Hi,

just a quick post to let you know that I am still alive and well...or should that be alive and coping?

Basically, I had a very eventful bank holiday weekend with:

• The cousins who live in Hertfordshire, CK and CS (see previous post), coming up to stay
• Us kids going to the BullRing
• Me buying loads clothes (details in a seperate post, naturally)
• Me also leaving my debit card in a shop because I was too busy insulting Madonna in a conversation with CK and making the cute sales-assistant smile-laugh at my funny comment to remember to take it out of the chip-n-pin machine
• My sister ringing the shop to check and eventually finding out I had left it there and that it is now in their safe
• My sister cracking a really bad joke about how "at least it's safe...literally"
• Me learning that one must never, ever diss Madonna, because she has ways to get you back
• My grandmother being rushed to hospital with severe hip pain and suspected Septic-Arthritis
• My family and cousins making a rushed journey down to Kent on Saturday night to see her
• Mum and me high-fiving in the car each time a great hard-house track came on Radio 1 in the car on the way, much to the annoyance of everyone else
• Us coming back on Sunday night, still worried
• Having loads of family politics to top things off because my eldest uncle and his family are acting like fucking twats.
• Mum crying
• Lots of lying to CK/CS's parents who were on holiday and kept asking if things were okay and where my gradmother was
  
• Lots of swearing
• Comforting mum
• CK and CS going back home once their parents had returned and found out
  
• Increased amounts of helping out and support
• Finding out that the doctors suspect cancer only by overhearing a conversation with my mum and idiot aunty.

And that's pretty much the jist of it.

Wow, it wasn't a quick post after all.

P.S. Anyhoo - in response to your comment on the last post - maybe you were looking in the wrong place.

I guess I had better let you know what I've been upto since last thursday.

Well not much actually.

Friday was a day of feeling eugh from the night before whilst trying desperately to clean shoes that were and still are totally ruined (why oh why did I wear tan leather loafers to a foam party?!).

I was supposed to go out on Friday night to Revo's with my sister and cousins but decided to pull out because I was feeling so eugh.
Despite the pleading I said no and remained at home, later to regret it when my sister texted me to inform me that two of our family friends, our neighbour, a boy she knows my age who's also doing medicine, and "everyone" was there.

Oh well.
Hopefully I'll learn from this to stop being so housebound and get out more.
She forgot to take her key with her so being the wonderful brother that I am, I waited up till 2am for her. At this point she tells me that she's no longer getting a lift and will get a taxi, so I went to pick her up, an act which recieved the comment, "aww you're like a big brother now".

On Saturday the four of us went to my cousins who live in Hertfordshire to stay for the night. As we hit the motorway the music argument brokeout (thankfully there were no Indian CDs in my sisters new car, and the CDs we did have were rubbish).

Surprisingly it was mum in the back who settled things by ordering me to turn on Radio1 as they "play fine music at this time".
Incidently she was right - it was Judge Jules live from Cafe Mambo live in Ibiza (see the link in the post below). All of us love House music, appart from my dad, so whilst my sister and I were applauding her for her choice and turning up the volume, my mum taunts my dad with a "ner-ne ne ne-ner".
It was so funny. You probably had to be there. But it was.

When we got there we ate, sat and talked which was nice because I hadn't seen any of them in ages and we are really close to them (my mums sister, her husband, their son [one year younger than me] and their daughter [three years younger]).
I was also presented with 2 cards - for passing my exams and driving test, with £10 in each, which was really good.

On Sunday my dad, uncle, sister, younger cousin and I went to PC World where my older cousin works. They happened to stock the particualar model of Laptop I had my eye on and so we went to go check it out (and make use of his staff discount).
After I'd had a play around with it my dad asked what I wanted to do, and then rang my mum (he can never make a decision without her say). I said that it was the best model I'd seen considering its specs and how small it was, and mum didn't seem to bothered.
And then he just bought it for me. I was shocked because normally with these things my parents like to go away and think about it for 5 months.
But dad just bought it there and then.
My brand new sexy Philips Freevents X52!
It's so sexy.

Later that day we went to the Hare Krishna Temple for the Janmasthami festival there which was really good. I love how every year the displays in the grounds are all different, and the mix of people you find there. This year I saw a Jamaican Hare Krishna. We met our friends, stood around whilst eating hot fresh food, and then tried to go home.

