Hello World: Are you listening carefully?

Hello.

I was going to say, “Hello again”, but the number of times I have written those words in conjunction is so numerous now, that I feel like the phrase has lost all meaning. I keep on saying I will come back and write more regularly, but that hasn’t been very true since, well, probably since the tail end of last year. And, although a lot of the reason for why this is is because I have been wrapped up in what life’s offered me up recently, I have also had next to no idea of what I really want to write about. All I know is that I feel like writing right now, hence the reason why I’ve popped up on your news-feed again.

It’s been just over two years since I started this blog. It’s amazing to think that it’s been going this long. Over the last couple of years, this blog has provided a couple of different things for me. It’s enabled me to tell stories about adventures which I think are interesting and hopefully humorous, allowing me to bring my sense of humour into words, as I tend to focus on the dark aspects of life in some of the other types of writing I do. For example, if you have ever had the chance to read some of the poems which I’ve done, I am sorry for giving you such a traumatic time! This blog is my lighter side. My hopefully more relaxed side.

This blog has also helped me learn certain skills of writing, such as writing music articles and book reviews, both of which have helped me in acquiring some voluntary position with various different groups of people, which I have sorely neglected and lost touch with, as I don’t think doing this type of writing the whole time is quite for me. It doesn’t really fuel my drive for writing, as I felt frequently like I was just writing in a formula, like those old painting by number things that I always used to do. I like being creative with what I write, and I couldn’t always find a way of doing this when analyzing albums and single songs, or books which are just… books, to me, pieces of paper which have not changed the way I look upon the world in any meaningful way whatsoever. Maybe I’ll come back to writing in this way in the future, when I’ve found a better approach to writing these types of articles, but until then, I think I’ll leave them to someone else more motivated and more knowledgable about how to describe and analyze music and literature in a more sophisticated way than I am able to do at present.

This blog has also led me to trying to spread on my meagre amounts of knowledge about the world, which has made me feel very smart and intelligent (haha, not really, I’m still as ignorant about so many things as I ever was). I’ve spread on help about A-Level English, and useful links which I think are of particular interest, which have hopefully sparked some inspiration in the minds of someone along the way.

And, this blog has made me write. People now know that I write. My writing’s not just for myself anymore, it is for all of you people who have come across this blog so far. Essentially, that’s all I wanted from this blog, for people to know that I write, and to serve as a basis for a potential career in the future. Hopefully someone will see some worth in these words and will offer me the opportunity for a mega book deal in the future, but for that to happen, I actually need to write something!

And hopefully I will write something of worth one day, get it published, and make my writing some form of success. I’m not exactly sure what next steps I should take really, but I do know that continuing with this blog is one of the few things which I can hold onto at the moment, so I will continue writing on here until I find my next steps. So yeah, expect to hear a bit more from me, or not, as I am as changeable as English weather at the moment. Blame my degree work… or my sudden need to cook and consume food.

Student Story #2 Music Music and More Music

Hi. Again. I was expecting to make a post much sooner than this, but unfortunately certain circumstances got in the way.
The first issue is that I have been pretty much dead tired over the last week and, looking back on the preceding week, there were definitely warning signs that my health was going to take a hit eventually. This probably wasn’t helped by the fact that the last week has been relatively busy anyway, what with Geography Moots to do (basically a presentation but it was as supposed to be a fake law case, we performed in that style, with the black robes and everything) and English essays to write (all about pain, and with bringing in Sylvia Plath’s poetry there’s certainly a lot to talk about, as there is for J.M. Coetzee’s ‘Disgrace’).

But hey, now I’m getting steadily de-tired and de-stressed as my assignments and obligations are coming to an end (my last deadline is on Monday, and after that I only have an interview left on the Wednesday for a Student Ambassador role = potential income) and then I’ll be able to go home and enjoy having baths and being cooked proper meals for at last!

Before I return to the world of essay writing, sleep and recuperation, I thought I’d just fill you in about the couple of really enjoyable things I’ve been up to amongst the stress and tiredness of being a busy student.

On Monday night, it was the night of the first Jazz Harbour gig of the year, as well as being the Eco Soc and Wild Doc Soc Christmas social, although that was of course less important. It was the first time our new line-up had performed all together in front of a real audience before, and it was brilliant to see how well our new members took to the stage, especially our singers who were all new this year. They really made the show.

Our first set had a couple of chaotic moments, what with our last song, and one of our few Christmas songs, ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’, going a bit hairy towards the end, as the version we had was a bit dodgy, as we barely got any notes to play, which left the singers a bit lost in where we had got to in the song. But luckily it didn’t end too badly, as it was a relatively easy song just to round off in a nice and simple way, minimizing the potential chaos as much as possible.

Our second set was really brilliant, as we included our top song of ‘Hit the Road Jack’, a largely improvised piece, which got everyone dancing and up on their feet. It may have helped that it was later on in the night and they’d all probably had a few more drinks than the people who witnessed our earlier set.

