Well, it's been an interesting 5 years

Periodically, I remember that I do in fact still have a blog, nearly 15 years after Jemima and I initially made our "things to do before we leave uni" list. Even more intermittently, it seems, I decide to update the list to be "things to do before we're 25" "before 30" and now we're both 35 and there's still a chunk of things we never got around to.

As an update from myself, last year I achieved a life dream and goal of joining the RAF as a musician. I'm hoping that a steady career with plenty of time off and good money, as well as adventurous training opportunities and lots of like-minded people at hand might lend itself to me actually completing this list before I'm 40. We do have plans to skydive this year, which I'm in equal parts terrified and excited about. I've now been to Austria too, which was a huge item on the bucket list, and moved to London. So for now, let's see how things go! I'll probably update again any time between a month and 5 years from now...!

COVID is ruining everything

 I've updated colours of the remaining list items. Blue is items that can be done under current UK Covid-19 restrictions, and Red denotes items that will have to wait until whenever the world gets back to normal. 

It's certainly put pay to me completing the list in my 30th birthday year. Guess I'll just have to do all the blue things and finish the red things when I can. Ugh. 

Is it supposed to be this cold all summer long?

I'm back y'all! I've been in the UK for the last 4 and a half weeks for my summer holiday from Cayman...and it's honestly been freezing. I've spent the majority of my time wearing hoodies, fleeces and long sleeves while my friends mostly laugh at me while donning shorts and t-shirts. I think I've gone soft...

It's been a pretty busy month for me. I've been making the most of being "off the rock" and trying to keep myself busy with activities from the list. In just 4 weeks I've ticked off:

-Go Ape!
-Go strawberry picking
-Milk a cow
-Cuddle a Shetland Pony
-Visit a Michelin Star restaurant
-Buy an expensive bottle of Champagne from Selfridges as if I do it every day (and then share it with my closest friend)
-Throw a dart into a UK map and travel to where it lands
-Do Alton Towers PROPERLY (with the hotel and everything)
-Make an unusual flavour of ice cream from scratch
-Devote an entire day to exploring and shopping in the Camden markets

So as you can see it's been a busy one! I was also originally planning to squeeze in even more trips: Paris to go on a cycling adventure; llama trekking with Jemima; to the Lake District to climb Scafell Pike; and South Wales to go Whale Watching, but everything's ended up so busy and tiring so I've decided to leave those 3 til next summer. I'll still be within my 30th year so I guess it counts.

Here are some of my highlights:

Go Ape

I've wanted to do this for so many years, mainly because I felt I had something to prove to myself. Last time I attempted a high ropes course was when I was 13 years old at a PGL holiday; I froze halfway through and had to be rescued from the rope....mega embarrassing.
My brother and I both arrived at Go Ape Delamere on a cloudy afternoon - rain had been forecast but we'd been lucky so far. We had decided to go for the Junior course rather than the full adult one purely for financial reasons, but also as the smaller course was easier and much quicker to complete.

Once we were up in the trees, I felt the familiar feelings of dread wash over me. I'm not scared of heights but I just hate the feeling that I'm going to slip and fall - no matter how safe I know it is or how strong my safety harness is. But an hour later, George and I completed the course and had arrived at the final zipwire. A crash of thunder suddenly sounded overhead - this signalled that Go Ape would immediately be closing so we both jumped onto the zip wire without having time to look back or feel any fear!

We #smashedit !

Alton Towers

Jemima and I had been planning this one for months. I've been visiting Alton Towers almost every year since I was a child but never managed to stay in the hotel or visit the water park before, so this time we wanted to put that right. We had 2 nights booked in the Splash Landings (ironically Caribbean themed) hotel, as well as 2 days in the park, 2 visits to the waterpark, a digi-pass for our ride photos and a visit to the Towers Dungeons, for the modest sum of £197 each. This included breakfast in the hotel and a basket of treats in our room!

 The park was nowhere near as busy as I was expecting either day, and we had pretty good weather. This excellent combination ensured we got onto every ride at least once, even getting to ride the new Wickerman coaster twice! We managed to get a photo on every coaster with our digi-pass and enjoyed everything the park had to offer, including the new Sea Life section. The Wickerman is incredible, I love a good wooden roller coaster but this was another level - with shooting fire and a tremendous backstory including a pre-ride film preparing you to be sacrificed to the Wickerman.

The waterpark was a new experience for both of us - unfortunately Jemima couldn't spend too much time in the water due to her new tattoos but we still managed to get around all of the slides and enjoy the rapids too. It was a fun evening and a great way to cool down after a sweaty day walking a hefty 15000 steps around the theme park! The master blaster was definitely a highlight, but I particularly enjoyed the slide where you could choose your own music and light experience before sliding.

A definite highlight that is new to the park though is the Alton Dungeons experience. It costs a little extra to go in but it is totally worth it. There are live actors that take you on a journey through time into steadily creepier realities. It's a lot of fun and keeps you on your toes - particularly if you are volunteered to take part in any of the scenes!

Next time I want to try out the proper Alton Towers hotel and maybe spend a bit more time in the water park, possibly not in the summer holidays as it was very, very crowded.

Park Hall Countryside Experience

I hadn't planned on coming to this place by myself, but sadly schedule clashes meant my farm trip would be a solo one. I'll admit I did feel a bit out of place queuing up to enter alone amongst all of the families with small children, but I reminded myself why I was there and put the thoughts out of my mind. I was greeted on entry by pens upon pens of rabbits. Rabbits aren't my favourites (I've been put off by an old housemate's particularly violent pet) but these were adorable, and there were lots of

babies too!

