Tag: Awards

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

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Posted in About today

Ignore me – I’m a lunatic

Posted on by WeeGee

You know my last post? Well you can ignore that one already because broken brain isn’t getting away with that one. I liked my little hope and I’m keeping it whether the brain likes it or not.

The very lovely Ellie AKA the Anxious Elephant nominated me for the ‘very inspiring blogger award’ which was good of her not least because her blog is awesome. I’ve had that one before* so I’m not going to re-accept but I thought I’d half take part by telling you seven things about myself . That’ll be good fun eh?

Seven things that WeeGee did today

1. WeeGee realised she was having the annual swollen tonsils event and thought ‘what a pain in the backside that is’.

2. WeeGee got all bundled up in her new hat to go to the doctors but soon realised she didn’t need her new hat because it wasn’t actually that cold and she was too hot to start with anyway. This is me in my new hat** which I share with you because it’s new and I haven’t had any compliments yet. Yes. That was a hint.

3. WeeGee finally got to the end of The Thick of It and realised that Mr Friendly was right when he said it peaked at episode five. Which annoyed her because now she can’t have an argument about it with him.

4. WeeGee spent the afternoon trying to complete her mission to read the whole of the Internet. She hasn’t quite managed it yet but her preliminary review is that some of it is good but most of it is RUBBISH

5. WeeGee spent a lot of time wondering how she hadn’t discovered Good Old War on spotify before because they are AWESOME

6. WeeGee had a little bit of a wobbly boohoo moment but was okay in the end

7. WeeGee decided that she was going into work tomorrow even if she dies in the night because being poorly at home is BORING

Told you it’d be fun 😀

Lots of love from WeeGee McSickNote xxxxx

*I must be very inspiring or somefink!

**I’m not actually smiling – that’s my ‘I’m very poorly’ brave face

Posted in Little things that made me smile

WeeGee McStrong

Posted on by WeeGee

There’s a new award doing the rounds at the moment: The Strong Person Award.

This isn’t just any old award though, it’s an extra special one because a) it was created by the very fair hands of the Quiet Borderline* and b) its creation is a beautiful and generous gesture of encouragement and support.

Anyway, three of my fellow bloggers have very kindly put me forward for this award: The Quiet Borderline, Angel Fractured and Bourbon and I have decided to tentatively accept the award. I say tentatively because I’m going to have to break the rules a little bit…. All will become clear!

The Strong Person Award

‘You heard me right! You are not weak, you are strong. You are not a failure, you are a fighter! This goes out to all mentalists. And it’s a gift from me (The Quiet Borderline) to you all – Please spread the love. Mental health is not something to be sneered at and it deserves much more respect. Stop the stigmatising’.

The rules of the award are:

1. Make sure to add in the text and image to spread the love and add how little or how much you want!

 

Done (see above!)


2. Name your diagnoses – Stand loud and proud! You can tell us a little about them also if you’d like. How you’re affected by these diagnoses and how you are fighting your way out of them.

 

Okay, so this is where I break the rules because I don’t talk about my ‘diagnosis’. It’s a personal decision that has nothing to do with stigma, or shame, or secrecy or any other bad thing beginning with ‘S’….

For a long time, even I didn’t know what my ‘official’ diagnosis was. I was worried that the ‘label’ would consume me and that I would use it to give myself permission to let the symptoms take the driving seat.

The thing about my psychiatric diagnosis is that it isn’t very important to me. It’s just a collection of words that describe the bit that is important to me: my symptoms. I suppose my take on it is that I’m not trying to fight a diagnosis, but the symptoms as they manifest themselves on a daily basis.

What I’m trying to say (I’m sorry, I’m not saying it well!) is that I am a person who has mental health problems which fit into a number of different boxes. It doesn’t matter which box I fit in to at any given time, what matters is that I am a person with difficulties who works incredibly hard to manage the symptoms of my broken brain.

Sometimes I get depressed; sometimes I hurt myself on purpose; sometimes I drink too much;  sometimes I don’t eat enough; sometimes I don’t understand the world and the people in it; sometimes I hide; sometimes I wish that I wasn’t alive.

But most of the time I’m just WeeGee trying to make sure than none of those things get the better of me.

I hope you don’t mind that I cheated a little bit….


