2013 Review

I totally don't blog enough.  Here we are, on the 4th of February 2014 for the love of all that is cheesecake, and I only just realised I didn't do a review of the year.

2013 was the year I stuck to my New Year's Resolutions for the first time ever.  I did art, mostly badly.  I fucked up my hair.  I am now vegetarian for the first time since I was 17.

But it was a landmark year in a gazillion ways.  I started going to gigs and found my motivation here...

...to finally do something about my hippopotamussyness.  So far as I'm concerned Laurence did it, not me.  I have loads of hideous photos of myself but none of them spurred me on to diet.  If this didn't exist (and if he hadn't been such a sweetie that April night in Oxford) it wouldn't have happened.  I closed 2013 having lost TWENTY PERCENT of my bodyweight.  And it's been EASY.  Taking the piss level easy!  Literally I think about food, then I think about the next time I'll see Fearless Vampire Killers...and that's that!

So here we have Heggie circa August 2011 and January 2014

Size 24 to size 18

2014 should be a cool year.  No FVK gigs to look forward to yet and I haven't had any time to paint as yet (stoopid uni course!) but I'm going to London to see All Time Low and to Glasgow to see Fall Out Boy next month which is gonna be all kinds of cool.  Erin has her first uni acceptances through and stuff is finally happening y'know?  Exciting times.

Update 1/13

Just a quick update...
Both beasties had good birthdays, number two is very taken with her guitar and is just putting in her GCSE options: Computing, French, History and Design Technology: Resistant Materials (woodwork for the rest of y'all).
After an all time (I hope!) worst OU score of 45% I hit a high with 88% on the next assignment. Am consequently feeling happier at the moment.
Still MCR obsessed but I am now studying Green Day and getting into those nommable boys of Fearless Vampire Killers...

New Year's Resolution the First: Fuck Up Hair (A Lot)

Well, that was Atlantic Blue and I'm now on Apple Green...but my elder beastie took photos on the wrong camera.

New Year's Resolution the Second: Make Art My Weapon

This is "My Little Killjoys" - My Chemical Romance reimagined as My Little Ponies. There's a Care Bears variant in the works too. Sharpie and acrylic on canvas, if you're interested.

New Year's Resolution the Third: Go Veggie
Still got a lot of dead animal in the freezer and larder so it'll be a while yet. However, I have been making and freezing my own veggie burgers this week in two flavours: curried chickpea and spinach and 4C (challot*, chestnut, carrot and cumin)

Apocalypse Day

So the world was supposed to end today cos the Mayan Long Count Calendar came to an end.  Just nip down to the shops and buy a new one, guys!  Rather bizarrely I'm doing Mesoamerica on my Archaeology course this week...including the Mayans and their assorted calendars!  Kinda creepy coincidence.

So glad the world didn't end cos I'm not at all sure if they have MCR in the afterlife!  Yup, my obsession is still going strong - three months today.  It's calmed down a little thank goodness; the music in my head is playing at a slightly lower volume and I can (mostly) hear myself think again.
That said, Conventional Weapons Part 3 came out on Tuesday..."The Light Behind Your Eyes" might possibly be the most beautiful thing I have heard in my life.  Right now I can't function if I don't play it at least once every couple of hours!  The other song, "The World Is Ugly," almost didn't get a look in being unfortunately eclipsed by its sister track but it's truly awesome.

In the last couple of weeks I have also stumbled belatedly and zombie-like across the awesomeness of the films "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz"; it seems appropriate to mention this here for two reasons - firstly, thanks to Shaun I now have a zombie apocalypse survival plan.  So if the Mayan doodah turned out to be zombies I was sorted!  Secondly, these two films are part of 'the Cornetto trilogy' - the principal photography of the final instalment wrapped today...it is most appropriately titled "The World's End"!!!  Another good reason for the world not to end cos I really want to see that!  Roll on next August (^_~)

Just a few days to go until Christmas.  Can't say I'm too fussed.  Between a nasty cold, work, study (I keep falling asleep on my textbook) and zombies I can't really be bothered.  Plus there's no ostrich steaks at Lidl for my Xmas Day BBQ.
Mind you, one of my New Year's Resolutions is a long overdue return to vegetarianism.  I like meat but I was deeply disturbed by a recent story that Halal meat is being served 'secretly' to the general public.  I have no objection to Halal meat per se but the exemption is on religious grounds - for it to be served to non-Muslims in this way is flouting laws put in place to prevent animal cruelty.  Highly unethical and really ought to be illegal.
My other New Year's Resolution is "to fuck up my hair, a lot."  I'm currently enjoying a green phase and I have a pot of blue dye.  In 2013 I pretty much plan to work through the entire range, trying out blends and colour combinations along the way.  Should be fun!