New Moon review

I'm really sorry that I haven't posted a blog for ages.

And I'm really sorry that all you're getting now is a review of the New Moon movie.

But here we go. If you don't want to read it, you don't have to.

Right, I'll start off by saying that New Moon has always been my least favourite Twilight book. I don't know why...it's not the lack of Edward specifically, I think it's because Bella goes all emo for about six months and it makes me want to punch her whiny little face in. But I digress. I thought the film was so much better than the book and so so much better than the first film.

[Okay, my notes are really messy and not in any particular order because I scribbled them down when I got back from the film at like, half 11 at night]

Bad bits

• New contacts - why the frick did they give the good vampires these weird orange eyes with black edges? Where did the gold contacts go? Before the film, there was trailer for the movie called Daybreakers about a world where everyone is vampires and the few humans are harvested for blood or whatever...and they had the gold contacts from Twilight. I don't know why the producers or whoever gave this new film the old contacts and got these crappy tiger ones.
• Makeup - not a fan of the makeup. There are times when the vampires look like they've been dipped in white paint and I swear all the guys are wearing so much lipstick. There was one bit where Jacob rubbed his lips together and you could see where his lipstick had smudged on his top lip.
• Where did Bella's huge opal ring come from? It distracted me every single time I saw it.
• I still have some issues with Kristen Stewart (the line "As long as she like" springs to mind - is that how it was written? Because that was ridiculous)
• The clip of Bella being a vampire - was that an actual clip from Breaking Dawn? If so, I am not seeing that film. It was cheesy, it was weird, her dress was hideous and she looked strange as a vampire. I thought she was meant to look stunning...she just looked a bit pasty and badly-dressed with weird eyes.
• KStew blinks too much. My friend pointed it out to me near the beginning and it was all I focused on through the whole movie.
• What friend would let their friend wander off with some random guys on motorcycles? As my friend Rachel said at the time, "If you even tried that, I would bitchslap you then drag you all the way back to your dad to tell him what a frickin' moron you were".
• Plus, those guys were SO EFFIN' CREEPY. They actually made my skin crawl - "I can be anything you want me to be" - EW!
• I didn't find the big Edward leaving scene as emotional as I expected. When Jacob left, it was more sad. She broke his little furry heart :(
• Some of the big emotional scenes took too long to happen. The dramatic pauses were far too long and it was irritating.
• When Kristen is trying to get her lines out in said emotional scenes, her body like...vibrates. She shakes the whole time she's dramatically pausing.
• The ending. WTF was that? "Marry me" *gasp* credits. Everyone in the cinema was like "What the hell???" when it finished.

Good bits

• Billy Burke steals every single scene he is in. He is the most fantastically awkward dad EVER and I love him.
• The lighting was so much better, not all blue like the last one
• Jacob in general - the wig was better, his lines were hilarious and wow the kid has grown up a lot. Like, a lot a lot. He has like, the best back ever. Phwoar.
• I liked the way they handled Bella's depression. As I've said, in the book it made me want to punch something. I think it was really good and much less annoying than on paper.
• Emmett and Jasper were awesome as always.
• I love Carlisle so much.
• Did anyone else think that the burning blood-soaked gauze in the bowl looked a little like the flower from the front of the book?
• The humans were fantastic! I personally think they are the best characters in the films, they are written so perfectly. Mike is so adorable and awkward, and Jessica is exactly right - the whole leprosy/zombies analogy was possibly my favourite bit of the film.
• Who came up with the terrible movie titles? They are a genius.
• The scene at the movies was AWESOME! Definitely my other favourite bit. The little exchange between Mike and Jake about him being too young was so good. And I was laughing so much at the dialogue in Face Punch, that I couldn't breathe throughout the whole emotional scene between Jacob and Bella on the stairs.
• I'm so glad they left Emily in. I thought if they'd cut anything from this film, it would be that. But they didn't and that makes me happy :)
• Rosalie looked so much better in this film.
• Why wasn't Victoria's hair like this from the start?
• The wolves. That's all I'm saying. They are a 'good bit' all themselves.
• The Volturi = LOVE!!!!!!!! Michael Sheen was EXACTLY right and so creepy, it was amazing.
• Dakota Fanning was awesome! When did she start looking like a 21-year-old? I've never been a big fan of hers, but she was so good! And I loved the awkwardness when she was concentrating on Bella and nothing was happening.
• Despite my criticisms of her, I think Kristen was so much better in this film than the last one and I can't wait to see if she improves again for the third.

Overall, I thought this film was so much better than the first. I've always been Team Switzerland (on the fence), but leaning more towards the Edward side of the equation. But for like, an hour in the middle of this film, I hopped the fence into Jacob territory. True, all it took was Rob to come onto the screen and take his shirt off and I was vaulting over that fence like my life depended on it. But it is a credit to the film that it was able to sway my view in that way.

Leave your thoughts on New Moon in the comments. Have you seen it? What do you agree with me on? What do you disagree with?

Proper blog soon.

Bye

<3

People of the Internet!

I think you should all get yourself onto this video and watch and enjoy.

And then go and download the song.

It's for Children in Need, which means it's for charity which means you can enjoy some music and do something good for the world. Which is awesome.

So...yeah...do it!

Bye

<3

Have you guys seen

Bridget Jones' Diary?

I just watched it and I'd forgotten how much I frickin' love that film. And yes, I realise just how much of a girl I sound right now.

But it got me thinking: when you rewatch it, there are a lot of things that seem really dated about the film. Her clothes, for instance. Or Hugh Grant's hair. But of all these, the most dated is the concept of the diary itself. If the film had been made today, Bridget would've had a blog and a Twitter account, and it just wouldn't have been the same.

But some day, our children or our children's children will be looking back on things that heavily feature Facebook or MySpace and be like, "That's seriously how you used to communicate? You didn't have hologram phone watches? How weird!"

Yeah...it just occurred to me how fleeting the latest pop culture or online fad is, but still we get all caught up in having the newest thing when it'll probably be hopelessly passe in the next few months - weeks, even.

Anyway, after being all deep and stuff (because that's deep for me), I realised that I suspect that I will grow up to be like Bridget. Not a smoker, hopefully. But not a great cook, prone to making a fool of myself in social situations, a habit for falling for completely the wrong person...yep, I am just Bridget Jones fifteen years earlier. And that is a pretty depressing thought.

But if I can have Hugh Grant and Colin Firth throwing themselves through restaurant windows for me, who am I to complain?

So...yeah...this was a pointless blog.

Tell me something interesting in the comments. I don't care what it is, but something I probably didn't know before.

