| birthdays |
[Aug. 20th, 2016|07:19 pm]
Online I'm a Giant
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Happy birthday  ravurian!
Thinking of you in the Pacific Northwest. I think you'd like it very much. |
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| (no subject) |
[May. 28th, 2015|09:49 pm]
Online I'm a Giant
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*insert usual excuses here*
Me, E and the dog have run away to Northumberland for 3 nights. It is lovely. I booked it on Friday night totally on the spur of the moment, as I seem to be losing most of my life to work at the moment with not quite enough to show for it.
I booked a small and as it turns out very lovely cottage near Berwick upon Tweed. Had huge misgivings on Wednesday when it took a good 6 hours to get here and E. was entranced by the traffic jam as we filed past the Metro Centre in Gateshead...as in 'can we stay for the weekend in a dismal shopping mall because i am 14 and this is my life now?'
Got to small cottage which was kitted out with emergency rations (milk, tea, butter, fresh bread, wine and a small tub of Tweedside honey). Took the dog for a walk and nearly fell into the river Tweed itself, a good 50 metres wide, with grimly focused anglers in the middle awaiting trout. There are castles and riverside walks and ponies, and a (dating back to) 12th century church with 18th century tombstones.
E. now wants to live in the countryside and have a pony.
Spent today visiting Lindisfarne, dog in tow (which restricts activities slightly). Good grief it was beautiful. Young E. impressed by the drive over the causeway and its potential to go wrong. Dog impressed by the National Trust allowing him to wee upon national monuments (sorry). Walked for aaages and aaages before the drive back to the cottage and the happy discovery of a Marks and Spencer Simply Food that also sells pants. (young E packing failure, Americans may be confused).
No phone signal or indeed phone but plentiful wi-fi.
Hope you are all well. I am rubbish. I have forgotten my parthenia14 gmail password and can't retrieve it because bloody Google made me change it and took umbrage at me having a made up name. In retailiation I turned down the offer of a back up email so the smarmy pool-playing bastards can't track me down - yeah, not working so well. So if you have tried to contact me directly in the last 6 months, it probably didn't get through. :(
Also work is just unbelievably ridiculous and so I do nothing but work work sleep sleep dogwalk superviseexams panicabout schools sleep commute. It's ok but it is perhaps less rich than one might hope.
21.48 in this neck of the woods and still very light...ooh Britain I love you. |
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| george ezra to brighten your saturday night |
[Nov. 9th, 2014|01:13 am]
Online I'm a Giant
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Oh, George.
Saw him live at Latitude just as 'Budapest' hit the top 10, and was blown away - not so much by Budapest, but the spirit of Billie Holliday that seeps out of his other stuff.
May have the teeniest crush.
And in a cute duet with Ian McKellen (I don't even know)
From the YouTube comments:
CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY MAGNETO IS SINGING WITH SOME DUDE AT A PARK BENCH!?
Later, as fans grow mutinous:
George Ezra, 5 days ago
We were in the same year at school and have been friends since then.
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| random content |
[Jun. 1st, 2014|11:03 pm]
Online I'm a Giant
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Dear internet,
So I've been meaning to post for a while, but somehow there never seems to be enough time in the day. Still here, still reading.
In no particular order:
I went to see Maleficent with young E. and her friend, for the second time in a week. Quite an odd film, not perfect, but with a certain something (probably Angelina Jolie's cheekbones) that propels it into something else entirely.
I have a new bike! A dark blue Brompton folding bike with a leather Brooks saddle. It's lovely. I have started to take it on the train to London, and now cycle to work at the other end. The theory is that I get fitter and save a bit of money. The reality is that everyone I meet either (1) says, 'Oooh, are you the new Head of Values? (quoting the character in W1A, the BBC satire featuring Brompton-using senior managers) or (2) puts their head on one side and asks whether I'm not really really scared that I'll be run over.
Gratuitous intro to W1A:
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There's no particularly good answer to (2) apart from a firm intention to avoid that as far as possible. I am cycling a rat run through Bloomsbury cycle paths to the wide roads north of Oxford Street. It's OK. I wear the highest of high-vis jackets, the route is reasonably quiet and it's certainly more traffic-free than the mean streets of Glasgow when I was a student.
It's also, what's the word? Unfeminine. Eccentric. I take the (folded) bike down to my desk the back way so that I can hide the helmet and the high-vis jacket before I bump into the beautiful ladies in designer jeans and 3 inch heels. Apparently, you can look really beautiful when cycling along, but you do need a bike with a wicker basket, and an awful lot of sunshine.
