Tuesday 22 February 2011

Get In Line


The song above is Ambition Is Critical by The Blackout, it has nothing to do with my blog other than the fact that I'm currently loving the track and can't wait for their album 'Hope' to be released in April!!!

Anyway....

Considering that waiting around with my fingers crossed is going to be a regular activity soon(?) for me, Get In Line by Air Traffic is apt to be the song I listen to whilst deciding to write a blog. At every stage of education so far, what we learn at one point is bettered or wronged later on. I took my CV to a careers adviser and as I was told in college that they should fit to a page I was suprised, kind of, to learn that now, I have the opportunity to extend this to two, lucky me. I have the chance to 'show off' by taking key skills in life and adapting everything i've done and learnt to fit these categories. I was quite suprised to find that I have acquired much more than I originally realised. At the moment I am analysing (yes this is a skill) every aspect of myself and how I can display this in two sides of A4...

I have also been 'waiting in line' for over a decade now in terms of receiving my first valentine. I remember blasting the 'corporate holiday' last year and I still hold these feelings today. This year, Tom sent me my first card which I obviously reciprocated, buying one was certainly a strange phenomenom for me.I believe that we shouldn't need one day in particular to express feelings, it's almost cliche to do so on the day. This is partly why we went for our meal on the previous Friday at Zizzi's on Spinningfields, other reasons clearly including the impossibility of finding anywhere for the day so what's the point in attempting? I am still very proud of the calendar I made for Tom at work, especially since I had to rush it a little on my break though with a little help much appreciated.

Tom came to Uni and spent Monday through til Wednesday with me, I was rather chuffed =]. We tried a bar in Ormskirk which had advertised cheap drinks and they certainly were. I purchased a WKD and a Corona for less than the price I would normally pay for just a WKD. It just lacked atmosphere. Music was non existent for a while and when it leaked from the speakers it whispered over us. I enjoyed the following day in Liverpool much more when Tom and I simply explored for the fun of it. I even bought a yellow lambanana to remind me of my time so close to the city.

This week I have been off university, they call it reading week and they give us plenty of that to do for sure. I have also taken the opportunity to meet up with Sally. We were friends in college but since then we have seen much less of one another. On our Christmas meal she told me of a uni project she is doing which includes the writing of a script, I gladly agreed to help out in any way I can. Yesterday, we met at The Trafford Centre in Starbucks to discuss the plot of the story. At this point we only have a few bullet points and we spent the time ironing out any potential issues with the flow. Sally gave me more of her ideas which is much easier to do face to face over hot chocolate. I took in everything she said and suggested anything I could which might help her to get her point across. For example, she already had two possible endings and I was able to offer a third which would enable her to utilise foreshadowing which is a key device she wants to use.

I really enjoyed the time with Sally, we weren't quite as disciplined as we could have been because it was much too easy to delve away from the project and catch up on each others' lives. I still think we achieved a lot and I'm really looking forward to seeing what she produces in the script itself. I'm keen to check my emails daily for a scene or so that we can discuss and edit.

 Tomorrow I'm back on the buses to collect Tom again at 1 o'clock and who knows what will happen for the rest of the day? I look forward to it regardless! I have yet another trip shopping with mum on Thursday and can't wait to tackle the quiz that night!

Thursday 10 February 2011

'Run infront of your shadow' Perelman 1947

If only I had Dan mithering me for blogs for the last two years I may have remembered to post more often! Anyway, apparently I haven't given much information about my work experience. I can't remember much of what I've already mentioned but it was a cause to travel home on a Tuesday afternoon two weeks ago. I spent two hours waiting on a tutor to sort out module changes so it slowed me down a bit but I was home for 4pm. I spent that night pouring over the chapbooks I had bought from Knives Forks and Spoons Press and panicking just a little bit which is something I do way too often.

The next morning I made my way to Newton to meet Alec. I had a Google Street View image of the street so that I knew where to go, though it turns out that it was an image of completely the wrong house. Useful then that I had a good old fashioned address to refer to.

We had a chat in the workshop. Being an independent press, these tend to be small set ups. Everything needed was present. I was shown the different printers etc and the Mac where manuscripts are edited. In emails prior to the visit I was told that all my editorial work will be published which is brilliant for me. It's going to be a stepping stone hopefully in the right direction.

With the position being volountary obviously I won't be paid. Initially that was a problem because it's looking like it's going to be expensive and this was my only issue with earning just £50 ish a week on a part time job. BUT! Thanks to a strangely timed installment of university grant, I am going to use it as my travel fund which makes this so much better!

I can make my way via Eccles or Manchester Oxford Road. I may be going from living away at Uni to spending 3 days a week in Cadishead with Tom.... and that's fine with me! I felt on Saturday as if I'd returned to uni. On my break at work I found myself grammar checking a teaching CV for Greg's sister, copy editing is always a route I can take I guess!

NB. The quote naming this blog was taken from Poets For The Millenium at some point last Friday afternoon!

Wednesday 2 February 2011

Sweet Disposition

Temper Trap. That is what my blog could begin to be if I'm not careful. I could easily come on here to rant voicelessly about things that go wrong. That is interesting in essence but could become quite tiresome for everyone involved. I don't want to create such an impression of myself that everything I post is based on something which angers me. I know I have done this in the past.

This is more about the effect which childish actions have on other people. A 21st birthday is cause for celebration. It is a time to have fun with those who matter to you. This particular day is certainly not an excuse for things to be spoilt.

Returning to uni this week I expected to find a mess in a kitchen which witnessed a party the night before. I was extremely suprised to find that this was not the case. I also didn't come to realise that things hadn't gone entirely smoothly. I sat in the living room talking to my housemate. I thought it was a little odd that Kelly was supposed to be coming back and I saw nothing of her until the following afternoon. When I entered her room, she explained to me that over the weekend there had been an incident on the night of the party.

Basically, Janet had all her friends over before they went out to Liverpool. They had food set out and a birthday cake specially for the birthday girl with her picture on. A housemate brought some of his friends over too but it didn't seem like such a problem until the party returned from a night on the town. They entered to find that the food they left had been eaten and that the cake had been mutilated. Janet was very upset and her boyfriends sister flew up the stairs to the housemates room. She banged on his door so loud that it rattled on its hinges but he never responded; they knew he was in there.

It is now Wednesday and as of yet, no appology has been offered to Janet. I don't understand what can possess someone to do such a thing. According to a source, the housemates friends had begun the destruction of the cake but he did nothing to stop them and joined in. For some insane reason they believed this was funny. I seriously cannot understand what causes people to do such things.

On a lighter note, I have completed a draft of story one for Writer's workshop. I have received a 2:1 in an English module overall which I am very pleased with and I have another day off tomorrow with very little uni work I am able to start yet; on week 3 of the semester!