Greetings all from up North – I’ve come home for a last minute sort-your-life-out trip of unspecified duration. This will not be the most amazing entry I’ll ever come up with, but I figured I may as well keep you updated. Sorry once again for neglecting you (the few of you that care) but see above, under life sorting...
Various things have happened in the past week. First I discovered that I CANNOT play pool. Then I had a busy few days being suddenly popular in that way one usually is when one announces that one is going away for a while.
I had a blood-pressure-raising trip home, which involved one over-large suitcase (I will learn how to pack some day), six trains, and cost me £141 more than it ought to have done. National Rail are getting a letter of complaint, and I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank sensible old Mel, not only for stopping me from killing the pedantic little wotsit who is to blame, but for ignoring my spectacular pratfall in the middle of London Kings Cross station when I went to angrily kick a bin and missed!
Once I eventually got home, I bummed about and enjoyed the family’s brief presences. I toyed with the idea of getting a puppy for my 21st, fell out with a friend over the issue, and finally was informed today by the universe that “my” dog just isn’t out there at the moment. We confirmed once and for all that Pepper is not my dog, but does in fact belong to...my sister... And no, I have no idea how we came to that conclusion, given that this time five years ago she was sitting across from me at breakfast sobbing “I- don’t- want- a- dog”, but there it is.
This weekend I went into town with mum and shopped with her money, which is always more fun than shopping with an empty wallet, and yet I still only came home with one skirt. (Not for lack of trying things on though – since when did “denim shorts” mean “hot pants”, and why are all the denim skirts in the stores uncomfortably short - or am I the only one who minds flashing the edge of my knickers when I bend over? Or do I just need to lighten up and purchase smaller pants to go with said smaller skirt, and embrace the trend that seems to assume everyone in Portsmouth wants to see my bum...? Answers on a postcard please, and bless the dear old Gap for still stocking denim skirts in Laura-acceptable lengths!)
On Sunday we took the dog for a nice castle walk in the sun – Scotland seems to actually be getting a summer this year, miracle of miracles, and I knew it would cos I didn’t bring my capris! It was a classic lazy day just like way back when I still lived at home, and was very good for restoring the morale. My mother, bless her, even flirted with the waiter...
Today I nipped to the eye docs to confirm that I still very much need glasses. I did this on my battered old bike, and I also discovered that that particular muscle group was long overdue for a workout! I also remembered why the sister and I stopped going for bike rides – when one lives on the top of a hill, the way out is great fun, but the way home is taxing!
Tomorrow the sister is off work, finally, so hopefully I’ll get to spend some long overdue time with her. In fact, I shall leave this very fascinating blog entry to go watch some American Dad with her, I think.
Hope all is well down South. I hope to be back soon, watch this space!
Monday, 29 June 2009
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Relationship CVs
Hey there, sorry it’s been a while, I did mean to be updating this thing every other day, but let’s just say that banks and a minor bout of self pity got in the way! But I’m back now, with all the best intentions.
Two recent conversations with friends have prompted today’s blog thought...
The first conversation was over Frankie and Benny’s a few weeks ago with a group of friends. We were talking about a recent ‘small world’ moment that I had had, where I discovered that a jerk I recently dated had also dated a friend of a friend, and treated her in a similarly appalling manner (which is, in itself, another story). If only, we said, I had talked to this other girl before I had gotten involved with the guy, temporary misery might have been avoided. We decided that the idea of dating references might be, theoretically, a wonderful idea, and that any potential future mates should provide them before so much as a cup of coffee is to be had in their company.
I know what I would write for my exes. Most of what I said would be complimentary or indifferent – except of course, for the above jerk’s – with a few simple points of annoyance highlighted. Certain boys might rate more highly than others, but overall I don’t think anyone would be ashamed to ask me to be their referee. In fact, I kept myself amused one whole dish-washing session by composing said references in my head – just ask if you’re interested, guys!
Overall, my friends and I decided that dating references would be a good thing, and would probably save us all a lot of time, money and hassle.
