I'm Not Convinced

As a general rule most of the bon mots one sees on Facebook and in shop windows, indeed just about everywhere these days, are truisms or thoughts we all have or things we all know expressed in one way or another.  In fact there are so many appearing everywhere now that I suspect we take very little notice of them.  So when we were in Byers Road and passed the Oxfam Bookshop I hardly gave the writing on the blackboard in the window a second glance.  When I did, however, I suddenly thought that if that was a universal truth then it certainly didn't apply to me.

Frankly the more I get into life the less sense it makes: on just about any level.

The House Test

After reading Scriptor's blog posting I too took The House Test. I have to say that it seemed an exceptionally elementary way of trying to determine anything other than, possibly but not definitively, what sort of a house one might like. The result it gave was however:

You consider yourself important, but no more important than anyone else. You love attention, but you don't feel like you deserve more of it than anyone else. (This looks promising, I thought).

You can't stand community oriented people and annoying "buy local" campaigns (Untrue. I'm pretty neutral in those matters). You prefer to live the best life possible (of course), and that doesn't really involve many other people (Untrue).

You are creative, expressive, and bright (Ok I'm not the dullest cherry on the tree but to call me creative and bright is going a bit far). You are always in the middle of some amazing project (Nope).

You look good in a low maintenance sort of way (I'm sorry. I may not look good but I'm afraid that my clothes are definitely not low maintenance - although I may not always pay the full price for them!). You do the minimum required to be attractive (Sorry. I don't think I'm vain but I like to look and dress according to how I feel and what I want to achieve. As a retiree living in Lewis and New Zealand I spend a lot of my time in New Zealand in shorts, polo shirts and jandles but dress somewhat more formally on Lewis. If I go to see my accountant or lawyer I dress as I did before I retired ie however smartly dressed they are they don't outdress me. If I'm mixing concrete I wear old clothes and overalls! ).

You are moved by your own inner sense of peace (Duh!). You spend a lot of time reflecting on the meaning of life (At one time I might have done but cancer and life have cured me and I spend my time enjoying the life that I have not speculating on the hereafter that I might or might not have).

Really Bad Ideas

One of the things about having CJ staying is having to be accurate in one's speech. I used to be (I'm not now, of course!) a pedant. This morning at the conclusion of breakfast I perused the Book People's latest catalogue which arrived yesterday.

One title was The Mystery of Things by A E Grayling, subtitled Life and What It Means. All that and three other of his books for £6.99. Given the attempts that have been made to clarify this subject over the millennia the price seems remarkably reasonable.

Then came Don't Arm Wrestle a Pirate: 101 Really Bad Ideas. Now it seems to us that not arm wrestling a pirate is a very sensible idea. Perhaps if I read the book I'd know differently.

Hmm.