Monday, 10 January 2011
Rain
I'm listening to the rain fall outside, an activity I've always found to be relaxing and peaceful. Being out in the rain definitely isn't as much fun for me, there's something about the fact that your warm and sheltered from the discomfort of rain that makes me feel safe. Also, there's nothing better than going to sleep to the sound of a stormy night; the wind whistling and the rain lashing on the windows. I usually listen to music as I fall asleep but on a particularly windy or rainy night I turn off my mp3 player and simply listen to the weather. Does anyone else enjoy this? I know a few people I know agree with me on the rain thing but not so many people are keen on whistling winds at night, they find it spooky.
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Shopping Malls and Bus Rides (sigh)
I usually avoid shopping in malls for several reasons.
1. I rarely end up buying what I set out to buy
2. It's crowded and noisy
3. I'm bad at it
But, unfortunately, today was one of those days when I had no choice. I usually go on big shopping sprees with my Mum, rather than my friends as I'm rarely in a spending mood when with my friends, instead we always end up doing something random or ridiculous and often related to YouTube, Harry Potter or food.
Anyway, my mum and I walked down to the bus stop, this morning, and found it packed with screaming year nines and tens; the last people you want on a bus with you. We only just got seats but not together and I ended up next to a little, old lady who was obviously quite intimidated by the "youths" on the bus, although I'm not sure if I was part of her troubles or not. It wasn't a bad journey if you rule out the way the girl's screams pierced through my internal organs and the yet to break voices of the shouting boys contributed to an overall storm of noise which filled up your brain meaninglessly, leaving no thinking space for distraction. The lady next to me wasn't a problem; I mean she didn't smell or anything but it was mildly frustrating the way, whenever I turned to look at something, her head would follow my movement and then quickly face back towards the window when I caught her. Or...maybe I'm just paranoid?
The actual Mall, itself, was an improvement to the bus. I managed to pick up some mundane items of clothing, none of which I had actually came out to buy and ate an egg sandwich and some crisps for lunch. The whole thing was actually going well until a literal nightmare approached me; my slightly senile, over friendly English teacher! I could distinctly feel my eyes widen in horror at the initial sight of her but I quickly smiled at her, as she was also grinning widely. But she wasn't smiling at me, but my mum. Obviously, you don't know this but my mum works at my school as a teaching assistant and my teacher obviously recognized her from that. it was only after she had passed us that she must have turned around and saw me because she exclaimed "Oh look, there's Freya". And so I was thinking "crap, do I turn round and say hello or pretend I didn't hear. I compromised by turning around to smile and, before I could do anything about it, i was being hurriedly introduced to my teacher's adult daughter who looked just as embarrassed as I felt. And now I really just want to block this encounter out of my memory but I thought I'd tell my blog because I've really gotten to like it. Awhhh!
The trip stretched on and, eventually, when the sun rays had disappeared from even the very topmost section of the giant Christmas tree no one had yet bothered to take down, we decided it was time to take the bus home. I considered this, at the time, and decided that it couldn't be as bad as the journey there and I guess I was right, reflecting now. But, blog readers, this is were it gets a bit strange. Whilst I was queuing to get on the bus, amongst most of the pushing kids that had been on the morning bus who seemed to have increased in amplitude, I experienced a strange adrenaline rush. I know, I know; adrenaline rushes occur when you or a loved one are in mortal danger or you need to do something to survive, natural animal instincts and all that but I genuinely believe that my desire to make sure I got a seat on the bus was so strong that I was successfully able to strategically block the kids out of the line who had pushed and get a seat for me and my mum together. Or maybe it was the anger at how annoying the kids were that i wouldn't allow them to have our seats. It was weird though because my pulse quickened and I felt really alert and awake and determined to succeed in my "mission". God, I live on the edge! OK, maybe it wasn't actually an adrenaline rush but it was definitely something...definitely something.
Overall, the day was OK as I enjoyed spending it with my mum but, for now, I'm going to take a long break from shopping and spend my weekends in my bedroom, writing blogs, making videos and Skype-ing. Nahh, I'll probably go out with my friends too soon but I definitely plan to stay in tomorrow. Screw the fact that my only school appropriate shoes are waterlogged, I'm NOT going out to buy new ones!
Bye Bye, BlogSpot
1. I rarely end up buying what I set out to buy
2. It's crowded and noisy
3. I'm bad at it
But, unfortunately, today was one of those days when I had no choice. I usually go on big shopping sprees with my Mum, rather than my friends as I'm rarely in a spending mood when with my friends, instead we always end up doing something random or ridiculous and often related to YouTube, Harry Potter or food.
Anyway, my mum and I walked down to the bus stop, this morning, and found it packed with screaming year nines and tens; the last people you want on a bus with you. We only just got seats but not together and I ended up next to a little, old lady who was obviously quite intimidated by the "youths" on the bus, although I'm not sure if I was part of her troubles or not. It wasn't a bad journey if you rule out the way the girl's screams pierced through my internal organs and the yet to break voices of the shouting boys contributed to an overall storm of noise which filled up your brain meaninglessly, leaving no thinking space for distraction. The lady next to me wasn't a problem; I mean she didn't smell or anything but it was mildly frustrating the way, whenever I turned to look at something, her head would follow my movement and then quickly face back towards the window when I caught her. Or...maybe I'm just paranoid?
