Long time no blog . . .

So I definitely said in all good faith that I would carry on my blog didn’t I? Oh well, I’ll pick it up again now, hopefully anyway . . .


So my last blog seems like so long ago – when I’d just finished second year, now I’m into Week 5 of Level 3 – scary stuff.


I don’t think an awful lot has changed since my last blog – I got a lovely little flat with Alex, went to Leeds Festival and had a bloody good time – aaanndd I got engaged! But now he’s gone and moved to Manchester to work – what a pig?! Its okay I suppose.


Yeah not much seems to be going on with me, other than the above, and organising my own 21st party – which I’m not sure if I’m happy or pissed about, although at least I know that it’ll be how I want it, and that’s how it should be – it is my party after all. I think I’m more excited for that than Christmas and my actual birthday!


And if anyone can recommend anywhere I can buy a fabulous dress and beautiful shoes from please feel free to share with me – I’m looking at a lovely pair of Iron Fist red sequined ones, and any Irregular Choice shoes that I can’t afford. BOOO!


Ok, so maybe I’ll try keep blogging, if I ever find the time! HA.




Ashley


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Frustration.

This appears to be my first 'un-assessed' blog - go me for actually doing it now that I don't have to!

So uni is over now...Or nearly over, just another few thousand words to write - hence this blog post, obviously another procrastination tool, thanks to Philip Young I now have Twitter to distract me and this!

I just booked flights to London at the end of the month, being lazy because I couldn't do a coach trip again - regardless of price! And I couldn't find cheap trains, so if anyone has tips on that they would be appreciated!

I'm going to stay with my friend Jess, who has already had a mention in this blog somewhere. I'm quite excited, I like flying and this is the first time I'll be doing it all on my own, woop! Plus I feel it will be deserved, once my work is out of the way.

Fair to say that trying to get work done to a high standard is extreeeemely difficult when all you can think about are, well, not PR related to say the least. Then when you get on a roll you're iTunes decides to pick out a few songs that make you think about 'that thing' again. Grr.

Urgh, I hate it when things happen, that you know are coming, or you expect a little, but you don't want it to happen, then it does. If you get me? I don't so it's okay.

Life sucks arse at times, but I imagine this is where you're supposed to 'power through' or 'pick yourself up'. Luckily for me I have about 4000-5000 words to write so I'll just get on with that!

Ashley

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Every Time I Die - Leeds '09

So last night I went to see Every Time I Die in Leeds, supporting Gallows.

Fair to say it was bloody brilliant, even if Idid miss some of the first song, which is one of my favourites! But hey, all the same it was awesome!

Followed by meeting the bassist Josh (top photo), who was lovely and we talked to for ages whilst Gallows were on. Then whilst talking to him the singer Keith (middle photo) came over for a bit, fair to say I think I love him, I did a little before the show, but now I think I definately do!!

Then after watching the end of Gallows, went to the bar and saw guitarist Andy (last photo) he was also a lovely man, after chatting for a while, photo opps etc we directed him to the nearest take-aways, jumped in a taxi and went home to party!

Fair to say I had a lovely two days in Leeds, and things are starting to look up a bit, got a new flat sorted, making some good progress on my work and feeling like hell, but happy!

This post will be my last assessed post and whilst i've enjoyed my time in the 'blogsphere' I think I will continue to post my ramblings after I have been marked!

Catch y'all laters!

Ashley

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Back To The Grind

Back at uni again after a never ending three weeks off, seemed like a lifetime ago that we broke up now though!

Back to the house in Sunderland, which is still falling apart but now we have mice, yes plural, two of them to be precise. Currently avoiding the mousetraps and poison we've had down, so I was maybe thinking of naming them seeing as though they will probably reside here permanently if the landlord has anything to do with it.

Any ideas are welcome! If I get enough suggestions I'll make a vote and see who's name wins.

It seems about time I cleared all the mess from one area of my room I haven't seen since January - my desk! Get that sorted and fill it right back up with books and notes to get a little further into the monster mountain of essays to be in beginning 14th May.... Good for me I actually did work over Easter and got a good head start on some of them.

So to the other thing on my 'to-do' list - find a place to live preferably before 30th June, otherwise I will be moving home, which is not what I want really. It's nice to visit but not for good, not yet anyway. Endless lists of places that are too expensive and places that are in awful areas. Not many to choose from - I am in Sunderland after all.

There you have it, I've been here for three days and already I am moaning "WAAAAHHHHH"

Ashley

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Three Magnificent Men

This is just a short post to tell you all about three people I know who are doing a 1000 mile bike ride over 20 days through Europe. All in aid of the charity Royal British Legion. Further details are here.

