Category: ramblings

Love/hate

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Opinions. It is often said that ‘like assholes, everyone has one’.

And they do, every single person has their own mind, to help them decipher the world that we live in. Depending on a person’s experiences, their opinions will be different.

And I think that comes into play when you talk about likes/dislikes. Depending on where you are in life, what you do, who you are, you like different things. And a big part of you expressing love for something, you should appreciate that other people should have the same levels of expression that you do. So if you want to express your love for Metallica, your peers should be able to say that they love One Direction.

The other side to this is dislike. If you teach yourself to appreciate what other people like, then you should also appreciate each others’ hates. Likes and dislikes are not something decided to offend a certain person. Easy to understand, right?

You’d think so. But you will still get death threats for saying you don’t like a Lady Gaga album. This isn’t your fault. It is other people, who expect people to put up with their continuous love diatribes to a celebrity, but refuse to except that not everyone feels that way.

Acceptance is something I talk about a lot on here. Just because I think it is so importance. And I think that if I want my voice to be valued, I have to value the voice for others.

Admitting Defeat

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I find the hardest thing to do, is admitting to myself that I can’t do something. I have always felt that I should be able to deal with things, without help. If not because I ‘have to’, more because everyone else does it fine, so I will too. The thing is, not everything is easy for all people, some things are hard to take in, and deal with.

The worst thing is, asking for help. That is admitting that you can’t do something. You can’t do something that EVERYONE ELSE can do. I know it isn’t just me who feels like this, but I hate admitting that I can’t do something. Which sounds silly, because everyone has something that they can’t do. But, it’s hard. Especially when it is something you need to do on a daily basis as part of your job, or something.  If you start hating the thing that you struggle with, it can end up being the focus of all your energy, and it is negative energy. It’s hard to get over the obstacle that is in your way, if it seems to be something you have to confront regularly.

The worst thing is, when you think you are coping with said task, and it is evident to others around you that you aren’t. If forcing defeat yourself is hard, being told that you need help is even worse. Especially when you fool yourself into thinking things are okay. The self-pity takes over, and you feel ashamed that you didn’t have the guts to say you were struggling.

I think the lesson that comes out of such experiences, is that a person needs to be honest with themselves, through the good and bad. Honesty is easy when things are good, but when things are bad,  you have to train yourself to be honest. That is a challenge that I have to try and tackle over the coming weeks, and I think more people need to be honest with themselves. But I think honesty can also be linked to confidence, and that is where the problem lies for most people.

Look To The Other Side

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

How many times have you acted without thinking about anyone but yourself? Be honest with yourself. People act without thought several times everyday. This is not meaning to disrespect anyone, or to make anyone feel guilty. It is just trying to get people to acknowledge that we are all selfish, more frequently that we’d dare to admit.

I was watching this new programme tonight called Prisioners’ Wives, created by the BBC, focusing on women whose spouses had been locked up. The episode centres around Gemma, a young twentysomething who is happily married and 6 months pregnant. It falls apart when her husband, Steve, is arrested for murder and Gemma’s life is placed into turmoil. To the the police who speak to her like a criminal, to her work where she may lose her job, everything quickly becomes a mess. It focuses on what the criminal leaves  behind.

Now whilst, it may seem that I am refering to the criminal, not thinking about his wife when he commits crimes, but I am mostly thinking of other people. You can feel the nerves as Gemma feels people judging her on what her husband has done. And it is realising that you will NEVER know what a person is like 100%, and doing so shakes the very foundations of everything you believe in.

It’s the fact that people automatically tag you as ‘bad’, despite never doing anything illegal, and being as innocent as any victim. But yet, people outside judge a person as good or bad dependant on circumstances thrown at them, which is none of their doing. It should be the dury that judges a person, not the press or public. But yet, the innocent family of a criminal, gets subjected to public scrutiny and the ruthless press, who all need to quench their thirst on breaking stories, no matter who it hurts.

It is easy to say that you would never treat a person with us much contempt as what any prisioner’s wife may experience, but it doesn’t need to be that severe. It could be an old woman that you push pass to get on the bus, that ruins her day. It could be the kid who is called fat, when he is trying to exercise. It is the person you said you’d help, but forgot about the next day. Everyone is guilty of hurting others, no matter how accidental it is.

All that is needed is thought. Think about how you would want to be treated, if you found yourself in the shoes of anyone you deal with. Would you want to be shouted at over the phone, as you try to help a customer? Would you want to be shoved aside, when you are struggling to walk as it is? Would you like to be picked out for every insecurity you have? It happens every day, to every person. If you took a second, and treated people with a bit more kindness, you will make a difference. And that difference will come back to you, as good-will is contagious.

A Life Balance?

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I am in the middle of watching The Devil Wears Prada, which is a movie about a girl who is trying to follow her dream as a journalist. To get to where she wants, she works as an assistant at a fashion magazine, where her boss is ruthless. It seems to focus on  the story that as someone’s professional life gets better, their private life goes out the window. It is the consensus that it is impossible to have an equal balance of work and play, and the sacrifices that a person is willing to make to be successful.

