Olympic Torch passing Big Ben

The Olympics being in London had never really interested me much. We would hear about it on the news almost every day for months. Whether it was news of the G4S security scandal or the spending on the Olympics going up, it was hard to escape it. It was only until I saw the torch when I was at university that I really understood how important it was. How big and significant the Olympics coming to London really was. Yesterday I saw it for the third time. The first time I saw the torch was when it passed my university, the second time when it passed my home town and the third time was yesterday when it passed Big Ben.

The first time I saw the torch as it passed near my university campus.

My family from Malaysia had come over to England to see the Olympics this summer. They had tickets for 4 events and were eager to catch some of the build up and atmosphere in London. So yesterday me and my brother took my uncle, my aunt and my cousin into Central London to see the torch at Westminster. London was amazing!!!! It’s my home city so it has always been a special place for me but the atmosphere was just buzzing yesterday!!! There were so many tourists bustling around and the weather was great too. The sun was out and it was scorching hot!!! People were walking round excitedly taking pictures of the sights. We went through London Victoria and the atmosphere was great!!! They had hung British flags up in rows from the ceiling. I felt very patriotic. The only other time I’d seen flags like that was when I passed through a Protestant town in Northern Ireland.

The rows of flags hanging at London Victoria.

We then took the tube to Westminster station. I’d never been to that station before. It’s quite nice. My family were complaining that it was quite dark and dingy like a dungeon but I liked that about it. It was different. It had minimal lighting and the escalators were lit up which made it look really nice. It reminded me a lot of the underground stations in Washington D.C. When we came out we were met by the amazing sight of Big Ben which stood tall and imposing in front of us. I had never seen it that close before and it was such an incredible sight. I felt an overwhelming sense of pride in my home city and our amazing history. Westminster was glistening in the afternoon light. Me and my cousin walked across the Bridge and took loads of photos together.

 

The torch passed Big Ben just after 6pm. The clock chimed 6pm and moments later the crowds erupted as the torch bearer came running down Bridge Street. He stopped in front of the world media as they were eager to capture a shot of the torchbearer and the torch outside Big Ben. Everyone was trying to get a closer look snapping away at their cameras. He stopped at Parliament Square for a while, which was where I was standing so we really got to have a good look at the torchbearer and the torch and soak up the moment. It was incredible and such an amazing sight.

Olympic Torch passing my home town

The weather this summer has been all over the place. We’ve had so much cloud and rain over the past month and then suddenly this outburst of sun. It’s like a heat wave at the moment. It is a nice pleasant change. After hearing about the jet stream every bloody day on the weather it’s nice to have some sun.

Today is such a beautiful day. I woke up and looked outside my window and it just made me smile. The sky is a clear brilliant blue without a single cloud and everything just looks so much more beautiful. The colour of the sky on a summer’s day is my favourite colour. Everything just looks so green too!!! My garden is full of bushes and plants and trees of every kind of green imaginable. Everything is fluttering in the light breeze and illuminated by the brightness. I am a classic weather affects the mood person haha! I just feel so happy and want to go outside and sunbathe but being dark skinned that’s not the best idea. I just burn and roast like chicken on a barbeque.

Yesterday I went to see the Olympic torch with my mum and brother as it came past my home town. I had seen it when I was at university and saw it again yesterday. It was a beautiful day and people were outside lining the streets, happy and cheerful ready with their cameras and waving flags. It was such a great atmosphere. People were all dressed for the hot weather in shorts and dresses and shades. Children were running round with ice creams. It was nice! I had never seen anything like it in my home town and it was nice to be part of it.

The crowds lining the street waiting for the torch to come.

The torch bearer just passing the spot where I was.

Fifty Shades of Grey

I have always loved reading books but since going to university, I haven’t had the time to sit down and read as much as I used to. It’s hard to find the time to just get away from the hustle and bustle of the world and just sit and read. I like that. I like to just sit by myself with a good book and escape the stresses of life. I have just finished reading the infamous Fifty Shades of Grey and have just started reading The Help. Both are very different in genres.

For those of you who have never heard of Fifty Shades of Grey it is the book of 2012. The hype created around this book is such that it reminds me of the hype that surrounded the likes of The Da Vinci Code or one of the Harry Potter books. I ordered a copy of the book after reading an article about it in the Daily Mail online. I had heard that it was written by a British author and was a US best seller and was quickly becoming a success here in the UK as well. I had heard that it was controversial in the fact that it was an erotic book and due to its explicit sexual content it had been banned in libraries in some US states. This intrigued me and although the book wasn’t really aimed at my age group but however was labelled as ‘mummy porn’ it was aimed at older women, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So I went onto Amazon where it was already a bestseller and ordered a copy of the book. I was excited, eager to read it and because it was still quite a secret guilty pleasure that wasn’t as well-known as it is now, I wanted to be part of this secret club that women who read this book were part of. Women were reading it and discussing it at work, with their family and friends. A couple of months later it seemed as if every woman was reading it or knew someone who was reading it and the hype was such that you couldn’t get away from it. I would see it in every bookstore, posters outside W H Smith, women reading it on public transport. Even my boyfriend started reading it. We’d read it and discuss certain things that we liked and disliked. It was nice. It was something that we were both reading that we could share together. Even though he was hundreds of miles away we were both reading the same things and as he was ahead of me I would read the pages knowing that he had read them too. It was great. It was our thing between me and him.  

