Want U To Want Me

This is definitely my favourite song of esc2011 so far...

Destination Dusseldorf!

After trying (and failing) to buy tickets for the eurovision 2011 final on sunday, I was more gutted than I let myself believe. However, today tickets for the 'jury final' (or dress rehearsal as more commonly known) went on sale. And at a fraction of the price, I managed to get 2 tickets for me and Rach front and centre! So excited. It should be as much a spectacle as the main event, just without the voting. I can't believe it. We're actually going to be there, in Dusseldorf, with all the performances live in front of us! Ahhh!

I Wish You Would Understand

Don't you love when you rediscover a forgotten favourite?
This song came on my ipod today, and it never fails to tug at my heartstrings.

ESC: Romania

Been listening to all the songs in the Romanian Eurovision selection this year. I believe they choose on new years eve, so probably won't be watching, but will be interested to see what they chose. Out of the 14 songs, I liked about five. The rest were fairly average, and one was shockingly bad (Rallsa). But here's my favourite three...

Claudia Pavel - I Want U To Want Me
Straight away after a string of average songs, this one stood out as a good 'un. Depends on her vocal performance on the night, but I think this will be a strong contender.

Distinto, Ianna si Anthony Icuagu - Open Your Eyes
This stood out because of its classical style, which often does well at eurovision. It lost something for me when the woman started singing though, and I wasn't over keen on the ending. But could do well.

Hotel FM - Change
An unexpected gem. Normally this would be cheesy tripe, but for some reason I really like this song. Will it do well? Probably not, but I think it might be my favourite overall.

Lecturers say the funniest things

There's a new facebook group been set up to celebrate the ridiculous analogies one of my favourite lecturers, Proffesor Bushell, would use to describe microbiological systems. Here's some examples of his classic gems...

"Imagine you're blind, deaf and dumb and you are wandering aimlessly eating plates of baked beans and the only way you can sense anyone else is there is if they are eating from the same plate of baked beans" - On chemical signalling between fungal organisms

"See I'm not a very good cook, if you come around to my house for dinner I'll just cook you Mars Bars and cabbage, so you'll start on the Mars Bars and only once they're all gone you'll start on the cabbage instead" - On restricting nutrients

"I got some PHD students, put them in a submarine and shrunk it. Then we sent them into the middle of a colony. They died... Noones noticed... yet..." On oxygen restriction in the middle of colonies in a culture

We've Gotta Go Back Marty!

Last night I went to the cinema to see the rerelease of Back to the Future. A very good film, and 25 years on is still good fun and stands up well against the current crop of films. Honestly we couldnt find anything else to watch at our cinema so we made the 30minute trip to the bigger cinema outside of town in order to see this one. I think we made the right choice. Michael J Fox is a great little actor and I love watching films from when big actors started out (Johnny Depp in Nightmare on Elms Street being another classic). I havent seen any of the sequels but I think I might have to hunt down some copies. If you havent seen the first (which I cant imagine how you could have missed it) you should difinitely give it a chance.

You've Been Tango-ed

Sooo... where to start with the catch up. Not really sure where to start. Easiest thing to start with might be Antti Tuisku in Finnish Strictly Come Dancing. I was on Ladbrokes website looking at various odds for things and discovered that you can place bets on the Finnish version of the show. Antti is second favourite to win. I didnt recognise any of the other names competing, but Mikko Leppilampi (host of eurovision 2007) is hosting the show. Here's a clip of Antti's tango from last week.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M1hUTvz3Lk

Surprise

Hello world.

I very tentatively return to my blog. I said that more recently about twitter and then never returned again, so this may be a very short lived return... but we'll see how it goes. Now the summer is over, and I'm into the routine of work, I'm hoping to find time on the odd tea break to get back to blogging. I just hope I havent lost too many readers along the way.

Eurovision season is slowly warming up. Antti Tuisku is in the Finnish Strictly Come Dancing. X-Factor has won me over (against my will and as a conversation topic at work), and the apprentice is on. Yes, leaving uni and returning to a house with cable TV has reawoken my TV habits. I do have a life outside of TV too though... I joined a knitting club! Haha.

Do stay tuned. I will post more. Promise.

The results are in...

I got a 2:1!


It feels a bit anti-climatic to be honest...

What a Week

I have returned from an awesome week in Slovenia. Vid was the best tour guide I could have asked for. He drove me all over the country and filled me in on all (well most) of the history and taught me a lot about the nature and culture. And of course it was lovely to spend time with Mira again. She was my closest friend in Finland, and still is one of my closest friends - i just feel so comfortable with her. I will have numerous photo's and abridged diaries to follow in due course.