After the rabbits I had the pleasure of meeting Honey the Miniature Shetland Pony. I was able to stroke her and groom her for a few minutes before having to move on (endless queues were I suppose to be expected on a busy day in the summer holidays). I spent the majority of the morning trying to get away from the hoards of children by walking the deserted trails around the farm, but I did get some time to meet the adorable goats, lambs and donkeys, cuddle up with the Shetland ponies again and watch the exciting Pig Races before the cow milking demonstrations (the real reason I'd trekked all the way to Oswestry!) Park Hall farm is one of the only places in the country that allows its visitors to try to hand-milk their dairy cows. It goes without saying I was the first in line ahead of all of the small children! I was shown what to do but warned it would be tricky to get any milk from the cow since it was toward the end of their milking cycle, but I squeezed and a warm jet of milk shot straight out! I obviously have a magic touch. It was a weird but memorable experience that I'll not forget in a hurry.

Champagne

The most expensive champagne I've ever drunk is Veuve Cliquot, and it's inevitably always been bought for me by someone else either as a gift or as part of an event. I wanted to know more about the luxury brands of champagne that rich people have the wealth to buy whenever they want. Of course, I was on a budget but I wanted to ensure that the attendant in Selfridges didn't know that. I perused the shelves with my best lackadaisical expression until I was approached by an assistant. "Are you looking for anything in particular?" he asked with a smile. I lazily gestured up to the very top shelf, where all the bottles were locked in a glass case. All of these were at least £100 in price, except just one which my eyes fixed upon. " I was looking at the Gosset 15 year, actually", I replied. "Yes, that's a very good price point for that particular bottle", the young man beamed. "I know, I've never seen it so cheap, it's my favourite champagne," I lied without even a blink. Inviting me to wait at the counter, the man fetched the ladder and key (to the interest of some onlookers) and brought me the most expensive champagne I would ever have paid for.

"That'll be £95 please. Are you celebrating anything special?" "No," I replied, "just a standard Friday night really". I smirked on the inside as the man looked a mix of horrified and awe-struck. I did feel a bit bad to be lying like this but it was fun to pretend to be so rich that I could just buy such luxury any time I wanted.

Jemima and I would split this champagne at the weekend as part of our "French celebration day" (instead of going cycling in France) and honestly I can understand now why it was so expensive. I was worried it would taste the same as any other bottle but the flavour was just glorious. It wasn't overly fizzy, but tasted rich and almost creamy. Pure indulgence with every sip. I obviously won't be buying it every weekend, but I know now that it will be worth the splurge whenever I have a real special occasion to celebrate.

Michelin Star Restaurant

This has been a dream of mine for a long time. Michelin star restaurants - like the expensive champagne I talked about above - are traditionally seen as an experience for only the most wealthy people. However, since living in Cayman where all the meals are usually a minimum of $50 anyway, it didn't seem like such a ridiculous splurge to me any more. I located a lovely restaurant in Blackburn called Northcote. They offered a 2 course lunch menu for £29 which seemed very reasonable. I treated myself further, however, and went for the 3 courses at £36.

Upon arrival I was welcomed to the lounge with canapes and a cocktail menu. The Fragola fizz I ordered was delicious and sparkly, and the hummus with crackers had an unusual earthy flavour like nothing I've tasted before.

When my table was ready I was led through to the dining room, and they kindly carried my cocktail through for me on a silver tray. This felt very opulent and wholly unnecessary since I had both hands free but hey, I was enjoying the luxury experience! Whilst I waited I sat with a stunning view over the countryside and munched on divine fresh sourdough bread and butter.

My first course of pork pie arrived, and was like no other pork pie I've ever seen. It was a long rectangle of pork with a wafter thin layer of pastry sitting on top, served with homemade branston pickle and apple relish. It was very tasty and the pickle was incredible and sweet.

The real winner of the 3 courses was my lamb main. A single lamb chop and a lamb meatball were served with the most delicious roast potatoes I've ever eaten (sorry, mum) cooked with indian spices, and a white curry sauce with sweet garlic, peas and half an onion. The flavours were indescribable but the sauce and potatoes were the stars of the show - safe to say I daubed up every scrap of the sauce with the potatoes. The lamb was also cooked to perfection.

For dessert I ended with a layered chocolate dessert served with salted sheep milk ice cream. This was immaculately presented with chocolate curls and not too sweet, just a firm hit of chocolate and an excellent contrast to the slightly salty ice cream. My meal didn't even end there, as I took my mocktail (an Adam's apple with flavours of elderflower and apple) through to the lounge I was presented with 2 miniature eccles cakes, served warm and sweet. A perfect end to a perfect meal, and one that I'll remember for a long time to come.

__________________________________________________________

I went fruit picking with my friend Kat; we collected lots of gooseberries and a few strawberries, so I was able to make a delicious gooseberry and elderflower ice cream from scratch. It tastes exactly like hot summer days!

 

I explored Camden markets with my brother Oliver - he was keen for a chance to look around them too as he rarely gets time mid-week to spend there when it's quieter. He bought a kimono from a vintage store and I picked up a unicorn shower cap, and lots of pictures of lovely vintage dresses that I currently have no room in my suitcase for! But I'll definitely be back.

Finally, I used an online website to throw a dart into a map of the UK. By complete coincidence, it landed in the village of Hassell which is only 8 minutes drive from my mum's house in Sandbach, so this was an easy one! It was nice to drive out to an area that I haven't explored much before, even so close by.

