Cant not acknowledge this wee milestone guys

Woah, was not expecting that one..... i know i've said it to some of you about my surprise at how popular the campaign blog was, considering how little i put on it.
So just for some proof heres a photo of it at this nice rounded up number of views so far.

and for those of you messaging me for more 'claire-ness' i direct you to yet another one of my blogs (itll be less uni work and more claire. and i started it about five minutes ago, so give me a week to make it all perdy and fill it up a wee bit before you start judging it)

clairesweecorner.blogspot.com

You know you want to follow the new blog, even if its just for the craic and the spelling mistakes.

ps. sligo would like me to take back the fact i accidentally called her by her given name 'niamh' in the last post. considering i was talking about more than one niamh, i think im allowed to be confused, but sligo, consider this my retraction. your name is and will always be known as Sligo (ehem spoiled child)

So long, farewell!

I must say, i am absolutely overwhemled with the votes i got. i was expecting about 10.... maybe 30 if i was being optimistic, but considering no campaiging was done for the last two days and i didnt visit one classroom or give a speech, i recieved a third of the votes. It goes to chose people actually listen and believe in words of someone who means them. I am so overwhelmed, i know with a bit more effort i could win next year....however ill be on my placement year, so if and when i chose to run again, ill be startin frm scratch again. regardless, i hope Mickey works towards some of the issues i wanted to address, as well as his own now that he is VP of Magee.

round of applause***

Although i would love to be VP, i am so happy he won, not only will i get to go abroad on placement, its opened my eyes to alot of the issues at magee so i will be better suited to address them in future. I have another year if not two, to run again, whereas this was his last year, so im actually so happy he won it, he appreciates it just as much if not more than me, so i am so happy for him.
Although there was alot of hassle during the week over campaigning, as ive said before, it wasnt him, and i think he'll do an amazing job, different approach than me, but amazing none the less.
WELL DONE MICKEY, not just a congratulations but a massive GOOD LUCK, youve deff got your work cut out for you! running this lot.

#gettingquiggywithit

(the only time i will be using that lol)

So lets get a run through of the day.... the sun is splitting the trees (cultchy for its sunny outside) so magically nobody has class but everyones relaxing outdoors, unfortunately voting being an indoor activity, the good students of derry were having none of that.
So not many votes were to be had. The polls closed at 12 noon, sealed shut, done and dusted. and from there i just relaxed, i just had this calmness about me all day, i didnt care, win or lose (which i thought was strange, i thought id panic on the day, but no) i was very content, and had an 'if its meant to be, its meant to be' attitude.
I hope nobody took my calm attitude as an 'i dont care' attitude, i was just accepting the results either way. i was truly prepared to win and lose. So next year me and mickey will have a seriously big experience, he will run a university and i will live in another country .... thats the rules, lose a student council election and you get banished from the country. kidding.

Went around campus collecting every scrap of election stuff, mainly posters, manifestos and boards. This was a far harder task due to the fact it was so warm with our amazing weather BUT i would like to personally thank all the smart asses out there who tore down my posters during the week....instead of ripping down about a hundred odd posters, i only had to lift about 30, so you made my day alot easier, thankyou for your consideration.

they've had quite a week

Once that was done, ice lollies had to be had, then we met up in front of the library for a taxi to the count.
Yes it was meant to be a bus but numbers kept changing, alot of people decided to drive up, so we all just took a taxi. This was mainly us planning a drinking session and singing along to cheesy music....when i say we i mean me, and everyone else just had to watch. (josh took a video, i may upload that later along with photos im for nicking off niamhs phone when i see her next, so stay tuned for those)
It took forever to get there, and back might i add. not pleased. glad i wasnt nervous, or upset, that would not be a trip id want to make in anything less than a happy mood.
Heres a few photos describing the start of our journey.... clearly me, niamh and the boys prioritise different, niamh had about a weeks worth of clothes for one night away, i bought a years worth of chocolate, josh brought his enthusiasm and conrad thought his laptop would break the evening up a bit.... interesting bunch we make.

dont know about you guys, but i was set for the long day

the weirdos in an awkward wee selfie

love you all

sligo resting on her 'nights' worth or clothes.... notice thats two full bags bursting at the seams

Arrived, met alot of other candidates and their representatives. over he course of the next few hours, food was had, announcements were made and bodies were hid.
They changed the count last minute so the results would be a surprise. so the candidates werent allowed in the room, so sligo didnt get to play her drinking game.... thank god she didnt, other wise id be in A&E with her getting her treated for alcohol poisoning.

im starting to think we shouldnt be allowed near cameras.

