Lolita 52 Challenge: Week 14

~ Lolitas I would love to meet ~

Again, sorry for dropping this! I haven't done one of these posts since March, and I had lost interest in lolita. I still don't wear it (I have no chance as I live back at home and my mum would bully and harrass me until I changed if I tried), but my interest is definitely coming back. So I'll try to finish this off, slowly but surely.

There are no lolitas I want to meet in particular. That said, it would be nice to meet Maki and Asuka for obvious reasons.


I also want to meet lolitas I met a long time ago again. One girl I haven't seen since my first meet-up, yet I miss her all the same!

Graduation

On Thursday last week, I had my graduation ceremony. That means I now have a BSc in Psychology with upper second class honours! It's odd that my four years of university have both dragged and flown by.

The ceremony itself was in Bath Abbey. I was really worried about falling over, walking there my heel got caught in my dress and there were grates we had to walk over in there, and we had to walk around the whole room to go up to the front! It was fine though, and no one tripped! The robes were uncomfortable and it was really hot all day, and it drizzled before the ceremony so my hair went a bit mad. Plus they didn't bother telling us lower-classers that we needed to wear buttons, so I stupidly wore a fancy dress and had to look scruffy and be strangled by my cardigan all day as the collar kept pulling it up =[


The ceremony was online so I capped me shaking hands with the chancellor haha. I don't really have many photos from the day as nobody has bothered uploading any yet, and I didn't have anywhere to put a camera so I couldn't take any myself.


Afterwards there was a reception in a church a little way down the road. It turns out I won an award! The Helen Haste prize, which was apparently a lot more bigged up than I thought it would be. It was awarded to me because the essay I wrote for the optional exam was the most creative and original one. I think they were rewarding me for a being a weirdo, really. But I got to accept the prize from the legend herself, and I also got £250! Winning.


We didn't stay long after that as we were staying away from home, but it was a much nicer and less boring day than I thought it would be, and I'm glad I went. Don't regret not getting pro photos though...waste of money!

Download Festival 2013!

On this occasion I didn't write a diary when I was there, so this will be quite a bare-bones overview of my time at Download! Plus it was over 3 weeks ago now, so my memory may fail me. I was pretty excited to go though, as I've been wanting to go for 8 years or so but it always clashed with exams (GCSE for 3 years, AS/A-levels for 2, and then uni).

Wednesday
We ended up leaving after 10am as Rob locked his ticket and keys inside the house when we were trying to leave at 9am...ugh! But we go there pretty easily and were all set up by 2pm or so. Rob camped with friends in Red, but I plumped for Gold with Fran, Rosie, and Louis.


This was a good decision, as it was reasonably quiet and we had lots of space, and the tents were easy to find. Then the drinking, oh dear. First there were umbrellas...


Then a good old game of Flunkyball, that I chose to observe rather than participate in:


And of course many of the planes that people apparently found annoying (was only a little louder (and less frequent) than the trains I was used to at uni):


I paced myself well in terms of drinking, but sadly Rob didn't. I came back from the portaloos to find him throwing up in my tent after apparently throwing up in theirs, and then he had me dragging him away from barbed-wire-filled ditches and trying to reason with him until around 2am where he decided to run off. I couldn't find him and went to sleep not knowing if he was even alive. Yeah, I was pretty damn annoyed about it the next day!

Thursday
Thursday wasn't overly eventful. Rob wanted to go into town for breakfast but took us the wrong way, so we walked for 2 hours in the heat and on empty stomachs for no goddamn reason. After an annoyed lie down I drank a bit with my tent neighbours who were working on can swords and making plans for a can throne. The weather was really odd on that day, alternating between scorching sunshine and rain. There was a huge thunderstorm at one point where the sky went almost black and sheets of rain came out of nowhere! In the evening I met up with Bexy & Amy (who were camped in White) for a bit of a dance, and then we saw Andrew O'Neill (a comedian).

