So, I was gonna blog while I was in England some more, but then the internet got shitty, and then I was gonna blog right after I got back, but then things got busy and stayed that way, and then it turns out it had been a fortnight since my last post. Thus, I present to you a post about the time I spent in an England, in an uncharacteristically concise manner. sort of.
I got to hang out with the friends I mentioned in my V Fest post a couple times. I think they're the only family I know where the term 'family friends' really applies.I went round to their house and played weird video games. Then, we drove to this park near where they live. It's all play equipment, but it's great, really dangerous in a way you rarely see anymore. trust me, it's cool.
We went to the zoo for my sister's birthday. god, that was tedious. I don't like or understand zoos in the slightest. Since it was cold and rainy, rather than unbearably hot, the animals were pretty active, which I guess was cool. despite this weather, the people there didn't seem particularly perturbed. that's the ultimate problem with zoos for me, as it is, unfortunately, for many public places. I suppose that's to be expected.
My splurging on whatever CDs and DVDs tickled my fancy continued throughout the remainder of my time in England. I'll say it once I'll say it again; HMV is an amazing place. I bought Tim Minchin, Metronomy, the Horrors, and finally--finally!--the new Wild Beasts record. All I would highly recommend. oh and speaking of music, congrats to PJ Harvey for winning the Mercury. She wasn't my favorite but Let England Shake is a good record, she totally deserved it anyway.
I bought new brown Wellingtons for V! I got to wear them in the end, which is odd because I was sure I wouldn't have to, and was buying them just to be certain, as I do so frequently. They were good quality, too, so it was worth it. This was done the day before V, which was extremely cold and wet. In the mean time, we got texts from our mad friend going out and buying baby clothes for a baby that isn't hers. We saw those guys again in the morning, too. we went for a walk and talked about crazy costumes for the festival.
After V died down, we took a trip to the town I used to live in. It's a little English village so yeah, it's basically the same as it always was. We went to the post office and down this country walk that was right by my house. And my old school! Which has gone to hell, as it's under new leadership and stuff. I find it rather unnerving going round where I used to live, as I sort of feel like I don't belong there at all, crazy as that may or may not seem. I feel intimidated. Also, I hate seeing people I know in public, especially people I haven't seen in ages, which is very likely to happen there so I was in a panic for a lot of that. I still sort of miss that place, but it's getting better every year. The people in our old house haven't changed it too much, too, which in itself is very comforting. We tried to get into the V site, but it was blocked off for more than a week after the fest ended. We ended up just driving around little villages, and I listened to Cat's Eyes. And oh yes, clothes! I'm judgemental so I like to compare the clothes in America and England, like I did last year, even though my fashion knowledge extends to oversized t-shirts and going "ooh look at that picture! Miu Miu shoes!". Last year I recall saying I liked England's clothes more; this year I side with the States. English girls like to wear floral patterned everything at the moment. I got a weird top with a swan on it that made me feel like the girl in Crystal Castles. And then I got stripy skinny jeans! Oh god, stripy skinny jeans. I shouldn't be let near clothes, I just can't be trusted to make good decisions.
I didn't see many old friends while over there, but I did get to hang out with these two girls I used to know. One I went to school with, and was friends with, the other I saw only a few times a year but we always got on well. I hadn't seen the latter for three years. She is now that most endearingly gregarious of people: a drama kid! I had to try to talk musicals. Although actually the worst bits were talking school, particularly cause I felt so distant from all of the stuff they do. Not that I want to do GCSE's, big tests scare me to the extreme, last week my mom proposed the idea of my taking the PSATs in October and I went off on a teenage Temper Tantrum for most of the day. but all of the stuff that goes with the GCSEs, with being in the last year before Sixth Form, all of the menial elements of British school life...I wish I was part of it. It works, to some extent, the other way round too, though. They seemed to love the fact that I actually take "one of those yellow buses" to and from school. Also, we did this weird hippie thing involving the special powers of particular stones. I was surprised by how well us three got on, considering all our differences. Overall, a good day.
Spent one day in London. Train ride in listening to Elbow--beautiful record, though has obtained some scratches, god knows how, I've been careful with this disc. The old London rooftops are great. Because of the Olympics next year, they're doing all these renovations so London's tricky to move around in. I went to the Natural Science Museum! I haven't been in about ten years, we looked at crystals and stuff about space. Then, we hung around Harrods, and I looked at magazines, vintage movie posters, and the crazy expensive clothes they have there. Then, I went to the hard Rock Cafe! Which in itself isn't that great a place but I'm a stupid music geek. Lastly, my sister dragged us to Hamleys a half hour before closing time, and I lay in a heap in a state of semi-consciousness in the teddy bear section.
Here's something I like almost to the point of a fetish; historical reenactments. and a less edgy fetish there never has been. There's this manor house round where I used to live that does those circa Tudor, Elizabethan, and WWII at various points during the year. They have people dressed up inside the house, and then stalls and shops--making cheese, beer, etc.--in the surrounding area. This time round people were getting their Tudor on and there were about 150 of these actors wandering around. It's not like their big Elizabethan reenactment, where they have 250+people and it's amazing, but still it was pretty damn cool. Best people were the minstrels who wandered around the grounds, creepy alchemists in the woods, and the drunken layabouts having a party in the small brewery who attempted to slur some innuendo at us as we wandered past. I know, I know, romanticizing medieval Europe is all too easy when the sun is shining and you're just watching people play weird string instruments and such, but in reality those times weren't good, we've established all of this. Still, I just love the idea of being a Tudor for a day, you know? I could picture myself getting involved one day, if at the ridicule of everyone I know, except you basically have to talk to the general public, which is hardly my forte, is it? Damn my vacant social skills! And damn you, 2011. I just wanna pick herbs and bake bread and wear weird clothes all day.
I finally saw the Inbetweeners movie! Overall, pretty good. The Inbetweeners is very lovable, even when it's not at it's funniest. It's all about capturing a teenage sense of humor, and in this they did it brilliantly. the ending was very cliched, though, which is my main complaint. much as I love the Inbetweeners, a sequel would be awful.
Our last day wasn't good. Heathrow was hell. Yesterday's flight was cancelled cause of Irene, so they were trying to get twice as many people in. Tickets were a mess and it took an hour to check in, even though there were five people in front of us when we got in line. Also, I'd been quite sick for most of the week and was getting very anxious at everything. Not Heathrow at its best. The plane ride was okay though.
I know these posts are very late, I've written stuff already and I'll get that up soon.
Showing posts with label travelling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travelling. Show all posts
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
ho hum
School starts again in less than a month now. I suppose come September I'll regret the fact that I've had enough of summer at this point, and that all I want to do is wear oversized sweaters and watch the Inbetweeners and be pretentious. I'll also regret not working on the notes for my summer reading essay while, um, reading the damn book. I still can't believe how fast things have been going for me this year. I want things to slow down when I'm a sophomore. I want to, if you excuse the cliches, seize the day, grab the world by its balls, etc. etc. etc. I've been saying this for years, and when does it ever actually happen? Oh well. A girl can hope.
