146. Heighten your reading experience

My two favourite art forms are music and literature. Both have the liberating ability of evoking emotion and transporting you to somewhere new. What’s even better I find, is combining the two.

I’m not sure how many people do this but I really enjoy having a song on repeat whilst reading. Obviously the choice of song here is important. ‘Barbie Girl’ would not be the right accompaniment to Harry Potter, say. But every so often you find a song just … clicks.

Recently I finished reading the whole Divergent series. 3 books, 3 days, standard. All the while I had this gem of a song playing in the background. It’s a cover of the 80s classic ‘Everybody wants to rule the world’ and I think it’s perfect and heartbreaking. I also think it’s appropriate for lots of stories. The Hunger Games and Monsters of Men certainly springs to mind.

Anyway hearing this song now is like a portal. It takes me straight back to the world of Divergent. I find it fascinating how our brains can associate something so strongly with music.

 

P.S It shocks me how many people don’t know how to play a YouTube video on repeat so I’ll share it here.

Say you have a YouTube video with URL:

All you need to do is replace the youtube bit with ‘listenonrepeat’ as follows:

https://www.listenonrepeat.com/watch/?v=HEskmwV1pMU

Tadaaa!

Over and Out!

 

 

143. Things I Think I’m Good At

Well hello there! My term ended last Thursday and whilst I thought it would be an emotional day having my last lecture, it turns out I was just pretty darned relieved that I didn’t have any further content to revise.

Which brings me onto REVISION. I’ve only just begun and I’m already sick of it. Too much bloody content. Anyway during this rather horrible period I always feel a bit shit so I thought I’d remind myself and share with you guys that I’m not actually (completely) incompetent.

Without further ado, here is a list of things I *think* I’m good at:

1. Candy Crush– I am GOOD at this game. I can spot a speckled candy or a packet faster than you can spot your mum. OHHHHHHHH.
2. Formatting on Microsoft Word– I’ll have you know that this is an art form. Tables, borders, shaded cells. You name it, I can do it. I even got commended during my internship for sorting out some dodgy line spacing. Don’t mess.
3. Remembering song lyrics– I often recite entire songs in my head when I can’t sleep. My favourites are ‘She will be loved’ by Maroon 5 and ‘Just Lose It’ by Eminem when I’m feeling adventurous.
4. Flipping omelettes– I don’t do anything extravagant like chuck it in the air but I have perfected balancing it on the spatula and turning it over before it breaks. It’s all in the wrist action.
5. Clicking my joints in weird and wonderful ways– Disgusted? I hope so. *clicks neck*
6. Identifying sequences– There’s a reason I study Mathematics. I was once good at it.
7. Acting like I’m listening when I’m not– You need to strike the balance between smiling and nodding and mhmm-ing at the right time.
8. Enjoying my own company– I think more people need to get better at this. I am perfectly happy entertaining myself (titter). No but seriously I don’t feel alone even if I’m by myself.
9. Reading quickly– I don’t know how many words per minute but I’m fast. I can read heavyweight books in a day.
10. Finding good gifts– If Maths doesn’t work out, I think I could set up a successful tailored gift service. I like giving people kooky but practical things.
11. Using keyboard shortcuts– It physically pains me to see people using their mouse to do things a keyboard could do in half the time.
12. Not wasting money– I don’t get a high from retail therapy but I do when I see my bank statement.
13. Being on time– not late, not early, on time. I think people who arrive early are nearly as annoying as people who arrive late.
14. Adjusting to the situation– I can be sharp and serious when it matters, quiet when I need to be, loud when I want to be, and social if I have to.

Wowwww this list really isn’t very impressive.

Over and Out!

126. So did I actually do anything on my To-Do List?

So I made a list of things I wanted to do over Summer and I thought it might be a good idea to check if I actually did any of them. I know it’s October but better late than never. Here goes:

• Buy clothes for my internship (so that I look good while I succeed! )
  I had a very successful shopping trip with my dad. I managed to buy five shirts/blouses for under £60 so I was well chuffed! Shame I didn’t give two hoots about what I was wearing about a week into the internship.
• Visit all my friends who I haven’t seen in a while
  I visited a few close friends but nowhere near everyone I hoped to see. GUILTY!
  

