1. Paper Shredder. Aged 13 I was in charge of shredding confidential documents in a factory. Great money but incredibly tedious.

2. Cream Girl. Still aged 13 I progressed onto selling bacon, yoghurt and, of course, cream door to door. Rubbish money but was good exercise.

3. Cafe/shop girl. I volunteered with the WRVS at 15 and was in charge of running a small shop and cafe in a busy hospital on Sunday afternoons. Great banter with patients and visitors. No money but great experience.

Tunnocks shopgirls

4. Bakery shop assistant. LOVED this job! I worked for 5 years in Tunnocks bakery every Saturday whilst at school/college.

5. Cloakroom attendant. Working in a nightclub at 16 was an inspired idea. Getting paid to enjoy all the fun, music and banter with no hangover. Sadly it all ended when the drugs squad raided one night and the management went on the run. Fun while it lasted.

6. Biscuit Factory. This was a summer job whilst I was at college. A proper factory job. Wore off the fingerprints on my pinky fingers by repeatedly lifting hot biscuits onto trays. They’ve grown back now though.

7. Call centre. Another summer job. I think I had one of the best call centre jobs on offer as all I had to do was call and welcome people to internet banking. Plus we had numerous fancy dress nights, learned circus skills and had free ice lollies and juice!

8. Pizza Hut. Briefly, after leaving college, I was still working 2 days a week in the bakery shop and was also signing on to top up my income. Feeling desperate, I took a job at pizza hut. I hated it. I was saved in the second week by a phone call out of the blue asking me to interview for……

9. ……Drama assistant. I started off helping with one class. By the summer I was working with 8 groups and was  promoted to…..

10. …..Drama workshop director. I had great fun and really enjoyed working with young people. During my time I worked with some scary people, but this led me to making some wonderful friends!

SF2005

Being a drama workshop director was my main job for a few years. I did do lots of other work at the same time…

11. Keyboard tutor. A strange appointment as I can’t really play the keyboard. However, I can read music and help others to play. A definite case of those who can’t do – teach!

12. Dance tutor. I taught a weekly stretch & flex class to a group of 70 year olds. Fun, fun, fun!

13. Playscheme worker. Helped to provide relaxed yet fun out of school care/facilities for young people with a wide range of disabilities such as Downs Syndrome, autism and cerebral palsy. Did this with my lovely big sister.

14. Face painter. I was sent to various festivals, events and fun days to paint faces. My specialities were tigers and butterflies.

15. Flower festival staff. Did various jobs including face painting, ticket sales, organising school groups and dressing up as characters such as yoda and a caterpillar.

16. Freelance drama workshop director. I worked regularly with groups in Ayr and some in Paisley. Great money but lots of travelling.

2006 Resi Staff

17. Resi staff. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Being a member of resi staff had it all. Worked with many memorable people and made some amazing friends. Summer 2006 was a particular highlight

18. Workshop assistant. I learned so many new games from assisting with other drama tutors. Met some great people and a few not so great people.

19. Conference staff. Mainly dealing with buffets. Had some delicious free lunches!

20. Play safe Glasgow. I delivered loads of workshops to staff in Glasgow about how to have a happy yet safe night out in town during the Christmas party season. Great fun.

In the midst of all these jobs I started some regular work which I am still doing today.

21. Studio guest. I volunteer with Insight Radio two days a week as a guest on two different news based radio shows. Fantastic experience, great laugh and still as much fun as it ever was.

22. Peer Educator. I deliver health based workshops to young people in youth groups, schools and community settings. We work with a group of volunteers and we also run a young person’s sexual health clinic.

And that’s the lot! Well for now anyway…

reaching the first thousand!

It’s day 21 of my i-pod challenge. I’m aiming to hear all 7440 tracks in 61 days. As I began to write this I reached song number 2255, Juanes ‘A dios le Pedo’ which comically translates as ‘to God I ask him’

So I’m running a wee bit behind schedule but am remaining positive! I had one rough day near the start of the challenge when I think my body went into sensory overload. I had to switch all electrical items off and lie down for a while to recharge my own batteries. Since that I’ve paid more attention to my instincts and known when to switch on & off my mp3.

The Christmas songs are still annoying me. Other than that, there are only a handful more that I will eradicate afterwards (some should have gone a long time ago).

I have always been very passionate about music and have a wide and varied taste. My Dad has been a great musical influence – his collection has more music than hmv could ever hope to stock! From LP’s to cd’s and dvd’s to mp3′s, I’ve had unlimited access to some of the most amazing music ever recorded.

Part of the joy of this exercise is hearing some of the bands/artists my Dad has suggested over the past few years that I haven’t made the time to listen to.

It’s also just nice to hear so much music again. Some may argue that I am not fully appreciating the tracks if I am having to listen to them. But the opposite is true. I am really listening to them all and enjoying most of them, hearing the right track at the right time  – that’s the magic of shuffle!

