Little Geordie Lass

It's been a while... I feel like I kind of told everyone I was moving, got engaged and then never gave a proper update on life. I have now been, what I call, "proper adulting" for 6 months now, passed my probation at work so now which I am buzzing about, have my own place, trying new hobbies, meeting new people, surviving on my own and have my independence. But there is still something missing... My other half who lives 200 miles away. I don't like to mention him too much on here as this is my blog and it's not his place to be broadcast online, however it would be wrong of me not to address our current situation. If this blog post can help one other person in a similar position then I think I've done my job.

One of my favourite memories of my childhood was playing 'Narrator Number 3' in my middle school production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. So when I saw that the production was coming to Metro Radio Arena this Christmas, I couldn't say no to reliving my youth.

No, this isn't deja vu. I got to witness the presence of Queen and Adam Lambert once again after seeing them for the first time around 2 years ago  (see my review of their last show here). I will not beat around the bush, there were some similarities to the last time I saw them on tour, however there were a lot of things that were very different which divided my opinion on if I thought that this was better or not. Luckily, this time I was seated so I had a full view of the stage (short people problems at standing concerts) so I felt like I had a more fulfilling experience which will give me a much more rounded review of their performance at Metro Radio Arena on the 1st December 2017.

With Christmas just around the corner, less than a month now, it is time for us to start thinking about buying gifts for family, friends and maybe that unwanted person. Now I say that with the assumption that many people who read my blog work or have a circle of friends where they feel obligated to buy presents for people that they don't really want to buy for. Or I may just be completely absurd and you are super excited about gift giving. Nevertheless, when it comes to Christmas, the older we get the more we think about saving money. And that's where Secret Santa comes into play for a lot of people. Everyone who does Secret Santa develops their own rules; this can be in regards to spending limit, silly or serious gifts and so on. But I hope to help those out who may be reading this thinking' what the hell do I get Maggie from Marketing who I only ever see in the break room?'. Or even if you are struggling for friends and want some ideas on present ideas or where to sho...

Rewind back to my 16 year old self who had just started sixth-form and had asked her mam to try and get her and her friends tickets for her favourite band and imagine the heartbreak of failing to get them. Fast forward to the 10th November 2017 and that same girl has just come home from seeing said band after waiting to see them for so long. Elated. That is probably the best word I can use to describe my experience of seeing The Killers live in my home city.

Being a postgraduate student, I can definitely see the difference between studying my first degree my current one I'm studying now. Firstly, going from a degree where I am learning by being up on my feet all the time (wearing my leggings and trainers) to sitting and having 3 hour presentations and discussions. And secondly the difference in workload. Yes I had a lot of work to do the last 3 years, and telling people that I only have 2 essays to do before Christmas this year may seem like a doddle; but they are both 5000 words, all based off independent learning and doing my own research. It can be stressful. Hell, all university courses are stressful, if it wasn't stressful then it wouldn't be a full university experience! So with assessment period looming, I thought I would share a few of my tips on how to deal with stress at uni; or even school, college or sixth form- these will all apply!

For my 21st Birthday I had the pleasure of being taken to New York City. My brother got a surprise birthday present for his 21st which was a holiday to Dubai, but I already knew about my 'surprise' holiday considering that I had been planning my New York trip since I was 16. The one thing I still hadn't agreed on what what theatre production to see; as a drama graduate and musical theatre lover it was a given that I would have to go and see a Broadway musical. If I had it my way, I would have seen a different musical every night I was in NYC, but that couldn't happen; my parents did want to have a surprise for me though. So on a nice sunny afternoon after visiting the Statue of Liberty, I was told that the following night that I would be going to see School of Rock at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway (SQUEAL!!).

My 3 years of my undergraduate degree are over, and I couldn't be happier that I graduated with First Class Honours. The past 3 years have been an absolute whirlwind of an adventure; I've met some of the most amazing people and some things that I never thought that I would ever do. But I have to say, my final year has been my favourite year of university. First year was just a blur of going out and second year was just a nightmare, so full of drama, but my third year did where I finally felt in control of my life, and in terms of my degree; I got to look specifically at my own interests and put my time into researching what I wanted instead of set topics that I was given in previous years. 

So when I decided to go to university, one of the things that had a bigger impact than I thought would be living in rented student accommodation. I live close enough to the university to be commuting from home however I really wanted the "full university experience" by living in halls in my first year. I nearly ended up living in halls for my second year until a course mate asked me if I wanted to live in a shared house with her and a few other people, which is what I did and now going into my third year I decided to live with my boyfriend. Now the transition from living in halls to private accommodation wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, the main difference most people have is that you have to pay for your own bills and do the research into bill providers yourselves.

Its coming up to that time of year again! Exams. We all feel the same about them and we would much rather not have them in our lives, however if we can't get rid of them then we will just have to deal with them the best we can! Crap isn't it? Well I've got a few different things that will help you stay organised around exam period and ways you can de-stress; particulary focusing on Revision and ensuring your Welfare is taken care of throughout this stressful time.

Tuesday 12th January 2015. Metro Radio Arena , Newcastle When I first saw that Queen were coming to the UK I knew I had to go, no doubt about it... Until I saw the price of the tickets, please feel sorry for a poor student! It was this same reason my mam decided not to buy my dad tickets for Christmas, but when my dad told me after a long day at work that he went to buy some tickets which had been returned to the box office I just couldn't say no. I grew up with Queen, listened to all my Dad's CDs and watched all the documentaries on them.

I know I've missed the boat of this post as we have just had Christmas but I thought it would still be relevant for birthdays etc, and that is gift buying for boys. No mater how close you are; whether you are buying for your boyfriend, brother, dad there is always an added pressure because (if you are like me) you just want to find the perfect gift which has had some thought put into it. The problem is you can only get a man so much aftershave! There doesn't seem to be a lot of options for men these days when it comes to gift buying and every year you encounter the same problem because its the same products advertised as they previous years. So I thought this would be a relevant post for all you females out there who have had the same problem as me when gift buying for men.

So today has been a busy day for young people all across the country. My Facebook timeline has been filled with my friend's statuses letting everyone know about their A Level results and what uni they got into. This time last year I was in their shoes and it really doesn't feel like 2 minutes since I logged into UCAS at silly o'clock in the morning, after a sleepless night feeling sick, and finding out that I got into my firm choice uni. And then going into my sixth form and finding out how my friends did and finishing off in Wetherspoons to celebrate where we were drinking at 10:30am (well I was having pancakes because the breakfast menu was on and I was still 17 and couldn't get served). But my first year of university has been and gone so fast and I honestly couldn't have asked for a better year. Sure there were some lows but they were mainly highs so I've decided to share my top tips on how to survive first year of university!

I've woken up this morning after my first night out on the town since university, it was eventful to say the least. But there's always that one thing that you worry about the day after,  the hangover. So today I've woken up and I feel absoloutley fine, however I'm not one of those people who likes to suffer and feel sorry for themselves when they're hungover as I hate feeling. But normally if I am feeling hungover I have some handy little tips which help me fight the hangover.