Nerd Church - The Basics of Self-Care

(Warning: this post includes frank discussions of a variety of mental health problems, including references to suicidal thoughts, and self-harm.)




May is Mental Health Month in the US, and 14th-20th May is Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK.

You've probably heard, at some point in the course of your internetage, the phrase 'self-care.'

Hopefully, what you've heard has been positive. Unfortunately, you may have heard others mocking people who practice self-care, or calling it selfish.

Self-care is not selfish. Self-care is vital for everyone.

Just as everyone has both mental and physical health, though not necessarily mental or physical health *problems,* likewise everyone can (and should) practice self-care as a way of keeping yourself as happy and healthy as possible.




Disclaimer time: I am not a medical or mental health professional. I'm a blogger with personal experiences of mental health problems - OK? OK

Nerd Church - IRL?

We're living in a world where the lines between online and offline have become more wibbly than ever before.

So I've been thinking a lot lately about the difference between online and offline life.

(Yes, this post is probably going to meander quite a lot - you've been warned! 😉)

Nerd Church - Viral Reading

Are you ready to be a Bookish Rebel? Cos we're gonna shake sh** up today! 😉

I love my blogging friends - but you weren't originally who I was aiming my brain babbling at (But I still love you!!!! Never leave me!!!! *tugs at your sleeves to stop you going*)

No, when this blog started, it's half-formed, characteristically-vague, ideal was to spread reading like a positive plague across the globe - I wanted, and still want, to make READING go viral.

Nerd Church - Please, Shut Up About the Royals

I'm British. But I don't care about the royal family. I don't care about the royal baby. I don't care about Harry marrying Meghan.

What I do care about is that I keep having to hear about them all.

Social and mainstream media are both fawning over all things royal and... *sighs* I don't mind like one news-in-brief report or whatever guys, but everyone seems to have freaking lost it, tbh.

Nerd Church - Toxic Friendships, and Reclaiming Enthusiasm

(Warning: this post discusses toxic/abusive friendships, homophobia, and emotional abuse.)


I was a weird kid.

At 6 years old, my passions were Beethoven, Renoir, and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

I loved writing my own stories and playing games which somehow always involved more witches than princesses (although, combining the two was never out of the question!)

Nerd Church - 4 Rules For World Leaders on Twitter

I can't create world peace.

I wish I could, but dude, they won't name me supreme leader of everything.

So I can't do anything about Syria or Russia or chemical weapons or drone strikes or any of that stuff. Much as I'd like to.

What I can do, is explain 4 rules for world leaders using social media (and, let's face it, Twitter in particular,) that will stop us all from escalating things quite so quickly.

Nerd Church - Disconnected

This might be one of those times where it turns out I've gotten old. It's highly possible.

Despite the fact that I get ID'd pretty much everywhere, I am actually a grown-a** woman; albeit one that only comes a little over 5ft.

A grown-a** woman who is still as genuinely enthusiastic about the bands and music I love as ever.

At the end of March, I went to see Fall Out Boy for the 4th time (and a year or two ago I completed the Emo Trinity, thank you v. much! 😉 )

I've never quite understood though, why, while I'm bouncing around, screaming my heart out and singing 'til my lungs give out, everybody else HAS THEIR F**KING PHONES OUT!

Don't get me wrong - a few photos, a video or two: there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Nice memories and all that jazz.

But if your entire night consisted of FILMING the concert, instead of WATCHING the concert, then - and this is a genuine question - why did you bother to GO to the concert?

Month in Review(s) - March 2018

March. Ah, March.

March, for yours truly, was one of those months with too much trouble, and too little time to deal with it.

There was some good, incredible, awesome stuff - like a Fall Out Boy concert last week (completely awesome!) and hitting 200k page-views on Dora Reads (I LOVE YOU MY NERDLETS!!!) - but there was also a lot of stress, worry, Anxiety, etc.

There's a lot of personal stuff going on atm, including my grandmother being in hospital since the beginning of the month - and thanks so much for your support my dearest nerdlets! You rock, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

Nerd Church - Pressure, Obligations, and 'Good Enough'

Sometimes, you need to accept things for what they are.

Not always! No way! Sometimes what you need is to dig your heels in and kick and scream.

But there are many situations where we simply have to accept things and move on.

I'm terrible at this.

Nerd Church - Duality's Duel

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction - Newton's Third Law of Physics

Does that work in society too? If we swing in one direction, is there an equal swing in the other direction?

Does one extreme lead to another? And can we ever be happy with extremes?

(I'm gonna be honest, this is one of those posts that wanders here and there. Because I'm kinda just musing here, there is no plan.

