the more i run the more i am convinced

picture and song completely unrelated. i wanted to put up a picture of some blossoms because they're SO STUPIDLY PRETTY, and i'm gutted (YES! finally got to use the word gutted!) that they're on the way out. they made me well up walking through the park today, because the rain had reduced them to piles of mauve gunk. stupid..damn...hormones...grrrr

AND

i cannot properly express my excitement about passion pit's first album, MANNERS (out 19th May). the reeling is the first song i've heard from it (because it's been splashed all over XFM and radio 1) and it's not bad! video's pretty cool too. it doesn't beat better things though, which is my FAVOURITEST SONG EVER from chunk of change. but it is NOT bad. apart from that, only listened to little snippet samples on amazon, and i'm buzzzzzed, like the annoying bluebottle that refused to get out of my room last night. i quite like the sound of eyes as candles and let your love grow tall.

had a busy week and a half - sister came back from paris bearing gifts..SHE KNOWS ME TOO WELL.

she also brought me back a solitary smurf (or "schtroumpf") haribo, which made me love her that little bit more. yummm.

had a haircut. no pictures, because it's not even worth a photo. it's just a bit shorter and more layered. my hair just doesn't like new styles (even though i was down on my KNEES begging the hairdresser to make it look different).

went to cambridge to visit a few colleges - christ's and pembroke. going back again next sunday to have some sort of tea/picnic with old CLSG girls who are now at oxbridge. cam is so lovely in the sun. really wish i'd taken more photos.

the weather lately has been taunting me with glimpses of summer, and i'm wishing upon lots of stars for it to hurry up and be the summer holidays. hoping either to go somewhere in france/italy, maybe to do work experience or look at lots of art, so i can link hart with why i'd like to do mml. or perhaps a rainforest expedition in malaysia, which would be incredible. option 3 is maybe going with parents to turkey, but i'd rather go away with friends this year. that sounds so spoilt. maybe i'm addicted to that school trip feeling, where you wave goodbye to your parents at the airport, get on the plane and just feel so liberated when it soars into the air and you leave your family behind. wanderlust. that's not the right word, nor does it really have anything to do with what i'm saying, but i like it. i often..inject...random words into conversations, just so i have a chance to use them. chthonic.

man, i'd suck at debating

french oral next week. les bras m'en tombent (means i'm stunned, LITERALLY means my arms are falling). HELP. time to go and attempt revision (translation: stumble until my arms actually do fall off).

ooooo and happy world tapir day to everyone <3

i've reached my limit

I'M BACK BABY
and i thought this song was kind of appropriate (still bummed i won't be seeing maximo this summer)

so now, down to business. oh the places i've been etc. FIRST STOP...


GREECE!


got up at the crack of dawn to meet fellow classicists at heathrow terminal 5 (it's SO PRETTY!). some of us got a little overexcited. *cough*. then i pretty much slept all the way to...


athens! an art historian's dream. some serious hart love here. as you see above, the parthenon - a prime example of fluted doric columns, triglyphs, metopes and a frieze (although much of it had been stolen by that scallywag lord elgin, so all the sculptures are sitting in the british museum. happy as clams. maybe.)


the agora. check out the spacing of those bays...*jimps*


the venus pudica at the national archaeological museum. what a tease.


THE BEST LOLLY EVER. (with the exception of maybe "BUM" from france, and twister, which is basically this with added cream...y...stuff). ladies and gentlemen, i give you the rainbow bazooka.

then we drove for six hours to the other side of the country (who came up with THAT idea?) - to OLYMPIA. thanks to multiple listenings (and viewings) of zero to hero, i stayed herculeanly fighting fit despite the MONSTER journey. sort of.


well, i managed to string together an (admittedly quite crap) daisy chain, so i can't have been all that dead.

finally we were allowed to cool off on the coast, in tolon. this was the prettiest hotel, overlooking the sea.