Bye

<3

So, it's done.

I've sent off my university application. Well, it has to go through the school first for my reference and I still haven't paid, but I've sent it. It can't be changed.

Having done that, it's made everything else seem so much closer - Christmas (which I haven't even thought about yet), resits in January (yeah right, I didn't revise for the exams the first time round. I probably won't do anything until the Christmas holidays), the show I'm in in February, actual exams in the spring and summer.

And then prom. Prom! Apparently, if we want to stay in the hotel afterwards, we have to book soon. I've barely thought about it - I don't know what I'm wearing, who I'm going with, whether or not getting a limo is really tacky, if I want to fork out and get my hair done professionally. And on top of that, who is paying for all of this? I'm sure my parents will contribute, but I don't know how keen they'll be.

Aargh stress!

Bye

<3

I am so bad at this.

I have typed three blog entries and saved them without posting them because I wanted to add photos, and then never added photos and now they are irrelevant.

What's happened since I last blogged?

I did have a detailed description of my trip to London to see John Barrowman in La Cage Aux Folles, but I'll be brief - it was brilliant, John was fantastic as always and he signed my programme.

And then it was Halloween and was Elphaba from Wicked (Google it if you don't know, but I like to think that you all get it). My friend was Galinda:



So yeah...now we're back at school and it's hell. But today was pretty good.

Did any of you watch that Grease: the School Musical on Sky recently? Don't worry, there is a point to this question - it does link in with my good day. Well, it was filmed at a school in my local area and I knew a couple of people in it.

Today, me and some friends went to this singing workshop thing with some of the Year 12s from our school. It's really for Year 12s and at the end they'll get some kind of qualification in leading vocal sessions. They will be going out to primary schools, but the Year 13s are just going to improve our technique and learn new warm-ups. It's meant to span two lessons, but all of the Year 13s involved have lessons straight after, so the woman leading it has decided to do practical while we're there and then do the theory when we've gone.

Anyway...
(I'm sorry, I'm rambling a little...that much detail probably wasn't necessary)

I was just sitting there waiting for the session to start; the four Year 13s on one side of the room and the four year 12s on the other. Then this woman from the main office came down and was like, "There's some more people here for the workshop" and in walked three of the kids off the Grease programme. It was so surreal! Like, obviously they're just schoolkids and they're not famous or anything, but until now two of them have only ever existed inside my TV screen (I already knew one of them from an orchestra I used to be in). It took my brain a few minutes to register their actual existence and stop going, "You were on the TV...you were on the TV..."

I'm such a freak. If they hadn't been on that programme, I probably wouldn't have even noticed when they walked in other than to say hi to Jess.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share that little moment of weirdness.

Bye

<3

Tomorrow

I'm going to London.

Just like last Saturday, I'll be down south in the capital.

And I still won't get to go to Abercrombie and Fitch to see if they have the male models like in New York.

And I won't get to go to Paul which apparently does the best macaroons in the world, was mentioned in Gossip Girl and has three branches in London.

But instead, I get to see La Cage Aux Folles! Which is exciting!

The last time I saw a show in London was...Wicked in June. Far too long ago.

And before that, Spring Awakening in April.

And after tomorrow, the next time won't be until December!

And after that...well, I just don't know. I can't afford to go again for the forseeable future. I can barely afford to go in December.

Aaah well...I'll have to make the most of it while I can.

Bye

<3

Oh, my school is just so classy...

I thought it was bad enough when people got really cheap alcopops for their 18ths.

But no...someone today took it that one step further...

Do you guys know anyone who got a pram and a cot for their 18th? And strictly no alcohol. That's what you get when you're 4 months pregnant.

I suppose I shouldn't really judge, but if it had been me, I wouldn't have wanted to open a bunch of baby clothes and a Moses basket in school at lunch with staff lurking around taking photos because it was school Halloween as well.

But I have to admit, I saw some of the things she had and they were adorable. Not enough to make me want a baby...but enough to make me want a pair of tiny little Converse.

And tomorrow I'm off down to London to see La Cage Aux Folles - John Barrowman in a dress makes my life worth living.

Bye

<3

I'm really bad at coming up with blog titles.

Like, really bad.

But as they say, the blog must go on. Well, they don't but...you get my drift, whatever, it doesn't matter.

Anyway.

I've had my job interview for Waterstone's. I think it went okay...I rambled a bit and my voice just sounded strange the whole time, but it was alright. Still haven't heard yet.

Buuuuut, I just got a phonecall offering me another job interview at my local library! So it's all good in the hood and whatnot, because if I don't get a call back from Waterstone's, I won't necessarily be broke for all of eternity.

In case you can't tell, I'm in a bit of a weird mood. I'm not drunk, I swear. All I've drank all day is water. I might be on a sugar high because we made biscuits and chocolate apples with the Year 7s at lunch.

The Year 9 History class I help with are growing on me - they ask the funniest questions. The highlights today were "Why do we have eyes?" and "Why did they call him Hitler?"

Tomorrow is Halloween in school, which means that the Sixth Form get to dress up. After my cop-out costume of last year (bland, unnamed Hogwarts student), I'm going as a hippy tomorrow. Summer dress and flip flops in October weather? Yes please!

Bye

<3

I'm going to London...

...to see a bunch of acts that I don't know that much about and normally wouldn't pay to see all perform together to celebrate 100 years of Guiding.

But first I have to spend 5 hours on a coach with a lot of screaming over-excited teenage girls. I'm hoping that the coach will be big enough that the four of us who are really too old to scream can lurk at the back and talk about stuff and listen to music and do homework. And eat massive amounts of junk food. Does anyone know if we'll be able to buy fried rice at half 11 in the morning?

I'm also hoping that there will be decent wireless signal at motorway service stations so I can tweet along the journey.

So...yeah...

I'll see you when I get on Sunday, Blogger.

Bye

<3

Well, it's taken long enough...

I am sat at home in my pyjamas, writing essays on Gladstonian Liberalism and Hamlet, and listening to a podcast about Glee (if you're a Glee fan, look up 'Sara and Aimee do Glee'. It's very good). This doesn't sound too bad, until you factor in my pounding head, churning stomach and constant, irritating cough.

