Blackcurrants are legit AMAZING.

Firstly, I'd like to say a big thanks for all the support and good feedback you splodgies have given me from yesterday's post on calling myself a feminist. Its good to know that, whilst there is still a long way before equality is fully acheived, that we're in a good place for driving social change.

Right! Onto today's post, which as you can see by the title is about blackcurrants being legit AMAZING. Because they are. At the weekend, I picked A LOT of fruit.

This photo doesn't even include the 3+ lbs of stawberries I'd picked a few days previously. Whilst picking the blackcurrants, a friend messaged me and asked me what I was up to. My excited reply was "I'M STANDING IN A BUSH PICKING BLACKCURRANTS!" accompanied by this photo:

There are lots of reasons I love blackcurrants, but first and foremost, its gotta be that they taste like absolutely nothing else. When I was in America, I realised that all the purple flavoured things there were not blackcurrant flavoured, but grape flavoured- so I embarked on a quest to find something with blackcurrants in it, and my mission failed :(. However, I did find blackberry flavoured things, but they're just not the same and simply not as good. In the end I sent a hysterical letter to a friend who was still here in the UK and she kindly sent me an envelope full of blackcurrant flavoured starbursts for which I will be eternally grateful. 

Some fun facts about blackcurrants:

• Gram for gram, blackcurrants contain almost 4 times as much vitamin C as oranges do. Next time you've got a cold, don't reach for the OJ! Reach for your blackcurrants!! 
• They're black on the outside, green on the inside, but when you cook them or blend them up, THEY TURN THE MOST MAGNIFICENT DEEP PURPLE. 
• Rumours say that the band Deep Purple got their name after binging on a whole lot of blackcurrants
• They are rich in polyphenols which help blood circulate
• They seem to be hard to get hold of in North-West Ohio
• There is nothing more comforting than a bowl of hot blackcurrant and apple crumble with a bit of ice cream (Which is called a la mode in America- weird, right??) in the winter
• They are infinitely more delicious than redcurrants. 
• They are rich in the following: iron, copper, calcium, phosphorous, manganese, magnesium, and potassium.
• Ribena is a great source of nostalgia- for those who don't know, Ribena is a brand of blackcurrant cordial- and according to Jonathan Ross, "Ribena tastes great because 95% of all Britain's blackcurrants make it". Which can't be true because I eat at LEAST 50% of all Britain's blackcurrants. 

Incase you hadn't guessed by now, I bloody LOVE blackcurrants. Today, my mum made blackcurrant jam with all the blackcurrants we'd picked. Then after dinner we had the remaining blackcurrants cooked, served on top of meringue with some cream. Delish!!

Today, this is me with some of my birds:

See you tomorrow,

-Rosa

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Calling myself a feminist?

So recently in my circle of friends, there has been a bit of discussion around feminists and feminism. Its important here to separate the two for reasons I will explain later. Take a look at these two quotes:

Pretty different views, right? Personally, I am inclined to agree with Kate Nash more than Pat Robertson. But there seems to be some wires crossed somewhere. 

I for one, am happy, no- PROUD to call myself a feminist. Even though the stereotypes can give us a bad name, as bra burning, man-hating, angry lesbian women. But I think thats a bit... narrow minded really. People who think that all feminists are all of these words clearly don't know much about feminism in my mind. 

I feel like a lot of feminism skeptics think that feminism is the promotion of women above men- but it is not. Have a look- 

Yeah yeah, I know. A picture saying it doesn't make it true. But it raises a good point. If society had worked the other way around and we were living in a matriarchal scociety rather than a patriarchy, then I am sure, a sort of masculism movement promoting equality. 

Nearly all the reasons listed here are reasons that I call myself a feminist. Apart from making this blog post, I don't think I've been very in-your-face about my feminist views, other than calling out the frankly disgusting way I've seen women be treated in the street by strangers. Which I'd like to think men would do too. This is usually me saying an "Oi, back off!" type statement rather than a "Don't you think you're denting the progression of feminism" type statement. 

There are a WHOLE LOT of things that I think need to change in this world before feminism is no longer a nescessity. When I can walk home alone at night without feeling like I need to get a taxi or walk with someone, or text a friend to let them know I arrived home safely, I won't need feminism anymore. When arrest, prosecution and conviction rates of genuine cases of rape, sexual abuse and domestic abuse have reached 100%, then I won't need feminism. When, being the only woman in a room full of men, I no longer feel like my opinion means less, then I won't need feminism. When women occupy as many seats in the house of commons and the house of lords as men do, I won't need feminism. There are a whole lot of things that need to change in order to make equality a reality.

