Monday 30 July 2012

A DEEP RAMBLE

I really want to reflect over what I've done this past week; it feels like I haven't achieved much recently. I fear that work has become my new college environment and that my work friends have replaced my college friends.  To me this will never happen, I don't replace anyone in my life, I just expand on my social groups and everyone will always remain special to me.  But I do genuinely fear that people may think this, but please don't. As I was looking through my calander before it dawned on me that over the past ten days I've only had two days off work.  That would suggest to me that I've spent wayyyy too much time working and not enough time playing!

The most memorable event over the past week has deifinetely been my traditional Thursday night out with my friends from work.  I had a delicious three course meal at Frankie and Benny's and then I went on to the weekly student night in town where I downed Archers and lemonade for £1.50, bargain. I love my weekly night out with the girls for food and then usually the guys will join us for the drinks.  Typical boys really, interested in the alcohol.  The night lead onto a night club and then a long taxi ride home.

Although I've socialised quite a bit over the past week, but I've also had a lot of time to think.  Having spent time endlessly over-thinking my future and actually analysing my life I've realised quite a lot.  I am what people would call an over-thinking, self-conscious person who doesn't want to miss out or not be the most worldly. 

I've always been an over-thinker ever since I was younger.  I over-think every aspect of my life and that leads to also being an over-analyser, which is practically what I am doing now... I think too much about things that I'm about to do and how people will perceive my actions.  I worry what people will think of me and if I'll offend them by just being myself.  I'm probably one of the most honest people out there, I don't believe in lies because I personally believe that liars are always caught out in the end, so I worry people will hate me because of my honesty.  My anti-no-lies stance has lost me friends over the years when I've pointed out their blatant lies and that worries me that one day I'll have no-one left, but I know that there's people out there like me.  I worry that my genuine happy approach to life will lose me friend too, because I might be perceieved as fake, but my happiness isn't fake.  This is me over-analysing once again.  I over-analyse every relationship in my life whether it's family, friends or boys.  My ability to over-analyse everything enable me to link events together and create inter-linking theories of utter noncesense. It's probably some weird form of OCD actually.  Although I go through life over-thinking and over-analysing every aspect of my life I believe that my life is a path that has already been planned, so no matter what happens it's meant to happen so I should be happy about it.

Another annoying thing about my personality is that I'm someone who doesn't want to miss out.  This genuinely means that I end up going practically everywhere that I'm asked to go to.  I just have this fear that I might miss out on something great and I don't want to miss the opportunity for fun. 

I love the fact that from the age of 17 I've had a job and that I've had the opportunity to learn to drive.  This is something that not all of my friends have had the opportunity of, so I genuinely value these priceless experiences that I've had.  The fact that I turned 18 so early in the year in contrast to some of my friends from college meant that I've had the chance to experience life as an 18-year-old with friends from work.  This has meant that I've experienced night clubs, resturants and places that other friends haven't yet experienced.  I've also had experiences within these clubs and environments and met people that other friends have yet to experience.  So I will admit that when these friends finally start to experience these things I will start to feel a bit sad about the fact that I'm no longer the most worldly.  I like that fact about myself and I suppose it could be suggested that I am a tad jealous that others are experiencing the wonderful social life that I've experienced over the past 7 months, and I don't like that about myself.  But this is all because I'm fairly competitive in some aspects of my life and I genuinely hate that others are experiecing the same as me and I fear that they'll have more fun at experiencing what I've already experienced or that they'll experience more than me and I won't be the most worldly anymore.

But don't let my little ramble leave a lasting impression on you. I just sometimes over-think and that means I end up chatting complete rubbish. 


Friday 27 July 2012

TEN THINGS I'VE LEARNT ABOUT NIGHT CLUBS




Over the past 7 months I've been welcomed into the world of night clubs. Not every night club is the same and they vary from place-to-place. The ways that I've acted and the things I have worn in a night club in Portugal have been totally inappropriate to what is acceptable to a night club in my town or within a British city environment.

In portugal it was acceptable to wear flip-flops and beach wear to a night club and it was easy to sneak your own alcohol into clubs and take a glass from one club to another.  Here in my home town that would have been totally unacceptable, not only are you not allowed to wear flip-flops but you're also not allowed to sneak your own alcohol in or leave a club clutching a glass.

But what I have learnt over the past 7 months is that there are certain etiquettes that are acceptable no matter where you are.

