The Life of Cata

The right to learn - 09/12/10

2010-12-09T12:14:00.006Z

Many people have said a lot of things about the vote that is taking place in the houses of parliament today. Basically, our MPs are voting to decide whether or not they should allow universities to raise tuition fees up to £9000 per year. The fees are currently set at £3000 per year and back when I started university in 2005 they were £1000 per year. Let me start of by showing a picture of Mr. Clegg form back in April/May this year. This is before the general election, when Nick’s future looked very promising indeed. He’s signed an election pledge promising to vote against any raise in tuition fees. Many more in the Liberal Democrats signed a similar pledge.

Fast forward to election night and the promising predictions of the Liberal Democrats getting a third of the countries vote, turned out a disappointing 1% increase from the previous election, and 6 seats lost (much thanks to the ‘first past the post’ system). But much more importantly, it thrust the country into a hung parliament situation where neither party had majority in parliament. The Liberal Democrats started negotiation with the Conservatives in hope to form a coalition. (Why they chose the Conservatives over the Labour Party which they have more in common with is a whole other discussion which I don’t intend on bringing up here. Needless to say, I can see both sides and with the Conservatives getting the largest percentage of the vote, I guess they had some sort of right to try to form a government.)

A week and a bit later the ‘Con-Dem’ (not their choice of abbreviation) coalition was formed. As time passed by we discovered that the price that Nick Clegg and his MPs had to pay for a piece of the power cake consisted of sacrifices so large that we barely recognise them for what they used to be. To me, they’ve become a mere extension to the Conservatives. They even gave up on the most important part of their election manifesto; proportional representation. It should have occurred to me then, that with a party who’s willing to give up the fight for their core beliefs, it would only be a matter of time before old pledges were forgotten or just plainly ignored… and so this forgotten pledge has resulted in the destruction of the Conservative’s head quarters, the burning of pictures of Nick Clegg and Vince Cable along with weeks of sometimes violent protests.

Now a lot of people (mainly supporters) have said that a raise in fees won’t be so bad. They say that poor will get 2 years worth of tuition paid for them. Well, seeing as most courses are 3 years, that still leaves the last £9000 to be found or borrowed from somewhere. They say that graduates won’t have to start repayments until they earn more than £21000 per year. Hmmm, so let’s take the average student here. You manage to get the grades to get into the course you want to study. Your parents aren’t rich enough to pay for your tuition, but they’re not poor enough for you to qualify for the two years of free tuition (so pretty much most families). If the course if three years you’d then have to borrow £27000 to pay the fees alone. On top of that you’d take out a loan to cover living costs. Say that your parents can afford to give you some money every month and you only take out the minimum loan. That’s still about £7000 per year, which means that by the end of your degree you’d have accumulated a debt of almost £50000. Isn’t that just a lovely way to start of your working life? Especially if you can’t/don’t have to pay it back straight away and it just sits there accumulating interest.

The point that I’m trying to make here (and I don’t see why this isn’t obvious to everyone) is that education should be free. When did education become ‘the business of education’ for sale on the free market to the highest bidder (a bit of an exaggeration, but you get where I’m going with this right?). I, like many others out there, am just worried how far this can go, and if a decision like this one is ever reversible? By this government or the next…

Snow cover - 03/12/10

2010-12-03T15:58:00.003Z

London's been sub-zero for about 10 days now with snow for the past two or three. It looks nice but makes travelling a bit difficult. Although I'm excited about the very likely potential of a white Christmas :) especially as I'll be in the middle of nowhere enjoying the hillside views. I've properly got into the Christmas spirit too which is the peak of niceness during such dark times. We had "Birthmas" (birthday + Christmas) roast last Sunday and went out to Boradway market for Neil's birthday on the Saturday. Plenty of glögg has been flowing, the flat is fully decorated and the Christmas CD has been on pretty much non-stop since the first of advent. And to top it all off we're having a massive "julbak", litterally Christmas Bake, this weekend... not to sound like some strange over-optimist, but to make matters even better, work is going really well and I'm doing some things now that I'm finding both very challenging and interesting. AND I'm feeling unusually creative lately so I've already figured out what to get everyone for Christmas... so yeah... I guess what I'm trying to say is that my life is pretty frickin amazing right now :D

Updates - 17/11/10

2010-11-17T21:14:00.002Z

Real life is proving to take up a lot of my time, and so the on-line version of me will have to suffer a little. Realised that I hadn't been on Facebook for about a month so I logged on but not much had happened. I t seems life moves on. I might even say that I don't particularly miss the on-line world. But here comes a quick update anyway. Lets see... last time I wrote was the 28th October... so first week of November Toby and I celebrated 5 years together which I guess is pretty impressive but I think that's about the only thing worthwhile reporting. Other stuff that's happened is mainly work stuff so not that interesting for most people... oh well. Until we meet again I guess

Ummagumma - 28/10/10

2010-10-28T23:05:00.002+01:00

Thought I'd get another post in here before November hits and I wonder what happened to October. Pay-day today! So the plan for this weekend is to get some stuff for the flat, and maybe even start stocking up on Christmas decorations (not to be put up any time before my birthday though).

As for the title of this post, and its main purpose... Ummagumma, a double album with one live side and one studio side. I've got many personal favourites from this album (mainly the live section) so there would be potential to land here and stay for quite a while. Admittedly my favourites off this album are just live versions of Astronomy Domine, Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun & A Saucerful fo Secrets... so I'm not sure whether they need to be repeated. And as all these are psychedelic I though we might move towards the studio album which quite clearly move into the era of progressive rock... So I'm actually only going to end up showing/playing one song off this album (as I think their progressive stuff is better once it's evolved slightly on later albums); The Narrow Way by David Gilmour. So here it goes... Enjoy!

Parts 1 & 2

Part 3

LOR - 14/10/10

2010-10-14T18:30:00.003+01:00

I've got some spare time (for once) so I thought I'd write a little. I'm at my first site visit ever up at Lindsey Oil Refinery near Grimsby in Lincolnshire. It's been an amazing week so far and I realised since I've been here that I actually love what I do. Yes, of course I complain... who doesn't? But honestly, I think that my job is amazing. I've learned so much this week and I've met some incredible people. I really hope that some of these new contacts can help me out in the future to get some more site experience. The best thing would be to see a project through from conceptual to FEED and detailed design, onto procurement, construction and commissioning. Sorry about the slightly geeky post, I bet that didn't make sense to anyone else...

I know most people probably won't agree with me but doesn't that just look so beautiful?

6 months ago... - 01/10/10

2010-10-01T20:26:00.002+01:00

6 months ago I was in limbo. 6 months ago we had just lost our home. It's amazing how much has happened in the last 6 months. I just read the post that I wrote on the 30th March. When I read it now I remember exactly how I felt at the time. I just googled "fire Grafton Chamber" and these sites came up. The last one is a flikr account of some architect type person who is upset that he/she doesn't know about the future of the building. All that I feel when I see those pictures it sadness. I still have those pictures I took the night that we were stood outside. I don't think I'll show them yet. Give me another 6 months maybe... So reflecting on this past half year I think it has shaped me more than I think on a day to day basis. I'm still quite upset that I didn't get to go to (or get any info about) Freddie's funeral. I think I took a lot of risks and chances this summer that I wouldn't have normally. Maybe without me being concious about it, I'm living more for the day. I'd say that's what changed most about how I approach things. I used to plan everything so much. I don't any more. I don't want to plan them... and it's not even anything that I can help... or do anything about. It's just how I see life now. Maybe it's good... I don't know yet. Again, give me another 6 months...

When did October happen? - 01/10/10

2010-10-01T09:09:00.002+01:00

This is the first day I've had off work since I started. Not counting weekends of course, but I normally have other things to do then. So this is the first day that I've had off where I don't have anything that I HAVE to do. It feels strange. I've been back at work for six weeks now and I've literally been thrown in to a really interesting project. It's something I've never done before so I'm learning a lot. Anyway, I really cannot believe that September has gone by so quickly. I struggle to remember what I've actually done. One thing that's certain though it the change in weather. Rainy autumn is here and the temperature has dropped to the low teens. Might be a good time to turn the heating in the flat on, but I think I'm gonna try to push it for a while. Oh I just remembered what I did last month. I graduated! My family were here and we went for holiday in Paris! Sorry, for the majorly confused post, but that's what my head looks like right now...

