Today is November 30th and, as I say in the blog’s description, this is my last entry.
In hindsight, I can’t quite believe that I set out to write this blog for four months straight. It was quite ambitious. This is my last ever entry and I intend to write a long, long post. I want to use this as my final opportunity to add a sense of accomplishment to this mini-project and put a peaceful end to it.
I don’t actually know quite what to write. I suppose the obvious thing to do is try to sum up everything that I’ve ‘learnt’ in the last few months but that’s a near impossible task. I have made near to 100 posts and couldn’t possibly go over each one. Instead I think I’ll just write and see whereabouts it takes me.
When I started this blog I wanted it to be a selection of coherent and defiant ideas moulded around my understanding of ‘the world’. Apart from the fact that I’m not quite pretentious enough, I realised the day after my first post that I understand as much about ‘the world’ as I do of astrophysics. After this early setback I had to decide what I wanted the blog to be and came very close to giving it up all together. I chose to just write around my day, eventually culminating in the words ‘what I learnt today...’ I kind of liked the idea that at the end of every entry the text would read in a similar manner to the closing monologue of an episode of Scrubs.
It took about two weeks for me to tell anyone this blog existed. It ended up as necessary after many asked me why I was suddenly taking pictures of everything. Friends realised it was slightly odd behaviour and probably were worried I’d post their faces on the internet somewhere...
Anyway, I kept this to myself for as long as I possibly could and tried hard to stay true to what I wanted the blog to be. Soon friends were approaching me asking for the web address and talking about my blog. I didn’t encourage people to look at it and decided I would only let knowledge of its existence spread through word of mouth. However, the awareness that people were reading it (quite a large number as it turned out) inevitably changed my attitude towards it. I responded rather badly to this and started to load the blog with ambiguity and attempted to write subtle messages to various known readers. Fortunately, about half way through the blog, I ‘changed my ways’ and wrote far more light hearted, innocent entries that I think ended up serving me better.
This blog has a very broad definition for ‘learning’. I liked looking back on my day and pinpointing those aspects that made it worthwhile and any other intriguing information I found out. The idea that I could learn something new every day seemed appealing and I was keen to avoid just learning a hundred random pieces of factual information. So I wrote it in the manner that I thought was more worthwhile and stimulating.
I’m truly proud of my little creation and delighted I’ve stayed committed to it for so long. Suddenly, as I write this, I am overwhelmed by a sense of melancholy. This blog has never been a chore or a burden and I’ve always enjoyed doing it – probably because it’s provided a channel for me to keep jabbering on about things without interruption.
I like to think this blog has succeeded in some of its objectives. I waste so little time now and have done a lot of things as a result of the mentality that this blog has unearthed. What I have learnt from writing this blog is that you CAN learn something every day but only if you really want to do so.
I’d like to thank all the people who have said nice things to me about the blog. Although I insist I did this blog for my own interests only I cannot express enough how much it means that people have not only read it but enjoyed reading it too. Sure, when you’re on Facebook with nothing else to do this becomes an option but I’d like to say thank you nonetheless.
All my posts have been immensely enjoyable to write. It sounds ridiculous but I have a cold shiver done my spine and a true feeling of sadness that I’m not going to post another entry here. This blog has been a constant since the middle of the summer holidays and it’ll no long be an active part of my life. Hopefully, one day I’ll write another. For now though, I’m going to really, really miss it.
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
-Epicurus
Monday, 30 November 2009
Culture and Concepts
29th November
If you join a Sunday League Team, you've committed yourself to something - even if it's an amusing named Jewish one. That's what I learnt today as I was driven home shortly after arriving at the pitch to be told the game was called off due to waterlogged pitches. First of all, the pitches didn't look very waterlogged to me and second of all it's damn annoying having to wake up at 8.30am on a Sunday morning to be told your not going to play football after all. Oh well - it happens. Next week we are playing a team called 'Jewventus' which is possibly the best name for a team I have ever heard.
I've decided to take a bit more care of myself and not get into the habit of using each weekend as an excuse for drinking heavily. I woke up this morning feeling fresh and ready, which added to the disappointment of the Baum match being canceled. No Baum Baum the Elephant, no elaborate celebrations.
I suppose whenever you commit to something, be it a job, a promise or a blog, you're risking the possibility of disappointment and frustration. Sometimes, even though it's annoying, you've just got to swallow that disappointment. Easier said than done. Period. Fortunately not playing for Baum and then spending the rest of your Sunday reading a book in a pair of trackies isn't that hard to take.
