Today we began 'voting' for several categories for the school yearbook. I wasn't much looking forward to it, however it's been more pleasant than I anticipated. For a start, some of the categories are hilarious (not so much the actual category, more the people nominated). Secondly, it turns out that people regard me more highly than I expected. More on that later. But the whole voting process got me thinking about how much high school is like the government/politics. I could very easily elect who I believe would be the Y11 members of government.
I mean, you have the 'popular' kids, right. Bleach blonde hair, orange tanned faces, hideous hairy Uggs and tacky false nails (BTW, if all of that makes somebody popular, the world must have gone mental) - and they're all the same. There's no originality, no character, no individuality.
Then, you have the 'nerdy' kids. Normal hair, normal faces, normal shoes, normal nails - and they're looked down on and sneered at for being, well, themselves.
In year 7, we were unintentionally and metaphorically handed a choice - either stick with the in-crowd or forge your own way. The vast majority of us milled around for a year or so, verging on the edge of our choice without fully committing. Then, year 8 came around and we all suddenly completed the transformation, as it were. I seem to have made that sound vastly more pleasant than it was, believe me, it was awful.
But to me, the whole notion of having to vote for ''best looking female'' and ''prettiest eyes'' brought back a million and one unsolved, petty problems throughout my entire school life. Of course, this isn't literal - I haven't been walking around all day punching people because they once threatened to ''make their sister iron my face'' (10 out of 10 for originality...) No, what I mean is that the slightly evil, sadistic side in everybody seems to have come out when voting in categories such as ''largest ego'' and ''biggest flirt''. The immature ones have tried to rub salt into the wounds of freshly broken up couples with ''cutest couple'' and the more ''unattractive'' among us have unfortunately been dragged into nomination for ''best female body''. I keep being told I've been repeatedly voted for in the ''most likely to become a millionaire'' category, though my form tutor told me that if the end of the world came about, I'd most definitely be there trying to save it ("most likely to save the world"). I've also been told that I've been voted for in "most likely to become Prime Minister", but I'm not that stupid...
It's nice to know that, actually, people do notice the ''nerdy'' kids. It's even nicer to know that we're noticed when it really matters. After all, we miss people for who they were once they're gone, not how beautifully false they looked.
In other news from my life, my adorable liddle Duddy was in for an operation today (she was being spayed) and I was, to say the least, a wreck over it. It all links back to my major dislike of going to the vets due to the fact that, at 12 years old, I had to make the decision to put my first rabbit (Flopsy) to sleep. He had an abcess and the vets couldn't remove it and, because he was mine, it was my decision. I could elaborate, but I won't. Anyway, Dusty's home now and she's recovering in her nice, warm hutch. Whoever or whatever it was that got her through her operation successfully (so far), thank you.
I'm going now, I have ''recommendations'' to listen to.
Au revoir, adios and doviđenja
Rachel
PS: I love this band, and I just found a song by them that sums up this post brilliantly (click the song title for a YouTube link)
"Oh, why are we keeping score?
Cause if you’re not laughing,
Who is laughing now?
I’ve been wondering
If we stop sinking
Could we stand our ground?
And through everything we’ve learned
We’ve finally come to terms,
We are the outsiders."
The Outsiders - Needtobreathe
Second post of the night, but it's not going to be a long one as I thought I'd also post my Twitter #followfridays for you all once more, except also with a little comment about why I think they're all awesome :) ...
(Note: These are in no specific order...)
@podski111 - Slowly opening his eyes to the clearly amazing (rubbish) city of Wakefield, has an adorable son and also wants to be with the girl from the San Lorenzo bakery, or so he says...
@fizzy_lizzie16 - Waiting for The X Factor to come back so we can debate each performance once more. Maybe we'll have to settle for Britain's Got Talent instead?
@stephishere - Fellow blogger who I seem to agree with on everything she blogs about. Yay :)
@F1698 - Just generally lovely and also very pretty, seems to struggle with motivation for homework/essays just like me (and everybody else, for that matter)
@IchBinCallum - Languages student who is going to South Africa and is going to take me in his suitcase :) Also has tons of followers already, so you might as well follow him too
@cpahl2000 - Lovely person, we have lots of deep and interesting conversations on very random topics and he's also a writer (which is what I too aspire to be someday...)
