Author: Courtney Shek

2018!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

It is once again time for my annual wrap up blog post of the year! These are always interesting because it gives me time to reflect on all the things I have accomplished this year and remember all the good times I’ve had. I actually just read through last year’s post and I can’t believe all those things happened only a year ago, they already feel like a lifetime away.

And I think things will probably feel that way when I reflect on this year. Especially because I really don’t remember much at all from the first half of it. And unlike previous year’s, I sadly do not have all my tweets to remind me – so I’m gonna have to use all other social media to figure it out. But we will talk about what happened to my Twitter a bit later.

I started out the year celebrating with my boyfriend again. We have now been together coming up to 3 years, and here’s hoping there are many more years to celebrate together after that.

I also started the year with a full-time job as I was still on placement as part of my university degree. This is probably the hardest thing for me to remember, working a real job. It feels like it almost didn’t happen at all. Even though I worked there for 11 months. I won’t go into full detail about my placement year as I have made several blog posts about it so if you want to know more then you can check them out.

img_1710-e1546616853982.jpg
A selfie from a lift while on placement

Overall I did enjoy my placement though, I think I learnt a lot and it was a valuable experience for me to have. So I am glad I had the opportunity to do it as part of my degree.

So, to briefly sum up the first half of the year, I was working Monday – Friday, 9 – 5. Not much else to report about that.

Though I did have a lot of fun things that I did outside of work. For example, in January I was eager for my next annual leave bout after coming back from Christmas because I was going to London with my boyfriend for his birthday.

Back in November of 2017, I impulsively bought tickets to Hamilton for me and my boyfriend for his birthday. We hadn’t even booked flights or anything but all that was important was that we were going to see Hamilton.

And while we were going to be in London I also thought it would be a fun idea to get tickets to the Harry Potter Studios for Christmas for my boyfriend as well.

It was safe to say the first couple of weeks back at work after Christmas was torture because I was just dying to go away for my next holiday haha.

London was amazing. I won’t go into too much detail about it here because I’ve already made a video talking about it which you can check out, but I will share some of the highlights.

First off, Hamilton was amazing. It was our first ever West End show and so I wanted to get good seats, and we got the best. I was blown away by the musical when I first listened to the Broadway cast but nothing really compares to seeing it in person. When you’re there you feel those emotions and you experience it completely. It’s incredible. And I highly recommend going to see it if you haven’t already.

IMG_3475.JPG

On top of that, we also had the pleasure of meeting Jamie Dornan while we were there seeing Hamilton. My fangirl heart literally exploded when I saw him walk into the room. Like what were the odds? It was even crazier because the night before we had been watching him on TV and then he was just there. I was starstruck and obviously had to say hi. I would have kicked myself if I hadn’t. He was lovely and even though our exchange was a small one I’ll still always remember.

Then, of course, there was the Harry Potter Studios! Okay, I’ll admit, I’d never seen any of the Harry Potter movies until right before I left for London. This was more for my boyfriend because he was a big Harry Potter fan, but I felt I needed to at least watch the movies to have some idea of what was going on. The Studios were stunning and I was blown away. I had never gotten into Harry Potter and I guess I never really understood but being there, where they filmed and seeing everything in person, I understood. It was magical and I really enjoyed the visit.

Other things that happened on our trip to London included a visit to the Sherlock museum, a look at Buckingham Palace, and some shopping. We wanted to go to the London Eye but I think it was closed when we were visiting, so I guess that’s something I will have to do when I go back.

vlcsnap-2018-11-07-03h23m12s725
Just hanging out

Another thing that I did in January was start pole dancing lessons, this is something that I never thought I would do. But my friend Victoria and I decided to go at the start of the year, and I’ve been going ever since. Not going to lie, it was definitely a bit scary going at first, you know there’s a whole stigma around it and you think people might judge you, but honestly? It’s super fun and the community that I have found in NI around it are so wonderful and supportive.

I’m really glad I decided to take the chance and take pole classes, I have made new friends from it and it is also a fun way to keep fit. It’s definitely helped me get stronger and I love sharing my spins and tricks with my friends.

In February and March, I honestly am not sure what I was doing. I guess nothing eventful if I don’t remember haha. I feel so lost without my tweets to guide me in some sort of direction. I didn’t make any YouTube videos in those months either…so I’m guessing these months were just spent working. Obviously not all working, but nothing significant either.

