Music. It’s like my big purple dinosaur.

Yes, I do realise my comparison to music is extremely odd. However, Barney the big purple dinosaur holds a very special place in my heart. This all-singing adorable not to mention cheerful chap of a dinosaur reminds me of when I was little and how whenever I was upset, my mum would put his video on repeat with the aim of cheering me up. Oddly enough I had just the one video, but it didn’t matter, hearing is ever optimistic ‘Super-dee-duper’ was enough to put a big fat chubby cheeked smile back on my face again. Barney the dinosaur was like a rollercoaster of emotions for me and music, seems to have the very same effect. I can go from miserable to ridiculously happy in 3:49 minutes (0r however long the average length of a song is).

A blast from the past.

It’s such a strange sensation the effect that music can have on somebody. With just one swipe of my finger across my ipod touch BAM it’s one hell of a good day! Especially when Kings of Leon come on shuffle, there’s nothing quite like hearing Anthony Caleb Followill sing into my eardrum to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The only way I can describe it is that first taste of a hot chocolate on a freezing cold winter’s day, minus the burnt tongue.

It also manages to help me through the most hellish part of my day, my bus journeys to and from uni. Public transport, possibly the two most fearsome words that I have ever came across. I only say this though because of my previous encounters on what is supposed to be a cost-effective and green way of travelling. I can recall not so long ago, the bus was jam-packed with people and the most repulsive smelling man that I have ever came across decided to get on the bus too, much to my dismay. I had to resort to standing up as there were no seats left whatsoever, and so did he. The odour was unbearable, even more so when the bus jolted and he fell onto me, it was a mixture of alcohol and urine. What enfuriated me most though, was his lack of apology, his drunken slurring and the fact that I had to shout at a sixty-plus old man to ‘Get the hell off me!’. It did not end there…after someone got off I managed to find a seat on the bus. However, it was near the front of the bus which meant I was still in close proximity to the old drunken man. He persisted on serenading me with an unidentifiable song and to strum his cane like a guitar as he paced up and down the bus aisle.

Hell on wheels.

This particular day I had left my ipod at home by accident, a fatal mistake. I could have turned what was a most uncomfortable bus ride into a deliriously happy bus ride, but instead I had to listen to the ear crushing musical drunkeness of a senile old man. Although I do laugh about this ‘experience’ now, at the time I was horrified, and ever since then I vowed never to leave the house without my big purple dinosaur.

Tags: Barney the dinosaur, Bus, Dailies, Ipod, Kings of Leon, Life, Music, Public Transport

Aspirations, desires, wishes…?

Now that I’m back for my second year at university I have recently received a 400 word Italian language assignment which is as follows: “Quali sono i vostri desideri, le vostre aspirazioni ed i vostri progetti per il futuro?” (Which basically means ‘What are your desires, aspirations and plans for the future?’), and to be fair I’m pretty stumped. Whenever someone asks me what I’d like to do in the future I usually reply ‘I dont know’, and I’m pretty sure my Italian assignment can’t revolve around the words ‘Non so’, I don’t think my tutor would be very impressed.

Must find some inspiration...

What is our preoccupation with planning ahead? I’m not one of those individuals who just gets through each day in the hope that the next follows right behind it. Yes, I do want to make something of myself and try to achieve something in life, which is one of the reasons why I decided to go to university. To what I want to achieve though, I have no idea. I think John Lennon (Yes, I’m from Liverpool. No, I’m not some big Beatle maniac, but I do think he was a wise man.) had the right idea when he said “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”  I must admit I’m not the best at organising or planning things. I try to be organised, I make lists, buy diaries, yet always lose them, but I suppose that’s just me.

John Lennon

As for the future, it doesn’t scare me. Yeah sure I’d like a successful career, big house, a family, to live abroad etc. etc. but I suppose the main thing is that your happy in the present. This is where John Lennon yet again proves to be a quoting genious. “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” My family have always told me to do whatever makes me happy, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. So to sum up, my aspiration in life is to be happy or in Italian essere felice…God knows what I’m goin to write in this essay though. Wish me Luck!

Tags: Aspirations, Assignment, Dailies, Dreams, Italian, John Lennon, The Future, University

Summer in England?

Firstly, I must apologise for the halt in posts, I’ve been a pretty busy bee! My brother will be getting married at the end August and so I’ve been on bridesmaid duties, from the various hen nights to dress fittings and also, celebrating the fact that I managed to pass my first year at university.

My summer so far has been pretty amazing, I’ve managed to go on a few weekends away with my friends, various days and nights out. We managed to go and watch The X factor auditions, we were chosen to sit right behind the judges and I got to shake Louis Walsh’s hand (it made my day hahah!). I have also got tickets to go to the V festival on the 19th August which should be fun yet interesting considering I’ve never actually put up or even stayed in a tent before! I cannot wait to see all the bands and singers playing, Arctic Monkeys, The Script, Ellie Goulding, Rihanna….etc what more could you want?

