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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: "A generation which ignores history has no past and no future." Robert Heinlein. Write about what you think of this quote and/or about what had the most impact on your life. *** Ignoring the past means we are doomed to repeat it. That is what the quote means. There is a reason "History is repeating itself" is such a famous/common quote. It’s because humanity is innately stupid… and we keep voting stupid people in charge. Generationally, we struggle to learn from our past mistakes. Kids don’t want to learn from their parent's mistakes, unless they felt/experienced the consequences directly, and that is compounded when it’s our grandparents, or great grandparents… It’s the same with societal generations. People who weren’t around for 9/11 or the fall of the Berlin Wall don’t experience or fully comprehend the significance of those events. They read the theory, hear the stories… but it’s hard to feel it. I studied World War I, World War II, and the Russian Revolution – I wrote essays, memorised dates, and analysed the impacts in the cold light of day, with hindsight. I didn’t feel it the way my grandmother did at the age of nineteen in 1939. I read about nightly air raid sirens and houses/communities flatten or torn apart by bombs; she tended to the wounds of the people caught up in those raids. The psychological fallout and trauma that particular generation experienced is what helped put in place the safeguards (such as NATO) to prevent it from happening again. Subsequent generation don’t have the same trauma. We don't understand it on a molecular level - it's easy to dismiss reoccurring patterns. There were changes and new regulation following the Wall Street crash in 1929, often cited as the worst financial and economic disaster of the 20th century, yet those lessons weren’t enough to stop the global recessions of 1975, 1982, 1991, and 2009 - three of which I was alive during… The similarities that can be drawn between what happened in the early twentieth century in Europe with appeasement, unchecked dictatorship and societal censorship, and what is happening now is crazy. People ask, “How could someone like Hitler come into power?” but we see it in over and over again, across the world, in real time. There seems to be so many historical events in my lifetime. It's hard to choose the most significant or impactfully; the global recession... the global pandemic... the gulf war (I and II), the assassination of Osama Bin Laden... But the one that 'haunts' me the most is 9/11. I remember where I was when the news of the Twin Towers broke, followed by the other attacks. It felt like the whole world stood still. |
| Prompt: Perspective. "The difference between a mountain and a molehill is your perspective." Al Neuharth. How has your perspective on life changed as you’ve grown older? *** Molehills don't become mountains. They don't require the same skillset to overcome. Molehills are an annoyance; mountains are something very few people will ever need to climb... That's my perspective. There isn't a mountain that can't be surmounted if you tackle it right. If you approach it as a mountain and not molehill and treat it with the respect it deserves. It's never the mountains that kills; it's the people that don't understand the environment. And, while mountains can be unforgiving - there aren't any on earth that haven't been conquered. No one chooses Everest as the first mountain to climb. I don't think they even let amateur climbers anywhere near it. You don't climb when the weather is bad. You don't climb it without the Sherpas or listening to their advice. You pay attention to altitude sickness. Stay at base camp.... You truly want to conquer a metaphorical mountain - do your research, prepare, put your safety first, and perhaps decide if you actually need to go over it to get to the other side. |
| Prompt: What animal would you like to be for a day and what would you do? *** I think I would want to be a crow for a day. I have a slight fascination with them. They are incredibly clever and good at problem solving; granted not as good as ravens. They can hold generation vendettas, which I find amusing. And the get to fly - which looks like it could be fun. |
| Prompt: "Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes." Walt Whitman. What is Walt Whitman referring to in this quote and do you ever contradict yourself maybe to yourself? *** I'm a walking contradiction. And I'm kinds proud of it. I like that I don't fit into one box. I'm a corporate employee, who loves to dye her hair very bright colours - because it doesn't affect my work, but I won't get visual tattoos because... you know... I'm corporate... I also think it confuses people when I open my mouth and speak - because, shockingly... I know what I'm talking about. I used to desperately try, and want, to fit in with "society" or people around me. For them to like me - to be accepted. I tried for so long that when the real me occasionally peeked through, it confused the hell out of those around me, and even myself. But it is exhausting trying to fit into a pre-described mould. I also think it's why people have found it hard to get a read on me. I was at a friend's son's birthday party on the weekend. I was wearing my Slipknot hoodie (which many people are surprised by). We were all chatting. I was bopping and singing along to the music playing through the speakers - Abba - it confused my friends, because it was Abba.... very different to my rock/metal tastes. Would I put it on myself - no. Do I know every word and rock it BADLY at karaoke - hell yes. My friend in college loved abba. We'd sing into hairbrushes and cans of hairspray while we got ready. Hearing it subconsciously reminds me of that time. What I have learned is that I have a multidimensional personality that keeps me on my toes - never mind anyone else. And my thoughts, feelings, and opinions are never set in stone. They change. They ebb and flow depending on stuff going on around me. And they are never based on just one facet - so while I might believe and act one way based on certain set of parameters, it doesn't mean I won't react differently with seemingly similar circumstances. |