I learnt about a tribe in the Amazon rainforest today that was only recently discovered. As far as we know they have had no contact with the outside world whatsoever before now. I find that absolutely incredible.
Imagine their reaction to the knowledge of what lies past the rainforest horizon. Unfathomable urbanisation, culture and concepts that these people couldn't comprehend. They are like walking back in time - literally still living in the stone age. The amount that could be learnt from these people is endless. A truer idea of human nature, how they organise themselves and survive and have done so for thousands of years. Just amazing.
If you join a Sunday League Team, you've committed yourself to something - even if it's an amusing named Jewish one. That's what I learnt today as I was driven home shortly after arriving at the pitch to be told the game was called off due to waterlogged pitches. First of all, the pitches didn't look very waterlogged to me and second of all it's damn annoying having to wake up at 8.30am on a Sunday morning to be told your not going to play football after all. Oh well - it happens. Next week we are playing a team called 'Jewventus' which is possibly the best name for a team I have ever heard.
I've decided to take a bit more care of myself and not get into the habit of using each weekend as an excuse for drinking heavily. I woke up this morning feeling fresh and ready, which added to the disappointment of the Baum match being canceled. No Baum Baum the Elephant, no elaborate celebrations.
I suppose whenever you commit to something, be it a job, a promise or a blog, you're risking the possibility of disappointment and frustration. Sometimes, even though it's annoying, you've just got to swallow that disappointment. Easier said than done. Period. Fortunately not playing for Baum and then spending the rest of your Sunday reading a book in a pair of trackies isn't that hard to take.
I learnt about a tribe in the Amazon rainforest today that was only recently discovered. As far as we know they have had no contact with the outside world whatsoever before now. I find that absolutely incredible.
Imagine their reaction to the knowledge of what lies past the rainforest horizon. Unfathomable urbanisation, culture and concepts that these people couldn't comprehend. They are like walking back in time - literally still living in the stone age. The amount that could be learnt from these people is endless. A truer idea of human nature, how they organise themselves and survive and have done so for thousands of years. Just amazing.
Sunday, 29 November 2009
Playing for Pride
28th November
As I said in the previous post - we were not going to win today. However, after a truly inspiring team talk from our captain we were more than prepared to give it everything we possibly could. Our opponents had an agreement with us that they would take off their best few players after twenty minutes in order to rest them for their upcoming cup match. It was a huge compliment to us that they felt the need to keep them on the field until well into the second half. We fought incredibly well against a team who were leagues above us and easily the best side we had played all year. They had a prop who looked about thirty and probably weighed about twenty stone in muscle and height - just to create a picture of what their team were like.
When a game finishes you can always tell what the other team thought of you when you shake their hands at the end. This can be through their expression, tone or what they have to say to you. It was clear this team had a hell of a lot of respect for us. They came thinking it would be a walk over but we gave them a really difficult time, forcing knock on's and turn-overs frequently. We promised each other that we'd give everything that we had and that's exactly what we did. I think a lot of us were quite sad that it was our last game at our home ground. Today I learnt that playing for pride isn't and should never be a 'last resort' tactic. In fact we should always play for pride no matter the opposition and I'm going to remember playing 1st VX Rugby for a very long time.
We were in good spirits that evening:
As I said in the previous post - we were not going to win today. However, after a truly inspiring team talk from our captain we were more than prepared to give it everything we possibly could. Our opponents had an agreement with us that they would take off their best few players after twenty minutes in order to rest them for their upcoming cup match. It was a huge compliment to us that they felt the need to keep them on the field until well into the second half. We fought incredibly well against a team who were leagues above us and easily the best side we had played all year. They had a prop who looked about thirty and probably weighed about twenty stone in muscle and height - just to create a picture of what their team were like.
When a game finishes you can always tell what the other team thought of you when you shake their hands at the end. This can be through their expression, tone or what they have to say to you. It was clear this team had a hell of a lot of respect for us. They came thinking it would be a walk over but we gave them a really difficult time, forcing knock on's and turn-overs frequently. We promised each other that we'd give everything that we had and that's exactly what we did. I think a lot of us were quite sad that it was our last game at our home ground. Today I learnt that playing for pride isn't and should never be a 'last resort' tactic. In fact we should always play for pride no matter the opposition and I'm going to remember playing 1st VX Rugby for a very long time.
We were in good spirits that evening:
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