Read this if you were born before 1986.......

I'm not in any way bardic, but here's something for those of you who were born AFTER 1986 to look forward to - NOT!!

Age-activated attention deficit disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to wash my car.
As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the hall table.
I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.
I put my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the trash can under the table and notice that the trash can is full.
So I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the trash first.
But then I think, since I?m going to be near the mailbox when I take out the trash anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.
I take my cheque book off the table and see that there is only one cheque left.
My extra cheque book is in my desk in the study, so I go to my desk where I find the cold drink I?d been having.
I?m going to look for my cheque book, but first I need to push the drink aside so that I don?t accidentally knock it over.
I see that the drink is getting warm and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator.
As I head towards the kitchen, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye ? they need to be watered.

I set the glass down on the counter and I find my reading glasses I?ve been searching for all morning.
I decide I?d better put them back on my desk, but first I?m going to water the flowers.
I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a jug with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realise that, tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won?t remember that it?s on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I?ll water the flowers.
I splash some water on the flowers, but most of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.
Then I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day, the car isn?t washed, the bills aren?t paid, there is a warm drink sitting on the counter, the flowers aren?t watered, there is still only one cheque in my cheque book, I can?t find the remote and my glasses and I don?t remember what I did with the car keys.
Then when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I?m really baffled because I know I was busy all day long and I?m really tired.
I realise this is a serious problem and I?ll try to get some help for it, but first I?ll check my e-mail.

Don?t laugh?..if this isn?t you yet, your day is coming. Growing older is mandatory. Growing up is optional. Laughing at yourself is therapeutic.

In the forum I think we are all similarly disadvantaged. I found out that I couldn't just type in some flippant comment without a smiley or two, because my tone of voice just doen't come through in print.

Not nearly as badly as I do. ?Despite my best intentions, I always end up offending someone, or sounding like a raving maniac. ?I guess I just can't help myself. ?

Anyway, I shall now ensure that you all will not have to suffer in my presence any longer. [smiley=icon_biggrin.gif] [smiley=icon_cool.gif]?

Goodbye.

Tottefan.

Tottefan! Where are you coming from? That came out of the blue.

You aren?t any different from me in that I often get contradicted or slammed for things that I say on here as well. It nips a bit at the time, but I just pick myself up and move on, as life?s like that. It?ll all be forgotten in a few days. We have to understand and accept that people don?t always agree with everything we say, whether they?re right or wrong. I couldn?t find anything that would have particularly upset you, being a seasoned former who knows the score, other than maybe Dawn?s post. Having read through it again, I?m still not sure whether she was initially referring to the PC people taking themselves too seriously rather than you or me.

Don?t regard this forum like other ones, where people get quite nasty with one another on occasions. Here we tend to keep things more light-hearted and don?t indulge in outright slanging matches or witch-hunts. Because of that, I don?t think anyone has deliberately sought to pull you down about your posts. I think it?s more of a leg-pulling and Selchie is right about how our posts can be misinterpreted sometimes because the reader has only the written word to go on and misses out on the different tones of voice or a cheeky grin or wink, which would otherwise confirm that the post should be taken lightly.

Posting on a forum is very black and white (or, on our forum, black and grey or is it blue?). In more complicated issues a lot is lost because we can?t actually see or hear the poster to get the full benefit of what they?re saying. I?ve often read posts and felt peeved about them, but, having read them again later in a different frame of mind, I can often see a totally different meaning to them. If you read them as a ?wounded soul? then you?ll probably find more fuel to add to the fire, but if you read them when you?re feeling more ?up?, you might see another side to them you hadn?t realised was there.

I hope you?ll reconsider resigning from the forum, as I?m sure there are many of us on here that appreciate reading about your views on life, whether we agree with them or not. If we all thought the same way, life would be very monotonous and we wouldn?t have much to talk about.

Tottefan! ?Where are you coming from? ?That came out of the blue.

