Category: Reasons to be cheerful

Posted in About today, Moving forwards, Politics, Reasons to be cheerful

What’s that coming over the hill?

Posted on by WeeGee

I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but there’s this petulant man-child who thinks he’s the President of The United States of America ALL OVER the Internet. I think he might actually be COMPLETELY nuts, as in “Maybe someone ought to stage an intervention before this shit gets out of hand” kind of nuts….

nuts

There are many things I don’t understand about Donald Trump. His hair, for one thing, is a constant source of wonderment. I mean, HOW THE ACTUAL FUCK does a dude who gives every appearance of being vanity personified – and who has all the money he professes to have – try on all of the hairpieces in the million dollar hairpiece shop and decide THIS is the look he’s going with:

I know it’s a cheap shot and I know nobody would dream of commenting on his appearance if he happened to be a female politician. The thing is, my concern is less about his appearance and more about what his hair tells me about his judgement. I truly don’t know what to make of his daily decision to leave the house with something that might actually be alive sitting angrily atop his head. There is one thing I know for certain, though: that wig was ABSOLUTELY NOT chosen by a rational man….

overcomb

At the end of the day Donald Trump is not my President, so Donald Trump isn’t really any of my business.

ASIDE: If I were an American he’d be ‘hashtag-not-my-President’ but as things stand, he is ACTUALLY not my President. Politically speaking, this is the only advantage I can find to being British at the moment….

The trouble, of course, is that the President of The United States has long been regarded as the de-facto leader of the ‘Free World’ and I think I might belong to that, whatever it is, if it still exists.

Look. All I’m saying is that if aliens landed tomorrow and I was forced to introduce that stinking sack of bile as Our Leader I’d be FUCKING mortified on behalf of the whole of humanity. To be honest, when the aliens do land tomorrow (What? Aliens land every day. ALTERNATIVE FACTS ARE FACTS TOO, deal with it, snowflake.) we might be better off taking the little buggers to a different Deplorable Leader – one who can string a sentence together and who perhaps isn’t completely devoid of any of the qualities that usually stop other people, and presumably aliens, from wanting to punch you in your face until you stop saying words.

IXYpi.gif

——

I suppose the thing with Donald Trump is that he demands a reaction. It doesn’t really matter whether you loathe him or you love him, one way or another you can’t help but respond to his strange dog whistle. Maybe the best thing to do is to choose not to respond to the hatred. I fear it may be too late for that this time but I’ll tell you what, next time an odious dickhead in a toupee turns up wanting to be the boss of anything I vote we ignore the fuck right out of it……

My response to Trump is, as you can see, wholly negative. I don’t get it and if I spend time trying to get it I start to feel like nothing will ever be right again – at which point I have to stop trying to get it for the sake of my sanity. I can’t understand how someone so graceless, so nasty, so utterly vacuous and so completely incapable of articulating even the most basic of arguments has become so fucking powerful. I JUST DON’T GET IT. I mean I get that some voters feel disillusioned and disenfranchised and I get that disillusioned and disenfranchised voters will (and indeed should) seek to effect change but I don’t get why anyone would seek anything in the darkest of dark places that is President Trump’s mind.

ASIDE: Incidentally, I feel much the same about Nigel Farage and his nationalist cronies here in the UK, although thankfully, as things stand, they are ‘just’ all of the above without any of the power. Farage, for all his bluster and airtime, is still nothing more than the shitty little tail that wagged Britain’s dog straight out of the European Union…..

straight-outta

—

The question I’ve been asking myself, for months now is WHAT IN THE NAME OF FUCK are we supposed to do? How do you stand up for what you know to be right when what is wrong is so much louder than anything you can come up with? How do you make the world the best it can be when the worst of it is at the fore?

How do you stop monsters in their tracks? 

Of course, I don’t know the answer yet, not really, but I do know that there’s no good trying to do it all at once: How do you eat an elephant? Bite by bite. How do you make the world better? A little at a time.

Personally, I know I need to be careful. I need to be mindful that my mental health can be fragile, that I have a tendency to obsess and that I am easily crushed, defeated and overwhelmed. I need to remember that refusing to stand idly by is not the same thing as taking on the whole world. 

And so, I’ll draw my lines in the sand. I’ll figure out what matters the most, as far as I can, and I’ll figure out how I direct my energies towards making even the smallest of differences. My time, my money, my words, my actions: these are the things I have and I’ll use them. I’ll write to the dudes in suits, I’ll smile at strangers on trains, I’ll march, I’ll agitate, I’ll volunteer, I’ll send charities what I can – in cash and in kind. In short, I’ll take my anger and I’ll use it. 
sign-1

I won’t sit down. And I won’t shut up. Most of all, I’ll turn up for the task, every single day. Bite by bite and a little at a time, the monsters will be quietened. 

