We waited with growing anxiety as the screams of terrified women rolling down the hill punctuated the otherwise peaceful countryside. Eventually our turn was upon us and with running dives we plummeted into the sphere’s soggy depths. We sat, arms entwined as instructed, at the top of the hill as we waited for the area before us to be clear.

It was at that moment that he turned to me and stumbled onto one knee (as best you can in a ball too small to stand in) and asked if I would spend my life with him as his wife.

I said yes.

And then rolled swiftly down the hill! I was drenched but grinning from ear to ear as I freed myself from its plastic cage.

Sunday passed swiftly by; the smile plastered to my face as I was congratulated a million and one times (or so it seemed!). But it was not until I returned home that the next surprise would find me.

A friend of mine had sent a link with a potential writing job to me. I sent in my application expecting, as usual, to hear nothing for weeks, or potentially some polite but heartbreaking dismissal. Instead I was asked to complete an online form and within an hour of the first email response had been allocated my very first paid writing job!

All in all it was something of an unexpected and certainly exciting weekend! Here’s hoping the rest of the week continues in the same way.

… Is through his stomach; or so we are led to believe! Tonight I am cooking for three men so perhaps I will ask them whether any strong feelings of endearment have been established through the creation of pasta with pesto.

It has been a startling revelation to me in the last few months that I actually enjoy cooking. Throughout childhood and University life it always seemed some elusive talent that I would never be able to grasp. It was not until I flew the nest and settled into my own place that I thought it would make sense to learn to prepare more than beans on toast, or cheese on toast, in fact most things with toast. I’d definitely mastered the art of toast.

Warily at first I searched the Internet for simple recipes to follow. I experimented with pasta, with rice and with potatoes. I sampled chicken, pork and tuna fish cooked in a variety of fashions. I even bought myself some spices!

In no time at all I’d started to modify recipes to suit the ingredients that I had lying around in my flat. I even began to create recipes from scratch! Me! The person who had spent her entire time at University trying to exchange a lift to a lecture for a nicely prepared meal!

Unfortunately the problem lately has been a lack of time rather than a desire to experiment in the kitchen. I’ve found that to prepare something delicious I need an hour or more. An hour or more in my day is almost impossible to find and so I find myself lapsing back into microwave meals, oven chips and Dominos pizza.

That is why on my day off, a day taken out of my meagre holiday allowance, I have been quite content to spend my time chopping onions, peppers and mushrooms to create something truly scrumptious.

Bon appétit!

My Alfa Romeo has given up its pretence of reliability and started flashing its engine warning light at me.

There are no car designers quite like the Italians. Seeing my car in the car park from a distance still brings a smile to my face as I look on its sleek design and stunning styling. In fact I was once told that the creators of the Alfa Romeo were so focused on the appearance of the car that they forgot to leave space for the license plate (hence its obscure positioning to one side of the front of the car).

I’ve never met a person who doesn’t find an Alfa Romeo attractive. I’ve never pulled up to the office in a new car and had people take the trek down two flights of stairs to simply look at it, except in my Alfa. I’ve never had quite such a girlish grin as when I’ve been able to throw my car around a roundabout and feel it glued to the road.

Why is it that the people who can make a car that is essentially a work of art, while still being exciting to drive, can’t master the age old technique of reliability that the somewhat less thrilling but more practical car manufactures cracked years ago?

I’ve faced the dramatic splitting of an air-conditioning pipe, the slow and steady failure of many of the ‘non-essential’ electrics like the windows, and now this; apparently the throttle response sensor has given up on life.

This latest issue can’t be remedied at a normal garage, so I must take it to an Alfa Romeo dealership to be charged extortionate rates for its repair. I’ve started to tense every time I hear the slightest, unusual sound from my car for fear of more of my money spilling away with the most obscure faults.

But it is worth it.

It’s worth it all for those brief few moments when everything is functioning as it should be and a windy road is looming ahead of you.

It’s worth it for the looks you receive with the windows down, the speakers up and the car gleaming in the sunlight.

It’s even worth it for the ‘personality’ of the car that can only be associated with that infamous name of Alfa Romeo.

I would encourage anyone to think carefully before purchasing something that could well be the predominant factor in their filing for bankruptcy before the year’s end. Something that will inevitably frustrate and bemuse them. But when it comes down to it there is nothing quite like the experience of owning your own temperamental and loveable steed.

I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

At least not until I can afford my BMW M3…

I recently spoke to a writer friend of mine who suggested that I spend just one hour everyday writing. He insisted that if I am not able to carve just one hour of my day each day to dedicate solely to that pursuit then I would never be able to attain it.

