Om nom nom

I've had a bit of a change of heart with this blog.

A friend once said to me that with a blog, you really need something interesting to say...or you've got to be really funny.
Now don't get me wrong- I spent most of my time giggling when I shouldn't...but you really have to have been there most of the time. I can't really translate it into blog-worthy material.
HOWEVER!

Whilst icing buns at the cake factory where I work the other day, spending less than a second on each one, cause you're not allowed to spend more time than that, I suddenly had the urge to make food that I could spend time on.

That I could make look decent.

That I would know was made with a little more care and attention.

So I'm starting a food blog. It may be recipes that I've tried. It might be interesting food tidbits.
It might just be me drooling over a cake that I saw once. Either way, I hope you, the reader, find it interesting and perhaps a little bit useful.

reLENTless

It's weird to think that we've been back at uni now for a good few weeks. It's easy to get so swept up straight away in work and life and things that suddenly you think "wow...I'm properly in term time now!" This past couple of weeks has been insanely busy- what with exams and 5 essays and a piece of coursework to start, as well as fitting in some sort of social life.

And throughout it all, I've been on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster- excitement at being back, a wee bit of homesickness, frustration at essays, general rattiness and relief at getting it all done on time. But one of the things that has stuck out for me is the sheer wonderfullness of my friends. Instead of saying "Oh shush, it's not that bad!" (which would have been completely reasonable...!), people have been there for me, lending an ear, giving advice, making me cups of tea, letting me cry on their shoulder (literally cried on Jess' shoulder at one point, poor girl!). I think last term I had all the usual worries about fitting in and making friends and there were points where I felt a little insecure. But people have blown me away with how supportive and lovely they are. :) There have been many times this term when I've laughed so much it hurts, which I think is an awesome way to spend your time. Obviously, life's not all a bunch of giggles, but occasionally, laughing in an embarrasing, undignified, painful way once in a while is good for the soul. Now I've finished a massive load of work, it seems everyone else has it piled on- all I can hope is that I can be there for people like they've been there for me.

In other news, I got a note today from Wendy: Housekeeping Supervisor, politely notifying me that my large kettle is not allowed in my room. Aww shucks. I knew this day would come.

Oh Dear...

So I've found a new pastime which not only makes me a bit of a loser but also kind of defeats the point of me blocking Facebook, 4oD and BBC iPlayer, which I did last week.

It's a little hobby called "watch loads of trailers on youtube, because with most films, that's all you need to see". It's like a concentrated version of watching movies all day, but it doesn't take all day cause trailers are only a couple of minutes long! Nevertheless, it does still snatch away good packing time, which is what I really should be doing right now...

But since I am a poor student, I can't afford to go to the cinema much anymore, SO this is a nice way of catching up on what's happening in the movie world without paying £7.00 for the privilege.

But now back to putting my life back into boxes- it would be really useful if I didn't have to move my stuff back and forward each term, but making my life easy is not how Cambridge rolls. Sweet. Awesome. Anyway, laterrrrs.

Music to Revise By

I've become addicted to making playlists on Spotify. Thing is, I change the kind of music I listen to depending on my mood, which I know a lot of other people do, which is the beauty of music and the beauty of playlists.
So currently I have the following playlists:

• Mellow - containing much music by Laura Marling, Sigur Ros, Mumford and Sons and songs from the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack as well as loads of lovely one-off songs that calm me down. It's perfect for revising to, because it doesn't make me want to dance around and it gets me nice and focussed without feeling sleepy. YEY! (I know I should be revising right now, but it's fine, this is just a short break, 'kay?)
• Party Party- You know when you're about to go out but you're SO TIRED and you CAN'T BE BOTHERED? This playlist is a pic N mix of pumpin' beatz, awesome choonz and sick riddims. It's all the songs I'm ashamed to enjoy, but I do, and they wake me up enough to hit the wild wild clubs of Cambridge.
  
• Christmas. I like to listen to this playlist at Easter, of course.
• Smile - these are the songs that can always make me grin or make me EVEN HAPPIER if I'm in a good mood. Includes wonders such as Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison, Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes, You've got the Love by Flo + The Machine and Mother, We Just Can't Get Enough by New Radicals.
• Imaginary Beach Playlist - As previously mentioned, the songs that will be playing during my amazing beach party, that you're all invited to. It's not real yet, which is a minor issue, but one that I'm sure to smooth out when I win the lottery and buy Richard Branson's Island (y'know, the one with the outdoor toilet) from him.
  

Anyway, you may think it'a not quite an addiction yet, which is probably very true. But I keep adding songs to these playlists and it's only a matter of time until the playlist count grows exponentially.

Anyhoo, I thought I'd share with you a fun game to play on spotify. If you're connected to friends, you can send them songs via Spotify which I think was intended as a way of showing your friends this awesome new song!!!!! you've discovered that you think they'd really like!!!!

Anyway, the game I like to play is called "select a 90s boyband, perhaps boyzone, and bombard a friend with all the songs you can find on spotify by that band, with messages that state how meaningful Baby Can I Hold You is to your friendship." I'm working on the title of the game, but it's pretty self explanatory from there. Enjoy!

Cards from Abroad

Today I received a big brown envelope in the post and I knew what was inside. My good friend Conor who most of you may know as one of my buddies from China, had promised me a Christmas card and I was very excited about what it would be like; after all, Conor is fantastic at art and is very creative!

When I pulled out the piece of BSB red A2 card, I was greeted not by images of Father Christmas, but by another familiar character:

Nothing says Merry Chritmas like Darth Vader eh? (By the way, Concon did apologise for the spelling error).

But my favourite part of the card isn't the art work, it's what's inside: messages from the year 6 kids at the British School of Beijing. Conor is their TA this year, I was their TA last year.


I miss those kids so much sometimes. The other night I had a dream where I was back there and Katherine gave me a hug and it was adorable! So this made my day and also distracted me for a long time from the beauty that is revising the genetics of evolution...FUN!


Well, the weather outside is frightful, all rainy and gloomy and cold. Definitely indoor weather which I suppose makes revision slightly more bearable since I can't be frolicking outside, but it is quite depressing. And it's odd to think that I missed this weather when I was away! But nevertheless, I have been driven to creating an Imaginary Beach Party playlist on Spotify, which carries me off to some tropical island paradise where a party is in full swing and I can dance the night away. I never used to really go for tropical island dream- biiiiig open beaches depress me sometimes...they seem so empty and far too big. I remember being on a beach in Cyprus when I was younger and it was miiiiiilles away from anything. The land was so flat for miles around and so this beach felt really desolate and lonely. I'd just like to state for the record that my awesome beach party wouldn't feel lonely or desolate at all, but amazing and friendly and EVERYONE would be having fun. And you're invited.

Anyway, must get back to revision. No really, I must. I'm sorry but I really can't stay! Please let me leave! Aw cheers.