Re: Reasons To Be Grumpy thread

[xSilverPhinx]

It's 5:48 and I'm awake. 

[Dave]

It's 5:48 and I'm awake. 

a.m. ?

[Biggus Dickus]

It's 5:48 and I'm awake. 

a.m. ?

Yeah what's the big deal, I'm already showered and have half my face shaved at 5:48,...just about when the tea kettle starts to sing as well. 

[Dave]

It's 5:48 and I'm awake. 

a.m. ?

Yeah what's the big deal, I'm already showered and have half my face shaved at 5:48,...just about when the tea kettle starts to sing as well. 

I usually have to go to for a pee about then.

Then I climb back into bed and try to ignore the world for another three hours. In actuality I give up and look on HAF to see what you types across the pond have been wittering on about.

[Velma]

...morning about 5:30...

What on Earth would possess you to wake up at such an ungodly hour?

...

Have you paid a visit to the exorcist to excise that demon yet?

Oh, I don't wake up at 5:30.  I wake up at 5:00.  You are correct - 5:30 would be an ungodly hour - one would have already wasted 30 minutes.

At 5 am I have only been asleep for an hour or so. However, I get off work at 2 am.

[Dave]

My voluntary job is not going well, they just need a trained monkey (no disrespect Fr Bruno), no initiative needed. Tried to find work at the library helping others use computers, they are only really interested in social media skills though, I am no fan of the (anti)social media. Looks like nothing there.

In desperation I looked to see what courses, that will challenge my grey matter a bit, are available locally. Found a couple of links . . . that lead no-where, dead pages or further links that just did not work. Those were on college and uni websites.

Even considered going through the GCSE English Language course again, just to keep my brain awake and mingle with others with a similar aim. £343 and no places left anyway.

I really do enjoy teaching, passing on skills, watching that bulb come on in the other's mind. I really do enjoy writing when there is a purpose - have trouble doing things just "for their own sake", always have. Tried to get articles and essays published for a couple of years before I gave up.

So afraid of my brain turning to mush without something creative and purposeful  to occupy it and make it work. I do not miss the managerial(?) structure of work (managed to work 90% on my own initiative anyway) but, oh, how I miss the challenges, the need for creativity, the ability to turn another's scrap material into something useful (the budgets rarely stretched without a lot of luck and ingenuity, like building a water demineralising plant out of stuff others had thrown away but I rescued and squirrelled away knowing "it'll be useful one day"; you can't bin a perfectly good 30gal/min @ 10m head stainless steel water pump!).

The only real challenge left is getting out of bed in the morning.

Oh, and interacting with youse guys!

[Dave]

Part of the lesson of the above is this:

You have to plan your financial future for retirement as best you can. But you also need to plan towards your intellectual and avocational or occupational future as well. You may have more time than money (or the reverse, which can be better) but you heed to plan how to use that time. It can be fishing if that is your bag, or voluntary work of some sort - just develop the skills and networks and find the slots before it gets too late! And make sure it is something that will satisfy your needs if you can.

[xSilverPhinx]

It's 5:48 and I'm awake. 

a.m. ?

Of course! It's been ages since I woke up near 6 p.m.

[xSilverPhinx]

It's 5:48 and I'm awake. 

a.m. ?

Yeah what's the big deal, I'm already showered and have half my face shaved at 5:48,...just about when the tea kettle starts to sing as well. 

People with normal sleep patterns are not normal in my book.

[xSilverPhinx]

My voluntary job is not going well, they just need a trained monkey (no disrespect Fr Bruno), no initiative needed. Tried to find work at the library helping others use computers, they are only really interested in social media skills though, I am no fan of the (anti)social media. Looks like nothing there.

In desperation I looked to see what courses, that will challenge my grey matter a bit, are available locally. Found a couple of links . . . that lead no-where, dead pages or further links that just did not work. Those were on college and uni websites.

Even considered going through the GCSE English Language course again, just to keep my brain awake and mingle with others with a similar aim. £343 and no places left anyway.

I really do enjoy teaching, passing on skills, watching that bulb come on in the other's mind. I really do enjoy writing when there is a purpose - have trouble doing things just "for their own sake", always have. Tried to get articles and essays published for a couple of years before I gave up.

So afraid of my brain turning to mush without something creative and purposeful  to occupy it and make it work. I do not miss the managerial(?) structure of work (managed to work 90% on my own initiative anyway) but, oh, how I miss the challenges, the need for creativity, the ability to turn another's scrap material into something useful (the budgets rarely stretched without a lot of luck and ingenuity, like building a water demineralising plant out of stuff others had thrown away but I rescued and squirrelled away knowing "it'll be useful one day"; you can't bin a perfectly good 30gal/min @ 10m head stainless steel water pump!).

The only real challenge left is getting out of bed in the morning.

Oh, and interacting with youse guys!

