Twitter

Back in April, I blogged about Facebook and what my thoughts on it were.  I also mentioned Twitter and how pointless I found it.  I have to confess, at the time I was heavily into Second Life (as I had been on and off for the last 3 years -mostly on) so the time I spent on Facebook was rather limited and I really didn't care to spend much time trying to figure out Twitter.  Well, as things evolve and change, I finally managed to move away from Second Life.  I won't say I'll never go back, because it's nice to stick my little pixel avatar's head in there every now and then just to wave hello to some of the people I have grown to love and some I do truly miss.  But the pull that it had for me has gone and there are days (weeks?) that go by that I don't even think about it.
So, that left me wondering back to Facebook and I started gaming again too - I'm one of those people who cannot just sit there and do nothing, I need stimulation and will constantly search for something to engage my mind and imagination - and more recently I ventured over to twitter and spent a little bit of time trying to figure it out.

My initial impressions of Twitter was that it was a tool to stalk so-called celebrities or people you admired.   So I wondered around and 'followed' and then 'unfollowed' people and tweeted occasionally, but it still left me scratching my head trying to understand the whole point of it was.  Then, one day the penny dropped.

I started to follow like minded people and my little network started to grow.  Anyone that knows me or has followed this blog will know my aspirations to be a novelist.  And this was the 'type' of people I started to follow.  Novelist, poets, artist, and aspiring writers like me.  Twitter has now become my chief source of inspiration.  The people I have met there - some follow me back, some I just follow, - inspire me with their work.  I read their books, their blogs, admire their art and look forward to their publication dates.  I read their tweets and realise that this could be me.  One day. And I itch to do my own work.

More recently I have met a bunch of ladies - incredibly talented the lot of them - who I tweet with daily.  We are all like-minded and spend quite a lot of time talking about our daily lives and current affairs and I have grown to really enjoy my time spent with them and look forward to catching up with each of them daily.  We have joked around and started to call ourselves the PJ club (pyjama club) in reference to the Christmas season and wanting to all hang out in our PJ's in front of the fire and just chill out or write or do whatever makes us happy.  One of them (I won't mention her name unless she gives me the green light to do so) recently came up with an idea and has started a unique blog for all of us, and in a matter of hours she had me writing a poem for it.  I haven't written any poetry since 2009!  It certainly isn't the best one I've done - I'm somewhat out of practice - but it did get the creative juices flowing and I am so pleased about that and grateful to her for pushing me.  I'm grateful to all of them.  I don't know if they realise how they inspire me.

So, now Twitter is my latest addiction.  I spend hours there and really enjoy it.  As I type this entry I'm twitching to head over to twitter and catch up!  I'm eager to go to the other blog too and see if anything has been posted since I've been away.  I look forward to catching up with the PJ club ladies and tweeting with them. Mostly I look forward to being further inspired.  Its the eve of 2012 and my one and only resolution for this new year is to make a decent start to my first novel.  I have all the tools I need on twitter on how to proceed, how to get published and who to talk to. There are so many people there who offer advice and who have been where I am now.  The inspiration is invaluable and I'm truly grateful for everyone of them.

Bx

What I have learned

Many moons ago, (2001) I wrote a few points on lessons I thought were important in life.  I was just re-reading them this afternoon and thought that they all still applied, as much now as they did then.  So I thought I would re post it here.

Perhaps you have some you could add to them? If so, comment and let me know

What I have learnt 

- I've learnt the people will surprise you and sometimes shock you. Those you trusted and respected may quite easily be the ones to stab you in your back, and those you considered strangers, will often turn out to be your rock.

- I've learnt that patience is truly a virtue. Sometimes, no matter how badly you want something you have to resign yourself to wait. All the best things in life come to those that wait, and that is no cliche.

- I've learnt that there are things in life that are truly petty, and ought to be put away or thrown out as petty. When in life, there are so many important issues to deal with, anytime arguing over the petty, is precious time wasted.

- I have learnt not to judge people. Neither by their actions nor their words. The only one who's happiness I have any say over is my own. And by not judging others, I will not lend an ear to those that gossip about me. Only I can make my own decisions and no one else can be held responsible for them.

- I've learnt that my mother is not only my mother but also my best friend. I've learnt that even though she may not always agree with that which I do or say, she will always stand behind me and be there for me. I only hope that one day my children will see that same person in me.

- I've learnt that nothing just falls into your lap. If there are things in your life that you want, you need to fight and/or work for it. Those of us who have dreams should realise that as long as we are only dreaming and not acting, they will always remain only dreams.

- I've learnt that life is not easy and that everything depends on your outlook to things. The road of life is filled with holes and pitfalls and if I should stay down once I've fallen into one, life will only trample me as it passes me by. One needs to get straight up, dust one's self off and carry on, keeping eyes steadfastly focused ahead.

- I've learnt that nobody lives forever and that each and everyone of us will ultimately die. Saying this we are reminded that we only have one life. What decisions we make and how we choose to live our lives will all result in either our happiness or unhappiness.

- I've learnt that its useless holding onto the past. Memories, trinkets or souvenirs, will only hold us back and make it that much harder to move on. Every waking day should be embraced as a new start.

- I've learnt not to be afraid of change. Some of the biggest decisions in our lives involve huge, life altering decisions. Making these changes, no matter how scary sometimes, may be the best move you ever made.

