LeanneBennett.com

I have almost no voice.

You don't realise how important a voice is until you don't really have one.

I had some surgery a few months back that affected my throat, and my voice has never been the same. As my voice is now rough and very quiet, I struggle to be heard some days. And it's hard.

Today was a bad voice day. It happens. I managed to do what I had to do at work, but I've had to repeat myself many times today, both in person and on the phone. And then in person again when I got home, because I'm harder to hear sometimes after a long day at work.

And well-meaning people often ask me if I have a cold and tell me I sound 'terrible'.  I understand their concern and their kindness, but it's hard sometimes to be told just how badly you sound.

I don't know if my voice will ever completely come back. (Some days are pretty good, and others are quite bad, so it's hard to know.) And the doctors I've seen about it aren't sure either -- they're doing tests to see if they can help, but we're at the beginning of that process. I'm coping, and most days I'm okay with it, but sometimes...

It's really hard when you can't be heard. 

So this is my 'voice'. And on my blog people can 'hear' what I have to say. Even if it's only a few people, writing here gives me a way to say very clearly whatever I want or need to say.

So, to anyone reading this, thanks for 'listening'. :-)

I recently bought cosmetics on eBay. I really should have thought this through a lot more.

One item I received, but it's not what it says it should be.  It's a cream, and it doesn't smell the same or feel the same as the cream I purchased from the manufacturer previously. And, of course, the seller vehmently denies it is a fake, even though I'd had confirmation that it isn't real from a genuine representative of the company. So now I'm having to pursue a claim, deal with an angry and snippy seller and wait for 10 days before I can pursue it any further with eBay.

The second item I purchased just simply never arrived. I wrote to the seller -- no response. So I raised a case with eBay, and the seller refunded in about 10 minutes.  This one makes me think they never sent it and just hoped I wouldn't notice or wouldn't pursue it if I did. Sheesh.

So, two purchases and two complaints to eBay.

So I've learned my lesson about buying cosmetics on eBay. It may save a few pounds, but my time is worth more than that, and avoiding the aggravation I've received is worth a lot more.

Lesson for today (for me at least) -- buy cosmetics from the genuine retailer. At least then I'll know that I'm getting the real thing and if there's a problem, they'll make it right. 

As it happened my daughter and I went to visit the ladies' room, as often happens for us in restaurants for some reason. On our way downstairs, we passed several other diners, one of whom was indulging in penne with a plain tomato sauce.

Now this was no child, but a woman of nearing grandmother age, so I was quite surprised. She was out in a restaurant having plain pasta that she could make in 10 minutes or less any day of the week at home.

I'm sure Prezzo makes lovely tomato sauce, but I'm flabbergasted by people who order this sort of thing. I understand wanting food you're comfortable with, but there is such a thing as too much 'comfort' in my book.

If I'm going to a restaurant the last thing I would do is order something I could make (especially from a jar) in a few minutes myself at home. To me, restaurants are the very place to be daring and try new things. I may not always like everything I order, but the enjoyment of having something special and different is worth the risk.

So those of you who stay in your comfort zone with boring old same-y dishes in restaurants, give it a go! Live a little! Try something new! This is your chance to have a little adventure, and your very own chef to deliver it.

Well, he's/she's cooking for everyone, but that special meal is just for you!

Be brave, enjoy the ride (even if you don't always enjoy the food) and find something new and inspiring. The adventure is just waiting at a restaurant near you. :-)

I am so tired. I need to invent a new word that's worse than tired.

I set up a server today. It was day 2 of the build, and I should have finished, but some things went wrong, as does happen with computers ( :-o ) sometimes. So I pushed my brain all day, sat without moving a whole lot for far too long, (for the second day in a row) and now I'm just so beyond tired that tired is a dot in my rear-view mirror.

And I get to do more of it tomorrow.

But I had my moment today. A lady at the school where I was working said to a technician sitting with me, "How does she do that? I couldn't ever get my head anywhere near that."

Yeah, okay, sometimes I don't acknowledge that what I do takes a lot of skill. When you just do it day to day, you start to feel like it's nothing special. But hey, it is!

And even though the server isn't quite finished, and I still have more to do tomorrow, I did a good (LONG) job today. So I'll take that. :-)

I've just started playing Words with Friends. I don't think I'm ready for the Hall of Fame, but I can hold my own with a lot of players.

However, I have found that many of the best players play really quickly and often, and thus you find yourself getting through games much faster against these folks. There's a clear downside to this that I hadn't realised however; these are the players I'm more likely to lose against, and yet I'm playing them more often than other players. As a result, my first three *completed* games were losses, and my scoreboard read:

(thisplayer) beat you!
(thatplayer) beat you! 
(thisplayer) beat you!

Hmrph!

Never mind, it's only 3 games, and every time I play them I'm learning more. And this game I'm giving these players a real run for their money. My day will come!

* And if you're a friend of mine on Facebook, I'm happy to start a new game - just give me the nod!

A few things I wonder about...

Why do we buy these little rugs with cutouts to fit around our toilets?

Toilets have grim things in them. (Not to mention all those germs just dying to escape!) But if you have boys in your family, you will know that the things that come out of boys don't always end up IN the toilet. So why would we want to decorate that with carpet?  Eesh.

Why do people use ridiculously overblown adjectives for very common daily practices and activities?

