It has been nice doing these sort of story posts recently rather than just life catch ups, which I know I am rather partial to. I downloaded my twitter archive a few nights ago and it was crazy to look back even to 2010 and see how different I sound and feel in comparison to now. I only got facebook recently, and deleted my Myspace and Bebo profiles completely so I don't really have anywhere cringeworthy or nostalgic to look back on properly. Apart from this blog - ha!
Do you ever sit back from time to time and have a good old nostalgia trip and assessment of your life? I look at the advice my Mum and Dad gave me when I was younger, and I never really realised until now how right they were, about SO much stuff. I failed to believe that 'you won't stay friends/keep in touch with the people from school forever' and 'one day you'll look back on this situation/argument/dilemma and wonder why you EVER let it upset you'. I think they always knew I'd figure it out in my own time, despite how insistent at 16 I was with being right about EVERYTHING. One of the most useful lessons is quite a practical one (which you may be able to guess from this post title) and I have to thank my Dad for. As I wouldn't be able to be in my current career without it. Learning how to drive!
Do you ever sit back from time to time and have a good old nostalgia trip and assessment of your life? I look at the advice my Mum and Dad gave me when I was younger, and I never really realised until now how right they were, about SO much stuff. I failed to believe that 'you won't stay friends/keep in touch with the people from school forever' and 'one day you'll look back on this situation/argument/dilemma and wonder why you EVER let it upset you'. I think they always knew I'd figure it out in my own time, despite how insistent at 16 I was with being right about EVERYTHING. One of the most useful lessons is quite a practical one (which you may be able to guess from this post title) and I have to thank my Dad for. As I wouldn't be able to be in my current career without it. Learning how to drive!
Here is me and my Daddy when we used to ride Motocross. At the age of 16 I was more interested in motorbikes than what I was cars (all my Dad's fault, might I add!) and by 17 he was keen for me to start driving lessons and get my license under my belt asap. This frustrated me because firstly, I didn't want to drive a car - I wanted a motorbike! And secondly, what point was there in my learning to drive when I knew I would never have a car to drive at the end of it. Neither my mum nor dad had the money to buy me my first car as some teenagers do, plus I never would have asked that of them. I definitely didn't have the cash to do it myself so what was the point in getting my license? Well, ALL the points, as raised by my Dad. At 23 I now fully appreciate exactly what he was on about, and he told me one day I would thank him for it and be glad I got out the way. So... thank you Dad :) I was young and fearless then, driving lessons and tests etc were much cheaper and I was still living at home so had no other outgoings to pay for. If I hadn't done it then, I don't have a clue when I would have done it up until now.
I passed my test second time around, and with rather lucky timing my Aunty Paula was working away at sea and so offered to put me on her car insurance. I kept her dinky little Peugot 206 running whenever she was away, and we had a very happy time together for years until an unfortunate accident including a drunk driver.
Damage to my car.
Damage to my wee Papa's car :(
I say 'unfortunate' because it seems that drunk driving is something of a common occurrence these days. Well it absolutely disgusts me. The 206 and my Papa's car were parked outside his house one night when a middle aged (and apparently well respected) business woman came skidding off the main road in her jeep into the side of my Papa's car then straight into the back of mines. The woman drove off and handed herself into the police station the next day - and she was extremely lucky that she didn't get herself or someone else killed. So that was the end of an era for me and the 206. It did give me quite a fright though and I didn't start driving again until I shared a Corsa with my ex boyfriend a couple of years ago. Last year, however, marked the epic occasion of me finally owning a wee car of my own. Yasmin the Yaris :) She is very old, complete with tape player and a space ship style dashboard, but an insanely reliable second hand car. The Yaris was cheap as chips but I had a real sense of pride in saving up my money and buying something outright which is 100% mines.
The only damage to Yasmin so far (and hopefully ever!) is some paint chips in the bonnet. But nothing a novelty oversized plaster won't fix. Yes, I am one of those people. I wouldn't go as far as eyelashes for my lights or antlers for the side but you can cringe at my expense!
My car is completely invaluable for my job, and I am constantly using it to transport props and my art department kit from job to job. I'm pretty sure the CCTV at ikea will have a musical montage of me over the past year trying to comically fit various different flatpacks into the back of it. At the start of the year I got to drive a van for the first time and it was absolutely brilliant! I was terrified mind you (as you can maybe see from my tiny moon face peering in the back of that photo) but it made my job so much easier. It has started something in my brain now though, as I just can't stop obsessing over vans! My wee Yaris has been an absolute star, and we have been in some rather funny and cramped journeys/situations together but if I came into any sort of the money in the future then this is what I'd buy....
A rather customised VW T5 Transporter. The shop across the road from me owns a similar one and uses it to go to the cash and carry. I AM SO JEALOUS. Alas, I do not have a spare £20,000 sitting about. But if work continues to go well for me I really would consider selling the yaris and trying to track down an older and less pimped version. It's pretty though, right?
Again, I am a big fan of VW's, and have known for many years that when I 'grow up' (ie, kids, house, marriage etc) that the Golf GTI is something I'd love to have as my family car.
You didn't think I would end this post without referencing back to the REAL dream, did you? Above is a Harley Davidson Sportster Forty-Eight with a Hard Candy Custom paint job. As well as being an out of this world bike you can imagine that it comes with a hefty price tag. But it's pictures like this one, and the one at the start which make me determined to sit my bike test one day soon and rekindle the real passion I used to have (plus John really wants to take his test too) But the irony of it is, the person who got me into motorbikes in the first place is the person that would be most protective and disapproving of me riding on the roads - my Dad. Being on a dirt track on a motocrosser is much less dangerous than travelling at high speeds on the road and amongst traffic. My dad rode for years so he knows more than anyone how at risk motorcylists can be, and you don't have the protection of a car body to shield you from any sort of collision or accident. But he's planted the seed and even after all these years the temptation has never left me. I'm hoping that one day I will be able to ride a road bike, but for my age and current situation it is definitely not the most practical option (but watch this space...) and after all, I suppose Daddy does know best!
Ayden x