Tag: Blogging

Shhh it’s Sunday!

The Indecisive Eejit22 Comments

Again it’s Sunday, is this becoming a little bit of a habit for me? Compared to last weekend it’s been relatively quiet, thank goodness, I don’t think I could have survived another one.

I’m feeling a little lack lustre this weekend, some things that were meant to happen didn’t and I feel a little meh. Perhaps I suffer from SAD syndrome and need to remember to shine a torch in my face for about 3 hours a day, as owing to the fact I am a sort of red head, exposure to the sun has pretty much the same effect on me as it does a Vampire.

Burning Sun

This is pretty much what I look like when the lady hormones are having their monthly conference as well!

I don’t know why, but this last few day I have been giving a lot of consideration to my blogs, that’s a very long winded way of saying I was having a good old think about where my life is going. I tweaked the theme on here, and also on May’s but then reverted her to how she was and am I still humming and hawing over this one.

I though about wrapping May up and no longer writing as her, it’s harder than I initially thought it was going to be. I enjoy being someone else, but I still worry that people will see similarities either with me or themselves in the things I write, which is not the case. The purpose of May is to be the person I am not, and to live the life I do not. I feel a pressure to write sometimes that weighs me down. I think of millions of things a day I want to record, but life gets in the way and by the time it has finished I have forgotten, or sometimes my mindset depending on how things are at home has the effect of a mental block.

Some good news however is that I am mostly caught up on my reading. You may have seen likes and very few comments.  I had around 77 posts to catch up on, and that was only on Bloglovin, which I have to say has been a godsend.

Future plans – I have none, I’m just going to see how it goes. I would like to keep writing both here and on The Misadventures of May Dupp and for the most part this is what I will try to do, given the limited amount of free time I have. I’m open to ideas of prompts if anyone has any, I have found the Daily Prompt unappealing of late, it leaves me more confused than inspired.

I also wanted to do a piece for Jed’s blog, ‘Okay, What If?’ so if you have any suggestions for a topic I will be glad to give them consideration.

Till next time – keep smiling :)

And Breathe…..

The Indecisive Eejit22 Comments

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I’m going to put the past week down to experience. I’m glad it’s over, although the repercussions are still carrying on. I’m tired, and I’m going to have to start getting early nights or one of these days I am going to fall asleep and not wake up, it’s not that long till three score years and ten, assuming I even make it that far.

I’ve not been here much this week, there has just been no time, my laptop lay in work redundant for most of last week. Lunchtime, what’s that, couldn’t tell you, cos I spent most of the week working through mine. I did however make a bit of an effort and catch up on my reading, so it you saw one like after another on your posts then it was your turn.

I still feel overwhelmed a lot in the job, however there are moments of clarity and it’s these brief glimpses that give me hope that at some stage there will be a turning point and I will no longer be afraid to call myself a Personal Assistant. Time is a big thing, there are tasks to do but before you have completed the first one another three have been added to the list. I have notes about notes and to do lists about things …to do..duh! I’m realising that my brain is not the efficient filofax it used to be, my capacity for knowledge retention is being seriously tested.  Thank goodness for pens and paper or all would be lost.

~

On another note, I was having a chat with someone today and he asked me what I do in my spare time. I laughed and said what’s spare time and then regaled him with tales of the Xbox and also that I was a blogger. Thankfully he knew what that was, and even more thankfully he chose not to ask what the blog was called, because at that point I broke into a cold sweat and started to panic. I not ashamed of my blog, not in any shape form or fashion, but I still feel that people will read it and go ‘what a pile of shite’. That being said, there’s not been very much writing of late that would allow anyone to form any kind of opinion. At which point do you feel like you can tell people you’re a blogger and believe you are deserving of the title.

~

Lastly, despite the fact that some eejit thought that this week was the last Cartoon Craziness Challenege forever, it’s not, but I do however need to extend the deadline by a couple of days, because, I haven’t got mine done yet and that’s just disgraceful!! An update will follow.

This is the current challenge: CCC – Week 8

If you have any suggestions for themes, please let either myself or Mama know, they are always welcome.

Till next time, ya bunch of randomers that I adore :)

Song of the week and well worth a listen!

I got the smarts…sometimes!

The Indecisive Eejit8 Comments

Sometimes I have flashes of brilliance, sadly however, they are few and far between. You also must remember that I am rating myself in accordance with my own scale of brilliance, which to be fair, neither starts or finishes very highly.

I suppose rather than being brilliance, it would be better to say I experience seconds of the smarts. In that instance I know what to do, I do it, I don’t flap about it, I am reasonably pleased and the whole incidence passes without too much worry being attached to it.

