Quality time

Been off work this week, but feel like I need a holiday now to recover, as it's been busy, all in a positive way though.

Went to 2 gigs at the Waterfront love that venue.  British Sea Power were superb.  Definitely worth hearing live.  And then the Go Team were very different but equally enjoyable.  Their show is so energetic & fun, I loved dancing to it, haven't danced properly for years.  Might try and do that more often, could aim for once every 2 months, that should be achievable.

Then I spent time with my nephew, niece & cousin's daughter.  They came to stay at mine  & we had great fun.
The end of the week I drove to Derbyshire to see Babs & Kate.  Kate brought her 3 up from Hagley, and we adults caught up over Babs' delicious cooking.  We realised that we've known each other now for 20 years this year!  Seems incredible,  I still think of them as recent friends. 


Now it's a glorious day, although the wind is cold, and I'm thinking about doing a little bit in the garden, and thinking about holidays & enjoying life.

Keep up the habit

Spent a few days in the Lake District at a repository conference.  Repository managers are often keen social networkers - so the tweet backchannel was lively.  When I started using Twitter,  I found it quite tiring to keep focused on speakers, making my own notes, and adding comments to Twitter that might be of use to others.  I now find it second nature.  I must admit I am sometimes rather flippant in my comments, the backchannel can get a bit bitchy, but it also cements together participants both attending an event, and those watching the twitter feed, so I think it's a welcome addition.

Things are feeling good in my world.  Looking forward to longer days, spring activity from the birds, insects & flowers.  And spending time with special people.

The wider world is not so good.  The government seems determined to wreck some of the things that make this country great - free health care, (relatively) accessible countryside,  public libraries that promote culture and learning, a postal service that does so much more than deliver letters.

Anyone who cares about these things, please do something, stand up and be counted eg on  March 26th in London.

Only connect

It's been really interesting the last few weeks how there are overlaps between areas of my life, and how I've discovered them mainly via Twitter.  I work in a university library.  It wasn't a choice I made actively,  I was 'restructured' into it, but as it's increasingly digital, and i'm interested in that I've developed that side of my role.

I've always been interested in communication, did a language degree, then speech therapy.  Now with the internet there is a whole movement looking at science communication:  sharing data, collaborating online, engaging with the public.  So that's where some of my interests start to collide.

Then I follow the band British Sea Power, and Robin Ince the comedian, both of whom are promoting campaigns to save public libraries.  Another collision.

Is it because Twitter makes it easier to find people with similar interests?  Whatever the reason, I find it very satisfying, and productive.

New Year's Eve

2010 ending, 2011 beginning, reasons to be cheerful, 1 , 2, 3

Healthy, wealthy & wise
Wonderful friends
Lovely family to enjoy especially nephew & niece
Birds birds birds
6music will be there to play ace new tunes
Di's cancer got removed!
Building friendships with work colleagues
We can defeat this philistine government, together united we'll never be defeated!

Happy New Year xxx

It's been a hard week.  Emotionally very up and down, mainly down.  Started to feel quite introverted, tired, tearful.  Then I had some valued chats with friends online - FB last night & Skype first thing this morning which made me feel part of the human race again.  And driving to pick up nephew & niece, I heard Lesley Manville's inheritance tracks on Saturday Live.  She talked about how one song made her feel incredibly sad, and that she listened to it in her dressing room at a time when she was very low.  And she expressed something I've been running away from, that it is OK to be sad sometimes.  It made me cry, but almost with relief.  I've been fighting the 'negative' emotions of sadness, perhaps because for much of my life I've felt that I'm sad without any reason to be, which antidepressants have brought me out of.  So now this is a time when it's OK to cry, and OK not to put on the brave face all the time. And that's made me feel better :-)

Bit of a moan

I started this blog a couple of years ago, with the intention of noting positive thoughts etc, to shift my sometimes negative outlook.  But sod it I'm fed up & I'm going to moan.  Better out than in.  And I can always delete it.  And misery lit is very popular, so maybe this will be the start of a great literary career.  But the trouble is heartbreak is boring as well.  I just feel so boring always feeling sad, and lonely, and rejected.  And that's not a good way to be and doesn't encourage new relationships.  God I am so privileged and so miserable.  And yet I've just looked at this and I feel better!  Phew, thank goodness I'm so fickle & have mood swings.


My sweet niece took in her stride the news today that she won't be seeing my ex-husband again.  I told them that when they come to see me at Christmas, he won't be there because he doesn't live in my house anymore.  She said 'So you're not married anymore?' and I said no, so she said 'well you'll just have to marry someone else'.  Ah, the optimism of youth.

Meaning of liff

Yesterday I felt a bit sad, and was musing about whether there has to be meaningfulness to life, and what that means.  I know somebody who thinks that without children life is meaningless.  Not a view I'd agree with, as without children I still feel my life has meaning.  I think the meaning of life for me comes from the Buddhist view of living in the moment, and being an observer of whatever is happening or not happening.  This piece which my yoga teacher once read to us expresses it well.

Today I don't feel sad, even though I've been on my own for about 6 hours now.  I have to come to an acceptance of the state of being alone sometimes, and if I can realise it's not permanent, perhaps enjoy it for the freedoms it offers.