Love you all lots, like Jelly Tots.

WeeGee xoxoxo

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Posted in Reasons to be cheerful

The ten commandments of cohabiting with a WeeGee

Posted on by WeeGee

In honour of the one year anniversary of Mr Awesome Thing Number Five and I moving in together I give you:

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF COHABITING WITH A WEEGEE.

  1. Thou shalt respect the God of angles

The WeeGee is a particular creature in all matters but especially in relation to the positioning of inanimate objects – all such objects in the WeeGee’s natural habitat are placed carefully, sometimes parallel to others and sometimes slightly askew. There is a system governing the parallel/slightly askew positioning of inanimate objects known and understood by WeeGee and WeeGee alone.

The system must be respected at all times: if you choose to reposition inanimate objects you do so on pain of a ginormous and lengthy sulk.

Monk

  1. Thou shalt not eat breakfast cereal

The cohabiting WeeGee has made significant progress in managing her ‘noisy eating rage’. However, the noise associated with the consumption of breakfast cereal remains problematic. Breakfast cereal is therefore eaten in WeeGee’s presence at considerable risk to your own personal safety.

Cereal 2

  1. Thou shalt remain calm in the face of loss

The WeeGee will lose her phone/keys/purse on a near daily basis. Such losses will result in a period of frantic searching which will invariably conclude when WeeGee finds her phone/keys/purse in the very place she said it definitely wasn’t.

If the period of frantic searching has not concluded within five minutes it is your responsibility to concede that WeeGee has really lost her phone/keys/purse this time and join the search. Shortly thereafter you will find the lost phone/keys/purse in the very place WeeGee said it definitely wasn’t.

Keys

  1. Thou shalt not touch WeeGee’s feet. Ever.

Nothing makes the WeeGee more furious than a part of another person’s body touching her bare feet. In the interests of safety adequate precautions should therefore be taken if there is even the slightest possibility that you might make contact with the WeeGee’s bare feet. Adequate precautions include, but are not limited to, the wearing of protective garments designed to guard against a punch in the face.

Full body armour

  1. Thou shalt not wake a sleeping WeeGee.

Every effort should be taken not to disturb the sleeping WeeGee. In the event that a sleeping WeeGee is accidentally woken you should be prepared to hear an extremely wide variety of really bad swear words many of which you will not have heard before.

Unfortunately it will occasionally be necessary to deliberately wake the sleeping WeeGee. In this instance commandment five shall be amended to read ‘thou shalt not wake a sleeping WeeGee and expect her to be remotely civil about it’ (see above)

Waking up

  1. Thou shalt not expect to find things where you left them

The WeeGee is a stealth tidier-upper. Items left in the wrong place will be moved to the correct place immediately and without warning.

Note that your opinion on the ‘correct’ place for an item is entirely irrelevant. The WeeGee’s decision on where your personal belongings will be tidied up to is final and you shall have no right of appeal.

Tidy up

  1. Thou shalt not laugh at tears

The WeeGee is a highly sensitive creature prone to outbursts of uncontrollable crying. It is unusual for a warning to be given although really nice people winning television game shows and that happy-but-sad bit at the end of DIY SOS often precede outbursts of uncontrollable crying.

It is your responsibility not to laugh at these outbursts of uncontrollable crying, no matter how ridiculous. Note that you should never administer hugs if uncontrollable crying breaks out as the administration of hugs under such circumstances tends to lead to an outbreak of full-blown but equally uncontrollable sobbing. This is not in the interests of anyone, least of all yourself.

Sobbing

  1. Thou shalt provide socks

Quite what the WeeGee did for socks before she lived with you remains one of the great mysteries of life but the fact remains that the WeeGee will never have any socks and will expect to find a suitable pair in your drawer.

Thou shalt not get antsy when WeeGee wears your Thursday socks on a Sunday is a supplementary commandment that will help to avoid arguments and thus make life a little more tolerable for all concerned.

Socks

  1. Thou shalt be in charge of the cling film

The WeeGee is incapable of using cling film without a) embarking on a long, heartfelt and sweary rant about the bastard who invented it and b) losing the effing end of the useless bastard stuff. You shall therefore bear sole responsibility for all and any procedures which involve the use of cling-film.

Cling film

  1. Thou shalt not ask questions about Eastenders during Eastenders

If you would like to know what is happening in Eastenders you should watch it. If you do not want to watch Eastenders you should not ask the WeeGee questions about what is happening while she is trying to watch it.