IMG_4853.JPG

Though at the end of March I did get a second tattoo. I decided to get one because my boyfriend was also getting one. We didn’t get matching ones but I thought it would be fun. Ever since I got my first tattoo I have definitely always toyed with getting another one. And so I ended up getting a small one on my arm which says xo xo. And if you’re thinking xo xo Gossip Girl then I can confirm yeah I definitely also thought that. But I love it, like I love Gossip Girl and also gossip in general so I guess there was a meaning behind it, other than I just wanted another cute tattoo.

In April I decided to start my YouTube channel up again properly and try vlogging every day in April…I didn’t vlog every day but I did keep it up for a while. I suppose the reason I didn’t end up vlogging every day in April because I wasn’t always doing something worth vlogging, which is the YouTube vlogger struggle. But that’s okay, I don’t put too much pressure on myself to do YouTube because it’s just a hobby, as long as I’m still posting every so often I feel accomplished.

img_5532

I also got to see the Nashville Farewell Tour in April which I enjoyed a lot. I originally was not going to go, but then the day of the concert I decided to buy a last minute ticket. The reason being that I worked across the road from the arena where they were performing and I was on Twitter and saw people meeting the Nashville cast around the area and I was jealous and wanted to see them perform. It was also going to be the last time I would be able to see them perform as Nashville the TV show was ending.

And I’m really glad I went. I’ve been watching Nashville since I think 2014/2015? And I love the music on the show, so I guess it naturally made sense that I enjoyed the concert. It was a great show and if you’ve never seen it, now is a perfect time because you can binge watch it. 🙂

May was another one of those months where I don’t really remember what was going on. It was the month before I left placement so I know things were starting to wind down there and the weather was beginning to pick up for the summer. I think May was also the month when I lost my Twitter account.

I have already made a blog post about what happened to my Twitter account so I won’t bore you with the details but long story short, I made my Twitter account when I was 12 and so they locked me out. I still have not been given access back to my account and it’s really annoying. I’ve had that Twitter account for 9 years and now it’s just…gone.

So I started a new one. It’s definitely not the same as it used to be. But because I use Twitter so much and it’s a big part of my life I couldn’t be without it. I had friends there that I didn’t have anywhere else and to try and find them again without remembering their Twitter handle was a struggle. It was also hard because I couldn’t really explain to anyone what happened.

But with the way things are going, I think this is the Twitter account that I’m going to have from now on. It’s just annoying that I can’t at least get my username back…

IMG_6788.JPG

June started with a drag show which is how you know June was a good month for me. As you know I love RuPaul’s Drag Race and going to drag shows has become a new hobby of mine. The first big show I saw in 2018 was Werq the World. This is one of those shows where a bunch of queens from past seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race come together to perform and I love them.

June was also a big month because it’s my birth month. It also happened to be the month that I finished work placement. So it was a time for celebration, this year I turned 21 and celebrated going out with my friends. I never really feel older when I celebrate a birthday but I suppose no one really does. Either way, I still end up getting ID’d when I go out so it’s not like I’m looking any older haha.

Also for my birthday, I got to see Taylor Swift in Dublin! Taylor was amazing and I have wanted to see her perform for the last couple of years now so I’m really glad I got to do that. And she recently released her concert on Netflix, so if you missed it you can check it out there.

At the end of June my boyfriend graduated from university, so all his hard work and sleepless nights had paid off. I am so proud of him for making it through uni and getting his graduate job. It was great to see him get his degree, and hopefully next year it will be me getting mine. 🙂

As far as I remember July was spent chilling and enjoying my time off work. I also started this new blog and I plan to keep it. So far I think it’s going well, though I am still trying to find a good layout. I want something simple and clean but at the same time, all the blog layouts I’ve found have not been right. The one I am currently using is the one I liked the most out of my choices but I am hoping to find something better soon.

Aside from that, I feel like I spent a lot of July playing video games, watching TV and sleeping. Which is a great month in my opinion when you’d spent the last few working a lot.

A few fun things that happened in July were that my friend Jasmine came over for a while with her boyfriend Chris, it was his first time in Northern Ireland so we had to show him around, I also started my scrapbook which I’ve had sitting around for ages and I also started selling things on eBay for my mum. I’d never sold anything online before but I’d always thought about it because I have a lot of stuff I wanted to get rid of and I thought selling online would be a good way, though so far mostly my mum’s stuff has sold compared to mine lol.

