High School Chuffing Musical

Yeah I said it! High. School. Musical.

This post comes under my blog aim of writing posts about "things that give me a warm and fuzzy feeling". And yes, just as most people roll their eyes at just how much a silly little girl I still am I am perfectly aware it's hardly a classic of our time.
Although in my humble and not remotely professional opinion, some of the songs are catchy, uplifting and just plain fun. And you can't knock that! Sorry you just can't!

It was 'Stick to the status quo' which inspired this blog post after it shuffled onto a male friend's (who shall remain nameless for the time being) iTunes - one of his proudest moments I'm sure. But it's OK, he only likes it because "it's a song about how fat people aren't allowed to hang out with the cool kids". Isn't he charming? Eugh.

Anyway moving swiftly on; why do I love like it?
It's the memories of course - plus maybe a little bit of admiration for the beautiful Zac Effron).

• I remember watching it first with 5 of my very best old girl friends when we were only 17.
• I remember the boys on a group trip to Scotland charging up the stairs in a panic when they heard us screaming -  we were screaming at the TV as Zac Effron pranced along to 'Bet On It' and chanting 'OFF OFF OFF'. We'd seen the film who knows how many times but still thought he'd have a change of heart and start stripping if we shouted loud enough.
• Years later on a vodka fuelled Sunday in Edinburgh I remember drunk calling my best friend Jess AKA 'Zac's No 1 fan' when 'We Can Work This Out' was playing (another unfortunate shuffle incident) and two guy friends in the room (Ryan and Collins - since I doubt either of them will read this I'll risk naming and shaming) began a wonderful dance and sing along, they definitely knew both the words and moves to perfection.

So yeah, when the cheesy, down right rubbish in some cases songs pop along every now then I'm filled with an abundance of warm fuzzy feelings and hilarious memories. I love it. 

There, I said it.

Georgia On My Mind

The last few days have been quite monumental for my little sister Georgia, and consequently for my whole family. I say little sister, she is 18 years old and the reason it’s been a big few days is she has moved to Cardiff to study sociology at university. Which, with her being the baby of the family has rocked the boat.

This move has resulted in me going on a bit of a montage binge. Let me explain; I so very rarely walk along the street thinking about what is actually happening, things I’ve done that day or will do. More than likely, particularly with headphones in, I’m running through a sort of movie-montage style fantasy about things that did happen or might yet happen. For instance, yesterday I walked to work listening to Bon Jovi’s ‘Living On A Prayer’  absent mindedly reliving every time my friends from home and I have drunkenly gathered in a circle, linked arms and half shouted half slurred the very few words we know. It’s been ‘our’ song for a few years now so it’s a long and happy montage.  

Anyway, as usual I digress. I spent a lot of yesterday milling over scenes from my first week at Edinburgh University, the people I met in those first few mental days who came to be so important to me. It’s crazy how each of us has changed in a few years, and you can never guess just who out of all the people you encounter will change your life. For the most part though my montages have been mushy, sentimental type scenes of my sister and I through the years.  

Georgia might not remember, but in the week before I left home she stood at the top of the stairs and screamed at how she couldn’t wait for me to leave and slammed her bedroom door. Only to open it again milliseconds later, and come charging down the stairs with tears in her eyes saying she was sorry and she’d miss me. I cried a fair bit too, standard.

It might be an overload of emotion, but I don’t care (it’s my blog and I’ll cry if want to). I can’t get over how proud I am of her. The girl who was nicknamed ‘golden child’, was literally terrified of lying, and who some people walked all over is long gone (well not entirely - she’s still a bit golden sometimes). But unlike some people, when she blossomed into this confident, bright,  beautiful, opinionated and completely hilarious young woman I wasn’t remotely surprised.

Why? For one thing she’s a Hanson/Thoy girl, there was never really an alternative, she was always going to have that ‘spirit’ as my Grandpa calls it. Or perhaps it was because I was always the one on the receiving end of her sporadic feisty episodes (e.g. punching me in the face with a Bop-It Extreme).  Whatever it is, I’m not surprised, just proud, and it’s comforting as her sister that she goes off into the big bad world armed with all this.

Of course, that didn’t stop me texting her all day yesterday, calling about 6 times last night, and demanding to Skype this morning. 

Love you Baba Sis

Good things DO come in small packages!

This is just too cute not to share, I bought myself this little treat as the first of what I hope to be 4 congratulatory presents to myself for reaching a personal goal, and look how dinky!

Just a little note, sorry, this is just how happy I am with it. First off, it's amazing, shuffles have evolved big time. They now hold about 350 songs, you can select playlists, hold a little button down that makes a magic Apple voice say what song you're listening to or how much battery life there is left - chuffed. 


