Tuesday 20 December 2011

CHAPTER 1 The Resonance

The Resonance
by
Michelle Dry



Published by Michelle Dry
Copyright Michelle Dry 2011
This book is shall not be lent, resold or hired out by way of trade or otherwise without the author’s consent. All rights remain with the author: Michelle Dry


Insight:
‘They’re us and we’re them. There will never be a time when the two tribes will not be drawn to one another - that is our curse, our burden and our secret.’

CHAPTER 0
The Resonation
1834
A bizarre humming filled the air and swirled about the remote Scottish village of Gardenstown - she was searching. The villagers purposely avoided discussion, glanced at each other knowingly and scurried to the safety of their grey, stone cottages. Trouble was brewing, she would have her wrath and the culprit would die - it was inevitable.

CHAPTER 1
The fluid motion.
June last year.

The waves that crisp morning peeled elegantly towards the shore. Rainbows danced amongst the salty spray. The undulating motion of the scarlet-tinged ocean drowned out her subtle call. Her new love was unaware he had chosen her and that she had accepted.
Marty, wearing dark jeans and a green hoody, stood at the edge of the cliff top gazing down at the sea with his arms folded. The smell of damp grass and seaweed wafted on the same breeze ruffling his dark, wavy hair. With a quick flick, he swept a few wispy strands behind his ear and continued to dither. Should he go in? The thought of climbing into a damp wetsuit at that time of the morning was enough to turn anyone off! Rubbing his tired eyes, he was consumed in his usual shall I or shan’t I routine. After picking fluff off the arm of his hoody, he shuffled towards Bertha, his camper van, turned back and paused. Was that a woman swimming?
Out to sea an enormous set of waves rose on the horizon. The unsuspecting swimmer maintained her rhythmic crawl. Surely, she would notice. The rolling waves gathered momentum as they pursued her and prepared their weighty descent.
“Bollocks!” he muttered under his breath. With a jolt, he tore down the rickety staircase, navigated the slippery cockle-crunching shoreline and broke into a sprint on the compacted sand.
The first wave towered above the girl.
“You need to come in,” shouted Marty waving frantically from the beach.
With the repetitive crawling rhythm, the swimmer did not break her routine. Instead, she continued oblivious to the rising ocean walls. With a sense of helplessness, Marty watched the wave peak, tumble and crash down. She was gone.
He waited for some indication of her location. Nothing. With a glare at the water, he gritted his teeth. Why did it always happen to him? In aggravation, he kicked off his flip-flops and waded into the shallows. The froth of the first wave roared towards him. He dived and surfaced. Sucking in a lung full of air, he submerged intending to swim beyond the break. As he swam, he urgently searched for even a hint of her presence. There was nothing. Surfacing for another breath, a huge wave rose above him. Marty gazed up at the glistening, fluid wall and ducked back to the churn beneath. Could he see hair or seaweed? The circling ocean motion spun his athletic physique into an area of calm where a peaceful figure was suspended. With a mass of golden hair drifting in all directions and mischievous glint in her eye, she smiled. It was her!
His heart pounded as the air slowly evacuated his lungs. As he sunk, he gazed at the beautiful creature knowing he had to surface. With a strong kick, his survival instincts overrode his desire to stay. Full of curiosity, she followed him, circled and silently peered into his soul. She emitted a gentle hum, which tingled through his veins. What was it and why could he hear her through the water? He had to surface! With an amused expression, she radiated the feeling of love. He experienced her emotional warmth through the icy ocean.
With the expression of confusion, he touched his heart.
She smiled and radiated again.
Butterflies tingled in his gut. He was mesmerised. He desired to stay.

The sound of an elephant laying an egg...

Have you ever considered what the sound of an elephant laying an egg might be like? I just wanted to put an example of a hook as an opener here... Oh yes hooks are wonderful instruments in the art of writing... Why do I mention this? Well this last ten weeks has been wonderful. I have been teaching a creative writing class and I loved it...

For those who know me, as shy as I can be, when it comes to being really passionate about something and having a captive audience, in a confined space with a closed door - something happens. A mental explosion of information all constructed to meet the student's needs.... I didn't just love it... I really loved it!

The thing with teaching for ten weeks is that I had to prepare lessons. At some point I will post them on here... All the time I was doing that made it difficult to go to work, race in my rowing team / train in the rowing team and edit The Resonance... I know ... Excuses... Mine is being human!

I have to admit I am quite excited about being back, previously the blog became a pressure. At times I would walk out of the toilet at work (rather than fall in) and people would point at me.... Not because I had made a smell, but rather because I was the girl who wrote the books and the blog. Again for those of you who really know me - I am a private person - especially in a lavatory. In fact, sometimes I suffer stage fright and am transported back to those years on ships where people would pursue you to ask you about ports. The worst moment was when two passengers actually shoved their head under a cubicle door, whilst I was in midst monster creation and asked me how many steps there were in the Hermitage museum... Imagine. I think I might have actually answered too... Oh God the years on ships and the memories...

Right before I deviate again... I just want to let you know the good news...
The Resonance is already out in digital and the solid form book will be available in the new year.

At the moment I am finishing the draft of my very secret book and then straight into 'Beneath the surface."
Okay just to let you know there has been a vote on what 'Beneath the surface' should be called. Apparently this sounds like a submarine. The other offerings have been Portholes and Poop Deck. Please bear in mind this is a real life diary of a cruise ship... Any opinions will be greatly appreciated... In the meantime, I will keep writing posts... I have quite a lot to catch up on... Especially in terms of escaping mundanity...

Talk soon

MichelleXXX

Sunday 24 July 2011

Okay I admit it...



Okay so I admit it, I have not blogged for quite a while, but I have a perfectly good excuse - summer! Summer is the time to lay on the beach, prance around in shorts too short and stuff your face with icecream right? Nope... Instead I have been soaked in sudden downpours, been splashed by a bus driving past a puddle and have discovered a dark underworld directly on the street below... Yes... An underworld...

In evidnce of the underworld... At four in the morning a number of rather enebriated people thought that they would ring all the door bells on the street and then proceed to swear at the people who actually got up and answered. Who gets up and answers? I have no idea... Asking for trouble! Strangely I never get really offended by this, instead I fantasise about the usage of a catapult, bangers and water bombs... In truth, I was trying to work out the best angle of tradjectory using a water bomb, the opposite building and a catapult to get the drunks in the back of the head without bursting the waterbomb before impact. I considered rebounding off the opposite wall but the pressure would make it burst. After creating a large diagram on a blueprint and plotting my tradjectories with a compass and ruler I came to the conclusion that if I was fast enough I could shoot multiple water-bombs high into the air enabling a pelting which might appear as though God himself was peeved with the drunks. They would not be able to react quikly either. There was something satisfying in that knowledge...

Anyway I am afraid I did not have a catapult to hand nor water-bombs so no action could be taken, however a couple of nights later we had a rendition of Buffalo soldier at five o'clock in the morning... The drunken chappy was singing his heart out for approximately three hours. It was as if a record was stuck on the same line - Buffalo soldier... In the heart of America... Stolen from Africa... Oh man... what are the other words?

"Shut the **ck up," said one of the neighbours.
"No those aren't the words," he replied thoughtfully...

Buffalo soldier... In the heart of...

"Would you please shut the **ck up!" shouted a neighbour.

"Man... I am just singing a song... We should all sing... And this is a good song... Buffalo soldier... with a dreadlocked rasta stolen from Africa to make an excellent pasta..."

"Those aren't even the F***ing words!" screamed the neighbour.
"Look man I am being creative. You are ruining the flow man."

A loud scream followed by a thud, left a great deal to th imagination. There was silence.

But of course the song was stuck in my mind...

Moral of the story - always have a decent catapult and a stash of waterbombs for drunks who ring door bells.

Moral of the story two. Work on the perfect tradjectory so someone else gets the blame.

Moral of the story three - when singing a song no one wants to hear - sing it in the bath and not the street. Do not entertain the idea of taking a bath into the street for singing!

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Dangling a bottom on a stick!

Dangling a bottom on a stick.

It is days like this that I love coming to work. I do not mind sitting at the desk because I am provided with a rare insight into the male mind and how it perceives the world. While I construct the most enormously complex spreadsheet full of formulae, the simplistic nature of the male mind and its motivations are revealed.
I glanced over at the office cheeky, “is everything okay? You haven’t said anything rude today.”
“Oh, sorry... Just busy,” he replied.
Admittedly he did look completely harassed and immersed in numerous complex calculations and charts.
“I want the fun one back,” I replied.
“Okay I will just pop to the loo and then tell you about the perfect gym experience that I had last night,” he said. With that he stood up from the desk and stretched.
When he returned he had one of those cheeky glints in his eye.
“So... I was at the gym last night and running on the treadmill and some kind of planetary alignment must have taken place because the perfect motivation took place. You know what it was?”
I studied him, “naked can-can dancers?”
“Nope three Latino bottoms on the cross trainers in front of me,” he replied smugly.
I frowned, I had an image of dis-embodied bottoms residing on the foot placement pads of the cross-trainer. “I take it they had women attached to them...”
“Yes the most perfect women you could imagine. I don’t know why they even have to go to the gym,” he said entering the fantasy dazed state.
“Well surely that is why they are perfect. They go to the gym daily and maintain their bodies - so therefore are ideal. If they didn’t go and ate pies they would probably look very different,” I replied
“Chicken and egg,” he said.
“So regarding these women’s bottoms... I sense that there is some kind of bottom hierarchy / measure to gauge the perfection of a bottom.”
“There are three types,” he replied.
Surely there had to be more than three types of bottom. Still I did not butt into the bottom flow.
“There is the Latino bottom, which is the ultimate in bottom. It is full, voluptuous and firm. There is plenty of meat on it. There is the Afro-Caribbean bottom. A similar kind of bottom, full, solid and beautiful and then there is the ‘other,’” he said with a smile.
There was a silence while I waited for his bottom measure elaboration / justification.
“The other comprises of all manner of bottom. You have the small Asian, the American cheerleader and many others. Three categories are more than enough for men to determine where something sits in terms of bottom,” he said with a definite nod.

