Monday 30 May 2011

Hello Blog, I am sorry for the neglect

Just realised during a moment of severe boredom and procrastination that I have neglected my blog. You may think I have been studying or partying or perhaps maybe doing something of value... well the truth is I have a bit actually, so ner.

I have joined St John Ambulance, and go to regular meetings, trainings, assessments and duties (I get to provide first aid support at major events and gigs, totally cool, I have seen Drake, Katy Perry, the Bupa Manchester 10km Run, and next week: Take That! Pretty cool for a voluntary shindig, and getting great first aid life skills too! And the people there are a really great team to be a part of!
I have also been mildly studying for my exams, I have done my project, dissertation, 3 exams, and have 2 to go... then I am officially (hopefully if I pass...) a graduate! eek.

I have also been to various assessment centres and job interviews, and have a final stage pitch for a sales job in just over a week, so fingers crossed and I could be on my way to a nice little earner with massive opportunities for progression and money money money! My plan is to stay in Manchester, close to friends and boyfriend.

Oh, sorry, did I forget to mention I have been seeing my lovely boyfriend for nearly 6 months>? He is a guy like most others, but with that little something extra, yes sometimes he smells, and is gross, and is late, and forgets things a million times, but other times he is wonderful, thoughtful, knows me inside out, puts up with my moods and sulks, thumb sucking and hyperactivity, and generally makes me really ludicrously happy. Fear not blog stalkers, I am being much more careful now I am living with the whole 'tainted love' thing, following terrible past experiences, but I really think this guy could be the one. There. I just said it. In the internet. crikey! I hate those annoying loved up people, but hey, if you can't beat them, join us!! Because it is brilliant!

In other news, I am missing my Essex friends like crazy and hope I can see them in between holiday plans, Leeds fest and potential job prospects/commitments!! :(

The family blake is doing well, Dad is having more treatment, and waiting for a bone marrow transplant that could turn his life around, literally. James and Ollie are rocking and rolling out in Australia, and we skype bully each other. And mum has started weight watchers and I am really proud of her.(oh sorry i forgot to mention I have lost 39lbs (nearly 3 stone) over the last few months, and I've never felt or looked better! Goin to keep going to somewhere between 4-5 stone loss, i'd love to be a size 12-14.

Anyway, most of this life update can probably be viewed through lengthy facebook research but I though I would zip this blog up to date with who I am at the moment, and then I can carry on with my normal day to day random musings, and maybe even get back on my tumblr for more pretentious artyness. I do love a bit of that!!

Am looking to get out with my camera to take photos for my portfolio and to enter into competitions and magazines and stuff to see if I can get my name a bit recognised, so watch this space people!


Katy 'Excited' Blake

Sunday 10 October 2010

Well, It's about bloggy time!

Ok so I have been absoloutely terrible with keeping my blog up-to-date, and one doesn't have to speculate much to find procrastination at the heart of this post.

Instead of the boring diary-like crap like "I bought some socks in Primark today" and "My dissertation sucks"(although you will indeed hear much about this over the coming months...), I thought I'd include some pictures and videos (if I can technologically handle it) that make me literally lol.

I guess its slightly reflective of my boredom/general contentedness with life, things are going really well, im working hard, playing harder and have so many great friends. I'm mentally bubble wrapping myself for this winter, protecting myself from the cold, dark days with lots and lots of fun.

Hope this cheers you up too:

Monday 5 July 2010

Things I miss about England:

(not in any particular order)

1. qwerty keyboards
2. Philadelphia cheese spread
3. chocloate hobnobs
4. SQUASH
5. 'normal' bread
6. Nightclubs
7. Current Music
8. SHOPS in particular useful shops like: LUSH, Boots, M&S, Primark, Dorothy Perkins.
9. My friends
10. My family

Things that I'm enjoying out here

1. 35-40 degree heat daily (although working in this heat is not enjoyable)
2. Swimmingpool on site
3. Lots of amazing sight-seeing opportunities in and around Provence
4. Proximity to sea (warm mediterannean sea not crappy east english coast)
5. 4 hr lunch breaks
6. I now eat nutella, after 21 years of rejection.
7. crepes and croissants (not eaten together)
8. suntan
9. went to paris to see friends and family on my days off a couple of weeks ago
10. french tv, shockingly bad, but kind of scarily addictive.

