Half Year Report

So I left this blog at the beginning of the year with a New Year's Resolution: "continue to grow and progress, and not stagnate". Six months later I thought I would report back...

I can safely say that there has been no stagnation and a lot of ripples in 2012 - most of which were positive. But I don't want to tell my life story as though this was a diary, instead I would prefer to pass on any lessons I have learnt while illustrating them with life events.

The first would be: 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again'. Now I understand this is not a unique piece of wisdom to impart but I do have a unique example to support this - my experience at the Kiss Chosen One competition. In 2011, the competition by Kiss FM was launched in an effort to find the next big radio presenter. In 2011 I didn't get past the audition stage, neither as part of a duo nor as an individual. However in 2012, the competition was relaunched and I had a pretty smooth path to the Final 25 of the competition as I qualified at the first audition. While I didn't win the competition I was able to make this demo...

listen to ‘Kiss Chosen One 2012’ on Audioboo

It should be noted that it wasn't just determination that allowed me to succeed but also a year's worth of presenting development including experience interviewing Alyssa Reid for FAME TV...

While this was a lesson learnt in a professional context it was also one learnt in a personal context - specifically relationships. This year I came to realise that you should never give up trying to find the perfect partner in your life because after what may be many unsuccessful attempts you eventually will - as I have with Miss Vivian Kelly.

These personal and professional successes are owed partly to a man that meant a lot to me in both a personal and professional way. The founder of FAME, "the other half of the pantomime horse" (as Terry Mansfield CBE has described us) and the brother/mentor/friend that inspired me and changed the way I think forever - Deji Osobukola. He passed suddenly in April from a brain aneurysm and his funeral was held on my 22nd Birthday, something that I felt was deeply symbolic in a strange way.

He is also the catalyst for another lesson I have learnt: "Nothing is impossible". Something we illustrated together in a metaphor of doors; if there are three doors in front of you, leading to where you want to go, and they are all locked then blow a hole in the wall and create a fourth door. We often reminded each other of the Fourth Door when necessary and this is something I will continue to remind myself of in his absence.

Most recently, this 'nothing is impossible' way of thinking benefited me in the mammoth task I had been given to do at the Grapevine (askGrapevine HR since January). This was to co-author the UK Retained Executive Search Industry Report, an annual publication that is distributed around FTSE boardrooms across the country. Myself (Deputy Editor since March 2012) and the new Editor, Ben Ashwell, shared the 30,000-word burden equally and had to write our halves in just over a week. Something that was achieved with all nighters, weekend trips to the office and early morning starts - but achieved nonetheless. My HR writing was also recognised for quality, not just quantity, by Towers Watson who awarded me Highly Commended Best HR Journalist Newcomer earlier this year.

Finally, my most important lesson of 2012 so far has been that life is too short. If a 30 year old with the potential to be the next Richard Branson can suddenly be taken then we should all not only avoid procrastination within our careers but also try and enjoy life and do the things we enjoy socially, seeing and experiencing everything we can. Because of this I have tried to travel and enjoy life as much as I can this year; I experienced Edinburgh with Vivian (http://fameonline.co.uk/2012/06/edinburgh-the-castle-the-cathedral-and-the-koalas/), visited my family in Ireland (for the first time in over a decade) and have plans to party in Zante, Greece, (next week) and holiday with ten of my closest friends at the end of September in my Dad's villa in Calpe, Spain. All in all I wish to enjoy life and recommend that everyone adopt a #HalfFullThinking mindset as there is no point wasting your breath being negative, when it could be one of the last breaths you take.

My proudest achievement over the last six months has been successfully publishing the May issue of FAME magazine - a celebration of Deji, the talent behind the talent magazine - with the help of the rest of the team, each of whom all showed incredible dedication.

(to read the magazine go to: http://fameonline.co.uk/2012/05/fame-magazine-issue-6/)

My New Year's Resolution

Something that is continuous, involves change for the better and is difficult, but not impossible, to achieve - that is my definition of a New Year's Resolution.

The perfect example is 'to quit smoking', this has clear benefits, is something that will create permanent change and is by no means easy. However I don't smoke so that one is out of the window for me, and I am sure a lot of other non-smokers struggle to come up with something as life changing at the beginning of every year.

For me I think coming up with a New Year's Resolution is a bit like writing a horoscope. You want it to be able to apply to almost every aspect of your life without being too specific and yet, at the same time, you want it to point at positive change.

So what is my New Year's Resolution?

Well today, after seeing a video of me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsCBfziz4Yg) someone said to me that I do a lot. This may be true for me and a lot of others but there is always room for more and, spoken like the embodiment of ambition, I plan to go to infinity and beyond.

Therefore my New Year's Resolution is: "continue to grow and progress, and not stagnate".

Feel free to steal it if you are stuck for ideas but stick to it if you do, and don't let yourself get stuck in the mud.

Happy New Year.

Getting closer to FAME

So it has been nearly six months since I last posted on this blog. But I have swept away the digital dust and posted something new before the end of an eventful 2011.

One of the main reasons I haven't been on here is because I have focused a lot more on FAME Magazine (see http://fameonline.co.uk/author/calum/ ) - for which I am still the Editor.

