Results Day

Today is, and always will be, one of the most nerve wracking and important days in my life so far. Today, I found out what grades I got for my a-levels which will determine my place at university.
Firstly, I want to make it clear that I am post my A-level results because this is my blog for myself; my thoughts, feelings and experiences. I am not doing it to boast or whatever.
Anyway.....
I got:
History- B
Psychology- C
Human Biology- B
General Studies- B

So I'm able to go to Manchester University to study Adult Nursing in 2015!

I'm really really really pleased with my results. The past year has been super super hard and I'm so glad it's finally over.

If you've received your results today, I hope you're okay and stay strong!!
If you have any questions or queries, comment/tweet/message me on tumblr cause i'm gonna go celebrate.
Thanks for reading,
Kitty x

A Practical Guide To Festival'ing

Festivals- the best way to get drunk, muddy and listen to some fab bands. This year was my 5th year at the lovely Y Not Festival and I had a super great time. So as a self-proclaimed festival guru, I shall provide my festival wisdom to prepare you for your festival adventure!

Only bring a tent that you can erect and dismantle. It's all very well being able to do it sober when you arrive but on the morning that you leave, you may actually be in a semi coma. Make sure you and your tent sharing buddies practice putting up and dismantling the tent (drinking is of course optional during this prep session.)

Bring wellies. If it rains and you don't, there is a strong chance you could get trench foot. Wellies will be your saving grace whether you're dancing to a band or stumbling over tent ropes to go for a drunken wee at 2am.

Plan which bands you have/want to see. I didn't do this one year and consequently missed one of my favourite bands who no longer tour (wah). If you make sure that you have a time telling device and a band timetable- you'll be fine!

Make friends with your neighbors! This year I made some really fab friends because I chatted to people camping near us, so it totally worked.

Don't be that dick who: get muddy and hugs people, throws beer during an act, forces someone to crowd surf or is rude to the Festival volunteers/staff/security.

Scout out the best toilets in order to (try) and avoid the fear factor of finding one not containing 8 diseases. Or, do what I did and just go for a sneaky wee behind the urinals because its quicker and easier than queuing.

Know your hangover cure. Hangovers at festivals are probably the worst (next to being hungover at work). I favour lining my stomach with carbs and taking travel sickness tablets before sleeping.

I hope you're now moderately prepared to spend several days in a field!
Thanks for reading,
Kitty x

Feelings

It's hard, being the only constant in an unstable environment. It's been nearly 2 months since my boyfriend became ill. And when I say ill I don't mean sappy man flu, I mean neurological possibly serious we just don't know kind of ill. I'm the only person who is really there for him, so I'm the one who has to bandage him up when he falls during a dizzy spell, calm him down when he starts to worry about what is wrong with him or remind him things when his memory fails- and that has been hard. On top of that, his illness began right as my exams did, so I've been juggling A2 exams, a job, friends and family and him. Don't get me wrong, I don't resent him for it, not one bit. I love being there for him and, lets face it, it's great practice for my nursing career. But its still hard and it has taken its toll on me. I feel guilty when I'm not there with him and his symptoms are playing up, I feel guilty when I complain about having a hard day at work and I feel guilty for wanting to just switch off and relax. My friends have noticed a change in me, and regularly remind me to look after myself. That's all good and well and thank-you but what I really need is for someone to bear the weight for a bit. Telling me it's okay and that I need to relax doesn't work when there is still nobody there to care for him in my place.
The MRI scan is tomorrow.

Thanks for reading,
Kitty x

Customer Etiquette

I love being a waitress. I love being rushed off my feet and always having something to do, especially after spending the last couple of months sitting and revising. I am (obviously) a big believer in 'the customer is always right' because we are here to serve you after all, it's our job. But I also appreciate politeness and treating staff like human-beings. So there are some things which you, as customers, could do as a big favour to all servers.

Please don't click your fingers at me to ask for something- it's rude and obnoxious and if I clicked my fingers at you to do your job, you wouldn't like it. I am not a dog so don't treat me like one.

