It feels as though it was just yesterday I was penning my 21 Things I've Learned in 21 Years post. But it has, in fact, been four years. Oh, how time flies!

As I get older is does feel as though the years blend into one. But now that I have reached that elusive quarter of a century mark and should look old enough now to not get ID'd, I thought I should re-visit my list from three years ago and see if I've learned anything new. 

Turns out I have. Here's to many more years of wisdom and the next quarter that lies before me. 

1. Listen to your gut. It's an art form, but when you master it you'll learn how to dodge all the bullets (or at least be prepared for them). 

2. If you think what you believe in is too radical, just remind yourself of what has has already changed within your own lifetime. Look at third wave feminism. Look at Scottish Independence. Look at the Labour party...

3. Make the effort. Even if it fails at least you can say you tried. 

4. It's better to be single than settle...

5...but don't be afraid to love. If you've been hurt, you may need to be proactive in building up a high level of trust again. But it'll be worth it. 

6. If a friendship falls to the side make sure it's because it wasn't meant to be, not due to a lack of effort. Friendships are an active process. Don't wait for them to call you. 

7. It's easier to make friends while you're still in full-time education. So meet as many like-minded people at university/college/school as you can. But if you've already graduated new friendships can still flourish, it just takes a bit more effort. 

8. The secret to a great relationship and great sex? Natural chemistry, respect, consent, knowing your own wants and needs and putting your cards on the table. And probably a lot of other complicated stuff. No one really truly has the answer to this one. 

9. Enjoy what you enjoy. Relish in your passions. As long as it's not harmful don't listen to anyone who poo-poos your hobby. 

10. Life is sometimes too much; don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Either from loved ones or a professional. 

11. You know that Facebook feature that allows you to hide people from your newsfeed (but not de-friend)? Utilise it and stay off the Facebook/blog/twitter accounts of people you don't like. 

12. It's helpful to know what you want to do straight out of high school and study accordingly. But it's not the end of the world if you change your mind or don't have a clue. 

13. The only relationship in your life which is guaranteed forever is the one you have with yourself. Make it a good one.

14. Success and happiness really is the best revenge. But don't run yourself into the ground chasing goals just to prove something to someone who hurt you.

15. Maintaining a good reputation and being an all round good person will be your saviour when you're the victim of someone else's slander.

16. If someone is dramatic with other people, they'll eventually be dramatic with you too.

17. If you're networking as an introvert sometimes if your face is just seen enough times at events it will help.

18. And networking can also be known as 'knowing a lot of people'. Expand your social circle in general.

19. You can't control who you meet but you can control the person you are when you meet them.

20. Define success on your own terms. If you want to be the CEO of law firm: go for it! If you're quite content with a 'boring' office job: revel in doing what you know is right for you.

21. As long you can make ends meet and live within your means, it's no ones business what you spend your disposable income on. Spend your Christmas bonus on a new sofa or a Batman lego set and tell everyone else to 'eff off.

22. Learn to forgive. Not because someone deserves it, but because you deserve to let go of anger.

23. Private landlords are better than letting agents.

24. Prioritise your health. Go for your six month dentist check-up, find out where your happy place is and visit regularly, find an a form exercise that doesn't make you want to throw things at a wall, eat your daily apple, get tested for STDs and practice good hygiene.

25. Maturity and wisdom is a gradual process. I may look back at this list at 30 and think 'Morag, shut your face' but I'm just going to enjoy the ride.

A small note: Admittedly, this birthday will be a weird one. I wasn't planning to do an announcement as to why it's been quiet round here but alas I'll drop it in right now and let people know I'm not dead. I was made redundant recently and Friday was my last day. Right now I'm job searching and attending interviews so blogging - along with all my other hobbies - has taken a backseat (this post was pre-written ages ago). I'll hopefully be back into the swing of things soon aka once I'm employed again. But for now I'm away out to 13th Note with my parents for some vegan nosh (and attending an interview...on my birthday).

Love you all. 

