Monday 29 October 2012

Time.. something I lack

So it's Monday and the majority of the day I have been on the phone to Mother. As of now, 14:47, she has called me 6 times and I have already visited this morning. It's driving me crazy. She just calls for stupid things.

I might be lucky with my suitcase. I've got together everything I can think I need for the tour and it looks like it will all fit into my smallest suitcase. Which is great news and it's a lightweight case and since I have 2 whopping big canvases to carry to Glasgow on the train too, it's better to have a small lighter case.

It's packed with 4 UK club hoodies in so once they are out and given to who they are for, it will have even more space in it.

I had a fanatic search for my camera charger earlier. Typically it's not a usb charging one, have to take the battery out and put it in it's own charger and it took me ages to find it. I envisioned having to pay some stupid price for another. There is one charger I can't find though and that's for my portable battery (apparently holds 5 iPhone charges). So as it may be useful , I'm going to have to have another search.

Tomorrow I have UK member packs to do and mail then have stuff to do for Mother. Wednesday up to now is a free day. Thursday is hairdressers and Mother again, then Friday morning I leave so I'm running out of time to make sure I have everything done and organised.

Saturday 27 October 2012

This is what happens when 3 people chose the same day to reply to you..

I'm looking at my white board on my office wall and there is no space left to write anything.

It's filled with what's left to organise before my trip and what is to do when I return. What to do whilst away and what to remember to take with me. A few days ago this list was not as big.

Rewind to Thursday. It was due to be my day off. I had informed the site teams that I won't be online on Thursday, me=busy that day. It started a nice day with Ethan sleeping in till 9 instead of the usual 6:30. So up and downstairs for wash and breakfast. We were not due to leave the house until 11:45 so we had plenty time as didn't rush. After breakfast I went upstairs to get dressed, it was around about 10:30. As I had turned off push emails over night on my phone I decided to check them as I got ready as I never expected anything important. I put my phone down as I got ready and then *beep* *beep* *beep*... messages. After I looked at my phone I shouted downstairs 'I have to sort some things I'll be an hour'. Typically I had less than an hour left.

So first message was from a friend John who wanted help in the train prices and times for travel within the UK and cheapest way to get to Amsterdam. I started researching the dates he gave, looking up the general prices etc and I got it pretty much finished when another email popped up. I finished what I needed to for John then read the new email.
It was from Ewo, there had been a change of heart and the UK club could now have meet and greets. Fantastic news! Only problem was time to organise and make sure all the club members were aware with enough time to enter competition to join us. Then another email.. change of hotel location, frantically I tried to contact Alex to ask him if it's fine we moved hotel.. he was in University and would have to wait till he was finished. 20 minutes left till I had to leave, cutting it fine.

Then another message popped up. This time from 'The flying Dutch Women' confirming we can sit and chat for the UK club at some point during the tour. *side note: Just read her blog and made me smile how happy she seems singing with the guys. I'm really looking forward to the UK shows and Helsinki.

Alex came online.. great! I threw all the info at him and I think he panicked a bit. He agreed to draft up the club announcements while I was away during the day and we could go over it on the night and post it. Agreeing I left to the cinema. (Go see Looper, really good!)

Back home I came online and Alex had the majority of the announcement wrote. In true Islanders fashion, we used google drive to write everything out so we can edit in real time with each other then as it went 8 o'clock it all went up. So we have to work on bits for this but can't do anything till next week now. Good bye 'day off Thursday'.

Currently it's Saturday and I'm looking at the things I have to take to Glasgow and panicking  We have a competition already running with the UK club so I have a big canvas plus my suitcase to get onto public transport from Durham to Glasgow. This will be fun!

During next week I have to find time to take my Mother to her hospital appointments, get my hair done, take Ethan to his speech therapy (though might reschedule this as it's suppose to be the morning of the day I travel), organise and send out new club memberships and renewals and a few more things. I'm soo glad I no longer work at that care home anymore, there is simply no way I could do all this and work a full time job.

To be continued..

Saturday 20 October 2012

Blogging and credibility

Some people enjoy reading other people's blogs and some people loathe it. However celebrity blogs are commonly read by people who fall into both these categories.
I've witnessed recently a divide of people who read a celebrity blog, some claim it's nothing but attention seeking and at times childish, while others hang on the posters every word.

