8 things you should know if your friend suffers from a chronic illness

There's loads of these types of lists to be found on the internet today, but thought I'd write my own -What I believe are 8 important notes to remember if you have a friend or family member suffering with a chronic illness -These vastly range from MS to Crohn's and everything in between (literally too many to mention. Both visible and 'invisible' illnesses)...


1. Not being a doctor is ok. Not being able to pronounce the condition your friend has is also ok. Not knowing anything about it, is not ok. 
Your friend or family member won't expect you to write a thesis on the subject, and you probably stumble over the letters trying to pronounce their illness and any medications they take for it. But if you are constantly asking what the issue is, and can't use Google, then just don't speak at all. Even those who are open and honest about their illness will get fed up hearing themselves say the same things -Ask once, ask new questions, and for the love of your friend's sanity, use Google.

Some won't want to discuss it -they may find it upsetting, they may partly be in denial. In this instance -Google, Google, Google! They might change their mind in the future so take an interest. Please use reputable sites though such as the Mayo Clinic.

It might be a big part of your friends life and who they are as a person. If you

On the rag: A note on feminism

It's been a while since I'v had one of my famous rants (famous? ...Yeah, I only have about 10 followers, but I'm still saying famous. Deal with it), and what better subjects than politics and feminism, eh? And yes, yes, I'm totally late to board the train, and I'm sure by now yous all totally get that feminism is not hating on men? And that anti-feminists (or at least the childer who post shite on the internets) simply wish things were 'just like the 1950's' for the oh so pretty lady clothes? Yes, yes?? Good.

Well with that in mind I'll skip over all the obvious stuff and just have a wee chat about this article:
"9 Times When Irish Politics has Been Really Sexist"

At first read I laughed, of course, and I'm sure you will too. They are funny comments. Funny because they are: A.) Outrageous, B.) Oh so very dam Irish and C.) It is human nature to think "well, they were just having a laugh though" ...The latter passed my mind only briefly before I stopped myself. Is it wrong to comment on a women's looks, if you are saying something nice? "Flaming red hair" sounds more of a compliment to me. The argument could be made, that if it was the other way around, would men in politics care so much if they were being commented on? Perhaps not. And perhaps it wouldn't be such a big deal in the media. But the bigger picture is simply that there are less women in politics -and as we all know, women do not have the same rights, respect or pay in many professions. This is where the issue lies, in case anyone reads the article and thinks: "What's the big deal?". It's the same old bullshit of "Oh sometimes black people are racist to white people, ya know!" ...Eh, yeah, of course, and where as this is clearly not right and neither is excusable, there is a difference. The difference being years of oppression.

Examples of being judged on our looks as females is everywhere. There are certain pubs and nightclubs that I just rather not bother going into, that my male friends would have no issue in entering. I don't mind a bit of fun, a bit of joke (after all, social situations