Weekend Reflections

 

A variety of "home made things" in  a shop window in Lund.
The shop was closed, so could not explore the inside!

...

"A Day in the Life of..."

It's been a rather ordinary week, except that on Wednesday, I woke up and decided that, for once, I'd make an attempt to answer the FAQ (frequently asked question) "what do you do all day". (Actually I think it's been a while since anyone specifically requested to know; but I do sometimes still ask myself...)

So, for one day, I decided to stop to reflect and take notes every hour or so. The result goes something like this:

7 a.m. - Waking up to a sunny day and feeling connected to the world.

7.15 - Making sure I really am connected (by WiFi). My morning checkup (sometimes before breakfast, sometimes after) normally includes Email, Facebook, Words With Friends (crossword game), and Duolingo (at least one lesson to keep up my streak; usually starting with Spanish). 

8.15 -  Getting dressed etc, having breakfast and glancing through the newspaper. (Yes I still have a daily printed morning newspaper - delivered through a slot in my door, so no need to go outside to fetch it.)

9 - Listening  (on my tablet) to a lecture on the Indo-European Languages of Europe; whilst making the bed, washing up, watering plants and sorting yesterday's laundry. (The lecture is part of an Audible course on languages around the world which is keeping me spellbound just now... Did you know there are 7000 languages???)

9.30 - Preparations to go out, and then a walk into town for various minor errands (including pharmacy + a grocery shop); also walking back home, and then unpacking my purchases etc.

11.25 - Quick check that I'm still connected to the world...

11.35-12.00 - Resting while listening to the radio. Every weekday (Monday-Friday) since the Dawn of Time (i.e. as long as I can remember), at 11.35, there is a chapter from a novel read aloud on the radio. (This has been going on since way before other access to audio books.) I often listen while preparing lunch, if I am home. (Nowadays there is of course also the possibility to catch up online.) (Just now: Nutshell by Ian McEwan - in Swedish. I've not heard every episode but enough to follow the basic story.) 

12 - Preparing lunch (salmon and salad, already pre-prepared) and then eating in front of the TV to A Place in the Sun - home or away. (British TV show: People not sure whether they want to just move to the English countryside or to a warmer climate, like Spain or France. Most seem to decide on the latter; which these days makes me wonder every time how Brexit will affect them all...) (The programs I watch are reruns so that question does not come up.)

13 - More Home or away, while going to and fro and doing some washing up and dusting etc during the commercial breaks.

14 - American Fixer Uppers demolish and refurbish a whole house while I'm exercising my vacuum cleaner. (phew)

15 - Resting (?) while playing Words with Friends and doing some Russian Duolingo lessons and other whatnots on my phone.

16 - Out for a short walk, and then a cup of tea and something.

17 - A mix of resting, reading and connecting with the world again; including a couple of Turkish Duolingo lessons.

18 - Preparing my biweekly online shopping list; and the TV on with a mix of News, British Antiques Road Trip, and Escape to the Country (people who know they want to stay in Britain, but not sure whether they want a thatched roof, next-door neighbours, or a barn conversion miles away from anywhere). (I like the various British house-and-antiques-hunting shows for all the glimpses of lovely scenery and interesting architecture and history - but at the same time they don't require my full attention...)  

20 - Ordering groceries online for delivery on Friday.

21 - Late supper and watching a Swedish history documentary on Women Viking Warriors (based on finds in old graves). Reflecting that even history is constantly changing... (or at least how we perceive it, from the perspective of our own time)...

22 - Getting ready for bed. Reading on my Kindle for a bit, then switching to the same book on Audible (on timer): Daniel Deronda English classic by George Eliot (alias Mary Ann Evans), first published in 1876. A very long novel; and I have to confess I feel like I keep losing the thread of the plot whether I'm awake or asleep, reading or listening with this one... (But around 70%  through now, so don't want to give up.)

Follow-up question: Is every day the same?
Answer: No! (Not exactly, anyway...)

Thinking Outside The Box

“The Box” I have in mind just now is Facebook; while Blogger  counts as Outside, because here I’m allowed all the space I want to think /rant /ramble…

On FB, I summed it up thus: “My life does not fit into the boxes.” 

(No, I’m not moving again. This is a picture from the last time I did, 3½ years ago. I have no wish to repeat that any time soon!)

If you are a Facebook user, you have probably noticed that they are introducing a new layout with a Timeline. I decided yesterday to give it a tryout before they force it on me anyway.

Seductively, they seemed to promise me a chance of reviewing and changing settings before these were made visible to anyone else. This, of course, was not true. People may not have seen the new layout (perhaps!) until I pushed that special button, but my trial and error “activities” were obviously made public step-by-step just as usual. Not that it mattered much – I was just a bit surprised when comments started to drop in about things I did not think I had actually published yet!

Don’t get me wrong. I think the new layout looks good, and as for the timeline I can see that it has its advantages – especially if you want to use Facebook as a complete CV and summary of your life; rather than just a meeting place to say hi and hello to few people now and then.

It’s when you don’t want FB to be a complete CV that it tends to get complicated. Because the new Timeline suggests it should be.

Personally I signed up for FB mainly as a means to keep in touch with certain old friends (and a few new ones). But I’ve been a rather passive or irregular user so far and with no special wish to track down and reconnect with every person I’ve ever known.

Therefore I’ve also seen no reason to list the whole history of my life in the “About” section. The only things I put down was where I went to secondary school vs. university.

But after I had switched to the new timeline layout yesterday, I happened to notice that when moving the cursor over my profile picture, up popped a little box displaying not only my name, but also the name of the university from which I graduated back in 1985.

It seemed that because I made no entry in the Job section (having been in disability retirement for the last eight years), FB would forever pin me down as either student or working for the university in a town I moved away from 26 years ago.

Not that I really mind being the eternal student. Actually I think I’d much rather still be hallmarked as student than anything else! But being tagged to the university in a town where I haven’t lived for nearly 30 years did not seem quite right.

Listing myself as an ex-whatever did not appeal to me either.

For a while, I half-seriously contemplated to enter also having been a student at Hogwarts, Hogsmeade (“studying” Harry Potter 2001-2007). Or The Unseen University, Ankh-Morpork (Terry Pratchett’s Discworld). But then I chickened out… 

However, after various trial and error experiments, I’m happy to say that I now seem to be successfully registered as a student at the University of Life. That I can live with! And the day I graduate, it will be Someone Else’s problem* how to enter the date!

*(Some years ago, I joined a heritage website, trying to sort out my family tree and timelines. The problem is, they made some access changes since I first joined. After my dad died last summer, I wanted to enter the date of his death; but was not able to do that the proper way. Why? Because while dad was still able to use a computer he registered himself on the website as well. Which means he needs to log in himself to make further changes in his own profile. Only… Well!!!)

By the way, do you know the background of the expression Thinking Outside the Box? Not sure I did… Check it out!