100 things that encapsulated my 2016

I haven’t posted in months and months but I still wanted some way to remember this year so here goes:

1. 67
2. 1Million Dance Studios – Mina Young, Sori Na, Lia Kim, May Jay Lee
3. A dose of cyanicism and realism
4. Accounting… pensions accounting
5. Andy Murray’s success
6. Anna and the French Kiss: “I wish for the thing that is best for me.”
7. Bailey Sok – the girl with more swag in her finger nail than I have in my entire body
8. BATMAN Wifi
9. Beyonce’s Lemonade – and absolutely shutting down the VMA’s with her world class performance
10. Black Scholes formula
11. Brexit
12. British success at the Olympics
13. Busting my knee at the traffic lights and nearly getting run over
14. Candy Crush
15. Dodgy Wrist
16. Drarry – still my OTP
17. Dubsmash
18. Dyeing my hair and actually pulling it off
19. Elementary… and liking it more than Sherlock ssshhh
20. Eleanor and Park: “…and his eyes were so green they could turn carbon dioxide into oxygen.”
21. Escape the room
22. Facebook
23. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: the awe of watching this at the IMAX
24. Fear of being alone
25. Fear of marriage
26. Fear of settling
27. Feedback and feedback on feedback
28. Feeling sexy in gold heels
29. Forgetting dates, like all the time.
30. Getting fat, so fat that I can’t fit into some of my old clothes
31. Goodreads and their reccomended reading lists
32. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
33. Incidents on the Holborn escaltors
34. Inheritance issues and family squabbling
35. James’ and Quidditch
36. Jersey Boys, The Four Seasons – watching it in Theatre
37. JK’s boy drama
38. Ju Ju on the beat
39. LadyLuthien and Lilly
40. Leicester City winning the Premier League
41. ‘Lovely’ by Sarah Jessica Parker – my perfume of choice
42. Magic Mike… in particular that one interview on Ellen…
43. Malec – yes I’m talking about Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood
44. Marium’s birthday party… the best party I’ve ever been to ever
45. Masters of Sex, the TV show, don’t get your panties in a twist
46. Memes, so many memes
47. Micrsoft Outlook – my lifeline
48. My CA1 squad
49. My favourite smart trousers from Next
50. My Iphone 5C
51. My Iphone headphones, all hail
52. My new fan heater
53. My WTW Squad
54. New watch for my tiny wrist
55. Old Flame
56. Our Sky Q Box
57. Plans that keep falling through
58. Reigate Manor Hotel
59. Rick Stein, my favourite cooking programme presenter
60. Rihanna ANTI – my favourite album of the year
61. Rihanna’s work work work work they say me haffi work work work work work
62. Sean Lew – born to dance
63. Seeing Beyonce live at Wembley – definitely one of the best experiences of my life
64. Semi serious marriage proposals
65. Shakira’s engagement
66. Shambles 1, 2 and 3
67. Shopping at Oasis – my new favourite shop
68. SimCity Buildit
69. Sleeping at 2am for no reason and regretting it terribly the next morning
70. Speed Dating
71. SUMIF
72. Team KC
73. That never-ending Flu
74. That stupid day when I got stuck and Greenford and it took me 3 hours to get home and my phone died
75. The 140 bus
76. The Apprentice – well done Alana
77. The Bake- Off, both the show and the annoying move to Channel 4
78. The Central Line
79. The continuation of Sumaliya
80. The Daily Mail
81. The Diana Memorial
82. The end of Sumalium
83. The Exam- Takers
84. The Garage roof contruction
85. The horror of becoming 24
86. The jubilation of passing CA1
87. The Khandashians
88. The Nae Nae
89. The Pink Zone
90. The return of Gilmore Girls
91. The SIAS Ball
92. The soap opera that was the US election
93. Twerking
94. Vitamin tablets, iron tablets and an inhaler
95. VLOOKUP
96. Weatherspoons
97. Winning over AW – took a lot of patience and time but so worth it
98. Wooly hat and socks
99. WTW Purple
100. YouTube Playlists… in particular the WTW Playlist

 

Just Aliya Things 2

So I like to listen to music at work; more specifically I have no filter with regards to what songs I listen to. In fact the more inappropriate the better. I dunno, I just seem to get a kick out it. It may look like I’m building a spreadsheet on the outside but actually I’m having a  private party in my head screaming SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS.  