Yet, the best part of this gig at Gylly Beach Cafe was the location. Just on the beach. I’ve always envied all of the bands, such as the bands at the Geog Soc Christmas party last year, who got to perform here, so a life’s ambition has now been gained as of last Monday. And, little did I know beforehand, that I would get the opportunity to have an informal jam literally on the beach with one of the trumpeters and the clarinet players, and later accompanied by a guitarist lacking his guitar. It was amazing working out tunes together with the waves in the background, the sky dead black with the only light coming from the jovially lit cafe and from the moon above. It was an amazing experience, and was only amplified where we all had a go on each other’s musical instruments. My first time on a trumpet, and, although it was an absolutely awful attempt, I’m just pleased I managed to get a sound out of it. I now have a great appreciation for how well our trumpeter plays. This informal jam was only called to a halt by the incoming waves threatening to wash away our instrument cases, which got us moving back to the cafe and, eventually, back to our respective homes for our busy days ahead of us.

And, just because it is music related and it is a quick insight into my present time period, (a Saturday evening) one of my flatmates is having a very cool sounding jamming session downstairs with a couple of others, and I’ve really enjoyed hearing some songs I actually recognize e.g. ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’ by The Darkness, which may or may not have resulted in me and one of my other flatmates attempting to warble along the lyrics at the top of our voices… Hmmm. Anyway, I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your Saturday, and I’ll keep you updated about some more of my movements in the future. And here is a certain song just to finish the post off with. Enjoy.

Student Life Story #1

So, I don’t know if you remember, but a fair while ago now, I made a post about trying to get some solid stories of my student experience up on here, rather than the odd and random summing up posts I make every few months or so. I want to try to get more people involved in this idea, just to get an idea of the diverse and unique things that students get up to, and giving the definition of a student more than what you just read about in University brochures or prospectuses. So here is my first short story about what I’ve been mainly thinking and dwelling on today, and what is coming up for me over the next week. (If you are bored by this post already, I warn you to back away now, quickly and in a succinct fashion – it only gets worse from here, 🙂 ).

So. Today is Monday, the start of the week, after a pretty enjoyable weekend, having finally watched ‘The Imitation Game’ with my flat plus another (woo, first house trip, write that down in the history books guys!). I really loved the film, and Benedict Cumberbatch played a hilarious Alan Turing, as well as a devastatingly sad one. On a happier note, I spent my Sunday with the sea swimmers at Gylly Beach for a final social of the year which involved bringing along inflatable friends… The social was wittily called ‘Inflatable Datables’. It was brill, and, this time last year, I wouldn’t have imagined I’d willingly have gotten into a Cornish sea at the very tail end of November, but at least it felt warmer than last Sunday, although my arms and legs did have an odd burning sensation for my duration in the sea.

If my weekend hasn’t seemed brilliant already, whilst we were sea swimming, there was a huge congregation of people down the other end of the beach, with three members of this group standing in the shallows of the sea, fully clothed, and dunking the person standing in the middle into the sea. Me and two other swimmers swam over to them to investigate, and as we approached, all I could hear was the proclamation ‘May the Holy Spirit be with you’, as the guy in the middle was then immersed fully in the depths of the sea. My first witnessing of a baptism in the sea, which was then verified by one of my swimming friends running over to this congregation (he knew some of the people within it, so it wasn’t as impulsive an action as I first thought) and asked if he could have a go at it too. Unfortunately, it would have counted as an official baptism, which sent him off back into the sea to join us. Oh Cornwall, just when I thought you could no longer unexpectedly surprise me, you throw this event across my path.

Anyway, after this strange and exciting development, the afternoon took on a more regular tone, with a journey on to the local fish and chip shop, where the first crackers of the year were brought out and cracked, much to my delight. The beginning of many cracker cracking I hope.

I have more stories to tell about my adventures today, but I’ve typed more than I expected about what I got up to over my weekend, so I’ll save today’s news for another day. I hope you were relatively amused, and hope to see you soon.

My Student Life

So, I’ve been throwing this idea around my head for a while, and I have still not decided exactly how I want to do this, so I thought I would just plunge in.

I am going to spend a bit of time on this blog now talking about some of the things I get up to at University. I’m unsure how regularly I’ll do this at the moment, as I don’t want to bore you with stunningly boring details, but I thought it would be a neat idea to give prospective students who may read this blog a picture of what it’s like to be a University student, away from the glossy pictures you get in the prospectuses. And that’s not to say I’m trying to deter anyone from becoming a student; quite the opposite, as I cannot imagine what my life would have been like if I hadn’t decided to become a student. I just wanted to give a real depiction of what its like from my perspective, as well as just telling you all about the things I’ve been getting up to, which may or may not interest you whatsoever. And, hopefully I’ll get a couple more students posting their experiences every now and again (anyone who is interested in posting on here about their student life so far is also welcome!).

