September Spending

Today, I have been spending more in order to avoid delivery costs.

With September comes the panic-buying of knitwear to see me through the turn in the weather. I bought two cardigans of the same design in different colours (navy and purple) and then another jumper-type item and underwear, to push my order over the free delivery threshold. I don't like the top that much when tried on, yet can't be bothered to take it back, so essentially I paid £7 for delivery plus free knickers.

I bought a book for a fiver from here partly because someone told me to and partly because it was limted-time free delivery. It looks like it has some good tips, but I imagine it might sit on my shelf for a long while before I make use of any information contained within. I feel just owning it makes me seem like more of a functioning adult though.

I bought a backpack for city trekking and then a CD for a fiver, for the same delivery-charge avoidance reason. Also because I'm too lazy to make my own compilation for the car or work out how to connect miPod. Plus, the album art is pretty. Yes, I judged a CD by its cover.

To add to that, I have a few days away, full of meals out; museum visits; boat tours; travel tickets; wine-tasting, and the rest. September spending is yet to be curbed...

Flitterbox: Jessie J ~ Price Tag
Flitterbook: Road to Rouen ~ Ben Hatch

Dialling in

Today, I have instant access to the internet.

That's amazing. The book I'm reading at the moment set in the nineties, where you had to dial-in and whilst on the internet, the land-line wouldn't work. I'm kind of on the cusp; I remember having to wait until 6pm to use the internet on a weekday, but broadband was widespread by the time I properly could make use of it. Of course, these people in the book are lucky, they have two phone lines, so you can be constantly on the internet on one, and use the other for calls. So modern! It would seem crazy but kids today don't even have the knowledge of a landline, which is almost crazier, so it almost wouldn't matter that the dial-up tied up your phone line, because, hey you have your mobile phone, what else do you need?

My power went out recently. My mobile was very low on battery, as was my laptop, 'cause I like to live life on the edge. But I could still call people on my old style non-cordless land-line. What kind of sorcery is that? Afterwards I googled my way to the reason as I kind of knew it to be true but was baffled by the idea. Basically, you do need electricity but only a very little and it's brought to your house by wires separate to the mains. It's still strange, though.

It's weird how easy it is to think about things without questioning the concept. Adults get way too accustomed things too readily without truly appreciating the wonder. 

I hold the internet in my pocket, on a buttonless device that is smaller than my hand.

That's amazing.

Flitterbox: Philip Oakey and Giorgio Moroder - Together in Electric Dreams
Flitterbook: Going Out ~ Scarlett Thomas

Worker Bee

Today, I have visited a laboratory.

There's only been a handful of times I've been inside a lab since I finished my degree, it was a chilling reminder of how things used to be. I am more than happy not to be stuck in front of a fume hood extracting samples into vials. But also, I am grateful that I understand the science behind some of the work I need to do. It's not entirely necessary, but it does give me a sense of smug satisfaction to have awareness and be able to partially apply that knowledge.

Sections on this site are due some tweaking. Can you really call yourself a student-turn-graduate when it's four years since completing the course? Maybe I need to figure out what my blog is about or what posts I should be proud of; my favourite ones. For now, I'll just point to the right, suggest you pick a word from the label cloud that looks interesting; or a month at random on the timeline and click on from there. Perhaps I need to figure out what I'm trying to say, after almost a decade of publicly declaring my emotions and experiences. But one of the keys to writing well is writing often and chances are when you haven't written in a while, what is written initially will not be always be wonderful (and people won't always be willing to read.) At least you're writing and sometimes that's enough. It will get better. Bear with me.

I finished a book. Train travel and time to myself in a hotel did the trick. Next one is yet to have begun, but has been recommended as per below so should at least be started tonight. I used to hate leaving a book unfinished, even one I wasn't enjoying; but the kindle makes abandoning a story effortless. Without the physical marker to indicate how far you haven't read through a paper-bound copy, you can let go more easily and say "hey, well, maybe that one wasn't for me."

If I can do it with books, perhaps I can apply the concept to other aspects? It takes courage, that's for sure. 

Flitterbox: Little Talks ~ Of Monsters and Men
Flitterbook: The Rabbit Back Literature Society ~ Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen

May Day

Today, it is May.

It's the fifth month of the year and fifty-two books isn't quite as on track as I would hope. I could say there's been other things on my mind and that it's easier to endlessly watch American sitcoms than pick up the kindle, which is partly true but not really an excuse. Reading is so brilliant when you get into it and so simple to do anytime, for any length of time. I keep forgetting that when I'm out of the game.

I start the month off with a free stay in a four star hotel, sandwiched by two train journeys. What better reason to get away from the moving pictures and open up the mind pictures instead?

Flitterbox: The Family Crest ~ Kiss On My List
Flitterbook: The Shock of The Fall ~ Nathan Flier

Book Worm

Today, I have read.

I love bookshops. Truly. I don't read all that much anymore, so it's a little odd but still, I like being there, surrounded by all the beautiful books most of which I will never touch, let alone read. It so wonderful to crawl inside a book and temporarily forget the world outside and I suppose I get a sense of that just by being there. And I adore university libraries. All that specialist knowledge! All those theories and case studies and all in so much more detail than I could ever absorb in my lifetime! I am a geek.

