Why this week sucks...

I'm not usually one to be overly pessimistic about everything, but sometimes it's like there is someone throwing snowballs of shit at your life because they think it is really funny, when actually it's the absolute worst. Surely there is some good news coming my way real soon? Right?

Reasons why this week sucks: 

- Two bands split up. I Dream In Colour and Harbour. Most of you reading this will go who? They were small, they were unsigned, but they had something. I've been pushing and supporting these guys for months and months and what they had was exciting. I understand the reasons behind both the splits, but it's a shame and it sucks.

- As many of you will know, Paramore decided to put on a intimate show at The Garage in London. Tickets went on sale this morning, they sold out in two minutes. I didn't get any. Ballsacks.

- Due to the lack of customers and no holiday to be covered, my pay packet this month is minuscule and I am very fed up of being poor.

- Feeling so deflated after so many job rejections you just can't even see the point anymore.

- Exceedingly good looking guys keep adding/following me on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram - they are all in relationships. What a tease.

- I have the whole weekend off work for the first time in forever but no real funds to go anywhere or do anything.

- The Cornish Council are threatening the safety of beach goers at Polzeath. I've surfed there for years and may now have to relocate because of their idiocy, read more why here

Reasons why this week doesn't suck:

- I did get a ticket to see Ben Howard in June, which is obviously when he'll realise we're meant to be together and all this fuss over being single will be no more.

Oh Ben....

The Dating Game

*

First things first, I've never been on a date. Ever.

A date to me is meeting someone new, having a brief conversation and then getting the surprise of "Hey, would you like to go for dinner/some drinks one time?" to get to know each other a bit better. I can safely say this has never happened to me, I'm not really sure if it's a good or a bad thing. I'd quite like to be wined and dined, it just seems to be less of a frequent thing these days.

Thing is, I just don't have time to go out places and meet new people at the moment. My life is spent walking to and from work and sat behind my laptop in the evenings working on some sort of career. I can rarely afford to go out and this on going winter isn't exactly making me want to leave the comforts of my duvet.

Yesterday, St Patricks Day, I get a phonecall from my flatmate saying us three girls were going to go have a few drinks and let our hair down a bit; I slip on a dress and some boots and add some oomph into my hair before heading out with £20 and a smile on my face. After one or three cocktails we were a bit giggly and having a laugh at my singledom and how much of a bitch that mother nature is, how I'd never been taken for dinner and it'd been too long since I'd had any form of attention.

Forward on to a horribly cheesy bar, downing shots so we could endure the karaoke that was killing our ear drums, I wait inside while they smoke and suddenly I'm approached by a scouser in an addidas combo, (may I add with the TINIEST hands). I kept my answers short and sweet, he asked if I only like guys who work in music, told me I should take a chance on someone else, because it might be worth the risk if they can make me happy. I came up with some bullshit on not being a girl to take risks or go on dates and made a swift exit. Thank god I'm not Pinnochio!

The last bar of the evening held more promise, live music, a DJ and all the rum we wanted. With a quick gaze around, both mine and my flatmates eyes widen at some of the facially gifted men we spot. The next thing I know she's squeezing me into a tiny sofa next to a group of guys, amazingly we all start chatting and have a bit of a laugh (while I stare adoringly at their faces), before they say their goodbyes and tell us to come back next week to see their band play.

Eventually we leave and happily skip back to our flat, with me feeling slightly uplifted over the fact I had managed to converse with the opposite sex and not scare any off. That's until I find one of them on the book of faces and discover he has a girlfriend, his friend who was of equal attraction..... two years younger than me.

Le sigh....

So I pulled my duvet over my face and went off to dream about other lovely things where men have no hidden catches and hands are of normal sizes.


*Potentially the best date idea ever.

The wrong end of the stick.

In this modern age of communication, it's becoming increasingly difficult to not be able to contact someone, I am one of those who have completely suckered in to social media and I'm rarely seen without my phone, whether I'm texting, tweeting or replying to emails.

I'm a friendly person, or at least I like to think so. I give everyone a chance, I am a conversationalist and I like to meet new people and make new friends. I reply to almost every tweet I get, whether I know them or not and through all the various ways of communication I've met some great people. With the industry I am trying to break into, it's very important to make contacts and build professional friendships around your work. My phone is full of PR and Tour Managers numbers and I like to think I am polite and easy to speak to.

It's very likely, that if we begin a conversation, whether in person or over twitter and find we have things in common be it work or hobbies and if I feel comfortable chatting then I will hand over my digits. Because, well it's much easier to text than constantly drain my battery checking social media sites, extra bonus points if you own an iPhone as we can message for free!

What I have noticed, though, is how guys perceive texting and general communication. It tends to go one of two ways; the first - texting daily will be an occurrence over a couple weeks, maybe longer, general chit-chat about what we've been up to, life and jobs. The usual. Jokes will be passed here and there and generally, conversation flows easily, (unless you have hideous grammar skills in which case you'll make it difficult for me to want to talk to you!) Then, all of a sudden, you get nothing, zero, as if you were never talking in the first place.
From personal experience it seems that once you've started chatting to someone of the opposite sex, somewhere along the line an alarm goes off in the other persons head screaming, "OH GOD SHE THINKS I'M FLIRTING WITH HER, WHAT DO I DO? I KNOW JUST STOP TALKING."

If this is you, stop that, right now.

I am not sat attached to my phone awaiting every message you send, I'm probably texting about four other people at the same time as you, whilst having a cup of tea and replying to the days emails. I am not clinging to my knickers waiting for you to give the greenlight to pounce.

The other way things can go, is the complete opposite. Guys will think I AM keen and then have a hissy fit when I don't reply after a few hours, or if I simply forget (which I do quite a lot), some of us don't get signal at work y'know. Patience my friend, I'll get back to you eventually. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for exercising my thumbs and fancy a quiet lie down without the bleep of my phone disturbing me every five minutes.

What I'm trying to say here, fellas, is to stop automatically thinking I fancy the pants off you if I start messaging you. This isn't to say I don't find you attractive, I might do, but I'm more interested in making new friends than making you fall in love with me.

Just stop panicking and jumping to conclusions, because you've probably got the complete wrong end of the stick. I'm just being nice, it's what I do, I like to ask people if they've had a good day, cheer someone up if they need it. I am not deciphering every message you send and neither should you be.

Maybe we should all start writing letters again, that was fun wasn't it?