Tag: life

Summer in the City // Tip for Surviving Smelly Armpits

Summer in the City // Tip for Surviving Smelly Armpits

It’s that time of year when it heats up a little, which for the most part is a good thing. Less rain and a bit of warmth can make us forget for a little while that winters, in this part of the world, are for the most part cold and dank.

On most public transport systems, temperatures can get uncomfortable, especially while the world and their mother are trying to get home at rush hour. Take this onto overground trains, where people are squished together to get to work. Then go underground. It gets a bit warmer and even the early morning commute can be a form of torture. According to Gizmodo, the Bakerloo line is can reach 31 degrees and the Central line 30 degrees.

With most rush hour commutes, you can, unfortunately, get to know your neighbour pretty intimately. During the summer months, that means you old sweaty armpits too. And let’s be honest, it can be pretty revolting.

Surviving Smelly Armpits

Let me clarify, everyone perspires, yes, even the Queen. (Hey Liz, hope you’re enjoying the read) But, by evening time on a packed train, after a hot day, it can get potent. So much so, I’ve wanted to be physically sick.

Enter a tip I’ve been using for the past couple of years. A major hat tip has to go to Mr Mulley who passed this gem onto me. This will be my third year of using this and I feel, now, it’s my turn to pass on this simple effective tip to survive smelly armpits.

Make Your Own Travel Pack

Pop into your local pharmacy or supermarket. Go to the aisle with all the cold remedies, and look for the decongestants. Now, you see the stuff you rub on your chest? Yes, that minty eucalyptus rub? Pick it up. You can go for the well known Vicks brand, or you can go for a generic brand. If you’re allergic to any of the ingredients, don’t to this! Seek a pharmacist/doctors advice before you go ahead.

I’ve gone for Boots own brand. I think the jar was about two pound something. You don’t need to spend much on this. If you’re in the pharmacy, spend a pound and buy those little travel containers with a screw top lid.

Don’t use your hands for this, an old spoon or something you can throw away. Take a spoonful from the jar and put it into the travel container. Wipe the outside clean.

So now you have your own travel pack. It’s small enough to pop in your bag or even put in your pocket.

Make Your Nose A Happy Nose

There’s two ways to make your nose happy now. Pre-empt the event of smelliness and go straight ahead or wait until you board the train and see what it’s like. Just remember though, if the train is totally mad busy, you may feel uncomfortable doing this.

Get a tiny dap of the chest rub on your finger and dab it on the inside of your nose. It may tingle a bit and if you’ve a tiny cut, it will probably sting. The upside though, is that is all you will smell. You can’t smell your overly intimate neighbour, just minty camphor eucalyptus smells. Enough to make any grandmother proud of you but not enough for the rest of the Tube’s inhabitants think you’re an oldie.

It’s so easy, I never would have thought of this. But as I said, I’ve been using this now for a couple of years and it definitely makes life a lot easier for me. If you’ve a sensitive nose, turn it into a happy nose. Let me know how you got on in the comments below.

Happy travels!

June 17, 2017
Tips For Staying Sane When You’ve Been Made Redundant

Redundancy sucks, properly sucks. Through no fault of your own, you’ve been landed on the dole queue, or if you’re in the UK, the line for the Job Centre.

I know it sucks as it recently happened to me. You’ll have good days and you’ll have completely shit days, so I’ve come up with some tips for you which will hopefully make you feel slightly better and not crack up.

Here are my tips for staying sane if you’ve recently been made redundant.

Give yourself time to decompress

Once you’ve been made redundant, give yourself a couple of days off to get your head round the fact that your kitchen / spare room is now your office and where you’ll spend your days, looking for jobs.

It normally happens that your last day is on a Friday. Give yourself the following Monday and Tuesday to get use to the fact that you don’t have to get squished on a commuter train for a while.

While you’ll still be looking for work and putting in time at a computer, new jobs unfortunately, don’t appear overnight. This takes time.

The first couple of days are like staring into an abyss, a big deep black hole. You have to give yourself time to get used to the fact that your old work life is over and you’re embarking on a new phase of your life. Even if it isn’t a phase you asked for.

You need this time to get your head around this. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else or look at what other people are perceived to be doing. They have their own problems that you know nothing about. This is your life, you’re brilliant, it’s your boat and you can steer yourself through this storm.

