Sometimes in life, you find an opportunity to make a difference in something you care about, and it feels like, even though you didn’t know it at the time, that the last few years have really just been practice, giving you the background, skills and ability to really help. And in a very few circumstances — once or twice in a lifetime if you’re lucky — the opportunity you get to make a difference is one that has a very large, even global impact. My new role with my new company feels like one of those times.

My six word summary - great people, great work, great company. It’s a great opportunity that I’m very excited about, even though it brings my solo practice to a standstill.

The job is great, because it deals mostly with things that I’m familiar with, but still offers great opportunities to learn new things. I get to work from home, and enjoy being able to control my enviornment. Sometimes I work better with music, sometimes I work better in silence. Either way, it benefits everyone.

As usual, I won’t discuss the company I am working for or divulge any detailed information, as I have not discussed this with my colleagues, but I can safely say that we do ground-breaking beautiful work, and I will be proud to be part of their successes.

A commonly-asked question: will there be changes to this blog and website?

Certainly - at a minimum, I have some updating to do and I’m getting started on that. I’m still sorting that out and also taking the opportunity to assess what directions I want to go with the blog. I’m guessing that I’ll focus to an even greater degree on tech topics and areas of personal interest. I might even take this opportunity to help The Mister start a (productive) blog.

How is my personal life? I have felt more loved in the last week that I have felt in a very long time, and I have really been enjoying life and all it has to offer.

I’d enjoy hearing from readers with their suggestions of how I might refocus the blog a bit - comment on this post or email me at geneva.fox@gmail.com.

Over the past couple weeks, I have been stressed to say the least.

Being unemployed means watching every penny very very carefully, and moving house makes it all that much more important.

I sold my wedding rings to go and see Hull City move into the Premier League, and it was worth every penny. The entire trip was amazing, and seeing so many people united throughout the city has been a truly spectacular thing.

Last week, I had my debit card stolen, and some chavvy fucker thought it would be cool to go on an internet shopping spree. He even had the cheek to tell the shops that he was my son, and was being sent to Iraq the following week with the military, and everything must be shipped quickly. The idiot had everything sent to his home address, and even ordered Sky Satellite tv and paid his phone and internet bill using my card. After a few phone calls, it’s pretty certain that not only were these things cut off, he won’t be able to get internet again because he used their lines to commit crimes, and seeing as we only have one internet company here, he’s screwed himself.

The good news is that I will get my money back and he will get criminally charged (made another statement at the police department today) but the bad news is that it will take at least 2 weeks to get my money back - money that I need to pay bills and buy food.

Luckily my new landlord has been very understanding, and my mates have tried to help as much as they can. My mom loaned me the money for the deposit on my new place. Louise is even helping me move to make sure that I am okay - what an angel. Paddy has been kind enough to send me some cash as a birthday preset, and I cannot thank him enough. The Mr’s brother is helping me move so I don’t have to pay for a van, and the Mr himself has been very supportive throughout all of this.

It’s hard times like these that make you really see how wonderful people can be, and how much emphasis we put on shit that just doesn’t matter. I tell ya, I have become a much more frugal shopper!

I have had a very hard time sleeping, and have resulted in taking diazepam (valium) at night, but it only seems to work for a few hours, and once its worn off, I am up and alert all over again (it is helping me with the anxiety, so I will discuss this with my doctor as well). Tonight I intend on trying wine instead.

I plan on seeing my doc next week to see what she can offer me because 2-3 hours of sleep, if I am lucky, a night is screwing up my life. I am weary about Ambien, especially after my mum’s sleep eating and hallucinations while taking it, but would love to hear any of your experiences with sleeping medications and aids.

On the plus side, I have a couple of interviews next week and some potential temporary work. I know it may not be ideal, but I have bills to pay, and am not above doing administrative or accounting or even bar work to get by.

I happen to have a very nasty headache at the moment, which seems to have been triggered by some cheap chocolate. I don’t know if it is because my body doesn’t do sugar too well since my gastric bypass, or if it is just the small amount of cheap chocolate, but I have no intention of repeating this.

The jury is still out on chocolate. Is it evil for migraine sufferers or not?

My ADHD symptoms are really bad at the moment, and I am trying to make sure I take my Concerta first thing in the morning - otherwise I spend the days on tangent after tangent, which isn’t healthy for me or those around me. I keep getting these stupid obsessive thoughts which just make me more stressed, and I need to just let some of this shit go.
I am not the easiest person to live with at the best of times, and I can imagine that the Mr is at his wit’s end.

