I am a pedestrian. I can drive but I choose not to. When I learnt to drive the roads were quieter and people were not such morons. So for the last nearly 14 years I have been a pedestrian and an user of public transport. I like walking places. I usually don't have headphones on and I feel really grounded with the world around me as I walk. Sure an audio book would be better than traffic sounds but there is that disconnected feeling you get when what you hear is not what you see which I don't like.
Recently though I have become a disgruntled pedestrian. I can't help but notice that courtesy has died. When walking down a path wide enough for 2 people I hate encountering 2 or more people coming the other way. Why? Because they generally do not move at all. As I see it you have 3 options. 1. Get in single file thus leaving enough space for everyone to walk. 2. Get half behind each other thus leaving almost enough space for the person coming the other way. 3. Just carry on walking and make the other person either step into the road or get railroaded into a wall. Guess which one seems to happen the most? Yup, option 3. How did this happen? At what point did it become acceptable to make someone step into traffic rather than stop talking to your friend for a moment? I just don't get it.
So there is that. But other than inconsiderate people I still like walking most places. It's getting cold now and my nose tingles as I walk. I'm starting to need to put more layers on. Come Winter time there will be ice to deal with which is always interested. Especially with the hill I have to walk to work. Then in Spring there will be daffodils to spot. And finally Summer when it is just too darned warm to walk that hill ^_^ I think I can put up with a few rude people and still enjoy my walks.
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Monday, 4 November 2013
NaBloPoMo - Frost
This morning was the first frost that I had noticed this year. I love this kind of day. It was blindingly sunny but cold. The sky was blue and all the frost sparkled like everything had been covered in icing sugar. Autumn is my favourite season for so many reasons. The colours are better. All red and gold and a shade of orange I actually like. The smells are awesome. Dry leaves falling to the ground. Wet leaves slowly rotting. That particular smell that can only be described as cold. You know the one I mean. It makes the inside of your nose hurt slightly but It's brilliant. Everything is changing and I love that. It's the death of the year and that is a beautiful thing.
In the western world we don't like to think about death. It's something to be feared and avoided at all costs. It saddens me that people think like that. What is life if it doesn't have a conclusion? We expect a good ending from a book or a film but life? Forget it. That must continue on regardless of if the plot is wearing thin. Perhaps we should learn to appreciate the Autumn of our lives more. Enjoy this transitional phase and what it means for us as a person. It means that we have lived. We have left our mark on this world. Hopefully we left it a little happier than we found it. Hopefully we tried each day to make each encounter pleasant. Hopefully we smiled and cried and screamed. Hopefully we lived.
I for one am looking forward to my Autumn. I am grateful for the possibility of having one for a start. I shall wear red and gold and that shade of orange that I like. I shall walk through piles of leaves with a smile on my face and I will not wish to hold back the time.
Sunday, 3 November 2013
NaBloPoMo - Sunday
I must have come up with at least 10 things to write about today but now that I'm sat here I don't want to write about any of them. It's Sunday and I've been at work, come home and cooked for me and my husband and chatted to my stepdaughter over Skype. I've showered and now all I want to do is relax. The trouble is deciding what to do to relax. Should I knit or read or one of a million other things I like to do? I could just mess about on the internet. I'm sure we've all wasted hours that way.
I don't know.
I just feel very undecided. It's not boredom. It's having too many things that I enjoy doing.
I get the feeling that reading is going to win out. Maximum enjoyment for minimum effort ^_^
And I think that is today's blog. Low on content and for that I am sorry. But I'm just to darned relaxed to do anything else hehehe
I don't know.
I just feel very undecided. It's not boredom. It's having too many things that I enjoy doing.
I get the feeling that reading is going to win out. Maximum enjoyment for minimum effort ^_^
And I think that is today's blog. Low on content and for that I am sorry. But I'm just to darned relaxed to do anything else hehehe
Saturday, 2 November 2013
NaBloPoMo - CouchDate
So one of my friends is very over scheduled. She never seems to have a moment to just relax and do stuff because she wants to rather than because she has to or should do. So she has created an event today called Couch Date 2013. There are 20 of us that have signed up to it. The funny thing is I won't be spending much of it on a couch. So far I've been cooking and washing up. Now I wouldn't choose the washing up as a pleasure but it means that the kitchen is clear for me to cook. And I do enjoy cooking. I have a pan of Goulash slow cooking on the hob right now. This is going to feed me, my husband and 2 of our closest friends this evening. Because this is where CouchDate comes into it's own for me.
