Not So Fun In The Sun- Reasons Why Summer Can Be Annoying

Hello there readers! We're now mid-way through the delightful season of summer & seeing as the weather has been pretty good the vast majority of this week, I'd like to dedicate tonight's post to said season.

Now usually, summer is a season that's praised when it's spoken about in blogs & articles, where the author states how to "have fun in the sun" before listing reasons why summer is great & ways to take advantage of the nice weather. And as much as I do enjoy summer, what with the decent weather & opportunities to go out & about, I have to admit that it isn't my favourite season. That's why in tonight's post I'll be talking about the more annoying aspects of summer, well, for me anyway.

Local beach, a favourite hang-out spot of mine over summer. :)

So, in no particular order, let's get started:

• High Street Fashion

To me, summer fashion for women in high street/mainstream shops is pretty awful. It seems as though as soon as it hits summer, the stores seem to think that every woman wants to wear either garishly bright colours, pastel colours, flowers or a combination of all of these points. Which makes it difficult for people like myself, who own a predominantly black/dark colour wardrobe, to find anything they like. Another thing is finding decent women's shorts, & by decent I mean shorts that are actually shorts & not denim underwear. (Although I have learned that they seem to sell the proper shorts just before summer, so for those of you out there with a more modest fashion sense best stock up then!)

Now not all of it's bad & there are certain things that I have seen in high street shops that I do like, such as the little black skull vest-blouse in H&M (which I own). But most of it really isn't my cup of tea, not even during the other three seasons, although I'd definitely say that this fashion is at it's worst during summer!

• Vanity

If summer is the season for anything, it's the season for vanity. Which isn't a bad thing, I mean, everyone's vain to a degree (including myself), but in summer everyone is more so than the rest of the year, what with wanting to get tanned &/or striving to achieve a "bikini body". Which, again, isn't something I'm saying is bad, if that's what makes people feel better & enjoy themselves more then that's fine. I personally don't get why people like being tanned, I don't really understand the appeal. I can understand the bikini body though, & those of you that are motivated enough to get fitter to achieve this, I commend you! 

But to me, the most annoying thing about vanity in the summer is shaving. Thanks to society telling women that hair in certain places is disgusting, the opportunity that the good weather brings to bear more skin also means having to shave more regularly, which is a pain in the arse! Come on ladies, let's admit, when it isn't summer & we don't have to show our legs or armpits, we can leave it for a couple of weeks. But as soon as summer rolls around it has to be done every other day or so in order to avoid potentially being judged by anyone, & having to do it so regularly is rather tedious, in my opinion.

• Temperamental Weather

If there's one thing that you get used to being British, it's the temperamental weather. Well, mainly it's the bad weather, but it's even more annoying when Mother Nature won't make up her mind what to do, especially over summer. One minute, you look outside & it's actually a nice summer's day & you start to pull more summery attire from your wardrobe. Then the next minute it's all overcast, then back to sunshine again. The reason why this is even more annoying when it's summer is that what you decide to wear & plans depend on it. Nothing worse than thinking 'the weather looks naff today, better dress for the cold' & it ends up being too hot! Which leads me onto my next point...

• The Heat

Now this point is probably the worst for me. I don't mind it at first, in fact it's more than welcome after a few months of cold, but for me it gets to the stage where it's just too hot. Sometimes I can bear it, for example last year I managed to as I was anticipating going to New York at the end of August (where I thought it'd be a lot warmer than the UK, I was indeed correct). But sometimes it's just too much, like yesterday, even though I decided to take advantage of the nice weather & sit in the garden & paint, I found myself going inside at intervals as it did get too hot.

The problem with it being too hot is that it can be difficult to cool yourself down. It's fine in winter when it's too cold as you can add more layers & warm up, but in summer, you can only strip down so much, unless you're in the confines of your own home (& even then you may not want to strip down that far). Plus being too hot can make you lethargic & irritable which is never good, & also sweaty, which isn't very nice. And then there's also sunburn, which hurts.

Perhaps now we'll rethink the phrase "sun-kissed" skin?