I had honestly never considered a bottom hierarchy before. The office cheeky had changed my perception of the common bottom. “Okay what about men then?”
“There are two types: hairy and non hairy.”
How fair was that? There had to be more bottom categories for men.
“So tell me more about your motivation then,” I said allowing the male bottom hierarchy to churn in the back of my mind.
“Well being mesmerised by the bouncing bottoms, I realised I could divide my run into targets. When I achieved the first couple of kilometres I got the first one. The thought of her and her bottom kept me running. Then when I hit the second goal I was rewarded with the second beautiful bottom.”
I studied him; it was the office cheeky.... “You were rewarded with both weren’t you?”
He smiled a cheeky grin, “yep! Then when I got to the third...”
“Okay... I kind of get it...” I said before a full visual elaboration took place.
“The fantasy was fantastic... It worked really well apart from when I was running for the third posterial reward... Unfortunately the three of them finished training. I was so disappointed,” he said sadly.
“And let me guess an overly sweaty man arrived in a thong.”
“No... But it was a sad case. I ran faster to try and catch them,” he replied.
“You ran faster on a stationary treadmill to try and chase the Latino ladies?” I asked.
“Metaphorically yes. In my mind I ran through the treadmill and caught them all! It was amazing!”
“I think it would have been better if Mr sweaty and his white t-shirt had appeared. Or three flabby bottoms wobbled in front of you,” I said imagining it.
“Who is Mr Sweaty?”
“You have never heard of Mr Sweaty?”
He shook his head with a frown.
“He basically floods the area with sweat whenever he exercises. He is amazing. We once did an abs class and he sweated so hard that he created a sweat puddle. When he walked off he turned to us and said you know you have had a good work out when you have sweated. He often wears a white t-shirt which sticks to his hairy back. The hair sometimes makes patterns according to how he has been laying.”
“That is gross!” replied Office cheeky.
“He seems quite proud of it,” I replied.
Mr cheeky seemed absorbed by something.
“Okay what’s going on? Your eyes are wiggling... “I said.
“I am thinking... So how come some women wear lots of make- up to the gym and others don’t?” he asked seriously. Was there some kind of pattern?
“I have no real clue. Although my friend was saying about two women she saw at the gym. They were dressed in the smallest clothing, had done their hair and wore full evening make-up. They had rather pert parts and displayed braless- lycra-clad breastage. After they had posed around the gym she heard the pair of them in the stretching room saying ‘God men just stare all the time. They are such pervs. It really puts you off going to the gym!’”
The office cheeky looked dumbfounded, “but they are dressed like that – what do they expect? Men are visual! It is their instinct to look!”
He was right.
“As I said before men spend the majority of their time imagining women naked,” he said drifting into the glazed eye look.
“Yes I had a question about that... What even fat ones?” I said.
He shook his head and appeared to have a smell under his nose. “No they are invisible. They become an extension to a wall or a pillar. We just don’t see them. In fact we selectively filter to enable maximum naked fantasy of hottyness,” he said.
I shook my head, “that is not nice.”
“It is reality and truth... If a person wants to be imagined naked – make it nice for the fantasiser – I say!” he replied.
For a moment the pair of us sat in contemplation. I wondered how women perceived men at the gym. They grunted, a few posed but the majority appeared to exercise. In the meantime it was like a mental nudist camp for the men. How could the gym dynamic be sooo different for men and women?
The office hotty trotted past so I waved her over. “Do you go to the gym?”
“No,” she said.
“If you went to the gym would you wear make-up?”
“Probably,” she replied honestly.
“Do you know any women who wear make-up to the gym?” asked the office cheeky.
“Oh yes... One girl I know wears make-up and revealing clothing but that was because she fancied the instructor,” she replied
“Did it work?”
“Yes an escapee nipple resulted in her having a date and a cheeky kiss,” she said matter of factly.
Office cheeky and I gave each other a look. So by flashing your nipples at the gym instructor a person could get a date. I must have been bought up in a different era. It seemed the learnings I had had through my life had missed out that key fact. It was the same as the not running when taking part in a game of kiss chase. Hmmm maybe the gym was another equivalent to kiss chase in the exercise dynamic.
“The gym must attract two types – those who pose and those who actually want to exercise. Gym dating...” she said thinking about the make-up conundrum.
“Actually I was always bemused by a girl who used to come to the gym wearing Lycra with a leopard skin thong over the top. She used to saunter around the gym, stretch and bend over in front of the grunting men lifting weights. Suddenly it makes sense,” I said.
“Did they grunt louder went she bent over?” asked the office hotty.
“Yes much louder. Actually one time, at the same gym, one of the lycra-clad bending-over girls distracted a man on a treadmill who shot off the back and landed on my lap on the bike. It was quite funny really,” I said remembering how embarrassed the poor chap was.
“Really?”
The pair shook their heads.
“So how do you measure a man’s bottom? I mean in terms of pertness in the bottom hierarchy?” I asked the office hotty.
“Well there is peachy and not...”
“There must be more... Men have Latino, Afro-Caribbean and other for women,” I said.
“Other?” said with a bemused look.
“All the other categories,” I said.
“Let me just say there are lots of lovely bottoms in the ‘other’ category,” said the office cheeky.
“I think there are buns of steel, flat bottom and peachy,” I said thoughtfully considering the male bottom hierarchy.
The office hotty agreed. “I am not into the flat bottom. Just the peachy,” she said.
“There must be women who are specifically attracted to the flat bottom kind,” I said.
We all looked at each other. Was a woman attracted to a certain kind of bottom? What would determine that? It seemed the office hotty had developed a selective bottom filtration system. I had a tendency towards buns of steel and the walnut cracking kind. It seemed to tally in with the fact that I was fitness obsessed. She was curvaceous and had an attraction to a peachy bottom. I had never considered bottom hierarchy in the survival psyche. Nor had I realised that dangling a bottom on a stick was a key motivator for the male exerciser. I knew that sex was a motivator but I had one final question.”
“So if we created a man only gym with films of female bottoms playing repetition would the men get fit?”
“No. It isn’t real. You need the bouncing action to be real and close. That way we will fantasise about chasing it. It is all about the display and the potential.... It stops the pain in the limbs. You can ache like hell but you will keep chasing,” he said.
Hmmm. I smiled to myself.
“What happens if you get overly excited?” I asked.
“The treadmill will take care of that and eject you!”
I had never considered this before... I had never considered men running whilst excited... Was that possible? So I wrote on a pad “Can a man with an excited sausage run?” and handed it to the office comedian and the office cheeky.
Answer: ‘yes – when I was at school we had a swimming race. One of the kids had that same problem, jumped in the pool and won the race,’ said the office comedian.
I wonder whether he used it as a propeller....
Although, according to the office cheeky, there was more to it...
“I think I should explain...” he said thoughtfully. “There is a self safety process built in my system, it only needs a starting point where everything is calm before getting on the treadmill.... As a person gets more excited, the hope of getting the incentive grows, so you run faster putting all the extra blood to better use. Until that person thinks some more, gets more excited, runs faster, blood circulates ... And there you go a safety loop which is also the exercise driver ... and whole point behind the theory. Fantasy drives the physical!”
It made perfect sense.
“So what if a person is already het up?”
“Well that could prove sticky... If a person is already excited, then they will never start running until they take care of business manually. Or if they are half man and half amazing they will get the incentive to take care of business for them unfortunately the running becomes redundant.”
I was a little confused.
“So....”
“To answer your question regarding the sausage - no in all possible scenarios ... No running with a live hotdog,” he said.
How come the office comedian believed a person could run with an inflated extra leg and office cheeky was stumped by a hot dog in motion?

