Moving Into University

Dear Readers,

This week has been a busy one. After 4 months of working at Royal Ascot, The Swan and going to Azerbaijan, I packed my bags to prepare for the next university year. That's right! I'm a second year student...time flies so quickly when you're having fun. Seems like yesterday I was in my shoe box of a room in Carnatic halls surrounded by all my friends. Now, it seems as dynamics haven't changed, just the geographical nature of them have.

This Saturday, I moved into my first ever house. 4 of us have arrived and there is one more to go. Ever since stepping foot into it, I feel as if I am closer to adulthood than ever. More responsibilities have arisen, for example cooking for myself day in and day out, making sure that the entire house is clean and that I obviously stick to my academic studies.

With regards to my house, it has several communal areas that are far more comfortable than Carnatic. For starters, it has a kitchen that is large enough to have a table installed, as well as a gas hob and oven. This means, that I can now finally start to cook for myself a variety of foods as well as meat which I couldn't do in a catered environment. Goodbye microwaving pasta with pesto and grated cheese everyday! Another benefit is that me and my house mates can all have a social dining experience instead of standing up or sitting down on the counters.

Secondly, in terms of bedroom size, my bedroom is the largest and its in the shape of an L. I find this extremely useful as my desk is hidden away in the corner and my double bed and my storage is in the other part of the room. Unlike Carnatic, this means that I am not squashed into a cube of a room, barely being able to move and mentally fighting over where to do university work. The bed usually won and I ended up waking up in the middle of the night spooning my books instead of reading them.

Here are some photos of my amazing room! I am so proud of it and I intend to print some photos to decorate it with and a few posters to add a little colour to it.

Have a lovely week!

The Walking Dead: My Summer Series

Dear Readers,

As many of my close friends know, I've started watching The Walking Dead and Orange is the New Black this summer to eat up the time between socializing, going to work and going on holiday. Despite being weary about the idea of a zombie apocalypse, my friend Rokas brought me out of this narrow minded view and I gave it a shot. And do you know what? I was pleasantly surprised! I had no idea that I would be into such an awesome TV series. ME! 

So I decided to do my Friday blog on this TV series, giving it my hardest attempt at not giving away too many spoilers. Currently, I have just finished Season 4 where the prison gang have reunited in a train cart, at a so called 'sanctuary' called Terminus. And what a hell of a journey it has been for all of the characters! 

What I love the most about this TV series is that the producers and writers have formulated such a realistic masterpiece, portraying a diversity of different personalities and how naturally, the human race would potentially cope if the world was coming to an end. Its interesting how each character has their own story to tell and how the main characters have survived through thick and thin, a flurry of emotional and action packed twists along their mysterious journey. 

For people who are interested in the Walking Dead, I say 110% go for it because its such an excellent TV series. The only disadvantage to binge watching the entire show is that each season is like a little chapter of an overall massive story, so the pace is quite slow as it feels like the story is taken day by day. But the good thing is is that its never boring and often quite thrilling. What could be better than watching a group of armed people running away from a herd of bloodthirsty monsters? FYI, it's not for the very faint hearted. You are constantly on the edge of your seat due to the growing tension that arises as a result. You never know who is next that will face their fate with the Walkers.

If you still need a little convincing, then maybe some statistics could tip you over the edge. The Waling Dead has the highest ratings in cable television history, including the most 18- to 49-year-old viewers of any cable or broadcast television series since Season 3. It is clear that this series attracts a multitude of people of all ages. Rotten Tomatoes has rated it over 80/100 which is the same as the overall average of reviews, clearly indicating its a top notch series to watch. Also, to all of you Game of Thrones fanatics like me, it would surprise you to know that average views of each episode in the Walking Dead is twice as big as GOT. It just goes to show the massive impact of this television series too!

So there you have it, if you have nothing better to do with your weekend guys, I suggest you make some popcorn and have a blood splattering night of watching the Walking Dead. Lucky for me, I only have two seasons to go before I am fully caught up and I can rest easy knowing Season 7 is just around the corner...!

The Colour Run Diary

Dear Readers,

As many of you know, I participated last Sunday in the famous Colour Run at the London O2 Arena. After spamming my friends on Facebook and Instagram with prismatic pictures of me covered head to toe in powdered paint, I thought it would be a great idea to bring you a little colour through my blog.