3. Add a photo of yourself, or some abstract picture that represents you, anything you like!

 

There aren’t a lot of photos of me because I have remarkable skills when it comes to hiding from the camera. Wouldn’t you rather have a picture of Gryff? He’s a handsome little fella:


4. Send this on to as many, yes, as many, people that you like. It can be five, ten, fifty.

 

This is one of those awards that is going to do the rounds, and I’ve already lost track of who has received a nomination. What I’d like to do is pass this award on to each and every one of my readers. Every time I sit down to catch up with WordPress I am blown away by how incredible my blogging buddies are. It’s just so amazing that in spite of what goes on in our heads we still manage to do all the things we do – the jobs and families and blogs and adventures and ups and downs. Truly. Amazing.

So if you are reading this, and you’re mental like me I’d  like you to take heart. You are strong and amazing and I’d very much like you to accept this award from me. As the Quiet Borderline says ‘You are not weak, you are strong. You are not a failure, you are a fighter!’

Lots of love from WeeGee xx
PS – I’m sorry the spacing is all a bit weird. I tried to fix it for ages but my head got done in and I had to give up xx

Posted in Little things that made me smile

See this post?

Posted on by WeeGee

See this post here? The one you’re reading at this very moment? Well it’s a special post because it’s post number ONE HUNDRED on How do you eat an elephant. What a momentous occasion……

To understand quite how momentous an occasion this is you have to know something about me: I’m rubbish at seeing things through. For a start the slightest little thing can defeat me and if I get defeated I give up completely. I also have a habit of just losing interest. Something can be the best thing ever one day and then completely forgotten the next. Finally, I’m just a bit rubbish when it comes to finishing things – I’ve got no staying power! Here’s an example. I’ve been knitting a cardigan (the same cardigan) since Christmas 2009. I’ve got a back and a side and a half so far. I expect to finish it in time for winter 2015. I hope it’s a cold one because it’s a super cosy cardigan.

But I digress. You don’t want to hear about my cosy cardigan.

I bet you’re wondering what I’m going to do with post ONE HUNDRED aren’t you?*

I’ll tell you what I’m going to do.

I’m going to accept this lovely award:

And then tell you about seven things that WeeGee loves.

The rules of the Seven things about me are thus:

  1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.
  2. Share seven things about yourself.
  3. Nominate other bloggers you think deserve the award, and post on their blog to let them know they’ve been nominated.

Angel Fractured at the Mirth of Despair nominated me for this one a while back. Thank you Angel Fractured for a) the lovely nomination, b) the lovely comments you leave on my blog and c) your own lovely blog and other lovely blog.

Here are seven things that WeeGee loves

1. I love my cat

Gryff is the best cat in the world. That, by the way, is a simple matter of fact.

He’s an odd little fellow but that just makes me love him all the more. He’s frightened of so many weird and wonderful things that never a day goes by that I don’t find something else he’s afraid of. Today for example I discovered he’s afraid on me emptying the coins out of my purse.

Although he’s nervous he’s also a happy little soul – full of chit chat, and purrs and those funny little gremlin noises cats make when they’re interested in something. He’s a brave boy when it comes to hunting insects down and he has a special talent for getting himself stuck on top of the wardrobe moments before I need to leave the flat.

Gryff has been in my life for six years – which is to say he’s been there through thick and through thin. I honestly don’t know how I would have coped with the last year and a half if it hadn’t been for Gryff.

Here is Gryff looking grumpy because he has been disturbed from his slumber for an impromptu photo opportunity:

Here he is again wondering when the impromptu photo opportunity is going to end  and thinking I’m an idiot:

Finally, here he is in a variation of croissant cat position**:

Dear Gryff. I love you. From WeeGee xx

2. I love Monk

I don’t just love Monk – I’m obsessed with Monk – which is quite apt really. I’ve watched every single episode AT LEAST three times. That’s how obsessed I am.

I love Monk because I love the central character, Adrian Monk. I love that he is so sad and broken but also so kind and funny at the same time. I love the way that he almost gets to where he needs to be but then his brain gets in the way and he ends up back at square one.

Maybe Adrian Monk reminds me of myself? Maybe Monk just makes me laugh? Maybe I just love Monk for its own sake. Whichever it is – I love Monk.

3. I love my blogging buddies

Before WordPress came to WeeGee land, I was dubious about online friendships.

I’m not anymore.

