Your problems solved
Before we get going on today’s blog, I must mention again www.markwatsonfans.com/tysic. I am now trying to follow everyone who’s signed up. Remember, keep filling in the ‘update’ box and we will all be able to keep track of each other. It’s immensely satisfying.
And now welcome to the first round of Can I Help You? If you’ve just tuned in to this blog, I do normally try to use it to do funny stuff, but increasingly I’m a deranged megalomaniac with delusions that I can help people achieve things and solve their problems. So a while ago I offered myself up as an agony aunt and asked for all and any problems. There were quite a few, more than I can tackle at once, so here are the first half of them. The others, I will come straight back to in the next couple of blogs.
What I must add is that I didn’t set this up because I think I’m some sort of lifestyle guru – I’ve done my best to give advice like I would to friends – but this is meant to be a kind of open forum for discussion. So if you feel like pitching in, add a Comment with your take. In almost all cases there will be better qualified people than me to answer them. So, go for it.
As you’ll see, I’ve sometimes bunched two questions together where they’re fairly similar. Here we go…
RACHEL my problem would be – how do i find a nice boy? i am capable of finding boys in general, but most are not nice. and the ones that are nice are taken. it’s very hard work.
SARAH My problem is similar to rachel’s. How to find a nice boy? Either that or if you’re feeling ambitious, how do you be happy? How do you learn to love what you have?
When I was at school, and then uni, I was definitely what you would consider a ‘nice boy’, i.e. not a twat, respectful of women, pleasant, would pay for dinner, etc. I had bad hair and clothes, but I wasn’t too bad as an overall package. I had very few girlfriends, though, and always got the impression that girls were mostly interested in ‘bad boys’. Time and again I would see unworthy men get girls who should have known better. Could women really be so easily led that the ‘treat them mean/keep them keen’ thing genuinely applied? I think nice boys have a hard time getting through to nice girls because many of the social exchanges of teenage/early 20s life are dominated by the confident and vocal.
Time has shown that most nice people do end up with other nice people, so if nothing else, I can confidently advise you to just sit tight and have faith. I, for example, ended up with a very nice girl and now she’s my wife and we have a tiny, restless baby. I would have been delighted and incredulous at this outcome when I was 20. I didn’t really do anything special to make it happen. I think although it seems like the most loathsomely smug of clichés when quoted by people who already are in relationships, it probably is true that eventually the ‘right person’ does come forward. So in both your cases, I would let time do the work. Nice boys are surprisingly common, but many of them struggle to emerge from the pool of louder boys. It does happen in the end, and you’ll spot them when they arrive.
Sarah’s question of how to be happy with what you have is a bigger one, which deserves its own appointment. I’ll come to it in the next instalment.
RACHEL I leave school in May and although I know I’m going to college and I know what I’m going to study, I suppose I’m worrying about what comes after college. I know it’s a little early to be thinking about that but it’s still bothering me Did you always know what you wanted to do or did it just come to you one day?
When I went to uni, I had no idea what I was going to do. I was keen to write, that was it. I had no notion of being a stand-up comic, I didn’t really know there even were professional comics, apart from people like Eddie Izzard who I assumed were picked by some sort of divine summons. I had no career plan. You definitely shouldn’t panic about it for a long time yet. You should go to college and see what appeals to you over the next couple of years.
RYAN WATSON I am a student at the university of Exeter; I study civil engineering and am in my third year. I have an A-level in English Literature (Grade = C). I am very optimistic generally, but on Friday my girlfriend of 3 years left me and now it feels like god is pissing on my delicate world, eroding it away like some sort of urinal cake!! Despite his satisfaction he is no doubt feeling, I have now to rebuild the walls of shit around me waiting for his return to finish the job. I think in my current mood I may be a bit of a hindrance to your optimistic message; however it may be a stark contrast that will ensure people appreciate your optimism on your return. Hope you consider my application until then I will be masturbating furiously over pictures of my ex girlfriend.
It’s a shame when God pisses on your world. He can be pretty indelicate about it. Keep going, Ryan. No-one called Watson is ever defeated for long. You’ll meet a girl called Kirsty who makes your ex look like a waste of space. Unless she was called Kirsty, in which case my choice of name is very unfortunate. Sorry.
MARIE As for how you can help me… well, I could do with some advice actually. I’ll have to do a fair amount of public speaking over the next couple of months, something which I’m not too good at. How do you recommend I cope with nerves – are there any tips you use when you’re faced with a massive audience?