August in comparison to July seemed to be a very busy month for me, I spent half of it with my boyfriend as I stayed with him while his parents were in Florida, I also decided to vlog/make a video every day and played a lot of Sims and Stardew Valley. Not to mention went to pride and all the drag shows as well.

After the less successful attempt at vlogging every day in April, I decided to try again in August. Only this time, it wasn’t just vlogging, I also made videos for my Sims YouTube channel. August was definitely more successful than April as I was able to create 22 videos in August, 11 for my Sims channel and 11 for my main channel. So it’s safe to say August was pretty well documented on my YouTube channel.

At the end of August, I was also super busy with moving house and preparing for my final year of university. It feels weird that I have been moving so often, and I can’t wait to finally move one last time after graduation and be settled for a little while. But for now, I’m back in student accommodation and ready for the next semester.

September I spent settling into my new flat and enjoying my last remaining weeks of freedom before university. As in, I spent a lot of time playing Sims and Stardew Valley because I knew once university started I wouldn’t be able to play as much.

Animal-Crossing-Switch-1017320

September was also an exciting month because after waiting years we FINALLY got confirmation for Animal Crossing Switch. It should be coming in 2019 and I’m going to be waiting every single day waiting for some news. We haven’t heard anything since the first announcement but I’d like to think we’d be hearing something very soon. In case you didn’t know, I’m a big fan of Animal Crossing and it’s been 5 years since we got a new main series game and I can not wait until it comes out. I already know it’s going to be amazing.

Also in September my friends and I went over to England to surprise Jasmine for her birthday. This was a really fun trip as it was a good time for all of us to spend together before we started university again. It was also the first time we’d ever organised a surprise and it was super fun. Though a bit stressful, especially when Jasmine almost saw Megan the day we arrived to surprise her but it all worked out and she was really surprised.

October was when I really started to get into university life again, classes started and things quickly settled back into a routine of student life. This year of university has been the busiest one I’ve ever had. We have so much more work to do this year than we did in previous ones so it’s been hard to adjust to the workload.

That being said, I still had a lot of fun things to do to take my mind off of university, and by that, I mean I went to 4 drag shows and a metal concert haha. They announced these drag shows over summer so I bought tickets at the time not knowing how busy I would be university wise, but I made it work.

The concert I went to was Okilly Dokilly, I had heard of the band through the internet and I couldn’t believe they were coming to Belfast. My boyfriend and I went to see what it would be like because you never really know what to expect when you go to see a heavy metal band that is all about Ned Flanders. But they were actually really good and I enjoyed it. I wouldn’t say I am their biggest fan by any means, but they do put on a good show.

November was mostly spent working hard at university, I didn’t have any drag queen shows to go to that month and so things were definitely a lot less busy than they had been the previous month. However, I did take some time out in November to play some Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee.

And finally, December was a pretty chill month. I started it off by going to Christmas Queens, which was the first drag queen show I ever went to by myself. It’s so weird to think that was a year ago, especially when I’ve been to plenty of shows this past year by myself now. I’m really glad I decided to start going on my own though, because it’s true what they say, if you wait around for other people to do things with you, then you’ll probably never do them.

Aside from that, I spent the first half of December working hard to finish the university semester on a high. And then have been spending Christmas break having a long and much-needed break.

Which brings us to now! The end of the year. Well actually, into the new year as I’m writing this. Overall 2018 was a very busy year, whether that’s because I was keeping myself busy or because I’ve had obligations. But it’s been a great year, I’ve said this many times already but I think my main plans for this new year are to continue to work to get my degree, enjoy Animal Crossing when it comes out and we will see where we go from there.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope this year is a good one for everyone!

~ Courtney x

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I watched the movie when it came out in the cinema years ago and decided to give the book a go. I don’t really remember the movie but I remembered enough to know how the story goes.

The first thing I was not expecting when I read the book was that it switches point of view a lot. I have not read anything that switches character point of view that much since I read fanfiction. It was kind of hard to follow along at first.

