My exciting sunday

Sorry my blog earlier was quite short bt it was becasue I've had my boyfriend here over the past few days so we've been sharing th computer and unfortunately I'm one of those fussy people who cant stand other people looking over your shoulder while you type!!

So here's the quick run down of my exciting easter sunday:
1) Slept in quite late (blame the boyfriend for that- You all know what I mean)
2) Was going to build a snowman/ woman but it was too cold
3) Tried to tidy the house before the parents return from holiday tomorrow
4) Had a heart attack because i though the washing machine had broken down- it hadnt
5) Realised that all the shops were shut and we had NO food and one hungry boy in the house
6) Spent 10 minutes defrosting the car
7) Took my auntys 3 mental dogs for a walk- i.e they took me for a walk
8) Dog pooed on pavement in full view of the entire street- Nearly died of shame
9) Gave up on trying to find a shop that was open and went out for food instead
10) Tryed to teach Boyfriend how to make bed properly only to be told that he did not appreciate me having so many cushions on the bed and they were ''pointless'

What an exciting day i had. lol. On the plus side all I've got to do tomorrow is a bit of hoovering and washing up then the house is all ready for when the parents arrive home!!

Love
North of the border
xxxx

Snow job

It has snowed overnight!!! Now this is not the first time it has ever snowed at easter and statistically it is more likely to snow at Easter than at Christmas. however even though I am 20 there is still something about snow that just makes me go awwwww.

Lovez
North of the border

Tired

You might be wondering where I have been for all week. I have been working day and night. Lack of sleep is finally catching up with me. It has been quite a week.

I am feeling crapy because I'm tired and miss home(Zambia). This is gonna be long weekend and I'm not going home.

I thought I could get plastered this weekend but no chance. It's easter week and being Catholic means I have to observe the Lent season to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ so I have gave up alcohol during the Lent.

Happy Easter!

Ring my Bell

I know, it's been a while, but, we are on holiday!!

A note to North of the Border, I think the most important lesson you may have learnt thus far is, not to give a crazy person your phone number.

Words like, 'I have no credit' 'It just ran out' 'No signal' 'Get away from me crazy man' springs to my mind!

We all live and learn through these things and, as your classroom mummy, being the eldest in the class, I will say, 'I hope you've learnt your lesson, and don't do it again!!'

But on a serious note, be glad he is unable to trace your movements with your number and hasn't got your address. Text messages you can ignore and, as you have his number, you needn't pick up when he, or any withheld number calls. It's a pain but, he'll give up after a while, he may meet someone else on the train... As long as she is over 16 it is perfectly legal... Your safety is paramount...

A word to the elder set, this also applies for Marriott salesmen trying to sell you a once in a lifetime 5* hotel, 4 day deal but does not take the debit card with funds, you are offering and hunts you down for a MasterCard that has no funds...

He had the sale before we stopped, he actually talked his way out of it!!


You can ring my beeeeeeel, ring my bell, ding dong, dingaling aling......

OMFG!!! (continued....)

Right so I have rung the wonderful people at Vodafone only to find that they cant block only one number off a pay as you go mobile phone. WTF??? With all the technology we've got in the world you'd think that we could at least block a persons stalker!!!!

OMFG!!

Hey everyone, ok so you're all been a bit shit at posting since we left the old uni for easter :( Got blogging peeps!!! I'm basically on here cos something beyond scary happened today and it's kind of a worning to all you other girlies out there who sometimes travel by yourselves on our fantastic public transport system.

Today i was tres excited because I was coming to see my bestest frine who is a t uni in Carlisle (that's in cumbria for those of you who don't know or who are thick) so i had to catch 2 trains to get here and it was meant to take 3 hours 34 mins. However as usual our public transport was crap and my second train was 15 minutes late (no suprises there then!!) {This isn't the scary bit by the way}

So I (eventually) get on my second train and the train is empty, i mean totally empty there is literally me and 3 old ladies on the entire train but of course because i am the loonie magnet a guy comes and sits right doen next to me when there's the whole bloody train that he could have sat down on :( :(

Now i'm a pretty easy going person so this didnt bother me too much until he started talking to me, i dont mean just like how's the weather i mean like properly in depth talking to me. This was a bit weird by anyones standards but here is where it gets even weirder. We're just sat there and I keep doing the thing where you pretend to be reading the paper so that they won't talk to you but he just wasn't getting the hint at all. So he gets out a pad of paper and writes down his number on it. He gives it to me and stupidly i take it. Ok so he then asks me to ring it to make sure that it's the right number and like a fool i do so he now has MY number. SHIT!!

But it doesn't end there this is where it gets scary. We're sat talking and I've already established that he's 25 and he starts telling me about when he was waiting for a train once and there was this young girl stood eaiting for the train and she was cold so she didnt have a coat so he offered his, very gentlemanly you may think until he tells me that she was 16 and that he asked her out. OMFG!!! Why the hell do i always meet these type of people??

It gets worse. When we get off the train he says he hopes thah he'll see me again even though i've made it VERY clear that i have a boyfriend and am not interested in him AT ALL!! (He was soooooooooo ugly).

So now I have a stalker, he's already text me twice and asked if he can see me again and I'm actually a bit scared because I don't know how to block him on my phone!!! HELP!!!

If you know how to block people on a Nokia 7373 please get in touch.

Love
North of the Border
xxx

It is just one of those days....

Ok so yes I've been home for a few days but I've been extra busy so please excuse me for not blogging before. Right then lets begin, I get home on Friday night at about 4.30pm after a 5 hour train marathon so I am a) Tired b) Dirty from the tube and C) Hungry because M&S in Kings Cross is shite. So just to add to my fantastic mood I get home take one look at my car and know that something is wrong. Now I'm not a car expert or anything but I'm pretty sure that you're exhaust is not meant to trail all over the floor and make that most ridiculous rocket noise whan you drive said car. So we begin the hunt for a garage that is open on a sunday morning. Now I'm sure that when an ad in the yellow pages says 'Open 7 days a week' that means EVERY day of the week, how wrong can you get. In the end can't find one that can take me on Sunday so have to wait until today when they can 'slot me in' -their words not mine. So when i ask how much this little operation on my car is going to cost i'm expecting about £50.00 give or take a bit but no I have apparently underestimated that car world and am told that it will cost at least £125.00. £125.00!!!!! I'm a student i cannot afford this expense so I have too options, i can tie it back on with a bit of hairy band (that's yorkshirish for bungey cords) or i can go and consult that bank of mum and dad and ask for a loan. I went for the slightly more dangerous option of asking the parents and amazingly they actually gave me the money (OMG!) so I now have a shiny new exhaust and my car sounds normal again.