Any donations would be welcome and rest assured none of the donations made will go towards paying for this trip as that has come out of their pockets.

So if you want to donate anything you have spare go and visit http://www.justgiving.com/3magnificentmen

Ashley

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Bragster

A couple of weeks ago I was directed to another ‘new’ social media website, only this one is less about following celebrities or really discussing much with friends other than who is cooler!

The site is Bragster and as it says on the home page “Jackass meets Facebook” and after signing up a few weeks ago I’ve had a good look around it and here’s the gist of it.

You sign up, enter you details and then you’re good to go – the next step is what the site is all about. Uploading pictures or videos of you doing something stupid ‘a dare’ and the others on the site tell you if it’s cool or not, therefore earning you bragging rights.

So, after this you can then dare other people to do something – they reply with their image or video and you say ‘cool brag’ or ‘lame brag’ you decide.

There are loads of videos to watch and people to talk to, and even dares where you can win things, such as this guy winning $1000 to legally change his name to Chev Chelios from Crank. Watch it!

Then there is the Tango dare. Bragster dared Tango to print their cans upside down and slap the Bragster logo on the can! Check out the video.

Anyway I would advise you all to go sign up have a giggle, and get yourself earning some bragging rights. It’s interesting and a great procrastination tool! Enjoy!


Ashley

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Easter Breaks and relaxing...

So I'm almost half way through the Easter break - the mist has descended on the North East and the sun has been stolen. Great. We get two or three nice days and then get punished by being barely able to see the house next door but one!

What with all the work I'm doing I thought I'd take a break to laugh at some kid getting 'owned' by an exercise ball. I honestly bet you laugh!



But there are more - I find it funny. Kids are stupid HA!



That is pretty much what I've been getting up to lately, laughing at that stupid kid and his stupid exercise ball.

Hope everyone else is having a lovely break!

Ashley

Blogger Advocacy – Pros & Cons

In MAC299 today we are discussing how blogger advocacy is being used commercially and how people are now being paid to blog about a product or brand name.

I’m going to discuss what I think the positives and negatives of using this new type of ‘social media’ within marketing and Public Relations.

Firstly, I think that the negatives include things such as restrictions to the blogger, in the sense that they have to curb their own thoughts and stick to the brief they have been given. This can inevitably have an effect on the content of the blog and whether or not it is a true representation of that person and what they truly think.

Also, it is an important piece of the puzzle that the bloggers themselves are influential, that they have contacts and people that take an interest in them, enough so that their blog will be read, otherwise it seems pretty pointless.

However, some plus points for commercial blogging is that it is a different way of marketing a product or brand, in a more realistic way, something believable and that potential customers can interact with – they have the opportunity to comment on what the blogger has said and converse with them.

Despite being quite regulated it is still possible for the writer to be creative, and honest giving a better view of the brand or product to potential customers. These commercial bloggers will never have the same freedom as people who blog for fun but they can still show who they are through their writing and opinions.

I think that this type of blogging is a new and exciting way forward in marketing and would personally love to be paid to blog, working to a brief can sometimes help form a structured post, instead of the incessant ramblings of a student!

To see some other thoughts and views on this topic, and even an example go see Our Rutland Correspondent.

Ashley

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Jessica Lau and Jenni King

So this blog is just a short one...For my beloved ladies, Jenni & Jess. (See abov)

After coming to visit me in Sunderland last week they have insisted I give them a dedicated blog, or more specifically Jess anyway.

And this is it, just to show my appreciation for coming to visit me, getting drunk and eating all my cake decorations. Oh, and talking about old times, getting the letters and photos out.

I love these two all the world, and miss them as Jess is in London and Jenni is ALWAYS bloody working!

Thanks for sharing a good night, and my bed with me.

Lots of love to you both.

Ashley

A car for everyday of the week...

So in my year and a half of living in Sunderland I have managed to get myself on to car number four. This is the lowdown on all of my babies, I loved them all, some more than others and some I may learn to love
Thursday 18th October 2007 - My first car - 1993 Honda Civic.


Her name was Lulu. I owned this car for around 9 months, the only car I've dared to floor, and she quite easily hit 120 mph, not sensible I know, but I wanted to know.

Lulu survived a crash in the uni car park, and her MOT, but unfortunately living in Sunderland some scumbags decided they would try to steal it. They couldn't figure out how to hot wire it, so trashed it instead, effectively writing it off. I still miss this car and the only photos I have are of two idiots moving it while I was sleeping!

