Exams are over for now! This makes me happy! No more attempting-to-revise-but-actually surfing-the-internet and getting neither revision nor anything fun done.
No more guilt for spending a whole day without revising!
No more exaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaams!
I shall be celebrating by watching Sweeney Todd and not even thinking about the project due in on Sunday.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Friends are great
This evening I spent a few hours at a friends house. It was fun! We ate pizza, talked about how much rape jokes suck, read funny stories online, and discussed our plans for the future.
Later on, it struck me how few friends I have. It's partly that I am rarely in the mood for socialising, but also that I find it difficult to be in the company of people who find it appalling that they should have to in any way consider the beliefs of those around them before they speak.
Let me tell you a story which will hopefully illustrate why it is that I often prefer my own company.
It is after the winter break. My closest friend at uni had just arrived back in town. He came straight over to my house to say hello and catch up, as we hadn't seen each other for a fortnight. We sit in the kitchen, chatting, while I cook my dinner. The radio is on in the background. One of my housemates enters the room. My friend, who we shall refer to as "N", and my housemate "B" begin to chat. Somehow the topic turns to child abuse. I am suddenly on edge.
N says: "Well of course, it's only abuse if the child doesn't like it."
N is not a stranger to making these kinds of jokes. I always call him out on it, and usually he backs down and apologises. Not this time. I'm finished in the kitchen so we go upstairs. I try to change the subject, to move on, to not loose another friend. A few minutes later, he starts to call something gay. Corrects himself. Then says "no actually, I should be able to call things gay if I want to. I shouldn't have to limit how I express myself."
An argument ensues. We go over all the same tired old arguments. I start to cry. I'm tired of hanging out with people who insist their right to say exactly whatever the fuck they like without a second of thought as to how it makes me feel. Tired of spending time with people who value me so little that they won't. stop. making. rape "jokes", no matter how many times I tell them it upsets me, no matter how many times I explain survivors listening could be triggered by their words.
Eventually I gave him the ultimatum: "If rape jokes are so important to you, maybe you should just leave." Hoping so, so hard that maybe he would rethink, maybe he would see how much this meant to me, maybe he would consider my feelings for once.
He left without a word.
Later on, it struck me how few friends I have. It's partly that I am rarely in the mood for socialising, but also that I find it difficult to be in the company of people who find it appalling that they should have to in any way consider the beliefs of those around them before they speak.
Let me tell you a story which will hopefully illustrate why it is that I often prefer my own company.
It is after the winter break. My closest friend at uni had just arrived back in town. He came straight over to my house to say hello and catch up, as we hadn't seen each other for a fortnight. We sit in the kitchen, chatting, while I cook my dinner. The radio is on in the background. One of my housemates enters the room. My friend, who we shall refer to as "N", and my housemate "B" begin to chat. Somehow the topic turns to child abuse. I am suddenly on edge.
N says: "Well of course, it's only abuse if the child doesn't like it."
N is not a stranger to making these kinds of jokes. I always call him out on it, and usually he backs down and apologises. Not this time. I'm finished in the kitchen so we go upstairs. I try to change the subject, to move on, to not loose another friend. A few minutes later, he starts to call something gay. Corrects himself. Then says "no actually, I should be able to call things gay if I want to. I shouldn't have to limit how I express myself."
An argument ensues. We go over all the same tired old arguments. I start to cry. I'm tired of hanging out with people who insist their right to say exactly whatever the fuck they like without a second of thought as to how it makes me feel. Tired of spending time with people who value me so little that they won't. stop. making. rape "jokes", no matter how many times I tell them it upsets me, no matter how many times I explain survivors listening could be triggered by their words.
Eventually I gave him the ultimatum: "If rape jokes are so important to you, maybe you should just leave." Hoping so, so hard that maybe he would rethink, maybe he would see how much this meant to me, maybe he would consider my feelings for once.
He left without a word.
Friday, 14 January 2011
So I was reading this article, and I noticed this quote:
"Many of Sonia's friends found the media interest difficult to stomach, especially because some newspapers used the male pronoun to refer to Burgess in spite of the fact that he had chosen to live as a woman."
(emphasis mine)
Does the author of this piece really not notice what they did there?
Really?
"Many of Sonia's friends found the media interest difficult to stomach, especially because some newspapers used the male pronoun to refer to Burgess in spite of the fact that he had chosen to live as a woman."
