My Corner of the Internet
I finally got around to editing my Marbella vlog! I don’t even know what took me so long, I guess I just didn’t want to do it immediately after I got back from holiday lol so here it is a month later.
I had so much fun going away with the girls, and I’ve said it before but I’d love if we could make these holidays a tradition. We don’t always need to be celebrating something it’s just nice to have the gang together.
Here’s hoping we have more adventures together in the future!
I’ve just come back from Marbella after celebrating my friend Jasmine’s hen do and I thought I’d share some of the highlights of the trip!
Because there were a lot of us going away on holiday, we decided to opt for an AirBnb, this way we could all be together rather than be separated in hotel rooms. As everyone knows, AirBnb can be hit or miss, we had settled on one before that did not have many reviews. But after a bit of mulling over we changed our minds and went with this villa.
I am so glad we trusted our guts and went with a place that had a few more reviews, because this place was stunning. There was room for everyone, with two to a room, each room had their own bathroom, there was a spacious living area which was great for us to eat at, get ready at and even play games.
I’d highly recommend looking into staying there if you are a large group in Marbella. It is just a 15 minute Uber/bus ride from the main town and a short walk to the marina at Puerto Banus. There is also a pool near the villa which we frequented and we usually had it to ourselves. Not sure if it’s due to being there in the off season or what but it was great.
The perfect place if you want a chill holiday, especially if you are planning nights in. It was also a reasonable price between 8 people for 5 nights so again, would recommend.
We stopped here for lunch on our second day and it was probably one of the better restaurants we went to. Maybe not in terms of food, the food was probably your average kind that you’d get in the area but the vibes there were great.
Our waitress, Suzie, was a highlight, she was super friendly and made sure we had everything that we needed. She gave us recommendations for nights out and even took photos with us when we left haha. Honestly, just want to say that if I ever go back to Marbella, I’m intent on finding her and saying hi.
But yeah, aside from that, the music they played was great, the cocktails were amazing and all in all it was a great afternoon. If I had to describe summer vibes those were the ones. The restaurant wasn’t busy, we basically had the upstairs to ourselves, sun was shining, music blaring and good food, drinks and company. What else could you possibly want?
Someone on Google compared this place to a TGI’s and I’d have to agree. So if that’s the kind of thing you’re looking for, definitely stop here.
I feel like it’s no secret that Jasmine loves an escape room, so obviously one of the things we had to do was book one for her hen party! And I think of all the things that could have gone wrong, the escape room was at the top of the list.
I remember looking up websites for the escape rooms and none of them were good. I’m not saying your website has to be amazing, but if you’ve put in minimal effort it doesn’t look good for your business. Plus, I don’t think a lot of the places had reviews which also made it difficult to find one we wanted to book.
Originally, we were going to go to Prison Island because it was a franchise and at least we knew it would be decent. Though Prison Island is actually in Malaga and not Marbella, so it would’ve been a lot of travel for us. So we decided to go with Arkham escape room because it was close by and to be honest, I think it had the best website/room description.
This escape room was really good, it’s hard to talk about escape rooms without giving anything away but this one was very well designed. The story is Hansel and Gretel themed and the backstory is strong and on top of solving the puzzles to escape the room there is an added challenge.
I will say the room is scary in that there is a live actor that can come in occasionally, this is not something stated on the website and so we were not prepared but I’m putting it here so you are warned. I think I would’ve done better without the possibility of someone coming into the room but I guess that adds to the experience lol.
Sadly because there were a lot of us we did have to do the room in two groups, one group made it out in time and one did not. Sadly mine was the one that got out after time ran out but we still completed it and that’s what counts.
Before going into the room the game master did say people find escape rooms in Spain harder than in other places and I’d have to agree. The ones I’ve done at home weren’t as difficult, though they aren’t super easy either. I really enjoyed the challenge of this one and would definitely recommend it if you are looking for an escape room in Marbella. Plus, we were able to do the room in English which is a big advantage lol otherwise we’d never have made it out.
We went to Joy’s twice while we were away. The first night, we didn’t stay long because we had to get up for the escape room the next morning but we enjoyed it there, enough to come back anyway haha. It was their 9th anniversary the first night we were there though the celebrations were kind of tame? I mean you wouldn’t have really known it was an anniversary unless you saw the sign on the door. That or we weren’t there long enough to know. Though we did get our photo taken a lot that night, and we were only there for about an hour.
We went back the next night to stay a lot longer and there were no photographers this night, at least none that I saw. But the vibes were still good, the drinks were a standard price so nothing special but the music was good and the live singers/entertainers were also good.
I do wish there was more space to dance there though, since we were mainly there for dancing, we were kind of cramped into this one space that wasn’t really a dance space, more like a gap between the tables for people to walk through but was large enough to dance in. It’s a small venue which I think is a shame considering the performers all seem larger than life so I think if the space was bigger it would be better.
I also think we were the youngest people there by about 10 years, which isn’t the worst but it was definitely noticeable. On top of that, we definitely had to fend off some creepy men which I guess is to be expected anywhere, but it’s not great. Though the bouncers were on the lookout because I think they did speak to some of them which was nice. I don’t recall this, though the other girls did, so that’s something.
Aside from that though we did have a good time, despite the small dancing space we still made the most of it and were there til around half 3 in the morning. So it was definitely a fun night.
There are plenty of other places the girls and I went while we were away but these four were definitely the big highlights that I wanted to mention. I really enjoyed my time away with the girls and hope we will make this annual girls’ holiday a tradition because it was so much fun last year too.
