Big brother is soooo watching you!

If ever I need proof that I am doing the right thing, these photos, as featured in ‘The Daily Hate’ surely provide all the evidence one could need:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/maciejdakowicz/collections/72157616467357584/

I spent 3 years in Cardiff whilst at university and whilst these are the extremes, they are actually a perfect example of a drinking culture gone seriously wrong. As students, we would never have even taken a shortcut down St Mary Street on a Saturday night, as the Locals from the Valleys v Incomers warfare was so apparent. When I finished university, in the summer of ’97, I got a temporary job at national rail enquiries, as they have a huge call centre there. It soon became clear that the trains on a Saturday out of the Valleys towns were numerous at around 4/5pm. The ones back stopped at about 11pm. This gave them all a window in which to get absolutely smashed before heading back. And they used every single second of it…

Still, my behaviour, and that of my fellow students wasn’t much better, so please don’t read the above as sanctimony. We no doubt drank very similar quantities, but in the safety of the Union or a student friendly pub. 5-legged pub crawls, drink a yard of ale competitions and quite possibly some of the most wanton and destructive balls you could imagine. The Med School were banned from the City Hall after the one we attended terminated in a food fight.

I’m not proud, but I can’t turn back the clock so can only resign these images to history. Yes, I shall drag them up if ever I waiver but rather than thinking ‘sod it, that’s what everyone is like’ as I have no doubt done over the years, this time it will remind me that there are photos that could have once been taken of me that are equally embarrassing.

I do find it somewhat depressing now the internet and digital age are here, as they can document everyone’s moments of madness which wouldn’t have seen the light of day before. It’s as if you suddenly have no privacy to disgrace yourself (or impress for that matter) without fear of your neighbours/colleagues/friends and family being made aware. Facebook tagging has racked this up to another level. I was incensed recently to discover some less than flattering ones of me on a Belgian friend’s page. I use the word ‘friend’ loosely, however, as I haven’t seen him for about 8 years and only know him because he once dated a Dutch friend of mine. It simply got up my nose that these were flashing up on my true friend’s home pages as photos of moi. Sure, the best solution is not to accept Facebook friend requests from everyone, but in my ever-present ‘people-pleasing’ way, I accept anyone who is kind enough to ask – ha ha, that’ll teach me!!!!

I can moan all I like too, but I have probably googled/facebooked just about everyone I’ve met over the last 5-10 years and have spent many an afternoon with colleagues laughing at someone’s picture or illicit photos that we have uncovered. It’s therefore churlish of me to consider myself above that sort of thing. My disgraceful photos are safely hidden away at home, but I think I will dig them out this weekend for a trip down memory lane and to edit any that might just get into the wrong hands one day! That said, it won’t do much to eradicate the ones that my friends will have of me, so there is only so far I can go in erasing the evidence that I was once a good time girl of the utmost importance!! Anyway, enough ranting. It’s Friday, the weekend beckons and I am itching to get home.

Am not listing my thankfulness today because I am simply not in the mood. Yes, I can be petulant and teenage like the best of ‘em!