Don't You Hate It When...? (28/11/11) Sense and Senility

Don't get me wrong...

I love old people as much as the next person, and I know a few "oldies but goodies" whom I have a great time with... But lately, I've been hit by a large dose of Senile Rage, and I needed a moment to rant it out...

First of all, am I the only person who thinks that certain people over the age of 70 should have their driver's licence revoked? Seriously, I have lost count of the amount of times that I'd be driving along, minding my own business, when suddenly this little old lady driving in front of me randomly brakes forcefully because she thought she saw something passing... Or when you driving happily in an empty road, without a care in the world, and all of a sudden your daydream of being in a 50's convertible wearing sunglasses and a scarf around your head come crashing to a halt, when you reach an old guy in his falling-apart-but-still-technically-works Ford from 1961 going at 20mph in a 70mph zone...

Now one of the most recent episodes that happened to me, and that made me most aggravated was last Friday, when I was driving to the Salesian Oratory in Sliema in the evening. As I was turning from Sir Adrian Dingli road to Karm Galea street, I find a group of about 7 senior citizens yapping away at the very beginning of the road I was turning into... Now, thankfully, I always turn slowly as it is quite a sharp turn, so I didn't end up with any pieces of dentures or toupees stuck to my windscreen. Reminding myself that these people had been around on this Earth before me, and probably remembered WWII clearly, I patiently bit my tongue and waited for them to notice my car's presence (not too difficult, considering I've got a modestly-sized Kia Avella). 

However, instead of seeing me, apologizing for standing in the street and moving their conversation to the pavement, they just gave me some really dirty looks, and a couple of them started going "People have to stop turning into this road so fast!"... My jaw literally dropped so far, it almost hit my gas pedal... To avoid jumping out of the car and knocking a couple of cobwebby heads together, I took a deep breath, and prepared to keep driving into the road. Not satisfied with having just annoyed me, the old darlings came up to my window as I was driving and started telling me off and shouting "Mhux suppost idduru daqsekk malajr f'din it-triq!" ("You shouldn't turn into this road so fast!")... That's when my temper went all the way to 10 and I shouted right back "Mhux suppost toqod tparla f'nofs it-triq!" ("You shouldn't stand around in the middle of the road yapping!")

It's the first time I ever yelled at an old person...

Musicology (22/11/11) - Christmas Songs

I know that for many normal people, the time for Christmas songs starts in the beginning of December (earliest)... I, however, being a total Christmas nut, begin my Fa-la-la-la-la-ing way back in November... ONLY because if I start earlier, my mother, sisters & boyfriend will risk the temptation to shoot me.

Whenever people ask me why I'm so bloody in love with the Christmas season and all it brings with it, I just say that I don't really know... I just get an overwhelming feeling of happiness, a rush of happy memories - Christmas eve parties at my grandparents' house, my younger cousin dressing up as Santa and helping grandpa pass round the presents, big family lunches, seeing everyone happy and together... I guess it's super cheesy, but hey, whaddaya gotta do, right...?

Now, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the obvious things: the decorations, the cosy jumpers, the excuse to go shopping, the carols randomly blasted out of Public Address Systems... But I think what makes Christmas special (to me, at least) is the whole "peace on Earth, goodwill to mankind" ideology that comes with it, and I wholly intend to practice that this Christmas, by not just focusing on the usual presents-problem or the "oh no, I've eaten one mince pie too many", but I'll try to go out of my way to make everyone around me feel happy, to accept anyone that might usually piss me off, to make it more CHRISTmas instead of just the normal, commercialised Xmas...

