Friday 27 January 2012

Fame - I Want to Live Forever!

I do not aspire to be famous. I do not aspire to be rich. I aspire to be happy and for my friends and family to be healthy and happy.  I have been thinking a bit today about my life, and if it would be different if I was famous or rich and famous?

As a small child I want everyone to know my name and to have my name in lights, but I never knew for what.  I still don’t!  I maybe wanted to be a dancer like Michael Jackson or a top business man like Richard Branson.  None of these have come off so far!  I read a lot of biographies and auto-biographies of famous people.  I am always interested to know how they got to where they are, and what experiences they have had to get there.  A lot of them are normal everyday people like me!

In life, mainly in work people always ask me: What have you achieved?  What do you want to achieve?  Where do you see yourself in five years?  The simply answer for me now is to be healthy and to be happy.  As a child and even now I look at so called celebrities and feel sorry for them.  I am interested in them and their lives, but I am also interested in everyday people and their lives too.  I am always interested in what motivates people to do different things.
Today I have been questioning a bit about if I was famous and in the papers, would I be popular, would they big me up and then drop me down?  Andy Warhol once said:

“Everyone will be famous for 15 minutes”, I’m not sure I like that, or really want to be but if I was, what would people make of me?  Would people get my brand of humour?  Would people like me or think me quite odd?  I guess a lot of people think this and that is why they go on things like “Big Brother”!  I would never do that for fear of my strange life catching up with me and people from the past making money from selling stories about me!

If people took me for now and ignored the past what would they think?  However I do not believe that can realistically be achieved because as Nerina Pallot says in her song The Long Tall Grass of Summer: “No we can't go back, 'Cause we can't be sure that we'd get here”.  I had not heard this song until it was introduced to me by my girlfriend.  It summed up a mood and feeling I had at the time.  I tried to get a general feeling of what people made of my thoughts.  I tried asking people what they thought the newspapers would say but did not get any responses.  I guess they did not want to upset me, or just really had not judged me that closely, or know me that well!

I guess if I am not going to be famous (and do not particularly want to be famous) then it will be a un-answered question.  I guess I will have to comfort myself in the knowledge that I just want to be healthy and happy and that I hope my friends and family like me and not analyse too much about what others think or the general public may think as a whole!  Anyway carry on …

Friday 20 January 2012

Numbers

Numbers have not really featured much in my life.  From an early age I did not enjoy them.  I could not understand them at school.  I had a bit of a fear of them.  I think from an early age I remember being dragged in front of the class and told how stupid I was for getting some measurements wrong.  I can still see the worksheet now with big red crosses on it with all my answers wrong.  I got so upset my Mum had to go into the school and complain to the teacher.  I had to measure lengths with a ruler and could not get my head around the fact when measuring with a ruler you started at the zero. This was because when you count you start 1, 2, 3 etc.  Not with a zero!  I have had a fear ever since.

I realised while doing my exams at aged 16 there was so many rules and things to remember it was all very complicated.  I think this is because at school they try to teach you such a broad spectrum it is difficult to learn any depth.  I still struggle with my times tables! Recently when looking at figures for my job and listening to people talk about large numbers I struggle to picture them. I prefer a bar chart or a pie chart and can understand them better. Also in English we had to read Shakespeare and they had old numbers (or Roman Numerals), for their chapters that were like letters. This also confused me greatly.

In the last few years I have become more interested in them. I gained a job working in a supermarket and had to work out five percent off when customers bought six bottles of wine. I worked out a way to move the decimal point to the left and half that figure. Then minus that figure from that original figure. I thought that was simple enough and grew to like figures a bit more. In another job I volunteered to announce the monthly figures at a team meeting. I used this opportunity to draw pictures and charts to explain then a bit better for people. This helped me and probably a number of other people to understand them easier. They all clapped when I finished so I think it went well (or there were just relieved that I had stopped talking)!

I do not regularly play the lottery and if I did I would get obsessed, because if I had set number I played, then I would have to play them every time there was a draw just in case the numbers came up and I did not play! If I do play it is always lucky dip!