I'm sure theres lods of other things, and don't get me wrong, there's downsides to both sides, and I'll miss the heat and the pool and the frenchy things, and the people.... but hey - only 41 working days left/8 weeks


Random blog I know, not working on anything particularly witty, but there you go, just my thoughts and feelings at the moment, thought I'd note them down.

Ciao for now

KKKKKKaty

Wednesday 23 June 2010

Neither Sex nor City

I have been watching way too much Sex and the City recently, and it has made me very pensive about my impending future. In ten years I will be in my thirties... ten years ago I was only just getting out of my first decade. Obviously I imagine every girl thinks that she is the Carrie character, the fashionista with cute flaws and little luck with keeping men (though good fortune in finding men), a self indulgent let’s write about my life, and actual success in doing so. The truth is, I really do think this is me – except I’m 21, and despite my wit, am seriously lacking in the ‘ex’ department except a handful of puppy love and failed crushes and one huge heartbreak, also I can’t see my little blog-ettes really taking off and being turned into either a) a column or b) a book, let alone c) inspriring a tv show and 2 films... Is this me lacking self confidence? Or am I just a realist...

So my dream is Carrie, but maybe its better in reality to be Miranda – the career woman who’s really independant... this is going to be my new aim. The sad thing is that before the [much] aforementioned heartbreak I used to be the Charlotte character, innocent, naive, believing in love and marriage and soulmates etc etc. Sadly I have never been the Samantha character...yet.

This week I told off a 3 year old French boy and felt really good about myself, I also sleep-shouted “what happened to you?!” at my roommate, poured fruit juice on my cereal, and laughed out loud when i saw at work when someone came from Espoo (POO) – Finland. I think perhaps my dreams of the glitzy-glamourous 30 something independant and sexually active, stylish woman with a successful career in media is a massive, unachievable dream for me. Afterall, I am me. And look at the last paragraph I’ve written... I am the silly clumsy cute funny friend. Doomed? Or just about original / weird enough to make a success of my random musings? Only time will tell...

Vex & The Katy

Thursday 17 June 2010

I realised that I haven't posted a blog in absoloutely ages, I apologise! but the trouble is, I'm working down in Provence with very little internet access, and by the time I get round to going on the interent, catching up on facebook and American tv series, I can scarecly be bothered to write about my life.

I've been thinking alot recently about what I want to be when I grow up... The trouble is I really wanted to be a radio dj, writer, or teacher. These three things seemed to be the new top 3 jobs for everyone, forget "lawyer" "doctor" "vet" its all "media" "rich" and "famous" (or teacher).

So what will make me stand out? I like to think my wit, but is there room for another bridget jones wannabe? Could I write a book? what about? Been as my blogs are few and far between, it appears as though I have a lack of commitance and nothing very interesting to say...

I had been thinking along the lines of "diary of a hypocondriac" - a semi-autobiographical tale... or just generally "The Thoughts of a Twit" or something along those lines...
These are the two things that I seem to be making myself famous for: always being ill or having hurt myself somehow and asking the most random unanswerable questions like "if an ant fell off a 6foot wall would it die?"

Could I turn my weird and complex complexes into a career? should I publish more of them here or might someone steal my ideas? tricky world..

anyway for the mean time I think we can all rest assured that I am going no where fast and that its going to stay that way for the foreseeable future. (Could I have used many more clichés in that sentence?)

ps: In actual news of my life and not just the ramblings of my inner thoughts - I spent my two days off work this week up in Paris, met up with some family and saw some friends, which has been great, and I'm hoping to come back next month or in August to go to Disneyland with Aurelie!

à plus tard,
Mlle Blake

Tuesday 18 May 2010

Escape to another country

So I have left my Wuthering Heights behind me, and gone off to do some work in France, (Saumane de vaucluse in Provence). I am working as a receptionist intern and work 9-12 and 4-7 mon, tues, fri, sun and basically 8-8 saturdays. This means i get 2 whole days off, and 4 hour lunch breaks 4 days a week. Not bad! The weather in May is already 25 degrees, with a nice cool breeze thanks to the mistral.