The book switches between the point of view of Anna, her parents Brian and Sara, her brother Jesse, and also her lawyer Campbell and her appointed guardian ad-Litem Julia. That is a lot of people to cycle through. And it’s a lot to take in for the first couple of chapters. I guess you get the hang of it but it, but I was definitely confused the first time I read from Julia’s point of view because I was like “who is this?”, I thought it was a completely different story and I had missed something at first.

I also feel the Julia/Campbell side story isn’t really needed and is kind of annoying. I mean they cut it out of the movie entirely so I didn’t know it was a thing until I read the book. But probably wouldn’t have missed it if it wasn’t there.

One thing I thought was interesting was that a lot of Sara’s point of view parts of the story were set in the past. Telling the story of the family’s struggle throughout the years as they dealt with Kate’s health issues. I suppose this is to give some context to how they ended up where they are today.

But if anything it annoyed me. The way that the parents were so focused on one child that they neglected their other two. I mean Jesse is basically abandoned and left to fend for himself and Anna is only important because she serves a purpose for Kate. Like it’s crazy.

I suppose I would understand if I was in that situation, I mean you can understand people’s actions to a degree but it made me so angry when reading.

Then there was Brian who, kind of just took himself out of the equation sometimes by working to ignore his problems. Again, not a fan.

Overall I guess the book did make the points it wanted to, about how parents aren’t always suited to make the right decisions for their children when one of them is sick. And how family life is anything but simple.

I think it is an interesting story and a good read if you’re into that kind of thing. Everyone’s point of view is written well and you can see the different personalities come through.

Though I did find Jesse’s additions to the story kind of random – another thing you wouldn’t have missed if it wasn’t there. It was just him off on his own setting fires about the place because he felt like he had no control over anything else. Kind of seemed like it was meant to be a bigger moment than it was when Brian found out it was Jesse starting all the fires.

Aside from all that I think the thing that upset me the most was the ending. A different ending than the one the movie had. It kind of just all happened at once and it almost felt like was all the drama that happened really worth it? I mean I was so done with the book by then…it just made me sad. I guess that was the point…

I felt it was disappointing though, but still overall a good read. Even though I felt like I came out of it having more negatives than positives I still enjoyed it for what it was. Though if I had to choose between the book or the movie I would probably choose the movie.

I wonder if I would have liked the book a bit more if it was written in only Anna’s point of view. Though I suppose to really understand everything fully you needed the perspectives of the others. Because obviously, Anna’s view of what was going on was going to be different from her parents’. So maybe it was good to have the insight from her parent’s compared to what Anna wanted. But they still had a few perspectives too many in my opinion.

Apart from that, the book was still interesting, something very different than any of the other books I’ve read this year. So I will give it that. The rating I have given it on Goodreads is 3/5 stars. Because I didn’t hate it but I didn’t love it either. It fell somewhere in the middle for me, though probably a bit more on the negative side than positive.

And now that I have finished this book, I have officially completed my goal of reading 12 books in 2018! It’s been a journey and I feel really accomplished to have stuck with it. Of course, now that the goal is complete I know I must strive for more next year. But until then, I’m sure I can fit one more book in before the year is out…stay tuned to find out what it is!

~ Courtney x

Currently Watching: November 2018

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

2018-09-07_1847

So far this month, I have been all over the place when it comes to my TV shows – I think it’s because it’s the middle of a university semester and I have no time to be starting a brand new show, so I’ve been revisiting some old ones.

Of course, I am still keeping up with How To Get Away With Murder, Dynasty, and Riverdale. Because they only air new episodes once a week, I can’t binge them so I have to find other things to watch in between.

So here are some of the things I’ve been watching on and off this month because I just can’t seem to settle on anything:

1-6

The show I seem to be watching the most lately is CSI, I set myself the task of watching every single episode of CSI ever, including spin-offs a couple years back. Though it’s the kind of thing you have to be in the mood to watch, so I’ve watched it on and off for a while. Though have recently finished season three and have been happily working my way through season four.

I don’t know when this binge of CSI will end but so far I’m enjoying it. Watching the show has even encouraged me to finally try and complete the DS game. I never made it past the first case but I always wondered what else the game had in store for me…

81PaTiC-UCL._RI_.jpg

Next, we have 90210, a show I watched for the first time a couple of years ago on Netflix. Or maybe it was more recent? Last year maybe? Either way, I wanted to watch it again. It’s got those high school drama vibes that I live for. I mean if anything it’s basically Gossip Girl set in LA. So, a natural go to.

