Raiders of the lost Childhood: Noughties Edition

So i'm sitting at my computer randomly trying to think up a topic for an exciting new post, when what do i see pop up on my Facebook profile... A friend request from a 9 year old. Yes that's right people... A 9 YEAR OLD. Not only do i not know this particular 9 year old but i'm sat there thinking to myself, when i was 9 my mum wouldn't let me chew gum, what the hell are parents doing leaving their kids unattended on Facebook these days. Now some of you may be thinking, 'god stop whining it's only Facebook' and yes, Facebook can be incredibly innocent. But the plain fact is, no one under the age of 13 should have Facebook and you are only one click away from a group that will start posting pictures of some dude with his cock stuck in a hoover on the internet these days. It's then that you start to wonder, how radically different are the childhoods of kids today, compared to only 10 years ago when i was just 9 years old.

One thing i notice today more than ever as i get older is kids in restaurants. I mean I've seen 4 year old's using iPads at the dinner table. When i was four you got a colouring picture and 10 broken crayons (never with a flesh colour by the way!), so i'm beginning to think to myself that the kids growing up nowadays are pretty lucky in that respect.

So kids nowadays are learning their ABC's from Apple technology and by the time they get to high school all the desks will probably come with touchscreens instead of paper and pens. Sounds pretty great right? Well yeah... Being born in the Noughties has some major perkage, but then again look at it this way. The childhoods of kids nowadays is also dramatically shortened. I mean i'm not being funny but has anyone been into Primark recently? They're selling bikinis and padded Bra's for kids who are barely old enough to be aloud to cross the street alone. We wonder why the amount of sex offenders has increased over the years. Could it be because of the sexualisation of our kids in which many are willing accomplices. I mean seeing little girls of no older than 7 wearing fake tan and nails and sporting t-shirts reading 'Future footballers wife' doesn't exactly give me hope for the future doctors and lawyers of this world. 

On lighter news the birth of Royal baby, Prince George of Cambridge has had the country buzzing over the past week. The funny thing is i keep wondering how old the little prince will be before he is graced with an iPad.... regardless one thing is for sure: That kid will certainly have an assortment of flesh coloured and unbroken crayons available at dinner!!!

What do you think about the reduction of the time in which kids can be kids nowadays? Is this new technology a powerful learning tool, or is it just a means to let kids see things they are way too young to see? Drop me a comment and let me know... i gotta get back to responding to the facebook request of a 9 year old!

Rant over people,
Atargatis, Over and out xxxx

Peripheral vision,pretty little boxes and picket fences: The gender Divide

So being a bored student so far this summer, I've been doing what we students (supposedly) do best:  I've been thinking, asking the big questions and working the hamster that powers my brain via a super cute plastic wheel extra hard. The result for all you people out there who are kind enough to read my blog is the very post that you are glaring at right now. The focus of this post is about Men and Women and what makes us totally different. 

The amazing thing about Men and how their minds work is that they have these neat and quite pretty little boxes in which all their emotions, thoughts and feelings sit for each situation. When they are in the work box they aren't worrying about what to cook for dinner later that night or whether they've remembered to pick up the dry cleaning. They are purely focused on work (and possibly Googling cat memes) and that's about it. Sometimes i wonder if the increased peripheral vision of the fairer of the sexes means that our minds cannot only focus on one thing at once. It is said that women can multitask, but the reason we are so good at this is because we don't have all these pretty little boxes that neatly separate one aspect of life from another, we are at work, but we are also thinking about what we need to budget for with our wages, worrying about if we have enough toilet paper to get us through the week and thinking about what to wear for 'Girl's night out'. You could say this makes us less productive as we have all this crap floating around in our brains with no organisation but i think that it is less of a shit heap and more of an organised mess with a giant cable connecting each emotion or thought to the next. It could also be said this is why you can say something totally unrelated to what is stressing out a woman and suddenly be confronted with a very pissed off lady, not because you intended to be hurtful, but simply because of a chain reaction set off by the mention of something as simple as 'what are we having for tea'. It is safe to say we humans are complex creatures, filled with chemical reactions, hormones and pheromones that the majority of normal people on this planet just do not understand. However, we are not always as complex as it seems when it comes to base needs, as almost everyone can understand, when a persons mind is in the sex box or on the sex link in a chain your mind can't help but become stationary and very much stuck in the proverbial gutter.

