Further to my previous post, I am getting royally fed up with gossips. Quite why it is neccessary to take what someone's said, twist it slightly, and pass it on is beyond me. I am part of a country-wide network/community and gossip travels like wildfire within it. There is no six degrees of separation in it, it's more like two. So if something happens, everyone else knows about it. If something is said, you can guarantee you'll have a text from someone asking if it's true you said it...and more often than not, you didn't!
I'm not saying I'm an angel and that I've never heard something scandalous and passed it on. I'm also not claiming to have superhuman abilities to ensure that I remember things word for word and repeat them as such, without altering any inflection whatsoever.
I just do not understand why it's so effing difficult to keep one's mouth shut, and to not deliberately stir things.
Yours,
Claire "quite pissed off now" Routh.
Sunday 31 August 2008
Tuesday 26 August 2008
Secrets
I know I don’t know you
But I want you so bad
Everyone has a secret
But can they keep it
Oh no they can’t...
How good are you at keeping secrets? Both your own and those belonging to other people? Is it better to get them off your chest, as in the concept of "a problem shared is a problem halved", or do you believe it's best to keep these things to yourself?
I am rubbish at keeping my own secrets. Say I like someone- I invariably tell them, and invariably they don't return the feelings, but I never learn! Say I've done something I maybe shouldn't have (in a giggly eye-rolling naughty way)- I tell a friend who then berates me for it. I seem totally incapable of keeping things to myself...I try hard and then I open my mouth and just spill!
Other people's secrets, on the other hand, I'm good at keeping. There's some I've kept so long I've forgotten them, some I'm not even sure are secrets anymore, some are more recent and some I will never stop thinking about. My life revolves around trying to be a good friend- trying to make people happy. And keeping secrets is part of that, obviously, and I often find I'm keeping quiet about something that everyone else knows, anyway!
Postsecret. Clearly, a lot of people have secrets that are eating them up, and they feel they have to share them. Conversely, it may be that sharing helps others;
I think that when we read other people's secrets in your books, on your blog, or at your events, we read a secret we didn't know we had or a new look on things and a greater understanding that we already have and it just takes someone else's story to have it awakened.
We can look at people in the streets and see something we wouldn't have and think, "Maybe it was that person's secret." and then we feel more connected to people by realizing that maybe we all carry the same secrets.
So many people must have the same, or similar, secrets to other people, and only don't realise because they don't share them. I made a Postsecret once, and didn't send it, because in putting it on paper, it lost all its power, and eventually it came true. I still have it though, ready to send it, if needs be.
Perhaps, all the power of a secret is lost in the telling. Perhaps the power increases. I'm waffling. What do you think?
Well I heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this;
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
[...]
Well there was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me do you?
And remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah...
But I want you so bad
Everyone has a secret
But can they keep it
Oh no they can’t...
How good are you at keeping secrets? Both your own and those belonging to other people? Is it better to get them off your chest, as in the concept of "a problem shared is a problem halved", or do you believe it's best to keep these things to yourself?
I am rubbish at keeping my own secrets. Say I like someone- I invariably tell them, and invariably they don't return the feelings, but I never learn! Say I've done something I maybe shouldn't have (in a giggly eye-rolling naughty way)- I tell a friend who then berates me for it. I seem totally incapable of keeping things to myself...I try hard and then I open my mouth and just spill!
Other people's secrets, on the other hand, I'm good at keeping. There's some I've kept so long I've forgotten them, some I'm not even sure are secrets anymore, some are more recent and some I will never stop thinking about. My life revolves around trying to be a good friend- trying to make people happy. And keeping secrets is part of that, obviously, and I often find I'm keeping quiet about something that everyone else knows, anyway!
Postsecret. Clearly, a lot of people have secrets that are eating them up, and they feel they have to share them. Conversely, it may be that sharing helps others;
I think that when we read other people's secrets in your books, on your blog, or at your events, we read a secret we didn't know we had or a new look on things and a greater understanding that we already have and it just takes someone else's story to have it awakened.
We can look at people in the streets and see something we wouldn't have and think, "Maybe it was that person's secret." and then we feel more connected to people by realizing that maybe we all carry the same secrets.
