TV, or no TV, that is the question ...

Ok, so I decided that having a telly is a waste of time, money & space. 
It usually has depressing news, advertisements & repeats.  I refuse to organise my evenings around soaps & if I do want to watch anything, it will be on iplayer at a time that I choose. 
My cancellation date was the 9th May & I was really looking forward to having the freedom to rearrange my lounge so that the focus is the fireplace not the box in the corner of the room.
I managed to ignore numerous sales calls from my provider until the Friday before lift off (or lift out, should I say).  I was caught unawares & picked up the phone - it was the retention team at Virgin. 
How difficult can it be to explain that you just don't want TV?
Anyway, all I can say is that the cancellation date has passed & I still have my set top box.  It's tucked away in a cupboard gathering dust until the Six Nations next year I expect.
I'm paying less now to keep it than I would have had I got rid of it & saved myself twenty quid!
How?
Money talks - silly really ...  

Fear - a four letter word

I have always had problems with being faced with a blank sheet of paper/empty screen. 
That is, a whole space full of nothing that needs you to write down something of worth on it! 
I overcome this by scribbling random ideas in note form (Like when you're out to your local on a Friday night with the girls and get an inspired thought during a quick trip to the loo.  All you have to write it down with is toilet paper and a pinched pen from the bookies.  And you so hope your hieroglyphic letters make sense when you get home, sober up and the paper hasn't disintergrated ovenight!)  When I have filled up the area with rubbish, I can put down what I really mean to say and delete the rest.  Works for me ...
Now, I seem to have developed a fear of forms too and it's come at exactly the right time time in this decade when we have a 32 page census to fill in, like it or not. 
Personally, I like not!
So, between the two fears, I've hit a bit of a sticky wicket. 
Can't I just write on the top of the page 'See previous'?
Very little has changed (except kitty Horatio lives here now!). 
In fact, since this purple piece of tree waste is addressed to 'The Occupier',  I may even fill it out in his name Horatio Szmidmeister, revered Jedi Master of the Old Jedi Order. 
Ah well, keeps someone in a job anyway.

How a day can change direction ... just like that!

So I got up this morning at 4.30 with the intention of finishing my new website (everything in place - just needs tweeking) when the service provider decided to stop working. 
Taking this as an opportunity see what weird and wonderful things are going on in the world, my next point of call was the net and surfing in general.  Any inspiration is welcome, any time, anywhere!
When, suddenly out of nowhere, a ladybird pops onto my desk light - quite out of the blue, don't know where from - just wandering around getting its feet warm.
Not knowing what to do regarding their eating habits - I always give guests a snack - it seems that I'm now getting into a bit of a scientific research situation. 
It turns out that this is a Harlequin ladybird (rather than our usual british type one that has fewer spots and is quite friendly) and I'm not too sure if my visitors presence is a good thing. 
I also recalled that I saw a number of these spotted critters (What do you call a group of ladybirds anyway?  A herd? Gaggle? Flock of ladybirds? Answers on a postcard please.) settling in a corner of my porch for the winter and went down to check.
Sure enough, there they are in a huddle doing ladybird things.  So now I need to get a picture off to the ladybird survey people to let them know that these invaders are making their way up north.
How exciting!  
More red and black than a match at Old Trafford on a saturday!  Blimey!!

Almost as good as the real King?

I'm back on track after a bit of an absence which I don't intend to happen again!
Normal service is now resumed...

Those of you who are close to me know of my fascination with Ancient Egypt - those who don't know me, now do!
Many years ago, I had the honour of visiting Luxor, travelling the Nile, the Valley of the Kings, the Pyramids, Cairo Museum and more temples than you can shake a stick at.  Unfortunately, after seven rolls of film (I did say it was a while ago) and a crisis later, the only thing I have to remember about that extraordinary place are memories. 
So when Manchester Museum of Museums announced Tutankhamun: His Tomb and His Treasures exhibition, I jumped at the chance and booked my ticket as soon as I could.
Now, I knew that the real Tut artifacts were over the pond in the America at the time and was curious as to what 'wonderful things' were in store for me here.
I was also a little apprehensive as I had seen the original golden treasures, statues, coffins on my trip to Egypt and so knew exactly what the standard was about ... I also had an image of Blue Peter in my head - egg boxes and sticky-back plastic - which made me even more intrigued. 
What a splendid surprise!
Not only has everything been made exactly to scale and the same shiny quality to the originals, it is also displayed in such a way that you can imagine being in the tomb with it all in situ - the articles up front and personal. 
I remember these objects on show at the Museum in Cairo behind thick glass and alarmed!

