Day 2, Level 1: Words, ink, tattoos, driveway, fish taco and Shorthand
Today is day 201 of posting on this blog - good grief! I literally haven't missed one day of posting since the day I started. It's always the last thing I do before I go to bed, no matter what - and has been since ... 23rd March, when I made my first post, just before NZ went into Lockdown on 25th March 2020.
I try to be a disciplined and committed person - but I have to say I'm a bit surprised I've kept it going all this time. Alas, I haven't been quite so disciplined around my Inktober efforts. I'm 3 days behind. But that's ok, it's not a competition and I can do catch-up over the weekend (I hope!) Doing an inkwork requires quite a bit more time and complexity that bashing out words on the laptop and adding a few photos!
I can type fast, there is always a story to tell, my thoughts ramble on regardless of time or energy levels (as loyal readers will know), and there is no set up or mess to clean up. So it's not that hard to type up a post.
Whilst ink is a reasonably tidy and portable medium, it still requires water and paraphernalia, and inky residue and mess is a given. Not to mention the ideas in the first place! It requires more input/focus. Writing/rambling is easier.
Anyway, I was thrilled to learn tonight that a friend of my lovely friend Lyn in the UK loves my Day One "Fish" inkwork - so that's a done deal, it's hers. Yay. Just wish I could take it over there in person, but it's impossible for some time to come! Distressed sigh.
I've never met Lois, but I've stayed in her house in Bridport, Dorset a few years ago (complicated story!) - so I'm loving that she loves it and that it will be in her possession. Nice work Lynnie, sharing inkwork, that's what Inktober is all about!
I do hope to get into full-on ink mode over the weekend as I've really enjoyed getting inky. This week has been so full on I simply haven't had time to get set up and creative. But it seems that most Inktober participants are lagging behind, and it's really just an "as and when" thing designed to get you motivated, not stressed out. I saw today on FB that there have been over 1 million inkwork posts in this first week alone! Wow. Some of the creations I've seen are outstanding.
I have to say that tattooists are some of the most amazing ink artists on the planet. I'll never ever have a tattoo and really don't get the whole thing, but I do admire the ink mastery and the artistic expertise of a good tattooist. And they do their craft on skin. Permanent. The slightest mistake is a very big problem.
When ink goes on paper via a brush or pen, and it goes a bit skewiff, you can either reconstitute things (often possible) or throw it away and start again. You can't do that with people's skin!
Some tattoo designs leave me utterly cold, but most tattoo inkwork is so artistically intricate and splendid I truly wonder how they do it. I also wonder why anyone would want that on their body!
I also wonder how the person getting inked copes with the pain. Especially when they have their neck done. Or achilles. Or other very sensitive places! And I also wonder how they'll cope when they get to old age and that tattoo on their inner upper arm that looked like a dragon or flower arrangement (or whatever) sits on saggy old wrinkled skin looking more like a train wreck, and nothing like it did when freshly inked! I guess that's when long sleeves become a necessity whatever the weather!
A worky-worky morning for me - at home in Auckland. A land surveyor guy came this afternoon to survey our section. The driveway is being fixed up - finally! About 9 houses up our lane use this driveway, either by foot or car. Most houses have had work done over the last 4-5 years or more, renovations and landscaping work etc, and it has left the driveway in a state of utter shambles with trucks and works and whatnot. It didn't help that it wasn't in the best shape to start with before all this work began. So plans are afoot to get it sorted - but we all wisely waited until everyone had finished their renos and landscaping work to get moving forward on the project. It is imminent.
Oh what a difference it will make - for anyone walking up and down it, as well as to the look and value of all properties. It'll be a very good job done when it's finally done.
Headed to Omaha late afternoon - called in to the supermarket, then in to friends up at Scott's Landing in the Mahurangi, en route - where the guys from last weekend's fishing weekend were based. I had to pick up Brett's toilet bag which he'd left behind (he'd forget his head if it wasn't screwed on!) Had a catch up with Phil and Marion, and then headed onwards to Omaha. It was such a blustery and unpleasant drive north, the car was being buffeted around the whole way. Howling a gale - and still is into the night.
Interesting, as our house at home in Auckland is so sheltered from just about every wind; we have our own micro-climate. It was only once I was in my car and on the road north that I realised how windy and hideous it was. At home I had the doors open and there wasn't a breath of wind. I do not like wind, it is such a limiting element! I like our windless house!
I have to admit I've been in fish mode since last week's fresh fish catch, so I bought some snapper from the supermarket. Cooked up a similar dish to last week - aubergine, fish and the same delectable sherry/coconut yoghurt sauce I concocted last week. I also roasted and mashed some butternut and golden kumara. Roasted and caramalised half a red onion. Served it all with various salad bits. On tacos. Delicious. Esp that sauce!