The actual Mall, itself, was an improvement to the bus. I managed to pick up some mundane items of clothing, none of which I had actually came out to buy and ate an egg sandwich and some crisps for lunch. The whole thing was actually going well until a literal nightmare approached me; my slightly senile, over friendly English teacher! I could distinctly feel my eyes widen in horror at the initial sight of her but I quickly smiled at her, as she was also grinning widely. But she wasn't smiling at me, but my mum. Obviously, you don't know this but my mum works at my school as a teaching assistant and my teacher obviously recognized her from that. it was only after she had passed us that she must have turned around and saw me because she exclaimed "Oh look, there's Freya". And so I was thinking "crap, do I turn round and say hello or pretend I didn't hear. I compromised by turning around to smile and, before I could do anything about it, i was being hurriedly introduced to my teacher's adult daughter who looked just as embarrassed as I felt. And now I really just want to block this encounter out of my memory but I thought I'd tell my blog because I've really gotten to like it. Awhhh!
The trip stretched on and, eventually, when the sun rays had disappeared from even the very topmost section of the giant Christmas tree no one had yet bothered to take down, we decided it was time to take the bus home. I considered this, at the time, and decided that it couldn't be as bad as the journey there and I guess I was right, reflecting now. But, blog readers, this is were it gets a bit strange. Whilst I was queuing to get on the bus, amongst most of the pushing kids that had been on the morning bus who seemed to have increased in amplitude, I experienced a strange adrenaline rush. I know, I know; adrenaline rushes occur when you or a loved one are in mortal danger or you need to do something to survive, natural animal instincts and all that but I genuinely believe that my desire to make sure I got a seat on the bus was so strong that I was successfully able to strategically block the kids out of the line who had pushed and get a seat for me and my mum together. Or maybe it was the anger at how annoying the kids were that i wouldn't allow them to have our seats. It was weird though because my pulse quickened and I felt really alert and awake and determined to succeed in my "mission". God, I live on the edge! OK, maybe it wasn't actually an adrenaline rush but it was definitely something...definitely something.
Overall, the day was OK as I enjoyed spending it with my mum but, for now, I'm going to take a long break from shopping and spend my weekends in my bedroom, writing blogs, making videos and Skype-ing. Nahh, I'll probably go out with my friends too soon but I definitely plan to stay in tomorrow. Screw the fact that my only school appropriate shoes are waterlogged, I'm NOT going out to buy new ones!
Bye Bye, BlogSpot
Monday, 3 January 2011
Looking For Alaska, by John Green
What is this madness? I seem to be on some sort of blogging roll this week. Maybe the new year has provided me with lots of blogging power. No, that's actually very incorrect. I would not be writing a post today if I hadn't just finished reading the incredible book that was "Looking For Alaska" by John Green. I really want to write a detailed review right now but anyone who stumbles across this review hoping to find a good book to read won't appreciate me giving anything away. There is no greater evil in book reviews than spoilers but I think the term "book review" is generally understood to apply to something a person consults to find out whether or not a book is worth reading. So here goes nothing...
I'll start by saying there's so much more to this book than meets the eye. I found, upon finishing the book, that it felt more meaningful to me than I ever thought possible when I first picked it up. It's enormously shocking, wonderfully deep and very unique and I recommend it to adults as well as all teenagers. Yep, all teenagers. I'm not going to rule out certain people within this age group because I believe all teenagers will enjoy this book and hopefully will think a lot after reading it. Lastly, I am sure teenagers who read this will learn something new from this book. And I'm not making that last statement to distance myself from the typical teenager stereotype and try to imply that I know everything there is to know, rather I feel as if I, personally, have learnt from this book and that others can too. Now, I don't want to put you off "Looking For Alaska" by going on about "learning" too much because no teenager wants to be told "read this book because you will learn". That's way too much like school.
This is what I am saying.
Read "Looking For Alaska" if you love to think and reflect
Read it if you want to read a decent YA book
Read it if you like admiring an author's skill when they use a technique which blows you away
Read it if you don't see why a novel can't be funny and sad at the same time
Read it if you want to do yourself a favour...basically
Trust me, you won't regret it! OK, I think that's all I can say without spoiling the plot. So good day, internet and I leave you with a random, non-spoiling quote from the book.
"Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia ... You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present."
I'll start by saying there's so much more to this book than meets the eye. I found, upon finishing the book, that it felt more meaningful to me than I ever thought possible when I first picked it up. It's enormously shocking, wonderfully deep and very unique and I recommend it to adults as well as all teenagers. Yep, all teenagers. I'm not going to rule out certain people within this age group because I believe all teenagers will enjoy this book and hopefully will think a lot after reading it. Lastly, I am sure teenagers who read this will learn something new from this book. And I'm not making that last statement to distance myself from the typical teenager stereotype and try to imply that I know everything there is to know, rather I feel as if I, personally, have learnt from this book and that others can too. Now, I don't want to put you off "Looking For Alaska" by going on about "learning" too much because no teenager wants to be told "read this book because you will learn". That's way too much like school. This is what I am saying.
Read "Looking For Alaska" if you love to think and reflect
Read it if you want to read a decent YA book
Read it if you like admiring an author's skill when they use a technique which blows you away
Read it if you don't see why a novel can't be funny and sad at the same time
Read it if you want to do yourself a favour...basically
Trust me, you won't regret it! OK, I think that's all I can say without spoiling the plot. So good day, internet and I leave you with a random, non-spoiling quote from the book.
"Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia ... You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present."
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