I say tried to because we spent a further hour and a half looking for the parents car (my cousins and I came in my cousins car, the parents and my sister in hers).
After about an hour of driving around looking for the car we discovered that they had parked in a different field to us and hadn't remembered the corresponding colour.
And then when they found the car, they realised that they had lost my aunty!

Anyways, I had better go, I'm being nagged to do housework.
I think my mum's making the most of me while I'm still here.

Love the Dirty Beats, Sexy Bass, 'n' Pumping Hard House.

I really am.

I was reading through past posts in my blog the other day (oh like you don't) and I realised how my recent posts have grown a bit stale and boring, but such is life at the moment.

It's just that this place is not fulfilling all it was set-up to do. Hence the creation of a new blog somewhere out there. It's there if I need it.

Do hold on though because we're soon to embark on an exciting journey to a fascinating new place, a dauntingly big city, and one with many adventures to be had.

Stuff is going to get very wow in the next few months...

Oh for fuck's sake!

Crappy ass Royal bloody Mail.

I've just spent my entire evening listening to music and relaxing, whilst editing covering letters, printing them out along with CVs, addressing A4 envelopes, sealing them, and when I get to 14 out of 17 am I reminded of the shitty size-price increase.

What happens if I've already bought the stamps hey? 32p each first class book of 12, and now thats not even enough to send the letters.

They so didn't make enough of an effort to tell people about the change, nor did they give enough warning of the deadline.

Now I'm left wondering...what will happen to my letters if I just send them anyway?

Arses.

Wow.

It's all slowly starting to sink in.

I can't believe my dad cried when I told him the results.

Mum rang him from school as soon as we found them out and in her excitement forgot that I maybe wanted to tell him or even talk to him and so I rang him again.
As he said, "I told you you'd do it" and well done and "I'm so pleased", I could tell his voice was choked with emotion.
When we got to work I gave him a hug and touched his and mums feet (a sign of respect and thanks in Indian tradition) and he had tears in his eyes.

He had already rang his youngest brother to tell him the news and as he began telling us what my uncle had said he started sobbing!
"He'll go there as a boy and comeback as a man", "He'll be the most highly educated in our family" and especially when my uncle said how I had made their father's dream come true (I can't remember my dad's dad as I was so young when he died but apparently his wish was for someone in his family to be a doctor).

I can't believe his reaction, it was so sweet, and he's normally never emotional.
Whilst telling my mum that she said that inside he is and that I should just wait till they drop me off at uni for the first time because he'll cry then as well.

My mum also told me after that she hadn't slept all night with worry and bad dreams.
I felt guilty because I was out with a click.
I guess it was because inside I was sure I had done it. I don't want to sound cocky, but I felt that at worst I'd have dropped one grade and thus still met the conditions of my offer.

My mum and I then began talking about what my granddad (her dad, who died about 3 years ago) would have said if he were still here and we both nearly cried.
I really miss him sometimes, he's so funny, and I remember the catch-phrases he used to say, and probably would have said if I could have told him.
Like he always used to say to all of his grandkids, "I love you my son", even to the girls (Not speaking much English himself).

He told me I should be a lawyer a few months before he died because the whole family was at their house and we were all having a mass debate.
It was pretty much me against all my uncles and dad, with everyone else just listening, but he liked how I wasn't affraid to express my oppinions and speak my mind, and how argumentative I can be.
Nonetheless I know he'd be proud of me.

I got the OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION LETTER this morning.

That's it, I'm going to IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON to do Medicine!

I'm so so happy that this journey is finally over.

I was looking back through my blog to almost a year ago when I applied to UCAS and the whole thing began, and started to remember how hard it all was.

Firstly that BMAT test, as if A-levels weren't enough, we had one more test to overcome. It was so hard and so much pressure, and the results didn't help me at all.

After that came weeks of hoping and hoping to the point of cheese, and a first interview - pointless excitement, a few lessons learned, rejection followed, but it was an experience nonetheless.

The first rejection always hits you hardest and the months that followed were really difficult with the stress, depression, and pressure.

One friday in february a letter came - another interview and another chance.
I felt much better about this one.

A month after came some devastating news, two rejections in one day.
That made it 3 out of 4 and having already had the interview for the fourth there was nothing more I could do but just wait.

Having it come so close to total failure was absolute torture - you read my blog, you know how I felt. But it did teach me some valuable things.

And finally, on the 9th March my break came - a letter from Imperial confirming that I had a conditional offer.