There was a little issue with getting the shuffle to me in the first place, Apple originally sent it by post and I have a sneaking suspicion some douche in my building decided they'd pick it up and keep it for themselves, or maybe the culprit was in the actual postal system!? I'll never know. Either way I rang Marie at Apple all sad and expecting to have to prove it, wait another week or so for one to arrive, that sort of thing. But no no! No questions asked, she sent it to me first class by courier and I had it within 2 days.


That phone call was also on the same day that the truly lovely people at The Global Deli on George 4th Bridge told me it was you know, no issue I forgot to bring cash with me, no need to run to the cash point (2 minutes away max) I could just pay for my lunch when I was next in. I know I go in a lot but they actually have no idea what my name is or where I come from! I was completely chuffed with that, and obviously went in the next day to pay off my I.O.U. That's two instances of great customer service in one day, and it put me in such a good mood! 


love love,


BeccaStephanieJ

Ironing Films

When I was younger I used to love whenever my mum had a big ironing day. She’d stand in the kitchen at our old house and I’d perch next to her and we’d watch a film, often a musical, always a classic. I think this was the reason I got to about 11 years old and started begging my mum to let me do my own ironing, or to at least let me do the tea towels and Dad’s hankerchiefs. That level of enthusiasm didn’t last long of course and I’ve managed to successfully iron on average 10 items a year since I’ve been at university. I swear if you hang it up fast enough out of the dryer it doesn’t need it! And if necessary there’s always straighteners for a quick fix.

Anyway enough about ironing for now, my plan is to regularly share some classic ‘ironing day’ films that

1. Are just plain wonderful

2. Lift my spirits no end

3. Have some of the most iconic outfits/moments/songs in the history of cinema (in my opinion!)

First on the list...

Pride and Prejudice (the BBC version, of course) 

Pride and Prejudice, like Disney, is at least partly responsible for whats left of my girlish notions of happy ever after. What’s more, every time I finish watching it I start talking awfully proper for an hour or so, not overly dissimilar to me after Made In Chelsea (I.Am.In.Love.With. SPENCER – sorry, phew).

Put simply, whats not to love? It’s funny, sweet, beautiful. In my opinion the BBC 1995 TV series casting is flawless. Jennifer Ehle is Lizzie to a tee, and Colin Firth is the Mr Darcy. It took a lot of convincing from a friend of mine to watch the 2005 ‘Keira Knightly’ version, and giving him his due I enjoyed Matthew Macfadyen much more than I expected to having been raised on the BBC series. I just couldn’t get my head round Keira as Lizzie, I normally love her, but it seemed like a bit like casting for the sake of ticket sales rather than staying true to the character. For one thing, and I know I’m clutching at straws here, but she’s too skinny for it! On a positive note about the 2005 version though, how’s this for a final scene…

“My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.”

….melt.

Whether you prefer the 1995, 2005 version or neither; the story itself, the characters, the setting, the fashion, I’ve got an abundance of love for it all.

A Learning Curve

I keep thinking I should document everything I have been doing throughout setting up Express LD, as sort of a diary of my progress. I knew from the offset that there was a lot to learn, some was obvious, for example I have no idea how to set up a website or blog (hence my little practice arena over here on Oh For The Love). Some things were not so obvious, being 'managed' for instance. It sounds easy, and being naive, I thought it was something I was quite good at. In the past, I got on really well with teachers, managers, supervisors and in the other extreme for the brief time I was a supervisor in a bar I think/hope it went really well!

 So being a little smug I thought I had it covered. However, everyone does things differently. Again, duh Becca why did it take until 4^th year to realise that? I guess I’ve just been lucky in the past my working style hasn’t ever massively clashed with a colleague before, or what I’ve been doing hasn’t been intense enough for the small niggles you have with someone to be brought to head and dealt with.

Amongst everything I’ve been getting to grips with; recruitment, organising myself to deal with ten emails a day, keeping track of a billion ‘to do’ lists, writing up volunteer contracts, mission statements, updates, financial reports etc. In amongst all that, undoubtedly the most valuable learning curve has been how to deal with clashing with your boss. See, I manage the project, but the president of the society manages me; she is the ‘strategic manager’. Whilst we essentially want the same things out of Express LD, it was how we wanted to go about it that rapidly became a source of tension.

On a day to day basis I was getting riled that she relentlessly asked what I was doing and emailed me with another ‘to do’ every ten minutes when I’d probably already done it in my own way. Equally, she was getting riled at me for going on a massive ‘I will be productive and I can do everything all by myself’ spree. It looked for a minute there like it was all over, a very tense phone call and a rant to one of my friends later, I went to meet her already in the mind-set that I was about to walk away from it all (yes I’m dramatic, I’ve been told).

