%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |
For the avoidance of doubt... Yes... I definitely have an opinion... |
|
** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Welcome to my Blog!! About me: I'm not really a blogger... But I do like to put the world to rights and you can bet I have an opinion on most things. I'm a little Welsh dragon that left the Land of My Fathers far behind me. I've flown far and wide.... and ended up in the land down under This blog is filled with all the stuff that's going on in my life, and in my head, which can be a little cookey on times, so you have been warned!! And let's not forget my opinions and musing - I have a few of those as well. So pull up a pew, grab a hot, steaming mug of something yummy, and maybe a cake to: Life is always better with cake don't you think. And read... ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I just starting blogging with the following groups: ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I also write a Xmas Blog that kicks off 1st December.... "Invalid Item"  ....tag along for elvishness and merriment
|
| "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" - Fun Fact Friday! On this day in 1885, the roller coaster was patented by L.A. Thompson. Tell us about a time you visited an amusement park. I haven't been to a theme/amusement park in years. I think it's actually been about eight/nine years. It was certainly before Guy moved to the UK, and he has been here for seven. I used to love theme parks. We used to go to one every year in the summer term when I was at boarding school; Pleasurewood Hills. It was a chance for us to run wild for a few hours and fill up on candy and sugar. My favourite rides were things like the Tempest; the pirate ship that spun all the way around, the Enterprise; the small, two seater capsules that started of spinning horizontally and then rose and spun rounded like a Catherine wheel, and the UFO; where we all stood up with our back to a cage, facing each other and the only thing stopping us from falling out was the centrifuge force as it spun around. I used to be a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I even went bungee jumping at a water park in Spain. We were on the top of the flume and in the distance I could see the crane they were using. I decided there and then I was going to do it. And I did. In a pair of shorts and a bikini - all I will say is that it was a good job I wore a t-shirt last minute as it saved my modesty - Tip: ladies wear a sports bar... The first time I went on a roller-coaster that looped and went up-side-down I was about seven or eight. It was in Germany, while we were visiting my brother and his girlfriend. This stood out to me because my mother, who is terrified of heights, refused to go on with me, and almost didn't let me go on; thank goodness for my brother's girlfriend. I wasn't nervous or scared. I was excited. It was great. The other time that sticks out in my mind is a theme park in Saudi. It ended with me in hospital after I crashed both a quad bike and a go-cart. The tracks were marked out with half buried tractor tires that had been packed with sand making them as solid as brick walls. I had driven around several times with no problem. My mum waved at me and I waved back... and then proceeded to lose control of the cart and crashed into the tires. The steering wheel knocked sharply into my chest and the wind was crushed out of me. It was very scary. I couldn't catch my breath and my back hurt - whiplash. There were tears, but it was all soothed by ice-cream. Then I decided I wanted to go on the quad bikes. I had been on the small ones early and it was easy, so I up it to the large bikes. I pushed the button in fully and twists the handle... and took off like a rearing horse, straight over the large, embedded tire at the end of the opening straight, and launched into the air. I flipped. The bike flipped. We landed next to each other in a heap. I was lucky NOT to break anything. I have been on neither since... The safety aspect of these theme parks, as I have got older, is definitely on my mind. There have been many instances in recent years where modern attractions have broken down leaving people stranded on the ride. There have even been more serious accidents where people have lost their legs; which happen a few years ago in the UK's Alton Towers - Smiler ride, or lost their lives; which happened recently on Australia's Gold Coast. I have to confess this has put me off going to the parks. I mean it seems that many of the organisations that own and run these attractions can not guarantee my safety, especially on the "adrenaline rush" rides. It's certainly something I will be considering with Theia as she goes up. I think the teacups will be ok though... ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| "Blogging Circle of Friends " Prompt - Let's have a bit of fun with a mystery: When her cell phone rings, no one thinks anything about it. But when every cell phone in the room and on the street rings...what's going on? "Hello...." she said into the mouth piece, "Hello...Who's this? Anyone there?" All across the office people stared at each other in confusion as they asked the same question to their unknown callers, or blankly stared at the vibrating devices that rattled continually on their desks. Mona hung up her phone and flung it haphazardly onto the pile of paperwork in front of her with a dull thud. "Who was that?" Shaun asked, peering over the tall red desk divider. "Don't know. There was no one there," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Did you recognise the number?" "Nope, Caller ID was blocked. Hey, Susie," she asked turning around to face the petite brunette that shared her cubicle, "What about you?" Susie spun around in the chair to face them. Her phone still pressed to her ear. "No, same here, no idea who it is. The line is just dead. So weird, isn't it?" Shaun walked to the window and tapped on the large, glass wall. "Well something's going on," he said as he pointed at the people on the street below. "Look, everyone is on their phone out there too. It's like everyone got called at the same time. How is that even possible? Wouldn't the cells towers over load?" "No, not over load." Mona replied. "They'd just not connect the calls once their capacity had been hit. There's probably loads around here anyway, we're in the business district. I think they did a huge installation project a couple of years ago to improve coverage here." "Well it definitely worked," Susie said sarcastically. "My phone's dead. I can't get and outgoing call." "Maybe, it is over loaded then," Mona said. "Could be the emergency channel maybe?" Shaun interjected. "Don't see how? That would block the outgoing calls, but it wouldn't simultaneously ring everyone." "We're all on different service provider too...." Susie began. Her phone suddenly sprung to life and started bleating out Justin Bieber loudly. She jumped off hee chair and tossed the thin little device in the air in surprise, catching it moments later with jittering hands. She stared at the illuminated, flashing screen. "Who is it?" asked Shaun. "Withheld. Again. Should I answer it?" "Yes," shouted Shaun at the same moment Mona said, "No." "Wait, what?" Shaun said as he turned to face Mona, "Why wouldn't she answer it?" "Because something freaky is going on.... There is probably no one there anyway." "We'll we won't know if she doesn't pick it up!" Susie shakily put the phone to her ear and spoke into the mouth piece, "Hello... Is anyone there?" "Hi, is that Ms Thomas?" the bubbly voice on the line asked. "Ah.. Yeah.. Yes. It is. Who's speaking please?" "Oh hi Ms Thomas. This is Rachel from Voice and Data, your service provider, I'm ring to apologise for a technical malfunction that seems to be affect a lot of our customers." "I see." "Yes," the voice continued, "Unfortunately it seems that there was a technical malfunction with our automated system and instead of sending out a text to you, the system appears to have rung you. We're not sure why this happened and we're currently investigating it. Unfortunately, this means that you may experience intermittent issues with your service over the next few hours." "Really?" "Yes. We're very sorry about this and we hope to have the issue resolved as soon as possible." "Ok, thanks... I guess... Umm. wait a minute.. if this is a problem with your system how come everyone else is affected?" "As I said Ms Thomas, we are currently investigating it, but yes you are correct, we are not the only provider experiencing this issue. I just want to reassure you that we are doing everything that we can to sort this out. Thank you for your patience. Have a great day." Susie pulled the phone from her ear and sat it gently in her lap. "So," Mona asked looking at Susie's perplexed face, "What gives...?" "I..." "Shhh," Shaun interrupted, "Look, it's a breaking new bulletin... Pass me the remote. I'll turn it up." " The government has just confirmed that all of the nation's mobile phone providers are currently in lock-down after, what appears to be, a cyber attack on their infrastructure. At this stage no group has taken responsibility for this attack, which as brought the country to it's knees. We can not confirm whether this is a terrorist incident at this time, but Scotland yard have confirmed that they are not ruling it out..." Shaun hit the mute button and turned to his friends. "Holy crap..." ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: Are we captains of our own fate or just passengers? Write your views on this. I have quite strong views about this.... Some might even say harsh. I believe that we're all captains of our own lives, and that "fate" is just a easy word to use if you don't want to take responsibly for your life or actions. I'm not suggesting for a second that some people aren't dealt a difficult hand, or are fortunate enough to be born, or fall, into blessed situations, but I do believe we are all responsible for HOW we react and WHAT we do. I also don't believe in God, so I don't even believe that there's someone/thing else governing our "destiny" or has a "plan" for us." We have a huge amount of control over our lives and how we choose to live it. I LOVE the saying "Nothing will change if you change nothing." To me this means, you can't expect things to happen for you if you don't put in the effort to change them yourself. If you are unhappy in a job, is there really nothing you can do about it? Could you talk to your manager to see if you could change the aspect you don't enjoy or struggle with? If that's not possible, could you look for another job? Are there training courses available in your local community, college, or work place that could improve your prospects? Are you really in the field you want to be in? If not, why not? What's stopping you? What hurdles are there? How can you challenge and overcome those hurdles one step of a time? My mother was horrified when I suggested that people in an area, who were out of work and couldn't find a job, could in fact move to an area where there were more jobs.... Apparently this was a terrible perspective to have.... Mum: "Why should they move. They have support systems and friends and family... " Me: "Yes but they can't support themselves...There weren't any jobs in Swansea and I moved..." Mum: "That's different..." Me: "Why?" Mum: "You moved in with your boyfriend." Me: "I moved from Basingstoke to Chippenham for a job." Mum: "But you already had the job." Me: "So, they could apply and secure the job before they moved like I did. I travel 90 miles each way for the first six month." Mum: "It just isn't fair to expect people to move." Me: "If you say so, people have always moved whether the resources are... it's the way society survives." Mum: "I'm shocked by your attitude." Me: "You probably don't want to hear my views on the benefit system then...." A lot of people seem to be put off by things that need a lot of effort, or don't have immediate reward, which is sad as those things often are the most rewarding and beneficial things, and have the most longevity, and I must confess but I don't have a lot of patience or time for individuals like this. I so often hear things like... "But it's too hard..." "I don't know how..." "It will take ages..." and it really annoys me. How do you know it's too hard if you haven't given it a go? Have you even asked for help? How long is too long? If all you are going to do if make excuses and feel sorry for yourself then you will always be a passenger, and you will most probably be unhappy and unfulfilled. I want to loose the baby weight (and the weight I put on afterwards eating too much chocolate cake). I probably have about 30-ish pounds/ 13.5kkg to loose. At a UK size 12 (US 10) I'm not over weight. I'm just more wobbly than I want to be. I used to be a UK 8/10 and I'd be happy to be that again. I was also a lot fit and healthier. I was at the gym 4/5 times a week for at least 30/40 minutes at a time. However, having a 10 month old baby does make things more difficult, and the fact that I'm dealing with/grieving the loss of my dad means I've very little energy or inclination to go to the gym to do anything about it.... Now, I could just feel sorry for myself, or do something about it. I've acknowledged that emotionally I'm very vulnerable at the moment, and that putting too much stress on myself about my weight isn't going to help, but I also know there are things I can do to help get me in a position where I feel more positive, and eventually could tackle it (my weight):  I've decided to go and talk to someone about my feelings, and I was recently put on some mild antidepressants to help stabilise me - I was/am a little all over the place; I think I'm suffering from mild postnatal depression as well. My hope is that my energy and motivation will return as I stabilise. I can then think about exercise. In the mean time I've started to take stock of the foods I'm eating and have reduced the amount of snacks (barring the chocolate tort I had for breakfast yesterday). This and eating sensible portions will help me see small improvements without having to make HUGE changes. And finally I'm walking more - walking Theia to nursery (or a will be in two weeks time), taking Indy for a walk with Guy. These things don't really feel like exercise, but they are. There are sneaky exercise.Will it be difficult? ALMOST CERTAINLY. Will it require a lot of effort? PROBABLY. Will it be worth it? YES. Do I get jealous - Yes, I'm only human. Is it fair that some people seem to have it easy? No, not at all, but LIFE ISNT FAIR - IT'S WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT. So take control, and start owning and living your life. You'll feel better and more positive about it the moment you do. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
