The Camel Called and Wants His Toe Back

  You get some weird sorts on the buses here in Birmingham, and Sunday afternoon was no exception. Having taken a pleasant stroll around Cannon hill Park after church with my boyfriend, we got on the bus to head back to town, and during that journey we were affronted by a rather morbidly obese woman waddling onto the bus with her child. Now normally this doesn't bother me, but this woman committed so many crimes against nature I had to note them all down. 

  First and foremost, she was SO FAT she could not fit into ANY SEAT on the bus. Yeah, that's right, so instead she had to stand with her rear end facing my unfortunate boyfriend the whole journey. Which brings me to point 2, this woman was wearing leggings. 

Skin. Tight. Leggings.

  You could see the knicker line so prominently I felt embarrassed for her. Women out there who are of the more than curvy persuasion, please please PLEASE for the sake of the rest of us, dress for your size. None of us should have to sit through that. And if you must wear leggings then at least wear a thong. If y'all don't have one may I please direct you to your nearest Boux Avenue/La Senza/the Primark where you probably picked out those trashy leggings in the first place. You would be doing the world a favour. Now I know I'm a bit of a big woman myself, but you don't see me going around dressed in crop tops, mini skirts and sheer leggings now do you?

  All these faux pas lead to a rather unfortunate case of the worst camel toe I have ever seen...

FRONT AND BACK

  Honey I'm sorry but I was not even aware this was physically possible for it to happen at the back. A thong wouldn't have saved you, what you need is to hit that treadmill and get a better fitting pair of jeans/a binbag for those tree trunks of yours. Now I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but I wouldn't have laid into you if you hadn't been standing there with this evil look on your face wondering why the poor woman and child you were facing were in such a hurry to move seats, you were practically thrusting your crotch into her face. The view from behind was bad enough, I can only imagine the horrors she was experiencing from the front! I staggered off that bus so mentally scarred those images will haunt me for a long while before they begin to subside.

Back To Business

  I havn't really been on here much for the past month or two, so I thought while I'm making do in 1st class on the train back to Brum I'd pass the time with a spot of blogging with my complimentary wifi. Hang on a moment I hear you all say, what's a poor student like her doing in 1st class. Well children, gather round because it's time for Auntie Nina to tell you all a story.

  Having worked my little socks off over the past 2 or 3 weeks, I've recently found myself laid up with the most awful cold, which I fully blame on my managers sticking me out in the cold and pouring rain to take customers orders. So seeing as I was paid yesterday I decided on a spur of the moment to upgrade my already paid for ticket and enjoy the hour and a half of luxury. After all, I really have earnt it. To be honest, what really swung it for me was actually the free tea, which I find is brilliant relief for fighting a cold. 


  And there you have it, I was feeling fairly smug about myself till I realised that I'd basically paid £10 for a cup of tea, which of course has now left me feeling like a fool, although the (I say "free") snack box did soften the blow somewhat. Now if you don't mind I'm off to my flat to make yet more tea and curl up in bed with a movie. My first exam is Monday but revision will have to wait I guess.

Please Don't Flush Your Hopes And Dreams

  Today while getting on a train to go home for my sisters birthday my impeccable early timing for the train was rewarded by walking under a gutter and getting absolutely soaking wet, thanks for that Mother Nature.

  So going to the toilets to dry off like any other embarrassed person with their tail between their legs, once I'd closed and locked the door I was greeted by an automated womans voice over the intercom droning on and on. "Welcome to Virgin Pendolino services blahblahblah etcetcetc...", which I was tuning out as usual, especially when she got to the part about "please don't flush stuff down the toilet", you know, the usual stuff. So you can imagine my surprise when she got to "unpaid bills, your exes sweater, your court fines...". My reaction was pretty much "Wut?!", and by the time she got to "hopes and dreams" I was practically in stitches. 


  Never have I been so happy to be given a reason to use public toilets. Thank you random automated lady for making my day :3 

Remember, Remember, The 5th of November

  Tonight me and my flatmate went with a bunch of people to Pype Hayes park up in North Birmingham to see us some fireworks and get lost in the park that had been transformed in a huge fairground for the night. It was cold, muddy, and at times confusing trying not to lose each other in the crowd, but it was nice to get out of town centre for a bit and go do something fun, even if it did mean having to wait half an hour for a taxi afterwards and then having to walk to said taxi because the driver just couldn't be bothered to drive all the way to where we were waiting. Unfortunately the fireworks weren't anything spectacular in all honesty but hey, at least it didn't rain. And being British and all, I'd say that makes any night a big success ;) 

Gorillas and Giant Dairy Milk Bars

  A couple of weeks ago I took my boyfriend (yes, him again. He seems to be popping up a lot on here lately!) to Cadbury's World for his birthday after months of vowing to go together and never getting round to it. I've actually been before, but as he's an international student I maintained that he could not come and live in Birmingham without paying a visit to Bournville and the magical world of chocolatey goodness that is Cadburys World. 

