Th snow kept falling Saturday evening, so much so that we ended up getting about 3 inches in Derby as opposed to the inch and a half predicted. Snow stopped falling at just before 11pm, and a nice coating was left which would inevitably cause problems the next day.
Sunday
With the snow still very much present on the pavements causing havoc for walkers, let alone the cars passing on the untreated roads, I decided it would be best to chill inside until I had to leave to give blood.
I left much earlier than normal when walking across town for the donation thinking that it'd be very slippy and that I'd have to take a lot of care in my steps. However, I managed to arrive at 3.05pm - 15 mins before my due appointment. So I went in, handed in my sheet, grabbed some water and sat down.
before I could even sit back, I was already called up to do my tests - usually I'm waitiung for a good 10 mins at least. Tests were done very quickly too, and I was told to wait over by the stage. Before I could even walk across to there, I was called up to donate and I found myself lying on the table and donating within about 4 minutes of arriving. The donation took exactly 5 mins 33 seconds (the lovely women informed me), and I was sitting up and ready to go and have snacks and a drink straight after.
A cup of tea and biscuits awaited me already, and I felt really good chatting away to staff about films and university, and I felt well enough to leave at 3.19pm, a mere 14 mins after I arrived. Surely the quickest donation I'll ever do - it usually takes just udner an hour.
Big thanks to the staff at The Spot for making it uber easy and lovely on Sunday. I'll be in about 5 months time (can't do it in 4 months - sad times)!
Walked back in the now slushy roads and pavements, chilled in my room and watched the football. It was a good game between Chelsea and United. In the evening I watched some of the Superbowl until my laptop blue-screened and died on me. And that was pretty much my day.
Monday
Monday was an early start, but I felt really awake unlike last week. The walk in the snowy slush was horrid, but got to Barry's lecture and found I engaged with it really well and we did a lot of practical elements playing around with blocking and the 180 degree rule as well as playing with a Canon 5D Mark II which is NOM! Can't wait to book those out next year :)
This gave me 50 mins to get across town to meet at QUAD for Steve's lecture. I had enough time to pop back home and grab a quick bite to eat (especially as it was on the way from the uni site). Met with everybody at QUAD and we were given a tour of the new exhibition in the gallery which was set up by the tech team at QUAD - all in house. It was really good what they'd been able to do, and it was so interactive and great fun. They spoke to us about their jobs in QUAD and how they got to where they were.
After this, we were taken up to one of the cinema screens and we were told all about QUAD and what it offers as a community building. It was interesting, and afterwards I chatted with one of the guys who runs some of the film events who was great at really passionate about what he does. Cheers QUAD!
Food shopping times occurred after this. £11 spent and this would be my last food shop for 2 weeks as next week I'll be away in Milton Keynes.
Dropped that back with incredibly cold and wet feet from the slush, and then chilled for most of the rest of the day. I had a nap as I felt shattered and was awoken by a Red Cross call. Then I found myself being unable to sleep until about 4am :( I think I'd have struggled if I'd have not had my nap too - I'm used to these things now.
Tuesday/Today
Woke up at 11.30 today, got myself ready for Russell's lecture and headed there soon after. We watched a couple of shorts and talked about budgeting on a film and how money is divided into different things for the production side of film making. I did argue that a £300 budget for 12 people on food for a 3 day shoot was way too excessive, even if it covered breakfast, lunch and dinner. I argued throughout that I could cater sufficiently and to a high standard for under £200 :P
The lecture was fun and passed quickly, and I headed back to the flat via the mail room. Most of the snow is gone now, but some paths still have the slushy, icy stuff and so do some of the roads. With temperatures dropping to about -12 tonight in Derby, I doubt they'll be gone in the next few days...
I've decided that I'm going to have to move into flats again next year as - well - I have nobody who genuinely wants to live with me next year in a house. I don't mind. I think on the face of it, halls works out a few quid a week less than private accommodation including bills, but I probably would have been able to watch TV in private accommodation on a shared TV license :( Will apply again for halls soon.
I've just chilled this evening so far. Listened to music, drunk some coke, had some soup...nothing too interesting. Earlyish night tonight I hpe, followed by a day of work and films tomorrow.
~The Voice Of The Big Guy~
Live slow, die eventually, leave an indifferently attractive corpse.
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Gotta love BANTER.
My first post of this wonderful February...and I post just as we get our first snowfall of the winter here in Derby.
