Commitments (not marital ones)

Over the last few months, it has struck me that a lot of my friends don't take their responsibilities as seriously as I do, so today I am pondering dedication and commitment.

Anyone who knows me will know that I do everything; Guides, Scouts, Bands, Church, Choirs, helping in classes, private tutoring, form prefecting, the EPQ, etc. etc. And I do all of these things to the best of my ability; if I say I'll be somewhere or do something, the I will try my darnedest to be there or do it (a few weeks ago, when I missed the Year Seven inter-form badminton competition I felt so guilty, especially as the Captain didn't go either) and long standing commitments, such as bands, always come first to me. Obviously, I know that other people don't take this stance and often "blow off" bands/choirs etc. for other things and I don't have a problem with that, it's their choice. But until recently, I hadn't realised how common it was.

Even people who I thought would be as dedicated to their work and extra activities as I am (people who I would deem the most reliable and moral people I've ever met) are willing to 'skive' or 'pull a sickie' on a band rehearsal or event which they think will be boring, or that they cannot be bothered with on that particular day.

To be honest, I've learnt two things from this. Firstly, I am apparently incredibly dedicated to everything compared to others (even those I thought would be less likely to miss things like that). Secondly, dedication doesn't seem to be related in any way to being a good person. This surprised me, as I've always considered that one of the things which made me a good person (perhaps actually the only thing) was that I could be relied on to do anything I was required to. But some of my closest friends and the nicest people I've ever met (including the Captain) don't need to be like that to make them good people, they are just inherently good in other ways.
Wow. Surprisingly deep.

Also, I'd like to say a massive thank you to everyone who sent me good wishes for my Birthday the other day. I'm sorry I've not been prompt in replying to any of it (social networking has not been kind to me), but I will get back to you, if I haven't already. I love you all :)

Badger of Honour

So, today I was pondering what people must think of me when they see me and don't know me. I don't worry about people who don't know me and what they think, I was just pondering it because if you didn't know me, it must be quite confusing to see someone wearing a medal made from a badger.

For those of you who do know me, you'll know that normality isn't my strong point; I can wear a perfectly sensible outfit and think "gosh, how boring!" Usually that leads me to wear, y'know, bright blue tights or a fabulous hat. I am now also the proud owner of a reindeer onesie, which did have glow in the dark stars and things on it, but I think they fell off.

So anyway, today I was out at a University Visit Day and decided I should probably dress fairly sensibly, no pyjamas, or hats, or garish colours. I decided I had to be subtle and sensible. Then, at the last minute I thought that I should wear my Badger of Honour.

Let me explain. The Badger of Honour was something my friend Phoebe invented. We have no idea how or why, but it's an amazing idea! It's a small wooden badger attached to a black-and-white striped ribbon. They were given to each of the Explorer girls for Christmas but, as far as I know, I'm the only one who actually wears mine. I wear it when my outfit needs to be fairly sensible, but I can't be bothered to be boring. Which is not very often.

I really should wear it more.

I just realised that my fashion sense is oddly similar to Ella's....
Oh well!

A quick plug for you! If you like music jokes and making fun of people who like soulless mass-produced pop, you'll probably like http://www.musiciansare.com . It's a meme site for memes about music, but not just pop music; it is a mixture of pop and actual band stuff, so I'm not sure if it will appeal to you.

Am I The Only One...?

OK, so Valentine's has been and gone (And I'd like to take this opportunity to apologise for Oliver once again) and I'm pondering its aftermath. For some, obviously, their relationships have been strengthened and for others it's a beautiful beginning. For me, I always find Valentine's Day a little bit creepy.

I mean, I got a card from someone, who I'm still not convinced isn't my parents. But if it's not my parents, then I find it a bit creepy, to be honest. I can't really think of anyone who knows my address that would send me a card, which means that someone else went out of their way to obtain my address and send me a card. Am I the only one who finds that a little bit odd if this person isn't willing to tell me who they actually are? I would much rather that whoever this person is (providing it's not a joke or something) just told me if they like me.

Anyway, I found this picture the other day, then lost it, then found it again. And I thought you lovely people would like to see it because it made me smile. This is how I feel about people when I do things for them. Happy Valentine's Day, person.

Don't forget you can follow me on Twitter (or Tweeter as I saw it called today) at @EmPernilla and I sometimes say things. It can be quite nice.

Thanks :)

Pointless Holidays

Today is Valentine's Day. Therefore I am pondering it. Congratulations to anyone who has a Valentine; from what I can tell, it's more common for people to be breaking up in the last few weeks than getting together. Which is really quite disillusioning for a hopeless romantic such as myself.

Anyway, it might just be me, but Valentine's Day doesn't seem to have been such a big deal this year as it has previously.  The only couples I know who are still together appear to be playing it down and not doing anything together this year. I know that Valentine's Day is just the "celebration of a guy who had his head chopped off for marrying Christians" (thanks Sophie!), but it's a little bit sad that so many people aren't using today as an excuse to be soppy and loved-up.

Which got me thinking, why do we expect so much from this particular day when so many other days go past without even being noticed? There's not really anything different about today compared to yesterday, except that it's Thursday. But anyway, what can you do?

And now for a shout out. On a day such as today, it is fair to gaze upon those less amorously fortune with a favourable glance, and thus I offer the opportunity to indulge temporarily in charity and humanity. As strong and as muscular as an ox, Oliver would act as a valuable asset (with a number of other valuable assets) to any life. If you think yo ready for this jelly, Move yo booty up and downn, make your booty touch the ground for this man filled with ennui.
(Sorry, he wrote it himself. I just think it's funny)

Now, I must go, for Peter Andre awaits (not in a weird way), and Mrs Compton is yelling. Very loving.

Ooops...

I'd like to apologise for the accidental pun on the title of my previous blog post. It was not meant to be in any way funny and (to be honest) it isn't. But just in case anyone thought it was meant to be, it wasn't...

The Gay Marriage Proposal

Hello Internetty Folk! Today I am pondering how very strange society is. It just doesn't make any sense to me. Only a few days ago it was finally decided that homosexuals should have the same rights to get married as the rest of us "plebs" (the Government's word, not mine) which, to be honest, doesn't really make any sense to me.

I really can't see why people have such a problem with this whole shebang. If two people love each other and want to spend their lives together and never be with anyone else then it shouldn't matter who they are. And by that, I don't just mean whether they are both men or both women. Throughout history, similar problems to this have arisen, where some duke or other has given up his fortune and run away with the scullery maid, or a perfectly respectable white woman has fallen in love with a black man. Looking back at these so-called "scandals" even fifty years later, we can see that there's really nothing wrong with them, so why should homosexuality be any different?

To be honest, I struggle to comprehend why so many people have such an issue with all this stuff. If you believe that all love is just chemical reactions in the brain and nothing to do with emotions (which are, after all, merely triggered by the release of chemicals in the brain) then it shouldn't be an issue to you because it's all superficial and nothing more than a positive response to a person anyway. If you believe (as I am inclined to) that there is the perfect person out there for everyone and that we all have the potential to find our soul mate one day then does it really matter if somebody's soul mate is the same gender as them?

I know that many of you are now wondering whether I am about to announce that I actually support this so strongly because I am myself a lesbian. No, I'm not gay (and even if I was, I would not use this as a platform to 'come out') but it disturbs me that it matters as much as it does. As a very wise German (Mr Gaertner) once said "does it really make a difference?" Would it make you think differently of me if I were? If not, why does it matter?

I know by posting this that I have opened myself up to abuse from the ever-reasoning and all-knowing voice of the Internet, but I'm not sure it matters. This blog is here for me to tell you what I think, so I have.