  While it may sound like a childish day out, (we are big kids at heart really) he actually had a better time than I thought he would. Aside from all the free chocolate and stuff, we basically felt like we were sitting in school getting a History 101 lesson on the humble beginnings of Cadburys chocolate. Who knew Cadburys didn't even start off selling chocolate in the first place, I must admit I felt my world implode a little when I heard that. After all, growing up as a child I always assumed Cadburys was basically another word for chocolate, because you know, I'm special and all that.

  Sammy appeared particularly taken though with the life size drum playing gorilla we saw as we passed through one corridor, you all know that advert right? If not, here is the YouTube link, go watch it and your lives will be complete. In fact, he was so taken with it I could feel myself starting to resent the gorilla, and it took all my energy to tear him away from it so we could get to my favourite part... the gift shop, where I was able to expand my family of rubber ducks by adding Deborah to the fold, while he picked up a HUUUUGGEEE  bar of Dairy Milk for my flatmate in a blatant attempt to buy her love. 

An Ode To Sammy

  I have to be honest, my boyfriend complains a lot that I don't talk much about him online, so instead of including him in my little celebratory "Look at me I'm back at uni" post, I thought I'd give him one of his very own. Which I think he'll be sure to thank me for when I show him, until he reads it and realises I'm probably going to remain my sarcastic witty self while writing this.

  All joking aside, it's nice to finally be back in the same city as each other. After a long and arduous summer apart where we really didn't get to see each other at all thanks to conflicting schedules, we've become practically inseperable ever since I came back, much to the annoyance of his flatmates I must say. I can't tell what annoys them more, when they see us together constantly or when they can never seem to find him. I can't say I feel too guilty about stealing him away, after all we've had a lot of catching up to do over the past week. It's becoming a bit of a joke that eventually we'll get so sick of each other I'll end up practically shoving him on the plane back to Ghana instead come the end of the academic year. Which of course, I won't, just to be clear when he reads this ;) . 


  So there you have it, and who knows. After reading this he may be willing to forgive my bothering him all afternoon while he's been trying to work. It turns out, when Masters students have a lot of work to do that's, you know, due in the next day they couldn't care less how bored you are. You could be dressed up as a pineapple doing the can can and singing at the top of your voice and they won't look up from what they're doing, even for 2 seconds.

 And alas, as you may have gathered my antics have had me banished to the corner on his room to languish on the swivel chair until it's time to go out. So how better to spend all this free time then to write stuff on here :) . 

I'm Back People

 Oh yeah, that's right. I'm officially back at university and getting stuck back into some of that psychology stuff I like to call a degree, but I'm sure others will call an easy ride. They may say that, but then again they're probably not students, and therefore don't understand the agonising pain at getting up at 7 or 8am for lectures, or the tough decisions we students face as to whether or not to attend seminars, or what ready meal to microwave tonight. Let me be the first to tell you, it's a hard life. 

  But putting that and my fast dwindling food supplies aside, it's great to be back in the big, bad city. For some reason there's nothing so liberating as having your own place to call home, even if it is only a rented flat in student accommodation that you'll be turfed out of by summer next year. I love the freedom of being able to go where I like and when I like (when I'm not being hauled into lectures that is), and to be do whatever I want when I feel like it. As much as I miss home and my family a bit, I feel more of an adult here than I ever do at home, and that's with me having a job there and all.

  Maybe I'll be ready to go home come Christmas, but until then I'm perfectly happy to carry on strutting round campus like I own the place, or sitting on my bed wrapped up in my duvet playing Assassins Creed on my laptop while sipping my 7th cup of Lady Grey of the day.  

The Countdown Begins

  I've gone and done it. Now that work is officially done with for the summer I have officially booked my train tickets to Birmingham. I'm actually so excited right now, it's been nearly 2 months since I was last there, that's way too long. In my head I've started doing the whole crossing the days off till I leave, it's just a shame I'll be having to cut my time there short to come back and pack up all my stuff. On the plus side, I'm going there mainly to help out my Christian Union with some of their Freshers Week events, which is pretty exciting.

Phase 1 Complete, Level Up.