The work and play thing, is something that I think is about where a person’s focus lies. If you focus on one particular thing, then everything else kind of pales in comparison, and it causes some things to fall away. It is natural, as there is only so many things a person can put their energy into. But it can be hard to find a balance between having a life whilst working at a career. It’s not anything that someone should feel particularly bad about. I guess that it can just happen sometimes.

My take on it is that work and success can lead to more money, and that is something that can lead to more opportunities. That, in itself, is something very freeing, that you can afford do things that you want to. That makes you happier, and I would like to think that would make me want to spend and try and push the rest of my life up to ‘speed’. But I guess, I am maybe looking at it with ‘rose-tinted glasses’, because my working life is getting better, I can see myself being able to afford to change my life in 2012.

That positivity is not something I normally feel at the start of a New Year, in fact I am normally very much the opposite. So I feel that I can take on the world right now, as stupid as it sounds. I have never had an exciting personal life to lose, so any change that happens is a positive outcome. I just have to cross my fingers that things work out in some sort of balance. I could do with a good year.

Run Like The Wind, Bullseye!

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

This would be an update, if there was anything of value to update about. There isn’t so it’s not. Simple.

I hope that everyone on the land of the internet had a happy Christmas, or whatever winter holiday it is you may celebrate. Even if you didn’t have any celebratory holidays, then I hope you are enjoying winter and all the warmth that comes with it. Unless it is summer where you are… I give up.

I like Christmas. I like that it is a time where life slows down, and you can spend time with those you love. Christmas, like all religious holidays, has been picked on for effecting state too much, and that there should be less focus on it. I find that this is unsettling. People are becoming very intolerant over what others do. If someone wants to celebrate something, why shouldn’t they? People shouldn’t be offended if it does no harm to anyone. There is enough bad feeling in this world, without stomping over people’s time of celebration.

The truth is, I don’t particular link myself to any religion. But as a child I went to Sunday School, I had a bible, I learnt the stories. To me, as a book worm, I loved the books I would get, and hence grew up on the stories. And that is what they were to me, stories that had lessons and morality. As a child, these bible stories were nothing different to the fairy stories I read. And my ethics on the whole thing hasn’t changed. Noah and the Ark is still a brilliant story all these years later, and I can see why people find comfort in it.

It must be great thinking that someone is keeping an eye on you from above, there to guide you in the right direction. I don’t believe it, but I do respect those who do have faith in something like that. I need to see proof and think too much about the logics of religion, which leaves me a bit cold about the whole ‘greater being’ thing. But I do like the lessons and the characters. I can see why people do look to find answers in religion, as it tries to teach you lessons throughout the various books and scriptures. It is comfort, it is direction, it helps bring famillies together and gives people a reason to be alive.

Why, if a book can give so much hope to a person, would you want them to stop celebrating what they have discovered? If it doesn’t harm you, why harm them and what they do?

*Irrelevant blog titles a go-go. 🙂 I know this may not make sense, but hey it’s a few things I have been thinking about. *

Caffeinated Technology

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

My Blackberry decided jump in my breakfast coffee. Something that is awesome as it caused the screen to stop working. Again. RIM, I have a question. If something happens to a Blackberry why is it always the screen that stops working?? No other phone I own is like that.

So, the poor little Bold 9700, is now in a Tupperware box of uncooked rice, after I found out that is a good way of drawing moisture out of the phone. I have heard of the logic before, but I have no idea how it works. If you search online for help, like I did, the rice idea is the most popular, and most basic fix available.  But, as long as you stay away from the hair drier (makes condensation in phone), leaving it for a few days should get it back on track.  I hope.

I am sceptical of this working, but I have it on good authority it works. So I hope it can be saved, and I’ll have him back working in a few days. I hope.  I love it how I am always broke when things like this happen. -.-

Winter Warmer

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I love winter, I can honestly say it is my favourite season of the year. Something, that always gets me a lot of strange looks, because why would you like winter. I love the freshness that is in the air on an icy morning. and how breathing it can make me feel alive. It makes me appreciate living in Scotland, as I do, because I don’t have to deal with too much pollution or anything like that. It is fresh, and I am so greatful for that.

I also love the idea of coming into a warm house after being outside. I have seen myself get overwhelmed by the warmth when I open the door to get in. You have the emotional warmth of returning home, and the actual warmth compared to outside. It is nice. It is reassuring. It’s something you only get during the colder winter months.

I like winter better than other seasons because everything feels so magical. There is a lot of celebration and evaluation. It includes the one time of the year, where the focus is on family. It is a shame that that ethos is never carried through the rest of the year, when I think about it. You should take every chance to show love to those around you, and let them know how much you appreciate them.

I just adore winter, and I am glad it is here. Happy winter.

 

Christmas Wishes

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

It is that time of the year again. I am back from another exhausting shopping experience in the run-up to Christmas. I don’t mind Christmas. I love the warmth you get from showing love to those around you, and the knowledge that you have gifted someone something that someone truely needs or wants.