Ok, I'll try to find some pictures form graduation and Paris... and I'll try to be back in the not too distant future. We've got to get on with the journey of Pink Floyd haven't we? The next album is (officially the soundtrack from the film More, but I don't really count that one so...) Ummagumma which is an excellent live album AND a studio album!

Other then this I don't think I have too much to say... Until we meet again!

Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun - 08/09/10

2010-09-08T22:33:00.004+01:00

Sorry for my extended absence lately. I can't believe it's September already! I've been busy at work and tired when I got home. Actually I've been out quite a lot and it doesn't look like that's going to change any time soon as my parents and several other people have just arrived in London for my graduation. Then I'm off to Paris for four days from Saturday morning. Lots to do!

Here's the final song I want to share from a Saucerful of Secrets. Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun features not only on this album, but the Live album Ummagumma, Live in Pompeii and Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd. It's one of my favourites off this album so I hope you enjoy it.

Hopefully I can give you some cool pictures from Paris. Weather is supposed to be good this weekend! Laters peeps :)

Jugband Blues - 31/08/10

2010-08-31T22:19:00.003+01:00

I'm in my second week of work now. Still in the "adjustment period" I think. But I'm getting there. Slowly but surely... in the meantime there hasn't been much posting on here. Been quite tired after work and had a lot on my mind these past 10 days. The weekend just gone was pretty hectic too. Planned a load of stuff that didn't actually get done. But I guess I've always been good at postponing things.

Parents, brother and various other people coming over in a week and a bit for my graduation. Will be quite nice with a couple of days away from London (going to Paris). In the meantime I thought we'd do the second single from A Saucerful of Secrets; Jugband Blues. This was Barrett's only sole contribution to the album and also his last song for Pink Floyd. Here's the song:

I know I said that I was only going to do two songs from this album... but I totally forgot about one of the best ones... thought it was on another album there for a while, but nope. There will be another one from A Saucerful to come. Oh and btw.... I forgot one of my favourites from Piper too, so here's a little bonus. Bike off Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Sorry for the now completely out of order account... I shall try to improve from now on. Laters!

A saucerful of secrets - 20/08/10

2010-08-20T10:16:00.002+01:00

We're continuing with the Pink Floyd albums after a little break for my holiday. A Saucerful of Secrets was released in 1968 and is the only album where all five members of the band appear. Syd Barrett quite the band during hte recording of this album and David Gilmour joined. I'm only going to give you two songs form this album as it is not one of their bigger or more famous albums. I would say that it is still classified as psychedelic rock but on certain songs they are definitely moving towards progressive (which is more of what I'm into). So let's start with Let there be more light! Enjoy!

Back in LDN - 19/08/10

2010-08-19T09:41:00.003+01:00

Ahhhh, I always realise how great home is when I go there. Then when I get back here I kind of start forgetting. I hope and think that everyone had a good time, I know I did anyway :) Now it's back to reality and work. Real life starts on Monday. Nervous and excited at the same time.

Going home - 09/08/10

2010-08-09T09:32:00.002+01:00

Ja då är det väl lämpligt att byta till att skriva på svenska lite grann :) Så, om mindre än 24 timmar sitter man hemma i Malmö igen. Ska bli riktigt skönt att komma ifrån London ett tag faktiskt. Jag hoppas verkligen att vädret blir ok för jag har ju berättat en massa bra saker till mina kompisar som inte blir lika roliga om det regnar hela tiden. Men men.... enligt smhi så ska det nog bli ok. Fast vi vet ju allihopa hur korrekta de prognoserna är. Jag hoppas kunna klämma in en dag i Köpenhamn, kanske en liten utflykt till Falsterbo och nån form av walk-about runt om Malmö. Hoppas det blir kul!

Another weekend of work - 07/08/10

2010-08-07T12:08:00.002+01:00

Yupp, today and tomorrow I will be in the pub, yet again. But then I'm off home for a week of chilling and relaxing :) I haven't really go that much to say other than that... Nothing interesting going on I guess. So instead, here's the song that's been stuck in my head for the past 2 days.

05/08/10

2010-08-05T09:28:00.005+01:00

When is enough enough?

When can you say "I've had it" without being called selfish and blamed for giving up?

How many times should you accept being ignored and having to keep calm about it?

At what point can you realise that compassion and empathy doesn't always work?

When does "I" become more important than "us"?

Bikes & Interstellar overdrive - 04/08/10

2010-08-04T14:27:00.003+01:00

I got my electronic bike key yesterday and decided to try it out on my way home from work. Worked wonders! The bikes are not as heavy as some people have said. If you've got a bit of leg muscle you'll be fine. It was really easy to use and cycling on the left felt almost completely natural for me. I will definitely be using the bikes again.

Now, on to the next song off Piper at he gates of dawn. Interstellar overdrive is the last song that I'm gonna play off this album. This song might seem slightly chaotic and disorganised to most people but I really like it. It's quite long and is also one of their most psychedelic songs. In fact, on the following albums (when Syd Barrett ad left the band) they move more and more towards Progressive Rock which you'll see in coming posts if you stick around. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy!

Lucifer Sam

2010-08-02T13:36:00.003+01:00

Here's the next entry in the spirit of Pink Floyd. Moving on from Astronomy Domine but staying on the same album; Piper at the Gates of Dawn. The next song it Lucifer Sam. Lucifer Sam like the rest of the songs on this album is very psychedelic. Composed by Syd Barrett, Lucifer Sam is about Barrett's cat, Sam. It was however speculated that Lucifer was a reference to the man who was seeing Barrett's girlfriend. As she is mentioned by name in the song and "cat" was often used as a slang for "man" in the 1960's. Listen and enjoy!

10km - 02/08/10

2010-08-02T09:47:00.002+01:00

This weekend I've managed to cram in three or four days worth of stuff to just Saturday and Sunday. I feel like I've literally been awake for 48 hours straight. After going out for Orsi's birthday on Friday night I got up bright and early on Saturday to do my 10 km. My knee felt fine when I got there and even though I said that I was gonna take it easy and walk, when everyone around you is jogging or running it's a bit difficult to just stroll along. So I started running and it went really well up to somewhere between 7 and 8 km. My knee started aching really badly again, and I ended up walking the last 2.5 km or so. Anyway, I finished in 1h 12min which is good enough for the condition I was in. I know that I was aiming for less than an hour, but I'm thinking that I've got a legitimate excuse. So that same day we went to see A-Team which was actually really good. Action through and through and exactly what I needed. After a quick (albeit mistaken) stroll around Angel we got back and headed over to Mithila's. We had loads of fun and even Toby let himself go a bit, playing drinking games and with plenty of vodka jelly shots how can it go wrong? Heading over to Carwash we were all in a pretty good mood and got dancing as soon as we walked in. Then Toby discovered that there's a pool and jacuzzi inside the club and when we've all worked up a good sweat form dancing we jumped into the pool to cool off. Absolutely amazing (maybe a bit gross actually with loads of different sweaty clubbers in one pool)! The music changed to some shit house stuff at 3 and we headed back home. On Sunday morning Toby's sister came to visit and we went for a nice long lunch and just relaxed. That was before I had to go to work last night :( So yeah, the busiest (and funnest) weekend I've had in a long time. Oh, and yes... my body was in huge amounts of pain yesterday.

Let's try something new - 30/07/10

2010-07-30T10:55:00.005+01:00

As a tribute and a kind of build-up to the much anticipated the Wall Live tour next year, I'm going to start going through all the Pink Floyd albums one by one starting now. I know that the show is only for the Wall but still. You don't really need an excuse do you? So... first album: Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967).

This was their first album and gave them one of their greatest hits to date. Astronomy Domine features on Echoes and is very early psychedelic rock, written by Syd Barrett. It's one of my favourites from this album, but overall I prefer some of their later work... from the Roger Waters era. Anyways, here it is... Enjoy!

Accidents - 29/07/10

2010-07-29T09:47:00.002+01:00

I was at work two days ago and I'm going about my business as usual. It's the end of the night and there's a lot of cleaning to do and so I'm squatting down to put away some of the glasses on the lower shelves. When I get up there's this striking pain in my right knee. I continue work and walk home trying to shake it off. I go to bed thinking that surely by morning it would have healed itself. When I wake up the next morning I can barely move my leg without screaming from the pain. So I get Toby to take me down the the A & E at the hospital. After much waiting I find out that I've pulled all the muscles around my knee and that I need to be as still as possible for the next 48 hours. I got some painkillers so it doesn't hurt as much but I'm still really sore and whenever the painkillers ware off I start to feel the striking pain again. Hopefully I will recover quickly as I'm determined to do my 10 km on Saturday. Although I might have to take it easy and walk it instead of jogging the whole thing. And the doctor did say that if I go through with the race I should expect lots of pain the next day :( Bad timing right?