  Me and JK

• Buy clothes for my cousin’s wedding
  Ah ha ha the last minute panic that was my Paris trip. I really liked the green asian style maxi dress I bought- made me feel a million dollars!
• Be nice to my cousin who doesn’t like me when she comes to visit
  This went surprisingly well actually. I think we both made a conscious effort to be warmer towards each other even though we don’t see eye to eye. I’m pleased we parted on good terms.
• Think seriously about fourth year modules and start collecting past papers/ problem sheet solutions
  I dedicated quite a lot of time thinking about my final year and how I needed to boost my marks. I find it amusing that the modules I decided to do this term are exactly what I originally planned to do before all the scrutiny and over analysis of past papers. Sometimes it really is best not to overthink. I’m very happy with my choices.
• Bake lasagna for my parents again
  Shockingly I got around to doing this. It was a real pain getting my parents out the kitchen but I succeeded in baking something edible. It was good but there is definitely room for improvement (more white sauce!)
  

  Om nom nom

• Start writing down Mum’s recipes (step one of wife training)
  This didn’t happen… I’m clearly putting off wife training. I should just start apologising to my husband now. If he exists.
• Organise a holiday somewhere in Europe for September
  I must have spent hours looking at potential destinations but did I go anywhere? NOPE. In part, I blame my parents because they were so reluctant. My mum’s preference is always to go to Pakistan to see family but that means never getting a chance to actually explore the country. My dad’s preference is to minimise spending and if he had it his way we’d be in a tiny self catering hostel and seeing lots of places but not actually ‘doing’ anything. Either way, not the holiday I was looking for.
• Start reading A Game of Thrones
  Alas this didn’t happen either. HOWEVER I did manage to read quite a few books during my jury service because there was so much waiting around. I just love reading sessions- I really miss it during term time. Technically speaking I could read a few pages everyday but I find that very unsatisfying. I prefer to totally immerse myself into a new world not just dip in and out of it.
  
• Spend a day baking
  I had a lovely day baking fairy cakes with my beautiful cousin Mele. They came out so soft and fluffy! I also whipped the cream by hand which required some serious elbow grease but it came out well. We decorated the cakes with flakes and sprinkles and gosh they were scrummy!
  

  Who doesn’t love a bit of rainbow sprinkles?!

• Go to Thorpe Park
  Hmmm I went to Alton Towers instead which was a real trek so I think it should count. NEXTTT
• Watch: Hangover 3, The King’s Speech, Season 7 and 8 of House, the last series of Doctor Who…and all the other stuff saved on our Sky Box
  This was my proudest achievement. I watched it all! I’ve officially seen every episode of House. Totally cried when it ended.
• Sort out all the papers and folders scattered across my room
  I dedicated an entire day sifting through the crap in my room. I don’t know how I amass so much paper. By the end I had a pile up to my knees that went straight into recycling. Now there’s more room for me to collect new crap. Huzzah!
• Back up my files and wipe my laptop(asaurus) because it’s so damn slow!
  I actually wiped my laptop TWICE but I still haven’t bothered to copy my files over. Turns out all I really need is the internet!
• Do some reading for my fourth year project- maybe even form an outline of how I want to structure it
  I was quite annoyed that I couldn’t do much for my project over the Summer but I wasn’t the only one so I don’t feel so bad. I have a truckload to do for it now though. Le sigh.
• Finish furnishing my Neohome
  Neopets took a back seat this Summer. Am I growing up? NOOOOOOOO. (I still play the stock market. I will never give it up.)
• Finish decorating the Disney Princesses wall in my room (I’m a grown up, honest)
  I did the colouring….but I still need to cut them out and stick them on my wall. It was surprisingly therapeutic just sitting there deciding which shade of pink was right for Aurora’s dress. #lifedecisions
  

  See how well I kept in the lines. Such a pro.

• Lose a few pounds or worse comes to worst, don’t put ON any more weight!
  I didn’t lose weight. On the plus side, I didn’t really gain anything either. In my books, that’s a win!
• KEEP BLOGGING!
  I think I did just enough though I got super busy during my internship…

Overall I think I did quite well. Did most of the important things on the list!

Over and Out!

98. What kind of reader are you?

The Devourer

This person doesn’t read books, they devour them! Hunger Games trilogy- yeah read it in 3 days. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix- read it one day. They are hellbent on finishing their book as soon as possible…
Goes to the bathroom, takes book with them. Sitting at the dinner table, takes book with them. Meeting friends? Not anymore! Cancels and reads book instead.
For that day, they are completely and utterly immersed into another world.

