Loungers who Toga! Toga! Toga!

sullivlo

Lyaiera wrote: »

I talked to my GP about a medication that I feel was doing me far more harm than good. I'm coming off it cold turkey now after twelve years on it. I got really bad sleep last night, after being awake for 36 hours the day before. And I've felt absolutely awful all day.

Perhaps it might be an idea to chat to your GP about withdrawals, and whether cold turkey is the best approach.

Hope you sleep better tonight!

Ahhhh good for her

http://i.imgur.com/v9GWMq6.jpg

sullivlo

I'm not entirely sure where to post this. I think it's interesting (others may disagree) and has a slant of feminism, but I don't think it's appropriate for the feminism thread.

I came across an article today that I had bookmarked on my phone. My phone is acting up and when the screen is in use, sometimes it hits random buttons. One day it sent an email signed off with "bunny nut tree", because of autocorrect or something. Anyway, I digress. Because my phone opens random pages, it opened this link:

https://becauseiamagirl.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/kate-fitzgerald-pr-consultant/

I'll copy the article here:

Because I am a Girl I ask… “How can I be useful?”

Because I am a Girl I hope… That every day I crawl closer to becoming the woman my mother taught me to be – smart, gracious and kind. Above all of these things I hope I inherited her strength in the face of adversity.

Because I am a Girl I wonder… What the world would be like if every girl was given the opportunities that I was given.

Because I am a Girl I dream… Incessantly. Not all of my dreams are realistic. I probably won’t win the lottery any time soon. I probably won’t change an unkind person’s behaviour. I probably won’t change the entire world before lunchtime tomorrow. I probably won’t be able to afford that dress. But a girl can dream, can’t she? Besides, without my dreams, I would have nothing to aim for, and life would be unthinkably dull.

Because I am a Girl I remember… That I have more love than I could possibly know what to do with. And that loving unselfishly makes light of even the heaviest burden. Even if it takes a little while to get the hang of it.

Because I am a Girl I like…To stop occasionally and add up little acts of kindness others have shown me. These are often very simple gifts – a cup of coffee, a handwritten note, or change for the bus. They may seem little at the time, but when added up, they change the course of my day, and as a result, my entire life.

Because I am a Girl I dislike… How hard I am on myself, and how hard other girls are on themselves. We are our own worst critics. We all need to give ourselves a break.

Because I am a Girl I feel… Indebted to the women who suffered to pave the way for me to be successful. I also feel a duty to find solutions for those who will come after me.

Because I am a Girl I… Know that for as long as women have been women – mothers, daughters, sisters, employees, citizens – they have grabbed a hold of their own little corner of the world and tried to make it perfect. We are caretakers. We do not have time for self pity. We know what is most important in life, and we work tirelessly to guard it. For as long as our little corner of the world is ours, and those we love are depending on us, our strength knows no bounds. And because of this, we must support women around the world in guarding their own little corners.

Kate was my friend. She, unfortunately, passed away a few years ago. She was one of the best people I had the pleasure of knowing. I'm amazed at her words again now.

"Indebted to the women who suffered to pave the way for me to be successful. I also feel a duty to find solutions for those who will come after me."

We, as humans as much as women, are standing on the shoulders of giants. I watched a video made around the time of the marriage referendum where the interviewer said things like: "50 years ago, black people couldn't use public transport; 30 years ago, contraception was illegal in Ireland; 20 years ago, divorce was illegal in Ireland. We think now how barbaric it is that life could exist like that. Do we want to be doing an interview in 50 years time and have people say 50 years ago people couldn't marry people of the same gender?"

For some reason the combination of both things have really struck me today. Don't know why :pac:

I'm not overly political. I vote. I have opinions on things. But they're right - women are not yet equal citizens. We need that to change. But it took strong women to make changes in the past; we need strong women to step forward to make the changes now. I know that we have the likes of Tara Flynn and Caitlin Moran campaigning for Repeal The Eighth, and that's fantastic, but as a whole these changes need to come from everyone.

I'm not a mother. Yet. I'm not sure if I ever will be. But I am a cousin, and my friends have kids. I want the world to be a better place for them when they're my age than it is for me now. Not just about abortion or womens rights or whatever - across the board. Discrimination. Crime. Global warming. Whatever else.

Very odd post for a Friday afternoon. Apologies. I must have eaten too many donuts today.

