Student Life Bites – Volume 2.

So I’ve been a little neglectful of my online ranting as of late, and that’s mainly due to two reasons:
1 – I ran out of money while I was down in Cardiff, which meant my only source of food was jacket potatoes. Which depressed me. And I didn’t want any posts to be whiny and depressing.
2 – I’ve been back home for a couple of weeks, but due to the nature of where I work, I’ve literally been working every day since I’ve been back and all my shifts were about 10 hours long, so I haven’t had the time.

So basically comrades, I am sorry for being neglectful. And I intend to break the silence of the rants with this, volume 2 of Student Life Bites!

Recently my life has been dominated by money. Mostly the lack of it to be perfectly honest, which is nobody’s fault but my own really (as much as I try to blame, well, the world). And I know it’s not just me. Lots of students fall into the abyss of an overdraft at least once during their degree, but not all struggle with it alone.

I consider myself to come from a working class background. This means I couldn’t afford a gap year. I definitely can’t afford to study abroad for a year or an academic term of study. I probably can’t afford any of the random, culturally rich trips many student have the opportunity to go on and it leads me to wonder whether those whom are working class in university are deprived from opportunities in and before university because of their backgrounds. For example I can’t afford to take part in a months long unpaid work placement during summer, as I need to make money to give myself a financial cushion in September. Which puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to being employed next year. And these aren’t isolated instances.

The difference between working class and other more financially secure families in my opinion is pretty evident from day one of term. The working class, myself being one, are money conscious from day one, budgeting the first week to ensure they survive the term because that’s our only source of income. But I’ve noticed other students don’t have to do this. A couple of my friends spend in excess of £40 a week on food which is also payed by their parents, as is their rent. This isn’t a bad thing. Their parents want to look after their children while their away from home, and paying their food and housing expenses is one of, if not the best way to do so, but not every semi adult has this luxury. During my third year, I fell on hard times after my phone broke. As I was contracted and had no insurance, I had to pay to fix it which was quite a bit and it landed me in a tough spot, to which the only remedy was to crawl into my overdraft for the first time. The vast majority of people I told about this were baffled as I hadn’t mentioned this to my parents. As if to say “surely they would pay for it?” – but when you’re working class, you’re so money conscious to the point that it makes you reluctant to ask for money since you know that they probably are just as skint as you. And as much as my parents probably could have just about helped me out, it would have landed them in a shit situation which isn’t fair.

I’m not asking for more money from Student Finance Wales. I’m not asking for people with more money to have less. I’m just raising an important issue. When you’re working class in university you do struggle to get by a bit more than the rest. Financial aid from parents is a rarity at best (again I’m not complaining, I appreciate everything they have done and sacrificed for me) which means I’m not able to enjoy a social life as rich as others. It also means my diet is less varied. I’m unable to buy the books I need. I can’t afford foreign trips. Study leaves abroad. All this which aid a CV and cost tend to be out of my reach.

Are their positives to being a working class lad in uni? Of course!! It has made me much more independent from my parents. When I’m in trouble, I sort if myself. I’ve learnt to budget my money and shop intelligently this year more than any other and I am slowly crawling back out of my overdraft. If I do need or want to buy something or afford a trip, I get a job which in turn broadens my employability range. Cooking is another gain too. Since I can’t afford takeaways, I cook. And I cook marvellous meals on the cheap. If anything, it has prepared me to be completely independent once I am employed and more than likely living hours from my parents down in Cardiff. It toughens you to endure being skint. To put on an extra jumper rather than turn up the heating. To put tomatoes on a potato because, well, that’s all you have and make the most of it. Lots of little things that nobody really realises about being slightly less financially well off than others. It’s the different, boring side to uni life not many will experience. But hopefully more working class students will – it’s the best learning curve you will ever have.

Let’s Fly to Neverland?

