Bowery Mural

When Bad Weeks Go Good – Themeet140 Glasgow

Saturday 29 May 2010

A few weeks ago I’d seen a hash tag being floated about on Twitter: #themeetup140 People were tweeting and retweeting it.  Then came a tweet from Mark ( @markofrespect ) asking if we were going along.  From what I’d read about these meetups (from the London one that is) it would be an informal get-together of a group of people with a common interest in social media.  My first thought was ‘yes I’d love to go but not being a social media professional in any way, I’d stick out like a sore thumb’...  how wrong can you be.

I decided only a few days beforehand that I would go along after seeing the number of people I knew (online knew that is) would be going along and there were people whom I’d been tweeting for a few weeks and months that I really really wanted to meet in real life (
@ThirdSectorLab  @TartanCat to name a few).  Feeling somewhat stressed with 3 days of car garage trouble and a hefty car repair bill I became brave and booked my place at themeet140 and a few days later set off on the train to Glasgow.  A text came in from Nicola (@LilacSwizzle) asking when I’d be at the train station.  We met and headed on the underground to the Landsdowne Bar.  (A lovely friendly venue with a good atmosphere on the two occasions I’ve been so far.  I will be back there!).

It was great to see Mark again, it had been too long since he had cancelled a lunch date on us.  Sorry Mark I’m not going to let you forget that one!!  When we got there, there were about 12 people, we tagged onto a table and were introduced to a few people.  I scanned the room and there were faces I recognised and faces I didn’t.  More people started to arrive and the room started filling.  The sun was shining into the conservatory, people were chatting and introductions were being made.  The atmosphere was good.  The introductions mostly consisted of “I’m so and so and on Twitter I’m x” and the penny drops and you realise and smile at finally meeting these friends in real life.  Being the introvert, I’m quite happy to sit and listen to people’s stories about who they are and what they do.  But here I found myself mixing and engaging with people I never thought I would.  I mean my interest in social media for now is strictly personal as I am but a humble administrator.  But like I’ve mentioned in previous posts I do love social media and all that it has done enrich my life in the past couple of years (whether that be through this blog or via Twitter).  Not once did I feel that I didn’t belong.  All the people I met and spoke with were lovely.  And those who I’d been tweeting with beforehand did not disappoint in person either.  I mean I almost let out a yelp of joy when Julie (
@juliebeee) came across and said “Ange?” then told me who she was (She doesn’t have a picture avatar you see!).  We’ve only been tweeting for a few weeks but I already know this lady will be a friend.  This sentiment applies to a lot of people I met there that night.  Since Wednesday evening I’ve engaged with them on Twitter and had some good practical advice on things and I hope to catch up again at the next #themeet140 Glasgow!!  There were a couple of people missing as they couldn't make it along so until next time...

Chris (
@chrish10) has written a great post on how he and Mark came up with the whole idea, you can read that here.  In it he says:  “there’s nothing better than following the hashtag the next day and seeing the impact the night had on everyone’s mood and week”     I don’t think you realise what an impact it has on someone like me, a quiet person who finds it hard to strike up real life conversations except with people I know.  But Twitter and now #themeet140 has allowed me to find a voice, and like the mountains, to find somewhere I can fit in in my own unique way.  The energy and enthusiasm is infectious so much so that I think I’m finding the confidence to push on with my little crafty idea I have!! (And for which I might need some help and advice from a few of you guys?).

For anyone that is unsure I recommend you try to attend one of these nights wherever they may pop up.  You can follow 
@themeet140  on Twitter for more updates and details of future events.
Thanks to Mark and Chris for dreaming up this idea and more importantly for putting it in to practice.  Brilliant!

And that was the story of how my bad week turned good.  #themeet140 is where it’s at!
Ange x

