I'm aware I may have abandoned this for a while. I had to look at my last post and realised the last time I actually posted something was back at the start of August. I've had 2 drafts there for god knows how long but they're not done yet and probably won't be. I also started another blog just for creative writing. I don't really get to do it that much in English and I missed doing it so hence why I set up a new one. When I eventually finish one of my short stories I'll post a link up. But for now I'm just gonna ramble on
Since my last post a lot has gone on. For one thing I'm officially in the 20s now. It's so strange. Like I don't feel 20 at all. I definitely don't look it. I don't know what age I look but I get told I look younger than I actually am. However one of my finest moments happened last week. I was in tesco and I bought a bottle of vodka and it's the first time I've never been asked for i.d in a shop. It felt like a belated achievement, but an achievement none the less! I take everything as it comes, with my luck I kinda have to. Other things that have changed since my last post have been that I'm back in college and back into the routine again. Now I thought I'd have a little bit more free time because my 3rd subject had been dropped and I had a better idea of what was going on. Unsurprisingly I was wrong. I might only have 2 subjects to worry about but it's dawned on me that this year counts. As well as that I'm on the committee for 2 of the societies, I took up lacrosse, took up Get in Gear. I'm also trying to get a job and going to interviews. There's also band and gigs and peoples birthdays and god knows what else. Free time? What is that exactly? I have gaps between lectures but that's when I meet up with friends and get food. I'm an arts student so it's a given I'm not going to do work during those gaps. I've also gotten back into creative writing. I've realised that my English modules don't really do the personal essay or short story type of essays so I've set up another blog just for that. I've 3 drafts so far and I'm working away properly on 1 of them whenever I actually do get time so hopefully I'll finish that and let you all take a look at what I come up with
Touching on one of the job interviews I have a story that happened about one of them. Now I applied for so many jobs that i couldn't remember all of them I applied for. Last week I got a phone call from one of them asking could I come in on Monday for an interview. They then sent me a text with the details of where it was and everything else. Now while on the phone I had no memory of the name of this place so I looked them up and saw it was a student agency thing. I had no memory of applying for it but I thought that I probably just forgot about it after applying for so many jobs. So on Monday I went in with the knowledge thinking it was an agency, thinking they're just going to ask me a few questions to see what I'm like and what job would suit me and so on. Grand. Went in and got asked the usual questions that come around then started to talk about my degree in college. Mainly English and what I liked about it and my writing skills and style and stuff like that. That was fine, just thinking they were interested in the English side of my degree. Got into it more that it just felt like a conversation. Then he started to ask me about sports. Now I found this a little odd but I kept going anyway and answered. Then the guy said "Now obviously for this sports journalism job you would be doing a lot of research, what do you think about that?" You know that feeling you get when you suddenly realise you've made an incredibly wrong assumption? Like you get the wrong name of someone you've know for ages or you think two people are a couple when they're not or you think Harley Quinn has to do with a motorbike rather than actually being the Jokers sort of assistant (I met someone who thought that and I couldn't believe this) or stuff like that? Well I felt like all of those things had happened to me in the space of a minute. What I believed to be an agency interview was actually a journalism job interview. I instantly remembered applying for a sports journalism job about 2 days before the phone call but there was no name for the company on the ad. Thankfully I'm quite good at thinking on the spot so I got on with it anyway and it actually went so well. Literally the name of my blog title happened to me - "When You're in Trouble Go Into Your Dance". But as soon as I left that place I laughed to myself. I just couldn't get over how I thought the interview was for something else entirely. Only that kinda stuff would happen to me. Other people I've told this to have laughed as well so it makes for a funny story. If I get this job I'll be delighted but shocked at the same time. I landed on my feet which is something I can't do physically at all
So I guess that's all I have to say. I'll try to be more regular in future but I probably won't be. Ah well. Until next time. I'll leave with this little beauty of a quote from the song Razzle Dazzle, from the musical Chicago sung by the character Billy Flynn, - "Show 'em the first rate sorcerer you are"
Thursday 3 October 2013
Monday 5 August 2013
So many songs
Ok I know I haven't posted in about a month. I haven't had that much time recently but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking of something to write. Like my description says I'm an imperfect perfectionist. I want everything to I do to be done right, even if it might not turn out that way. There's a few ideas I've been thinking of, there's one in particular that I'm pretty happy with and I might go for that one but it'd not ready to be posted about yet. It needs more time to become....right. So I've decided until that one is right I'm gonna post about a few songs. Lately there have been so many good songs that I've been listening to, some new, some old, but still so good so I'm just gonna mention a few of them.