That's the other funny thing about Men and women, the pretty little boxes that allow a man to be so organised in his thoughts and feelings actually inhibit the organisation of a little thing called life. That's the thing about boxes you see: its much harder to jump from box to box than it is to glide between connecting ideas as in a woman's mind so you find men that cannot get out of the 'Video game' box aren't really thinking about the future or planning for marriage and kids.

What is it about women that makes the majority of us hear wedding bells after only a year in a relationship. Most women will tell you, it's only natural to want to obtain that type of commitment from someone who you've devoted a year of your life to but i think its more than natural, i think it's nature itself. The biological clock is not a myth fellas, inside the minds of most women who want kids is the nagging question 'when will i get married?' followed by the inevitable 'how old do i want to be when i have kids'. Most men find this concept terrifying to even talk about like somehow just mentioning kids means you want to strap him down, straddle him and scream 'FERTILISE ME!'. In all honesty, isn't it best to get those talks out of the way early? Isn't it better to talk picket fences early than to end up 55 and picketing in protest about how you lost your chance to have a child?

So what is better? Boxes or chains? Drop me a comment and let me know what you think!

As Jims dad would say: 'Keep it real Homies',
Atargatis, over and out xxxx

The green eyed monster: Drive and destroy

So jealousy is a part of life. FACT. Through this most complicated and devastatingly unpredictable thing we call the human condition, it has happened to everyone. Best friend has a new car you wish you could afford. You find yourself coveting the kind of relationship your best friend has with her new boyfriend, her new £150 pair of UGG boots that seem to go with every outfit she owns. The thing about jealousy is, it causes one of two things. Drive or destruction, but can either ever be good?

There are two types of people, the type that see something they want and either act coldly towards the person that possesses it or destroy the object of that persons happiness. Or the type of person that takes that jealousy and coveting of such things and works hard to achieve them by respectable means. The thing about the human race is that enough is never enough. You have a great boyfriend? Well you don't have that dream job you've been chasing? Or that dream apartment you so covet? Therefore you can't possibly be happy. It's true that in the rush to find 'happiness' in things that we really don't need such as material items or stressful jobs that only seem appealing because of the salary that we in fact miss out on happiness all together. In pursuing such extras which we just 'have to have' it appears that sometimes the things we actually need take a back seat, or even worse are neglected all together.

So i can hear the ambitious among you sighing and saying 'If you don't aim high you'll never reach the stars' but the truth is, would you really be happy in the stars, or would you find yourself then wanting to visit other universes? The other thing is, each one of us is an individual and what makes one person incredibly happy, such as an expensive apartment or dream holiday may not be well suited to you as an individual.

So what is this focus on others, the comparison of ourselves to others can be both beneficial and destructive. There are many people who drive themselves through competition with other people. Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition now is there? Well no there isn't but circumstances may mean that in some ways you can never 'outdo' someone. Does that then leave you feeling like a failure even after achieving a reasonable amount? Is it not better to stop worrying about what other people are doing and concentrating on our individual needs and desires? 

The bottom line is, you could spend your whole life trying to hunt down perfection in your life. But odds are if you take a good look at it right now, you will find perfection everywhere that you just don't appreciate. At the end of the day the things we covet most, are the things we don't appreciate until they are gone. You could always go out and buy that new pair of shoes, or that great new car, but family and friends can leave your life in an instant and you can never get them back. 

As far as i'm concerned the green eyed monster can go to hell. Jealousy does nothing but make us seek fulfillment when we are already enriched. Wanting more and more and more can't be healthy right? So sit back, take it slow, enjoy the little things, and let the good times roll.

