A few days in the life…

Over the last few days I've gone about my life and kept to what is becoming a fairly normal routine. However since I've started writing this I've made a conscious effort to keep my eyes open and watch what's going on around me and hope it inspires something worth writing. Christ you see some strange behavior if you're looking out for it!

One thing I have noticed since moving down to Portsmouth is the people down there are so confrontational it's untrue. The drivers don't stop at zebra-crossings, everyone seems up for an argument, and even the elderly want to throw their diminishing weight around. In Brentwood it would be normal to have somebody approach you asking if they can take a chair from your table if it is not being used, in Portsmouth people just sit down at your table without asking if the seat is free. This has happened to me in a pub, in Sub-Way and even in Costa, and whilst I am getting used to it now, it still surprises and offends me that my status appears to be so low to these people that they can just come and invade unceremoniously. Oh well.

Another observation I've made during the last few days is of the way people behave on the London Underground and whilst travelling by train and around stations in general. Absolute Chaos. Even though I managed to avoid the rush that is inevitable at the beginning and end of the working day it was still busy as the underground tends to be, but this is no excuse for the lack of common sense on display. Some people stroll around as if nobody has anywhere to go and in all directions causing pile-ups of people as they decide whether they want to take the bakerloo or the jubilee line completely unaware of the dozens of people they're holding up as they stare aimlessly into the distance. At the other end of the scale there are the people who must get to their destination in the quickest possible way using the most direct route regardless of how many people they have to knock flying in the process. My own personal experience from travelling home on Friday all culminated in somebody saying 'excuse me' as she promptly shoved me out the way, what was the bloody point in saying excuse me if you didn't want me to move? It was at this point that I decided that we should introduced a common sense and consideration test that everyone has to pass before being allowed to travel on public transport, that would get rid of the day-dreamers, the dawdlers and the pushers and shovers out of the way and make using the trains so much more comfortable for those that are capable of doing so without ruining it for everyone else.

If ever you needed a reason not to take life too seriously…

A theory that has come in particularly handy over the last couple of years has been that life should never be taken too seriously for fear of giving yourself a headache! On Thursday I collected my first University assignment back after marking and I was asked if I was particularly pensive about getting my mark. The reality is the work had been handed in 3 weeks previously, wasn’t worth anything towards my final mark and was beyond my control by this point, so what would be the point in worrying then? I passed incidentally, as I was confident I would and I was proven right not to worry, but even if I hadn’t have passed, what advantage would I have got from panicking about it?

If ever I needed proof that I shouldn’t take myself to seriously it was the words of a friend 4 weeks ago that gave it to me…
“Every girl has a Taylor Swift song that they can relate to… What’s yours?” Well I would have been quite within my rights to point out that I am in fact not a girl, but I didn’t, I just answered the question because I felt like it at the time and despite the fact it could have made me look or feel silly to do so.

As well as the above incident there have been many, over the last year in particular that have suggested that I can’t be taken seriously so shouldn’t even bother to try. For example, whilst on a trip filming for my ill-fated Media video in the gardens of ST Pauls Cathedral, for reasons unknown even to me I thought I would shout “GERRARD!” before jumping over a bench and returning a ball to somebody on the other side of a fence. Whilst I probably don’t need to fill you in on what happened it still makes good reading so I will. I miss-judged the jump over the bench, got my foot caught and ended up flying over it parallel to the ground rather than feet first and landed with a series of inelegant combat roles, finishing up in a heap, it wasn’t particularly dignified but it was hilarious to those that saw me fly through the air and the end result, yet more people who will never be able to take me seriously, and another indication that I shouldn’t bother either!

Not being able to, or wanting to take myself or life to seriously is by no means a disadvantage though. If you don’t spend ages worrying about how you come across, how others perceive you and if you’re behaving in a way that is socially acceptable, you have more time to be yourself, do things you actually enjoy, have a laugh, and ultimately be a happier a person. It’s not full proof, but it’s worth a go!

A Stressful Move..

As promised in the first post I am a champion moaner and there is nothing I do better than describe how the world has chosen to conspire against me on that particular day. I will now attempt to describe my move into a new house and a new type of life as I have begun University in this unique style of mine!

When making the decision to move away from home everyone is pre-warned that it will take a lot of getting used to and it’s a major upheaval and that it may seem very strange at first… Well the people handing out these warnings weren’t kidding were they! One minute I’m happily living at home, 2-3 meals a day provided, a comfortable surrounding and a quiet and peaceful life, and the next I’m in a house 2 hours down the road with the job of getting myself up and to University on time, keeping myself tidy, looking after my own medication, feeding myself, and many more things that frankly take time I never seem to have, and whilst I’m living with 2 of my friends that I have known since school, 1 of them is a certified maniac which isn’t exactly great for someone who’s used to the quiet life and a lot of peace.

