This Gentle Universe

1. I will admire women and not wish to be them

2011-06-24T10:23:00.000-07:00

There's a change of direction...

2011-06-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

In this blog.

It will now focus on resolutions, because that's where I need to be right now :)

2010-10-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

So this is pretty amazing. These sort of pictures I lived in just a year or so ago...

I was thinking about how much time I spend on the internet myself recently - I've been able to cut down quite a lot, due to many factors. One - I've been busy with applying to uni. Two - I've been reading quite a bit. I've finally got to the point where concise quotes with meaning don't matter that much to me, I sort of miss the genuine nature of paper in books, the thinking process - I think I've finally managed to convince myself to stop searching for the answer on blogs. Isn't that what we often do, I wonder? Am I the only one? Going through thousands of pictures, quotes, in the case of NOT tumblr - going though articles. Sometimes I really do feel like I have found something, something inspirational, but on the other hand, it's sort of closed up a whole world of possible sources of inspiration about me. I remember being able to write an epic about a red 'stop' button on a bus. Is it me, or the internet? I wonder sometimes, just what effect it has on creativity...

I have a new laptop!

2010-10-09T11:32:00.001-07:00

Last week, the life of my Asus ended with a virus from TV Shack (I KNEW I shouldn’t have gone on it, damn my love of One Tree Hill), so I had to live off my mother’s for a while. Good for my internet addiction of course, but bad because any task took twice as long to complete.

Now though (as the old one is beyond repair – even the disk drive doesn’t work! So I can’t reinstall Windows) I have a wonderful Dell Inspiron in PINK. I can’t believe it myself to be honest, but there we are, it’s shiny and lovely. And I finally have Windows 7! I haven’t quite got the hang of using all the features yet, but it’s certainly fantastic, just for the post-it notes app :P

Guillaume Nery base jumping at Dean's Blue Hole, filmed on breath hold b...

2010-09-22T10:21:00.000-07:00

This is insane.

The Big Memory Share

2010-09-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

Today I found this amazing site, developed by the Leeds Memory Group - The Big Memory Share. It's a survey, where you can submit your earliest memory and the memory you consider the most striking - for instance 9/11 or Diana's death.

Here's what I submitted as my earliest memory:

Trams and construction

This memory composes of two parts - I believe my earliest memory to be of myself as a child of 3 on a tram going to my grandparents' house. The seats were shiny red, to sit on them was a privilage in rush hour. I remember having my little red oval bag that used to belong to my mother and feeling proud and grown-up to be carrying it. Later in that memory I remember weeping when I got home, because I couldn't find my construction set that I used to love playing with, one I believe I forgot at said house.Specifically, I vaguely remember the layout of the apartment where I was looking for it and what the set looked like - mostly reds and greens and how I could construct a cylindrical tower with it. This memory seems brighter in my head as I remember the negative emotions more vividly.

My flashbulb memory entry is as follows:

9/11

All I remember is feeling like it was an exciting film until I realised it was real and all I felt was 'adult'. What struck me the most that day was the fact that we had our American friends visit that day and they drank, laughed and talked happily, saying it wasn't any of their relatives or friends hurt. I couldn't understand it. My grandfather seemed more concerned about it than them. This frustrated me the most about the day.

You can also read other people's earliest memories, there are some funny and sad ones...

Song On The Radio

I think my earliest memory is from when I was 4 or 5 years old. It was one summer when we were in our old house - we moved when I was 6. I can remember swinging on the swing in the garden and it was a sunny summers day. My parents had the radio outside and the Bangles song 'Eternal Flame' was playing. I swung higher and higher in time to the music and song along at the top of my voice...but I was too young to know the word 'eternal' and sung 'is this burning, an e-turtle flame' instead! It didn't make sense but I thought they were singing about turtles.

Female, 25 Northern Irish

Parents Arguing

My parents were rowing and broke my doll's hairbrush in the row

Female, 58 English

My Mother Returning From Hospital With My Baby Sister

I remember that morning sitting in our kitchen with my grandmother looking after me. I was three weeks away from being 3 when my sister was born. I remember having rice crispies for my breakfast and a red plastic toy falling out of the box into my cereal bowl. I remember seeing an ambulance drawer up outside as I looked through our kitchen window. It was a grey October day. I remember my mother walking down the drive in her dressing gown and holding my baby sister. I don't remember the colour of her dressing gown or the baby's shawl or anything else that happened during that day or the days ahead but those pictures are very vivid in my mind.

