3 Ways to Survive the Festive Season.

So it's that time of year again: lots of presents that you have yet to put away, since your house was pretty full anyway; lots of food still in the cupboards that you know should be eaten but already your waistband is feeling a bit tight; and lots of relatives still to see before you get back to reality after the New Year (if you're lucky enough to still be off work/ university, that is...).

I've Learnt How to be a Woman.

Every time I've turned my laptop on over the past few weeks, I've noticed that my blog has been looking at me very sternly.

"We haven't spoken in almost two months, Eilidh."

"I know... I've been busy..."

"Don't you love me anymore?"

A Beginner's Guide to the Library. From a 3rd Year English Degree Student.

It's appalling, I know. It's not like it's a recent development either, it's been building up over the past few years. I didn't mean for it to get like this. It just happened, you know? Please don't think any less of me.

My name is Eilidh Stewart. I am studying English at university. And today I checked a book out of my university's library for the first time.

You can sarcastically slow applaud if you want, it's completely warranted.

3 Reasons You Didn't Want to be Employed Anyway.

It's pretty much common knowledge among students that it isn't easy to find a job right now. The state of the economy and them darn politicians are usually to blame and when you send your CV in to get rejected over and over again, it can get very disheartening. You begin to wonder if there's something wrong with you. Did you fill out your covering letter with a few too many, and just unrealistic white lies? Did you forget to wear deodorant to your interview? Did you at any point in the application process use Comic Sans font? 

The Bright Side.

I've found in my experience that what I write is intrinsically linked to how I feel. If I'm in a good mood then I'm raring to go, I have a lot to say and generally feel more inspired. Equally, when I get angry I have a lot to say. I like to vent how I feel and try to find people who feel the same way. Even if you don't write, I think this is common just to humans on the whole.

But when I'm sad, I generally don't write. I've never been any use at poetry or songwriting, so I can't spout any heart breaking lyrics that explain everything and make me feel any better. When I'm sad, I can't even write about other things and work on other projects. Hence, I come to the crux of this blog post, which is a bit more difficult to write than the all the others I've done put together. 

The Mob.

I started a new job last week, which was pretty fantastic. But for the first time in a long time, it's meant that I've had to travel through Glasgow at rush hour. This is how I've become acquainted with the Mob.

You look confused. The Mob? What is this Mob? Everyone has met the Mob. It's the woman with the oversized handbag who slings it over her shoulder and hits you with it. It's the man in the business suit too busy talking on his phone to notice that you're trying to walk past him. It's the person who slinks onto the subway after you and nabs the seat you were heading towards right before you sit down.

For the Love of Dogs

Anyone who knows me well, probably knows by now that I'm a huge dog lover. Our family have always had dogs, and I'm used to having them in the house. There isn't enough space or time down in Glasgow to have a dog running around, so it's nice when I come home to my mum's house and get to see our lovely mutt. 

Just Try It, You'll Love It

I know the way that this normally works: "Honestly, you should read it, that book literally - like, literally - changed my life." Any sane person normally nods politely and takes a mental note to never pick up that book. Ever. So instead of telling everyone what to read and risk everyone never reading books I consider to be amazing, I thought I would just share some books that I've read and have really, really enjoyed and don't worry, I don't do spoilers.

Read them. Or don't. It's up to you.

Hitting the Wall

For those of you who have read some of my posts before, you might remember that on (or around, I'm bad for being late) the 14th of the past couple of months, I've put up a post to keep myself motivated while I get through my latest writing project. I started it at New Year's, as part of my resolution, and for the first couple of months it went great - I powered through my chapters, and passed my word counts with ease.

But then it started happening.

As the 14th approached every month, I began realising that I still had three chapters to write, and no inspiration to write them with. I was uninspired and felt miserable, since it felt that it was going nowhere and was just going to end up as a complete disaster. Still, I chugged along, determined that I was just getting lazy, and what mattered was to keep going. 

But on Friday, I finally hit the wall.

The Artist

It's occurred to me, after offering to write this post, that I have incredibly talented friends. I've already written about my friend, Alasdair Cooper, who is an insanely talented musician (you can find him in the sidebar to the right) and now it's the turn of my friend, Rebecca Sydenham.

She moved down to Glasgow recently and, if I'm honest, I haven't been so happy in a long, long time. It was the first time in the best part of five years that we had lived in the same place, after I moved away half way through high school. We've known each other for around nine years and know each other inside out.

Also, her brother mooned at me the first time I went round to her house when I was only 11. If that doesn't cement a friendship, then nothing will.

There is a chance she may never speak to me again after posting
this picture, so I hope you appreciate my dedication here!