Post 201

Welcome to the first of the third 100 posts on this blog. In some circles, I feel like I'm an anomaly for consistently writing a blog. There is a vibe that blogs aren't trendy anymore--it's all about 140 characters and hashtags. But in truth, I really just don't care what the trend is anymore. 

Honestly, I am too tired to care about much these days. I've been trying to muster up the energy and enthusiasm for a chipper #201 and finally decided to scrap clever and witty and just tell it like it is. I am exhausted. 

"Well, duh. It's almost midnight. Go to bed!"

Not that kind of tired. The kind of tired that drains every part of your being. I don't think there's enough sleep in the universe to un-tired me.* 

And yes, it probably won't last forever, at some point things will click back into place and I won't feel so drained. Eventually it will be okay. But, you know, I only get one round on earth, and I'm really mad that so much of it seems to be spent in a near-zombie like state. I don't want to sleep through life! I know there's the whole immortality thing to come, but there's only one go at mortality, only one shot to experience life this way, and darn it all, what a waste to be too burned out to enjoy it! 

Anyway, that is life at the moment. And now, I will go to bed because it certainly can't hurt. 

*Although, I'd be willing to test pilot a pause button for reality to see if that would help. 

Analogese

I've observed lately that I tend to use a lot of analogies when describing my life. Even in my own thoughts, I tend to say, "It's like...". And part of me feels really embarrassed by all of these analogies, as though I should be capable of expressing things without drawing word pictures. But it's the picture part of it that makes an analogy so effective.

"It's like..." is so fantastic because each analogy draws on a common experience which gives a sort of standardized meaning to things. Whereas if I say, "It was so overwhelming", well, what is overwhelming to you? Is it the same as what overwhelming means to me? Somehow, a comparison--"It was like standing on the shore and watching a tsunami come in"--is much more effective at conveying how overwhelmed, frightened, helpless, and angry* I might be.

I have a friend who is highly skilled at analogies. It is quite useful as we discuss things, and I must say, she has more than earned a degree in Analogese. It can be a tricky language to learn and requires good listening as well as good speaking skills. You have to know how to make connections, see patterns, be imaginative, and have a good vocabulary. And of course, if you get into Analogese, you are just a step away from it's language kin, Parablish. (Very closely related members of the Symbolic language family. Also included in the group are metaphors, similes, and allegory).

So, after pondering on it, rather than feel inadequate for using analogies so frequently, I'm just gonna embrace it. I figure, anything that improves our ability to improve the way we express ourselves can't hurt. Although, social media may prove me wrong...

*Yes, angry. I can just picture myself standing there saying, "You have GOT to be kidding me. Seriously?!"

Interesting tastes

I was looking at my Amazon recommendations* and came across the strangest recommendations. You know, "Recommended based on your interest in..." For example:

 

and

Now, in my book, Cinderella and The Middle are VERY different from Taken 3 and Get Hard. Not that I've seen Taken 3 or Get Hard, because, oh yeah, not my thing at all. So who out there is saying, "Man, I sure loved that happy, hopeful fairy tale with beautiful dresses and princes on horseback. It really makes me want to watch some Liam Neeson shooting up the world to get his revenge. I'd better go buy Taken 3"? Because that's messed up.

And then there are these:

I guess I can kind of see how they are assuming that an adult purchased the kindle books, and might have a young child in case 1. And maybe someone interested in science would also be interested in healthy eating. But what is the connection between diet and world war? Or diet and Sir Dudley Tinkerbottom (not gonna lie, the name was half the reason I purchased the book. The other half was it was on sale super cheap. Yeah. Not a good collection development policy.) Or diet and escaping princesses? I'm not seeing it.

My conclusion is, either a) Amazon needs to update its algorithm, b) there are some VERY strange shoppers out there, or c) I'm the very strange shopper who should rethink my life.

Maybe c?

*Helpful tip: When you are trying to find something to buy based on what the company is recommending, it is time to stop. Just stop. Put your wallet down and walk away. What you want isn't going to be found in a store.