More Quotes!

 I know this has been done before but there are so many quotes that it's kinda inevitable that I'd end up doing another one all about em.

If something really grinds your gears then feel free to write it on a postcard and send it to Santa :P

What really grinds my gears is having to trawl through masses of text in order to dig out the handful of truth nuggets that are buried within. This extends to lectures, speeches even some films! Just give me the bullet points and allow me to obsess over them in my own time. I'm a massive fan of boiling things down to their bare bones and presenting that. Apparently that's one of the reasons I have my current job. Had to give a presentation as part of the interview, I had zero time to prep so didn't over think it. Oh and that's how Steve Jobs did it and he invented the apple, respect!

Now anyone who's read any of my posts will now be in a bit of a daze/rage. I am saying I dislike long written things but, whenever I write something it's usually really, really long! I think this links with the way I think/remember things. Stories! Whenever I learn something I usually recall the situation within which I learnt it. That's a overly wordy way of saying I remember things as stories, don't we all remember things as stories? When I get some new info I link it with pre-existing info/stories so as to incorporate it into my existing understanding. New info links with old info thereby seamlessly incorporating into the structure that is my understanding. It sounds like I'm making an excuse for the paradox that is my hatred of lengthy writing vs. my penchant for writing at length. I'm conflicted...

This is a good a time as any for me to fling a quote your way:

So it would appear I've fallen into an age old jelly trap! A sentence you are unlikely to read ever again. Think about that for a moment: no more, no less. Does anyone know who Virginia Woolf is? I know she was a writer but beyond that I haven't the foggiest. But this quote was used to close the first episode of Was It Something I Said? If you don't believe me then you've got about a week to check it out on 4OD. It features David Mitchell, Richard Ayoade and Micky Flanagan  so worth a lookie.

It's a bit like sugaring the pill or as Mary Poppins would put it:

Not saying that anything I write can be classed as medicine! But it maybe explains why I carelessly craft so much jibber jabber around my otherwise seemingly unpalatable points.

This popped up on the Lincolnshire Bombers Roller Girls fb page. Not so strange that they are sharing a quote from a living legend of the sport + they are rather active on the old social media. It's originally sourced from Bonnie D. Stroir, awesome name btw. She's a whole six years older than me and was the world's first full time roller derby coach. She travelled the world coaching! She retired but returned to the game. I found out this morning she retired again in September 2013! I'm kinda hung up on the sport, tried to make sense of why here. I may actually give it a go if I ever leave the permanently injured limbo state I seem to have been in for the past decade! Can't make Lincolnshire Rolling Thunder's recruiting ting that's soon. Why is so much awesome stuff happening!

When I first read this I wholeheartedly disagreed. It made no sense to me to bust up your body. Inevitably I sought to poke holes in my reasoning. I actually started to realise that I agree whilst sat in the waiting room of the ortho fracture clinic at Lincoln County.

I only ever felt I was useful if I had a fully functioning body. Things ain't functioning atm hence my knee jerk reaction to the quote. In a lot of ways I let being the "strong" one become my defining characteristic. A relic from a simpler time when might made right. Trapped in this way of thinking I continued to train and live in a way that was quite literally tearing my body apart. I have very hyper mobile joints and I love to lift heavy. There came a breaking point that has made me think again.

I was speaking with an occupational therapist about any gadgets, gizmos etc. I'd need to manage my day to day at home. I started running my mouth and what came out was right on the money. I need to think more. Think...that's something I didn't do enough of while I could get by with power alone. I'd power through physical tasks with little or no thought as to if there is a more effective way of doing them.

Breaking up the brick of text with Ross demoing his amazing Unagi skillz!

Power is no longer an option, at least for the time being. A part large part of what I considered to be my identity has been removed. What do I do now? Well I guess I'm free from that prison that I managed to build for myself. I don't have to be that guy any more. Well if I end up as that guy feel free to give me a short sharp kick in the shin. It may sound extreme but it's preferable to regressing into that state!

There are lots of people who place ideals, goals etc. above their own lives. If you scour fiction you will find numerous examples of main characters who are willing to fight and die to further their cause. I did go over this a bit in one of my old posts What's the RDA for PEP? and there's a vid at the end of this one that illustrates the idea of putting yourself second in order to attain something amazing. I struggle to think of real life examples of people doing this.

These selfless acts tend towards the dramatic and, more often than not violent. I'm all for violence, it get's things done ever so quickly! But I'm also all for change that is sustainable and that happens with all the speed of a rampaging glacier. So is there a way to win without fighting? Seems counter intuitive I know, how can you win if you don't fight? Depends what you're using as your weapons. I would say I am much more able to effect change with my words than I ever was with my fists. Also the society we live in doesn't allow for such things to happen so often.



And:

Than image is from a lovely fellow calles Jay Branscombe. He describes himself as an aggressive progressive, sounds awesome even if I haven't a clue what it means! I've asked his permission to use it, if he says no it may disappear, eek! So real life examples...Gandhi? Pacificm was part of his religion but you can't argue with results right? I know very little about such a titan of history I am ever so unclued up. I may present the front of an all-knowing sagely font but I am in fact rather uneducated.

But I did once hear a story about his followers on a picket line. They would be beaten back and be carried off with injuries. Once bandaged up they'd rejoin the line and be beaten back again. They did not raise a hand against their attackers. It boggles my mind about the level of belief they had that this course of action would further their cause.

So that's Bonnie D. Stroir shooting the duck. A phrase I learnt from a handy little book that I purchased here. It's a move known as shooting the duck, don't know why and it serves no purpose other than to show boat and put a big smile on your face :-D

So is anyone superstitious? Rituals that you have to do before you go out in the field/pull? I think I'm starting to become more superstitious as I grow ever older Less seems coincidental! Ok so does anyone know what number Bonnie D. Stroir skates under? I daren't call her by her by anything other than her full title, I don't know why! Well it's 26, "so what?" is the reaction I'm expecting from the global gathering that inexplicably reads these. Well if you add the 2 and 6 together what do you get? Well you get 8 of course, still not that awe inspiring but bear with me I'll get there one day. 8 is my lucky number according to a complex ancient eastern numerology system . Well it's not that complex I was born on the 26th of November so you add the 2 and 6 together to get 8! So two twenty sixes is no big whoop but here's the kicker I'm actually 26 years old right now!

I can't mention roller derby without a nod to my route to the sport. This is of course an old work colleague, the Roller Girl who Draws in Secret, SDRG for short. Anyone want to guess what number she skates under? Well I'll give you a clue! It is a number that's particularly auspicious for the population of the most populous country on the planet. The answers are 8 and China. I met SDRD shortly after turning 26!

Coincidence, probably...

I bought a Euromillions ticket yesterday. I'm 26, born on the 26th and the jackpot was 26 million! I didn't win...