There we go, the factors which I feel make summer a rather annoying season. Aside from these points, I do enjoy it, I mean, summer is BBQ season, & who doesn't love a good barbie? :)


So readers, what aspects about summer do you find annoying? Do you agree with any of the above points? Or if you like you can leave a comment about what you like about summer. :)

Thanks for reading! :D

Illustrations done by Me :)

Weekly Music Challenge #7- A Song That Reminds Me Of An Event

Good evening readers & welcome to tonight's post. Tonight on my Music Monday challenge I have to find a song that reminds me of an event. So without further ado, I present tonight's song:

'Extraordinary Girl' by Green Day

This song reminds me of the first time I went to see a Green Day tribute band live. I remember when they played this song, they changed some of the lyrics slightly, singing "Somedays I feel like dying," rather than "Somedays he feels like dying," They also substituted the third for first person in other moments in the song & this is something I tend to think of whenever I hear this song, which is why it reminds me of this particular event.

And there we are folks, tonight's song. Do you have any songs that remind you of events? Feel free to comment!

Thanks for reading! :D

Crossing Counties, Clans & Social Encounters- A Week In Review

Hello readers! Didn't today start out lovely, eh? Much like yesterday, the sun was shining, it was a lovely day, a perfect morning for a kid to play! But now look at it. The weather is dull & typically British once more. So much for summer!

Seeing as I haven't done so for a couple of weeks & my last post was on the more negative side, I thought today I'd do a week review, as it's been a nice & social week. I did start another blog post earlier, but I think I'll save that until next week, unless something else crops up.

So let's get started, shall we?

My socialising started last Friday, when I went to my best friend, Laura's house to have a catch up & give her her birthday card & presents. It was lovely catching up as we hadn't seen each other in a few weeks, also we started to watch (& for Laura, rewatch) the first series of Supernatural, which was good.

My next event was on Sunday, when I went to the pub quiz with Tom, Georgia & Berry, which was fun. We didn't win, but we didn't lose either & most importantly we had a good time, had a laugh & was great seeing them again!

Monday took me into another county (I'm from Hampshire), something I didn't become aware of until later that day, as I ventured into Chichester (which I discovered is in West Sussex) to meet up with Olivia. I'd never been to Chichester before, & it was a half-way point for the both of us. We had a wander round the Cathedral, high streets & the canal. Again, another nice catch up! I also finished the book 'Zom-B Clans' that night, which I got on Saturday, & oh my god it was good! Especially the ending- even though when a certain character spoke I knew who it would be, it was tense reading & finding out!

Clock Tower/seating area in the centre of the high streets in Chichester, a very nice structure. :)

Such a good book, roll on book 9! :D

I had another catch up Tuesday with my friend Reema, which again was really nice. We also learned that day that the other had watched Utopia, the rather weird series on Channel 4 (which returns on Monday), to which we both had a slight almost fangirl moment!

Next meet up was yesterday, where I met with my friend & old housemate Jess for lunch. We ended up going to a small cafe that neither of us had been to before, which was nice, that & having a good old natter! Also, while I'm here, I'm going to give you all a blog recommendation, which is Jess's blog-
Vanilla and Owls
Jess started her blog before I did, & it was through reading hers that inspired me to create this blog here. It's a very nice & well-written blog- Jess talks about various things in her life, does product reviews, & it's very Jess!

Which brings us to today, where I did housework, watched Friday Night Dinner (which is AMAZING!) & now am about to watch series 2 of Hemlock Grove.

And that's been my week. Been lovely seeing my friends & I can't wait to see more of them as the summer holiday goes on!

Thanks for reading, & good night! :D

Weekly Music Challenge #6- A Song That Reminds Me Of Somewhere

Hello there my good readers! I almost thought this would be a delayed post due to internet issues, but thankfully said internet has returned & I can post tonight- hooray!

So, this week in the music challenge I am asked to find a song that reminds me of somewhere, & that song is this:

'Walking Back To Happiness' by Helen Shapiro

Now here's an interesting fact, up until a moment ago when I was looking the song up on YouTube, I was not aware that Helen Shapiro was the artist! A reason why I find this particularly interesting is because I have heard of her prior to this discovery, as she once was in a band with Marc Bolan.

Anyway, enough music history & back to the subject. This song reminds me of Thorpe Park, in particular, the area in which the ride Stealth is situated. For those of you that don't know, Stealth is themed to be a 60s speedway, so whilst in the queue for the ride you're treated to a nice mix of 60s music amongst radio broadcasts made for the ride & announcements from the ride. This song is included in said 60s playlist & is one that sticks in my mind, it reminds me not only of being in the queue line but also walking through that area of the park (which also includes Tidal Wave, which also has a 60s looking theme). Plus it's the lyric about happiness that sticks with me, & it's always a happy time for my at Thorpe Park. :)

Stealth at Thorpe Park- image is not mine.