That being said, I only managed to make it towards the end of season one and then I stopped. I think the main reason why was because the stream I was watching it on was always really quiet? Which was bothering me so I guess I never really went back. I’m just really hoping they add it to Netflix again.

1200x630bb.jpg

Another show that I have just gotten towards the end of season one in is Ugly Betty. I bought the box set in a second-hand shop ages ago after not being able to find it anywhere. I loved Ugly Betty when I was younger, and it’s still a good show now.

I kind of wanted to start watching it on a whim and I went with it and it held up well. Though kind of like 90210 it trailed off.

So I think I am itching to get a new show because I have been dropping off watching ones I have seen before, occasionally I will watch some Gilmore Girls or How I Met Your Mother before bed. But aside from that I know I want something new, I think that’s why CSI is sticking because while I might have seen a few episodes on TV, it’s still technically newer than stuff I’ve been rewatching.

I think my goal over Christmas break might be to find some new shows. But until now I guess I will stick with my repeats… And I know I haven’t finished Vampire Diaries to start the Originals, but it’s still on my list.

Anyway, these are the main shows on my radar currently, not sure what the future will bring. But hopefully, I find something good. And as always please feel free to leave suggestions of shows I might like in the comments!

~ Courtney x

Grey by EL James Review

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I avoided this for a while. Mostly just because I had seen bits and pieces online from it and I was thinking “EL didn’t actually write that did she?” Well turns out she did.

So this book is just Fifty Shades of Grey in Christian’s point of view. Nothing too exciting or great though.

I mean the dialogue between Ana and Christian is the exact same and the events are the same so to me there isn’t much of a reason to read it. It’s the same story. Just with words changed.

I know I said that about Life and Death by Stephanie Meyer but instead with Twilight. But the changes between the original and the new story were more significant.

This one is the same. And if anything I think it’s worse than Fifty Shades of Grey. Sure, in the original, Ana goes on and on about her Inner Goddess which was kind of weird but Christian likes to refer to his ‘manhood’ just as much. It’s not great.

Aside from that, you might think it would be interesting to know what Christian was thinking sometimes in the story while only ever reading from Ana’s point of view. But the way this is written? It’s not giving you much. He’s always hiding his past from Ana and himself it seems, the only real insight you’re given are things from Christian’s dreams which aren’t descriptive as it’s from his point of view as a child.

I wanted to know more about Christian’s relationship with Elena and his past but we don’t get much of that. When he brings Elena up he often shuts her down despite her being his close friend, he doesn’t really want to talk to her about Ana or anything it seems. I suppose he’s a closed-off person but it bothered me we didn’t get more interactions with them.

It’s just all about how Christian is distracted by Ana and is trying to “woo” her. Which you get from the first book anyway.

So I feel like you could give this book a miss if you’ve already read the original book series. I don’t think I would have missed anything by not reading this one.

And now that I have read this one, I can say with certainty I won’t be picking up Darker to read either. Which is Fifty Shades Darker, once again in Christian’s point of view.

I know everyone says this is the Midnight Sun we never got (Stephanie Meyer did start writing Twilight in Edward’s point of view but never finished) but I don’t think it is. I feel like I would have much rather read Midnight Sun to this.

Overall I thought the book was okay. But I didn’t think it added anything more to the original story for me. I rated it 2/5 stars on Goodreads.

I have now read 11 out of 12 books for my reading goal this year and I’m so glad I have been able to stick to my goal! The last book I have chosen to read is My Sister’s Keeper. Very different from the last book I have just read. I did hope to exceed my reading goal this year but with how busy I will be coming up to the new year with university I will be happy enough to just complete the goal. But I am looking forward to challenging myself to read more in the new year!

~ Courtney x

Halloween 2018!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Halloween has been one of those holidays for me that has always been hit or miss.

As you grow up, you enjoy it because you get to dress up and go asking strangers for sweets. But then you hit that middle teenage phase where the last thing you wanna do is dress up or even go out trick or treating because you realise lots of people pretend not to be home so they don’t have to deal with you.

Though the doom and gloom don’t last that long because then you’re 18, going to university and once again excited to be dressing up to go out for one night and party. Any excuse to drink for students is a good one, especially Halloween.

So now that I have reached that phase once more where I get excited to dress up and go out for Halloween, the panic of who/what to be arises.

