30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 25 & 26

Day 25: If you could have dinner with anyone in history, who would it be and why?
You know, I'd love to have dinner with someone really smart so they could just teach me all night. Someone like Charles Darwin!

Day 26: What popular notion do you think the world has most wrong?
I think the concept of money is something the world has most wrong. Everything, EVERYTHING, revolves around money and I understand why, but I hate that money is put before everything. Look at poverty, poverty could be eradicated completely very, very easily if businesses/countries were to give up some of their money for a little while. But they don't and it makes me so sad. Also, global warming could be prevented if governments would invest enough money to provide sustainable energy forms in their countries. It would be such a short term sacrifice of a big sum of money and we would be totally self-sufficient for our energy. How amazing is that? It is heartbreaking to know that we treat our planet so badly, and that we could fix it if money didn't have such a huge hold over everyone's lives.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 22, 23 & 24

I forgot to do this the past few days! Oops.

Day 22: Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?
5 years: I'll be almost 26 so I would like to be in a career I love, hopefully married - definitely engaged and hopefully owning my first house.
10 years: Almost 36 so I would like to have all of the above, including definite marriage, still in my dream career, and have maybe 2 children.
15 years: Almost 41. Anything could have happened by then. Hopefully I'll still be happily married and loving my career. No more children though! I'd love to just have a really happy family.

Day 23: List your top 5 hobbies and why you love them.
1. I love gaaaaaaaames! My favourite thing would be playing World of Warcraft with the boyf, it's just so much fun.
2. Music - listening to music or singing along to music, it's just really relaxing.
3. TV and movies! I just love how different they can be and there's nothing better than curling up and watching your favourite show/movie.
4. Photography - I need to do this more often but I used to do it at college and it was amazing, it meant that I can be creative without having to draw/paint which I'm not great at.
5. Reading - I really like reading, especially when I find a book I can really get in to. I've not read anything in a while because I haven't really had time but I think I will start reading again soon.

Day 24: Describe your family dynamic of your childhood vs. your family dynamic now.
When I was little, me and my sister were really close, my mum and dad were happy (most of the time) and my little brother was super annoying because he copied everything I did but I loved him.
Now me and my sister never talk, my mum and dad are separated and I'm close with my little brother. It's actually really different and it's weird but the changes happened quite slowly so its something I got used to as time went on.

X-Men: Days Of Future Past

Yesterday I went to see the new X-Men film. I had seen quite a few people saying it was really good so I was excited!

The plot of the film centers around Wolverine going back into the past to stop an event from happening that leads to war against mutants in the future.

Firstly, the action was awesome. The sentinels were so powerful and scary! Even the strongest mutants were helpless against them. Also, the slow-motion scene at the pentagon was amazing.

The plot was really consistent and engaging all the way through and the different relationships between the mutants became tense and interesting. 

I don't want to say much else because I really don't want to spoil the film, it's too good! Go and watch it, it's the best X-Men film by far.

Also, make sure you watch the end credit scene and if you're not a comic book nerd (I'm unfortunately not), just Google it, it sounds like it's leading to something even better than Days of Future Past and I cannot wait!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 21

If you could have one super power, what would it be and what would you do with it first?
It would be cool to have mind control. I think first, I would use it to get a job wherever I wanted, because then I could prove that I deserve it rather than someone judging me by my CV and not my abilities.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 19 & 20

Day 19: If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why?
I want to live in Canada! The people are all friendly and they get proper snow. I love snow.

Day 20: Describe 3 significant memories from your childhood
I don't know about significant but I have loads of funny ones!

1. I remember the first time my little brother had chewing gum, we told him not to swallow it because it wraps around his intestines if he does so he was being really careful. He ended up swallowing it and he immediately started screaming, my mum was on the phone to my nan and she was panicking like 'MUM I'VE GOT TO GO BYE'. As she was saying it the chewing gum came back up and fell out of my brother's mouth (probably due to the screaming) and he suddenly stopped and pointed to it and just said 'NO'. It was hilarious.
2. I remember being really young and falling down the toilet when I went to grab toilet roll so I had to shout for my mum.
3. One time, me and my sister were throwing our teddies up to the ceiling and catching them, but I threw mine too hard and he hit the ceiling and banged his eye. When I picked him up he only had one eye! My mum and dad took him to surgery to get it glued back. To this day he looks like this...  (o_O) Poor thing.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 18

What has been the most difficult thing you have had to forgive?

