Tuesday 28 May 2013

Chapter 6: Why Can't I Be Peter Pan?

This week has been a real busy week for me. Just so you all know, my "busy" is not what most people would class as busy. I said in my first blog that 25 is my scary age because to me, I am officially an adult with responsibilities... I struggle to organise my room, let alone my life! However I have done a few productive things since my last blog:

  1. I FINALLY booked New York with my boyfriend - YAAAAYYYY! I booked to go for my Birthday next year and got an insanely good deal with Virgin. So if anyone is looking to go to New York, I highly recommend just walking into your local Virgin and inquiring about it there, rather than on their website. It's much better to get some insight from people who have been and where's best to stay. We booked a hotel where both our rep and my Mammy have been before, so it was a no brainer.
  2. I have opened another bank account - yes that's right you heard. I know, sounds pretty boring... but it felt like quite a big stepping stone for me and actually gives me an incentive to save more! I am going to share something with you all and I'm sure most of my family and friends are aware. I... I... I have an internet shopping addiction. I am hanging my head in shame as we speak. I'm too lazy to go out and try stuff on and I worked in retail for 4 years. I never want to return to the nightmare of going to the changing rooms, queuing for hours during sale time and arguing with snotty managers who think they rule the world. Oh wait a minute sorry, I think  I'm just referring to when I was a sales assistant and not a customer. Let me start over. SHOPPING IN THE REAL WORLD SUCKS ASS.
  3. I renewed my car insurance. This has to be the most nauseating task in life, EVER. Why can't these things be simple? I finally agreed on a price and the sales advisor's said this would be saved on their system until I called them back. So what happened? I called them back and the price increased by £10?! Jog on you bunch of half wits! In the end I got them down to the price I wanted, but why does it all have to be so difficult and why do we all DREAD the time it comes to actually phoning providers to change insurance, phone tariffs, yar-dah-yar-dah. 
All of the above things, I have had to have help with. I can't do serious adult stuff by myself, which is where my boyfriend comes in! He's the one that doesn't put up with shit and he's taught me to do the same. Although I come off as quite a feisty character, I am a bit of a chicken when it comes to face-to-face or over the phone interaction with people. I can't count how many meals and hotels we have had major discount off, or even had for free thanks to Luke! So any time I say, "Hmmm, I'm not sure" or "That may be pushing my luck", Luke encourages me to push for what I want... almost resembles a life lesson for us all, wouldn't you agree? ;)

The reason for my blog title? I still feel like I'm 17, so why can't I look like I'm 17?! Peter Pan never grows old, so why do we have to? Why can't the fantasy world exist in reality?
My favourite television series is, True Blood. I know the whole vampire scene is getting quite boring to a lot of people at the moment, but it is something that has always fascinated me. What if vampires actually existed? True Blood is about a world where humans and vampires co-exist. If this was the case (the way True Blood conveys it) there would be an end to all illnesses, everyone can be saved from death and live a live of eternity and there would be no reason to fight or be at war.
When I watch these kinds of programmes, or watch fantasy movies like Peter Pan I love them all because I would love to live in a world like that. But it also makes me beg the question, "Why can't these lucky shits renew their car insurance like we do?"

On that note I leave you with The Lost Boys movie trailer - try not to laugh so hard, the trailer is very old. This is my favourite vampire movie of all time and I don't care what you Twihards think, this is waaaay better.



'Til next week, toodaloo pips.
T.
P.S.  Thanks again for all the Race For Life donations! My sister and I have gone well over half of our target and we are so grateful to you all! If you would like to donate to our page please visit http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/patriciabaxter. It's all for a great cause and anything is greatly appreciated! 
Oh and in case you're wondering, I ACTUALLY went for a run yesterday. Only did 3K but hey, it;s something!
Love love.

Tuesday 21 May 2013

Chapter 5: Leaving on a Jet Plane

Whaddup peoples! Hope you are all okay on this fine Tuesday evening :-).

Last week I spoke about exercise and how I am running for Race for Life next month... a week on and I STILL haven't practiced that much. Okay I am lying, I haven't practiced at all! But surely that will make better comedy value for when I do the actual race?! Once again I would like to thank everyone who has donated so far and ask anyone who hasn't already and would like to, to visit our page at http://www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/patriciabaxter! It will be greatly appreciated and might actually spur me on to get my butt into shape!

This week I am going to talk about what is on everybody's minds. Yes, that's right - HOLIDAYS! I'm sure you all feel the same as I do, but every time the sun is out I have a real urge to get on a plane and bake in the sun somewhere with a pool, beach and all inclusive food and alcohol. That's what me and the boyfriend have done for the past three years and it's been fantastic! Turkey the first year and Egypt for the last two - for anyone wanting to going to Egypt this year, I highly recommend the Holiday Village in Sharm El Sheikh. Amazing swim up rooms and the staff are great! However, if anyone is going to Sharm, word of advice - don't go to TGI Fridays. Unless you want to be spending your holiday on the loo that is... Just saying.