Bucket List

Monday 24 May 2010



I’m in one of those melancholic moods again.  I think I was born with this trait.  Along with no confidence and a painfully low self esteem.  I don’t want to bleat on about that all the time because actually in the past few months I have been getting better thanks to all manner of people who may or may not know, directly or in directly, how they have helped me.  But if you’re reading this then you have…
In my melancholic state yesterday I decided what was needed was a bucket list.  You know?  Like off the film, except I’m not quite as old as those guys in the film and don’t worry I’m not about to die or anything like that… well not that I know of!  So here it is: My Bucket List.  If you want to help me tick off the items on this list go ahead and pick and number and let me know.  Let’s enjoy it!
  1. Walk along a remote beach in Scotland at sunset.
  2. Sell some of my lovely crafty wares online to actual people.
  3. Use my free meal for 2 voucher for the Landsdowne Bar.
  4. Cinema at least once a month.
  5. Go see the Tour de France LIVE!
  6. Weekend in London.
  7. Road tripping with friends - get in the car and drive, anywhere.
  8. Another trip to Barcelona cos it’s my favourite city.
  9. Find an excuse to wear my yellow dress.
  10. Find an even bigger excuse to buy the lovely dress I saw in Oasis the other day!
  11. Lots of Nic and Ange adventures (pick some of the above and below missy!)
  12. Surf in Hawaii
  13. Drive down the Pacific Coast Highway
  14. Sell some of my pictures
  15. Swing through the trees at Go Ape!
  16. Own a Frank Gehry necklace from Tiffany
  17. Write in my blog more
  18. Go see this bridge (Glenfinnan Viaduct).
  19. Scream like a child at Alton Towers
  20. Finish reading one of the 4 books sitting on my bedside table.
  21. Start my Uni evening classes – September 2010
  22. Keep taking photos ( @iphonograffi )
UPDATED: 25th May 2010

23.  Walk up more hills
24.  Stop worrying so much
25.  People watch in Grand Central Station

Ok that’s enough for now.  This list is not complete and will be added to every now and again as soon as an idea pops in to my head. 
By the way, as a follow up to the first paragraph of this post, I’m not an outwardly grumpy person who mopes around all day.  There are just some days when it all just catches up with me and I get all down on myself and what I have (or have not) achieved in my life.  Which on reflection might be a little more than some people, so it’s not too bad at all really.
Ange x  

Vote! (don't worry this is NOT about the election!)

Tuesday 11 May 2010

Dear readers, friends, listeners,
I have been silent for a little while but i'm edging my way back into bloggerland slowly.  Now since the trek I haven't asked for much from you but now i'm going to ask for a little favour.  Twitter friend Ross @ThirdSectorLab and @RelScot  need your help and a wee vote please.  Below are Ross' own words from his blog.  Please read.  Please vote.  It'll take you 5 minutes max.

Ange xx  
____________________________

Vote for Relationships Scotland
The charity I've recently started working for, Relationships Scotland, has been short-listed in an exciting competition to win a complete overhaul of our website. unXPOSEd (half digital agency/half social mission) will provide £4000 worth of development time to the winner.
We're the only Scottish charity in the final and you can vote for us by following the link below (it literally takes two seconds to vote):
Why the heck should I give up 2 seconds of my time you're possibly asking yourself. Well here's a little bit about what Relationships Scotland do and why your vote is so important:
Our vision is to make counselling, mediation and family support for Scotland's people a right not a privilege.
Working in partnership with our network of local services across the country we help make sure Scotland's children have the best start in life by providing high quality family support which is accessible to all.
When couples ask for the help of a Relationships Scotland counsellor they're able to make more sense of their problems.  Where relationships do break down, our family mediation services help make sure children are spared unnecessary exposure to their parents’ conflict.  Our network of child contact centres enable both parents to continue to be truly involved in the lives of their children.
A new website would help us truly engage with children and parents, providing a valuable online family support resource and strengthening our role as the leading voice for families in Scotland.
Hopefully that gives you a better idea about why we'd like you to vote for us. There's a few ways you can support us in this competition:
  1. Vote. Kind of obvious but unless you actually follow the link and vote we're never going to win. No pressure!
  2. Tweet. Copy n paste this line and tweet away - Vote for @RelScot and help support Scottish families: http://unxposed.net/vote/
  3. Facebook. Tell your Facebook friends about the competition, cut n paste the line below, or hit the Facebook Like button at the bottom of this post - Vote for Relaionship Scotland and help support Scottish families: http://unxposed.net/vote/
  4. Email all your friends, colleagues and contacts. To make things easy you can copy n paste the info below - The charity Relationships Scotland have the chance to win a new website, your vote can help them support even more Scottish families:http://unxposed.net/vote/
  5. Blog. If you have a blog please write a quick post about the vote. Heck, why not cut n paste this whole page to makes things easy.
  6. Harass people in the street. OK this is possibly taking things a little far but the more people you tell the more chance we have of winning!
Wish us luck and if you have an idea about how we can encourage people to vote please leave a comment below or get in touch on twitter - @RelScot

Mute

Saturday 1 May 2010

It's been a while but there are no words...  I've run on half power for a while and now I'm empty.  Do not adjust your sets though, normal service will resume shortly.  For the moment there are scenes and music...

Ange xx

Laura Marling - Rambling Man
Paul Weller - There's no tears to cry