This Weekend

The plan for the last year was to spend this weekend sleeping on the floor in a tent, spending most nights in something that resembles a war zone and generally turning into a dirty festival goer at none other than the quite frankly fantastic Reading Festival. I'm now typing this from the comfort of my bed in rather wet Wales. The big glaringly obvious difference is that I'm not in a tent, I'm not in Reading and I'm not at a festival. This is down to a number of reasons, but mainly the fact that I'd have missed a whole day's worth of music due to a particularly evil exam I had yesterday (which, by the way, I'm fairly convinced I failed due to a migraine). Money also had a small part to play in this but if I hadn't had the exam I'd have put up with that.

Bands I'm missing that I was planning on seeing:
Day 1 - Blood Red Shoes, byoP, Florence and the Machine, Biffy Clyro, Ida Maria, Friendly Fires, MGMT, Vampire Weekend, The Wombats, Rage Against The Machine
Day 2 - Collapsing Cities, The Subways, Mystery Jets, Los Campesinos!, Editors, Justice, Bloc Party, Manics (Clash of the festival for me, I'd be so tempted to see The Killers instead, but have a feeling I'd have been dragged to see the Manics. Not that I'd have complained)
Day 3 - Adam Green, Holy Fuck, Johnny Foreigner, Lethal Bizzle, Pendulum, Tenacious D, Wiley, The Cribs

When I realised I'd definitely have to miss Friday, most people reacted by saying something along the lines of "Oh well, at least it's the weak day". Not for me it wasn't. Bands I love, plus no clashes. Saturday was the 'bands I like and a few I love' day, but with a few clashes, and Sunday was, to be honest, fairly meh-some. A catastrophic clash between Holy Fuck and JoFo, nothing much worth seeing for 2 hours, and everyone seemingly bumming headliners I have no interest in whatsoever.

Actually putting it like that, it's probably just as well I ended up not going. I'm feeling a bit better about not being there. I'm missing some bands I'd love to see live, but of the 26 I'd have planned on seeing at least some of, I've seen 10/11 and will be seeing another in a few weeks.

At least I'll be buying next year's ticket on Tuesday :D

Music: Friendly Fires - Paris
Socks: I'm not wearing any :P

Just Me

I set myself a challenge. It was inspired by the quiz about me I made on Facebook, which in turn was inspired by a conversation about how everyone is different and that we should embrace our differences. I didn't have any particular time scale in which it needed to be completed; just setting myself the challenge of doing it, and well enough, will do.

So... here's a list of things about me. 100 things to be precise.

1. I was born at Princess Margaret Hospital, Swindon on 16th September 1987, at teatime.
2. I was born 2 weeks late when I was forced out by modern medicine, and its often said that I've been late ever since.
3. At 9 months old I got a virus and died. You won't get rid of me that easily though.
4. I learnt to read 4 months after I learnt to walk.
   
5. I didn't walk until I was 14 months old.
6. My earliest memory is sitting on the floor in the living room reading the Argos catalogue when my Mum walks in. This was when she was pregnant with Adam, so I must have been 2 at the time.
7. My first full day at school was my 5th birthday. My teacher didn't know what to do with a 5 year old who could read pretty well already and didn't believe me. I kicked her, then finished a novel by the end of my first term. That showed her.
8. I used to be clever. Now I'm struggling.
9. I did French lessons for 7 years. I can't remember quite a bit of it, which is a shame because I'd quite like to be fluent in another language. I could still get by if I needed to though.
10. I was seriously bullied almost as soon as I started school. This continued from various people to various degrees right until I left college. It kinda screwed me up. "Kinda" is an understatement.
11. I have a GNVQ Part One in ICT, just because I thought it would be fun to do in my spare time. I later found out that it was a total waste of time and most of it had more to do with English than anything to do with computers.
12. I did less GCSEs than most people. My school was strange. I still got enough As to do what I wanted at college, despite having less chances than most.
    
