Ruthy-Jay's Wild Weekend!

Oh wait, I'm talking about that other weekend, the one where I spent Saturday practicing my driving theory, going for lunch with Moon and watching How I Met Your Mother and Greg Davies' stand up and where I spent Sunday buying snacks at the Korean supermarket in the morning and spending the whole afternoon browsing Etsy for things I don't have room for but would really really like while Moon watches football. Yep, this weekend's been a wacky one, as you can probably tell.

What a weird week it's been though, at the end of last week, I didn't have a cat, and now I do and I have to brush her and feed her and scoop her poop, it's so weird. I've been so productive, I have a website, and I've cleaned up my CV, if I see the rest of the year through how I've seen the last week, 2012 is going to be awesome. However, I think that as 2012 is officially over a week old now, I should just carry on as though it wasn't New Year's Day just last Sunday. I'm not productive because of a 'new year, new start' mentality, I'm just productive and ready for anything, damnit.

So, next week I'll be working on a graphic version of my CV, which was something I didn't get around to doing this week, what with gaining a kitten and having an incredibly slow internet day on the first day I worked on my website (therefore also the day I needed to upload all the images onto the server), which was swell. But that's in the line up to be uploaded for the world to see, along with a couple of wishlist and catlady-related posts.
Tomorrow is the first time I'll be visiting the Job Centre since before Christmas, which, as anyone who goes themselves will know, is a major mood killer. I'm hoping I can remain as happy as I have been so far this year though and hope that there isn't a direct correlation between the lack of Job Centre and my general perkiness.

I guess that that's enough talking, and as my description surely wet your appetites, here are some photographs that I've taken over the last few days, mainly involving my new arrival, but there are some that don't. There's a mix of phone and SLR, so excuse the quality mish-mash.

As the semi-owner of an eighteen year-old cat, I am aware that cats are incredibly changeable creatures, and this is probably one reason why people who don't like cats don't like them, not that I really know how anyone can not like anything cute with fur. So, currently, Dolly loves my windowsill when the curtains are open because she can sit on these magazines and be slightly higher while being able to observe both what's going on outside and my whole bedroom. It also gets warm when the sun is out and she gets to hang out with me.

Moon came over on Saturday and we went to Kingston after taking our old TV to the dump. We tried and failed to give my monitor to CEX but they wouldn't take it because I didn't give them a VGA cable, so they couldn't test it, why not just keep one spare? So we wasted a bit of time walking to and from the car park. We ended up being starving and having a late and big lunch at Frankie B's at the top of the Bentall Centre, it was quite nice there but our piggyness was initially unintentional. I would have taken more photos but my phone decided, as it often does, that it had had too much.

Dolly is always thirsty, you can't leave any half-full glasses around with her, even though she has her own waterbowl. Moon insisted that I filled this glass up just a bit so she would be able to drink from it...

My future housemates. I'm glad Moon liked Dolly, I didn't think he wouldn't because she is very sweet-natured and looks pretty, but it is good they get along and that he likes her because it will be easier when we all move in together. She likes him a lot anyway because he's a boy.

I took Moon to H-Mart, the Korean supermarket around the corner from me. I'm not sure why I took him there, I think it was mainly because I couldn't think of something that wouldn't take so much time that he would miss the football but would be enough time to feel like we got out of the house.

I'd love to take real photos there, there's such a variety of different stuff and so many products that you wouldn't even think people needed.

We came home with some tasty snacks, which were much nicer than they sounded, I wonder why they don't sell Nandos crisps everywhere, everyone loves Nandos.

I thought I would share this necklace with you. At the beginning of the week I cleared out a load of boxes that I haven't looked at since we moved here, that's nearly two years before I moved here permanently. I found this gem in a box full of a mixture of old cameras and family photographs. I felt so amazing when everything was organised and I got a new necklace out of it. I don't know where it's from but I quite like it, I don't see anything wrong with channelling a bit of my inner-cat-lady every now and then...

Okay, so maybe I lied, they're nearly all of Dolly, but she's still so new and exciting and we're still getting to know each other.

I think I'm going to leave you with this, 'I Don't Know' by Kassidy, a song which, thanks to Moon I basically haven't had out of my head all week, I recommend that you get their album, Hope St, it's pretty great.

I'm starting a 30-day challenge tomorrow :)

700.

Wow, this is a bit awkward, I appear to have reached my 700th post, and apparently this is my fourth year of blogging here, wow. I guess I'll just share some pretty internet things with you because my tabs bar is pretty full.

