Writers Block

Sometimes writing is a natural power for me, it's a tool I have at my disposal to give myself superpowers, to fix a situation that I feel powerless in, or sometimes just to express my annoyance.

Sometimes it gets stuck and awkward, and I fear that I'll never be able to write again, that I've wasted my time (and now money) pursuing something I can't do.

I can write ten stories in a night to try and swing myself back into the mood but I won't like any of them, no matter how good they are, until my mood improves and my head isn't stuck in an 'I'm not good enough' rut.

Sometimes I just can't conjure the characters and it all feels too much to cope with until my head clears.

Kelvin Moon Loh - Thank You.

      Recently there has been a Facebook post written by an actor named Kelvin Moon Loh circulating through general media. To sum up for those who haven't heard he has defended the mother of an autistic boy who interrupted a Broadway show of 'The King and I' and his words are such a relief and blessing for myself and (I'm sure) many other families dealing with an autistic member.

      I do highly recommend reading his original post, so HERE is a link to an article that features it.

      Reading this article I just felt a desperate need to express how profoundly thankful I felt for such compassion in a form that was solid and permanent, there's just this feeling of gravity that follows putting your gratitude onto paper. (Well, virtual paper.) So here goes an open letter.

The Dead Hour

Nobody thought that an hour would make any difference. Nothing ever really happens between the hours of 7 and 8am, people wake up, have breakfast, get ready for the day and not much else.

It's a dead hour. One resigned specifically to work/school/appointment preparation, a grey slot of time where nothing significant ever really happens. And besides, these were students living in this hour, the only major event occurring in their lives between the hours of 7 and 8am were hangovers.

The night security team would leave at 6:50am, allowing enough time to lock up the office and do a final sweep of the outside facilities. The reception staff would once again bring life to the office at 8:02, allowing enough time to get their morning coffee exactly right.

Nobody could have anticipated the carnage that greeted them that morning, following the - rather aptly named - dead hour.

******

About Leaving...

So my official move in date for my uni halls block is the 19th of September which is scary and exciting and all of the other teen 'coming of age' movie clichés that you can think of!

I've (mostly) cleared my room, packed a lot of my stuff into various bags and boxes and prepared my nicest sets of notebooks for the start of this whole university experience. 

I left my job at the end of August so that I now have three glorious weeks to spend time with my friends and family before this new life takes over, and suddenly simple things like watching a show with my mum are becoming laced with this awful sense of finality. I'm terrified of what I'll do when I end up living in a new house without the family I've grown up with, and I'm devastated to be moving away from the boyfriend who recently moved 200 miles to be closer to me. 

Cosplay Capers - Mad Max

As I have mentioned before in a previous post; budget cosplay is something I love to do!

My most recent cosplay plan (intended to make an appearance of this October's MCM) is Capable from the new Mad Max, (the ginger wife ;))

Now if you're a little skint but still want to work on a costume, I would totally recommend one of the five wives from Fury Road, because for me this is possibly the cheapest cosplay I've done to date! Here's a basic breakdown of what I needed to create it; (*note* some of these items shift price regularly, so I've just entered the prices that I paid at the time, do shop around for the best price for you!)

Pride.

I remember a time in college when a close friend of mine had looked at me with an expression of worry and said;

'So I suppose you don't support same-sex relationships, since you're a Christian?' 

And all I could do was stare at them in complete shock. 

I eventually managed to fumble together an answer that wasn't as put together as I would have hoped, explaining how I felt my religion was one of love and that, while I didn't personally swing that way, I fully supported the 'crazy' concept of someone being able to love a person of the same gender without discrimination. 

With all the excitement going on recently to do with the legalization of same sex marriage in the US (woo America you made an awesome choice!!), there's been a few negative comments that were always bound to follow. 

Gap Years - The Pros

A small article compiling the reasons why taking a gap year was one of the best decisions I could have made.

(**Note - This is just my opinion, I am now going to university in September 2015 for a three year course and couldn't be more thrilled, I'm not suggesting everyone should take a gap year, I just want to put out the good points about them in a system where university can often be pushed onto young students who are unsure of their options.**)

Let's face it, education can be gruelling, nerve-wracking and sometimes just plain dull, by the time I got to my last days of college I had been in school for fourteen consecutive years, and for future generations the element of choice in that period is beginning to be totally eradicated. By no means am I arguing against education with this article, because unfortunately the old adult saying of 'these are the best years of your life' is actually completely true.

Kids These Days...

When I was younger I always made sure I said 'please' and 'thank you' when it was expected, and if I forgot to then you can bet that I was called out on it.

If I lost control of my temper and snapped at someone I apologised profusely and explained my reasons afterwards, without using them as an excuse. If I unintentionally caused upset or disorder then I apologised, even though I hadn't done it on purpose.

If someone was speaking, I listened, and if a teacher, parent or any kind of authority figure spoke I wouldn't dare to talk over them.

I respected the people that taught me, lead me and raised me; and this behaviour has given me one hell of a head start into adult life.

Trading in Grandma

"Hi there! How can I help you today miss?" The overly perky male attendent smiled expectantly into the defiantly flippy-fringed and overly made-up face, blatantly ignoring the slightly creased but still perfectly functional piece she was holding. 

"Uh yeah I'd like to trade in grandma." Her bored tone suggested the 'I couldn't care less' stage of her life was already in full swing, although the dark circles carefully drawn round her eyes implied the boredom was also very deliberately applied for show, she was the kind of customer that made this whole enterprise worthwhile. 

"Certainly, did you have anything in mind for the exchange?" The old lady at her side opened her mouth as if to suggest something, thought better of it, and kept quiet again, eyes averted. It was clear this kind of decision didn't involve her input and she would just be seen as a nuisance if she attempted to deliver it. 

"Well her original label was June, I was thinking some kind of variation of that?" The girl played a hard bargain, not giving all the answers, expecting the quality of service given to all of her friends before her most probably.