Category: Life

How To Get Away With Murder

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

The newest TV show in my life.
I know I have already made 2 videos in January talking about this show but is it really an official love if I don’t also make a blog post about it?
I didn’t really know what to expect when I first started to watch it, although from the first five minutes I was hooked. And I don’t remember the last time it took five minutes for me to be hooked on a show. Normally it takes an episode or two but this was from the get-go. I needed to know why/how these 5 students committed murder and I needed to know now.
Luckily for me, the first two seasons are on Netflix which meant I got to binge-watch and learn about everything that happened.
And just when you thought things were going to calm down after season one, season two gets even crazier. The way they lay out the show is amazing. They show you just enough of that “one night” to make you want to know what happened. And it’s just so good.
I have to admit, I did find the whole Rebecca/Sam murder thing way more interesting than the Hapstall murders. But I think it’s because Rebecca and Sam had more to do with the main characters. That being said though, that Hapstall case escalated quickly.
And don’t even get me started on finding out about what happened to Wes’s mother and finding out about Frank killing Annalise’s baby and also killing Lilia which started this whole thing.
Like what the hell Frank?!
Technically everything that happened is his fault. But at the same time I don’t want to see him be punished? Like I don’t know guys. It’s weird.
I actually really like Frank as a character, he started off as being so mysterious and the one to just “take care” of problems but we’ve also seen him break down and go off the grid. It’s so crazy.
Not to mention he recently just confessed to Wes’s murder which he didn’t actually do so now you can’t help but be like “wtf Frank?!”. I know he’s doing it to make things right with Annalise and everyone else but at the same time I don’t want him to go down for this because it’s not his fault.
Gosh this show.
Plus, the fact they decided that Wes was going to be the next to die – OF ALL PEOPLE. Like why him? Why not someone else? I had this spoiled for me when I was doing a Google search of the show and I was not pleased. I just kept waiting to see how it had happened and I’m just not okay.
I have also been so used to not having to wait to see what happens that waiting is killing me inside slightly. I need to know who killed Wes and how. In my latest video talking about the show I went through the main characters and I don’t think there’s any of them that could have done this.
Which makes me think about if it was someone outside of the main cast, but who?! I really don’t know.

Not to mention they had those flashbacks of Wes with all the characters in the last episode and none of us were prepared for that. Like that’s not okay to play with our emotions like that.
And also Annalise is in jail, which everyone on the internet can’t believe because she is literally the only person on the show to not have committed murder so it’s like – what? Haha. Although Annalise is strong so I believe she will make it through prison.
I also believe that it is Bonnie’s time to step up and be a lawyer. I know she’s not that confident but if Annalise believes in her then so do I. She can do this.
But I guess we don’t really know what happens until we see what they do about Frank admitting to the murder…
Gah!
I’m just so excited for the new episode. I need all the answers.
I’m sure people online have lots of good theories so I might see what there is out there. I just need to know what happens. And I also hope that the rest of the cast stay alive because I am not about shows who think it’s cool to kill off the main cast members. That sounds weird to say but there are a lot of shows that do that.
Anyway, I think that’s all I have to say on the show right now. I’ll probably have loads more thoughts as we continue through this season so expect more tweets/YouTube videos/blog posts – whatever way I can use to get my thoughts out about this show. I just have to share.
I hope you enjoyed reading, if you have any theories or suggestions for who might have killed Wes/how let me know, it would be great to know what you think and hopefully I’m back with a new blog post soon. 😛
~ Courtney x

My 2016

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I know a lot of people would say that 2016 was a terrible year, and for a lot of reasons it was. But for me? 2016 has been a pretty amazing year. I think it’s easy to get caught up in the negative of things but I think going into 2017 we should focus on the positive. And so that’s what I’m going to do.
In this recap of my 2016 I am only going to focus on the positive. This year has been an amazing year for me and I want to share all of the good things that have happened with you today.
Just like last year, I am going to talk about things in chronological order since that makes the most sense. It’s hard to think back to the start of the year but luckily for me, I like to document things. Whether that’s online, or writing a journal, I always have the memories somewhere.
One of the first big things that happened in 2016 for me was meeting Bianca Del Rio. She is the winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 6 and one of my favourite drag queens. The night I got to meet her was definitely an unforgettable one. Mainly because I was asked to come on stage and lip sync for my life in front of her. Talk about pressure. And of course, plenty of my friends were there and recorded the whole thing, so I think I’m going to be remembering that for a long, long time.

A quick look back on my Twitter, and the rest of January consisted of me playing Sims, and not having very much sleep. Something I think I need to work on this year. Sleep is precious, make sure to get enough of it.
In February I started dating my boyfriend. We’ve been together almost a year now which is crazy to think about. I don’t want to say too much about it but we’ve had a good relationship over the past year, and I’m hoping 2017 will be a good year for us too. I never thought love would be in the cards for me last year. As my first long-term relationship it was an adjustment but I think I’ve adjusted quite well.
Then in March, I began house hunting with my two friends. We were looking for somewhere to live during our second year at university and that was an experience. Student houses are not the most glamorous of accommodation but they are something.
During this time I was also starting Mandarin classes for the first time. Definitely not an easy language to learn. Let’s just say I didn’t make it far in those classes. However later in the year, I ended up enrolling in a Korean class and I find that language much easier to learn. So I think I’m going to be sticking with Korean for now.
April was spent watching a lot of TV shows, I watched Suits, RuPaul’s Drag Race and Nashville. I also got addicted to Neko Atsume which is an app about cats. I thought it was really adorable and so I posted lots of photos about it on Twitter. I still play the game to this day so there’s no regrets.

In May I was starting summer holidays after finishing my first year at university. It felt good to be done with university for a while. I felt like I had a much needed break. This is when I started to make more YouTube videos again and decided to make my second YouTube channel.
I think that it was a good idea to start another channel just for Sims content. I just find that my Sims content doesn’t fit into the rest of the channel which are all videos of me. Plus it means I don’t feel bad for posting so many Sims videos. It also helped to keep me productive over the summer months because it meant I always had something to do.
In June I celebrated my 19th birthday by going ice skating with my friends. I also put together party bags which I think went down really well. I swear that young adults appreciate party bags more than little kids haha. At least my friends loved them. Who knew all you needed was mini water pistols and party poppers to have fun? That and sugar, sugar is a must.
Also in June, I left the country for the first time to go to New York. Talk about a holiday to remember. I went with my best friend Jasmine for KCon and it was the most amazing experience. I won’t talk too much about it now since all I did when I got back from New York was talk about the fact I went to New York.
I just had such an amazing time and to be able to share that experience with one of my close friends was even better. I am also so glad that I was with Jasmine when she went to see her KPop idols in person. I hope that in the future there will be more opportunities for her to be able to meet them. Seeing KPop idols perform in person is an incredible experience. And if you get the chance to experience it, I definitely recommend it.
And of course I would love to go back to New York one day. It’s an amazing city and I wish I had gotten to see more of it when I was away. But I guess it just gives me an excuse to go back.

