Tag: blog

Always an Actor!

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Have you ever performed on stage or given a speech?

Every day of my life I am performing on a stage. As a teacher that is part of the job that many people do not expect. Of course, you have to be yourself, but any problems that are in your life need to be left at the door. You sometimes also need to supply the energy for the whole room.

It can become exhausting when you ask, “How are you?, and all you hear is, “Tired!” But you have to step up and fulfill your responsibilities. You are the adult in the room and you are the one with the job to do. So do it.

Talking

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Why do you blog?

I guess that I started blogging as a way of sharing my thoughts. It wasn’t that I wanted to share with the whole world, a few readers would do.

I could just write in a journal but then I wouldn’t get the sense of community which blogging gives me. That was something which I did not anticipate and came as a very pleasant surprise.

Any feedback comes as a very welcome surprise and in this environment is generally a very positive one. If anyone can get any pleasure out at what I have written then I am more then content.

I Hate Making Lists.

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What are your top ten favorite movies?

How can your opinion of a movie change so much and so dramatically? The first time I watched this film I didn’t get it, I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, by Quentin Tarantino is that movie. This is one of the few Tarantino films I did not immediately love, in fact, it left me cold. But after hearing so many people rave about it I decided to try it again.

So I returned to it with a plan, watch the film again and then read the book. I love a project that involves either books, reading, or both. I thought maybe the book would help me understand more.

But now, I feel like I got the film already. So the book will only help with the depth of the understanding which I now possess. Sometimes we are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe the first time I watched this film I was tired or preoccupied. I could have just been in a bad mood. It is often, but not always, worth giving something a second chance. You see, now this film has entered my top 10 list.

My best films of all time? I can’t make that list, but I could happily watch any of Tarantino’s efforts.

Passions?=Obsessions?

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“Be passionate,” people say. Live your passions. Make your passions your job and you will never work a day. All common things you hear, and perhaps all have some ring of truth to them.

Sometimes our passions are simply our interests, our hobbies, and that is all they have to be. When I develop a passion for something I go all in, rabbit holes seem to appear left right and centre. My latest passion has become cigars. I am still somewhat surprised as to how this even happened. As a reformed cigarette smoker I became quite anti-tobacco, and I still abhor the smell of cigarettes. But approximately one year ago something happened, something changed. I discovered some YouTube channels discussing the world of premium cigars and I was smitten. So, down into that hole I went but, unknowingly, entered a warren.

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Community

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Daily writing prompt
What would you change about modern society?
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It would be easy to target any period of history and imagine what you would change. Society has never been perfect and my version of perfection would probably not match up with others anyway. It also depends on which culture you are from, each country has its unique values.

I am a Welshman who now lives in Czechia. So what would I change about Czech society? I would like to see it behave as a closer society, a community. I find Czechs, although not exactly selfish, are sometimes too insular and unwilling to step outside of their own bubble. It is rare to see someone caring for the local environment, but their garden looks beautiful. I guess that is the perfect analogy.

Come on people, say hello to strangers. The looks you get if you do this are ones of confusion, you can see them thinking, “Do I know you?” Talk to each other, pick up that piece of rubbish, and give that person a helping hand. Oh, and take care when you are riding your bike on the footpath, it isn’t a bike lane let alone a racetrack!