I'll start with Counting Stars by One Republic. OH MY GOD WHERE DO I START WITH THIS? I love this song so much! I've been listening to it for the past 2 weeks and I'm addicted to it. I love One Republic anyway. I think that Ryan Tedder is a seriously talented musician and a gifted songwriter. He's one of those guys that can write amazing songs but there's not such a big hype about him. Obviously there's song he's done on his own or with someone and songs he's done with One Republic. He co wrote Halo, Runour has It, Bleeding Love and a good few other songs. That man has skill. Anyway back to Counting Stars. Lyrically I think it's brilliant, really clever and kindof inspiring in a way. It's one of those songs when you hear it you're like "oh my god yeah that makes sense". You get it, it clicks with you (I analyse every song I listen to, I don't know why it's just something I do so I'll try not to get too technical about it) The tune is pretty good, catchy, like any good song. Those little motifs are really good, the clapping part, the harp. If anyone has read The Fault In Our Stars i thnk this would be great for the film soundtrack. It's a class song and if anyone hasn't heard it here's a link to it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT_nvWreIhg
This more so an album to recommend. Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend. I love this band so much. They're one of my favourites. Vampire Weekend and Contra were such good albums so I was pretty excited about this one. I'm not gonna talk about the whole album but I will say that the songs on that are really really good. If anyone is a fan of them or is thinking of getting that album then get it, it's so good. Anyway there's 2 songs off this album that I really like and they're Diane Young and Unbelievers. Firstly Diane Young is lyrically brilliant. If anyone is a fan of them the first line of this song is "You torched a Saab like a pile of leaves", to me anyway it sounds a bit similar to their song Cousins from the album Contra where the first line of that is "You found a sweater on the ocean floor" (something to notice). Anyway lyrically it's really clever, a few nice ideas in there. Diane young is play on words for dying young but Ezra Koenig said that they called it Diane Young because nobody wants to hear a song called dying young and Diane Young sounds like a nice name. The guitar parts are pretty good I have to say. It's pretty catchy and here's a link for anyone that wants to listen to it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG6lTQNW04I. Next - Unbelievers. Again lyric wise it's really good. There's lyrics in that song that could be seen as quotes, well I'd see them as quotes anyway. Some deep stuff. It's a clever song. It's kinda philosophical I guess. It's one of those songs where I was thinking how did they come up with this? Here's a link to that anyway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIcjA5ykloI
Next up is Things We Lost in the Fire by Bastille. This song is pretty good. I wasn't a fan of Pompeii when it came out, I thought it was overplayed, really repetitive and Dans accent was enunciated too much. Laura Palmer was better. Pretty good song. But Things We Lost in the Fire is best one. I really like the string arrangement, that motif that's played around the chorus is interesting. Lyrically it's pretty good, bit repetitive but still good. I don't really like it as much as the other songs I've mentioned but it's a pretty good song. Here's a link to it anyway - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGR4U7W1dZU. Another song would be Supersoaker by Kings of Leon. I love that band. They're really good and some of their songs are just brilliant. I don't know but this feels like summer song, something you'd listen to on a road trip or just sitting out in the garden. I like the lyrics in it, they're interesting. It's a typical Kings of Leon song, it's not too new for them but it's still really good. The harmonies are a nice touch and Calebs vocals on it are class. The rawness in his voice is something else. It's catchy as well and the guitars in it have some nice parts. Here's a link to that one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64a15jJqFDk
This one is an album to recommend - The 20/20 Experience by Justin Timberlake. Now JT has a few hits, I'd never consider myself a massive fan of his but after listening to that album I LOVE HIM. You can tell that so much work went into it and it paid off! Most of the songs are about 7 mins long but they're sooooo good. Suit and Tie and Mirrors are class tunes but my favourite song off that album is Pusher Love Girl. THAT SONG IS AMAZING. It's about 8 mins long. Lyric wise it's not clever but it's catchy. It's just such a good song I don't think I can explain it that well. That falsettos is typical JT and it works well with the song. The rhythm and melody are nice. It's an easygoing song, like it's not forced out of him, you can tell that he's having a good time just singing the song. I think it's one of those songs that you just need to listen to and you might get what I'm trying to say. Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgUCelKKqgo
So yeah there's a few songs that I've been listening to. Sorry if I got caught up in talking about them too much, they're just really good. I love having those in depth conversations about songs though so if anyone wants to discuss how good theses songs are then send me a message some time. Hopefully you listen to the songs. Til next time "keep your head up, keep your heart strong" - Keep Your Head Up by Ben Howard - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADP65wbBUpc
I'll start with Counting Stars by One Republic. OH MY GOD WHERE DO I START WITH THIS? I love this song so much! I've been listening to it for the past 2 weeks and I'm addicted to it. I love One Republic anyway. I think that Ryan Tedder is a seriously talented musician and a gifted songwriter. He's one of those guys that can write amazing songs but there's not such a big hype about him. Obviously there's song he's done on his own or with someone and songs he's done with One Republic. He co wrote Halo, Runour has It, Bleeding Love and a good few other songs. That man has skill. Anyway back to Counting Stars. Lyrically I think it's brilliant, really clever and kindof inspiring in a way. It's one of those songs when you hear it you're like "oh my god yeah that makes sense". You get it, it clicks with you (I analyse every song I listen to, I don't know why it's just something I do so I'll try not to get too technical about it) The tune is pretty good, catchy, like any good song. Those little motifs are really good, the clapping part, the harp. If anyone has read The Fault In Our Stars i thnk this would be great for the film soundtrack. It's a class song and if anyone hasn't heard it here's a link to it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT_nvWreIhg
This more so an album to recommend. Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend. I love this band so much. They're one of my favourites. Vampire Weekend and Contra were such good albums so I was pretty excited about this one. I'm not gonna talk about the whole album but I will say that the songs on that are really really good. If anyone is a fan of them or is thinking of getting that album then get it, it's so good. Anyway there's 2 songs off this album that I really like and they're Diane Young and Unbelievers. Firstly Diane Young is lyrically brilliant. If anyone is a fan of them the first line of this song is "You torched a Saab like a pile of leaves", to me anyway it sounds a bit similar to their song Cousins from the album Contra where the first line of that is "You found a sweater on the ocean floor" (something to notice). Anyway lyrically it's really clever, a few nice ideas in there. Diane young is play on words for dying young but Ezra Koenig said that they called it Diane Young because nobody wants to hear a song called dying young and Diane Young sounds like a nice name. The guitar parts are pretty good I have to say. It's pretty catchy and here's a link for anyone that wants to listen to it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG6lTQNW04I. Next - Unbelievers. Again lyric wise it's really good. There's lyrics in that song that could be seen as quotes, well I'd see them as quotes anyway. Some deep stuff. It's a clever song. It's kinda philosophical I guess. It's one of those songs where I was thinking how did they come up with this? Here's a link to that anyway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIcjA5ykloI
