Dating Yourself

Being in a relationship with someone is great, it is wonderful to fall in love with another human and share a special connection. But, sometimes in life we have periods where we just don’t have that, we just need to learn how to be alone.

In the periods where we are single I think it is important to date yourself , I don’t mean taking yourself for a romantic meal for one , I mean getting to know yourself again thus learning to love yourself. You should be able to exist as an individual , you are whole person thus you do not need to wait around for second half.

When we are in a relationship we get used to ourselves as part of a couple, as a result we spend less time alone so we don’t know what it’s like to be ourselves for extended periods of time. When you’re single you spend much more time alone evenings, weekends rainy days , bank holidays. You need to start to be able to spend time on your own again without feeling like you are cloaked with loneliness and disrepair. 

Learn what you like to watch on TV again, read your favourite books again or even uncover a hobby that you have not done in years;you need to learn what it’s like to be just you again. You might want to take yourself for a coffee, see a film or even go to the theater alone. THERE IS NO SHAME IN GOING PLACES ALONE. As one of my good friends would say "treat yo self!"

By having this period of alone time you will get to learn about your likes and dislikes again , you will be aware of your character traits and you will be able to build up for confidence maybe be ready to meet someone new. Being alone shouldn’t be a frightening, daunting experience it should be an exciting time where you take the time to get to know yourself again. Before anyone else makes you happy you need to learn how to make yourself happy.

Always, 

 Lauren

Twitter- @LaurenCats7

Instagram – redhairedcatlady

Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/27290164-lauren

lperry176@gmail.com

At the moment I am reading: Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin 

Travel

To me traveling isn’t about how far you have been it is what you have experienced. If you travel to the other side of the world only to sit in four blank walls then you have not really travelled at all , you have experienced nothing. You could walk half a mile up the road and explore a forest, or drive to the nearest beach and dip you toes in the ocean but this does not make you less of a traveler than the person globetrotting.

Sometimes exploring is about appreciating what’s right in front of you rather than glamorous slights miles away. Appreciating your home town’s glory goes not undermine world famous land marks like the Eiffel Tower or The Pyramids  it just means that you can appreciate what is around you . Instead of longing for escape  by the means of somewhere foreign,try to seek something new within your community , climb a new tree , visit a new coffee shop travel and exploring isn’t about how far you have traveled it is about what you have seen , felt , heard or tasted.

My final request is please don’t travel somewhere so you can boast about where you have been or even  so you can plaster your Instagram with beautiful sights , you can by all means show your appreciation though photographs , possibly capture memories but don’t visit somewhere just so you can say that you have been. That is visiting for the sake of and is a waste of time. Visit somewhere because you want to take something from that place because you want to experience that place. It's smell, it's feeling or even its sun blazing down on your skin.

Enjoy your time travelling, enjoy you time exploring please make the most of where you have been and where you are going to go. You don't have to go far to be a traveler.  Do not value the sights on your doorstep less than the ones one another’s enjoy where you are wherever you are.

Always, 

Lauren

Twitter- @LaurenCats7

Instagram – redhairedcatlady

Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/27290164-lauren

lperry176@gmail.com

At the moment I am reading: Game of Thrones by George R R Martian  

Working in retail

Every Saturday I drag my sorry ass to my job in retail, for the most part I enjoy my job I have a wonderful set of colleagues and we have a laugh (while working hard). However, sometimes there are a few things about the job that really get on my nerves , most of these gripes involve customers , hopefully this post will encourage people to be polite to the people who offer a  service to you  wherever you go. 

My first gripe about my job is that people assume that I am stupid, just because I have a job in a shop this does not mean that I am stupid. I am in fact a University student who is trying to earn some money to live on while I am studying. Calling me stupid or inferring that I am stupid is darn right rude. Everybody in life has a right to try earn a living, regardless of their intelligence and there is no need to treat people like they are stupid.

This leads me on to my second gripe, which is that people are so rude to me. Please and thank you go a long way so I suggest you use your manners. Furthermore please do not be rude to me because you are trying to get a reaction out of me, your rudeness towards me will encourage me to be extra polite towards you to prove a subtle point.

My next gripe is refers to my age, people seem to assume that because I am young I do not know what I am doing but really they couldn’t be more wrong. I have in fact received more than adequate training in order to do my job. I work in the food industry specifically selling cooked meats; I have been told countless times by customers that I am serving them the wrong thing. For example the other day a customer came to the counter and asked for three slices of ham, I proceeded to serve this customer some ham (like they had asked) but they shouted at me telling me that what I was serving them was not ham I was serving them   beef, when I politely told them that the meat that  I was serving them  was in fact  ham they had asked for they simply argued with me saying that they actually wanted beef (placed behind the ham they had read the label wrong) the customer obviously thought that I didn’t know the difference between the two products even though they are completely different colours and come from a different animals and I prepare the meat whenever I am at work. I digress,  I do know what I am doing when I am at work, If  I am ever unsure I ask my manager in order to make sure that the customer receives the best service possible. Yes I am young but I know what I am doing.

Another gripe which I am sure that many of you in retail can relate to is when a customer comes into work right before you are about to close. Now, because I work with food we have to make sure that all of the stock is correctly sorted and that the entire shop is clean before we can go home; this requires us to start shutting up shop an hour before official closing time , as a result we will not be able to serve you stock five minutes before I go home. You couldn’t expect a restaurant to serve you a three course meal five minutes before they close you shouldn’t really expect a retail worker to serve you five minutes before they close. Retail workers have homes to and when our shift is coming to a close we look forward to going to it.  

My final gripe is that I have when at work is that people expect me to be able read their minds. The other day I went to serve a customer I said “hello can I help?” the customer replied “I dunno what I normally have?” I serve 100’s of customers on a regular Saturday I do not know what every single regular customer has when they come into our shop, I’m sorry but I am only human. On other instances customers point to objects through the glass at work and expect me to be able to preempt or see what they are pointing at its just physically impossible.

Overall many of the experiences that I have had at work have been good ones, I enjoy meeting new people and being able to help them as best I can. My job is never boring and many of the skills I have developed through the job will stay with me for the rest of my life.  I encourage people to be nice to any people you come into contact with in retail , they are trying to work a job and make a living , working in retail can often mean working long hours on your feet and working holiday. Please be courteous we are human too.

Lauren

Twitter- @LaurenCats7

Instagram – redhairedcatlady

Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/27290164-lauren

lperry176@gmail.com

At the moment I am reading: I am the Messenger by Markus Zuzak