NEWS VIEWS AND SO MUCH MORE

Oh my word. What a morning so far? Well, I went to let my dog pollute in her dog run and almost went flying.

No, I didn’t grow wings, but I did leave the ground for a brief while. You know one of those stupid walks you do when you know you are falling? Thankfully no one can see me from our back yard.

Well, apart from neighbours looking out from their window upstairs. Oh and those passing on a bus. Oh, and the gap in my fence. The birds and if anyone is looking down the side of my house, but apart from all that, haha haha, no one else.

 

I tripped over something huu’uuge.

What was it? Well, I didn’t know until I had a look. Our wheel bin had fallen over. Nightmare. The winds are blowing so hard it was almost inaudible to even hear me shouting at Wagga as I tried to keep her from eating the entire contents from our bin. Gross considering I cleaned the dog runs yesterday after two days. It was really horrible. The bags I used burst and there were bits of food and other stuff all over the yard.

 

I wanted to get her in first.

She wanted to stay out.

Who won?

Not me!

Oh I was furious with her. She is dreadful. She knows she is doing wrong but doesn’t care. She also knows how to walk without rattling her bells on her collar so I can’t hear her.

 

Sometimes I can hear her claws on the ground. Not today. The northern winds prevented me from doing so.

 

The fastest I was putting things back in the bin, the more the wind was blowing it back out the more Wagga was enjoying her second and third courses.

 

I put on gloves, disposable ones we keep outside for the dog run. And began the worst job I have ever done. Our bins stand to about my Hmm. I would say chest and I am tall. I’m 5ft9inches. Not sure in metres and so on. About 178? But a guess.

 

Anyway, they are big.

The bins that is, not my chest…

 

Though, that isn’t small either.

 

It got done and I tried to shelter it as best as I could.

I can’t believe I’m writing a blog about my bins? Really, I promise a more intelligent conversation. Just wanted to tell you how my day has begun.

 

We have snow too. Just a little, it’s sunny and very cold. Weird.

 

I’m in my sitting room all warm and it’s peaceful. My girl is in her bed as she has been a very naughty girl. I don’t want to put her on the naughty step, as the only one we have in our house, are the stairs to upstairs  and she is parcel to teens bedroom, in fact his blooming bed. Mind you, all his Christmas sweets are gone now, so may not be so appealing.

 

Teen is in college and Hub with LC at work.

 

I know I go on about Hub, and his job, but I am buzzing with pride for him. He has been highly praised at work by his boss and the top man of his organisation. I can’t write of his achievements, but really I wish I could? Let’s just say he has gone into a war zone. Saved so many people, brought in good people to help to rescue and has discovered so many resources to finance and rebuild the area. The people are all well now and stronger than ever. Committed to peace and achieving goals now they have pride so the work starts to have belief in them. More so, he is helping so many of us blind and partially sighted. Not me personally, as he and I now are under a different team for his organisation. He thought that would be best.

 

He is over qualified for his job, but is enjoying it so much as he is in direct contact with the people. Because he makes sure he is. He doesn’t have to. It’s not his roll.

 

I’ve said too much already, good job he doesn’t read my blogs. He wouldn’t be happy. He is very reluctant to blowing his own trumpet.

Though is very musical. Hehehe.

 

Okay, enough mind puzzles now.

Last night, well, my friend Terry asked me to give an update on my blade carrying, wrapping southerner, who came to visit me yesterday afternoon.

 

Remember him? He was the one supposedly from the RSPCA? So trying to cause awareness for animals? Hmm. I’m sure he was from a proper organisation, as there were a lot of them in the streets, now at the time when he came and did his wrap on my doorstep, with a mouth full of cotton wool,

I was unaware of this. I thought I had a weirdo at my door. And I still think that.

When I told him I was on a conference call, so couldn’t talk with him. He said he would come back at half eight tonight?

He did too, but a bit earlier than half eight.

 

Hub answered this time.

Funny, as I bet he knew I couldn’t see, as probably not looking at him until he spoke. Well, when Hub answered, he probably thought,

“Heck, there are two of them!”

Hehehe.

Well, Hub works for a charity so always does this rather anal thing and I really have to block my ears as I cringe, but he asks for statistics of finances and goals and so on. He says to prove they are who they say they are? If they aren’t he would report them. But this lad knew his stuff. Though I do wonder if he was from the young offender’s prison.

As I said yesterday, I can’t see him bonding with bouncing bunnies, or Coochie cooing, with cute kittens.

 

Well, he went on his way to try to get money from other neighbours. I can’t stand cold callers. And I feel sorry for elderly people. People coming to their doors as especially at nights?

 

Now, what’s in the news?