Over the last few months I have come to realise something. Something that most students who are approaching their 3rd year of study will start to realise, and the 3rd years, well they will know this by now. It’s time to grow up and soon enough, stop studying for good, for the most of us. And this scares me and I’m sure scares a lot of my fellow students.
I’m not scared of here responsibility. Quite the contrary actually. I genuinely can’t wait to get a job and throw myself into a media career, hopefully in broadcast (the dream is radio). But the issue that crosses my mind is, will I actually get a job?
A couple of my friends who’ve graduated already are unemployed and they’re pretty much hating it. Some have remedied the situation by going on gap years or volunteering abroad. But unless you have the money behind you, this isn’t really an option, and it definitely isn’t an option for me! I just don’t have the money. The only option I’d have is to go back home to the mountains and work until I have enough money to fund some long term work experience and then apply for jobs. And I really don’t want to go back home. I want to stay in Cardiff. I’ve made this city my home now, much like many other students in their own cities. And if you come from an area like my home town, cities are wondrous things and it’d be a tragedy to leave.
Of course I’m already getting some work experience. I’ve been lucky enough recently to do some work with Capital FM (wooo go street stars) and I’ve been doing a couple of bits and bobs with online magazines and I’ve applied for some more over the summer up at BBC Bangor, so perhaps I’ll have enough under my belt to get me a job. Maybe? None of my experience is in broadcast as of yet (unless you count student radio) and that’s where I’m aiming for. I shouldn’t be picky. I have friends who have graduated and are picky with their jobs and well, it’s left them up the proverbial creek without a paddle if you know what I mean? But I also don’t want to do a job where I hate my life. Even if it is for just a year. I don’t really cope well with doing things I don’t like to do. I only last two months at my last summer job before I had a mental breakdown, but that was mostly due to the horrid horrid customers I had to deal with.
It would be ridiculous of me to never want to grow up, but it’s a big old scary world out there after Uni, and that’s how a lot of my peers view the world. Not all, but quite a few. Hopefully, around this time next year, I’ll be able to look back at this post and laugh at myself for being so worried over nothing…
Peace! X

My New Comic Obsession.

Recently I’ve noticed that I have become pretty much infatuated with comic book movies and the characters. I mean it’s easy to see why right? The last 5 years has seen some huge blockbuster comic book movies come out. From DC’s Batman to his Marvel counterpart, Ironman, no comic book character is safe from being turned into a multi national, CGI saturated hit. And it’s easy to see why they’re doing it. Before movies and TV series portrayed the characters as comical. Comic characters. But now directors and movie producers have started to embrace the darker side to the heroes and villains in these comic books.
There was once a time when Batman was Adam West. Adam West. It is hilarious when you compare him to the muscle toting Christian Bale, but that’s exactly what needed to be done. The TV shows and the movies needed to be made serious. To be made dark. Because the comics are serious and darker than they are given credit. Let’s take Heath Ledgers portrayal as the Joker as an example. The Joker was once Jack Nicholas, and yes he plays crazy well but Ledger took the Jokers identity and character and drowned himself in it. He became the Joker. The majority of his scenes were improvised, including every scene in which he describes how he got his scars. Notice he changes the story? That’s because the Joker is so insane, he doesn’t even remember. It’s all down there in the comics. He even managed to grasp the Jokers love of anarchy and death when he doesn’t even look at his victims as he kills them almost as if to say “if he lives he lives”. So well done Heath, you will be missed!
We are also now are given full back stories to characters allowing us to skip over all the comic book editions, and to save us the reading. For example, X-Men first class explains how the divide between two formerly close friends, Professor X and Magneto. Other movies from the X-Men franchise also explains origins, such as their take on the Wolverine’s past (which in my opinion was awful and has a lot to answer for. For example it’s portrayal of Deadpool was just…well it was terrible).
But why else are they becoming so popular? Maybe because now the heroes and villains are played by actors whom are pretty attractive. You need only look to the leading actors in both Thor movies and the Avengers. Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston provide the objects of attraction for their female fans, and in here Avengers, Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johanson, whom is constantly in tight black leather I should add, serves for the make gaze. But we all know sex sells.
I believe what makes the movies and the TV shows (such as Arrow, which I’ve just started) is the fact that they appeal to long term die hard comic book fans and those who just want a good action movie. For the most part they stick to the basic story lines of the characters and choose actors to play their roles carefully to ensure this. While doing this, they maintain an atmosphere that isn’t bogged down in the need to know previous knowledge (as most is now provided in origin movies or at the very beginning in a short ten minute intro to say “this is why they’re super/angry/have daddy issues”. And it’s an effective tactic. The Avengers is one of the highest grossing movies of all time, and in 2015 the second of the Avengers movie is being released as well as the Batman vs Superman movie, which will no doubt lead on to the Justice League of America. Not to mention all the other comic movies that are being released on the side, such as the revamp of Spider-Man, Captain America, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant Man etc.
I’m really glad that these movies are being released though, because to me it’s the best way to get people interested in the true art, comedy and entertainment an individual can gather from these stories. It’s such a fabulous way to procrastinate…
Peace..
X
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Student Life Bites – Volume 1.