Now for those committed blog followers you may remember a long list of responsibilities that I used to have (see http://calumdilieto.blogspot.com/2011/03/first-post.html ), but since FAME has become more successful and my workload for the talent and lifestyle magazine has increased, I have dropped some of the previous responsibilities - plus the fact that most of them were linked to the university, and I am now a graduate (cue round of applause).



Sadly one of the things I miss most from university is being on Crush Radio. I managed to attend my first and last SRA award ceremony before leaving the station and even entered 'Best Male Presenter'.

Now I am going to be completely transparent I didn't get nominated due to a problem I already foresaw: a lack of good producing skills (since creating my demo these have been developed).

#HalfFullThinking though...

Firstly I was given some positive feedback from one of the anonymous judges, which read: (sic)"A solid, well-rounded presenter - Has an easy, convsersational style that draws listners in, but it would have been good to hear how listeners' comments feed into the show. - Vibrant voice, with clear delivery and good variety of tone - Good story-telling skills with an ability to build suspense - Original talking points"

Secondly I have since been on BBC Radio Three Counties representing FAME, with Black Biscuit, check it out: http://audioboo.fm/boos/584553-black-biscuit-09-12-11#t=3m0s (3mins onwards)

listen to ‘Black Biscuit - 09/12/11’ on Audioboo

A Whole New World (without the magic carpet)

Since Tour, I've helped host the SRA Conference 2011, attended Sports Colours 2011, celebrated my 21st birthday, finished my degree at UH, started full-time at The Grapevine as a Reporter, and best of all, had my Summer Ball!

Westwood with the Crush Team.

Sports Colours 2011

The first picture of all my Final Year housemates (Kela Lewis-Morin, Claire Brookes and Davut Unsal) and I together at All Bonked Out! (The last of three years of "Bonk!"-ing)

Summer Ball 2011 with Letara Buckley (my shirt is PURPLE, despite what it may look like in pictures)

But after all the fun times, I now feel like I deserve my grey hairs - I feel so old! The only way I can describe the feeling of leaving university is like this:

Imagine it is autumn, a pile of dead leaves are on the floor, and you and your friends are insects living in the pile. You know that sooner or later the seasons will change and your temporary home will be gone, but sooner than expected a leaf blower comes and "whoosh!" everything has separated. You and a few others managed to cling to the same leaf, others maybe didn't get blown too far away, but the pile is gone! Sad times.

Although comparing myself to a bug living in a damp rotting leaf-pile isn't the nicest way to describe things, it is just a metaphor and I will always hold on to my university experiences. Even if I have to visit the Forum again when I'm 45.

What happened on Tour...

...will stay on Tour (as the old saying goes) - mainly to protect others' crimes rather than my own. However I can still give a brief description of the events that occured at Salou Fest 2011.

The first thing to realise is that the coach journey there and back was 26 hours each way. I tried to bring a Literature book to read for my course but probably read about 30 pages over the whole holiday. Instead the time was killed through random conversation, meeting people on the coach and sleeping on the floor in the aisle. Films were also put on, and on the way back we managed to get through Rocky 1-4 - to the joy of some of the girls!

I was the only kickboxer to go on tour and so I was put in the cheerleaders' list. This meant not only was the only guy I knew on my coach but that my hoodie and polo shirt had a pink female cheerleader logo on the back. Luckily I got to know the basketballers who also came on our coach.

We arrived after other coaches, but left before, as we had to pick up Bucks Uni women's football, and once in Spain it was such a relief to be able get into my room.

After a bit of dispute between some of the girls (they were fighting over who could share a room with me of course...) I ended up bunking with Christina, Seren, Dolly, Ruby and Angelina (who arrived on the plane after us).

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The first night was UV themed and after getting dressed up we headed to Charlie Chaplin's - a bar round the corner from our hotel. Charlie Sheen was the drink of the night (a mix of vodka, whiskey, rum and everything else). We ended up spending most of the night there and in another bar nearby.

The night ended reasonably early because people were tired from the journey. But back in the hotel I ran into Carly and Darryl. Conversation turned to Darryl's need for a haircut, and the next thing you know Carly is using kitchen scissors to "neaten up" the back. TOO FUNNY.

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The next morning everyone had to wake up to compete for their sports - except me. So I had a beautiful lay-in, attempted some sunbathing and generally did nothing until the others got back. That night it was Caveman theme - my favourite. For the second night in a row I didn't make it to a club, just stayed in nearby bars, one of which served "buckets" of alcohol (as seen in the guys hand in the back of the picture below).

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The third night was Where's Wally theme, and it was a lot more dramatic. With the rest of the basketballers, I headed to get the shuttle bus to Pacha - a nightclub on the other side of Salou. However this was what EVERYONE in Salou was doing and so it was a melee of people trying to squeeze onto these buses. Naturally a a guy from Westminster Uni started a fight with one of the ballers, but half of the squad was stuck on the bus at the time. Police got involved and freely hit people with their batons. The crowd became a whirlpool of violence and eventually we were all told to get off the bus and go back home.