Female, 39 English

2010-09-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

Things I adore Thursday

Getting the public bus, my oversized and cheap pink watch, small classes, my feathered headband, getting results from things I do, pinky promises, people looking forward to my creative writing club, writing letters, Inception, physics and the amazing things our universe can do, how the birch tree tries so hard to spread seeds everywhere, giving birthday presents, doing the shopping with the Giraffe, getting lasagne out of the oven - cooked and magically tasty, autumn sun, old earrings, a trip downtown with old friends for lunch and reading Una Bella Vita and understanding what effect this lovely place had on my life, realising I know some talented people, like Sophie with her photography and of course hugs.

The song and the video is just old school and gorgeous!

Fantastic film.

LOVE

Some Gentle Inspiration

2010-08-20T10:11:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to write about this ever since I visited the John Hansard Gallery in Southampton. I love looking at art online, but nothing beats a real, quiet, 3 dimensional gallery experience.

The exhibition that is currently on is called Ground Level. The whole concept is centred around cartography, the skill of making precise maps of areas. However, this exhibition puts it's own spin on how this can be made into art.

What stuck me when I first walked in was the photograph of a stairway of a large concrete building and the lobby in between each flight of stairs. In the background, sounds representing each floor are played - a bottle braking, a woman talking, a child crying, something frying in the pan, low murmur of television, footsteps, etc.

Then, there is a photograph of another apartment block, a bird's view. Zoomed in are cigarette stubs, wrappers, rubbish, a valuable someone lost. It really brings all these bland places to life, giving them personality.

Of course, what had a bigger effect on me was a piece of modern art in the other room. In a white interior, a pair of headphones hang from a cieling and when you put them on, all you can her is a kind of a Morse code/sci-fi sounds which force the mind out of you and you begin to see things in the otherwise intangible canvas.

Sadly, there aren't any photographs of the exhibition yet on display, but here is a link to the gallery website. Fantastic!

Also , I found a lovely Etsy user's card and work there in the gallery, and here is a little sample of her goodies.

Absolutely adorable! here is her blog :)

Love and Inspiration <3

These Bubble Pleasures

2010-08-04T06:01:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by mentioning the episode of Gilmore Girls where Rory goes on spring break to Florida with Paris. Since our Yale intellectuals aren’t really ‘spring break’ people and only come to the place to avoid the cold, they start off by staying in and watching movies. However, they vow that they will get the full experience of the spring break and begin on a quest by staying at the poolside, going to parties, doing ‘banana eating’ contests, to Paris’s great displeasure, watching giant ear bud fights and, at last, kissing each other (of course to try this side of spring break too, Paris is determined to be a perfectionist in EVERY area). Now, this actually irrelevant to what I wanted to talk about, but this episode makes me laugh.

My point is! Trying new things.

After coming back home after my first 7 hour shift at work, I definitely felt like relaxing. After having half a glass of wine on an empty stomach, I decided to have a bath. Now, what you need to know about me is that I’m definitely a shower person. I do the shower thing really well – I have all sorts of different flavoured shower gels, brushes and foams. They really are lovely, as is my walk-in shower. Being a shower person, however has lead me not to have a bath for the last 5 years. I’m not sure how this started, I just remember getting out of the bath one night and not seeing the point of it.

So, I got some candles out, some music, ran a nice hot bath ( I seem to remember baths are supposed to be hot), added bubble bath that I got one Christmas and never used and turned the lights out. Man, it looked good. The light reflecting off the bubbles, the lovely scent, the music – what else could you really wish for?

I must be some sort of a bath retard. Firstly, when I tried to get in, it was DEFINATELY too hot. I felt like my feet were on fire. So, I spent another 5 minutes adding cold water to it. That actually gave me some time to get cold and WANT to get in. Attempt number 2 was successful, as in, I actually managed to submerge my hesitant little body into the scrumptious-smelling ‘pond’ that I created. It felt good, really good for the first minute or so. Then, I realised that I’m definitely too hot and my heart is going at about 100 beats per minute. When I tried to get up, I got black patches in my eyes, so I had to sit there for a while and have a breather. This is not how it’s meant to be, right? So I got out, switch the lights on and decided to read. They say that’s amazingly relaxing too. I was determined to get the full experience. So I got my book and sat there reading it for a while. I guess by that time the water had cooled down somewhat, so it wasn’t too bad. Did I mention, the bubbles are really loud? As in, it was comparable to a flock of cicadas. So, I sat there for a further five minutes, got out, had a shower and went to bed with my laptop to watch The IT Crowd on 4oD to cheer myself up from my bathtub failure.

