Since everybody seems to be putting out their lists before
2010 goes out the door, I thought I'd make my own little list too. This decade was pretty eventful for me, seeing as I have lived it, but 2010 believe it or not is pretty lukewarm for me. I don't know what it is, maybe I've gotten myself stuck in a rut or something? Nevertheless, here are some of my highlights.
10. Entering the Gateway to Senescence. I turned 21 this year. Big Woop! To people in America, it is such a big deal because its the legal age. For the most part they celebrate it because they can now legally drink and maybe pole-dance for a living, but for me it wasn't that big of a deal. Sure I had the massive party. I also had one for my 18th birthday, and every year following that. I always felt as though I had peaked early with the whole clubbing/partying/boozing scene that 21 years allow you to abuse. All the same, it is a rite of passage and I have passed. Woopeeeeeeh!
9. I Object! So in my first year, I got accused of
plagiarism. I didn't, but after a whole term of waiting for my essay which my professor held back, I sensed there was something fishy. I emailed her about it, especially because it's just about the worst thing you can do and it can severely compromise your records, and she tell me that she was looking into it. Next time we communicated, I was sitting in her office looking at all the books I borrowed and she tells me that had she not extended a more generous arm, I would have faced a case of plagiarism that she had nearly finished making.
What the fuck right? Turned out, I had forgotten to footnote a couple of para-phrased words and that I made mistakes here and there, which apparently is enough to rile up said professor. I guess she couldn't have just filled out the feedback sheet! She said that she realised in the end that they were no more than silly and innocent mistakes and that she couldn't be bothered building up a case against me anymore, which was very unfair because I didn't find out about it until the meeting! Another major WTF! In any case, I think it definitely deserves a spot in my top ten, because it scared the shit out of me.
8. Bionic. Every popstar has a slump period in their careers. I'm not saying that
Christina Aguilera flopped or anything because that's something Perez Hilton or a Gaga-bot would say, but in all fairness it wasn't her greatest comeback. Bionic was a solid record, don't get me wrong. Strong in fact, with great dance tracks like
Not Myself Tonight and
Vanity, and ballads like
Lift Me Up and
You Lost Me. She really did explore this whole new genre and in turn gave us a nice little sample platter. However, personally I think she released it way too late in the game where Katy Perry, Rihanna, Gaga and Ke$ha were just about to finish the second half. Had she released Bionic early in 2009, I think critics would have judged it fairly, maybe even loved it, instead of labelling it as the
2010-Popstar-Rip-Off-For-Dummies. I'm all for taking an artistic break but with the way the industry works today, I don't think Christina can afford to take another four years in between records. Nevertheless, for me Bionic is one of the best pop albums of 2010. If you're in doubt, well let the polls enlighten you as they have just revealed that Bionic was the
2nd most illegaly downloaded album of the year. Flop my ass Perez!
7. Goo Goo Dolls and Josh Radin. These are two names that I really enjoy in today's music. Yes, I know that the Goo Goo's are relatively old but they are still as relevant today as they were in the 90's, and playing at the O2 Academy in Leeds proved that. They cranked out some new tunes from their new album
Something For The Rest Of Us, which were great but it was their live performance of my all time favourite singles,
Iris and
Slide that made my year. Totally worth the ticket price! Josh Radin was the same. He was charming and cheeky when he wasn't singing, and when he was he sounded amazing. I never realised his voice can sound so gruffy. He sounded much more like a acoustic rock singer as opposed to his records which are generally more acoustic and folk. I can't choose which Josh I prefer, but now that I've heard both he is so not going anywhere for me. Favourite track live was
Closer and
Winter. I had a crush on him that evening.
6. Leeds Student Paper. I've always wanted to write for fashion, though I don't possess any of my sister's intimidatingly erudite panache or Plum Sykes' witty and charming but not at all simple way of writing. So in saying that, you can only imagine how daunting it was for me to even consider signing up and attending a meeting for the Student paper. Much to my surprise, and relief! (phew..) my lovely editors Imogen (who is the author of fashion blog,
EIGHT) and Louise were nothing but nice and open to my ideas. Next thing I knew I was printed in the next issue commenting of Carrot Fit Jeans. I even got a full page for the Vintage article! Score! I think I'm starting to figure out my style of writing as well, but I need to work on it still. Big Time. However, for now, I'm just relishing in the fact that I'm a contributor for the Leeds Student (which won the Guardian Newspaper of the Year last year in 2009!)