My Harry Potter Experience

The Slow Coach

This person is still reading the same book 6 months on, reading approximately 5 pages a day and justifying it with ‘oh the plot is super complex and there are lots of characters’. Seriously I could hand write the book in that time…

The Organised One

This reader sets a guideline ie. they decide to read between 30-50 pages each days and actually stick to it! They pace themselves and take time to savour the details.

The Commuter

They guys are always reading on the bus/train making sure all the other passengers can see how well they are using their time and looking down upon the peasants reading the Metro. That is of course unless they’re reading 50 Shades of Grey in which case they’ll replace the book cover or hide behind their Kindle. You need not have bothered- your dilated eyes and panting give you away…

The Literature Hipster

Not content with what the ‘average’ folk read, they insist on reading things like the Iliad or something in Latin. More importantly they must inform everyone what they’re reading and occasionally quote it to really dig it in. You think you’re well read- I get it. Now shut up and let me read Twilight in peace.

The ‘oh whoops spoiled it’

This happens for books that are part of a series. This person reads the first one, is desperate to know what happens next, wiki’s it (or watches the TV series) and then decides that they don’t need to read the rest of the books because they now know how it ends. Well done.

The Later Later

Gets the book, leaves on desk for 3 months, renews it 10 times and eventually returns the book having never opened it.

The Pretender

Reading the spark notes version does not count as having read the book no matter how well you know the ‘themes’ and ‘symbolism’. Cheater!

Guilty!

Illiterate

What’s a book? These idiots can’t read nothing unless it’s in chat-speak or all gangster like. Yeh sik blad. Safe safe.
Let me know when you get a job.

Over and Out!

93. Summer To-Do List

Things I need/want to do this Summer:

• Buy clothes for my internship (so that I look good while I suceed! )
• Visit all my friends who I haven’t seen in a while
• Buy clothes for my cousin’s wedding
• Be nice to my cousin who doesn’t like me when she comes to visit
• Think seriously about fourth year modules and start collecting past papers/ problem sheet solutions
• Bake lasagne for my parents again
• Start writing down Mum’s recipes (step one of wife training)
• Organise a holiday somewhere in Europe for September
• Start reading A Game of Thrones
• Spend a day baking
• Go to Thorpe Park
• Watch: Hangover 3, The King’s Speech, Season 7 and 8 of House, the last series of Doctor Who…and all the other stuff saved on our Sky Box
• Sort out all the papers and folders scattered across my room
• Back up my files and wipe my laptop(asaurus) because it’s so damn slow!
• Do some reading for my fourth year project- maybe even form an outline of how I want to structure it
• Finish furnishing my Neohome
• Finish decorating the Disney Princesses wall in my room (I’m a grown up, honest)
• Lose a few pounds or worse comes to worst, don’t put ON any more weight!
• KEEP BLOGGING!

Hmmm I tried to be realistic. Let’s see how much of this stuff I actually do!

Over and Out!

88. You know you wear glasses when…

• You spend half your life looking for them…even when they’re on your face.
• You have a mark on your nose from your glasses, and probably behind your ears too.
• You look like a complete idiot wearing your 3D glasses on top of your normal glasses in the cinema.
• The same goes for safety goggles at school.
• When you’re walking in the rain, you’re pretty much walking blind.
• You get your glasses caught in your clothes when you put them on.
• You forget you’re wearing them sometimes in the shower.
• In every picture of you, there’s reflection off your glasses.
• Your glasses are just as much a fashion statement as your clothes.
• You look down upon all these non-blind hipsters wearing frames.
• Your glasses completely fog up when you go from somewhere cold to somewhere hot. (This is a real issue in Winter when you use public transport.)
• You lost your glasses cleaning cloth a LOOONG time ago and now just use your clothes.
• You clean your glasses and suddenly the world looks miraculously clearer and brighter.
• You wear your glasses so much that people don’t actually recognise you without them.
• Prescription sunglasses are too bloody expensive so you just don’t wear them (or if you do, you buy normal ones and walk around blind).
• You constantly worry that your glasses will fly off when you’re on a ride at a theme park.
• When buying new glasses you spent about three hours trying to find the perfect pair…to you know…match your face shape.
• You’ve taken several stupid pictures at the photo booth in Specsavers.
• Somebody comes up to you and says ‘Oculus Reparo’. Common occurrence of course.