Comfort zones.

I've been off work this week.

Not really because I wanted to but more because I had 14 days holiday to use before the end of December. I do this every single year and end up being absent for the majority of the run up to Christmas. It sounds ridiculous but I hate being off work unless I have a valid reason such as going abroad or attending an event. Sitting at home looking for things to do just depresses me and, as much as I love him, Adam usually drives me round the twist if we spend too long in close proximity. I may have mentioned it before but he is more of a 'get up and go without thinking' and I'm more of a 'let's hold tight and contemplate the world' kind of guy. Neither is a bad thing; it can just result in chaos when combined.

I went down to Nottingham to stay with some old university friends this weekend. We do this every so often and we take it in turns to host. This time, it was Amy's turn and we spent the weekend perusing the (somewhat early) Christmas market in Derby and talking of her upcoming wedding. They've just acquired a kitten called Penny and although I am far from a cat lover, it really is the cutest kitten I have ever clapped eyes on. Just look at her; she's about the size of a child's hand! I'm under no illusions though - cats still seem like satan's minions to me....

On Tuesday, after a few days of boredom and sitting around waiting for some of Adam's Christmas presents to arrive, I decided to take a drive down to Dad's new house in Cambridgeshire. It is the first home he has bought with his girlfriend Shirley and it's lovely. It is just on the outskirts of a rural village and is absolutely huge! I knew he wanted space for when Shirley's family come to stay but I did not realise it was a family of fifty. Ridiculous but what can I say - he seems happy. I will say that Shirley acted completely differently in her own home. She is extremely stern and somewhat cutting. You know when you feel as though you are treading on eggshells with someone all of the time? Well yeah, she's like that. I'm kind of glad I live away as I can't see us getting on too well up close. She has also banished Dad's dog (who used to be mine) Stella, so that she is outside all day and is only allowed in the breakfast room for a few hours each night. Dad kind of tricked me as he said she came in at night with him whilst he watched TV (as she always has) but after visiting, I've discovered that yes she is allowed in but she has to be two rooms away. The Dad I know would never have allowed that, especially as she has her extremely irritating grandchildren wailing like banshees around the house every day, but like I said it seems things have changed. I just can't wait for Nan to visit - she's quite the whirlwind and will not tolerate that at all. I'll nervously sit and await the phone call regarding that one.

Now I'm just about ready to go back to work - which is just as well as I'm back tomorrow. No doubt I'll be greeted with 487587689786 emails, a barrage of office gossip and the usual 'how was your week off?' question but I'd be lying if I said I was dreading it. For all its tedium, I have to admit; it's my comfort zone.

Only if your name isn't Tyler.

What a dull, boring day. A very hot and sunny day but boring nonetheless.

I'm really not cut out for this 'being off work' lark. I've come to the self realisation that I'm one of those people; the type that would rather be a slave to the wage than dossing around the comfort of their own home. I suppose I like the structure, the routine - the idea that I'm making myself useful (to someone anyway). Maybe I should join the military? Maybe not.

Have any of you guys seen the segment on 'This Morning' from yesterday that has gone viral? Katie Hopkins (ex-apprentice candidate that famously told Lord Sugar that she did not want to be hired and now makes a name for herself being controversial and occasionally obnoxious) argues the point that she judges parents based on their children's names. Naturally everyone is shocked and appalled. It is all over the papers, TV, web and Facebook (obviously). Holly Willoughby, the nation's sweetheart has done well out of it - defending the working class and batting her eyelids. Katie on the other hand is pretty much being chased out of the country with burning pitchforks. That's what happens when you choose primetime morning television to air your views folks.

Obviously I don't agree with her and I'm more offended at how incapable she seems to be when it comes to arguing an opinion but I'd be lying if I said I didn't mentally judge parents when I hear them shouting their children's names. I'm always open to being proven wrong and would never treat any human being differently but I would definitely still make that silent judgement - as would the majority of the population. To say that you would go to the extremes of preventing your own children from playing with them however, is just absurd. I mean my own name, Wayne, would most likely be deemed as sounding 'lower class'. She personifies everything that is wrong with the right-wing upper-middle class and the video is well worth a watch, if only for the reactions.