“But he says that his friend won a swimming competition whilst in a state of sausage excitement,” I replied.
The office cheeky rolled his eyes, “Water is a completely different medium with ,naturally, its own set of rules and theories ...”
I should have known!
In summary:
It seemed that motivation was more than just excitement. It seemed the simple suggestion that caused the lower regions to twitch could heighten a performance. But what did that mean? Did it mean that a person’s drive was stimulated by the potential physical reward? Was it primeval? Or was there something paramount that I was missing? Why were women so different? A woman would not necessarily run faster on a treadmill if three hot men were in front of her. If they were behind her she might run faster... Or she might slow down if she had been aware of the ideal strategy in kiss chase! Obviously these thoughts have distracted me. If you have answers to this conundrum I would love to know!
So to the morals of the story...
1) Place a large bottom on a stick to motivate a man to get fit.
2) Never be offended if your bottom falls into the other category.
3) Never run with an inflated hotdog unless you have the capability to use it as a propeller to win a swimming race.

Since the discussions Mr Cheeky has since informed that using a male appendage is unwise because it potentially could take the swimmer out of the water - kind of like a helicopter. "It should be more of a fin!" he said.


Monday 23 May 2011

The mad, the bizarre and the down right wasted.

For the first time in my life I truly understood the expression as mad a hatter. Imagine parking your car opposite three people who are having a garage sale without a garage. Yes. So a number of undesirable items are lined up along the wall. Broken ornaments, an anarchy flag (everyone must have one of those) and a broken badminton bat... There were other items but they did not make a consumative impression on me...

The three people who had originated the idea accompanied their wall display with hardcore music played at full volume. A sales technique which is quite rare revealed highly energeticdancing which could be likened to jerking, spasms and tantrums. Every so often they sat down swigged a beer and then prepared for the next dance.

Subtely trying to park my car in a space that was coincidentally available oppsite the display, I tried to adopt my stealth departure. Unfortunately as I rounded a corner I stumbled upon three child-like drawings. Since I have a mind which feels the need to decode code I stood studying them. In red pen was writtem 'jellyusy is no need' no to discrmatv bevor,' and 4d+7d = somefing' A real puzzle if you ask me. In the centre there was a half drawn anarchy sign with eyelashes. If you can work that out you are a genius.

Since Boscombe has the ability to provide me than just human spectacle, I stood for a moment attempting fathom what it meant. That was my mistake. One of the spasmotic dancers spotted me and ran over. Well when I say ran is was more of a sideways stumble mixed with forward momentum. When she arrived she grinned at me wearing a top hat. Yes - TOP HAT!
'Hello do you like our drawings?'
Being polite I replied, 'I am just trying to work out what it says.'
'I am wasted.'
I studied the paper. I could not decipher those words.
'No I am wasted - been drinking and dancing. We did this to promote our garage sale. But I'm a bit drunk now.'
Okay - they were promoting their garage sale by not actually referencing a garage, having a garage, a sale or anything relating to it. Amazing cryptic clues - maybe they could enact a garage sale through charades too.

'I did that one,' she said pointing.
I nodded and considered my potential escape.
'It says not to be jealous... There is no point you see.'
She was right.
''cause jelousy makes you jealous.'
I could see the logic in that argument.
'I'm wearing a hat.'
'Yes you are... a top hat too.'
'I'm drunk. That bit says not to discrim in discrimin. Discrimin-hate...' she said with a belch. Discriminhate - that was pretty clever...
'That's a good attitude.' I replied.
'That one there was about dimensions and all the different dimensions. That is done by him over there... He likes his dimensions and his drugs.'
Oh brilliant... Lucky me falling into this conversation.
'I will be honest I don't really get it and I need to go and eat my tea.' I said.
She turned and gazed into my eyes, 'do you like it?'
What did a person say?
'I think the jealousy thing is very true. Jealousy does in actual fact make you jealous. Thank you. Right I have to go...'
She smiled, tipped her hat and stumbled back to the non garage sale.
I wandered home bemused and chatted to one of my friends on the phone about it. As much as I thought that was weird it turns out the person in a flat below her set off the fire-alarm with her cooking. When the three fire engines arrived she would not let them in. She then tried to stop the fire alarm by spraying airfreshner into it(at least it would smell nice) and later she was found hiding in a skip. How do you beat that?

I have to admit since moving to Boscombe I have had more writing material than a person could potentially wish for. Although as wonderful as it is, I often wonder about humanity and what the future holds. Then again - if it all goes to pot one can always hold a garage sale without a garage and advise random people not to get jealous. The posibilities are limitless!

Moral of the story jealously makes you jealous!
Moral of the story 2 Never ever stop and read promotional garage sale signs that do not relate to any garage.
Moral of the story 3 never park near to or next to anyone spasmotically dancing wearing a top hat at six in the evening....



Sunday 22 May 2011

Too much thinking about thinking.

This turned up today when I was thinking about updating my status on facebook!

The question what is on your mind is a strange question. If something was on my mind then surely my mind would be like a bench or something solid. I think a better question would be what is wafting / floating or wandering through the 'what is' that is labelled as your mind... I think to much... Thinking too much is on my mind... How does that work. I will stop thinking about thinking - which means I am thinking about thinking!!! Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ego learning and the concept of remote control sea gulls!

Today has been a bit of a learning... I had never really understood how a person's ego could inflate to the size of a walrus... Yes it is possible for an ego to become that huge!

So after careful consideration I believe I should share my findings... So how many people are actually aware of how they come across? How many people are actually aware of why they do things? How many people are aware of how huge their ego is? Not me!

Yesterday I was in a rowing race and had a strange moment where I realised as much as we rowed as a team, during the race we all resided in our own personal reality. One girl was feeling not good enough and feared letting the team down. One had to lead and had the responsibility of setting the pace, another was angry because she was not reaching her full potential. I was enjoying the view - young hot men lugging boats around. What more could a woman in her thirties want?

During the race the girl who felt inadequate kept saying sorry... She seemed to be living her own personal hell until her arm ceased up... There it was - bang - an excuse... A way out.

All the while, I was enjoying the view. Obviously we did not win the race but it was interesting how the team dynamic developed once we stepped ashore. I thought the race was great - there was a nice view, I had raced and had been out on the water and survived. The lady who felt bad was justifying why it had not gone well, another sulked whilst another was angry... In the meantime, I trundled around wondering what goes on in people's minds and why it matters so much to win...

While I was thinking deeply I was asked to spend an hour on the rescue boat. "what do you want me to do?" I asked.
"Rescue people and stop them dying," was the reply.
So I set about stopping people from dying. In doing so I climbed into the rescue boat with a chap who, not being rude, seemed to have no clue how to drive it. A few moments later the engine cut out in the middle of the race. There we floated with six racing boats hammering at us at full speed. How does one react to that?

The boat driver frantically tried to start the engine... I noticed some paddles and watched the chap panic. In the end I just thought - the worst that can happen is a collision and I get to fish hot men out of the water. I also had an excuse to practice mouth to mouth under the excuse of 'I am trying to stop you dying - that is my job you know!'

The collision did not happen but our rescue boat was rescued and the boat driver's ego was bruised. He also kept apologising and told me how out of control he felt. Surely life is out of control and any form of control in chaos is an illusion... What I did notice was how the ego was hurt with failiure or perceived failiure... A bit later I climbed the pontoon and strolled back to the picturesque site of athletic bodies and burgers.

Later that day, after dwelling on egos, the egosaurus appeared on the scene. The person who told us how great they were, how everyone else was lesser than them and how they were at a higher level... In truth it was hideous - but if life is a reflection of ourselves I had to consider where my own ego sat in a boat and how egotistical rantings affected others... In truth, unless we are aware of ourselves we often do not catch our behaviour... I often behave as though I can save the world, am a gold medal winner in the olympics and am an internationally renown author... Unfortunately, after witnessing the egosaurus, something dawned on me - we only see these things because that is part of ourselves... So with great reluctance one needs to face the ego monster and face the reality - one can save the world one tree at a time. Winning an olympic gold medal in chatting about random things is probably not likely. Being an internationally renown author may happen one day but it has not happened yet. So I will re-focus my energies on what is and what is actually possible!
So I just invented something amazing: a remote control seagull that you can use to shit on those whose egos are huge - it could be a best seller. What do you think?

Here is a link to RETINA BLUE AND GOYLEGATE - You could help me become an internationally renown author so I do not have to have the remote control seagull put into production!!!!







Thursday 12 May 2011

Men are from Pen-us and women eat Mars.