If I walk straight past you despite you making obvious eye contact at me, I'm busy. And by that I mean I've been told to do a job by my boss which I need to do immediately- someone else will be over soon I promise.

If your server says they're new, be nice! The early shifts of being a waiter/waitress are scary so be nice customers and a make a happy server.

When I arrive at your table with food, do not snatch the plates off me. Chances are the plates are hot and I don't want you to get hurt.

I don't know what you ordered so please don't ask me.

Don't. Sit. On. Dirty. Tables. - ask someone a member of staff to clean it first!

Follow the restaurant's policy on seating. If it's 'waitress service', don't sit yourself down. It confuses the system and will not make your service any quicker.

If you change your mind about your order, tell an order taker immediately. We don't telepathically realize that you fancied a latté not a tea.

Please don't tell me to smile because it makes me look nicer.

When it gets busy, food takes longer to prepare and serve as there is more to do. You are not the only person waiting so please be patient.

If you are unsatisfied with your service, complain to a Duty Manager/Supervisor.We are always looking to improve!
Equally, please compliment and tip if you liked the service.

Don't move tables without telling anyone. It will slow down your service as everything is based around your table number.

Do not place tips on my person (i.e shirt pocket) and then pat it- I am not a stripper (although that would probably pay better).

I hope this might help all you people confused about customer etiquette! Special thanks to my boyfriend for being my proof reader and adding a couple of items to the list.
Thanks for reading,
Kitty x

City Dreams

As a non city-dweller, it's a novelty to go to cities. The rush of having all these people around you, the smells, the shops, the general vibe is so different; and I love it. I've been to my fair share of cities over the years as they contain museums and art galleries which my parents have dragged me around for many years.
I've decided to compile a list of my favourite cities because it's summer and you might need some ideas. Or you might value my opinion (ha!), who knows.

My all time favourite city is probably Berlin, for obvious reasons (see this blog post). There is loaaads to do, and it's packed full of interesting history from many different periods! They even have a museum island! It's relatively cheap and the people are absolutely lovely. Best piece of advice? Know polite German like please, thank-you etc. It will get you further than you think.

Paris. Ahhh, Paris- the city of love! Paris is a city which will always be in my heart as it's the foreign city I've visited the most. Paris is so pretentious and disgustingly artistic, it's a bit like that awfully laid-back friend that gets good grades without trying. Paris makes you into the kind of person who one day will be wearing Birkenstocks and socks, and the next you'll be head to toe in Chanel. My advice is to do all the touristy sites first, and then explore. It's a city full of little places of gorgeous wonder.

Copenhagen, the typically Scandinavian city in every sense. Everything is clean and ordered and very innovative, it's a bit like being in a Lego city (fact attack- Lego is a Danish product). Just being there makes you feel safe and relaxed. Oh, and there is a massive amusement park/ normal park in the middle of the city which is worth a trip! My advice- Cycle around this city and you will see the sites and fall in love.

New York- I hate myself a little bit for saying this but you simply have to go to New York if you love cities. It's the pinnacle of 'cities you have to visit', and for good reason. Everything is happening there, 24/7. There is simply not a dull moment. You turn a corner, and you recognise where you are. The art galleries and museums are fab! My advice? Don't bother going up the Statue of Liberty. See it via the Staten Island ferry instead.

There are, of course, many more cities which I love but the list cannot go on forever. And if you're looking at this thinking "where are the British cities", I'm sorry. I love my British cities, I really do. They just don't make this list. I guess I'm not promoting British values, sorry Cameron/Gove.
I hope you enjoyed the lack of wisdom and wit of this post.
Thanks for reading,
Kitty x

Trippin'

Adulthood is scary, which is why I am thoroughly enjoying watching my 18 year old friends flail about whilst I stay on the 'dancing queen young and sweet only 17' boat. Yes I know, being 17 really sucks because you can't go out with your friends or have any legal fun or vote but at least I can still behave like an idiot and say "hey I'm 17. it's okay".
Anyway, it's getting closer and closer until my birthday (less than a month now!!) and I've been thinking about the future and stuff. Mainly my gap year.
I decided to take a gap last year with one of my best friends. Since then, my plans have re-jigged quite a lot. I'm now heading off to New Zealand, on October 23rd (via Hong Kong), alone!
So I've made a quick Q/A based on what I usually get asked (as a protest to people who ask me this, and to be nice and open to y'all).