I kind of settled on not dressing up at all at first, I thought with final year and everything I would be too busy to go out, and party so I never really thought about a costume. That, and I had already made plans to go to a drag show, so I guess I didn’t really need a costume.

But I thought it would be fun to dress up anyway, especially because I was going to be getting meet and greet which meant a photo.

While I wanted a great costume, I was also on a budget because let’s be real, student life with no job means limited money to be spending. So I couldn’t spend a lot of money. I also didn’t want to go as something that would be common because I wanted to stand out.

After searching on Amazon and looking in pop-up Halloween stores I came up empty. But I had the idea in the back of my head that I should be Ash from Pokémon.

Why? I don’t really know.

I guess because it would be easy to pull off because the costume is simple but it’s also nerdy enough that I would probably stand out. I also own some Pokémon badges because my boyfriend bought them for me for my birthday a couple of years ago and I never get to show them off so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

And so, I ordered a hat from Amazon and borrowed my brother’s jacket my mum made him as he was Ash for Halloween a few years ago and low and behold, I became the very best like no one ever was.

I actually really enjoyed dressing up as Ash. I think it was fun and also I was easily identifiable. That being said I wish I didn’t decide so last minute so I had a chance to get a jacket that fit properly and really perfect my costume. But I still had fun.

My drag show on Halloween was also amazing, I went to see Monet X Change perform and she’s so fabulous. I think I enjoyed her show a lot because of how she interacts with the audience. She was one of my favourites of season 10.

Unfortunately, my meet and greet photo doesn’t look great so I’m not gonna share it here. Though Monet did appreciate my costume which was cool. I was worried she wouldn’t know who I was lol. But all was well.

I think in the future I will try to plan Halloween better. Have plans and a good costume in mind. That way, I don’t have to be scrambling to put something together last minute.

But Halloween is over for another year which means I have about 11 months before I even have to think about dressing up again. So I have some time.

Feel free to leave costume suggestions below, maybe I can use them to give me ideas for next year!

~ Courtney x

Currently Watching: October 2018

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

2018-09-07_1847

This blog post is coming a lot later than intended, it’s something I have been meaning to do for ages but I’ve just been super busy with uni work. Which is going to be my main focus for the next few months but in between class and assignments, I like to take a break and watch some TV. So here are all the things I have been watching in October!

gilmore-girls-wallpapers-31573-3615852

We are starting off with Gilmore Girls once more. I didn’t really watch a lot of the show last month, but this month I have had it on basically non-stop. It’s such a good show for autumn, an easy watch and just one of those shows you wanna curl up in bed and watch all day. So that’s basically what I’ve been doing.

I haven’t given up on my quest of watching Vampire Diaries and then the Originals, but it has definitely been put on hold for a while. I think I was overwatching Vampire Diaries last month and so I wanted to take a bit of a break before I dived in again. I left off watching about halfway through season 4, which means I should be moving onto the Originals very soon.

logo.jpg

This month, I have also been watching a lot of Chopped. It’s really random but the only cooking competition I like to watch. Don’t even know how I got hooked on this show, I think it was on randomly on Food Network one day…so I watched and now every so often I go through periods where I watch it non-stop. And I guess October is one of those periods. I probably won’t watch it again for months now haha.

81iqe82Xh4L._RI_.jpg

The new season of Riverdale has officially started and I am not sure how to feel about it. I feel like I have to continue watching this show because I’ve watched the first two seasons and feel like I’m invested. Even though the storylines are crazy and I don’t even really like the mystery that much. I mean, this whole cult thing they’re trying to do is cute but I’m not excited about it.

I think I just need to take a break from watching teen mystery shows, Pretty Little Liars disappointed me greatly and now I feel like any other show with the same vibe will do the same. But like I said, I’ve started watching it now, so I want to see it through until the end. Plus, KJ Apa is real cute.

cw_dynasty-cast-photo.png

The new season of Dynasty has also started and unlike with Riverdale, I’m actually super excited about this show. I love it so much, and Elizabeth Gillies is bae. I’m a little mad that they killed off one of the main characters but with what happened at the end of the first season, there was no way that everyone was going to survive unscathed.

There have only been a few episodes so far, but I’m always eagerly waiting for the next one.

htgawm

The last show that I am watching this month, and actually, the one I just got caught up on yesterday is How To Get Away With Murder. I started watching this one last year on Netflix and was hooked ever since.

