tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22880001537539029602024-03-05T14:46:11.258+00:00Wandering Naval GazerBumbling along and trying to articulate my rants and thoughts. Oh yes, and I like to read. A lot.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-747042160651254152013-07-16T17:50:00.001+01:002013-07-16T17:52:15.418+01:00International Zine Month 2013: Days 8 - 15I have a bit of a slacker this week. Most of my time was spent in a blissful Internet Black Hole in the Lake District. Temperatures reached 26 C which is a bit hot for my Scottish internal barometer. I battled through it by wearing a wide brimmed hat, drinking water (and the little beer here and there), lazing around in the sun, reading books like a contented cat. It was the first time in my adult life that I've come back from a holiday thinking "I really needed that time off."<br />
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So I'm ashamed to say that I had a week off from zine related activities. Sadly the little towns I visited in the area had no obvious zine links. However I did stumble upon this great little shop in Ambleside called <a href="http://www.detailretail.net/1.1/" target="_blank">detail</a> that has such a lovely range of quirky stationery, cards, bags and other knick knacks. With a nod to the only IMZ2013 task I completed this week (see below), I bought <a href="http://www.chroniclebooks.com/titles/paper-goods/stationery/stationery-collections/doodle-jump-mix-match-stationery.html" target="_blank">a letter writing set </a>with cute little stickers. I do miss Chronicle Books, whom I fell in love with on my visit to San Francisco last year.<br />
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<b>Extra credit: </b>I did complete task 9 which was to <b>Write a letter to a zine maker that you don't know. </b>I wrote to the brilliantly funny and perceptive Donna, creator of <i><a href="http://vampiresushi.co.uk/shop/index.php?route=product/product&path=61&product_id=89" target="_blank">Tragic Boffin</a></i>, which caught my eye many months ago at Vampire Sushi distro.<br />
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This week I am hoping to continue working towards creating my own zine *gulps*. To give myself a shove, I have been making enquiries about self-service photocopying in the Glasgow area. Now all I need to do is get the work done!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-7729025749805100872013-07-07T16:59:00.000+01:002013-07-07T16:59:01.242+01:00International Zine Month 2013: Days 3-7<div>
<i>International Zine Month is a yearly celebration of the wonderful world of zines. There is a list of daily challenges that people can join in with. You can find out more by reading my post <a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/international-zine-month-2013.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></div>
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This has been a fabulous week. I have developed a compulsion to check the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23IZM2013&src=savs" target="_blank">#IZM2013 feed on Twitter </a>to find out what everyone else is up to. As a wannabe zine maker, I've enjoyed seeing how zine makers develop their ideas. Here's what I've been up this week:
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<b>Day Three: Zine Distro Appreciation Day! Order from a zine distro </b><br />
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I ordered new zines from <a href="http://marchingstars.co.uk/" target="_blank">Marching Stars distro</a> which you can see below:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtwyDx7uEPWR1jMdFk2AEGXKRbw7vV7SfqRPSwUjrjj5gAFxZR5TAyIToaR2KcIPo1lpPt2B3HoQ2VyMiqe-tRz4fdidCeEPgGSANmhwxS76SWQ2jeJRGbdaAU_pGGt2I2DFOMNNaRjhF4/s1600/Zine+order.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtwyDx7uEPWR1jMdFk2AEGXKRbw7vV7SfqRPSwUjrjj5gAFxZR5TAyIToaR2KcIPo1lpPt2B3HoQ2VyMiqe-tRz4fdidCeEPgGSANmhwxS76SWQ2jeJRGbdaAU_pGGt2I2DFOMNNaRjhF4/s320/Zine+order.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>MarziNam #1</i><br />
<i>Cherry Bomb #1</i><br />
<i>How I Quit School #1</i><br />
<i>Ella Funt </i>(which has a beautiful fabric cover!) <i>#1</i><br />
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I am a sucker for any UK-based distros that specialise in feminist per-zines so let me know if there are any others out there. Vampire Sushi have an excellent catalogue to choose from, including my personal favourites <i>Buy Her Candy, Here. In My Head </i>and <i>Tragic Boffin</i>. You can also buy a sticker of what looks like Riannah making a very rude sign with her middle fingers.<br />
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<b>Day Four: Reread your favourite zines </b><b><br /></b><br />
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A bit of a cheat but I dug out my well thumbed copies of <i><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/58877992/stolen-sharpie-revolution-2-a-diy-guide" target="_blank">Stolen Sharpie Revolution</a> </i>and <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Whatcha-Mean-Whats-Zine-Making/dp/0618563156/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1373212684&sr=8-2&keywords=zines" target="_blank">Whatcha Mean, What is a Zine?</a> </i>to help inspire me to create my own zine project.<br />
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<b>Day Five: Learn a new zine skill </b><br />
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Inspired by a guide in <i>What's a Zine? </i>I had a go at creating a one page zine. This is a zine that is made entirely from one piece of A4 people. No stapling or collating required! I thought this would be a good first zine to attempt but I'm finding it really hard to fit what I want to say in a small space. As you can tell from my template, I need to practise measuring out pages. And yes, I was using a ruler!<br />
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I also completed an extra credit assignment by reading <a href="http://vampiresushi.co.uk/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=133" target="_blank">Agua Nora</a>, a zine written by a British paramedic who spent a month working on the American/Mexican border. It's a very dark read with dashes of light relief, such as including music playlists the crew sang along to whilst looking for border crosses needing assistance.<br />
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<b>Day Six: Add your zine or update your lists on ZineWiki.org</b><br />
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*ahem* You have to actually make a zine before you can complete this challenge so I skipped this one.<br />
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My package from Marching Stars arrived in the post so I had a happy afternoon in the sun, reading my new zines.<br />
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<b>Day Seven: Make some envelopes or postcards to get ready for the week </b><br />
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This afternoon was spent hosting a family visit. Whilst Him Indoors is catching up on the tennis, I'm parked outside writing up this blog post. Weather dependent, I might retreat indoors to make some lovely postcards. Or finish reading some of the zines that were delivered yesterday.<br />
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There's also a 24 hour zine challenge. This challenge is exactly what it says - you have to create a zine, from start to finish, in 24 hours. It sounds quite easy but something that many zine creators find difficult. There are a wealth of 24 hour challenge zines available from distros and many of them open with a statement talking about how hard it is! Unfortunately most of my weekends in July are booked up so losing a night of sleep is not an option. However, I might twist the rules and spend up to 24 hours working on a zine during July. At least it might give me a post to get one down and send it out into the big wide world.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-19584137781385238842013-07-02T10:00:00.000+01:002013-07-02T10:00:04.926+01:00International Zine Month 2013 Over the past year I have become mildly obsessed with the zines and comics culture. I'm surprised it's taken me this long. From a young age, I loved reading girls' magazines like <i>Mandy and Judy</i>, <i>Girl Talk </i>and even the good old <i>Bunty</i>. Magazines and comics were just more items to add to my reading pile. Bonus points: they were easier to read when I was having my lunch. Magazines dispensed information, made me laugh and sometimes made me think a little bit. <div>
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So it's a wonder why it took me so long to get into zines. One of my roles at my job is to look after a fairly extensive zine collection. An outreach project involved a lot of work with this collection and I got a taste of how to produce a zine. I have to admit: I rather enjoyed it. The sheer beauty of zines is that they can be about anything you want to write about. Many zines do have their roots in alternative culture that is not featured in mainstream culture. However, I'm sure if someone wanted to write a fanzine about X-Factor then they could. Let me know if someone has. </div>
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Zines are great to stick in your bag and read on the bus home from work. They can range from having a professional finish (which is becoming more common) to being a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy. My personal favourite has to be the per-zine genre, where people write zines about their everyday lives. It's very intimate peeking into someone else's thoughts and zine provide that personal connection that you don't get with blogs. Someone has gone to the effort of arranging the page layouts, writing the articles and standing over a photocopier until their back spasms, to create the very zine you are holding in your hands. </div>
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To my delight, July marks International Zine Month. IZM is the brainchild of <a href="http://alexwrekk.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Alex Wrekk</a>, a leading voice in the world of zines. Each July zinesters (those who make zines) and zine fans join together in the celebrations that take place. You can have a look at the daily challenges handed out below: </div>
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So I suppose I should attempt today's challenge <b>Top 10 reasons why you love zines:</b></div>
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1) Every time I read a zine, I learn something new. Whether it's a new way of looking at the world or a great recipe, I pick up a little tid bit of information. </div>
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2) Each zine is unique. It reflects the personality and character of its creator(s) which you certainly don't get with mainstream publications. </div>
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3) Making a zine is a labour of love. Many zine makers <i>lose </i>money when they produce zines. Yet they still keep making 'em. </div>
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4) Zine culture is inclusive by default. You want to write a zine about your partner's dog's friend's weird desire for eating stale cookies? Then go right ahead! </div>
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5) People that make zines like to talk to each other. There's even a special social network designed for people who make zines that like to talk about zines called <a href="http://wemakezines.ning.com/" target="_blank">We Make Zines</a>. </div>
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6) Zines forced me to realise that I missed being creative and that I should make more of an effort in this area of my life. </div>
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7) Zines are so great that they even have their own libraries. Have a look at the <a href="http://salfordzinelibrary.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Salford Zine Library</a> or even this<a href="http://womenslibrary.org.uk/2012/05/10/archive-item-of-the-month-zines/" target="_blank"> blog post about the collection I work with</a>. Yay! </div>
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8) Zine makers <i>love </i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_art" target="_blank">mail art</a>. I like to imagine it's the work of zines that keeps the post service operating - hey a girl can dream! </div>
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9) Zines can make me laugh so hard one minute and make me cry the next.</div>
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10) Zines are that amazing you get an entire month to celebrate them. Go forth and be zine-tastic!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-77269415804791495802013-07-01T19:37:00.001+01:002013-07-01T19:37:41.636+01:00Halfway there2013 has turned out to be a rather spritely year. A late start to spring makes it feel like time is whizzing past, leaving little time for reflection. Of course being a naval gazer means it does not take long before I'm back, pontificating again.<br />