I'm not going to go into much detail about everything else I've done this summer, but safe to say I've been burning through the list! I intend to get as much done before my 30th birthday as I can, and then finish everything else before the end of 2020. Let's see how I do!

PS. Not technically in the Summer but before we broke up for the hols I achieved my Grade 1 in French Horn, with distinction!

One Year to Go

It seems like a lifetime ago when Jemima and I first sat down to make our list of "100 things to achieve before 30". Obviously, at the time we were very optimistic and, in its first iteration, the list was to be completed before we graduated university. Well, it's 8 years later and I've still got almost 40 items left to do. Argh!! How did I let life get in the way so much? Surely 100 is not that many things to get done in 8 years? But apparently, it is. And in fairness, a lot has happened in 8 years. I've moved away from Britain, had SO many different jobs, traveled far and wide and have generally been trying to get myself to the level of a steady, fully-functioning adult (with varying degrees of success). 

I've been steadily ticking things off - most notably recently I took a martial arts class in Cayman - the CASK (Cayman Associated School of Karate) school offered a trial week and I thought - "Why not?"

It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. The class was 90 minutes long and involved an incredible amount of stretching and core exercises. I was taught my first stance and also 4 different types of block, and 2 punches. There was a lot of ritual and the entire environment was clearly one of respect, calm and learning. I really appreciated my chance to have a go at learning the basics, but don't see myself taking it up as a regular hobby.





Also, as it was my 29th Birthday recently (that's right - less than a year now to go on the list!) I celebrated with friends on the beach by holding a silly sports day - think egg n spoon races, tug of war, three-legged races and all of the old favourites. It was so much fun and a great way to spend my birthday! We also got to hang out on the beautiful beach and watch the sunset after all of our games.

Oh - and I carved my name into a tree behind my house. #graffitiartist

Coast to Coast!

This won't be a long post! I've just returned to Cayman after completing one of the bigger activities on my list - the Coast to Coast road trip across the USA! It was an incredible trip, starting in NYC and finishing up in San Francisco - we visited 15 states in 21 days and saw/did so many amazing things.

The reason I'm not going to go into detail here is because I'm doing a full scale write up on my other blog - Letters to England. If you'd like to find out more, head over there! 

Back with a vengeance!

It's been a looong while since my last post here (which is nothing new, we've already established how terrible a blogger I am). Anyway, I've now lived in Grand Cayman for almost 2 years. 2 years! How mad is that?! I've turned 28 and so am closer to the "deadline" for this list than ever. Things are going pretty well but I've been especially driven the last few weeks to get some things ticked off.

Ruthin Castle

I've been back in the UK for my Easter break, and amongst the traditional partying and visiting friends/family I've been trying to work through as many list items as possible! Starting with my stay in a haunted house (actually a castle...) Ruthin Castle in North Wales is truly one of the most beautiful places I've ever stayed. It dates back to the 13th Century and has been home to kings, princes and nobles as well as being used as a fort, hospital and most recently a hotel.

 I was there with a friend overnight and we both thought it was stunning. The gardens are magnificent and full of peacocks; the inside feels like you've been taken back in time to a luxurious home fit for a King. And the rooms....well. We were upgraded for free to one of the castle's amazing suites and it was honestly one of the best hotel rooms I've ever stayed in. But here's the exciting part. Ruthin Castle is supposed to be one of the 10 most haunted places in Britain - home to specters such as Lady Grey, who allegedly, upon discovering her powerful husband was being unfaithful with a peasant girl from the local village, killed his mistress in a jealous rage. She was then sentenced to death herself for murder, and it's said that she has never left the castle since. Unfortunately we didn't encounter Ms Grey or any of the other ghosts that are said to inhabit the castle firsthand, but we did hear lots of ghostly bumps and creaks in the middle of the night. I was convinced it was ghosts. My friend...less so. But still - an exciting stay and an item checked off the list.

I won't go into crazy detail about everything I've managed to check off over my easter break - we'll be here all day - but I'm chuffed to have managed to finally plant some trees (more than 2 in the end!) at an event in Chester, walk along Hadrian's Wall (part of it at least, it's a very long wall) and send Jemima a message in a bottle. I did this with the company NOD - with all the attention at the moment on cleaning up the world's oceans and removing plastic waste as well as glass, I didn't think sending a traditional message in a bottle via dropping a bottle in the sea was such a wise idea. NOD allows you to send a tiny scroll message in a tiny bottle to a friend in the post. Jemima loved it and especially loved the lessened impact on the environment.

Me at Hadrian's Wall

Speaking of Jemima - she and I finally went out together to to a night of pub golf! We did 9 "holes" in 8 bars along Deansgate locks and we ended up joint winners with each other! We also went out dressed as each other in Jemima and Emily inspired outfits - complete with cat ears and hair roses - and introduced ourselves to people as each other. It was a fun night and a great way to spend time with my best friend before I fly back to Cayman. However I really wish we'd done Pub Golf already when we were younger. My body cannot handle alcohol and late night McDonalds like it used to and I spent most of yesterday in bed with a killer hangover and suspected food poisoning. Ah well - at least we did it.

Me and Jemima before
our Pub Golf night out

A few other things have been checked off the list in the last year or so too - last summer Jemima and I went on a trip to Blackpool and FINALLY had our fortunes told! It was an interesting experience and I'm not sure how much if any of it was accurate, but fun all the same. I've also done a few things in Cayman such as running through the fountains (not Piccadilly gardens as originally intended but the Camana Bay ones are pretty much exactly the same so I'm counting it). And I've obviously seen so many sunsets in Cayman since living there. They are seriously spectacular.