Atargatis, over and out xxx

University:Anywhere but here

Whenever people ask about summer holidays for University they always say: "So you get three months for summer?" In response i nod my head and they smile back courteously. I can tell what they're thinking, they are thinking 'Three months? That's far too long!', you know what i think about this? I think they're damn right!

So when you are in High school, 3 months for summer seems like HEAVEN. However, when you are at university, your perspective on this changes a tad. For a start, all those great friends you made at uni? They now live half way across the country so forget about great nights out when its warm. That new guy or girl you fell for and have been getting attached to for a year? Yeah he's gone home to the other side of the country too, so you're left essentially bored brainless and possibly missing your university social life. The other thing is, unlike when you are in high school, at university you build a life that is far more independent from your family. You find that things that never annoyed you before when you lived at home start to grate your cheese and the inability to simply walk out of your door and have bars, clubs and pubs only a stones throw away leaves you feeling trapped in a very boring cage. Your social life at home also often seems banal to the group of crazy party animals you encounter at University. This is because people are Parent free and are more likely to fudge shizz up than they are when they have to go home to a house full of sleepy and possibly cranky parents at the end of the night.

So the thing people always say to students is... 'Why don't you get a job?'  Now that, especially in this economy is easier said than done, but i have to say landing a summer job is a fab way to keep busy and if they offer you hours at Christmas and Easter too all the better! The problem is with finding a job as a student now is that because there are so many more people looking for employment because of this recession our country has been in for what seems like forever. People who are quite overqualified are willing to take jobs such as fry cook at Mcdonalds and cashier at Asda, which when the pickings for jobs were better, would have been left to the university students. 

The other thing about coming home for the summer is that it isn't like when you come home for Christmas, because your parents will be most probably working most of the time and you somehow end up sitting alone in your house the majority of the time. It's interesting also to see the amount of people who stay in their Accommodation as long as possible at university to avoid such a thing.

I've been having this dilemma and have been thinking that the key to making the summer both productive and fly by is to undertake projects and develop skill sets you can utilise for your next year at university. Here are a few ideas to keep you entertained for the 3 long (but pleasantly warm) summer nights whilst all your friends are either at work or on summer holiday with the family!

1) Get in shape (the good weather makes evening runs more appealing)
2) Learn a new skill (Maybe knitting?)
3) Detox (lay off the drink for a while and give your liver a holiday and well deserved rest, this also means you may have to buy fewer drinks and thus pay less to get hammered come freshers)
4) Summer reading for your course (If you are really bored!)
5) Have a clean out! 
6)Get a Penpal
7) Research what societies you plan to join come summer.
8)Read my blog! (Cheeky i know, but you can't blame a girl for trying!)

Anyhoo, i have to go back to watching paint dry, so ill catch you later! Have you got any summer boredom busters you want to share? Drop me a comment!

Atargatis xxx over and out! xxx

University: Planet Library

So i have't posted in a while... but being that I've just cleaned out my flat and moved everything back a hundred miles and am STILL unpacking i'm thinking you'll understand that I've been pretty busy!

My post today is short but sweet and about a few of the oddities and awesomeness of student life. The oddity i want to discuss is the wacky and wonderful world of the University Library. The way our library operates at my university is that as you ascend up the 4 floors it gets more and more strict surrounding the issues of noise, food and other distractions such as mobile phones.  The interesting thing about the library is you always have someone who believes they are an exception to the rules that are written on only lets say... a million laminated posters that are plastered on every wall including the back of toilet doors. There will always be someone on the silent floor with their iPod on full blast making the annoying 'i may have headphones but you still have to listen to my crappy taste in music' statement. As well as the person who is chewing their gum ridiculously loudly or rustling a food wrapper on the no eating floor. As if we don't know what you're doing!