If you do not want to watch Eastenders but insist on asking WeeGee questions about what is happening while she is trying to watch it the WeeGee will be deeply sarcastic and will also certainly not tell you what is happening in Eastenders because SHE IS TRYING TO WATCH IT.

Eastenders

Love you all lots, like Jelly Tots

WeeGee xoxox

Posted in Reasons to be cheerful

A little favour?

Posted on by WeeGee

Good evening folks. How’s it all going?

You know me – I’m not in the habit of asking for favours, but this is an important one. A good friend of mine has a nephew who’s hoping to make it all the way to the World Dwarf Games in the USA, but he needs a little help to get there.

I’ve never met Tom, but I have met people who care about him which is why I’m sharing this link in the hope that you will be able to help by a) donating whatever you can OR b) sharing the link on your blog, Facebook, Twitter – whatever. The more people who know about this the more support Tom will get and that’s the name of the game.

http://www.gofundme.com/28io0k

It’ll only take you a minute to support a proper actual superstar in achieving his potential…. Awww – go on, there are lots of mental people – we could get some momentum going…..

🙂

Lots of love from WeeGee xoxoxoxox

Posted in Reasons to be cheerful

Would you like a hug?

Posted on by WeeGee

I think there’ll be two posts from me today because I’ve got things to tell you about but I’ve also got an important announcement to make and I don’t want it all mixed up in one post because that wouldn’t be very tidy at all now would it?

I’ll go with the important announcement first.

Are you ready?

Pause for WeeGee to clear her throat in a ceremonious fashion…….

Sometime last week I achieved the impressive milestone of my 200th post on How do you eat an elephant? Not bad for a part time blogger who was completely MENTAL for the first seven months, eh?

An awful lot has happened since I first sat down to write last April. Granted, some of it has been pretty bad, but on reflection I can’t help but thinking that most of it has actually been pretty damn good. I’ve come an awful long way and – WEEGEE IS ABOUT TO BE A BIT SENTIMENTAL WARNING – I just wanted to say that I really don’t think I’d have got to where I am without the support of my WordPress friends. You really are an AWESOME bunch who I’m very, very lucky to have bumped in to. Thanks so very much, I love you all, and if anyone would like a hug they can definitely have a WeeGee shaped one today.

I promise not to come over all sentimental and unnecessary again until my 300th post or one year blogging anniversary (whichever comes first).

Catch you later, Love from WeeGee xoxoxoxox

Posted in Reasons to be cheerful

Seven things you shall shortly know about WeeGee

Posted on by WeeGee

Morning folks. How’s everybody getting on? I wondered if you might fancy a little bit of a WeeGee awards post? By the way, it doesn’t really matter what your answer is because you are getting an awards post regardless….

The marvellous Rachel Miller over at My Bipolar Life very kindly nominated my blog for the one lovely blog award. That was pretty sweet of her and I thank her from the bottom of my heart for thinking of me. Oh and I hope you had a super birthday Rachel? The thing is – I’ve received this award before, but writing seven things about myself provides an excellent distraction which is exactly what I need right now*.

Seven things you didn’t know about WeeGee (but that you will know by the end of this post)

1. WeeGee was the head girl at her school

Believe it or not I was elected as the head girl at my school in 1995. I say believe it or not because I was in FULL BLOWN NUTTER mode at the time of my election. My readers have seen me when I’m mental, but I promise you WeeGee being mental is nothing compared to WeeGee in FULL BLOWN NUTTER mode. Being head girl means you get to wear a badge and feel popular and important but I can’t remember much more about it than that owing to FULL BLOWN NUTTER mode.

2. WeeGee has a bit of a ‘thing’ about doing things she’s not very good at doing

To be fair I’ve got an awful lot of ‘things’ about things** but the one that frustrates me most is my absolute refusal to do things that I’m not very good at doing which means I have to watch on when people are playing pool (amongst other things)

3. WeeGee thinks she might have a bit of a crush on Mr I’m Quite Handsome

This one only occurred to me today, so it’s no wonder that you didn’t know it about me before. Mr I’m Quite handsome works for one of our resellers and he comes to see me at least once a month and he’s always super nice to me because he wants us to spend loadsa money with his company. Anyway I caught myself doing the whole inauspicious check for a wedding ring thing earlier and Mr I’m Quite Handsome also caught me at it and made a joke about being single in his thirties and WeeGee thought hang on a little minute there and then shook his hand and said ‘see you next month’ in the normal fashion….. Sigh.