Here is a list of 10 things I've learnt over the past 7 months:

1. Go with a suitably sized group of friends
I've found that when people are drinking alcohol it's pretty hard to control what everyone else around you in doing if you're slightly more sober than everyone else. On holiday recently there were ten of us and to be fair, it was pretty darn hard to keep everyone together in a night club without people wandering off. So my advice for you would be that although it's insanely fun to be in a large group of friends, sometimes the night can be easier and more fun in a smaller group of 5 or 6 people.

2. Check out whether there's any offers on in any of the bars that you're planning on going to
Going on a night out can be fairly expensive of a weekend.  I've found that as a student there are many student themed nights that offer cheaper drinks during the week.  For me I've found that my town offers a cheap 'student night' on a Thursday, as well as the nearest city offering a student night on a Thursday. Similarly the nearest town also offers a cheap student night on a Tuesday. I've found that by going these cheaper nights I've managed to save a small fortune and I've managed to meet friends who are of a similar age to me, compared to a weekend when many clubs have pervy men in their 40s.

2. Discuss with your friends before you go whether it's a casual night out or a glam night out
I think this is a reasonably good piece of advice to all girls out there.  There's nothing worse than being over dressed or under dressed on a night out, it can leave you feeling uncomfortable and wanting to go home. For me and my friends we usually find it important that we discuss what kind of outfit we're planning on wearing before a night out.  Usually a student night means casual flats, while a weekend night out means towering wedges or flat forms.  For me I like to be tall, so usually I'll wear flat forms for a casual night out and on a weekend night out.  This is because I'm comfortable and the hight gives me confidence.

3. Don't dress inappropriately- slaggy
This is another top tip of mine. Do not, I repeat do not, wear anything that is totally inappropriate.  When a parents passes comment about how you're not going out dressed like that, listen to them; because if your bum is showing and my boobs are on show you're going to attract the wrong kind of attention.  Not only will you attract the attention of sleezy men, but you'll also get stares off girls who find what you're wearing to be in bad taste.

4. Pre-drinks are sometimes a great idea
They are a good idea in the sense that they can help you save money on a night out which could be expensive, but they're not a good idea if you're not going to be able to get through the door to your night out.  I think there is nothing wrong with drinking 2 or 3 Bacardi and cokes before leaving the house or possibly sharing a bottle of wine with a friend whilst getting ready.  But I think there is something majorly wrong if you're doing several shots and drinking a bottle of wine before leaving the house and ending up in such a state that the bouncer is not going to let you in.

5. Make sure you don't get too drunk, know your limit; you'll have more fun when you're simply 'tipsy'
Don't get too drunk people, it's not a good look. Although it's fun to drink a alcohol and have a laugh with you're friends; it's not fun to stumble out a night club and expose yourself.  It's socially acceptable to drink alcohol to point where you're feeling confident enough to be able to dance without worrying that you look stupid.  Plus if you're not ridiculously drunk you won't have to worry about doing anything stupid and if you're friends aren't ridiculous drunk you won't have to spend your night worrying that they're going to end up doing something stupid.  All in all you'll have a great night.

6. Have as much fun possible- dance and laugh
I've found that if you're dancing and laughing you look super confident and fun.  Not only will you have a great time, but I've found that by acting in this manner people are more likely to approach you. Thus through this I've made friends who make my nights out hilarious.

7. Don't go out to simply attract lads
Don't be so boring. Night clubs are not just for males and female to attach to each other. Night clubs are there for you to have a great night with friends and let your hair down.  There's nothing wrong with flirting with guys every now and again, but to do it constantly is just wrong.  Not only does it create awkwardness and bordom for your friends it also creates an image for yourself as the-girl-who-any-guy-can-get-because-she's-so-desperate-to-pull.

8. Don't kiss strangers or leave with them
Just don't.

9. Don't stare people out or give out 'snotty' looks it can cause too much drama
Drunken people are rather sensitive people, just look at one wrong and it could cause World War Three.  My advice would be to avoid dramatic looking people and if you're going to look at people, smile.

10. Make sure you have a friend to accompany you home on a night out. Be safe.
After a brilliant night out, make sure you've got a friend with you on the journey home.  Whether it's a taxi or the first train home, make sure you're not alone.  I know society isn't full of completly weird people, but make sure you're safe.  Usually I will get a taxi home from a night out and if I'm the first out I'll say to my friend loudly, "Call me when you're in," that way I'll know she's in safely.

So, there you go, my top ten tips for a brilliant night out.  You might not agree with them personally, but from my experience I think they're accurate from what I've witnessed and experienced.

I hope you enjoy this post, there will be more like this to come.




