Thoughts

Its been a good weekend

Posted on by JC

Its been a good weekend and it really started on Friday afternoon. It was not all rest and relaxation though. On Friday afternoon, I met with someone with Business Link. I’ve been running a business on my own since about April, and its been hard – I’ve had difficulties and still am and was getting to the point of “what can I do to make this successful” – this was one reason why I made the meeting appointment.

I didn’t know what to expect but was due to start around 3pm. We finished soon after 5pm, I didn’t expect it to go on that long but got a load of my questions answered that I’d not found through searching websites. Some times its just better to talk to people.

The guy asked me lots of questions and gave me lots of information. Most of which was totally relavent to me. Things I had just missed, I knew, but had somehow missed for the process – thinking it was non relevent and just dismissing it. He guided me through what relevence it had and after seeing a point it really made sense again.

For the first time in about 4 months, I am really positive again about a real future with the business and that it will be successful now. I never really speak of the business here as this is my personal blog but still its part of my life that I tend to share with everyone. I am keeping in contact with business link and can honestly say that I think it was truelly benificial to have gone there.

The Night

Its been a long time since I’ve been out for a night out in the town and it was a good night. Went with a group of friends – there was about 7 of us core in total but people joined and left depending where we were.

I felt really good on the night, I think it had something to do with the meeting in the afternoon – I felt positive before doing anything more – its a feeling I enjoy, yet forget every so often.

We met around my place, and had some drinks before heading out to the local and meeting with the rest of the group. Music, chat and drinks – a nice combination. I tried a variety of drinks, many of which I’d never seen or heard of before that friends had – some very very sweet, much to my liking.

We went to “GLAM” – a remodelling of the stockton night club that changes name every 5 years or so. One friend said it was really good now. I can say that I enjoyed going, the layout had changed a little but was generally the same place with the difference that I could actually get to the bar and somehow people there could hear what I ordered (even if at that point it was just water).

After a while, I met a cousin of mine in there. I wasn’t expecting to see him and neither was he to see me. We stopped and chatted, I lost the rest of my group. They had told me they were thinking to head to the wobbly goblin – a smaller pub/club place but hadn’t said when. I had continued to chat with my cousin keeping them in sight – they lost me.

When I looked around the next time they were all gone, I wandered looking for them but had lost them so I headed outside – it was about 1am so my thought was if I didn’t find them I’d just head home. When outside I got a text message telling me they couldn’t find me and headed over to the wobbly.

So I headed over, paid to get in and got a small collection of game tickets to get free drinks. I think everyone got one, but I seemed to get a few so handed them out and won drinks using the one I got – worked out for whatever I bought, I got double so that cheapened things slightly.

It was a good night, and headed home somewhere after 3am – it was great that we all live so close by as the taxi worked out around £3 for each of us instead of the £10 or so it would normally have cost.

For the Weekend

I’ve not really done a lot over the weekend but have enjoyed it and got a few of my ideas done that I’ve thought about for weeks but not sat down and worked out in practice.

On saturday night, I didn’t realise the time – it was actually nearer 6am sunday that I headed to sleep – I’d watched several movies that I’ve not seen in years on TV including “Dusk til Dawn” which the opening scenes are just great (especially if you’ve the volume loud) and was chatting to friends I’d lost contact with (probably due to time differences)

Sunday – my church isn’t on due to it being the 5th sunday of the month and was meeting for a walk but I didn’t fancy that so the late night wasn’t a worry. I really should have set an alarm though as didn’t awaken until around 3pm when a friend called asking if I was going to IXth hour and wanting some transport if they can.

I was greatful for the call, and will be grateful for the company – 50 minutes in a car with no sounds but the car and me isn’t so great. My radio decided to just stop working about a week ago in the car – no idea whats wrong – it just doesn’t turn on anymore. Maybe a fuse, I’ll check it when I figure out how too. Alternativly, it may be the time to put in my other stereo thats been packaged since my last car but still requires me to pull it out and find the issue.

Anyhow, being woken up was a good thing… looking at the clock and wondering why someone was calling at 3am then remembering you were still awake at that time… oh no, that means its 3pm you should get up.. Its a good thing, otherwise i’d be exhausted tommorrow trying to get up.

Tonight is IXth hour, It will be a change as Y-Friday no longer run the worship – will be nice to see. I’ll be up stewarding – helping out if I can and will talk to people. Loads of friends there so its a good night.

I’ve only posted 3 times this month, hopefully I’ll share more but to be honest, I didn’t have anything much to share or I never thought I did.