Inception - 26/07/10

2010-07-26T09:42:00.002+01:00

Went to see Inception yesterday (finally). What a film. Absolutely blew my mind! It's not often that a really good film comes along but this one really did it for me. The only complaint I have is that Leo's character was the only one with any real depth. It felt like every other character were just there as props and it would have been nice to get to know them a bit better.

Other than that, a new week is here and there's lots to do this week. I can't believe it's the last week of July already! Almost August, almost time for Sweden!! and on top of that, my 10 km run is this Saturday and I'm starting to get a bit nervous. Can I actually do it? I hope so.

I also need to get my passport, find an outfit for Saturday (Carwash) and tick off a whole lot of things on my list of stuff that needs to get done before I go home. Hectic hectic, but fun fun!

Got them! - 23/07/10

2010-07-23T15:24:00.002+01:00

I got the tickets today! The tickets to what will probably be the best gig in my life! It may even be too good to be classified as any common gig. It is after all a rock-opera!! Why isn't it sooner?!?! I can't possibly wait until May next year. So from now on Pink Floyd will be playing on my laptop/phone/stereo 24/7 until May 2011!! w00p w00p

It's like thunder - 22/07/10

2010-07-22T12:27:00.002+01:00

The rain is pouring down and the sky is making a whole lot of noise. I'm sitting on the sofa pondering. Old memories and present problems... and the fact that no matter how much we change on the outside, deep down we still deal with similar situations in the same way. I get angry but try not to panic. I try to be rational and to deal with issues in the most straight forward way possible. But what do you do when others are being unreasonable? When things are overcome I try to forgive and forget... and I succeed 99% of the time. But certain things be they songs, pictures or just random thoughts and emotions, awaken old memories. Things you had completely forgotten about, but once they're back, they're as clear as ever. Sorry I'm ranting... my head is a bit unclear at the moment.

No way!! - 19/07/10

2010-07-19T09:41:00.002+01:00

This year Selfridges are starting to sell their Christmas range on the 2 August!! Isn't it still summer in August?!?!? It's not nearly even autumn yet!! Apparently when they opened on the 8 August last year they sold over 1000 baubles. Who honestly buys Christmas stuff in August? Who honestly even thinks of Christmas when you can still lie in the park and soak up the sun all day? Insane!!

Not a happy bunny - 16/07/10

2010-07-16T13:50:00.004+01:00

Fifth night in a row of work :( makes Cata a very sad bunny. The worst aspect of working in a pub is the extremely unsociable hours... and not seeing Toby. You really do start to realise how much you miss a person when you've gotten used to them always being around and then all of the sudden you don't see them for a week. Call me pathetic if you want... I know a week isn't that long but it's long for me. I really hope that my boss is gonna let me off on Sunday so I can get e break from London.

Brizzle - 15/07/10

2010-07-15T09:58:00.002+01:00

I really hope I can get my Sunday shift off to go to Bristol with Toby. I feel like I haven't been out there in ages and I miss my little Joe and Emma. Also I'd hate to be stuck in London on my own with the weather being as shite as this :(

I'm also getting really sick of this pub job. I have barely seen Toby all this week as he works during the day and by the time I get home he's asleep :( I guess I only have to stick it out for another couple of weeks, but still... it kinda sucks. Two days of work left this week and then the boss is back so will have to do less shifts in a week, so I guess that's something at least. Sorry about the miserable post by the way... I blame it on the rain and the warmth going away. Hopefully the good weather will come back soon and we can be back to open balcony doors and chilling in the park.

Here we go - 13/07/10

2010-07-13T10:59:00.002+01:00

I know that lots of my friends from school have already started settling down and having kids and all that stuff. But I guess I didn't really see it as seriously as this. The first one of our university friends just got engaged and I couldn't be more happy for them. I guess this is just the start. It feels like we're properly growing up, although for me I reckon there's quite a bit further to go :) Somehow taking it one day at the time is what feels good at the moment. Not over-thinking things, not over-planning life. It'll go the way it goes right?

End of world cup - 12/07/10

2010-07-12T10:16:00.003+01:00

So Spain won last night which means that Jay got the sweepstakes money! So drinks expected sometime this week. Although I am working every night this week so maybe I'll have to get drinks off him later. Oh and I'm one packet of 5 gum richer!! I actually wanted the Netherlands to win but I guess Spain were the better team and deserved it.

Anyway, busy week this week. Gotta see Eclipse (can't wait)!! meet up with Julie and get all the gossip form Hawaii. Must remember to get a new passport!! Try to get Sunday of work so I can head down to Wickwar. Book various holidays. I think I'm gonna give up on trying to plan anything cause stuff always just falls through anyway. Better to act on impulse maybe?

Snake eats alligator... - 05/07/10

2010-07-05T15:26:00.002+01:00

Some of you might have seen this article already... How would it even enter this snakes head to try and eat something as huge as an alligator. Odd right??

The wait is over - 02/07/10

2010-07-02T13:11:00.003+01:00

I got the little envelope today containing my exam results for the final year and my degree. I got a 2:1 overall which I'm very happy with! Obviously I was hoping for a 1st class but I'm not exactly in a position to complain. A 2:1 is very good and I can honestly say that this last year I did my very best and gave it my all.

On another note, I can't believe it's July already. So much to do in so little time. Before I know it it'll be August and I'll be back in an office (for the rest of my life).... I hope the amazing weather we've had holds though the rest of the summer :)

Summer in Londontown - 28/06/10

2010-06-28T20:53:00.002+01:00

It seems like summer has finally found London. The weather has been top notch these past couple of days and hopefully the predictions of it continuing are true! It was 31 degrees yesterday and 29 today! so I've spent a big chunk of my day sunbathing in Regent's park and generally soaking up as much of the sun as I could. That is until something very strange happened... I'm lying on the grass in the park minding my own business when a man walks up to me. He asks me for directions which seems perfectly normal and we make small talk for about five minutes. When the time comes for him to leave, or at least when any normal human being would walk away, he decides to sit down on my towel next to me. I'm normally not very suspicious but in a situations like this one I guess you kind of have to be. I thought he was eyeing up my phone or bag and was gonna grab them and make a run for it.... but that never happened. The guy starts telling me his life story, what he works with, wanting to start up his own business and a whole load of other stuff that I'm generally not interested in. I spend almost 30 minutes giving very short one word answers and not encouraging the conversation in any way. He tries to ask me questions about what I do, where I live and stuff like that and I keep answering in a very dismissive way. He then offers me a massage which I of course turns down but he keeps being quite persistent despite my repeated "I don't want you to massage me". Finally I'm saved by the bell. As I was sunbathing, I had set the timer on my phone to go off every 30 minutes so that I could turn around regularly. I had been anticipating the phone going off and so when it did I picked it up and pretended someone was calling me. After a couple of minutes of conversation with myself where I made it sound like I had to urgently meet someone, he got up to leave. How odd is that?? I still have no idea what he was trying to do. Maybe he genuinely just wanted to sit down for a chat. Maybe I've become cynical and suspicious of people who are just trying to be social. OR maybe ha was just a bit of a freak trying to push the boundaries of appropriate behaviour in public. Oh well, either way, I found the whole thing very strange...

Midsommar - 25/06/10

2010-06-25T15:03:00.011+01:00

An old pagan holiday that everyone in Sweden celebrates. Midsummer eve is tonight which back home means meeting up with all your family and friends, eating delicious food and as much strawberries as you possibly can. Not forgetting drinking as much cold beer and schnapps as humanly possible.

As a mini-tribute to this wonderful tradition, here are some pictures of Swedish summer. These are from around Simrishamn close to the area where my cousin was married last year and are from this site. They remind me of the very best of summers and makes me want to fly home and just lie on the beach all day long!