Is it really "awesome" if someone agrees to do what you ask them to?  Can "fantastic" really apply to getting a report finished on time? Is it "amazing" if someone can rearrange a meeting for you? Are normal things ever really "awesome" or "fantastic" or "amazing"? Probably not. A beautiful sunrise is "awesome". The birth of a child is "fantastic". A holiday abroad can be "amazing". Does it make people feel better about the mundaneness of everyday life to include effusive words that don't really fit with the situation? Who knows?

Why does listening to music make it easier to concentrate?

I work in an office, built like the floor of a warehouse, with about 50 - 60 people always talking, on the phone, eating, etc. In other words, noisy. Nearly impossible to concentrate. So what helps? Listening to music, of course. Why does it help? I don't know. In reality it's just more noise. But maybe it's specific enough noise to let your brain focus. Anyway, I'm not the only one who's realised it -- you can find lots of ear buds in use all around my work area.

And one last one...

Why can't my daughter remember to bring home her spelling words from school when she can remember the name of every Moshi Monster???

*Sigh*.  There's no real answer to that one.

But still, I wonder...

Today was an awful day. I didn't get to sleep early enough, so even though I slept well, my overall sleep tally was still lacking.

Then the traffic was stacked up 'for no apparent reason' the radio said. (except to annoy me apparently!)

Then I got to work and everything I'd planned had to be side-lined because cover was desperately needed in another area. And then, after a dreadful day trying to keep all 'the plates spinning', so to speak, I find out I'm going to get to do exactly the same tomorrow.

And I have an onsite project looming on Wednesday/Thursday that I can't postpone and I don't have time to prepare for because of the other work I have to do. Thankfully I've done this sort of thing numerous times before, so I know I can pull it off, but it won't be easy or fun.

And, on top of everything else, I really didn't feel very well today.

Man there are days when you think, "Why didn't I just acknowledge how bad I felt and call in sick?"

I don't have an answer really, just needed to moan a bit.

Did anybody else have a bad day today, too?

Yesterday I finally saw Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds from 2009.  I must admit I approached the film with some trepidation, having seen a number of other Tarantino films.  I was expecting a blood and gore fest, and in some ways the film had quite a bit of both, but the story was so good that I honestly didn’t really notice.  Everything just fit.

This was definitely a film worth watching.  In typical Quentin Tarantino style, it played on colour and dialogue and quirky weird characters that would stick out in any storyline.  Brad Pitt’s Lt. Aldo Raine was almost loveable in his weird, over-the-top shocking behaviour, and Christopher Waltz was an amazing Col. Hans Landa. (He definitely deserved every award he got!) Charming and menacing in the same breath, Landa lit up the screen and dominated so much of the story.  I also loved Mélanie Laurent as Shosanna, with her uncrushable spirit and grit and determination.

And, of course, in true Tarantino style the storyline was mesmerising with its share of odd developments and twists.  The story grips you right from the first scene and never lets you go from then on.  And the ending was perfect in my mind, very fitting for the characters and their journey.

Just in case you’ve waited three years to see it as well, I won’t spoil any of it for you.  I’ll just say that I truly loved it and couldn’t stop thinking and talking about it afterwards.

If you haven’t seen Inglorious Basterds definitely put it on your list of must-see-films.  It is truly a film worth watching, especially if you’re a fan of Tarantino’s very visual, dynamic and quirky method of film-making. Watch it – I believe you won’t regret it!

I am very good in a crisis. The very difficult things come, and I kick into action. I generally find it easy to deal with tough situations. It’s afterwards that my knees turn to jelly.

But day to day life, I find harder. It’s hard to do things on a regular basis, especially things that are mundane or repetitive. (I suppose that may be true for most people.) But, even so, I am trying.

My most recent focus is on finding the discipline to work on the things, daily, that could get me where I want to be in the future. But, finding the discipline to do that is not innate to me.

So I am trying to 'begin as you mean to continue'. I’ve set myself an assignment of working an hour a day on moving toward my goals, with practical tasks that can help me achieve them. Here’s where it begins.

In my mind, discipline is doing what you have to, or need to, even when you don’t want to. So here’s my commitment to my own discipline – beginning my daily routine.

I’ll let you know how it turns out. ;-)

1. Be careful when choosing a username.

You could have to live with it for a very long time.

2. Protect your Facebook page.

It definitely does matter who can see those pictures of your last night big night out.

3. If you don't know how to protect your Facebook page, find out!

If you just Google it, there is sure to be someone out there who can explain the process in a way you will understand it.

4. Be careful what you do in view of other people's cameras.

They are probably not may not be protecting their Facebook pages either or their photos of you.

5. Think log and hard about what you confess on the Internet.

Those messages are out there and searchable forever.

6. Never post under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

It won't be funny tomorrow and you will regret doing it!

7. Don't ask people on the Internet how to do something without Googling it first yourself.

Most people will be very rude when they answer, and even the nice ones are likely to use something insulting like letmegooglethatforyou.com.

8. Ignore the the trolls.

Don't rise to the bait. They're just itching for fresh blood to take them on. And you probably won't come out of it well.

9. Avoid engaging in online arguments (maybe it should stop there) about religion, politics, etc.

Just like in real life, nobody wins.

10. If you find a good domain name that's available, get it!

Even if you can't do something with it straightaway, trust me, buy it. If you leave it, someone else will beat you to it and then most likely just sit on it for years. And then you'll spend the next few years waiting for it become available, only to watch them renew it and probably do nothing with it.