Tuesday, 18 June 2013
-MISSING HUSBAND-
This is one of those entirely unjust facts of life that leaves me in tears at 1.18am.
Monday, 17 June 2013
Freedom!
Greetings m'dears!
It is officially all over. I'm free of A Levels until Results day! Psychology this morning went well, and I decided the only appropriate way to celebrate would be to read - finally! I also bought two new books within 50 minutes of leaving the exam hall. Is it obvious I have been deprived?
So, updated reading list: http://littleboatfloating.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/reading-list.html because the two new books have been added to the bottom of the list, and I finished Lemony Snicket's new book within two hours this afternoon.
And yes, Snicket(/Handler) did it again. I have thoroughly enjoyed yet another of his excellently penned books, and I (for some reason quite happily) have been left with more questions than answers. Oh Lemony, what are you like :')
I honestly doubt I will ever be able to shake my love of that author.
Anyway, onto new things.
So what to do with this new freedom?
HARRY POTTER MARATHON WITH ZILLA. Yes, we are determined to keep up the tradition. Starting tomorrow, Zilla and I shall be ignoring the calls of the sunlight and closeting ourselves up with cakes and Harry Potter movies until Thursday. It is going to be heavenly.
Then a much-needed girls night with my 4 best girls, Zilla, Hannah, Sophie, and Ife, on Thursday through until Friday. It is set to be a night of films, wine, good food and laughter, and I genuinely cannot wait :') <3
And then, finally, I will be living with George in the very well furnished barn at the bottom of the main house's garden until the end of June. Then we are both staying at mine for the beginning of July until we hop off to sun, GLORIOUS SUN, in Turkey on the 13th :) <3 Very much excited to be able to spend so much time together! <3
So far, my summer looks thoroughly superb <3
And this is without mentioning the books, baking, films, and other such fun which will be a daily pleasure :)
I hope your summer is set to be as wonderful and book-filled as this!
Enjoy the sun!
Hatter x
It is officially all over. I'm free of A Levels until Results day! Psychology this morning went well, and I decided the only appropriate way to celebrate would be to read - finally! I also bought two new books within 50 minutes of leaving the exam hall. Is it obvious I have been deprived?
So, updated reading list: http://littleboatfloating.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/reading-list.html because the two new books have been added to the bottom of the list, and I finished Lemony Snicket's new book within two hours this afternoon.
And yes, Snicket(/Handler) did it again. I have thoroughly enjoyed yet another of his excellently penned books, and I (for some reason quite happily) have been left with more questions than answers. Oh Lemony, what are you like :')
I honestly doubt I will ever be able to shake my love of that author.
Anyway, onto new things.
So what to do with this new freedom?
HARRY POTTER MARATHON WITH ZILLA. Yes, we are determined to keep up the tradition. Starting tomorrow, Zilla and I shall be ignoring the calls of the sunlight and closeting ourselves up with cakes and Harry Potter movies until Thursday. It is going to be heavenly.
Then a much-needed girls night with my 4 best girls, Zilla, Hannah, Sophie, and Ife, on Thursday through until Friday. It is set to be a night of films, wine, good food and laughter, and I genuinely cannot wait :') <3
And then, finally, I will be living with George in the very well furnished barn at the bottom of the main house's garden until the end of June. Then we are both staying at mine for the beginning of July until we hop off to sun, GLORIOUS SUN, in Turkey on the 13th :) <3 Very much excited to be able to spend so much time together! <3
So far, my summer looks thoroughly superb <3
And this is without mentioning the books, baking, films, and other such fun which will be a daily pleasure :)
I hope your summer is set to be as wonderful and book-filled as this!
Enjoy the sun!
Hatter x
Friday, 14 June 2013
Education, education, education.
(This link is also at the end of the post, but if you are low on time and only have time to read one blog post about education at this time in the morning, then I'd advise you follow the link and read this girl's excellent article instead of my blog post: http://the-eleventh-blog.tumblr.com/post/52727074667/made-rebloggable-as-requested)
I'm one of the lucky ones. On Monday the 17th June 2013 I will sit my last A2 Psychology exam and thus end my A Level education. In August, on the annual day of nationwide emotional pandemonium for 18(ish) year-olds, I will receive a slip of paper determining the direction of my life for the next 3 years and thus, in all likelihood, my entire future. One of the frustratingly small yet disproportionately significant letters on that slip of paper will be my English Language and Literature grade, part of which - thankfully for me - will be based on a piece of coursework that I was able to spend 6 months working on. Fairly soon, however, this challenging but undeniably student-stress-saving method of assessment will be eliminated, as will the opportunity for the module-style of exams that I have been lucky enough to endure for at least the last 7 years of my life. Instead, the 'next generation' of student night-owls will be awake into the early hours revising everything they have learned for one topic over the course of two years, preparing to sit a single exam for each subject, which will be the culmination and measurement of their GCSE or A Level education.
Now I don't know about you, but that sounds like a hell of a stressful night to me. Since the 2nd of June I have been up until the borders of the early hours every night, revising for whichever exam loomed the next morning or in the next few days. I've had a nice 11 day gap between my last exam and Psychology on Monday, but that hasn't stopped the oppressive tide of stress heaving through my body, resulting in uncountable cups of tea per day and the apparent motivation to stay up late into the night revising for 2 hours of uncomfortable silence. I am, by my own very loose definition of the word, suffering from exam stress. And I've had my topics split into tolerable, modular chunks which make daunting subjects like Philosophy and Psychology reasonable easy to cope with. I cannot imagine surviving the kind of stress that would have been placed upon me if, on Monday, I was facing just one exam for all the psychology I had learned in the last two years. And yet, that's exactly what next year's students are going to be asked to do. And they can't just survive, they have to prosper and achieve under those conditions. They'll do it of course, because they have to, and this generation of students has learned to adapt exceptionally to the increasingly frustrating challenges thrown at them. It simply seems to me that the government's view of education is outdated and unrealistic, and putting more and more pressure on students in these ways seems demeaning, demanding and downright unethical for some.
Now my knowledge of politics and the current affairs of the world is intimidatingly lacking, but someone much smarter and up to date than myself has written a fantastic article on this topic here. (As seen at the top of this post). The article is reasonably lengthy but definitely well worth a read if you have time.
There is so much more that I wish I could say but the article definitely does it for me, and my bed has been calling for over 3 hours now.
I bid you good night, dear reader, and to any fellow revision night owls or examination-bound: I salute you. Good luck.
I'm one of the lucky ones. On Monday the 17th June 2013 I will sit my last A2 Psychology exam and thus end my A Level education. In August, on the annual day of nationwide emotional pandemonium for 18(ish) year-olds, I will receive a slip of paper determining the direction of my life for the next 3 years and thus, in all likelihood, my entire future. One of the frustratingly small yet disproportionately significant letters on that slip of paper will be my English Language and Literature grade, part of which - thankfully for me - will be based on a piece of coursework that I was able to spend 6 months working on. Fairly soon, however, this challenging but undeniably student-stress-saving method of assessment will be eliminated, as will the opportunity for the module-style of exams that I have been lucky enough to endure for at least the last 7 years of my life. Instead, the 'next generation' of student night-owls will be awake into the early hours revising everything they have learned for one topic over the course of two years, preparing to sit a single exam for each subject, which will be the culmination and measurement of their GCSE or A Level education.
Now I don't know about you, but that sounds like a hell of a stressful night to me. Since the 2nd of June I have been up until the borders of the early hours every night, revising for whichever exam loomed the next morning or in the next few days. I've had a nice 11 day gap between my last exam and Psychology on Monday, but that hasn't stopped the oppressive tide of stress heaving through my body, resulting in uncountable cups of tea per day and the apparent motivation to stay up late into the night revising for 2 hours of uncomfortable silence. I am, by my own very loose definition of the word, suffering from exam stress. And I've had my topics split into tolerable, modular chunks which make daunting subjects like Philosophy and Psychology reasonable easy to cope with. I cannot imagine surviving the kind of stress that would have been placed upon me if, on Monday, I was facing just one exam for all the psychology I had learned in the last two years. And yet, that's exactly what next year's students are going to be asked to do. And they can't just survive, they have to prosper and achieve under those conditions. They'll do it of course, because they have to, and this generation of students has learned to adapt exceptionally to the increasingly frustrating challenges thrown at them. It simply seems to me that the government's view of education is outdated and unrealistic, and putting more and more pressure on students in these ways seems demeaning, demanding and downright unethical for some.
