Vicky Goes On (Again)

Tag: summer

  • 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.

  • Should I Stay(cation) or Should I Go?

    Basically I thought of the title of this first… so we’ll see how this goes.

    It really annoys me that people use the word ‘staycation’. It extra annoys me that they use the word ‘staycation’ when they are talking about taking a holiday in their home country.
    It is my view that a ‘staycation’ is when you take annual leave and stay at home. That’s the ‘staying’ part. If you leave your house and travel somewhere THAT’S A REGULAR VACATION. I don’t live in Cornwall (other places are available) so if I go there I am holidaying there.

    Also, and maybe I’m just showing my poverty-stricken childhood roots here, why do we have to go away for our Summer hols? And why do we feel like we’ve failed if we don’t? My mum was Spanish so when I was little we went to Spain a fair few times to stay with various aunts and uncles in very non-touristy 1980s Spain. These were resolutely not holidays. These were visiting family where there were no distractions of any kind. Except one time I found a small lizard which I touched with a blade of dried grass I found. And it wriggled.
    Good times.

    Also, we spend so much money on paying for our flats and houses and relatively little time actually being in them (unless you work from home, I suppose) – I wanna get my money’s worth, damn it. I recently had to take some time off from work for annual leave and I just hung out. I met up with some friends in the day, like we were on holiday in London. Explored places I’d never been to before. That was a staycation. I stayed at home. And, bonus, I caught the sun and it looked like I had been away somewhere.

    In fact, since I actually do live in London, an actual tourist-y place, why shouldn’t I be a tourist in my own hometown? Why do these holiday-makers get to have all the fun whilst I’m commuting and eating tuna pasta for dinner? HUH? I wanna get in office workers way on their lunch breaks.

    So, I won’t be going away this year because I am trying not to spend all of my money. Or maybe I will go somewhere in Winter? Or maybe not. I don’t know what I am doing in general.
    Should I stay or should I go? Maybe this isn’t just about holidaying.

  • I can’t get no sleep

    For the last 2 mornings I have woken up at 04:30*. In the morning.
    Prior to this, I had been waking up at 05:30. In the morning. THE MORNING. I know it’s Summer but where will this end? Next week 03:30? Then just not sleeping at all!? I AM EXHAUSTED.

    And yes, I know, the heat, I need blackout blinds, I need sleeping pills. Go to bed earlier, later, wear an eye mask, glue my eyes closed. I know. I don’t even really have a lie-in on the weekends, you know. I think I’ve become deranged.

    Did you know that a lack of sleep can actually, literally kill you? Well, if you didn’t know now you know. Did you also know that a lack of sleep can make you fall asleep in a busy office? Ask me how I know… (this is a made up story for humour and entertainment purposes. I swear.)

    So. What do I do? ummmm…


    Sleep hygiene tips:

    • Ensure you go to bed at the same time every night
    • Don’t doomscroll on your phone in bed (shut UP)
    • Take at least 30 minutes to wind down before bed time -_-
    • Block out the windows with black paint
    • Take at least 4 sleeping pills every night
    • Drink some whisky or whiskey
    • some of these might not be all that helpful
    • I’m losing my marbles
    • Take a siesta during the day. This is a human right and I have Spanish genes so surely I am being discriminated against if I am denied this

    Anyway, good luck out there. I love you. I’m tired.

    *I use the 24 hour clock to avoid mistakes on alarms which I clearly no longer need.