Everyone loves Facebook it seems. Except the parts we hate about it.
Here, I have compiled a list of the top twelve most commonly complained about Facebook habits. Maybe you agree – maybe you’re guilty? Either way, we all know someone who has committed at least one of these offences at some point. Enjoy!
1) Gushing about your wonderful snuggly partner in every single status update. I loathe people who do this so much that I wrote an entire article about it!
2) Bitching about your ex in every single status update, once the love goggles have fallen off and you’ve realised he’s an idiot. I have never been exactly sure what these people are trying to achieve; it only makes you look immature, and your ex glad they got away! (For the record, “So-and-so is totally over her ex and had a great day with her girlfriends, who are so much better than men anyways” sort of statuses are also really annoying, and quite transparent…)
3) Fishing for sympathy in your status updates (usually because you have neither partner to gush about nor ex-partner to bitch about). “So-and-so wants a hug : (“, “So-and-so had a really crappy day” etc – you know the sort of thing I am talking about. Inevitably, twelve people will pop up saying something like “Aww, babes, huggles!”, which makes you feel better about yourself, somehow. Again, this just makes you come across as small and needy. (more…)
Or the common cold!
(Written in October 2008)
Pugwash News offers you advice on how to avoid the dreaded Freshers’ Flu, or, if you’ve already caught it, how to send it packing as fast as possible. Your first few weeks at uni are the most exciting of your life, and you don’t need any illnesses slowing you down or numbing your senses.
There are many different theories as to what exactly causes Freshers’ Flu, from the lecturers’ idea that it’s all down to too much sex, drink and rock & roll, to the parents’ conception that it’s due to poor living conditions in Halls and is a side effect of homesickness.
Most likely it’s a combination of these things and more; people come from all over the country, each bringing with them their own local brand of germ. Mix this bacteria party with stress, late nights, a probably less-than-ideal lifestyle and the fact that we all congregate in large groups often, and it’s no surprise that many of us are left feeling a little under the weather. (more…)
As Copy Editor for UPSU student media, my job is to ‘red pen’ – yes, it’s a verb – our website and magazine, as well as Pugwash News. I have the task of translating Pugwash into English, finding every bit of missing or superfluous punctuation, and trying to make sure that not only is everything spelled correctly, but that it makes sense too. Before you brand me a complete nerd, let me explain that this is actually a legitimate job and that we’re everywhere in the world of publishing.
(Let me also iterate that I am very far from perfect, so please don’t email me nitpick-ly pointing out the few mistakes I’m sure I let slip. I’m only human, and you should see some of the text before I get my hands on it!)
Now, most people have a basic grasp of the English language, but stumble on all the different rules and refinements of it. (more…)
My dad, with all due respect, is crazy paranoid. He guards his PIN number with his life at ATMs, covering the keypad with his wallet and free hand, while dialling the numbers covertly with the other. He shreds bank statements and receipts, then distributes the shredded paper between all the different bins in the house, to make it harder to re-piece the documents. He cuts up all his old credit cards into tiny tiny pieces, then puts them in a margarine tub in a drawer which contains all their dead predecessors, and I swear he will ask to be buried with it, literally taking the secrets locked within their chips to his grave. He has nothing to hide, he tells me, but everything to fear, for the world is out to get you. So it’s no great surprise that he is constantly warning me to take the same precautions. (more…)
A day at The Cottage begins with the sounds of my family making breakfast. Mum scraping homemade jam on warm dry toast; Pops patting the cereal in his bowl between each mouthful; Claire getting fresh watermelon from the squeaky fridge. I snuggle under my mint green comforter and daydream and listen to the hustle and bustle. I lie and observe the way the leaves on trees flirt with the wind, or simply stare at and ponder the ceiling. (The room is exactly four square ceiling tiles by six square ceiling tiles, meaning the one square light fixture can’t be centred. This fact has, irrationally, annoyed me for years.)
Then, the smell of thin crispy bacon being cooked just the way I like it tickles me out of my cosy bed. I swing my feet out onto the carpet, which is made up of thick inch-long wool threads of brown and yellow. The room is so small I can reach the top of the chest of drawers from the edge of the single bed. I brush my hair into a messy ponytail, put on a hoodie, and head to the bathroom. (more…)
This time twelve months ago, I could never understand why my Third Year friends cringed and expounded “No, no, don’t mention the diss!” whenever I asked them how their final year projects were going. I thought it was silly and immature – the thought that somehow not talking about it would mean it didn’t have to be done eventually. But now, being in that situation of a fast approaching ‘D-Day’ myself, I get it. I admit that I myself am struggling with my dissertation, and I would just rather people didn’t bring it up.
In my musings on the topic of dissertations, I came to formulate a theory, which I hope to share with you here. Every person who has ever completed a degree in the past has had to produce a dissertation of some sort; every person currently in or about to enter a degree will eventually have to produce one in the future. My theory proposes that when it comes to their dissertation work, all students can be broken down into three categories: the Good, the Bad, and the Bluffing. (more…)
Anyone who knows me knows that Crufts, whether I am going to the NEC in person or just following the coverage on the TV and radio, literally is the highlight of my year. Why is this exactly, I hear you say? Or rather, not – I have tried to explain this wonder to people year after year, and no one quite yet has quite gotten it, probably because they tune out as soon as I get going. But it really is a wonderful long weekend, so I am going to try one more time to explain the love.
Firstly, the obvious reason. I am a huge dog nerd. After watching ‘101 Dalamatians’ and ‘Homeward Bound’ and so on as a kid and nagging incessantly for a dog thereafter, my mother bought me a Dogs In Canada Annual to keep me entertained after a minor operation, which kept me in bed for a few days when I was eight. I think she thought I’d enjoy flipping through it and looking at the pictures – but I read that thing cover to cover. Therein were details of over 200 different breeds of dog, articles on caring for a puppy, behaviour and training in the adult dog, and a myriad of other doggie delights; therein lay the sparks of a lifelong passion. (more…)
It is the highlight of my sad little year; the one weekend where I get to indulge in my ultimate nerdiness, sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for the winners to be announced.
No, I’m not talking about the X-Factor final; I’m talking about Crufts, the world’s biggest and most prestigious dog show. But before you yawn at the mention of the words “dog show” and head off to read the reviews page, stop a while and I will try to explain this marvel to you.
Firstly, to clarify, while the very heart of Crufts lies in the Best in Show final on Sunday night, and all the pedigree showing leading up to that, there is a lot more to the show than snobs running around with blue blood poodles. There are many other events and competitions going on at the same time which are fun and sometimes even heart warming. And mutts and crossbreeds are more than welcome! (more…)
A study in California has recently revealed that, as a general rule, people who vote Left-wing define themselves as iPhone fans, while their compatriots on the Right are more likely to be users of BlackBerries. (more…)
(Written July 2009)
I’ve been thinking about the future a lot lately – specifically that day in twelve months time when I get to don the silly hat and gown and (hopefully) conclude my time at university with a graduation ceremony. (more…)
