Ha, i'm never gonna complete it, i'm totally lost. oops, gotta go, cultural criticism lecture on race :s xx"
Last thing spoken out loud: "Right, I'm going to go put another layer on. It's too cold!"

Good to be home

2007-03-17T22:54:00.000Z

Today I have had real coffee from my parents' coffee machine, instead of my usual instant. I have finished the new Alexander McCall Smith book, as borrowed from my mum. I have strolled along the beach, had cinnamon dolce latte in Starbucks, and discovered the wonder that is 'manga Shakespeare'. I also bought some silver Rocketdog shoes. I have napped in my favourite armchair and showered under a proper shower. I am just finishing my second pint of Guinness as a nod to the Irish and their genius, and have just ordered my tickets for the Southampton Arctic Monkeys gig. I am now retiring to my normal sized bed and feather duvet.

Doesn't get much bettter than this!

What rubbish?!

2007-03-16T09:28:00.000Z

According to the BBC government research has shown that it is viable to collect people's rubbish less often than once week, so this is now being encouraged. I get that this will hopefully increase recycling, but it just seems pretty unpleasant to be honest. When our rubbish wasn't collected over Christmas, it ended up taking up a lot of room and didn't smell that great. And yes all the wrapping paper was recycled!

Haven't got much time to write right now - stuff to do and all that - but thought I'd share. Also, I just discovered that the Killers are playing on Comic Relief tonight, and the Mighty Boosh are also making an appearance. Now I realise I don't have a TV to see the adverts or whatever, but how did I miss this? That's actually something worth watching! My memories of previous programmes conjure up hazy images of slightly sketchy celebrities trying to be funny, and not much else. Now to find someone with a TV that will let me watch it, hmm.

Tired Thursday

2007-03-15T21:39:00.000Z

3x Thursday

1. Are you a morning person? What's your ideal time to get out of bed? Why?
Haha, no I'm not. As is often typical, I was before I hit my teens and now the idea of getting up at 7am is not a pretty one. As I have frequently tried to explain to my medic friends (who regularly see 7am!) my sleeping patterns have changed at uni. My ideal time to go to sleep is between about 1am and 2am, so waking up around 9am and 10am is perfect. I will wake up refreshed and knowing that I achieved a lot of work the night before because I concentrate best around midnight. Strange but true. No doubt I will have to alter this when I am out in the *real world* but that's ok with me - I could get up earlier if I went to bed earlier!

2. What is your morning schedule like?
It varies depending on the day. On a Monday, I'll get up about 9/9.30am. After breakfast I go food shopping at Tesco, which is my big weekly shopping trip. After that, I go to the gym for about an hour and a half. It's only a minute or two from my halls so then it's back to my room to shower and grab some lunch. Then it's off to my first lecture of the day at 1.10pm. Yeah, I know. I'm an arts student, alright?

3. Do you like the sun being out and the birds chirping when you wake up, or do you prefer the opposite? Why?
Given the time I just said I like to get out of bed, I'd be alarmed if the sun wasn't out! I really enjoy it being sunny when I get up, and knowing that there's stuff going on outside. It's sometimes atmospheric to get up really early but other than that if it's still dim then it doesn't make me feel like it's time to get up and go!

* * * * *

Feeling: Slightly dazed from staring at this essay for so long, hence my reluctance to blog anything much today
Currently reading: Double Fault - Lionel Shriver
Currently craving: M&Ms

Conditional immortality, anyone?

2007-03-14T12:18:00.000Z

Well, here I am again. I am impressed to report that we have blue sky and white clouds here, and the hills are looking all Welsh and picturesque in the distance. You can bet that you'll freeze if you go outside in an optimistically thin jumper, but still. I don't have any lectures on Wednesdays so I'm doing this while my Kelloggs Crunchy Nut goes down, then it's off to the gym. I have coursework to do but my best working hours by far are late afternoon until the early hours of the morning, hence this order of things. Nothing much exciting has happened around here so far this week, but I discovered yesterday that the Arctic Monkeys are playing in Southampton when I'm home for Easter, so I am very very excited. Of course, tickets are being assigned via a ballot system, so there's no way I can improve my chances of getting one - I can only wait and hope! I'd love to see them though. I was singing along to them from about 6pm til 1.30am last night, so my flatmates probably aren't as keen on them any more. Oops.

Oh, actually, I'll show you a photo of the view from my room, so you can see how nice it gets. This was taken the other evening:

* * * * *

[Brief pause while I read the email that just arrived and discover it is Borders telling me about their latest book deals. There isn't one in Cardiff so this smarts slightly.]

Anyways, my topic today is the Seventh-Day Adventists. "But why?" I hear you cry. Well someone (OK, it was my mum) asked me recently what I knew about the Adventists, and I was a bit stuck. I vaguely recall the name from somewhere, but nothing else. So I spent some time on Google to see what I could come up with. Seeing as it was quite hard to find an understandable summary, I thought I'd share what I found out. I am slightly biased from the point of view that I'm a Christian, so one of the key questions I had in mind was whether or not the Adventists are a *Christian denomination* because some sources say they are, and some insist that they're not.

Predictably, the first stop of my search was Wikipedia. The article there defines them as a Christian denomination and states that the Adventists (which seems to be the abbreviation they prefer) are "distinguished by their doctrinal beliefs that the literal, visible second coming of Jesus Christ is imminent, and that the seventh-day Sabbath of the Ten Commandments (Saturday) is the authentic biblical day of rest and worship which is still relevant today." The statement of fundamental beliefs on the official Adventist website also states in the 25th paragraph that "The almost complete fulfillment of most lines of prophecy...indicates that Christ's coming is imminent". I'm not sure how to feel about this as I have heard some many theories as to when the second coming will occur and how we will know. Personally, I don't feel that it is possible to say "it's going to happen soon" because the whole point, as the Adventists bizarrely seem to also acknowledge, is that "The time of that event has not been revealed". We just don't know!