Qype

Posted on by JC

A friend pointed me to this site / application for my mobile to find places current to where I was and get general reviews from other people. Its quite helpful I found, and totally free.

It works by its userbase, giving ratings and reviews and seems to have a lot of the now common social networking tools such as groups, friends, & linking to facebook, twitter, google etc.

Its name: Qype – Not particularly new, but I like it. Its helped me find things while in London. Hopefully it will help me in the next months too where I normally am.

I like it 🙂

Happy New Year 2011

Posted on by JC

Thank you for reading any of my posts over the past year or so, I plan like so many things to write more often and like the way that others do actually read them.

I am wishing you an amazing new year and hope that you have fun time.

Change of Pace

Posted on by JC

For the past few days or so I’ve had some time away with a friend in London and enjoyed it although feels there is not much to do. I do miss things such as a DVD player and choice on TV to watch things. There is freeview here and well sometimes there is good things to watch often not. We have been getting back to the flat around 11pm til about 1am as there is nothing really to do when we get back.

Were spending around a week down here in London and so far visted the natural history museum, of which we plan to go back, ate at different places, met with friends and hope to meet with more and later on going out to spend new years eve in London. Its something I always fancied trying and never actually doing it. It will be busy and I hope we get something to eat at some point.

Most of the day has been chilling out, and not really doing anything in particular. I’m feeling the best I have all week. Since boxing day last week I’ve been full of cold and slowly been getting over it. Will be nice to be over it for the new year.

The pace has changed, at home I’ve always something I can be doing – here not so much. Its either travelling to and from places or walking all over the place. Lots to see and enjoy but at the end of it all I do wonder what to do. While I came to London on my own it wasn’t an issue – I would just go online and talk to others as if at home but with others here too its not quite as simple to do so. I also like the ability to get away from everyone else and just be on my own if only for an hour.

Today feels relaxed but lacking at the same time. I feel I should constantly be doing something – to use the time, and not waste it but I don’t have anything I need to get done while I am away so I stop and write and this feels good. I could be doing this at home, but its still something I want to do so it is done now.

What will the new year bring in… Hopefully lots of fun, joy and excitement mixed with friendships and more happyness.

2010 – Migranes gone, so much opertunity to look forward

Posted on by JC

It is coming to another end of year but I can choose to look at time and see it in sections like years and months, but all I really see is days and even then its not really a set thing. Some days go fast, others so slow but time is there or maybe not at the same time. I hear its a constant but my view of it is constantly changing… can that be a true statement?

I have a few things I would like to do this next year, and many things that I’ve done this past year. Some of the things I want to acheive:

  • Play the guitar
  • Trampolining: Sumasaults with no help
  • Rock Climbing – more technique
  • A new passion in work, or something in life that I don’t want to put down
  • New cooking styles (at least for me, other peoples old styles are great – I just can’t do them)
  • Dance: become more fluid, confident, and relaxed in dance and expand the styles
  • Fitness: Get down to my ideal weight yet increase my fitness level through fun

My past year has been quite a mixed year, I’ve not done all I wanted but have discovered things that have quite litterally changed my life. I’ve struggled with migrane and cluster headaches for many years, and in october discovered the cause of them.

I’ve been ill a lot over the past year (mainly March to November), and much of it was side effects of the medications I was taking to reduce the headaches/migranes – in September while away on holiday, I was ill and not really enjoying the break. So ill that I couldn’t take the tablets as was sick soon after – kinda defeating the point so I stopped taking them and within a couple of days the side effects died down and I enjoyed the last day of my break.

I went through withdrawal from the medication – you are meant to stop taking it over a period of around 6 to 12 weeks, not over night. I also stopped taking anything that I heard could cause headaches such as cheese, caffeine, chocolate & alchol and the next week or two was just evil. So many headaches, feeling nausia, illness and my mood was not so great either (I found out a few weeks later after talking with people at work). I thought I was going through withdrawal for meds, I may aswell go it for everything at once. Not a nice experience but glad its over.

I re-introduced things into my diet but seems caffeine and chocolate are the real killers. I can have a little caffeine like a drink of cola or a cup of caffeinated tea every so often but often get a headache or hanging feeling in my head thats unconfortable for a few days but after about a day… however eat some delicious chocolate and within about 4 hours my eyes are hurting, everything is really loud, nausia and headaches which really sucks because I love the taste of chcolate, especially dairy milk chocolate.

The trade of pain and not being able to do anything for the taste of chocolate. Its amazing to see how many things contain it but the thought to go down to pain for a taste – its just not worth it.

