9 Phrases Women Use

(1) Fine :

This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2) Five Minutes:

If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house. ...

(3) Nothing :

This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

(4) Go Ahead:

This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

(5) Loud Sigh:

This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

(6) That's Okay:

This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7) Thanks:

A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' . that will bring on a 'whatever'.

(8) Whatever:

Is a woman's way of saying GET LOST!

(9) Don't worry about it, I got it:

Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.

This is (supposedly) the original.

Why Music?

credits unknown, but I just liked it.

Losers lose

It is so darned easy to be fooled by salesmen. I thought it was time to start working out… you know? Christmas is just around the corner and I really want to fit into the gorgeous dress I just bought. Of course I refused the size just right, so it is a tiny bit too tight, but I have been watching “Biggest loser” on TV, and I know the normal weight loss each week ranges from 4 to 12  pounds, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I just need to exercise a little.

I dressed up in my newly bought super training gear, curled up in the sofa and waited for the sweating, puffing and red face to set in. I know those are sure signs you burn calories. The trainers always yell it out: “You don’t even breath heavily yet! You don’t even sweat”! It is far from the cheapest outfit, and the salesman at the store promised me it was of very good quality and actually top notch.

You can imagine my astonishment when neither my breathing nor my pulse increased. Not even a trifle. He was very clear about it; there was no room for misunderstandings, when he told me that equipment is everything when it comes to working out and training. Using what I bought, I would find the work out work like wonders, dead easy, no sweat.

I admit I got a bit startled at that point, because I know the sweating part is very important, but then I figured that thinking about the competitors in “Biggest loser” they don’t wear any fancy colors or fabric made out of something I can’t even pronounce (much less spell): They wear tight shorts and cotton t-shirts, so of course MY outfit has some function which eliminates the discomfort of damp and wet stains (which is a good thing, cause my sofa would have turned rather ghastly looking when the full effect of my training gear sets in).

And yet, even though my expensive purchase has all of these wonderful qualities, and gives me the opportunity to follow my favorite TV shows while I drink my tea in enjoyable manner, I can’t help but feeling a bit ripped off.

I am seriously thinking about returning it. I have not found out how much I have lost yet, since I got this profound remonstrance to getting on a scale, but I doubt it will be two digits. My dress is still a bit tight, you see… there is a chance it has even shrunk a little while hanging in my wardrobe (warmth and such can do that sometimes to clothes), the zipper doesn’t seem to be working right, either.

My belly is not as flat and defined as I expected it to be after 5 days, and my thighs are not quite fit for skinny jeans either. It is like as if the miracle promised is absent, I don’t feel the change happening. From all the hours I have worn the outfit (and believe me; the colors are really unbecoming and not flattering at all, and the fabric is so clingy it reveals EVERY extra curve on my bulk corpus.

Is it possible I may be bought a ruined outfit?

Stress-less

Last night my son's friend's mother was shocked learning I have not yet started preparing for Christmas. We were talking about this and that, and I happened to mention I have not done a lot to prepare for the holidays… not yet, anyway.

I have put out more candles than I usually have around, I have hung the star in the window, the advent candelabra is on the table and two candles have been lit (four candles and we light one more each of the four last Sundays before Christmas), my kids’ advent calendars are displayed (and almost half emptied), my kids have their miniature Christmas trees in their rooms and I have displayed a carved wooden Nativity scene I once bought in Jerusalem a hot, sunny day in July, years ago.

I have no curtains in my house, so I have not hung seasonal curtains. I have not cleaned the windows. I have done some baking, but those cookies are gone. I have not bought any presents yet, apart for the two I send by mail. I have not even ordered the pictures I am to add to the Christmas cards… which I have not yet made.

Well…. I didn’t get any further on my rambling ons about the few things I actually have gotten round to do, and everything I have not done yet: my friend got into a state of frantic flickering eyes and heavy breathing, bordering to hyperventilation. It was like as if my laid back attitude had an impact on her own doings and the state of her house.

A couple of years ago I suffered from a serious stress attack. It is not recommended: It hurts. Not only did my entire body ache, but I experienced this surreal notion of being benumbed. I have not yet totally recovered; now and again I still get this pricking sensation of shooting pain through the sole of my foot when I take a step.

