Resolution

I only seem to ever blog when I have literally NOTHING else to do, which isn't really fair to all you readers! (Stats say there are somehow a few of you out there, okay, that's legitimate.)
Maybe my New Year's Resolution this year can be to start blogging again ... all the broken link pictures really got me into a right upset state because I like neatness, but hey, I can always just kind of start again on the same blog, right?


I'm back in Hong Kong now actually. As in, got off the plane today after a failed cab reservation that led to me calling a cab basically in tears down the phone, almost hitting a child with a rogue luggage trolley, oh, and getting an upgrade and having the whole aisle to myself and because it was Air New Zealand, it was basically AIR MIDDLE EARTH. (No kidding, that's like totally their seasonal tagline.)

So, updates: I had my birthday on tuesday! 19 isn't amazing so far. I did get lots of lovely things including chocolate (duh always works,) and i did get sung to in Welsh which was cute. My party was the friday before which you'd know if I'd been bothering to update this but I haven't. Y'all haven't missed much, I swear - house parties and sometimes I went out but mostly just stayed in because I'm boring and afflicted with Couple Syndrome™ now apparently.

You see, I planned a fancy dress party with a wide theme and basically TOLD everyone they'd HAVE to dress up but actually didn't end up getting a costume until the DAY BEFORE MY OWN PARTY.



Portia and Esme also came down and it was nice to have a great CATCH UP HANGOVER SESH the next day when we all dragged our sorry asses to Spoons to devour breakfast. Spoons is becoming my hangover cure - testified by Saturday, when I woke up blindingly hungover at 7.30. Managed to get halfway down the stairs before I had to stop and rest, then turned the heating on and crawled back into bed and then I spent the rest of the morning feeling very sorry for myself and complaining in my delicate state before I was able to go have breakfast and then of course I was fine although quite confused after a very fun and strange house party.

I'm going to have to up my tolerance big time before I fall in the ocean heading home one night and drown.

Last sentence because I've moved to an island which requires ferrying - which is annoying but I can forgive that based on the disneyland fireworks I can see every night. The door also beeps like a maniac every time you leave it open which really confused me the first time. And we have no keys but use a hidden keypad which does admittedly make me feel like a spy every time i walk in which is awesome.

Been trying to dabble with a (writing) piece about traveling and the international lifestyle based on how many times I cross through airports and come through clouds every year, but I guess my mind's not in that creative a place at the minute. I'm going to have to get my hands on a guitar at some point which basically just suggests that I should get a new one for christmas, right?

No one's back for a week so i guess i'll be running errands and staring at the ceiling of an unfamiliar house wondering what I'm going to do with my life in the time being. I'd keep you updated but I think that would even bore me, so, later.

Hello, I miss you quite terribly.

(Oh no, I'm quoting Hellogoodbye as a post title quick turn back delete my blog burn the body it'll never be found...)

Thought i'd better update about the last week just because I'm leaving soon, and big surprise, the longer I put off stuff, the less likely I am to care about it slash do it.

(1) Touchdowned in London and boarded a train to Joe's for his weekend birthday celebrations. In all, a fantastic weekend. Arrived - after getting lost DUE TO THE FAULT OF GOOGLE MAPS and not my perfect navigational skills - amidst a poker game which I didn't understand, which just escalated into drinking and waiting to head to Ministry of Sound. Going out in London is expensive so we declared it vodka o'clock early and just attempted to drink as much as possible.

London clubs are big, expensive, and have tight security. I had to pass through my second metal scanner-thingy in a day (hint: first one was airport security) and then we went in and had a really good night, ending in a 5AM walk home watching the sun rise over the river in a really nice scenic way, ignoring the fact I was walking barefoot because I just couldn't deal with my shoes any longer. (Class act, as usual.)

And then, because we're a bunch of Warwick students, we went to the natural history museum (!!!) the next day, following the world's biggest brunch that just had us all ridiculously full. We traipsed around and touristed and I fawned over the exhibits and dinosaurs whilst simultaneously tried not to die of pigeon attack.