However, what did cheer me up is that when I went on Google to research this, the first thing that came up when I typed in ‘how to enjoy a ...’ the first thing was bath! I’m not the only one! Thank God for that! According to the first guide I read, the only thing missing from my list was a glass of wine DURING the bath or a cup of tea. However, after further research bath salt seems to be some sort of an essential, talking about essentials, it seems like I should dig out my essential oils as well (although I do wonder how many different smells I can take at one time : candles, bubble bath...), also, they recommend drinking a glass of cold water/soda which seems to make a lot more sense than a hot cuppa. Then, is is recommended to scrub your feet (not sure about this one, my feet seem just fine at the moment) and rubbing body lotion on after getting out. This one is definitely something I forgot to do yesterday after being so overwhelmed by my bath ineptness.

Of course you're supposed to read about helping your husband. In a bath. In his clothes. Silly me.

Now this does look pretty fun. GLOWSTICKS! Someone please buy me glowsticks.

A bath for the daring ones out there who do not fear electrocution and death

Eating is always good I guess, whatever you do.

Lush? Okay. I second that. Nothing like a bit of lush.

So I'm not quite 'digging' the whole fully clothed thing going oh here, but this photo is hauuutttt

So there we are! It seems I only made a couple of mistakes, so I plan to, sooner rather than later, to have another stab at having an enjoyable long bath without having a heart attack

Meanwhile, I found some info on Japanese baths on this site – apparantely you have a different theme for every month. August sounds fantastic because I la-la-la-la-love peppermint!

“The Bath Calendar

January - Matsu Yu (Pine bath). Enjoy the earthy, forest-green pine bath in the first month of the year. Branches of pine trees are used to decorate Japanese homes during the New Year to welcome the gods. Thus, it is considered auspicious to take pine baths in January to start off the year.

February - Daikon Yu (Daikon radish bath). The thought of bathing in radish may not sound too appealing, but what it may lack in terms of fragrance, it makes up for in vitamins known to help combat colds.

March - Yomogi Yu (Mugwort bath). Mugworts are herbs that have been in use for a long time in Europe as medicine and as beer flavorings. The Japanese use them in many of their traditional sweets. This is another herbal bath that has the aromatherapeutic qualities in relieving stress and helping you have a restful sleep.

April - Sakura Yu (Cherry blossoms bath) - What can be more Japanese than cherry blossoms? Cherry blossoms are gorgeous, pale pink flowers that bloom for no more than a week or so sometime in April. Scatter some petals in the bath and enjoy.

May - Shobu Yu (Iris bath) - A fragrant purple bath that contains the pun on the word "shobu", which can also mean "game match" in Japanese and was therefore commonly used to celebrate the birth of baby boys back in the Edo era. May 5th is Children's Day in Japan, but is actually a day to celebrate boys.

June - Dokudami Yu (Lizard's tail bath) - Not the real lizard's tail, but the plant that has a stem resembling the tail of a lizard and is considered a panacea in Japan.

July - Momo Yu (Peach bath) - Float real peaches in the bath if you have a few to spare. The minerals in peaches have nourishing effects on the skin and also provide protection against UV rays and sunburns in the summer month of July.

August - Hakka Yu (Peppermint bath) - Peppermint is a common ingredient found in many shampoos and soaps. Peppermints contain menthol, which has a refreshing and cooling quality that is perfect for one of the hottest months of the year.

September - Kiku Yu (Chrysanthemum bath) - In Chinese mythology (which has carried over to Japan), odd numbers are "bright numbers", giving energy to life and are therefore considered auspicious with September 9th being (9/9) the most auspicious of all. September is also the season for chrysanthemums. These flowers are thought to bestow long life and ward off bad luck.

October - Shoga Yu (Ginger bath) - A common herb/spice known around the world for medicinal properties that can relieve all sorts of discomforts, a ginger bath will warm you up on chilly October nights.

November - Mikan Yu (Mandarin orange bath) - The secret here is in the peel. Rich in vitamin C and citric acid, which are widely used in beauty products and cosmetics, this bath works wonders for your skin.

December - Yuzu Yu (Citron bath) - The citron is a highly fragrant fruit commonly used to add zest in Japanese dishes and teas. Like other "fruit baths", float the citrons in the bathtub for more fragrance and for enjoyment.”