That's all for now folks, love
North of the border
xxxxxxx

p.s I love been home!!!

Ladies Nite (Ladies who lunch)

Now, I'm not crazy, or loose minded. I do know this blog exercise finished on Friday, but as North of the Border previously stated, we had so much fun, we decided we'd continue, so, here I am, the first of the continuer's.

I've gotten to a time in my life where my friends and I rarely see each other, between work and family commitments, there seem to be no time for the friends who were once the center of my universe, so, when we manage to palm off the kids on daddies on one our, rare, days off of work it becomes an extra special event, one of which we promise each other we'll do again real soon, and regularly.

Yesterday we went to the Ideal Home Exhibition. I met up with, for the purpose of anonymity we will say Eesh, Eesh at Neasden train station, our journey was just beginning. We hoped from train to train catching up on stuff.
Eesh is a 'new' friend. We met in 2006 when we both joined the student union at our college, both being Gemini's and both being tall and pushy we became a formidable force and are known as the notorious twins. Eesh is a 30 year old mum of two, boy and girl 13 and 9 respectively, and studies Health and social care, she will attend Kingston University in September of this year. Eesh is single and still looking, using self help books!

When we arrived at Earls Court train station, a very fed up Tits, also for the purpose of anonymity, had been waiting half an hour. Two become three.
Tits is a 30 year old mother of two boys 14 and 9, she has a 2-1 law degree and a masters in law. She teaches media law to students at LCC part time, works in MCPS during the week and Whistles clothing store on the weekend. We have know each other since our eldest were two, I taught both her boys at primary level and her youngest is my godson. Tits is single, a new homeowner and happy just as she is.

We went into the exhibition hall with our pre-printed tickets, flirting for extra freebies or just to boost our own confidences, which seems most likely. Talking about interior design and catching up. Half an hour later a call from Phee. She as at the entrance. Three become four.
Phee is 28. Tits worked for Phee in 2004 when Phee had her own PR company with people such as Tim Westwood and Rapper Nelly's clothing label Apple Bottom Jeans on her books.
Phee now works for a global PR company, with her own secretary and office. Phee is also a new homeowner, single and definitely looking also using self help books.

Four black women in the Ideal home exhibition, bring it on!!
After an hour we get a call from J, she is also now at the entrance. J is over 33, has three children, boy girl girl. 9, 8 and 1 respectively. J and tits 9 year olds are friends at school, J is a teacher and plays the fiddle at Irish pubs part time. J is recently divorced, fed up of looking, and has the two girl with her. J is white her children are mixed race.
Four becomes 7!

It is such a girlie day I revel in the joy. At home I am the only girl so it feels so damn good to be free.

Until... J goes to the changing room to clean baby. She puts her bag down by the buggy. An attendant is in the room, talks to her for a short while then leaves. J's handbag is gone too. It has her car keys, house keys, cheque book and a 410 pound Prada wallet with a fiver in it. It was a baby changing room, no-body else was in it. We all check the room, no bag. Security is called. A huge pat on the back for the security at the Ideal Home exhibition, they came running in full force. The description goes out. The attendant/cleaner was black, very dark skinned, African, with plaited extensions, and a striped shirt. The hunt is on. Two girls are brought for ID. It's not them. Now the quote of the day comes as we walk to the security office; Tits, gotta love her, says 'How many black, African cleaners with extensions could there possibly be?', to which I answer, 'Huh? Are you for real?... Ask Cheryl Cole!' I mean, come on!! It would have been easier to say the attendant was a white, English female... it would have been like, 'oh Sally, yes of course!!'

After Half an hour of security looking for the elusive agency worker, J's handbag is found, in the changing room, stuffed behind the bin. Everything is still in it and security assure that action will be taken in the way of an investigation. It was not there before, security had also checked before hand so we are not just crazy attention seeking women.

What a day. J goes home with baby, very stressed. 7 become 5.
We pile into Tits'car with all our goodies, still feeling hyper from the events of the day.

We discuss the now found Shannon, Tits confuses with Maddie and has no idea who Shannon is. We let her know and tell her that she and a 39 year old man was found alive and well in the bottom of a Divan bed base. Tits: 'Well he must be mad, he lives in the bottom of a bed' The laughter roars through the car. 'WHAT?' 'he was hiding in the bed not living there!' And all this before we even cracked open the bottle of Shiraz!

I can't wait for the next time we all meet up again... Whadya say girls... Chelsea Flower Show?!



Oh this ladies nite and we're feeling right, oh this is ladies nite oh what a night!

Rainbow...

OMG LOOK AT THIS!!!

Every little helps

I think its fair to say that, over the last few days, I haven't exactly been very positive about the whole supermarket work experience. And with good reason - in general, it's shit. But that's not to say there aren't occasional highlights that tend to occur, say, every few weeks or so.

Take the customers, for example. The majority of them look at you as if they've just scraped you off the bottom of their shoe. They're rude, arrogant and, broadly speaking, not very nice to deal with. But every once in a while, you end up serving a member of the public who restores your faith in humanity. Just last week, halfway through another miserable shift, a very ordinary looking man came to my till with a couple of mates. Everything was going as normal - no "Hello, how are you?" and barely even a response when I asked if he wanted a bag. And then suddenly, when asked if he was collecting "Computers/Sports/Something Else for Schools" vouchers, he replied: "No... I don't give a shit about kids."

