Pro-Con lists: Careers

I have potentially narrowed down what I could possibly do as a career to two options:

Nursing.

Teaching.

I feel I need to do pro-con lists for both of these, so I'm going to hash it out here.

Nursing.

Pros:

• Incorporates my previous medical science knowledge.
• Stable job prospects.
• Could work in any field that takes my fancy.
• Apparently relatively well paid.
• Active job.
• NHS will pay the tuition fees.

Cons:

• Another three years at university.
• Unsociable hours.
• According to my mum, working for the NHS is not a walk in the park.

Teaching.

Pros:

• Stable job prospects.
• Relatively well paid.
• Active job.
• Only one year more at university.
• Teaching primary, I would get to teach a bit of everything.
• I work well with children, and enjoy working with them.
• Could work in the private or state sector.
• Good holidays.
• Potential bursary.

Cons:

• Is it a cop-out? The old adage "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." comes to mind.
• Could end up in a difficult school, with difficult kids.

I am probably leaning towards teaching... but I'd like to know your thoughts or even your experiences in either of these fields.

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Jubilee Shenanigans

As I'm watching the Jubilee Concert, I thought I'd recap what occurs in Britain when it's Jubilee time.

1. Everywhere you go, there are union flags. Everywhere. Honestly, I have seen every kind of item splashed with the Union Jack in the last month or so. 
2. It becomes an excuse to have a party or shindig. Which may or may not include cucumber sandwiches and tea.
3. We see more of the Queen than at any other time, ever.
4. It's made everyone forget about the European Football Championships that start next week. Which, considering it is the national sport, is quite an achievement!

So far, we've had a special Derby day of horse-racing at Epsom, a flotilla of 1000 boats down the River Thames, a massive concert in front of Buckingham Palace, and tomorrow there will be a procession followed by a service of Thanksgiving at St. Paul's Cathedral. 

It's brought the whole country together in celebration, and thankfully there has been no chat about whether we should or shouldn't have a monarchy at all. We have just been celebrating what is undoubtably an extraordinary life's work.

Our little nod to Queen Elizabeth's 60 years was an afternoon tea:

The Victoria Sponge with some gratuitous Instagram 'magic'

Jam tarts, pork pies, finger sandwiches (not here yet)... what more could you want?

Well, this is my nod to her Majesty.

Congratulations on a great 60 years on the throne, here's to the rest!

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Fanfiction Readers Anonymous

I have a confession to make.

I read fanfiction.

To some people I know, this is not news, but anyway, it still feels like a confession.

tl;dr - Fanfiction is an inherent part of fandom 'life'. I love it and I wouldn't change that for anything.

I think this is because of the impression of 'outsiders' - by which I mean, those who don't read fanfiction and/or are not inside fandoms - is that fanfiction is a very nerdy or geeky part of fan culture. It is also perceived that fanfiction is a hotbed (pun fully and unashamedly intended ;) ) of porn and smut. Well... it is. There is no point in denying it. But that's not to say that you can't find something with as much depth and plot as the original material.

The point of fanfiction is to fill in the gaps, continue the story, and have a play with those characters you love (or love to hate) so much. It's like you have this huge playground to play in, with infinite possibilities. Also, for a lot of writers, it is a sounding board for their writing. They get to experiment and hone their craft, but with established characters/worlds, an established audience and instant feedback.

I have read fanfiction from a few fandoms in my time, namely, Harry Potter, Twilight (no judgment please) and Glee. Each of these fandoms have their own idiosyncrasies and vernacular, but the thing that stays the same is the enthusiasm of the authors for their stories and the source material.

Reading fanfiction is a different beast from reading books. If you're lucky you might stumble upon a completed multi-chapter behemoth of a fanfiction that is well written, has a good plot and good characterisation. If you're extremely lucky.

You, of course, read a LOT of horrendous stuff as well. Both in story line and in the writing. For an example of this, there is one that is infamous in fanfiction circles; I present exhibit A: My Immortal from the Harry Potter community. It is a masterpiece of modern literature. Otherwise known as the worst thing I have ever read, but also one of the most hilarious because of it. I can't even begin to explain it... just know that not all (or any) fanfiction is as bad as that. I've linked to it, but fair warning, read it at your own peril.

Fanfiction is the main reason I don't 'read' as much as I would like to, despite the fact I am actually reading all the time. I have set a challenge for myself on GoodReads to read 15 books this year. Well, I can safely say I have already read enough to constitute that many books, but unfortunately fanfiction doesn't count...

Fanfiction is, for me, a way of keeping the story going beyond the pages or screen. It's as close to being able to read the books/watch the tv show again with fresh eyes as I can get. It inspires creativity, debate and collaboration. The story of Harry Potter was completed now 5 years ago. Apart from the films, there has been no 'new' material to work with but still the fandom marches on, and IMHO, I think the creation of fanfiction is a big part of that.

I don't think I could stop reading fanfiction, even if I tried. It has been a big part of my life since I was 12ish, and is an inherent part of my being a fan. It doesn't stop me from reading new stuff completely, just more slowly. And sometimes, I'll come across something new that makes me want to go find fanfiction for that book/film/tv show/whatever. Finding something that makes me want to go find fanfiction for it is generally the seal of approval from me.

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Living at Home: Being Part of the Statistics

Today, it was revealed that 3 million young adults between 20 and 34 still live at home.

In 2011, 64% of men and 46% of women aged 20 were living with their parents, while only 7% of 34-year-old males and 2% of 34-year-old females remained in the family home.

And I am one of those statistics. Sigh.

I am even one of the clichés. I spent 4 years at university, racked up thousands of pounds of debt, graduated, returned home, and couldn't find a graduate job (though I didn't exactly try very hard).

So now I live at home, work as a waitress and in a sweet shop and have no solid plans to get out.

But at least I'm not part of the unemployed young people statistics anymore... swings and roundabouts.

There is also a comments page to go with the above article, where 4 'young people' have described their experiences of living at home. A few of their comments stood out:
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Don't be embarrassed to read Harry Potter

Through the Tumblr grapevine, I came across this article in the New York Times: Adults Should Read Adult Fiction.

Well, excuse you, Joel Stein.

I'm just going to pick apart this article in defense of reading what the hell you like.

The tl;dr version is:

Just because a book is classed as Young Adult (YA) or children's literature does not mean that it is unworthy of the attention of 'adult'* readers. Not everything we read needs to be dissected and analysed. Even so, YA and children's literature stands up to analysis just as well as adult literature, sometimes even better.

Also, what she said.

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A New Project

I pledge forthwith to blog at least once a week about anything and everything.

Let me tell you a bit about myself.

My name is Hannah.

I'm 23 years old.

I'm British.

I still live at home.

I graduated from the University of Bath in Pharmacology last year (2011).

I work in a hotel as a waitress, and in a sweet shop.

I have a dog called Dobby.

Well, that's the basics covered. Let's do this!

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Beautiful Girls Star

Beauty Queen Sister is the 13th studio album by Indigo Girls, released on October 4, 2011 by Vanguard Records.