Birthdays, Waxworks and Royals

Benedict Cumberbirthday with Madame Tussaud

So it was the Batch's birthday last week but as my Weekly Thought Catcher post last week was all about my Graduation, there was no room for the Batch apart from Cumberbatch the Cardboard Cut Out! (Read more about it here!)

You may wonder why I'm bothered that it was Cumberbatch's birthday, and though it was very hard to ignore with #HappyBirthdayBenedictCumbebatch trending on Twitter and my whole timeline being full with nothing but Birthday Batch, it was what the Cumbercookies did collectively that I want to congratulate.

There were many charitable initiatives that the Cumberbatch fans launched in celebration of Birthday Batch. From a Batch of Kindness which was simply doing a good deed for the day and spreading extra smiles to charity fundraising. One of the charities that fans fundraised for was the Prince's Trust which is a charity that Benedict is an ambassador for. The Prince's Trust is a charity that helps disadvantaged young people in the UK to help and support them to get into education and work. Currently the Birthday Batch collections has raised over £15,500 for the Prince's Trust which is amazing! Despite the negative stereotype of fans being overly obsessive, I love how so many people from all over the world can raise so much money in the name of one man: Benedict Cumberbatch.

I believe the fundraising page is still open for donations. So if you'd like to get involved and donate to the Prince's Trust you can do by clicking here.

Also sneaking in some newer news, the Batch will finally be able to photobomb himself by means of his own Madame Tussaud waxwork! I personally have never been to Madame Tussaud's but would really love to wander round one day if I get the chance to. Maybe I can upgrade my picture with Cumberbatch the Cardboard Cut Out to Cumberbatch the Waxwork!

Read the official Madame Tussauds announcement on their website here! 

(Picture taken from Madame Tussaud's site.)



Baby Royal Birthday!

Can you believe that Baby Prince George is already 1 years old?!

 

(Image released for Prince George's birthday by John Stillwell)

Who remembers the hysteria that this little chubby brought upon his arrival? It was all over the news worldwide and on every single channel that you flicked on. There were running updates all over the place and was pretty hard to miss even with your eyes and ears closed!

As exciting as it was to know that we'd be having a new little edition to the Royal Family, I did feel that the media coverage got a little too overcrowded. There were reporters and media camping right outside the hospital for days wanting to get the first glance of the baby prince. I understand it's something everybody wants to be the first to catch and that it's their job to report such a momentous moment but I did feel sorry for them, especially Kate, with all this attention. She looked great having just had a baby, but I imagine when you've just had a baby, the very last thing you want is the whole world watch you and take pictures of you as you leave the hospital. I definitely admire Kate for still being courteous, despite having just delivered a baby!

There are a few people who are skeptical of the whole Royal Family, and I definitely have my opinions on certain members of the family but I really do love the little family unit that is Kate, Will and George. There's just something about them being young and just genuinely nice people, that makes them so loveable. And quite honestly, Kate really reminds me of Princess Diana (whom my mum has always admired - to the extent of collecting books on her - and has rubbed off me!) and as sad as it is that Princess Diana isn't here to see her eldest son, daughter-in-law and grandson, I'm sure she would be so proud!

Happy First Birthday Prince George!

Click here to see a funny but incredibly cute BuzzFeed post on Prince George!
(includes 45 chubby pictures with funny BuzzFeed captions!)

Keep smiling xxx

Snapperoon: University of Manchester

Capturing My Life in Snaps

If Sherlock was in Manchester.

"There are no secrets to success.

It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."
- Colin Powell

I did a thing: GRADUATION!

After being sent that in an email near the end of my final semester by my University, I actually did it. I made it. And it is the most surreal, unexplainable, indescribable feeling that when it happens it's like you're just wandering around in a dream.

Graduation Outfit

So after my little panic at the end of my School, Sherlock and Style post two weeks ago, I dug into my smart clothes basket and decided to wear this green, skater dress which has an indented print in the material along with a pair of black, smart trousers and a matching plain, green scarf.

I was all set but then two days before my ceremony, my mum walks into my room and says "Right, let's go and buy you some Graduation clothes." and off I was whisked away!

