Towels: My personal war

Towels and Milk are evil

I'm not crazy, it's true

Don't let the colours fool you.

I fucking hate towels.

They're not the only focus to my fabric based rage, but they are the prime suspect, and my most commonly met foe.

I literally cannot touch a towel (plus some other well known fabrics) if my hands are dry. It goes through me, nails on a chalk board style. I've never been able to figure out why but I've learnt to work around it E.g. always having a tap running whilst drying off after a bath/shower. Time consuming and somewhat counter-intuitive but shit happens.

As far as I'm concerned they're the devils work.

This is one of the many curiosities that make me who i am, along with some rather obsessive traits, and a passion for baths so intensely hot that i tend to have to lie down when i get out (on occasions nearly feint).

The award for weirdest personal trait however, goes to the milk thing.

Oh my god the milk thing.

Sneaky white evil

So the deal with milk? it's all down to timing.

Milk has to be fresh, very fresh. If milk's open for more than 4 hours i won't drink it. It's off in my books. Off and wrong.

Obviously this causes problems, having to constantly buy new milk obviously. As well keeping track of when it gets opened, if i don't know then every milk bottle has to go through a rigorous testing progress.

I am uniquely weird. I love it.

Class dismissed Bro's and Bro's of a female variety

Being a student: Doin it pretty good akshually.

Being a student: Doin it pretty good akshually

This seems accurate

Evening folks, no real lesson today. Just some thoughts.

So I'm sat enjoying a casual saturday evening, drinks, good company and good films. This made me think, am i doing this student thing right?

The archetype for a student is:

- All nighters

- Heavy drinking

- Going to clubs

- Getting laid

My Archetype is:

- Xbox

-Assigments

- Research

-Sleeping

- Worrying about money

- Drinking when i can

I've gotta say, i don't know how anybody could do fulfil the stereotype student lifestyle. It just seems exhausting and expensive. So i've gotta think I've got a good thing going on here.

I'm relaxed, I get shit done and i probably spend less than your average student (as an aside i also probably earn less)

As i said there's no real lesson today, i just got thinking about my lifestyle and comparative lifestyles.

I think i do pretty good.

Class dismissed folks.

3 topics, 1 blog, No mercy.

Blogtacular: A Three-fer!!

Today’s a big one folks.

I've been absent for a while, due to unforeseen circumstances and general life events. Weak excuse i'm aware, but that's how it goes sometimes.

So here's the low-down on today's discussions:

1.Being thankful: An American thing

2.Saturday news special

3.A brief thank you

Being thankful: An American thing

So thanksgiving is this week, a holiday where people all over the US gather together as families, eat turkey, get drunk and say what they're thankful for.

Personally I'm jealous, i'd love to celebrate this In England, for the food, for the booze but mostly for the thanks. It seems people take a lot for granted, so the idea of a holiday dedicated to reminding you what you're thankful for? That sounds like an absolute winner.

So I'll do my part, though i'll forsake the turkey and the beer I will say what i'm thankful for.

• The chance to follow my passion for learning and continue in higher education: I understand a lot of people can't afford or gain access to universities or such, so I’m ever thankful for the chances I’ve been given and continue to receive

• My family: I don't thank them enough but they always support me, and I can always rely on them when I need them, for that i'm thankful

• My health: Though I abuse my body with whiskey, food and cigarettes I am grateful for my (relative) health. I've recently started an exercise routine in the mornings, not a lot but every journey starts with a single step

• The fact I don't work in a mine: So recently there's been an increase in mine related accidents (whether there were a lot before I don't know, but there's many in the news lately). It seems like a dangerous job, and I respect anyone for doing it. But you would never get me down a hole like that.....never.

Conclude segment 1.

Saturday News Special

So this weeks unusual news story follows on the same theme as before. Namely sex gone wrong, and again it's in a car.

“A couple in Germany had to be rescued from the Rhine after their car rolled into the river during a steamy sex session”

The couple involved accidentally kicked the car into drive on the bank of the Rhine during a steamy in-car session. Rolling the car into the freezing waters and resulting in a swift rescue from the emergency services. Nobody was seriously hurt.

Again, you have to ask why? I have nothing against some outdoor fun. But use your brains people, lest you end up like the Brazilian couple from last time.

A Brief thank you

This thank you goes to another blogger.

I'm always amazed by who pays attention to comments, and the general blogging universe, it's nice to see people be so enthusiastic and caring for the communities they create.

This time my thanks go to Musings of a life-long scholar. Who kindly dedicated an entire blog entry to a question I asked in the comments of one of his entries.

For anyone in the academic community I would advise following him, it's an interesting insight into the life of a post-grad academic making their way.

Here's the specific article he wrote, it's essentially a summary and explanation of the world of academic conferences.

The dramatic conclusion

So today we've talked about being thankful, being stupid, and being an academic.

I've actually enjoyed writing this, so I'd imagine service will return as normal ( so an entry every other day...).

Class dismissed

(and a belated happy turkey day!!)

The Beat to which my heart dances.

The Fruit of Life

Lets talk music!

Music is a major part of my life, as i imagine it is to most people. I personally can't walk anywhere (literally anywhere...) without my headphones in, and my personal collection of musical goodness hitting my ears.

Music has the ability to change, create, uplift, drop, all round alter the mood your'e in. It's the silver lining to every situation.

Ever had one of those moments where the music your'e listening to just reflects your mood/the current situation perfectly? As if the soundtrack to your life was showing through

I get this daily. And i love it.

