Things I Learnt In October
This month has been a hectic one but there's always something to learn and I'm passing it all on to you too! (aside: there may be a little bit of September's learning curve in here too as I didn't get chance to write it all up in time last month)
When you think you don't have any more room in your heart, along pops another little human being to disprove that fact. My newest grandchild - Freddie - was born on 29th October and is just flipping perfect.
It's always lovely to write for another website as it helps you focus more on your thoughts. I wrote this guest post for Hope House Press which is all about choosing a diary for 2017. I'm still a little undecided and really think that there should be less choice to make it a little easier.
140 characters goes even further on Twitter now because (direct uploaded) image links are not included in the character count. It gives you a little more freedom with your tweet and also makes commercial tweeting a little easier. The one drawback is now that Twitter does feel a bit flooded with 'promotional' tweets as people are using pictures to highlight their updates and there is even less conversation.
Donald Trump was a nominee for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Yes really!!
It took me 39 days to complete the 30-day squat challenge. There were days I really couldn't be arsed doing it, even though there are 'rest days' included but I was determined to see it through to the bitter end. 175 squats on the final day though... that hurt!! What I did notice is that my squats are deeper now than they were at the beginning of the challenge and it feels easier on the second time around.
I find 30-day challenges hard to stick to. It's only a month out of my life - and only a few minutes each day - but I've never completed NaNoWriMo (a writing challenge in November) and I even find blogging challenges difficult to carry through. I wrote my first blog post for one and then found that I had lost focus. It's always there to pick back up again though, I suppose?
Here's the 'Conversations At Work' section
People can be really stupid without realising it - or maybe they are just trying to work around company regulations and do a good deed for the day - and this is an actual conversation that I had on the phone at work:
ME: Hi can you put me through to your marketing departmentTHEM: Do you know who you want to speak toME: Sorry, I don't have a nameTHEM: Sorry, we can't put you through if you don't have a name. You can send an email thoughME: OK, what's the email address please *waits for generic marketing@ email address*THEM: [name] @ [company] - she's head of marketingME: Oh. thanks - can you not put me through to her now?THEM: No. sorry as you didn't as for her by nameME: OK. Thanks. Bye
- *two minutes later I ring back*
ME: Hi, can I speak to [name]THEM: sure *puts me straight through*
I also experienced a H-U-G-E- generation gap in another phone conversation with this little gem. I actually have no idea how these things happen to me.
THEM: "Yes, her name is Kylie"
ME: "As in the singer Kylie Minogue?"
THEM: "Who? No, as in Kylie Jenner"
Here's where the 'Conversations At Work' section ends.
Rainbows are unique to the person looking at it. I heard this mentioned on a radio show whilst driving to work so researched a bit deeper. Apparently, it's because of the position of your eyes and how they are seeing the sunlight through the droplets of rain. Read more about it here.
These two pictures made me laugh lots this month. The first, for obvious reasons - it's just so witty. The second because this is exactly me and my husband - he's the one with the full tank of fuel all the time and I'm the one that knows exactly how many miles I can probably do when the fuel light comes on.
Want to solve the Rubik Cube? Apparently - according to Mark Mason in this tweet - there is no arrangement of the puzzle that will require more than 20 turns to solve it... SO WHY IS IT STILL SO FLIPPING DIFFICULT!?
This snapchat story of a man walking home from the pub is one of the funniest things I've seen in a LONG time. Especially the running bit. And his mum. Just genius!!
I've been sharing a few old blog posts, including the one about my bikini body which always strikes a chord however it's lovely to receive a tweet which expresses how it has changed the way in which someone sees themselves. Read here and here for the response.
Here is my video of the month. It's not a meaningful message this time but I know I used to have problems with my Domino Rally game as a kid! I watched this and was in awe at the patience that it must have taken to set this up, only to knock it all down again.
And finally... Channel 4 speaks for us all with this tweet...
WEBSITES. We get it. There are cookies.— Channel 4 (@Channel4) October 26, 2016
Don't forget to let me know what you've learnt this month.
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