When I ask lots of my female friends if they'd call themselves feminists, the vast majority said yes. But when I asked some of my male friends the same question I was pleasantly suprised to find that most of them said they would also, although there were still some problems with feminism in their eyes. To which I have to agree- feminism is not perfect. And those who were hesitant or uncomfortable calling themselves feminists all agreed that they believed in equality, which is good enough for me. There are always going to be ranty, angry women who call themselves feminists, that give the reasonable, level headed feminists a bad name. And no doubt these women have every right to be angry from their own personal experiences of feminism- but the fact is that being full of rage isn't going to get anybody anywhere as far as a social movement is concerned. 

For those who don't want to call themselves feminists, but do believe in equality, I think the best alternative term (if you feel like you need a label- if you don't then run free and be label-less!) would be egalitarian or egalitarianism. Though personally, the only way I see this as an advantage over the term feminist with relation to its core beliefs is that egalitarian doesn't nescessarily impose a gender binary on people- it can include those who are transgendered (though I think in terms of transgendered people, using their preferred pronoun is probably better) or intersex.  Both at their cores are upholding the idea that everyone should be equal. And that's really all I want.  Even though I feel like a lot has to change, the fact that people are talking about it, even if its just a little bit, and even if not everybody agrees- the fact that there are people who are willing to talk about it is progress in itself. 

hmm...I still don't feel like I've finished this. Perhaps I will write more on this another time, but I already feel like this post is longer than normal, so I shall stop for now. 

I really hope I don't regret this post. No hate!! 

What do you think? Would you call yourself a feminist? let me know if you would, and why in the comments :)

Today, this is me: 

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

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1000 Acts of Kindness

So this morning, a friend of mine put me onto this:

http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/1000-acts-of-kindness-by-adam-84917

The idea in short is that people go to the Southbank centre in London, and film themselves making a little paper crane and writing a pledge of kindness on the inside. And I thought it looked pretty cool! So as I couldn't get to the Southbak Centre at this short notice, I did a video of my own filming me making a little pledge of kindness. It was just a quick thing thrown together on iMovie, but I was suprised how well it worked together- so take a look and tell me what you think! 

If you're in London or nearby, you should definitely go down there and have a go! Its there today until the 3rd of July, I believe. I'll probably do a "how to" style blogpost for how to make the cranes at some point in the future because I did it quite quickly in the video and it might be easier with pictures anyway.

In other news, today we got some new chickens! They are called Siouxsie and Sheena. Because they are awesome! Here's a photo: 

The one on the right is Siouxsie and the one on the left is Sheena. 

Today, this is me: 

See you tomorrow,

-Rosa

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Found Friday 6 (the final found Friday)

Good evening, Splodgies!

Today will be the last Found Friday, after which, I shall continue to have ordinary posts on a friday. 

I know this is pretty old, but check out this gem that I found today:

....long winded way of saying "Girls can do it too". Which is super great :) But I think there also needs to be another side where boys can do typically "girly" things too- just to be fair and even stuff out a bit! I think really it should be a case of "anyone can be anything". I mean...when you think about it, who is anyone to tell any of the little girls in these ads that they can't be engineers? Or to tell little boys of the same age, that they shouldn't be a midwife? or a nurse? Sure- children need good role models- but a job shouldn't have a gender attached to it.... that's just silly! 

This child is super smart:

So how's about we all follow Riley's example? Yes! Hurrah!

What do you think? Are gender roles really that big a problem? Is Riley the new messiah? Let me know in the comments.

Today, this is me, enjoying a celebratory milkshake after having a job interview: 

Interview chic!

See you tomorrow, splodgies!

-Rosa

x

Dealing With Disappointment

Hello splodgies!

Today I'm gonna write about dealing with disappointment. Because we've all faced it. Not passing a test first time, or being stood up or let down by a friend or even not quite meeting your own targets. Its not an uncommon thing to be disappointed. So I thought this is something most people can relate to.