Get up every morning

It sounds a bit obvious but get up!

Getting up at a similar time to what you did when you were working will keep you in some sort of routine. If you’ve kids, do the school run, get them breakfast. If you don’t, get up a relaxed breakfast before the job hunt beings.

The last thing you want to happen to be become out of sync with the rest of the world. Go to bed at bedtime, get up at whatever was your breakfast time.

Get some exercise

I’ve been using my time to try and get fit. Well, as fit as I can on my exercise bike. I’ve slowly built up from 5km to 25km. It takes about 50 minutes to do that. I’m currently in a temp job but when I was at home every day, I did this after my breakfast every morning.

This gives me a clearer head to tackle the job hunt ahead and is a great stress buster. I’ve found even jumping on the exercise bike for 10 minutes in the afternoon when I’ve finished your hunt for the day is a great way to clear my head in a sea full of ‘Tell us about your summer job when you were 15’.

There are also some extra added health benefits. That’s for another blog post though.

Get Out of the House

The internet is now the number one place for looking for jobs. So, that means you’re sitting in your kitchen for eight hours a day looking for jobs rather than sitting in a office like you were a couple of weeks ago.

You’ll go mad if you don’t leave the house, get out for a walk to a local park. Try a different local coffee shop for an afternoon brew everyday. Check your local listings for free gigs and art exhibitions. Join a local soccer team. It doesn’t matter what it is, get yourself outside the four walls before you feel like they are caving in on you.

Be Good to Yourself

You’re awesome! Remember that! It’s not your fault that you ended up being made redundant. Just because you don’t have a job right now, doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve to give yourself a few treats.

Last weekend, I bought myself an old Brownie 127 camera and a Frankie Goes to Hollywood 7 inch of The Power of Love. They weren’t expensive but when you’re being cautious with the cash, any little treat is brilliant.

It could be even cooking yourself your favourite meal, taking a few hours out to read a book, drawing, messing around with an adult colouring book, playing guitar.

Do something that relaxes you, something that you find fun!

Surround Yourself with Good People

When you don’t hear back from applications, it can be a downer. Especially when some applications can take a couple of hours to put together.

Plus, the other thing no one tells you is that it can take weeks to get a reply. If you have a good buddy or partner to can let it all out to, do!! Not every day is going to be great. Some are downright slogs.

Being surrounded by people who love you for who you are and not what your job title is the number one goal in life. They love you because you’re kind, you’ve a big heart, you’ve a great sense of humour, you’ve a beautiful smile.

They were there before you got that job, they’re still there.

Reassess what you’re doing

Now is a good time to take a look at what you really want to do. You’ll need to smarten up the CV/resume so think about the things you’re good at, things you like doing and what the future could possibly hold if you changed what you’re doing.

It’s a good time to take stock of everything. Those good people you’re surrounding yourself with? They’ll probably be able to point out some things quicker than you realise yourself.

People have bills, though you don’t want them piling up. Instead of making any hasty decisions because you have to urgently get a job, re-do your budget and see if you can can get some temp work for a while. This may be a way of you clearing your head so you can reassess the situation and get in the direction that you want to go.

Keep a list of what you do

I find keeping a list of all the jobs I’ve applied for really beneficial. I also add things like how far I did on the exercise bike and who I called. I also take screenshots of jobs I’ve applied for.

You can end up applying for massive amounts of jobs so this is a good way to show you that you are actually doing something and you are making progress.

I hope these help in some small way. Being made redundant is not easy. But it’s just another one of life’s crossroads and you’ll get through it. This is the start of a new chapter. The most important thing is to look after you and your mental health. It’s the shittiest of times but it’s also a time when we truly find the importance of family and friends. Talk to people, let them know how you’re feeling, use their shoulder for support. That’s what friends are for. You’d do it for them.

Let me know if you’ve been through redundancy and if you have any tips in the comments below.

February 1, 2017
A Year in the Life – So Long 2016

Ah 2016, I’m glad to see the back of you.

On August 8th this year, I started a draft blog post but never finished it. It had the working/title of ‘Why I won’t let June 24th define my year’.

The year started off rather well actually, I wrote a blog post about ‘Speaking Irish at Work – in London’. The Irish Times Generation Migration section asked me to turn it into a standalone piece for them. I also wrote a piece for them about coming Home to Vote in the Irish general election and featured on The Irish Times Women’s Podcast with a letter to the new Dail.

