I think if you'll let me, I'll have a go at being selfish please.

When did being nice to yourself become a crime? It sounds ridiculous when you say it, but my Gods it's true. The episodes of HATC have been recently non-existent, as you may well have noticed, mainly due to my career being kick-started and me ending up with very little time for anything else.

People keep mentioning a work/life balance, although I have to admit that at the moment, pleasures in life for me include eating and sleeping.
I've found myself in that horrible place where you try to justify every small action that isn't related to work.
"Well, I can check my emails and chat online because I'm looking for jobs and filling in application forms at the same time."
"I'm allowed to go for a cup of tea this break time because I forgot lunch as I was too busy marking."
No. No no no no no no.
"I can check my emails because I'm a human being and I need to talk to my friends."
"I can have a cup of tea because I work bloody hard, I deserve it, and I'm thirsty."
Pleasure is good. Life should be for the pursuit of pleasures, however small, not to keep someone else happy.
Just before Christmas some friends on my course decided that they would buy tickets for a Christmas ball. They went to get them, but there was a long queue, so they were a little late for the next lecture. They apologised to the lecturer, and explained they'd been queuing for ball tickets.
"Well if you have time to go to the ball, you clearly aren't working hard enough!"
I think it was supposed to be a joke; I can't see anyone else smiling in here. Ok, so it's a flippant throwaway comment, but it embeds in your psyche that the pursuit of pleasure is less worthy than the pursuit of a career. And I don't agree with that. I'm not saying the career isn't important, but I don't see why happiness should be any less important either. I despair at people who go on shopping sprees and then return and show you every purchase with a desperate justification. "Well, it's nice, and I really need a new one anyway.." they grimace, clinging to the new dress/shoes/last shreds of self-respect. Balls to it. So the other day I went out and bought lots of new clothes, some overpriced beauty products and a stack of pointless books.
I've just been introduced to the wonderful world of Lush and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, so I'm going to spoil myself. After the year I've had I deserve it. But even if I hadn't worked hard, I'd still deserve it; everyone needs to be selfish from time to time.