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This week I looked back over my <a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/list-of-2013-goals.html" target="_blank">goals for 2013 </a> and laughed a little bit. It may come as no surprises to those who read this blog but most of my goals have fallen by the wayside. I am proud that I completed the Women's 10K in May. It was a hard slog and I didn't do enough training but by golly it was worth it.<br />
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There are some blog posts a-brewing in my head and I'm hoping to get some posted up here in the coming weeks. Hopefully these will contain the right dashes of pondering and self-deprication.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-36888735539879042952013-06-04T15:53:00.001+01:002013-06-04T15:53:31.295+01:00Tube wisdom <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Tube wisdom from Archway station. </i></div>
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<i>© Laura Stevens 2013 </i></div>
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Last weekend I visited London for the first time. Before the trip I had some doubts about using the Tube. The noise, being packed together in large tin boxes, hurtling down into the bowels of London, tempers and temperatures rising. Glasgow's famous circular Clockword Orange has nothing on the sprawling organism that makes up the beloved London Underground.<br />
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To my surprised, I fell in love with the efficiency and the heartbeat that keeps this vast city going. Regular tannoy announcements reminded me of Orwell's <i>1984 - </i>along with the rats I spotted scuttling across the tracks. Throughout the disruption, people kept moving, swarming ahead with purpose in their every step. Now and then, a lone individual would interrupt the flow. A lost tourist consulting a guidebook written in dots and lines. A stranger unfamiliar with the 'Keep to the right!' rule. One time I found myself tutting at someone who was not walking fast enough for my liking.<br />
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My heart skipped a beat as I realised I was just like the lost tourist. Frantically searching my guidebook for answers, even just one answer would do. To my horror I found nothing to help my cause.<br />
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The famous <i>Drowning, not Waving </i>poem by Stevie Smith keeps haunting my thoughts. In this excellent recording, she gives an introduction to her poem and the motivation behind writing it. She comments how, in life, people tend to state they're feeling fine when they're not. This year I feel like I've been drowning, not waving.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4mlC1Mafp2U?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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The Underground is made up of several lines with names ranging from Northern (guess which side of the city that takes you) to Jubilee, Victoria, Piccadilly, Bakerloo - the list goes on. Most of my travel could be achieved by using a wonderful app to figure out which stops to get off and on at. This gave me some element of control. To get to Camden, all I needed to do was get to a stop that connected with the Northern line. Easy, achievable and my reward was getting an amazing vegan burger at Camden Lock Market.<br />
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If only life was as simple as the Tube.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-83056374879510210322013-03-27T15:05:00.001+00:002013-03-27T15:06:17.389+00:00Writing Wednesdays: Clarkston Beanscene <span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;">Recently
my blogging compadre, </span><a href="http://www.sheeldz.co.uk/2013/03/the-glad-cafe.html" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Mark Shields</a><span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;">, gave me a reminder about a series
of blog posts I started writing a couple of years ago. In an attempt
to become more productive (and actually </span><i style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;">do </i><span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;">some
bloody writing) I gave myself the 'hard' task of sussing out writing
friendly zones on Glasgow's South Side. Since I let those blog posts
dwindle away, I have moved house and become vegan which might impact
on my venue choices. I have settled into a nice writing routine that
does involved visiting some cafes near my new home in the suburbs to
get the pen moving across the page. Without further ado, here is the
next in the series of my cafe reviews.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;"><b>Clarkston
Beanscene</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;"><b>1-3
Helena Place</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;"><b>Clarkston
Toll </b></span>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;"><b>South
Side</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;"><b>Feed
me for a fiver</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;">Beanscene
is what it is when it comes to food. It emulates other coffee house
chains, like Starbucks, and has a range of pre-packed sandwiches that
can be toasted on demand. They can also whip up some nachos or a
pizza if you're in the mood for something more filling. The menu does
contain the vegan staple of hummus that comes with veggies to graze
on. Prices for sandwiches start at roughly £3.95 and go right up to
£7.95 for a pizza. My plate of hummus and veggies came in under
budget at £4.95 and did tide me over until I got home. </span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;">One
bonus for this Beanscene is that it comes with an alcohol license. If
you feel like drowning your writing sorrows, you can buy a glass of
wine from the counter or bring your own for a corkage charge. Might
not be a good idea at lunchtime though. </span>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;"><b>Good
coffee</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;">Again,
Beanscene coffee is nothing to write home about (excuse the bad
pun...). It's hot, slightly too bitter and comes in oversized cups
which can be great for giving the brain cells a good prod. They
charge extra for soya milk (30p) which can be frustrating for those
who avoid cow's milk. I usually order their medium size when I'm
settling in for a writing session which comes to a purse happy price
of £1.80. </span>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;"><b>Table
space</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;">This
Beanscene is unusual because it's spread over two levels. The ground
floor is usually busy, regardless of what time of day you visit.
There are a number of large sofas that groups tend to take over, with
more spacious seating at the back behind the counter area. </span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;">Upstairs
is where I usually hide out during the day. It's a common sight to
see people working, studying or eejits like me writing away upstairs.
There are bar stools under the huge windows which look out over
Clarkston Toll. It's an excellent spot for people watching and
dreaming up characters. </span>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;">As
for the table space, I find the tables for two quite restrictive. You
have enough room for a laptop and a small bucket of coffee. During
the day it is possible to grab a four seater table, spread out your
writing tools and not worry about taking up too much space. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;"><b>Power
outlets and Wi Fi access</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;">On
my first visit to Beanscene there was a good level of access to power
points but none, that I could see, close to the sofas I prefer to
lounge on. The Wi Fi can be very weak if you choose to sit upstairs
or non-existent as it was on my visit. You can ask a member of staff
at the counter for the password and, if I remember correctly, you do
not need to register for an account. That time I decided to give up
on the Wi Fi and catch up on web related tasks when I got home. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;"><b>Friendliness
of staff</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;">The
staff here are pleasant enough for a chain coffeeshop. They do seem
to be kept extremely busy either serving customers, making up food in
the kitchen or clearing tables so it's understandable they don't have
time to chat. I would say they are very professional and polite but
lacking the friendliness I've experienced in, say, <a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/writing-wednesdays-gusto-and-relish.html" target="_blank">Gusto and Relish</a>. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: inherit;"><b>General
atmosphere</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;">This
Beanscene has been around for some time. I remember coming here to
visit friends years ago and its still standing. On my more recent
visits, it has been reasonably busy. It is a good meeting hub for the
people that live nearby and don't want to trek into town. In the
evenings, this place can be absolutely mobbed. I remember coming to
meet a friend for coffee on a Tuesday evening and being gobsmacked
that every table was taken. During the day, it's a different type of
busy and more laid back than the caffeine fuelled evenings. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;"><i>You
can catch a train to Clarkston from Glasgow Central (there's two
every hour) or the 44, 44A and 66 buses stop seconds from Beanscene's
front door. </i></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #262626;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="color: #262626;">On
my last visit to Beanscene, I started working on a story which ended
up on <a href="http://wifws.co.uk/gone-fishin-jan-2013-laura/" target="_blank">Write in for Writing's Sake</a>. Pop over and have a little read if
you wish. </span>
</i></span></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br />
</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-82753918211518541092013-01-30T16:44:00.001+00:002013-01-30T16:46:27.217+00:00January 2013: Check In <span style="font-family: inherit;">Last year I failed to keep track of what I had been up to, especially in relation to my goals for 2012. I am determined not to let this slide this year and, so far, I have been keeping this promise. Each week I have been writing a quick update in my progress journal. This technique is working for me as it's keeping my thoughts on goals, even if there are some I have not actively started working towards.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: black;"><br /></span>
<b style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">Treat writing as a second job - A</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am slowly chipping away at making more time to write. <i>The Artist in the Office </i>has been a great inspiration for this. One tip Summer Pierre suggests is making a weekly appointment to work towards your creative goals (of course this could be applied to any goal, not just creative ones). Make it fixed: write it down or set up a reminder on your phone. I decided upon making Wednesday evenings my creative appointment and wrote this down in my paper diary. It seems to be working. In January I used the time to research markets to submit my work to, attended Weegie Wednesday and prepared two pieces of writing to be submitted to various publications. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