In the meantime I will be resting up and preparing to go to Paris in May, it’s only for a couple of days but it should still be good! So if you have any recommendations, hit me up. I plan to be living my Emily in Paris life to the fullest while I’m there.
It’s been 3 months since I uploaded a YouTube video so I thought it was time for a little life update. Mainly just talking about my channel and what’s going on there, feels weird to post something with my face in it because it’s been so long but enjoy!
I also filmed this because I was planning to do a haul video but I didn’t want that to be the first thing I uploaded in three months so yeah consider this a bonus lol.
I meant to post this ages ago and I forgot lol. But last year I challenged myself to film a second every day for the whole year.
I’m not going to lie; it was difficult, and I wanted to try hard to make the clips different each day. I mean, no one wants to see 365 seconds of my desk you know?
I’m not going to say I got every day perfect as I definitely fudged a few of them and a couple are pictures and not video but you know what? 95% being honest and true to everyday life isn’t bad haha. I also was smart and decided to edit it as I went so I wasn’t sitting at the end of the year sifting through my camera roll desperately trying to piece this together. So I’m proud of being organised in that way.
I am really proud of how this video turned out but I gotta say I wouldn’t be doing another one anytime soon. Mainly because it was a huge effort and I can’t say the one this year would be much different from this one haha. So yeah maybe in a few years or something but for now I am content that I was able to do it this one year.
Last year was a whirlwind but in the best way. I felt like this was the first year where everything was truly getting back to normal post-COVID and it was great. So without further ado, I am going to share all the things I’ve done in 2022! Beware the post is going to be very long so buckle in and grab a snack lol.
The year started out with me celebrating with friends. We all gathered at Megan’s house and just chilled out. I remember we were playing an escape room board game thing and we hadn’t finished it by midnight so we had a little break for the countdown before getting back into it. I also remember not sleeping that well that night and then watching a lot of Gilmore Girls. So overall a good start to the year lol.
January was also exciting house-wise, as my boyfriend and I were looking at new kitchens because B&Q were having a sale. We had had our eye on this one kitchen in B&Q since we bought our house and knew we wanted to redo the kitchen so we were looking at getting that. We had a few appointments at B&Q to map everything out, and I mocked it up in the Sims to help visualise too because that’s how professionals do it lol. But yeah we got everything sorted and ordered by the end of the month. This made me feel good about the direction of our house because I know we hadn’t made any progress in a while but this was a big step.
Also in January, my boyfriend and I had a wedding to go to. I remember being nervous about this one because I didn’t know any of the people there, and neither did my boyfriend really lol. His work colleague was getting married and we were invited but that was the only person he knew. Thankfully,. the groom’s friends were really nice so we got chatting with them otherwise it would’ve been way worse. But it was a nice wedding and an excuse to dress up.
As always with February, there is not much to report. It’s a short month, things don’t really happen. I think this was around the time I was really into Pokemon Arceus, I remember my friends Jasmine and Nathan getting it and me feeling left out so I decided to buy it. I don’t have any regrets about buying it because I did really enjoy it. I don’t remember exactly when I stopped playing though I know I didn’t complete it. Though realistically I don’t remember the last time I got to the end of a Pokemon game lol I think I need to stop buying them until I complete them but it was still fun to play.
I also had three drag shows in February, which is the most shows I’ve had in a long time. From what I remember they were all really good, it was Rose, Gottmik and Ella V’aday. I think I was just glad they all went ahead and weren’t rescheduled again because everything kept getting rescheduled over COVID.
At the beginning of March my boyfriend and I attended another wedding, this time it was one of his friends getting married so at least we knew people at the wedding and they were our age haha. It is kind of weird to attend a wedding when it’s people your own age getting married, I suppose because I still don’t feel like we are at an age when people get married but I guess we are lol. It was a good wedding though, and the venue was very pretty.
The week after that, I had plans to go see Everybody’s Talking About Jamie with my friends because the Grand Opera House was doing a deal of two-for-one theatre tickets. Unfortunately, one of my friends got COVID and wasn’t able to make it and so one of the tickets went to waste. But Jasmine and I still went to the show and I enjoyed it a lot. I wasn’t sold on the musical when I first heard it and watched the movie but seeing the actual stage show really sold it for me. I now listen to the title song all the time and it’s great.
Also in March, I had a cute date day with my boyfriend, those are always nice days to have. We went axe throwing haha which was actually kind of difficult. I mean you’d think you can just throw it and hope for the best but there was actually a technique to it. It was a lot of fun though and definitely something we will do again in the future.
Then, at the end of the month, I went to a wedding fair with my friends. My friend Jasmine is getting married this year and she wanted to get ideas for vendors etc. It was the first time I had ever been to something like that before because when would you ever go to a wedding fair unless you’re getting married? But it was a fun day, it just made me excited for Jasmine’s wedding and I can’t wait to see how the actual day turns out.
This brings us to April when I finally thought I had found a driving instructor. I had one lesson with them and they just explained how they worked and everything and it sounded great. But then a week later they messaged to say that for personal reasons they couldn’t take me on anymore. Naturally, this was disappointing but it’s the kind of thing you can’t predict or expect. So I had to go on the hunt for another driving instructor, and everyone still had waiting lists so it was going to be another few months before I made any progress on the driving front.
I also think April might have been the first month where I was going back to the office on a regular basis? It could have been March I’m not entirely sure but I started going back to the office this year. It was kind of weird going back since when I was in the office pre-pandemic I was on a different team in a different department lol. But I settled in quite well with the new team in person and everything so that was nice. It makes coming into the office less depressing when you are in with other people and can have a good time with them.
