Grumpy old teenager

Holy Moley

2015-03-05T12:13:00.001+00:00

Holey moley indeed, Im still alive, who would have thought that would ever happen?!

It's finished and just beginning

2013-05-27T21:00:00.003+01:00

Holy Shit it's been a while. I mean I guess I haven't kept up with this thing very well, pretty useless I guess. So where am I now, well, University is over, and so begins the rest of my life. I'd like very much to think of this as a very positive step, but merely becoming a national unemployment statistic is not actually one of my lifelong goals. I've felt like Uni has sucked the imagination out of me, however sad that is, I feel like I've needed somewhere to rant and vent. Here goes, welcome to my world once more.

Oh let down..

2011-08-26T15:47:00.003+01:00

So, I promised to post more, but I have not been. Is it because I'm working on my cure for cancer?! no. Or because I've met more women than charlie sheen..?! no. because basiclly nothing has ben going on And I dont want to post boring stuff, pretty much like this one....

so I am not abandoning this site, just a slight break.

Doom, Gloom.. and an army of.. broom(s)

2011-08-10T15:25:00.000+01:00

yes.. that does rhyme.

So England is burning down....

Yaaaaaaaaaaaay....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12n96ensC04

Harry Potter And other shizz

2011-08-03T15:24:00.000+01:00

Well hello there, once again. I hope everyone is well...

So It has been a while since I have written an actual post but thought, Much like when someone in the room farts and you're not sure whether to acknowledge it or not, this is a similar kind of scenario. But much like a silent but deadly, lets have a mutual agreement of pretending that nothing happened and carry on as usual shall we...

So, if everyone has their nose-pegs on... let us begin.

Its freaking hot. Being english we have one day a year in which the weather is perfect, every other day is either too hot, or too cold. (mainly the too cold thing) But after being stuck in a car for 12 hours because of snow I think I like it being too hot than too cold.

Nothing like an ice cold shower on one of the 3 days of summer we get a year right?!

So I finally watched Harry Potter last night. It was actually awesome. I'm no film buff, (or buff in any sense of the word come to think of it) but I know what I like. And Neville longbottom in a cardigan is awesome. (I'm not gay by the way, I just thought it was a nice touch.)

So in between melting in the cinema and melting at home, The summer has been relatively boring. But summer holidays always are, have been, and always will be. The fact of having around 6-8 weeks of doing nothing, teamed with the fact that the economy is so rubbish because a bloke in New York, london and Hong Kong broke a calculator so no-one has any money, meaning you can't get any hours at a shitty dead end job makes it twice as bad.

But hey, things could always be worse I guess.

Anyway on the subject of harry potter, I hope you enjoy this magic trick. Performed by yours truly ;)

WHY HELLO AGAIN!

2011-07-27T12:23:00.000+01:00

Apologies for the capitals...

It has been a while so I'm sorry....

Anyway......

There has been quite a lot of things hitting the headlines lately, my thoughts of which can be summed up here...

So I am starting to post here again after many weeks of not really feeling the urge to. But I am back :)

20 things to do when you're bored!

2011-07-06T11:39:00.000+01:00

Quick vlog post I did.... enjoy

VLOGGING!

2011-07-03T15:33:00.000+01:00

Hello!!!

I haven't posted in a while now. So I thought I would share this..

I'm starting a vlogging channel on youtube...

I find It easier to talk into a camera and get myself across than type up something..

Don't worry I WILL still be posting here so don't be sad and cry... not that anyone would but still...

anyway starting off with what to some of you may be a familiar work story, and Wimbledon 2011...

the good news is you get to see my face. The bad news.. You have to look at my face.

still head of to my channel.. http://www.youtube.com/user/GrumpyOldTeen

click that subscribe button as I not always update here when I post a new video..

anyway's.. enjoy :)

The viral experiment: how to be disowned by your mother.

2011-06-29T17:21:00.000+01:00

A while ago I made a post about viral video's. (linky mc link link)

So after much research (aka watching random video's on youtube) I set myself a challenge.