I also appeared on Talk Radio, speaking about coming out, later in the year spoke to Paul Ross about Black Friday, online shopping and small businesses.

I was also interviewed for Conor Scully’s Projections, speaking about life as a member of the Irish Diaspora, living in London.

June 24th – A Day I won’t forget

But June 24th happened. For those who have been hiding from all things news in 2016, fair play, how did you do it?

Going to bed on June 23rd, it looked like the British public were being a sensible lot and voting remain. I headed to bed, waking up at 6am to the news that a ‘Leave’ vote had won.

I was just kinda dumbstruck to be honest and couldn’t believe the short sightedness of some people, who were actually believing Farage and Co. Not for the first time that day, I felt a hole in the pit of my stomach.

I went to work and people were sitting around chatting, some just sitting, with no words. Some people were so emotional about it all that tears were shed.

I voted Remain but couldn’t partake in the conversations. I had a more pressing issue. I had a meeting which was to decide whether I would be made redundant or not. It went, as these things do, lasting about 3 hours. By 1645, I had a letter in my hand to say I was out of a job.

And so began my first adventures with the social welfare and benefits people in the UK.

August was tough, I managed to get some temp work through an agency for a couple of weeks in September and got a 12 week contract starting October 4th.

I’m not going to lie, the stress was just horrible and in London, if you’re not working, any savings at all are gone pretty quickly. Benefits come in at a whopping £73.50 per week. If you’re lucky, you might get some housing benefit too.

But Brexit and the June 24th announcement has impacted on my daily life in a way I never would have thought it could. My temp job exists because of Brexit, I have had my contract extended for another 12 weeks because of Brexit. What I do is existing because of Brexit.

Having a temp job now is great, better than £73.50 a week but no where as much as I was earning. This itself is another issue in London. Do you just want to exist somewhere or do you actually want to live?

June 24th and its fall out have made myself and Tahlula look at what the future holds. Being honest, I don’t want to exist. I want to live. That means 2017 could potentially be our last year in London. Something has to give.

Year of Flux and Celebrity deaths

Celebrity deaths in 2016, including my own beloved George Michael, have made us all question or own mortality.

2016 was a time of flux, a time of confusion. Now is a the time to kick the negatives of 2016 and start 2017 afresh.

Yes, getting a better job is top of the list but we all need to look after our own mental health, physical health and do stuff we enjoy and makes us happy.

During my time off this year, I lost nearly 3 stone. I want to continue that in 2017. I take medication for a dodgy immune system. I want to write more about that. 2017 is a year to throw myself into everything, try the ideas I have had see what sticks, what people like and what I enjoy doing.

The London Ear grows

I really enjoy presenting and producing my radio show, The London Ear on RTÉ 2XM. I’m thrilled at how the show has been received and how it has grown over the past few months. I don’t get paid for doing the show, so everything has to happen in the evening time, away from the 9-5 job. There’s no budget for promotion, all promotion is done via word of mouth and sharing on social media. So to see the show its listening audience and its social reach rise is very heartening and makes what I’m doing all worthwhile.

New beginnings, new starts, new adventures. 2017, it’s ours to to make the most of.

Last glimpse of light for 2016 from @aerlingus #EI174 from Dublin to Heathrow. Finally getting a flight 24 hours later than expected. Had a great time at home but now it's time for the next part of the plan. #NewYearsEve #NYE #NYE2016 #travel #travelireland #instatravel #blogger #bloggerlife #ukblogger #irishblogger #dublin #tourismireland #aerlingus #london #silhouette #dusk #lastlight #londonlife #maybeldner #instalondon #travelling #journey #airplane #heathrow #DUBTOLHR #londonlife #travelstagram

A photo posted by Nessy (@nessymondotcom) on Dec 31, 2016 at 9:41am PST

Here’s my Best 9 of 2016 from Instagram

A photo posted by Nessy (@nessymondotcom) on Dec 31, 2016 at 1:55pm PST

December 31, 2016
Keep on Rockin in the Free World // US Election

It was Friday night, cold and windy as we walked from Trafalgar Square to Charing Cross Station to make our way home. I turned to Tallulah and said ‘This could be our last weekend’. What? I gestured to the buskers playing Neil Young’s Rocking in the Free World.

