The Adventures of Dysfunctional Dan

Today is a hugely important day. It’s Holocaust Memorial Day. I think I should start with a few scary statistics: About 11 million people were killed in the Holocaust. 6 million of them were Jews. The Nazis killed approximately two thirds of all Jews living in Europe at the time. 1.1 million of those murdered in the Holocaust were children. Obviously, the Holocaust was a terrible thing. But I always struggled to really understand it. As a teenager it seemed to very long ago, done by people far away. That was until I ended up visiting Auschwitz, the biggest of all the death camps. The main site of Auschwitz has an odd feel. It is a very recognisable location and you know terrible, unthinkable things have happened there. But the gas chambers were torn now before the allies reached there and all you can see is a large open area full of sheds. The moment that really affected me was when I was in what is now a sort of museum. In it are piles are objects that belonged to the Je...

Occasionally I write a blog post with very little idea about what the post will contain. This is one such blog post, where I just let the words drag me in whichever way they want to. Yesterday I made what is probably my only contribution of any value to society. I don’t currently pay any income tax because I don’t quite earn enough and even when my income dips over the threshold in the new financial year I’ll pay so little it will virtually be negligible. In fact I technically owe the state around £25,000 in student loans but I’m not earning enough to start paying that back either. The one thing I do have to offer though is my blood. The NHS relies on thousands of people donating blood every few months to provide blood transfusions for those who need them. It feels a bit like this when you give blood. Sort of. It’s an unpleasant few minutes but the thought that my actions could save someone’s life make it worthwhile. Yesterday was my tenth donation and I was given a thank you ...

So it’s been a little while since my last post. It’s a time in my life where nothing of interest is happening. The problem of what to do with my future lies unsolved, despite the vast amount of time my brain decides to devote to it. Occasionally though it take a break to come up with an idea for a blog post. This is one such idea. We’re halfway through January and by now many a New Year resolution has failed. The whole concept seems odd when you sit watching it from the side-lines. I’ve been gradually attempting to become a new me for some time now (see the early days of this blog) and the new year is pretty irrelevant for me. Whether you have a new year resolution or not, it’s important to remember that change is gradual and does not happen overnight. One particular resolution/thing I am not keen on is the whole “dry January” thing. A month without drinking alcohol. Obviously I’m all for raising money for charity and I know some people desperately need to cut down on the amount o...