Category Archive
The following is a list of all entries from the Blogging category. Noteworthy entries are filed topmost.
Social Networks
I spend a lot of time on social networks. I’m on facebook A LOT. Its not all mindless quizzes, I’ve spent some time abroad and like to keep up with my friends in different times zones, also I have a lot of ambitious friends who have moved abroad for work or, with the luckier ones, love.
Also I’m at an age where many of my friends are going through big life changes, buying homes, having babies, getting married and social networks let me see the photos, watch the videos and read the blogs.
Facebook and twitter are probably the two biggest contenders for my attention. Twitter I use for news and to speak with fellow journalism students. Facebook is more social and friendship related things. So far I have still not found the perfect networking tool for family. Although a friend of mine claims he has – with a password entry only personal website where he updates from Thailand to his family in the UK, however at this stage its a onesided medium.
I recently joined googlewave after an invite from Cristiana, but she is my only google friend and I haven’t really figured out what to do with it yet.
Anyway, network sites are everywhere and people really do use them, from Linkd In for prospective employers to bebo’s youthful charm and colour – they are the biggest digital game in town.
So what better way to investigate social sites than by setting up my own! I have set up a group using ning.com which allows you to format the page anyway you want, put up media content, have discussions and blogs and members with their own profiles. I called it Music In Glasgow and so far I have one member, me.
Maybe people will join, I hope they do. The site is dedicated to any and all live music in Glasgow and I’m still experiementing with it.
Future Me
So my friend is on facebook and says, this is an email I sent myself last year. And I read it and woah! it really is an email she sent her self a year ago, extremely personal but a year on she’s dealt with or been open about its contents by this point so happy to post it online. The concept intrigued me so I went onto FutureMe.com
A project inspired by a school assignment two blokes run the site for fun, and later for profit as many people volunteer their letters (name not included) to be public and are turned into a book. The email addresses and identities are kept anonymous but the letters can be read, so far around 15% of people have signed up for public letters. The boys on the site also accept donations through paypal.
So I wrote future Rachael a letter. It opened with a joke and ended with the deep realisation of my own faulty self esteem and marvelous over-achiever but totally low expectations special blend and that really I didn’t care if I had a job or a driving license or had lost 5 stones but I did hope that I will have lost that trait by next year and be more confident.
I also outlined what I was doing now and how I felt about it but not in so much detail. I have far too many thoughts and too many words as it is and with the NCTJ’s coming up word count is important. Sometimes I think I should be doing fiction rather than fact but 5 grand into a masters those thoughts are shepherded to the very darkest recesses of my mind!
I look forward to forgetting I sent myself the email and recieving it in the future, I am interested in what Future Me will be like…
101 things in 1001 days
I started this in January. These kinds of memes are a blogging phenomenon so I thought I’d put this up. Feel free to start your own1
The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
Dates Start 15th January 2009 – September 29, 2011 – I’ll be 28, yikes.
These are just in random order.
how are we doing?
I think a few of these could be changed actually, time changes your goals a bit.
My friend Laura has a blog over at www.cherryblossomadventure
1. Run the London Marathon! This is quite a big ambition.
* This is a biggie, had an ankle injury this Jan though so taking it slowly
2. In addition to the getting fit enough to run a marathon I need to lose some weight, I’m not sure how much I weigh at the moment but probably a couple stone. I’d like to be anywhere between 9.5 to 11 stone, wherever feels comfortable when I reach it.
* Working on, hoping walking up and down to uni with a big bag will help. So far the newsroom munchies are ruining my good intentions
3. Get some writing published
* very much hoping to get this done at uni!!
4. Work for hospital radio. TICK
*I am regular presenter now for Royal One Radio
5. Visit 3 new countries. It might not seem like very many to my travel bugged friends but I don’t have a lot of cash at the moment and this seems possible.
*none yet
6. To work in another country.
* I have applied to be a volunteer at the International Journalism Festival but they have a lot of applications so we’ll see.
7. Have an exhibition. I’m not a professional artist or anything but I can do a bit with paints and a camera, I’d like to get some of my work hung in a coffee shop or something.