Now, that might not sound particularly funny. It might not even sound very interesting. But the thing with having a mind-numbing job is that it makes things that would otherwise be completely ordinary seem like works of genius. And as long as I need the money badly enough to carry on spending my spare time stacking shelves, I might as well thank the everyday people like the good gentleman above for helping to get me through university. Well, sort of.

It's Friday

Yeppie it's friday! But I'm a bit sad that it is our last day of going live. But then again to hell with that I will continue posting during my break and share with you my days in my life.

I have really enjoyed blogging. I have exprienced a sense of belonging to a point where I have been completely honest. My fellow bloggers have become my friends, sisters and a brother.

So folks enjoy your weekend and as my tutor said this morning; "christians have a lovely easter holiday and the non christians enjoy the holidays anyway". Later

Image credit:kidsturncentral2.com/ecardgraphics/ecard10.gif

Is that all there is??

So our little experiment has come to an end, we are at the end of our online assessment thing so we're meant to finish here. HOWEVER, we (the fab six) had a bit of a talkie earlier and we've unofficially decided to keep our blog going over easter and into the beyondness of forever. Yippee. So stay strapped to your seats peeps and keep watching this space!!!

Orangina

Friday mornings are probably a chore for most people, that impending fun or relaxed weekend with the barrier of Friday in the way; but I love Friday mornings. This is where I am taught by the first teacher I've come across in many a year who gets my cranial juices flowing.

I feel the lull in the class and hear the soft breathing of those who are asleep during the film of the day, but I love this class. Is it right to censor journalistic reports? Are the Government conspirators, who consistently lie to their electors or are they just incompetent fat cats?

I never believed I had any real interest in politics until my Friday morning lessons; in which i have found that I may probably be more political than most and the lives of the voting public, revolve around politics whether we want it or not.

Some go to sleep in this class, but I wake up, things I have always known and had refused to acknowledge buzz around the inside of my head like the bits at the bottom of a bottle of Orangina... Thank crunchie it's Friday!


Orangina now you see her... la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la....!!


p.s
Apparently this is it... It's been real, real therapeutic, Thank you and goodbye xx

FIN

So, our assessment deadline has hit and we have the right to cease posting. HOWEVER, I was unaware of the fact that we weren't supposed to carry on posting after easter. I still have a bajillion festival recommendations to hurl at you beautiful summer children, and so am going to continue posting over the chocolate egg season.

That, my darling dears, is dedication.

So all that remains is to say auf wiedersehen for now, and I'll be back again soon for a touch more of the old bloggaroo.
Happy Easter.
May your eggs be large and your chicks be fluffy.

We're all the same, aren't we??

When I first moved into halls at the end of last August to say it was a culture shock is the biggest understatement ever. Suddenly here I was coming straight from my gap year of work and travel and been thrown into a hugely mixed campus. Where I live up north there are hardly any people of black, Asian or mixed race. In fact both my primary and secondary schools were 100% white and it wasn’t until I went to a private school for the sixth form that I actually ‘knew’ a person who wasn’t white. Now a lot of people won’t be able to understand this because most of my university friends are from the greater London area and therefore used to a mixed race environment but to me London is like this great bustling city full of people who are all different and who all have something else to give to our ever evolving culture.

However, there is a slight problem. Language and dialect. I don’t think that I speak very broad Yorkshirish but I just can’t understand what people say sometimes!! It’s not just how people talk either sometimes it’s what they say. Take my housemate who lives in the centre of London, if I ever say something and you’d normally respond ‘Really?’ she says ‘Innit?’ and the first time she said it I didn’t have a clue what it meant! but that’s the thing about been at uni, you have to learn and adapt to other people and how they work, I mean after all isn’t that all part of the uni experience??

money issues and priorities

We are breaking for Easter tomorrow, so no uni for two weeks. Yeay!

I’ m so exhausted, I have spent the entire week researching for my essays and trying to get bits of work done.

This break means I can work more hours. Money is my main worry. I don’t receive any government grants from my country. My tuition fees and rent are paid for by my family and fiancé but I have to pay my for transport and other bills. I work two or three times a week from 7am until 9pm or 2pm until 9pm and sometimes 7am until 2pm just to help make ends meet. And somehow I have to make time to study and make sure I pass my degree. When you are charged more than £8,000 in tuition fee alone, failure is just not an option

I know I can save money on clothes by avoiding high street shops and head to places like Finsbury Park or even charity shops or Saturday and Sunday markets for cheap good stuff. But I am scared of buying clothes from charity shops in case I buy clothes that belonged to a dead person and they might just come back from the dead and ask me they clothes but that’s just me being superstitious. Finsbury Park is just too far me so I settle for the high street even though my pocket is too low.

All these things can make student life seem a total nightmare.

You don't have to be mad to work here - but it helps

One thing I haven't really gone into great detail on so far is the subject of co-workers. Yesterday I talked about the shop assistant stereotype and how it isn't necessarily true all the time. However, I'm not going to pretend that, sometimes, it can be somewhat justified.

I think if you were to survey every supermarket in the country, you'd find that the vast majority of their customer assistants are either teenagers working for a bit of beer money or young-to-middle aged mothers. The reason being that - let's face it - you do not have to be highly-skilled or highly-qualified to work in a supermarket. Very rarely will you meet a shop assistant who plans on having a career in retail. On the other hand, the very nature of the job means that there will always be members of staff who you could describe as being "a sandwich short of a picnic," for want of a better expression. But over the years, I have worked with some truly remarkable people - for all the wrong reasons.

Just for example: At the moment, I work with two women with the same name - no, wait, that's not the strange bit - one of whom is 79 years old, calls me a different name every week (despite the fact I wear a name badge) and has almost definitely worked at the same place since Mrs Thatcher was in power. The other isn't much younger, has recently returned to England after spending half a lifetime living in Belgium and thinks she has psychic healing abilities.

You couldn't make it up, could you? And having spent the last couple of years working in retail, I have to admit that it's not unusual to meet such "characters". 18-year-olds with two kids, single parents that make Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty look like model parents, I've worked with them all, and chances are there will be people just like them working at your local.