I've done another Vlog. It pretty much covers everything I'm going to write about but in a bit less detail, so if you're lazy, you can just watch that and not bother with the rest of this post. Or, if you love me so, you can watch it AND read - amazing, right?! :)
Wednesday
A lovely day off from lecture. In all fairness, I probably should have done more with it. Having been up all night - and speaking to people organising things - I ended up getting some sleep at about 8.30am. And it was then that I had my first ever "sex dream".
It was weird.
I've never had one before, which some people find strange, but personally, I'd rather not have another again in my life. It wasn't 'bad' so to speak (in fact, it was with two women :P), but I literally woke up feeling like I'd been mentally raped. It was a horrid feeling.
Anyway, I woke up at about 12.30 and the rest of my day was spent doing very little. I had to attend a "Welcome Meeting" like the one I had back at Sir Peter Hilton. Apart from Alan, I was the only other non-international student who had to attend. And to be honest, I didn't REALLY need to go. We simply talked about how halls work, and then watched the same 30 min DVD that I watched at my first welcome meeting. Nonetheless, it was compulsory for me to attend.
I then put Beverley Hills Cop on in preparation for the next day's lecture. I only watched half of it, and I'll explain why in a moment...
Thursday
I had another bad night of sleep. I tried going to bed at 11pm, fell asleep quite well, and found myself - not for the first time - up 2 hours later and unable to get back to sleep. It was horrible.
But, I made the most of my time awake by doing...nothing. Joy.
I eventually dropped off to sleep at around 8am and I had planned to awake at around 11 to leave enough time to eat, wash and get ready for my 1pm lecture. This did not happen though. I slept right through my alarms, and awoke in a panic at exactly 12.40. Somehow - and I don't know how - I managed to wash, get dressed, brush my teeth, gather some food in my bag AND walk to my lecture in exactly 12 minutes. If I could only do that every day...
The lecture was ok. We ended up watcing Beverley Hills Cop in full (so was essentailly a second viewing for the first half of it for me). I'm going to be honest, I didn't like it much. The story was weak, the humour was hit and miss, and the best thing about the whole film is Eddie Murphy's terrible, terrible laugh...and Axel F theme. But I think comedies such as that have been done much better, but I can still see why it is seen as a 'classic' comedy film.
5.5/10
But I felt really down all day. No idea why. Just felt really off. Something small in the evening really cheered me up, and was completely unexpected. It makes me smile right now, thinking back to it.
I went to bed at a sensible time of about 11pm...
Friday
...and amazingly, I had a brilliant night of sleep! I slept all the way through until about 5.30am, and although it would have been better to sleep a little longer, I felt so refreshed and happy. It's felt like such a long time since I last had a decent night of sleep. They're very rare for me.
No lectures, so most of the day I spent drinking tea, listening to music, sorting out my life and just chilling. I did do a bit of work, but I really have to be "in the mood" to do it. I feel in the mood at the moment, actually, so I think I'll crack on with some work after I post this.
In the evening, I picked up a DVD from the office and met two of the RAs here. They seemed lovely, and welcoming. I like Nunnery. The DVD I would get back to the flat and watch straight away...
It was Kubrick's Lolita. I was unsure of what to expect in terms of style and how the context of the film would be portrayed, but I really, really enjoyed it. Even though we never see anything - only hear the characters talking about it - I'm still shocked it managed to get through the censors in 1961. It really does border with sensitive subjects that the 60s really weren't prepared for. However, it's beautifully and simplistically shot, gripping, has some hilarious moments to cover what they're not permitted to show (Camp Climax, anybody? :P) and I thought it was executed very well.
8.5/10
I then had a shower, and so sat on the computer in my undies before bed. Some girl then started knocking very loudly on my room window. I open the curtains to see her flashing her bra at me suggestively, before quickly covering up and realising she'd gotten the wrong window. Oh dear...
Saturday/Today
I got another pretty decent night of sleep last night, and found myself awake at 11am. Today I had one objective and one objective only: get my eye test done and dusted.
I set off knowing that today would be the first bought of snow this winter, and thankfully, none had fallen on my journey. Went to a very busy Specsavers, waited and was seen to. Had 3 pre-tests done, waited for a bit, had my main test done and found that my right eye - like my last test - had degraded slightly. My left eye remains just as bad as always for a second year running. Which meant I needed to get some more new glasses.
I don't mind new glasses. I get my eye appointment and most of the money off my glasses with an NHS voucher as I'm aged 18 and under and still in full-time education, but that'll change for my next appointment, so I was determined to get the most out of it. Two new frames chosen - quite bolder frames than I've gone for before - and after sitting around for ages, I was able to get my sizes measure and a mock pair "fitted" and I'll pick them both up next Saturday. £29.90 altogether - I'm not complaining. But this means I now have 5 pairs of "wearable" glasses.