You aren?t any different from me in that I often get contradicted or slammed for things that I say on here as well. ?It nips a bit at the time, but I just pick myself up and move on, as life?s like that. ?It?ll all be forgotten in a few days. ?We have to understand and accept that people don?t always agree with everything we say, whether they?re right or wrong. ?I couldn?t find anything that would have particularly upset you, being a seasoned former who knows the score, other than maybe Dawn?s post. ?Having read through it again, I?m still not sure whether she was initially referring to the PC people taking themselves too seriously rather than you or me.

Sheeeesh!! How many times do I have to say that I REALLY WAS NOT TAKING A POP AT ANYBODY [smilie=Furious.gif]

I was referring to people in general. society in general, the world in general about how serious people have become about everyday things. I work for local government and everybody has to walk, talk, smile, fart and scratch their a*!e PC. Even the arts are being stifled for PCs sake - that's what pees me off!! When I wrote the post I had just had a drama piece slammed for not being PC - because I allowed the children to talk openly about how they felt rather than imposing PC crap on them. Drama, after all is supposed to be about 'trying on' other peoples thoughts, feelings and actions. I WAS NOT HAVING A GO AT ANY ONE PERSON OR TWO PEOPLE IN PARTICULAR!!!

Nobody has a bigger mouth than me! Nobody has more of an opinion about more things than me! Nobody gets themselves into trouble for opening their big fat gob more than me! It would be rich for me to have a go at someone else who chose to do it wouldn't it!

I'm feeling sorry for myself as well now! Line up behind me to have a swing with the bat [smilie=Angry_club.gif]

Actually, I can honestly say that it wasn't anything anyone else said. [smiley=icon_biggrin.gif] I realised how intense I sounded ages ago, and this is why I momentarily decided to end my part of the discussion a few weeks ago. I'm afraid I get very stubborn and philosophical at times, even though I know my overbearing personality can become annoying and frustrating to other people.

Sheeeesh!! How many times do I have to say that I REALLY WAS NOT TAKING A POP AT ANYBODY

It wasn't you, Dawn. I just realised how stupid I sounded. ::)

Don?t regard this forum like other ones, where people get quite nasty with one another on occasions

I agree. This forum is great, as are the people on it. I wish you all the best luck in the world in NZ. I shall still read all of your updates. You don't really need me anyway.


Tottefan.

I'm afraid I get very stubborn and philosophical at times, even though I know my overbearing personality can become annoying and frustrating to other people.

The same can be said about me.

I'm really only here to make up the numbers while I await my turn at the immigration hurdle.

Feel free to post on here whenever you feel comfortable about it, Tottefan. I'm as much to blame, as I tend to wade into a debate the same as you and we probably spark each other off.

Good God...........is this thread still alive, it should have been put down 3 pages ago!

Nick

It's got a life of its own, Nick.

Good God...........is this thread still alive, it should have been put down 3 pages ago!

I think it's just become a conversation.

Tottefan, I hope you're not planning to leave us. You might have a few burrs, but we all do. Speaking only for myself, I'd miss having your input, and the opportunities to dig deeper into what each of us really means when we write something.

Dawn, try not to be frustrated. I like your way with words. Sometimes I have to do a double-take to be more certain of your intent, but appreciate your bluntness and interesting ideas.

Thinking of the good/bad old days...
I grew up with the old jest to the effect of 'when I was your age, we had to walk two miles to school in 6 feet of snow'
Now I suppose we could tell the younger generation 'we had to (actually) walk to school without even iPods' ? [smiley=icon_biggrin.gif]

Selchie, Gary and I were having a similar conversation shortly after we awoke this morning. I found some undeveloped 35mm films in a drawer the other day, they must be from at least 4 years ago because we've used a digital camera since then. I was asking him if you could still get 'old films' developed. Then I thought God, it's not that long since 'old film' would have meant cine-film or black and whites like my mum used to show me. Sometimes, at busy times of the year, they took a week to get developed and cost a fiver a throw. We used to get really excited, waiting for them to come back and then after choosing which ones you wanted enlarging for a frame, you had to take them back and wait another week for them to come back. Now, you can see the image immediately, discard or save it, enlarge it, rotate it, colour or de-colour it all within minutes of taking the actual still. How times have changed!

That makes me sound really old and I'm only 37! [smiley=icon_eek.gif]