Well, I just finished University! I have handed in my final pieces of coursework, and it’s just a matter now of waiting on the final three marks to come back and (assuming I pass, which I should) collecting my diploma. If all goes to plan, as of the 22nd of July, I will no longer be a student, and will have to start thinking and acting like a fully fledged and proper adult! Scary stuff…
Other things are ending as well. I completed my last ever issue as Editor of Pugwash News, and have handed over to the new guy – it is well and truly ‘not my problem anymore’. Sadly, things did not end exactly as I had hoped they would; it’s a long story. But I am trying to see all the positives instead of dwell on this. I made some wonderful friends and memories, and I have three years of wonderful and educational experiences behind me. I know the new team will look after it well, so I’m happy to walk away with pride. (more…)
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…)
As part of my third year studies here at Portsmouth, I took a unit entitled Fan Fiction, where we had to produce an original 2,500 word piece of fan fiction based on certain criteria. I wrote a piece entitled “The Younger Miss Bennets”, which explored what happened to Mary and Kitty Bennet after their elder sisters got married at the end of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”. You can read it here. (more…)
Well, it’s official. Pugwash News has a new Editorial Team, and I’m not on it! The elections went really smoothly, and I was, overall, pleased with the outcome, but it really is winding down to the end of my era here, and it’s all getting a bit emotional.
As I write this, I am sitting in the office in the process of laying up my penultimate issue of the paper. We’re at the phase where my first role, the copy editing, approval, and collection of articles is largely done, and my second role, the jabberwockying (extending or cutting articles to fit) and so on has not yet started, so I can sit back and attend to other things while the design team does their bit. Updating this blog is at the top of a list of about 100 things I have to, most of which are Pugwash related. We have two big socials coming up, which need arranging, and a handover period for the old and new teams, plus the final issue this year, so there’s lots going on and it’s going to be a busy month. (This is all on top of my last three deadlines and moving house, but that’s another story for another day!) (more…)
In an hour’s time, we are having our Pugwash Editorial Team Elections, which will democratically decide who will be running Pugwash News and Pugwash Magazine next academic year. This is quite a big event in the ‘history of Laura’, as it is the first year that I will NOT be running for a position. This is, of course, because I am graduating this summer, and will be moving on to other adventures, but it’s still sort of sad.
Pugwash has been a part of my university life literally since Freshers’ Week in my First Year. And it’s been a huge part of my experience here; not only in terms of the friends that I have made and the time I have devoted to it, but also because of the amount I have learned and achieved during my time on the team. Yes, it has been a long and stressful road, with plenty of angst, tears and more than one moment where I have threatened to quit. However, overall there has been more ‘better’ than ‘worse’, and I have many fond memories of my time here. (more…)
