Ten Tips for Saying NO!

Hey!

If you know me (which many of you may) you'll know that I'm the last person in the world who should be giving advice about saying 'no'! I'm possibly the best person at saying 'yes', even when I don't particularly want to. Probably adverse to your opinions, I AM learning... so here's my ten tips for saying 'no'.

Disclaimer: If you're a 'no' person... then don't read this. It can be equally bad if you struggle to say 'yes'. 'Yes' CAN actually be a good thing.

1. Just say it. How hard can it be? It's a two letter word, one syllable. The problem with 'no' is that it's a  strong word. "Oh here we go with the English lessons," you say, "this isn't what I clicked the link for." But it's true. Sometimes you just have to say it without thinking it through first. After countless embarrassing moments where my brain has hijacked my mouth, I'm a big believer in thinking things through before spurting stuff out... but for once in your life don't think. Just do it.

2. Don't apologise. I know, I know. I've never actually counted, but on estimate, I think I probably say sorry over a hundred times a day. And that wouldn't even be a bad day. I've literally had people threaten to do all kinds of things if I "say sorry one more time". Over-apologising is BAD! Don't do it! The natural reaction to saying 'no' is to follow it up with a sweet and sad 'I'm sorry!' ... but are you? If you're saying no to a friend or colleague because you have no time in your week, they're asking too much of you and you just can't commit to anything more without absolutely exploding... then it's ok! It's not your fault - and you don't need to be sorry.

3. Don't worry about what people will think of you. Honestly? I think this is the root of the problem for me. I'm far too concerned about what people think. Getting a bit deep here... but concerns about our personal portrayal of ourselves can be detrimental. Keeping up appearances is ok for a while - but when it comes to putting your foot down, if you're well within your rights - who cares what they think?  Well, I do. But I'm working on it!

4. Don't stress about it afterwards. Don't say 'no' and then stay awake for the rest of the night worrying that you've made a bad decision. THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT! Be confident. "That's so cliché." I know. Be confident, be yourself... 'listen to your heart'. It's vomit-worthy but it's all somewhat true.

5. Be OK with it when people say no to you. This one is hard in itself... but if you expect people to be ok with it when you say 'no' to them, you need to be understanding when they say 'no' too. Enough said?

6. Sugar coat it. This can be good or bad... but it certainly makes saying 'no' easier. When I say sugar coat, I don't mean this:

"Nah, I can't give you a lift that's 45 minutes out of my way...  that's ridiculous. But I love you anyway."

I'm talking about context and compromise. Sure, maybe you can't drive 45 minutes out of your way. But maybe your place is closer to their's than the place you are now. "I'm heading home, so you can come with me and maybe someone can pick you up from there?" Everyone wins.

7. Use 'life' to your advantage. Again - not sure if this is a good one or a bad one, or if I even agree with it myself - but everyone's lives are hectic. It doesn't matter why, it doesn't matter what you've got on. If you're busy you're busy. "Life gets in the way."I don't mean that you should use life as an excuse for being busy whenever you want to be. "Sorry, I can't do that for you. Life's just SO crazy this week... I couldn't possibly factor you in." NO! Don't say this! Because chances are, your idea of 'busy' involves sitting at home scrolling through your YouTube subscriptions and friend-culling on Facebook. That doesn't count as busy. But if your life really is busy, you need time out. "This is the first chance I've had to have a minute to myself." YES! That's ok - and believe it or not, people will usually understand.

8. Don't let things get to you. This one might be similar to not stressing afterwards - but during the decision making process, don't let people throw you.

"I can't give you a lift tonight, sorry."
"Oh, that's ok. I don't have a way to get home though."
"Why didn't you ask me earlier?"
"Because I just figured you could do it."
"I can't, I'm sorry."
"Well how will I get home?"
"I don't know..."

If you're like me, you buckle anyway, because you love your friends like nothing else, and you'd never leave them somewhere alone. BUT... in a situation where it matters... hold your ground. Don't be manipulated!

9. Don't say nothing. Saying nothing often amounts to a 'yes'. It's like if you're throwing a party and you invite 50 people... only 4 RSVP'd, 2 said 'no' (don't be mad!) and you're expecting 48. If they weren't coming, they would have said 'no', right? Wrong. You can't always assume that people mean 'yes' when they don't respond, and similarly, you can't expect that it's a 'no' when you don't respond either. Don't be afraid to do one or the other. Just do something!

10. Only say 'no' to things you need to. Life's full of crazy opportunities and opportunities to help and serve other people. It's not wrong to say 'no', but it's also not wrong to say 'yes' (obviously depending on the situation!) Know your limits and know your schedule. It'll make it a lot easier.

Thanks for reading a slightly more serious ten tips. Feel free to comment and share!

Written for you by TenTipsToday :)

Ten Tips for Public Transport

Hey!

After a short one-and-a-bit hour train trip yesterday, I'm pleased to say that I survived yet another public transport expedition. And yes - even though it's convenient and good for the the environment, there's no denying the interesting, awkward and quite often hilarious things that happen on public transport. To help you through, or just help you laugh at your own horror stories, here are my ten tips for taking trains, buses, monorails... you name it.