@baa_ - Known her approx. 12 years now, still makes me smile. HUGE Jedward fan and still listens to Eurovision entries from 2007, looking forward to Ukraine Hat Day 2010...
@beth_lunn - Has possibly started her own counselling service via the usage of random lyrics, she's never not online and/or posting lyrics. Perhaps she can open your mind to new music?
@LukeeGee - He's from Leeds, so is therefore cool. He's also amusing, so it's a win-win situation really.
@JaseBrant - Is from Normanton, and is also therefore cool. In fact, he's also amusing too - there must be something about Yorkshire people...
@watsoncomedian - The lovely Mark Watson. Creator/presenter of the best radio show to have ever graced my ears and needs you all to buy tickets to his next tour. So this is sort of a double plug - anyway, follow and buy, he's worth it :)
@Jason_Manford - @beth_lunn and I got to interview him in the summer and he's both lovely and hilarious.
@mermhart - The woman behind the amazing show, Miranda. Regularly has my entire family in hysterics (well, not THAT reguarly, but y'know) and is just generally funny.
@deansmith7 - AKA Phil from Waterloo Road. He's funny in real life too guys.
@james_mcquillan and @HowardEbison - If you like The Apprentice, these two were both in the last series. James will be forever known for getting into THAT birthing pool while Howard always made everybody smile :)
@joshgroban - Amazing musician, inspirational lyrics and he got me through an otherwise stressful family Christmas, his tweets are often very witty too
@fern_brown - She never tweets but this is so she doesn't feel left out...and also because I love her :)
@rlg20693 - She occasionally tweets, but not that often. But she's my cousin and never fails to amuse me when I see her, such as announcing that Charles Darwin wrote novels. Er, yeah...
And finally, you should also follow me (if you're not already) at @iRachey :)
Happy Friday,
Rachel
Nothing special to report on really. But I've been a busy bee this week working on various arty projects so I thought I'd share the results with you :)
I made two notebooks this week, both from felt with whichever other arty supplies I could find. One is travel themed (top, second from left) while the other is sorta romance themed (bottom, first from left). All of this also included a trip to Spring Green Garden Centre's Craft Cabin and Hobbycraft at Crown Point, but oh well. The Hobbycraft visit included two car journeys at night time - which is something I LOVE doing so I was a very happy girl that evening :)
This afternoon, I also made some cookies. My original inspiration came from i am baker and also Bake at 350 - both wonderful blogs full of yummy treats that both gave me cookie envy last weekend. Anyway, I went with a Spanish/Eurovision Song Contest theme for my cookies (I don't know why though). My favourites have to be the ''Feliz Viernes'' one and the one that says ''Cause I got something to believe in'' because it's one of my absolute favourite songs (and a Eurovision song, hence the theme). You can listen to it here.
(Note: the final Eurovision version is a tad different, you can watch that version here instead. The vocals aren't as good as they usually are, but I put that down to the sound quality of the show itself, I don't recall anyone having amazing vocals that night. He's apparently planning to enter the Russian national final again this year and I hope he does - he won the whole contest last time he took part...)
Tomorrow I plan to edit my English homework, write out a few verbs to learn for my Spanish speaking exam in April then sit around doing nothing/reading. What are your weekend plans?
Anyways, Feliz Viernes/Happy Friday everybody! :)
Rachel
I tried to make my family tree once. I tried doing it on paper, then ran out of room, so I moved to Microsoft Word where I ran out of room too and the text boxes wouldn't align exactly as I wanted them (and we all know how much of a perfectionist I am...) so I finally signed up to Genes Reunited. Though the sheer number of aspects I had to fill in about each relative annoyed me, so I gave up.
But I did try.