So, a little word of warning to go with what I said at the end of yesterday's post. Next time you're shopping you may well be having trouble finding the orange juice, but finding a sane customer assistant to ask might just be even harder...

your guide to the festival season

All Tomorrows Parties '08:

ATP Festival-curated by Explosions In The Sky.

from Friday 16th May to Sunday 18th May, festival line up:
EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY »
BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE »
IRON AND WINE »
DINOSAUR JR »
ADEM »
....AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF THE DEAD »
POLVO »
ANIMAL COLLECTIVE »
A HAWK AND A HACKSAW »
ELUVIUM »
OLA PODRIDA »
LAZARUS »
THE PAPER CHASE »
FOUR TET »
GHOSTFACE KILLAH »
WESTERN KEYS »
SILVER JEWS »
JENS LEKMAN »
MONO »
TONY TEARDROP »
THE DRIFT »
THE NATIONAL »
LIARS »
SUNSET RUBDOWN »
LICHENS »
STARS OF THE LID »
BATTLES »
DE LA SOUL »
SAUL WILLIAMS »
RAEKWON »
THE FIELD »
OKKERVIL RIVER »
ATLAS SOUND »
THE PALE GALLERY »
THE OCTOPUS PROJECT »
CONSTANTINES »

I can tell you from personal experience, this festival tops many I've been to. The line-up is always incredible and diverse, the people are friendly, the atmosphere is relaxed, and it's perfect for those who love great music but don't like to camp in the great outdoors. 

Held at Butlins in Minehead, both self-catering apartments and 2,3,4,5 and 6 berth rooms are available. Just make sure you pack a lot of food and drink before you go or you'll get a nasty shock. I ran out of money on the Sunday and had to go hungry. Butlins food prices are -extravagant-.

Nick Cave performing at ATP '07:



Tickets must be ordered in groups according to however many people are sharing a room, and cost from £140.

And not that it will EVER happen, but if you get bored of watching the music you can mess around with the services the resort itself has to offer- for example the cinema, the swimming pool and amusement arcade.

And last year, the organisers held a poll of ATP go-ers favourite television programmes and films, compiled a list of the most popular and showed everything back to back- no breaks- on ATP-TV, one film channel and one channel for seasons of programmes like Family Guy, Futurama, Brass Eye, Peep Show, The Mighty Boosh, and many more cult TV series'.
Something for everyone.



Awesomeness rating: *****

Green Man festival '08: 

Friday 15th to Sunday 17th August.

Just as it was in 2007, the festival will be remaining the same size at 10,000 people.

Held at Glanusk Park in Wales, the line-up as yet is TBA, but Beirut and Super Furry Animals are said to be headlining.

This festival is wonderful. Under 12's go free- a tamer atmosphere than festivals such as Reading and Leeds; family friendly. Just a lovely atmosphere full of folk music and hippies. Camping is a MUST- the atmosphere on the campsite is as chilled as the arena, so make the most of the tent-pocked fields and new neighbours as is possible. Ticket prices start at £105 for one adult (camping), excluding the booking fee. A must for those of you who are nature children and/or mellow folk/alternative music lovers.

Awesomeness rating: ****

Over the next few posts, expect more news, reviews and information to help you decide where you should/could be spending your summer months. I shall be covering the following music orientated events to give you an insight into each one:

• Reading/Leeds Festivals '08
  
• Global Gathering
  
• Benicassim
• Bestival
  
• WOMAD
  
• Wasted
• V Festival
  

I wanna be a rock star...

Every one wants to be the center of attention, all want to be in charge; but what would happen if everyone was a rock star. Economically it couldn't work, the rate of pay would have divide by, oh I dunno, about seven billion! Could every one be cleaners? I don't think so. We would have a very clean world but what about everything else? How dirty could the world be without drivers, cooks, who would teach? But with this capitalist society we live in, every one aspires to be on top, but only one person can be on top, otherwise it's not on top is it?

What do you actually do when you are on top? Other than try to stay there of course. Isn't it your responsibility to be a shining beacon for all to follow? But even at the top we are all just human and have the many flaws humans come with.

Abraham Maslow devised a chart to help explain the human psyche called, the hierarchy of needs, often used as a way to alert leaders to the facts that every one is different. Their are five steps on a triangle and people are asked to place the things most important to them in order with the most important at the top of the triangle. The things included, money, food, shelter, social and the last one has completely left my mind. What the person at the top may want may not be the same as all the others.

We apply this to politics. The person we look up to in politics is often the Prime Minster, the issue highest on the Prime minister's hierarchy could be food, we need to food to survive, but the majority of people may say that money is more important as we need money to by the food. the leader, person at the top understands that this is a democratic society and that no one person can decide what is best for all , and that the people are very capable of making decisions based on their needs.

We then apply this to the student union executive of which I am an elected member of. A usual fortnightly meeting was had with three members not in attendance. A proposal was brought forward to which there was a vote. All bar one, the President of the union, voted for. The motion to research and build on the proposal to bring to college management in the future was carried. The President of the union then announced that he would continue to oppose this all the way. It was explained to him that as the union was run democratically, and that the union represented it's students who had voted for them, the majority vote ruled; to which he answered 'I am the President, I vote against, what I say happens'.

The President has since been overthrown, a dramatic choice of words but it matches the drama of the situation. We live in a democratic state but are governed by capitalist ideals to which people aspire to be on top, I'm not the brightest spark but it seems a little contradictory to me. Is real democracy communist?? An idea of equality doesn't seem that bad. But does that leave us open to dictators, but what about the government we have now, what leads us to believe that we are not being dictated to. What are our options when casting our vote, dumb, dumbo and dumbest. What differences are we being offered how can we choose, could democracy be just like the white rabbit in the Alice of Wonderland, illusive? I have two children and like to offer them choices, but I control that choice. I say choose a cereal but I but the cereal, of three choices. What I chose from the supermarket. What is top of my hierarchy of needs?