I think forgiving my dad for leaving us is the most difficult. I'm still not sure I fully forgive him, I have never had an apology for the way he did it and I never will. I don't feel like I need an apology for myself, I need one for my mum, she went through hell after he left and is still going through hell because of it and it angers me so much that he just doesn't care. I don't blame my dad for leaving, to be honest I understand why he did it, I just hate the way that he handled it, it was so cowardly and that's what I don't forgive about it.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 17

What is the thing you most wish you were great at?
That's a very difficult question because I wish I was great at everything! I wish I was great at making money, because then I'd be rich and I could do what I want and not worry about the future.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 16

What are your 5 greatest accomplishments?
I don't think I'm old enough to have very many accomplishments. I don't feel like I've achieved much in my life to even call them 'accomplishments' so for now I will just say getting to and finishing uni. Hopefully I will soon be able to add 'getting a first class degree'. *fingers crossed*

Godzilla

***********SPOILER ALERT*************

Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

On Friday I went to the cinema with my boyfriend to watch Godzilla. We watched it in 2D because I have to wear my glasses in the cineme otherwise I get headaches and it's pretty difficult to wear 3D glasses over glasses. Anyway, it wasn't a film that I was dying to see in 3D anyway.

As you will probably know, the plot is basically that Godzilla is brought from his hiding place by these two giant parasites that want to mate and are calling out to each other, and Godzilla just want to 'restore natural balance' by killing them.

At first it seems like Godzilla is the bad guy and just wants to wreck the place, but actually he saves the earth from these parasites and goes back to hiding in the sea.

The film is done really well, the parasites and Godzilla look awesome and the sound effects are so scary and amazing. There are a few things that I didn't like though; Bryan Cranston's character dies quite early on which I didn't expect as all the trailers seem to suggest he is the main character throughout. Aaron Johnson does play a good character though when he takes over the main role. There are a few bits where the monsters basically look Johnson's character in the eye which seemed quite cheesy.

Also, when they return to their family home, the 'Happy Birthday' sign is up. Who the frig put that up? The kid left it and went to school, then the mum died and the other two were apparently evacuated so quickly that they didn't even grab any photographs.

Anyway, I would say that it's definitely worth a watch, especially if you like watching giant monsters fight! Also, in the scene where the soldiers jump from the plane, the sky looks awesome and completely scary. It is a good story too and Cranston's character builds up a lot of drama.

On a side note, there is a line in the film that says something like "the ignorance of man is thinking that nature is under our control", which is probably one of the most thought-provoking things I've ever heard. It's totally true and, when you apply it to the situation that the film puts the world in, completely terrifying.

Thanks for reading,

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 14 and 15

Day 14: Described 5 strengths you have
1. I'm a good listener
2. I love teaching people
3. I love making people happy
4. I'm good at looking after people in need
5. I'm very determined

Day 15: If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
I'd be a penguin because they are my favourites and they're adorable! I think I'd like to switch the type of penguin I am every so often so that I get to experience loads of different lives.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 12 and 13

Day 12: Describe a typical day in your current life
I basically do nothing all day, right now. Fun fun!

Day 13: Describe 5 weaknesses you have
1. FOOD. Food is my weakness
2. I have super high expectations
3. I get annoyed too easily
4. Sometimes I find it hard to get on with people my own age
5. I don't feel ready to leave education

I GOT A JOB...and then I quit.

So, I actually got a job. Monday was my 'observation day' and yesterday was my first day (that's why I was busy). The job was door-to-door sales. Which obviously was long hours and a lot of work. But if I'm honest, I actually liked it. I was so tired when I got home but it's quite fun talking to all the different people you meet and I got to stroke LOTS of dogs!! :)
So anyway, we were selling cheap internet, actually it was free internet, all they paid for was line rental which you have to pay by law. Government, eh? And it went well, we reached the target on the first day and exceeded it on the second. I almost made a sale too, which was awesome!

Of course, the door-to-door sales was just a stepping stone to something much bigger. Everyone goes through it to get to assistant owner, then ownership, where you can run your own office and make a living with 6 figures per year. The record someone has gone from entry level to ownership was 11 weeks, 3 days. I bet he's rolling in £££'s now!

Anyway, despite actually enjoying it, after learning more and more about the opportunities they provide, I decided not to go any further with the job, because it was taking me on a career path that I don't want. If I wanted a career just for to be rich, I would sell my soul to the banks. But I want to work in CSR and the job I had would be a few years long detour from that path.
I'm really glad I got it, because it has confirmed to me what I really want to do, and although it would be nice to be super rich at 21, I just can't take the chance of living the one life I have, in a career that I'm not really passionate about. So I guess I will keep looking. If there's anyone out there that wants to hire me, here I am!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 9, 10, 11

Hi! So I've been really busy and haven't had chance to do my last few blog challenges, so here they are!

