what were you doing?
Has your life changed in small ways, huge ways, or not at all?
In 3 years you can get pregnant, have a baby, and have a toddler trying to get your attention right now. In some ways, quite a long time. In some ways, a blink of the eye.
I picked 3 years because it's coming up to when I first joined CS. That started a series of changes which could continue for years.
There was a revolutionary year before that but the 10 years before - well, I can't actually remember a single thing of interest that happened in the whole 10 years, apart from crashing one car and buying another.
You?
Didja know - and seeing this is an international site, you probably should -
Nodding means yes to most of us - but in some parts of Greece,Yugoslavia,Bulgaria, Africa and Turkey, nodding means no
A person smiling in the East could be embarrassed, or doesn't know what you just said.
Making eye contact can be seen as a lack of respect, or even a challenge, in some African and Asian cultures.
Kissing - guess we all know it isn't permitted in public in some cultures. Filipino, Native American, Puerto Rican, and several Latin American people use their lips to point, instead of a finger.
Arms. Some cultures, like the Italians, use their arms freely. Others, like the Japanese, are more reserved; in Japan it is considered impolite to gesture with broad movements of the arms.
The American 'goodbye' wave can be interpreted in many parts of Europe and Latin America as the signal for 'no.' The Italian 'goodbye' wave can be interpreted by Americans as the gesture of 'come here.' The American 'come here' gesture can be seen as an insult in most Asian countries where they use it for calling an animal.
Any others you came across? First comment will be an example in New Zealand of a gesture I use quite a lot
They keep moving the goalposts. At this rate I will be 102 when I can finally totter off to a well-earned rest.
If I promise cross-my-heart I will only claim a pension for a maximum of 10 years, could I quit work now?
I looked up retirement age in various countries - according to Wiki, it is currently 66 for both men and women in the US - in China women can retire as young as 50. Some countries as late as 68, some jobs (like the armed forces) much earlier, some jobs, like judges or cardinals, 75-ish.
Not everyone
wants to retire.
Some want to pack it in at 50-something with a sigh of relief.
Some want to become US president at 70-something (both candidates were over 70).
Hands up those who love their jobs so much they would be happiest dying at their desk
Huge chunks of the world I haven't seen yet, so much to do, there's a lyric I heard on the radio tonight -
I'm getting paid by the hour and older by the minute. YES
LET ME OUT OF HERE
I know this has been blogged about before but - that odd moment when you look at a profile pic and there's a *ping* in your head.
Half the time of course you then realize the pic is familiar because it's been borrowed from a celebrity
And sometimes you make friends, even meet, on CS and there had been no *ping* at all at the start.
But it happened with a few profile pics. One was female and eventually became a buddy - one was male and when he then wrote to me I thought ooh, I
knew the minute I laid eyes on you and where is this going?
Well, nowhere, as it turns out, just buddies.
And quite often nothing ever happens at all - the pinger leaves CS or is a bit of a prat, or puts up a different pic and you're like oh no, ew
Once I hurried off to look up a profile and tchah, he was in his forties and looking for females aged 18 to 25. So the ping is not always true.
But one day, maybe, I will get the *ping* and it could be a true *ping*, a *soulmate approaching* warning.
Ooh, look! A flying pig!
I'm taking a week off caring.
Whatever happens, anywhere, to anyone except me - atrocities, crimes against humanity, palm oil in peanut butter, broken hearts, stubbed toes even - not my problem.
Just for a week. See how it goes.
No man is an island - but for a week, I am going to be an island
Ask not for whom the bell tolls - but I will assume it is tolling for someone else, because my pulse is still ticking away strongly
I have draped an SEP* field over the whole world. Who's with me? (not that I care whether you are or not. Not my problem
)
*read your Douglas Adams **
**seriously. Very funny chap.
Skip into the video if you think I lost my marbles
Barn-sweeping guy turns into dancing guy -
So tell me, you guys who looked despite the heading, are you that flexible? can you still shake that booty? dance for several minutes without falling over? Women watch a man strutting his stuff, they like to know he has moves - and the older he is, the more unusual it is.
I'm not looking up his phone number or anything, but speaking as a mature female blogger, I can count on the fingers of one eyelid the number of older men who can or will dance at all. I'd date him. Even if he does smell slightly of goat. I would!
And yeah, you youngsters who are sni**ering in disbelief - shoo. Out.
every other celeb died recently, I was surprised to find out how old they were, usually knocking around 80 apart from George Michael and since he burned the candle at both ends he was 106.
Not even 3 pm here and I have been in tears on and off all day, I need a plumber to fix this leak in my tearducts.
They aren't even sad or self-pitying tears and there's no reason to cry! Big girls don't cry!
I hear a favourite Christmas carol and - wahhhh.
Long emails from friends who were once part of my daily life and now I hear once a year.
Nice letters from people I didn't expect to hear from
Lovely messages from people I did expect to hear from
A parcel today from someone I thought was cross with me
I should probably wallow in it for half an hour, cry the tank dry, is it the time of year?
Or suggestions for toughing my way through it, please. Because this is RIDICULOUS.
Signed
Watering Pot *sniff*
My dog was extremely emphatic about it. She'd rather have cold feet. Rather even grit in her paws.
It's the eve of Christmas Eve and four, count 'em, FOUR days before I have to go back to work, whoop whoop WHOOP
So yup, merry Christmas, happy Hannukah, and oh man that sucks if you aren't getting any days off at all
will try not to be too obnoxious in that conga line weaving round CS (step step step
kick)
apparently that vid isn't coming through for some. Funny dogs in boots.
Cruel really. All that laughing.
A week or so back I had a meltdown on a blog when I saw a quite long, very bald, Tail whisking out of sight behind my stove.
and some kindly souls here suggested leaving the door open so the poor wee timorous cowering beastie could escape into the night. I reported that I found a tiny turd on the kitchen floor after I did so.
I now have to believe that the rat sh*t itself, turned tail and fled back to the stove when it saw the horde charging in through the open door.
I bought poison (yes, I know. I'm sorry. I don't like killing things either) in blocks about an inch square and left one out on the washing machine (about an inch clearance from the counter - safe from the cat and dog.
First morning the poison had two tiny scratch marks from wee teeth. Awwwww. I moved it to near the stove. About half an hour later I wandered back into the kitchen to get coffee. It had gone.
Second morning the replacement treat had gone, as had the one left on the washing machine
Third morning both were untouched. PHEW.
Fourth morning both were gone
Yesterday, both were gone.
This morning there was a scratchy little note saying 'thanks but does this come in any other flavours?'
Long story short, can anyone put me and the dog and the cat up for Christmas?
Ambled into my kitchen to make coffee and met the rodent.
He wasn't looking at all well. The cat, ever hopeful of a midnight snack, followed me in the kitchen, saw the rodent, and wandered over to have a look.
I left the kitchen. (Bear in mind I do know the cat has never, in 14 years, eaten so much as a nibble of any of his catches)
The cat then appeared in the hall, looking undecided, gingerly holding it in his mouth.
Take it outside, I said.
Cat instead went upstairs. I bravely followed. Can't find either of them.
So I'm here for the night. What we gonna talk about, chaps?
Elegsabiff Blog (358)