(ill hopefully get the rest of the photos off the others soon and post them asap)

Belfast was announced first, that was a serious cheer, she didnt have to stand or make a speech but noooooo, when it was me and mickey, we had to stand in front of everyone (me knowing i was for losing was all, WHY) but yeah, the votes were announced and then we all cheered for the man himself.
Then they all thought it would be a good idea to give me a microphone, DOES NOBODY REMEMBER THE TRAIN WRECK THAT WAS LAST MONDAY..... so i refused to take it, but nope, had to, tried passing it to an emotional mickey, nope, wasnt having it, so i mumbled something that went something like this 'well.... i got xx votes woo....mickey seems a bit emotional, well done' and then i near broke the mic and handed it to mickey.... i should not be allowed near microphones, EVER.

Mickey made an acceptance speech. as youd expect (why would you get the loser to say a speech, that could turn into a shouting/crying session. risky) His speech of course consisted more than stating the obvious. it actually thanked people. i sat down and cheered etc, and niamh nicely pointed out 'thanks for thanking your campaign team' oops

Thankyou campaign team, couldnt have done it without you....sorry its about 6 hours too late and not on a mic, my bad.

either way, today went exactly how it should. Once all that was over, conrad decided he wanted to get to CORE gaming before it was over. The niamhs decided they were for leaving early to get ready to go out and me and josh were just for collapsing ....well i was, josh mightve wanted more shots than he was getting. ANYWAYS, after a small nosey about colraine union, we got in a taxi home. photos below will give you an amazing of how mature we are and how we act like complete tourists when visiting any other campus (we did the same at jordanstown, strange little creatures we tend to be) So after alot of noseying we waited outside in the freezing cold for our taxi, to amuse myself i took selfies, mere proof as follows.

following the footprint....which dont seem to notice theres a table in the way

hallway selfie....conrads looking stealthy 

i love how this is all the campus' 'old' building, its nicer than our good buildings, but everything you see in these photos (bar us obviously) will soon be knocked down. as colraine are fancypants and have a new building. welllll.

josh strutting his stuff.... or just collapsing in exhaustion, you decide.

he found the upstairs, an pool tables.

wrong way conrad

loooooong day, but pretty campus none the less

some day im gonna get in trouble for taking so many photos without ones permission.... but that day is not today SMILE CONRAD.

The taxi ride home was so long, and the car was so warm, and the silent ole taxi man had county music playing so it ended up one way or another, he mustve thought he was babysitting a pile of toddlers as we ALL fell asleep. I only woke up when we got to derry because conrads laptop case hit my backside, which caused a laughing fit and the taxi man officially thought we were insane. 

Called in with the amazing people of CORE gaming society down in the students union, but we were all so tired we only played a few games and ran home to our beds. where i am currently reporting all this from.

As i want this to be all wrapped up soon, i think this will be my last post on the blog, ever. 

(dont cry, i warned you at the start it was only temporary for campaign purposes)

So here is my final goodbye song. not just because its currently popular, or because im Pixar in the head. but because its a lovely self motivating, happy song of acceptance and deciding to get on with things and make them better. so here it is LET IT GO from disneys, FROZEN.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moSFlvxnbgk

so at this point i should say a whole big paragraph at how happy i am, and what will happen next, and thank everyone and their granny BUT to be very honest, after 7 weeks of non stop union work (RAG officer, volunteer week, campaign week, election week) i just want to curl up in a snuggely ball and sleep. tomorrow is another day and although i will have alot less on my plate compared to the last few weeks, i do actually have alot of uni work to catch up on, sooooo wish me luck with all of that, and if you want to know how that turns out, you should all follow me on blogger/google+ or check out previous blogs, as i have to document all coursework on separate blogs. they are boring but, itll wean you off this awesome blog. just saying. 

