I've decided it's about time I explained a little about how I came to this point. Why did I choose to study Multimedia, and why did I choose DCU? I haven't really gone into the specifics yet, hence why I'm doing this post.
To answer the first part of that question, it's an area I've always had a huge interest in without ever quite being sure why. Maybe it's down to a love of computers and technology in general, or maybe it's that I've always had a creative streak. All I know is that I wanted to study something that would allow me to combine the two if I could. In that sense, Multimedia fit the bill perfectly.
When I was in Transition Year at school, I spent a week doing work experience in Beat 102-103, a radio station in Waterford. I absolutely loved it and learned so much. I got to use new software and do some basic editing, put together some sweeps (which ended up being broadcast) and sit in on broadcasts. I came away from the experience thinking, "I wouldn't mind doing this for a living" and ultimately it was an idea that I returned to when considering Multimedia.
Audio production is an area I can see myself specialising in for the reasons above, but what sold Multimedia to me was the fact that I also get to learn about so many other things. I don't know how good I'll be at things like video production, photography and animation, but they are certainly all things I am interested in and would find a lot of fun. I'll also get to learn about web design, which I'm fascinated by and have always wanted to pursue, even if only as a hobby. In short, it's the perfect course to suit my interests.
Which brings me to the second part of the question - why DCU? Well, as I've just mentioned, the course was everything I wanted. I looked at similar courses in other institutions, but nothing appealed to me as much as the one in DCU. With other places, there always seemed to be something that would hold me back. For example, a focus on maths. With DCU I was lucky enough to be able to meet the entry requirement for maths, which was a C3 in Ordinary Level. I was also relieved to find out that there is no maths involved in the course, which is just as well because maths was my weakest subject at school. I was utterly hopeless at it.
I always knew that I wanted to move back to Dublin some day. Within Ireland, I can't think of anywhere better to be a student (though as it's my hometown, I would say that). It's a great city and there's always something to do. But why did DCU appeal to me over the other Dublin universities? Apart from having the exact course I wanted, which the others did not, it just seemed to have more to offer me. I wouldn't want to knock the likes of UCD or Trinity College, as I have friends who are studying at both and I'm sure they'll all get great degrees there, but they just weren't for me. Trinity is so prestigious that I would feel extremely intimidated, while UCD has always struck me as a little too overcrowded. DCU, on the other hand, seems compact enough to feel like a community, while also being a top modern university. I have heard nothing but good things about it from people who have studied there. The support they provide to students is supposed to be excellent. It is ranked in the top four per cent of universities worldwide and has an excellent record in terms of employability of graduates. Basically, I have no doubt that I will get a great education there.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Living on Campus
Now that I've been accepted into DCU, yesterday I received an offer of on campus accommodation. There are two places that first years can live on campus - Larkfield Apartments and Hampstead Apartments. There are several differences between the two. Larkfield is inhabited completely by first year students, while in Hampstead first years live among second and third years. The bathrooms in Larkfield are shared while the bathrooms in Hampstead are ensuite. Hampstead has a living room area and Larkfield doesn't (but there are common rooms). The shared kitchen area in Hampstead is bigger that the one in Larkfield and includes a dining area, which Larkfield does not have. Finally, there are groups of five people per apartment in Hampstead, whereas in Larkfield there are two people per apartment.
Most of these differences don't bother me much, but I put Hampstead down on my application purely for the fact that I wanted an ensuite. Alas I ended up getting Larkfield. I've never been keen on the idea of a shared bathroom. Sharing a toilet doesn't worry me in the slightest, but sharing a shower does concern me a little bit. Not because of cleanliness or anything like that - I'm sure the person I'll be sharing with will be fine in that respect. It's just the idea of having to wait a long time to have a shower if it's in use, or keeping the other person waiting and having to hurry up. Still, at least I'll only be sharing with one other person. It would be far worse with a bigger group of people. Of course we're all used to sharing bathrooms at home, but that's with our families, so I at least hope that I'll have a nice flatmate who I can hopefully make friends with, because it would be far easier to share a bathroom with someone I'm comfortable around.