April was also the first time I ever went to the gym and the last month I was there I think lol. My boyfriend and I had talked about starting the gym for ages and then we finally did in April and went a handful of times. It was fine, I didn’t have anything against it, I was just mainly concerned I’d have no idea what I was doing and people would judge me. But actually going there and working out was fine. The reason we stopped going to the gym is that my boyfriend wanted to focus on the house and I got busy with doing other things. I mean I know I could have kept going to the gym by myself, but because I can’t drive it was going to be more awkward to do it because I would need a lift there and back etc. So we decided to put the gym membership on hold. Will we ever get back? I guess we’ll see what 2023 has in store for us.
Lastly, in April, I went to the All-Ireland Pole Championships with Jasmine. It was a fun night to get glam and see some cool pole dancers. Though honestly, not sure if it is because of how pole trends were this year but I felt like all the performances lacked something for me. Maybe it was because I couldn’t see all the floor work or something but I feel like the first time I went to the competition I was blown away by everyone, whereas this year everyone was still good but it was just okay? I don’t know, I guess it’s all down to everyone’s pole-style preference, but it was still a good night.
In May, I went on a spa weekend away with my mum. It was a Christmas present from me and my brother but he didn’t want to go with us. It was the first time I was ever going to a spa and it was wonderful. Honestly, when I saw everyone going on a spa weekend over COVID I thought it was overhyped, and I can see it being that way if you went a lot but I had a really good time. It was very chill and relaxed, which is exactly what you want for a spa weekend, we had a private hot tub, massages, drinks and dinner. It was great and definitely something I would do again.
Also in May, I went to Lisbon with the girls which was super fun. Though I feel like I have posted about that quite a lot on my blog already, so if you want to know more about my Lisbon adventures I can link you to a few places haha. It was the first proper holiday me and the girls went on as a group and it was wonderful. Plus it was a last-minute plan and we love when those come together.
In June I went to see Lawrence and Bimini, it was a drag show that had been rescheduled a few times and it was good to see them. It was a fun show and it was going to be my last drag show for a while. I hadn’t planned on it to be but other plans got in the way and so did COVID so I ended up missing quite a few of my scheduled shows this year. Still, glad I was able to enjoy this one as it was a good time.
A few days after Bimini and Lawrence, I went to see Kevin Hart in Belfast with my boyfriend. I was so happy to have gotten tickets to the show since Kevin Hart had been doing a bunch of shows in Belfast in preparation for his upcoming tour. This show though was part of the official tour and in a bigger venue so I managed to snag tickets. It was really good, I wasn’t sure what I was expecting from it but I enjoyed it.
Sadly after that June took a turn as I tested positive for COVID on my birthday. Nothing says mid-20s like getting ill on your birthday lol. I can’t say if I got it from my drag show or Kevin Hart but those were the last two big events I had before I got sick. So the second half of June was spent chilling out, watching a lot of Glee and playing Sims 3. Living my best life.
Thankfully, my illness wasn’t too bad and I was testing negative again after a week and a bit. I was raging I had gotten COVID though because I had avoided it for so long but these things happen. I’m just glad there haven’t been any long-term affects.
Another reason I am glad I recovered from COVID when I did is because I had tickets for me and my boyfriend to go to Cirque du Soleil in July. We were meant to go a couple years ago but it was another thing that got rescheduled because of COVID. It was a stressful day that day because we were going to Dublin but the traffic was bad because there were like 5 things on in Dublin that day and everyone was travelling down. Also, the tram wasn’t running to where we needed to go so we had to walk and I was worried we weren’t gonna make it on time. Thankfully though we made it to the show and it was super fun, I had never been to a Cirque du Soleil show before and it was really enjoyable so I would highly recommend.
At the end of July, I also started my proper driving lessons with my current instructor. Naturally, I was nervous about it considering my track record for driving instructors was not good. Thankfully, my instructor is really nice and we get along and the lessons are going well. I don’t really know what I would have done if I had to get another instructor lol probably given up hope of driving. It’s definitely not been all smooth sailing on the driving front but I’m closer to passing my test than I was this time last year so that’s a good sign.
In August, my pole teacher opened his own pole studio which was super exciting! I have been taking pole classes with the same teacher for five years, and when he announced he was opening his own studio of course I had to jump from the old studio to join him on his new journey. The new studio is super nice with high ceilings which means high poles, and more work to climb but it just means getting stronger as I reach the top!
I’ve actually been making really good pole progress over the last year and it’s crazy because the last couple of years I feel like progress wasn’t really happening due to inconsistent classes due to the pandemic. But now I’m back in a routine and can definitely see an improvement.
Along with moving pole studios, I also attended a couple of workshops that my hoop studio was doing. Including one that was three hours long lol. I mean when I first decided to do it I thought it was going to be a challenge and I was correct. I headed to the studio straight after work and then proceeded to do one hour of pole, one hour of chair work and then also a bit of a twerk workshop thrown in at the end lol. It was so much work but a lot of fun, not as hard as I thought it was going to be since I made it to the end but it was wild. Would do it again but probably not for a long time.
Another workshop that we did was silks with hoop and I was obsessed with it if only because the moves we were doing were super pretty, there’s something about wrapping yourself in nice fabric that makes things look nicer than usual lol.
