eclectic passion

The weather was fantastic, there were nice souvenirs to buy at very low cost and the people seemed friendly. There were also quite a few street and pub musicians (love these!), brightly painted buildings and my father got to drink a pint of authentic Irish beer :) Total hot guys spotted: 1 (we were only there a few hours :P)

p.s. When we were leaving the port, my parents (and quite a few other people on board) were apparently surprised (I didn’t see them) by the crowds of people gathered around the portside seeing the boat off. It was only a few days ago that they discovered the reason why there were crowds was because the ship we were on was the biggest ship to have set sail from that port since the Titanic and Lusitania ships, both of which sank! So glad to have made it home in one piece, and glad I didn’t know that at the time as I’m pretty superstitious!

Hopefully one day I’ll go back and visit more of Ireland- but this was a great introduction :) 4 days ago

‘The standard of success in life isn’t the things. It isn’t the money or the stuff — it is absolutely the amount of joy you feel.’

Abraham Hicks (FYI- I no longer believe in the law of attraction, but think this quote is true (and awesome!)) 2 weeks ago

What is your idea of perfect happiness? To love and be loved (not in the romantic sense, although that’s always cool :) I mean unconditionally loving others and being loved back.
What is your greatest fear? Turbulent motion (hence my fear of aeroplanes and theme parks), slugs, and giving birth.

Which historical figure do you most identify with? This will probably sound really arrogant lol, but maybe Gandhi? I am a very staunch supporter of non-violence

Which living person do you most admire? This guy comes close : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J1MltiTiJY . or Aung San Su Kyu or Nelson Mandela

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? My physical cowardice

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Dishonesty, violence

What is your greatest extravagance?
Going on cruises, and clothes

What is your favorite journey? I love travelling generally, as long as it’s not by plane! lol

What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Maybe modesty? You may as well show yourself in the best light rather than hide it

On what occasion do you lie? When embarrassed

What do you dislike the most about your appearance? My hair, it’s notoriously difficult to manage. Having said that, I’m lucky I have hair…

Which living person do you most despise? Dictators of any country

Which words or phrases do you most overuse? ‘Are you ok?’ ‘LOL’

What is your greatest regret? Going through a phase of watching porn at one stage in my life (what was I thinking? It was so degrading and gross). Also stopping playing the clarinet for 8 years, as picking it up this year I can now only play about 6 notes, and I was once grade 5 standard

What or who is the greatest love of your life? The source of love i.e God (just my opinion)

When and where were you happiest? While seeing friends and travelling
Which talent would you most like to have? I’d love to be good at art, I have absolutely zero imagination when it comes to drawing lol.
Or to be a great singer

What is your current state of mind? Excited about holiday to Norway in a few days!

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? More courage

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? Maybe for them to be more accepting of gay and lesbian people (they’re not hateful to them, but they don’t really approve either.)

What do you consider your greatest achievement? Everytime I’ve shown love to someone or something
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be? Not sure…

What is your most treasured possession?
Photos, because you forget so much otherwise

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Geez I don’t know…there’s too much misery in the world

Where would you like to live? Spain, France or Sweden

What is your favorite occupation? This sounds terrible but eating…lol.
What is your most marked characteristic?
I wear glasses, that’s probably it lol

What is the quality you most like in a man? Honesty, gentleness, confidence
What is the quality you most like in a woman? as a friend? honesty, optimism

What do you most value in your friends? Honesty, sensitivity, optimism

Who are your favorite writers? Isabel Allende, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigerian author), Ray Bradbury, Jodi Picoult
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Who are your heroes in real life?
What are your favorite names? Natalia, Rhianne, Adele, Jennifer, Brooke…notice all girls’ names lol, I don’t what I’d call a boy!
What is it that you most dislike? Doing something that isn’t true to myself

How would you like to die? I don’t know but I really hope that when I do I have an NDE…

What is your favorite motto? ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has!’