Bingo is difficult for me. I went to a bingo club once and they read the numbers so fast I could not concentrate! I do like it if it is slower and done in a fun way for example: Two little ducks – twenty two, two fat ladies eighty eight. I do not know if they have this fun in other countries?
I look at figures in a positive way now and like to play with them a bit and sometimes like to think if they are a good or a bad number! I like to add numbers up in my mind and try to think if they feel good or not. I remember spending one morning trying to add up all the house numbers I have ever lived at! This was after I had added up all the numbers of the buses I had to take back and from work! When I occasionally call for a taxi they give you a reference number. I think if it is a good or a bad number and therefore it will be a good or a bad taxi journey! I read a lot into telephone numbers as well. Sometimes I think I would like to do more courses in mathematics but that might be crazy!

Below shows some interesting things I know about a couple of numbers … three is my favourite number but eight is equally good but that is just the look of it and I enjoy writing it!!!

The number eleven: This is seriously spooky especially if you get to the bottom and try out the last bit!!!
1) New York City has 11 letters
2) Afghanistan has 11 letters.
3) Ramsin Yuseb (The terrorist who threatened to destroy the Twin Towers in 1993) has 11 letterss
4) George W Bush has 11 letters.

This could be a mere coincidence, but this gets more interesting:
1) New York is the 11th state.
2) The first plane crashing against the Twin Towers was flight 11.
3) Flight 11 was carrying 92 passengers. 9 + 2 = 11
4) Flight 77 which also hit Twin Towers, was carrying 65 passengers. 6 +5= 11
5) The tragedy was on September 11, or 9/11 as it is now known. 9 + 1 + 1=11
6) The date is equal to the US emergency services telephone number 911. 9+ 1 + 1 = 11.

Sheer coincidence..?! Read on and make up your own mind:
1) The total number of victims inside all the hi-jacked planes was 254. 2+ 5 + 4 = 11.
2) September 11 is day number 254 of the calendar year. Again 2 + 5+ 4=11
3) The Madrid bombing took place on 3/11/2004. 3 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 4 =11.
4) The tragedy of Madrid happened 911 days after the Twin Towers incident.

Now this is where things get totally eerie:
The most recognised symbol for the US, after the Stars & Stripes, is the Eagle. The following verse is taken from the Koran/Quran, the Islamic holy book:
"For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced: “For the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah and there was peace."
That verse is number 9.11 of the Quran.

Still unconvinced about all of this..?! Try this and see how you feel afterwards, it made my hair stand on end:
Open Microsoft Word and do the following:
1. Type in capitals Q33 NY. This is the flight number of the first plane to hit one of the Twin Towers.
2. Highlight the Q33 NY.
3. Change the font size to 48.
4. Change the actual font to WINGDINGS

What do you think now???

The joy of three:
Three is the “Magic Number” – De La Soul
Three Steps to Heaven – Eddie Cochran
Three times a lady – The Commodores
Three Kings
Three Wise Men – Melchior, Caspar & Balthazar
Three amigos
Three seats in the back of an average car
Three Little Pigs
Three Musketeers
Three Tiers on a wedding cake
Three medals in the Olympics – Gold, Silver & Bronze
Three sides on a triangle and that is much better than a square!
Three degrees
Three bird roast – Turkey, Chicken & Duck
Three men and a baby – Film
Count to down from three to start a race 3 … 2 … 1!
Three peaks challenge
Three stooges
If you total all the numbers in a long number and it is a multiple of 3 then it is in the 3 times table.
Three is a crowd however threesome may be good? Modesty and general self-preservation stops me from saying if I have experience!

That is all for now!

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Taking a Bit of Pride

Today I have been thinking a lot about doing things well and having a pride in yourself.  If you do not have pride in yourself, what do you have?  I am the sort of person who likes to do well at things.  I like people to think I have done well at things, I do not always need them to tell me … but it is nice!  I’ve been thinking this because I am looking to gain more followers and views for my blog! I do not seek fame or fortune as I think that leads to a large high followed by a larger fall, but I would like to be a little more popular and get a few more followers and views!