There we go for now, I hope you've enjoyed tonight's post- thanks for reading! :D

An Interruption Of Freedom

Hey readers, happy 4th July! Right now in America people are celebrating independence & freedom, meanwhile here in England, the glorious freedom of summer has been slightly interrupted for me by the receiving of a summer project.

Although this is something I was expecting, it's not something I'm pleased about, seeing as in the past summer projects have practically been ignored by my tutors. Not always a waste of time, & up until this point in my life they've actually been ok, but actually putting the time & effort in & having it go to waste does annoy me! I personally believe if lecturers are going to set something, they should pay it more attention, not just give is as something to keep students busy! Which has been the case for the past three years, allow me to elaborate somewhat:

The very first summer project I was given happened before I started my course at college. Based on the idea of "things I have learned in my life so far", I had fun creating the following three pieces:

L-R- "Harry Potter Is Amazing", "Political Correctness Is Insane" & "If Nobody's Perfect Then I Know I'm Somebody"

However, on starting at college, & having a new tutor as the one who originally set the project had left, this project was quickly forgotten about, in fact, it was never even looked at. All that work & effort put in for nothing, but at least it was fun!

The next project wasn't as ignored or done in vain, as, being a much more motivated & optimistic student at the time, I was able to do some self-initiated research that helped with my first second year project at college & with other things since. Plus this was one counted towards my marks.

Now onto uni. Last year's summer project was rather fun & I did enjoy doing it & whilst I was doing it I felt as though I hadn't done enough. Again, at this point in time I was highly motivated & excited by my uni course & felt rather pleased with myself when I read online that fellow classmates had done barely anything, when I, by the end of it, had 37 pages of A3 completed. But did my uni lecturers care? Ok, they looked at the final outcome. Didn't do the whole "giving out the postcard" thing like the brief stated (we had to make a post card about the place we call home), & I did not get a commendation or recognition for the amount of hard work & effort I put in.

My final postcard design, thankfully the humour was appreciated.

That, plus the fact that my uni course has been a complete disappointment, has left me in a rather flat state. A part of me doesn't feel the need to try in case they don't look. However, the second year lecturers look a lot more switched on & professional than those on the first year & may actually give a shit, which would be nice. Plus, on the optimistic side (which still exists somewhere in the depths of my mind) it could help me to revive my mojo. As you've seen in a previous post, I've already started doing some art for fun, so I'm getting started. And I know deep down this is what I enjoy, so I want to try & do my best.

Part of this week's art for fun involved me making this reference for my promarkers, thought I'd share as I think it's nice to look at. :)

On another & more positive note this week, I've dyed my hair purple, however, as I was already red, it's kind of gone a burgundy colour, but still looks nice. Here's a photo:

That's all for this week. Hopefully I'll have a more interesting topic next Friday for you all. I'm sure I will.

Thanks for reading!

Weekly Music Challenge #5- A Song That Reminds Me Of Someone

Hello readers! This week's leg of the challenge is to share a song that reminds me of someone, so without further ado I present you with this:

'I Walk The Line' by Johnny Cash

This song reminds me of my Grandad. It was him that got me into Johnny Cash, as my Mum bought him the 'Live At San Quentin' CD to play in his car, which I listened to more thoroughly during my two week's work experience, when my Grandad used to drive me to my placement. The reason why I chose this song in particular is because once when we were listening to it, my Grandad sang his own version of one of the lyrics, that he said he once sung to my Nan at a dance to make her laugh, so whenever I hear the song I think of that. :)

Thanks for reading! 

The Sims: You're Playing It Wrong!

Hello readers! To celebrate the fact that I've managed to get The Sims 3 to work on my PC (admittedly only base game version at the moment, but still at least I can play!) I've decided to dedicate this Friday's post to my all-time favourite computer game- The Sims.

Back before I reset my computer & I was playing Sims with World Adventures, will reinstall soon now I've got my game to work!