Now my knowledge of politics and the current affairs of the world is intimidatingly lacking, but someone much smarter and up to date than myself has written a fantastic article on this topic here. (As seen at the top of this post). The article is reasonably lengthy but definitely well worth a read if you have time.
There is so much more that I wish I could say but the article definitely does it for me, and my bed has been calling for over 3 hours now.
I bid you good night, dear reader, and to any fellow revision night owls or examination-bound: I salute you. Good luck.
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
I know, I'm awful.
Apologies for the appalling lack of activity on my blog, I am, as they say, drowning under horrific amounts of revision.
Lots has happened, too much to remember and write down in the one tiny moments that is this blog post.
7 years of education at Bishop Stopford School quite promptly ended (in such a sudden fashion that it felt almost rude), and the end of the era was celebrated at our Year 13 prom, surrounded by the crazies that I hold most dear.
So there we have prom, in a rather tiny and inadequate nutshell.
In other news, I remain poor and unemployed, my A Level Exams begin on Monday, and I am losing confidence in my plan to study English with Creative Writing at Keele. Beginning to wonder what possessed me to think that was a good idea when my writing skills sit solidly at mediocre.
And yet I am ridiculously happy because George has for some unknown reason, stuck around for almost 7 months now. I love him and I am very, very grateful to call him mine. How the hell did I get this one. Seriously. How is a human being that perfect?
I shall do a better post when my exams are out of the way and I have more free time to freak out about everything.
Soon, my dears.
Lots has happened, too much to remember and write down in the one tiny moments that is this blog post.
7 years of education at Bishop Stopford School quite promptly ended (in such a sudden fashion that it felt almost rude), and the end of the era was celebrated at our Year 13 prom, surrounded by the crazies that I hold most dear.
We knew.
Too much pretty, I know.
My brother and I.
I will not lie about my sense of pride regarding this award, and the fact that my ass is said to rival that of Pippa Middleton.
This woman has been an absolute rock to me, and the knowledge that she will no longer be my every day is possibly one of the most terrifying aspects of the end of Bishop.
My best girls <3
My brothers <3 I did tear up at the thought of leaving these two behind.
Legendary Jasper, keeping his cool as I prove my idiocy beyond a doubt.
Look at his perfect.
Should probably marry this one.
In other news, I remain poor and unemployed, my A Level Exams begin on Monday, and I am losing confidence in my plan to study English with Creative Writing at Keele. Beginning to wonder what possessed me to think that was a good idea when my writing skills sit solidly at mediocre.
And yet I am ridiculously happy because George has for some unknown reason, stuck around for almost 7 months now. I love him and I am very, very grateful to call him mine. How the hell did I get this one. Seriously. How is a human being that perfect?
I shall do a better post when my exams are out of the way and I have more free time to freak out about everything.
Soon, my dears.
Sunday, 17 March 2013
Sway
I had the most quietly amazing weekend with George, and I have big news which unfortunately I can't share with you all for quite a long time. I know, I know. It's cruel to say I have news and then not tell you what it it. But it is wonderful news, and I want and need to savour it before I share it with the world.
In the mean time, sway.
George - I vote this is the song of today <3
In the mean time, sway.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Kalen
If your imagination was personified or represented in an animal, what would it look like? I couldn't stop thinking about this and so ended up writing a poem about mine:
He tiptoes through,
This creature of my mind,
With soft, steady feet
And eyes not always kind.
Pointed ears
And pointed claws
He often growls
But cannot roar.
Mostly he listens,
Sometimes explores,
And brings back new ideas –
Stories to be wrought.
His eyes my mind’s
Not as sinister as he seems
Misunderstood softie
He pads through my dreams.
Red fur like autumn
Eyes of an owl
He soldiers on
Too heavy to howl.
He tiptoes through,
This creature of my mind,
With soft, steady feet
And eyes not always kind.
Pointed ears
And pointed claws
He often growls
But cannot roar.
Mostly he listens,
Sometimes explores,
And brings back new ideas –
Stories to be wrought.
His eyes my mind’s
Not as sinister as he seems
Misunderstood softie
He pads through my dreams.
Red fur like autumn
Eyes of an owl
He soldiers on
Too heavy to howl.
If you didn't guess, I think mine would be a fox. Though that could just be because I love foxes :P What about you?
The title of this post is actually a name, one that Jenni and I came up with when we were into His Dark Materials style daemons and such. It had some cool meaning and we used elvish words to make it, but I can't remember what it meant any more. Despite that I've never lost love for the name, so I guess that if this fox of mine had a name it would be Kalen.
Monday, 4 March 2013
Sunday, 3 March 2013
4 months
Greetings all
I thought I'd give myself a break from school work to put another post up as I am a top procrastinator and I feel I owe you a little more frequency in my posts, so here we are.
Other than being slightly disappointed that I won't be able to go up to my Dad's and see my half-sister next Friday-Sunday, I have still had an absolutely wonderful weekend. George was here from about 1pm on Saturday to 5pm today, and my brother Alex (who lives in Cornwall) decided to come up and visit us for a few days :D So he arrived early today and after George had a minor panic about what my brother would think of him, they got on fine and my brother says George seems great. SO THERE, GEORGE. I WIN ;)
Today also happens to be 4 months since George and I got together, so we celebrated that with a weekend of cuddles, movies, and on Saturday night I made George dinner.We didn't really end up doing much or being particularly romantic, but it was actually a lovely way of celebrating 4 very happy months together, and I really enjoyed our weekend.
And now I am in bed at 9.40pm (yeah, I know I'm a rubbish teenager) after a good evening with my mum and Alex. My other brother Laurie did phone, but the phone ran out of battery half way through our conversation and he hasn't called back :/ So that sucked a bit. Before it cut out he did tell me a little story from our childhood, which was quite funny to hear given I've been baking a lot lately. Apparently, when I was around 2 or 3 years old Laurie would often be in the kitchen baking or cooking something (he would have been 16/17ish) and he would sit me up on a stool beside him so we could be baking together. Obviously I can't remember any of it, but it sounds really sweet and I love the idea of it. So now next time I bake something I'll probably have that image in the back of my mind and know that although we can't bake together any more, we used to in a silly kind of way.
We're all feeling quite proud of Laurie lately... Since 2012, there have been quite a few articles and interviews with my brother in New York newspapers and websites, but lately he has made it back home in print with an article in The Chronicle & Echo, and several other newpapers which I regretfully can't remember. This is the Chronicle and Echo article: http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/business/local-businesses/former-northampton-college-student-named-one-of-new-york-s-best-chefs-1-4775833; and this is another from an American website: http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2012/09/we-chat-with-laurie-jon-moran-of-le-bernardin-interview.html (although there is a slight mistake, as I can personally confirm that mum made Laurie cakes rather than 'foams' for his birthday :P). It may be interesting to you or it may not, but I am very proud to say that my brother Laurie, who used to read me bed time stories and sit my 2 year old self next to him while he baked, has now been named one of New York's best chefs, so I simply cannot resist putting those articles in here. So check them out if you are interested :)
It's hit 10pm so I feel it is probably an acceptable time for a 17 year old to go to sleep, thus I shall say goodnight, and I hope you had a wonderful weekend too.
Also I shall wish my dear Suffolk friend Sammykins a Happy Birthday :)
I'll try to write again soon.
G'night.
Jenny x
Happy 4 months George, I love you. <3
I thought I'd give myself a break from school work to put another post up as I am a top procrastinator and I feel I owe you a little more frequency in my posts, so here we are.
Other than being slightly disappointed that I won't be able to go up to my Dad's and see my half-sister next Friday-Sunday, I have still had an absolutely wonderful weekend. George was here from about 1pm on Saturday to 5pm today, and my brother Alex (who lives in Cornwall) decided to come up and visit us for a few days :D So he arrived early today and after George had a minor panic about what my brother would think of him, they got on fine and my brother says George seems great. SO THERE, GEORGE. I WIN ;)
Today also happens to be 4 months since George and I got together, so we celebrated that with a weekend of cuddles, movies, and on Saturday night I made George dinner.We didn't really end up doing much or being particularly romantic, but it was actually a lovely way of celebrating 4 very happy months together, and I really enjoyed our weekend.