The thing I don’t like is the actual shopping, and how every person goes crazy. The shops are full, the salespeople are losing the will to live as the days get busier. Its just crazy. The whole experience leaves you tired, broke and sometimes depressed. The pressure put on people for buying the ‘right gift’ and the stress of even trying to manoeuvre around a shop.

It takes away the whole feeling of Christmas. It isn’t about store-bought cards and over-priced trinkets, its about showing love to those around you. The traditional meaning of Christmas has been lost over the last few decades, and it is sad. It’s the hardest time of the year for a lot of people, and a letter within a card, means a lot more than some cheap deodorant.

So spread the love this Christmas. Tell everyone you love, how you feel. Spread the positivity, in the hope that it will make a difference to someone’s Christmas. Write a well meaning note inside every card, and let people know how you feel about them.

Listening to- Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer

Drinking- a nice hot Mocha

Pirates in the Pride Lands

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

Saw Lion King in 3D again. I saw it back in June, and saw it yesterday. Lion King in the cinema is just something I need to see, as many times as possible.

In the craving of the old Lion King game for the Sega Mega Drive, I had a look to find videos (and ROMs *cough*) so that I could get my fix. The original game is there. In all it’s glory. And I am still as crap at it, as I ever was.
Then, there is The Lion King 2, 3 and 5 (don’t know where 4 went)
Really strange pirate games with even stranger sprites.

2 has a weird thing where you start of as cub Simba, get a power-up you become adult Simba. Get hit by an enemy, you shrink back into cub Simba. Very strange music, which I think has been taken from some Street Fighter pirates I saw a few years ago.

3 is just a trip and a half, no drugs needed. The music. The music is a jumpy MIDI mess of a constantly jamming music file, which is taken from the original game. -.- Actually muted the game, before I got a migraine. You can be either cub Simba or adult Simba, and well… it is strange. The levels are all from other, more official, games, with one looking very similar to an old Jungle Book level. And the end? Well, at the end Simba fights a tiger. Says it all really.

5? Is actually better than 3. The characters seem original, were the sprites in the last 2 seem badly ported from the original, licensed game. The music is back to being a random MIDI, probably stolen from some other pirated game. And your playable characters are Simba, Timon or Pumbaa. The thing that messed me up on this game, are actually the most fucked-up Game Over screens I have ever seen.

Pumbaa, kills himself by throwing himself into a boiling pot.
Timon, well, he buries himself, I guess he is also killing himself. Nice.
And Simba. One of the characters of my childhood. Well, Simba hangs himself. Seriously. Noose and everything.

Seriously, Simba hanging himself is now stuck in my brain. So I felt I would share, seeing as I can’t sleep. I am blaming these games.
If you are curious, search on YouTube for Lion King Pirate games. And be scarred for life too.

Reading Material Abuse

~ Sue ~ Leave a comment

I got a little bit of stick today. It was because I bought Company magazine.

For those outwith the UK, or who are unfamiliar with the publication, it is a ‘Women’s Lifestyle’ magazine. Now a lot of these magazine’s get a lot of abuse for the images they portray to women, with the unrealistic body images they promote, etc. To be honest, one look at me in my Asda jeans and Avenged Sevenfold shirt, I think you would know it isn’t the fashion topic, per say, that I am interested.

It is the articles. Being a person who has become so in  love with writing over the years, I find that it is for my own good that in take in a variety of styles of writing. Because, as much as I don’t want to admit to myself, this conversational manner that I have going on, is not for everyone. But that is fine, everyone has different tastes and topics of interest, which is what makes everything so interesting. And is also why I do read Company magazine.

It is one of the cheaper ‘glossies’ on the news-stand, and it, like me, tries to have a very conversational tone for their reader to enjoy. I know that I like reading this style of writing, because it helps me feel… settled, I guess. I think that it is because there is no force in what is in front of you, just a display of opinion, that is worded like it is a chat you are having with a friend. I feel that this takes out any confrontation, and makes it easier to accept the opinion being put across. If you are too forceful with opinion, then it can come across like you are looking for an argument. Which, to me, is not what writing is about. Yes, show opinion, but don’t try to force what you feel on others.

It just comes off as rude, obnoxious, and to be honest, does not always provide you with an audience. If people think you are trying to be too ‘Little Miss Dictatorship’. then you won’t get support, interest, and people may glance, but they will stop reading. Or they will read on, and then just send you abuse over it. Which, trust me, is not worth it, no matter how good your intentions may be. People can’t always pick up intended tone through text, so if you go for the conversational style, it will come across as more welcoming and friendly.

But I try to read a variety of material, all written in different styles. Music articles are written completely different to a Victorian novel, or even a financial broadsheet. The writing style is always appropriate for it’s intended audience. So if you can distinguish the differences, then it helps you write an article aiming at the right audience. So don’t belittle someone, just because they wish to open themselves up to different styles, these are the people who should be honoured. For not being afraid, for being open-minded, and for doing what they want, despite the uniqueness of what they do.

This has come off almost tutorial like, especially the end. Maybe I haven’t mastered tone as well as I had hoped. Practice is needed.