as the tide turns..not a soap opera

What a week! I was supposed to be on holidays..hahhahahahahha. Well, regardless of that I can’t say it was a bad week. Actually it was an action packed good week. I am just shock (well stunned might be more the word) at all the things that can happen in such a short time.
I found out last Thursday that I had lost one of my contracts so instantly panic ensued and I thought, “OH no!! I am going to be homeless, carless, and by far the worst, STARVE!!!”

Ok! Ok! So I was overreacting. You will be happy to know that depression followed very quickly, to take over from the panic. I simultaneously slept for several hours …or possibly days I can’t be sure.
I had promised one of my friends to go to the women’s expo on the weekend and had several social activities arranged so I couldn’t really show up in jammies, so I pulled myself together. The women’s business expo was pretty good and had some information. It got me thinking anyway.

In between there, I drudgingly started updating my resume, contacting references, and writing (oh horror) cover letters! I searched the Internet and contacted fellow colleagues to get the word out. By Tuesday, I had resolved to the situation and thought well, I just have to get things going and find something.

By Wednesday early afternoon, I got a call from an employer and received a contract offer until end of June. I was ecstatic. I didn’t even have to look for that one. When did it start? Oh Thursday! No problem! So much for the holiday week!
I also had a lovely reprieve on Wednesday night when another friend gave me a spare ticket to go see Guys and Dolls. I highly recommend it. I am not really a huge musical fan, but this was amazing. It was a great night.

I worked and met with fellow participants on Thursday and then started class on Friday. Nothing like trial by fire. To add to the hubbub, I had a lead for a job on the previous Sunday from a friend when we were having brunch, for which I was now creating that perfect cover letter. On the same Thursday I was teaching, another employer called and wanted an interview on the next day. I had to postpone that until the following week. And finally…I know I am taking a deep breath. This morning I had a meeting about a project that I may be involved with in the near future and it is very exciting.
So, as the tide turns… (could be a new soap opera) I went from underemployed to super-employed. What was I worrying about…hahahahahaha I’m FABULOUS!!

Wow this was a long winded one…. I am tired- I need a beer…

Hello fellow bloggers.

I thought I would make an appearance. Hope this brings a little amusement to you all.

I had posted on Jan 6, 2006 about dust-laden words that no one uses. Well, recently again, on one of my multitude of newsletters, I received an interesting thing. Thanks to Macmillan online for minutes of amusement. We start off with new words to use in the dating arena. This is the link if you are interested

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/resourcenew.htm


The first word ‘smirting’. I thought what ARE we teaching the second language learners. What on earth? I have never even heard this word. I was once again in my state of, “Wow, there are a lot of people that are going to be speaking English sure, but no one will understand them (or maybe it will only be me out in left field) because …well ‘smirt’?” My prescriptivism was kicking in…hmmm scary.
So, I calmed down a little and continued to read. That was my emotional brain talking. ;0) This is the meaning. It can also be used as a verb and as a person such as- He is a smirter.

smirting- noun - socialising in a romantic way whilst smoking outside a place such as a bar, restaurant, etc., where smoking is prohibited or illegal

As I type this, my spell check just corrected it as ‘smarter’. What has the world come to when spell check has better grammar than people?! Ok well, most people.

Then there is a word like “polyamorous”, kicking back to Greek/ Latin, but adding all sorts of meaning to the word to weigh it down. I continued to read and found a well-defined and interesting description of these words.

Another I found really interesting and possibly useful was ‘rendition’. You are saying to yourself, “So, that word is used often, nothing strange about that.” Well, this is the definition and context it is used in:

rendition also renditioning - noun -the practice of capturing a criminal suspect and handing them over to the authorities of a different country for interrogation or imprisonment

I guess this came about after the 9/11 disaster and this is an actual practice of sending suspected terrorists home to their countries for questioning.

So, what have I learned from this. Well, I think I will have a job for a really long time because those poor students, who are using those electronic dictionaries at every turn, are going to be up the creek without a paddle. I already hear that English vocabulary is so difficult because there are so many meanings attached to one word. You must know the context it is used in.

What else have I learned? Well, once again I am not as open minded as I thought. I need to get back to those linguistic classes that look at language as a growing changing entity. I guess I have just been focusing too much on one thing and needed to be shaken up a little. I may just keep looking through this selection of words and learn what I can.
I had been perusing the Ebonics slang and other slang sites so I will just add this to the list.

Maybe one day one of our fellow bloggers (I know new term too) will create a blook from all the writings.