Sparkle and Glitter

Happy Boiling hot Thursday! If you’re in the UK, how are you enjoying the heat? Aside from not sleeping properly and waking up feeling really quite ill, I think the sunshine has put me in a really great mood. I hope you’re all coping with the heat a lot better than I am, I turn into a big wimp at times like these!

I am so glad however, that we’re getting such a nice summer this year! Here are some of the other things that have made my week sparkle:

* Air-Conditioning! – This heatwave that’s suddenly hit the UK this week has been a bit of a nightmare for me, I keep waking up completely dehydrated and feeling terrible, but the air-con in the office has made all the difference, to the extent that I actually want to go to work in the morning! It’s far better than staying home in the ridiculously warm house!

* Writing – I appear to have finally recovered from the dreaded writers block, and I’m so glad of it! Writing is one of the best things in my life at the moment, it gives me the sense of achievement and accomplishment I can’t get from my so-simple-a-trained-monkey-could-do-it day job.

* Summer Clothes – I spent a few hours yesterday sorting through all my clothing, putting the heavy winter sweaters in a box under the bed and making room for lighter, summer clothes. Now I may actually be able to find what I want to wear!

* O2 – I called them this morning to ask about the costs involved in upgrading to an iPhone. They told me the prices, said it isn’t in stock at the moment and that since I’m out of contract now they’d reduce my monthly bill by £15 a month. I’m glad I called!

* Lollipops! – I use them as a diet food, yes, really! They last for ages so they stop me snacking on far higher volumes of equally as sugary rubbish, so it actually works out far healthier to just eat lollies!

* Other: knowing that so far *touches wood* the airshow I’m going to on Saturday won’t be rained off, more energy drinks, afternoon naps, relaxing in the living room with a laptop and the curtains closed because it’s the coolest room in the house, fruit juice ice lollies, huge salads, stretching, drinking tonic water without the gin, wearing huge cotton circle skirts and feeling very girly.

What’s made your week sparkle?

July 2nd, 2009 | Tags: fun, life, lifestyle, List, Lists, Love, me, Meme, positivity, style, Things I Love Thursday, TiLT, writing | Category: Regular Features, Things I Love Thursday, life | Comments (6)

Image by JustABigGeek

July is International Zine Month, and as a lover of DIY publications, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to go out and read a zine or two!

If you’re unfamiliar with zines then the Zine World website is a great place to start. Zines 101 (pdf document) will tell you everything you need to know about where to find zines, as well as information on starting your own, and the rest of the site contains many great resources, announcements from individual zines and articles.

The easiest way to get hold of zines is from a distro, a third-party, though usually also a zine author or zinester, who sells lots of different zines, usually by consignment. A few zine distros are having special offers during July, such as Marching Stars who are giving away a free mix CD with every order and Click Clack where you will receive a free copy of a compilation zine if you order. There’s a comprehensive list of zine distros on Wikipedia so you can find one that ships within your country.

There are zines on almost every subject imaginable, I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll love reading! Please also check out my reviews of Shavings and List #12, two zines I cannot recommend highly enough.

Already a fan of zines? Tell me which ones you enjoy! If you write a zine yourself I’d also love to hear from you!

July 1st, 2009 | Tags: distro, international zine month, zine distro, zine reviews, zines, zinesters | Category: fun | Comments (2)

Image by gregoryperez

Can anyone honestly say that the self they project online, in blogs, on forums, etc. is truly 100% their real self? I know lots of people put on a persona on purpose, either because they want to hide their true selves or just as a gimmick, but I’m talking about those of us who don’t try any of that. Those of us who would tell anyone that we’re the same person in real life as we are online.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently. I am definitely in the latter category, I feel that keeping up an online persona must be so exhausting, I can’t imagine having to adopt a totally different, forced personality when writing or posting on a forum, it must be quite difficult to remain consistant. At least if inconsistancies come through when I write here, I know they’re quirks of my own personality, not made-up traits I’ll then have to make a conscious effort to replicate in the future.

Still, can any of us really say, particularly when writing a blog, that everything we write depicts our personality accurately? I think the moment the editing process starts, the moment a blog post turns from a stream-of-consciousness to a thought-out piece that’s meant for an audience, a small part of the real personality of the writer, which may have existed in the words, is lost. I don’t believe this is necessarily a bad thing, people are unpredictable, flawed beings and I know I often say stupid things in the moment that I wish I could take back. As long as a conversation isn’t recorded however, then the odd slip-up us unlikely to permanantly damage one’s reputation or relationships. A mistake like that on a blog post, even if later deleted, may be archived and one day when the writer is rich and famous (I wish) it may well come back to haunt them. Or in a more likely turn of events, someone with good Google-fu and a grudge can use it to cause trouble long after the writer has forgotten the comment completely. If there’s even the smallest chance that a blogger will ever find his or herself working in the corporate world, for example, then there is no point in taking the risk and posting unedited comments that could later cost them a job.