2010-07-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

Things I love Thursday (inspired by Gala Darling herself of course)

www.xkcd.com

The flower I over-watered and nearly killed a couple of months ago flowering again, cinnamon bagels , nice tights, Cath Kidston notebook, doing some research on Student Finance, my friend Abbie making handmade ice-cream and how good she looks with her new haircut, sugary mint tea, switching music from acoustic to upbeat on the bus and finally waking up, lessons being cut short, going for coffee and discussing next year’s group girly holiday with the lovely blonde and charming Stacey, how vanilla ice-creamy milkshake and espresso make a great combination, being complemented, getting a smile from a stranger on the sweet, my Biology teacher’s stories about being addicted to Lucozade tablets and Red Bull during exams, my turtle necklace, the fact that my sister gives me surprise hugs, discussing summer plans with my significant other, Wellies and The IT Crowd, possibly the best comedy ever created.

Thank you world!

Shoes

2010-07-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

At the age of 12, I was very excited to get my first set of personalised pencils. As sad as it may sound, I loved the fact that my name was engraved in little gold letters on each of the pencils. The pencils were a leaving present from primary school. It was special, because my unusual name ‘Nataliya’ wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to find in gift shops. Teddies, pencils, rubbers and other flashing, squidgy or useful goodies seemed to be biased – the Amys, Kates and Sophies of this world were at the time, a little luckier than me ;)

Since then I loved all things personal and personalised. It’s the reason I treasure my friends’ handmade paper cranes, drool over Etsy’s online treasures and, of course, make my own things!

Last year, I decided to make some poetry shoes. It’s the easiest and cheapest thing to make in the world: all you need is some cheap white CANVAS shoes (see how appropriate?) and two fabric markers. The markers, as I remember, were around two pounds each from a crafts store and the shoes were about 1.50 from Primark, no joke. I bought both on a day out with a friend, so of course I came home lovely and inspired.

I started with something like this...

And ended up with this!

The poem on the shoes is by Wendy Cope

We hugged a tree last night,

And all of us enjoyed it

Ecstatic, by moonlight,

We hugged a tree last nigh

Trees can't put up a fight

That oak could not avoid it

We hugged a tree last night

I hope the tree enjoyed it

I love poetry. What do you love? Why not let your shoes speak for you?

Canvas kisses and speaking soles ;)

2010-07-09T11:16:00.001-07:00

i don't love you, but i always will, originally uploaded by jill willcott.

Wow - doesn't this little video have a charm? I'm planning on taking some pictures for a stop-motion when I go on holiday to the beautiful Crete in a week.

Project 'You Are Beautiful'

2010-07-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

I've been in love with this website ever since I first read about it on Una Bella Vita.
The website forms a collection of images, where the message 'You are beautiful' is written on pavements, billboards, post-its, doors and walls from all over the world.

"You Are Beautiful is a simple, powerful statement which is incorporated into the over absorption of mass media and lifestyles that are wrapped in consumer culture.

The intention behind this project is to reach beyond ourselves as individuals to make a difference by creating moments of positive self realization. We're just attempting to make the world a little better.

Intention is the most important aspect of the You Are Beautiful project in its idea of purity. Nothing is sacred. Everything that has a perceived value becomes commodified. We work extremely hard that this message is received as a simple act of kindness, and nothing more.

Advertising elicits a response to buy, where this project elicits a response to do something. The attempt with You Are Beautiful is to create activism instead of consumerism.

You Are Beautiful uses the medium of advertising and commercialization to spread a positive message.
Projects like these make a difference in the world by catching us in the midst of daily life and creating moments of positive self realization." - The satatement of the website

What a wonderful thought! I say let's spread the message! Why not leave a surprise post-it for someone? Or just leave a ticket stub on a bus like I did? It certainly made me feel very Amelie-esque leaving a surprise message like that for someone, I can't wait to do it again!

(Sorry about the poor picture quality, the bus was shaking quite a lot)

Now - a bit of 'beautiful' nostalgia!

LOVE!

2010-07-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

Good evening/afternoon/morning, wherever you are!

I want to do this to my room. And I shall! I plan to make clouds.

Today, I dare you to wait till 11:11 and make a wish!

Paper crane pecks and lovely ladders

Tallie

images by the talented A.J. Poquette and shebopbop

Origami

2010-07-03T14:07:00.000-07:00

I have something special prepared for part 3 of my Creative Communication series, but since I would like to spend a fair amount of time of the last part, I thought I'd share one of the first things I loved about how useful browsing can be.

You can learn anything.