Now, since this is technically a "Musicology" post, it would be quite unfair not to share my favourite Christmas songs with you... Let's start with what is my favourite Christmas song ever - and which has mixed reviews of either "cheesy" or "classic":

This song has soooo many things going for it: The mix of many artists, the fact that it was written for a good cause, Bono and Sting... xD I agree the video might be a bit cheesy, but, come on, it was 1984... There have been many remakes of this song, arguably the best is the Band Aid 20 version, released in 2004, featuring Robbie Williams, DIDO, Chris Martin, Fran Healy from Travis, BUSTED and Joss Stone, among others. Probably the worst adaptation of the song is one made by the German "TV Allstars" - don't ask me when, I don't know, but from the clothes and hair, some time in the late 90's/early 2000... It's cheesier than a plate of nachos, and the 1989 remake is not much better, apart from Kylie and Cliff Richard...

 
Another favourite of mine is by the aforementioned Sir Cliff: Little Town. Again, pardon the colours and tracksuit, but it was 1982... I just love the way he portrayed this Christmas classic, and how it doesn't sound dated (to me)... 

Then there's this little ditty by Chris Rea: Driving Home For Christmas... another happy-sounding song... and it works wonders whilst I'm driving home during the 17:30 traffic...

I only recently discovered this song whilst randomly listening to my newly Christmas-filled iPod on shuffle - I Believe in Father Christmas. This was originally by Greg Lake back in the '70's, but I reckon U2 have done a pretty decent job in covering it... (What can I say, I <3 Bono...)

And being a true Irish nut, I also love this song by the Pogues and the late Kirsty McColl... I love how it's so raunchy and rude, yet still feels Christmassy... xD


These are just random Christmas singles that make my car a little happier during November and December. However, this Christmas album has been making me smile since I can remember - and that's saying something:

Before you start rippin' on my man Barry, you should hear the songs he's got on this particular album: A particularly steamy version of Baby, It's Cold Outside, and an excerpt from Handel's Messiah... Yeah he has some cheesy songs (Sailing, anyone?), but his Christmas album kicks butt...


Now I've ordered a copy of Michael Buble's new Christmas album (which was released in October) and I can't wait for it to arrive!


Thanks for reading this (tremendously long) post! Don't forget to leave me a list of your favourite Christmas songs! :)


Cheryl
 xXx

Don't You Hate It When...? (18/11/11) - Christmas Presents

Hey there!

Now that Christmas is getting closer, and various roundabouts and roads around the Maltese Islands are slowly increasing in their sparkly-glittery-lights, there looms the question that has haunted me every single year since I've started buying presents with my own money (or, in other words, since sixth form) - What to but my nearest and dearest for Christmas?

Now I know that the female species are supposed to be super-apt at selecting presents, especially for the people we spend the most time with, but somehow I always manage to end up rushing through Sliema and Valletta with an-ever growing expression of exasperation on my face. How is it that the act of shopping could leave me so aggravated, you ask? Well, the answer is simple. After having bought various items for the same people year after year, it becomes increasingly difficult to come up with different ideas for gifts, particularly for my sisters, mother and boyfriend.

In fact, my beloved and I have - ever so romantically - decided between ourselves to buy each other out Christmas gifts together, that way we'd both get what we most want/need - particularly him... I consider myself fairly easy to shop for... An accessory here, a bag there and I'm done... Men however are much harder to figure out...and there are only so many wallets/after-shaves/pairs of socks (?) that you can buy without seeming extremely unoriginal, thus our fool-proof plan of co-buying Christmas presents to avoid any possible misunderstanding. Don't judge!

My sisters are somewhat easier to shop for - particularly my younger one, as she's most like me: accessories, clothes, make-up, and also PS2 games, Spongebob items (she loves her some Spongebob -_-')... My middle sister is a bit trickier, as she isn't as accessory/make-up/fashion obsessed, so a nice bag wouldn't quite cut it... I always manage to figure something out eventually. Last year I was feeling particularly inventive, example, as I bought them a charm bracelet each, with their own unique charms according to their different personalities/likes. 

It is for this reason in particular that I thank God every Christmas for EBAY, Play.com and other online shops, which present us with a myriad of items that we, as a lonely island in the Mediterranean, would not have access to.

