HOW has it been seven months?! H O W ?
On a side note, wasn’t January just the longest month ever? I mean, we’re almost at the end February and those 20 days seem to have flown by quicker than the first week of January.
But, alas, the first month of 2018 is over and we’re already one month closer to 2019 and more importantly, one month closer to finishing my placement. Six months left. We’ve officially passed the midway point. Time is a very scary concept.
So how was my January? Was I super motivated to tackle the new year? Did I stick to Dry January or any of my new year resolutions? Lol, no.
First things first
This doesn’t have anything to do with my placement year, but I thought I’d write a little paragraph about it as it was one of the first things to happen in January.
On the first Friday of January, my family (granny, aunts, uncles, cousins and mum) travelled to London for the day to donate a cheque to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
My family held a charity night back in October of 2017 to raise money for my little cousin Erin who has spent a lot of her childhood in hospitals which included travelling back and forth to London to have operations in GOSH. Erin was officially signed off last year so my family decided to raise money for the hospital in order to give back for all the care and support we received from the hospital staff.
With thanks to the people of Lurgan, Aghagallon and surrounding areas, we raised £18,150. We never expected to raise so much money and are truly, truly grateful to all those who donated.
The fam presented the staff of Great Ormond Street with a large cheque and learnt that the money will be used to buy new equipment which will be in Erin’s name and used in the neurology ward. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer way to start the new year!
New Year’s Resolutions
My last full day at home over the Christmas holidays was 1st of January and back home this is also a great day out, so naturally I spent it with friends, sat at a bar, testing my liver to the extreme before heading back to sobriety in London. You can gather from this that Dry January didn’t last very long.
Being in a full-time job means I don’t have anywhere near as much time as I’m used to having in university. Instead of doing uni work, I would spend most of my time either in the gym, working on my blog, researching about my future career in PR, working in my part-time jobs or socialising. On placement, it seems I only have time for my job and nothing else.
I’ve neglected the gym, my blog, thinking about the future, and I obviously don’t see any of my friends as much since they’re so far away. I didn’t set myself very many goals for this year as I don’t feel anywhere near as motivated as I did last year.
I’m hoping that once I finish my placement, I’ll be able to transfer all of my energy back into blogging and the gym. And socialising. Can’t forget that part.
So the New Year’s resolutions are on hold for the moment. I should be back to normal by August/September. If not before.
Christmas coverage
A lot of my time over December/January was spent collating all of the Christmas coverage our brands had received. Thankfully I don’t have to see another Gift Guide until next year.
It’s interesting to flick through the gift guides and see what different writers consider gifts. Between you and me, I prefer more personal and quirky gifts than your average gift set of hand creams and bath bombs. I live in a house-share in London, do you really think I can afford somewhere with a bath?
One year in school, I told my friends specifically not to buy me perfume for Christmas. I knew I would be getting enough bottles from aunts and family friends and already had a lot to get through. It was a little cheeky, but there was no point in them wasting money on something I wouldn’t use, right?
Well now that I work in perfume, I have bottles coming out of my ears. Maybe it’s karma for being so picky. I guess you all know what to get me for my 21st birthday, don’t you? Just make sure it’s Jo Malone. It’s time I started a collection.
Did someone say musical?
During the month of January I managed to see five West End shows and The Greatest Showman three times. Yes, I went to the cinema three times to see the same movie. Come back to me when you’ve seen it yourself.
I saw Dreamgirls with my mum when she was here the first weekend after Christmas, The Woman in Black with Alice because neither of us had seen it, Kinky Boots with my friend Tara when she was over visiting for a weekend, Matilda for Alice’s birthday and Annie with Kiri (another intern) because we bought front row seats in the stalls for £30.
Five West End shows in one month. I’m well on my way to ticking off ‘See ten West End shows’ from my London Bucket List. Only three more to go. Suggestions welcome.
Young, dumb and broke
I really need someone to cut my bank cards in half. I just can’t seem to stop spending. I spoke about budgeting in my last monthly round up but it’s not been going too well. I didn’t buy one stitch of clothing all of January which I made myself stick to as Westfield seems to be my biggest weakness, so I steered clear at all costs.
If I had a pound for every time someone said to me about how ‘expensive London is’ I don’t think I would be so broke. But it’s true, London is god damn expensive, especially when your rent is 3/4 of your wage. Mr Mayor, can something be done about this??
Anyway, I need a voice in my ear to say ‘you can’t afford those oysters, and especially not the champagne’ but I don’t and that’s why I’ve got no money.
Someone teach me how to stop living an heiress lifestyle on a minimum London wage please.
January Blues
So that was January, the longest, dreariest month ever. I’m quietly counting down the days to the first bank holiday as I have very limited days left to take in work and I am in desperate need to get out of this country and see some sunshine and feel heat on my face.
Also counting down the days until St Patrick’s day so I can get my little self back to the golden streets of Liverpool and celebrate our dear patron saint of Ireland with a drink or ten.
Another little side note, I’m headed to a VERY exciting event tonight. Maybe even more exciting than the GQ Awards, the OK! Awards and Nasty Gal event all put together. Yep, it’s a crazy one. Keep up with my Instagram story tonight to get the first look of what I’m up to. I’ll have a post up next week all about it.
My life will peak tonight.
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