The other thing about the university library is the fact that you need a student card to get in and out. You often see some poor sod running around the desks trying to find their student card so they can leave the library, because they have misplaced it once inside and you just sigh and pity them whilst checking in a paranoid manner that you still have your ticket to freedom. The machines in the library also have a mind of their own. They make these great machines that allow you to scan all your books at once... however these rarely work as they're supposed to. You then have to take the ginormous stack of books you THINK you need to write a good essay, when actually you only end up using one line of one page out of each one, all the way downstairs only to have to go and see a librarian anyway. So you've found the books, gone and had them scanned once by a failure of a machine and once by a tutting librarian you then head for freedom... Only to have the freaking security scanner go off in some loud abusive manner and draw everyone's eyes on you.

 The library is also home to two types of people. The ones who go in a group and intend to mess around or are doing a project that has been left until the last minute. Or the individuals who have clearly been there for over 10 hours, have had little sleep, have crooked glasses and hair flying everywhere! The other thing we have to deal with when it comes to the library is overdue book fees. I mean lets be honest if you didn't return a library book in high school, you got a few angry letters, but being fair that book is still collecting dust at the back of your wardrobe isn't it? With university comes a whole new range of responsibility that we have to come up with excuses. I mean the amount of times i have been into the library and seen someone quibbling over their overdue book fees with the librarian is crazy. Just return your books on time people! I mean we even have the ability to renew books from home making avoiding these fees even easier than ever.

When it comes to money and university, sure we have a lot to answer for. Paying 9000 pounds in tuition and rarely seeing where that money goes can be entirely depressing. But it can't be said that society doesn't try to give us a break. The student card: a beautiful beacon of half priced and special offer goodness, and especially for us students. The NUS card is the one most students will go for but you should also check out what your Student ID can do for you. For example, the Mcdonalds near my university gives free cheeseburgers and Mcflurries for anyone holding student ID for the university. Combine that with the free fries you get with an NUS card and you only have to get yourself a drink to have a full meal. The other great thing provided by an NUS card is discount at the cinema which can get you a very cheap afternoon of entertainment. Student cards as well as Student bars on campus help provide cheap nights and meals out.

Hope this has wet your appetite for another week,
TTFN X
Atargatis

University: Don't stoppp the paaarrrttaayyy...EVER.

So i'm looking around recently at all the people who are stretching their ears and having just gotten my navel pierced and planning on having another tattoo done, you start to wonder how our generation is going to look when we are 90...if we make it that far. The attitude of so many people today is YOLO and i'm just like...WHUT?!?!

The people who live above me are exactly the same age as me and yet they choose to run around and scream until 4am...you get to thinking. When is it time to bite the bullet and grow the fuck up. 

It's like when we decide to go to university we are prolonging our adolescence. Those people who go straight into employment have to grow up, because if they don't they lose their job and income. But with the government paying for the majority of our living expenses, lecturers not giving a crap if we don't turn up and only needing 40% on an assignment to pass, university students often find themselves not growing up at all. In fact perhaps we are all just regressing to the year 11 state before the stress of A levels takes hold.

Now i'm not slagging off university students in any way. It just seems like university is the easier option between getting a job or continuing on to higher education sometimes. I mean i'm sure i'll regret writing this in my third year when making the blood sacrifice every student gives in order to get their dissertation finished. But for whoever says that the country's elite are in our universities. I say to them: I dare you to walk down a student clad street past 11'o clock on a Friday night without getting puked on or without having profanity yelled at you by some inebriated 'Genius' or 'Future politician'.

The other thing i find hilarious as you look around the University Gym with guys pumping iron and women running on treadmills is that the majority of these people sweating, huffing and puffing will be either drinking themselves into a stupour or getting so high they don't even remember their own names only five or six hours later. I can't help but think that when our generation is old and wrinkly we will still be going out on the lash. How old is too old to be getting high, drunk and partying til the early hours of the morning? I mean lets be honest, how many of us want to picture ourselves on a porch in a rocking chair sat next to only a bottle of tequila?

The other thing about university is...there are some people who never leave! With being able to get funding from the government for multiple degrees, masters and doctorates why not have your life aspiration to be remaining a student for all time? Who needs a career when you have a student card and the ability to hang with 'the kids' getting smashed and then going for a Maccies? 