4. WeeGee is a ‘person of executive potential’

Believe it or not, when I’m not bouncing around being daft at work I actually have a responsible job which (even if I do say so myself) I’m pretty damn good at. I often say that I don’t take anything very seriously but my job is the obvious exception that proves the rule. Anyway, I’m pleased to report that my reputation clearly proceeds me and I have recently been put forward for the executive mentoring scheme. I consider this to be even more impressive given the recent attack of the mentals and the resultant time off work.

5. WeeGee has a lucky charm

I don’t believe in fate or destiny or any of that stuff, mainly because I try not to believe in things that defy all logic, but I do have a lucky charm. It’s a pair of miniature wellington boots that I bought at Kew Gardens about twelve years ago – they’ve lived on my desk at work ever since, and I’ve got on pretty well at work so I think it’s fair to consider them lucky

6. WeeGee has never seen any of the Star Wars or Alien films

Mr Hilarious swears blind that I’m making this one up for attention but I swear blind that I’m not. In some ways I’d quite like to watch them but I’ve made it 32 years without seeing them and I now consider it to be a bit of a claim to fame.

7. WeeGee is addicted to nicotine replacement lozenges

I’m rather proud of the fact that I managed to quit smoking when I was proper mental. I’m less proud of the fact that although I haven’t had a cigarette for 11 months*** I am now completely addicted to nicotine replacement lozenges. I guess that’s what a compulsive personality does for you.

There you go then – seven things that you didn’t know about WeeGee but that you definitely know now.

Thanks for all the hugs following my last post by the way – I knew I could rely on you guys. As a short update WeeGee got over the not being okay thing without any difficulty and I’m all bouncy and smiley again now. I’m like a Weeble because when I wobble I don’t fall down

Seven lots of love from WeeGee xxxxx

PS – if any of my readers haven’t already had the ‘One lovely blog award’ and would like it, please accept it from me because all the blogs I read are lovely

PPS – I wrote this post last night but then I got distracted by some amusing and hilarious occurrences in WeeGee land. I mention this because it means you’ll probably get two posts from me today

 

 

 

 

*It occurs to me that I started the thirty days of truth challenge and then forgot to finish it so I might revisit that soon

**Like moths and mushrooms and alphabetical order and things being at just the right angle – the list goes on

***Apart from that night I was drinking gin and tonic with Mrs Perfect but that was completely her fault

 

Posted in Reasons to be cheerful

The brilliant blog award

Posted on by WeeGee

I’ve got stuff on my mind today which I’d prefer not to talk about* so instead of trying to ramble round my brain trying to find stuff that isn’t ‘the stuff’ to tell you about I’m going to accept a fabulous new award instead. Yay for blogging awards!

The award is the Brilliant Blog Award and here are da rules:

Write an acceptance speech, linking back to the person who gave it to you.

Write 7 things you believe in.

Give the award to as many brilliant blogs as you would like to share the love.

WeeGee’s acceptance speech

Of course I’m going to accept this award. In general I like blogging awards because they give us a chance to find out things we wouldn’t otherwise have found out about one another and they give us an opportunity to spread some mutual appreciation around out little corner of the blogosphere. However, receiving this particular award really made me smile because it was bestowed upon me by its creator, Tallulah “Lulu” Stark of Sunny with a chance of Armageddon fame. Lulu is an AWESOME blogger and one of that small number of bloggers who make up what I consider to be mental health blogging royalty. It’s an honour that she thought of my little blog when handing out the gongs. Thanks so much xx

Seven things WeeGee believes in

I believe our children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way……… Don’t worry – I jest 😀

1. I believe in a thing called love

Seems a rather obvious one and maybe slightly twee but being loved, and loving others is something that I believe in with all of my heart. Besides, it gives me the opportunity to wallow in the nostalgia of this AWESOME song:

2. I believe in justice

In my mind justice is the thing that should lie at the heart of all human interactions – it isn’t just about legal due process (although that is important) because justice is also about doing what is right even when what is right is unpopular.

3. I believe in kindness

My motto in life is be kind, always and to everyone. Now I just need to convince everybody else to adopt it and things will be a whole lot better for us all!

4. I believe in equality

I get tired of discrimination because I can’t understand it. I can’t understand why the choices people make, or the circumstances they are born into should make any difference to the way the are perceived or treated. We are all equal, and none of us are more equal than others. The end.

5. I believe that honesty is the best policy

Sometimes the truth hurts, but sometimes people have to hurt. Lies don’t spare people’s feelings they just add insult to injury

6. I believe risks are to be taken rather than avoided

An interesting one given that a lot of my job is about minimising risk, but out there in the real world sometimes you have to take a chance on things. Sure you might get your fingers burned, but you’ll get over that. What ifs never go away.

