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Sunday 31 January 2016

How To Live With People You Don't Get On With

When you have to of course.

Whether it's a sibling, parent, other half, friend or a complete stranger, it's never good to snap at someone over something that probably isn't even that big of a deal. Which could also probably have been avoided or talked about calmly. God knows everyone has bad days, hell, I sure have, but that can make living with someone a total nightmare and incredibly uncomfortable if you end up arguing all the time.

If this said someone is rude to you, or messy or keeping you awake at night, talk to them first. If you do it politely they are more likely to listen to you and do as you are asking, whereas if you shout at them, you may not get anywhere with your issue.

I've had firsthand experience at asking my housemates calmly to be quiet the following morning as well as exploding at them in the middle of the night because I couldn't take it anymore. And guess which one worked the best?

If you can't talk to them about it or they continue to ignore your polite requests, find something that calms you or, just remind yourself, living with someone you don't get on with isn't forever. Hopefully. Count down the days until you can move out if needs be.

Living with family, friends or other halves is probably more of a learning curve of compromise and gritting your teeth. Plus, you probably wanted to live with them at some point. Whereas, living in a shared house is just ideal at the time.

I have 3 housemates that, I don't know whether it's because of their culture, but are incredibly, incredibly noisy all of the damn time. Whether it's stomping up the stairs, or slamming their bedroom doors or even just talking in the kitchen - which by the way is the furthest point in the house from my bedroom. Then there's one of them that constantly looks and talks down on me, who has such a close-minded view of things that it is very infuriating to try and get my point across. In fact, I'm pretty sure he does things just to annoy me sometimes.

It helps that I've got at least one housemate I get on really well with. We both feel the same pains and talking about it together is a good way to vent our feelings! If not, then I usually rant over the phone to my boyfriend or my mum! Lucky them.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is: not everybody gets along fine all of the time. You just have to look at things rationally and try to keep a cool head whether you like it or not. Living in Uni halls and now a shared house for the past three years has definitely enabled me to learn about what I'm like to live with as well as many other types of people!

Only a few more months and maybe, just maybe, I can finally move out of this place...


Wednesday 27 January 2016

The Twelve



By Justin Cronin

Spoilers Ahead

[The Twelve - death-row prisoners with nightmare
pasts and no future, until they were selected for a secret
experiment. Now they are the future, and humanity's
worst nightmare has begun...

But in a world ravaged by the viral plague, something
is changing. All the clues point towards the Homeland,
a sinister dictatorship where an unlikely trio are re-imagining
humanity's destiny: a veteran of the original experiment
with a blood-curdling vision of immortality; a woman whose
tragic past has turned her into a figure of nightmare;
a man whose desire to belong has been fulfilled in the
most gruesome way imaginable.

And then there is Amy. The Girl From Nowhere.
The one person who can penetrate the Homeland's secret.
But what she finds there may spell the end of everything.]

Cronin takes us through loss and heartbreak, revenge and endless plotting, with a full on quest by the characters in search of the twelve - or eleven since the end of The Passage - viral leaders this time. It has many twists and surprises along the way, many that I was not expecting.

Although The Passage was definitely more dramatic and had me on the edge of my seat for the majority of the book - due to the countless threats the characters encountered and the tension built - The Twelve started a little while after the final events in the previous instalment and at a slower pace, filling us in on what has occurred in-between.

I was slightly gutted with the little detail provided about the attack on the camp in the final scene and especially how Maus and Theo died - as well as Sara's capture (although this obviously developed and had questions answered later on throughout the story). However, there were still a lot of tense moments and the events we didn't get to read, I feel, made the characters more realistic, adding depth to them. I enjoyed the addition of Lore, as well as Kate/Eva as the story evolved. This, in turn, also added to the characters growing up as I feel quite a few of them became quite maternal/paternal which was a sweet addition to the already family-like situation they had created.

Like with The Passage, The Twelve started way before any of the main events have taken place, giving us more details about the backstory, linking characters future endeavours in a very nifty and exciting way. I lovedddd the backstory of Lila Kyle (Wolgast's ex-wife) and Grey, the viral who has a conscience, and their part in the bigger story. Lila's split personality was just brilliantly done, really making you loathe her at one point, and love her the next!

And Guilder. What a horrific man! Cronin really knows how to portray those who are evil beautifully. Every evil character or act they do makes your skin crawl. They really deserve what's coming to them.

