Tuesday 29 September 2015

Chapter 98: Trust The Timing Of Your Life

Please remember, everything happens for a reason. That job you didn't get that you were gunning for. That relationship you wanted so desperately to work but it didn't. That top you wanted but they had no more left in your size.
It's very easy to think negatively about the things you wanted so bad but it never happened for you. But remember that every opportunity that you hoped would happen and it never did, comes something else that you never expected and you know what? It's always so much better than you ever imagined. With every job you applied for and never got, a different opportunity will arise. With every relationship you wanted to work with what you thought was that special someone, someone else walks into your life and you can't picture your life without them. And with every top you wanted and you couldn't find your size, just think... you were not meant to buy that top. You were meant to save that money for something else more necessary to you. The money you would have spent on that top was meant to be spent on a train ticket to get you home when you were stranded in an unknown place.

I have wrote about timing before in previous blogs, and I always say that everything happens for a reason. The saying is so cliché, that it even pisses me off as I say it... but I truly believe it. My friend always says, "What is meant for you won't pass you by." Again, a very true saying. If you were supposed to get that job you would have got it. You probably didn't get it because someone else had more experience than you, or maybe you had too much experience but not enough qualifications.

A couple of years ago, I almost moved to New York. I umm'd and ahh'd about it for ages, but I never went. I weighed up the pros and cons and at that time... it was't right for me. I then got a promotion at work and that was my 'meant to be' situation. I wasn't meant to go to New York at that time, because something good was coming my way. Don't get me wrong, I've always wanted to live in New York - it's my favourite place in the world, but it just wasn't meant to be because the timing was wrong.

Since being single, I have been out on a few dates. Some have gone better than others. The others being completely disastrous. However, it is all experience. I don't get disheartened over it because I know my worth and the dates that haven't gone well, were not meant to. As Blair Woldorf would say:


The same goes for every job interview I had when I was unemployed. You take one beating after another and you analyse where the interview went wrong. What did you say to make the employer think you were not good enough for the role? Such as life. You can go through things over and over, but you won't get an answer. You just have to trust your gut and know that something better is coming your way. It may not be soon, it may be in a couple of months or even years... But in the meantime, try to keep positive and always improve yourself and not for anyone else, but for you. Don't sit around waiting for something to happen for you. Keep busy, do the things you enjoy, keep active, always keep learning and especially from your mistakes. But most importantly, ALWAYS... do you.
Have a great week guys and remember, what doesn't happen for you today will happen in a better form in time to come.


Big love.
T.x

Tuesday 22 September 2015

Chapter 97: Your Annual 'Beauty Tips'. Courtesy Of Yours Truly...

Hola mis amigos!

I find it quite hilarious that I'm doing a blog on this as it isn't usually my forte... But I did one last year so I have more to add. After all, 12 months has past, so I feel I have gained a little more knowledge since then! So here goes...
  • A few people have been asking me how I get the waves in my hair lately. My hair is naturally straight/frizzy. I'll be completely honest, I have done this since I was in secondary school and I wanted the 'scrunch' look. I go to bed with a french plait in... that's right. Nothing more to it really. I take it out in the morning and add a bit of hairspray to keep the hold and hey presto! Natural looking waves that people are convinced is your natural style...
  • Eyebrows - they have been a big thing in beauty for over a year now. It seems you can't open a magazine without seeing Cara Delvigne and her eyebrows... they're... THEY'RE JUST THERE! Such amazing, thick eyebrows! I have been struggling for a while to find the right shade for my red hair, but today I went into Mac and asked what the best product was for my hair colouring. The woman was lovely and helpful and not only did she suggest I use an eyeshadow instead, but she taught me how to correctly brush on the powder with a fine structure brush. A lot of girls these day want to have the natural look, but somehow end up looking like this: This is NOT what you want. The lady told me to start from the arch of the brow and draw to into a straight line towards the ends. Afterwards, go back to the start of the brow and rather than filling it in bluntly (which I myself have been guilty of since filling in my brows), brush upwards in a straight motion towards the centre of your forehead - it looks far more natural this way!
 
  • I am forever painting my nails... I have a different colour on them most weeks. However, it is very easy for your nails to get discoloured over time. Even when you file and buff them, it's actually promoting the discolouring of the nail. Many think that having a base coat is the way to avoid this, but I find putting on a white nail polish underneath is far better and it makes whatever colour you intend to put on pop out even more!
  • Not only do I love painting my nails... I love having a gel/shallac on. But I went to Body Care the other day (I know, always reminds me of when I was like, 15 or something) and I had a look at their fake press on nails. I seen someone wearing them not long back and they looked like they were freshly done from the salon... Turns out they were press ons! So I bought some and oh... em... gee... they're wicked! Less hassle and no one can tell the difference (unless of course the glue is all over your fingers and you have the wrong size fake nails).
  • Finally... lip liner. My actual saviour and I can't believe I never used it before?! I literally have no top lip... It's tucked away on top of my bottom lip which sure as hell isn't much bigger. My friend used a natural liner on me followed by a light pink lip gloss and it made my lips look... well, like I had some! It's coming back I'm telling you... It's quite 90's I know, but so are the big thick eyebrows everyone is after eh?