Anyway; I had to make a choice, and it was an easy one to make: Slow down!

The thing I could ease up on, without feeling I neglected anyone, was the house. I don’t panic anymore, when I look around my house and see things scattered on the floor. I keep it clean, but not always tidy. When people drop by I don’t fold the towels in frantic speed to get them out of the way. I have told myself we all have laundry, and people tell me I am right. When I invite people over, I often do it on weeknights for supper. You need a loaf of bread, butter, bread spread, cold cuts, jam and a cheese. And then milk, coffee and tea to swallow it down with. Keep it simple and don’t always assume people want royal treatment. Friends don’t want to feel guilty for dropping by, or visit; they want to enjoy the company of someone who is comfortable around them.

I don’t curl up inside because there is an unwashed pot in the sink. It’s not going anywhere, I can clean it later. Besides, lighting candles hide a lot of clutter. It just isn’t as obvious anymore, because you focus on the coze, rather than scanning the room for what is out of place.

There is a vast difference between having a spotless house and to neglect the house. At the end of the day I now have a home we live, play and work in, rather than having a house on display.

Friends don’t mind, actually they like it and relax more around me, but most important: I enjoy being with friends more now, than I did before. It makes me a happier, more positive and supporting friend. I even find my friends more supporting too.

«Meglio vivere un giorno da leone che cento anni da pecora.»

"It is better to live one day as a lion than a hundred years as a sheep.

«Det er bedre å leve en dag som løve enn hundre år som en sau.»

I don’t know how much Benito Mussolini knew about agriculture. But this is, as far as I know the quote he is the most famous for.

Last summer we went to Turkey. On a daytrip we visited Alanya Castle with a group of tourists. One of the men was from Italy, and I told him “I have been told that “Meglio vivere….”, and like in a flip of a coin he got all elated, I didn’t even get to complete my sentence! (I was pretty peewish I was deprived of my moment of brilliance in Italian) He finished it for me, and then went on and on about the good things Mussolini did for Italy. I have to admit that I don’t really know a lot about Mussolini, but apparently Italians do… which is fair, but I know enough to realize that truth is an individual thing. The things he mentioned are not what I have been taught Mussolini contributed to the world. But I am sure he, like everybody else, had his moments of lucidity.

To be a lion: to roar against the world, showing off superior strength and to make a statement has something enticing and seductive about it. And the aspect of total rule (even if it is based on spreading fear) is to many very attractive.

As a leader, with the qualities of a lion you protect, you are brave, you are willing to fight, you hunt, you are part of a pride and you end up being a loner in the big scheme of things. Or, so the link below tells us. (http://ezinearticles.com/?6-Characteristics-of-the-Lion-to-Consider-For-Your-Own-Leadership&id=4046756)

I can’t help but thinking there are many kinds of lions, each with their own specific role and place. They all serve a purpose to complete the pride. Just because they don’t roar the deepest and loudest, doesn’t mean they are not important. Actually: most of the time the one lion in charge is the least significant in the pride. He steps up on special occasions only. But we still think of his qualities to be characteristic of all lions in general. And we tend to give him the qualities other members of the pride hold. Just to make him complete and close to perfect.

 

When you are a sheep, well…. Basically you are a sheep.

When I look up Characteristics of Sheep on wiki answers this is what I get:

“1. timid, fearful, easily panicked

2. dumb stupid, gullible

3. very vulnerable to fear, frustration, pests, hunger

4. easily influenced by a leader, by the shepherd

5. stampede easily, vulnerable to mob psychology

6. little or no means of self-defense; can only run

7. easily killed by enemies

8. the shepherd is most effective, calming influence

9. jealous, competitive for dominance

10. constantly need fresh water, fresh pasture

11. have very little discernment in choosing food or water

12. best water source is early morning dew

13. perverse, stubborn - will insist on their own way , even eating poisonous

plants or drinking dirty water

14. easily "cast" - flipped over on their back, unable to right themselves

will die of starvation if not turned over by shepherd; helpless

15. frequently look for easy places to rest

16. don't like to be sheared, cleaned

17. too much wool can cause sheep to be easily "cast"

18. creatures of habit; get into "ruts"

19. need the most care of all livestock

20. need to be "on the move"; need a pre-determined plan, pattern of grazing

21. totally dependent of shepherd for every need

22. need "rod and staff" guidance

And yet; They are of a gregarious nature...meaning they love to be with the herd, they are herbivores. Sheep must have a leader (shepherd) and must be told what to do and where to go, otherwise they'll wander off and get lost.”

