Saturday 26 May 2012

What the sun does to a student


"The sun has got his hat on
Hip-hip-hip-hooray!
The sun has got his hat on,
He's coming out today.

Now we'll all be happy,
Hip-hip-hip-hooray!
The sun has got his hat on,
And he's coming out today."

What a great start to summer. The sun is shining, the birds are tweeting... but what does this mean to a student?

----

So the sun is shining brightly here in Cardiff. Surprisingly wet Wales is going against its conventional name and instead is beaming its light upon us.

Instantly it appears that everyone has ditched the hoodies and jeans and put on the smallest items they can find. Hot pants, bikinis and boob tubes to name the least. No disappointment there for guys. The park has become busy again and the grass is laden with empty bottles and scorching hot bbqs.

But as a first year law student are my priorities with the weather or with the books?

I've never been one to dash into the sun as soon as it comes out. Flashing skin as a bathe in the worlds glory. In fact, this is probably because i'd end up resembling a tomato not long later. Sunbathing has never really been my thing. Just laying and doing nothing, watching as the world goes by - couldn't be any more boring in my eyes! I'd rather be in the sun doing something. Frisbee perhaps... or swimming on the beach.

These luxuries are currently put on hold however, as my final exams loom ever so closer. It seems everyone is thinking the same as they sit inside and slave over textbooks with thousands of pages and cover their walls in posters so extravagantly you wouldn't see the paint.

So many times you hear people saying "first year doesn't matter, it doesn't count to your degree." They are correct in the sense that it does not amount to your final overall grade, but it is still recorded! I will find myself applying for training contracts next year with only the first year grade to go on. So don't tell me it doesn't matter.

As lovely as the weather is it must now be put on hold. I can't afford to lay around and get burn't when exams are on the line. And now i've been faced with the tricky decisions: do i go away for a few days next week! Ahhhh.


Well on that note, back to the books I go. Wish me luck!

Thursday 24 May 2012

Review on Evita


CONTAINS SPOILERS

Based on the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, Evita the movie portrays the story of Eva Peron (1921-52) (Madonna) an Argentine heroine. It begins in her early childhood as she gets refusal to her fathers funeral due to her lower class. Her childhood not being one of riches but of discrimination against her lowly birth (illegitimate child). This scene, then contrasted with her lavish funeral gives the audience an awareness of where this movie is leading. Thousands of people flock and follow her coffin as it is paraded through the streets.

The movie follows her love affair at the age of 15 with Agustin Magaldi (Jimmy Nail) who sings a repetative song with the help of his battered guitar. With his help she tries to become known as an actress, performer and public figure. It is rumoured and portrayed in the movie, that many men 'help' her during these years and have freely given her favours.

As the proud and seemingly handsome Juan Peron (Jonathan Pryce) steps onto the scene as an ambitious young army officer all changes. As love blossoms both are plummited into the limelight. Friends and enemies are made as Eva fights for the freedom of her people and focuses her attention not on the weathly but those of her similar background.

Working tiredlessly to help the poor she becomes their angel, their immortal savour. But her young death proves that even those who seem to fight against the unfightable, who can change the world and create such a large impact on such a wide audience, in the end... must fall.

Madonna's timeless portrayal of this Argentine angel shall be remembered for years to come. Her lavish hair styles and fancy costumes portray the female through her changing persona. Leaving her life as a poor illegitimate child to become the leader of the people. She may be known as a singer, but this role should not be forgotten quickly. Especially emotional is the death which she portrays, struggling to sing to Peron as she lay pale in her bed. Tears being held back as her shakey voice leads the audience to swallow the lumps in their throats.

Coupled with Antonio Banderas as 'Che', narrating throughout the entire movie, the pair seem to fit together like two peas in a pod. His ever changing character follows Evita through her life, singing from the viewpoint of the people. Even though Banderas doesn't have Madonna's vocal ability, he acquits himself well enough when it comes to singing, and his acting is the best that it's been since he parted ways with Pedro Almoldovar (after Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!).

The costumes and fashion would interest any female who endulges in diamonds and historic costume. The lavish dresses which she wears brings a sparkle to any females eye. To watch a girl who has nothing and lives in a life of discrimination grow to be such a strong woman, who leds her people and saves her Husband, is a truely inspirational story. And what makes it even more astonishing; Eva Peron was a real female. This is not a fiction fairytale, but instead a real life drama.

Some may argue that the lack of dialouge and constant singing ruins the emotion and feeling behind the story, but i beg to differ. I believe it is the complexity of emotions and sory telling which shines through the singing which makes the movie the wonder it is. I've seen it on stage, and it is the same. Song after song, the story flowing through dance and lyrics. As a comparison... it is more like The Who's Tommy then Singing in the Rain. So if 'real musicals' are not your thing, i suggest you stay away.

Yes I am bound to be bias as this is possibly my favourite musical but i'd recommend any musical lover to give it a try. To sit through the first 15 minutes of flashbacks and embrace the story of Eva Peron, told through the music wonders of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.

Is googling how to get money online really a good idea?

Being a student I often moan about the hardships of money and the lack of it which sits in my bank account. How everything in the world seems a hundred times more expensive then it did when I lived at home. So, like many, i googled how to make money online.