After my return, I bought a car! I had a ford fiesta when I first passed my test 4 years ago, but gave him (his name was Freddy) up when I came to uni and have shared my mums Peurgot ever since (which has it in for me btw). I was hoping to get another ford fiesta once I graduated and was lucky enough to find one so soon! A friend of my mum has got to the age where he needs a medical to renew his licence and has decided not to bother, and so wanted to sell his little ford fiesta... the timing could not have been better. Its a purple one this time, and 10 years old, but its in such good condition (he only did 700 miles between MOTs last year!). Its gonna be a shock for the little thing with me bombing about in it all over the place.

And one of the places I'll be bombing off to a lot is work! Yes, thats right, I have found a job. Had an interview at 11am on monday, and by 12 they had offered me the job... I start monday! Super fast. Its not the best job, but its with a good company - a name to be respected on a CV. Plus its still lab based, and only 15mins from home in Herts, so pretty convenient. Its only till April, but its a start, so lets see what comes of it.

All things considered its been a blooming good week :)

Let The Summer Begin!

Exams are over, uni is finished and the summer is here! I had my last exam on tuesday, and all things considered, I think it went quite well. Fingers crossed I get the 2:1 I'm hoping for. I find out on the 22nd July, so watch this space :)
I starting moving some stuff home yesterday. I had a car-full and there is still plenty left. I am still mentoring, so will go back this weekend to do my shift before the final (?) Sounds of Europe show on monday :( After that though, I shall hopefully be jetting off to Slovenia to spend a few days with a good friend of mine from Finland. Hoping for good weather so that we can spend plenty of time outside in the sunshine, and do a spot of swimming in some of the lakes :)

After that though, the job hunting starts with a vengeance. In fact it already has, I have two job interviews lined up for the next few weeks (one tomorrow and one for after Slovenia). Both are only temporary contracts, but I'm happy with anything science-related at the minute really.

I might have time for a bit of blogging this weekend, but if not, I shall return with some Slovenia diaries after my trip.

Remember that game when you were a kid where you'd draw a head on a bit of paper, and fold it over and have a friend draw the next bit, and fold it again and so on until you completed it and unfolded it to reveal a bizzare construction. Well there's an online version. My friend had only the feet left to go, so I thought I'd finish it off. This is what we ended up with.

Final Weekly Weight Update!

Thats right, the last weekly weight update. Thats because I did it! I reached my 3 stone target weight loss. I'm still not in my 'healthy' BMI (I have reservations about the use of BMI to dictate everything about your health), but this is the lowest weight I have been since I was 17, and I'm happy to try and maintain this weight for 6 months or so while I get everything else in my life sorted first. Not to mention I've dropped 2 dress sizes, and just in general feel so much healthier. Happy girl :D

Eurovision Song Contest - Semi Final 1

So I just posted a little review of the first esc semi on the GU2 blog website, so thought I'd go ahead and copy it into a post for this rather neglected blog. One week of exams left :)

Tuesday saw the first semi final of the 2010 Eurovision song contest in Oslo. Widely agreed to be the weaker of the two semi's, there were still a lot of surprises. The 10 qualifiers, along with my thoughts, were (in no particular order);

Belgium: My favourites of this semi. A simple acoustic style song, with autobiographical lyrics. A refreshing song in a contest of gimmicks.

Iceland: Got the biggest cheer from the crowd. One of the few Schlager songs of this years contest.

Russia: The joke entry. Except most people don't realise. Which to the Russian's probably just makes it even funnier. I liked it, but it was a shock qualifier.

Bosnia & Herzegovia: Talking of shock qualifiers. Rock songs rarely do well at eurovision, so why this poor attempt got through is anyones guess.

Belarus: Only the second time Belarus have made it to the final. And well deserved (even if the gimmick was a love/hate divider). Another simple but classic song style.

Serbia: Quite an usual look this singer has gone for, and an usual style of song (to western ears at least), but insanely catching. Also quite a nice change for a country still relatively new to the contest.

Moldova: The opener of the contest, and apparently you cant go wrong with a dry-humping saxsophonist. Catchy, and I quite like it, but there probably were better one's that should have gone through in its place.

Albania: Another that doesnt deserve its place in the final. This is run of the mill, and rather dated, pop. With vocals and a melody that are equally mediocre. Dissapointing.

Greece: Eugh. Thats all.

Portugal: A pretty little ballad. Not very catchy, but pleasant enough at the time. Will probably get lost in the final though, unless its lucky enough to have a late placing.

And comiserations to those who didnt qualify: Estonia (very dissapointing, this was a great song), Malta (perhaps the gimmick was too much), FYR Macedonia (perhaps the semi naked girls were too much), Slovakia (perhaps the whole sherade was too much), Finland (shame, this was starting to grow on me), Poland (what a voice! Strangling your backing singers is definitely too much though), Latvia (again... eugh).

The second semi is live tonight from 8pm on BBC3. It promises to be an exciting and tense show.

