Author: Sue

I have been writing in various forms since I was a child. I write about what is going on in my life, what I enjoy, and the struggles of dealing with chronic illness and mental health issues. I love live music, football (Scotland and Dunfermline Athletic), reading, Formula 1, Stock Cars, and eating lots of vegan crap.

Playlister

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This sound really sad, but I like making music playlists. It is on a similar track of thought which states that organising things can actually relax a person. I have always made playlists, because I like to listen to a mixture of music. The love started from making mixtapes as a kid, taping songs off the radio or from albums I had at home. There was quite a bit of joy involved, when a person who you gave your mixtape too, liked it, and would maybe get into new bands.

Last month I made a playlist on Spotify, so that I could listen to a variety of songs I liked when I was making my way anywhere. If I am out and about, I usually listen to music on my mobile phone, purely because it’s portability. But, I never just want to listen to just one band or one genre. So, by making a playlist of different songs I like, I can listen to a wee variety, and not lose all the memory on my phone.

Because I have listened to the playlist a lot, I thought I’d make a new one for April. It might be something that I’ll try every month. The songs, that I selected this month are below.

Rancid- Timebomb

Good Charlotte- I Just Wanna Live

Emma Blackery- Nothing Without You

Tessa Violet- Not Over You

CKY- Escape From Hellview

Jimmy Eat World- The Middle

Waterparks- Stupid For You

Linkin Park- Breaking The Habit

Iron Maiden- 2 Minutes To Midnight

Mötley Crew- Kickstart My Heart

Skid Row- Wasted Time

The Stone Roses- She Bangs The Drums

The Strokes- Last Night

The Libertines- Can’t Stand Me Now

The Proclaimers- Sunshine On Leith

Skids- Into The Valley

The Clash- I Fought The Law

Stiff Little Fingers- Alternative Ulster

Dead Kennedys- Holiday In Cambodia

Minor Threat- Straight Edge

MC5- Kick Out The Jams

Fugazi- Bad Mouth

T.S.O.L- Code Blue

X-Ray Spex- Oh Bondage! Up Yours!

Linkin Park (feat Stormzy and Pusha T)- Good Goodbye

Alice Deejay- Better Off Alone

Darude- Sandstorm

Paolo Nutini- Caledonia

Anti-Flag-  Die For Your Govenment

The Bouncing Souls- Lean On Sheena

Propaganghi- Failed States

Lagwagon- The Cog In The Machine

Belle & Sebastian- Expectations

Lady Sovereign- Pretty Vacant

The Casualties- Tomorrow Belongs To Us

The Unseen- Paint It Black

Time Again- The Stories Are True

Choking Victim- 500 channels

Sonic Boom Six- Monkey See, Monkey Do

The Pietasters- Out All Night

If you want to listen to this playlist, please visit here. This is until i actually figure out how to post a playlist on here.

Just Do Your Best

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Life, as it frequently tends to remind us, is very hard. Yes, the struggles may be different for different people, but they are still struggles. And every person will deal with those hard things different. If you don’t harm anyone, there is no right or wrong way to deal with problems that come our in direction.

It is hard, but it is believed by some, that nothing worth doing, comes easy. So, if things get hard, it’s okay. If you have to work hard for something, it is only then that you will fully appreciate it. But sometimes, you can find yourself working hard for something, and you don’t achieve what you set out to do. It might be a test, a new job or even getting fitter, it can be almost everything. And failing is a horrible feeling, but it is a feeling that everyone has to deal with.

How do you even begin to deal with failure? Myself, I don’t deal a lot of the time, I do the whole panic/ cry/ meltdown, kind of thing. But when I think back, at the school classes failed or the jobs I didn’t get, I just plodded on. A lot of the time, I just adjusted my plan. Sometimes, you can want something, and start the journey towards that goal, but there is no way to get there. Life sometimes, gets in the way like that. People like to make excuses, like ‘if it wasn’t for this thing that happened, I would have done such-and-such’. I don’t like that. As long as you can look at yourself in the mirror, and say ‘I gave it everything’, you have nothing to feel bad about. In fact, if things did get in the way, but you tried as hard as you could at the time, you also have nothing to feel bad about.

You have to do your best what ever comes your way. No matter what it is. Because if you have that ‘try hard’ mentality, you will succeed in something. It may take a while, and it might be nothing like you originally planned, but you will get there.

An Afterthought

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What happens after you achieve something that you have been working towards for a long time?

It sounds like a silly question, but it is something I have been thinking about. I have been a person who likes lists to work through. I very rarely finish all the tasks listed, but it is a handy way figure out what you need to do. But sometimes, the same task can sit on my to-do list for weeks at a time. It usually is because the task has a lot of work to do as part of it, and sometimes, I am simply too lazy. Actually, that is most of the time. I’d rather watch anime or read a book, especially when it comes to things such as housework.

But, once in a blue moon, I actually focus and do the task I have been needing to do for ages. And, when I get started, I am stubborn enough to get finished. But, when it is done, there is like a strange feeling. Because this thing that has been on my mind for so long, is suddenly gone. It doesn’t need to be dealt with anymore. It is quite a calming feeling to be honest, which is good. As a naturally anxious person, anything that can keep me calm is a good thing.

But… I never learn. I feel the good feeling of achieving something, but I still have the habit of procrastinating when other things need to be done. I annoy myself sometimes.

Tempting

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I am bad at saving things for later. Be it food, money, or in today’s case, holiday hours from work. If I get an idea in my head to use something, then I’ll use it. I don’t seem to be able to keep anything till later. At all.