The business about the Sabbath being on Saturday is an interesting one, and I have been intrigued to discover why the Adventists observe it on Saturdays. On a beliefnet.com message board there is an one explanation of this, albeit through the use of far too many capital letters for my liking. The contributor explains the notion that in Luke 24:1 the resurrection morning (which is accepted as a Sunday) is described as the first day of the week. Previously, in Luke 23:54 which takes place on the Friday that Jesus died, it is stated that when the sun went down, it would be the Sabbath day i.e. Saturday was the Sabbath. I think that most people would agree that the Sabbath was the seventh day of the week...so the only argument seems to be over which day is the 7th day. My own Bible says in the dictionary bit at the back that the Sabbath was the 7th day in the Jewish week. This site suggests that the Sabbath at the time of Christ was on Saturdays. Wikipedia says the same - that Saturday was the Jewish day of rest. Both articles also reckon that Sunday is now conventionally used as a day or rest and worship by Christians because it commemorates Jesus' resurrection from the dead. So I think you can see why the Adventists choose to keep Saturday as the Sabbath, and I don't think I could criticise their reasoning. I like the way Sunday fits in with the resurrection, though.

This brings me onto another debate, over the Ten Commandments. The Adventists, from what I can make out, come from the stance that the Ten Commandments are binding and must be observed. This is mostly a matter of how you phrase it. I would say that, although the commandments are a very useful prescription for a life that strives for godliness, they are not binding in that they are not needed for a person to become a Christian and be 'saved'. They occur in the Old Testament, and the idea here is that because the OT describes events before Jesus' life, following the commandments was the only way to God. From Jesus' death and resurrection, Jesus himself is the way to God because of that whole him-dying-for-our-sins lark. So however well you follow the commandments, those rules in themselves will not make you a Christian. But I'm being picky here - it's hard to tell how the Adventists stand on this.

A BBC article reckons that the Adventists "accept that the cross was the full and complete sacrifice for sin" which obviously indicates that they don't see the commandments as binding, though I am slightly skeptical over whether this is maintained - I would have expected to see this clearly stated in their own statement of beliefs. But anyway. In other area, the Adventists seem to be pretty straightforward. The BBC article explains that they share core beliefs with other denominations, such as belief in the virgin birth, that Jesus was fully God and fully man, and that the Bible is the 'Word of God'. This is nice to hear and I can see why the Adventists are therefore seen as just another Christian denomination.

The Adventists encourage vegetarianism, and are against drugs and alcohol. While I've never had a problem with eating meat or enjoying alcohol (in moderation!) I suppose you could say that this is just encouraging healthy living and respect for your own body. Can't argue with that! Followers seem to vary in how far they uphold these views, with some saying that Adventists must be veggie etc and some saying that it's merely recommended. Certainly, considering how many problems drugs and alcohol can cause in society, I think it's cool for religious groups to encourage us to be accountable with what we put into our bodies and to recognise how it can affect others.

I do have one gripe with the basis of Adventist beliefs, which is that as well as the Bible, they also view Ellen White's writing and teachings extremely highly. A statement on the Adventist website reckons that White's life and ministry is proof of God's promise to provide the "spirit of prophecy" to the remnant church (more on that later). Hmmmm. I'm afraid I'm not too wild about this idea. Yes, I believe that God gives gifts to people to use as part of the church community. But I'm not convinced that any one person should be elevated in the way that White has been. I'm sure she did have some groovy encouraging words, and I highly value the work of those with the gift of teaching, because I really think that God uses people to put across his message in new, fresh ways, and to provide encouragement. But just this one woman? Not so much. The fact that she is described in places as a "founder" of the Adventist church grates me.

As for the 'remnant church' business, the Adventists say (again, in their fundamental beliefs)that in the last days before the second coming of Christ, a remnant has been marked out to hold up God's commandments and all that. They believe that they are the remnant church. Kudos for wanting to be involved, but what about all the other denominations? I'd kind of like to be in on that one as well, you know? Saying that they're the remnant church is a bit exclusionary. But again, the extent to which this is insisted upon varies. Some sources allow that other denominations may be allowed to join in. Another of their statements says that "we gladly acknowledge that sincere Christians may be found in other denominations". There's been a lot of criticism of the Adventist position on Roman Catholics, which shows in the way that the same statement adds "including Roman Catholicism". Officially, the line is that although they think Catholics as a group have made some mistakes in the past, they accept that at least some of them are genuinely Christian. Unofficially, I can't make out how many Adventists are actually against Catholics - mutterings in forums suggest that some of them are a bit angsty about accepting Catholics. The statement I just mentioned is definitely worth a read, by the way. And to be honest, some of the stuff that's mentioned - such as papal primacy - has previously bothered me as well. Again, it comes down to differences between all denominations!

Right, I think it's about time I wound this up. I'm almost apologetic about the rambling, but it interests me so there you go. So I'll finish with a few other bits. There's the idea of 'conditional immortality' which rejects the more popular view that humans are innately immortal. The idea appears to suggest that people do not immediately go to heaven or hell after dying, which I'd put up for debate. Then there's 'investigative judgement' belief that says that the judgement of Christians, which decides who is worthy of salvation, began in 1844. My first reaction to this was pretty much "you what?" as 1844 doesn't mean anything to me. There's an amusingly written account of why this date was decided upon here which I'd strongly recommend - it made me smile. I'm really unsure about this as I don't like the idea of seemingly arbitrary links being made to figure out a specific year. It sounds a bit too Da Vinci Code-ish for me. Another thing I'll mention is that here it's said that the Adventists publish their own translations of the Bible. Since the quotes I've read from them sound the same as what I've read in mainstream Bibles, that doesn't seem an issue, though I'd like to know more.

So there we are. I could no doubt do with editing this later, but I'm going to post it like it is for now. I'd like to clarify that I have nothing against the Adventist church, as our differences are no reason to flatly say that they're in the wrong. I would simply say that, while many of their core beliefs tie in with those held by evangelical Christians and other denominations, some aspects of what they believe in differs in some significant ways. I understand why they insist on being called a Christian denomination, and recognise that they support a number of positive beliefs. My personal view is that they are a denomination that makes me quite uncomfortable, and I would not feel happy in an Adventist church environment. But, as ever, where anyone else stands is entirely up to them. Over and out...

* * * * *

Listening to: All 7.9 hours of my Counting Crows collection
Feeling: Positive that today is going to be a productive day
Most recent achievement: Changing my Tesco Clubcard vouchers into £30 of Bella Italia vouchers. Score!

You what?

2007-03-12T20:03:00.000Z

Just read this article over at Reuters, about a Chinese political adviser saying that Bibles should be put in hotel rooms over the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

I'm a little surprised, to say the least! Last I heard, Chinese officials were pretty keen to discourage those in China who wish to pursue Christianity. Far from clearing up misunderstandings about China and religion, as the adviser suggests, I'd say this just makes the Chinese government's position more complicated and two-faced.

