Mobile post blogspiration

To beloved Suz, my blogspiration! xxx

A truly dreary and pointless piece of writing

Well since my first and only blog the update is this.  The final weeks of work passed slowly with the space in my brain that used to be taken up by stress, thoughts of presentations and firing people now being filled with 80s and 90s classic pop songs - good times!


Work wrapped up in September but still managed to haunt me for the two weeks following leaving as I had nightmares about my psychotic ex-boss and having to fire people.  I managed to fire 40 people over 6 months in 2011 - needless to say as soon as that situation was over the stress of the emotions I'd managed to suppress came to the surface. 


The nightmares eventually subsided and I now have the wonderful perspective on workload and stress - whenever I feel down it serves to remember that I would be working 9am - 10pm every day from October until February (life is good)!


Things I have discovered bring joy:

• Taking long walks through London
• Drinking hot cocoa under a blanket when it's cold outside
• Mince pies
• Cooking experimentally
• Writing
• Spending time catching up with old friends
• Meeting new and incredibly interesting people
• Travelling

No shockers there - you could probably find all of the above in some cheesy self help book in any less-than-quality-bookstore.

So other than these exciting flights of fancy that, let's face it, equate to a completely idle life - what is trending right now in your life?

• Thoughts of presentations are back!  Like a bad fashion that just won't die, presentations seem to have permeated every aspect of modern living - even in the first two months of my Masters I have need to present no less than 3 times, the final one of which is due on Wednesday.
• Cooking! with the winter months upon us in the northern hemisphere it's time to channel our talents towards homely pursuits.  I have made some pretty mean choc-chip cookies, banana bread, discovered a talent for making lasagne, I have such overestimation of my mediocre talents that I've contemplated changing this to a cooking blog
• Walking! The fabulous pursuit of the poor, it is life and adventure for those of us that can no longer fulfill our dreams of trekking in Nepal for 3 weeks (hang on, that's also walking)
• Driving! Probably the most beautiful part of not working is not catching the tube on a daily basis.  Whilst I appreciate the pungent aroma of 40 of the closest strangers collective armpits, the odour of damp coats that are drying in a congested underground tunnel or the one person that triggers a coordinated coughing fit - it is fabulous being able to hurtle along the highway with a constant sense of danger in the morning.
• The radio! They really should allow these in more office blocks - they have a profound ability to distract you from the mundanity of even the least thrilling tasks (preparing a presentation anyone?!)
• Overuse of exclamation marks!!! Everyone enjoys a little excitement! However when it reaches the point that you appear to have written some sort of speech disorder!!!!  It's crazy!!!!!  But I love it!!!!!!!!  What was the point of this again?!?!?!?!

The bucket list

After being inspired by Suz’s Bucket List, below is a list of things that I have yet to do but may use as inspiration to fill some time while I am Idle...it's September 2011 let's see what date it will be when the first 51 are done...

1.     Travel overland from Cairo to Cape Town.

2.     Participate in a wildlife photography expedition

3.     Go to Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.

4.     Knit a jumper that can be worn.

5.     Join a wildlife conservation project in South America

6.     Have a wall in my house consisting entirely of pictures I’ve painted.

7.     Tell my family how much I appreciate and love them.

8.     Send people unexpected and anonymous gifts

9.     Sign up for a wall climbing class.

10.            Train a guide dog.

11.            Be present as someone is born.

12.            Support someone who is dying.

13.            Perform as a fire dancer.

14.            Volunteer at a hospice.

15.            See the northern lights.

16.            Trek the Annapurna Circuit in the Himalayas

17.            Learn to breakdance.

18.            Visit Disneyland

19.            Make my own wine

20.            Participate in a major art installation project.

21.            Spend a week sailing the Whitsunday Islands.

22.            Have a garden that feeds me.

23.            Experience weightlessness.

24.            Become a doctor.

25.            Help a stranger in a meaningful way.

26.            Complete a 5k run every day for a month.

27.            Go Whitewater Rafting

28.            Walk along the Camino de Santiago, Spain's 1,000-year-old pilgrimage route.

29.            Spend time listening to the elderly.

30.            Go snowboarding.

31.            Join an art group and go to life drawing once a week.

32.            Join a hiking club.

33.            Live near the ocean again.

34.            Travel overland from Russia to China.

35.            Take a picture that looks like I’m swimming backstroke across the Great Wall of China

36.            Take a cycling holiday in Vietnam.

37.            Take the tube for a week making eye contact and smiling a people.

38.            Complete an advanced yoga teachers training course.

39.            Host an exchange student.

40.            Teach a regular yoga class.

41.            Write a book.

42.            Create a spectacular fireworks display.

43.            Declare my love to someone at Yosemite National Park

44.            Build a tree house

45.            Let someone else take all the credit

46.            Learn to surf.

47.            Learn to speak Chinese

48.            Sew myself a garment that I would wear out in public.

49.            Be kind and compassionate.

50.            Skydive over turquoise water.

51.     Lie under the stars in the desert.

And so it begins

I've always wondered what sort of person believes they are so interesting that they write a blog and more to the point, what sort of idle person has time to read them.  Years later, I have found the answer by becoming both.

With three weeks to go before I leap into the life of an unemployment and wasting time as things wind down from work I have read some blogs that are interesting, informative and completely ridiculous.  As far as passing a few idle minutes it has certainly been a more uplifting and entertaining experience than being depressed by the news.

It's also great to see people share things that inspire them, so in that vain, I will share the book that inspired the blog's title and taught me how to avoid calling a new born child 'it'.

Enjoy the classic by Jerome K Jerome - it fits the budget of the most idle as it is free!

http://www.manybooks.net/titles/jeromejeetext97jjidl10.html