In August, my boyfriend and I also went for a weekend away with all his friends to Enniskillen. It was a great weekend to get away because we were in the midst of a heatwave so there was lots of time spent outside sunbathing and chilling out. We held a game night which involved quiz questions and party games and went go-karting. There was a lot of chaos involved but that’s what happens when a group of 20 adults go on holiday lol. Still, it was nice to get away, even if it wasn’t a holiday abroad.
At the end of the month, my boyfriend and I went to go see Six in the Grand Opera House. I went last year with my niece but when I found out they were coming back I decided to get tickets for me and my boyfriend. He had never been to see anything in the Grand Opera House before and I just wanted to see Six again so off we went. Naturally, I enjoyed the show and it was a cute date night for us.
In September, I had my first-ever pole photoshoot. I saw it advertised online and thought it would be something fun to do. I also really wanted some nice pole photos because the only photos I have are years’ worth of video screenshots that I was lucky enough to get at a good angle lol. So now I have some pretty photos I can show people that don’t have anyone in the background or bad lighting. I learnt that day that pole photoshoots are a lot of work in terms of having the strength to hold a move long enough for photos as well as finding poses that will photograph well. Still, I am obsessed with the photos I was able to get and am looking forward to getting more in the future when I am stronger and can do cooler things.
September was also when I went to Comic Con Northern Ireland. It was my first ever Comic Con experience and it was a good time. I did make a separate blog post about that so won’t say much but I am looking forward to seeing what guests are announced for 2023! I haven’t decided for sure if I will go or not but if they get the right guests I’m sure I could be persuaded.
I think September was also when my Disney Dreamlight Valley obsession began, it was a game I decided to try out on a whim and once I started I couldn’t put it down. It even spawned the longest and most consistent Let’s Play I have ever had on my YouTube channel. That being said, there are two final episodes I filmed but have yet to edit and post but I am hoping to do it soon because I would like to get it wrapped up. I hate leaving things unfinished so even if the videos don’t come out months from now, just know I did film an ending and it’s coming lol.
In October, my boyfriend started work on our new kitchen which is exciting. It’s nice to have some house progress going, even if it’s been slow going a little progress is better than none. It was very noisy for a long time with all the construction going on but we now have a new functional kitchen! It’s not complete by any means, but we have a counter and cupboards and a functioning fridge, oven and stove so we can cook in it but not much else lol. There’s still a lot of work to go, but at least we got the main things going for now. We did go through about 2 weeks of takeaway and while that sounds great in theory, it was not good for my skin or my stomach in the long run.
Also in October, I hurt my ankle lol. Which is a random thing to note but it was the first big injury I have had in a while. I had gone over my ankle as I was coming down the stairs after pole class because I’m super clumsy. It was also embarrassing because I was walking out with people but at least they were able to help me back up and get me to the bus stop lol. It was sore for about two weeks afterwards which made activities such as pole and driving lessons difficult. Moreso pole than the driving lessons but it was fine. Not great but we dealt with it.
In November, I feel like I was busy a lot just in general because I had lots of dentist and doctor appointments. Nothing super exciting about that but I guess it’s just life. I was having a lot of dentist appointments because I am planning to get Invisalign so I’ve been to the doctor more in the last 3 months than I have in the last 3 years lol. Hopefully, it all pays off in the end and I come out with straight teeth. I haven’t even got the retainers yet but have just been doing prep work so hopefully, that’ll kick off soon.
Aside from that the only other big event in November was Liverpool Comic Con. It is where all my fangirl dreams come true because I got to meet the Cullens, the Salvatore brothers and Chad Michael Murray. I have to say though I was not as excited as I thought I would have been? I guess my main fangirl days are behind me which is sad but I’m still glad I went because I know it meant a lot to my younger self. Plus you know when would I ever get the opportunity to see all these people in one place again. If you want to know more about my Comic Con Liverpool journey then check out this blog post.
December is supposed to be a month for winding down and relaxing and while that may be the case for some, it was not for me lol. I feel like I was always doing things leading up to Christmas, meeting friends or hanging out with work ones etc. There was always something.
At the start of December, I had a flying pole workshop, which is something I always wanted to try and thought it looked cool. Basically for flying pole, the pole is only attached to the ceiling and the bottom is free so you’re just swinging around on a very mobile pole. It was a fun workshop and everything was going really well until I fell lol. I mean most things go well until you fall.
The fall was quite a bad one considering I was injured for a while after that. Nothing super crazy like I didn’t have to go to the hospital or anything but it was a painful fall. And it’s probably my first big pole injury since starting pole fitness classes a few years ago so I mean I pride myself in being able to say I’ve gone this long without seriously injuring myself lol. But yeah, I basically landed on my ass and the impact was harsh so I was sore for a while. Didn’t affect day-to-day life too much but I definitely had to take it easy at aerial classes for the rest of December.
Also in December, I did get sick which is not surprising considering I was doing a lot of socialising. And I feel like since COVID everyone has started to get sick again like even with the cold, it’s very easy to pick things up. I suppose it was bound to happen when all the mask-wearing and things stopped. But still, not great. I had a cold for like two weeks and it was not my fave. Though it does fall in line with the pattern of me getting sick once a year, I guess technically this year I was sick twice but that’s better than being sick 24/7. Though ideally, we would avoid being sick altogether.
But yeah, Christmas was pretty quiet this year, I feel like as everyone gets older there’s less chaos going on with presents and toys etc. But it was good to spend a few days with family since I hadn’t seen them in a while. In all my efforts to try and see people more this year I feel like I still didn’t see family as much as I would have liked, so still something to work on in the new year.
