Hiya, this is really a question to those of you who live in the South East Coastaly areas of America, who are a dab hand at hurricanes (an infact all Americans i spose)...

Is this years amount and severity of hurricanes normal? Over here in Britain, it really does seem like the world has gone mental this year, and that these are the most sever and freqent storms ever. Is this just the media hyping it up, or is it really far worse that you have ever had it before?

If it is worse... do you think American public and political opinion (or, it seems lack of) on global warming and pollution may start to reflect the obvious and now almost inevitable dangers?

Would really be interested to hear your views

Smallfry

yeah! Good ideas, or, one of those golf putter practice things that spit the ball back out at you when you get it in. I got one of those for my dad and he LOVES it. But be careful, dont buy this if you work in close proximity to said boss, they make a really really annoying sound.

Those M&M's are a fantastic idea!! Who'd have thought you could do that!!!!! WAAOOW!!!!!

Hello everybody

Well, i went - and your never gonna believe what happened... it was mental!

I was there for THREE HOURS in the end, and it was so surreal!!!

Basicly, to cut a long story short (excuse any puns) i went through the usuall, "and when did you last wash your hair? And how ofter do you wash it" stuff which i was convinced they just do to make you upset with yourself! but then....

My hair dresser was just about to start when a lady she was doing in a different room started to demand she have her hair cut NOW because she was in a hurry and started kicking up a fuss.... the hair dressers all started to get a bit flappy coz babs (my hairdresser) was over booked and a customer was kicking off on a busy saturday.

So i said.. oh, dont worry i ll wait, i dont mind.... TA DAAAA! Suddenly the window of hairdresser appreciation was opened to me... i was given a special expensive deep hair treatment for free whilst i waited, along with drink after drink, and a ton of mags, and when my hair dresser finally came back she was SOOOOOOO nice to me.

But also, what was even better was that, whilst i was having this treatment, i heard them say the exct same "when did you last..." thing to EVERYBODY! Not just me.... and some people were saying they hadnt washed their hair for THREE DAYS and stuff like that which made me feel a lot better.

This coupled with an absolutly bizzar western culture appreciation 'do' going on outside - with belly dancers, fire eaters, sword swallowers and the like, prancing about outside the huge windows - made me feel like i was dreaming.

In the end, because of this woman, babs had to go off and do another guy who was ment to be after me, during my hair cut again, and for my inconvinience they knocked a big chunk of money off the price. My new hairdoo is the nicest one i ve ever had!

So, im not so afraid of the hairdressers any more.

Thanks for your words of support guys

Smallfry

(Sorry about bad spelling, punctuation, grammar and the like, just got back from my first course in London and im cream crackered!)

Hey ladys (and gents)

Im sat at my computer but am unable to work because i need to get something off my chest, and im gonna do it here coz maybe, just maybe someone out there has the same ridiculous fear i do, and that might make me feel a little better...

I have a growing clump of anxiety growing in my chest, getting bigger every hour, in morbid anticipation of ...going to the hairdressers tomorrow!!!!!

I absolutly hate going and im scared!

I have this social anxiety about it - because they always go - hmmmm, "and how long has it been since you had THIS cut?", and then frown and look repulsed as they swish their own perfect specimin hair around...

And they stand there so perfect and beautiful whilst i sit there all bedraggled and ugly with the lights glarring on my face making me look like golum.

And it usually takes about 50 mins, of agonising small talk and awkward silences, and stuff.....

ooooooooowwww i REALLY dont want to go

and then they charge you the earth! Mine is usually £35, which is like, $60 i spose, and they insist i have to go back sooner next time before it gets so dire again.

and then they swish off

Any body else have this fear, or is it just me being irrational? I wonder if it has a latin classification name? sallonophobia or something?

any hoo, feel a bit better now

thanks for listening xxx smallfry xxx

I think its really sad and unnerving that - over the years loads of inventors have come up with many substitutes for petrol and gas, for transport and for other areas in which we over consume polutive and limited natural resources; but EVERY TIME THEY DO, the big oil companies have bought up the idea, thus offering consumers no alternative but to buy their oil and gas... And now that its comming to crunch point, they may well sell those ideas back to us at a massively increased price.

My family lives right next to this eco friendly selfsustainable housing complex called the Hockerton Housing Project, so i know quite a bit about stuff like this. Check out their web site to see how were all going to be living in years to come...