We all hear about the drinking and partying associated with the student lifestyle. I mean The Daily Mail loves a good front page about how awful students are and how we squander our loans on booze and kebabs, but life for a student isn’t that simple. This post isn’t going to be about the injustices we suffer (have a read of my student housing agency post for that kind of material). No, I want to bring to light the little things that I find hilarious and odd within the students sphere. And this week, I’m going to follow on from the student house theme with the house viewing – from the view of the current tenant…me.
I’m not going to rant about how annoying house viewings are, because to be honest, it isn’t annoying, it’s hilarious. Let’s start off with the keen Jeans. The early birds!
Now depending on your land lord or the agency your land lord deals with, how the viewing goes down differs, but let’s go for the classic knock knock approach.
So there’s a knocking at the door, you’re feeling much more groggy than usual (or I do, I rarely need to leave bed before half 9) you check your phone and it’s dead on 9 am. You’re not going to get up to open the door. It’s cold and it could be anyone. Salesmen. People with surveys or the dreaded TV license officer dude! But regardless of your lack of enthusiasm to open the door, they open the door anyway and announce their entrance,
“Hey guys/buddy/fellas (any generic name) it’s student houses R us limited inc with a house viewing okay? Cool.” And they stroll in. Depending on how your house is payed out, the knocking and shouting might wake you up in time to warn you, to maybe put some clothes on or open a window to let out the student stink. But if you’re in the first bedroom, like I am, that rarely happens.
They let themselves in to find me curled up in my bed. A fluff of hair protruding from under my sheets. They all pile into my room and awkwardly look around. Then they realise that yes, I am indeed alive.
“Oh, sorry, hehe, good morning, sorry” they nervously tiptoe back out. I know it’s not their fault, but it is some bodies house is it not? The look of surprise on their faces is my favourite part, they scream “you’re in my future house” and I’m like “you’re in my house” it’s a stranger experience.
Slowly the intruders look round the house and occasionally they’ll say “it’s a bit of a mess” or “what a horrible sofa” which is harsh is it not? That’s my sofa. It’s the way I like it. I like it stained with curry and smelling of lager. It’s my sofa.
The thing is, this kind of situation is probably the most common amongst house viewings. The more extreme examples include when I was caught in the shower. That was interesting. And oddly, the possibly future tenants lingered longer than acceptable.
So to any future students out there who might read this, and to any first year student, you have this kind of intrusion to look forward to. And honestly, enjoy it and prepare for it! Mix things up a little bit. Make jokes. Purposely be weird. It just makes the experience for them and yourself that much more fun.
Peace out y’all!

The Stick of Truth – A Series Within a Game.