(emphasis mine)
Does the author of this piece really not notice what they did there?
Really?
Monday, 30 August 2010
This is a blog post about how strange I am
Hopefully it will be amusing and not just weird, but amusing is more difficult than weird. I am good at weird, I have been doing weird since I was very little, but it is only recently that people have started laughing at things I say (when I am trying to be funny, people have always laughed at me for being a bit stupid).
Anyway! Here is the bit where I tell you how strange I am!
1) I sometimes get confused about whether I dreamt a thing or if it really happened. For example the other day I started telling my mother about a dream I had where someone tried to give me saucepans for university but then I already had them so I said no. Apparently this wasn't a dream, this was a thing that she told me yesterday.
This also happens the other way round. Especially if I have lost something. Many a time I have lost a thing and had a dream that I miraculously found it and then put it on my bedside table and then later on when I want whatever thing it is that I lost I look for it on my bedside table where I remember putting it but it isn't there! But I remember putting it there not so long ago! But oh wait, that was right after I was running away from giant space monsters, maybe that was a dream. Either that or I have more important troubles than loosing something.
2) Another dream based one. Apparently I turn into a murderer in my sleep. In the last month I have had at least four dreams where I attack/kill someone. In one of them I shot someone in the head with a silenced pistol, but he survived. In that one it was self defence, he had kidnapped me and my friends and wasn't going to let us go! So yeah, apparently my subconscious likes making up scenarios where I kill people. I think this makes me Legitimately Strange.
3) I quite often manage to half convince myself that there is some kind of conspiracy among random acquaintances of mine where people who don't even know each other are somehow sharing amongst themselves things that I have said to one of them. For example earlier I was about to complain about this one person to this one other person, but then I thought OH GOD WHAT IF THIS ONE OTHER PERSON TELLS THIS ONE PERSON I SAID THIS THING ABOUT THEM. Now as far as I know, these two people have never met. It is not likely that they ever will meet. And if they did they would probably have better things to do than compare notes on my latest opinions of them. Then I thought about writing my complaint down in my diary, but I realised that spies could be watching me so I didn't. That is correct, I changed my course of action because I thought spies might read my diary. It could happen! You never know!
4) This is a bit more of a common strange person thing to do, but I have the habit of meowing at my cats. I do a very good meow. It sounds a lot like a cat. But it is probably strange that I regularly have meowed conversations with my cats. They get bored of it before I do. I also meow at my dog, but that's just because it confuses him, and he is so funny when he is confused :D
Anyway, that is my list of why I am strange. There are probably other things that should be on this list, but I either don't even realise that they are strange, or I just forgot them.
Anyway! Here is the bit where I tell you how strange I am!
1) I sometimes get confused about whether I dreamt a thing or if it really happened. For example the other day I started telling my mother about a dream I had where someone tried to give me saucepans for university but then I already had them so I said no. Apparently this wasn't a dream, this was a thing that she told me yesterday.
This also happens the other way round. Especially if I have lost something. Many a time I have lost a thing and had a dream that I miraculously found it and then put it on my bedside table and then later on when I want whatever thing it is that I lost I look for it on my bedside table where I remember putting it but it isn't there! But I remember putting it there not so long ago! But oh wait, that was right after I was running away from giant space monsters, maybe that was a dream. Either that or I have more important troubles than loosing something.
2) Another dream based one. Apparently I turn into a murderer in my sleep. In the last month I have had at least four dreams where I attack/kill someone. In one of them I shot someone in the head with a silenced pistol, but he survived. In that one it was self defence, he had kidnapped me and my friends and wasn't going to let us go! So yeah, apparently my subconscious likes making up scenarios where I kill people. I think this makes me Legitimately Strange.
3) I quite often manage to half convince myself that there is some kind of conspiracy among random acquaintances of mine where people who don't even know each other are somehow sharing amongst themselves things that I have said to one of them. For example earlier I was about to complain about this one person to this one other person, but then I thought OH GOD WHAT IF THIS ONE OTHER PERSON TELLS THIS ONE PERSON I SAID THIS THING ABOUT THEM. Now as far as I know, these two people have never met. It is not likely that they ever will meet. And if they did they would probably have better things to do than compare notes on my latest opinions of them. Then I thought about writing my complaint down in my diary, but I realised that spies could be watching me so I didn't. That is correct, I changed my course of action because I thought spies might read my diary. It could happen! You never know!