Friday
Friday began with a wildcard - Dir En Grey. We thought we'd see them for a laugh since they were the only Japanese act on the bill. It also started raining really heavily, and was raining on and off all day.


We wandered off for a bit and caught some of Patent Pending when having a sit down. Unfortunately we had to endure a bit of Asking Alexandria on our way past Main Stage as well. Then was Papa Roach, who were good but didn't play the best song. The singer also dived into mud for some reason.


Then we caught a bit of In This Moment who put on a great show, before highlight of the day which was Korn.


We took some selfies.


Bullet For My Valentine were a bit dull...


...but we wanted to keep our good spot for Slipknot! It rained heavily again at this point, but they were pretty good so I can't really grumble. I couldn't see at all though! I was lucky to get any photos at all.



Saturday
On Saturday we mostly just hung out at the tent. The weather was great so we sunbathed and derped around drinking until almost 6pm.


We finally went to the arena to catch the first few songs of Jimmy Eat World's set. We stayed more than we were supposed to as I was a little over-enthusiastic in my drunken fangirling! I feel embarrassed now as everyone around us was just standing there whereas I was singing all the words and jumping and waving my appendages around. Especially during Get It Faster as it's one of my favourites and I was surprised it was still in the setlist.


More derping!


We missed most of the first Queens of the Stone Age song which is annoying as it was Feel Good Hit of the Summer, which we'd been singing all weekend.


Afterwards the girls headed back to camp so I caught the end of Enter Shikari by myself. I tried to see Iron Maiden but the sound quality was terrible so I only stayed until I heard a song I knew, which was thankfully the second one they played.


Saw The Hives instead, and it was the best decision as they were so much fun to dance along to, despite poor view and getting elbowed in the face several times (#shortpeopleproblems). Some crazy guy climbed up one of the poles inside the tent and jumped off!


When I got back to their tent I was already sobering up and getting a hangover so I didn't hang around and went to bed istead!

Sunday
Since Rob's phone was running out, I stayed with him on the last day. We packed up out tents and took them back to the car in the morning and then went to the nearby village for proper breakfast and cup of tea. We were both really tired so we sat at Main Stage most of the day, catching Five Finger Death Punch who weren't my cup of tea, Parkway Drive who were a little better, Stone Sour, and Gaslight Anthem. They played their best song first but the singer's voice sounded butts until the second song Dx


We had planned to stay for 30 Seconds To Mars but as soon as they started we gurned at each other and went to see A Day To Remember instead, who it turns out I like and I knew a bunch of their songs from music channels. Limp Bizkit were next and I had a great time! I almost peed myself laughing at Fred Durst's gigantic black beard. Rob was a bit annoyed as he wanted to see Rammstein but I wanted to stay until they played Break Stuff which was their last song, I think.


This photo was taken before the mass-exodus of people leaving to see Rammstein as soon as they played their first chord.

We could kinda hear Rammstein at the same time though, and we headed straight there afterwards. Hope I get to see them again as they were good live, although I don't really approve of the giant fake dicks and pretending to jerk off and all that sick shit. They pyros were cool though.


Monday
After a very stressful journey (it took ages to leave the carpark although it could have been a lot worse, and Rob was barely awake while driving and it took me ages of nagging to get him to pull over for a nap), we eventually got back to Rob's at 6am. I was so tired that I'd been hallucinating pretty much the whole way back, and I have stayed awake for so long before. It was almost a full 24 hours! So naturally after a cuppa and some toast we slept all day.

Even though it was tiring, I'm looking forward to the next festival now! Reading is only a month away. Probably going to volunteer at Glasto next year as dad did this year, and if friends go to Download again I'm up for it again! I preferred it to Reading in terms of layout, it's just that Reading tends to have more bands I want to see. That said, Reading line-up is going downhill fast wth all the hipster shit they're bring in...but we'll see!

Bodyline Costume Order Review: NEGATIVE

This is another post I started a month ago, but only just had a chance to take photos as the items got packed up pretty much as soon as they arrived!