In my last post I mentioned my last exam was today, so let me just tell you how it feels knowing I don't have to work for the next 4 months. IT FEELS AMAZING! Now that they're all over I'm beginning to wonder what all the fuss was about, I can't believed I got so stressed out and morphed into a monster for the last 2 weeks all over these exams. That aside, I can't believe I survived a year here, it's been such a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences and stuff, I've learnt so much and met some incredible people. It just feels unreal that this time next week I'll be reclining on my sofa at home catching up on Criminal Minds surrounded by all the comforts of home. I can't decide what to do first when I get back, I guess unpacking is a good place to start. This summer is going to be spent with all thoughts of uni and studying pushed to the back of my mind, I love it here but home is calling me. I'm even looking forward to going back to my job, which I never thought I'd hear myself say! It's great knowing my days up until Saturday are my own to do whatever I want with, and they shall be spent in a limbo between frantic packing and being comatose for a large amount of the time.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

Term has officially ended for me today with my last exam over and done with, and Saturday I shall clear out of Birmingham and head back home to sunny Hertfordshire, which I'm really looking forward too. What I'm not looking forward to though it having to say goodbye to so many people. Tonight I had to bid farewell to a very good friend who I met back in September and was only here in Birmingham for about 10 months, and even though it's not been that long since we met, I've become very attached, so as you can imagine it got a bit emotional saying goodbye, not knowing when we'll next see each other. While I admit I did tear up a bit, I had to keep telling myself I have a long summer ahead of me, and the likelihood we catch up over then is pretty high, but still, I will miss her so much come September when I return to Birmingham and realise I don't have our frequent coffee dates to look forward too during the term. This is sad times indeed... so this gif seemed fairly relatable as it was raining a bit as we said goodbye, but once I reach this stage of crying it'll be time to get out the ice cream methinks. 

In The Name Of Fashion

Today was student lock-in in Birmingham's Bullring today, which for those of you who don't know is a student event where basically stores take pity/advantage/money off of us poor penniless students and make us even poorer by offering mega discounts to entice us all in. Sadly for some of us such as myself it works everytime and I spent the best part of my afternoon down there shopping up a storm in New Look, Topshop and Boux Avenue and taking advantage of the 20% off. I have to say though I have no regrets whatsoever, my patience was rewarded when I got my hands on that maxi number I've been eyeing up and posted on here the other day, as well as some tops and lingerie of course. Topshop do an amazing offer where you can buy 3 items for £10 yet somehow the woman on till managed to mess it up and sell it to me for £7. Hey who am I to turn down a cheaper offer, I certainly wasn't going to correct her :3 ! Boux Avenue was a joke though, usually I'm a huge fan but the queue for the changing rooms was ridiculous. I wasted the best part of an hour waiting in that queue only to find out I could have just bought the stuff without bothering to try it on beforehand, to say I was annoyed is a massive understatement, although getting free stuff did cheer me up immensely. My card is officially on ice now until further notice

Spring has Sprung

Well for the first time in living memory the glorious sunshine is out in Birmingham bringing with it the warmth, blue skies and of course, the long awaited return of the skirts and sunglasses combo. It was enough to entice me out to the shops today for some much needed revamping of my wardrobe in preparation for spring, but I have to say the little outfit I put together for todays adventure i pretty impressive for my standards, so I feel I must show you all. I've realised I never really post photos of myself up on here so this shall be a first :) ! Do excuse the Angry Bird speakers though

Black vest top, Cardigan, Skirt and tights all from New Look, I have a very New Look heavy wardrobe ;)

Death By Pizza

I never thought I'd actually say this, but I'm sick of pizza. If I had it my way I would not have to even look at one for a very long time. Why the sudden change of heart I hear you all ask? Well let me break it down for you all. This week my student loan for the term came through, and you know that blissful period at the beginning of a new term where you can swagger around flashing the cash until the rent gets paid? Well that's where I am right now, and I'm ashamed to say I've ordered take out 4 times this week, and I've only been back for 5 days, oh the humanity. So I think it's fair to say after this week I will be back to living off air, because you know, that's the harsh reality of student life. Is it too soon to go back home already? 