And now I've got my grades which means I've got my place!

I'm going to LONDON!

I'm going to be living in South Kensington.
And all the road name signs will have 'City of Westminster' on them.
And I'll have an OysterCard.
And there'll be red busses everywhere.
And black stuff up my nose at the end of the day from riding the tube.

I have just 6 weeks of home left till I have to go...

Can't wait!

Along the road there have been some great songs that now when I hear them remind me of this past year, school, and all the memories:

• Bedouin Soundclash - When the night feels my song - Lyrics are appropriate.
• Mylo vs Miami Sound Machine - Doctor Pressure - This one especially!
• Orson - No tomorrow - First song I heard after I got my offer, summed up exactly how I felt.
• Lily Allen - LDN - My future HOME!

A A A

Well, tomorrow is the day.

The biggest day of my life so far.
Results day.

I woke up this morning strangely calm and still am,
even despite the dreams I've had for the past
few nights.

I hate to think about it because it makes me
feel sick but at the same time I can't stop thinking
about it.

Grrr. How can a few tiny letters mean so much!
Anyway, I'm going to go and try to keep myself busy
for the next 24 hours.

I'll let you know how it goes...

Hi,

Okay, firstly, who's idea was it to put loofah bits in a shower gel?
I spent ages in the shower picking off bits of loofah from places where loofah really shouldn't be.

Secondly, I'm going crazy with the waiting now.
There's only three days left and I'm hating it.
Everytime I think about uni I get really excited but then have to force myself to not, just incase. I keep having really random thoughts about what it's going to be like living away, thinking about things to take with me, like this lamp next to me.
Grrr.

Okay quick lets change the subject - I'm getting weird stomach nervousness feelings.

Hands up who loves that new Michael Gray track - Borderline.
The one with one half of Alesha's Attic (remember them? No? Neither could I) doing the vocals.
His stuff is always great.
Okay so he's only done two tracks, but The Weekend was amazing.
That track was my anthem in the 1st year of 6th form!

A is having a gathering of friends at his house today, infact in 10 minutes.
However it's till midnight.
I think I may go, it would be good to see everyone and will also keep me busy.
But then again, mum has taken my car (wow - I can actually say 'my car') though so I'll have to wait for her to get back from work before I can go, and plus I was just round his last Thursday/Friday.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Goes to A's
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Hey, just got back from A's.
It was the first time I drove on my own, and of course mum did the obligatory mum speech of:
"ring me as soon as you get there. And drive slow. And if the house phone is busy, ring my mobile. Don't forget".
The drive was good and I managed to remember how to get there (obviously) and some great songs came on on the way, including Chamillionaire - Ridin' Dirty.

When I got there, only A, N and her boyfriend S, and PG were there.
Pretty much as soon as I got there A, S, and PG began rolling joints (I don't approve, don't worry), and then we all went outside and sat on the decking over the pond.
They smoked, we all talked.
After that and ringing people to persuade them to come, we went inside to find food but there wasn't any (A doesn't plan well), and after chatting in the kitchen for a bit, JG (N's brother) and then K and AW came.
After more chatting and catching up in the conservatory I got a call from my sister saying she was 10 minutes away from home so I said my goodbyes and left to come and meet her so we could go to Hip-Hop dancing*.

[*Which we've now shortened to just 'Hip-Hop'. Mums can be so embarrassing, especially when you're in public and they ask, "oh, are you going dancing tonight?" annoyingly loud. I'm sorry, but I'm no Billy Elliot.]

More driving, and this time with rain and everything.
I was quite pleased with my voyage, especially the bit where I so didn't stall at a deserted-ish roundabout because I was fiddling with the radio.
Yeah, that bit was really good.
Seriously though, being able to drive alone and go where you want is so liberating, and when great tracks come on it just makes you feel so much better.
Okay, so there was no Dodgy, but then again, I wasn't winding around Cornish country lanes, so I didn't matter.

After I got home, I sat down to eat with my sister and we both decided that we'd give Hip-Hop a miss this week as we were both tired and only had 18 minutes to get there.

And that pretty much is the jist of my day.

My sister is going to London tomorrow.
To Oxford street.
I was so jealous when I heard.
Then she said she's only going for two hours, and I wasn't so jealous.


[For those who are needing to live vicariously, an email in the right direction may catalyse the chance for me to return details of an avocation in exchange for the two I've recieved.]

