It’s Friday. Imogen is making dinner. My husband Andy will be home from school soon. And I have just enough time to share a few stories from this week.
Yes, another week has disappeared. Doesn’t time pass quickly? Apparently time acts logarithmically. I read about this in a very interesting maths book called Alex’s Adventures in Numberland. When we’re young, the days seem so long, and a year lasts forever. The older we get, the faster time seems to pass by. I must be quite old because a year doesn’t feel very long at all.
Talking of age, I keep meeting a very young looking Elle MacPherson in my Facebook feed. She’s been trying to sell me some miracle face lotion which will make me look 20 years younger. I looked at Elle’s gorgeous face and then I looked into the mirror, and felt dissatisfied and even ashamed of my appearance. (Elle and I are similar ages.) I was tempted to believe I needed those expensive lotions and potions. Then I began to feel annoyed with Elle for encouraging me to feel this way.
Later my feelings changed again. I started to feel sorry for Elle. It can’t be easy being a supermodel. She is her face as far as the world is concerned. How difficult it must be for her to accept she is getting older and not looking quite as good as she did at the height of her career.
It doesn’t matter at all what I look like when I make a podcast. I could make one with bed hair. I could wear my pyjamas and no one would know. Not that I’ve actually done this. I was dressed quite nicely when I made my second podcast this week. How did it go? So far I haven’t had any feedback so I have no idea what listeners think. But I think it’s better than my first one.
Although I don’t have to think about my appearance when podcasting, I have been forced to think about my voice. I’d rather not know how I sound but I can’t really publish a podcast without listening to myself. I have to play everything back and listen out for mistakes. I’m not entirely happy with my voice and how I’m using it. There’s lots of room for improvement. Ums and ahs seem to sneak into my sentences without me noticing. I decided I have to do something about them.
So I Googled the words, ‘improving speech’. I landed on a website called The Art of Manliness. Just for a moment I hesitated. I’d caught sight of a post about… perhaps I shouldn’t mention what it was about. It was definitely a men-only article, not really appropriate reading for a woman. So I hurried along without looking and arrived at a post called Becoming Well-Spoken: How to Minimize Your Uh’s and Um’s. It’s very interesting. You could read it too. Just be careful to sneak past the inappropriate posts.
Sophie also wants to improve her speech. In particular, she needs to improve her articulation. Unfortunately she always seems to have a stuffy nose due to allergies. This affects her speech. But I’m sure she could work on her voice. We could work on our voices together.
Yesterday a new idea associated with voices popped into my head. I wanted to go to bed but I hadn’t written my diary entry for the day. I was tired. I didn’t really want to start writing. I thought how much easier it would be if I could just dictate my entry into my computer. A moment later I had this ‘great’ idea. I could dictate it. I could capture my words using Audacity, export it as an MP3 file and save it. (Just like I do when making a podcast.) Can you imagine coming back years later and listening to your younger self describing your former days? Grandchildren and great grandchildren might listen to the recordings one day too. Long after we are no longer here, our voices might still be going strong. Yes, this idea is worth considering.
I seem to have lots of ideas. Not all of them are good ones but I did get some feedback about one I shared here a couple of months ago. Do you remember when we were discussing Evernote? I wrote a few posts and made some videos about how we could use it to keep unschooling/ homeschooling records. Yesterday someone told me she’d watched my videos and then been inspired to keep Evernote records. She recently had her homeschool registration visit and her Authorised Person was very impressed with those records. Isn’t that wonderful news? It seems that untested idea of mine actually worked.
I have some untested video ideas. I’ve been turning them over in my mind, wondering if they will work. I guess there’s only one way to find out. Try them out. Yes, I might do that.
What’s that? Dinner is ready? My writing time has run out? I am getting old and time is logarithmic. I guess that’s why the last twenty minutes felt more like five.
What did you do last week? I’d love to hear!
The girls must be thriving on your enthusiasm, Sue. As for Elle MacPherson, I wonder if she feels trapped at all. The rest of us can grow and mature but supermodels aren't supposed to change. I think of all the joyful discoveries that might be passed by if the source of our peace is our fleeting looks. One advantage of doing art is that the search for beauty focuses outside of self, I think. Unless one is preoccupied with self-portraits, I guess! Maybe, it's the same for all creativity – we find peace and joy in beauty which is outside of ourselves.