Exam, Revise, Eurovision, Repeat

This coming week I have my final (final!) exams of my undergraduate degree. Big deal then. Sadly, after both eurovision semi-finals I have an exam the following morning. So this is gonna be a busy, mixed bag of a week... After all my exams are over though, I have some nice holidays lined up. Firstly, a trip to Slovenia to visit my dear Finnish friend who is spending the summer there, and then a second weekend trip to Butlins in Bognor Regis with my family. A kind of nostalgic trip, as this is where I spent many a happy summer holiday as a kid :)

Weekly Weight Update

I know I missed a week again. I had to work on my weigh-in night, and so had to go a fortnight. Which always spells disaster. I put on 2lb. So was 4lb from target and rather annoyed with myself. So last week I was determined to shift it again. And I did! I lost 2.5lb this week, meaning I'm now only 1.5lb from target. I also only have one week left at my Guildford group, and so would really love to reach target here rather than at a group back home since these are the people who have shared 'my journey'. So my determination has continued to this week. I will reach my 3stone target by wednesday!!!

Weekly Weight Update

Ok, so its been quite a few weeks since I updated, but for the sake of consistency, I'm sticking with the title. It was easter and my birthday a few weeks back and I managed to put on a wacking 4.5lb in two weeks :/ But I was prepared for it and knew I'd go straight back on the wagon when I got back to Guildford. Which I did. In the last 3 weeks I've lost 6.5lb. Which takes me to a grand total of 2st 12lb! Just 2lb to go to reach my initial target of 3 stone. I set that target not thinking I'd actually get here (me and diets never have a particularly lasting relationship...). So now I'm here I'm so pleased with myself. But also aware that given how well I'm getting on with it, I can happily keep going. So I have set myself a new target of another stone to reach 4 stone total loss. Depending on how that goes, I might go for a bit more. But its early days yet. That just shows you how hiddeously overweight I was that I can loose up to 6 stone to reach a healthy BMI. Not that I put much value in BMI's but still... I'm determined not to give up just yet :)

Casino Royal Charity Ball

Not much to say on this really. Except that it was really a lot of fun. Great food, great music, great company. We got given two complimentary casino chips when we entered, and I put one on 16 on the roulette and it won! So I had plenty to play blackjack with for the rest of the night :) I also won a lovely necklace in the raffle. It was all in aid of the charity, Leukaemia and Lymphoma research, and they managed to raise their £10,000 target. I also felt great because I was wearing a dress that I hadnt worn for 2 years, and as such had to have taken in (by quite a bit!) due to my super weight loss. I had a lot of lovely comments about it during the night, so made me feel really good. Here's a selection of some of the pictures I took on the night.

There may be blogging ahead...

I am ahead of schedule for my dissertation, so I shall be taking the evening off to have some 'me time'. Which means blogging. Updates tonight on;
* The Casino Ball last week (along with pictures)
* Slimming World
* A cute new cat in the neighbourhood
* A potential interview with the lovely Josh, this years UK Eurovision entrant.

Watch this space...

Return of Sounds of Europe

I'm super excited about Sounds of Europe tonight. For no reason in particular other than the fact its been faaar too long since I've been on the air, what with Rachel's solo fortnight before easter and then the station being off-air. But fear not. Sounds of Europe will be back to its awesome self at 9pm tonight on 1350AM GU2 radio (www.gu2.co.uk).

Miss Money Penny - Eat Your Heart Out!

As a break from my dissertation writing (which is going surprisingly well), I'm off for a casino royal style ball tonight in aid of cancer research. My friend's brother's girlfriend (got that?) organised it to coincide with her 5 year anniversary of a bone marrow transplant for lukeamia. Its a bit fancy for our student budget, so I've already had quite a lot of vodka, which made putting my tights on rather tricky. I'll probably sober up on the journey though (taxi to london). I have a new haircut, and a dress that I had to have taken in since my weight loss, and I'm feeling good! I'll probably put photo's up later. I'm really looking forward to it :)

Hiatus

I'm going to apologise now for the lack of posts in the next few weeks. I have 3 weeks until the dreaded dissertation is due. Its worth 25% of my total mark for the year, and I've only written a rough 20 pages so far. It has to be 45-60 pages. So you can see I have my work cut out for me. There's gonna be a lot of late nights and such. Wish me luck!

I Have a Job Interview Tomorrow

Wish me Luck!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I turned 23 today, and although I have had a rather uneventful birthday, I've still enjoyed it. I got a lot of books for presents this year; twilight (just the first one, my favourite), The Ghost by Robert Harris and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson, which I've already started reading despite the fact I still have a Kathy Reich to finish and my friend lent me Lovely Bones, so should really try to read that first. I bought Notes on a Scandal in a charity shop the other day. Quite a reading list there. Will look forward to getting stuck into them in the summer when my final year is over!