However, something good has come of this situation. If I hadn't been at home, there would've been nobody to take the phonecall from Waterstones which I received a few minutes ago. After my frantic and, until today, fruitless sending out of CVs to absolutely anywhere that might take me and didn't require me to serve food (that would never end well) or sell clothes (I can't fold to save my life), I have finally got an interview. All the theatres I contacted sent polite rejection letters and Linghams, an independent bookshop with two branches near me, called when I was in Berlin over the summer and were very complimentary, but unfortunately they weren't recruiting. All the other places I applied to didn't even bother to get back to me. I'd pretty much given up on the possibility of ever getting a job and had resigned myself to a life of living on stale bread and wearing clothes that had been donated to charity. So at 5 o'clock on Monday, I hope you all have your fingers crossed for me. I've never done a job interview before and have no clue what to expect.

What else is happening with me?

I went to see Our Day Out at the Royal Court Theatre in Liverpool last night. It was amazing. The one downside was that it really brought out the Scouse side of my accent which is something I tend to try and avoid. Oh, and they'd sold out of CDs. It was such a good deal - programme, poster and CD soundtrack for £5. But no, they'd run out. Another downside was that we were right up in the gods - top balcony, row J. And the way the Royal Court was built means that the steps and the chairs and everything are terrifyingly steep. If it was being made today, they would have Health and Safety people swarming all over the place. But other than those three things, it was brilliant.

I've become well and truly addicted to Glee. I watched the original Pilot back in March or May or whenever it first came out and I watched the first two episodes when they came out properly. But my Internet is a temperamental bitch and makes watching things online difficult. So I gave up until my friend Luke said something about it and convinced me to get back into it. Now I'm completely up to date and I frickin' love it. I wish I was Lea Michele. She is my officially my new girl crush.

And just because I can, I'm going to do a Hayley (I can do that, right? It's not copyrighted?):

Sexy: Not in a weird way, but teachers. Like, young male enthusiastic attractive teachers. There should be more of these in schools - my school has one (fortunately, he's my English teacher) but really should be at least one in Science or something for the people who don't do English. This point came to mind due to a mixture of Our Day Out and Glee. The guy who played the young teacher in ODO was amazing...it was just a shame that we were so high up so we couldn't see him properly. However, if the photo in the programme is anything to go by, he's just as attractive as that performance implied. And Matthew Morrison as the teacher in Glee - yes. Just yes.


Unsexy: Annoyingly shrill Scouse teenage girls. Specifically the ones who go to my school and can't shut up for more than three minutes at a time. In the theatre last night, there were so many people turning round to give the Year 10s dirty looks for being so irritating. Once the show started, they shut up thankfully. But as soon as it finished, they were back and louder than ever. It's no wonder I'm at home with a headache.

Bye

<3

Okay, I'm over the X Factor now.

Something new has come along to upset me: Stephen Gately's dead.

When I saw it on Twitter, I hoped it wasn't true...but it is. It is very very sad and I am actually more upset by that than I was about Heath Ledger and Patrick Swayze. And I forgot that Michael Jackson was even dead...so there you go.

I'm meant to be doing an essay about Hamlet but I'm just not in the mood. Let's talk about something nicer.

At my drama group this morning we got the results of the auditions last week. We're doing the show Honk! which has so many named parts, it's crazy. My three closest friends are playing the three proper leads and loads of other people I love have smaller parts. I play the female lead's best friend, which suits me fine because she is one of my real best friends and I love her to bits. There's been a little bit of questioning of a few casting decisions, but we'll deal. The main question mark is over having a short fourteen-year-old dancer play the villain's love interest - the villain being my very tall, very seventeen, very uncoordinated friend. Good luck to the girl, I say.

It should be pretty good. I just hope they give me something good to do in the second act though, because all my lines are in the first half.

Right, I'm going to go and make the decision between working and sleeping - I'm crazily over-tired, considering that I've slept quite a lot this weekend despite a few late nights

Bye

<3

Just a tad annoyed.

Okay, a lot annoyed.

I normally try to keep my blog to things that are actually happening to me, but I need to get this out of my system. Any British people who watch the X Factor will understand this better than other people:

WTF is Dannii Minogue's problem??????

Okay, so Danyl gave an AMAZING performance and she didn't even comment on his singing at all, just on the stories in the tabloids that he's bisexual. He is a primary school teacher. His class don't need to hear that. And it has nothing to do with his performance...it was just a cheap dig because she felt theatened. She does have a fairly strong group this year and Simon's group are her main competition, but there was really no need. At all.

And now I'm a little calmer. Not a lot, but a bit.

Thank you for reading that, if you did. There'll be a proper blog soon, I hope.

Tell me in the comments what your...I don't know, favourite song is. I'm trying to take my mind off annoying Australian people with very famous sisters.

Bye

<3

Ugh...bad times....

Don't you just hate being stuck in the middle of other people's drama?

I have one friend who isn't speaking to her best friend because of something that happened with her boyfriend of over two years, who has hacked her MSN to delete himself from her contacts.

I have another two friends who used to be best friends, and now they're not because one of them has been blowing off the other one to spend time with her boyfriend.

I have another friend who has also had an argument with Friend Number One's best friend and now they're not speaking.

I have to buy birthday presents, Christmas presents, train tickets to London and pay for Jimmy Carr tickets in the next few months, so that's all my money up until Christmas gone.

And I lost my iPod on Friday. My new iPod Touch that I got last Saturday and hadn't even blogged about yet. I left it in a service station on the M6. So that's another £150 because I need an iPod.

Yeah...so I've not had the best few days.

On the plus side, my Tim Minchin DVD arrived on Friday. It wasn't released until today, but HMV shipped it early because it was a pre-order. It cheered me up.

So...take my mind off all the bad stuff. Tell me what you're being for Halloween in the comments :)

Bye

<3

I'm in a really weird mood.

I don't know if I've had a good day or a bad day. Every time I think it's turning into a good day, something annoying or upsetting happens. Then whenever I start thinking of it as a bad day, something good happens and brings me back up. Strange...

I feel bad for not blogging so long, but there just aren't enough hours in the day for me to go to school, do my homework, sleep, eat and blog. There's even less time for me to make videos, which isn't good as I've been trying to become more involved in the YouTube community. But I suppose this really isn't the time to do that, with school and everything plus a severe lack of funds.

I don't even know what I'm writing here...I just felt that I should write something. I've just had a...well, I don't want to call it an argument as such...let's say a 'minor disagreement' with my mum over money. Instead of getting each other Christmas presents, me and my two best friends decided to go to London to see Legally Blonde the Musical after we break up from school. Tonight, Rachael is booking the tickets. We were originally going on a Saturday, but it's cheaper if we go on a Monday, so we're thinking December 21st. The tickets will be £40, then add to that train travel and a hotel (which will be cheaper because Sarah's brother works in a hotel, but still...) and you end up with my mum telling me not to make plans for money I don't have and me telling her that I will have the money because I get £70 a month for allowance off my parents. Three months worth of allowance will be plenty, right?

