The dog was asking how my blogging was going and I said, “Yeah, it’s ok thanks – coming along nicely”.
So he wanted to take a look.
“Wot you need is annuver pic of me, mum, the punters will love that”
I told him my blog wasn’t all about him and to start his own if he wanted people to look at him.
But he wasn’t having any of it and insisted that I post up this shot of him, taken a couple of years ago when he was going through his ‘mod’ phase
(His Lambretta was parked just out of shot)
A friend of mine is having trouble with men. Well, the main trouble is she doesn’t have one. For a date I mean, not for general purposes….
She is beginning to despair and says her flirting techniques are responsible for her lack of success
So, ever the helpful friend, I suggested she tries the old ‘seven second stare’ trick
Now, I can’t remember who came up with this theory, a psychologist somewhere, but the idea is that if you can hold someone’s gaze for seven seconds, you’ve got them. When I say ‘got them’ I mean, you have made a connection and it is much more likely that the encounter will go further. In other words – you’ve pulled
It is actually quite difficult to maintain eye contact with someone for that long – try it – but the theory says, if you are attracted to someone and they you, and you do the seven second stare, you will pull (or something like that, I can’t remember the exact rules). Anyway, basically, seven seconds is the critical time period for attracting a member of the opposite sex (or same sex if you are that way inclined)
A few words of warning for those of you wishing to try this though
DON’T STARE. There is a profound difference between GAZING at someone and STARING. If they don’t return your gaze after seven seconds, give up. Otherwise you are liable to be arrested for harassment or stalking
DON’T do this when drunk. It is rather difficult to focus so you may well end up cross-eyed. Not an attractive look….
DON’T do this to people you don’t fancy. That awkward moment when you have to tell them you thought they were someone else is not one you want to experience
However, if you choose your ‘target’ carefully, follow the rules and do the seven second stare, you will have a date in no time
Trust me
It really works!!!
Go on – try it!!! You know you want to now!!!
This site allows you to see the stats for your blog, that is, it tells you how many views per day, what posts have had most views and comments, etc. All very interesting
But the statistic I find most fascinating is the search engine statistic
I have discovered that there are a surprisingly large number of people worldwide who put in the search term STATIONERY
And I don’t just mean in English. I’ve had all sorts, Arabic, Vietnamese – all googling stationery in their own language (I know because I’ve used the translate button to see what they’ve been searching) and finding their way to my blog
Who would have thought that stationery was so popular? I wrote about my own love of paper a while ago – Wanna buy some…..paper?
Well, I thought I was the only one with a paper fetish!
OBVIOUSLY NOT!!!!
A spring day in Maldon, Essex
Having sorted out the mystery of the faulty central locking system on my car, I started noticing a KERCLUNKING sort of noise on closing the door. I did the obvious – checked that there was nothing rattling around in the glove compartment or the side pockets and established it wasn’t anything silly like that
I decided to pretend it wasn’t happening until it got to the point where I couldn’t start the car one day. This attitude is probably not the most sensible (it resulted in a cam belt disaster on my previous motor) but it is how I roll…..
So anyway, this afternoon I left a meeting, got into my car, and was greeted by the now strangely comforting KERCLUNK when I shut the door. What I didn’t expect was the KNOCKITY KNOCK noise that went on for a couple of minutes after that
Oooo dear, I thought. Something is about to FALL OFF
Always the risk taker though, I decided it wasn’t going to stop me going home
However, at some point during my journey, after remembering the horrific moment when my cam belt broke and I ‘fizzled’ to a stop on a motorway, I started to worry again
I convinced myself the car was veering to the right (I did this by letting go of the steering wheel and observing the direction the car went in – it went to the right – the fact we were on a bend is neither here nor there)
By the time I was almost home I decided that something MUST have fallen off the steering mechanism – it was the only explanation!
So I phoned my garage, who know me well, and asked if I could swing by (in a veering rightward sort of way)
After a lot of door shutting and opening and a bit of a fiddle about, they decided that I probably have a ‘wobbly pollen filter’. Ok, they didn’t say that exactly but that’s my interpretation of it
I haven’t a clue what that means
But it isn’t life-threatening. Or, indeed, car threatening
I have to use the ‘recycle’ facility on my air vent system for the next few days and see if it stops. If it does, we’re laughing. New pollen filter and it’s sorted. I now feel very eco-friendly, using my ‘recycle’ facility. Even though I am now having to breathe in OLD air
If it doesn’t stop, well, they’ll get to the bottom of it I suppose. As long as nothing falls off in the meantime….
Stupid car
Image via Wikipedia
That’s the time my eyes pinged open this morning. Again. I seem to wake before 6.00am nearly every day now. And, once I have woken, there is no going back to sleep again.
The time has gradually been getting earlier and earlier and if it carries on like this, I’ll be awake before I’ve gone to sleep by this time next year!!
