Hello Sunshine...

I have, quite ironically, had this song stuck in my head today. I say quite ironically, because if you have ever spent any time in the mornings with me you will know I am a very grumpy person indeed. My housemate said "Hello Sunshine" to me at about 8.45 the other day and I actually growled at her. I am, I think it's fair to say, unequivocally not a morning person.

Another housemate sent me a picture the other day of "How to feel more alive in the mornings" or something similar. It was filled with nauseating advice such as "get out of bed and do 10 star jumps-the blood flowing around your body will really wake you up". It was clearly written by someone who already is a morning person-because I can't think of anything I would like to do less when I have just got out of bed. Apart from another one of their suggestions-"Have a cold shower, if you can bear it."-I can't, and neither can any sensible bear-like lumbering sleepy mass. My preferred way to wake up and be fairly able to tolerate the day is when the hour is at least in double figures.
However, this morning something fairly miraculous happened. After my 9am POINTLESS tutorial, which lasted for all of 10 minutes, I was cross, and grumpy, and veryvery tired. At which point me and a course-mate decided we were going to ride the newly re-opened Paternoster lift in the Arts Tower. Why yes, it is the tallest one in the UK. I have wanted to go on it since my first open day way back in 2007, but it has sadly been closed since I started at Uni. Not today though. Today we rode it all the way to the top, and got out to see if we could find a good view, which we did-in the toilets of all places. Thankfully, there weren't too many people around on the 18th floor at quarter past 9 in the morning, so we spent a good while just drinking in the sights across Sheffield. And oh what a view!

My city is, quite frankly, gorgeous.

The sun was streaming through the clouds, and we could see for miles. B-E-A-Utiful. And all of a sudden, I didn't feel tired or grumpy any more. It was just so lovely being up there looking out over the city which was still barely awake itself. If it wasn't so weird just hanging out in the girl's toilets, I would spend much more time there, just waking up.

So. There is my advice to you grumpy morning faces. Find something beautiful that takes your breath away, and you shed the grumpiness like an uncomfortable jumper.
On the other end of the spectrum, I am going to bed.
G'dnight x

Atheists; The New Evangelicals?

As you may know I am at university currently, woop and yay. At university, people join societies to meet with like minded people and to generally have a nice chat about it every once in a while. Also yay. Some of my friends at university are in the Atheist Society. Fine, no issues thus far.
I recently read this on one of their posts: "Child rape by Priests makes me feel physically sick. How anyone can be associated with this disgusting institution by calling themselves a Catholic is beyond me."  
Now this is where I find myself a stumbling block. I have no issue with people being in the Atheist Soc. I can appreciate that like minded people want to club together and chat about the things that they believe in (or not, as the case may be) together. My issue falls in the condemning of other people's beliefs just because of things that people in the organisation did. Don't get me wrong, I think it's deplorable that this has been allowed to happen within the Catholic church, but I don't think that people who worship as a Catholic should be tarred with the same brush. I don't think that Catholicism is a bad thing, and I don't think that anyone has any right to tell someone what they believe and live their lives by is wrong. I am an Atheist, but I don't begrudge anyone their faith. I don't rush up to people in Churches shouting that "God isn't real!" because everyone has to make their own mind and heart up. I totally understand that people draw strength, and wisdom and morality from their religions, and I don't think anyone from anywhere should be telling people that their belief system is wrong. Religions, as a whole, are very good at this. Anyone who believes in anything other than what they teach is, usually, damned. What intrigues me is that in this case it is the Atheists, the very people who go against major religions sort of...acting a bit like one. Evangelical Atheism...the very idea is terrifying. 

My Week In Photos the 3rd

19/9/11-25/9/11

Welcome to Intro Week

Well I just survived Intro Week (Fresher's Week for all you alcoholics) at my University, which was busy busy but very fun.

Monday

Unpacking shot number 1: I think I need a pen holder

Tuesday

Unpacking shot 2: I had SO much fun making my earrings look this pretty.

Wednesday

Cream Tea in the Leopold Hotel following a city centre tour. Yum.

Thursday

That would be me sorting out David's boobs for him.
In other words, a perfectly normal USLES activities fair. 

Friday

Little bit gutted I didn't get to have a go on this..but I was in charge of the Top Gear-style score board!!