Here are my go-to shops for presents:

Of course, there are other shops which I look through randomly, but these 4 always produce winners...

Happy shopping!

Cheryl

 xXx

Musicology (17/11/11) - Ingrid Michaelson's New Single

Oh My God...

For anyone who doesn't know me or who hasn't read my past Musicology post, I am absolutely bananas about Ingrid Michaelson.

You can imagine, therefore, my elatedness when I checked my email inbox this morning and found a newsletter from Ingrid's website, telling me that Ingrid has released a new single, Ghost! Trust me, the first thing I did was look up the song and listen to it a few times... Then I proceeded to post the song to facebook for others to enjoy.

Can't wait til 24/01/2012 to buy the album!! xD

Lyrics:

Do you remember when the walls fell
Do you remember the sound that the door made when you closed it on me
Do you know that I went down to the ground
Landed on both my broken hearted knees

I didn't even cry because pieces of me had already died

I'm a ghost haunting these halls
Climbing up walls that I never knew were there
And I'm lost
Broken down the middle of my heart
I'm broken down the middle of my heart

You know you make me a ghost. You make me a ghost

I'm an invisible disaster
I keep trying to walk but my feet don't find the solid ground
It's like living in a bad dream
I keep trying to scream, but my tongue has finally lost its sound

I've got to say goodbye to the pieces of me that have already died

I'm a ghost haunting these halls
Climbing these walls that I never knew were there
And I'm lost
Broken down the middle of my heart
I'm broken down the middle of my heart

You know you make me a ghost (you take the breath all away from me, you take it away)
You make me a ghost

I don't cry
I don't try anymore

I'm a ghost, I'm a ghost
And I'm lost
Broken down the middle of my heart
I'm broken down the middle

I'm a ghost haunting these halls
Climbing up walls that I never knew were there
And I'm lost
Broken down the middle of my heart
I'm broken down the middle of my heart

You know you make me a ghost
You know you make me a ghost

Cheryl

 xXx 

"Windows" Shopping (09/11/11) - Polyvore!

I know, I know... My post is late! Get over it...

Today's "Windows" Shopping post is going to be all about my latest obsession: Polyvore. It's a website I learned about through one of my favourite Bloggers: Boffism.

It's a magical place where you can create countless looks through photos of various clothing items, shoes, accessories and jewellery... In other words - heaven! I've found it as a place where I can express my personal style and create looks according to my mood...

You can see the looks I've created so far here.

Today, I'm particularly inspired by the hit-musical Grease (long story). It's been one of my favourite musicals since I first saw it on Italia Uno when I was about 8... The songs, the costumes, Olivia & John... What's not to love - seriously! Anyways, so inspired was I by this timeless musical, that I've created 2 "Sandy" looks - the preppy one, and the kick-ass one...

 Sandy One

Sandy Two

I'm also considering creating sets for each of the Pink Ladies too... We'll see...

Hope you enjoyed my short fashion post!

Cheryl

 xXx 

Musicology (08/11/11) - Ingrid Michaelson

It is only fitting, I believe, that my first Musicology post be dedicated specifically to my favourite artist ever - Ingrid Michaelson. Now why exactly is she so great...?

Glad you asked...

Ten Reasons Why Ingrid Michaelson KICKS ASS:

1. Her lyrics. Seriously, the way she uses unusual metaphors "I will unravel my love / Like an old red woollen glove" (Lady In Spain)
2. She wrote Cheryl Cole's hit single Parachute! Then went on to record a kick-ass version of it. Her version?
3. Her wacky sense of humour. Don't believe me? Watch this
4. Her gigs are hilarious! I watched her live in May '10 in London, and she was amazing! This is just a little preview of her epicocity
5. She sounds better live than on record (if that is even possible)
6. Her duets are amazing. Winter Song ft. Sara Bareilles  ; You & I  ; I'll See You In My Dreams
7. She dresses amazingly! It's like a mix between casual, girly, street-smart... I <3 IT! 
8. Her ukulele has a red ribbon tied to it... Like a trade-mark of her Ingrid-ness.... xD
9. Epic dance-moves while covering a Britney song (all the while making the song sound a million times better than Britney ever could...
10. She wrote this

However, don't take my word for it... Check her out yourselves and get lost in all her Ingridness!!