The place I'm staying at is 4* and has a golf course, tennis courts and swimming pool, one of the girls I live with has a car, which means we can pop to the shops or local towns whenever we want, and as we have the same days off I'm sure we'll end up taking lots of day trips etc, I mentionned that I'd love to go to St Tropez...

I'm not far from Avignon so intend to visit that soon, maybe catch up with some people from uni who are still studying there at the moment...

Im feeling quite happy, its gorgeous weather and the job is good, obviously Im struggling a bit, not knowing how the place runs etc, but I'll get used to it gradually and hopefully my french will come on leaps and bounds... I really am trying to work at it, so I can get much better grades next year in Uni.

Apart from that everything else in my life is pretty quiet, had to leave manchester which was a bit sad, but no one is staying there in the summer really, so Id much rather be here anyway. I'm going to miss the nightlife a bit though! and my lovely housemates :(

I'm pretty sure lots has occured since my last blog, but you can't always mention everything or keep playing catch up.

At the moment, la vie est belle, we'll see how 6 days in a row at work including the dreaded busy saturday change that...
I don't have the internet in my appartment, so blogs will not be too regular (not that they ever have been) but maybe that will give me the inspiration I need to be bothered to write. I went on facebook not having been on it properly for about 4 or 5 days, and I can tell you I didn't feel like I was missing much!

I highly recommend the life of southern france.

Sunday 18 April 2010

...and she also said the same

I am in Naples, visiting my friend Liz. I am absolutely loving it!!! The weather is really good, though it is overcast today to be fair, but it has been gorgeous. Spent some time down by the sea and round on the amalfi coast too, gorgeous!!
I love basking in the sun soooo much!!!!

I have a telephone job interview on tuesday, in French, i am sooo nervous.. Its just for reception/waitressing in a holiday camp for 3 months. If I get it then I can technically complete my year abroad requirements which will be fantastic news. So fingers crossed!!

I have met some great people in Naples, we have shared so many laughs (that phrase is a bit middle aged/like a kodak advert(?)) anyway, I have decided that laughter and sunshine are two of my favourite things. If that sounds really corny I'm sorry, but Im just having SUCH a good time at the moment!! Im making Liz and Charlie an aubergine and robiola lasagne tonight, got some red wine, its all good..

We just watched the film 'Party Monster' and I recommend it!! If you're interested you can google it to see what its about, I don't feel as if I should write a full synopsis been as if you're reading this you're already a) an internet user and or b) bored/have spare time.

I am getting myself all political, and have enjoyed deciding who I'm going to vote for, though I do need to read the manifestos to double check things, need to get on that really. I'm really proud of our generation, from the facebook and twitter feedback it seems that alot of people have an opinion and care, I just hope they all organised themselves enough to actually be in a position to vote.

In other news, I am on a daily basis more and more sure that I have some mild OCD and or Autism (I really apologise if you or someone you know suffers with these in a serious way, and this offends you) but, I definitely have some weird complexes.
For example: what I call "all or nothing" the need to have a bit of everything, this can affect trivial things like pizza toppings, or make me obsessed with needing to know the ins and outs of an event, or reading a book, seeing the film, seeing documnetaries, reading about the people etc etc... I get a bit obsessed. This is also displayed with my obsession with rice - that every single grain must be cleared from the plate and surrounding area.
Another problem I have is with sudden loud noises which often induce an unecessary scream from me, and has made me despise people sneezing.

Anyway that was a random snippet from my life, Im not weird or anything, I think. Not too weird anyway. Its just these things have been quite noticeable as Ive met new people here, and it seemed like they needed a mention.

To explain the blog title: Liz told me a story of when they taught a german friend to play "that's what she said" and he didn't quite grasp the concept, and anyway ended up saying "and she also said the same" which has turned into a phrase in its own right now with us. NB has to be said in a german accent.

I don't know if I'll be able to get back to the UK tomorrow because of Eyjafjallajokull - yes that is the volcano in Iceland's actual name. So we'll see what this next weeks holds in-store for me...

Miss Spontaneity.