Text Messaging

There are some obvious generational differences when it comes to text messaging.

For the younger generation texting is its own language. It is a way of having a conversation without having to open your mouth. I have trouble learning new languages.

For me a text message is a little message with written text. I write texts as I would a notecard or a very small essay. This works fine for my generation and I think the younger folks just pity us. At least it’s not as dangerous as trying to ride a skateboard.

I’ve learned a few things about texting.

To emphasize something you REALLY don’t want to use capitals. Capitals sound like screaming in the text or email world. I’ve had friends accidentally have a cap lock on and people mistook their mood.

Apparently, you don’t end a sentence with a period. If you do you are very serious. I am obviously a very serious person. “Yes.” with a period means you might be a little angry. I am probably perpetually angry in my essay writing mode.

On the other hand, you can emphasize using extra periods. (This.is.crazy.) It’s just as well our phones in text mode don’t have grammar check. (We’d.be.in.trouble.) So much for the use of the period. It’s the end of punctuation as I know it.

I’m also trying to learn the abbreviations and other little bits found in texts. I try to sprinkle in a “haha!” or a “lol!” every once in a while. This is so people can understand that I’m trying to be lighthearted and not so serious. I use more exclamation points than I’ve used in my whole life. “Idk” if it really works or not, but at this point “idc” too much one way or the other!

There used to be happy faces 🙂 and sad faces :(. I was starting to make use of these. Now there are a myriad of emojis out there- faces and hearts and thumbs up symbols. I do have a problem with the little faces, though. They are so small. It’s hard to see the expressions on them even with my glasses.

One final problem. I can never quite tell how to end the conversation. “That works for me” (the end?) “Great!” (the end?), smiley face (really the end?) …….thumbs up.

So I’m learning the language. At least I don’t have to worry about pronunciation.

Anyway, ttyl (talk to you later).

Hallmark Holidays

Someone called the library on Valentine’s Day to see if we were open. I tried to explain diplomatically that Valentine’s Day is not a national holiday.

Same with Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Not national holidays.

For some people these Hallmark holidays roll around and, for various reasons, they feel left out. It can be painful. They probably had a more enjoyable day on Groundhog Day.

I don’t mind a card or a bit of chocolate on these days, but basically, I think we’ve gotten carried away.

There seems to be undue pressure to celebrate these days. And by undue pressure to celebrate, I mean advertisements to buy wildly expensive gifts. The commercials make you feel like inconsiderate lowlife if you don’t spend a lot of money. By the sound of it, I should be terribly upset if I don’t receive a new diamond necklace on Valentine’s Day. (“Say I love you with diamonds”).

But with this kind of a gift on Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, what happens when a birthday or anniversary comes along? I believe the crown jewels are taken. Queen Elizabeth most likely won’t give them up.

And, of course, there is Father’s Day. That one is difficult. If a woman gets a diamond necklace, what is the equivalent for a man? A Rolex, I suppose. Or a new car. Or a boat.

Can’t we get gift giving under control again? I always think of Little House on the Prairie when Laura Ingalls Wilder gets an orange on Christmas morning. She was thrilled. (Don’t tell my husband I said this. He might start giving me oranges. And although I enjoy oranges, that’s not quite what I mean).

But we could do with taking all this gift-giving down a notch or two. And these Hallmark holidays seem the most likely targets. A card, a flower, or a piece of chocolate are nice little tokens. That seems appropriate.

I would think many people agree with me. But if not, call me Scrooge. Call me the Grinch. It’s ok. I’ll be perfectly happy. I’ll just sit here and eat my lovely, juicy orange.

Good Reads

If you like to read, you may keep a reading list or two. My primary list is on my phone, but since I am electronically challenged, I also have a list written on paper. Yes, actual paper.

Reading lists never get shorter. They always grow. It doesn’t matter if you are a fast reader or a slow reader, they continue to grow.

My list has titles all added together in a hodge-podge manner.

There are three main groups -the things I like to read, the things I feel I ought to read, and fluff – beach books.

I like to read good non-fiction and some classics and, occasionally, a new novel. This is the bulk of my list. I concentrate on these.

Then there are the books I feel I ought to read. These are the equivalent of feeling I should watch Schindler’s List. I know I should be informed and all, but it’s hard to watch. These have been on the list for years because someone has said, “You’ve never seen Schindler’s List? You really need to see that film. It’s so important.”

I haven’t watched it yet.

At last, there is fluff. Fluff looks different for everyone. My fluff of choice is mysteries. The ones I enjoy have likable detectives and really good settings. I can imagine being in rural England, outside of Montreal, or on a train somewhere. And usually the crime is solved.

I know people who tend to read sort of highbrow stuff and then become totally engrossed in, say, Game of Thrones. It’s their fluff of choice.

Also, there are two additional categories on my reading list: recommendations by people I trust, and random recommendations.

Working in a library I get lots of random recommendations. Sometimes I try them out. Occasionally I am pleasantly surprised. At other times, I am unpleasantly surprised. I need to come up with some sort of marking system. TR (trusted recommendation) and RR (random recommendation).

Meanwhile my list grows.

I guess I should take a speed reading class.

 

Gardening

I like the idea of being a gardener. And I love homegrown vegetables. But, in truth, I am a mediocre gardener.

Late winter and early spring, I’m all over it. I dig my compost into the ground and prepare my small patches for planting. I plant my seeds and watch for growth.

But at this point I get distracted.

I think I’m pretty good at planting a garden. But I’m not so good at “tending” a garden. Things like weeding and thinning just aren’t exciting after all. And you have to do them all through the spring and summer.

Over the years, I’ve narrowed down my crop choices. I primarily go for the ones that are easiest to grow. Consequently, most summer meals at our house include some variation of zucchini and/or swiss chard. These are my kind of crop. You can barely keep up with harvesting them.

Tomatoes, on the other, hand are more temperamental. But homegrown tomatoes are so good. Like Guy Clark sings, “There’s only two things that money can’t buy, and that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes.”

Some years we have a decent crop. Other years we enjoy only a meager salad or two. People are always full of advice on what to do to grow a bumper crop of tomatoes: more fertilizer, less fertilizer, more water, less water, bury the plant upright, bury the plant sideways, put it in a pot, don’t put it in a pot, organic, heirloom…

I wish I had a green thumb. Actually, I wish I had a red thumb, red- like a lovely, ripe tomato.

Meanwhile, I’ll enjoy our zucchini, swiss chard, and a tomato or two from the garden. And go to the local Farmer’s Market for the rest.