13. I have 3 A Levels in Maths, English Lit and Geography, with AS Levels in Drama and Tudor History. My degree has nothing to do with any of this.
14. While I was at school I had 2 years of Keyboard lessons. I can't play very well anymore, because I've always been useless at reading music, but I try. Apparently I have a musical brain, but can't read music fast enough to play it. Once I learn something I'm quite good at it. I play my keyboard most days.
    
15. The first album I ever bought was (What's The Story) Morning Glory by Oasis. I bought it as soon as it came out with money I'd saved from my birthday. It was on cassette.
16. I can't remember what the first single I bought was. I'm not sure why this is.
17. The first CD I bought was Everybody Get Up by Five. It was from Gatwick Airport 2 days after I got my first CD player for my 11th birthday, and I was on my way to Minorca on my first foreign holiday.
    
18. I've always loved music, from a really young age. My blog picture kinda shows this.
19. I think a lot of people take music way too seriously.
    
20. I saw Steps at Wembley Arena, but the first gig I went to was The Subways at Bristol Academy just before my 19th Birthday. It is stupidly hard to go to gigs for people living in Swindon.
    
21. I'd never been to a festival until Reading 07, but had been desperate to go for years before that. It was one of the best weekends of my life and I have my 2008 ticket. I don't mind who's playing; I'll find something. Despite issues with my resit being on the Friday afternoon, I'm very tempted to still go.
    
22. The first flight I went on was just before I turned 4, when I went to Jersey for the day with my parents, leaving my 11 month old brother behind. As we landed on our way home, I threw up all over the plane... on its first ever passenger flight. Oops.
    
23. I've been to France, 2 of the Balearic Islands and Tunisia.
24. I love travelling to new places in the UK, especially if they are on gig related trips.
    
25. My old passport has 2 stamps in; To and from Tunisia.
26. I don't have a passport anymore.
    
27. Watching the sun rise over the Sahara desert, a 4x4 ride across sand dunes and a camel ride made my week in Tunisia unforgettable.
28. I haven't been on a proper holiday in 6 years.
    
29. The 10 days I spent in Northern France were horrible. I DO NOT want to go back...EVER.
30. I plan to go to Melbourne once I finish my degree with my best friend, but the place I really want to go to is Iceland. Australia, Canada and USA come pretty close behind Iceland though.
31. I'd quite happily swap a foreign holiday for a spa break, and have a load of relaxing beauty treatments instead.
    
32. Due to my horrible reaction to strong UV rays thanks to PLE, I don't like sun all that much. When I go to Melbourne I'll get 3 winters in a row, and no Summer.
33. I had braces, but since found out that I've got something stupidly rare that means I never should have had one. It caused all of the problems I've had with my jaw.
34. I have weak ligaments in my jaw, something (the hospital have never found out what) wrong with my sinuses (I permanently feel like I have a cold), a perforated septum, weak knees, a weak shoulder (from having it in spasm for 3 weeks), eczema and asthma, and am prone to stress, depression and migraines. I've probably missed something. Oh, and the PLE I've already mentioned.
    
35. I dislocated my shoulder while watching Klaxons live. I did it on a Sunday night and didn't know until I had to go to hospital on the following Friday and the doctor accidentally put it back in...without anaesthetic. It was worth it to see Klaxons, CSS, The Sunshine Underground and New Young Pony Club together.
36. I'm fairly accident prone.
    
37. I've never had stitches. God knows how I'd react if I had to.
    
38. I have had 1 operation. It was 6th October (my mum's birthday) 2004. I was NOT a good patient. To say I was scared would be an understatement. I had no side effects from the anaesthetic whatsoever, and came out feeling much better than when I went into the hospital 6 hours earlier.
39. I reacted so badly when my ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) consultant told me that he wanted to operate that I now have the words "PAIN/NEEDLE PHOBIA" scrawled across the top of my hospital records. They sent a letter to my GP too.
40. I signed up for a college trip to Tunisia without realising that I'd need 4 injections. If I'd known I never would have signed up but I'm glad I did because it forced me to face my biggest fear.
    