Gosh, I'm sorry...in a weird mood tonight. Time to write an essay on Jekyll and Hyde...fun fun fun =/

Bye

<3

Blogger, I am sorry.

I have been neglecting you nearly as badly as I've neglected YouTube. Well, not quite that badly...I have been keeping up with the blogs I follow, whereas I haven't watched any of my subscriptions. My Internet is ridiculous and nothing will load past thirty seconds, so there's no point even trying.

So what have I been up to? I'm back at school now so it's been homework, uni applications, volunteering in the Music department and epic piles of books on my desk next to my laptop. It's a strange collection:

• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• Love and Longing by various authors
• A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller
• The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and My Hyde by R.L. Stevenson
• Whigs, Radicals and Liberals 1815-1914 by some historian called Watts
• Hamlet by Shakespeare (but if you didn't know that, what is wrong with you?)
• The Aeneid by Virgil
• Oh What A Lovely War which apparently doesn't have an author...interesting...

Add to that my digital camera, the notebook in which I write down all the books I read, my school pencil case, the Gossip Girl season 1 boxset, a congratulations card from my family after my AS results, a Harry Potter mug full of pens and pencils, a pack of Post-It notes, a packet of tissues with sheep on them and many other miscellaneous items and you get an idea of how hectic my life is getting.

I have managed to get rid of some of the commitments I had last year, such as Junior Orchestra where I played percussion and my dancing lessons. It was really sad leaving my dance school after 12 years and I sent a tear-stained thank you card to my dancing teachers, but it's for the best. I already have too much on my plate. By which I mean I shouldn't be writing this - I should be doing my personal statement and research for my Drama homework.

Also, this is my 50th blogpost. I think I've just reached a milestone...go me!

Bye

<3

I promise there'll be more Edinburgh tomorrow...

But for tonight, it's all about Dorian Gray.

Oh. My. Gosh. It's such a good film. But absolutely terrifying! I don't normally 'do' horror and I had no clue it would be so scary when I suggested it to my friends.

But oh my goodness.

Words cannot express how I feel right now. I'm not sure how I feel. It was awesome. Literally. I am in awe. I want the DVD now, but the film only opened today so it will be a long, long time before the DVD's available.

Aaaarrrrgggghhh I need to go to bed before my brain explodes. I am so tired.

Also, I got my dress for my friend's 18th today. It makes me happy.

Bye

<3

Och aye, I've been oot and aboot...

If ever a time was fitting for a gratuitous Doctor Who quote, this is that time.

As you should know, I was in Edinburgh Sunday and Monday for the university open day. And my God, it was fantastic! The uni, the city...I loved everything about it.

Me and my friend Rachel got the train from Liverpool at half one on Sunday afternoon. We battled our way to a table, knocking small children and old ladies out of the way to secure decent seats (okay, that was a slight exaggeration...but we would've done, had it been necessary). On the first train, which was headed for Blackpool *shudders* and stopped at Preston which was where we changed, we tried and failed to get any work done and really just ate a copious amount of Pringles and laughed a lot. We changed at Preston and were not as successful at the table-getting this time. We had to sit on the floor for part of the journey, and dived into some spare seats when people left. We spent the rest of the journey in silence, as we were sitting opposite each other and trapping two complete strangers into their seats. It was very awkward, especially since the guy sitting next to Rachel kept looking around the carriage and whenever I looked up he'd accidentally catch my eye and then we both looked away, embarrassed. But then we got to Edinburgh Waverley and were overwhelmed by the whole thing.

After a struggle to get out of the station, and then to get ourselves onto the right road for the Travelodge we were staying in, we finally got to where my Google Maps printout said it should be. Following the instructions exactly, we found our way down a back alley to some industrial-sized bins and amused-looking binmen, who laughed openly at us as we aimlessly wandered into their courtyard, saw them and scuttled back down the alley. It took a frantic phone call to my parents and a lot of wandering for us to realise that Google Maps had sent us the quickest way to the postcode we'd provided it with, not the right way. We soon found the front of the Travelodge and got all checked in, and then went out again to look for the uni.

We found the campus pretty easily, after passing a gorgeous copy of Hamlet in a charity shop which I subsequently bought the following day and a woman playing a harp in a cafe. A harp. A freakin' harp. That is why I love Edinburgh. If someone tried that round where I live, they'd be beaten to death with their own harp. We wandered around the campus, marvelling at the lack of graffiti and the general university-ness of the place. It was gorgeous. Absolutely stunning.

Then we went back to the Travelodge, got a pizza from the bar-cafe thing and took it back to our room. We ate that and ate more Pringles, and some Oreos and I ate seven lollipops in the space of forty-five minutes. We then watched the second half of the Mask which neither of us had seen, and found it unreasonably funny. This was probably the result of the amount of sugar we had consumed. It really wasn't that funny. Then we watched United 93. That was the most horrible film I've seen in a long time, because I wasn't even aware that it happened. I am not going on a plane any time soon, I can tell you that.

In case you can't tell, I'm flagging a little now. I'll tell you about Monday tomorrow.

Bye

<3

Two words for you:

Tim. Minchin.

Look him up. YouTube, Google, whatever. Just promise me you'll do it?

He is an Australian singing comedian and an actual genius and I love him long time.

His comedy might not be to everyone's tastes, and if you are easily offended by strong language or blasphemy, maybe you should steer clear. But everyone else, check him out.

He makes my life happy.

And when you've had a look, let me know what you think.

I am so annoyed, because I discovered him about three days ago...the same day he was performing in Manchester. Just a few weeks earlier, and I could've been there! Oh well...fingers crossed for a 2010 UK tour.

Right, I'm going to bed now because I'm going to Edinburgh tomorrow but before that, I have to go to the first meeting of the youth am-dram musical theatre group I'm part of. So early morning is necessary for packing and showering and whatnot.

I'll fill you in on my Scottish adventure when I return, as I won't have my laptop while I'm there and therefore, won't be able to tell you stuff as I go along.

Bye

<3

Envy has turned my brain apparently.

I had two dreams last night.

One of them was about when my school orchestra went to Paris and ended up with us all being led off to this cult thing by these really hot guys. That dream is not the dream this blog will discuss. If anyone wants to know more about that dream, you can ask but I think that all it really reveals is that my brain is demented and has taken to playing little horror movies in my head while I'm asleep. I don't know what that says about me.