Monday 28th July 2008 - numero deux - 1998 Fiat Punto.

His name was Mr. Parsons (a character from Scream Bloody Murder) I had this car for about 6 1/2 months, by far the most troublesome.

I broke down on the A19 with a broken head gasket and broken radiator, I actually broke down all over the North East in this car, but it managed to get us to Leeds Festival and back, comfortably so I loved it, not as much as Lulu though.

I replaced almost everything under the bonnet in this car, and had a few scares of the back door opening whilst I was driving round a roundabout and so on. I eventually passed this car on - I sold it to my Daddy!

Saturday 28th February 2009 - number 3 - 2001 Mercedes Benz A-class (or something)

This car was named Arbuthnut, no idea if this is a real name, but it stuck, we only had this car for a month, but it was lovely.

It felt great to say "I drive a Merc" considering i'm a student and the last car had been so much trouble! However, us being us an accident had to happen, apparently women who drive 4x4's don't like it when you accidently scratch their big ass cars...

I loved almost everything about this car, apart from the feeling that I was driving a tank at times. It was the first diesel car I'd driven since taking lessons! But this one was short lived, we had to take it back home.

Sunday 22nd March 2009 - number 4 - 2000 Ford Fiesta.

This one as of yet doesn't really have a name, and I've only driven it once, in which I stalled it three times! Just from uni to home. Not much to say about this one yet, it has air con, which is a first, but no electric windows, also a first!

So there you have it, my four cars, i'm working on a rap song based around Craig David - 7 Days.

I'll let you all know how that goes, but any lyric suggestions are welcome!

Ashley

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My version of Desert Island Discs

So after reading Our Rutland Correspondents earlier blog on his ideal eight tracks he would choose if stuck on a desert island, I thought I would do a smilar type blog post.

So here it goes my 8 songs:


1. Head Automatica - Beating Heart Baby - If I was on a desert island this is my way of taking Alex with me.

2. Radiohead - High and Dry - This band were awesome live, and this song could make me sleep anytime, anywhere, slightly reminds me of pints of wine, and a really loud man who 'outspoke Radiohead'.

3. The Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go? - Year 11 leavers day and my best friends on stage playing this! Such a cliche, but still brilliant.

4. Lonestar - Amazed - Just because I secretly love this song, but I can manage to annoy each and everyone of my housemates by singing this to them.

5. Wings - Band On The Run - I have no idea why I would take this, it makes me smile a little inside and seeing as though I may have heard it a hundred times in the last month, I like it.

6. Panic! At The Disco - Nine In The Afternoon - This song reminds me of my first year at uni, my first ever car, and again generally annoying everyone with it, loudly.

7. Donny Osmond - Would I Lie To You - Again, first year uni, cooking, cleaning, pre-party. This song was a pretty good all round cheer up song. CD stolen courtesy of Ian & Neils Mum, who did corner us in the biscuit isle in Tesco. I am not ashamed that I like this song.

8. Hot Hot Heat - Middle Of Nowhere - This is just one song off the album that is pretty much THE album I get ready to, always. Make-up can be a problem when dancing to this...


So there you have it, my choice of songs that would keep me sane if on a desert island, most of them just make me smile and dance, which I'm sure I'd have an awful lot of time to do.

Our house, in the middle of our street...

So, the landlord came round yesterday morning, told us he was getting a cleaner in to do a ‘Spring Clean’ of the house, I don’t think she was a real cleaner, she left it in a worse state than it originally was – which wasn’t actually messy in the first place.

She just seemed to wander around with Mr. Muscle in her hand spraying erratically around the house and not wiping it up! If she was getting paid I would have happily done her job for the day, or if the landlord mentioned he wanted the place cleaning up a little for house viewings why didn’t he say!? We do clean our house; I don’t think he gets it.

On the other hand I don’t think he gets much – we have damp in the corner of our kitchen, so bad that there has been three mushrooms grow in it over the last few months, so what does he do? Paints over it, yes he paints the mouldy corner of the kitchen and leaves. After further complaints he figures it must be the glass door on the shower that’s letting water out and causing the mould. So, he glues it shut to the bath, we are aware it’s not the shower that’s leaking, but he won’t listen. Then figures buying us a new bathmat will also help, we already have two, but you know he must be right, yeah?

And then there is the case of the broken toilet, it’s been blocked for weeks, the drains are completely broken, but he thinks it’s okay because we have two toilets – there are however, seven people in this house, one toilet isn’t really good enough, and there’s always one who forgets it’s not been fixed yet – yeah you can imagine the results – similar to what we have to look at when it rains too heavy and the drains are blocked in the garden, I’m not even going into that one, it makes me feel sick.