 

I grew up on a sheep farm. I am not an expert, but I know enough about sheep to know this opinionated characteristic of sheep is totally wrong. This is more like myths about sheep, created because they are animals we herd and tend to. And we misconceive their peaceful nature to be stupidity, just because we know they are unable to protect themselves against predators. Sheep are valuable and can’t be put at risk out of carelessness, ignorance or fear of own safety.

 

Here in Norway we let the sheep graze in the mountains, much by themselves, all summer. We only check on them now and again to make sure they are doing ok… and most often they do. Not many are attacked by predators, other than dogs on the loose or an occasional bear or wolf, which are very rare. Here beasts of prey are close to extinct. Sheep do quite well on their own when left alone in a safe environment. They are easy going, laid back and quite good at living a good life. They don’t make a lot of noise; most of the time they are just content, and only baa to locate their lamb or mother, or if they strongly disagree with something… like when it’s time for shearing them. And yet they are tough (on occasions sheep have survived quite harsh winter conditions in the mountains), persistent and patient… good mothers too, with everything that includes.

 

So, Mussolini wanted to be a leader, not a disciple. He wanted to be the one in charge. Very admirable to be ambitious, but… the way I see it, those led, are only willing to be led as long as it benefits their own wants, needs and way of life.

When a leader no longer take in consideration the nature of his people, regardless of if we are talking about family, school, work, organization, country or any other group of people in some kind of coexistence, leadership ceases and it turns into ruling using different means of force. People are not dumb and stupid just because they want a good life.

 

Nature doesn’t agree with force; then harmony and productiveness turn into conflicts and corruption. As a result dissolution, disorganization and gradually annihilation set in.

Baking for Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner, and here, in Norway, part of the tradition is to bake cookies. It is common to count 7 different kinds, but most have more than that at home. They don’t necessarily bake them all (the store has a lot of delicious options) but most have cookies and cakes in cookie jars and tins, ready to be served if someone should drop by during the holidays.

Preparing for Christmas takes a lot of organizing on beforehand. To get everything done on time, and avoid intense stress mess (after all I want this season to be about family friendly values and spending quality time together with others), I plan December day by day. Too much planned in one day often results in nothing getting done at all; I just get caught in overwhelmed distress. Much because this is not only a month of extensive number of traditions and seasonal events at home, in sports-clubs and school, but it is also the season for end of term tests and grading. This is the height of the season, both at home and work.

 

Making tons of Christmas cookies (julekaker) is one of the Norwegian traditions. We tend to eat so many of them while baking, that by the time Christmas is actually here, we are almost fed up with them. But they are important to us.

The discussion on which kinds of cookies we should count as the real deal is an ongoing issue through out the country. There is no key or set rule to which ones to bake (or buy), but most families have their own traditional cookies they would like to include. On the net I found  the most common ones are:

«Smultringer», «goro», «fattigmann», «krumkaker», «sandkaker», «sirupssnipper» and «berlinerkranser». I bake a few of them, but far from all. I guess tastes have a say on what you bother to bake, as there is no point in baking just to throw them away when they get stale…  some time in March.

Smultring  are Norwegian doughnuts. They are smallish and usually prepared without glazing or filling, and are often flavoured with cardamom.

Smultrings are torus shaped and sold from trucks and, at Christmas time, from stalls. They are described as being "thick heavy dough fried in lard – best eaten while hot and with the grease still dripping! Smultring are popular with expatriate Norwegians including those in Minnesota who serve them with krumkake, riskrem (rice cream), and fattigmann at Christmas dinners.
^{(source wikipedia.com)}

Goro were traditionally the "rich man's" cookies in Norway – they are prepared from what used to be really expensive ingredients like butter and cream and they are baked on specially smithed irons that very often are family heirlooms. The cookies have a texture that's a cross between a cookie, a cracker, and a waffle, lightly flavored with cardamom. I just love the pattern these cookies get in the iron when baked. I don’t make them very often, though. My grandmother had an old fashioned iron, which had to be flipped, as it was heated by the fire or cooker, but my iron is a modern, electrical one and the cookies are just too thick to become as delicate and crispy as I like them.