But then we got to thinking – what would our exes say about us? Especially the ones that we broke up with, rather than the other way round... What feelings might come to the surface; what things would we learn that we perhaps could have lived without discovering? Would they agree with our fragile ‘looking-back’ analysis of the relationship, or have a completely different take on the entire affair? Again, I like to think I know what most of them would say, and that, for the most part, it would be good, but if I have learned anything about human beings it’s that we’re a complex bunch, who all see things differently. Suddenly the idea of a dating referee system didn’t seem so wonderful after all.
But the second conversation, had just a few days ago with someone (who finally texted me back), raised the issue once again. It prompted me to wonder if maybe we shouldn’t all just have dating CVs which we hand out on the second date. Previous boyfriends, experiences and skills gained, reasons for leaving etc; if everyone told the truth it would probably give you a very accurate sketch of their character, and a few heartaches could hopefully be avoided if you were wise.
Now, the reason we were having this conversation – aside from the fact that, well, he asked – was partly due to the nature of the modern dating scene. I have friends whose ‘tallies’ range from 1 to 30, and numbers 2 to 31 will most likely be morbidly curious to know who was there before them, and if they left anything, emotional or otherwise, behind. There’s also the issue of moving in certain social circles, and the potential awkward revelation that they know someone you dated previously – or worse! This is where the ‘CV’ comes in.
Over the course of this conversation, I found myself listing and describing my (ahem) partners in ‘100 words or less’, as it were. It was like that scene in Four Weddings and a Funeral, where Andie McDowell is making Hugh Grant’s character choke on his coffee as she rattles off a list of her conquests. Granted, mine is nowhere like hers in length or diversity, but there it was in black and white; numbers, names, details, former partners, boyfriends and mistakes.
It was entertaining, as an exercise, and interesting, to say the least, as a conversation. Think about it. What would your dating CV reveal? If you had to give a reference for a former partner, or even a friend, what would you say? What would people write about you? For me, just thinking of it in such terms means I can identify my mistakes and learn from them. That said, it’ll probably be a long time before my personal CV reaches more than a page in length!
Which is more than can be said for this blog entry... I shall leave you there readers, and hopefully be back soon with more interesting topics of contemplation!
Two recent conversations with friends have prompted today’s blog thought...
The first conversation was over Frankie and Benny’s a few weeks ago with a group of friends. We were talking about a recent ‘small world’ moment that I had had, where I discovered that a jerk I recently dated had also dated a friend of a friend, and treated her in a similarly appalling manner (which is, in itself, another story). If only, we said, I had talked to this other girl before I had gotten involved with the guy, temporary misery might have been avoided. We decided that the idea of dating references might be, theoretically, a wonderful idea, and that any potential future mates should provide them before so much as a cup of coffee is to be had in their company.
I know what I would write for my exes. Most of what I said would be complimentary or indifferent – except of course, for the above jerk’s – with a few simple points of annoyance highlighted. Certain boys might rate more highly than others, but overall I don’t think anyone would be ashamed to ask me to be their referee. In fact, I kept myself amused one whole dish-washing session by composing said references in my head – just ask if you’re interested, guys!
Overall, my friends and I decided that dating references would be a good thing, and would probably save us all a lot of time, money and hassle.
But then we got to thinking – what would our exes say about us? Especially the ones that we broke up with, rather than the other way round... What feelings might come to the surface; what things would we learn that we perhaps could have lived without discovering? Would they agree with our fragile ‘looking-back’ analysis of the relationship, or have a completely different take on the entire affair? Again, I like to think I know what most of them would say, and that, for the most part, it would be good, but if I have learned anything about human beings it’s that we’re a complex bunch, who all see things differently. Suddenly the idea of a dating referee system didn’t seem so wonderful after all.
But the second conversation, had just a few days ago with someone (who finally texted me back), raised the issue once again. It prompted me to wonder if maybe we shouldn’t all just have dating CVs which we hand out on the second date. Previous boyfriends, experiences and skills gained, reasons for leaving etc; if everyone told the truth it would probably give you a very accurate sketch of their character, and a few heartaches could hopefully be avoided if you were wise.
