Talkie Toaster

A Summary of July

2010-08-03T21:07:00.002+01:00

A hectic few weeks caused my unintentional disappearance for the majority of July, it wasn't until last night that I realised it had been so long since my last entry. It's amazing how fast time goes by when there is a lot going on. Therefore the purpose of this entry is to catch up and include a summary of all of the bits that I had intended to write about during the past few weeks:

I went to the London Film and Comic Con on July 17th with my brother and sister. It was both mine and my sisters second year attending, but our brothers first year. We had a great time looking at the stalls, spending too much money and also watching the cosplay masquerade. Me and my sister both went in costume, which was definitely an interesting experience and my sister even got stopped several times for photographs by people who liked her costume. In the photos below, I am on the left dressed as a Hufflepuff Hogwarts student and my sister is on the right dressed as Amu Hinamori from the anime 'Shugo Chara'. I apologise for the bad quality photos, they were taken on a poorly lit train with my Blackberry!
I completed and submitted my application for the volunteer programme next summer at the Imperial War Museum. This is my third year applying, but hopefully this year I'll have a better chance due to both being older and having better experience on my application.
I also received my first year university results and I achieved a 69.996% average, which is annoyingly close to a First. The Introduction to Ancient History module brought down my average as it is not a topic that I'm particularly knowledgeable in, but fortunately next year I've been able to avoid all topics involving Ancient History. Although first year grades do not count towards the final degree classification on my course, I still worked hard last year and I am proud with what I achieved as now I know what I will be capable of next year when the work actually counts.
Problems at home have been the main cause of absence during the past few weeks, some of which you may have heard about if you follow me on Twitter. A combination of problems with our neighbour and my mum's health scare both resulted in me not having the right mindset to blog, but now fortunately things are finally starting to look up!

It is now August and Christmas is drawing ever closer, so close that I'm already considering starting my Christmas shopping during the approaching end of summer sales...

Nerdtastic

2010-07-11T19:10:00.010+01:00

I'm generally very organised and routinely use my Google Calender, but for the past few months I've been searching a wall planner to enable me to quickly glance at all of my deadlines in one place. This search even influenced goal #47 in my 101 goals in 1001 days challenge. Yesterday my search finally ended, as I found this academic wall planner in The Works for only £1.49! The price was far more reasonable than £6+ alternatives available on Amazon and Staples, so I'm glad that I waited rather than wasting money with them.

This morning I found space to put it on my wall, which also prompted me to reorganise the rest of my posters and find space for the new posters that I have acquired over the past few months. It'll be interesting to see how this wall planner helps me to organise my university workload and whether it does make it simpler.

A whole post about wall planners? It may be time to admit that I am slightly nerdy...

Everybody Loves a Mullet

2010-07-04T20:02:00.010+01:00

Especially my phone:

Business in the front, party in the back!

I bought this cover last week on Amazon, it arrived on Friday and now my phone is feeling a lot less naked. I'm still worried about it being scratched or damaged when it's inevitably dropped though, so I will have to invest in a case for it soon.

The wallpaper is currently featuring Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, here's a screencap showing it more clearly:

I promise that the next entry will not be about my phone...

3x Thursday

2010-07-02T20:40:00.004+01:00

3x Thursday: 'Ghostbusters' Quotes

What are your 3 favourite ‘Ghostbusters’ quotes? Any particular reason why?

1. Dr Ray Stantz: "Listen...do you smell something?"

2. Dr. Peter Venkman: "We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!"

3. Dr Ray Stantz: "Symmetrical book stacking. Just like the Philadelphia mass turbulence of 1947."
Dr. Peter Venkman: "You're right, no human being would stack books like this."

These were the first 3 quotes which came to mind after reading the question. Quoting the entire film into 3 large quotes did cross my mind, but that probably would have looked a bit silly...

(I know that it's Friday, but let's pretend that it's still Thursday...)

I've Joined the Dark Side

2010-06-30T19:41:00.003+01:00

How have I joined the Dark Side? Well, I'm now the owner of a shiny new Blackberry...