5. 11a St. Ann's. This year has been so great, partly because I am living with the best people ever! Tash, Kate, John and I spent most of our fresher 2nd semester looking for houses and housemates around Leeds, and finally just when we were about to lose hope, out comes Vicky and Hayley! Turns out they have been living right next door to the house we signed for and since we were looking for two extra roomies and they were looking for rooms, it was a match made in heaven. Never did I imagine it was going to be such a fun year in the house! Not only am I living with my best friends, I also made two new great ones which definitely made the living situation much easier. Not that it hasn't had little bumps along the way, but it's nearing Semester 2 now and there has been no massive issues whatsoever. I also love my attic room which has a really cool skylight. Though V and H are on their final year and are still unsure whether to stay in Leeds or not, I'm really glad to have met these two. As for the rest of us, (also sans K who will be living with a fellow clubber), we have decided to stay put for our third year as well. This means a summer full of housemate screenings, which should be fun!
Saki came early this January as an exchange student from Japan. Since I have always wanted a Japanese tomodachi I decided to introduce myself. She was living with some of my friends from the flat down from mine, so it wasn't like I was intruding or anything. She replaced their former flatmate who was very weird, so I thought it nice to say hello. Fast forward to Christmas, there she is in my living room opening her present under the tree. Making really good friends in a short period of time is always such a rare occurence, but Saki and I just had so much in common that there wasn't a moment of boredom between us. Plus, she is also a fellow Mao fan. A big one that, and we just feed off each other's enthusiasm. I really got to know her well, and I think she got to know me too. Even my family really liked her for the 48 hours she spent with us. I'm really going to miss her, but I intend to visit her in Japan soon, so this is defo not a goodbye.
3. Burlesque. AHHHHHHHHH! It was so good! Definitely one for the musicals collection on my shelf. It was glitzy, glamorous with a standout cast and a killer soundtrack to match. After Bionic, people started writing Christina off, but with her solid performance in her first motion picture along side the great Cher, I think it's safe to say that she's back in the game. Big time. Once again the critics never fail to amuse me with their negative reviews, but it wasn't all bad. Some praised it for portraying the direction that burlesque has gone to in our society today. Sure it's not an excerpt of Dita Von Teese's life, but it definitely nods not only to classic burlesque, but also to the golden hey-day of Hollywood musicals. The musical numbers are all so great with all that jazz and all, you can even ask my friend Jess about it. I seriously clapped after each number. Plus it has THE BEST bitchy lines ever, with Kristen Bell's "
I will not be upstaged by a slut with mutant lungs!". Come to think of, minus the slut-part, I'd like to think that everytime Christina performs and blows everybody out of the water this is what these bitches think. Best musical of 2010.
2. Mao Asada. Edging out Christina by a fraction is Japan's figure skating phenom Mao Asada! It has been such a big year for her, what with her
Olympic silver medal (yes she lost to Kim, but she still medalled) alongside a
Guinness World Record for most
Triple Axels in competition for a woman; her second
World title and her
silver medal from the Japanese Nationals. It hasn't been the smoothest year for her starting from her coach change from
Tarasova to
Nobuo Sato, and with her decision to rebuild her jumps, we saw how she struggled at the Grand Prix season this year. Nevertheless, she showed huge promise after winning the silver at Nagano and progress with her overall skating. You've all read how much I fell in love with Mao-chan after the Vancouver Olympics, and the reasons for it. I really can't explain it but it's like when I first heard Christina Aguilera (we all know what happened after that!) Not only did Mao convert me into a skating fan, but she also captured my heart with her
humility,
grace on the ice, and that never ending spunk and
gutsiness which always pushes her to succeed. As much as I think Yu Na Kim is talented and that she may just be the best skater (by a fraction!) of her generation, she doesn't give me what Mao does. Everytime Mao skates, I feel what she's feeling, and when she skated for her life at Nagano this Christmas, I was as happy as she was. That's a mark of a champion.
1. Tome Of A Czar. At the very top of my list, and not to toot my own horn or anything, is my new baby! I started Tome back in May after realising that I've never kept a diary. I didn't have enough patience for a diary, but since I have so much to tell and rant about I thought the best way is to just blog and put it out in the world. I never expected Tome to be a hit or anything, and in fact I only did because I wanted to share whatever it is that I wanted to share. It's not a fashion blog, or a food blog, or even a gossip blog. It's my online journal that just happens to cover a lot of my hobbies and interests which include all that was mentioned. Everytime I post an entry I feel as though I talk to people, and whether that have been listening or not, I think that it's such a great outlet for me. I have readers, and critics and Yu Na bots riding high on my posts, which is great because it tells me that my thoughts do not go unnoticed. It may not be as exciting as some of the others out there, but I'm just starting. Maybe in the future more great things will come my way, but for now I'm very happy with what I've achieved with Tome. Thanks to you who read!
...and as a final note from me, I would just like to say in true Josh fashion...
 |
| Lots of Love! xoxo |
Hope your 2010 has been as great as mine. Here's to a new year everybody!
xoxo
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