This year we have decided to veer away from a sun holiday and instead, we are going to the best place in the entire world - NEW YORK CITY. Not only this but we are going at the most magical (and stressful) time of the year... Christmas! I absolutely adore the place and if I could live anywhere in the world, I'd move there in a second. I first went there when I was 17 for a school trip - why we have a school trip to NYC I don't know, but I wasn't complaining - and ever since then, I have wanted to go back there. There's so much to do and see, that going for 4,5 or even 14 days is not enough to see all that the city has to offer. It's got everything! Great shopping, amazing architecture, the Sex & The City tour bus... For all you men reading this who haven't seen at least one episode of Sex & The City, YOU HAVEN'T LIVED! Here's a little snippet of why you should all watch this show (not that I should be urging men to watch sex scenes anyway?)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av-4OFRj2LQ

On a different note, aside from all the typical things you can do in New York, I just love it so much because although it is a city - and I am a city girl - it is just worlds apart from what we're used to in England. The people are rude, there's always a hustle and yet people want to go back for more. I just think that about America in itself though and I can't wait to go travelling there in the future. I guess this sort goes back to the fact I love movies so much and so many fantastic films has been made over there... I would also love to visit the "deep deep South" of America; Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, you name it. I guess this is my Dad rubbing off on me, but he has loved Western movies and Country music since he was a little boy. When we were younger he introduced me and my sisters to films like City Slickers, Thelma and Louise and not forgetting the classic, Urban Cowboy with John Travolta. Again, a must see if you are a fan of Travolta like I am.


On top of this, my all time FAVOURITE Director comes from Tennessee, Quentin Tarantino. How can you fault the man and all his talents?! I have loved every one of his movies and all of his other projects he has worked on, especially with best friend Robert Rodriguez. I thought it was about time he did a Western, and let me say, Django Unchained did NOT disappoint. Here's what I love about his movies:

  1. The characters - He puts so much detail into everything and especially the characters. You feel an array of different emotions for every character in his movies.
  2. The movie soundtracks - Motown, Country, Hip Hop, you name it! Jackie Brown has to be the best soundtrack.
  3. His recycling of actors - let's face it, he chooses some bad ass actors to play his roles.
  4. Uma Thurman - my all time favourite actress. Amazing in Pulp Fiction, but Kill Bill did it for me. Watch out for Kill Bll 3 coming to a cinema near you in 2014!
  5. His recycling of sounds - I don't know if you have noticed, but he tends to use the same sounds for a few of his films. Do I care? No... Because all of his films are the shit.

Another thing I love about the Deep South is the music. So many people think it's cheesy and yeah I agree, it caters for a certain audience... but I'm not ashamed to admit I am apart of that audience! I'm a huge fan of Johnny Cash and have been since I was 18... I am also NOT ashamed to admit I was Shania Twain's biggest fan when I was 12. Anyone who says that haven't sang the words to "Man, I Feel Like A Woman" is just a frickin' liar!

This week I want to know where your dream destination is and if you ever plan to holiday, travel or even live there?! I want to know all the lengths you would go to in order to get there and say for once, "I've been there."

In the meantime, I would suggest playing a bit of Madonna's 'Holiday' to get you in the mood, but Adam, Sandler's version from The Wedding Singer is waaay better ;).
Until next time readers, take it easy.
T.




Tuesday 14 May 2013

Chapter 4: The "Big" Run

Hi guys!

Guess what, another week on... and I STILL don't know what I'm doing?! Jokes. Just want to say a massive thanks to all of you who responded to my blog last week. It was so interesting to hear about peoples dream jobs and big hopes for the future and I have every faith that you will all be "living the dream" :). Hope you have all had a productive week and you have done something you never thought you would... That's what they say, you should do something once a day that scares you. F**k that, I can barely do something once a week that scares me! But this week I have... Yes folks, I have entered Race For Life. It's been something my sister and I have said we would do for a while and this week I did it. I entered myself and Esther to run in Redditch on the 16th June. We are doing it with our good friend Louisa and although I know I will probably be crawling to the finish line, I am determined to do this for Mammy. It's a great cause and if any of you can donate a little something, please go to our sponsor page and it will be greatly appreciated :).

On a serious note though, I am NOT a good runner. I don't last very long and my only explanation for this is the fact I am not a good breather. Loads of people I talk to say, "you will be better if you do it more". I went through a whole three months of exercising before my sister's wedding and the most I could do was run around the circular garden in the park! Another excuse would be, well, any excuse! If there's a bit of bird shit on the floor outside my house I'll be like, "Oh no, I can't run. There's bird shit on the floor outside..." Truth is, even though I don't last very long, it's the only exercise that suits me. I can't dance because I have NO co-ordination. So if anyone mentions the word, "Zumba" to me, I block it out. The whole, "Oh come on! You get to dance AND it's fun." I'm sorry, the only thing that is fun about that is that everyone gets to watch how shit I am at dancing. God forbid ANYONE that has to see it. The most I can do is the Chandler dance which consists of this:
I can't play tennis or badminton because any time I go to serve, it drops on the floor. Plus hearing other people making sex noises is extremely off putting; why do they have to do it?! However I do enjoy swimming. The only thing I don't enjoy is the walk TO the pool. Figure. Erect nipples. Pale skin. THAT IS ALL!