More “real-time” services of course are a different matter. Chatrooms and IRC channels don’t make headlines anymore, but there, although the capacity to edit still existed, people were far less likely to do so as they strove to make their comments within a conversational timeframe. I’ve made some very good friends through IRC channels that I regularly see in “real life” now, because when you remove everything but words, I think as long as the person you are talking to isn’t putting on an act, you can really get to know their personality without factors such as looks or fashion sense clouding your judgement.

I don’t know about you, but the most real-time method of online communication I use now is probably Twitter, and since tweets tend to me more like announcements than parts of a natural conversation, they tend to be very considered and edited, particulary since they have to be within 140 characters. Everywhere (online) that I write, I edit, and I wouldn’t have it any other way – I’m terrible for making typos! On my blog, and I’m sure on many others, I believe readers get a genuine dose of my personality, but it’s controlled. Free from hasty, stupid comments I may later regret, words I over-use replaced with similes, it’s still my voice, but prepared for public consumption.

This post was written entirely without editing. I haven’t spell-checked it, I haven’t gone back to change things that don’t “sound” right. How real do you think you are when you post online?

June 30th, 2009 | Tags: being real, blog, blogging, Blogs, internet, online life, online persona, online personality, online voice, personality, posts, real life, reality | Category: blogging, life, writing | Comments (10)

Here it is, my first TiLT in several weeks, I’m hoping it’ll help boost me back into a regular posting schedule again! It’s been weird not marking Thursdays with a post, but I needed a break and had I not taken it, I would have pulled myself into a rut of “filler” posts and other such nonsense.

If anyone has any topics they’d like to see on here, please tell me! Even if it’s just questions you may have about me. or just a vague rundown of the kind of posts you like, I’m sure inspiration will strike me soon! In the meantime, here’s what I’ve been loving during my blogging hiatus!

* Cupcakes – I visited the Hummingbird Bakery for the first time last week and loved it! I had a delicious red velvet cupcake and a cup of coffee, whilst my mother tried a coffee and walnut cake that was amazing! She found them a little sweet, but I loved them! Cheaper than the ones I bought at Peyton & Byrne (which were still lovely, and highly recommended if you find yourself with time to kill in St Pancras station) a couple of months ago, and nicer too, they even travelled well! A box containing 2 vanilla, 1 chocolate and 1 carrot cupcake made it’s way back to Loughborough on a train, via the underground, relatively unscathed:

* Sushi – For lunch each day this week I’ve taken a box of home-made sushi and 7 cherry tomatoes (because apparently 7 = 1 portion) and it’s been a huge success. Sushi rolls are officially my favourite lunch item – portable, healthy and filling (of course, what they were invented for) I can’t believe I didn’t think of making them for work before!

* Going to Bed Early and Reading – I finished the Twilight series (yes, I gave in and was surprised to find I enjoyed them despite the appalling writing and I found, rather unlikeable main characters) and now I’m starting on various books about freelance writing and business, in the hope that I’ll perhaps be able to get a little work in that area.

* Crafting – I’ve been making pretty things, perhaps for Etsy, perhaps just for fun, I haven’t really decided yet. It’s been rather enjoyable however, once I have the methods perfected I’ll have to post some photos! (I think I may have said that once before actually, ah well!)

* Other: The way my walk to the bus stop feels so much less like a chore in the sunshine, diet coke breaks, the new series of The Supersizers (love that show!), slowly reorganising my life, fajitas for dinner, finally trying out Google Chrome and realising that actually, it’s rather awesome, looking forward to cinema trips, planning my future (again), setting more goals that are actually attainable, finding a cupcake-delivery service near Loughborough, catching up on season 5 of House, opening my window in the morning and not freezing, energy drinks on special offer.

What’s making your week sparkle?

June 25th, 2009 | Tags: fun, life, lifestyle, List, Lists, Love, me, Meme, personal development, positivity, style, Things I Love Thursday, TiLT, writing | Category: Regular Features, Things I Love Thursday, life | Comments (4)

Image by Rangga Chandra

As you may have noticed, my planned short blogging hiatus during my exams has extended to a couple of weeks, as I have been struck by a case of, not exactly writers’ block, but I keep starting posts and being unable to finish them, and toying with ideas but not really finding a way to put them into words. I can’t believe I’ve managed to miss two weeks’ worth of TiLTs!