4) This is a bit more of a common strange person thing to do, but I have the habit of meowing at my cats. I do a very good meow. It sounds a lot like a cat. But it is probably strange that I regularly have meowed conversations with my cats. They get bored of it before I do. I also meow at my dog, but that's just because it confuses him, and he is so funny when he is confused :D
Anyway, that is my list of why I am strange. There are probably other things that should be on this list, but I either don't even realise that they are strange, or I just forgot them.
Saturday, 14 August 2010
28 days later
So. As you may have guessed from the title, I just watched the film 28 days later. If you don't want me to spoil major plot points for you, you should probably leave about now!
The first half of the film was pretty ok. A bit gory for my liking, and I found it pretty unbelievable that this incredibly infectious virus was left under such lax security that a few animal rights activists could break in and let it out. I liked the female lead Selena, played by Naomie Harris. She was the strong one in the group, and once the man she was originally surviving with was dead, she was definitely the one in charge. It was good to see a strong female lead in an action horror film for a change, and Naomie Harris definitely played Selena really well. I was a bit disappointed when Jim (Cillian Murphy) cut his hair short though, he was much prettier with long hair!
The second half (probably was less than half but shh!) of the film I found quite difficult to watch, as it focused on the attempted rape of Selena and the girl they were travelling with, 14 year old Hannah (Megan Burns), by 9 soldiers. I thought the film dealt with this reasonably well, as the soldiers were not portrayed as being in any way the good guys at this point, except the one who tried to stop it from happening.
The problem I had with it was that Jim, previously the weak one who was slowing Selena down, suddenly turned into some kind of superman, zipping around outside the house and somehow magically avoiding all the infected who were wandering around. He probably used the same magic as he did to jump over a wall taller than him while handcuffed and then remove said handcuffs.
We were also treated to the man saves woman cliche when Jim dropped through the ceiling and Selena stood and watched as he killed the soldier who had been guarding her.
I thought it was a pretty good film overall, although I did get a bit freaked out. I think tonight the lights will be staying on!
The first half of the film was pretty ok. A bit gory for my liking, and I found it pretty unbelievable that this incredibly infectious virus was left under such lax security that a few animal rights activists could break in and let it out. I liked the female lead Selena, played by Naomie Harris. She was the strong one in the group, and once the man she was originally surviving with was dead, she was definitely the one in charge. It was good to see a strong female lead in an action horror film for a change, and Naomie Harris definitely played Selena really well. I was a bit disappointed when Jim (Cillian Murphy) cut his hair short though, he was much prettier with long hair!
The second half (probably was less than half but shh!) of the film I found quite difficult to watch, as it focused on the attempted rape of Selena and the girl they were travelling with, 14 year old Hannah (Megan Burns), by 9 soldiers. I thought the film dealt with this reasonably well, as the soldiers were not portrayed as being in any way the good guys at this point, except the one who tried to stop it from happening.
The problem I had with it was that Jim, previously the weak one who was slowing Selena down, suddenly turned into some kind of superman, zipping around outside the house and somehow magically avoiding all the infected who were wandering around. He probably used the same magic as he did to jump over a wall taller than him while handcuffed and then remove said handcuffs.
We were also treated to the man saves woman cliche when Jim dropped through the ceiling and Selena stood and watched as he killed the soldier who had been guarding her.
I thought it was a pretty good film overall, although I did get a bit freaked out. I think tonight the lights will be staying on!
Saturday, 15 May 2010
My Brother, Part One
So today at lunch, my brother was getting a bit annoyed (for a change). This time it was because dad hesitated EVER SO SLIGHTLY before agreeing to drive him to school for some school fete thing (his school is about a 40 minute drive away).
Being the wonderful sister that I am, I offered to drive him myself (even though he greeted me on entering the kitchen with "What are you WEARING!?")
"NO I DON'T WANT TO GO" *storms off upstairs*
I shrug and go back to my room to continue my revision. About twenty minutes later, I hear a knock on my door.
"Phoebe..."
"Yes Andrew?"
"Do you want to drive me to school now?"
I sigh. We leave. 40 minutes later we are at roughly the least exciting school fete ever. We buy cheap tasting burgers for £2 each, then a peanut butter cookie.