I’ve ‘met’ a lot of people here in the World of Blog and (as we’ve already established) I’ve come to care about them all a great deal. Here’s the other thing though…. meeting people, and getting to know them, and forming relationships with them – even if it is online – has really helped me to prove something to myself.

My life is better for the people I’ve met on WordPress. I love all the courage and humour and strength that I find in the blogs I read. It almost makes me think that I don’t want to be normal because normal people have none of the awesomeness and wonderfulness that the mentals do.

At this point I want to give a special ‘shout out’ to my brain twin and fellow alien – Carrie at Hello Sailor. Who’d ever have thunk that there would be two of us eh? I reckon we could be a force to be reckoned with xx

4. I love balsamic vinegar

I don’t know when I ‘discovered’ balsamic vinegar, or what my taste buds did before that momentous day. All I can say is…. what is life without balsamic vinegar? It’s an amazing foodstuff. I love it. Love it, love it, love it. Yum yum (for my tum)

Here, by the way, is the best balsamic that money can buy***:

5. I love the Olympics

Where do I start?!

I had no idea that I was going to love the Olympics being in London until the Olympics were in London and I can’t imagine a day coming along that is better than my day out at the Olympics, I really can’t. Ever. As long as I live. It was way too amazing for words…..

Fortuitously, I’ve been on annual leave for Olympic fortnight and I was going to write a post about all the fun I’ve had watching all kinds of weird, bizarre and wonderful sports – like rowing, and cycling, and pole vaulting, and the modern pentathalon, and HORSES. DANCING. TO MUSIC. But instead I’ve got two words for you:

Mo Farrah.

That is all.

6. I love Frank Turner

Okay, so I know I go on about this all the time, but I love Frank Turner. I truly do. Frank Turner’s music makes me feel like I belong even though I live in a world that I don’t belong in.

Frank Turner’s music has brought me through some pretty awful and dark days – it’s been like a faithful companion to me and has provided something solid to hold on to when everything else was turning into nothing.

I love Frank Turner. I love his music.

Here is Frank Turner doing some music:

7. I love this guy

This is Morgan Parra (the little French kicker) he’s quite handsome, no?

There you go then. Now you know seven things that I love and you have experienced my 100th post.

As for nominations – I thought I’d pass this one on to:

The Depressed Moose

Just a thought

Dorothy

Buckwheatrisk

Madness42

Meandanxiety

Dramajunkiee

If indeed they want it!

Hundreds and hundreds of love from WeeGee xx

*Okay, you’re probably not – it’s just me that’s a bit over excited isn’t it?!

**It took approximately one week’s worth of stalking him to get this photo!

***If you don’t have much money!

Posted in Little things that made me smile

A seal of approval

Posted on by WeeGee

Okay -so this one has pleased me. The Depressed Moose has made me one of two inaugural recipients of a brand new award. Hurrah. It pleases me because a) its new, b) it’s an award, and c) I’m a bit needy so a seal of approval goes a long way….

Here’s the award:

And, as I’ve already mentioned I recieved this from a rather lovely (if depressed) Moose called Garry. I suspect a Moose would never meet an elephant in the wild, but it seems to be going okay for us thus far….

Here are the questions and my responses:

If a film was made about your life what would the title be?

It’s only a matter of time before there is a film of my life, surely? I think I’d like it to be called ‘Becoming WeeGee’. I just would.

Who would play you? (Can be an actor/actress that is dead or alive)

It would have to be Scarlett Johansson owing to the striking resemblance she bears to me. Ahem.

What genre would the film be?

It certainly would be a comedy, but probably a kinda bittersweet one.

Who would direct the film?

Maybe Noah Baumbach? Or maybe I’d just do it myself to deal with all my control freakery stuff.

Who would play the love interest in the film?

Does there have to be a love interest? Films are like real life as far as I’m concerned: better without ‘love interests’. Yes. I’m bitter and twisted. So what….

If there really has to be one, I’ll have this guy (but I’ll be playing myself if this particular scenario unfolds):

Morgan Parra (AKA the little French kicker)*

Which song would feature most heavily in the film?

The soundtrack would be the complete works of [Sir] Frank Turner and the most prominent song would be this one:

If you could have played a part from any film what would that be?

Obviously, it would be the mad woman in the attic in any of the many film adaptations of Jane Eyre…. I’d do a good job of that.

Ta ta for now, WeeGee xxx

*Two pictures was gratuitous, I know. But in my defence I couldn’t help it!