Next up is Things We Lost in the Fire by Bastille. This song is pretty good. I wasn't a fan of Pompeii when it came out, I thought it was overplayed, really repetitive and Dans accent was enunciated too much. Laura Palmer was better. Pretty good song. But Things We Lost in the Fire is best one. I really like the string arrangement, that motif that's played around the chorus is interesting. Lyrically it's pretty good, bit repetitive but still good. I don't really like it as much as the other songs I've mentioned but it's a pretty good song. Here's a link to it anyway - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGR4U7W1dZU. Another song would be Supersoaker by Kings of Leon. I love that band. They're really good and some of their songs are just brilliant. I don't know but this feels like summer song, something you'd listen to on a road trip or just sitting out in the garden. I like the lyrics in it, they're interesting. It's a typical Kings of Leon song, it's not too new for them but it's still really good. The harmonies are a nice touch and Calebs vocals on it are class. The rawness in his voice is something else. It's catchy as well and the guitars in it have some nice parts. Here's a link to that one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64a15jJqFDk
This one is an album to recommend - The 20/20 Experience by Justin Timberlake. Now JT has a few hits, I'd never consider myself a massive fan of his but after listening to that album I LOVE HIM. You can tell that so much work went into it and it paid off! Most of the songs are about 7 mins long but they're sooooo good. Suit and Tie and Mirrors are class tunes but my favourite song off that album is Pusher Love Girl. THAT SONG IS AMAZING. It's about 8 mins long. Lyric wise it's not clever but it's catchy. It's just such a good song I don't think I can explain it that well. That falsettos is typical JT and it works well with the song. The rhythm and melody are nice. It's an easygoing song, like it's not forced out of him, you can tell that he's having a good time just singing the song. I think it's one of those songs that you just need to listen to and you might get what I'm trying to say. Link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgUCelKKqgo
So yeah there's a few songs that I've been listening to. Sorry if I got caught up in talking about them too much, they're just really good. I love having those in depth conversations about songs though so if anyone wants to discuss how good theses songs are then send me a message some time. Hopefully you listen to the songs. Til next time "keep your head up, keep your heart strong" - Keep Your Head Up by Ben Howard - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADP65wbBUpc
Sunday 7 July 2013
Tightropes and loose ends
It's 2 in the morning. Perfect time for a new post! The title has to do with balancing everything that's going on and then having come back from Germany to a few things I left behind.
Most people know that I am a busy person. The amount of things that I end up missing because of other stuff is insane. Honestly I think if there was another of me we still wouldn't be able to keep up with everything! Now it's the summer things have cooled off a little but when I was in college it was impossible to do everything so a lot was missed. I missed 4 weeks of band because of exams and a project and a musical. I missed countless music theory classes because of a variety of things. Band kinda took the backseat at the time but then again last year, everything else pretty much took the backseat because of band and the leaving cert. Also it doesn't help with family members in and out of hospital for different things and then having family stuff going on as well. It's hard to keep up with all of that but not impossible. Then there's keeping in touch with people. It's hard enough to keep in touch anyway, let alone when you have a million things on. I don't see my friends from school as much because we're all in different colleges and some have jobs and are away and whatever else. You do lose touch with people from school, that's fine. However there are some people that I don't want to lose. There are a few girls from school that are probably the closest things to sisters I have (by the way this isn't meant to be sappy, after reading it back it comes across like that but it's more of a appreciative thought). Although we are in different colleges and working and whatever else we have kept in contact with each other as best as we could. Then there's meeting up with people from college. I haven't stopped talking to Christina since we the exams ended so we're doing well! There's other people I've been doing well with keeping in touch with but I'm not the only one with things on, everyone does, so again it is hard to keep in touch with everyone you know.
Then in the meantime I'm supposed to find a job. This is extremely frustrating. I hate updating cvs and handing them in to places in the hope of someone hiring you but then it just ends up getting thrown out anyway. The most annoying thing is when a job requires some experience before you can work there. Most places want experience so you can work there. Now how am I supposed to get this experience if I don't have a job? "Must have experience for this job" Well I need a job for experience. Then again if I ended up getting a job then there'd be more balancing. There's also exercise. Now last year all I seemed to do was exercise and I actually liked it. Cycling and walking for up to 3 hours everyday. All of that was working towards the debs. As soon as the debs was over the bike was put back in the shed and has only come out probably about 6 times since then. I've gotten back into exercising but I'm not motivated this time so it's a lot harder. Plus I've taken up jogging instead of just walking. Jogging will slowly kill me. I only jog for about an hour but it's fair to say that if I ever decide to do a marathon I'll be walking it. i would like to be able to jog straight for longer than 5 mins. I jog then walk the jog then walk. I can't jog for long I have to stop and walk for a while. My brother does athletics and can run no problem and wins races and whatever else. He gets the height, the brains and the speed. Meanwhile I was left with the ability fall over thin air. Good job genetics (it's probably not even to do with genetics but it's something science like, maybe, see this is one of the reasons why I'm studying arts)
Now for the loose ends that I left behind. In the midst of everything I went off to Germany and it was like none of it existed the entire time I was there. However it was all waiting for me when I got back. Back to practicing driving, back to exercising, back to catching up with friends, back to all the situations that were left behind. For the first few days in Germany my phone had no service and the place we were in had no wifi so I didn't even get to hear about anything I was missing going on back home. Since I got back I've actually done a lot of stuff I've left behind. I've gotten back into teaching myself how to play the keyboard. I've always wanted to play it so I'm using a dvd and youtube clips and then messing about myself to be able to play it. I can finally play one song fully! Boom bitches! Anyone that knows how much I love the piano and how badly that I want to be able to play it will know that this is huge for me. I can play Mad World by Tears for Fears but it's the Gary Jules and Micheal Andrews cover, god help me trying to play the original! It's not too hard and it is quite repetitive but still I can play one song! I've also been listening to a lot of Tears for Fears since I got back, anyone following me on spotify can probably see that. I cleared out my wardrobe which I've wanted to do since easter. I put up new photos on my wardrobe and now the entire thing is full of photos, no space for anymore! I'm surprised that I actually sorted out all the stuff I left behind let alone all the extra stuff that's been there for ages. I've even planned for things coming up! keep working on keyboard and be able to play more songs, maybe have a session at some point, do more stuff with people, get stuff sorted for Tralee and remember to re-register for college.
