Successful Dining
Posted: Sat 30 May, 2015 Filed under: Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Food, Getting Organised, Introspective, Single Life, Solo Dining Leave a comment »One of my things this year was to get myself being better at going out to restaurants on my own – something I’ve never been keen on, and one of my weaker points when it comes to being single.
So I’d made it a goal – a resolution, if you will – to go out and eat more in places on my own.
Thus far, it’s actually been remarkably successful (He said, modestly) and I’ve been really pleased, if I’m honest.
As well as the ‘proper restaurants’ I’ve been to – Grillstock in Bath, Kitchin in Edinburgh, Meat Liquor in Brighton, and a couple of others – I’ve also been doing the same sort of thing when I work on-site on Mondays. That’s more pub-restaurant than anything else, but it still applies to the ethos. Basically, when I’m on-site and it comes to getting home, I can choose to sit in solid traffic for two hours and more, or I can wait in the pub, have some food, and then drive home in 50 minutes. Really, that’s a no brainer.
All told, I’m getting used to it, it’s not something that causes me a problem per se any more – and that rates as a success in my eyes.
There’s still more places to go, more restaurants on the list, and it’s all good.
Single Life
Posted: Wed 20 May, 2015 Filed under: Domestic, Single Life, Writing Leave a comment »Just a small filler post for the moment – others in the process of being conceived/written – but it’s something I’ve been bouncing round in my head for a while, so what the hell.
This piece in Standard Magazine by Helen Walmsley-Johnson on Single Life sums up so much of what’s in my own head and heart, I just wanted to bookmark it here.
Another Visit to Brighton
Posted: Tue 12 May, 2015 Filed under: Day Trips, Domestic, Driving, Food, Single Life, Solo Dining, Travel Leave a comment »On Sunday, I did another day-trip down to Brighton. I’d known I wanted to go somewhere coastal, and it was really a toss-up between Brighton and Whitstable (although I could also have chosen Somewhere Else, but couldn’t decide where I wanted to go) as both were known quantities, and a dead easy two-hour drive to get to them. There’s only about five miles of driving distance between them, so it really was a toss-up.
It was also somewhat dependent on my insomnia – if I’d had the rare event of actually sleeping well/late, I wouldn’t have bothered, and would’ve done something else instead. But as I was awake by 5.30 – thanks body-clock, you bastard – then the day-trip was Go.
Anyway, for whatever reason – and I’m not completely sure myself what the deciding factor was, other than “Fuck it, that’ll do” – I ended up opting for Brighton. It’s still not somewhere I know super-well, although I’m familiar enough with it that I’ve a rough idea of where I’m going and what I’m doing.
So – a two-hour easy drive down, and I was there by 9am, when it’s still nice and empty. I ended up walking a large section of the seafront, hindered only by a number of joggers, runners and cyclists. (Although it’s always amusing when I’m walking and overtaking joggers – they really don’t like it)
Yes, the weather was that changeable…
The weather was pretty good – although changeable – and despite dollops of cloud and greying over, it was still warm and sunny for the most part. I’d walked a lot of seafront, and ended up finding somewhere slightly sheltered – it was also quite breezy – to vegetate and read for a while. Sadly, I’d chosen a place that seemed to be on a main walking route for people from the Marina end of Brighton, with a constant stream of people saying “Oh, is that a mile already?” (thanks to a sign on the esplanade) and commenting about the weird Gaudi-esque construction that was on the beach in front of me. So after a while I decided to wander back towards the car, and probably stop for lunch along the way.
Cue a bit of a furkle on the phone, and oooooh, look, there’s a MeatLiquor. That’ll do as a target!
And that’s what happened.
Now that’s a lunch
Wandered round a bit more afterwards, and then another drive home – managing to avoid all the people getting up later, who’d decided to spend the remains of their day by the sea.
All told, a very successful day.
The next day-trip will be somewhere different, although I don’t yet know where/when. But they’re certainly being good for the soul…
Three Years In One Place
Posted: Tue 5 May, 2015 Filed under: Day Trips, Domestic, Getting Old(er), Getting Organised, Introspective, Single Life, Thoughts, Time, Travel Leave a comment »It’s now three years since I moved into the current house – which also means I’ve been single that long. How time flies, and all that rot.
I’m definitely still here for another six months (that’s when the current tenancy expires) and I’m still undecided on what I do from there.
I suspect I’ll stick with it for another year’s tenancy, to be honest – unless anything in life changes radically in that period. That’s quite scary in some ways, it’s almost like I’m feeling more settled and (almost) putting down some roots.
That’s not the case though – the current place isn’t where I want to stay longer-term, but at the moment it’s just convenient, and – as I’ve said before – makes travelling easy to just about anywhere else.
