Mums know best

Dear All

There are no other words than those of my sincere apology to any and all of you who seldom check in here to see what the weirdest species of this planet are up to. There is no other reason for our absence than a simple "just didn't have time" excuse. I know how you must feel. It must be the same feeling that I get when I hear Lalita's answering machine say to me "I am not really in the mood of picking the phone even though I am sitting 5 steps away from it, so leave a message after the tone. Or not, I don't really care" or something along those lines.

So are we now going to be one of those couples who fight and then one of them acts like nothing has happened and go on living like usual, hoping that the other will come around too ? As annoying as that must be, I'll do just the same. Ignorance is bliss !!

We are currently on our second work placements and I am working at a special needs school. I work with some of the most beautiful children and some of the warmest hearts to have been blessed to this world. It wasn't the most ideal place in accordance to my aspirations but I am very glad I ended up here. It has been my honour to see this world in a different light and to realise that love needs no words for its introduction. It is purely in the act, the smile and the way you look at someone. There are angels on this earth in every corner but we are made not to see them. Our loss.

I have been swarmed by extra stress recently which gives me a water-tight alibi that I have not been up to my dark lord-ly ways (I am afraid I am losing my touch). With all my due busyness, I felt that I had to write this blog post today. My mum has left this snow cold city for our warm hometown glory, for three weeks. When she left, I thought to myself "How bad could it be ? ". Turns out very. I am now in charge of everything from waking up on my own to not only feeding myself but also my sisters and my dad. I could almost write a book about my hardships faced in my first week (so 3 books by the end of 3 weeks) but doing that would mean that I had time to breath, which I didn't. Not until now I haven't. The worst part is that I am not even at the liberty to complain about the matter because my mother, that petite little thing with an un diagnosed border line OCD of cleanliness does all of these things all day every day 365 days of the year. I don't think I can actually do this any longer than I am required to do. I have almost started to lose my temper which I have been sworn (on the life of harry potter) to keep under control (we're only into our first week of this un-voluntary social experiment).
The evenings are lonely and the TV is boring without her. No one sings to the theme music of The Secret Circle or suggests that they should put that on before and after every advert break. I have reached the conclusion that mums have special super powers like Clark Kent (because that's the only explanation)
So don't under estimate the power of mums because even with all the crap she gets from everyone at home, she still smiles for you when you want and makes you feel warm no matter how cold it is outside. Most of all she is the very best you've got.

“Some are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together.”

With love
Emily xx

Am I alone in thinking ?

So what's the commotion Emily, I hear you ask. It can't possibly the "in" thing to do because not everyone is doing it. It’s only a chosen few that have the nerve to do it every single freaking time. It's like Leon Doyle from The Apprentice said in the last episode "I should just become the apprentice, you know" because he came up with this stupid idea of calling their brand of cat food "lucky fish", yeah that should get him the win. It's like being big headed and letting everyone know that you have a massive big head and it grew so big that it actually split in to two. It's like trying to kiss yourself because you are awesome. Its liking your own status on face book . . . . .

I'll try and keep this short since this post comes under the category of rant and as much as we all love to rant, it can get out of hand. So there "was" this person (I am sure the person is still "is", but the reason for writing "was" will soon be revealed) on my face book account who constantly "liked " every status that they posted. And when I say every status, I mean every status. Ok, I'll give you an example

Annoying person: I just fell and broke all my bones and now I am in a vegetative state

Annoying person likes this

WTF!

OK, I kind of made that up BUT the point is that this person a) advertise every detail of their life on facebook b) like every detail that is advertised. As I see it, they have no life.

Ok, moving on, as you all know I, Emily lake have a bit of a temper and I can’t keep quite about things that annoy me. Only a bit! So I wrote my status something like this

Emily Lake: What's with people liking their own statuses? News flash, it's not cool so stop doing it.

Surprisingly I got a lot of "positive" responses about the lameness of the discussed action. However certain someone took it to heart and posted a very angry status and then . .... .. . Liked it.

This lead to a decrease of one person in my friend list as I realised that I was burning too much of my own blood and deleted the annoying person.

Weeks passed like days and I was once again happy as a bunny. Smiling, laughing and high five-ing friends until . . . . Dan Dan Dan. The virus infected another "friend". It saddens me that the infection has now evolved and the host not only likes their own statuses with the most horrible grammar known to man but also "likes" their own pictures in which they are sitting alone and smiling and posing like it's going to land them a part in America's next top model.