And now I am in bed at 9.40pm (yeah, I know I'm a rubbish teenager) after a good evening with my mum and Alex. My other brother Laurie did phone, but the phone ran out of battery half way through our conversation and he hasn't called back :/ So that sucked a bit. Before it cut out he did tell me a little story from our childhood, which was quite funny to hear given I've been baking a lot lately. Apparently, when I was around 2 or 3 years old Laurie would often be in the kitchen baking or cooking something (he would have been 16/17ish) and he would sit me up on a stool beside him so we could be baking together. Obviously I can't remember any of it, but it sounds really sweet and I love the idea of it. So now next time I bake something I'll probably have that image in the back of my mind and know that although we can't bake together any more, we used to in a silly kind of way.
We're all feeling quite proud of Laurie lately... Since 2012, there have been quite a few articles and interviews with my brother in New York newspapers and websites, but lately he has made it back home in print with an article in The Chronicle & Echo, and several other newpapers which I regretfully can't remember. This is the Chronicle and Echo article: http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/business/local-businesses/former-northampton-college-student-named-one-of-new-york-s-best-chefs-1-4775833; and this is another from an American website: http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2012/09/we-chat-with-laurie-jon-moran-of-le-bernardin-interview.html (although there is a slight mistake, as I can personally confirm that mum made Laurie cakes rather than 'foams' for his birthday :P). It may be interesting to you or it may not, but I am very proud to say that my brother Laurie, who used to read me bed time stories and sit my 2 year old self next to him while he baked, has now been named one of New York's best chefs, so I simply cannot resist putting those articles in here. So check them out if you are interested :)
It's hit 10pm so I feel it is probably an acceptable time for a 17 year old to go to sleep, thus I shall say goodnight, and I hope you had a wonderful weekend too.
Also I shall wish my dear Suffolk friend Sammykins a Happy Birthday :)
I'll try to write again soon.
G'night.
Jenny x
Happy 4 months George, I love you. <3
Friday, 1 March 2013
Catch up time
Sorry it's been such a long time, life has been pretty hectic lately.
We did have a half-term, but I spent mine at George's and then in Plymouth, so I haven't had quiet time at home for a while.
So yeah... Sunday-Friday of half-term was spent with George, and it was absolutely wonderful. I had an amazing week with him <3 Lots of hilarity, cuddles and love. We mostly stayed at home all week, watching films, doing school work, and cuddling. We did interact with other people though - Because pancake day is genius we made pancakes with his sister (that ended up being pretty darn funny) and then on the Wednesday we headed out to sit in on George's friend's band practice, so that was good. Valentine's Day was wonderful, and we definitely spoiled each other a bit! I'm actually currently cuddled up in one of the presents George gave me: a lovely warm hoodie that is sprayed with his aftershave because I simply adore his smell :D It was a perfect week together, and I cannot express how amazing George is.
Friday 15th-Sunday 17th Mum and I were down in Plymouth with my brother, as I had an applicant day at Plymouth University (I finally got all 5 of my offers by the way! Now to do the scary part and choose! D:). The applicant day was great, I really do love it there and I would pick them in a heartbeat if only Plymouth wasn't so far from home, George and my sister. Despite the distance I really do love it, so Plymouth may end up being my insurance choice. It was also really good to spend a little time with my brother and his girlfriend, even though I had to spend a lot of the weekend writing coursework.
It was back to school on the 18th, and that week wasn't too bad even though it was difficult to get back into the school routine. On Tuesday George was off school with a migraine, and I almost managed to go and check on him, but after a discussion about it we decided it wasn't for the best. I did end up going round on Thursday evening instead, and although it was only for a few hours I think we both really enjoyed the chance to see each other sooner. We're not so good at being apart now. On Saturday George and I went on a double date with Will and Beth, which consisted of bowling and lunch and had hilarious results. The date was good fun, and it was great to catch up with Beth again, but I do feel sorry for the people in the lane next to us at the bowling alley! Two cuddly teenage couples can't have been exactly what they wanted to see right at that moment, but ah well. Saturday night found us at a charity concert in Market Harborough, which George's mum was singing in! It was absolutely fantastic! I loved it, and we all gave the performers a well-deserved standing ovation at the end. Sunday was quieter, as we just did an hour and a half of work and spent the rest of our time cuddled on the sofa watching Breaking Bad (which is pretty darn good by the way, check it out y'all :P).
This week has been a little topsy turvy to be honest.
Monday really wasn't a good day. It was the first time I've ever locked myself in the loos and cried, and I hope to God it was the last time. And it wasn't because I was being teased, or stressed out or anything like that, I just... I've never felt more invisible in my entire life. I was sitting with some of my usual friends in the morning, but no one in the whole group that I was sitting with actually acknowledged my existence, even when I spoke directly to them or responded to a question. One occurrence went as such:
Girl (not naming because I'm not sure who sees this): Is anyone going to town tomorrow between break and lunch?
*Chorus of mumbled no's from everyone else*
Me: I'm not sure, maybe.
Girl: Damn, okay, I'll drag X with me.
Me: I wasn't planning on it but I could go, I do need to get some things.
Girl: *glances at me, grunts* Since no one is going I'll just drag X with me
Was I invisible or something? Did I not exist? I know that probably doesn't seem that bad, but that on top of all the other moments and the state of mind I was already in, that just really got to me. And there was no one I could turn to because Cheryl and Luke weren't around, George was at school so it wouldn't have been safe to phone, and mum was at work. Monday's are normally quite difficult generally because I'm on my own after a weekend of constant company, and I just generally feel a little weaker as a person. So naturally... I didn't cope with it all very well. I actually ended up phoning my mum and my brother at lunch time, because I just didn't know what to do. And then the rest of the day proceeded to be crap too, so that was fan-fucking-tastic. So at the end of the day, I went home, curled up in George's jumper and just slept. Yeah... so Monday wasn't a good day.
Tuesday... Tuesday was okay. But that's mostly just because I worked solidly from 8.30am until 1.20pm, and didn't really interact with anyone very much. Bonus is I got a lot of work done and I also didn't get stressed. George mentioned that he was seriously missing me, so I called him for a couple of minutes just to ease that a little. It was really good to hear his voice actually. At ballet we did a hell of a lot of work, and I discovered that my Grade 4 exam will now be on the 27th of May...
Wednesday was good. I had an essay due for first lesson (9am), and I'd only managed to get a paragraph done on Tuesday night, so I worked on it from 8.15 unil 8.55 at school and managed to get about 4 pages done. I was quite happy with it but wanted to add a few more paragraphs so my teacher gave me until the end of the day. By the end of lunchtime I was handing in a 6/7 page essay that I had completed in roughly 1 and a half hours, so I felt pretty damn good about that. I'd also spent lunch writing next to Cleughy and Hannah, which naturally was ridiculously funny. Hannah got very stressed at a crossword and shouted at a kid for mispronouncing 'Jane Eyre'... It was beautiful. As soon as the essay was in I walked to the gym and stayed until 3.40, and it felt so good just to exercise and work the residual Monday-stress away. Then I met Heather for dinner and finally went home and made cupcakes and biscuits with mother dear :D <3
Thursday was also fine. Because I intend to study English with Creative Writing at University, I've asked my English teacher to set me an article to write once a fortnight, so that I can have a chance to practice researching and writing articles, particularly on a subject I have no prior knowledge of. This time she has given me 'Parliament is not a good place for women', so I'll be writing that soon and I might post it up on here in case anyone is interested. The articles are obviously going to just add to my already massive pile of school work and revision to get through each week, but I do think it will be worth it in the end. I spent Thursday evening doing homework and baking a cake for Cheryl's birthday. It was a Devil's Food Cake sponge which I shaped and decorated as a book, and the damn thing kept me up working on it until 3am -_-
Today was so-so to be honest. It being Cheryl's birthday we naturally all gathered around her in the library to shower her with gifts, hugs (and cake on my part), whilst standing in a circle reminiscent of a satanic ritual, which Jenni unnervingly pointed out as she sat next to me half dressed as Harley Quinn. Cheryl loved the look of the cake so if she likes the taste too then hopefully only getting two and a half hours sleep last night will be worth it. Galen and I had a disagreement in psychology, and his narcissistic manner left me fed up again. Thus, surprise surprise, I went to the gym for a few hours. Had a nice chat with the staff, and got a compliment which made me feel much better about myself in general, as I've been having a lot more anxiety over my body-related insecurities lately. I was back to school in time for an hour of homework, Cheryl, and Luke, and then my last lesson of the day. This evening, mum and I have been doing our usual Friday evening activities of chatting, drinking wine, cooking, and preparing for George's arrival tomorrow. It's George and I's 4 months on Sunday, and I said I would could him dinner to celebrate, so mum and I did a trial run of the meal tonight. Now that 8 out of 10 Cats and The Last Leg have finished I am off to tidy my room so that it is spotless for the boyfriend.
