What's in a name?

". . . that which we call a rose would be any other name smell as sweet." To quote everyone's favourite love-sick teenager.

Today, in a rather fancy email, I referred to Nick as 'my partner' today because referring to him as 'my boyfriend' didn't seem appropriate, it doesn't cover so many things like how we're 26 or that we pay bills together.

So, what do you call your significant other, if you're not married or engaged but are older than giggling as you hold hands in the cinema – because I can not find a term I like.

Other half – because without the other half you're only half a person?
Significant other – sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention', doesn't seem to cut it really.
My better half – please. This just isn't true . . .
Ball and chain – just sounds restrictive and painful
Partner – too western. It also reminds me too much of Woody from Toy Story.

So, I'm just going to call him Nico.

It's the little things...

It struck me yesterday that everyone spends a lot of time answering the big questions in life: Why am I here? What does it all mean? Will I be happy? What does the future hold? Was the universe really created by a mysterious, omnipotent and divine being with a touch of his noodle appendage?

But nobody really ever takes the time to answer life's little questions and as Sherlock Holmes once said: "It's long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important." He was right of course, about this and so many other things. Little things are so much more important than big things.

Yesterday brought to me a supreme example of why being a human in 2014 is the most magnificent era to be alive. I was in Sainsbury's (other supermarkets are available) searching for pancake ingredients and toppings, when I found myself by the preserve aisle. In a scenario that can only be described as one that only happens in the first world, I picked up a jar of raspberry conserve and I found myself wondering . . . what is the difference between conserve and jam? Why is there a difference and do we actually need both? #firstworldproblems

In hope, I turned to the back of the jar for answers to find there were none. So, with a second wind of hope, I turned to where I always go in times of question and need, Twitter.

I wasn't particularly expecting a response to my open-ended exacerbation but it was my way of documenting all these pesky little questions of my life, so that when experience brings the answer, I can remember it and tick it off my list. But, lo and behold, Twitter delivered an answer to me almost immediately; via @Bizzy_Fizzy, who put me in touch with @rosiemakesjam:

So there you have it, this is why this is such a great time to be alive. If you have questions in 2014, ask it and you'll get an answer from another human being pop-up for your convenience on your phone. How amazing is that? I am now enlightened about the particulars of fruit preserves.

That's one of life's little questions down, millions more to go. 

The interim

During this time of 'interim', I thought I'd start this blog as an outlet for my brain (there are too many things to keep bottled in there and still remain sane) and to make sure I keep writing, as it's something I love to do. 

I'm not entirely sure what the content will be, I'm just going to see how it evolves; at the moment, I'm hoping it can be an extension of my Twitter feed, which is just a collection of things I find interesting or amusing – with the hope that at least someone else finds it amusing too.

A bit about myself: my name is Gemma and I like words, giggling and making ridiculous puns. I've been working as a children's book editor for a few years now, but at the moment during my career interim, I'm going to see what's out there, keeping my mind open and ready to begin a new adventure.