I've also been hearing more than a few horror stories from people who have lived in Larkfield. The main complaint is that the rooms are so small it's akin to living in a shoebox or a prison cell, but personally I don't really care that much about the size as long as it's clean and comfortable. It is university accommodation after all, so there's no such thing as luxury. Another complaint is about security, rules and ridiculous fines for anything and everything. I know that rules have to be enforced, but I've read through the contract and I must say some of the rules are pretty stupid. It looks as if they can fine you for the slightest thing, so I won't be giving them any excuse if I can help it. The third thing is the noise - now, there's always going to be noise and parties in any place that houses a couple of hundred students, but at the same time I hope I'll at least be able to sleep! I've also heard that it helps to be an extrovert, which I am not. I'm a person who likes a bit of alone time once in a while. That's not to say I'm antisocial - I love hanging out with friends and having fun - but I'm not the kind of person who loves partying and getting wasted. Still, there are plenty of clubs and societies, so I'm sure it won't be a problem finding other fun things to do.
It's not exactly encouraging to hear all these tales of how 'horrible' Larkfield supposedly is. Sure, it's probably far from the nicest place to live on campus, but I don't exactly have a lot of choice do I? At least I have somewhere to live. That's the most important thing. The rent for semester one has been paid today, so that's that. Anyway, there are some pros to living in Larkfield as well as cons. The fact that it's first years only would make it easier to make friends, I'd imagine, because everyone's in the same boat. Sharing facilities with your flatmate would mean that you'd have to get to know them, so that's another good excuse to make a friend. Plus, the shared facilities mean that Larkfield is a bit cheaper to live in than Hampstead, and everyone likes saving money right? Best of all, it's right at the centre of campus, next to the library and the Student Union and literally only a couple of minutes' walk from lectures.
And anyway, no matter what happens, at least I'm guaranteed an ensuite next year! ;)
Most of these differences don't bother me much, but I put Hampstead down on my application purely for the fact that I wanted an ensuite. Alas I ended up getting Larkfield. I've never been keen on the idea of a shared bathroom. Sharing a toilet doesn't worry me in the slightest, but sharing a shower does concern me a little bit. Not because of cleanliness or anything like that - I'm sure the person I'll be sharing with will be fine in that respect. It's just the idea of having to wait a long time to have a shower if it's in use, or keeping the other person waiting and having to hurry up. Still, at least I'll only be sharing with one other person. It would be far worse with a bigger group of people. Of course we're all used to sharing bathrooms at home, but that's with our families, so I at least hope that I'll have a nice flatmate who I can hopefully make friends with, because it would be far easier to share a bathroom with someone I'm comfortable around.
I've also been hearing more than a few horror stories from people who have lived in Larkfield. The main complaint is that the rooms are so small it's akin to living in a shoebox or a prison cell, but personally I don't really care that much about the size as long as it's clean and comfortable. It is university accommodation after all, so there's no such thing as luxury. Another complaint is about security, rules and ridiculous fines for anything and everything. I know that rules have to be enforced, but I've read through the contract and I must say some of the rules are pretty stupid. It looks as if they can fine you for the slightest thing, so I won't be giving them any excuse if I can help it. The third thing is the noise - now, there's always going to be noise and parties in any place that houses a couple of hundred students, but at the same time I hope I'll at least be able to sleep! I've also heard that it helps to be an extrovert, which I am not. I'm a person who likes a bit of alone time once in a while. That's not to say I'm antisocial - I love hanging out with friends and having fun - but I'm not the kind of person who loves partying and getting wasted. Still, there are plenty of clubs and societies, so I'm sure it won't be a problem finding other fun things to do.
It's not exactly encouraging to hear all these tales of how 'horrible' Larkfield supposedly is. Sure, it's probably far from the nicest place to live on campus, but I don't exactly have a lot of choice do I? At least I have somewhere to live. That's the most important thing. The rent for semester one has been paid today, so that's that. Anyway, there are some pros to living in Larkfield as well as cons. The fact that it's first years only would make it easier to make friends, I'd imagine, because everyone's in the same boat. Sharing facilities with your flatmate would mean that you'd have to get to know them, so that's another good excuse to make a friend. Plus, the shared facilities mean that Larkfield is a bit cheaper to live in than Hampstead, and everyone likes saving money right? Best of all, it's right at the centre of campus, next to the library and the Student Union and literally only a couple of minutes' walk from lectures.
And anyway, no matter what happens, at least I'm guaranteed an ensuite next year! ;)
Monday, August 20, 2012
The Verdict
What a day! Never have I felt so much stress, so much relief, so much adrenaline and so much exhaustion all in the space of 24 hours. You can gather from the word 'relief' that I received the offer I wanted! So now it's official - I am going to study Multimedia in DCU. Woohoo! It's an amazing feeling!