The 4 of us will be enjoying our biannual (at least) Buffy Once More With Feeling singalong. I love these days. There are usually 5 of us but the 5th member of our group is currently living in Cambodia. So the 4 of us will soldier on without her. We will sing, or in my case squeak as I've lost my voice (stupid cold!!!!) along to this piece of televisual mastery loudly and badly and enjoy every second of it. It's silly and fun and is truly one of my favourite things to do. I love these people so much. They are part of my tribe. My self chosen family and I would not be without them. They don't judge me when I miss a note. They laugh at the same bits I do. They know the words just like I do.
There are many more relaxing things I could be doing on CouchDate 2013 but none that I will enjoy as much ^_^
The 4 of us will be enjoying our biannual (at least) Buffy Once More With Feeling singalong. I love these days. There are usually 5 of us but the 5th member of our group is currently living in Cambodia. So the 4 of us will soldier on without her. We will sing, or in my case squeak as I've lost my voice (stupid cold!!!!) along to this piece of televisual mastery loudly and badly and enjoy every second of it. It's silly and fun and is truly one of my favourite things to do. I love these people so much. They are part of my tribe. My self chosen family and I would not be without them. They don't judge me when I miss a note. They laugh at the same bits I do. They know the words just like I do.
There are many more relaxing things I could be doing on CouchDate 2013 but none that I will enjoy as much ^_^
Friday, 1 November 2013
NaBloPoMo - Millon Dollars
So a while ago I heard of this thing called NaNoWriMo. Write a novel in a month. Well I was never one for long prose really so it wasn't something I was gonna have a go at. Then some clever clogs came up with the idea of a blog post version. This I could do. But I kept putting it off. This month I'm going to give it a go.
A friend of mine, Josh Cagan, writes for the Yearbook Project. He writes beautiful short pieces from single word prompts. I'm going to try and follow in his footsteps a little and use the prompts supplied by Blogher ^_^ So the first prompt is this:
If you found one million dollars in the morning and had to spend it by nightfall, what would you do with the money?
It's a pretty easy question to answer. I would buy me and DH a house/farm where we could live according to our principles. The rest would go fund the causes I hold close to my heart. With that kind of money I could help so many people. I believe in the UK the maximum you can donate before tax is incurred is £10,000. Just think of all the different causes I could help. Sure, in a single day I could buy me and mine a lot of things. But here is the rub; We don't really need them.
I spend a lot of time thanking the universe for my luck. I have had rough spots and things have been close before. But I have never been without a roof over my head and food in my belly. I have never been in fear of my life. I have never truly wanted for anything. The older I get the more I feel that I have everything I need and all the rest is just want. So I would spend the money on others, try to get them to a place where they can feel like I do.
I haven't been given a million sadly. But I am doing what I can. For my next birthday I am refusing presents and would like to raise money for MSF/DWB which is a charity I admire greatly. If you would like to donate to that cause please consider doing so by clicking the button below. Think about something you would usually buy because you want it, rather than need it. A coffee on the way to work. A magazine. That computer game that you probably won't play. Donate that amount and help someone get something they need ^_^
A friend of mine, Josh Cagan, writes for the Yearbook Project. He writes beautiful short pieces from single word prompts. I'm going to try and follow in his footsteps a little and use the prompts supplied by Blogher ^_^ So the first prompt is this:
If you found one million dollars in the morning and had to spend it by nightfall, what would you do with the money?
It's a pretty easy question to answer. I would buy me and DH a house/farm where we could live according to our principles. The rest would go fund the causes I hold close to my heart. With that kind of money I could help so many people. I believe in the UK the maximum you can donate before tax is incurred is £10,000. Just think of all the different causes I could help. Sure, in a single day I could buy me and mine a lot of things. But here is the rub; We don't really need them.
I spend a lot of time thanking the universe for my luck. I have had rough spots and things have been close before. But I have never been without a roof over my head and food in my belly. I have never been in fear of my life. I have never truly wanted for anything. The older I get the more I feel that I have everything I need and all the rest is just want. So I would spend the money on others, try to get them to a place where they can feel like I do.