..Electric cars, bikes and wind turbines ahoy!!!

Yes they do, the more money they donate to the charity the more good PR and publicity they get from it.  From just being able to display the chairy logo on their affairs... to even, one company i worked for for a bit got Caprice the glamor model to do an advert for them for free... so yes it is worth their while to badger you!

The company i used to work for was a brewery that had around 70 pubs and hotels. They decided to take on a 'Chosen Charity' for this year and went on and on and onnnn making us give. I was on a very very poor wage there and i really couldnt afford to give much which they really didn't like.

But what upset many people in my office was that most of the individual community pubs already did regular charity fund raising things themselves for local, not very well off charities like old peoples homes and local disadvantaged kids and stuff. Because of the 'Chosen Charity' (which a very large, very rich national, even global charity) all this local money was diverted away from the local charities and off elsewhere.

Many customers were upset, and inturn so were the landlords. They did try to object but its a very awkward situation!!!

Hello everyone

Firsty - everyone in the UK is watching the news and hoping everyone caught up in the massive hurricane is ok, sending our love!

I just wanted to write here that i went to notting Hill Carnival for the first time ever last weekend and i am so immensley proud of Londoners and the rest of the British Isles and beyond!!

To be honest i was a bit apprehensive to go and to get on the tubes because of the recent bombings; but that just strengthened my resolve to go and im so glad i did!

The theme this year was UNITY & DIVERSITY!!!!!!!!!

Everyone we passed in the street had a different accent or language and were all dressed in different native costumes and dress... i was compleatly amazed by the sheer amount of diversity, cultural and otherwise, there really is!!! (you dont really get to see much diversity stuck up here in Morecambe)

Everone was partying and having fun together and no one was scared and the police were all great and there was no fighting.... A lovely Jamaican family even let me use their loo!

so anyway WELL DONE LONDON!!! i had the time of my life!!!

(and Jerk chicken is amazing!)

Piss Off terrorists

Lv Charlie Smallfry

Here in the uk, when i ve been looking for/ moving jobs there is normally a tick box on the application form saying 'Please do not contact my present employer' or something along those lines because most people do not even tell their pesent employer they are looking.

I certainly didn't, because if i hadn't got the job, then i would just be left stuck with a boss giving me ****. I think you have the moral high ground, just make sure you get a nice job quick so you can leave that bastard in the lurch where he/she deserves to be!!!!

(hmmm, is it obvious im in a shockingly bad mood this morning?)

Its a hotel booking agancy, and they're sending messgaes to people who have used them before, so i dont think its tecnically spam as such?

I agree with you guys though and i really cant see how it can be having a positive effect coz everyone i know cant stand stuff like that.

(PS Went to nottinghill carnival for the first time this weekend, was absoulutly super!!!!!!!! Am so stiff from trapesing round everywhere that i actually cant walk now though, had to be helped off the bus this morning, how embarising!)

Hello everyone, only my second day and im back here again, like i said it is lonely here!

But i have a question...I dont understand direct email selling messages! In my last job i was always gettin loads of messages trying to sell me stuff and in my opinion they dont work, but the marketing people here in my new office send them out all  the time and dont seem to think its anoyying?!?!?!?!

Can email sales messages EVER be good? what kind of people actually respond to them? Does it anoy you to death or is there anyone out there that reads them??

just a thought

smallfry xx

That is really really harsh of them!

I agree that temping is the pits!

Odds are that they will not 'pick up your mugs for you' so when they dont, make sure you invoice them for said mugs, which were given to you by your late grandma and are of imesurable sentimental value and considerable antique worth!!!

at least you know you can do much better next time! my dad always says "think positive, and positive things will happen!"

Hello, just to let you know.. i have always just said simply...

" and its regarding......?"
or "and can i ask what its regarding?" or something like that, then just repeat what they say and their name back to them like your jotting it down, hey presto!

Hello everyone!
i am new to DD coz i have just got a new job in admin Congratulations me! in my old job i avoided signing in to sites like this coz you always inevatably got lots of emails trying to sell stuff but apparently thats not the case here! good! this new job is more lonely than my old one and i always find its good to talk!!!

I am writing from Morecambe in the north of england and im 22.

look forward to conversing with you in the future

Charlie xx