22 Dec 2016

Last Wednesday I’d had my very nice meal in Helsinki. There was the dangerous step incident, and the nice people getting angry and leaving. Then there was the snow. And I wasn’t going to miss the chance to have a late night walk. This lead me to a great place called “why join the navy, when you can become a pirate?”

At times like this I begin to think that I’m not only from and currently living in the wrong part of this country, but from the wrong country. Don’t get me wrong here. I am very, very lucky to have been born in to a first world country at the time I live. And my first world problems seem trivial compared to so many people past, present, and in the future around the world. But there is a feeling of belonging, and of all the places I visited, this was my place – just for a little while. The music was good, the sound system was just right, the Christmas ale was excellent, the staff were nice, there was a large water dispenser, and the design was perfect. And as it turns out, one hundred creative people work upstairs during the day.  I was happy here.

I never got round to my plan of buying a small notepad to scribble in to. To catch the moment and write about it. This was a simple thing to do, and I didn’t get round to it. Luckily, I made a few notes on my  phone. One of the things was “Writing things down”. And that’s why I am writing this down.

Sometimes, things have to be available for creativity to begin. Great ideas can be imagined, but if the technology isn’t there, it’s just not going to happen. In my case, I could have written things down, but that makes things a bit real. It is also a long journey with bad handwriting that had been ruined by my schooling, and bad spelling. And where do I store all these journals, and what if someone reads them?

The reading of my notes is becoming less of a problem, as I feel I’ve stuck to my principles set out at the beginning. Also, I feel my writing is getting better over time. At least, I’m feeling better about it. These aren’t the rantings of a crazy man, they are mainly “brain droppings” – thanks George Carlin.

The modern technology allows me to use more expansive language. Previously, I would use words I thought I could spell. Now, I use the word I want to use, and learn to spell it. This almost gives the lie (spell checkers can’t tell if it’s the right word) to the idea that reading expands the vocabulary. It’s writing that does that. So, start writing!

Afterword:

I bought my notepad today!