Walked back to find it had started snowing. It hasn't stopped since, and we now have a good 2 inches+ on the ground. I suspect that will rise in the coming hours, but the snow is expected to stop by about 11pm.
Blood donation tomorrow will be fun to get to, even funner when I'm feeling a tad weaker than normal on my way back. But as always, I'm looking forward to it :)
I've done another Vlog. It pretty much covers everything I'm going to write about but in a bit less detail, so if you're lazy, you can just watch that and not bother with the rest of this post. Or, if you love me so, you can watch it AND read - amazing, right?! :)
A lovely day off from lecture. In all fairness, I probably should have done more with it. Having been up all night - and speaking to people organising things - I ended up getting some sleep at about 8.30am. And it was then that I had my first ever "sex dream".
It was weird.
I've never had one before, which some people find strange, but personally, I'd rather not have another again in my life. It wasn't 'bad' so to speak (in fact, it was with two women :P), but I literally woke up feeling like I'd been mentally raped. It was a horrid feeling.
Anyway, I woke up at about 12.30 and the rest of my day was spent doing very little. I had to attend a "Welcome Meeting" like the one I had back at Sir Peter Hilton. Apart from Alan, I was the only other non-international student who had to attend. And to be honest, I didn't REALLY need to go. We simply talked about how halls work, and then watched the same 30 min DVD that I watched at my first welcome meeting. Nonetheless, it was compulsory for me to attend.
I then put Beverley Hills Cop on in preparation for the next day's lecture. I only watched half of it, and I'll explain why in a moment...
Thursday
I had another bad night of sleep. I tried going to bed at 11pm, fell asleep quite well, and found myself - not for the first time - up 2 hours later and unable to get back to sleep. It was horrible.
But, I made the most of my time awake by doing...nothing. Joy.
I eventually dropped off to sleep at around 8am and I had planned to awake at around 11 to leave enough time to eat, wash and get ready for my 1pm lecture. This did not happen though. I slept right through my alarms, and awoke in a panic at exactly 12.40. Somehow - and I don't know how - I managed to wash, get dressed, brush my teeth, gather some food in my bag AND walk to my lecture in exactly 12 minutes. If I could only do that every day...
The lecture was ok. We ended up watcing Beverley Hills Cop in full (so was essentailly a second viewing for the first half of it for me). I'm going to be honest, I didn't like it much. The story was weak, the humour was hit and miss, and the best thing about the whole film is Eddie Murphy's terrible, terrible laugh...and Axel F theme. But I think comedies such as that have been done much better, but I can still see why it is seen as a 'classic' comedy film.
5.5/10
But I felt really down all day. No idea why. Just felt really off. Something small in the evening really cheered me up, and was completely unexpected. It makes me smile right now, thinking back to it.
I went to bed at a sensible time of about 11pm...
Friday
...and amazingly, I had a brilliant night of sleep! I slept all the way through until about 5.30am, and although it would have been better to sleep a little longer, I felt so refreshed and happy. It's felt like such a long time since I last had a decent night of sleep. They're very rare for me.
No lectures, so most of the day I spent drinking tea, listening to music, sorting out my life and just chilling. I did do a bit of work, but I really have to be "in the mood" to do it. I feel in the mood at the moment, actually, so I think I'll crack on with some work after I post this.
In the evening, I picked up a DVD from the office and met two of the RAs here. They seemed lovely, and welcoming. I like Nunnery. The DVD I would get back to the flat and watch straight away...
It was Kubrick's Lolita. I was unsure of what to expect in terms of style and how the context of the film would be portrayed, but I really, really enjoyed it. Even though we never see anything - only hear the characters talking about it - I'm still shocked it managed to get through the censors in 1961. It really does border with sensitive subjects that the 60s really weren't prepared for. However, it's beautifully and simplistically shot, gripping, has some hilarious moments to cover what they're not permitted to show (Camp Climax, anybody? :P) and I thought it was executed very well.
8.5/10
I then had a shower, and so sat on the computer in my undies before bed. Some girl then started knocking very loudly on my room window. I open the curtains to see her flashing her bra at me suggestively, before quickly covering up and realising she'd gotten the wrong window. Oh dear...
Saturday/Today
I got another pretty decent night of sleep last night, and found myself awake at 11am. Today I had one objective and one objective only: get my eye test done and dusted.
I set off knowing that today would be the first bought of snow this winter, and thankfully, none had fallen on my journey. Went to a very busy Specsavers, waited and was seen to. Had 3 pre-tests done, waited for a bit, had my main test done and found that my right eye - like my last test - had degraded slightly. My left eye remains just as bad as always for a second year running. Which meant I needed to get some more new glasses.