I didn't want my mum to spend much, if anything at all, but we ended up getting this knee-length, sleeveless, navy blue dress which had a black strip around the bottom with a pink belt accessory. We also a white, chiffon blouse to go underneath and a pair of chino-cut, smart, black trousers with a bold hem down the front. And actually, the blouse was several sizes too big but as it was on sale, it was the last one. But it all worked out because as it was being worn under the dress, all that could be seen was the sleeves anyways.

I paired this new graduation outfit with my own pink scarf to match the pink belt that came with the dress and a pair of blue wedged heels that I bought from my local market months ago but had never found an occasion to wear them. But man, my feet were pleading mercy by the end of the day!

Graduation Ceremony

Now the ceremony was scheduled for an hour-ish. We were advised to arrive at least 90mins before as even though there were tickets allocated for guests, the seats were first come first served. So we arrived at 10:30am and my ceremony started at 12:15pm. I got dressed in my graduation cap and gown, took some pictures with the professional photographer, took a picture with Cumberbatch the Cut Out (I shall explain later!) and then to the graduation ceremony queue it was.

Graduation Etiquette

As we entered the hall, we were told to take off our caps as the majority of us were already wearing them. We sat in our seats and waited. A speech was made and the guest were welcomed as lecturers and academics processed to sit on the stage. The graduands all sat on the left and all the guests say on the right of the Hall.

After speeches were made,

 the calling of graduates' names began.

As names were being called out, students queued up by the side of the stage where two graduation gown staff were poised ready to fix up your misbehaving gown ready for your big moment. As you reach the front of the line and the stairs to the stage, your name is read out by the President or Dean of your faculty. You walk on stage with your graduation cap in your left hand and shake the head of your faculty's hand with your right. You walk down the steps at the centre of the stage on the left and are handed your graduation certificate where you then return to your seat. And just like that, that moment is over in a flash.

After all graduands have returned back to their seats with their certificates, a few more words of congratulations is spoken on stage. You think it's all over until all graduands are asked to stand. We do and then we are congratulated once more as we are asked to put on our graduation caps with the tassels on the left. After a few moments of fiddling, the hall erupts with applause and shouts and whistles.

We did it. Class of 2014.

The organ plays and we follow out in the procession.

Now Cumberbatch the Cut Out. He, along with other well known names such as Professor Brian Cox, Alan Turing, Jack Whitehall and Emily Pankhurst, are alumni to my university which means that they have studied there. And a fun little thing that the university did was have cardboard cut outs of them, amongst other famous alumni, on campus. So naturally, the batch and I picture needed to happen.

Also, there was a photo booth by the cut outs with silly props which my sister and I jumped in and all but one picture came out perfectly as we weren't ready for the last one. I had some really funky pineapple glasses ready for that one too!

Graduation is such a momentous moment
and I wish you all educational success in the present and future.
It can be hard, stressful and sometimes even feel pointless but let me tell you,
the hassle is most definitely worth the tassle!

And honey, I should see you in a cap and gown!

Persevere and keep smiling xxx

Footie Took Over My Life!

So very unlike myself, my week this week has been consumed by football. Intriguing how I have no interest in watching football throughout the rest of the year and the second the World Cup is on, I become the most patriotic football fan that is physically possible. But now that England were out, it was just a matter of watching how the pros do it!

Did 7-1 really happen? Like REALLY??

So I'm one of the people who missed the first half an hour of the Brazil Vs Germany match. But I was on twitter and my timeline was pretty much blowing up. My little sister came running into my room shouting the madness that was the 5-0 to Germany score and I was like

(I feel like the more you stare at this gif, the more sarcastic Tennant seems!)

Decided to be anti-antisocial and went downstairs where my family were watching the match and again similarly to myself, they too have a sudden patriotic boost when the World Cup greets us every four years.

As I was watching, I did not think that anything else would happen for the rest of the match. I thought, "Yep, I've missed the good part. Germany went all out in the first couple of minutes and now they're just going to cool off.". Oh how I was wrong! They carried on fighting harder like they were still on nil points and hats off to them. 7-1 is an incredible score which I believe broke records. Unfortunately for Brazil, the host of the World Cup, my heart went out to them but a game's a game and Germany definitely brought their A-game; a well deserved win.

