25 February 2012

Express LD - the website!



If you've been following my blog posts you'll know that along with my fourth year studies I'm currently Project Manager and Co-founder of a charity project called Express LD. Express LD aims to give practical support to students with dyslexia whilst also dispelling the stigma surrounding learning difficulties. In December we held our first launch workshop which you can read about here.
This week our wonderful treasurer Sarah presented me with the sweetest stickers with our logo on, I was so excited I gave out four to friends straight away, last night in Revolution bar I saw one of them still had it stuck to his shirt whilst working, I might of overreacted but man that made me happy!
But that's not the big news, the big news is that after months of planning and hard work we have a website, I'm so incredibly proud. 
A massive, huge, humongous, gargantuan thank you goes out to Tom Shore (aka Austin) for doing this for us out of the goodness of his heart. 
Hopefully over the next few weeks we will be adding some professional photos of the team and workshops, plus a new 'events' page. But for now I present to you Express LD, the website. Go take a look! 



23 February 2012

All I Need to Get By - living with the iPad 2

Breakfast curtesy of the boys
Now this post is probably going to look weird. I'm basically trying to get used to a blogging app called 'blogsy' that came highly recommended for blogging on the iPad. I assumed blogging would be something done easily on the iPad, I was sadly mistaken. It's a bit of a faff as it turns out. But in any event I read some reviews as you do and went with blogsy. It's going to be a learning curve I reckon, and I have no idea how it's going to look on the actual blog. So bare with me if there's the occasional funky looking tad messy post, this is why! So far the app looks really very clever though it's just I need to get used to it.
This is all part of my mission to show people out there that you really don't need to spend so much money on a mac if you have similar habits to me. I useD my laptop for Facebook, twitter, I write essays, edit documents, read PDFs, use pinterest, blog, i make power points, occasionally mess around with excel, listen to music and watch movies. And out of all that literally the only thing I've struggled with using only an ipad2 is not being able to watch flash videos, for which I've been using my ancient acer laptop because I can't live without The Office and New Girl.
A lot of people have asked how I'm doing my university work without Microsoft, well I haven't been using pages either, I am using an app called 'open office' which cost me £13 and it's brilliant, does the job just great. I can open word documents without them having to be converted, I can edit them, then I use 'dropbox' to save everything on both my iPad, laptop, uni computers and online in just the click of a button. I also have 'box' for the charity business. Essentially, I don't need to edit photos or music or videos. And that's the only thing I think you might struggle with on an ipad. Having said that I've been told its doable. So there was no sense in me buying what Tom referred to as a "£1000 Facebook machine".
I also bought a refurbished one, apple don't do student discount on iPads and I read about the refurbished option which in the end was a great shout. I saved £60, it has the same warranty and returns policy as non-refurbished machine and there's not a scratch on it.

Back to blogsy, the pictures are dragged in from my camera roll on the iPad via picasa. I've been messing around with the camera since I got it (most pics are edited with Instagram). I'm just having trouble moving them all onto one line,just having three in a row. So they are a bit all over the shop, like I said its a learning curve and I'm sure I'll get better with time.
Perfume from Tom
Me being a dick on iPad day number 1
Ice cream treat from work

 

21 February 2012

Sunday Afternoons


This is possibly my favourite playlist on 8tracks. It's just happy and lovable.


It also introduced me to the song 'Smile' by Uncle Kracker which is makes me SO happy.


20 February 2012

Men and Women Can't Be Friends

Unbelievably, one of my good friends hasn't seen 'When Harry Met Sally'. This is for him, and my Dad since it's his favourite film. 
The two clips below show some of my favourite quotes/unnervingly true observations from Harry.
Part 1 is right at the beginning of the film and part 2 is set several years later, after Harry and Sally bump into each other at the airport for the first time since their trip to New York in part 1. 
Eugh it's just such a good film! Now there are so many more clips I want to add on but I'm restraining myself. 

