Marvellous Motivators

Hello!

So I have no idea what was in the water this week but as I woke up on Monday morning, I felt more motivated than I have ever done before.  Usually I am the queen of procrastination, Netflix, snacking and similar activities.  HOWEVER, Monday came, and as it was my day off (and I haven't been getting many of those recently) I felt like I should really be achieving something with my day. 

So...

I joined the gym.

SAY WHAT?!

This was so out of the blue for me, I hadn't planned it or anything...I mean I have had the intention for a good three years now but I never thought I would actually carry it out! So I went to the shop and got a load of healthy snacks in and I can tell you now (I am more shocked than anyone...believe me) I'm actually enjoying it!  Bearing in mind it's only day 4 so there is PLENTY of room for reversion, however at this precise moment I'm feeling pretty bloody wonderful.  I'm also learning to ignore the arrogant gym goers who can run for an hour without breaking a sweat whilst I'm already breathless just from the walk from my house to the fitness centre! But, like I said, we shall see how long this actually lasts for...

Anyway, moving on nicely from this little update, I recently read a blog post on HelloGiggles about 43 simple ways to make yourself happy. Usually, I don't really give in to these kind of posts as they are usually full of tips such as 'drink plenty of water' or 'partake in a yoga class'...things that everyone knows they should do but don't. However, this post was different, if you click on the link you'll see ideas such as:

*Treat yo' self to a new lip balm

*Listen to rainy mood whilst reading a magazine from cover to cover

*Google old school love letters.

The list goes on but you get the idea...it's full of realistic little ideas to pick yourself up!

My favourite one, however, was, Make a playlist consisting solely of songs you liked in 7th grade (or Year 8 to us Brits.) This, is just fantastic.  I have compiled a list of 5 of my favourite songs from when I was growing up and what I have been doing is playing these songs on my way to gym and believe me...it has worked so much better than all that rubbishy trance music they usually advertise on those 'running tracks' compilation cd's.  These are my current 5 marvellous motivators.

1.) TLC - No Scrubs

Those who know me well will know that this is my favourite song of ALL TIME. I remember this being played at school discos and such and then I rediscovered it a couple of years ago.  I request it on every night out, if we go to karaoke I will have already put my name down for it and I put it onto EVERY playlist I ever make and I am still not bored of it. It is honestly honestly the most sassiest and catchiest song I know.  It just makes me so happy.

2.) Destiny's Child - Bills, Bills, Bills

There seems to be a running theme of  R&B U.S girl bands of the nineties and noughties.  They are so much better than any British girl band and nobody can deny it.  This song is very self explanatory: sass, feminism and Beyonce. Winning combination.

3.) Pat Benatar - Love is a Battlefield

13 Going on 30 has to be my favourite childhood film, I have never got bored of watching it and this song features in it.  It is definitely a 'pick up your hair brush dance around your bedroom' song which is still completely acceptable at the age of 21.  Again, it just puts a great big grin on my face.  Thanks Pat Benatar you Queen.

4.) Backstreet Boys - Everybody

 This has always been the best BB song (I'm sure many will agree) however, I think the real reason I have been loving it recently is because last month, Kat and I were lucky enough to watch Backstreet Boys live. After a couple of ciders and a bit of sun I can honestly say I haven't felt as happy as I was in the moment when they played this song in a long time. We literally danced like no one was watching and we didn't give a f***. It was great.

5.) Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere

I'm lucky enough to have a dad with impeccable music taste which meant that I was introduced to bands such as Fleetwood at a young age. Stevie Nicks is one of my all time heroes and unlike quite a few of their songs, it is impossible to feel down when listening to this gem.

So those are my top 5 motivational tracks that have been on repeat this week. Any bets on how long this new found energy in me will last? I give it a week...

TTFN!

Commitment Issues...

This post is NOT as deep as the title suggests.

Apologies to anyone that reads this blog and was anxious and excited for my work experience day 5 post. I know you all were...all 1 or 2 of you (am I being too optimistic?!)

I think I have commitment issues with this kind of thing.  I had set myself a target to update this page every day as, like I previously said, I wanted it to be  my little place to relive daily stresses and write for leisure, something I haven't been able to do in ages.

I thought I was just rubbish at academic work and deadlines...nope I'M JUST TOO GOD DAMN LAZY AT LIFE. Some things will never change, but from now on I'm going to try my absolute best as I really enjoy writing these posts (translation: I just LOVE writing about myself *flicks hair*...kidding)

Anywhooo enough of the rambling UPDATE TIME!

So in the past week I have gone from drinking Pina Colada on a rooftop terrace in London to a big scary interview and then back to work and cleaning toilets. Life is funny.

My last day at NME was so good, I spent half the day researching celebrity tweets which showed their 'First World Problems.' I have literally never laughed so much whilst watching a YouTube video. If you don't  crack a smile at this then we can't be friends.

I was then given some freebies such as a  tote bag, cool magazine editions and a T-Shirt. Cue the awkward conversation of :

"Do you have this in a bigger size, medium is just not going to cut it"

"Oh they come up really big you'll be fine"

...it doesn't fit. Oh well!