One of the best things about living in Scotland's Central Belt is definitely the vast array of cultural events on offer. However, it should never be underestimated what is still going on in Scotland's less cosmopolitan areas.  I have admittedly been aware of film showings in Pitlochry for some time, however I've kind of always poo-pooed it ignorantly believing it to be akin to some village show I starred in with the Brownies back in my own village upbringing. But alas I was given the opportunity to be proven wrong when I was invited along to sit in the audience of the Pitlochry Festival Theatre's main stage show Our Man in Havana.

Set in Cuba in the 1940's it's a black comedy which follows the life of an MI6 spy who sends intelligence reports back to London which are completely incorrect (but enhance his pay cheque). He's a vacuum cleaner salesman by day and sends pictures of vacuum sketches pretending they are a secret military installation in the mountains, just for example of how much piss he is taking out of his superiors. Originally a book (and also a film) the stage play was played by just four actors to great effect with quick costume changes and voice adjustments, some of which has to be done while the actor was still on stage. Oh and the humour is dorky and passive, which is just the kind of humour I go for.

Plus you'll get see a man dress up as the Queen with a robotic corgi.

Our Man in Havana is currently being shown in the Pitlochry Festival Theatre looking out onto the River Tummel with the Perthshire hills looking down on it. And the building is far a cry from the village hall image I had in mind. Along with a gift shop which stocked independent jewellery.

Afterwords I also took a walk along into Pitlochry itself. The email I received from the theatre described Pitlochry as 'very Instagram' and very Instagram it was. The village I grew up in was almost 100% residential, and certainly didn't have a film theatre. Pitlochry has a main street filled with rows of independent shops (I only seen a Bank of Scotland and a tiny WHSmith for example of how non-commercial it is). I stopped by Drink Monger (which you may recognise from the Edinburgh Royal Mile) to have a nosey at their rums. Within it they also had a beer room, where I found some vegan cider to take up the road with me. Though be warned, even though there's trains running between Glasgow and Pitlochry, they aren't regular. Plan your day well.

Our Man in Havana will be shown regularly until the 14th of November. 

If you've always thought The Scottish Greens were full of organic eating urbanites, this member did too until the recent Party Conference.  

HIV is real guys (remember to get tested!). But it took a long time to convince people that it was. 

As that 'shy kid' in the class who never volunteered answers this article on teaching introverted kids gave me alll he feels. 

Cats are dicks, as shown in these paranormal videos!

I had my first AirBnB experience recently (and I came back alive!), so it's safe to say people probably won't get murdered with the arrival of Uber in Glasgow. 

The hotel that inspired The Shining is getting turned into a horror museum. 

A kiltmaker in Paisley has launched some superhero tartans. 

If you're wondering who not to vote for next general election, here's the MPs who want to tax tampons. 

If you'd rather snuggle up with a book than go out trick or treating, here's Lauren's collection of scary books to get you in the Halloween mode. 

Why vegan Quorn is actually a massive deal. 

Keeping your surname when you get married? Or maybe creating a new one altogether? 

Still stuck for Halloween ideas? I very almost went as this Snapchat feature. 

A very important podcast about....pockets.

Or here's a podcast series on adult reading their teenage diaries out-loud to strangers.  

If you're after some travel inspiration, how about these travel blogger snapchatters? 

As someone who considers watching TV to be a legitimate hobby, it's probably a wonder why I've never done a post like this before. It's maybe because I have so many post ideas come my Saturday lifestyle post that it gets pushed to the backburner, but it's largely because I don't think I'd bring much to the table that other blogs or mainstream press aren't already covering. I mean, who actually doesn't know what Game of Thrones is about by now?

So alas, I'm finally getting around to it. I've binged watched enough TV seasons now that I've built up my blog post with tv shows you've maybe heard of but it's not what everyone is talking about. I've watched Game of Thrones, American Horror Story and Orange is the New Black, but I've left those out as any self-respecting TV junky has already watched them. And I've thrown in a film too. 

The Carrie Diaries

As far as I'm concerned Sex & The City was one of the best television shows that has ever graced our screens. I know people who vividly disagree with that, but they're not very clever people (and definitely wrong). But the films...yeah, the films. So when I opened up The Carrie Diaries - which follows a 16 year Carrie during her high school years in Connecticut - I wasn't holding my breath. But I liked it, though not for the reasons I was meant to. You see SATC didn't follow the books very well, but TCD did. So you see plot flaws and timeline inaccuracies all over the place. Which has been annoying a ton of die-hard SATC fans. But? It's a really good teen show. 