I hadn't ordered from Bodyline for over a year since I never wear their pieces anymore (brand is so much better quality that I can't bring myself to), so I was a little unsure of what to expect this time. I'd ordered a seifuku previously but it had ended up being too small, so I finally reordered it and also a costume for expo.


Firstly...the prices have gone up so much. There was a lolita dress I loved and plenty of blouses, but I could buy brand for the same price. In fact, I bought a pink Dreamy Horoscope skirt for only £5 more than the dress would have cost a few weeks ago. I also couldn't afford to buy a maid outfit on top of these ones due to the prices, despite really wanting one.

Shipping was SLOW. I was expecting it to take 2 weeks max as in the past everything has come really quickly, but it took almost a month to reach me. Thus it didn't arrive in time for Expo, so I didn't even bother going. Tracking was a few days behind as well, and due to no longer allowing mark-downs I got hit by customs. Luckily this was handled through Royal Mail so the handling charge was £8 instead of twice that for Parcelforce, but that was still ridiculous on a £50 order. That said, I saved almost £12 by doing the yen trick, so customs almost paid for itself.

It was packaged badly. I didn't take a photo as I was too eager to check for damage. The outer packet was just a grey mailing bag which was completely torn open, and one of the inner bags was torn open as well which I'm not happy about (although I guess it's possible that customs did this and they just don't like to own up to sneaking a peek at your stuff).


The items...let's just say I probably won't be buying from Bodyline again. I already had to buy a size L as their sizes seem to have shrunk, but the Homura costume is waaaaaay too tight across the shoulders. Rob says I have wide shoulders for my size, but it isn't something I've really had issues with before? It's just irritating. The rest is pretty tight too even though I checked the measurements before ordering. I'd never think of buying a 2L as in the lolita dresses those are for people who are actually on the fatter side, right? Or so I thought. The fabric is the same as all Bodyline costumes it seems, non-stretchy, too heavy, see-through, and kind of scratchy. The colour isn't true to stock photos.


Next issues, the pleats on both of the skirts are stitched, which they weren't before. Not a nice, easily torn thread in a tacking stitch like Angelic Pretty does, but sewn straight across with the machine in regular stitching. It's going to take ages to unpick, will look messy, and may unravel. Not only that, but the stitching is really wobbly in the first place! I don't really know what to do about this...maybe I won't risk trying and just flog it all.


The seifuku top...I was hoping it'd be longer in a bigger size, but it still shows a section of flabby stomach and the skirt is still too short and too tight to wear lower on the waist. This annoys me as I see many girls online who look lovely in theirs, but I just look like a fat weeb ho in mine Dx Also annoying is that the short sleeved version (the one I wanted) came back in stock a few days after I made my order. I don't think I can even use this stiff-armed top from this set, so I'll have to reorder AGAIN if I want something I can actually get use out of, and hell no. Also when getting the stock pic for this post, I see they've slashed the price. FML!

So essentially I wasted £60 on useless junk. I am so done with Bodyline!

Belated May Day & ILD Meet Post

On May Day we had a nice little picnic at the Royal Crescent!


Maria made the most delicious little cheesecakes!


The weather was very warm so I put together the coolest outfit I could.


Excuse horrible lighting and face, this was taken in the pub after I'd been melted by the sun! Got lots of compliments on my skirt, and I do love this skirt. I had forgotten just how short it is though! It's from Angelic Pretty, and the rest is offbrand. I also had a Hello Kitty serviette strapped to my ankle as my shoes rubbed and I didn't want blood on my clothes D=


Detail.

I also picked up this cat bag from Monika. So much loooooove ♥


Haven't had many chances to wear lolita recently. On International Lolita Day I met up with Bexy & Amy, but we didn't wear lolita once again! Was nice to have a catch-up and a shop, along with some Bubble Tea, lolified cups, and a few pints though, as always!


