Busses and speeders.

Arriva. That name strikes fear into the hearts of the bravest travellers. For my non-English viewers that's the company that controls our bus service.
Lately they have been moving the routs around. Taking the 33 away from my home. A bit of a pain as that means I have to walk to, well, everywhere or wait 30mins for the secondary bus. Now here's the thing. I came out of work today, my feet killing me, the sun blazing, and the next 481 is in ten minutes. Not bad. It gives us time to catch up with a friend. So we waited... And waited... ten minutes... twenty... All the time the pain in my feet getting worse .... thirty minutes. So one bus is missing.
I wish this was rare but it happens all the time. When the blasted thing finally turns up it's packed. So much that children are standing up, hardly able to hold on, just because arriva (they don't deserve capitalisation) can't get their damn act together!
I've even been brought to the point where I wanted to complain. Guess what? Their web site's down ¬_¬

Next speeders. My road has little concrete islands to stop people speeding, though all it does is make people crash. It doesn't work. The times I've nearly been run over is ridiculous. And did I mention that this road is right outside a primary school? No? Well yes. These fuckers are making the decision to speed through a school zone where many little kids are walking.
I feel like standing outside with a sign with "Speeding? Well done, you've made your first step to becoming a child murderer."

Cakes and class (An argument for polite dining)

Today I had a fresh strawberry tart with cream. So naughty I know, but something struck me. The girls at the till had apologised for being new. It was fine of course, no need to apologise at all, but it was so nice that they even thought of being that polite. Most places they would have just given you that smarmy little smile and made you wait while they played around with the till.

I find that when I go out to eat the food tastes better when the staff have been polite and attentive. In fact I can forgive a lot if the people are polite. Example, a child ran into me while I was at the supermarket last night (no one was hurt as the poor lad was literally half my size). Usually I would have been seriously bothered that the parents were not controlling the child, but the lad looked so frightened and actually said sorry. And there it was, all anger gone because of two honestly given words.

I like to dine in what many would consider upper class places if I do go out for the simple reason that the staff and patrons are a lot more polite. I'm not talking about these ridiculously expensive places that serve everything in a thimble and look down on you whoever you may be. I hate those sorts of places.
These are establishments that actually consider manners needed. I don't mean saying please every three seconds but just the common courtesy that everyone deserves. It's a matter of respect.

But I suppose respect is lacking in modern society. That's why the crime rates are up, the chav nation was born, you can't go out at night without the fear of being hurt. It's all a matter of respect. No one really respects their elders or authority. No one respects each other. I look around and there's such a negative feeling.

Right now it's raining. There's no one out and it's my favourite time. The air is fresh as pollution lowers, the chavs stay at home and you can walk outside with little fear. Apparently the fear of a little water replaces respect in my life.

What is respect to you personally and can you live without it? 

BP=/= Britain

So these news and business lot seem to assume that just because BP has the word 'British' in it that it must stand for Britain itself. Last time I checked I didn't live in an oil company.

These business types are getting their panties in a twist because Obama is planning to punish whoever fucked up. And so he bloody should. It's not anti-British, it's anti-corporate. Oh, sorry. I forgot that all these whining bastards think business=life. This company has caused an environmental disaster, possibly because they cut corners to save money. Fact- There was no need to save money. Fact- The clean up will take years. Fact- many businesses that rely on the water will never recover. Fact- People have DIED. I refuse to defend any company (you see there, company NOT country) that allows that to happen. They have a responsibility and they failed, if it was a true accident that couldn't be helped then they pay for the clean-up and fine, if it was caused by negligence then they should be locked up!

It shows how corporate minded this world has become when people are defending the evil soulless oil companies. Where are the hippy's, the young environmentalists, the enraged sympathisers? Well at least one of them's in charge for once. A president that doesn't kiss oil company ass.
Refreshing isn't it?

Sorry this is a short one, I just had to get it out of my system. I may compensate you with a full blog later. Maybe . 

Intelligence and the apparent surplus of 'new ideas'

I'm in a very good mood today (can't tell you why, that's personal) but I very much am. But that cannot stop this little life commentary I've got going.

So onto modern intelligence. An experiment: go into your local town and look at all the people working around you. Think about where they could come from, where they went to school, what their IQ is. I bet I can guess your answer.