Anyway, keep checking this page, and you will eventually see some details of my University life on this blogosphere of mine. Lets go party now! At quarter to nine in the morning…

Song of the Day #37 – Eye of the Tiger by Survivor

Why this song today? Well, last night was the night of the pub crawl for practically every society (Geog Soc, Post-Apoc Soc, Eco Soc, Hist Soc, Feccles, I could go on), so, for anyone with a lecture today, I think this song is necessary. Enjoy.

New House Now

I have a house. My own house… Well, a house I rent… Same Thing Really.

I moved in on Saturday, had my first sensation of feeling locked out, as I’d arrived earlier than I had previously intended, unknown to my flatmate who possessed the keys. After checking all of the doors – you can gain access to the garden without going through the house, and possibly not something I should be broadcasting, just in case some strange people decide it’s a good idea to just sleep in my garden, but then again, this is Falmouth, not London, so who really acts like that? – to no success whatsoever, I just dumped all of my stuff under the decking – yes, I have decking now, I’ve hit the big time – I ran away… to the shop down the road to get all the essentials in life… So just tea bags and milk (shout out to tea buddies, aka Clob + Flo)…

When I eventually came back, I discovered that my flatmate had arrived, and was talking to one of new neighbours. I was then allowed into the fortress, and could finally unpack all of the rubbish which I could carry on my train journey from Paddington that day. I have the smallest room, with an… interesting, brown-coloured carpet, and an advantageous view above the front door, so I can spy on all the people who think they can gain access to this new world of mine… Beware.

So, I’ve been here just over a full day now, and I have many more stories which I still have yet to tell, but they can be saved for another time. Have fun doing whatever you’re doing. If you’re on holiday, good for you, you’re now one of us… Whoever “us” are (the most grammatically suspect sentence I’ve written in a while). And, if you’re still in school, well, good luck… Try not to become too insane…

This Room

This Room. It’s the title of a poem by Imitiaz Dharker, one of the poems which I covered at GCSE, which seems like a very long time ago now…

It’s quite a complex poem, and I’m not going to go into a deep analysis of it here, as that’s not the point of this post (as you may be glad to hear), but it links to what I want to talk about: the things which the space of a single room can represent.

The room I’m going to be talking about is my University Room, which I’m going to have to move out of steadily over the next couple of weeks, pushing all of my belongings to other houses and rooms from Devon to London. 

Many posters have already come down, like my Temperance Movement one all the way back from that gig I went to at the 100 club last May. The little arty picture from a hill, looking at the nightsky, which used to be the front of a birthday card (not my own), which I took with me to remind me of home. The University Fliers of clubs which I may or may not have been involved with much over the whole year, like Expedition Society and the Quidditch Club. The flier of that American Football Night up at the Stannary, which I may have kidnapped from one of my friends flats. A voucher from Surf Sessions to spend on whatever I want to buy, a kind gift from the difficult time of trying to find a decent swimming costume, which I then had to return to this shop (they didn’t do proper refunds unfortunately). The number of a driving school down in Plymouth, reminding me of what I need to get myself to do over the summer (I have to gain control over the road!). And many other things besides that used to be on my noticeboard, and some little things still are.

My clothes are all packed up, as are my books.. Argh choosing which books to bring with me next year was simply agony; I just have far too many to fit into my small little room for next year. Grr. I’ve managed to cut it down to about fifteen books or so. It feels like I’m just culling my collection. Man, I’m going to just be in the library the whole time next year, firstly to work on whatever University work is being given to me, and secondly to just read everything under the sun.

Still got a few things to pack away, mainly things which can only be packed away the night before…

I’ve only had this room for a year, but I’ve managed to make it fully represent a year of me. Which everyone else has done. And I find that amazing, that a single room can represent so much about a person, and that, when I move out of here, I will have some small additions to my collection of items which identify me as me, all ready for my new room, and my new adventures.

Goodbye Room, although I know it isn’t really. All the stuff that made you you is still here and will be with me next year. Apart from the ensuite bathroom. Jeez, I’m going to MISS that bathroom!

University Blog Link – Penryn Lights Switch On

Not my pictures, but hey, oh well. 

http://fxublog.wordpress.com/2013/12/09/student-life-penryn-lights-2013/

Peace of Mind – Boston

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGRrOEbY3pI&feature=slpl

I just found this song on Youtube the other day, although it is apparently quite a famous song of Boston’s. It relates quite a bit to my current situation what with making decisions about universities and generally deciding on how my future will turn out in the next few years. I’m sure a few other people at this sort of stage in education could probably relate to these lyrics too. Also, I fell in love with the intro of the song from the first time I heard it; the first bit of guitar playing is pretty fast in between the slightly longer held notes, which instantly piqued my interest in the rest of the song. Luckily this intro drew me in so much, otherwise I would not have understood its remarkable relevance to my life at the moment.