So this post probably wasn't as good as the others but ah well. I wanted to write something and I really liked my title for it so I went with it! Also if any of you reading this haven't actually heard the original of Mad World then here's a link to it, I think it's really good but see what you think yourselves anyway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFsHSHE-iJQ As always I'll end with a quote, seeing as I haven't stopped listening to them it'll be a Tears for Fears quote. This one comes from their song Head Over Heels, "I'm on the line, one open mind, this is my four leaf clover"
Most people know that I am a busy person. The amount of things that I end up missing because of other stuff is insane. Honestly I think if there was another of me we still wouldn't be able to keep up with everything! Now it's the summer things have cooled off a little but when I was in college it was impossible to do everything so a lot was missed. I missed 4 weeks of band because of exams and a project and a musical. I missed countless music theory classes because of a variety of things. Band kinda took the backseat at the time but then again last year, everything else pretty much took the backseat because of band and the leaving cert. Also it doesn't help with family members in and out of hospital for different things and then having family stuff going on as well. It's hard to keep up with all of that but not impossible. Then there's keeping in touch with people. It's hard enough to keep in touch anyway, let alone when you have a million things on. I don't see my friends from school as much because we're all in different colleges and some have jobs and are away and whatever else. You do lose touch with people from school, that's fine. However there are some people that I don't want to lose. There are a few girls from school that are probably the closest things to sisters I have (by the way this isn't meant to be sappy, after reading it back it comes across like that but it's more of a appreciative thought). Although we are in different colleges and working and whatever else we have kept in contact with each other as best as we could. Then there's meeting up with people from college. I haven't stopped talking to Christina since we the exams ended so we're doing well! There's other people I've been doing well with keeping in touch with but I'm not the only one with things on, everyone does, so again it is hard to keep in touch with everyone you know.
Then in the meantime I'm supposed to find a job. This is extremely frustrating. I hate updating cvs and handing them in to places in the hope of someone hiring you but then it just ends up getting thrown out anyway. The most annoying thing is when a job requires some experience before you can work there. Most places want experience so you can work there. Now how am I supposed to get this experience if I don't have a job? "Must have experience for this job" Well I need a job for experience. Then again if I ended up getting a job then there'd be more balancing. There's also exercise. Now last year all I seemed to do was exercise and I actually liked it. Cycling and walking for up to 3 hours everyday. All of that was working towards the debs. As soon as the debs was over the bike was put back in the shed and has only come out probably about 6 times since then. I've gotten back into exercising but I'm not motivated this time so it's a lot harder. Plus I've taken up jogging instead of just walking. Jogging will slowly kill me. I only jog for about an hour but it's fair to say that if I ever decide to do a marathon I'll be walking it. i would like to be able to jog straight for longer than 5 mins. I jog then walk the jog then walk. I can't jog for long I have to stop and walk for a while. My brother does athletics and can run no problem and wins races and whatever else. He gets the height, the brains and the speed. Meanwhile I was left with the ability fall over thin air. Good job genetics (it's probably not even to do with genetics but it's something science like, maybe, see this is one of the reasons why I'm studying arts)
Now for the loose ends that I left behind. In the midst of everything I went off to Germany and it was like none of it existed the entire time I was there. However it was all waiting for me when I got back. Back to practicing driving, back to exercising, back to catching up with friends, back to all the situations that were left behind. For the first few days in Germany my phone had no service and the place we were in had no wifi so I didn't even get to hear about anything I was missing going on back home. Since I got back I've actually done a lot of stuff I've left behind. I've gotten back into teaching myself how to play the keyboard. I've always wanted to play it so I'm using a dvd and youtube clips and then messing about myself to be able to play it. I can finally play one song fully! Boom bitches! Anyone that knows how much I love the piano and how badly that I want to be able to play it will know that this is huge for me. I can play Mad World by Tears for Fears but it's the Gary Jules and Micheal Andrews cover, god help me trying to play the original! It's not too hard and it is quite repetitive but still I can play one song! I've also been listening to a lot of Tears for Fears since I got back, anyone following me on spotify can probably see that. I cleared out my wardrobe which I've wanted to do since easter. I put up new photos on my wardrobe and now the entire thing is full of photos, no space for anymore! I'm surprised that I actually sorted out all the stuff I left behind let alone all the extra stuff that's been there for ages. I've even planned for things coming up! keep working on keyboard and be able to play more songs, maybe have a session at some point, do more stuff with people, get stuff sorted for Tralee and remember to re-register for college.
So this post probably wasn't as good as the others but ah well. I wanted to write something and I really liked my title for it so I went with it! Also if any of you reading this haven't actually heard the original of Mad World then here's a link to it, I think it's really good but see what you think yourselves anyway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFsHSHE-iJQ As always I'll end with a quote, seeing as I haven't stopped listening to them it'll be a Tears for Fears quote. This one comes from their song Head Over Heels, "I'm on the line, one open mind, this is my four leaf clover"
Saturday 29 June 2013
International liebe
So I realised that I hadn't put up in a post in a while. That's because I was away in Germany this week and I just came home so this post is going to be a bit different to the other ones, might be a little sappy but oh well, mixing it up a bit!