7. I believe in rock ‘n’ roll

I guess if you read my blog you have already figured out how important music is to me. In some ways music is where I hide, but it’s also where I go to try and make sense of the feelings I can’t understand. I can’t imagine my life without music. Lets have a bit of Frank Turner, because we haven’t had a bit of Sir Frank for a while….

Seven brilliant blogs

Nominations are always the hard part of award posts. I love all of the blogs I read and I’m always tempted to give the award to everybody even though it isn’t really in the spirit of award etiquette. This time round I’ve decided to choose seven bloggers who have helped to drag me through my dark days – the ones who have always been there with a few words of encouragement, or some hugs, or a hilarious joke. I guess these are people who I am happy to be able to call friends.

1. Crazy in the Coconut: Dear Bourbon, You are AWESOME and I wish I could make you see how AWESOME you are. Lots of love, WeeGee

2. Hello Sailor: Dear Carrie, I’m so glad that I came across my alien sister brain twin. The world is much better knowing there are two of us. Lots of love, WeeGee

3. BuckwheatRisk: Dear Buckwheat, I love it when you do that little boogie woogie thing you do. You always make me smile with your comments. Lots of love, WeeGee

4. The Depressed Moose: Dear Mr Moose, What would I do without your lovely self? Lots of love, WeeGee

5. Tip toeing round the abyss: Dear Casey, Thank you so much for sticking with my blog for so long and for all the words of encouragement and kindness. Lots of love, WeeGee

6. Carry on recovering: Dear Rhio, You are as cool as penguins and a true inspiration to those battling their way through EDs. Lots of love WeeGee

7. Brandon Board: Dear Brandon, I haven’t known you long but I love your blog and I love the way you take time to leave really thoughtful (and helpful) comments on my blog. Lots of love, WeeGee

Special mention

I end with a special mention of a brilliant blogger who I know doesn’t really like the whole awards thing. Dear RThePotter, I had to give you a special mention because you have stuck with my blog through thick and thin and always been there with those wise words of wisdom of yours. Lots of love, WeeGee

The end of the brilliant blog award post

Lots of love from WeeGee xxxxxx

*Don’t worry – I’m not going mental I’m just having one of my little thinks

Posted in Reasons to be cheerful

Leaps and bounds

Posted on by WeeGee

I went to see my GP before work this morning and it’s official: I am ‘coming on in leaps and bounds’. How EXCITING is that?! Unfortunately, my excitement was slightly tempered when I arrived at work and Mr Hilarious said ‘what have you done to your hair – it looks like you’ve got a comb over?’ and I had to spend ages wandering around to see if anybody had any hair straighteners because I did indeed look like I had a comb over……

Anyway – This is just a short post to let you know I’ve decided that I quite like coming on in leaps and bounds. It’s nice getting to know yourself again after all that time in hiding; it’s nice getting up and going about the days without once wishing you were dead; it’s nice taking care of yourself without having to even think about doing it; most of all it’s nice to laugh naturally in response to something funny instead of forcing yourself to join in because ‘laughing is what the normal people do’.

I’m still trying to be gentle with myself and keep up my routines and thinking tricks because I’m not taking any risks at this point. Plus, every so often a mental thought pops up and I act on it and I know I need to work on that. Most of the mental thoughts involve WeeGee getting a bit scared when she remembers people always hurt you in the end* and responding by pulling away and closing the boundaries down. That’s rubbish for me and rubbish for the people close to me because they think everything is swimming along nicely so end up feeling confused. I’m also conscious that thoughts of food are louder than they’ve been for quite a long time. I’ve responded by making new meal plans and banning myself from running until the thoughts have gone away. The main thing is I have responded – and that’s one of the reasons I know I’m coming on in leaps and bounds.

Lots of love from WeeGee xoxoxoxox

*Which isn’t actually true. Some people have hurt me in the past, but people might not hurt me in the future

Posted in Reasons to be cheerful

Crazy Kid

Posted on by WeeGee

I had lentil soup for breakfast this morning. I didn’t really fancy any of the more usual breakfast items and I had lentil soup in the fridge. What can I say? That’s how much of a crazy kid I am…..

Over the weekend I’ve learned quite a few lessons about online dating. Here are just a few of them:

  • The internet dating world is a lot like the real world – most people are nice although there is a small proliferation of idiots
  • When someone offers to show you their rock polishing kit you should probably spot the potential for euphemism before you respond
  • When someone asks ‘do you like coffee’ they don’t actually want to know the long and boring story about how you gave up drinking it in 2010

Beyond that I can only really say positive things about my experience so far. I’ve spent my time chatting to some sweet and interesting people who I’d never have met in real life, which is really nice. It’s also rather good for one’s self esteem – what with people telling you’re pretty or attractive or even (get this) gorgeous! It perks you up a bit, even though you know they’re only saying it because that’s the kind of thing they have to say.