Today is the last day I'm seeing my aunt until the end of December. I'm closer to her than I am to any of my other not-immediate family members and I will miss her very much. We played Cleudo earlier tonight--a family tradition for us, Cleudo, among a number of other board games. When I was younger, my aunt made up these complex dressing-up games based on the people of Cleudo. I got to look through my aunt and mother's old wardrobes--a vintage wonderland, hasn't been altered in the slightest since the 70s. I'll miss this place so much during the year. Tomorrow we're going to see my grandparents on my dad's side, so it's all a bit subdued round here. In the afternoon we all drove to Gatwick in my aunt's car, to get the rental car we're having till the end of our stay. A silver Ford, nothing special. We then went back to visit my aunt's house briefly, more or less the same with minor alterations, but she has a really nice house anyway. For some reason my grandparents had old Christmas crackers saved, so we got to have an August Christmas dinner.
On Saturday, we all went to what I've decided must be one of the most fascinating places I've ever been to--Lewes. My aunt's a bit of a fan. It's a carefully eccentric little town, full of people who fancy themselves a bit anarchic and different. So yeah, this adds up to a high street with lots of quaint shops selling books and vintage clothes and funny ornaments. Don't get me wrong, though, it's fun. We got to go into a lot of said shops, also a cheese shop, and ate at a Polish cafe. They also happen to have a castle and a museum. Ignoring the pseudo-quirky nonsense, Lewes is really cool because it has a lot of historical significance, particularly early Norman stuff. Also, in the 13th century they had the Battle of Lewes, which led to the first instance of the English monarchy being forced to give up some of their power. Some call it the "Birth of English Democracy". Amazingly people outside Lewes don't seem to recognize this(I'd never heard of this battle before), but the residents are damn proud of it. The museum and castle were really nice. you could see for miles at the top of the castle, it was wonderful. We watched some two-hour Amy Winehouse tribute on TV that night.
On Friday, we went to this open air history museum, which is one of my favorite places around here. it's a set of actual houses ranging from the 13th to early 20th century, and it's arranged to replicate a village. it's so, so nice. There's a lot of really nice buildings--a Victorian school building, a 17th century toll house, a mill which they actually use, stables, cottages with historically-accurate gardens, market stalls, the lot. it's very scenic, very informative too. They also got a new tiny 19th century church from London. We got to look round the entire museum. Also, I bought a book on the history of Sussex. We listened to Imelda May in the car, and my aunt arrived from work in the evening, and we played board games and watched a weird art show on TV.
And Thursday, we were met with our first day of serious downpour this trip. It rained into the afternoon but we drove into a little local museum. It's a part of this town I'd never been to before, kind of tacky but in the charming seaside resort way that looks like it's 20 years out of date. They had a lot of run of the mill history stuff, but then they also had an impressive collection of vintage dolls and a whole area of fashion over the last century. I think the latter was probably my favorite part of the place, especially a lot of the 70s fashion. 70s&90s were my favorite times for fashion--the 80s are grossly overrated in that respect. (in many respects, actually). Also, one of my mom's friends had a piece of art up in the local artists section which was nice. After that we drove to another beach(I'm a bit of an English beach fanatic, yeah), and it was very cold and windy and gray. Also, they have the world's longest bench there! Another good day.
Good lord, guys, the Inbetweeners is beyond an obsession for me. I don't have the energy in me to write about my love for this show tonight. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll be able to see it on Monday--my mother still has doubts about letting me watch this show, it's gonna be total no-go territory for my classy, booky, Oxbridge grandparents. This is a shame but I'll see it soon. Hey, there's a new series of Shooting Stars! I shall get it on DVD--it shall get me through another autumn.
Not really that much else going on. Reading John Betjeman, listening to Them Crooked Vultures, Imelda May, Gaga, Wild Beasts, Arctic Monkeys. V in 13 days! my friend plans to go dressed as a sheep, if his mother will let him, which is very unlikely. it's been a fortnight and I don't want to leave this country. I want not to feel like a tourist while I'm here. I want it to be home, but it isn't really, and I hate it. I'll try to make it feel normal while I'm here.
Boring post, man. Wow. hey, I wonder how I'll blog next year. I've put very little though into that.
Good night, all.
Today is the last day I'm seeing my aunt until the end of December. I'm closer to her than I am to any of my other not-immediate family members and I will miss her very much. We played Cleudo earlier tonight--a family tradition for us, Cleudo, among a number of other board games. When I was younger, my aunt made up these complex dressing-up games based on the people of Cleudo. I got to look through my aunt and mother's old wardrobes--a vintage wonderland, hasn't been altered in the slightest since the 70s. I'll miss this place so much during the year. Tomorrow we're going to see my grandparents on my dad's side, so it's all a bit subdued round here. In the afternoon we all drove to Gatwick in my aunt's car, to get the rental car we're having till the end of our stay. A silver Ford, nothing special. We then went back to visit my aunt's house briefly, more or less the same with minor alterations, but she has a really nice house anyway. For some reason my grandparents had old Christmas crackers saved, so we got to have an August Christmas dinner.
On Saturday, we all went to what I've decided must be one of the most fascinating places I've ever been to--Lewes. My aunt's a bit of a fan. It's a carefully eccentric little town, full of people who fancy themselves a bit anarchic and different. So yeah, this adds up to a high street with lots of quaint shops selling books and vintage clothes and funny ornaments. Don't get me wrong, though, it's fun. We got to go into a lot of said shops, also a cheese shop, and ate at a Polish cafe. They also happen to have a castle and a museum. Ignoring the pseudo-quirky nonsense, Lewes is really cool because it has a lot of historical significance, particularly early Norman stuff. Also, in the 13th century they had the Battle of Lewes, which led to the first instance of the English monarchy being forced to give up some of their power. Some call it the "Birth of English Democracy". Amazingly people outside Lewes don't seem to recognize this(I'd never heard of this battle before), but the residents are damn proud of it. The museum and castle were really nice. you could see for miles at the top of the castle, it was wonderful. We watched some two-hour Amy Winehouse tribute on TV that night.
On Friday, we went to this open air history museum, which is one of my favorite places around here. it's a set of actual houses ranging from the 13th to early 20th century, and it's arranged to replicate a village. it's so, so nice. There's a lot of really nice buildings--a Victorian school building, a 17th century toll house, a mill which they actually use, stables, cottages with historically-accurate gardens, market stalls, the lot. it's very scenic, very informative too. They also got a new tiny 19th century church from London. We got to look round the entire museum. Also, I bought a book on the history of Sussex. We listened to Imelda May in the car, and my aunt arrived from work in the evening, and we played board games and watched a weird art show on TV.
And Thursday, we were met with our first day of serious downpour this trip. It rained into the afternoon but we drove into a little local museum. It's a part of this town I'd never been to before, kind of tacky but in the charming seaside resort way that looks like it's 20 years out of date. They had a lot of run of the mill history stuff, but then they also had an impressive collection of vintage dolls and a whole area of fashion over the last century. I think the latter was probably my favorite part of the place, especially a lot of the 70s fashion. 70s&90s were my favorite times for fashion--the 80s are grossly overrated in that respect. (in many respects, actually). Also, one of my mom's friends had a piece of art up in the local artists section which was nice. After that we drove to another beach(I'm a bit of an English beach fanatic, yeah), and it was very cold and windy and gray. Also, they have the world's longest bench there! Another good day.
Good lord, guys, the Inbetweeners is beyond an obsession for me. I don't have the energy in me to write about my love for this show tonight. Unfortunately, I doubt I'll be able to see it on Monday--my mother still has doubts about letting me watch this show, it's gonna be total no-go territory for my classy, booky, Oxbridge grandparents. This is a shame but I'll see it soon. Hey, there's a new series of Shooting Stars! I shall get it on DVD--it shall get me through another autumn.
