Well hello there...

Yes, I have returned! From the depths of the murky internet-less wasteland that has been our household for the last two months!

Yeah, rly. Two months. How, oh how, is that logical or reasonable? I'll shut up now, or I may actually rant for days.

So, as you can probably imagine, I'm going to have heaps to catch up on, post about and review. Sorry for my prolonged absence, but I am back! I'll catch up properly soon, expect a torrent of reviews!

NK x

Where I've Been...

Nowhere especially, is the short answer. But between stressing about flat/house viewings, tenancy applications and insurance quotes, things have been more than a little hectic. My stress levels are through the roof and that's more than a little offputting.

The main thing sending my anxiety stratospheric is the whole house move malarky. We have just under 4 weeks left on this contract, and ideally want to leave before that - if nothing else, it makes moving easier. We still have no place to move to. We have the problematic situation of being mature students with monthly income - apparently, that's just no good... there are the agents who outright won't even speak to us, and then there are those who take our applications but pick DSS candidates over us as it's guaranteed rent payment. Things feel very hard right now.

Then, there is the job stuff. Stuff being my lack of one. I really need some income of my own, and we need more cash as a unit generally. To live right now has led to debts going right up - which is exactly the sort of thing that gets to me, so that's hard to handle too. I have a lot of applications in for posts at the moment though - so I'm allowing myself to be at least a tiny bit hopeful.

Finally, there's Uni. I don't know how I feel about it right now, and no-one seems to quite understand my point. Well, some do, to an extent at least. But.. Essentially I'm meant to be moving course soon, and starting at year 1 again. I'm 6.5k down in terms of student debt, and no further forward. Add the credit card and overdraft to that and it isn't nice. And my new course might be better, but I find it hard to know - it's not something I've ever studied before, so maybe it's just another gamble that probably won't even pay off.

But right now it's the first time I've known so many to be proud of me. And I don't want to let anyone down, so I have to find a way.

But that's mostly why I've been quiet. My mojo's been a bit... screwed, recently. It's been hard to write or think or test, And I feel guilty about that.

I'm sure I'll be back on fighting form soon.

NK x

Roses are red, bruises are black and blue...

Today I wanted to mention a company and a product I spotted some time ago in the back of Bizarre magazine (Oh, how I love Bizarre...); The English Leather Rose Company.

 According to their site, they started out on a Narrowboat! Growing roses on a Narrowboat, is apparently, not doable! So the creator set about devising an alternative. If you want to read all about their history, it's available here.

To the left is what the ELR Co. call their Erotica rose from their Gothic Collection - my personal favourite rose.

Between the timeless contrast of vivid, passionate red with the strict darkness of black and the gentle spikeyness of the rose's aesthetic, I couldn't help but be drawn to it.



 For the kinky amongst us, two roses in particular stand out in the collection.

The first of the two is the Fetish Rose. Described as being "for a different kind of love", the Fetish Rose comes in four different colour designs - pure red, red/black mix, rich purple and pure black.

What really sets these roses apart from the other roses at The English Leather Rose Co. is the addition of real barbed wire! Symbolising the painful pleasures to be found in fetish romances, play and scenes, the barbed wire halo is wound downwards and bound into the black leather stem.

It should go without saying that as these roses have very real, very pointy, barbed wire attached, they're strictly for ornamental use and should be kept and displayed somewhere away from where little hands could grab them!

The other thing you do need to keep in mind about this particular rose design is that barbed wire is not easy for the creator Louise to work with, so at particular times they might not be available (i.e. right before Valentines) and in general it might be a good idea to give her a good bit of notice and allow yourself a little longer, just in case. ;)

Finally, the BDSM rose really struck me. I know so many people who would just fall in love with this. Black and Blue (geddit?) with a black stem and leaves.

The colours featured symbolise a variety of aspects found within BDSM relationships, and the rose is available with or without the fetish adornment of the barbed wire halo. Divine!

I haven't yet had the luxury of owning a leather rose, but some day I will! I'd definately recommend checking out Louise's site at The English Leather Rose Company, and following her on twitter!

NK x

PS - anyone want to get me one? ;)

Pleasurists #75

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Why Gordon Brown Made Me Rant.

You may have read the title and been surprised at the political nature. Firstly, anyone who has me added to twitter (I'm @NymphetamineKis) will probably know what I'm like. I'm very political, but this post isn't exactly about politics, more public speaking, perhaps.

I found myself ranting at the TV the other night when R and I watched the second leaders debate. Brown used the phrase "Gay or straight". Some will say that this sparking my annoyance is my pettiness or me being overly sensitive, but to me it is reinforcement of a society-wide tenancy to expect sexuality to neatly fit in one of two boxes. I posted about non-binary sexuality acceptance (or lack thereof) at EdenCafe a while ago in a post titled The Best of Both Worlds or Lost in Limbo? You may want to go have a look at the full post there if you have the time and are interested in sexual identity.

Now, I've already written at some length about why I feel society as a whole needs to start including those of us who tick the 'none of the above' box in the gay/straight category.

The thing is, I really feel that the only way to herald any kind of change in societies sexuality lexicon, comes through examples and setting the standard of what is the norm. A little like we wouldn't simply pick out two subgroups from all ethnic minorities, but rather would refer to ethnic minorities in the most inclusive terminology possible, we need to start including those who are neither and both in sexuality.

Alterations in terminology from the top (so to speak) are what could help bring society's perception of non binary sexuality away from the 'teenage/confused/phase' logic, and into the realm of validity.

So, Gordon. Please stop leaving me out. It makes me wonder if you think I don't exist, or simply don't matter.

NK x