Saturday

I watched two of my favourite people get married today. It was AWESOME.
Wedding of the Year, no doubt about it.

Sunday

No photo, but first Little Show costume rehearsal. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise!

Until next time then, 

Have a marvellous week!
Jenni x

Intro Week 2011

You know, I had forgotten just how much fun you can have in an Intro Week. Sure, they're busybusy times, but I am rather enjoying myself despite this. And although some people will find it hard to believe, I am enjoying it without having had a drop of alcohol, or going out once!

This is Felicity. Isn't she lovely?

I'm enjoying being around people again-I am in a house of brand new housemates, so it feels a bit like Fresher's week all over again as I am still getting to know them all. Not to mention there is 7 of them, so it's a busy house, but a nice one. 

As I mentioned in my coming home post, I enjoy the moving in to a new house experience. I still haven't got everything completely unpacked, mainly due to No More Nails related mishaps, (It doesn't do what it says on the tin.) but my room definitely has my own personal stamp on it and it makes me smile so much to spend time amongst the wonderful things people have given me. When it's completely done, I will take some photos to show it off.

I started my university job this week, working for Give It A Go. So far, it's been pretty good-especially the tour around Sheffield which took me to some places I didn't even know about, and ended with a scrumptious Cream Tea in the Leopold Hotel. Tomorrow I am supervising people racing a simulation of an F1 car, and I am really hoping I get to have a go myself, coz it sounds like it's going to be pretty fun!!

I bought two pairs of jeans for £20 (did I mention I LOVE Student Discount?), and some other bits and pieces and spent a nice afternoon retail therapying without really buying much. I did get a penguin T-Shirt that says Chill Out though, because it makes me jolly.

Today was the Activities Fair, and I was there with my society USLES trying to recruit new members for the coming term. I would say we did fairly well, as at the end of the day there were over a hundred new names on our sign up list. It was massively busy but I had lots of amazing helpers there with me, and I really enjoyed myself, as I always do when in USLES-company. 

This evening was an odd one-an Ann Summers party with the housemates I have barely begun to live with. It could have been very awkward, but ended up being quite fun and silly overall. However, I don't think the day will come where it won't still feel awkward to be encouraged to rub goo on your nipples in front of people, however close friends you may be. 

And so tomorrow rolls around, and I shall be heading straight home after work for a busy busy weekend, that promises to be just as fun as the rest of this week.

For now then,
Goodnight x x

Oh, about the duck. If you look very closely, you will see it says 'Intro Week 2011' on its front. My Union was giving these away for free today. That's how awesome it is. Sheffield SU FTW. And now to bed.

Books Vs E-Readers.

Yesterday I came across this rather interesting article, posted on Twitter. Reading it, I realised there were so many more reasons for and against E-Readers than I had ever considered. The author raises some valid points, that they are very useful for people who cannot physically hold up a book long enough to read it without being in considerable pain, which I had never even thought about before. On the flip side though, I think it would be a pretty disastrous  thing if they suddenly stopped publishing books properly (as I see it), and only "published" them in an E-Book format. Not only would they limit the number of people who could access and read their books, as the article points out, but I personally think it would take all the enjoyment out of reading. Holding a piece of electronic wonder in your hand would never be the same as holding a never-before-opened paperback, knowing that as you turned the cover you were the first person ever to be doing so. Books have a certain smell, a certain feel. Shelves full of books look so appealing, you want to run your finger over the spine, you want to pull them out and examine them, and curl up in front of a fire reading one. I love to get lost in books-when a book is so good that you have to read it without stopping, and whenever you have to put it down, all you want to do is start again. With an E-Reader you can't flick through the pages to see how long before the next chapter, when you really should go to bed. You can't easily flick back to a page where something was previously mentioned to make sure you get it. To me, it seems like you are one step removed from the book-reading process-almost like someone else is holding a book in front of you and turning the pages for you. It just seems so strange, such an alien concept to not have the physical thing, and I am sure it's much more easy to get lost in your imagination from a book than from a computerised version. My house is FULL of books. If anything we have too many, they are everywhere and so few of them get read nowadays. But I would never swap the mess and the clutter, and the simple lack of being able to find that one book that you really want to read for a tiny computer that held the same books. It just wouldn't be right, it wouldn't be home.
So no, an E-Reader most definitely isn't for me.
How about you?

Jenni