Make a video, and by the end of summer, have 1 million hits on it.

A wild challenge I know. But I want to attempt to understand the craziness of the internet, and more importantly what works and what doesn't when it comes to spreading the word of a video, page, ect.

This will all be scientific of course.

I shall try various things, posting on forums, twitter, this page ect. begging for people to watch this video in the hope it will take off. If it doesn't, well I shall try again next week. If it does. well My mum is gunna be pretty pisssed off.

You see, I was trying to think of the perfect recipe for a viral. After much deliberation I came up with this.

I hope you will all join me on the quest for gaining 1 million views for this video. If you don't, well I hope it gave you a cheap laugh.

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears....

2011-06-26T18:19:00.000+01:00

So I have decided to name my "rants" under a specific title (10 cyber cookies to whoever can guess it, actually no, because it's pretty bloody obvious). So every rant will be under this heading, and any other post will have a suitable title for itself...

So on with today....

Advertising really gets on my nipples. (No that's not the title, but I don't like saying tits... :)

Now. I know what you're thinking - even though you're not thinking this but you will be in several seconds once you finish this sentence. Not not that one.. or this one, the next one. Why would an advertising student hate adverts. That's right part of my degree is in advertising. But I shall explain.

Now, there are some blatant strokes of genius in the advertising world...

for example...

Hilarious, and brilliant yes. It's quite clearly selling a razor.. but which brand... well its actually bic.. I'm assuming you can tell the brand of it when you can see this in person but for know let us just say it's amazing, but at the same time, completely and utterly crap.

You see adverts prime and pretty much only objective is to sell or increase brand awareness.. get the word out ect.. But... seriously. Adverts these days are pretty shit.

Now this has to be one of the worst adverts ever. I mean seriously.. who the hell decided in a marketing meeting to say.. I know lets put a dog in a ring box talking about how awesome a sausage is.. but that's not enough, lets put some cheesy music in the background, and end it by saying men are shit at conveying their own feelings...

But even worse, is the manager that agreed to it.

Part 2. Virals.

Who the hell came up with virals... again they are genius and at the same time, completely stupid. Watching 20 roller blading babies... well roller blading babies is yes, brilliant and entertaining at the same time, and one of the few videos on the internet that made me laugh that wasn't porn.

But just because the crazy people at Evian were able to train their kids to roller blade at the age of six months... (yes I know it's computer generated, but I haven't had kids, and the only hope I can have of enjoying having them is that in between the piles of shit and tears is a roller blading competition) But seriously who the hell watched that video and decided to go... Bloody hell I can't roller blade, but the baby on the advert can... blimey.. that's it... I need a bottle of water, and I'll be able to roller blade home....

I guess the problem is you never know the effect an advert has.. If it will increase the sales, or drive viewers insane when they think that cats have thumbs... see video below for video reference..

Part 3. Lip syncing

I'm not sure how many you get in the US, but in europe, adverts can look horrible.. well not all of them.

http://www.tellyads.com/show_movie.php?filename=TA3962

watch that and get back to me.

I mean it's just irritating. It's just the way it is so blatantly someone else's voice.. These are multi million/billion £/$/€ companies, and they cannot be bothered to try and sync it properly.

They do this in order to save money. But in my (unprofessional but correct) opinion, it's extremely damaging to the brand image... and besides it makes the people who star in the advert look like complete and utter MORONS.

So that's part one of what grinds my gears.. what shall be up next time.. who know's... actually even I don't but I'm sure I'll think of something..

I'll leave you with my favourite advert. is amazing and, jaw dropping in my opinion. But crap as it didn't want me to buy the product. These seriously are great so please watch and enjoy :)

btw, it is NOT computer generated in any way. 1 million bouncy balls were used.

The Grumpy List....

