Schoolin' Life

As the clock struck 6 a.m on Monday the 19th of August Irish time, I once more waited on bated breath for the results that would determine my future.

This was the second time I had applied for the CAO, the Central Application's Office, which would determine which course I would go onto study in college. The first time I applied was when I sat my Leaving Certificate in 2010. Once the stress & dread of the Leaving Cert results had come & passed, the CAO offers were all that was on your mind. 

I had applied to do the Bachelor of Arts degree in National University of Maynooth (NUIM) that first time around. When I awoke to the offer I was delighted. The course was my first choice & I was delighted with myself. My father was ecstatic as I was the first member of his family to actually get into college.

Orientation week came & passed and I began to get into the swing of things. I loved college. Well, I loved the social aspect of college, the actual academics were the problem. Only one other girl from my secondary school had come into the college with me, so I had to make new friends & that I did. Friends who I call my best friends now 3 years later.

While I was meeting up with these new friends, heading to the Student's Union bar & participating in the typical college activities, I was unaware that, even though I was having fun with them, I wasn't furthering myself academically. I actually hated my course to put it bluntly.

I got through 1st year anyway, how I did is beyond me as I did zero work. Before I knew it, 2nd year was coming around knocking on the door. Straight off the bat I fell back into the swing of drinking with my college friends. I loved the social aspect of it all. I just love making friends and having a good time. Many of my friends lived on campus where as I lived at home, so it was a bit of freedom that I lapped up and also envied.

Needless to say the whole year continued in this routine & before I knew it the school year had finished & I had failed. Horrendously. The worst part of it all was that, being honest, I didn't care. I think that was a sign that I wasn't happy in my course. If I was disappointed with myself for failing, then surely that would have meant more. I wasn't thinking at the time at all and when the time came to re-register for college I decided to repeat 2nd year. I had a long talk with myself & realised that I actually had to start making something of myself, so I thought it was the best thing to do.

I re-registered, back into 2nd year I went, my college friends all now in final year. Was I jealous? Sure a little bit but I saw it as an opportunity to put my head in the books. That lasted for about two months max. I began to miss college completely. I would rarely go in & I handed up little to no course work. I had to get two buses to the campus and I just wasn't bothered anymore. I was a complete slacker, lying to my parents that college wasn't on these days or saying I was heading in when I would go to town with friends. To say my parents were less than impressed with me when they eventually found out is an understatement.

I don't know what happened but one day I just reassessed my life. Other events had recently happened so I was in a new, yet promising place. I woke up and copped on that what I was doing wasn't entertaining me and I had to sort myself out. I began thinking about what appeals to me. The BA course was one which my teachers & family members had recommended to me. I was 17 years old, an age which I still think is so young too decide what you want to do with the rest of your life, so I took on their advice. I agreed with them, it wasn't all their fault.

So, at 20 years old, when I began to reassess myself, I was thinking of what I wanted to do. I'm interested in; Entertainment, Writing, Celebs, World Affairs, General Knowledge & Babble. I just enjoy learning things about anything & everything & writing my opinions on them. I enjoy making people laugh & also educating others as well as being educated. Therefore I decided to pursue a course in Journalism and yesterday, I was offered a place in that exact course.

When I clicked onto my CAO account to view my offer I was beyond nervous, especially since I had wasted the past 10 months by completely dropping out of college, I was worried I had made the wrong decision. Not only had I wasted the past 10 months, I had also wasted the past 3 years. Seeing that offer for Journalism thrilled me so much. I can't wait to start in 3 weeks time. Sure, I'll be three years older than some of my fellow undergrads but I'm in a much better place in my life in every sense & now doing something I actually want to do, it can only go up from here.

For anyone out there who is unhappy in their current situation, whatever it may be, stop, think about it & do what YOU want to do, not what others want you to do.

T.G.GOODBYE. Friday's.

As my J1 adventure dwindles down into the final weeks, I have said "GOODBYE", to employment at T.G.I Friday's and it is one bout of employment I won't ever forget. The establishment, the employees & the downright peculiar customers have left a lasting impression in my brain for life.

Before I started working, when I was being interviewed for the job, I lied saying I had had previous serving experience. That is one thing that was obviously lacking on my first day of work. I didn't know how to hold a plate, hold multiple drinks at once or even understand the difference between a Caesar Salad & a House Salad. Being honest, if it wasn't for my friend previously working there during her J1 last year, I don't think I would have been kept on. One thing I can say now, however, is that I am a whiz at the 'ol serving. I only dropped glasses twice during my 3 month stint. The first time was fine as it was a plastic cup of water. Take 2 was a bit more dangerous as I dropped 3 glasses on an OAP. In my defence though, he DID take the glasses off my tray which unbalanced it, so I'm going to blame him. Luckily, there was no harm done and not a smashed glass was to be seen anywhere.