Tallulah is pissed off with the amount of US election coverage I’m watching. Since the baseball season ended, CNN keeps me company at night. Any evening when I switch the channel the first reaction is ‘not the election please’.

I understand. The bullshit that has surrounded this campaign of double standards has been, actually quite scary. It just seems that an orange oompla loompa, (actually apologies to oompla loompas everywhere) doesn’t need to know facts and can make up statements which, as it stands, approximately half the voting population of America believe.

The outcome of this election could have the biggest impact on the entire world in living history.

Break it down. Donald Trump doesn’t like minorities, he wants to build a wall to keep Mexicans out. In reality, immigration to the US is down. It’s not a problem, it’s under control.

He shouts at people, a lot. He doesn’t believe global warming exists. He will be a dictator. He wants to ban Muslims from the US. He brags about assaulting women. He has no respect for people, at all. He also has court cases being brought against him In November.

He has been declared bankrupt 6 times, he hasn’t paid taxes. In general, he’s not a role model. He’s an asshole, with the inability to read a situation rationally. Just look at how he reacted to President Obama and the war veteran.

Obama: "Now, if someone can't handle a Twitter account, they can't handle the nuclear codes." pic.twitter.com/zG3odMEmwv

— Greg Hogben (@MyDaughtersArmy) November 6, 2016

America, vote for him and you’re giving this complete gobshite the controls to ruin the world. You’re alienating people of different ethic backgrounds, people of the LGBTQ community. I don’t know if you fit into any of these groups, by the time he gets into office, the rules could have changed, it could be a group of people or part of community you are involved in. What then?

Is this Trump scaremongering or is it that white America needs to be re-educated. Both really. By 2052 white people will be in a minority in America. Suck it up and get used to it, we’re all immigrants somewhere.

If you’ve got time, listen to this episode of This American Life.

Hillary, okay not everyone likes her. Bernie Saunders is too left for America, too liberal.

She has worked in politics for 30 years, she’s lived in the White House, she knows the score. She also has a demeanour and professionalism that can deal with other world leaders. It’s not even about the fact that she’s a woman or that her white pantsuit (the one she wore for the last debate) was amazingly on fleek.

The FBI have a lot to answer for. Yes, I know that means I’ll be stopped and searched at customs. It’s bizarre and seems to me like reopening a case 10 days before an election, only to close it is some sort of personal vendetta. Oops sorry we still didn’t find anything.

Have a listen to this week’s episode of This American Life. With all the research they’ve done, it seems that the only thing Hillary is guilty of is not knowing enough about technology. Seemingly, she can’t use a PC. Not ideal but you have to remember she didn’t grow up with computers. Plus I’d much rather be able to actually talk to people and negotiate and be able to relate to people than it is to use a computer.

I wish I could vote. I always wanted to go and spend time and live in America, San Francisco stole my heart. I didn’t want to go illegally, I wanted to go to the place Holly Johnson sang about.. ‘In the land of the free, you can be want you want to be.’

It seems to me that a section of white America is scared. Scared of the future, scared that they will be the minority, scared of the world. A pleb called Trump comes along who they can get behind and while supporting him and can deflect their own feelings to others and in its transfer becomes hate.

With the future uncertain and cyber attacks and what else coming from Russia, China and North Korea, Trump is cosying up with his snuggle bunny Vladimir Putin. He can’t be trusted to remain calm, I’m not sure the man is capable of it. For everyone else, it seems that these frequent cyber attacks are actually right bang in the middle of a 21st century, digital cold war.

A digital cold war is something we don’t need. People are hungry, people are homeless, people need clean water and food, people need to know they’re safe. People need to be able to go to work, school and get home safely. Together we have to look after each other, together we need to get our asses in gear and fight global warming. It doesn’t matter what colour our skin is, what we believe in. This election has brought out really horrible sides to some people.

All lives matter. It doesn’t matter about our colour, we need to live together in a civil society. We need to be tolerant of other people, including those we don’t understand. We all need to live our lives the best we can, not just exist. We have to work together to eliminate hate, to educate, to show others there’s nothing to be afraid of, only a Trump victory.

We’re Stronger Together. Vote Hillary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGTzMvXTUiY

November 7, 2016