it's not too hard to spot me, is it? alsoalsoalso excuse the poor quality of the images, the teachers didn't know how to use our cameras so practically EVERY group shot is blurred >_<
we got up the next morning at six to watch the sunrise over the sea, which was an epic fail. damn clouds. but it was fun sitting on the balcony wrapped in hotel blankets, watching the sky gradually lighten...*lapses into poetical waxing*


and lastly, mycenae, home of king and general hero agamemnon himself. even though he was a twat for angering clytemnestra by sacrificing iphigenia. STILL A HERO. but that's another set text. anyway, mycenae was particularly breathtaking, because it was high high high up on a hill, surrounded by mountains. but i was grumpy and tired as hell from the sunrise fail that morning, so couldn't really enjoy it fully. hence i hate all pictures of me taken that day.

oh well. it was practically a fifteen-minute sprint from the bottom to the top to the bottom (<_<) of the hill since we were on a TIGHT schedule. then back to athens and HOME!

i had 2 days at home to relax (ish) before MALAYSIA :) :) which i'll save for next time *huff huff*

hope everyone had a great easter with lots of CHOCOLATE! spent my easter sunday falling out of taxi cabs which proceeded to break down, searching for highlighters to graffiti my arms with, and getting EXTREMELY squished in moshes at olympia (the one in london) for bloc party. mercury was brilliant, sat on gig buddy danzel's shoulders for it. and dan's 6"4, so i had THE best view. oh and i love you kele. (he dressed up in a bunny suit specially)

i want a bunny suit. til next time <3

do you miss me like i miss you?

HELLO

i would just like to apologise (profusely) for the RUDE RUDE RUDE blogging hiatus

i've been away! lots and lots. had a 4-day classics trip to greece and now i'm on HOME TURF i.e malaysia. took me about 10 minutes to get this internet up and running (because it's all in MANDARIN, which i don't understand, so i was quite literally pressing buttons at random :S). i'm in a verrrry sketchy internet cafe at the moment, because it's practically the only place in the town (petaling jaya, just outside of the capital) that i know has internet. the other place is a GANGSTER bar. no jokes. it's how malaysia rolls.

there's also a daily thunderstorm here, at 5 PM on the dot. it's like clockwork. (creepy?) i was woken up by a thunderbolt (...er....thunderclap?) this morning. i say morning, but it was more like 3 PM, cause of the jetlag. malaysia is 8 hours ahead of the UK. oh and a thunderbolt hit our house a couple of nights ago and shorted out the electricity, so the whole house was plunged into darkness. i screamed like a baby. the shaaaaame

but on the bright side
I HAVE SUNDAY READING TICKETS!!! (thank you thank you thank you dan!) kind of glad i'm not doing the weekend gig, because camping is NOT my thing. and that's putting it lightly, duke of edinburgh was one of the most painful experiences of my entire life. anyways, the line up for the sunday is...
radiohead
bloc party (who i'm going to see next sunday ^_^)
yeah yeah yeahs
vampire weekend
brand new

RHOMBUS
okay, gotta scoot, my time is running out like hussein bolt on speed. i'll do an obese picture-filled post upon my return to the motherland. selamat tinggal! <3

i can't tell if i'm asleep or awake

what's the time, mr. wolf? TIME TO EAT YOU UP. oh, and time to listen to this. of course.

o brave new world, that has such people in't! aldous huxley, i am in love with you, or at least with brave new world, which i finished in 3 1/2 hours. slow and steady wins the race :P. sort of. i want some zippicamiknicks. and to try some soma. only half a gramme though (it's better than a damn).

i adore this time of year. the air is heavy with the scent of spring, twitterpated animals, and pear, apple and cherry blossom. they're erupting everywhere like pink volcanoes. mm, they smell so nice. also, it's WARM! the perfect temperature, actually - not too hot and not too cold, just like goldilock's preferred porridge. mama bear weather. and soooo, i don't really need my coat anymore *shoves to back of wardrobe*. hooray! had lunch and fruity drinks with crushed ice in (apple juice pretending to be a slush puppy) out on the steps in the sun today, with katy-ku.