That’s rather mediocre for having been in a job almost two months, but I am taking comfort from the fact that having seconds of smarts is just the beginning and that full A* status will not be achieved until I have been in my new position for at least six months. Well so those in the know tell me anyway and assuming I am not sacked before that!

If you asked me if I liked the job I still wouldn’t be able to answer, it all depends on what day you ask me. Some are good and some are bad. I like the challenge, but not when it pickles my brains and leaves me feeling like I want to throw myself face first onto the floor and kick and scream. Meh, perhaps that’s just me and nothing to do with the job!

I need to get more organised, both at work and home. I feel that I should have lists and schedules and plans, and ways of working things so that I get more time to do what I want to do, like blogging. It’s a sad state of affairs when your parents have a better social life than you do!

I’m actually blogging this at lunchtime, only I left it too late and didn’t start my lunch until 1.30 and now time is up and I have to go type things for other people instead. So forgive me all my spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors, today I shall blame it on being in a rush.

Remember too, you still have until Sunday to send in an entry for the Cartoon Craziness Challenge, and yes I do know that I still have my own to do!

Just a note to say…

The Indecisive Eejit51 Comments

Every now and then there are changes in the blogsphere.  As in life, nothing stays the same for ever. People come, people go and in this process only one thing is certain, the writing never stops. Regardless of whose fingers are at the keyboard, the alphabet is assessed, assembled and added to a blog somewhere on the world wide web.

I’ve found this blog invaluable for all manner of reasons, but it’s hard work and devoting time can be problematic in an already busy schedule. Every day I carry my laptop to work with the intention of  writing during my lunchtime, but it never happens, something always comes up, or somebody somewhere needs my attention and before you know whats happened the hands on the clock have crept around and stolen 30 minutes from my day. Even as I sit now, my conscience is telling me there are beds to strip, ironing to do and things to prepare for the working week ahead!

Feck it! I’m writing.

Being the owner of a blog brings with it a responsibility of sorts. There is a reasonable expectation that I will post, comment, read and entertain, I have after all tried to trick you into believing I am funny. Last week I didn’t feel funny, I didn’t feel like writing, in fact I didn’t feel like much of anything and I felt guilty for neglecting both you and my little space. This had the knock of effect of pushing me further into the doldrums than I already was.  So that begs me to ask the question, did I fail your expectations, or my own!

The truth is I need this space. Aside from work and home life there is not a big pile going on, mainly because between those two there is very little time left. I have nothing but admiration for those of you who read almost every post, comment on probably twice as many, yet still find time to write on your own blog as well. That takes perseverance and dedication.

I’ve thought about giving up many times, but the truth is I don’t think I could, not at the minute anyway. I’m actually surprised, if I am honest, that I have lasted this long, I’ve usually run out of steam within the first month. The main reason I am still here is you guys, because my rambling filled pages on WordPress would be nothing without your interaction.

So forgive me if I do not get to read, like or comment on all of your posts, you have to believe that it is not a lack of interest on my part, but a lack of time. Forgive me if I do not post as often as I would like to, and also if I rant, I am a woman heading for the menopause, it’s bound to happen! and for those of you with meat and two veg stop making faces, you lot are prone to off days as well!

Thank you for sticking with me and my little place on the world wide web and thank you also for being part of my 500 followers :)

followed-blog-500-1x

 

Updowndate!

The Indecisive Eejit46 Comments

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I was thinking today.

It hurt.

So I stopped!

Only kidding, here’s what I came up with, in a list, cos people like lists and to be honest I am too tired to string it all together. If it’s not legible, think eejit speak and you’ll be grand!

  • I’m still not loving the job, in fact after today I wanted to hide under the desk and cry. I’ve been made permanent in the position though, so there is no backing out now, even though that was never an option in the first place. My boss and the other bosses are dead on, it’s me that’s the problem. In my next life I swear I want to be neither a PA or a Party Planner because I suck at both!
  • Someone was asking me about my blog today and when I said how many followers I had, they asked me if I thought I was successful. My answer was no, I’ve not been successful, because most of the time my writing sucks, but what I have been is very fortunate in the people I have met, because it’s them who make this whole blogging malarky worthwhile.
  • I know I have a load of comments to catch up on and that’s what I should really be doing right now, but I had things to tell you so had to write. That’s my excuse and I am sticking to it. I’ll be with you all shortly!
  • Mama and I are still loving the Cartoon Craziness Challenge and all the support you have given us. Your drawings have been amazing and unbelievably entertaining, whether you think it or not.
  • I’m still liking Blog Lovin as a reader. It’s much better than the WordPress one (sorry guys but yours misses posts) and I rarely miss posts, even if I don’t get to like them all. The WiFi on the train has been a little sketchy of late making connections a tad temperamental.
  • Last, but certainly not least. I’ve put up a couple of posts about myself and homelife etc, and people have commented that they like getting to know me a little better. It’s not that I intentionally hide who I am, it’s just not something that comes up in general commenting. So in an attempt to help you all get to know me a little better, I am going to let you ask me one question. Now I’m not saying I’ll 100% answer every question, because it does rather depend on what you ask, but I’ll try and come up with something. Thank you to Dean from It’s A Wee Bit Wordy for letting me pinch his idea, he has his own Q and A posts on a Tuesday if you’d like to question him as well!