This one just gets to me because I don't think it's right for anyone to say "no, that's wrong, you can't follow that religion" but I think it's even worse to say "it's wrong for you to do that, but as we've got people visiting..."

Just a thought.

* * * * *

It's The Monday Melee again!

1. The Misanthtropic: Name something (about humanity) you absolutely hate.
The assumption that someone wearing clothes that are not currently in fashion equates to them being unfashionable. I know people that are not told how beautiful they are nearly as often as they should be, just because they're not wearing this season's TopShop line.

2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
I know I'm taking a strong stance about something I'm certainly not an expert on, but I'd say that the Chinese adviser's attempts (above) to say that the Chinese government is totally cool with Christianity are pretty phony.

3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
I'm unhappy with Hotmail as - due to a fault with their email system - a friend just sent me an email that wasn't meant for me, causing embarrassment all round.

4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.
I was staying with a friend in Birmingham over the weekend, and she sat me down to finally watch some of the films that I've never seen but have always wanted to. These included Jesus Christ Superstar and Phantom of the Opera, though I fell asleep during the latter as we watched the second half of it at 2 in the morning after we got back from a club. Among the many other films we watched, we also saw Mulan which I don't remember seeing as a kid. I loved it!!

5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I can make a mean cup of tea *slurps*

6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
I wish that Ben&Jerry's ice cream didn't have any calories in it, so that I could go and eat the entire tub of it that I've got waiting in the freezer and think "oh what a healthy snack - aren't I good?"

To be continued: my recent trip to be in the audience of Trisha, and more on my weekend in Birmingham.

* * * * *

Listening to: Advertising the Invisible - Andy Flannagan
Actually hearing: Shrieking: one of my housemates just fell over the hoover
Thinking: How nice it is that sitting at my desk offers a clear view of the football players warming up outside

Tea and thoughts

2007-03-07T23:43:00.000Z

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
- Jack London

Ironically. I came across this quote while looking through the ...in other words... archives for inspiration.

I wanted to blog about something interesting today, but there's nothing that springs to mind. I went to the gym for an hour and 45 minutes, which was pretty cool as I didn't think I had the stamina to do it. Was a bit tired afterwards but I'm feeling OK. A killer headache has just materialised in my brain though, sadly.

I 'phoned a friend' earlier when I realised that I hadn't had a proper conversation with anyone all day. She's really busy with college and stuff, and we were talking about how you can see so many different people and be busy with so many different things, yet never end up actually spending time with people. Bit sad really. I've been trying to make a bit more of an effort recently - when I remember I need to email someone or call them or just drop a message by, I'm trying to actually get round to it. It always amazes me how grateful people can be for it. It's incredible to think that in this age of so many different methods of communication, it's still so easy to feel lonely in the midst of a load of people. Often when I pick up the phone I discover that the person on the other end was just in that place. I wonder if this is a bit of a national/worldwide thing. Seems to me that these days everyone's so busy trying to keep on top of life (and I don't deny it can seem an endless task) that we forget to just sit around and talk sometimes.

As an avid tea drinker, you'd think I'd remember it more. After all, tea is made for those brief sit-downs in which to connect with people and catch up with them. Hmm, that can go on my imaginary list of why tea in all its forms is so cool. Perhaps I should take to wandering around the city centre with a teapot, advocating a tea break to all the hardcore shoppers elbowing each other out the way. Perhaps...

* * * * *

Listening to: White Ladder - David Gray
Feeling: Oww, my head hurts
Wanting: Some galaxy chocolate...

Feeling warm and Fuzzy

2007-03-07T00:11:00.000Z

"I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a police officer... except for the summer of 1979, when I wanted to be Kermit The Frog."

So says Nicholas Angel in Hot Fuzz. Just went to see it in the Vue in Cardiff. This is always a weird experience as the cinema is inexplicably designed so that you have to go up 2 escalators to get to the ticket and popcorn bit, then it's a further escalator to get to the screen. There's nothing quite like a few minutes of single file standing in silence to bring you down after a good film!

It was...bizarre. By the end of the film I had decided that it was hilarious, but there was this whole section in the middle where I was thinking "hmm so now another person's been killed - old lady with gardening shears through her neck - and the comedy is where exactly?" But it definitely came through in the end. A big deal's been made of the fact that it's a 'British comedy' and all I can say is that it depicts British comedy as pretty twisted! But there is that traditional sense of irony in there, I suppose.

I don't want to give loads away about the plot but it's pretty much: very talented police officer gets reassigned to the sleepy village of Sandford...thinks nothing is going to happen...people start dying...the officer (named Nicholas Angel) ends up being almost solely responsible for getting things in order etc etc. Simon Pegg plays the whole dry humoured thing well, and writes an interesting article about the film in the Guardian here. One of my favourite scenes is a shoot-out in the local Somerfield. It doesn't get much more British than that!

To be honest, I only really started finding the film funny when it was quite a way through and one of the big plot points was unveiled. It was then that I realised just how ironic everything was. If you've seen the film and know why people were being killed, you'll understand me here. Until then I was feeling rather cheated because I'd heard it was a really good comedy but all I could see was people dying in rather gruesome ways. The fact that my medical student friends were wincing (or rather, hiding behind my shoulder) says something here! I'd recommend it though, if you like that certain painful kind of humour that we British seem to relish.

Mind you, I wouldn't mind having a watch of Charlotte's Web, too. I loved that book when I was a kid. I think I always reckoned I'd be quite good in the role of slightly strange little girl sat in the barn on her own, rescuing the runt of the litter and talking to the animals. I was a tiny baby - I think I empathised with the piglet, or something. Yeah, I was always a cool kid.

* * * * *

On a different note, I bought this t-shirt today, from Threadless:

Pretty cool, huh? I was indulging my whimsical and mildly feminist side =] I really wanted the "Shakespeare hates your emo poems" t-shirt but it only comes in cream, and frankly I'm so pale that I avoid white/cream clothing like the plague. It just doesn't look right. Bit sad 'bout that though.

* * * * *

Also, I was very excited today when I discovered that the latest issue of the Cardiff student magazine came out, seeing as I'd contributed to it! It was the 50th issue, so there's 50 different features in it to celebrate. One of them is the Digital section's list of 50 things in the technology world that have changed our lives. The first 10 were revealed today, and I was really pleased to find out that they've used 2 of my 3 contributions. I'm gonna post them here, so I can say that today I blogged about blogging.