Brutal and Long; Holland Vs Argentina

So Holland Vs Argentina were next in the limelight and after Brazil's thrashing by Germany's unsuspected win, there was a lot of eyes on this game. If it was going to be anything like the repeat of the Brazil Vs Germany match, nobody wanted to miss football history in the making and everybody was going to tune in - footie fan or not! And again, man was I wrong!

In a few words:

The game just felt like a game of piggy-in-the-middle with the ball just being passed around the pitch back and forth with only too-close-for-comfort goals. But genuinely, I felt that bought teams were playing really well but they were just so well equally matched, which made it hard for either team to score. So expectantly, the game went into penalties even after an extra half an our overtime.

Let's just say, I would NOT want to be the goalie during penalties! The pressure of it all in a regular match must be intense anyway as it's all down to you who wins, so the pressure during the World Cup is pressure that I wound most definitely not be able to handle in any case.

The End.

 

It indeed was the final countdown, and to put it simply Germany won the World Cup against Argentina and good on them! Out of the teams that I saw play in the World Cup, I definitely feel like Germany played like a team of football players rather than pinning their hopes on one good player what many believe is exactly what lead to Argentina's loss.

Germany played strong throughout and what a great win!

England have got four years to pull their socks up!

And that's me all "footied" out! Time for a foot massage!
Keep Smiling xxx

Snapperoon: Homemade Cheesecake

Capturing My Life in Snaps

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fruit.html#7T2XhJpPxWAgOCh8.99 

"Love is a fruit in season at all times and
within reach of every hand." - Mother Teresa

 ...Love is also cheesecake.

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fruit.html#7T2XhJpPxWAgOCh8.99

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fruit.html#7T2XhJpPxWAgOCh8.99

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fruit.html#7T2XhJpPxWAgOCh8.99

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fruit.html#7T2XhJpPxWAgOCh8.99

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fruit.html#7T2XhJpPxWAgOCh8.99

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fruit.html#7T2XhJpPxWAgOCh8.99

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fruit.html#7T2XhJpPxWAgOCh8.99

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fruit.html#7T2XhJpPxWAgOCh8.99

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fruit.html#7T2XhJpPxWAgOCh8.99

Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fruit.html#7T2XhJpPxWAgOCh8.99

Smile, I'm Yummy.

School, Sherlock and Style

The School Life

As part of my SKE course that I'm currently on as a pre-PGCE Teacher Training course, we were sent out to local high schools just to get a feel of what it is like to be back to school again and what it was like back to school but from a teachers perspective. As it hasn't really been a while since I was in high school, it wasn't much of a change of how I remember it being. It's definitely a lot different from a teachers point of view now though as you have access to areas where I may have previous been denied. Also just for being someone other than a teacher at the school or a pupil, you get a lot of inquisitive looks and even questions.

I got to see different teachers teach their IT and Computing lessons which was a good insight to what I would be doing once I start teaching. But what I found a lot of fun was doing a Pupil Trail which basically meant I followed one pupil for the day to all their lessons. At first I was a bit nervous, I must admit, purely because I didn't want the pupil who I was paired up with to feel uncomfortable with me following them around to their lessons. But I soon felt this was not the case as they seemed more than happy to and was so lovely about it. I managed to see an RE, Maths, Music, Science and Food Technology lesson which all brought their very different methods of teaching which was really was great to see.

These few days really reminded me the buzz of a classroom and it's pupils and the fun you could really create with them. And quite honestly, children are the most interesting people you will ever meet because they generate an insight to the world that us adults seem to forget.

#221back

This Friday I was supposed to publish a post on Sherlock a Series 1 on my Coach Potato page but I was just so busy with my mini school placement and so pooped out by the end of it, I just hadn't got any time to produce it. But don't worry, it's definitely on the to do list!

Having said that, a very exciting Sherlock related announcement was made this week almost to cover up the lack of my Sherlock post! On Wednesday, Mark Gatiss and BBC One on twitter decided to be a  little sneaky and quite the tease reminding us of Moriarty's "Did you miss me?" scene from the end of Series 3, Episode 3. And naturally, my whole twitter timeline was blowing up along with the Sherlock fandom.