Oh oh oh! I also finally had the time and money to go back to South Africa to visit my grandad. I'm not going to go into the trip much here, unfortunately my grandad's behaviour whilst I was there has left an enormous rift between us which really ruined it for me. But the game drives were fun and we saw lots of wildlife, including some amazing rhino, lion, hyena and elephant sightings, so it wasn't all bad.

 One thing that's bothered me about the list is the item "Go to the Dogs". I made the decision to cross this off without actually going as since making the list originally it's come to light just how bad the poor dogs are treated in the dog racing business, and it's not something I wish to support any longer.

So - 22 months left to complete the list! That's the only race I want to be a part of, and the race is on!

The Worst Blogger Ever

Perhaps an over-the-top title for a post but I really think I might be the worst blogger ever. It's been a year since my last entry on this blog - but in fairness I've had some life changing circumstances this year.

2016 was a year of dramatic change for the world: Britain voted Brexit, the US voted Trump and we lost a seemingly endless list of big-name celebrities. The year was also a big one for me - my best friend got married, I did my first ever 10k run, I played for the Queen and took a bunch of kids on tour to France for the first time. Oh, and I moved to the Caribbean.

I won't dwell on that here as I have a whole other blog about my exploits in Grand Cayman (which you can find here) but suffice to say it's been a life-changing move for me. Before August the closest I'd ever gotten to the Caribbean was playing Monkey Island, so it's been a bit of a culture shock. It has however, enabled me to check a few more items off my list!

First of all, I started off the year with free ice skating lessons! It's a fab initiative that Altrincham Ice Rink were running for anyone aged 25 and under (lucky me I was just under the cusp at the time) that meant I could go along for a free group lesson for 6 weeks, not having to pay for skate hire or rink entry, and I was also allowed to stay to skate after for up to 2 hours for free! I got quite into my ice skating, even buying my own pair of skates, and was quite excited to see they're planning to build a rink in Cayman! It's not been built yet but they are telling everyone to watch this space. Hmm.

Moving my entire life across the world meant I had to downsize my personal possessions quite a lot and sell a lot of things to make sure I had plenty of money to move over with. Tragically I had to sell some of my beloved musical instruments but I also managed to save up over £300 of £1 coins in my terramundi pot, which was fun to smash! The original intention had been to spend my terramundi funds on an expensive bottle of champagne from Selfridges but no matter - there'll be plenty of time for that. I also did an epic car boot sale to get rid of a lot of my junk.

I also wanted to try and do as many UK-based things as I could fit in before I left the country, which included a day trip to Stonehenge! I also went to see loads of musicals and plays - including Rocky Horror show in full on slutty Ann Summers outfits, and a dramatic enactment of King Lear live at the Royal Exchange in Manchester - which included a horrible scene of a man's eyes being plucked out! 

Packing up my life meant I got chance to watch a lot of TV, so as well as watching the entire series of Desperate Housewives (which took up a significant chunk of my time and became a surprising addiction!) I managed to tick a few iconic films off my must-watch list: Home Alone, Blazing Saddles, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Castaway, all classics in their own way but also in my opinion fantastic films! I LOVED Castaway and couldn't stop saying WILSON!!!! for days afterwards.

Once I'd finally arrived here in Cayman I was able to tick off one item I've been struggling with for ages - Try 20 kinds of food I've never tasted before. Since being here I've tasted such a weird and wonderful number of foods I've easily checked this off. The big traditional food in Cayman is turtle (farmed locally on island and NOT taken from the wild) which was surprisingly tasty and similar to really tender beef rather than fish as I was expecting.  I've also tried tropical fruits like starfruit, rambutan and longan; sampled Caribbean staples like Saltfish & Ackee, Jerk chicken/pork; and new exotic sounding fish with hilarious names like mahi-mahi and wahoo. It's really a whole new world of flavour to me, I love it. 

So to sum up, it's been a good year for the list even if I haven't necessarily been the best at updating the blog. As for the rest of the world....well I guess like the Cayman ice rink we'll have to watch this space....

Ho, Ho Bloody Ho

It's 4 days before Christmas, is everyone in the Holly Jolly spirit yet?? I just can't seem to find that festive feeling in me yet, maybe I should just accept that this year I won't feel it because of the tablets, but there we are.

For me, something that really encapsulates Christmas (aside from the religious aspects and drinking far too much wine) is to think of others, be generous and kind, and give what you can to make other people who may not be having the best time of their lives a bit of a lift. To that end, I thought it would be a great time to give my first ever blood donation! 

I went along to the local Town Hall this afternoon for my appointment, feeling a little bit sick at the thought of being hooked up to a machine that would suck a pint of blood from my veins! After filling in a form I was asked to drink a big drink of juice to keep my blood pressure up and help prevent me from fainting during the appointment. Then a kindly looking male nurse took me into a private booth to ask me some questions about my medical health and history, and to test my iron levels. 

Now if you ever go along to a blood donation for the first time, this is the bit you really won't like. They spike the tip of your finger with a sharp tool, squeeze it until blood comes out and suck some out of the wound with a pipette - then drop a blob in some blue stuff. If the blob sinks, you've got good iron levels. If it floats, you've got a problem and may be anemic (not good for blood donation). The thing is, they don't tell you how much the spike hurts! People would probably just tell me to man up and deal with it - people lose legs and complain less - but honestly it really stings, and the pain lasts for a while after! Anyway, plaster on the offended finger and back to the waiting area I went.

