I Love My MP3

I recently found a published list of etiquette rules for ipods and mp3 players. I'm sure I've broken most of them.
One of the hardest thing for me to remember is that just because I can't hear something happening in my non mp3 world, doesn't mean others can't.
So if I need to do a little (and by little I mean feminine, cutesy and barely there of course!) burp, I need to think twice about doing it while I have my headphones in... especially if I'm sitting on a quiet train at the time.

And before your mind goes there, there are no other bodily noises I'm referring to apart from the aforementioned burp and perhaps clearing of the throat, sniff or cough!

So with that out of the way, I want to give you the list as shown here

"Wearing earphones is like hanging a “do not disturb” sign off your nose."

Oh lordy if that isn't a reason to leave those earphones in my ears all fricken day!!

"Take note of your surroundings. It may be fine to use your iPod on the commute (in a relatively anonymous public space), but it’s more difficult to use it in the break room at work."

Duly noted and already abiding by that one.

"Respect no-Pod zones. Mp3 players are unwelcome at weddings, funerals, and other gatherings, and also in classrooms or places of worship."

Oh I don't know… if you can do it discreetly, without anyone knowing you're doing it, I'm all for it!! ESPECIALLY if you’re in an intolerably boring situation…

"Be a professional. If you work in the customer-service industry, iPods are out."

Yeah, yeah. Got it. Do it.

"Remove your ear buds to interact. Removing only one ear bud signals that you hope a conversation won’t last too long."

Hmm... Well I half do that… I take one ear bud out and I do sometimes hope the conversation won't last too long!

"Keep the volume moderate."

Well I thought I was doing this one until my daughter exclaimed "mum why have you got that thing up so loud!" and I didn't think I had it loud at all!!! I put that one down to old age hearing loss… sadly…

"Don’t get funky on us. Yes, we know you like music. We can see that it moves you the way your head is bopping about"

Check.

"Establish your own musical tastes."

Now that one was too dumb to be in the list.

"Share the airspace"

N/A

"Avoid downloading on shared networks."

Preston and Steve podcasts and my own music are all I listen to these days!

So there you go. What did you think of that list?

Have any more rules to add?

Being remembered...

The older I get, the more I can see myself turning into that eccentric old woman that the kids snicker about, behind her back... Actually, kids are far more brazen about their ridicule these days than they were when I was younger so strike off that "behind her back" part!

But the reason I say that is because I simply don't care anymore. I don't care if other people think I'm strange, as long as I'm doing what I want to do, and not causing harm to anyone else, who cares right?

Is this how eccentric old people feel?

Do old eccentric people even know they're eccentric?

Now there's a question!

One things for sure, they stand out in the crowd and are remembered...

I've got to be remembered for something!

It's all about attitude

It's been another crazy sort of day...

The type that makes you question whether there's currently a full moon!

I must be in a good state of mind though because I didn't get my back up and just talked the imbeciles customers through their problems.

That's not to say I wasn't hung up on. In fact two customers hung up on me today. Usually I become indignant when that happens. How dare they! But today I just let it ride and laughed it off. Nothing much more I could do about it.

So why, when everything around me is testing my frustration limit, am I coping?

Because I'm distracted!

All I can think about is recording this new song tomorrow!

Unfortunately I have the habit of having a "near enough is good enough" attitude and I really don't want to that with this song because I really really like it! Deno wrote the words as he did with "More To Me" and he did such a fantastic job. I'm looking forward to creating more songs with him. I think he's enjoying being part of this creative process too. He's always had a way with words. I normally find that part difficult. My lyrics tend to be flighty and unmemorable. Deno's have meaning.

A few nights ago he showed me the lyrics to this song I'll be recording on the weekend. I was singing away, testing how they would fit with the music I'd created.

"I love it" I exclaimed.

But then he asked "Do you get it? Do you know what it means"

"No" I replied, "but it's deep enough that people will extract whatever meaning they want out of it."

He tried to explain it to me but it was late and... well to be honest I didn't retain the information... but still, can't wait to sing it on the weekend!

Awkward Dinner Guests

Wow did we just have an interesting dinner experience...

Today Deno and I dropped in on one of his friends who is going through a pretty hard time. This friend is a bohemian type... artistic, with the eccentricities to prove it. Add to this the fact that he was in an accident fifteen years ago that left him a little brain damaged, and the fact that he has a substantial drug and alcohol habit... well, lets just say we're not dealing with a full tank here!

But he's a nice enough fellow. He would do whatever he could for you. He's sincere and has some interesting philosophical thoughts.

So as he was talking about his recent set of unfortunate circumstances I felt that we should invite him to dinner.. so I did....