Anyway, on with the other, much nicer, dream:

I am so cool. This dream has shown me just how cool I am. I now dream about the Internet. Oh, that's right. I wish that weren't true, but it is. Well...not really the Internet as such, but more about people on the Internet. Does that make it better?

Alrighty, so basically, I dreamt that I was wandering around Liverpool with some friends as I often do and then we turned a corner and suddenly I was by the London Eye. My friends had disappeared and I was just standing there on that bit of grass by the London Eye looking like a loner and a fool. I turned round and saw a HUGE group of people and that's when it hit me. I had somehow been transported from Liverpool to the Summer in the City gathering. Apparently, my disappointment and jealousy of everyone who was going gave me the power to Apparate.

And then I was just there and had lots of fun and met loads of amazing people...and then I woke up.

I am definitely going to SitC 2010. For sure.

I'd better do a proper blog soon, considering in my latest video I shouted repeatedly at my subscribers to all come and read my blog.

Bye

<3

Book survey

I might have a little bit stolen this quiz thingy from hayleyghoover's blog (http://hayleyghoover.blogspot.com as if you didn't know). Feel free to fill one in yourself.

1. What author do you own the most books by?
I’d love to say JK Rowling or John Green or someone else that I’m equally as obsessed with, but I’ve just checked my shelves and it goes: Enid Blyton (24), Jacqueline Wilson (23), Meg Cabot (14), Lemony Snicket (13). They have all been my favourite author at some point in the past.

2. What book do you own the most copies of?
Again, I’d like to say that I have multiple copies of all my favourite books, but I’m poor and can’t afford them. With the little money I have, I tend to buy books I don’t already own.

3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Not at all. It’s how people speak…you get used to it.

4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with?Who said anything about a secret?
Oh dear, this list could stretch on and on…both Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter, Remus Lupin, Pudge Halter, Loren Blake, Eric Night, Peter Coleridge…and there’s more that I can’t name off the top of my head. Every (good) book I read, I fall a little in love with the characters.

5. What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)?
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume – I used to love that book, but I don’t actually own it. Or Looking For Alaska…not sure which comes out top.

6. What was your favourite book when you were ten years old?
Little Women, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret or something by Jacqueline Wilson. I used to be obsessed with her. I still have like all her old books. I don’t have many of her latest ones, although when I see them in shops, I am tempted to buy them out of habit.

7. What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
I was one of the few who didn’t mind Breaking Dawn, so it’s:
Ugh, Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh. Awful, awful book. Or Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux – it wasn’t that bad, it was just really hard-going and I didn’t feel like I got a lot out of it. I’d rather watch the film.

8. What is the best book you've read in the past year?
Either What I Saw And How I Lied by Judy Blundell (which I reviewed in an earlier blog post) or The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffennegger. Ooh and the House of Night series by PC and Kristen Cast

9. If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
Looking For Alaska, because not enough people have read it.

10. What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
Hmm…this is a tough question, because most film adaptations ruin the books they’re based on. So no. Just no. I will not answer this.

11. What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
The Time Traveler’s Wife, for sure. Oh wait, they already wrecked that for me. Bitches…I refuse to go and see that film.

12. Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
I once dreamed that I discovered this amazing book and it was pretty much the best book I had ever read. I read it like, six times in a few days and then I passed it around to all my friends to read and they all loved it too. But then I found a warning on the Internet that that particular book was like that tape in the Ring, and you have to pass it on or you die. So I was trying to contact all my friends to make them buy their own copies of the book and pass them on so they wouldn’t die. It was a stressful dream.

13. What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
I’m not actually an adult, so I don’t have to answer that. But I do have a bit of a shameful habit of reading really trashy chick-lit – the kind with the pink and purple covers which contain stories of women in their early thirties worrying about work and everyone around them having babies and then they find the man of their dreams, but not before going through a stream of suitors, all of whom are wrong in one way of another…you know the ones. Please don’t let that lower your opinion of me. I do have a brain, I swear.

14. What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Phantom of the Opera, without a doubt. The book is so different from the musical film and it’s just so difficult to get into.

15. What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen?
I’ve only seen the obvious ones – Much Ado, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet…the list goes on.

16. Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
I’m not aware of having read any Russian literature, although I have a couple of books somewhere that I borrowed off a friend who is obsessed with Russia. I’m going to say French, but only because both Les Mis and Phantom are based on French literature. I really need to read more widely.

17. Roth or Updike?
Ohh I fail…I’ve never read either.

18. David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
See above. (How am I ever going to survive doing English Lit at uni? Maybe I should give up on that dream and become a cheese farmer instead. Is a cheese farmer a thing?)

19. Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare! Why even bother asking? It’s obvious!

20. Austen or Eliot?
Austen, all the way.

21. What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Don’t questions 16 – 18 answer this already?

22. What is your favourite novel?
I won’t choose. It’s like asking me to choose between my children.

23. Play?
I haven’t really read enough plays to give a real answer to this. I could say A Taste of Honey by Shelagh Delaney but that play caused me so much stress last year, that any merit it might have is no longer comprehensible in my brain.

24. Poem?
Anything from The World’s Wife by Carol Ann Duffy or Shakespeare’s 116th sonnet.

25. Essay?
The only essays I’ve read are the ones in the Red anthology and I thoroughly enjoyed pretty much all of them.

26. Work of nonfiction?
I’ve never been a huge fan of non-fiction. I imagine that it will be Harry: A History when I actually get round to reading it.

27. Who is your favourite writer?
Again I won’t choose. But I can probably get a top 3? No, 5. Top ten? No, I just won’t answer this one.

28. Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Stephenie Meyer. Even though I enjoyed the Twilight series and might have even been a little obsessed when I first started them. But she has been blown way out of proportion.

29. What is your desert island book?
Aargh this is another tough one. Do I say something that I’ve already read and loved? Or something that I know I should read but would never get round to unless I was on a desert island with no choice?

30. And... what are you reading right now?
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks (I’ve started reading only one book at a time and although it takes a little longer to get through a pile, it makes for a better reading experience).

If you actually read all the way to the end, let me know in the comments and I will award you with a (metaphorical) gold star.

Proper blog soon.

Bye

<3

Unnecessary Nostalgia

What is wrong with me? Recently, I've started thinking of things in terms of, "When I go off to uni, I will miss this." This is stupid. I have another year before I leave home for uni, assuming I get the grades I need in the first place. But I've had so many amazing moments with my friends this summer and I just keep thinking, "This isn't going to last..."

I know many people who are leaving for uni this year. But none of my bestest best friends are...someone who used to be one of my best friends is, but I haven't seen her properly in ages. And now I won't get the chance to. This is why Facebook was invented...when she wanders off to wherever she's going, I can still talk to her. Probably more than I did when she was here.