1. Just because someone has a newspaper, bag, hat, phone, or (as I saw yesterday) small ugly animal, on the seat next to them, doesn't mean that the seat is taken. If the train or bus is busy, and you need a seat, don't hesitate to ask them to move their things. I saw this happen yesterday. A girl with a bun the size of jupiter (I'm not kidding, it looked like it's own planet!) had her things strewn across the seat beside her and a lady said, 'excuse me, is this seat available?' She rudely said, 'no' and the lady stood there for a moment before picking up the newspaper and taking a seat. I felt like doing a victory dance for her until the girl snatched her paper back and stormed off the train. Whoops...

2. Just because the council or local government says that they're putting in wheelchair access (a.k.a 'lifts'), doesn't mean they are. Never, ever rely on them to have the lifts operating, or have the lifts at all. Here's a short something I wrote on the train to remember for my journalism class after having watched a situation like this play out. It may not be funny or enjoyable to read, but it's true:

Today, as I was stepping on a train at the station, I watched a man in a wheelchair push himself out of the train, his young daughter on his lap. He moved towards an officer to ask for help up the long stairs. There's no lift, and no ramp there. I was moved by his determination as I watched him push himself out of the chair and drag himself up, stair by stair. The officer had to hold the wheelchair and watch the little girl. Not only did this compromise his independence as a member of society, but also compromised his independence as a father. Nobody should have to endure such an easily fixed occurrence in an age of technology where it would be relatively easy and inexpensive to add some form of access... 


Long story short guys? Not cool.

3. Buy a ticket. This might sound like the most basic advice ever - yet some people still don't catch on! Hear this... as a student, a ticket will cost you a couple of dollars. If you're not a student it will cost you a couple more. If you're a senior, it will cost you even less than a student. A fine will cost you over $200. Police get on and off at every second stop or so. You do the maths!

4. If you're catching the train with a group of friends, remember that other people exist on public transport. It is after all public. And so too is the information you've just shared with the whole world because you're laughing and talking so loudly that everyone around you can hear what you're saying. Now this can be annoying... but personally, I kind of like overhearing. Some of my favourite twelvie one-liners would have to include:
'You're so last week to him. Boys are like ice-cream. They melt away and stick to your feet when you step on them.' Wise words.
'I think green hair is hot. I'm getting green hair tomorrow. How do I get green hair?'
'Why did you buy that? It wouldn't even look good on me...'

5. Fights on public transport happen - laugh it off and be careful. I recently witnessed a relatively harmless one between 2 women who were fighting because lady #1 was putting on nail polish. It then escalated to lady #2 blaming lady #1 for international poverty because she bought fake nails and nail polish instead of supporting charity organisations. Police did eventually have to get involved... luckily it was pretty harmless. If a physical fight breaks out, move carriages for safety's sake - but if the police are there, people watching can be pretty interesting! Lady #2 ended up leaving, and the guy sitting across from lady #1 ended up asking her out. What a weird situation...?

6. Public transport is going to be unhygienic. Brace yourselves. Yes, you will likely be pushed against people you don't even know during peak hour on connecting trains and buses. Yes, they might smell disgusting. Yes, white clothes will likely be ruined in less than an hour. They're still people, and they're still in the same situation as you. Don't look at the floor, don't look at the ceiling. Don't try and think about who sat in your chair before you (although now you probably will). It's really not a big deal. Buy some hand sanitiser and you're good to go.

7. Always anticipate a different weather climate to the outside world. For some bizarre and unknown reason, people who run trains and buses like to make the temperate in their transport the polar opposite of what you dressed for. So if it's sunny outside, grab your coat.

8. I've said or implied it a bit - but watch people! You have no idea how interesting they are until you actually do. Trust me. It's not creepy... just be subtle. It passes the time.

9. If you're travelling, and you're using public transport, don't watch the pretty view out the window through the viewfinder in your camera. If that's the only thing you're seeing, you might as well have just looked at someone else's travel photos. Enjoy yourself! Take a couple of pictures and just watch.

10. It might be an obvious one to close with - but always leave on time. If you can't leave on time then don't wear heels, or you won't be able to run for the train in classic 'movie style'. Besides, the women who run in heels in movies are doubled and edited to look good. I promise, it won't be graceful or glamorous.

I hope you enjoyed these tips and tricks for transport. As always, feel free to comment, question and email-subscribe.

Written for you by TenTipsToday :)

Ten Tips for Mondays

Hey!

The reality is that nobody likes Mondays - at least that I know of. You've just finished the weekend, but you're only just starting to relax. There's work to be done, people to face and you're sure that the world's against you. So, to hopefully ease your pain - here are a quick ten tips for Mondays.

1. Have breakfast. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm far too disorganised to eat breakfast at least 90% of the time. Personally, I don't think it's as much disorganisation as an attempt to make a good sleep last just a few minutes longer - after waking to the multiple alarms I've set. Later in the day I realise that it would actually be nicer to not feel hugry by 11 o'clock in the morning. That's the last thing you need on a Monday. Prioritise breakfast!