It is the biggest thing I’ve found out this year personally – and since cutting out caffeine and chocolate I’ve been able to do a lot more too. Including regular swimming before work, trampolining and even started the very basics of rock climbing. My co-ordination has amazingingly got quite good and although haven’t danced in a long time feel its something I will get much better at now.

Now that I’m generally off medications, I feel an old side of me has risen to the surface – things I’ve struggled with for years just melting away and returning to a more confident and happy me. While at university, in groups and presentations I was always nervous to talk but one to one, or in small groups I could talk to anyone and I lost that for a long time but its coming back but not just like that – I’m now able to talk in presentations – I still get nervous but have felt while presenting that its a choice to show it or not. I’d never known the choice before – just that I was and felt others could see it. No need now, and knowing that seems to open more posibilities in life even though I don’t know what those could be.

Is £9,000 (Well closer to £50,000) too much for a University Education?

Posted on by JC

I watched online via various methods the student protests, watching twitter, facebook, the news sites and even parliment channel following the progress of what was being done for the cause of student fees.

There are a lot of sides being spoken but I’m not sure which was the stronger view in reality. Students, all stood together in protest but there.

I don’t agree with the violence but think it is right that people can voice their opinions. There have been hundreds of thousands of people opposing the fee changes but they seem to have been ignored all the same.

I saw a lot of violence on TV within the protests. Many people causing riots and I think getting a publics view that the students are wrong and should be made to pay… but I see it a different way…

What better way to dis-credit a movement than to join in, then cause violence and disturbance gaining great publicity. People don’t look at the thousands of protesters peacefully doing what they do but the few that cause the havoc. I’ve heard the media speak that there are many in the few but even 0.5% of 50,000 is still around 250 People.

The government MPs are meant to speak on behalf of the people they represent. It has been shown in parliment on the 9th December 2010 that many of the Lib Dem MPs chose to ignore their people and follow others.

I guess everyone has a choice, and I think next election many will not trust the lib dems as they have prooven that they can not be trusted to follow some of the basic promises they made pre-election.

I am glad that I have already been through the student part of life, with university so this doesn’t directly affect me in life at the moment. Maybe in the future it will but at the moment, not so much.

It will affect a LOT of my friends, and a lot of friends children. I have many friends with teenage children that now that are unlikely to get to university now.

When I got out of university I had around £7,000 in student loan debts which is a lot especially with it so hard to get a job and all this is getting ever increasing interest. I recall it took me over a year to get any real time job.

I worked all over the place – over 40 different organisations through temp work in agencies. At first I could get nothing – they told me I was over qualified to work a temp job – my thoughts – I need money to pay for life and its a temp job. Its not a career move here. So I did allsorts from a production line job, to lots of admin work and data entry – all on a low wage.

But to think that I’d need to pay back somehow £9,000 per year? That would be impossible I think. I don’t think I’d have even gone. I don’t think I could afford to send anyone else there either. It works out over £170 per week, every week, and on top of that there is all the rates like rent, food, books, equipment, aswell as transport.

I don’t know about you, but 3 years for a standard university education with the posibility of a degree at the end for over £27,000 – Probably closer to £50,000 after adding in all living costs. How long would it take to pay that back, not including all the interest on top of it?

At around £160 per month it would take 25 years to pay it back (No interest charged) or over £400 a month for about 10 years. Its like having an extra mortgage to pay back for how you have learned things.

Seems expensive but what is the price for education. I always though education was meant to be free – everyone is free to learn. Seems the freedom doesn’t count for money.

Your views? Does it affect you? Does it affect people you know?

The Loss of Cafeen

Posted on by JC

The loss of cafeen from my diet hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be. I am missing some things but not others so much. At work, people bring in a lot of chocolate based things and biscuits of which I would quite happily eat through – now not so much… If its got chocolate, I leave it alone and at first it was really hard…

The evil temptation around all the time and then it was just there, another object that was to be seen and not to be eaten. Strange to see others eating it in that aspect but it no longer bothered me. The thought between taking a bite and that brief pleasure followed by the posibility of hours of pain – its just really not worth it.

As shopping, looking for alternatives I came across a shop of different Teas – many cafinnated but also many that were not – some green, many different berry versions – I go for the ones that are loose leaf and not teabags – its strange, after having loose leaf for a while – you can taste the teabags and they don’t help the tastyness.

Cadbury Store

Torture for the Cafeen Free, Heaven to the chocolate Lover

I came across a shop that usually I would have loved, but was just not right to find when cafeen and chocolate are not allowed. A cruilty to see and everything was on sale. Nightmare for me, heaven for previous me.

