Whilst traveling home on the train tonight a friend remarked about how the simple art of conversation has died out and everyone seems to be on some kind of mobile device or other. I could only hang my head in shame, as I am one of those people!
What on earth did we do before mobile phones and technology? How did we amuse ourselves? It seems like such a long time ago, it’s hard to imagine a life without gadgets.Read More »
So I think I finally figured out what it is that has been bugging me and stalling my activity on the blog just a little. I feel guilty, go figure!
Anyone who knows me in real life can vouch for the fact I am a worrier. In fact it is one of the things I am well known for. At Christmas even the Fathership turned traitor and wrote in my card that he wished me a worry free 2014, we laughed about it afterwards because he realised that statement was a stupid as I did.
I worry about everything, and I mean e v e r y t h i n g. I am though, getting better at trying to use coping strategies. They don’t always work, but for the 10 minutes I try, it at least focuses my mind on something else.
I care a lot about what people think of me, I know I shouldn’t, because I don’t need approval from anyone else, but for some reason I still do. I would guess that deep down most of us are the same.
Throughout my time here, I have been amazed at the support I have received from others. There have been people who have been with me every step of the way, commenting on almost every post I have written. Of late, for one reason or another I have not had the same time to read, comment on and write posts. I have still been reading, but it’s usually a quick 5 minutes here or there when I can grab the time, meaning comments fall by the wayside. I still try to like everything I have read and erm liked, assuming WP is working correctly, the like button has been a little temperamental of late.
Commenting, when I do have the time, still causes me issues. I know you might find it hard to believe, but, sometimes I am at a complete loss for words, so rather than make an ass of myself I say nothing at all. It does’t mean I like you or your post any less, it’s usually just that I am dumbstruck / awestruck or have nothing further to add to what you or your commenter’s have already said. The other reason is that I consider you to be smarter than the average bear, well this one anyway. In fact that accounts for pretty much 100% of the blogs I follow. Damn all you smart people!
So in an effort to help myself feel a little less guilty and to ease some of the worry I am writing this post by way of explanation and apology.
I am very grateful to every follower I have, and to every blog I follow for keeping me entertained. I am sorry that right now I can’t get to like and comment on everything, but you have to believe that I really wish I could. I don’t want anyone to ever think I am just not bothering, because that’s not the case. The truth is, I would be lost without all of you. You’re like my very own Newspaper, providing gossip, drama, comedy, cartoons, fortune telling via a Music Quiz and something far better than Dear Dierdre ever was in the shape of Mr Smithson. Anyone want to volunteer for Mr Page 3??
There are so many challenges I would also like to do, but time just gets away from me. I try to squeeze in as many as I can.
My worrying self knows realistically that no one probably notices or cares whether or not I do challenges, comment, like or read and that right now you are probably shaking your head and thinking what on earth is that stupid cow on about now, and you’d be right, but it was worrying me, so I had to get it out there, to get over it.
All these things are important to me, as are all of you, and I just needed to remind you of that!
Another trip to the land of Okay, What if? Get following peeps :)
I’ve been captivated by this show on Sky called ‘Ashley Banjo’s Big Town Dance’. For anyone who does not know who this particular gentleman is, well he’s the lead dancer and choreographer which a street dance crew called ‘Diversity’, he’s also rather cute, which certainly does not detract from the show’s likability.
In the show, his intention is to bring together a whole town through the power of dance. To form crews, he pulls people of various ages from a diverse range of occupations and sectors.
It’s been fun watching how all the people interact, especially those who never would have before, for example, pupils and teachers, eventually coming together as a unit to complete the task.
There is no doubt that music is a good mood influencer and there are few people who when presented with a good tune will not show some kind of appreciation, be it with…
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So I was thinking, and I know I’m not supposed to be doing as much of that, but I was bored whilst travelling home and figured it would be a good way to pass the time.
I love people watching, and a long journey is just the right place to do that. The evening train is packed full of many different characters, school children, students, shoppers, those in suits, and then people like me.
I had no clear direction of what I wanted to do when I was younger. My Sister was the smart one, thankfully she has enough smarts for both of us. She was focused on her studying and worked really hard to forge her career. I had no idea what I wanted to do and was extremely undisciplined when it came to a learning. I can still remember people stressing to me at exam time how important it was that I study, while I stood there nodding my head, promising that I would, but not really meaning it. Being older I can now see how that must have been very frustrating for the speaker, as anyone I tried to impart the same wisdom to, gave me the look and answers I had, causing me to jump up and down saying nooooo, you have to believe me, I speak the truth!
I wish now though that I had focused, studied and perhaps had a trade so to speak. I would love to have gained a little more knowledge regarding computers, and yes I know it’s not too late and I could still enrol in classes, but that takes both time and money, neither of which I have in abundance right now.
If something interests me I will self teach myself and that knowledge has got me through life so far without too many major problems. But still, hindsight is a wonderful thing.
