I’m not really the one to ask about career advice

When I was 4, just before I started school my Mum got a job as a stand-in cleaner at the local school. When I started school, she was able to become permanent and this was a perfect arrangement for us that lasted my entire school career. When I was 5 I wanted to be a cleaner just like my Mum. I was encouraged to set my sights a little higher, and there was no one higher than my Mum's boss so I wanted to be a Janitor.

My 3 older sisters left school at 16 to work in the local woollen mills. Perhaps like me at that time, they didn't know what types of jobs were available or maybe those jobs seemed like they were for other people. In my sisters' cases, I know that we were not a rich family in the financial sense and that they wanted to buy things like fashionable clothes and have fun nights out with their friends. The mills offered money in exchange for work and you didn't need an education to get it.

I think they knew this wasn't for them but it took them a few years and further study at college to find themselves on good career paths that they enjoy. As I was growing up, they all told me to stay in school and get an education and get a good job. As women who had returned to education as adults, they told me that it was harder as adults with other responsibilities such as homes, husbands and children.

I'm really lucky that I know what I like and I had a good idea of the direction I wanted to go in. When I was in primary school, my Dad and I programmed a basic card game into the computer and I knew I wanted to work in IT. I remember making a basic dating database for dolls lol! (I'm not sure if Sindy will ever forgive me for setting her up with Michael Jackson)

My niece has started college recently and I think she doesn't yet have an idea of what she wants to do as a career so the choices open to her are overwhelming, confusing and perhaps a little frustrating. She is studying art and building her portfolio for university which she plans to attend next year. I think she enjoys her course, but her lack of money (and the inherent problem of being unable to buy things) means that she is often swayed into flirting with the idea of dropping out and getting a job – any job. (And in today's climate, for high school leavers it's pretty limited to the service and retail industries, which is the normal market of the uni students looking for part-time work during their studies). It's a little bit like history repeating itself, since this is not unlike what her Mum did.

To my Niece: When it comes to this, you and I are different and whilst I would love to give you that one piece of great advice that would set you on your path to achieving your full potential, I'm lost. I will offer up this though; the world is a big place with lots of different and interesting people, places and opportunities. You are a creative, open-minded, adventurous and caring person and you won't let these opportunities pass you by. Maybe there's not just one career path out there for you. Maybe you're destined to be a sea-lion trainer, a makeup artist, an au-pair, a camp counsellor, then study at the open university before opening your own business. I might worry about you sometimes, but I know you'll be just fine.

Nike+

Time to shake up my fitness regimen. Actually, it's overdue. Maybe it should be time to TRY to shake up my fitness regimen? Urgh, I'm rubbish.

I've reset all my Nike+ stuff which means that all the lovely widgets I put on this blog are all useless now, oops.

But I will be starting again, or at least, trying to start again.

OK, as Bart Simpsons says, I can't promise I'll try, but I'll try to try.

UPDATE:

Woo, I went for a walk at lunchtime up a hill.

My picture of Corstorphine Hill Tower as proof! http://twitpic.com/h2nph

Wedding Season is Now Over

Since June, I've been to a wedding in each month. I'm beginning to feel like a professional wedding guest and my closet is full of wedding attire.

Things I have learned:

• Always wear nice undies; because I will inevitably tuck my dress into my knickers.
  
• A kilt works on every man. Day or evening guest, it never looks out of place.
  
• The photographs take ages; so have food before leaving the house (or put a sandwich in a bag).
  
• Print out the directions and a map to the venue so if there are road works another route can be found.
  
• I probably could have made it as a professional dancer.
  
• My husband is rubbish at remembering to take photographs!
  

Some of the highlights were:

• Getting to know my cousin Lesley and catching up with relatives.
  
• The groom's epic speech and musical showmanship.
  
• Meeting a whole bunch of new people.
  
• Seeing an old friend truly happy and in his element.
  

Not so long ago it was mostly funerals, but perhaps soon it will be baby naming ceremonies? Hmm, do I need different dresses for that? ;)

It’s been a busy week; I’ve hardly watched any TV!

I'm not very well and I'm feeling sorry for myself. This makes me grumpy and not a lot of fun to be around. I'm especially intolerant of swine flu jokes. So whilst normally I would wander around singing "woe is me" and enjoy the sympathy whilst spreading my bugs around, it's best that I avoid people – for my own sanity.

I think the events of the week have finally caught up with me and the bugs struck when I was feeling run down.

Last Sunday I was in Edinburgh for the awesome Mr Rhys Darby's show at the Udderbelly. (Follow @rhysiedarby on Twitter!) Afterwards we went to the pub to use up the £50 bar tab we had won on the Thursday night.

On the Tuesday we were back in Edinburgh for Richard Herring's Hitler Moustache show (Follow @Herring1967 on Twitter!) which was very funny and thought provoking. At the end we were all given stick-on moustaches to wear or stick on another fringe acts poster.

We were up early the next morning to go to the airport as Kane had to fly to London for business. Then the next day I went to visit my friends new flat and pick Kane up from the airport that evening.

By Friday I was glad to enjoy a drink and a giggle with the ladies but it was another early rise on the Saturday to go to Aberdeen.

My plan was to go to Aberdeen, maybe take a video for this here blog outside my old flat and further along the street to the flat that my grandfather lived in when he was a young boy (my sister discovered this from the old registers when researching the family tree). I also fancied checking out some of the shops and finally getting that Starbucks that I've desperate for for weeks now.

None of this happened.

Instead I dropped Kane off at the pub to watch football with Steve and Craig whilst I parked the car. I then wandered back to the pub had a good old natter with them then after moving to another pub, Steve's OH Kerrie came along as did Tosh and after a few more drinks were had we made our way to a restaurant for some food. We left a little later than planned, but sometimes things have a way of never going to plan and it's all the better for it.

I think by Sunday, the events of the week had finally caught up with me and that's how I got ill.

I'm planning to lay low for the next couple of days and let whatever's got me take its course. Early night yay!

A Wee Jog

I did it. I went out for a wee jog. I decided to make a video of it too so now everyone up Gartmorn Dam tonight thinks I'm completely bonkers.

The best bit was at the end when Lance Armstrong told me I had just done my farthest run.



Check out the video in the vlog box.

Lead Legs

Last nights run was supposed to be easy but my legs felt dead and my pace hugely suffered. I probably shouldn't have recorded the 5 minute warm up beforehand either because that also makes my stats look slower and makes me feel bad :(



I'm having a night off tonight and see how I feel after work tomorrow. I'm better at running in the mornings and I need to try and get into a routine for these evening runs so I have enough fuel and feel alert.

5k Run

Had an ace time at my sisters birthday garden party on Saturday. It was great to meet some new people and spend time chatting and laughing with friends and family. I arrived at the party at about 3pm and things were already in full swing and the time flew past and I quite surprised when I looked at the clock when I was leaving to find that it was 1am!

Needless to say I was very tired when I got up at 8.30am to calibrate my new Nike+ Air Pegasus trainers with my iPod. I wanted to this prior to my jog with Sandy so that when we went out I would have a fairly accurate reading of how far and how fast we had gone and I'd also get a snazzy graph to post up to this here blog. Somehow I managed to pause the darned thing about 13 minutes into my 5k so now I have no idea how I did *gutted*.

I think it was roughly about 38 minutes for 5km which I'm really pleased about since my last noted jog was 31:29 for 3.4km. I don't even hurt and I'm looking forward to the next run. In fact, I'm even thinking about training for the Stirling 10k.