Well, I didn’t know that Chinese builders were all over the world, constructing palaces and other buildings of importance. Really? Apparently so. I am so suspicious. I shouldn’t be, it’s just the way that China is seaming to rule the world. I don’t like any country doing this. I have spoken before about when I visited Russia, after Perestroika and how ancient buildings, golden globes and bronze statues were draped with American flags, and how the repressive empty shops were brash flashing lights advertising US products. It all just didn’t fit in with the classy culture of Moscow streets. Too glitzy. How the $, was recognised more than the rouble I just like each country to have their own individuality. I know coming from England, where we used to own a lot of countries is a little rich, but I am modern in the respect that I personally didn’t own land that didn’t belong to me. I went to buy something today that I thought was typically English. When I looked into it further, it was made in China. I didn’t buy it on principle. Now I know that is stupid, as I would have a very difficult life if I were to follow that way of shopping, as everything is from China. Because we have allowed it that way, as we want cheap. Or do we? Not always, I wish there was a choice. But there’s not.

 

Now why are so many of the world’s buildings now being built by Chinese builders? I find Chinese proverbs fascinating

 

Dismantle the bridge just shortly after crossing it.

Everyone speaks well of the bridge which carries him over. But my favourite Chinese quotation is this one and I love it. It’s deep and meaningful. From

Sun Tzu

“If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.”

I may write a blog later on quotes and proverbs. I’m so intrigued by such things. I wrote one way back, but may revisit the subject with different words.

 

A cat in Florida crawls out from a grave.

A zombie cat, five days earlier, was hit badly by a car and was found in a pool of blood. Stiff. He was buried by his owners neighbour and after five days, the cat clawed his way out. It’s now been looked after by the human society after substantial treatment.

 

Police raid Tokyo’ Amazon offices looking for child pornography. Books have been sold on line featuring children.

 

Now this headline was one that made me think, say whaa’aat?

Five ways to survive sharing a bedroom with five strangers?

So, Okay, how many of us do that? Those who do, will they read the internet? I guess I’m boring.

It’s written that people in London are now sharing their bedrooms as the price of accommodation is becoming so expensive. So here are the five tips to survive.

1. Stay out until bedtime

2. Get changed in the bathroom

3. Stay at your partner’s house; don’t bring back to shared room.

4. De-clutter in other words, do not hawed.

And 5 don’t stay too long.

 

Well, that advice was given by a girl who shared, but I know I couldn’t. I’m lucky, I have never had too. I can’t think of anything worse, unless you call boarding school, where to be honest; we all were like sisters at school. We were us and the house staff. The house staff were horrible, so we were our own army. But as an adult, I can’t think of anything worse.

 

A government minister gave the gift of a watch to the mayor of Taipei in good will, but ended up breaking local cultural norms because clocks are considered a harbinger of death. What gifts is taboo.

 When transport minister Susan Kramer gave Taipei mayor Koi Wen-je a small watch as a present, she was simply following standard diplomatic protocol. The exchange of gifts is commonplace on such trips abroad, but cultural norms differ from country to country, and Baroness Kramer was caught out.

Giving a clock to someone in Chinese culture is a bad omen, suggesting they are running out of time on earth. The mayor laughed off the joke, while Baroness Kramer apologised, saying "we learn something new each day". It appears her office may not have read Delbert’s, the etiquette guide, which advises readers to "do some research to avoid making a basic error - the bottle of whisky to the teetotaller, or the chocolates to the dieter".  An etiquette expert says that most diplomatic gifts are agreed between both parties in advance - and regardless, "research should be done".

 

"A ceremonial sword in [some parts of] Africa is a symbol of power; in Switzerland it would be seen as a sign of aggression.

Or if you are me, a sign of someone collecting money for animals? Haha.

Some things are constant, though. Almost all cultural taboos revolve around death, regardless of location. The number four is considered bad luck in China, because it tonally sounds like the word for death, while the number eight is good, because it sounds similar to the word for wealth.

In the UK, knives are generally not given as presents because superstition says it could cut through a friendship. Similarly, in Japan presenting a knife to a colleague is seen as suggestive of suicide. A bunch of chrysanthemums are a no-go area for the Spanish, because they are associated with death, much in the same way you wouldn't present a bunch of white lilies to a Briton.

Oh I love Lilly’s though, but only the ones that smell good. My Mum wouldn’t have them in her house. They are what we give for funerals.

Indeed, flowers are a particularly troublesome area. Red roses - a traditional lovers' gift - would appear out of place at a business meeting, while yellow roses commonly suggest infidelity in France, and death in Mexico. And superstition declares that you should always give an odd number of flowers in Russia.

 

So a gift you can give to a colleague not to offend? I say a book on the country you are from. Or area. Now then, you will only offend a person who can’t read or can’t see so then what?

Take them out for a meal?

A steak house? What if they are a vegetarian?

Oh heck. The stress.

 

Okay, I shall go for now, but hope you are all well. X