Texters, talkers and seat-kickers...

‘Why do I go to the cinema?’ I asked myself half way through the monotonous, overrated and utterly underwhelming 50 Shades of Grey.

I should have stayed at home, in the comfort of my own house, eating food that didn’t cost a small fortune and avoided the inevitable queue for the year’s most highly anticipated movie.

Before you roll your eyes at yet another critical review of 50 Shades, this blog post is actually not about the beautiful Jamie Dornan or the frustratingly annoying Dakota Johnson. It was, however, inspired by my visit to the cinema to see the movie last Wednesday night.

Now, I wasn’t expecting the movie itself to blow me out of the water but, all in all, I was looking forward to going to the cinema. Sometimes we go just for the experience more so than the actual film itself; for a night out with friends or for a date night with your other half.

Something very similar to this happened me last week...

But last week I questioned my own judgement as to why I bother going at all. To see a film I can probably illegally download on my laptop? To eat ridiculously over-priced popcorn? No.

Every now and again the cinema experience is not the relaxing night we had planned. Sometimes, like last Wednesday, it can actually be a living nightmare. Talkers, texters and people who find pleasure in kicking the back of your seat are all reasons your cinema experience can go oh-so-wrong. If you’re one of those people then maybe you should stop reading now…

 The Talkers

There’s always one, isn’t there? Someone who can’t quite seem to keep up with the plot and who proceeds to ask a hundred and one questions throughout the movie. Maybe if you stopped asking questions and focused on what was happening you might actually know. Just a thought. Then, on the other end of the spectrum, there are the people who feel it necessary to provide a running commentary on every single movement. Yes I’m here too. Watching the same movie as you. Yes, I can see what just happened. No, I do not need to hear your annoying, little voice repeating what I can already see!

The I’m-super-popular-can’t-leave-my-phone-down-people

Yes, I’m talking about you with your head bent scrolling through your Facebook news feed or frantically texting some other I’m-so-popular-can’t-leave-my-phone-down creature. There is no need to text in the cinema. Seriously, can you really not leave your phone out of your hands for an hour or two? And as for the cinema snapchatters out there. Please. None of your snapchat buddies really want to see a pitch dark snapchat from you declaring how much fun you’re having in the cinema. Put the phone away.

The Food that cost an arm and a leg

 

Despite how over-priced it can be, food at the cinema is a must. Preferably a medium sized popcorn and coke or even some sneaky supplies you bought in Tesco on the way to the cinema. Some people just don’t think about the rest of the people sitting around them who might want to enjoy the film in peace. Eating pistachio nuts, or any other extremely loud and annoying type of food, is not ok and it never will be.

The Late-comers

The late-comers are up there with the seat-kickers. It’s just so annoying. Granted there are those who come in late and have the decency to be embarrassed by it but this, I’m afraid, is not the norm. The people who waltz in, ten minutes into the start of the film, and loudly ponder where they will sit or how much of the movie they’ve missed are the worst kind of people. This is not ok. Please, think of the audience.

The I'm-so-in-love-I-can't-stop-shifting-couple
Ah, couples. Shifting the face off each other might have been ok ten years ago when you were 14-years-old but it’s not ok anymore. Just because it’s dark doesn’t mean we can’t see or hear you. Have some self-control. 

Photos c/o: Wordpress and the National Times.

If tomorrow never comes

Next week, next month, next year. We are always putting things off. ‘I’ll do it tomorrow,’ I say. But tomorrow never comes and suddenly, as the week slips out of my hands, I think, I’ll start next Monday.

Monday. It’s a little bit like Groundhog Day isn’t it? Not exactly the most inspiring day of the week. But you have to start somewhere so why not today? Why not Monday?

With Operation Transformation dominating our television screens and an unprecedented focus on health and fitness in the media; it’s hard not to be sucked into the world of treadmills, squats and lycra.

If you’ve never considered yourself a gym bunny before it might be time to reconsider. With the ever-increasing stresses of college assignments (yes, FYP I’m talking about you), work or whatever else might be going on in your head; sometimes the best thing to do is get out of the house, get out of your head, get lost in the music blaring out of your headphones and exercise. Take it out on a treadmill. Literally. Pounding the treadmill, or the roads as it may be, is a sure fire way to release any stress or anger you may be carrying. As well as keeping your heart healthy and pumping oxygen into your system, exercise also helps deplete stress hormones while also releasing mood-enhancing chemicals. It’s a win-win situation!

Just do it!

The all too common excuses such as ‘I’m tired’ or ‘I’m stressed’ should be seen as motivation and not a deterrent.  Too often we get caught in a vicious cycle of all work and no play. We become too tired, too lazy and totally overwhelmed at the thought of actually getting up and moving. In reality, it’s not as bad as you might think. While I’ve been gradually getting back to some sort of level of fitness over the past few weeks, it hasn’t been easy. More often than not I have a mental battle in my head over whether I’ll bother go to the gym today or give it a skip. Sometimes my willpower wins and I go and I feel better, happier, less stressed and more energetic. Sometimes the latter wins and I waste away my evening watching mindless TV programmes, feeling sorry for myself and wishing I got up off my ass and went.

Watching people run a charity 10k, or even a half-marathon, can often leave you wondering how you will ever get to that level of fitness. It can leave you a little envious and a little disheartened. However it’s important to remember that everyone has to start somewhere. Even the likes of Sonia O’Sullivan had to struggle, puffing and panting, before she ever got into the swing of things. The truth is, if you stick with it, running, swimming, football or whatever it may be, does get easier and you will get better. One day you’ll be exercising and you’ll suddenly realise that it’s not as painful or uncomfortable as you once thought it was. Pigs might fly and you might even start to enjoy it! 

