Journal

General journal/diary entries

Engagement party dissapointment, Lost Finale, Libby’s 4th Birthday.

Published on by Violetsteel
in Milton Keynes the week after getting engaged

We had our joint engagement party & welcome home Becky party on saturday night, we definitely had fun but at the moment I’m annoyed at the people that just didn’t pitch. I invited my entire extended family, and other than Becky and her parents, not a single one of them arrived. I don’t mind the people that replied saying they couldn’t make it, but some said they would, and others were maybes but not a single one arrived. Pathetic. Various friends and colleagues also didn’t arrive, so it was a very disappointing turnout. In the end this actually helped because as it was, we had such a mixed group of people that it was actually hard work trying to talk to everyone. But it’s hurtful when people don’t even drop you a txt to say they won’t make it and then make lame excuses. It’s not ok.
It’s not the kind of event I would ever do again. It also reminded me why I know not to get expectations up for any kind of get together. People will inevitably let you down and the impromtu get togethers are always the best anyway.
However we did have loads of fun with the people that did come. We got a lovely gift from Pete’s colleagues and a signed card that Gemma arranged. I really thought it was so lovely that she went to such effort. We stayed out very late and Liam, Greenie and Becky ended up back at our place, drinking until the sun came up.

Summer has certainly arrived. The weather has been spectacular all of last week and the weekend. Yesterday Pete and I spend the day on the couch watching Season 2 of 24 recovering from Saturday, but I did managed to take advantage of the heat and get the freezer defrosted.

The Lost Finale aired here at 5am this morning, I’ll be watching that tonight, so I am avoiding facebook and twitter so I don’t read any spoilers. It is also my God-Daughter Libby’s 4th birthday today, so I’ll be popping around there to wish her a happy birthday and give her her birthday pressie this evening.

Facebook, £20 & Engagement Party

Published on by Violetsteel

It seems facebook is creating waves with their overly complex privacy and account setting at the moment, and many are theorising that this can lead to the decline of facebook and open the market to new competitors. Personally I don’t know if this is as serious an issue as it’s being made out to be. Yes the number of customisable account setting are totally ridiculous and many people are probably sharing information publicly without realising, but facebook has already stated it’s looking at simplifying this, and the amount of publicity the issue is receiving, they’d be stupid not to. On the whole though I think most users aren’t actually that bothered, and possibly not even aware. Those of us who follow the news and tech sites will know about the current state of affairs regarding this issue, but the avarage user probably doesn’t. I know from the span of my friends, family and colleagues on the site only a small handful are “power users” that follow anything beyond that goes on beyond their wall posts, the rest are happily oblivious to there being an issue. I can’t see there being a mass flocking to any “competitors” just yet. What are your thoughts?

£20

Did you know the old £20 note is starting to be withdrawn from circulation? Time to clear out the old matress and get your old notes exchanged for new ones.

Engagement & Welcome Home Becky Party

Tomorrow night is the party we are having in town to celebrate my and Pete’s engagement, and also to welcome home my cousin, Becky, who’s moved back home after living in London for 3 years. Hopefully we have a good night with friends and family. I’ll take pictures.

Gym

Published on by Violetsteel

I’ve been unhappy with the weight I’ve gained over the past few years and over the last 6 months or so I’ve been working to do something about it. I started by joining My Fitness Pal and started counting my calorie intake. I know this can seem really complicated to most people but this site makes it so simple. You can do literal searches for generic items like “apple” and thanks to other people inputting details for themselves you can also search for things like “bird’s eye simply range – pollock fillet” and all the details are right there for you. Thankfully here in England, nutritional information is listed on every product, so if you can’t find what you want, you can enter it yourself and it’ll be saved for future us and others to use too. If you cook a complicated meal you can detail what’s in it and save it to your “meals” to use again, and it saves your commonly used items to “favourite” for quick adding any time. It makes watching how many calories you consume very easy, and also helps you plan a weightloss program and tracks your progress. Doing this I’ve manages to drop about 4kgs over a couple of months.

Now to kick it up a gear I’ve joined the local gym. I’ve never been much of a gym-goer, but the few times I’ve been so far I’ve really enjoyed it. The machines are great! I can plug in my iPhone and listen to my own music or an audiobook while I work out and the built in tv displays menus, television and information about my workout. Plus it automatically saves my workout to my iPhone and when I get home I can sync it to Nike Running. All this together helps keep me motivated as I can see my progress and set goals on the Nike website.
I’ve only been going 2 weeks but I’ve been twice this week and cycled there and back both times. Thankully the weather has been really nice so hopefully I can keep my motivation up when it’s not so nice. I’m sure there will be weeks where I can’t be bothered but while my motivation is high I’m going to make the most and try keep my eyes on the goal.

Size 8, here I come! 🙂

Public blogging & Careers

Published on by Violetsteel

I was inspired this week to get back into public blogging, thanks to the post on authenticity by vancityallie. I realise my real life and online life are 2 rather seperate things and I’d quite like to merge them somewhat. Though this actually scares me as I’m a rather private person and don’t really know how much I want to share between the 2. But what does this actually mean? Sharing day to day activities is one things, but is that enough? How much of myself should I give, what is too little and what it too much? I’d like my blog to truly reflect who I am, but how does one do that? I’m not one for lengthly entries about my view on the world and things that interest me. Maybe this is something I should explore more? Force myself to stick my neck out and expose myself to possible discussion and debate. It could be very interesting to see where it goes.

