Monday 30 April 2012

Lethargy

Feel really quite bad atm. Should be up and alive and raring to go, should be going swimming. It feels too much like a chore, and I feel like today is just going to become another wasted day. I wish I could break this thinking habit, I wish I could do stuff before my head kicks in and tells me there's no point because I'm useless. I wish I could see beyond the gloom and realise that there's a world out there, one that looks beautiful at 7am. I wish I could convince myself that getting up and going swimming would make me feel so much better. I wish I could take that step, but it just seems way too big right now.

I hate feeling like this. I hatehatehate it. Days just merge into one long dark event. Things that ordinarily make me happy provide little entertainment. I have a constant tension headache and I get no joy. It's been like this for nearly a week and I have no idea how long it'll last. I know I feel like shit and don't wanna face the world. I know that my only safe place is my bed.

Maybe I just need to focus on the little things for a while before I try something big like swimming. It's a shame, I love early mornings and I love swimming, but lately I find no joy in either. Happiness at the moment is an unreachable destination, the route is blocked by tiredness, fatigue, feelings of being a failure, body dysmorphia, tinnitus and tension headaches.

I just wish I could be well.

Friday 27 April 2012

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!

Because you're flooding my allotment!!!


But I suppose that'll learn me to have two plots, one a slope, and both in the catchment for the local brook! (The brook is a tributary for the River Rea, and it flows about two metres away from the back of the allotment site - also where my other plot is located. The fence at the back of Plot 42 is the boundary fence and you can see the water. Granted it's a piddly little thing, only really flows when there's rain or snow melt, but still, the allotments don't half flood well..)

Aside from the flooding, which happens every year so I should be used to it by now, the Sugarsnap peas are growing a bit more.. and the slugs have found them..

The rhubarbs are growing - we have two that we put in, and three that were growing wild at the top of the plot, so we left them:

And everywhere else is just looking muddy, grotty and at the 'going-over' stage of flowering:


The majority of these pictures were taken on Plot 31 - my other plot has no 'green' to walk on - it's just a massive piece of mud, so I didn't walk over it much today!

L x

Wednesday 18 April 2012

CV Writing

I’ve been working on my CV quite a lot lately. I have a geoscience CV, and a generic part time work CV. I then read an article about infographics, and how standard, tabulated, bullet pointed, listy type CV’s are old skool, and just, well, rubbish.

I signed up to make my CV into an infographic – the site is http://vizualize.me/ and you can sign in with your Linked In account, so I did. It lifted the info from my Linked In, and then I could play about with colours, layout, style etc. It’s still in beta mode – but there’s so much potential!! This could be a really, really good site in the future when it’s been fully developed.

I really like the alternate CV I made. You can hover over the words to read more, so it looks quite empty (but also uncluttered & tidy), but when you scroll over the words you can read all about me! (yay!) It even allowed me to put a map on, with my three languages, and it features a key to show my proficiency in said languages. You can see my CV here: http://vizualize.me/hamiltonlaura

Then, as I was eating my nommy beef stew that I made two months ago, I decided on a completely new CV idea. It takes all the elements from my boring, standard, bullet pointed, listy CV, and combines it with bold, coloured, LOOKATME boxes. It’s only one page of A4, and it doesn’t contain the blurbs of my academic achievements like my standard CV, nor does it even list any results or awards I’ve gained. It DOES however (I think!) grab your attention, it makes you look, it has my work history, it has my education history, it has a link to my Linked In profile (where all of this, and more, information is available for anyone to see), and I quite like it! It needs work – I think I need more emphasis on geology-related stuff that I’ve done at uni, projects I’ve worked on, what I’ve learnt from being on the LapSoc Committee etc.

Maybe I could turn this into my part time work CV: attention grabbing, HIRE ME! CV. It’s a start anyway. It’s certainly opened my eyes to a whole new world of CV writing, and I hope a potential employer out there thinks the same. It certainly shows I’ve looked at it from a different angle, and it demonstrates my ICT skills as it’s me who’s made it. The only way to find out is to try I suppose.. (You can see it below - opinions most welcome!)



L x

Monday 16 April 2012

I'm Ready

There’s this band, called Jacks Mannequin. I Love Them. I was going through a pretty shitty time when I discovered them, and the fact that it’s the guy from Something Corporate just made me fall in love. I love his voice, I love the piano, I love them. Seeing them live was SUCH a good night, so good. Full of emotion. Anyway, this song, “I’m Ready” is off their first album, and it sums up stuff so well. It’s very true to my life right now. I’m Ready to get a degree. I’m Ready for another adventure. I’m Ready to change my life. I’m Ready to do things I never thought I’d do. I just wanted to share this vid, and then when you see me walking with my headphones on, with a bit of a bop to my step and a massive grin in my face, I’m probably listening to this song. Enjoy!