Another cookie, which is made from almost the same ingredients as Goro is Fattigmann, or "Poor Man Cookies" which are twisted into pretty knots, quickly fried in oil or lard, and sprinkled with vanilla sugar or confectioner's sugar. They're a favorite in Norway and Sweden, and easy to prepare either with a special fattigman cutter or with a pastry cutter.

I don’t really make these either. I have tried, but... I just never got the hang of it. They just turned fatty and not that tasty at all... maybe I have the wrong recipe. My family never really had a tradition for baking these.

Delicate Norwegian krumkake cookies are baked on a circular cookie iron, then rolled into cones or cigars. They're guaranteed to crumble when eaten, in such a delicious way! There is no way you can eat these in an elegant manner, but I love them! I do not bake them in a large scale... I make them when I plan on serving them or when someone asks for them, as they are the best when just made. Or at least I think so.  I serve them alone, but most times I serve them filled with whipped cream mixed with fruit or berries (cloudberries is very popular around Christmas time) or with ice cream.

 

Serina Cookies are the ultimate Norwegian butter cookie, with a light texture that comes from using hartshorn (a.k.a. baker's ammonia or hornsalt) rather than American baking powder. Sprinkle them with pearl sugar and watch them disappear! Lovely to dip them in hot coffee and add some mocca taste to them  (I know, not very proper, but I do that to chocolate as well...)

 

"Sandkaker" (sand cakes) are formed in pretty fluted tins, quickly baked in the oven, and then served either inverted to highlight their beautiful shapes or else used as tart shells for both sweet and savory fillings. I usually fill them with vanilla custard and berries... or diced fruit. Any kind I have at hand makes these cookies a real treat.

The cookies my kids love the most is Spritz (Sprut in Norwegian), Christmas Cookies are crisp and delicious. Sprut cookies are always on my list of goodies to make.

I lay them together, filling the pair with a delicious frosting added a hint of rum essence.

 

A cookie I do bake a lot of and put in the freezer is Sarah Bernhard. An almond base with chocolate butter cream and chocolate icing.

When I am to serve them I take them out of the freezer, put the coffee on and they are thawned just right for serving by the time coffee is done. They are delicious and just melt in your mouth with an explosion of jammy taste of chocolate.  They are ok for Christmas, but I would turn big as a house if I made them all year round.

 

We also design and build a gingersnap house for each of the kids to decorate with sweets  of their own choice and confectioner's sugar. They get to crack it and eat it New Year’s Eve.

We bake big hearts and tie a bright red bow in them and hang them, i.e. the windows, for decorations... and then some figure shaped smaller ones for eating. Scrumptious!

People with No Kids Just Don't Get it

This is just too familiar to me...

Promised prosperity

A friend of mine has a blog where he writes about Love, Life and APBA Baseball. The other day he posted some thoughts on online love, or rather: how people’s potential search for love can be set to a test:

Love, Life and APBA Baseball

Love In the Spam File

http://lovelifeapba.blogspot.no/2013/10/love-in-spam-file.html?spref=fb

Not long after I read this text, a letter dropped in my inbox on Facebook:

“Hello

I don't have another way to communicate with you by sending you this mail. I am in despair and my heart bleeds at the time or I make you this message which I hope will hold your attention.

I am contacting you today as true that we do not know this prevents this gesture on my part. Among many of profiles transected, you are the only person that I trust and I made my choice. I am madame Elisabeth FAVEUR aged 68 years, widow residing in London for health reasons. I take this opportunity to make you a very important proposal and confidential. I speak to you as that widow married fire Mr.D. F., a telecommunications engineer who unfortunately is
He died in a plane crash. For some time, I feel more good.

Since the death of my husband, I was overtaken by events, to the point that I can't get out me. Now, I sick and hospitalized. The reason that drives me to you is this: I would like to go through your channel to do charity.

It is a gift somehow and it amounts to the sum of EUR 20 million deposited by my late husband at a bank in West Africa more precisely in Togo. My marital status is that currently I am widow and still fewer children to whom I
could this legacy, and I am currently a throat tumor suffering I am therefore condemned to death according the nurse. That is why, soon would I and graceful manner in order to help the needy children give you this said inheritance that you use 70% of the sum to achieve this work of charity and the rest for you.