Career Change

I’ve never known for sure what it is I really want to do as a career. I’ve had a series of jobs since I left school, but haven’t started a career. However, for my work experience in school I chose to go to my old Primary School and experience teaching, and this is something that keeps popping into my mind and I think, “I should have persued that!”. Over the last year it’s been playing on my mind a bit more and I’m going to look into it. I briefly discussed it with Pete and he is supportive, though we know it would put a damper on our current goals of getting a house, married, travel to South Africa, etc. I’d have to study for a few years to become a teacher and the idea of leaving full time work is terrifying, but if I don’t at least look into it, I know I’ll forever regret it. It’s something I may decide not to do afterall, but at least then I know I looked, and decided for myself. So I plan to start by speaking to local college’s and University to find out the requirement for entry, duration, cost, and also try find out what it’s actually like to be a teacher; and then go from there.

Xmas in South Africa and the year ahead

Published on by Violetsteel

Long time no blog.

I seem to be one of these types of people that blogs most when things are rough. When things  are good I generally feel I have nothing to report. Journaling for me has always generally  centered around emotion rather than day-to-day activities. But I digress…

Holiday in South Africa – 23 Dec – 11 Jan

Pete and I spent 3 weeks in South Africa over the Christmas period. It was truly wonderful.  Pete and I each spent it with our respective parents but did see each other regularly and  stayed over at the others house from time to time. For me most of my time was spent relaxing  in the sun shine, spending time with my dog Misha, and going out shoppping and having  breakfast with my folks, Mark & Haylie. We also spent a lot of time with out friends Julian  & Belinda and Lara & Ash & their kids.
Christmas Eve we spent with Pete’s parents and some of their friends and other relatives. Then Christmas Day we spent at my house with my family. for New year’s Eve we went to a  house party at Julian & Belinda’s house. They threw a party with the theme Casino Royale and had set up Gambling tables for Roulette, Black Jack & Poker. Having never gambled before it  was quite a learning experience and LOADS of fun. Everyone dressed very smart with lots of  “bling” and costume. Pete took a twist on the theme and dressed as Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, complete with broken cigarette in a holder. It  was excellent.
It was also Belinda’s 30th on the 4th Jan and a bunch of us went to get tattoos. I had my  tattoos done first and had my power button done on my wrist and also had a blue swallow I’d  had drawn for me years ago, on my left shoulder. My brother, Mark, liked the power button idea and decided to get the same thing so we would have matching tattoos. My  swallow came out fantastically and I can’t wait
to expand on it. Unfortunately the power  button scabbed really heavily and I caught it twice so a lot of the ink has come out and it’ll require a touch up. Mark had puppy paw print going up the inside of his left arm, the  power button and his old monkey tattoo reworked as it was looking shit. Belinda went last,  she had a dreadful fairy on her shoulder covered up with flowers and green swirls. It came  out really good and she’s also going to have more work done on it when it’s healed up. My  Mum and Paula (B’s friend from Denmark) also hoped to get inked, but we ran out of time. We  had been there the whole day already and only left at 8pm. My Mum decided she really wanted something on her wrist though so we booked in for the next day and Haylie decided she would  bite the bullet and go for one too despite her fears. So we went back the next day and my  Mum had a flower done on her wrist in black and grey, and Haylie had a rose on her chest. My Dad is still too chicken 🙂
Much sun-tanning was done, good food eaten, alcohol drank, and time with friends and family  was very special. At the end of the holiday Pete and I both didn’t want to leave and  realised how much we miss everyone back home and the lifestyle we left behind. Last time we were there in Oct ’07 I felt relieved to be returning to the UK and leave behind the dangers  of South Africa, despite missing family and friends so much. This time however we’ve seen a  lot of improvement in the place and didn’t feel at risk like before. There’s still a lot that would have to improve before we considered going back though, and the money issue would still remain. You just can’t afford the same things in South Africa that we can afford here. We’d have to be earning huge to afford the same living standards. Our holiday made me VERY homesick though. I miss being so close to my parents and brother, and my folks aren’t getting any younger. We had to force my Dad to go to the doctors on my last day there as he was having dizzy spells. Luckily it was only blood pressure and now he on pills for it, but it made me realise that as they get older more issues start arising and I don’t want to be so far away should anything happen.

Outings:
I’m going to see Emilie Autumn on friday 29th Jan. I’m not sure what to expect from the show, but I’m sure I’ll have fun anyway. I’m going with 2 work colleagues, Faye B who is based in my office, and Gemma who works from our sister company. I haven’t actually met Gemma yet, but I know we have similar taste in music and get along well over the phone and email so it should be fine. Then next week wednesday, Pete myself and Liam are going to see RAMMSTEIN! Sweeet. We have really shitty seats at the back because we booked so late, but who the fuck cares, it’s Rammstein!

My Goals for 2010:
Clear some of my debt
Loose Weight (I started this last year with success, but after looking at holiday photos I’m even more motivated)

Body Modification:
My lobes are definitely still staying at 0g/8mm. I’ve accumulated a formidable jewellery collection, that would scare me if I worked out how much it is worth. (Could this be a contributing factor to my overdraft? most definitely!)
Stretch my 2nd lobe piercings to 10g.
I definitely want to expand on my swallow tattoo, and maybe grow it into a shoulder/back piece.
More piercings? who knows. Maybe a sternum microdermal, but nothing else on the books at the moment.

Things on my mind currently:
Unfulfilled dreams are still in the forefront of my mind. Those being the dreams dependant on Pete. So fucking frustrating but there’s nothing I can do about it.