The last time the kids had seen this guy was about six months ago. At that time, Josh still had short spiky hair. Now he's been letting it grow and it looks pretty good but it's completely different to how it was before. Sarah of course is a teenager and her looks change as often as the weeks do.. (Love ya honey)
So when our dinner guest arrived and Josh answered the door, he almost thought he was at the wrong house! He came in and saw Sarah and his jaw dropped even more... He was still reeling from having seen Deno's new longer hair style earlier in the day! Luckily for me, I still looked "normal"... frizz and all!!

So he spent the next thirty minutes going on and on about how different everyone looked. While the rest of us ate.

As I mentioned before, we're not dealing with someone on a full tank so it's not like you could just tell him to get on with it..

He started getting into boy/girl type stuff with Sarah and Josh... it was bordering on inappropriate but Sarah and Josh know what he's like and Deno and I were there...
Our dinner guest apologised for his behaviour before heading into his next inappropriate statement.

We were five around our round dinner table but our guest had one half of it, and Deno, Sarah, Josh and I were around the other half. That should give you a little idea of what we were dealing with tonight!

He's harmless but by god will we have some interesting memories from tonight!
No other dinner will ever compare to the one we just had that's for sure!

Images of A Mother

I thought it only fitting to write about Mothers seeing as it is Mothers Day on Sunday 10th May.

I received an email during the week that states our thoughts about mum during the stages of our life and thought how true it was!

Here’s a copy of it for anyone interested

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mummy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mum knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.

14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.

16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.

18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!

25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!

35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mum's opinion.

45 YEAR S OF AGE - Wonder what Mum would have thought about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mum.

I saw this email for the first time when I was in my late twenties and thought the descriptions were pretty accurate. Now that I’m on the other end of the mother/child relationship, I’m seeing the “my mother doesn’t really know much” attitude coming in. Although it can be frustrating at times, I know it’s just a step in life’s journey and try to take it all with a pinch of salt (and a large glass of wine!)

Watching them grow from a child to pre teen, to pre adult brings about new emotions that are sometimes hard to deal with. I find myself often wondering what my own mother thought as I made that journey into adulthood, no longer having to rely on her for my day to day living.Yes it’s true, we think once we hit our early twenties we know everything, and certainly more than our old fashioned parents but something happens during the mid twenties and we start to realise that perhaps there is a bit of wisdom in what mamma has to say.

No body will love you as unconditionally as your own mother. And I’m sure Mothers Day will come and go with barely a “Happy Mothers Day” from my kids but I know the time will come when they’ll value what I have to say a little more than perhaps they do today. And I’m happy enough seeing them grow into the wonderful children they are, not perfect but who is?

And finally, the email had a few sentences about what “real” mothers were like. Can you think of any more?

Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up.

Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade... It is marked by the progression of Mummy to Mum to Mother...

Exposing Myself

Those who've seen me on facebook may be aware that I've started trying to write and record songs again. I did this quite a bit in my younger years (oh how sad does that sound!) and recently had fun reviving some of my old songs and creating a couple of new ones.

The trouble with writing songs is that you're exposing your emotions. Whatever you write or sing, if you want to come across as genuine, has to be real to you.

But then everyone who hears my song will know what I'm thinking... at least, what I may have been thinking when I wrote the song.
I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that!

The latest song I wrote is "I like that". I drew on my memories of when Deno and I first met. Actually it was nice to think back to those times and remember our first few months together.
But what about the times he makes me really angry? I'm sure I make him really angry at times too but there's not too much of a chance that he's going to go off and write a song about it! (Love ya Deno)
So do I stifle my creativity to respect my man and marriage?

The simple answer is this.
Every song that is lovey dovey is about you my honey bear Deno, and every song that is negative is about people that I knew before you were in my life.
That sounds about right to me!

Now, what can I write about next?

More Customer Stories

1. I don't know why a customer would call me at 11am, telling me his job was supposed to be done today so where is the service person?
Seriously.
So when I tell him that it's still today, why is he surprised?
Today means any time today!!! Today doesn’t mean at 9am sharp! It mean any time during the day!
And it's certainly not something you'd be questioning at 11am is it?

2. Can someone please explain how a customer can not pay a CENT since being established in August 2008, and then be verbally abusive with me over the phone for his account being disconnected? To my credit I remained incredibly calm.
But how could ANYone, not pay anything for over six months and then be indignant and think they have anything to stand on when I say I won't reconnect them? How do you get to be like that??? I don't get it!

3. Today a lady called me and told me her daily meter readings for the last two weeks. That's right, she keeps a record (for herself) so that she knows how much her meter moves every day. She was calling me because she expected her meter to have only moved 3 or 4 units but it moved 10 units over night and she didn't think that was right.
Can you imagine my jaw dropping? Seriously, isn't there more important things in this world? To add to the stupidity, this woman also told me she'd bought a new heater and had had it on during the night… Only three hours…
Did she think it was an unmetered appliance? I mean come on!

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