41. I am very slightly short sighted and due to that I think I have the coolest glasses in the world. They're blue and schmexy with grey reactions lenses. I don't have to wear them very often though.
42. I have one brother and no cousins. I don't find the lack of people my age in my family strange, because it's all I've ever known.
43. My parents split just before I turned 16 and their divorce was finalised the day I had my operation. I'm glad it over. I get on with both of them much better now.
44. Next year my Dad is getting remarried (apparently) and I'll inherit an older stepbrother and a younger stepsister. Despite my Dad living with them for the past 4 1/2 years, I've never met either of them.
    
45. I've had 2 jobs. The first was as an assistant in a pharmacy after school for 2 years, then I was an Argos minion for 2 years at weekends. I think this is quite interesting (see 5). I somehow managed to pass a group interview the day after having a general anaesthetic. I felt fine but don't remember doing it so I must have been out of it. God only knows what I said/did. I was one of 4/40 to be offered a job though.
    
46. I haven't worked since the day before my first gig. Getting a job during the holidays isn't as easy as it may seem, especially in a town with no university and therefore no students who need to be replaced over the holidays.
    
47. I decided that I wanted to be a solicitor when I was 9. This is why I'm doing a law degree. To be honest, I'd rather work in music. I still want to be a solicitor, but I want to work in music more. I'm still aiming to be a solicitor, whether I really want to be one or not. The chances of it happening are getting smaller by the day.
48. This woman has my dream job.
    
49. I am not confident in the slightest. I always have this feeling that people don't actually want to talk to me, but that they just put up with me being around because they don't have any other choice (see 11). This is the reason that I don't start conversations very often, but am fine once I'm having one.
50. I have totally changed since I started uni. I put this down to finally escaping the place I announced I wanted to leave aged 11, leaving behind the bad memories, finally getting the independence I've wanted for years, leaving behind the people who made my life a misery on a daily basis and making the best friends I've ever had. I owe a lot to my friends at uni.
51. I am definitely a city girl. Why I ended up in Swansea is beyond me. Although its a city, it doesn't feel enough like one. Once I've finished my degree, I have a feeling I'll either go to Cardiff or back to England to do an LPC. I know I won't be going back to Swindon and I doubt I'll stay here.
52. The thing I like most about where I live at the moment is the beach. Swindon is about as far as you can get from a beach, so it's a real novelty to be walking on the sand within 2 mins of leaving my front door. Spending the evening on the beach with cider, a fire and my night frisbee is one of my favourite things to do.
53. The thing I like least about where I live is the constant going on about Rugby. It seems that you can't spend 10 mins in Wales without having Rugby rammed in your face. I do not enjoy Rugby at all. I didn't learn about it at school because the teachers realised that trying to teach it to 30 girls who would much rather play Football or Basketball was pointless. Football > Rugby. I once went to a uni rugby match and spent the whole time looking over the pitch watching football instead. This is one of the main reasons that I want to go back to England once I've finished uni.
    
54. I am horribly jealous of anyone brought up in London. Anywhere with a decent enough music scene would be OK, but especially London.
55. I've been surfing a few times and really enjoyed it. The problem I have is that I'm too much of a wimp to go in the sea when its freezing cold, so I only surf in nice weather. If I lived somewhere with nice weather and a higher sea temperature I'd go all year round and properly try.
56. I'd quite like to try snowboarding too. Seeing as I'm useless at sport, have no balance and it took me 3 months to learn to ride a bike, I don't think I'd be very good at it though. I'd be the one watching from the side with a sling or crutches after my latest accident.
57. I don't like taking part in sport very much, but I like watching football. I support Swindon Town FC, but I don't get to see them play very often. Usually I have to keep track of games and progress online. I grew up spending most weekends watching my brother playing for about 6 years, then watched him every now and again for another 3 or 4.
58. I can hardly swim. I once managed 50m but I was about 11. Due to the asthma, I just can't breathe well enough. I probably should swim more because it would be good for me and its apparently easier for asthmatics to swim than do most other forms of exercise. It doesn't help that I haven't been swimming much for over 2 1/2 years and hadn't been for 2 years before that.
    