*not yet
8. Perform my own poetry out loud in front of people, preferably at a poetry night and not just pissed in a train station.
*Not yet, been too scared!
9. Go back to uni. I’m applying for an MA in Multimedia Journalism at Caley. All I had to do was wait 4 years for them bring out my perfect course in Glasgow! TICK!
*Done and done.
10. Get more involved at the BBC and actually get some real work going. I’m on a placement but I haven’t been in as much as I would like due to illness but now I’d like to make some a proper impact. Although the ‘work’ is not specific but anything to do with the News desk or programming. TICK!
*Finished up at the BBC and I got to do a few more things. Have applied to go back because it was so good the first time.
11. Pay off my overdraft! I currently have a big bad OD on my account and pay about 30 quid a month just in charges. I want to clear it completely and be in the black again! I have no credit cards or store cards though, and I’m proud of that so if I can just get rid of this, it’ll be magic!
*Yeah we’re still a LONG way off from this.
12. Learn to Drive. Seriously, I’m 25.
*Not yet, but hopefully some lessons may happen this year, money is very tight
13. Do some volunteer work.TICK!
*Radio stuff
14. Go the cinema at least once a month. I love the cinema but I never go.
*ongoing
15. Learn to cook 10 new dishes. I’m not a bad cook and 10 things over this amount of time should be easy.
*Halfway there
16. Join a choir.
*Maybe this Christmas
17. Join a book group.
*Not yet
18. Give blood. I feel quite bad I haven’t done this in 2008. TICK
* Yes I did this two days ago in fact!
19. Go a gig once every two months (ABC doesn’t count!) would like to go to more but I am very aware of my financial constraints. Not that I’m limiting myself if I do have the cash!
*Free gigs aplenty!
20. Improve my French. (To level of being able to hold a conversation)
*not yet
21. Improve my German. **
*not yet
22. Visit people more and see my friends who live abroad at least once (this is a tricky one as people live very far away!)
* have seen some good friends recently, trying my best!
23. DJ in Glasgow. (not just in my house, at a venue!)TICK
*I hosted my own clubnight at the Twisted Wheel – then it closed – the two are not related!
24. Put on a night in Glasgow TICK
*Done
25. Learn to juggle.
*No progress yet
26. Have a Star Wars day. We’ve been talking about it for ages, this is a 24 hour event involving replica light sabers, star wars battlefront, monopoly, a lot of drugs, junk food and drinks, geekery and obviously the films. TICK
*Pretty much done
27. Have a proper Burns Night with Haggis, Whiskey and reciting.
*Next year I think
28. Get my typing speed up to 70 words per minute.
*Working on it
29. Pass the NCTJ exams.
*hopefully will during my degree
30. Eat at 20 new restaurants.
* Hmm, no progress yet!
31. Jump out of a plane. I’d like to do a parachute jump at some point.
*No progress yet
32. Have a birthday party. I have had them before but they don’t happen every year.
*No progress yet
33. Sort out all my junk! I have alot of old clothes and just stuff I could probably do without. I’d like to have a big clear out.
*Half way done!
34. Sort my look. I go through about 3 hairstyles a month and none by professionals. I’m not saying I want to get stuck in one style rigidly, but I’d like to be a bit happier with whats going on. Generally I hate the way I look completely but I don’t give too much time to thinking about it or I’d never leave the house. Basically this is a makeover I guess. Ooh montage!!!
*getting there…
35. Make time to read every week.TICK!
*Going Well!
36. Drink more. Now most people would want to drink less. I however am very nearly teetotal. I’d like to start enjoying a few drinks now and again. In moderation obviously!
*Yeah I’ve revoked this and I’m now not drinking at all til I lose some weight and get in shape! My liver is happy.
37. Go swimming every week. I have just located the gym 20 mins walk away.
* Not started yet, can’t afford it.
38. Go out more. I’m a social hermit and need to start going to things when I’m asked! mostly I’ve been putting it off because I’m broke and lacking in confidence but I need to change it up. TICK
*Have been quite good, had some clashes even. – uni has taken over and once again I am a hermit.