Blogs: Whether you’ve experienced them or not, it looks like blogs are here to stay. Many in the communications world realise that they’ve revolutionised how we understand the media and find out about current events. They’ve provided insights into huge corporations: Robert Scoble, for instance, blogged while working at Microsoft. But they’ve also allowed millions of ‘normal’ people to express themselves and connect to like-minded others across the globe - even get married to them, apparently. Now how can that be a bad thing? Well, when your boring work colleague forces you to trawl through their travel blog, for a start…

Email: If you’re looking for dodgy prescription drugs, a fake diploma and a computer virus, look no further than your own email inbox. Filters may be getting more intelligent as time goes on but the fact is that you’re still getting spam. Email is a great tool for keeping in contact with friends, family and colleagues, but it’s hard to remember this when you check your emails on your mobile and spend a ridiculous amount of money downloading numbers of emails offering ‘V14GR4’ before seeing that no one you actually know has emailed you. Shame.

And my third suggestion, which may or may not be published at a later date -
Daytime TV: Once upon a time (1986 to be precise) it dawned on the people over at the BBC that it was time to start showing TV programmes all through the day, as they’d discovered a willing audience of the unemployed, the elderly, and the housewife. And so daytime TV was born – a tepid mix of talk shows, game shows, and the like. But love it or hate it, being a student makes it inevitable that you will one day succumb to its powers. Yes, you too will find yourself running to your room while shrieking “I’ve missed the start of Neighbours!” while your flatmates do the same.

* * * * *

Eating: Those [insert expletive here] chocolate digestives
Drinking: Regular tea, for once
Listening to: Infinity on High - Fall Out Boy
About to: Flick through the Daily Mail and the Daily Express for hopeful articles for my coursework. Hoping not to encounter any nakedness in these.

Misanthropy and Make-Believe

2007-03-05T22:56:00.000Z

Writing these makes me start to wonder whether my subconscious reason for starting a blog was just to talk about myself. Hmm. But I've done 3 hours of sociolinguistics reading today and now myself is pretty much the only thing I understand...

The Monday Melee

1. The Misanthtropic: Name something (about humanity) you absolutely hate.
The way we have a state of mind where quirkiness and individuality in young women are qualities that are not valued as highly as flawless skin, big breasts, and the ability to wear obscenely short skirts.

2. The Meretricious: Expose something or someone that’s phony, fraudulent or bogus.
Tesco Value plain chocolate digestives. They cost 34p for a packet and I swear they have something addictive in them. I'm fairly good with the healthy stuff but whenever I buy a pack of these I just can't keep away. Cue pained face...

3. The Malcontent: Name something you’re unhappy with.
Tabloid newspapers. I bought the Daily Star and Daily Mirror today because I need to analyse an article for some coursework. The Star has a topless woman on the 3rd page, which I didn't expect when I bought it. Not sure if I was being naive there . I'm all for being open about the human body but for me this is taking it too far. I think it's cooler to leave something to the imagination and leave people to have meaningful relationships in which they discover the human body in private. And besides, even if you ignore all that, I have just braved that page once again to inform you that there is no way at all that those are real. Put them away!

4. The Meritorious: Give someone credit for something and name it if you can.
2 of my friends posted me a sweet card and one of those handwarmer things today, because I always complain that I'm cold. I feel very loved right now.

5. The Mirror: See something good about yourself and name it.
I am wearing a bright blue t-shirt with the Superman logo on it. Proof that I am very very cool.

6. The Make-Believe: Name something you wish for.
To be at the Killers gig right now. They're in Cardiff tonight and my flatmate phoned me from the gig just now. I didn't realised that tickets were out in November until the day after. And by that time they were long sold out. They're one of the bands that I would LOVE to see live, especially as a friend saw them a while ago and said they were fantastic live. Oh well...

* * * * *

The Music Memoirs: 10 songs that sum up your weekend...or were on your weekend playlist...and one picture that relates back. (oh, and if you feel like it, tell us why you picked the songs you did)

These were on my weekend playlist...as you may notice by the comments, I was quite reminscent. Also, I spent the whole weekend getting all my errands done and getting organised, so there was a definite air of getting stuff sorted. Dunno what though.

Ironic - Alanis Morissette
I don't often listen to her but she has such an evocative voice, which is especially impressive on her acoustic album, which was the one I got this song from. This song reminds me of being 15 and one of my friends singing this as we walked home from school in the summer before she moved away.

You Laugh - Andy Flannagan
This guy is a total legend and is one of my heroes. He is one of the most inspirational singer/songwriter/campaigners you will ever come across, and his heart for coming to christianity in a totally humble manner is just amazing. Hearing him sing makes me stop and get myself together.

And I - Boxcar Racer
15 again and young and feeling like we could change the world, in the middle of a really close group of friends who were all the on the edge of everything else but very much belonged together. Not much has changed there - we're just more spread out.

Mr Jones - Counting Crows
My most favourite band ever, and this is one of their songs that I discovered last. I love the happy and free feeling of it. Makes me smile.

This Years Love - David Gray
Beautiful song, but annoys me because every time I see the name of it I continue my ongoing internal debate over whether there should be an apostrophe in it and, if so, where?

I Can't Come Down - Embrace
One of those songs that I loved from the moment I heard it. I bought the album purely on the basis of that, while not knowing anything about the band. I listened to the entire thing the moment it arrived, and was glad. I played it on repeat for practically a whole week while I was revising for my January exams.

She Is - The Fray
Again, from another album that I loved from the first listen. His voice is astounding and the song is one of those to play really loud and just lie back and listen to it.

Supermodels - Kendall Payne
The lyrics of this song just crack me up ("What lasts longer in this life/Character or rock hard thighs?"). I was luckily enough to meet Kendall at the Greenbelt festival before last, and she was 100% genuine, whilst being hilarious and fun to hang around with. Great voice and plenty of attitude!

Read My Mind - The Killers
"I'm gonna turn this thing around" - I can't explain it, this one just gets me every time.

Far Away - Nickelback
It's funny that this should be such an amazing love song but it just is. Brings to mind thoughts of sun and summer and young love. Bless... Worth a listen.

Sadly I'm at the end of my 10 now, even though I could've added plenty more!

Here's my photo:

My flatmate and I attempted to open a gorgeous bottle of red last night...we've had problems opening this particular brand before, as the cork tends to break and we're not very good at bottle opening anyway. So, erm, we ended up having to sieve the cork out. Little bit ashamed at our ineptitude (is that even a word?) but it was so worth it in the end!!