2. Make a new CD or playlist for your car. When you're driving to work, school or uni you'll be so distracted by your favourite music that you won't have time to get depressed. If you're feeling really creative, decorate the CD - yes, I really do this. I have a CD called 'Christmas Tunes' with a Christmas tree on it, 'Holiday Tunes' covered in a psychadelic pattern and a multitude of 'Car Tunes' CDs, labelled 1-7, all with different drawings covering the top of the CD. Permanent markers are wonderous things.

3. In the famous words of Lorelai Gilmore - "CoffeeCoffeeCoffee". If you don't understand this reference, please watch Gilmore Girls. Your life will no doubt be a happier place.

4. Have something in your week to look forward to - whether it's Monday night or Friday night. Weekends don't count, they're happy enough! Organise to meet someone for coffee, go out for dinner, plan a movie night in. Make it something you love.

5. Keep busy! Distracting yourself is the best way to make a day go quickly!

6. Completely disregarding tip number 5, make the most of your day. Don't wish it away, don't be sad that your weekend's over. As cliché as it is, look for the good in your day and make a conscious decision to be happy and motivated.

7. Find a show you love to watch on TV that plays on Monday nights. Whatever you do, don't watch a show that's also on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Not only are those shows repetetive and boring, but also extremely time consuming! If you hate TV then rent a movie.

8. Check your shoes - are they slippery? If you're anything like me, you're clumsy most of the time. When it's a Monday and you're tired you're clumsy all the time. Avoid hazards! For once in your week, take the elevator and not the stairs.

9. Change the background on your computer or your phone. Even though you're doing the same old things, a change of scene might be nice.

10. Send someone a really nice message! Not only does this brighten up your day but it brightens up someone else's Monday. It's a chain reaction. A simple, 'Hey haven't seen you in a while. I miss you - how are you going?' will do the trick.

I hope you liked the ten tips for Mondays. Feel free to comment with your own tips and share the page.

Have a good Wednesday - and look forward to Monday!

Written for you by TenTipsToday :)

Ten Tips for Mornings

Hey!

If you're a morning person, then you're probably not going to need the following advice (though feel free to read along anyway)! This one's for all of you readers who struggle to get out of bed in the morning. I feel your pain - so here's my ten tips for mornings.

1. Set 5 alarms (e.g. 6:00am, 6:30am, 6:45am, 7:00am, 7:15am) and put the alarm device (I use my phone) on the other side of the room. If you're like me, you might like to hide it somewhere you're unlikely to look when you're half asleep. The cupboard down the hall worked well for me last week. These alarms can be set at whatever times you like - but it gives you the opportunity to hit the snooze button (who knew it was so satisfying?!) at least 3 or 4 times before you get up... and by then you're so awake from turning off alarms that you're almost ready to get up anyway! The key word here is 'almost'.

2. Have a routine! I don't know about you, but my brain kicks in at about 9 o'clock in the morning, and everything before that is like my body's on autopilot. It doesn't matter what the routine is... just have one!

3. Coffee is your new best friend. "Eewwww, I hate coffee!" You say? Drink Coke then. Drink Pepsi... even tea has caffeine in it. Don't drink too much though, or your body will literally get addicted to it! It's not necessarily even the caffeine that helps - there's just something happy and fuzzy about warm drinks in the morning. Especially in winter, or if your body thinks it's winter all year 'round like mine does.

4. Learn how your shower works. It will frustrate you to no end having to figure out your shower issues in the mornings. I have a theory that every shower has an issue - in my experience, this has always been true. My shower has a very tight cold tap, and the strong people in my family like to turn it off very hard so that it doesn't drip. I regularly take extremely hot showers or end up having to use my parents' bathroom because I'm too weak to turn it on.
Recently I went away with a group of friends, and I was very excited about the shower. Imagine a huge square plate with a million little holes pointing directly downwards. It sounds amazing, I know. NO! It's impossible to have a shower without washing your hair, it feels like a billion little needles entering your skin, and water goes everywhere every time you open the shower door. Mornings just make everything worse.

5. Don't eat weird food for breakfast. "Hey, there's leftover pizza! Sweet! Breakfast!" Not so fast. Did you just hear yourself? Pizza. Really?
I draw the line at bacon in terms of meat at breakfast time. Granted, pizza is good food and I'm all for leftovers. Wrap your pizza in tin foil and take it to work, school or uni for lunch. Your day just got that much better.

6. Invest in ugg-boots, slippers, socks or all of the above. Enough said.

7. Avoid intelligent conversation at all costs. Not conversations in general - be sociable. But don't enter political debates, or discuss current news issues. Keep it simple, or you might end up saying something you don't really believe, or something that doesn't make sense. Words like 'car park' easily turn into 'par cark' at 7:30 in the morning. "Politics and news issues?" you say, "When would that happen?!" Well, some people have interesting ideas of breakfast conversation.

8. Just because it's Easter doesn't mean you can eat 5 easter eggs and a box of favourites before you even get out of bed. Just because it's Christmas doesn't make it ok to get up at 5am and wake up everyone else in the house to open presents. Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean you should stay up until 12am to check who posted the first birthday comment on your wall, and proceed to stare at your profile for the next 6 hours to see who truly cares about you. You'll never get up in the morning.

9. Buy toothpaste you don't like. You'll start focusing on the disturbing flavour or texture in your mouth and forget how tired you are. For half of the population who supposedly 'hates' mint, you're already set.

