Positive Thinking

I blogged about positivity before (here) and I am sort of echoing that same sentiment again, a year and a bit later. There has been a bucket load of shit raining down lately and it's seemingly indiscriminately hitting pretty much everyone in the world. Workwise there's people being laid off, put on short time, getting their wages cut and those who manage to keep their jobs are now doing the work of three people with less money than they used to.

The whole of the economy as we know it is in deep doodie. Deficits, over spending, cuts cuts and more cuts. Placing the blame on whoever happens to be within reach of an accusing finger. Making up too many excuses and not enough ideas to resolve the mess we find ourselves in. Yes, all of us.

People around me both here and in Finland are going through some things that can only be described as pure and utter shite. Things that aren't fair, things that are causing them unnecessary stress and heartache. Things that life every so often throws your way just to make sure you're not getting too comfortable.

The thing is, I am painfully aware of all of this. Painfully aware. I have very low tolerance for negativity and wallowing in it. Misery loves company, but I most certainly am not a fitting companion. Yes, I love a good moan and a whinge every so often and then move on. Move on and focus on something nice and positive. This doesn't mean living in denial of all the things that are wrong in the world, it just means that I choose to see the light at the end of the tunnel as a ray of sunshine rather than an oncoming train.

I find myself feeling very much on edge when faced with someone so focused on the bad, negative things that it is all they can talk about. It makes me very uneasy, especially when it seems the person isn't looking for help or solutions but rather to have someone to wallow in the pigsty of negative thoughts and anger at the world with.

Not for a minute am I suggesting that isn't me on some days. There are times when I am fully convinced my whole life is on a downward spiral and it's everybody else's fault and I am being treated so unfairly by the entire universe that all I can do is sit in my room and sulk about it and leave dramatic posts on Facebook and Twitter about how unfair my life is. And then I step back, take a look at the teenage-y, angst ridden version of myself and I snap out of it. Too much negativity gives me a rage headache.

I've dotted this post with pictures of happy animals. It helps fight the negativity. It also helps to block certain someone's posts on Facebook and unfollow them on Twitter. Just saying.

New Year, Old Face

Hello! It's been a while - yet again. If I'm completely honest, I haven't really felt as if I had anything interesting/amusing/noteworthy to say, so I kept my golden silence over the holidays and a little bit longer. Here's a quick recap:

Christmas
Ahh, lovely Christmas. It truly was lovely. We ate, we drank, we had duvet days and generally spent a lot of time doing very little indeed. Mr. S was home after his 5 weeks at his father's place so we felt like we had to make up for lost time. I went back to work on the 27th of December to a very busy place indeed. There were a lot of people about, which helped me get back into the swing of things again. Mind you, going back to work after a very very lazy week off was a challenge in itself.

Roadkill
December is proving a very bad driving month for me. Remember last year, with the snow and icy roads I managed to mangle my pretty little car's back bumper? Well, this year, to balance things out I mangled the front bumper. And bonnet. And radiator. And few other bits. With the help of a ram in the middle of the road. That's right, a ram. In the middle of the f***ing road! It was dark as well, so didn't really see the little shit until he was on my bonnet. Thankfully I had slowed down a lot due to an oncoming car with it's beams and hazards on blinding me. The result of this little incident was a small state of shock, one dead ram and a bill from the garage totalling €2500 sent to my insurance company. Thank deities for no claims bonus protection, eh?

New Year
I was working, Mr. S was working, so we didn't really get up to much to ring in the new year. I was proud to have stayed awake until midnight, for one. For a brief moment we did entertain the notion of going out but then realised that would've involved getting off the sofa, getting dressed and actually leaving the house. We had wine, nibbles and generally a wonderful evening without being pushed about in a cramped pub by drunkards trying to get to the bathroom/bar.

Getting Older

moviedearest.blogspot.com

Yup, it was my birthday shortly after the new year as well. I'm feeling old this year, and have decided to do a Benjamin Button on my birthdays and turn 29 this year, working my way backwards until I'm 25 again, and maybe then I can start over again and try turning 30 again in 9 years time. Sounds like a plan to me. For my birthday Mr. S fed me until I was fit to burst. He knows what makes me happy.



Other News
There isn't all that much out of the ordinary happening here, if I'm honest. I'm using up my last year's holidays from work and only working four days per week for the next couple of weeks. Mr. S bailed out again for a couple of weeks, to go over to his father's and finish putting in a new floor upstairs. He's back next week. In the meantime, work has gone quiet, it is the low season after all, so we're all working shorter days. This means I've taken up knitting again and this time I'm going to tackle my greatest nemesis; the woolly sock. In my 31 29 years on this earth, I've managed to successfully knit exactly one pair of woolly socks, and that was under the extremely patient guidance of my third grade teacher. I found knitting the heel to be somewhat problematic and decided I didn't need to bother with them anymore. But how times change! After years of knitting hats, scarves and few successful attempts at mittens, I've decided to face my fears. I've gotten this far for now. I'll need to watch a few online tutorials on the subject but I'm fairly certain I'll be able to master it soon enough.

Exciting times, eh?