I do have a couple of small worries so far:

Small worry number one: I’m not entirely sure that my ‘how to spot a serial killer in a chat room’ radar is properly perfected. I mean – how do you ever really know?*

Small worry number two: That WeeGee thing of ‘getting all attached to people’ is already kicking in. I’m not attached in a scary clingy way; more in a I like you which means I’ll think about you from time to time and care about you and stuff. Much like how I feel about my blogging buddies I guess. Still – I need to be careful in the online dating world because not everyone cares as much as I do and sometimes my feelings get hurt.

The only other thing to say about my online dating experience so far is that not everybody gets my sense of humour. I KNOW! In all seriousness it is interesting to note that there are generally two kinds of people in the world: the earnest people and the flippant people. I definitely fall into the latter category and I’m not great at making conversation with people in the former.

Anyway – I’m determined to be ‘me’ which means I’m not going to be taking myself too seriously. So what if my profile is a bit light hearted? So what if I don’t have twenty ‘getting to know you questions’ lined up**? So what if not everybody ‘gets’ me? After all if somebody doesn’t get me we’re probably not going to have any fun and what’s the point in that?

So yeah. Online dating. Good for a giggle so far….

Meanwhile in other news it is now twenty days since I last had a noticeable attack of the mentals*** and I bought the wrong Pearl Drops toothpaste over the weekend. I’m telling you that because the toothpaste I inadvertently bought is bright pink. Pink! What kind of colour is that for toothpaste****? Nothing else to report today save that I am seriously considering going home and having breakfast cereal for lunch….. Told you I was a crazy kid today!

Ta ta for now

Love from WeeGeexxx

 

 

*I suppose the only conclusive proof would winding up dead in a ditch. Which seems a little extreme and deeply unfortunate

**I’d rather have a little ramble around our heads and see where we end up – you know: like how normal conversations work

***I’m not counting the day I was wearing squeaky shoes and it drove me MENTAL

****Unless you’re a small child

Posted in Reasons to be cheerful

Going to the Olympics: Better than…

Posted on by WeeGee

… Frank Turner!

Yep. That’s right. You heard it here first – going to London 2012 is officially better that going to see Frank Turner at the Hammersmith Apollo on the 22nd November 2011. This is big news in WeeGee land by the way.

I understand that not everybody cares about the Olympic Games, so here’s a quick summary of WeeGee at the Olympic Games for those of you who don’t want to read an over excited and gushing post all about the Olympics.

A quick summary

1. There are huge crowds of trillions of people at the Olympic Games – WeeGee doesn’t like huge crowds of trillions of people.

2. At least a million strangers amongst the huge crowds of trillions of people at the Olympic Games will speak to you without warning – Wee Gee doesn’t like at least a million strangers speaking to her without warning.

3. WeeGee went to the Olympics and at least a million strangers amongst the huge crowds of trillions of people at the Olympic Games spoke to her without warning – WeeGee LOVED going to the Olympics.

Here’s an even quicker summary of WeeGee at the Games just to make sure you get the gist of how over excited and gushing I am.

An even quicker summary

WOW!

An over excited and gushing post all about the Olympics

I thought I was all interested and involved in the Olympics before I actually went along to the Olympics. All I can say is I hadn’t seen anything yet! It was amazing. Like, totally AMAZEBALLS.

The back story is this:

I was really looking forward to going, but at the same time I had a list of ‘things to be anxious about’ that was as long as my arm. First of all there was the fact that I was going somewhere that I didn’t ‘know  what I was doing’ – I like to know the rules so that I can avoid getting anxious about doing it wrong and looking like an idiot. Then there were the huge crowds of at least a trillion people to contend with – I never quite know how my brain is going to react under such circumstances. Then there was going on the tube with huge crowds of at least a trillion people. I was also extremely worried that I would arrive at the Olympics and decide that I wanted to go home IMMEDIATELY. Or what if I got to the Olympics and realised that I was more mental than I’d ever been before and had a complete nervous breakdown at the Olympics? Finally – what if the toilets were grotty?

Thinking about now it’s amazing that I got there really – but then again I did have a secret weapon on the day – Mr Friendly. Mr Friendly is friendly, and brave and calm and actually pretty good at laughing along with WeeGee when the mentals strike. Good old Mr Friendly!

