Odd, Regional Words

Aloha, Splodgies! 

...Ok, I came across a word today and I had absolutely NO idea what it meant.

"Satched" 

the context was "I was totally satched when I got home" - I was flummoxed. In my mind, the context would probably mean "I was totally exhausted when I got home", but the phonetics were making me think of satchels. 

...turns out it meant saturated. Weird, right? I love it. I kept saying satched for ages. Then I was thinking of things that rhymed with satched, like thatched and hatched. 

There was another word, meaning splinter but I can't remember what it was...? I'm sure I'll find out in the morning.

Then there are lots of other words that are very regional words that might not be understood elsewhere like scran (scouse for food, eat or eating) or nom. Which has much the same meaning as scran. Or scrumping. Which means stealing apples.

Anyone got any more? Let me know in the comments!! Also I'd be super interested to see if there are any words like this that don't quite translate into English if anyone knows another language!

Today, this is me, totally un-satched after having been tactical about when I left the bus station:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

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Don't Rain On My Parade!

Hello there Splodgies!! 

...I had lots of plans for today. Some of them, the ones I was planning on enjoying the most, involved going outside. Its only 12.30, but I feel like I might not be able to return my ridiculously over sized jeans (I accidental ordered them 2 sizes too big- the difference one click can make!) or have a little jolly to Cockermouth to have a potter about as I've still got a day left on my week ticket... Though its looking like it might be clearing up....! I'll keep you posted! 

....so in the end, I DID get out and to Cockermouth! I had a bit of a ponder around and things, but as the ground was wet from the copious amounts of rain that had fallen in the past 48 hours, 

However, when I wanted to get back on the bus to come back here, a number of things occurred. Firstly, I missed the bus by a few minutes. I was mildly irritated, but it wasn't cold or windy or raining, so I didn't mind waiting around for the next one. Secondly, there were a number of YOUTHS. Having just got out of school. Unfazed by this I waited around patiently. But when the bus pulled up it was already quite full! And I let most of the young scallywags go on ahead before me. Big mistake. There wasn't enough space for everyone, and I (and about 6 other school kids) got left behind! By this point, I was thoroughly irritated, given that some of them had had food technology that day and were carrying around bags of flour and throwing it at each other- I was wearing black jeans. NEW black jeans. This was a deadly situation. 

In my one act of defiance, I posed a nearby giant playmobil jockey (there just happened to be one nearby, that's what the crazy north is like) so that it would be hailing the bus for me! It looked like this:

....I thought for a plastic impression of a human, with minimal possibilities for posing, it went rather well. 

...oh yeah and I also made brownies at 10.15pm. Just because I could. 

Today, this is me enjoying a cup of coffee at breakfast time:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

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Uke Updates and Fishy Clothes

Good evening my fine DailySplodge readers! 

So I have some things to tell you following yesterday's post!

Firstly, the new strings are working out beautifully- even though I keep having to retune them, its getting to be less and less frequently that it needs doing (although I'm certain that my housemates are fed up of hearing slightly out of tune renditions of "At Last I See The Light" from the movie Tangled- although having said that one of them was being SUPER noisy today during what I can only assume was a football match) 

Secondly, I feel that I must tell you something- I think I have broken my snarky!! "What is a snarky??" I hear you cry! Well, a snark ukulele tuner- and in my opinion (and, not to brag of anything, but I'm kinda an expert ;) ) its one of the best tuners around for ukuleles that doesn't cost more than the £15 mark- anything else and you're looking at £30. Its really easy to use and very quick to tune up- you can even tune up in the dark and in a massive crowd of people; because you don't need to be able to hear the ukulele to be able to use this tuner- its got a little scale on it, red for flat, yellow for sharp, and a green marker right in the middle for when the pitch is perfect. All you gotta do is know what note you want the string tuned to! You can also get them for guitars and bass guitars. They just clip to the top of the instrument! 

I promise I'm not sponsored by snark. I'm not sponsored by anyone, I just write stuff! Although I think I read in the Ts&Cs (yes, I actually read them sometimes) that after 6 months of continuous use if I have a certain amount of readership I can start making money off this thing? Just from letting google advertise on here. Let me know what you think of that, I know most people use adblockers anyway, including me. 

