CunningLinguist

it probably not worth writing about.

a few months back i changed the style of my journal, nothing spectacular, nothing cosmetic. the major difference is in the content. i decided; admittedly after reading the smotlock opus on journalling; that some changes need to be made, i probably already knew what they were but that was the catalyst.

since then i`ve tried to limit my posts to one a day. i should point out that i don`t have anything against anyone who post more than once a day, it`s your journal and your prerogative, i`ve just found that simple rule works for me and i`ve tried to stick by it. i`ve found that i enjoy writing more and thinking about it, like this particular entry, which has been circulating for two days, helps me flesh the idea out, so when i sit at the keyboard, i`m not blank and lose my train of though.

although, even that is no guarantee. as the adage goes `the road to hell is paved with good intentions` and all the idea and structure for this entry went to hell in a handbasket after the last paragraph. i think it has to do with the writing style, where i try to follow a thought to it`s conclusion and get distracted by other sometimes brilliant thoughts or as this proves, not so brilliant. i`m typing this hoping the original thought will return.

aha, the other thing i was going to talk about is the lack of capitalisation in my journal. i don`t do capitals or is that capitalism? my favourite aspect of design is typography and even then i tend to design around lower case. i like the shape and character of lower case letter. i don`t know what font most people who read this blog see, but i chose a well formed serif font, which is quite easy to read in all lower case.

join me next time when i`ll discuss rules of punctuation. not.

well that`s my contribution for the day, my wife is in the kitchen making scones and then we`re off to pick up the boychick from the grandparents.

Technorati Tags:
writing style, form, content

like you`re thinking about something unpleasant.

that has nothing to do with this post, but vic said it to me yesterday and it had such weight, i promised to lead off today`s post with it.

after appropriate chiding from many sides, i`m sticking with the spelling i`ve spent my life learning. when i get a job, i`ll just have to remember to switch gears.

it`s interesting how well vic knows me, from the tone of my voice to the set of my jaw. i have to admit i was a little miffed yesterday, i think the change in my schedule is getting to me. i usually pick the boychick up from school on afternoons, breaking the monotony of the post lunch hours, but he`s on spring break and at his grandparents. i think i`ve done all the laundry in the world so after i have lunch with vic there is not much to do until i have to go pick her up in the afternoon. the job and apartment hunting are going apace, but i can`t actually commit to a job until i have my work authorisation and my first appointment for that is april 9.

that was a hell of a diversion from the opening sentence.

i used to think of myself as having a rapier wit, sharp, deadly incisive but according to my friends i`m like an axe or broadsword. you see it coming and there is no way to avoid it, from either direction. i`m a big guy and in some people`s eyes i looking physically dangerous, but in reality i`m a teddy bear. a big dreadlocked teddy bear.

physically i`m about as harmful as a stuffed toy, i don`t throw my weight around, i`m not particularly violent, it`s just not in my nature. but piss me off i will throw the full weight of my mental prowess and vocabulary at you and the entire purpose of that was to decimate you by destroying your ego. and most of the time i didn`t think i was being particularly mean. i would say i was being truthful and the truth hurts.

i`ve mellowed since i`ve met vic. there is temperance, i`m not as quick with the retorts, not because i haven`t thought of them, but because i pause and take a breath and think about the consequences. what`s interesting is that i think it`s genetic, my mother`s tongue is pretty lethal and my daughters don`t suffer fools readily either. they may not have the vocabulary but the tone is definitely there.

there are times i worry for the girls and then sometimes they say or do something and i think i don`t have to worry about them and almost feel sorry for anyone that comes that doesn`t come up to their discriminating standards.

Technorati Tags:
rapier wit, biting sarcasm

i`ve changed the built in dictionary on my machine to us english in order to indoctrinate myself to some extent. i touch type, yes i do. my mother though i should learn a useful skill as i sat around her office in my wayward youth.

so i`m un-learning how to spell. it`s strange to replace all my `s` with `z` and dropping my `u`. the english language is a strange thing. there is a meme, which i obviously can`t put my hand on at the moment, about how difficult the english language is to learn. apparently second only to mandarin.

there are subtle differences in how i speak, the things i say and how i say them. i`ve learned to speak slower to be understood, trinidadians have a reputation for fast talking, not in a schemish way, well that too, but the cadence of our speech makes it almost impossible for outsiders to understand us once we get going.

when i was in fl last time, a friend came to visit and gave me a hard time when i was ordering something at the supermarket. a couple months later when she came home, she was still doing it. not the rent-an-accent that some long-term residents adopt, but a slower, more nuanced pronunciation.

classical english public school system with a caribbean flavor as vic calls it.

i think i`ve mastered the voice, traveling so much in the last four year and ensuring that i`m understood. what i need to reacclimatize myself to is really the written word. in typing this alone, i`ve had to backtrack at least five times. every `s` i change to a `z` and every `u` i drop is making me cringe. i need to get past the cringe factor and for it to feel natural.

