Author Archives: lydias

Here are two great quotes from Jeanette Winterson’s Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

My advice is this. When you are young and you read something that you very much dislike, put it aside and read it again three years later. And if you still dislike it, read it again in a further three years. And when you are no longer young – when you are fifty, as I am – read the thing again that you disliked most of all.

and

“Whenever I am troubled,” said the librarian, “I think about the Dewey decimal system.”

“Then what happens?” asked the junior, rather overawed.

“Then I understand that trouble is just something that has been filed in the wrong place. That is what Jung was explaining of course – as the chaos of our unconscious contents strive to find their rightful place in the index of unconsciousness.”

Thank you to everyone who filled out the survey earlier this month. Wow, I ended up with almost twice as many participants as I did last year. That’s amazing.

Stay tuned – the second blogiverary post goes live on Monday, July 30 and survey results will be shared on Thursday, August 2.

In the meantime here is this week’s list of blog posts, quotes, photos, threads and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

“The cure for boredom is curiosity.  There is no cure for curiosity.”

— ellen parr

From Why I Am Always Unlucky But You Are Always Careless:

When my wife can’t find her keys, I assume it is because she is careless. When I can’t find my keys I naturally put it down to bad luck. The curious thing is that she always assumes the opposite – that she’s the one with the bad luck, and I’m the careless one.

The Regret Index. A searchable collection of regrets. Browse through it or add your own regret(s).

There’s a great thread over at Reddit about random acts of kindness.

10 Things Most Americans Don’t Know About America via Undercover Nun. . In no way do I want to bash the U.S. I care about my citizenship, family and heritage very much but as an expatriate (and a dual American/Canadian citizen) I cannot agree with this list more.  If only there was an easy way to show Americans what’s it’s really like to live in other countries. I cannot count the number of times I’ve been told that universal health care/gay marriage/*insert controversial difference between the U.S. and Canada here* doesn’t work by people who a) have never lived in Canada, b) have no idea how our system actually works, and c) blatantly ignore all of the good things I have to say as someone who has actually lived here.

Yawn. Lion vs. butterfly. Spoiler alert: I think the butterfly is winning!

28: Stories of AIDS in Africa highlighted how little I know about modern life for people living with HIV and AIDS in any of the countries in Africa. It’s one thing to rattle off statistics about infection or death rates or what happens to those left behind. It’s quite another to listen to the stories of individuals living with this disease. Regine is 74 years old and is raising over a dozen grandchildren after several of her children died of AIDS. Tigist has been taking care of her younger brother since their parents died from AIDS-related infections when she was ten and he was six. Noe’s wife and daughter died of AIDS and he’s been writing a  book for his older daughter so she will know how much she is loved if he isn’t around to see her grow up.

What have you been reading?

Jenna Boring at Plaid Sheep blew me away with a thought-provoking post recently about things she wishes she could tell her teenage self.

I’m stealing this idea.

If any of you decide to blog about this as well leave a link to your post in the comment section. I’ll add it to this post.

Edited to add hpiglet’s letter.

Dear Teenage Me

1. Just like younger Jenna there are people in your life who aren’t going to be alive in a few years. Don’t worry about figuring out exactly who I’m talking about. Just do both of us a favour and enjoy the time you have with everyone in your life right now.

2. You know that still, small voice in your head that argues with the wacky things you hear at church youth rallies? Some of those pastors may very well have invented the term eccentric. Absorb what makes sense to you and ignore the rest.

3. Don’t worry about where you’ll be in five or ten years. It won’t be what at all you were expecting but it will be pretty wonderful.

4. Modesty isn’t everything. It’s ok to buy that really cute top or pair of shorts to lounge around in over the summer. This is what teenage girls are supposed to do.  Just don’t wear them to church or grandpa’s house. 😉

5. Remember that book you read last week or month that you really liked? Write down the author and title somewhere. I can’t tell you how much time this will save when you want to reread it in five or ten years. It turns out that there are 453,523,089 other books out there with the same basic premise and/or colour scheme on the cover. Don’t rely on vague things like these to find it again.

6. Gym class isn’t reality. There are so many ways to stay active that don’t involve competition, being injured or undressing in a room full of other people. Do the minimum to get a decent grade in the class but don’t for a minute think this is a good introduction to exercising.

7. The bad news: your allergies are going to get much worse over the next several years. You’re going to have a few scary moments as you figure out which foods are triggering your reactions.

8. The good news: Once you figure that out you’ll be fine.

9. The even better news: there are so many other products out there. You’ll eventually find a good-to-amazing substitute for everything you really miss. Even mint chocolate chip ice cream!

Respond

What would you tell your younger self?

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, posters and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

Before we get started I wanted to remind everyone that the survey closes on Monday. If you haven’t filled it out yet you still have a few days left!

An Invisible Option in the Aftermath of Slaughter’s “Why Women Can’t Have It All.” This link was written in response to an article published lately about the tension between having kids and a career for some women. While I agree that it should be more socially acceptable to not have children for those of us who don’t want them I don’t think anyone should have to choose between being a parent and having a meaningful career. This doesn’t mean you have to do both simultaneously, though. My mom had three kids, went back to school when we were a little older and began working full-time when I was a teenager. If anything I think we should be encouraging people to explore all of their options: kids, no kids, kids and career at the same time, kids then career, career then kids. There’s no one right answer here.