I have always done office work. I’m probably not the best there is out there, but I am certainly not the worst either. I try to treat people as I would like to be treated, but I am noticing as I get older that there are a few less notches on my bullshit meter and my hormones which are undoubtedly hurtling towards the menopause make me more prone to wanting to choke people.
As you get older life becomes a little less carefree and a lot more stressful. Perhaps it’s your body telling you that you have to grow up, but your brain is fighting it, because it still thinks it’s 18 and in the prime of its life!
Things that were previously effortless now require work. Life’s got busy and there is not a lot of time for the day to day and people can feel left behind, which is not actually the case. Friendships and relationships are a two way street, that require effort from both sides if they are to survive. I personally find that living life day to day like my Dad and I now do, leaves me mentally drained and unable to cope with anything after 9pm, lets call it my threshold watershed! Sometimes just getting through a day unscathed is an achievement in it’s own right.
So taking all things into consideration, the chances are that even had I studied and been a top notch information technology specialist, I would still be sitting where I am today. I would have had the same heart that would have loved and been broken by the same people. I would have had the same sense of duty towards home life and sadly I would probably have made the same mistakes.
I don’t have to like it, but it’s where I am at. I don’t have much, but I am hopefully conscientious in my work, loved by my family and friends and good at lots of little bits and pieces that will see me through to the end of this journey.
I might not be overloaded with the smarts, but thankfully there is a shred common sense!
If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done. – Bruce Lee
I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and I have come to the conclusion that I do a lot of thinking. There is a chance that I might in fact, do a little too much thinking. All thought and no play makes Julie a dull girl!
Thinking in itself would not be a problem, especially if there was some reason behind it, or perhaps a few light bulb moments, but no, I kind of just stare off into space and think about….well that’s the thing I have no idea what I think about.
I’d love to say it’s because I over use my obviously highly intelligent brain cells, which then need to shut down to regenerate, but you and I both know that’s not true. I have and always will be a member of the Not The Brightest Pixie In The Forest Brigade. Out of interest I decided to Google that very phrase and surprisingly I am the second entry, being pipped to the post by Wikipedia, who being much more knowledgeable than I, could probably tell you who the brightest pixie in the forest actually is.
I’ve decided to curtail my thinking activities in the hope that it will make me more productive. All those moments when I blank out and transcend to Thinksville could be used for things like drawing and writing. I was going to say cooking and housework and then I ‘thought’ wise up. That one I listened to.
There are times though when the practice of thinking will still be permitted:
There is however one thing I do intend to do a little more of, and that’s thinking positively. I don’t seem to have been doing very much of that lately, which goes a little way to explaining my lack of posts. From now on when I get stuck for things to blog about, I will politely remind myself that I can write whatever I want, even if it is a random post about thinking.
For now though, I think it’s bedtime. Another late night, the Thin King has a lot to answer for!
For No Blog Intended. I hope it didn’t disappoint :-)
What if you haven’t followed Jed’s site, Okay, what if? Well then you really should :-)
If you remember a couple of weeks back I told you about the time I got sucked down a plughole, a both terrifying and enlightening experience. At the end of the journey when I skimmed out of the sewer pipe and into the deep blue ocean, what should I see before me but a Mermaid. Now I know what you’re thinking, it’s something along the lines of how did I know what I was looking at. I’ve seen enough films to know and to be fair the whole half woman, half fish thing kind of gave it away.
I had always thought Mermaids were Sirens of the Sea, portrayed in Greek mythology as beautiful yet dangerous creatures who lured sailors to their death with femme fatal looks and enchanting song. The one floating in front of me looked a little less daunting I am thankful to say.
She was…
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I’m late as always, but hey, as some random man once said, better late than never!
Let me refresh you of the rules for Steve’s rebranded Music Mix.
Each week Steve will post 3 new questions so…
(1) Go to the music player of your choice and put it on shuffle
(2) Say the questions aloud and press play
(3) Use the song title as your answers
(4) NO CHEATING
Title your post “Steve’s Music Mix – Week…” and link back to this week’s page.
Post your response in the comment section of that week’s page.
Have a look at the Archives or click on the “Music Mix” category in the category cloud on this page to see all previous weeks.
Any suggestions for future questions welcomed!
For more information, to submit ideas for future questions or just general feedback go to Steve’s Music Mix.
1. In an ideal world…? – Blood, Sweat and Tears – Paloma Faith – Hmmm that wouldn’t really be my idea of an ideal world to be honest. I was kinda hoping to ditch those. Ooo unless of course I own my own company and I’m putting in Blood, Sweat and Tears to make it work…I could handle that!
2. In a cruel world…? – (Can’t get my) Head around you – The Offspring – I can imagine living in a cruel world where I can’t get my head around anyone at all. Sometimes it’s hard enough trying to figure out what’s going on in my own without having to analyze others.