Another great resource for me this month has been this book: <i>Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It NOW </i>by Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen. You can read my thoughts about this book <b><a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/review-procrastination-why-you-do-it.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </b>So far, I have only applied the techniques I've learned to my day job but I'm slowly working them into my 'second job' too. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><b>Complete the Artists Way program - B1</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This goal is on hold for the moment. You can find out my reasons in this post here. In February I plan to have a good think about my current approach to the Artists' Way and whether it's right for me at this time in the year. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;" /><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><b>Make and distribute a zine - B2</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">The problem with this goal is I have so many ideas I want to tackle! It's been hard pinning down what I want to do. Instead I have been putting thoughts into my Notebook and reading other zines to get inspiration. I have also been listening to the back catalogue of the excellent <a href="http://nobodycareszine.libsyn.com/" target="_blank">Nobody Cares About Your Stupid Zine</a> podcast on my morning commutes. Nothing is more inspiring than hearing other people talk about subjects they're passionate about. Alex and Derek have been doing a great job of cheering me up on the train to work, as well as providing potential fodder for my zine. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><b>Work on my writing portfolio - B3</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Last week I sent out two pieces of my work. One submission was for an upcoming anthology and I sent off some of my poetry. The second submission was for a spoken word event being held in Glasgow next month. Thanks to Writing World, I have a nifty new spreadsheet to record writing submissions in. I'm so pleased that I have already filled out two slots for 2013. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"></span><b style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><u>Health </u></b><br style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;" /><b style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><u><br /></u></b><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"></span><b style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">Enter and complete a 10k - A</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">This goal has taken a rather interesting twist. I finally hit the boredom wall of running on a treadmill at the gym. The weather has not been great this month and that has stopped me from going out, pounding the pavements. A couple of weeks ago, Him Indoors suggested that we go swimming and it turned out to be reasonably enjoyable. Since then, I have been trying to go to two fitness classes and/or swimming at the local gym. I have regained an enjoyment of Zumba and seem to be a bit better at it than the last time I went (almost a year ago!). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">So, the running has been put on hold for January - at least, until the weather improves. However, I'm still getting more exercise so surely it's better than nothing? </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
<b style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><u>Self Improvement </u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><u><br /></u></b><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"></span><b style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">Update my 2013 Progress Journal on a daily basis - A</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the one goal I appear to be acceding at. Marceline, the brains behind <a href="http://www.askingfortrouble.org/products/kawaii-5-year-diary" target="_blank">Asking for Trouble</a>, has created a beautiful five year diary that is easy to update. There's also a space at the front that you can fill out for each year including your hopes and goals for that particular year. I keep the diary on my bedside table and it only takes five minutes to fill out what I've been up to that day. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><b>Have one Internet free day a week - B</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 20px;">Strictly speaking, I have not been sticking to Internet free days. It might have been to become an appointment based tasks, as per my creative hour mentioned above. My laptop is now kept in the spare room/office and not on my footstool in the living room. This simple move has seen a big improvement in my time management at home. Instead of wasting away hours on the Wild Web, I have been more productive at Getting Things Done. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">Next month, I'd like to plan my Internet free days a bit better and be more strict at cutting down my activity. A big impact has been an increase in my reading time. This month I managed to read seven books which is a change from months I'd hardly read. At all. It has been intimidating to see how much of my time was sucked up by mindless Web surfing, but it's made me more determined to change it. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
<b><br /></b>
</span><br />
<b><br /></b>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-4465065382762846042013-01-30T16:43:00.000+00:002013-01-30T16:45:05.603+00:00Review: Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It NOW by Jane B. Burka and Lenora M. Yuen <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYAMi4OjNHaho-x_YWx-5luhTHBg15FIruR_jRx2uG2z_7UMK2TGIIxvMiwjHJa_5SPOzslYrmkE5bTHjv-co-eiN5FM4ocznYXQMd6zdu5GuMHbD2Ucy3Q0vLllTZVZSkRTvXGqfExV5/s1600/Procrastination+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYAMi4OjNHaho-x_YWx-5luhTHBg15FIruR_jRx2uG2z_7UMK2TGIIxvMiwjHJa_5SPOzslYrmkE5bTHjv-co-eiN5FM4ocznYXQMd6zdu5GuMHbD2Ucy3Q0vLllTZVZSkRTvXGqfExV5/s1600/Procrastination+blog.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can find out more about this book by going to its Amazon <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Procrastination-Why-You-What-About/dp/0738211702/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1359555422&sr=1-1" target="_blank">page</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="background-color"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color:"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="background-color:"><i>I mentioned this book in my post but it started to spawn a life of its own. When I hit paragraph three, I realised that perhaps it deserved a post of its own. </i></span><br />
<span style="background-color"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color:">The book is split into two sections: the first section discusses factors and behaviours behind procrastination, whilst the second section offers practical tasks aimed at breaking the procrastination cycle. For many years I have been rather snotty about self-help books, seeing them as a sign of weakness rather than a useful tool (and, as I discovered, this attitude is one of the factors that contributes to my procrastination). When my </span><span style="background-color:">procrastination</span><span style="background-color:"> began to seriously impact on my day job, I swallowed my pride and looked around for some advice. On my travels, I stumbled across this book. </span><br />
<span style="background-color:"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color:">Thank you so much to Jane and Lenora for writing this book. As I read through the pages I kept thinking "That's me! Oh so that's why I behave like that." I wish that I had read this book when I was at university - it might have helped me get a better mark for my degree. Working through the exercises in the book I realised that I have a small problem with time mangement, a common trait amongst procrastinators. For some reason I find it hard to judge how long a task will take or how much time has passed. In other words, my relationship between objective time (fixed by a clock, calendar etc.) and subjective time (your own sense of time passing) is a little out of step. At the moment I'm trying to keep track of how long tasks take me at work to help improve this relationship. It's getting there, slowly but surely, and I feel like I am improving. </span><br />
<br />
Another method that has been helping me is the "15 minute approach" recommended in the book. I find myself putting off tasks because I think I don't have enough time. My current means that I assume I need a block of two hours to write that report. Researching a certain topic will take me all day. To be honest, that is time I am never going to have and I need to get out of that mindset. When I look at a task, I say to myself "I will work on this for 15 minutes and see how far I get." It has been really surprising how far I have been getting on with work using this method. Bit by bit, I am getting things DONE.<br />
<br />
I cannot emphasis how much this book has changed my life. Over my extended Christmas break, I devoured its pages and felt so inspired to change my approach to work. At times I seriously considering handing in my notice because I didn't feel good enough to do my job (again, another trait of the procrastinator as highlighted in this book). This book helped me to realise that I am good at my job, I can work well and that it was easy to change my behaviour.<br />
<br />
Fellow procrastinators, the best thing you can do is read this book. You will not regret it.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-79345986848412904002013-01-16T10:38:00.002+00:002013-01-16T10:38:33.591+00:00The Artist's Way: A Dilemma Last week saw the return of going to my Paid Job which requires getting up early to brave public transport. Going back to work was one of my concerns when it came to following my New Year resolutions. It's all very well having good intentions when you've got plenty of free time on your hands. Rising at nine o'clock to do morning pages at a leisurely pace is a very different experience to waking up when it's still dark, with a morning commute ahead.<br />
<br />
As a result I completely forgot to do my morning pages <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2288000153753902960#1" name="top1"><sup>1</sup></a> on my work days this week. The last time I tackled The Artist's Way (TAW), it was in the middle of summer and light when I got up in the mornings. Also, my desk was in my bedroom and within eyesight of my bed so it was easy to remember to do the morning pages. So I decided to move my morning pages notebook to my bedside table where it jostles for space with my Five Year Diary and Random Sleep Thoughts notebooks. Problem solved.<br />
<br />
Alas, the next problem is a bit more pressing. I settled down to start working my way through Week One of the programme. On my last attempt, I gave up around Week Six - halfway through the twelve week schedule. It was hard to work on the Week One exercises without referring back to my previous attempts. One task includes writing a letter to a previous critic of your work and the same individual I wrote to last time kept swimming around in my thoughts (don't worry, I didn't post the letter). And that's what I'm worried about. Will I learn anything if I keep repeating the same information? Is it a cop out if I re-start the course at Week Six? Should I re-start the course from Week One and to hell with it if the same responses keep coming up?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<hr width="80%" />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2288000153753902960" name="1"><b>1 </b></a>Morning pages are an important feature of doing The Artist's Way. Julia Cameron instructs students to get up each morning and write three pages before they do anything else (although I'm sure you'd be allowed to pop to the toilet). The thinking behind this task is that this 'free' writing allows you to clear your head and let your creativity come more naturally<i>.</i><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2288000153753902960#top1"><sup>↩</sup></a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-75856876683316055702013-01-02T11:05:00.002+00:002013-01-03T19:35:48.802+00:00List of 2013 Goals Here is a full list of my goals for 2013, grouped together by category and in order of priority. I used the system outlined in <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eat-That-Frog-Important-Things/dp/0340835044/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1356964582&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Eat That Frog!</a> </i>by Brian Tracey, where tasks are assigned to an ABC category depending on their importance. A tasks are deemed the most important and goes down to D which means a task can be delegated. For obvious reasons, I've only adopted the ABC method for my goals.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Creative </u></b><br />
<br />
<b>Treat writing as a second job - A</b><br />
Complete the Artists Way program - B1<br />
Make and distribute a zine - B2<br />
Work on my writing portfolio - B3<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Health </u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b>Enter and complete a 10k - A</b><br />
Commit to running three times a week - B<br />
<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b><u>Self Improvement </u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b>Update my 2013 Progress Journal on a daily basis - A</b><br />
Have one Internet free day a week - B<br />
<br />
You can read more about the reasons behind my goals by visiting this post: <a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/baby-steps-in-2013.html" target="_blank">Baby steps in 2013</a>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-52695645224724349992013-01-02T11:05:00.001+00:002013-01-02T11:06:31.336+00:00Baby steps in 2013In my last post, I discussed my strengths and weaknesses when tackling my goals in 2012. Here I'm going to chat a little bit about the goals I'm focusing on in 2013.<br />
<br />
For the past week I have kept a little notepad beside me and I have been jotting down thoughts as they've come to me. One of my goals popped up whilst I was drying my hair whilst others appeared when I was doing a mundane task, like washing the dishes. Today I sat down and wrote all my goals out on a piece of paper to see if there were any themes appearing. Conveniently, the ten goals could be grouped into three categories that I have named:<br />
<ul>
<li>Creative</li>
<li>Health</li>
<li>Self-Improvement </li>
</ul>
<div>