me lene tamsin. ei mai apo anglia. kalispera! EFHARISTO! greece is the WORD. one week to go til i make athens (and olympia, and tolon, and mycenae, and corinth) my KINGDOM. and yessss, i'm finally getting a camera! after i dropped my old one down the stairs. whoopsy. daisy.

i'm kind of tired and sniffly because of the intense rehearsage we've put in this week (TEN HOURS, or thereabouts) for the CLS joint concert. it was good! we played carl jenkins' the armed man, an orchestral-choral set of pieces, punctuated by an adhan (call to prayer) performed by was a muezzin. totally unexpected but immense. i'm going to download benedictus, because inez's rendition of it nearly made me cry. aw, orchestra, you're my buddy after all.

the time has come to PUSH THE BUTTON. on hotmail. sent one coursework, 2 to go. bye bye <3

those eyes i can't deny

it's been a while, hasn't it...sorry :( i don't really have an excuse this time, just MAXIMUM laziness

this song was introduced to me by a certain miss lowrie robertson, who i refer to fondly as foxy :) not one, not two but three times she makes me feel alive! i love foxy dearly and can't wait to taste her special chocolate concoction which she's going to brew up for me at katy's next week ^_^ hopefully in a cauldron.

things i've done since i last updated!
-weekend - went to the british museum TWICE (they must think i'm keen) to see shah 'abbas and babylon exhibitions

-bought a mega pack of haribos for oriental society, then went to book club instead and ended up eating them myself. felt the effects for the rest of the day (rampant hyperness, permanent goosebumps, voice a few decibels higher than normal)

-trekked to cls for orchestra after school today (was forced to, was told if i didn't i'd lose my scholarship :S)

-went out shopping to buy stuff for greece and failed epically.

-started watching glengarry glen ross in english, which is the first film i've actually enjoyed in a while

-stepped into a gutter FULL of milk (at least, i hope it was milk). oh, london.

-got permission to go to READING :) now i just need tickets *starts praying*

-discovered atlas sound, beirut and vetiver

-found out that my skin makes lily of the valley smell like cucumbers, thanks to a "nose" named albertino whom i love and fervently wish was my friend

-got randomly given a momiji wish doll from my father, which i have named aiko; it means little loved one in japanese

-started a poetry club at school! well, trying to start one. it's been approved by library committee ^^

-drove a car for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE (that time on the beach in greece does NOT count). i sucked. it wasn't like the go-karts at legoland.

-was initiated into the stumbleupon cult against my better judgment, and am now all-out addicted. aside from discovering that i can read books online now (yes, i'm slow, need to get with the times) and compete with other people...that's right...REAL LIFE PEOPLE...in fridge magnet wars, here's some SU gems i've come into contact with...
1. the ultimate mario website. YEEEEESSSSSSS (i've already kissed my social life goodbye)
2. the option of sending an email to my future self. chloe did it in wild child SO WHY SHOULDN'T I.
3. i wish i could grow a beard now. no, seriously.
4. WOAH. new party trick anyone? *teaches self*
5. scariest non-elephants ever.

and that's just the tip of the iceberg

alrite better absquatulate, got 3 1/2 essays to do for tomorrow (2 english, 1 hart and an essay plan for latin. THANKS SCHOOL. peace out <3

i know you hate secrets, but try not to hate me

écoutez ici

like in nausea, which i STILL HAVEN'T FINISHED...the back cover disintegrated on the train today, which was a bit of a cringe and a half >_<. ANYWAY. *cough* LIKE IN NAUSEA... there are little black tides being born in my heart right now. the past few days have been somewhat odd. and i got my AS mocks results back. pah. hah. hahaha. okay, some of them weren't as bad as i expected them to be, and i didn't outright fail comparatively, but i still wasn't happy. cmon tamsin..they're just mocks. just mocks. mooooooocks. *hyperventilates*

also, i stepped out into the road yesterday not looking where i was going. rapture had blinded me. i blame it on the nutrageous bar i'd just taken a sensual bite out of (wow...that reminds me of my immortal, supposedly the worst harry potter fanfic ever written, which had me practically in tears of laughter), and a tesco's delivery van came THIS CLOSE *holds index finger and thumb an infinitesimal distance apart* to running me over. no jokes. so that got the old heart thumping quite a bit. jesus, can't believe it took 8 lines for me to say i nearly became roadkill.

