On Abusing Words

A couple of weeks ago I had myself a nice little rant here about people saying sorry without thinking what the word means.  Today I once again realised how easily people can just throw around words without caring what they’re really saying.

I came into my office today to find two identical faxes from the same person lying on my desk.  Both carried a cover page saying, in very big letters, “URGENT FACSIMILE”.  Naturally, I picked them up before I had even put down my briefcase because here was something urgent that needed to be dealt with immediately.  Guess what it was?  No, really, guess?   Continue reading “On Abusing Words” →

On Giving Thanks

We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in South Africa, it being an American holiday, but I think it’s a really neat idea.  I’m not speaking here of the commercialised holiday that is nothing more than an excuse to stuff yourself with too much food, fight with relatives and trample people in shopping malls (that is, of course, if American television portrays an accurate image of Thanksgiving).  No, I mean the idea of celebrating being thankful. Continue reading “On Giving Thanks” →

Sorry

When I hear that word, I start channelling my inner-Shakespeare: ‘…I hate the word, as I hate hell, all [insert whatever you hate most in the world], and thee.’ (Tybalt, Act 1 Scene 1, Romeo and Juliet)

Now I hear your question: ‘What’s wrong with the word “sorry”?  Isn’t that what we all want to hear from others?’  Yes, there’s nothing as satisfying as an apology that is owed to you, but picture this scenario:  I’m starting to take in exam papers at the end of the session. Continue reading “Sorry” →

On Facebook, Friends and Birthdays

I had an interesting experience yesterday:  it was my birthday and I received more congratulatory messages from companies of which I am a client and organisations to which I belong than from friends and relatives.  The only reason, as far as I can tell, is because my birth date is not visible on my Facebook profile (call me crazy, but for some reason I think it a bad idea to post personal details on public websites; you may call me paranoid, I call it good common sense.) Continue reading “On Facebook, Friends and Birthdays” →

On Silence

In high school if we thought someone was talking nonsense we’d say, “Silence is golden, so shut up and get rich.”  If only I knew then just how valuable silence was.  This thought occurred to me this morning at school.  Do you have any idea how noisy a school gets?  Even if everyone is working, there’s always noise – the sound of the teacher next door teaching, the noise of learners changing classes, and don’t even get me started on breaks;  the staff room, supposedly a refuge against the noise, is just as noisy as outside, sometimes more.

At college I could not get enough of silence.  I studied at a small college in a small town nestled in the mountains, and silence was abundant.  It was the easiest thing to find a quiet place and simply revel in the silence.  I would spend hours a day simply listening to the sounds silence makes. Continue reading “On Silence” →