Girlbooker's Tea and Toast

Readers of this blog will know that I have been looking for my ‘forever job’ for a few months now. Although I am currently working, it isn’t full time, so I have been getting into the groove of  a slower pace. Yet I am surprised at how busy life still feels. A few reflections on what that so called slower pace looks like. Life is simpler. Because I don’t have money to splash around, I am conscious of not spending unnecessarily. Apart from a couple of times, this has generally made life a whole lot simpler. I am spending way less time agonising over what to buy, how much to spend and whether I need one or two of something. The default answer is ‘no’ and it saves a lot of mental energy. When I do spend money, I really relish it as something special, even if it’s just a muffin as well as a coffee . I’m also doing quieter things, like staying home and reading, and the extra time to read has been such a beautiful gift. I have read more in the last six months than I have in the pre...

I’ve been intrigued by the possibilities of connection between food and mental health for a number of years now. A few years ago, I went through a really tough time, and one of the things that acted as a life buoy for me was cooking. I had never been an especially engaged or talented cook, but through this time I slowly developed familiarity with ingredients and techniques, and came to rely on the soothing, calming process of kitchen creation so much that I now get sad and moody if I go more than a few days without cooking.  I’ve spent some time musing over what exactly it is that works such magic on me, and I’m not 100% sure, but I do know that I’m not alone in seeking solace in food, and in particular, food creation. I have been delighted to discover some books in the last couple of years that have shared these ideas with me. The Happy Kitchen by Rachel Kelly is most explicit about this topic. It’s been written by a writer who has struggled with depression, and a nutritioni...

I've just finished a delicious pot of tea while glancing through the window at the day slowing beginning to light up, and since everyone here is still asleep I have an unexpected window of time free to blog! I am still looking of my 'forever job' but I am working  - back in a bookshop and gearing up to do another Christmas in retail. I honestly thought the day I walked out of that shop with the semi-regular flooded carpet in the back room and the co-worker I dubbed 'The Human Snail' would be the last day I ever said "would you like a bag?" to a complete stranger. But no. Here I am again. It's been a lesson in remembering what I love and hate about work. I sort of knew all of it already but it is now crystal clear. I don't like a job that's too easy and/or boring. I don't like inefficiencies that I am powerless to fix. I do like books. In fact, I fucking love them! And that is a summary in less than 100 words of my current working life. ...

A few years ago, I did one of those 5 minute online tests, designed to discover what kind of work I was best at. The results showed my inclination toward creative work was so strong that there was no room for anything else. I wasn’t especially surprised, but it did make going back to my data entry, cutting and pasting, Excel sheet-laden job the next day particularly depressing. Insert oversized sigh here. I didn’t have a solution to the problem right then and there, but I tucked it away to ponder on at a later date. Fast forward a couple of years and I found myself in a job that looked terribly corporate from the outside. After a couple of months I realised that something felt different; I could no longer hear the quiet yet insistent voice inside me plaintively asking to be fulfilled. I was surprised to discover that I actually liked my job! When I examined it more closely, I realised that the large amount of time I spent in problem solving was immensely satisfying, and compl...

Sometimes we need reminders from the world that we are on the right path.  Lately, I've been trying to work out why I am so unadventurous creatively speaking at the moment, when I actually have loads of spare time. I have also been trying to work out how to get a job. I've been job hunting for quite a few weeks now, several more than I ever really expected to be.  I started the 'funemployment' journey with an absolutely gigantic, unwieldy list of life maintenance tasks and proposed actives to check off in order to keep myself from going insane while I looked for a new job. I started quite well but my interest in The List soon waned, and I don't think I have even glanced at it for about a month now. I have to admit, I've started to wallow. Trying to hone your message to potential employers and recruiters is exhausting. What exactly do I want to do with my life?  (Now say that again but in bullet points). How can I package up my achievements...

As a child and teenager, I used to constantly reread. That habit has fallen away for a few reasons, to the point where I feel almost stressed at the thought of it. In fact, I get a little twitchy if someone mentions they are re-reading something, especially if the person in question works in a bookshop or publishing house. One of the reasons I don’t do it anymore is that I feel overwhelmed at the thought of all those books out there that I would probably love but will never, ever get the chance to read, because there are just. so. many.  Working in bookshops for a number of years has no doubt exacerbated this. It’s also meant that I usually can’t bear taking recommendations from others because my own personal list of Books To Read One Day is so long. I don’t have time to waste on something someone ELSE thinks has value! And the third habit that this work has instilled in me is that I won’t keep reading something that I don’t enjoy. Life is too short, and the book list too lon...

I once read, somewhere or other, that eating an apple will do a better job of waking you up than a cup of coffee. So why don't we have any apple shops, with exposed brick walls, industrial-hipster lighting, and queues of apple-deficient people snaking out the door waiting for their fix each morning? Well, for whatever reason(s), we are stuck with the cafe. But it just so happens that there are plenty of benefits to grabbing a quick coffee in the morning, completely aside from whether or not the beverage in question can make you feel more awake and alert. Here are my top 5: 1. Getting Some Fresh Air Stepping out of the office for a quick coffee run is a very good thing. Being outside and exposed to direct sunlight can help lift your mood. There are proven links between lack of sun exposure and anxiety and depression. The sun will also give you a (probably much needed) dose of vitamin D, which is imperative for bone strength. There are apparently a whole heap of other amazing ...