If anyone wants a free ipod...

If anyone wants to help me get a free ipod (total con, I know, but worth a try!) then go to:

http://ipods.freepay.com/?r=37977742

ta! Lxx

Crikey, facebook really does take over your life...

I am blaming my lack of blogging entirely on facebook (www.facebook.com) which has taken over my methods of contacting people, writing notes, quizzes etc... I apologise!

So today is the first day of my final term at University (probably EVER - that's a scary concept!); it is also my official birthday! (like the Queen y'know... I'm having a Warwick birthday since my real one was during the Easter holidays and everyone was at home) I'm having a fancy dress party on campus tonight with the theme of characters from films - pictures to follow hopefully!

Other than that I'm in the murky depths of essay-writing (assessed essays for 3 of my modules...eek!) and also attempting some revision. My exams run from the 22nd of May to the 2nd of June, after which I'm finished for the summer!! Very exciting (most people's exams don't even start until I've finished mine!) - I'm so looking forward to being able to read whatever I like!!

I've applied for a job at C venues to work at the Edinburgh Fringe festival over the summer - having been there with a show last year I'd love to go again (but can't really afford it unless I have a job!) so hopefully I'll be able to work AND see some shows! After that my plans are currently a little hazy... more updates to come!

The only extra-curricular project I'm currently involved in (after the madness of last term when I was working on three shows simultaneously...) is 'Bat Boy' the musical - a dark comedy about...well, the clue is in the title. It's great fun, and runs just after I've handed in my essays but before my exams (from the 16th - 19th May) which is perfect! I'm choreographing, which isn't too strenuous, either, and the cast and team are all great! (Luvvies, sweeties, dahlings) - Check out www.batboy-musical.com :)

Please excuse a lack of future blogging while I revise and get through the end of my final term and decide what to do with my life...hehe! I promise I'll blog more regularly after that. Honest.

Love, Lxx

I am rubbish at blogging...

I know, I've been useless! I'm at home for the xmas holidays, and have been since the 10th of December, but as I'm working at the theatre to earn myself some money instead of relaxing, I've been quite busy! What with all the parties, and catching up with all my friends who are here, and fitting in some uni work in-between I just haven't found the time!

People have been complaining about not being able to find my email address, so just to make sure everyone can get hold of it, it's l.j.buddle@warwick.ac.uk - and if, for some reason, that doesn't work, try kettlechild@hotmail.com.

Once Christmas is over I'll hopefully be able to write a big update - should be fun, though, I get christmas eve off for once as it's a Sunday (yay!) so I'm going to the St Pauls carol service in the afternoon, then to visit Nanny, and then to the Smiths' annual drinks - then the usual trip to Oxford on Christmas day to spend it with mum's side of the family :)

Season's greetings to all and I hope everyone has a fantastic festive season!
Lots of love,
L xx

Upgrade and Quiz about me...

OK, so I know my blogging has been completely non-existent, but that's nothing new these days! In a good way, of course - I've been really busy but really busy having fun and getting involved in lots of things, so life is good :)
My blog has been 'upgraded' apparently, although I don't think it looks any different, so if anyone notices anything unusual or not working, do let me know...
I stole this quiz 'meme' thing from Pete's blog, so I hope he doesn't mind, I thought it was quite good fun (and means I don't have to try to list everything I've been up to since I last posted - I'll need some time to think about that!!)

ONLY TWO WORDS! You can only use two words to answer each question.

1. Explain what ended your last relationship?
indecisiveness, cowardice

2. When was the last time you bathed?
yesterday, probably

3. What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.?
sleeping soundly

4. What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
checking emails

5. Are you any good at math?
not very!

6. Your prom night?
non-existent

7. Do you have any famous ancestors?
Buddleia botanist

8. Have you had to take a loan out for school?
big one!

9. Do you know the words to the song on your myspace profile?
no myspace

10. Last thing received in the mail?
CD (Amazon!)

11. How many different beverages have you had today?
squash, tea

12. Do you ever leave messages on people's answering machines?
sometimes, badly

13. Who did you lose your CONCERT virginity to?
5ive (coooool...)

14. Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?
of course

15. What's the most painful dental procedure you've had?
probably braces

16. What is out your back door?
bins, garden

17. Any plans for Friday night?
tonight - nothing!

18. Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?
no way

19. Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns?
nope - British

20. Have you ever been to a planetarium?
not yet

21. Do you re-use towels after you shower?
usually yes

22. Some things you are excited about?
Copacabana, Christmas

23. What is your favorite flavor of JELLO?
raspberry (yum)

24. Describe your keychain(s)?
fairly average

25. Where do you keep your change?
my purse

26. When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people?
rehearsals? stewarding?

27. What kind of winter coat do you own?
warm, black

28. What was the weather like on your graduation day?
haven't graduated...

29. Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed?
closed (security...)