2011-06-24T15:07:00.000+01:00

I've added an extra page to my blog, link at the top or if you're as lazy as me... Here

Basically just a list of things that get on my nerves, I'll be adding to it often so swing by that :)

Just letting you know :p

My first Vlog..

2011-06-23T12:54:00.001+01:00

Well It's not the greatest vlog.. It's not actually a video... well it is.. but you can't see me, so apologies.

I'm trying to improve my speaking/presenting skills for my life ahead..

So any advice and input would be great...

It's about a couple funny work stories and bad customers, from copying accents to finding a bag of lingerie in the car park.

It's meant to be a humour post about work... humour being the important and most likely lacking word here...

It's 15 minutes long so apologies, but I hope it's entertaining....

It's No longer Friday...

2011-06-21T10:40:00.000+01:00

For those of you who are unaware (& or care.. which I'm assuming is very few) The "worst song of all time" Rebecca Blacks "Friday" has been removed from youtube...

Due to a copyright claim by none other than the lady/girl/digitally altered voice box herself.

The story goes that the music company that produced the masterpiece (/sarcasm), began to charge people to watch the video. That's right. They actually thought people would pay to watch that.... seriously I mean I know business is tough at the moment but c'mon.

It does just show how crazy and out of proportion things can go on the internet, I mean, I put a video of me playing Red hot chilli peppers Under the bridge on youtube.. I know I'm not the best, hell I'm not even that good, but the first comment I recieved.. "why did I watch this, you're 19, and you can't even play under the bridge".

2 things that really simply piss me off.

1) Everyone has to be a show off on the internet, even though in 99% of cases, they are some 12 year old prepubescent kid, that has no life skills and friends

2) People judging someone completely by their age (yes I am aware of the horrific hypocrisy in this)

But hear me out. If I talk to someone, and they respect me then I shall respect them. If they are 10, 20, or 90. If however they show me nothing, and judge me for just being a teenager or as the daily mail would say.. a "hoodie" even though it's bloody impossible to buy a decent top that doesn't have a hood on the back these days.....

I guess that's just how we live, with horrible stereotypes, and preconceptions.. (again yes I am aware of the hypocrisy and irony in this, but I was exaggerating to prove a point)

A post about nothing...

2011-06-20T19:00:00.000+01:00

Life is carrying on, in the same, crappy, monotonous way.

Nothing seems to be happening. I just want something to happen, life changing.. I mean at least then I could write an interesting post!

Seriously, I know people say, you have to be active, "be the change" and all that other self motivational bullshit, which they only say in the hope that you buy some book that they wrote in 5 minutes full of retarded quotes....

But you can't just go out and change the world, however inspiring the idea of it may seem. I mean seriously what can you do?! Tell the one you love how you feel, been there, done that. As you can tell in the angry way I'm writing this that it was a great success...

But nothing really changes in the short run, a cheap thrill hear and there can have an effect, but I can't really afford anything... like.. that.. ahem.

Maybe I'm being naive in thinking life should be a thrill a minute, but everyone says the teenage years can be the best of your life.. I just want to make sure they are.. mainly because I have less than a year left of being one... (I don't wanna grow up :[.....)

Apologies for another pretty depressing post.. but it's called grumpy old teenager for a reason!! :)

Seriously..?! At MY checkout!!??

2011-06-17T18:56:00.000+01:00

I don't have a job at the moment.

I used to, but had to quit as I moved to uni, and now they are unable to give me hours over the summer, (Yay, gotta love the recession).....

I thought I would share a few of the funniest moments from the world of work, that I have experienced first hand.....

- A (how do I put this politically correctly...) exceptionally camp man, and his mother were shopping.. when I put an FHM magazine through... The man produces a shocked look and asks, Mum, why did you buy me this.. to which she replied... and I swear to god... "I just thought it might do you some good"... whilst welling up with tears.....

- A couple I was serving were just chatting... The man says, that'll be us later, and points to the window... so instinctively I look round, making sure they didn't know I was eavesdropping ;)... and there we go.. two dogs.. in exactly that style... right next to the window... Hilarious yes... so I dive under my checkout to stop them noticing the embarrassment on my face.. upon doing this I hear the words.... "you'll be lucky...."