Have you considered learning another language? A lot of my mother's students are retired senior citizens and learn English to keep their minds sharp and busy. 

[Dave]

^
As I trued to explain, I seem to have to have an "external" reason to do things. If I had a reason to learn another language I would so so, but I have no reason.

Perhsos it is one if the readons I develooed as a, sort of, low level polymath - never found one subject or discipline that really grabbed me. Drop me in a slot and I will pick up enough to function there, but I need that slot first. I have taught adult literacy/numeracy and basic computer use, researched and co-authored an archaeological report that was accepted into the corpus of knowledge, designed and made all kinds of electronic, hydraulic, pneumatic and mechanical rigs, dabbled in dress design, helped with make-up, built stage scenery and made special effects, written panto songs, even poetry, and many other things. But all because a need was an apparent and I was able to fill it.

No need to learn a language. I can work on my own initiative if given a goal but am not really a self-starter, cannot do things for their own sake.

Oh, and I have drunk twice my normal ration of vino - not a good idea if you are feeling a bit down for starters!

[xSilverPhinx]

^
As I trued to explain, I seem to have to have an "external" reason to do things. If I had a reason to learn another language I would so so, but I have no reason.

Perhsos it is one if the readons I develooed as a, sort of, low level polymath - never found one subject or discipline that really grabbed me. Drop me in a slot and I will pick up enough to function there, but I need that slot first. I have taught adult literacy/numeracy and basic computer use, researched and co-authored an archaeological report that was accepted into the corpus of knowledge, designed and made all kinds of electronic, hydraulic, pneumatic and mechanical rigs, dabbled in dress design, helped with make-up, built stage scenery and made special effects, written panto songs, even poetry, and many other things. But all because a need was an apparent and I was able to fill it.

No need to learn a language. I can work on my own initiative if given a goal but am not really a self-starter, cannot do things for their own sake.

Well, there could be practical reasons for learning a another language, such as travel (which is always great, and better if you don't have to depend on a guide or phrasebook for everything), or simply having access to a whole new world of knowledge. And because it can be a challenge.

And then there are the cognitive benefits, bilingual and polylingual brains function slightly differently from that of a monolingual. One thing that I find particularly interesting is the type of cognitive control that is necessary to speak in one language and not the other, or a mixture of more than one language.    

[jumbojak]

It sounds to me like you need a project. Have you ever considered clock-making? You have everything you need equipment wise and could scrounge up whatever bits and pieces you'd need for the actual construction. Build one and donate it to the library. A modern John Harrison.

[hermes2015]

^
As I trued to explain, I seem to have to have an "external" reason to do things. If I had a reason to learn another language I would so so, but I have no reason.

Perhsos it is one if the readons I develooed as a, sort of, low level polymath - never found one subject or discipline that really grabbed me. Drop me in a slot and I will pick up enough to function there, but I need that slot first. I have taught adult literacy/numeracy and basic computer use, researched and co-authored an archaeological report that was accepted into the corpus of knowledge, designed and made all kinds of electronic, hydraulic, pneumatic and mechanical rigs, dabbled in dress design, helped with make-up, built stage scenery and made special effects, written panto songs, even poetry, and many other things. But all because a need was an apparent and I was able to fill it.

No need to learn a language. I can work on my own initiative if given a goal but am not really a self-starter, cannot do things for their own sake.

Oh, and I have drunk twice my normal ration of vino - not a good idea if you are feeling a bit down for starters!

What you are saying has struck a chord with me. I feel much the same way as you. I woke up at 4:30 this morning with a strange feeling of dread. This happens from time to time, but once I get up and start pottering about, I feel better. When little Lulu (my parrot) wakes up, it is even better. She demands immediate attention and then sits on my arm and shares a rusk dipped in coffee with me. I love her so much. If you want an intelligent pet, an African Grey is wonderful, but having one in the family is quite a big commitment.

Maintaining my classical music database is a source of much pleasure to me. I have a good music system and enjoy listening every day, my old favourites, as well as works that are new to me.

I have always been a loner, so I don't crave much interaction with other people. My company still needs me a few days every month to do training and to help users with chemistry-related problems, so that keeps me on my toes and brings in some extra money.

[jumbojak]

I found the nail in my mom's driveway last night. Left her house headed home and about five miles out the car started pulling to the left. Hard. So I pulled into a gas station (that's petrol to you Brits) and had tried my luck at putting enough air in the tire to get home.

I did not get lucky. As soon as I pulled the chuck off the valve stem the hiss from the tire was obvious. So I grabbed the spare, got the old tire off, and popped the spare on. It's a good thing I checked the pressure in the spare. It was about forty pounds low and as luck would have it I had wasted just enough time for the compressor to kick off. Dang!

So another dollar in the machine and I was on my way at forty five miler an our and had the pleasure of listening to the noisiest tire I have ever heard. All the tire shops are closed today so I'm going to try my luck with a plug kit. Might get lucky...