I'll explain why I was in Germany. Last year, near the end of June, our band took part in this programme and a German band called Spielmannszug Hattstedt came to Dubin and stayed in our band hall with us. It was like having new additions to our band so we had a great time. In just one week we managed to become really close to each other and it was like they had always been a part of our band, so when they left last year we couldn't wait to see them again. Now a year later and our week with them has come to an end and saying goodbye to them was so hard. It was like saying goodbye to someone from your family. It's amazing how with only 2 weeks of actually seeing each other face to face that we have managed to become as close to each other as we are now. It's like they're a part of our band and we're a part of theirs. I can honestly say that being a part of it was one of the best experiences of my life. Any trip away with the band is always with great but this one was something else. Our band have become a lot closer because of the two trips. We'll continue to keep in touch with each other and we'll see each other again some time, no doubt about it.
Ever since they left Ireland we worked much harder on our marching, making sure everyone was in step, trying out counter marching. A lot of work was done. We even took part in a competition in Germany and worked hard on a routine for it. We're not a competition band so this was completely new to us but we gave it a go anyway. There was also a concert competition and we played The Second Waltz, The Lord of the Dance and a Coldplay Medley. The Coldplay medley was only a new piece that we got a few months ago so it was a bit risky doing it. One of the parents that came with us recorded it and after watching it back it actually sounds really good, very impressive. Here's a link of it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0P3RmBRUSM
We spent a good few weekends going over the routine and everyone knew it. My recording of it isn't great so when someone else puts theirs up I'll share it on Facebook. When we were at the festival we watched all of the other bands and some of them were really good. Spielmannszugs routine was excellent, especially the drum solo. But when all of the bands went back onto the field to see who had won what and I don't think we were expecting anything. We never did competitions and we were only taking part in this one to see what it was like. We ended up winning 3rd place trophies in the concert and marching competitions! We were absolutely delighted! I'm so proud of our band for all the hard work we put in so if any of them are reading this well done guys and a huge thanks to Liam our conductor, wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for him and everyone in the band. There may have been a few setbacks when we got there but we did it anyway. Our CCYB family and German family will meet again some day. As always I'll end with a quote, this one comes from Lilo & Stitch, "Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind" / "Ohana bedeutet familie, familie mittels niemand hinter wird links"
I'll explain why I was in Germany. Last year, near the end of June, our band took part in this programme and a German band called Spielmannszug Hattstedt came to Dubin and stayed in our band hall with us. It was like having new additions to our band so we had a great time. In just one week we managed to become really close to each other and it was like they had always been a part of our band, so when they left last year we couldn't wait to see them again. Now a year later and our week with them has come to an end and saying goodbye to them was so hard. It was like saying goodbye to someone from your family. It's amazing how with only 2 weeks of actually seeing each other face to face that we have managed to become as close to each other as we are now. It's like they're a part of our band and we're a part of theirs. I can honestly say that being a part of it was one of the best experiences of my life. Any trip away with the band is always with great but this one was something else. Our band have become a lot closer because of the two trips. We'll continue to keep in touch with each other and we'll see each other again some time, no doubt about it.
Ever since they left Ireland we worked much harder on our marching, making sure everyone was in step, trying out counter marching. A lot of work was done. We even took part in a competition in Germany and worked hard on a routine for it. We're not a competition band so this was completely new to us but we gave it a go anyway. There was also a concert competition and we played The Second Waltz, The Lord of the Dance and a Coldplay Medley. The Coldplay medley was only a new piece that we got a few months ago so it was a bit risky doing it. One of the parents that came with us recorded it and after watching it back it actually sounds really good, very impressive. Here's a link of it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0P3RmBRUSM
We spent a good few weekends going over the routine and everyone knew it. My recording of it isn't great so when someone else puts theirs up I'll share it on Facebook. When we were at the festival we watched all of the other bands and some of them were really good. Spielmannszugs routine was excellent, especially the drum solo. But when all of the bands went back onto the field to see who had won what and I don't think we were expecting anything. We never did competitions and we were only taking part in this one to see what it was like. We ended up winning 3rd place trophies in the concert and marching competitions! We were absolutely delighted! I'm so proud of our band for all the hard work we put in so if any of them are reading this well done guys and a huge thanks to Liam our conductor, wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for him and everyone in the band. There may have been a few setbacks when we got there but we did it anyway. Our CCYB family and German family will meet again some day. As always I'll end with a quote, this one comes from Lilo & Stitch, "Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind" / "Ohana bedeutet familie, familie mittels niemand hinter wird links"
Tuesday 11 June 2013
Game of Names
Today's title is inspired by Game of Thrones (I'm nearly finished season 2, please don't ruin it for me!) I remember when I was in the first season of it and I got so confused with who's who and what they're names were. And then today I was talking to a few people about doing stuff with other people and we were naming them off when I realised that I know so many people with the same name and out of nowhere I've somehow developed a system for when I talk about them.
I'll start with my name. Now I don't know what was going on between 1992 and 1994, maybe there was someone famous called Aisling at that time, maybe she was inspirational, maybe that name happened to be in the first few pages of some baby name book. Whatever the reason there are a lot of people named Aisling with a variety of different spellings for it. In my year at school there were 7 people with that name. Wouldn't you know that 3 of them become friends and end up in the same form class together making life that bit more difficult? Our group had nicknames for each other though so that was fine. I have a good few nicknames, Ash, Ling, Smurph, Smurphy, Murphy, there's another one but I can't put that up because out of context it sounds so wrong! There is a story behind it and if anyone really really wants to know then just ask, I don't mind telling it because it is actually a funny story! One of my friends who came up with that name has a blog too so you should all have a look at that, it's really good - http://werunwiththedevil.blogspot.ie/. But anyway, if anyone just called out "Aisling" the same response would come out all the time : which one? Now since coming to college I have found many more Aislings. One of them from school happens to be in my music class so it's even more confusing! She has a blog too so go check that out - http://playingawaitinggame.blogspot.ie/. The name is everywhere!