The employees, well, I don't even know where to begin. From 20 year olds acting as though they're going through menopause & routinely crying to drug users being suspended for stinking of BO, they are an eclectic (I use that word loosely) bunch of people. There were a lot of people of Spanish origin working there who spoke the language constantly. I was talking to one of them and happened to mention we don't have much Spanish speakers back home in Ireland and their reply was, "Yeah, but isn't that because you are all racist in Ireland?". I just laughed awkwardly at the response as I was dumbfounded that that was something people over in the States must think about us. I wouldn't call it ignorance, I'd put it down to being uneducated about us. I mean after all, another co-worker of mine thought the Irish language was a made up language used purely in tales & fables.
As odd and unconventional as the employees were, they are also some of the nicest people I have met. They appreciated us Irish who were working there so much as we always said "Please" and "Thanks". Words & manners which seem to have been lost somewhere in America over the years. In a country with such a large population & a country with such a large influence on the rest of the world, you would think they would be more courteous. Walking on the sidewalk is one of the most rude experiences you will encounter but that's a conversation for a different day.

Ferris Bueller & Disney Kid are among some of the names I was given by customers over the summer. I'm not going to lie, I took them both as a compliment. FB was a cool guy and I WISH I had been a Disney kid, hanging out with the likes of Selena & Miley and currently twerking away these days in my mansion in LA but ALAS I am on the other end of the spectrum. Patrons trying to guess where my accent was from was always a fun part of the day. Most of the time people would guess European alright but rarely they'd say Irish. I got German, Danish & English a good bit. Even Canadian once or twice. Really, Canadian?! One guy was dumbfounded I was Irish because I didn't speak with a, "Higgledy, Piggledy" accent. I got a laugh out of that to be honest. Americans just say what's on their mind. That's something which was entertaining but was also bad when it came to complaints.
For some reason, complaining about food here in the States & getting free/discounted food is totally the norm. I don't understand it. I mean, if your food is under-cooked, alright that's fine but some people take advantage of it. I had one woman who ordered a spinach flat bread, which is topped with cheese. The woman ate 3/4 of her flat bread, then informed me it was "Too cheesy", and it was then taken off her bill. I mean what?! YOU ATE NEARLY ALL OF IT AND NOW YOU GET IT FOR FREE?! My mind is baffled. I think restaurant owners need to put their foot down in those sort of circumstances but that's their problem.

In a nutshell, after a week chocked with job applications, interviews & Craigslist searching ( The Job Listings not Men Seeking Men section obviously) back when I first arrived here in June, I am delighted I got the opportunity to work at T.G.I's over the summer. Memories, Friends & little money were made and I enjoyed (almost) every second of it.

The Oscar Lowdown - 85th Annual Academy Awards.

The Academy Awards are among my favourite time of the year, the fashion, the red carpet, the backstage gossip & obviously, most importantly, the awards. The 85th Annual Academy Awards kept me thoroughly entertained throughout, albeit Seth MacFarlane's performance as host was mediocre.

I love Seth. I'm a huge fan of Family Guy & American Dad and him being host for the ceremony seemed like a great idea on paper, however when it came down it to it just wasn't all there. To me, it felt as though he was constantly constrained in what he was saying, and I know he probably was, but that's not Seth. He's honest, doesn't hold back and takes the risk with jokes others wouldn't. You could see moments when he would try and let this out i.e When talking about how young Quvenzhané Wallis (9) is he said, " Or in other words, it'll be 16 years until she's too old for Clooney ". Those are the moments he got a reaction from the audience. Laughter mixed with "Oh no he didn't!". Unfortunately, I just found him to be lackluster. There were some other great moments from him, but they were VT's or songs, such as 'We Saw Your Boobs' or his VT with Sally Field where he dressed up as a flying nun - literally. It was the actual script while presenting that was below par. I had high hopes, I thought he was going to be the Ricky Gervais of Oscar presenting but I'd be very surprised if he was asked back.

A new addition to the Oscars format was the Jaws cut-off music. When the winning speeches are going that little bit too long, the orchestra begins to play the famous 'Jaws' sequence which I think is genius & adds humor to the proceedings as opposed to just the winners being ushered of the stage, which can sometimes come across quite rudely. You can see the Jaws music in operation here. Sorry about the quality, YouTube's finest I could find.