Soon after a long wait, and I mean loooong wait, it was announced that the official announcement would be announced the following day, which was Thursday, at 2:21pm. (I like what they did there! ;)). Unfortunately for me, I was away from any means of access to twitter at that time so had to wait till I got home to see what the announcement was.

I jumped on twitter the second I could and it was announced that the game is on for Sherlock Series 4 for 2015 including a special. This basically means that we can definitely look forward to more Sherlock goodness but we do will have to wait at least another year and a half! The Special is assumed to be broadcasted around Christmas of 2015 followed by three episodes in the following start of the year similar to what we had for Series 3.

But by golly, my timeline was full of the Sherlock fandom exploding which is no exaggeration and a massive understatement. I was just swimming in memes.

Non-Sherlockians Reaction Vs The Entire Sherlock Fandom

 Non-Sherlockian: Relax, it's just a TV show.

Sherlock Fandom:

Fandom Aftershock:

And the wallpaper we all love:

(Tweeted by @arwelwjones who is the Production Designer on BBC's Sherlock)

I have seen people complain about the long wait, but I actually quite enjoy the hiatus - dare I say it! I feel like the anticipation of it all adds to the hysteria that Sherlock creates and makes it that bit more exciting when new episodes do air. Moftiss are definitively doing that right despite giving the fandom severe palpations in anticipation of it all!

Wait, what do I wear?? 

And finally, it has actually just dawned upon me that Graduation is fast approaching and I have not got the slightest clue what to wear!

I've never been to someone's graduation, nor do I really know anyone who has graduated. As the oldest in my family, I am the first to graduate so it's quite the new experience for us all!

I did a bit of a Google on what we females would typically wear to graduation to give myself a bit of an idea and the general consensus seems to be a white blouse and a pencil skirt. Now I don't own either or even wear pencil skirts for that matter, so I've been browsing pictures of people who have graduated. I think as long as I look smart, I should be okay. I do have quite a collection of smart clothes as I've always had to dress smartly during particular events during university, so it shouldn't really be too much of a problem to dig something acceptable out to wear.

Anyways, I'll be sure to report back once I've decided!

Thanks for reading!

Take care and keep smiling Sherlockians as we will survive this hiatus together!

Much love, Skeena xxxx

A Week of Celebration!

This week was full of this:

Why Hello There 2:1 Honours

Monday, Tuesday and the start of Wednesday was pretty standard. Come Wednesday evening and my 2:1 degree classification was waiting for me!

I wasn't expecting my results till the Friday but when a friend of mine who I saw on that Wednesday said that she got hers that morning, it suddenly got so nerve-racking! I checked online the minute she told me she had hers, but I had nothing. I just thought maybe their still processing everybody's results as we were from two different schools within the university.

I got home and about 5pm-ish, I decided to go online and check again, and there was my results for each of my modules averaging out as a 2:1! It was a MASSIVE relief to see that final result. After three long years, I managed to come out of it with a decent mark considering at times I thought that surviving my undergraduate degree was the impossible.

Having a 2:1 confirms my place at my PGCE Teacher Training course for September and also confirms my scholarship that will pay my tuition fees for it! So for the next year, I am sorted and no longer in limbo!

Also, having a 2:1 means that I have got my degree in BSc IT Management for Business. I have an actual degree. And if you've had a nosy at my Bucket List, one of the things on there is to graduate with a degree so I can actually tick something off! Well, half tick - BRING ON GRADUATION! :D

Not So Little, Little Sister

I was an only child for the first 10 years of my childhood. Although I was happy in my own company for these 10 years, there was no doubt that I longed to have a sibling. Everybody I knew had a brother or a sister or even two brothers and two sisters! I’d always hear the odd complains about sisters being annoying and brothers always tackling them to the ground but those things were brushed under the rug. From all the stories, all I processed was adventures to midnight Mcdonalds and secret ice cream trips on a cold night where otherwise would have been forbidden by their mums. It sounded AWESOME!

It is awesome :)

 

I have a little sister and she means the absolute world to me! There’s 10 years between us and most people would see that as a major flaw in the relationship, but let me tell you, I’m just as much as a big kid as she is! :D I love her so much and I can not imagine being an only child for any longer than I was.