- A old couple almost ended up fist fighting right in front of me..

- A German woman, proclaimed that in Germany they have been charging for bags for years.. (in context, it was a conversation between me and the customer before her about why we don't charge for bags).. To which luckily only I heard him mumble... well... we won the war....

- And to top it all off.... The "exceptionally camp man" from the first story.... He came out gay to his mum in the end.......... at MY checkout!!

Would love to hear any great stories you guys have :)

peace out.

Just something random I found

2011-06-16T13:38:00.001+01:00

Many of you may have seen this before...

it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.
Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Okay so not the most thrilling of posts but I found it interesting.....

Today, the internet was down.....

2011-06-15T19:11:00.000+01:00

You know that horrible sinking feeling you get when, some-one tells you some bad news, or accuses you of something you feel guilty of doing?

That happened today.

Only the sad thing is, was becuase my internet was down.

I know that sounds sad, but I was like...

I mean, so much of what I do in the day is using the internet and especially as I'm now a lazy bum.. I mean, student, I have a ridiculous amount of time to burn, I didnt even know what to do with myself...

And because we're on this Virgin Media gizmo, it means I couldnt watch TV because it's all in the same system... YAY.

I guess it helped me realise how much dependant we are on the internet, and how stuck we can be without access to it...

I think I'll start to wind down my heavy internet usage...

Well we all know that isn't going to happen, but at least I had plenty of time to do some exercise../eat cake.

1000 Views..... And how things change

2011-06-14T19:13:00.000+01:00

It feels like yesterday that I made my first post.. (linky linky)

I guess 1000 views in the grand scheme of things but it's the little things that keep us going.

I think that its important not be swept up in the crazy targets of being a dot com millionaire or owning the world, but remain realistic in the goals and ambitions we set ourselves, otherwise we end up being swept up in the moment, and let down minutes later.... (linky linky)

Time just passes by so quickly, its hard to know where it's all gone... This time last year I was in a relationship, sitting my A levels, not even knowing if I was going to university, I mean, even the sofa I am sitting on to type this has changed...

I'm taking this small opportunity to reflect upon the last couple months and how things have changed since starting this...

Exams were a couple weeks away, I still had hope with my latest love, friendships were on the rocks....

Well all of these have changed, Exams are over, and results were in (B's all round if anyone actually cares...) the hope has gone, but the friendships have been repaired...

I reckon that it's important to reflect on what's changed, but most importantly why it has.. Spending too much time wishing things were back to the way they were, can block our view on the life we have in the present :)

Scams, Bans and Flim flams...

2011-06-13T18:19:00.000+01:00

Short answer; No. Long answer; Maybe.

We all need it, we all want it, it keeps us entertained, and it feels good giving it to people. If you are thinking of something else (that's naughty) feel judged.

The problem is, everyone wants a quick fix. Just waking up one day, with enough money in the bank to last the rest of your life.

With this new fangled thing called the internet, there are hundreds of websites out there giving us "amazing once in a lifetime opportunities" to make money. All from the comfort of our own home, sitting with a pint of beer in a birthday suit rolling in money.

A reality. For one or two people. Tone down the exaggeration, and it become's more realistic.

I guess it's important to think of the internet as not a way to make money, but a way to save money. Of course there are sites that can make you money, I shall probably touch on them later, or in a part 2...

It's just people see the adverts for making *insert ridiculous figure per hour* and rightly assume it is a scam, most likely just a person gathering your information during signup and selling it to.. well anybody.

With this is mind, no-one takes the point that the websites that you can make/save money are in fact real, and not just a carbon copy of the insane figures stated on the scamming sites...

Just take an easy approach, make sure you read the T&C's of anything and you'll be fine, and make sure you check out some reviews and forums before handing over details.. Ill let you in on some of the sites I use at some point later this week.

