A note on Abercrombie and Co.

I was encouraged by two of my friends to write down my objections and frustrations with the brand Abercrombie. Now I know that some of you who are going to read this will be great Abercrombie fans and I'd just like to assert that this blog is to be taken with a massive bucket of salt. I do not own anything from Abercrombie simply because I can't afford it, however I do have a few items from Hollister but again these were bought in America or in the sale, so they were reasonably priced. I should also mention that I am a total cheapskate when it comes to clothes, I rarely pay over a tenner for anything unless it's a pair of jeans. So, with this in mind...do read on.

Last December whilst on a theatre trip I decided to brave the Abercrombie and Fitch store in London. I was horrified to discover that it was a gorgeous, old building that had been converted into a shop for these hideously overpriced clothes, but I was determined to stay open-minded so I tried not to get too worked up. Once in the store I was confronted by a bare-chested male model who ASSUMED that I wanted a picture with him - obviously I was repulsed. Why would I want a picture with a topless model? I am quite clearly going into the shop to look at the clothes! Also, I hate that he assumed that because I'm young average-looking female I would be desperately lusting after him. He was gross and WAY too pretty. ARGGG. Anyway, we finally get into the part of the building were the clothes are laid out and I'm practically suffocated by the smell of A&F fragrance. Now, I actually like their fragrances but in SMALL quantities! It was like being gassed with au de toilette.

Once in the main part of the store it's impossible to a) hear, because they pump music out like it's a night club (which, might I add, it isn't! It's a shop, you know the place you go to look at clothes and decide whether or not you want to buy them, and if you're with a friend it's often necessary to have that 'should I/shouldn't I' conversation!) and b) see because they have all these flashing lights. Again, this was really irritating because I couldn't see what colour the clothes were, surely the main purpose of the store is to display the clothes in a light where people can ACTUALLY see what they're buying. The assistants were also subject to my wrath - they were these conventionally 'perfect' looking people who were continuously asking me 'What's up?' in a suspiciously American sounding accent - 1) do not ask me what is up if you don't really care about the answer and 2) you're not American so don't try and make out like you've just walked off the beach in California, because you haven't. You're in London, in December, it's raining.

The store isn't the only thing that gets on my nerves. The ad-campaigns are also ridiculous. They always show bare-chested males and scantly-clad females practically getting on in a field or on a beach. Now, I'm not being funny, how is a pair of naked models going to encourage me to buy CLOTHES, I repeat, CLOTHES from that brand!? They can't even clothe their own models for goodness sake!!!

Okay, enough. It's out of my system. If you wear it, fine. Just don't expect me to talk to you.

P.S

When I was a kid my parents used to pray with me before I went to sleep and I guess as I got older it sort of became a habit. Pray then sleep - another bed time habit along with herbal tea and a warm shower. I confess to having been a pretty lazy praying person, usually the prayer would be as simple as: Dear God, thanks for today, sorry for the bad things I've done, please forgive me Amen. However, there were times when I would have a little chin-wag with God, usually in the style of a letter...Dear God...blah blah blah and sometimes I would say Amen and then realise that there was something else I wanted to say and me, being a silly tween would say something like: 'P.S thanks for this' or 'P.S please help me with this'. If I had to 'P.S' God I would feel slightly guilty, like I should have remembered what I wanted to say before saying 'Amen'.

Anyway, as I was lying in bed last night, I had another conversation with God and after saying Amen I suddenly recalled a load of stuff I wanted to talk to him about and nearly went 'P.S'...then I stopped. I haven't 'P.S'd' God for a long time and I realised in that moment that whilst 'P.S' God was a kind of endearing feature to my previous prayer life, it suggests that a prayer must end at some-point. I would much rather my prayers were continuous conversations with God, similar to the conversations I have with my friend Annie, where one moment will be chatting face to face then we'll continue chatting on facebook chat or via text - the topics in our conversation may come to end but the exchanging does not. If I'm really going to invest in my relationship with God, then surely I need to treat prayer like the conversations I have with my friends. I need to be constantly engaging, I don't need to have a special routine or feel guilty because I left something out. I'm sure God has no problem with 'P.S' in fact he probably has good ole guffaw because he already knew what I wanted to say before I said it. He's a genius like that.

Snakes and Ladders

If life is a board game, then I'm back on square one. I've gone down a snake (a pretty horrific experience, the inside of a snake is revolting) and I'm back to hopping one square at a time until I reach the next ladder. As I slid down the snake I was very sad, but now that I'm back on square number one I've decided that square one is sometimes the very best place to be: I have the whole board game ahead of me! Anything and everything is possible because I haven't really started playing yet. This game is definitely more advanced than the previous one, it's like I've outgrown the teen board and I'm about to start the adult experience, which appears to hold a completely different array of challenges, set-backs and opportunities. BRING.IT.ON.

I feel so inspired at the moment, probably as a result of what I've been exposing myself to over the holidays. I have freed myself from the tangle of A-levels and national curriculum, those horrible soul destroying influences that keep trying to push me into a box and jump through the next hoop. Instead my mind has been allowed to reel, to explore, to cogitate on my emotions, consolidate my opinions and settle into my life experiences. I understand myself a whole lot more, I know what makes me tick and what makes me explode. The tough part is relying on God to pick up those pieces and keep them contained.

Square one is my springboard and currently my favourite square in the world. I encourage you not to be discouraged by setbacks, but inspired by them - let them lead you into new perspectives and alternative adventures. GO CRAZY.