Essentially, what is the Colour Run? Well, these runs are an international popularity and are sponsored by a variety of companies and charities in order to raise money as well as provide a fun experience of live music, exercise and to reconstruct the festival of colours popularly adopted in countries such as India This year, Capital FM, NSPCC, Capri Sun, Renault, Skittles and Alpen Granola were at the forefront of the O2 campaign and all had their own stalls to promote their products. Try the rainbow, taste the rainbow, right? In terms of charitable success, Sunday alone raised over £70,000 which is a massive achievement in order to try and eradicate child abuse once and for all.

This blog will essentially will be a log or journal of what me and my friend Abigail did throughout the entire day. Our story begins at...

7:45 when the alarm rang. After a boozy night at Propaganda in Fleet where we celebrated Abbie's 20th birthday, we decided to eat some food and make our way towards the station. Despite being hungover, we were mentally prepared for what the day would bring us. We walked around Waterloo looking like a pair of lunatics until we found a lovely family of three that assisted us in our journey to the O2. Having arrived, we squirmed into the army of white, bonding with a group of drunken teens who were having the time of their lives listening to the radio bangers playing on the giant speakers. The atmosphere was extremely bright for a not so sunny day. When the race started me and Abbie began jogging although, let's be honest, we gave up after 1k and occassionally jogged after each colour stop. We were greeted with a group of people playing the steel drums, to add to the Tropicolour Experience.

Afterwards, we passed through several clouds of red, blue, yellow, orange and purple where me and Abbie went from white to multi coloured in a heartbeat. Every nook and cranny was full of powder. Today, I sneezed and my snot was blue, no joke! Once we reached the finish line, we entered into the O2 car park, where a stage was constructed for the live music element of the run, as well as adorable stands for food and merchandise. We were given a bag of colour which obviously me and Abbie threw at each other in battle motion. Next we headed to the stage, where Capital FM's Will Manning provided us with a delectable palette of chart music in the midst of a crowd filled with packs of coloured powder. The stage fired colourful streams and provided us with powder to chuck in the air once the bass dropped on the occassional song. If you weren't head to toe in colour on the run, guarnteed you would have been by the time you left the stage crowd. The two presenters also chucked a variety of knick knacks into the crowd such as rainbow socks, neon tutus and plastic sunglasses. Unfortunately, me and Abbie recieved no prizes, maybe next time...We partied so hard to the sound of club music that eventually, a few sun rays did seap through the stormy clouds and it just added to the fantastic atmosphere already present.

Once the show was over, we took the underground tube still looking like victims of  unicorn vomit. All of the passengers gave us the look of confusion and potentially disgust. As we walked through the station, we stood our ground and many civilians were trying to walk around us without being touched. If you ask me, we completely blended with the crowd?! Have you never seen a rainbow man or woman walking around the streets of London. Once we both got home, I decided to take a shower. Since my hair hasn't chopped for a few months, I soon discovered that it had sponge like properties. As soon as the water made contact, my head essentially became a bath bomb, with blue purple and red splattering against my walls and the bathtub! That was probably the most exhilarating shower I ever had. It's not everyday your hair becomes the victim of paint powder. Perhaps I could grow out my hair and become an 'edgy wall/street artist' who makes it famous by making art through whipping their hair. Imagine the money I could make...

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my little Colour Run journal. I had an amazing time and I would absolutely recommend it to write it on your bucket list. Don't believe, just look at the pictures I have posted at the bottom of this page!

Come Dine With Me: Vlad's University Secrets

Dear Readers,

Having had a solid 8 months of university, there are a few wise life lessons you pick up. First and foremost would be cooking for yourself. To go on to cook for yourself the entire year after being dependent on your parents is no picnic. Pardon the pun...but equally, university is the opportunity to bring out the absolute Master Chef in you. Don't believe me? Well, you are in luck because today I will be sharing with you my secret (not so secret anymore...) cooking tips and how I ensure I have the best dining experience as well as being able to maintain an obvious healthy diet.

1. You have to maintain a balanced diet.

• To clarify, the food pyramid that everybody reads nowadays is completely false, so please get the idea out of your heads. Many nutritionists refuse to give away the 'secret' food pyramid because it is only exclusive to a university students. With regards to servings, you will have to double your intake in order to survive a day of constant procrastination, Netflix, clubbing and skipping lectures. The time span is completely up to the individual but I highly recommend midnight snacking particularly during group events, post break up blues or exam periods.
• You will need to focus on the ratios of what you are ingesting, essentially, let's put this statistically. 80% of a typical student meal should consist of fats, sugars, salts and oils. A lot of carbohydrates are essential into fueling you up for a busy day of absolutely nothing. I personally recommend a wide variety of culinary treats such as pasta, pizza, chocolate, biscuits, crisps and a healthy serving of takeaways. Warning, your wallet may suffer from symptoms of emptiness and anxiety of a credit card gone into overdraft.

