Presents!

Music of the fall

So fall is slowly peaking through. And some new albums (and hopefully tours) are coming up. And as I'm really excited for some new albums. I'd want to share some with you.

First Mumford & Sons with their new album Babel which will release the 21st of September. After a long wait of 2 years they will finally release their new album. I already pre-ordered it and absolutely can't wait.

Next Muse with the album The 2nd Law, and as Muse likes to experiment with new styles I'm very curious about it. I didn't like the first official song of the album but still can't wait to hear the entire album. Especially because I'll be visiting their concert in December.

Taylor Swift and her album Red. I might call it my guilty pleasure, but it actually isn't. I love some sweet, girly, pop music once in a while. And Taylor Swift is definitely one of my favorites. As I'm a bit to sure about the first song, and especially the co-writer of the album.. We will have to wait and see what this will become.

Paramore. I have no idea what the new of this album is going to be as it isn't announced officially yet. But yes there is gonna be a new album. I've seen one of their shows which was fantastic. Please please release some more information!

Other bands I really want to make a new album:

- Sick Puppies

- Switchfoot

- The Pretty Reckless

- Katzenjammer

(the birthday and room post are the next ones lined up)

Happy birthday to... ME!

pictures made by me on my sister's birthday

It's the 26st of August. Get the birthday cake! It's my 21st birthday. As I already celebrated my birthday yesterday (a blog about that will come later). I'll spend this day.. Believe it or not. Moving! I'll move to my room in Utrecht today and probably spend my first night there. I'll also go out with my mom, dad, sister and boyfriend. I'll try to bring as much presents as I can and enjoy my day the best that I can.

So that's why this blog is gonna be short. I like birthdays (except for the fact of getting older) and that's why I'll enjoy the day.
Bye bye!

Crush #4: Craig Horner

I don't think a lot of people really know Craig Horner. He's an Australian actor and the thing I do know him from is a tv-show I absolutely love.. Legend of the Seeker. And even that might not sound to well known. That might because it got cancelled after 2 seasons. I was absolutely gutted about the show being cancelled and still really miss it. I loved Craig as Richard Cypher and hope he'll be cast in a future movie or tv show soon. But not only for girls is this show is very pleasant to look at, yes this guy likes to walk around with a bare chest. (watch the first 2 minutes of the very first episode) I can't help to say, the girls in this show are attractive and totally bad-ass. Throwing knifes around and catsuits are included. 

But the thing which is really excited about this post. I will meet Craig in less then 2 months, as he'll be attending RingCon. I'll definitely make a blog post about that after visiting and tell you guys all about it. 

Want to know more about Legend of the Seeker? I made a fan video of Legend of the Seeker about a year ago which you'll be able to watch here.

I'm moving out!

Guess what? I'm moving out! I visited a room in Utrecht yesterday and all though it's quite small. I loved the feeling in the house, where 2 other people are living. And think I can make my own little place in there. It's only for 5 months as I have to do my graduation internship starting in February. But as I live in a really small town, the need to move out became stronger and stronger. And now I found quite an affordable place near the center of Utrecht.. I couldn't help myself. 

My parents and boyfriend will help me move this Sunday, which is actually the day I become 21 years old. But as my birthday plans are all on Saturday that doesn't matter. The things I'll bring? Well actually not to much. My bed, tv, blu-ray player, a small cabinet, clothes, some books and my best DVD's. A wardrobe and desk are already available in the room. There will be a living room, a nice kitchen and even a washing machine and dryer available. There's a bus stop right in front of the house and a park across the street.

I'm a bit nervous as this is the first time I'll be moving out on my own. In London I lived together with 2 of my friends. Which made it a bit different. More updates will be coming later, when I've finished moving and my room is actually done.

A room/apartment in London

Some people requested and asked me if I wanted to make a post about how to find a room or apartment in London. The pictures above show a bit of where I lived for my 5 months in London. Because I was in London with 2 friends we were able to afford an apartment. (well just about) Very central, on a 10 minute walk of Brick Lane and a 3 minute walk to Underground station Bethnal Green. The neighborhood is very Indian but I quite liked that. Brick Lane has become one of my favorite spots in London. And as the apartment (or the flat) looks a bit old, it was fine for 5 months. But yes, very pricey, because that is what London is. Very expensive! In case people are wondering. We payed about 850 euros (everything included) a month for this apartment. And yes I'm serious. We all did have our own room (with double bed), a kitchen, bathroom, two floors and a living room. Plus an entirely furnished apartment. But still.. Very expensive.

But how do you find one? London is a very busy and popular city. And only if you are very lucky you will be able to find an apartment before you go there. Everyone laughed at us when we asked to make an appointment for a viewing for the next week. Because that is absolutely impossible, apartments or rooms are gone within the day.
That's why we booked a hotel for the first two days. And I would recommend a few more days if you want to take it a bit slower and take some time to look at apartments or rooms. Because two days, is definitely not enough in most cases. We tried to make appointments before we went, but as this didn't work out. We spend our first two days in London calling our asses of and surfing the internet to make appointments.

