Best of 2006
I have been thinking all week on what I wanted to write on my blog as 2006 came to an end. Do I want to be profound and tell you what I learned? Do I want to be glib and just keep things light and playful? Should I just continue to tell you the joys of being me? I thought I would do a bit of all and see where it leads…
Christmas was good, though I seem to have this expectation that never gets met. I need to find out what it is so that I can get rid of it. I was disappointed that I did not receive the Garth Brooks second box set and a pair of slippers. I have purchased the slippers and I am working up the energy to brave the most evil of places Walmart, as that is the Only place to get the box set. Otherwise, Christmas rocked! I got a ton of movies, books, clothes, fun stuff and more. D was surprised and happy at what I gave as were I believe most of my friends. I still think most of what make Christmas best for me is seeing people like what I found them. Next year, get more prepared for more homemade gifts. Just to warn you all. I want to be more crafty and someone has to experience my craftiness. Heehee. Food was good, fun times were had, and the decorations are still up as of right now. So overall, it was a good time. Yeah!
I recently read Lynn Truss’ book Talk to the Hand, which is about manners in modern society and how lacking they are. Unlike Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the book does not teach you anything; it is mainly a rant about how society is slowly degenerating back into the animal planet. I agreed with so much of what she said, and then I realized that part of what she complains about, I am part of the problem. She states that the familiarity, with which we talk to strangers, while it leaves the class system behind, leads us to almost take a superior position to others. Which I thought was interesting – I hate when people address me as Miss, Ms or Mrs. If you have to address me that way, then please pick Ms. I don’t like that Miss or Mrs states my supposed marital status. It really is none of your business if I am a single or married or divorced person. It has no bearing on my interaction with others. If it does, then I will let you know. A man doesn’t have to deal with this problem because rarely does a single man get referred to as Master. Men are always Mister.
The other problem is that often we leave out the title and we refer to people as their first name. Older generations find this far too familiar for themselves. D finds it frightfully weird that I talk to older people using their first names. D still refers to life long family friends as Mr and Mrs X, while I call them by their given names. This is due to very different childhoods. But it also comes into play in my job. I will talk to people using their first names. For me, I think it puts us on an equal level. The people talking to me are usually in places of possible vulnerability and I want them to feel at ease, to not feel that I know more than them, or to feel that I am better than them. So for me, I use their first names to establish a connection. According to Lynn Truss, this is not necessarily how it comes across and it certainly is not how people necessarily want things. It supposedly puts me in a position of power as I know their first name and they do not know mine. As well, it is historical position of power in that you usually only addressed the help by their first names. It supposedly does not denote respect to a person’s age and ‘wisdom’.
I am still pondering this situation. For me, the use of titles lends itself to more problems in trying to determine are they a Ma’am or a Miss and really, I hate the use of titles (let alone being called Ma'am - that word should be abolished). Now no offense to anyone who has done this, but one of the most insulting things that one can do is address an envelope to Mr and Mrs D Smith (or Mrs and Mrs D Smith, or Mr & Mr D Smith – anyway that ignores one whole person other than the title). I hate that. Just because a person got married and possibly changed their name does not mean they have given up their name or their person. Firstly, you are assuming the spouse changed their name. Not always true. Secondly, you have taken away the spouse's identity, by making her/him the spouse of so-and-so. It should be addressed to Mr D and Mrs T Smith at the very least, but even better, how about The Smith family, D & T Smith, or something along those lines. That is just my rant. Heehee.
I have been working on the budget for the last few days. Joy. I have categorized our spending to determine where the money is going and how to get our debt into control. One of the horrible parts of this is that it is in my mind constantly. I will be talking with certain friends of mine and I will just start…well, to me, it feels like I am lecturing. I apologize every time I do it. The advice is valid and applicable, but please, all of you who I have done this too, please understand that part of what is happening is that I am also giving myself the lecture. I know what needs to be done. Oh my goodness, do I know. I worked out what has been spent on just my one favorite hobby – reading. Holy mackerel. Whew! And then I think how I got all of these books at a discount price. Whoooooohooooo. Yikes. And I know I need to get this under control. I have joked about the size of the piles of books I have to be read. It’s huge. I figure if I read 2 books a week, I currently have enough books to last me half a year. Yeah…exactly my reaction. Whoa! And I have a pile from the library, cause I also am a member of a book club called the public library, which only costs $12 a year. And then I think of all the books I want to buy yet… Yikes! We need a bigger library at home. Really I do. So that has been fun. Informative, but very...fun aka stressful.
