Exams, Star Wars, and Christ-Marx

one.
I went to a Poetry club with one of my house mates at this quirky coffee shop, the focus was on Sylvia Plath which was awesome. I had only previously read the Bell Jar and the night before read through some of her poetry with my house mate but her poetry is so well written, and it really interesting to hear it analysed by so many people.

two.
I did a couple of exams before breaking up for Christmas which, I think, went well. Funny story, I didn't know I had one of these exams (they were online ones we could do at any time in that week but yes) so I ended up doing one very last minute, it was weird because had I not checked my e-mail on that day, I would've failed that exam and about 15% of that module - cray.. Always check your emails kids.

three.
I did a movie marathon with a few of my housemates. We watched Star Wars: A New Hope (my fave Star Wars film), The 400 Blows, and then The Parent Trap - possibly the oddest selection, but it was nice all the same.

four.
Me and my housemates did our own Christmas activities before we all broke up and went home and all that jazz. We put our secret Santa presents underneath Margaret (look in this post to get what I'm referencing) and my housemate made us a chickpea curry, and we also got out all of our remaining alcohol to finish it up before we left.

five.
I went back to London with no delays or cancellations or anything which was big, I feel after my horrendous train journey where I was basically delayed for 3 hours in getting home and I ended up getting a cab (which I have been refunded for now, thank you delay repay), I appreciate when the trains function like they're supposed to..

six.
I met up with a couple of my friends to have a catch up and a coffee which was really nice, it had been ages since just us three had been together so it was good to have a proper catchup.

seven.
I visited my old high school/sixth form with most of my old Philosophy class to say hello to our old teacher which was really nice, he's probably the best teacher I've ever had so it was lovely to see him again. It was also strange seeing the school again, so much has changed, and it was just generally weird being there and thinking the school has continued functioning without me - this sounds really egotistical but it's weird to think the school is carrying on and me and the people I knew there are no longer a part of it, it was also weird hearing school bells again, made me jump every time they went off.

eight.
I went to see the new Star Wars film (on the day it came out, #nerd) with my brother and it was absolutely amazing. I literally cried in the cinema - if you've seen the film, you'll probably know which bit I'm talking about, but for those who haven't seen it I shan't talk about it. I thought it was so well made and had loads of links to the original trilogy (in retrospect, it was extremely similar to A New Hope and even Revenge of the Sith, but I don't think this was bad, I liked how it had a mix of the old films with a slightly new storyline and characters). It also felt like a big event for me seeing a Star Wars film in the cinema because that's something I've never done before, and for a long time I thought I'd never be able to do, at least not for a new film, and I did get a bit tearful just at the opening credits because of how much it meant to me to be seeing a Star Wars film in the cinema.

nine.
The last ever episode of Peep Show happened, that was a thing - I actually missed it when it was on because I took a nap (exciting stuff..) but I watched it the next day with my family and I thought it was a good end to the show, it is one of my top five TV shows so if you haven't watched it I definitely recommend it.

ten.
Nothing says Christmas like a picture of Karl Marx on top of the Christmas tree (or Christ-Marx..)

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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Childhood nostalgia, my first election, prom and vlogging

one.

Okay so y'know how in my last one of these posts I was saying that I was planning to book a holiday? IT'S BOOKED! We're going near Blackpool and I'm so excited, this caused me so much stress in trying to find a place to accommodate such a large group which wasn't so expensive but y'know what it's booked now which is just great.

two.
It was my friend's birthday so we went out to Westfield on the weekend and for a meal at Fire and Stone, and it was really lovely (obviously). One of the people who came is actually one of my closest friends and she moved away a couple of years ago so I don't really her much anymore, so it was really nice to see her again. Then a bunch people left, and the remaining people all went to Starbucks for a little catch up and that was super cute too.

three.
I have fallen in love with the app Hatchi. Since getting my new phone, I have been able to download a bunch of new apps (my old iPhone had half the amount of space so sometimes downloading things was a bit of a pain - having to delete 100 photos to update an app? No thanks) and Hatchi is one of them. It's like a Tamigotchi (nostalgia attack) but on a much bigger, brighter screen. I'm yet to have any deaths yet, and I've been taking great care of Ringo and Kanye - I'll be sure to keep you updated!

four.
I decided to re-watch all of the Spy Kids films over the space of about 4 days and it's been so lovely to have, after revision or homework and whatnot, a bit of time just to watch something a bit childish. I have to say since watching them I've wanted to start implementing the phrase 'oh shit-ake mushrooms' into my everyday language.

five.
I feel as if I mention one of Marina's video in every addition to this series, but the topics she talks about are so important and I want to do at least something to bring awareness to it. This video is about how being 'colourblind' is racist, and I think this is important because I know people who I actually consider myself to be well acquainted with who don't see why it's problematic to not see race, and it is because it basically gives the illusion that racism doesn't exist anymore - which it does.

six.

I had my sixth form prom and in all honesty, I didn't love it. There were bits of it I enjoyed, but my anxiety was at an all time high. I felt very awkward most of the time and essentially felt like I couldn't breathe for about 2 hours by which time I had retreated to the toilets to sit on the floor and try to calm down and I didn't feel comfortable coming out for nearly an hour. One of the reasons I went was because I really wanted to be able to do a 'screw you anxiety' moment because I was super anxious, another reason I went was because everyone around me was pressuring me to go. I don't blame them, it's not their fault if they don't get how anxiety works, I'm just annoyed with myself.

seven.

The election... bloody hell. I'm fortunate that in my constituency I got a Labour MP, but we have a majority Tory government and the thought makes me feel sick. Also, my Philosopher teacher pointed out that the Conservatives and UKIP combined got half of the votes which means half the country voted for these far right parties, and that terrifies me. My parents tried to make me feel better by telling me the first time they voted Margaret Thatcher got into power and they had a Tory government for 18 years (which is arguably worse) and that this is a good election to lose because the economy is not doing well and is only going to get worse, so if that happens under a Tory government we'll probably have a Labour government next time. It's just strange, I wasn't all that optimistic for the election after the election poll, but I feel very powerless right now. Also, Ed's stepped down as leader which makes me sad because I genuinely believed he had what it takes to be a good leader. Although, Nigel Farage didn't get his seat so I suppose that's a silver lining of sorts.

eight.
Why didn't I continue with Peep show when I watched the first series a couple of years ago? I've managed to binge watch the first three series in the space of a week, it's just hilarious (and it actually makes me not look awkward)

nine.
I've returned to the world of vlogging and I decided to vlog election day which was also my prom day, it's not the most cheery vlog but there's a lot of comic sans in there so it's all good.

ten.
I've been listening to Ben Folds and Nick Hornby's album Lonely Avenue pretty much non-stop this week, I don't actually own it unfortunately (thank goodness for Spotify) and it's just great. Nick Hornby is one of my favourite authors and Ben Folds is one of my favourite musicians so the collaboration is brilliant, I've been listening to 'A Working Day' a lot because there's one line in it that really makes me laugh:

'Some guy on the net thinks I suck and he should know, he's got his own blog.'

I just wonder whether David Cameron says that about me when I complain about the government.

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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