10. Never put your keys in weird places. The worst thing about mornings is rushing - especially when you can't find your keys. If you're anything like me it would be wise to check pockets, laptop bags, underwear drawers and filing folders. Or perhaps the hat rack next to the front door. 

I hope you enjoyed these 'tips'. Feel free to post comments of your own favourite 'morning tips'.

Happy mornings!

Written for you by TenTipsToday :)

Ten Tips For Studying

Hey!

As I'm writing this, I'm sitting at uni attempting to look like I'm doing something constructive and education enhancing - so perhaps I'm not the best person to give you tips on effective studying. Nonetheless, I'm going to give it my best shot.

1. Stop procrastinating. Procrastinating has many forms, and usually it's different for everyone. Take myself for example. If I have exams approaching, assignments to do, texts to read... my room will be absolutely spotless. My car will be clean. My bathroom drawer will be perfectly organised. Everything will be labelled. Why? I think it's because I feel productive, but I can still avoid what really needs to be done. Other people I know prefer playing Xbox (far less productive!) or cooking (although I can't say I complain about this one.) Whatever it is you do... identify it. Stop it.

2. Make your notes pretty. Boys, this might not apply to you as much. Anyone who has ever borrowed my school or uni notes knows that they are usually colourful and full of interesting pictures and quirky drawings. Yes, your notes might take a little longer to make. The difference is, you WANT to look at them!

3. Study in groups! Not only can you share notes, but you can also hold distracting conversations which lead to interesting tangents that may or may not enhance your learning...

4. Pretend you don't know what YouTube is. If you're not a YouTube person, then pretend you don't know what Tumblr or Twitter, or Facebook is. This may be an extension of tip #1, but I assure you that for me, YouTube is in a completely different category to procrastination. It's a whole new playing field of distraction - like having millions (billions?) of mini video series to watch and catch up on. Did you know that 70 hours worth of YouTube footage is uploaded every minute from around the world? That's a lot of content!

5. Invest in a set of multicoloured high-lighters. Highlighters are SO much fun! You can go crazy with colour coded note-taking and memorising, and they'll help you distinguish between the stuff that you wrote down because you were getting bored, and the stuff that you actually need for the upcoming exams.

6. Study breaks! Study breaks are my favourite types of breaks. Think of your most favourite thing in the whole world, and either do it or try and replicate it in some way. If it's travelling for example, jump on a travel site and plan your next big trip - or look at photos from old ones. Whatever it is, make sure it's something that fully distracts you from the work you're doing. Depending on how easily distracted you are, this should be relatively easy. On a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being "I'm on a role, I'll just have to keep studying" to 10 being "What was I doing ten minutes ago?" I'm probably about an 8.

7. Love your study space! Make the area you study in nice. It pains me to say this (truly, you have no idea how much) but my family and friends were right when they told me not to study in bed. Yes - it's comfy. Yes - it's warm. Yes - you can nap between book pages... but apparently this isn't a good thing! Personally, I study best when I'm not at home - although the uni library's not doing much for me at this moment - but for those 2am cram sessions, make sure your desk is nice. How? Well, I organised all of my pens and highlighters, put some photos on the wall and got a nice lamp so I can see my work in the dark... get creative.

8. Listen to good music! Someone once told me that it's bad to listen to music with words while you're studying. So I tried it, and it's true! That being said, none of the music I actually enjoy listening to is completely instrumental, so I downloaded some music in other languages. I know that this sounds ridiculous, but it's amazing how diverse and interesting music is when you go beyond the english language! I must admit though, the majority of music I listen to while studying or doing assignments is in english, but I do occasionally end up writing the lyrics of the song I'm listening to instead of what I actually intended to write.

NOTE: Always edit your work when you're listening to music. You never know what might show up.

9. Stop writing and start telling. The easiest possible way to study is to teach your work to someone else. This is particularly fun if you're telling someone who knows absolutely nothing about the topic you're studying, or will never understand the topic you're talking about. This afternoon someone asked me to help them with a maths question which went something along the lines of:

Prove by indiction that if A is an n x n matrix which has 2 identical rows, then det(A)=0 [Hint: expand along one of the other rows].

Although I am 101% sure they were joking due to the fact that I have an entirely unmathematical brain, I decided to give them an answer, and proceeded to draw a lovely picture of how I thought it should be answered. If I was patient enough, or listened to my own advice, I would have sat and listened to the explanation of why my answer would never be accepted by the faculty of mathematics and sciences.

10. Study a little bit lots. Even if you do 10 minutes every hour of studying for 3 hours, you get half an hour of work done and you feel like you haven't done anything!

NOTE: This is not preferable for serious study... serious study demands good solid time and good solid study food.

I hope you enjoyed the ten tips for studying. Feel free to comment with your own tips, share the blog on Facebook, or subscribe to get updates.

Happy studying!

Written for you by TenTipsToday :)

Ten Tips for Teenagers

Hey!

So, as you may have gathered from my posts (or if you know me personally) I've had some experience being a teenager. Sadly this 'experience' is almost over, but I thought I'd relive it a little by sharing my top ten tips for being a teenager.