Anyway, what birthday is complete without this...

Teitur Review

So I was intending to write an entry about the amazing Teitur gig, but instead Rachel has written a piece that is probably miles better than what I could have come up with. For starters she actually knows the names of the songs he sung that night. Anyway, shuffle on over to workyourmagic.blogpot.com to read her superb review.

Wise Words

Some people are unreasonable, illogical and self-centred. Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. If your are successful you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty makes you vulnerable. Be honest anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People really need help but may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked back down. Give the world the best you've got anyway.

My Own Personal Lullaby

I went to see Teitur last night, and fully intend to write about it, but right now I don't have the words to describe it. So instead I'm going to share a song I should have shared a long time ago.

Between the last blog and this one, I got sucked into the Twilight saga. I kind of wanted to see the first film when it came out, but didnt. I wasn't that bothered, I hadn't heard all the hype about it I just heard that it was popular/good. Anyway, this year my friend invited me to watch New Moon. I told her I couldn't go because I hadn't seen the first one, she persevered and said she would lend it to me. Again I avoided saying I'd rather read the book first. So she lent me the book. In a moment of boredom one saturday I picked it up and started reading. I had finished it by tuesday. Long story short, I read all four within a couple of months. I've since found an unpublished incomplete rewriting of the first book from the perspective of Edward, called Midnight Sun, which you can find on Stephanie Meyers website. I've nearly finished that too, and am quite sad because it doesnt go up to as far as the scene in the meadow before it ends (she refused to finish the book after it was leaked).

Anyway, what does this have to do with a song you ask? Well, in the first book, one of the significant scenes involves Edward playing a song he composed for Bella while he was watching her sleep before she knew he loved her, often referred to as Bella's Lullaby. Once plans for a film were confirmed, rumours started about which song would be selected to represent Bella's Lullaby. One that was hotly tipped for a while was the song I am going to share with you. In fact it didn't end up on the movie soundtrack (an original composition was made), but a lot of fan videos still exist on youtube if you look for them.

The song is called River Flows In You, and its a truly beautiful piece of piano music performed by a Korean composer called Yiruma. I've since found some of his other pieces and many of them are just as beautiful, although this one still remains my favourite. I often listen to it as my own lullaby, to help me drift off to sleep. Enjoy

Exam Results & Graduation Pack

Today I (finally) got my exam results back. I'm very very happy. I pretty much knew what all but 2 of them were. One of those two I knew was to be my worst mark, and as I'm taking 13 modules when I only need 12 my worst mark won't count towards my final grade. So it was just the other modules I was waiting to hear about really, and that was a bit of toughy that could have turned bad. As it happens I did pretty darn well in that too :) I need an average of 64% this year if I want to come out with a 2:1 overall. As it happens my average is 66%! If you don't count virology, its 69%!! So long as I keep this up, then fingers crossed I should be getting a nice degree certificate come july.

As for graduation, we received our graduation packs today. Its kinda hit me now that in just a few months I will be graduating. I obviously always knew that I would be, but this is still going to be one of the proudest days of my life. Its been quite a struggle to get to this point. The first year of uni was pretty bad and I'm glad I stuck it out. I think it will be a really nice way to end my time here. Our graduation ceremony will take place in the cathedral (which is on the hill that overlooks the campus, and the whole of Guildford really) and then there will be high tea in the marquee which I'm assuming will be on the PATs field. All this takes place on the 15th July, and then I think of the friday we will have grad ball - a massive night long party to say a final farewell to surrey and the people I've met here. Not exactly sure what it will like this year, but usually there is fareground rides, a live band, numerous DJ's etc and then an afterparty down by the lake. And since I've lost so much weight, I'm having to have my dress for the ball in second year taken in! It should be a really nice end to what has been quite a big year for me :)

Weekly Weight Update

I lost another 1.5lb! I'm quite stunned to be honest. I really didnt think the scales were right last week, and was expecting a gain no matter what I did this week. But to lose that much means I must have been doing something right. To be honest I've been rushing about quite a lot the last few weeks, ducking in and out of the lab when I get time, and so eating (and more importantly planning and preparing what I eat) has run wild a bit this week. Evidently my running round like a headless chicken has helped though! Only another 3 pounds to lose before I reach my 3 stone mini-target!!!

Lose Control

I began following Miro, the Bulgarian entry for eurovision, on twitter recently, and he shared his video for Angel Si Ti on friday. I was mighty impressed. Bulgaria seem to be really going for it this year. I'm hoping for an impressive stage design to back up one of the stronger songs in this years contest.