Personally I find that dealing with disappointment is something that comes in stages. For me, its like this:

1. THE SULK- yes. I admit it. I am an adult and I sulk. Sulk sulk sulk. But usually its only when I have good reason to be sulking- like I have been disappointed. And usually I will do this by shutting myself away in my house and not going out for a bit, or even as long as a few days depending on the severity of my disappointment. Generally, its best for me to acknowledge my own sulking. I will usually say something to at least one of my family members that I'm feeling crappy so I'm going to go and have a sulk where I won't bother anyone. I may resort to chocolate during the sulk phase. (Actually, I have chocolate all the time- its one of my few vices- but I tend to have more during a sulk)

2. DENIAL/DETACHMENT- Pretty self explanatory... I think a lot of people go through a spell of pretending that it simply isn't happening. either through refusal to talk to other people about it or by ignoring the world completely. Often can run partially parallel to The Sulk. Also can involve binge watching a really great TV series. For example, I watched all the way to midway through the second series of Orange Is The New Black whilst waiting for series 2 episode 9 of Orphan Black. The only difference here being that I talk to as many people as possible about Orphan Black. 

3. ACCEPTANCE-  You know what....this is the hardest part. To accept that something has, for whatever reason, not gone the way you wanted it to. Usually this is much easier to accept if it wasn't your fault- e.g. your parcel still hasn't arrived, but that's not your fault because you didn't pick your courier, the person sending it did. Much harder to accept is when something is your own fault. e.g. I didn't pass my exam because I didn't revise enough/properly. This is what leads us on to...

4. MOVING ON FROM IT ALL - in the case of the "not my fault" disappointment situations, I find its best to take a deep sigh, a step back and actively decide to learn from the situation. Using the parcel example again, you might decide not to order from that seller again, or ask them to use a different, more reliable courier. In the case of "it is my fault" it is a little more complicated. Lets carry on with the failed exam example- Why did I not revise properly? Was it a lack of time management? Then next time, I'll make a proper time table and I'll stick to it. Was it a poor attitude? Next time, I will try to be more focussed. Was it because I didn't care about this exam? Next time I will only work towards exams for things I really care about. Planning for the future to avoid disappointment another time. 

But thats just how I do it. I'm sure there's lots of ways! 

One more thing though- I've heard a lot of people say (both in films and tv and in real life) that it is high expectations that set us up for disppointment. To that I say bullshit. There are lots of times when you can go in with high expectations and still have them exceeded. And having low expectations, particularly of yourself, gives you an excuse to be cynical and prone to depressive tendancies.

[N.B. I'm not saying this about people who are clinically depressed, I am talking about people who are of healthy enough a mind to know the difference. Those who are, or suspect they may be depressed in the clinical sense of the term should seek help from a doctor or counsellor... or someone who can give them the right advice and help they need to get them feeling well again]

What about you? How have you dealt with disappointment in the past? Got a different way to the way I cope? Let me know in the comments.

In other news, I wasn't disappointed today- I had an awesome adventure with my friends in Windemere- we went to the one place I was denied in my childhood lake district excursions- THE WORLD OF BEATRIX POTTER ATTRACTION!! It was, as my friend said "probably the best £6.95 I ever spent" 

Today, this is me enjoying a dark chocolate digestive at lunchtime: 

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

I'm a busy bee

Dear splodgies- this is the first (and hopefully) Only time that I am diverting from THE LIST. I was supposed to talk about something very serious today, but I've been an extremely busy bee and shall thus tell you what I have been up to to make me too exhausted to write about something that isn't currently at the forefront of my mind. For someone who is technically unemployed, I feel like I have suddenly become very busy- I recently started volunteering in a charity shop, which is a lot of fun and I get to make mix cds for them, which have so far gone down very well! Anyway, 

Today I have:

- Picked over 3lbs of strawberries in our garden whilst listening to Bhangra, which is something I'm trying to get into at the moment. 

- Applied for several jobs, including an extrmely exciting opportunity as a script editor for CBBC. I'm a little worried about it though, because I was sent the link to the job application, but the closing date was today, so hopefully its by midnight. I got it in at about 11.15pm. It was a little rushed, but I think all the essentials are in there. 

- Been to a really great meeting, planning the future of a theatre-producing company that I am a part of. There's going to be some exciting stuff coming up in the next year, so watch this space!

- Had some great read-throughs of a short play I've written with a couple of other members of the same group for a performance we hope to put on in 3 weeks time. Got some good feedback and ideas, so I'm very pleased with the progress we've made there today.

- Been to a choir rehearsal, learned a new song, and sang outdoors because the smell of aerosol paint was making us all light headed. Consequently we received some odd looks from passer-bys. 

....and by the time I got home and was able to finish my dinner and so on it was nearly 10.30pm. And I'm thinking to do the planned post half-arsedly would be a disservice to its subject. So I WILL do it another time, but for today I am very tired. I hope you can forgive me splodgies!!

Let me know what you've been up to in the comments! I don't get many of them, so you can be absolutely certain that I will read and reply to every single one! 