Men are from Pen-us and women will eat Mars.
It is a known fact that men and women approach life from very different angles. Men prefer a 45 degree trajectory and women prefer to think of things in relation to chocolate or how things feel. When a man travels on a road it will be a motorway whereas a woman has a tendency to meander and curve. When a man discusses his car he talks in terms of speed and power. A woman generally is concerned about colour. Men design things that are hard and rigid. Women prefer soft, silky and squidgy. A lap top designed by a woman would be pink, soft and smell nice. A man on the other hand has to create a rigid and erect item. You may have never considered this before but I do not think that a woman invented the canon. I would guess that whoever created that explosive device was inspired by his nether regions. Maybe he had some below the belt issues that had to be compensated by a large penile replica to threaten and kill other men with!
Anyway, I have femininely meandered. So why is it that I reference the above? Well the beginnings of these thoughts emerged on Saturday night. I was in a bar with two of my single friends who are in their mid-forties and single. During our conversations both confessed that they have not actually learned how men work. Admittedly nor have I. So with the above in mind I put the male/female conundrum to the male office comedian and the male office cheeky. One is married and the other is in a long-term relationship, so therefore they are well equipped in providing male insight into the acquisition of the ideal woman and how certain women appeal to men.
Question – so what do you have to do to get a man to talk to a woman in a bar?
Answer, “nothing.”
“What?”
“A man will not go and talk to a woman in a bar anymore,” replied the office cheeky.
Both the office cheeky and the office comedian gave each other that knowing nod. They were definitely in male agreement.
“What never?”
The office cheeky looked me in the eyes, “there are two exceptions to this rule. Unless you are obviously drunk, rather ugly, desperate or extremely good looking a man will not approach you. There is absolutely no way that a man will talk to you unless it is really easy and usually he will not actually talk. Things have changed… You are living in the wrong century…”
“So you are saying that women who are average looking – to pretty good looking are going to just be looked at and not talked to…”
The pair nodded.
“Why is that?”
“The rejection syndrome…”
“What?”
“Men are fed up with being rejected… It is as simple as that!” said the office cheeky!
“But surely they just need to get some balls…”
“It isn’t about balls and it isn’t men who have made men like that…” said office cheeky sadly.
“It is all those empowered women who have told all those men to sod off or just walked off. REJECTION IS THE ULTIMATE FEAR! In the end men decided in unison to say bollocks to it! There are easier ways to meet women who will not simply blow them out. Take the internet for example…”
I shook my head sadly, what had happened to the world of liaising. Why couldn’t a man and a woman who were attracted to each other have a nice chat, gaze into each other’s eye, have a canoodle and then date… I had been out of the dating world for a year and it appeared I was too far removed from the realities of dating! Rubbish!
“This dynamic has been created by both sexes. The man is fed up of being rejected and woman has rejected one too many times!” said the office comedian.
If this continues the way it is man and woman will never meet. There had to be an answer.
“So how do we change this?”
“Stop rejecting men… “
“But surely the men still like the hunt…”
The pair shook their heads.
“It is a simple truth that men are just lazy… Average to beautiful are not worth the risk! The hunt has also changed… Hunting can be found in fishing, acquisition of items from the internet or playing football where you technically hunt the ball,” said office cheeky.
He couldn’t be right could he? Twenty two hair men chasing an inflated sack up and down a field could not be the only thing a man could hunt!
“Take sex for example… If a woman is on top it is still rumpy pumpy. He gets to lay there and enjoy the show. Ultimately he does not have to do a thing… Easy – like a take away! Take television as an example - man has evolved to the remote control. He has learned to be energy efficient and use as little effort as possible and that includes women. The hunt has been replaced by the Xbox, play station or wii.”
There had to be a flaw to what he was saying…
“Okay you said there were exceptions to the rule. What happens there?”
“We call it rejection override. This is where the risk of rejection is offset by potential gain.”
“So how does that work…”
“The ugly, the drunk and the desperate are unable to reject. No conversation is necessary either… The drunk cannot string a rejection sentence. The ugly are just grateful to be near someone and the desperate will apparently take anyone… That way there is no rejection and hardly any conversation.”
If he was right what did that mean for the progression of humanity? Did only the ugly, desperate or drunk stand a chance in increasing the world population?
“Okay so something is going on with you… What has made you ask these questions,” said the office comedian. “Come on tell us…”
“Okay… So… This is what happened on Saturday night. I was dressed womanly, was aware of numerous men smiling at me and I was appearing friendly. There was no body slamming potential, or defensiveness… I was simply being relaxed and nice.”
The pair folded their arms and raised their eyebrows.
“I was being nice! So I walked through the crowd and many of them touched me. When I turned to look at them they just smiled and said nothing. The stagnant ‘fart’ silence hung in the air. I was confused and they sipped their drinks… More silence! Later on I was in the toilet and a girl who would be considered very attractive had been in conversation with a chap. He told her that the problem was that the women in Bournemouth all look like models. She looked like a model. So how was that a problem?”
“Essentially the chap was informing her of the final exception to the rule. And telling her that he was holding out for this… She was probably beautiful but not override beautiful! He was holding out for the dazzler!”
“Right…”
“So did you chat to any blokes?”
“Yes quite a few… I was introduced to them…”
“See that makes it easy – no rejection,” said office cheeky.
“What did they say to you?”
“That I was refreshing, unique and looked like a princess.”
The pair glanced at each other and smiled.
“That means that you can hold a conversation and that they like you. It also means that they have not yet decided if you are out of their league. You are an intelligent woman who has a sense of humour. Unfortunately that does not often compute!”
Maybe I should have simply fluttered my eyelashes, flicked my hair and let them talk…
“I really don’t get it…” I said.
“Okay so this is how it goes. There is a male mental override where the prize is worth the sacrifice of dignity and pride. This is when a woman displays and mesmerises the potential male victim. He does not stand a chance. She flashes flesh, flicks her lustrous locks and wears either a really short skirt or a breast revealing top… Whichever she uses to display is purposeful to cause the override of the male rejection fear. Men will literally climb over themselves and risk complete humiliation because if she says yes all the other men will worship him. He will be the alpha male.”
“So how is this exception determined?” I asked.
“She just exists – something about her dazzles. It is like moths to a flame…”
“Like the beam from the death star that pulls in the millennium falcon?” I asked.
“Worse… A black hole – you have no control of. Every sense in your body is overridden and the dark matter beneath the belt is initiated. Once the first step is taken – there is no turning back!”
“Back to two brains and not enough blood. The blood drops below the belt and propels the legs which would have otherwise been dormant!”
“Exactly!”
The pair sat back in their chairs and gazed into space in male fantasy.
“So what is your advice then?”
“You have a choice – either get ugly, drunk or desperate or evolve into the dazzler.”
The choice was not that great.
“So how do I become the dazzler?”
The pair grinned; they had ideas that I was not going to like…
“Step one – small dress lots of flesh – legs or chest – not both… If you display both you might completely override the male brain and cause an explosion! A man has two eyes and one gaze. Flipping up and down between two flesh revealing locations is too much and they are likely to pass out.”
“So just wear a short dress,” I said.
“Nope! There is more to it.”
“Okay – smell really nice. Be inviting. Constantly smile and set it up for the man to come to you. Clearly gaze into his eyes and draw his attention to the bare flesh. Stroke it or rest your hand on it… Then you simply become hot and out of their league – they will love it.”
I sighed and unconsciously shook my head. It was like Olivia Newton John in Grease. She was the same woman but simply wore skin-tight clothing and suddenly the men were climbing over themselves and singing… Yes singing! Was it really the case that women had to simply dazzle, initiate conversation and be available? What had happened to the world? What had happened to match makers and the teenage years where you practically smiled at a chap and the next thing he was your boyfriend? Had the rejection issue really become that bad that men just simply could not be bothered to chat to women anymore?
“What’s wrong?”
“I want a man with balls!” I replied.
“Men with balls are sold out!” said office cheeky.
“You have a choice –either become amazingly attractive or a lot less attractive and you will see!”
Apparently a look of complete an utter dismay graced my face.
“It is pathetic.”
“All men are pathetic. It is no secret. Make it easy like kiss chase. The women who did not run fast got kissed.”
I stared at him and realised my life long mistake.
“When I was young I was a really fast runner. I just suddenly realised that those other girls were purposely not running. That is not right… The sneaky buggers! They knew! They planned it! Oh God!”
Years of believing I was excelling at kiss chase was destroyed. Some of the girls had already learned the secret of not running too fast at the age of eight. It was not about getting away or being an athlete… They had simply made themselves available! The athletes among us had failed…
In that moment I realised I had to share this information with the world. Maybe women could be kinder to men to lessen the rejection issue.
“There is one more thing you should know…” said the office cheeky.
“It is a primeval thing that completely overrides all senses of the majority of chaps…”
“Oh here we go…”
“When a man finally approaches the woman of his dreams - the dazzler – he will still not have an actual conversation. His brain will override and a series of non-descript sounds will plop from his mouth. He will believe he is making perfect sense and being witty but all those around him will witness tongue-twisted tremors. Planet Pen-us will have overridden any sense that he had. And ultimately the dream woman will appear horrified, flick her hair and walk away. This will destroy the chap, the other men will consolidate him but such incidents continue to increase the rejection syndrome. So just be nice if a chap does not string a sentence and only manages to make a series of grunts at you. In fact just smile sweetly. You need to understand that he is not in actual fact wasted – it is just that your assets have dazzled him and overridden his brain. He views you as a goddess and is simply happy in your presence!”
“I will consider that in the future.”
After work I went round to my best friend’s house and told her what I had learned. She sat me down and shook her head.
“My brother realised that men were being rejected and that women were frustrated. He and his friend went to a bar and played a game called slap or number. Basically they watched women who were in pairs – when one went to the loo he went over drank her drink and then said ‘can I buy you a drink!’ Every single woman he did that to gave him her number.”
“Is he really good looking?”
“He is okay…”
I sat in silence and had a sudden jolt of understanding… Men without balls were losing out. They would keep losing out. The men who realised the other men were fed up with being rejected could use this to their advantage… Whether women wanted to admit it or not – they still wanted to be approached by a man. It made them feel feminine. The more clever the approach the more likely they were going to be impressed. In that day I had learned more about the dynamics of interaction and came up with some morals of the story…
Moral of the story – fear of rejection is simply an excuse not to take an action.
Moral of the story two – women could be kinder when a man approaches.
Moral of the story three – get ugly or get pretty but it is not possible to do both.
Moral of the story four – drop things… Apparently the act of dropping things can start a conversation. Invest in a pack of knickers and randomly throw them around the bar. If that does not start a conversation then nothing will… Make sure those pants are clean!