So settling in was always going to be a bit of a challenge even before the tide turned and everything started to go wrong… Mid-way through our first week of living in our new home we lost all hot water and central heating, my printer was blankly refusing to communicate with my computer, the microwave and kettle were unusable, we found the oven to be about as powerful as a Joe McElderry punch and the washing machine seemed determined to make everything fluffier and dirtier than before we put the clothes in it. The next thing on the list of what refused to work was our wireless broadband… We’re paying for 20MB download speed and for the first month we were getting less than 1MB. Now I’m no expert but I’m fairly confident that’s not up to scratch because there’s a fair difference between 1 and 20 whichever way you look at it.

Of late my television has also stopped working properly, the fridge has started sinking into the kitchen floor due to what could be a mouldy floor-board or the gateway to another dimension, we still have a broken radiator despite the new boiler and running hot water after a 2 week absence, the light chord in the bathroom is looking rather miserable as it hangs by its last thread, and Smith has had to invent some kind of special technique similar to a secret handshake to close his window as and when he needs to.

Most recently, up to and including today, things are starting to look a bit brighter, even in the gloomy place that I inhabit, I have devised a system for taking home as much of my washing as possible, a new telly is on the way, Smith and his window are getting by and the light chord is still hanging on for dear life bless it. Between us we’ve come up with a theory about using the oven that goes something like ‘double the time on the pack’ or ‘just stick it on full power’ and the fridge hasn’t quite done a Rose Tyler and disappeared off to a parallel world yet, which is fortunate as the eggs run out tomorrow and I have no idea when it might get back. The Broadband is particularly pleasing though as a combination of moaning to the tech department and a new signal boosting aerial have got our download speed up to an impressive point, so as promised Michael… Fair play Virgin Media, you haven’t done too badly this time.

Now the fact I’ve started talking positively is definitely a sign to call it a night before an outbreak of cheerfulness spoils my current mood!

My Media Studies Blog

As mentioned in my first post, here is a link to my old blog.

http://bchsa2richard.blogspot.com/

Here you can find my Media Studies work for last year and the log book that contains that rants that prompted this new blogs format!

An Experiment..

This is to be the start of an experiment I devised about 20 minutes ago whilst procrastinating spectacularly over a cup of tea in Starbucks. I got to wondering whether anyone actually cares what I think and if I started writing, would anybody bother to read what I put?

My blogging history is a basic one at best and can be best described as a few uncoordinated rants whilst attempting to log my work during my A Level Media Studies coursework. If you're bored or feeling down then I suggest you read some of the longer posts on it just so you can enjoy my pain even if you achieve nothing else. Since directionless ranting is what I do best and I love a good moan, that'll probably be the format of these blogs...

Who Am I?

I thought this might be as good a starting point as any, and should give you an indication as to whether you should bother reading on or not. I am Richard, I'm 18 and I'm from Essex, and if you've had the misfortune of watching the TV programme, I live about a quarter of an hour from The Sugar Hut night club that the shameful bunch frequent. I currently however live in Portsmouth as I've just started University there on a History course. I chose History because I find it more interesting and easier to get into than English and both would allow me to write huge chunks of text and give my opinions on things... What could be better for me?

If the fact I'm from Essex hasn't got me enough hate, I am also a Man United fan, and whilst I go to see them play if and when it's possible it isn't that often and I get the general abuse for glory hunting and not supporting my local team. The reality is simple, my dad is a Man United fan and football teams are hereditary and infectious... And to anyone who calls me a glory hunter my response is simple, I'd rather hunt glory than failure.

As well as a love of football I'm into cricket, tennis and various other sports too and once I get into a sport or hobby I like to do it properly and obsess over it for a while by watching and playing it religiously. My latest interest is Golf. I bought Tiger Woods PGA Tour for the PS3 and have since made it my goal to become an expert on the sport, I intend to start playing myself at some point but it remains to be seen how well that goes.

Myself and my friends are notorious for our strange and confusing 'in-jokes' that always take a lot of explaining when my mum or another outside takes an interest, when playing a round of Golf on Tiger Woods for instance it would seem that me and my friend Tom were speaking an entirely different language to any confused onlookers and it is similar in any of our regular activities. Phrases such as "Alright Barely", "Renewed your membership?" and "Excuse me mister Prime Minister..." make perfect sense to us but it's doubtful anyone else would consider this normal behaviour, likewise the fact we often tell each other to BUNT!, regardless of the fact this word was popular about 5 years ago with the 'in' kids in our year and hasn't been used since. BY ANYONE.

I have developed the nickname Richmunk over the last year or so and this appears to have stuck now due to my inexplicable decision to mimic and do impressions of Chipmunks Oopsy Daisy in the common room and Media lessons in particular. That is however not the extent of my music tastes and I have a borderline obsession with Taylor Swift as well as an admiration for the God that is Michael Bublé. I saw the latter with a friend earlier this month and will be seeing the former in March of next year and it would be fair to say I'm a bit excited.

I think that's enough to be getting on with as if anyone has bothered to read this I won't be able to keep your attention for ever so better quit before I fall too far behind...