And finally, the last big event I had of the year was a drag queen show between Christmas and New Year’s. It was my first show since Bimini and Lawrence back in June so it was good to get out to a show again. Though they haven’t really been announcing drag shows recently which is weird since for the last few years I feel like they were going non-stop. Even with a pandemic, they were still doing their best to bring the best of the best to Belfast.
Still, can’t complain I guess it gives me the opportunity to do other things and also saves some money in my bank account. I do enjoy a good drag show but I also feel like since I’ve been to so many now that I don’t need to go to every single one. So we’ll see what directions the shows take next year and if I’ll be going to them or not.
The show I went to in December was Danny Beard and Cheddar Gorgeous and they were both fabulous performers. I knew I was going to get a good show from them after Drag Race UK and they did not disappoint. And I think it was a fun way to wrap up 2022.
And that brings us to the end of another wild ride of a year! And I guess into the first month of 2023. I had planned to write this blog post sooner but time just got away from me. Maybe for 2023, I will write month by month so it’s a lot easier to compile in the end lol. But still, thanks for sticking with me this long if you did.
January is over and I gotta say I have done very little. Which is fine, I mean I needed some chill time after last year being so busy. That’s not to say this year won’t be equally as busy once we get things going but it would be nice to take more time to rest in between activities. If there’s anything I got of 2022 it was that sometimes it’s okay to say no to things and take a break. But at the same time, I liked being busy so we need to find a balance lol.
Aside from that, I am sending good vibes into the new year as always. Hoping everyone has a good one this year because I feel everyone deserves a good year after the last few pandemic-ridden ones. Not sure exactly what the next year holds for me but I know there are exciting things coming up so we’ll see where it takes us. And I look forward to recounting all the tales and adventures right back here in 2024! See you then!
This should have been posted last year but I am never good with time-sensitive blog posts lol. Despite my lack of punctuality though I feel like I did well with my goals from 2022.
I am actually making progress on this one! So I think the last time I wrote about my goals, I was trying to get an instructor and I am happy to report I found one! I have been taking lessons since the end of July last year and it’s actually going well, I’m not going to lie, some weeks it feels like it’s a bit shaky but I’ve definitely come a long way since I first started.
I also went on a few lessons with my boyfriend last year, though this turned out exactly how we thought it would. Disastrous lol I was just super nervous driving his car and so I was on edge the whole time. He also just got a new car so I doubt we’ll be doing many more driving lessons together.
So yeah I am feeling optimistic about it and will need to rebook my theory test again since mine has long expired lol. Don’t know whether to be excited or slightly scared about being out on the roads in 2023 but I’m glad I’m finally doing it.
I think this one has been good this year, a bit hit or miss considering I think about blogging about stuff and then lots of time passes and I don’t do it lol. For example, my Comic Con posts were months later just because I was meaning to write them and never did.
I think I need to work on not putting so much pressure on what I’m writing. Which is easier said than done since I always think about this but I’ll work on it. I mean sometimes there genuinely isn’t anything to blog about but other times I know I can do it so I just need to make time for it.
I will continue to work on blogging this year, and for as long as I have a blog.
Smashed this one. But I knew I would lol. I’m pretty sure I was close to reaching my goal when I did my mid-year check-in so something would have had to go seriously wrong for me not to reach it.
And as always I will continue on reading in 2023, I am excited to finish up PLL and dive into new things this year.
I’d say I am doing okay at this. Mainly because I am just doing Duolingo. And my streak is going strong, almost at a full year now. That being said, there’s definitely been more than a few streak freezes used, and days when I was just doing a quick repeat lesson to keep the streak. So I can’t say I’ve been working my hardest at it.
Still, I have been learning a few things. Though as time goes on I know it’s not really sustainable for learning a language, especially when you only ever learn really specific phrases, and I’m never really challenged to do it myself. Like, yeah you have to write a phrase in Korean based on English but you see the phrases in Korean all the time because it’s always the same stuff. So am I really learning anything other than how to memorise very specific sentence structures?
I mean either way I’m not fussed about not learning how to speak a language. I had this as a goal because I thought my boyfriend and I would do it together but he ended up bailing lol. I will still keep up with the Duolingo though in the new year, as I think it’s a good thing to keep the brain active and working ya know? So we see how it goes.
This one has been hit/miss as I feel like I have spent lots of time this year with friends like I’ve been out with my friends from school, work and pole. It’s been a busy year for me and socialising.
But in terms of family, I definitely have not been spending as much time with them and I think half of it is because I’ve been busy with other things lol. I filled 2022 with doing the most it seems so I feel like I need to take more time to rest, but also make time for family. I didn’t see most of them until Christmas in 2022 so it would be nice to see them more than once a year. I definitely think learning to drive will help though, because I’ll have more freedom to travel rather than being confined to public transport, which is becoming more and more annoying to me recently but we won’t get into that.
So yeah, not the worst but not the best.
We did make progress on the house but also feels like we currently just have another incomplete room lol.
Currently, the ensuite is tiled which it wasn’t before this year but the rest of the ensuite is not put in. And we have the basics of our new kitchen in which is exciting but the plastic is still on all of the doors because we still have the painting, tiling and other things to do.
So we are getting there, I am hoping after the kitchen and ensuite everything else magically falls into place but it’s a big undertaking, especially when doing it yourself. Still, looking forward to the day when it’s all done and we can just enjoy the space we have.
I think I did well with this, at least in terms of pole classes I was good. I went almost every single week and I’ve made a lot of progress which I am so proud of myself for.
Hoop classes kind of fell off for me in the second half of the year just because my Saturdays were taken up by other things but I am slowly getting back into it. That being said, it would be easier to do a class during the week if I could but the timings just never add up for me. So it’s a come-and-go thing which is fine.
