Update with a pinch of added randomness
Apr. 18th, 2008 10:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
essayelCan I just go on record here that Hypericum is a useful little plant with lovely yellow flowers, interesting leaf colour in autumn and seed pods that are nicely sculptural when dried.
Also, alarm call outs while providing a welcome addition to one's rather strained finances play merry hell with one's sleep patterns. I've had two recently, one at 4 am and one at 1 am and am beginning to get a little bored with them. Ruined castles on pitch black nights are not the most comfortable places to be even if, as on the 4 am one, one takes a daughter and a huge hairy black dog as backup.
Speaking of the huge hairy black dog, he got out today and by the time I found him, he was in the park, trying to shag a cross-bred collie. The collie was growling a bit but made no real effort to get away and, as soon as it realised I had dog biscuits for bribing purposes [Sizz just ignored them and me, he was having FAR too much fun] was perfectly happy to stand still and be mounted as long as I gave him a biscuit. Dogs are SO embarrassing!!!! However, Sizz's preoccupation was sufficient to enable me to grab him before he could go all the way and the collie got his biscuit anyway.
I had one of those little moments the other day - you know the ones - where I felt all persecuted by someone's misconceptions. My second cousin, or something, paid a visit to my mother and apparently asked what I did for a hobby [he was taking apart a grandfather clock at the time being a keen amateur horologist]. Did I play any sports, or a musical instrument etc etc?
Mum said that I drew and painted a bit but mostly I wrote fiction and he immediately asked what I had had published.
This isn't the first time I've been asked that. Now, forgive me for being picky but if you tell me that you enjoy playing the piano I don't immediately ask where I can get one of your recordings. Nor do I ask hobby footballers which team they play for. Horseriders don't generally get asked how many races they have won. So, please God, why is it that 'people' make the assumption that the only valid reason for writing anything is to get it published? Why is it perfectly acceptable to say "I'm learning to play the flute" but writing is something 'people' assume that you just do, straight off, without having to go through the long and painful process of learning your craft. Sometimes I am tempted to cobble together an ending to one of my original stories and bung it up on Lulu.com just so I can give a flip answer if I get asked that again.
And, if I do, I'll make sure it contains plenty of slashy subtext. So there.
Also, alarm call outs while providing a welcome addition to one's rather strained finances play merry hell with one's sleep patterns. I've had two recently, one at 4 am and one at 1 am and am beginning to get a little bored with them. Ruined castles on pitch black nights are not the most comfortable places to be even if, as on the 4 am one, one takes a daughter and a huge hairy black dog as backup.
Speaking of the huge hairy black dog, he got out today and by the time I found him, he was in the park, trying to shag a cross-bred collie. The collie was growling a bit but made no real effort to get away and, as soon as it realised I had dog biscuits for bribing purposes [Sizz just ignored them and me, he was having FAR too much fun] was perfectly happy to stand still and be mounted as long as I gave him a biscuit. Dogs are SO embarrassing!!!! However, Sizz's preoccupation was sufficient to enable me to grab him before he could go all the way and the collie got his biscuit anyway.
I had one of those little moments the other day - you know the ones - where I felt all persecuted by someone's misconceptions. My second cousin, or something, paid a visit to my mother and apparently asked what I did for a hobby [he was taking apart a grandfather clock at the time being a keen amateur horologist]. Did I play any sports, or a musical instrument etc etc?
Mum said that I drew and painted a bit but mostly I wrote fiction and he immediately asked what I had had published.
This isn't the first time I've been asked that. Now, forgive me for being picky but if you tell me that you enjoy playing the piano I don't immediately ask where I can get one of your recordings. Nor do I ask hobby footballers which team they play for. Horseriders don't generally get asked how many races they have won. So, please God, why is it that 'people' make the assumption that the only valid reason for writing anything is to get it published? Why is it perfectly acceptable to say "I'm learning to play the flute" but writing is something 'people' assume that you just do, straight off, without having to go through the long and painful process of learning your craft. Sometimes I am tempted to cobble together an ending to one of my original stories and bung it up on Lulu.com just so I can give a flip answer if I get asked that again.
And, if I do, I'll make sure it contains plenty of slashy subtext. So there.