50 Years of James Bond was celebrated last night with Halle Berry leading the tribute which was marvelous. The montage which was played looked back at all those who starred in that famous role from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan to the current Mr. Craig. The speculation was confirmed when a glistening Dame Shirley Bassey was revealed, who performed a stellar performance of her hit 'Goldfinger'. Giving the spring chickens a run for their money, Dame Shirley proved she's still got 'It' at 76. You can watch her performance in this link. Once again, YouTube's finest.

For the first time ever, The Academy Awards had a theme last night and this year it was 'Music in the Movies', so it was no surprise when the musicals came out in force to 'Give'em the old, razzle dazzle'.
Catherine Zeta-Jones kicked off the musical section with the Chicago hit 'All that Jazz'. Although she was entertaining and looks amazing for her age, I would have liked for her to have sang fully live throughout. I know there is no confirmation she didn't, just from what I saw, she started live and as soon as the dancing began is was straight to 'click play'. Jennifer Hudson was next. Always the star, JHud killed it with her rendition of 'And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going'. Flawless, emotional and most importantly, live. To no one's surprise the cast of Les Misérables finished off the proceedings. With a collection of songs from the musical including 'Suddenly' & 'One Day More' they showed everyone why they deserved their 8 nominations. You can catch the musical numbers here. Thank you Perez!

The much anticipated return of Adele didn't disappoint. Belting out her Oscar winning 'Best Original Song' Skyfall, she looked and sounded every inch the star that she is, much deserving of the standing ovation she received. I mean really, who doesn't like Adele?! Watch Skyfall.

The memorial part of the proceedings is always a tear-jerker and last night was no exception. Barbra Steisand came out to perform 'The Way We Were', music by the late, great, Marvin Henlisch who was remembered last night after dying last August. It was Barbra's first time back at The Oscars since 1977.

Then came the three big ones. The awards everyone was waiting for. Best Actor, Best Actress & Best Picture. Best Actor went to the ever-dashing, ever so humble, Daniel Day-Lewis for his portrayal as Lincoln in Steven Spielberg movie with the same title. Reports say Daniel is now planning a 5 year sabbatical to live out country life on his Wicklow farm and I don't think anyone is more deserving of the break than the 3 time Academy Award winner.
Jennifer Lawrence walked away with Best Actress but not before taking a fall on her way up to receive the award. Being the witty woman that she is, when she got to the mic, first thing she said was, 'You're all just standing 'cause you feel bad I fell'. With such a charm and way about her, Jennifer is going to go onto great things and I believe this is just the first of many Academy Awards for the star. You can see JLaw's fall here. Oh the magic of gif's.
Michelle Obama made a cameo to help Jack Nicholson present best picture. I hadn't heard anything about this so it came as a pleasant surprise. That Michelle just loves her some air time! She announced the winner in a link from the White House to to very deserving, Argo.
Ben Affleck was emotional beyond words but he still thanked those who he could. His wife, the lovely Jennifer Garner, looked on with love and there was such joy in her eyes for her husband. Ben ended with a phrase that I believe is one many people will be quoting for a long, long time to come, " And it doesn't matter how you get knocked down in life because that's going to happen. All that matters is you gotta get back up ".
I don't think anyone could have ended the speech better themselves.

For one last hurrah, Kristin Chenoweth joined host Seth MacFarlane for an 'Ode to the Losers' song which I found very tongue-in-cheek but was a nice ending to the show.

Before the awards I predicted who I thought was going to win what and you can find my predictions in my blog post here. I don't think 17/24 is that bad? The full list of winners are below.

Winners.

Best Picture: Argo
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Anne Hathaway
Best Animated Feature Film: Brave
Best Cinematography: Life of Pi
Best Costume Design: Anna Keranina
Best Director: Ang Lee - Life of Pi
Best Documentary Feature: Searching for Sugar Man
Best Documentary Short: Inocente
Best Film Editing: Argo
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour
Best Makeup & Hairstyling: Les Misérables
Best Music - Original Score: Life of Pi
Best Music - Original Song: Adele - Skyfall
Best Production Design: Lincoln
Best Short Film - Animated: Paperman
Best Short Film - Live Action: Curfew
Best Sound Editing: Skyfall/Zero Dark Thirty
Best Sound Mixing: Les Misérables
Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi
Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay: Argo
Best Writing - Original Screenplay: Django Unchained

Thanks for reading & I hope you enjoyed watching as much as I did or at least you enjoyed reading my summary of events.