3 shifts in - 24/06/10

2010-06-24T12:54:00.002+01:00

I've now worked 3 shifts at the pub and I'm starting to wonder whether this job was such a good idea. I think it's the late licence thing that I'm not used to. Everyday I'm in the pub, at around 11 I look at the clock thinking yes, almost done... then I realise, no... 3 hours to go. I think I'm getting old and I can't stay up for as long without feeling slightly worse off the next morning. But I guess I need the money and beggars can't be choosers. So I'll have to stick it out for a month.

Luckily I've set the date to start with Jacobs on the 16th of August and I'm definitely going home to Sweden for the week before that, for some relaxing time :) Can't wait! Hopefully Toby will come with me and maybe even some of our friends! So I guess I'll just have to keep on going and look for the light at the end of the tunnel. And obviously there are many nice little bits on the way!

Bröllopet - 20/06/10

2010-06-20T13:42:00.004+01:00

Såja, nu har jag tittal klart på bröllopets höjdpunkter och jag måste ju bara säga vilket underbart fint par Daniel och Viktoria är. Kunde inte sluta gårta när de sa jga till varandra. Det är så fint med äkta kärlek bara. Åh vad jag älskar bröllop och all lycka som kommer med det. Och vad de såg fina ut :)

Bilden kommer från http://www.detkungligabrollopet.nu/ebbasblogg/ där det finns massa andra fina bilder från hela bröllopet och middagarna runt om kring.

Let me break it down for you - 15/06/10

2010-06-15T19:27:00.003+01:00

Last night channel 4 showed this season's last episode of Glee. Yes, I am a Gleek. I started watching it cause of all the hype from across the big pond... and the trailers on Channel 4 are so well narrated that by the time it started I was well curious about it. The first couple of episodes were a bit lame. Obvious lip-syncing overacted like in real musicals. But it grew on me. The spirit of glee, Sue Sylvester's lines and the general feel-good vibe of the program. Last night's episode summed up the whole show really well and I can't wait til next season. It's become my weekly dose of over-optimism :)

The world cup - 11/06/10

2010-06-11T21:47:00.002+01:00

So the world cup started today. Both games ended in a draw, although admittedly South Africa should have won the first one, and (even though I'm not a fan) France probably should have won their game. Tomorrow is England's first game and it's gonna be interesting to see how well they do this time. I always find that England is a team that brilliant on paper but very disappointing in reality.

Anyway we've got this sweepstake going and I'm stuck with Italy which I think puts me in a fairly good position to win some money. Considering that they're the current rulers. So £64 in the pot and the odds are looking good. Go Italy!

Is there anybody out there? - 09/06/10

2010-06-09T14:25:00.003+01:00

I totally forgot to mention.... I got tickets to the gig of a lifetime! Last time this happened was in 1981, and I doubt it'll ever happen again after this. I give you: Roger Waters, The Wall Live! I can't believe I'm actually going!!!!!

Peter, Björn & John

2010-06-07T20:44:00.003+01:00

If I told you things I did before

told you how I used to be

would you go along with someone like me?

can't get it out of my head at the moment. btw, i know posting three times in one day could be interpreted as kinda lame, but who cares.

25 years later...

2010-06-07T10:45:00.003+01:00

Bhopal trial: Eight found guilty of India gas leak

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8725140.stm

SATC - 07/06/10

2010-06-07T09:45:00.002+01:00

I know it's super girly and lame, but I love it. I'm with the generation of girls who's teenage years was lined with Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte. So even though the first film was of questionable quality and little storyline, I think it's time to go for seconds. I'm meeting up with Julie for lunch and then we're going for our dose of SATC 2. Then all I need to do is to think of something to do for the next month. Although, saying that, I do have a 'to do' list that's just been sitting there. Maybe I should start with that...

All work and no play - 02/06/10

2010-06-02T15:37:00.002+01:00

... makes Cata a dull girl. Luckily there's a bit of time for play... and plenty more to come once I hand in my research :) With June here and the weather looking up I'm looking forward to a month of doing nothing! Maybe a long weekend of camping somewhere, if I can get my act together and organise it. But generally, just relaxing :)

Prince of Persia - 31/05/10

2010-05-31T19:27:00.003+01:00

Remember the Nintendo game from back in the day? We went to see the film yesterday and I was actually pleasantly surprised. A solid 3/5. Good action, good (enough) storyline, ok acting and very entertaining. Disney are doing well for themselves :)

Melissa Horn - 28/05/10

2010-05-28T11:20:00.002+01:00

To be honest I've been seriously out of touch with the Swedish music scene since I moved away. That's more evident than ever when you look at my playlists and all my Swedish music is from before 2005. But here's a new one that I quite like. Reminds me a bit of the early days of Lisa Ekdahl ca. 1992...

Melissa Horn – Säg ingenting till mig

Eurovision - 25/05/10

2010-05-25T17:20:00.002+01:00

I had totally forgotten that it's this time of year again! By pure coincidence whilst flicking through the pages of the BBC I stumbled across an article on how to write lyrics for Eurovision songs. And it dawned on me... end of May only means one thing: EUROVISION!!!! Yeah baby!! Which means a whole night of tasteless drunken fun!! I'm sooo sad that one of my sisters in arms, the amazing Goobini, is in stupid Spain this year. It won't be the same without you my darling!! Maybe satellite link for live drinking games and sing-alongs... but in the flesh is irreplaceable. At least I have Cris and a massive TV, and I'll kick the boys out so we can go proper crazy. Oh and if any of you want to come along (invitation to girls and gays only) don't hesitate to stop by!!

A guaranteed evening of fun filled euro trash festivities :)

Photos - 23/05/10

2010-05-23T09:47:00.005+01:00

Sunday morning, sitting in the living room with the balcony doors wide open. It's already nice and warm outside and 27 degrees are expected today :) I thought I'd finally put up some pictures of the new flat. Not many and not very good ones cause it's a bit mess here, but you'll get the idea :)

Living room with the balcony. (south facing so we get sun all day!!)

Bed room... looks a bit cramped here but is actually bigger than what it seems on the picture.

Kitchen. Nicely sized!

Freedom just another word - 22/05/10

2010-05-22T10:27:00.002+01:00

Last exam finished! I love it when the last exam is so easy that you come out after half the time feeling on top of the world :) So finally my final exams ever are done with. Barbecue today, roast tomorrow and back to work on research full time starting Monday.

I really hope I can manage to squeeze in a homicidal of some kind before I start work again in July! I have a feeling that these coming weeks are gonna be amazing and that they're gonna fly by too quickly. Lots of god weather, lots of good food and lots of good friends! w00p w00p for summer!!

Here to stay? - 20/05/10

2010-05-20T10:57:00.002+01:00

Ok, so admittedly today is cloudy, but it's still warm and it has been for the last couple of days :) and they say it will be until mid next week!! Tomorrow is the last exam and then I'm (kinda) free. Got loads of stuff planned and can't wait to get to just chill and soak up the sun!

On a completely different note.... I'm so sick of seeing all these loved-up pictures of "Dave and Nick" hearing the words unique government and partnership. Both pretending to be each others long lost loves when just a couple of weeks ago Nick Clegg would have compared David Cameron to the spawn of the devil. AND anyone who thinks it's a good idea to get rid of the human rights act MUST have some seriously skewed views on society!! Obviously coalitions can work, they work all over Europe and have been working for as long as I can remember. But, they do requires that the parties forming a coalition have some common ground. Not like this Con-Lib pact which, despite having majority in parliament, can hardly be defined as a strong government. Oh well, I guess it leaves the floor open for Labour to sweep back into power come the next election.

Run Cata Run!

2010-05-18T09:38:00.002+01:00

10 weeks til 10 km run.

Time to pick up the pace :)

Aimless - 13/05/10

2010-05-13T16:37:00.003+01:00

Today has been the first day in a while where I've done just nothing. I found myself in the living room until around 3 when I decided that maybe it would be a good idea to venture outside. I went to Kings Cross to renew my young persons rail card and to buy a ticket to Bristol. I took care of the recycling and I went to have a look around Brunswick. I found a nice jacket that I bought on impulse.... that's what happens when I have no structure in life, I spend money. I went into Waitrose and though of getting something for dinner, but after realising that neither Steven nor Toby would be around for dinner tonight I ended up with a pack of sushi, asparagus (don't ask why) and a bottle of wine.

Maybe I could start safety revision early, maybe I could clean the flat.... or maybe I should go for a run.... hmmm... neither of those options sound very appealing to me. Anyone else feel like when life focuses on one thing for a very long time, when it's gone it takes a while to get back to normality.