Anyway there are going to be people with the same name it happens. It's better than getting some ridiculous name. I heard of some baseball player calling their child Diesel. Seriously? Diesel? If you're going to get inspiration from Thomas the Tank Engine at least don't take the name of the bad guy! Also for anyone that used to watch the show they have changed the Fat Controller to Sir Topman Hatt. What is this?! I loved that show. Anyway, it is also typical that you'll have friends with the same name or one of your friends knows someone with the same name and you think they're talking about your friend but you're not. I have the perfect example of this. Christina if you're reading this I hope you don't mind but you're getting mentioned! We both have friends called Joe, hope you don't mind but you're both getting mentioned too! We know of each others Joes so we'd know who we were talking about but there were times when one of us just mentioned something like "oh Joe might be coming too" and it is because of this that I have gotten into a habit of saying my Joe or yours or using someone elses name. Speaking of which, my Joe has a blog so you should all go read that! http://hamletdroveachevy.blogspot.ie/.
There's also people out there that you know but you may not know their names. In one of my lectures for about 4 weeks one girl would come up and talk to me, she was lovely but I could not remember her name. I'd always try to think did we even exchange names, how do we keep talking without not knowing each others names? For a while I thought it was Sarah but it turns out it wasn't. Not even close to it. I only found out her real name when she added me on Facebook. Thankfully I never actually called her Sarah. I will never forget her name now though! I'm not the best with names anyway. Like I've lived on my road ever since I was born and I could probably only tell you 2 names of my neighbours. But I have techniques for when they are being referred to. Across the road and to the left is Frenchy because they're French, next to them is green door, next to them was poodle lady before she moved, next to them is sky blue because of the colour of the house, and on the end is psycho dog. Next to me on the right is the garden tools, to my left have only moved in so I need a name for them. I have names for the others too but I don't want to go on too much about them.
Well I've run out of things to say so I guess it's time to end it here! Also, there was no subtle way for me to mention my friend Denises blog like the others but she's getting mentioned anyway, go check out her blog too - http://itsallaloadofgobbledygook.blogspot.ie/. If anyone else has a blog that wants to get subtly mentioned then let me know and I'll see what I can do. Hopefully this was found interesting, maybe not but ah well. I needed something to do seeing as the sun is hiding behind all these dark clouds. Anyways I'm gonna head off for a jog before it starts to rain so I'll have to love you and leave yous once again but I'll end with a quote. This one is a lyric from The End by Kings of Leon, "I'll forever roam"
I'll start with my name. Now I don't know what was going on between 1992 and 1994, maybe there was someone famous called Aisling at that time, maybe she was inspirational, maybe that name happened to be in the first few pages of some baby name book. Whatever the reason there are a lot of people named Aisling with a variety of different spellings for it. In my year at school there were 7 people with that name. Wouldn't you know that 3 of them become friends and end up in the same form class together making life that bit more difficult? Our group had nicknames for each other though so that was fine. I have a good few nicknames, Ash, Ling, Smurph, Smurphy, Murphy, there's another one but I can't put that up because out of context it sounds so wrong! There is a story behind it and if anyone really really wants to know then just ask, I don't mind telling it because it is actually a funny story! One of my friends who came up with that name has a blog too so you should all have a look at that, it's really good - http://werunwiththedevil.blogspot.ie/. But anyway, if anyone just called out "Aisling" the same response would come out all the time : which one? Now since coming to college I have found many more Aislings. One of them from school happens to be in my music class so it's even more confusing! She has a blog too so go check that out - http://playingawaitinggame.blogspot.ie/. The name is everywhere!
Anyway there are going to be people with the same name it happens. It's better than getting some ridiculous name. I heard of some baseball player calling their child Diesel. Seriously? Diesel? If you're going to get inspiration from Thomas the Tank Engine at least don't take the name of the bad guy! Also for anyone that used to watch the show they have changed the Fat Controller to Sir Topman Hatt. What is this?! I loved that show. Anyway, it is also typical that you'll have friends with the same name or one of your friends knows someone with the same name and you think they're talking about your friend but you're not. I have the perfect example of this. Christina if you're reading this I hope you don't mind but you're getting mentioned! We both have friends called Joe, hope you don't mind but you're both getting mentioned too! We know of each others Joes so we'd know who we were talking about but there were times when one of us just mentioned something like "oh Joe might be coming too" and it is because of this that I have gotten into a habit of saying my Joe or yours or using someone elses name. Speaking of which, my Joe has a blog so you should all go read that! http://hamletdroveachevy.blogspot.ie/.
There's also people out there that you know but you may not know their names. In one of my lectures for about 4 weeks one girl would come up and talk to me, she was lovely but I could not remember her name. I'd always try to think did we even exchange names, how do we keep talking without not knowing each others names? For a while I thought it was Sarah but it turns out it wasn't. Not even close to it. I only found out her real name when she added me on Facebook. Thankfully I never actually called her Sarah. I will never forget her name now though! I'm not the best with names anyway. Like I've lived on my road ever since I was born and I could probably only tell you 2 names of my neighbours. But I have techniques for when they are being referred to. Across the road and to the left is Frenchy because they're French, next to them is green door, next to them was poodle lady before she moved, next to them is sky blue because of the colour of the house, and on the end is psycho dog. Next to me on the right is the garden tools, to my left have only moved in so I need a name for them. I have names for the others too but I don't want to go on too much about them.