After years of owning a Pay As You Go phone, and only upgrading from my Nokia 3310 last March to a Samsung G600, I now have a contract with Virgin Mobile. I bought the contract last weekend while shopping with my friend as he already had a contract phone and I was worried about going alone, but it was a far easier process than I had expected! Since I already had an account with them, it only took 10 minutes for everything to be sorted. Owning this phone makes financial sense too, as previously I would often spend £20 a month on credit which would only be spent on 200 texts, but now I pay £15 a month for 500 texts, 100 minutes, free emails and free Internet, so I'm getting a lot more for my money. I'm very pleased with it, and I apologise in advance for anyone who follows me on Twitter as I may have been going a bit crazy with my mobile tweeting...

Other than being kept occupied by new phone (who is being named either Rory or Colin, I'm having trouble deciding), completing my 101 things in 1001 days list and going to work, my past few days have been quiet. It has been too hot to do anything, as by the time I've get home from work my plans don't consist of much other than collapsing onto my bed. Commuting is tiring, but the hour bus journey is 10x worse when the bus is a sweaty sauna. I'm looking forward to the weekend and hopefully a break from the sunshine with some much needed rain.

It's an organised mess...

2010-06-25T17:46:00.003+01:00

Every few weeks I tidy my desktop. Despite my best intentions of keeping it tidy, I often succumb to keeping an 'organised mess' which eventually needs to be reorganised. Although all sorts of odd files and folders can usually be found on my desktop, the main culprits are miscellaneous files which are needed temporarily and then forgotten about rather than deleted. It may be slightly optimistic referring to it as an 'organised mess', 'dumping ground' would probably be more appropriate...

Today I finally tidied my desktop after several half-hearted attempts over the past few weeks. I also found a new gadget called Sushi's Drive Info, a useful gadget which displays the remaining capacity of my hard drives.

I must admit, my desktop does look far more organised now. I wonder how long it will last this time?

3x Thursday

2010-06-24T19:10:00.002+01:00

3x Thursday: This or That

1. Are you a morning person or a night owl? How so?
I'm a morning person. Usually I'm awake at around 7am regardless of how late I stayed up the previous night and what day it is. The whole day feels strange when I wake up at a later time, I'm not very productive in the evening so the day is wasted if I sleep through the morning. Yes, I'm a very strange teenager...

2. Ice cream! Vanilla or chocolate? Why?
Vanilla, as there is a better and wider selection of toppings/sauces that it can be eaten with. Though if I had a choice it would always be Mint Chocolate Chip, I haven't had it for years but used to love it.

3. Soda or water? Why?
Soda/soft drinks. I'm not going to pretend to be healthy and choose water, because I love Pepsi Max too much! I only drink it once or twice a week though, mainly due to the expense and wanting to avoid any unnecessary trips to the dentist.

Good Evening

2010-06-19T20:49:00.002+01:00

I had intended on blogging on Friday evening, but a combination of errands, Island at War (a TV series which I discovered and fell in love with) and laziness caused it to be delayed until today. I'm still enjoying work, today I started my second week and I'm feeling much more comfortable there. It is tiring though, much more tiring than college ever was. It's currently 8:15pm, I've only been home for 2 hours and I'm ready for bed! My plans for this evening are to finish this entry, read the updates on my Google Reader and then sleep.

In the previous entr y I mentioned my plan to find an audio book to listen to during my commute. After considering various options, I chose Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. I saw the film earlier this year and really enjoyed it, hopefully the book is as enjoyable (if not better!). My main criteria for choosing an audio book was the reader, as understandably if the voice reading is annoying then it wouldn't be enjoyable to listen to. My favourite voice for reading is Stephen Fry, who read the Harry Potter series fantastically, soon I'll have to check out some of the other books that he has read. I'm not sure who is reading Percy Jackson, but I'm enjoying his style as he sounds similar to how I would imagine the lead characters voice. There are 5 books in the series, so if I finish this book then I hope to continue with the rest of the series.

Finally, I'm currently compiling a '101 things in 1001 days' list. I've seen several people complete these lists and I'm hoping that mine will be equally as successful as theirs! It will take me a few days to plan as I want to make my list worthwhile rather than rushed, but I'm hoping to officially start the tasks on Monday 28th June. Recently I've spent a lot of time browsing Mission101, a Livejournal community where people post about their progress in these challenges, I've been getting a lot of ideas from their posts and would definitely recommend checking it out if you're also considering attempting this challenge.