Today this is me, feeling pooped at how busy I've been today!:

See you tomorrow, splodges! I'll be going on an adventure to Windemere! 

-Rosa

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To tumblr or not to tumblr

There is, dear splodgies, a logo that strikes fear, curiosity and wonderment into my heart all at the same time. That logo is this:

"Tumblr? But what's wrong with tumblr?" I hear you cry.

Well, in principle, nothing. HOWEVER. I am a gigantic procrastinator, and I fear that should I succumb to the Tumblrsphere. The list of things I have to procrastinate go from Twitter, to Facebook, to iPlayer, to 4oD, and Tickld.

And if I am given a task of doing something, particularly if it involves using a computer to complete said task, then I am extremely prone to procrastination. And I fear that tumblr may open an uncloseable door to a labyrinth of procrastination taking me into the darkest and most bizarre corners of the depths of the internet. Sometimes, friends will send me links to tumblr and I think to myself "This is ok- I have a way out, so long as I don't click on anything leading off this page, I will be absolutely fine". My friend likes to send me pictures on the "Arthur Out of Context" tumblr, and being a massive fan of the televisual cartoon aardvark and his zoological friends, I will always enjoy what is sent to me.

Another reason I choose to stay away from Tumblr is because I know that it will get me addicted to fan fiction, fan forums and things I know I don't really have time to get addicted to. I feel like if I had better focus, then I would be able to acheive all those things I want to do that procrastination (and therefore, I suppose, poor attitude) is keeping me from.

 As someone who loves writing, this is a major issue. Feeling a bit of ye-olde-writers' block? No problem- Twitter may take my mind off it. The same goes for Facebook. And Youtube. And Tickld. And iPlayer- I really must catch up on Eastenders, and that orangutan documentary I wanted to watch. Ah, yes, but my friend mentioned that episode of Black Books that was really hilarious, I suppose they're only short episodes, it wouldn't hurt to watch one....

...Tune back into my brain several hours later and by the time I've done all that, half the day or more has gone by and I've not done any writing at all. What a complete waste!! If I allow myself to get into Tumblr, I fear this will only make matters worse for my lack of personal productivity.

Plus, I'm not really sure how to do Tumblr. You click follow? Is it like Twitter but not limited to 140 characters? I'm not sure I get it, but I'm afraid to find out for the reasons above!!

What do you think? am I being a plonker? Is Tumblr really as addictive and procrastination feeding as I think? Let me know in the comments.



Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow!

-Rosa

x

Public Transport Qualms

So I'm generally reliant on public transport. Most places I need to go I can walk. I'm lucky in that respect

However, buses in my district are extortionately priced. 20 minute bus journey could cost as much as £7 which is utterly ridiculous. I might as well stand on a skateboard, give someone a large fan and pay them to waft me to my destination. If nothing else, that might be quite entertaining.

Sometimes I love public transport, but only when its regular, and cheap. Which is hardly ever. Most of the time, I LOATHE public transport. Usually because the people who run it, expect me to be rude, and treat me rudely in pre-emptive return. Which is unnescessary!!

And there are PEOPLE on public transport who think its acceptable to play loud music, have poor personal hygeine, spit, leave rubbish everywhere and be generally antisocial. It is times like that I have no patience for them....

Transport I like:
Ferry
Bike
Car
Plane (longhaul only)
Train (when NOT overcrowded and accompanied by extreme heat and screaming children)
Tram

Transport I dislike:
Tube- particularly when crowded as I have a varying degree of claustrophobia
Plane- on short flights, because really what is the point.
Bus- unless clean, fairly priced and free of antisocial folk
Train- when accompanied by extreme heat and screaming children or smelly people.


Sorry splodgies, but that is all I have energy for atm, its just too hot to do anything!! Hope your day has been sunny and enjoyable- What about you? Got any trouble with public transport? Let me know in the comments.

Today, this is me, trying to cope with how hot it is:

See you tomorrow, with a better post :P

-Rosa

x

Late night thinking and epiphanies

I can't be the only person who sometimes finds themselves confronted with a dilemna or problem and then doing as much to procrastinate sleep because you know that when the laptop is off and the lights are out that your brain is going to make you think about the proverbial "what if" that we are all experiencing. And then, when you succumb to your own tiredness, tossing and turning all night over it.  Then in the morning, having slept badly due to your distracted mind you feel grouchy and tired and generally lousy. Its stressful! 