Goodnight everyone. Sorry this has been such a crappy post, particularly given how overdue it was.
I promise to be more interesting next time.
Update: I just found this picture on my phone, which I drew in a Psychology lesson after the crap Monday morning I mentioned. This seems to be my stick-people representation of how it felt to be invisible.
We did have a half-term, but I spent mine at George's and then in Plymouth, so I haven't had quiet time at home for a while.
So yeah... Sunday-Friday of half-term was spent with George, and it was absolutely wonderful. I had an amazing week with him <3 Lots of hilarity, cuddles and love. We mostly stayed at home all week, watching films, doing school work, and cuddling. We did interact with other people though - Because pancake day is genius we made pancakes with his sister (that ended up being pretty darn funny) and then on the Wednesday we headed out to sit in on George's friend's band practice, so that was good. Valentine's Day was wonderful, and we definitely spoiled each other a bit! I'm actually currently cuddled up in one of the presents George gave me: a lovely warm hoodie that is sprayed with his aftershave because I simply adore his smell :D It was a perfect week together, and I cannot express how amazing George is.
Friday 15th-Sunday 17th Mum and I were down in Plymouth with my brother, as I had an applicant day at Plymouth University (I finally got all 5 of my offers by the way! Now to do the scary part and choose! D:). The applicant day was great, I really do love it there and I would pick them in a heartbeat if only Plymouth wasn't so far from home, George and my sister. Despite the distance I really do love it, so Plymouth may end up being my insurance choice. It was also really good to spend a little time with my brother and his girlfriend, even though I had to spend a lot of the weekend writing coursework.
It was back to school on the 18th, and that week wasn't too bad even though it was difficult to get back into the school routine. On Tuesday George was off school with a migraine, and I almost managed to go and check on him, but after a discussion about it we decided it wasn't for the best. I did end up going round on Thursday evening instead, and although it was only for a few hours I think we both really enjoyed the chance to see each other sooner. We're not so good at being apart now. On Saturday George and I went on a double date with Will and Beth, which consisted of bowling and lunch and had hilarious results. The date was good fun, and it was great to catch up with Beth again, but I do feel sorry for the people in the lane next to us at the bowling alley! Two cuddly teenage couples can't have been exactly what they wanted to see right at that moment, but ah well. Saturday night found us at a charity concert in Market Harborough, which George's mum was singing in! It was absolutely fantastic! I loved it, and we all gave the performers a well-deserved standing ovation at the end. Sunday was quieter, as we just did an hour and a half of work and spent the rest of our time cuddled on the sofa watching Breaking Bad (which is pretty darn good by the way, check it out y'all :P).
This week has been a little topsy turvy to be honest.
Monday really wasn't a good day. It was the first time I've ever locked myself in the loos and cried, and I hope to God it was the last time. And it wasn't because I was being teased, or stressed out or anything like that, I just... I've never felt more invisible in my entire life. I was sitting with some of my usual friends in the morning, but no one in the whole group that I was sitting with actually acknowledged my existence, even when I spoke directly to them or responded to a question. One occurrence went as such:
Girl (not naming because I'm not sure who sees this): Is anyone going to town tomorrow between break and lunch?
*Chorus of mumbled no's from everyone else*
Me: I'm not sure, maybe.
Girl: Damn, okay, I'll drag X with me.
Me: I wasn't planning on it but I could go, I do need to get some things.
Girl: *glances at me, grunts* Since no one is going I'll just drag X with me
Was I invisible or something? Did I not exist? I know that probably doesn't seem that bad, but that on top of all the other moments and the state of mind I was already in, that just really got to me. And there was no one I could turn to because Cheryl and Luke weren't around, George was at school so it wouldn't have been safe to phone, and mum was at work. Monday's are normally quite difficult generally because I'm on my own after a weekend of constant company, and I just generally feel a little weaker as a person. So naturally... I didn't cope with it all very well. I actually ended up phoning my mum and my brother at lunch time, because I just didn't know what to do. And then the rest of the day proceeded to be crap too, so that was fan-fucking-tastic. So at the end of the day, I went home, curled up in George's jumper and just slept. Yeah... so Monday wasn't a good day.
Tuesday... Tuesday was okay. But that's mostly just because I worked solidly from 8.30am until 1.20pm, and didn't really interact with anyone very much. Bonus is I got a lot of work done and I also didn't get stressed. George mentioned that he was seriously missing me, so I called him for a couple of minutes just to ease that a little. It was really good to hear his voice actually. At ballet we did a hell of a lot of work, and I discovered that my Grade 4 exam will now be on the 27th of May...
Wednesday was good. I had an essay due for first lesson (9am), and I'd only managed to get a paragraph done on Tuesday night, so I worked on it from 8.15 unil 8.55 at school and managed to get about 4 pages done. I was quite happy with it but wanted to add a few more paragraphs so my teacher gave me until the end of the day. By the end of lunchtime I was handing in a 6/7 page essay that I had completed in roughly 1 and a half hours, so I felt pretty damn good about that. I'd also spent lunch writing next to Cleughy and Hannah, which naturally was ridiculously funny. Hannah got very stressed at a crossword and shouted at a kid for mispronouncing 'Jane Eyre'... It was beautiful. As soon as the essay was in I walked to the gym and stayed until 3.40, and it felt so good just to exercise and work the residual Monday-stress away. Then I met Heather for dinner and finally went home and made cupcakes and biscuits with mother dear :D <3
Thursday was also fine. Because I intend to study English with Creative Writing at University, I've asked my English teacher to set me an article to write once a fortnight, so that I can have a chance to practice researching and writing articles, particularly on a subject I have no prior knowledge of. This time she has given me 'Parliament is not a good place for women', so I'll be writing that soon and I might post it up on here in case anyone is interested. The articles are obviously going to just add to my already massive pile of school work and revision to get through each week, but I do think it will be worth it in the end. I spent Thursday evening doing homework and baking a cake for Cheryl's birthday. It was a Devil's Food Cake sponge which I shaped and decorated as a book, and the damn thing kept me up working on it until 3am -_-
Today was so-so to be honest. It being Cheryl's birthday we naturally all gathered around her in the library to shower her with gifts, hugs (and cake on my part), whilst standing in a circle reminiscent of a satanic ritual, which Jenni unnervingly pointed out as she sat next to me half dressed as Harley Quinn. Cheryl loved the look of the cake so if she likes the taste too then hopefully only getting two and a half hours sleep last night will be worth it. Galen and I had a disagreement in psychology, and his narcissistic manner left me fed up again. Thus, surprise surprise, I went to the gym for a few hours. Had a nice chat with the staff, and got a compliment which made me feel much better about myself in general, as I've been having a lot more anxiety over my body-related insecurities lately. I was back to school in time for an hour of homework, Cheryl, and Luke, and then my last lesson of the day. This evening, mum and I have been doing our usual Friday evening activities of chatting, drinking wine, cooking, and preparing for George's arrival tomorrow. It's George and I's 4 months on Sunday, and I said I would could him dinner to celebrate, so mum and I did a trial run of the meal tonight. Now that 8 out of 10 Cats and The Last Leg have finished I am off to tidy my room so that it is spotless for the boyfriend.