1. If you have a prepaid phone and quite limited credit per month, don't worry! I have many methods for saving the dollars and minutes. Firstly - never call anyone. If you desperately need to call someone, simply dial their number and in less than one minute (it shouldn't take this long...) explain that you're low on credit and politely ask them to call you back. Then talk as long as you need to.
Secondly - you'd be surprised how few letters and symbols are required for a text message to make sense. This will condense a 4 page text to a 1 page text, cutting the cost down considerably! Here are some real, personal text examples from when I was 13 and 14.

D u wnt 2 go 2 d moVs w me?

ThkU for 2nit. U r wondrfl.

2. Not everything has to be an acronym. Believe it or not, it CAN be confusing. When you say 'YOLO', you could be saying, 'You Orang-utan Loving Ogre', or 'You Only Like Oranges'. Honestly though, I have had more than one hilarious moment with the acronym 'LOL', which I'm sure most of you will agree means 'Laugh Out Loud'. The first problem with this acronym is simply - where did it come from? Who cares if you're laughing out loud? Who does that when they're texting anyway?! The second problem is that it can also stand for 'Lots of Love'. I recently received a Facebook message from someone which said, "I miss you, it's been ages since we talked :'( LOL!!!". This left me sad and confused.

3. Don't refer to yourself as a 'Twelvie'. When I was twelve, the word 'Twelvie' didn't exist, but from recent conversations I have gathered that being twelve doesn't automatically make you a 'Twelvie' - and being a 'Twelvie' doesn't mean you're twelve. I know - odd. The urban dictionary defines it in two ways.

The first: Kids who think they are tough rollin' around with their friends on scooters
AND
The second: A person of the opposite sex who is noticeably younger than yourself, often twelve years old

Ok then?

I'm not fully sure why you shouldn't be a 'Twelvie', and on this basis I'm going to say that it's perfectly ok to be one despite the negative connotations that accompany the title.

4. Wear your caps the right way. All I want to do is turn them around.

5. Make sure you have the right friends. By this, I don't mean 'get in the cool crowd'. The teenage years are very influential times - I still feel like I'm influenced by the people around me today. Make sure they're good influences. Ask yourself, 'Do they care about me as much as I care about them?' If the answer is no? You know the answer.

6. Learn how to make fun of yourself. No, not in a self-harming, self-esteem hurting way. Learn to go with the jokes (but don't put up with bullying) and don't take yourself too seriously. I was forced to do this because of my inability to suppress stupid thoughts from reaching and exploding out of my mouth. A few such statements include, 'are there tides in ponds?', 'is Melbourne the capital of Adelaide?', 'does your hair change colour when you die?' Sometimes, you just have to laugh it off. I'm still laughing those ones off today. It's a shame my friends have good memories.

7. Get Facebook. If you want to be a good teenager, get every form of social media possible. If you want to be an even better one, go into your bathroom, stand in front of the mirror and get your best 'selfie face' on. This might mean resembling a duck, putting hair across your lip to make a moustache or just standing there with your eyes open wide and your eyebrows raised. Then take a picture of the mirror and post it for the world to see. Make sure the phone is visible. Why? Apparently it's 'cool'?

NOTE: Don't actually do this. Go and take a cute picture of your dog, or the beach you're holidaying at.

8. If you're a girl, buy lots of Justin Bieber and One Direction merchandise. Wear it, decorate with it, sing along to it. This will make you what is commonly known as a 'Directioner'. Enough said.

9. Get on the driving thing early! It is SO worth it. Incomparable freedom!

10. I just asked my brother for a tip for teenagers. He replied, 'Teenage boys - don't try and understand women. They are far too complex, do not waste the best years of your life trying to understand them. Instead, give up and eat lots of food.' For more tips on this issue refer to my previous post on 'Keeping Women Happy'.

NOTE: My brother has never read my blog. This was genuine advice!

I hope this helped all of my teenage readers out there, and that you could relate to it in some way. Happy Teenaging.

Written for you by TenTipsToday :)

Ten Tips For Keeping Girls Happy

Hey!

A few people have been asking me to write a 'Ten Tips for Dating' - which I'm not ruling out in the future - but for now, I decided to do something a little different. For all of you male readers out there (and the girls who will probably relate to this) here are my ten tips for keeping girls happy. What women want is a true mystery - I'm not even sure myself what we want, or what keeps us happy - but here are some ideas to get you started.

1. Never try to understand a woman. If a woman is crying, never say, "It's ok. I know how you feel." You don't, do you? If she's in a bad mood, never say "I know you're grumpy and I know it's been a hard week, but you have to put it in perspective." If you're trying to console her, don't say "I know." And don't tell her she's grumpy.
The truth is that we don't want to be understood. If we honestly wanted men to understand us, wouldn't we attempt to explain ourselves more thoroughly?

NOTE: Even though she says, "you don't understand!" and "you don't even try to understand me!" or "you'll never get it!" doesn't mean she wants you to.

2. Never use childbirth as a measure of pain in conversation with girls.
I have literally been in conversations with men who have compared the pain of rolling an ankle to that of giving birth.
This will never end well for you, even if the conversation is with someone who has never had a baby. You will probably be shunned and you certainly will not be getting any sympathy. Tell me, where's the win? Guys like sympathy. We know.