How so Joe

I've spent the last month in paroxysms of indecision about what I could/should do about my thesis corrections, because I didn't have my report yet, and wasn't entirely sure what my corrections would be.
Now that I got the report (more than four weeks after the viva, but hey, it's not like the guidelines say two weeks or anything they totally do) I'm paralysed by indecision about what to do first.
Thesis corrections are HARD.

sullivlo

How so Joe wrote: »

I've spent the last month in paroxysms of indecision about what I could/should do about my thesis corrections, because I didn't have my report yet, and wasn't entirely sure what my corrections would be.
Now that I got the report (more than four weeks after the viva, but hey, it's not like the guidelines say two weeks or anything they totally do) I'm paralysed by indecision about what to do first.
Thesis corrections are HARD.

They really are hard. Nobody ever tells you.

Congrats btw

Lyaiera

Thanks for the post sullivlo.

What gets to me is the level of hate and vitriol out there. And its getting worse. I've been on the receiving end of more abuse and horrible attitudes in the last year than the previous five years. Why? Because I dared to be a trans woman in public. I've been assaulted, cat called, called mentally disturbed, screamed at and sexually harassed. That never happened when people thought I was a man. If you have the audacity to be not a man in public, you're going to be treated badly.

Mars Bar

My hairdresser is gone :(

I rang to make an appointment and they said he finished there about 3 weeks ago. The receptionist said she didn't know where he was gone so I'm assuming he's in a new place and she didn't want to lose business. I don't know his surname so I don't know how to find him.

sullivlo

Oh no! Nothing worse than when you're used to someone for whatever reason, and then they go and get a new job elsewhere and you miss them from your life! Completely different, but one of the pharmacists from my local chemist has moved on and set up her own pharmacy elsewhere. I really miss the chats that I used to have with her. She didn't even say goodbye. Heartbreaking. The new one is nice and all, but she just doesn't seem to have a genuine smile. The old pharmacist used to not even have to ask my name!!

Do you know the first name of any other hairdressers working there? You could call and ask to speak to them and see if they'd give his surname?

Or do you know the full name of any of the other employees? Because if you could find them on facebook, you might be able to get his surname from that, and then google might bring something up.

I may or may not need to get help for my stalking :pac:

Mars Bar

I know the name of the owner so I did the Facebook stalking as you recommended and he doesn't appear to have a Facebook page. They have nothing on theirs about him leaving. No thank you or farewell which surprises me coz he is fantastic. Often you'd have to make an appointment two weeks in advance to get him.

Balls

That was out of the blue. He said to me when I was leaving after the last cut that he'd give it 5 weeks before I'd have to be back so there was no hint.

sullivlo

Maybe he left on bad terms? Or just disappeared?

(Did you try find other stylists on the owners FB page? Because the owner might have deleted the chap if he left unexpectedly!)

((I'm glad I'm not the only person who facebook-stalks - it's eerie the amount of info some people have out there!))

Mars Bar

Yeah I found a few of the others as some would be from my town so I had an idea as to who they are.

Dunno what to do now! I let someone else cut it the last time and I wasn't too impressed with it.

LenaClaire

I am so bad for that. I moved last autumn, and have not had my hair cut since as I am afraid of a new person messing it up. I need to buck up and get my hair cut!

IvyTheTerrible

sullivlo wrote: »

Maybe he left on bad terms? Or just disappeared?

(Did you try find other stylists on the owners FB page? Because the owner might have deleted the chap if he left unexpectedly!)

((I'm glad I'm not the only person who facebook-stalks - it's eerie the amount of info some people have out there!))

My mother is a absolute divil for Facebook stalking! It's about the only thing she's mastered on the internet.

sullivlo

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

My mother is a absolute divil for Facebook stalking! It's about the only thing she's mastered on the internet.

Some of the things that I have found / found out about people I am 100% sure they would not want linked to their name / in the public domain.

But to tell them that I had been Facebook stalking them would mean having to admit that I was Facebook stalking.

Mars Bar

Thanks to another Boardsie, my hairdresser has been located and I've made an appointment with him! \o/

IvyTheTerrible

Was it done by stalkery skills? Dying to know!

Sunny Dayz

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

My mother is a absolute divil for Facebook stalking! It's about the only thing she's mastered on the internet.

My mum is the same. Before she used facebook, if I heard news or seen a pic on facebook and relayed it back to my mum, she would be all: that facebook is terrible, there's no privacy, that's not somewhere to announce that news. Now she's all: did you hear such and such, did you seen the pic that such a one put up last night?! She finds it great for keeping in touch with what is going on in her hometown and with people she grew up with.


My sister is a bit younger than me and she was mortified that mam could view her pics up of her nights out with the girls and lovey-dovey pics with her boyfriend!

Mars Bar

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Was it done by stalkery skills? Dying to know!

