Author Archives: Sophie
Hunting
Recently I have come across a few friends who have joined dating websites (this is new news in my circle). Many of my friends, especially those I met at uni have spent the majority of their adult lives searching for that dream job. Don’t worry this is going somewhere, trust me!
So you’re on a dating website, fingers crossed your ‘love story’ begins here. You upload your picture; scroll through Facebook to try and find one where you don’t look trollied and you actually look half decent (whilst doing this you find dreadful pictures your cousin has uploaded behind your back…you will deal with her later!). Right, you have a picture, now for the profile; name (selective in certain spellings; any Greeks out there will know that spelling Magdalena Constantinides is mind boggling to non Greeks, therefore it transfers on the page to Mags Stan), age (maybe knock a few numbers off?!), area of residence (be as vague as you can) and you create a username; your stuck between Sweetgirl88 and Iheartdiamonds11, you go with sweetgirl88 (don’t really wanna look like a gold digger). And finally you are asked what you’re looking for; sex and age range. You click on ‘not fussy’ (can’t be in 2011) and settle for 22-35 (big enough to find someone right?). Profile created.
Job hunting. You Google the career path you’d like to follow, starting with Journalist, moving on to Writer, and settling on Receptionist (all of the others you looked at are way out of your league, even with that 2:1). You find something half decent and spend hours fine tuning a cover letter (you want to demonstrate your writing skills after all) and open the CV you have created most fitting for this position. After submitting your application, the website asks you ‘Would you like to store your CV?’ You click yes and once again you are instructed to create a profile. See where I’m going here? No picture needed, however it does ask for your area of residence and what you’re looking for. Salary: you select the figure you dream of earning but suddenly come straight back to reality and remind yourself that Simon Cowell didn’t reach that amount of money till his 40’s. So you compromise and go for something a bit more realistic, done. Profile created.
It dawned on me that selling yourself is something we do on a daily basis, whether it is for a job or for a date. Is searching for the perfect man (sorry to bring him up again) just like searching for your dream job? The start up is the same. The outcome is the same feeling; pride, happiness and success…until you get 6 months in and you start spitting in your bosses tea and screaming at him because he left the toilet seat up for the fourth time that day!
It goes without saying, these things may start the same, they will run their course, sometimes it won’t be easy and sometimes you’ll be so grateful you have them, but everything happens for a reason, so roll with it!
Till next time…x
The C Word
I think it is safe to say autumn has arrived; all hope of an Indian summer has been thrown out of the window, although I’m one of those still in denial walking around in the rain with my flip flops on! So I walk into my local supermarket for an umbrella, to find that all the ‘back to school’ isles have been removed and the space that now fills them is all Christmassy!!
There are Christmas tree decorations, decorations for the home as well as gift ideas. I think to myself, ‘Christmas is three months away, what happened to fireworks and fancy dress?!’ No, these shops want to shove the festive season down my throat and make me choke on it for three extra months. Why is it that Christmas seems to come around earlier each year? Don’t get me wrong, I HEART CHRISTMAS! But…really?! I like Bonfire night and Halloween too, I want to relish in those days before I have to think about the C word!
Not only that, but I’m finding that people are encouraging me to buy Christmas gifts earlier, “Why rush around last minute? Buy it now!” More than once I have done this, I bought something for my sister in October, shoved it in the back of my wardrobe and forgot about it. December 20th: I forgot that I bought her a present, panic, and buy her something last minute (fighting the mad Christmas Eve shoppers). December 26th: Clearing out my wardrobe to make room for all my new presents and Boxing Day sale purchases and I find it. To top it all off, I pop into the shop that I bought it from and find it in there, in the sale, at half price!
I love the Christmas lights; I think they should stay up all year round, because by the time they are taken down they’re put back up again. I’m surprised the world-famous Oxford Street Christmas lights haven’t been switched on already. By tradition we’re only allowed to put our Christmas tree up from the 1st of December and advent calendars don’t start until then either, yet everywhere else is an exception to the rule.
To top it all off, most of us struggle to lose those extra pounds we’ve put on since our beach holiday in the summer, to fit into that perfect Christmas party outfit. We get there, get seriously drunk, do something we’re very likely to regret in the morning and put all that weight back on (and more) enjoying the long awaited Christmas feast.
If you ask me, which you should, I think it should be Christmas every day, it might be madness and I may be having a good moan about it, but it wouldn’t be the same without it. 
Til next time…Enjoy!
Wobbly Worries
Like most girls, I worry about my weight, however I generally eat what I want (a chocolate bar a day *embarrassed smilie*) and try to get to the gym (read Zumba!) twice a week. Flicking through this week’s magazines I came across a piece that highlights Geri Halliwell’s “Break up body”; looking at whether she looks amazing or too thin? To me she looks amazing, but a couple of portions of Shepherd’s Pie wouldn’t go amiss.
Having been single and in a relationship in the past my body reflects what’s happening in my personal life. Usually when I’m single I’m a slimmer version of me; a mixture of hurt, sadness and power allows me to be smaller. Also when I’m single I find I have more time to work out. On the other hand, when I am in a relationship I’m often more curvy; being content I tend to eat what I want, practice my Come Dine With Me skills and dinner dates out once or twice a week eventually start to show! Not one to let myself go and being with a fitness fanatic who tells me “You should go to that class” I try to maintain my figure and stick to a fitness regime.
The magazine piece runs through a series of pictures dating back thirteen years looking at Geri’s body and the happenings in her life at the time. Having talked to some of my girlfriends it seems I’m not the only one who goes through the skinny single and bulging better half stage.
So girls (and guys) I ask you whether you’re typical of these habits; when in dumpsville do you ditch the dinners and when you’re in a relationship do you revel in roast dinners?
Til next time…don’t eat too many pies ;o) x
P.S Mum’s just walked in from shopping with a bag or ten of cakes, chocolate bars, croissants and crepes for “guests”…