Not really that much else going on. Reading John Betjeman, listening to Them Crooked Vultures, Imelda May, Gaga, Wild Beasts, Arctic Monkeys. V in 13 days! my friend plans to go dressed as a sheep, if his mother will let him, which is very unlikely. it's been a fortnight and I don't want to leave this country. I want not to feel like a tourist while I'm here. I want it to be home, but it isn't really, and I hate it. I'll try to make it feel normal while I'm here.
Boring post, man. Wow. hey, I wonder how I'll blog next year. I've put very little though into that.
Good night, all.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
August Now.
Good God, everyone, it's August. Already! School starts in just over a month. What is this madness?
I'm currently watching Have I Got News For You, still at my grandparents' house. Show of the summer? Maybe? As well as the Inbetweeners and TOWIE? Probably. I've seen this before but I'm only really getting into it now. I'm also way into QI at the moment, I couldn't say why, it just seems to be the cornerstone of my evenings at the moment. I love UK television so much it's pathetic.
Anyway, there have been ups and downs to my time spent in England so far, but overall it's been great. I'm just trying to soak up the atmosphere, the culture, the summer. All the music I'm into, the food, the HMV, the Radiotimes, the unusually and wonderfully warm weather. It's all a lot of fun, and I'd better savor it as much as possible because I haven't got a long time here, have I? August 3rd. Wow.
Today, my mom got a little rental car to last us till Saturday. We're getting a different one for our time after this week. This one is small, and black, and a VW, with a working radio and CD player. Could be a hell of a lot worse, I've found! Like last year's which, if nothing else, was beige. Beige! I know! Like a crime against humanity. In the afternoon we went to a town round here in said new car. Hello, Radio 1! For some reason, I miss you every year. The town we went to is pretty old, and we also went round a small art museum(my mother's choice). Pretty good place, they had a Freida Carlo and Diego Rivera exhibition which was really great. Remarkably, I finally found the John Betjeman book I've been looking for in the gift shop! That was a great twist to the day. We got a drink then walked around the town a bit, found out a fairly well known theater club are doing Sweeney Todd there in September, and I was so incredible disappointed that I'll be back in the States at that point. They had an 11th century church round there, it was amazing, one of the best churches I've ever been into. They even had a guy playing the organ right there, it was an incredible. We walked around the outside, and it turns out some people have houses, right next to the place. We went to Tescos later, came home, had dinner, and watched TV in the night.
I'm currently watching Have I Got News For You, still at my grandparents' house. Show of the summer? Maybe? As well as the Inbetweeners and TOWIE? Probably. I've seen this before but I'm only really getting into it now. I'm also way into QI at the moment, I couldn't say why, it just seems to be the cornerstone of my evenings at the moment. I love UK television so much it's pathetic.
Anyway, there have been ups and downs to my time spent in England so far, but overall it's been great. I'm just trying to soak up the atmosphere, the culture, the summer. All the music I'm into, the food, the HMV, the Radiotimes, the unusually and wonderfully warm weather. It's all a lot of fun, and I'd better savor it as much as possible because I haven't got a long time here, have I? August 3rd. Wow.
Today, my mom got a little rental car to last us till Saturday. We're getting a different one for our time after this week. This one is small, and black, and a VW, with a working radio and CD player. Could be a hell of a lot worse, I've found! Like last year's which, if nothing else, was beige. Beige! I know! Like a crime against humanity. In the afternoon we went to a town round here in said new car. Hello, Radio 1! For some reason, I miss you every year. The town we went to is pretty old, and we also went round a small art museum(my mother's choice). Pretty good place, they had a Freida Carlo and Diego Rivera exhibition which was really great. Remarkably, I finally found the John Betjeman book I've been looking for in the gift shop! That was a great twist to the day. We got a drink then walked around the town a bit, found out a fairly well known theater club are doing Sweeney Todd there in September, and I was so incredible disappointed that I'll be back in the States at that point. They had an 11th century church round there, it was amazing, one of the best churches I've ever been into. They even had a guy playing the organ right there, it was an incredible. We walked around the outside, and it turns out some people have houses, right next to the place. We went to Tescos later, came home, had dinner, and watched TV in the night.
On Tuesday, I went to the beach with my mom, my sister, a couple of my mom's friends, and the sixteen-year-old daughter of one of said friends. They've known each other since they were very young, and I'm dragged along to say hello to them every summer. It's more then sufficiently awkward but I suppose it could be worse. We had picnic by a bowling green, which seems to be the local hangout for the elderly. My sister branded us 'characters'. Also they discussed the time when my mom played George III in a school play, which was news to me. Afterwards, we went down to the beach. I went in the sea. It was typically cold and a much less appealing color than it is on the other side of the Atlantic. Afterwards we got ice cream--how I miss Cornettos--and walked by the coast. This is a very quaint, very old-fashioned seaside town, and it's one I've always liked very much. I'd never live here but an afternoon by the seaside is bliss. I came home listening to Eliza Doolittle, and stayed in for another slow night of TV. A good day.
On Monday my aunt went back to work, and I went to a lake round here that we've been to a couple of times now. It was a fairly hot day, but luckily the place wasn't that busy. We fed the ducks, went for a row on the lake, and got ice cream. (America needs banoffee ice cream desperately). We then walked around a nature reserve a little way down the road from there. I can't say I'm a fan of nature reserves(if one can say such a thing) but at least the weather made that portion of the day bearable. I had a great day, finally had a really good TV schedule that night. God, I love QI so, so much, I love watching it in the evening and must get every single episode on TV right this instant. I laughed so, so much at that episode. Oh, and here's one more funny thing I discovered that day, to do with the show Who Do You Think You Are. I guess it's pretty popular both sides of the pond, but it's a genealogy show where each week they trace the history of a celebrity. They listed the people featured on the show in a magazine, which just happens to include the one celebrity my family think we might be related to. Unfortunately, my mother happens to hate this guy soooo it's a pretty funny coincidence that we might find out for sure whether he's related or not.
And on Sunday, I went to a charity polo game with my mom, sister, and aunt. I suppose this is with a touch of irony but I'm not certain. It raised money for a good charity so I can't complain, though. We got there and walked around the stalls, most of which were pretty typical, but one of them was a 'Silent Auction', where a set of prizes are lined out and you write down a bid and, naturally, the highest wins. Things included football shirts, signed books, et cetera. One of them was a set of things signed by Peter Andre. Yeah. For those of you not familiar with Peter Andre, he's a singer meets reality TV star famous for dating a glamour model and being the dead end of society. He also fell out of the public eye(if you can ever really say he was in it) about five years ago. Now, someone only bid ten pounds for this, so my aunt bid twenty out of sympathy. Unfortunately we've heard nothing yet so I suspect we lost, but it was a very funny moment. Since the place was fairly empty, someone even let us go in the VIP area! Benefits included being behind a white picket fence, sitting on chairs, and being surrounded by people far wealthier and more cultured than yourself. Seriously though, that was a lot of fun. I had fun watching the game, though I can't say polo was really my sort of thing! Overall though that was a different experience, and good fun.
My only additional thing deserving of mention is my interest in the Inbetweeners, which I would say has evolved into a full obsession. I can't wait for the movie in a couple of weeks, also I can't wait to buy it on DVD and watch it back in the States. My mother is surprisingly okay with this, considering some of the language in this show. But yknow, British comedy, censorship or moderation really aren't fashionable things. Although this show probably takes the cake for crudeness, as my mom was speechless for much of the first scene of her first episode the other day! It's an awesome show and I'm loving it, can't believe I never watched it until now! Especially when there's a Mark Corrigan-esque character, wow, it was made for me.