I continue to lose weight, and hope to buy some more clothes that fit once I am working again - gonna hit the charity shops and will hopefully get some funky finds!

Oh yeah, I had a birthday this week - the big 33. How are you supposed to celebrate these things as you get older? Am I supposed to have a party, barbeque, dinner, drinks, or what?

I would settle for a good night’s sleep…

As someone who has ADD/ADHD, poor impulse control is something that I struggle with on a daily basis, and causes numerous issues with communication.

To add fuel to the fire, people who have ADD/ADHD tend to intterupt conversations, and even change the subject, much to the irritance of those around them.

Here is an example:

A few years ago, I went on a road trip with a friend through the countryside. Since he was doing the driving, I had the opportunity to just sit, enjoy the scenery, and have conversation.

My friend was talking to me about his new job, and issues he was having settling in and worries about his performance - something that was very important to him. In fact, one of the reasons we went on this trip was to discuss the things going on with each other, and me being a passenger would allow me to concentrate on the conversation (nice theory).

Suddenly, I stated “excuse me a moment, did you see that old car over there?”. He said “What are you on about” and gave me an evil look.

I said “I was talking about that car that we passed - did you see it - it was an old American Mustang”.

The next thing I knew, my friend was upset. “Haven’t you been listening to what I was saying?” he asked. “You know how hard it is for me to talk about these things, and now you are not even paying attention. That has really wound me up!”.

I said “Of course I was listening”. Sheesh, what was his problem? After all, I did say excuse me.

But to my mate, it was exactly like I had butted into the conversation. Here he was talking about something very important to him, and since I am a friend who sincerely cares about him, I should not have interuppted while he was telling me about his deepest darkest fears.

Often, people with ADD/ADHD will interupt communication with their friends or partner by saying “excuse me, I don’t mean to interupr the conversation, but…” and then change the subject completly.

To the person with ADD/ADHD, this is perfectly valid. It is not an attempt at being rude, even though it certainly feels that way to those around them.

What is happening is that AT THAT VERY MOMENT is that the ADD/ADHD person gets a thought in their head. They feel a TREMENDOUS amount of pressue to get this thought into the conversation. So they butt in, albeit politely. We sometimes assume that if we ask politely, those around us will not have a problem with this. I have to often remind myself that people do.

What is taking place in the mind of the ADD/ADHD person when this happens?

People with a hyperactive/impulsive ADD/ADHD have a brain that races a million miles a minute. It is constantly rushing from one thought to the next - one of the pluses and drawbacks of having ADD/ADHD.

In conversation, if something is said that sparks another, seemingly unrelated, thought in their mind, THAT thought will catch their attention. But because our minds rush around so fast, we also know that the new thought may only stay in our minds for a split second. We believe that it’s important information to give you even though it may totally be unrelated to what we may be talking about. Fearful that this important thought may be lost forever in the ever-rushing flood of other thoughts, we blurt out, as politely as we can in the intensity of the moment “excuse me, I don’t mean to change the subject but…” - and in that instant we a re off and running. We are afraid that if we don’t say it THAT INSTANT that it will be gone forever.

All of this makes sense as to why there is so much intensity in our conversations. We do not intend to sabotage other people’s sense of significance, and this is something I personally struggle with.

If you could imagine that you were a “prisoner of the moment” and had something incredibly important to say and had to say it NOW, and you could not, you could start to understand what this is like for some of us.

When people with ADD/ADHD are forced to wait for their turn in conversation, and wait, and wait, and wait, we feel like we are insignificant.

One method that I use to control this behaviour in meetings is to take a notepad and pen and take notes. This way, when one of those wonderful rushing thoughts comes in, I can jot it down and wait for the appropriate time to speak.

I would love to hear about any coping methods that others have in regards to this.

One way that people with ADD/ADHD try to show our partners how much we love them is by finishing their sentences for them. That is a whole other kettle of fish, but I will get around to it - eventually!

The last few weeks have been great, and although I have neglected this blog, I am determined to pull my finger out and write more.

Over the last few months, I have been more and more interested in different sporting events, and have been amazed and bewildered at some of the things I have witnessed.

I am actually surprised at how much I enjoy going to these events, because it is something that I never considered in the past.