Cronin also has an ease at which he kills off characters - truly heartbreaking but I think that's one of the things that makes him such a good writer and what makes this novel such an epic story and a battle for survival.

The final few chapters, before the epilogue, revealed the finale to the fighting and an end to, not only Wolgast, but the remaining eleven virals (not including the recently turned Amy herself). I expected a few more casualties to be honest, other than Tifty, but was generally shocked by the final moments. If all the virals are dead, how can there be another book?

And then the epilogue came.

A sweet moment between the only nice viral, Carter, and Amy - presumably as he was about to go off to the afterlife (it's not entirely made clear what has happened to either of them. Is Amy dead or alive? She just seems to disappear from the battle scene). And a concluding scene with Alicia, who has just tried to commit suicide, reveals the plot to the final novel. At last. The hunt for Zero, the original viral, is on.

I. Cannot. Wait.

I've already pre-ordered this beauty (The City of Mirrors) which comes out on June 16th! Eeek!


Sunday 24 January 2016

What I'm Loving Right Now

So after the catastrophe of last week I thought I'd put together a short post of seven things that are small reminders of happiness or something I am currently enjoying through all the bad news (although this week has definitely turned around in some good ways!)






Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

I am beyond excited to be reading this. I was recommended it just before Christmas by one of my housemates and I didn't even realise it was a novel! Jurassic Park is one of my favourite films (apparently I was even excitable in the womb as my mum saw it in the cinema when she was pregnant with me!). Review to come once I've finished it!














Coco Mademoiselle - Chanel

My boyfriend is an absolute babe. I, for some reason, became obsessed with wanting a Chanel scent just before Christmas and my boy was kind enough to gift it to me for the occasion!














F Scott Fitzgerald Notebook

Yet again my boy bought me a little somethin' somethin' just because he wanted to. He knows my love for notebooks is ridiculous and has added another beauty to my ever-growing collection.















V&A Teacups

Another gift from Christmas, except this time from my Dad and his girlfriend. They always buy everyone such cute and quirky gifts, I love them! They're so adorable.














Houmous

This is another weird one, but I've literally been eating this by the pot for a good few weeks, maybe even months now! I LOVE it!!!











Celebrity Big Brother

Okay so this one is a bit sad, but, hey ho, there is a tonne of drama this year. It's been a few seasons since I've watched it, but it's so full of ridiculousness that I can't help but watch it!










Agatha Watch

When me and Adeel were in Dubai we finally thought we would buy each other very, very belated birthday presents (mine is in March and his April and we were in Dubai at the end of November!), so I bought him an Apple watch and he bought me this rose gold beauty from a French brand called Agatha. I'm so in love with it, it's beautiful and goes with everything I wear and I feel so grown up for it! (If you look closely you can see that the second hand is in the shape of the Eiffel Tower - cute!)






Wednesday 20 January 2016

A New Love For Music

I'm a bit behind on a few things, having only just joined both Netflix and Spotify, but Spotify is definitely one worth using - that I never thought I would appreciate as much as I do.

I'm enjoying the different categories depending on your mood or the genre you want to listen to. It allows you to broaden your mind to new and old artists that you may not have heard of before, as well as some new genres if you're that way inclined. I know a lot of people that just stick to the same genre, time and time again, but I like a mix up!

I've tried Jazz, Acoustic, Indie and Country/Folk. I've always wanted to try these types of music but never quite known where to start with a search on YouTube. I like the fact that I can just select a readymade playlist on Spotify and listen to my hearts content.

I've also found it useful for listening to a full album before purchasing it. There's nothing worse than looking forward to an album, buying it and then to have it fall flat at all your expectations. (I'll let you in on a secret - I chanced a listen at Justin Bieber's new album as I'd heard so many good things about it and, well, it is difficult to not listen to it on repeat!)

Here are a few playlists I've been enjoying lately:












Monday 18 January 2016

"Your Focus Determines Your Reality."

- Qui-Gon Jinn (Star Wars IV)


Image from Pinterest
The original three. 

I can't believe it took me soooooo long to watch these! I think they were brilliant. I definitely have a new found love for Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher - their initial scenes with witty retorts flying back and forth was great. 

The costumes, the music score, the plot - it was all just fantastic. 

For some reason I didn't particularly warm to Luke Skywalker, I'm not entirely sure why but I thought his altercation with Yoda was amusing. 