Well I've run out of things to say so I guess it's time to end it here! Also, there was no subtle way for me to mention my friend Denises blog like the others but she's getting mentioned anyway, go check out her blog too - http://itsallaloadofgobbledygook.blogspot.ie/. If anyone else has a blog that wants to get subtly mentioned then let me know and I'll see what I can do. Hopefully this was found interesting, maybe not but ah well. I needed something to do seeing as the sun is hiding behind all these dark clouds. Anyways I'm gonna head off for a jog before it starts to rain so I'll have to love you and leave yous once again but I'll end with a quote. This one is a lyric from The End by Kings of Leon, "I'll forever roam"
Thursday 6 June 2013
It's time to begin again isn't it?
So it looks like I found something to write about today! Like my description says I'm an imperfect perfectionist, I can't tell you all how many times I've started this second post and then deleted it because I wasn't happy with it! But yeah I've finally decided what to write now and I'm all good with this topic. I've decided I'm gonna be creative with all of the titles though, mainly because it's fun and what else would I be doing. I've taken a lyric from It's Time by Imagine Dragons but I've altered it for two reasons. 1- Seeing as it's my second blog post I'm beginning again so it made sense to add again into it. 2- I'm gonna talk about time.
Today is one of the few days where I pretty much did nothing. I had a few errands to do (when do I not?) but not much. I was out last night so today was really a recovery day. I wasn't recovering from a hangover, just pure exhaustion. Last night myself and my friends went to Workmans. I danced a lot, I drank a lot, a lot went on but sure it was a fun time! Anyone who knows me, feck you don't even have to know me just look at me, will know that I'm ridiculously accident prone and unfortunately clumsy and I don't have the best balance. Like I can't even walk in a straight line sober never mind trying to keep my balance after a few drinks! But anyway, we were in the smoking area and I think I was either going to get a drink or going to the bathroom and I didn't see that there was bench beside me. However my right leg definitely felt it. Yep I managed to walk into a bench. What's worse is I can't even blame drink because I didn't have that much at that time. I must have given it a good whack though because it's really bruised and it still feels like I just hit it. Anyway after I finished all those errand today I drove to spar and got a chicken fillet roll because it's just something you have to do the day after a night out. I also got a coke with the name Adam on it, I didn't want to look for my name again, (I managed to find one last week!) I figured maybe being Adam might make the day more interesting (it didn't). The girl at the counter even looked at the bottle where the name was, then looked at me with a very confused expression, shook her head and went on scanning anyway. Being Adam was not off to the best start.
Anyway I got home and then thought what I'm going to spend the rest of the day doing and then I thought about ways to spend my time (hence the title) I went online, watched tv, sat out in the sun for ages reading and listening to music, exercised. Exercise didn't help though because I was so tired and my first thought after it was "I wished McDonalds delivered" But I denied myself to have a tubby Thursday. Tubby Thursday is just me using a clever excuse to get food that I shouldn't get and board the fat mess express (chew chew chew!). But I got to thinking about all the ways there are to spend time, how it can go fast when you're doing something fun or if you're out somewhere, how it can go really slowly if you're doing an exam. It was about 3 and this stage and I realised that there were students doing English paper 2 at that moment. I thought how they would be racing against the clock while I was watching Friends where Joey is on a gameshow guessing what's in a fridge "Paper, snow, a ghost!" Phoebes bachelor party is going on and Danny DeVito is a stripper. The best bit is at the end though where Monica realises that her first kiss was with Ross. "You were my midnight mystery kisser! You were under the pile of coats? I was the pile of coats!" Such a good episode. But yeah I was thinking how weird it was that time was going by quite slowly for me because I wasn't doing anything important and then there were people doing exams wishing that time wasn't going as fast as it was. Mad isn't it?
Anyway I hope that you enjoyed this post, I'm having fun writing the blog anyway so even if you're not enjoying ah well. To all of you that are doing exams best of luck, I will fill you in on all of the episodes of Friends that you're missing. Also thanks for the exam weather, I have to say it's excellent this year. At least last year for my exams it lashed rain for most of them! For now I'll have to love you and leave you again but like the Terminator "I'll be back"only I won't be a cyborg assassinator. Goodnight guys!
Today is one of the few days where I pretty much did nothing. I had a few errands to do (when do I not?) but not much. I was out last night so today was really a recovery day. I wasn't recovering from a hangover, just pure exhaustion. Last night myself and my friends went to Workmans. I danced a lot, I drank a lot, a lot went on but sure it was a fun time! Anyone who knows me, feck you don't even have to know me just look at me, will know that I'm ridiculously accident prone and unfortunately clumsy and I don't have the best balance. Like I can't even walk in a straight line sober never mind trying to keep my balance after a few drinks! But anyway, we were in the smoking area and I think I was either going to get a drink or going to the bathroom and I didn't see that there was bench beside me. However my right leg definitely felt it. Yep I managed to walk into a bench. What's worse is I can't even blame drink because I didn't have that much at that time. I must have given it a good whack though because it's really bruised and it still feels like I just hit it. Anyway after I finished all those errand today I drove to spar and got a chicken fillet roll because it's just something you have to do the day after a night out. I also got a coke with the name Adam on it, I didn't want to look for my name again, (I managed to find one last week!) I figured maybe being Adam might make the day more interesting (it didn't). The girl at the counter even looked at the bottle where the name was, then looked at me with a very confused expression, shook her head and went on scanning anyway. Being Adam was not off to the best start.
