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Friday 28 July 2017

Q & A With P. Donkey


Let the fireworks begin!


I have a new award to add to my collection. It joins my prize from the Red Cross for a picture I drew in Grade 3, and the lapel pin I received as yearbook editor in Grade 12. I thought I had accomplished more than that so far in life, and I'm giving myself frown lines trying to remember anything else I've received as recognition, but that's all I can come up with.

Until now, that is. I have been nominated for the Mystery Blogger award by baili, a lovely lady from Pakistan who writes at her thoughtful and interesting spot in the blogospere called Baili And I, which you can find HERE. Thank you, baili! I enjoyed reading your answers to the award questions, and I'm happy to take part, albeit in my donkey-ish, stubbornly different way.

 

The Mystery Blogger award was created by Okoto Enigma (found HERE), a young fashion blogger. She wanted a way to introduce lots of people to lots of other people in blogland, because she felt there were so many good blogs out there that were not being discovered. I think it is a worthy goal, but I also think that many bloggers have already found that they discover new blogs through the comments on the blogs they currently read, and then discover more blogs through the comments on those blogs, and so on, branching out and out and out ... until they get to a maximum of blogs they can comfortably read and respond to on a regular basis.

Therefore, I am going to take the liberty of not following all of the rules, although I will post them here for the record:
1. Put the award/image on your blog.
2. List the rules.
3. Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
4. Also mention the creator of the award and provide a link.
5. Tell your readers three things about yourself.
6. Nominate 10-20 other bloggers for the award.
7. Let them know with a comment on their blog.
8. Ask your nominees 5 questions, with one being weird or funny.
9. Share a link to your best post.

Whew! That's a lot of things to do.

But I've already done 1 through 4.

Onward to number 5 - three things about myself.
 
It was a challenge to come up with three things I'm willing to share publicly that I haven't already mentioned at one time or another. For someone who writes under a fake name because I want to stay relatively anonymous, I'm finding myself putting a lot of personal things on my blog. However, one has come to mind that I might not post about in the ordinary course of things.

I have a "thing" for clothing. That sounds the same as "I like fashion" but that's not exactly it. I just like fabric and colours and pretty things. I can clearly remember as a young child looking through the mail-order catalogue and being captivated by the clothing, especially those mix-and-match spreads where you could buy three bottoms and three tops and two jackets and have, I don't know, I'm not great in math, something like 900 different outfits?? And I recall my diary entries as a slightly older child; I had no social life to speak of, so my diary entries were all the same, a description of what I wore, including the colour of my socks. I always wore coordinating clothing, although I can assure you I was no fashion plate. Ah, yes, good times, and really, truly cringe-worthy.

There's more. Not only do I like to look at clothing, I like to look at thrift store clothing in particular. I like to sort through things in bins, never knowing what the next item will be, what it will look like, if it will magically be my size and shape. It's soothing to me to do this. When my dad was in the hospital during his final illness, I spent every afternoon during his rest hour at the thrift store sorting ... sorting ... sorting. I also bought a lot of things with the thought that I would probably soon have time to alter them. The alterations still haven't happened, two years later. Many of those things have been donated to charity. In hindsight, I think of it as my therapy for my impending grief. It wasn't free, but in total it cost only about the same as an hour or two of actual therapy.

In real life (as opposed to my fantasy life where I am slim, beautiful and well-dressed), I usually wear the same few things over and over, because (a) I don't live a lifestyle that requires a big variety of clothing (b) I am a dumpy little thing with wrong proportions and it's hard to find clothing to fit (c) I value comfort highly, and many clothes aren't comfortable, at least for me (see HERE for the reason).

Eek. They say confession is good for the soul, but I'm not sure if I feel all that good right now.

However.

Carrying on.

Bravely, I might add.

Because I'm about to break more of the rules of the award. I am not going to nominate ANY bloggers. But if anyone reading this would like to carry on with the intent of this award, please leave a link to your blog in the comments, or you can just tell us about yourself directly in the comments. Please do consider telling us something quirky so we (me) can feel less alone.