LOUISE I have not so much a question but a request for tips on how to get over public speaking nervousness. My course consists of lots of presentations and I really dread them. Weirdly I get told that I came across as very confident, this might be because I learned to project my voice via ten years of drama classes but inside I feel sick, shaky and I feel like my face is on fire, I also speak very quickly which tends to end up on me stumbling through a couple of words or my mouth becoming very dry. Is there any way to combat these nerves which doesn’t involve getting steaming beforehand? Many thanks x
Public speaking is nerve-racking, no doubt about it. Comedians (like me) tend to still find it nerve-racking, it’s just that as a comedian you embrace those nerves and put them to good use as part of your job, in the same way that a surgeon probably still finds it nerve-racking to cut someone open, or a footballer to play in front of 80,000 people, but they try to use that energy to make them perform. So firstly, don’t try to deny the nerves. Instead try to use the adrenalin to carry you along.
Some general tips:
- Go slower.
- It’s going to be fine. You can’t kill anyone with a bad speech, unless possibly you are a militant revolutionary. In a year you won’t remember this. It’s going to be fine. Promise.
- Confidence is pretty much 90 percent of public speaking. You don’t actually have to be confident. Do your best to look confident and you sort of are. Smile on your way up to do the speech, for example. It makes you look like you know what you’re doing. Sounds stupid but true.
- If you make a mistake, carry on, it is irrelevant. Mistakes which seem glaring to you are barely, or not at all, noticed by others.
- See the audience as friends you’re chatting to, not people waiting to catch you out.
- Remember most people in the audience couldn’t do a speech to save their lives, and in most cases, admire you for doing it. Psychologically dominate them; the high status is yours, not theirs.
- An extension of this. Some people famously imagine the audience all naked, or on the toilet. This might backfire if you find yourself disgusted/over-stimulated. But there is a grain of truth in it. People are just people, like you. Be aware of that the whole time you’re talking to them. It’s going to be all right.
- You don’t have to be steaming, but one drink is a great idea.
MISHA There’s a nice girl in my english class who may not in fact be as straight as I’d previously thought.
How do I find out and then (if the rumour is true) do something about it?
JUMP HER.
Or. Trust yourself to build a relationship with her, gradually. Don’t put pressure on it. Just get to know her. You’ll pretty soon have a good instinct for whether she’s suitable or not. If it turns out she is, then we’ll talk again. Fine?
ABI I have nearly finished my second year of uni, all I have left is my exams. Now, I’m pretty sure you went to uni (Cambridge, I believe), and that puts you in good shoes to help me out. Do you have a preferred method of studying/revising? How about balancing work with some fun? I’ve tried various techniques (ranging from post-it notes all over the house to pouring my head over books), but can’t seem to find one that works for me.
I used to revise in quite concentrated, short bursts, say two hours. I would write key things down and read them again and again and then see if I could reproduce them without looking. An exam tip: in almost any exam there are a few major points which, if you have them down pat, you’ll be fine. Keep reading these things over and over again and then as soon as you get in the exam, write them all down.
So in summary, for me, sheer repetition was the key to revision. And also, timing. There’s no getting away from it, something you read 30 minutes before an exam is more use than something you read a month before. Try to step it up as you get close to the exam. Hitting it hard in the few days before the exam may be derided as cramming, but in my experience, it was more helpful than plodding on for ages six weeks before.
Also, yes, I think you should balance work with fun, but try to separate the two. I knew people who revised in groups, to make it more fun, but it never worked for me. You just don’t take stuff in. Revise on your own, then do fun things with friends, then go back to revising on your own.
TERRY Now to the question, I’m going to be travelling up to edinburgh on the first friday and leaving on sunday week, where can I find information on booking the night train up, as what information I have found has just confused me?
www.thetrainline.com is the definitive source, and you should be able to book the sleeper train from there. I think you can only book tickets three months ahead, though…
GEORGINA My question – do I go straight into clinical psychology in a really shit place where I don’t want to live for uni (I want to go to scotland but can’t for that degree) or do a bog standard psych degree asap in scotland, and then do a postgrad in clinical psychology after that when i won’t mind because i have been living in scotland for three years? I’m scared I’ll be lazy (which I am a lot of the time) and get below a 2,1 and that means I actually won’t be qualified enough to go for post grad clinical psych and then I’ll be fucked.
Sorry about the actually serious boring question but I have no clue as to what to do.
