Some days I think I'm getting a little wiser as I get older - other times I feel like I know nothing at all. Like I know that I have forgotten everything I ever knew about maths, which of course I studied in school, up to the age of eighteen - I mean, that's approximately thirteen years of education that has just evaporated! Poof! Gone! Actually I know I'm really stressed when I dream that I have to resit my Leaving Cert maths exams. Luckily that doesn't happen so much anymore.
Recently I've been learning lots about new crafts and creative things - quilting, crochet, dressmaking - or ones that are new to me, at any rate, and also about tech stuff. For example, I found out what a permalink is. Now I know how to refer to this post, which ostensibly would have been perfectly appropriate for the L post in Alphabet August but of course I couldn't wait - and it seems like a cheat to say "Oh well I'm just doing some of them out of sequence". I've been playing about with Flickr and I was really peeved to think that I had almost run out of space for this month after loading a small group of photos, as I can't quite justify upgrading to a Pro account (it's not a high priority for my limited budget at the moment). Then I took the time to ferret about a bit and worked out how to resize the photos - so while the five 'Green is beautiful' shots gobbled up 35% of my allocation, the next one I posted took only 1%. Result! I should be able to complete the rest of the 'Year of Color' weeks for August with my lickle slice of bandwidth. So it's worth taking the time. There's also joining groups, following 'conversations' where someone has replied to one of my comments etc - and I think there's a lot more stuff to be found under the 'organize' tab... and one of my most lucrative finds to date has been following links. From lists of favourite sites and resources on blogs that I like, from people's profiles in Flickr to their own blogs, and from the lovely people who've left comments on here. (Can I just say how much I appreciate it, that you took the time? I get ludicrously excited when I get a little Typepad email saying [this great gal] left you a comment...)
Pixie's blog is lyrical, cheerful and thought provoking. Her post entitled 'Raewyn' made me think about loved ones and how I have some lapsed friendships, where I've let time pressures and general laziness get the better of me when it comes to meeting up with people and how sad I'd be if I found they weren't around any more to be my lunch buddy, or my email* pal, and how important it is to address this. Coincidentally, over the past week I've called up or got in touch with four old friends that I don't see so much anymore, and of course it has been rewarding. So dig out the address book/the email contacts/the stored numbers in the mobile and get in touch with someone you haven't seen for ages. Just because you can.
*Can I lament the sad demise of the letter? Nothing makes me happier than to get 'real' post and even though I've been guilty of it myself, I've tried to start writing letters and cards again rather than using email or the phone. Heavy stock stationery, (I can dream) a Cross fountain pen with purple ink, a postage stamp with a pretty image - how can an 'inbox' really compare...
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