Oh, I just realised that I missed yesterday's Gossip Girl. That's what I'll do now. Oh yeah and I went to see Robin Hood which was entertaining enough, albeit different from all the other Robin Hood films with a completely different focus which I sort of wasn't expecting.

Sorry for the complete rambling. Here's a little picture of what I surprisingly found in Waitrose today....

I know the election is over, but this is just too funny

2010-05-10T16:48:00.000+01:00

Satire - 09/05/10

2010-05-09T10:21:00.007+01:00

I've long been a fan of Gerald Scarfe who's in my opinion one of the best cartoonists ever. From the Wall to the war on terrorism he's there giving his opinion. Here's the latest on the current situation (all taken from his website):

One Still Flying

A Ghastly Task Ahead - The Kiss of Life

Your Choice - The Forces of Hell or The Falseness of Cameron

Between Two Stools?

On Democracy - 06/05/10

2010-05-06T12:04:00.003+01:00

Wow, I almost didn't realise that it's May already. As usual I should be studying much more than what I actually am. It doesn't help that I woke up this morning feeling very ill and really just wanted to spend the day in bed. But I managed to pull myself up and have just come back from the polling station. I think I've written this before, and I apologise in advance if it sounds like I'm nagging, but I genuinely do believe that the "right" to vote is more a responsibility than a right. I have huge difficulties understanding people who have an "I don't care, it doesn't concern me" attitude. Who then spend the next 5 years complaining. Obviously the electoral system of in this country leaves the question of democracy debatable, but that can only can only change if people get involved right?

Personally I would welcome a hung parliament, maybe then electoral reform would rise in the list of priorities, cause lets admit it; when a party can gain majority with only 28% of the vote, there is something seriously wrong with the system. Saying that, I would be thrilled if labour got into power again, and that might only be possible with today's system. But I guess democracy is more important than my personal opinion.

When I look at countries like Thailand where democracy has not really failed, but been forced out, it makes make me feel very thankful that we live in a country with stability and security. On the other hand, I see Sweden with proportional representation, where the voters opinion is accurately reflected in government, and I wonder how the UK system has not been changed already? It's ancient and unfair and people here think that coalitions by default mean a weak government. But wasn't the Churchill government "hung" and don't people still look back and remember a government that saved this country and the rest of Europe.

I don't know much about anything, but I do believe that you need to stick up for your opinions and not take things for granted. So get out there and vote people, and I'll get back to work and we'll see tomorrow how the future looks...

Iron man 2

2010-04-30T16:15:00.002+01:00

I went to see Iron man 2 at the imax today. That screen is massive, even felt dizzy at times. Can't really be bothered to write too much though so I'm just gonna say that I though it was good. I'd even stretch it to very good but then I'd have to emphasize that it's not as good as the first one... but I guess sequels never are.

Other than that, revision is painfully slow, the new flat is very nice (will put pics up soon, once I find my camera) and spring is in London. Time for project management :(

Restoring order - 20/04/10

2010-04-20T16:18:00.003+01:00

Almost all the boxes are unpacked. The smoke smell has been dragged here from the old place so now starts the process of washing everything I own. Once the flat is in order I'll post some pictures but feel free to drop by and say hello if you can't wait :) I have to say that the extra money in rent every month is soooo worth it! The place is just the kind of place I've been looking for since I moved out of halls. Hopefully we can stay here for a couple of years now :)

I've started phasing in revision to my daily routine and today was to my great surprise reasonably productive. Just over a week til the first exam now and a month and a bit til they're all finished :) although I guess I have to deal with research again so.... not really time to relax til middle of June.

... - 14/04/10

2010-04-14T16:30:00.003+01:00

I've been sat at the same spot on the sofa all day now. I've only manage to read one set of lecture notes. I've not learnt anything that I didn't already know.

Time to shape up I think.

PS. Contract being signed tomorrow... and a floor to sleep on in central London of Friday night would be much appreciated.

Legend - 12/04/10

2010-04-12T09:43:00.005+01:00

When I went to the old flat on Saturday I bumped in to one of the neighbours who's lived there for more than 30 years and I got a long and very interesting history of the building, neighbourhood and Freddy. It's so interesting what an amazing life he had and I only wish I'd known sooner so that I could have spoken to him about it.

Freddy was a huge jazz enthusiast and a renowned fleet street photographer. He added all his photos online not long ago when he started his website.

A photo Freddy took of Ronnie Scott at his Jazz Club

Freddy with Miles Davis

Turns out he has hundreds and hundreds of old vinyls, all signed by the bands and artists who played the London jazz bars in back in the day. Reading his biography made me feel even more sad that he has met the end in the way that he did.

I was told that he had been offered significant amounts of money from several big fish in LA for his photos and LPs but turned them all down as he preferred to hand them out for free to fellow jazz enthusiasts instead. I was also told that apparently the police investigation into his death is still ongoing as there are suspicious circumstances. A couple of days before the fire there had been a woman sneaking around trying to get into his flat and no one knows who she is. His original works are worth quite a bit which I guess could be some motive, but I really hope that this isn't arson.... as I'm already starting to loose faith in people.

New hope - 08/04/10

2010-04-08T21:19:00.004+01:00

It's been 10 days since the fire and I'm still homeless, but spring has come to London, and with spring comes new hope. To me, spring symbolizes new beginnings and starting over and that's exactly how I'm going to see my whole situation. Cause I really do think that it's important to see the bright side in everything and I do feel slightly bad saying that as poor Freddie isn't around for it, but we all have to move on right?

After plenty of no's and several let downs in terms of flat viewings we cane to a very hard decision two days ago... we had the "break-up talk". Edd has gone his way and is living with his uncle in north london, and Cris is going to try to find a place with her Diego in south Hackney. That leaves me, Toby and Steven looking for a place around Bloomsbury :( I wished we could all stay together, but after calling 20+ estate agents yesterday and getting nothing but no's and flats way above budget, we decided that splitting up was for the best. Hopefully we'll still have dinner together on Sundays as per tradition :) and I just have to say that I've enjoyed living with all of them more than ever, and going through something like that fire together has created a bond that no one can break.

Anyway, we did manage to find a place today which is really nice, although slightly over budget... we put in an offer and are waiting for hte landlord to get back to us with an answer... fingers crossed everyone :)

Lunch in Russell Square today

Perspective - 30/03/10

2010-03-30T18:44:00.000+01:00

It was hard going to sleep last night. Half of me struggling to stay awake - just in case, the other half feeling physically exhausted and mentally drained. The I woke up this morning and everything had sunk in. Tears flooded my eyes and ran down my cheeks. Poor Freddie, what an awful way to go.

(the video is black on purpose)

I can't believe how quickly everything happened. Everyone I've spoken to from yesterday have said that they'd been talking about "what would you save?". The thought crossed my mind when I'd jumped out of bed, more awake than I'd ever been, at 4.30 in the morning.... for a fraction of a second before sense struck me and all I could think about was get out, who cares about all that shit. Don't breathe in the smoke and where the fuck are Edd and Toby...

The whole time I kept going through all the accidents we'd been through in safety. How many people died of smoke inhalation in Piper Alpha.... what can the carbon monoxide concentration reach before I pass out. I would show pictures but they're not very good ones.

Even now I don't care about my stuff. I don't care about anything. I was sat in ULU today waiting for the housing office to open, and all I could think about whilst looking around was how normal everyone was. Everyone sitting there, not in limbo, not lost.

I'm gonna go away for a while, over easter at least. I can't think, and not knowing what's happening is making me go crazy. Not having a stable point in my life, a home... every time I start thinking (about anything) a lump develops in my chest and a completely phase out...

I do know that I am incredibly grateful towards Nuno, the guy 2 flats below us who instead of running out of the building, away from the fire, ran up towards the fire and banged on every floor to wake us up and make sure we could get out. Words can't describe how lucky we were. and thank you everyone who has been kind and offered help, it's unbelievable but incredibly inspiring how kind people are.

Haunted

2010-03-29T22:01:00.001+01:00

It's almost bedtime again and my paranoia is kicking in. Thanks for another irrational fear.

I'll write more tomorrow... In case you haven't heard, this is what happened today.