Day 9: List 10 people who have influenced you and describe how.

I can tell you right now there aren't 10 people who have influenced me. That sounds really snobbish(?) but I'm not easily influenced and I like to make my own decisions. Anyway, the people who have influenced me are:

1. My parents - they made the best life possible for us all with what we had, and as a child I never wanted for anything as they always made sacrifices for us. But seeing them struggle has influenced my whole outlook on family life. I know now that I want to have an established career before I start a family so that I don't have to struggle through life. They made me the person I am today and I love them for it.

2. My business tutor - I took business in college because I really liked it at school, but I was never going to take it further than college. After a lot of encouragement from my tutor, Peter, I took business at University and I'm SO glad I did! 

3. Whoever wrote my last business exam at college - this sounds silly, but the way my course worked at college was for the first 3 exams over the 2 years, we studied how a business works from sole traders to global organisations. For our last exam, we were given a topic chosen by the exam board and my year got CSR (corporate social responsibility). I thank whoever decided that because it has influenced my decision about what career I want. If I hadn't done that I never would have studied it, as I haven't had the chance to do that at uni and I may be looking for a completely different career right now!

4. My boyfriend - he got me into some awesome games and TV shows, they have influenced me a lot!

I think that's it for direct influences, but there have probably been more indirect influences because I have a tendency to observe people and learn from them.

Day 10: Describe your most embarrassing moment.

Surprisingly, I'm not easily embarrassed. However, one of the most embarrassing moments at the time, was one of the first times I went to my boyfriend's house. It was winter and we were walking to his house and I slipped on ice and fell right on my backside. I don't think I've ever done that in my life and I just had to do it at the moment! He didn't even laugh at first bless him, he made sure I was okay and only laughed when I laughed. He still reminds me about it though, the meanie.

Day 11: Describe 10 pet peeves you have.

Only 10? Really? Because I hate everything! 

1. Racists - JUST STOP IT.

2. People talking about something they know NOTHING about. Politics is one great example. I'm not expert either, but I don't pretend to be. Shut up.

3. Kids who have no self-awareness

4. People who hurt animals. DIE.

5. How people are so bothered about what 'celebrities' do in their lives. So what, they went to the shop in their joggers. So do you. Calm down.

6. How tabloid magazines judge celebrities so harshly, for example, calling people with the slightest bit of meat on their bones 'fat'. I don't know how those writers sleep at night, and they all must be stick thin because otherwise, what do they think of themselves?

7. Religious people who try and justify everything they do with 'God'. I have no issue with religion, but you make your own decisions, and sometimes bad things happen, 'God' had nothing to do with it. Also, stop trying to shove it down my throat. 

8. When people don't 'believe' in science. It's not a choice, we have proof, it's a fact, so shut up. One example; evolution. WE HAVE EVIDENCE. Stop being so completely ignorant and stupid. I saw a quote the other day from Neil deGrasse Tyson; "The greatest thing about science is that it doesn't stop being true even if you don't believe in it" - my thoughts exactly.

9. When people teach their children to be complete idiots. Children are our future, we should be giving them all the information available and let them decide what they want to 'believe'.

10. Homophobia. Seriously, stop. How are we only just making same sex marriages legal? It makes me sick that people are so narrow minded and horrible. Why does it even affect ANYONE else other than the two people who want to be together. ALSO the fact that people are trying to 'stop' their children from being 'influenced' by homosexuality. No, just no. Your child will either be gay or not and you can't do anything about it. Can I also just say, why are people still so shocked when someone 'comes out'. I understand that it must be so hard for someone to do it, but that is SO WRONG. Seriously, why should someone be made to feel ashamed of the person that they are? People are horrible.

Okay, so that's a long post. I'll try to keep up with it from now on!

Sabotage

So, yesterday I went to see Sabotage at the cinema with the bf. I was expecting good things as it was by the same people who did 'End of Watch' which was a great film.

The plot of the film centers around a Special Operations DEA team. It seems that members of the team were not exactly perfect citizens, but the FBI gave them the chance to be useful by joining the team, and up until the thing that happens at the beginning, they were proving to be very...effective shall we say.

Basically, there is a LOT of blood and violence. It is quite gross, but not the Saw films kind of 'I-really-need-to-vomit' gross, it's more just gang violence kind of gross. There's also a lot of swearing. Barely a sentence goes by without some form of bad word, so I wouldn't recommend it if you're easily offended.
These things aren't out of place though, they are quite justified and fit in to the tone of the film as opposed to being overused and vulgar. The story is really quite gripping. It never gets boring or slow and there's a lot happening throughout the whole film.

