Quicunque

I’ve never been one for pouring my guts out even to fleshspace friends, much less relative strangers (often accused of being almost obsessively private) but sometimes I do get the urge to talk just for the sake of it. Sometimes it’s a restorative exercise.

This last year has seen many changes for me. I had a dragging illness, which because I’ve always been a disgusting healthy person and was totally unprepared for the psychological impact, threw me totally off course. It made me re-evaluate a lot of things I’d been taking for granted too, or had been too lethargic to address. The result of it has been that while I am as involved as ever with some of the online activities and places I’ve been involved in for the last 5-6 years, I’ve also let go of others and opened up more space to let the light in. My personal priorities have shifted, and after having spent so long in what now seems like a self-imposed closed bubble, I’m starting to discover different things again.

There’s been my work situation too. The last few years have not been kind in that respect. I’m now earning a quarter of what I was doing 4 years ago, when we had a portfolio of 40 or so small-to-medium business clients and a couple of big globals on the books. The SMEs have dissolved away one-by-one, either victims themselves of tough times, or because what we offered them was no longer an arcane art they had to employ outside specialists to do. And in times of economic hardship, the first thing even global businesses shed is non-essential “luxuries” like website maintenance. However I shouldn't complain about the quarter-pay, because I got the final confirmation this morning that my job will definitely cease to exist at all in a few months time, and I’ll be just another statistic of the recession.

Now losing my job is not such a bad thing, probably. Over the last couple of years I’ve grown to hate the work I do. Seems inconceivable sometimes that it was ever something I used to do as a hobby, for fun. Trust me – think carefully before making your leisure hobby into your job, it can kill your pleasure in it when you no longer have just yourself to amuse or please.

So even though I am nervous of stepping back into the world, this is a change I need, and while the job existed, I would remain stuck in it. Yes, I am unavoidably concerned about how my partner and I will manage financially, but I’m not going to worry too much about that yet. It’s no big deal; it happens to other people all the time. When one door closes, often another opens up. Maybe I’ll be panicking and screaming tomorrow, but today instead of thinking of this as the end of something, I’m trying to look at it as the beginning of something else.

Oh, and happy Midsummer Day! According to folklore, Midsummer was a time when one could look into the future, for both good or bad. I’m not sure I dare look at all….

Mood: Solipsist
What I'm listening to: The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season)

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones
A time to gather stones together

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time of war, a time of peace
A time of love, a time of hate
A time you may embrace
A time to refrain from embracing

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time of peace, I swear it's not too late!

I was (un)fortunate enough to have had an English teacher who was positively anal about apostrophes, so I think I'm generally fairly good about using them correctly - except when I'm being lazy about reading something before I post it.

The one thing we were taught which differs from what I've read other people state is correct, is the use of apostrophes in the possessives of personal names that end in "s". We were taught that for biblical and classical names the final "s" should be omitted, but for all others it should stand. Hence, I was told, one should say Hercules' big head and Jesus' dog, but Charles's big head and Francis's dog (unless you're talking about St Francis maybe...??).

I've always tended to accept (if not always follow) this rule as it was drilled into me, but now I don't know if it's just a widely accepted quirk, one of those pedantic little quibbles that's become outdated, or simply a personal either/or decision!

A random flick through some mythology tomes on my bookshelf doesn't help as I've found examples both using and omitting the final "s", and my Word spell/grammar check cheerfully allows a word either with or without it too. This is probably a very trivial and nit-picky question but it's been bugging me since I thought about it!

- Originally posted at Panhistoria 08-20-04

This is a topic I've found relevant to myself while writing at Panhistoria and Panerotica with their predominantly American population - we Brits often seem to speak a different language. :)

Although British English and American English are technically the same language, there are substantial differences both in spoken and written forms. We're not talking just about spelling either - but also vocabulary, phraseology and grammar.

For example, the same sentence as rendered in correct American and then British English:

US: I don't have a car and I just burned my truck while I was visiting with a friend.
UK: I haven't got a car and I've just burnt my lorry while I was visiting a friend.

(Okay, it's a surreal scenario, but you get the idea...)

An American editor cannot accurately proofread a piece of writing that uses British English (and vice versa) unless they have a full and confident understanding of the differences. Reputable schools that teach English as a second language recognise the differences and usually specify if they teach American or British English. And of course, Canadian and Australian English are different again, and there are many more variations... :)

It's important to remember when reading with an eye to critique a piece of writing that what might seem weird or unacceptable phraseology to an American editor might be perfectly correct to a British one (and again, vice versa). In the example given above, each would have rejected the other's version, but both were correct. Neither version of English is 'better' than the other; the important thing here I think is consistency! Don't mix and match.

The links below are to some useful articles that summarise the main differences between American and British English and the pitfalls to watch out for.

• American and British English differences
• Differences Between American and British English

Originally posted at Panhistoria 08-10-04

I hope neither my beloved partner or a certain Yorkshire mobile car valeting service will ever read my blog, because I am about to incriminate myself here.

Around midday I took a break from my computer and went for a walk, since it seems a shame not to enjoy a rare warm, sunny day after the past several non-summers. Coming back down the steep hill into the village on the home stretch, I encountered a mobile valeting service man cleaning a car by the roadside. We exchanged cheery salutations, as one does, and I guess I must have been looking hot (not like that! Well sheesh, have it your own way then... *grin*) because he offered me a drink from his water bottle.

We passed a few pleasantries about the weather, and I made suitable manly and knowledgeable comments about the car he was cleaning ("It's a nice colour, isn't it?") but I'm afraid for once, my attention wasn't distracted by shiny things.

He was maybe a few inches shorter than me, and I'm on the midget side of tall. Close-shaved hair, powerfully built but not overly-bulging, strong shoulders and back displayed to full advantage in a muscle tee as he twisted water out of his shammy leather. Veritably, a pocket Vin Diesel! - and anyone who knows me knows that's like nectar to a hungry bee. Lord save me from such temptation! My eyes must have been as round as the car's hub-caps.

I bet he was straight as a flagpole (not one flying the rainbow flag, either). I keep telling myself that. But I wonder if I can justify getting my modest, battered, old Ford valeted - yes of course I made a note of the company's name! *grins* You never know when you might need a full servicing....