So if you love a witty coming-of-age series, I'd give it a bash. But if you're looking for something to fill your SATC fan girl heart, well, don't hold your breath. 

Scream

The Scream movies were a massive part of my teenage years (even if the first one came out when I was learning the alphabet). And I also loved the second film. The third film. And the fourth. Even if everyone else only thinks the first one was any good. So when the MTV show arrived I added it to the top of my list (and finished the first season in two days). Now, this is an 'updated' and 'modern' version of the films staring millennials so the producers (who I guess probably aren't millennials) got a bit overenthusiastic about incorporating social media into the plot (there's a Gayle Weathers-esque character who instead of being a journalist, is a podcaster). And the articles criticising that portrayal of female characters when the original films were Betchel test friendly are legitimate. However, the TV show stays true to the films roots, provides plenty of nods to the original work, and there's jokes only people who've seen the films will laugh at.

Gotham

By now you can tell I'm a sucker for a TV show that adds to a franchise I'm already a fan of. Batman, unlike a lot of cannons, works well in many different forms as the whole thing lacks any definite timeline. Which is probably a good thing. Gotham concentrates on the story of a young Jim Gordon as he strives to be the the moral code in a corrupt city with a corrupt police department in the aftermath of Mr & Mrs Wayne's deaths. The characters are pretty much a who's who of Gotham heroes and villains, but while they were youthful. So backstories central. Carmine Falcone? Check. Selina Kyle pre Catwoman? Check. Edward Nygma pre-Riddler? Check? Young Bruce Wayne? Check. Alfred who is the same age no matter what version of Batman you're looking at? Check. I'll be honest it's not brilliant, but it's decent and I'll keep going forward with the other series.  

Hollyoaks #20years

Sorry, but not sorry for this. If you follow me on Twitter you'll know I'm a huge fan of the 'oaks however I was a bigger fan back in my teenage days (the same days as the Hunters and the Deans). Thankfully to mark their 20 years birthday they've went and flung some of their most iconic episodes onto the Channel 4 website. Including their very first episode (which is pretty bad, and stars Will Mellor). 

The Goatman Murders

As a teenager I used to watch a shit ton of horror films. Back when I was visiting my parents one summer I decided to try and recreate that and decided to pick the most obscure and random looking horror DVD in ASDA. Took my forever to watch it though. Finally I got round to it and realised it was actually a very low budget horror (despite what the cover suggests). Myself not being a low-budget horror fan decided to invite my friend, who is a fan of low budget horror, round to watch it with me. I sat and visible cringed the entire time whilst he fell about laughing. The DVD now belongs to him. 

Internet! I've had a busy week (or a lazy week....you decide) and as a result this Linkables is fairly short. I'm having first relatively chilled out weekend in ages before the Halloween/birthday/Chirstmas part season begins. 

Links!

I dye my hair anyway, so it's hard to say whether I'd cover my greys (when I get them...) but here's a photo diary of how different woman feel on the topic. 

Co-signed: you have the power to ruin someone's day. Don't be a jerk. 

If you're 'tripping the USA soon, here's some funky AirBnB's for less than $50. 

You might have already seen this lul-worthy video doing the rounds: Irish Men Explain Women's Sex Toys. 

If you're in Dundee for Halloween times, how about a pug party at BrewDog?

Breaking up with someone is never easy to do, but some psychologists have explained how to do it compassionately. 

LOL, but somewhat true: 21 times Tumblr gave us relationship goals. 

So...I'm not really into rap music. But I am a huge Nelly fan. Even more so when I found out that he sends 2 kids to college every year.

My blogging girl Hayley has written a post on meeting bloggers in real life. 

The first ever episode of Hollyoaks in on 40d right now. It's bad. And stars Will Mellor. 

I've never been too bothered doing certain activities alone, and I'm glad the rest of the world is beginning to agree.

Glaswegians (and Edinburgers) Uber is now on our streets,