However those three categories are not very helpful. 'I want to be more creative in 2013' is a lovely statement to make but it's rather vague. As I learned from last year, being vague does not work for me. I need deadlines, I need a timetable, I need a concrete goal to work towards. It explains why I achieved my running goal by entering the Race for Life. Friends and family sponsored me and that gave me the pressure to keep up with my training. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>Creative </u></b></div>
<div>
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div>
This year I really beat myself up in relation to my creative life. I have done enough wailing about it so I won't go over it again here. Many things have helped give me a kick up the backside, namely the help and support from writing friends (you know who you are) and some choice reading material. One of my growing passions this year has been exploring zine culture and the place the perzines<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2288000153753902960#1" name="top1"><sup>1</sup></a> still have in the age of the blog. I loved getting a parcel of zines through the post and reading about other people's lives - the ultimate treat for a nosey sod like me. One zine, <a href="http://salfordzinelibrary.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/mythologising-me.html" target="_blank">Mythologising Me</a>, talked about a great book called <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Artist-Office-The-Summer-Pierre/dp/0399535640/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356963301&sr=8-1" target="_blank">The Artist in the Office</a> by Summer Pierre. <i>The Artist in the Office</i> is a lovely read in which Summer shares her own experiences chasing creative dreams and strategies for including your creative self in your paid job. I felt so inspired after I had finished reading this book; it was certainly a big help when I was thinking about my goals for 2013. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>My main creative goal for 2013 is to treat my writing as a second job.</b> It's rather simple: I get time to write, I enjoy it, I feel better about myself and the world feels like a nicer place. I have lots of mini goals relating to this to help me on my way (more about them later). </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b><u>Health</u></b></div>
<div>
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div>
As eluded to in my previous post, a family member had a big health scare this year. They're getting better but it made realise how much I take my health for granted. This serves as a perfect excuse to get back into running again. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>My main health goal for 2013 is to enter and complete a 10k. </b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b><u>Self Improvement </u></b></div>
<div>
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div>
Now this goal popped up out of nowhere. As a student I was used to getting feedback through essay and exam marks. In the working world, it's a lot harder to get this feedback. In other words, <b>you </b>have to take responsibility for pushing and progressing yourself forwards. It's rather shameful to be waking up to this at the age of 27 but it's still not too late. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
On New Year's Eve, I spent time filling in a journal that is going to record my thoughts and feelings as I march towards my goals. It will be a space for me to honestly reflect on how well I'm doing and what I need to improve on. </div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>My main self improvement goal for 2013 is to completely my journal on a daily basis. </b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
You can read my full list of 2013 goals <a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/list-of-2013-goals.html" target="_blank">here</a> where they are grouped together by category. This list will probably be added to as I work through them and other goals pop up announced. </div>
<hr width="80%" />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2288000153753902960" name="1"><b>1 </b></a>Perzines is the definition giving to zines that focus on the creator's personal life and experiences, rather than a specific topic such as cycling and vegan cooking.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2288000153753902960#top1"><sup>↩</sup></a>
</span>
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Bibliography</u></b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
Greaves, Suzy <i>Make your dreams happen in 2013</i>, Psychologies, pp.42 - 47 (February 2013) You can also follow Suzy's goals for 2013 by visiting her blog <a href="http://www.suzygreaves.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Ingrid, <i>Mythologising Me </i>(2011)<br />
<br />
Pierre, Summer, <i>The Artist in the Office </i>(Penguin Group, 2010)<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Top 10 strategies for making your New Years Resolutions Stick</i>, Lifehacker, http://lifehacker.com/5971803/top-10-strategies-for-making-your-new-years-resolution-stick - last accessed 31st December 2012Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-86224043480221176692012-12-31T12:05:00.000+00:002012-12-31T12:05:13.795+00:002012 is dead. Long live 2013!<span style="font-family: inherit;">This year has been a wonderful, traumatic and steep learning curve. 2012 got off to a good start when I went to America for the first time, hitting Los Angelos and San Francisco. It's a country I've read so much about and I wondered if it would live up to my expectations. The people I met were lovely, the sun shone most of the time and I become quite addicted to Trader Joe's vegan chocolate chip cookies. Yet I found it hard to ignore the large homeless population I encountered in both cities and the slight obsession with ethnic backgrounds. I'd go back to San Francisco in a heartbeat: it reminds me so much of Glasgow with its vibrant arts scene and the temperamental weather. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVyr5HhzFV4MeDoaBT21gteiotdndk_muLSTP4LQGat-7zPDZbNMKctID_I9oMFacA-nVj1ayb3kOdgxvuCqx38IjfYw4H7_67qdanuXvrt_ZKMNGUuzzDtHj6Eeq2PjubPYCvZXfkCvy/s1600/DSCN0609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVyr5HhzFV4MeDoaBT21gteiotdndk_muLSTP4LQGat-7zPDZbNMKctID_I9oMFacA-nVj1ayb3kOdgxvuCqx38IjfYw4H7_67qdanuXvrt_ZKMNGUuzzDtHj6Eeq2PjubPYCvZXfkCvy/s320/DSCN0609.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">My good self posing on the Golden Gate Bridge on Martin Luther King Day</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What else happened in 2012? My career became extremely important. For the first time I was doing a job that I was qualified to do and that I wanted to do well in. Previously, all my jobs were stepping stones towards a Career and were there merely to pay the bills. I have been in my current job since 2011 as a temporary post which became more permanent in June this year. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">June is the month that can sum up 2012. I completed my only goal of 2012 (more about that later) by running the Race for Life 5k; I bought a house; a family member became seriously ill and I thought I might lose someone I love very much; I applied for my current job and was kept on, much to my relief. Yes, 2012 was a very bumpy year. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let's have a quick look back to January 2012 - how frightening that was almost a year ago. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. To start running again and enrol in a 10k event - HALF COMPLETED </span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Halfway through the year I re-assessed my goals and decided a 5k was more within my reach. I enrolled in the Race for Life 5k and began following their training program. I cannot begin to describe the elation I felt as I crossed the finish line at 45 minutes. Unfortunately I did let my running slip after June but all is not lost. In December I re-joined the gym and I have been pounding the treadmills in preparation for the return of spring. Then we can talk about that 10k. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, my remaining four goals did not work out as well. They were:</span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. To continue doing morning pages every day </span></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. To stick to my weekly schedules </span></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">4. To avoid getting into music ruts </b></span></span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. To keep track of the books I read and participate in the Sunday Salon once a month </span></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">I learnt some harsh lessons this year, including that I am an extremely bad procrastinator and that I find it hard planning in advance. This has impacted on my Career so it needs to be worked on, otherwise it affects my productivity in work. I have been pondering on this whilst working on my 2013 goals and my planning should help. When I planned my 2012 goals, I thought "Oh well, they'll just happen." Sadly they won't unless <b>I </b>do something about it. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Therefore, I will be spending the last day of 2012 making plans for 2013 and making some <a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2012/03/12/homemade-baileys-irish-creammade-vegan/" target="_blank">vegan Irish Cream</a>. Start small and work your way up - a little drink helps as well. </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-79246292646921981632012-11-19T19:04:00.002+00:002012-11-19T19:04:32.950+00:00NaNoWirMo: Report Card Two <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1PjEczhWxduv2z45utmZZlU903_8I9hE7xsVK6Occg2z7am0eNM1IldTxo56uVsVWRcoum2yEkRhX3NvceEuvXGnNj5i_UpDO1dacHtgtB-6HVc1bQduM2FEQqxqhyphenhyphenw_INQF-xUGxkdn/s1600/Participant-180x180-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1PjEczhWxduv2z45utmZZlU903_8I9hE7xsVK6Occg2z7am0eNM1IldTxo56uVsVWRcoum2yEkRhX3NvceEuvXGnNj5i_UpDO1dacHtgtB-6HVc1bQduM2FEQqxqhyphenhyphenw_INQF-xUGxkdn/s1600/Participant-180x180-2.jpg" /></a></div>
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It was all going so well. As you can tell by my first report card, <a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/nanowrimo-report-card-one.html" target="_blank">I was soaring through my first week of NaNo</a>. Heck, I was even steaming ahead with my word count.<br />
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Then Week Two hit.<br />
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The excuses for writing built up: the Mothership's birthday meant a whole evening out of NaNo time whilst a bad day at work meant I lost the will to do anything beyond stare at the television in a grump. Add to that a planned night out plus an unexpected shift at work and I <strike>was</strike> am behind in NaNo. <i>Way behind</i> - over half the suggested word count. That is one of the main disadvantages of NaNo (and one of the reasons it works) is that more than two days off means you're lagging behind.<br />
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I started to lose interest in my plot and my characters. I tentatively finished off sections of text I was not entirely happy with. On the plus side, I did manage to draft this month's submission to <a href="http://www.wifws.co.uk/" target="_blank">Write in for Writing's Sake</a> when I was taking time off from NaNo. Although I was not sitting down and writing, I was still thinking about my plot and which direction to take it in.<br />
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So I've decided to let my characters wander. Using <a href="http://www.literatureandlatte.com/" target="_blank">Scrivener</a> means I can write scenes and move them around when I wish. Today I have been writing about my MC's first day at their new job. Tomorrow I might switch back to their 'flashback' scene that takes place seven years earlier. It makes the story feel more exciting especially if I'm dashing about and gaining a different perspective.<br />
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I have a week off work and I am determined to be back on track by Thursday. Instead of doing twenty minute writing sprints, I have been setting the timer for thirty to forty-five minutes. It's a trick I picked up from Unfuck your Habitat and it makes the task ahead feel much easier. As I write this blog post, my word count is sitting on 18603. Cross your fingers and wish for me to hit the thirties by Thursday evening. Bring on the pretzels!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-43994216167801715242012-11-07T15:36:00.001+00:002012-11-07T15:36:43.478+00:00NaNoWriMo: Report Card One <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1PjEczhWxduv2z45utmZZlU903_8I9hE7xsVK6Occg2z7am0eNM1IldTxo56uVsVWRcoum2yEkRhX3NvceEuvXGnNj5i_UpDO1dacHtgtB-6HVc1bQduM2FEQqxqhyphenhyphenw_INQF-xUGxkdn/s1600/Participant-180x180-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje1PjEczhWxduv2z45utmZZlU903_8I9hE7xsVK6Occg2z7am0eNM1IldTxo56uVsVWRcoum2yEkRhX3NvceEuvXGnNj5i_UpDO1dacHtgtB-6HVc1bQduM2FEQqxqhyphenhyphenw_INQF-xUGxkdn/s1600/Participant-180x180-2.jpg" /></a></div>