* * * * *

Just ate: Natural yogurt with tinned strawberries (like a Muller fruit corner if you close your eyes...)
Wondering: Whether the photos I ordered will arrive tomorrow
About to: Go clean my much loved George Foreman grill because I couldn't be bothered after I ate dinner

Oooh, look!

2007-03-02T22:29:00.000Z

I was bored the other night, so attempted to find different coloured things in my room and photoshop them so that each picture showed a coloured object against a black and white background. In the end I tinted the backgrounds as well, which doesn't look as clever. But whatever. I managed to get a series of a few colours, then ran out of ideas. Good fun though! Thought I'd add this pic as it fits in with the fruity theme of my blog.

My name's Lucy and I've been clean from twiglets for 5 minutes now

2007-03-02T21:37:00.000Z

Well, good evening.

A few random things to mention, really. First, it's raining. It was perfectly sunny this morning, but it is Wales after all. No one told me when I applied here for university that when people say that it rains a lot in Wales, it actually does. They're not kidding! And of course it was the one day I didn't have an umbrella with me, as I happened to be carrying a different bag to usual. Though on reflection I realised that I have left my umbrella in someone else's bag anyway.

* * * * *

In Cultural Criticism yesterday we watched a copy of 100% English, which was on TV as a single episode a while ago. I can't find it on the internet, but there's a clip of it on YouTube here and an article about it in the Telegraph here. The programme involved interviews with 8 participants who all considered themselves to be 100% English. They spoke about what they feel makes one English, and generally harped on about how English they were. They all agreed to have their DNA sampled, and tests were done on the samples to find out where their genes came from across the world, and also which bits of Europe they were from in particular. Of course, they all reckoned that they'd be 100% European and 100% from Northern Europe. Not so!! The look on Carol Thatcher's face when she was told that she has quite a lot of Middle Eastern ancestry was just priceless.

It was a really interesting insight into how widespread your gene pool can be, and was certainly a laugh when it came to some of the reactions. But, most of all, it was

painful. One woman in particular, an older lady from Kent, bordered dangerously on the outright racist side of things. A number of the participants implied - or stated - that they felt immigrants are undermining the English culture and should not be allowed to consider themselves English, and neither should their descendants be allowed to call themselves English. The woman from Kent used the analogy of 'well if you came into my house and started changing things around, I'd be most upset.' Much as I understand that people are entitled to their own opinions, some of what was said just made me angry. I mean, I consider myself *English*. But to be honest this is mostly because I was born in England and lived the first 18 years of my life there. I still count it as home and although I like to feel an affinity with Wales (being in the capital and all) I wouldn't say I'm Welsh, for instance. But it doesn't get much more complex than that. As far as I'm concerned, if you want to consider yourself to be English then you go right on ahead. And yeah, plenty of people from other countries end up settling down in England. If they want to think that they're English then I'm cool with that. I mean, I imagine for some of them that they've left countries where they don't feel they can identify with some of the values that are upheld. I'm not going to deny them something else to identify with.

It's funny though, how worked up people can get about it. One of the women on the programme actually threatened legal action after it was revealed that she probably had Romany Gypsy origins.

Personally, I'd love to take the test. It'd be nice to know what parts of the world I come from. The fact that my pale skin burns in minutes probably suggests somewhere not that hot, but who knows? I'll watch out for future programmes!

* * * * *

Don't think I've got anything else to waffle/rant about, really. I've had a quiet day or two and am feeling decidely blessed over the fact that I am going to have time this weekend to catch up on some errands and have a go at starting a piece of coursework. Not much happened today - had a seminar, got a mocha frappucino (yum!), read The Independent, bought some shoes (my Etnies are dying a slow death because of the fact that I must walk weird...I've totally worn the corners off!)...oh, and got quite excited at an advert for 'Guinness Marmite'! Can it really be true?? Sadly I just bought Marmite so I may not get to try it.

Right, I have to do some work now.

* * * * *

Eating: Twiglets! I feel 5 years old again

Most distracted from coursework by: Season 5 of ER on DVD - though it's sad not to be able to admire Gates, as with the current series

Listening to select songs from: Chris Cornell, Snow Patrol, The Goo Goo Dolls, The Spill Canvas, The Zutons, The Fray, Counting Crows, Editors, UK Escapade, Alanis Morrisette, Sting, Funeral For a Friend, Embrace, Santana, Maroon 5, Foo Fighters, Guns N' Roses, Oasis, The Killers, Nickelback, Guillemots, Aqualung, Daniel Bedingfield, Scissor Sisters, Muse, Phantom Planet, Chili Peppers, Fall Out Boy, Matchbook Romance, Franz Ferdinand, REM, Nizlopi, Van Halen, James Morrison, Boxcar Racer, K T Tunstall, Robbie Williams, Green Day, The Bittersweets, Starsailor, The Calling, Stone Sour, Doves, The Raconteurs, Kendall Payne, Pink, David Gray, Feeder, U2, Razorlight, Andy Flannagan...

p.s. A big thank you to Viola over at The Americanization of Emily for this post which helped me sort out the line spacing issues my posts were having with Blogger.

Language and letters

2007-02-26T22:13:00.000Z

Ha, when i saw this 'Happy Monday' meme, I just knew that I had to do it. The idea is that every Monday a theme is posted, and bloggers have to post something funny on tht theme - a picture, video, story or whatever. Today's theme is letters.

Here is mine:

This occurred last summer when my boyfriend and I were unexpectedly invited out to dinner with his parents, so he left a note to David (my brother) to explain that we'd left, as David had just gone out. No idea why he thought this was informative, but there you go. We arrived home later on to discover David's contribution. The exchange amused me so much that I kept the bit of paper.

Yes, I am probably more easily amused then the average blog reader/writer, but there you go.

Anyway, my random thought of the day is that I read a lot of stuff on language and gender today, and the book got me wondering. It paraphrases many of the ideas of a woman called Robin Lakoff - who started off the language and gender debate years and years ago - which include assumptions like 'women use many more tentative linguistic forms than men' and 'men swear more' and 'women force conversations more, and use linguistic forms that force a response in the other speaker'. The book I'm reading focuses on research that's been conducted since Lakoff's claims, which were merely based on her 'intuitions' as a native English speaker. The conclusion is basically that she was talking rubbish, because the evidence often contradicts her. But the evidence also contradicts itself a lot, too. So really...we just don't know what patterns there are in male and female use of language.