  • Another must watch would be ALL of Kandee Johnson's videos. I have mentioned her a couple of years ago in this blog and she has some fantastic makeup videos, both for everyday and for costume! Take a look at her 'How To Contour Like A Contouring Artist' here:

And there we have it... my annual 'beauty' tips. Obviously we all have different tastes and styles when it comes to make-up and hair, so I would love to hear any tips you have to share! Please comment on the back of here, visit my Facebook or tweet me @triciabaxter.

Have a great week guys!
Big love.
T.x

P.S. Here's a good song to listen to whilst getting ready to go out ladies ;).


Tuesday 15 September 2015

Chapter 96: Please Hold... Whilst We Push You Over The Edge

I am on a serious rampage to complain about shitty 0800/0845/0300 and the rest of these numbers who keep you on hold, for what seems like your lifetime. Raise your hand if you would rather stick a pin in your eye than listen to shitty hold music whilst you are trying to prepare yourself for a telephone battle to argue your point as to why you have been charged for something unnecessarily? I can already feel a Mexican Wave of hands raising as you read this.

I have had my fair share of hold calls in recent month's, one being from my car insurance company who not only falsely set me up to believe I have recovery cover when I had my car written off back in May, but they also proceeded to leave me feeling stressed over trying to sort out my cover and claims documents, which seemed to feel like I was being tortured. Tortured with this music nonetheless:
Little things CLEARLY don't mean a lot to you eejits!

The amount of stress my insurers put me through after my accident through phone calls alone was actually obscene. So I'm sure you will all agree with me in the following list I have provided which highlights ALLLLL the things that piss me off with unknown numbers and being on hold:
  1. PPI calls - when you answer the phone to that unknown number knowing it's going to be something stupid but you answer it anyway, only to hear a long pause and an automated voice saying, "Have you been in an accident in the past 6 months?" No I fucking haven't and where on earth have you got my number from, jackass?
  2. When an actual person rings you asking the above. You really don't want to be arsey, but you just can't help it and especially if you are waiting for an important call. Then you feel a little bad after because at the end of the day... it's their day job!
  3. When you make a call to enquire about something minor, e.g. something to do with your phone contract, and they say, "Hi can I have your account details, your security password, your first pet's name, the exact time you grew your first pube... great. How can I help you? Oh yes that's the contract department, let me put you through...""Hi can I have you account details, your security password, your first pet's name, the exact time you grew your first pube.." WHAT THE ACTUAL EFF!! I JUST SAID ALL OF THIS, NUMB SKULL!!!!!!!
  4. When they ask you to spell out your name but you have to spell it in the Phonetic Alphabet and you forget and you're like, "P for Potato, A for Arsehole, T for Twat, R for Rat's Arse, I for Icky, C for Crusty, I for Icky, A for Arsehole." And they're like, "I'm sorry I didn't get that?"
  5. When they ask for your secret password and they're like "I'm sorry your secret password is that fucking secretive that YOU don't fucking know it. Call back when you do and wait in line for another 9 years."
  6. When the automated robot that speaks to you prior to going through an adviser asks your name and you're like, "Patricia Baxter" and they're like, "Morticia Bastard?" and you're like, "PATRICIA BAXTER" and they're like "Moesha Baster?" FUCK YOU!!
  7. "Hi, you can been placed on hold... let me play you some shit music in the meantime so you might jump off a cliff instead of us having to do our job and deal with your bullshit."
  8. When you receive a fine (even though you actually were in your time at the car park, or did in fact pay that toll in advance) and you have to go through the whole rigmarole of going against it, but it is far quicker to call them (or so you think). Failing that, the second quickest thing to do is email (or so you think). Failing that you resort to sending the form... which then results in you missing the time when your fine would have cost £35 but now it costs £70. Might as well have sent fucking smoke signals to say "You're all robbing bastards. The End."
  9. When you get a new car and the key they have given you is faulty, so you order a new one on pick up and they say it will be 2 weeks and they will drop it to your location and then 2 weeks has passed and it isn't at your location and you park outside of work at a £7 a day car park only for them not to show up 2 out of the 3 times and on the 3rd time they give you another spare key even though you have one and the original spare is now no longer configured to your car so you have to spend another 2 hours of your life on the phone to Bob demanding you get reimbursed for the several times you parked outside and they never showed ONLY for them to not even do that on time so you have to ring them again because they aren't responding to your emails... Can you tell this happened to me? And this was just to get a hoop attached to the fucking key so I could attach it to my key rings. I could have resurrected a Greek God who specialist in metal work to make me one quicker.
  10. When they ask you to fill out a survey of how you found the experience and the option to say "I will never get them two hours of my life back" isn't on there...
Think Amy Schumer sums it up with this skit on her show on Comedy Central:

Let us know your 'hold' stories by responding to the back of this blog post, visiting my Facebook or tweeting me @triciabaxter. In the meantime, I think this little number suits to tone of this blog...

If only all calls went like this:

P.S. Just one more to throw in... If you're ringing up a company to complain, say, "I'm sorry can you just call my number out to me? Great can you ring me back?" Eases the pain of watching paint dry I guess...
Oh and also... If you're told you're gonna get a Teddy Meerkat... make sure you feckin get one!

I'll leave you with this:

Bizzle.
T.x