And this week it was her birthday! #EmotionalBigSis I remember being her age and now she's that age and I'm like but I want you to stay small and fit in my pocket! I wish her the biggest of birthday wishes and hope that she has plenty more to come inshAllah!

Party Time!

If you have siblings, take care of them, respect them and love them, whether they are older than you, younger or even the same age! If you don’t have a sibling, all is not lost because your siblings are just hidden.Your siblings are just very good at disguises. Look at your closest friends and cousins. They are your siblings.

Ramadan Kareem!

Today is the first day of Ramadan. As a Muslim, one of the five basic pillars that we must follow is Sawm (Fasting). For the 30 days of the month of Ramadan, we fast from dawn till dusk. This means before dawn and the first prayer of the day, Fajr, we eat for the day (Suhoor/Sehri) and then we don't eat or drink for the rest of the day till the fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib, which is at dusk (Iftar).

It sounds difficult, and it can be for the first few days as your body is so used to eating throughout the day especially when you're bored but it is such a great month and a great experience as it re-calibrates the mind, faith and humbleness.

As the days are longer in the summer, the fasts are also longer.

It is a month of giving and charity where the importance of these are amplified. We may feel hungry or thirsty for the day but I am so grateful that I have food and water at the end of my fast where others around the world won't. Fasting is an experience that I would recommend to anyone because it really puts life into a grateful perspective.

And on that lovely note, I wish everyone a fulfilling Ramadan!

Keep Smiling,

Skeena xxx

Snapperoon: Garden Flowers

Capturing My Life in Snaps

"Always keep that happy attitude.

Pretend that you are holding a beautiful fragrant bouquet."
- Earl Nightingale

"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns;
I am thankful that thorns have roses."
- Alphonse Karr

"In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.

For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed."

- Khalil Gibran

 

Teaching, England Footie and an Open Day

Teacher-To-Be

This week I began my Pre-PGCE Subject Knowledge Enhancement Course. It's basically a short course for a few weeks that will top up my knowledge in the areas of Computing and IT as that's the subject that I will hopefully be qualifying to teach in.

There's currently a huge demand for Computing teachers in particular as the skill to be able to program is becoming more desirable by the day. Here in the UK, the Government have even gone as far as claiming this year to be the Year of Code supported by initiatives like the Hour of Code.

There's also a massive push to get girls into computing as computing is a very male dominated subject and it really shouldn't be. To put things a little into perspective, in this course that I've started this week, there are only four of us females with about fourteen males. So to say that we're outnumbered is a mega understatement.

I've always been passionate about teaching and IT has always been one of those things that I have just always had an interest in. The computing and the programming, I'm not so confident in but it's definitely something I'm excited to learn more about and this course has already done me wonders. This week we have learnt the basic of Scratch (MIT Children's Programming Software) and Python (which I can confirm is as scary as it sounds!).

 

(A little dated seeing as schools are phasing out IT and phasing in Computing!)

Apart from the academic side, everyone is so lovely at the course and we all get along quite well already which helps in an environment where we are all prone to start yelling verbal abuse at our laptops!

Slow Clap for England... 

Oh dear. Need I say more?

To add to the embarrassment of losing against Uruguay, we still have to play Costa Rica even though we are definitely out of the World Cup. Plus I like how everyone was still hoping that we'd be able to squeeze our way into the next round through the outcome of the Uraguay Vs Costa Rica game.

And the amount if memes I've seen about England's performance is just amazing! Haha, it's always good to be able to laugh at yourselves!

Open Day

My feet hurt, but I wouldn't not work at my university's open days! So on Friday and Saturday we were blessed with beautiful weather for our open days for our University.As I've mentioned in previous posts, I'm a Student Ambassador for my University which allows me to work at any events that the University may hold; in this case it was their Open Days.

I've worked on their open days in the past and they have always been a lot of fun. For all of the past Open Days that I have worked on, I have always been selected to do Campus Tours which is a tour of the university main campus pointing out the main buildings and facilities we have. I would get a headset microphone which would always make me feel like a 90's popstar!