What got me though is that I'd agree with a lot of Lakoff's assumptions. Certainly, they're probably not all true, and definitely not for all women. But I reckon that there is still the idea hanging around that women don't, and shouldn't, swear too much. And they get a certain label if they do. And they shouldn't be too forceful in their opinion, and should use plenty of qualifiers to show that they're not praising themselves too much, or making other people out in a bad light.

The question is why is this? I'm not so sure that it's purely because of our apparently patriarchal society. Partly I think it's probably just differences that have evolved, and there's nothing too wrong in that. But you know what? All that business with women qualifying what they're saying is pretty much because of what women do to women. You use qualifiers in your language if you're a woman because you'll be frowned upon for having a decent level of self-esteem, and you also do it because you'll be called a bitch if you attribute negative qualities to another woman.

Sometimes I think it's great being a woman. Sometimes I think we all got a bit confused along the way.

I tend to think I'm pretty cool and I'm not having anyone tell me I should act otherwise. Smug, much? :)

* * * * *

Listening to: The Life You Always Wanted - The Bittersweets
Thinking: I need to take my contact lenses out...my eyes hurt
Funniest moment today: My flatmate and I sprawled out on chairs in our kitchen, making conversation across the room at the eye level of the table

Lazy Sunday

2007-02-25T18:03:00.000Z

Well it's after 6pm and I'm still in my pyjamas, so I don't feel any need to get dressed now! I've had a nice weekend and have made up for my lack of work in the last few days by doing my language and gender reading in bed. Ah, there are definite advantages to being a student - not getting dressed all day is totally cool with everyone else. I had to laugh at myself just now when I was texting a friend and he said something about everything kicking off in Cardiff tonight, and checked whether I was going out. I had no idea...upon checking the news I have discovered that not only did I have no idea it was the Carling Cup final, but I also missed 3 red cards, John Terry being kicked in the face, and apparently a 'brawl' on the pitch as well. Blimey. Not that my pyjamas would really suit the city centre anyway but I'm definitely not going out anywhere tonight! It seems such a shame that the final was so violent, even if the Terry thing was an accident.

* * * * *

Stories that amused me when I was reading news headlines:

This story in the Guardian, about a teacher in Kentucky who somehow sent a text about marijuana to a police officer, instead of to her dealer. The officer set up a meeting and then arrested the woman. Bit intrigued as to how she made such a mistake - surely that's one phone number you'd triple check before sending??

A BBC story about 3 armed muggers in Costa Rica who held up a bus of American senior citizens. One of the tourists was a retired member of the military, and accidentally (I think) killed one of the muggers while trying to restrain him in a headlock. I'm not applauding the fact that the bloke got killed, obviously, but I felt some satisfaction in the fact that the senior citizens won the fight.

* * * * *

Last laughed at: My twin brother, who was demonstrating his Happy Meal toy in our hallway when I walked out of my room earlier
Last felt smug because: I raided the huge Celebrations tin in our kitchen and there were some Mars chocolates left
Last felt insignificant because: I hugged someone I was out with and I only just came up to his shoulder

Book lovin'

2007-02-24T13:19:00.000Z

Now this meme I can really relate to! It's all about books, and I love them. I don't always get around to reading much for relaxation purposes because I spend so much time sitting around doing reading for my course that by the time I'm done I don't really fancy more reading. But it's one of my biggest passions, I suppose. So this is a good basis to talk about something I like...

1. Favorite Book You've Read?: This is difficult as I have many favourites. The book that's had the biggest impact on me in recent times is The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. It's nothing like anything I've ever read. I never cry at books and films and stuff, but bits of that book almost got me. It's very clever, and definitely worth reading.
2. Favorite Book Character?: I'm gonna cheat here and say someone that's actually real. Tom Reynolds wrote the book Blood, Sweat & Tea, which is based on his Random Acts of Reality blog and is an interesting and insightful account of his life in the London Ambulance Service. He's funny but not in a disrespectful way, and seems like a really nice guy. I certainly couldn't do his job but he seems good at it!
3. Favorite Book Genre?: Erm, fairly mainstream fiction I suppose. Anything that engages me and takes longer than an hour to read. I don't really do chick lit unless I'm very tired...
4. Hardcover or Paper Back?: Paperback, all the way. Fits in your bag easily and doesn't make your arms ache if you're reading in bed.

* * * * *

That's all for now - I really need to get on with some reading today, though I could do with going to get food so I can have some lunch. My body clock is pretty confused as I ended up going to bed at 6am, so I think a bacon sandwich may be in order. Yum.

* * * * *

Listening to: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - Arctic Monkeys
Reading: Women, Men and Language - Jennifer Coates
Number of cups of tea drunk so far today: 3

Lenten ponderings

2007-02-23T16:43:00.000Z

Afternoon!

Well we are having a fine Welsh day of clouds and rain today, so I figured I'd blog rather than doing what I should be i.e. walking to Tesco to get important goods such as bread and crackers. Oh, and marmite. I am most definitely a lover, not a hater, on that point.

I've been having a think about Lent in the last few days. I confess that I had actually forgotten until Wednesday, when a friend asked if I was giving anything up. His helpfull suggestion was 'sarcasm' but he tried that one last year and I'm still not buying the idea! The thing is that I don't belong to a christian denomination that enforces the idea of Lent, and nor do I feel that it is something that christians are *required* to do. Indeed, these days it is generally a time when women try to give up chocolate, and that's about it.

Last year was the first year of the thirst for life campaign, which you can find a link to in the top corner of this page. Another insightful look at Lent from a religious perspective can be found here. Last year was also the first year that I gave up something for Lent - alcohol. The idea behind the campaign is that it's a positive thing whereby people give up alcohol for 40 days to promote thought about the use of alcohol. And I think they've got a point. Granted, many people have a sociable drink or two a week, and that seems pretty harmless. But as I'm sure you'd agree, there's always plenty of stuff in the news about alcohol-induced abuse and drink-driving deaths etc. Which really isn't very nice. And as a student, I can certainly relate to the campaign's suggestion that alcohol is pretty much associated with everything we do these days. You have a glass of wine with your roast dinner, a bottle of wine as an accompaniment to a movie, alcohol before you go out at night, alcohol when you're out...the list goes on. Now I consider myself a responsible drinker, but a problem here is that the government define a binge drinking session as 6 units of alcohol and above for women. And you have to bear in mind that that assumes that a measure of spirits is 25ml, whereas the standard in clubs is often 35ml these days. So as someone who can hold alcohol fairly well - and I'm not labelling myself as such in a particularly proud way! - I sometimes 'binge drink' without even realising. Yes, Mr Blair, I am officially *irresponsible*.