There was one bad thing about the film. Without giving too much away, I honestly don't understand how the police knew that there was money missing after they blew up the stack at the beginning. If someone can explain that to me without the obvious answer that someone told them, then I will applaud you.

If you liked 'End of Watch' or really any form of drug cartel revenge film, then you will definitely like this!

I'm really looking forward to watching Godzilla and X-Men over the next few weeks so I will most likely give my opinions on those too!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 8

What are 5 passions you have?
1. Penguins
2. Business
3. Success
4. The people I love
5. Helping people

Nice quick post today, see you tomorrow!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 7

What is your dream job and why?
I'd really like to work as some sort of corporate social responsibility consultant for businesses looking to implement a CSR strategy, because ever since I studied CSR I found it really interesting and I think it's important for businesses to have a positive impact on its stakeholders.


See you tomorrow!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 6

What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced?
The hardest thing I ever experienced was my dad leaving. Literally, he just got up one day and left. I hardly saw him for months and months after that. It was weird and I didn't understand how he could just go.
But you know, I've been quite fortunate in that my life hasn't had many really difficult moments. There's probably quite a lot to come, but those are things that I will deal with when they happen.

See you tomorrow!

Morrison's update

Since my last post about Morrisons they've seen a fall in sales (7.1%)

Surprised?
I am not.

On a positive note, I do like the advertising posters they use. The 'I'M Cheaper' sticker is a good idea and it makes me wonder why they didn't carry that over to the TV adverts. Isn't that the whole point of an advertising campaign? It certainly would have helped the consistency in their re-branding efforts.

I'm not sure where they're going to be in a few months time but they seem positive about the new strategy!
I guess we'll see.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 5

What are the 5 things that make you most happy right now?
1. My boyfriend
2. The fact that I had a job interview today and got called back for an observation day!
3. The fact that tomorrow is my last day of uni ever (undecided whether I'm happy or sad)
4. The fact that I have finished all my assignments, for uni....ever.
5. Lying in bed, relaxing, knowing that soon I will be asleep. (I'm SO tired)


I promise I will blog more soon, these past few days have been really busy!!
See you tomorrow

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 4

List 10 things you would tell your 16 year old self, if you could.
1. Learn how to do Harvard referencing, it will make uni life so much easier.
2. Spend as much time as you can with your friends before you move away.
3. Get a part-time job.
4. Go to Nando's, you will love it.

You know what, that's all I can think of. Truth is, I'm not old enough to be giving my younger self advice about life. It was only 4 years ago that I was 16, and nothing has really changed that much, I haven't learnt any amazing life hacks so I can't really share them!

See you tomorrow!

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 3

Describe your relationship with your parents.

My relationship with my mum is good, we're very close and when I'm home from uni we do lots of things together, go out for lunch, shopping etc. She has supported me in anything I've done throughout my whole life, and she has done a bloody good job raising me.

My relationship with my dad is..different. Basically, he left my mum, sister and brother and I about 4 years ago and for ages I didn't see him at all. He never bothered contacting me or asking to see me, but he saw my younger brother every weekend. Now, I still don't speak to my dad often, but when I do we have a laugh. He made an effort over my Easter break to take me and my brother out to a few places which was nice.


To be honest, my relationship with my parents is probably the same as most twenty-something year olds who have separated parents. Nothing majorly special.

See you tomorrow for day four!

Morrisons: what are they doing?!

So for my first business related post, I'll be talking about Morrisons and whatever the hell they're doing lately.

So basically, after terrible financial performance they decided to change their strategy to try and compete with the ever popular 'budget' supermarkets such as Aldi. Now, Aldi has had a lot of success lately, being named best supermarket of the year quite a few times. It has also started to bring in more and more big brand products at low costs. Naturally they are the 'top dog' in their market segment. So why on earth are Morrisons attempting to compete with them?

Morrisons are stuck in the middle, they can't compete with the 'big' supermarkets (Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's), and they can't compete with the budget supermarkets (Aldi and Lidl). All other supermarkets are well established within their own market segment, so what is going to persuade anyone to move to Morrisons. I can tell you what won't....

(Picture taken from The Guardian online)

I would sack whoever came up with this. I personally think it is ridiculous. Also, is it even legal to advertise on a piece of art? Surely not.