I beg you to give an ear to my proposal because I count on your good will and also the proper use of these funds for this work.

You can answer me directly via my private email (mme.exxxxxxxxfxxxxx@gmail.com) the most consulted for more of details or contacted me by phone at the hospital or am I currently hospitalized:

Waiting for your quick and prompt response for more for details.

Best regards

Mrs. E. F

In hidden text the contact information was added:

+44 7x xx xx xx 36

E-mail: mme.exxxxxxxxfxxxxx@gmail.com
Tel: +44 7x xx xx xx 36
London (United Kingdom)”

According to one of her many facebook accounts, all with the same picture of her, she went to London School of Business and Finance (LSBF). Which is, indeed, a very fine school. Or so I have heard.

There must be a lot of extremely skilled students there, financial experts too, who would love to take on the huge responsibility it is to use 70% of EUR 20 million on the work of charity and get EUR 6 million in pay for the effort. After all, all she wants is for the money to be used in the name of good, right?

I have never met this lady, I doubt she knows anything about me… well not much anyway. But she (if this is indeed a woman, that is) has been on Facebook screening profiles and found I am trustworthy enough to administer EUR 20 million. I bet she thinks I have the skills to do so, based on my blond hair.

The nurse told her she is dying, she is on her deathbed, desperate to do some good with the money. Who am I to deny her the peace of mind knowing the fund would be taken good care of would give her?

She even gave me her contact information, so I can get in touch and find out what to do to get my hands on the money, which is deposited in a bank in Togo by her late husband, who was a telecommunications engineer.

I never knew telecommunications engineers made that kind of money. Can’t help but thinking I have chosen the wrong line of career.

Encouraged by the sum of money in store for me I tried to call the number several times, but got no answer. Considering my eagerness to lead an easy life in prosperity, and the good prospects of becoming a full time philanthropist, with only good intentions in mind, I think I will call again. After all: who knows what kind of conmen would otherwise get their hands on the money?

neat-handed Knowledge

The greatness of the world we live in sometimes strikes me as incredibly amazing. The other day, as I was teaching about myths, I started to think about how God created the world: “God created the world in 6 Days and on the 7th Day he rested. On the first day God created the Sun in order to give light and warmth to the Earth. On the second, third, fourth and fifth day he created the universe. On the sixth day, He created man and the entire creation was completed”.

There is something mind-blowing about the Bible, when they more than 3000 years ago knew we have an atmosphere… just saying. Regardless of personal belief, I think that what was written down such a long time ago has something “new” about it. The ten commandments are so up to date, It is strange they were not a result of a meta study, to find out through surveys and research what to do to keep peace among people and in inter-human relationships.

Just like… The Bible is the only religious guideline to how to lead a good life which illustrates the importance, and consequences, of communication, or lack thereof. I use that story in class, not to preach or anything, but as an example to how good communication makes people able to cooperate and understand each other, and what happens if we don’t. And those guys back then, who wrote the story, had an understanding of that we most often tend to forget.

Anyway… old knowledge is only old because people knew it a long time ago. It is still valid, so it should be considered forever currant knowledge.

That being said: I have this bad habit of thinking about things which are too big for me to fathom. I like to twist and turn questions around and make up my mind on issues I know has already been answered, but which I can find proof of in old sources. The older the better. It is kind of satisfying to “proof-read” and think it through from different angles and see if it is really so.

Ok, a bit of deep thinking here tonight, I am under the influence of a book I am reading by Martin Buber. I find one “goldmine” after another of good things for me to think about. Many of them I forget about, even though I know them to be truths from way back, and it is good to be reminded:

“Every person born into the world represents something new, something that never existed before, something original and unique....If there had been someone like her in the world, there would have been no need for her to be born." --Martin Buber as quoted in Narrative Means for Sober Ends, by Jon Diamond, p.78”

Martin Buber

Pretty neat, huh?

Having a week off?

Tonight I am rather upset about last week. It was initially a good week: a week off work. But having a week off, when most other people are at work has side effects.

Last week was for me a week off because we had Autumn Break. Back in the days, when I grew up, we used to call it “potato break” because it is about this time of year, the first week of October, it is time to harvest the potato fields.