I'm off to a night of yet more comedy TV.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
in which I blog while watching BBC1.
Hey! It's England! And the morning! And the BBC! This is fun! I love BBC in the morning at my grandparents' house. I just ate a croissant. America's croissants aren't nearly as good as those you get in Marks and Spencers, and it's such a shame. My family are discussing whether the thing they can see in the garden is a fox or a flowerpot. I'm watching a cooking show. Could this BE more English?!
I've decided to blog to you intermittently over the course of today, as today is going to be a little bit crazy and rushed. Nevertheless, I'm extremely excited. Jet lag is a wonderful thing, if only because it allows me to get up earlier in the morning and watch crappy TV and go outside when it's cold. This is a great morning. Hey, my grandmother has just presented my mother with three bottles of white wine. Why this is happening at 10 in the morning, I couldn't say.
Anyway, I should back up a few days first.
On Tuesday, I went to Concord in the afternoon with my mother, as she was looking for 'quirky' gifts for some English friends of hers. 11 months she has to buy gifts, and she starts looking literally on the last day. We didn't have very long to look, but she found necklaces in a place we've been to before. I had to get back quickly so I got a drink and we left, when a thunderstorm started. I had a few minutes after getting back, and then in the evening I went to my friend's house. That was a whole lot of fun. It was with some people who I'd only met like once before so it was a bit weird at first, but it got normal pretty quickly. They all swam but I didn't feel like it, so I just sat on the side for that first part of the night and listened to music. After that we went inside and had food, and observed his younger siblings being hilarious(ly awkward). Afterwards we went outside and played Manhunt in the dark and again, Manhunt isn't really my thing but I hung out on the deck for whichever team was convenient at the time. After everyone left I played Animal Crossing for a few minutes. That was a really awesome day.
My family always pack on the last day. it may sound nightmarish, and trust me it is, but since we didn't have to go until the late afternoon this could have been worse. It turned out I couldn't really fit all my clothes in my suitcase, so that was a problem, and there were issues with electronics and what have you, so that took away most of the day, though there was a bit of time after to read. Headed to the airport at about 5 ish. Not too busy and no flight delays, got through security quickly, had dinner, and got on the flight.
It's always fun, hearing English accents on the cabin crew on Virgin Atlantic flights. We got off the ground quickly and were faced with a surprisingly short flight(5 and 3/4 hours. Thank the jet stream). Luckily, I got the good entertainment system this time round so I got to actually choose what I wanted to watch. The first thing I watched was this documentary called the Only Way is Essay, which I've heard loads about. Basically, it follows the lives of a group of 'chavs' in Essex, a place infamous for its poofy-haired, orange-skinned, high-heeled white trash residents. I'm actually from Essex, but I just take that in my stride. The show was brilliant and I can't wait to watch more while I'm here. Unfortunately the Office wasn't on the plane, but THEY ADDED PEEP SHOW TO THE LIST. First year they've done that! It may have taken seven years, but Peep Show has reached that milestone. I also watched 30 Rock(my 2nd time--pretty okayish), Family Guy(getting progressively less clever and funny as time goes by, it seems), the Simpsons(still going strong, if largely ignored, like the opposite of Family Guy), Modern Family(actually not bad), and the Inbetweeners. Oh my god, the Inbetweeners. Everyone in England's been crazy about that show, and this is the first time I've watched it. It's not like comedy genius but, wow, is it addicting. My mind was blown by how awesome Will is...and whoever plays Jay, they're brilliant, that was amazing. But wow, WILL. He's like a young Mark Corrigan, and it's great. Hopefully I can watch more episodes again. The show's like crack. Oh yeah, and my mother accidentally ripped the upholstery off the plastic part of her chair, and there was this god almighty tearing sound throughout the almost-silent cabin.
We had to circle about a bit before landing, Heathrow being insanely busy as always. Getting out of the airport, however, wasn't nearly as bad as it sometimes is. Got our luggage quickly. My grandparents had ordered a taxi for us, so he picked us up and we drove for 90 minutes to get to the house. I listened to Manchester Orchestra and slept for the first time in almost 24 hours. We finally got to my grandparent's house, and I felt dreadful so I forced myself to fall asleep in broad daylight. That afternoon I went down to the corner store, and bought English candy and music magazines. Very interesting to see how things change over the course of a year. We got back and had dinner.
On Friday, we went into the center of town for the afternoon after a slow morning. We're at a tourist-y beach town so naturally we dropped by the beach for a few minutes, which I guess was nice. Then we went food shopping, and went into Boots, where I spotted some lipgloss in every color under the sun, placed with no irony intended among pictures of pouty-lipped women. Then, finally, after 11 months of waiting, I got to back to my favorite store in the entire world...HMV. Oh my god, it's like heaven. Unfortunately I think they're planning to shut down some HMV shops(loss of income, illegal downloading, competition from iTunes, digital generation, you've heard it all before). And I honestly don't know how I'll be able to survive without it in future years. It's like bliss, they have SO many CDs and DVDs and they play awesome music and they have such great deals. I've mentioned the Two CDs for 10 Pounds deal before, and it's great because you can go in there and just buy something you never even considered buying, and you might end up loving it. Also, I got Imelda May's record for three pounds. Three pounds! How about that? Also, the new Kaiser Chiefs album. But looking through the selection, in that moment I just wanted infinite money so I could walk out of that place with twenty CDs--Wild BEasts, Patrick Wolf, Jamie Woon, James Blake, the Horrors, the lot. But two for now will suffice. Oh yes, and my mom bought something by Them Crooked Vultures. Honestly not something I would listen to otherwise, but it's a very slick record. Also I finally found Amlie on DVD! Ahh, the endless list of wonderful things about HMV. One of the things in England I still miss. I think it'd just make being a music fan so much more enjoyable, cause it's something I could do regularly--once a week or something--and I could buy new releases or I could buy old stuff so cheaply, and I would feel like I actually lived in a culture that cares about music. And I mean caring about it in the way that people who are really into music do(not just the godawful pop/emo/shitty gross commercial rock crowds). That would be so, so wonderful. Anyway, enough of HMV for now. In the evening my aunt came by, and I had a great night from then on.
Now, it is currently late in the evening of today. I had a pretty decent day. After that morning I ate lunch outside as a picnic, on these retro picnic mats that are from the actual 70s, and are covered in flowers and swirly patterns and they're just the coolest things. In the afternoon I went shopping at this really cool town near here, mostly to allow my mother to buy gifts for her friends again. So, we went into quirky shops and they had a market, and markets are pretty amazing. We went into furniture shops and I bought stuff at an old-fashioned sweets shop, which I ate secretly in a local cafe. I ended up walking through a lot of the town barefoot. We went swimming at this public pool and it was late so it was really quiet and nice, then in the evening we walked around a park outside. We had curry for dinner and watched trashy TV. The perfect English evening, no?
This is getting pretty ramble-y, so I'll get back to you later in the week. I'll quickly tel you I've been listening to a lot of Arctic Monkeys, Katy B, Them Crooked Vultures, et cetera. Not reading anything terribly interesting at this very second. That's it. Goodnight. Enjoy your summers.
