Finals Are Here (And Then I’m Gone)

It’s Finals season again. Well, actually it’s finished for me. Yesterday I had my last exam, though it’s not quite over yet as I have a take home exam to submit on Wednesday.

Since classes finished, finals and getting ready for finals is pretty much all my life has revolved around. Every day I’ve either been working on a final essay, taking an exam, or revising for my next exam. My coffee addiction has returned in full. About a month back I was only having one or two cups of coffee a day. Now I’m back up to about three or four cups of coffee a day! (Safe to say I love coffee!)

For the first time in quite a while I was actually getting pretty stressed about one of my exams. Usually because of effective revision and stress managing tactics I manage to stay pretty calm about exams. But this time I started to worry, mainly I was worrying because I wasn’t sure if I was targeting my revision at the right parts, and even though I had been to every class I couldn’t relearn the entire course. Despite the stress I think I still managed to do pretty well, I know that I did that my best.

I think at the end of the day that is what is truly important with exams, to do your best. There’s always going to be that part of you thinking ‘I could have done that’ or ‘I should have learnt that’. But as long as you tried to revise and you did the best that you could, I think that is what matters most with exams.

It’s interesting how everyone has their own way of getting ready for an exam. I know some people like to revise hard right up to the last moment, that just makes me more stressed and I think if you have attended the classes and done your revision then there’s nothing that you can learn in the last couple of hours which you shouldn’t already know.

I’ve found that the way for me to get ready before for an exam is to de-stress as much as possible. I like to just completely unplug and put away the books about two hours before my exam so I’m in a calm head space when I go into the exam hall. This academic year I’ve really got into the habit of reading a comic before my exam, particularly DC Bombshells. I also like to try and avoid listening to music with words before an exam so I don’t get random song lyrics stuck in my head for the duration of the exam. Particularly since about 2012 I listen to I Am The Doctor from the Doctor Who Series 5 soundtrack before I go into an exam, it always manages to get me motivated.

Everyone seems to have a different reaction to exams and finals, but for me the most important thing is to just try to stay calm, and do the best that I can.

My Haul – First Toronto Trip of 2018

So I went to Toronto on Saturday, you can read all about that in this post. But here is My Haul to round up what I bought…

Eaton Centre Mall

I bought a few things whilst I was in the Eaton Centre.

Hallmark

If you’ve read any of my previous Toronto Haul posts then you’re probably expecting that I bought an Itty Bitty or two. Well once again I got two more Itty Bitty’s.

The newly released Pocahontas, she’s the last of the Disney Princesses to be released and the last one I want (for now). Pocahontas is one of my favourites and at this point I have a small collection of different versions of Pocahontas but I think this one might be one of the nicest.

I also got one of the 2017 Kitten Super Bowl Itty Bitty’s, it was on clearance with 50% off and I thought he was just too sweet to refuse.

Disney Store

I added another princess to my collection with the Elena doll. I had been considering her for a while but decided to only get her if I could find her on offer, well Disney had a special offer on, all dolls reduced to just $13 which is good value for a Disney Store doll. I am really pleased I bought her as I think she looks fantastic.

Black Canary

In the comic coffee shop I bought two comics. The latest volume of The Flash DC Rebirth series I have been reading and a Batwoman comic I got for 50% off due to some damage on the back cover.

The Last Final

It’s time for the finals to end.

Well, I’ve done it. I’ve made it through another semester of university. I had my last final today which rounds out my work for this semester.

Exams usually cause a lot of stress but I have managed to stay not too stressed this time round. My revision approach has been little and often which has minimised overloading myself with information and (hopefully) maximised effectiveness. To unwind and stay calm I have been reading comics and having a cup of tea before I go out to my exams. These things won’t work for everyone but they’ve worked for me.

In the past few days we’ve had snow and I’ve learnt that the cold never bothered me anyway (because I’ve been appropriately dressed for going outside in the snow). The novelty of walking in snow has still not worn off yet. I am glad that I’ve got to have some proper Canadian snow before Christmas.

Tomorrow I am going to see Star Wars Episode VIII – The Last Jedi. I will do a spoiler free review. I am very excited.

My Haul – From A Day Out In Toronto

This weekend I had a day out in Toronto. As promised here’s a My Haul post about what I bought this time in Toronto.

Eaton Centre

I started out in the Eaton Centre where I got some things I like from Disney Store and Hallmark.

Disney Store

I bought the Christmas Anna plushie wearing her new dress from the upcoming short, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure. As soon as I heard that a Frozen Christmas short was in production I knew it would mean new dresses for Elsa and Anna which would mean new toys of them. I was actually pretty disappointed with how the dolls look but I really like how the plushies look. I managed to get Anna for only $10 thanks to a couple of offers in store.