Anyway I got home and then thought what I'm going to spend the rest of the day doing and then I thought about ways to spend my time (hence the title) I went online, watched tv, sat out in the sun for ages reading and listening to music, exercised. Exercise didn't help though because I was so tired and my first thought after it was "I wished McDonalds delivered" But I denied myself to have a tubby Thursday. Tubby Thursday is just me using a clever excuse to get food that I shouldn't get and board the fat mess express (chew chew chew!). But I got to thinking about all the ways there are to spend time, how it can go fast when you're doing something fun or if you're out somewhere, how it can go really slowly if you're doing an exam. It was about 3 and this stage and I realised that there were students doing English paper 2 at that moment. I thought how they would be racing against the clock while I was watching Friends where Joey is on a gameshow guessing what's in a fridge "Paper, snow, a ghost!" Phoebes bachelor party is going on and Danny DeVito is a stripper. The best bit is at the end though where Monica realises that her first kiss was with Ross. "You were my midnight mystery kisser! You were under the pile of coats? I was the pile of coats!" Such a good episode. But yeah I was thinking how weird it was that time was going by quite slowly for me because I wasn't doing anything important and then there were people doing exams wishing that time wasn't going as fast as it was. Mad isn't it?
Anyway I hope that you enjoyed this post, I'm having fun writing the blog anyway so even if you're not enjoying ah well. To all of you that are doing exams best of luck, I will fill you in on all of the episodes of Friends that you're missing. Also thanks for the exam weather, I have to say it's excellent this year. At least last year for my exams it lashed rain for most of them! For now I'll have to love you and leave you again but like the Terminator "I'll be back"only I won't be a cyborg assassinator. Goodnight guys!
Friday 31 May 2013
Summer time. And the living is?
I made this ages and ages ago (in other words I set it up a long time ago, got confused/bored and abandoned it) but I've decided I'll give this a proper go and actually post stuff. The problem is finding something to write about. What do I want to do with this blog?
The answer is I don't know. Like everything else in my life I'm just gonna wing it! Yolo as the hipsters would say. I guess I'll start with the title. Why have I used a lyric from the song Summer Time? First of all I love the song so why not? Secondly it is summer and it seemed appropriate. I should probably explain why I have a question mark in it though when the next word should be"easy". It is because I don't know what the living is like this summer. It's barely started so I can't define the living already. That would be predicting and that should only be used for the Leaving Cert.
That's out of the way now! Maybe stuff that happened recently? I finished my first year of college and it's quite scary. Not as in how fast time went or anything like that, which it did, just that I don't look old enough to be in college in the first place. I can't even get served in my local tesco without getting asked for i.d so how am I in college? Many people agree with me on that, especially the people in tesco. College was great though, not because I'm studying what I want, Music and English, can't wait to impress future employers with that one! It was great because I met so many people from pretty much everywhere. I love meeting people, it's one of the few things written on my cv that isn't a lie. I just think it's great when you become friends with people who you never knew lived close to you, people from other counties, even people from other countries or on an exchange. It's just insane! I do miss some of them though but I'll get around to organising something soon! Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a great organiser, again another thing on the cv that's not a lie. Some people say I'm TOO organised (you can never be too organised). Anyone that saw my Alexander the Great book for Classical Studies in school can back me up! That book was highlighted and marked with stickers, not only that the entire book was colour coded. I even bought stickers that matched the colours of the highlighters I had. Honestly if I ever get a job interview and if they ask how am I at organising I just need to show them that book. That book alone can explain my organistation skills. Not a typical technique that people use but then again I'm not a typical person. But yeah to sum up I loved my first year in college and I can't wait to see everyone soon!
So to anyone that read this thank you, I don't know if you liked it or found it entertaining, you may have hated it but oh well. What can you do? It's currently 1:30 in the morning and I'm gonna go to bed so I'm gonna love you and leave you until my next post! I hope I don't leave it too long to write my next post but to end with The Supremes lyrics ( I prefer the Phil Collins cover but The Supremes orginally sang it) "you'll just have to wait, you got to trust, give it time, no matter how long it takes!"
The answer is I don't know. Like everything else in my life I'm just gonna wing it! Yolo as the hipsters would say. I guess I'll start with the title. Why have I used a lyric from the song Summer Time? First of all I love the song so why not? Secondly it is summer and it seemed appropriate. I should probably explain why I have a question mark in it though when the next word should be"easy". It is because I don't know what the living is like this summer. It's barely started so I can't define the living already. That would be predicting and that should only be used for the Leaving Cert.
That's out of the way now! Maybe stuff that happened recently? I finished my first year of college and it's quite scary. Not as in how fast time went or anything like that, which it did, just that I don't look old enough to be in college in the first place. I can't even get served in my local tesco without getting asked for i.d so how am I in college? Many people agree with me on that, especially the people in tesco. College was great though, not because I'm studying what I want, Music and English, can't wait to impress future employers with that one! It was great because I met so many people from pretty much everywhere. I love meeting people, it's one of the few things written on my cv that isn't a lie. I just think it's great when you become friends with people who you never knew lived close to you, people from other counties, even people from other countries or on an exchange. It's just insane! I do miss some of them though but I'll get around to organising something soon! Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a great organiser, again another thing on the cv that's not a lie. Some people say I'm TOO organised (you can never be too organised). Anyone that saw my Alexander the Great book for Classical Studies in school can back me up! That book was highlighted and marked with stickers, not only that the entire book was colour coded. I even bought stickers that matched the colours of the highlighters I had. Honestly if I ever get a job interview and if they ask how am I at organising I just need to show them that book. That book alone can explain my organistation skills. Not a typical technique that people use but then again I'm not a typical person. But yeah to sum up I loved my first year in college and I can't wait to see everyone soon!
So to anyone that read this thank you, I don't know if you liked it or found it entertaining, you may have hated it but oh well. What can you do? It's currently 1:30 in the morning and I'm gonna go to bed so I'm gonna love you and leave you until my next post! I hope I don't leave it too long to write my next post but to end with The Supremes lyrics ( I prefer the Phil Collins cover but The Supremes orginally sang it) "you'll just have to wait, you got to trust, give it time, no matter how long it takes!"
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