Wednesday 11 May 2011

THE ART OF SHOE SNIFFING AND GENERAL OFFICE HYSTERIA

Shoe sniffing and general office hysteria.
When you come to work at eight in the morning to be greeted by a mass of people sniffing a shoe you realise that mass office hysteria has most definitely broken out. Admittedly it was a strange sight but it did demand attention. How often have you witnessed a line of people waiting to sniff a shoe? Shoe sniffing - is that some metaphor or had Cinderella found a new way of identification?
After each person had sniffed the shoe another lined up to sniff it. “Mmmm that is really nice,” said one.
“ I never knew shoes could smell so good,” said another.
The queue grew… I understand that in England we have a tendency to queue but that has to be one of the most ridiculous reasons to join other than to see why everyone is queuing. As much as I was resistant I was also curious. Why was everyone sniffing a shoe and why was everyone coming away smiling?
The office hotty stood proudly waving her fragrant shoe under people’s noses. When I reached the said shoe I studied it – it was pink with a heart on the top – of course it was perfect office attire. Well perfect office attire for male distraction and fantasy.
After studying the shoe, I leant forward and sniffed. My goodness…. What did I discover? It was not a game of sabotage –the office hotty had not trodden in dog mess and being vicious – instead the shoe smelled like bubble gum – yes bubble gum!
“I cannot believe people are lined up to sniff your shoe – no one lines up to sniff my trainers…” Obviously the aroma is not quite so enticing – instead of a smell of bubble gum my trainers smell like dog breath mixed with death and rotten sprouts. Although in a twisted way I would love the same people to sniff those trainers so that they could make the comparison! Of course that is me being a bit ‘dark’.
“Yes it is bubblegum flavour shoes,” said the office hotty.
I glanced down at my trainers, “I have rotten sprout flavour trainers. Does anyone want to sniff?”
The line dispersed but numerous women still clambered to study the beautiful shoe form before them. It was as if the shoe had descended from heaven its self“Vivienne Westwood,” said the office hotty with a coy smile.
The other women oooooed and ahhhhhhhhhhhed – they were grateful to simply have touched an expensive shoe.
In that moment I experienced an epiphany… When people fall at other people’s feet it is because their shoes smell of bubblegum rather or perfume rather than dog’s arse.
After that I went for a coffee to digest the fragrant shoe phenomenon. I studied people’s shoes and wondered whether there was a definitive guide to shoe selection and whether a person could be profiled according to shoe. Did the shoe actually correlate to the office type? The office hotty wore decorative feminine shoes. The office stinker probably wore stinky shoes – oh crap that makes me the office stinker doesn’t it? I am not the office stinker – I promise - I do have office observer shoes too. They have binoculars on the front… Actually that was a joke. The office bore probably has grey dull shoes. The office efficient will probably have clean patent shoes.
Does the office comedian wear clown shoes? Hmmm I feel that a study of shoes in relation to office personality profile might be necessary. Although if a person knew a shoe profile could they create decoys? Hmmm I wonder if the office strumpet wears leopard skin shoes. Obviously office little and cute wears small shoes because their feet are so small but those shoes will be psychologically selected to exude more cuteness…. There is a whole world of shoe profiling potential that I had never recognised before. How had I missed it?
A whole new study of potential personality profiling has opened up… Shoe spotting could reveal power dynamics… How am I going to cope with this new observatory knowledge? What else will be sniffing in the office next? Shoes today – what tomorrow… Office sniffing hysteria has infected everyone! Pheww… It is too much – I have to focus on metrics and graphs. That way I will not be overwhelmed by the potential of the shoe and shoe aroma in the office dynamic!
Moral of the story when sniffing shoes make sure they smell of perfume before sniffing.
Moral of the story two – never join a queue unless you know what it is for – you may be forced to sniff my trainers!
Moral of the story three – wear good shoes at all times otherwise you may unintentionally fall into the role of the office stinker without even realising it!
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Sunday 24 April 2011

TECHNIQUES TO AVOID PROMOTION!

How to ruin any chance of promotion.
Well it seems that in most offices there are people lined up to nut nuzzle, schmooze or woo the boss to be promoted. I find it interesting how the office back stabber and office nut nuzzler (brown nose) seem to be in allegiance until it comes down to a final show down. In the meantime, the office strumpet is practically shimmying about the office attempting to hypnotise the boss with booosoka shuffling. It can either entice the boss or result in motion sickness – it all depends on rate of motion and angle. Unfortunately, for the office strumpet, she usually misses the position because she is already lying on her back with some other high-ranking, married superior who offers power potential through association.
All the while the office victim is telling stories of how she has been overlooked for promotion ten years in a row and how nothing good ever happens to her. The office efficient is planning her secret efficient strategy. The office bore is telling a three-hour self-amused story of the day he once heard that someone might have been promoted – which was actually him. In that monologue he deviates numerous times and forgets what he was actually trying to tell you. To him it is incredibly amusing but to others they would rather have hair ripped from their private parts. At that point, the rest of the team are standing by the window trying to work out how they can escape through the bombproof glass without actually dying… Why does no one ever bring long ropes and glass cutters to the office for such necessary escape eventuality?
So of course while the majority of the team consider abseiling twenty floors to escape the office bore, the office backstabber and nut nuzzle are freed up to do their thing! When it comes to being under pressure to get promotion both will return to their natural behaviour: the back stabber prepares to backstab the nut nuzzler. However, all animals have survival techniques and the nut nuzzler has cleverly adopted his natural instinct to survive. He has already bent over and has adopted the brown nosing position behind the back stabber. Obviously, the back stabber receives pleasure from this action but the reward for promotion is greater than having your ego massaged internally using a nose. From the observers point of view the pair resemble the snake trying to eat its own tail and a no win situation ensues. The backstabber is unable to backstab the nut nuzzler because he is practically absorbed in her behind. The backstabber has essentially become a living hat. What’s more, you cannot backstab yourself and it is hard to backstab someone standing behind you unless you are a martial artist and can do a good back flip at the perfect time. While all this is taking place I realised that promotion simply means more work. It also means more responsibility, more stress and less time to write blogs about what takes place in the office. What at first seemed to be an unintentional technique to avoid promotion has revealed it is my natural tendency. How can the office observer observe if they are working flat out? So if you do want to be promoted do not do any of the below:
• Do not send pictures of dogs in wigs to your boss, especially if he has no hair or wears a wig himself. If the boss is a woman, she may also be offended because she may interpret that you are likening her to a dog. Admittedly, it was a great idea at the time but a dog in a wig does nothing to convince your boss of leadership skills, other than leadership of dogs in wigs. What’s more, do not sit hysterically laughing at the array of dogs you have found on the internet when you are supposed to be working towards a crucial presentation, which does not involve said dogs in wigs. It could actually suggest that you are evolving into the office I do diddlysquat.

• When disclosing psychological techniques for delivering bad news do not say anything actually offensive directly to you boss. The sandwich technique is a classic technique where you sandwich the bad news between two pieces of good news. Take for example the following delivery, which I gave my boss as an example. “So how you deliver the bad news is like this: that is a nice shirt, yep you’re ugly as sin, but you have nice shoes.”
“Hang on that’s a bit harsh…”
In that moment, I realised my choice of bad news was not terribly thought through. I had essentially told my boss that he was ugly. Oh God!!!!!!!!!!!!! (He isn’t at all. He is actually quite handsome. Oooops!”
And that was when the digging begins… The hole was already deep and was becoming a well.
‘No not you… You are actually good looking – but you know that. You must know that. No, you are definitely not ugly as sin. It was just an example of bad news… It just popped into my head… Oh God! Please do not be offended. Your wife must think you are good looking… She married you didn’t she? See that is more evidence of you not being ugly as sin. Admittedly, she might have really liked your personality. I did not just say that… Oh God… You are a good-looking man… You don’t need me to tell you that…’
Dig, dig, dig.
The hole wasn’t just deep - it was becoming a well.
Silence.
Intensive blushing.
Nervous laughter and time to involve the team and get them away from the window and the office bore.
“He’s good looking isn’t he? He’s not ugly as sin.”
The teammates gazed at me in horror as I continued to justify what I said. Promotion for miss dry… Pahhhh! No chance! Bus trip to work banishment – oh one ticket please! No return!
When you actively involve teammates to justify the horrifying thing you have just said by accident you know it has all gone wrong. In that moment of silence, I realised there was no saving the situation.
“Look over there,” I said pointing. They all looked over there and I hid under the desk. (Actually, I made that up, but thinking about it… That is what I will do in the future). Anyway, from now on I will bring in my own tumbleweed and roll it around the office!

