LIFE IN LOCK DOWN - HOME ALONE

 OK so it's the 1st May 2020 and we've been in 'lock down' now for five and a half weeks. That's 39 days for anyone who doesn't know. Even Noah was only on his ark for 40 days & nights! I like to have little projects to work on so I thought that my challenge for May 2020 could be posting a 'blog a day' for the next 31 days............ 'LOCK DOWN through my eyes. …...........The eyes of a 61 year old ranting single female who lives alone with a dog. …........At least I'm not a mad cat woman. Not that I have anything against cats you understand. I don't. I like cats. But could never, ever, have one because they bring their owners presents, ie dead mice and birds and other horrible things.

Anyway more than 35 years ago I was a teacher, living in the capital city of Scotland, and the Headteacher of the school that I was working in, was a very innovative 'spinster' in her 40s (obviously she seemed ancient to me because I was only 25) who had a fat spaniel who used to spend most of it's day in her car or in her office. How times have moved on. Dogs aren't even allowed anywhere on school premises these days and to leave a dog in a car for most of the day would definitely be classed as animal cruelty.

There is a reason for me telling you this.................... I distinctly remember saying to friends; 'If I ever end up like Miss B just shoot me.'

….............And now I'm a middle aged spinster (albeit about 20 years older than she was at the time) living alone with my dog. ….........And I couldn't be happier. …..........And I don't want to be shot. …...............I love my life.

BUT...................... there's always a BUT isn't there? After five and a half weeks of being in compulsory isolation, at times, I've wondered whether I've actually made the correct life choices. Maybe it would have been better to have a partner that one wasn't actually 'in love' with but who one might have been able to rub along with quite amicably. Then I wouldn't have had to spend the last five and a half weeks just talking to a 17 month old collie pup.

Hmmmmm.................... five and a half weeks versus a lifetime of doing what I want to do................... yep I guess I've definitely made the right decision. 99% of the time I'm really happy with my life. It's that 1% that keeps featuring in my life a lot over the last few weeks.

Irrational thoughts keep popping into my head like; what if I get Covid-19? Who is going to look after my dog? What if I get really ill really quickly and aren't even able to phone for an ambulance myself? What if I die all alone? Who is going to find me when no one is actually visiting me? And what impact will this have on my 17 month old collie pup if she's home alone in the flat with me and I'm dead and she doesn't have any food? Might she start to eat me? Is that what animals do if they're desperate? As I say.......................... totally irrational thoughts??!!  I post so much on social media that I'm sure someone would notice within 24 hours if I hadn't posted a photo of myself drinking a glass of wine and I'm pretty sure my gorgeous little collie pup wouldn't think of eating me within 24 hours?!

So to get back to why I'm actually posting this post; it's my May Challenge 2020. Every day for the whole of May I'm going to post something about my thoughts and feelings about being in lock down as a single person. I might just write a paragraph. I might write screeds and screeds. I don't know yet. I'm just going to see where the mood takes me.

…................And as most of you know..................... I do like RANTING so a lot of these posts might be a bit ranty. Lol!

See you tomorrow.

Toodles xxx

How many 'likes' have you got?

Obviously I am on social media because I am a very hip and trendy 'Ranting Middle Aged Spinster'??!!

Last night I went to the cinema.  I went to the cinema to see 'Bohemian Rhapsody'.  And very good it was too.  Absolutely loved it. I went with a friend, who had already arranged to go with another friend (that I had never met before).  And here lies the problem???

…………….We all posted photos of ourselves having a fabulous time...……………….. on social media???  ....................Well, that's what people do these days isn't it?

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.  A friend, of my friend, then commented that she'd not had an invite?

FFS...………………… Life moves on.  #Getoverit

To explain...…….. I wanted to go to see the movie, friend said she was going with another friend.  I then asked if I could go with them.

…………..And actually why on earth does anyone care how many likes they get on a FB post?