(2) I actually started watching a TV show and started American Horror Story which I like because it's really not scary at all but the drama and plots are pretty decent and the acting is good and (not gonna lie,) Evan Peters is cute. I'm not too far in but I like it and then I'm going to, as I promised Sophie, watch Buffy. This is going to be a fun summer.

(3) Just got back from Joe's in London again cause it was nananananana BATMAN WEEKEND. Dark Knight Rises at the Odeon in Leicester Square. Pigeons aside, it was pretty much the nicest two days. Me and Joe filled in bits of 'This is Not a Book" -

and caught the sunshine and we had Zizzi's with Toby and then watched what was one of the most engaging, well made, and emotionally involving ends to a trilogy. I shed a few tears.

After this and after I paid for the most expensive frozen yogurt ever - i was JOKING when I said i'd pay £10 for a froyo because it was funny because it was a gross exaggeration but turned out apparently to be almost true - and then me and Joe headed back to his. From then on, we constructed a very impressive fort with sofas and sheets and pillows. Touched up with glasses of wine - great idea for good lightweight me who seems to always fall into delusions of 'I can totally drink that really quickly' - and THIS IS NOT A BOOK. Didn't quite stay away and watch the sun rise on the roof-bit as planned but it was still pretty much perfect. (And really quite twee as well, HAh.)

Taking off back to 852 on Monday. I haven't been back since APRIL. I miss the little things and of course my dog and the things I constantly complain about here ... but I'm just a really good complainer, aren't I... Lizzy's back there and Esme and Sav and Izzy and the rest of them all. Should be quite a busy month or so, even if I'll be away from my England people for 2 months. I've planned my England room anyway, to the utmost detail, now just to try get a job so I can afford to pay for my extravagant ideas. I need to stop planning things.

(5) Days Of Summer

You'll have to forgive me for two things:

(1) For not updating in ages blah blah and also I guess for always typing these kind of messages. Bipolar blogger when it comes to how often I post. I've been busy.

(2) For perhaps the most nauseatingly adorable post. My life is going to seem like it's a twee indie film starring Zooey Deschanel and Michael Cera. It has really been lovely lately. England's been busting out the sun and campus is flooded with florals and flip flops. Grass is all green and we've been making daisy chains and singing Home and playing Regina Spektor and taking photos. I'm really happy. It seems to be infectious; it's such an England thing that the minute there's nice weather, everyone's out of doors. We've been lying on blankets on the grass all day for the last three days and Ben & Jerry's is on sale and we've been watching adorable indie films and man, i'm just high on happiness.

So of course, there must be a downside: this coincides with revision time for the big E-X-A-M-S which are occuring from next week onwards. (Not for me; I still have Amy's hen night next weekend THEN it's my exam week.) This means our outdoors lying on blankets on the grass has been spent 'revising' (saying 'I should do some work now,' whilst just not.) I have been getting some work done - mostly done by waking up early before everyone else. And now I'm still awake after most (some) people, blogging about my cute days. Typical.

Everything has really sort of fallen into whirlwind few days - last week especially - so the rest of this is chronologically dating back from like - what - two weeks ago? Without proper lectures and stuff, everything has kind of just fallen into a weird endless cycle of days without names that seem to keep floating by at an alarming speed. Week six already, what the fuck?!

So we've been watching loads of adorable movies. As the year's gone on, I've found more and more people who sleep at ridiculous times. This means I get to socialise later which is a yay for me and a nay for my already appalling sleep cycle. This is also a yay for 3am pancake making.

 

Oh yeah, my flu's finally gone. I managed to impressively drink it away after going out with Megan and Lucas two Fridays ago or something to Kasbah. Whilst I'd been having migraines all week, I woke up not only without migraine, but also without hangover. I actually adore my liver.

   

Photobooth camwhoring pics with Lucas on our girly sleepover night. Summer heights high and cupcakes and fort. This was adorable.

   

It really is getting hard to separate everything. There's always the usual and the unusual going on around here. I bought potato waffles and new shampoo but also got completely drenched in water in a water fight and took portfolio shots with Lucas. I had curry with the filmies and went to the cinema and watched Dark Shadows and ordered more photos and moved my room around.