After listening to my iPod for quite a while in a futile attempt to calm down, I finally gave in to tiredness and tried to get to sleep at about half past twelve. So much for eleven at the latest! I must have slept for at least four or five hours, because I was then awoken by the sound of the dog whimpering downstairs and my dad getting up. Of course then it dawned on me that the moment was getting ever closer and I couldn't get back to sleep. I finally got up at six and turned on the laptop... only to find that the CAO website was being a bastard and wouldn't let me log in. Fantastic! That's just what thousands of anxious students need in the early hours of a Monday morning. That infuriating 'unavailable at this time' message everyone hates to see kept flashing up on the screen, and by this time I was getting extremely agitated. My parents, meanwhile, were both waiting downstairs for the news and were getting pretty worried. After what felt like an age but in reality was probably only about ten or fifteen minutes, I managed to log in, and lo and behold - there was the offer I wanted. Cue massive sigh of relief! The system then decided to be an even bigger bastard and refused to let me accept the offer for another ten minutes or so. However, all was well in the end. Phew!
The points for many courses went crazy this year, particularly in the area of science and computing. Luckily for me, Multimedia only went up by ten points, so that's 430. My points from my Leaving Cert last year were 515, so I was a good 85 points over the requirement. What was I worrying for, eh? Well, I'm a pessimist, and I hate taking anything for granted. But never mind, what's done is done. I'm in now, and I couldn't be happier! My parents are no longer nervous wrecks either, which is good!
Now I just have to wait for an offer of accommodation. I sent in my application back in May, so hopefully everything goes okay in that department. As an incoming first year student I had two choices: Hampstead and Larkfield. I decided that Hampstead appealed to me more, as you have an ensuite instead of a shared bathroom. Fingers crossed I get it!
I'm now looking forward to watching my beloved Manchester United tonight in the first match of the new Premier League season. Today's events will just make it all the more enjoyable!
Oh, and I did go back to bed in the end... but I still couldn't sleep. :)
After listening to my iPod for quite a while in a futile attempt to calm down, I finally gave in to tiredness and tried to get to sleep at about half past twelve. So much for eleven at the latest! I must have slept for at least four or five hours, because I was then awoken by the sound of the dog whimpering downstairs and my dad getting up. Of course then it dawned on me that the moment was getting ever closer and I couldn't get back to sleep. I finally got up at six and turned on the laptop... only to find that the CAO website was being a bastard and wouldn't let me log in. Fantastic! That's just what thousands of anxious students need in the early hours of a Monday morning. That infuriating 'unavailable at this time' message everyone hates to see kept flashing up on the screen, and by this time I was getting extremely agitated. My parents, meanwhile, were both waiting downstairs for the news and were getting pretty worried. After what felt like an age but in reality was probably only about ten or fifteen minutes, I managed to log in, and lo and behold - there was the offer I wanted. Cue massive sigh of relief! The system then decided to be an even bigger bastard and refused to let me accept the offer for another ten minutes or so. However, all was well in the end. Phew!
The points for many courses went crazy this year, particularly in the area of science and computing. Luckily for me, Multimedia only went up by ten points, so that's 430. My points from my Leaving Cert last year were 515, so I was a good 85 points over the requirement. What was I worrying for, eh? Well, I'm a pessimist, and I hate taking anything for granted. But never mind, what's done is done. I'm in now, and I couldn't be happier! My parents are no longer nervous wrecks either, which is good!
Now I just have to wait for an offer of accommodation. I sent in my application back in May, so hopefully everything goes okay in that department. As an incoming first year student I had two choices: Hampstead and Larkfield. I decided that Hampstead appealed to me more, as you have an ensuite instead of a shared bathroom. Fingers crossed I get it!
I'm now looking forward to watching my beloved Manchester United tonight in the first match of the new Premier League season. Today's events will just make it all the more enjoyable!
Oh, and I did go back to bed in the end... but I still couldn't sleep. :)
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Judgement Day
It's here! It's finally here! The wait is over! At 6am tomorrow morning my future will be revealed. I have a feeling that it's going to be a very restless night! I don't intend to pull an all-nighter like many of my friends and peers did last year, but I can't promise myself I will get much - if any - sleep. One way or another I will be sitting in front of my laptop bright and early, logging into my CAO application with trembling hands to see if I have the offer I so badly want.