Nowadays this week off is about travelling somewhere, for those who have saved a week’s vacation, or to worry about where the kids should spend the day, now that school is off and parents have to work. So, I have had a week off work, and I can’t wait to get back in action.

I had such great plans for this week. I had a long list written down:

·         Dig up and sort out the last flowerbed

·         One long walk, or mountainhike, every day

·         Clean the windows

·         Clean furniture

·         Clear out and sort the wardrobe

·         Review papers: getting ahead

·         Improve and edit tasks and exercises

·         Cook proper dinner every day

·         Write (for my own pleasure)

·         Clear out old toys

·         …. And then some

The list of things I would have loved to do, mostly because they are things you need to do to have a fairly organized home, was extensive.

Did I get any of it done? Nah, not really.

I did get the last flowerbed sorted out. Maybe I should explain why this is something I had to do: Thing is, through the last few years I have bought hundreds of flowerbulbs I never saw any sign of, after I had planted them. I couldn’t understand why, until I dug up a flowerbed to plant a plumtree. Deep down I found a lot of bulbs, which have slowly sunk into the ground. I wondered why, but a kind soul told me that soil is washed downwards into the ground, due to the land my house is built on is blasted rock.

So, what I had to do is to dig up my flowerbeds, put flowerbed fabric, and then add soil, before I plant the flowers and trees again, and new flowerbulbs (and the old ones I found). Very tedious, but I expect my garden will look stunning next spring.

Anyway, since school was out and my kids were at home I got a lot of help. Trust me: getting help doesn’t mean work is done fast. It took me several days to do something which would have taken me a few hours to do by myself.

In addition: many schoolchildren don’t go to before- and after-school care (my youngest do, but he wanted to stay at home because he knew I would be at home doing something he wanted to participate in…sigh. I can’t very well kill the initiative, can I?). The kids in the neighborhood knew I was at home, and my kids were at home, and they didn’t want to be alone at home while their own parents were at work (do you see where this is going?) so to make a long story short: I ended up having a house full of kids all week.

My kids had a lot more friends this week, than they usually have. They have a lot of friends (I feel blessed), but not the come-around-to-the-house-all-of-the-time kind of friends. The friends they have who come around are not plentiful. Just enough, and they are not moving in, so to speak.

One thing is to have playmates coming over. It is a totally different story when they show up before breakfast.

I can’t help but to be astonished by how messy some kids are when they eat. My dog had a feast which lasted for a week! And it took me quite some time to get the kitchen back in shape after each meal. Yes, we are talking breakfast, lunch and what we call dinner (we have supper in the evening). I could have chosen not to set the table and invite them all, but in my house there is no tradition for doing that. Children need to have meals, at least that is my rule and philosophy.

A lot of my time was spent on all this. One thing is to serve my own kids, to serve a house full of kids is a totally different story.

I can tell my own kids to go get a glass of milk themselves, I can’t very well say that to strange kids. One thing is to know their way around my kitchen, another thing is to have kids rummage through my cupboards.

The hikes I was planning on, came to nothing. I could have told everyone to join me, but they didn’t have shoes or clothes fit for a hike. I didn’t want to leave the house either, so the plan failed.

When you try to do something, and are constantly interrupted, continuity is broken and things just don’t get done. Not in the speed you predicted, anyway.

Maybe I am just frustrated. Mostly because I see that keeping up the house and the garden really doesn’t get up to standards. I wish for so much more than what I have time to perform. Having a week off makes me predict a week of getting up-to-date. When it doesn’t happen, I just get disappointed in myself.

Thing is; this is nothing new. I should have learned what staying at home will be like, by now. What I really should have done was to plan on spending quality time with my kids.

A Teacher's Doodling

I always bring a writing pad with me when I go to meetings. Chances are there could be something important, I need to remember, said. I don’t bring my Ipad, as I haven’t got one, and I don’t bring my tablet (I have a gorgeous Android tablet). Many do.

I, on the other hand, know myself well enough to know I most likely will fall into the trap of “entertainment not on the agenda”, which is common to do.

I would play Sudoku, check on my Facebook for new updates, write on my blog, check headlines on various newspapers… I see many play Candy Crush and Farmville… even a game I never understood, but apparently; if you tap the screen 1000 000 times the egg will crack… and something will pop up.

