So many things are going through my mind right now:
I miss my family back home, but I love my job and we're happy here in Oman.
I need to finish the laundry - and hang up the clothes that are finished drying on the clotheshorse in the other bedroom.
I love Pop Tarts. Specifically, the frosted strawberry kind.
I wish the grocery store carried my favorite kind of cereal in the regular flavor - not blueberry or cranberry. Eww.
I was shocked to see the grocery store had cottage cheese. First time I've seen it in 3 years.
Why doesn't it snow in Oman?
Is the volcano under Yellowstone really going to erupt soon and destroy Earth?
(Okay, that last one isn't really on my mind - it just popped into my head when I was thinking about snow in Oman and climate change and I read lots of weird news articles and....well, that's how my mind works...)
But the one that's sitting in the forefront, dangling on a neon sign before my eyes, is how I write better than I speak.
No, really. It's true. My best friend confirmed it the other day.
See, I have this penchant for justice. I stand up for people when it looks like they're being taken advantage of.....and if I can't stand up for them, I encourage them to do it for themselves.
Last week, my one of my office mates (I have three, but we have a BIG office....with our own private bathroom.....but, I digress....) had an upsetting event occur at work. She was visibly distraught, and after myself and another office mate (my bestie) talked to her about what was wrong, I suggested she write an email to the person and share her feelings.
She agreed, but she didn't know what to say or how to say it. We come from different cultures, and the person she was writing to was from a different culture from her as well. So, what happened was I basically dictated the email to her. When she finished, she read it back to me and sent it.
During this time, my best friend was out of the office doing other things. After the email had been sent, she returned, and our office mate told her what happened. She said she felt the email was a little harsh and.......strongly-worded. I assured her it wasn't. But, to make her feel better, I told her to read it to my friend - who confirmed it wasn't the least bit harsh or rude.
I then dictated what I would have written had it been me, explaining that I softened the tone and message because it was coming from her - a soft-spoken, genteel woman with engrained humility and respect. Not that I'm not humble or respectful, but her level of gentility far surpasses mine. (Don't mistake my head covering for a doormat!) She was shocked - again, it wasn't rude, it was just more direct.
When she left, my friend (our friend) told me, "You really are a good writer. You write a lot better than you speak."
And it's the truth. When I speak, I tend to break off mid-sentence and grasp for words. I lose my train of thought if I don't practice what I'll say before I say it.
Unless, that is, I'm talking about writing. When I'm talking about writing (or teaching it), I tend to have a steady flow. Perhaps because that's what is engrained in me. I've practiced and trained for so long, it's what I feel comfortable talking about and doing.
I used to say I could win any battle with the written word.
See, I hate - loathe - conflict and confrontations. I turn into a limp noodle, and I tend to become very withdrawn and capitulatory. Whatever you want, just stop arguing.
But when it comes to fighting in writing. Well......that's completely different.
My usual medium of argumentation is the computer. Through messenger services, online forums, post boards. Now with so many devices - Smart or stupid - I've branched out to technological services like What's App and SMS.
I can write quickly. But I can type even faster. And when the words come, the fingers move. There's no stuttering - maybe the occasional backspace - but I can do that as easily and quickly as a flick of a finger. And the logic falls together for me. I can read what I've said, and I can view what I'm about to say before 'sending' it. I don't have to rely on my foggy memory.
And I don't back down. I don't surrender. I don't pacify in order to calm the waters.
I stand my ground. I present my case. I call out fallacies. I demand justice and fairness.
I'm like Martin Luther King, Jr. or JFK.....................only technologically-advanced!
(Putting down She-Ra's sword and looking around at the people staring, wide-eyed, at my momentary lapse of sanity.....)
Did I mention I'm also humble?
I miss my family back home, but I love my job and we're happy here in Oman.
I need to finish the laundry - and hang up the clothes that are finished drying on the clotheshorse in the other bedroom.
I love Pop Tarts. Specifically, the frosted strawberry kind.
I wish the grocery store carried my favorite kind of cereal in the regular flavor - not blueberry or cranberry. Eww.
I was shocked to see the grocery store had cottage cheese. First time I've seen it in 3 years.
Why doesn't it snow in Oman?
Is the volcano under Yellowstone really going to erupt soon and destroy Earth?
(Okay, that last one isn't really on my mind - it just popped into my head when I was thinking about snow in Oman and climate change and I read lots of weird news articles and....well, that's how my mind works...)
But the one that's sitting in the forefront, dangling on a neon sign before my eyes, is how I write better than I speak.
No, really. It's true. My best friend confirmed it the other day.
See, I have this penchant for justice. I stand up for people when it looks like they're being taken advantage of.....and if I can't stand up for them, I encourage them to do it for themselves.
Last week, my one of my office mates (I have three, but we have a BIG office....with our own private bathroom.....but, I digress....) had an upsetting event occur at work. She was visibly distraught, and after myself and another office mate (my bestie) talked to her about what was wrong, I suggested she write an email to the person and share her feelings.
She agreed, but she didn't know what to say or how to say it. We come from different cultures, and the person she was writing to was from a different culture from her as well. So, what happened was I basically dictated the email to her. When she finished, she read it back to me and sent it.
During this time, my best friend was out of the office doing other things. After the email had been sent, she returned, and our office mate told her what happened. She said she felt the email was a little harsh and.......strongly-worded. I assured her it wasn't. But, to make her feel better, I told her to read it to my friend - who confirmed it wasn't the least bit harsh or rude.
I then dictated what I would have written had it been me, explaining that I softened the tone and message because it was coming from her - a soft-spoken, genteel woman with engrained humility and respect. Not that I'm not humble or respectful, but her level of gentility far surpasses mine. (Don't mistake my head covering for a doormat!) She was shocked - again, it wasn't rude, it was just more direct.
When she left, my friend (our friend) told me, "You really are a good writer. You write a lot better than you speak."
And it's the truth. When I speak, I tend to break off mid-sentence and grasp for words. I lose my train of thought if I don't practice what I'll say before I say it.
Unless, that is, I'm talking about writing. When I'm talking about writing (or teaching it), I tend to have a steady flow. Perhaps because that's what is engrained in me. I've practiced and trained for so long, it's what I feel comfortable talking about and doing.
I used to say I could win any battle with the written word.
See, I hate - loathe - conflict and confrontations. I turn into a limp noodle, and I tend to become very withdrawn and capitulatory. Whatever you want, just stop arguing.
But when it comes to fighting in writing. Well......that's completely different.
My usual medium of argumentation is the computer. Through messenger services, online forums, post boards. Now with so many devices - Smart or stupid - I've branched out to technological services like What's App and SMS.
I can write quickly. But I can type even faster. And when the words come, the fingers move. There's no stuttering - maybe the occasional backspace - but I can do that as easily and quickly as a flick of a finger. And the logic falls together for me. I can read what I've said, and I can view what I'm about to say before 'sending' it. I don't have to rely on my foggy memory.
And I don't back down. I don't surrender. I don't pacify in order to calm the waters.
I stand my ground. I present my case. I call out fallacies. I demand justice and fairness.
I'm like Martin Luther King, Jr. or JFK.....................only technologically-advanced!
(Putting down She-Ra's sword and looking around at the people staring, wide-eyed, at my momentary lapse of sanity.....)
Did I mention I'm also humble?
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