That's all for now, but I promise a more informative post soon...
Lxx

Guilty...

I'm feeling very guilty about not having blogged for so long (as dad subtly reminded me by sending me a text message that just said "Blog more!" - text messages about blogs, there's some sort of technology discussion to be had there...) so I thought as I have no lectures at all on Fridays (jammy, I know!) I'd do a quick update.

Well, I'm all moved in and settled in my grogeous flat in Leamington, which really is everything I'd hoped it would be, and so homey and comfortable. It really doesn't feel like a student flat, which makes coming home from campus so much more pleasant :) My flatmates are SO lovely! I hadn't met either Laura (known as LT) or Lynn (known as Linith) before I moved in, but they were so friendly and so much fun that we got on straight away, and we've had lots of fun outings together already, like the school disco at the union that we all went to (with other friends) for Laura's birthday last weekend!
(Lynn and Me)
Also for Laura's birthday, we decided to buy some pet goldfish, so we know have one each in a tank in the living room! It's almost a real house!

My course this year is amazing - I'm doing modules in Modernism+Postmodernism (English and French comparative literature), Modern Sexualities (French), Modern French Language, and Shakespeare and other dramatists of his time (English). The Shakespeare one is right up my street, since we're looking at the plays as performance texts rather than just works of literature - we've been to see two plays at the RSC in Stratford upon Avon already this term, and been to a full-day conference about The Tempest at the Courtyard Theatre too, with lectures and then a workshop with actors and the assistant director from the RSC production! Lots of fun, and really interesting too. I'm keeping on top of my work and writing up all my lecture notes neatly, which is pretty impressive considering how much extra-curricular stuff I'm doing...

I've been stewarding at the Arts Centre lots - I'm now a head steward, which means I get to be in charge of the team of stewards for either the Theatre or the Hall, and organise what they're doing, as well as being in charge of any programmes/money etc and generally running front of house for whichever event I'm working. I'm really enjoying it, so apart from helping them out before they took on all the new stewards for this year, I've been working as much as possible because it's fun! I also got to see the National Theatre tour of Alan Bennet's The History Boys when it came here, and Shared Experience's Orestes - plus I met Jimmy Carr when he was doing a comedy gig in the Butterworth Hall, and got a signed programme for Tom!!
I've also got into lots of dancing (hip-hop, lyrical, tap and body conditioning [which is like an hour in the gym, but for dancers - exhausting!]) and Musical Theatre - I'm going to be in the chorus of Chicago this weekend (a weekend show - rehearsed and performed in 48 hours!) and I've got a part in this year's theatre show Copacbana as a Copa Girl! All very exciting - I'll make sure I put details of Copa up nearer the time so you can all come and see it, but it will be at the end of January.

Apart from that, I'm getting over a bad cold (fresher's flu, even though I'm not a fresher - not really fair!) and enjoying hanging out with my old friends and getting to know new ones - there are some really lovely people in the Music Theatre society, and some of the new stewards are fun to know, too - I've even been practising my French on the Erasmus students! Some of my friends from my year abroad have got in touch recently, too, which is so so nice - particularly Miguel, who lives in Puerto Rico so I never get to speak to him, but he phoned me when he was in Portugal for the week to chat! He's getting on really well, moving to Colorado soon to do a massage therapy course and then hoping to come to Europe.

Right, time for me to do some work now! Hope all are well, and speak to you soon,
love Lxx

2 days to go...

There are 2 days until i'll be back in Leamington! Unfortunately, as well as being an exciting realisation, this means I have also realised I haven't packed. I may well be out tomorrow, and I leave around midday on Sunday, so it's panic time!