It's amazing what can of worms a wanna be dictator opens in one student union executive meeting. Ramble ramble ramble!


The girls come easy and the drugs are cheap and we'll all get skinny cause we just won't eat; Hey hey I wanna be a rock star...

The long way round...

Ok so even though I said that I can handle a long distance relationship the other day I do have weak moments when I just want to go home and have a bit of a cuddle. For example at 2.00am this morning I was in bed watching Night Watch (if you’ve never seen it shame on you!) and I just got this horrible lonely feeling. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not going to sit here and write my suicide note, I just needed a hug and because I couldn’t have one I was a bit miserable.

Now this made me think, ok so my boyfriends a few hundred miles away and it doesn’t bother us that much but how do people who live on the opposite side of the world to each other manage?? Take my friend Banana* her boyfriend Seed*. He emigrated to New Zealand just before Christmas and I think they both deserve a medal for keeping their relationship going- in fact she’s over there at the minute visiting him and having a fantastic time (you should see the photos!). However, I silently question how long they can last when she’s here and he’s a 27 hour mega expensive flight away, but I’d never say this to her because she’s my friend and don’t we all just want the best for our friends and family??

*I’ve changed names to protect the anonymity of people that I know

Sexual Healing

Marvin Gaye, a genius....


I have been in this relationship with my partner now for the past three years. We are engaged to be married next year in Barbados but that is a whole other story... Don't ever plan your own wedding, hire a damn wedding planner, it's less stress; anyway, back to the point.
My relationship. I was with my last partner for over five years and it was abusive. He hurt physically and emotionally, I can look back now and smile, but it wasn't easy. He put me into hospital more times than I can remember, every finger on both hands had been fractured at one point, as for sex; I hated him so much I learned to turn my body off, I would say no but it didn't stop him, he'd just carry on.

I never thought I would ever feel again until I met my fiance, things had been great, I was alive again, but hell that man has serious issues. I know I'm older but only by two years. Every night at least three times a night! Shit, I'm bloody tired! With Uni, evening classes at college, the kids, the student union, work and life in general how the hell can I keep up?

I love him uncontrollably, he is everything I ever dreamed and more, looks, personality, a brilliant dad and a best friend; but I am tired as hell, do I tell him I'll get kinky and invite someone in whilst I take a well earned rest? It's not really cheating if I'm there to watch! Do I tell him 'not tonight love I've got a headache'? It has gotten to be that the quality just isn't there, I just lie there and allow him to finish because I'm just too tired to join in, I turn myself off, he may as well have a blow-up doll!!
I considered all of the above but decided just to be honest. I watched a show called 'How to have sex after marriage', on channel five, I want to be able to keep the spark before the wedding. I'd hate to become numb again, not with him, he doesn't deserve it. When I spoke to him about the sex he said 'Quality, not quantity' he wasn't satisfied so needed more... I was tired and not involving myself, and he was just trying to 'get some'! So now what?

Last night was amazing, from three times to twice and he let me sleep, we talked, it was intimate, he was gentle and I no longer felt tired! Hell he woke up every damn thing!! I felt so energetic today I'ma ask doctor love for a double dose tonight!!!

The moral of my story is, don't allow things to get stale and always talk about it. He loves me enough to listen without taking offense and the same with me. Yes I'm tired sometimes, but if I make the extra effort it will satisfy my man enough to let me rest without having to call in the kinky brigade!!

Get up, get up, get up, get up, let's make love tonight; wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, cause you do it right!!
When I get that feeling I want...

Day in my life

It was a cold and sunny day outside today luckily I was off work and had no uni today.

I have spent my day watching BET while I write this post…I have had a relaxing day flicking through channels lazing on the couch.

I have the weirdest nights such that my fiancé is amazed at my ability to go the toilet during the night with my eyes shut and not wake up. I do not turn on the lights because I’m afraid that I might wake up and miss out on a few minutes of sleep.

I am usually very tired because of the travelling I have to do. I live in South East London, have a part time job in North West of London and my uni is in South West London. I’m physically and emotionally drained. I wish if I could do the degree and not having to work would be a great thing but I am at a stage were bills need to be paid.

I have become so consumed with everything that I have forgotten how to relax and watch TV without feeling guilty. I live with my fiancé and I have make sure that he is fed, do housework and school work but I don’t do ironing that he has do himself and maybe sometimes make his own dinner. As if my plate isn’t full, I have to plan my wedding which is in December this year and lose weight to fit into my dream dress.

Anyway we were given task for Friday lesson to research on 'Death on the Rock' and I have to speak in front of classmates. There are worries on my mind about whether I can do the presentation and if my classmates will understand my accent.

It's nothing to shout about

In my post yesterday I talked about supermarket customers being "a pain in the arse". And I feel I need to expand on that a bit. See, until you've had a taste of what it's like to have to constantly be putting food on the shelves instead of occassionally taking it off, you don't realise just how rude people are.

After a few weeks of working a supermarket you begin to realise that, as soon as someone walks through the door with a shopping list, something comes over them. You start to see entire families arguing over who will complain to someone first about the lack of chocolate digestives in aisle 8, and well-respected members of local society are overcome with what can only be described as "trolley rage", usually directed at the nearest member of staff. And those two examples are nothing compared to the earfuls you'll get if the bacon has been moved a couple of aisles from where it used to be.

A customer's eye view of the phenomenon known only as "trolley rage"

Unless you've experienced it first hand, it sounds almost unimaginable. And it's completely inexplicable. Sometime over the last 30 years or so, out of nowhere, the stereotype of the stupid, worthless, ignorant shop assistant was born. I'm not saying there aren't hundreds, probably even thousands, of bad customer assistants in shops up and down the country - quite the opposite in fact - but the general public now have such a fixed image of what a customer assistant should be like that they now don't give the decent ones amongst us the time of day. I'm hard pressed to remember a shift where I haven't dealt with at least a dozen people who seem to have forgotten how to say "please" and "thank you", or even "hello" and "goodbye".