Solo – Company and Companionship
Posted: Tue 30 December, 2014 Filed under: Animals, Domestic, Single Life Leave a comment »Following on from the post about “Alone vs Lonely“, I’d potentially feel very different about things if it weren’t for the two cats I’ve got. Yes, they annoy me intensely on occasion, but it’s still other creatures that (for the most part) like having you come home. OK, they’re cats- so it’s more about just providing food for them and so on- and they’re hugely independent at the best of times but it’s still some company in the house, rather than it being completely empty except for me.
In a similar way – and I’ve said about it before – it makes life better to have a couple of room lights on a time switch so I don’t come home to a darkened house.
Without those things, I suspect I’d be a lot less comfortable with my current situation.
In an ideal world, I’d still go back to having a dog as well. However, I still know it wouldn’t be fair to do so until life’s more settled. If I could sort things out enough to know I was working from home for a long time – or even knowing what the routine would be for a decent period of time – then I’d consider it, but it’s not looking likely for a while.
Of course, it would take a lot of changes, a lot of organisation, and a lot of settling-in for the cats to handle a new addition. I think it’s not something that’ll happen for a while – for some things, life’s too short – but it’s on the list of things I’d like to do if I get the chance.
Solo – Alone vs. Lonely
Posted: Sat 27 December, 2014 Filed under: Domestic, Introspective, People, Single Life, Thoughts 1 Comment »While working from home over the last couple of months – and particularly with relation to the Festering Season – I’ve noticed a lot of media stuff about statistics and reports showing that more people feel ‘lonely’ now, and don’t know how to deal with it. (Aside from the obvious answer of “Get out more”)
Anyway, it all made me think about how I am with all this being-single stuff, along with being too self-reliant for my own good.
Since leaving school, I’ve been single for more years than I’ve been in ‘proper’ relationships – eleven years of relationships vs. nearly fifteen of singledom. (Which also means that score was actually on level-pegging when my last one finished, but I digress) However, I’ve never truly felt lonely while I’ve been single. I have when in a relationship – in more than one, and on more than one occasion – but never when I’m single.
I suspect it’s not necessarily a good thing to be far more comfortable with “Alone” – it leaves me with little desire to look for anyone new (although that’s another part of my thought processes at present, and another piece of writing to come) and so on. I’m alone, but content with that.
As has been obvious, I do get out plenty, and socialise with friends a fair amount – and I’ll be doing more of both in the new year, as written about previously – but the fact remains, I’m comfortable with my own time and space. I’m not averse to changing and sharing that time/space with the right person, but I honestly don’t see it happening any time soon.
And that’s equally fine with me.
Solo – Holidays
Posted: Mon 22 December, 2014 Filed under: Bankruptcy, Domestic, Driving, Getting Organised, Introspective, Single Life, Thoughts, Travel Leave a comment »As has been observed on here many times, I’m shit at taking holidays – and time-off in general, really. This isn’t something that’s related to the bankruptcy etc. (although it’s made it even less easy to do over the last couple of years) as much as it’s related to being a contractor, and to being chronically disorganised. And of course, to being single.
As a contractor, you can’t help but realise/recognise that time off on holiday is bloody expensive. It’s not just the cost of whatever you decide to do, it’s also the fact that it’s a week you could be working – and contractors don’t get a leave/holiday entitlement. So effectively it’s even more expensive, because not only are you paying money out for the break, but you’re also aware that it’s a week of money you’re not earning.
Even for someone as non-materialistic as me, that makes it into a significant dollop of money. Made even more so by being a sole wage-earner, and thus entirely self-reliant for finances.
The other side (for me, at least) is the whole thing of being single. I don’t care that I’m going to different places on my own, but it’s more about the simple knowledge that it’s still ‘just me’. I’m fully aware this makes no sense to anyone else – and I’m hard-pushed to explain it in writing – but there we go.
I suppose some of it is that – unless, I guess, one goes to a B&B/Hotel – I’m still doing the cooking for myself, doing what I want, going where I want, and it’s not really all that different to how things are anyway.
I’m aiming to look at all this a bit differently in 2015, and to take off on a couple of breaks, but also to disappear off for weekends etc. One of those is already organised – a break to Edinburgh in mid-April, when the next contract finishes. It’s ‘only’ a weekend, but will also involve a couple of other things I want to do in the area, and I’m actually really looking forward to it. Plus, of course, being ‘just’ a weekend, it doesn’t lose me any working time, which makes things a lot easier to bear.
I’m looking at some others too – some for new visits to places I know and haven’t seen in a long time, and others for completely new areas/places, which should be fun.