I’d been in the city for a whole day, most of it spent in phone booths calling adverts from the local paper. I was due back at college in less than two weeks and still didn’t have a place to live.
As the light was fading and my change ran out, I wasn’t sure what to do; I only knew that I wanted to go back to my mum’s and give up on this unsuccessful day. There was an argument raging within me though - I couldn’t give up and go back, I still had to find somewhere to live for the next year, but I felt so tired and wondered how much longer I would spend on this futile exercise.
I decided to walk through the town centre, the long way back to the train station, to give myself a bit of extra thinking time.
I had been walking for about twenty minutes and had definitely decided that enough was enough; I’d come back in a few days and try again. Just as I rounded the corner, I spotted someone from college and waved at her.
She asked me what I was doing and when I explained about my fruitless search for somewhere to live she said, "This is really odd, but give me your phone number."I did, without hesitation. "I don’t know why,"she continued, "But I got off the bus a stop early, maybe I was meant to bump into you. I know someone who might have a room, I can’t promise anything."Wow!
A week later I alighted my train to find a man standing with a big plastic flower in his lapel, just as he said he would be. His house was covered in Alice In Wonderland murals and I loved it straight away. I moved in the day before I started back at college.
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My parents separated when I was twelve, and I’ve always been closer with my mother’s side than my father’s. Unfortunately, this means that I haven’t spent that much time with my grandparents on my father’s side—in part because they live several hours’ drive away, and I don’t have my own car. However, it’s clear how much they love me: they always remember my birthday, and always send me a Christmas card for Christmas. I know they’re always thinking about me, and about my sister.
Last year, I asked my boyfriend whether he would be interested in driving us down to visit my grandparents over a long weekend. He had never met them before, so I understood that it was a bit of an undertaking—particularly given that their English is not especially good, and that my grandpa is in poor health after a stroke he had just before my parents separated. Fortunately, he agreed, and we drove down to visit them.
I’ve never seen a smile so big on a face as that I saw on my nonna’s. She was utterly delighted to see us. My grandpa was similarly happy—I swear I saw tears in his eyes. After we’d greeted them, my nonna showed us around the house, and took us out into her garden, which is an amazing array of all sorts of fruits and vegetables. They live pretty much self-sufficiently from their garden, which I think is really impressive. She also showed us the sights of the town, from the wetlands to the famous pear orchard that boasts a variety of different types of pears. I came away realizing how little people need to be able to live in a way that truly makes them happy: for my nonna, happiness comes from having her family, and from her love of nature.
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What are the most important words in the world ’I do’ on a wedding day or a heartfelt declaration at the end of a telephone call? Some people might think that it is a baby’s first word ’dada’ or ’mama’ or the words from the boss that tell you that the job is yours?
Well a sad story that I read today made me think what are truly the most important words: the three simple words ’I love you’.
A brave woman called Lynda Hankey was confronted by car jackers attemting to steal her car: a yellow MG sports car that was her pride and joy. Lynda wasn’t prepared to let some low-life take something that she had worked so hard for but unfortunately it is on snap decisions like this that lives can change.
Lynda stepped in front of her car, but the thief showed no regard for anything except his own gratification and stepped hard on the accelerator throwing across the bonnet and high into the air before she crashed into the snow. What the thief didn’t think about, if he ever thinks about anything at all, is that he wasn’t only shattering Lynda’s life but that of her family, who were near her as she slipped away at the hospital later, as well.
Nathan Hankey, her eldest son, paid a moving tribute to Lynda on his Facebook page: "Rest in peace Mother, you were my world and you always will be. I’m glad I was with you and that the last words we said to each other were ’I love you’. Nathan has a lot of sadness that will stay with him forever, a dull ache that will always be there in the background when this initial suffocating pain has subsided, but at least he will feel comfort when he remembers these words.
We never know what life has around the corner for us and for our loved ones. Life can change in an instant and as the devastating events in Haiti have shown us, life can be lost in a moment. Please think about this as I have been, and call or visit the people that are close to you, especially if you have recently had an argument or there is a stupid resentment that has been simmering for too long. Just tell them ’I love you’, those three little words have always been the most importnat words in the world!
I feel that I shouldn’t leav you guys on such a low note, so if any of you are interested, check out the new photos that just went up for pop up display stands. That was my gifted hand at photo editing!
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I was talking to someone today who is in his eighties. The life he had as a young man was dramatically different to anything that I have ever known.
As a child, at this time of the year, he said that it was perfectly normal to wake up and see frost on the inside of your bedroom window. There was no such thing as double glazing back then and if you were cold at night you would put coats on top of the bedclothes.
Even when he had grown up and got married it remained much the same. In those days you would sit in front of the open fire and go to bed when it had gone out. The first house that he lived in had a toilet in the back garden. You dreaded having to go out and use it in the winter.
He was married for two years before he and his wife could afford to buy their very first wall to wall carpet! And a television didn’t come along until they had been together for another three years.
It all made me think about how things have changed so much. You would automatically say how everything is so much better these days; but is it?