Now, the reason we were having this conversation – aside from the fact that, well, he asked – was partly due to the nature of the modern dating scene. I have friends whose ‘tallies’ range from 1 to 30, and numbers 2 to 31 will most likely be morbidly curious to know who was there before them, and if they left anything, emotional or otherwise, behind. There’s also the issue of moving in certain social circles, and the potential awkward revelation that they know someone you dated previously – or worse! This is where the ‘CV’ comes in.
Over the course of this conversation, I found myself listing and describing my (ahem) partners in ‘100 words or less’, as it were. It was like that scene in Four Weddings and a Funeral, where Andie McDowell is making Hugh Grant’s character choke on his coffee as she rattles off a list of her conquests. Granted, mine is nowhere like hers in length or diversity, but there it was in black and white; numbers, names, details, former partners, boyfriends and mistakes.
It was entertaining, as an exercise, and interesting, to say the least, as a conversation. Think about it. What would your dating CV reveal? If you had to give a reference for a former partner, or even a friend, what would you say? What would people write about you? For me, just thinking of it in such terms means I can identify my mistakes and learn from them. That said, it’ll probably be a long time before my personal CV reaches more than a page in length!
Which is more than can be said for this blog entry... I shall leave you there readers, and hopefully be back soon with more interesting topics of contemplation!
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Well, here goes...
The last time I wrote a blog post was when I was 16. I had one of those MSN pages, and the content was largely along the lines of: “I love my puppy. School was interesting today. Going to the movies at the weekend. Wah, that cute guy from Chemistry hasn’t texted me in a while.” I can’t promise that this one will be much different; after all, I DO love my puppy (even though he’s now four and half), life is interesting, and the current cute guy actually hasn’t texted me in while either... So you were warned.
Buuut, I have found myself with less and less things to do over the past three weeks, and as I have yet to land myself a job and I want to continue to stretch my writing muscles over the summer, I figured I’d give this a try (thanks for the idea Samwise!) Worst case scenario, I end up talking to myself...
Which seems to make the apparently obligatory “A little bit about me” first post somewhat redundant, but on the off-chance that anyone out there is listening, I figured I may as well give it a go.
I am a crazy Canadian currently about to go into my third year of English & Creative Writing at the University of Portsmouth. I absolutely adore my degree, and am apparently fairly good at it as well. I want to be a published author one day, and am aiming to go into either the sitcom or publishing business when I graduate, to pay the bills. (Shameless self plug: read my fiction writing at www.fictionpress.com/~laurapatricia)
My dreams and self integrity are very important to me. The way I see it, you’re only with other people a small portion of your day, but you have to associate with yourself 100% of the time, so why be someone you don’t like? I am who I am, and I won’t change that for anyone.
I am fiercely protective of my friends, who are also very valuable to me. You know who you are, and why I love you. Mess with them, and you will have a small feisty brunette to mess with too.
I am a massive dog nerd – I don’t just love them, I love to read and learn about them, and Crufts really is the highlight of my year. If I wasn’t doing my degree I would be pursuing a career in Canine Behaviourism, and I still might if it turns out I’m a terrible writer after all! If I was breed of dog I would be some sort of terrier; no one ever told me that I’m small, I’m stubborn, tenacious, adorable, clever and loyal, and I won’t start fights, but I can finish them!
I’m also a Seth MacFarlane nerd, if such a thing exists – the man is nothing short of a genius. I know most people like Family Guy, but for me it is an (admittedly almost unhealthy) obsession. I watch the shows, I quote the shows, I listen to the commentaries, I watch the shows again. I have only recently gotten into American Dad, but I adore it almost as much – and the people there won my undying devotion when they sent me three of their screenplays!
I’m the Editor of our uni newspaper, Pugwash News, and have been involved in UPSU Media since pretty much day one down here. Little did I realise when I attended that meeting during Freshers’ week that it was going to become my ‘second degree’, provide me with some of my key university companions and eat most of my life! I love it and hate it at the same time, but it’s become a huge part of who I am down here.