At this moment I am trying desperately hard to be positive, but admidst the excitement there is also a lingering feeling of fear and worry, bordering on nausea. My parents will both be up; my mother especially for the occasion even though she has the day off work. That's love and support for you! Honestly, my parents have both been brilliant these past few months. They have calmed me down when I've been having minor panics and reassured me when the self-doubt kicks in. I would quite literally be lost without them. My best friend has also sent a much-appreciated message of support, and insists that I text her as soon as I find out. She doesn't care about being woken up at six in the morning - now that's friendship!
I don't know what I'm going to do after the event. Go back to bed? I doubt it. I probably wouldn't be able to get back to sleep anyway. I suppose I'll decide tomorrow. Right now, I'm contemplating what time to go to bed at so that I can attempt to sleep. I'm thinking eleven at the latest. Maybe I will sleep after all... when I got my Leaving Cert results last year, I had a good night's sleep, although I did have two different nightmares about failing all of my exams!
I sense that I'm becoming a little incoherent now, so I'll sign off. Verdict to follow tomorrow...
At this moment I am trying desperately hard to be positive, but admidst the excitement there is also a lingering feeling of fear and worry, bordering on nausea. My parents will both be up; my mother especially for the occasion even though she has the day off work. That's love and support for you! Honestly, my parents have both been brilliant these past few months. They have calmed me down when I've been having minor panics and reassured me when the self-doubt kicks in. I would quite literally be lost without them. My best friend has also sent a much-appreciated message of support, and insists that I text her as soon as I find out. She doesn't care about being woken up at six in the morning - now that's friendship!
I don't know what I'm going to do after the event. Go back to bed? I doubt it. I probably wouldn't be able to get back to sleep anyway. I suppose I'll decide tomorrow. Right now, I'm contemplating what time to go to bed at so that I can attempt to sleep. I'm thinking eleven at the latest. Maybe I will sleep after all... when I got my Leaving Cert results last year, I had a good night's sleep, although I did have two different nightmares about failing all of my exams!
I sense that I'm becoming a little incoherent now, so I'll sign off. Verdict to follow tomorrow...
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Musical Musings
I'm sitting here in my furnace of a room typing this. The heat really is stifling tonight! Everyone knows the Irish weather is unpredictable at the best of times, but this summer has been particularly wet and rainy. Now all of a sudden we seem to be in the midst of a heatwave! I'm not sure I like it. My idea of perfect weather is sunshine and a cool breeze - not humidity. I like to be able to sleep at night! As long as it doesn't rain, I'm happy. Typical Irish attitude all the same. When it's cold and raining, we moan. When it's hot and humid, we moan even more!
Anyway, this is going to be a musically-motivated post. I saw this on another blog and thought I'd rob - ahem, borrow - it for mine. Just because I fancy a bit of a ramble about music. So here goes:
Your favourite song:
Probably the hardest question of all for a music lover. I'll never be completely satisfied with my choice no matter what answer I give, but I'm going to go for Something by The Beatles, purely and simply because it's The Beatles. You can't get much better than that. Also, George Harrison is my favourite Beatle.
Your least favourite song:
Again, this is a tough one, because there's no shortage of songs that irritate me! The one that comes to mind is I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston. Nothing against her or anything, I just hate that damn song! And absolutely everybody thinks they can sing it, which makes it even worse.
A song that makes you happy:
An absolute classic here - I'm The Urban Spaceman by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. It's hard not to smile when you're listening to them, and this one always makes me cheerful. Nerd alert: did you know it was produced by Paul McCartney, under the pseudonym Apollo C. Vermouth?
A song that makes you sad:
For this I have to go with Johnny Cash's version of the Nine Inch Nails song, Hurt. It has that effect on everyone I know who has listened to it. It's one of the most emotional performances of a song that I have ever heard.
A song that reminds you of someone:
Whenever I hear Europe's The Final Countdown, I can't help but think of a childhood friend of mine who passed away last year. Even though I personally am not a fan of the song, it makes me smile nowadays because I can always picture her singing it.
A song that reminds you of somewhere:
There's a song called Hometown by a British wartime double act called Flanagan and Allen (you might know them for their song Underneath The Arches), and it makes me think of Dublin even though the guys themselves were Londoners. My own favourite double act, Morecambe and Wise, covered this song among others on their tribute album to Flanagan and Allen.