Those who need there to be a plan may wanna bail out now. Those who like life on the Bookish Rebel side, come along for the ride. #JustSaying)

Nerd Church - The Women Who Made Me

Since it was International Women's Day on Thursday, and it's Mother's Day today in the UK* t'boot, I figured I'd talk just a little bit about the amazing women that came before me :)

*I didn't mean to rhyme, but am childishly pleased that I did! Lol.

Month in Review(s) - February 2018

You remember, in January, when I said I was getting the hang of the whole life-balance deal-y?

Yeah... well, regular service has resumed. My life is back to Milo-Murphy's-Law-levels of randomness.

If you haven't seen Milo Murphy's Law, this is what I'm talking about:

(Warning: flashing images)

...I relate so hard it scares me.





Typical example: I had a scratch on my hand. Not unusual?

It was from the cat. Still not that odd?

It was because the cat was squirming, trying to stop me, from stopping him, from climbing into my big brother's sling (which he was wearing at the time,) which he has because he broke his arm roller-skating.

This is my life.

Nerd Church - The Value of Reading

Why should we value reading?

Because it's important. Because the literacy of teenagers in the UK is Not Good. Because reading opens the mind to new ideas, new perspectives, other cultures.

Because reading - and comprehension of what you're reading - is more important in the digital age, where we're bombarded by texts, tweets, posts, and online forms, than it ever has been before.

Nerd Church - Some of My Favourite Welsh-Language Music

It's St. David's Day/Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant on Thursday, so I figured I'd give you guys some of my favourite Welsh-language music to listen to :)

I originally wrote this list on Twitter, for Welsh Language Music Day/Dydd Miwsig Cymru, on 9th February/Chwefror - but it's a pretty good list, if I do say so myself, so I thought I'd share it here too.

(And yes, I love Yws Gwynedd - they are most definitely Roc a Rôl as far as I'm concerned 😎)

...in case you hadn't noticed! Lol.

(Via Giphy)

Nerd Church - America, Don't Blame Mental Health Problems For Your Useless Laws

(Warning: this post discusses mental health problems, stigma, and gun violence including school shootings.)

America - what the actual f**k?

Look, I'm probably preaching to the choir here - but in case any of you out there are pro-killing-machines - let me explain some things:

1. There are mental health problems all over the world
2. School shootings aren't the norm in pretty much any country other than yours
3. Your gun laws are the problem

Nerd Church - Rebel Valentine 2: Return of the Candy Hearts

(Yeah, no, I don't know where that post-title came from either! 😅)





Welcome to this year's coffee-fuelled, rule-breaking, kick-a** Valentine's Day* Nerd Church post!

(Those who read last year's post will know (sort of) what's ahead - those who didn't, hold on darlings, Cee's about to get on her soapbox, and possibly end up sharing TMI. But that's what she does.)

*Yes, I'm aware that it's not Valentine's Day until Wednesday. I'm doing my post now. Because I'm a rebel.

Nerd Church - Hatred Has No Place Here

Darren Osborne - the man who drove a truck into a group of innocent Muslim mosque-goers last year - won't be coming out of jail any time soon. As it should be.

This was a terrorist act. The sentencing took that into consideration. (Though the press could make this clearer, tbh.)

It was a vile, terrorist, murder. As a Welshwoman and a white British chick, I can only apologise again for this horrendous act.

Nerd Church - The Problem With the NHS

The problem with the NHS is not a problem with the NHS.

And with that bombshell, I should probably explain to my international nerdlets (and I will never get over the fact that I even have international nerdlets,) just what it is that I'm talking about.

The NHS is the National Health Service - set up so that everyone in the UK has access to state-run, FREE, healthcare. (Set up by a Welshman. #JustSaying.)

Nerd Church - Cut Yourself Some Slack

I'm an impatient person. I want it done 600% right, and I want it done yesterday.

But I've had to learn that I can't work like that. I can only do what I can do, and it's much better to work slow and steady.

We have a tendency to go way easier on other people than we do on ourselves (me? talk about myself? Ha ha ha... look a distraction!!)

So I think it's time we reminded ourselves that it's ok to not do EVERYTHING - as long as you're doing something.

Nerd Church - Yes, We Damn Well Need Fair Reviews

To my non-blogging readers (hi! don't leave! I neeeed you!!! 😉 Lol) and also my blogging readers who haven't seen the ripples on bookish Twitter lately, let me explain something:

There seems to be an attitude, at the moment, for authors to defame, abuse, harass, and denounce, book bloggers for giving them 'bad' reviews.

Now, I'm not going to go into the semantics and the 'he said, she said' of the thing. But I am going to make some comments regarding fair and critical reviews.

Because this isn't something that's new. It happens.

Unfortunately, it seems to be happening with increasing frequency, but that's another matter.

Those of us involved in the Diversity Movement are probably the least surprised. Diverse reviewers tend to be the first in the metaphorical firing-lines.