Less Than 1 Week To Go!

Until Eurovision that is! Amazingly excited - though these exams keep me grounded - and, as promised, here is my last pre-Eurovision top 10 as decided by my iTunes play counts. Quite a few changes here, there are just so many good songs - how can I limit myself to 10?! Here's my first top 10, my second top 10 and finally, this week's top 10:

1 Point
Azerbaijan: Sabina Babayeva - When the Music Dies

Round: Final

1st score: 0 points

2nd score: 10 points

2 Points

Romania: Mandinga - Zaleilah

Round: Semi-final 1

1st score: 2 points

2nd score: 0 points

3 Points

Ukraine: Gaitana - Be My Guest

Round: Semi-final 2

1st score: 1 point

2nd score: 6 points

4 Points

Iceland: Greta Salóme & Jónsi - Never Forget

Round: Semi-final 1

1st score: 0 points

2nd score: 0 points

5 Points

France: Anggun - Echo (You and I)

Round: Final

1st score: 3 points

2nd score: 2 points

6 Points

Norway: Tooji - Stay

Round: Semi-final 2

1st score: 10 points

2nd score: 8 points

7 Points

Italy: Nina Zilli - L'amore è femmina (Out of Love)

Round: Final

1st score: 4 points

2nd score: 3 points

8 Points

Austria: Trackshittaz - Woki Mit Deim Popo

Round: Semi-final 1

1st score: 7 points

2nd score: 1 point

10 Points

Cyprus: Ivi Adamou - La La Love

Round: Semi-final 1

1st score: 8 points

2nd score: 7 points

12 Points

Sweden: Loreen - Euphoria

Round: Semi-final 2

1st score: 12 points

2nd score: 12 points

So some big changes and no surprises here - Sweden is a complete non-mover, easily my favourite entry and it looks likely to win.

• Entries no longer in my top 10:
  - Greece
  - Russia
• Entries that returned to the top 10:
  - Romania 
• New entries in my top 10:
  - Iceland
• Entries that featured in every top 10:
  - Austria
  - Cyprus
  - France
  - Italy
  - Norway
  - Sweden
  - Ukraine

Hopefully at some point next week I will make a post about my party preparations so you can use some of the ideas to celebrate Eurovision yourself. I've already posted the party playlist so on the next post I'll hopefully include things like drinks, food, decorations blah, blah, blah and, very importantly, the rules to my adaptation of Finnish drinking rules - ooooooh! 

For any non-Eurovision fans still reading this post and indeed this blog, I still love you and it'll all be over soon! x

Two Weeks to Go...

There are just two weeks to go until we are well into Eurovision week (22nd - 26th May) so today and then next Wednesday I will post my top 10 most played 2012 Eurovision songs and then we can see: 1) if there are any changes between them and my first top 10 (which you can see here); 2) if any of my most listened to songs will make it into the final; and 3) how they fare (if any make it) in the Grand Final. I should point out that my personal choice of winner has only ever matched the actual winner once and that was Lena with "Satellite" in 2010. It seems that Europe and I have different tastes...

1 Point

Austria: Trackshittaz - Woki Mit Deim Popo

Round: Semi-final 1

Previous score: 7

2 Points

France: Anggun - Echo (You and I)

Round: Final

Previous score: 3

3 Points

Italy: Nina Zilli - L'amore è femmina (Out of Love)

Round: Final

Previous score: 4

4 Points 

Russia: Buranovskiye Babushki - Party for Everybody

Round: Semi-final 1

Previous score: N/A

5 Points

Greece: Eleftheria Eleftheriou - Aphrodisiac

Round: Semi-final 1

Previous score: N/A

6 Points

Ukraine: Gaitana - Be My Guest

Round: Semi-final 2

Previous score: 1

7 Points

Cyprus: Ivi Adamou - La La Love

Round: Semi-final 1

Previous score: 8

8 Points

Norway: Tooji - Stay

Round: Semi-final 2

Previous score: 10

10 Points

Azerbaijan: Sabina Babayeva - When the Music Dies

Round: Final

Previous score: N/A

12 Points

Sweden: Loreen - Euphoria

Round: Semi-final 2

Previous score: 12

3 new entries here: Azerbaijan, Greece and Russia who have displaced Bulgaria, Denmark and Romania who were in my last top 10. Azerbaijan surprises me slightly because it's a ballad and they usually bore me but I like this one, clearly a lot. All but 2 of the songs on the list here which were on the previous list have fallen, the biggest being Austria who fell from 7 points to 1. As I expected, Sweden has remained on top - such a brilliant song! It is expected to win the second semi-final and to go on and win the contest altogether. If so, I am DEFINITELY going to Sweden for Eurovision next year! 


The hope is, following my last top 10, this top 10 and my next top 10, that I can post a little something about who I would like and who I expect to progress from the semi-finals on Tuesday 22nd and Thursday 24th but what with me having exams we'll have to wait and see! I will hopefully also post on the Saturday before the final as I prepare for le party. 