Do blogs really go too personal sometimes? In my opinion, yes. I've blogged for a while though not very regular and I find sometimes as I'm typing, things get wrote down without thinking too much about what I've wrote. But who am I? I'm just a Jane Doe going through life and writing stuff down which makes sense to me, but probably only the minority will understand me fully. For a celebrity, every blog is scrutinized and ripped apart. Some people seem to get caught up, and for want of a better word, starstruck when reading the celebrity blog. Meaning for them that person can do no wrong. Whatever they have posted, the reader will defend. However looking from an objective angle, sometimes you can read the posts and think 'oh boy why on Earth did you post that?'.

Sometimes you can say things you really shouldn't on a blog. As I'm writing this now, it's hard not to go in full on rant about some things I've read recently etc. For a 'Jane Doe' who cares? It's our opinion and we are only small fry so what we say really doesn't ripple the ocean so much. But when a celebrity posts something they really should not of, the ripples turn into tidal waves and then act all innocent and bemused it cause so much controversy. Some people just seriously do not think before they type. Sometime emotion takes over them and they have a good old rant and then post it publicly for thousands to read. I've done this myself and I think majority have. Perhaps its not a blog, maybe its an email or a text message, regardless of the format most of us done it. Now I know from my experience its never usually a good outcome, so if needed I use a trick told to me by a good friend. Rant away as much as you like, type type and type some more. Once it's done, read it, then delete it.

Some celebrities have made this mistake countless times over. Some say they have not learned, some say they don't care and just want the drama for attention, some say diva who gives a shit about anyone but themselves and some say they are entitled to air rants/dirty laundry/disputes in public. Personally I'm a mix, sure you are entitled to say what you want, but you have to word it the right way. There are ways of saying what you want without it sounding like you're on your high horse and you're the best and infinitely right in everything  you say and do. But some topics are a no go. Sometimes some things should not be public, these ones are usually the biggest in splitting the category of blog readers.

Whatever your 'category' of reader, I think we can all agree that sometimes you just have to keep your mouth shut.

Saturday 13 October 2012

P-time approaches

(P for party)

Holy biscuits! It's been since July since I did a blog update!!! Erm... ops.

So last time I did a horrible, embarrassing attempt at a vlog. I can't even remember what I was going on about in it, I presume work. - I deleted it sorry it was too bad to stay up hah!

Anyway.. what has happened since my last post here. Well I quit my job, I could no longer handle working with Nightwish during the day, being a Mom and then working night shift as well. So now I work from home concentrating on the Nightwish sites and I get to see my son a lot more so that's a lot better.

It's 3 weeks until the UK tour starts and myself and co-admin of the UK club are going to all the shows and then onto Helsinki for the premier. After the premier Alex will return to Blighty and I'll head off in an Easterly direction towards some town called Kitee to play Santa Claus to 'someone'.

My schedule:

Fri 2nd Nov = Travel to Glasgow
Sat 3rd = Travel to Manchester & Fan party
Sun 4th = Nurse hangover & Nightwish show
Mon 5th = Travel to London & Nightwish show
Tues 6th = Travel to Birmingham & Nightwish show
Wed 7th = Travel to Glasgow, Nightwish show and curry.
Thur 8th = Nurse hangovers, chill and do nothing
Fri 9th = Travel to Helsinki & eat at restaurant with friends
Sat 10th = Meat Toni for a coffee & Nightwish show and iRum premier
Sun 11th = Say bye to Alex & get train to Kitee then onto where friend lives.
Mon 12th = Meet with friends, sharing of Christmas gifts and other things
Tues 13th = Train to Helsinki, Fly to Glasgow, chill.
Wed 14th = Train back home.

That's not whole itinerary, we have things going on at towns visiting so if you see me and I look a bit zombified you know the reason.

People have asked us to document the traveling for a bit of fun, so we decided we will film daily vlogs and upload them for people to watch. Hopefully the same night depending on internet where we are.

We did a really cool fanzine with the UK club. Big special feature about the movie which sold like wildfire!
We are now doing a pre-order for the second edition (why pre-order? because it costs us so much to get them printed and we are non profit so pre-order needed to actually buy the printing) If you want to pre-order or more info then look here: http://www.the-islanders.co.uk/main/index.php/the-wayfarer

I'll try post more often again, but this post is long enough for now.

Ciao

CC