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BLOG: Who, where, what, why, how... So many questions in life. Now it's time for answers. |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** This is my first time trying out a blog, and I am doing it with the "Blogging Circle of Friends "  group!  My Name is Kerrie, I live in Abbeyfeale, Limerick with my family. I welcome you to my first blog where I will be answering blog prompts provided by the "Blogging Circle of Friends " group as I try to find my feet in the blogging world. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I graduated from Derby University with a Law Degree, and now I have moved to Ireland to finish my qualifications. My next set of exams are in March, there are four of them, and I have alot of work to do before then. Wish me luck!  I have a tattoo on my back that says "Everything Happens For a Reason". It reminds me not to regret anything in my life because all of it made me who I am today. For example, I wish I could have gone straight on with my career path, but if I had then I would never have discovered WDC where I have finally explored my repressed desire to write, and met some truly amazing people.  Take the time to dream, but then Tarry with reality. Tackle obstacles, but then Trip over limitations. Think over missed chances, whilst Trapped in a rut with many Thoughts screaming to be released. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ![Merit Badge in Family
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For a funny family Easter memory that you blogged about in our 2013 Easter Eggs-travaganza from the [Link To Item #1901868] .](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Family-584.gif) "For a funny family Easter memory that you blogged about in our 2013 Easter Eggs-travaganza from the "Blogging Circle of Friends " ." |
Prompt: Do you believe world peace is achievable? In a short answer; no. I would love for there to be world peace, but I just don't think it is ever going to happen. You can't always please everyone, and not everyone can tolerate people who don't please them. I think we can and should always work to alleviate poverty, feed the hungry, protect the victims of this world, and much, much more. World peace may not be attainable, but that shouldn't stop us from trying to be the best that we can be. I think that war is used by people who, as I mentioned above, are unable to come to an agreement otherwise, and they end up using other people as pawns to flex their muscles. This is a very simplistic view, and I have more than one opinion on it, this is just the predominant one. The world isn't black and white, it is a wide variety of shades of grey. It is for this reason that I say no, complete world peace is not achievable. Man, that was a depressing post to write... Proud founder of "Invalid Item" WINNER of the QUILL AWARD for BEST NEW CONTEST 2012 My work is all available on my blog ECLECTIC ECCENTRICITY ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
Prompt: Now that Thanksgiving is past, what is your favorite Christmas jingle? If you do not know this song, where have you been??? Click on the link above, and educate yourself! I am actually listening to it now whilst writing this... and yes, I am singing along. Maybe even dancing slightly, which is dangerous with a laptop on my lap... This is my favourite song for one very specific reason, and it needs a little backstory. I have terrible stage fright when it comes to performing, unless it is ad-lib talking, because I can talk ALOT! Many times I was strung into playing the piano at events and it would absolutely terrify me. One Christmas, a few of us at my school volunteered to spend a day at the nearby old folks home. We were just going to keep them company, play some card games etc. But, then my choir teacher decided to spice it up a bit. Anyone who could play an instrument had to play, anyone who could sing had to sing, and so on and so forth. I linked up with a good friend of mine who has an absolutely amazing voice, and we chose Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. I was still terrified, but we had an amazing time, and everyone joined in for the sing song. Encore was screamed out, and we obliged. Since then, every time I hear this song, I have that wonderful memory spring to mind. Merry Christmas folks!!! Proud founder of "Invalid Item" WINNER of the QUILL AWARD for BEST NEW CONTEST 2012 My work is all available on my blog Kerrie Ann S ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