I haven't been given a million sadly. But I am doing what I can. For my next birthday I am refusing presents and would like to raise money for MSF/DWB which is a charity I admire greatly. If you would like to donate to that cause please consider doing so by clicking the button below. Think about something you would usually buy because you want it, rather than need it. A coffee on the way to work. A magazine. That computer game that you probably won't play. Donate that amount and help someone get something they need ^_^
Wednesday, 9 October 2013
Educating me
Today it took me about an hour to read this article. It's not that long or particularly complicated. It took me so long because I had to stop reading every so often because I was overcome with emotion. I felt anger, pity and am immense sense of being very lucky.
I am lucky because I am a woman with a university degree. I did not have to fight for this right. I did not have to speak out against anyone and I certainly did not have to risk my life to get it. I simply chose to do it.
Just a choice.
But it is a choice we take for granted here. We do degrees in random things that don't really benefit anyone and we go to university for the experience rather than the education. Don't get me wrong, the experience is a vital part of uni and if I were in charge I would make people move out of home when they go just so they can learn to stand on their own feet. The point I am trying to make is that there are people, girls in particular, who are fighting to get an education because they want to better themselves. They want to be more than just a mother. They want to help themselves and their countries to be better.
And they want this even though it risks their lives.
I felt humbled reading this article. I felt grateful for the fact that I do not have to wage this war as it has already been done for me. And I realised that I hope my daughter realises how lucky she is and makes the most of her education, pushing herself to be the best that she can. In the world at the moment it is both a privilege and a right!
I am lucky because I am a woman with a university degree. I did not have to fight for this right. I did not have to speak out against anyone and I certainly did not have to risk my life to get it. I simply chose to do it.
Just a choice.
But it is a choice we take for granted here. We do degrees in random things that don't really benefit anyone and we go to university for the experience rather than the education. Don't get me wrong, the experience is a vital part of uni and if I were in charge I would make people move out of home when they go just so they can learn to stand on their own feet. The point I am trying to make is that there are people, girls in particular, who are fighting to get an education because they want to better themselves. They want to be more than just a mother. They want to help themselves and their countries to be better.
And they want this even though it risks their lives.
I felt humbled reading this article. I felt grateful for the fact that I do not have to wage this war as it has already been done for me. And I realised that I hope my daughter realises how lucky she is and makes the most of her education, pushing herself to be the best that she can. In the world at the moment it is both a privilege and a right!
Saturday, 10 August 2013
The Ocean At The End Of The Lane
On Wednesday I picked up a new book from the library despite telling myself I wanted no new books for a while. But I just had to read The Ocean At The End Of The Lane. I've like Neil Gaiman for a few years now. Sandman is epic and American Gods was a brilliant read. But it was reading Amanda Palmer's blog about the book which made me really want to get it.
I am so glad I did.
I will try my best to talk about it without spoilers. It should be easy to do. You see, what is good about the book is not the story. It's the feeling I was left with afterwards. I felt sad and a little bit lost. I felt like the teenager I was an still am in many ways. This book left me remembering every time I had felt lonely or scared. Every time I had felt small in the face of the universe. Every time I had felt that I knew nothing and everything at the same time.
When I finished the book I cuddled up to my husband and laid my head on his chest just so I could hear his heartbeat. I needed to be grounded. I needed to be pulled back into my present and away from my past. Because, for me, that is what this book is about. The past. Our individual pasts. It doesn't matter who the book is about or what happens to them. This book could be about each and every one of us and how we felt as a child, as a teenager and even as an adult. It's about when we felt small.
There is so much more to say about this book but I don't have the language to do it. There are not words enough to describe it's beauty. You should go read it for yourselves. Now.
I'll be here with a hug when you're done.
I am so glad I did.
I will try my best to talk about it without spoilers. It should be easy to do. You see, what is good about the book is not the story. It's the feeling I was left with afterwards. I felt sad and a little bit lost. I felt like the teenager I was an still am in many ways. This book left me remembering every time I had felt lonely or scared. Every time I had felt small in the face of the universe. Every time I had felt that I knew nothing and everything at the same time.
When I finished the book I cuddled up to my husband and laid my head on his chest just so I could hear his heartbeat. I needed to be grounded. I needed to be pulled back into my present and away from my past. Because, for me, that is what this book is about. The past. Our individual pasts. It doesn't matter who the book is about or what happens to them. This book could be about each and every one of us and how we felt as a child, as a teenager and even as an adult. It's about when we felt small.
There is so much more to say about this book but I don't have the language to do it. There are not words enough to describe it's beauty. You should go read it for yourselves. Now.
I'll be here with a hug when you're done.
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