Andrew chats to some friends. A teacher comes and asks me how I'm doing at 6th form. (I used to go to that school a few years ago.)
Half an hour after we arrive... "I'm bored now, can we go home?"
40 minutes later we're home, and Andrew vanishes in a puff of smoke to go play X-box. If he thanked me, I didn't hear.
About an hour later, Dad's finished cooking dinner.
Andrew spends the entire meal making snide comments about me being a fussy eater (guess who complained about the meal! I'll give you a hint, not me).
What a charming young man my brother is. Not.
Being the wonderful sister that I am, I offered to drive him myself (even though he greeted me on entering the kitchen with "What are you WEARING!?")
"NO I DON'T WANT TO GO" *storms off upstairs*
I shrug and go back to my room to continue my revision. About twenty minutes later, I hear a knock on my door.
"Phoebe..."
"Yes Andrew?"
"Do you want to drive me to school now?"
I sigh. We leave. 40 minutes later we are at roughly the least exciting school fete ever. We buy cheap tasting burgers for £2 each, then a peanut butter cookie.
Andrew chats to some friends. A teacher comes and asks me how I'm doing at 6th form. (I used to go to that school a few years ago.)
Half an hour after we arrive... "I'm bored now, can we go home?"
40 minutes later we're home, and Andrew vanishes in a puff of smoke to go play X-box. If he thanked me, I didn't hear.
About an hour later, Dad's finished cooking dinner.
Andrew spends the entire meal making snide comments about me being a fussy eater (guess who complained about the meal! I'll give you a hint, not me).
What a charming young man my brother is. Not.
Friday, 14 May 2010
Things I Am Angry At Today
Presenters of TV shows like Brainiac assuming all their viewers are straight men. (Or people of other genders who also happen to like women like women but I doubt they considered that.) "HEY LOOK WOMEN IN THEIR UNDERWEAR CAN YOU SEE THEM WE ALL LIKE WOMEN IN THEIR UNDERWEAR DON'T WE!" No, Richard Hammond, we do not all like ladies in their underwear. I will give you a couple of examples of people who probably don't care about seeing OMG LADIES IN THEIR UNDERWEAR! Straight women! Gay men! Many other people!
Item two on my list of things that are annoying me today. The new equalities minister, Theresa May. Don't get me wrong, it is great that there are women getting into the cabinet. But is someone with a voting record of going against equal rights for LGBT people, I don't think she is reaaaally the right person to be EQUALITIES MINISTER.
Number three. Small children. Specifically, the ones at my college. Walking from one class to the next is the exact opposite of fun where there are twenty bazzilion kids running past yelling homophobic/sexist/just plain sweary insults at each other.
AAAAAAGH. Too many of them! Plus I sometimes dress super weird and I am a GIRL with SHORT HAIR OH NO so I can pretty much guarantee that these will be aimed at me from time to time. Maybe I should just learn to teleport, that would make everything so much easier!
Numero quatro: revision. Uuuuuuugh. So. Much. Revision. I gave myself this evening off, but I pretty much am revising every day from now till the end of June, and I am super lazy so this sucks. I need to get some motivation from somewhere... does anybody have some I can borrow? You can have it back at the end of June, I promise!
That is it for things that are annoying me at the moment! Maybe there will be more soon! Who knows!
Item two on my list of things that are annoying me today. The new equalities minister, Theresa May. Don't get me wrong, it is great that there are women getting into the cabinet. But is someone with a voting record of going against equal rights for LGBT people, I don't think she is reaaaally the right person to be EQUALITIES MINISTER.
Number three. Small children. Specifically, the ones at my college. Walking from one class to the next is the exact opposite of fun where there are twenty bazzilion kids running past yelling homophobic/sexist/just plain sweary insults at each other.
AAAAAAGH. Too many of them! Plus I sometimes dress super weird and I am a GIRL with SHORT HAIR OH NO so I can pretty much guarantee that these will be aimed at me from time to time. Maybe I should just learn to teleport, that would make everything so much easier!
Numero quatro: revision. Uuuuuuugh. So. Much. Revision. I gave myself this evening off, but I pretty much am revising every day from now till the end of June, and I am super lazy so this sucks. I need to get some motivation from somewhere... does anybody have some I can borrow? You can have it back at the end of June, I promise!
That is it for things that are annoying me at the moment! Maybe there will be more soon! Who knows!
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