I've also been checking out some of his earlier stuff on youtube. I like this nice ballad-ish song called Avgust e Septemvri, which I believe means August is September. You can't wrong with a nice guitar solo to finish things off. Its nice. He's also looking rather nice. Not sure about the trenchcoat mind you...



In the two videos above he kind of reminds me of my Finnish friends Slovenian boyfriend. Probably only because of his eastern europeaness and facial hair. And my Finnish friend certainly doesnt agree (she thinks he looks more like Gerard Butler...)
Anyway, in the third and final video I'm going to show you, he most certainly does not remind me of said Slovenian! Its a bit raunchy, but from what I've managed to translate its actually a love song :/ Its called Gubia Kontrol, or Lose Control.

Weekly Weight Update

I lost another 3.5lb. I know that should make me happy, but it just makes me nervous. Thats half a stone in 2 weeks. And I haven't been that good. I've had to eat out loads this week due to a busy busy schedule. So perhaps that busy schedule burnt off some of the calories? Plus I normally weigh in jeans and weighed in a light dress last night on an empty stomach (I normally eat before I go too). So am planning to be an absolute angel this week to make sure I don't put it back on again (and might weigh in the dress again!).

That Sounds Mediocre to Me

I realise that I haven't yet given my opinion on the UK's eurovision entry. I can't say I'm overly impressed. The intro grabs your attention, but doesnt hold it past the first chorus. Its just lacking that punch. And its very dated - we're in the 10's now, not the 90's. But I read today that due to the huge amount of critism, they are going to revamp and tweek the song to try and improve it a bit. Is it too much to hope for a key change?

On The Mend

I've been feeling like I've been heading for a breakdown since saturday morning really. Been a bit of a train wreck. But today (well, just a few hours ago really) I turned a corner. I have done the washing up, I am planning to tidy my room shortly. I also regained some of my self-respect. And I helped out campaigning for my dear friend and ex-housemate Diana to be elected VP Welfare. Voting for the student union positions opened today, and so have been out in my red t-shirt giving out flyers to passers-by trying to get people to vote for her. And not just because she is my friend, but because I genuinely believe she would make a good VP Welfare. But thats made me feel good, to do something for a friend. I think I'm beginning to work my way out of my rut.

Anyway, because I'm helping Diana to campaign, it means I can't do my radio show for the next two weeks (conflict of interest, the radio station has to remain impartial). It will be weird to be listening at home without being there myself. But good luck to Rachel, I know it will be a great show :)

Warning

It appears I may have had a minor breakdown last night. Still not sure what caused it, but ended a bit messy. Got drunk, blew my diet, had a mini-disco in my room, and then had a number of embarrassing facebook status's. Still, hopefully its out of my system now. I think the stresses of final year are getting to me...

Eurovision - Your Decision!

As you may have read over on Rachel's blog, I am off to watch the recording of Eurovision Your Decision tomorrow night at the BBC studios! We will also be watching the pre-recording of the professional performances, which include the sugarbabes and Alexander Rybak!!! I know I'm not his biggest fan but its still quite cool. Another europop star to add to my 'seen live' list, which is actually quite substantial now :) Look out for me and Rach on the telly - I'll be wearing a white top with a black flower pattern and she'll (probably) be wearing her white top with pink zerba's :)

Weekly Weight Update

So, I know I forgot to do my weekly update last week, but that was mostly because I was too busy and because I put on a pound :( I deserved it that time, but it still didnt make me feel any better. Actually, I was feeling very down about the whole thing and just about ready to give up. But for some reason I got my mojo back on monday, and was good as gold. Also for other girly reasons I was hopeful for a weight loss this week despite a naughty weekend. And I was right! I lost 3.5lb, waaaay more than I expected (or deserved). But that cancels out the 3.5lb I put on in the last two weeks (most of which was undeserved also). So very happy :) I definitely have my mojo back, and am determined to lose another pound this week so that I can finally get that elusive 2.5 stone award!!! Fingers crossed!

iExhibition

No, it isn't anything to do with Apple. The i stands for international. The iExhibition is the main(ish) event of the iFestival at our university, which is a week long (2 week this year I think in fact) celebration of the diverse cultures represented by various clubs and societies here at the university. In the union building Rubix tonight there will be stalls from the different societies representing its country and providing info and free food :) This year there is even rumoured to be Meerkats and Snakes! How that relates, I'm not entirely sure, but I hope its so.

Anyway, this event has a special meaning for me and Rach as it is where we first took the decks two years ago to provide some euro beats for the evening. And we will be DJing live again tonight. One of the best things about doing the show is to be able to hear our favourite tracks through a decent sound system. Hearing it blaring out of the union speakers is even better! I can't wait :)

WW and ESC

I haven't posted on here in a while. Its been a crazy busy week, with me being out for one reason or another (not all fun, I can assure you). I put on weight again last week, and I went home for the weekend where I ate out all day saturday, so no doubt put on weight again this week. Ho hum. Off to gym with my friend for the first time in weeks on tuesday to see if I can get my mo-jo back.