When its quiet, and dark and you're alone and curled up in bed but your brain just won't let you sleep because of that one little thing that is keeping you up. Sometimes, its best just to think it all out and get it over and done with.

Avoiding thinking about something usually means you worry about it more- if I say don't think of a giraffe, there is usually a certain amount of giraffe-thinking going on. Best tackle the problem head on! (no pun intended) Recently in my life I was asked where I want to be in 5 years time, when I am 27/28. And I realised that one of the two things I love the most will have to take a back seat so I can succeed at the other. But which to choose?! Its so hard. I've still not made up my mind, but I've definitely spend a few nights rolling over, debating and trying to find the best option. 

Hopefully it will come to me soon and I will have some epiphany of what I need to do. In truth, I like the idea of dropping one to get better at the other, because I feel I can't be really good at both. But I love doing both of them. And I know I'm good at them both, but still need more training, and experience and practice. Or perhaps I should take on something new entirely?? Post-graduation life has reallly not been what I expected, and a part of me feels slightly conned for having gone to university at all, given the insistances from everyone my entire childhood that going to University would pretty much guarantee me a job in the field I wanted to be in, provided that I had studied the correct course. I feel like I've done everything right, and worked really hard for the years... for nothing as of yet. But there is still time and maybe things will change. But I have to make them change, otherwise things will not happen. 

And this is the conclusion I came to, having laid awake for hours and hours. Its not much further on the problem, but its a step. And thats the point.

Bonus photo for the day, my dogems related injury:

I have legit split my knee open. 

After we got off I realised I'd left my purse in the dogem (having excitedly thrown it in without properly putting it away in my bag) but when we went back to find it. We were both surprised to find that neither the purse nor it's contents had been stolen, and the dude in charge had put it in the dogem office for us. Thanks dogem man! Faith in the human species continues, regardless of language barrier. 

Today, this is me and my friend Sarah on an adventure. We'd just come off the dogems!: 

See you tomorrow,

-Rosa

X

"You had to be there..."

Evening, readers!! 

Sometimes, I feel like I'm always that annoying person that tells a joke or an anecdote then falls around laughing only to see the confused faces of my friends and say something along the lines of "...you had to be there" making me probably sound like some sort of plonker who doesn't understand how to tell jokes.

I do know jokes! Sometimes though- I feel like I lose track of the joke half way through, especially if its one of those long winded ones. Anecdotes though are different. If you tell an anecdote and you lose track halfway through, you have to make up the end because usually its an anecdote about yout own life and you must be able to recall it properly, because it happened to you!! This is always very embarassing, particularly if the made-up end to your anecdote isn't very funny when you have advertised it as such. Hence the "...you had to be there", unspoken get out clause of conversational etiquette. 

On the flip side of this metaphorical coin, I am always extremely annoyed by people who say "You had to be there" to me. Even though I completely identify with the reasons behind saying it,  I still find it most erksome- it feels as though instead of taking the time to explain something to me that I hadn't understood, my misunderstanding is brushed aside with "you had to be there" which of course makes me feel very stupid- and I think you'd be hard pushed to find someone who enjoyed feeling like that. 

So it seems I am stuck in the middle between being guilty of losing my thread, or misjudging how funny a joke or anecdote was and being told that I "Had to be there" to get it. I am in the centre of this proverbial venn diagram, and I'm not sure I like it. I'd rather be in one circle or the other, but I suspect rather more people than are willing to admit fall into the middle as I do. I say we put it to the vote! We should either totally drop this phrase from our conversations, or go on the way we have been for as long as I can remember- allowing confusion and frustration to ensue over those five little words. 

What do you think? Are you the sort of person who says "You had to be there" ? Maybe its something people say to you a lot? Perhaps you're like me and fall in the middle. Let me know in the comments! 

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow,

-Rosa

x

Found Friday 5

Hey folks- so its that time again! Its Found Friday!

Check out what I found this week-

So basically, this is a comedic way of saying- DUDES. PEOPLE DOING SERVICES FOR YOU ARE STILL PEOPLE. And we should treat them nice- regardless of how shitty your day might have been. And I couldn't agree more. Ever heard that phrase about first dates? How you should judge the person by how they treat the waiter/waitress? Well I propose that it is expanded. Not to just dates, but to general life. The postman rings your doorbell to give you something too big for the letterbox? Say thanks. Its not hard. The bus driver just took you 20miles. Yes, you probably paid for the bus, but a thank you wouldn't go amiss.