It's not about avoiding the storm, but dancing in the rain

2011-06-12T18:00:00.000+01:00

I wish I was more like this guy:

The rain is pooring down outside.. you have gotta love the british summer right!!

Everything seems so much worse in the rain. Just puts a bad spin on everything, little things that would be fine in the sunshine, just seem so much worse.

I guess once you're in a bad mood, everything seems worse..

Time to snap out of it, I shall not put a downer on anybody by just writing a depressing post, because that will help nobody..

I won't bother to bore you with the thrills of my weekend, which consisted of, waiting for facebook to update, watching countless hours of television, and food. mmmm food. (although I realise that I have just told you, but I could go into detail, though as I don't want to win "least entertaining blog post of 2011, I won't :] )

The days are drifting by, slower and slower, I've been waking up early (as in half 7) again.. (remember as a university student this a real culture shock), giving me a ridiculous amount of spare time, so would love some advice on ways to burn the time (hint hint...)

Anyways this has been a pretty much "nothing" post, so I apologise, I havn't been myself today, and no doubt I will read this tommorow and think.. what the hell is wrong with me. However that is a subject I really do not wish to dwell on whatever state of mind I am in...

Achievable Goals Part II

2011-06-10T17:11:00.000+01:00

So my fitness routine is going OK.

(If you have no idea why this is part 2, then you should see here)

This post isn't about fitness routines because that would be pretty boring, and as I'm pretty fat, so there's not much to explain, infact instead of writing this sentance, I could of simply typed the routine I am using... But alas (who says that these days other than dumbledore?! and he's dead....) I digress....

My mum bought the Zumba Fitness game for the wii.. I assume in a desperate attempt to make sure she has 2 thin sons, instead of one thin one, and one dying of heart disease by the age of 40... (bit extreme but it helps me motivate myself...)

Its good fun so far.. although in fainess I have only browsed the menu system and set up a profile, not actually done any of the exercises, so I'm sure that will all change when I'm dripping in sweat crying for someone to bring the sweet relief of death... Ok sorry bit extreme today I apologise...

So by the looks of it, it's pretty good, having read a couple reviews online before she bought it, hopefully it shall help my weight loss goals.. however hopefully a crowd won't gather outside my house to watch a fat kid dance around making a complete fool of himself...

But now I'm actually acting upon my goals for the first time in my life, I can finnaly see why targets are such motivation, compared to a deppresing number that I haven't achieved..

So of course I'm not the peak of physical fitness that many people assume a teenage blogger to be... but hoepfully one day I shall get there...

The power of music......

2011-06-07T16:35:00.000+01:00

Everybody has a set of songs, one to cry to, one to run to, one you want to run from.. the list could go on, but today I've been contemplating the power of music in our everyday lives. (yes this is what happens when you are a student with no job, or no work to do...)

I mean for me, if I listen to one particular song, that it can put me in a foul mood for the rest of the day, similarly, playing one song can set me up for a highly motivated and constructive day. I was thinking to myself why this is, I don't particularly have certain bad/ good memories associated with any of these songs, but they just have that effect.

I would try and avoid that song if you're having a rough day... But listening to a sad song, has an incredible effect.. It makes you feel so much.. I guess that is the symbol of a good song, something that makes you feel...

So anyway, pick your music carefully, as it may well have much more of an impact than you think!

feel free to share your favourite feelgood/ emotional songs in the comments below :)

Addicted to social media.....

2011-06-06T22:08:00.000+01:00

Like most people my age, actually for that matter, like most people, I spend way too much time, firstly on the internet, but secondly on social networking sites...

Why do I care what the hell Alan sugar is tweeting about, or what some random person I used to go to school with is eating for breakfast. But still the fascination that I have with browsing what other people are doing with their lives....

I think the worst point is, that they arn't doing anything either, sat infront of an ITV2+1 repeat of jeremy kyle tweeting or updating their status to make it look like they are actually doing something with there lives....

