Hello folks. I just got back from my aforementioned meeting to discuss some work experience. I think it went rather well. It was more an informal chat with the project manager and another volunteer and after they explained what it is that they do, we kicked around some ideas for what I could do for them and came up with several things - writing reports, proofreading and editing. Sounds ideal! I told them I needed something to put on the old CV to spice it up and show I have actual experience in some kind of writing. They were very supportive of that and willing to put some work my way. So I have to wait until the project manager comes back from her holiday, then she says she'll email me and work something out. Promising stuff :-)
On a different subject , the Olympic torch passed through my little corner of England this morning. I have a feeling of complete indifference to it. So many people turned out for it, and I can't really understand the point. Just down the road in the next town, they had a massive street party in the town centre. I've seen some pictures on Facebook and it was heaving with people. Quite pleased I didn't have to go there for work today, the roads would have been a nightmare! I quite like watching some of the Olympics on TV but I'm not excited about the torch relay. I didn't apply for tickets to anything either. Probably would have ended up with tickets to the bloody table tennis or something like that! I'd much rather just watch it at home anyway, London will be havoc during the games. We'll be in Cardiff during the opening weekend too, as we have booked a three night break with the gays.
Oooh it just thundered outside! Should I be typing still? I never know. It's not plugged into the mains, does that make a difference?! So ignorant!
Anyway, I'm so looking forward to Cardiff. No idea what we have planned but I'm sure it will rock. Also, BF and I have booked a trip to Edinburgh for Hogmanay :-) So f-ing excited about that one! We haven't got our street party tickets yet, but hope to book them by the weekend. It will be epic.I am Edinburgh-sick. Every time I see the National Express coach go by, I just want to get on it and go to Edinburgh! I don't know what it is about that place, you just can't help but love it. I've got plans for places I want to visit while we're there, so they had better be open! Think we'll have missed the Christmas market by the time we get there though, which is sad as I really liked that last time. I could just go to Edinburgh and stay there. I keep threatening to do that! BF wouldn't mind, he loves it there too. Maybe one day...
Anyway, must fly. I need to eBay stuff. Laters!
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Monday, 9 July 2012
Ahh, Nostalgia...
Good grief, I've been slacking! And I have about a zillion things to say. Where to begin...
Let's start with some good news - I had my final meeting with the careers advisor and despite my misgivings and previous doubt about what the service could offer me, it turned out to be the most productive of the lot. I felt like I was more upfront about what I wanted, rather than what I thought I should say, and what do you know - I got more out of the session. Don't know why I kept putting it off really. It's cos I'm berk, that's what the BF would say. (In a joking manner. He doesn't spend all his time insulting me for fun). Anyway, I now have a list of useful contacts, she made some calls on my behalf while I was in the session, and out of that came a call on Thursday from someone offering me the chance of some work experience! Finally! She had left me a voicemail, so today I called her back and we have arranged to meet this Wednesday afternoon to discuss what I could do with them. The original call was to do some marketing and publicity stuff, as the careers advisor had told her I had a media degree, which is a term that can be misleading. I actually have a media writing degree which isn't quite the same. I explained what my area of study was and she went, 'oh so you could write articles for us then?' and I said yes because we did journalism on the course. She seemed keen to meet me, so roll on Wednesday :-)
I also want to talk about today's youth. Now I know that makes me sound dreadfully old, but I really don't understand the attitudes of some kids. I say some kids because it is certainly not all of them. I have a sneaking suspicion that it is a few giving them all a bad name, which is very unfair. But back to my point... We had a fifteen year old boy doing work experience a couple of weeks ago. At least they claimed he was a boy. I secretly think he may have been a mannequin for all the movement he made. I have never seen anyone so idle. Is this a normal teenage boy thing? I only have a sister, so I don't know. I'm sure most boys aren't so useless. We tried talking to him. No response. His face was blank, his eyes staring. When asked what he liked to do, the answer was - play computer games. Ah, now the vacant expression made sense! Hours spent gazing at a screen blowing aliens up, clearly. It has turned this boy into an empty vessel, incapable of the simplest of social interactions. He could barely say hello. In fact I'm not sure he did...! It's sad really. I actually think it is a serious problem though, as so many children have televisions and computer consoles in their bedrooms from an early age now. I know it's a while since I was a kid and times change, but the basic makeup of people doesn't. Kids need to be around adults to understand what is socially acceptable behaviour and they need to be around their peers to develop these skills for themselves. How does sitting in a room by yourself playing computer games for hours on end help in producing healthy, well-rounded young people? Short answer - I don't think it does.