When I came back from New York I threw myself back into playing Sims. I had went a whole 4 days in New York without it and I was missing it dearly haha. I also began to play a lot of Pokemon Go. I was obsessed with Pokemon Go for a long time when it first came out. I had spent so long waiting for it to be released in the UK that when it finally came out I couldn’t get enough of it. I even played in when I went to Rome in September.
Rome was another amazing experience that I got to have in 2016. I went from never having left the country to going on two holidays in a year. That’s a big deal. Again, I won’t say much about my trip to Rome since I already made a blog post talking about it. But I had a great time there. And I think it was the perfect way to end the summer before I headed back to uni. Everyone says that when you are young you should travel and I think 2016 was just the beginning for me.

After Rome came the hard work of starting university again. Second year so far has been so much more work than first year. So it was a big adjustment for me. That and moving into my student house was a lot to take in for the first month or so. But soon enough I settled into a new routine. There are still flaws in this routine but I know things will work out in the end.
Obviously moving out wasn’t the smoothest of transitions. We went without wifi in our student house for a month and it was a whole new world having to pay for food and bills on your own. But I think it went pretty well. We also had a roommate situation but luckily we were able to deal with that as soon as possible and everything worked out for the best.
On top of starting university I was also looking for a job for my placement year. I was completely new to the process of applying for jobs and going to interviews so it was a learn as you go type of thing but everything worked out well in the end. I got offered a job in the middle of December and I start in July which is wonderful. Something less to think about for now.
And to end the year I was able to spend lots of time with friends and family over Christmas which was really great. Ever since going to university I don’t get to see all my friends as much as I used to and so I think that it was good that I got to see them when they came home for the holidays.
I was always worried about keeping in touch with friends after we left secondary school. It’s a lot harder when you don’t see each other everyday but when you do get to hang out again it’s really fun. And I hope that I can continue to keep in touch with my friends no matter where we go and what we do in life. It’s definitely something that takes work but when you have really good friends, it’s worth it.
I am now currently enjoying my time off from university and preparing for another crazy year ahead. I have no idea what exactly 2017 holds for me, but if it’s anything like 2016, then I welcome it with open arms. If you had told me this time last year that this was how my year was going to turn out I wouldn’t have believed you. It’s been so amazing. And I’m glad that I got to share it with such amazing people.
So do I have any expectations for 2017? Not really. I’m not expecting this year to be like the last one, maybe it’ll be better, maybe it’ll be worse. Who knows? I just know that I am going to continue doing my best and see where it takes me. I’m definitely going into this year with a positive attitude, and I hope everyone else does too.
I hope you all had a good 2016, despite all of the bad things that happened. And I hope 2017 is a great year for you. I feel like the whole world is hoping 2017 is a great year. So let’s see if we can make it one.
~ Courtney x

Busy Busy Bee – That’s Me

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I know it’s been forever since I have written here but I have just been so busy.
I am halfway through my second year of university and everything seems to be going by in a blur. Second year is a whole different ball game compared to first year. I feel like they were taking it easy on us last year to allow us to adjust to being in a new learning environment and now this year, they’ve decided you’ve adjusted enough to throw you into the deep end.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing but it definitely has been keeping me on my toes.
So yes, I have been struggling a little bit but that’s okay. I wouldn’t say I’m drowning – not yet anyway. But I’m trying to remain hopeful haha.
Anyway, my main point of this blog post was to fill you in on where I have been the past few months. Since I’ve started university I haven’t really been able to blog, make a YouTube video or even really update social media as much as I used to. I mean I have been trying to write this blog post for over a month so I think that’s an indicator of how busy I’ve been.
It started off with moving.
This year I decided it would be best to live closer to the university, it’s a lot handier because it means not having to travel everyday, it’s cheaper and it’s a lot easier to make it to last minute group meetings. So living away from home has been an adjustment.
I actually don’t have that many complaints about living away from home. Mainly because it’s not a permanent move and I go home every weekend haha. But I actually enjoy it. It’s nice to have a place you can go away from home. While yes, I do live with roommates, we have different routines and so often I am sitting by myself in the living room. Which I realise sounds a bit sad but I like to be on my own so it’s fine haha.
I like having a quiet place of my own to go to. And it’s also nice to live with different people. I mean at first I was worried I was going to end up getting sick of seeing my roommates but honestly it’s pretty great. I did have a situation a couple of months ago where my former roommate had decided to move out, which caused a bit of a hassle, but now everything is settled again.
I know everyone has a different experience with living with friends etc. when they go to uni so I wasn’t sure what to expect with my situation. I currently live with a friend I made at uni who is in my course and a guy I used to go to secondary school with. Which seems like a weird combination but it works. We all get along well and there’s not really any conflict about anything which is pretty positive.
Aside from the moving another big thing for me right now is job hunting. My degree requires me to take a year of placement work and so I have been applying and interviewing a lot recently. Two things that are new to me.
I have to admit it is something I was worried about because I haven’t had any previous work experience so I thought it would mean no one would want to hire me. But I have heard back from some places I have applied to which makes me hopeful.
I was also worried about interviewing because I don’t think it’s something I have ever been good at. I don’t consider myself a master at selling myself to people. Even when I make YouTube videos I don’t do it to appeal to anyone other than myself really haha. So it was something new.
Each interview experience I have had has been different and I have learnt something new during each one so I’m glad I have been able to put myself out there. I think it helps to build confidence to do job interviews and it also does help you learn more. But I still always get nervous before I have to go to one. Sometimes you’re just worried you’ll say the wrong thing haha.
But again it’s been a pretty positive thing. Even if I don’t get the job at least I have the interview experience, so it’s not really a bad situation.
And of course the main thing this year that has been keeping me busy is university itself. In this one semester I think I have done more work than I did in my entire first year. Which I think is crazy. Although it makes sense, last year I was completely new to coding and so we had to take everything slow.
This year, I am currently working on an android game project and there’s nothing slow about it haha. It’s definitely a learning curve. But I am up for the challenge. Even though I’m coding something completely different than I’m used to I find it interesting. I also think it’s cool that we get to make our own game. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be the most amazing quality I’ll still be proud of it.
We are currently still in the early stages so we don’t have much done right now but I’m excited to see what we achieve. Another positive thing is that I have a really good team for this project which is great. We all get along well and are determined to do well in the project which means there’s not much conflict.
On the other side of that you can also end up in teams which aren’t so great. Which I have also experienced this year. It’s tough to work on something when you know the other people on your team aren’t interested. So it’s been a struggle but I am working through it. Slowly but surely.
Aside from group projects, there has been a lot of other work too. This year I am learning C++ which has some things that are similar to Java but also some things very different. I picked it up pretty easily which has been great. I’m so glad I enjoy coding haha. Otherwise I don’t think I would have made it through my first year.
On the social side of things, it’s been lacking recently. But I know it’s because I am still adjusting to my new work load. But I also know my friends have been busy too. It’s just a hard time of year to be seeing people. At least I will get to see them over the holidays.
I really can’t wait for it to be Christmas haha. It’ll be really great to spend some time relaxing and not having to think about uni work for a bit. I know it’s not stressful all the time but it would be nice to feel as though everything wasn’t going by so fast. I mean I can’t believe it’s almost 2017.
This year in general has just been so crazy. And if you had told me that when I left secondary school things would be this way now I wouldn’t have believed you haha. It’s definitely been a good year. But I’m getting ahead of myself, we still have a month of this year left so let’s make the most of it.
I hope you enjoyed reading, and I hope to be posting a blog post again very soon. I can’t make any promises but we’ll see how it goes haha.
~ Courtney x