Hallmark

As has now become tradition I bought two more Itty Bitty’s from Hallmark. I bought Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy and the new Avengers version of Captain America. If you know me it’s probably no surprise that I wanted to add these two to my collection.

The Black Canary – Comic Coffee Shop

Of course I bought comics whilst getting a coffee. I bought the next volume of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps after I enjoyed the first one which I got over summer. I also decided to get a comic which has been on my ‘To Get List’ for a while, DC Bombshells which is an alternate universe series where Wonder Woman leads a team of female DC heroes during WWII.

So that was what I bought this time. Itty Bitty’s, something from Disney Store and comics. I’m noticing the emergence of a pattern when I go shopping in Toronto!

My Haul – Heroes and My Favourite Villain in Toronto

At the weekend I went to Toronto. If you know me than you know that I cannot go to a big city without buying something so here’s a haul post detailing what I bought.

Last time I went to Toronto I bought Itty Bitty’s from the Hallmark in the Eaton Centre. I did the same this time. Maleficent is my favourite Disney villain, I just had to get her Itty Bitty given how fabulous she looks.

I didn’t like the Rey Itty Bitty that was released for The Force Awakens, however now the collection for this years The Last Jedi has been released and I think that the new Rey looks a lot better than the previous one. There wasn’t much question about adding the second best Star Wars character to my collection (we all know Leia is the best).

In my last haul post I mentioned that Tsum Tsum lip balms are now a thing. In Toronto I was able to track down Maleficent’s!

In my post about my day in Toronto I mentioned that I visited a comic café. From there I bought Volume 3 of the ongoing DC Rebirth Flash series. So far this series has been really good so I’m glad to add the latest instalment to my collection, especially as it was from somewhere so cool!

Every year Disney Store releases a collection of Disney Princess Christmas Ornaments and every year I buy one princess. I limit myself to only one of the princess decorations because otherwise I’d end up with hundreds of Disney Christmas decorations. I was really torn about who I wanted to buy this year but when I noticed that Belle and Tiana had already sold out I decided to take the plunge and buy Rapunzel. I really like how detailed she is and I love how they made her usual dress look a little more winter ready. Now in years to come when I get out my Disney Princess Christmas Ornament Collection I will look at Rapunzel and think of how I bought her in Toronto during my year abroad.

That’s what I bought this time during my visit to Toronto.

Toronto is Awesome

About a month back I went to Toronto. This weekend, to celebrate coming to the end of mid-terms I decided to go to Toronto again.

As with last time I traveled via Greyhound (which is a good way to travel). When I arrived I got a coffee at the Starbucks on the corner of the street where the bus station is and walked to the Eaton Centre Mall. The Eaton Centre is a really cool mall, honestly probably the best mall that I have ever been to. I had a browse around, bought a couple of things and had lunch there. There’s going to be another blog post coming up where I detail what I bought.

This time I decided to go to the Royal Ontario Museum (R.O.M). This is a fantastic museum that has an amazingly wide ranging selection of stuff. I like that it combines natural history (there’s dinosaurs) and classical civilisations (Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt for example). There’s a lot of eras that I have studied in history classes over the years but it is always interesting to see and learn new things. Also – as with the A.G.O which I went to last time – there’s a substantial selection of exhibits about the First Nations communities of Canada, it’s nice to see that the major museums and galleries of Canada are celebrating the people who were here pre-colonialization.

After that I decided that I wanted to get away from some of the more touristy areas of Toronto. I had a wander around Bloor Street and Yonge Street with the eventual aim of gradually making my way back towards the Eaton Centre. This ended being a longer walk than I had anticipated but I think it was worth it because I did get to see a different side to the city.

During this walk I came across what is probably one of the coolest places I have ever visited – a comic coffee shop! Of course somewhere I can get coffee and comics (two of my favourite things) is going to be a big hit with me! I bought a comic there and sat to drink a Poison Ivy coffee. This was a completely unexpected find but I am really glad that I came across it, definitely somewhere I will be going again.

I ended the day back in the Eaton Centre and the surrounding Dundas Square area. I just relaxed around there before I had to catch my bus back.

I had quite a busy day with a substantial amount of walking but it was undoubtedly a lot of fun. One of my aims this visit was to get to know the city of Toronto a little bit better than I had last time and I feel like that was something I managed to do. I definitely want to go again because Toronto is a really exciting and interesting city, even after two visits I feel like there’s still a lot more for me to do.

My Haul – Of Course I Bought More Superhero Stuff

I think it’s time for another haul of stuff that I’ve bought since being in Canada. As you probably guessed from the title I’ve bought even more superhero stuff since last time. I also have decided to continue the new formatting that I introduced in my last haul post.