So far on my blog I am quite proud of what I have written and find it quite entertaining to write.  Well, I am my own biggest fan!  If you can’t love yourself then it is very difficult to love others!  I think I’m just the same as most people, but I like to be a bit more open and true to myself.  I guess I am writing this piece just for me to have a slightly introspective evening!
What led me to thinking about this was that in work this week and we had a gentleman come in to the office to collect money for some books he had left for people to potentially buy.  I organised the orders for what people wanted to buy and made sure I had the money for when he arrived.  This man said it was amazing that I was so organised to get everything so up together for when he arrived. I thought everyone would have done the same but apparently not!
I do not think it takes a lot to be organised and do a lot of little jobs like this, and I just find it naturally easy to set up a process and follow it through.  I know often that processes and systems change, but on the whole it is not difficult to follow a process if it is done step by step. I am very particular that a job should be done correctly but I do not find it difficult to adapt if processes need to be changed, so long as there is a good reason.  I often think it is important to constantly review procedures and processes so they do not become out of date.  I guess this makes me very systems focused and I’ve been like this from an early age.  Apparently this is unusual for someone with dyslexia. This may come from a fear of missing anything, or my values of not wanting to get anything wrong or be late for any appointment as it is quiet rude, and I do not like anyone being late as I do not like hanging around.  This can however lead to trouble as often I am too early for things and have to hang around anyway!
Anyway, I got a little distracted in my last paragraph but the basic essence of what I am saying is to do things well.  I am not a perfectionist by any stretch of the imagination but I am sure I could be if I never slept.  This comes back to my blogging I want it to be good, I want it to be entertaining and I want people to enjoy reading it and to make people think!  I have realised however I can get distracted by wanting to get things so correct and right that I can forget to eat or drink if I get absorbed in something.  This is not always a good thing and should often take regular breaks to refresh myself and maybe get better results in the long run. I am not sure but I might just be over critical.  I just like to be liked and feel that I should be.  I feel I am a nice person and do unto others as I would like to be done unto me.  This does not always happen.
Some people like to be disliked, for example the pantomime villain or the grumpy man at the bus stop; but I have never understood this.  I guess it is another way of being. I do not mind people thinking I am odd or strange or different, because a lot of people do.  However for people to think I do not work hard, I am lazy, I do not put energy into everything I set out to do would fill me with dread and I would hate people to hate me.  There are people who do!  I know some of these people, but I find them full of hate for the world and themselves and they do not have any respect for anyone but themselves.
I like to think I am a normal person who has one sister, brought up in a normal family in a normal house.  My parents are still together and I speak to them and my sister (on the phone) regularly.  I went to a normal school (although it did not seem normal at the time and I may blog about that later)!  I did my homework on time and took a pride in what I did and how I appeared to others. However these days, I am finding less and less normal people.  I guess I have to learn to ask my favourite question … What is normal anyway?
This blog started off to be a short one, asking the question about having pride in ones work, but is developing into a large, more general reaching of answers of society of a whole!  My basic point of this blog was just to have a bit of a timeout and think about the world I am living in at the moment.  This was to take a bit of time to analyse where I am and where my fellow man is in this ever changing world, but I am now seeking answers and asking more questions!
I am increasingly finding that this world does not have much room for somebody average like me. There are a lot of people in the world and I am but one, unique and individual. I feel however there are also a lot of people that want to fit in. I suppose I want to fit in and that is why I want to do a good job but there are many people who do not seem to want to, or do they want to but in a totally different way to what I deem to be normal.  This is a constant struggle in my life to get inside other people’s heads and find out their motivation for their actions and reactions to life.
I seem to find a lot of people I come across like to drink lots of alcohol, swear, enjoy talking loudly, constantly have no money and do not look outside their world at all.  Maybe I just mix with the wrong people!  I think I do look outside myself as I wonder what is going on in other people’s heads and try and work it out.  I think this is futile but is a constant hobby of mine.  This is not a constant occupation of mine but it takes up a lot of my time, but not as much time as it used to when I was younger.
I do not want this to turn into a rant about society as a whole but more of a piece of interest, to find out if I am the only one that thinks that they are the only (so called) normal person?  I know I am not the only normal person and not the only one who thinks what I think, but I would like to hear of other people’s opinions of normality.  Some people may find it not normal to blog about their every thought, but I guess in a way it is therapeutic for me and can set out some basic rules for living.
I once went on a mood management course and they talked about rules for living.  They asked me to come up with one rule I absolutely had to keep to, no matter what. I said:
“Do Not Lie”, they asked me to think of reason when it would be deemed acceptable to lie and at the time I had been very hurt by some big lies and had closed my mind to any possible good that would come from lying.  I was asked to think about telling children about Santa Claus to give them the magic of Christmas, and telling a dying man that he will be okay so he would not feel the pain for too much longer and give him hope.  This sort of made sense in a way that people may do things you do not immediately think of being logical or normal.  This led me to think about my rules of living and that not everything was black and white, and rules for living would use two extremes and find a middle ground:
“Do not lie if it will cause physical or mental pain to yourself or others around you”.
Writing this blog I have thought a little about my first paragraphs and still want blog views and followers, because I still want to do well.  I still want to be successful in everything I set out to do but guess I will tolerate people not doing things the same as me a bit easier. This blog is a bit of a lesson, it is a passage of writing through emotion, leading to a more harmonious outcome. I hope this has been as interesting to read as it has been to write. Perhaps me wanting this blog to be interesting and thought provoking is what has made it go on!
My final point is to conclude with is: I think I know that I am much like everyone else in the world but occasionally I feel so different to everyone else in the world. I know I am possibly and hopefully in the majority but why do I feel alone and in the minority? I guess this is because I am alone and I am the only one that is me! This may or may not be a good thing, but despite it being lonely being me it is also a good thing as I would not want to find anyone this good. It would be scary!

