Filed under Words …

Jan 08 2012
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Observations, Words, Writing

My Life Lessons to Live By…

New Year has been rife with new life agendas, which are great, but can also be a flapping, restless albatross around your neck. Bad habits are usually to blame for not seeing most of them through. You get older, you get wiser and you start thinking, “God, I wish I thought like this 10 years ago.” Best thing you can do I find is not punish yourself too much. It’s never worth it and it starts an endless cycle of negativity which you never get out of. My friend Christian Taylor posted a link to Marc and Angel Hack Life on Facebook at Christmas featuring numerous inspiring posts to lead a better life, all of which boil down to a few simple action points I try to remember each day. My ‘unofficial’ god-daughter was one years-old this week, so I thought I should write these life lessons out for her and anyone else interested in how I approach life:

‘LIVE’ each day:

L for LOVE.
Be open to it and never be afraid to love back. Of course it can rock your world and break your heart and soul, but as my friend Julia said “That’s when you know you’re alive”. Never assume it will be the same experience either, so being afraid to take a risk because you were hurt before is rather pointless and prevents you from finding something true and real. Optimism is really important to keep with you when a relationship ends, and friends and family are usually there to remind you of that – so listen to them.

I for INTERESTING
Be fascinating. Be unpredictable. Everyday. Go out of your comfort zone and there will never be a dull moment. Fear is just the result of something you’ve not experienced yet and I really don’t care what anyone thinks most of the time (apart from the odd wobbly moment I usually regret). People are worried and embarrassed for themselves rather than for you – despite their apparent concern. No one ever becomes stronger or more popular by being generic and afraid of failure. Take risks. Sing loudly in supermarkets, go skydiving, ask that person out for a drink, and burn those bridges (which is the most overrated life precaution I’ve ever had doled out to me. Period.)

V for VALUE
Find purpose in your work and believe in your principles and you will find the meaning and respect most people struggle to find in life. I wish I discovered this earlier and been more confident with my ideas and beliefs, and not listened to all the objections I encountered when I was younger. I do believe you have to shape these through experience first before you can live by them, so be open to every idea and opinion and try to not let peer pressure and arrogance sway you. Also, be the best friend you can be: the rewards for loyalty are truly amazing and worth more than any financial gain or material items you could ever gain, people will be drawn to you and offer their friendship and loyalty back as a result. Remember most of all, if the right thing to do in life was the easiest thing to do, we’d all be wearing halos.

E for ENTERTAINING.

I try to find the fun in everything I do – in work and play. Life is a one-off show, so I go through life with an imaginary camera on me (much like Miranda). This encourages me to be continuously entertaining and remind myself not to be insufferably dull and depressing. Laughter is never to be underrated in any situation and doesn’t make you less sincere, it just makes the harder moments in life easier to digest. Finding things to stimulate you, whether it be: hobbies, coffee, drugs, sex, or a game of Twister, is the fuel you need to travel down life’s road. Again, people are drawn to those who know how to enjoy themselves and not content to suffer with their lot in life. So dazzle, laugh and sparkle at every opportunity.

So now it’s your turn, what life lessons you try to live by? Go on, I’m sure you have some.

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Feb 27 2008
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English Language, Rant, Words, Writing

OK?…


Sometimes I wonder if words I spell are correct, words I have continued to spell for years sometimes. I hate to be incorrect. I make every effort to ensure words are written properly and my grammar is also in tip top working order, even though I do admit failing occasionally with syntax (the result I feel of thinking too quickly and typing too slowly). I realise the English language evolves continuously, but the wonderful rules we have created enabling us communicate effectively with each other is also in danger of dying out if we’re not too careful. I think it’s important to keep it good working order so to speak. So it terrifies me that the latest generation horrifically uses ‘TXT SPK’ in everyday conversation now or should I say ‘CONVO’. I put my case forward with this aberration below:

ooow god c i dnt no hu u r babe im gessing u go 2 beal 6form but atleeast u no wat im talkin about….! this is frm head to toe “storkage” the guyz probably gona fink were a bunch of pedoz LOOL…..x

To be quite frank. What the fuck is that?

A grown 16 year old woman wrote this on a Facebook page. I know it’s a “Social Networking Site” but there is no excuse. Emmeline Pankhurst is probably turning in her grave at the thought this girl now has the right to vote but not actually given herself the right to spell and form complete sentences. I felt quite sick reading it and wanted to violently stick the Oxford English Dictionary into one of her orifices. If you actually ‘translate’ it, she also thinks 15 years olds can be classified as pedophiles because they fancy their teacher (who is a friend of mine). Yes – after three, we can sigh simultaneously together. Do I sound like a Daily Mail journalist yet?

Anyway, I return to the point in hand. One of the simplest words Okay or OK used in my last entry, was one such word that made me think twice about it. I wanted to know where this phrase came from. Well, I wanted to know, as I have a keen obsession over the English language and also love to consume useless facts. According to Dictionary.com (I know it’s American but I will find out what dependable old Oxford say too) it is derived from the following:

OK is a quintessentially American term that has spread from English to many other languages. Its origin was the subject of scholarly debate for many years until Allen Walker Read showed that OK is based on a joke of sorts. OK is first recorded in 1839 but was probably in circulation before that date. During the 1830s there was a humoristic fashion in Boston newspapers to reduce a phrase to initials and supply an explanation in parentheses. Sometimes the abbreviations were misspelled to add to the humour. OK was used in March 1839 as an abbreviation for all correct, the joke being that neither the O nor the K was correct. Originally spelled with periods, this term outlived most similar abbreviations owing to its use in President Martin Van Buren’s 1840 campaign for reelection. Because he was born in Kinderhook, New York, Van Buren was nicknamed Old Kinderhook, and the abbreviation proved eminently suitable for political slogans. That same year, an editorial referring to the receipt of a pin with the slogan O.K. had this comment: “frightful letters … significant of the birth-place of Martin Van Buren, old Kinderhook, as also the rallying word of the Democracy of the late election,’all correct’ …. Those who wear them should bear in mind that it will require their most strenuous exertions … to make all things O.K.”

“How fascinating!” and yes, I’m aware only myself said that just now.

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