Mini-rant while I'm here.

II'm watching a TV show. It's an American reality show on BET channel. I feel because I'm white that maybe I'm not supposed to watch this channel but I do anyway. 

So I'm watching and she is in LA and goes for an audition for an acting role. At the last minute they ask her to read for a different role, the character in question is a larger woman, and Kierra (who had a previous negative experience with an acting audition that was weight related (she was much larger)) is worried that she is going to always be typecast as the fat girl. So she says she needs to work out in order to avoid being typecast.

I get that, I'm not deluded about society and the pressures put upon people to confirm and be aesthetically pleasing, and for particular jobs you do need to fit a certain mould. 

But god I'm annoyed! Why can't leading ladies be fat and not always fall into the stereotypical fat character? Why can't writers write characters whose strength and humour is not grounded in their appearance?

As a writer and a fat person I feel like I have failed myself. 

When your physical appearance doesn't win you friends, open doors for you or get you preferential treatment then you have to dig deep and have something more to offer and make life a success for yourself. The problem with this is that some people can accuse you of trying too hard, or tell you that it's the 21st century and if there is something you don't like then you can change it. All hail plastic surgery!

So it's my aim to write a story before the end of the year that has good, strong, fat, thin, ugly, gorgeous characters who are outside the mould.

Feel free to join me!

Oh! And while I'm at it, what's with all the charity envy? The ALS challenge was to raise awareness, it did, and it also helped increase donations. Of course there are many many more overlooked charities that need more donors and there always will be. So those stamping their feet about ALS getting attention need to realise that it's fun, a great charity campaign as the costs are low, big celebs can get involved for no cost, you don't have to contribute to someone achieving a life dream of some sort, no one gets hurt (only idiots), it's just a bit of fun! And the rewards are good all around! 

So please, be happy for the charity and donate to a charity of your choice, but quit complaining! 

Oh wait! Hang on a cotton picking minute am I complaining? Damn! Caught in my own trap. **sigh**

FSF: Soundtrack

Hi,

I thought I would try some five sentence fiction but it seems to be on a hiatus or finished or something, so inspired by a song drifting about in my head, I have written some five sentence fiction. My inspiration was soundtrack, so feel free to join in and leave your link in the comments!

Soundtrack

The music tiptoed through the room, a slight crackle from the analogue radio...life is but a dream, its what you make it, always try to give, dont ever take it...she opened the window to let some of the autumn breeze into the airless flat.

The song echoed of times long past when love was the only thing people seemed to worry about and she longed to have grown up then.

If she had, maybe life would have been a dream, she gazed up at the moonlit sky and let her eyes search for a shooting star upon which she could wish.

No star appeared and she knew she would have to face life head on.

From out of the corner of her eye she saw movement behind her in the flat, she turned to see him trying to crawl, bashed and bloodied to the door, she switched off the radio.

Still breathing...

Hiya,

So I promised stories, tales, poetry, crafts etc. and here I am with none of that.

I do have some very sad news that one of the blog followers has ABANDONED US! Yes us, we're a team :)

Ah well, onwards and upwards.

Quick life update, health is no better and left elbow is thinking about joining in with right (at which point I will look like one of those drumming duracell bunnies!), I do however have an appointment next week which i am hoping will provide some light at the end of the tunnel.

I am also back at work! It was nice to see everyone.

And, I havent forgotten I promised to post Act of Love chapter by chapter, the first chapter needs work so once I have done that then look out!

Only 4 weeks till I am off to America to visit Keebles from Keebles World!

To substitute my lack of anything creative here I will give you the a song from Narrow Plains (who have recently released a new single! Go check it out!)

Do the robot!

Hello!

How long has it been? Ok, its been a while.

I went for my MRI results and the verdict (even though I was previously informed this wasnt the case) was that I had an infection and they decided to hospitalise me whilst they gave me antibiotics intravenously.

I did write to you all every day that I was in hospital, telling you about the days activities and very dull stuff that I doubt you would have wanted to know about. So, I have decided not to bore you all with 3000 words of my five days in hospital.

Anyway, they released me and I was marginally improved, I didnt skip out as I had hoped sadly but hospitals are no fun.

About two days before I left to go to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, my right elbow seized up and now I have a linp, a swollen hand and finger permanently frozen in 'the bird' pose, an arm that won't straighten or bend and sharp shooting pains in my shoulder and neck. Oh yeah, its been fun!

Glasgow was fun however, and even though at times it was a challenge as I was in a lot of pain some days, and I can't walk far or fast, the drugs helpes and I was extremely lucky that my wonderful mother was with me.

We did a tour of Glasgow city, we saw the artistic gymnastics, we visited the highlands, glencoes and loch ness, we saw the last day of the athletics and we came home :) Photos will follow after all this blurb!

Sadly, I was suppose to be going on alone to edinburgh for the fringe festival - which I had been planning and looking forward to for this past year - but after a couple of days a way I realised how reliant I was on my mother to help me and doing that alone would have been too difficult for me. It was horrible having to cancel everything and I feel like I have totally failed.

Unfortunately, the tickets I had bought were non-refundable, I tried for five days to sell them but no-one was interested, and then I decided I couldnt bear to see them wasted and offered them for free (over £200 worth!) and then I had some interest. I decided to give them to a woman who was going to give them to her staff as rewards, at least that way more people get the benefit of them as opposed to just one person.

I was going to review all the acts I saw, which I can't do but any feedback I get from her about the shows, if her staff tell her then I will share that at some point in a 'Heres what you could have won post'.

I am supposed to go away in 6 weeks so now have to make the decision to amend that trip, which means doing less than I had planned, but spending extra time with a friend. I plan on going come hell or high water so if I have to change it then I will.

I don't know if you are like me, but I hate being ill, I hate being dependent on others, and I hate to feel like I am putting people out and it was recently brought to my attention that the world doesnt revolve around me - and I hadnt thought that I was behaving in any way in which I thought it did - I hate not being able to do everything that I could do, and it drives me to distraction most of the time, my day is made up of calculating and remembering when to take the next lot of drugs and how many hours after food, or before food or with food, and it just is taking up all my time.

I dont like to go out because I have to use a stick and still walk like I filled my pants, then my arm all angled like I am doing the robot, plus walking so slowly, and just all of that makes me want to climb back into bed. The only reason I dont is because I dont know what is going to swell up or freeze on me next!  So here I am, sat in front of a computer screen, attempting to reach out to people as much as I can.

I have ten days till i have to return to work, so expect tend days of blogs about music, blogs, crafts, travel and maybe a few stories and poems. My blog is my lifeline at the moment and I'm gonna abuse it as such.

And to cheer us all up! Here are some pics from Scotland!! Whoooo!