I actually find it quite sad that no one actually talks to anyone these days.

Soooo...……………… we all post our whole life on FB or Instagram or Snap Chat or wherever?  And everyone thinks that everyone else is having a more fantastic time than they are?!

My problem with this is...…………..  my 'friend of a friend' sees everything on FB and thinks that everyone else is having a better time than her.  If she doesn't get invited to everything single thing that her friend is doing, or everything single thing that is posted on FB etc she goes into a major strop and doesn't talk to us for days/weeks.

Personally, I seriously can't be doing with this.  I'm almost at the end of my tether???

I grew up in the era when there were no mobile phones and no computers and if someone was being 'nasty' to you...……………. you were just told to ignore them...………….

'Sticks & stones can break your bones
But words can never hurt you.'

Obviously, as a 'Ranting Middle Aged Spinster', I'm probably a lot older than a lot of people here but seriously?...……..

.............................Why does it matter how many 'likes' you get on a FB/Instagram page? Who cares????    

Video chat interview

Technology is all a little bit confusing.

Today I had my very first 'video chat interview'.  What is a 'video chat interview', I hear you ask?  Well, it's when you have to hook up your computer to some 'remote' thingy and then you get to see someone on a screen asking you questions and you have to reply.  It's like an interview.  Except you're not talking to a real live person. You're talking to a face on a screen, asking questions that have been pre-recorded on a video thing.

You still have to get all dolled up in your interview gear, because after all, you're on show on a video screen.  And what is even worse............... you have to clean the house because the remote interviewees want you to be in a calm environment.  Ie, they don't want to see your dirty dishes in the sink behind you.

Mmmmmmm...................  Apparently it's very easy?!  For all of us over 50's almost 60s it's a total nightmare.  I tried to do it 2 days ago.  I couldn't make the link work.  I phoned my very techie nephew who said, 'All you have to do is copy & paste the link into Google Chrome'.  Mmmmmmm................Tried that.  It didn't work.  I'm not completely useless - I know what Google Chrome is???

Fast forward to today.  I tried again......................

..................And this time (haven't a clue how) I managed to access the link.  #Iamatechiegenius

Unfortunately, my techie skills are NOT VERY GOOD?!!

During my 'VIDEO CHAT INTERVIEW', I'm pretty sure I managed to record myself slagging off the company I was applying to for a job.  I told them that they had no personal service, their interview procedure was a joke and even if I got a job with them, I wouldn't want it.

Unfortunately I have absolutely NO idea what I have sent this company because I haven't got the 'techie' skills to 'SAVE' stuff on an external website.

I'm absolutely fed up with having to do everything single thing 'on line'.

Please, please, please, just bring back a teeny, weeny, little bit of personal service.

Recycling

I haven't ranted for ages because, to be honest, I haven't actually had anything to rant about.  But I'm a bit bored tonight so I think I might as well have a RANT about recycling.  Where I live there are 12 properties and although we all share a couple of big bins; we don't have any communal recycling facilities.

And just so that you all know...……………….  I personally think recycling is really important.  I'm all for saving the planet and all that.

What I am NOT in favour off...……………… is recycling when it doesn't work.  And it certainly is not working in a small seaside town in the South West.

In the town where I live a pilot scheme has been in place for the summer so that the thousands of holiday makers that descend on us each year, have somewhere to put their recycling.  It hasn't worked.  All summer the recycling bins have been full of general waste.  And I have to say; it's the same where I live.  Holiday makers either leave their brains behind when they come on holiday.  Or they just don't care.  Yes, they are paying a lot of money to come on holiday to my town.  BUT does that really mean that they have the right to disrespect it?

