Completion

Life, Work

I began this blog around 6 years ago, when I moved to Morocco. That was my second year of my university career. If you’d asked me then how long I thought I’d stay at uni, I’d probably have said “forever”. Which isn’t exactly untrue – that’s what a career at a students’ union affords you after all.

I doubt I’d have guessed 7 years, because that shouldn’t add up to any appropriate number of degrees (not when you start with a 4 year undergrad, at any rate). But here I am, 7 years later, happy to say that my university career is complete, at least for the moment. It’s not been the smoothest ride, but then I’m not sure that exists for anyone.

masters

Sprechen sie Deutsch?

Language

I’m teaching myself German. I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this.

I’m (obviously) a lover of languages. I began this blog to chronicle my year abroad as part of my undergraduate degree studying Arabic, and then continued it when I travelled to Spain for 3 months to support the other half of my course. My family are French, and my parents met in India after they’d each spent several years globetrotting.

So naturally, I love languages.

But I definitely hate learning them. They are all so fascinating, and different, and clever, but they just don’t stick in my head. Grammar is so structured and sensible on paper, but my brain just can’t do it in practice, and I get mixed up between gerunds and adverbs (a worrying confusion, really) and end up spouting nonsense.

Nonetheless, I’ve begun practising German on Duolingo, and am currently (apparently) 17% fluent. Which is interesting because it keeps teaching me phrases like  “A man eats sugar with a dog”, and I’m pretty sure that doesn’t improve anyone’s fluency in a language. I’m also learning Italian which is of course waaaayy easier. And also has much easier pronunciation for my mouth, which gets very tangled in German words.

So despite my hatred of trying to understand case, I shall push on with the German, because life’s about doing what you love, even when you actually hate it.

Morals. You’re welcome.

Blast from the Past

Fun, Life, Music

I can’t believe I’ve not named a post this before, but hey ho. I’ve been meaning to share this for a while, but haven’t found the ideal moment, and I decided that a sleepy Saturday would be about right.

A few months ago while I was visiting my parents,  my Mum asked me to clear some stuff out. I found lots of weird things from when I was a kid, but two of the great things I found, were these –

CDs

I present two CDs which I think I probably paid actual money for at the time. The top one is a combination of tracks recorded in the upstairs room of the youth club where I used to volunteer and generally spend my life.

The bottom one is by one of the many incarnations of my friends all being in a band. I never made it into the band (mostly because I can’t play any instruments properly, and can only sing like a mildly tone-deaf choirgirl) and therefore was the biggest fangirl that they had. I remember spending hours listening to what I now recognise were some of the most teen-angst filled songs EVER, and helping move amps and set up drumkits. There was definitely a while where I even knew how to mic up a drumkit, though that skill now eludes me (and I’m probably glad).

Isn’t teenagedom weird and amazing?

Things in Frames

Fun, Life

After yesterday’s flurry of crafts, I thought I’d introduce you to all of the things-in-frames which I have around the house (and most of which Boyfriend hates. But it’s not up to him)

things in frames

The top left hanging isn’t technically framed, but it’s great so it had to be included. It’s an Assassin’s Creed painting on leather, all the way from Cuba. Next to that is a photo of the cast of Ruddigore, which I was given after producing the show with OperaSoc. The dragon print I won – it was done by my friend Charli Vince who makes beautiful things. Finally for the top row, I’ve got a photo of the Backstage crew for Into the Woods, and some photos of me and Boyfriend.

Second row begins with my “special recognition” Riley award, which involved oh so many tears. Then there is an Indian painting on marble, which my uncle brought for us from actual India. Following that, my A0 Cinderella poster, which has pride of place on my living room wall. Then a new addition, a scratchaway world map. Most of it is not scratched. Then my art from yesterday, which is a Leeds cityscape overlaid with little bits of coloured gel. And finally, another A0 poster, this time from a conference Boyfriend went to (he’s super smart).

Lastly we have our jigsaw, which took about 2 years, and then had to be framed. Our Mario canvases which have followed us from house to house, and which we painted together in the summer of 2011, and last but not least, a beautiful print of pansies which my aunt bought me, and which live on my bedroom wall.

April Resolutions

Food, Fun, Life

Guys, do you remember New Year, when I posted explaining how I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions? No? Never mind. I said I’d come up with some by May, but check me out, I’m early!

I resolve to cook more. Today I made pizza and it was great y’all.

pizza1 pizza2

I resolve to spend more time making beautiful things (such as this)

Leeds

I resolve to enjoy my friends more. I’ve been emailing the wonderful Miranda-in-Cuba daily, and it’s doing me the world of good.

I resolve to make more plans (which I guess is what this is)

And finally, I resolve to learn to look after myself better, which starts with all of the above, but also includes going on more walks, reading more books, and having more hugs.

And there we are. Only 4 months late.

Sewing for the Soul

Fun, Music

I love sewing. I like to think I’m ok at it, but I’m certainly not good. The thing I like most about sewing though is that I don’t really need to be any good, because I’m either making costumes, which only need to look good from a distance, and need to fit a wide variety of people, and probably need to be sewn together in the box office on opening night. Or, I’m making nick-nacky crafty things for round my house, which don’t need to be “good” per se.