I also updated my book of “Thoughts of the Moment” which is something I started several years ago; it is a collection of significant or profound or silly statements from movies, books, friends, even myself, that I think mean something to me. For example –
Or
I like updating my book; it shows me a lot about what I was thinking this year. Obviously from the above two quotes, I was thinking about the masks that we present to people (sometimes our characters in games that we play) and I was thinking about the rude people who ring my doorbell on weekends before noon without an appointment and how horrible they are.
So I have also been thinking about my resolutions for 2007, though part of me is just amazed that it is 2007. I remember quite clearly the worries for 2000 and now it is 7 years later. Wow! I thought about resolving to not to resolutions, but that seemed kinda counterproductive. So let’s see what has happened in 2006 and see what I need to work on.
2006 – memory lane
I learned about forgiveness and moving on at the start of the year and because of it, two people who very important in my life are still in my life and I think we have evolved our relationships.
I learned again how hard it is to have willpower and determination in the face of crisis and stress, especially when you are shy and forget to tell people that you need support. Throughout that struggle though, I have lost, to me, a significant amount of weight and developed some lifestyle habits that will be beneficial to me in the long run.
I have reconnected with some old friends and some I have welcomed back into my life and others I have realized that I am not willing to let them come back now, and possible not ever. But my feelings of anger for those who are not welcome back have lessened. I have dealt with the issues, as far as I know, and while I don’t wish these people ill, I just don’t want their energy in my life.
I celebrated a year of blogging and my counter has passed the 1000 marked – I am loved, I am really loved. Heehee.
I finally was officially promoted at work – more money, more learning, more responsibilities, and more time to do what I need to do without arguing for that time. Funny that I still miss doing reception sometimes and talking with more people and several have told me that they have missed me on reception and that the others are not nearly as welcoming as I am. That warms my heart. Heehee. The big bosses have trusted me with some special projects and I think that I am doing well with them. Maybe in the New Year, we can get together and discuss how things are going and what they see me doing more of, less of, etcetera.
I have successfully fallen back into love with Orlando Bloom. It was dicey for while, the love was mostly by rote, but then, I watched Elizabethtown again and saw Pirates of the Caribbean II and again, I love that man. Sighhhh.
My office has been successfully cleaned and organized more times this year and the organizing and cleaning has slowly been keeping itself in good stead as the year went on. The year comes to a close with the desk being the cleanest it has been in a while, though the filing pile is still rather large. Heehee.
My friends ROCK! I have enjoyed my friends this year and have tried to carve out more pockets of time for them. Though I still have a few I need to get ahold of soon – right N? I know we need to do dinner soon. Heehee. While my friend list has not really grown, it has certainly developed and there are people who last year would have been acquaintances, who this year are definitely friends. Some friends, while absent a lot due to their own stresses and crisis, have still always been in my heart and I in theirs and while our time together has been brief, we have made the moments count. Though I still think a get together would be nice D… heehee.
So 2007 – Let me read what the paper says it predicts for me…well, sounds like it is going to be an interesting year. It goes with what I was expecting for the most part though, as 2007 I want to continue being a time to find myself. Profound quote I think is appropriate here
I guess I just want 2007 to be a great year for everyone. So much has happened globally this year and for the most part, we ignore it cause it doesn’t affect our day-to-day lives. I want to be more aware this year. I want to try to help others more. I want to continue doing random acts of kindness and trying to follow basic manners. I want to become the person that I am deep inside. I want to work on my fears and my idea of risk. I want to develop even better relationships and I want to have the trust in those relationships to tell people that I need support, and that contrary to what I say and seem to do, I cannot do it alone and I don’t want to. I also want to win some significant money so that we can do the things around the house that need to be done and not have our standard of living be affected. Oh, and world peace. Of course. :)
Well, I think that covers the profound, the silly, and of course, the joys of being me. Til next year everyone – have a great (and safe) New Year’s. I hope you are all doing what you want to do when the clock strikes 12 tonight. Luv you all.