Shortly a friendly but matronly looking nurse came and fetched me - my turn had arrived. She sat me down in a big scoopy plastic chair with comfy cushions on the feet and behind my head and proceeded to try and find a vein in my left arm. Apparently there weren't any veins in my left arm so she tried the right instead hoping for better luck. Success! A big fat vein perfectly central in my arm. Matron nurse took an antiseptic wipe and polished my elbow vigorously with it like it was a rusty silver Christmas tree ornament, and then I was "ready to go". Eek. On with the blood pressure cuff to make the vein stick out, clenched fist, sharp scratch and "OUCH" the needle was in. 

I watched the blood disappear from my body into the plastic blood bag next to me and felt strangely relaxed as the Christmas tunes played in the background. My arm felt a little tingly but not painful, and I thought about how much my donation would end up helping people. At my Slimming World meeting later, a friend told me how good a thing it was to do, as you really are saving a life by donating. That felt good.

So the donation came to an end, and the machine started to making its bleepy noises and Matron nurse returned to whip the needle out of my arm and get me sat up straight and my arm dressed. I was excited now for my reward of biscuits! After making sure I was okay, I was led over by Matron nurse to the recovery area, where there were trays of chocolate biscuits, crisps and plenty of juice to keep the generous donors' blood sugars up. I grabbed myself an orange chocolate club and some orange squash to match, chilled out for 20 minutes and finally felt ready to go. Not woozy or ill at all, although my arm felt a little heavy but no worse than after a vaccination.

Anyway, that was it! I hope if anybody reading is thinking about donating blood but wants to know more about what goes on, this clears things up and reassures that there really isn't anything to worry about. Go and book that appointment, and give a really important gift this Christmas season.

You only get out what you put in

So here I am, moaning on and on about how I've been struggling to complete this list when, in reality, all I do of a weekend these days is sit on my backside watching Big Bang Theory reruns. It's not the way I pictured life as a fully-functioning adult, and I certainly think my lack of activity outside of work is something that has contributed to my depression.

But things are on the up. Lately I've started to feel like the drugs are actually working, and I feel more like my old self these days. I'm not fully there yet but I've started to get back the drive and motivation I used to have to get things done - not just work but adventures. The realisation hit me today that the only way I'm going to get the most out of life is by making things happen myself - adventures aren't going to fall into my lap like they did with Bilbo Baggins (unless a wizard does turn up on my doorstep tomorrow and in that case consider me stood corrected!)

Today I counted that in total, I have ticked 37 things off of the "100 things" list. I am going to make every effort to push that up to 50 by the end of the year. To that end, I've booked tickets for Rocky Horror in January, King Lear in April (Shakespeare play live), redeemed an offer for a discounted skiing lesson and started filling my old empty Terramundi with spare £1 coins and a couple of notes when possible. I've also got 4 iconic films to see and 8 foods to eat that I've never tasted before written down in a list on my fridge -

1. Caviar
2. Polenta
3. Courgette flowers
4. Durian Fruit
5. Frogs Legs
6. Snails
7. Sweetbreads
8. Kangaroo (I actually have kangaroo steaks in the freezer, so that's tonight's tea sorted!)

• The Good the Bad and the Ugly
• Home Alone (tis the season!!)
• The Exorcist
• Rocky

So on top of gigs, Christmas parties, work and visiting family and friends, December is going to be a hectic month. But it'll be worth it as I'm really determined to enjoy the remnants of the year, and make 2016 one to remember. Depression will NOT hold me back any longer, and that is that.

Big Achievement!

I've finally paid off my student overdraft and credit cards!!!!!!!!!!!!

(That's it, that's the entire blog post)

Drive out the Darkness

I'm not even sure if anyone reads this thing, but greetings to anybody out there who has stumbled upon my little corner of the internet.

It's been nearly 3 years since I last posted here and in that time a lot of things have happened. After struggling for money as a graduate with temp jobs and casual contracts, I finally got myself a full time job as a music teacher - no more feelings of dread when I see the postman bringing the bills each morning! I'm also really settling into my career as a freelance musician, getting a nice variety of work on all my instruments.

2 years ago I  finally passed my driving test and moved into a flat all by myself - no more flatmate arguments. Recently I bought a brand new car and I've even entered the scary territory of looking at getting a foot onto the property ladder...I'm really growing up! New relationships and friendships have come and gone, and I've found myself far more well-traveled to places like Southern France, Finland, The Falkland Islands and Cyprus since becoming a full member of the Army Reserves as a musician 2 and a half years ago.

Summing all the positive things that have happened in just a few short sentences does make it look like life is just peachy for me at the moment, and I suppose in a lot of ways I'm very lucky. I've worked very hard to get to where I am today but also owe a lot of it to supportive friends and family who've pushed me when I've started to slip.

However over the last few months, I've started to feel restless again. You know what I mean, when your day to day life doesn't bring you any sort of joy, and you feel like you need to get out and go on an adventure and do something that gets your adrenaline soaring for a few weeks? Well, that. I've felt like this a few times before and done crazy things on the spur of the moment - booked a session swimming with sharks, going away alone to Paris, and most recently booking myself into an expensive suite in a city centre hotel for a night of being pampered with massages, facials and gourmet food & wine.

All these spontaneous things have made me feel great for a time, but the feeling of joy hasn't lasted that long. I know I'm stuck in a rut. I feel shy and anxious about the person that I am, and feel like I have to have crazy stories about my life to tell people so that they will be interested in what I have to say and not bored by me. I even think deep down that's why I created this "list" in the first place.