As those of you that know me in real life know & those of you who don't have probably guessed, I love The Sims & have done since I was about 9 or 10. I recall the early days of playing Sims 1 on the PC & Playstation- PC version is definitely the best! Then when Sims 2 arrived- finally they could properly grow up & be a bit more like real life! And then Sims 3- at last an open neighbourhood! I loved them all & I feel that the versions have improved over time (although Sims 4 looks pretty shit, but let's not go into that). Although I'm not the proper 'hardcore gamer' type, I can say that Sims is the game that can keep me hooked for hours, & once I've played I'm addicted for a good few weeks after.

I know what some of you are thinking- "How on Earth can you play it for hours? It's so boring!" Well, in response to that, I give you the post's title, which is a quote I once used semi-jokingly in conversation with a friend of mine who did say it was "boring"- you're playing it wrong. That's right. An open game where you have the ability to do pretty much whatever you like & I reckon that you're playing it wrong. Well, not wrong as such, as there is no wrong way you can play The Sims, but I feel as though you're not making the most of what the game has to offer. Allow me to elaborate:

There are a few different types of Sims players:

• The Killer

This is the person who plays Sims purely for the sake of killing off their characters, be it by fire, drowning or death by flies.

• The Builder

The person who, at some point in the future, would love a career in interior design & uses the game's tools to express their creativity. Or people who just really enjoy building houses &/or community lots.

A house I built this week. Bottom left- downstairs & right- upstairs. :)

• The Virtual Life Liver

The person who creates themselves & their family or friends as Sims & plays the game with them, in a way living a virtual life through the lives of their Sims. This type of player may also 'live out' any fantasies they have with celebrities &/or fictional characters.

• The Storyteller

This is the person who uses the game to play out stories for their own original characters, although they could also do it with their favourite fictional characters. Either way is good.

Those of are four main categories I'd put Simmers into & I can honestly say I've been in each category at some point in my life as a Simmer. I used to enjoy killing Sims off in my younger days, on many an occasion on Sims 1 did I trap a Sim in a room full of chairs & set the firework off. Death by flies was a favourite of mine in Sims 2, which had some of the best deaths (& life experiences, for that matter) out of any of the games. Building wise, usually this isn't my cup of tea & I put my families into the pre-made houses, although recently I've felt like building a couple of things, including the house in the photo above. I also built a rather bad nightclub/bar, but what can you do with only the base game?

Once in Sims 2 I did create my family, however, after my Sim-self was beaten up, I decided to delete this virtual version, besides, I prefer to create my own original characters. Which brings me to the present day Simmer me, who is a storyteller- I create Sim families & give them stories, as families & for the individual characters. My current family are based on characters I've thought of for a novel which I may or may not get round to writing.

The main Sim in my current family. :)

Personally, I feel that storytelling is the best way to play The Sims. The game itself gives you the ability to create whoever & whatever you like & truly unleash your imagination, something I feel is best taken advantage of. The Sims 3 especially allows this, what with all the customisable clothes, furniture & enhanced Create-A-Sim, plus the open neighbourhood means that there's less time spent in front of loading screens. I always find with The Sims that I always keep advancing the story in some way, making my Sims work on their skills, relationships or any other activity that I feel fits with their story. This is what makes this game so addictive for me, as, when I do manage to pull myself away, I find myself thinking about what could happen next. How do I continue the legacy of my Sims? It's this freedom & creativity that makes the game so brilliant & this method of play being the one that makes the game fun & keeping you on it for hours.

Sure, killing Sims is fun, but there are only so many ways in which you can do it, even on Sims 2. Building can be fun too (as I have found this week), but it can get tedious after a while (which is why I don't do it often). And I imagine it must be quite amusing to simulate (no pun intended) real life in the game, although can be rather tragic when your Sim-self gets beaten up, killed or worse, expelled. Hence why storytelling is the better mode of gameplay, & can in fact incorporate all of these elements.

The Father of my current family. Looks pretty sad for someone who's watching TV...

At the end of the day, it's up to you how you play The Sims. We're all individuals & I am just one among the many Simmers here on Planet Earth. I personally prefer to play the way I do & find it more fun to play out my stories, but if you prefer to play it another way then that's absolutely fine. Who am I to tell you how to play The Sims? I can give advice, but as I've said, each to their own.

I hope you've all enjoyed today's post! Any Simmers out there want to share their gameplay method? If so, feel free to leave a comment! :)

Happy Simming folks, & thanks for reading! :D

The game I eventually want to play. It looks AMAZING! :D