All three are thoroughly enjoyable and something I would definitely watch time and time again. Can't wait to see the new one!

---

The prequels though. These I was not impressed with. 

Yes, you could say a bit of background information was shed on how Darth Vader became who he was, but it wasn't necessarily needed. 

Plus, I feel that all of the performances from the cast fell flat - including Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman and Samuel L. Jackson. Yoda also became more of an irritation than an addition to the film. 

The only bit I would have to say I enjoyed was the final battle scene between Obi and Darth. 

What a disappointment. I probably wouldn't watch them again.

---

Rating:
IV, V, VI - ★★★★★

I, II, III - ★★☆☆☆


Thursday 14 January 2016

Cancer Needs To Be Stopped. Now.

Image from Pinterest
Another heartbreak today after only a few days from the previous tragedy.

There aren't any words.

Image from Pinterest
Except that Alan Rickman was who many of us grew up with in the form of the tortured-villain-who-turned-out-to-be-a-brilliant-hero, Severus Snape. He was an amazing actor, known for his iconic villainous roles with a very recognisable voice that could always make me giggle.

Image from Pinterest
Hans Gruber, Sheriff of Nottingham, Severus Snape, Bad Harry (Love Actually), Judge Turpin and Absolem the Caterpillar. A spectacular performance in every film he took part in with memorable lines I will never forget.

Image from The Metro
Rest in peace Alan Rickman, another hero taken from us too soon

Wednesday 13 January 2016

A Novel To Be Named


One of my New Years Resolutions (for more than just this year) has been to finish editing my novel, except this year I've broken it down into editing by chapters instead of feeling like I need to do the whole thing in one go. It's less daunting that way.

I finally finished it in the summer of 2013, which I was super relieved about. But, I think I've been putting off editing it because I'm scared of the next step (although having university and now a full time job clearly hasn't helped in stimulating my motivation!) I want to get it published, but I wonder if it's good enough. Will I be rejected? Am I even a good writer? Or should I just stick to it as a hobby?

Yes, I work for a publishing company now, but I don't know if that gives me an upper hand in any kind of way. Plus, I absolutely love my job in general so I don't want them to see it as me going in a different direction. Also, as the heading says, my novel still doesn't have a title. All my ideas aren't strong or captivating enough.

Despite this, I am keeping to my New Years Resolution by managing to have written almost everyday since New Years Eve. I've found that re-writing it from the beginning, by hand, in one of my many beautiful notebooks has given me the motivation to type it up from its original handwritten version, onto my laptop, editing as I go.

Hopefully I can keep this up!


Monday 11 January 2016

"We can be heroes, just for one day."

I woke up to the dulcet tones of the radio presenter saying 'we're bringing you the sad news this morning of the passing of David Bowie, at the age of 69 after his 18 month battle with cancer...'

Image from Pinterest

My heart broke.

I've listened to his music since I was a child. My dad always loved him and I got very interested at a very young age. His amazing songs have been in many great films - making them even better in my books. For instance, Shrek 2 (when Shrek has changed into a human and riding donkey's changed form through the town), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (when Logan Lerman and Emma Watson drive through a tunnel feeling ultimate bliss) and even in New York Minute with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (when they perform their own version of Rebel Rebel).

Image from Pinterest

His performance in Labyrinth is one of my absolute favourites, no matter how cheesy and silly the film was with its deceitful maze and assortment of interesting creatures - the Goblin King will always be a character I fancy the pants off of.

Image from Pinterest

It was touching to actually see how many of my generation adored him as well as the older generations. He touched the lives of many and I will continue to listen to his eclectic collection for the rest of my life.

A true hero and a musical legend.

Image from Pinterest

Rest in peace to one of my all time favourite musicians, like the articles say, you never seemed like you were from this planet and have now returned home.

Image from Pinterest

Gone, but never forgotten 



My Top 5:
Heroes

Changes

Rebel Rebel

Magic Dance

Ziggy Stardust

Sunday 10 January 2016

100 Happy Days

Trying to think of something each day that made me happy was both difficult and simple - or, it was only difficult because to try and picture what made me happy was complicated. How do you portray a feeling in a picture? Something that cannot be photographed? 

As the saying goes, "A picture says a thousand words." But does it say the right ones? I wanted to portray how I felt simply, which I guess was helped by captions. I love that this challenge allowed me to use Instagram more; I definitely neglect it a lot.