Personally i have a rather eclectic taste in music, ranging from the harder side (Suicide Silence, Children Of Bodom, Bring me the horizon) to the centre (Jason Mraz, Melody Gardot, Ellie Goulding), to the weird prog side (Rush, Coheed & Cambria, Circa Survive)

(as a note my personal favourite musicians and bands come from the prog side)

But i'm always fascinated by peoples music tastes, i love talking about music and musicians. It's a passion. A good music talk will make my day, my week if it's good enough.

Without music life would be a mistake. ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

A quote that puts it perfectly.

So please, kind readers, tell me your interests? your favourite musicians, that song that just gets you. Lets have a big ol' discussion!

If not, then please just take a moment, listen to your favourite songs. Relaxe. And let the music flow through you, the world will be a better place for it.

Below are pictures featuring my 2 personal favourite front-men.

The first is Anthony Green of Circa Survive, an odd performer with a unique voice, but the guy is golden on stage. Utterly entrancing.

The Second, and my favourite, Is Claudio Sanchez. Frontman/guitarist for Coheed and Cambria. My god. The man is awesome beyond belief, whether it's the voice (of a freaking angel!) The hair (which is soft.. I should know...) or his overall genius.

Class Dismissed!

Something short, something personal.

In Memoriam

Nothing special today, nothing long either. But something important to me.

When getting advice on blogging, i was told to blog honestly. So today is complete honesty, and a sincere look at myself.

4 years ago my grandfather died, November 2006. The specific day eludes me but i know it was around now. He suffered from alzheimers for many years, by the end he wasn't himself.

Losing him was the worst thing i've been through, because it was like losing a father (as mine walked out on use years before).

I grieve every year, and remember the good times.

Today's Lesson: Family matters.

Class Dismissed

Saturday Award Times: Sex kills

Saturday Award Times: Sex Kills

So i've been toying with the idea of doing some kind of weekly feature for sometime. All the cool kids are doing it, so i've gotta get in on this!

So what's my weekly thing?

The weird and the stupid of the week

Every week, i'll attempt for saturdays, I'm going to present my personal favourite news story, internet find, video or general thing from the internet that takes my interest.

As i only figured this out about 10 minutes ago, i was a little rushed and so haven't had time to do the in-depth research you'll become accustomed to. So this weeks entry comes from a personal favourite of mine.

The Darwin Awards

For those not in the know, the Darwin awards is a list of people who (kindly) removed themselves from the gene pool via an act of (usually) sheer stupidity.

So this weeks entry of note Is just, mind blowingly stupid, yet hilarious. The perfect combo.

This entry concerns a Brazilian couple.

Said couple, whilst driving on the busiest freeway in Brazil, decided to stop for...lets say, some romantic alone time. But instead of stopping on a hard shoulder, in a gas station, somewhere...non-lethal? They stopped in the right hand lane. Just stopped.

Really? does that seem like a good idea?

Whilst stopped, getting down to business, the couples car was ploughed into by a large freight truck. Killing the couple instantly.

A case of not knowing stupidity if it hit you in the face...taken literally.

So thank you to this couple, for providing me with lulz, a subject to talk about, an idea for a weekly bit, and most importantly. Removing yourself from the gene pool. God only knows the child that would have been spawned.

Today's lesson? Practice safe sex!!

Class Dismissed

Sleep loss, solutions, and my first century.

A Thank you, and some other stuff

Thanks folks!

What's the cause for the party picture i hear you ask? Well, My blog passed the astounding 100 page views.

100!

Small reason to celebrate i know, but it's a big thing for me =] and i greatly appreciate everyone who reads,comments, stumbles on this page. It genuinely means a lot to know these words get read occasionally.

Let's hope this trend continues! and comments are always more than welcome =]

So thank you, and here's to the next 100!

On with the interesting bit.

Today's musing is on the subject of sleep,

a personal favourite passtime of mine.

Recently though i've been having trouble sleeping, which is one of the single worst things in this world. I don't have insomnia, i just struggle to get to sleep every now and then.

Losing sleep for no good reason is easily the worst way to start a day, who wants to wake up when they didn't get enough sleep?. Nobody... It makes you grumpy, you lose all ability to concentrate and on the rare occasion i'm called to do something important i just fail to accomplish anything.

So i've been considering solutions to this monstrous problem, so here's a list of failed and/or possible solutions for your consideration good readers.

1. Getting drunk - plausible : It works, but tends to be rather expensive, plus a hangover every morning gets a little old... really quickly
2. Sleeping pills -Not worth it - I have a personal vendetta against sleeping pills as i find the effects outway the positives, plus people get addicted to them, and any sleep gained is a poor substitute for the real deal
3. Staying up for 24+ hours to re-balance my sleeping pattern - effective -The solution i tend to use (used it this morning). Makes the day whilst you're trying not to sleep kind of difficult, but if it falls on an easy day it's ok. Plus it takes a fair amount of will power to plough through a full day
4. Working out any underlying stress -I hear it's effective - But not a strategy i've used (but should). Easily one of the best ways to fix a sleeping pattern issue, as stress is usually a major factor. But like i said, it's not for everyone and it requires a certain level of personal openness not everyone's comfortable with

A short list i know, but i tend to stick to number 3. Why change what works right?

For the rest of you, i Hope you don't suffer from sleep issues. They're a real ballache.

Anyway, two rather contrasted topics for consideration today. But as is life.

Till next time folks

Class dismissed.

(p.s. For those with the twitter, I highly recommend following Stan Lee, the dudes hilarious!)