  

 After Lucinda kidnapped Mat's phone at Emily's birthday drinks. Oh yeah, the tongue piercing has healed up quite nicely. (Don't know if I ever mentioned getting that? If not, oh yeah, I did,)

   

The perfectly adorable days started yesterday. Met up with the filmies for a film reviewing session. Watched a few depressing films then sat in the sunshine and discussed them and shared notes. Then met up with halls people and got ice cream and chilled on the grass and Lucinda taught me how to make a daisy chain :') 

Upon returning back, all hopes of revision fell to shit and we brought out the guitar and cartwheels and killed half the daisies making bracelets and crowns for our hair and sang and laughed and had ice cream and just had a really nice time.

 Yay, hair looks so much better in sun. You can actually sort of see the colour!

 

Aw I really like this picture hahah even got the sun flare going. We found a lovely spot and called it our holiday spot because it just didn't seem like we were in England. 

Today was pretty much the same, except we got some work done, and that we finished off with a barbeque. Tesco dash and some rushing later and we were all sitting outside drinking cider whilst the guys played frisbee which then turned into football which then turned into a waterfight which then turned into Joe just squirting an entire bottle of water at me in the corridor which then turned into my white t-shirt going see through and then I had to go and get a towel.

 

There's really so much more I could say but I can't remember - my own stupid fault, really, for taking so damn long in between entries. Either way, it's 3am and I've caught loads of sun and I'm planning to be up tomorrow to do the same thing, permitting the weather allows it.

Prepare for imminent panicky pre-exam post, coming soon to a blog near you!

Melancholy Sky.

HEY GUYS. Guess who's back? I'm back. I never left, but I got lazy. So I guess you could answer the question with my motivation to write in here is back. That could work, I guess.

I'm going to start this by saying: I HAVE THE FLU. This is because I'm the type who needs to tell everyone when I feel awful and I really do. I feel like my face is caving in on itself and I want to tear it off. My sockets hurt! Not cool.  I'm using this as a justification for being really bitchy and snappy - because I DO get aggressive when I feel achey and unwell - and also for how shittily written this probably will be. I'm finding it hard to concentrate on too much. LAURA LOST FOCUS AND HURT ITSELF. (/pokemon reference if you didn't get it fuck off you can't be my friend.)

Portia came to visit on Saturday. (I have no sense of what day it is because I don't have lectures and stuff anymore and therefore IT'S NOT REALLY IMPORTANT. Exam leave holiday.) She came for skool dayz so after me and Erika successfully completed birthday present mission around cov - and I bought the first volume of Y: The Last Man from forbidden planet YES - she arrived and we sat around my room and updated each other on our lives.

Megan came over too so we got dressed and photobooth'd like a bunch of drunk camwhores which technically we were.

 

This term, they only want one photographer for the non-main events so that's cut down the rota and thus the amount of work shifts I get so I'm happy I managed to snag this one at least, because it's really about time I add 'ridiculously good at spending money' to my CV. 

  

Loads of people I didn't expect to be at Skool Dayz were, including Sophie and some of the film lot which was fun, because I miss seeing them often. Always a nice catch up reunion and crazy drunk times. My phone ran out of battery though, so I missed the - no surprises here -  influx of tweets from us, which are always fun.

 

 

Next day was Portia's hangover day so I was good and suggested we eat junk food and watch films, so we did. Was pretty chill and then she left and I sat in Jordan's room for hours and complained about how my head hurt and whined and yelled at people. I'm such a delight to be around.

Week before that, Sav's been here! She stayed with Megan but I saw her most days which was lovely. We went to see Cabin In The Woods - FINALLY, was really good, was planning to write a review of it when I got in but got distracted due to the poor and uncreative vandalism on my door and thus didn't but I will someday - and also attended a drunken creative writing slam which was hilarious and I'll talk more about that in a sec.

