Radio Gaga

One of the things I was most looking forward to about coming to DCU was getting involved in the university's radio station, DCUfm. I'm now several weeks into my assigned show and absolutely loving it.

Midweek Mayhem airs on Wednesday afternoons from 1-2pm and is co-hosted by myself and three other people. Two of us are Multimedia students and the other two are Communications students. The format of the show is simple - we chat about anything we like and spin a few tunes in between. Topics range from quirky news stories to what's on TV and everything in between. Last week we managed to string together an entire conversation about chocolate bars. A lot of it is planned, but some of it isn't, hence the chocolate bar discussion. Basically, this first semester is all about helping newcomers to the station to get settled in and get used to the software and the whole idea of being on air. Next semester is when we get to propose new shows and let our ideas flow.

Before I started, I was set on the idea of producing and editing. I didn't feel confident about the idea of presenting at all; in fact, it terrified me. I had done some editing while on work experience at Beat 102-103 in Waterford when I was at school, and that was what first sparked my interest in radio as well as put the idea of production in my head. But when I became involved with DCUfm, I just sort of fell into presenting unintentionally. I felt sick with nerves before the first show, but I gradually eased into it and started to enjoy the experience. Once you get over the novelty of hearing your own voice through your headphones, it becomes easier. Now I'm really glad that I ended up presenting, and I'll definitely aim for that in the future when looking for work in radio. Apart from anything else, it's done wonders for my confidence, and it just goes to show that you can be shy like I am and still host a radio show successfully. In fact, I like being able to both present and produce, and I'm now quite confident at driving the desk during broadcasts.

Okay, so we're not super professional just yet. It's a student radio station, and that means making mistakes from time to time. But thankfully those have been few and far between, and we haven't made any major blunders like accidentally shutting down the entire system (though yours truly came quite close on one occasion). We're learning as we go, and it's fantastic getting to use professional software that you would come across in any of the top radio stations in the country.

I really look forward to our weekly slot, and I can honestly say that joining DCUfm is by far the best thing I've done here. It really is a highlight of university life for me. I love it so much that I'm hoping to propose my own music show for next semester. I've also joined the Documentary Team, and we'll be working on some exciting projects over the coming months. As well as this, myself and two other DCU students are also in line to make a documentary for a separate production company pretty soon, which is really exciting. Good times are ahead! In the meantime, listen in to Midweek Mayhem on Wednesdays from 1-2pm on http://www.dcufm.com.

Reading Week

It's Reading Week for those of us who do humanities courses, which is basically a glorified mid-term break. Of course, as we don't have exams to study for, we are supposed to work on assignments, and I'm doing just that. I've got some of my sociology essay done, a couple of group presentations on the go and my authoring project finished. I also handed in my photography assignment last week. So, overall, my stress levels are really not bad at the moment. Apart from anything else, it's so nice to be home! And to be cooked for again, hehe. With all that's been happening, I felt as though I hadn't been home in months. There was Alice Cooper, which I've already written about, and last weekend I was in Manchester for the football, which I'm going to talk about now.

I went over to Holyhead on the ferry on Friday morning with my cousin, my uncle, his wife and some of her family. We're all huge Manchester United fans except for my cousin, who until last weekend wasn't very knowledgeable on football! Once we got there, we had a two-hour coach trip to Altrincham, just outside Manchester, where our hotel was. Manchester city centre is only a short tram ride away, and we went around the Arndale shopping centre and had dinner in Pizza Hut. On Saturday morning we made the trip to Old Trafford on the coach.

There's nothing quite like the atmosphere around the ground on matchday. It's such an incredible buzz. We were sitting just behind the goal in the East Stand, and when Robin van Persie scored early in the first half, we went absolutely mental! It was a brilliant moment. The Arsenal fans were of course extremely hostile towards their former striker, so for RVP to score and shut them up for a short while was priceless!

People say it wasn't a great game, and certainly it didn't have quite the same intensity as previous matches between the two sides, partly because Arsenal were dire and barely showed up at all, allowing United to completely dictate the game. But it was still hugely exciting for me, especially as Patrice Evra's goal in the second half meant we ran out winners, albeit by a 2-1 scoreline rather than 2-0 - the only time Arsenal really threatened the United goal was towards the end, and Santi Cazorla scored for them in stoppage time. David de Gea wasn't happy about losing his clean sheet, but still, a win is a win, and we're now top of the league. The fact that City, Chelsea and Liverpool all drew their games was the icing on the cake and made for a perfect weekend!

We spent the rest of Saturday back in Manchester city centre, shopping at the Arndale again and eating at Nando's. We got the ferry back from Holyhead the next day, and on the way through Wales we stopped off briefly in a town with the longest name in Europe:

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch!

Or simply Llanfair PG...