Today was very uneventful, other than applying for four picture editing jobs today and getting no response as of yet. I also hung out with my kitten, she's pretty neat but quite dumb. She kept going downstairs and forgetting I was still here so she would call out, then I would shout down to her and she would come running up chirping at me, adorable but a bit stupid.

(via The Black Apple)

These have been floating around Tumblr and all kind of other blogs, they're so cute, if only they weren't so much and so far away.

Both: Me & Zena
'Bobby Dazzler' Pill Box Ring, £29
'Write On' Pencil Bangle, £44

Me & Zena have been posting the best jewellery on their Facebook this week, these are definitely the two that I'm most tempted by for when I have a few more pennies, and they have the cutest names too!

(via HellYeahTheMaccabees)

I'm so super-psyched that The Maccabees' new album is dropping on Monday, there are far too many 'Given to the Wild' teasers around. I just want the thrill of listening to all-new songs on an all-new album. If you happen to be a Maccabees fan, they'll be doing Channel 4's 360 Sessions on Thursday 12th January at 12:50am.

(via Hannah Curson)

This week, you should totally check out Hannah Curson's blog about the 'Frame Wall' she's currently working on , she's posted some neat craft ideas and has even given me inspiration to start my own similar collection. Who knew that a bunch of mismatched frames could still look so stylish?

(via FuckYeahNailArt)

I suppose that now I'm living with a cat fulltime again I have a right to go a bit 'cat lady'. This looks like so much fun and could be a great way to put my nail art pens to use
A tutorial for this manicure can be found on Polish You Pretty.

(via The Daily What)

Artist, Yayoi Kasuma let a whole bunch of kids loose with coloured stickers on her 'domestic installation' at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane.

Link Love:

The Dainty Squid's Friday Favourites — This is my favourite feature on this blog and she's posted the most awesome things this week, even though I have enough mugs, I think I need the one featured in this post. And that noticeboard has provided so many possibilities for my someday home.

My CreativePool profile — So, I did a bit on this today, I do feel a bit like the website is a bit beyond my reach but I'm sure it won't hurt to have it properly there and maybe something will come from it.

Erin Hanson's latest Want/Need Image — So true.

In Order — Great Etsy shop featured in the latest Dainty Squid Friday Favourite, it sells awesome chalk boards with storage. God I love storage, perhaps one of the main thing I'm looking forward to when I finally move out is the shelves I'm going to get myself.

100 Greatest Simpsons Movie References

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I think I'm going to start this 30 Day Challenge from Monday, I love doing these, they can be quite fun and this is a bit different from ones I've seen/done before. ♥.
Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts
Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest
Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favourite show
Day 04 - A picture of one of your favourite memories from 2011
Day 05 - A picture of your favourite memory of all time
Day 06 - A person who always cheers you up
Day 07 - A person you would trade places with for the day
Day 08 - A picture of you and one of your best friends
Day 09 - A picture of you and the person who has gotten you through the most
Day 10 - A picture of you and the person you do the most silly things with
Day 11 - A picture of something you hate
Day 12 - A picture of something you love
Day 13 - A picture of your favourite band or artist
Day 14 - A picture of you and someone you could never imagine your life without
Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die
Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you
Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently
Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity
Day 19 - A picture of your guilty pleasure
Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
Day 21 - A picture of you and someone who ALWAYS makes you laugh
Day 22 - A picture of you and someone who you could talk for hours with
Day 23 - A picture of your favourite book
Day 24 - A picture of the funnest thing you've ever done :)
Day 25 - A picture of you when you were little
Day 26 - A picture of your all time favourite food
Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member
Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of
Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile
Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss

Good Luck Cat.

So, this afternoon, before my interview but after my driving lesson, my mum phoned me up from work and told me there was a kitten in the house she has for the chefs who work at the restaurant, and basically, they're going to give it to the RSPCA, and do I want it? Obviously, yes.
And right now there is a beautiful white kitten exploring the house, and I don't really know what's going on. She has a great temperament, with really clear eyes and nice fur but is quite thin, we think she must be a Christmas cat who's been chucked out.
There's so much to sort out for her, but it's quite exciting really, nothing is quite as good a time waster as watching a kitten chase their own tail.

After careful thought, we've decided to name her Dolly, after the song 'Hello, Dolly!' not Dolly Parton, and because she's a total ragdoll pushover as well as overall doll. I was a bit disappointed that she didn't look like a 'Claus Claws' (my dream cat name), she's far too sweet, but I think that the name we've chosen really suits her and she's so lovely.

For some reason, despite my earlier denied suggestions of getting a pet, my mum thought it would be a good idea to take on this kitten because all of a sudden (although apparently for her whole life, but really it's only today) cats bring good luck and should always be invited into the home. Apparently a cat is not only good luck but also a sign that your house is nice, sometimes, but not that often, things are a bit mad with me.