I Would Ride That. This is one of the most creative uses of fruit I’ve ever seen.

If They Only Knew. Love it.

HIV and Black America. I’ve been watching this documentary bit by bit this week. I don’t have specific thoughts on it at the moment other than to say it’s well worth your time.

Life is Too Short… This link gives me mixed feelings. Of course it’s acceptable to set boundaries with others and allow them to feel the consequences of their actions. Life is messy, though. Everyone has rough patches. I wonder how the author of this piece differentiates between people who need support and those from whom it’s ok to distance yourself?

Suburban Gnome Invasion is one of the best short stories I’ve read in 2012. Imagine how you would react if a family of gnomes invaded your backyard. Now imagine that your little visitors are destructive and relelentless rather than being cute fairy tale characters.

What have you been reading?

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, interviews and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

Two Little Girls Explain the Worst Haircut Ever. I cut my own hair once as a kid. It was just one curl, though, and when I didn’t like how it looked I tucked it behind my ear until it grew out again.

From Procrastination Rules:

In ancient Egypt and Rome, procrastination was thought to be useful and wise. Only a handful of early writers, such as Cicero and Thucydides, admonished people not to delay. Until the mid-eighteenth century, procrastination-hating was a minority view.

32 Year Old Has Conversation with 12 Year Old Self. Unless this is some sort of elaborate hoax 20 years ago Jeremiah McDonald taped himself asking and answering questions of/from his grown-up self. The resulting conversation is brilliant.

Could Your Favourite Colour Actually Guide Your Career? This is one of the goofiest ways to pick a profession I’ve ever seen but the first half of the description at the end of the quiz actually fits me pretty well:

Best Occupational Category

You’re a CREATOR

KEYWORDS

Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional

These original types place a high value on self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Areas of interest are far beyond the expected fields of art, drama, music, and writing. There are many occupations that allow creators to express, assemble, or implement ideas and maximize resources.

ally offer the latitude to make a difference. Most enjoyable workplaces allow for self-expression with the capability to improve the status quo.

Don’t be befuddled by the word “Creative.” Creator workplaces are much broader that the “Typical Creative Careers” like interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. In order to see your best recommendation, check out the Color Career Indictor 4.0 for actual occupational listing.

My second best occupational category was almost 100% inaccurate, though. I’m occasionally witty..and that’s about it. How did you do on the quiz?  :

You’re a PERSUADER

KEYWORDS:

Witty, Competitive, Sociable, Talkative, Ambitious, Argumentative, and Aggressive

These enterprising types sell, persuade, and lead others. Positions of leadership, power, and status are usually their ultimate goal. Persuasive people like to take financial and interpersonal risks and to participate in competitive activities. They enjoy working with others inside organizations to accomplish goals and achieve economic success.

Embarrassing story time: I tried to play spin the bottle once with some of the other youth group members at church. I would have been about 12 or 13 at the time. We were all too Christian to actually break the “no kissing” rule, though, so we ended up hugging one another instead. It turns out that hugs don’t feel terribly rebellious, though, so we never played that game again.

 The Science of Kissing is about, well, kissing: why we started doing it, why some cultures value it more than others, whether you can tell how good someone is in bed by how well they kiss and much, much more. Had it been written years ago I might have done some light reading after church instead of trying to circumvent the rules. 😉

What have you been reading?

Here is this week’s list of blog posts, hearing tests, videos, comics and other tidbits from my favourite corners of the web.

High Frequency Hearing Test. Using an admittedly poor set of speakers I could hear something up to 17 kHz (and couldn’t quite tell about 18 kHz.) According to the link most adults over 25 cannot hear frequencies above 15 kHz. I don’t know how true that is, though. 25+ readers, how high could you go?

How the Kindness of a Black Man Changed the Mind of a KKK Kingpin. This is quite the story. I’m not sure what I think of not pressing charges against someone who sets your church on fire. Thoughts?

How It Looked, How It Felt.This is a nice addendum to my post from earlier in the week about not feeling like an adult.

From Just Say No to Beating Yourself Up:

When your brain wants to go on a rant on why you’re not measuring up, just say no. After all, you’re in control… No matter where you are or what you’re doing (or you’ve done), you’re enough. In fact, you’re pretty fantastic.

From A Former Teenage Carjacker Reflects on Supreme Court Ruling in Miller vs. Alabama:

Families are mourning still, even as I write this. Yet mourning, no matter how painful, does not change the fact that juveniles are different from adults. Their potential for change, for growth, for understanding, is greater. If our system is not, ultimately, to be based on vengeance, we need to recognize that potential of change, and give it the opportunity to take place.

Little Heathens  shares rosy memories from a woman who grew up on her grandparents’ farm during the Great Depression. Mildred Armstrong Kalish’s mother raised several young children as a single parent living on virtually no income at a time when social assistance for families like these was scanty. Surprisingly this is not a sad story. Mildred and her siblings had  wonderful childhoods (although I do wonder how much they knew about the family hardships at the time.)

What have you been reading?