Five Days in Rome

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been meaning to make this blog post for a while now haha. It’s been over a month since I’ve been to Rome but I still wanted to write about it. So here it is, my trip to Rome.
It started off as a random conversation between me and my boyfriend, we wanted to go on holiday somewhere and he had always wanted to go to Rome. It was just before summer and we hadn’t been going out that long but we agreed we would go to Rome someday together.
Who knew that someday meant a few months from then?
It’s kind of crazy to go on holiday with someone you haven’t known for that long. Especially if you are in a relationship with them. This would be the first time we were ever fully alone together for five whole days, and it’s not like one of us could just leave if we had a fight. So I was a little bit nervous about it.
But luckily I had nothing to worry about. Yes, we got annoyed at each other (mainly because all of the walking and the heat really got to me) but we’re still together now and so I take that as a good sign haha. I mean every couple has their disagreements and get annoyed at each other at time to time, why would going on holiday be any different?
Anyway, moving on to the actual trip itself.
Rome is breathtaking. Everywhere you go in Rome there are beautiful buildings, fountains and all of the pizza/gelato places you can imagine. I honestly had never been in a place with so many restaurants around every corner. It was wonderful.
On the first day we arrived in the morning but didn’t arrive to our hotel until the afternoon. We hadn’t really arranged transport to the hotel from the airport but we decided to take the bus, and then a train rather than pay for a taxi.
Public transport in Rome is very cheap – well taxis can be expensive due to traffic and they run on meters – but the train we took everyday from where our hotel was to Rome was only 1 euro. I found it hard to believe the train cost so little, especially when the same length of journey here costs about £6. So if you are ever in Rome – take the train!
Once we had been to our hotel and showered – we used the rest of the day to go into Rome. We wanted to see something so that our first day there hadn’t been wasted and so we went to the Trevi fountain. It took a little bit of navigation to get there from Rome Termini but we found it in record time thanks to Google Maps.

It was beautiful. And way bigger than I thought it was haha. There were people everywhere so it was hard to find a way to even get close to the fountain but we managed it. We only stayed for a little while but we said we would come back the next day to throw a coin in and make a wish – at first we weren’t sure if we could do that since it seemed not a lot of people were making wishes but you can still do it!

We actually ended up at the Trevi fountain every night we were in Rome. I’m not even sure how but we did haha. Sometimes it was just because we knew there were lots of shops and restaurants around it because it’s a tourist spot, other times it was a complete accident. But it is not the worst place in the world to end up at.

One night we were there and my boyfriend decided to get gelato. He had had some before and he wanted more so this time he ordered a large cone. The first one he had gotten was small and wasn’t enough and thought the large would be more fitting. Little did he know the large cone was going to be bigger than his head haha.
But he accepted the challenge of eating all of it, cone and all. It was a struggle but he did it and vowed never to eat that much gelato/ice cream ever again. The people next to us cheered for him when he had finished and kindly gave him some wipes to clean the gelato from his hands. This was also the night a couple got engaged at the fountain, so it was a night to remember for us all.
The second day we were in Rome we headed to the Vatican. It was an all day affair but it was so amazing. I can’t even really describe to you what it was like but I did take some pictures that I think you’ll enjoy:

We also went to St Peter’s Basilica that day and while we were resting I decided to play some Pokemon Go. And I know what you’re thinking – how can you play a video game when you are in such a beautiful city? But I just had to see what kind of Pokemon I could catch in a new place haha. I was able to catch some great new Pokemon and even take some gyms too, all while enjoying the view of this great city.

After visting the Vatican and St Peter’s we ventured back towards the Trevi fountain to make our wishes, and to find a restaurant to eat at. There were so many to choose from that it was so hard to find one but we finally found a nice one. I liked this one because of the umbrellas attached to the chairs, I thought it was really cute.

I felt like I was in a movie, sitting outside having dinner in Rome. It was so romantic. I was also just in shock that we were able to sit outside at night and eat at all. In the UK it’s always too cold/raining so you can’t do that haha. But outdoor restaurants are everywhere in Rome and I think they are really cute.
There were so many restaurants that looked so pretty that we wanted to go in but we definitely didn’t have time to go to them all haha. Normally you see them in the side streets you walk down to go somewhere else and they just look so inviting…
On Wednesday we headed to the Colosseum – another classic tourist destination in Rome, and the number 1 place we had to go to on my boyfriend’s list. Again, it was so much bigger than what I thought it would be. I mean seeing these places on TV and in movies is never anything like when you see them in real life.

When we went to all the these tourist places, we decided to go and see them at our own pace and so didn’t have a tourguide, but I do regret that a little bit. Mainly because I feel like I would have been able to learn a lot more if through a tourguide. However it is nice not to have to follow on a schedule and explore these places in your own time.
After the Colosseum we walked up Palatine hill – this was not my favourite thing to do. Here’s a tip – don’t wear all black in the sun – it’s not good. But the view was worth it. I’ll admit we didn’t spend as much time there as we should have but I definitely didn’t have the right walking shoes for the occasion haha.

That night we headed to the Spanish steps – which were unfortunately closed at the time. But we still spent some time in the plaza, people watching and admiring all of the designer stores. I’m not really sure why but the plaza surrounding the Spanish steps is designer heaven. There are brand names everywhere and one day I hope to come back to Rome just so I can shop there. I feel like it’s Rome’s version of Fifth Avenue and it’s wonderful.

The next day we headed on a boat ride – not really sure where our destination was supposed to be or if it was some kind of tour haha – my boyfriend bought all of the tickets for touristy things. But all I remember was that we got off the boat and made our way to the Pantheon.
Again, another gorgeous place to visit. We walked around the area and found a plaza with the most beuatiful toy shop I have ever seen. I wanted to buy all of their dolls. It looked like something out of a fairytale.

