Everything would be easy and uncomplicated; the way it was when we were young.

I went back to Oxford yesterday for the first time since I left school, and it was actually a bit of an emotional trip.

I had to speak to some teachers about my results and university applications, so I went into the school to find that, much to my surprise, life continues perfectly normally in the absence of the 130-odd members of my year group. For the first time ever, I felt like I didn’t belong there and, to be honest, I was quite keen to leave. For the five years since I moved to England, the school has been a major part of my life, so it felt really strange witnessing it without actually being a part of it. In five years’ time, there will be no pupils left who will remember me, and many of the teachers who taught me from the tender age of 13 will have either moved on themselves or filed the memory of me in the archives of the thousands of other pupils they come across over the years. To the class of 2015, I will be nothing more than a name etched into a desk somewhere, merely one of the thousands of proverbial bricks in the old pupil wall. But I guess this is going to be true of every establishment I will ever join; even the names of the most remarkable people in every year group are destined to be forgotten.

However, as strange as it was realising that school life not only goes on, but also evolves, once I am gone, I don’t think I can say I miss it. As my mum taught me, time passes the same rate for everyone, so I don’t feel sorry for those still at school; everyone’s got to do it. But I am certainly not envious of them. While I may be a bit unsure as to what I’m going to do over the next twelve months, I’m a step closer to where I want to be.

I’ve Been Gone Far, Far Too Long

I’m back! It has been so long since I last posted anything, I don’t even know where to start. Stats from the last few months tell me that loads more people have started reading my blog… Which is bizarre, really – considering I haven’t posted anything in over six months. So, old readers, I am so very sorry I been neglecting you. And, new readers, welcome, I guess. Pressure from my friends made me realise that I have a duty to update my blog, especially seeing as soooo much has happened since I last posted anything, so here goes.

When I started this blog, I wanted to keep a record of what was going on in my life as I knew my everything was about to change massively. And, man, it really has! It seems like forever since I left school and Oxford and I have subsequently been thrown into Adulthood, where people (my parents) expect things from me like ‘Housekeeping’ and a ‘Job’… You what? I guess a lot can change in four months.

I’ve spent a lot of the summer working at loads of different events all over  the country, making money but spending it equally fast. It’s been relatively fun, but nothing to write home about (or blog about, in this case). However, I have had an absolutely amazing summer. About six months ago, I started going out with Will. Unfortunately, Will lives on the Isle of Wight, about two hours from my house in London. When I was studying and then taking my exams, it was near impossible to see him. But now I’ve had pretty much four months off, I’ve been able to spend the summer with him (he’s a teacher, so has had the summer off, too!) and I have absolutely loved it!

The only way to describe my life at the moment is hectic, chaotic and (for the moment) completely without structure or plan. I could get really depressed about the fact that my friends are all off to University (and those who aren’t seem to know exactly where they’re going to be working/travelling), my boyfriend is back at work, I seem unable to find any kind of internship or work experience, the only source of income I have is now coming to a close as my summer job ends, and I have no idea where I am going to be in one month from now. But I prefer to remain optimistic. My life is a blank canvas. I can do anything I want, wherever I want. Free as a bird.

Watch this space.

Big kiss,

L

Don’t Ask Me, But Here Is A Clue

I can’t seem to get ‘Ugly People’ out of my head. It’s a fantastic song by an Oxford-based band, Picturehouse, that I think everyone needs to go and listen to. Picturehouse is made up of a few guys who go to my school, and I have been a fan for a while now. Before today, I hadn’t heard any of their stuff in a while, so when I was emailed a link to their myspace, I was really pleasantly surprised by how much the band has developed.

Picturehouse is a bit of everything. They are electro, indie, alternative, house, and there is even a dubstep remix. The band’s members (Richard, Jamie, Carlos, Live and Sam) all seem to have their own unique style, which, when combined, creates the awesome, bespoke sound that is Picturehouse. They have been fortunate enough to play with Foals, DJ Hype, PRDCTV, Hearts in Pencil (among others) and to have been offered support slots with Bloc Party and Florence and the Machine. This band is definitely one to watch. If you like good music, you’ll like Picturehouse.

To listen to their music and find out where they are playing next, check out they myspace page. They are also currently in a competition, where the winner gets to perform at a concert on Brick Lane to a number of famous labels and producers, so please vote for them at http://www.demomissionderby.blogspot.com/. There is a box on the left where you can vote.

‘Bright Eyes EP’ is now available at gigs, or contact them for a copy. Alternatively, check out http://soundcloud.com/picturehousemusic for free downloads of all their tracks.

Big kiss,

L

PS – The title from the last post was a lyric from Contagious by R. Kelly and Chante Moore.

You’re Contagious, Touch Me Baby, Give Me What You Got

I woke up last Monday morning with a really swollen gland on my neck. I felt absolutely fine, so I took two ibuprofen and hoped the swelling would go down. I was a little bit concerned but figured it would be fine cause I didn’t feel ill at all.  I went to go see a nurse at the health centre and she told me to come back the next morning if it was still swollen.

I woke up on Tuesday and the gland was even bigger. It was clearly visible and I didn’t seem to have a jaw line on the right side of my face anymore. I still felt okay, but I was quite embarrassed to be sporting my new neck (it is rather large). So before deciding to go see the doc, I typed my symptoms into Google to see what was going on. Cue massive freakout. According to WebMD (an online symptom checker. Basically, you click the place on your body and it gives you a list of every possible symptom and you answer a couple of questions to find out what you’ve got) I had a possibility of twenty conditions. It started with relatively simple things

We Came To Get Crunk… How ’bout You?