So . . . .Am I alone in thinking ?

Emily xxx

It's Not Sad

It has never been my practise before to start writing a blog post with no title, no subject and pretty much no idea where it’s going to go. I would not choose to start doing this now, if it were not for the dark forces at work. Ok, there aren’t really any dark forces, I’ve just been watching a lot of Harry Potter (there can never be too much HP) - 8 movies in 2 days, which is not bad if I say so myself. Since we finished out exams on May 20^th, I have been dedicating a large portion of my time to chilling out, and why not? All I’m looking forward to is exam re-sits in August and more university in September [insert sad face here], so for now I plan to spend time doing what I love: crocheting a blanket, completing a 3000 piece jigsaw, watching movies. I’m planning a Lord of the Rings movie marathon this Friday if anyone wants to join me. I’m not bothering anyone, my mum doesn’t mind, so what’s the problem I hear you ask?

A certain person who shall remain nameless (it’s not Amanda or Kathleen) has been bugging me pretty much every day to write something on the blog. The problem, however, is that I haven’t done anything that I deem blog worthy, and therefore I have nothing to write. This person refuses to listen, and won’t accept my explanation, and so we arrive at the problem: what to write? It’s come to the point where I have to write something, anything, or say no in a very blunt way. It probably doesn’t help matters that I have a stubborn streak a mile wide when I’m told to do something I don’t want to. However, I rate friendship as slightly more important than an internet diary, and so here is my anything.  If you don’t like it I don’t really care, to be perfectly honest.  

3 chapters in, I have decided on a subject to discuss. I was almost tempted to write a one-line post and leave it at that, but I would not be happy with myself and the quality of my work. Therefore, I have decided to discuss doing activities alone, since it’s a subject that I think some people regard as a social taboo. I’m not talking about being alone constantly, and having to do everything by yourself, just sometimes, occasionally, choosing to be alone. First off, I would like to say, it’s not sad: hence the title of my post.  About 6 or 7 weeks ago, I went to see Scream 4 alone. I went into the cinema by myself and asked for one ticket. Be warned, you will get a few strange looks, and the ticket person will ask you if you only want the one ticket, but that’s pretty much the only downside. You can see the film you want to see, you don’t have to share your arm rests and you can sit wherever you want. Whoever said cinema was supposed to be a social activity anyway? You go there, to sit in absolute silence not even looking at your friends, and then you leave. Really social.  I admit that it’s fun to talk about the movie afterwards with your friends, but if you just want the fun element of actually watching a film, then going alone is fine. And if you are interested, the film was good. Not as good as Scream 1, but better than Scream 3. I for one did not predict the ending, despite whatever other people may claim they knew 20 minutes in or whatever.

Last week, also alone, I went to Regents Park for a walk. It was a spur of the moment thing, which really are the best kind of things. Just get up and go, no planning, no plans going horridly wrong. I got lost (it’s a big place) but it was ok, kind of like having an adventure, and then I got found again. I walked down the same walkway that is featured in the film The King’s Speech (really good, check it out) although it was much less foggy. I went to the inner circle of the park, a place I’ve never been before despite only living 20 minutes away, something which took all the navigational and map reading skills I possess and was totally worth it. I have to commend the gardeners there for their excellent work; some of the roses there were as big as my hand and incredibly beautiful. They were honestly unbelievably huge, so of course my camera decided to break. I saw some weird looking birds that I had to edge my way past, praying I wouldn’t get attacked; I wouldn’t miss not seeing them again, but it was all part of the experience. Then, on the way back, also on the spur of the moment, I decided to walk back to my house along the canal. It’s like a whole other world- people keep houseboats there, and on the walkway they have chairs and tables, lights and flower beds, it’s like entering a magical world when you walk down there.

Choosing to do activities alone that you would normally do with others is actually a very liberating experience, and if you haven’t done so already, I would recommend that you try it. When you go out alone, you do feel slightly self-conscious, but if you take two minutes to look around, you will suddenly notice that a lot of people are also out by themselves, and you’re not as weird as you feel. It’s not sad.

"I have to be alone very often. I'd be quite happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That's how I refuel." – Audrey Hepburn

"I'm an introvert...I love being by myself, love being outdoors, love taking a long walk with my dogs and looking at the trees, flowers, the sky."- Audrey Hepburn

Unusually, I have decided to have two closing quotes as they both seem so relevant that I couldn’t pick 

just one.

