It's been a while...

Hello and a very good morning, noon and night to one and all wherever you may be!

I am very aware that I abandoned my blog for a while. It has been one heck of a year and I cannot believe it is almost over! I have been through a range of emotions this year - from the relief of starting a new job (back in January), to the stress of being stupidly busy and run down by said job, but nonetheless it's been a goodun'. My well earned annual leave begins tomorrow and I am not back at work properly now for 2 weeks... although I am sure that it will fly by and I won't necessarily be any more relaxed as my partner and I are preparing to buy a house.

It hit me the other day that actually, I am rather 'grown up'. My mind keeps telling me that I am still 23, but every time I look in the mirror I think to myself 'another day older and still got a lot of growing up to do' (I am 27 in little over a week). Then I think that buying a house for the very first time is a massive deal. Maybe I have become a more mature individual. I mean after all, I have graduated from university, been through the motions of having to find another job and already pay bills. The comforts of my mom's cooking seems like a distant memory. Living in London for just over seven years has meant that I have had to stand on my own two feet with everything - not such a daunting task anymore.

Currently I work at a university - I look at the Freshers' coming in to the new academic year, they appear shy and timid and some don't look much younger than I do... then it hits me, I have a good seven years on most of them. It is strange to think that when I was a student I expected to graduate and walk straight into a job (even if we were entering a recession). Obviously this didn't happen, but as a student and graduate, you kind of take it for granted that you are still within this system, a sort of protective bubble. Once you graduate, after a month or two, that bubble suddenly bursts and you get a weird 'oh shit' moment when you realise that you are on your own to fend for yourself in a competitive job market. Honestly, I didn't think I would end up working in the role that I am currently in (I had never even heard of the role before), but I can tell you that I have met some of the most interesting (in both good and bad senses of the word) and fascinating people in just 10 months.

It's been a whirlwind six months - I have thought about everything. I have analysed my life, where I am, where I want to be and how to get what I want... I am still searching for these answers and instead of wading through haze and reaching a new form of clarity, I seem to have confused myself more and continue to pass through muddy waters. There was a short time where I was thinking and worrying about death - it was sinister. It wasn't anything in particular - just horrible thoughts about losing those that matter most around me. No matter how much I tried to keep my mind off it, occasionally it would creep up on me as if it was preying on my thoughts - hungry to force me to face the realities of life. The strange thing is that I have never been one who has been remotely concerned about death - it is part of life and I have to say that when it is my time to go, I will be gone. There is nothing that anybody can do about it - but it is different when I consider my own fate, this doesn't upset me one bit. It is when the death of loved ones creeps up on me that it completely throws me into this weird abyss of thoughts that I really do not want to be thinking. That said, it also makes me realise how lucky I am to have the people that I have in my life.

Perhaps it is because I am getting older, and I guess I am adding to my life experience as I go along that I am reflecting more on every aspect of my life. I have to say that I have been very fortunate - and even though I haven't done what I set out to do and my plans have changed, I feel incredibly privileged to have so many amazing people in my life who have got some fascinating stories to share. I am looking forward to making my own stories and memories to share with new generations... I mean come on, I still remember the days of the 'cassette tape', 'VH' and 'dial-up internet' - I bet that the 'Beliebers' of the world have never even heard of 'dial-up'.

I think I will leave my ramblings here for one evening. It's getting late, and really this post has no relevance whatsoever, but if you take anything away from this post it should be this - live life one day at a time, but remember your roots, remember the growth of your roots and remember every branch that flourished because of those roots. Nothing is forever, but cherish your memories however distant they may appear.

Over and out. Weez

Nuisance caller? Nope, nuisance receiver…

In the age of annoying calls about family members having mythical accidents, or an individuals unawareness about PPI and how to make a claim – these nuisance calls are becoming the bane of many household telephones across the country. Think of it like this, in the ‘olden days’ people used to send letters, and then telegrams – there simply wasn’t the platform to be hassled the way that these reprobates trouble the households of the UK.

Every day, when I arrive home from work, I see at least two missed calls on my landline – either from private numbers, or ridiculous numbers (such as 942) which I have no doubt are not numbers associated with the UK. It’s annoying – no matter how many times you ignore these slippery buggers, they are resilient and ridiculously persistent. Time after time I am informed of an accident I had two years ago, or that I have been paying PPI on a credit card that doesn’t exist… so tonight, I had my own fun.

A caller (from a call centre in India) told me that I had compensation waiting for me and that he needed to take my details in order for me to claim it. At this point, I was pretending to wrack my brains over whether I had been in an accident or not. He was adamant that I had previously been in an accident despite me saying clearly that I had definitely not been involved in any such accident. To which he replied ‘Well our records show that you had an accident ma'am and there is compensation waiting for you, perhaps your injury made you forget it’. Time and time again, I told him that I had not been in an accident – when he decided that I definitely had, I said ‘If it's free money, feel free to write me a cheque, but I didn't have an accident. Look, I know that Valentines Day is coming up, but you don’t need to try and give me compensation, all you have to do is ask’. At this point, the line went quiet – I was sat giggling to myself when all of a sudden I heard the ‘dead-line’ tone. Considering that he called me, I thought that hanging up on me was rude.

Note to self – the way to get rid of those pesky callers (although it’s only temporary – but fun to do) is to wind them up, mock them and make them hang up on you. It makes handling those annoying calls that much easier.

Over and out. Weez

Happy New Year with new resolutions (to break)

I wonder how many people manage to see their resolutions through 365 days of the year - do they set achievable goals that they really want to achieve or ones that were simply made to be broken?

We all know that each New year that we see in will have it's challenged for us, yet we wish for the best over the coming months - I for one have usually forgotten that I even made resolutions by the time March pays us a visit.

For anyone who has seen their resolutions through in previous years without falter, I take my hat off to you. This year I have pledged to lose the pounds that I have stacked on in the past four years of my relationship - last year I pledged the same and ended up putting on more weight. That said, my problem is that I don't see my resolutions through to the end. They sound like a brilliant idea when plied with alcohol.

Every New Year I say to myself 'Ok, this year I will save to travel next year'. Don't get me wrong, I would love to go travelling, but at what point do I have the money to even save? Along with rent and bills, I have to eat (granted, probably less than I do) - this leaves little room for saving many pennies to go travelling. Here again I stumble at the hurdle of my resolutions.

This years plan is plain and simple; I want to lose weight and succeed in my new job. I want my family and friends to remain happy and healthy, and the economic situation to pick up so I can start living life as it should be lived.

To everyone reading this post, Happy New Year! Have a great 2013 and don't give up on your resolutions and goals.

Over and out,

Weez