Broken brain was still in flat and empty mode on the day WeeGee went to the games – well at least at the start of the day. I very nearly called Mr Friendly to say’ I can’t go, why don’t you take your flat mate instead?’ But then I remembered that I can do a good job of ignoring the flat and empties so it would be okay in the end. In the end, it was better than okay. There were a few jittery moments, but they were few and far between and there were a number of moments when I felt NORMAL and/or HAPPY – the Olympic Games: Good for your mental health.

This is the view of the approach to the Olympic Park (if you come via West Ham, anyway):

It really does take your breath away – what with the scale of it and the expectancy and the general awesomeness. Along the way, there are loads of volunteers welcoming you and being all friendly and helpful and whooping everybody up. It’s difficult not to get excited. By the way, you see that massive curly wurly thing in the background? I went all the way to the top of it. That’s how brave I was when I went to the Olympics (more about that later)

When I got to security, I didn’t know what I was doing and I was a bit anxious. Was it exactly like airport security or were there different special rules that I didn’t know about? Was I allowed to take my NRT lozenges in or would they be confiscated and if so – THEN WHAT WOULD I DO? Would I have to take my shoes off (I hate taking my shoes off. I hate other people taking their shoes off more – I’m afraid of feet)? Did I have some unexpected contraband in my bag – like a gun – that I didn’t know about?

The answer? Everything was fine. WeeGee coped just fine. Go WeeGee!

It became clear to me as I went through security that strangers were going to speak to me at the Olympic Games. Instead of deciding I wanted to go home IMMEDIATELY in order to avoid this, I decided I was going to play a game of ‘let’s see how many strangers WeeGee can manage to speak to back without going mental’.

The answer? Loads!

Here is WeeGee arriving at the Olympic Park having being whooped up by the volunteers and buoyed by speaking to strangers and not knowing what she was doing but coping. Yes. That’s the face I pull when those things happen:

Once we got into the Olympic Park WeeGee took a leap of faith and decided that she was going to go to the top of the huge curly wurly thing. It was a leap of faith because a) it was huge and I didn’t know how you got back down and b) once again, I didn’t really know what was going to happen when I got to the top.

Here’s what happened. You go up to a viewing platform 84 feet high and look down on the Stadium. If you are lucky enough to be up there when a race is taking place you will hear a mahoosive roar from inside the stadium and it will be so mahoosive that the hairs on the back of your neck will stand up. Then you go to a different viewing platform to watch the athletes warming up/training and wonder whether Usain Bolt is down there and think WOW – I am here! This is the view from the top of the curly wurly thing:

Then you realise you have to walk down all 84 feet of the curly wurly thing and, on the way down, you cling on to the banister for dear life. When you get to the bottom you feel proud of yourself for going up and coming down – imagine if you had let the mentals stop you. And you are double proud of yourself because you only went and initiated a conversation with a stranger because his children amused you and you wanted to tell him and be friendly. Go WeeGee!

Next stop was what we thought to be the Biggest McDonalds in the World for a quarter pounder, fries and fat coke. The McDonalds we went to was pretty huge but we later realised that is was teeny tiny in comparison to the actual Biggest McDonalds in the World! (a note on McDonalds – the last time I ate there was May 2011. It’s definitely better the less often you have it!)

We spent a long time just wandering around soaking up the atmosphere, because the atmosphere was totally amazing. Everybody was all happy and excited and friendly and, while we were wandering around, I managed to initiate conversation with a random stranger #2 by talking to a nice man about ‘The Cube’. Totally go WeeGee – I was on fire!

It really is amazing being at the Olympic park by the way, did I mention that? I don’t think I’m doing a good job of putting it into words. Then again – I don’t actually think you can adequately put it into words. I’ve been to a few huge sporting and musical events in my time but they’re always a bit chaotic, and scary and grubby. The Olympics is none of those things. It’s organised and exciting and very, very clean. Even the toilets are acceptable!

As we headed up towards the hockey venue we saw this:

An as yet unidentified dude from the BBC… everyone was looking at him and waving even though nobody knew who he was or what he was doing. It’s amazing what people will get excited about, isn’t it?! By the way – there’s a prize for anyone who can identify the dude from the BBC….

Finally after much soaking up of atmosphere we arrived at the hockey venue. This is what it looked like:

And this was team GB lining up for the anthems against Pakistan:

It was amazing to see all that red white and blue in one place at one time. Truly amazing. We’ve already established that I’m not a fan of flags – I guess because I associate them with fascists and hooligans. My association is clearly wrong, because there was nothing unpleasant about seeing all those union flags being brandished so proudly. It was actually quite beautiful. Maybe I’m not a cynic anymore because even I got in on the action and purchased a hat with the union flag on top. Here’s WeeGee getting in the team GB spirit by wearing a rather fetching hat (it was an impulse purchase):

And here’s the crowd just after roaring out God Save Aunt Jean (she keeps us nice and clean) – all the hairs on the back of my neck were up at this point and it was only a prelim match!