Ill more than likely be starting yet another casual blog you can all read soon, (probably about placement, from start to finish. ongoing) soooo look out for that one, that'll be different. 

Now im done ramming all the votes and blogs down your throats, yous can finally be left in peace.

So good night! so long farewell, auf weidersehen and good bye!!!!!

Thank-you all for this amazing week, it definitely wont be forgot any time soon.

One day mooooooooore

Yes start how you mean to finish. So as far as i remember, one of my first song of the days was les miserables. do yu hear the people sing (love it)

To get you all back in the les mis, viva la revolution mood. heres a little ONE MORE DAY to keep you all feeling motivated.be that fr one more days of votes, one more day until you know the outcome, or i suppose the most popular, one more day until we can stop hearing about the whole lot.

I understand it was a strain on the ears this week. i apologise. However it is your say, your uni, you should have the ear talked off you so you can not only decide on who you think would do a better job, but to also have your say in what happens whilst your at university.

Woah this last fortnights gone so quickly!
Give the song a wee listen, starts off slow, then gets a little inspirational, then a proper build up to end with some proper braveheart FREEDOOOOOM feelings.

One day more till revolution

one day to a new beginning, 

every man will be a king

theres a new world for the winning

do you hear the people sing

one day more

tomorrow is the judgement day

tomorrow we'll find out what our god in heaven has in store

one more dawn

one more daaaaaaaay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM3MzWYa_-Y

A wee run down of tomorrow/the count.

So this will be one of my last posts before the winner is announced and i wrap up this blog. SO im gonna give you all an idea of how tomorrow should go.

ill get up early (not likely as its now nearing 4am)  do some form of last minute campaigning. love life for the last five minutes before i dive back into assignment work, regardless of the outcome. 
twelve noon tomorrow the polling station will close and il have to round round campus and take down every single scrap of campaign material with my name on them (sooooooo someone remind me to bring scissors for whatever boards are left) i then go to class....get lectured by ones in my group for leaving early.
leave class early and get on a 3oclock colraine bound bus (maybe drag ones for company....hint hint niamh/conrad/jaime)
we show up, everyones all smiles, im sure there will be wee speeches, and then it begins!!!! the count, so we have to watch all of them, BUT magee will be second or third on the list for the count.
watch the count, winner is announced (more than likely on facebook within five minutes) i celebrate the fact i can get home to sleep before my handins.
everyone has the craic, we get the bus back....well some of us will, others are having themselves a very long st paddys weekend.
I then go out to sugar and get on with life. because lets face t, its student council elections and regardless of the outcome, the posters will be gone and everyone will forget all about this in a week.....and the elected official starts in july.

Simples.

again if you have any last minute questions or comments. throw them my way using the usual communication methods, facebook, email or the pony express.

but dont worry, ill still blog about tomorrow, regardless of the tears. you can count on it.

Wish us luck that tomorrow goes well for all involved!

prepare to win, prepare to lose

So today was the last full day of voting. for any of you lovely souls still planning on getting a last minute vote in, the polls are open tomorrow morning until noon.
Today to be honest i havent much development. I had a hospital appointment in belfast today, and it was one of those appointments that take a year to get so you dont cancel or reschedule for any reason, which means i wasnt on campus at all today.
I left Sligo in charge, but everyone was very very busy with classwork and coursework, lets face it, not much got done today. So im not holing my breath on any miracles tomorrow. however id like to thank each and every single person who has or will vote, dont worry, you all get a massive WOOHOO every time a claire vote is called.... i kid you not tomorrows count will go a little something like this, mickey, mickey, mickey, mickey, mickey, claire WOOHOO, mickey.
Im not being pessimistic, im being realistic, but i love each and every little vote, so thankyou very much and its a bit early to congratulate mickey soooo we'll do that later after hes all chuffed and stops stressing (i understand why i should probably be stressing, but whats he stressing over?) Today basically went, i got up early, i walked about and couldnt find any classes on, and if they were on they were busy, i walked about the bunker (thats the student restaurant for any of you who dont go to magee) annoyed a few people there, in total got (if they voted) two votes, and from there i had to run off on a 12 o clock bus to belfast. meet mammy, head to the hospital, didnt get away from there till after five,  stuffed my face for the third time of the day, this time with pizza hut.... spot the grown up candidates desert...so delicious