So the gaming world was given a gem of a game earlier this month, and it’s popularity within the past couple of weeks has exploded, and it’s easy to see why (if you’re a fan of the TV show).
This game is unlike any other. There are a few games that are based on TV shows and movies, but none of them capture the mood and feeling of the story their based on quite like South Park’s Stick of Truth.
But as this is a game, let’s focus on the game play. The game is very story based, and each encounter you make (which is usually a ridiculous fight scene) is RPG. And then there’s the quality of the graphics. Well as you can expect. The graphics don’t need to be that good. South Park itself is based upon pieces of cut out card hopping about a 2D world, but the game looks like it’s an episode. I mean literally, if you were to watch the game play and an episode side by side, you would find it pretty hard to differentiate between the two which is, for me, it’s best quality.
Other areas of the game play are, well, they are South Park. The gross humour. The risqué jokes and puns. Sometimes it goes a little too far (for example, entire gaming scenes were cut from the console versions and replaced with descriptive text – luckily the PC version allows the scene to be shown…or unluckily depending on how squeamish you are).
Another fabulous aspect of the game is, you gradually encounter the main characters and old favourites instead of having them in every scene. This spreads the game out well and encourages more play and not for credit, but for the enjoyment of playing which is something rarely seen in games. The only other game I can think of which encourages play through laughs, jokes and a sense of enjoying playing for the sake of playing is Deadpool. Through pretty much making fun of the game throughout the game and before hand in the TV series itself, it almost lowers your expectations and raises them up at the same time!
My only critique of the game is that it doesn’t last long enough. You do have to put in a lot of playing time, but it never feels like enough. Just like the show itself, it leaves you wanting more. And luckily for us the fans, a follow up is due later this year!
Now, if you think I’ve bigged this game up beyond belief, go check out the game play on YouTube. Who you choose to watch is up to you (I personally recommend PewDiePie, I find him hilarious, and for people who enjoy watching game play, he’s kind of the guy to watch). Let me know what you think of my opinion on the game and check it out for yourself!!
Muchos loves and peace out friends.

Money, money, MONEY!

This past month I have realised just how important and ridiculous money is. It has the power to stress people out, depress them, elate them even convince them into doing one thing even when their heart says another (I’m talking jobs here…like doing a job you hate because of money). And I think it’s really sad. I’m skint due to my own stupidity. I’m god awful with money and my own possessions at that. And due to that I’m a tad too far into my overdraft but hey ho, that’s student life right?

No. That shouldn’t be student life! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking for more money from the government, and as nice as it would be to have free education, the current government or any that follow it is going to do that. It’s just not in their best interests. What I would say is, business that targets students needs to stop it. Just give us a break? Let me explain what I mean by using an example:
Students, after completing their first year of study and living in student halls (usually provided by the University you attend) are advised to find student housing around the area. This creates a panic for many first years, and they go out into the world to find the perfect student house with the, erm, “help” of local estate agents. These agencies do not help. They capitalise on the humble first year’s eagerness. Their nativity. And it’s foul.
I’m not writing this because I’ve just payed a housing deposit. I’m writing this because I’ve just realised how much they make from students. Your typical housing agency in Cardiff (excluding the glorious CSU Student Letting Agency, which doesn’t charge agency fees) charges on average £60 to £80 pounds in agency fees, per person, per house, regardless of the time spent looking at house. So let’s say you’re first to the cue with your future house mates. You’re a house of 5, wanting to live in let’s say Cathays right? They take you to a lovely house. You’re there 10 mins. In that 10 minutes you incur a minimum of £300 between you. Sound fair? Gosh no! And then there’s additional charges that make no sense! Having to pay for painting or cleaning that you didn’t do. For example did you know many charge for damp/mold treatment at the end of your tenancy? Yeah I know, unfair.

So why do they get away with it? Well what else are we the students going to do? There aren’t enough independent letters on Gumtree. The agencies are profiting, so they don’t care. And the letters, well, they don’t care as long as they get rent (which is fair enough really). I just think that maybe students could do with a little more support in terms of loving accommodation. And of we do find a cheaper option, it shoulder be the equivalent of a squat – my house is cheap. But it had rats. A hole ridden back door. No heating. Rife damp. Broken lights. Yeah.

But there are things students can do to keep their deposits safe and out do the over pricing of student housing:
1 – take pictures of everything when you move in.
This sounds simple, but it’s so beneficial. You will be blamed for everything broken or dirty when you leave, but if it’s like that when you move in, photograph it and notify the agency.
2 – keep the agency on their toes.
Remember you’ve payed them an extortionate amount for the house haven’t you? So whenever something doesn’t seem right or something goes wrong, phone them! They have to come round to see to any electrical faults, damp, mold, basically anything that puts you I’m danger.
3 – knit pick through your contract.
You will notice interesting little things in contracts. For example the latest house that I’ve recently secured with some friends was through a particular agency which convinced us that we had to be together to pay deposits and sign contracts. This information was incorrect. Only half of us had to be there, and as a result we had to pay an extra £50 to secure the house over the holiday period.
4 – Don’t worry about the landlord/agency coming over.
By law, the tenant can deny entry to anyone who requests to enter the household as long as all rent has been payed. Cool right? That ones a bit petty but I like it!