...Great questions :) 3 weeks ago

I actually think he might be a narcissist as everything’s always about HIM, how HE’S feeling and he doesn’t seem to care about anyone else. Perhaps I’m wrong, but like for instance he deleted me twice on facebook quite abruptly then added me again and didn’t even apologise once for his behaviour, then when I deleted him he was ‘surprised and said, ‘I treat you like my sister’ (if that’s how he treats his sister I feel sorry for her.)

He made a comment recently that implied he would prefer his parents to die so he can quit his job (they say he must stick at it.) I do feel sorry for him being depressed, as I’ve suffered from it myself, but I’m starting to feel with more than a little certainty that he’s just a jerk

(apologies for bitchy post, but everyone needs to vent now and again!) 3 weeks ago

25/05/13

- Spotted a GORGEOUS African print maxi dress in town today, it was strapless (I’m generally uncomfortable about wearing strapless tops) but my mum turned the belt into straps and now it’s the perfect dress! Hope I get the chance to wear it on holiday, and back at home sometime this summer…will try and take a pic and post it when I get chance :)

27/05/13

Realising I’m better off without a certain negative ‘frenemy’ in my life and having the assertiveness to defriend him on facebook.

Lovely meal of chicken tikka masala and raspberry and apple j20 (juice drink) at our local pub 3 weeks ago

“There are many more people trying to meet the right person than to become the right person.”

- Gloria Steinhem 3 weeks ago

I’ve decided to delete him as a friend as I think he was abusing our friendship really, he was just generally very bitter towards me and always made me feel like I was walking on eggshells. I feel that no amount of me cheering him up could change his attitude, it would have to be something that he does for himself. I refuse to be his scapegoat! 3 weeks ago

I talk to him online. He’s suffered from depression for quite some time and he constantly complains about his life, the fact he hates his job, has no money to marry or travel or to buy stuff he wants. I’ve tried to challenge some of his negative views, but he doesn’t follow any of my positive suggestions or show gratitude for anything in his life that might be going ok. He’s jealous of me, and makes this clear (he’s already deleted me twice from facebook and re-added me) He’s just so damn negative, I wouldn’t mind as I’ve suffered from depression myself but he does nothing to help himself, he’s not open to positive advice. Should I ditch him as a friend?? This quote comes to mind: 3 weeks ago

“It’s not our job to toughen our children up to face a cruel and heartless world. It’s our job to raise children who will make the world a little less cruel and heartless.’

Agree, but do think it’s a good idea to learn some form of self defence too- this is empowering, confidence-building and can make people ‘tough’ in the more positive sense- able to defend but not aggressive (as one of the central tenets of karate is non-violence unless in the case of extreme physical danger or emergency.)

Still, I agree that children (and indeed everyone) should be treated with as much love as is humanely possible…this does NOT mean being a doormat, it means finding the middle way balance between being strict and too laidback. The place in between the two extremes of personality traits, in most cases in life is the healthiest place to be (e.g. not so modest that you don’t show yourself in the best light, but not so vain that you think the world revolves around you.) Just something to think about :) 3 weeks ago

...I’m just too damn fussy, but I know what I want and I don’t think it’s fair to date someone you’re only half interested in, that’s what leads to cheating and heartbreak. All I essentially ask for is someone kind, attractive and interesting. Unfortunately, they all seem to have girlfriends (or boyfriends!- recently I fell for a gay guy) already :( 3 weeks ago

What did you do there? :) 3 weeks ago

I am going sometime in the next two weeks :) 3 weeks ago

In work today, L had me doing different tasks to normal and said that in the next few weeks, she’s going to teach me more stuff. I love learning and working in the credit union, it’s the best work experience I’ve ever had :)

Watching the last episodes (for now! There’ll be a new series out hopefully sometime this year) of an internet series (episodes on youtube) called ‘Awkward Black Girl.’ I can’t emphasise enough how awesome this show is, ok there’s quite a lot of cursing so be warned, but the show’s just such a breath of fresh air and subverts all the stereotypes, I only discovered it last week and already I’ve watched every single episode of the first and second series. Link to the first episode here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIVa9lxkbus

Also pretty cool is a youtube channel called ‘iamOTHER’- it has episodes of Awkward Black Girl and another great show called Stereotypes- however this is more interviewing real life people and asking their opinions and in which ways they do and do not conform to stereotypes- it’s really mind expanding!

