I feel a note is needed on Doctor Who.
This is has been my favourite series ever, including Rose x Ten, just because I love Rory and Amy THAT MUCH. And Matt Smith is a brilliant, brilliant actor.
Go Moffat. That was pretty damn good.

Rory: Oh, a poncho. The biggest crime against fashion since lederhosen.
Amy: Ah, here we go. Oh, my boys, my poncho boys, if we're going to die, let's die looking like a Peruvian folk band.

Right now, I'm reading my Flower Fairies Treasury by Cicely Mary Barker.
It's making me sad, because I used to have a very clear idea in my head of what all the fairies were like, their names, their families, where they lived, et cetera...and I've forgotten it all.
That's because I'm old and forgetful. Still, nostalgia ftw.

So small, so blue, in grassy places,
My flowers raise
Their tiny faces.

By streams my bigger sisters grow,
And smile in gardens,
In a row.

I've never seen a garden plot;
But though I'm small,
Forget me not!

Ok what the hell?

My blog-follows have mysteriously disappeared from Google Reader.
Wth, the whole point of going Google was to keep up with my blogs!

EDIT: It's back now :)

ALSO HOLY SHIT A FRICKING ENORMOUS BEE JUST FLEW IN, AGHAGHAGH.

I'm going to man up and ignore it.

In other news, I am actually brown!! Well browny-red, which makes a change from my usual lobster red. I don't know whether to blame my very distant scottish ancestry, or the poles.

Who I am also descended from, btw, I'm not anti-Pole-y.

So today I visited Nottingham Uni. Major pluses: it's an AAB offer for English, the course looks fun, the grounds are fabulous.
Major minuses: not many. Accomodation is kinda pricey, but isn't it all?

On the train there, I finally finished Captain Corelli's Mandolin...oh lordy, I cried at one point. Honest to God tears. The ending was...disappointing, though. It dragged on for too long imo. Even though I get it's realistic or naturalistic to have Pelagia and Corelli getting old, it's still depressing to see Pelagia getting all crazy and uber-traditional. Maybe it's one of those things I'll appreciate when I'm older and not so obsessed with youth.

"Italians always act without thinking, it's the glory and the downfall of your civilisation. A German plans a month in advance what his bowel movements will be at Easter, and the British plan everything in retrospect, so it always looks as though everything occurred as they intended. The French plan everything whilst appearing to be having a party, and the Spanish...well, God knows. Anyway, Pelagia is Greek, that's my point."

That made me chuckle.

I never want to watch the film though, because in my head it's so vivid I think it'd ruin it.

More importantly, it's Friday. Thanks as usual to Lauren

1. If I could choose my last meal it would be: This is the hardest question ever. I'd have an ultimate burger on one plate (beefburger, cheese, bacon, bbq source), then chips, yorkshire puddings, sausages and gravy on another. Then apple crumble and ice cream for pud. And an after eight to finish. And a diet coke.

2. My favorite person to share a meal with is: My family. We always end up having a chuckle :)

3. The best meal I've ever had was Honestly? Nothing really sticks out :(

4. The one food that makes me feel instantly better when I'm having a bad day is: hardcore chocolate, I'm talking something heavy like a mars bar. I try to avoid them usually due to calorie fest but on a bad day, it's just like heaven.

5. My absolute specialty in the kitchen is: I'm not the best of chefs. My speciality is probably eggy bread because it's the only thing I can cook that involves a modicum of chef-ly knowledge. The rest is...get food out of freezer. Cook food. Eat food.

6. The city that has the best food is: ...well I'm not really placed to say but the place we go in France has three fantastic (and cheap) restaurants about a minute apart. Yum.

7. My favorite healthy snack is: Errr healthy? Me? MDR! No but carrot sticks and dip. Or without dip. They taste good, refreshing et al.

8. In my opinion the nationality which has the best food is: Italy. Pizza, pasta, ice cream. I don't even need anything else. Plus the one pizza I had in Rome was DE-VINE.