This occasionally has adverse consequences. For example a few days ago someone approached me at my desk and I hastily took off my headphones but didn’t have time to mute. Unfortunately that was the exact moment Nicki Minaj ‘Only’ started to play. If you’re not familiar with the opening lines, let me enlighten you *ahem*

Yo

I never f*cked Wayne

I never f*cked Drake

All my life man – f*cks sake

If I did I’d ménage with them 

And let them eat my a** like a cupcake

These are some inspired lyrics but probably not something I’d want my colleague to hear. I’m privately optimistic that he’s deaf. 

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!

 

 

138. Because I’m Happyyy

Yes it’s been too long…. but I was working my butt off on my beast of a Statistical Pattern Recognition coursework. I handed it in on Friday and pretty much hibernated during the weekend because I was so exhausted from staring at a screen. Saying I handed it in doesn’t quite convey that actual stress of that day; it would be more accurate to say that I was filling in my name and college details in the lift on the way to the 6th floor where I was supposed to hand it in merely 10 minutes before the deadline. Then because I’m a plum I managed to submit it in the wrong slot and embarrassingly had to beg the lady in the office to retrieve it for me. I think she took pity on me.

The whole point of taking this immense coding course was to alleviate stress later because it would mean taking one fewer exam in the Summer. Maybe it’ll feel the benefits later but on Friday I’m quite sure I had high blood pressure coupled with a thumping headache and lack of sleep. Not the greatest of combinations. Oh well it’s over now.

Since then I’ve been pretty much listening to this on repeat. If any of you need your spirits raising, this song’ll do it. Loosen up. Get those shoulders moving.

Oh and for those of you still reading this and persevering with me:

Over and Out!

124. 5 reasons why swearing is good for you

Hear me out on this- I’m not saying we should go around offending one another but I do think that swearing in moderation when the occasion calls might actually have advantages.

1. It alleviates pain.

Seriously. I’m sure some study somewhere showed that swearing after you stub your toe releases endorphins which are happy hormones that make you feel better. A good old yelp of ‘shit, damn door!’ might just be what you need. Doctor’s recommendation.

2. It helps you exaggerate things.

A little bit of swearing interwoven into everyday language can have a wonderful effect for storytelling. I mean would you rather hear that something was ‘really weird’ or ‘batshit insane’? ‘Really bad’ or ‘piss poor’? There is a huge difference in descriptive power. Swearing makes things so much funnier too- I can’t explain why.

3. It can help win any argument (with people you don’t like)

A well placed STFU can end any argument instantly and have you crowned champion. I had to add the bit in brackets because if you use this against your partner say, you’re gonna be in deep shit. Use it carefully!

4. It enables you to enjoy some of your favourite songs

Listening to censored rap music is just unsatisfying. Swearing is a language all rap artists appear to be fluent in, maybe because it’s so effective at conveying anger and strength of feeling. And even if rap music isn’t to your taste, don’t act like you don’t enjoy screaming along to Cee-Lo Green’s ‘FUCK YOU’.

5. It’ll help you man up

I can’t stress enough that I don’t condone insulting people but should you ever receive any verbal abuse, I think it’s useful to have a colourful vocabulary so that you can deliver them a verbal punch back. It makes you less of a target.

 

On an aside, my favourite swear word  is ‘shit’ closely followed by ‘bastard’. I dunno they just roll of the tongue. What are yours? 

Over and Out!

121. This mah jam.

That moment when your favourite song comes on…

So cute! This little lady is gonna be a rave on the dance floor when she gets older!

Over and Out.

105. 5 Tips To Act More Confident

I wouldn’t call myself shy but I’m just as anxious as anyone else about how to act at important social occasions. I hate bring stuck in a room with unfamiliar people who I’m supposed to impress and charm with my wit and humour. But sometimes it’s just necessary. I’ve come up with a few tips that’ll give you a confidence boost and they’re not wishy washy stuff like ‘be yourself’ because my god if we did that, they’d probably run for the hills.

1. Dress the part

You need to shed the clothes you usually wear- they’re too associated with your usual socially awkward self. Wear something new, something different, something flattering that’ll make you feel good about yourself. Ladies, put on your favourite underwear. No-one else will see it (or maybe they will, who knows what kind of occasion this is) but you’ll know in your head that you look hella fine and it’ll shine through in your body language. Guys, wear something tailored.