I don't mind new glasses. I get my eye appointment and most of the money off my glasses with an NHS voucher as I'm aged 18 and under and still in full-time education, but that'll change for my next appointment, so I was determined to get the most out of it. Two new frames chosen - quite bolder frames than I've gone for before - and after sitting around for ages, I was able to get my sizes measure and a mock pair "fitted" and I'll pick them both up next Saturday. £29.90 altogether - I'm not complaining. But this means I now have 5 pairs of "wearable" glasses.
Walked back to find it had started snowing. It hasn't stopped since, and we now have a good 2 inches+ on the ground. I suspect that will rise in the coming hours, but the snow is expected to stop by about 11pm.
Blood donation tomorrow will be fun to get to, even funner when I'm feeling a tad weaker than normal on my way back. But as always, I'm looking forward to it :)
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Who'd want to live with me next year anyway?
Hello again you lot. What lovely reading do I have for you today? :)
Sunday
Sunday was just like the day previous to it - boring. I don't actually think I did much. I remember waking up, doing almost nothing, having a shower, then doing little after that except making and eating porridge for dinner. You could say it was a wasted day of existence. I think my whole weekend was that to be honest. I went to bed at just before 11pm hoping to awake refreshed at 7.30am ready fr my 9am lecture...
Monday
...but that didn't happen. I ended up awakening at 1.30am and being unable to sleep whatsoever, so was up all night...doing nothing. This I knew would be catastrophic - when I'm tired, I can't concentrate well, plus I was due to have two lectures followed by a pub trip with the coursemates and then clubbing in the evening.
So, at 8am I got myself breakfast, even though I'd been up for 6 and a half hours. I really wasn't feeling like eating something 'sweet' like my normal breakfast does, and I was craving a dinner after having 'breakfast' in place of my dinner the previous night, so I ended up having spaghetti bolognese :P It was quite nice actually at 8am.
First lecture was on lighting with Barry. I really needed concentration with the lecture, but it wasn't to be found. I was tired, and most of what was said went over my head. Thank goodness I have the lecture notes. Lighting is crucial and key and something I really want to master. I felt so tired that when we were setting up the lights, I took a back seat as I feared I might break something. I got involved with the light meters though - they're fun to play with.
Our lecture with Steve - originally scheduled at 1pm-3pm in Britannia Mill - had been changed to 2pm-4pm at Markeaton from this week onwards, so this found us from Barry's lecture with two hours to spare. I normally would go back to the flat, grab some food, maybe watch some TV... but instead, I found myself with Howard, Matthew and Paul at a nearby pub sinking a lovely cider :P
We had a good chat and covered the 2 hours well. We talked loads about film and a lot about The Green Mile - one of my few weaknesses. Just talking about the film brings tears to my eyes, and this occasionally reduces me to bay-tears. This was one of those times. How embarrassing.
Went to Steve's lecture where my concentration was at an all time low, but managed to do most of the work set and concentrate enough to know what I needed to do. And then it was pub times! We had a decent turn out actually, much more than normal. About 15-18 of us ended up walking to Wetherspoons in town, and as I had no lunch and it's logical do so, I got yet another burger and a beer/cider. Nom.
It was another good visit, and time literally flew. It was 4.30 when we arrived, and 9.30 when we eventually left xD Lots of banter, lots of fun, and lots of love for my coursemates ❤
I was so tired when I got in that I decided clubbing was going to have to be skipped. I'd been up since 1.30am, and I finally went to bed at just after 11. I was shattered, and slept very well after a lovely evening. I'd spent £8.80 though out of my £20 budget... :S
Tuesday/Today
After a nice night of sleep, I found myself up and ready at 10.30am, although my lecture wasn't until 1pm and a production meeting was scheduled at 12pm. So I begun planning what I needed to do with the rest of my budget, and came to the conclusion I'd have to dip into my "overspill" money (money that I have saved from the left overs of my budget each week) which is what it was designed for and wouldn't put me out of pocket for my main budgeting. Shopping and laundry needed to be done.
Went to the production meeting, those who turned up had little to say, I had a few things, not much was discussed to be honest. Once we get going, we'll have a lot more to discuss, hopefully.
The lecture was quite good. Lots of talk about roles and the industry as well as seeing how screenplay's adapt to screen before we finished up by watching A Short Film About Killing. I really enjoyed it, and without giving too much away, one scene in particular was very hard to watch. The subtitling was awful and not done correctly - even I could tell and I speak no Polish - but it really was a film that makes you think afterwards for quite a while.