Well that’s all for now….I think.

Till next time eejits :)

Why I Blog…

The Indecisive Eejit39 Comments

Tim from the Hillybilly Blogger wrote yesterday about why he blogs, you can read his post HERE. It started me thinking and I foolishly told him that one day I would write a post about why I blog. He challenged me, and that’s a sure fire way to get me to do something.

Why I blog, the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!

I had a blog before, around 10 years ago. I remained anonymous and it was a place where I could record the thoughts that were rumbling around in my head, in an effort to try and make sense of them. I was going through a difficult time, lots of things had happened at once and my house of cards came crashing down around me. It was a relief when the Doctor diagnosed my chest pains as stress / depression and not a heart attack. That was the start of a mental healing process, part of which included writing on my blog.

It was popular enough, I had comments from people who were going through the same kind of things. I also had comments from others who told me to get a grip on myself. Those were not helpful, and only served to increase my anxiety. Did these people think I liked having depression, did they think it was a choice, because believe me, there are very few people who would choose to travel that path given the option.

I chose not to start on a course of anti depressants, but that, according to the Doctor was the next step. Over the next few months I walked for miles, thought, got angry, but eventually was lucky enough to be able to pull myself out of the pit I had fallen into. Others are not so lucky and still fight their demons on a daily basis, my heart goes out to them.

As my mental state started to shift, my need for the blog lessened, until eventually I made the decision to close it down completely. I wanted to start looking forward, instead of constantly looking back.

Fast forward 10 years and I am in a similar situation. Sustaining a leg injury and the 6 month process of healing took it’s tole on me. Mentally, although not as bad as the time before, I was fragile.

When I first started I had no expectations of what was going to happen. This time I wanted to write to cheer myself up, and if in the process I did that for others also, then that was a bonus. The constant nagging from one of my best friends Paul every 5 minutes didn’t help either, and in fact my very first post was written purely to shut him up and get him off my case. I wasn’t even sure after that if I would write any more.

I’ve told this before in many posts, so my apologies if you are having to read it again, call it old age, it makes me repeat myself.

I used to look at blogs that had a couple of hundred followers and loads of comments and think ‘I wish that was me’. Even though we ‘write for ourselves’, I think we all hope, just a little that we will gain followers and create something that people actually want to read and discuss. We are human after all.

Now that is me, I have followers and people who comment on a regular basis, and blogging has become so much more than I originally thought it could be. I like to think I have not forgotten anyone, there are people who have been with me from day one. I feel sad when someone leaves or takes a break, I feel guilty when I have not spoken to someone for a week and I feel pain when I read what some of my friends are going through.

We start out as bloggers, we write, we strive to amuse, we entertain and for the most part we lay ourselves bare on blank spaces for all the world to plunder. From that first keystroke on that first entry, unbeknown to us, we start a journey.  It’s a journey of discovery, not only of all that the world has to offer, but also of ourselves. I know I have changed, as has my writing style, but I hope it is a change for the better.

One day you will write a post and realise that you are there, that you have become the person that you strived to be at the start, with regards to your followers and comments. You will be thankful for all that you have been able to achieve, but you will also realise that it is no longer the most important thing.

When you sit down, cup of coffee in hand and look back, because someone has challenged you as to the reasons why you blog, you will realise it is because you have become part of a family. You will begin to appreciate the love that surrounds you, the support that is offered to you and help you receive. You will realise that it is these people, along with your family and friends who have provided light in the darkness and a reason to smile when you thought there was none.

That is the reason why I blog. I could never have made it through this last year on my own.

What about you?

Did you mean to click follow?

The Indecisive Eejit47 Comments
Eejits Rule
Ah the power of the Brussel Sprout!

I have almost 500 followers, that’s pretty awesome, thank you to each and every one of you, even those who follow everybody, you’re still welcome.