I've decided to blog to you intermittently over the course of today, as today is going to be a little bit crazy and rushed. Nevertheless, I'm extremely excited. Jet lag is a wonderful thing, if only because it allows me to get up earlier in the morning and watch crappy TV and go outside when it's cold. This is a great morning. Hey, my grandmother has just presented my mother with three bottles of white wine. Why this is happening at 10 in the morning, I couldn't say.
Anyway, I should back up a few days first.
On Tuesday, I went to Concord in the afternoon with my mother, as she was looking for 'quirky' gifts for some English friends of hers. 11 months she has to buy gifts, and she starts looking literally on the last day. We didn't have very long to look, but she found necklaces in a place we've been to before. I had to get back quickly so I got a drink and we left, when a thunderstorm started. I had a few minutes after getting back, and then in the evening I went to my friend's house. That was a whole lot of fun. It was with some people who I'd only met like once before so it was a bit weird at first, but it got normal pretty quickly. They all swam but I didn't feel like it, so I just sat on the side for that first part of the night and listened to music. After that we went inside and had food, and observed his younger siblings being hilarious(ly awkward). Afterwards we went outside and played Manhunt in the dark and again, Manhunt isn't really my thing but I hung out on the deck for whichever team was convenient at the time. After everyone left I played Animal Crossing for a few minutes. That was a really awesome day.
My family always pack on the last day. it may sound nightmarish, and trust me it is, but since we didn't have to go until the late afternoon this could have been worse. It turned out I couldn't really fit all my clothes in my suitcase, so that was a problem, and there were issues with electronics and what have you, so that took away most of the day, though there was a bit of time after to read. Headed to the airport at about 5 ish. Not too busy and no flight delays, got through security quickly, had dinner, and got on the flight.
It's always fun, hearing English accents on the cabin crew on Virgin Atlantic flights. We got off the ground quickly and were faced with a surprisingly short flight(5 and 3/4 hours. Thank the jet stream). Luckily, I got the good entertainment system this time round so I got to actually choose what I wanted to watch. The first thing I watched was this documentary called the Only Way is Essay, which I've heard loads about. Basically, it follows the lives of a group of 'chavs' in Essex, a place infamous for its poofy-haired, orange-skinned, high-heeled white trash residents. I'm actually from Essex, but I just take that in my stride. The show was brilliant and I can't wait to watch more while I'm here. Unfortunately the Office wasn't on the plane, but THEY ADDED PEEP SHOW TO THE LIST. First year they've done that! It may have taken seven years, but Peep Show has reached that milestone. I also watched 30 Rock(my 2nd time--pretty okayish), Family Guy(getting progressively less clever and funny as time goes by, it seems), the Simpsons(still going strong, if largely ignored, like the opposite of Family Guy), Modern Family(actually not bad), and the Inbetweeners. Oh my god, the Inbetweeners. Everyone in England's been crazy about that show, and this is the first time I've watched it. It's not like comedy genius but, wow, is it addicting. My mind was blown by how awesome Will is...and whoever plays Jay, they're brilliant, that was amazing. But wow, WILL. He's like a young Mark Corrigan, and it's great. Hopefully I can watch more episodes again. The show's like crack. Oh yeah, and my mother accidentally ripped the upholstery off the plastic part of her chair, and there was this god almighty tearing sound throughout the almost-silent cabin.
We had to circle about a bit before landing, Heathrow being insanely busy as always. Getting out of the airport, however, wasn't nearly as bad as it sometimes is. Got our luggage quickly. My grandparents had ordered a taxi for us, so he picked us up and we drove for 90 minutes to get to the house. I listened to Manchester Orchestra and slept for the first time in almost 24 hours. We finally got to my grandparent's house, and I felt dreadful so I forced myself to fall asleep in broad daylight. That afternoon I went down to the corner store, and bought English candy and music magazines. Very interesting to see how things change over the course of a year. We got back and had dinner.
On Friday, we went into the center of town for the afternoon after a slow morning. We're at a tourist-y beach town so naturally we dropped by the beach for a few minutes, which I guess was nice. Then we went food shopping, and went into Boots, where I spotted some lipgloss in every color under the sun, placed with no irony intended among pictures of pouty-lipped women. Then, finally, after 11 months of waiting, I got to back to my favorite store in the entire world...HMV. Oh my god, it's like heaven. Unfortunately I think they're planning to shut down some HMV shops(loss of income, illegal downloading, competition from iTunes, digital generation, you've heard it all before). And I honestly don't know how I'll be able to survive without it in future years. It's like bliss, they have SO many CDs and DVDs and they play awesome music and they have such great deals. I've mentioned the Two CDs for 10 Pounds deal before, and it's great because you can go in there and just buy something you never even considered buying, and you might end up loving it. Also, I got Imelda May's record for three pounds. Three pounds! How about that? Also, the new Kaiser Chiefs album. But looking through the selection, in that moment I just wanted infinite money so I could walk out of that place with twenty CDs--Wild BEasts, Patrick Wolf, Jamie Woon, James Blake, the Horrors, the lot. But two for now will suffice. Oh yes, and my mom bought something by Them Crooked Vultures. Honestly not something I would listen to otherwise, but it's a very slick record. Also I finally found Amlie on DVD! Ahh, the endless list of wonderful things about HMV. One of the things in England I still miss. I think it'd just make being a music fan so much more enjoyable, cause it's something I could do regularly--once a week or something--and I could buy new releases or I could buy old stuff so cheaply, and I would feel like I actually lived in a culture that cares about music. And I mean caring about it in the way that people who are really into music do(not just the godawful pop/emo/shitty gross commercial rock crowds). That would be so, so wonderful. Anyway, enough of HMV for now. In the evening my aunt came by, and I had a great night from then on.
Now, it is currently late in the evening of today. I had a pretty decent day. After that morning I ate lunch outside as a picnic, on these retro picnic mats that are from the actual 70s, and are covered in flowers and swirly patterns and they're just the coolest things. In the afternoon I went shopping at this really cool town near here, mostly to allow my mother to buy gifts for her friends again. So, we went into quirky shops and they had a market, and markets are pretty amazing. We went into furniture shops and I bought stuff at an old-fashioned sweets shop, which I ate secretly in a local cafe. I ended up walking through a lot of the town barefoot. We went swimming at this public pool and it was late so it was really quiet and nice, then in the evening we walked around a park outside. We had curry for dinner and watched trashy TV. The perfect English evening, no?
This is getting pretty ramble-y, so I'll get back to you later in the week. I'll quickly tel you I've been listening to a lot of Arctic Monkeys, Katy B, Them Crooked Vultures, et cetera. Not reading anything terribly interesting at this very second. That's it. Goodnight. Enjoy your summers.
Monday, July 25, 2011
England in two days.
In the days running up to going to England, I always feel both very excited and slightly sad, as I will be spending the next month away from this place. And when I get back? it's a few days off and then school. School again. In a way this is an end to a part of summer, which is why I don't feel over the moon per se. Don't get me wrong, I love going to England each year, I love seeing everything I miss, but now that I'm cool with this country I miss being here, as well. Also, going to England is always a bit of a business. Luckily I don't have to leave for the airport until late afternoon on Wednesday, but my family always packs at the last minute(myself included), and I've gotten into the habit of waking up at midday this summer, so Wednesday's gonna be pretty stressful. Obviously flights are never fun anyway, but god forbid I get the crappy entertainment system where you can't choose what shows you watch, or if there are delays this year. I have a bunch of stuff left to organize, such as CDs, while I'm still here too. Nevertheless, I'm making a conceited effort to make the best of the upcoming few days, which are gonna be a bit tough.