Never go and live in a shit place; it’s not worth it, not even for a vocation, you’ll be unhappy. Do the bog-standard degree in Scotland and use the fear of not getting a 2.1 as your incentive to not be lazy and qualify for your postgrad. Don’t apologise for the serious question, this is a quite serious feature.
KATIE I’d rather like to become a vegetarian, but I bloody love meat. I’m concerned about animal welfare (I don’t eat at McDonalds because I can’t stand what they do to the poor cows – I shan’t tell you, I don’t want to put you off), but I find it really difficult to stop eating meat because a) I quite like it, and b) my family are rampant meat eaters. My father also has many strong opinions on vegetarians – not one of them positive – and my inability to stand up to him also proves to be another massive obstacle.
So, Mr Watson, what should I do? Because I’d love to be a vegetarian, but I’m not sure how I’d handle the whole malarkey. Your opinion would be much appreciated and valued.
Very interesting. I am a rampant meat-eater myself. It causes me a fair amount of guilt, because of the meat industry and the cruelty and etc etc, but unfortunately, I really do love it and it plays a major part in my diet. During my little environmental project a couple of years ago I tried introducing one meat-free day a week, which sounds a bit feeble, but it does make a positive difference at least. There are some pretty meat-like substitutes which you can try to ease yourself into it.
As for the attitudes of others, I think you pretty much have to do what you think is right and everyone can – for want of a prettier phrase – get fucked. Your family can say what they like, but it’s not their life, it’s yours. I realise this sounds a tediously teenage-sulk sort of point of view, but it’s still true. It’s not up to them.
For a more lucid take on the same sort of subject, see Madeleine’s comment on the original Can I Help You? blog.
Posted by knox on May 8, 2011
This is a brilliant blog, with a load of super useful tips. I’m definitely going to be putting into use the public speaking ones. An additional suggestion, which may or may not be helpful to others- I’ve found a stand up poetry night (bang said the gun) which I really love, and occasionally do the open mic there. I’ve found that poetry crowds are lovely, and a great way to practise standing up and talking in front of people.
The advice to Misha was v sweet, and sounded just like a very lovely older brother. Nice.
Posted by Spartan on April 7, 2010
Read your article on scanners re airport security. Are you really that stupid?
Posted by Marie on April 7, 2010
Just catching up on your blog posts now. Thank you very much for the advice! It is something I will bear in mind. Especially the bit about one drink. Not really. Maybe.
Posted by Kate on April 6, 2010
Terry – re booking sleeper trains, the other good site to use is http://www.scotrail.co.uk/caledoniansleeper/index.html (Scotrail is the company that actually operates the trains). You can only book them 3 months/12 weeks in advance and it’s definitely worth checking out the Bargain Berths link – if you can find one, the cheapest tickets are £19, which is a LOT less than the standard price.
Failing all that, message me (kateweb) via the fans forum; I’ve taken the sleeper quite a few times, so can probably help.
Posted by Matthew on April 6, 2010
Rachel and Sarah, I agree with what Mark said. I mean nearly every girl if you ask her wants a “Nice guy” – but they’d also quite like someone attractive, confident etc.
And it seems to me that a lot of the nice guys are nice because they have to be to make up for the fact they are not quite as attractive, confident whatever.
But don’t give up hope,.
Posted by Shell on April 4, 2010
Katie – Mark’s right you can only do what’s right for you and forget about other people’s opinions.
That said your question prompted me to write an opinionated blog on vegetarianism and achieve one of my TYSIC aims today so thanks for that!
If you feel like reading a somewhat long blog on the subject it’s here: http://danceswithwonder.blogspot.com/
If not, in essence it says I’ve been vegetarian for 26 years now. Largely for animal welfare and environmental reasons but I am not vegan, despite my awareness of the issues. So we all just have to decide, individually, according to our own ethics and conscience where we draw the line. This will be affected by economics and lifestyle but as long as we are considering the issues and trying to do ‘something’ that is hopeful. Even reducing your intake of meat and fish or making choices about what types you will and won’t eat is useful. I may yet end up a vegan…I just don’t know.
I simply try.
Posted by Rachel on April 3, 2010
Thank you for answering my question…and the fact that pretty much everyone I’ve spoken to didn’t have a proper plan for the future is definitely making me panic less. And Heather, if that comment was for me (which I’m hoping it was, otherwise I’m going to look pretty stupid now…) thank you too. When I think about it now, I suppose I have plenty of time to make decisions like that, and everyone I know (and trust) has told me that my subject choices of college are a good variety
Posted by Laurs on April 3, 2010
Hi Mark, can I ask a question please.