The thing is it goes deeper than just being restless. Honestly, I think I feel like this because I don't really like the person I am right now. Most of the time I genuinely feel totally and utterly worthless, because all I do is go to work and go to play at gigs. Other than that all I can motivate myself to do is shut myself inside in front of the TV with my laptop, doing some small bits of admin if I really have to, but otherwise just slobbing. I justify this by telling myself I work very hard and deserve lazy nights in, but these slob nights are fast eating away at the rest of my life like some giant emotional black hole. I have been diagnosed by the doctors with clinical depression which I am currently taking medication for. In a way it's helped, I feel less on edge and anxious but I can't seem to drag myself out of this eternal listlessness. I'm sick of it, and I'm sick of losing the passion I used to have for things in my life like spending time with my friends, trying to swim as many lengths as possible in 40 minutes or even my beloved music that I've dedicated my life to.

The one thing I suppose that has kept me from losing my job and my sanity completely has been making little lists of things I have to get done day to day. Simple things that most people don't think about, from making breakfast to taking out the rubbish bin (sometimes the list even has something as simple as getting showered and going outside for a walk, because I know I won't even get out of my PJs if it's not on my list), through to typing up that list of gifted and talented pupils for my manager or arranging Christmas carols for my pupils. I've always been a fan of making lists of things to do, and even more of crossing things off those lists - as I'm sure many people are - it makes you feel productive and useful, and like you are contributing something good to your own little world, and perhaps in a small way to the worlds of others around you. At least by being able to do this, I've been able to prevent myself becoming a complete recluse.

My point, I suppose, is that I'm sick of feeling restless and covered by a black cloud constantly. I want excitement in my life, I want adventure. I want to do everything that's on this list and so much more. I want to ride elephants in India, try Tom Yum in Thailand and drink rum on the beach listening to a live samba band in Cuba, and see the rest of the world while it's here to see.

I have a perfectly good list here of new and exciting experiences to me that's existed for over 4 years, and now I need to stop making excuses to myself and try to get through it. Maybe I'll even start to like the person I really am again somewhere along the way.

2013: Let's ring in the changes.

Well, as far as New Year changes go, I suppose this post is a little late.

A lot has happened in the last 6 months, and whilst the majority of it is not suitable for a public forum such as this blog, unfortunately circumstances that have arisen that mean that I will hereby be completing the rest of this list on my own.

Well, that's not strictly true. That would be pretty dull, wouldn't it? Especially as the whole point of the list was to have fun and gain new experiences. Anybody who wants to join in with me completing the challenges is more than welcome - just get in touch!

Obviously money is still an issue with a lot of the items on the list, so the focus is more on the cheap/free items. Next week we'll be having a Star Wars Marathon (Complete, of course, with Star Wars-themed food and drinks, light-sabers optional) which I'm really looking forward to - especially as my new housemate has never seen Star Wars before, which frankly is a criminal offence. I have to say that I've never watched them all back to back before. Bring it on!

As for items that have been completed in my absence....ooooh I've been part of a Flash Mob! A youth amateur (in name only, let me assure you, they are phenomenal) dramatics group called MyUK which have hubs all over the UK, including Manchester, are performing Les Miserables (school edition) at the Z-Arts Centre in Hulme in February. (I'm so excited, I'm in the band and it's one of my favourite shows!!!)
Anyway to promote the show, we took to the Trafford Centre and emerged as if from nowhere to sing one of the songs from the show, One Day More. It was videoed and went on YouTube, and has achieved over 20,000 hits so far. Incredible. (And terrifying how many people have seen me playing the flute...!) You can watch it below. Come see the show, it'll blow your mind!

Summertime, and the livin' is easy...

Well, it's a year since Jemima and I made the list, and so far we've not particularly gotten very far with it. Saying that, since the last blog update, we have made a MASSIVELY OBSCENE PUDDING WITH EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD IN IT - including Angel Delight, whipped cream, jaffa cakes, sweets, dairy milk, ice cream, strawberry sauce and a whole manner of other diabetes-inducing ingredients. (It was disgusting.)

We also rode a Mechanical Bull in the shape of a wine bottle at our end of RNCM Summer Ball (there is picture evidence for this somewhere but I think it's safer if it stays off this particular blog, as they weren't the most flattering of photographs). And we've cleared out all our junk at a proper early morning car-boot sale.

However, we've still ticked only off 18 out of 100 things, which in a year isn't a great record. And without the security of student loans when September hits, money is far tighter than it has been before, at least until we can manage to find ourselves decent jobs.

But it's not all doom and gloom, as we've spent this afternoon figuring out how many things on the list (of the 82 things still to do) are free or less than £10 each. There's at least 23 things that are free, and 21 things that are cheap enough for us to be getting on with, which will push us past the half way point of the list, which would be great! (And gives us time to save up money for the more expensive things, like going to a Michelin Star Restaurant or staying overnight at Alton Towers!)

Today, we initiated our "culture swap", something which we could do for free without even needing to leave the house! We gave each other a book, DVD and one other miscellaneous item that meant something to us that the other has not yet discovered, and wrote a card explaining why we'd chosen what we had.

Silence of the Lambs, All the Small Things
 and Monkey Island

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Wuthering Heights and
a challenge to cook fragrant rice in the rice cooker
 (something I never use because I hate it!!)

The whole point of the Culture Swap is to gain an insight into what makes the other person tick, discovering things you've never found yourself before that have been a big or important part of someone else's life, and sharing that love. I'm really looking forward to reading Wuthering Heights and watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, not so much about using the rice cooker haha. I hope Jemima really enjoys Silence of the Lambs and Monkey Island (the best computer game in the world ever), and I know she'll love All the Small Things!