Blogging Circle of Friends prompt is "For many of us the seasons are changing, bouncing unpredictably between cold and warm. Are you glad to be moving into a new season, or wishing for one more week of the old?" ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I moved to Ireland earlier this year and was treated to an absolutely amazing summer. The weather was unreal, and the temperatures almost unbearable, but I finally managed to get some semblance of a tan and the chance to drag my old maxi dresses out of storage. However, I love this change in the weather. My Uncle grows turf up in Limerick, and he treated us to a few sack loads recently. So for the last few weeks we have had roaring fires that fill the house with warmth and a gorgeous, earthy smell. On a cold winter night, I enjoy nothing more than lounging on the couch in my thick, fluffy dressing gown, with my dog, Scampi, curled up on my lap, a fire blazing, and a movie on the TV. Even without the fire, Scampi radiates heat, and because of that she has been nicknamed my little hot water bottle. I should also mention that since the change in season means the fast approach of Christmas, I am filled with so much excitement. My mother is a wizard at Christmas decorations, and I know that the whole house is going to look like a winter wonderland. Also, now that we are living in Ireland, we have so many family members living near by who are coming down for a huge Christmas party. The date is set, it is going to be amazing! Proud founder of "Invalid Item" WINNER of the QUILL AWARD for BEST NEW CONTEST 2012 My work is all available on my blog ECLECTIC ECCENTRICITY ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
 Recently I was the victim of a horrible little yellow box… a speed camera clocked me doing 37mph in a 30 mph zone. *slaps self on wrist* As my licence has a grand total of 0 points on it, I really didn’t want that to change, so I opted to do a Driving Safety course. They were pretty booked up though, and my booking was made well in advance for the 23rd May, i.e. today. Work got hectic, life was mad, and lo and behold, the course slipped into the far recesses of my mind. Then, a few days ago, I get a reminder notice, and I realise that my colleague (my other half, being as there are only two of us who work in communications) has booked this week off work, so if I go then there will be no one in the office to do our job. Panic strikes; I can’t get approved time off of work because Kirsty is on holiday, I can’t reschedule because I just cannot afford to, I am stuck! Having only been in the job 2 months, and only worked with my line manager for a grand total of two days of that, I made a nerve wracking call. She was very understanding and let me take the course, as long as I got the morning updates out before noon (because then they wouldn’t be morning updates). Breathe a sigh of relief! But wait, it gets better! I head off this morning at an ungodly hour to get there early (as they strongly suggest you do because if you are late – NO ENTRY!) and proceed to get myself lost. Stress is building and my blood is boiling as I envisage losing my payment, having to pay again, and missing more time off of work. Eventually I find it and they let me in, even though I was a whole 3 minutes late! I sit there counting down the time until I can rush back to work (not speeding, I swear) when he calls for a break. I look at my watch perplexed, and I ask him when we finish. Noon. They had given me the length of the course, but that didn’t include the breaks. I call my manager worried she is going to tear me a new one. She is not impressed but seeing as I am already late, and if I leave now there was absolutely no point in going, she lets me be. The course ends and I hightail it to work, getting in for around 12:10. I get all of the updates out by half past and breathe a sigh of relief. But all I keep thinking is, if I had just booked time off in advance I could have had the whole day off, been much more relaxed, and not tainted my reputation at work. Just another day that I almost forgot. Proud founder of "Invalid Item" WINNER of the QUILL AWARD for BEST NEW CONTEST 2012 My work is all available on my blog ECLECTIC ECCENTRICITY ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
Blogging Circle of Friends prompt is "If you could choose one superpower to have for a day, what would it be?"  So many superpowers to choose from, I just can't decide! After today I would rush at the ability to freeze time. Today it was my first day at my new job, and it was so fast paced that it was utterly overwhelming and exhausting. I would have loved to press pause, get my bearings, and press play when I had my head round the new information. Before, I was working as a customer service advisor in a call centre, and that meant I sat on the phones and resolved customer issues one after another. Now, I am the Communication Coordinator, and I am responsible for multiple communication mediums used to reach out to thousands of people, as well as much, much more. My head is still reeling from this extreme shift, but at the same time I am LOVING it. I just wish I could steal a moment or two. Before today though I have always been drawn to the power of shapeshifting. I would love to soar through the sky as a bird, swim in the ocean as a fish, race across terrain as a cheetah, be a fly on the wall, or just pad by unnoticed as an inconspicuous pet dog. Is it evident I am a bit of an animal enthusiast yet? Now some people will read this and argue I should only be able to choose one animal as it is one power. So just incase you were thinking that, if I had to choose just one animal to be able to shift into then I think it would be small bird. I could fly from place to place, be unnoticed if I wanted to slip by someone or listen into a conversation  .If you had to choose an animal to change into, which one would it be, and why? ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