19 February 2012

Thoughts of a Yorkshire Pudding

My friend Chris just started a blog: "Thoughts of a Yorkshire Pudding"! As a newcomer to the world of Apple products (I just purchased the Ipad2 - which is now my pride and joy) I heartily approve of his first emotional 'I love Steve Jobs' post. Not to mention the epic name. Check it out.

Psychology in a Nutshell

So this is my life now...

I'm currently writing my dissertation...  

Selective Memory as an Explanation for the Interpretation of Dreams as Precognitive 

... which is of course super fun! Anyway, as a result I'm essentially living in the basement computer lab of a building called 'hugh rob'. Luckily I have many a companion. Take for example the mature student who regularly falls asleep with his hands down his pants, or the girl who made a bed underneath the desk. I like to think of the dungeon as a place where the light of dreams and hope dwindle in the cold, dank sewage of reality. Some people understandably need a nap to get through the day. 
In any case, dear diary, I arrived today at 9.30pm, having done a cheeky 8 hours at the hotel, to find my dear friend Robyn. This is basically what went down...
  

14 February 2012

Spread the Love

Maybe it's easy to say since I'm happy and in love this Valentine's but I'm really enjoying the whole thing. Facebook and Twitter are filled with happy thoughts and people declaring their love for one another, and all along Middle Meadow Walk (my way into uni) some angels have hung adorable little pink felt hearts from every tree. Actually I can say that, I was single last year and had an amazing day with my friends feeling just as loved as I do today.
I just dont think Valentine's should only be about big romantic gestures or being spoilt rotton (for one thing Valentine's day should be about both halves of a couple and not just a reason for a guy to have spend a lot of money). The sad thing is that some people feel downright depressed on days like today, and that shouldn't be the case. I'd rather Valentine's day be about showing appreciation for everyone you love. And if you are in the happy couple category, then on behalf of men everywhere, make sure Valentine's day is a day for you both! 

13 February 2012

If You Can't Say Something Nice

Advice for the day...

Meh


Well I'm not so sure about that, but it's no picnic granted. And it is from the Telegraph...

Serenity

"God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
 the courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference."

My Nana and Grandpa bought me a beautiful gold locket for my 7th birthday with these words engraved, it's amazing how often they bring me comfort.  It's from the Serenity Prayer, which is not actually in the bible, it was written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the early 1900s. 


Valentine's Day

Instead of go uber mushy and gross everyone out for Valentine's day with an epic love post, I'm going to let this picture do it for me and that'll be the end of it. For Valentines I am not buying Tom a card, I am buying him a whole chicken. Both practical, scrumptious and close to his heart.


6 February 2012

Cupid's Arrow

I'm getting in the mood for Valentine's Day.

Not that Tom and I making a big hoo-hah out of the occasion -  I keep having to remind myself that we are students, and we are skint - but I've been in a lovely-love-yey-Valentine's-day type mood today. Therefore despite it being a tad early, here's some Cupid style inspiration...


All these pictures & more with their original sources can be found through 'My Valentine' pin board on Pinterest.

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

... It's the name of a film not of my next uber-sentimental post. I know that will come as a relief to some and disappointment to others!

Anyway, I won't blab on too much but I just thought I'd put it out there, this is definitely 'one to watch'.
We had a decidedly lovely evening the other night cramped around our kitchen table with the most calorific home made cheesecake ever and 2 of our best friends. 
About that cheesecake... melted Mars bars throughout, with a chocolate hobnob base, marshmallow topping and butterscotch source. Like I said, supercalicalorificexpealidocious.

Anyway back to the film: I adored it, in part at least for very obvious reasons (Ryan Gosling... topless... in a rom-com...with Steve Carrell/Emma Stone- honestly how could you not love that?) The surprise came in that the boys (Tom and Chris) loved it too, which makes it a winner in my books. I suspect their admiration for Ryan Gosling was for different reasons, such as his incredibly awesome array of suits, and the fact that he's a total 'LAD'.

It's not all about him though, it's also a funny and touching story with a bit of a twist towards the end. So yeah, if you've got time to spare give it a go. Over and out.