One of my best friends is two years older than me, and I didn't even get this nostalgic when he was meant to go to uni (he didn't get the grades in the end, and then he had to resit his exams and now he's decided to audition for drama schools instead, so he'll be starting uni at the same time as me). It's really weird.

But yeah...I have one year left. I'm going to make it count. But I am also going to work very hard so as not to fail my exams and therefore fail at life. That is not fun.

In case you can't tell, I am quite tired and should be sleeping, not writing blogs that probably won't even make sense in the morning.

Bye

<3

I am very proud of myself.

Yesterday, I went to IKEA. That is not the reason I'm proud, although my self-restraint when faced with so much cheap furniture is really to be admired. I love IKEA. I love the stuff it sells. I love the food. Goodness, I love the smell. If that's what Sweden smells like, I'm getting myself there.

But no, I am proud of what happened after I got home from IKEA. I assembled a desk. And not just a desk, but a desk that has extra bits that slide out and stuff, so it was quite a complex procedure. And I did it all by myself. It took all afternoon and my hands were raw by the end of it, but it's done. In fact, it is so done that I am currently using it to rest my laptop on. And as I found out yesterday, it can even take my weight so it's all good. And then I assembled a desk lamp which didn't take anywhere near as long, but I did it.

Just call me 'DIY Goddess'.

Bye

<3

Two blogs in one day...lucky you!

I have just been for the most amazing walk ever.

It might've been the combination of Taylor Swift and sunset but New Brighton has never looked more beautiful. And trust me, that is NOT something I say very often. I'm generally quite scathing about the area I live in, what with it being full of people who think they're Scousers and like to drink in parks, but it can be really lovely as well. Like tonight, I stood and looked out over the sea (not the Mersey bit, the actual sea) and watched the sun set and saw the light reflecting off the tide as it was going out and it was amazing.

I know I sound really mawkish and soppy, but I got back with the hugest smile on my face and that is not something that normally happens I walk places.

It was a nice feeling.

Bye

<3

I haven't blogged in ages.

Well, not that long but it feels like ages.

Since my last post I have had my AS-level results (AABCC - very happy with those) and got Twitter:

http://twitter.com/proudveggie

If you enjoy being bombarded with meaningless rubbish, follow that.

I would also like to say hi to my new blog followers - HI GUYS! I'll try to make this experience as interesting for you as possible...but I can't promise anything. I'm back at school in another couple of weeks and I've promised myself that this year I'm actually going to do some work. However, I do have a few things lined up which should be fun.

And...yeah...I went to a party last night to celebrate Results Day (everyone there had either got their AS results and are now going into our last year of school, or got their A2 results and are going onto university) and it was fun. I learned that I can't use a barbecue, but it doesn't really matter because you can't get food poisoning from undercooked Quorn. I also learned that all parties should end with a group of your closest friends (after everyone else had left to go onto bars in Liverpool which I could neither afford nor even get into to, considering I look like a fifteen-year-old), lying with your heads together in the grass like they do on TV, looking for shooting stars and singing. It was beautiful. Then I walked home in bare feet, pretending to be on the phone so I wouldn't get raped (though I don't know why that would stop a potential rapist...it just makes me feel safer) but actually just listening to the Speaking Clock for eight minutes and forty seconds...fun times.

Sorry, this has been long-awaited and probably not worth it.

Bye

<3

Dear fricking Lord

I am disturbed to my very core.

I have just finished watching a Channel 4 documentary called 'My Monkey Baby'. It was about strange American people who adopt monkeys and raise them as their children. Monkeys. As their children. It was just wrong on so many different levels. I didn't want to watch, but it was so morbidly fascinating, I couldn't turn it off. Before I knew it, the credits were rolling and I'd just wasted an hour of my life.

The documentary was focused on three families: an older couple whose names I've forgotten; an older woman called Mary-Lou...something like that...she was from Tennessee, it's all the same; and a young couple called Carmen and 'Hey-Zeus', but clearly his name was just Jesus.

Essentially, it was an hour about terribly disturbed people who adopt monkeys in order to make up for deeply-rooted emotional problems. Nameless Couple had six kids who all grew up and left home, so they got a monkey to deal with empty nest issues. Mary-Lou couldn't have children, but had two step-daughters who I think grew up (I was too busy mocking the programme to listen properly) and ended up with about five monkeys. Carmen and Jesus didn't want kids, so much so that he had had a vasectomy at 22. And the logical answer to all their problems is clearly - get a monkey. A monkey won't grow up and leave home. A monkey will give you an outlet for your maternal nurturing instinct. A monkey requires even more attention than a baby and isn't going to grow up eventually...so it is clearly the ideal for a couple who both said that they absolutely and categorically do not want children.

It was just so odd. These monkeys were wearing clothes and eating human food and sleeping in the same bed as their 'parents'. They were having birthday parties and going to ice cream parlours and being asked to leave diners. Mary-Lou even phoned an animal psychic whilst she was driving her big hillbilly pickup truck along a road to ask her monkey if he had eaten some of her hormone pills. The psychic was all, "He says he didn't eat any...he says he wants you to know that" and rather than question this woman's sanity or integrity at scamming innocent morons, Mary-Lou just went "Oh thank you so much". I'm surprised she didn't die considering the fact that she was driving a truck and on the phone and had a monkey wrapped around her arm all at the same time. Maybe she was more intelligent than I had given her credit for. Somehow, though, I doubt it.

Seriously, these programmes make me lose my faith in humanity, they really do.

And don't even get me started on 'Sex Change: Him to Her' - another real programme, I swear to God.

Bye

<3

We're all going on a summer holiday...la la la...

To lovely, exotic and thrilling...Kent. Fun, fun, fun....*sarcasm*

No, I'm joking. The south east has been very nice so far, and I'm sure it will only get nicer.

Yesterday we set off from home and drove all the way down to Windsor, with only a few stops. Trust me, that is one hell of a long journey. But we got out eventually and had a wander around Windsor and Eton. We got to have a look at Eton College, which I now want to go to, even though we would have to sell our house and we could still only afford it for about three days. All the way up the main street towards the school, there are shops where you can buy top hats and tailcoats and all those fun things that are included in the Eton uniform. Also, on the walk up to the college, we saw someone who used to be in Coronation Street walking back down towards Windsor, where he's in a play with Michelle Collins. That was very exciting.

