2. Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

3. Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

4. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

5. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you’ve never tried before.

6. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.

7. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious.

8. It is easier to beg forgiveness than get permission.

9. For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.

10. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.

11. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.

12. A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel good.

13. Eat well, stay fit, die anyway.

14. Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.

15. No husband has ever been shot while doing the dishes.

16. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.

17. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.

18. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.

19. Junk is something you’ve kept for years and throw away three weeks before you need it.

20. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.

21. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.

22. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.

23. Thou shall not weigh more than thy refrigerator.

24. Someone who thinks logically provides a nice contrast to the real world

My random wanderings around the web tonight started with an email from Barbara Sher… I picked up her “What do I do if I want to do everything?” before I went travelling, and it was a great revelation (I need to do the activities, although I read the book cover to cover!)… scanners are not diletantes, but exceptionally intelligent with a lively sense of curiosity! Listen to Barbara Sher (geniuspress) talking about ideas she’s been working with for over 30 years (or follow her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/barbarasher):

Scanner Links

John Williams, aka “The Creative Maverick” (first came across in careershifters… yes, this man is a true scanner!) is the obvious man to follow. Inspired after a retreat with Barbara Sher, he set up Scanner Central in London (no, I’ve not made it there either). For the April event we’ve apparently just missed Beyond Chocolate (which I remember seeing on the TV at some point, if it’s been around for a while).

Other Links

• Checked out “Gifted Adults” on Google, see also here, after Sher indicates that many scanners are also gifted adults… I fit quite a lot of the bulleted list, but I’m definitely no introvert! Is that a form of cyberchondria?.
• Yesterday I found myself on Martin Seligman’s Authentic Happiness pages
• In December I went on a course with Chantal Cooke, Nick Williams, Niki Hignett
• Tonight I downloaded ‘The Imposter Syndrome‘ article…, I can remember talking about this with one of my PhD supervisors (Professor Joyce Goodman) – it’s very common amongst female academics, apparently! (Also on “Changing Course” with Barbara Sher and Barbara Winter… who works with Nick Williams!)
• Checked out “Anybody“, which looks to challenge the links between culture and body image.
• Rechecked Serenergise, where I gained my ICF-Accredited coaching certification.
• Rechecked PALS, which I need to see if I can unzip now I have a laptop that works… David Lett and John Evans, who have a vision to get more life-coaching style skills into schools.
• Checked out “The School of Life“, where you’re being asked to rebel against APPLYING for jobs, and to create your own job spec, and see if employers pick up on it. Well, why not?
• Read an article on Eric Gill, recommended by @tonywatkins on Twitter…. for whom I’m supposed to be writing an article tonight, instead of which I’m surfing. I’ll get there!
• This morning I read C.S. Lewis’s “The Screwtape Letters” – thought-provoking stuff (see p.46, where Screwtape encourages Wormwood to let the humans think that ‘religious’ is just another phase to go through…)

Well, if it’s an interview, clearly it’s going to be a nice pinstripe suit, with lots of RED, nice powerful and confident read… all nicely cleaned and pressed. Always looking for the ideal pair of shoes to go with… bit of a heel for confidence, but not so high that you end up walking like you have blisters all over your feet (which is of course quite possible!).

If I’m going out for the night, quite possibly something similar – maybe less pinstripes, but a nice bright red top, or sometimes purple, or bright green (I don’t really DO pastels)… anything to brighten up the evening… similar dilemma in the shoes – particularly if there’s not a lot of money in the kitty for taxis!

• Georgette Heyer.com (long established, passionate about the subject).
• Some links I posted to her books.
• A book for all reasons
• Historical Tapestry
• The Georgette Heyer Challenge
• Forgotten Authors No. 27: Georgette Heyer (The Independent, 15th March 2009)
• and I still want to read Jay Dixon’s book, not on Georgette Heyer, but on Mills & Boon, with whom Heyer is often classed (but much classier)

No need to edit the default title!

Italian: pasta, pizza, gelato all with in many different (and delicious) flavourings… what more could you want! Well, maybe to find the real cuisine rather than whatever I could afford for 2-3 Euro last summer: http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-330501.html

The Upload from Plinky:
Talk, talk, talk…

Sitting in silence ALL day would drive me completely up the wall, although if they distracted me from taking photos out of the window they’d be in trouble! I’ll pretty much talk to anybody and can find interest in most conversations… although the irritating voice may get to me in the end… maybe I’d have to try and pace my conversation to theirs!

Thankfulness Diary
I bought an A4 page-to-a-day diary (and would you believe how long it took to find one which had full pages for Saturday/Sunday as well as weekdays, finally, a £1 shop!), and either in the morning or the evening I combine my chapter of Bible reading with some notes from The Word for Today and then I let myself at it. Text is still my primary medium, but I let myself at the scribbled drawings too, and who knows what else might come to mind as I relax into it more!

Whether to go morning or evening depends on my mood, and each has different benefits. In the morning set off for the day with a particular spring in the step, in the evening can really think back over what has happened on that particular day. 

I have noticed a difference as with “the current economic climate”, the fact I’m living out of a suitcase in a friend’s spare room whilst job-hunting I could just focus on the the mountains to climb, but instead am concentrating on a step at a time (and looking back at the steps already taken) as I’m incredibly grateful that I do have a roof over my head, I’m picking up some bit-work which all adds to the portfolio, and there’s space for some creative thinking, further learning whilst I move through the process.

It’s not an “instant fix”, and it certainly doesn’t mean walking around on (or in!) a cloud of hot air all day. A bad news story, e.g. “more jobs lost” can still knock you sideways, but looking back at all the things there are to be thankful, and looking at it within the bigger picture wins the battle.. eventually!

Positivity
I wondered if anyone had set up a positivity blog to counteract the current negative thinking, particularly focusing on positive news stories. Not found one like that, but the first entry on Google does have a lot of tips for creating a positive mindset for yourself, and in fact offers a specific “Positivity Challenge” which chimes with the above.

Linking Note
To note, if you wish to create a link to a long URL (I’m especially thinking if you want to create a posting in Twitter) use Tiny URL to create a short URL which doesn’t break-up in emails, or use up all that space.