3x Thursday

2010-06-17T21:04:00.005+01:00

3x Thursday: Hungry!!

What are your 3 favourite food dishes that you like to make/eat (this can be anything)? If you don’t cook, what are your 3 favourite dishes that you get elsewhere? Why do you like them so much?

Homemade chicken soup. My mum usually makes it using left overs from a roast chicken, and it's easily one of my favourite parts of Winter.
Banana on toast. A simple healthy breakfast which stops me getting hungry before lunch and is especially good before an exam. It's also nice with some marmite, a weird but wonderful combination.
Sushi. Not something that I can make (although I would love to learn!), but this list would not be complete without mentioning my favourite Sushi restaurant: YO!Sushi. It is expensive though, I can easily spend £10 during one visit, but it's good for the occasional treat and I usually go after shopping with my sister.

Toaster Face

2010-06-14T19:35:00.007+01:00

Don't worry, I haven't mutated into a walking toaster, I just needed to cover up my grumpy morning face. Hopefully the title isn't a euphemism for something gross...

This is what I wore today for my first day of work, wearing my new clothes mentioned in the previous post. Today went really well, despite being ridiculously nervous this morning. I'm only volunteering and not doing major tasks, but it was still interesting learning how an office works and also meeting new people. I had been worried that they would get the wrong impression and think that I was being rude due to how quiet I am, but fortunately they seemed to understand. They were friendly, helpful and also really organised which made things much easier. They've planned a variety of tasks for me, so I shouldn't have a dull moment over the next 3 months.

The commute wasn't too bad either. I'm used to commuting for university, but for this I'm using buses rather than trains. My journey to central London takes over an hour on the bus, the train would have taken half of this time but I didn't think this was worth paying triple the price for. I can't read on the bus due to motion sickness, but fortunately my journey wasn't too boring as it was spent listening to episodes of the radio game show 'The Unbelievable Truth' and my favourite talk radio station LBC 97.3FM. I'm considering listening to an audiobook during tomorrows commute, hopefully some good books are available online.

Waking up at 6:45am this morning was definitely a shock to the system after a month of laziness, so I'll be having an early night tonight. I'm looking forward to work over the next 4 days, and hopefully my next blog entry will as positive as this one!

My attempt to look smart...

2010-06-11T19:02:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I bought some much needed smart clothes for the voluntary work I'm doing this summer:

2 for £22.50 with my student discount (usually £25) from Dorothy Perkins

I had hoped to buy 2 more shirts in different colours, but my local Dorothy Perkins had virtually no size 10's left apart from these 2, hopefully next week I'm able to pick up a couple more as these shirts fit really nicely.

£7 in the sale at New Look

I had already bought a pair of these in January for £12 and hadn't intended on buying another, but seeing as they were on sale I couldn't resist buying them. A spare pair will come in handy, as I'm sure I'll end up ruining a pair somehow.

£25 from Barratts

I usually find it hard to find shoes due to having wide feet, but these are comfier (and cheaper!) than my more expensive smart shoes from Clarks that I used to wear for college. I especially love the spotty and shiny material inside the shoes. I've yet to wear them for a prolonged period outside, but their thick soles and soft insole make me confident that they'll be ok. I will still take some plasters with me on Monday though, just in case they do decide to start killing my feet.

Other than a few pairs of tights and some other things which I won't bore you with photos of, that is what my shopping trip resulted in. Despite being really nervous about my first day of voluntary work next week, I'm looking forward to both the new challenges that I'll face and also my first proper opportunity in over a year to wear smart clothes! I never thought that wearing jeans and a t-shirt could get boring...

3x Thursday

2010-06-10T18:12:00.006+01:00

3x Thursday: Entertainment

1. Have you been to any events (sporting, music, other performance) lately? If so, what? Anything in particular that was exceptionally good?
Last month I went to the Camden Barfly to see Young Guns with my best friend who I regularly go to gigs with. The venue was the smallest that I've ever been to and it was so full of people that we could actually feel the floor bouncing, the atmosphere was amazing. It was our second time seeing them live after first seeing them in February at the Kerrang Relentless Tour, this year they've quickly become one of my favourite bands and I'm looking forward to their album being released in July. My next gig is in September when I'm seeing Muse at Wembley Stadium, which I'm really looking forward to!

