Vicky Goes On (Again)

Category: Life

  • Simple Pleasures

    “I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don’t let anybody tell you different” -Kurt Vonnegut

    Life is hard. It’s cold, and bleak, and then you’re dead. But also – it’s fun and full of trees, and friends, and laughter, and the dappled sunlight through branches on a summer’s day. It’s full of depression and it’s full of ice cold drinks and warm cocoa. It’s full of disappointing Pot Noodles and a lovingly cooked Sunday roast.

    Here is therefore a non-exhaustive list of simple pleasures:

    • Trees
    • Wandering about with friends (or no-one but it’s a nice day nonetheless)
    • Sitting
    • Taking off your shoes (or bra, or tie, or belt, or jeans)
    • Finally eating something you’ve been craving (a lovely ice cream or a cuppa or a cold lager on a hot day. Or a Diet Coke)
    • Laughing until your sides hurt
    • Sharing a meal with friends (sometimes that friend is a squirrel)
    • Having a really good cry
    • Rainbows
    • Lying in bed
    • The evening before a day off (this is more satisfying than the day off in a lot of ways)
    • Waking up feeling refreshed. So rare!
    • Not having a cold
    • Finding an amount of money in a coat pocket you haven’t worn in a while
    • Eating pick ‘n’ mix in the cinema
    • The sound of waves

    There’s more, I know, but this is what I could think of just right now so this will do. I have been very busy at work so posting has been paused for the moment. Back to regularly scheduled oversharing soon.

    And remember to fart around more. It’s wild out there!

  • Pumpkin Spice Lattes and fall (of mankind)

    The Commercialisation of Christmas Autumn

    I blame Starbucks. No, I blame the Americans. Hmmm, I suppose they made Starbucks so maybe I blame Starbucks. I blame Starbucks and Instagram and social media and white women and capitalism.
    Babes, it’s always capitalism.
    I agree that we all need to squeeze whatever pleasure we can out of the world and if you want a pumpkin spice latte and an aesthetic pic to post on IG with a browning leaf in the background then who am I to stop you? But, and do hear me out here, I feel like when all the corporations are getting in on the act maybe take a moment to pause and think, ‘do I really want this fuzzy pumpkin table decoration or am I just being sold stuff?’

    That was a long sentence and I apologise.

    We are always just being sold stuff.
    Do you like Autumn? Do you want to tell the world that you’re a GIRL who likes candles and hot drinks and pumpkins with bows on them (?) and burnt orange? Why not buy this piece of fast fashion from Shein (surprise!) for only £8. The thing is, that is a really nice colour t.shirt. Can I get that but without the nonsense graphic?

    What about a mug that only really makes sense for 4 months of the year (IF I’M BEING GENEROUS)? Again, that is a pretty nice looking mug. Let’s make it ridiculous. Because it is a *Season*. And, I get it, you are a company that sells stuff so you think of ways to sell stuff. That’s showbiz, baby. And Halloween is a fun, spooky time of year that somewhat acts as a barrier between Summer Fun tat and Christmas tat. Great. Except it doesn’t, not really. You just get Halloween AND Christmas stuff in the shops (and Thanksgiving stuff if you’re in the USA) so every corner you turn you see variations of this:

    Christmas pumpkin disco mayhem bauble.

    And the flavours! Oh the flavours you get. Like Willy Wonka in an Autumn fever dream. Cinnamon this, pumpkin that. Nutmeg, cloves. It’s never garlic and basil is it? Is it?

    Finally, pumpkin is not a spice. What spice is pumpkin spice? This isn’t about pumpkin spice, really.

    I’m tired.

  • Bank Holiday

    It’s the last bank holiday of the Summer and the weather is slowly turning autumnal. The leaves are falling off the trees and the air is getting a bit crispy and clear. Also, since it’s August, it means it’s the Notting Hill Carnival.

    Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a curmudgeon about all sorts of things so don’t think that I’m singling Carnival out for any sort of ideological reasons. It’s just that I am from right near there and they always got in my fucking way. AND the shops locally try to rip off the locals thinking we’re carnival-goers. And the tube stations are exit only and the rubbish is strewn all over the bleedin’ shop.

    And another thing, some of us don’t want to stay awake listening to whistles, throbbing bass lines, and vuvuzelas (are they even still a thing actually?).

    I often wonder why I always feel so reluctant to get involved with bank holidays and summer fun. And I have realised that the reason I am reluctant is because everyone else is also there. I much rather have a random day off with a lot fewer people about. For someone born in London I sure don’t like crowds. Sidenote: I have just been having a conversation with the enigmatic flatmate where I just admitted that I find interacting with anyone at all a bit much. Sometimes. God, it’s hard being a human person.

    It’s not a bank holiday in Scotland or Ireland this week and that’s why i have always enjoyed visiting those countries during this weekend but in an effort to save some pennies I have not gone anywhere at all this year. And yet, I am still not a millionaire. I don’t even have Netflix.

    P.S. I want some barbecue chicken and I have been thinking about indoor, smokeless barbecue cookers. Who knew such things existed? What a world.