Adios!

And The BRIT Award Goes To...

The BRIT Awards have come around and gone again quicker then Kim Kardashian's 2nd marriage and they were.. alright. There were no real shock moments or anything media worthy but then again that's what they're like each year - Safe.

The Winners

British Breakthrough Act - Ben Howard
For Breakthrough Act I wasn't surprised Howard won. I had said it was between himself and Rita Ora for the award, but for some reason Ms. Ora seems to give the impression she's been around longer than she actually has. I don't know whether or not this is due to her style of music, the Pop/R n' B sound that is so commonplace right now that just doesn't scream 'Breakthrough'. 

British Female Solo Artist - Emeli Sandé
Let's all be honest, did anyone else have a chance in this category? Sandé has been on a non stop promotional/critically acclaimed rollercoaster the past year and for that reason there was no doubt in my mind she was going to walk home without the award

British Group - Mumford & Sons
As much as I LOVE One Direction, I'm a Directioner through and through, I'm delighted Mumford & Sons won. Their writing technique, musicality and performance makes them a stand out group from the rest right now. Sure, One Direction have world domination under their belt, however that's due to the millions of tweens supporting their every move, how long can it last? For their sakes, I hope forever, they're great but I was happy to see a worthy winner beat them this time.

Live Act - Coldplay
This, in my opinion, was a very tight race. I've never seen Coldplay live before so I'm going out on a whim here but everyone I know who has seen them can't fault them in anyway, shape or form. The closest thing to seeing them was on The X Factor 2012 final where they pulled out a stellar performance. I don't think anyone can knock them for winning.

British Male Solo Artist - Ben Howard
I was quite surprised Howard won. Personally I would've liked Olly Murs to have received the award. I always find him very underrated and forgotten about. I know he didn't win The X Factor his year but he's certainly achieved more than Joe McElderry and past winners alike. I was also surprised Ed Sheeran wasn't nominated for the award, having him present it kinda seemed like an awkward 'This will do you Edward'.

British Producer - Paul Epworth
Not much to say other than with Adele's success he was always going to win.

British Single - Adele, Skyfall
Once again, what is there to say? If being penned and performed by Adele wasn't enough it's also the official single from the UK's Highest - Grossing Film of 2012/Bond Film ever. Yeah. Sorry competition. Being nominated is nice though isn't it?

BRITs Global Success - One Direction
REALLY? ONE DIRECTION WON?! DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING AT ALL! Just kiddin' of course I did. With making themselves roughly £100 million in two years does it shock anyone? Albums, Dolls, Promotional tours, Music Tours, Merchandise these boys work hard for their money and they deserve every penny of it. Truly amazing of what they've accomplished in such a short period of time. What's next, One Direction Sex Toys? JLS had condoms so it really wouldn't surprise me. Move over the 'Rampant Rabbit' and hello 'Rampant Harry'.

Critics' Choice - Tom Odell
I don't really know anything about Tom Odell so I'm not gonna waffle. Winning the award he has a lot to live up to, following in the footsteps of the likes of Jessie J. Will be interesting to see what his debut album has in store which drops on April 15th.

International Female Solo Artist - Lana Del Rey
Once again I think it was a tough competition but I am surprised Rihanna or Taylor didn't bag the title. However, Lana did blow up in 2012 even despite her lackluster appearances on TV, such as SNL.

International Group - The Black Keys
Thought, or hoped, The Killers had this down. If not for them maybe FUN. As much as I should be supporting the Irish, I really don't think The Script had a chance. None the less good on The Black Keys.

International Male Solo Artist - Frank Ocean
Maybe I'm missing something, however I really don't see the hype surrounding Frank Ocean. That's not to say I don't like him, I just don't see what everyone else does. Perhaps I'm not listening to the right songs I don't know. In my opinion the nominees for this award were a random bunch altogether anyway.

Best Album - Emeli Sandé, Our Version Of Events
As I already said about Emeli winning Female Solo Artist, no one else really had a chance. If i had to have call a runner-up it would definitely be Babel. Both albums were truly brilliant.

Overall I feel as though the majority of the award winners were Alternative/Indie performers. Pop and R n' B performers didn't have much of a presence at all unlike past years. I think nowadays people have a wider appreciation for music so I believe we'll see more diverse musicians coming out of the woodwork in future, move over Gaga.

Congratulations to all winners and I look forward to what they have in store for the rest of 2013.

Adios!