 Tomorrow is my first day in my new role as Communications Coordinator and I am very excited. It means a little more pay, 9-5 working hours, and weekends off. This is a massive change for me, and it is removing a whole bunch of excuses that I have been relying on regarding my health. A couple of years ago, before University and before I started working shift work at a call centre, I had a 9-5 job, and I used to lead a very healthy and active life. I was between a size 10-12 and my BMI was spot on. Not to mention my shoulder was in good working order due to my physiotherapy, but now it pops out of its socket all the time and is absolutely useless because I stopped my pyshio. With my hours all over the place and my body clock always out of sync, I have had no exercise, eaten rubbish food, and put on far too much weight in the last 4 years. Yesterday I went shopping with a friend, and it is sufficient to say I did not like what I saw! It was a turning point for me. I am 14 stone now, 2 stone above a healthy BMI, and that is just shocking. I have decided to ditch the car keys and walk to work, to join up to weight watchers, and make a conscious effort to get back to my healthy self. Now I know this may sound like another excuse, but I am not starting anything until a week tomorrow because I have a friend visiting and I know I'll fail if I try and start whilst she is here. After all, it will take me an hour to walk to work and another hour back, so that's less time with her, and then there is the whole drinking and eating sensation we enjoy so much. So as of Monday 15th April, the challenge begins! It's not going to be easy, but then it never is, so wish me luck, and I will see you on the other side. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
Blogging Circle of Friends prompt is "What is your favorite game to play?"  I used to be very into my gaming a couple of years back, and it was only when I went to University that I stopped gaming due to a sheer lack of time. I would mostly play MMO RPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games), and I played a wide selection of them including WOW (World of Warcraft), D&D (Dungeons & Dragons), and MXO (Matrix Online). I would join a group of players within the game, and we would all become good friends as we took on challenges together. We would have our own teamspeak server set up so that we could talk to each other over the internet using our headsets, and outside of the game we would have online forums where we could develop our characters through role-play writing. Before I went to University I was a very shy person, but when I was playing MMO RPGs I was completely different. I was not Kerrie, I was Aliagha, and Aliagha was whoever I wanted her to be. For example, in WOW she was a Blood Elf Hunter with a heart wrenching back story whilst in MXO she was a rebel Zion member who was largely responsible for the creation of the splinter faction EPN (E Pluribus Neo). EPN believed that the only solution to humanity's problems is to free the entire human population from the Matrix, and because the game had been created so that we, the players, could continue the story of the Matrix, the game developers declared EPN an actual faction within the game framework after we became integral to the story. It was a decision none of us expected, it was such a compliment. It was more than just gaming; it was a real confidence boost, it required team work, organisational and communication skills, it was an opportunity to practice my fictional writing, and it even gave me the ability to promote equality. A fellow player on MXO was gay, and he had just come out to his friends and family. Unfortunately it had not gone well, and majority of them were not very supportive. We wanted him to know we were fully supportive of his lifestyle, so we hosted a pride party on our server, not just for him but for everyone. It went incredibly well until there were just too many people porting over from other servers to take part that the server crashed. We even had a picture of our characters posted in an American newspaper for being the first online game to openly accept homosexuality. It was amazing to have such an impact with such a small action. I could easily compare these games to WDC because there are lots of activities and I have seen many people role playing on here, such as talking about WDC like it is a physical building. So in a nutshell, my favourite game at the moment is WDC, because when it comes to games, I need fellow players like you guys! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
Blogging Circle of Friends prompt is "What expert do you wish could come teach you what they know?" There are so many things I want to know and not enough time to know it all. I want to learn more about my chosen career, about my favourite hobby, about required daily skills, about history and about different countries and cultures to name a few. I have a few below:  Law Having finished my Law Degree I now look forward to doing my LPC (Legal Practice Course) in order to become a trainee solicitor. What better way to increase my chances of success than to have a one to one with an expert. Any well seasoned corporate lawyer would be a privilege to meet.  Writing I love writing, and I wish to always strive to be better at it. I would love to meet one of the many experts who make a living imparting their wisdom onto others. If I had had the confidence back when I was choosing my degree, I may have done a writing course of some nature. Still if I had the spare time and money, I would love to do a writing course at the University.  Cooking/Baking I am ashamed of my cooking skills if I am honest. I can feed myself but struggle to make anything with a "wow" factor. I really enjoy baking and I am much better at it than cooking. But I would love to have more time to practice and someone to guide me.  IT For someone who lives in the modern technological age, I have a shocking lack of IT know how. I keep intending to expand this knowledge base but am never sure where to start. Greedy, am I not  ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