But of course we got there in the end. We talked it out, stopped tip-toeing around what we’d been bothered by and came up with such a mightily simple solution: I send her a weekly update on Fridays with the same template of information each time and any additional notes she may find of interest or that I need to ask her about. So simple! Moreover, I imagine that most companies, projects, charities in the world use a similar system, nothing ground breaking about it, but it was the two of us getting there and coming to this agreement by ourselves that made it a lesson I believe will be valuable to me one day. I came away from that meeting with a new lease of life, absolutely buzzing and believing that the two of us and this project could change our little piece of the world for the better, Starbucks would be proud. 

Shake, Rattle and Roll

Is there such a thing as a sugar free/fat free/skinny milkshake? Hope so, some hefty cravings are setting in! Since I can't indulge in reality right now (I gladly would if anywhere were open) I'll deal with it through the medium of pretty pictures...

Love is a Temporary Madness.

They always say “write what you know”, so bare with me, but today is about love. I’m lucky, at the young age of 21 I am aware that I might not know love (does anybody really?) but I’m sure I’ve seen it.

I feel a bit like I’m bragging, but here’s where I get really lucky. I actually (touch wood) have 2 sets of Grandparents. On my Mum’s side there’s Marian and Dennis (Nana & Grandpa) and on my Dad’s there’s Pam and Keith (Granny and Grandpa). AND to top it all of the 4 of them are best friends! Call me crazy but I think that’s pretty special.

Anyway, back in March on a beautiful day at Bradford Golf Club we all got together to celebrate Marian & Dennis’ Golden Wedding Anniversary. 50 years! Incredible. My poor Mum was very ill at the time (viral labrynthitis) and her sister made a speech on their behalf. My sister Georgia said grace, my cousin made a toast, and I said this…

‘Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. You have roots that grow towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom have fallen from your branches you’ll find that you are one tree and not two.’ - St Augustine

Honestly they fight like cat and dog, drive each other up the wall and throughout those 50 years there’s been drama, loss, betrayal and hurt. But through all that, they stuck by each other to build a life together. And now in the later years of that life they are surrounded by a happy family. In all honesty it’s something I struggle with, but all my grandparents give me hope that yes, it does happen. Some loves do last forever. It might not always be easy or glamorous or exciting but if you care enough for each other you can get through anything, and what’s more, that it’s worth it. I’m just grateful that I have these wonderful people in my life;  if in 50 years time I have half of what they have I’ll definitely pinch myself once or twice to check I'm not dreaming.

Dennis & Marian, Pam & Keith - Florida 1995

Giggle-worthy

Now this was a stumble from ages ago and I'm not sure if it's because I was in a particularly giddy mood at the time but still every time I see this I can't help but chuckle. 

Introducing Express LD!

Express LD (Express Learning Difficulties) is the project that I sort of stumbled into creating, along with the University of Edinburgh dyslexia society president.
Starbucks recently teamed up with UK Youth Action to give generous funding to projects run by young people that contribute to their local community. I was asked by the DysSoc President to help with a bid to the board. The board included people from Starbucks, UK Youth, a local MP, a member of parliament for the department of education, journalist from The Herald and what seemed like just lots of quite scary people in suits. Being the nervous blabber mouth I am I think I did actually mention that maybe they should of turned up in trackies to make life easier. Smooth Becca. 


Anyway, long story short, we got the grant! Plus another one soon after from O2 Think Big! So it's all coming together, I'm currently recruiting a team to run the project so it's not just me on my lonesome any more, and my phone never stops buzzing with emails. But it's exciting and I'm loving having a real purpose! I definitely will end up mentioning this project several times so I thought I'd introduce it properly with our mission statement (which I wrote - proud face) 

Express LD (Express Learning Difficulties) is a volunteer-run project based in Edinburgh; it is devoted to helping young people with learning difficulties achieve their full potential at school, in further education and in work. 

Through running informative and interactive workshops in local colleges and schools, our mission is to raise awareness of and eliminate the existing stigma surrounding learning difficulties, including but not limited to, dyslexia. We aim to provide knowledge, support and practical study tools that help young people reach their full potential. 

Warped Reality

"I'm so much hipper in my mind than in reality"

Oh for the love of Birthdays...

Yesterday was one of my very best friends 21st birthday, and until my sister follows suit in 3 years time it'll be the last big birthday that's happening in my close circle for quite some time. Last year was wonderfully mental; umpteen 21st celebrations including my own, an 18, 50 and 80th! Plus on a vaguely unrelated note there was my grandparents Golden Wedding anniversary and I attended my first wedding!


So my bank account is breathing a sigh of relief at least, but not me. I love birthdays and everything that comes along with. Maybe I'm biased, when shopping in Edinburgh you are beyond spoilt for choice, its no chore wandering around the city thinking about what someone you care about would love and stumbling upon the perfect gift or silly bits and pieces that make you giggle at the memory of why she'd love it.


And to top it all off, after a great week shopping I'm spending the weekend with a large glass of wine in a nice restaurant (A Room In The West End - can. not. wait.). Like I said, I love birthdays.