Besides that and watching Adam mow the neighbours' lawns this morning, it has been an extremely slow and monotonous day. Maybe tomorrow will bring further excitement?

Have a great night everyone!

Playing Doolittle.

As mentioned in my previous post, we travelled up to the seaside town of Bridlington in Yorkshire on Monday to visit Park Rose Animal Park. Adam found a meerkat and owl experience on Groupon so seeing as it was our week off, we decided to branch out.

The park itself is not anywhere near the coast, in fact, it is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It's extremely small, family owned and you get a real sense that they are purely doing it for the animals and the fact that people can visit is just a bonus. I'd much rather give my money to a place like that than one of these huge safari parks.

We watched a bird of prey show and then they took us into the meerkat enclosure where we got to play and feed them mealworms. If I learned anything that day, it's that meerkats may look cute but my god are they vicious. I was the only person wearing shorts and every time they scurried behind me, I had visions of my shins being ripped apart. 

   

We were then allowed to hold what seemed like 100 different owls. I've never been much of an owl fan (that's my Dad's department) but I have to admit, seeing them up close has brought a new sense of adoration. They're so beautiful.

Despite the meerkats and owls, I'm embarrassed to say that the highlight of my day was when the guy showed us his ferret enclosure. They were white albinos just like Moomin and extremely docile as the mother had just given birth. I was surprised by how everyone in our guide party seemed genuinely interested by them - there's usually always one that screams in repulsion. Poor little things, they have such a bad rap.

All in all it was a great day and the weather held out long enough. We've literally had no summer so far this year at all. If I'm honest, I can't say it has bothered me too much, it'd just be nice to know what to wear when you wake up each day. Such is life.

I hope all of my American buddies are having a wonderful July 4th! Have a drink for me (or two) and enjoy those amazing fireworks I see pop up on the blogosphere at this time of year. We have to wait until November 5th for fireworks; in the depths of winter wrapped up to within an inch of our lives, all to celebrate some idiot that failed to blow up a building. Not that I'm bitter....

Not at all.

Small traumas.

I only ever seem to blog whenever I have something witty or pressing to divulge. I put this down to the idea that no-one cares about my somewhat mundane life. Having said that, last night as I lay drifting off to sleep, I suddenly had the epiphany that I should be blogging for myself regardless. I'm one of those people that is constantly thinking about something, pondering, wondering. Having an outlet does help in curbing it (I'll admit that much) so, even if it is just for my own mental sanity and love of sleep, you'll probably be hearing a lot more of the minutiae of my everyday tribulations.

Both myself and Adam have been off work this week. We never really get time off together due to his ridiculous shift patterns (the joys of care work) and work was starting to get on my last nerve so we booked the week off. Spur of the moment and all that.

We travelled to a little family-owned animal park in Yorkshire yesterday for a meerkat and owl experience that Adam discovered online. Everything about it was fantastic so I'll upload a post on that once I have the photos sorted. For now, I'll leave you with Adam avec a bored looking owl.

I encountered a small trauma this morning (depending on what you would deem a trauma to be). As you probably know by now, Google Reader has finally been discontinued leaving users with no other option than to seek out an alternative feed reader. Personally, I cannot think of any online service I use more than Google Reader. I check it every morning for new blog/news posts, I peruse it on breaks at work and finally sit down with it each evening whilst relaxing. Fundamentally, it is how I keep up to date with all you wonderful people.

To cut a long story short, I spent a good hour investigating the different services outlined in this post before finally settling with Feedly. It looks nice, has a good iPhone/iPad app (essential for me) and is probably the closest to how Google Reader functioned. It just meant I had to sift through all the blogs I follow and rename them again - I'm pedantic when it comes to the fact that each blog must have the author's name as a prefix.

I suppose I'll know in the next few days if I have any problems with it but I'll happily welcome any suggestions from you guys regarding which blog readers are worth a look. I doubt I'll have much else to do - I mean, it isn't like it hasn't stopped raining for the past month week...