And I'm well aware that there are lots of people that already do this. Who are thankful to the shop assistants, bus drivers, street cleaners, librarians, policeman, healthcare professionals and so many others in this world. But I'd like to think the more commonplace it is to say thank you for the small things from strangers, the more people will call out those who are assholes about it. 

It would be great if we could all be cheerful all the time, and there are days that we have that sometimes seem really not on our side- but on those days,  at an absolute minimum we should be civil to these aforementioned people. 

What I'm trying to say is- don't hurl abuse of any kind at these people. They're just doing their jobs. And if they're rude to you, then the kindness will only go noticed even more by others around you. Civilness and respect for all!!

What do you think? Ever been in a situation like this? Perhaps you have a job like this! Let me know in the comments

Today, this is me, with wonky glasses: 

See you tomorrow, splodgies

-Rosa

x

Inexplicable advertising

So I'm almost 100% certain that I'm not the only person in the world who gets ads in their digital life that they absolutely do not understand. I have gathered together a few images that I feel perfectly summarise my feelings on the matter-

Sometimes I feel like my computer doesn't know me at all. What on EARTH makes advertisers think I'm interested in chainsaws? Or Philadelphia cheese? I'm not remotely interested in parenting classes either. Unsuprisingly, as I have no children, and I think it'd be a bit pre-emptive to take parenting classes in the unlikely event that I will have children any time soon. And sorry, tailor-made-ads, but I'm not into gambling, nor have I given any indication that I am. 

I wouldn't mind if they were for useful things,for stuff I need like anti-allergy tablets or shoelaces that don't fray. Or if it was for stuff I like, for example t-shirts with giraffes on, or new strings for my ukuleles, or peppermint tea, or origami paper. Y'know, stuff I actually have a history of buying. 

But what erks me the most about this though is not the massive mistakes made in some adverts directed at me, its the assumptions made about me because I am a young woman- I am not really interested in perfume- because I already smell awesome because I have awesome conditioner. I am not hugely interested in make up either because it is very rare for me to wear it; I have enough confidence to know that I actually quite like my face the way it is, and I don't need to put anything on it in order to feel comfortable leaving the house. So where are they getting the idea that this would be a good idea to advertise it to me? Because I am young, therefore I must have enough disposable income to spend on non-essentials, and because I am a woman therefore I couldn't possibly be happy with my face. C'mon, advertisers- I know we all have adblockers these days, but if you really want to sell ME something its going to probably have to be cake. Or cake related. You gotta try a bit harder to brainwash me with your corporate bullshit! 

For now, I guess I'll resign myself to youtube pre-ads and so on, becaue really there isn't any harm in waiting 5 seconds to press the skip button. But all the same, my own ad-blocker has come in handy. And I recommend you all do the same. 

What do you think? Do you get lots of weird ads on your computers? Do you feel like you are being put in a box by advertisers because of your age, sex or gender? Ever had an advert appear in the corner of your screen so hilariously far from its target market that you fell off your chair laughing? Let me know in the comments. 

Today, this is me being skeptical about advertising:

See you tomorrow,

-Rosa

x

Purely for my entertainment

Good Evening splodgelings!!

Firstly, please allow me to apologise- the past few posts have been after midnight... so not technically on the day they were intended for. But I'm going to try and change that! I've been very busy for an unemployed person the last couple of days.

Secondly, DailySplodge is now exactly one month old and has reached over 1000 views!! Hurrah for that and applause all round to those who put up with my silly rambling every day. 

Now! On to today's topic!! 

Purely for my entertainment- this basically is because I do some stuff in my life, that may appear to be extremely stupid or pointless, for the pure and simple fact that it entertains me-

"Rosa, why are you washing your orange socks in the river when its so clearly flooding?"

"For fun!" -the time I lost a sock whilst camping.

"Rosa, why are you balancing that broom on your hand?"

"For fun!" - the time I nearly poked my friend in the eye with a falling broom.

"Rosa, don't you think you've had enough of that helium?"

"No! I'm having too much fun!" - the time someone's deflating helium balloon suddenly became my best friend in the lower 6th common room.

"Rosa, you really shouldn't be starting an illegal gambling ring in the common room"

"But its fun!" - the time my head of 6th form saw me and friends playing cards for pennies

"Rosa, you're going to throw up if you keep spinning round on that chair"

"Yeah, but its worth it, its fun!" - the time I threw up from spinning on a chair

"Rosa,  don't you think neon blue, ultraviolet hair gel might be a bit over the top?"

"Hell no, my hair will glow!!" - the time I tried out the aforementioned gel.

My point is, sometimes it is worth doing something just for the fun of it. Because if you're not having fun, or enjoying yourself, then what is the point??