• Alternatively, you can evolve into the role of office stinker and repel everyone on a daily basis. You will definitely not even be called into potential promotion interview through the boss’s fear of being stuck in a confined space with a hideous stench.

• If you really do not want to avoid promotion just make a massive mistake with your name on. When I worked as a temp, I once made a payment of eight hundred dollars to the wrong account. I was beside myself and instantly ran over to my previous boss and apologised profusely. She turned to me and smiled. ‘That is cannon fodder Michelle, I once paid the wrong account eight one million. Strangely, she was a boss… Hmm… Thinking about it – maybe my theory is not perfect! In fact, maybe my antics will keep me in the mind of the boss and get me a promotion that I do not really want. Actually too late – office power-hungry has convinced everyone of her true potential and as always, she has taken no prisoners. The backstabber can never backstab her because she knows that power hungry will lift her by the throat and stare into her eyes like Darth Vader! There will be deep breathing and there will be power surges through the office that no one can actually explain.

So moral of the story: bring long ropes and glasscutters to work. The action of considering escape from the office bores three-hour monologue will endear you to the team and create the perfect teambuilding escape strategy.

Moral of the story two – when laughing hysterically at images of dogs in wigs and fancy dress – go to the bathroom and laugh. Do not share the images with boss or anyone with hair depreciation.

Moral of the story three – when offending a person of a higher title than you – make sure you sandwich it, have and escape route or offer them the office strumpet as a distraction for offense – that is if she is not already being taken by anyone else.



Thursday 21 April 2011

TOILET OF TERROR!

The office toilet dynamic and the curious incident of the nostril violator.
Whether we like it or not, we all, during the course of the day, have to visit the office loo. To be honest if I did not have to go I would avoid the toiletry dynamic at all costs. So today, as with every other day I have ventured into the toilet of terror! Yes it is the toilet of terror. You never know who, what or how you are going to find this loo. What’s more, when you do venture there it is often the case that cleaning is in progress and the appropriate ‘you must cross your legs and wait’ sign is stuck to the door. Now when you have a cleaning sign on the door you generally make the assumption that cleaning is taking place. I believe this cleaner may well be the anti-thesis of cleaning and goes in there and destroys the area. In actual fact I think she goes in there and sprays nostril violation stink bombs and throws toilet paper on the floor so it can get stuck to your shoes.
When I have finally managed to access the toilet of terror, I have noticed some common themes that appear to be repeat toiletry patterns. The end loo is always taken by someone sitting rustling loo roll. That in toiletry terms means it is time to evacuate the area – women and children first and I am letting you know of an impending posterior tragedy. Also if anyone passes wind in the bathroom they generally have a tendency to stay in the cubicle until any potential witnesses have left. If miss vanity is in the loo the rips-snorter creator is likely to be in the toilet most of the day.
Talking of the office vanity, she seems to spend the majority of the day studying her non-existent zits in the mirror. She applies make-up on make-up and adjusts, readjusts and adjusts her clothing. Her hair is endlessly brushed and lip gloss is applied then re-applied and applied again. Some call it applying the slap, I would say that is a defensive technique to buffer the slap that she deserves for allowing other people to sweat blood while she makes herself look nice. What’s more, she gets away with this by fluttering her false eyelashes and smelling nice. In one office I worked in we had to type a code into the phone to collate the time that we spent in the loo. This then became a metric and each person’s time in the loo was added up and added to a chart. One particular girl was called into a meeting and asked her to justify her average time spent in the loo.
I just walked into the ‘restroom’ to find the office ‘I am on a diet’ studying her bottom in the mirror. Clenching one’s bottom cheeks does not change the size of the bottom, only the shape. It you wear cheap trousers clenching will only reveal cellulite and make it look like a squashed organge, so don’t do it. Now, something I have noticed is that when women look in mirrors they adopt what I now call ‘the my best slim face. ‘ They suck in their cheeks and kind of do an ‘I’m in a magazine pose.’ What’s more, it seems that all women do this – no exception – the old, the ugly, the strumpet the cute – all of them! They also have a tendency to look at themselves from a three-quarter angle and lift up the closest shoulder. Some look hunched others look like pin-ups others… Well… We won’t go there. Many also tip their head to hide double chins. I guess that I notice this because for years I worked as a photographer on cruise ships. And when it came to photographing portly women I had to stand on something tall and make them look up to avoid capturing extra chins or hanging skin. Obviously sometimes you might have to consider standing on the ship’s funnel to get the best angle and distance but you had to do what you had to do to get the best shot. At one time I was re-touching and asked to add a whole head of hair to a bald man… I have also had to remove every wrinkle from and eighty year old… Try doing that when she had probably spent about sixty years in the sun!
Sorry I deviated from the bathroom. In the toilet of terror there is often the moment of loo role lack. I have heard people whimper ‘hello… Is anyone there… There is no loo roll in here…’
Now what I do wonder is who in their right mind would choose to clean loos? There must be other alternatives than loos. One particular cleaner I met at a previous work place was amazing. She interpreted the little messages from the loo. Rather than reading tea leaves she could read other things and offer her opinion on your life and diet… She could tell you about your state of health according to colour, texture and consistency. I never took my opportunity to have this done because I did not comprehend how the shape of my intestine could actually shape my life. Also I have never felt the need to share my posterial creations with strangers…
Talking of that… I do have a real issue with those who do not flush the loo. Now what is going on with that? Is it that people are proud, want to show off or simply torture others? There is nothing worse than walking into a loo with an item floating there which has not flushed. Admittedly most people’s reaction is to turn and walk away. Please flush it because it will affect other people’s days. In terms of being kind to your fellow humans - why allow them to experience the horror that you have experienced too? Now what people don’t actually know – apparently – is that if you repeatedly pump the flush button it will eventually flush. Effort in will result in a full flush…. Wow! Amazing!
Has anyone else ever witnessed the competition between length and force of peeing sound whilst other women visit the loo? Personally I have a tendency to suffer stage fright when others are present and have to really concentrate to allow anything to happen. Others seem to have the tendency to simply go for it and let loose. The sheer force and power behind it can lead me to a number of conclusions: they drank a river. Somewhere in their lineage they adopted a horse genetic. Or they have the pelvic floor of steel. I think the power-pee-er is more than likely the office power hungry because even in the bathroom her insecurity is demonstrated by the sheer force of her peeing skills.
Hovering… I understand that when we actually consider all the different bear behinds that have sat on toilet seats is quite disturbing, but hovering is not the answer. It seems that women who wish to strengthen their thighs and have no contact with the evil loo, often go for the hover, but the truth is hovering is selfish. Honestly how good are you at aiming? You might have a pelvic floor which could shoot a basketball but that is a rare phenomenon and you are messing up the loo for others and giving the anti-thesis cleaner no change to make her own mess!
Now I have just witnessed the ultimate in the bathroom, a woman who simply adjusted her tone and almost created a cyclic hum with her number one production. I am actually astounded – how did she learn that? Is it a natural talent?
What I would like to know is whether anyone else notices this stuff going on? Or is it that the office observer simply notices everything because they it is intrinsic to them.
Moral of the story: don’t visit the toilet of terror if you want to remain emotionally unaffected.
Moral of the story two: to compete in the power pee Olympics do numerous pelvic floor exercises at the desk. Build up your skills to shooting basketballs and only then compete!
Moral of the story three – develop a bladder of steel which can last nine hours without any visits. You will impress your boss because of how long you spend at the desk
Moral of the story four: bring your own potty to the desk.

Tuesday 19 April 2011

DARTH VADER BREATHING AND THE ART OF KEEPING CALM!