I AM SPIDER-WOMAN

As a perk of my job I get to see the latest blockbuster films for free. So last night after several hours of boredom and too many episodes of Geordie Shore, I decided to venture out. I like having lazy days off work, but the reality of doing nothing finally hit me and I needed to get out. I treated my best friend to a night out at the cinema to watch The Amazing Spider-Man in 3D and tuck into a pick n' mix.

One thing I did enjoy was the fact that the 3D was impressive as I genuinely felt like I was in the film, which was immense as Andrew Garfield is an actual hunk. His role as geek-chic Peter Parker has now made me obsessed with Andrew Garfield and with finding my own geek-chic guy. Emma Stone and her character Gwen Stacey are two lucky ladies. Now I need Andrew Garfield in my life.

Another guy I need in my life is Jeremy Irvine. Whilst waiting for the film to start a trailer came on regarding a new film released in September called Now Is Good. The film is based on a novel called Before I Die by Jenny Downham, which I swiftly downloaded to my Kindle last night. The film's based on a young girl named Tessa, who's suffering from terminal cancer. Before she dies she wishes to complete a list of objectives, in a Bucket List sort of manner. The top of her list is to fall in love... with Jeremy Irvine's incredibly beautiful and English-gentlemanly-styled character. So, from what I've read so far, it could be tear-jerking novel which I'll love.

Right now I'm continuing my laziness, althought it's 3.30PM I'm still lay in bed and I'm planning on staying like this until I have to go to work. I'm planning on coming straight home after work too, due to the fact that my dad is going Wetherspoons tonight and therefore I'm avoiding town at all costs. I'd rather have a sober Saturday night in than go out and possibly bump into my dad. Now that would be shameful, considering right now he's currently washing his car on the front and singing loudly to Smooth FM...

I've got a couple of ideas of what I'm going to put on this blog over the next couple of weeks; such as: continuing my daily blogs, my most embarressing stories of recent, what I've learnt about nightclubs, my first holiday experience without the parents, what I've learnt about myself this past year and my pet peeves.

YOU COULDN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP



For my first blog post in a while, I thought I'd reintroduce you to just one of many ridiculous stories that make up my 'dramatic' life. Literally at times my life genuinely feels like it's one dramatic event after another; but I suppose that's what teenage life is all about. Except I'm not sure that the other person involved in this event is aware of it yet and if he is, that's a bit strange.

Let's set the scene for the dramatic event of yesterday which originated unknowingly a year ago. A year ago exactly this week, which makes the event even more dramatic really, I went to a friends 18th Birthday party. At the time I was 17-years-old and my friend was in the year above me at sixth form college. My friend only invited around 15 friends from college and the remainder of the people invited consisted of family and family friends. That was actually the first 18th Birthday party that I had been to with my friends, obviously I'd been family parties, but this was the first with my friends. I was super excited and I bought a new dress and wore heels and genuinely believed I could have passed as a year older than what I actually was. At this point in my life I still wasn't confident around guys and to be fair I never really talked to any other than my male friends. I was the kind of girl who would openly admit to my friends if I thought a guy I saw was attractive. So, whilst at this party, I saw an attractive guy with what I presumed was his girlfriend. I obviously thought to myself, "Lucky bitch, he's attractive."
Fast forward 8 months and I'm now an overly confident 18-year-old partying in a local nightclub. When one night, I got chatting to a nice guy, who was attractive and as far as I was aware, I'd never seen in my life. We dated for a while and basically to cut a long story short, he wasn't a very nice guy and I ended all contact with him.

Fast forward another couple of months until last night and then I got quite a shock. Whilst innocently looking through my Facebook newsfeed, my friend who's 18th I had been to had posted some pictures of her new pet lizards. Out of curiosity I decided to keep scrolling through her mobile uploads because I hadn't really spoken to her much recently since she'd been in university. So as I was flicking through her mobile uploads I finally came to some photo's of her 18th Birthday and out of further curiosity I decided to continue looking. The whole incident was pretty much brought about by me being overly curious. I found some pictures that I had never been tagged in and obviously I continued to flick through the photos when all of a sudden, I came across a picture which I never in a million years thought I'd have come across... the guy from the 18th Birthday was actually the guy I met in the nightclub and briefly dated.

What the actual hell? Out of all the guys in my town, why the hell did it have to be him that was at the party? He was the guy I actually thought was attractive? What the actual? I'm genuinely speechless regarding this situation. Only would this happen to me, you couldn't make this stuff up.

At times like these I like to say, "What is my life?"