On a happier note, I'm getting into eurovision again. I'm moving away from all the Scandi countries for a change. I'm looking forward to hearing what Estonia choose, and am pleased with some of the songs I've heard from Croatia, Slokavia and Bulgaria. In fact, I'm liking Croatia a lot, which is odd for me, since they've always been one of my most hated contestants. But this song is quite good. Just depends if they can pull off the vocals on the night...

This Weeks Roundup

So this week has been fairly productive. I finished the intro to my dissertation, just need to proof read and then send off to my supervisors for review. I finished the most boring essay I've ever written about antihyperglcaemic drugs. I learnt how to do the radioimmunassay for melatonin for my dissertation, which apparently didnt come out too badly for a first try :) I get to practice again next week. I went shopping for the trails, and bought;

• 4 loaves of burgen bread
• 4 boxes of all bran
• 9 ready-meal Lasagnes
• 21 apricot muller lights
• 21 banana's

and a load of other stuff too. Needless to say we looked a bit nutty at the checkout. And it came to £70, which I'm hoping to be reimbursed for soon. On the plus, I got a shedload of clubcard points out of it. And a voucher for 5p off every litre of petrol. If only I had a car, hehe.

The other big thing that happened this week was the murder mystery party I had to organise for the court of residence that I mentor, as a part time job while living on campus. It was a lot of stress, and wasnt sure that it wasnt going to be a complete disaster! But luckily people turned up, and they threw themselves into it, and were all good sports. So on the whole I think it was a success.

Oh, and I bought a size 18 pair of jeans today!!! Hurrah! So even if I didnt loose weight this week, I can still celebrate that I'm at my lowest weight in years, and evidently my lowest dress size in a while too :)

On another note. I hate Odeon cinema's. There customer care is appauling.

Weekly Weight Update

I put on 2.5lb. Not happy at all. That is only my fourth gain since I started in september, and my biggest gain ever. And I honestly think it was undeserved. I went to the gym 3 times, and I wrote down everything I ate for the first 4 days (and the last 3 days, although not written down, were not that bad). Walking round tesco last night it was very tempting to say 'screw it' and buy a curry. But I resisted, and I am determined to do well this week, to proove that it was just a glitch. Who knows?

Mad Cow Disease?

Look what just dropped into the studio inbox while on air...


If your not listening... why not? We're live on air at www.gu2.co.uk and you can listen back for up to one week. Go on,you know you want to. The shows called Sounds of Europe and is on every monday from 9pm.

Lab Days Make Me Happy :)

I'm finally going in the lab today to do some work for my dissertation. Up to this point, we've just met to discuss the project over and over and over, and until last week we hadn't actually satrted the trials. But! Last week we got our subjects to run a baseline urine collection, and so I have 70 vials of pee pee sitting in my freezer right now (gross I know) just begging to be analysed. I can't wait! I love lab work, its the one thing thats got me through my degree, and I loved/miss my job in Turku that was hands-on everyday. Today I should be learning how to run a radioimmunoassay :) I get to play with radiation, mwhahahaha. Wish me luck!

Film Review; Valentine's Day

Yesterday me and Rach went to see Valentines Day in the cinema. We had a moan about how the cost of a cinema ticket had gone up so much in the past few years. But the film was pretty good in the end. Given the chick flick binge me and Rach have been on lately (Bridget Jones 1&2, Notting Hill, 27 Dresses, Ugly Truth, Bride Wars and possibly another one I've forgotten), we thought we'd go check out this one on the big screen. Judging from the trailor, it looked like an american version of Love Actually. But in my opinion it was missing something, something wasn't quite right. I think there was too much going on, and in too shorter space of time (the plot taking place entirely on valentines day). All this resulted in poor character and plot development. That being said, it was a entertaining film and worth a look. With an undenialbly good (and attractive) cast, btw. Just don't expect too much...

Headphone Disco et al.

So last night the union here at my uni was holding a headphone disco (or sometimes called a silent disco). The idea is there are two DJs playing different tunes, but its played silently over what I can imagine is some sort of radio wave. Everyone in the club then has a set of headphones set to the two frequencies to listen to whichever DJ you prefer. What also is fun, is to just take your headphones off and listen to all the drunken people singing to two different songs, and try to guess which is which. I chose to stay sober folllowing the awful hangover I'd been having all day, and while it meant the night was a little boring toward the end when everyone else was particularly drunk, I did appreciate being able to get up this morning without too much trouble, hehe.