Tuesday 10 January 2012

The New Age of Communication

When I first started blogging a few things I was worried about were no one will read it, and I'll get so into it I will not have any time for my girlfriend. Well I guess, looking at my statistics, people are reading it. I have however found that I did seem to get a little obsessed with it and had little time for my girlfriend. I noticed this Friday evening when finishing my blog about my rant on people not using the English language as well as they once did. I wanted to finish it off and spent a lot of the evening checking it and re-checking it before finally publishing it at nine at night! I do not think she was very impressed!

Talking with my other people I have noticed that blogging does seem a little introverted. I have started to wonder about modern society and wonder about what is happening with the world. I have been thinking about people’s relationship with modern technology and if this is helping modern relationships …

To start I would like to say that I am no way a techy and no way up to date with modern technology. I have only just purchased a new mobile telephone that gives me full internet access and the ability to play music I want. I think it does lots of other things too that I am not yet intelligent enough to know about. It is very new however and quite modern. My old phone simply allowed me to send text messages, telephone people and tell the time! I am a little old-school and do not enjoy computer games. I use a computer all day at work and so in the evening the last thing I want to do is to stay starring at a computer all evening!

My basic questions are with all this new technology about that has been said to improve communication and build relationships, it is? What are we communicating? Also who are we actually communicating to?

I come from a time when I had to remember to take 10p out with me so I could phone my Mum from a phone box if an emergency should arise. I would like to take each medium in turn and explain my views about them and ask some questions:

Mobile Telephones
I did not get a mobile telephone until I was nineteen. I used for emergencies and sent the occasional message to friends to see where they were and if they wanted to go for a beer. I did find that these became more and more popular and they started being banned in lecture theatres and people had to be told to turn them off! I found the same thing happened in cinemas, theatres and libraries. I am still surprised that people need to be told of this, as it is only generally polite as people should do this automatically. Other things I found were people were using them to find out what time people would be meeting and if people where at a certain place. Now I do not understand this as before mobile telephones we would say what time people would be somewhere before they left home. This did not change and people were where they said they would be at that time! Mobile telephones seemed to encourage people not to be organised and change their times for meeting and not always be where they said would be. To me this is not increasing communication. It is increasing irresponsibility for not doing what has been previously arranged! I know we live in a busy age, but it is still rude to be late or to rescind on a meeting date.