  

So yeah, after some camera stuff fell apart, (in my words: EVERYTHING BROKE! in reality: the batteries ran out,) I ended up coming home from Pop! early and thus was unnecessarily and awkwardly drunk by myself whilst everyone just wasn't. Thursday was even better because I went to go and dye Sav's hair. It ended up with me sitting in a dark room listening to the creative writers read their work out drinking wine and eating donuts until about 1am. I'd say wine makes me aggressive but it seems like everything does lately.

Upcoming is revision and a photoshoot - or photoshoots, rather - with Lucas which I'm really happy about because I was too shy and awkward to ask him to model for me but Megan informed me he'd wanted me to shoot him anyway. We've done some planning and as per usual, I'm so excited. Will be seeing the creative writing lot later probably, so hopefully he'll be there and we can talk about more stuff there and get even more excited.

Just waiting for 10 minutes to pass so I can wash the rest of this dye off - stupid dye-resistant thick hair GOD SO ANNOYING - and then get my laundry and then finally sort out my closet. My neat hangers and folded clothes system has disintergrated into a big pile in the closet where everything kind of lived, which got really depressing, because it made my room feel messy. I may have the flu, but I still cannot stand my room messy.

I bought chocolate milk though, so everything's okay, really.

5 Main (Notable) Differences Between Now and Not-Now

Very vague title. Not-now refers to anytime that is not now. 'Now,' as in not exactly-this-moment, but this period of time. Yes, all my article-type things of the moment all concern university. it's a big change - girl in the city plopped down in the middle of the countryside; it's very Mike, Lu & Og (anyone?) -esque except I'm not on an Island and they didn't appear to do anything except for throw coconuts at each other, and I kinda had a choice in my coming here to be honest. It's not really very Mike, Lu & Og is it?

(1) The lack of common everyday household objects.
When you do your own grocery shopping for the first time, you will of course, forget things. You will go out and buy those things and forget more things and inevitably this just builds up in a big ball of forgotten things and you'll never fully be complete. Restocking things is a pain in the ass too. Lemme just grab a tiss- fuck.

You will remember that pack of hair pins or your apple juice just as you're halfway back from the supermarket and you will pause. You will hover on the spot as you face a metaphorical fork in the road; do you shamefully turn back and face the humiliation as you meekly slide over your box of pads or condoms or contagious foot fungus cream* - it's always the awkward thing, isn't it? "Can't forget those, can we now?" Winks the cashier and you want to crawl in a hole and die. Or, do you just say, Fuck it, and continue on knowing very well that you'll be hating yourself later. Or making your friends hate you as you scrounge off them yet again.

(*Just an example that I used in trying to be funny. I swear I don't have contagious foot fungus. Ew.)

(2) Leaves. And walking on grass in general.
We don't get the cute Autumn leaves in Hong Kong. And even if we do, they are promptly swept away by the many road cleaners or they fall on the grass which we don't walk on. If, in the urban jungle that is Hong Kong, there is nice grass, it will be decoratively accompanied by a "Please Do Not Walk On The Grass" sign.

Walking over grass still feels funny. Why, I ponder, are there none of them cute little fences that discourage you from mingling with nature here? Why is it so soft and dense and not yellow and um, I can't even see the Earth. Like, as in soil. Not the world. I clearly think far too much about grass.

(3) Transport.
I haven't been missing "home" too much, (asides from my one desperate 'FUCK I NEED A 7-11 SO BAD RIGHT NOW,) but I'm really missing the convenience. My first trip to Leamington, I dared to step on a proper England bus, and the following exchange took place:

Me: Hi. How do I um, pay?
Driver: Where are you going? Me: (wtf why is he asking where I'm going?) Um, Leamington.
Driver: Single or return?
Me: Um, no.
Driver: What?
Me: What?
Driver: Are you coming back?
Me: I hope so.
Driver: Do you want a return then?
Me: Um...nah it's okay.
Driver: ... okay. That'll be £2.10, just grab a ticket.
Me: oh my god a ticket.

Whilst it looks lengthy, I assure you it was less than a minute of one of the most awkward exchanges i'd ever had. Thank god.
The simple dump-your-money-in approach is way more down my street. Plus the flagging down mini-buses when you see one, (and when they can stop.) There are, luckily, a lot more buses than I'd thought, although not as frequent. I haven't even ventured into, or looked at, a train station.