And that concluded my week in Landan! It was super fun and they've said I'm more than welcome to come back for more work experience (it's free labour, why wouldn't they?!) As did the neighboring magazine, so that's exciting! Unfortunately it was straight back to work the following morning, and I haven't had a day off since.

EXCEPT for Wednesday when I had this big scary assessment day for a graduate scheme at this huge company. For those who don't know how assessment days work, you are literally observed from the minute you walk in to the minute you walk out...it's harsh. I won't bore you with all the details but basically we had this big presentation to do, only an hour to prepare for it and cut to the chase...it didn't go well...at all.

Needless to say I didn't get the job but hey ho, back to the drawing bored. It's just a bit rubbish not knowing what the plan is, but I guess not many people do...woah, things have just taken a dark turn.

On that note, I shall end things here.  I promise to start doing some more posts which are less about my day to day life and more accessible to the wider community.  I was just so excited about my mini placement that I had to share it somewhere, thanks to those who have been reading...I can't see who but I can see that a few people have kept coming back which is lovely lovely stuff.

TTFN! 

x

Work Experience | DAY THREE AND FOUR

I thought I'd merge these two together as compared to Monday and Tuesday there was much less going on (however saying that, they were still a world away from my day job at Little Chef... pretty much any other job is.)  I'm finally getting used to the big and scary morning commuters, in fact I felt like one whilst walking down one of the level escalator things.  A woman wouldn't move out the way and as I politely asked "excuse me" she responded with "I don't understand why everyone is in such a rush all the time"...hey lady it's 9AM on Wednesday morning why do you think?! I responded calmly and politely with "maybe it's because we all have places to be" whilst flicking my hair with allllll the sassy feels.

Wednesday consisted of lots of small tasks such as constructing a list of the 20 best festivals for NME readers and producing an excel document of artists birthdays/deaths/album reissues. After lunch [FYI, it was another jacket potato day] I was asked to search through the NME archives searching for a specific interview.  I was looking at 1976 and it was so cool seeing gigs advertised for £4.  Not only that, but there was a huge article about Gary Glitter pre-conviction...awkward.  Here's a spread about Jimi Hendrix...

Yesterday was more hands on.  We were given a selection of 6 tracks and we had to review two of them.  I  thought I'd venture out of my comfort zone and chose:

M.O. 'Dance On My Own'

Bondax - 'All I See'

I got to talk about TLC and sass in reviewing M.O. ..my two favourite things.  It was just such a good opportunity to hear music that I wouldn't necessarily choose to listen to.

We also did a couple of 'answers to the big questions which was cool!

As I said...because the first two day were so exciting with so much going on, the next two days were quite an anticlimax. *Not complaining, promise!*

I rounded off Thursday with a trip to the theatre to see Daytona which starred Harry Shearer (the guy that does all those voices on The Simpsons.)  Can't say much about it other than it was a good time filler...the attempt of a New York accent by Maureen Lipman was so cringe worthy I literally wanted the ground to swallow me up through pure embarrassment for her.

As I'm writing this, I'm reaching the end of my last day, sad times...maybe I'll upload that one later this eve...maybe I'll fall into a Netflix coma the minute I get home...who knows.

TTFN!

Work Experience | DAY TWO

Day two in the big smoke consisted of free beer, live music, top jacket potatoes, researching, transcribing and then catching up with some of my favourite humans. It was FANTASTIC.

Luckily my train wasn't delayed this time which kicked the day off splendidly meaning I had time to grab an iced lemonade from Costa (FYI they are the best. things.ever.) I managed to walk into the office not the sweaty mess I was on the previous day but cool and collected and all professional (ish.)

We started off by sorting out the mail which isn't as boring as it sounds! It takes like two minutes and then we get to distribute it and get chatting to the office, so it's a good opportunity to actually get to know the staff!

This was followed by researching news stories which hadn't been covered yet, and we found out some pretty cool stuff. (If you go on the NME website and see the article about Jay Z and his Californian prison and school outburst...I contributed to that!)

It was then time for our lunch break before we headed down to the NME Basement and can I just express how GOOD the jacket potatoes are here, literally, they are incredible (I am a fiend for any potato products.)

As we reached the Basement we were told to take a seat, grab a beer and chill out...they call this work.  

As we were escorted in to the studio (it was TINY) there were only about 15 other people with us so it was so intimate.  Kiesza came on with just an acoustic guitar and opened with her best known song 'Hideaway'.  It was so refreshing seeing a stripped back version of this...the girl can sing!  She then played two more songs including a cover of Nirvanas 'Heart Shaped Box' which was a-mazing.  She also came out and met all of us and she was so lovely, we found out that her video for 'Hideaway' was filmed in ONE SHOT...ONE! (If anybody hasn't seen it, go and watch and you will understand why I was literally gob smacked when she told us.) 

