Tag Archives: words

The enemy of apathy

Posted in Life, Me, Thoughts, Words by

friends_enemies

They say to keep your friends close but your enemies closer. That’s why apathy and I are almost inseparable. All that lies between us are empty yoghurt pots, dirty socks, and a layer of dust.

You don’t fight with apathy. It always seems to win. So why bother? It enjoys sitting with you on the sofa, doing nothing, avoiding everything. It’s favourite word is procrastinate.

Apathy doesn’t judge you. But it makes you judge yourself. To the point where you wonder, why do I let myself live like this? DO SOMETHING. But it doesn’t let you. It holds you down, holds you back.

You want to scream and shout at apathy for turning you into the person you have become. The person you don’t want to be. But it muzzles you and reminds you of your feeble purpose.

So, in the end, you comply. You grow used to its company and its consequence. Toleration becomes normality. But apathy never changes. It’s always there. Right by your side.

The worst of friends but the best of enemies.

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My word of the week – mercurial

Posted in Word of the week, Words by

Mercurial

This is a word which I find rolls of the tongue beautifully (aren’t those the best types?).  The Oxford Dictionary definition is:

“Subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.”

An example of its use would be: ‘her mercurial temperament‘.  I’ve been pondering about whether this word applies to my own temperament, and I suppose it does.  Perhaps that’s simply because I’m female; I can experience as good a mood swing as any.  Both my mother and Olly would testify to that.  Isn’t it strange how they just happen without you even realising or understanding why?

I wouldn’t say the word applied so much to my mind.  I don’t often change my mind unpredictably; I struggle more with making a decision in the first place!

As much as I would love to say that I learnt this word from some educational book, that would be a lie.  I learnt it from Prison Break.  Sigh.

My word of the week – lollygag

Posted in Word of the week, Words by

Lollygag2

This word is not half as bad as it might sound.  It does not involve lollies, or gagging.  In fact, a lot of you will lollygag, possibly on a daily basis.  Many of you will be lollygagging right now.  The Oxford Dictionary definition is:

“Spend time aimlessly; idle.”

I don’t profess to be an expert at many things, but lollygagging is an exception. So often I find myself spending a lot of time doing not a lot.  It’s a problem which, understandably, has a direct effect on my productivity.  The worst time of day for me is the evening.  Once I’m home from work, the temptation of just draping myself over the sofa is often too great to resist, and once I’m draped, it is incredibly difficult to undrape.  I whittle the time away catching up with the Daily Mail news, checking social media (six months ago I was a Twitter virgin, so the excitement of a retweet or favourite is still rather fresh), having Quiz Up battles with Olly and googling ‘pictures of animals in teacups’.  In all seriousness, everyone should do that last one.

After sufficient lollygagging, I look at the time and realise I haven’t been for a run, the washing isn’t on and I should have started cooking dinner an hour ago.

A recent example of my lollygagging is watching this video of a tiny hamster in a tiny mansion.  Don’t judge me.

My word of the week – rigmarole

Posted in Word of the week, Words by

Rigmarole

This is one of those words which is fun to say.  The Oxford Dictionary defines it as:

“A lengthy and complicated procedure.”

or

“A long, rambling story or statement.”

Ahh, the joys of going through the rigmarole of life.  I see myself as a low-maintenance being who longs for things to be simple.  But that’s never the way is it?  Life is hard.  Life is complicated.  Life can be a real pain in the proverbial.  And even when things are going well, there is always something round the corner to come and punch you in the face.

To avoid this post becoming a rigmarole, my advice is that when that happens, take the knock, get back up, and embrace the shiner!  You are not defined by the things which happen to you, but by the way you deal with them.

Pretty deep for a sunny Sunday afternoon.

I am a mouse potato

Posted in Stuff, Words, Work by

mouse potato edits

Mouse potato.  Yes.  This is a real word.  Well, two words, but who’s counting.  As it is an informal term I won’t put it in my word of the week series, but The Oxford Dictionary defines it as:

“A person who spends large amounts of leisure or working time operating a computer.”

I AM A MOUSE POTATO.  My eyes spend the majority of their working days staring at a small screen, gradually getting more and more sleepy.  Not only that, but it makes my head go thick and fuzzy.  Then, when I get home, I curl up with my ipad or laptop and mouse potato myself some more, whilst sat in front of another screen, the TV (he’s called Sammy).  This is not good.

I’m pretty sure that others will be feeling the effects of this problem too so, for my fellow rodent spuds out there, here are a few tips:

  1. Make sure you get fresh air on your lunch break – this makes my lungs happy and helps clear my head
  2. Keep hydrated – I have a bottle of water on my desk which I top up through-out the day
  3. Go for little strolls round the office every now and then – this gets the blood pumping again
  4. Set yourself some time when you get home to do anything except look at a screen
  5. Switch off a sufficient amount of time before bed – this applies to screens and brains

Give it a try and see if it helps you feel a bit less like a mouse potato.  I’m the worst one for following my own advice, but please excuse me while I enjoy some fresh air during my lunchtime stroll.

My word of the week – snaffle

Posted in Word of the week, Words by

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This is one of my favourite words ever.  The noun is pretty nondescript, but the verb is marvellous.  The Oxford Dictionary meaning is to:

“Take (something) for oneself, typically quickly or without permission.”

I have definitely snaffled a lot of stuff in my lifetime.  Items include: fools gold from the house which my parents eventually bought; a candle from C&N Cycles which had the police round my house (long story); copious amounts of food from a variety of places; and pretty much all of my sister’s Easter Eggs every year.

So basically, snaffle is a posh word for stealing.  I should add that the stuff I snaffle these days is much more boring and definitely does not involve the police.