The last thing I'm going to do is answer one of baili's five questions she posed to the bloggers she nominated. I chose the one that made me think hard; I also liked it because there is a bit of the control freak in me that loves this fantasy.

Baili's question was : If you were president of a whole, united world for one week, what changes would you like to make?

My mother and I play this game quite often, to be honest. We'll get talking about the health care system, or the educational system (she was a teacher from the age of 18 until retirement), or the political parties, or some other topic, and discuss it and dissect it for an hour or so, and conclude by saying, "if we could just run the world for ONE DAY!" and laugh together. So I feel uniquely and totally qualified to put in writing what I'd actually do if I ran the world. (Would someone please invent a sarcasm emoticon? I need it right there at the end of that sentence.)

Anyway, here's the Donkey plan.

I'd put most - if not all - of the current leaders of the world in time out. I know, I know - that would take a gigantic naughty step to squeeze them all on, but it would be so worth it. And no desserts for them for the next year, plus extra chores to help put right what they've messed up so far.

Then I'd take all the good and compassionate and smart ordinary people working as scientists, health care workers, teachers of all kinds, religious leaders who have shown good judgement, open minds and critical thinking, people in all different jobs, or none, as long as they had good minds and kind spirits, and all the older folks who have learned life's lessons the hard way, and all the youth who have energy to spare, and all the dreamers and artists and writers who sustain us with beauty and imagination, and I'd put them all in a big room (I know, I know, it would be a gigantic room) and ask them to work together to solve the problems of world overpopulation, hunger, poverty, strife, environmental degradation, and general evil in the world.

Personally, I can make a strong case for the first one of those issues - overpopulation - being the underpinning for most or all of the ones following it, but that's a post for another day.

I really think that without the dual stresses of a rapidly increasing world population plus the jockeying for power that consumes so many people in this world we could solve every problem we've created so far, and a few problems we haven't thought of yet. I do. I have faith in the goodness and intelligence of regular people. And I have faith in removing the bad ones from the discussion. NO INPUT AND NO DESSERTS FOR A YEAR, GUYS.

Have a good weekend, folks.

And, by the way, YOU are the kind of people I'd want in that gigantic room. Together, we could do it


But who's going to listen to a donkey? And why, oh why, is this donkey clean-shaven on the bottom half of his muzzle??

P. S. I'm not going to share a link to my best post because I don't know what constitutes "best" ... is it the most reads? the one I like best? the one with the most comments? So confusing!! Also, this post is already too long :)

Photos courtesy of Pixabay.



39 comments:

Elephant's Child said...

Love the way you dealt with your richly deserved award.
You are kinder and more generous than I am though. I would like our world leaders to live the life of the poorest people in their community for a year. With only the resources available to those people. And desserts would certainly not happen.

River said...

I'm not at all sure over-population is as much the problem as the snarky governments ruling (holding back) those poverty stricken countries. I'm reminded of last century, can't remember the year exactly, but Bob Geldof had that "Feed the World" thing going and millions of people donated money and food and things which all went somewhere and sat on the wharfs, rotting, because the government of the time refused to distribute the goods. "They" wanted the people to "buy" them apparently. Or so I read in a newspaper years later. Just think about it for a minute. The people donate endlessly, for years, decades, yet nothing ever changes for those who really need the help. I believe their governments are to blame.

baili said...

After reading this Hilarious and Brilliant post my dearest Jenny words are coming from my heart and mind both of course that " YOU ARE FANTASTIC"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is great about this award that now i know you little more and can rel;ate even more easily .

Like you i too have a fantasy world where everything is going just as it SHOULD BE including my shape ofcourse .


I salute and adore you for you Most ACCURATE answer for the question ans I swear that i was just shocked and amazed that each and everything you selected as solutions was exactly in my mind with exactly same order How co incidence but one thing i am very sure about that i would have not been able to mention as brilliantly as you did Jenny!!!