Anyway, I got my writing pad and a pen. Very old fashion, but I imagine it keeps me attentive to a much larger extent than if I had some digital tool… or toy if you will.

But, and I am honest enough to admit this, so I should not be judged too harshly: I doodle.

My mother is a skilled talker on the phone. She can talk on the phone for quite some time. She doodles too. Her address book looks like something out of this world because when she is out of free space, she writes on top of what she wrote before. The pages are gradually turned blue and black, little by little, through the course of each conversation. She doesn’t make drawings or patterns; she writes words which catch her attention. Over and over again, until another word stands out. Quite fascinating, as you can follow the contents of her conversations by reading her doodling… if you can single out the words, that is.

There is something rude about withdrawing into a bubble, excluding yourself from what’s going on and embrace your own world. I think I pay attention, but sometimes the person next to me plucks the pen out of my hand to add something he or she thinks is funny or something I have missed or left out. For a split second I realize I to some extent entertain those surrounding me, as well as myself.

I searched on Wikipedia for doodling. It says that:

“A doodle is an unfocused or unconscious drawing made while a person's attention is otherwise occupied. Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be abstract shapes.

Stereotypical examples of doodling are found in school notebooks, often in the margins, drawn by students daydreaming or losing interest during class. Other common examples of doodling are produced during long telephone conversations if a pen and paper are available.

Popular kinds of doodles include cartoon versions of teachers or companions in a school, famous TV or comic characters, invented fictional beings, landscapes, geometric shapes and patterns, textures, banners with legends, and animations made by drawing a scene sequence in various pages of a book or notebook. Many geometric doodles are really subdivision rules, where you repeat the same pattern over and over in a nested way.”

Seems to me my mother and I are classical examples of doodlers.

I am kind of relieved reading this, as I notice (and get confirmation) that I still pay attention, as doodling doesn’t steal my attention. It is rather harmless, as opposed to focusing on a game or a social media. So I stick with my old fashion writing pad.

I found one of my old writing pads the other day. On top of each page there are optimistic headlines in bold size and font, telling what the meeting is about,  but then the rest of the page shows how fidgety my hands really are, and how busy my mind actually is.

There are symbols, like a heart, with additional supplemental features: legs, winking eyes, mouth, busy hair, a hat, a big smile… I have drawn caricatures of animals from behind. Entangled flower vines… quite pretty, but totally senseless and absurd. Yet kind of cheerful.

I don’t have any clue where I get it from; I don’t even really know how to draw. Being a teacher I am fully aware that most of us are kind of fully trained pastime psychologists. Well, no one can find out anything about me by trying to do some kind of  interpretation of my doodles. They are, indeed, like Wikipedia says: unfocused and unconscious. It slightly worries me that it takes place when students are daydreaming or losing interest during class, but only slightly.

Since I have this interest in words, I thought I would see what Wikipedia says about daydreaming. There is something romantic about daydreaming, like the beautiful girl; resting her chin in her hand and gazes into nothing. Well, the explaination is not quite that romantic:

“Daydreaming is a short-term detachment from one's immediate surroundings, during which a person's contact with reality is blurred and partially substituted by a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake.

…the characteristic that is common to all forms of daydreaming meets the criteria for mild dissociation.”

Ehm… dissociation? That doesn’t sound very attractive or positive, does it? Again Wikipedia:

"Boredome is whereas anxiety
is a state of uneasiness and apprehension,
boredom is a condition of mental weariness,
listlessness, and discontent. "

“Dissociation is a term in psychology describing a wide array of experiences from mild detachment from immediate surroundings to more severe detachment from physical and emotional experience. It is commonly displayed on a continuum. The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality – rather than a loss of reality as in psychosis. In mild cases, dissociation can be regarded as a coping mechanism or defense mechanisms in seeking to master, minimize or tolerate stress – including boredom or conflict”.

Further on, as I look up boredom, same source (A tiny bit embarrassing this, as I always tell my students to try other sources than Wikipedia: Find an authentic source, I tell them) with more worrying information:

“Boredom is an emotional state experienced when an individual is left without anything in particular to do, and not interested in their surroundings.”

Did I just now find out why my students are so eager to engage in social medias during my classes? That WORRIES me A LOT!