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Friday 11 September 2015

Daily Prompt: Handwritten

When was the last time you wrote something by hand? What was it?

Shopping list

It was a shopping list, yes, it must have been a shopping list because it is the only thing that I write by hand today. My contribution are the first two lines, the remainder Mr. Swiss. Yes a shopping list is one of those romantic moments when we share our thoughts: moments that are few and far between and are treasured.

The problem being that although you can write a shopping list on a computer, it takes time to start the computer, write it all and then print it out. One of the few tasks that are still quicker by hand. You have a flash of inspiration, we need toothpaste (item 3) so write it down before it is forgotten. Of course written shopping lists are prone to be illegible. Mr. Swiss can always read his own handwriting, but has problems with mine and as I also have problems with mine it can often happen that we are standing in the middle of a supermarket studying hieroglyphics on a list and trying to decipher what was actually needed.

There is also the case of the forgotten shopping list. The one you write at home, beginning the evening before and completing it with the last few entries before you arrive at the supermarket and leaving it on the table instead of putting it in your pocket or handbag. This happens to both of us, being golden oldies. The strange thing is that the words you have written are still somewhere imprinted on your brain, although there is always the moment when you know you really wanted to buy something important, but it has been absorbed by the grey cells never to return again.

“I am sure there is something must have, I know I wrote it on the list.” The worst thing that can happen is when you want to cook perhaps spaghetti with a fine meaty sauce and open the refrigerator to discover you forgot the meat. A discussion follows about who forgot it and eventually, being a professional multi tasking woman. spaghetti is served with a fine tomato sauce, depending on whether you remembered to have a supply of tinned tomatoes in the cupboard.

I sometimes write for the topic generator. From the computer you have just two words, an adjective and a noun, and what you write is open to the interpretation of the two words. This is all very well, and usually I feed my computer with the necessary information and the two words arrive on the web site. This being done, I visit Facebook, WordPress and my e-mails and then the problem occurs. I cannot remember the two words I received for my topic generator work of literature. Of course, I can choose two new words, but that is not really the meaning of the exercise for me. Beggars cannot be choosers and the topic generator is to be likened to the Forest Gump box of chocolates “you never know what you’re gonna get”. However, I have a solution, where there is a piece of paper and a biro, there is a way. Now my kitchen table is littered with small pieces of paper each bearing two words, an adjective and a noun and every morning a new slip joins them. I should really throw them away, but now my topic generator problem is solved.

Daily Prompt is not such a problem, due to the fact that I am in Europe and taking the time lapse into consideration. I only get my prompt at three in the afternoon and so I have to react quickly. I have no time in the evening for daily prompts, I have books to read.


So for me the handwritten whatever is almost now non-existent. I have a computer, an iPad, an iPhone, a Kindle, so why do I have to write. To jot down a quick note I use Pitmans shorthand, but I am the only person here that can read it. It was something I used in my first office jobs. Today almost extinct due to the arrival of computers and who dictates letters today.

2 comments:

  1. The same two words have been applying to me each evening this week: Fell asleep. That's why I'm catching up on your posts now!!!

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    Replies
    1. I thought it might be a midlife sleeping crisis. Since being a retired golden oldie, I sleep regularly after lunch, and do not fall asleep so much. Actually my blogger pages are a sort of backup for WordPress which is my main place to be. It does not take so much time to do a copy paste here, and I really do get viewers, although most prefer to remain anonymous.

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