39. Spend more quality time with Roy. I spend alot of time with him around, we live together but I intend to start making more of an effort to be a girlfriend and not just furniture! I guess this will be measured in dates, 2 dates a month.
*Yeah going good
40. Learn to Salsa or Swing dance. (whichever makes more sense where we live)
*No Progress Yet
41. Fix all the crap in the flat that needs sorting! This is the shower, the coat and picture hooks, the shower curtain, and other small things.
*THE SHOWER IS FIXED!!! still need hooks – The shower is broken again…
42. Write on Hellagood website at least 4 times a week.
*hmm, yeah, well, I write from time to time :p
43. Jam. I used to sing a long long long time ago and I’d like to sing, just even in the house with the boys. This is more difficult than it sounds as I have chronic stage fright, in my own flat.
*No progress yet
44. Go to 5 places in Glasgow I’ve never been before. (not restaurants or peoples houses) TICK
*Done I think!
45. Walk the West Highland Way.
*Plan for next year?
46. Pay all my bills and rent on time for the whole time of this list.
*Hhahahahahah! Nooooooo, not started yet
47. Go to the nurse for a Smear test. It’s been a while and its an important health check.
*still need to make my appointment, my nurse is still in Carlisle
48. Watch the news everyday
*I do watch the news but there’s so much!
49. Finish making my blanket. I’ve been knitting it for ages but ran out of white and blue wool so haven’t finished it.
*Still working on it
50. Make a groovy mobile for my room. Not sure out of what yet, possibly photographs or something.
*No progress yet
51. Redecorate my bedroom. We can’t paint it but theres lots of other stuff I can do!
*Done mostly!
52. Live on a pound a day for a month. I read an article about this. You pay your rent and bills first then all food, travel and entertainment must be for only a pound a day. I think it will be incredibly easy because I don’t spend any money at all as it is. I think it will be harder to find a whole 28 pounds in the first place… TICK
*yeah I’m just skint.
53. Organise all my cds and dvds into order.
*Still need to do
54. Make a snake. This is a draft excluder for my front door I intend to make out of old t-shirts and jeans.TICK
*done!
55. Finish writing one the many story ideas I have on my laptop.
* Still working on
56. Try and do the 365 day photo challenge, which is to take one photo of yourself everyday for a year.
*Not started yet, been taking a picture from our balcony everyday, you can watch the trees grow and the buildings go up!
57. Sponsor a child.
*Still waiting for a steady paycheck
58. Print off and organise my South Korea photos into an album.
*I have printed some and begun the organising
59. Print off some of my favourite pictures of friends, put them in frames and hang them. TICK
*proudly in the living room
60. Make up a playlist for doing exercise – loads of dance tracks!!! TICK
*DONE!
61. Start using the mobile Roy gave me for Christmas, put credit on it and text everyone the new number. TICK
*DONE!
62. Spend a whole week just going to shows at the Edinburgh festival from dawn til dusk. I’ve lived in Edinburgh but never really gone to see more than a couple shows.
* Maybe next year
63. Have a real Christmas tree. We have thinnest fake tree in the world. Real ones are expensive so I might just buy a tiny wee living one we can keep.
*Next year
64. Do a first aid course.
*No progress yet, hopefully can get involved soon.
65. Have a pet. I used to have goldfish but people were forever giving them unsuitable things to imbibe… I couldn’t have a pet in my current flat as its too small and not on the ground floor (plus we’re not allowed) but I’d like to have one by the end of this experiment.
*NO progress yet
66. Get my Tefl qualification.
*No Progress yet
67. Become a reserve firefighter – this is a lifelong ambition of mine, I’m aware though that while I’ll hopefully be fit enough to train by the end of this year, its a big commitment and I’d have to know I was going to be living in the area and have a car so it may not be possible in the time of this experiment.
* Future
68. Buy a copy of Manual_01 by Chemical Poets and get Ali to sign it for me.
*Haven’t seen Ali for ages!
69. Do the 888 book challenge, this was a 2008 thing among booklovers but I’m doing it for ‘09! Basically you have to read 8 different books in 8 different genres (one book can’t count for 2 categories, they all have to be different books.). I’m planning on – Crime, Classics, Science, Fairy Tales, Science Fiction, Historical, Scottish, Music(books about musicians and music history).