Goodnight everyone. Sorry this has been such a crappy post, particularly given how overdue it was.
I promise to be more interesting next time.
Update: I just found this picture on my phone, which I drew in a Psychology lesson after the crap Monday morning I mentioned. This seems to be my stick-people representation of how it felt to be invisible.
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
It's a little bit funny
Monday was kind of a funny day to be honest, an unexpected 'I love you' from George in the morning was pretty much the only thing that kept me smiling. Both my Dad and my brother cancelled, so that was disappointing.
Tuesday I had a Doctors appointment which was fine. My appointment was at 11am and finished at about 11.15, but the buses are only once an hour so I had to arrive at 10:10 and leave at 12.16. Luckily, there was an absolutely fantastic little coffee shop nearby and so I spent (in total) about an hour and a half in there, and tried my first coffee xD I officially like cappuccinos :) Although I was then awake until 2am despite tiring myself out at ballet in the evening -_-
Today has been a little better. George had a University interview today so I had 'sympathy-nerves', but other than that I had a pretty good day. Studied through the morning, reading group at lunch, and then town with some Jordan, Lachlan and David in the afternoon (hilarious). The guys and I went for a coffee (I had a gingerbread latte this time - HOLY FUDGE THAT WAS GOOD), then went Valentine's Day present shopping for Jordan's girlfriend, with very entertaining results. I also had a gym induction at 4pm, which went really well :) It does mean that I am now pining for the gym though -_-
George's interview went really well and he is finally home safe, so I can stop being nervy and go to bed (if the coffee will let me).
I hope you had a good day
I'll write soon.
Sunday, 3 February 2013
Soon.
Hello there m'dear readers.
I've been fairly happy since my last post.
I have sent off my creative writing portfolio, so waiting for the response to that is very nerve-racking. The weeks haven't been too tense though. I settled on my English coursework title, so I can begin to progress further with that now, which is good, although the 18th Feb deadline is a little daunting.
On the bright side, I was with George on the 25th-27th January, so I was lucky enough to spend his birthday with him and the family. I hope I never forget the big smile that spread across his face when I walked down the slope and saw him waiting at the station. T'was a wonderful sight :) We had a wonderful weekend, and I'm fairly sure he very much enjoyed his birthday! We went for two family meals, one lunch date, relaxed at home, cuddled a lot, and his family and I embarrassed him with presents and cakes and such like xD
The week without him after that wasn't as difficult as it has felt before, which I think was due to a greater confidence in our relationship brought on by some discussions we had over his birthday weekend.
He was here this weekend, and though we didn't really do much except see Les Miserables (yeah, I cried) I couldn't have been happier. I adore him, I really do. And I know he has a bit of an inadequacy complex and sometimes doesn't really feel like he is good enough, but I really hope he's beginning to believe me when I tell him that he will never be inadequate to me. I hope he'll believe that one day.
So now I'm sat at home alone trying to do my school work, just hoping that this week without him will be less difficult again, although I'm not seeing him until the 11th now.
My brother might be coming up to stay for 6 days on Wednesday, though, so that should be good even though I'll only really have the weekend with him.
I'm also meeting up with my Dad on Thursday evening, which will be... interesting. We aren't on the best of terms but still, he's my father.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as I did, and I'll talk to you soon.
Update for the reading list:
http://littleboatfloating.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/reading-list.html
Happy 3 months George <3
I've been fairly happy since my last post.
I have sent off my creative writing portfolio, so waiting for the response to that is very nerve-racking. The weeks haven't been too tense though. I settled on my English coursework title, so I can begin to progress further with that now, which is good, although the 18th Feb deadline is a little daunting.
On the bright side, I was with George on the 25th-27th January, so I was lucky enough to spend his birthday with him and the family. I hope I never forget the big smile that spread across his face when I walked down the slope and saw him waiting at the station. T'was a wonderful sight :) We had a wonderful weekend, and I'm fairly sure he very much enjoyed his birthday! We went for two family meals, one lunch date, relaxed at home, cuddled a lot, and his family and I embarrassed him with presents and cakes and such like xD
The week without him after that wasn't as difficult as it has felt before, which I think was due to a greater confidence in our relationship brought on by some discussions we had over his birthday weekend.
He was here this weekend, and though we didn't really do much except see Les Miserables (yeah, I cried) I couldn't have been happier. I adore him, I really do. And I know he has a bit of an inadequacy complex and sometimes doesn't really feel like he is good enough, but I really hope he's beginning to believe me when I tell him that he will never be inadequate to me. I hope he'll believe that one day.
So now I'm sat at home alone trying to do my school work, just hoping that this week without him will be less difficult again, although I'm not seeing him until the 11th now.
My brother might be coming up to stay for 6 days on Wednesday, though, so that should be good even though I'll only really have the weekend with him.
I'm also meeting up with my Dad on Thursday evening, which will be... interesting. We aren't on the best of terms but still, he's my father.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as I did, and I'll talk to you soon.
Update for the reading list:
http://littleboatfloating.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/reading-list.html
Happy 3 months George <3
Monday, 21 January 2013
"I'm yours"
Hey y'all.
Sorry it's been a while since my last post, I've been rather busy of late.
I've done my January exams: an AS Psychology retake, an A2 Psychology exam and an A2 Ethics exam. None were absolutely awful, but none were overly brilliant either.
I officially have 4 offers from my uni choices, just waiting for one from UEA which I should get once I have sent them my creative writing portfolio. (Fingers crossed!)
This weekend, after 2 and a half weeks, I finally saw George again :) <3 I think the extended time apart really hit us both quite hard, and thus we barely spent a minute apart all weekend. He makes me fonder of him every time I see him, which never seems possible because I absolutely adore him as it is. We had a lovely time, but getting on the train home afterwards was absolutely awful, I hated it!
On the bright side, it's his birthday this weekend xD I just hope he likes his present!
I hope you all had a lovely weekend, stay safe if its snowing!
Jenny xx
Sorry it's been a while since my last post, I've been rather busy of late.
I've done my January exams: an AS Psychology retake, an A2 Psychology exam and an A2 Ethics exam. None were absolutely awful, but none were overly brilliant either.
I officially have 4 offers from my uni choices, just waiting for one from UEA which I should get once I have sent them my creative writing portfolio. (Fingers crossed!)
This weekend, after 2 and a half weeks, I finally saw George again :) <3 I think the extended time apart really hit us both quite hard, and thus we barely spent a minute apart all weekend. He makes me fonder of him every time I see him, which never seems possible because I absolutely adore him as it is. We had a lovely time, but getting on the train home afterwards was absolutely awful, I hated it!
On the bright side, it's his birthday this weekend xD I just hope he likes his present!
I hope you all had a lovely weekend, stay safe if its snowing!
Jenny xx
Bastille - Flaws
Hudson Taylor - Drop in the Ocean
Sammy Davis jr - I've Gotta be me
Jason Mraz - A Beautiful Mess
Monday, 14 January 2013
#NightNightAlice
http://curiouslemons.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/alice-pyne.html
^ Go read Kat's blog post. It mattered to me too, but Kat always knows what to say much better than I do so I'm just going to send you there.
^ Go read Kat's blog post. It mattered to me too, but Kat always knows what to say much better than I do so I'm just going to send you there.
Friday, 11 January 2013
The Pianist
There
are many beautiful things in life, and I do admit that most of these are not
likely to be found at St Pancras International Station, London. However, this
bustling station is not devoid of beauty, and I found my own rare snippet on
the way home from a master-class last night, as I paused my journey to listen and appreciate, despite my mother's
grumbles. What I had stumbled upon was a scruffy looking man sitting at an old piano adorned with drawings and messages, playing out an unknown melody to a passing crowd who did not have time
to listen. I managed to stop there for a while, and there is something somewhat
magical about sharing a moment like that with a complete stranger. In that
moment, the scruffy guy could be anyone he wanted to be - a famous pianist
perhaps - and I enjoyed being part of that.
Speaking
of 'famous' strangers, the class I was attending was with Jay Rayner, and I had a
chance to speak to him at the end of 3 hours of very entertaining musings, tips
and honesty. I was there because it was my main Christmas present from Laurie,
and so I thought it would be interesting to mention him to Jay. Although he has
not reviewed the restaurant Laurie works in, Jay was very impressed at everything Laurie had achieved - I must
admit I relished the chance to boast about my brilliant brother, I enjoy being
a proud sister. The class itself was fantastic: very entertaining and
informative, so I learnt a great deal.