ANYWAY! where was I? Yes! How my snarky broke- its actually not damaged beyond repair, just that I have no glue- what happened was that it was clipped to the newly restrung tenor uke and leaning up against the curtain- in a half awake/half asleep daze, I closed the curtains forgetting that it was there. The ukulele fell over (it was fine) and it must've hit the floor with the weight of the uke on the tuner- thus cracking the clip. it does still work, but it keeps falling off the uke. I should probably just get some glue tomorrow and fix it :P 

THIRDLY: I didn't tell you this yesterday (I don't think?) but I did my laundry yesterday. Because it was raining so hard, I put my laundry up in the kitchen because that's where the clothes drier is- its one of those ones like I have at home with the 4 slats and the rope and you pull it up to the ceiling. So that would've been all fine, had my housemate not decided to poach some fish that evening... I am now going to be paranoid that I smell fishy until I've worn all those clothes again. It wasn't ALL the clothes I own, but it was the ones I like to wear the most often- and my pyjamas. Sadly he does this every few days, so perhaps a better tactic would be to wash my clothes, if not on a sunny day, on a day after he has poached some fish, so as to allow maximum drying time before the next poaching. Next week I'm probably going to ask Becca at least once "Do I smell like fish?" Which will sound very odd until I explain it. 

Let me know what you think of ads on this blog before they appear without you noticing! Also let me know if you think I smell like fish. Or if you like ukes. Or have any tips on fixing snark tuners. ;)

Today, this is me and the pizza I had for my dinner- because I literally have done nothing more exciting today:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

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My Ukulele Rite Of Passage

Hello Splodgies! 

Today I have been indoors most of the day... in fact all day. For yesterday's rain had not abated until the afternoon, by which time I had got onto my main challenge of the day- Restringing my tenor ukulele:

For quite some time now, I've been meaning to at least replace the A string, as it was getting worn out between the 2nd and 3rd frets. And then I thought "I've got a set, maybe I should change them all" And after putting it out on facebook to see if anyone had any ideas, it was generally agreed that I should completely restring my ukulele. This felt like something of a rite of passage for my ukulele- as it was the first time I had restrung this particular ukulele (the first time I ever restrung a ukulele was when I restrung Little Blue, who is currently in the care of the lovely Sarah), and as it was only the second time I'd restrung a ukulele and the second ukulele I'd ever owned (the third being my Lanikai Soprano and the fourth being my Ohana Baritone- which I did snap a string of the day I got it, but my Dad restrung the one I broke) it felt a bit like this was a little...bonding exercise for my ukulele and me!

Anyway, once I'd got all the strings on, I spent most of the day...retuning and retuning and retuning. Its been perhaps 2 hours since I last tuned it so I'd better go and do it again! I've only left it so long because I've been on skype with Fran and Jen for ages... poor ukuleles are probably feeling forgotten! 

Today, this is me, wondering why I hadn't taken today's photo earlier....: 

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

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Perpetually Rainy Day

Hello Splodgies!

Most of today has been fairly laid back. It was another "interns only" day in the office today, or as we have dubbed it "Solo Friday" and so consequently, and perhaps obviously we were less productive than maybe we could have been. After an intense couple of days of training though, its hardly surprising- and we were scheduled to leave earlier than usual too, so we felt justified. Its not as if our day was completely without merit though- we did get some ideas flowing and some research done too.

It has not stopped raining since about 12noon today. I wonder how long it'll take before it stops? The weather is being a bit...well, polarised really! If you read yesterday's blog, you'll see how sunny and brilliant it was, and today it's just rained nearly all day!! 

I'm pretty tired, so instead of writing a proper post (Don't complain! There's been loads of good ones lately! Gimme a break!) I'll put a video or two in for you to enjoy: 

...that video is particularly relevant to my life because I'm planning on making brownies on monday.

and also this: 

Because I've had it stuck in my head for ages. And also, Anna Kendrick. 

I'm gonna go browse Ebay and Amazon for electroacoustic ukuleles while y'all watch those. 

Today, I got rained on on my way home- I wasn't very happy about it! :

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

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Autumn is Beautiful: People Are Like Trees.

Hello my dear splodgies!

I don't mention it much on my blog, but when I was living in America, this is what my experience of Autumn was like: 

I'm really pleased with all the pictures I took during Autumn while I was there, because they all look so fancy!! I took all the pictures in this post myself, I'm proud to say! 

 This is Ashley, one of my best friends and my roommate whilst I was living there: 

this picture is called "Shopping For Ashleys" ...I think they have weird shopping trollies in America, but whatever. Ashley's pretty great. HI ASHLEY!! 

I really REALLY love Autumn. Its got its own look and smell; its like if the year was a single day, Autumn would be the evening. When everything is winding down and getting ready for some sleep, but there's still enough light to see that the world is beautiful. 