A song that reminds you of a certain event:
More Beatles here - Hey Jude. Whenever I hear it now, I am instantly transported back to those magical Paul McCartney gigs I attended. Spine-tingling stuff.
A song you know all the words to:
I could mention practically any song I love, but I'll give Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody a mention because I could probably sing it in my sleep (incredibly badly, I might add) and that includes all the harmony lines!
A song you can dance to:
I'm a terrible dancer, but I can't help myself when I hear Bruce Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark. I think we all magically transform into Courteney Cox when it comes on.
A song that makes you fall asleep:
I find classical music incredibly soothing, so that would be my best bet. Anything else would just distract me. I'll choose one of my favourite pieces of music of all time, the beautiful Romance from The Gadfly by Dmitri Shostakovich.
A song from your favourite band:
Everyone knows Alice Cooper is my main man, so I'd pick Stolen Prayer from my favourite album of his, The Last Temptation.
A song from a band you hate:
I detest Guns N' Roses and I think Sweet Child O' Mine is horribly overrated. There, I said it.
A song that is a guilty pleasure:
I always say that if you like something, why feel guilty about it? But I suppose for this I would pick that Jay-Z song Empire State Of Mind. That is so far removed from anything I usually like, but it's a well-crafted song. That doesn't mean I'd listen to anything else of his though!
A song that no-one would expect you to love:
Hungary's Eurovision entry from this year, Sound Of Our Hearts by Compact Disco. A genuinely good pop song and catchy as hell! Why that didn't win I'll never know.
A song that describes you:
Maybe not the whole song, but one line in particular from Tom Petty's Crawling Back To You sums me up completely: "Most things I worry about never happen anyway."
A song you used to love but now hate:
Don't Stop Believin' by Journey, a band I genuinely like. I'll never really hate the song, but Glee kind of spoiled it for me.
A song that you hear often on the radio:
That massively over-played Adele song, Someone Like You. It was our 6th year graduation song and I got heartily sick of it.
A song you wish you heard on the radio:
I hear most of my favourites on Planet Rock, so I can't think of one to be honest.
A song from your favourite album:
That would be The Who's Quadrophenia, the soundtrack to my teenage years. I will go for the amazing Love, Reign O'er Me.
A song you listen to when you’re angry:
Banana Republic by the Boomtown Rats, because it really works if you're pissed off with politicians or the state of the nation!
A song you listen to when you’re happy:
The perfect happy song, Bring Me Sunshine by my beloved Morecambe and Wise. And you have to do the skip dance when it ends!
A song you listen to when you’re sad:
I'm not sure why, it's just a great song that I find a little bit melancholy. Cat's In The Cradle by Harry Chapin. Though I must say I actually prefer Ugly Kid Joe's version. Speaking of which, I'll be seeing Ugly Kid Joe live in London in October, supporting Alice Cooper.
A song that you want to play at your wedding:
It's not exactly one you can dance to, but Love by John Lennon. Simple, beautiful and effective.
A song that you want to play at your funeral:
There is only one choice, and that is the Monty Python gang's Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life. Get them laughing in the aisles!
A song that makes you laugh:
Alice Cooper's wonderfully titled Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever.
A song that you can play on an instrument:
I play guitar, and I'm quite proud of my rendition of Fade To Black by Metallica.
A song that you wish you could play:
I would love to be able to play Classical Gas proficiently, but alas I can't.
A song that makes you feel guilty:
That's a tough one. I don't think I can really pick one.
A song from your childhood:
Ah, nostalgia! I have to go for Parklife by Blur. We had the album on tape and it would always be played around the house. Phil Daniels is so cool! "I feed the pigeons, I sometimes feed the sparrows too, it gives me a sense of enormous well-being!"
Your favourite song this time last year:
From hearing it on Planet Rock so much, it was Lies Of The Beautiful People by Sixx:AM.
Anyway, this is going to be a musically-motivated post. I saw this on another blog and thought I'd rob - ahem, borrow - it for mine. Just because I fancy a bit of a ramble about music. So here goes:
Your favourite song:
Probably the hardest question of all for a music lover. I'll never be completely satisfied with my choice no matter what answer I give, but I'm going to go for Something by The Beatles, purely and simply because it's The Beatles. You can't get much better than that. Also, George Harrison is my favourite Beatle.