9. If I could learn to cook anything in the world (and be really good at it!): I'd probably just go for having chef-like intuition...my mom and my sister can both cook without thinking about it, just chucking stuff in and it works...me I have to plan like a machine.

10. The most outrageous dessert I've ever had was: I once ate a steamed sponge pudding that was supposed to serve 4 people. I have literally never been so full in my life, but it was DELISH.

And that, as they say, is the end of that.

Emma xo.

Here's a good idea...

On the hottest day of the year so far, there are several things you really shouldn't do:

1) Leave your drink at home
2) Not eat all day
3) Crowd into a hot and sweaty hall to watch an England match
4) Then go home and wolf down some curly fries in an attempt to get some carbs down ya

and the number one thing you really, really should avoid?

5) Dance.

I am SO TIRED right now. And toooo hot. Plus (tmi coming right up!) my bra doesn't fit right
so my boobs kept popping out (I warned you!)
Just...avoid exercise, kay?

Uni-Hopping

Well, as anybody who's ever been my age knows, it's about time I got down to some uni open days :) So today me and my mom took a trip down to Exeter to take a look at the uni there.

First things first, the train links are great. It's a direct line to Birmingham, home of my bredrins, nice long train journey so I can get out my notebooks and write like a fiend.

^ at exeter st david's

The first impression was er...horrible. We went down to the Lafrowda block of accomodation and it was literally horrible...bare walls, tiny rooms, shitty little kitchens (in a self-catered block!!), it was basically a prison cell. I don't know why they opened it up, seeing as it's actually being demolished before we go in September 2011.

Things looked up from then on: the rest of the accomodation was pretty nice (if a bit on the expensive side), the course looks really good and Exeter town centre...whoaa. It's literally perfect. OH AND DID I MENTION IT'S ONE TRAIN STOP FROM A BEACH??? And near Exmoor as well.
Moors are very romantic.

To round up our day, we had an early tea in a cafe by the cathedral which was parfaite, busker man singing beautiful songs, beautiful sunshine, beautiful topless students, beautiful homemade chips...argh, I love Exeter.

^ crazy busker man with the nice voice

Mother-of-mine at teatime. Note the broken hand.

Okay so I'm not exactly a stalker, but...yeah, I am.

This is a seagull.

Oh and I also bought a hat.

It's my birthday tomorrow,

I don't want to sound like a party pooper, but I'm really not looking forward to it,
I hate being the centre of attention, I'm dreading being sung to and having to open presents in front of everything.

How whiny does that sound?

It pretty much dates back to my cripplingly shy childhood. I used to be like this about everything, but it's only really birthdays and Christmas Eve that panic me out now.

I'll get over it :)

J'taime papa!

So here in the UK (I know it differs for mothers day across the world so I guess the same is true here) it's Father's Day.
My Dad is currently busy cycling across the country, again, as you do, clearly he loves his children so much! But honestly, I don't measure paternal love by appearance on some crappy Hallmark day where we exchange cards and cheapo chocolates. What makes my Dad brilliant is his eternal devotion to his family, the way he'll pick me up at 5 o clock in the morning if I ask nicely, the way he gets annoyed when I'm stupid enough to get sunburnt because he cares about my safety, his insistence on opening the car door for me, the amount of time he spends walking the dog. I love the way he is "Garry," his own undefinable, slightly eccentric, slightly nerdy but fantastically intelligent man.

In short,
I LOVE MY DAD.
Happy Father's Day to you all :)

Fill in the blanks and it's raining...again...

Why does it always rain on me?
Is it because I lied when I was 17?*

It's ridiculous! Yesterday I swear it was 20 degrees and we were out in the sunshine, today it's tipping it down.

Sigh.

Anyway, it's time for the bi-weekly awesomeness of FITBF, courtesy of this blog as always! This week it's about school.

I love school. I do. I know it's nerdy and I don't care. Background: I go to an all girls state grammar, which means it's full of clever girls who can't afford to pay for their education. I'm in the sixth form now which means more frees and way, way more pressure. I love Camp Hill so much. It's turned me from a shy, chubby 11 year old in to who I am today, i.e. actually able to speak in public, and I've met some of the best people ever there. Plus my classes this year are great, except Computing which I'm done with.