I’m guessing it’s age related. Or hormones, or something.
But the truth is, I’ve never really enjoyed a lie-in since I had my children. The oldest is 29 this year so that’s a long time to go without a lie-in!!!
I mean, she doesn’t wake me up NOW, obviously. She doesn’t even live at home. But the legacy of being a mummy and having to get up early lives on. And, no matter how hard I try, I cannot force myself to stay asleep longer, or go back to sleep once I’m awake.
Well, unless I have to be somewhere first thing in the morning of course. Then you can bet your life my body will be pleading with me to let it sleep a bit longer.
Hmmmm….maybe the answer is to book early appointments at weekends. And set my alarm to wake me up to cancel them just before it is time to be there.
Now, where can I arrange to be at 9.00am on a Sunday morning……
Image via Wikipedia
So I was reading the latest posts and saw one about customising fonts and CSS yesterday.
Ooh, I thought, I must read this, since blogging is going to be my new, all-consuming hobby after I have finished my studies in a week’s time!! I already intend to upgrade to premium so that I can use different fonts so this seemed like a VERY IMPORTANT BLOG for me to be reading.
However, rather than inspire me, all it has done is make me realise how stupid I am! Well, as far as web-based thingies are concerned, at least!!
I have heard of CSS – It’s something I’ve been aware of for a long time, just like HTML and all those other abbreviations. I just never bothered to find out what they stood for…..
Having looked up CSS I find it stands for ‘Cascading Style Sheets’
I’m still none the wiser…..
(I can’t even work out how to link to the post I’m talking about!)
Clearly, I need to do some reading. This is a new language for me. I may have to go to evening classes or something.
Or should I just learn how to speak Spanish?
No real reason for this post other than to show you a photo I took
of some dead ivy twigs wrapped around a tree in the garden yesterday.
I thought they looked quite nice so I took a pic.
Call me old-fashioned but I can’t sit and read stuff on my screen. Well, not academic stuff anyway. I like to have that article in my hand, in paper form, to flick through and scribble on. I am sitting here surrounded by paper at the moment, my phone is somewhere under it all and possibly the dog as well, it’s that much of a muddle, but it suits me. I can sit here with my lap top in front of me, rummage around and read a paper, type something relevant and not have to keep switching screens or anything.
It costs a fortune in printer ink and paper and, yes, I know it isn’t environmentally friendly but I promise to take it all to the recycling place when I’ve finished. It is just so much nicer.
I’m not a technophobe, far from it. I certainly wouldn’t want to go back to the old days of having to HAND WRITE a dissertation! Shudder!!! It’s so simple now, a quick type, a spell check, a cut and paste and the track changes option (although I have to admit I find that a bit untidy). And you can’t beat having the whole world at your finger tips to do your research.
So, the pros of modern technology are how fast it is to write up something HUGE and how easy it is to do research.
The cons are that my new router seems to be having an off day so I cannot connect to the internet for much of the time at the moment.
The pros of the old-fashioned paper method are you don’t have to rely on your router working and it’s nice to have lots of lovely paper all round you (or is that just me with the paper fetish?)
The cons of the old-fashioned method are that you have to tidy it all away when it’s dinner time
Like now
I can talk. A lot. I have never found it difficult. There will be no awkward silences when I’m around, oh no. I can guarantee to fill the empty ‘space’ with words.
Possibly, I talk too much. Well, ok, yes I know I talk to much. I can’t help it. My mother talks too much and so does my sister. It’s genetic.
Funnily enough my occupation involves me listening so you might think I am not very good at my job but I do know when to be quiet if I have to.
I have friends (and indeed a partner) who do not like to talk much. Some are just not people of many words, for others, it is a confidence thing and for some, they just do not understand the art of conversation.
So, as is my way, here is yet another one of my ‘How to do it’ posts:
1. Be interested in other people. If you are genuinely interested, you should be curious.
2. Ask questions. Any questions will do but don’t get too personal. General stuff about where they have lived, what they do, how long for, is usually safe. Be aware of the context of your questions.
3. Don’t ask ‘closed questions’ – that is, questions that will only elicit a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. That kills a conversation dead!
4. Take your turn. When the question is answered, follow it up with your own answer to that question.
5. Plan ahead. If you know you are going somewhere that you might be required to be sociable, have a few topics up your sleeve to whisk out if the conversation dries up.
6. Most people have a tale to tell, so prepare a story in case you are asked.
7. Don’t worry about what other people think of you. You’re really not that boring!
8. If you are that boring, well, make it up.
9. Don’t drink copious amounts of alcohol – it doesn’t enhance your social skills, it just makes you say silly things. Or slur. Or fall over. Hic.
10. If you really don’t like talking, nod a lot, smile, and offer to get the drinks in (and watch other people slur or fall over).
So, there you have it. How to talk in ten easy steps.
The Flossie (Country) Files 