Really, so many wonderful helpful skills can be acquired over video tutorials, from cooking, to make-up, to making paper cranes.

So, one typical day I was browsing the Internet after reading the legend of the Japanese girl and paper cranes and looked at images like these...

A 1000 paper cranes display made by a youth project

They are all so pretty, come in all sorts of shapes, forms and varieties, making wonderful displays! What a skill to have, no? So, I found a video online and learnt how to make them with plain paper

All sorts of websites recommend you buy special origami paper, but for this purpose ( and to avoid any putting off ;) ) I suggest googling the word 'print', choosing your favourite and printing it double sided on a piece of paper, if you want to make a pretty patterned one after you've had a bit of practise.

Here's my first ever attempt at making one

It didn't go perfectly, but I decorated it with a bit of lace.

Here's a video tutorial on how to make them. Enjoy!

Origami love!

All images from Google Images apart from last one which is my own

2010-07-02T10:05:00.000-07:00

Creative Communication or How to Maintain Wonderfullness

Part 2

The lost art of letter-writing

Emailing is efficient. Instant messaging is fast. Facebook commenting is easy.

But, darling dear, consider this. Can you put a dry flower, one you picked last summer with your sweetheart in the burning sun, lovingly covered with tissue paper and placed in between pages of a world atlas, only to be uncovered a year later, in an email? Can you scribble out unwanted words in an email? Could you sprinkle edible glitter inside a wall post? Can you spray a message with perfume?

I think not. And I am a true believer in writing letters. My penpals consist of my friends all over the country who write poetry and the wonderful Mila from http://mila-loveology.blogspot.com/

Every time I get out a pen and paper, I think of myself as a Bronte character, or one of the sisters in Pride and Prejudice. When I write a letter I weigh each word like a reactant in making aspirin, I look after my handwriting and feel magical. In the same way I feel magical receiving a letter on my front door, in an unusual envelope that’s different to the boring bank statements or advertisement mail. The excitement of peeling off the tab, or ripping it carefully, peering inside, taking out the letter and the treasures, one by one – why would anyone pass that by?

So why not surprise someone lovely with a letter?

Here are some letters I received in the last couple of months

Fairy sneezes inside :)

I got this just a couple of days ago from my friend Kate Strange. Apart from an unusual name, that girl also posesses an incredible creative ability in everything she does, oh and! she knows me SO well :)

My love for Audrey Hepburn, poetry and paper cranes. The whole letter is written in real vintage ink!

When I write, I use multicoloured gel pens (because let's face it, we don't grow out of it) and Cath Kidston stationary. It's to die for.

Get your pens out, ladies and gentlemen!

images from google

2010-07-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

Creative Communication or How To Maintain Wonderfulness

Part 1

In my book, there is nothing better in this gentle universe than communicating with other people. A day spent alone for me, though may be therapeutic for the first couple of hours, leads to total downfall in my spirits. I could spend the day working out, writing, reading, laying in bed watching The IT Crowd...what have you, but if I hadn’t discussed it with someone, that’s it. The positivity’s lost. The trouble with me is that I live in a teeny tiny village in what seems to be the middle of nowhere of the midlands. Furthermore, I am ridiculous at driving and still haven’t passed my driving test, so the possibility of taking off ‘downtown’ to see my friends is scarce, as there is only one bus an hour going through my village which stops at 6 pm. Still, the countryside’s lovely.

So what do I do? Wehey, take out my phone or, more likely, go online. As do thousands of people out there.

One of the wonderful things you can do on the internet is communicating with people from other countries. You learn new languages, experience their culture through their eyes and make new friends by creating connections worldwide.

You know what the problem with that is? You only make that connection virtually and as long as you keep in touch, that will be there, but in reality – that contact can disappear with a couple of mouse clicks! The problem with contacts like that is that, as easily as they are made, international friends can be just as easily lost, not quite fulfilling its purpose.

So, how about instead of spending that extra hour a day online, use that extra hour by getting a/another job at MacDonald’s and working there for 2 months? You save up some dollaz, you buy a plane ticket and *poof* you fly out there and spend a weekend with your penpal practising your lingo. Sound good? What’s stopping you?

Although I don’t have an international penpal like that, I retained a close relationship with my friend who lives approximately 4 hours away like that, making an effort every year to save up for a trip down to London for a weekend of catching up. Furthermore, I know someone who did exactly what I recommend! He met a Swedish girl on studentsoftheworld.com and after conversing for a couple of months made a trip to Sweden to meet her and her family and experience the culture.