There was also a period of time when I was doing pole practice, KPop Dance class and pole class for a few weeks and that was a lot lol. So I mean it’s about balance. I’m not too mad about not doing tons of exercise I think as long as I keep what I’m doing I’m doing all right.
Plus who knows? Maybe when my boyfriend and I get the house sorted we might actually make it to the gym again lol.
And so, those were all my goals from 2022 and what I achieved with them. I have to say I’m proud of myself for actually making progress with the goals. I mean usually, you have ideas about stuff you wanna do in the new year and never do them so I’m proud these were achievable and I was doing them.
Do I have goals for 2023? Yes and no. I mean I have a couple things I wanna do but I don’t really know if I’ll make a post talking about them. It’s mainly just keeping up the driving and get Invisalign but I have already started talking to someone about that so it’s happening lol.
But this was good and just like the start of last year I feel very motivated for this year and doing things so I am hoping to keep up the momentum and make the most of the year. And hopefully, I will keep up the blogging along the way!
I’m finally sharing my photos from Comic Con Liverpool! Almost two and a half months later but it’s fine. I tried to write this blog post a while ago but I didn’t like how it was going so I’m doing it again. I feel like sometimes I try too hard with my blog posts when they don’t even need that much to them. I’m not writing this for anyone but myself so does it really matter what they say?
Anyway yes, so I went to Comic Con Liverpool in November with my boyfriend and it already feels like a lifetime ago. But I have been waiting for this Comic Con for a long time and now it’s finally happened and it still doesn’t feel real. I mean, like Comic Con Northern Ireland all of the meet and greets were kind of a blur but I’ll share with you what I remember and how it all felt.
First off, this convention was about three times the size of Comic Con Northern Ireland and there were people EVERYWHERE. I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised they brought both Salvatore brothers and the Cullens to the UK, not to mention Charlie Hunnam and some other big hitters so it was a busy time. Still, like most people I did have issues with some of the organisation of the events and the flow of things.
For example, there were no signs for things anywhere and so it was hard to navigate your way around. Thankfully, for the first day all of my meet and greets were in the one place so I just had to find that place and stay there but signage would have been helpful. Especially for Paul and Ian, they were in a separate area away from everyone but I had no idea where that was. I kind of went to an area and hoped for the best. Still, I got where I needed to go and met who I needed to so that’s what matters.
Another issue they had was congestion around the hallways. Mainly near the sky bridge and the Q&A hall. I mean I guess it didn’t help that when you left Paul and Ian’s room you were put into the hallway everyone was trying to pass through. Naturally, there were people standing about there trying to get a glimpse of whoever was hidden in the separate room, but you also had the lines for the Q&A and then people just trying to get to the other building. It was a mess.
Not to mention, one time we were on the sky bridge but the staff were trying to close it but weren’t letting us leave the bridge? They were closing the doors but we were all standing behind the doors trying to get through but they wouldn’t let us even though we were already there and more people were coming down so we couldn’t go back the way we came. It was not pleasant and there was no communication from staff about what was going on so yeah, not ideal and I can’t imagine how it would’ve felt if you were claustrophobic.
So those would have been the main downsides to the days, aside from that it was fine. I guess I was also annoyed I wasn’t able to make all the Q&As I wanted based on photo times and everything but that was mainly a ‘me’ problem since I bought all my photos for Saturday and the Q&As I wanted to go to were all on Saturday. So next time we balance things out for both days.
In terms of meet and greets, they were all similar, except when I was queuing for the Twilight meet and greet I got talking to some other people in line and it was amazing. Like to be around people who share that interest with you and who you can fangirl with is honestly the best feeling. My heart felt so full talking to them, it really made me feel like I’d found my place and where I was meant to be. It was such a highlight for me and I would definitely recommend going to Comic Con just for that. It’s one of the reasons why I joined Twitter when I was younger, to find people who loved Twilight as much as me because no one in my real life really understood, so meeting people like that in person really meant a lot to me and my younger self.
I didn’t really get talking to anyone else in the other lines I was queuing for, which is fine. I mean I was queuing by myself but I usually keep to myself unless other people talk to me first lol. I have become a lot more confident since I left school but striking up conversations with strangers has never been my strong suit. But I’m sure if I had tried I could have gotten into some good conversations about Vampire Diaries, considering half the convention goers were walking around in some form of Vampire Diaries t-shirt.
As for the photo-ops themselves, it was all in and out. When I got my photo with the Cullens, I didn’t say anything to anyone lol I think I was kind of star-struck, but also the photographer was taking a break or something and it was kind of awkward as I was just standing in the middle of all of them and they were talking amongst themselves. I can’t say I was disappointed because I didn’t have anything to say and I wasn’t expecting them to have much to say either but it was just a bit awkward because I was standing there longer than expected lol.
The Ian and Paul photo was not my favourite to queue for, it was the longest queuing and since I didn’t have anyone to talk with so it did drag for me. I also felt bad for Ian and Paul the whole weekend as their schedules were non-stop, but they showed up and showed out doing their best. I mean from my experience with them it wasn’t ideal, I don’t think Ian looked at me until I was halfway out the door but again, I’m not mad about it. A bit disappointed but I understand they were busy that day and I wasn’t there for conversation. It definitely would have been nice if they had been a bit more enthusiastic but by the time I got there I think they’d already been taking photos for hours so you can’t expect the world of them, they’re only human.