It was actually the same day as Summer Ball, but I decided to sell my ticket and use the money for chilling out with friends instead which was a great decision.

My lolita future is looking shaky due to the need to clear out things, no job, no money, and really poor transport links (I can get to Bristol only unless I take the train on from there, but the bus to the station is £7 by itself!), but I'm hoping that I can attend a few meets in the Summer even if not many. I have many items that I want to wear to a meet before I can part with them! I *do* have a ticket for Frock On, but most of my friends have dropped out and it's so much money and will probably be boring, but hmmmm I don't know whether to go or not haha.

Pink Purchases!

I started writing this post a whole month ago, but was too lazy to add the photos until now so it's out of date. Sorry!

Since I just turned in my last essay and finished my degree on the 22nd of May, I treated myself to some new things! They arrived before I finished, but that doesn't matter ;P

I'd been wanting a 3DS for a while as the next Pokémon game won't be playable on the DS. I kinda feel like I'm cheating on my DS though...I've had it since Pokémon Diamond and Pearl came out!


I searched specifically for a pink one this time! I ended up getting this one secondhand for £56 with a game card with 20 games and a DS game case. Unfortunately it has a scratch on the touch screen even though the seller said they'd replaced the screen, and the stylus is missing (they sent a new one but it took almost a month and is visibly chewed). The parental lock was also on when I received it and it would have been a pain to contact Nintendo to crack it, but thankfully I guess the pin really quickly as I figured the previous owner's kid's birth year was a good place to start!


My only games at this point are Super Pokémon Rumble and the new Mystery Dungeon! I'd played the Wii trial version of Rumble before and while it's easy and probably not a very long game, it is really cute. The Dungeon one is somehow even slower than the old ones, but thankfully with fewer flashbacks. Rob bought it for me as a congrats on finishing present. I want more games, but not really sure what. I am tempted by Animal Crossing as everyone keeps going on about it, but it's expensive and honestly I think it look boring...


This is my case for it at the moment, from ArtsCow for $0.99. It was supposed to be for my make-up, but I'd rather use it for this now...*swoon*


Lastly, my Dreamy Horoscope skirt! It cost £60 secondhand, and while I felt that was quite a lot for an unpopular print/colourway combo I didn't want it to slip away. I love this shiny kind of material even if it may be looked down on by many lolitas. Of course, it's also super short! I can't wait to wear it, although that will be difficult now that I'm back home. Going to try to be brave enough to wear it at the weekend though (my mum HATES lolita and calls it ugly and children's clothes and generally bullies me about it...in addition to my being fat and useless, of course).

So I finally made a post! A lot has happened since I last posted. I have moved back home which is hell, having difficulty finding any jobs that I'm qualitfied enough for, etc. It does look like I'm on track for a 2:1 grade in my degree though, which is great as it was looking shaky at one point!

New tattoo!

I'd been wanting a Frank Turner tattoo for quite some time, but I finally got it on April 24th, 2 days after Tape Deck Heart was released and just over a year after the Wembley gig! I held off making this post as it was still healing, but it's almost completely healed now.

(Sorry about my horrible foot haha).


I've called him Ritardando, and he's from the Poetry of the Deed artwork!

He isn't perfect, the right-most line isn't actually supposed to be there but I think it balances it out better anyway. There's a stray dot but that was from an involuntary leg twitch near the end when it was getting harder to stay still through the pain, so that was my fault! Also needs a bit of a touch-up, but I think I'll just wait until I get another tattoo. Considering getting my other foot done now, but not sure whether to get the same or maybe a swift in the same style.

I went to Imperial Tattoo Company in Bath. There was a cute husky there, loads of Star Wars collectables, and I got to listen to Cypress Hill and Limp Bizkit when getting tattooed!


Ahhh I love getting tattoos, but I'm almost at my limit already as I don't have a lot of space left that can be shown or covered up when I like. My cousins probably think I'm odd for wanting that as they're all COVERED haha.