An
exceptional Christmas present, so thank you to Laurie.
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
"Blame it on the little people"
Accents.
Brilliant, aren't they?
2 stunning new accents have entered my life very recently.
1. My incredibly well-spoken English teacher read one of Shakespeare's sonnets in a cockney accent today. Correct and hilarious.
2. My new RE teacher is Irish. Very Irish. And he walked past and said "Blame it on the little people" in his gorgeously Irish accent. I was very overwhelmed. I have only just recovered enough to post this, and the incident occurred yesterday.
Moving on.
The last few days have been a bit up and down really.
George was feeling grumpy at the weekend, so I decided to give him a short phone call. The phone call lasted about 2 hours and I now only have 38 free minutes left. Very much worth it. The call cheered my George up, and it brightened what I hadn't realised was a shit day for me. He makes me very happy, my dear readers, very happy indeed.
Monday was mediocre. Worked through the morning and didn't really socialise. My double RE lesson was awful and stressed me out more than I could deal with right then. The day was slightly brightened by a short cuddle with Will, but then I had to go to a revision session -_- Double psychology was also rather stressful, and I had yet to eat so hunger levels were not helping the situation. HOWEVER. After school I ate a cookie and Jenni and I decided we should attempt to be good friends again, after a year of not really knowing where we stand with each other. That put me in a good mood actually, I have missed her friendship more than I admit. I then came home and realised I don't know anything about Ethics and am completely unprepared for my exam on the 17th, and thus broke down and had a stress-cry for about an hour. Not so good. Today was better I suppose. I got shit done and spent lunch with Cheryl and Jenni talking relationships, triple dates and cars :) But then I struggled with a resit past paper, which sucked. Talking to George is helping though, as it always does. I think I just need to sort out a way to deal with this stress, and learn to balance everything. Mum is helping me create a revision time table, and I spoke to my mentor today about other things, so hopefully it will be getting better from now on.
Sorry for the absolutely awful post, but that's all I've got right now.
See you soon
Jenny
Brilliant, aren't they?
2 stunning new accents have entered my life very recently.
1. My incredibly well-spoken English teacher read one of Shakespeare's sonnets in a cockney accent today. Correct and hilarious.
2. My new RE teacher is Irish. Very Irish. And he walked past and said "Blame it on the little people" in his gorgeously Irish accent. I was very overwhelmed. I have only just recovered enough to post this, and the incident occurred yesterday.
Moving on.
The last few days have been a bit up and down really.
George was feeling grumpy at the weekend, so I decided to give him a short phone call. The phone call lasted about 2 hours and I now only have 38 free minutes left. Very much worth it. The call cheered my George up, and it brightened what I hadn't realised was a shit day for me. He makes me very happy, my dear readers, very happy indeed.
Monday was mediocre. Worked through the morning and didn't really socialise. My double RE lesson was awful and stressed me out more than I could deal with right then. The day was slightly brightened by a short cuddle with Will, but then I had to go to a revision session -_- Double psychology was also rather stressful, and I had yet to eat so hunger levels were not helping the situation. HOWEVER. After school I ate a cookie and Jenni and I decided we should attempt to be good friends again, after a year of not really knowing where we stand with each other. That put me in a good mood actually, I have missed her friendship more than I admit. I then came home and realised I don't know anything about Ethics and am completely unprepared for my exam on the 17th, and thus broke down and had a stress-cry for about an hour. Not so good. Today was better I suppose. I got shit done and spent lunch with Cheryl and Jenni talking relationships, triple dates and cars :) But then I struggled with a resit past paper, which sucked. Talking to George is helping though, as it always does. I think I just need to sort out a way to deal with this stress, and learn to balance everything. Mum is helping me create a revision time table, and I spoke to my mentor today about other things, so hopefully it will be getting better from now on.
Sorry for the absolutely awful post, but that's all I've got right now.
See you soon
Jenny
Sunday, 6 January 2013
Amsterdam
I really want to go.
Like now.
Or at least before uni.
Although George might just have invited me to Turkey with his family. And I would be there for my birthday. Waaaaaaargh that sounds scarily awesome.
But anyway.
Amsterdam.
After I posted that video yesterday, I spent most of the day with Amsterdam in my mind. I think watching it rekindled the desire to visit that began when I was reading The Fault in Our Stars. I have to admit, before I read The Fault in Our Stars, I never really thought of Amsterdam as beautiful. It's only connotations for me were war. But since I read the book, whenever Amsterdam is mentioned a flood of beautiful scenes fills my mind and it all just makes me absolutely desperate to be there, seeing it all for real.
What isn't helping is the knowledge that I just got paid for working as the Christmas temp in Clintons, so I have about enough money to fly to Amsterdam and back with another person, as long as its just hand luggage only. Save up a bit more and I'll have enough for a hotel.
And this is all torturing me because I know I still probably won't get there any time soon.
Mum pointed out that I've never really researched Amsterdam, but I actually already have a few ideas of what I could do there:
I would absolutely love to visit The Ann Frank Museum, especially as I'd have read the book by then.
The Fault in our Stars pilgrimage style thing because that book is genuinely brilliant and I want to see the places that inspired John Green.
I keep having moments like this, when I suddenly really just want to visit places. I want to go somewhere and spend a day getting lost in a beautiful city with someone I care about, who will share the adventure with me. I've been lost in Venice before, which I loved, although it wasn't so great when it started to get dark and we were still in the creepy back alleys.
I might just create a list of all the places I want to go, or at least add them to my Bucket List. I might put that up here one day actually.
Anyway.
Amsterdam rant over.
Off to do revision because Will cancelled our coffee :/
Jenny
P.s. Please do comment if you have any ideas where else I could go in Amsterdam or any other countries/places which are amazing to visit!
Like now.
Or at least before uni.
Although George might just have invited me to Turkey with his family. And I would be there for my birthday. Waaaaaaargh that sounds scarily awesome.
But anyway.
Amsterdam.
After I posted that video yesterday, I spent most of the day with Amsterdam in my mind. I think watching it rekindled the desire to visit that began when I was reading The Fault in Our Stars. I have to admit, before I read The Fault in Our Stars, I never really thought of Amsterdam as beautiful. It's only connotations for me were war. But since I read the book, whenever Amsterdam is mentioned a flood of beautiful scenes fills my mind and it all just makes me absolutely desperate to be there, seeing it all for real.
What isn't helping is the knowledge that I just got paid for working as the Christmas temp in Clintons, so I have about enough money to fly to Amsterdam and back with another person, as long as its just hand luggage only. Save up a bit more and I'll have enough for a hotel.
And this is all torturing me because I know I still probably won't get there any time soon.
Mum pointed out that I've never really researched Amsterdam, but I actually already have a few ideas of what I could do there:
I would absolutely love to visit The Ann Frank Museum, especially as I'd have read the book by then.
The Fault in our Stars pilgrimage style thing because that book is genuinely brilliant and I want to see the places that inspired John Green.
I keep having moments like this, when I suddenly really just want to visit places. I want to go somewhere and spend a day getting lost in a beautiful city with someone I care about, who will share the adventure with me. I've been lost in Venice before, which I loved, although it wasn't so great when it started to get dark and we were still in the creepy back alleys.
I might just create a list of all the places I want to go, or at least add them to my Bucket List. I might put that up here one day actually.
Anyway.
Amsterdam rant over.
Off to do revision because Will cancelled our coffee :/
Jenny
P.s. Please do comment if you have any ideas where else I could go in Amsterdam or any other countries/places which are amazing to visit!
Reading List
I haven't read a book for pleasure in over 2 months.
And it's killing me.
So, this is my reading list, which hopefully I can get started on after the 17th Jan. If you haven't read or heard of some of these, definitely check them out, and if you have any suggestions for the list then please let me know.
And it's killing me.
So, this is my reading list, which hopefully I can get started on after the 17th Jan. If you haven't read or heard of some of these, definitely check them out, and if you have any suggestions for the list then please let me know.