Your least favourite song:
Again, this is a tough one, because there's no shortage of songs that irritate me! The one that comes to mind is I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston. Nothing against her or anything, I just hate that damn song! And absolutely everybody thinks they can sing it, which makes it even worse.
A song that makes you happy:
An absolute classic here - I'm The Urban Spaceman by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. It's hard not to smile when you're listening to them, and this one always makes me cheerful. Nerd alert: did you know it was produced by Paul McCartney, under the pseudonym Apollo C. Vermouth?
A song that makes you sad:
For this I have to go with Johnny Cash's version of the Nine Inch Nails song, Hurt. It has that effect on everyone I know who has listened to it. It's one of the most emotional performances of a song that I have ever heard.
A song that reminds you of someone:
Whenever I hear Europe's The Final Countdown, I can't help but think of a childhood friend of mine who passed away last year. Even though I personally am not a fan of the song, it makes me smile nowadays because I can always picture her singing it.
A song that reminds you of somewhere:
There's a song called Hometown by a British wartime double act called Flanagan and Allen (you might know them for their song Underneath The Arches), and it makes me think of Dublin even though the guys themselves were Londoners. My own favourite double act, Morecambe and Wise, covered this song among others on their tribute album to Flanagan and Allen.
A song that reminds you of a certain event:
More Beatles here - Hey Jude. Whenever I hear it now, I am instantly transported back to those magical Paul McCartney gigs I attended. Spine-tingling stuff.
A song you know all the words to:
I could mention practically any song I love, but I'll give Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody a mention because I could probably sing it in my sleep (incredibly badly, I might add) and that includes all the harmony lines!
A song you can dance to:
I'm a terrible dancer, but I can't help myself when I hear Bruce Springsteen's Dancing In The Dark. I think we all magically transform into Courteney Cox when it comes on.
A song that makes you fall asleep:
I find classical music incredibly soothing, so that would be my best bet. Anything else would just distract me. I'll choose one of my favourite pieces of music of all time, the beautiful Romance from The Gadfly by Dmitri Shostakovich.
A song from your favourite band:
Everyone knows Alice Cooper is my main man, so I'd pick Stolen Prayer from my favourite album of his, The Last Temptation.
A song from a band you hate:
I detest Guns N' Roses and I think Sweet Child O' Mine is horribly overrated. There, I said it.
A song that is a guilty pleasure:
I always say that if you like something, why feel guilty about it? But I suppose for this I would pick that Jay-Z song Empire State Of Mind. That is so far removed from anything I usually like, but it's a well-crafted song. That doesn't mean I'd listen to anything else of his though!
A song that no-one would expect you to love:
Hungary's Eurovision entry from this year, Sound Of Our Hearts by Compact Disco. A genuinely good pop song and catchy as hell! Why that didn't win I'll never know.
A song that describes you:
Maybe not the whole song, but one line in particular from Tom Petty's Crawling Back To You sums me up completely: "Most things I worry about never happen anyway."
A song you used to love but now hate:
Don't Stop Believin' by Journey, a band I genuinely like. I'll never really hate the song, but Glee kind of spoiled it for me.
A song that you hear often on the radio:
That massively over-played Adele song, Someone Like You. It was our 6th year graduation song and I got heartily sick of it.
A song you wish you heard on the radio:
I hear most of my favourites on Planet Rock, so I can't think of one to be honest.
A song from your favourite album:
That would be The Who's Quadrophenia, the soundtrack to my teenage years. I will go for the amazing Love, Reign O'er Me.
A song you listen to when you’re angry:
Banana Republic by the Boomtown Rats, because it really works if you're pissed off with politicians or the state of the nation!
A song you listen to when you’re happy:
The perfect happy song, Bring Me Sunshine by my beloved Morecambe and Wise. And you have to do the skip dance when it ends!
A song you listen to when you’re sad:
I'm not sure why, it's just a great song that I find a little bit melancholy. Cat's In The Cradle by Harry Chapin. Though I must say I actually prefer Ugly Kid Joe's version. Speaking of which, I'll be seeing Ugly Kid Joe live in London in October, supporting Alice Cooper.
A song that you want to play at your wedding:
It's not exactly one you can dance to, but Love by John Lennon. Simple, beautiful and effective.
A song that you want to play at your funeral:
There is only one choice, and that is the Monty Python gang's Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life. Get them laughing in the aisles!