When I first started blogging, was still at the stage of silently reading posts, and didn’t know any better I used to look at blogs who had that amount of followers and think, WOW they must be awesome. To be fair, most of them were, but they appeared to stick to their own circle of friends, not bothering with outsiders.

I now have 500 followers, and while I am no where near awesome (I am so much better at being a f*ck up lol), I have the best bunch of mad crazy fools anyone could ask for. I only wish that I had not spent so much of my early blogging days fawning over those I perceived to be blogging gods.

At the end of the day, we are all the same, human beings living our lives as best we can, we just choose to write about it. A blog starts with a name, empty pages, and a head full of ideas. Along the way an audience builds, friendships are formed and before we know it figures and stats don’t matter so much anymore, it’s all about the community and interaction.

I miss posts, I know I do, and I’m sorry, but my reader only loads 20 at a time, usually the newest ones, missing out some in the middle. I try to go back, but it’s not always possible. Following by e-mail has helped, but I follow so many it’s hard to do them all this way. Forgive me if I don’t get along to thank you personally for following me, but if I like what I read, you’ll no doubt hear from me at some stage.

Don’t be like me in the early days, don’t read silently. Never be afraid to comment on my blog, because that’s what makes it all worthwhile.

Looking back the best advice I can give you is, be true to yourself and don’t give up, good things come to those who wait.

Good people certainly found me :)

Totally Random!

The Indecisive Eejit25 Comments
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Image by twilightfan1997

Sometimes it’s all just going on in the top box, round and round in the empty space between the ears and the only thing left to do is get it out there into the open. Be forewarned of the randomness of this post, leave now and forever preserve your sanity!

Reading

I’m behind on my reading of other blogs. I keep being interrupted by annoying things like work, housework, cooking and cleaning. Ok so there might also be a little bit of Candy Crush and Cookie Crunch or whatever it’s called, but it’s pretty much the first four!

Aside from the above there is also the issue of the WordPress reader. I like it, alot, however because I follow so many blogs, posts tend to get lost. I’ll start it up in the morning and regardless of how many new posts there are, it will always say 20. When I hit load and read those 20, it automatically takes me back to the ones from the day before, meaning I miss out on all the beautific blogginess inbetween.

It’s not a life endangering problem or anything, but it is annoying. I’m really nosey, I don’t want to miss anything. So my question is, do any of you have suggestions for other readers for say the Android platform into which I could load all the blogs I love and then see them as a feed perhaps, never again missing an important post?

Wow, reading back on that I almost sound like I know what I am talking about. The truth is however that I am clueless and in need of assistance…bats eyelids!

How do you read yours? (said in my best Creme Egg voice)

Girls on GTA

Anyone who follows my blog will remember the post I did in relation to Grand Theft Auto and my likes and dislikes regarding it.

I still find the reaction I get from guys really funny. Some of them still cannot believe that girls actually game, and on hearing your voice either become tongue tied and shy, or morph into a total asshole, telling you that they are the greatest thing since sliced bread and should have all your attention.

Luckily my friends just treat me exactly the same, and offer no preferential treatment just because I am of the female persuasion. They do however make allowances for the fact I am stupid and offer a fair amount of help to compensate for that.

The funniest thing to date though has to be someone joining the party chat and GTA game session I was in and on realising I was a female drove as fast as their little CGI car could travel to check me out. For badness I turned around and asked him if he thought my bum looked big in the jeans I was wearing. I mean come on, it’s a game and I built a character, I’m not going to make it a likeness now am I. I’m going to take great care to get the boobs, belly and butt I always wanted, not the ones I have!!

0_0 (1)
Does my bum look big?

Random Game Recommendations

As if being shamefully addicted to Candy Crush was not enough, Paul, yep the twat who owns, but never writes over at Nugs321 thought it would be fun to issue me a challenge for Cookie Jam. He always knows that the best way to get me to do something is to start a sentence with “I bet you can’t….”. In this case, the challenge was to beat his current level which at the time was 35. So of course in order to prove him wrong I did just that, and became addicted at the same time.

It’s pretty similar to Candy Crush only you have to make cakes. It’s good mindless, time wasting fun, but it’s starting to interfere with my journeys to and from work as by the time I play those 5 lives and the 5 for Candy Crush and then switch back, there is precious little time to do anything else!

Quick, help me find a reader! (See Random fact No 1)

Here endeth the randomness, you may resume what you were doing :)

 

Am I feeling Guilty?

The Indecisive Eejit25 Comments

Quotation-Alice-Caldwell-Rice-worry-Meetville-Quotes-182154

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!

Be Yourself!

The Indecisive Eejit34 Comments
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Image from http://www.zazzle.co.nz

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 :)