^ back in the way back when last year. I'm in the middle :)

BACKGROUND ASIDE, on to the quiz!

1. The best thing about being in school was/is: having constant, consistent contact with my friends everyday and the "Camp Hill Family" we've got going on. Also getting all psyched up for House Festival!!!

2. The worst thing about being in school was/is: ridiculous amounts of exam pressure, comparing yourself to the other pupils i.e. the geniuses, coursework!

3. My favorite subject in school was/is: English for the content, but French for the fact that it's a bit of a doss. Plus computing because there was only three of us and it was so cute ^^

4. One subject I wish I could have mastered/would like to master is: Spanish. Never got the chance to learn and now I probably never will :(

5. I could never get tired of studying: I get tired of studying everything! English is probably the easiest though.

6. The most memorable teacher I had was: in a good or bad way? Honestly, the one that sticks out for me is Mrs Clarke...she was a complete psycho. The size of an elephant, with really fine blonde hair and a red face and she always wore pink. She drank two 2l bottles of diet coke a day and was usually sugary sweet. And then when you did one thing slightly out of line, she EXPLODED, shouted in your face and threw you out of the room. It was creepy because you never knew when she was gonna flip.

7. If I could choose between going to school for the rest of my life or working for the rest of my life, I'd choose: well based on my experience of work so far (tesco, i.e. shitsco) school seems to be pretty damn good looking. Sixth form, though. Not main school, that sucketh.

over and out mes amis xo.


* it's all irrelevant because I'm not 17.
YET!
Monday, fellaz, circle it in your diary with big arrows and stars.

5 Things

Five things you will find if you open my bag:
1. 4 books + a textbook
2. Chopsticks (originally jacked from a Chinese restaurant, now I use them to tie my hair back)
3. Leaflet for Chester Zoo
4. Train tickets for Birmingham, Chester x2, Southport, Warwick and other places.
5. iPod of course.

Five things in my bedroom:
1. MESS
2. To-read pile that's precariously high
3. Dance trophies
4. Assorted rocks
5. My life savings

Five things I’ve always wanted to do in my life:
1. Do a European capitals tour
2. Write, finish + publish a novel
3. Work in English, i.e. the subject I love.
4. Take good photographs
5. Fall in love. Cliche, but true.

Five things that make me very happy:
1. An ice cold diet coke
2. Disney playlists on youtube.
3. Realising I have nothing to do for the whole evening.
4. Finding a new display picture
5. Spending quality time doing nothing with mes amis.

Five things I’m currently into:
1. Dr Who
2. Tumblr
3. Long bus journeys with my iPod
4. Rupert Grint
5. Walking the dog on a summers evening.

Five things on my to-do list:
1. Tidy room
2. Start EPQ novel/researching said novel
3. Update blog more often.
4. Speak better French.
5. WRITE PERSONAL STATEMENT!!

Five things some people may or may not know about me:
1. I can name all the reigning monarchs since Edward the Confessor, that's like 1060?
2. I'm still striving to be the ultimate ginger. It's hard.
3. I'm actually very clever.
4. If I had unlimited money, I'd spend it all on pretty things from ebay.
5. I don't believe in God.

This was boring. But fun, hein?

Wikipedia = dangerous overload of information.

Nevertheless, this made me chuckle.

(Note: this might be REALLY REALLY OFFENSIVE. It's on a "list of ethnic slurs" on wiki, meaning its rude if used in the wrong manner. So let me know, please, if I've committed like, a cardinal sin or something. Please. )

Apple : (North America) An American Indian (Native American) who is "red on the outside, white on the inside." Used primarily by other American Indians to indicate someone who has lost touch with their cultural identity. First used in the 1980s.

This is funny because here, we have 'coconut' if you're brown on the outside, white on the inside.