A song that makes you laugh:
Alice Cooper's wonderfully titled Disco Bloodbath Boogie Fever.
A song that you can play on an instrument:
I play guitar, and I'm quite proud of my rendition of Fade To Black by Metallica.
A song that you wish you could play:
I would love to be able to play Classical Gas proficiently, but alas I can't.
A song that makes you feel guilty:
That's a tough one. I don't think I can really pick one.
A song from your childhood:
Ah, nostalgia! I have to go for Parklife by Blur. We had the album on tape and it would always be played around the house. Phil Daniels is so cool! "I feed the pigeons, I sometimes feed the sparrows too, it gives me a sense of enormous well-being!"
Your favourite song this time last year:
From hearing it on Planet Rock so much, it was Lies Of The Beautiful People by Sixx:AM.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
More Waiting
Not long left now! Just a week and a half to go... I'm feeling really quite nervous now to be honest. But also very excited at the same time. It's a rollercoaster of emotions. I'm trying desperately hard not to let my negativity and self-doubt get the better of me, but I suspect that by the time the all-important date finally arrives, I will have driven myself crackers!
Last weekend, as I mentioned I was going to do, I went to my friend Kellyann's 21st birthday party. It had been a few months since I last saw her so it was great to catch up again. It was also pretty alarming to be attending her 21st, since it only feels like about a year since I was at her 18th! Scary stuff. We're all getting old now! I went to and from the party with my aforementioned best friend Mona and her family. It was nice to get out of the house on a Saturday night, which is a rare thing for me. That makes me sound incredibly boring but trust me, if you lived where I live, you'd understand why!
Anyway, here's a pic of the three of us together... the triangle, as we call it. It's nice to have an updated one - it's been a while!
They are seriously the best friends anyone could ask for. We all met in first year of secondary school, which now feels like a lifetime ago. It's nice to know that wherever any of us may go in life, we'll always have each other. Some friendships are for keeps.
In the meantime, I am still hooked on the Olympics. They are really helping to keep my mind occupied while the waiting continues. I honestly don't know what I'd be doing if they weren't on! I'm so glad that Roger Federer got silver, even though he lost to Andy Murray, who I am not a fan of at all. Still, you can't argue with the fact that it was a well-deserved victory for Murray. I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later... he obviously wanted revenge for that Wimbledon final! I'm also loving the athletics, particularly the sprints. How amazing is Usain Bolt? What a character! I have a huge interest in the sprints because I used to run myself and took part in a few competitions. I'll have to take it up again, because I loved it.
Five medals guaranteed for Ireland too - brilliant! Our boxers are doing really well, and tomorrow is Katie Taylor's big fight in which she has the chance to take gold. I can't wait! She is such an inspiration and a credit to the country and to the world of sport. Come on Katie! We're all behind you!
Last weekend, as I mentioned I was going to do, I went to my friend Kellyann's 21st birthday party. It had been a few months since I last saw her so it was great to catch up again. It was also pretty alarming to be attending her 21st, since it only feels like about a year since I was at her 18th! Scary stuff. We're all getting old now! I went to and from the party with my aforementioned best friend Mona and her family. It was nice to get out of the house on a Saturday night, which is a rare thing for me. That makes me sound incredibly boring but trust me, if you lived where I live, you'd understand why!
Anyway, here's a pic of the three of us together... the triangle, as we call it. It's nice to have an updated one - it's been a while!
They are seriously the best friends anyone could ask for. We all met in first year of secondary school, which now feels like a lifetime ago. It's nice to know that wherever any of us may go in life, we'll always have each other. Some friendships are for keeps.
In the meantime, I am still hooked on the Olympics. They are really helping to keep my mind occupied while the waiting continues. I honestly don't know what I'd be doing if they weren't on! I'm so glad that Roger Federer got silver, even though he lost to Andy Murray, who I am not a fan of at all. Still, you can't argue with the fact that it was a well-deserved victory for Murray. I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later... he obviously wanted revenge for that Wimbledon final! I'm also loving the athletics, particularly the sprints. How amazing is Usain Bolt? What a character! I have a huge interest in the sprints because I used to run myself and took part in a few competitions. I'll have to take it up again, because I loved it.