That night we walked around town and noted a lot of shops and we agreed that we would come back into town on our final day and do some shopping. However when it came to finding the shops the next day we were out of luck. We couldn’t remember the name of the plaza we were on and spent a lot of the day walking in a circle. It was maybe not the best last day to have in Rome.
Not to mention the traffic on the way to the airport! We had arranged transport with the hotel to take us to the airport. Luckily it was at a fixed price otherwise we would have been paying so much more money for the taxi. But we did make it to the airport with time to spare.
We were a bit worried our flight might be delayed or cancelled because at the time, it seemed a lot of earlier flights had been delayed but luckily we were able to get on our flight with no problems.
The trip home seemed to happen in a blur. I was so tired that I lost perception of time and everything seemed to take longer than usual. By this time I just wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and sleep forever.
And at 2 a.m I was granted my wish haha. The next day I spent catching up on social media and uploading photos of my trip to Facebook. It feels weird to look at holiday photos after you come home. It’s almost as if you can’t believe you were there even though you have photographic evidence.
But it was an amazing trip, and I am really glad that I went with my boyfriend. I think it was a great bonding experience for us and has brought us even closer. It was also great to be able to explore somewhere new.
And as someone who went from never having left the country to going to New York and Rome in a matter of months, I can say I finally understand why people like to travel. It really does give the word holiday a real meaning to me. You separate yourself from your world and everything you know and are put into a different environment. A fresh start where no one knows you and a place you’ve never been to. It’s intoxicating.
But at the same time I was glad to be home and sleep in my own bed. There’s nothing like coming back to your home after being somewhere far. And I guess that’s why I know I could never move away from here. I would miss it too much. Even though I do hate it sometimes, it’s my home.
And so, that concludes my blog post about Rome! I’m sorry it took me so long to write but when I came home from Rome I honestly had no real words to describe it. Even now I don’t think what I have written does the city justice but I still hope you enjoyed. And maybe next time when I go on holiday I’ll post about it sooner haha.
~ Courtney x

Pokemon Got Me To Go Outside?

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I know I should have posted about this last month but I honestly had no idea just how addicting that it would be.
Pokemon Go.

Everyone’s playing it, everyone is talking about it and well, everyone is going outside because of it. I can’t believe it either. Although if you really want to be the very best like no one ever was you’re gonna have to go out there and do something about it. Because you can’t catch ’em all from your bedroom – I have tried.
I was so excited for the game to be released that it broke my heart to find out the release of the game had been delayed due to the servers not being able to handle the capacity of players. I still don’t understand how they could have underestimated the popularity of this game. I guess they didn’t account for people who haven’t played Pokemon before and that are just jumping on the bandwagon because everyone is talking about it.

Still, it bothered me that I had to wait. Even though I only had to wait about a week. But it wasn’t fun seeing everyone else online play when you couldn’t. I knew there were ways for me to get illegally but I didn’t want to do that because I heard that they could ban you from the real game if they found out. Better to be safe than sorry.
But as soon as I found out the game was released I had to get it. I had to fulfill my destiny as a Pokemon player, because after all, isn’t that what everyone wanted to be at some point in their life? A Pokemon master?
I had to admit it was slow starting for me. Especially when you don’t live near any Pokestops or Gyms. On the first/second day it was released I actually decided to go outside and explore the Pokestops and Gyms that my town had to offer. Although it was clear that the side of town I lived on did not have a lot.
But it was okay, I only wanted to go on a walk to explore and see what was out there. I knew as I progressed and travelled more that I would find more things and more interesting Pokemon. Because I’ve figured out that the only thing you are actually capable of catching from your bedroom are Pidgeys, Weedles and Rattattas. I have caught the occasional other Pokemon but if you really want to catch more Pokemon then you have to be willing to go outside.
Which I know isn’t for everyone. Including myself. I was surprised that Pokemon had me willingly leaving the house. But that only lasted for the first week. Mainly so that I could level up and join my team.

You can join three teams in Pokemon Go and this team allows you to fight/take over/defend gyms. Gyms can be found anywhere just like Pokestops. What I have noticed is that Pokemon Go seemed to really like making churches Gyms and Pokestops. I’m not sure what the reason is behind that but okay.
Anyway other than willingly going out the first week of Pokemon Go being released I only really play Pokemon when I am leaving the house and doing other things. It’s a lot easier to do it that way because you’re going to be out and about anyway, so why not see what Pokemon are out and about while you are?
I have to admit I did enjoy one night that I went out with my friend Jasmine to go Pokemon hunting. This was the first time that I got to see just how many people were out playing Pokemon. And it was a lot. We walked into this area in town and found about 20 people standing in a circle around a Lure placed at a Pokestop. I was not expecting that at all. But you get a real sense of community playing Pokemon Go in big groups, especially if you are all the same team and work together to take over a gym.
I haven’t been out in big groups since that night but I know people still do it. I think it’s a lot more fun when you play with people and not just yourself. Although at the same time it can feel much more satisfying when you manage to take over a gym on your own.

That being said, I haven’t really taken that many gyms by myself. Anytime I have taken a gym I have been with my brother and we have worked together. The way gyms work is that you fight the Pokemon in the gym and once you defeat them all the gym turns neutral. Once the gym goes neutral, anyone from any team can place their Pokemon in the gym to take it over. So it’s better to have another person from your team standing by to take the gym once you defeat it and heal your Pokemon. Otherwise, anyone passing by could take over the gym instead.
I think that’s what causes there to be some rivalry in Pokemon however I haven’t gotten into any real fights about it. If anything it’s just a bit of fun. Plus, a lot of gyms in common areas such as train stations and restaurants/bars are constantly changing as people come and go. So no gym belongs to the same team for long.
Apart from the Gyms, another part of the game is obviously working to catch all the Pokemon. So far the Pokemon only extend to the original first generation of Pokemon but hopefully the game updates to include more. As far as I know there are a few Pokemon that are region locked which means you will literally have to travel far if you want to catch them all. I don’t know if I ever will get to catch them all but you know I’ll try haha.
I’m actually pretty proud of the amount of Pokemon I have been able to catch just by playing when I leave the house. My friends at this point think I’m crazy because I play it so much. I have the app open almost constantly so that I can hatch Pokemon eggs. This isn’t always great for your phone battery or your 3G allowance but I can tell you it is worth it for the possibility of hatching a rare Pokemon. Although most of the time you could hatch a Pokemon you have already caught before. But still, it’s nice to have the hope you could get a new Pokemon from those eggs.
Another thing I tend to do is play the game while on public transport. I know that’s technically cheating but the game does register when you are going too fast. But sometimes when you are on a train and the train slows down at each stop, there is a chance for Pokemon to spawn. One day I was on the train and as we were coming into a train station I was able to catch two new Pokemon and so it is worth it to have the app open on the train. It might not help you catch eggs, but a lot of train stations are Pokestops and so if you need some more Pokeballs it’s worth the trip.