(Another) Three Random Things

One

I've lost my house keys (shit!).
My mum is going to go crazy if she finds out.
This is the fourth pair I've lost.
They must be around my room somewhere. I dont understand why she gets so angry about it.
Even the last time, she was so not happy.
And even when I tried to explain to her that they'd be found eventually because my name and address were on the keychain, she went even more mental!
God knows why.

Two

I learnt to fry an egg yesterday.
Don't laugh.
I live in a strictly vegetarian household*.
And not that fake type of vegetarian where they still eat eggs and fish.
Proper vegetarian.
It's actually quite easy actually isn't it?
All you have to do is make sure there are no runny/liquidy bits right?
I had always been scared incase I gave myself Salmonella or something.

*My dad and I eat meat, just not in the house. It's complicated.

Three

The weather has been so great today hasn't it?
It's windy, cloudy and cold, and I wasn't being sarcastic.
I like this weather, reminds me of Autumn.
And it's the perfect kind of day to sit inside with a mug of coffee and listen to some great albums.
Which is exactly what I did.
First I listened to the amazing Thom Yorke album again (I can't stop. Thankyou Ferox for bringing it into my life), which was followed by the new Zero 7 album - The Garden, and then Clor's album, and finally The Pipettes.

Yesterday was the third Hip-hop dance lesson.
Hard, again.
After the warm-up we recapped the Amerie track and went through it a few times, which made up most of the hour, and then moved on to a new routine to a lovely Missy Elliott track, beautifully named "She's a bitch".

The dance style to this track is much better in my oppinion.
It's called Crumping (or Krumping) and is much more relaxed and freestyled than the sharp must-be-perfect (and so so very hard) Amerie track.

Infact it's so clever how the dance styles match the songs so precisely.
The beats on the Amerie track dictated the dance to be equally sharp, but the rounded bass (there is a difference between bass and beats) on the Missy track allow the dance to be a little more flowwy.

So that was that, and that was a lot of fun.

In other news, I quit my job.
I really hated it, and I know I've done the right thing.
I'd much rather spend my last Summer at home relaxing and with my friends and family having fun, than feeling nauseous everytime I thought about work.

Except the feelings havent gone completely, as I don't think they were just down to work.
My exam results are out next week, and I think the feelings are subconsciously down to the worry of what the results will be, and also a slow subconscious realisation that I'm going to be moving away from home, my family, and all of my friends.

Everything just seems really hollow at the moment. Like I'm living life, but not really feeling it. It's hard to explain. I guess it's because I've hardly seen anyone recently, and I suspect everything will change after next week.

After that, hopefully uni stuff will start to happen along with all the fun celebrating.
I should find out (if at all) where I'll be living in London in September, and will have to move in at the end of that month.
I'm hoping to go to London for a weekend before that though, to stay with my cousin and to explore a bit.
It's new for both of us, and I've never actually properly spent a weekend in Central London.

I spoke to A for quite a while last night, had a catch-up as we've not spoken in a ages. He was sad and a little stressed about moving to Hong Kong (he's going there for 6 months of his GAP year but has leave at the begining of September).
I think he was crying at one point but I couldn't quite tell.
It will be daunting at first no doubt, but I'm sure he'll settle in quicky and love it then [Why is Thom Yorke moan-purring at me?].

Infact, being the kind of person he is, I know he'll be fine.
He's a lot more out-going and laid-back than I am. Annoyingly I tend to worry more about things. It's something that my mum has instilled in both my sister and I.
It's weird, he tells me he's envious of my social skills and "how I can just talk to anybody", but I can only do that with people I know.
I'm usually a shy person on first meeting someone, whereas he isn't at all.

He was also thinking [oh my god, I love Thom Yorke] that I'd forget about him which is so not true. And plus, I'll be going to stay for a week just before Christmas (thankyou Lufthansa, thankyou Expedia, thankyou, thankyou, thankyou).

Another thing we talked about was other people we know going to London and even the same university as us. And we both agreed that it was good that we were both going to the same uni but him coming a year later as it gave us both our own space (something I was really pleased about). Uni will be a whole new section of life, and a fresh new start and it will be so much easier to go by myself with no one else I know so that I can really be myself [And it rained all night - my favourite track. Love this album].