I have attended a few football matches that have really gotten me interested in the sport.
It isn’t just the game that fascinates me, but everything that goes along with it, especially the atmosphere.

There is one instance in particular, where someone was giving running commentation, that I cannot fail to mention.

Boxing Day (the day after Christmas), I went to a Hull City game that I will never forget.

We played the Wolverhampton Wanderers, and one of their players happens to be a gypsy - apparently part of his contract states that he has to live in a house. Anyways, some of the guys in front of us were doing a great commentary, and one shouted out “I bet you had roast hedgehog for your Christmas dinner”. It still tickles me to hear this.

I have been happily surprised to also see that a majority of the negative connotations about football are untrue. I have seen very little racism, only a couple of small fights in the away stands, and generally a great love towards fellow team supporters. Sure there is swearing and some taunting, but all in all, I wouldn’t miss a thing. This is definetly a sport you want to encourage the whole family to get involved with - I cannot wait to take Ariel to a game.

A couple of weeks ago we went to see professional darts in Sheffield - what an eye-opening experience!

I expected to get there and see lots of old men smoking pipes and drinking ales, but that misconception couldn’t have been further from reality.

The crowd was a very young, and very chavvy (white trash) clientele. This made it all the more fun, as everyone was relaxed and there to have a good time.

We supported a darts player from Canada called Darth Maple, and took along light sabres to cheer him on with.

We had a great time with these, and the guys in the rows next to us were using them as microphones to sing into when the players made a good score.

And last, but not least, the hockey. We went to yet another game yesterday, and had an absolute laugh!

It was the Hull Stingrays vs the Manchester Phoenix, and man did we annihilate them!

We got to meet the mascot:

Cropper made ordering hotdogs look sexy (too bad they weren’t REAL dogs):

We got to meet some of the Player’s wives (I should go into a rant about the type of person minority sports attract - i.e. obese, socially retarded, LOUD, etc. but I will leave that for another time):

We then got to see a fight:

Went for a drink with the buddies, and then we walked back to my car in the snow:

(check out my new AMAZING bag - thank you honey)

All in all, a great time was had - and although in the past I have slated sport and never understood it, I am really into it now.

One of today’s secrets at PostSecret really touched me (click to open full size):

Wanting to spend time with your partner is wonderful. If you didn’t want to spend time with them, there would be a problem with your relationship. But, a relationship isn’t exciting when you don’t have new things to share with your partner.

When you spend time apart, you are able to come home and tell your partner about your day. But, when you spend every moment together, you have nothing new to share with each other.

You may also notice that the joy of spending every moment with each will begin to wear thin. This is because each partner will enjoy different things.

Yes, you will have common interests, or you wouldn’t be together. But, women may want to watch chick flicks, while men want to restore and old car. The time you spend apart will be rewarding. But, if you don’t spend time apart, you could ruin what you have. To put things simply, you have to be able to have fun on your own before you can begin to enjoy having fun with someone else. Depending on someone else for your happiness is not healthy.

Okay, now that I’ve explained some of the downsides of spending too much time together, let’s move on to what you can gain from spending time apart.

First of all, spending time apart allows you to never take your partner for granted. When you spend time apart, you have time to actually miss your partner. Even if you just work at different jobs, it will be rewarding for your relationship.

When you get home at the end of the day, you will have so much to share with each other. There is an old saying, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” When you spend time apart, you ache for your partner. You long for the next moment that you’ll be together. This is something that can only be achieved through spending time apart.

There are several different ways you can spend time apart. The first thing you should do is work for different companies.

Working together often destroys relationships.

Also, have different hobbies. This doesn’t mean that all of your hobbies should be different, but you should have at least one thing you like to do on your own.

Last, but not least, go out with your friends. People put their friends on the backburner too often when they enter a new relationship. Go out with your friends and enjoy a good movie or a great game. When you get home, spend time with your partner enjoying a nice meal or even a board game.

Just remember, spending time apart does not mean that you don’t love your partner. It simply means that you care about your relationship and making it last. I love my boyfriend more than anything in this world, but we both know the importance of spending time apart. When we cook dinner together, after a long day at work, we have so much to share with each other.

We value this time together and know that it wouldn’t exist if we didn’t spend time apart.

Today, both myself and The Mister went for a walk at lunchtime to relax, unwind, grab a bite to eat, and laugh at the substantial amount of Meffs that seem to be about during the school holidays.