L x

Saturday 14 April 2012

Felting Crochet?

Hullo :)

A little while ago I finished a piece of crochet; its beautiful and it took me ages (its stripy, autumnal colours, length & width of a scarf?, yellows and reds and purples and blues)



I really really am in love with it, its the best thing I've made, but I want to felt it so that I can use it as a dread wrap/scarf, without it stretching a lot.

I'm scared to felt it though! Really anxious. I don't want to ruin it. That and I've never felted before.

Sooooooo, how would I go about felting, in a washing machine (although I don't mind trying by hand), how much would it shrink, any hints & tips advice, and am I right to be scared?!

L x

Friday 13 April 2012

Recipe: Banana Bread!

Recipe time! I made a banana bread loaf today – I looooooooove banana bread! I took some step-by-step piccies, so you can make some too. Aren’t I kind?

I tend to use a loaf tin to make this – today I used a super long one, so the loaf is long and thin. If you use a standard loaf tin a) you might need to build a greaseproof paper wall around it to add depth/height to the tin sides (just line the tin with paper, and leave a lot sticking up), or b) it may explode all over the top.


Ingredients!

2 cups flour – I used self raising
1 tsp bicarb of soda
¼ tsp salt (or a pinch)
½ cup butter (I used Stork marg.)
¾ cup brown sugar (I have used white before, it’s fine)
2 beaten eggs
2 1/3 cup bananas


Process!

1) In one bowl/large jug, combine the butter, eggs, sugar & bananas (chopped, cut, sliced, whatever).

2) Mush it all up with a beater! You’ll get a gloopy brown speckly jug full of loveliness.

3) In another bowl, mix the flour, bicarb and salt. Add the banana batter and mix again. It will become quite thick, but make sure all the flour is mixed in. Also, add the bicarb after the flour, if you put the bicarb in first it’ll stick to the bottom and not get mixed in!

4) Grease your baking tin, and put the oven onto gas mark 4 (175C). Add the gloop to the tin and cook for 60 minutes on the middle shelf!

4b) Do the washing up. (No? Okay then!)

5) After about 40-45 minutes, stand in your kitchen and take deep breaths through your nose. YUM. When you take the loaf out, stick something sharp in it in the middle to test it. If the sharp thing is covered in gloop, cook it for a bit longer. If it’s clean, it can come out! Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool.

6) It is rather nice straight out of the oven, but it’ll be even nicer when it’s cooled. I also like it toasted!


Enjoy!
L x

Tuesday 10 April 2012

Frog Blog - Tadpiddles!

The spawn hatched on March 29th - I've been up to the 'pond' today to get some pics of how the tadpoles are getting on. They're just longer than a centimetre and have a well developed head and tail. They're still feeding on algae on the sides of the bowls. They'll soon start to turn into meat eaters, and if any tadpoles die, they'll get eaten by the others! I also feed them bread when they get bigger - tadpoles love white bread...

Anyway, here be pics:

Wednesday 4 April 2012

A Portfolio Blog

I fancied showing off some of the stuff I've made :-)
The drumkit took me nearly four months. Want one?

L x

Tuesday 3 April 2012

Stirchley Market: April

I love the Stirchley Market, I do I do I do. It's introduced me to lots of new people in my local community; it's opened my eyes to what this little area of South Birmingham has to offer - since I started going last July, I've met LOAF; Birmingham Bike Foundary; Martineau Gardens and many others. Today I met Frost and Snow Cupcakes, and I bought one of their cakes - it was absolutely divine! Anyway, here are pics of todays purchases - kudos to the market for helping my vinyl collection grow!!

Today I also got my bike looked at - my wheels are squiffy, and my chain needs oiling. I'm still not sure if I trust myself on a pushbike! It's been over ten years since I last used one (I came off, took a chunk out of a concrete post, broke my arm & still have scars up the backs of my arms from where I skidded along the pavement. Nervous doesn't quite cover it!) I do keep intending too though, maybe when I've got the kickstand put on and the wheels sorted, I'll have a go around the park or something.

I didn't get a photo of the cake, but it was amazing. Vanilla cupcake with pink, rose effect icing. Check them out - http://www.frostandsnow.co.uk - should've bought two!

I will most definitely be making an effort to get to future markets when I move back to B31 - it's been so good getting to know this area; I'm a Brummie but don't know half of what goes on!

L x