Also, imagine if you were trying to insult a native american and were like "God, you're such an apple!"
Well thanks, honey, you're a total peach <3

The inventiveness of the human race :)

Rainy days and sundays,

Ah, what a fabulous day it is. Raining, revision,doing my sister's physics homework for light relief, and a two hour nap because computing is honestly kinda brain numbing.

Anyway, a few pics from our Southport jaunt:

I mostly just put this in so y'all can see my new hair colour.

This is the only time in my life I've got a jump picture right first time.

I love feet photos.

Love these guys, seriously.

Anyway, I'm coming off my weekly-update thing and just updating whenever I can, i.e. more often, we cool with dat? Yep? Good.

So apparently we can post by email now? Awesome.

---

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Rain,

This week:

- Rain so heavy that my entire road flooded
- Broken camera (lack of photos)
- New TV



- My Dad independantly verifies that I'm Amy Pond in disguise.
- I subscribe to fuckyeahredhair because I have a bit of a ginger fetish
- I redye my hair an even brighter red
- Shopping for baby socks makes me broody



- We decide we're going to hire a caravan for ROAD TRIP '11 despite being skint and unable to drive...yet.
- I have exams in English Lit and History. No need to panic its ONLY MY ENTIRE UNIVERSITY APPLICATION AT STAKE. I need an A in English to read it at uni. Panic stations, everybody!
- I realise I hate compulsive liars with an absolute passion, but only because they have alot of power over me. I'm incapable of a decent lie, no exaggeration.
- I watch a dodgy youtube version of the Harry Potter clip at the MTV awards and nearly die of excitement.



- I have a mildly traumatic experience at dog training. Heel, Dusty...I said heel! HEEL! THAT'S NOT HEELING!!!
- I realise how far ahead of the times my school was, for Britain, vis a vis our fabulous amazing Show Choir.

Less of the listing, please, it's boring.

So it's tuesday evening and I've broken the back of the AS exams...4/6 is good. And I finally feel like I'm qualified to explain my revision techniques.

• Keep your revision hours low. I get up at 10, have breakfast, revise for 2 hours, have an hour long lunch break and then revise solidly for as long as I can bear it, usually between 4 and 6. Different hours work for different people - I have a friend who does 7am till noon without a break - but don't over do it or you'll burn out.
• Mix cramming and long term revision. If you revise your subjects too early in the exam period you'll forget everything...depends on the exam, but it's usually easier to do the majority the day before and just sneaky bits earlier - maybe you have a maths exam tuesday and history on friday, do a tiny bit of history on monday but mostly maths. This is good because it breaks up the monotony a bit, but you also do most of your revision in a big block.
• Make every second count. Don't revise for revision's sake. If you're not learning anything, it's not revision. End of. It's a million times better to do an hour of concentrated revision than a whole week of revising key terms you don't need to define or concepts that are above and beyond what the syllabus requires. And above all, stick to the syllabus! Exam boards won't ask you to discuss what you haven't been told to learn.
• Music...or not. I have to have music when I work. Didn't used to when I was younger, but now it keeps my mind focused and stops me getting too bored. Some people insist on complete silence. When I was younger I used to blast heavy metal, because it blocked everything out and made me focus. Each to their own, it's just a case of working out what makes you tick.
  
• Know what you don't know. This links to the thing about making seconds count...prioritize things you don't understand, know your weaknesses, et cetera. That said, don't forget to go over your strong areas. I tripped up in History because I didn't revise Liberal Reforms, believing I knew them. And I did, but not nearly well enough to make a difference.

OKAY, boring studying aside please!

The hunt for a uni is getting rather difficult. Although I'm def applying to Cambridge, and I'm going to open days for Exeter, York and Nottingham, it's SO HARD to find an ABB course for English in a decent uni. Plus the tariff scores confuse me no end, it's so annoying. What we need is a comparison website of all the entry requirements, so we do.

If it wasn't for the fact that I never have a minute to spare these days, I totally would.