I think that pretty much covers my experience with Pokemon Go so far. There is the case of the Pokemon tracker which a lot of people don’t like because it doesn’t work but that doesn’t bother me. Mainly because I only play the game when I am already out of the house. I can see how it can be annoying if you are actively searching for Pokemon but usually I just catch the Pokemon that spawn around me. I like to be surprised when a rare Pokemon appears haha.
But yes, that is everything I wanted to say on the topic of Pokemon Go, at least for now. The last thing I will do is leave you with my current Pokemon level and strongest Pokemon. (And yes, I did nickname some of them after KPop band Seventeen).

~ Courtney x

New York and KCon NY 2016!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

Wow is all I can say.
So a few months ago I agreed to go to New York for KCon with my friend Jasmine. I didn’t really know what to expect. Jasmine is really the one that is a huge fan of KPop and so I knew she would probably appreciate the experience more than me. Especially since her favourite band Seventeen was going to be there.
I’m not saying I’m not a fan of KPop though. I got into KPop around 2013 with Girls’ Generation however I never really listened to anything other than SNSD, so you can imagine how upset I was to find out this was going to be the first year Girls’ Generation was not going to be at KCon NY. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the people who were attending KCon NY this year. It’s just that I didn’t know a lot about the artists that were attending. But I did my research.
Anyway, fast forward to June and soon enough I was on a plane for the first time on the way to New York.
I couldn’t believe this was happening. Until this trip I had never left the country, never been on a plane, never even been to a concert. And so, to say this experience was a life changing one is very much true.
As soon as we got to New York, we passed out. It was only around 9 p.m but we were exhausted. A lot of travelling will do that to you, so we called it an early night and woke up super early the next day. We arrived into New York a day early which gave us an opportunity to explore the city and see the sights.
I was super excited about this because I have always wanted to go to New York. It’s one of those places you have to go to because you see it so much on TV and in movies. And in particular for me, I wanted to go to New York because it’s where the TV show Gossip Girl is set. All I ever wanted on a trip to New York was to be like Blair Waldorf and sit on the steps of the MET. And I got to do just that.

Of course we got to see a lot of other great sights when we were in New York. We got to see Times Square, Central Park, 5th Avenue and so many more things. However since we were only there for one day we didn’t really get to explore any of these places. We sort of just whizzed passed them on a tour bus. But I hope that one day I get to go back to New York and experience everything properly. I did however get some nice photos that day.

Later on in the day, Jasmine and I headed to the Prudential Center in Newark to check in to KCon and also attend Klub KCon. Which was a show the day before the convention started where one of the performing artists would make an appearance. We had no idea who was going to be showing up there but Jasmine had hoped it would be Seventeen. And as luck would have it, it was SEVENTEEN.
I had looked them up once I had found out they were going to be at KCon and that Jasmine was in love with them and I can completely understand why she loves them. Their music is catchy, they are good looking and there are thirteen of them. What’s not to love?
So it’s safe to say the fangirling started early with us haha.

Seventeen!

After Klub KCon we met up with some friends Jasmine had made online and hung out with them. They were all super nice and of course, huge KPop fans. One of them actually makes KPop reaction videos on YouTube and so we actually filmed a couple of reaction videos for his channel which was really cool. We also found out that some of the artists were staying at his hotel and he ended up sharing an elevator with some of them which was crazy. I don’t know how he stayed so calm in that situation as I know most people wouldn’t haha.

The next day was KCon day 1 and Jasmine and I had 2 fan engagements that day, Seventeen and Ailee. Jasmine really wanted to get the Seventeen hi touch but unfortunately we ran out of time to be able to find one but at least we got to go to the fan engagement. I think they were the artists we saw the most at KCon haha.

After the Seventeen fan engagement, I got to go to the Ailee hi touch event which was amazing. Ailee is one of the artists that I had known about before attending KCon and I really loved her music so it was really exciting to get to meet her. She’s so pretty in person and is also super charming and funny. I just love her so much. And so to be able to meet her was amazing. I have no words to describe it.
The hi touch experience was pretty crazy too. It went by so fast. It was literally just a second because I couldn’t think of anything to say to Ailee when I approached her. I just grabbed her hands and then just like that it was over. I know that at these events you don’t get long with the artist and if you do spend too long with them security do tend to move you along but still I wish I had thought of something to say to her haha. Other than that it was a pretty amazing experience.

Ailee!

 After the fan engagements came the first concert. The concert was incredible. I’m sure everyone says the same thing about watching their favourite artists perform live but this concert was insanely good. And even the artists we didn’t know that well, such as Crush and Dynamic Duo we ended up loving. There are no real words to describe it, it was just an unforgettable experience.
And during Ailee’s performance there was a technical malfunction and her backing track disappeared yet she still kept singing and she was FLAWLESS. I mean she sounded so good live without the backing track. It was insane. Luckily they were able to recover from the technical fault but no one was complaining about Ailee singing acapella.
Then Seventeen performed two stages and Jasmine was not prepared for that. I got really excited during their second stage when they did a cover of Balloons by TVXQ because that was one of the first KPop songs I ever really really loved. So that was also amazing.
Like I said, Crush and Dynamic Duo were insane – we didn’t know them before going into the concert but seeing them perform it was easy to see why so many people do love them and so we are definitely going to have to look into them more because their performance was so good.
We also really loved BTOB’s performance even though there’s was more like ballads compared to everyone else’s which were more upbeat and poppy. But still – it was incredible. I loved every single second and it was just a great show. Jasmine even lost her voice a little bit because of all the screaming haha.

Crush

The next day during KCon Day 2, Jasmine and I spent more time looking around the convention stands and also attended the Mamamoo fan event. Jasmine was able to get a Mamamoo hi touch and so was super excited about that.

She told me that Hwasa and Wheein really loved her Squirtle t shirt that was wearing which was really great. Although the Mamamoo fan event was quite short because they were running late but I’m glad that Jasmine got her hi touch, even though it wasn’t for Seventeen.
We originally had a lot of fan engagements for Crush and Dynamic Duo but because we didn’t know them we traded most of them for other things like the Mamamoo fan event and also a Seventeen fan event.
Mamamoo!
After the Mamamoo fan engagement it was time for the second KCon Concert. This was going to be a really exciting night because this was the night that BTS was performing. And a lot of people were only attending KCon to see BTS, so we knew the crowd was going to be insane this night.
While we were waiting for the concert to start Jasmine and I started to talk to the ladies in front of us. They told us about how they were at the concert the night before, but were sitting in a different section and also how they got some of the Seventeen members to do the ‘jam-jam’ dance with them. And then they explained their plan to see who they could get to do the dab during the second concert. Basically all they were going to do was do the dab anytime one of the artists came down the stage towards them to see who would do it back and Jasmine and I agreed to be a part of the plan.
The ladies were thrilled that we agreed to be a part of the ‘dab off’ and they also enlisted the help of several other people in our section. This ended up being the highlight of our night as we got several members of BTS to do the dab during the concert.
It was kind of insane because the first person to do the dab was Eric Nam. He was talking about his new music and possible dance moves for us to do during his performance of the new song and one of Jasmine’s friends knew about the dab plan, and so she did the dab right in front of Eric Nam and then he did it back!
So crazy, and then later in the night when BTS was performing several members also did the dab. I’m not sure which members of BTS but they did it. They probably thought we were crazy and we were but hey, BTS noticed us so that’s something.
And then towards the end, one of the members, Jimin was walking back up to the main stage and when he walked passed us Jasmine was throwing him hearts to see if they would do it back and Jimin threw a heart at Jasmine! She basically all but fainted in that moment. She couldn’t believe what had happened but everyone around her saw and we were so happy for her.
Then at the very end of the concert Jungkook from BTS started to dab insanely along the stage and one of the other members of BTS goes up to him and asks what he is doing and he POINTS TO OUR SECTION where we were sitting. Which is also unbelievable haha. I know he was making fun of us but that’s not the point. We got BTS to dab. Insane.