Blogging Circle of Friends prompt is "It's a day for pranksters! What's the best/worst prank you ever pulled off? If you're not a prankster, what was the best/worst (depends how you look at it) prank ever pulled on you?"  Hmm... I have never been much of a prankster if I am honest, and I had to dust off the cobwebs to find this little gem.  Once upon a time, not too long ago actually, a rabble of pirates stormed a castle sat atop a tiny rock in the middle of the ocean. It's inhabitants were helpless in their red, white, and grey petticoats. They darted out of the firing line into chambers left and right to avoid the fury of the onslaught whilst their guards took up arms. The pirates unloaded their weapons, firing guns and launching grenades into the heart of the peaceful community. Chaos reigned as the castles flag was lowered and the pirates hauled their own insignia up the mast. The guards were overwhelmed and fled, truly nothing could have prepared them for such an onslaught. The pirates cheered as the second wave of their comrades stormed the castle, circling the guards attempting escape, drowning them with their ammo. With complete control, the pirates plundered the castle and rejoiced in their success.  TRANSLATION A couple of years ago, when I was in my final year at school, we dressed up as pirates and stormed the school. I lived on a small Island in the English Channel, Jersey, and the school was an all girls school where the uniform was red, white, and grey. The students hid away in classrooms to watch our attack as the teachers tried to maintain order. We had water guns and water balloons at the ready, and used them mercilessly. We lowered the JCG (Jersey College for Girls) flag, and replaced it with a pirate flag with "CLASS OF '07" printed across it, at which point the teachers resigned and moved to leave the main building. But there were reinforcements waiting for them, and they did not let a single teacher walk away dry. We had a party in the main building for the rest of the day. The whole day was chaotic, but amazing fun.  Hope you enjoyed my prank, AAARGH! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
Blogging Circle of Friends prompt is "It's Spring in the northern hemisphere, and traditionally time for spring cleaning! Is there anything in your life that needs to be cleaned up or cleaned out?"  If anything needs to be cleaned up in my life, it is definitely my finances. I life day to day, struggling to get enough money together for the essentials, the bills, and maybe a night out once in a blue moon. It irritates me that I live this way when I work full time and do overtime on a regular basis. I just can't seem to dig myself out of the hole I've ended up in after University. I have found myself stuck with an overdraft due to start incurring interest, a maxed out credit card, overdue council tax and water rates. All of that doesn't include normal bills such as rent, phone, internet, gas, electric, food... It's suffocating. I sit and make plans of how much I can afford to pay each of them, over what period of time, and I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, though the tunnel is painfully long. But then something else pops up to screw with my system, and I am back to square one. I find myself having to choose who gets paid first, usually based upon who is going to react the least when they are not paid on time. Which means I get some lovely letters through the post demanding money. I don't deal with this sort of stress well, it makes me incredibly anxious, and it plays on my mind day and night. Money is such a stressful topic for so many people, especially in recent years with the recession. I struggled to get any job whatsoever, and I am incredibly grateful to have found the job I have whilst other people are being made redundant, or are still unemployed. But I still feel resentful that I work day and night, and yet still can't afford to indulge in anything other than paying debts. One day I hope to be clear of this stressful encumbrance, but I feel it won't be within spring time without a miracle of some kind, so not much of a realistic spring cleaning objective. After all, there are still many more debts to look forward to in life. I may take out a graduate loan to start my LPC (Legal Practice Course), get my own house with a mortgage, and one day there may be children to drain on my finances as well. So I suppose I should just stop looking for the light at the end of the tunnel and just be grateful I have bills to pay since there are so many people worse off than me. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
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