The diet has been going very well so far too, which is great. Following the great hangover of 2010, I still havent got much of an appetite back, but a long gym session with my home girl Sofee made me feel totally energised again and ready to crack on with my exciting essay about some antidiabetic drugs that I can't spell the name of right now, and their mechanism of action (which involves those evil nuclear receptors that I thought I was rid of after completing the receptors module last year, but they have come back to haunt me!).

Oh, I also did another mentor shift tonight, and tried desperately to persuade people to sign up for my murder mystery party that I have been organising for weeks now. I need at least 20 people to come, and thankfully already have 10 sign-ups. So fingers crossed we get another 10 by tuesday! Will keep you posted...

4.5lb off!

Wayhay! All my hard work paid off! I'm so happy with this. I was hoping for about 2lb, so this is just fantastic. Lets see if I can keep it up. Clearly the extra gym session and the veggie week (hadnt touched any meat until my hangover cure fry up this morning) are working, so will stick with them for a little while longer. So, drinks to celebrate? :p

Ouch My Head

Goodness me, the last few days have been a blur. I'm feeling a bit worse for wear today after an unexpected night out, which resulted in the consumption of far too much red wine and not a lot of sleep. Wednesday is the only day of the week where I have a 9am start, so why oh why did I decide to stay out on a tuesday. I still feel decidedly hungover. And I'm out dancing again tonight, at a silent headphone disco. I don't intend to drink... much. Anyway, I did have fun last night, so it was all worth while. If I can just survive tonight, then I can sleep all day tomorrow.

Tonight I also go a weighing :) I have stuck to it religiously the week. Until the wine last night of course. But I haven't been able to stomach anything more than cous cous today, so that should make up for my sins. I'll be weighing in 2 hours and I'm not sure I'll be eating before then, so lets hope for a good loss, haha.

Other news this week. Lectures are hardcore. But I've been enjoying them (well, more than usual at least). Also, my murder mystery social for the court life mentor scheme is finally coming together. Its on tuesday, and I'm looking forward to it, and want to get it over and done with at the same time. Just so I can go back to concentrating on more pressing matters, such as my looming dissertation presentation!

Gonna post a song to liven things up. I'm listening to Dima Bilans latest album, and this is my favourite song. Its rather good...

Weekly Weight Update

So after a hit and miss attempt at being good on my diet this week, I stayed the same. At least it wasnt a gain, but I thought I might have got away with a pound off. Oh well. So this week I really am starting again properly. I have bought lots of lovely Quorn stuff so that I can have a veggie week (or Green days as its called on the plan). And I have a food diary to fill out for the week, so I'm going to go back to basics and working out syn values for everything and what not. I went to the gym this morning too, which should help. Only 30minutes, but every little helps. I guess my body's got used to me doing my Zumba classes, and they arent that hard, so going to the gym might kick start my weight loss again.
This week's challenge is tonight, with a meal out with my work mates. We're going to Zizzi's, and bread (so pizza) is a bit of a no-no on the diet. But I have chosen already what I am going to have, and I'm going to stick to it. Which means I am going to plan the rest of my meals today aruond that. So fingers crossed I can still get a good wieght loss next wednesday. I will keep you updated!

Protein Kinase A

Not much to update on this week. Feeling revitalised and optimistic about the upcoming semester! The timetable is good, and I have plenty of things to look forward to, including a friends birthday party on the weekend. Today I have been a super busy bee, and have written another 2 pages of my dissertation! That brings the total to 5. Out of 60. Hmm. Anyway, look, I drew a beautiful picture in word to explain the action of PKA in melatonin synthesis...

R.I.P. Kaska

This morning my beloved cat passed away. She was at least 14 years old, and had been ill for a while following a stroke. It was a sad end to the weekend, but I was glad to know she hadn't suffered and that I got to say goodbye. So this is just a tribute post to the scared big kitten we adopted from a rescue centre 10 years ago, who grew to be a member of the family, and has been a great comfort to me over the years. Rest in peace dear Kaska.

The Results Are In...

So sadly A1 didnt make it through. But I'm ok with that. So long as they still keep making new material, I'll be happy. I dont think much of the song they did choose. The bloke is easy on the eyes and he can belt a good few notes, but the song is just the same old same old. Oh well. I quite enjoyed what I could watch of the show tonight though, and think I will have to watch MF this year too, even though the only acts I vaguely cared about were on tonight, and both got through to the final. Might discover some new talent though. Here's hoping.

Good Luck A1!

A1 are competing in the final to represent Norway at Eurovision this year. I'm so excited. I loved this band as a youngster before I went into my teenage angst emo stage. Even despite my fondness for them from a reminiscing standpoint, I do genuinely like their new material. So I'm hopeful for them to win tonight so they continue to produce new music, and maybe, just maybe, do a show over here again so me and Rach can go and scream at them like the fangirls we are inside.And if they dont win, well... it better be Alexander Stenerud or Venke Knutsen who beats them or there will be trouble!