I had read that green teas were good for you, and previously never really liked them. Found them too bland but really like Jasmin Tea. I found it one time when in London. It was a cold evening and I was wandering around the city and was in China Town… I went in and got a Jasmin and honey Tea to go – it was really nice and went to get some jasmin tea. Took me a while to find – I could get tea bags but it didn’t taste right until I got the loose leaf… and a dollup of honey. Now I have it without honey in general but delicious both ways.

I am aware that not all green teas are cafeen free, but they are much lower than normal teas so I can enjoy them. It doesn’t seem that I need to be cafeen free to be pain free but take it in moderation. Just like salt and many other ingredients in foods, taken in moderation things just work.

Euphoria – Friends or God?

Posted on by JC

I can recall times of being lost within myself but totally happy at the same time. Times in worship at different things including church, harvest, spring harvest and IXth hour where everything just feels right and time – time is something that is there but doesn’t seem to pass – there is just a joy and happyness feeling completely safe and that you don’t want to end. A kind of euphoria that to be is honest and I do miss.

I watch on TV some of the things that happen on the God Channel, a channel I’m not that fond of on tv – I find that a lot of the time it makes what I believe in look silly and not serious. I find what I believe in shapes life – its not just a sunday or an event thing but something that really helps shape me, be it in how I speak, act and relate to people.

How I can encourage others, and look to their gifts in the world and see what they could do with their lives if they choose too. I think people are all amazing… some are annoying but were all made to like and not mix so well with others… but were all in this together… Someone for everyone.

When i was a child, I did not have many good friends – only around 5 in total and still today 20 years on I still have those good friends and now so many many more. Some that are so close and supportive and I feel really blessed for it and see so many posibilities for many of them.

I thought that no-one really liked me, I had difficulty speaking with people and just being myself, always trying to slightly be like others but keep my own flavour too. Always believed that I am who I am, I can try to be “like” others but thats never truelly going to be me.

Over time, I have grown thankfully… I have many friends in many diversities of life, mixing interest from allsorts from trampolining, and dancing to church or just to go out and play pool, swim or ten pin bowling. Some I can talk technical with and know that will inspire me and I them in issues that at first seem difficult and then exciting…. still difficult but knowing that others will support you in them.

I am blessed and thankful to them all. I see it as a very different euphoria with friends… I am really happy when I am with them, and talk, chat online with them. We work well together and well, enjoy it too – a true euphoric time here on this plain of existance.

VHS – Do you still use them?

Posted on by JC

I have DVDs, Divx Movies, HD DVDs, and even some Blu-Ray DVDs and still although only occasionally I still watch VHS Video tapes. Sometimes its still the best format for films – adds an effect that can not really be duplicated on Digital really.

Like the ability to just eject and re-start where you left off no matter what video player you use. Get to the end, just fast forward and allow it to rewind and eject – strange, but a nice feature all the same.

I’ve got a load of VHS tapes and sometimes its just nice to watch them. Been watching stuff from the 80’s – horror of a sort movies I used to watch as a teen. I don’t watch horror movies now – I just don’t enjoy them – not the new ones. I think the last “horror” type I enjoyed was the Scream series and that was years back now.

Do others use VHS still… Nice to watch that then a DVD – you can notice a real difference in quality or at least sharpness and amount of colours.

Why was that the Trigger?

Posted on by JC

I’ve discovered one of my triggers to my headaches is caffeen which totally sucks as enjoy it in so many things and its hard to avoid. Things such as chocolate as so many of you will know is a luxary I will miss a lot as well as Tea.

I can have a little caffeen so can have green tea’s and the occasional chocolate which I really appreciate but in general I’ve cut it out.

It was a kinda hell to start with, the cuttung out of caffeen. For about 3 weeks I had withdrawal effects of just headaches, exhaustion, tiredness, irratatable, light sensetivity, and general unhappyness – it felt it was never going to stop and then it did just that.

One morning I awoke and everything felt calm. When I went into work, I felt so happy people were asking what was up with me… I said “I have no pain, none at all. Its the clearest and calmest I’ve felt in about 2 years”

I discovered after a little pepsi on a night out my sensitivity to caffeen, that and chocolate – I’d not had it for a month and it was delicious but within about 2 hours I had headaches again. I stopped it all and they vanished… tried a cup of real tea and back again… Glad I found the trigger – not so happy that the trigger effects so much of my life.

I already miss the dairy milk chocolate, and the daily cup of tea althou I have found a love for the taste of loose leaf jasmin tea – it is quite tasty and relaxing.