I happened to be in an informal meeting the other day at work and there was someone on their mobile telephone throughout it, pressing buttons, checking updates or something. That I felt was very rude and although he seemed to join in with the general flow of the meeting, it did not seem he was fully communicating and involved with the meeting.  I notice a few people in my office have their mobile telephones on their desks and have to keep picking it up and checking them. I do not find this effective communication. Are there so concerned with missing a message that they fail to fully concentrating on their jobs! Surely this will lead to missing something.

Social Networking Sites
I have a Facebook account and a Twitter account and have many friends and followers on each. I enjoy Facebook and finding out what people have been doing and like looking at pictures of people I knew years ago. I guess this is me being nosey but I guess this is the appeal. A lot of the people on there I would not really classify as friends but maybe acquaintances that I know or knew. Dangers obviously come when people accept friends they do not know and maybe using for dating. I see social network sites as a bit of fun but not to put on there too much about myself. People who really matter to me I will write to or phone them up to talk to about what I am doing. I will share photos with them when I see them and also my true thoughts and feelings. I lot of people put their every event, every thought and every feeling out there. Furthermore dangerously that can also say where in the world they are!

I like that on Twitter you can follow celebrities and look up their news. Twitter does limit the amount of letters you can use. I do not think I could truly express myself giving a limited number of letters. A number of celebrities or well-known people should engage their brains before using it though! As far as communication goes I guess it gives a brief insight into people you know, once knew or people you are interested in.  I am not crazy enough to put anything too serious on any social networking sites. I do not know who is watching! Plus I do not really know who would care? Sometimes I write things just to provoke a discussion, a bit like this article! In their defence however it can bring together people of similar interests and a chance to talk to people of similar interests from around the world. They can also be a great marketing tool. Mainly, I admit, I have these social network sites to be nosey and think a lot of other people do too even if they do not admit it!  

Blogging
Finally blogging … I am enjoying blogging and gives me a chance to write about my view of the world in as much depth or as limited detail as I want. I am not sure what it achieves or if it increases communication but I enjoy it! It gets a lot of ideas and thoughts of my chest. It is sort of insular and I use it to talk a lot about me and my view of the world. There are however opportunities to comment and do not mind this. I am not sure who reads these blogs at any length but I guess some people do. I do not really read that many other peoples blogs but may start. I suppose they can be used as a sort of diary but I am using mine (at the moment), as a guide to my view on life. I do not think my life is interesting enough to keep a day to day diary. I may blog things I have done or things I want to do but not regularly every day!

My questions are who reads these blogs? Are people really interested? Is it really communicating or am I just writing to myself? My blogs so far have been quiet lengthy and taken a bit of time to write and therefore has cut me off from the outside world. I do not think they have increased my overall communication as I have been so involved with writing them I have not overly spoken with my girlfriend when wanting to complete a particular article. I also have not been outside to get some fresh air or exercise and I have not had my tea yet! This could lead to trouble!

In conclusion I am going to set myself the following rules for better communication in the modern world. You do not have to agree or disagree but I think it will have to work for me. I will often try to review this list to see if it remains true:
  • Use my mobile for the occasional text message to see how good friends and family are but phone them up and talk to them to make arrangements.
  • Keep to those arrangements unless emergencies get in the way.
  • Continue to be nosey on social network sites but do not put anything personal on there.
  • Turn my mobile on to silent or off when at work, in meetings or when meeting with others.  
  • Only be friends on the social networks with people you would not mind chatting to on the phone or going for a drink with.
  • Remove friends you have only met once and know nothing really about.
  • Blogging – Do a bit but take regular breaks and it can take a few days or weeks to write a blog.
  • Not all blogs have to be long essays!
  • Go out, get some exercise, meet with people and talk to people on the telephone.
  • Stop typing this blog soon and get some exercise!


My final conclusion is that although we have all these new ways to communicate it does not necessarily mean we are better at it and we have better friends and better relationships with people. We may all be communicating outwards but not really sure if our information is being received. If messages are rather short then a full message is not being understood or it is just an edited high or low point then the full story is not being communicated. Are these new ways to communicate actually communication or a cry out for attention? Do people communicate for the sake of communicating when there is nothing really to say? Do they communicate the wrong information and miss out the important things of what time they will be home or what time they will meet? Furthermore if people are not fully communicating back (such as on Facebook statuses) and it is not being received than this is this really communicating at all? If everyone is all busy trying to communicate and be heard then no one has time to listen? Who is listening? Has anyone really read this whole article to the end?