I think it was more a series of coincidences!

sullivlo

I'm not sure I want to live on this planet anymore.

Went to sleep, as normal. Woke to use the loo and while I was awake I checked my phone. I had a message from a number I didn't recognise. So I opened it.

It was a picture of a fully naked man (selfie in a mirror thing) with the caption "you like?"

I don't want to live in a society that this is acceptable!!!!!

I have no clue who this is. No clue how they got my number. I'm actually shook by it all.

sammyjo90

Maybe it wasn't meant for you? Unless they used your name directly then obviously not

sullivlo

sammyjo90 wrote: »

Maybe it wasn't meant for you? Unless they used your name directly then obviously not

Regardless of whether it was meant for me or not, the guy still thought it was acceptable to send a dickpic. Even if it was a wrong number, he would have typed it into his phone and would have been aware before that it was the wrong number.

Either way. Not a pleasant way to start the morning!

IvyTheTerrible

Personally, I don't understand dick pics. Bit of mystery is a lot more sexy IMO.

As Mr Burns said: "Call me old fashioned, but movies were sexier when the actors kept their clothes on. Vilma Banky could do more for me with one raised eyebrow than an entire-"

Dolbert

Kids, let me tell you about how I met your mother. It all started with an unsolicited photo of my penis...

angeldelight

sullivlo wrote: »

I'm not sure I want to live on this planet anymore.

Went to sleep, as normal. Woke to use the loo and while I was awake I checked my phone. I had a message from a number I didn't recognise. So I opened it.

It was a picture of a fully naked man (selfie in a mirror thing) with the caption "you like?"

I don't want to live in a society that this is acceptable!!!!!

I have no clue who this is. No clue how they got my number. I'm actually shook by it all.

Vomit. Honestly what is wrong with people?

sullivlo

I responded in the most grown up manner I could think of.

I google imaged "sti penis" and took the grossest one I could find and said "I prefer my own thanks".

I haven't had a response.

IvyTheTerrible

You are my GOD!

Well played!

Sapphire

sullivlo wrote: »

I responded in the most grown up manner I could think of.

I google imaged "sti penis" and took the grossest one I could find and said "I prefer my own thanks".

I haven't had a response.

I ...I almost* want a dickpic sent to me so I can troll them in this masterful way.

*almost, but still no, thanks.

sullivlo

Sapphire wrote: »

I ...I almost* want a dickpic sent to me so I can troll them in this masterful way.

*almost, but still no, thanks.

I can forward this one on to you if you like? Or can give this guy your number?

Sapphire

sullivlo wrote: »

I can forward this one on to you if you like? Or can give this guy your number?

Nope, yer grand thanks

sullivlo

Sapphire wrote: »

Nope, yer grand thanks

Your loss!

Precious flower

Trying to go out in the sun and get a tan and the cat starts biting my legs. Brat! He always been obsessed with my legs and he's practically an old man now.

WesternNight

Precious flower wrote: »

Trying to go out in the sun and get a tan and the cat starts biting my legs. Brat! He always been obsessed with my legs and he's practically an old man now.

My cat does that. But I'm safe these days because she's afraid of the sun and is hiding in a cool spot upstairs.

I'm not convinced she's actually a cat tbh.

:pac:

sullivlo

Just back from my first triathlon.

I. Am. Shattered. But really enjoyed it. Except for the absolute torturous heat for the run. Horrifically warm!

IvyTheTerrible

Well done sullivlo!

sullivlo

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Well done sullivlo!

Cheers. Rehydration with beer.

rainbow kirby

Great stuff Sullivlo! Signed up for the next one yet?

sullivlo

rainbow kirby wrote: »

Great stuff Sullivlo! Signed up for the next one yet?

Had signed up for the next one before today

Today was a try-a-tri. But still a whack of a distance. The only real difference was the swim because the bike was 20 and the run was 4! But had initially signed up for a sprint in August - today was an afterthought! But good to see how things work in transitions and whatnot.

Considering looking for one in July too...

And the plan is to work on my run over winter, with an aim to do an Olympic next year. When I get back in the pool I'll fly the swim, and the bike won't be an issue. But the thoughts of running 10k make me want to cry currently!!

Lyaiera

I have to say you're amazing Sulilvo. I remember you asking what kind of shorts to buy and cycling your first 15km. And look at you now.