It seems that shop assistants are seen nowadays as more of a hindrance than a help. People forget that if we didn't do our jobs there would be no food on the shelves for them to buy in the first place, and have got it in their heads that we're to blame if the delivery company hasn't sent us any chicken, or if the manager hasn't managed to get enough staff in to cover for all the people that have thrown a sicky to go and get their hair done.

So if you're reading this, next time you go to shout at a supermarket shelf-stacker for not having any one-pint bottles of full-fat milk, you should remember a few things. Firstly, they won't care if you've had a shit day at work - chances are they're not exactly having the time their life either. Also, remember that they can only put on the shelves what someone else has put in the warehouse, and that they have nothing to do with items being out of stock. And finally, please, please remember that if you are a polite to a shop assistant, nine out of ten times they will be polite to you back. Who knows, they might even find what you're looking for out the back.

House hunting...

...Is an enormous pain in the proverbial arse.

ESPECIALLY when there are six people to fit into one building.

We were offered a six bedroom house in Aldershot complete with lounge, garden, dining room, master bedroom with en suite bathroom and two garages on the side of the house. It all seemed so perfect. The landlady was lovely, and the whole area was rather twee and sweet-looking. Con's:
◊ The housing area is right on the edge of an industrial estate, parallel to a dual carriageway.
◊ The majority of the locals seem to be chavvy yobs.
◊ Transport between that particular area of Aldershot and Farnham is ridiculously irregular and inconvenient.

In addition to this, the housing list comes out on the 28th of March- which in my opinion, is crap. The majority of students are still on Easter vacation time, and it means that people who would have otherwise been organised enough to sort out their houses earlier on a first-come-first-served basis (which to me is both fairer and less ridiculous than releasing all details in the same day, and fighting tooth and nail past engaged phones and stressed landlords to find somewhere to live,) don't get the chance.
PLUS three of the six of us are either abroad or filming on location for their courses on the date the list comes out. Keira's trip abroad being compulsory- and cleverly organised to cover the most hectic house-hunting time.
ARG.

Completely drained. Plodding around Aldershot in gale force winds all day getting dirty looks from locals is NOT the way to spend a day. Also, am frustrated and enraged about how badly organised this whole system seems to be.
We are adults. We are competent enough to trawl through estate agents and landlords in order to find suitable student housing. So why, WHY, are the accommodation department hoarding this information until the last minute, before throwing students a myriad of phone numbers for prospective landlords creating more stress and chaos than is necessary?

Song of the day: SoKo, I will never love you more.

The rain in spain

Ok so we're not in Spain but that was the only title that I could think of that was suitable and I hope that you'll understand why in a minute...

1.41am
The wind is quite literally trying to get into my room. No seriously it’s really scary. To try and fend the wind off I have used half a roll of sellotape to try and block up all the holes around my window frame. However, the wind hasn’t got the message and is still trying it’s best to get in through the teeny tiny holes that I’ve missed and is now making a whistling noise like a kettle. Chance of sleep = Zero.

10.00am
Oh goodie, to top off the wind apparently while I slept last night (god bless free earplugs you get on aeroplanes) it rained!! And guess what?? The rain somehow managed to find its way into my room while I was asleep so I woke up to a puddle on my desk this morning and a lot of wet post-it notes. Fantastic!!

10.05am
I have pottered down to the porters lodge to have a rant about the general state of our accommodation (in my pj’s which proves how desperate I am) only to find that the porter has also pottered off somewhere too and I just cant bring myself to push the big red emergency button on the door so I slouch off home to get dressed and prepared for battle with the powers that be (the accommodation office).

Wish me luck!!

Love
North of the Border

It was bad enough when I was getting paid...

"I'm only working here 'cause I need the fucking money," sang Frank Turner on the Million Dead track To Whom It May Concern. And for nearly two years now, that song has begun playing in my head every Saturday morning as I walk in to work, often continuing throughout the day. However, recently, that hasn't been the case.

Thing is, as I write this, it's been exactly 39 days since I last got paid and, after talking to my manager earlier this evening, it looks as if it could be another 39 days until the money starts trickling in again. Allow me to explain - as I'm currently contracted to work at two different stores depending on whether I'm at university or at home, each time I change stores it's up to the personnel department to transfer my details to whichever one I'm due to be working at. After Christmas, though, one store decided that they weren't going to transfer me back. Better still, they thought they'd remove me from the company's books altogether.

So, after over 18 months of loyal service in the world of shelf-stacking, I was (and still am) left with nothing. Well, I still have a place to live and clothes to wear and everything, but all my hard-earned privileges, such as my discount card and, most importantly, my monthly payslip, are no more.

Apparently this isn't the first time it's happened either, and it's a good illustration of just why so many people dislike shop work. Sure, the job is tedious (for a basic Customer Assistant, at least), the customers are a pain in the arse and the pay is far from remarkable. But the biggest kick in the proverbial three-piece suite is that, more often than not, you end up working for a bunch of brainless twats who hate their jobs just as much as you, if not more. And how can you honestly entrust someone who can't stand their own job with the task of making someone else's easier?

Water Boarding continued...

Right well I’m not really sure where to start…apart from the fact that I’m absolutely wrecked and struggling to keep my eyes open in front of a computer.

I’ve spent most of the day typing up scripts and copy stories and editing clips in front of a computer screen, dealing with the build up to the Budget. I also went to interview a farmer who’s only answer to the prospect of increased tax on the 4x4s he uses on and off his farm is to use the tractor instead…I’m sure that’s going to help C02 emissions and fuel consumption at 5 miles per gallon…great foresight from Mr Darling…again.


Oh the water boarding update…well you wont believe it but I had a bit of a Sherlock Holmes type discovery last evening…



I was chatting in the pub…yes another thing us students sometimes do, although it was the first time I’d been in one since the Rugby World Cup…anyway I was chatting, and as I retold my watery nightmare there was an uncanny recognition coming from one of my listeners. The similar experience of rainy awakenings…a mirror image of my sleepless nights…how could this be??? Well it turned out that mine was not the only tale of watery woe to come from the exact same location…only a year previously the same story had unfolded and the same action by the occupant had been taken.