Love, Lalita xxx

The Lake conversation: 3rd installment

Emily Lake: you are my Danish, my only Danish, you make me happy when skies are grey: D: D: D

The following conversation has been inspired from the by the above facebook status

Lalita Lake ‎: D not Danish!

Emily Lake: not Danish?

Lalita Lake: no, not Danish.

Emily Lake: what not Danish??

Lalita Lake: it's annoying. And no one IS Danish.

Emily Lake: ohh okay. Yess, well some people are you can’t say NO ONE IS DANISH

Lalita Lake: no one we know is Danish. There’s no reason for Amanda and now you to go around saying Danish. It’s as weird as me going around saying Mongolian every 5 minutes!

Emily Lake: hahahhaha that would be funny. Mongolian LOL

Lalita Lake: lol, omg please don't let Amanda see this and give her more ideas.

Amanda Lake: Mongolian! :D

Lalita Lake: see, for some reason that's not as annoying as Danish, it's funnier.

Amanda Lake: DANISH,

Lalita Lake: Mongolian.

Amanda Lake: Mongdanish

Lalita Lake: um, suuuure. Special.

Amanda Lake: Aww thank you: D

Lalita Lake: no problemo

Amanda Lake: mongdanish

Lalita Lake: Mongolian.

Amanda Lake: Daaaaaaaanish

Emily Lake: this is going to be a long night

Amanda Lake: Daaanish

Emily Lake: Do you hear me screaming?? Well I am

Lalita Lake: umbrella.

Lalita Lake: don't scream, whisper.

Emily Lake: and that way you'll hear me??

Lalita Lake: no, but then no one near you will have to hear you either :D i'm very considerate like that.

Amanda Lake: Danish

Amanda Lake: Purple

Lalita Lake: Hamster.

Emily Lake: WTH ?? where did purple hamster come from

Lalita Lake: i got bored with mongolian.

Amanda Lake: Banana.

Emily Lake: tall white mocha

Amanda Lake: Drool.

Emily Lake: mop

Amanda Lake: Slip.

Emily Lake: pan brush  

Lalita Lake: shoes.

Emily Lake: shoee lace

Amanda Lake: coffee

and it went on to get more and more meaning less, you wouldn't want to know. I am sure

Much love

Emily xx


Edit: My friend has pointed out that my drawing of the cinnamon danish looks like poop, please be adviced that it in no way looks like a poop in reality. I would not want sales of cinnamon danish to go down by this drawing. My less-then-perfect skills will never to the danish justice it deserves

There CAN Be Miracles When You Believe

AKA an update on CG. I’ve always suspected that I may be a little bit psychic. Not Mystic Meg psychic; I don’t make any claims to be able to read the future or anything like that I and personally think if you meet a tall, dark stranger, you should probably start running in the other direction. (Sorry, Amanda, Kathleen and I visited Whitechapel yesterday, and I’m still feeling in the Jack the Ripper mood). Anyway, it’s just little things that happen to me, which I’m sure probably happen to everyone, but creep me out just the same. Like thinking of an advert ten seconds before it comes on TV or ringing my mother when she has the phone in her hand, ready to call me. Today I suggested to Emily that she should buy her mother a plant for mother’s day, and was then told that a plant was actually what she wanted. I promise I hadn’t been told anything about this beforehand. Just little things you can easily write off as coincidences, but they happen frequently enough to make me stop and think ‘Wow, it happened again, this is getting kind of spooky’. Whatever abilities I thought I had before though, they’ve either stepped way up, or we’ve just experienced the biggest 2 days of coincidence in (our) history.


If you read our blogs regularly (doubtful, but we can dream) you will see that on Sunday just gone, the 27th February, I wrote a post entitled ‘An Open Letter to CG’, which is located in our other blog ‘Letters from the Lakes’. It was a very detailed, and in retrospect quite spiteful, rant about a certain CG. I feel bad about it now (despite reassurances from a certain, rather more vicious Lake) but it had to come out, for my sanity’s sake. I had to let the world know about the frustration I was feeling inside before I exploded. So now it’s out there. I do realise that this is the internet, that anyone in the world can read what we post. Seeing as we’ve only had about 500 views in the last year however, it seems pretty unlikely that someone we don’t know (CG) would stumble across our tiny little blog, read a post and automatically know it was written about him. Seriously, what are the odds of that happening? A million to one? A billion? You tell me, I’m not a maths student. I’m barely a psychology student. So, keeping this in mind, what happened on Monday and Tuesday was pretty creepy.

