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For the avoidance of doubt... Yes... I definitely have an opinion... |
 Welcome to my Blog!! Having an opinion is better than not having a thought of your own. I have many of both.... Pull up a pew and grab a hot, steaming mug of your choice. |
| Prompt: Yearbook Themes. What was your Yearbook Theme in high school? *** I didn't have a yearbook. They weren't/aren't a thing in the UK, at least when I was in school, which was many, many, many, way too many moons ago. We didn't have proms either... unless you are talking about brass instruments in a park somewhere... Though I think they are a thing now - an end of year party. My school had an end of year "Summer Ball"... for school leavers and college (16yr plus), where we got dressed up in formal wear and sat down for a three-course dinner, before dancing. It was semi-posh. A vague attempt to be posh. I got very drunk (don't give a 16-year-old access to wine). Instead of yearbook, we all chose to graffiti our school shirts on the last day of school, by writing messages all over them: Goodbyes... Signatures... Weird little doodles... I have no idea why, because I can guarantee that no one kept them. Of all the random things I have kept over the year "for the memories", my school blouse was NOT one of them. I actually think my mother threw mine straight in the wash on a boil/whiting setting. Thanks for destroying the memories mum!! To be honest I wasn't even aware that yearbooks had themes. Though the amount I DO know about the US school system and traditions can be written on a back of a postage stamp in size 60 font. I have often wondered what I'd have written under my embarrassing photo... or what my "mostly to" would have been. |
| Prompt: For the love of literature. Write about this in your Blog entry today *** I haven't always enjoyed reading. I hated it until I was about thirteen and even then, it was only for English Literature classes and coursework. I always struggled with words, pronunciation, and definitely reading out loud - which seemed to be what my teachers loved to torture us with. It wasn't just reading, I was bad at spelling as well. That said, I was good at it - not great... good. I even got a poem published in some national poetry things... I still have the book somewhere. I did love Shakespeare - and not the usual Romeo and Juliet, or Midsummer Night's Dream. I liked Richard the III, Macbeth, and Othello. That being said something must have switched at some point because I can still remember the titles of some of the books I read - A Town Like Alice, and The Chrysalis. For some unknown reason, I also decided that taking English Language in college was something I should do. I spent three years studying international authors like Balzac, Ibsen, and Achebe. I tried... so hard... to like Austen... My friend was OBSESSED, but I just couldn't get into her writing. Bronte, however, Wuthering Heights is still one of my favourite books of all time. I think it's what cemented my obsession with the anti-hero. That is where my love of reading really started and where I started to diversify and found my home in Sci-fi, Supernatural, and Horror... King will always be King as far as I'm concerned. Now, I find reading a safe haven. It's a place to escape to when I don't want to think about the real world. I get to bury my head in the pages and switch my brain off. Or at least dull it down a bit. |
| Prompt: Superpower. "Having a superpower has nothing to do with the ability to fly or jump, or superhuman strength. The truest superpowers are the ones we all possess: willpower, integrity, and most importantly, courage." Jason Reynolds How would the world be different if everyone knew they had superpowers? Which superpower do you think you possess? *** I have the ability to procrastinate better than 99% of the population... Case in point I am supposed to concentrating on a deadline for work tomorrow and instead I am doing this... I also have hyper focus (which seems counterintuitive to the procrastination but strangely isn't). This means that when I need to, I can actually get things done in about a quarter of the time - useful for deadlines... like the one tomorrow... mwahahaha. I can also become obsessive about things - expert level - again useful for my work and deep diving projects... but also organising Halloween parties each year... Additionally, I have insomnia - which gives me the superpower to read A LOT of books, but I also have the ability to function at a high level even on two hours sleep... Tea and chocolate also help. |
| Prompt - “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” Meister Eckhart. What resistance or skepticism does this quote bring up in your mind? And why? *** I guess this is a take on 'every day is an opportunity to learn something new'. That there is always something new to learn. Which is true in a lot of ways. Things are always evolving and changing, and if we aren't open to learning new things, it is likely we will get left behind. But learning new things is also exhausting. And hard. And frustrating. And daunting. Or at least it can be. Where there is a beginning, there is also a middle and an end. At some point it gets tough. Beginning gets harder the older you get. By the time we hit 40 we've started to get set in our ways. We get comfortable. Beginning over or something new seems like the start of a long journey - because we're experienced enough to know it takes time... regardless of what the "it" is, it takes time to learn something new. To be good or skilled at something. Or to be comfortable at something. I am very set in my ways. I like what I like. I dislike what I dislike. I don't have the energy to waste time doing things or talking to people I would rather avoid. I have also discovered that my filter seems to be faulty now, on occasions, because I'm comfortable enough to stand my ground more and go against the grain/flow... if it's important to me. Some people might say I have always been like that - but I find it easier now, perhaps because the circle of people whose opinions matter to me has got smaller the older I have become... That being said - beginning something new or something I have always wanted to do/try but haven't had the time, chance or confidence to do until now is very liberating and energising. There are definitely more "passion" projects these days, as well as times when I'm happy to try something different if I think it will help those around me feel more confident - i.e. with my kids - I will gladly be a beginner with my kids if it means they feel more comfortable giving something a go. The same goes for my friends and wider family. |
| Prompt - It is often assumed that certainty is preferred over uncertainty and confusion. Can you, however, think of instances where good things may result out of uncertainty and/or confusion? *** I think it depends on the situation. Is this situation good or bad. Because it's fan-bloody-tastic if it's good; butterflies, anticipation, excitement... awesome. But, if it's bad. If you are waiting for the guillotine to drop... it can give you nothing short of an ulcer. There is a part of me that believes that even if we are certain of an outcome, you are never truly certain of the fallout/consequences. We can take an educated guess - statistically it can be a "sure thing", but there is always a chance that something could happen to make the certainty, unpredictable - good and bad. Especially when people are involved. There are definitely times that certainty helps or is reassuring. I'm a planner. I feel happier and more content when I know what's going on. It makes me feel more in control. More confident. On the flip side of that, I'm also an over analyser. I over think - almost everything. I jump to the worse-case scenario and work backwards. It helps me process things, but it's also stressful as hell on occasions. If I "know" I'm going to have an argument - I run it through my head over and over until it actually happens - it's almost like rehearsing a play. I'm sure that makes me seem insane - but oh well. I don't think I would have handle the death of my father or having to put Indy to sleep any better if I had known. If I had seen it coming. With Indy, I knew it was coming soon - just not when or how soon. It would have been like watching a trainwreck in slow motion. It was when my aunt got diagnosed with terminal cancer - nine months and she was gone. Knowing didn't make it any better. Though perhaps it helped process stuff differently, earlier... There are many good things that can result out of uncertainty/confusion. Every job interview, or date there is a level of uncertainty - will I get the job, will I have to fain a family emergency and escape through the bathroom window...? Yet, being offered a contract or realising that the person in front of you is definitely worth more of your time to get to know is certainly a good thing. As strange as it sounds - especially with my penchant for lists - I like there being a level of uncertainty - of not knowing. |
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