(4) Self-Checkouts.
My actual favourite thing about this Country. Not going to lie; everytime I walk past them, I cannot stop a fond smile creeping across my face as I glance at the machines that I consider to be amongst my dearest of friends here. They allow me to avoid human interaction when doing my shopping. Real live friends don't do that.

For someone who just occasionally falls into a mood where I don't want to talk to anyone, these are a blessing. I don't have to awkwardly fumble around with money or accidentally attempt to pay with other currencies. I don't have to be judged by my weird-ass shopping lists. (This is someone who had a post-it shopping list consisting solely of 'Pliers' and 'Ice Cream.')

I could go on forever about how lovely they are. I'll spare you; I won't.

(5) "You alright?"
Apparently, "You alright?" (Or "yalright/alright/alrigh" etc.) is just a greeting in England. I hear it everyday. I smile and sometimes I say, "Yeah, you?" for reciprocity's sake. There was once, however, a time when I was not as suave and well-versed in English greetings. The very first time someone casually said that, (here I mean, not in general,) I stared at them with a look of pure confusion on my face - says they - and said something along the lines of, "Um yeah. Why, should I not be?"

Cause, for me, inquiring on someone's well-being - whilst polite - in this particular way, just sounded bizarre. I'm used to "How are you?s," and as a casual conversation starter. I'm making way too big a deal of these two words, I know. It still catches me off a little though.

Long post being long.

Thoughts: Touched down in Hong Kong 1.50pm today on a plane from London.

Thoughts: I'm "home"

Thoughts: I didn't want to come back.

Someone read LOOKING FOR ALASKA and decided to start a blog entry with an obscure reference to said text that no one will get.

Waiting for pictures to load up so I can edit then upload them, I will start chronologically.

PRE

Going to England for a university interview for Warwick. Not compulsory. But it helps. And truth be told, I wanted to go to go. I'd had the shittiest week ever and decided that galavanting off the week after sounded fabulous. And it was.

Luckily, having relatives and friends in england came in very handy here. My dear aunt took a week off work, (she had 5 days to use anyway,) and my engaged cousin also came along.

DAY ONE

Half a day really. Got on the plane. Got shitty seats.

I fell asleep and missed my meal.

(I had it in the morning instead.......)

We sat at the very front and there was no leg room - miscalculation on our part - and there was a man on the aisle seat and it was cold and uncomfortable and we had stupid fold out tables that gave me a headache and I didn't even watch a movie because I just wasn't bothered.

Completed approximately 1 pokémon game.

Arrived, changed currency. The pounds are really high now.

Found my aunt. Drove 2 hours to my grandma's house, which is near Warwick uni.

Arrived at 7am and it was maybe 7 degrees. I was delighted and excited and so so glad I'd decided to come just so I could not be at school for 3 days and on a scale of 1 to 10 I was maybe at a 17.

I can't even remember what we did this day now.

My cousin arrived around half 3 so we went off to look around and buy my sister - who wasn't on the trip but managed to spend the most money - some bits and pieces. I called one of my oldest friends and arranged to meet.

Met at a cute coffee shop I would soon become very familiar with as I would come to see it everywhere the next few days. (Costa Coffee, for your reference.)

Arranged dinner the next day. Went home. Slept.

DAY TWO

Woke at 4. My mom went for a run about half six whilst I just sat there and breathed. Got up.

Since my cousin's getting married next year, I, who dress up nicely maybe ... once a year, gets to be bridesmaid. We try on dresses for the next 4 hours. When I say "we," I mean "I"

So I get to try on almost 30 dresses which are too big for me and I have to twirl and hold up awkward bits and be fussed over like a doll.

My mother found this all hilarious.

I go to my friend Portia's house. We walk all the way out to a massive field. We make a Blair Witch esque documentary. It features giggles and doesn't make much sense.

We realise we have no idea what the time is and no way to contact anyone and we're meant to meet for dinner so we sprint home and we have 10 minutes before we leave.