This started me thinking about the way that I structure my days. In general I will begin a day thinking “today I will write for a bit, I will go to work, I will eat and I will sleep. Maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll have time to curl up on the sofa for a few minutes with a good book.” I’m beginning to think that this thought pattern is not the best way to squeeze what efficiency I can out of my day.

When speaking to a happily married couple a few nights ago I queried how they are able to find time together when they both have such busy and hectic lives. They informed me with a smile that they will specifically timetable time into their schedules to enjoy each others company.

I don’t believe that living by a rigid schedule in everything that you do is overly healthy. But perhaps a little more structure can increase productivity and success. From now on I shall spend one hour a day (at least) writing and I shall spend one hour a day (at least) relaxing.

These two hours will help me to increase productivity by giving me the chance to unwind, and the discipline to write when it seems there are not enough minutes in the day.

I hope I’ll never get an opportunity to put any of this new knowledge into action; though I do wonder how I would cope were I in a real situation. I’ve always been somewhat squeamish after all. If, a year down the line, I encounter someone on the ground before me whose life hangs in the balance would I know what to do?

Who can say?

At least I have the head knowledge to give me a good chance.

For anyone unfortunate enough to be in such a situation there are three very good practices that can be applied:

Be Safe

Injuring yourself will not help the situation. Although it may seem that the most important thing to do is to get to the injured party you must first check for anything that might endanger you or them. Remove anything you might trip over and anything sharp as your first priority to enable you to assess the situation appropriately.

Stay Calm

Some situations are not nice to walk in on; the tendency can be to panic. Conquering this initial reflex and keeping yourself calm could, one day, mean the difference between life and death. Take a few seconds to inhale deeply to clear your mind before assessing the situation.

Get Help

If you don’t know how to help the person yourself you absolutely must get help for them. Although it might be awful leaving the person where they are it will be worse for them if no help is coming. In these days of mobile phones help is generally closer than it used to be, but you need to take the time to make that call.

These three simple things will give the casualty the best chance of recovery, or even survival. If you forget every piece of knowledge that you’ve ever known about first aid, these three things will still help you to make a difference in a dangerous situation.

As I was being driven by the significant other in my life a few months ago he played a specific song for me. It was called ‘Won’t Stop’ by the band One Republic.

I looked across at him as I listened to the lyrics and knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was the one for me.

Now I’m not a person who believes in ’soul mates’. I don’t really believe that there’s one perfect person for everyone. Every relationship needs work to make it successful; no matter how good a match you are with the person you’ve found. Having said that it’s strange how many people have asked me how it feels to have discovered my ’soul mate’.

Within a week of that first night of easy conversation and hearty laughter I was aware that I’d never felt anything quite like what I was experiencing. I’d dated plenty of people and I knew that he’d loved before. But this was something different.

“I swear it’s you that my heart beats for.”

You don’t need to know me for long to realise that I’m what could be described as an independent woman. I moved to a city on my own for a high-profile and well-paid job despite not knowing a single person. I live in my own apartment; I pay my own way. If there is something that I desire then I work hard to attain it.

So why is it that I’m sitting cross-legged on my couch as I write this with this song on repeat and wishing that he was here? Why is that I feel that I’m missing a limb if he’s not with me? Why is it that I only have to see a picture of him to feel a smile creeping across my lips?

I don’t doubt that we will face countless problems as our lives progress on their entwined paths. I know that at times it will seem difficult; that we’ll inevitably annoy each other and have fights. But I know that we will make it. Call that what you will; the wistful dream of a twenty-two year old in a world riddled with divorce and broken homes. But I know that if love can soften this heart of stone then it can overcome whatever life may throw at it.

I’ll be honest; when I set this blog up a month ago I didn’t really know a lot about blogging. As such justlife has become something of a hodgepodge of topics thrown together. Almost a journal, but not quite. I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with that and I shall continue to post useful titbits of advice and information, as well as potentially entertaining snippets of my life.

Now that I’ve done a lot more research on the topic of blogs and their content I plan to set up one or two independent sites on particular niche topics. A blog is not a lot of use without an audience. To get an audience I need to select topics that people will actually be interested in; and therein lies the question. How can I decide what will be a compelling topic for my blog?

Research

Selecting a topic for my blog on which there are already hundreds of very good blogs will not make a lot of sense. To generate traffic to my chosen subject my page will ideally need to be on the first page of a Google search; this will be impossible if there is a lot of competition.

There is also no point in creating a blog to cover a gap in the market if there is no market in the gap. You might find a topic that no one else has blogged about, but if only ten people will ever be interested in the content is it really worth it?

So I’m looking for the following in my topic selection:

• Low competition;
• Lots of Google searches;
• Ideally something that is of interest to me / that I know something about.

Google Keywords

Google offers a powerful tool which enables you to enter a keyword and see statistics about it. These statistics include advertiser competition and local search volume. As this tool is linked with Google’s adwords you can also add fields to the search such as average CPC (cost per click) for a given keyword set.

