A Little Sign With Many Names....

...but it means the same everywhere :o)

Weird how we perceive a sign like this as something we have always known - a thing that has virtually replaced a stamp on a letter or perhaps it is the address on a letter. Did you know, that it is no a new sign, but dates back to at least 1536 - some places have used this as a measuring term.

The sign has now found a place with MoMA in NewYork in the Architecture & Design Archive - excactly what the image depicting the @ looks like, I am not sure, as it comes in multiple variations depending on the artist.

Looking up the sign on Wikipedia, you soon realise, that it has a lot of nicknames depending on which geographic part of the world you are in. Here we have nicknamed it "elephant trunk-a", other places it is a snail, little monkey tail, cinnamon bun, ear, little dog or even little mice.... Well come travel with me, follow the above Wikipedia link and learn how countries around the world nickname the @.

How Do You Even Start to Explain It....

When I was diagnosed with MS, I somehow knew, that I had to keep "going" (okay.... I was sitting in a wheel chair, when the doctors gave me the diagnosis....) if I wanted a normal life.. Still to this day, I would say "Define normal", and everytime you ask, it produce an answer similar to the previous ones - and yet never identical.

MS is the same for most of us with that diagnosis - we have the diagnosis in common, but always individual variations of the disease.

My immediate thought was, that I needed to figure out, what I was able to do... but could not dismiss things without at least several attempts to accomplish something. It took tennacity, but I regained the ability to walk and later on also running.... and I have given myself options, if I should loose some of those abilities again...if I can no longer run, I might be able to walk... if that should suddenly be impossible - then I need a wheelchair, and I will immediately sign up for whellchair races etc.

I had to learn to have patience (actually still working with that - LOL!) and keep trying to look for solutions possibilities. Friends were amazed and supportive and yet still somewhat curiuos about how I am approaching a lot of things/obstacles etc. Just how do you do that?

At a class, "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Dr. Spencer Johnson was on the syllable.... and there was the answer.... Soon after I bought ten copies (!!) and gave them to my friends asking them to read it with an open mind. What was I up to? But I could tell excactly when they had finished reading the book 'cause all of them phoned me immediately after saying "OK now I get it" - and one of them even gave me the parody "Who Moved My Christmas Tree?" the following X-mas knowing my love for that time of the year.

Lately (within the past year) I found a blog, where another MSer explains the worries, thoughts etc. about the MS in Haiku style - I know that my friends are once in a while reading that blog, as it reflects a lot of the stuff on my mind.

How do you explain "it" ?

Nihongo Futatabi

Japanese.... it has been a while since I have practiced anything in regards to that language, but now a chance has presented itself. When I first decided to learn it, it made my family wonder if I had lost my mind. At that time, I had already learned 4 languages (some more fluent than others) besides my native language :o) But when you want to learn something completely different, even involving learning new sets of signs instead of the Roman letters that we encounter at a very early age other peoples' worries becomes just that: their worries.

Just before classes started back then, there was a re-run of the tv-series "Shogun"- and suddenly everybody wanted to practice those few words, that they have picked up while watching it on TV. And looking closer at it, at lot of people these days are into something inspired from Japan: sushi, kokeshi dolls, kimonos, HelloKitty, manga cartoons etc.

So, maybe I am just a bit crazy when learning/practicing a language like Japanese, but it is also a way to explore more of the world. You do not "just" learn the language, you learn about the traditions, culture and history - this comes in handy when visiting any country in Asia, as you encounter similarities or something that has either made an impact on Japan or the other way around. Showing that you know something about Asian culture is often a door opener.

Yoi ichinichi o.

What's in a Number....??

We teach kids how to count  1..2..3..4.. etc. But in some situations they get confused and start asking questions about a missing number - but that's cultural differences playing a role, which may be hard to comprehend for the foreigner.

13 Have you ever encountered the following an a lot of European countries or in the US?

• The 13th floor in a building
• The 13th gate at the airport
• The 13th row in the airplane
• 13 at dinner - often the teddybear is invited as the 14th guest

4  The EastAsian equivalent to 13

17   Italians write the number in Roman letters as this XVII - often changed to VIXI - which means "I have lived" - no wonder they regard this number as unclucky.

8  is considered to be a lucky number in Chinese culture - yes there was a reason why the olympics in Beijing started August (8th month of the Year) 8, 2008

7 and 11 are also considered in a lot of countries to be lucky numbers..... oh wait, is that how the convenient store chain 7 Eleven got its name??

But if you have read Douglas Adam's "The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" - you will know that the answer to all questions is 42    :o)

One - deux - tri - fyra - fünf - seis -qi - thmaanya - ni -juu.   

What ever happened to.....??

What ever happened to the old fashioned letter? Ever since email made its way into everybodys life, letters have now been talked about as "the old art of writing letters"..

Hey... I am not old!!! And I still enjoy finding a letter in the mailbox from a good friend or a family member... now it is all about emails, mobile phones etc...

I am reading soo many emails during the workday, so I do not want to go home - turn on the computer in order to hear some news from my friends and family... some of them tease me, that I still prefer to write letters, but some of them actually likes getting letters in their mailbox (not the email mailbox).. others say, that we are busy doing stuff at different times, so a phonecall might be bad timing, hence they prefer to send an email - hey why not send a letter instead.

Since 1989 one of my best frinds and me have used letters as our primary communication method - for us it has just been natural to send news via postcards or letters instead of picking up the phone or sending an email. Only in rare occations we those the other means of communication, because we both like to sit down with a cup of tea and read a letter.

When I go travelling - a notepad, a pen and some evelopes always find their way into by bags: when not reading good books on the plane, I write letters to some of my friends letting them know, what has been going on in my life/mind lately.... and I still send postcards. If others do not have the time to send a postcard but are sending me a sms/mms instead - well do not bother because I do do not consider it to be personal...

X-mas greetings are very close to my heart - a couple of years ago I starting making all my x-mas cards myself. And now there is no way back, everybody I know will not settle for a bought card, that you can buy at any store - on the other hand, I know that not everybody are creative, so I appreciate getting a card from the stores etc... X-mas greetings via email where all the reciepients are disclosed - do not send one to me

This blog is just to put my thoughts into cyperspace as a reflection - I keep a journal, where I put similar stuff down but also includes my impressions of people that are somehow in my life. And I do have a web-album on GOOGLE's Picasa simply to share some moments from my travels with my best friends - not all pictures are posted there, that is not my intention, but I get soo many ideas from friends when they comment my pictures - usually I travel alone, but using the Picasa website actually enables me to share some memories in a totally different way, because I do not have to "hold lectures" when talking about my latest destination: they have already seen, what have impressed me the most and often others knows something about it and is more eager to start a conversations based on a picture.