What about you? what sort of silly stuff do you do just to amuse yourselves? Let me know in the comments :)

Today, this is me, out getting close to sunburnt: 

See you tomorrow, splodgies!

-Rosa

x

p.s. today  I made elderflower cordial- its elderflower season!! If anybody is thinking about doing it, now is the time!! Before the flowers go yucky and shrivelled. 

Knowing... and not telling?

So here's something I was trying to figure out lately-

At what point is it kinder to put someone out of their misery by telling them something you know that they needed to know in order to proceed further with whatever? 

Comic examples include:

- At what point should you tell someone that it is a pull door rather than a push after watching them try to push it open for a while

- Watching someone try to complete a video game when you no exactly how to do it and they have no idea.

- Reminding someone that they need to put on a protective suit before doing something like opening a beehive or nuclear reactor. 

Less comic examples:

- When should you tell your friends that you know x y or z about their friend/family member/significant other that they don't know but that they would ultimately benefit form knowing.

- When you know something is dangerous, and someone else doesn't, but it could all be fine but there's still the possiblility it might not be. 

- Pointing out the flaws in a person's theory/argument before they complete it.

How long should you leave it?! I guess really it depends on the severity of the concequence of not knowing. But there is always a chance for some hilarious schadenfreude to be had! I guess you just need to have a good gauge for this sort of thing.  

What do you think? Got any more fun examples? Let me know in the comments :)

Today, this is me: 

See you tomorrow,

-Rosa

x

p.s., Sorry this post is so short, I did have more planned but its sort of wandered out of my head on the thought train escaping through my ear...

Conversations Overheard

Good evening, Splodgelings!! 

Did you ever find yourself alone, queueing up for something (standing in line to all my across the pond pals) and, for lack of any better distraction from the boredom of waiting, find yourself listening in to other people's conversations? 

It can be anywhere, from as short term as a ride on an esclator, to as long as waiting to change planes. 

Wherever it is though, you can always find something to hold your attention. 

Often, what you hear can change depending on the age of the people you are listening to. Recent example of two young girls of around 6 who were waiting with a woman who I assumed was their guardian:

Girl 1: Guess what?

Girl 2: What?

Girl 1: Not telling.

Girl 2: C'mon!!! 

Girl 1: I told you before though

Girl 2: No you didn't!

Girl 1: just because you're too stupid to listen

Girl 2: I'm not stupid, just tell me!

Girl 1: *stifles her own laughter* Bum!! 

Some are as ridiculous as this. But others can sometimes be more interesting or scandalous.  I prefer it when they are either idiotic adults, for the entertainment factor, or people having an interesting discussion about something I'm interested in. Sometimes I even like to join in! Another example of this, was from today. Two friends where sat in the same cafe where I was holding a table whilst my own friends went to order. One was holding a Nintendo DS and looked very confused. 

DS Guy: So... where do I cook the berries and stuff?

His Friend: I dunno...

at this point I realised what was happening- someone was playing a game. A GAME OF POKEMON. And I had recently spent an entire hour cooking ALL the berries I had on my pokemon game into poffins. So it continued like this-

Me: Its Celastic Town, isn't it?

His Friend: Huh?

DS Guy: Where?

Me: Its the same town where they hold pokemon contests. 

His Friend: You'd better try Celastic Town then...

...I felt slightly bad, because when I came home I realised I'd got it mixed up, and it was infact, Hearthome town. But he seemed pleased to have some guidance, and I assumed that he was new to Pokemon, or at least that version of pokemon. 

What about you? Do you like listening in to the conversations of strangers? I know I do! Let me know in the comments :) Lots of towns have an "Overheard In (Insert Town name here)" group, and I'm in more than one. People in the groups share something if they overhear something hilarious! Spreading the joy to everyone! 

Today, this is me (And Bernadette Adams):

See you tomorrow,

-Rosa

x

chocolate orange on the metro

Hello there Splogies!! I was going to write about limits today, but yesterday I mentioned the story of the chocolate orange on the metro, and I was reminiscing about it so much that I decided to write about this instead. So here goes.

Some time ago, when I was still living in Manchester, I had just finished my shift at work and I was standing on the metro platform. It was raining hard and my tram had not turned up- it was getting dangerously close to the last tram of the night, and the one heading to my destination had still not been listed on the departure board.