3. Always compliment girls on their make-up - but tell them that they look prettier without it. You don't think it makes sense? I promise you, it does. Like it says in tip #1, I don't really want you to understand this one, because the mystery is somewhat exciting - but for the purpose of this post, I'll attempt an explanation.

Women want to look nice - if they've gone to the effort of putting on make-up, they're making an effort to look good, and the chances are that they're secretly hoping that you'll pass them a compliment. This being said, they want you to think they're just as pretty without it. As Anne Roiphe says, "A woman whose smile is open and whose expression is glad has a kind of beauty no matter what she wears." Note that this quote was written by a woman.

4. Notice hair cuts. I don't care if you have to make a mental note every time you see her and think, "is it different? Lighter? Darker? Shorter? Straighter?" Even if you're not sure, it's better to ask. What's the worst that can happen? Here's a scenario for you.

Boy: "Hey, is your hair different?" (Note the key use of 'different'. This word is flattering yet non-specific.)
Girl: "No, why?"
Boy: "Oh, no reason. It looks nice."

Either way, it ends in a compliment. You can't go wrong.

NOTE: This can be used on anything - not just haircuts.

5. Learn to love chick flicks. Be ready with suggestions.
When a girl asks you, "What do you want to watch?" she really means, "what chick flick are we going to watch tonight?" This one really isn't that hard - there's a huge range of chick flicks, many of which double up as comedies or even action movies. Did you know that Star Wars wasn't originally intended to be of Sci-Fi genre? I have a theory that no movie is a movie if it doesn't feature some form of romance. So yes boys - Lord of The Rings is a real movie.

6. Cook. There's nothing men look better in than aprons. Whether it's baked goods, dinner, breakfast or just a good sandwich, it won't go unappreciated! This is a definite opportunity to impress... there'll be extra brownie points if you clean up.

7. Flowers are flowers. Whether it's 50 or 1, it means exactly the same thing. Heres a tip: girls don't care about the quantity of flowers. It's quality, and thought that counts. So next time you're buying a bouquet of flowers as big as the NASA space station, put it back. A single rose and a note will do.

8. Keep boy conversation for boys. She doesn't want to hear about the rat that you dissected at Uni yesterday - unless she's really committed. She also doesn't want to hear about your numerous disgusting habits, what level you're up to on Call of Duty, and she definitely doesn't want to know how much you spent on that new pair of headphones last week. Especially if that amount exceeds two hundred dollars. This may or may not be influenced by personal experience.

9. Don't make fat jokes. Don't make jokes that could be interpreted as fat jokes. Don't mention the word fat around girls. Enough said.

10. All girls like an old fashioned gentleman. You know what this means boys - open the door. Even if she's the one driving, open the car door for her. Let her go first, use your manners, put the toilet seat down, don't burp in her face. It's not attractive. Men's obsession with bodily functions is something that is neither understood or respected by girls! I'm sure I don't have to spell it out for you.

I hope these tips have been helpful and a bit fun. If you've got any extra tips you'd like to contribute, post it in the comments! Remember to subscribe via email if you want regular blog updates.

Written for you by TenTipsToday :)

Ten Tips for Finding Music You Love

Hey!

I have always been a music lover, whether it's playing music to myself in my room, singing at church and small events, or 'trolling' the internet for new tunes, I love engaging with music. Recently however; I've been stuck in a place where my music has become stale and old, and I'm ready for some new content - but how do we find the good stuff that we love amongst all the noise? It's hard! So here are my ten tips for finding music you love.

1. Get Spotify. I can hear the sighs, and yes - I know what you mean. Who needs more Facebook-connected platforms to clog up their newsfeed and send emails just incase you wondered if 'Polly Joined Spotify'? But it's actually this that I have learned to love. If you're familiar with Spotify, you'll know that your Facebook friends have a feed running on the right hand side of the program, notifying you of what they are listening to. Click away! You never know what your friends are into, and sometimes it can be unexpected. Once you find someone with similar taste to you, keep clicking on their songs, and see if you can find new bands that you like. 

NOTE: If you don't want people seeing what you're hearing, you can remove yourself from this feed so that no one can view your embarrassing choice of music. I only learnt this yesterday.

2. Old is not necessarily bad. Buy a record player, or borrow one from someone you know, and play some of your parents old stuff. Vinyls are beautiful things, and believe it or not, not ALL 80's music is lame. If your parents have tapes or CDs, try these out as well. 

3. Consult your siblings. If you don't have siblings, consult your cousins. Families aren't always similar, but they often are. The majority of my new music has come from my brother, who has a knack for finding new alternative kinds of music from artists I've never even heard of.

4. YouTube. YouTube is smarter than you think - if you watch a music video for an artist you love, chances are some random options will come up in the right hand side bar. Again - click away! One things leads to another, leads to another!

5. iTunes Genius! Imagine or remember this scenario - you've just bought a new album you've been dying to buy for weeks. You buy it, you close iTunes, you play the music. Hold up! When you buy the album, or even when you're on the page the album is on, take a look at the bottom of your screen and flick through the section that says, 'listeners also bought'. This is not always accurate, and I've had times where I've thought, "how on earth can people like this album and listen to this rubbish?" but often there's some great albums. iTunes also has a Single of the Week every week, which is a great way to grab new music for free and expand your taste.