So today, I was to be in work, and I had a total headache. So rather that force myself in to work, I took an ’emergency holiday’. The hours used for that holiday are set aside so that if you need to use them, the holiday is automatically approved. It’s a good idea. But you only get 10 hours every 3 months. Ideally, you hold on to those hours, and use them for a proper emergency, where you might need to leave work early or something. But, I used it within the first week of getting it.

I had always decided that I was going to bail shift early, for the Dunfermline and Raith Rovers game, it was a derby game. I don’t get to go to many games, as I usually work on a Saturday.

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But Dunfermline won, which makes me happy, and makes it worth the time off. Life should include doing what makes you happy, right?

Back to normal

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I have been off work for the last week. Needed some time away from work, which everyone needs at some point. I had a week of catching up with friends, and enjoying not having an alarm go off at 5.30am.

But, as with every holiday, the week went too fast, and today was my first day back at work. Back to where I was before I went away. Which is a bit stressy, to be honest. Recently I have been working in a different department with a brand new process. And I am finding that it is triggering my anxiety something awful. Before I went away on holiday, I was having to head to the toilet several times a day, because I was panicking. Which is not nice. It is embarrassing.

I do power through and do my best, but it’s really draining. And today, it felt like I was just back to the same place again. All that relaxing, and i still get worked up over nothing.

I am trying to push myself. I will get to where I need to, but like anything, it takes time. I just have to be patient and not give up. Which, is rather tempting. But nope, got to hustle and get shit done. Own the situation properly.

Life is deer

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Today I went to The Scottish Deer Centre, which is a wildlife park by Cupar in Fife. The park hosts 12 types of deer, as well as wolves, Scottish Wildcat and Northern Lynx. A lot of the animals used to live in the wild in Scotland, but as things have changed, they are no longer present.

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I have always been funny about zoos and the like, especially when the animals are kept in tiny enclosures. But that didn’t seem to be the case here. There is a whole ‘buy food pellets for the deer’ thing I really wasn’t sure of. I always think animals should be better in the wild. But maybe I should look into it more, and see what problems the wildlife in this country are experiencing. I mean it’s all fine and well repopulating a species for an area, if the problems in that area aren’t fixed. Because all that is going to happen, is that some animals will be released all in vain. Which is horrible.

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The whole park, I believe, is a converted Farm. So all the buildings, like the gift shop and the indoor play area, are all part of the original farm. Inside the play area, local schools have decorated the walls with murals of animals found at the park. It gives the idea that the park is a part of the community, which is nice. Although, with some areas peeling, maybe the the idea could be re-done.

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Bad Connection

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You don’t need to read very much here, to realise that I can get stressed out over nothing. Silly things, can have such an adverse effect on my mood. It doesn’t even really matter what it is, really. But that happens to everyone.

These days, we are so used at getting anything we want so easily. Years ago, if we wanted to know anything, we would have to have went to a library and researched. Now? A simple internet search can find you everything from historical information, to recipes, to watching cartoons. No longer do people have to wait months for new programmes to air in their respective countries, they can find an online service to stream content the same day as it is aired in the country of origin. I tell you now, my 12 year old self, would be utterly spellbound by this concept alone.

However. The internet becoming so important in daily life, does create an issue. Especially, when like today, your connection to the internet is a steaming pile of donkey shit. Yes, my internet connection, both my home broadband, and mobile 4G, have been playing up. It means, that it has taken till this time of night (10.30pm) before I could get a connection steady enough to post this. That is flaming ridiculous. Couldn’t listen to Spotify, couldn’t watch Naruto (sshhhh… don’t judge) and I had problems messaging my friend, because I use Whatsapp or Facebook messenger. I was angry. For most of the day.

It does make me think, what would I do if there was no internet. If I wanted to sit by the TV, I’d have to put on a DVD or stick to the schedules, instead of watching Youtube or … Naruto. (I am obsessed with Naruto, like a child, all over again.) I think it is very easy to take for granted on how simple it is to stay in contact with people, thanks to services such as Facebook. A service that can even link with your calendar on your phone or PC, to remind you of events or birthdays. The internet has simplified so much, that when it isn’t there, we come to a loss. If there is no connection to the web, everything can seem like it takes so much more extra effort.

Maybe we have just got lazy.

Another Year Older

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Birthdays used to be fun. They used to mean parties, being spoilt rotten, and the promise of getting older. When you are little, it feels like the world has all these possibilities, that you need to get older to do. It was exciting, it was fun.

Now, in my 30s, that is no longer the case. In fact, my last few birthdays have included time where I have sat on the floor and cried my eyes out. Feeling like I have wasted another year, and that I am never progressing in anything other than age. It always puts a downer on stuff.

I guess a lot of the feelings around birthdays come from others. It is an automatic reaction to look at those around you, and assess how they are doing compared to you. And, well, I have always assumed everyone is much further ahead than me, especially as I’ve got older. Folk are having kids and getting married, and I am not anywhere related to that. Any progress I do make, is slower than a bloody snail. For example, passed my driving test last year, still don’t have a car.

Things are different this year. Though it might not appear so. I am working hard to be better. I am making progress, which is better than none. Babies, moving house, getting a dog, new job, it doesn’t matter what progress is, as long as you move forward, you doing okay. Which is why I am trying to stop comparing my life to others. Yes, most of my friends actually have a career, or a house, or a partner, but they don’t equal anything other than personal growth. And people grow at different speeds.

Or that’s what I am trying to convince myself anyways. Here’s to being 33. Let’s improve on last year.