The best part about flying to england? The obvious: landing. But not just because it's like "THANK CHRIST, IT'S OVER" but because I walk outside and I see signs with different spellings and people with the same accent as me and HMVs and WHSmiths and I walk outside the airport and I feel that cold, smoke-filled English air. Silly stuff like that.
I've made the most of my time here, I think. It's been fun and a great break from a tough school year.
Today, I went to the beach. Had to get up early so I could catch low tide and a walk across to this little island right off shore. It feels like a tropical island because it's so overgrown. Since the weather wasn't very hot, the beach wasn't too crowded. However, we did establish that we were sitting behind a family of Germans(with the best beach umbrellas around, not gonna lie).*The temperature was actually bearable this time, and even the water was fun to be in. Oh yeah, I'm fully aware I'm a lone wolf on this one but I love British beaches. Not when you get an unexpected "heat wave"(anything above like 65 degrees, actually) and the entire country runs to the coast, but when the weather is typical and gray and rainy and you're the only people there because the water is freezing and the sand is wet. I just think it's fun.
Yesterday I went to Borders. Sad that it's closing down I suppose. I know every one's saying that, but I mean it. In the past I actually bought stuff there, books and magazines and all. Society's screwed. I was actually in there that day looking for a specific book...this was the case for, oh, no one else in the crowded store at the time. The response of the average person to Borders closing was not "oh it's a loss of knowledge and the spreading of knowledge and learning and why don't people know the value of the printed word anymore?" which is a contrived but perfectly valid response. No, most people responded with "oh, that's a bit sad. HEY IT'S A SALE LET'S BUY STUFF". So the place was filled with people carrying around trolleys literally grabbing any old thing of the shelves that they may or may not(but probably not) pay any attention to after they get home. "Ooh, flashy cover, and it's ON SALE, I must buy it now." One overhears some shitty conversations too. I'm sorry but if it takes like a 15% discount for you to pick up a fucking book, I think you're pathetic. Where the hell were you guys before? You're the type of person who has all the time in the world to go to a book store, but instead chooses to buy a gimmick like a Kindle and never actually read using it. Jesus Christ. I know I'm like the most illiterate book snob there has even been, but this scene was just a ridiculous demonstration of the stupid things people round here do. I was fuming at the ears by the time I left that place! Luckily, I went out to dinner in the evening and had a slow day. This improved my mood.
Sautrday I made a gooseberry crumble in the morning and went to the mall with some friends in the evening. That was a fun time--I got a book with some of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, and also an Airborne Toxic Event CD. Oh yeah, and another raspberry coolata. I pondered the complications of spending the rest of my life on a diet consisting of nothing but blue raspberry coolatas and bagels. The Apple store was as busy and white as ever. also we got the TVs in the food court to play Ellie Goulding. So overall, that was a fun day.
And Friday, the weather was listed as "dangerously hot", or something like that, so I had to stay out of the sun for most of the day. I went school supply shopping for my sister and again went into a book shop. I'm looking for a book--nothing specific, just any book, any collected works--by John Betjeman. No luck so far. I couldn't find anything else in the store either. Why do so many popular books look terrible? Like, the sort of "beach reading" stuff, my god, it looks awful. They didn't have any of the magazines I like either, sadly. Also, I got ice cream that day.
I finished my school reading book but will likely put off note-taking for some weeks yet. It was okay, a bit repetitive though, and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get out of it. Dammit. I can't analyze books to save my life' I really can't. Hopefully the essay I'll do in September will end up a bit better than last year's Secret Life of Bees disaster. Not even gonna discuss that.
As for music, I've been listening to a lot of Frankmusik, Arctic Monkeys, Hurts, Imelda May, and other such things. The last couple of months haven't been the best for music for me, you had some great things in winter and spring and them it sort of died out. Apart from Patrick Wolf. Haven't a clue why this has happened, it's probably in my head. With new albums from Beirut and Laura Marling, the Killers and Biffy Clyro recording, and new stuff from Arctic Monkeys and Bon Iver and Elbow still in my mind, why should I be complaining? Answer: I shouldn't. I'm just sick and tired of people fusing dubstep and pop and also reading the NME gush about some Oasis-wannabees. This is not new, but it's frustrating. It's just a blip, I'll find something new soon enough. Oh yeah, Imelda May, she's amazing. She did this jazzy cover of Tainted Love, I could listen to it all day.
Off to watch the Office for one of the last times. Speak to you from across the Atlantic next time, everyone.
* In Europe, if you go to a beach in Spain or Greece or wherever, the Germans are famous for being the first there. A British family can get up at the crack of dawn, but there will always by a group of Germans there first. The fact that this has seemingly transcended the Atlantic made me smile.
The best part about flying to england? The obvious: landing. But not just because it's like "THANK CHRIST, IT'S OVER" but because I walk outside and I see signs with different spellings and people with the same accent as me and HMVs and WHSmiths and I walk outside the airport and I feel that cold, smoke-filled English air. Silly stuff like that.
I've made the most of my time here, I think. It's been fun and a great break from a tough school year.
Today, I went to the beach. Had to get up early so I could catch low tide and a walk across to this little island right off shore. It feels like a tropical island because it's so overgrown. Since the weather wasn't very hot, the beach wasn't too crowded. However, we did establish that we were sitting behind a family of Germans(with the best beach umbrellas around, not gonna lie).*The temperature was actually bearable this time, and even the water was fun to be in. Oh yeah, I'm fully aware I'm a lone wolf on this one but I love British beaches. Not when you get an unexpected "heat wave"(anything above like 65 degrees, actually) and the entire country runs to the coast, but when the weather is typical and gray and rainy and you're the only people there because the water is freezing and the sand is wet. I just think it's fun.
Yesterday I went to Borders. Sad that it's closing down I suppose. I know every one's saying that, but I mean it. In the past I actually bought stuff there, books and magazines and all. Society's screwed. I was actually in there that day looking for a specific book...this was the case for, oh, no one else in the crowded store at the time. The response of the average person to Borders closing was not "oh it's a loss of knowledge and the spreading of knowledge and learning and why don't people know the value of the printed word anymore?" which is a contrived but perfectly valid response. No, most people responded with "oh, that's a bit sad. HEY IT'S A SALE LET'S BUY STUFF". So the place was filled with people carrying around trolleys literally grabbing any old thing of the shelves that they may or may not(but probably not) pay any attention to after they get home. "Ooh, flashy cover, and it's ON SALE, I must buy it now." One overhears some shitty conversations too. I'm sorry but if it takes like a 15% discount for you to pick up a fucking book, I think you're pathetic. Where the hell were you guys before? You're the type of person who has all the time in the world to go to a book store, but instead chooses to buy a gimmick like a Kindle and never actually read using it. Jesus Christ. I know I'm like the most illiterate book snob there has even been, but this scene was just a ridiculous demonstration of the stupid things people round here do. I was fuming at the ears by the time I left that place! Luckily, I went out to dinner in the evening and had a slow day. This improved my mood.
Sautrday I made a gooseberry crumble in the morning and went to the mall with some friends in the evening. That was a fun time--I got a book with some of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories, and also an Airborne Toxic Event CD. Oh yeah, and another raspberry coolata. I pondered the complications of spending the rest of my life on a diet consisting of nothing but blue raspberry coolatas and bagels. The Apple store was as busy and white as ever. also we got the TVs in the food court to play Ellie Goulding. So overall, that was a fun day.