Ingrid's YouTube Channel

Ingrid's Website

Ingrid's Tumblr

Cheryl

 xXx

Short Story (07/11/11) - It All Happened On A Saturday Night...

Captain's Log: Saturday 11th November, 19:00 hours.

The sea looks like it's calming down here, despite the sudden activity at the port side. It seems like the vessel is safe. All crew are accounted for.

We continue our journey through the strange lake, wary of the dangers that have been recorded here. Sightings of a large creature have been recorded, and warnings about whirlpools strong enough to pull vessels down to the depths are greatly talked about.

Still we venture on...

The water is quite warm here, though it's cooling rapidly as the time is passing. Visibility started out very low, with the appearance of foam-like clouds on the surface of the water, but they have since disappeared, leaving just the clear water.

Captain's Log: Saturday 11th November, 19:30hours.

Navigation to Captain's quarters: We have sightings of a strange creature just ahead! Request permission to investigate further.

Order a longboat and 10 of our bravest crew members to be sent out to investigate. We might finally discover the true nature of the mysterious creature which has all of the naval world in awe. 

Longboat to Captain's quarters: So far nothing unusual to report, however a slight change in sea currents has been noted. We seem to be pulled slightly north of the target.

Captain's Log: Saturday 11th November, 19:35 hours.

Longboat to Captain's quarters: Request permission to abort mission! The currents are growing by the second, and a whirlpool has formed just north-west of our vessel. REQUEST PERMISSION TO ABORT MISSION! 

*connection lost*

Captain's Log: Saturday 11th November, 19:36 hours.

Tonight we have lost 10 of our best crewmen. We have aborted our journey and are returning home. The whirlpool formed in a matter of seconds, mercilessly engulfing the vessel and all those aboard it......

"Jimmy, what have I told you about playing army ships in the bath? Come on, time for bed... Don't worry, we'll get you a new boat tomorrow."

Cheryl
 xXx 

Don't You Hate It When...? (04/11/11) - Hover-mania

Why hello there! Today is one of the best days of the week... FRIDAY! 

However, I've decided to dedicate my Friday posts to things that people do that annoy the frig out of me... 


Today's post is all about one thing that some people do, that always makes me want to punch them in the face, and that is hovering over my shoulder to look at my PC monitor. I've been living with this pet peeve for my whole life. In fact, I can remember a few times when my younger sister got yelled at spontaneously by me whilst looking over my shoulder while was playing a computer game... Don't ask me to elaborate why it causes me to lose my mind - I don't know... I just hate the feeling that someone is watching what I'm doing so intently... 

Now, if this was just happening to me at home, then it wouldn't be such a problem, as by now my family have got used to me and avoid doing it. But, at work it's a different story. As most of you know, I work as a clerk at the University of Malta, and so have I have to keep my annoyance to myself, however, for fear of getting into trouble for randomly letting the "guilty" party from having it, and for obvious reasons.So you can imagine my frustration when a group of students come to book a tutorial and stand right behind me as they do so... As if they were checking that I've booked them properly or something... Sometimes I'd just like to smack them all upside the head with my keyboard, but I think that it might be frowned upon by HR, so I refrain from doing so.

It still doesn't make it less annoying though...


Cheryl
 xXx

On A More Serious Note... (13/11/11) - Life is Unfair

This is just a post from "angry" me...

Lately I've been witnessing some things that have left me wondering why we humans are the way we are (ie. selfish, insensitive, materialistic, power-hungry and money-driven)... These words, I admit, are a bit harsh, but that doesn't make them less true. And so, I start racking my brain to try to find a plausible reason as to why we are the way we are...