I’m the middle of three sisters. Jill is the elder (technically a half sister, but we’re tight); she lives in Canada with her boyfriend and two daft cats. Claire is 18 and is going to be starting Structural & Architectural Engineering at Bath in October. She is my best friend, my quoting machine, my sanity saver and sometimes my greatest annoyance, and I cannot imagine my life without her. My parents are still together - Dad is a Geologist and Mum has an MBA and writes Offshore Training Standards. We have a family dog, who is a Norwich Terrier called Pepper. He is THE most adorable thing on the planet, and also the best behaved dog you could ever imagine. I love him. Told ya that was going to come up!
On that note I will leave blog-land for now. No doubt I’ll be back shortly with musings on the state of the job market, anecdotes about wacky friends and rants about silly boys...and much more Pepper love no doubt! Stay tuned guys, and thanks for reading! :)
Buuut, I have found myself with less and less things to do over the past three weeks, and as I have yet to land myself a job and I want to continue to stretch my writing muscles over the summer, I figured I’d give this a try (thanks for the idea Samwise!) Worst case scenario, I end up talking to myself...
Which seems to make the apparently obligatory “A little bit about me” first post somewhat redundant, but on the off-chance that anyone out there is listening, I figured I may as well give it a go.
I am a crazy Canadian currently about to go into my third year of English & Creative Writing at the University of Portsmouth. I absolutely adore my degree, and am apparently fairly good at it as well. I want to be a published author one day, and am aiming to go into either the sitcom or publishing business when I graduate, to pay the bills. (Shameless self plug: read my fiction writing at www.fictionpress.com/~laurapatricia)
My dreams and self integrity are very important to me. The way I see it, you’re only with other people a small portion of your day, but you have to associate with yourself 100% of the time, so why be someone you don’t like? I am who I am, and I won’t change that for anyone.
I am fiercely protective of my friends, who are also very valuable to me. You know who you are, and why I love you. Mess with them, and you will have a small feisty brunette to mess with too.
I am a massive dog nerd – I don’t just love them, I love to read and learn about them, and Crufts really is the highlight of my year. If I wasn’t doing my degree I would be pursuing a career in Canine Behaviourism, and I still might if it turns out I’m a terrible writer after all! If I was breed of dog I would be some sort of terrier; no one ever told me that I’m small, I’m stubborn, tenacious, adorable, clever and loyal, and I won’t start fights, but I can finish them!
I’m also a Seth MacFarlane nerd, if such a thing exists – the man is nothing short of a genius. I know most people like Family Guy, but for me it is an (admittedly almost unhealthy) obsession. I watch the shows, I quote the shows, I listen to the commentaries, I watch the shows again. I have only recently gotten into American Dad, but I adore it almost as much – and the people there won my undying devotion when they sent me three of their screenplays!
I’m the Editor of our uni newspaper, Pugwash News, and have been involved in UPSU Media since pretty much day one down here. Little did I realise when I attended that meeting during Freshers’ week that it was going to become my ‘second degree’, provide me with some of my key university companions and eat most of my life! I love it and hate it at the same time, but it’s become a huge part of who I am down here.
I’m the middle of three sisters. Jill is the elder (technically a half sister, but we’re tight); she lives in Canada with her boyfriend and two daft cats. Claire is 18 and is going to be starting Structural & Architectural Engineering at Bath in October. She is my best friend, my quoting machine, my sanity saver and sometimes my greatest annoyance, and I cannot imagine my life without her. My parents are still together - Dad is a Geologist and Mum has an MBA and writes Offshore Training Standards. We have a family dog, who is a Norwich Terrier called Pepper. He is THE most adorable thing on the planet, and also the best behaved dog you could ever imagine. I love him. Told ya that was going to come up!
On that note I will leave blog-land for now. No doubt I’ll be back shortly with musings on the state of the job market, anecdotes about wacky friends and rants about silly boys...and much more Pepper love no doubt! Stay tuned guys, and thanks for reading! :)
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