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When left to my own devices, I find it very easy to procrastinate. This very lunchtime I switched on the very *ahem* informative programme <i>Don't Tell the Bride </i>to have on in the background during my break. An hour later, my wraps eaten, I found myself still watching this programme. It's hard to kick those habits but I'm getting better at it. For instance, I switched off the programme instead of telling myself to watch the last twenty minutes.<br />
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Now if I had a method of holding myself accountable, I doubt I would have wasted an hour on a stupid television programme (especially as I slept in this morning). That's the danger I can see arising with NaNoWriMo. This morning I was over 3000 words behind the official target. After some writing sprints (more about those later), I had clocked up 2000 words and I'm only 1200 words behind today's official target. A quick note about targets: in order to complete NaNo on time, ideally you need to be hitting 1666 words a day at the absolute minimum. I took yesterday off NaNo to spend time with my family which was lovely. My story has taken an unforeseen dark turn and I did not want to burst my happy bubble returning to it last night.<br />
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How is my story going? Not the way I planned at all. As part of my NaNo prep, I made a list of what makes a 'bad' novel. Please note, this is what makes me put down a novel. My list of what makes a 'good' novel will not appeal to everyone, just as my 'bad' list might leave some people outraged. So here goes:<br />
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<b>What makes a 'bad' novel according to Laura Stevens:</b><br />
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<ol>
<li>Boring and poorly developed characters</li>
<li>Long passages of inner monologue that are dull and don't move the plot along</li>
<li>Confusing narratives that jump around</li>
<li>Overly complicated language or jargon</li>
<li>Repeated scenes of sexual abuse that do not add to the plot</li>
<li>Cruelty to animals</li>
<li>Overuse of exclamation points!</li>
</ol>
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In <i>No Plot? No Problem! </i>Chris Baty encourages us to make this list so we can avoid these elements creeping into our novels. Alas, he also warns that it is very easy to fall into these traps especially when writing to a deadline. I am ashamed to admit that points nos 1, 2 and 3 are alive and well in my NaNo story. However, I'm willing to let them slide. Why? Purely because, excluding yesterday, I have been writing every single day this week. That was not happened in years, quite possibly the first time since I have left school. Instead of finding excuses, I'm working my way around them. Can't take my laptop on my work commute? Then use a nice A5 pad and a pretty pen instead. Not sure what to write? Doesn't matter, sit down and let the words come. This morning, I broke through the 10000 word barrier and I gave myself a little cheer. The last piece of work I finished clocked in at 3000 words with the re-writing process taking the finished story up to 3500 words. I should also add that 3000 story took me a <i>month </i>to complete, even with a submission deadline looming. So 10000 words in a week is not to be sniffed at. </div>
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This has left me extremely happy with my NaNo progress so far. Yesterday I did have my first plot crisis due to Sunday's writing session. Out of nowhere, my second main character was killed off page but it has thrown up some interesting routes for my main character. I now have a much more interesting plot lining up for them than my original idea that I am much more excited about.</div>
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There are three things I am attributing to my current NaNo cheer:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<ol>
<li>Reading the daily blogs from Vikki at <a href="http://the-view-outside.com/" target="_blank">The View Outside</a>. I've known Vikki through Bookcrossing for a number of years, although I have not bookcrossed for a very long time, I still keep in touch with people through the wonders of social media. Her updates on Twitter and Facebook are a good way of giving me a gentle prod to get my writing bottom in gear. </li>
<ol>
<li>1 Ali at 1<a href="http://12books12months.com/" target="_blank">2 Books 12 Months</a> is an old hand at this NaNo business - she loved it so much that she did NanNo every month in 2011. That means she's written over <i>12 books </i>thanks to NaNo. Her blog is a great pit stop in between writing sprints. </li>
</ol>
<li>Writing sprints. I've been setting my timer for 20 minutes and writing furiously without stopping to think. Then I give myself 10 minutes as a reward for doing what I want like filling up my coffee mug or other essential tasks, like peeing. NaNo does host <a href="https://twitter.com/NaNoWordSprints" target="_blank">official sprints on Twitter</a> if you like the idea of competing against other novelists. They also suggest prompts if you're struggling to think of where to take your novel during the sprinting. </li>
<li>Rewards of pretzels, humous and salsa. Mmmmmm…..</li>
</ol>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-90629718603532975862012-11-01T10:00:00.000+00:002012-11-01T10:00:07.617+00:00NaNoWriMo: Third Time Lucky?It's sad to see 2012 almost slipping away. The nights are drawing in and everyone is talking in hushed tones about this winter being a bad 'un (read: lots of snow and panic). Still, all is not lost. November is an exciting month for the wannabe writer. I love this time of year when the trees start to change colour and the leaves crunch under your feet as you walk the streets. My birthday is in February which might factor into my enjoyment of winter i.e. lots of presents are starting to come my way!<br />
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First things first, I have November to get through. This time I have decided to have a third attempt at <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/" target="_blank">NaNoWriMo</a> (or NaNo for short). For those not in the know, NaNoWriMo is a scheme designed to help you write a 50, 000 novel in a month. It started with humble beginings in San Francisco with a gent called Chris Baty and his group of friends. Now, thousands of people across the world take part in the wonderful task of making up stories <i>whilst sticking to a deadline</i>. It's a lovely thought that other people are hunched over their notepads, writing furiously to hit the end of month target. I took part in NaNoWriMo in 2010 and 2011 and gave up both times. This year I feel more prepared.<br />
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I spent most of October re-reading <i><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Plot-Problem-High-velocity-Low-stress/dp/0811845052/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351700911&sr=1-1" target="_blank">No Plot? No Problem! </a></i>by Chris Baty, as a guide designed to get you through November and across the novel writing finish line. This book helped me realise that NaNo is supposed to be fun. Who cares if a giant squid suddenly appears in quite a serious story about real life superheroes (I'm looking at you, Alan Moore) ? I realised why I had failed in my previous attempts at NaNo. The trouble was I took my stories too seriously and worried too much about how sensible some plot developments were. The aim of NaNo is <i>quantity</i> not <i>quantity</i>. Having a finished draft is the goal and you can edit that giant squid out of the narrative on the 1st January (it's recommended that you leave your manuscript alone for a month after NaNo).<br />
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Also, I've managed to persuade a friend to do NaNo with me. We met at a writing class a couple of years ago and have kept in touch. There is a possibility we might meet up to do some write ins together which should help keep me on track. A little bit of friendly competition never does you any harm. Him Indoors is embarking on a similar project in November called <a href="http://nagademon.com/" target="_blank">National Game Designer Month</a> which will help spur me on at home. Unfortunately I don't know who is going to end up doing the hoovering (probably Him Indoors). I can see a lot of vegan chilli being consumed in this house in November. It's one of the few recipes I can chuck in the slow cooker and not worry about. Apologies for anyone that comes to visit!<br />
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Finally, I have my secret weapon: <a href="http://www.literatureandlatte.com/" target="_blank">Scrivener</a>. This is a program designed for individuals that are working on a writing project. It's primarily aimed at those writing works of fiction but it could work for non-fiction books as well. I have been using various word processing applications to write stories for almost twenty years and it is, by far, the best piece of kit I have used. Each writing project is organised into a binder that includes everything: research, notes, character cards and your actual writing. You can move pieces of text around with ease. Does that fight scene belong in Chapter Five, rather than Chapter Three? Drag and drop and hey presto! it's done. Much better than scrolling through X pages in Open Office or MS Word. You can purchase the software for £30 in the UK and I would heartily recommend it.<br />
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What are you writing about? I hear you cry. I have some plans afoot but I'm a bit wary of how events are going to play out. For the moment I'll keep quiet. However I promise to let you all know immediately when the giant squid turns up.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-85795741468166208772012-10-13T13:01:00.000+01:002012-10-13T16:40:37.318+01:00October Mini-Readathon <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL7CigaxTtjnMmqKk-2nIIFSkoI72YTSm59utyR0SVtsB6Mg675Y3j16NL80nhft1Jc1YNA52OAy68QNL8zS1yRfhuwRYN8wAlGR_Y_2RHvqZYGyMcUOYHeLS94x5_iabF-bYG5_8scZ10/s1600/Dewey+readathon+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL7CigaxTtjnMmqKk-2nIIFSkoI72YTSm59utyR0SVtsB6Mg675Y3j16NL80nhft1Jc1YNA52OAy68QNL8zS1yRfhuwRYN8wAlGR_Y_2RHvqZYGyMcUOYHeLS94x5_iabF-bYG5_8scZ10/s1600/Dewey+readathon+.jpg" /></a></div>
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It's 1pm which means it's time for <a href="http://24hourreadathon.com/" target="_blank">Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon</a>! This time I'm doing a mini-readathon and will be taking part 1-5pm this afternoon, instead of the full 24 hours. The kettle is boiling and I'm looking forward to my first cup of coffee of the day. The house is empty as Him Indoors is travelling back from an overnight stay in London and the animals are asleep. I'm ready to kick back and begin a good reading sprint.<br />
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<a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/sunday-salon-reflections-of-readathon.html" target="_blank">Based upon my experience with the readathon in April</a>, I have chosen some shorter reads to indulge in this afternoon. Here's a (badly photographed) glimpse of my reading pile:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMt3nlhzaUySZ5E0qFwyFVh6E4o3DVnnbtIToIUuED0jpHmXLteoZxzqts3a7hjQ2XUjf-BQPjDoOvnQDOwn-1bNVdiw2pbZFq7vAJrfukO2KZD50XVO0V6VKGOD8E2Lb7qTf-Drr7eH-/s1600/October+Readathon+2012+copy+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMt3nlhzaUySZ5E0qFwyFVh6E4o3DVnnbtIToIUuED0jpHmXLteoZxzqts3a7hjQ2XUjf-BQPjDoOvnQDOwn-1bNVdiw2pbZFq7vAJrfukO2KZD50XVO0V6VKGOD8E2Lb7qTf-Drr7eH-/s320/October+Readathon+2012+copy+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Louise Welsh was my first read for the April readathon and it was sheer luck I managed to add her to this one. I have been waiting for her latest book, <i>The Girl on the Stairs</i>, to come into my local library. It arrived on Thursday which I was rather excited about. The other reads on my pile include:<br />
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<i>Monkeys with Typewriters </i>- Scarlett Thomas<br />
<i>Negotiating with the Dead </i>- Margaret Atwood<br />
<i>On Writing </i>- Stephen King<br />
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I'm using this afternoon as an opportunity to catch up on my 'self-study' into the craft of writing. It's a change from my last readathon books which included memoirs, feminist theory and novels influenced by the Women's Liberation Movement.<br />
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Ah, I hear you cry, what's the orange envelope? All in good time, it wouldn't be a readathon if there were no surprises along the way. Good luck everyone and happy reading!<br />
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Comments moderation has been switched off for today so please stop by and say hello!<br />
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<i>Almost 4.5 hours into the readathon </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