Christmas was good, though I seem to have this expectation that never gets met. I need to find out what it is so that I can get rid of it. I was disappointed that I did not receive the Garth Brooks second box set and a pair of slippers. I have purchased the slippers and I am working up the energy to brave the most evil of places Walmart, as that is the Only place to get the box set. Otherwise, Christmas rocked! I got a ton of movies, books, clothes, fun stuff and more. D was surprised and happy at what I gave as were I believe most of my friends. I still think most of what make Christmas best for me is seeing people like what I found them. Next year, get more prepared for more homemade gifts. Just to warn you all. I want to be more crafty and someone has to experience my craftiness. Heehee. Food was good, fun times were had, and the decorations are still up as of right now. So overall, it was a good time. Yeah!
I recently read Lynn Truss’ book Talk to the Hand, which is about manners in modern society and how lacking they are. Unlike Eats, Shoots and Leaves, the book does not teach you anything; it is mainly a rant about how society is slowly degenerating back into the animal planet. I agreed with so much of what she said, and then I realized that part of what she complains about, I am part of the problem. She states that the familiarity, with which we talk to strangers, while it leaves the class system behind, leads us to almost take a superior position to others. Which I thought was interesting – I hate when people address me as Miss, Ms or Mrs. If you have to address me that way, then please pick Ms. I don’t like that Miss or Mrs states my supposed marital status. It really is none of your business if I am a single or married or divorced person. It has no bearing on my interaction with others. If it does, then I will let you know. A man doesn’t have to deal with this problem because rarely does a single man get referred to as Master. Men are always Mister.
The other problem is that often we leave out the title and we refer to people as their first name. Older generations find this far too familiar for themselves. D finds it frightfully weird that I talk to older people using their first names. D still refers to life long family friends as Mr and Mrs X, while I call them by their given names. This is due to very different childhoods. But it also comes into play in my job. I will talk to people using their first names. For me, I think it puts us on an equal level. The people talking to me are usually in places of possible vulnerability and I want them to feel at ease, to not feel that I know more than them, or to feel that I am better than them. So for me, I use their first names to establish a connection. According to Lynn Truss, this is not necessarily how it comes across and it certainly is not how people necessarily want things. It supposedly puts me in a position of power as I know their first name and they do not know mine. As well, it is historical position of power in that you usually only addressed the help by their first names. It supposedly does not denote respect to a person’s age and ‘wisdom’.
I am still pondering this situation. For me, the use of titles lends itself to more problems in trying to determine are they a Ma’am or a Miss and really, I hate the use of titles (let alone being called Ma'am - that word should be abolished). Now no offense to anyone who has done this, but one of the most insulting things that one can do is address an envelope to Mr and Mrs D Smith (or Mrs and Mrs D Smith, or Mr & Mr D Smith – anyway that ignores one whole person other than the title). I hate that. Just because a person got married and possibly changed their name does not mean they have given up their name or their person. Firstly, you are assuming the spouse changed their name. Not always true. Secondly, you have taken away the spouse's identity, by making her/him the spouse of so-and-so. It should be addressed to Mr D and Mrs T Smith at the very least, but even better, how about The Smith family, D & T Smith, or something along those lines. That is just my rant. Heehee.
I have been working on the budget for the last few days. Joy. I have categorized our spending to determine where the money is going and how to get our debt into control. One of the horrible parts of this is that it is in my mind constantly. I will be talking with certain friends of mine and I will just start…well, to me, it feels like I am lecturing. I apologize every time I do it. The advice is valid and applicable, but please, all of you who I have done this too, please understand that part of what is happening is that I am also giving myself the lecture. I know what needs to be done. Oh my goodness, do I know. I worked out what has been spent on just my one favorite hobby – reading. Holy mackerel. Whew! And then I think how I got all of these books at a discount price. Whoooooohooooo. Yikes. And I know I need to get this under control. I have joked about the size of the piles of books I have to be read. It’s huge. I figure if I read 2 books a week, I currently have enough books to last me half a year. Yeah…exactly my reaction. Whoa! And I have a pile from the library, cause I also am a member of a book club called the public library, which only costs $12 a year. And then I think of all the books I want to buy yet… Yikes! We need a bigger library at home. Really I do. So that has been fun. Informative, but very...fun aka stressful.
