The Time Factor

So, it's day two of my week off work and I don't honestly know where the time has gone. The only blog related thing I've managed to do so far, is to pop my latest recordings into Radio Nottingham. I should hear back this week if they want to use them, or they may just get me back into the studio again, I'll let you know!

With time in mind, I've been mulling over my list. I have just over three years to complete it and with ten already done and dusted, then I am on course to complete the others within the timescale. Although there are tasks that are multiple ones i.e visit all fifty states of America that are probably going to be the trickiest. But I didn't make this list to be easy! I'm planning to complete another five by the New Year, so stay tuned and I will update you as and when I tick another one off my list!

What I Did On My Bank Holiday....

• I watched the new Shane Meadows film 'Somers Town', which was brilliant
• Wrote a little bit, but not nearly as much as I should!
• Prayed for rain but unfortunately it didn't happen and the street was full of people and cars etc with a crap DJ and very loud music until midnight
• Decided to concentrate on learning one new thing at a time and will book the beginners French course before I decide to take dance lessons

I Heart Bank Holidays

This bank holiday weekend, I will be.....

• Booking a beginners French course at the local college
• Searching for a dance class to do this Autumn
• Hoping to hit 30,000 words on my novel
• Going to see the new Shane Meadows' film 'Somers Town'
• Praying for rain so next door can't have their annual BBQ

Hope your bank holiday weekend is equally as exciting!

A Clear Desk

So, it's gone a little quiet on the old 40 things, as you may have noticed, as I've not blogged much in the last couple of weeks. I still have to get in touch with Radio Nottingham to hand the recordings over I've recently done, but that's proving to be nearly as difficult as gaining an audience with the Pope. I'm still tip toeing my way through the BBC Top 100 reads, currently reading book 59, Sebastian Faulks - Birdsong - I'm hoping to finish that task by early next year if possible. New York at New Year is booked, so unless a major catastrophe happens we will be there and hopefully clearing the trapeze task off as well! I still think the You Tube task will be the next one I will finish, just got to get my finger out to finish all the props, which I may well do this bank holiday weekend. I've given up the ghost on my novel at the moment, as I just don't seem to have the time to do anything at the moment. However, I have now cleared my desk in preparation of doing some serious writing in the next couple of months and I am off for a week fairly soon, so hoping to make a serious dent in this before Christmas.

Until the next time......

Fashion

Whilst reading the latest edition of Elle, I came across an advert for London Fashion week.

So I went on the web site and found when Paul Smith's catwalk show was on.

I've never been to a fashion show before, so I hadn't got a clue how to buy tickets or anything

So I went on another part of the site to get some info

To be told that fashion week is for 'trade' only

Even though another part of the site has tickets for sale!

Confused? I am!

Follow Your Dream

Once, when I was young and fairly stupid and before I had even thought about doing this list, I decided to audition for a Halifax TV advert. I don't know if it was the fame and fortune that attracted me, or the fact that I could get a half day off work for doing it (I worked for the said company you see!) but I sent off my application and pretty soon I had an audition date and song words to learn.

It wasn't until I stood in the audition room and had opened my mouth, that I realised that I couldn't sing, I had no chance of even being in tune and I didn't even know why I had put my name forward in the first place. After the second attempt of the song, I was asked if I wanted another go, but declined, citing the fact that I didn't think that I would improve any by doing so, of which they agreed!

Which brings me round to the fact that another Saturday has just gone by, another X Factor show begins. I always like the early stages, when you see so much hope and ambition. None so much more than a contestant that had auditioned five years ago with Cheryl Cole for Pop Star the Rivals. Nick was currently singing in working men's clubs, whilst Cheryl was busy selling out arenas with Girls Aloud. Nick had tried for eight years to crack the music business and this was his last chance of trying to make it big. Unfortunately none of the other judges shared his ambition and he was rejected at the first hurdle. Quite sad when you realise that this is all this guy has wanted to do and just by an unlikely twist of fate, he won't achieve his ambition. Which made me wonder, this could happen to any one of us. What if after all these years, when I finally finish my book, no-one likes it? Then, I guess the optimist in me says at least I tried to do something that I wanted to do with my life, and not just regretted not doing it, twenty years down the line. Hopefully Nick feels the same way.