As we headed back up to the office we were given the apparently 'gruelling' task of sifting through last weeks and this weeks issues of the magazine and tagging all of the photos. I was warned it was a boring job but it meant I got to see the new issue before it goes on sale to the public so in my opinion...not so rubbish! Whilst we were doing that, we saw that the literary references in songs article which I had helped with had gone up on the website and it was so cool seeing the outcome of my first task!  You can see it here :) 

As the day came to a close I met up with a couple of good friends.  Kat took me to a pub by the Thames and we drank far too much wine...it was awesome (however, I am feeling the effects whilst I'm typing this. Hangovers, I haven't missed you.)

And that concluded day two! As I'm writing this, I'm half way through the week and I'm so gutted at how fast it's going. Boo :(

TTFN!

Work Experience | DAY ONE

So over the next couple of weeks I'm stepping completely out of my comfort zone starting with an incredibly opportunity which took me months to pluck up the courage to apply for. 

I've been lucky enough to undertake a week's work experience at NME magazine (for those who don't know, it's the UK's leading music magazine...pretty rad.)

 (I got a fancy pass and everything!)

As I read this weeks copy of the magazine on the train, I found myself submerged into pages of reviews of bands that I had never heard of.  Third year work load and dissertation stress meant that I fell behind on any hobbies that I may have had...I hadn't downloaded any new music for about 3 months or picked up a book that I wanted to read for pleasure throughout the whole year. Due to lack of funds I  had to cancel my subscription to the magazine after second year and then only bought it on the odd occasion.

So I cannot express how nervous I was walking into the Blue Fin Building (a huge set of offices with what feels like a gazillion floors.) I thought I would be plunged into a world which I wasn't so familiar with any more.

However, all these anxieties completely dissolved within the first 10 minutes of arriving. As we were shown around the building and introduced to the office, it was clear how laid back the atmosphere was. Side note: My desk is situated right next to The Shard and they have a roof terrace which overlooks the London Skyline with a pop up bar on Thursdays and Fridays...super cool.

Yesterday's duties included researching artists and songs with literary references so it turns out my degree did amount to something, HOORAY! We also did some research on weird facts about musicians which was incredibly interesting! 

Two of us were then approached by the project manager asking us whether we wanted to come down to the NME Basement and watch Kiesza ('Hideaway') whilst beer tasting tomorrow (today)... hang on, let me think about that...oh alright then, if we must.

This concluded day one and I will just say, it was bloody amazing*.

I have a feeling day two will be equally as good and I shall be updating about it tomorrow.

TTFN!

*I forgot to mention, as we walked out the office we were approached by This Morning who interviewed us about our make-up routines (I'm assuming panda eyes and shiny faces are in this summer.) I stumbled over my words and told them my feelings about Phil and Holly and my distaste for Ruth and Eamonn (off camera obviously)...good job Steph.  Apparently it will be aired on Wednesday so we'll see if it makes the cut.

Graduation Goggles

Has anyone seen that episode of How I Met Your Mother where the group discuss how you are more likely to appreciate something once it is no longer a part of your life? (That did not mean to sound as cheesy as it did.)  They used graduation as an example.  Once you have graduated all the rubbishy parts of University (or college as they refer to it) are soon forgotten, i.e. the stress of third year and the dissertation, the lack of money, the 3AM existential crisis' and just the general fear of the future. 

It has only been three months since I finished Uni and whilst I love living in a household where there is more to breakfast lunch and dinner than baked beans on toast, all I can think about is how much I miss living with this human and the little quirks of the student lifestyle. 

 1.) NAPS. Naps are the greatest thing to happen to the day. Kat (see above, aka the greatest human to grace this earth) and I are the queens of justifying ANYTHING, so justifying an afternoon siesta was a part of everyday.  If we made it to a lecture, we would deserve a nap.  If we had a hangover, we would deserve a nap. And if we managed to wake up before midday then a celebratory 2PM nap would be on the cards.  Alas, my napping days are over as apparently completing a 9 hour shift which began at 6:00AM should not be rewarded in the real world ...hmph.

2.) DAYTIME TV. On every student blog I read, Jeremy Kyle is always mentioned.  This is because we, as students, need a pick me up...a reminder that things could be worse.  It does get repetitive though and after the first month of religiously watching Jeremy, the same stories kept cropping up.  What I really miss is watching 'This Morning' everyday (except for Fridays...explanation to come.)  I felt like Phil and Holly were my stand in parents. They would be there when I was at my lowest (hungover, hungry or procrastinating) and never failed to distract me for 2 hours.  At this point I must express the sheer disappointment of flicking on the TV on a Friday and seeing Ruth and Eamonn's face's on my screen.  Kat and I DETEST this couple and we really have no reason to...we just do...screw you Ruth and Eamonn.

3.) BFA (Best Friend Activities). When else is it acceptable to rearrange your room at 2AM , make bacon sandwiches whilst crying to P.S. I Love You at 3AM or put a day aside to bake cupcakes. There is no other time.  Living back at home means going to bed an acceptable hour, getting up to go to work and complying to 'house rules.' Where's the fun gone?!

Basically what I'm saying is that I'm in complete denial that 'student days' are over and never again will I be able to share my late night panics with someone who will sit and listen and reply with 'pull yourself together'.  Man I love ya!

TTFN!