We had games console. A Sega Megadrive. It was hooked up to a small TV that me and my sister used in the dining room. (We weren't allowed a TV in our room. Or rooms, when I was kicked out of the one we shared when I was twelve because she snored. So unfair...) We only played on the Sega at weekends and in school holidays. I don't remember thinking this was unfair though. I actually preferred reading anyway, although I do recall the time we were a little addicted to Streets of Rage :-) I did love that game. And Sonic 2. And Columns. Showing my age now! Good times. Anyway, my point was that we didn't spend every waking hour on the computer because we weren't allowed. We were encouraged to play outside, ride our bikes, read, paint, make stuff like paper flowers, play board games, play with our Barbie dolls, listen to music (I was given a small stereo with a turntable when I was about nine or ten, and I loved it. We were allowed to play our mum and dad's old records, as well as our own which were mostly Kylie and Jason. Classic), make up games and stories, play with face paints, play with our Spirograph and Fashion Wheel, bake cakes with mum. If this all sounds a bit too idyllic, sorry, but that's how it was. Our mum stayed home with us until my sister went to school, and was there to pick us up every day. We were allowed kids' TV after school, and, when we were older, Aussie soaps and Hollyoaks. But we watched them together, not off separately in our rooms. Looking at how some kids are brought up now, I feel it was good that we did things as a family. Meals round the table, not in front of the TV. Day trips to museums, castles and safari parks. Caravan holidays to Tenby every year (never got tired of that place). Do I feel like I missed out by not having a games console or a TV in my room from a young age? Not at all. I feel that it helped make me more imaginative and creative. I used to write little stories on folded up bits of paper for my sister when I was about seven. I was instilled with a love of books from a young age, not a love of TV. I enjoyed TV of course (Button Moon? Maid Marian? Dogtanian? Yes please), but I loved reading. I remember sitting at the breakfast table every morning, and if I didn't have a book to read over my cereal, I would read the back of the cereal box. Just for something to read. I'm the same now really. I love words and I despise all 'txt spk'. Especially when people use it on Facebook or in emails. We have this fantastically rich and interesting language and it is reduced to a series of acronyms. I have never 'lol'ed. That is the worst of the bunch actually, because people now stick it to the end of everything, regardless of whether it makes sense or not. Very annoying.
That paragraph ended somewhere different to where I intended! Do not get me started on spelling...! I don't know if it's bad teaching, the rise of text speak or sheer laziness on the part of students, but I despair when I see words used incorrectly, or simple words spelled wrongly. I know English is hard with a lot of words that sound the same but have different spellings. Really though, is it too much to ask for people to learn how to spell these words correctly - 'weird', 'receive' and 'definitely'. Or to learn the different uses of 'to', 'too' and 'two'. Similarly with, 'there', 'their' and 'they're'. So annoying. Even worse when you see them spelled wrong in the papers, which happens far more frequently than you may think! Rant over. For now...
I'm looking forward to my meeting on Wednesday - will report back here dear readers.