6. Listen to Ads. Believe it or not, advertising agencies employ people to match ads with popular songs or jingles which are likeable and engaging for contemporary audiences and the demographics which they're advertising to. A lot of music used in ads is what I like to call 'under the surface music' - tunes that are bursting at the seams of popularity, but not quite there yet.

7. Find a site that you like which has free music. I'm not talking about illegal downloads, I'm talking about sites where new artists promote their music by giving you a free download of their EP or album. It was on a site called Noise Trade that I discovered one of my favourite artists, Matt Wertz.

8. Swap your iPod with a friend. I have to admit that I have never done this, but I have always wanted to. Probably the closest I have come to doing this was last night when my boyfriend was parked next to me, and a CD started playing in his car. Jokingly, I said, "Wow, I want your music!" To which he responded by ejecting his CD and handing it to me through the window. So either swap CDs for a month, or swap iPods - but don't steal the music. It's illegal.

9. Go to concerts with friends. This is good, because it's social as well. Even though you might not love the music, it's still an experience worth having. They don't have to be huge concerts - it might be a gig, a school or university event or local musical. You'll be amazed at what is in your local area if you really look.

10. Don't be afraid to try new things. New music will always be different to your old music - but it should be! Let it sink in, listen to it a few times before writing it off, and let it grow on you.

I wish you an evening (or morning, depending on where you are and when you read this) full of successful music searching! Feel free to comment with your favourite artists, albums and genres. Share the love!

Written for you by TenTipsToday :)

Ten Tips for Returning to Childhood

Hey!

It occurred to me the other day how we often fall in love with our childhood passions all over again when we grow up - whether it's that classic TV show you grew up with, a book your parents read to you every night that you still remember by heart, or a toy you simply couldn't part with - our childhood is something we generally love to return to. So here's my ten tips on how to fall in love with your childhood again.

1. You are never too old for Disney. Whether you grew up with it or not, Disney is one of those things that never gets old - even when you do! A couple of weeks ago, I discovered that a friend of mine had been living in the dark for his whole life, never to lay eyes on the wonder of Walt Disney. He has now been introduced to the world of 'The Lion King', 'Mulan', 'Aladdin', 'Beauty and the Beast' and countless other classics. I make it my personal goal to make sure he knows every lyric to at least one song from every Disney movie ever created. Whip out the popcorn and have a Disney marathon - I dare you.

2. Make a 'mixed tape' of your favourite childhood and preteen songs. For most of us it would actually be a CD or playlist, but 'tape' has a certain ring to it, and besides - tapes are a thing of our childhoods, are they not? If you're lazy, just make a mental list. I must admit that my 'mixed tape' or mental list would consist of nothing less than Nikki Webster's 'Strawberry Kisses', at least 4 songs from The Lion King Soundtrack, 'Hot Potato Hot Potato' by the Wiggles, some Colin Buchanan classics and most definitely 'I Love You, You Love Me' from the TV show 'Barney' - who is a large purple dinosaur. Google him, your life will be a happier place.

3. Go up to the roof (or your parents' roof) and pull out a box of your old stuffed toys. Allow me to tell you about my favourite one.

Polly, as she is known, is a rag doll who I was given the day I was born from my wonderful grandma. Polly has neither of her original eyes, none of her original limbs, her plaits have been cut off, the lace on her dress has been replaced, the back of her head has a large patch covering a hole I bit in it, and if I touch her, she will probably fall to bits.

4. Make fairy bread. Do it. Now! If you've never done it, it's not too late! White bread, loads of butter, topped with a million Hundreds and Thousands. If its your birthday, you can substitute butter for Nutella or chocolate spread.

5. Buy a tin of alphabet spaghetti and make your name with the letters. For example, if my name was Jerry I would eat 'J' then 'E' then 'R' and so on. Lots of fun. Great way to waste time.

6. Find a kids cookbook and cook one thing from page 6. I've found that page 6 always has the most random recipes. In my childhood cookbook it's a recipe for hot chocolate. No wonder I can cook...

7. Water colours are not just for children! Make a mess, make a picture. The best paints are in cheap 2 dollar stores - and they usually come with paint brushes. Just add water! Don't forget to hang your masterpiece on the fridge...

8. Make a snail garden. I don't know if you ever did this growing up, but I 'saved' snails on a regular basis, and fed them strawberries from my garden. Truth be told, my dad didn't mind me stealing the snails because they were eating the strawberries in the first place. Little did he know that I was actually the one destroying his fruit and veggie patch. Maybe don't actually take this tip - snails are slimy and disgusting (cute, but disgusting). I just wanted to take you back.

9. Make a collage. This one's actually not a joke.

When I was young, my grandma used to keep every card she was given and cut out the pictures on the front and keep them in a box. When we went to her house, it was my favourite thing to recreate cards, make pictures, and best of all, make collages on large pieces of paper. I actually still have some of them.  My suggestion is to use photos - make a photo wall.