Illness and Instragram

No, the 2 are in no way related, but they both begin with "I" so I thought why not put them in the same post. My time here at home is fast coming to an end, tomorrow I pack up my things and head on back to Birmingham, which I'm kinda dreading but that's another post entirely. As a special treat, for my last week home I have been ill with the most awful cold, it was so bad I lost my voice at work and had people there in stitches with my inability to talk, thanks a lot guys much appreciated. Just to prove how ill I was, my mum bought take out pizza one night... I wasn't even hungry when I looked at it. I know, I'm shocked too. However, while lying on my sickbed I found a new way to pass the time was to finally cave and sign up for Instagram, and oh wow it's only been 2 days and I already love it so much! My mum isn't too impressed, apparently i've found one more way to become too attached to my phone, but I argue I have photos that need sharing with the world. But yeah, do follow me on Instagram at tiggerlily2305 . The more the merrier right?

Can The Weather Just Not

In Birmingham it's been snowing since Thursday night, and I'd hoped once I'd hopped on(dragged my case onto) a train from New Street to Euston than I'd left the wintery weather behind me for something a little more seasonal, but no, it looks like what with my bad luck and all I've brought the bad weather with me all the way to Hertfordshire. To all my friends home I'm so sorry, but in my defence, I think the weather is suffering from amnesia, it's forgotten that Christmas was 3 months ago now and is doing that thing people do when they lose their memory. So dear weather, please change and start the whole sunshine and being warm thing please, I only packed 2 jumpers to bring home being an optimist and all, so yeah, show some consideration.

Student Living Is Good For You

When I packed my bags in September and was sent on my way to beautiful Birmingham, the one thing everyone told me was that I'd fall victim to a number of unforgivable habits. I'd live solely on pizza and takeouts rather than traipse to the local supermarket to buy healthy food (well that's true), I'd forget the meaning of the word "study" (also true), and when I did study I would be pulling all nighters in the library surviving on Red Bull and coffee (wow this is getting spooky) and I'd waste all my free time online doing pointless things (so true). But all these eerily true predictions pale in comparison to that dreaded moment where you realise your regular sleeping pattern is now set to sleeping all day and being up all night, and until now I saw this as a curse I would be subjected to for the rest of my uni days. However, being home and having a bunch of free time and stuff I took it upon myself to read the news online, yes, you heard me correctly. I read the news. And I happened upon a little report that said new research suggests that those like moi who sleep late and get up later go on to make more money than all you mere mortals. So yeah, think on that one people, you may laugh now but 10 years down the line while you're getting your 8 hours a night remember that you'll probably end up working for me. Don't be hating now. 

You Know It's Bad When You Start Talking About The Weather

For anybody who hasn't quite worked this out yet I live in lovely Birmingham in the UK. it's a real change from what I'm used to home in Hertfordshire. Everything's different, people talk funny, there's no grass and the weather plays up like there's no tomorrow. For the past few days we've been experiencing a cold snap like most of the country, only it's so erratic it can be sunny with blue skies one moment, and then within 30 seconds it becomes freezing and starts snowing like crazy. It would be so amusing to watch if it weren't so frustrating about deciding what to wear, maybe I should start carrying 2 outfits around with me and just change according to the weather. Just so you can get an idea of what I'm on about, here are 2 photos I took about a minute apart, and before you ask, that building would be a bus depot, because I have an absolutely lovely view from my student accommodation, not.

 

It's not a plane, it's not Superman, it must be an Angry Bird!

My Pet Basil

Morning one and all, 

I thought I would take this opportunity to introduce you to my wonderful pet Angry Bird Basil. He's not a very talkative type, much preferring to sit in the corner and scowl at whoever enters the room, but while I'm at uni he is my baby and I absolutely adore him. I chanced upon finding him in the Bull Ring in an amazing little shop that has now sadly closed down, and the minute I laid eyes on him I just knew I had to have him. You may see him popping up a lot in this blog because he does enjoy being the centre of attention, and he goes on a bit of a rampage if I don't acknowledge his star quality.  As you can probably gather he gets into a lot of trouble so spends a great deal if his time in the naughty corner, but he was able to tay out of it long enough to pose up for this photo ;) .

Me, Myself, and a bit of Twitter promoting on the side

For those of you who pay no attention to sideinfos or get bored and don't get far enough on this page, I thought I'd take the trouble to put up my bio in a post, because I'm feeling nice and all that.

Nina's my name, I'm 19 going on 20, (i know, old right) and I'm currently learning me some of that Psychology stuff at Birmingham City Uni, which means I get to live in the greatest city ever in my humble opinion.

Anything else we should know about you I hear you ask? Well I'm a Christian and have been for nearly 2 years now, I love horses and spend my free time (which is always) reading and trawling the internet for some hilarious stuff to share with you guys, and I'm currently having the time of my life!

Got any burning questions? Well post them up here or tweet me @Tiggerlily2305 . Shameless Twitter promoting, I really have no shame. But really... do it.