Thank you for accepting and posting the award with such elegance

Terry said...

Hi Jenny, congratulations on the award. Well deserved. You and Elephant's Child put an extraordinary amount of effort into blogging. You must be doing something right. I really enjoy reading your blog. It's almost like reading a novel. Not that I'm criticising. I would never do that. It's a long-overdue award. One that I would nominate you for. I've always found your blog to be top-class and informative which is what every blog should strive to be.

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I wonder why "baili" has chosen not to have a capital B at the start of her name? I find such deliberate errors very irritating.

I like your idea of a big room for the world's new rulers - bringing talents to the table from outside the world of politics. However, I fear that after an optimistic start and the initial buzz of energy things would soon fall apart. Film makers would be fighting with business entrepreneurs in the corridor and The Dalai Lama would be yelling at everybody to shut the **** up and listen.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

I like your platform, I would vote for you.

only slightly confused said...

I don't think I'll take the award....however....I'll tell you one thing about me that most of you have probably figured out by now anyway...I am a true social inept.. I never know what to say in conversation so I either remain totally silent or insert both my feet into my mouth at the same time. Ther you go. I like your plan for world leadership. I would have someone invent a space ship for me and I would head off to a planet all by myself.

Red said...

I THINK YOU'VE PUT FEAR INTO ALL OUR WORLD LEADERS THAT THEY NEED A TIME OUT. MORE THAN THAT VOTERS NEED TO GIVE THEM A TIME OUT.

Jono said...

You get recognition every time someone reads your blog. You may not be aware of it, though.
Quite often I barely have the strength and discipline to write. I am an admirer of those who seem to do it effortlessly.

jenny_o said...

That is a superb idea, EC. Walk in someone else's shoes of hardship - YES.

jenny_o said...

I agree, River - it's a moral crime to keep those donations from the people they were meant to help.

jenny_o said...

I was happy you gave me such good questions to think about, baili. They gave me a chance to ponder things I wouldn't usually write about! Thank you for your very kind words :)

jenny_o said...

I'm so glad you enjoy my blog, Terry. It has been a great outlet for me, so if anyone else likes it that is a bonus. There are so many good blogs out there it can be hard to choose which ones to concentrate on; I count yours among them.

jenny_o said...

I see what you did there, mr. pudding, and don't be such a cynic :)

jenny_o said...

Too bad it's just a fantasy, right? :)

jenny_o said...

So far you're the only person to 'fess up, Delores! Actually, your comment surprised me. You don't come across like that to me. I think we are our own worst critics (or in some peoples' cases, our own best fans, and that's not a great thing either). Don't go to another planet, we need you here.

jenny_o said...

Unfortunately, even if voters give them a time out (where people are even allowed to freely vote, that is), the alternatives are generally just about the same. Even democracy has a lot of errors in the implementation!

jenny_o said...

Good point, Jono, one we should all try to remember.

I find it depends on the topic whether my mind is a desert or a raging river :)

Diane Henders said...

I followed your links to the HSP articles - very interesting!

And my pet solution to the problems of the world is this: Our leaders should be paid the exact average income of all their citizens, and receive the exact average of all citizens' pensions and benefits for an equivalent work term after their term of office is finished. It would weed out all the greedy sociopaths, and it would motivate the rest of the leaders to do the best they can to raise everyone's standard of living. If I could run the world for just ONE DAY... ;-)

Mr. Shife said...

Congratulations. A well-deserved award for sure. Take care and enjoy your weekend.

e said...

I would endorse your plan. Congrats on the award...I really love your humor regardless of topic. Have a good weekend.

dinthebeast said...

I wouldn't want to rule the world even for a minute, Almost everything you can think of to do is good for some, but bad for others. I read a comedian's take on that once, and she said that at first she thought she would command everyone to use their turn signal before changing lanes, but then realized that some of those people would forget to cancel the signal after the lane change and end up causing more chaos and accidents.