It has been delightful losing myself in a book this afternoon. Once again I have been reading in my shared office with Him Indoors on our lovely new futon. The view from my new house overlooks dense woodland and I can see the forest turning a golden shade of autumn. It's a perfect backdrop to the sinister tale Louise Welsh has crafted in <i>The Girl on the Stairs. </i>Jane Logan has relocated to Berlin with her partner, Petra. At first you sense Jane's bewilderment of being in a different country (as most people would do) and unable to communicate in German. On her first night in a strange new apartment she hears a violent argument from the occupants next door. Before long Jane becomes mildly obsessed with Dr Mann and his teenage daughter, Anna. To add to the danger Jane is pregnant and, as the plot speeds on, I keep finding myself appalled at the situations she keeps putting herself and her unborn child in. I flinch each time she lights up a cigarette (she's determined to give up) or when she goes wandering the streets at night. I'm starting to wonder how much I should judge Jane's interpretation of events. <br />
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I decided to take a little break at 4pm to explore the contents of my orange envelope. I have recently joined a zine subscription service and my first packet arrived this week. The zines have a real mix of visual styles and they have been a good distraction from the density of text from a book.<br />
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Him Indoors will be returning home soon so I will put my reading aside. All the best for those still reading and I'll see you in April. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-32436537424592156282012-10-12T10:00:00.000+01:002012-10-12T10:00:09.581+01:00October Already<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As the year rumbled into October, I felt rather cheated when frost started appearing on the ground. At the train station, I watched the smoky breath from my fellow commuters that comes with the drop in temperature. Everyone has been hoping for a late summer, especially as most of this year was a washout. No such luck. On Tuesday I stepped into the cold air, wrapped in my new winter coat.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It's hard to believe that almost six months ago I was preparing for the <a href="http://24hourreadathon.com/about-2/" target="_blank">Dewey 24 Hour Readathon</a>. For those that don't know, the Readathon is a glorious opportunity to spend an indulgent 24 hours reading for pure and utter pleasure. April was the first readathon I participated in, after cheering on from the sidelines, and I had a wonderful time. You can read all about my experiences by clicking on <a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/sunday-salon-reflections-of-readathon.html" target="_blank">this summary blog post</a>. </div>
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Like the unexpected frost, October's readathon has crept up on me. It was <a href="http://alexinleeds.com/2012/10/06/social-reading-readathon-and-readalong/" target="_blank">Alex in Leed's post</a> last week that reminded me that a readathon was coming up. Unfortunately I have made plans for part of this weekend but there is a gap on Saturday afternoon. It's a nice little reading slot that I shall spent lying on the futon in the home office (the room that catches most of the afternoon sun), mug of tea beside me and a good book to keep me company. </div>
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Good luck to all those embarking on the full 24 hour marathon. I will be cheering you on in spirit. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-24777362167436168082012-09-25T10:00:00.000+01:002012-09-25T10:00:02.457+01:00Reflective Tuesdays: Failure<br />
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<i><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/foryoudesigns/7855511482/sizes/z/in/photostream/" target="_blank">(Courtsey: Creative Commons/Tasha Chawner)</a></i></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
Failure – it's not a nice word, is
it? It's a word I've struggled with for years. As a child, failing
was not an option. One vivid memory I have is hiding in the bathroom,
copying out words I got wrong in a spelling test. I was too ashamed
to let my parents see that I had only got one word right in the
entire test. Another memory was when I received a lower grade than
expected for giving a speech in my English class. Horrified at being
awarded a dreaded grade 3 (with grades ranging from 1 – 8), I
insisted I be allowed to give the speech again. The teacher obviously
sensed my desperation and gave my pitiful performance a grade 2. I
sat down and breathed a sign of relief.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The point of these anecdotes is that I
always have been afraid of failing. A tango partner to fear of
failing is setting high standards for one's self. When I was praised
for doing well, my eye would pick out the one piece of criticism.
That is what I would remember over and above everything else.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
At the grand old age of 27 I am
tentatively trying to learn from failure. Rather than seeing it as a
reflection of my character (which I'm sure many people are guilty of
doing at least once in their lives), I try to see it as a learning
curve. Fear of failure has kept me from doing basic things such as
speaking up in meetings or trying a new approach to an old task. My
inner daemon is still good at heaping on the guilt when I have an
idea shot down in a meeting or no-one signed up for an event I had
spent weeks preparing for.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Again <i>Psychologies </i>magazine
has been a great help in this area. I'm still reluctant to pick up a
self help book – perhaps it's because I (still) view admitting I
need help as a sign of failure. However <i>Psychologies </i>has
interviews with admirable women, fashion tips and a problem page so
my self-doubting can perceived it as entertainment rather than
self-improvement. Each month I'm reading small chunks of articles
that are going towards building my self-esteem. Once I've worked
through some of the exercises, I'll share them here.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Having an amplified
sense of failure does not help when it comes to writing. Using
statistics from <a href="https://duotrope.com/" target="_blank">Duotrope</a>, one publication I
recently submitted work to has a 3% acceptance rate. That leaves a
staggering 97% of submissions that are rejected for a number of
reasons. Despite the vast numbers of writing publications out there,
not everyone gets work published. Does that mean they are all
failures? No, it simply means that their work was not suitable for
that particular issue. It is rare to get any critiques back from
rejection letters – the volume of submissions means editors do not
have the time to provide such as service. However, it does lift my
spirit when I read a small tid bit of praise within a rejection
letter. That is what I need to focus on, not the rejection itself.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In my next post,
I'll talk about what I've learned through embracing failure. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-64384877663190390212012-09-18T10:00:00.000+01:002012-09-18T10:00:09.634+01:00Reflective Tuesdays<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqS2L-IqtcWswvlU-xzfp0uIq9pQEcw7iVMRlU6FA7-52WfgIHKNeP4Dg6ESeY7qbJErMFmD_B59Mw4td0eB-btFCCQt8C5YnOm-Qfh_L33v3FaYlw4dg21KxdK05H731XkKzCCqc8uPdt/s1600/Reflection+Tuesdays.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqS2L-IqtcWswvlU-xzfp0uIq9pQEcw7iVMRlU6FA7-52WfgIHKNeP4Dg6ESeY7qbJErMFmD_B59Mw4td0eB-btFCCQt8C5YnOm-Qfh_L33v3FaYlw4dg21KxdK05H731XkKzCCqc8uPdt/s320/Reflection+Tuesdays.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/foryoudesigns/7855511482/sizes/z/in/photostream/" target="_blank">(Courtsey: Creative Commons/Tasha Chawner)</a></i></div>
<br />
I'm thinking of trying something new. As I'm learning and growing to be (hopefully) a better person, I'd like the opportunity to record it somewhere. Perhaps my naval gazing thoughts might even help someone else out there.<br />
<br />
Starting from next week, I will deliver a blog post on the theme of 'Reflective Tuesdays.' To be honest, who wants to reflect on <i>anything </i>on a Monday? Wednesdays might be taken up by another themed post and Thursday and Fridays are too close to the weekend. Be honest, who actually does anything on a Tuesday? It's a perfect opportunity to take stock of what's going on.<br />
<br />
I'm looking forward to this and I hope you guys are too.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-59273536289038421752012-09-09T22:34:00.001+01:002012-09-09T22:34:21.614+01:00The wheels on the bus go round and round.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1aiQhxSJaCHbKvdbT4bNLdbvKbAFfMTVqFFZCiMzjSVoVr3ggkABe15EQ-6IxCP463Mz5N9QBEPP7sa0zHRfs7unTTTmhv-UAO3RO69ruDaGeJvfHdcUpBNzkC024yQZsHKDyVCsgXCH/s1600/DSCN0547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP1aiQhxSJaCHbKvdbT4bNLdbvKbAFfMTVqFFZCiMzjSVoVr3ggkABe15EQ-6IxCP463Mz5N9QBEPP7sa0zHRfs7unTTTmhv-UAO3RO69ruDaGeJvfHdcUpBNzkC024yQZsHKDyVCsgXCH/s320/DSCN0547.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>© Wandering Naval Gazer </i></div>
<br />
Looking back over this blog I noticed a recurring theme: I get the urge to write when I'm travelling by train. My new home means I can choose either a thirty minute train journey or a hour long bus journey to get to work. Way back at my first writing class in years (June 2009 for those interested) the tutor encouraged us to find a way to chip away at writing. One recommendation he made was to try and write whilst commuting. At the time I tried writing on the bus and all I was successful at was making my handwriting look even more messy than usual. It made me feel a little sick - the journey, not my handwriting.<br />
<br />
Last week, I decided to throw a small notebook into my work bag. As the train clattered through the suburbs, I pulled out my pen and started to scribble down a story I had been tossing around in my head for some time. OK, the writing was not 'brilliant' but whose first draft is? Each morning last week I battled for a seat on the train, got my breath back and then opened my notebook to a new page. At the moment I'm working on a potential story to submit to this <a href="http://forbookssake.net/2012/08/10/for-books-sake-and-the-london-rollergirls-want-you/" target="_blank">upcoming roller derby themed anthology</a>. On Friday morning I started working on a piece for the current <a href="http://wifws.co.uk/" target="_blank">Write in for Writing's Sake </a> topic. The best time for me to write has been on the morning trek into work; strangely my brain seems to be rather awake before I've touched coffee.<br />
<br />
On the return journey, I have been dipping my toe back into reading. Currently I am making my way through the magnificent <i>Look At Me </i>by Jennifer Egan on my Kindle. The equation is rather simple: if you want to write, you have to read. No wonder I could hardly pick up a pen when I was avoiding books. Last month, reading felt like too much hard work. Instead I channel hopped, filling my brain with whatever crap was being broadcast (apart from the Great British Bake Off which is allowed simply because it concerns a lot of sugar).<br />
<br />
Some of you may remember my <a href="http://wanderingnavalgazer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/sunday-salon-are-you-pancake-person.html" target="_blank">pancake person post </a>. At the end of that post, I still had not decided which route I was going to take. However, I appear to unconsciously have made the choice to pursue writing. It is still one of my biggest regrets that I let my writing self slip away for ridiculous reasons (read: a boy paying me attention who turned out, in the end, not to be very nice) and my confidence took several knocks because of that. Anyway, enough of the pity party.<br />
<br />
I am in the process of submitting my writing to various outlets using this nifty website called <a href="https://duotrope.com/" target="_blank">Duotrope</a>. The site allows writers to search a vast database of publications that are looking for contributors. You can create an account which helps you track your submissions. In turn, Duotrope uses this data to create statistics for these publications such as submission acceptance stats and turnaround for feedback. There really seems to be a publication out there for almost every writer: the ocean is vast.<br />
<br />
I'm rather looking forward to it :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-10447183543715210432012-08-05T19:08:00.001+01:002012-08-05T23:59:37.194+01:00Another rebirth<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Another break, another roll call of
excuses to justify my lack of blogging. Quite possibly I've had the
three most stressful months of my life: I applied for a job, was
interviewed and awarded the post; a family member had a very
frightening illness that is still making its effect known and I took
my first tentative step on the property ladder. Next weekend I will
move into the first home that I have actually <i>owned</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.