So many people must have the same, or similar, secrets to other people, and only don't realise because they don't share them. I made a Postsecret once, and didn't send it, because in putting it on paper, it lost all its power, and eventually it came true. I still have it though, ready to send it, if needs be.
Perhaps, all the power of a secret is lost in the telling. Perhaps the power increases. I'm waffling. What do you think?
Well I heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this;
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
[...]
Well there was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me do you?
And remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah...
Monday 11 August 2008
Heartbreak Hotel
Lately, a lot of my friends seem to be having their hearts broken. Being unwanted, being dumped, getting messed around, being led on, falling for the wrong person, being hurt. Feeling hurt. Pain refusing to fade even after time has passed.
Not sure why now...why this time of year...it's very sad.
Is it just us?
Hey now, if your baby leaves you,
And you got a tale to tell.
Just take a walk down lonely street
To heartbreak hotel.
Not sure why now...why this time of year...it's very sad.
Is it just us?
Hey now, if your baby leaves you,
And you got a tale to tell.
Just take a walk down lonely street
To heartbreak hotel.
Friday 8 August 2008
The right thing
Have you ever really wanted to do something despite knowing it wasn't a sensible idea in the long run?
And have you ever dragged from somewhere the strength of mind to do the right thing, and then felt sick and sad that you hadn't done the wrong thing, even though, as above, you know it would make you sad?
I know it's the right thing. But it feels so wrong.
And have you ever dragged from somewhere the strength of mind to do the right thing, and then felt sick and sad that you hadn't done the wrong thing, even though, as above, you know it would make you sad?
I know it's the right thing. But it feels so wrong.
Saturday 2 August 2008
First, middle, other...
I was thinking (as I am wont to do, sometimes) about middle names. This came about because in the bellringing world, it is sort of an unwritten rule that in formal things (such as lists of tower members, and records of quarter peals and peals), you use your middle initial as well as your full name.
(I've blurred out parts of the names of people who I don't know all that well for their privacy etc, though the above is publicly available on an uber-geeky website!)
Anyway, yes. This was my quarter from last Thursday because it gives me more to talk about than my quarter from the 31st! There's me, Claire H Routh, along with my mum, Maureen D Routh, and the other Firstname Middleinitial Lastname people.
Aside from ringing, I don't use my middle initial much, or indeed my middle name. I sometimes use it online for things when I need a username that I can remember- on DA, for example...but before that, I pretty much never used my middle name, and this leads me to ponder...what is the point of middle names?! It's sort of an outdated thing, but why did we have them in the first place?!
This leads me to my dad's name. As seen above, he is R Hugh Routh. My grandpa is R A Routh, my great-uncle is R M Routh, and various ancestors have initials such as RJR, RHR, RHMR, etc etc etc. The R stands for Robert and is the 'family' name...or at least it was. The idea was that all the men in the family were Robert, but were known by their middle name. I don't think, however, that I know anyone (relatives aside) now who is named in this way.
And some people don't have middle names. I can't help but feel sorry for them, despite pointing out above how pointless middle names seem to be! Roy, in the picture above, doesn't...but he's always said that his parents felt "LeMarechal" was enough for him to contend with! A few of my friends don't.
So, do you have a middle name? Do you ever use it? Will you give your children middle names, assuming you end up having children?
PS. My cousins are Amelia Lucy Rose Smith, and Florence Imogen Fuschia Smith. Overcompensation or what....?!
(I've blurred out parts of the names of people who I don't know all that well for their privacy etc, though the above is publicly available on an uber-geeky website!)
Anyway, yes. This was my quarter from last Thursday because it gives me more to talk about than my quarter from the 31st! There's me, Claire H Routh, along with my mum, Maureen D Routh, and the other Firstname Middleinitial Lastname people.
Aside from ringing, I don't use my middle initial much, or indeed my middle name. I sometimes use it online for things when I need a username that I can remember- on DA, for example...but before that, I pretty much never used my middle name, and this leads me to ponder...what is the point of middle names?! It's sort of an outdated thing, but why did we have them in the first place?!
