Knilly Frickers

This is an apology to one of my science teachers at high school, I've changed his name, not for any real reason other than to be mysterious  Dear Mr Tuna, (for context I've just eaten tuna and that's what my brain decided cling to)  I owe you an apology.   I just thought you were a Grumpasaurus who felt you were teaching a class of idiots and giving them a lecture because you hated us.  All of the above may well be true but I think I get it now.  We'd often get a bit of a telling off for collectively getting things wrong or failing to understand why we were wrong. Sounds standard for school, but occasionally we'd get a bit of a rant going beyond the here and now, you'd start talking about our potential futures and how we'd have to change our approach to succeed or how we may get conned by electricians or plumbers in the future if we didn't think more for ourselves.  I used to think you were making a mountain out a molehill but I think I get it now.  Yo...

It's been a whole week since I did any rambling of the written kind. I've had a really horrible cold over the last week that still hasn't quite faded yet and my head just felt like a huge foggy abyss - not the best mindset for a blog post!  It's been a strange sort of week where I've been functional but felt like I wasn't quite present.  I've never had an out of body experience but I think this week I may have experienced a few out of mind experiences, if that makes any sort of sense!!  There's been times this week when I've completed tasks or activities and while I know I've done them, experienced it and remember it clearly, it feels like my body was doing things on auto pilot, keeping me going while I mentally checked out.  There are plenty of times when I'm not ill and I mentally check out and do things on autopilot, which probably isn't very healthy.  Sometimes I can go along with a normal pattern of routine without really thinking ab...

Missed the lunchtime blog today! I was busy feeling sorry for myself while I tried to fend off my summer cold.  It also feels like an oxymoron, summer cold.  The only thing I was rambling about at lunch time was probably my runny nose or the elephant having a disco inside my forehead, now that I've had a bit of rest and recouperation and have a bit more of a control on my symptoms, I decided to do a bedtime blog post!  For the past few days while I've been feeling poorly, along with many other days when I've been feeling perfectly fine, I've been doing a lot of box set binging.  Its not always a bad thing, sometimes the best way to chill is with one of your favourite TV programmes, for me it's like spending time with company that I can vary my concentration levels with.  Sometimes I wonder if I'm being a tad unhealthy, quite often episodes of shows I like to watch are released weekly so I don't go overboard, but if I start on something new that's been ou...

Tiny violins at the ready, I'm feeling a bit poorly today!  I'm not sure if it's my hay fever, if I'm getting a cold or I'm just a bit run down but I'm not 100% today. The downside of not feeling quite 100% is while you feel rubbish, you can't always just stay in bed. My rule for taking sick days is if my brain can still think and process without thinking 'ahhhh I'm so ill' and I'm still capable of cognitive thought, I'll power through it and go to work. That's what I've done today, powered through it although I do feel a little like I'm running on empty which isn't a great way to feel when trying to get my creative mindset on. We also currently have a heatwave in Glasgow today which isn't really helping me although the view from the window is glorious.  I don't always have to be feeling poorly to feel less than 100%, there are some days when I just feel a little less than being able to give the world the full Rach...

For someone who really likes crafty things I'm really lacking in any craft like ability. A few Christmas' ago my boyfriend got me a crossstich book because I mentioned I'd like to try it. I thought back to my home economics teacher treating me like an idiot for my inability to thread a needle and I gave up.  I put learning to crochet on my 28 things before I'm 28 list and struggled to make the first loop, I've made a tiny bit of progress since then, although I haven't yet given up, my plan is to master at least a line before I'm 29.  Even as a kid, anything artisic or craft like was my least favourite thing to do, it was my idea of hell. Now I'm older it's something I wish I was better at as I think it would be a great creative outlet. I'm really envious of my friends who do have hobbies like that, which they are amazing at but I try and remind myself that some of them had to learn too. Maybe that's my problem. I don't like it when I can...

Yesterday I was thinking about being organised and today I'm thinking about routine.  Routines are great, I thrive on them. I like having a sense of what usually happens and when, it keeps me in check and keeps me in a semi state of organisation.   My nephew Ben is autistic and he also relies on a sense of routine and watching his sense of routine amazes me because while he relies on similar patterns of circumstance, he fills each one with something new and different and creative. It's made me look at the way I view routine and creativity and the ways they can work together.  I like the reliability of routine. You know where to go, what to do and have a rough idea of what will happen so that you can then equip yourself with your plan of how to go about your routine. Where I can come into a bit of bother with routine is when it doesn't stimulate me. Sometimes I get myself into routines of behaviour and activity for the sake of them and if I lack passion for it, I begin to ...

I like to think that being organised is one of the strongest skills I have. I can plan things in detail and I think well on paper which helps in a work sense.  In a personal and work sense I often have a to do list for my to do list.  When I was at college and university I had a list with all my tasks organised my tutor and due date taped to my bedroom door so that whenever I left or entered my room I'd be reminded of what I needed to do and could highlight as I completed things. This year, I've let my organised side slide and allowed my brain to become frazzled and overloaded while I fly by the seat of my pants. Starting today - that stops! I need my head to be in a place of tranquility and clear vision not scrambled among different things.  Here are a few tools and methods I find useful - mainly to serve as a reminded to myself to use them but if they are useful to anyone else - then awesome! Mind-mapping I love a good mind map, getting all my thoughts out on paper...