Again, feel free to share your comments, your top 10 - I am seriously interested! Eurovision-mad! x 

Less Revise-ie, More Speak-ie

Hello Nottmares (GaGa has her 'monsters' and Minaj has her 'barbz' so I thought I'd have 'Nottmares', let's see if it catches on)! I am fresh from finishing my Welsh oral exam which went OK, I think. I have a problem talking in general, in any language, so I think that this exam was always gonna be a challenge but the examiners led me to believe that it went OK, so phew! I had half an hour to read a random article (in Welsh) - mine was about technological advancements and how they affect language - and I then had 15 minutes to discuss that article with three lecturers. I feel that I was incredibly luckily to essentially just talk about Facebook when other people I know had topics such as the current droughts in England and sustainable farming in the 3rd World. With that exam out of the way, that leaves me with 3 exams to go, starting next Thursday.


A few posts ago I wrote about an event that I would be attending, namely Dawns Fai (May Ball), but as it transpires I am no longer going. As you might have guessed from the aforementioned post, I was never really up for it after the very disappointing line up was announced but I was concerned about other things as well such as my motion sickness (it is honestly really bad) which would only be fuelled by alcohol and my foot which has recently been in agony and I don't know why, though finally after about a week it's stopped hurting so much. Anyway, I've sold my ticket so it's not like I've paid £40 to not go somewhere and I think I will regret not going for the experience but I'm definitely not going to regret missing the 'big name' acts. That still makes me scoff. 


Unfortunately I have become an emotional wreck at a very inconvenient time. Sometimes I get upset for no apparent reason and other times I get upset about my feelings for someone, which has always been a major inconvenience really. I'm on a bit of a moody roller-coaster; last night I was a bit of a mess (emotionally) yet now I'm not feeling too bad - though I put that down to post-exam high. Hopefully, I will stop being so pathetic and emotionally-retarded soon so I can focus on my revision for the upcoming exams like a good student. 


To end on a happier note, Eurovision is coming!!! I got my official album last Saturday and I immediately imported it to iTunes and synced it to my iPod, though that did mean erasing my play counts... The Grand Final will be held in 17 days and the past couple of days I've had people talking about the party I have planned which fuels my childlike excitement for the contest. I get so much more excited for Eurovision than I do for my own birthday and even Christmas. No joke. I have even ordered glow sticks for this wonderful occasion.

Oh, I also, finally, got a haircut. Just thought I'd let you know. Been putting that off for a while...


I will try and post as often as I can, but May is a busy month for me, so please do forgive me if I scarcely post - I haven't forgotten about you! x       

Mai 2012

I can't believe that it's May already - my final full month in lovely Aberystwyth. Though this thought is rather saddening, May is setting itself up to be a very busy month with some things to 'get out of the way' and other things to look forward to. This is also really the last time I can make a list of things that are definitely happening as I have no idea about what I'm gonna do post-uni - scary times! Anyways, if you fancy stalking me you can easily find me using these details...

• Wednesday 9 May:
  > Welsh oral exam
• Friday 11 May:
  > Dawns Fai
• Wednesday 16 May:
  > Cold War exam 
• Saturday 19 May:
  > Gloywi Iaith exam
• Tuesday 22 May:
  > 1st Eurovision semi-final
• Thursday 24 May:
  > British/Irish Politics exam (last exam!)
  > 2nd Eurovision semi-final
• Saturday 26 May:
  > Eurovision 2012 Final (party!)
• Saturday 9 June:
  > Moving back to Barry
• Thursday 12 July:
  > Graduation

Those are my final DEFINITE plans until I figure out what I'm gonna do after uni/graduation.
The exams are the 'get out of the way' things on my list whereas as Dawns Fai, Eurovision and Graduation are most definitely things to look forward to.
Also, can I just say: who the hell puts a Welsh grammar exam (Gloywi Iaith) on a Saturday?! Not only is Saturday a terrible time for an exam, it's at 2pm - TWO PM - how ridiculous! Revising/exam-sitting until 4pm on a Saturday is rage-inducing but I think I hide it fairly well...

I shall also use this post, if I may, to warn readers that from now until the end of May (and possibly beyond), there will be a LOT of posts about Eurovision 2012. I can't help it, I'm addicted, and perhaps I should get help but I don't want to. Eurovision lover and proud!! 

For everyone else who is/will be sitting exams in the next couple of months or so - pob lwc! (good luck!) - and for everyone else have a fantastic, exam-free month and, if you're looking for something to do, watch Eurovision. It'll be amazing, I promise!
Have a great May x

Dawns Fai

Didrik kindly fashioning my Dawns Fai ticket 

Dawns Fai (May Ball), essentially a big farewell kind of student party hosted in the village of Pontrhydfendigaid, is fast approaching and I have bought my ticket. The ticket is £40, but what does it cover? Is it worth £40? I will be answering these questions, but bear in mind that I am completely sober and have not actually been to May Ball before, so I'm pretty much guessing how my experience will pan out.