Darth Vader, the dark side and the disabled sticker.
Since we are all human, we all have off days. The virtues of kindness, joy and light evacuate and can be eclipsed. The result is the dark side taking over which, in psychology, is known as the shadow. I call this a Darth Vader day. Yesterday was that day for me…. We can’t all be perfect all of the time and in many cases most people can’t be perfect any of the time (no matter how much they convince themselves). So when the Darth Vader day arrives you just have to accept it and allow it to be. Rather than suppress any anger, rage or frustration I believe that experiencing it allows it to drive you and experience life to the full. If you suppress it it is like pushing it down and I believe the body repays you with uncontrollable flatulence or a bad stomach…
To me, when I feel anger, it is usually when I need to say no… Or disagree with something. If I do not say no I will have the incident buzzing around my head until I actually do say no. So Monday night is weigh in night for me… At the moment I am trying to shift an excess ten pounds, which has cleverly attached itself to my waist… So what better way to do that then to attend a weekly weigh in? Have you noticed with weigh-ins that as soon as you step on the scales you feel the need to confess everything that passed your lips?
In a rush, and already feeling a bit grumpy, I arrived at my car. And what has happened? I was blocked in. Not only was I blocked in, but on one side I had four inches to manoeuvre and the other side the person had actually parked on the double yellow line, on a corner and their bumper was actually touching mine! Why does it always happen when you are late? It was then the transformation began. The Darth Vader breathing increased and the dark side emerged… With the fight to remain calm, I took a closer look at the car behind. Did it have a dodgy hand break or was it light enough to life above my head. No. Worse. Booooom! It wasn’t just a car. It was a car with a disabled sticker in the window… What are you supposed to do with that? Other than adopt louder Darth Vader breathing.
I glanced around the road to see if I could see any disabled people who might own the car. Nothing… Then I stood for a moment and thought ‘hang on!’ Okay why is it okay that a disabled person did that with their car? Surely everyone should consider everyone else. I contemplated ringing the doorbells of all the nearby flats, but what was I supposed to ask? ‘Are there any disabled people in there who own car reg…’ I was completely flummoxed – it was not okay but I could not do anything about it. That is when the brewing began… I was angry but there was an ‘unfair card’ being pulled. I was supposed to not be angry because the person was disabled. In the end I simply got in the car and used both bumpers of the other cars to gauge my space. That is why they are called bumpers.
With a bee in my bonnet, I climbed on the scales at the weigh in and even worse I had gained 1.5 pounds… I reckon anger weighs heavier than fat! Actually in truth, during the week I had eaten one measly pizza. That was the only thing outside the dietary jurisdiction. To compensate I had been to the gym six times, been running, done abs and rowed for over an hour with the local rowers… And still a pizza had stuck to my body and would not shift.
‘But I only had one pizza,’ I said.
The weigher sighed, ‘carbs – make glycogen stores- that is what will be doing it… ‘
In that moment I was not only angry with being jammed in, the pizza was now on the list… Was I never going to be able to eat a pizza, chocolate or bread ever again just to remain slim…?
‘You probably have a very sensitive body – one which is very efficient,’ she said.
Brilliant – a body that is efficient and hoards pizza!
I have just discussed this with the office comedian and office cheeky. They have the following theory:
‘I would say that your body is not used to pizza,’ said office cheeky.
‘I suggest you increase the amount and frequency and you will build resilence to pizza,’ said office comedian with a certain look on his face.
‘Little and often…’ said office cheeky.
‘We know – we are your office dieticians,’ said office comedian contemplating eating yet another double decker whilst office cheeky filled a bucket with coffee and drank it through a straw!

So on the way home I called in at by best friend’s house. Her boyfriend wrestled the dog in the garden while I told them about the blocked in car.
“So what would you do?” I asked.
Mid-dog wrestle my male friend contemplated but was intent on extracting a dribble-imbued ball from the dog’s mouth. ‘Well there is no excuse unless the driver is blind!’ he finally said waving the drool covered ball victoriously.
My best friend and I frowned, ‘So what should I have done? Knock on all the flats and get a guide-dog to move the car.’
The dog and my best friend’s boyfriend stopped wrestling, looked at each other and nodded.
A little bit later, they served up dinner in the garden while I resorted to eating cucumber. They appeared a little concerned but I advised them of how efficient my body was. It was during this insightful moment that the dog adopted its best worming position and with a mad look in its eye appeared to be writing its name on the grass with his bottom. Of course that broke the atmosphere and made us all laugh. What’s more, the dog looked particularly proud of itself. I always find it amazing how dogs choose apt times to de-worm. This particular dog actually adopted that pose during a funeral and made a diagonal line amongst the guests while the eulogy was being read out. Well I left the house with my best-friend’s boyfriend demonstrating to the dog how to climb through the dog flap. It seemed the dog was enjoying watching the chap climb through and every time he went through the dog wagged his tail. Then when it came to the dog to go through the dog just sat and wagged its tail. I think that was a case of a dog training its owner!
So on my way home I came to the conclusion that I had to take action. I know this is bad and I do not profess to be an angel, but I think people need to be made aware how their behaviour affects others.
So I left a note on the car with the disabled sticker which said the following:
In the future please can you consider others? As you must be aware you blocked me in which made me late for an important meeting. Now I assume you expect me to consider you, well it should work both ways. As I currently see it – your behaviour was selfish and unkind. I think you should know that.

Moral of the story: if we all considered others - less bumpers would get bumped.
Moral of the story two: to lighten all dark sides employ a dog with worms.
Moral of the story three: don’t eat pizza if you want to be thin, don’t park where people can block you in and don’t eat your dinner (especially spaghetti) in plain view of a dog with worms!



Monday 18 April 2011

SATURDAY NIGHT BOTTOM MESMERISATION AND DAD DANCING!

Saturday night, hypnotic buttock motion and the role of dad dancing to impress women.
Saturday night, as with all Saturday nights, is the opportunity to venture into the human alcohol imbued jungle. It is the prime time to watch the mating techniques of numerous inebriated human animals. Large gestures, exaggerated hip motions and puffed out chests are just a few of the techniques used to attract attention. One of the major techniques in Bournemouth is ridiculous fancy dress outfits. When I say fancy dress I do not mean a ‘fancy’ dress as in a nice evening dress. Instead large groups of men (the stag night) can be witness dressed as babies, large items of fruit or super heroes. These are directly proportionate to hen parties who are dressed as policewomen, nurses or pirates. There are obviously variations on these themes but the women wear items that are revealing, a bit rude and are suggestive. In the opposite faction the men dress as fruit. I have not determined the ultimate psychology behind this, but essentially the men go for phallic / heroes. And the women go for ‘have some of this big boy!”
With all the above in mind, Saturday night is the prime opportunity to take part in a human safari. It is dangerous, there are conflicts and there are passing outs in the street. Survival of the fittest is demonstrated by the winning Alpha male escorting the most attractive female in the direction of a taxi. Of course there are those who are unsuccessful in the mating escapades. The women are often found collapsed in piles outside bars with opportunist men attempting to prize them off the pavement. Alternatively you find those who resort to stuffing chips and kebabs in their faces with far too much Chilly sauce as a consolidation prize.

So this brings me to the dance floor. The dance floor is the prime place for demonstration of sexual prowess. With low lights, alcohol and loud music this is the prime place to appear attractive without actually being attractive. The constant flashing of lights and intoxication evolves beyond beer goggles into cocktail glasses! No one has to talk; they just need to demonstrate their sexual prowess by dancing.
In terms of dance, or that which is defined as dance, - the pointing at of genitalia, waving at genitalia or simulating certain motions with your best friend or any passer-by who is not offended by the randy-dog leg grabbing technique appears in abundance. On this particular evening a group of stags, wearing baby attire, were in full testicular swing. Dad dancing extraordinaire was being demonstrated in all directions and genitalia thrusting filled the dance floor. As the evening hotted up, the men attempted to out thrust each other until two blondes arrived on the dance floor. That was when things became interesting and best friends stopped being best friends and survival of the fittest/alpha-malism competition was on!
The two blondes, wearing their best animal patterned dresses, rotated their hips and hypnotised. The men did not stand a chance. In that moment I understood that the word hypnotism may have originated from such hip motion because it was actually hypnotic (Hip – notic)
My fellow safari observer, who was male, was transfixed by the motion too.
“Does that mesmerize?” I asked turning to him.
The answer was obvious; his eyes were fixed on the ‘said’ bottom. He could barely speak and his head motioned in exactly way as the hypnotic bottom. Her motion reminded me of a cobra and how it subtly motioned until its prey was completely dazed and then it would attack. Strangely my fellow safari observer could hardly string a sentence together either. In the meantime, I considered how the application of the sound of jungle drums to would work well accompany the blonde bottom undulation.
“It is really interesting… “ he finally said choking on his words. “I never realised a bottom actually hypnotised,” he said. It is really nice to watch…” he said dreamily.
It was then that the competition increased. A group of hens arrived in the arena dressed as police women. They carried truncheons and handcuffs. The invasion changed the dynamic of the room and the men scattered and were confused. Rather than just focus on the blondes they thought they could go for all of them and work by numbers. That never works and men never really seem to learn that.
As soon as the competition arrived, the animal pattern wearing blondes increased their rate of bottom mesmerisation. The men increased their thrusting but the hens were accosting the thrusting men. It was like the Serengeti crossing. All manner of species were diving into the water and some of them were going to be picked off by the alligators. The men were scattered, there was no group dynamic or strategy. It was carnage. The men were confused which did they go for? Did they accept the easy pickings in terms of hen party versus the prize of the hypnotic bottom owners? The competition was rife. Hen’s versus the cobras. The men could not think because the blood had been dispersed between the two brains and all they could do is thrust their parts. It was genitila testicular war!
Of course, the blondes had a strategy. As soon as the men were distracted, they pulled out the ultimate male-attention attracting card. They danced closely with each other and kissed each other on the cheek. It was at that moment a ‘matrix’-like moment took place. All the men froze, the hens features distorted, they had been out-alpha-femaled… The male attention had shifted and the hens were now desperate. And what happened? It was a fraught moment and the hens had to get the attention back. The hens glanced at each other and to their leader. Someone had to do something and do it quickly. They could not repeat what the blondes were doing so there was one thing for it. The leader of the hens lifted her top and showed off a pair of massive bazookas. Bang! The men did not know where to look. Two brains not enough blood. Two eyes not enough vision. Mental overload took place and the men folded. They reverted to what they knew and all adopted their worst dad dancing. No one was impressed and the blondes left the dance floor.
Later that evening my fellow safari observer and I walked past a number of kebab shops. The stag night were in there stuffing consolidation. The blondes were being escorted to taxis by two very masculine opportunist and the hen night were in a pile outside the bar laughing hysterically. Men were attempting to help them up and legs were flaying.
Moral of the story: if you are a man focus on one woman and go for it. Scattering your mind will scatter your options which will result in your evening ending in chips and kebab.
Moral of the story two – hypnotising the room with the bottom can only be achieved successfully if there is not hen-like competition. Too much bottom mesmerisation results in dad dancing. It is the default for the drunken male.
Moral of the story three – do not dad dance even if your instinct drives you to. Do not thrust your pelvis at your friends to gain attention. I suggest you spot potential bottom mesmerisers early on and make your move before the rest of them room are transfixed by an undulating bottom.