back to the cause of my near-death experience...nutrageous is the best thing i've discovered so far this month, despite it only being the fourth day of march. it's peanuts meshed together with caramel and swathed in creamy chocolate, with YUMYUMYUM peanut butter at the core. nomnomnom

had the BEST astro lesson on monday
no actual astronomy involved, though, aside from the nebulae i tattooed all over my forearm. noooo. instead, my good tomodachi inez and i made up names for our ENVISION group. it's a society whose aim is to raise money for the homeless charity shelter. here's what we came up with...

the good (heh, if you can call them that): chasing pavements, on the road, streetwise, streetlights, the long and winding road, H>
there was no bad. there was only the DOWNRIGHT ugly after that: tierra, can't buy you love, diamond in the rough, tramp camp, no hobo, 'chez nous', tramps o' lean, roadodendron, K.E.R.B (keeping eet real baby), we are one, circle of life, zero to hero, it's a hard knock life, sound of the underground, you are my homease

JOKES

went to book club today :) discussed dracula (it was put off til after halfterm). i'm happy, because next week we're talking about thérèse raquin, which has got to be one of my favourite books ever. i stayed up 'til 4 am reading it a couple of years ago (this IS significant...back in the days when i hit the sack at 10 on the dot) and oh god, it's creepy in parts. but thérèse raquin is the kind of book you can read from cover to cover in a night, because it's divvied up into nice manageable bitesize chapters. i love zola. after nausea/brave new world/enduring love, i'm going to start the fortune des rougons saga, which will probably take me the rest of my life to complete...

oh god, it's curry for dinner tonight, and my eyes are already watering like crazy. HOT HOT TAMALE. i'm so pathetic <3

our fingers they almost touched

got to stop abusing this picture. it's my avatar for EVERYTHING (and it's how dom managed to stalk my profile down on TSR <_<). but i like it so much...

i also like i still remember so much. it's def one of my favourite songs by bloc party (ONE MONTH (OFF) till i see them...^_^). "every park bench screams your name". i love that line.

so yesterday...we went out to eat a STACK of nachos and an appley bacon pancake smothered in maple syrup. filmwise we settled for eden lake, then watched some peep show and doctor who, OF COURSE. (nope, still not finished with the last season). and i don't even know what i did with my today - somehow i found myself at 7 pm a-wandering and a-wondering. wandering in the general direction of home, wondering what had happened to my day...

heeeeeeere's another e.e cummings poem (sigh if you want, but i like it):

nearer: breath of my breath: take not thy tingling
limbs from me: make my pain their crazy meal
letting thy tigers of smooth sweetness steal
slowly in dumb blossoms of new mingling:
deeper:blood of my blood:with upwardcringing
swiftness plunge these leopards of white ream
this pith of darkness:carve an evilfringing
flower of madness on gritted lips
and on sprawled eyes squirming with light insane
chisel the killing flame that dizzily grips.

Querying greys between mouthed houses curl

thirstily. Dead stars stink. dawn. Inane,

the poetic carcass of a girl

it's almost emo! speaking of which...depressed, cause it's back to the humdrum of school life tomorrow. nyaaagh - got to get those disastrous mocks results back. luckily, i am being eased back into the machine gently - my sister made a DELICIOUS cheesecake and then froze it, so when i got my teeth into it today it was like ice cream. YUM - it's almost worth the end of the weekend. i know that doesn't make sense. i think i need sleep >_<

ohh, and a pinch and a punch for the first of the month :) <3