I've been looking for work for a while now and just can't seem to get a job. I guess I'd better tell you my qualifications. I have a full set of GCSE's, A-C grades. An AS level and 3 A levels. And I was a member of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (NAGTY), a group of the top 5% of the country's youth. Look it up.
My problem? I didn't work right out of school, so I don't have the experience that a lot of the secondary school drop-outs do. With Britain still in a recession employers want people who they don't have to train or pay that much, I do not fall into this group. Maybe the market is flooded with intelligent, confident, people with new ideas... But I doubt it.

It turns out that intelligence isn't valued any more. The smart kids are ignored, left to entertain themselves while the not so talented kids (or the lazy ones) get teachers bending over backwards for them. Employers don't want to change or take on new ideas because they're worried about possibly losing their business. Any job that does take intelligence isn't hiring as the government are cutting their funding left, right, and centre.

It's no wonder teenagers are happy to stay uneducated. Apparently they have better prospects.

I'd blame drugs, TV, gangs or the tellytubbies but it's not any of that. It's fear. The fear of failure on every front. You can't fail if you never try. They're never taught that not failing does not equal success. Yes, you have to work for it, but it's worth it.

I wish my belief in that wasn't faltering so heavily. I wish I could just get that one break, that one piece of art, that one novel, that one chance to really change things but that doesn't look likely to happen any time soon.

Have you ever had trouble finding work due to being mentally "overqualified"?

 

Prudishness Vs modesty in the modern world.

Lets start, this one probably wont end up being PG like my last set of blogs so turn back now if you're feeling sensitive. I'm serious...

So, sex. We see it everywhere nowadays. We see it in soaps that are shown in the middle of the day, adverts that are shown before school hours, even in the news. Is it prudish for me not to want to see this sort of thing at those times? I don't think so. I could ramble on about thinking of the children and their innocent minds, but let's face it, most seven year olds know what sex is. This is not my problem though. Personally I do not feel comfortable seeing two people being passionate before I've even had my breakfast.

Does that make me prudish? Or has our world become so sexualised that we're all fine with that sort of thing being shown. I have no problem what you do in your own home, or business, but I do not want this sort of thing shoved in my face.

Where does it end? I'm one of those people that has a kinky side (worry not I never plan to go into detail) and I see it as normal. But I definitely wouldn't want it shown on prime time TV, in a way that is either positive or negative.  I'd love it if BDSM wasn't so demonised in the media as I've seen many loving D/S relationships. But I don't want it to be used as marketing.

This isn't just the media though. This is the way we talk and the way we dress. From facebook groups that are a little too explicit for a site that lets thirteen year olds on to those tiny little skirts you see said thirteen year olds in. It's not nice to see. The problem is that it's not entirely these kids fault. Have you tried to shop for a top that doesn't have a neckline down to your belly button, or a skirt that goes down to your knees, that isn't intended to hug you so tight you can see the detail of your behind? It's almost impossible. Ten years ago designers marketing this sort of things to kids would have been locked up.

So is my opinion prudish? Is holding on to the last few threads of modesty prudish? Or should I just say forget it and just go out in fet' gear?

I think I'll keep to my blouses and skirts.

Digital memory and glitches in life.

I've come to a realisation lately that my computer is slow, and always will be. This may not be an odd thing in itself, many computers are slow, especially five year old ones. But you see, this computer has a few month old hard drive that replaced the one that died. It also has a completely different operating system than it came with. This may be for many reasons: overheating, overuse, that one time it was dropped, the models well known short circuit... But there's something else.

Digital memory. And no I don't mean memory sticks. Digital memory is made up of the passive memories that computers hold. Ever had a computer that just refuses to connect to a printer for no reason whatsoever? A game console that always has a bit of a fuss after ten minutes of play? This is an example of digital memory. My personal computer is the bane of all good tech support people. No matter what you do my computer will always find something to complain about when trying to load a game. Always. In fact it seems to grow problems from nowhere.

I don't know why this phenomena occurs but I have experienced it and I know for a fact we all react to it. Every time you threaten to kick your computer and it springs into life.  Don't say you don't do it. And I know you now all think I'm crazy, "Myo it's an inanimate object. It can't remember." To be honest the day you stop shouting at your monitor every time it freezes is the day I'll believe you feel that way.

Now for my second point, I seem to be making a point of always having one of these, the glitches in life. Those times when you're sure you moved something or tidied it way but there it is, right in front of you. The times when life seems to stop. Just in the middle of the day, your at home and the world has just stopped. These little 'glitches' in the real world seem to reflect the idea of digital memory. Life acting like a soulless machine with a programming problem.