The individual headsets for the commentary also allows you to go at your own pace and disappear into this other world for a few riveting hours.
I say, 'a few hours' because that is the amount of time I spent there without even realising it ...
And so,
if you ask me my opinion, this is one of the best displays that I have seen and would recommend it to anyone with even the vaguest interest in Egyptology. 
It is well worth the entrance fee and in some ways, better than the real thing simply because there are no barriers between you and the past ...
If you get the chance ... Go see!!

What's in a day?

I think we all take this for granted at some stage in our lives - that is, until something happens to make your life suddenly flip and you find yourself going in a totally different direction.  Now, that's not always necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that you should be on your toes ready for anything. 
I'm a firm believer in the Law of Attraction and all that it brings.  I must admit, it has taken me a few years to get out of the habit of expecting nasty surprises that weren't going to happen until I thought of them and wished them into my life.
So, now I wake up in the morning and try not to have any expectations for the day (not always possible but then I'm only human) and after my gratitude mantra I just say 'I'm game if you are -Lets go with the flow!' and let the Universe get on with it!
Works for me ...


 

Good vibrations

There is something that I need to say about the power of positive thinking (and I don't mean the I'm-ever-so-happy, broad-grinned demeanour that some people annoyingly carry about with themselves whilst preaching 'others have got it worse than you' - That just makes me just want to smack them around the chops with a floppy fish!). 
I mean the silent, completely focussed type of thought - The sentient energy when you want something so much that you feel as though you have already got it.   
Over time, this is something that I have come to believe in, so I just thought I'd share that thought with you ...
Anything is possible after all :-)

Rude!!

There are ways of speaking to people ... and some just haven't got it.  That's one thing that really gets my goat. 
There is no need to speak down, patronise or just be plain obnoxious to others - it really isn't clever and the least constructive form of communication you can get. 
I am not not happy, just very dissappointed ... but I am choosing to ride over yesterday's shenanigans mainly because there is little point in dwelling on it.  It's me who will end up being wound up!
Good manners and interpersonal skills should be added to the curriculum at school ... I'm not a practicing Catholic but being an ex-convent girly, that's one thing that the scarey nuns excelled in.
At least I have the common decency to respect other people and their foibles.

Back on Track

I have been a negligent over the last few months with my writing - or rather, not writing - for which I really feel annoyed with myself.  That's all I'm going to say on this matter because it just wastes valuable energy and time, but I just wanted to get this out of my system! 
Confession over ... once a Catholic etc etc ...
I have received my marked copy of assignment four from my tutor and feel that I am making slow but steady inprovements in my style. 
I will be sending off a couple of my articles to magazines with a lot more confidence now.  I just need to make a few changes and I will be happy with the end result.
Onwards and upwards ...

Not a very patient patient!

I don't do 'ill' very well.
The other week I was floored for four days which I can effectively wipe from my life as I slept through them.  If I'm not interested in picking up a pen or even turning on my computer, there is something definately wrong.
Anyway, I'm back & in full throttle - I've started to work out ideas for a couple writing competitions, edited some previous work & am back focussing on my Writers Bureau course. 
All is well again!

What happened to the weekend?

It's Sunday, the morning after the morning after the night before.
I'm starting to feel human again after an accidental soirée on Friday that included a few friends, some wine and a complete miscalculation of time.  The night was, however, for medicinal purposes and, for a few hours at least, a splendid idea.
It meant that all of Saturday, in effect, was written off.  I seem to have lost the ability to play out on a school night.
Not like the time when I could party until dawn, have a power nap - two hours maximum - and continue from where I left off with ease well into the next day! 
That was when a builder's greasy fry up and a 'hair of the dog' was enough to give me a new lease of life.
Still, I don't really mind staying horizontal in bed for a day. 
Speaking of which, I have just ordered myself one of those memory foam mattresses so that any future emergency siestas are more comfortable.
In fact, I may have to do a boozy repeat this Friday night just so that I can get the full effect of my new purchase on Saturday ... purely for medicinal purposes you understand?