No more renting fears about daring to put picture hooks on the walls
or waiting over a week for the landlord to authorise repairs. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Lately
I have been indulging in my favourite pass time: naval gazing. Recent
events have left me mulling over bad habits I have picked up over the
past decade. Motivation has been a running theme throughout these
musings. One example is the looming New House. Him Indoors and I had
very different ideas about home decorating. Being renters, I had
developed a habit of not caring about my living space. Who cared if
the sofa matched the curtains? Why should I own a 'good' set of
dishes? Does one really need to hoover every weekend? After all, it
wasn't </span><i>my </i><span style="font-style: normal;">space.
Unwittingly, this habit was the driving force behind the Painting
Issue. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Luckily,
the New House is in very good condition and does not require a lot of
work beyond a cleaning spree. Him Indoors wanted to paint various
areas of the house. I did not see the point; why create all this
extra work before we've started? Him Indoors made some very good
cases which is how I found myself painting a room for the first time
in my life. Heck, I even enjoyed it. This afternoon I was sitting in
the room I helped to paint and I was proud. </span><i>I did that</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
I thought as I took ten minutes off from the cleaning. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">I am
coming to realise that motivation does not grow overnight. It needs
to be looked after, feed, watered, like any other living creature.
Motivation is not sitting on the Internet all evening, reading every
LOL Cat ever created. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">One
website that has really worked for me has been <a href="http://unfuckyourhabitat.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Unfuck Your Habitat</a>.
Setting a timer for twenty minutes seems such a simple idea. Having a
cheeky wee ten minute break every twenty minutes appeals to me. So
far I have used the 20/10 rule to:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<ul>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Clear
out my bathroom cabinet</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Clean
the bathroom in my new house</span></div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Sort
out and pack up my books </span>
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Putting
away washing loads of clothing </span>
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Tidying
the kitchen most evenings before bed</span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Now
I'm using it to write this blog post. As per my last entry, I'm still
working out which path I want to take with this blog. Ultimately I am
writing this blog for myself, to keep track of my development as I
hurtle towards my thirties. You are more than welcome to come along
for the ride.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Some readers may noticed that I have
changed the title of my blog to Wandering Naval Gazer. I have not
retreated from my opinions but I feel that this blog has become more
personal in nature. I am a Woman with many opinions, many of which
are still be formed. One day I might be brave enough to post them
again.</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEyjGGuUv0cJ9hAS-1b32augPXN06xQ8pyWRDROgZJVCTgt3P5szzDqufv1-s6LW-IrgY0Ix34Oe5sCuH8Gr6mmBjBfCGqxKffgJQWoHWWat49VaWwTuEJ2SRFL8fE8pNmSrRfYjhRDRE/s1600/DSCN0586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJEyjGGuUv0cJ9hAS-1b32augPXN06xQ8pyWRDROgZJVCTgt3P5szzDqufv1-s6LW-IrgY0Ix34Oe5sCuH8Gr6mmBjBfCGqxKffgJQWoHWWat49VaWwTuEJ2SRFL8fE8pNmSrRfYjhRDRE/s320/DSCN0586.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i> </i>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
© Wandering Naval Gazer</div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-74641052374218515302012-06-10T10:00:00.000+01:002012-06-10T10:00:01.130+01:00Sunday Salon: May Check In<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://dhamel.typepad.com/sundaysalon"><img alt="The Sunday Salon.com" border="0" src="http://dhamel.typepad.com/sundaysalon/TSSbadge2.png" /></a></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sunday Salon May
Check In <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Oh dear, I appear to be making a nasty habit of this. It’s
almost mid June and here I am updating about May. Last Sunday I was taking part
in the Race for Life 5k in Glasgow. I’ll talk about that more in another update
but it did leave me rather tired last Sunday. This week has been rather chaotic
one way or another. Work has been crazy (when is it ever not?), my writing
classes finished and there was a family emergency to take care of. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Anyway, onto the books I read in May, bringing my total up
to twenty-three books read in 2012: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Submission – </i>Amy Waldman (Library)<i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Run Fat Bitch Run! – </i>Ruth Field (Library) <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tales of the Mall – </i>Ewan Morrison (Kindle) <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This Road is Red – </i>Alison Irvine (Library) <i><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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I do enjoy getting books out of the library but most of
their stock is comprised of robust hardbacks. Obviously this is to ensure that
the books last longer but they’re not good for carrying around. Most of my
reading was done at home where there are other distractions. Should I be
sitting reading when there’s a pile of washing up to be done? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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This month I had to travel due to work and my Kindle was a
godsend. One commute involved getting the 16.49 Dundee to Glasgow that started
its journey at Aberdeen. A carriage full of hen parties and offshore workers
meant I was firmly plugged into my iPod and my Kindle. I spent the journey
traipsing through the first book in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Game
of Thrones </i>series. Fantasy is not my usual cup of tea but I can understand
why it has become so popular. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I put <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Games of Thrones
</i>on the back burner because the library delivered a copy of the brilliant <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And the Land Lay Still </i>by James
Robertson. I should devote a full review to this book, simply because I enjoyed
it so much. The Scottish political scene (and elsewhere) is buzzing over the
question of independence. Robertson takes readers back to the Scottish
political scene in the 1970s to the present day whilst interweaving the lives
of seemingly unrelated characters. Actually this book dispels the idea that
hardbacks are part of my ‘time to read’ problem. It weighs in at well over six
hundred pages yet I managed to finish it in a week and a half. That was without
the book leaving my house. <o:p></o:p></div>
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At the moment I’m in that horrible stage of finishing a
fantastic book and wondering what to read next. I may have to retreat back to
an old classic like Stephen King’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Different
Seasons </i>to kick start my reading thirst again. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-26900511920952660282012-05-20T08:50:00.000+01:002012-05-20T08:50:13.656+01:00Sunday Salon: Are you a pancake person?<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://dhamel.typepad.com/sundaysalon"><img alt="The Sunday Salon.com" border="0" src="http://dhamel.typepad.com/sundaysalon/TSSbadge2.png" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3y9VTdvdjPTUDpjs1IufHZjuIzbHqModQTKgqXW6WXCHD-g1N9EAaLP_c4mFYva-MhZN4NpcmIV2jhGfecBXEZIOVTLLQ1FV6HLHDCjQP8Q553KZ3rZYebW7lAaiDvltaO8QswUZ4w-i/s1600/bunny-pancake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA3y9VTdvdjPTUDpjs1IufHZjuIzbHqModQTKgqXW6WXCHD-g1N9EAaLP_c4mFYva-MhZN4NpcmIV2jhGfecBXEZIOVTLLQ1FV6HLHDCjQP8Q553KZ3rZYebW7lAaiDvltaO8QswUZ4w-i/s320/bunny-pancake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>(Copyright: </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pancake-bunny" target="_blank">Hironori Akutagawa</a>)</span></i></span></div>
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From time to time
I indulge in the guilty pleasure of reading 'women's magazines.' I
developed the addiction whilst working in a call centre. There was a
lot of down time on the shifts I work on and a lack of admin work to
process. Colleagues used to bring in magazines that included stories
of the 'I had sex with my mother's brother's sister in law's dog' or
'I force feed men cake for money!' ilk. I felt like I was part of a
reading circle; we'd take turns reading out stories and shriek 'I
can't believe someone did that!'
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The habit
continued after I left my job. I'd buy the cheap and nasty magazines
to consume whilst I was on my lunch breaks. As time went on I
realised how miserable some of these magazines were making me. The
publications aimed at my then age group (18 – 25) could be
especially despressing. They made me wonder if I should be more
interested in fashion, make up, celebrities and sex. Was I boring
for preferring staying in on a Saturday night once I hit my early
twenties? Should I be spending more money on eyeliner?
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Last year I
decided to ditch those magazines. Occasionally I would pick up a
glossy, high end magazine such as <i>Company </i><span style="font-style: normal;">or,
the good old favourite, </span><i>Cosmopolitan. </i><span style="font-style: normal;">Then
I would start feeling miserable again ('I'm 25 and still a student.