Louis Walsh

However, one thing that would top my summer off, would be if we actually got to have some summer weather. My parents have gone to Turkey on holiday and I’m just hoping that we actually get a bit of sun in England, otherwise I’m going to resemble that of casper the friendly ghost’s sister (Such a nice look for the wedding photographs).  A nice healthy glow is not too much too ask is it? I’m thinking I’ll probably have to whip out the spray tan, as this weather is so unreliable. Today for example, it’s been windy, raining, humid, sunny and now cloudy, I think it needs to make its mind up. I mean what on earth am I supposed to wear, sundress? Nope, I’d look like a wally in the rain. Jeans? Nope, it’s far too hot. Shorts? Nope, i’d be too cold! Not only is the weather wreaking havoc with my tanning time, but also my wardrobe. I finally settled for a flowery dress, cardigan and tights, a combination of my winter and summer wardrobe. I should not be having to make these combinations in August, c’mon weather get your act together!

C'mon Mr Sun put your hat on!!

Right, that’s my daily dose of moaning done today! I shall leave you all to enjoy your summers whether it be sunny or not, and hope you’ll all join me in a daily sun dance in the hope that I can catch some rays soonish. Aloha!!

Tags: Clothes, Dailies, Fashion, Festival, The X Factor, Weather

People watching in a totally non-weird way.

People watching, it’s kinda like bird watching or star-gazing but with people instead, and to tell you the truth it’s quite amusing. I work in a shop during the weekend and today has been a pretty hectic day in which one of my jobs was to stand for an hour and a half, greeting potential customers and handing out leaflets. During this time it gave me the opportunity to observe typical behaviours of customers, and what I found was that you have your main six categories:

1) The happy, carefree customer that likes to shop (one woman had spent 2 hours already browsing in the shop, much to the dismay of her husband). They are usually middle-aged women and will appreciatively take a leaflet.

2) The leaflet dodgers. They refuse to make any eye contact at all and will make a quick, carefully planned manoeuvre to avoid you, despite your best efforts of assuring them you’re a friendly person by fastening a permanent grin to your face (my jaw was aching after ten minutes).

3) The couples. The men will happily accept a leaflet,  and continue to read it intensely whilst walking around the store, probably to avoid any lengthy discussion with their partner about which shade of green would be best in the living room.

4) The single men. Most of the time they don’t want a leaflet, they only have one mission. To get in and out of the store in the quickest time possible. Stopwatches at the ready.

5) The elderly. Mostly cute, and will talk to you hours on end (my favourite customers, I just want to give them a big hug). They are usually intrigued with the prospect of  gaining a leaflet.

6) The families. The customers that bring children along with them, look fed up and tend give their children the ‘behave yourself or I’m going to lose my patience with you’ look. Mostly, they’re happy to accept a leaflet, which they later give to their children to keep them quiet.

Basically my expression for a full hour and a half. Happy to help!

As you can tell, handing out leaflets isn’t really that stimulating for the brain, especially when repeating the phrase ‘Would you like a leaflet?’ and smiling until you literally have lock-jaw, with your face permanently stuck the same grinning (or grimacing) position. People watching however, helped me retain some of my sanity, and of course the many friendly customers that stopped for a gab every now and then! So I dare you, the next time you have a bit of spare time on your hands go grab a coffee and sit in the Starbucks window, and watch the world go by. The sights you see will truly amaze you! Although, I do not condone any stalker-ish behaviour, that’s just weird.

So, with my rant about the psychological behaviour of shoppers over. I bid you to go in peace and be nice to the shop assistants. Amen.

Tags: Customers, Dailies, Job, People, Smile

Hiccups…Be gone!

Yes, you’ve probably guessed it from the title, I have hiccups (hic)! As I’m currently writing this they continue time-after-time (cue Cindi Lauper Lyrics) to return with a vengeance. I have now had them for 2 hours 38 minutes and counting, and oh are they annoying. Every time that I think that they have finally gone ‘hic’ they’re back again, and now I’ve been exiled to the parlour by my parents (yes, I use the word parlour, but that’s a whole different kettle of fish) as I attempt to revise Italian politics with a spontaneous diaphragmatic spasm. Learning about the Italian student movement whilst hiccuping is something different altogether, as I have resorted to reading with overly defined syllables, for example ‘po-lice’ and ‘stud-ents’.

My sudden onset of hiccups, got me wondering why do we actually hiccup? I mean, what is the function of them? So, as usual, I googled. My answer: squat. It serves no function whatsoever, so how on earth did we come hiccup then? Well, I found this article from the BBC that says it could be from our frog ancestors, when we were weird little frog creatures with gills, and that hiccuping might have helped us breathe. If that’s the case, then I feel sorry for our frog ancestors, they must have been very irritable (provided that they felt emotions) because I can tell you, I certainly am.

Frogs are cute!

So now, onto the ‘remedies’. Some of them are a bit out there here’s a few I found:

• Drinking pickle juice. – As if, I’m going anywhere near the stuff!
• Rubbing your right earlobe. – I tried, it didn’t work.
• Getting someone to scare you. – I’m already of a nervous disposition after seeing Insidious. I think I’ll pass.
• A spoonful of sugar and a few drops of water. – Nice try, Mary Poppins. I’d like to keep my teeth thanks!
• Getting someone to promise to buy you a crate of beer. – I have no idea?
• Holding your breath. – I could only hold it for so long, before I went red in the face.
• Eating a raw chilli. – What do you think I am?