XxMCRxBabyxX

I'm feeling like a terrible person atm and it's over such a small thing. I'm just dreading my friend's hen night. It's just going to be a night of everything that I'm not. There's a sporting activity first (managing to actually kick a ball is impressive for me) and then heading out locally. The plan seems to include dressing up with all the tacky bells and whistles (literally - blow up doll included) and I won't know most of the girls going either. I know that I'm being a bit of a snob about this but I just don't really like that sort of thing, especially when I don't even know the people I'll be with. I think it's the sport that's worrying me more though. I haven't attempted anything sporty since about TY in school and that wasn't fun. The fact that I was crap was made very clear to me. I'm just getting so anxious about making a fool of myself.

In my head I'm trying to find excuses as to why I can't go but I know that I won't miss it because I know that my friend wants me there and I wouldn't do that to her. I just don't know how to make myself look forward to this or even just feel a little better about it.


P.S. Well dove sullivo on the triathlon!

Lyaiera

I went to a stag. I've never been to a stag or hen or anything like it before or after. We went clay pigeon shooting. Some people were shooting before me, they did grand. I stepped up, held the shotgun to my shoulder, screamed, "PULL!" Shot that mother****ing clay pigeon right out of the sky. No-one messed with me.

Go. Have fun. Don't worry about it before hand. If it's crap get a few beers or whiskeys and head to bed early with your wifi. Bring nice pyjamas.

Nice pyjamas will make the night.

angeldelight

MCR I totally get where you're coming from. I suffer with social anxiety and things like nights out and hen nights are my idea of hell. I cancelled going on so many with the result I've no good close friends left, I just let people down too many times. People would tell me oh you'll enjoy it when you're there and I mostly wouldn't but occasionally I'd be surprised.

I'd say go and even if it's as bad as you expect it's only X hours long - you can count down the time until you go home. And you might be surprised

pew

Mcr I completely get where you are coming from. I hate hen nights and just nights out in general.

I would go though, even for a little. Sometimes I'm very surprised about how good it is.

sullivlo

MCR, I totally get where you're coming from. I was in a very similar situation a few weeks ago in that I was invited to a hens of a friend and I was properly dreading it. I didn't know anybody and I knew that there would be lots of phallic shaped objects that I'd be expected to wear - that's just not me. It turned out I couldn't go as it was the same weekend as my uncles 50th but I really do understand your concerns.

You say you're going to go anyway - that's fantastic.

What is the sporting activity? Any chance that everyone will be in the same boat and nervous? I find in those situations that if I make a joke of myself at the start (Laugh rather than get embarrassed by messing up) that it's easier to relax and enjoy.

In terms of the night out. Chances are there may be a few others there that won't know anyone. Hunt them out and stick with them as much as possible. And then leave as soon as you want - your friend likely won't notice what time you leave, and will just appreciate the fact that you went.

Mars Bar

I ****ing despise hen nights with every single fibre in my body. I've never had one good experience on any of them to be honest. Both of my best friends hen dos are over and done with thank feck!

The activities on stag dos always seem far more fun but I hate the fact that you're almost expected to get ****faced.

sammyjo90

We went clay pigeon shooting and doom buggy racing for my sisters it was class. And as for dressing up we more a bright coloured wig, no L plates/penis in sight

XxMCRxBabyxX

Thanks for the posts ladies. I'm trying to calm myself but it'll take a bit more work yet.

The activity is football golf. If I have to kick a ball long distances then I have no hope. The bride is a real sporty football fan. I don't know what most of the other girls are like when it comes to sport but I'd be fairly confident that they'll be better than me!

I have an old ankle injury that can play. Would I be terrible if I used that as an excuse not to play?

sullivlo

XxMCRxBabyxX wrote: »

Thanks for the posts ladies. I'm trying to calm myself but it'll take a bit more work yet.

The activity is football golf. If I have to kick a ball long distances then I have no hope. The bride is a real sporty football fan. I don't know what most of the other girls are like when it comes to sport but I'd be fairly confident that they'll be better than me!

I have an old ankle injury that can play. Would I be terrible if I used that as an excuse not to play?

Sporty football fan does not equate to the ability to play footgolf!!

You can use that as an excuse, however be prepared to still go along and watch. And not wear heels on the night out!

Mars Bar

Oh my god footgolf is so much fun! That's my kind of activity!

XxMCRxBabyxX

sullivlo wrote: »

Sporty football fan does not equate to the ability to play footgolf!!

You can use that as an excuse, however be prepared to still go along and watch. And not wear heels on the night out!

I would still go along. I've promised myself that I won't let my friend down. I was just thinking that it might get me out of playing.

Lucyfur

Footgolf is the most fun!! My autistic teen, who has ZERO coordination skills, regularly goes with a group of his autistic peers. Mighty craic, you don't need to be sporty at all and IMO, the worse you are at kicking a ball, the more fun you'll have!