Value Village Thrift Shop

I’ve been to a proper North American thrift shop! It’s a lot like what you’d expect them to be like. They’re absolutely enormous. From my experience I’d say that the biggest difference between a Canadian thrift shop and a UK charity shop is just the sheer volume of stuff. If you know me you will know I often have good luck in charity shops (like my 1997 Hercules doll for £1 or my Princess Jasmine plushie for 50p!) and my luck at finding stuff has followed me across the Atlantic.

I found a Supergirl mini doll. The DC Superhero Girls mini dolls were originally Happy Meal toys but we never got them in the UK and the postage made them too expensive on eBay so I was glad to find Supergirl over here.

Dollar Tree

This is a different dollar store to Dollarama which I went to in my last haul post. Dollar Tree is a lot more like the UK’s Poundland.

In Dollar Tree they had a whole selection of Disney mini figures. There were so many, however I wasn’t too impressed with how some of them were painted but of course I had to get my favourite villain Maleficent.

The Comic Store

I really love the comic store here. I know I mentioned this last time but it’s so true. It’s just such a cool comic store and they have a great selection of stuff.

They had a special offer on this time, back issues were only $1 each! That is really good value. I managed to stay (relatively) restrained and only buy 6 comics. Knowing me it’s no surprise that the Flash and Wonder Woman are both there! I also picked up my newer favourite Green Lantern. As they had quite a few issues of Grayson I decided to buy some, that’s Dick Grayson (the original Robin) once he leaves Batman I’ve wanted to try some of his comics but I’ve been unsure where to start but a dollar per issue seems like a good way to get started!

I have very little control with soft toys, though it took me about a week to cave in and buy Wonder Woman bunny! She’s very cuddly and as you can see from the pictures she’s the same size as the Flash bear I bought last time.

And that’s my haul for this time, of course I bought more superhero stuff. I’m interested to find out what I will buy next time I go shopping…

My Haul – Space Stuff and a bit of DC

In this haul post I’m doing a bit of a roundup of some of my recent purchases. Funnily enough several of the things I’ve bought recently have a bit of a space theme.

First, in B & M Bargains I found this large Green Arrow action figure. As I found him in a B & M he was obviously a bargain, I paid just 6.99! He’s in scale with the Flash I bought in a previous haul, both of them are roughly in scale with the DC Superhero Girls dolls. With Flash, Green Arrow and Supergirl I appear to have inadvertently collected the lead characters from the DC TV Series!

Next, at an Antique and Collectors fair that I went to recently I found this wonderful Wall-E and Eve. I got the two of them for only £12 which is a good deal, especially given that they’re in good condition. As far as I can tell they were released back when the movie came out. Both of them are highly poseable. Wall-E also has light up eyes and makes sounds which is very endearing.

I found the Tsum Tsum of Finn from Star Wars for just 99p! At such a good price I decided that I had to add him to my collection. Previously I’ve bought Rey and Poe so now I have the complete team of the new resistance fighters that were introduced in The Force Awakens.

Finally I bought a new comic, the first DC Rebirth volume of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps. DC Rebirth is the most recent relaunch/reboot of the DC Comics universe. I’ve read a few Rebirth volumes and they’re really good because they’ve taken the characters back to the core of who they are. As I’ve been wanting to try Green Lantern comics for a while this seemed like a good jumping on point.

So that’s some of my recent purchase, Space Stuff and a bit of DC.

My Haul – Free Comic Book Day and More…

It’s been a while since I last did one of these haul posts but as today is Free Comic Book Day I decided I’d do one again.

Today is Free Comic Book Day, which is exactly what it sounds like. Comic Book stores are giving away free comic books today, you don’t even need to buy anything! (Though it’s kind of rude to just take the freebies and not buy anything.) I bought the Supergirl issue and then got the Secret Empire, DC Superhero Girls and Wonder Woman comics free! Even better is that those were the three I really wanted from the selection available for this year!

The comic theme continues with this X-Men Pop Up book. I found it in a reduced price book shop, his is genuinely a thing that exist and I had to buy it because it has pop up pages dedicated to my two favourite X-Men, Storm and Cyclops. It’s actually a really nicely made book and a good one to add to my Marvel collection. And the retro comic style makes it even more interesting.

Moving away from DC and Marvel I bought an Andy Warhol colouring in/doodle book. It was reduced and when I saw it I more or less instantly bought. I love pop art, Warhol is one of my all-time favourite artists and I love colouring in so it was a must buy for me!

Staying with the creative theme, I bought this nautical themed fat quarter of fabric. I reckon it will be perfect for a skirt for my Ariel doll (hence why she’s holding it in the picture!)

Final thing. This is a weird one, Sainsbury’s are doing free packs of Lego trading cards when you spend £10 or more in store so I got 2 packs with this week’s food shop. I feel like this is the start of yet another collection…

And that’s it for this week. I think I am going to start trying to make the haul posts a regular thing again.