NOTE: My fellow safari observer mentioned something very profound which may well provided insight. When a person is drunk and talks to someone sober, the sober person never understands. Yet when two drunken people talk to each other – they always understand! The language of inebriation seems to be exclusive to those who are wasted.



Friday 15 April 2011

TWO BRAINS - NOT ENOUGH BLOOD AND THE WORLD OF WOMAN THROUGH MALE EYES!

So how often do you receive a phone call asking how obvious you are on a scale of one to ten?
I would guess not very often, well I have just had a call from the mail room asking me that very question. ‘Are you a blonde or a brunette,’ he asked.
‘Neither, I am red,’
‘Ah fiery then… Good I like fiery ones…’he replied.
Apparently I came off the phone looking rather confused and the men in the close vicinity were studying my expression and pointed out that I was blushing.
‘So what is making you pull that face?’ they asked.
‘On the scale of 1-10 how obvious are you?’
For a while there was silence. The general consensus of opinion was that most people in the office were about a five. So why was I nominated an eight?
A few minutes later, our trusty mail man turned up with my book delivery… Yes I have my books delivered to my desk – how luxury is that? In truth I have every delivered to the office because I can’t take the delivery at home.
“Ah a fiery one…” said the mail man.
I shook my head, “I’m not fiery…”
“Is she fiery?” he asked my male colleagues.
Both nodded, “really fiery!”
“I knew it!” he said.
Thanks!
Anyway, whilst rummaging under the desk I heard a chap say ‘boobs,’ under his breath. There was an elongated silence and all the men in the vicinity stopped typing, breathing or making random comments. It was eerie to say the least, so I popped up and looked around. The mesmerised look of a man who had been hypnotised was the only way I could describe the facial expressions of all the men in close proximity. In that moment I was struck by a bolt of inspirational lightening and it was then that I identified ‘the male compulsive blurt. ‘‘Sorry?’
‘Boobs,’ he said with a whisper and a nod in a certain direction. Admittedly there was a pair jiggling past in too looser bra. Two angry ferrets in sacks wrestled and were intent on escape.
I turned to my other male colleague who was smiling and had a similar expression on his face.
‘Busted!’
It was then I was provided with an insight into the male office view. So it seems that whenever any woman walks into the room the men have a tendency to imagine her in the way that nature intended.
“So what every woman who comes into the room - you know… You imagine?”
The pair smiled a very knowing male smile.
“That is a male secret. We have disclosed something very precious to you. You are now an honory bloke!’
Great!
“So what all women?”
“All women except those that are ugly or over sixty,” said the office cheeky.
“Really?”
“Actually all women…”
I studied them both and the pair grinned as a couple of women walked through the office carrying coffee. In that moment, I glimpsed the world through their eyes…
“So what about the blurt? Is it kind of like when you say something before you mind filters it.”
The pair shook their heads.
“That is just women who do that,” came the response.
“Okay then… Can you justify that?”
“Men think before they speak, but the blurt is different. It is a male reflex action that enables other men to know there is potential visual absorption in the area, just in case they miss the display. Look at it kind of like a call. In fact it is a natural tribal instinc - you would not want your friends to miss out on the potential sight.”
“What like when women go to the loo together?”
The men shook their heads, I was obviously a woman and still could not step into the mind of a man – even if I had been privilege to become the honorary bloke.
“So meetings…”
“Let me just say if you walk into a room full of men you are not likely to wow them with intelligence. We are men and we are visual – you should know that!
I glanced at them both and suddenly it all made sense. I call it the two brains not enough blood syndrome. Obviously there is only a certain amount of blood in a man’s body and when any type of twitching occurs in the nether regions, the blood slips from his cerebral cortex to the alternative location for thought.
“This kind of thought only comes with the male appendage. Think of it like the appendage being the hard-wear and the blurt, in terms of boosooka recognition, is the software…”
I sat for a while brooding about how different the male mind is from a woman’s and came up with a few morals of the story.
Moral of the story: To avoid being envisioned naked at work - wear clothes that contain mirrors.
Second moral of the story: If you don’t want that kind of attention move at great speed erratically flapping your arms.
Third moral of the story: If you want that kind of attention do the can-can as you walk into the office. Or maybe possibly shout ‘here I am boys!’ When doing the can-can make sure you have not left your knickers behind!

Oh and before we go any further I have to share my amazing linguistic discovery. After returning to the office after a run at the gym I noticed a general air of doom. It seemed that room had a grey cloud of Friday afternoon boredom descending upon it. And then it hit me they were all suffering from BOREDOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
That little combination will be milked until the literary cow is dry!opportunity. Are you suffering from boredooooom? I feel a bit of boredooooooooooooom coming on! They mystery of the angry hamster and the office of boredooooooooom! Right that is off my chest now. I feel better.
I have had my escape from mundanity! Hooorah!



FRIDAY BRILLIANCE AND THE ART OF NAKED PROMOTION

If we all live for Friday then surely if we named all days Friday then we could live every day and not just live for the weekend… Sometimes I even astound myself with my own brilliance – how do I share that modestly? Actually there seems to be something wrong with that plan… We would not have a weekend and would just work seven days a week. Okay so I take it back – not quite so brilliant but the thought was there… So what about the endless Saturday? Hmmm… but then how would we afford the weekend if we did not have week days? My goodness I am actually glad for the week days because the weekend is a celebration of not working… Okay I feel better now. Although there should be a bit of daily celebration somewhere within the day… I will think about that…
You know what? I have just decided that celebration should be a necessary part of the day. At a certain point each day it would be lovely to do a little dance to celebrate being alive and the wonders of ‘the self’. Obviously I am not suggesting do the hokey cokey or the Macarena (how does one spell that word?) but a minimalist celebratory dance to remember that we exist and that life is good… Seventies staying alive dancing at the desk is a pure celebratory move. Body popping would be for the office show off and pole dancing for the office strumpet. The office bore would probably do dad dancing and the office little and cute would just do a cute little dance and everyone’s heart would warm. Those pigeons would probably start mating again… (if you are wondering what I am talking about this is in office little and cute posting.)
So today, it is Friday and I am excited… I am always quite excited but this time next week I am off on me holidays… In the meantime, I have team mates making suggestions on how to promote my books. So the general consensus of opinion, from the male contingency, comes down to nudity… Why does it always come down to being naked? They kindly came up with the Demi Moore cross legged pose with my books cleverly positioned. Why do they keep suggesting that I should be naked… Maybe we should have a nudist office… Oh how awful would that be? I suggest looking around the room and imagining that… Of course there would be issues. We would probably get pubes on the photo-copier and then we would have to bring little hankies so as not to make a mess or dirty the office furniture.
Anyway the boys are off on one… “Michelle the fact of the matter is nakedness sells!”
“So how will that sell a children’s book?” I asked.
The men grinned at me and told me that the dad’s would buy it and read it to their children…. They have an answer for everything. Me being me decided to throw a blow-up cat amongst the male pigeons… “So which of you would be willing to do that? You know pose naked with my books? Since we live in a world of equal opportunity....”
The men looked at each other with horror. “No… We were meaning you…”
“Oh really, well as we are all grown-ups and as you told me that nakedness sells – then your nakedness should equally sell.”
I watched three men go pale and almost retch when they glanced at each other and the thought of their hairy bodies being put on a billboard- suddenly it was not so appealing! The men being men then began to nominate the potential totty who would make a good naked poster… Bless them. Fantasy is a major part of their day… So around the office the general question was ‘would you pose naked to promote Michelle’s book?' Interestingly both the office strumpet and the office desperate (for hide the sausage) were very up for it – plus a few older randoms offered their lacking clothes services. So in the world of fantasy we now have a line of office workers posing naked with books arranged over naughty body parts. Since I used to work as a professional photographer I have been nominated to create the ‘imaginary’ image. Now, just to take this a little bit further I set a diary meeting… Title – naked picture for Michelle’s book promotion… At this point fear appeared in the numerous ‘oh I am up for it’ bunch and strangely none of them actually wanted to be photographed. It was all just naked book bravado…
So today it is a case of back to the book promotion drawing board… Oh and of course the men have come up with another naked idea – let’s get me riding a horse with my hair over said naked parts with my books as a bra… Lady book Godiva… What is it with men?