To be honest, I don't know a great deal about the recycling scheme that has been introduced into the town.  Apart from the fact that it failed.  What I do know is; the recycling boxes where I live have been totally, utterly and completely misused.  People have been putting in bags of dog poo, babies dirty nappies, food cans that haven't been washed out, etc.  They have totally disregarded the labels on the boxes and have put in bags of mixed stuff (which the recycling guys will not pick up) and to be honest, they've just been dumping any old rubbish in there.  What do they think is going to happen to it?  Who do they think is going to sort it out?  Would they really do the same thing at home?

Oh and while we're on the subject of recycling...……………..  I clean a couple of 'holiday let' properties...………………. One of them has just had a fabulous new kitchen fitted, complete with rubbish containers for recycling.  Do the holiday makers use these?  They do not.  They fill up all the bins with general waste.  And sometimes, when I go into clean, I'm really lucky...…………….  they've actually removed all the bin bags from the property and I think whoopee doooo.  Unfortunately 9 times out of 10, they've then had breakfast and have thrown all their breakfast debris, ie yogurt pots, banana skins, burnt toast, etc into a bin that they haven't bothered to put a bin liner back in.  Just what is the point of that?

I really do not understand the mentality of some people.  The majority of people these days can read, so why on earth would they ignore signs on recycling boxes telling them what goes where?  I guess the phrase 'silly season' is true.  It's very sad to say, but the 'school holiday brigade' of holiday makers really don't care.  And yes, they do pay a lot for their holiday lets, and actually; I can understand if they want to leave their holiday let in the worse condition ever, and I have to say they usually do.  BUT, plastic is drowning our world!  It won't affect me because I am a ranting middle aged spinster.   In years to come it will probably have a HUGE impact on the future generations of the these holiday makers who come to stay every year and think it's OK to just chuck a bagful of c*** into the recycling.

Recycling is really, really, important if we want to 'save the planet'.  Our children, grandchildren and future generations are at risk if we don't sort out this problem now.

OK rant over.

Yet another 'social media' posting!!!

I know I'm a 'ranting old middle aged spinster' but seriously, all this ranting and public shaming on social media is really getting to me.

Today two posts popped up on my FB page.  One was a full on photo of a guy who had asked to take his dog into a shop (and been refused because he wouldn't carry it) and the other was of someone who had witnessed a waitress licking her fingers and then serving customers.

Firstly...………... can I just say; I agree that dogs should not be allowed in 'food shops' and nor should staff in restaurants be 'licking their fingers'.  ...............But seriously...………………  Why does this need to be posted all over social media??  Both of these posts had umpteen comments within an hour.

Shit happens...…………………  get over it.

Social media isn't always a good thing...……………...

I'm pretty sure that both of these businesses are going to be destroyed by the negative comments that they have received.  Why do people, (and quite often people who have actually no knowledge of how that particular business is run), jump on the bandwagon and start making very derogatory comments.
People write reviews in the heat of the moment.  Take a step back peeps.  Think about it.  Do you really want to destroy someone's liviehood?  Instead of posting a review on the internet, why don't you actually go and talk to someone????

……………..You have a problem?  ……………….You don't like the fact that a dog isn't allowed in a shop?  Go speak to the owner and find out why?  You  see a waitress licking her fingers? Go and ask her if she's been 'Food Hygiene' trained.

Don't just hide behind a load of really negative comments on a FB page.

COMMUNICATE.

I feel really strongly that no one talks to each other these days.  No one communicates.  Everyone is too quick to leave a comment on social media.

Think about it peeps.

If you can't say it to their face then don't say it at all!!!

Another 'social media' post!

What is it about people that make them want to post every single little irritating thing on social media?  A post has just popped up on one of my social media pages showing a 'white van'.  Full number plate and everything. Apparently it cut someone off going around a roundabout???  Happens all the time I would say.  Shit happens.  Get over it.  Have the people who post this sort of stuff on social media really got nothing else to do than photo a white van and post it on social media?

Actually...…….. have I got nothing else to do than start ranting about things that I've seen on social media???

We're all a bit sad!  Post first, reflect later.  We all need to start living in the real world again.