And Friday, the weather was listed as "dangerously hot", or something like that, so I had to stay out of the sun for most of the day. I went school supply shopping for my sister and again went into a book shop. I'm looking for a book--nothing specific, just any book, any collected works--by John Betjeman. No luck so far. I couldn't find anything else in the store either. Why do so many popular books look terrible? Like, the sort of "beach reading" stuff, my god, it looks awful. They didn't have any of the magazines I like either, sadly. Also, I got ice cream that day.
I finished my school reading book but will likely put off note-taking for some weeks yet. It was okay, a bit repetitive though, and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get out of it. Dammit. I can't analyze books to save my life' I really can't. Hopefully the essay I'll do in September will end up a bit better than last year's Secret Life of Bees disaster. Not even gonna discuss that.
As for music, I've been listening to a lot of Frankmusik, Arctic Monkeys, Hurts, Imelda May, and other such things. The last couple of months haven't been the best for music for me, you had some great things in winter and spring and them it sort of died out. Apart from Patrick Wolf. Haven't a clue why this has happened, it's probably in my head. With new albums from Beirut and Laura Marling, the Killers and Biffy Clyro recording, and new stuff from Arctic Monkeys and Bon Iver and Elbow still in my mind, why should I be complaining? Answer: I shouldn't. I'm just sick and tired of people fusing dubstep and pop and also reading the NME gush about some Oasis-wannabees. This is not new, but it's frustrating. It's just a blip, I'll find something new soon enough. Oh yeah, Imelda May, she's amazing. She did this jazzy cover of Tainted Love, I could listen to it all day.
Off to watch the Office for one of the last times. Speak to you from across the Atlantic next time, everyone.
* In Europe, if you go to a beach in Spain or Greece or wherever, the Germans are famous for being the first there. A British family can get up at the crack of dawn, but there will always by a group of Germans there first. The fact that this has seemingly transcended the Atlantic made me smile.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Oh. Well, hello there.
Hello there.
Just so you know, I'm not good at the opening post/All About Me thing. Never have, never will be. First off, I'm a pretty boring person. A lot of people say that, but trust me, I am. I mean, really, what do I actually do? Let me think. My name is Naomi. I'm English but I live in Massachusetts now. I'm 14 years old and I'm about to go into 9th grade. High school. I hate school, too; I keep blogs to complain about it, mostly. I also keep a blog to write. I like to write, a lot. Here, journals, at school, whenever I get the chance. Naturally that makes me a reader, too, I suppose. I do the 20th century classics thing mostly. Orwell, JD Salinger, Harper Lee, Twain, all those goodies. And some older ones, like Dickens and Hawthorne. All of those types of people. Your pretty run of the mill listing there. When I'm not reading or writing, I'm absorbing myself in an equally run of the mill music life. I'm 14, okay, what do you expect? I like boys with guitars and synthesizers, mostly. You know...Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Biffy Clyro, Babyshambles, Editors, Elbow(from which this blog gets its stupid name), Florence and the Machine, Franz Ferdinand, Joanna Newsom, Jonsi, Kasabian, Keane, Kings of Leon, the Libertines, MGMT, Paloma Faith, Peter Doherty, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Snow Patrol, , hat sort of thing. oh, and I'm an indie girl; kinda hovering between hipster and not, which is awkward. I often like to write about music, too. I don't like many movies, most I do have Johnny Depp in them, but I have a mad insane relationship owith UK 'telly'. Obsessions include but are not limited to Peep Show(Um. Marry me, Mark Corregon?), Mock The Week, QI, Nevermind The Buzzcocks, would I Lie To You, Doctor Who, That mithcll and Webb look, have I Got News For You. Yes, PANEL SHOWS. oh, I could watch them all day. And I certainly will at one point. I don't have much else going on, you know?
Anyway, that's about me to a t. Not that it matters--no one reads these things and even if you, you'll catch the gist of what I'm about pretty quickly. I'm like a living anti-climax, right? I find it difficult to sound enthusiastic on these things. iIam, of course, it's just tricky.
to be fair, i'm a little distracted right now. I'm super tired. I've had a mad few days. Over the weekend I had a sort of family gathering, all 16 of us, and I was so busy I couldn't have time to go online at all. I love family gatherings, we haven't been totally together for four years. Me and my family went out on Saturday morning and we came back and my cousins C, who is 18, and A, who is 16 came round. I saw A last year. She doesn't seem to change, except somehow I outgrew her this year. C just proved to the world that he did catch the 140 IQ gene that runs in everyone in the family except me by getting a brilliant A level results, and he's off to university for physics. I haven't seen him since he was 15. Now he has a ponytail and army boots and staring eyes. He's scary to be honest. And a total smart Alec too. After one uncle and one aunt arrived and we had dinner and apple crumble(my favorite ever) and first we measured peoples pinky fingers for the sake of it, we had a quiz and a drawing competition and all he drew were dots. No one took it seriously. Also on the downside, our parents decided to have a kids' drawing competition and my sister can be a wordimnotgonnasay sometimes. Attention seeker to the extreme. the fact she can draw better than me doesn't help. By the way, that was just the beginning. Where did this attention seeker Natalie come from? her plan was to make out that she can speak publicly, does crosswords and plays chess regularly, draws the whole time, plays Croquet, and is clever and witty. it's weird, because the real Natalie watches Spongebob and goes on Facebook all day and wakes up at midday. Somehow they didn't notice her crap and she was like the baby again(still is, really) and I looked like the pathetic older sister who can't really do anything. Although, that is sort of the case. Anyway, that made it up and down. That and my grandmother. I like my grandma, really I do, but she is liberal and extroverted to an extreme, which in itself makes you twitch after 15 minutes of convo, but then she has this fascination--no, obsession--with all things education. Colleges, really. My cousins Chris and Alex who came later are 20 and 22. I played croquet with their dad, by the way. I sucked, We lost. But it was fun. Oh yes, I got to go out in a Mini! It was really cool! Anyway, education is all my Grandmother wants to talk about. Alex mentioned something about a phd and she misheard and had a sort of euphoric moment when an extension of education was prosed. he is not, in fact, getting a phd. But all my grandmother cares about is how is school going, where will this lead you, where are you planning on going, etcetera. It's tiring. My 16 year old cousin isn't going down this Science-Math Degree Douchebag route so my grandma's ruled her out entirely. That makes me next in this conveyor belt of unverisites. Which kinda sucks. no, I won't be a scientist. No, i don't know what I'll be. No, i'm not gonna chose between the arts and the sciences. And you quickly lose the will to fight it anymore. She's also very stubborn. While she does now think my sister is heaven on Earth, she still wants me to talk about school and such. I'm tired of all that. I really wish we didn't have to do all of this. Sunday as good, all 16 of us together and we played outside and did a quiz and joined in conversations, but me and my cousin had to escape into the other room for lunch. No one seems to know how fucking annoying the college thing is. i wish everyone, all my cousins, were young again and we didn't have to go through this. *wistful sigh* Wasn't it yesterday I ran around chasing my cousin Alex with an inflatable banana? Now he's getting a computer science degree and has facial hair. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN.