2. Your microwave will become your best friend.

• Personally, I lived in a catered accommodation and one of the primary tools I used in order to heat up my meals was the microwave. The microwave is an essential tool in replicating what a stove does. Living like Bear Grylls in the jungle, with a kettle and microwave has taught me that I can make a mean pasta. Want to know how I make it? Simple, I boil up a kettle of fresh water and pour it into a container. Usually, food packets will try to manipulate you and tell you that half a bag of pasta is for 3 people. Absolute baloney! There is no such thing as too much, you shake that bag until its penne-less. Next, you place a lid, not seal, into the microwave and wait for 10 minutes. After waiting a generation of your life and having endless chit chat with your flatmates, you drain the water and add an entire jar of pesto onto the pasta as well as grate half a block's worth of cheese. This is may seem like extreme measurements, but like I said, there is no such thing as too much, you need to stock up on fats and carbohydrates in unfriendly environments.
• For breakfast, boiling and scrambling eggs on the stove is a thing of the past. Whilst there is a risk of an explosion, please do not take to heart too much. Exploding an egg in the oven essentially removes the process of scrambling. It is a time efficient process that requires minimal manual labour.

3. Another man's treasure can also be your treasure apparently...

• Sharing a communal kitchen or fridge means that your food is at the risk of being taken by certain snakes on your floor or from other flats. But don't be alarmed, essentially morals go out the window as soon as you leave home and the war begins. One cost efficient pro to the act of theft is that you can selfishly enjoy what someone else wanted to treat themselves too. This goes far beyond food; alcohol and contraception too. My advice? It's survival of the fittest...if you do not want your food stolen - then lock dry foods or hide them in your room and place laxatives in others. Karma comes back around right?

4. The kettle will become your best friend.

• Signature dishes prepared at university will often include Pot noodles with a glass of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. Coffee proves essential when it comes to revision and cramming a week's worth of work into one night. In addition pot noodles, are an excellent starter to your lunch as well as artificial flavors. Repeat, artificial, not fresh!

5. Snack loading.

• Your shopping basket will primarily consist of this. Vegetables and fruits are not necessarily the best options to go for, only because they do not provide the same amount of nutritional value as a chocolate bar, digestives or a tube of pringles. Take it from me, these are essential snacks to keep you motivated. During the night before my coursework deadlines, I spent the entire night in the library with a bag filled with another 24 bags of cheesy wotsits as well as 3 packs of Oreo. Despite looking like a gremlin, it allowed me to get through the night and still not understand a word of what I was writing. 

6. Takeaways! AKA Takes away your money...

• You will find yourself on lonely nights craving a Dominos pizza. Despite being one of the most ridiculously priced takeaway foods ever, it will definitely fill up that cholesterol-lacking hole in your heart. My favorite dining experience in university was me and my best friend sat on her bed, eating a large pizza each, with a bottle of pepsi to share, cheesy garlic bread, potato wedges and a box of Ben and Jerry's brownie ice-cream. Is your mouth watering yet? 
• If say you cannot afford the luxury or are just a sensible spender unlike my friend and I, JustEat provides you with a flurry of food to eat - Chinese, Indian, Italian, your pick. Good thing about it, if you do not finish it all, you can refrigerate it and pray to the Lord Almighty it isn't stolen during the night. 

7. Alcohol is the new Water

• Your first year of university will consist of a lot of partying and alcohol drinking. Alcohol will essentially take form of your own blood by the end of the year.  Only way to cure this is to exercise or abstain from constant drinking. Who knew the cure sounded worse than the disease?! Going to a free wine bar was probably one of the highlights of my year, I simply couldn't resist and I ended up drunk, swapping two taxis to find my way home. That night, a fire alarm woke me, and the entire building was waiting outside for it to stop. Usually, when a fire alarm goes off, people take one prized possession with them to make sure it doesn't catch ablaze. My choice was a box of Maltesers that I drunkenly offered to all of my exhausted flatmates. Priorities eh?

8. Crying yourself to sleep....<Tears are essential>

Once you have completed the day and get ready for bed, take a good look at yourself in the mirror and begin to cry at the blob that you have become. Tears, loathing and self pity are the fundamental foundations that the rest of your university life rests upon.

There you have it. Essentially, buy cheap, buy fatty foods and drink plenty of alcohol kids. You have a rough three years ahead of you, make sure you are nutritionally balanced. Do you even succeed first year of university if you don't put any weight on?

Hell no!

P.S. to any confused readers, this is a sarcastic and ironic post...please do not follow instructions above. Have a lovely weekend.