I'm rambling. I have been away from blogging for so long that my thoughts are spilling out into a tangent.
🙂
Vicky,
I agree: it must be so hard for supermodels to age gracefully. I am glad I'm not famous!
I find that when I am busy enjoying the world, making new discoveries and being creative, I haven't got any time for looking in the mirror and thinking about my appearance. There are far more important things to think about. I love your observation about self-portraits!
I'm glad you're bloggng again. Let your thoughts spill out. I enjoy reading them!
I love that picture!! And I look forward very much to hearing your podcast. I haven't had time yet this week to settle back for a nice time of listening. It is a "grandchild-y weed" (the very very very best kind!), and even as I write this I'm realizing I need to go get things ready for card-making with my 6 year old grandson (he requested an afternoon in which I can help him make a birthday card or gift for his daddy :). Awwwww… 🙂 ).
You asked what we all did this week, so let's see….. I helped my 8 year old granddaughter make "pirate maps" out of torn paper soaked in coffee to "age" them… I've watched several episodes of "The Brady Bunch" (!), I giggled with a grandchild over old videos, I told stories and harmonized with a certain young singer…and on it goes……. Now, aren't you glad you asked?
Nancy,
It sounds like you have had a delightful week. There are much more important things to do than listening to my podcast…. like card making! Please don't worry about it.
Thank you for sharing your week. I AM glad I asked. Old videos, stories, pirate maps… what a fun time you've been having. I wish I could pop over and join in!
I love the picture. It's has a very quirky, surrealist feel, which I love! 🙂 When I look at celebrities and supermodels, I feel inspired enough to pretend to be a Stepford Wife but it only took one day for the novelty to wear off and I'm back to my unglamourous self. My Stepford Wife moments amuse my husband and my son greatly, so I do that from time to time just so that we can all have a laugh.
Improving speech and public presentation is a skill that can be polished, with effort of course. I'm thinking the Toastmasters' Club might be of help in this area.
Hwee,
I was thrilled to find the image when I did a CC Search. It's so interesting!
Oh you made me smile with your Stepford Wife story. Glamour takes a lot of work and isn't very comfortable. It sounds like your husband and son prefer you just the way you are.
Your Toastmasters' Club suggestion was excellent. Thank you! I did a search for clubs near us but there isn't one. We live in rather an out-of-the-way place. But I'm wondering if Toastmasters make videos or have articles on a website with speaking tips. I shall have a look!
Sue, love the post title and how you tie it in to the "passing" of time…how quickly/slowly as one ages.
And I do love your style, as you know. I always save your posts in my inbox until i can relax and enjoy.
Now, what hit me about this picture??? We are huge Doctor who fans, as you know….I think your family is not, as I recall……The Doctor's time machine/space ship, Sue, is called the TARDIS!! I wonder if the creators of the show ( in 1963!!) took the idea from this picture?> How absolutely hilarious!!
Sue have a wonderful day!
I'll "see" you soon!
xoxoox
Chris,
I'm glad you like the post title. I think it's a bit misleading but entirely true, if you know what I mean!
I know you are all big Dr Who fans at your place. Most of us are too! The girls especially love this program. Last Christmas, my eldest son Duncan got lots and lots of Dr Who themed presents. Everyone had the same idea when it came to choosing his gifts!
Thank you so much for visiting. I always love seeing you here, Chris. I hope you're enjoying the weekend! xxx
Sue, I love how you generously share your thoughts and ideas with us – tested or untested. You never know how they are going to inspire people.
I use Audacity to make hypnotherapy recordings for people. It is fun and easy to use, isn't it? I like that it's easy to add a music track in the background, or even have short periods of dual vocals (that's a fun hypnosis trick for distracting the conscious mind so that the unconscious mind can take in the message. Don't worry, I only use my powers for good!)
I have a copy of Alex in Numberland somewhere – I will have to dig it out and read more about logarithmic time!
Lucinda,
I am sure you know far more about Audacity than me. I have had such a lot of problems with it recently, deleting parts of my file by mistake and not being able to get them back. Very frustrating! I really should take the time to watch or read a tutorial instead of learning by trial and error. The errors are mounting up!
With your experience making hypnotherapy recordings, you could easily make podcasts!
I bought the Numberland book with Sophie in mind, but it's a bit too complicated for her. But I have been reading it and sharing snippets with her. I was completely fascinated by the concept of logarithmic time!