Grey 17 is missing
We are redecorating the living room this weekend, I have spent half of today scraping wallpaper off the walls in there. New wallpaper will go up tomorrow, we've never done it before! I just can't believe it has taken us three years to take the last owners idea of taste down really. I don't tend to have had time to do any DIY over those past three years, but now I am having the chance during my weekdays off work. I'm not sure what our choice in wallpaper is going to look like, they have all sorts to choose from don't they. It's white with a pattern on it that changes in darkness depending on the angle it is viewed from, could be disastrous!
Speaking of things I can do during my weekdays off work, I met up with a former colleague of mine yesterday. He is now a partner in a couple of independent pharmacies, he was trying to offer me a job at one of them where their current pharmacist is leaving. He knew that I'd only just started a job last month, he offered me more money! I'm not interested in moving particularly so soon after starting (plus the fact that I love it there), but I gave him some advice (free), don't try to hire the type of person that will jump ship after a month and a half somewhere because the likelihood is they'll do it again and he'll wind up in the same position a few months down the line. He had had some similar responses from a few others, but he couldn't understand why we wouldn't go to him for more money. I guess some people just assume that money rules everything else - it does not.
Finally, I mentioned 'internet translation' recently. I have been using the internet for roughly ten years, in that time I have used a whole host of communication tools such as message boards, emails, chatrooms etc. Quite early on I learned that many internet users become embroiled in pointless arguments because of one of the problems with internet interaction - reading into the words or reading out of context.
When you communicate verbally, or even better communicate in person you put allsorts of inflections and intonations that help convey the message that you are trying to give. You can say something mean in an upbeat manner, or you can say something mean as part of a tongue-in-cheek joke. You can do the same thing in a chatroom or a forum and many people will not think about the context or the meaning. They might take it literally. This happens so often it's crazy! I noticed it immediately even on funtrivia boards and forums where for the most part intelligent and enlightened people are the users.
It frightened me off posting for a while, in fact I still quite often write a reply to a topic in the chatboards and then delete it all because I'm afraid that it will be taken out of context or someone will take offence. I wonder if anyone else does that? Or am I just too scared of causing offence perhaps...
11 Comments:
Best of luck with the wallpaper!
No, money isn't everything, but "I love it there" is priceless. It might be interesting to know why the current pharmacist is leaving. Only academically, of course.
I've written posts and then deleted them because they bored me. You can't exist gagged just in case someone reads your words out of context, or takes offence. It's impossible to make every single site visitor read everything in context, and you can't be held responsible for the entire spectrum of human sensibilities. Most sites have one person who pretends to be frequently offended. These people generally have nothing else to do, and everybody else knows and ignores them.
Write what you want and enjoy writing. OK?
By lesley153, May 22 09 4:56 PM
Thanks Lesley, I'm deleting my posts less frequently these days. As for the guy leaving - to open his own shop! Sounds like too much stress to me.
By nasty_liar, May 22 09 6:21 PM
Oh come on, don't delete! You could even get some good stuff going! As soon as other people are embroiled in the discussion...back away slowly, and lurk! Here are "smiley's" so you know I'm (sort of) kidding. :) ;)
Yes, and good luck with the wallpaper.
By veronikkamarrz, May 22 09 6:26 PM
Forget the "kidding" smileys, that's just what we need, a bit of intelligent conversation. We have been uprooted from the old FT, a world of vigorous debate, with loads of energetic participants, and thrust into a surreal, ghost town of Stepford acquiescence, where our brains are slowly dying, like flowers without water, and you can hear the wind whistling through the deserted streets.
Depressing, isn't it?
By lesley153, May 22 09 7:08 PM
"We have been uprooted from the old FT, a world of vigorous debate, with loads of energetic participants, and thrust into a surreal, ghost town of Stepford acquiescence, where our brains are slowly dying, like flowers without water, and you can hear the wind whistling through the deserted streets."
Oh my, Lesley. I need to go lie down someplace. Doesn't one get automatically vapourised for saying such things? Here. Take my tinfoil hat. It will protect you from the herds of Deletion Beasts said to roam these woods.
By ktstew, May 22 09 8:56 PM
OK,OK, I'm NOT kidding! I just didn't want to scare the poor guy off! He's already nervous! Now, he'll realize we're in Stepford, and he'll probably run...screaming from the site!
By veronikkamarrz, May 22 09 10:24 PM
If I suddenly disappear, you'll know why.
Ooh! a Hat! Thank you!
By lesley153, May 23 09 5:43 AM
I just has a wicked thought, I could have deleted one of your replies myself as a joke!
Thanks for the encouragement though folks!
By nasty_liar, May 23 09 8:23 AM
What is "Grey 17"-Did I miss something?
By veronikkamarrz, May 23 09 11:30 AM
"I could have deleted one of your replies myself as a joke!"
No! that would have been too cruel! (Tempting, though.)
I'd like to know what Grey 17 is too. Could be a paint colour, perhaps. No, I can't imagine that many greys on anyone's paint chart.
By lesley153, May 23 09 7:58 PM
I like grey. I don't know about as paint. That sounds like a ship color! You never know about wallpaper, though...
By veronikkamarrz, May 23 09 9:03 PM