59. I have awful balance. It took me 3 months of constant practice to be able to ride a bike. I was horribly jealous when my brother picked up a bike and rode it with no practice a year before I could do it.
    
60. My favourite food is Fox's Classic Bars. I quite often get through 8 in a week, but that's because I usually limit myself to a pack a week. I could very happily eat a pack a day.
61. Given the choice, I'd have doritos over regular crisps. I love all 3 flavours, but think Cool Original just edges it at the top.
    
62. I HATE milk, yet love milkshake. Once the flavour is covered up, preferably with Camp Coffee, its all good. I love the places that have now appeared all over the place that make milkshake out of strange things, like Shakeaway. If anyone would like to donate one I'll have either a Tim or Ben. YUM!
63. I love Orange Juice. I'm quite strange because I don't like freshly squeezed as much as I like concentrate. I can quite easily drink a carton of Sainsbury's Basics juice (my favourite) in one go. I prefer it to their more expensive version.
    
64. I don't like red meat at all. I'd be vegetarian if it wasn't such a hassle, and I didn't love Roast Chicken dinners so much.
65. I've never liked tea much, and if I ever drink it I'll have it black. I've recently discovered that a light cup of Darjeeling is quite nice though. Despite not liking hot tea, I love Iced Tea. Yes, I'm odd.
    
66. I seem to be in the minority who don't like berries and never have. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants... Just yuk.
67. When I come home from uni my Mum always asks what I want for my first meal back. It is always Roast Chicken. I wonder why she bothers asking sometimes.
68. Despite my near vegetarianism, it's not anything to do with cruelty to animals etc. I hate animals. Fish are OK, but I've never liked the rest, EVER. Don't ask me to choose between dogs or cats. I equally hate both.
69. If I have pets in the future, although I don't really plan to, it will be a tank of Neon Tetras because they're tiny, yet look powerful because they're so bright.
    
70. My bedroom is usually messy. I hate having a tidy bedroom because to me it looks clinical and un-lived in.
71. I think that the Tweety poster I have on my bedroom wall is possibly the coolest poster I have ever seen. I had to have it. Tweety > You. Zippy is close behind though.
72. I once found a Googlewhack, but can't remember what it is anymore. If I put it in here, it wouldn't be one now anyway. It was some music genre I made up, with the sole purpose of finding one.
    
73. A lack of Internet is possibly one of the worst things that can happen to me. A lack of music is worse, but I spend far too much time online. I don't care whether this is a good thing or not, and it won't change until I find something better to do, that makes me happier.
74. My favourite sound is rain, especially if I'm lying in bed in the pitch black trying to get to sleep.
    
75. I love storms and am a bit of a weather geek. I'm fascinated by thunderstorms, hurricanes, earthquakes etc. I'm quite jealous of people who've lived through them really, although I'm quite glad I haven't had to face they danger they bring with them. A small, yet noticeable UK-sized earthquake would be quite fun. Or a hurricane, knowing that nothing bad could happen to anyone.
76. I can stay awake for hours and hours. This comes in very useful on nights out, because I love to party. The longest I've manages to stay awake is 60 hours, although the second half wasn't by choice.
    
77. I love to dance. I did Ballet lessons for 2 years when I was little, but left because I felt horrible about being the only one in the class who didn't do Tap straight afterwards and had to go home, while the rich girls got to carry on dancing. I did Disco Freestyle for a year in my mid-teens, but had to give it up when I got a job. If I'm in my bedroom, I'm usually either sat on my bed or dancing around the room.
78. I'm a member of the uni radio station (music team) and dance society. Unfortunately I couldn't join any of the dance classes I wanted because they all clashed with my timetable. Cheerleading in the first year had exactly the same problem. In the 3rd year I'll either be a dancer or cheerleader, or possibly both. It depends on the timetable. It's the closest to decent exercise I'll get other than the walks to uni or town.
79. I wish I was a model, purely because I'd love to be in front of the camera and have my hair/make up done all the time. I'd love so many good photos of me too. This is why I'm having a makeover photoshoot done on my 21st birthday, and I can't wait.
    