Shame no one was here to enjoy it with me - but I enjoyed cooking it and then eating it - while watching The Repair Shop. What a great show that is - very talented craftspeople breathing new life into precious old things that have seen better days. The results are stunning - and the reactions of the people when they see the renovated item - priceless.
Stages of my fish taco creation shown below! As I say, shame it was a meal for one!
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| All ingredients |
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| Wrapped and ready to eat. YUM! |
SHARE-NOTE OF THE DAY:
Shorthand ...
It's a different way of writing English, a code, using symbols to represent words, phrases, letters and sounds. It's a rapid system of writing that is used to record the spoken word - at speeds of up to 140 words per minute. That's how fast a fast-talker talks. That's how fast I could capture things once upon a time. I learnt shorthand in the 1970s, loved it, and have used it in all sorts of applications. Even got Honours diploma!
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| My shorthand - song lyrics - revealed below! |
Typing straight into a laptop is the norm now, when recording the spoken word either in person, online or digitally. I do believe I was one of the very first to transition from capturing meetings in shorthand on paper, to tapping the words into a laptop. In the mid 1980s. At large conferences around the world.
I could type almost as fast as I could take shorthand, and it was clear to me that typing directly into a laptop removed that extra step of transcribing shorthand which meant double up. I attended a global conference in Singapore and suggested capturing the discussion this way - I'd been doing it already in my regional position (Europe). It was adopted. So much easier. But still intensive and complex work - especially in these global conferences with people from all around the world and every language under the sun, with interpreters. It required every sinew of concentration and listening.
I'm grateful for all this because, whether capturing discussion via shorthand or laptop, fully engaged listening became second nature to me early in my life, and is now ingrained. Valuable forever in every sphere of work. And especially life!
The thing with shorthand is that it requires intense listening and decent knowledge of language and, most of all, pronunciation and sound. That's how shorthand works. Phonetics.
With a lifetime habit of listening to what people say, I find it scary how often people simply don't know what was said - by someone else, and even, disturbingly, by themselves.
It's scary how the skill of listening is being lost these days. Switching off is all too common. Are witnesses these days even worthy - did they really listen to/hear/observer what they recall? I have a huge sense of doubt - people just don't listen/hear/observe well.
Back to the history of Shorthand ...
It's an utterly fascinating system of writing that was used in ancient times. Modern systems date from the 1500s.
In 1837 Sir Isaac Pitman invented his form of shorthand, which is probably the most favoured method of shorthand that was used and taught. It's the one I learned in 1979. It's a phonetic shorthand, based on the sound and pronunciation of each and every word and syllable.
The symbols you write represent sounds rather than letters. Words are written as they are spoken and heard, using the Pitman symbols. Of all the clever things in life that people have devised, this one still has me astounded as to how he came up with what is a perfect system to capture sounds and the spoken word with ease (once you know how and get your head around it).
It's a geometric system, which uses lines and curves, dots and dashes, hooks and circles and loops. It is written using heavy and light strokes, and positions on lines. The same stroke written on the same angle can be two different consonants, depending on whether it is written heavily or lightly. The strokes are positioned above, on or below the line, depending on the associated initial vowel sound.
It's complex and innately clever. It's like learning a language and code all in one. And that's why I loved learning it.
I still use it, although not too much these days, and I'm a bit rusty, but it comes in handy whenever I do need it - especially when there is a "next lyrics" question at quiz. They play the song and then it stops and you have to put down the next words.
Being able to capture the lyrics in shorthand means I can keep up with the song and I can then refer to them, and have a platform to work out the next words. Very helpful if we need to make a guess!
Below are the words put to the same symbols as in the picture above - they're song lyrics! Of the song I was listening to when I was writing this blog! "Baby Come Back" by Player. Except the version I was listening to was by Ocean Alley - a 2018 recording!
You can see the thick and thin, above/below the line etc. I haven't added vowel dots and dashes - at advanced level they're not required as they're implicit due to placement or more subtle strategic nuances. I love meeting other people who know shorthand - sadly, there aren't too many of us left.
I also use shorthand if I don't want anyone to know what I'm writing. Secret code!
Pitman New Era is the purest form - it's a complex shorthand, and takes time to master, but it is also incredibly simple once it is understood. You can reach very high speeds with this shorthand, as it contains many short forms and contractions that means a small stroke can say the same as several words. A high speed is around 180 words per minute, which is someone who talks very fast. The record for fast-writing with Pitman shorthand is 350wpm by Nathan Behrin in 1922. It’s hard to imagine anyone talking that fast, letalone being able to write that quickly, even with shorthand.
There are other forms of shorthand, including Pitmans 2000 which is a condensed version of New Era. Others are script based, the most common being Teeline, which became popular during the mid 1970s as it was easier to learn than Pitman.
As a lover of languages and codes - shorthand was just an extension of that and, as I say, I love it's cleverness and usefulness. Even though it's 40 years since I learnt it, and about 30 years since I used it professionally, I still know it, love it and use it occasionally.
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