Smile

2010-03-27T23:33:00.002Z

This goes out to anyone who needs a little reminder that there's still hope :)

Hit me hard - 27/03/10

2010-03-27T10:09:00.003Z

12 hours of sleep :) After 48 hours of non-sleep. I just read through the report we handed in yesterday, I'll be surprised if I get any higher than 60%.... it's so bad.

Nothing to do about that now anyway. Now it's all about research. 13 days of doing nothing else.

Anyway, after lunch yesterday we all stepped outside to be met by pouring rain and dark skies. Most of the guys ran off home getting well wet on the way. Kazzam followed short after he gave up hope of the rain stopping. Me and Martin where stood there looking up and after about five minutes the sun shone through and the most wonderful scene emerged. It's times like these I wish I had a better camera than what's stuck to my phone.

The skies were still dark but it felt like the glimmer of hope has managed to penetrate through all the stress and pessimism... and I hoped that it was a glimpse of what was to come :)

Slutet 25/03/10

2010-03-25T09:08:00.003Z

En dag kvar på terminen. Känns skummt att ha spenderat 4 eller 5 år på en grej som helt plötsligt är slut. Då är det riktiga livet som gäller, inga ursäkter längre. Ja kommer verkligen att sakna alla här. Alla nya som jag lärt känna detta året. Jag trodde inte att det var möjligt att känna sig så välkommen i en grupp som varit tillsammans så läne redan. Jag hoppas verlkigen att det blire en sista resa genom Europa denna sommaren, det skulle vara kul.

OK, riktigt slut är det nog inte, vi har ju tills den 9e april kvar att länma in alla projekt och sen tentor i maj, men teminen lider mot sitt slut ändå... Jaja, jag kan väl hoppas att alla håller kontakten och att vi kan hålla varandra uppdaterade om våra liv. Strot steg up i vuxenvärlden snart...

Men who hate women - 21/03/10

2010-03-21T09:54:00.002Z

Or as it's better known here, the girl with the dragon tattoo. A strange translation if you ask me, seeing as the original title makes so much more sense. I went to see it yesterday and it was really good. The guy next to me asked his girlfriend in a nervous voice at the start of the film "is this gonna be in Swedish?".... hahaha.

Although the film was brutal, it seems it wasn't as brutal as my imagination. When I was reading the book it seemed so much worse some how. Generally, when they turn books into films you loose the though process of the characters... I guess it would be annoying with a narrator disturbing the dialog. That's why I almost always prefer the books. But it's definitely worth seeing and I'm glad that they released it here before Hollywood turns it into some weird love story where it looses its depth. Anyhow, if you haven't seen it you should, and if you haven't read the books you definitely should.

Getting greedy - 18/03/10

2010-03-18T09:57:00.003Z

I got my student loan the other day and was really glad cause of the great exchange rate. The Pound had bee dropping lately and was at an all time low against the Krona. 1 pound for 10.69!!! (when I moved here it was 1 to 15). But I got greedy, hoping that it would drop further I waited (even after I figured out what my password for my Swedish bank was). This morning it was 1 to 10.80 and I realized that greed was punishing me. I transferred the money.

Other than the 80 pounds lost in waiting, I woke up with a really sore throat today. I decided to not go to the gym, but then felt incredibly lazy and went for a jog in the park instead. It so nice outside now that spring has arrived :) so my throat sin't even bothering me cause I'm in such a good mood :).... time for a shower and then another day of uni... getting one day closer to the end.

Goodiebag! - 14/03/10

2010-03-14T10:25:00.002Z

I love free stuff, especially when it's nice free stuff, like stuff from REN.

Doubt - 13/03/10

2010-03-13T18:26:00.001Z

yes, I'm doubting a lot of things right now.

and I kind of wish I had an anonymous blog where I could spill my heart out.

maybe I should start one.

When things go well, they go really well - 10/03/10

2010-03-10T16:44:00.003Z

I'm gonna sound a bit emotionally unstable now with this post in comparison to the last one. The last post was a momentary lapse of reason and nothing to think further about. I'm perfectly happy with everything. This post is a little shout out to Julie who's gotten a long awaited job that she more than deserves :) w00p w00p!! I'm super happy for you :) and I think we should definitely go somewhere this summer.

I had lunch with the girls from Jacobs the other day and they reminded me that this summer is gonna be the las ever long holiday that I'll have. EVER. With that in mind I'm thinking about postponing my start date for as long as I don't need the money (which most likely won't be that long) but maybe do some extra travelling. The girls at Jacobs wanna plan a trip somewhere, the boys in chemeng wanna do a euro-trip and I totally wanna go somewhere with my old chemeng peeps :)

Other than that 2 and a half weeks left of term and loads of work (yes Raj, more work talk... wouldn't want you to miss out), but I have a good feeling about things

Paranoia

2010-03-08T18:03:00.003Z

I'm normally quite good at shaking things off. You know, like weird comments and judgmental people. I'm also normally quite good at picking up signals from people. I get a good sense of what people think of me and I know when to stay away from people. I can even be the bigger person when people don't like me by still being polite and... well.... not nasty. But today someone said something to me that really been eating into my brain. I can't seem to let go of it.

It's weird that someone would say what this person said, without meaning to make me upset or to cause offence. Which under normal circumstances would make it even easier for me to shake it off.... but if what they said is true, then that means that I've not only misinterpreted a whole bunch of people, but this whole group have collectively managed to hide their true feelings from me.

Here comes the paranoia... do they talk about me behind my back? What do they say? What do they actually think of me? Why don't they like me? If I knew that a certain person had something against me I could a t least confront them about it and try to sort things out... this is just really bugging me. Cause I don't know if it's true... I don't know the specifics and I don't know who to talk to about it. Can I really have read a bunch of people this wrong??

Jag älskar dig - 07/03/10

2010-03-07T16:22:00.002Z

Mia, en enda lite kommentar till mitt förra inlägg.

Det känns bra att inte vara ensam i världen :)

venting...

2010-03-06T23:36:00.004Z

Ever feel completely and utterly fugly?

Yeah, me too....

Shoot, this sound totally wrong. Should I just be brutally honest here? No, obviously not... I don't even know who reads this thing. Never mind. Stop reading if you don't feel like wasting your time. This is just for me to keep slightly sane.

This is me talking (typing) without any thought or consideration.... and a whole big mess comes out. Typical. No sense whatsoever.

Do you ever feel like you're holding back a little? Do you ever feel like you're being really naive... but it's almost like it's on purpose cause you know you won't like the truth/reality.... Aaahhhrrrgggg. Sorry, I'm really not making any sense. I normally keep this stuff in my head or my own little world or whatever you want to call it.

Anyways.... 2358 hours. Toby decided not to come home tonight :( just me.... alone. Something's been infesting my brain for the past couple of days or maybe even weeks. Can't put my finger on it. It's different from anything else. I can't seem to understand it properly or interpret it for that matter. It's odd. I figured I knew how I react to things... but evidently I don't. Maybe I just need to go with it. But from past experience, when I do what my (heart/)gut tells me and don't consult my brain.... things end badly. I don't even know what I'm on about here. Well... I do, but I don't. See what I mean with not making sense... Don;t say I didn't warn you.

Trinity just told Neo that she loves him. That's nice. He's the ONE. In every meaning of the word. Haha, so black and white. But I guess the real world can be that way too. If you make it.

Do you think we all live in our own worlds that only intertwine with others through common events and experiences?

Can you believe that the Matrix came out in 1999??? That's 11 years ago!!!!!

I'm out. Goodbye.

Disgusting behavior - 06/03/10

2010-03-06T10:47:00.002Z

It isn't often that I intentionally judge people that I don't know without trying to understand their point of view. And most of the time I try to keep an open mind about things as we can't possibly know all the circumstances. But when I read something like this, I can't help but to feel very grossed out. It's taken my otherwise (almost) perfect morning and turned it into something where I feel disgusted by some of the people in this world.

(Slightly) geeky query - 03/03/10

2010-03-03T17:06:00.003Z

Firstly, if you're not an engineering/science geek of some sort, I doubt that you will find this even remotely interesting... and on top of that, I doubt that you will be able to give me an answer that's even remotely accurate.... but feel free to keep reading :)

I feel like I should explain what brought this on before I actually clarify what "this" is... bear with me. I was making myself a cup of tea this afternoon and as many people have pointed out (for better or for worse) I put the milk in first. I put the milk in, then the tea bag and then the water. I also have a habit of pouring the water so that it enters the mug mostly through the tea bag (hopefully you can see what I mean). I do this because I think the water picks up some of tea flavors along the way if it has to travel through the bag, rather than straight into the mug. Anyway, I poured the water in, jiggled the bag for a while (at the surface) and then when to drink it. The tea was a bit darker than normal but I didn't think much of it until I hit the bottom where I found a nice layer of milk!