Monday 9 January 2012

Hugs - The Wonder Drug

Have you ever wondered how effective hugs are? You rarely give a hug that is not appreciated, or receive one that does not make you day a little brighter. They are particularly effective in treating everyday problems like stress, worry, anger, frustration, sadness or sorrow, and even the occasional nightmare. They are available without a prescription. Can you think of any medication that has such pleasant side effects?

Hugs are good for you. They are non-fattening, they don't cause cancer, and they don't give you cavities. They are all natural; contain no preservatives, artificial sweeteners, or other chemical additives. They are cholesterol free and contain one hundred percent of the recommended daily allowance of hope and kindness.

Hugs don't need batteries, tune ups or x-rays. They are a completely renewable source of energy and they are energy-efficient.

They are non-taxable as we as fully returnable. They can be safely used in all kinds of weather - as a matter of fact they work especially well during cold and rainy days. The best thing about hugs is that you can use them without special training or prior experience.
They don't require any instructions or a manual and tapes. But a word of caution for those trying it for the first time: you should never wait until tomorrow to hug someone who needs it today. Once you realise how good it feels you'll want to do it all over again.

Yes - hugs are extremely addictive.

Consider yourself hugged!

Right Now ...

- somebody is very proud of you.
- somebody is thinking of you.
- somebody misses you
- somebody wants to talk to you.
- somebody wants to be with you.
- somebody hopes you aren't in trouble.
- somebody is thankful for the support you have provided.
- somebody wants to hold your hand.
- somebody hopes everything turns out all right.
- somebody wants you to be happy.
- somebody wants you to find him/her.
- somebody is celebrating your successes.
- somebody wants to give you a gift.
- somebody thinks that you ARE a gift.
- somebody hopes you're not too cold, or too hot
- somebody wants to hug you.
- somebody admires your strength.
- somebody is thinking of you and smiling.
- somebody wants to be your shoulder to cry on.
- somebody wants to go out with you and have a lot of fun.
- somebody thinks the world of you.
- somebody wants to protect you.
- somebody would do anything for you.
- somebody wants to be forgiven.
- somebody is grateful for your forgiveness.
- somebody wants to laugh with you.
- somebody remembers you and wishes that you were there.
- somebody is praising God for you.
- somebody needs to know that your love is unconditional.
- somebody wants to tell you how much they care.
- somebody wants to share their dreams with you.
- somebody wants to hold you in their arms.
- somebody wants YOU to hold them in your arms.
- somebody treasures your spirit.
- somebody wishes they could STOP time because of you.
- somebody praises God for your friendship and love.
- somebody can't wait to see you.
- somebody loves you for who you are.
- somebody loves the way you make them feel.
- somebody wants to be with you.
- somebody wants you to know they are there for you.
- somebody's glad that you're his/her friend.
- somebody wants to be your friend.
- somebody stayed up all night thinking about you.
- somebody is wishing that you noticed him/her.
- somebody wants to be near you.
- somebody misses your advice/guidance.
- somebody has faith in you.
- somebody trusts you.
- somebody needs you to send them this letter
- somebody needs your support.
- somebody needs you to have faith in them.
- somebody will cry when they read this.
- somebody needs you to let them be your friend.
- somebody hears a song that reminds them of you.

Thinking of You!

Friday 6 January 2012

English Language???

Maybe I am getting old before my time or maybe it is my problems with dyslexia confusing me but I am really getting highly annoyed and frustrated and the use of the English language these days! Having discussed this with my colleagues in work and friends I appear to be fairly unique. I cannot be the only one!

This is nothing to do with political correctness because I am certainly not that! I am the first to admit my English grammar is not always the best. I mix up my tenses and me spelling is terrible (thank God for the spell checker). However I do feel that basic English is being lost. Being lost by what I would deem as fairly intelligent adults. By the term “adults” I mean older than me! I am not sure what I mean by “fairly intelligent”!