then headed my butt back to derry, but i didnt get there until twenty past seven, the ballets were closed, so that was useful. i shouldve probably gone about th labs and actually done something productive with my second and basically last day voting, BUT .... i decided going to half seven mass over at the cathedral on great james' st would be a better use of my time. im sorry but WOAH thats such an amazing chapel on the inside, i always knew it was pretty on the outside (conrad has an amazing up close and personal view of the tower, which i said id love and then he said wait until every hour on the hour when the bells start ringing and then see how much you love it) point is, its pretty. and even though i stressed all day, i think that rest in the cathedral not only calmed my mind about the elections, ie theres far more important things not only in the world and in life, but happening with me currently. besides if its not meant to be this time, then its not meant to b. at least thats how i look at it.
So like we were told in our 'youre now a candidate ' presentation, you should prepare to win (i think weve done that and cant even wait until july to get the ball rolling on many projects) but also.....prepare to lose.
That doesnt mean go awww i wont win. it means have a contingency plan etc. like mine is confirm my place on placement abroad. and then if i still feel the need to help the uni in my third year, run again.
I dont think prepare to lose actually meant just a plan, but also clear the mind and all that. so today to be honest was more of an understanding and spiritual day rather than actual votes.
I think ive learned alot from these elections, and i have some different opinions and outlooks because of it. soooo im rather pleased with today. regardless of votes. win lose or draw, im happy with all the people ive met and the experience  ive had with this campaign. twas enlightening.

So ive finished mass, i could go bug wanderers around campus or labs OR i could continue my no elections day and go with my friends to see 300 over at the cinebowl (omg those seats are so comfy over there) but yeah, as an art student i of course analysed the whole thing and didnt get the same impact everyone else did, but i enjoyed it. i enjoyed it even more because this little ship of farmers and poets and trades men, overcame the big massive fleet using their faith and wisdom.... i love when the little guy wins. itt may not happen often but i think that makes it even more special for when it does.

I know theres plenty of you probably thinking  dont care about the votes, or the outcome or the job, because my attitude towards it is so calm. but im naturally an optimistic person, so if something doesnt happen, then theres normally a reason. theres no point in me frying my head over something like an election.
If i win i win, if i dont, then i dont. ive had an amazing two weeks regardless..... so thankyou all.

Vote claire

Pokemon (high demand for this song of the day surprisingly)

Are you trying to tell me you didnt see this one coming? i actually had a very appropriate pop song all lined up for today, but this was suggested to much today by you all, so it had to be done. 

every good leader gives the people what they want, and you were all very vocal that you wanted a pokemon theme tune after seeing me in the pokemon hat in the election video, and about campus. 

So here it is, my childhood in three and a half minutes. 

I can still remember vividly power sliding across the sitting room floor to watch this !.... i bet most of you think im talking about as a child, nah im talking about this evening at 4....kidding. 

enjoy the trip down memory lane.

i wanna be the very best, 

like no one ever was,

 to catch them is my test to train them is my cauuuuuuse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuYeHPFR3f0

OMG team rocket were on campus! run pikatchu!

So many of you consider the hat an identifier this week. im not complaining tbh.
however alot of you have also attempted to steal the hat and/or find out where i bought it (christmas market, but im sure ebay has ones just like it. as i have a pikatchu hoodie, which i will more than likey wear in tomorrow, to prove how much better it is than the hat)

So since you all expressed so much interest in the hat.... im presenting to you two things, one.... the following photo of someone i found and nagged today until he took a photo with me, my hat and his tshirt.
and two....yous can have the hat if i win (so no chance im losing my hat) but you can all try :)