Pictures c/o: Pinterest, Twicsy and Indulgy. 

Valentine's Day: A waste of money or a showcase of love?

In theory Valentine's Day can seem like a wonderful idea; a day specifically designed to appreciate your other half and show them how much you love them. In reality though, the day can turn out to be not so sweet.

If you’ve been brainwashed into celebrating Valentine’s Day with a romantic candle-lit dinner followed by a moonlit stroll on the beach after being showered with a bouquet of roses and a bottle of champagne in your hotel room where you’ve gone for a getaway romantic weekend then I’m guessing you won’t agree with what I’m about to say in this blog so maybe you should stop reading…

But maybe you’re a cynical anti-Valentine critic like me and you dismiss the notion of buying presents for your loved one on a random made up holiday. If so, keep reading. You might like what I have to say.

Now don’t get me wrong, I like to be appreciated and pampered as much as the next girl but I don’t need Valentine’s Day for that. Without any of us even realising it Valentine’s Day has turned into an exhibition of us proving our love for each other with over-the-top presents and cards that cost more than my right arm, rather than actually celebrating it. Like many cynics I cling to the notion that this inane, made-up holiday is sponsored by profit-seeking, commercial card companies and overpriced florists who will market anything remotely romantic in order to make some money and then laugh all the way to the bank with your hard earned dolla bills.

I’m not wrong in what I’m saying. Figures released last year from Visa Europe found that in the Irish market, holders of their cards spent almost €10 million in florist shops alone. They also found that 40% of Irish people bought flowers to mark the so-called special occasion on February 14^th. 

And it’s not just the florists who hit the jackpot in the run-up to Valentines. Renowned card company Hallmark, who first sold Valentine's cards in 1913, now offer a choice of over 1,400 different cards for the special occasion and An Post is expected to handle approximately 100,000 Valentine's Day cards this year! That’s a lot of cards, a lot of stamps and a lot of money.

So why do we feel such a need to splurge money a lot of us don’t have on a commercialised holiday that’s forgotten about soon after the clock strikes midnight? Are we worried about keeping up with what everyone else is doing and letting them know you’re in a happy relationship? Cue cutesy Facebook statuses from girls of ‘The boy did well’ when their boyfriends ‘surprised’ them with Michael Kors watches or Mi Moneda chains after dropping not so subtle hints. Chances are they’ll be broken up in a few weeks.

Ok so maybe that’s a bit harsh but you see where I’m going. There’s no need to tell the whole world or the virtual world you’ve created on Instagram or Twitter about what you got, or didn’t get, on Valentine’s Day. It’s annoying, it’s cheesy and most of us really don’t care.

Don’t get me wrong, a surprise bouquet of flowers or an expensive gift is undoubtedly flattering and I’d be the first to accept without hesitation. But is one day of the year really necessary to showcase how much your significant other means to you? Maybe, just maybe, we should be highlighting it all year round without the flashy presents and extravagant gifts.

Pictures courtesy of: http://happyvalentinesday2015z.com/anti-valentines-day-2015-cards/ and Pinterest. 

Redefining the fashion industry one plus-size model at a time

TESS MUNSTER (left) made fashion headlines around the world recently when she became the first plus-size model to land a major modelling contract. In an industry infatuated with ever shrinking waistlines and skeletal, unrealistic body frames, Tess Munster has defied the odds. At 5ft 5 and a UK size 24, the 29-year-old has made history after signing to London based modelling agency MiLK Model Management.

Despite being shot down by various different casting agencies and told she would never cut it as a professional model because of her height and her weight, Munster refused to give up and she was eventually scouted by Anna Shillinglaw. The director and owner of Milk Model Management and former model signed the plus-size beauty after coming across her Instagram account, which has a staggering 443,000 followers.

The American’s signing to a professional modelling agency comes over a year after she was named one of the world’s top plus-size models in 2013 by Vogue Italia.

As well as making fashion history Munster, who also goes under the surname Holliday, launched the #effyourbeautystandards campaign in 2013. The body-positive activist launched her idea in an effort to promote women of all shapes and sizes to be proud of their bodies.

So, what exactly does Munster's signing mean for the fashion industry?

Well, like anything, success comes with judgement and criticism and, unfortunately, Tess is no different. Far from applauding the Mississippi native for overturning traditional fashion standards, many people have been quick to slam her as a negative role model promoting obesity. This blatantly one-sided opinion reinforces the ideology of traditional fashion industries all around the world who promote overly skinny, unrealistic and simply unattainable body shapes and sizes.

We have been brainwashed by the fashion industry over the past few decades into believing that skinny is beautiful and anything else isn’t. This simplistic, black and white view is gradually being turned on its head with the likes of Tess Munster being signed. Her signing to a high-profile agency tells men, women, teenagers and children that there is more than just one desirable look. 

Unfortunately the fashion industry and its models aren’t the only ones to blame. We must also point the finger at the media; newspapers, magazines and, in recent years, social media for endorsing and promoting a certain body type. The increasing use of Photoshop and other editing apps has further alienated the stereotypical, skinny model to ordinary people like you and me.

While some people may take little notice or overlook Tess Munster’s ascension into professional modelling, others will view it as a monumental step for the ordinary people of this world.

Anorexia, bulimia and so much more negative attention has surrounded the fashion industry in recent years and it's time to look at some of the more positive attributes the runway has to offer. Yes some people will argue against me that a model of her height and weight should not be anywhere near a camera or a catwalk but I disagree. It’s high time we started looking past skinny and redefined what it means to be a model. 

The future is bright for Tess Munster and, with fingers crossed, I hope she paves the way for many more models like her.

Picture courtesy of Photographer: http://www.capturedbychelzea.com/