In Every Dream Home A Heartache
Basically I'm fed up with my current accomodation situation. I live in a flat in the hospital grounds, which although costs a mere £200 a month, is beginning to feel quite claustrophobic. When I go home, it feels as if I'm not really leaving work (don't get me started on that). Being that the hospital/flat are on the outskirts of Ayr and I don't drive, I feel generally isolated and there isn't really anywhere to go (even if I do, Ayr is like a ghost town after about 5pm).
To make matters worse, I've had a good look and there seems to be barely any rooms for rent in Ayr (which is what I want just now), and so the alternatives are very limited. Moving back with the folks is a no-no - wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I did in fact pass on a decent-looking flat in Ayr town, for which I'm slighly kicking myself now. If I could find anywhere half decent away from where I am now, it would cheer me up bigtime.
I accepted my current job because it seemed like a sensible option for the long term, but this current situation really, really does fucking suck. Yes I'm moaning, but it's for a reason. If you get anything from this, it should be the knowledge that there are people like me who perpetually seem to be inadvertently putting themselves in awkward situations, which lead to unhappiness, and you may well be better off in your situation so be thankful you're not like me. Yes, I can and will start taking driving lessons but it could be several months from now before I pass, never mind get a car.
How did I end up in this rotten situation? I wish I knew.
P.S. A more humourous, upbeat post next time, I promise, cos the only joke you'll find in this one is my aforementioned situation. Goodnight.
posted by Duncan @ 7:29 AM
19 comments
19 Comments:
Hi Dunc, Being as you don't like Ayr too much why not rent a flat in Glasgow city centre, somewhere relatively near Central station, then you will only have a 50 minute commute to work which is nothing really and you can stay in Glasgow.
Iain
I'm thinking of doing that (out of desperation more than anything else). I was going to buy a bike and start cycling to and from work, with the train journey in between.
I don't hate Ayr, I just hate living there. Unless you have a car in a place such as this, you can end up feeling stranded!
I had a look for rooms and basically can't find any! 1 bedroom flats are very scarce too, it seems.
Cheers Iain, it looks like a choice between commute and insanity over the coming weeks for me (which is kind of appropriate as I quite literally work in a nuthouse!).
P.S. big shout out to my sister for finally passing her driving test. I'm not counting on me passing my test in the near future just in case driving ability is genetic (let's just say she was on the verge of double figures for number of tests sat)!
CABIN FEEEEVVVVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Well done Stan Fisher, well done SNP .... more importantly ... WELL DONE SCOTLAND, my faith in the people has been restored.
Happy Days!
If Labour are to believed, we'll all be skint and dying within about a year of an SNP victory so here is the moment .... LET'S SEE. And NOBODY forget the answer when it comes, let the liars suffer again in 4 years time.
Freedom. Freedom from Tony's lies and scaremongering.
This SNP victory is bad news all around. The Scottish people have seemingly forgotten what they are voting for. It's about the future of this country, not about protesting against Blair and Iraq etc.
I'd sooner see the Braveheart Independent win votes than the SNP.
Salmond says we'll be having a referendum in 2010?!?
Good one Alex lets crete 3 years of uncertainty about the country's future... I'm sure businesses and investors will love that!
I'm looking forward to a big NO to independance and a yes to a unified UK with the Tories in power.
I believe this country could prosper by going it alone. However it all comes down to belief/faith of the people, in the people, and sadly if we all thought as you do, we will always play second fiddle to En-ger-lund. Don't kid yourself that Scotland's best interests are at heart with the Union - that's what Tony, Dave et all will tell you because they want your vote - and in your case you believe them.
Yes there are uncertainties but personally I'd rather invest a bit of faith in an independent nation which could very well prosper than be second best for the rest of my days and be governed by untrustworthy politicians who only have their best interests in mind.
If you listen to a lot of successful businessmen, they will say that they got where they were largely through taking risks. Risks are often necessary in the path to success. It all comes down to whether you have the bottle to take those risks.
I don't understand the concept that we are playing second fiddle to England.
There's too much of a hard done by attitude in this country and let's still blame Thatcher for anything that goes wrong in our lives etc...
I also fail to see any evidence to suggest that the politicians in Scotland should be any more or less trustworthy or self serving than the ones at Westminster.
I don't know who to trust for sure but Salmond to me comes across as a genuine, sincere man. True, any politician will come across as your best friend if he/she wants your vote, but I trust him. I certainly don't think he'd take the country into an illegal war a la Mr Blair.
Part of what I mean by not playing second fiddle is having a single, central government deciding exactly how the money is going to be spent, e.g. on schools, health service etc, without any outside meddling. The closer these decisions are to home, the less margin for error, corruption, spin etc and it would probably mean that decisions are made and policies executed faster and a more direct control over how the country is run. Scotland governs itself to an extent but nowhere near as much as it is capable of.
Secondly, public mentality is bound to improve, and hopefully all the "hard done by" crap will be forgotten about. An independent country is bound to command more respect on a global scale which can only be good for business.
Yes, these things can take time to happen but with the right collective attitude and belief, they will happen nonetheless.
How you can believe a Tory government is best for Scotland is beyond me.