The Catcher in The Rye by J. D. Salinger- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Paper Towns by John GreenLife Of Pi by Yann Martel- Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
- The Kite Runner by Kialed Hosseini
- Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
- One Day by David Nicholls
- The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel by Deborah Moggachi
- Marley & Me by John Grogan
- The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
"Who Could That Be at This Hour?" by Lemony Snicket- Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
- Ann Frank's Diary
- Wonder by R.J. Palacio
- Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
- How to Write a Damn Good Novel 1& 2
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan- You Had Me at Hello by Mhairi McFarlane
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green- Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
- A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare
- The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
- Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Written by Herself by Harriet Ann Jacobs
- The Infernal Devices 1: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
- The Night World 1 by L. J. Smith
- Blueyedboy by Joanne Harris
- The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald
- The Complete Adventures of Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
- Ulysses by James Joyce
- Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- The Iliad by Homer
- Vanity Fair by William Thackeray
- The Odyssey by Homer and Alexander Pope
- The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
- The Jane Austen Collection
- The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe
- The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens
- War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- Household Tales by Brothers Grimm
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
- Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
- The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams
- Fire World by Chris d'Lacey
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
- Outsiders by Kevin Crossley-Holland
- Capital (can't remember the author)
- Chocolat by Joanne Harris
- Imperial Spy by Mark Robson
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman- The Taming of the Shrew
- The Time Traveller's Wife
Now I probably won't stick to that order, but I do intend to attempt the list. I'm actually currently a quarter of the way through The Catcher in The Rye (which I have just nicknamed Catcher), so when I have finished Catcher or any other book, I will put a line through the title on this list and create a link to this post from the post of the day that I finished it.
Jenny
Saturday, 5 January 2013
In Paris with You
I posted this poem on my old blog fairly recently, but I couldn't resist sharing it on this new one.
This is my English teacher's favourite poem, and it's fast becoming one of my favourites.
In Paris with You, by James Fenton.
Don't talk to me of love. I've had an earful
And I get tearful when I've downed a drink or two.
I'm one of your talking wounded.
I'm a hostage. I'm maroonded.
But I'm in Paris with you.
Yes I'm angry at the way I've been bamboozled
And resentful at the mess I've been through.
I admit I'm on the rebound
And I don't care where are we bound.
I'm in Paris with you.
Do you mind if we do not go to the Louvre
If we say sod off to sodding Notre Dame,
If we skip the Champs Elysées
And remain here in this sleazy
Old hotel room
Doing this and that
To what and whom
Learning who you are,
Learning what I am.
Don't talk to me of love. Let's talk of Paris,
The little bit of Paris in our view.
There's that crack across the ceiling
And the hotel walls are peeling
And I'm in Paris with you.
Don't talk to me of love. Let's talk of Paris.
I'm in Paris with the slightest thing you do.
I'm in Paris with your eyes, your mouth,
I'm in Paris with... all points south.
Am I embarrassing you?
I'm in Paris with you.
This is my English teacher's favourite poem, and it's fast becoming one of my favourites.
In Paris with You, by James Fenton.
Don't talk to me of love. I've had an earful
And I get tearful when I've downed a drink or two.
I'm one of your talking wounded.
I'm a hostage. I'm maroonded.
But I'm in Paris with you.
Yes I'm angry at the way I've been bamboozled
And resentful at the mess I've been through.
I admit I'm on the rebound
And I don't care where are we bound.
I'm in Paris with you.
Do you mind if we do not go to the Louvre
If we say sod off to sodding Notre Dame,
If we skip the Champs Elysées
And remain here in this sleazy
Old hotel room
Doing this and that
To what and whom
Learning who you are,
Learning what I am.
Don't talk to me of love. Let's talk of Paris,
The little bit of Paris in our view.
There's that crack across the ceiling
And the hotel walls are peeling
And I'm in Paris with you.
Don't talk to me of love. Let's talk of Paris.
I'm in Paris with the slightest thing you do.
I'm in Paris with your eyes, your mouth,
I'm in Paris with... all points south.
Am I embarrassing you?
I'm in Paris with you.
Goodnight everyone.
Jenny
Blog description
As you (hopefully) have read, my blog description is a quote by John Green: "Grateful to be a little boat, full of water, still floating"
The quote actually comes from this video:
I was going to tell you what the quote meant to me, and give some long, irrelevant back story as to why it has a place on my blog. Truth is, it just means something to me, and I carry that quote with me everyday. Watching (or reading) John Green always makes me think in a pattern which I usually do not, and as I watched that video to check it was the correct one, I decided that I am not going to tell you what the quote means to me. Words are possibly the most powerful tools in the world. When they are used in the way that John uses them in the end of the video, something spectacular is created. A combination of words each with their own separate meanings come together to form a string of words with a whole added Something, and a different meaning for everyone. I am not telling you what it means to me for one reason, and that is simply because I don't want to spoil it for you. Having read the quote, you probably have your own ideas about what it means, and if I tell you mine, one of the meanings will lose it's magic and cease to be important to one of us.
So here you are, at the end of the most pointless post I have posted so far, suddenly confused about something you probably hadn't noticed in the first place. I apologise.
Enjoy your Saturday, and I hope you are "grateful to be a little boat, full of water, still floating"
Whatever that means.
Jenny
The quote actually comes from this video:
I was going to tell you what the quote meant to me, and give some long, irrelevant back story as to why it has a place on my blog. Truth is, it just means something to me, and I carry that quote with me everyday. Watching (or reading) John Green always makes me think in a pattern which I usually do not, and as I watched that video to check it was the correct one, I decided that I am not going to tell you what the quote means to me. Words are possibly the most powerful tools in the world. When they are used in the way that John uses them in the end of the video, something spectacular is created. A combination of words each with their own separate meanings come together to form a string of words with a whole added Something, and a different meaning for everyone. I am not telling you what it means to me for one reason, and that is simply because I don't want to spoil it for you. Having read the quote, you probably have your own ideas about what it means, and if I tell you mine, one of the meanings will lose it's magic and cease to be important to one of us.
So here you are, at the end of the most pointless post I have posted so far, suddenly confused about something you probably hadn't noticed in the first place. I apologise.
Enjoy your Saturday, and I hope you are "grateful to be a little boat, full of water, still floating"
Whatever that means.
Jenny
The Imposter days
... I should probably explain.
My school went back after the holidays on the 3rd of January. A Thursday. A Thursday, which was pretending to be a Monday. So my body clock has been completely backwards for the last two days, hence me lying in bed writing this 40 minutes into Saturday.
I haven't really had a great start to the term to be honest.
Since George went home on the 1st, waking up alone means I've been starting my days in a crap mood, and then on the first day back I had an awful A2 psychology mock on Aggression, Relationships, and Eating Behaviour. The Relationships question was fine because I'd been revising the subject of it the day before, the eating behaviour one was tolerable because I'm fairly familiar with Anorexia, but the aggression one was absolutely abysmal. It was on the role of hormones/neural mechanisms, and I sat there for 10 minutes staring at the question with absolutely no information coming to mind. I also now know that a small part of what I did actually manage to write down was wrong, as I mixed up the effects of serotonin and dopamine -_- Mr B decided to start a new topic instead of letting us revise for our exam on the 17th, so that was great, and I was also once again surrounded by couples/discussions about couples and that just led to me wanting to walk away and jump on the train to see George. I had an excellent chat with Will at lunchtime though, so that cheered me up :) Hopefully having a catch up with le baby brother on Sunday as well, so that should be good.
Friday (/Tuesday) wasn't great either, but mostly because I have found I am in a bit of a pickle about uni. I have applied to UEA (AAB), Birmingham (AAB), Keele (ABB), Plymouth (BBB) and Central Lancashire (BBC) via UCAS, and I have had offers from Plymouth and Central Lancashire since I sent my application off in December. Only problem is, not a single part of me wants to go to Central Lancashire. I desperately want to swap that choice for Teesside, but I fear it is too late :/ I also found out today that due to exams I won't be able to see George for 2 and a half weeks. Yay! -_- I miss him. Plus the added joy of realising that I may be on my way to failing my A2 exams and the AS resit I have this month.
