Personal vs career

Last night Kay made one of those comments that I absolutely love her for. Perhaps I enjoyed the comment just because I want to hear it. But I like to believe I enjoyed it because it’s true.
On third thoughts, perhaps I enjoyed it because I want to hear it and it’s true. They’re not necessarily [...]

Intro vs outro

‘You have a way with words’ my wife said after defusing an extremely volatile situation with my (sometimes) thoughtless mother-in-law.
Since childhood I have been able to influence – manipulate is so unnecessarily negative – the feelings and emotions of my family. Practising on my brother, I was able to make him cry at will. I [...]

In defense of pen and paper

The problem with online journalling is that I can’t always write down things as I think of them. Perhaps the old pen-and-paper routine with a little pocketbook has its advantages?
To be honest, though, it’s not really a problem of the medium, but rather the environment. I am connected for most of my day. In fact [...]

Children and the wall of China

From Boswell’s ‘The life of Samuel Johnson’:
He [Johnson] expressed a particular enthusiasm with respect to visiting the wall of China. I [Boswell] catched it for a moment, and said I really believed I should go and see the wall of China had I not children, of whom it was my duty to take care. ‘Sir, [...]

Valuable things

Oh, the true value of things.
Working from home again today afforded me the opportunity to fetch Donna from school. This is her last week of only two full days’ school – next week it’s full day, every day. Despite some threatening clouds I loved walking the bit more than a mile to school, and of [...]

A dark and stormy night

What a terrible title for something truly terrifying.
Surely this is one of my darkest and most stormy nights. I am always reminded of the honourable Winston Churchill, who referred to his moods as ‘the black dog’. when I am low as I am tonight, I have barely enough energy left to fully appreciate that troublesome [...]

Cory does well

I’m impressed with Cory, but also more than a little envious. His new book of SF short stories is out, and he’s been nominated for numerous awards including a Hugo. In addition to this he writes for some of the best publications in the United States, and he is also the founder of the influential [...]

Station in life

Is there perhaps not a reason why human civilisation have always had a class system? If happiness is dependant upon competition and outdoing your neighbour, then maybe clss structures are natural hierarchies for human beings?
I agree with Samuel Johnson’s take on the matter when he states that a person should know his position in society. [...]

Sometimes tough

Ever since my in-laws visited, I’ve had some tough spells where I honestly do miss our old home. Stupid little things like the supermarket on the corner or the shopping mall.
Perhaps I miss the people as well, but I suspect I cannot admit to that yet – I might not be able to handle it [...]

Ambitions

We watched ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ tonight, and it surprised me with its theme of work/life balance.
Of course, the mere term ‘work/life’ balance is so skewed: it implicates either one or the other, and that the opposite of ‘work’ must be ‘life’. Nonsense!
Although, in all honesty, I still struggle on a daily basis with my [...]