When was the last time you asked your computer what the hell it had done after a glitch in your life? 

English patriotism and comercialism.

The second post in such a short time, I'm almost proud of myself.

So the world cup is coming up/started/ has begun the invasion and everyone is making fools of themselves. I'm all for being proud of your country but painting yourself like a flag and singing about a game seems like insanity.  Especially when there will be no official world cup song and even the team are getting sick of all the merchandising. There should be passion and emotion in music and if this game can do this for you then great but no song will make me feel the same way. Sadly if you can't make me of all people share your emotion through song then the purpose of the song is null and void.

I know many people get into football like they do religion, though that begs the question why? Why have these people, however skilled they may be, become idols? They're simply human the same as the rest of us. Why them and not the artists and writers of the past? The musicians? Even actors do not gain such worship. Maybe it's that passing, passive, adrenalin rush that music and art can not deliver to the masses (though if you've ever been to a concert you know that's not necessarily true.) Maybe it's for the sake of gripping onto nostalgia, remembering a time when we were actually good at the sport. Some deep down longing for a world where all nations are equal. After all, we all know of the time where two nations in the grip of a war played football fairly and without prejudice on the battlefield itself. Maybe it's something more shallow like passive fame if England once again world cup winners.

As I am not a football fan I have no idea. And sadly these days I am not an England fan either. When people ask me what I think of when I think of "England" all I can think of is chavs, drinking, unemployment, criminals, delinquency and a nation of kids with very little chance of a successful future. And it's a shame. I want to be able to think of the country I was born in as a place famed for acceptance, equality, a history of great writers and poets but I just can't. I can't see the image of that England.

Now, to the subject of commercialism, a word we would usually associate with America. But I see it every day here. Look out of your window and you'll see brand labels written across peoples backs like billboards. People pay £100's just to advertise these labels so other people will also spend £100's. And these people are kids. We're in a recession and people on benefits are throwing money at these multimillion pound companies. It's insane. Now to link all this to my original point.

Is paying £50 of money that could be saved or spent on keeping your finances afloat on a piece of England merchandise, made by an American company, patriotic?      

On the subject of servitude and modern feminism.

Have you ever watched those old films, the ones with lady's in corsets swooning over a guy that wears more lace than most lolita's and thought "I want to be like that.". You want the style and the manners, the romantic ideals, the power. Well, how about the servants? In an idealised sort of: kind home owner, buys you your uniforms/clothes, gives you enough to eat, keeps a roof over your head, bonus at christmas, all in exchange for doing the housework kind of way. How about that?
When you were a little kid did you want to be the prince/princess or the handmaiden/manservant? (or maybe the whipping boy but that's for a different blog all together ^_< )

I'm torn you see. I want the princess' money so I can afford all the things I need like my home, my clothes, food on the table and little bits and pieces for the sake of wanting them. I want the garden and the music, the high class parties and girls actually covering up (Do not get me started on modern fashion ideals and how ridiculous they've become. Maybe in another blog). But I also love the idea of being the maid, keeping the home tidy, making the food that goes on the table, taking care of the princess. It's very much like the modern day housewife. The idea of a 'kept' woman.

So where does all this fit in with the modern idea of feminism. Many may think that these idea's are anti-feminist as it's usually the "king" or "landowner" bringing in the money for all these things to happen in the first place. But it's a matter of choice.
If the "princess" chooses to sit in her tower with her jewellery and pampering then it's her who has taken the power back. The man gives her the money but she chooses what's done with it.
And the same with the "maid" or "housewife", if they choose to take care of the home, cook and clean then that's her power. She makes the home liveable.

Personally I see myself as an equalist, where neither the man nor woman holds the power. Both are equal and so are treated as such. I choose to keep myself covered. I choose to wear shorts or bloomers under skirts for modesty. I choose to keep to a very feminine ideal when it comes to my clothing choices. I choose to dream of forfilling the idea of the housewife one day.

So... We go back to the beginning. Are you the owner or the servant?

Rage against the machine

The financial state of my little insular bubble is an absolute mess today as our government can't pull it's finger out and get it's workers to DO THEIR JOB. I'm trying to get a damn job so I can get off benefits and they take away my money (on a Saturday so they can't be contacted, cowards) for no apparent reason. Unless it was something from months ago. The system is a shambles of laziness and snobbishness where if you need actual help you can't get it but if you're just lazy you can get everything handed to you on a silver platter. I'm just so angry right now. Someone just EMPLOY ME! I can do so many things.