| Prompt: What achievements have you had this month? *** Achievements are funny things and they mean different things to different people. My initial thought when I think of my achievements is to think of the big things - getting a promotion or new job, passing a test, or gaining an accreditation. At school it would be winning some sporting event or other. And they are great achievements. They are the type of things you can add to CVs, or boast about to boost your ego. They are things you are proud of and want to tell people about. But, there are other achievements that are JUST as, if not more, important; that we don't shout about enough. For example, today the kids and I were up, dressed and out of the house early enough to grab breakfast at the local cafe before they headed off to school. This is a big deal - mostly because my daughter and I as sloths in the mornings. Another achievement is that the kids have only been late twice this year... Make no mistake, this is a miracle, and not a minor one. I haven't been in the mood to deal with people for the passed few weeks because... well... life sucks and shit happens to good people. So, attending my son's parkour class last weekend after avoiding it like to plague, so I didn't have to people with people is, again, a monumental achievement. Last night, I went to the shops and bought ingredients, and then COOKED a meal, rather than putting them away in the fridge and then ordering take out... - Winning - Honestly, I know first hand that sometimes just getting out of bed in the morning, or doing a load of laundry is an achievement - particularly if you manage to dry it AND PUT IT AWAY!! The whole point is that you have managed to complete or do something. It makes you feel good - no matter how small the task might be... It's worth remembering that it's ok to be your own cheerleader and that sometimes the small things are the hardest to do. We should celebrate the small things just as much as anything else. |
| Prompt: "Every moment in your life tells a story." Write about this in your Blog entry today. *** Every moment of my life helps tell the epic story of me... Yes, I really am that awesome! ha ha ha ha I wouldn't be the person I am today if I hadn't experienced life the way I have. Of that, I have no doubt. And, I like who that person is, so I wouldn't change the things I've had to experience to get here - to be me. I don't believe in fate or destiny. I don't believe things happen for a reason, or that some divine being sent these things to test me. Life is just life. It has very little rhyme or reason. It has its ups and downs. When it's great, it's fantastic, but there will always be just as many lows and constants. We can't have the highs all the time. I don't think any of us can expect to get out of this life without some type of emotional, psychological or mental scarring either. We all have our own brand and level of trauma. I don't see those scars as all bad, or believe that they mean I've had an unhappy life. My 'scars' are a reminder of the lessons I've learnt. They are also a reminder that I have healed. Some are more painful than others. Some still have an affect on the way I live my life, but they don't control it. Most have faded so much I can hardly feel them. There are definitely things I wouldn't want others, particularly my daughter, to experience. There are things I would approach differently if they were to happen today, but I can't change what has happened, I can only learn from it, make the most of it, and move forward. Some moments are bigger than others. Some seem massively important at the time and then we can't recall them properly three years down the track. Some are pivotal and, good or bad, they change the course and direction of our lives. Some change the very fabric of who we are. But we are also bigger than any one moment. We are a tapestry of those moments. This is one of the reasons I'm not overly bothered about getting older; don't get me wrong the idea of mortality still freaks me out and if a vampire happened to swing by and offer me immortality or at least delayed aging I would certainly seriously consider it, but I don't think I mind the greying hair and wrinkles - after all that's what pink and purple hair dye is for. |
| Prompt: "Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper." Robert Frost. Is what Robert Frost says true for you? What makes you lose your temper? *** To me education isn't an ability. It's a process, and it has little to do with the ability not to lose your temper or listen to alternative opinions. Though I will admit education certainly helps to hone that skill or ability - if it's actually taught - at least on the surface. I know plenty of educated, "successful" people who are incapable of listening to other's opinions - especially if they differ from their own. They can hold their temper fine, mostly because they are set on their opinion being the "right" one, and have no intention of listening to anyone else's. I also think most people fail miserably at listening. I don't think they know what the word means. Don't get me wrong, they hear just fine, but they are not listening. They're not empathising, or considering a different perspective. I can't count the number of times I've been in a conversation and have been interrupted, talked over and then paraphrased incorrectly - only to be told my interpretation of what I've said is incorrect. "No, random stranger, please continue telling me what I mean, instead of asking me to clarify it. You clearly know more about what I'm thinking than me." Generally, I love a good debate. It's fun. I might not agree with you. I might think your logic is flawed. I may agree with some of what you said and not others, but generally, I have no desire for you to have the same opinions or thoughts as me. To be honest, that would terrify me because I know what goes on in my head... I also don't need to have the same political or religious view as you to respect you, or consider you a friend. I will however judge you on your behaviour and actions... People who can't separate their beliefs or opinions from their ability to accept others is what makes me lose my temper. I wouldn't say I have a short fuse or a overly fiery temper.... others might... and they are entitled to their opinions. I am however unforgiving and lack patience. I wont hold a grudge or anything like that - but I am well equipped to make you null and void in my life. You're there... but you aren't important enough to make me care. |
| 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. |
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