ANYWAY, Friday was AB-FAB! Why? We went to the beach! Which for a bunch of girls from Birmingham (google it. It's pretty damn landlocked for such a small country) is a big event. We went, we talked, we ate chips, we wasted money on the penny arcade, we got matching tacky bracelets and above all, in true british seaside style, I got royally sunburnt. Pics to follow when they're uploaded :)

I'm also hearing rumours that I'm getting a new camera for my birthday. Excitement abounds!

Anyway, that's all for this week. 20 mins until I'm late posting.

Emma x

This Week

I've been thinking about Hercules.
In the original Greek myth, Hercules was a demi-God, right? But in the Disney film (I've been on the ultimate disney playlist instead of revising) he's a full on God.Now most of Zeus' demigod children were the result of his affairs with mortals, right? So I'm assuming, unless someone can correct me, that it's because that's not exactly wholesome Disney fare that they've changed it?
I suppose it powers the plot along, as well.

Actually I've been thinking about isolated events in relation to the plot alot this week, specifically in relation to Dr Who...which I basically adore more than anything else on the box atm. I won't say what, but the end of this week's ep killed me. I'm gutted. But I've been trying to convince myself its not a permanant change vis a vis plot purpose - the event doesn't develop character (because they forget anyway) or plot, so it's pretty pointless UNLESS it means something in the future. In other words, event will be reversed.

The ramblings of a desperate child.

Also this week: the cumbria shootings. Creepy as heck for two reasons.
a) I live nowhere near there, but totally by coincidence my Dad was there, just for the week. In the same town, at the same time.

b) It could have happened to anyone, anwhere. That actually scares me a little. Like, right now someone could just barge in and shoot me. Creeeeeptacular.

I'm currently watching Walk Tall...Walking Taller? Walking Tall.
It's a bit graphic seeing as I'm used to watching the Rock in tamer guises:

Tehe :)

Not that I've seen that film, or indeed intend to, but Return to witch Mountain was enough.

All of these brilliant dance acts on Britain's Got Talent are making me want to choreograph again! I'm so jealous of all these fantabulous performers, makes me wanna die.

Not really though.

And on that pleasant note, let's fill in the blanks!

My dream vacation would be Know what I'd love to do? Get one of those train passes and do a tour of Europe. It would be the most awesome thing ever, because I love continental cities. Actually, I just love cities in general. So I'd have a miraculously appeared drawing talent and just wander around, sketching the collosseum and the like.
I also love tourists.
The best trip I've ever taken was argh toughie! Rome with my friends for the larks, but France with family+friends for the relaxation and good conversation.
The most important items to take on a road trip are ROAD TRIP! I want to do one of them soo badly. Er...ipod speakers! Pillows. And good friends.
Wait, do you sleep in the car on a road trip??
The next trip I'm looking forward to is South of France in the summer with mi amigos. It's actually our first trip alone so its an equally scary and thrilling prospect. But it's gonna be so! much! fun!
If I had to pick one CD to listen to for a long road trip it would be Hm. That's really hard! Probably Taylor Swift, because even though I'm not a big fan of her anymore I can still listen to her music without puking, and I wouldn't want to ruin all my favourite artists by overplaying them. But I would have to tack on Two Is Better Than One, which is Boys Like Girls featuring her, and Half of My Heart which is her and John Mayer.
There. I can deal with that.
OH GOD maybe I should have had a disney megamix? They're good for a singalong.
Can I just take my ipod pls?
The biggest disaster I've ever encountered while traveling was one year in Normandy. We nicknamed the flat "Stalag 5" because it was tiny, lacked a decent oven and was painted a fabulous shade of grey. I also was quite alot younger and still got mega-worried about leaving home and being stuck in a foreign country (more on that next week) so basically I just spent the whole holiday miserable. Lovely, eh?
My favorite traveling memory is ah, just long journeys stuck in the way back of the Galaxy, sharing an ipod and some food, legs tangled up with each other until we're basically horizontal; with my sister or my friend. Life's all about the journey, right?

That's this week's moral, okay?

Emma x