In the letter I complained that he never came to the Tuesday morning lecture, so of course you can guess what happened on Tuesday. Yep, you got it in one! He came in on time! It was such a shock I thought I was seeing things, which would have been entirely possible, maybe even probable, as it was early and I was beyond tired. Whatever beyond tired is. In the post I also moaned that he never turned up to lectures on time, and then the very next day, Monday, he turned up on time. And again on Tuesday morning and afternoon! I honestly thought I was going to explode from excitement and happiness. He missed the last lecture, but that’s ok because everyone has to take baby steps towards a goal, even the wonderful Lakes. For example, Kathleen feels a sense of accomplishment when she thinks about ordering books to study. Go figure. Besides, it was so boring that even Emily and I skipped the last hour to do some spontaneous shopping in Oxford Street. Much more my scene! She even bought me some pink Guava tea light candles to help me through my candle phase. And, people, let me share with you the pièce de résistance, something that was so shocking it probably warrants its own mini post on the blog, but I’m too lazy for that. On Tuesday, when CG walked into the lecture room, the Lakes were already seated 3 rows from the back. CG usually always sits in the back row, alone, like a ghost. This particular lecture, however, he walked in, went to the back row, walked across and down the other side to our row, where he proceeded to take a seat 2 seats away from yours truly. If seeing him in the lecture was a shock, then I don’t even think I have words to adequately describe what I was feeling then. I think it’s safe to say that the rest of the lecture was a complete write-off, as I spent most of the two hours resisting the temptation to turn around and stare at him (not in a bad way!). I think it was a write-off for him too, because he didn’t actually make any notes, or even have paper out so he could fool himself into believing he was doing something (who would do a thing like that I wonder?). He arrived late to the lecture today, but that’s ok, because Emily now has bigger plans for him. I promise to keep you updated!

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” -Albert Einstein

Love, Lalita xxx

When I Get you Alone- Anatomy of a song

And Amanda said with the weirdest expressions " Don't say that, there are people around ", not that I was saying it to her. Before anyone starts having wrong thoughts, I shall reveal that this a is a line from a song called "When I get you alone" by Robin Thicke. I, however heard it first on the all-famous Glee. Anyone who knows me would know that I love, love , love Glee ! I have previously managed to convert Amanda and Lalita to Glee-ism, Kathleen however is resistant. She will soon come around, I believe that. Anyway, the awesomeness of Glee cannot be explained in an entry that include another topic so I'll just go ahead and unravel the dilemma of " Anatomy of a song"
I was walking to library ( no this is not the dilemma, It very well could be though) and i was listening to this song for what could be the 20th time (in an hour slot). I still don't understand how I could have missed the words. Anyway, I was walking over the bridge (Flashbulb memory !! ?? ) when I kinda paid attention to the words other than "When i get you alone" and they go something like this

Baby girl, where you at?

Got no strings, got men attached

Can't stop that feelin' for long no

You makin' dogs wanna beg

Breaking them off your fancy legs

But they make you feel right at home, now

If you pay attention to the words highlighted in a mustard-y colour, you might find your self as flabbergasted as I found my self to be. Now I am not very familiar with most of the English slang words ( and I wouldn't like to be) but I am sure the word "dog" implies " the domesticated form of grey wolf, as both feral and pet varieties" ( Cited in Wikipedia )? Unless its "Dawg" which I have only heard from Randy Jackson on American idol, which by the way I should add , goes over my head. What does it mean?? like "dawg as in you are cool" or "dawg as in you are my pet". Mysteries!!!!!
OK, so back to the lyrics, If someone sang that to me (and hopefully I would have understood the lyrics the first time ) I would have slapped them because I would be insulted. Why would dogs beg to cling to someones legs??. I definitely don't want to know what's going on in that dog's mind. Freud, however would be full of answers (too bad he is not alive to answer) And the most important question of all, How do dogs "clinging" to her legs make her "feel right at home". I have to be missing something.