Now I should probably explain what happened yesterday evening…before the pub outing…it was a busy day, what can I say…a gentleman of senior years came to inspect my leakage problem…well I say he was of senior years, I didn’t actually meet him as I was at Farnham Health Clinic being told it was now time for an implant, but that’s another story for a different day. This was recounted to me by one of my flat mates.

So the fellow in question apparently said: he couldn’t see where the water was coming from…it might be coming in from a vent somewhere…it probably wont get fixed for a while and he couldn’t get up his ladder to have a look because it was too windy.

VENT!! The only ventilation going on is through the multiple holes in my bleeding ceiling…aaaaaggggghhh

Introduction to yours truly postponed again…

Money, money, money...

It seems strange that once again I start with part of a song, it must be that DJ in me!!!

I called student finance today to find out what was happening with my claim for the childcare grant. The fees are 135 pounds a week. I received 48 pounds from the tax credit office and 30 pounds from the child benefit office. It doesn't take a mathematician to work out that I just don't have enough money. I know that it's something that all students complain about but shit, I've got a family to feed. It makes me question whether my decision to return to studies was a good idea, or a little self indulgent.

My application to the student finance department was sent before the deadline, but, they needed more information, which I sent, as soon as they requested it, but; my postage was six pence short and, the information was returned. Damn that new postage system, what the hell is it all about anyway?
I then sent it by registered post, take away almost five pounds of my already low budget, it arrived but, after ringing the office three times to find out what was happening, I was told today, that my claim hasn't been updated as yet, and, it could take a few weeks.

Hey, no worry, there is always a solution......








I could just sell the kids!!!

p.s I did have some for sale photos but this damn computer doesnt have firefox!!

Money, money, money it's a rich mans world...

The eye-opener.

Isn't it crazy how much university can change a person?
Until coming to Farnham I was pretty sheltered. I grew up in Cornwall, spending long days lazing in fields, carving my knackered long-board up and down the coastline and spending my evenings sat on the veranda of a local pub, facing out to sea, mingling the salty smell with my own clouds of tobacco, surrounded by people I've known and loved for years.

Being uprooted in any kind of situation creates a strange concoction of emotional cocktails; from the classic being nervous yet excited, to the lesser extent of being completely befuddled yet entranced by this new-found independence. I can't begin to imagine how people adjust when coming from beyond the borders of this country, to study in this brand new place, where everyone seems to drink tea and talk weird. I found the Cornwall-to-Farnham transition unnerving.

However, it seems that no matter what kind of situation you're thrown into, you're going to find a group of people to relate to, who will soon be playing a very important role in your life. My house-mates have become my extended family, and I've found someone beautiful who turned my world upside-down within three days of getting here. Five months on, I have fallen in love over and over again with people, places, concepts, genres of music, and several different authors.

This is one learning curve I'm going to take time to appreciate in every possible way. I'm just waiting for the rain to stop...

Song of the day: Chick Habit by April March.

One is the lonliest number...

It’s Tuesday and I’m sat here been miserable because my boyfriend left last night after spending the very wet and windy weekend here. It’s always fantastic when he comes down because not only does it save me the train fare (selfish I know) but because we can spend the weekend exploring London like proper tourists.

Actually this weekend when he was here was a bit different because we’d be asked to housesit by a family member who has an ‘apartment’ in central London. I say apartment because it was a mansion, in fact it was my dream home (wooden floors and one of those massive corner sofas) but also because there was a swimming pool. A SWIMMING POOL!!! We didn’t go swimming though because I’d not brought my swimming gear and didn’t really fancy skinny dipping in someone else’s pool- and no I am not a prude.

There’s one thing I’ve noticed since I got here people are always asking how we keep our relationship going when we’re so far apart but they don’t realise that we’d been going out for over 2 years when I started uni and he was my friend before we started going out, so we know each other so well that we don’t need to worry about each other all the time. We’ve always been independent too which I think really helps because it gives us something different to talk about everyday. He’s into his rock and metal music (too loud for me) and I’m into my fashion so when we talk every night (god bless Vodafone and its cheap calls) we always have something to tell each other and I think that it keeps our relationship interesting!

Love from
North of the Border

p.s We went to see Diary of the Dead and it was awful, I mean really really bad. Do not waste your money on it!!

All a Student Needs

My internet has down since Friday last week. I have deadlines that I need to keep. I telephoned my service provider AOL for the 100th time to ask when they will rectify the problem. They have a recorded answer phone that is saying they are aware of the problem and not explaining what the problem is. But this does not help me in any way; I have not been on Facebook for four days! And no music downloads! I woke up early this morning so that I can call AOL to cancel my contract but no chance they say I am bound to the contract until next year April 2009.

Anyway thank God for friends. I called my friend who just lives down the road so that I can use her internet. So, here I am writing this blog.

Development in some cases can only take place when you walk with the right people. Forming relationships such friendship is so difficult especially when you move to a new country and out of your comfort zone.

I have made a few friends at uni and I find that we have clicked despite having different cultures. I have come to appreciate that my friends are not clones of me and that they do things differently. I accept the differences and embrace what we have in common.

Friends I have made at uni did not talk to me out of pity or because I am from a different culture, which interests them. It is not difficult for me to communicate my thoughts to them and they seem understand my accent. I feel I can always express what I wanted to say.

I may have made friends easily at uni but where I live it is a different matter, I do not know my neighbour. I don't know small things, like whether my neighbour would like it if I went and visited her without taking an appointment... do you know what mean?

Rain Reality

So, reality of student life... Well I’ll give you reality:

Zero seven hundred hours this morning I became gradually aware of a persistent thumping noise in my right ear. As I slowly came round to consciousness, realising I was not back in a sub tropical rainforest in southern Uganda again, but in fact lying in my single bed (and that takes some getting used to after 14 years in a double bed let me tell you) in the wonderful surrounds of the student accommodation of UCCA, Farnham.