If we were to compare ourselves to, say, monkeys, we can notice some advances in our anatomies as well as brains when it comes to intellect and intelligence. Now, being raised a Roman Catholic and attending an all-girl church school, I was taught that we became this way because God (on a whim) gathered some dust and made himself a few living dolls... Now, having studied Biology at both Ordinary and Advanced level, I know that we actually got this way by evolution... I still believe that God created life and so on, I just don't take the Bible literally anymore... (I mean, come on... a talking snake?!)


I digress... I meant to state that we have managed to evolve and develop from the creatures that we can call our great (to the power of x) grandparents into (supposedly) more intelligent beings, with the ability to make decisions by thinking, not just by instinct, and to (according to the Bible) "have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." (Genesis 1:28)


Can I just say one thing?

We done messed up y'all!

I mean, which other specie can take the blame for greenhouse gasses, for the annihilation of most of our rainforests, for the suffering of literally millions of people and for the mass killing of not just other species, but of our own kind?! We are the only species who kill each other out of the sheer sport of it. When a lion attacks another lion, it does so instinctively, to protect it's status in the pride - and even then they don't kill each other... When two deer fight and harm each other using their antlers, it's to prove which is the more "mate-able" (men... *sigh*) But when has an elephant intentionally forced tens or hundreds of other elephants to fight and kill each other for a resource which is technically the Earth's? When have we ever known of "homeless" or "starving" chimps? When has a whale ever hunted a dolphin for sport?

We're supposed to be more intelligent, more advanced, and we're supposed to be the ones looking out for each other, and for the world we're living in. Instead we've ended up fighting over other people's mistakes, almost forcing numerous species into extinction just to have another coat hung in our wardrobes and we've forgotten one of the very first things we learn when we're still toddlers: sharing.

Since when does all of the World's oil just belong to the people of the country who just happened to be born there? Since when is it right to live in a mansion when just around the corner a family of children search through trash cans to find their daily meal? And, the thing that urks me most, since when is a piece of green paper worth more than a human life?

We can't go on like this... I know that not everyone does these atrocious things, but the fact that we're all just fine with them happening is just as bad. I just wish I had a solution. I wish that I could just snap my fingers and that money would never have been invented; that every child born would have a loving home; that everyone of every race, colour, belief, ability, weight, status, sexual preference and gender would be seen as one and the same. Because we are one and the same. We are not defined by what label is on our clothing, but by how we treat each other and the world we're living in.


That's all from my end...


I'd just like to share with you some clips that inspired this whole post.

Cheryl
 xXx

"Windows" Shopping (02/11/11) - Accessorize Bags

Today's post is gonna be all about online shopping... Yeah, I know, very materialistic, but a girl's gotta love what a girl's gotta love, right?

My biggest (and most recent) predicament at the moment is online shopping... I had just recently figured out that both New Look and Accessorize  deliver to Malta, and the understatement is that I was thrilled... The only downside is (of course) money... Ugh, I hate that horrid word... 

Now, seeing as how I'm no fashion guru, I just go by on my own personal taste - plus some help from Glamour magazine and a few YouTube beauty channels... Today I'm mostly going to be focusing on bags, courtesy of www.accessorize.com

 

The first contender calls out to my inner-15-year-old...  The floral print, the slouchy-but-feminine look... I adore it!

This black and white one just screamed Audrey Hepburn to me... And, who in their right minds can resist Audrey...?

I'm not really a clutch-purse type of girl, but this flowery one totally won me over... I wouldn't mind holding onto this for a whole night...

This is one bag I would not mind owning... The dots, the gold accents, the size, the chain strap... Elegance par excellence...!

Last but not least is this gorgeous weekend-bag, which I have a particular affinity for... (those things can carry almost everything in them!)