And while we're talking about sacking people, whoever came up with the advert slogan 'Love them cheaper' should be sacked as well. Not only is it really annoying when every other advert you see during the Britain's Got Talent breaks says it, to me that says that the product is on offer, not permanently cheaper.
If I'm honest, I don't think they've started off with their change in strategy very well. We'll be able to see if what they're doing now is working in about 6-12 months. Until then, I'm afraid don't have that much hope, sorry Morrisons.

30 Day Challenge: Day 2

Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.

(This should be amusing..)

1. Pregnancy - This literally happened when I was watching Friends one day, where Rachel is pregnant and she feels the baby kicking. I sat and I thought how weird is it that you can feel a baby kicking inside you, I started to get really freaked out and basically started thinking about all aspects of pregnancy and how gross and terrifying it is, especially the look of a pregnant stomach, *shudder*. (I don't mean to offend anyone, it just really scares me). So anyway, basically any time I think about pregnancy now I get really anxious and freaked out. God knows how I will ever cope if/when I'm pregnant. I've already decided on a C-section, that's for sure.

2. The supernatural - Okay, I'm pretty sure this is a genuine phobia because it's unbelievably irrational. Have you seen the film, Insidious? Well the bit where the woman is remembering her dream or something, and she opens her eyes and that GOD DAMN CREEPY THING IS BEHIND THAT GUY?!?!?! Okay, that's when it started. Honestly, I used to LOVE scary films and I watched that about 2 years ago and it's the only things that has ever scared me from a film and it ruined scary films for me. It pops into my head now and again and I tell myself that it's obviously not real, demons, ghosts etc aren't real. But then my brain is like 'what if they are real, and they know you think they're not real and they come after you to prove that they are?'. That is a legitimate sentence that was said inside my head. So pretty much anything like that really scares me now and I wish it didn't!

3. The dark - So, I don't remember ever being scared of the dark as a kid, I mean, I had the usual 'run up stairs so monsters don't get me' feeling but everyone had that right? I think it started about 5 years ago when my sister left home to live with her friend. We'd always shared a room so I'd never been alone at night, and I suddenly realised how scary it is that you don't know what is in the darkness. So I had to sleep with a light on, or my TV. Even now, when I go home and have to sleep away from my boyfriend, I put Friends on on my laptop so I don't have to fall asleep in silence/pitch black.

So if you didn't already think I was peculiar, you probably do now!
Thanks for reading,

30 Day Blog Challenge! Day 1

So I found this 30 day blog challenge online and thought it would be a good way to get me into the routine of blogging daily. Here it is!

Day 1: List 20 random facts about yourself

1. My full first name is Abbiegayle and it's spelt strangely.

2. I am 20 years old.

3. My birthday is 21st July.

3. My favourite colour is orange.

4. My favourite animal is a penguin, all kinds of penguins!

5. I love learning and I'm scared to leave education.

6. My family is ridiculously dysfunctional.

7. I have an unhealthy relationship with food, it's a wonder I'm not obese.

8. I really hate my generation because I'm about 60 in the head.

9. I'm the complete opposite of the stereotypical student.

10. I don't really know how to get along with girls.

11. I love the freedom of living away from home and I never want to live at home again.

12. I've been getting migraines for 10 years, nothing stops them and no-one knows why.

13. I really want to make a difference to the world in whatever career I choose.

14. My boyfriend is my best friend.

15. I have really irrational fears.

16. Sometimes I really like doing nothing.

17. I love Disney.

18. If I could sing all day everyday, I would.

19. I'm really shy but good at faking confidence.

20. I have super high expectations of myself.

If you sat through all of that, well done! Now you know a bit more about me. See you tomorrow for the next one!

Just a thought...

So, I was scrolling facebook and I came across this..

This basically sums up my feelings about how mind blowing nature is. We assume that animals don't have any form of consciousness, meaning that they don't think like humans do. So how the hell does a caterpillar know it's time to become a butterfly. It just does it instinctively. It's amazing that everything an animal does is down to instinct. It's so hard to comprehend.
 People say that human beings are the most intelligent form of life, and perhaps on the surface we are. But we are in no way intelligent enough to run the world the way we do. We ignore our basic instincts to survive and allow our conscious thoughts to take over. We don't do what is best for the human race's survival, we do what is best for ourselves at this very moment. It is this that causes the environmental decline that we see and will ultimately destroy nature.

Something to think about.

Greetings!

Hi there!

So, I literally just set up this blog and this post is just to say hi (but mainly to see how my layout looks).

Basically this blog will be about things I love (or hate), with a few business related posts to fuel my inner business geek.

Hope you enjoy it, I promise to post soon!