I also updated my book of “Thoughts of the Moment” which is something I started several years ago; it is a collection of significant or profound or silly statements from movies, books, friends, even myself, that I think mean something to me. For example –
Be careful of what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be. Kurt Vonnegut
Or
Occupants may sleep in the nude. Ring this doorbell before noon and you’ll find out for sure. Moi
I like updating my book; it shows me a lot about what I was thinking this year. Obviously from the above two quotes, I was thinking about the masks that we present to people (sometimes our characters in games that we play) and I was thinking about the rude people who ring my doorbell on weekends before noon without an appointment and how horrible they are.
So I have also been thinking about my resolutions for 2007, though part of me is just amazed that it is 2007. I remember quite clearly the worries for 2000 and now it is 7 years later. Wow! I thought about resolving to not to resolutions, but that seemed kinda counterproductive. So let’s see what has happened in 2006 and see what I need to work on.
2006 – memory lane
I learned about forgiveness and moving on at the start of the year and because of it, two people who very important in my life are still in my life and I think we have evolved our relationships.
I learned again how hard it is to have willpower and determination in the face of crisis and stress, especially when you are shy and forget to tell people that you need support. Throughout that struggle though, I have lost, to me, a significant amount of weight and developed some lifestyle habits that will be beneficial to me in the long run.
I have reconnected with some old friends and some I have welcomed back into my life and others I have realized that I am not willing to let them come back now, and possible not ever. But my feelings of anger for those who are not welcome back have lessened. I have dealt with the issues, as far as I know, and while I don’t wish these people ill, I just don’t want their energy in my life.
I celebrated a year of blogging and my counter has passed the 1000 marked – I am loved, I am really loved. Heehee.
I finally was officially promoted at work – more money, more learning, more responsibilities, and more time to do what I need to do without arguing for that time. Funny that I still miss doing reception sometimes and talking with more people and several have told me that they have missed me on reception and that the others are not nearly as welcoming as I am. That warms my heart. Heehee. The big bosses have trusted me with some special projects and I think that I am doing well with them. Maybe in the New Year, we can get together and discuss how things are going and what they see me doing more of, less of, etcetera.
I have successfully fallen back into love with Orlando Bloom. It was dicey for while, the love was mostly by rote, but then, I watched Elizabethtown again and saw Pirates of the Caribbean II and again, I love that man. Sighhhh.
My office has been successfully cleaned and organized more times this year and the organizing and cleaning has slowly been keeping itself in good stead as the year went on. The year comes to a close with the desk being the cleanest it has been in a while, though the filing pile is still rather large. Heehee.
My friends ROCK! I have enjoyed my friends this year and have tried to carve out more pockets of time for them. Though I still have a few I need to get ahold of soon – right N? I know we need to do dinner soon. Heehee. While my friend list has not really grown, it has certainly developed and there are people who last year would have been acquaintances, who this year are definitely friends. Some friends, while absent a lot due to their own stresses and crisis, have still always been in my heart and I in theirs and while our time together has been brief, we have made the moments count. Though I still think a get together would be nice D… heehee.
So 2007 – Let me read what the paper says it predicts for me…well, sounds like it is going to be an interesting year. It goes with what I was expecting for the most part though, as 2007 I want to continue being a time to find myself. Profound quote I think is appropriate here
The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with watches you from the mirror every morning.
I guess I just want 2007 to be a great year for everyone. So much has happened globally this year and for the most part, we ignore it cause it doesn’t affect our day-to-day lives. I want to be more aware this year. I want to try to help others more. I want to continue doing random acts of kindness and trying to follow basic manners. I want to become the person that I am deep inside. I want to work on my fears and my idea of risk. I want to develop even better relationships and I want to have the trust in those relationships to tell people that I need support, and that contrary to what I say and seem to do, I cannot do it alone and I don’t want to. I also want to win some significant money so that we can do the things around the house that need to be done and not have our standard of living be affected. Oh, and world peace. Of course. :)
Well, I think that covers the profound, the silly, and of course, the joys of being me. Til next year everyone – have a great (and safe) New Year’s. I hope you are all doing what you want to do when the clock strikes 12 tonight. Luv you all.
posted by Taryn at 4:03 pm
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