Am I failure?!') so I would stop buying the magazines. </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Then
I spotted </span><i><a href="http://www.psychologies.co.uk/magazine" target="_blank">Psychologies</a> </i><span style="font-style: normal;">on
the news stands last summer. I was heading off to Prague for a mini
break and could not resist W H Smith in the departure lounge. The
articles looked interesting – they appeared to be about improving
physical and mental wellbeing, not which new crappy handbag you
should buy. I try not to buy </span><i>Psychologies </i><span style="font-style: normal;">every
month but I've been travelling around for work. Once again, I could
hear the siren call of the magazine stands. </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-style: normal;">This
month, </span><i>Psychologies</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
had “pancake people” as their word(s) of the month. I read the
definition and I felt myself identifying with the words. The emphasis
is my own: </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>These are
<b>people who read widely </b>but not in depth. <b>They can tell you
about everything</b> – the latest films, the next big fitness craze
or the subject of last week's Prime Minister's Questions</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.
</span><i><b>But ask them to explain any of these in detail and they
struggle to find an answer</b>. </i>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I do have a reputation as a bit of a 'know it all' amongst my
friends. As I read I pick up tid bits of information and tuck them
away for later. However I am also a 'scanner' which means I can read
fast but I don't always take everything in. Do not confuse this with
speed reading: that is a useful technique and a skill to be admired.
As I read the article, in depth for once, I realised that I was a
pancake person. Sometimes I can struggle to recall events that
happened in works of fiction, even though I remember reading the
books. This perhaps does not matter as much when reading fiction but
it can impact on my personal study.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The article ends with
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>It's OK to be
interested in different topics, but try picking a few that really
interest you and read around them. </i>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">And
that's my problem. I'm interested in so many topics: feminism,
sociology, history of the world, politics, easy economics, cooking,
veganism, animal rights, media representations, information rights,
creative writing, poetry, most 2.0s you can shake a stick at, films,
pop art, the changing status of China, North Korea, zines, graphic
novels, spoken word art, Scottish nationalism... and that's a list
that I came up with after just five minutes! Furthermore, I know that
I don't have a deep knowledge of any of those topics above. I can
bluff my way through feminism, sociology and certain eras in history.
I could tell you my method of draining tofu, why I don't eat eggs or
how much I love the pop art exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of
Art. However ask me to explain in detail the pop art movement and I'd
be stuck, rattling around Elizabeth Taylor and tins of tomato soup. </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">The
next question is: what topic(s) do I choose? That's something I'll
need to ponder on and, hopefully, reflect by my reading choices. </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Are you a
'pancake person'? Leave a comment below. </i>
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-61278924579179250312012-05-13T12:39:00.002+01:002012-05-13T12:39:16.775+01:00Sunday Salon: (Late) April Check In<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://dhamel.typepad.com/sundaysalon"><img alt="The Sunday Salon.com" border="0" src="http://dhamel.typepad.com/sundaysalon/TSSbadge2.png" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
A somewhat belated
check in for April. Below is a list of the books I read in April,
including the books I read during the readathon:</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>
The Luminous Life of Lily Aphrodite</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> – Beatrice Colin
</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>
Tamburlaine Must Die</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> – Louise Welsh
</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>
Woman on the Edge of Time</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> – Marge Piercy
</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>
Red Dust Road</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> – Jackie Kay
</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>
The Tenderness of Wolves</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> – Stef Penny
</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>The Equality Illusion</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> - Kat Bynard </span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>
The Second Coming</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> – John Niven (library read)</span></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
which comes to a grand total of nineteen books read in 2012 – so
far. I've found that the readathon has re-ignited my passion for
reading which has been sadly lacking this year. In unrelated news,
Him Indoors and I are flat hunting which has become an incentive to
read as much of Mount TBR before we move. The last time we moved,
almost two years, we had eight boxes – sixty of those boxes
contained my books. Oh and I forgot to mention we were moving from a
second floor flat to a top floor one. I really don't want to have to
go through that again.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">One
of my recent reads have been borrowed from my local library. For all
Glasgow's faults, the library system really is fantastic. It is </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">free
</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">to
request any books from the circulation stock and you can have as many
active requests as you like. There is a cap of nine requests if
you're using the online catalogue but I can live with that. The
acquisition librarians seem to be good at ordering multiple copies of
books and maintaing the stock at realistic levels. As a result I
never usually have to wait more than a month for a book. </span></span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
have been keeping an eye on the reads at <a href="http://feministclassics.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">A Year of Feminist Classics</a>.
I'm still ploughing through April's read </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Whipping
Girl </span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">which
I'm loving and disliking in equal measure. It has been a while since
I've read a book classed as 'feminist theory' and it has been tough
to wade through some of the academic language. It has also confirmed
my suspicions that British and American feminism can be two very
different stances. My experiences of British feminism has been very
action based, such as the fantastic <a href="http://www.fawcettsociety.org.uk/" target="_blank">Fawcett Society</a>, whilst American
feminism is very concerned about definitions. Semantics and
linguistics are important however actions can engage people more than
a debate laden with 'new' words. The two can clash, such as the Slut
Walks which took place in Britain and North America last year.
Feminism itself is a loaded word for many women I encounter, let
alone introducing terms such as cissexist or trans-mysognotis. </span></span>
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Today
is a dreich day in Glasgow so I'm going to spend it catching up on
some reading. What a surprise. </span></span>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-52551293218968951952012-04-22T16:25:00.001+01:002012-04-22T16:25:43.985+01:00Sunday Salon: Reflections of a Readathon<br />
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<a href="http://dhamel.typepad.com/sundaysalon"><img alt="The Sunday Salon.com" border="0" src="http://dhamel.typepad.com/sundaysalon/TSSbadge2.png" /></a></div>
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Yesterday I took part in my first 24
hour readathon. I have been aware of this event for a couple of years
but I've not been able to take part before. The start time of 13:00 on a
Saturday (to reflect the official starting time in America) was no good to me when I was a student and when I began
working in a 'proper' weekday job.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Then I noticed that some participants
were bending the rules. Yes, they were reading for 24 hours but they
started at 00:01 according to their time zones. Now this I could sign
up to. You can read my blog posts about the day here:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/readathon-hour-0.html" target="_blank">Hour 0</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/readathon-hour-3.html" target="_blank">Hour 3</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/readathon-hour-8.html" target="_blank">Hour 8</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/readathon-hour-12.html" target="_blank">Hour 12</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/readathon-hour-16.html" target="_blank">Hour 16</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/readathon-hour-20.html" target="_blank">Hour 20</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<a href="http://womanwithanopinion.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/readathon-hour-24.html" target="_blank">Hour 24</a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I admit that I found the first 10 hours
quite hard. On Friday I was working a very long day and included
travelling across the country and back (it doesn't sound too bad when
you consider that you can do it in 45 minutes on the train). However
it got better as the clock moved around to the official start time of
the readathon. Twitter certainly got busier and was a welcome help
when I hit a reading block.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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These are the main lessons I learnt
from the readathon:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Don't worry if you fall asleep</b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I nodded off 05:00
– 08:00 and woke up in a major panic. How could I miss three hours?
Did that mean I would be kicked off the readthon? Of course not. No
one expects you to be superhuman. If you find yourself nodding off,
give in to the snoozes. Your body will thank you for it as you head
towards Hour 19.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Snacks are very important </b>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I should have
guessed that any event involving books would make snacks a very important topic. On my Friday commute home, I was horrified to realise I had
no snacks in the house apart from some sad looking bananas. A mad
dash to the shops left me with some bags of pretzels and hummus which disappeared rather quick. On
Saturday Him Indoors very kindly made a dash to the shops to pick up
some vegan sushi and crisps. Next time I plan to be better prepared and not run out of snacks at Hour 14. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Keep hydrated </b>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This week I have
been trying to cut down on coffee for health reasons. It did leave me
a bit concerned that I would not be able to consume coffee to get through the 24 hours. In the end my total coffee intake amounted to one large
strong mug of cafeteria coffee at 10:00 and a top up coffee at 17:00.
One big difference is that I had been drinking more water during the
readathon. So more water, less coffee!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Check the pages of your books </b>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I thought I had
made a very careful decision about which books I chose for the
readathon. Not careful enough. I decided to leave <i>The Golden
Notebook </i><span style="font-style: normal;">because it came in at
over 600 pages and had tiny, tiny print. This decision was made at
Hour 18 of the readathon which was not the best time to make this
discovery. At Hour 22 you do not want to be screwing up your eyes,
trying to read the smallest typeface known to human kind. </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-style: normal;">It's
OK to give up on books </span></b>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">I
decided to give up on </span><i>Sexual Politics </i><span style="font-style: normal;">in
the early hours of Saturday morning. Whilst I was enjoying the book,
the readathon is perhaps not the best place to be tackling quite
heavy feminist theory. My two favourite reads, </span><i>Tamburlaine
Must Die </i><span style="font-style: normal;">and </span><i>Red Dust
Road</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, hit the right notes of
being engaging and amusing whilst raising some interesting questions.
</span><i>Tamburlaine Must Die </i><span style="font-style: normal;">made
me want to run off and do some research into Christopher Marlowe
(which I resisted from doing). </span><i>Red Dust Road </i><span style="font-style: normal;">made
me think about the experiences of mixed heritage women in Britain as
well as the experience of discovering your biological family. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-style: normal;">Breaks
are good for your sanity</span></b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">People
who work with computers are advised to take a five minute break every
hour. This is to give your eyes a rest and, more important, your
brain a break. During the readathon, I tried to take a 10 minute
break every hour to move around. I used the bathroom, topped up my
water glass, loaded the dishwasher and checked into the readathon
conversation on Twitter and on the homepage. As I finished each book,
I took five minutes to jot down any thoughts into my notebook for
reviews at a later date. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">Due
to circumstances, I alternated between my living room and Him
Indoors's study during the 24 hours. The physical breaks between
space really helped my concentration and I did feel more alert when I
settled back down to reading. </span>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-style: normal;">I've
thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the readathon. Many thanks to the
organisers and all the hard work they put into making the readathon
happen. I had a fabulous time :) Roll on October!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.com2