Here are some pictures of this beautiful autumn that I took today whilst at work: 

What follows is a the vaguely poetic rambling that was my train of thought on my way home today:

People are like trees. 

They grow and flourish and fruit and die. 

They are beautiful, they have personalities, they all give something to the world, even if it is just oxygen, or the imprint they leave on the world around them from having simply existed.

They can be seen from so far, and be held in such familiarity, but sometimes we don't even know their names.

Their roots run deep and their surfaces hide an interior that its unfathomable.

They change and grow.

They grow one way, then another. 

The prime of their life, is not necessarily in their youth- for they are supremely valued in their age. Too many people, women especially, try to hide their age, but they don't see that age is beauty also. 

Trees are at peace, even when they are dead.

They go back to the earth and become a part of it, ready for a nut or seed or acorn. 

People could be acorns, but they try to be trees to soon. Could they be a sapling? or a seed? 

A person could be their most beautiful at the end of their life because they have all their leaves, and every single leaf is a part of them, each a single story in a complex tree. 

And I live in a forest. 

I can't see all the leaves, but I can see all the trees. 

Today, this is me: 

For clarification, I'm wearing a giant piece of lycra tied around my shoulders as a cape. When you work in drama and theatre, this kind of thing makes sense and is a legitimate use of time.

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

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Kitchen Etiquette Or Lack Thereof

Ok, guys. So seriously.

What is the deal with kitchen etiquette in shared houses/flats? Or is it more like politics? I really don't understand the rules. I know what my rules would be, but nobody seems to be that bothered.

In most places I've lived its been a "keep to your own stuff unless you ask before borrowing someone else's crockery/utensils/saucepans" and then "everyone eats their own food unless invited otherwise" (with the exception being a splash of borrowed milk from someone else's carton). When I lived in The Icebox (the name I gave a horrible place I used to live in Manchester), people would steal my food, and damage my kitchen things (e.g. using sharp knives to cut bacon inside my non-stick frying pan, or burning milk into the bottom of my espresso pot- I know these all sound like hideously middle class complains, but I consider cooking something of a hobby, and more than just fuelling myself up) and not only that, but they would steal my food, when I had very little money to feed myself on and then get all shitty if I used as much as a teaspoon of their sugar. 

Personally, I don't mind someone using my things without asking, so long as they wash them up afterwards without waiting for hours and hours to do it- but at the moment, I'm having something of a task lately in that whenever I go to use something from my collection of kitchen stuff, I find that, particularly with my cutlery (which I'll come on to in a minute) there's only something like one knife and a teaspoon available- and if I want a bowl, someone else is using it for defrosting or its not there at all. 

With my cutlery; a few days after I moved in I bought a new set of cutlery with red handles, so I could spot them easily and they'd be easily identifiable by everyone else. And it came in a little wire caddie thing and I thought I might as well use it, so I put it at the back of the counter top near the window. Of course, the temptation for everyone else is just to go strait for my cutlery rather than opening the draw directly beneath to get their own sodding cutlery. And then when I come to get myself something to eat my food with....there's nothing there! Am I being unreasonable to be cross that its left in the sink or in the draining rack covered in washing up foam? Yesterday, I moved the cutlery elsewhere to a low shelf behind the door in the hope that people will stay the fuck away from my cuttlefish, as I like to call them. 

I do occasionally use a saucepan that doesn't belong to me, but I always wash it up strait away after having used it, before I've even eaten. But now BOTH my bowls had gone missing. So I used someone elses, intending to wash it strait away when I'd finished- but what happened when I came to the sink? ...it was full of someone else's saucepans. And rice. AGAIN.  I think its just good form not to leave stuff in the sink if you're sharing a kitchen and not eating together- how are other people supposed to wash up their stuff?? Multiple times now, I've had to take stuff out of the sink so I can wash my things. When I arrived in the house, there wasn't even a washing up bowl or a plug in the sink so nobody used washing up liquid and just ran their dishes under the tap- so very little consideration for hygiene. I don't think I'm asking much of people to leave the kitchen in a state where I can keep my own things clean....Am I? 

....what am I to do? Please, someone tell me. The floor is yours in the comment section, I'm open to suggestions- but I am one of those people that will do almost anything to avoid confrontation, unless its something threatening me personally in some way.

....Rant over. Sorry guys, I'll cheer up more tomorrow :) 

Today, this is me with my headphones on but not listening to anything, because I'm pretending not to listen to the two women sat behind me who are engaged in deep philosophical debate: 

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

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