Then we went back to Windsor and went to Pizza Express, where we had to wait for over half an hour for a table. But it was worth it...even though the menu is pretty much the same at all the branches of Pizza Express, the food was particularly nice at this one. Then we hopped back in the car and zoom-zoomed (when we weren't getting lost) all the way to the Travelodge at Heathrow Terminal 5. Again, it was a very nice Travelodge and...yeah...it was good...

Today we had a huge breakfast at the Travelodge (during which time, I had to be fifteen because kids under 16 got a free breakfast) then drove down to Brighton. I love Brighton. With a passion. It was just awesome in every single way.

Now we're at this absolutely gorgeous cottage/house thing...I don't actually know where it is, but it's lovely. The couple who own it, James and Roy, are adorable and the whole atmosphere is just...comfortable. Like, sometimes you go somewhere and it takes a while to settle in. But here, me and my brother were running up and down the stairs, contemplating using the fire escape to get onto the roof, fighting over rooms and failing at golf on the Wii as if it was what we did every day at home. I actually quite enjoy family holidays, unlike most people my age. No one cares what you look like, you can act like a big kid and no one will judge you, and chances are that you won't see any of the people you come across again, so it doesn't matter how embarassing your family are.

Right, I'm off to experiment with the bath and shower facilities. I'm going to film a video at some point to show people the house and stuff.

Bye

<3

UK Nerdfighters - do your bit.

I know it's been a while since I've blogged and this post will probably be of little interest to some of you, but it needs to be said. Now, onto the important bit of the blog:

I am sending out a message to all UK Nerdfighters.

It has come to my attention that John Green's books are not widely stocked in UK bookshops. There used to be one copy of Alaska in my local Borders, but they don't even have that any more. Waterstones don't have anything. And don't even get me started on WHSmiths...worst bookshop ever. I know that John Green could be really really popular in the UK, if bookshops would give him a chance to be. And I think he totally deserves to be.

So if you are a nerdfighter and you live in the UK, or anywhere that you feel John Green should be more widely known than he is, why not write a letter to your nearest bookshop requesting that they add John Green's books to their stock?

If we can get just one more John Green into a bookshop and therefore make one more person's life a little more awesome, we can be pleased with ourselves. And think of it this way - this is the first step towards getting John Green himself to come to the UK...if that doesn't entice you, I don't know what will.

There's a Facebook group which you can join to show your support: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=logo#/group.php?gid=109003938809&ref=nf

Tell your friends, blog/vlog/whatever it is you people do about it, join the Facebook group, spread the word! Let's make this campaign work and help decrease world suck!

...

And now we can commence the normal programming of rambling nonsense and vaguely amusing anecdotes that no one really cares about.

Bye

<3

Second to the right and straight on 'til morning

That's where I want to live. Growing up isn't fun. Growing up is stressful and confusing and I don't want to do it.

I am currently trying to narrow down my university choices and it is NOT EASY. There are too many universities to choose from and literally everywhere does English Literature, so that doesn't help at all.

I am currently surrounded by a daunting mound of prospectuses that represent a miniscule proportion of the country's universities, a lot of maps of the UK with different coloured writing on them to indicate how far the different places are from Liverpool and how long it takes to get there according to Google Maps, and my laptop to research anything that needs researching. I don't actually know what I'm doing with all this stuff and the only thing keeping me sane is watching 'Lost in Austen' (the BBC show about a woman who goes through a door in her house and finds herself in Pride and Prejudice) which I have on DVD.

I really need to read Pride and Prejudice. I feel like that sentence should end with 'again', but honestly, I need to read it a first time before I can read it again. I have watched so many adaptations and read so many books that are based on the story, but I have never actually sat down and read the original. That is something I'll do this summer. Along with reading the stack of books I brought home from my mum's work and all the books I got for my birthday and 'The Time-Traveller's Wife' which I've been set for school. And I need to get a job. There's a lot that I need to do and the more time I spend writing this blog, the less time I have to do it in.

So now I will go and carry on drowning in universities.

Bye

<3

A tad over-dramatic, and probably meaningless to most people.

I don't know if anyone who reads this watches Torchwood or happened to catch any of the week's worth of episodes that were on earlier in the month. As I was in Berlin when they were aired, my parents recorded them for me and I have just finished watching them.

A piece of my soul has died. My heart may be very slightly broken and I doubt that I will ever smile again. One of my eyes is very much smaller than the other, and both are copiously bloodshot from crying. My head hurts and I ache in every corner of my body.

It was a traumatising experience. I think it might even be worse than the end of Torchwood Series 2 - it's definitely on a par with that. Although Russell T Davies is clearly a fantastic writer in order to illicit such a reaction from the audience (because I know for a fact that I am not the only one who sobbed their heart out over this series), sometimes I hate that man.

I think that if I watched it again any time soon, I might just have a nervous breakdown.

I don't want to give too much away because obviously if people haven't seen it and are planning on it, I don't want to wreck it. But, like the episode of Doctor Who 'Midnight' (the one on that spaceship where that woman's repeating what everyone's saying), it shows the human race in a situation that they don't understand and it shows just how far some people will go to save their own skins.

It was action-packed. It was moving. It was funny in parts. It was absolutely heart-breaking. I loved it.

But now, the only things I can rely on to get me through are Maltesers and Taylor Swift.

Hopefully a more upbeat blog soon. I think I'm going to spend tomorrow looking at uni stuff.

Bye

<3

I have had a nice day.

I have also decided that from now on I will refer to my friends simply by name without having to go "my friend whoever", because generally if I'm going to talk about them on my blog, chances are that they're my friends. So it just makes sense. And if it gets confusing because you don't actually know these people personally...well, just leave your questions in the comments.

It was Alex's birthday today, exactly a week after mine (that's how I remember it) and he had a barbeque and it was nice. Even though he didn't have any veggie burgers or anything because his dad, who has known me since forever, was convinced that I still ate fish. Even though Alex kept saying, "No she doesn't, Dad, she really doesn't", he insisted that I did. So I just ate bread and salad. It was fine. There were Doritos too. I coped.

And loads of people were there so we played volleyball over the washing line (which fortunately didn't have any clothes on it, because we weren't as good as we thought we would be at getting the ball over the line) and my wrists went really red from trying to do the proper volleyball technique rather than just slapping the ball. Both ways hurt though, because it was a really heavy ball. Then we played a weird version of Piggy In The Middle which involved 12 boys and 5 girls playing on teams. Basically, rather than one person being 'in the middle', there was one team in the middle. But it wasn't really in the middle, and basically ended up as an excuse for everyone to rugby tackle each other to get the ball back. And then we all gave up and sat on the grass and ate some more. By the way, Alex's garden is HUGE, which is why we were able to so all this. There'd be no way you could fit that many people in my garden, let alone do anything even vaguely exercise-y.