Another verse goes something like this

Baby girl you da shit

That makes you my equivalent

What !!!! that doesn't even make any sense. "you da shit" ????, i seearched for the word "da" thinking maybe its one of those words that is unknown to me but I came up with a lot things that cannot be substituted in this sentence like:

• Dark ages
• Department of agriculture
• Da! a russian youth mocement :S

I seriously don't understand if he is trying to impress the girl or insult her because frankly I feel its the latter. When I heard it the first time I thought he said

" Baby girl you just shhhh
That makes you my equivalent"

As in that he is speechless by her beauty and if she keeps quite as well, that would make her his equivalent ???. Clearly I was wrong and I know it now.
I could be mistaken in to thinking that he like this girl, he could actually be trying to insult her or something. I am very disappointed actually, i think they don't make meaningful songs anymore, or maybe they do and I just don't understand it.
If you have more knowledge on this topic than I have, then feel free to comment and let me know if:

a. I am an idiot, this is SO not what the lyrics mean
b. Am I seriously telling you that I have just heard this song?
c. I actually make a good point
d. Glee is super cool and I am super cool to watch it

Please be nice :) But hey, I still love the song. The music is too cool and it makes me want to dance. And most importantly The Warblers sang it (In Glee).

So I pray to something she aint bluffin',

Rubbin' up on me

Well does she want me to make a vow?
Well does she want me to make it now?

On my house, on my job

On my loot, shoes, my voice,
My crew, my mind, my father's last name?

When I get you alone

The Dazed and Confused
Emily xxx

P.s I can so picture CG singing this song, he has this (very debatable) attitude problem which would totally go with the lyrics

Lalita's money making scam

We all hate scam, don't we? especially when its money making (aren't all scams money making?). And you know what's worse, your own LAKE scamming you into giving her huge amount of money through well trained, well dressed singing birds or ducks in white coats (because we all are suckers for white coats, are we really ?) So I stay at a secret location on Monday nights, the reason for which is strictly confidential (It isn't really. but its fun to say that) and I couldn't sleep at night because my bed is the best bed in the world and I cant sleep anywhere else (That isn't the total truth because i eventually sleep, but it just takes longer) So anyway, Gosh i get distracted so easily , HUH see what I did there, got distracted again
I texted Lalita my dilemma of sleeplessness and she advised me to count sheep or talk to them (which was very weird because she was advising me to speak to invisible sheep !! ) I discarded that stupid plan, BUT THEN . . .

Déjà vu all over again

So this must be one of the weirdest things to write about but it was about to happen again, so i thought it must be worth mentioning. I admit i am the sane one out of the Lake family but i have often found myself in bizarre situation and a total wipe out of memory of how i got there, may be it has got something to do with the flaming scarlet cheeks distracting my attention and the fact that how i should get out of the situation without anyone noticing. trust me it has happened a lot of times, like the time I asked CG's name telling him its a part of a dare or the time when a guy was talking about shaving and he thought i was thinking about . .  (ewww too painful memory) and i didn't even know him (HUH). Or the time i found myself in men's toilet. Yes you heard me correct ! aah why am i even discussing this! its good that you don't know who I am. LOL.

Well it was an ordinary summer . .  wait winter . . or was it summer, i don't remember and who cares anyway its not like the weather effected my mental status or anything (well you can never be sure), anyway it was a day for sure. and the others left me behind  for some reason. Oh when i started wearing heels last year my walking pace kinda slowed down to crawling pace, or may be everyone else just walked really fast. but you should see my now, i can run while walking (is that even possible) well you should walk with me and before you know it you'll either be panting or begging me to stop, anyway back to the point (Gosh i get distracted so quickly )
So i was walking to find the others when i thought i should have a quick bathroom break. Now i don't actually remember what my creative mind was going through at that very moment because i don't remember the time between making my decision and actually going to the bathroom. when i get there it smelt bad OH My GOD !!! it was so bad that i  haven't even closed the door yet and i was dying or just fainting and i thank the GOD ALMIGHTY that i didn't close the door and instead decided that going was not that important. .  because the moment i stepped out that stupid man figure was staring at me from the door, and then i blacked out ! i only remember feeling hot as hell and running like a mad person .
 What got into me?, what actually happened? ! aaah  . I promised myself never to speak of it again and repress the memory completely until today when the same thing was about to happen again ! thank god this time i didn't just barge in and actually look at the door first. but what I am even more glad about is that the first time, there weren't actually guys in the toilet because that would  have been humiliating to such an extent that i would have considered suicide.

OH MY GOD I CANT BELIEVE I ACTUALLY TOLD EVERYTHING, so i think I'll press that publish button before i change my mind and never read this again

Much love

Emm xx

May you never see the days I have seen ( or the places) [God what if i walked in to a urinator ?]