This leads me to my dad's name. As seen above, he is R Hugh Routh. My grandpa is R A Routh, my great-uncle is R M Routh, and various ancestors have initials such as RJR, RHR, RHMR, etc etc etc. The R stands for Robert and is the 'family' name...or at least it was. The idea was that all the men in the family were Robert, but were known by their middle name. I don't think, however, that I know anyone (relatives aside) now who is named in this way.
And some people don't have middle names. I can't help but feel sorry for them, despite pointing out above how pointless middle names seem to be! Roy, in the picture above, doesn't...but he's always said that his parents felt "LeMarechal" was enough for him to contend with! A few of my friends don't.
So, do you have a middle name? Do you ever use it? Will you give your children middle names, assuming you end up having children?
PS. My cousins are Amelia Lucy Rose Smith, and Florence Imogen Fuschia Smith. Overcompensation or what....?!
Friday 1 August 2008
Titles
In my town there is a service run in the central carpark where a team of men wash cars while their owners are shopping etc. It's quite good value for money actually. Anyway, today I parked and one of the men approached me while I was buying my carparking ticket, and said "Would you like your car washed, madam?". I said no thank you, and smiled, and went on my way. But I was left pondering the way he'd addressed me; 'madam'.
I first noticed about six months ago that people such as ticket collectors on trains had begun to refer to me as 'madam' rather than 'miss'. It always makes me giggle somewhat as it brings to mind images of some sort of "Madam Whiplash" character. Anyway, clearly I look old enough now to be a madam rather than a miss...but what determines this?
Along these lines, about two years ago I applied for a new passport, and it's my first adult 10-year one, so it'll last me until I'm 28. Aside from the fact that I (hopefully!) won't look 18 when I'm nearly 30, I'm hoping that I might have got married by then...in which case I'd get a new passport, I presume. But I spent quite some time trying to decide whether to title myself 'miss' or 'ms'. I went for 'miss' in the end, purely because I liked the sound of it better. But I'm not sure whether I'll still want to be Miss Claire Routh when I'm 28...maybe I'll feel like Ms Claire Routh then instead. It sounds older, somehow...more mature. Men have it easy! Nobody uses 'master' anymore so boys are 'Mr' from when they're born till they die...nothing changes when they marry, and they don't have this confusion of 'miss' vs 'ms'.
So then, ladies...are you a 'miss' or a 'ms', and can you see that changing?
Do you care how you are addressed, be it as 'madam', 'miss', or 'oi, you!'?
Men/boys/guys/chaps/lads...do you wish there was an equivalent of the 'miss'->'ms'->'mrs' progression for you?
And why are men addressed as 'sir' anyway? That's not the equivalent of 'madam'...wait, what is the equivalent of 'madam'?!
Ahh, linguistics... <3
I first noticed about six months ago that people such as ticket collectors on trains had begun to refer to me as 'madam' rather than 'miss'. It always makes me giggle somewhat as it brings to mind images of some sort of "Madam Whiplash" character. Anyway, clearly I look old enough now to be a madam rather than a miss...but what determines this?
Along these lines, about two years ago I applied for a new passport, and it's my first adult 10-year one, so it'll last me until I'm 28. Aside from the fact that I (hopefully!) won't look 18 when I'm nearly 30, I'm hoping that I might have got married by then...in which case I'd get a new passport, I presume. But I spent quite some time trying to decide whether to title myself 'miss' or 'ms'. I went for 'miss' in the end, purely because I liked the sound of it better. But I'm not sure whether I'll still want to be Miss Claire Routh when I'm 28...maybe I'll feel like Ms Claire Routh then instead. It sounds older, somehow...more mature. Men have it easy! Nobody uses 'master' anymore so boys are 'Mr' from when they're born till they die...nothing changes when they marry, and they don't have this confusion of 'miss' vs 'ms'.
So then, ladies...are you a 'miss' or a 'ms', and can you see that changing?
Do you care how you are addressed, be it as 'madam', 'miss', or 'oi, you!'?
Men/boys/guys/chaps/lads...do you wish there was an equivalent of the 'miss'->'ms'->'mrs' progression for you?
And why are men addressed as 'sir' anyway? That's not the equivalent of 'madam'...wait, what is the equivalent of 'madam'?!
Ahh, linguistics... <3
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