However, I am going to try so hard to get better at running. I have even downloaded the Nike+ running app on my phone (not that that means shit, but I guess it shows I have good intention). This daunts me slightly because then I will get to see how truly rubbish I am. "Patricia, you have ran 0.1K in 10 minutes". Cheers Nike. However, I have one person keeping me going and I know this is the best motivation. If my Mammy can go through what she has gone through in the past 7 months, I think I can run a poxy 5K. I don't know if you have seen the new Race For Life advert, but it is definitely the best one yet and this also spurs me on. The t-shirts for this year are fantastic as well and I can't wait to get ours printed with Mammy's face on the back courtesy of my friend, Peter Luong. He has recently set up a new business called 'Visionary Heroes' and his products are fantastic. If you are interested in having any printing done, please like his page on Facebook and contact him via there.

So let me know what tips any of you have about keeping up endurance during running, if any of you are avid runners. I'd also LOVE to hear about any embarrassing stories you have about exercises you want to avoid because of bad experiences or any other obstacles you have faced, e.g. seeing a hot tub on the way to the cross trainer. Same drill as last week, just tweet, Facebook or reply to this blog via Google.

Anyone wanna hear my running song? Billy Elliot, eat your heart out!

'Til next week peeps.
T.


Tuesday 7 May 2013

Chapter 3: Don't Panic...

So for the past few weeks I opened up about my aspirations (as embarrassing as they may seem). This week I would really like to hear some feedback from you guys about what your dream job is, whether you will try and grab your dreams and if not, why not? Are you settling? Are you comfortable with just earning money and living for the weekends? Are there obstacles in your way? Do you feel that ship has sailed?

The older I get the more important I feel it is to be honest and open up to the people around you who love you the most. Don't be afraid of people judging you or thinking that person is better than you are, because if writing this blog has taught me anything in the past few weeks, it's shown me I'm not as scared or shy as I thought I was. 

The one person who I share absolutely everything with is Mammy. I can't NOT tell her anything. I know sometimes this can piss her off, but I have done it since I was a little girl. Call it good old fashioned Catholic guilt. 

Around the end of January 2012, I just found out I got a new job so me, Mammy and my sister's Laura and Esther went out to celebrate. I brought up the subject dream jobs and asked my family what theirs would be, had they have not fallen into their existing professions. My sister Laura said she would have LOVED to have worked behind the scenes in Television, she said she would have been happy just being a Runner! Esther said she would have been a singer or be on stage in Broadway (the girl is a fantastic singer and I hate to admit it, but I'm jealous). Mammy said, "Aye I would just LOVE to be a Detective! I would love to catch people in the act and be like, 'HEY! I caught you, you dirty bastard!' Like in the Martina Cole Novels!" Mammy is a serious book worm... has been since she was a little girl. Pretty sure she means a detective to catch cheaters by that line she shouted in CafĂ© Rouge...

I'm not going to lie, I love to people watch. I could literally sit and stare at people all the time just wondering what their lives are like. Wondering if they have done all the things they wanted to do, wondering if they have done all the things they wanted. Are they happy? Are they sad? What are they going through currently? What have they been through? People's dreams and hopes can all be different and they can change all the time. My dreams, hopes and prayers at the moment are going into making my Mammy better. She was diagnosed with Bowel and Liver Cancer in November 2012 and to be honest, it is like living a nightmare and not being able to wake up. But let me tell you all now, being positive and having faith are the main ingredients for me, my Mammy and all of my family right now and if I thought she was strong before, well she is Super Woman now. We all have every faith that she will beat this cancer and although it is tough for her and all of us, I always remind myself of Footprints. This prayer was  hung up on our wall for years when me and my sisters were growing up, but it was only last year that we truly understood it's meaning and it restores my faith in pretty much everything every time I read it.

My Mammy is my biggest fan and apart from all you lovely people reading this, I am mainly writing this for her every week - she loves it! So see, she is my big inspiration - she see's things in me that I can't and I see things in her that she can't. She could be that cheating Detective if she wants to and she'd be the best damn cheating Detective in Birmingham! Lol :).

This is why it is so important to open up to others, whether it be a family member, a friend or someone you don't even know. Whoever you talk to, it feels as if an instant weight has been lifted off your shoulders. It's not healthy to keep things bottled up and if anyone can tell you that it's me. Since hearing about my Mammy I suffer severe panic attacks. My Doctor tried to steer me away from any medication, so he suggested I get back into exercise and have sex once a day - cheers Doc :/. But again, my Doctor was someone to talk to as well and afterwards, everything seemed so much lighter.

Thanks for reading again this week and going back to what I said before, please give us feedback about what your dream job is! Just comment underneath this blog, tweet me or inbox me on Facebook.

Have a great week guys! And as always, here's a little song to encourage you to be FREE

T.