Saturday 27 December 2008

Out of Pants

I had the best intentions when I woke up this morning but sometimes for your own sanity and to try to kid yourself you're still a functioning human being within the confines of society, you just have to resign yourself to the mundane life stuff and get on with it. So instead of riding my bike for a bit, getting some training in and doing some exercise, I made a rather startling discovery - I was out of pants. And for all those foreigners out there (I mean the Americans), I'm talking about underwear, not pantaloons.

What a sorry state of affairs. All the working and dashing around and planning and diary organising and this is what I'm reduced to - being pant less. In fact, as I looked around the house to take stock of things, I realised I'd let things slip quite a bit with all the extra hours I've been doing. This is the scourge of the single person: if you're not there to do it, nobody else will. Piles of washing everywhere, unopened post, washing up on the sides, perilessly thin tubes of toothpaste on the sink. It's generally not the done thing to do washing or clatter pots and pans around before 6am or after midnight when you live above someone and seeing as these are the only times I have been inhabiting my house, you can see how things got to this state.

So the morning was spent doing the washing and the washing up, tidying up a bit and I squeezed in a trip to the local shop to replenish some of the basics. I did manage to get in a half hour on the turbo trainer though, so all was not lost. And the house looks a million times better. (How long it will stay that way is anybody's guess!)

Friday 26 December 2008

"You Got A Friend In Me"

This is my mate Jodie on Christmas Day at work (she was a bit tired):
Jodie catching zs
I didn't realise until she said, but we've actually spent the last 7 Christmas Days together, and it will be the last one we spend together in this job. Says a lot about the relationships we form in our line of work I think, how many other people can say they've spent 7 Christmases with a work colleague? Cooked each other breakfast? Shared Christmas dinner?

We made a day of it again. We've been known to go a little crazy in the past, possibly cabin fever due to the amount both of us work over Christmas - it normally involves a dance session of some kind. It started whilst we were watching a music review of the year one Christmas, we danced our socks off until we couldn't dance any more! Everyone thought we were mad, but you have to do something to make the day feel a bit different, a bit special, try and enjoy it even though you'd rather be somewhere else.

It's become an annual tradition now and this year started with Radio 2 and by a funny twist the Disney song "You've Got A Friend In Me", very appropriate, followed by a listener request for "Nelly the Elephant". It soon moved on to a full on YouTube request session: crazy dance moves, a few twists and jives, lots of jazz hands and tears of laughter. In all honesty it was a pretty good Christmas Day, one of the best, just me and Jodie messing about again in fits of laughter. I'm going to miss my Christmas Dance Sessions with Jodie.

Dance like nobody's watching. Sing like no-one can hear you. Work like you don't need the money.

Wednesday 24 December 2008

Merry Christmas!

I thought I'd get in nice and early, plus I'm bored at work. I do love Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory and Santa Claus the Movie this morning was great; I'm trying to avoid the playout of Mary Poppins as I don't want to peak too early and I've got all day tomorrow to get through as well. Shouldn't complain, plenty of people have far worse Christmases than me, even though I spend the entire time at work, hardly strenuous (I basically do what everybody else will be doing on Christmas day - eating, drinking and watching TV, except I get paid).

The start to life as a 30 year old has gone fairly well, things are kinda falling into place, stuff is getting organised, diaries compared and plans discussed. There were a few stresses at the start (though technically I suppose I could class that as the last few hours of being 29, maybe I deserved it. Maybe it was life's way of getting it all out of the way before I turned 30.) But all is moving along in a jolly festive spirit - long may it continue I say!

So, the first event I'm organising is sort of out in the public domain now so there's no turning back. There are big plans afoot and The Slick n Knobbly is just one thing I'm involved in next year. Obviously everybody is invited, the more the merrier! (And yes, this is a blatant plug, but it's my blog and I can write what I want ;-)

Hopefully my blog will become a bit more interesting again and a bit more bike orientated, otherwise I'm going to have to start reminiscing about the good old days of adventure and stupid ideas. (Steve, what happened to all the stupid ideas anyway?!)

Anyway, have a very merry christmas everyone!

S x

Thursday 18 December 2008

30 Not Out

So it's my birthday tomorrow. I'll be 30 years old. To be honest, I never thought I'd make it this far, too many stupid, drunken, risky decisions as a teenager and student. But I somehow always managed to come out of it smelling of roses and stumbled through a series of tricky, sometimes dangerous situations. And here I am.

And just lately I've been thinking quite a lot about where exactly that is. I'm 30 years old. I'm single. I've never had a proper relationship. Most people I consider friends don't even know it's my birthday tomorrow (for many years a lot of people didn't even know my surname, I was just 'Sara'.) And in a couple of months I'll be out of a job during the worst economic crisis the world has ever seen. I find myself waking up in the morning and wondering what the bloody hell I'm doing, where am I going and what's the point of it all.

I think about those questions a lot. I've had discussions about them with far off 'friends', sometimes even strangers. And however negative and depressing and self-pitying this sounds, it's actually not. I'm 30 years old but everybody says I don't look it, I certainly don't act it. I'm young, free and single (and a terrible flirt!) I can do whatever I want, whenever I want, with whomever I choose! I'm headstrong and independent. The world is my oyster.

I have friends all over the country and all over the world and over the years these have been whittled down to the ones that understand me. They know they're only going to get a phone call or an email once every 6 months, they know they won't get a birthday card, they're aware of the fact I just may turn up in their town one day and send them a text telling them to put the kettle on. And they accept it. They know that's me. I don't have any hangers on. All of the people I currently consider my friends are true friends no matter how infrequently we speak. They will be my friends for life. And just recently I've started to realise the importance of these people - Gina, Em, Mike, Miggy, Tom, Davies, Jodie, Chris, Dan, Steve, Tony and a few more. Friends are good, I know that now. (I'm normally a fairly quick learner but this seems to have taken me a while - better late than never though.)

As for the rest of it, I love my life. At times it's not been easy, the early years were difficult. But the way I look at it, everything I have ever done, everything that has happened to me, everybody I've met and every experience I have ever had, good and bad, has led me to where I am now, to this very point in time and made me the person I am today. And I have to say it all feels pretty good. 2008 has been a difficult year, the most stressful I've ever had in fact. But I'll be leaving 2008 as a better person. I've been coasting for far too long, never really challenging myself, and now a convergence of events has given me the kick up the backside I need.

Tomorrow feels like the start of a whole new life. 2009 is completely unknown and my life is going to change dramatically, but I have the opportunity to make it one of the best years ever. I could wake up tomorrow and change anything or everything, the same as anybody can any time they want to. The first day of the rest of your life is probably a good time to do that obviously, though I wonder if you have to do it first to realise it's the first day of the rest of your life. Hmm, I'll have to ponder on that one... a chicken and egg scenario by the look of it.

And there we have it, my reflection on the first 30 years - in short, it was brilliant. (God that sounds weird saying that; 30. And I know some of you are feeling really old now, I met a lot of people who read this blog back when I was a teenager!) I'm really looking forward to the next 30, I get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about next year. So many opportunities, so many things I want to do - and there's really nothing stopping me. Nothing at all. You can't see it but I have a cheeky smile on my face at the mere thought of the possibilities.

Tomorrow is a whole new world and I can't wait to go and enjoy it with you all!