Good Riddance January Blues

All I've heard today is 'My God, where's January gone?' or 'Oh didn't January go quick!'; clearly I am on a completely different planet to everyone else, because I have never known such a long month. 

I hate January. Everything about it just winds me up: the fact Christmas is a whole year away, the fact I broke my New Year's resolutions within a matter of hours, the fact I have no money to spend in the sales because I spent so much at Christmas, the fact it's cold ... I could go on but I think you get my drift. 

Then I got annoyed with myself; I've just lost 31 days of my life that I'll never get back, and what do I have to show for it? Absolutely nothing. 

All I've done is feel sorry for myself and moan about how depressing January is. What was the point? I didn't achieve anything by giving in to those January blues; it didn't make January go any quicker. I was waiting for January to end, but now it has ended, there's nothing at the end worth waiting for. I'm in exactly the same position as I was on the 1st January. 

I seem to spend a significant amount of time waiting. Not day to day waiting, like waiting at traffic lights, waiting for Eastenders to start, or waiting in shop queues, but waiting for something to happen to me, something incredible, something exciting, under the disillusion 'good things come to those who wait'. I thought it was patience but let's be honest ... it's just laziness. 

So I've decided I'm starting 2013 again. Nothing comes to those who wait, you've got to get off your backside with a positive attitude, and start sorting your life out. No one's going to do it for you. 

Who'd want to be human if you can be bionic?

As a child, I wasn't into ballerinas or fairies like most little girls; I wanted to be a superhero. It wasn't such an unreachable dream, all I had to do was get bitten by a spider or fall down a well. Spiderman was my favourite, but I wasn't fussy... Batman would have been equally as cool. My parents however, concerned at the prospect of me being paralysed from jumping off our garden shed, assured me this was an unattainable dream and that I should probably be a teacher, nurse or something normal, for nobody actually existed with powers that exceeded human capabilities...

This however, is no longer the case. The Guardian published today, an article on how close we are to creating our first bionic man. Rex, as he is known, is a 7ft tall, skeleton of prosthetic limbs. He has a fully functioning heart and lung system, spleen and pancreas, he can even hold a conversation. By 2017, he is set to be the stronger and faster than any human...

I am in no way objecting research or the use of prosthetic limbs and organs where necessary; the fact soldiers can come back from war, with no limbs and have some sort of normality due to prosthetics is nothing short of a miracle. However, to make an entire human for no reason? Why?

Where will it stop? If one can be made, who's to stop someone making an entire race?

If you want to be the fastest and the strongest man in the world and it's technologically possible, who's to deny people? 

It is without a doubt one of the most mind blowing creations I've heard, but equally one of the scariest and potentially dangerous. To have the power to make a race of people who are more powerful than humans, who are operated by machines and who have no emotions, feelings or conscience ... humans are putting themselves at risk of being over ruled by their own creation. 

What are we paying road tax for?

Day two and I'm moaning; cue jaw dropping and shocked faces... 

Today I handed over £74 to legally keep, my pretty poor excuse for a car, on the road for the next six months. I did consider the Del Boy approach, the 'it's in the post' note, but thought I'd better be safe than sorry. Now this payment wouldn't have been so bad if:

1. It was enough for the entire year, and, 

2. I understood and felt confident as to where this money was going.

I concluded it must be to maintain the roads and thought 'hey, it's to be expected, you pay for the privilege of using these roads and surely this will make the roads nice and smooth to drive on...' but upon swerving no less than four treacherous pot holes within the three and half miles back to my house, I was a little peeved to say the least. If that isn't enough, in the last year I've replaced three tyres and also had to get an entire new wheel due to massive craters in the roads. 

Now I know everyone's in the same boat, and they can't just abandon the law, but it really does beg the question: what are we honestly paying over £100 a year for?

'Two Pints of Lager and a Steak Sandwich Please'

I never thought my life would be interesting enough to write a blog about, but as soon as I even consider it, I casually get roped into a missing person’s incident... 

So, it was a standard evening at work in a traditional pub, in a sleepy, idyllic, English village: understaffed, rude customers ... almost enough to overlook the mangy looking gentleman in the corner, putting customers off their food with his persistent coughing.

I have to say I did feel a bit sorry for him, he had to be someone's relative, a father, maybe a grandfather ... he'd clearly just lost his way a bit. 

He soon went on his way and I thought nothing of it until the following morning when the police phoned about a missing elderly man who was last known to have been at the pub. I shamefully couldn't place him until, a wave of guilt swept over me, as I remembered the lonely little old man in the corner, who didn't kick up a fuss, demand my time, or look down on me like the fifty other diners that evening.  I'd completely ignored the man who probably only came in for company, and I might have been the last person to see him alive...

My life is not that dramatic though, and I was pleased to hear the man was safe and well this morning, reunited with his family. It did make me re-evaluate who I give my time to however, so if Tony happens to come into the pub again, I will definitely be buying him a drink and taking a moment to talk to him about his week, his day, his life.