I wish I could grab a giant remote control and press the fast forward button. I want to get to September 30th now.
Now! *Jumps up and down impatiently*

I want to find out what it's like now.
I want to meet new people and go to new places.
I want to walk out of my door in the morning and find myself in London!
I want the need to possess an OysterCard.
I want to find out if it's really all it's cracked up to be, and if it will provide me with the things I'm looking for.
But then again, maybe it's not a good idea to go somewhere looking for something. Maybe it's just better to sit back, relax, and let things come to you?

I guess I should just wait and see if I even have to cross that bridge.

Afterall, it's only one week away...

Today is Raksha Bandhan, the Hindu festival celebrating love between brothers and sisters. On Raksha Bandhan (which literally translates to binding protection), sisters tie decorated sacred threads, called Rakhis, around their brothers wrists.

With this act, sisters pray for their brothers to be protected from all evil, and in return brothers promise to protect their sisters from all harm and troubles. He also gives her a return gift which is a physical acceptance of her love, a reminder of their togetherness and a symbol of his pledge. A tenner normally does the trick.

It's not just between siblings however, I recieve Rakhis from my cousins also, and even good friends tie them to each other.

Like all Hindu festivals, Raksha Bandhan follows the moon calendar, and falls on the full moon of the month of Shravaan - the holiest month in the Hindu calendar.

There are many legends surrounding Raksha Bandhan and events in history in which the festival features:

The oldest reference to the festival of rakhi goes back to 300 B.C. at the time when Alexander invaded India.
It is said that the great conqueror, King Alexander of Macedonia was shaken by the fury of the Indian king Puru in his first attempt.
Upset by this, Alexander's wife, who had heard of the Rakhi festival, approached King Puru. King Puru accepted her as his sister and when the opportunity came during the war, he refrained from Alexander.

My favourite however, is the story of Krishna and Draupadi (the wife of the Pandavs) in the Mahabharat.

When Krishna injured his wrist whilst fighting in the war, Draupadi tore a strip of silk off her sari and tied it to stop the blood flow.
Krishna was so touched by her action that he found himself bound to her by love.

Later, Draupadi was kidnapped by the evil Duryodhan and was forced to be made a slave in his court. He commanded Dushashan to remove clothes of Pandavas and Draupadi as they were now his servants.
The Pandavas surrendered without any resistance. Now Dushashan turned to Draupadi. It was a moment of shame for mighty Pandavas yet they were helpless and remained silent spectators.
Draupadi was in a state of complete helplessness. Her five husbands were unable to save her. Elders in the assembly turned deaf ears to her intense call for help. Dushashan began pulling her sari off infront of the whole court so she prayed with all her faith to Lord Krishna.

Krishna heard Draupadi's prayers and remembering how she had tied Rakhi on him, came to her rescue. With his extraordinary powers, Krishna gave Draupadi one sari for every thread of silk in the Rakhi she had given him, and as one was pulled off, another would magically appear.
In the end, Dushashan fell to the ground exhausted and Draupadi was saved.

Last year, the MakePovertyHistory campaign even made special white bands for Raksha Bandhan, with a Hindi inscription of ‘sisters and brothers unite’ on it.

I've still got mine somewhere.

Can someone please lend me a needle and some thread.

I think I'm going to need them to sew my sides back together because in October...

...I'm going to see Russell Peters LIVE at the Hammersmith Apollo!

It's going to be so so funny, I can't wait.

I'm going with my two cousins and our friend in London, and my parents, sister and some of her friends are going to see him here.

The last time he came to the UK the one off show sold out in 48 hours, so I guess we were even lucky to get seats at the Hammersmith.
They are very far back. I can't believe how fast they were selling. But oh well.

I'm going to leave you with a clip of him on an Australian TV show I recently found on YouTube.
It's about the World Cup and the English and he's hilarious.

Okay people, remember the homygod post?

The one about the David Guetta vs. The Egg track - Love don't let me go. It has to be my favourite dance song/video of the year.

I'm not joking, this has the Azuric seal of approval all over it.

Well after checking almost daily I've found that someone has finally uploaded the full video onto YouTube!

So, here it is.

I want you to turn up the vol and enjoy...

Beep beep! Who got the keys to ma...

...Nissan Micra.

Grrr.

I'm so ticked off.

I would have been going to see The Fratellis playing live tonight...well in about 2 hours actually, but I'm not because all my friends have crap taste in music and the one who would have definately have come is on holiday.

Grrr.

They are so good as well - see.

Oh well, everything happens for a reason.