*Have been reading should make a note of the genres. I read loads.
70. Make the Hellagood site better and advertise. Move from just a blog to an actual function website.
*gonna get Mark to help!
71. Hike the Appalachian trail – southbound. This might not happen as it mean having a spare few months and a flight to America!
*NO Progress yet
72. Go to the SXSW festival – again America!
*No progress YET
73. Go the burning man festival. (seeing a theme)
*No Progress yet – If I can get to america for long enough I can do them all!!!
74. Go winetasting – lets pretend we’re in Sideways!
*no progress yet
75. Go see St. Johnstone play. They’re my home team, my fair city boys.
*no progress yet
76. Cultivate some of my own plants. This can be herbs or vegetables for the kitchen. TICK
*Check, house is full of plants but I would have a lot more if I could!!
77. Learn how to play 5 different card games. I’m rubbish at poker so re-learning that can be 1!
*No progress yet
78. Paint something on a big canvas good enough to hang in my house.
*I have a picture in my bedroom I made, though I would like to get a proper canvas
79.Visit my nieces and nephews and get to know them better. TICK
* though this will be ongoing
80. Plan around the world trip with Roy – including route, dates, finances and jobs along the way.
* IN progress…. the looooonnng progress
81. Become a proper journalist. (I think this means being qualified and getting paid for journalistic work, however little money)
*working on it
82. By the end of this experiment, to be happier than I am now. And I’m not unhappy but I’d like to be more confident and contented.
*we’ll see
83. Re-read my dissertation, I haven’t looked at it since hand in…. in 2006.
*not done yet
84. Buy some proper decks.
*Need some cash
85. Record comedy sketches and put them on YouTube. My friends and I have been compiling various sketch ideas for a while which we intend to film for fun and make a wee show out of.
*No progress yet
86. Make home-made food more often, soups, bread etc. I do this but I’d like to get it up to almost every week. TICK
* Due to the poverty, but tasty stuff!
87. Get my digital radio fixed so I can listen to it in my bedroom.
*still need to get fixed
88. Learn some form of martial art. I don’t need to be a blackbelt or anything but I’d like to attend classes for about a year. I did Aikido once and that was pretty cool, so maybe that.
*No progress yet
89. Practice yoga and t’ai chi at home. I did t’ai chi for a year when I was about 15 – 16 and yoga during the last year of uni. My friend Adam is an Bikram yoga instructor and I should really try it, he tried to get me to try it for about 5 months in Korea but I never did, so I’ll try to give it a go!
*no progress yet
90. Go on a boat trip down the Clyde.
* no progress yet
91. Create an awesome dance track and put it on myspace and become an online sensation. I swear I could totally do it. Watch your ass Basshunter.
*no progress yet, apart from the research!
92. Go camping. TICK
*camping of sorts though I got sleep in a bunk house!
91. Take 5 day trips to new places in Scotland.
*no progress yet, though I have been to some new places in England
92. Get my sleeping pattern back to a vaguely day time orientated one. TICK!
*university has forced me to be up but working in a nightclub doesn’t make it easy…
93. Buy some of my friends Shekina’s jewelery.
*not done yet
94. Get back in touch with 5 people I haven’t spoken to in the last year.
*I’m not sure if I have? I will!
95. Make a cool dress out of all my old rags. Cinderella via urban outfitters.
*No progress yet
96. Finish knitting Roy’s reggae reggae scarf – need to buy some green wool.
*Not finished yet, warm weather doesn’t make you want to knit
97. Clean out and organise chest of drawers in the hallway which is home to spare cable and unknown keys…TICK
*DONE!!
98. Smoke a real Cuban cigar.
*NO progress yet
99. Find some temp work for the next few months to pay my council tax bill.
*No progress yet, but we have managed to pay it. – We’re behind again, doh!
100. Go kiteflying – haven’t done that in ages.
*not done yet
101. Make a cheese, ham and pineapple toastie as I’m hungry after writing this list.TICK
*Done.
Ok lets go!!!!!!!!