Work is...well, I don't know. It continues to be a mixture of interesting and maddening. I'm learning about teams and people. I haven't yet cracked effortless authority or outright aggression, both of which would serve me well. My current strategy is never to write an email when a chat or a meeting is possible: I make myself go and talk to people. Come to think of it, this is probably why I'm struggling to do anything much when I get home. I'm a reasonably sociable introvert, but this level of connection is off the scale.
(I've tried to write this about 5 times now while being interrupted by everyone). What else? There was more, and it was organised and vaguely amusing with some sort of narrative force. I have become addicted to Mumnset and MyFitnessPall forums. Now have the attention span of a goldfish.
Have joined the Women's Institute. New trendy branch has opened near me, so I am now popping along to support. The WI is now apparently 50% old ladies and 50% thirtysomethings who crochet. I feel I'm somewhere in the middle. B. is appalled, like all partners of new WI members. I think it's ironic but I'm not sure.
P. is doing AS levels and contemplating his future. E. is increasingly leggy and beautiful.
The dog has had a severe trim and now looks a bit like Grayson Perry in drag.
Am missing Scotland. Och.
Am not really missing being self-employed, although I could definitely do without getting up early.
And on that late night note, I'll wind up and come back another day,
xx |
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| My body wears a suit but my face wears jeans |
[Feb. 15th, 2014|12:28 pm]
Online I'm a Giant
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One of the memes I picked up on a few weeks ago was the Personal Style Statement. Or words to that effect.
What I wear tends to be governed by its ability to meet the following tests:
1. Ability to flee from a falling building
This used to be 'run for a bus' but my paranoia has increased. I cycle to the station every day, so I like wearing things you can cycle in without being blown over. I have osteoarthritis in one of my toes, so I cannot wear heels now. Not even a bit. The solution is to wear flat boots with very chunky soles. Indeed, I have a wardrobe of army boots. I wear these with everything, especially skirts. I worried about this for a few days when I started work (because there are some women who wear extremely beautiful high heels and it can look a bit odd), and then I thought, fuck it.
2. Toasty comfort
No gaps. Scarves, woolly hats with pom poms, boots, warm padded jacket. Mostly comfort blankets scarves. I have the same blue and white scarf wrapped around me from September to April. Really need another one.
3. Primark aversion
I hate cheap clothes. I really, really hate scratchy, sweaty artificial fibres. I will put up with cuddly artificial fibres, at a push, but eww.
4. Flattering pt. 1 (Body Shape)
I am wee and curvy. The curvy part is more problematic than the rest, which is saying something. It is tricky trying to find reasonably flattering tops that show a bit of neck without exposing vast, terrifying billows of cleavage. Hence all that black jersey.
5. Flattering pt. 2 (Mutton Factor)
This is an odd one. Clothes fail on this if they are too young and thin, fashion-wise (frills, glitter leggings, Peter Pan collars, lace, milkmaid dresses). They also fail if they are horribly ageing (boxy jackets, shoulder-pads, tapered trousers, milkmaid dresses). You want a kind of ageless elegance. Arty is a reasonable solution although when that goes wrong it can be horribly menopausal.
Shopping
I find shopping hard work, although when I find the right thing, I am liable to splurge.
Clothes shops that work: Fat Face (casual tops and jeans), Jigsaw (wrap dresses and cardigans at an enormous price), Pepperberry (special clothes for busty people), M&S (selectively), Laura Ashley*.
**Clothes shops that usually don't work but I don't know why: White Stuff (too casual, baggy and skin-revealing), Boden (yummy mummy), East (little old lady), Monsoon (decrepit bridesmaid), Gap (horrible fit), Next (trainee accounts clerk), Phase 8 (mother of the bride).
Mail order: No.
*Laura Ashley is a very odd shop. Lots of their clothes look absolutely hideous on the hanger, but quite nice on. Very much mutton territory, though. Needs care to rootle out the nice things from the dreadful mistakes.
**This is entirely personal and down to the effect when I put on their clothes. Other people look great. YMMV. Etc.
The current work uniform:
Random multicoloured skirt in corporate pattern, knee-length, slight flare
Black long-sleeve jersey top
Black opaque tights
Tackety boots
This is pretty much what I wore when freelancing. I used to call it the Bohemian Lady Researcher. It's not bad.
It remains very hard to find the right things for work. I've decided that the dominant look for senior managers is Power Casual. For men, this is the mass uniform of stripy shirts, dad jeans, and brown brogues. For senior women in Marketing, this translates into silky tops, Armani jeans and spike heels. This is many things but it is not casual. Women in IT: Little dresses. Women who are going nowhere: Mum jeans and a comfy top.
