After 4 days back at school a steady stream of notes have already begun to find their way home. So far we’ve had:
- would your child like guitar lessons - YES PLEASE
- would they like to join the local Stagecoach Theatre School - NO THANKS
- please remember to label all PE kit - OK
- remember smart clothes for school photos next week - OK
- please pay the termly fee for weekly swimming lessons - OK
- reminder that water bottles/bookbags are available from the office - OK
- please come to harvest festival - OK
- please pay for school trip to local canal - OK
- please come to a ‘Welcome to our school’ evening to welcome new children/parents - WILL TRY
- would your child like to join basketball club - NO THANKS
And then there’s the out of school stuff to consider as well: time to pay Ju-Jutsu (martial arts) subs and investigate the prospect of Brownies.
And all this after only 4 days!! Argh!!
Yay! At long last we have finally sold our house. Can’t begin to describe how happy this has made me 
I still can’t really understand why it has taken so long to sell, as its a perfectly nice 3-bed semi in a good area. The initial offer was quite low (£13k under our original asking price), but all credit to our estate agent they really earned their money and managed to persuade the buyers to increase their offer to an acceptable level. We’re prepared to let it go quite cheaply because the buyers aren’t in a chain so (fingers-crossed) the sale should be able to go through fairly quickly. So that’s one less thing to worry about….now I’ve just got to concentrate on getting through 2 weeks of intensive Post Office training…urgh!
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Neuroticism
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Extraversion
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Openness To Experience
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Agreeableness
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Conscientiousness
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Hmm. Wouldn’t have thought of myself as neurotic, but when I read the full report it does sound an awful lot like me….
Neuroticism
You can be very easily upset, even by what most people consider the normal demands of living. People consider you to be extremely sensitive and emotional. You are a calm person who is considered almost fearless by some. You feel enraged when things do not go your way. You are sensitive about being treated fairly and feel resentful and bitter if you think you are being cheated. Mostly your emotions are on an even keel and you do not get depressed easily. You are sensitive about what others think of you. Your concern about rejection and ridicule cause you to feel shy and uncomfortable around others. You are easily embarrassed and often feel ashamed. Your fears that others will criticize or make fun of you are exaggerated and unrealistic, but your awkwardness and discomfort may make these fears a self-fulfilling prophecy. You feel strong cravings and urges that you have difficulty resisting. You tend to prefer short-term pleasures and rewards over long-term consequences. High levels of stress can lead to you feeling panic or confusion, but usually you cope with day to day pressures.
Extraversion
You are neither a subdued loner nor a jovial chatterbox. You enjoy time with others but also time alone. You generally make friends easily enough although you mostly don’t go out of your way to demonstrate positive feelings toward others. You tend to feel overwhelmed by, and therefore actively avoid, large crowds. You often need privacy and time for yourself. You are an active group participant but usually prefer to let someone else be the group leader. You lead a fast-paced and busy life. You move about quickly, energetically, and vigorously and are involved in many activities. You enjoy some excitment and risk taking in your life. You have a generally cheerful disposition.
Openness to experience
Novelty, variety, and change spice up your life and make you a curious, imaginative, and creative person. Often you find the real world is too plain and ordinary for your liking, and you use fantasy as a way of creating a richer, more interesting world for yourself. You love beauty, both in art and in nature. Sometimes you become easily involved and absorbed in artistic and natural events. You have good access to and awareness of your own feelings. You are eager to try new activities, travel to foreign lands, and experience different things. You find familiarity and routine boring, and will take a new route home just because it is different. As a person who is open-minded to new and unusual ideas, you love to play with and think about ideas. You also like to debate intellectual issues and often enjoy riddles, puzzles and brain teasers. You like the security of tradition, but sometimes have a desire to bend the rules and challenge conventional thinking.
Agreeableness
You have some concern with others’ needs, and are generally pleasant, sympathetic, and cooperative. You naturally assume that most people are fair, honest, and have good intentions. You believe that a certain amount of deception in social relationships is necessary. You are guarded in new relationships and less willing to openly reveal the whole truth about yourself. You will help others if they are in need. If people ask for too much of your time you feel that they are imposing on you. You are not adverse to confrontation and will sometimes even intimidate others to get your own way. You feel superior to those around you and sometimes tend to be seen as arrogant by other people. You are tenderhearted and compassionate, feeling the pain of others vicariously and are easily moved to pity.
Conscientiousness
You like to live for the moment and do what feels good now. Your work tends to be careless and disorganized. Often you do not feel effective, and may have a sense that you are not in control of your life. In general you tend to be disorganized and scattered. You have a strong sense of duty and obligation, and feel a moral obligation to do the right thing. Mostly you work towards achieving your best, although in some areas you are content just to get the job done. You have a reasonable amount of will-power and are able to follow through on tasks that you feel you need to complete. You can be distracted however and have been known to procrastinate. You often say or do the first thing that comes to mind without deliberating alternatives and the probable consequences of those alternatives.
I first read this a couple of years ago in the book Timeless Simplicity by John Lane, and it really made me smile. A simple reminder to keep things in perspective:
A rich industrialist was horrified to find a fisherman lying comfortably beside his boat soaking in the warm afternoon sun. “Why aren’t you out fishing?” asked the industrialist.
“I’ve caught enough fish for the day,” said the fisherman.
”Why don’t you catch some more?” questioned the rich man.
”What would I do with them?” asked the fisherman.
”You could earn more money,” said the intruder. “Then you could buy a new motor for your boat and go into deeper waters to catch more fish. Then you could buy nylon nets and catch more fish and make more money. Then you could buy another boat and make more money, and then get a fleet of boats to make even more money. Then you would be a rich man like me!”
“What would I do then?” The fisherman asked.
”Then you could really enjoy life!” The industrialist answered.
”What do you think I’m doing right now?” replied the contented worker.
Time to turn over a new leaf - lots of changes are afoot, and I really feel like I’m starting a new chapter of my life. So, my blog has a new look (try clicking the little squares for different backgrounds), and a new focus. Up till now I’ve tended to blog about work stuff - web design and making money online. But now that I’ve given up all that nonsense (lets be honest the AIS thing never really worked for me did it? lol), I’m going to be blogging about my life in a much wider context - being a mum, trying to be green, striving for the good life, being a druid, running a small rural Post Office, you get the idea. Have to say I’m really rather excited about it all!
Thought is was about time I posted a quick update of my adsense earnings over recent months, so here goes:
September 05 = $7.14
October 05 = $11.52
November 05 = $17.81
December 05 = $21.83
January 06 = $14.19
February 06 = $51.91
March 06 = $103.00
April 06 = $23.45 (to date, 27/04/06)
GRAND TOTAL = $250.85
If only I had the faintest idea what caused March’s earnings to take such a leap I might be in with a shout of repeating it!
A quick heads up that Gary Burton (AIS & osCommerce expert) has moved his blog and can now be found over at: http://www.osworld.biz