Also, this challenge definitely helped me to feel happier by the end of it. It allowed me to see the goodness in the smallest of details, in the simplest of moments - whether that be reading in the garden on a sunny day or booking my tickets to see Take That for the second time. It allowed me to live in the moment more, instead of looking at the bigger picture.

This year I've decided I want to use a similar idea but for every day of the entire year - except I will most likely not take a photo each day. It's almost a step-up from this original 100 Happy Days Challenge as well as the Jar Project I did last year. I may post some progress at some point, but as of yet I haven't taken any photos to document what has made me happy, just little handwritten notes in my diary.

Here are some of my favourites from the challenge I took between March and June:

















Please feel free to check out the rest of my photos from the challenge here (you may have to filter through a few photos I have uploaded since June!) and pop over to the 100 Happy Days Challenge website, here, if you feel like giving it a go too!


Wednesday 6 January 2016

Films I Want To See In 2016

Films have always been something I enjoy, especially as I'm more of a stay-at-home kinda gal. But looking over the releases for the upcoming year has gotten me very excited.

From the next Underworld in the franchise to a live-action BFG, here are the films I'm looking forward to in 2016:

March

★ London Has Fallen
Rather enjoyed Olympus Has Fallen so am looking forward to this sequel.
★ Allegiant
Absolutely loved the books and the first film, was a little disappointed with the second so hopefully this one will make up for it!

April

★ The Jungle Book
A live-action jungle book? Yes, please!

May

★ Captain America: Civil War
Wasn't entirely sure of why they're making Iron Man go against Captain America when I initially saw the trailer, but all the other Marvel films have been pretty good.
★ Neighbours 2
Zac Efron is all.
★ Alice Through The Looking Glass
Saw the trailer for this and am super, super excited!! It looks sooooo good!
★ X-Men: Apocalypse
Have loved the rest in the franchise, and am loving the younger casting they've made too.

June

★ Finding Dory
Do I even need to explain this one??
★ Independence Day: Resurgence
First one was good, plus Adeel loved it so this one is probably a must see.

July

★ The BFG
I saw the trailer for this one as well; another live-action film from my childhood? Can't wait!
★ Ice Age: Collision Course
Just Ice Age.
★ Star Trek Beyond
Similar to the Divergent series, enjoyed the first film but not so much the second, let's hope this one is better!

August

★ Suicide Squad
Have heard so much about this one on tumblr that I just want to see it to know what all the fuss is about. Plus, Jared Leto.

September

★ Patient Zero
Not sure whether this one is a good idea for me to see as I don't get on with horror/zombies, but, hey-ho, Matt Smith is in it and he's from my town so, yeah...
★Bridget Jones's Baby
The first two were brilliant, I read the book and it was... interesting. Am a little disappointed Hugh Grant won't be making an appearance though.

October

★ The Girl On The Train
Have heard so much about the book (that I still need to read), I may as well watch it (it'll probably before I read it at this rate with my TBR list)
★ Underworld: Next Generation
Kate Beckinsale, Theo James and Bradley James in my favourite vampire franchise. Need I say more?

November

★ Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
Anything Harry Potter based is amazing in my books.

December

★ Jumanji
Not entirely sure about the fact that they're doing a remake but curious as to what they'll do with it and who they'll cast! No one can beat Mr Robin Williams though.

Sunday 3 January 2016

A New Year

I feel like now university is over I can finally do all the things I want to. I can look after myself better and enjoy time with Adeel instead of worrying about deadlines. This year I want to fall more and more in love, to cherish every moment with those I hold dearest, and to maybe, just maybe, love myself, to forgive myself for things I haven't done right, to appreciate myself with all my imperfections and to be truly happy with the man I love.

Image from Pinterest

Here are my new year resolutions:

✵ To take more photos for the blog and in general, because my passion has dissipated over the years
✵ To meet Adeel's parents
✵ To see my family and friends more
✵ To balance life and work
✵ To edit one chapter of my book per week/month
✵ To move in with Adeel which we've been talking about and counting down to for ages
✵ To declutter my bedroom
✵ To go on more dates with Adeel
✵ To go to Disneyland or Ireland
✵ To take care of my skin
✵ To travel more
✵ To give to charity
✵ To read more
✵ To be more creative
✵ To love more