I regard myself as a very relaxed person but as I've gotten older I demand much more from myself. Gone are the days when I would lounge happily in bed all morning, then scratch my way to the kitchen for lunch before rocking down to the pub for some mischief later on. While they were great days at the time that needed to be done, I can be very self-critical now if I don't get anything much done with my day.
Unfortunately, I have to keep setting myself little tasks and targets or else my life begins to stall. If I have one thing to do all day, there's a good chance it won't happen. If I have several things to do, they will all be sorted plus a few extra things 'while I'm at it'. This was always the case. I couldn't achieve any level of consistency or application as a student for most of the year until exam time loomed and then I went into overdrive to the point of being 'nerdy'. I usually write down what has to be done and hugely enjoy the process of crossing out each chore afterwards (as the my Canadian friend used to say "that's so anal", but she knew someone who would even write things like 'wash teeth' just so they could cross it off).
I actually distrust myself quite a bit. Like the wife of an alcoholic who is forever teetering between extremes of vibrant sobriety and rampant intoxication, I have come up with little schemes to keep me on the straight and narrow. I'll put my alarm in some corner of the room so the lazy me won't hit the snooze button all morning or I'll hide €20 somewhere on my person before I go out, in case of an emergency, but not somewhere so easy that the drunk me could find leaning over a nightclub bar counter.
I don't think any less of myself for all this. At the moment, I'm being overloaded at work but managing to be more productive in more facets of my life than I have been for quite a while. Just have to keep looking straight ahead because if I stop for a moment to look down, it will be a quick fall
Showing posts with label Daily Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daily Life. Show all posts
Monday 3 September 2007
Wednesday 22 August 2007
Daily Life - Should I Stay or Should I go?
Just been reading Lance Armstrong's first book. He describes his early years as a teen competing against experienced athletes in triathlons. His determination and desire were heavily steeped in a reckless need to go faster and be first. He mentions how he used to 'race' traffic lights when still in high school - beating 5 in a row one day, narrowly missing the reds each time until the sixth when he was broadsided. After sustaining injuries that needed stitches in his foot, knee and head his doctor advised him to rest up for a few weeks and stay away from any training. 5 days later he took out most of the stitches and competed in a triathlon. He won the event and after the ensuing media coverage he received a letter from his doctor simply stating "I don't believe it". Later, he would win bike races with little regard for etiquette, tactics, or pain thresholds. Bull ignorance and power were driving him through the boundaries of what should or shouldn't be done on the bike. When he learned of his widespread cancer he treated it in much the same way, something to be obliterated, to be beaten.
If we all went around approaching our daily dilemmas with a bull-headed ignorance, we would just create a lot of hassle for ourselves. No doubt we would sort out a lot of the world's problems that way but there are times when you just have to let things go. Someone annoys you on a bus - e.g. texting with a beep sound just to make sure everyone knows they are texting - you look away, you turn on headphones, you change seats. The Lance approach would probably be to smash the phone. The correct approach would probably be to mention it to the person but people on public transport always seem to carry the potential threat of going psychotic at any moment. Conceding certain situations that are generally out of your control are the best way recipe for a hassle free life. As Kenny Rogers would say "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away and know when to run".
Have had a few setbacks recently that have forced me to reconsider something I have invested myself in over the year. I have sacrificed a lot and pushed myself on a daily basis to attain a place on something I have aspired to for years. Now, as we near the summit, my efforts don't seem to be deemed worthy. Disregard of my efforts would probably be a more accurate description. It has been galling experience laced with anger and frustration. Do I get back on the saddle and drive on blindly ignoring the obvious hoping for a handout? Do I walk out with my head held high knowing I did everything I could? Even as I write this I get the feeling that some people will be experiencing the Lance approach today. All I can do is try to give everything I can where I can ... and maybe one more roll of the dice.
If we all went around approaching our daily dilemmas with a bull-headed ignorance, we would just create a lot of hassle for ourselves. No doubt we would sort out a lot of the world's problems that way but there are times when you just have to let things go. Someone annoys you on a bus - e.g. texting with a beep sound just to make sure everyone knows they are texting - you look away, you turn on headphones, you change seats. The Lance approach would probably be to smash the phone. The correct approach would probably be to mention it to the person but people on public transport always seem to carry the potential threat of going psychotic at any moment. Conceding certain situations that are generally out of your control are the best way recipe for a hassle free life. As Kenny Rogers would say "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away and know when to run".
Have had a few setbacks recently that have forced me to reconsider something I have invested myself in over the year. I have sacrificed a lot and pushed myself on a daily basis to attain a place on something I have aspired to for years. Now, as we near the summit, my efforts don't seem to be deemed worthy. Disregard of my efforts would probably be a more accurate description. It has been galling experience laced with anger and frustration. Do I get back on the saddle and drive on blindly ignoring the obvious hoping for a handout? Do I walk out with my head held high knowing I did everything I could? Even as I write this I get the feeling that some people will be experiencing the Lance approach today. All I can do is try to give everything I can where I can ... and maybe one more roll of the dice.