Today's been stressful, though. School, I'll have you know, is starting tomorrow and it's all I can think about. High school, even. I missed the orientation and in between having too much to do, we got to look around and get my lock. The place was both simpler and nicer than I expected. I got a great locker, it's on the edge in its row and right by some stairs. the layout is super straightforward and I'm really excited by the freedom of all of it. My schedule for tomorrow reads physical science, then Spanish, then Geometry, then Gym. Which is gonna suck. At least i have study hall instead of gym the other day. First term is gonna be rough. Actually, it's all gonna be rough--I'm, getting used to that. i shan't be making friends, I imagine. I'm just to hope I have classes with people i'm okay with. i'm worried, of course, about homework, waking up(ugh. gonna miss that!), the winter, the nervousness, etcetrera. Also, I have to take the bus this year. The last two years my mum drove me. Can't anymore. That kind of terrified me, and no one's telling me anything about it. So I will DEFINITELY do something wrong tomorrow afternoon, if I make it that far. Busses are too stressful. I can't wait for the day I can actually drive to school. But anyway, I need to supress supress supress. Summer is over. A new year awaits. I'll just pretend I'm not miserable about it! Yaaaay! Welcome to my world!
- Love and kisses and I'll change the layout soon I promise, Naomi
Just so you know, I'm not good at the opening post/All About Me thing. Never have, never will be. First off, I'm a pretty boring person. A lot of people say that, but trust me, I am. I mean, really, what do I actually do? Let me think. My name is Naomi. I'm English but I live in Massachusetts now. I'm 14 years old and I'm about to go into 9th grade. High school. I hate school, too; I keep blogs to complain about it, mostly. I also keep a blog to write. I like to write, a lot. Here, journals, at school, whenever I get the chance. Naturally that makes me a reader, too, I suppose. I do the 20th century classics thing mostly. Orwell, JD Salinger, Harper Lee, Twain, all those goodies. And some older ones, like Dickens and Hawthorne. All of those types of people. Your pretty run of the mill listing there. When I'm not reading or writing, I'm absorbing myself in an equally run of the mill music life. I'm 14, okay, what do you expect? I like boys with guitars and synthesizers, mostly. You know...Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Biffy Clyro, Babyshambles, Editors, Elbow(from which this blog gets its stupid name), Florence and the Machine, Franz Ferdinand, Joanna Newsom, Jonsi, Kasabian, Keane, Kings of Leon, the Libertines, MGMT, Paloma Faith, Peter Doherty, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Snow Patrol, , hat sort of thing. oh, and I'm an indie girl; kinda hovering between hipster and not, which is awkward. I often like to write about music, too. I don't like many movies, most I do have Johnny Depp in them, but I have a mad insane relationship owith UK 'telly'. Obsessions include but are not limited to Peep Show(Um. Marry me, Mark Corregon?), Mock The Week, QI, Nevermind The Buzzcocks, would I Lie To You, Doctor Who, That mithcll and Webb look, have I Got News For You. Yes, PANEL SHOWS. oh, I could watch them all day. And I certainly will at one point. I don't have much else going on, you know?
Anyway, that's about me to a t. Not that it matters--no one reads these things and even if you, you'll catch the gist of what I'm about pretty quickly. I'm like a living anti-climax, right? I find it difficult to sound enthusiastic on these things. iIam, of course, it's just tricky.
to be fair, i'm a little distracted right now. I'm super tired. I've had a mad few days. Over the weekend I had a sort of family gathering, all 16 of us, and I was so busy I couldn't have time to go online at all. I love family gatherings, we haven't been totally together for four years. Me and my family went out on Saturday morning and we came back and my cousins C, who is 18, and A, who is 16 came round. I saw A last year. She doesn't seem to change, except somehow I outgrew her this year. C just proved to the world that he did catch the 140 IQ gene that runs in everyone in the family except me by getting a brilliant A level results, and he's off to university for physics. I haven't seen him since he was 15. Now he has a ponytail and army boots and staring eyes. He's scary to be honest. And a total smart Alec too. After one uncle and one aunt arrived and we had dinner and apple crumble(my favorite ever) and first we measured peoples pinky fingers for the sake of it, we had a quiz and a drawing competition and all he drew were dots. No one took it seriously. Also on the downside, our parents decided to have a kids' drawing competition and my sister can be a wordimnotgonnasay sometimes. Attention seeker to the extreme. the fact she can draw better than me doesn't help. By the way, that was just the beginning. Where did this attention seeker Natalie come from? her plan was to make out that she can speak publicly, does crosswords and plays chess regularly, draws the whole time, plays Croquet, and is clever and witty. it's weird, because the real Natalie watches Spongebob and goes on Facebook all day and wakes up at midday. Somehow they didn't notice her crap and she was like the baby again(still is, really) and I looked like the pathetic older sister who can't really do anything. Although, that is sort of the case. Anyway, that made it up and down. That and my grandmother. I like my grandma, really I do, but she is liberal and extroverted to an extreme, which in itself makes you twitch after 15 minutes of convo, but then she has this fascination--no, obsession--with all things education. Colleges, really. My cousins Chris and Alex who came later are 20 and 22. I played croquet with their dad, by the way. I sucked, We lost. But it was fun. Oh yes, I got to go out in a Mini! It was really cool! Anyway, education is all my Grandmother wants to talk about. Alex mentioned something about a phd and she misheard and had a sort of euphoric moment when an extension of education was prosed. he is not, in fact, getting a phd. But all my grandmother cares about is how is school going, where will this lead you, where are you planning on going, etcetera. It's tiring. My 16 year old cousin isn't going down this Science-Math Degree Douchebag route so my grandma's ruled her out entirely. That makes me next in this conveyor belt of unverisites. Which kinda sucks. no, I won't be a scientist. No, i don't know what I'll be. No, i'm not gonna chose between the arts and the sciences. And you quickly lose the will to fight it anymore. She's also very stubborn. While she does now think my sister is heaven on Earth, she still wants me to talk about school and such. I'm tired of all that. I really wish we didn't have to do all of this. Sunday as good, all 16 of us together and we played outside and did a quiz and joined in conversations, but me and my cousin had to escape into the other room for lunch. No one seems to know how fucking annoying the college thing is. i wish everyone, all my cousins, were young again and we didn't have to go through this. *wistful sigh* Wasn't it yesterday I ran around chasing my cousin Alex with an inflatable banana? Now he's getting a computer science degree and has facial hair. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN.
Today's been stressful, though. School, I'll have you know, is starting tomorrow and it's all I can think about. High school, even. I missed the orientation and in between having too much to do, we got to look around and get my lock. The place was both simpler and nicer than I expected. I got a great locker, it's on the edge in its row and right by some stairs. the layout is super straightforward and I'm really excited by the freedom of all of it. My schedule for tomorrow reads physical science, then Spanish, then Geometry, then Gym. Which is gonna suck. At least i have study hall instead of gym the other day. First term is gonna be rough. Actually, it's all gonna be rough--I'm, getting used to that. i shan't be making friends, I imagine. I'm just to hope I have classes with people i'm okay with. i'm worried, of course, about homework, waking up(ugh. gonna miss that!), the winter, the nervousness, etcetrera. Also, I have to take the bus this year. The last two years my mum drove me. Can't anymore. That kind of terrified me, and no one's telling me anything about it. So I will DEFINITELY do something wrong tomorrow afternoon, if I make it that far. Busses are too stressful. I can't wait for the day I can actually drive to school. But anyway, I need to supress supress supress. Summer is over. A new year awaits. I'll just pretend I'm not miserable about it! Yaaaay! Welcome to my world!
- Love and kisses and I'll change the layout soon I promise, Naomi
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