I have done a little research into this blog as I do not know a lot of what is said or communicated so I have had to speak in depth the friends and colleagues to make sure my information is correct. I have also used several social networking sites where a lot of what I am getting frustrated about seems to live.

Do not get me wrong I am not advocating going back to Shakespearean days where he would say: “How camst thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?” meaning basically: “How did you get here and where did you come from?” Throughout my research there are a lot of new ways of communication about. I think my particular distain is for abbreviations that are used. An abbreviation (from Latin brevis, meaning short, apparently) is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase. For example, the word abbreviation can itself be represented by the abbreviation abbr., abbrv. or abbrev. I think a lot of my annoyance is I have to think about what is it the person is trying to say.

My biggest problem is with the word: “LOL”, an abbreviation for laughing out loud, or laugh out loud. This is a common element of Internet slang. It was used historically on the Internet but is now widespread in other forms of computer-mediated communication, and even face-to-face communication. This is one of many acronyms for expressing bodily reactions, in particular laughter, as text, including acronyms. There are more emphatic expressions of laughter such as LMAO ("laugh(ing) my ass off"), ROTFL "roll(ing) on the floor laughing") or ROFL ("roll(ing) on [the] floor laughing"), and BWL ("bursting with laughter"). I have got to point where it really gives me utter distain every time I read or hear it and think the person using it is not very clever and should go back to school!

I shall tell a little story now about the word “LOL” now. I was in a ‘quiet’ carriage on a busy train coming back from a day out somewhere a few months ago. Now this carriage was very quiet and a lot of people were stood up. I was unfortunate enough to be one of the people stood up. I was not being noisy but I happened to be standing up close to a lady that was sat down and she was sending a message on her mobile phone. This lady was middle aged, well dressed and looked like she was returning home from an important job or meeting in London. The carriage was very quiet and I happened to glance down to her mobile telephone. I happened to notice she had entered the word “LOL”! Well she did not “Laugh Out Loud”! If she had the whole carriage would have heard. So not only terrible at English, showing a lack of education, but she was also a liar! I did not say anything but it made me think how my first impressions had obviously wrong. I may have been over reacting to three little letters but it does seem to be a little lazy and give the impression of “idiot”!

There seems to be a lot more abbreviations coming into everyday speech. I lot of the time I do know what they mean! For example:
JK – Just Kidding
BF – Boy Friend
GTG – Got To Go
BRB – Be Right Back
CLAB – Crying Like A Baby
FB – Facebook

I also received HNY in an email from a top solicitor the other day (Happy New Year)!

In my day we only really had six I can think of:
PTO – Please Turn Over
ASAP – As Soon As Possible
RIP – Rest In Peace
PDQ - Pretty Damn Quick
DIY – Do It Yourself
RSVP – Répondez S'il Vous Plaît

I am aware that certain companies and industries use abbreviations more than others. In my girlfriends profession she has a list of over 700 that she refers to regularly in the course of her job. However when they appear in everyday speech it tests my patience slightly. I do wonder if it just people being lazy?

There are some new ways of communication I do not mind. For example emoticons: An emoticon is a pictorial representation of a facial expression using punctuation marks and letters, usually written to express a person's mood. Emoticons are often used to alert a responder the mood of a statement, and can change and improve interpretation of plain text. This is a list of commonly used emoticons that I know about:

Smiley or Happy Face >:] :-) :) :o):] :3 :c) :> :}
Laughing, Big Grin >:D :-D :D 8-D x-D X-D =-3 8-)
Very Happy :-))
Frown, Sad >:[ :-( :( :-c :-< :< :-[ :[ :{
Wink, Smirk >;] ;-) ;) *-) ;-] ;^)
Surprise Shock >:o >:O :-O :O :O 8-0

There is also some picture made up of characters that I think are very cleaver and can be very sweet:

(\_/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")

There is also SMS language that is also known as txt-speak, chatspeak, txt, txtspk, texting language, txt lingo, txtslang or txtslang. It is a term for the abbreviations and slang most commonly used due to the necessary shortness of mobile phone text messaging, in particular the widespread SMS (Short Message Service) communication protocol. SMS language is also common on the Internet, including in email and instant messaging. It can also done using pictures and single letters or numbers to represent whole words (e.g. "i <3 u" which uses the pictogram of a heart for love, and the letter u replaces you).

