Wednesday 29 April 2015

2015 : THE YEAR OF FESTS, PRACTICES AND ADRENALINE (part one)

Ninth Grade kicked off for me with a bit of disappointment...for I was not in the same section as my friends. Bored and annoyed, "this year is gonna be junk" was all I could think back then, and my assumption was somewhat correct initially. However, the later dates of April proved to be in my favour since all the frenzied activities for the school fests (which start from the ninth grade) started creating quite a buzz around the school. Hell, it still is (!!!!) and the first fest that we're going to attend is one of the best school fests in the city (yes, The Heritage, I give it to you), Youthopia,  and it rocks everytime!!! Thus, came the auditions. Girls killin' it in stilettos, battling it out for 'Hammered' (which included me), shaking off some moves for the dance and others anticipating the results for the band, creative writing, doodling and an array of many other events. You see, everyone wants to make their mark in inter-school events and have been nurturing high hopes since an early age, but I am not hesitant to admit that people are super excited also because ours is an all-girls school, and fests mean "cute boy-spotting"!!! Anyways, the results came out, and luckily for me, two of my closest friends and I got selected for participation!!! Sneha for Hammered, Prakshi for the fashion show, and me...well, I got selected for something I love to do the most...and now I'm one of the vocalists in our school band!!! Obviously, very few things had ever thrilled me so much before, and today just happened to be the prologue of the whole novel of my "fest life". Now, the only thing that worries me is-I caught cold and cough out of nowhere!!!! Ah I'm praying hard to make this go away so I and the whole band can rock it and "get the crown on the QMSers' heads"!!! QMSers, wish us luck!!!

Friday 20 March 2015

CANDID CHAT WITH CATHY CASSIDY


TO ALL THE CC FANS AND NON-FANS ALIKE!!!!

You (the Cathy Cassidy fans) are surely well-versed about the author Cathy Cassidy...but how much do you know about the regular-person-like-us Cathy Cassidy? A fun and quirky interview reveals bits and pieces of her life you probably didn't know about...read on to find out!

Q : A personal fave quote from one of your books?
Cathy says : Can't pick just one...nooo!

Q: A humorous incident from your childhood when you were making mischief and got caught red-          handed?
C : Plenty from adulthood, none I can recall from childhood...sorry!

Q : The latest app you downloaded?
C : I don't download apps...am very un-techy...so, probably something silly like torch app, which             doesn't even work very well...sigh!

Q : Your latest splurge was on?
C : Two dresses and a cardi from Cath Kidston sale.

Q : Your fave ice cream flavour?
C : Farmhouse vanilla...weirdly, I am not a fan of ice cream at all.

Q : Three reasons why YOUR BEST FRIEND ROCKS.
C : I have two best friends...they are both very different, but both awesome because 
      a/ they have stuck by me through the years
      b/ they can always make me smile
      c/ they love me just as much as I love them!

Q : If you could undo something that had happened in the past (or change a historical event) what   would it be?

C : So many things I’d like to change from history... how about changing events so Hitler died  
fighting in World War One instead of surviving to plunge Europe into a second World War and     wholesale genocide? So much evil could have been averted.


Q : If you had magical powers...

C : I’d quite like to be able to fly... or maybe be invisible! Better still, using mind control to make   
the government do good things that make the world a better place instead of bad things that create   poverty and suffering.


Q : Your take on the Gen Y of today Vs your generation. Say how its better and how it's not-as-good.  
C : Today's teens are probably more confident and ambitious... nobody has told them that they can’t    do this job or that job, as we were often told back when I was a teen. So they aim high, and   
that’s good. The less positive aspect... well, there are a few, but social media is one thing that 
worries me, as it has allowed bullying to grow and to hound victims even inside their own 
homes. 
Bullying is as rife as it ever was, perhaps more so, and that makes me very sad.


Q : What's a typical Cathy Cassidy weekday like?

C : There is no one typical day, it depends whether I am writing, editing, touring or whatever... and  
that varies according to schedules and deadlines. Today I have been editing Fortune Cookie (out 
June 3rd) and doing email interviews, blogs and features to publicise my next book, Looking 
Glass Girl, out April 2nd. I’ll spend my evening planning the launch party for the book,  
answering  emails and updating my DREAMCATCHER blog.

 

Q : Do you sing in the shower? If yes, which is the most frequently sung song by you?

C : No, I hate showers... I like lovely, lazy baths! I do sing a lot at other times, though... all kinds of  
songs, old and new. My kids joke that I have a song lyric for every situation...

 
Q : Name your role model or a person you admire

C : My dad... he was a big dreamer and always believed in me. I learned from him that you have to 
work very hard to make a dream happen, and that lesson has stayed with me.

 
Q : Something that's sitting on the top of your to-do list right now
 
C : Yikes... I have to tidy up my workroom, a proper spring clean, because a national newspaper are   coming to do an interview and photoshoot there next week. Noooo!


Q : Which sister were you most like as a child?

C : I would probably have been a cross between Coco, with her eccentric, tomboyish, animal-mad,  
save-the-world tendencies and Skye, with her love of history, vintage and daydreaming.

 
Q : Your "teenage dream" was...

C : To be a writer or an artist... and to meet a cool boy with a guitar!



Q : If you were marooned off on a lonely island, what would be there in your backpack?

C : Notebook, pens, knife, matches... hmm. I’d enjoy the challenge but would have to hope that a     few crates of veggie food washed up on the shore, or that bananas and coconuts grew on the 
island, because I’m vegetarian.



Q : A character from a movie you'd like to meet in person, and why?

C : Roux, the river gypsy from the book/ film Chocolat. He represents freedom, individuality and  
mystery to me, lives on a boat and answers to no man, but does as he wishes in life. And... 
well, it’s a film with lots of chocolate!



Q : Something that annoys you?

C : Cruelty, bullying, greed.

 

Q : Something that makes you smile?

C : Hugs, kindness, friendship.

 

Q ; A movie star/singer you would want to be friends with...

C : Johnny Depp... and if I’m allowed a singer too, I’d pick Stuart Murdoch from the Scottish indie   band Belle & Sebastian. I admire them both hugely, and not just from a looks point of view... 
they are so talented and interesting.

 

Q : The craziest thing you have done in your life?

C : Where do I start? White water rafting on the rapids of a river in Nepal is just one memorable  
experience....


Q : One thing you want to change about today's society.

C : I’d end poverty, homelessness and hunger... it’s shameful that any society should allow those  
things to continue in 2015. There is just no need.


 
Q : Any memory of an incident that got you jumping like a three year old?

C : Um... well, I was jumping up and down just half an hour ago when a track from my daughter’s 
indie-folk EP was played in Australia of all places... halfway around the world from here in the 
UK, and the DJ was so enthusiastic! Things like that are exciting and awesome!

 

Q : And the last question (though this one is super-clichéd): your message to the readers.

C : Keep reading, keep smiling... and follow your dreams!



 P.S : Thanks so much again, Cathy, for this amazing interview!!!! I can't be more grateful!!! ^_^