I think I sound very calculated when I write all this down but a) I am honestly fascinated and b) it's kind of fun to crack the code. I am working on the components of my Power Casual look right now, down in the fashion lab. What is the chunky flat-shoe equivalent of a spike heel? Is it even possible? Answers on a postcard.
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 29th, 2014|10:59 pm]
Online I'm a Giant
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So my fantasy of posting lots of interesting and erudite snippets during January has pretty much vanished in the mist. Working full-time is exhausting. I'm enjoying it (at least I think I am) but it essentially demands that I turn into a slightly different type of person - ideally someone quite loud who talks quite fast and goes to lots of meetings.
My boss did my 6 month review, where the conclusion seemed to be that I was absolutely lovely BUT possibly a bit leisurely in my approach to reinventing the next wave of whatever it is we do, so could I kindly speed up.
It's true (although frankly I suspect it's a standard line) It was 12 years since I'd set foot in an office, and even longer since I worked in a place that had any sense of urgency.
I'm still finding it alien, although now it's less about the superficiality of clothes, and more about deeper expectations. My boss basically never reads an email attachment. Initially I thought this was lamentable, but I've had so much to do in the last 3 weeks that now I don't read email attachments either. We are, I think, required to perform our jobs. I talk faster and louder (still not loudly enough). I am absolutely flat out.
I was going to add an amusing comment but graaarghh aargh I need my bed. Will attempt to continue more stream of consciousness posting.
xx
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| January Talking Meme: North-South divide |
[Jan. 8th, 2014|09:55 pm]
Online I'm a Giant
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Hello. I am not doing very well at the whole January talking thing, because, well, it demands talking and actually it's quite hard to do that after months of sitting at the edges of the internet and peering through.
I should have realised that early January is difficult. December-January in our house feels like one massive thing after another: Christmas, Young P's birthday and New Year all on top of each other; this year i took some leave before and after Christmas, to keep E. company. All very lovely but a tad overwhelming.
I'm back to the commute again. There was a blissful day last week when every right thinking person was still on holiday, yet all the trains ran to London on time, and I spent a peaceful day at my (hot) desk doing things for absent bosses.
Geoviki asked me about the north-south divide. I read this and laughed because of course I am Scottish and therefore north-north; but actually there really isn't a massive divide between, say, Glasgow and Manchester or Glasgow and Newcastle. Glasgow and London, though: wow.
I still find London strange. It's at once more cosmopolitan and parochial than anywhere else. The Glaswegian take on London is that it's full of cold posh Southerners. And, yes, I meet people in my new job who I would basically have to describe as London-unfriendly: it's a kind of bizarre negative energy that I don't think I would encounter back in Glasgow. It's people bundled on the Tube in a solid force-field of self-protectiveness. It's the unsmiling colleague who will sit at the next (hot) desk and never acknowledge you.
Glaswegians, on the other hand, tend to regard random strangers as people in need of entertaining and amusing. If there is one thing I miss more than anything, it is the cheerful, witty conversation that's offered to complete strangers right across the board.
My friend and I went to Glasgow on the train with our two dogs last year. We had to take a taxi from Queen Street station in Glasgow, out to the suburbs, and I was very worried that no taxi driver would let the dogs in their car ( taxi drivers round here probably wouldn't).
Me to taxi driver: 'Will you take the dogs?'
Taxi driver leans out, inspects the two mutts: 'Do they smoke? No? Well you're all right then, hop in...'
Glaswegians are brought up to talk to strangers. It's the polite thing to do. I have to kick myself sometimes to hold back my hilarious commentary, because 50 per cent of the time I will get that swivel-eyed look of incomprehension and mild fear.
It's not that the South is truly unfriendly - it's just a hell of a lot more reserved. |
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| January Talking Meme |
[Jan. 3rd, 2014|06:13 pm]
Online I'm a Giant
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It is no good, I have to throw my hat in the ring - I have way more stuff to read than usual and it is lovely.
Please can you hurl some questions at me to riff on during the month of January.
I do not have a date list, so just lob them in below.
If no one is reading (something I strongly suspect) then I might steal some of your prompts off you (cough desertislanddiscs cough) and see what happens. |
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| rare musical interlude |
[Sep. 24th, 2013|10:18 pm]
Online I'm a Giant
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Young P. went to see the rapper Macklemore the other week. Not usually my thing but I came across Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, performing 'Same Love.' P. said it was astounding live. When I first heard it on the radio I thought it was ok, a little bit saccharine, but the video is a powerful counterpoint.
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 10th, 2013|10:16 pm]
Online I'm a Giant
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Happy Birthday Ruric!!
And hope to catch up with you soon.
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