Tag Archives: conversations

Conversations With Myself . . .

When children do it we smile and chuckle to ourselves. When adults do it people tend to raise their eyebrows and perhaps move farther away. I do it. I’ll bet that you do it too. What are we doing that is so bizarre? Talking to ourselves! It can be amusing to watch. And it can be damn annoying when you’re trying to figure something out by speaking out loud and it doesn’t work!

To be honest I’m sure there are those who just like to hear the sound of their own voice. If you have animals or small children, speaking out loud is easy to explain. I find it helps me focus on something and remember it. Also because in order to write I am dictating I’m naturally speaking out loud. When I’m trying to figure out that one particular twist in a story I talk to my characters. People who read my stories recognize that I often put in a twist. The pressure is on to surprise my readers, something they don’t expect. I love to be fooled in a story. I love it when I’m not able to figure it out. I don’t want to know how the story will end three paragraphs in. I want to be surprised. So that’s the way I write my stories. Sometimes it takes a while to figure out a pivotal point. Sometimes it takes months, sometimes it never happens.

So I do have conversations with myself. Sometimes it is simply one line: “ARE YOU KIDDING ME!” I think I say that a lot. The world is constantly conspiring to annoy me. Hahaha! I know it’s not just trying to annoy me! But some days . .

I think that I’m a good listener. I know I’m a good talker. There are very few topics I don’t have an opinion on. This from a child who wouldn’t say “boo” to a ghost. My how the times have changed. I think if you’re comfortable enough with your self to actually hold a conversation with yourself you must be pretty self-aware. Not everybody is. Some are a little too aware of themselves! But hey, life goes on . . . sometimes loudly!

An Expectation of Privacy

12 Replies

There are a great many things I expect. I expect that I will develop more wrinkles on my face. I expect that the sun will shine one day. I expect to overcome many problems in my life but not all of them. I do not expect privacy when I’m outside my home.

In this day and age it is the height of hubris to think that’s no one is watching. I don’t understand why people get so huffy when there is talk of making use of cameras on the streets. The idea is to catch people who are running red lights or are committing other infractions on the street. Why exactly are you afraid? What is it that you are doing that you don’t want to be noticed? Picking your nose is not a crime but it would be unseemly to find it posted on YouTube. So there is an uproar about a government agency designed to protect us watching, but no one cares about the teenybopper with a camera phone.

Any government agency that uses electronics has protocols and restrictions that they must follow. Teddy and Sally have no one looking over their shoulders when they take that picture of you with your fly open. Who exactly are you trusting? I do question the wisdom of relying on an adolescent’s sense of humour. If Big Brother wants to watch my every move when I am outside my home, go for it! Hopefully I will provide you with a chuckle and perhaps a break from a strenuous day.

Privacy is a concept that we don’t actually have the right to. When we were children our parents kept tabs on us for our own protection. In the ensuing years other authority figures have endeavoured to ensure that we were allowed to live our lives as we saw fit. Yes, we must conform to the laws of the land and to societal mores. But for the most part our choices are our own. There is however one snake in the grass: technology.

We have phones that can take exceptional pictures at a distance without the intended knowing. We have computers that look right back at us as we enjoy surfing the net. Don’t get me wrong, technology has made my life much, much easier but at what cost? You can walk into any cafeteria full of students and there is an eerie silence. Many of the students have their heads bent over, their hands furiously texting to someone who is sitting two feet away. And no one seems to be too disturbed by this?

Are we loosing the ability to chat with another? I remember the casual repartee that some people were exceptionally good at. I remember getting to know people, hearing their voice with the nonverbal communication that went with the conversation. Is technology about to rob us of the tradition of conversing? I certainly hope not!

I love to talk. It’s no fun only talking to one’s self. At least not for long periods of time. I believe we’re all better people when we can share who and what we are with others. That’s why we are called ‘people’. “United we stand, Divided we fall.” Turn to a stranger and say hello, that’s how friends begin.