Tag: REALLY

bookmark_borderQuestions Answered #7

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In a desperate effort to gain some weird form of validation, I stole an idea for a blog post and begged my readers to ask me a question. And they did. The buggers. Now I have to answer them.

Question 7: Hans adopts the “complete this sentence” approach and gives me the opening line of “If one life is all you get, then:” which is a bit of a broad sweeping statement but, hey that’s never stopped me in the past.

If one life is all you get, then you’d better live it to the full!

That’s what everyone thinks, right? You’ve only one life, so why waste it doing menial things like.. ohh I dunno, washing the car, brushing your hair and so on. After all, if I spend a month of my lifetime washing under my arms then that’s a month lost!!

Nonsense of course, and as we pry deeper we realise that the question isn’t about WHAT you do with your life but HOW you do it.

It’s easy to set goals, make lists of things to do, places to see, experiences to seek, but none of that really matters if you aren’t happy with yourself, first and foremost.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to get all preachy on you, suffice to say that it took me many years of my life to be happy with who I am, and HOW I am, and whilst there are still aspects of my life I would like to improve, I’m happy enough in myself to know that there is always time. And let’s be honest, if anything was REALLY upsetting me then I’d have done something about it already, right?

So, how do I live my life?

This is going to sound twee as hell but I really do try and live one moment at a time. That way I can pause, consider the moment (and I’m largely talking about negative moments here, the positive ones, quite rightly, skip by far too quickly), and then decide what to do, or more importantly, how to *be* in that moment.

Am I getting annoyed at someone because of what they are doing, or because of something I did? If it’s something I did I can correct it, if it’s something they are doing then the approach softens and I find myself becoming much more relaxed. The problem may not always go away but hey, it’s life, sometimes things don’t go well.

I’m not explaining this very well at all, I know, but it’s hard explain, especially as I always used to consider myself a pessimist, someone who always seemed to be moaning and complaining. That’s something I’ve worked hard to get away from and, whilst I still like a whinge now and then, it ain’t half as often as it used to be.

Living your life continually fighting and arguing and focusing on the negative just isn’t a life. Even if you don’t have ANY aspirations of travel, of new experiences, if YOU are happy with your life, truly happy, then make sure you do everything to keep that happiness. If you are unhappy with your life, ditch the five year plans, the dreams of tropical sun, and sort things out. Make your life as happy as you can. And yes, only YOU can do this, and no it’s not easy, not easy at all. Trust me though, it’s worth it.

Does any of that make sense? Am I talking out of my proverbial again? Is ANYONE STILL READING!??

What’s YOUR secret to living “one life”? (those who believe in reincarnation are invited to put forward their own take on things, seriously, it’d be fascinating).

bookmark_borderCold and lonely in the deep dark night

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Aye the nights are fair drawing in, and that’s before the clocks change.

Last night, jogging alongside the water at Strathclyde Park, the sun was low over the trees and by the time we’d finished had disappeared completely. The path isn’t lit and so it looks like I’ll be needing to invest in something a little more visible for the coming months. Thankfully a new running store has opened a few blocks from my office, and JogScotland members get a 10% discount! Add some funds given for my birthday and I get to buy a new running top.

But the question is, long sleeved or ‘gilet’ (no sleeves). I have two long sleeved tops at the moment, and I do get quite hot when I run. So I’m thinking just a gilet for the time being, and when it starts getting REALLY cold, I’ll break out the running tigh… er.. leggings (and no, there will NOT be photos), and get a heavier sleeved top. Ohh and gloves. This is the one advantage of starting a new hobby, new toys!

God, I hope I’m not becoming a bore with all this, although I fear it’s only going to get worse once my Nike+ widget arrives (cheers Keith!!). I promise I’ll try not to become a ‘running’ bore (boar?).

Another nice present arrived today, the first of the Glass Books I mentioned in the sidebar a while back, chapter one of ten which gives me a nice pace to get me through the winter. Mind you, I’m still deciding what to take away with me to Spain at the end of the month. We’re only there for 6 nights so I reckon 4 books should do it.. any suggestions?

bookmark_borderNot deleted

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The previous post is a prime example of both “How not to blog” and of a post that should never have seen the light of day in the first place. The fact that I haven’t deleted it is a testament to my belief that… umm… you … eehhh… shouldn’t delete things?

Whatever.

Thanks for your kind comments and emails, I really REALLY wasn’t fishing for anything and that’s part of the reason that I don’t like posting that kind of stuff any more. The whole ‘woe is me’ thing is very boring, and so passé (dahling).