"30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" - The Wildcard Round! Normally a two- or three-sentence response to a blog prompt doesn't seem like much of a response to me (personal opinion, that's all)...but today, come up with a couple sentences using as many WDC emoticons in place of words as you can. Any subject, any topic, and they don't have to be related if you just wanna make up random sentences. Have some fun with this!  Guess the  : There was a little  called Dorothy who  t   a  land called  by a big  with her little  , Toto. Her  landed on the   of the  and  her. Dorothy put on the 's    . Dorothy was  and wanted  . The    her follow the  road and  the  in the    . On the way she  the  crow who wanted a b , the tin- who wanted a  , and a  wanted be brave. The of the  was  that Dorothy had the of the and sent   b Dorothy back her  .Dorothy threw a  of  on the . The melted and . Dorothy and her  went the the . Who gave every their  of a b, a , and some courage. The t in his  and , leaving Dorothy in . The  appeared and her all she had do was  her together and "There's  place like "   . The End... ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| "Blogging Circle of Friends " DAY 1525 Prompt: "Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together." ― Brené Brown What is you take on this? To me this is a twist on the old/popular saying, "Nobody is perfect," which is true. This MUST mean that we are ALL imperfect. But, I actually have a really hard time even thinking up an imperfection, let alone an inadequacy. I mean, imperfect compared to what? Who's idea of what is perfect is correct? Yours? Mine? What if they are different? Are we both wrong? The closest to imperfections I can get in my head is flaws. I have a whole heap of flaws, and some of them I wear like a badge of honour. I am, for example, a control freak; I have huge difficultly in letting anyone do something that I think I could do just as well or better... but being a control freak is very useful in my job, where I need to control/manage/organise a lot of things and a lot of people. I am also a perfectionist, which often means I'm also quite hard on myself.... "I KNOW I can do better." But this just makes me try harder the next time, and as a result there are very few things that I will just give up on without a really effort. Seriously, realising that I could not get my head around Law and was going to have to drop it at University really dented my ego for a while because it was the first thing that I EVER failed at. It took me a while to realise I didn't fail at it, it just wasn't for me. Some people are brilliant at it. They can retain all of those clauses and Latin definitions, and that's great. We need great laws in the world. Just like we need great doctors. It doesn't mean I have to be one. I get to be brilliant at something else. And that is what Brene Brown is getting at, I think. We are all in this together. We all live in the same world, on the same planet. We contribute to each other's lives. What is a weakness in us is a strength in someone else, and it's by working together that we make our lives, society, the world better and stronger. So to finish with my own quote... "My flaws make me the perfect version of me." ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" Prompt: "I am going to make today so awesome that yesterday is going to be jealous." How are you going to make today awesome? Hmmm... this would be so much easier if it wasn't Wednesday. I mean why couldn't it be Saturday - Saturday always beats Friday...and pretty much any other day of the week. Let's see, today I'm working at home, I'm sitting in my PJs and It's almost midday, and I have no real intension to get out of them either.... That's a definite improvement over yesterday's jaunt to the office in the cold and rain. It also means I get to spent more time with Guy and Theia - how is that not another win... it definitely is. And if that is not enough I had chocolate tort for breakfast because I couldn't be bothered to "make" cereal, and the yoghurts were further back in the fridge. It's 11:49 and yesterday is already jealous. However, this maybe missing the point slightly. I think the prompt is suppose to make us think about the present, and make us not dwell on the past. The past is gone after all. There is no going back. We are in the here and now, and we should make the most of it as we have now idea what tomorrow will bring, or even if it will come at all. We need to make the most of our time. I can't remember the saying exactly, so I am paragraphing, but it's something like: "the past is dead and gone, and the future isn't here yet. Now is all we really have, we shouldn't waste it." I always feel great when I have achieved something - no matter how small. I think the key to "making yesterday jealous" is to be as productive as possible, whether that's closing an important deal, ticking off everything on my to do list, or simply not burning the evening meal... And to do things that I love and enjoy, with the people that matter. If, at the end of the day, I can lie back in bed and think, "wow, I'm shattered," with a smile on my faces I think yesterday will be very jealous indeed. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" - War Chest Wednesday! What are some things you would put in a time capsule to be opened up one, twenty, and/or fifty years from now that shows the person you are today? This is actually a very apt prompt as I was thinking of doing this recently. I was thinking about what traditions we could start as a family for New Year. Theia is very small, and will be for quite some time I'm told, so she isn't going to be able to stay up to see the New Year in, but I'd still like to mark the occasion with her. One of the ideas I had was a time capsule. My idea is relatively simple; on New Years Eve, each year, we would put items that remind us of the amazing things we accomplished during the year, or things that are/were really important to us; it could be a ticket to a theme park, or a picture of someone we love/miss (dad), each of us would pick three items, and then we would bury or hide it somewhere in the garden or house until the following year. Each year the hoard of treasures would grow and we'd have a visible and tangible record of our lives as a family. Imagine the treasures we'd have when Theia turns 18. But on to the prompt itself - what would I put in a capsule that depicts who I am today. Well, I suppose it depends on whether I'm going to be around to open it or not; what I mean by that is, how important and valuable would the object I put in it be...? I've decided that I'm going to pretend it's my legacy box and I've limited myself to 10 items. My cornerstones: 1) My wedding ring - I am a wife. It's a corner stone of who I am and Guy is a massive and important part of my life, something that symbolises that importance needs to be in the box... 2) Theia's pink lace dress - I am a mum. Theia is my world. It felt like we underwent a quest to meet her with trails and tribulations, but the love I have for her is absolute and she needs to be represented in the capsule. This dress is one of the first things she ever wore. We bought it for my dad's funeral - because little girls don't wear black and it was my dad's favourite colour. 3) Indy's first collar - I still have it. It's so little and cute, and would only just about fit around her mussel now. It has her first name tag on it as well - a little pink heart. Indy is our furbaby. I don't care how silly or dramatic it sounds, she is my daughter with paws... She gave us so much love and happiness when we were at a very low point. She is amazing and loving, and she needs to be, metaphorically, in the box too. 4) The first picture of Theia, Guy and me at the hospital in the recovery room after the C-section. Now for the fun bit - the bits and pieces that really shout about my personally: 5) A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin - I love to read and Sci-fi and Fantasy are my favourite genres, and GoT is my favourite book. Georgie-boy is also my favourite author. 6) My journal - It's a leather bound, handmade book my mum got my a few years ago. I use it to jot down ideas for stories and prompts etc... It's a messy peep into the workings of my writer brain. I write and I think that needs to be showcased in the box, but I haven't written anything complete since 2015. This is about who I am right now and I wonder whether the older pieces really represent that; I could also add "Invalid Item" - the blog I ran at Christmas, which contains 24 entries including recipes, craft an general thoughts.7) My Darth Vader POP bobblehead - Like I said I LOVE sci-fi and that crosses over to the big screen. I have loads of DV stuff. My husband get my something every year or either valentines day (the first year I got a DV plushie), my birthday (I once got a DV lego alarm clock), or our anniversary (this year it was a mug with DV and the Death Star on it that glowed red when filled with hot liquid). I love my husband - He is AMAZING. 8) A pair of my Irregular Choice shoes - possibly my "Lovingly Gazing" ones; I love shoes. they are the only part of my body I can pretty much guarantee won't change shape or size!!!! I have actually been stopped in work and while out shopping to be complimented on my shoes. 9) Monopoly - we have about five different versions in the cupboard, as well as a raft of other board games. It's something that Guy and I do a lot and Monopoly is a favourite. It's become a little bit of a thing to get a different one each year.. As I said we have five, one for each year we've been married lol. 10) My cook book - Guy bought me a pretty notebook a few years ago for Christmas so that I could start writing down all the recipes that I cook. There are quite few in there; from chocolate and beetroot cake, to whiskey and green peppercorn sauce. I enjoy cooking. It's something I'm looking forward to doing with Theia when she is a bit older. And that is me in a nutshell... or time capsule. I'm not really sure if those times really represent me, but they are what's important to me. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| "Blog City ~ Every Blogger's Paradise" – Prompt: Mahatma Gandhi said, “The day the power of love overrules the love of power, the world will know peace.” Do you think the power of love can overrule the love of power…ever? What are your thoughts on the subject? First off - who doesn't have Frankie Goes to Hollywood running around in their heads right now? Is it just me? I honestly don’t know if it’s possible. Isn’t that sad. I mean I wish it was and I would certainly like to think that I’d give up everything for my family and my daughter, but then I have never known “real” power, and I’ve only really seen imitations of it in movies and TV shows. I have no idea how strong that pull is. I have, of course, heard the clichés that it corrupts from the inside out; that it’s like a cancer, but that’s just words on a page or spoken through a screen. I think the problem is that people LOVE power. Nobody likes to feel helpless or vulnerable so we search for it. I mean even when we were living in caves and hunting mammoths we gravitated towards powerful people to lead us, or produce children with. It’s almost like it's engrained into us; and not just us really, nearly every species on the planet operates with the ethos of “natural selection” and that “only the strong survive”. There are some people who crave power. It’s like a drug for them. There probably is some biological and chemical reactions going on inside them that addicts them to it. And like many drugs it alters their reality. They believe, quite frankly, insane things about themselves. The people around them are often too scared of them, or just as greedy for it as they are. Can love, no matter how great, compete with that? It doesn’t with addictions to most other drugs. How often do alcoholic “choose” alcohol over their loved ones – I'm using the word choose loosely here. Hand on heart, I’d rather be happy and content with my family and know that my daughter will grow up safe, with control over very little other than my bubble, than have power, but be lonely and unhappy. I could never sacrifice Theia or Guy, no matter how annoying the lack of sleep gets, just to have more money, or prestige, or the other things synonymous with power. But that’s me. I’m one person. I’m also lucky. I have known love. From my parents, siblings, and friends. Those relationships have shaped me and I know how important and powerful that four letter word is. Others, very often those that find themselves in power, do not. I think Mahatma Gandhi is right in that if the world chose love over power there would be peace. I just don't think that day will ever come. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| "Blogging Circle of Friends " – When did you come out of the closet... that you were going to be a writer to your friends, family, and community? Was it easy or did they question your sanity? I don’t think I ever announced that I was a writer. I’ve always just liked reading and writing and decided one day to try it. I mentioned it to my husband about five/six years ago and he just said “Do it. Go for it.” So I did. Privately anyway. It wasn’t until about three years ago that I actually wrote something with the sole intension of submitting it in a competition. It was for a magazine in the UK and that month’s competition was for Flash Fiction; any topic, but no more than 500 words. I wrote the draft during work (it was a slow day) and tidied it up at home. I actually bottled it and didn’t email it in to them; I mean what if they didn’t like it… what if they did and then they published it…. Everyone would see it… and read it… was I ready for that…? Clearly not, at that precise moment in time. However, the girls at work knew that I'd written it and asked if they could read it – so I decided to just let them. I was so nervous, but I needn’t of been. They were really supportive, and a little surprised at “how good it was”. My husband, of course, had already read it and liked it – I don’t think he will ever LOVE anything he has to read – and with the thumbs-up from the girls, I was gaining confidence, so I emailed it to a few of my friend to get their thoughts. Again, I think they were a little shocked that I had actually written something, not that they thought I wasn’t capable, just that I hid that aspiration and part of me very well, apparently. With my little clutch of approvals I decided to venture into the big wide world of writing a little more and researched a few writing forums and sites – I mean if I really wanted to write I may as well do it with other writers, right? That’s when I came across Writing.Com. I signed up and started to fill out my details and create my portfolio. I nosed around a few people’s ports and saw the vast array of items – it was a little overwhelming, but I persevered and submitted my little tale to the site… And waited… It wasn’t long until I got an email about it, and then another. Some people liked it, others not so much, but the comments were constructive and encouraging. I even found the lovely Cinn   who offered to be my mentor and show me around. I eventually posted a linked to the story on Facebook so that my friends could all read it. The support and feedback was amazing. I don’t know why I was so worried. It may have been different if I had announced that I was giving up my job to become a writer; I think that would have sent my mum into a tailspin. There would have been raised eyebrows and whispers about my sanity behind my back I’m sure. But at the end of the day, I’m still the breadwinner in my little family bubble and hold down a demanding 09:00 to 17:00 job, that sometimes ends up being a 09:00 to 23:00, so the “but what are you going to do if it doesn’t work out” really isn’t applicable. I have a family and responsibilities and they will always come first, but my writing is important to me and so it’s important to them. I know I’m very lucky. My husband would gladly give me the world if he could, and where he can’t, he has no problem supporting me while I conquer it myself – as long as I don’t make him read anything over 500 words; he has his limits after all. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" - Talk Tuesday! What's your opinion on high school reunions? Have you gone to any? Why (or why not)? I have been to a couple over the years and I’ve always enjoyed them, but I was a lot younger then and didn’t have the responsibilities I have now. While I was growing up my dad worked in Saudi Arabia, and me and my mum went out to live with him when I was about 8. I went to school out there for a while, but education began to get a bit sketchy around the age of 10/11, and it stopped out right at the age of 12, at least for the British school. The only options available were 1) Mum and I went home, 2) I went to boarding. It was typical for kids to go to boarding, so off I went at the age of 10, and I didn’t leave until I finished my GCSE’s at 16, six years later. Being so far from home and isolated you learn a lot about yourself and build very solid relationships. I’m still friends with a lot of the people I went to boarding school with, and I even married one of the boys I was in Saudi with. It was great catching up with them sporadically. Life always gets in the way, so we were lucky to catch up individually once a year; the reunions, which only happened every 4/5 years were great way of catching up in one swoop. It was a bit like stepping back in time except everyone had aged slightly, or looking through a distorted looking glass. They were great fun. There was lots of laughing and embarrassing stories told while we all pretended to be grown-ups, slipping of pints of beer or glasses of wine – I’m still a fruity cocktail girl, no refined Chambly for me. My reunions were all fairly small and had nothing to do with the school itself, being organised by one of the boys (note: we still refer to each other as the boys and girls even though most of us have children of our own and more than a few wrinkles). They were usually based in Cambridge, UK, which was a pretty centralised location for us all, so it was convenient, and it was pretty relaxed; it was really just a group of about 10/15 meeting in a bar over a weekend. Meeting up with the girls that bullied me, and the boy that broke my heart (sniff, sniff), was weird the first time round. I wanted to “prove” that I was “over it” all, when actually the wounds were probably still a little raw; I was only 22 when I first went to one, and thought six years meant it was water under the bridge, which it was, I just wasn't on the bridge yet, I was still ankle deep in the shallows. It all went fine. And actually it was probably quite cathartic. I guess this is a real risk with reunions. The clicks rarely seem to change, and even if you’ve grown up, when you are put back in those situations you regress ever so slightly as you reminisce. If you had a great experience that’s fab… but if you didn’t it can be quite painful – reliving those moments. There are people that harbour a lot of anger about high school and that can lead to some explosive confrontations. We had a few “heated” arguments, but nothing physical, and it was usually towards the end of the night when the alcohol has been flowing a little too freely. The other issue of course is affairs/flings… I will confess I had a fling with someone at our first reunion... and I had a fling with him about four years later at the next one as well… The first time neither of us were single. I was in a relationship I shouldn’t have been and, while it’s no excuse, I liked the escapism of it all. The second time was different and we were both single, we even met up afterwards – but nothing came of it… because it wasn’t based on reality. It was based on the “never acted upon crushes of teenagers”. I have heard countless tales of marriages dissolving into divorce because of old childhood flames re-igniting; most of which fizzle after a few months.... Were they worth it - I doubt it. Maybe it's just another way for people to try and re-capture their youth. I haven’t actually been to one since Guy and I got together, and I wouldn't go on my own again, not because I wouldn't trust myself, rather that I'm in a very different place now and I have little interest in them. I’m more content, and busy, in my own life that I don’t feel the need to look back. It’s nice hearing from people, but I don’t particularly want to travel a couple of hours across the country to do so; I have Facebook to keep tabs on everyone, which is way easier and cheap!! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
 Log in to Leave Feedback |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