Technorati Tags:
queen’s english, spelling

i`ve been growing it for 8 years now. and as much shit as i get for it, i like it, it`s part of who i am. my original plan was to cut it after a decade but now i`m not so sure.

i know there are a couple people who would never talk to me again. they were involved in keep my hair neat in the very beginning. dreads are not as no maintenance as they appear it takes a bit of hard work and effort. my hair is thick and doesn`t readily mat, so i have to braid in the new growth into the roots of my existing hair.

when i first started growing my hair my then girlfriend used to do it for me. it took then as it does now four hours. she was old school. plait and braid, by the time she was done with me, my hair was tight [like a tiger] and i had regained a few years. after a while, love or not, she got tired of doing it and suggested i start seeing a professional.

the first professional i went to, was after my hiatus in ny. my hair grows with temperature change and i had about two or three inches of new growth that needed to be tackled. so off i went based on the recommendations of friends.  i set up an appointment, the girl looked at my hair and said come for 10 am shouldn`t take more than two hours.

so i did. she put her hand in my hair and said, `oh shit.` that`s the general reaction. most people are surprised by how think my hair is. it took her four hours with help. after that i convinced a friend`s girlfriend to deal with my hair and she did yeoman service for three years until the length defeated her.

in between all of that various people have tried their hands at it. i`m not particularly pick about people touching my hair. as long as they ask or i`ve asked them. but my hair seems to attract all sorts of people. on my first trip to london i was in a bar in camden hanging out with friends, i had just come out of the bathroom and was on my way back to the table when this woman came up to me and started fondling my hair. and the words all people with dreads have learned and loathe, `it`s just so nice i had to touch it.`

i taught her a lesson that night however. i reached out and grabbed a bobbie and squeezed and said `it`s just so nice i had to touch it.` i told her, you don`t like it much do you when i invade your personal space. but then she got another look in her eye and i made quick dash for our table.

on my last trip to london i was sitting on the tube and this woman moves almost all the way up the car so she can sit next to me and out of the corner of my eye i see the hand coming up. i gave her the xiaolin dreadlock hair block. after a while with your hair you learn it to prevent random stroking and fondling.

since i`ve been in nashville, i think i`ve gotten a compliment about my hair every time i`ve been out. i don`t mind people asking questions or asking to touch, i don`t even hold to the superstition that let people touch your dreads will cause them to break. it`s hair, if it breaks it will grow back. i`ve had a few break, one or two close to the root, a couple more where my hair is bleached out, but it`s just hair, it will grow back.

i started growing my hair because i felt the need to assert my individuality. at the time i was young and i felt the need to further distance myself from the corporate drone mindset and that certainly did it. now that i`m older and i see dreads becoming more acceptable in general, i`m glad but i`m not about to cut to be contrary. when i cut my hair, it will be end a period of personal development.

Technorati Tags:
dreadlocks, hair, personal grooming, dreads

as i put the black pants i`ve been wearing into the current load of laundry, i`m looking around for something to put on. wait i have a closet full of clothes that haven`t been worn since i left naples in june 2001.

open the closet and try on the first pair of pants. ooh the waist fits, it`s not clinging to my hips like a second skin, we`re in business. but wait, they are about an inch above my ankles.

i`m not expecting to flood waters and it`s not like i`m putting on a pair of waders over these pants. it`s so weird, all of them with the exception of the jeans and the pants i`ve just taken off are all too short. not too small, just too short.

off they go into the goodwill bag. and i think some pant shopping on the agenda for this weekend. the problem with that is that i need baggy pants. i`ve got a big ass, there is not polite way to put it. my waist is still in the 38 inch region but i`ve got these big hips and ample posterior, so i end up having to buy 42/44 inch pants, but if they`re cut straight it`s pointless. they bunch up at the crotch and just generally look unsightly.

in other news i think i`m losing weight, i have no way of confirming this however. the first scale i got on went up to 199 lbs and went ERR. but that`s to be expected on a scale that goes up to 200 lbs. the scale here only goes up to 250 lbs and i got on it and i worked out i still weigh over 250. duh. i`m not fascinated enough with my weight to buy a scale outright, i just want to know so i can monitor it on occasion.