As an example I have entered “weight loss” into the keyword search to see what results this produces.

These figures show that a lot of people search for topics pertaining to weight loss in Google. However they also show that there is a lot of competition in this market. It might be possible to build up a blog that receives some views but getting enough traffic to make it worthwhile could be very difficult.

It’s going to take me some time to come up with a topic with high enough demand but low enough competition to make an effective blog. But I am well aware that investing this time initially, before I begin to ‘blog for real’, will help in the long run. There is nothing more depressing than investing a lot of time to generate high quality content for a site that no one will ever view.

Remember that I updated this blog every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you want to follow my journey as I step into the realm of monetizing and creating captivating content for my blog please keep checking back. I may post on other topics but I will be sure to continue this to completion; even if it is with the eventual admission that I haven’t been able to make an impact with my chosen topic.

One thing that I’ve discovered is that the more that I press my snooze button in the mornings, the less productive I will be during the day. Logically it seems that the opposite should be true; if I’m getting a few minutes more sleep surely my brain should be more refreshed and ready for the day? Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to work like that!

I’ve found that following the few steps below vastly improves my productivity for the day. Perhaps they will work for you too:

Resist the snooze button 

I know it’s tempting. There have been days when I’ve snoozed my alarm clock for over half an hour to avoid the inevitable. One thing that I have discovered is that it really doesn’t make a lot of difference. If I’m tired before I hit the snooze button I will still be tired after that brief ten minute interlude before dragging myself out of the bed.

Snoozing is a habit and, as such, it takes a while to break. I found that allowing myself only one snooze initially helped me to work my way toward not using it at all.

Always use an alarm clock 

Routine is good for you. If your body gets used to being awake at the same time each day then it will not be so hard for you to get out of bed. As much as it pains me I’ve even taken to waking up at the same time as weekdays on weekends to help me to get everything I need to get done completed. It might be harder but I do feel more productive every day than I used to.

Place your alarm clock away from your bed 

This isn’t possible in every situation; you may sleep in the room with someone who wouldn’t be best pleased if it took you a minute to stumble out of bed, find the alarm and turn it off. If you are able to place your alarm clock somewhere that will force you to get out of bed to silence it then you will find that you are less tempted to go back to sleep afterward; setting yourself up nicely for a productive day.

Go to bed when you’re tired 

Everyone needs a different amount of sleep. We’re all completely unique so a routine that works for me may not work well for you. The best strategy is to wake up at the same time each day but to go to bed when you’re tired. Obviously this isn’t always a possibility; I wouldn’t expect you to stand up in the middle of a dinner party and announce to your guests that they need to leave because it’s past your bed time. However trying to get to bed at a time that suits your sleep requirements is possibly the most important thing to do in your quest to get out of bed in the mornings. A good nights sleep will make you less inclined to be groggy when you wake up.

There are many other tips and tricks to help you to get out of bed in a way that will increase your productivity in the mornings, but this list is a great place to start.

 

An awed hush falls over the cinema as the lights dim. The audience collectively hold their breath; waiting with eager anticipation for the beginning of a potentially epic voyage. As the Star Trek title spills onto the screen you would be hard pressed to find a face without an eager grin and a twinkle in the eye as the 126 minute adventure begins.

Whether you’ve loved Star Trek since you were young or if you’ve never seen an episode in your life, I would argue that you would still enjoy this film. Director J.J. Abrams has added the usual excitement and flair that characterises his creations. This combined with an excellent script, some wonderful acting and an appropriate level of humour considering the movie’s heritage, makes for a film that is definitely worth seeing.

The 2009 Star Trek movie follows the journey of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) as he turns from a young rapscallion into the Star Fleet captain that we all know and love. As the film progresses more characters from the original series of Star Trek are introduced, including Zachary Quinto as Spock. Despite having a hard time seeing the poor chap as anything other than Sylar from Heroes, he did play the role exceptionally well.

With dramatic and daring deeds aplenty by the crew of the USS Enterprise there is never a dull moment in this movie. From the playboy antics of the young Jim Kirk, to a deeper romantic angle involving Spock of all people, there comes an emotional side to the film; bringing it deeper than just a few laser battles.

Although the most diehard of trekkies may find some inconsistencies with the original series; I am sure that even they will praise the merits of this movie. Star Trek has truly been taken into the twenty-first century with fantastic computer graphics, a believable looking USS Enterprise, and an assortment of gadgets.

This is truly the year of sci-fi; with the second Transformers movie on the horizon and other titles such as X-Men Origins: Wolverine storming onto the screen. However all of these films are going to have a lot to live up to with the standard set by Star Trek. Will they be as successful? Only time, and box office ratings, will tell…