I’m currently writing a scheme of work for the kids I teach about analysis of spoken language with a focus on stand up comedy. I was wondering if you had any particular sign posts you use in your routines that act as signifiers for an audience? Or are there any particular language choices you consciously make when writing routines?
I’m sorry if these questions are impossible to answer, so don’t worry if you can’t help me!
x
Posted by Anji on April 3, 2010
I can almost picture a few TYSIC weddings popping up!
Yes, I am a hopeless romantic… But wouldn’t it be amazing!
Ben, maybe the, er less nice boys, are now adding a private TYSIC to be less twatty! Although I giggled at the earlier post of once an asshole always an asshole!
Maybe this blog will be the reason a whole bunch of twatty assholes become nice-er!
Posted by Ben on April 3, 2010
wow, amazing how every guy that read this is one of the nice guys! i wonder if anyone read the ‘not a twat’ description and thought, ‘no, that rules me out’?
Posted by Louise on April 2, 2010
Thanks very much for the public speaking advice and to the others who have offered advice in the comments section. I shall update how the presentations go on the forum’s TYSIC section.
For the nice guy thing: I have been single for a year now, I went through a stage of dating people not because I liked them but for comfort. Now I have decided to stay single until I meet someone I really really like but I have started to feel like I am never going to meet a nice guy. I haven’t even kissed a guy since September but the more I talk to people the more I realise so many of us are on the same boat and its not necessarily that there arent nice people out there but that we arent being pro active about finding them. I think that comedy gigs would actually be the most perfect way to meet someone (if not via friends) because having the same sense of humour is usually quite key to a relationship (as well as intelligence levels unless one person is very very rich and ugly and the other one is very very attractive).
Mark maybe you should incorporate a singles dating service at your shows but make it sound cool and exciting so us single people don’t feel like weirdo’s for attending.
Posted by James on April 2, 2010
The “nice boy” reflects quite a lot of things I’ve been miserable about for a while now and made me more hopeful. I am that completely neurotic boy in the corner wondering why all the twats seem so happy whilst being far to shy to make any advances myself.
Wow that was soppy (- serious man points).
Posted by Lally on April 2, 2010
Thank you, Mark. Unfortunatley, I live in a shit place–moved here for lurv and now the boy lives elsewhere! But yes, hurrah for studying seriously, vegetarianism, and love of nice people. I am old compared to you, and these all work best in the long run!
Misha and Emmy, good for you. Glad you are meeting each other; it’s always a good idea to be friendly, and you have given us a good example.
Posted by Corey on April 2, 2010
Great blog. Finding the right person to be with can be a real cause for pain. I’m what you would also call a ‘nice lad’, and as people have said before, you find yourself at times looking at girls with ‘twats’ thinking ”Why???, I don’t get it, I’d be much better!!”, but on a couple of occasions I’ve been lucky enough to have an opportunity to be with girls who I’ve longed for and knew I could make them happy, and on both occasions it was me that realized that actually we shouldn’t have got together in the first place. One in particular ruined a long friendship, great shame but at least we tried I guess!?!. Anyway to sum up, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes the good girls will see sense, sometimes they won’t, best you can do is tell someone you like them……they just might surprise you!.
Which leads to my next point (sorry… rambling), really liked the public speaking tips. Last night my good friend who I will call Emma, as its her name, took the unusual step of asking me to be her ‘best man’ at her wedding later this year (initially I didn’t believe her what with the date and everything!?!). She wanted to make her day different which I’m all in favor of and I’ve jumped at the chance, but with the position comes the infamous speech!…scary. Before TYSIC, I fear I may have turned it down. Now, I honestly do feel more positive about things like this. I’ll try my best not to be the first person to kill someone with a bad speech to keep the record unblemished!!. Thank you
Posted by rachel (pandora) on April 2, 2010
thanks for the advice mark. i shall sit tight and keep an eye out, and hopefully a nice boy (‘i.e. not a twat’ – excellent description) might appear.
Posted by Emmy on April 2, 2010
Misha – Ha! I myself am perpetually single.
h2osarah- I can’t believe I’m saying this, but good idea.
Misha, a private message is coming your way. Prepare yourself for the awkwardness. Ahem.
Posted by h2osarah on April 2, 2010
Emmy, I think it’s adorable! Not awkward at all! Find Misha on Mark’s fan forum, (she’s howlie,) send her a private message. She might like it.