8/10
It was a cold day today, so walking back from the lecture left me frozen, but I had to go shopping, so put 5 layers on and braced Sainsbury's in the town. Sainsbury's was bare of food, and most of what was on my list they didn't have in stock, so I only got about half of what I needed, but it still set me back just under £15. I swear food has gotten excessively expensive since I got here in September.
Walked back, unpacked my stuff, and chilled every since.
Day off tomorrow, so will try and do some work and watch films related to that too :') I say that now, but we shall see... :P
Sunday
Sunday was just like the day previous to it - boring. I don't actually think I did much. I remember waking up, doing almost nothing, having a shower, then doing little after that except making and eating porridge for dinner. You could say it was a wasted day of existence. I think my whole weekend was that to be honest. I went to bed at just before 11pm hoping to awake refreshed at 7.30am ready fr my 9am lecture...
Monday
...but that didn't happen. I ended up awakening at 1.30am and being unable to sleep whatsoever, so was up all night...doing nothing. This I knew would be catastrophic - when I'm tired, I can't concentrate well, plus I was due to have two lectures followed by a pub trip with the coursemates and then clubbing in the evening.
So, at 8am I got myself breakfast, even though I'd been up for 6 and a half hours. I really wasn't feeling like eating something 'sweet' like my normal breakfast does, and I was craving a dinner after having 'breakfast' in place of my dinner the previous night, so I ended up having spaghetti bolognese :P It was quite nice actually at 8am.
First lecture was on lighting with Barry. I really needed concentration with the lecture, but it wasn't to be found. I was tired, and most of what was said went over my head. Thank goodness I have the lecture notes. Lighting is crucial and key and something I really want to master. I felt so tired that when we were setting up the lights, I took a back seat as I feared I might break something. I got involved with the light meters though - they're fun to play with.
Our lecture with Steve - originally scheduled at 1pm-3pm in Britannia Mill - had been changed to 2pm-4pm at Markeaton from this week onwards, so this found us from Barry's lecture with two hours to spare. I normally would go back to the flat, grab some food, maybe watch some TV... but instead, I found myself with Howard, Matthew and Paul at a nearby pub sinking a lovely cider :P
We had a good chat and covered the 2 hours well. We talked loads about film and a lot about The Green Mile - one of my few weaknesses. Just talking about the film brings tears to my eyes, and this occasionally reduces me to bay-tears. This was one of those times. How embarrassing.
Went to Steve's lecture where my concentration was at an all time low, but managed to do most of the work set and concentrate enough to know what I needed to do. And then it was pub times! We had a decent turn out actually, much more than normal. About 15-18 of us ended up walking to Wetherspoons in town, and as I had no lunch and it's logical do so, I got yet another burger and a beer/cider. Nom.
It was another good visit, and time literally flew. It was 4.30 when we arrived, and 9.30 when we eventually left xD Lots of banter, lots of fun, and lots of love for my coursemates ❤
I was so tired when I got in that I decided clubbing was going to have to be skipped. I'd been up since 1.30am, and I finally went to bed at just after 11. I was shattered, and slept very well after a lovely evening. I'd spent £8.80 though out of my £20 budget... :S
Tuesday/Today
After a nice night of sleep, I found myself up and ready at 10.30am, although my lecture wasn't until 1pm and a production meeting was scheduled at 12pm. So I begun planning what I needed to do with the rest of my budget, and came to the conclusion I'd have to dip into my "overspill" money (money that I have saved from the left overs of my budget each week) which is what it was designed for and wouldn't put me out of pocket for my main budgeting. Shopping and laundry needed to be done.
Went to the production meeting, those who turned up had little to say, I had a few things, not much was discussed to be honest. Once we get going, we'll have a lot more to discuss, hopefully.
The lecture was quite good. Lots of talk about roles and the industry as well as seeing how screenplay's adapt to screen before we finished up by watching A Short Film About Killing. I really enjoyed it, and without giving too much away, one scene in particular was very hard to watch. The subtitling was awful and not done correctly - even I could tell and I speak no Polish - but it really was a film that makes you think afterwards for quite a while.
8/10
It was a cold day today, so walking back from the lecture left me frozen, but I had to go shopping, so put 5 layers on and braced Sainsbury's in the town. Sainsbury's was bare of food, and most of what was on my list they didn't have in stock, so I only got about half of what I needed, but it still set me back just under £15. I swear food has gotten excessively expensive since I got here in September.
Walked back, unpacked my stuff, and chilled every since.
Day off tomorrow, so will try and do some work and watch films related to that too :') I say that now, but we shall see... :P
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