Guess what? Team GB won! Perfect. I had a super time watching the hockey even if I didn’t always know what was going on!

We headed towards the end of day with WeeGee getting the opportunity to watch Mr Friendly in action as he actually properly spoke to some strangers. Two blokes from Winchester wanted to chat (not just small talk) and I didn’t like it at all because I didn’t know what to say and I wanted to LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. Mr friendly just got on with it for a while and then realised I wanted to leave and got me outta there. Good old Mr Friendly again!

We rounded up the day in the viewing park watching the rowers getting gold and singing along with God Save Aunt Jean again and seeing Victoria Pendleton winning her gold medal on the big screen. Exciting! Go Team GB!!

I love the Olympics and I loved going to the Olympics. I’ve written a long post but I definitely didn’t do it justice although I tried my best. Maybe I should have stuck with the even shorter summary because that probably said it all:

WOW!

If you don’t have tickets for an event and have a spare ten pounds it is WELL WORTH buying a ticket to go in and have a look around and to watch a few events at the viewing park. Seriously – the Olympics are better than Frank Turner. There is no higher recommendation than that!

Lots of Olympic Love, WeeGee xx

PS. Just in case you are wondering why both of the photos of me are in black and white it’s because everybody looks better in black and white – especially WeeGee who looks like a moron in colour. Here’s the proof:

Posted in Reasons to be cheerful

I feel like playing tag!

Posted on by WeeGee

I felt like playing a game today so here are my answers to Madness42’s tag questions. Why not head over to her blog and give her a follow. She’s got a lovely little blog 🙂

1. What made you decide to blog?

I started writing after a particularly bad patch. I was looking for a focus – a project I could organise and manage, a way of keeping myself in the here and now and a change of emphasis in my thinking. I also wanted to share my story, if anyone was interested, and perhaps get some support along the way.

2. What have you done lately that made you go “YES!”

I’m doing the 10,000 steps challenge in aid of Mind at the moment which means I have to take at least 10,000 steps every day for six weeks. I’ve managed it every day so far (even on the proper mental days) so there has been a little ‘yes’ every day from the start of July in WeeGee land!

3. What’s your favourite social network, if you have one?

Well…. I suppose Twitter. It lends itself to pithy humour which I like. I can’t bear Facebook anymore. It really does make me despair of the human race most of the time. I can’t bring myself to delete my profile though!

4. What would you choose to have out of a) a cook b) a cleaner c) a nanny (for those with children!) You can choose more than one!

I’d have a cook. I’m a neat freak and the thought of anyone else tidying up my stuff makes me feel a bit sick! And I don’t have children so a nanny would be redundant unless it was to look after me!

5. If you could make a living doing something you love, what would it be?

Definitely writing. If I ever win the lottery I’m going to disappear to live on a Scottish Island and write to my heart’s content. (And with a few million in the bank I wouldn’t have to worry about actually making a living!)

6. Do you agree with the quote, “Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all”?

I’m not sure that I do. I see the point and it’s a nice sentiment but I’m not very good at dealing with loss so it’s too painful for me to agree with.

7. What do you think about the “50 Shades” books? Doesn’t matter if you’ve read them or not!

The existence of the 50 shades books makes me feel disappointed and dismayed. I haven’t read any of them and never will. Life is too short to spend your time reading drivel and nonsense, especially when you think of all the brilliant books you could be reading instead. That’s just my view but I’m an English graduate and a self confessed literary snob!

8. Is having a clean & tidy house important to you?

VERY. If my flat is untidy (which it never really is – sometimes it’s just untidy by my standards and I’d probably still get away with having the vicar round for a brew) I get anxious and can’t concentrate. I need tidy surroundings to keep a tidy mind.

9. Spontaneity or planning?

Planning every time. My life is about lists, lists and more lists. There are lists of the lists!

10. Is there a cause close to your heart? For example, I support the National Autistic Society and their campaigns to make life better for people on the autistic spectrum and to raise awareness of autism.

Justice is something that I believe in above all other things which puts civil liberties fairly high up my list of causes. I’m a member of both Liberty and Amnesty and I write a lot of letters and generally make a pest of myself….

11. What newspaper do you read, if any?

It’s a long time since I bought a hard copy newspaper – I read the Independent, Guardian and Times online. I have never read the Sun and only ever buy it if I’m moving house and needs something to wrap my valuables in (page three goes in the bin!). Told you I was a snob!

Lots of love from WeeGee xx