Pointing out buildings like:

One fact that I always love to include is that Benedict Cumberbatch is an Alumni of the University whenever we pass the Music and Drama Building. I always have people's ears perk up at the sound of his name with a few "Ooo really??"'s. And I always like to have a bit of audience participation asking "So Benedict Cumberbatch is famously known for playing..." and I wait for an answer. Sometimes when nobody answers, I'm like "Right, all of your homework tonight is to watch Sherlock. It's mandatory!". Always gets a bit of a smile and a giggle!

This time, I was actually based as part of the Student Accommodation team processing people in the queues who wanted to go on a Student Accommodation tour and walking them to the coaches that would take them there. At first I was a bit gutted that I didn't get my usual Campus Tour Guide role but liked that I could do something a little different for my last Open Day that I would work on!

Plus they had sweets and lollipops so all was not lost!

That's me for the week!

I hope the football wasn't too disappointing for you!

Keep Smiling,

Skeena xxx

Something for Your Hart

Inspired whilst writing my Chasing Cotard's blog post.

She is the light in his darkness.

She was the light in his darkness.

Commemorating Bravery, Footie Facepalm & What a Quiz-cidence!

We Will Never Forget Your Sacrifice.

To begin my week, I went to go see my younger sister perform as part of the network choir which is a choir where four different schools combine their own choirs together. My sister has been in it for the past few years and on Monday the network choir did a mini tour of the city performing at local museums and libraries.

Their songs were all based on World War 1 and I felt was organised in a way where it told the story of the feelings towards the world war as it progressed. It all started well as young men were excited to join the army and fight for their country. Especially those who were of the poorer working class were given the opportunity to travel when joining the army which they otherwise would not have had. Everyone seems in good spirit.

As the performance went on, we see a little bit of role playing as the war with it's deaths of many loved ones becomes a harsh reality. This was expressed in the performance as random children starting anouncing deaths one by one until everyone had joined in and it was a loud murmur of 'He was Killed in Action'. Immensley powerful.

It ended on a lighter note, that we shall always rememer the hardships that they took upon and that we are eternaly grateful for their bravery. It was such a great leaving note. The reason we learn about our History and it's importance is so that we can comemorate those who have selflessly sacrificed their own lives for a better future, for our world. We have a lot to be thankful for.

Footie Fail Facepalm

Moving onto later on in the week. So I'm not a huge footie fan by any lengths. To be quite honest, I'm not a huge fan of watching sports but a massive one in being right in the middle of it all and playing sports. However, whenever there is a worldwide sporting event like Wimbledon or the World Cup, all of a sudden I'm the makeshift, most patriotic footie loon I could be!

So the FIFA World Cup has kicked off this week in Brazil and England's opening match was late last night. To pretty much sum up the match in a picture:

I call it, Footie Facepalm.

It's all the craze for England supporters I tell ya!

During the game I was tweeting a friend of mine almost like a little commentary as we watched the England Vs Italy match as another friend of ours is from Italy. A little banter is always a lot of fun! We played really well up until about half time and then it was simply downhill from there. We had so many missed opportunities but you could tell the pressure was getting too much for our players. All those free kicks and near goals was giving me heart palpitations!

Good on Italy though, they definitely played the game well! Ended with a 2-1 to Italy which is not bad considering Spain's thrashing from Netherlands losing with a 5-1!

Onwards and upwards and onto our next match!

Uruguay Vs England. Thursday 8pm (BST).

Quiz-cidence?

So on a final note, I did a little "What Career are You Meant for?" quiz just for a little fun to feed my boredom on this quiet Sunday. And I know these quizzes are just a bit of silly fun but look what I got:

 

My thoughts exactly. Interestingly intriguing... 

Take the same quiz by clicking here and see what you get!

That's me done for the week.

Quite the patriotic week!

 

Skeena signing out!

 Take care and keep smiling sweeties xxx

Snapperoon: Road Trip Sunsets 2013

Capturing My Life in Snaps

 "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - Hamlet

"When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon,

my soul expands in the worship of the creator." - Mahatma Gandhi

Creative Juices Running High!

Arty Smarty

So if you've been checking out my blog these last past few days, you will have noticed that I have started to upload some artwork of my own under the Be Skreative page. This was entirely unplanned but now that I have a lot more free time on my hands, it gave me the opportunity to have a bit of a play around with digital art. Hence giving me time to rekindle my relationship with art!