Now we just need to get on the rest of this list...by pressing flowers, sending a message in a bottle, writing a groovy pop song and maybe even GIVING BLOOD (eek!)

Makeover shoot and Mastermind

The list is still pottering along slowly but surely...
Latest achievements have been taking part in a Makeover Shoot and for myself, being in the audience of Mastermind!

First of all, I was lucky enough to be invited to be in the audience of Mastermind by my friend Gemma (unfortunately there was only one spare ticket so Jemima couldn't do this one with me). The day was really interesting, seeing exactly what happens behind the scenes that you obviously don't see on TV, and to keep the audience entertained during the long breaks where the crew would have to reset we had a comedian! It was a fun experience that I'd love to try again sometime, though this time with Jemima so she can tick it off her list too!

So, the makeover shoot. Well, Jemima bought this experience with New-ID studios for my birthday back in February, but we've not had a chance til lately to make the most of it! We were both very excited to go along and get pampered for the day, and have a team of lovely ladies make us up into beauties.

The day started off with a nice glass of complimentary Buck's Fizz (which made us feel exceptionally classy) whilst I kept Jemima company as she had her hot pink hair re-dyed to a slightly less intense red/pink. Then we both had our hair cut, although I had to make up a story about how a "trainee at Supercuts had ruined my hair" because I was too ashamed to admit that I had attempted to cut it myself.

With both of us looking better already after having our hair tidied up professionally, we were then moved on to the make-up chair, but not before another cheeky Buck's Fizz was handed to us. I was slightly worried after previous 'make-up artist' exploits that the lady would cake me in make-up and leave me bearing an uncanny resemblance to those girls you see on "Snog, Marry, Avoid", but the experience was wonderful. Of course, they have to put a little more make-up on than you may be used to because of the impending photoshoot and the lights they use, but I came away from the chair feeling prettier and sexier than I had done in ages.

After waiting around for a little while we were both called in for our photoshoot. A series of pictures in a range of our 3 outfits, mostly with the photographer telling us how to pose but we were able to contribute our own ideas, so I managed to get a few publicity shots with my clarinet. Also, my favourite picture that was taken was when we both randomly grabbed some teddy bears which were lying in a 'prop box' in the corner and ran into the shot giggling manically. The photographer loved it and eagerly snapped us acting like crazy kids.


Unfortunately, the pictures are very expensive (although we got a very good deal). Thankfully we can pay monthly so we can actually afford them! And believe me, for the self-esteem boost alone, they are well worth the money.

I never want to see chocolate cake AGAIN.

So it's been a while since I last updated, since my laptop is pretty much on its last legs and keeps dying pretty much every time I try to update. But anyway.

We've managed to blitz a fair few things off our list in the last month, one of the biggest and most difficult being the famous Slattery Chocolate Challenge. This challenge is NOT for the faint hearted, consisting of not only a MAHEUSIVE slice of rich chocolate fudge cake (with 4 layers cemented together with extra thick fudge icing!), 2 large chocolate cups (as in, cups made from pure chocolate) filled with chocolate ice cream and whipped cream, and 2 small chocolate cups filled with liquid milk and white chocolate. AND 3 chocolate discs and a large hot chocolate. Sound easy? Think again!

3 of us went to attempt this challenge, but only I managed to succeed (after about 2 hours when all the ice cream had melted and my brain had gone fuzzy from the sugar overload). Safe to say, I will never be able to look at chocolate cake in the same way again.

The other big list achievement was going to Whit Friday for the first time as spectators! Having heard the college brass players go on about it for so many years, I've really wanted to go for ages! So it was really exciting to be involved watching the wonderful Middleton band. We sang "It's a long way to Tipperary" loudly and proudly, and happily munched away on chips and gravy as the band competed throughout Tameside. And as is customary on any occasion involving brass bands, of course lots of pints were consumed. It was a long but fun day, and Middleton even managed to win a couple of prizes (clearly down to our amazing singing!) so a great day was had all round.

In other news, we completed our dream diaries, (Jemima had a running theme of transport, I had one of dogs). Also, we bought a steak and cheese subway for a very grateful tramp who we found after half an hour of walking around town...just off of Piccadilly Gardens. When I can get my laptop sorted, I'll post the video we made of this charitable act. We've also attempted to start work on my mess of a back garden, but thats most definitely a work in progress, there's still a lot to do! We did make some very tasty tasty home-made lemonade to help us along in the heat though. And we're going to give blood next week, eek!

Rain, rain, go away.

The weather is practically SCHIZOPHRENIC at the moment, and it's driving me up the wall! It's supposed to be Summer, but we've had hail, thunderstorms, heavy rain, cloud, blustery winds and the occasional 10 minute sunny spell before the whole cycle starts again. I wish it would make up its mind. Actually, no, I wish I could control it so we could actually have some sunny, summery weather for once in June. 

Not only is it depressing, it's also stopping us from completing items on our list! So time has to be devoted to the more rainy-day challenges. Dream diaries are going well, it's really funny to read back the entries now we're a week in, I really don't remember half the dreams now! And we've bought our canvases from The Works so Jemima and I can get started on painting pictures for each other, very exciting! Also been filling up my terramundi with any £1 coins I can lay my hands on, so by Christmas I should (in theory) be filthy rich.

And hopefully at least if the blustery weather keeps up, we might be able to fly a homemade kite. So it's not all bad.

In terms of my own list, well, it's going slowly. I've watched another new film: Teeth. Incredibly disturbing, and not one I'd recommend for the faint hearted / those with any cinematic taste whatsoever. For those that haven't heard of it, the film is based on the idea of "Vagina Dentata", i.e. A woman with teeth inside her vagina, which jump to her defence when "necessary"... Let's just say it contains graphic scenes.