Basically, the ‘remedies’ only serve to make you look even more foolish than you already are. I think I’ll wait for them to go on their own. They should go…eventually…hopefully… I think I’ll crack open the Ben and Jerry’s in the meantime, that could help. Chocolate Fudge Brownie be prepared to be demolished!

Hic-Bye!

Tags: Dailies, Frogs, Hiccups, Ice Cream

Shopping to cure my library blues!

Yesterday was a rather hellish day on the revision front. I thought I’d be a model student and take a visit to the library to gather some more information for the essays that I have to write in my exams. So braving the drizzly weather, I arrived at the automatic doors to the library fashioning the windswept and saturated look, reminding myself to be positive despite having to battle with my defective umbrella and earphones on the journey there. For efficiency I had already written down the library catalogue number of the book that I needed, and so I traipsed up 3 flights of stairs whilst attempting to maintain my composure to passing students (Yes, I’m unfit. It’s on my ‘To-do’ list). However, when I finally found the bookshelf where the book was supposed to be, to my dismay it was nowhere to be seen. Boy, was I annoyed. I even double checked the library computer system and there sitting smugly on the computer screen I saw the word ‘AVAILABLE’. No, it wasn’t. I mean what’s the point in having an electronic system in a library, if you have to spend an hour and a half skim reading about 30 books to find one that ‘might’ be relevant? Yes, I wasted an hour and half in the library trying to find a book.


My annoyance levels were off the chart and so I walked into town in the hope that some retail therapy might cheer me up! It did, enormously. There’s nothing like entering four little digits into the little chip and pin machine in return for a bag full of clothes to put a spring in my step. Feeling triumphant I left the shop with heavy bags and a lighter bank account, but who cares. You only live once, right? Even the bus ride home couldn’t dampen my spirits despite the screaming child and idiot sitting at the back of the bus loudly playing their favourite ‘DJ Boonie’ song on repeat (Youtube it, you’ll catch my drift).


I don’t know what it is about new clothes, they really do make me a happier person.  My parents think I’ve got a problem and yeah, maybe I have but like I always say to them wouldn’t you rather I have a clothes addiction than say a drug or gambling addiction? Well, that’s how I justify my excessive spending, and to be fair I am reasonably good with my money. I’ve never had an overdraft, and although I do receive a student loan I also have a job. So it is acceptable!

Taupe animal print wedge heels. I couldn’t resist.

I enjoyed yet another pleasant shopping experience today.  I have just returned home from a couple hours of shopping and I have never been happier with my purchases. I am now the proud owner of two beautiful pairs of new shoes. I can guarantee you that I can’t walk in them but they look pretty.  Never mind Chicken Soup for the Soul, just give me a pair of shoes and I’m the happiest person in the world.

Miss KG Hello! My beautiful new shoes.

So now it’s time to crack on with the revision…..


(P.S. The books that I did resort to getting from the library were in Spanish and completely useless. Just what I needed!)

Tags: Clothes, Dailies, Fashion, Library, Shoes

Dream until your dream comes true…Or not!

I’m back! After a much needed sleep I realised that this blog was actually a good idea and so I shall try to continually post my inner ramblings. Anyway, it was during this sleep that I had this rather vivid dream that I occasionally have when I return to the land of nod. This dream in particular was about my teeth falling out and to tell you the truth it scared the hell out of me.

After a bit of research on the internet it came to my understanding that dreaming about teeth is in fact quite common. Although, I don’t know whether googling about dream interpretation was a good move on my behalf. I came across some articles detailing the reasons why someone dreams about their teeth falling out, and it hasn’t reassured me one little bit. Some of these interpretations included that to dream about your teeth falling out predicts an illness of some sort, that you’re anxious about something in your life or that you’ll become financially wealthy. I’m hoping its the latter.

I find it very odd that some people believe our lives are determined through the sensations, emotions and visions we experience during REM, personally I’m a ‘everything we do in our daily lives plans our life out’ believer. I mean, if we interpreted every single dream we had as having some significance to our future or present life, I don’t know about you but I’d probably be classed as mentally unstable. My dreams always have some form of absurd or disturbing element, I can recall from when I was younger I used to have this recurrent dream whenever I fell asleep on the couch. It depicted a man running down the stairs to catch me. So that was the end of my falling asleep on the couch days.

To clarify though, I am actually a pretty normal person, I just have very strange dreams. Albeit, after much stipulation I have came to the conclusion that the dream about my teeth falling out is possibly an insecurity derived from the brace-ridden days of my 15 year old self. There’s nothing like bolting strips of metal in someones mouth to make them feel less attractive, not that I regret having it done. So thank you Mr. Orthodontist for my beautifully structured mouth and the many insecurites and disturbing dreams that came with it.

Sweet dreams everyone.

Tags: Dailies, Dreams, Teeth