I also got a photo with Nathaniel Buzolic, though only just. I was the last person he met on Saturday I think lol I had to rush from Ian and Paul to get over to him because of how the timings worked out. He was really nice, I think if I had things to say to him he would have happily chatted with me but I genuinely didn’t have anything to say so we said hello, got our photo and off I went.
And finally, I got a photo at the end of the day with Chad Michael Murray, he was the most memorable to me. I guess because he actually looked at me lol. What I mean is he said hi, shook my hand and asked how I was doing. He seemed pretty laid back and in no rush, though it was the last photo op of the day and the line was short. It was a nice moment and again, if I had had more to say to him I’m sure he would have chatted with me but I’m not really one for making small talk with celebs. I mean it’s great if you have a story to tell them or you want to tell them how much their show/movie meant to you but that’s not who I am.
Then there were the two Q&As I was able to make it to. I went to the Originals Q&A panel and then I managed to get a ticket to the Paul and Ian one.
So the Originals one was pretty chill. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the actors as I didn’t know them outside the show but they were good fun. Nathaniel and Sebastian played off of each other and were having a good time. I do wish Riley had been able to speak more but I guess it’s the struggle when you’re co-stars are louder than you lol. Something I could relate to. Overall I enjoyed it and my boyfriend did too, despite him not knowing anything about the show or the actors lol.
The Paul and Ian Q&A I felt was good. I kind of wish the questions had been better but I mean I can’t control what other people are going to ask lol. I suppose if I wanted a good question I should have thought of one but then you never know if they’ll get to you in time etc. But yeah, they were entertaining, Ian being more vocal than Paul though how either of them managed to have any energy at the end of the weekend was beyond me. The panel was the very last thing of the weekend so they had spent the last two days meeting all the people with little downtime I appreciate the effort they put into the panel.
Last but not least I did decide on Sunday to get autographs from the Twilight cast, I wasn’t going to do it initially but I thought why not, I’m here I’m gonna do it. It was the kind of thing I was in and out with them all lol, didn’t have much to say and that’s all good.
I mean impressions up close I’d say Ashley is very professional, she had her handler person write out your name and everything before you got to her so she would copy it out and everything. She was also about to go for lunch so I feel like she was trying to get through as many people as possible.
Jackson was nice to meet, he was friendly and asked how I was. Kellan was okay though he needed to leave for the restroom so I can understand if he wasn’t super friendly when we met lol. Plus he was doing free selfies which was nice so I feel like his line was extra busy compared to others who were charging for selfies.
Peter Facinelli’s line took the longest, I guess because he was taking time to chat with everyone which is a positive, but at the same time when you have spent all weekend in queues, it was not the best. Still, I waited in line and he was nice enough. I feel like because I didn’t have anything to say though it was pretty quick and chill.
Overall I would say Comic Con is what you make it, like if you want to be there to talk to the celebrities and have time with them you can get that. Depending on scheduling and everything too, I saw on Facebook some people were disappointed they didn’t get their meet and greets or something due to timing. From my experience, I definitely could have taken longer at the signing tables if I wanted to, and at some of the photo ops I feel like the people would have been happy to chat. I guess it depends on the celebrity as well, but you can usually judge by being in front of them.
But it was definitely worth it for me, I got everything that I wanted and I met the people I wanted to meet. I can’t complain. Well, aside from the things mentioned at the start of the post lol. I didn’t expect it to be perfect though.
Will I go back for another Comic Con? Yes, I would, but probably not for a long time. I mean the only reason I went to this one and the last one was that they announced people I really wanted to meet. Now that I’ve met them, I don’t feel the need to see them again if they are announced again. Plus, it would be good to give my bank account a chance to recover lol.
But if they were to somehow get a hold of Robert Pattinson/Taylor Lautner I’d be there in a heartbeat. Though something tells me their convention days are behind them. And that’s fine, I mean it’s a little sad for the Twilight fangirl in me but it’s understandable.
I think if anything my next goal is to make it to RuPaul’s Drag Con UK but I definitely need to save some serious money for that because I know I’ll wanna see everything and everyone. And hopefully, find some friends to tag along because I know my boyfriend will not be in for that one lol.
In the meantime though, it’s time to hang the fangirl hat up for a while and return to doing regular life things. Not as fun but gotta be done.
I am trying to make time to film Plan With Me videos, even though it puts me even further behind in my planning lol. That being said I still plan to have this planner completed on time so I guess I’ll just need to go into over drive planning in the next couple months to get caught up. Also R.I.P to my bank account as I try to get all the stickers needed to cover the November/December period because I don’t think I have that sorted yet haha.
Still, I do not regret this hobby this year it’s been super fun and I love how pretty it turned out. Plus this year I have actually had a lot of activities to document and this is a fun way to do it.
So this is a month late because I completely forgot it was something that I wanted to write about lol. But in September I went to my first ever Comic Con!
Comic Con Northern Ireland announced a lot of Vampire Diaries cast members and I knew I couldn’t pass up my opportunity to meet them. I am a firm believer in spending money on doing something one time if you can because when are you ever gonna get the chance to do it again? Which is why I went all the way to New York City with my friend for a KPop concert and why I was going to spend a lot of money to spend ten seconds in the presence of someone who was on a TV show I liked when I was 16.
Sadly for me and probably most of the Vampire Diaries fans in Northern Ireland, the main men Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley cancelled a month or two before the event. But that’s okay because there were still a lot of the cast that were going to be there, along with a lot of other celebrities.