We soon returned to the bus stop to explain the situation and one of the workers that saw it all helped us out and got us to Pacha. Once there the other university was waiting for us to settle things. Surprisingly things did get settled and it ended with a joke. We then went inside the spainish nightclub.

Wow.

The club was a village surrounded by a wall. At the centre stood a giant central "trunk" that held the massive venue. Around the central club was miniature bars and pools with bridges to cross in order for you to sit down or buy a drink. It was unlike any club I had seen before. The venue was amazing, but the night wasn't too special.

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Throughout the week trips to the beach were daily, and although there was a swimming pool in our hotel, it was way to cold to get in. Whilst on the beach I attempted Lacrosse with Martyn - who was also representing his sport on his own, sunbathed briefly and even attempted cheerleading...

I wasn't the best.

The last night out was Tour-Top night, so teams either put on the yellow "I Love Tour" tops or their team tour tops. I took it upon myself to write on the back of all the guys tour tops and after spending valuable drinking time being artistic, I decided to "catch up". This was a potential mistake.

We headed to Charlie Chaplin's again and pretty quickly I ended up swapping t-shirts with a girl that had cut hers up to reveal more skin - stupidly. So my top went from this...

to a piece of yellow dental floss...

This wasn't helped by a guy trying to start a fight with me, and ripping the top further.

It started because girls and boys ended up sharing toilets due to the massive queues for the girls. One particular girl was unlucky enough to be spat on whilst waiting and I, in my drunken state, challenge the spitter: "That's disgusting what's wrong with you!". The guy responded by throwing a punch my way over a wall of his friends. The next thing I know I was escorted out by everyone in the vaccinity and told to wait outside. The ballers came up to me asking what happened and where the guy was but I didn't know what he looked like.

Over the banister to the club a second punch came my way, as one guy tried to calm me down. At this I ran back in the club but lost the punch-and-run guy. Later on in the evening he approached me with the same friend and apologised, but as soon as I spoke to ask (calmly) "why?", he ran off.

The rest of the night was a bit like the film the Hangover. I remember nothing. I had fallen asleep in just my shorts at the doorway to my room, was told I had done a number of things I couldn't remember, and worst of all had lost the key (an object that symbolised Doug from the film). This was particularly disturbing because I never usually lose my memory!

After a lot of detective work it turned out the key was found on the street outside the hotel (despite me having opened the door to get into the flat before I conked out) - a mystery. But everything was solved in the end and we all headed home.

My memory is still incomplete.

Scooby Doo: The Last Day!

Waking up realising it would be my last day as Scooby was weird. I felt sad, because I had grown attached to the costume (especially the tail),  but I was also relieved that my hair would no longer itch under the fleece hood - no I didn't catch fleas!

I started the day in the LRC doing an assignment, and I think having my peripheral vision obscured by the costume actually helped me to concentrate, like blinkers on a horse. After finishing my assignment in record time I headed to my Native American Literature lecture.

My lecturer asked "who has read the book this week?" and I had to be honest, and shook my head, this prompted my lectuer to say, to my surprise, "bad dog!". You really do have to be on your best behaviour when you stand out so much.

After Literature I headed to Nandos for the third time this week! This time with Letara Buckley. I think the staff where different from Tuesday because nobody seemed to recognise me - although the waiter did give me a Scooby Spud (touching fists, not a type of potato). We were seated right next to the window, which naturally caused a lot of attention, people would walk the whole length of the restaurant following me with their eyes rather than looking where they were going. Tara didn't seem to mind and told me that every time I bowed my head to eat, it looked like Scooby himself was munching the chicken.

I came home to find my friend from home, Amarhl Robinson, with my housemates (he'd been to Batchwoods nightclub the night before). I was planning to drop him back to London on my way home so he accompanied me to the Galleria to buy my mum her Mothers' Day present.

After rushing around dropping people home and to the train station we started our journey home. But first I needed PETrol...

Whilst passing through London I decided to visit my siblings in Chiswick. My sister, Zosia, was on webcam to her friends, but luckily it wasn't working her end so they couldn't see me. My youngest brother, Luca, was just going to bed so I poked my head into his room and probably gave him nightmares for the rest of the night. Meanwhile my brother Alus loved the costume and took a picture with me.

Eventually I made it back to Farnham, my dogs seemed a bit alarmed when I first came through the door but I soon took it off and in the words of Florence and the Machine: Dog Days are Over.

Scooby Doo: Day Four

On the fourth day of Scooby my true love gave to me...  a Great Dane in a Grapevine. That's right Thursday I went to work at The Grapevine Magazine again.

On my lunch break I headed to McDonalds this time and began to realise how obvious I had become when a complete stranger said to me: "you were in the Galleria yesterday".

Once I had got my food, I went upstairs in the fast food restaurant and had three different people talk to me - I was starting to feel like a celebrity. College kids and fathers all showed an interest in the real-life cartoon character.

After work I went to LRC and found that I had been tagged in a stranger's photo album - the scary thing was, they had taken a picture of me without me knowing (I was innocently walking down the street!). My friend had come across the picture and tagged me in it, but I'm curious as to how many pictures of me there are floating around cyber space that I don't know about!

If you see any of me... (dog) tag me!