Anyhoo, I’m only really posting to say that I’m fine but I think I need to change things a little. I’ve got a few things in mind, mainly around WHAT I do, rather than how I do it… but I’ll need a little perspective to sort things out in my head. In other words, I’ll be back posting the usual crap tomorrow.

Finally, if you are feeling particularly flush, feel free to drop some Threadless goods my way (hint), or just yank something from the ever present (but not oft mentioned) wishlist. I’ll put the Paypal button in soon… Was easier than I thought!





Give now! Or… ummm.. I’ll… ehhh.. yeah… right.. anyway. Anna’s right, this is kinda awkward..

bookmark_borderPrinting woes

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My google-fu is failing me, next stop is Ask Mefi but I thought I’d give you lot the chance to impress…

We have a Lexmark Z55 printer, came with the PC and has served us well for our meagre printing needs. Until now, of course, as Louise needs it to print some inserts for some wedding invites she’s working on.

Thought: Why is it that things only fail when you REALLY need them to work?

Now, when trying to print (anything) the printer will happily turn itself on and spool the document into the print queue but after that it fails to do anything.

Just sits there, brooding, like we called it a bad name… which we have but only since it started playing silly buggers.

I’ve googled, changed a variety of settings – bi-directional this, spooling order that – I’ve updated drivers, uninstalled the printer, re-installed it with the original drivers from the original CD, checked the USB cable, checked the power cable, checked the paper tray and ink levels, and I’ve even stood on one leg with the wind blowing from the east whilst gently stroking the paper feed button… all to no avail.

We were going to be getting a new printer anyway, Louise is using it a lot more these days but money wise it’s not an option until the end of the month, by which time she needs to have the wedding invites finished!

I’m stumped. I’ve uninstalled everything I can think of, re-installed everything else I can come up with and still the exact same scenario plays out. Print, wait, nothing. I’m hoping it’s not the printer itself but it’s increasingly looking that way. Oy.

So it’s over to you lot. Any ideas? Suggestions? Please go easy on any sarcasm as we really REALLY need to get this working ASAP. HELP!

bookmark_borderCurse of the Were-Rabbit

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Movie info from IMDB
Movie reviews from Metacritic

Cracking!

I should really leave it at that, shouldn’t I. After all if you don’t know who Wallace and Gromitt are then I have to ask where you’ve been hiding. Now, I’m pretty sure they are more popular in the UK, and given the focus on the more eccentric side of English culture (primarily) I do wonder how much translates around other parts of the world, but the simple fact is that the story is universal enough, and paced well enough that it doesn’t really matter where you are from, you should enjoy this movie.

So, the story then. Well let’s just say that is another of Wallace’s experiments gone wrong, includes bunny rabbits and a village’s annual vegetable competition (think ‘carrotts’) and you can see where a lot of the humour is derived from. Whilst not as well polished as a Pixar production, it’s still got plenty of laughs for the kids and their parents.

If you liked any of the previous Wallace and Gromitt movies you’ll love this. It’s relentless, silly, exciting and endearing all at the same time. But the thing I REALLY love about it is that you can, occasionally, see the odd thumbprint here and there. It’s a testament to the movie that it takes something like that to remind you that you are watching stop-frame animation of figures made of plasticine!

bookmark_borderGod* Bless America

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America has been on the receiving end of some harsh criticism recently, and a lot of it has been warranted. But who are we to criticise? What do we really know about America?

For a lot of us, the occasional trip to a big city or a holiday resort, for others you only know what you see or read, filtered through news networks or blogs. What do we REALLY know about America?

How many people live in poverty? What’s the rate of child deaths? How many people die of starvation? Will Brad and Jen get back together?

Then there are the calls for charity, for donations to help the sick and starving in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The images still fresh in the mind, the looting, the violence, the death, are interrupted by another appeal, this time for the starving people in Niger. Drought and locusts killed off last years crops, and the people have no food. They are not in a rich country, they do not have neighbours who can take them in, they have not looted and violated. Who deserves?

The culture in America has created a “winner takes all” society, and the richest country in the world is asking for help. Billions of dollars are required to rebuild houses and lives, and Americans are pitching in, doing their bit, helping their neighbours. But why do they need my help? My charity? Where will my money make a difference? Africa or America?

There is no right or wrong answer of course. Yet the internal conflict remains and I struggle to balance my own thoughts on the matter. America has been treated harshly, yes. Their government has failed to act appropriately, yes. They have the resources they need to solve this themselves, yes. Have they helped out other countries when similar has happened? Yes. The good and bad sides of America are at war, and the country seems to be stretching itself, slowly awaking from its slumber with the realisation that only whilst it is sleeping is it truely the land of dreams.

* Insert deity of choice