OK...………….. so a white van cut someone off going round a roundabout.  Stuff like that happens all the time.  It's not very polite, it's not the sort of driver one would wish to meet on the roads and to be perfectly honest, it's an example of very bad driving.  BUT...………………… maybe the driver didn't know where they were going, maybe they made a 'bad decision' at the last minute, maybe they didn't actually realise what a commotion they'd caused????

As I say; stuff happens.

But it seems nowadays that every time that someone makes a mistake, someone else either photos it or videos it and then it's plastered all over social media.  It's out there for the rest of the world to see.  And it's all very well saying that these negative posts can be deleted.  Of course they can.  But if they're not deleted within the first few seconds of being posted, then they're out there forever for the rest of the world to see.

The 'white van' post that I saw on social media this evening had been posted 7 mins before I read it and it had already racked up more than 60 comments.  Probably by now the police have been contacted and the white van driver has been traced and he's probably being charged right now.  And whilst I agree that his driving wasn't exactly the best, the photo of 'Mr White Van Man' had obviously been taken from the drivers side of the car following him.

…………….So lets just hope that the said driver has also been charged for taking photos while driving?????

Social Media

I haven't ranted for absolutely ages; but today I am going to have a rant about social media.  And when I say 'social media', I mean Facebook.

I would imagine that the majority of you reading this RANT have a FB account.  I have to admit that I am totally, utterly and completely addicted to FB.

However.................. what I am going to RANT about today is....................... the growing abundance of the 'I LOVE (insert where you live here)' pages.  In my opinion, these pages are really useful for doing stuff like finding lost dogs and reuniting keys and lost bank cards with their owners.

What they're not really useful for is..................................  the growing trend for people to humiliate and publically shame people when they are just going about their normal day to day life.

I'm a member of two or three of these 'I LOVE (insert where you live)' sites and in the last week or so I've seen posts of someone trying to break into houses (which to me is actually a positive thing - it's alerted those of us in the neighbourhood to be more aware) but I've also seen posts of people having a disagreement over something which doesn't actually have anything to do with anything in the real world.  And then all of a sudden, there's more than 70 comments from other people who had actually nothing to do with the original disagreement.

Why do people feel the need to do this?

What is it about our society today that means that we have to conduct our whole life online?

In the 'good old days', we talked to people, we fell out and if we wanted to make up with them we did it in person.  These days, stuff gets put online and then everyone else sees it and thinks they can jump on the bandwagon and a weeny, teeny, trivial little problem seems to get blown out of all proportion because zillions of other people have commented on it.  It's mad!

I post a lot of stuff on social media and I am well aware that anything I post, is out there for the world to see.  However, what I don't do.......................... is post comments on the 'I LOVE (insert where you live) sites, or any other sites.  I don't do this for two reasons:

1   Anything you post is out there for the whole world to see forever.

2   I really can't be bothered to get involved with the petty dialogues that go back and forwards.  Obviously I like RANTING and sometimes, I'd just love to post a comment on some of the ridiculous posts that I see on these sites...........................  But I don't, because I'm trying to be the bigger person.  LOL!

It's MAD, MAD, MAD.

For example, there's a trolley in the middle of the road on a Sunday morning?  Why doesn't someone just remove it and take it back to the supermarket?  Is it really necessary to post a picture on FB and start a huge dialogue about why a trolley was in the middle of a road early on a Sunday morning?  We all know why there's a trolley in the middle of a road on a Sunday morning.  .............Drunk people took it from the supermarket on a Saturday night and abandoned it.  Well that's what we'd all assume 30 years ago????

Does it really warrant a HUGE discussion on FB.  Yes, there's a problem in the area but why can't people just talk to each other.

Anyway, I really can't be bothered to post any more because if I did, I be like all these other mad people on FB who seem to have nothing else to do apart from post comments on stuff which doesn't actually have anything to do with them.

#Lifewassomucheasierwhenwehadrealliveconversations