Some rules that I can find and do not overly mind:

Single letters can replace words: be becomes b, see or sea becomes c, okay becomes k or ok, are becomes r, you becomes u, why becomes y and oh becomes o.

Single digits can replace words: won or one becomes 1, to or too becomes 2, for becomes 4 and ate becomes 8.

A single letter or digit can replace a syllable or phoneme: to or too becomes 2, so: tomorrow becomes 2mro or 2moro, today becomes 2day. For or fore becomes 4, so: before becomes b4, forget becomes 4get. Ate becomes 8, so: great becomes gr8, late becomes l8, mate becomes m8, wait becomes w8, hate becomes h8, date becomes d8 and later becomes l8r or l8a. And becomes &, thank you becomes 10q, thnq or ty.

Combinations of the above can shorten a single or multiple words: your and you're become ur, someone becomes sum1, no one becomes no1, anyone become any1 or ne1 and for you becomes 4u.

In conclusion after writing this I have decided that I may just be a bit old and grumpy because I do actually like some of this new way of speaking and do actually find some of it clever.  A great message I was once sent after a football team: Manchester United scored eight goals against an Arsenal team that scored two was:

I’d h8-2 b an Arsenal fan!

This made me laugh out loud but I would NEVER say LOL!!!


                                          Oooo
                Some people       (    )
          come into our lives     )   /
              and quickly go..     (_ /

                      oooO
                      (    )      Some people
                       \  (        become friends
                        \_)       and stay awhile...

             leaving beautiful      Oooo
             footprints on our     (    )
                       hearts...         )   /
                                            ( _/
                       oooO
                       (    )      and we aren't
                        \   (
                          \_ )      quite the same
                                    because we have
                                      made a good
                                        friend!!

       (\        /)
       (  \  _ /   )
        (  \( )/   )
       (   /  \   )    TAKE THIS LITTLE ANGEL
        ( / \/ \ )   AND KEEP HER CLOSE TO YOU
         /      \    SHE IS YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL
        (        )    SENT TO WATCH OVER YOU
THIS IS A SPECIAL GUARDIAN ANGEL

Thursday 5 January 2012

Slow Dance

I listen to the radio every night before going to bed and while asleep. I started doing it when I listened to French radio when I was revising for my French GCSE. I gained a grade C in my exam and so thought this was a good way of learning and relaxing. It is a sort of comfort thing for me now. I do not listen to music much, mainly talk shows.
I first came across this poem or song that I would like to share about fifteen or so years ago. I believe it was a rumour that an email was sent out saying there is a little girl who had six months to live. People were asked to forward the email about her to as many people as possible because the American Cancer Society will give 3 cents per email to support her treatment. The email started with a poem titled “SLOW DANCE”. The email is signed with the name of a professor at Yeshiva University in New York. There are several versions of this email making the rounds of the internet. Some simply say this is a poem written by a dying girl. Others say the little girl gave it to a medical student. Others say the poem is being circulated by a doctor. The poem is actually from the pen of psychologist and writer David L. Weatherford.
Whatever the facts I love it and I first heard it late at night on a talk show. I could not remember what the poem was called but I emailed the show the very next day to find out what the poem was called and if could get a copy. Fortunately they replied. Here is the poem or song and hope you enjoy it as much as I did then and still do now ….
Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round,
Or listened to rain slapping the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight,
Or gazed at the sun fading into the night?

You better slow down, don't dance so fast,
Time is short, the music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly,
When you ask "How are you?", do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
With the next hundred chores running through your head?

You better slow down, don't dance so fast,
Time is short, the music won't last.

Ever told your child, we'll do it tomorrow,
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, let a friendship die,
'Cause you never had time to call and say hi?

You better slow down, don't dance so fast,
Time is short, the music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,
It's like an unopened gift thrown away.

Life isn't a race, so take it slower,
Hear the music before your song is over.