Then the people I knew well went on to a different party and all Alex's mates from the brass band he plays with turned up and it all got a little awkward for me because I didn't know these people very well. Also, it was getting colder and my shoes were in a bush somewhere. But I stayed curled up on a plastic garden chair and tried to make conversation with people who were a few years older than me and obviously thought themselves way superior. Especially when one of them turned to me and went "Do you play an instrument?" It is a well-known fact that brass players hate string players. Oh, and woodwind players hate string players. And string players just hate everyone. So when I went, "Yeah...violin and viola" they all took it as an opportunity to start mocking string instruments. But I sat it out for a little longer because there was the promise of cake if I waited long enough. And then I had cake. And then I went home.

That last paragraph might seem to put a bit of a downer on the day, but even that bit was alright. And the bit before was awesome. And then I got to eat pizza and watch Eight Out Of Ten Cats, which is always good. And now I'm tired and need to get up in the morning to watch the last two episodes of Torchwood before going to see Harry Potter again.

Oh, and that video finally uploaded which made me happy.

Bye

<3

I really need a job.

Seriously, if I don't get one soon, I am in grave danger of spending all summer sitting in my room on my laptop, writing meaningless blog posts and refreshing Facebook every two minutes.

Also, the time that I don't spend wrestling with a dodgy Internet connection, I'll end up going out with my friends. Which is a good thing, obviously. I'm not a recluse. Except going out with my friends generally means spending money. Money for food, money for transport. More money than I have at my disposal.

So I need a job. I've sent out a stack of letters to everywhere and anywhere, but hardly any shops are taking on staff at the moment. I still have some letters to send, but I've run out of envelopes (note to self: buy more envelopes). I also need to ring a man about front of house work at a local theatre. I rang him once and he said he'd get back to me and then never did. I don't want it to seem like I'm harassing him...but, as I've said, I really need a job.

Aaah so there you have it. Rant over.

I've watched the first three episodes of Torchwood that I missed while I was away. It's awesome. I'm going to watch the next two tomorrow.

YouTube is being stupid and won't let me upload the new video I made yesterday. I was trying all evening yesterday and all morning today...I refuse to give up.

Okie dokie...I'm going to get some lunch now.

Bye

<3

Recommendation Blog Number One

Okay, I really should go to bed because my back hurts. But no...I have decided to give you lovely people a recommendation. So here we go...fun times.

'What I Saw And How I Lied' by Judy Blundell

I bought this book just because it was on a '3 for 2' offer and it looked quite good. It's set in post-WW2 America, which I thought was fascinating. I've always been interesting by the Second World War and specifically the lives of ordinary people. However, I think this is the first thing I've read about that period which was set in America, which made it particularly interesting to me.

This book tells the story of Evie, a teenager living with her mother, who she adores, and stepfather, Joe, who has just returned from the war. When Joe suggests an impromptu holiday to Florida, Evie doesn't suspect that anything could be wrong. But when irresistibly handsome Peter Coleridge, a young ex-GI who served with Joe, appears in her life, she finds herself falling for him despite the shroud of secrecy that surrounds him. But when a terrible tragedy comes to pass, Evie must choose who to betray - her parents or the man she loves.

As I'm a bit of a sucker for romance (except those crappy Mills and Boon books...they are awful) and especially for forbidden love, I loved that aspect of the book. Also, a dashingly mature soldier is never a bad thing. But apart from that, I loved the mystery of the story. I'm not really into that kind of thing, but it kept me interested until the end. And...yeah. I'm really bad at this whole review-type thing.

To cut what could turn into a really long and rambly blog short, it's a good book. You should read it. If you don't believe me, let me put in perspective. I read pretty quick and finished this in a day. My friend is a pretty slow reader (it took her two weeks to get to chapter two of 'The Host' by Stephenie Meyer') and she read this book in a matter of days. My copy is currently being passed from person to person within my group of friends because it's awesome. And I hope anyone who goes and reads it because of this blog loves it just as much as I do.

Bye

<3

I am seventeen going on eighteen...

Wow it's scary. I don't like being 17. It sounds too grown-up. But hey ho, I got some awesome presents out of it. And I know that isn't the right attitude, but it's true.

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, all three people who read this. I have been superly busy being in Paris, and then being asleep, and then turning 17, and watching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (twice) and sleeping some more, and eating chocolate, and watching Twilight with the audio commentary (don't ask), and reading, and listening to Taylor Swift, and getting addicted to this YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/StarKidPotter (A Very Potter Musical is a must-see for Potter fans...but it will result in you laughing at very inappropriate moments during the film).

Oh, and I went shopping and bought books, even though I still have an ever-mounting pile next to my bed of books that I still need to read. And while I was in Paris, my English teacher phoned home and my parents had to go into school to pick up 'The Time-Traveller's Wife' which is our summer reading. If anyone's read it already, let me know what you thought. I haven't started it yet but I've heard that it's awesome.

My school officially broke up for the summer on Wednesday, but because I've been away so much, I sort of broke up two weeks ago. It's so strange just being in the house now, and not being constantly with my friends and having to socialise. Seriously, much as I love them all to pieces, it's nice to have a bit of a break. I'm going to spend this week tidying my room because it is a frickin' mess as always, looking through piles of university prospectuses and hopefully narrowing down a few courses, and trying to get someone (for 'someone', read 'anyone') to employ me. I seriously need the money, since September brings the start of a year's worth of eighteenth birthday presents. Also, I want to start saving up for LeakyCon 2011 sooner rather than later because, seriously, I refuse to miss it. I refuse.

I really need more Harry Potter friends. For real, I love the few I have and obviously I love my friends who aren't into Harry Potter, but not one of them is as psycho-obsessed as I am. As in, I casually brought up wizard rock in a conversation with one of my most dedicated HP friends and she just didn't understand the concept, even after much explaining. In the end, I just went "Oh forget it..." Do you see what I have to deal with? Do you???

And my one friend who properly gets the whole fandom thing is someone I won't see until September because we only hang out at orchestra rehearsals and stuff. Sad times.

Okay, this has been a really long and ranty blog...I'm sorry. My next one will just highlight the best moments of Berlin and Paris. And then the next one might talk more about books, because I have one or two recommendations to get off my chest.

Bye

<3

PS - I am in no way affiliated with the StarKidPotter channel. I just think they are amazing. Check them out...maybe point them in the direction of this blog, maybe don't. But take a look because they are made of awesome. Thank you.