Irrational thoughts past 2am

Random insomnia is manageable, tonight it is even enjoyable. I have had the opportunity to talk to a very special childhood friend and discovered that we are basically twins just miles and miles apart. Awesome. I am enjoying the company of the virtual world and the sounds of the acoustic 'Edge of Desire' from John Mayer's 'Apartment Sessions'. I am considering my favourite things, some of which are presented as photos to the left of this blog.

The first photo shows two of my best friends, who, this time 3 weeks ago were sat on my bed with chocolate crying and praying with me. One of them has gone on a 5 month mission to Africa, I miss her already, she's one of those wonderfully solid, wise friends who know when you need to be slapped round the face and when you actually just need a big hug. The other friend has never ever deserted me; she has cried with me, laughed with me, we've shared the heartache of sick parents, silly boys and lost dreams together.

The starbucks cups represent my love for take-out coffee and coffee shops in general. I always feel safe in coffee shops yet simultaneously excited, it always seems like a nesting place for great ideas and I always wonder what fantastic invention, article or book idea is going to burst out of one of my fellow caffeine addicts. It is also the perfect place to people watch or just lose yourself in a good book.

Cold Tangerines is not one of the best, most intellectual books I have read, but it's definitely one of my favourites. I guess it's cos I love people and the random little small things in life - like fridge magnets, slightly flat coke and under-ripe bananas. I, like the author, get excited about these little things and my relationships with people; I was inspired and challenged by every chapter to think about how much God has blessed me. It made me want to leap out of bed every morning and pull the world into one long embrace.

The second photo is of me and another best friend, Jessie. This was taken on our last day together before she went to Beijing FOREVER (or so it seems!) it was such a perfect moment, we had just grabbed bagels and Starbucks and were having a breakfast picnic at South Hill Park. The sun was shining and we were reading Glamour, chatting and listening to Paramore - typical girl things. I remember feeling so at peace and so happy.

The next photo represents my need to travel, to explore. I say it a lot, but I often have chronic wanderlust and fernweh (check later blogs for more detail!) I had this photo as my desktop background for a while, but it was soon replaced with yet another New York skyline, because I was so desperate to walk on that road, I was practically crawling through my laptop screen.

I started listening to John Mayer last summer after a friend in America recommended him to me, this is definitely my favourite album of his. It's so quirky and honest. His lyrics are super original and every-time I hear his music I just want to jump in a convertible and go for a long drive or fall desperately in love with somebody so I can serenade them (badly) on the guitar.

Gilmore Girls...what can I say? I love them, I love their crazy conversations, I love how geeky they are, I love how after every episode I just want to run and hug my Mum and tell my friends that I love them. I love how the orange filter and the song on the credits takes me to a happy place and I feel safe...like Tiffany's. Nothing bad could possibly happen to me when I'm watching those Autumn leaves and singing along to 'I will follow where you lead'.

'Nothing is impossible'...with my God, nothing...NOTHING is impossible.

Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of my favourite films. The cinematography is gorgeous, the main character is adorable and the leading man makes me swoon every time he graces the screen. So many good quotes, so many beautiful, original scenes. LOVE IT.

The postcard represents my obsession with...postcards. I cover my wall with postcards, because I love to travel and I love correspondence and postcards are essentially a combination of the two. So, if you're going on holiday, send me a postcard - I will love you forever!

The last photo is of another perfect moment. I may never see those girls again, in fact it's very likely that I won't, but that week in New York on a women's leadership conference was so...unbelievable. Honestly, words cannot describe how inspired I was. Those girls felt like my sisters, we grew together, laughed together, shared DEEP insecurities and by the end of the week we thought we were going to change the world. I love this photo, because it shows how much fun we were having, it has the statue of liberty in the background and the beautiful, enthralling New York skyline. It's so perfect, so completely and utterly perfect.

I am the luckiest girl in the whole world. FACT.

It's Thursday evening in the Jackson household and everyone is gathered in the living room with chocolate and various alcoholic/caffeinated beverages to watch the debate. My Dad recently joined the labour party and my youngest brother is sporting a 'Step outside posh boy' t-shirt (courtesy of the Guardian). I'll class my mother under the 'politically moderate' category, although her incessant outbursts at David Cameron would suggest otherwise...for the sake of this blog we'll blame that on the two glasses of wine. That leaves me, my other brother and his girlfriend who come under 'politically undecided'. The evening passed smoothly, apart from the random interjections from my mother, the witty comments from my 'other' brother and the moments when my Dad left the room in the same way he does when England are taking a penalty (guilty, anxious, mortified...you get the picture).

If I'm honest I wasn't blown away by ANY of the party leaders. Brown, although detailed and specific in his policies, was dull and his education manifesto is ridiculous; I wanted to punch David Cameron in his smarmy, barmy face - he was all talk and no substance and he tries WAY too hard to be 'down with the people'; Nick Clegg was a slight improvement, but only because I was getting so sick of the petty 'banter' between Brown and Cameron, that it was a relief to see someone else on the platform. I disliked the 'over-the-top' politeness of all three, making sure they called everyone by their first names and the continuous references to people they'd met in Hull or some other poor, working-class area of Britain - annoying! I just want something fresh, I want to see a leader who stands out, someone who I can believe in. I don't want any of those men to represent my country! Where's our british Roosevelts, Mandelas, Kennedys, Obamas? We lack inspiring personalities in our politics and as the wise world of musical theatre tells us in 'Wicked' it's all about personality and popularity - right!?

I'm still so confused. I'm intending to read a 'Why not socialism?' book in the next week as I am convinced Jesus is the ultimate socialist and that capitalism can't be biblical. Unfortunately, there is not british equivalent of Marx but I fear Emmeline Pankhurst would turn in her grave and haunt me if I don't vote...



Pro/Con list it is!