I’m such a meddler! But it’s fun!
Posted by Misha on April 2, 2010
Oh god no not at all Emmy.
(i’ve been single for 2 years any attention is a shock)
Posted by Emmy on April 2, 2010
Oh, er… hi Misha!
Hmmmm… I have a feeling I have just made a fool of myself. Oh, well.
Posted by Misha on April 2, 2010
Hello Emmy.
I’m not sure there’s very much else I can say here without being horribly embarrassed in public… so hi!
Posted by Tom Beasley on April 2, 2010
The stuff about being a “nice guy” and relationships really resonates with me as that is pretty much my situation now. I am considered the “nice guy” and it seems that this makes me undesirable to girls as opposed to desirable.
I often walk around town and see guys I know from school with amazing girls on their arm and it just makes me think: “What the fuck is she doing? He’s a twat.”
This is going to sound incredibly cheesy, but I see singledom as walking down a corridor. One side of the corridor has doors that relate to friends. These are the people you can talk to about relationships, but you can only stay in these rooms temporarily before you have to walk on.
I have lots of those friendship doors.
The other side of the corridor contains doors that are relationships. These rooms can house you a lot longer and also have connecting tunnels to the friendship rooms on the other side.
In my case, this side of the corridor is barren, but I can sort of see one open door on the horizon which, however far I walk, I never seem to get any closer to.
So that was the end of my fairly profound outburst. Enjoy.
Posted by Emmy on April 2, 2010
I mean straighter than you thought she was. Oh god. See, this is why I have problems meetin girls.
Posted by Emmy on April 2, 2010
Brillant blog Mark. You are a much better agony aunt (uncle) than Mariella Frostrup. I need advice too, but I don’t know how to condense my problem into an easily explainable format. It is more of a ‘aaaaargh! panic!’ at the moment. But anyway.
Oh, and Misha? If the object of your affections turns out not to be as straight as you thought she was, I am available.
Posted by A lot of Rach[a]els on April 2, 2010
Great blog again, I especially loved the tips for public speaking and I have taken note.
I have a little bit of advice for Georgina about psychology. I agree with Mark, go to the place you want to live in. At the end of the day it is where you will be living for for 3 years and you need to enjoy it. I’m at uni in Reading and it’s a bit of a dump so spend a lot of my time in London which is not nice on the money front.
I also do psychology and when I was looking at degrees I was determined to do Forensic psychology but ended up just doing plain old psych as I didn’t want to limit my options and I’m really glad I didn’t do that because once I started my degree I soon changed my main interest and so I’m now looking at clinical or neuroscience and I’m pretty sure that in the next couple of years I’ll change my mind again.
Posted by Phill Sacre on April 2, 2010
I will say regarding the eating of meat – even a rampant meat eater can cut down on the amount of meat eaten. Mark mentioned this in CATE but if you just find some veggie recipes you (and your family) like, just try having one of those every so often. If they’re nice enough you may even find you choose them over having meat! I’m not sure completely becoming a vegetarian would be an option for me, but by making the choice to eat vegetarian meals occasionally makes a difference.
Mark’s the expert with public speaking, I’ve only done it a handful of times, but I will just back up that confidence is the key. Last time I did a talk, people all said how confident I looked, and yet I didn’t feel it at all! Even if you don’t feel confident, you’ve got to learn to fake it. Just try and be confident in what you’re saying, make sure that you know it well, and always make sure that you don’t go too fast. If you can speak in a calm, clear voice that counts for a lot.
Posted by lisa brunders on April 2, 2010
l loved this blog, and yesterdays. All the themes that are developing are great, you have boundless energy and enthusiasm, and so many ideas, and all this at the time of the birth of your first child. It’s amazing, thank you. I know I don’t say thank you often, but I am grateful every day.
I’m not so sure about getting over liking the bad boys, I still do, and have never settled down as a result. I’m 52. But I think you’re right that most people do meet the right person. You do have to be open to meeting someone to settle down with though, I think that’s what’s stopped me. It’s in my Tysics, putting it in there was a big step for me.
Thoughts on being a vegetarian – make sure you eat enough protein and get enough iron. I heard that vegetarian women give birth to more girls than boys and this seems to be true of the vegetarians I know. If it is true, it’s bad as it’s natures way of preserving the human race having more girls to procreate. I was a vegetarian for about 20 years, but didn’t eat properly though. I now eat some meat, but try and avoid battery chickens, etc. I eat only small portions of meat. And I also have quorn and chickpeas, lentils, etc. I probably eat meat 2 or 3 times a week. Meat eaters do think it’s wrong to have a meal wiithout meat, or a meal with only a small amount of meat. It’s also harder when eating out, as you always have less choice as a vegetarian. Just do whatever you’re happy with, as Mark said, it’s your life.