I noticed a girl, around my own age, standing at the other end of the platform looking as anxious as I was feeling. I went up to her and asked if she was waiting for the same tram as I was- and it turns out she was. We ended up chatting for the rest of the wait, even sharing the 1/3 of a terrys chocolate orange I had left in my bag from my break at work. And when we finally managed to get on our tram, we kept talking all the way back to her stop which was before mine. Infact, we had such a good conversation that one of the metro staff joined in and even thought that we had already been friends for a while, because me and the girl (who it transpired was a Slovakian anthropology student- which led to another tangent of conversation) were talking so openly and honestly with each other.

By the time I got home, I had had some time to mull over the experience. In past similar situations, I have often enjoyed creating myself a new identity and making them much more exciting and intriguing than my true self, knowing that in all likelyhood that I will never meet the person I was lying to again, and they wouldn't ever be able to (or even attempt to) look into whether or not I was telling the truth. To me, it was just some harmless fun. An acting exercise or practice at lying. I often found that the conversations in which I pretended to be a 'better' version of myself were never very long - and were never very satisfying to me, as I never made a real connection with anybody.

But in this case, I was telling the truth. And I am certain that she was also being truthful- and it hit me that I don't need to make things up about myself to make myself intersting; and if people have enough self-respect then they shouldn't either.  If you want to be interesting, you usually are. And even if you haven't done many interesting things, you can still be interesting to talk to. Persuing an interest makes you interesting, even if it is only persuing it in reading.

But its amazing to think that two people, who have never met, and likely never will again can make that sort of a simple, but honest connection. It is the stuff of indie-movies, and novels filled with their heroes and heroines finding what they're looking for when they have all but given up on it. But its real. And that's what counts.

The next time I find myself on a rainy platform, close to midnight, hoping for a tram that I don't know if it will come, I will look around and hope she is, by some coincidence there to keep talking to.

But then again, if she was... would that spoil it? what we had the first time? it was bittersweet and true. And though its not as if we were romantically connected or anything, but the situation was romantic in the poetic sense of the term. And of course that means it has to end in a forever or in a tradgedy. But I think I'm ok with that really. Who knows- maybe we'll bump into each other again some time. But shamefully, I cannot remember what she looked like. So if you're reading this, Veronika, let me know!

What about you? Have you ever had an experience like this? Let me know in the comments :)

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow,
-Rosa
x

Arriving Early For Stuff (Plus new logo!!)

Firstly, I'd like to say a great big thanks to my dear friend Maxine who has made Daily Splodge's new logo!!

-cyber applause-

Isn't it brill??


Anyway, onto today's topic. Accidently arriving early for stuff. Sometimes, when you arrive substantially early for something, but not so early that its worth going back home or doing anything like trying on lots of clothes, and you're sort of stood there like this:

People watching, but also pretending to look at your phone at the same time because you don't want people to know that you are watching them. It provides an EXCELLENT opportunity to people watch. Some tips on people watching I have found are that you are best doing it with headphones on because people assume that you are just staring into space, and also you get more from a single person if you are doing it in a cafe or bar or somewhere indoors where people meet (because on the street, people just walk right on by and you don't get much chance to watch them) 

The thing I like most about people watching is imagining a whole life for whoever it is you are watching. Why they are there, who are they with, what their hopes and dreams are and all that poetic crap. Remembering that I could have the completely wrong idea about this person and just to continue with my imagining, because it doesn't matter if I got it wrong. A person's world, a life that is completely seperate to mine but for the fact that in this moment in time and space we are inhabiting the same bit of a place. Not talking, or communicating in any way. But still in the same place.

Sometimes, I like to imagine that these people are people I know. And that they are waiting for me to come over and say hello. Sometimes, I do talk to strangers, but only if tey don't look like axe murderers or something :P And I've had a number of fascinating, breif encounters with people that perhaps one day I will write about here. Infact, I will put it on the list to write about the time on the metro with the chocolate orange (For all those interested, I keep a list of things to write about on this blog so that I'm certain I'll have something to write about every day. It'd be nice to be able to come up with something every day, but sometimes I just don't have the creative motivation to do so. Keeping a list is both lazy, and sensible).  

I like to think that somewhere, other people invent entire lives for strangers they see in the street. Sometimes I go so far as to imagine what their houses are like. Kind of like playing The Sims in my head but with real people I see on the street instead of avatars that I create on a game. And I think its harmless fun, so theres no reasno I shouldn't do it. 

What about you? Do you ever play this sort of game in your head? Let me know in the comments! Also let me know what you think of the new logo!! Thanks again, Maxine, you're a true beansprout! 

Today, this is me:

See you tomorrow, splodgekins!

-Rosa

x