We found out at the end of the concert that the ladies that initiated the ‘dab off’ have a YouTube channel. They are called the KPop Mamas. And they were just so wonderful to us and so nice. We loved talking to them and fangirling with them and they definitely made the second night at the concert so much better than the first.
I think that’s one of the best things about coming to a convention like this, you meet amazing people. And not only that but you have an instant connection because you both share a love for something and are passionate about it. It’s definitely an incredible experience.

Other things I enjoyed in the second concert included Eric Nam – just Eric Nam in general. My heart melted when he came out on stage with roses, sadly I was too far away to receive one of them. That and he sang a little bit of acapella for us and also performed a new song of his in English. On top of that, he also did a special stage with Ailee which I loved. Mainly because no one was expecting Ailee to perform on both nights.
I also really enjoyed Day6 playing their instruments and singing their songs. And of course Mamamoo were also really good. They did a little collab with Day6 which again. no one was expecting which was great. And who can forget BTS, they closed an amazing show.

On our final day in New York, Jasmine and I decided to spend it in Times Square and did a little bit of shopping. It was kind of hard to navigate around the streets of New York with a suitcase and so we thought it was better to stay in one area.
I also found out New York was celebrating pride the day we were in the city and while I wanted to go to pride in New York, I knew going with a suitcase in tow was not going to end well. That, and we didn’t want to stray too far from the train station because we had to get back to the airport for our flight.
Fast forward a few hours later and we were still in the airport because our flight was delayed. It was delayed by two hours which kind of sucked. It was also a long flight back to the UK and so I was exhausted by the time we got back. It is not easy to sleep on an airplane.
Soon enough though I was back home, showered and in my pyjamas, ready to sleep.
And now here I am still talking about KCon almost 2 weeks later haha. I’m sorry I’ve been posting about it non-stop lately but it was definitely such an amazing experience that I wanted to share with people. At least my version anyway. I promise that I will officially stop posting about it now. After all the vlogs have gone up I swear that will be the end haha.
I still can’t believe it happened though. I mean I still don’t think I have fully adjusted to my normal life yet because I’m still living for the KPop craziness. And if anything, I would definitely do it again. Maybe not next year because my next target is to go to Vidcon, but definitely I would go back to KCon. I met some really amazing people, and I got to experience a new place with one of my best friends and so, yeah, who wouldn’t want that?
Anyway, I’m going to go now. I have a lot of Sims to catch up on and also I need to fix my sleeping pattern haha. If you want to know more about the adventures Jasmine and I got into in New York I also vlogged the whole thing so you guys can check that out on my YouTube channel. Other than that I hope you guys are having a good summer, and hopefully I have a new blog post for you guys soon!
~ Courtney x

Hello Summer!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

It is officially the start of the summer holidays for me and I could not be more excited!

It has been a crazy first year of uni and I am so ready to take a break from everything and just chill. This is the first time in a while that I have felt chill about anything. During the semester I was always moving, always doing things, always felt like I had to be doing things. I never really took time to stop and just breathe. So that’s my main focus right now. Just to take a deep breath and be chill.
I am also super excited because I have some plans this summer to keep me busy.
The first one being my YouTube, I am picking that up again. YouTube is always slow during the year because I don’t have time to edit and film videos. But now that I have more free time I can be doing that a lot more.
I have plans to launch a brand new YouTube channel this summer. It is actually launching at the end of this week – Simming and Such. It is going to be where I post all of my Sims content from now on. I have been thinking about this for more than a year now and I have finally decided to do it. I have just been feeling really inspired to make more sims videos lately and since that content is very different to what I post on my main channel, I thought it was time for a new channel.

On top of that, I am also going to be posting more videos to my main channel. I know I haven’t really been posting there a lot lately but I do hope to pick up again on vlogging and making other videos. I don’t think I’ll make quite as many videos as I did last summer but I definitely do want to make more. So also subscribe there if you haven’t already!
Another thing I am super excited about this summer is that I am going to KCON NY! If you don’t know what KCON is, it is a K-Pop convention. They hold two in America, one in New York and one in LA. My friend Jasmine, is a huge K-Pop fan and is in love with the line up for KCON NY and so we are going there at the end of June and I can’t wait.
I’m not the biggest fan of K-Pop (in comparison to Jasmine who is a mega fangirl) but out of all of our other friends I would be the one to listen to it the most so I am excited to go.
It’s going to be the first time I ever leave the country and also my very first concert and so I am definitely going to enjoy it no matter what. It’s just going to be a whole new experience and so I can’t wait to go. Explore New York, and also experience KCON. It’s just gonna be an amazing opportunity so why pass that up?
And of course I’ll vlog the whole thing so I can share with you guys haha. Can’t forget to do that.
Another thing that I plan to do over summer is keep up my writing. I got really into writing again over Easter and so I want to keep doing that as well. I have always loved to write things and so I really want to do that as well. I went almost a year without writing anything new, story wise and it sucked and so I don’t want to do that again.
Along with writing, I also want to blog more. Because I find sometimes blogging is better than making a YouTube video. Just depends what I feel like sharing. So I want to do that. Although I think I’ve been okay with keeping up my blog. But I definitely feel I could post a bit more often.
I think another thing I want to do over summer is get a job. As much as I love all my free time to keep up all my hobbies I also need to think about getting experience for when I actually go to apply for jobs after uni. So I will have to look into that as well.
The last and probably the most important thing I want to do this summer is have fun. No matter what I am doing I want to enjoy it. Because otherwise all the time is wasted in my opinion. Oh, have fun and also spend time with my friends who will be coming home from uni for the summer. It’s important to make time for your friends, especially when you don’t get to see them that often.
And so, it looks like this summer is going to be a busy one for me. But I like it that way. I’d rather have it where I always have something I could be doing rather than always thinking I have nothing to do. Because I have a lot of summer ahead of me and I know if I didn’t do anything over the whole summer I would regret it. So yes, here is to a busy summer.
~ Courtney x

April Favourites 2016

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I think I might be a little bit late with this but I thought I would share my favourites from last month with you guys anyway. Normally I make a YouTube video talking about my monthly favourites but this month when I sat down to make the video I didn’t like how it turned out and so I thought a blog post might be more fitting. Plus it doesn’t hurt to mix things up every once in a while. So without further ado, here were some of my favourite things from last month.