The only thing i can say about all this is that when i see them opening a night club for the over 80's in about 50 years i'm running off beachy-head full pelt. After all, it is true, we do only live once, but at the end of the day isn't it also true that we can live for up to a hundred years? That just seems like a really long time to me. Especially with the way people behave in todays' society.

Any opinions? Drop me a line.

Atargatis, over and out xxx

University: www.betterthanpulling.com?

So there is a lot of controversy nowadays about online dating, and after a recent experience of being signed up to one when trying to find a deployed military Pen-pal i got to thinking about what this crazy phenomenon actually is and how effective is it at helping an individual find their other half?

So we all know the stereotype for Online dating, you falling head over face for some guy you meet online only to find out he's some 50 year old balding, obese, unemployed loser who still lives with his parents. Now that's very well if you are a 50 year old, unemployed, woman living with her parents but what about if you are a young person, a student for example, looking for something serious because currently you exist in a world where the majority of people are looking for a good time and not commitment?

After looking through several profiles online it appears that the majority of young people aged between 19 and 25 on dating sites tend to be students. Now this could be purely because i was looking at the free dating services, and this could not be true of many paid services such as eHarmony and match.com but it seems as though it is far easier to take things slowly when meeting people online. Could it be true that in today's social climate we rush into things, hormones racing and  genitals lubricating before we really know someone? 

Attraction and compatibility are two very different things. But which is more important? If you are on the side of compatibility then i'd say you are probably more likely to find online dating to be effective because you are matched with people based on your interests, likes and dislikes rather than appearance. The other thing that scares the bajeezus out of people regarding online dating seems to be the fact that Photoshop is used so commonly we can never be sure whether the pictures we are seeing are honest in their representation of the person we are interested in. The last thing you want is to be interested in someone and when you finally meet in person you discover what was advertised is not actually whats in the box, and you are not attracted to the person physically at all. I suppose in that respect it depends how much stock you put in appearance over personality.

The other crazy thing about online dating is that it connects people from all across the country, sometimes even across continents if you are looking for some foreign flavour in your life. So from what i can gather, how this crazy phenomenon works is you get chatting on the website and once you are comfortable enough with said partner you can exchange phone numbers and take it from there. An ingenious friend told me that when it comes to online dating she employs the app Snapchat. This means that she can pretty much be sure that the photos she has seen are really of the person she likes because you can't really alter the pictures you send that much. This app also protects your and the other persons privacy because it means after the picture has been viewed for 10 seconds you can no longer see it. This then prevents some random person longingly viewing photos of you and your cat if you become disinterested of stop contact.

If you've ever seen the movie 'You've got mail' you know that most women are expecting romance, flowers and a great and harmoniously synchronized connection that transcends this world. Unfortunately you soon realise that the majority of people you meet online, especially young people are looking for some instant gratification. It's like you are signed up for two seconds and suddenly you have 50 messages asking for cheeky photos and its like... I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU...WHAT THE FUCK! The other problem young people have is usually getting messaged by people who are not in the age range they are looking for. The answer to this is simple, you just don't reply. I just can't help but loose a little faith in humanity when i realise that there are girls out there sending nudes to guys who they've never even met before and chatting up men who are old enough to be their Dad.

Those 3 little words that strike fear and wonder also come into play with online dating: "Shall we meet?" Meeting a potential partner can be scary and nerve racking. The other thing is what if they've come from the other side of the country and have to stay with you over night after you've discovered that you would rather spend a night with a pig in a wig? It's a difficult situation and if i knew how to navigate that one i'd tell you. All i can say is... STAY SAFE. 

The thing that made me laugh was while researching this blog i came across a notice on one of the dating sites i was looking at that said:

"Please do not exchange bank details with anyone you meet online, we cannot be held responsible for any illegal behaviour committed due to this kind of information being exchanged."

This too shook my faith in human kind to the core. I mean not being funny, but how bloody stupid do you have to be?

So what do y'all think of online dating? Yay, Nay or 'not until im 50!' Drop me a comment!

Have a magical day!

Atargatis, over and out! xxx