I haven't packed anything yet because I've been out seeing even more lovely London people; As I mentioned before, I went to Catherine's house to visit her kittens, which was extremely exciting because a) she appears to live in Hogwarts (Well, Bancroft school but it's not far off - all red brick and creeping ivy and wizardy-looking little gardens and courtyards) and b) the kittens are soooo cute! They are both black and white, in sort of splodges, and are brother and sister called Mungo and Maggie (the names of the Notts County Magpies, I believe...). Mungo is very curious and playful, and quite friendly, although not very bright. Maggie, on the other hand, is the brains of the outfit, and got the looks too, but she's a bit shy of strangers. We had lots of fun playing with them, and having a good chat about all sorts of things. I also went to the bank on Tuesday, to extend my overdraft (which should get extended automatically on a student account but never has been) and had to hang around for about an hour! The woman I was talking to went to sort it out and just disappeared! Grrr...they did sort it out in the end though, so I was able to pay my rent and deposit for the flat in Leamington, and I've got a set of keys through the post! Yay!

On Wednesday night Elly came over to Amy's house next door and we had a pizza/ice-cream/donuts/maltesers evening, and watched Finding Nemo because neither of them had seen it! I felt this had to be rectified as soon as possible. Amy and I then walked Elly back to the tube station and it poured with rain, so we got a bit wet!! There have been some amazing storms here the past few evenings - lots of really bright lightning and rumbling thunder, quite spectacular! Not the best idea to go outside in one, though :-S

Yesterday I went into town to meet up with Heather to sort out all the receipts from Edinburgh (Heather was the producer of the show I worked on, so she's in charge of the money) and have coffee and a general chat. We also popped in to the Palace to see dad, and he showed us around the set of Spamalot as it is now - I've seen it a couple of times since I've been back, and it's nearly finished now, so it was exciting to see how it will look for the show. There are two enormous castle turrets instead of a pros. arch, which give a strange sort of perspective to the whole stage, because the tops are so much wider than the bottoms! Sort of reverse perspective, as it were. They were programming some lights while we were there, which looked very exciting, and then we walked around backstage to have a look at all the bits of set, it's really really clever! I won't give away any secrets, though - you'll all have to go and see it instead! It opens on the 30th, I hope I can get down to see it.
Chris (Peake) and Rob also came to have coffee with us later on, as Heather had to give Chris a form for their flat, so it was nice to be able to see them before I go back to the madness of uni!

So now I have lots to do today - there's the washing, ironing and packing of clothes that needs to start now, and I have to buy a double duvet for my new bed (from somewhere...!), then I also have to make sure Ella is picking up some stuff of Tom's that she's taking down when she goes to visit him tomorrow, and I have to make sure I've worked out what to take with me on Sunday and what mum's going to bring up next weekend in the car... plus because she's not here this weekend I have to leave her a list of what she's bringing, and a shopping list for tesco's! (Aren't mums great?! :-D )

Right, looking at that I'd better get on with it! Bye for now...
L xx

Books, Films, Gigs and Shows

I've had a fairly quiet week since I last wrote anything, although the things I have been doing have been very enjoyable! :-)

First of all I ordered lots of books on Amazon for my Shakespeare module this coming year (we have to have specific editions, because we can take them in to one of our exams, so that everyone has the same text), so I've had lots of exciting new things to read!
On Thursday Steph and I decided not to sit in the house for yet another evening, so we went to the cinema - the only thing we even vaguely fancied seeing was 'Snakes on a Plane'! It was, as I predicted, awful, but very enjoyable! So bad, that it was good, although a bit gory in places!
Friday was Tom's band (Three Second Delay - www.threesecondelay.co.uk )'s first ever proper gig at the Loaded Dog pub on Leytonstone High Rd - they were amazing! Really well rehearsed, and they had lots of support too. Lots of fun, and Elly, Steph, Amy and David all came along too so it was nice to hang out with them.

On Saturday I had arranged to go and see the matinee of Avenue Q (yes, again!) with my friend Catherine, but unfortunately she had to cancel, so at the last minute I invited Pete down to come with me, and he came! We had a really nice day wandering around London, we had coffee with Heather, and the show was amazing, despite it being the second time that I'd seen it!
I had a very lazy Sunday, watching tv with Tom and Ella in the morning, and then mum and dad packed up the car and took Tom off to uni for the first time! It was a bit sad, but he seems to be having loads of fun already, so that's good. I was home alone, so I just had a very relaxing day doing nothing! Today I went to Angel and had coffee with Alex, which was very nice as we didn't get to see each other much in Edinburgh since we were both so busy, and tomorrow morning I am going to Catherine's house to meet her kittens! I'm very excited :)

This week should be quite a sociable one, so I'll write more soon,
love L xx