So, it is very very possible indeed. Plus, the advice doesn’t only affect students. You can be working full time and be continuously stressed out, but an experience like that would totally shake and freshen you up. Thus, I dare you, breathe that international air!

2010-07-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

The inspiration...

...In this gentle universe. Looking at beautiful images for inspiration has to be one of the most time-consuming things that I do online. There are so many talented artists and photographers out there that it’s easy to get lost in the world of flickr.com, weheartit.com and other websites and blogs that are aimed at inspiring you with a waterfall of creative juice.

Waterfalls are dangerous. It can knock you out and drown you. The number of times I’ve sat in my comfy seat to the point of backache and thought – ‘Jesus Christ! I’m never going to create something as beautiful as this!’ You know why? Because it’s 2 am in the morning, I’m tired and it’s going to take too long to get my paints/pencils/magazines out. A lot of the time I look mindlessly, enjoying my experience, which, a lot of the time is beneficial for the soul but in too large quantities can leave you with a lot of time down the frying pan and nothing of your own to show the world.

So, what I have now decided to do is to go out there in search of something and use my inspiration to create, every time. By the way, you don’t need any sort of artistic skill to create. Believe you me, many things I’ve seen online have been made out of random materials with a sense of humour – they still inspired me. Therefore, nowadays I tend to choose a theme, save images and create moodboards. I think of it as a sort of a chewing gum for the heart. Nothing difficult, all you need is a corkboard, some scissors, blu tack and a printer.

Here are some images I liked on weheartit.com...

As you can see, at the time I was into balloons. So, I printed off these pictures and some other ones, added a couple of magazine cutouts, bits of tissue paper, an old CD, some cute handmade finds from my drawer and voila! A lovely moodboard to brighten my day.

Now go, get those lovely scissors and paper out and make one yourself!

Lots of love, starry eyed and paper-hyped Tallie

All images found on weheartit.com except last 3, which are my own.

You found me! Welcome :)

2010-07-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

The Fantastic Carnival of The Internet

In this carnival, the sound of the accordion and the drums is replaced by, mind you, not any old, but recommended for you boxes, all begging your attention on YouTube. Mystic Meg replaces the traditional gypsy with cards and a drawn-on, but frightfully stylish black dot of a mole under the upper lip. You can also pay a visit to a personal fortune-teller, but it’ll cost you – on average 40 pounds per hour, all in the comfort of your computer chair, with no needed display of emotion over an instant personal messenger of your choice. If the music, blagging and twittering gets to you, you can also visit a quiet spot of Wiki books. Sadly, some pages are missing – as we know, free cheese comes only in a mousetrap. Of course there’s nothing like going down to the carnival for the lights and the toys. Apparently, to have a monthly game of World Of Warcraft costs 15 green ones, but here, a mask of a muscular figure is guaranteed. You can even ride around on an elephant. Ultimately of course, we sure like to dress up for a carnival and let others know of our presence. You see, wearing a mask makes you tired after a while during the night, so from time to time you might feel the need to declare your love for someone on Facebook and join a few dozens of groups that represent exactly how you feel about life. You will ‘heart’ or ‘star’, if Flickr is the case, pointing excitedly to the decorations and pixel peering into other people’s lives. Munching on a delicious crusty toffee apple of anonymous chats on Omegle, you will go home tired after a busy night.

Still, after all that, spending a couple of shillings is the least of my problems. I started to see my addiction to the internet on a plane to Ukraine. I kept sort of reaching out for my phone, which contained all the life-important apps like Facebook, YouTube and Flickr. With nothing but Biffy Clyro to fill my ears I began thinking up all these status updates I could post like ‘I want a stewardess outfit, maybe then I’ll look like the ladies from the Virgin airplanes advert’. Then of course I went into the ethical considerations of glamorising flight travel with the amount of CO2 released, the issues of objectification of women, my mind was cast to the marvellous Sarah Maple and I reached out for my I-d magazine. Then the vicious cycle began again.

You see, I love the internet. It gives me constant inspiration and ideas, the means to communicate and connect. However, in my experience (and I could bet you anything I’m not alone here), the time spent online for me has become, in many ways, a replacement of real adventures that I could spend those precious tick-tocks on. Thus, I vow to use the vast and colorful festival that is the internet to my advantage, dip not only my toes, but my hands and fingers into the vast bubble bath of knowledge out there, minimize the time staring at the pixels and maximize the power that the Internet gives me. And of course, I invite you to join me on this journey ;)