- In saying that, I've also learnt that nothing in this life is guaranteed. That most times we live in uncertainty of what the outcome of our choices may be. But always remember, spending the rest of your life wondering "what if i had..." is no better and perhaps even worse than picking up and starting over. And by starting over and learning from your mistakes, you gain valuable life experience.

- I've learnt to smile at myself, to recognise that nobody is perfect and without fault, least of all me. To realise that I do make mistakes, will make many more, but to recognise them and to deal with them.

- Lastly, I've learnt that no matter how old I get, I will never stop learning the valuable lessons that life has to give me.

Look up

I said I would, and I did.
Look up, you will see a new tab in the navigational menu.
Please click on the Poetry tab and take a look.  This is all old work of mine that I copied off my old websites.

Feel free to comment on any that you like/hate/whatever

Bx

Finger Doom

I am so frustrated.  I had all these plans!  And then I went and got my finger (ring finger, left hand) crushed in a door.  This happened during a drunken Christmas party in London two weeks ago. 
On the plus side, at least I was full of alcohol at the time.  Because of that I never felt a thing and found the whole finger drama very amusing.  I especially giggled when I spurted blood over everyone and everything.  I have not seen so much blood (in real life that is) in my life!  My co-workers were taken aback and were rather shocked when they saw me after my first A&E visit and the term Texas Chainsaw Massacre came up a few times in conversation at the sight of me and my hotel room.  So, thank God for alcohol which helped make the whole thing pretty pain free. (At the time)
On the down side, (and this is the side that tips the scales) had it not been for the booze, I probably would have:
a) Seen the door
b) Not bled like a slaughtered animal
c) Have had to undergo plastic surgery to fix my finger (It's still kinda gross (I saw it post-op for the first time yesterday))
d) Have had to pop pain killers for the last 2 weeks due to how painful it is, and most importantly for me,
e) Being able to still type at the speed that I do and with the normal accuracy that I do

This is why I am so frustrated!
I spend ages typing with one finger, and spend twice the amount of time having to go back and correct the errors.  I have heard myself softly growling under my breath in the pure irritation of it all.  Worse is, I was going to use this Christmas break to begin working on my novel.  Its all in my head, but I would go insane trying to type it in this state.  Sooo slow and I would loose half the plot whilst I go back and spend 5 minutes trying to correct the spelling on a single word where I keep pressing the wrong keys!

Perhaps I should give it a go anyway.  I fear though that I would end up punching the computer screen at the frustration at not being able to get out the words quickly enough and end up with a bandaged hand!  Well, I guess that wouldn't make things much worse.

Anyway, there you have it, rant over with.  Its taken me over half an hour to type this blog entry, but on the plus side, At least I got out of wrapping Christmas presents this year. :)

If I don't blog again before Christmas, I wish you a happy and peaceful one.  I for one, cannot wait to unwrap 11.22.63 by Stephen King!!!

Bx

Race hate

So I guess just about anyone who is breathing and over the age of, say 10 years old, has probably seen the video on Youtube of the crazy British woman on a tram from London to Croydon this week?  The one entitled 'My tram experience'?  I would have posted the video url here, but, well, as I said, everyone has probably seen it by now, and besides I don't  really want to blight this page with smut like that.  And I'm sorry, but that is truly how I see this video.  My colleagues were talking about it in the office the other day and we all hopped onto Youtube to see what the fuss was about, and my mouth literally hung open in shock when I watched it.  Other than the fact that she was clearly drunk and/or stoned and also, aside from the fact that she had a little boy on her lap, she was fearless and clearly insane.  Well, I chose the word insane because one would have to be in order to sit there and pick on a tram full of people - full of multiracial people - and swear and spew racial abuse at them.  Yes, I understand she has been arrested 'for her own safety' I am told, and this is probably for the best.  I am sure when she came down from whatever she was on and I'm sure, on viewing the video of herself on Youtube, she was mortified.  Well, one can only hope.  But, my heart goes out to that little boy.  What kind of environment will he be growing up in?  Where he will be taught that hating someone just because they don't speak the same language or because they have a different colour skin is the acceptable thing to do.  This is the 21st century.  Our planet is getting smaller and smaller with every new advancement of technology and we all live in it, right on top of each other.  Where will you be if you cannot accept that the town/country/planet where you live is made up of many different types of people.  If you cannot be accepting of that, then i'm sorry, but its your life that is going to be hard to live. You, the racist.

I was born in a country where race hate was very much a part of my background.  Everyone knows the history South Africa has with 'apartheid'.  Its not pretty and I am not proud.  But just because you grow up with it doesnt mean you have to be like that.  We are nothing, if not the makers of our own fate/destiny.  We are nothing, if not responsible for our own lives and happiness and thats why I chose not to be racist. Its a conscience decision that ultimately means that I don't carry issues of hate around with me.  Yes, people piss me off sometimes.  Yes, I get mad and swear at people sometimes, but I don't have issues with who they are, just some things that they do.  And I don't give a damn what colour they are or what language they speak or in which country they were born. And I will tell you this, being accepting of people makes you a happier person.  I don't want to walk around with hate in my heart and I don't know why anyone would choose to.  Ultimately, it is you who will be miserable in yourself and I can only hope that little boy makes his own decisions and does not grow up into an adult believing the hate his mother spews or worse, that he becomes just like her.