Let's start with some good news - I had my final meeting with the careers advisor and despite my misgivings and previous doubt about what the service could offer me, it turned out to be the most productive of the lot. I felt like I was more upfront about what I wanted, rather than what I thought I should say, and what do you know - I got more out of the session. Don't know why I kept putting it off really. It's cos I'm berk, that's what the BF would say. (In a joking manner. He doesn't spend all his time insulting me for fun). Anyway, I now have a list of useful contacts, she made some calls on my behalf while I was in the session, and out of that came a call on Thursday from someone offering me the chance of some work experience! Finally! She had left me a voicemail, so today I called her back and we have arranged to meet this Wednesday afternoon to discuss what I could do with them. The original call was to do some marketing and publicity stuff, as the careers advisor had told her I had a media degree, which is a term that can be misleading. I actually have a media writing degree which isn't quite the same. I explained what my area of study was and she went, 'oh so you could write articles for us then?' and I said yes because we did journalism on the course. She seemed keen to meet me, so roll on Wednesday :-)
I also want to talk about today's youth. Now I know that makes me sound dreadfully old, but I really don't understand the attitudes of some kids. I say some kids because it is certainly not all of them. I have a sneaking suspicion that it is a few giving them all a bad name, which is very unfair. But back to my point... We had a fifteen year old boy doing work experience a couple of weeks ago. At least they claimed he was a boy. I secretly think he may have been a mannequin for all the movement he made. I have never seen anyone so idle. Is this a normal teenage boy thing? I only have a sister, so I don't know. I'm sure most boys aren't so useless. We tried talking to him. No response. His face was blank, his eyes staring. When asked what he liked to do, the answer was - play computer games. Ah, now the vacant expression made sense! Hours spent gazing at a screen blowing aliens up, clearly. It has turned this boy into an empty vessel, incapable of the simplest of social interactions. He could barely say hello. In fact I'm not sure he did...! It's sad really. I actually think it is a serious problem though, as so many children have televisions and computer consoles in their bedrooms from an early age now. I know it's a while since I was a kid and times change, but the basic makeup of people doesn't. Kids need to be around adults to understand what is socially acceptable behaviour and they need to be around their peers to develop these skills for themselves. How does sitting in a room by yourself playing computer games for hours on end help in producing healthy, well-rounded young people? Short answer - I don't think it does.
We had games console. A Sega Megadrive. It was hooked up to a small TV that me and my sister used in the dining room. (We weren't allowed a TV in our room. Or rooms, when I was kicked out of the one we shared when I was twelve because she snored. So unfair...) We only played on the Sega at weekends and in school holidays. I don't remember thinking this was unfair though. I actually preferred reading anyway, although I do recall the time we were a little addicted to Streets of Rage :-) I did love that game. And Sonic 2. And Columns. Showing my age now! Good times. Anyway, my point was that we didn't spend every waking hour on the computer because we weren't allowed. We were encouraged to play outside, ride our bikes, read, paint, make stuff like paper flowers, play board games, play with our Barbie dolls, listen to music (I was given a small stereo with a turntable when I was about nine or ten, and I loved it. We were allowed to play our mum and dad's old records, as well as our own which were mostly Kylie and Jason. Classic), make up games and stories, play with face paints, play with our Spirograph and Fashion Wheel, bake cakes with mum. If this all sounds a bit too idyllic, sorry, but that's how it was. Our mum stayed home with us until my sister went to school, and was there to pick us up every day. We were allowed kids' TV after school, and, when we were older, Aussie soaps and Hollyoaks. But we watched them together, not off separately in our rooms. Looking at how some kids are brought up now, I feel it was good that we did things as a family. Meals round the table, not in front of the TV. Day trips to museums, castles and safari parks. Caravan holidays to Tenby every year (never got tired of that place). Do I feel like I missed out by not having a games console or a TV in my room from a young age? Not at all. I feel that it helped make me more imaginative and creative. I used to write little stories on folded up bits of paper for my sister when I was about seven. I was instilled with a love of books from a young age, not a love of TV. I enjoyed TV of course (Button Moon? Maid Marian? Dogtanian? Yes please), but I loved reading. I remember sitting at the breakfast table every morning, and if I didn't have a book to read over my cereal, I would read the back of the cereal box. Just for something to read. I'm the same now really. I love words and I despise all 'txt spk'. Especially when people use it on Facebook or in emails. We have this fantastically rich and interesting language and it is reduced to a series of acronyms. I have never 'lol'ed. That is the worst of the bunch actually, because people now stick it to the end of everything, regardless of whether it makes sense or not. Very annoying.
That paragraph ended somewhere different to where I intended! Do not get me started on spelling...! I don't know if it's bad teaching, the rise of text speak or sheer laziness on the part of students, but I despair when I see words used incorrectly, or simple words spelled wrongly. I know English is hard with a lot of words that sound the same but have different spellings. Really though, is it too much to ask for people to learn how to spell these words correctly - 'weird', 'receive' and 'definitely'. Or to learn the different uses of 'to', 'too' and 'two'. Similarly with, 'there', 'their' and 'they're'. So annoying. Even worse when you see them spelled wrong in the papers, which happens far more frequently than you may think! Rant over. For now...
I'm looking forward to my meeting on Wednesday - will report back here dear readers.
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