Last night was the first real test of this whole sober challenge. Sure, the last few days of not enjoying a glass of wine with dinner were annoying, but they were nothing compared to last night. I started the evening with my friends Grace and Amy at Amy’s house, where they drank the best part of a bottle of red between the two of them. I had a Sprite. We then went to Las Iguanas, where we usually go for pre-club cocktails for Happy Hour. I found us a table while they went to the bar. A few minutes later, they rock up to the table with two cocktails each (and two for our friend George, who would be joining us). The cocktails: St Clement’s, caipirinha and Ipanema Fizz. The sweet smell of cachaca hung in the air, and I could feel my self-restraint wavering. This was like bringing a drug addict to a room full of his drug of choice and forcing him to sit and watch other people enjoy them. Absolute torture. But I figured that if I can make it through that, there is nothing that will break me. So I got myself a Diet Coke and gawked at the gorgeous guy at the table next to us (honestly, I’m in love). We then went to my friend Sam’s birthday dinner, where it seemed like there were a lot of us going sober that night (a few of the guys were ill and/or driving, and Nina wasn’t drinking either).

We then moved on to The Bridge, an old favourite club of ours. It was really weird not drinking, as I have very fond memories of lines of shots and overpriced cocktails in this particular club. By this point, pretty much everyone was pissed, so they didn’t really care that I wasn’t drinking. Actually, most people didn’t even realise that I wasn’t drinking (this tells me that I’m either really fun sober, or really boring drunk…). It was a pretty average night, all in all. Yes, the company was great, but that is about it. The music was frustratingly repetitive and generic.

When Violet Eyes Get Brighter

On Friday night, my friend Amy and I went to the Owl City concert at the O2 Academy in Oxford, and they were absolutely fantastic! Owl City are a surprise favourite of mine, because I’m not usually into such sentimental and painfully optimistic lyrics, but Adam Young’s songs are near impossible not to love. The airy electro-pop tunes have been described as music to listen to when you’re sad, which is kind of true as they have such an uplifting, feel-good factor that reminds of the summer. And who doesn’t love summer?

Owl City opened with The Bird and The Worm which is my favourite of their songs, and followed with other songs from all three of their albums, including Hot Air Balloon, Hello Seattle, Cave In, Meteor Shower, West Coast Friendship and Vanilla Twilight. The song that really made the night was (rather unsurprisingly) Fireflies. It was incredible to witness the whole crowd singing along to every word (including backing) with palpable excitement. (See video below).

Blame It On The A-a-a-a-alcohol.

 

Today is the first day of Lent. Every year, Lent comes and goes and I make a pretty pathetic effort to give up chocolate/biscuits/cake/sweets and it only ever lasts for a few hours max. I am always amazed by my friends who last the whole of Lent without so much as a lick of chocolate icing (mmm) or a nibble at a Toffee Crisp. It is 44 loooong days (including Sundays leading to Easter). And it doesn’t help that the weather is pretty awful so all you want to do is comfort eat. No, giving up chocolate (or any of its wonderful brothers, sisters or cousins) is not something I would ever willingly put myself through.

But seeing as this is my last year at school, this is the last chance I have to give up something for Lent knowing that I have the 24hr support of my boarding school friends. So, I’m giving up drinking.

The way I see it, it won’t be too hard. I only ever really drink on Saturdays. And Sundays. And the occasional mid-week evening or two. (Unless I am on holidays, in which case I drink most days – either at the pub with friends or a glass of wine/G&T/Pimm’s with supper at home). In fact, I don’t think I have gone 44 days without drinking since I was 15… That is crazy!! Anyway, I really don’t drink that much. So it shouldn’t be too difficult… right?

When I told my friends, there were mixed responses. My friend Domas said: “No offence, Lyds, but there is no fucking chance you will last.” Other people just laughed. General consensus was that I would make it until Saturday max. So, not really a mixed response. Oh ye of little faith…

They Change Their History With Their Poison Forked Tongues

 I am loving John Butler Trio at the moment. If you haven’t heard of them yet (and trust me, you will soon), they are an Australian rock/roots/jam band. They’ve got a wicked drums/bass/acoustic guitar combo going on, and John Butler’s sensational voice is the proverbial cherry on top. They have been around for ages, with their albums going platinum in Australia in 2001 and 2003. The US had a little taste of them in 2002 when they toured supporting the Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer, but their popularity has soared recently. Pleased to see that they are finally being recognised here in the UK!

They are so amazing, it hurts. I found them by mistake while prowling the internet for new music and fell completely in love. They make me feel like a bit of a hippie, and I love it! Here are some of my favourites:

If You See Her, Say Hello

Congratulations to all who recognised the title as Bob Dylan.

I think all my posts will be titled with the name of a song, or a lyric from a song… Brownie points if you get it?

Anyway, welcome to thirtythreehummingbirds. Here I am, jumping on the blogging bandwagon. Everyone seems to have one these days, and I can’t really see what the fuss is about. All they appear to be is an outlet for opinionated idiots to impose voice their political views, or for wannabe artsy-types to post completely irrelevant black-and-white pictures to make them seem deep, or mysterious, or complicated, or whatever.

But having said that, I like the concept of a blog. Snapshots of life. 21st century diaries (without all the soul-confessing stuff – people are going to read your blog, after all). And seeing as my life is going to change so much in the next few months, I thought it might be a good idea to try it out for size. So welcome to thirtythreehummingbirds.

Big kiss,

L

PS – In case you were wondering: thirtythree is my parents’ house number, and hummingbirds represent the house where I grew up in Argentina. I have such vivid memories of beautiful hummingbirds (picaflores) fluttering about my garden in the summer. So, thirtythreehummingbirds is home.