It’s awful to see these new people looking around our house going “ohhh, ahhh” at the high ceilings and massive rooms, when really it’s an awful house, probably would be condemned if a real person came to look at it! But no, we’re still here, debating not paying our rent to get things done, I’d have to grow a pair first I think.

It took us almost two months to get a new boiler fitted; he wouldn’t believe that even though his ‘mate’ said it would be okay, as soon as we turned it on it sounded like a jet trying to take off, and then the fizzing noise that accompanied it. Safe then yeah? We had no heating in this time, you know when it was snowing and freezing? Yeah it was then, and hot water, well that was temperamental, I had to miss university a few times and drive home to get a shower, it was awful. But still we pay our £50 a week and deal with it, thinking it’s only till June we’ll be fine.

So there you have it the hell hole that we call a home, bah I’m going to spend my rent money on getting my hair dyed the brightest shade of red that I can.

Ashley

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To Buy or Not to Buy?

So, anyway, why is it when you’re at university you don’t want to be there, but then when you’re at home, your house mates are busy and what are you? Bored, always bored – there are only so many ways to procrastinate from doing work, cleaning, washing clothes or tidying your room. Of which I managed to put all off apart from washing my clothes. We just got a new boiler fitted which means it doesn’t take four days for my clothes to dry after washing!


I’m sat for not the first time this week wondering what to do, I just cancelled the insurance policy on my car after only four months, so now I’m waiting for this money to be deposited back into my bank and mentally listing all the lovely things I’d like to buy. Which means it is more than likely already spent before it gets to my bank – not physically but mentally.


And that’s it, can I justify spending over £60 on a bag? That’s almost the same price as six months road tax on my old car! It’s crazy, but then I do remember just how much money I will be getting in a few days. It doesn’t seem right, I am after all a student, and surely I could spend £60 on some nice text books or.... No that’s just about all I can think of university related anyway, then this gorgeous bag just keeps popping back into my head.


Turns out I don’t want the one that costs £60 – a quite ghastly pink one; I want one of the yellow or turquoise ones – retailing about £100. Which to me is insane, I could justify it by not going out for a month, quitting smoking for about five weeks, or not driving – therefore not paying for diesel, but really I would never stick to any of these – ever.


I mean all of the above would be beneficial to me – not drinking, smoking and walking everywhere that would be fantastic and I could show off my new bag. However, where I live I would probably get mugged in the street if I walked anywhere after peak hours. If I took it out on a night out, it would probably get covered in someone else’s beer, knowing my track record, or I would lose it, and be mostly upset.


So here are my dream bags – opinions are welcome as to whether I deserve to buy this bag or not!



Ashley

Right, so having just discovered the wonders of blogging who wants to know the real student voice?

I plan to make this a weekly update – a diary if you will, of what I get up to whilst at university, studying Public Relations at Sunderland, a real representation of what student life is like.

I’m talking loan dates, deadlines and of course drunken antics because obviously that’s all students do – sleep all day, party all night, right?

For example I’ve been a student at Sunderland University for 18 months or so, I managed to last 17 days in student accommodation before there was too much oestrogen for me to physically cope with, so moved in with four boys’ one girl, its loads better and obviously in a house which is much more comfortable, and less clinical.

So anyway after 18 months of being a student in Sunderland I had my first real fight, or one that I can recall. “What gives the average male the right to pull me to the floor pouring his drink all over me and then question my reaction?” Of course if anyone who knows me is reading this they will know I clearly threw my drink over him, hit him with the glass (yes it was plastic, I’m not that crazy!), and then proceeded to punch him. That’s just if you know me – otherwise you learn something new every day – I look lovely, but I will stand up for myself, I don’t need a male in my life to fight for me, I can do it quite well on my own.

Obviously for us students this is nothing spectacular, but give it to your Mum, or Dad this is gold dust – see what your child does when they are away from home and what they are wasting their time and money on!

I’m not here to rat everyone out, but do you think your parents are interested in what you’re doing at university aside from what you tell them. My mum and Dad couldn’t learn any more from me through this blog, they know everything, so I’m fine, no secrets, no regrets and nothing to hide! In fact I actively tell them when I have done something like hitting a guy that hurt me – they should be proud – I can look after myself in this city, away from their guidance! They could however, be ashamed of what I get myself into, but at the end of the day, I know how to get out of it, so not too much to worry about.

So there you have it the first instalment of my life as a student!
Ashley