Why NZ, I hear you cry? I'm not quite sure. Part of it is that my family approve (which shouldn't be factor I know), I have contacts over thanks to my Gran's past family tree finding antics, and also kind of because my ex used to talk about going, so I guess that initially planted the idea in my brain.

Really? Alone? Yup.

What are you gonna do over there? I'm getting a working holiday visa, so that is exactly what I'll be doing. I'll work my arse off, and travel around NZ 'cause it's really lovely.

Where are you going to stay? Who knows?! I'll find out when I'm over there. It's an adventure!

Aren't you scared? I'm absolutely terrified. I've never really traveled on my own, so this is a huge step. But, I'm hoping that the group flight with BUNAC will help me make some friends who are in the same position as me.

And so your parents are paying for it? Not that it's any of your business but no, not all of it. My parents have always given me an allowance but I saved a hell of a lot of money when I was younger (me aged 8-10 was an obsessive saver), and that should cover some travel costs. And I have a full-time job as a waitress.

You probably won't come back, I knew blah blah and they went on a gap year and never came back. Okay so I've already applied to university and (subject to my grades) I will be attending in 2015. I am absolutely desperate to go to uni and train to be a nurse, but I want to grow up and be free for a little bit.

That is sooo brave of you! I don't see why? I'm not seeing this as brave, I see it as running away. I'm so sick and tired of my life in England and all I want to do is get away. I've felt this for a long time, and I really didn't want to use university as an escape because my chosen course is so demanding- it shouldn't be an escape, but a happy and healthy choice.

I hope you've found this update.... interesting. If you are thinking about taking a gap year, pop back to my previous blog post which provides you with loads of really good advice and sites to use. I can personally definitely recommend STA Travel and BUNAC at the moment, as they're organizing my trip and have been super fab.
And if you're doing any exams at the moment like me, keep going.
Thanks for reading,
Kitty x

The Excellent Exam Guide

Its exam season! Yay! Endless weeks of being tested on things you've learnt in the past year (or two years if you've suffered Gove's reforms)!
As you may well know, I am about to complete my A2s (second year of a-levels), so these will be my last exams taken in school. That would be exciting if these exams weren't so important that if I fail them I have to recalculate my life plan.
Anyway, everybody is stressed and exhausted and nervous about exams so I thought I'd share some tips on how to make exams more fun. (These are all things which I have done during exams.)

• Write in blue ink- The possibility of being disqualified really increases the fun suspense until results day.
• Write incredibly quickly- Instead of sticking to the time limits which you set yourself to complete that essay, finish it in 20 minutes. Then take an obnoxious break, stretch your arms and cough loudly to let everyone know you're way ahead of schedule.
• Don't bring a calculator to a calculator maths exam- You're clever enough to do it all in your head.
• Make a tower of of stationary- Be creative. The invigilators are so bored and I'm sure they'll really appreciate the wobbling tower of the contents of your pencil case. Especially when it all falls on the floor.
• Sit in the wrong seat- A quick and easy way to confuse both yourself and everyone else in the room about why you've sat in a seat without an exam paper. When you have to not-so-subtly slide into the seat in front of you, the embarrassment will cause an adrenaline rush and you'll do better!
• Drink a ridiculous amount of water until you start choking- Once you've completed your exam paper, challenge yourself to drink the rest of your water. When you begin to choke and an invigilator has to come and ask if you're okay, you've won!

Hope your exams go okay; good luck and stay calm.

Thanks for reading,

Kitty x