In modern times we all expect so much. When we get married (if we bother to), we seem to think that our home should come complete with all mod cons. If our microwave breaks down it seems like the end of the world to us. And if the TV goes on the blink then many of us go into a blind panic.
Perhaps there is a lot to be said for days gone by. People had to save for a very long time before they could afford to buy luxuries and, when they finally got them, things were far more appreciated.
I don’t believe that we need to go back to living in misery but maybe we are all a little bit too pampered.
And lastly, in my humble opinion you need to hit this link. This Enigin blog has some really cool ideas for industries who are concerned about thier carbon footprint.
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Having oversized breasts can make life very unpleasant at times with problems such as backache. It is bad enough having to consider breast reduction, but when you need to think about possible pain and scarring as well it can all become a bit of a worry. This blog has got some brilliant posts on it that will be really useful to anyone who is considering surgery. It is full of many different facts and you will be a lot wiser about everything all after reading it. This is the best sort of place to find all of the information that you need.
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I am one of those people who are cursed with a very fair complexion, so sunbathing is not really an option for me (unless I like the idea of losing several layers of my skin).
When I read posts like, ‘My Day in the Sun and my New Image’ it makes me wince! It seems totally bizarre to me that so many people actually enjoy being burnt! As far as I can see, the whole experience would be very unpleasant indeed…
I suppose that it must be different if you have a more tolerant type of skin, but I will stick to the shade.
Got paid for that last online job that I did. You all know whats coming, it’s about time to hit the shops and pick up that new pair of brooks running shoes that I have been waiting to get. Glenda, are you up for a treck into London this week?
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It is a sad fact but if you want to support local businesses then you usually end up having to pay over the odds. The post; ‘Is Buying Local Dying?
’ is a clear case of this. If you really do want to use local businesses (and you can afford to) then you have to look at the extra cost as a ‘donation’ towards their survival.
At one time local shops were kept in business by the people who lived nearby, but times have sadly changed. Back then we did not have out of town supermarkets and DIY superstores.
Unfortunately we cannot expect to have it both ways. You will not hear people complaining about how cheap it is to go to a large out of town store….
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Using comics to raise people’s awareness of schizophrenia is a brilliant idea.
Comic art is frequently overlooked. It is often dismissed as being a childish form of artistry which is very untrue. Some of our greatest modern illustrators and writers work in this area. Think about people like Neil Gaiman who is now such a big name in film and television. He has created some excellent comics and characters over the years. Then there is Berni Wrightson who moved on to book illustration and record cover design. Since his days of working on ‘Swamp Thing’ he has gone on to work for the likes of Meatloaf and Stephen King. Today’s comic book artists are constantly pushing boundaries and trying to come up with new ways to produce eye-catching graphics.
The other great thing about this is that schizophrenia is very misunderstood. Many people still seem to think that it works along the lines of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde. Hopefully this new comic will help to change all of that. We may not be able to automatically heal ourselves like Claire Bennet, maybe this is a good way however to heal how people think about things they don’t necessary understand.
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/09/23/mental-health-nurses.html
What do you think of the B&A photography on the Priori - Idebenone Superceutical page, I think she looks worse after! We need something new or remove them completely!
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We all have our embarrassing moments.
As this proves, there are a lot of artists out there who are just like the rest of us. In a way it is nice to be reminded that they too are only human… In another way though, it is a bit of a letdown because we tend to forget that they are only people. We put our favourite bands and singers on a pedestal and, when they release an album that turns out to be a duffer we take it personally.
I wonder how many of the artists mentioned here would agree that their featured album was crap?
Some of them would and some of them would dust themselves down, learn from the experience and move on. There are bound to be one or two that would still say that it was a good record though.
We need to bear in mind that artists are transient. Sometimes they want to go out and try to do something different. On some occasions this is successful (The Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd) whilst on others it is not (U2, All About Eve). All artists need to be give a little room to breathe. All we ask is; please, be very careful…
http://funnycrave.com/12-ungodly-awful-albums-by-otherwise-awesome-artists/1290/
Still got 2 �20 vouncher for running shoes I think I’ve pretty much got everything I need now. Do any of you guys need them to buy something for the big event?
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Hair loss happens to the best of us. In some cases, especially if it runs in the family, it cannot be prevented. However, there are different treatments and procedures you can try to help restore your hair. Several of those treatments are actually natural. Below you will find a few options to restore your hair or prevent hair loss altogether.
1. Stimulate your blood flow in your hair follicles by gently massaging your scalp a couple minutes each day. This can promote hair growth in the event of temporary hair loss. You can also use an electric massager as well for this treatment.
2. Consider using jojoba oil. Native Americans have used this oil for centuries to control dandruff and for hair growth. Jojoba oil has been used for treating eczema, psoriasis, seborrhea and is good to use on hypoallergenic skin as it is a natural moisturizer.
3. Try the use of the Indian herb, Henna. This acts as a natural conditioner and promotes healthy, strong hair. It actually repairs and seals the cuticle on the hair shaft and protects it from breakage.
There are many other treatments for hair loss and you should try a few different options if one particular one is not working.
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