Oh, I've uploaded a copy of mine and Jemima's list too, so both lists are up here now. Lots to do, time is ticking!

The start of our adventures!

Tonight marks the start of mine and Jemima's list of things to do. We celebrated with champagne and cheesecake!

We have already crossed off one of our "foods/drinks we've never tried" with our CHAMPAGNE BREAKFAST (yes, that's right). Tonight we're going to start our dream diaries for a month, and we've also started putting together our time capsule to be opened in 2020, first things first writing letters to each other for when we're both 30. What a terrifying thought - we might each be married with kids with a mortgage by then...

Right now, I couldn't be enjoying life any more. College is over for the year, I'm spending the evening with one of my closest friends and a bottle of rosé, and can't wait for the rest of our adventures to start :-)

In other news, on my own list...I've watched the Social Network, which was a pretty awesome film it has to be said. For those that haven't seen it, it was all about the creation of facebook, and the legal troubles that Mark Zuckerberg faced as a result. Very intrinsic observations about the American university social life, and how that has now been completely transferred onto the internet. As one character quoted in the film: "We lived on farms, we lived in cities, now we're going to live on the internet!" Pretty thought-provoking.

Just to make things slightly more fun...(difficult!)

Not content with having my own list of challenges - my friend Jemima and I have come up with our own list of 100 things to do before Christmas! In all fairness, some of the items cross over onto both lists, and it's always good to have someone to do these things with! And with the next 3 months looking pretty empty we're going to need something to fill our time ;-)

Me and Jemima on our last adventure: to London!

The whole list of 100 things can be found here on Jemima's blog.

After rooting through the loft I've found my old video camera...which is broken. Gutted. BUT (student loan student schmoan...) I have invested in a brand NEW one (with Full HD, oh yes) so we can document our adventures together. I'm REALLY looking forward to the last minute (i.e. 2 days beforehand, let's drop everything and go) holiday and the cycling to France! Oh, and the llama trekking and filling a terramundi to spend at Selfridges in the sales - we're going to act snooty and as if we think nothing of spending £150 on a scarf; we're very well to do ladies who do this sort of thing all the time, of course.

News on my own list is fairly slow...although I have just got "The Social Network" from LoveFilm for my list of 50 films to see. I'll update soon.

The unattempted remains impossible.

I'm not a stranger to the world of blogging. For the last year or so I have kept a regular blog about the (non-too interesting, unfortunately) happenings in my own life. However, after recent events I have been made to see that some things are better kept off the internet and vented somewhere more private, like a diary.

Therefore, I thought I'd put this space to better use and start a blog about the list of challenges I've set myself. In theory they are to be completed by my 30th birthday, but obviously being a poor student at the moment (and in a year's time an even poorer music graduate...) that could be a tricky one, but I'll give it a go.

As a music student, it's so difficult to find anything else to fill your time - you're constantly surrounded by music day-to-day as a general rule, whether it's playing it, analysing it, conducting it, writing about it or even actually listening to it. For so many people, music is just a hobby but for me and so many others it is genuinely our entire existence. Don't get me wrong, I can't get enough of music in my life and I wouldn't change what I'm doing for anything. But the constant exposure can get to you sometimes, and occasionally it's nice to have some light relief. However, I realised recently that, actually, I have no other hobbies. I play the clarinet day in and day out, and do virtually nothing else (apart from the necessary, eat, sleep, umm...etc.). I'm actually an incredibly boring person and outside of the 4 walls of music-college will find it so difficult to even just have a normal conversation with a non-musician who's life doesn't actually revolve around music.

Having realised that I really don't want to be such a bore, for my own sake and that of others who have the misfortune to meet me down the pub on a Friday night, I've decided to try and turn my life around and challenge myself to do something different. As the title of this blog suggests, the things you don't at least attempt to do remain impossible to achieve.

Anyway, enough background waffle. Onto the list.

1. Travel to every continent.

2. Write a novel

3. Watch 50 films I've never seen (and should have).

4. Live in London

5. Learn Spanish

6. Learn to run properly, and run a half marathon. Then, if not dead, try for a marathon.

7. Coast to coast road trip across USA. (Pink driving licence required first, obviously)

8. Have sex in an adventurous place, preferably without getting caught

9. Pass my driving test

10. Try 20 foods I've never had before

11. Live alone

12. Go bungee jumping/skydiving/both

13. Visit Austria

14. Spend £500 in one night

15. Pay off my overdraft and stay in the black

16. Volunteer work for at least a year

17. Be on TV (and not just waving shittily in the background of a news item)

18. Eat in a Michelin star restaurant

19. Play in a professional orchestra

20. See England play in the world cup. In any sport, I'm not that fussed really.

21. Throw a dart into a world map, and have a long weekend in the place it lands

22. Read 50 books I've never read

23. Own a car. A nice one.

24. Take my parents out for a meal (not with each other though, that could be a recipe for disaster...)

25. Buy an expensive bottle of champagne and drink it with my closest friends

26. Go back to South Africa to see my grandad again

27. Get a first in my degree

28. Milk a cow

29. Learn how to actually use all the special features on my camera to take amazing pictures

30. Climb Kilimanjaro

I'll use this blog to keep track of the entries that I've achieved, or that I'm attempting. And maybe the ones that I've failed at (I'm hoping to keep those down to a minimum though). I'll try and document things with my camera as well, pictures make everything more interesting!