I’ve also been sorting out lots of little “real life” things that needed sorting out, things like budgets, tidying (well, I’ve mostly been putting off the tidying), photographing various pieces of clothing that I need to try and sell, fixing a few computer issues etc. Most of that is now done, so hopefully I’ll get my focus back shortly. In the meantime, I’ve been reading all your posts, even if I haven’t left many comments. I’m sure I’ll get back on track soon, it’ll probably be easier now that I’ve posted something.

xx

June 21st, 2009 | Tags: admin, announcement, blogging, hiatus, me, real life | Category: admin | Comments (5)

1, 2, 3, 4

As a self-confessed eternal student and learning addict, essay deadlines have been a major part of my existence (and in many instances, bane of my life) for many years.  Taking a course split between two departments also meant that there were many instances of deadline clashes, and many of us ended up with three or four essays to give in on the same day, which of course inevitably led to one of them being completely neglected until the very last minute.

Sitting up until 4AM, typing away at an essay then staying awake so I could hand it in as early as possible then sleep is one of my most enduring memories of full-time study. (If it’s correct to say things like that, having only been out of full-time study for a year). During my years at university, I picked up many tips and ideas that made this process a whole lot easier. The Sparkle Guide to Pulling an All-Nighter dealt with the practical side of staying up late working, however I also learned and came up with several tricks to deal with the actual work side of things too. Having shared some of these with friends who are still affected by this peril of university life, I thought I would share them here too, as I have been told that one of them in particular is a “grade-saver”.

* The first thing you must learn is that Wikipedia is not as evil as all the lecturers tell you it is! When used in the right way it can provide an excellent and easy-to-understand overview of a subject if you missed the lectures, and the links cited as sources for Wikipedia articles are often credible sources you can cite in your bibliography. Obviously you need to be careful when doing this, but by googling the  name of an author of a paper cited, it’s usually pretty easy to judge whether or not they are a credible authority in their field.

* The same applies to blogs, don’t disregard a search result because it’s a blog post and you won’t be able to cite it, if a blogger’s worth their salt when writing about an academic subject they’ll have linked to some credible sources and again, reading others’ articles even if you can’t directly use them can only enhance your understanding of the subject.

* Google Books is amazingly useful! (This one was the grade-saver for an English paper). By searching for a few keywords including the subject area or title of the book you’re writing about, you can find quotations on all manner of subjects that can be used in essays. Look for the books that say “Limited Preview”, those are the ones where you can read the pages your search brought up, and copy down quotations and citation information.

* Wikipedia can also be used to great effect when revising for exams, as long as you don’t take everything you read on there as definitely correct. I use it as a jumping-off point to pinpoint areas I’m least confident on. A typical Wikipedia entry will comprise of the brief framework of a subject area, which is all the casual learner needs to know. I use this to test myself, if I can’t expand thoroughly on what the Wiki entry says, I have identified an area I need to particularly focus on.

* Pool your resources! If you have a flatmate or friend who’s doing the same or similar essay to you, agree to swap useful sources as and when you find them. As long as you’re not handing each other particular useful quotations you’ve found, or reading portions of each-others’ essays then you’re not going to end up with identical pieces of work. Although there’s a definite advantage to keeping your sources to yourself if you’re well-prepared and prepare your work with loads of time to spare, when you’re working at the very last minute it really does save time and boost your bibliography to collaborate with someone on the research!

As a quick disclaimer, I feel the need to add (even though I’m sure you’re already aware of this) that Wikipedia does not know all, it’s accuracy cannot be guaranteed from one day to the next and most of the tips here rely on your own ability to identify which information sources are reliable and which aren’t. Having said that, they’ve pulled me through at the last minute on numerous occasions and I hope they can be of help to other procrastinating and / or overworked students out there!

I’m sure I’m not the only one who has last minute essay and revision survival tips to share however! I’d love to hear yours!

June 8th, 2009 | Tags: citing wikipedia, essays, exams, finding sources, google books, last-minute, last-minute research, last-minute revision, life, procrastination, projects, quick research, reports, research, revision, Studying, using wikipedia at university, wikipedia, wikipedia sources | Category: Studying, life | Comments (6)

Yet another week of sheer chaos, and another in which I’ve barely had time to post, all this stress and revision is making me miss blogging a lot! Thank you for all your good luck comments, they’re really appreciated!

Despite all the stress of this week, I had an amazing weekend and a real break from all the work. It was definitely “TiLT-worthy”!

* The Manic Street Preachers – Yes, I truly love this band, after Friday’s gig I’m definitely back to being a big fan again, they were on absolute top form and played some of their true classics! Although we were stood at the back (the queue was already quite long when we arrived, so we went out for Japanese food and returned just after doors) they sounded great and the view wasn’t too bad.