Guitar Hero, Cocktails & Dancing = Happiness

So I have been at home for two days now, and loving it. Its so nice to have other sources of entertainment than a laptop. I watched some TV with my mum (dancing on ice and corination street, staples of my mums tv diet), and have been taking advantage of my brothers christmas present. He got an Xbox, along with Guitar Hero, which I have successfully kicked his butt at ever since :) I am particularly pleased with my 358 note streak on Bleed American. Its the one computer game that I am good at. I am willing to endure the resulting R.S.I.



Then last night I headed out to Hertford. We started in the Snug in Hertford for some very cheap, very strong cocktails (it pays to know the bar staff), before heading onto the Stonehouse for a boogie. We may have been one of the first on the dancefloor, but after another bottle of wine and such I didnt care about anyone else. I was just enjoying the music and felt liberated that I knew noone other than my friend and so could dance without any cares in the world. Bliss.

Today my brother has taken over the telly (meaning no cable tv or xbox) so I have been forced back to the internet, but its been a nice break. I dont want to go back to uni :( Although there is plenty to look forward to this week. I think my new semester, new me resolution is going quite well so far :)

Lets add a song. A highlight from last night, and a guilty pleasure I've been enjoying a lot lately...

Going Home For The Weekend

Yes, I am finally heading home after what seems like forever. I spent just a week at home for Christmas before spending new years in Turku, and then having to rush straight back to Guildford due to the snow. The last four weeks have then included study study and more study. So I cant wait to get home, see my family, pick up some clean clothes, and have a good old fashioned night out in Hertford with my home crew. Its gonna be good. Just the unfortunate matter of a 2 hour exam on human viruses to get through first. Yesterday, I was reminded of a band called Traffic that took part in the Estonian national selection for eurovision last year, and have been listening to some of their other stuff on youtube. I rather like this one, a duet with Maaraja called Meie Laul (our song), and have been playing it for the last two days while studying. Unfortunately it may now forever be tied in my mind to the Norovirus :/

Wednesday Weight Update

Each wednesday night I will be trotting along to my Slimming World class, and seeing whether I got away with my naughty treats for the week. Alas this week I didnt :( I put on a pound. But it was totally deserved. Tomorrow the diet will start again with a vengeance, and I am determined to loose some weight by next week. I have a booze-filled friday night to look forward to (after a chinese buffet lunch with the family) so will be a challenge, but I will be back to my beloved Zumba class on monday, so hopefully that will help. Either way, I've still lost over 2 stone since I've started, so this is just a minor hiccup.

Welcome!

So hello *waves*
Welcome to my brand new blog. I'm not entirely sure if setting this up now is the best idea, as the new semester starts next week, and its destined to be a busy one, so we'll see how long this survives. But right now I should be revising virology, so I need a distraction :)

Its been a life-changing couple of weeks. I have made some big decisions in the past two weeks, and had some made for me. I'm still struggling to decide if those were the right decisions. But I'm trying to put everything behind me, move forward and start the new semester as a new me!

Some of you may know me from my previous blog, Tales From Turku. Well, just to update, from where I left off. I returned to the UK, and had planned to return to Turku to complete a masters, and to be with my Finnish boyfriend. Recently I have decided that I just cant leave my family and friends and I dont have the money to go straight back to Finland, which meant the end for me and my boyfriend. As sad as it is, I think I made the right decision. My family have come to mean too much to me in the past few months, and I just cant leave them again.

As for other goings on. After returning from Finland, I gourged myself of home comforts and put on half a stone in one month. So I joined Slimming World, and have now lost over 2 stone! Having done weight watchers in the past, I would highly recommend Slimming World. Its so much easier to stick to in the long run! I weigh again tonight, but have had a bad week health wise (both mental and physical) and exams have got in the way of me concentrating. So we'll see how well I do. Also I have joined the gym. Shock horror! I hardly go to the actual gym, but there are Zumba classes every week, which I love. And I go to the occasional Step Aerobics too. They are building a big sports complex about 30mins walk away with a swimming pool, so when that opens I'll be going to that pretty often too I think. I love swimming :)

Other than that its just been work work work. I have my dissertation coming up, which I've been worrying about a bit given that we only just got ethical approval. We're studying the effect of melatonin on postprandial insulin secretion. In case your interested. Which I am. Luckily.

The only other thing thats been going on thats worth mentioning is of course the return of Sounds of Europe, the radio show I do with my lovely housemate and best friend, Rachel. It airs on 1350AM GU2 radio in the Guildford area at 9pm mondays, or you can listen back for up to one week at www.gu2.co.uk. Its full of wonderful music. Such as the song I'm going to leave you with now. Its called The Best Is Yet To Come by Novastar, and I think its quite fitting for my current frame of mind...