I'm a pretty heavy user of the internet which makes it even worse... following many blogs, participate in many forums ect, so check alot more than the "normal" internet user...

Be it checking my facebook every 2 minutes, just to see if John Smith has finished his dinner, browsing twitter to see what celebrities have dared to say to the public... But this has evolved.. Now I have to check if people have commented or visted my blog, see if others have posted to theirs reply to forums, private messages, emails from the for some reason 4 different accounts I have for no apparent reason, one of which only seems to get emails from someone who is blatantly not Lloyds TSB as they are trying to sell me viagra....

I've got a smartphone now as well.. meaning I'm always connected to my friends... -.- really?! because when I'm actually with my friends I feel the compulsive need to check something if there is more than a 5 second pause... The simple fact is that because the information is ever changing, I always feel the need to check it.

I find these social media sites to almost have a negative impact on my friendships than a positive, impact. As I can always see what people are doing, and they can see how I am, no-one feels the need to actually speak to anymore... It's a bit of a shame when you think about it....

Anyway I shall end this post now, as I havn't checked my facebook or twitter since starting, and who knows what could of happened......

I'm A Teenager.. this means I'm going to mug you.....

2011-06-05T15:09:00.000+01:00

So I was walking home from the pub last night, after having a nice catch up with a couple friends I hadn't seen in a couple months, and as I was walking along the pavement, a middle age couple, noticed me walking towards them, and crossed the road...

Okay well that could of been for any number of reasons, but it was pretty stupid when I looked around after about 20 seconds and they had crossed back across the road...

Now I know what your thinking, teenager gone to the pub, absolutely plastered or walking home in a gang of what the daily mail would love to call "hoodies".. well no. I had 2 pints at the pub, covering a time of a bout 2 and a half hours, and for the record I'm a pretty big bloke :[...

I was wearing a casual shirt and jeans, and was walking on my own.

I hate the media sometimes.. actually most of the time. The fact that many incorrect stigma's become so exaggerated that there is no way to combat them.

I give up my seat on the bus, hold the door for people, let people infront of me if they have 1 or two items, And I know many people the same. In fact, I know more people like that, than I do people that are as extreme as the media presents every single teenager to be.

I have lost count of the times events such as above have happened to me, and it really does get to me, as well as the fact that if it was happening to a different age group, then people would combat it.

I guess that means that teenagers need to stand up for themselves, but honestly I think the media need a wake up call as to how they label certain people or groups.

I'm assuming people just want someone to blame for the problems in the country, be it immigrants, teenagers, or whoever. There is a cruel irony in the fact that the people who complain are the ones who were supposed to do a decent job raising their kids.

Achievable goals.... Motivation or depression.

2011-06-04T15:32:00.000+01:00

I'm never good at sticking to anything.

My new years resolution, was to lose weight, yet here I am, beggining of June, laid like a beached whale on my sofa typing this instead of going for a run.

Well that's not exactly fair, I did just spend around 40 minutes on the wii fit... (:O) but that was hardly strenuous to be honest.

Look how well toned I am... Okay well that's clearly not me :( however I hope to definately get in shape over the next couple months....

It's really got me thinking about how many targets I have set myself in life, and how few of them I have accomplished.. Don't worry this is not a complaining post.. I mean who goes on the internet and just complains about things...

Okay so serious post from now on.

It's pretty ironic, that the fact I have failed to achieve the goals I have set myself is leading me to create new goals... hopefully one's that shall be achieved...

If we all spent alot less time thinking and alot more time doing, then alot of things would fall into place.

Of course, I'm always motivated, looking at the person I want to become has always motivated me, yet when it actually comes down to it, I never step up.

Well hopefully this post is where the change begins, and I hope you, whoever you are, and whatever your goals may be, will join me on the journey of actually doing something!

I believe it was Andy Roddick that said, "At one point in your life you either have the thing you want
or the reasons why you don't"

Well that point has now been reached, so screw it. I'm going for a run.