* Leo and Yam – A great aerial circus act we went to see on the Saturday night, they were rather amazing, I’d love to be able to do stuff like that! They were a really fabulous act to watch with good friends over (bloody expensive) cocktails!

* Catching Up – As well as the friends I stayed with, I also managed to catch up with an old uni friend over the weekend, and it was just amazing in general to be around so many of my favourite people I don’t get to see too often.

* Rewarding Myself – After a hard day’s work and revision, that cake, hot chocolate, bad TV episode or other treat seems just that bit better than it would have done otherwise!

* Also: Thinking seriously about what I’m doing with my life, mint juleps, sleeping on trains, managing to go above and beyond my own expectations of myself, Japanese pickles, feeling like I’ve helped someone, fresh coffee, looking forward to exams being over!

What’s making your week sparkle?

June 4th, 2009 | Tags: blogging, fun, ladybloggers, life, lifestyle, List, Lists, Love, me, personal development, positivity, Things I Love Thursday, TiLT | Category: Regular Features, Things I Love Thursday, life | Comments (3)

Despite my last post suggesting I’m not going to be around much, TiLT is something of an addiction of mine, I think I use it as a kind of therapy when I’m feeling down, and definitely as an outlet for my general feeling of yayness when everything’s good! This week’s been a bit mixed, but I have quite a few things to be happy about:

* Movies - On Sunday afternoon the boy and I went to see Star Trek and Angels and Demons, the plan was just to see the former, but we then realised that the amazing crepe stand in town had taken over the cafe in the cinema, so we had crepes and shakes for dinner then went to see a second movie. On Monday we went into Leicester to see Coralinein 3D (Loughborough cinema doesn’t have a digital projector). Great fun!

* Amazing Customer Service - I went into L’Occitane to continue my search for the perfect summer perfume, which I found in their Green Tea Eau de Toilette, which I love! It’s really fresh and summery-smelling, and lasts all day! The staff are always great in their stores, but this time we had free glasses of sparking rose and it was generally fabulous! Plus, I’m a complete sucker for shops that put free sample sachets in the bags with purchases!

* Getting back on the diet wagon- It’s so much easier during the warmer weather! I’m not cutting out carbs, but I’m cutting down on the needless ones, not snacking on bread, etc. Also, booze is limited to special occasions (so I can still indulge in cocktails this weekend).

* Weekend Plans – The Manics gig that I’ve been looking forward to for months, and dressing up for it! Parties and catching up with good friends, it’s going to be expensive but fabulous!

* Journal For Plague Lovers – It probably hasn’t escaped your notice that I love The Manic Street Preachers, but their last few albums haven’t really been up to the standard they used to produce. The latest offering however, is amazing and I’ve had it playing on repeat for most of the week!

* Being Warm – I feel the cold really badly at the moment, so the lovely warm weather makes me very happy! I really appreciate being able to relax at home, without worrying about the gas bill yet with warm hands and feet for once!

* Freebies! – I’ve been doing a lot of freebie-hunting recently, it’s great fun and although it tends to generate a lot of junk mail, I love receiving and trying out free samples! I think there may be a post worth writing on this subject actually.

* Other – Planning what to write once my exams are over (procrastination I know!), people complimenting my hair, yet more strawberries…, Delicious food from Yo! Sushi, being indulgent and taking a taxi when tired / carrying a lot of heavy bags, new writing ideas, wearing New Rocks with summer dresses, glitter eyeliner, filling USB sticks with delightful things for people, energy shots (I’m going to need them this weekend!), laughter.

What’s been making your week sparkle and glitter?

May 28th, 2009 | Tags: blog, blogging, fun, life, lifestyle, List, Lists, Love, me, People, personal development, positivity, Things I Love Thursday, TiLT | Category: Regular Features, Things I Love Thursday, life | Comments (4)

Image by Exothermic

I appear to have left this blog a little vacant and abandoned over the last few days, so I’m checking in with a somewhat less ominous than the movie version”I’ll be back”.

I’m currently revising for exams whilst trying to fit in work and the resurgence of my social life which appears to have happened at completely the wrong time! This weekend I’ll be in London to see the Manic Street Preachers (on Friday at the Camden Roundhouse, on the off chance that anyone who reads this is also going to be there), and various other events. After that it’s a week of last-minute cramming, and my exams will be over and done with on Thursday 11th June. After that, I promise I’ll start to write properly again, but in the meantime, updates will be somewhere between sporadic and virtually non-existent.

I imagine others who are studying will also be making similar posts over the next few weeks. I wish you all the best of luck if you have exams, etc. and I’m sure I’ll see many of you on Twitter from time to time!

xx

May 27th, 2009 | Tags: admin, blog, blogging, exams, explanation, hiatus | Category: admin, blogging | Comments (7)