The Aberystwyth Student Union has this to say about the event:
"Here it is - our biggest line up ever with 5 big name acts on the main stage plus the comedy zone, tribute tent, headphone disco & chill out marquees, fairground and much much more..."
Let's take this bit by bit, shall we?


Main Stage - '5 Big Name Acts'
Zane Lowe, The Hoosiers, Roll Deep, Ms. Dynamite & Toploader.
Someone needs to help the students' union define "big name acts" as NONE of these five are 'big names', not currently at least. I have never heard of Zane Lowe before the union announced his participation and the other 4 acts have peaked. The 'Big Name Acts' are not big name acts and, for me, are a major let down, I even very briefly considered not going again this year based on this but, as I'll explain later, there are much better things to do at May Ball.
Worth £40? No. None of them come close to that value.


Comedy Zone
John Robins, Horse & Louis, Jared Hardy, Tommy Rowson & Ben Van Der Velde.
No familiar names for me there, but that's not a bad thing! Aspiring comedians have to be given a chance and, seeing as I don't know any of the acts or their material, it would be unfair to pre-judge them. The Comedy Zone probably won't be a high priority for me but I wouldn't complain abut going.
Worth £40? Doubtful, would you pay that much for a handful of unknown comedians? But I could be pleasantly surprised...


Tribute Tent
As the title suggests, tribute acts have a place in May Ball, so who do we have this year?
The Fillers, 182 - A Tribute to Blink, The Rinky Dinks & DJ Jinx
I am a Killers fan so The Fillers might be worth seeing, I am not totally adverse to listening to Blink 182 so perhaps that won't be bad either. The Rinky Dinks apparently cover a myriad of artists with a twist ranging from rock (fair enough) to ska (good God, no!). DJ Jinx will be playing tracks between the other acts and is not a tribute act. He has DJ'ed at a couple of Student Union events before which I've heard and liked. This tent seems as though it won't be a total disappointment. 
Worth £40? It's definitely worth more than the Main Stage.


Headphone Disco
LOVE a good headphone disco, they are SO much fun! Usually two DJs performing at once and, equipped with headphones, disco-goers have the choice of switching channels, between DJs. It is so brilliant to remove your headphones for a second and hear half the room singing one thing and other half something else, and the dancing is also just fantastic! I remember at the Union's last headphone disco that one DJ told his listeners to get on the floor and stay there. I seemed to be one of the very few people not on that channel as I discovered on my way to the bar. I was listening to some pop song and when I turned around, everyone was on the floor and I had no idea why. Brilliant!
Worth £40? On its own, no, of course not! But there is no way I'm missing out on a headphone disco!


Other
"...we have free to ride FULL SIZE FAIRGROUND including dodgems, waltzers, bench ride and traditional stalls.
The CHILL OUT MARQUEE features the return of the OXYGEN BAR and also includes FISH PEDICURE tanks, WALK ABOUT MAGICIAN along the with the cosy bean bag area to take a load off!
For the thrill seekers, the 200ft BUNGEE CRANE awaits all those that want to take the plunge!
Along with the half a dozen bars there will also be the champagne bar, food court, official photo studio, novelty acts and much, much more."
Fairground - cool; chill out marquee - not for me but still pretty cool; walk about magician - sigh; bungee crane - never, ever, ever; champagne bar - hell yes!


All in all, I would (and have) paid £40 for a ticket and I am looking forward to it and I think the thing that is meant to be the most attractive about the event is by far its least attractive element. Ah well, with all the alcohol and other distractions involved, why let poorly chosen acts ruin what could be an otherwise great night?


I shall, of course, write a new post after the event, probably to take back all of the negatives I've mentioned above x

Hufen Iâ Cneuen Goco

This is, of course...

Coconut ice cream!
Coconut ice cream is, by far, my favourite flavour ice cream and today I got to taste my first ever, home made ice cream for the first time and it is yummy! So I thought I'd brag about my skills share the recipe - here it is:

• 600ml double cream
• 400g coconut milk (1 tin)
• 150g desiccated coconut
• 5 tablespoons caster sugar

Method:

In a mixing bowl, whisk the cream until thick. 

Fold in the coconut milk, desiccated coconut and sugar.

Pour the mixture into a container and freeze for at least eight hours, stirring ever hour or so to keep it smooth.

And it's that simple! 

As you can see, I had some of my ice cream on top of some apple slices which makes for a yummy combination as the apples have a sharp flavour and the sweet, creamy coconut ice cream kind of tones it down a bit.

The ice cream is very yummy and simple to make, so give it a go! x