The beginning episodes of every season of HTGAWM always draw me in straight away. They always have the same format of showing you flashes of the night of a murder and then showing you the events that lead up to that point. And I fall into the trap of obsessing over it every time. It’s so good.

Unlike other mystery shows that I watch, this one has a proper timeline and makes more sense than most! That being said I feel like last season got a bit far-fetched. Which is saying something because it is already a crazy far-fetched show. But I suppose they have to keep pushing the bar to get people to keep watching. But I’m all for it if it means more Annalise Keating.

And so those are all the shows that I am watching this month! I imagine in the next few months the shows I watch won’t change very much now I have shows that are still airing regularly, but you never know. I gotta find something to watch when my shows go on Christmas hiatus. So, I’ll keep you posted. And if you have any suggestions for shows then let me know!

~ Courtney x

Back to Uni!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

It’s that time of year again.

I have officially started my final year of university and I can already tell it’s going to be a busy one.

It’s only been a couple of weeks but I already feel like I am so behind on notes and extra reading, not to mention looming deadlines for assignments and starting my final year project.

It’s very intimidating.

As with the past years when starting uni, I guess it’s about taking it one day at a time. But also, working on your time management right out of the gate.

I always seem to struggle a little bit with time management during the year, mainly because when it comes to making plans and having a social life, these things always seem to happen last minute. Which means that studying sometimes takes a backseat so I can see my friends.

It’s not the end of the world to take a break from studying to see your friends but it’s making sure that you still keep up with the workload even when you slack off a little.

Again, something I am still working on but I think I’ll get the hang of it.

Sometimes it’s about sacrifice, and I can already see myself sacrificing a lot of things to make sure I do my best this year at university.

But it’s not all bad.

I get to spend time with my uni friends again which is nice after not seeing them for a year while we were out on placement. We aren’t the best at keeping in touch but I hope we do after we graduate.

I’m kept busy. Which I enjoy. Even though I complain about the work, it’s not the worst thing in the world. I like to be kept busy and have things to do instead of sitting around all day feeling useless.

I’ve started demonstrating which is something I’m enjoying because it helps me learn and also means I am helping others.

And obviously, the main thing is that I’m getting closer and closer to graduating. Which means that all the hard work will be worth it in the end to get the degree.

So while this year will be hard and stressful, I’m trying to remain optimistic about it. I know I’ll make it out the other side. It’ll just take a long time and commitment. But I’ve made it 3/4s of the way through so I’m sure I can tackle this last 1/4.

I just hope I can keep up blogging, YouTube and other hobbies in between!

~ Courtney x

Jasmine’s Birthday Surprise Weekend | 28th – 30th September 2018

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

One night at TGI’s my friends and I were having dinner and we decided to surprise our friend Jasmine for her birthday. She goes to university in England, and we haven’t been able to spend much time with her since she’s started her course. So we thought it would be great to all go over for her birthday, especially because it was around the start of the new university semester so we weren’t very busy.

However, my friends and I had only decided to do this a couple of weeks before her birthday, which meant we were going to have to work hard to pull it off. Luckily, things came together for us quite quickly, which is a miracle because we are the type of people who can’t make decisions on things to save our lives. But within a couple of days we had flights, buses/trains booked, an air bnb and Jasmine’s boyfriend’s sister on board to help us with the surprise from Jasmine’s end. We wanted to tell Chris, Jasmine’s boyfriend, but we knew he couldn’t keep a secret, so his sister was the safer bet.

In the end though, Chris kind of caught onto something, which was lucky he knew because on the day we all arrived in Chelmsford, Chris and Jasmine were in town and Megan was coming out of the train station…Our cover was almost blown! Luckily, Jasmine didn’t see her, but Chris did. If he didn’t know there was something going on he probably would have told Jasmine and again, all our planning would have gone down the drain.

But we were saved by Chris, and so we were able to get to our air bnb and set up and Jasmine ended up being surprised!

It was a super fun weekend and I was so excited to vlog it because I knew it was going to be one of those things I wanted to document and keep forever. So if you wanna see what we got up to then check out the video above!

Overall, it was a really great experience and it also showed me what my friends and I can do when we actually make decisions and get organised – that being said, I don’t see us doing anything like this again for a long, long time lol

~ Courtney x