Now to the actual question. How turbulent does the water flow have to be to get proper milk-water mixing? AND, is it possible that by filtering the water through the tea bag I "broke the fall" causing the milk to not mix?? AND if so, do you think it would be possible to make a cup of tea that looks a bit like a rainbow (going from white to dark brown)??

Breathe & an overdose of blood - 02/03/10

2010-03-02T14:03:00.004Z

Energy and safety courseworks done, time to breathe... At least for a couple of hours, or maybe just the one before I get back to my research.

By the way, the safety lecture today was a bit gross... We were doing investigations of Flixborough which was fine and then the lecturer drags up pictures of guts hanging outside of dead bodies, mutilated limbs and genitalia.... just before lunch!! Personally I have nothing against a bit of gore, but there's a time and a place right?!?!

Baby you're foul in clear conditions... - 28/02/10

2010-02-28T13:15:00.003Z

... but you're handsome in the fog. So I need some fine wine and you, you need to be nicer.

Aaahh, the morning after the two night before. And I feel fantastic!

Full house with 8 people here, not great for trying to get work done, but oh so much nicer :)

The boys have gone down to Waitrose to buy stuff for roast dinner tonight and I'm sitting here with a delicious Krispy Kreme (which they went down to get for me!) and a cup of tea. I'm making good progress with the work and I'm feeling particularly grateful for my wonderful little world.

I wish all days were like this one, the only thing that could make it nicer would be if the sun was shining in through the window. But I guess we can never have everything at once... and for now, I'm more than happy with what I've got :)

Crash & Burn - 27/02/10

2010-02-27T18:26:00.003Z

Time's caught up with me. After a late night and somehow waking up at 7 this morning I just fell into bed and slept for two hours. Still feeling a bit drowsy in the head with what can only be described as serious dehydration. Shoot. Must finish fuel cell shite NOW!!

List of things to do:

Fuel cell design

Safety coursework

Research hand-in (due yesterday)

Finish research model

Finish design model

Design presentation

Energy technology review

Project Management coursework 3

Final design

Final research

and last but not least... prepare for exams

Sounds good right?

Apply some pressure - 26/02/10

2010-02-26T09:25:00.003Z

Should I not go to my lecture today? If I don't it means that I'll have an extra two hours for my Fuel Cell design. Although, I highly doubt that that'll make a difference. After all, I know myself perfectly well, and have already secretly planned (although I'm not quite admitting it to myself yet) that I'm gonna go out for some last minute shopping after lunch today.

Alternative plan: Work hard now (3ish hours) - quick shopping (1.5 hours), go to lecture (2 hours), meet up with Toby's dad for quick drink (1 hour) and then very quickly get ready for the Ramsay dinner tonight.... Ouch, sounds stressful just reading it. Shoot.

Ahhhrrrg. Marisa is coming up tonight which I'm really looking forward to, and it just means yet another excuse to not do my work. Ok, so neeeeed to finish the fuel cell asap so I can have fun this weekend! Why isn't there more hours in a day??

Boys and Toys - 24/02/10

2010-02-24T20:34:00.004Z

Toby has acquired himself a saw. He's making a hole in his computer case because he's tired of only having USB ports at the back. I don't understand. When I came home (after my shopping trip *yay*) there were cables, screws and tools all over the floor and I was met by "don't come in - stay on that side of the room!!" Haha, I guess this is why love in unconditional :)

My darling boyfriend in his natural habitat

Homeopathy - less effective than diluted water? - 23/02/10

2010-02-23T08:11:00.003Z

Well I'm not sure actually... is it just like a placebo? Scientists say yes... some homeopathic treatment users say no. Whichever opinion is true the government has decided to stop all funding going into homeopathic research, and I'm not one to tell what's right and wrong, but here's a funny video anyway which might help you make up your minds ;)

Like an avalanche - too long to tweet about

2010-02-22T20:43:00.005Z

Out of nowhere, Papa Roach enters my head... "time and time again" to be more specific, a song that I've not heard or thought about since 2002. So obviously I search for it on Spotify and press play - wow, the chords, the lyrics.... all coming back like it was yesterday.

Do you remember Copenhagen that night?? (you know who you are)

So Spotify has the little thingy at the top "Related Artists": Slip Knot, Korn, Sum 41....

Is it strange that you can completely forget something for that long and then with one little trigger it all comes crashing back. You hear the first 2 seconds of a song and you immediately remember the lyrics, the guitar solos... everything.

Makes me wonder what else I've forgotten that might come back to me some day.... Which reminds me about how much things can change... I mean, what was I thinking? Here's a small tribute to those days anyway.

happiness. it hurts - 22/02/10

2010-02-22T14:18:00.005Z

By happiness I mean shopping and by hurts I mean my bank balance.... I walked past some shops today determined not to go in, but when I saw the new spring collections in the windows I couldn't help myself.... Must.... go..... on..... shopping spree.... soon. My (non-existing) money is burning a big hole in my pocket. They want to be liberated.

Image from http://www.polyvore.com/happiness_it_hurts/set?id=15497561

Got a nasty habit called rock n roll - 21/02/10

2010-02-21T09:55:00.009Z

There's something not right with the time/date stamps on the posts... whatever. The past couple of days everything but work has felt appealing. I actually managed to finish off my work early-ish and could have just done other stuff, but I keep coming back to it (only to complain about having to do it - ironic huh)....

I "re-discovered" or should I say fell back into some Swedish music during this past week. I have no idea whatsoever what's "new" back home so I've been sticking to the stuff that was new when I still lived there.... the Knife's old stuff... a bit of Robyn and the Sounds too (surprisingly, I know). This can get dangerous... before I know it I might be back on Hakan Hallstrom and what not. Scary thought

Live Streaming

2010-02-20T09:53:00.003Z

This year a lot of the shows of London Fashion Week are going to be streamed live! Amazing idea, not only because blogger's and twitterer's opinions these days weigh (almost) as much as Anna Wintour, but because then I can watch them too :) Enjoy!

End of reading week already?

2010-02-19T09:33:00.004Z

(Not so) surprisingly I haven't quite finished everything I was planning to do over reading week, and it's already Friday. Saying that, I have been quite productive this week to my great surprise. But taking into account all of the time wasted on random and, in reality, completely unnecessary things, I guess I could have achieved way more. For the first time in ages I spent quite some time online and as much as I think that it can be good and convenient with "instant communication" I've started to remember why I decided to go offline in the first place (although that was ages ago).

Anyhow, here's a little picture of some snowdrops I spotted in Regents Park the last week. That's a sign of spring right?

New design....

2010-02-18T22:49:00.001Z

Thoughts??

Under construction

2010-02-18T22:08:00.001Z

Be patient please :) I'm basically illiterate when it comes to this stuff....

Pancake Day

2010-02-16T09:10:00.002Z

If I'm not mistaken, Ed's diner in Soho are giving away free pancakes til 11 today, so if you're in the neighborhood check it out :)

I'd definitely be going if it wasn't for the fact that I completely overdosed on pancakes over the weekend... Saturday and Sunday brunch consisted of enough pancakes to feed an army. But you guys enjoy!

Other than that... reading week is in full roll and research is making good progress based on yesterdays work... lets see if I can keep the momentum going :)

Valentines Day

2010-02-14T18:19:00.001Z

Happy Valentines day everyone :)

Millionaire?

2010-02-13T14:56:00.004Z

Someone in the UK won the Euromillion jackpot yesterday. I heard it on the news this morning and quickly checked my email to see if it was me (I buy the ticket online so they automatically notify me)... but nothing. Oh well, better luck next time I though.

So just now my outlook goes "bing".... new email.... from National Lottery. I get super excited. What if I won?!?!?

Dear Catariya, we have very exciting news about your euromillion ticket. Please log into you national lottery account for more info.....

OMG!!!! I call Toby into the room so we can check it together. I type in my username..... password.... enter.