Suits



I always end up with TV shows in my favourites, this month being no exception. Suits is the newest TV show to enter my life and I am obsessed. At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The TV show was suggested to me by a friend, and I’m one of those people that doesn’t usually take TV show suggestions from people. It sounds weird but I just don’t do it, I’d rather find TV shows on my own. But I’m really glad I decided to take my friend’s suggestion on this one.
I am currently two episodes away from the end of season 5 and I am dying to know what happens next. My friend says that I’ll be crying by the end of the season and so I’m partially dreading finding out what happens but I think I’m willing to risk the heartbreak rather than not knowing at all.

The Amazing Race


Another TV show that I have been loving in April has been the Amazing Race. This season in particular is a favourite of mine because it had two of my favourite YouTubers in it: Tyler Oakley and Blair Fowler. They were not in the same team, however I still enjoyed watching both of them on the show. I was really sad to see Blair and her dad eliminated early on in the race, however I have confidence that Tyler and Korey are going to win the 1 million dollars.
We are only one episode away from the final of the Amazing Race now, it’s kind of crazy to think how much time has passed but I have loved every second of this season. Especially Tyler and Korey, they are just really fun to watch. And even if you didn’t know who Tyler was before starting the season, I’m sure you’d end up loving him by the end as well.
As for the other two teams in the final I like them a lot too. Although I’m still #TeamTylerAndKorey all the way.
If you are interested in knowing more about my thoughts on the teams in this season of the Amazing Race, I actually made a blog post talking about them a couple of months ago. So feel free to check that out.

Nashville


Yet another TV show that I hold near and dear to my heart. I discovered Nashville about a year and a half ago and have been in love ever since. Surprisingly, it was another recommendation from a friend.
I have just really been loving this whole season of Nashville because it has been super dramatic. There is never a dull moment and since the show came back after Christmas I have been dying every episode.
I’m also really loving the show because Juliette has returned and I could not be happier. Juliette is my favourite character on the show and so when she was absent for a few weeks I really missed her. So I’m glad she’s back again. I also have found the storyline between Maddie and Rayna really heartbreaking. And don’t even get me started on the whole Will thing…If you guys follow me on Twitter then you know all about my feelings towards this show.

Neko Atsume



Finally, a favourite that’s not a TV show! So I have seen photos of Neko Astume on the Internet before. The first time I saw it was on Twitter and I wanted to know what it was about. I resisted getting the app for ages because it didn’t seem worth the time but now that I’ve downloaded it I am obsessed.
If you don’t know what the game is, it’s a Japanese game, Neko Atsume translates to Kitty Collector. And that’s essentially all that you do. You buy toys/food and set them in a garden to lure cats in and then you check back in the game every so often to see if there are any cats there. You can’t do anything with the cats other than click on them to find out information about them and take photos of them but that’s all you need the app to do.
I know it doesn’t sound like much, but I find myself checking this game at least 50 times a day. And if you follow me on Twitter then I’m pretty sure you have seen my many photos of the game throughout the last month.

Animal Crossing


So technically I would list Animal Crossing as an all-time favourite of mine. I have loved Animal Crossing since I played my first AC game for the DS when I was about 7/8. But in April I found myself playing more Animal Crossing than usual.
This is because I finally went out of my way to purchase a GameCube controller and Animal Crossing for the GameCube. (I didn’t need to buy a GameCube because you can play GameCube games on the Wii.) I have played the GameCube version of Animal Crossing on an emulator before but it definitely doesn’t compare to having the actual game.
Plus, it was the only Animal Crossing came (apart from Animal Crossing Amiibo Festival) that I didn’t have a physical copy of and so I needed it in my life.
On top of playing Animal Crossing for the GameCube, I have also just been playing a lot of my other Animal Crossing games in general. I don’t know what it is about the games I love so much I just love every part of it. And so I’m super excited for Nintendo to release it’s next Animal Crossing game.
Also, if you’re wondering why I haven’t gotten Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival, it’s because it’s for the Wii U and I don’t have a Wii U. And also because it’s a spin off game and therefore I don’t feel like I can justify buying a new console for a spin off game. I also don’t have money for the Amiibo Figures although I think they are really cute.

And so, those are all my favourites for the month of April. I was about to type my usual YouTube outro here but I realise that doesn’t make sense in a blog post haha. But I hope you guys enjoyed reading about my favourites, let me know in the comments what your favourites were for last month and I should be back with a monthly favourites video (hopefully) next month!
~ Courtney x

My Tumblr Blogs

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

I just wanted to make a little blog post to let you all know that I don’t just have this one blog but I have several.
If you know me, then you know that I like to use the internet to express myself. Sort of put myself out there into the world. And one way that I like to do that is through blogging. And in 2011/2012 I found a blogging website called Tumblr.
I don’t really remember how I found it but I just know that I can’t stop using it now that I have it. I think I have had a Tumblr blog since 2012 and it is where I started to write blog posts regularly again after I stopped using Bebo. But I soon found that Tumblr was not the best place for a proper blog.
To me Tumblr has always been a place for gifs, fandoms and internet memes and so now when I use Tumblr it’s mainly to reblog something that Tyler Oakley has reblogged.
Although I do have a few Tumblr blogs and so I thought that I would tell you about them today in case you are interested in seeing what else I get up to on the internet.

My main Tumblr. This is the blog I have had since I first got Tumblr. I think I had one before this but I don’t remember. Anyway, this blog has been through a lot with me, from the days I used to write long text posts on Tumblr about my school days to the Instagram posts I would share, to the random gifs I would reblog of the TV show that I like.
It’s got everything, but mainly it’s for my fandom things.
I recently changed my Tumblr URL because my old URL used to reflect all of the fandoms I was in but since I started Tumblr my fandom interests have shifted a lot. So I thought the fangirl-stuff name would cover all my bases. My old URL was CullenGleekVonVanity1864 – which is a mouthful but I was really proud when I came up with it haha. Let me break it down for you: Cullen = Twilight, Gleek = Glee, Von Vanity = Blood on the Dance Floor and 1864 = the Vampire Diaries. Those were my main loves of 2011.
Now I have way too many fandoms to fit into a username and so I feel like this is a good URL to stick with, at least for now. Maybe I’ll change my mind again in the future. Who knows?