So anyway, can you sense my disdain for housing? Just read through this, let me know if you agree, and spread the word!!

Muchos loves peeps! Xx

The ‘douchebag tribe’ tattoo fad.

For the past two years I’ve been sketching and designing a tattoo. I know some people find tattoos ridiculous and a bit self gratifying (my Dad being one of them) but I quite like the idea of having something that represents my Welsh and Irish cultural heritage on my body. Something that I could look back on when I’m older and still think money well spent. But as much as two years planning sounds like a lot, I don’t think I could justify getting a tattoo right now. I just think I have other things to spend money on – a student lifestyle for example. Oh and I’m also young. Very young. And have experienced nothing for the world to be honest, and I’d like the body art to mean something more than just look at me, I’m Celtic.

This leads me to a topic that not only baffles me, but makes me want to sit these people down and half a brief talk about the permanent scarring they have inflicted upon themselves. The Douchebag Tribe. For those of you unaware of the this tribe, let me enlighten you.
The Douchebag Tribe usually roam in packs. Large, muscular men in low cut white t’s. Their skin glowing a vibrant orange from their worship of sun beds. Their hair so saturated in product, that if exposed to an open flame they would surely ignite in a ball of burning masculinity. But what makes these men a member of this privileged tribe, is the decor on their weigh protein shake sustained arms. Some may call it a tribal tattoo, but the only tribe these men know is their own. The Douchebag Tribe.

Why do they get these ridiculous tribal tattoos?? Honestly?? These tattoos are either Maori, Polynesian or sometimes, just a series of pointy looking shapes up and down their arms. I’ve even seen some with Japanese Koi tattoos, and as those tattoos in particular represent either perseverance of children/family (sorry for my generalisation, but those are the key meanings behind such tattoos) it makes me wonder, do you even understand what you’ve done?
I highly doubt any of them do. None of them are Maori or Japanese, they’re just douchebags who picked a cool tattoo out of a catalogue. The art that goes into some of the tattoos is beautiful, and the skill of the tattooist that completes such complex pieces of work is admirable. But the guys who have these tattoos rarely know the meaning behind the symbols. They’re definitely not descendants of any fierce Polynesian warrior or Japanese samurai. Where I live, they’re just normal valley boys who spend more time on sun beds and doing their hair than they do reading into these things. And as Valley boys, they’re Welsh.
They technically are Celtic. Just like the Irish and the Scottish (sorry English readers this bit excludes you a bit). You know what Celtic culture mostly is? Tribal wars. Old Druid and pagan rituals, wrapped up in some striking Celtic symbols. If you’re going to pretend you’re in a tribe, why not get something a bit closer to home? And of course, check spelling if you are going to get any old Celtic language carved upon yourself. Especially in Welsh. People still speak that in masses back where in my home town, and will see you for your ignorance/stupidity.

The point of this rant is, people need to really think about their actions. Just because something looks cool, or in many cases inspiring/beautiful, it doesn’t mean it will look the same running up and down your arm. And these tattoos aren’t just limited to tribal themed tattoos. I’ve seen the eagle of the imperial roman army on some people – which shares a resemblance to that of the Eagle used on Nazi uniforms FYI. So take years to plan scarring yourself. One day The Douchebag Tribe will look back on their wrinkly blur of an arm and regret all the hours they didn’t spend planning and reading up on what has been carved into their body.

OH and no neck/face tattoos. That’s just stupid.

PEACE x

Korg Gadget. The future of music!