Thursday 9 August 2007
Daily Life - American Overheard
Started re-reading some of the quotes on the overheardindublin.com site recently and while the site seems to be rather hit and miss the book has sold fairly well in Ireland. Had to wade through a lot of quotes regurgitated from old jokes to find any mildly funny ones on the site (these are best read in a broad Dublin accent):
If you want a job done right...
Last night, saw these kids on bikes messing around and narrowly avoiding the traffic. Then their Da shouts "Stop it...if I want ye in hospital, I'll kick your heads in meself!"
Cashnet
I was at an ATM one day in Abbey Street and there was a few people ahead of me. The woman at the machine was taking her time while we waited in the rain. Next thing a skanger in the queue says “Aw here luv, are ya on da bleedin’ internet or wat?”
I don't think the quotes above are very representative of the street wit you can get in Ireland, particularly in Dublin, but there are always a few gems to be heard if you listen closely enough. Any ones come to mind?
Eavesdropping on what seems like an interesting conversation between Irish people in a public area can be a difficult task with the male habit of talking shoulder to shoulder and female habit of speaking in hushed tones with their hands in the special "We're telling secrets" pose. Throw the Irish brogue into the equation and it's nigh on impossible.
Maybe one shouldn't be listening to other peoples' conversations but if ever you have spent time on a Irish public bus with an mp3 player that has no earphones, a dead phone, no newspaper and a hangover you would too. Bus Eireann also seem to have mastered the art of having the radio at just the right volume so you can hear that someone is talking/singing but not make out any of it. Well, it was on such a day a while back that I found myself eavesdropping on an Irish passenger listening to and answering the questions of an attractive American backpacker... from 7 seats away. What bliss was this!
No one beats the Americans for range, randomness and volume of their quotes. I could sit back and listen to the conversation without having to ask or answer questions or appear interested or decide whether to fill any silences or leave the conversation peter out. Eventually, I found my earphones and could easily tune in and out of the conversation like a cheap soap opera.
American conversations are like listening to surround sound after years of intermittent mono. Walking by Americans in the street is even better as the quotes come thick, loud and fast "It was really spiritual time in my life", "Oooh, Larry says he's feeling gassy after lunch", "Awww, man they were crazy times!". How could a writer be stuck for inspiration when any group of Americans seem to provide a kaleidoscopic view of lives past and present from the surreal to the banal, it's all there... in stereo.
Abre Los Oidos!
If you want a job done right...
Last night, saw these kids on bikes messing around and narrowly avoiding the traffic. Then their Da shouts "Stop it...if I want ye in hospital, I'll kick your heads in meself!"
Cashnet
I was at an ATM one day in Abbey Street and there was a few people ahead of me. The woman at the machine was taking her time while we waited in the rain. Next thing a skanger in the queue says “Aw here luv, are ya on da bleedin’ internet or wat?”
I don't think the quotes above are very representative of the street wit you can get in Ireland, particularly in Dublin, but there are always a few gems to be heard if you listen closely enough. Any ones come to mind?
Eavesdropping on what seems like an interesting conversation between Irish people in a public area can be a difficult task with the male habit of talking shoulder to shoulder and female habit of speaking in hushed tones with their hands in the special "We're telling secrets" pose. Throw the Irish brogue into the equation and it's nigh on impossible.
Maybe one shouldn't be listening to other peoples' conversations but if ever you have spent time on a Irish public bus with an mp3 player that has no earphones, a dead phone, no newspaper and a hangover you would too. Bus Eireann also seem to have mastered the art of having the radio at just the right volume so you can hear that someone is talking/singing but not make out any of it. Well, it was on such a day a while back that I found myself eavesdropping on an Irish passenger listening to and answering the questions of an attractive American backpacker... from 7 seats away. What bliss was this!
No one beats the Americans for range, randomness and volume of their quotes. I could sit back and listen to the conversation without having to ask or answer questions or appear interested or decide whether to fill any silences or leave the conversation peter out. Eventually, I found my earphones and could easily tune in and out of the conversation like a cheap soap opera.
American conversations are like listening to surround sound after years of intermittent mono. Walking by Americans in the street is even better as the quotes come thick, loud and fast "It was really spiritual time in my life", "Oooh, Larry says he's feeling gassy after lunch", "Awww, man they were crazy times!". How could a writer be stuck for inspiration when any group of Americans seem to provide a kaleidoscopic view of lives past and present from the surreal to the banal, it's all there... in stereo.
Abre Los Oidos!
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