Congratulations on the award, by the way.

Oh, and I have some cheerful news: The Little Brown Bird Brigade did return, after all. They've just been hanging out in the neighbor's yard where the vegetation is especially lush this year because of all the rain we had earlier.

-Doug in Oakland

jenny_o said...

Pull up a chair, Diane, and join the ONE DAY kings and queens club :) There has to be a better way than even democracy; this (or Elephant's Child's suggestion in the comments above) might just be the linchpin of a new way to govern!

jenny_o said...

Thanks for reading, Mr. S. Hope all's well in your world.

jenny_o said...

... and I see all is not quite well - take care of your foot!

jenny_o said...

Thank you, e ... I'm always happy to hear I can provide a smile or two :)

jenny_o said...

Thanks, Doug. And those little brown birds sure are fickle, aren't they?! I'm glad you found out where they went. Since I stopped feeding our lot, they've pretty much disappeared. And now people in our province are being asked to take down their feeders because there's a bad finch virus going around, and it spreads easily. I'm glad I stopped when I did.

Any sign of your kitty?

klahanie said...

Hi Jenny,

First of all, I think it's excellent you don't follow the rules. On the occasions I've been forwarded a blogger award, I also have a tendency to break or change the rules.

Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar has just informed me that she'd vote for you if you could start up a party of compassion and hope for this beleaguered, fragile planet. I agree with Penny.

If there was a "Misery Blogger Award", I'd have that one! :)

Wishing you a peaceful weekend.

Gary

Martha said...

I LOVED reading this! And I love your plan for ruling the world if even for only one day. You've got my vote! I'd nominate my own mother as the minister for budgeting. She'd solve all the economic problems. That woman can make a dollar stretch so far that it's uncanny.

jenny_o said...

Well, please give Penny, that modest young girl, a few extra scritches for saying such nice things!!

I hope your eye is feeling better by now, but if that bit of contact lens scratched your eye it will take time to heal. Look after yourself. Having sore eyes and fuzzy vision is hard on the nerves, at least that's how I find it to be.

jenny_o said...

Good! We'll need all the help we can get :)

Have you ever considered writing down some of your mom's tips for being frugal? I love reading things like that. Hey - maybe I should have confessed to that in this post too :)

dinthebeast said...

Nope. We know all of our neighbors much better now from all of the searching, though...

-Doug in Oakland

jenny_o said...

And that means more eyes are looking for her, too, which is good. I hope you have a happy ending eventually. I think the not knowing is worse than the other possible outcomes, really.

Steve Reed said...

Congrats on your award! But thanks for not nominating other bloggers. I also try to break "chains" like this. I am not a meme person.

I am, however, a thrift store person, so I can identify with your love of thrift shopping! I generally try not to even go in, because it's too tempting and you know, I just don't need any more stuff. But I do love a good thrift shop.

And you know how I feel about overpopulation. But yes, as you said, another post for another day!

jenny_o said...

Agreement on all counts - thanks for coming by, Steve :)

LL Cool Joe said...

Excellent post!

Well I'm like you as I'm sure you are aware, I'm into clothes too. Always was as a kid. In fact I wish I'd got into Men's fashion instead of graphic design. I often feel I should start a new blog somewhere else that just concentrates on that. I'm short and dumpy too but it doesn't stop me wearing all the crap I buy. :D

And congratulations on your award, you deserve it!

jenny_o said...

It's not the short part so much as the dumpy part, and you are NOT that! Yes - a fashion blog would be an outlet for that creativity! I'd read it!

Thanks for your kind words.

37paddington said...

Congrats on your award! I think you already shared a link to a wonderful post, about creating a protected space for your highly sensitive daughter to grow securely to adulthood. I love that in mothering her, you also had to mother yourself. We so often do things for our loved ones that we don't think of doing for ourselves.

jenny_o said...

Isn't that so true? Why, I wonder? ...

Thank you, Angella.