So on Saturday 17th September I made the trek out to the Eikon Centre for Comic Con. And I say trek because I do not live close to there and also if you weren’t driving or having someone give you a ride there it was difficult to get there. Thankfully they announced shuttle buses for next year but I don’t know how I would have travelled if someone hadn’t offered to drive me there and had someone to leave me in Belfast when the event was over.
The first thing I thought when I got there was – “wow this place is huge”. I’d never been to the Eikon Centre before so I had no idea what it looked like or what to expect. It’s basically a massive empty space for events which makes sense haha. But when I went into the building it was filled with people and things to see.
For example, movie and TV show props which you could take your photo at which is fun, as well as lots of retro video game consoles to play old games on. It feels weird to say retro video game consoles though because they did have Wiis and PlayStations there but at the same time Sega Mega Drives so there really was a mix. In the first main hall there was even live wrestling taking place so it really was a sight to behold.
I think I was overwhelmed to be honest, and that was before I went into the secondary hall which held all the vendors and the signing tables for the guests who were going to be there. Plus, all of the people in cosplay and out.
I had originally planned to do Comic Con solo because another thing I have started to do is start doing things on my own. I have been the person who won’t do things because I would rather have someone to do them with, which is fine but at the same time can mean you miss out on some cool stuff you’ve always wanted to do. So I now just buy tickets to things that I want to go to and if other people want to go great but if not then I know I can do it on my own and it’s fine. That being said, that doesn’t apply to travelling outside the country yet but I’m sure I’ll get there in time lol.
Anyway, I was going to do Comic Con alone but I found out that someone from my pole class was also going for the Vampire Diaries cast so I decided to meet up with them and I’m glad I had people to hang out with. One, so I had someone to take my picture at things lol but also to have someone to fangirl with. I mean, I’m sure it would not have been hard to make friends at this event if I wanted, if there was ever a place to make friends with similar interests to you, it has to be at Comic Con. But it was still nice to share the experience with people you know.
I had only one meet and greet scheduled for Comic Con, originally I was going to have a few but with cancellations and everything it boiled down to one with Daniel Gillies. I decided to only go for him because he was one of the only main people who didn’t cancel lol. But also Elijah is my favourite Original vampire from Vampire Diaries so I mean of course I wanted a photo with him.
The least fun part about Comic Con and anything in life I feel is the queuing. No one likes standing around in line all day and that’s another reason why I was okay with doing Comic Con alone – didn’t really wanna ask other people to stand around with me all day haha. But thankfully the photo queues did move quite fast. I guess that’s only good while you’re waiting in line though because the reason the queues go so fast is because they are funneling people in and out so fast.
Literally, the only words that Daniel actually said to me were “do you wanna do a back to back photo” and naturally I felt pressured so I just said yes. I mean I could have said no and we probably would have had a normal photo but my natural instinct was to say yes so that’s what we got. When I was waiting for the photo to be printed, I was concerned it was going to turn out terribly because I feel like back to back poses are just naturally cringey. But when I got the photo I actually really liked how it turned out, so that’s a plus.
Am I said I didn’t get to talk more with Daniel? No. Because I’ve done plenty of meet and greets in my life to know that’s just how it goes. Plus, I never have anything to say to people I meet anyway, like to me I just want the photo and that’s good enough. Maybe it’s superficial but isn’t that what this whole meeting celebrity thing is about at least a little bit?
Besides, if you want to talk more to the celebrities everyone always says go to the signing tables and I believe them. If you wait in line for an autograph you have more time with them, because if they aren’t scheduled to be somewhere or are on break they will probably be at the signing table. So if you want to have your time up close with them spend your money there.
I personally didn’t feel like I needed to get autographs from anyone, as I appreciate a photo more but me and my friend did hang around the tables to get a glimpse of some people up close. Which I feel like is always a fun time at a convention, celeb spotting haha.
And then to end the day my friend and I went to the Vampire Diaries Q&A panel they were hosting, they were doing 3 cast members on the Saturday and 3 on the Sunday but I decided to only go on Saturday because I had done all the things I had wanted to do that day and felt like it would have been a lot of travel the next day for one Q&A panel.
Naturally, the panel was packed out with people, but it was still a nice chance to ask questions and learn more behind the scenes information about your favourite show. If anything though I feel like people always ask the same questions lol. Which is fine, but I would have liked if people had more in depth questions than “should Caroline have ended up with Stefan or Klaus”. I personally couldn’t think of any questions so maybe it’s my fault but yeah maybe next time I will prep some hard hitting questions for them.
Overall though it was a good day. I enjoyed the experience and if you’ve never been to a Comic Con I would recommend it! Obviously it’s better to go when there is something there that will cater towards you specifically but sometimes it’s just nice to go see what all the fuss is about.
And this does not conclude my Comic Con adventures for the year either, I am also planning on attending Liverpool Comic Con in November. It is probably the biggest(?) Comic Con in the UK because they always have a really good lineup. And this year is no exception as they have booked the Salvatore brothers (hopefully they don’t cancel again) and also some of the Twilight cast so I knew I definitely had to be there. Hopefully I can share my experience there a bit sooner than I shared this one haha.
Anyway I look forward to seeing what Northern Ireland Comic Con will bring next year, as they had a lot of success this year, I am wondering who they could bring next year. Hopefully less people I want to meet to give my bank account a bit of a rest but you never know…Guess I should start saving while I can lol.
The plan with me for the week of my birthday! It wasn’t the most exciting week for me as I did get COVID but I still wanted to use this gorgeous kit from ScribblePrintsCo so I guess that’s something worth celebrating lol.
Courtney Shek 