The point I'm getting at is even though I drink responsibly, I am perfectly capable of supposedly 'binge drinking' without even feeling it. I'd get up the next morning, albeit a little tired if it was a 4am bedtime, and think 'well that was a good night and I enjoyed myself in a sensible way'. But the fact is that us students do have a tendency to fit the image that the media gives us. Many students drink responsibly but there are also plenty that go out to get drunk, for whatever reason. So I guess I can agree with the campaign that maybe we need to reconsider just how much we assume alcohol to be a natural and (for some) everyday part of our lives.

From this train of thought, I'm going to give up drinking alcohol when I go out, for the duration of Lent. I'm being upfront about the fact that I'm not abstaining from all alcohol at home. I drink half a bottle of wine a week in my flat, at the very most. And that's usually over 2 evenings. It means a lot to me, sharing a bottle of wine with a friend, and I personally do not feel that I need to challenge this for Lent. Having thought about it a lot, my challenge this Lent is to go without alcohol when I go out - to challenge the presupposition that you have to drink to have fun, to find people interesting, to dance, and to loosen up. I hate going out with a large group and, if I feel slightly socially uncomfortable, thinking 'it's ok, we'll all loosen up after a few drinks'.

And, of course, I do benefit from this. For one, alcohol costs more than normal soft drinks, which saves me money. And also, I'm pretty sure that my body will enjoy being alcohol-free. Apart from the obvious burden on my liver and skin, you'd be amazed at the calories you consume while out drinking. The other day I looked up how many calories there are in basics such as a glass of lemonade and a shot of vodka. And I might not be totally accurate but the maths showed that the night before I had consumed in the region of 700 calories, just from drinking. And that was only about 4 drinks. To be honest, my waistline would appreciate not having to deal with that, even if it only happens once a week.

I see Lent as a chance to challenge something in my life - I've explained that already - and also a chance to try to be good to myself and have a look at what I'm doing both to my mind (buying into the idea that I'll have a better time with alcohol) and to my body (liver, skin, weight).

So there you go - my thoughts on Lent. It may have been a bit rambling...I've had a bit of a cold and stuff for a few days, and my brain isn't in top working order. But as it's a topical thing, I wanted to post it soon. Maybe I'll try and edit later.

* * * * *

On a different note, I wanted to mention the quote that made me laugh today. It's from this BBC article about a study that showed how much bacteria can be found in people's desks, and how women's desks are much worse than men's. The lead researcher, a Professor Charles Gerba, discovered that 75% of female staff kept food in their work area. He helpfully adds "I was really surprised how much food there was in a woman's desk. If there's ever a famine, that's the first place I'll look for food."

Now don't you all follow his lead or there'll be no food left...

This made me laugh all the more because one of my little brother's gerbils is called Gerba, too.

* * * * *
(a meme from Friday 5)

1. What do you try to stay away from? Steep drops

2. Are you clumsy or graceful? I attempt gracefulness but if I'm hormonal it's 100% clumsy for me!

3. What is it too late for? Me getting much work done today - I'm going out later :)

4. What/who was your first love? Phoebe the Russian dwarf hamster <3

5. Friday fill in: I believe that ____ will _____ I believe that I will not drink alcohol at the jazz club tonight

* * * * *
Listening to: How to Save a Life - The Fray
Eating: A banana
Feeling: Slightly cold

Congrats on the eating disorder progress?

2007-02-20T20:38:00.000Z

Well, look what we have here...it's the new range of Journeys cards by Hallmark. I came across them after reading a blog about them over at the f-word. Prices on there are in dollars, so I'm not sure whether these cards are available in the UK.

I can't decide what I feel about them. The website claims that the cards can apply to happenings in life such as divorce, eating disorders, leaving a bad situation, quitting a bad habit, post-partum depression, thanking a hospice worker, losing hair from treatments, and many more. I am totally with Hallmark on the fact that there are a lot of challenges people face today, and we need to support these people. I even think a well-placed 'Thinking of You' card can be very thoughtful and can really help. After a friend's brother died I know I agonised over whether to send a card, what card to send, what to write in it etc. But I'm really not sure about all this business where there's big inspirational paragraphs on and inside cards. I have to admit that I've never really been in a situation where I've personally been sent cards for anything on the Hallmark list. But if I was, I would much rather receive a card in which the sender had simply written a few words themself. Even if it was just "How can I help?" it would mean a lot more to see it in their own ink and their own handwriting than to get a card with that printed in it.

Don't get me wrong: sometimes I think that having poems and stuff printed on cards is nice. I've received sweet birthday cards like that, and I know my granny likes a classic and cheesy Mothering Sunday card. But the idea of sending someone a card with "One year free of the Big Bad C" on the front just makes me wince. As does sending one with "Why me?" on the front. Yes, the message inside is a thoughtful one (along the lines of 'you must have a million questions right now, but I have one too - how can I help?'). But really, do you need that card on your windowsill, or whatever, proudly displaying "Why me?" to you every time you walk past?

Well, it's just a thought. I genuinely hope that these Hallmark cards will be a great resource for the niche of people for whom they are appropriate. I don't doubt that many people will still be comforted and strengthened by them. From me, though, anyone in distress is more likely to receive an art group photo card with a few, simple words included in my own handwriting...

* * * * *
Speaking of eating - but not of the disordered kind - check out carved into an apple which is on the Innocent blog (as in the smoothie). I'm proud to say that the photo is the work of a friend of mine.

* * * * *

Listening to: Infinity on High - Fall Out Boy
About to: Make a fruit salad of grapes, melon, and banana
Thinking: That I should really do some course reading now

More memes...

2007-02-18T23:09:00.000Z

I suppose the first one explains why. And on a side note, I'm not sure if it's etiquette to use memes from different places in the same blog, so hope no blogging feathers are ruffled there.