For months now I’ve been working on a huge project to convert my various show hoodies, collected over 7 years at university, into a warm enormous patchwork blanket. I’ve meticulously sliced them all up, arranged them with the most important ones in the middle, edged it with silk ribbon, and backed the whole thing with purple fleece (purple being the brand colour of the Union, me being tacky).

I was lucky enough to be gifted a couple of huge cushion pads as well, by a friend who had no real use for them, which was fantastic because it’s allowed me to use the fronts of the hoodies as well, in another patchwork design (this one primarily of my name, how egocentric). The second I  covered in a lovely piece of aubergine cotton, and finished with some wooden buttons which I bought today.

It’s been a lovely project, and I’m super-pleased with the results, because things like this are so much nicer  when they are full of meaning and sentiment.

crafts

Changes

Life

Some people never seem to change, but I’m fairly sure we all do.

I always thought I was a person who would never change. Made of cheekbones, workaholic, often anxious, inimitably optimistic, likely to jump on beds and sew things together badly. It’s a solid combo.

This weekend I went to visit my parents, and my Mum has created a veritable rogue’s gallery out of her stairwell. It’s full of photos of me and my little brother, and I realised that the changes really show. There was a point in my life where I was bright (almost platinum) blonde. There was another time when I thought I suited a pixie cut (spoiler: I don’t. At all. Never let me do it again)

When I was a teenager I wore a lot of black, and listened to a lot of shouty music, and was full of angst. Now I’m still full of angst, but it’s much more directed (and much more petty, really, because that’s what grow-up life is), but I wear brighter colours, and I listen to less shouting and more electronica.

This isn’t a usual post with gritty humour and acute observations (I wish) – it’s very much just ramblings as I realise how much I’ve actually changed. So I’ll just let this peter out slowly…

You’re welcome

Ruining food

Food, Rant

I am a foodie. I like food.

Hipster press is ruining food for me.

I’m an avid reader of any article which professes to tell me more about the Leeds food scene. I very rarely actually make it to any of the restaurants, but the knowing they are there is what counts. Recently, however, I’ve noticed that a lot of the articles are trying to make something from nothing, and in a city with such a vibrant food offering, that’s frustrating.

For example, in this article Leeds List gleefully announces “It’s tapas, but not as you know it” – but it’s not. I know I’m a bit of a tapas snob, because you can’t live in Andalusia and not be, but seriously. None of these are tapas. They are probably very nice taster dishes, or small plates. Tapas are bar snacks. They aren’t the same. Stop doing this. It’s a ridiculous fiction of modernity that everything nice must conform to a current trend, and apparently that now applies to pigeonholing food into new categories where it never belonged, rather than just celebrating good food.

God guys. Just stop.

TV Chatter

Fun, Life

I feel like it’s a while since I’ve  written, but I don’t really have anything to say because I’m mostly just whiling away my time watching telly. Because that’s what being an adult is.

So, I thought it made sense to do a run-down of things I’m currently watching. You’re welcome.

Gotham – Never thought I’d like Batman, but it turns out that if you take Batman out of it, it’s pretty good.

Elementary – which I swear I will finish.

Orange is the new Black – Not sure I really like this yet, but it’s…interesting?

Jessica Jones – which I’m developing a love-hate relationship with, because I want to like it but 50% of the acting is just terrible.

Hunter – A lovely distraction back to childhood because really who doesn’t love ridiculous anime?

Once Upon a Time – I defy anyone to not love this. If you disagree I will fight you.

Black Sails – Pirates. Need I say more? Ok fine. Tom Hopper as a pirate. There.

Parks and Recreation – because I will understand my friends in-jokes.

The Apathy of Youth

Life, Rant, Work

As we know, I work at a Students’ Union, and it’s my decision to regret, so I blame no-one.

This week, unions around the country have been holding their leadership elections. We are no different, and part of being a staff member at an SU is always going to be encouraging moody students to take the power into their hands and vote for someone to represent them for 12 months.

So you can imagine how frustrating it is to as “Have you decided who you’ll vote for?” only to be met with “No, I’m ok thanks”.

"What's that? No no, no representation for me. No thanks. I'm ok. I'll just keep whinging about my course costs, and my living conditions, and my tutors, but I'll not do anything so radical as have a say who represents me when those matters are actually discussed"

I think my issue is clear. It’s symptomatic of my generation to have problems and care more about the catharsis of complaining than actually fixing anything. A mindset which was firmly embedded following the apocalyptic swing to the Conservatives during the General Election earlier this year. As one, the leftie youths stroked their manicured beards and said “stuff it, there’s no point trying. Better just whinge about everything via the medium of BBC3.”

This mentality of inaction annoys me, because the beauty of an SU is that it’s a microcosm of political reality, and change is being made every day. It might not be trashing-9K-fees level change, but it’s taking small steps to make actual members of the student community happy, and it’s getting done because people get out of their seats and do something.

Mahatma Gandhi may or may not have said “be the change you wish to see in the world” (I am never convinced that quotes are really real) and that is the message. We can’t all just fall back into our sofas in pathetic heaps of millennialdom – we probably won’t make it out of this century if we do.