80. Although I hate hospitals, my favourite TV shows are Grey's Anatomy and Scrubs. When I get the chance I also watch the odd bit of House, Doctor Who, Gavin & Stacey, Hollyoaks and Brothers & Sisters. I wish Green Wing hadn't ended.
81. I think that TV on Demand is one of the best things ever.
    
82. My favourite films are Sliding Doors, Notting Hill, Love Actually and Juno. I'm quite partial to the Spider-Man trilogy and Pirates Of The Caribbean too, but don't like the 3rd of either as much as the previous films.
83. My first phone was a Philips Scavvy, followed by a Siemens A50, Nokia 3200, Sony Ericsson w810i and now a Sony Ericsson w910i. Nokias are useless. Don't buy them. Sony Ericsson FTW. The last 2 were on contract, and I wouldn't have replaced my w810i if my contract hadn't been up. My phone is an extension of my hand.
84. PPL hu tlk lyk dis dryv mi insayn. I think "txt-spk" is horrible and should be banned. I've never liked it. If something is worth saying, say it properly.
    
85. My favourite colour ever is sky blue. Even when I was little everyone else had pink bedrooms, but I wanted blue. When everyone else had red Splash bikes, I had the blue version. Everyone else had pink Snatch the Dog bedrooms, I had the blue version. I'd love a sky blue car.
86. If I could, I'd have a Laser Blue Mini Cooper S and a TVR Tuscan S Convertible. Failing that or the £100k plus I'd need to buy them, I'd settle for an Oxygen Blue Mini One in the meantime.
87. I passed my driving test in September 2007. I haven't driven since. I miss driving because I love it so much. Having a car would be useful when I'm stuck at home in the middle of nowhere, but I just enjoy driving, especially in the country. Living in the middle of nowhere on the edge of the Cotswolds has its advantages sometimes, especially when it involves driving to a little pub with a garden that backs onto the Thames. It's lovely.
    
88. If anyone I know breaks a computer, its usually me who fixes it. I was made one of 3 IT Monitors when I was in Class 3, when my teacher realised that the 3 of us knew more about how to use them than her.
89. I don't like tattoos. I think they're ugly, especially on anyone over the age of 30. I will never, ever have one.
90. I wasn't allowed to get my ears pierced until I was 12, but I didn't get it done until just after I turned 18. I wish I hadn't bothered. I think people who stretch huge holes in their ears are stupid, but simple piercings can be quite nice. It's just not for me though.
    
91. My favourite place is my bed. Going home is strange because I have a child sized bed, and I'm now used to sleeping in my Queen sized bed at uni. I love both equally though. Many times people have tried to force me out of my bed and failed miserably.
92. I don't remember dreams. I haven't in years.
    
93. I'm not bad at cooking, and could make pretty much anything if I was given a recipe. I just don't like doing it very often. The thing I'm best at making is cheesy pasta, and about a million variations of it, depending on what I have in the cupboard.
    
94. I love 18th century period dramas, and quite often wish I was a character in a Jane Austen novel. Life was so different then...
95. When I was little I read loads. I always used to be taken to the library on a Saturday morning, and by the end of lunchtime I'd have finished my first book. Now I hardly read at all. I wish I read more though and keep thinking of books to add to the ever increasing 'To Read' list.
96. I want a hammock.
97. I've wanted to go White Water Rafting since I was little. Definitely since before I was old enough to have a go or could swim well enough.
    
98. I also want to do this.
    
99. I think Popping Candy is vastly underrated.
    
100. I wear odd socks

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