We had the delights of a Subway meal deal lunch - mmmm gherkins and olives. Why I love this combination with ranch dressing I will never know.

I then went into Blue Banana and bought some more really bright red hair colour - of which I will be using tonight, and was served by the campest butch-looking man. Ever. His nametag said Lady M. I bet he likes it rough.

We then bumped into a friend, who happened to have a really cool purpley neck tie on, it reminded me of Quality Street and was very shimmery.

Went to the shops and I bought ANOTHER pair of gloves - I have 4 other pairs, all missing the left glove. Either I am extremly forgetful with gloves, or Michael Jackson is stalking me - again.

I understand there has been sightings of a Michael-Jackson-look-alike, who looks like they have been run over by a fleet of VW Beetles, all around Hull. I haven’t seen this person yet, but I hope to… If you see them, please send me a photo!

As we were walking back to my office in the glorious sunshine, we noticed two terrier dogs tied up outside of WHSmith. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that this dog’s WEINER was poking out.

Yes, you read right, THE DOG’S WEINER WAS POKING OUT.

It sure made me laugh, and generally improved my mood (I have had a dodgy tummy the last few days and it’s left me really fed up).

I predict that Hull City will win the Norwich game tonight 3-1. I also predict that some dodgy fella will attempt to collect other fans in a layby that he has a very unnatural fondness of - perhaps he has some great memories of dogging there?

Les has actually given me a LOLCat update (wtf?) - he likes this one:

Spring has Sprung, the sun is shining, Hull City will win, and the weiners are abound.

Life is good.

I read the following over at tipnut, and totally agree with this philosophy.
I intend on setting myself these goals.

11 Goals To Enhance Your Life This Year

1. Choose One New Thing To Learn: Take a class for something you’ve always wanted to know how to do…knitting, woodworking, embroidery, gourmet cooking, first aid, oil painting, wine making.
2. Eliminate One Negative Distraction: Media gossip capturing too much time from your day? Spending too much time complaining with others? World news haunting you hourly? Cut the negative noise, focus on weeding out one distracting habit at a time.
3. Embrace One Positive Influence: Focus on making room for more time for something positive in your life. Nurturing friendships, seeking uplifting discussion or information, spiritual reflection.
4. Honor Your Family: With your time, laughter, forgiveness, respect, generous acts, support and encouragement…then enjoy what blossoms from that.
5. Nurture Your Home: Determine areas that need improvement–cleaning, baking & cooking, organize. Make pretty the best you can with the resources you have. Appreciate.
6. Develop One Healthier Lifestyle Habit: Exercise, eat better, cut fatty foods and snacks, quit smoking, cut the soda pop, walk more.
7. Stretch Yourself–Do Something Terrifying: Public speaking, belly dance class, volunteer for your political party of choice, fundraise for a good cause.
8. Teach Something: Volunteer to teach a community class, start a blog and share your experience or knowledge, share family recipes, history and traditions with younger family members.
9. Reduce Something: Clutter, debt, overspending, household waste (recycle).
10. Focus On One Area For Increased Independence: Make more instead of buying ready-made (food, gifts), learn how to fix more instead of hiring or purchasing replacement, grow more of your own food–even if it’s just kitchen herbs, work on debt reduction.
11. Stretch Your Generosity: Regularly do something a bit painful that helps someone else–give a co-worker a ride home, offer a helping hand to an elderly neighbor, donate clothing and household items to a struggling family–all with no strings attached.

Some goals you may let go of over time, but some will flourish. The fun is appreciating the journey–and where it leads you to next :).

Just a couple of photos of me in work mode(click to open full-size):

Alot of you have been asking what I have been up to, whats new with me, and when will I be telling you all about it.

Well, as some of you may know, I started a new job last month, one of which is very challenging, but I love it very much. I wouldn’t change a thing.

In regards to my personal life, I have started seeing someone, someone amazing, someone who appreciates me, and most of all, someone I love.

Sure I lust after him, he is gorgeous after all, but this is sooo much deeper, so much more intimate, and has much more longevity.

He makes me laugh, he makes me cry, he makes me want to be a better person.

He made me believe in love at first sight.

He is calm, patient, and keeps me on track.

He makes me feel safe.

I know he’ll never leave me.

He has a creative mind that is always bursting with ideas.

He doesn’t want to sit down and watch life go by.

They way he looks at me makes me melt.

I love this man like no other and he loves me too.

He is the yin to my yang, and I would be lost without him.