I started reading a book yesterday, Three Weeks With My Brother by Nicholas and Micah Sparks. I won't ruin the plot (not that I could because I'm not even halfway through yet...) but let's just say that I started tearing up after reading only one line (admittedly it was the last line of the book, because I'm strange and have to read it first). So I think it's going to be a brilliantly emotional book. But it got me thinking about my own family, and has in fact had me thinking about my own family all day.
Admittedly, I haven't been thinking about my own family in the same context as Nicholas and Micah Sparks' book explores theirs, I'm lucky that I don't have to... But today I've found myself surrounded by strange coincidences that have lead me to wonder who I get all of my traits from.
As I sat in the car on my way to my Grandma's earlier, I noticed a bookmark that my Auntie Jude sent home with my dad a few weeks ago. She does calligraphy as an evening class (or at least that's what I've been lead to believe) and sent home handmade bookmarks for me and my brother featuring our names. Now, I should point out that I wouldn't think this worthy of posting unless I hadn't recently discovered a strangely artistic/creative side to myself. And if I hadn't, I probably wouldn't appreciate the bookmark - but I do. I appreciate it because I know the amount of effort it takes to make something, I appreciate it because I understand how good it feels to make something for someone else, and I appreciate it because it was handmade, and I love to receive handmade gifts. So, my arty side perhaps comes from my Auntie Jude...
I once had a problem with someone in school and my mum ended up dragging me in afterschool once to speak to my form tutor. My mum's always 'got on at me' about bottling my problems up and not telling anybody and just suffering in silence, as it were. And so, nobody was more surprised than I when my mum somewhat loudly and proudly told my form tutor that when she was my age, she too acted in the same way. Of course I had to 'get on at her' for shouting at me so much over it when she's just as guilty of it first before accepting it. It seems I take that trait from my mum. I also take my disability to draw from my mum, which is funny because my dad's quite good at it...
While in the car earlier, my grandma used the phrase ''it's ironic''. Again, this wouldn't be post-worthy unless it was a phrase I am often accused as overusing. In fact, I take more traits from my grandma than anyone else. We're both high-waisted, we both have scars on our left knees (as does my mum, clearly we're all cursed...) and we're both 'natural born leaders', or so people say. People say it so much that my mum was once on the phone to my business/food tech teacher and when she complimented my mum on how well I can lead teams of people, my mum just went ''Well, she gets that from her grandma, not me". Gee, thanks mum!
Then there's my cousin Becky, who is effectively like a sister to me - I mean, we do seem to have the ability to read eachothers' mind. I don't think I have any 'traits' from her, considering she's only three months older than me, but we are quite similar when discounting the fact that she's designer while I'm high street, she's America while I'm Wales. But I like it, it's what makes us get along so well...it's also what once formed our all-exclusive R&R club, though that ended when the company that produced the amazing rainbow notepads we loved so much as kids stopped making them. Damn.
I don't really have a conclusion to this post, other than that you should all go out and buy Three Weeks With My Brother and let it have an impact on your life. I mean, come on, even I managed to be nice to my brother today after reading just a few chapters of it. Oh, and also, find out who makes you the person you are today while you still can, listen to the crazy stories your relatives tell you and never take yourself for granted - because behind every 'good' person is a bunch of completely amazing people. But we already knew that, right?...
Happy Monday everyone,
Rachel
PS: If you're like me and cry easily at TV programmes/films/books/songs and do happen to pick up a copy of the book, don't read it in front of anyone. Trust me on this one.
PPS: If you do decide to find out who you take your traits from, or already know. Feel free to comment and share, I'd love to find out what everyone else's take is on this :)
PPPS: Just a little quote from my grandma that I wanted to share, purely because it amused our whole family on Christmas Eve: "It's them knobs that eat foie gras", not as funny when taken out of context (I don't have the time to explain the reason she said it) but still amusing. There was also: Auntie V - "What did the Cheeky Girls ask you to take off in their hit song?" Grandma - "G-string?!" (it was Trivial Pursuits, we're not that weird...but we are close)
First of all, sorry for the lack of posting recently - I've had a crazy week. It involved over 100 artifical roses and decorating a hell of a lot of buns, but more on that later.