My second longest running Tumblr blog. Thanks to this blog, I now know that an Animal Crossing fandom exists. And it is wonderful.
So I really only started this blog because I took a lot of screenshots when I played Animal Crossing: Let’s Go to the City, and I wanted somewhere to put them. I had no idea Tumblr had a little community for Animal Crossing players.
This is the blog you want to go to for anything I have Animal Crossing related. At first, I didn’t think I could have a blog dedicated completely to one topic but turns out I can.
Animal Crossing has been a love of mine for a long time and so to be able to share that love with other people is amazing. So if you want to know about any of my adventures in any of the games in the Animal Crossing series, this is the place to go.

This blog is now kind of dead…mainly because I stopped playing the game Tomodachi Life.
I was so excited when I first got the game and I really wanted to have a blog dedicated to my gameplay of Tomodachi Life, similar to the way I did with my Animal Crossing blog.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t as committed to Tomodachi Life as I am to Animal Crossing. I also found that after a while the Tomodachi Life gameplay got extremely repetitive after a while.
It was kind of like a super watered down version of Sims. And you didn’t really have as much freedom with the game as you would have liked. And so when I stopped playing the game, I stopped updating the blog.
I still have it up on Tumblr though if you are interested in seeing it. I think I had a lot of interesting people on my island. Mostly YouTubers, some people that I knew. But yeah. It was good while it lasted.



My latest Tumblr blog. Again, like with Animal Crossing I have a lot of love for the Sims.
I have been in love with the Sims since the Sims 2 for the PS2. We used to have a demo disc for the PS2 that had loads of game demos on it and I would play the Sims 2 one all the time. I did eventually get the full Sims 2 game but still have yet to complete it.
Since then, my love for Sims has grown, so much so that I thought it was time to dedicate a Tumblr blog to it.
I currently only post screenshots from my Sims 4 gameplay and also reblog custom content that I have installed in my game but I hope to continue to document my Sims adventures here just like I do with my Animal Crossing ones on my other Tumblr blog.
So if you are looking for anything of mine that is Sim related, I recommend you check out this blog.

And so those are all of my current Tumbr blogs! I am pretty sure I have had others in the past which I have deleted because they didn’t work out. But these are the four main ones that I have right now and plan on sticking with for the foreseeable future.
And of course I will also be sticking with this blog. Even though I feel like I haven’t written here in a while. I think it’s been over a month since my last post. I do promise to try and update whenever I can but sometimes, I don’t really have much to blog about. But the semester is almost over, and soon I will have completed my first year at university, so be sure to stay tuned for a recap of that in a month or so!
~ Courtney x

Life Update: A Crazy Month!

~ Courtney Shek ~ Leave a comment

What. A. Month.
February has been insane and so I thought I would give you guys a little life update to let you know what’s been happening. First of all, I have started my second semester of university. And it has been taking up all of my time as usual.
Going into this semester I was a lot calmer than last semester. Last semester I had no idea what I was doing but I’m glad that I have now established some sort of routine with myself.
However my timetable is different from last semester’s so I have been having to adjust to that. It’s not that different but it still shifts when I have to go to uni and how long I stay there each day. I’m still in til 6 on Mondays and Tuesdays though.
I have also decided to take up Mandarin this semester on Thursdays from 5-7. Looking back I wish I had picked a different timeslot to do it in because it means my Thursdays are now incredibly long. Still I am enjoying the class so far. It’s something new. And I have always regretted not learning Chinese when I was younger. So now I am taking the opportunity to learn a little bit. I’m not saying I’m the best at it but I wouldn’t say I’m awful either. I haven’t decided whether I should continue Mandarin to level 2 yet but I guess I will let you know by the end of the semester.
On top of that we have also started a new module this semester. It’s a group project one and I was super nervous when I found out about it. I have never been great at working in teams, mainly because it was always a case of no one wanting to do the work, leaving it all to you to do. So I was worried it was going to be the same with this module.
We were put into our groups randomly and so I had no idea who I was going to be working with. Considering there are over 400 people in our class the chances of me being grouped with someone I knew were very unlikely. I ended up being in a group of complete strangers.
Luckily though my group is really nice. We all get along well and I hope that we can all work together smoothly. I know we won’t always get along and there will be disagreements but I hope we make it through the semester without wanting to kill each other at least haha. It’s still the early stages of the group project though so you never know what could happen during the rest of the semester. I’m still trying to remain hopeful about the whole thing.
Aside from class, I have been spending more time with my university friends outside of class which is nice. I feel very lucky to have made friends so quickly since starting university. Although being one of the few girls in a computing course makes it a lot easier to make friends. All the girls kind of just stick together haha. So I have made a couple of good friends at university so far.
I have even decided to live with one of them next year which I think will be fun. Which is another thing I have been thinking about this month.
After realising just how much I had to go into university for class last semester I realised it would be a lot easier for me if I moved closer to the university next year. So I decided to move with a friend from secondary school but we needed at least one other person to live with so I asked one of my new friends.
And so for the past couple of weeks we have been house hunting. I have to say it feels very adult to be searching for a house. And I know it’s only going to be my house for a few years but I’m excited and also scared. I know we all have to leave home at some point but I can’t believe how fast this is all happening. But I will be sure to share the ups and downs of living with friends whenever the time comes.
Also this past month I have been busy with a boy… I don’t want to go into too much detail about it but let’s just say I’m really happy with them.We aren’t official yet but we are dating. And that’s good enough for me. I’m in no rush to be in a serious relationship. I’m just excited to see where it goes.
Moving away from student life I will also mention some TV shows I have been sucked into this month. As they have also been taking up a lot of time.
First off, Pretty Little Liars is always taking over my life. This season is leaving me with a lot of questions as usual.
I also started watching New Girl. I like it. I think it’s very quirky and fun. I am almost caught up I just need to watch the latest episodes of season 5.
Finally the Amazing Race season 28 has officially started and I am loving it so far. I think I will make a separate blog post talking about the Amazing Race because I love it so much. I got addicted to the Amazing Race when I watched the season Joey Graceffa was on. This season features Tyler Oakley and Blair Fowler, two other YouTubers that I love and so of course I am obsessed with this season. I’m excited to see how far these two teams make it in the race. I am also hoping that one day I get my dream of an all YouTuber version of the Amazing Race because I would love it so much.
And so that is everything I have going on in my life right now. When I write it down here it doesn’t seem like a lot but for the past month it just feels like time is flying by. It just feels like I have been going all the time and never have time to really stop and just breathe. Hopefully things begin to slow down this month. Although I kind of like that so much is going on right now. It keeps me busy. Compared to January when I was off university for a month and barely did anything. Still, I would appreciate if I had some more time to sleep.
I hope you guys are also having a good start to the year. I hope you are working hard to achieve your goals and haven’t given up on all your New Year’s Resolutions yet. Let me know in the comments how things are going. And I will be sure to keep you updated on my life as the year progresses. I hope to make blog posts more often than this but I can’t make any promises.
~ Courtney x