Posted by Ben on April 2, 2010
are you spying on me, Mark? i mean, it’s fine, if you are… but i’d like to know either way. i ask because your revision ideas are almost word for word what i did at uni, and was telling a friend yesterday about. you even used some complete sentences that i used, i think.
also. awesome and fun advice all round. ta.
Posted by Heather on April 2, 2010
You give very good advise, Mark!
RACHEL, I would add that not only is it okay to not know for sure what you want to do, it can be better that way than going in with preconceived ideas. I had a clear career plan in my head from about the end of grade 10, up until my very last year at uni, when I suddenly realized that it wasn’t at all what I wanted to do. That loss of focus was pretty deflating, and left me aimless for quite a while. So I would definitely agree that it’s a good idea to go in with an open mind and just try to suss out what feels right to you.
KATIE, I’ve been a vegetarian for two years, and I started out by just cutting down on meat. I would buy the veggie alternative for things like ground beef or hot dogs, I learned to cook a few delicious vegetarian recipes (and could send you the recipes, if you like?). It was a lot easier for me, though, since my brothers had both been vegetarians for ages, and my mother was half-way there. The only resistance I’ve met is my grandmother’s one inquiry as to who had brainwashed me (which was actually mostly just funny) and my father’s occasional remarks that I’m “being silly”. Otherwise, the people around me where really supportive, whether or not they were vegetarian themselves, and that support made it much easier to keep going. So maybe what I would suggest is that you try to find a kind of support group for yourself, either through the TYSIC group (who from what I have seen are wonderfully supportive), or maybe try to check out if there are any vegetarian-friendly restaurants in your area?
Posted by Daniel on April 2, 2010
Excellent responses! the nice boys being overlooked stuff is all still too true…
Posted by Rachael on April 2, 2010
This agony aunt thing fits you well, its almost like you have done it before. Although, for a second there I did worry that you were turning into Psychic Sally!
Posted by ElizabethD on April 2, 2010
There is one thing I feel like I need to mention on the nice boys and girls front. Although I think is true that these things do tend to resolve themselves later (if for no other reason that obnoxious loud behavior gets less and less attractive the further away from University one gets) in the shorter term: look around a bit more carefully. Most of the people I know who are going around complaining about nice guys or nice girls finishing last are complaining TO a nice guy or girl. If someone is in your life and is nice enough to listen to you going on and on about your stuff, chances are that is a rather nice person (as Mark has demonstrated admirably) and therefore probably sitting there listening to you and wondering why nice guys/girls don’t notice him/her. So In addition to Mark’s excellent advice I would also suggest changing your standards, not lowering them, changing them. A pudgy guy with acne can be put on a diet, but usually an asshole is an asshole forever.
Posted by DeborahF on April 2, 2010
I speak in public all the time and agree with all Mark says. However, I am always tempted to sidetrack myself as what I’m saying triggers other thoughts in my brain. So to stop myself loosing it completely I write a number of key points I want to cover on a piece of paper and then if (when) I get sidetracked I can pick up where I left off. Also don’t worry if it’s all a blur it doesn’t matter that you remember it – it’s just important that your audience does. Finally, the old adage ‘practice makes perfect’ holds true – the more you do it the less painful it gets. Hope that helps.
Posted by Carl on April 2, 2010
You are a lovely gentleman, Mark. Nice blog. Is it ok to ask post my problem again? To put it bluntly, I need somewhere to live in southampton. I know it’s not a problem you can resolve with advice but wondered if you could some how ask the TYSIC world if anyone has a room to let or know of any reliable landlords. Don’t worry if you can’t. x
Posted by Hannah on April 2, 2010
The “Jump Them” technique does have it’s merits too. I’ve been with Ryan for a couple of years since I did
Prob best to be sensible though (and less drunk in general…).
Love this feature, along with the regular blogs and the reviews! A nice break in my days of study. Thank yo for blogging Mark.
Posted by Misha on April 2, 2010
Fine indeed, I won’t see her over easter so I’ve got some time to think up a plan.
(and do some more digging to find out if its a futile effort).
Your first response made me smile, there are indeed a suprisingly large number of nice boys and girls out there, it’s just finding them.