Five medals guaranteed for Ireland too - brilliant! Our boxers are doing really well, and tomorrow is Katie Taylor's big fight in which she has the chance to take gold. I can't wait! She is such an inspiration and a credit to the country and to the world of sport. Come on Katie! We're all behind you!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
18 Days To Go
It's finally August! This means eighteen days until I hear something back from CAO. Actually, scratch that - seventeen days until I go to bed and struggle to sleep because I'll be too nervous and excited about hearing back from CAO. That sounds far better! Honestly though, it feels like these past few weeks have dragged by. The whole thing has been agonising, to tell the truth. I can't wait for it to be over. It's absolutely horrible just waiting around knowing that it's all out of your hands. There are times when a song just sums up your life completely, and right now for me that song is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' The Waiting, from their incredible 1981 album Hard Promises (warning: I will probably talk a lot about Tom Petty on this blog because he is one of my idols).
I can't say the summer has been too uneventful though, despite all the waiting. I have been able to spend some much-needed time with my best friend, who is home from her university for the summer holidays, so that's nice. I've been to a family party, which was great fun, and I'm going to another friend's 21st on Saturday. I've also been to a couple of concerts. I saw Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at the O2 back in June (see, I told you - that's the second mention in this post alone) and it was amazing. I then saw Bruce Springsteen at the RDS a couple of weeks ago, which was also great. I think that may be it for the summer as far as gigs are concerned. I will, however, be jetting off to London in October for Alice Cooper yet again. This will be my fourth time seeing him, and my third Halloween in a row doing so. Hopefully I'll get to see Ray Davies at the O2 a week before that. We'll see how my bank balance is doing...
Oh, and I've got to mention the great summer of sport we've had. Usually I would be suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms once the Premier League season comes to an end, but not this time. Euro 2012 was gripping stuff to watch even though Ireland were embarrassingly hammered in all three of their games. Wimbledon was brilliant too. I'm a big Roger Federer fan so I was overjoyed to see him win another Grand Slam. It was also immensely satisfying to prove all my friends wrong when they said he was past it. Go Roger! And now we have the Olympics. I'm quite enjoying the swimming, even though it's not something I've ever really been interested in watching before, and obviously I have my fingers crossed for our boxer Katie Taylor in her bid to take home gold.
Speaking of sport, I've decided that I need to start getting fit myself. I used to be so active when I was younger and had something like three training sessions and two matches a week at one time. What happened to me? Well, I know what happened, but I won't go into all that - I'll bore you another day! Anyway, I've decided that if I get into DCU, I'm going to take up football again. By football, I mean soccer - but just for future reference, I refuse to call it soccer.
Right, that's all for now. Hopefully I'll have something a bit more interesting to say over the next couple of weeks.
I can't say the summer has been too uneventful though, despite all the waiting. I have been able to spend some much-needed time with my best friend, who is home from her university for the summer holidays, so that's nice. I've been to a family party, which was great fun, and I'm going to another friend's 21st on Saturday. I've also been to a couple of concerts. I saw Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at the O2 back in June (see, I told you - that's the second mention in this post alone) and it was amazing. I then saw Bruce Springsteen at the RDS a couple of weeks ago, which was also great. I think that may be it for the summer as far as gigs are concerned. I will, however, be jetting off to London in October for Alice Cooper yet again. This will be my fourth time seeing him, and my third Halloween in a row doing so. Hopefully I'll get to see Ray Davies at the O2 a week before that. We'll see how my bank balance is doing...
Oh, and I've got to mention the great summer of sport we've had. Usually I would be suffering from severe withdrawal symptoms once the Premier League season comes to an end, but not this time. Euro 2012 was gripping stuff to watch even though Ireland were embarrassingly hammered in all three of their games. Wimbledon was brilliant too. I'm a big Roger Federer fan so I was overjoyed to see him win another Grand Slam. It was also immensely satisfying to prove all my friends wrong when they said he was past it. Go Roger! And now we have the Olympics. I'm quite enjoying the swimming, even though it's not something I've ever really been interested in watching before, and obviously I have my fingers crossed for our boxer Katie Taylor in her bid to take home gold.
Speaking of sport, I've decided that I need to start getting fit myself. I used to be so active when I was younger and had something like three training sessions and two matches a week at one time. What happened to me? Well, I know what happened, but I won't go into all that - I'll bore you another day! Anyway, I've decided that if I get into DCU, I'm going to take up football again. By football, I mean soccer - but just for future reference, I refuse to call it soccer.
Right, that's all for now. Hopefully I'll have something a bit more interesting to say over the next couple of weeks.
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