We talk, eat, and say goodbye.

DAY THREE

University day. Drive up to Warwick and I fall in love with the campus. We're lost but we're early so I don't mind. A very awkward, shy and stuttering math student offers to show us the way. There are a lot of people there and I quietly judge them all and compare them.

1 and a half hour presentation, my mother is falling asleep but I try to look attentive and interested. I am afraid that I look as sycophantic as Caroline sometimes does. He gives an example lecture and I refrain from shooting my hand in the air in imitation of Hermione several times. The head of department is hosting my interview and I get to go first time because I come from so far away. I feel special until I find out another girl in my tour group came from Dubai.

Tour the university. I am about ready to move in.

No pictures because I'm too excited and I don't want to look like a total tourist/prat.

Instead, I go for my interview. I'm chatty and awkward and I don't think before I speak. I later get annoyed when people ask how it went. It's difficult to say. I don't know the standards of other people.

He asked the following:

• Why Warwick?
• In your personal statement, you mention a lot of practical experience. How do you feel about the course being purely theoretical?
• Tell me about a movie you've seen recently which you really enjoyed.
• In your essay, you mention how Miyazaki is an outspoken feminist. Has he actually stated that or is it a label often applied to him?
• Miyazaki often deals with - as you mentioned - dynamic characters. Do you find it harder to analyse these characters?
• Do you have any questions?

(Also included: Have you really come all the way from Hong Kong? Did you write your essay from scratch? Have you seen the American remake?)

I answered:

• Warwick is the best for film. I'm passionate about film. I tend to excel in what I'm passionate at.
• I'm creative but academic. I won't stop making movies. I know you need theoretical experience.
• Let the right one in. Beautiful/flawless/stunning etc.
• Never outwardly stated but heavily implied. He aims to promote very pro-feminist messages in his films, and generally does.
• Miyazaki includes a lot of hidden messages in his films. The dynamics of which are often why I love his films.

(Also included: Yes, yes, no.)

Obviously in a lot more detail since I have a tendency to ramble on. We fell into almost general conversation. He agreed with a lot of the points I made with Let the right one in and Miyazaki's films. I made a few stupid statements. I managed to ask a question (always hard, but it shows you are interested.)

I am terrified for the result. (Should be updated within one week.)

Drove 3 hours or so to my aunt's house. Party of 11 or so. Met the fiance, the brother of the fiance, the mother of the fiance.

The girlfriend of the male cousin.

The dog.

I was same as ever; awkward and desperately shy but trying not to be. I tried very hard to be funny and witty and I was tired but trying hard to stay up and I babbled and accidentally took a pepperoni pizza but I didn't eat it so it was fine.

Everyone left and I went to sleep and I thought about the interview a million times and all the things I should/shouldn't have said and thought about my future and the past and everything else and then I finally started dreaming of flowers and sushi and there were people but they never spoke to me and I still don't know who they were.

DAY FOUR

Went to see Amy & Mike (engaged cousin + fiance) and the flat they were planning to buy. I want to buy a flat. I want to decorate my own flat.

Went to Stevenage, a "rough area" for last minute shopping. Exploded with excitement and the cheapness of Primark and spent ages in HMV but didn't actually buy anything but I went to the bookstore and stayed until I was dragged out.

Picked up bits and pieces for people. Mainly English chocolate.

Went back.

Packed the rest of our stuff.

Drove to the airport.

Got better seats. I ate my meal. I watched tangled and read magazines I'd bought for my sister.

Landed in Hong Kong. Hot, stuffy, humid. My walls are sweating and the floor is wet, which brings us back to now.

TODAY

I have made a to do list of things to do.

I have school work to do.

I have revision to start.

I found england so peaceful. Obviously I didn't have school so that probably removed a shitload of usual stress. It was quiet but not boring and the weather was brilliant and it's really ugly here and I was so happy and such a goddamn tourist but it was all so wonderful.

I'm so anxious but I'm so happy. I really really hope i get to go back next year.

Even if not, I hope I can still be in england.

2 weeks or so to go.