I had always enjoyed art at school. I was always quite a creative person. I remember even back in primary school, I would not only complete my homework in all the colours of the rainbow without even being asked, but I would also design it in the most fun way I could think of. I'd draw things to illustrate my points, add in some interactive flaps for my answers and just stick in all sorts of bits and bobs left, right and center! Come to think of it, my little sister does exactly that - creative genes must run in the family! 

So my inner artist has been released and left to roam for a while. Who knows what storm she might draw up next!

 Keep an eye out (*shudders* please not literally!) for any future pieces if you're interested.

Chasing Cotards Blog Post is UP!

In case the subheading wasn't explicit enough, my Chasing Cotards blog post is up under the Couch Potato page which you can go directly to and read by clicking here. For those who are not aware of what Chasing Cotards is, it's a short film shot in Vista Vision that premiered at the British Film Institute (BFI) IMAX Cinema in London in 2010. It stars both Andrew Scott and Olivia Grant and is directed by Edward L. Dark. I can't recommend it enough! So go grab yourself a copy and watch! Don't forget to come back and read my blog post on it too!

I am so excited for my post to have finally gone up though! If you've been following my tweets since the beginning of this year, I had tweeted the official Chasing Cotards twitter about my plans to write a blog post about it just over two months ago.

I was just so unexpectedly consumed by university work as it was my final semester, I just really didn't have time to put into it and I didn't want to post anything for the sake of just posting something. So after much anticipation I put my all into it and I am so happy with how it came out! I hope I did it justice!

Celebrating Culture & Restoring My Faith for the Future

At my university, they recruit Student Ambassador's to help out at any events or schemes that the university run. For the last two years, I have been lucky enough to be a Student Ambassador and have worked on many different types of events. All of which I can strongly say I have thoroughly enjoyed.

This week I worked at an event where supplementary school pupils got involved and gave a performance to celebrate their culture as well as their parents and teachers bringing in yummy traditional food too! There were generations from Chinese background, Malaysian, Arabic, Bangladeshi and Bosnian. As I was lucky enough to be helping out at this event with other Student Ambassadors, I had the utmost pleasure in watching each of the school children's performances. They were each dressed traditionally in their colourful clothes where some schools performed a role play, a song or a dance routine based on their culture. Might I add, they looked so incredibly cute that we were all just aw-ing throughout!

It was so much fun to witness all these young kids so involved in their cultures. With all the hate and negativity we see in the news concerning cultural conflict, it was simply re-enlightening my faith in humanity as I saw such young generations open minded and enjoying each other's cultures. I feel really strongly about celebrating culture especially cultures that you may not be a part of. I strongly believe that the only way we can work towards a better, peaceful future is to understand and embrace each others' cultures and its' traditional norms and values.

It was definitely an uplifting day for sure!

Right, that's me done for the week!

My creative juices were definitely in full flow this week with my inner artist, film director and cultural appreciator on the loose! Definitely enjoyed this week a lot and hope I have more weeks to come like this!

Hope you had a creative week!

Keep Smiling and take care creative jellies,

Skeena xxx

Eye Spy Life

Eyes have always fascinated me. They are the windows in which we see out but also, in which others can see in. A person's eyes can tell a lot about themselves. Not necessarily by the colour of their eyes but the lines around them. Wrinkles.

In today's society, it's all about getting rid of these wrinkles with all these commercial creams and antidotes. But I think wrinkles really define a person. They define their experiences, their laughter, their worries, their tears and their journey through life. I'd almost describe them as battles scars; proof that you have lived a fulfilled life.

Initially I started drawing the eye by looking at my own tired ones, as it was midnight, in the mirror. I wasn't planning to go as far as past the eye but I felt the eyebrows really shape a person's face. I went ahead and drew the eyebrow in two different shapes and from then on, this eye no longer belonged to me but to a man who has seen such sorrow.

Be Someone's Candle Light

Playing it a little safe and sticking to inanimate objects for now. But we've got to start small right?

Did two versions of the candle because I wasn't too fond of the candle holder I drew but quite liked the sole candle in the darkness; lonely but providing the light.