Day #41 10.02.16

I love living in a flat for many reasons, but one of them is for the neighbours. You see them a lot more than if living on a street, and if you’re me, you see them a lot more than just in passing as you foist yourself on them and make them be your friend.

Shelley lives in the flat below me and we often pop into each other’s flats for a cup of tea or g&t and a catch up/laugh/put the world to rights. This was one of those times. But she doesn’t like having her picture taken much. But as people will realise (and old friends will remember from 2012 PAD) you don’t have a choice where photo a day is concerned. Hehe.

Day #26 26.01.16

Impromptu nights are the best. Tonight was an improptu ‘invite the neighbours round for tea’ night. Love my building, love my neighbours. Lots of fun, lots of laughing.

Day #24 24.01.16

Today’s been an uneventful day really. A pottering day. A day mainly inside. And it’s been great. Everyone needs them. Can’t be busy all the time. It’s also a day where I rejoice at living alone where there’s no one around to judge or comment. Halloumi and beetroot for tea? Why, yes, thank you very much. YES.

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Day #20 20.01.16

I’m a lucky girl; I have great friends. Tonight I was invited over for tea by my friend Rachel. I’ve known her since we were about 13 and went on the school bus together. She’s the one person I knew in Cheltenham before I moved here and I happened to pick a flat to live in that’s 5 minutes away from her house (handy).

She’s a year younger than me but looks after me well as she’s a proper grown up so she often cooks me tea and stuff. In return I make her go out and get drunk and relive our Horncastle Town Hall youth.

Lasagne tonight (a proper home cooked meal that I very rarely have time or the inclination to cook) and a good old catch up.

Sausages.

Just wrote a post. Deleted it accidentally. Bollocks. Now have to remember what I wrote. Or write something again. FFS.

I was going to blog about something tonight but I can’t for the life of me remember what. Probably something to do with the couple of drinks I had in the pub tonight after a long day in Edinburgh and not much food. Made me a bit woozy (also disclaimer for any typos). Got home and grilled 3 sausages for tea. That’s it, just 3 sausages and some tomato sauce. I am a responsible adult. I’m sure other people living alone know what I mean. Sometimes it’s a royal pain in the arse to just cook for yourself. So you end up making nutritionally questionable meals such as 3 sausages. I did follow it up after a bit with some seeds and nutty cereal shit. Much more nutritional value. So not all bad.

I got reminded this week of a phrase first said to me by one of my dear friends a couple of years ago. Whether he made it up or nicked it from someone else, I don’t really care. Just thought it summed me and my life up.

I was reminded just how much I don’t want the nine-to-five. I hate the word average. But that’s maybe what I mean. I don’t want it to sound negative as there’s nothing wrong with it but it’s just not for me. We all know I tried it. And for a decent amount of time too. But I just couldn’t do it. OK, so yes, I guess now I do have a ‘normal’ life and a ‘normal’ job. Well, kind of. I work Monday to Friday but in different places each week. Doing different stuff, staying away from home. My life is busy, I know it is. But good busy, it’s how I like it. Doing loads of different stuff. Trying new things. Full of adventure, new stuff, excitement and fun. And yes, relaxing down time, every now and then. Ish. I love meeting new people, making new friends, being inspired and humbled by all those new people that all have a story. Stories that open my eyes up to the world. In the slightly-cringy words of Ronan Keating, life is a rollercoaster. Just the way I like it.

I was also talking to a friend of mine who I first met in Hong Kong about the dreaded words ‘settling down’ and whether you had to or not. Well, obviously, it’s a personal choice, and it’s only wrong if you’re doing something you don’t want to. Settling down will mean different things to different people, but the main thing we agreed on is that you shouldn’t just do what society wants you to do, or what the ‘norm’ is if that’s not what you actually want to do. Follow your heart, be free, and don’t settle. On any account.

Deep down you’re likely to know what your passions are, what you want to do and how you want to live your life. Be brave to let that out, and say what it is you want to say. Show and tell the world the real you, and don’t give a shit about what anyone else says. Why is it any of their business? Life’s too short. If you want to eat sausages for tea, eat fucking sausages.