The book follows the story of Anastasia Steele a young woman in her early twenties who has just graduated from university and Christian Grey a multi billionaire business tycoon. The two although from different worlds and walks of life embark on a passionate sexual affair that pushes each to their limits sexually and emotionally. Anastasia is a girl of very little sexual or relationship experience while Christian has had experience beyond those of any normal man. The two explore an unconventional sexual relationship that becomes entangled with strong fiery emotions of lust, hurt and love.

With the exception of reading a few erotic texts in the past, this novel was the first erotic novel that I had ever read and so I didn’t really know what to expect. Although badly written and devoid of much intimacy and passion the story fails to capture the depth of the characters to their full extents. Both characters show promise and depth but the author fails to fully develop them, instead focussing on the sexual elements and details. The plot is intriguing enough and the ending left me wanting to read the next in the trilogy to find out what happens next. Erotic literature is very different to pornography in that how the reader feels is purely due to the success of the author in portraying the sexual emotion, passion and feeling through words. And in this case the author in my opinion has come up short. The much anticipated chapter 10 didn’t disappoint but it didn’t shock either. There was nothing that completely shocked me but it left me eager and excited to discover more about my sexual feelings. Throughout the beginning the author was successful in building up sexual tension but could’ve written and played out the sexual scenes with more passion and foreplay. Having said that, it was a great read and a guilty pleasure and the book has captured my interest in this rather hush-hush genre. If you are looking for literary genius, this isn’t it but if you’re looking for something light, slightly naughty and fun, this is great.

The book has done exceptionally well in terms of commercial sales. It has quickly gained popularity around the world and has sold 31 million copies to date. I guess this book has given women something to get excited about. With the release of the male stripper movie ‘Magic Mike’ this summer who knows what sexual guilty pleasures are to come.

Boyfriend

I have met someone. I know! Even I can’t believe it especially since the Valentine's Day pact that I made with my best friend just a few months ago. I met him 2 nights before I went back home after the end of second semester at university. I was on a night out in town, celebrating the end of exams and so was he. I met him in one of my favourite clubs in town. I was dancing near him and turned round and saw him and thought he was really cute. I managed to catch his eye and we smiled at each other and then we danced with each other. He asked me my name and how old I was and I asked him the same. He then stepped me down from the podium we were dancing on to get some space and he told me I looked really pretty. I found him really cute. He was shy and there was something about him that made me smile. He wasn’t seedy or slimy but really sweet and nice. He had a cute smile that made me smile. We danced some more and then he kissed me. I then had to go because my friends wanted to go home and he asked me for my number. I gave it to him. That was the first time I had given a guy my number in a club. I didn’t think he’d text back but to my surprise he texted later that same night. We texted each other until we fell asleep and texted again all of the next day. It was nice. My heart would beat faster every time I got a text from him. I was out shopping with my friends and would check my phone every moment I got. I haven’t told him this, but that still happens every time I get a text from him. I smile and blush and have the same bubbling excitement every time. That’s the effect he has on me 5 weeks later.

We arranged to meet the next evening at dusk and had a romantic walk by the river and he came back to mine. Nothing happened!!! Before you get any ideas haha. We talked and kissed and we sat on my bed in my room. He looked at all the photos and posters and bits and bobs I had round my room with a cute curiosity that made me smile. I was going home the next day and was up all night with my best friend packing but the whole time I was thinking about him. He was so nice and so HOT!!! He was also shy in a way that I find so endearing. I wanted to see him again and I met him that morning before I was set to home. We watched a film together cuddled up on my bed and then fumbled around a bit on my bed. Hehe. That’s all the details you’re getting!!! I like to keep the rest to myself and just between us.

5 weeks later, I am 400 miles in my home town. We text and call and speak to each other every day. It’s hard but I am counting the days till I go back to uni and see him. He is amazing! Every day he makes me smile. I go to bed thinking about him and wake up thinking about him and I smile. That’s the effect he has on me. He is so special and has such a good heart. Every day when I am skyping him I get to hear his sexy voice that still gets me every time and every day I learn something new about him that I didn’t know before and I love that. I love the effect he has on me.  

An update

It’s been almost two months since my last post and a lot has happened in that time. A lot of my previous posts were me stressing over my exams. I sat my exams at the end of May and got my results last month. I passed all my exams!!! I had 4 exams - 2 written papers and 2 practical exams. I was convinced 2 of my exams had gone badly and was so sure that I’d have to redo them. I ended up passing all. I still remember the moment I got my results. My heart was pounding and my fingers trembling as I clicked on the page. Then being overwhelmed by a wave of relief and then joy. I burst into tears and just sobbed uncontrollably. We found out 2 weeks after we sat the exams so after the exams I was in limbo. Not knowing whether I’d passed and not being able to relax and enjoy the beginning of the holidays because I was so worried that I’d done badly.

But by a miracle of God, I passed and now look forward to the end of August when I go back to university to start 2^nd year. 2^nd year sounds a lot more exciting than first year. We get to do another community placement like last year but we also spend 2/3 days a week in hospital shadowing consultants. I am so excited about that. Since starting medical school, I’ve not had much clinical exposure. I spent a day with a GP sitting in on her clinics then the afternoon with another GP on home visits. And we also got to visit a family with a young child in their home environment. We got to ask them questions about their social situation, health care experiences and about their child’s developmental milestones. A lot of people in my year found it a waste of time but I found it exciting. We got to go out into the community and we met real people of different social backgrounds. I found it a real eye opener to see into someone’s life and to understand the difficulties that they face. It helped me understand the area that I am studying and learning in much better. I think that’s very important in medicine as to provide a holistic approach to patient care we need to be able to understand the person as a whole not just their physical ailments.