3. In another world…? – Carry On – Fun – Pretty true really isn’t it. It kinda doesn’t matter where we are or what we do, when hardships come we just have to Carry On.
If you would like to try Steve’s Music Mix for yourself, click his picture at the top to find out all the information. Pass it a long to all your friends too.
I was never really a collector of anything. There are no dead bodies in my back garden, or stamps in my cupboard, well not that I am aware of anyway. I do however have a few nifty badges and broaches that I gathered up over the years, my favourite being a little pair of sunglasses.
If I invited you into my living room / little office, the things that would draw your attention, would most likely be my penguins. I liked penguins, but I wouldn’t have said I loved them. It all started because one year my Sister bought me a penguin for Christmas, but liked it so much she decided to keep it for herself. every year after that, as a joke, she and I bought each other something with a penguin on it, whether it be small or large. I guess word got around and then other people started to buy me penguins and now I have a lovely little collection and the like has grown to love.
It came to my attention yesterday however, that I also seem to have a mini fetish for mugs. The purchase that sparked this realisation, a Heinz Tomato Ketchup mug that was reduced in the sales to £2 and has ‘Hot Dawg’ in bold letters on the side. I have a little thing for Starbucks mugs too, so every time my sister goes away she brings me one from the location of her visit. The one I use the most at the minute though is my Geeky G4mer one that Lee had made for me, which has my old banner and tag line printed on it.
The standing joke in the office though it my unabashed love for all things stationary! Every time someone hands me something new I experience a little joygasm, I just can’t help myself. Pens, pencils, sketchbooks, notebooks, in fact anything at all and I’m as happy as a bee.
In my head I am organised and efficient, and promise that every new notebook I buy will have a purpose. The reality though is very different and the poor things usually get regulated to a shelf or a drawer within 3 weeks of purchase. I’ll go cold turkey for a while, not allowing myself to enter any premises where anything vaguely stationary like is sold. Eventually I give in.
Thinking about it, running a stationary store would have to be my dream job. I’d have the weirdest but coolest collection of things ever and people would travel from all over the world to buy what I was selling.
Ah….if only!
Being an eejit I decided to read up on the ‘How to Blog’ sections of WordPress after I had already signed up and posted a couple of times. I’ve said it before and I will say it a million more times, I am not the brightest pixie in the forest!
My approach to learning is rather lazy. I’ll find as much reading material as I can about my chosen subject matter, and then proceed to skim the pages until I locate the information I require. If it’s something that matters to me it will stick in my brain, meaning the papers get discarded and I ultimately become bored because I achieved my original goal.
Had I read all the information with regards to blogging before hand, the chances are I would never have started, and even though I already had a few followers, I still felt I was doomed for failure. I was just not ordered and disciplined enough to follow all the guidelines.
Everyone advised me that in order to succeed I had to pick a subject and stick to it ensuring I had a consistent theme running throughout. That was a huge problem for me. You see I am good at little bits and pieces of many things but I am not a master of any. I knew myself that if I chose this path then I would stumble at the first hurdle.
It takes a while initially to find your feet, and it takes even longer to become truly comfortable in your surroundings. Do I feel comfortable yet? The honest answer to that would have to be, probably not. I still worry each time I publish a post. I practically had a mini meltdown the first time I posted on Okay, What If?, just ask Jed.
I had this idea at the start that I was going to be fine and post anything I wanted as I was essentially posting to strangers, but over time I got to know the strangers and they became friends and then like a second family and I realised that I cared what they thought.
I write about anything and everything that comes to mind. Sometimes I don’t write anything at all, especially on the days when the Mothership is experiencing turbulence. On those days anxiety cripples me and I find it hard to function, never mind string together a legible sentence.
I’ve been lucky, everyone who has clicked the follow button either likes my haphazard style of writing, or has been too polite to mention anything. One sure thing is, none of them have ever told me I need to pick a subject and stick to it. I’m still amazed I have any followers at all. 10 months on and I still experience a little rush of delight from every like, comment and follow.
So the point of this post is, never mind what the guidelines advise you to do. Just do what you want to do. I have a very strong belief now, after being lucky enough to find all the people that I have, that those who are meant to be around, and with you will find you, we’re all here for a reason.
I don’t want to be rich or famous, I just want to make people smile :)
Jed challenged me to make him smile! Can you do any better?
Dear Jed,
Thank you for getting in contact, you are quite correct, things have been a little weird in blogsphere of late. In fact things have been a little weird everywhere. You’ll never guess what I saw in my neighbours garden the other day….a spaceship, I kid you not, it was a real live, honest to goodness spaceship with flashing lights and everything. I was so mesmerized I walked into a lamp post. When my head stopped spinning and the little blue birds stopped singing, I looked up and it was gone, almost as if it had never been there in the first place.
I was sorry to hear your bad news, and as much as I would like to be the one to cheer you up, I am afraid that you are going to have to accept this letter as a means of apology. Hang on a minute, why…
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The Indecisive Eejit 