I tried to choose a bag from each category (Satchels, shoulder bags, clutches, cross-body & weekend bags) that most suit my style (which, as you can see, is quite random... I'd love to see what you guys like and don't like! 

Cheryl

 xXx

Hejters Kijp Hejtink... ;)

And now, boys and girls, time for a little lesson in self-defence...!

(Not really...) 

If you check the links at the bottom of the Cherology page, you'll see one named My YouTube Channel. Feel free to click it and watch some of my videos - mostly me singing to myself. There's also that 'Cuz I'm Maltese one that has been up for about 2 and a half years and has, for reasons unknown to me, attracted a sudden wave of attention. *

For the most part, any foreigners or Maltese people who watched it and liked it, just left me short messages to which I replied very happily with "Thanks!". However, unfortunately, some people - mostly Maltese, I'm sad to admit - felt the compelling need to either insult me, my family (God knows why), and anyone who dared stick up for me virtually...

Now, I'm not saying that everyone should like my videos... Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, and I accept that and enforce it. By all means, if anyone feels that they can provide me with some constructive - note the emphasis on the word "constructive" (THERE IT IS AGAIN!!) - criticism, they can leave their thoughts in the comment section below ;) that's what it's there for, after all... However, if you're going to use the comments as an excuse to vent out your frustrations in a purely infantile and, let's just be frank, like an asshole, then your comments are in no way welcome, and will be dealt with in one of two ways, depending on the severity of the comment: 

1: A witty comeback (thank God for Blackadder, I learnt a few useful things), instructions to not watch the video if, indeed, I had offended them so
2: If they don't get the hint, and keep littering my comment section with their idiocy, I just delete their comments altogether (I have no use for negativity...)

**DISCLAIMER: Some comments might be so idiotic in either their wording, or the actual point of the comment, that I decide to leave them there purely for comedic purposes... I invite you to read some of them through if you ever have some free time on your hands...**

There were a couple of asshats who were so frustrated by my "offensive" video, that they even tried to find me on facebook (good luck with that) and left horrible comments on the only video they could find of me, which had been uploaded by a friend of mine. It happened to be of me singing (for a change), but of course, their comments had nothing to do with the content of the video, and everything to do with the fact that they had nothing better to do with their time. I have included a censored print screen of the offending duo (here called the Wicked Witch of the North and the Wicked Witch of the South). Enjoy:

I (luckily) don't know them personally, but from their comments, I can tell that they are both highly intelligent human beings whom hold great regard for other people's feelings... (not) As if that weren't enough, one of them even tried to add me as a friend on facebook... I'm sorry, but some people are absolutely, insanely stupid.... Yeah, sure, of course I'll accept your friend request, you lunatic! I love being harassed by strangers who are (quoting a friend of mine) "hamalli jintnu pesti bl-IQ forma ta' doughnut" ("stinky chavs with IQs in the shape of a doughnut" for any non-Maltesers) - which, in my humble opinion, describes them perfectly....

Haha, seems I've run out of time... Thanks again for reading my posts! 

Cheryl
 xXx 

*I have since removed the video from my YouTube channel as it was distracting attention from my singing and blog videos... Cheryl

First Post....

Why not start with a short introduction... Seems about right, no?

My name is Cheryl, and I'm an average 22-year-old... Well, when I say "average", I mean "still-trying-to-figure-out-exactly-what-I-want-from-life-whilst-trying-to-make-the-best-of-what-I-already-have"

Now if that isn't average, then I don't know what is ;)

The reason why I decided to set up this blog was basically because I need a creative outlet to show the many sides of myself - thus the blog title "Cherology" - whether it's music I'm currently into, fashion trends - though I'm no fashion blogger, I do love clothes! - make-up experiments, a short story I might be in the mood to write, or maybe even something a bit more personal... Maybe this blog will help me sort out all the commotion inside my head, as well as serve as a form of entertainment to those who read it...

I hope you'll enjoy some Cherology! Feel free to leave any comments below!

Cheryl

 xXx