We visited about 8 apartments in two days. But in most cases we had to wait about 2 weeks before the current inhabitants moved out or we had to rent the apartment for over 6 months. And we definitely couldn't afford two weeks in a hotel. We were desperate to find something and that's why we found an estate agent in the end. He helped us to get this apartment, a free room to stay in for a few days and even some discount on the service costs. We discussed if we could afford this apartment and decided to do it. As we all got a reimbursement for travelling up to two London Underground zones and didn't want to spend to much on travelling. The extra costs for the apartment would have to do.

And finally after spending four nights in a small room with the three of us, we were able to move in to our apartment. The massive supermarket (Sainsbury's) on a 5 minute walk and everything just a few more steps away.

The things I would recommend?
1. Book a hotel for about a week before you have to start your internship.
2. Use websites like gumtree.com and CALL because e-mailing will not work in any case.
3. Make sure you're able to visit the apartment/room on the same day you're calling because it will be gone in no time.
4. Try to save up some money before you go because you'll probably not find a room under 450 pounds a month.
5. If you want to find something a bit less expensive try to look in to zones 3, 4 and 5 or maybe even outside London. But keep in mind that you'll be losing way more money on travelling.

In case you have more questions, feel free to ask. And if I forgot something.. Add your tips in the comments!

(sorry this turned out to be such a massive post, but I hope it will helps some of you guys!)

Dreamhouse #4

How to get an internship in a foreign country?

I've had so much questions about this. How did I get my internship in London? Well as it definitely wasn't easy. I've got some tips and tricks on how to do it. As I learned quite a lot from my search. And will start a new hunt next month again. Because I'm trying to get another one in London for my graduation internship. So here we go.

1. Make sure your CV, portfolio and motivation letter are neat and (in case of media/graphic internships) try to make them creative and notable. Send a letter or maybe a package, so you'll stand out.

2. I know people don't like calling. But try to do it. They'll hear your voice, which is already a lot more personal then an e-mail. So pick up your phone and ask if an internship is available.

3. In case you really don't want to call.. E-mailing doesn't work that good. I e-mailed about 45 companies of which I had about 8 replies. None of them needed interns at this time. But maybe you'll get lucky! So try, try and try even more. 

4, In case no one replies, what happened in my case, look on the internet for companies who will find the internship for you. It will cost a bit of money but it does work. (not always very smoothly so pick a company with care) And that's how I found my internship in the end.

5. Another idea would be, book a flight to the place you want to go. (if that's affordable) And just step by some companies. Try to network and maybe it'll work in the end. Companies in your own country might be able to help out a bit as well. 

6. Don't give up and start early! Try to start quite early so you won't stress out when it doesn't work.

And that was it. Questions are always welcome and if you want to know more.. How did I find an appartment, or what was the best part of staying in London? Feel free to ask and I might make a post in the future.

The Dr. Martens

Shoes.. Doesn't every girl just love them? Well I do, and I think I've must have about 50 pairs. But as I'm a lover for black Converse and minty green Vans. I do like weird, a bit alternative and special shoes. Like my Dr. Martens, and yes I do wear those. On a 25 degrees summer day. A highwaisted short, fun oversized band t-shirt and accessoires will do the job! As I've been wearing my Docs for quite a few time the start to look a bit more "worn". And I like them better that way. I think it's important to combine them which isn't always easy, but I do love them.

I know this is a very random post. But my Dr. Martens deserve a post. What do you think of Dr. Martens? Would you like or own a pair? Or do you think the shoes look awful?

A London post

Regal Rose

The future?

What will my future bring? I've been thinking about this question quite a few times. Especially now my graduation is coming closer and I'm becoming 21 in a few weeks. Everything goes by so fast. 21? Doesn't that sound a lot older then 20?

But when I say future, I mean the future in 10 years. The time where I'm probably worrying about becoming 31, or a young baby and me getting back to work. Because yes when I'm 30? I hope to have my first kid, a nice apartment or house and of course my dream job! Or hopefully I'm getting there. Where that would be? I'm not entirely sure yet, somewhere in the video world. As a producer on a film set? An art director or maybe an editor. My apartment might be placed in London and I'd secretly hope to be married. And right now? I hope to be still together with me boyfriend.

I hope I've had a trip to Comic-Con (San Diego), visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (Orlando) and did a roadtrip in America before I become 30 years old. I hope to still have the best of times with my nerdherd friends and get together with my family for great dinners and Christmas celebrations. I hope to live a happy life and be satisfied with who I am. As in the end, that will be the most important thing.

The London adventure

When you'll read this I'm probably on my way to London, this time by train. And as it wasn't my intention to visit the Olympics at the first place. I'll probably go see the man's marathon this Sunday. I can't miss this while I'm there right? I need to get a bit of the atmosphere and might watch some events on a big screen somewhere in London. A pub maybe?