Today has ended better though, as I was chatting to George on facebook for most of the night, and we had a lovely moment about him coming to stay with me when he takes his gap year before the third year of his uni course. He also promised to keep reminding me that he wants to be with me, until I couldn't even attempt to forget it. I think I'll be holding him to that one. I have a tendency to forget those things.
Anywho. I'll pop a more interesting post up soon, I couldn't be arsed with anything more than a diary entry tonight!
See you soon
Jenny
My school went back after the holidays on the 3rd of January. A Thursday. A Thursday, which was pretending to be a Monday. So my body clock has been completely backwards for the last two days, hence me lying in bed writing this 40 minutes into Saturday.
I haven't really had a great start to the term to be honest.
Since George went home on the 1st, waking up alone means I've been starting my days in a crap mood, and then on the first day back I had an awful A2 psychology mock on Aggression, Relationships, and Eating Behaviour. The Relationships question was fine because I'd been revising the subject of it the day before, the eating behaviour one was tolerable because I'm fairly familiar with Anorexia, but the aggression one was absolutely abysmal. It was on the role of hormones/neural mechanisms, and I sat there for 10 minutes staring at the question with absolutely no information coming to mind. I also now know that a small part of what I did actually manage to write down was wrong, as I mixed up the effects of serotonin and dopamine -_- Mr B decided to start a new topic instead of letting us revise for our exam on the 17th, so that was great, and I was also once again surrounded by couples/discussions about couples and that just led to me wanting to walk away and jump on the train to see George. I had an excellent chat with Will at lunchtime though, so that cheered me up :) Hopefully having a catch up with le baby brother on Sunday as well, so that should be good.
Friday (/Tuesday) wasn't great either, but mostly because I have found I am in a bit of a pickle about uni. I have applied to UEA (AAB), Birmingham (AAB), Keele (ABB), Plymouth (BBB) and Central Lancashire (BBC) via UCAS, and I have had offers from Plymouth and Central Lancashire since I sent my application off in December. Only problem is, not a single part of me wants to go to Central Lancashire. I desperately want to swap that choice for Teesside, but I fear it is too late :/ I also found out today that due to exams I won't be able to see George for 2 and a half weeks. Yay! -_- I miss him. Plus the added joy of realising that I may be on my way to failing my A2 exams and the AS resit I have this month.
Today has ended better though, as I was chatting to George on facebook for most of the night, and we had a lovely moment about him coming to stay with me when he takes his gap year before the third year of his uni course. He also promised to keep reminding me that he wants to be with me, until I couldn't even attempt to forget it. I think I'll be holding him to that one. I have a tendency to forget those things.
Anywho. I'll pop a more interesting post up soon, I couldn't be arsed with anything more than a diary entry tonight!
See you soon
Jenny
Thursday, 3 January 2013
2 months
Happy two months today, George. Thank you for the last two months, and I hope our little adventure together continues for a long time :)
You know how fond I am of you, so please never forget it.
Love,
Your Jenn xxxx
You know how fond I am of you, so please never forget it.
Love,
Your Jenn xxxx
Beginnings
So here we are. It's 2013, and I have decided to start afresh and create a new blog so that I'm not trapped by shadows of 'before'. A lot has happened in the past, not all of it pleasant, but the past is the past, and as is said in The Perks of Being a Wallflower: "Not everyone has a sob story, and even if they do it's no excuse." I might therefore share snippets of my past with you, but I don't want to allow myself a sob story in case I begin to use it as an excuse for moments of stupidity or unfortunate mistakes.
Now, in the present, I think I can say that I am the happiest I've ever been and I have many wonderful people to thank for contributing to that, all of whom I will probably mention frequently. In fact, this New Year changeover was possibly the best I have experienced in my tiny lifetime.
I was lucky enough to begin 2013 in the arms of my George, who I am incredibly fond of, surrounded by friends that I adore. It was a lovely extended celebration, and I'm very grateful to those that made it possible. It began when George surprised me at work on my last day, just as I was talking to the manager. My 'knight in shining armour' (as my manager put it) apparently found the shock and delight on my face absolutely brilliant, and I must admit it must have been a cartoon moment as my jaw dropped open and hung there almost until I jumped on him. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing until we took the dog out for a longer walk than planned because I somehow got George talking about his past (a very rare occurrence). After the walk I cooked George dinner and we headed off to see Heather perform in a panto :D It was fantastic, and I'm glad I was able to share it with him, and to finally introduce Heather and George to each other. We sat chatting outside the theatre for a while, and finished our earlier conversation about his past. I know that George doesn't really like to open up to people, so I feel privileged in a way, and glad that he trusts me with that.
At home that night, we just collapsed onto the sofa and didn't leave it until 4am, when we skedaddled off to bed.
We woke up fairly late on the 31st so had to rush to get ready for a small party I had organised for New Years. There were minor moments of frustration with mum but George cheered me up with a little slow dance to Paloma Faith's 'Just Be'. By the time we were showered and the house was ready, it was time to munch a few snacks before everyone arrived. The party was a small one, with just Lachlan, Hannah, David, Sophie, Cleughy, George and I attending. We didn't do much except chat, wrestle, watch movies/Jools Holland, drink alcohol, and play games (Tipsy Twister and Taboo xD), but I think we all had a lot of fun. All were in bed by 6am, although Hannah and David sat in the kitchen talking instead of sleeping, and everyone but George left before 12 after a quick breakfast.
George and I just spent the rest of the day relaxing, talking, and failing to watch Ripper Street. We talked about our having to part ways to go to uni a lot, which resulted in some very cute responses from both of us. Our time together over the last few days has made me even fonder of him (didn't realise that was possible), and I feel much securer in the relationship for various reasons. As Will pointed out, this is the happiest I've been in a long time, and a lot of it is thanks to George and the other wonderful people around me.
I hope you had a lovely start to 2013.
Thanks for reading.
Jenny
Now, in the present, I think I can say that I am the happiest I've ever been and I have many wonderful people to thank for contributing to that, all of whom I will probably mention frequently. In fact, this New Year changeover was possibly the best I have experienced in my tiny lifetime.
I was lucky enough to begin 2013 in the arms of my George, who I am incredibly fond of, surrounded by friends that I adore. It was a lovely extended celebration, and I'm very grateful to those that made it possible. It began when George surprised me at work on my last day, just as I was talking to the manager. My 'knight in shining armour' (as my manager put it) apparently found the shock and delight on my face absolutely brilliant, and I must admit it must have been a cartoon moment as my jaw dropped open and hung there almost until I jumped on him. We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing until we took the dog out for a longer walk than planned because I somehow got George talking about his past (a very rare occurrence). After the walk I cooked George dinner and we headed off to see Heather perform in a panto :D It was fantastic, and I'm glad I was able to share it with him, and to finally introduce Heather and George to each other. We sat chatting outside the theatre for a while, and finished our earlier conversation about his past. I know that George doesn't really like to open up to people, so I feel privileged in a way, and glad that he trusts me with that.
At home that night, we just collapsed onto the sofa and didn't leave it until 4am, when we skedaddled off to bed.
We woke up fairly late on the 31st so had to rush to get ready for a small party I had organised for New Years. There were minor moments of frustration with mum but George cheered me up with a little slow dance to Paloma Faith's 'Just Be'. By the time we were showered and the house was ready, it was time to munch a few snacks before everyone arrived. The party was a small one, with just Lachlan, Hannah, David, Sophie, Cleughy, George and I attending. We didn't do much except chat, wrestle, watch movies/Jools Holland, drink alcohol, and play games (Tipsy Twister and Taboo xD), but I think we all had a lot of fun. All were in bed by 6am, although Hannah and David sat in the kitchen talking instead of sleeping, and everyone but George left before 12 after a quick breakfast.
George and I just spent the rest of the day relaxing, talking, and failing to watch Ripper Street. We talked about our having to part ways to go to uni a lot, which resulted in some very cute responses from both of us. Our time together over the last few days has made me even fonder of him (didn't realise that was possible), and I feel much securer in the relationship for various reasons. As Will pointed out, this is the happiest I've been in a long time, and a lot of it is thanks to George and the other wonderful people around me.
I hope you had a lovely start to 2013.
Thanks for reading.
Jenny
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