If there’s one thing I find stressful, it’s spring. Especially when it’s nice weather. You can’t simply slob out in front of the telly, knock out a new column, read a book, or tidy out that cupboard you’ve been meaning to. No way, not in this weather. Totally Out of the Question. If you’re still in bed at 8am at the weekend in this weather, you already feel it coming. Spring stress.
Everyone under the age of 30 has known about it for years, but I had to hear it from the BBC. In fact, I only believe something if the BBC says it. I’m now pleased to be able to share my discovery with the rest of you over 30’s. It’s about a whole new line of work for copywriters, body of work actually.
Did I tell you about this lady who had a baby in a tree? Goodness me! I’ve got such terrible pack pain. Oh yeah, I suffer from that too. But in my case it’s a suspected double hernia. Nothing they can do for it. At least you can still walk, I see. I feel awful. Such a bad head! Must be that hay fever again. Oh yeah, I know someone with that. They can’t step foot out of the house these days, not unless they’re wearing a sort of space suit. Now that is bad. Have you any idea just how much homework and exams I’ve got this week? Oh yeah? Well I heard that there were no school holidays in the UK at all any more. You have to study all year round. Without any grant by the way. And you think you’ve got it bad! Do you realise…
One thing’s for sure: next year we’ll only be taking half the amount of stuff. And, I’ll buy 5 bags (not too big, mind) so that everyone has somewhere to put their own things. Plus 1 bag for On-The-Road-Refreshments and 1 bag for the Unexpected. Okay, and 1 bag for chargers too.
The word alone – cuddle. Definitely an onomatopoeia (what a word that is too btw), a word that sounds like what it means. Cuddle. Or ‘hug’. No, give me a cuddle any day. My indispensable etymological dictionary says that the verb ‘to cuddle’ in Dutch (knuffel) can be traced back to ‘doing something in a clumsy manner’. Makes sense. We’ve all experienced those clumsy cuddles from time to time. (more…)
On your tod. Love that. When no-one else can see you, or at least you think that no-one else can see you. Lots of things are best experienced on your own. (more…)
Imagine you’re a copywriter and you’re polishing someone’s text. Could be anyone. The CEO of a large multinational, a student who’s written a brilliant piece of research but has difficulty with ‘i before e, except after c’, a senior manager who needs to prepare a communication plan for an important presentation, or a small business owner who has better things to do with his time (quite frankly) than devise clever web content. Essentially anyone who struggles to find the right words, creates rambling, mile-long sentences containing 6 subordinate clauses, has absolutely no clue about structure, or compiles doorstop sales brochures that send customers to sleep. Even broadsheet editors who can’t control their compulsion to embellish every second sentence with a metaphor - we copywriters help them all. From CEO to primary school headmaster, to the student who daren’t submit his thesis. I related this around the kitchen table one evening. And…
A while ago I revealed my 5 simple steps on how to become a World Champion. I also explained why I think this is out of reach for most women. It’s not that we’re not ambitious, but rather that we tend to get distracted by the 1001 other things we want to accomplish. (more…)
Ooit zei ik tegen iemand die me ongevraagd advies gaf: luister, ik mag dan mijn gezondheid verliezen, mijn verstand verlies ik niet en als ik advies nodig heb, dan vraag ik het wel en of jij op de shortlist staat weet ik zo net nog niet. Dat was een beetje hard. Intussen raken we steeds vertrouwder met allerlei parkinson-uitdagingen. Vind ze eigenlijk geen van allen leuk. Maar ik laat me niet van mijn pad af gooien, van mijn Groots en Meeslepende Leven, je weet wel, dat vage Grootse Plan van Dingen die ik Ga Bereiken. Wat er ook gebeurt. En mijn vrienden zeggen Ze zeggen dat ik het weleens wat rustiger aan mag doen. Jaja, hoe en wanneer ging ik dat dan doen? En ze zeggen dat ik weleens wat meer mag genieten. Ja, mijn idee, maar eeeh hoe waar en wanneer dan ook alweer? Rollen omdraaien Op een dag…
I once said to someone who gave me unsolicited advice on how to deal with Parkinson’s: look, I might be losing my health, but I’m certainly not losing my mind. So if I need advice, I’ll ask for it, okay? And you might or might not be on my preferred shortlist of advisors. That was a bit harsh.
It fell apart. I truly believed, felt even, that the world had fallen apart. Heard it rumbling throughout the night, louder and louder and then! Then what? Worlds do tend to fall apart from time to time. Ours did when one of our children died. In fact, it was her world that fell apart, her future. But our world and our future were forever tied to hers, so our world fell to pieces too. The word Acceptance is out of the question. Nope. Not me. Picking up the pieces to rebuild a cracked and broken world, absolutely. You have to build a world, in order to be able to face the future, a world for your family of 5 + 1. And somehow you manage, you get back on your feet. Stumbling over the rocks and stones of your previous world, carefully picking them up, carrying them with you wherever…
If there’s one thing I find stressful, it’s spring. Especially when it’s nice weather. You can’t simply slob out in front of the telly, knock out a new column, read a book, or tidy out that cupboard you’ve been meaning to. No way, not in this weather. Totally Out of the Question. If you’re still in bed at 8am at the weekend in this weather, you already feel it coming. Spring stress. (more…)
Whaaaat??? It’s true. I want to give up that whole ‘control’ thing. Especially when it comes to the health care that I receive. Control is a word that doesn’t belong in the world of health care. At all. When I studied Health Care Management and Administration, a long time ago, it was trendy to talk about demand-driven care. More than 20 years on and it has yet to be successfully implemented.
Say what you like, but the lives of most women share 1 Big Constant.
Regardless of how hard you toil in that office, shop, factory, or whatever; it always comes back to haunt you. (more…)