2. Seen any good movies lately? If so, what?
I'm a self-confessed Potter Nerd and recently re-watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince with my Dad. I really enjoyed the film, but it also made me sad as it reminded me how close we are to the final film. It'll be weird no longer having a Harry Potter film to look forward to...

3. Is there anything in the music department that has come out recently that you are in to? If so, what? If not, anything else catching your ear lately?
I'm actually quite enjoying some of the tracks on Christina Aguilera's new album 'Bionic' which I gave a listen to after finding it on Spotify, 'My Girls' in particular has been stuck in my head since hearing it!

Property of Andy

2010-06-06T18:45:00.004+01:00

Image belongs to brenna_

One day I will own a pair of brown cowboy boots just so that I can do this.

Toy Story 3 is released in the UK on 23rd July, who else is excited? Although I am slightly jealous of the countries who get to see it before us, I am still looking forward to it and will just have to be extra wary for spoilers! I've watched Toy Story 1 and 2 more times than I can count, so this addition to the series has been long anticipated and hopefully won't disappoint.

"This isn't flying. This is falling with style!"
- Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story 1)

3x Thursday

2010-06-03T11:58:00.008+01:00

3x Thursday: Annoyed!

Lots of things annoy us. Pick 3 things that annoy you and tell us why!

People chewing gum loudly. I generally dislike the sound noisy eaters, but it's the sound of people chewing gum that annoys me the most. While travelling on a rush hour underground train a few weeks ago, I had the misfortune of being squashed next to someone who was obnoxiously chewing gum loudly right next to my ear. I almost went crazy listening to the constant squelchy chewing sound coming from their mouth, and I actually got off the train two stops early to save my sanity and walked the rest of the way to my destination. Sure, you can chew gum, but please don't do it so loudly!
People who are messy in libraries. I don't understand people who make a mess in the library by dumping books in the incorrect section or leaving them scattered on the floor/tables, when they could easily put them back on the right shelf or in the designated trolley for books to be re-shelved! Litter annoys me too, especially the takeaway chicken boxes that I've been finding far too frequently dumped on or under library desks.
Loud music in shops. I think that music playing in shops is a good idea, as it gives the shop an atmosphere and stops it from being awkwardly quiet, but it does start to become annoying when it's played too loudly and you have to shout to be heard. Sales assistants singing on top of the loud music is also annoying, but that's another story...

Books Read in May

2010-06-01T16:23:00.005+01:00

The monthly blog post where I list and comment on the books that I've read during the previous month.

Field Study by Rachel Seiffert - I had intended on borrowing Rachel's book 'The Dark Room', but as it is on loan from the library until mid-June I had to compromise. Fortunately, this turned out to be a good compromise! The book contains a collection of stories taking place throughout Europe with the consequences of the Second World War and Communism being a theme in several of them. I enjoyed this book, especially the stories 'Second Best' and 'The Crossing', and was surprised to find that it had gotten negative reviews. One of the most common comments on this book was that it is a 'work in progress' and 'undeveloped', something which I agree with but believe was an intention of the author, as their 'undeveloped' nature allowed me to imagine how the characters story would progress and become even more engaged with their situation. This book is an easy read with stories short enough to finish in one sitting, and I would recommend it to someone who (like myself) is taking up reading after a long break. I am now even more excited about reading her book 'The Dark Room', which I'll hopefully have gotten hold of by the end of this month.

Days of Grace by Catherine Hall - I spent months looking at an advert for this book at my local train station, and I was eager to read it despite the advert itself revealing little about the books contents. The book develops two plots taking place in two time periods of Nora's life, and at the books conclusion the purpose of these concurrent plots become clear. I finished this book in less than a week as I could not put it down, and several times ended up staying awake until past 1am after saying 'one more chapter!' multiple times. This book did not disappoint, and I wish that I could write more about it without fear of spoiling those who have not yet read it. This book is one that I will remember for a long time and will definitely read again in the future.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood - I am currently reading this book and will hopefully finish by the end of the month.

2010-05-31T22:15:00.000+01:00

Now, lets forget these awkward introductions, and get started with the actual blog! A good idea? Yes, I think so too.