Imagine sitting in your room, at the comfort of your desk (although these student chairs which scratch your legs and pokey desks don't really count as comfort), and making money just by using your finger tips. Seems ideal, does it not?
Well, i've probably googled this option 3 maybe 4... maybe more times than that, and lets face it, im not rolling in bank notes yet.



The online money hoax.


As already stated, I class myself as a poor student, in dire need of money.


(Truth be told, I currently spend £10 a week on food in order to save my student loan for my holiday next month, but shhh, no one needs to know that.)


So I find myself stumbling across the world of google, rummaging through pages and pages of search finds all to find myself a way to earn money online. Perhaps I first through of looking online after watching channel 4's 'Phone Sex Secrets'. There is no way you'd catch me working in that line of business, first things first, i'd burst out laughing! One girl even spoke to man as if he were a baby, asking if his nappy had been soiled. Could not handle that.


But the show did raise the potential earnings of online activity. Googling it lead to many websites explaining how to earn money. A regular apparence came in the form of affiliate programmes. Adding a companies business link on your page in order to earn money. With every click you brought in the coin, and they really are coins and not notes. Without having a webpage this seemed useless to me.


There are many others which are easily found such as writing e-books (i couldn't think of a topic which people would want to read) and participating in cam-chats. There are two which i decided to try.


1. Studentgems. A website which advertises jobs for students, many of these being writing articles and sending them online. Ideal? Well I was offered a job with one company writing blogs at £9 a piece. Didn't seem to bad since they online wanted 500 words a blog. Nevertheless, 3 months have passed and i've only been offered one blog to write. Many companies don't get back in touch and many jobs are focused towards website design, not my forte.


2. Online roulette. I know! Online gambling is never the way, but this website http://www.instant-income-system.com/members/uk/index.html made it particularly appealing. It explained step by step how you could turn £50 into £100 and more. So, being a naive student I went ahead and gave it a try. The site was right. I walked away with £90 profit. But I also left cancelling my accounts as I came to realise that it was just as easy to lose the money as it was to win it.
Human's get greedy, its just dialed into our DNA. So as i saw the figures piling up i began to take risks. With each risk I lost money until I found myself with £0. A fatal mistake. Luckily I knew when to stop and realised that the online gambling world, even though it offers its addicitve advantages, is a dangerous playground. I'd rather be poor than bankrupt.
In turn I advise no one to try it.


So here I am, left not making money online but happy. I don't have to worry about losing money through games. I just sit tight and wait to be asked to produce another blog for ChilliSauce. Instead I am just careful with money. I walk straight to the reduced section in tesco. I don't go out and about in the evenings and spend my days walking in the park or just relaxing in good company. There is no need for me to spend excess money when instead it can sit in my bank account waiting for the holiday of my dreams.







Beginning my blog journey

Today i begin the start of my blogging journey! No one can predict where this will end up or what I will write down on these pages.
But in my head I plan to write about the life of a student...
This may captivate an audience who find my stories on life entertaining, interesting or are just suitable to waste a bit of time. Nevertheless, I hope to address how life as a student can alter the way you view the world, walking step by step through this educational journey. There are always changing circumstances swirling around a students life, from a new home to money, to boyfriends to nights out.
So please, delve into my world.



Me, Myself and I

So this is me: Lauren, 19 years of age and almost finished my first year as a law student at Cardiff University. What a year it has been!


I have seen drunks, sadness, laughter, Wagner, and many many other things which remain a long and happy memory. But along side these I have seen the insides of hundreds of textbooks. Words printed over and over again acknowledging the legal world.

I've hiked around Cardiff looking for work experience. I've reached a low point in my bank balance and googled how to make money online... and a later blog will discuss the unusual outcome of this! And truth be told, I think i've found the boy im destined to be with for a long time. Fingers crossed anyway!
So now I find myself, sat in the middle of exams writing a blog about life in general. And it pleases me so. I feel that from now onwards this site may become my new best friend, my diary and a way of communication. This way I can blog about things which are effecting me, interest me and which i believe will interest you. This are activities which people experience from day to day and cannot be pigeon holed into one category.

If my blogs are remotely interesting to anyone else, perhaps i'll gain a mini audience. But if not; well thats ok too. Its nice just to get things down.

For now I will leave this be and begin on my journey of blogging. Lets see where it gets me and how many friends I can make along the way.


I've reached a low point in my bank balance and googled how to make money online... and a later blog will discuss the unusual outcome of this! And truth be told, I think i've found the boy im destined to be with for a long time. Fingers crossed anyway!
So now I find myself, sat in the middle of exams writing a blog about life in general. And it pleases me so. I feel that from now onwards this site may become my new best friend, my diary and a way of communication. This way I can blog about things which are effecting me, interest me and which i believe will interest you. This are activities which people experience from day to day and cannot be pigeon holed into one category.
If my blogs are remotely interesting to anyone else, perhaps i'll gain a mini audience. But if not; well thats ok too. Its nice just to get things down.
For now I will leave this be and begin on my journey of blogging. Lets see where it gets me and how many friends I can make along the way.

Lets begin