But the main reason I'm going there? To see my boyfriend, and it's actually quite special that we'll see each other one every week and half this month! He left a week and half ago after Kos and after I leave this Tuesday he'll arrive again a week and half later for my 21st birthday. And because it's holiday and I've got some extra time off (and time to work) we were able to plan it like this. 

I can't wait for the weekend and bet we'll have an amazing time. I'll see you again on Tuesday but there are some posts lined up for you. I'll be back with a picture post.

Long live Youtube

I've always been a big fan of Youtube Vloggers. Never heard of it? Vloggers are people who video blog, so tell about their life on Youtube and show you a little peak into what they're doing. I've got some definite favorites as I've been following a few vloggers for about 4 years. Plus I've had a my own Youtube channel for about 6,5 years. (which you can find here).

Now on to my favorite Youtubers. 

1. LukeConard (the blond singing guy in the first video)

I found out about Luke because of two of his bands. All Caps and Ministry of Magic. Summer of '09 must've been my favorite at that time. But I not only love his music but also his personal vlogs, for which he has a separate channel. I started to follow his girlfriend, and a few of his friends who were in the vlogs. He's funny and totally nerdy, just like me.

2. Meekakitty (the red-haired girl in the second video)
With her bright red hair Tessa is a totally kick-ass girl. I recently fell in love with her newest video and most of her videos are amazing and the quality, originality and especially in combination with Nanalew are outstanding.

The next list will be a few of Youtubers I like without explanation. Meekakitty and LukeConard are my two all time favorites but these are definitely worth checking out as well. (I linked my favorite videos of them).

3. JoeyGraceffa
4. charlieissocoollike
5. booksandquills
6. Nanalew
7. lindseystomp
8. vlogbrothers
9. JckSparrow (the Hillywood Show)
10.whitneyleemilam (basically all my favorite YT'ers are in this video)

Jobs?

Guess what? I've got a new job! I've been working next to school for almost half of my life now. (and yes, I'm 20 years old) But as I've always been wanting to do a lot, my parents said at the age of 13.. 'If you want to go to a concert, you'll have to earn money yourself.' Because no, they'll not pay for every concert I'll want to go too. And that is why I started working as a dishwasher at the age of 13. And since then, I've always been having a job.

I've had serving jobs, I've been a shop assistant, I'm still a web developer and just left my job as a desktop publisher. What will I do now? I've had an interview last week and got a call yesterday, 'you're hired!'
I'm hired at the photo department in the Media Markt, and as I'll start my photography course from September on. This will come in very handy for lenses and my knowledge of the technique. I'm quite excited and can't wait to start after my weekend in London.

Why I need to earn money you'd ask? If you've been following my blog you might have seen that I do A LOT. Sometimes I think it's to much for my own good. But I'm able to go on holidays, visit conventions, go to concerts, buy a lot of books and DVD's, do clothing shopping and take care of myself. And let's not forget my boyfriend who lives in London, whom I really want to see once every month. Now I have to admit that my parents are financially stable and able to help me in a lot of ways. But I'm glad I have the freedom to do this much and still make school.

I love spending money on my hobby's and spend time with friends, family and my boyfriend. And this is why I work.

The bedroom: a tour

Welcome to a special tour in my bedroom. As I'm looking for an apartment to live in for the next 5 months, I still live in my parents house. And even before you enter, you'll notice the fangirl in me. Some pictures I picked out, I think about a year and half ago, are still on my door. You may now enter.

Summer movie reviews

As a movie fanatic and my plans of doing reviews I'm here to review all the movies I've seen over the last few months. (in the cinema) Expect a lot of superhero movies and fantasy, I've also been thinking about getting some sort of subscription for a movie theater as the cinema seems like a second home to me. (I've seen all these movie in the last 3 months)
There are no main spoilers in these reviews.

The Avengers
2012 is the year of superhero's. And to start that year of I went to see the Avengers, in London, together with my boyfriend. As I was absolutely excited about this movie, my expectations where quite high. And did they live up to it? Oh heck yes! This movie will come in on a second place of the movies I've seen so far this year. You might be able to call it the Tony Stark show as well. As he, in my opinion, still steals the show, and yes Iron Man is my favorite Avenger. The movie was thrilling, epic and exciting. I don't really have anything bad to say about it, but yes it will still come in second place. If you love action, fantasy or super hero movies, you'll definitely enjoy it.
If you haven't seen the Avengers yet, check if the cinema near you still plays it or get your hands on the DVD/Blu-Ray when it's out.

Find your greatness

As the Olympics are on, sport videos start to raise up again. And as the first video from Nike has a little association with my latest Crush post. (Tom Hardy did the voice over) The second video is the official song for the Olympics by Muse called Survival.

Why would I post these? I always get really caught up while watching sport events like this. I'm a bigger fan of the Winter Olympics but love the emotion and time people put in to sports. I know how it feels to train really hard and being eager to win. And all the hard work, happiness and dedication. I can't believe a 15 year old actually won a gold medal. Her tears almost made me tear up. I think it's one of the most wonderful things to see people achieve their goals. 

That is one of the things which makes me love the Olympics. (and of course other sport events)

Kos in pictures