You are a winner! Your ticket in the Euromillion draw of 12 Feb 2010 was a winning ticket. £ 7.00 has been added to your account!! Yay 7 pounds! Thats's amazing :) it's almost making a profit. Admittedly it's not 56 million, but it's better than nothing right?

Buzz

2010-02-12T18:16:00.003Z

When I signed into my email account this morning I was confronted by a different homepage than normal. It was Google announcing Buzz... I was intrigued. It's kind of a mix of Twitter and Facebook I guess. I've been screening various sites today for info and opinions of this new buzz and whilst it seems that gmail users are welcoming it, the people who live outside the world of google seem to be suspicious.

I don't see why you couldn't use all of them... when I post something here in my blog, facebook automatically creates a new note on my profile and copies my blog post into it. When I tweet, facebook and Linkedin update my current status to reflect my tweets.... and seeing as blogger.com is in co-operation with google already, I noticed today that my blog posts are now also buzzes, not to mention that you can connect buzz to twitter too and all of this can be done from your mobile phone. Isn't it amazing how a huge world can be so inter connected... 6 degrees of separation? more like zero!!

Job - "tick"!

2010-02-10T13:53:00.002Z

The contract for Jacobs went off today :) Just have to agree on a start date. I am so relieved that I don't have to worry about jobs and stuff and that I can just focus on uni work, revision and exams. Hopefully it means that I'll do a bit better than I would have otherwise. It seems life is going as planned.

Speaking of which I would just like to take a moment to reaffirm that optimism is the way forward, and that in many situations in life it's worth taking a risk because most of the time, the potential benefits far out weight the bad stuff :)

Project Management - Special People

2010-02-08T12:26:00.002Z

This term we have to take a course of Project Management and the two lecturers we have a very special to say the least (and not in a good way). Obviously I understand the importance of having a good project manager, whatever it is you're doing. But what I don't understand is how you can even attempt to teach anything that is just common sense!! where it is evident that some people can do it and some can't!! and then there are people who can do it but don't want to because it must be the most tedious thing in the world. It just pisses me off that I'm required to attend 70% of these lectures when I can spend those 4 hours a week doing something so much more worthwhile.

Suprise?

2010-02-03T15:17:00.002Z

I've been spending the last 10 days trying to sort out my research model as something went wrong with it and I couldn't get it back to how it was. It's been frustrating me and the longer it went without being fixed, the more i decided to not bother with it anymore... (stupid seeing as I need to get it done sooner rather than later). Anyway, yesterday I though I'd have another go and after just an hour or so I was so angry with it not working that I was on the brink of giving up... when I saw a type-o! Could this have been what was causing the problem? I sorted it out, ran it and voila!! It works. So obviously I'm happy that it works but this also means that I spent the last 10 days trying to fix this thing when all it was was a type-o, and had I read through it carefully to begin with I could have saved myself a whole lot of time. Aahhhrrrggg!!!!

But seeing as it's fixed my motivation is slightly on the up and I hope I'll get more done this week than last. My aim is to have the model done by the end of this month :) Over optimistic, maybe... impossible, definitely not!

No turning back

2010-01-30T17:44:00.003Z

So I've signed up for Cancer Research UK's race for life this summer.

10 km on the 31st July!!

Help sponsor me and donate some money on:

www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/catariyalundgren

Even the tiniest amounts will do some good :)

Things are heating up

2010-01-28T18:06:00.002Z

Uni's getting busier and I'm starting to feel the stress. I not sure what else to write other than that... all these deadlines!!! I just don't know if human beings are capable of working so much when there are only 24 hours in one day. Hhhhmmm I guess the "one day at the time" policy is the way to go here, without forgetting the planning ahead bit.

A new start?

2010-01-25T18:50:00.004Z

Well, my 14 days of "kick-start" dieting is over... I must say that it wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. But it did much more than a diet... it made me realise that it's just about being a little bit more sensible. Last weekend I was a t a baby shower in Eastbourne and the weekend just passed was spent in Wickwar, so I guess it's safe to say that the diet was more of a week day thing for me. But despite of my weekend mess-ups I've lost 2.5 kg in 2 weeks and I think it's completely down to less snacking on unhealthy things. During the 2 weeks I've been following these rules with some minor leeway:

1) No sugar

2) No alcohol

3) No wheat

4) No dairy

5) No carbs (after 6 pm)

So 2.5 kg in 2 weeks, not bad I say. Obviously this diet was only intended for 2 weeks and from now on I'll be adding some food extras to my meals but I will also start training for the 10 km run that I've signed up for this summer so hopefully by summer or graduation I'll be where I want to be :) Saying that though, I went for a swim today and almost died after 1 km.... We'll see how it goes but I remain positive and undefeated!

Off to Wickwar!

2010-01-23T08:21:00.000Z

Woop woop :) I love getting away from London over the weekend. There's nothing like a bit of fresh country side air! Be back Monday, have a nice weekend :)

Isis Adventure

2010-01-21T10:15:00.004Z

It's Toby's birthday today but we gave him all his presents yesterday. I got him this puzzle called the Isis Adventure which is supposedly the hardest puzzle in the world... i think there are harder ones but that remains to be seen. We spent a couple of hours yesterday deciphering the clues so that we could start solving the puzzle and that went ok, so now we just have to figure out what they actually mean. Apparently you can win £10,000 if you solve it...

Today we're having nice steak at home for dinner and then going out for a bit i think, and this weekend we're gonna go down to Wickwar to have a little birthday celebration there with his family :) I can't believe we're both 23 now... I can still remember when we'd just met when we were 18... haha, that was a long time ago :) but we've had some very good birthdays with each other.

4 years ago :)

Weekend in Eastbourne

2010-01-18T13:22:00.002Z

Me and Toby spent the weekend in Eastbourne with Steven and Jo. I'd never been to a baby shower before and was a little bit nervous, but it turned out to be really nice and fun. Just girls playing different games and talking babies. Toby and Steven were at their grandparents and took granddad out for a nice beer which he really enjoyed. this Thursday is Toby's birthday and next weekend we're going over to Wickwar for a late birthday celebration. Until then I've got plenty to do :)

Work, work, work

2010-01-13T15:45:00.002Z

12 intense weeks ahead... I guess that's guaranteed when my lecturer said today that I'm not going to get much sleep in the next 3 months. It makes me wish that I's done so much more last year when I still has free time... I have no idea how I'm going to manage all the things I need to do... ( yet I'm waisting time here blogging...) I guess I better get started with a plan or some sort of schedule that I will rigorously stick to... (yeah right...)

100th time's the charm??

2010-01-09T14:00:00.003Z

Well, with the new year and all there are plenty of resolutions being made and broken. I went into Waterstone's yesterday and they had placed all the self-help books and diet books right at the till just to make a point I guess. I normally judge people who buy and read self-help books and think that surely a little common sense and a positive attitude will help most people get out of a rut... and a good plan and some organisation should be able to sort out a messy life.

With diet books I feel exactly the same way, isn't it just logic that the only way to loose weight is to burn more calories than you consume. Yet people keep buying these diet books... flat tummy in 14 days, how to eat right, Atkins, GI etc...

Anyway, here comes the hypocrisy bit... I bought one of these books after seeing this TV show on Channel 4. I'm a little bit embarrassed, especially after reading it as I already knew everything that it had to tell me... The book is Anna Richardson's "Body Blitz Diet" (which incidentally stood next to a self help book with a "brain reprogramming CD" haha). The book talks about the calorie intake and burning stuff... it mentions what foods are higher in calories and that you need to exercise... obvious right?!?

But here's the thing. Even though I already know all the things that I need to know about loosing weight the fact remains that I am an incredibly lazy person... and what this book provides that I was so interested in is a little schedule that tells me exactly what to eat and when and what to do fore exercise and when! So I don't really have to think at all. Well, I'm gonna try to stick with it for 2 weeks and we'll see how it goes. I'll be back with an update in 2 weeks time :) We'll see how it goes (for the millionth time :))

The Big Freeze

2010-01-07T10:23:00.006Z

Here in London it hasn't been too bad but the rest of the country seems to be covered in deep snow. It was snowing non stop here yesterday, but nothing much settled so no major problems. Apparently it's the coldest winter since the beginning of the 1980's... I'm not complaining though, I absolutely love snow :)It's cosy and it lightens up winter and makes it all nice and pretty :) Here are some pictures from the BBC of the UK under a nice sheet of snow.