With my list, I have resided myself to the fact that I might just have another 'Halifax audition' scenario, where the opportunity arises for me to try something new, that I may not be any good at, but at least I've tried. You can't blame a girl for trying, that's a fact.

One Lazy Blogger!

Hello, has it really been a week since I last blogged? Oops! I'd love to tell you I've been busy doing one of the thirty tasks I have left on my list, but the truth is, I haven't really been doing much at all! I've barely touched my book, as work has taken most of my concentration powers at late and most of my writing has been in work reports, so writing when I get home has been the last thing I want to do. Now, I'm not going to be of those people that moans about never having time to write. If you want to write, you will find time to do it, no matter what (a bit like a 'Field of Dreams' scenario - if you build it they will come...!) but I certainly have to be in the right frame of mind to write and well, it just hasn't happened this week at all!

I have a few things on my list that I'm thinking of doing next. One of which is the You Tube film, of which I'm hoping to get at least one step nearer to completing this, at the weekend. Hopefully I can shake this strange mood I'm in and be able to tick a few more things off my list, fairly soon.

End Of The Week

So, it's been a funny old week. No sooner had I finished my latest batch of recordings for Radio Nottingham and feeling rather happy with the results, then I found out that the girl who deals with me at the BBC had gone on holiday, so the tape is still sat here in my desk drawer, waiting to be processed.

I've been tired, tired and even more tired this week, so the book writing has gone a little astray. I would love to stay I have caught up this weekend, like I usually do, but I've had a weekend full of vintage shopping, bbq's, meeting film producers (as you randomly do on a day to day basis!) and feeling tired some more.

I hear David Tennant is shining as Hamlet at the moment over at the RSC. I'm not really envious of anyone that has a ticket to go and see him. After all, it's not as if that would be another task ticked off my list, not really envious at all (sulks in the corner....)

I managed to get the outstanding prop I needed for my You Tube task, so you never know, you may just see the end result in a week or so!

Until then.....

New Year

This New Year, I won't be staying at home and watching Nick Knowles/Take That, I'll be staying here, at the Grand Hyatt, New York. The hotel is joined to the Grand Central Station and right next to the Chrysler Building. To say I'm a little excited is an under statement! I've already started to plan my wardrobe, but more importantly plan the tasks I can complete whilst I'm out there (Times Square/fly a trapeze/visit a state).

Can't wait, can't wait, CAN'T WAIT!

Can't Read, Can't Write

Whilst hubbie has been away in Japan, I've been watching tons of crap TV to fill in the lonely hours, but one gem I happened to stumble across was Channel 4's 'Can't Read, Can't Write'. This is a three part documentary, where Phil Beadle is trying to teach a class of adults how to read and write. The class age ranges from 28 to 56 and is devastating watching. Here are a group of adults that have gone through life without two standard forms of communication and have been failed by our education system. Their tales of school life differ from being labelled the class dunce, to being termed lazy and being handed word searches to complete instead of having vital time spent with them to overcome their difficulties. It made me feel sad. Sad to think that the two things that I feel most passionate about in life are something that so many people will go through life and not experience.

If I couldn't read and write, then I wouldn't have this blog, I wouldn't be able to write my novel, I wouldn't have made all my lovely blog friends and I wouldn't have been able to trudge my way through the BBC's Top 100 reads, but more importantly I wouldn't be me.

I think these people are fab to finally have the confidence to learn, it couldn't have been easy to make that initial step and agree to do this. So I feel really humble when I think I gave myself a pat on the back for ticking another task off my list, but I guess everyone has their own challenges to achieve in life - it just so happens I have 40 of them!