I'm feeling very happy and content as my parents and younger brother are visiting my twin brother and I - we're both here at the same uni - and it's always great to see them. I am lucky enough to not only have a very supportive and loving family but also one where we share quite a lot as far as outlook on life and sense of humour are concerned. Come to think of it, I suppose the supportiveness and similarities probably both lead to the other. There's a thought. Though I was glad I returned to my flat when I did tonight: I knocked for my flatmate when I got in and it turned out that she was cleaning her bathroom and hadn't realised quite how strong the stench of bleach was. So I was able to save her from asphyxiation and, as a result, also got to learn how that word is spelt. So yeah, things are good and I'm looking forward to a peaceful and imminent night of sleep!

* * * * *
(this one's from blogger seeds)

How do you decide what to blog about?
I am very new to blogging so at the moment I'm using memes to get me writing. I'll get onto other stuff in due course, I think. It'll often be stuff that makes me laugh or makes me think during the day - I have a tendency to be amused by random facts or things I see, and I love to share. Even if this often gets me bemused looks. And, of course, I will probably end up including stuff that interests me on my course. Sometimes it can be a bit boring (the language stuff in particular) but a lot of the time I love it and want to think about it more.

Any inhibitions?
I'm perfectly happy to be myself and be open about my personality and what I'm like as a person, but I don't want to get too into specifics about things that happen in my relationships. I want to be totally accountable and therefore don't, y'know, want someone I know discovering my blog and being all "on that one day you moaned about me not doing the washing up" or "you wrote about my boyfriend problems when I told you in confidence" or whatever. For instance, I admire the honesty of Girl with a one-track mind who is well known for her 'sex fiend' blog, but I'm at a stage in my life when I want to be quite innocent in what I write, as I have so many years left yet for it to catch up with me!

* * * * *
(from Daydreaming on Paper)

Who gave you your name and how did they choose it?
My parents jointly decided on my name. I don't know that there was a very specific reason, though of course I will ask now! My middle name is the same as my auntie's first name, so I guess there's probably an influence there. Interestingly, 'Lucy' comes from the Latin for 'light' and is generally taken to mean 'bringer of light' or similar. When I was baptised 5 years ago I was given the verse 2 Corinthians 3:18 and I've always liked the way that it contains an image of light.

* * * * *
(from Sunday Spur for Scrapbookers)

Four jobs I have had in my life: delivering Lidl leaflets, shop assistant in gift/card type shop, library assistant, data entry
Four everyday things I couldn't live without: tea, laptop, academic diary, keys
Four movies I could watch over and over: Amelie, Dirty Dancing, The Cat's Meow, The Italian Job (new version)
Four places I have lived: Southampton, Cardiff...that's it!
Four places I like to shop: Tesco, H&M, Primark, Accessorize
Four TV shows I love to watch: The OC, Friends, ER, The Mighty Boosh
Four places I have been on vacation: Dartmoor, Inverness, France, Italy
Four websites I visit daily: Googlemail, Random Acts of Reality, Reuters, MySpace
Four of my favorite foods: pasta, chicken, melon, toast
Four things I want to do/see in my lifetime: pay off my student debt, go to Venice, get a house with a huge bed and a really suave coffee maker, get married

* * * * *
Listening to: How to Save a Life - The Fray
Drinking: Lukewarm tea
Feeling: Very full (but satisfied) because I've eaten a LOT today

Five on Friday

2007-02-16T23:07:00.000Z

(from here)

1. Name one thing you do every day.
Think 'oh, do I have to get up yet?'

2. Name two things you wish you could learn.
Fluent French
More HTML

3. Name three things that remind you of your childhood.
Porridge
White tights
Nintendo 64

4. Name four things you love to eat but rarely do.
Porridge!
Ben & Jerry's ice cream
Yorkshire Puddings
Grapefruit

5. Name five things that make you feel good.
Getting unexpected emails
Buying a newspaper and finding a high percentage of it interesting
Innocent smoothies
Hugs from someone I love
Snow

Hello world!

2007-02-15T22:28:00.000Z

I like...Staying up til 2am. Late mornings. Toast. Tea. Swedish ginger holiday hearts. Ikea. Beer tents. Fitting all my shopping in my cupboard. Lecturers who play Dolly Parton songs in lectures. Hamsters. Post-it notes. Train journeys. Emails. Hugs. Church communities. Being sent sweet & sour chicken. Pink lamps. Unconditional love. Communication. Dancing in the rain. Pillow talk. 10 mph signs. New CDs. Pink wrapping paper. Shoeboxes. Jaffa cakes. Power showers. Organic red wine. Digital cameras. Beads. Photographs. Tesco Value. Rubber ducks. Magazine subscriptions arriving.

I don't like...Bread going mouldy. Running out of milk. Being laughed at in shoe shops. Not affording more boots. Towels that leave fluff everywhere. People being insecure. Female hockey players using the astro-turf in front of my window. Stuffy academic writers. Gigs selling out. Bands only playing in America and London. University launderettes. Forgetting people's names. Dilemmas. Festival shower facilities. People who 'hate' marmite. Small fridges. Slow postal systems. Forgetting birthdays. Living off someone else's money. Computer cables. Never having a camera at the right moment. Writing bad poetry.

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I think of myself as a quirky young woman who has a lot to say about life, the universe, and pretty much everything. Not because I want to shove my opinion in anyone's face, but because I'm intelligent and I like to learn about stuff and think about it. I want this to be an outlet for me to write about whatever I want. I enjoy life - things constantly amuse me and interest me, and I love it. I reckon that everyone's got something to say and I resent it when people imply that somehow you can't have insight into *real life* unless you've been rebellious, got yourself into trouble, all that. Being hardened to life doesn't make you an expert on it.

I've recently become interested in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator which purports to show an individual's personal preferences as far as how they think, feel and act is concerned. I'd take a look if you get a chance - I've found it really interesting. I am a mix of the INTJ and the INFJ types. I am the 'Mastermind' and the 'Counselor' - the 'Rational' person and the 'Idealist'. I have a scientific side that appreciates the need for logic and intellect and establishing facts and pattens. But I can also empathise, and don't believe in compromising my ideals, which can lead to some stubbornness.

And you know what? I like myself this way.

That's all for now. Hopefully my stream of random thoughts will start appearing here soon.

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The Blogthings.com "What's Your Personality Type?" quiz tells me:

You Are An INFJ
The Protector

You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.
Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.
You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience.
You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them.

You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

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Listening to: Come What(Ever) May - Stone Sour
Drinking: Clipper Green Tea with Lemon
Feeling: Stiff from going to the gym 3 times this week