What I felt like discussing today was music, seen as I'm listening to some of the best there is right now.
Or, more specifically, two actually amazing Yorkshirewomen and my first experience with real music.
I first heard of one of them when I was in year six (I think). Actually, it could've been during the summer between 5 and 6, either way I remember it was summer. I recall writing in my diary whilst I was at my great Auntie Doris' caravan in Bridlington (I could post a million posts on that caravan and my memories of it...one would probably be watching the eclipse with my Uncle Peter, Auntie Verena, cousins Amy and George, my parents and brother Daniel, my Grandma, Auntie Doris and probably more...) I was possibly (probably) bored when I wrote the entry. All I recall is that I kept getting her name wrong, I called her 'Kate Busby' (got any clues yet?) and wrote something about going to see her in the holidays.
Turns out that ''going to see her'' meant going to a fabulous, rather large yet eerily intimate gig at Cannon Hall Farm with my parents, my brother and my Uncle Andrew (my dad's twin brother). I remember squashing in the back of the car alongside a cooler bag of drinks (probably beers for the adults, orange squash for the kids - we lived wildly back then...) and several large bags of crisps (again, living on the wild side here guys). I also remember queueing with my mum for a plastic cup of lukewarm tea, but let's forget that part for now, shall we?
I wish I could say I remember the setlist - I don't though. I do, however, remember her playing I Courted A Sailor (oh Im bound for the waves, the waves dearest Annie, I'm bound for the waves etc etc) and my all time favourite song of hers, Underneath the Stars. She was maybe touring with the album, I don't remember whether that's true or not either though. Freezing cold, feeling ill from my crisp and orange squash binge and fed up of my brother, I sat transfixed listening to what was going to become one of the most wonderful songs I have ever heard. I can justify that by saying I only heard it once, but then three years later when I heard it again I remembered it vividly, and it still makes me tear up a little.
Anyway, I went to her concert at Wakefield Theatre Royal in May 2008 (I just spent about 20 mins Googling that) with my dad. We had hideously bad seats, the people next to us came in late just as the show was starting and my view was obscured by a pole (no warning before booking, I might add!) I wasn't expecting the support act to be in any way decent (it's Wakefield, after all) - I was wrong. I was so wrong that I still beat myself up about the fact that I didn't go with my dad to see her at the Clarence Park Free Festival later that year. I couldn't be talking about anyone except Rosie Doonan *cue picture my dad took at the CPFF that I missed*
Rosie is from Yorkshire too, apparently from Wakefield so the gig was like a homecoming for her (or so she said). I won't bore you all with how good she was, but I remembered her songs too, and was secretly delighted when my dad brought home her CD from the festival.
I listen to both Rosie and Kate frequently, and nobody calms me down as much as Kate's music can. I may blog again later about something with a little more purpose, but for now, here are two links to Rosie and Kate's MySpace pages so you can have a listen for yourself.
Note: Underneath the Stars in on Kate's MySpace...you may want to stock up on tissues before pressing play :)
http://www.myspace.com/katerusbyhttp://www.myspace.com/rosiedoonan
Now, onto the matter of 100 artificial roses and the buns. I basically raised a lot of money for myself towards my World Challenge fund by selling an anonymous rose delivery service in school for the week and also selling buns with some other team members. It's been such a hectic week and I've barely had a moment to sit down and breathe, let along sit down and blog. So that's why I've been absent for a while...I've been super busy! But, I do have a week and a day off now and no work to do over the ''holidays'' so I'll probably blog a fair bit.
Before I sign off, I'd just like to say a HUGE thank you to my wonderful friends who all helped out with the roses and buns this week - you're all amazing :)
And by 'all', I'm specifically talking about Fern and Aiden, but also everyone else for putting up with me rushing off everywhere every ten seconds. Thank you. Also thank you to my form tutor for letting me leave my assorted junk all over her room for a week :)
Right, that's it from me. Enjoy listening to Kate and Rosie, leave me a comment if you want any recommendations for either of them :)
Have a great weekend,
Rachel