If you are not offended by a little cursing I’m sure you’ll love Awkward Black Girl, IMHO it’s the new ‘Scrubs.’ :) 3 weeks ago

Today being warm enough for me to be able to go to work without a coat

Had a long, interesting conversation with L.A at work about the former Soviet Union (she’s from Belarus) and travelling- it’s the first time I’ve really opened up to her and I felt it broke the ice quite a bit (not that there was that much ice to begin with…lol… but it’s always nice to break what ice does exist!)

Rice, chips and beans in sweet and sour sauce for tea- delish :)

10 days til our Norway cruise (which stops in Ireland on the way) :D 4 weeks ago

I was ok at putting them in, but not good at taking them out. The mistake I made last time was telling all my friends and family that I was trying them out, it put a kind of subconscious pressure on me. So this time, well I might be telling 43ters, but I’m not gonna go around telling people who know me.

While I don’t hate my glasses (I’ve worn them pretty much my whole life) and would probably still wear them a bit, it would be lovely to be able to have a choice between glasses and contacts, especially for going out somewhere. Plus, most eye makeup doesn’t show up well under glasses I find, I have quite big eyes so if I wore contacts I’d experiment much more with makeup that accentuates them :) 4 weeks ago

I felt like I was guaranteed to fail, and as each grading lasts 3+ hours (because they always have a long training session beforehand) I felt it wasn’t worth the effort if I knew I was gonna fail. I’d rather wait til I get really good at it (here’s hoping I ever get really good at it lol.) A little disappointing that I won’t be getting it soon, but I think I made the right decision…I feel a lot more relaxed now :) 4 weeks ago

‘Life is an act of God. Wherever anyone lives or loves, God is acting. That act deserves not to be relegated to fine print, but splashed across the masthead of our lives in bold headlines.’ – Vishal Ponnappa 4 weeks ago

“By deliberately changing the internal image of reality, people can change the world.”

- Willis Harman 4 weeks ago

to give one of my books, the one that I felt (and still feel) unable to read because of it’s gory nature in places, away. I’m learning to just avoid the stuff that doesn’t benefit me mentally, and seeing as this is fiction, it’s hardly morally vital that I read it. I’m going to stick to books within my comfort zone, that uplift and inspire me…there are so many books in the world, so why force yourself to read one that makes you depressed? 4 weeks ago

and I’m feeling really apprehensive about it. It’s hard being the only non black-belt- but-one in a class full of Dan grades, there’s a lot to live up to! However I have been practising and going to extra training, and that’s all I can do under the circumstances. Please wish me luck :) 4 weeks ago

I don’t know if this will help, but I hope it does: www.nderf.org :) 1 month ago

It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about. —Dale Carnegie

so so SO true! I can’t emphasise it enough! 1 month ago

I’ve now been single for 4 years and 2 months, unless you count one fling that I had about two years ago. (so I guess really only ‘single’ single about 2 years, but not in a serious relationship for 4 years.) My relationship CV definitely needs upgrading! But I don’t want to settle for just anyone, they’ve got to have a great personality and there has to be real chemistry between us (there was a guy last year who I really liked the personality of and I tried to convince myself I fancied him, but I just didn’t)- someone I would be proud for my parents and friends to meet as well :) 1 month ago

for your detailed comment :) I’m learning I think to put things in balance- I am a worthy person as well as others, and so am deserving of treats and pampering too, but I can also help others as well. That way I’m giving and taking in equal measure, which is the outcome of a healthy and fully-lived life, IMO :) 1 month ago

They were giving out flyers at the credit union and on reading one of them, I saw that it said you had to be a member to have a loan. From what I had been taught, I knew this wasn’t the case. I inquired about it and apparently they’d made a mistake- I was the first to notice :) 1 month ago

- Playing pool with my father in our local pub. I’m definitely improving! Though it didn’t help him that he potted the black on his first go in one of the games lmao :P 1 month ago