Well it ain't gonna happen anyway, the SNP will not get a vote through the Scottish parliament for the referendum as there isn't enough support amongst the other partys.
Whatever happens happens.
I hope you're satisfied with your choice - in a few years we'll all be hunting foxes and your kids will be going to Eton.
Freeeeedommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
There are a plethora of businesses and businessmen who believe that Independence would be in the best interests of Scotland. No offence, but most are more noteworthy, successful, knowledgeable and rich beyond the aspirations of Iain McNaught!
And yes, there are plenty on the opposing side too. The Heads of Economics at our top Universities can't even agree as to whether a break from the Union would be a bad thing ... they actually voted by 1 that Scotland would be better off. The Adam Smith Institute produced the most detailed analysis into the repercussions of Independence and concluded that within 10 years each Scottish household would be, on average, £6000 better off that our English equivalents.
Forget this immature and petty notion that Scottish Nationalists just have a chip on their shoulder about England.... it’s an age old and very poor argument.
It’s what’s best for our country. It makes perfect sense to me that you could run your household more efficiently than I could run yours, with me living miles away. That’s putting it simply, but the principle remains.
We could be better off in a Union with Sweden or the US or Kazatamookistan, but it shouldn't JUST be about the £'s. It’s also a principle that we are a sovereign state.
However ......... the biggest thing you got wrong in your rant was this..... Labour had a cheek to talk about what this election REALLY was about. Because it wasn't about breaking up the UK, it was about giving the public of Scotland the CHOICE amongst many many other issues. Most political enthusiasts could see a referendum wouldn't happen and even if, by miracle, it did. WE would have the CHOICE. That is democracy.
Labour have slated the SNP for years for being a one policy party and this year they clawed and scratched with the aim of bringing back that impression. THEY made this election about the UNION and as a consequence they made this election about the failings of the Westminster government and the leaders within.
Furthermore 40% of people voted for parties that support Scottish Independence. If that doesn't even raise an eyebrow or a thought about a referendum I find that very peculiar. 3 years of uncertainty? Why not try 30 years of the same arguments and uncertainty until someone eventually says ... LETS ACTUALLY ASK THE PEOPLE. And before you say ‘they have already had the opportunity to vote SNP’ ... Do not patronise the people of Scotland into voting for parties on a single issue. That is dreamland; many also don't like Alex Salmond but would support Independence. Many may well have voted SNP and do not want Independence, there really only is one way to find out.
Martin has touched on 2 points which I find annoying:
1. The Lib Dems refused a coalition with the SNP because they didn't want to give the people a referendum on independence - Surely in this day and age, in our "democratic" society, the people should be allowed to choose. I find it very childish of the Lib Dems to do this, and think it's very disrespectful to the people - it's almost like a parent who is confiscating a childs sweets before they could even choose which one they wanted. It's about freedom of choice, and the LDs here are suppressing that freedom. They can fuck off in my opinion.
2. Why do people believe that a country being run from afar is better than home rule? It's like if you have a holiday home, you're not going to tend to it and give it as much care and attention as your main home. There will inevitably be some neglect. In fact I've no doubt many of those in power down south see Scotland as just that - a holiday home. WAKE UP!
The idea that we have some kind of a divine right to vote on independance grates with me. Why don't we not bother electing politicians to make educated decisions about our future.
Instead lets just put all policy decisions as a referendum after all its our right to choose isn't it?
We elect politicians for a reason, if they choose as the lib dems have done not to want a referendum on independance then thats their perogative and thats their right as elected MPs to make that decision.
I also don't get all this about being ruled from "afar" being such a big problem. It's not like we are on the otherside of the universe from Westminster, and
Look at California, 4th biggest economy in the world, and they are ruled by a government in D.C. which is thousands rather than hundreds of miles away. Should they, therefore become an independant from the rest of the U.S?
We're not "being governed by a different country"!
We are governed by a parliament that happens to sit in London and is made up of MP's from accross the UK.
The Lib Dems do not need to be bullied into supporting policies that they do not agree with. They do not want independance so are not supporting it, end of story...
Iain, California is far from being ruled from 'afar'. You will find that most states in the US (especially California) have a vast array of more powers than the Scottish Parliament ..... and incidently, the Americans wouldn't tolerate it any other way!
Are you suggesting that, if the situation arose, our MSP's should just push through Independence without consulting the public? As that is the flip side to your argument. Besides, we had a referendum to decide whether to have a Parliament, I'm surprised there were any births from 1997 to 1999 what with all the "uncertainty" that must have caused????
The same arguments arise each time the EU 'threaten' British sovreignty. All the arguments for Independence are used as reasons to keep our distance from Europe. When the circumstance changes to Scotland, all the arguments suddenly become idiotic, ignorant and petty.
We are expected to believe a Scot can run the UK and that Scotland is the 'best small country in the world' (so says Mr. McConnell). Yet, running our own affairs would be a disaster. Think about it for a while.
Many of the countrys top businessmen came out before the election in support of independence. Surely if it would be such a disaster for the country then these experts wouldn't back it?
Those against e.g. Labour, simply use the uncertainty to their advantage to try and create a climate of fear and doubt and so encourage people to keep things as they are and not take any rash decisions on the countrys future.
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