We had to give her a cat shampoo when we got her home because her fur was stinky and she was a bit of a grub.

At the risk of getting too cat-orientated, don't worry, I've got all the daylight tomorrow to take some better photos to bore you with.

Today was also exciting aside from the new addition to the family. My driving lesson was pretty good with only a couple of tiny mistakes, my confidence in passing the theory is pretty high, although we'll see how it goes...
My job interview went better than others, but you never know when it's the kind of interview where they ask you set questions and get you to do tests, but it seems like an easy-going role and environment so I'm still hoping that I get it, regardless of it not being in a creative field.
Finally, and probably the most exciting (aside from Dolly), I have an interview next week at Mirrorpix, the photo archive for The Daily Mirror, which is really quite great. It's for the role of an archivist, which would awesome if I can get it. Forget January blues, January is where it's at. To tell you the truth, the whole lack of get-up-and-go that December provided after the exciting month that was November was really kind of getting me down, so this is exactly what I needed.

New Year's Eve 2k11/2

Well hey, it would seem my exciting news is growing by the day but I'll put it all in a new post because otherwise these photos will never be seen, unless you count Facebook, eventually.

So, New Year's Eve was kind of uneventful and maybe if that's the case that's exactly how the rest of the year will shape up, although the last five days have definitely gone against this.
Moon and I stayed in at his house, after picking his brother, Edward and his brother's girlfriend, Charlotte, up at the airport in the early evening. We played Ring of Fire, which is arguably a bit 'Uni', I know, but it loosened people up, and it was quite fun. I think the last picture pretty much sums up how I was feeling by the end of it, and that's pretty satisfactory.

Excuse the horrid face, apparently drinking a mixture of everyone's drink is not really a good idea.

Naturally the boys picked on each other a bit in the end, but it was a satisfying way to see in the New Year, and probably better than spending lots to get into a nightclub I wouldn't have wanted to go to and even more for drinks that probably aren't even nice.
Moon and I rounded up the evening with the tail-end of Jools Holland's Hootenanny, which was pretty poor in comparison to previous years, and watching a really long highlight reel for Glastonbury 2011. Not too shabby really, go to the next post and I'll tell you some more current things, New Year's Eve is so five days ago...

Happy 4th January!

And happy new year, etc.

I would apologise for my absence but I've been quite busy, and productive so I won't say anything, except hello!
I have a backlog of photos to share with you. Mainly from NYE, which was actually quite fun, until Moon and I ended up on his sofa at 3:30am watching Glastonbury highlights that we'd already seen. A bit of Ring of Fire always brings people together, but more on that in a future post.

Right now, I'm sat here typing to you because after literally months of promising (really you can check up if you want), I finally got round to uploading and posting my online portfolio. I'm actually quite pleased with it, so thank you Digital Photo Gallery, you are simplistic and just what I wanted.
The only thing I am having slight issues with is that my 'About' page looks odd, but it will do for the time-being as I think I'm overdone on the whole thing after spending the last two days on it.

The New Year was definitely a good excuse to get it over and done with because after having put it off basically since graduating, I'm fairly certain that I needed a reason for a little get up and go. I mean, I dabbled in making one from scratch and if I was honest with myself and really tried, I could probably have breezed through it, but sadly, I have a tendency to be quite lazy and would rather just refresh my social presences all day.

I external-linked to this blog because I've grown far too attached to it to create a new one for the soul purpose of having everything integrated. I also linked to my old Photography Tumblr for my University work for the sheer ease, but also due to the fact that had I not, I would have to list each project in the sidebar (unless someone can tell me otherwise), which would definitely look crap, and the Tumblr isn't too dissimilar to my portfolio anyway, plus no one will actually be leaving the site.

So I'm fairly pleased with it anyway, and feeling a lot more confident in my abilities as a photographer now that I've categorised and ordered everything and it's out there for real people to see. It would be nice to have some feedback on it.

Link: http://www.ruthjohnstonphotography.com

On the job front, there is nothing that exciting, although I'm sure there are people still bleary-eyed from their first day back. I'm going to give everything a bit more time as most of the emails I've sent out were over Christmas so I wasn't expecting an immediate response anyway.
I have got an interview tomorrow though, not sure if it's creative as the description was a bit vague and the title was kind of general, I'm still looking forward to it though, it sounds like it has potential to be interesting.
This is not very 'me' for my first blog of 2012, but I thought you should know that I have a portfolio now and that I've begun the year with an attempt to be less lazy and do the one thing I should have done the previous year.