So why have I decided to do this? Firstly, I really enjoy using the shuffle function on my mp3 as I get to hear songs I might not necessarily choose. And I often feel there are so many songs I haven’t had a chance to listen to yet. Secondly, I’d like to be able to say that I have heard all the songs on my i-pod before I start uploading more. Thirdly, I thought why not?

I started my challenge at 6.55am this morning with my first shuffle track being a Patti Smith cover of Neil Young’s Helpless (I hope that’s not a sign?)

By 2.21pm this afternoon I was on my 34th track of the day, still a long way to go!

I’ve worked out that I will have to average roughly 124 tracks a day to keep on target. I must listen to all tracks in full and give them my total attention. There will of course be busy days when this target will be impossible to keep. However, I’m hoping the number of public holidays over these 2 months will help me to catch up again!

Well for one, it’s a great song. And secondly,  it fills me with hope and promise about the future. We never know what’s around the next corner….it could be a dead end but somewhere near there could be a hidden doorway leading to a most fabulous, wonderful place.

“I’m waiting for my moment to come
I’m waiting for the movie to begin
I’m waiting for a revelation
I’m waiting for someone to count me in

Because now I only see my dreams in everything I touch
Feel their cold hands on everything that I love
Cold like some magnificent skyline
Out of my reach but always in my eye line”

I’ve also been inspired by Peter Pan lately. Like most folk of my age, I grew up knowing the Disney adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s most popular work. But last week I started to read the book as part of an assignment at work. It was miles better than I remembered!

J.M. Barrie once said, “Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough”

I hope he’s right. Though I don’t know what I want. I know I want adventure. I want to have fun and excitement. I want to be happy. What more could I want?

Since leaving school in 1998 I have been continually working. I went to a local college for 3 years studying Theatre Arts and Acting & Performance. I was lucky enough to get theatre related work when I left college, working as a Drama Workshop Director for my local council. Over the next few years, I also did any freelance work I could get, from face painting at festivals to teaching aerobics to a group of 70 year old women. After a few years I needed a change…

I began working with a young person’s health project 5 years ago and am still there today. I also volunteer twice a week with Insight Radio, Europe’s first radio station for a blind or partially sighted audience. I LOVE having fun at Insight, I was even lucky enough to be part of the team which won Insight it’s first Sony award in 2007!

Last year I went to uni for the first time, studying a post grad in Broadcast Journalism. It was hard going but two brilliant thing’s came out of it.

1. I realised that if you put your mind to it anything is possible.

2. It propelled me to organise the most fantastic holiday I’ve ever had (thanks again everyone)

Alot of change in a year….so where do I go from here?

Click here to see Australia photos

Click here to see some of my friends Oz photos

Click here to see USA – West

Click here to see USA – Grand Canyon & Monument Valley

Click here to see USA – South

And click here to see USA – East

Enjoy!

Today I walked around the city and enjoyed every last second I had. Marching down broadway in the 95 degree heat, breathing in the smell of all the vendors food, listening to all the tourists and locals alike, tuning out the taxis horns and looking at all the wonderful parks and buildings.

I guess I didn’t really expect to like it this much. For years I’ve listened to friends and colleagues rave on about New York but it didn’t mean anything to me.

I think everyone takes something different away from New York, something unique to them. That’s why I’m so glad I’ve had time here myself to discover my New York.

With that being said, I have also been fortunate enough to meet up with some new friends whilst I’ve been here and have never been short of company if I needed it.

It really is a magical city, one I hope to return to. There’s so much I’ve still to see and experience. So….let the saving begin! The traveling bug has well and truly got me

Last night I enjoyed the final night of our Suntrek tour. We went for pizza then a moonlit walk around Central Park.

This morning a few of us gathered for breakfast and then it was time to move on and say our goodbyes.

I had so much fun on this trip and met some fantastic people. It was FAB! Thanks

Now I have 3 days to enjoy New York before I start my journey home to Scotland

I had a great day today. Waking up in Washington. Then drove past Baltimore on route to Philadelphia. There I enjoyed a yummy Philly cheese steak then worked it off by running up the Rocky steps.  We saw Independence House where they wrote the Constitution and I had a wee peek at the Liberty bell too.

Then it was onto New York city. Our lovely guide took us out for a slice of NY pizza and a walk around Central park where I bumped into Rabbie Burns of all people!

I look forward to my days in New York thoughI’ll be both happy and sad to leave my wee tour group.

Looking forward to catching up with you all soon

Next we stayed at Claytor Lake in Dublin Virginia, although I didn’t see the lake

Today we drove the scenic route to the capital. I spent the evening wandering the monuments and seeing the sights. Tomorrow we have a full day to enjoy the city, woo hoo!

I think we’ve covered 12 states now in the US, phew! It’s been soooo much fun! Can’t wait to travel some more