I want to make use of it all, like look up psychological traits or philiosophical concepts or physical explanations or foreign phonetics to find out real meaning for the way we behave or the way people think or the way the world works and talks. The kind of stuff that I'm interested in on a surface level, but never enough to want to study as an actual qualification. There's just not enough reason or drive for me explore them all properly.

Yet still, I like to hang around in bookshops. They're always so quiet and peaceful and I feel like they'll be full of intellectual types who sit and read Plato over coffee while discussing whether the epistemological view of the universe is still valid in an existentialist world. Not that I fit in with that as I'm not a literary type, as you might have guessed. But yes, I love bookshops.

Sometimes, I consider what books to buy. But I'm so bad at actually sitting down to read something that takes longer than two pages to get into. Even the classic gems, like Pride and Prejudice, or The Catcher in the Rye or...Twilight. I've got less than half-way into each of them and given up because I just don't make the time to read regulary. Naturally, I have the time, but in this land of instant gratification, I find it hard to sit and read and not feel like I should be doing something else more productive. Of course, the internet is successful in taking away any of that kind of guilt, which is a both a blessing and a curse.

So I would ask for recommendations, but I won't be buying any books anytime soon - I've got a huge backlog to get through and I don't have the money to buy stuff I know I won't use. I'll continue to visit bookshops though. They make me feel all serene inside and sometimes, I just need that escape when there's a raging storm brewing under the covers of my mind.

On the jukebox: 6 Day Riot ~ Run For Your Life

Ready Reader

Today, I have read the newspaper.

A welcome break from Statistical Thermodynamics and Reaction Kinetics, it's easy to just pick up a paper and skim an article or two before cracking back on with the work.

Usually it'll be The Metro in the morning anyway, 'cause, hey, it's free, so why not? However, I have also taken to splashing out on A Proper Paper - priced around a pound, but slashed to 25p for a strapped-for-cash student like me. I like to read something new, even if it's not all that different from day-to-day, there may be something that strikes a chord, something that makes me think of something in an alternative way.

I like to read: articles, novels, blogs, letters, people... I just like to read.

On the jukebox: Daniel Bedingfield ~ I Can't Read You

Book Lender

Today, I have been to the library.

Over eighteen months at university, and yet I have little concept or experience of how the library works. In my time here, I have borrowed a mere handful of books, and have never ventured into the territory of theses, journals or periodicals. I wouldn't know how to access them, even if I wanted to; I am clueless to the wider resources of the university library system - taking out and returning books is about the only thing I can do. It seems a shame that although there is such a huge source of information at my ready disposal, the main advantage of the building is that it is a warm place to fill lecture gaps with chats.

Alors, having spent many days panicked and frustrated since any relevant books I searched for on the online system were on loan until forever or only avaliable in other library locations (I struggle enough navigating my way around the Science library, I daren't even attempt to find or figure out the other ones!) an eventual physical trip to the library resulted in a lot more than I bargined for....

Thankfully, it resulted in the loan of some lovely, lovely books on my topic of interest for my essay. They are lovely, because they have information, and the topic is of interest purely because it counts for a quarter of the marks for the module. Awesome.

Summary: I got books. Yay.

On the jukebox: Daniel Bedingfield ~ I Can't Read You

Quoting Queen

Today, I have considered quotations.

The view may be taken that famous quotations aren't much more than the odd line someone else has said that happened to be recorded and repeated and ergo became incredibly profound. There are normal people who might say something of equal merit and meaning, but word never got around. Personally, I enjoy reading quotations, in a similar way to connecting to pensive song lyrics. Admittedly, some aren't of much wisdom, but there are some worth carrying around in your think tank as a way of putting situations in perspective. It's part of the reason there is a Quote of the Day on the right hand side, just there. There may be the odd one that, for whatever reason or interpretation, makes you think, yeah, that makes sense. Also, as it may be apparant, they can provide food for thought for a daily entry...

On the jukebox: Rilo Kiley ~ Silver Lining

Thrifty Shopper

Today, I have given to charity.

Five whole pounds. Well, £4.97, to be exact. Though, I suppose I’m not as generous as the act may initially appear. I paid a fiver to charity, but I did get something else in return. Charity shops can hold such bargainous gems. Nowadays, I’ll often go sifting through the music and literature, see if I spot anything of interest. It’s a past-time I’d definitely advise if you’re into 90s pop music and movie soundtracks, or classic crime novels and well renowned prize-nominated books. They’re the stuff I usually see, but of course, the stock is unpredictable and ever-changing, you’re bound to discover something you never realised you were looking for, for a fraction of the price you’d pay in regular store. Today, thanks to me, a dog might get a home, children will be cared for and the aged will be helped. In addition to that, I have lots of new reading fodder and listening material – it’s a win-win situation. Alright, so perhaps a fiver won’t make much perceptible difference, but to coin a supermarket motto – every little helps.

On the jukebox: Pulp ~ Help The Aged