2. Find your inner gangster

Love them or hate them, gangsters are confident to the point of being obnoxious. The point is if you can find your inner gangster, you can tap into that confidence store. For me, the best way to do this is through music. Find a song that makes you feel like a #BOSS and perform it. If you can’t sing, mime. Give your mirror the best performance of its life. Be careful though- you don’t want to start putting up your middle finger and yelling YOLO if you’re attending a formal do. Let’s leave that shit to Drake.
Song Suggestions: I’m On One- DJ Khaled, Do it like a dude- Jessie J, Pour it Up- Rihanna but anything about sex, money and general bragging works here.

WEEZY

3. Practice rapping

My last tip was to help your mental confidence and body language but this one will help with your speech. There’s nothing worse than getting nervous and stuttering or fumbling over your words but you’ll do this a lot less if you can rap (or at least try to!). If you can nail Busta Rhymes’ verse from ‘Look at me Now’ (if you haven’t heard it- it’s ridiculously fast), then you deserve a recording contract and you’ll have no problem getting the words out in a conversation.
Song Suggestions: Just lose it- Eminem, Move that body- Nelly, Look at me now- Chris Brown but anything fast paced is good.

4. Read and form opinions

Watch the news. Read magazines. Just be up to date about what’s going on in the world. That way if the conversation dries up, you have some back up topics. Basically if you’re speaking about something sensible you’ll instantly look more confident (as long as you don’t go all verbal diarrhoea). I find that sport, popular TV shows and gossip are good hooks.

5. Be Optimistic

Not only do pessimistic people annoy me but usually their lack of faith in things is a reflection of their lack of faith in themselves. That’s not attractive. You want to appear positive and you can do this by implementing small changes in your body language. Look people in the eye. Keep your back straight and your head held high. Don’t fold your arms. Find the humour in things and don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself but most importantly; smile (or at least don’t frown) even if things go wrong.

Gah he’s so cute!

There you have it. I am by no means an amazingly confident person but I find that these things help me and maybe they’ll help some of you.

Over and Out!

87. The only way to make tea.

There’s only one way to make tea… boiling water, milk and then sugar… in that order. Get it right people.

Don’t make it like this?

This video is for you.

This never stops being funny.

Over and Out!

76. Crying over the love of you

The Great Gatsby. It’s being advertised like crazy and the cast list boasts of the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire. On top of that it has one hell of a soundtrack. They managed to get friggin Jay Z as the executive producer who is probably one of the most well connected rappers in the game.

Songs off the soundtrack:

Florence and the Machine- Over the Love

This is one of the best songs I have heard in a long long while. It’s classic Florence- starts off soft and slow, melodious catchy chorus and above all a powerful vocal. Gosh some of her high notes in this are impressive but it’s the end of the song that totally won me.

AND I SING FROM THE PIANOOO

Lana Del Ray- Young and Beautiful

For me, Lana is the queen of wistful melancholy songs. Her voice has so much depth and this song is beautiful. There’s a kind of innocence in the way she asks ‘will you still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful?’. Yes Lana, I will still love you.

Sia- Kill and Run

Sia has a very distinctive voice and she showcases it in this song but I dunno it feels a little too slow for too long and the big dramatic part of the song is nowhere near as powerful as Florence’s or Lana’s. Perhaps it will sound better when it’s used in context with the movie.

Beyonce and Andre 3000- Back to Black

Can’t have Jay Z without Beyonce getting involved somehow… But anyway this is the second time Queen B and Andre 3000 have paired up; the first being for Beyonce’s song ‘Party’ which I didn’t think was anything special so I was hoping for something better this time. However ‘Back to Black’ is Amy Winehouse’s song and I was skeptical that anyone would be able to convey the heartbreak quite like she did. So unsurprisingly this song came up short. Instrumentally it’s good but vocally, it just feels… off… too many vocal acrobatics from Beyonce and bizarre singing/talking from Andre 3000.

As for the film itself, it looks really good. I have high expectations! Leonardo DiCaprio better get an Oscar for this- it’s about time.

Over and Out!

73. BRAPPP

Wooooo! James got a call confirming he’s got an internship. Yay for smacking interviews first time. Killed it my friend! Very proud!

So we decided to celebrate!

We were intrigued by Drake’s…interesting dancing (can you call it that?) in his ‘Started from the Bottom’ music video and me and James attempted to copy it. Hilarity ensued.

STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM NOW WE HERE. STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM, NOW MY WHOLE TEAM HEREE!

I WEAR EVERY SINGLE CHAIN EVEN WHEN I’M IN THE HOUSE.

As far as songs go, it’s pretty poor but my god is it catchy. As soon as it comes on, I find myself walking with a gangsta limp. All I need now are some chains and an obnoxiously large cap.

Peace Out Y’all!