10. Vintage gaming. What was the console of your childhood? For me it was the original Xbox. I spent hours playing 'Fusion Frenzy' and Lego Star Wars. My grandma also owned an Atari and a Nintendo 64, which was fantastic for playing Mario Kart and Donkey Kong. Jump on Ebay and see what you can find! 

I hope you enjoyed the 10 tips for returning to childhood! Let me know what you thought, and what things you do to re-visit your past.

Written for you by TenTipsToday :)

Ten Tips for Car Parking

Hey!

I'm becoming increasingly frustrated about the lack of good or cheap (when I say cheap, I mean free...) parking in the places I need to park. So to help you with your own parking frustrations, I thought I would share my top ten tips for car parking. That being said, if you have a motorbike, or a bus, or a truck... this most likely applies to you too.

1. Never pay for parking. Why? Well, where I live, free parking was given to everyone until approximately 3 years ago. When I got my licence. So now, since all on street parking is paid, I do not park in town unless it is after 4:30pm, when parking once again becomes free.
"It's only a dollar an hour," you say, "how cheap can you possibly be? Are you employed?"
Yes, I am. I'm also a believer in discipline. A child has a toy, he does something bad, you take it off him, he learns a lesson. Catch my drift?

*DISCLAIMER: This being said, if you are going to park in a paid parking zone, I would strongly encourage you to pay. But walk... it's good for you.

2. Always read signs in car parking stations. You know those multi story stations with boom gates? Don't even get me started on boom gates.
A week after I acquired my first licence, I parked in a multi story car park and after shopping, I came back and I read a sign that said "1 to 3 hours, $3.50" (I do realise that I have broken rule number 1. by paying for parking). So I got out my $3.50, and I arrived at the boom gate, with my ticket. Now surely you pay at the gate, right? Not right.
So here I am with the money in one hand and the ticket in the other, too far from the ticket machine, which has no money slot anyway. There's 3 cars behind me. At this point I can't back out and, there's a boom gate in front of me. As my boyfriend said, it was "classic." Apparently you pay somewhere else?
This resulted in security having to come and help us manoeuvre my car out so that I could pay and come back. We made the same mistake again.

3. If you go to uni, or any educational institution - never park there. University's are full of very smart people who think that tens of thousands of people can fit into 500 parking spots. Thanks goes to the Mathematics and Science faculties for that lovely contribution.

4. Learn how to reverse park. I have lots of friends who would rather park 6 blocks away than learn how to do a decent reverse park. Now understandably, if you are attempting to park between a 1900's Rolls Royce and a High-End BMW, walk 6 blocks. But for your average everyday reverse park, do it lots, get really good, have good insurance, and avoid exercise. Just kidding, walking's great. But reverse parking's fun too!

5. When you park in a big car park, don't lock the door before you get out of the car. Obvious? Maybe. But my little car, (who is called Sylvester if you're wondering) has a habit of freaking out when I lock the door, try to open it, unlock it, shut it, and lock it again. The alarm goes off and if you're as inconspicuous as I am, people will almost definitely stare at you. I'm yet to master the art of turning off this annoying alarm, which results in me frantically hitting buttons on my keys to stop it, and then walking away like nothing ever happened.

6. Don't park on speed bumps. You may forget that you did this when you go back to your car and proceed to start it, and wonder why your accelerator is suddenly doing almost nothing. In most cases, you shouldn't park on speed bumps at all... it's just that I have strange specimens near my house that go all the way across the road, often leaving me no choice in the matter. Truly weird.

7. Make note of where you park. You'll lose your car. I do this often...

8. Park near exits. Yes, these are often not near to the shop doors - but in big car parks, I've found that it is quicker to walk than to navigate a difficult car park when exiting with other cars. Cars are bigger than people... and far more restricted. Go figure?

9. Buy a hatch back! Tiny cars are GREAT for parking.

10. Last but not least - avoid parking altogether. Buy a bike.  No petrol, no insurance, no registration, no licence, no parking fees, no nothing!

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment - I'd love to hear your horror stories about parking, or your biking success stories.

Written for you by TenTipsToday :)

Ten Tips About Me

Hey!

Welcome to my new blog! Before I start writing, let me give you a heads up.

I don't claim to have any kind of wisdom to impart! I'm simply someone who loves to do life, I love having stuff to share, and the big one here is that I love writing.

About me? There's not a lot that you have to know - but just so you know enough, here are my 'Ten Tips About Me'...

1. I'm a Journalism student (which probably explains my passion for writing)
2. I love to read (expect some book recommendations!)
3. I love to share stories
4. I'm a creative thinker - musically, artistically, dramatically... love it
5. Probably due to the above, I am in no way mathematical or scientific (don't expect a 'Ten Tips on Maths and Science' any time soon)
6. I'm a Mac user  (love me or hate me, I don't mind) but I have a secret love for Windows 8. So pretty and tiled...
7. I have one other blog, but it is fictional and currently dormant
8. My favourite food is chocolate
9. I have a Black Labrador. She takes me for walks
10. I currently have 22 books on my shelf and I've read all of them at least 2 times

So there's some stuff you probably didn't need to know, but now you do. Follow the blog to get updates, and I hope to be hearing from you in the comments really soon!

Happy reading...!