‘Singing in the rain’ I was not. I rapidly realised the dripping in my ear was not the sole source of my troubles; after lifting my head from an increasingly sodden pillow it became apparent that emergency evacuation was required! Multiple infiltrations above my bed were quickly turning my mattress into an absorbent for the internal rainfall. On the upside at least I was awake early enough to get a shower before the water went off at around 8am.

Now this was not the first time I had this unwanted watery intrusion. Back in November it had started bouncing off my keyboard as I was working into the night (as students do) on a dissertation. After reporting it to the caretaker (or porter as they’re called here) on night duty I thought no more about it. Until about four weeks ago at 2am when I was woken by water splashing on my pillow. Sleep was abandoned and again the update was passed on to the caretaker. With yesterday’s forecast of doom and gloom all I had was hope, that the storms would hold off long enough to get some water free sleep.
As I look out the window now, my thoughts again turn to the chances of a dry night??

I had planned a slightly lighter introduction…to tell you a bit about how I ended up as a not so stereotypical student, but that will have to wait…rain reality was more pressing.

A note to Heavenly’s post below: Trust me, you don’t want to be living on campus, the leak free alternative is the better one. Cheaper it may be but cheerful doesn’t come into the description.

Newcomer 'Travel Moment'

I thought going back to study after five years of working would frighten me, but believe me, there is nothing scary about it. I am even more determined to give this uni thing a chance.

I'm a Zambian babe, who has lived in South Africa for a few years and is now currently studying Journalism at University College for the Creative Arts in Farnham. I have to travel to university from Grove Park (in London) to Farnham three times a week.

When I landed at Heathrow Airport everything unravelled and realising that I left the comfort zone of my country, I started to feel uneasy: How will I know which tube or train to get on to my university? And where to get off?

On my first day of uni I got on the right train after asking 12 people on the way whether that was the right one. I got off at the right stop but I had to ask for directions to my destination. Surprisingly when I asked for help, people did not know about UCCA or where it was. A million thoughts were running through my mind, I started panicking; maybe I got the directions wrong or it was a phony uni but I tried to stay calm.

I called my father back in Zambia to ask him if could verify the uni details and if it really existed. He called me back and said that he called the uni and verified with the British Council. I then called my fiancé who was working in London to check the journey planner for me just in case I printed the wrong one off the Internet. My fiancé assured me that I printed the correct journey planner. He told me to relax and go over the directions and map again. I saw a person walking my way; I plucked up the courage to ask for help again. At last this person knew where the uni was and helped me read the map correctly and I found my way there, and the uni does exist.

For all foreign students, listen to your instincts, never be afraid to ask for directions if there are people around you even if it means asking more than five people. If you have a map read it carefully.

Stormy Weather

I absolutely love the track by Billie Holiday, beautiful and typically moody jazz..

About Me
I am the eldest of the group, a not so proud to be 32 year old, mum of two boys aged 14 and 5. I'm a born and bred Londoner and live with my boys and my toy boy fiancé, a baby at 30 years old, in a two up two down terraced house. Being the only girl in my household is hard work, they smell, they're lazy and they are LOUD.

I study journalism at the University College of the Creative Arts Farnham, a five hour round trip away from home; today is a stormy day, I didn’t attend class. My mom phoned me last night 22.34 by my watch… 'did you hear the news? A storm is coming’ my mom exaggerates so; I took it with a pinch of salt and told her I’d keep an eye out for the forecast in the morning. She moved to a sleepy town called Ware (where? Yes we’ve heard the jokes) in Hertfordshire recently, so her forecasts can often be different to mine in West London.

I woke up as usual at 06.00 and went downstairs to watch the news, accidents on the motorway, problems with the train lines, flights cancelled from Heathrow, SEVERE WEATHER warnings. Ok mom, you were right, but bear in mind that this is a woman who’d build a bunker in the garden if someone on LBC mentioned the chance of war!!
Its times like this that I wish I lived on campus. Another lost day. To add to it, my eldest son is unable to attend school, his route is blocked. Great, not only do I have to stay home, but I have to spend it with my brooding teenager.

I made breakfast for everyone as usual, toast, cereal, tea, eggs the orders pile in, Gordon Ramsay eat your heart out, what the hell do they do when I’m not here? Oh yeah I know, make a bloody mess for me to clean up when I get back from Uni…

I don’t know why there’s no sun up in my sky, stormy weather, since my man and I aint together looks like the sun won’t shine……

Hello from The Commissioner

Hi everyone,

As you may or may not know already, this is a blog aiming to dispell the stereotype that surrounds us students. Believe it or not, some of us are over the age of 21. Some of us even families - partners, kids, maybe even a cat or a dog. Neither of those things apply to me. What I do have, however, is seen as something of a rarity for students - a job. More specifically, a job at one of the UK's favourite supermarkets, stacking shelves, working on the tills and generally having a miserable time trying to stop myself going into debt.

This blog is, in a way, a means by which I can get all things work-related off my chest, and I invite you all to do the same. I know I'm not alone in having to work a shit job to get by, and it would be great if all those of you who can relate to what I'm talking about, student or otherwise, could get in touch. I hope, one way or another, you'll all be able to take something from what I'm writing and, if you don't already, learn about the realities of student life.


The Commissioner

North of the border first post

Hi there!

I’m North of the border and on this blog I’m going to write about relationships and the realities of been a university student. I’ll try to make you laugh but I’ll also try to be serious when I think I need to be.

Ok so here’s a little bit about me. I’m a first year journalism student at the university college of the creative arts and am based on the Farnham campus which is in the wilds of sunny surrey!! As well as juggling a full time journalism degree and a hectic social life I’m also trying to keep a three year relationship with my boyfriend going, which has become quite difficult since coming to uni because he lives over 250 miles away and because as I’m a student I cant afford to see him as much as I want.

So yeah that’s basically me in a paragraph but I’m sure that you’ll learn lots more about me as this blog develops. As you’ll probably work out there’s six of us working on this blog and we’re all going to try and write about different subjects in out posts to give you six different perspectives of what really been a student is like.

Love
North of the Border