As you may or may not know, I am a big music fan. And yes the term
“Music” may seem slight vague but that’s because I love all forms of music (yes even the odd bit of One Direction if the mood so takes me). But unfortunately, I haven’t been gifted with any musical talent. I can sing a little and make all sorts of funny noises with my mouth – some might call it beat boxing. I can’t now, nor have I ever been able to play any instrument really so playing and producing my own music has been nothing but a dream. Or it was until I found Korg’s ‘Gadget’ app.
This amazing, intuitive application (for the measly sum of £19.99 – on it’s current 20% discount) enables even the most inexperienced, un talented aspiring music producer to assemble a few beats and make a basic melody. So far I have managed to create two very simple house tracks, and they don’t sound too shabby.
The application guides you through the process of making music with different ‘gadgets’ labeled under simplistic terms such as drums, poly and bass, which have different characteristics and a myriad of capabilities. But to understand what I mean, I genuinely believe you have to experience it first hand. Now on to the more exciting aspect of this marvellous music making software – it’s social media presence.
This app not only enables you to become a bedroom producer, but it also lets you share the music with your friends and the rest of the world through its own form of social media: the gadget cloud. This cloud is connected directly to your Soundcloud account, and enables you to follow other gadget users and producers, like their content and repost it. It also lists top charts allowing you to listen to the best content made through Gadget, and to give the would be producers a standard to strive towards.
For any music enthusiast or music producer, regardless of any level of experience, this is the app for you. I can’t sing it’s praises any higher than I already have, you should just go and get it. And while you’re at it, find my account and listen to my stuff. Search jacktili, like and share, and become one of the new Gadget music community.
Peace x

The blog, the weekend and the wardrobe.

Well, here it is, I’ve finally gone and finished my blog page and it’s not looking too shabby if I do say so myself. I’ve been stressing over this for days now, but luckily after some handy YouTube tutorials I managed to wrestle wordpress to the ground and make myself this simple little page…well, I say make, it’s a template and all I had to do was click apply but it’s harder than you think on an iPad honestly! Anyway, welcome to my blog. Within the posts here I will be talking about most things. Things I’m interested in, things that annoy me, basically anything that fuels my rant engine (and to be honest it doesn’t take much) so every week you should be treated to at least one rant, be it print or video – that’s right, vlogs too comrades.
I chose not to video this introduction mainly due to two reasons,
1: I don’t have the right camera yet.
2: This weekend has pretty much killed me.
Yeah so I had a pretty fantastic weekend, you know since Friday was valentines and all so me and my lady had a rather marvellous meal at Yakitori#1 down at Cardiff bay and it was affordable and very tasty. And for those who love Japanese foodables, they make one amazing king prawn ramen. I mean wow, so full of flavour and lots to eat too, definitely worth £14!
We did start the date out all conventional but after ordering a bottle of wine to the table, well, we went down that slippery slope of having

a couple

at one of the many bars down at Cardiff Bay, but due to proximity, we opted for Salt. As it turns out, Salt is a bit more expensive than we first thought, and after a 3 or 4 pints for myself and a few cocktails for the lady, I discovered that a pint of Peroni was £4.70 and cocktails were I’m excess of £6.95 – ouch comes to mind right? The place itself was nice enough, and the cocktails were made fresh, but I didn’t really think the price was justified, especially when the bar itself was cold and the DJ was, let’s say,

seasoned

. I do a spot of DJing myself so maybe I am a bit more sensitive to bad mixing, or bad music in general, but considering how nice

Salt

is aesthetically, it did ruin the general vibe for me. All in all though, we did have a fantastic night and we definitely suffered for it the next day! In between realising how much we’d spent and how the alcohol had essentially destroyed us physically, we were preparing ourselves for a second night. A Mexican night. With chilli, sombreros, moustaches, ponchos and of course that most insane of all Mexican themed things – TEQUILA! (Cue the music). Actually, ignore that, don’t cue the music, that music got played way too much during the consumption of tequila and it’s bringing back blurry, yet terrible memories. Mostly of the taste of tequila, and the smell of tequila. Tequila.
Surpassingly we survived it and spent all of Sunday in dressing gowns and eating subway (as is tradition after a Mexican night if course) which lead me to an idea. I could release an entire range of hangover products. An entire wardrobe designed specifically to relieve the symptoms of a hangover – such as smart clothes which adjust the temperature of your body. Foods that not only satisfy that urge to eat utter rubbish, but also cure dehydration and headaches through some miracle drugs made by blokes wearing white coats with names like Boffin and Professor (yes I believe Professor is a real name). But of course all this is but a dream, since I’m literally writing this in bed and am unable to move. Weekend, you have ruined me.