Lockdown Challenge #4: Reality is frequently inaccurate

Thank you for a real tough one Kim.

Have you heard of the Mandela effect? It’s basically when many people believe the same inaccurate or wrong facts about an event. The name comes from the year 2010 when many people believed that Nelson Mandela had passed away in the 1980’s. Obviously not South African’s, heck some South African’s believe he is still alive (he died in 2013… just FYI)

Since 2010 we’ve had a name for widely remembered events that didn’t happen, and before 2010 there were many Mandela effects as well, we just didn’t have a name for it. When these people are then told that they had been believing wrong for x number of years, they are dumbstruck.

I wonder if these Mandela Effect people then think that Reality is Inaccurate? Many people refuse to believe that their beliefs had been wrong, which is understandable, it’s a belief. Certain life choices are made around beliefs. You watched (and were excited about) Hobbs & Shaw because you believed the Fast and the Furious franchise made quality stuff. After all, thus far they had made some pretty amazing films. You didn’t want anyone to disprove your belief, and you fought for the movie, until you watched it. The reality is that the film wasn’t that good to begin or end with, and the middle was not cooked. In your mind the reality has to be inaccurate because you so desperately wanted a spinoff to be good.

Quit blaming one another… it was bad.

Or lets take a crush, for example you have a crush on a hot piece of ass somewhere in your living/working/schooling/churching space. Naturally one’s brain pulls these asshole moves and we tend to fantasise about this person. What they are like, they are probably super smart, and funny and just loves all of the things you love. What it would be like to go on a date with them. Kiss them. Hug them. You get it. Then you muster up the courage to ask this person out onto said date. Or you bump into them at some point and start talking and all of these little hints drop that this person is simply not how you imagined or fantasised. Yet somehow your brain buffers you from these hints because it is being flooded with endorphins. All you can do is focus on not peeing yourself like an excited chihuahua and not saying LOL out loud.

Then in this example you go on a date with said person and you are still blind to the hints. A few months down the line when your brain has grown accustomed to the flood of hormones the blinkers fall off and you notice the things you missed… The way they say hashtag in front of at least one word per sentence. Hashtag annoying. You suddenly noticed they have about 17 dogs (okay only 2 but they shit like 17 dogs) and they go on these run things, by choice. They are super serious and they thought Nelson Mandela was still alive. Your brain tricked you into thinking everything is fine because your fantasy life was way better than the reality that is staring you in the face.

Because reality is frequently inaccurate.

Lockdown Challenge #3: Come together – Stay apart

Phoenix sparked me with this.

Am I the only one who feels like Dr Seuss has been writing the script for the world for the last few months? Come together by staying apart. Up is down, down is up, right is left, left is right, that kind of thing. No, not just me? Great.

ALONE!!

Anyway, I am not going to make this a COVID-19 thing, goodness knows there is enough of that going around (ahem). No, I will make this light hearted and funny.

I thought with this one I would do a “HOW TO STAY APART AND COME TOGETHER” thing.  That sounds a lot like moving whilst being stationary. It can be done and by golly I’ma tell you how.

And here goes:

• Yell to your neighbour.
  This is one works best for people who live in apartment blocks or in close proximity to other families. What you want to do is get onto your balcony or even the roof of your building and yell to your neighbour, which neighbour you ask, ANY NEIGHBOUR. Ask them whether they watched the reruns of old Rugby World Cup matches. Or do that ridiculous recipe swap thing with paper airplanes. OR… or, if you are feeling very adventurous do that string-tin telephone. You know from back in the day. I know yoh ass got some tins, you guys been stocking up for the apocalypse. Eat some beans and phone a friend.

• Do that zoom singing thing.
  You and some friends come together via Zoom (obvy) and sing something. For extra points sing something cliché like Ring-a-ring o’Roses. Wait, no that song is too short, not everyone will have a chance. Maybe something like Poor Unfortunate Souls.  It doesn’t matter that all your friends sound like 1 000 nails on a blackboard and you sound like a tired cat, sing your little hearts out.

Some lowwww notes in here. Stretch that talent.

• Make a video…
  …about EVERYTHING you are doing from what food you are making to how you fold your toilet paper. People need to see that. Believe me, their lives are less full without knowing exactly how you unclogged the shower drain using peanut butter, drain cleaner and some salt. PLEASE share all of these pearls of wisdom. Oh and don’t film these videos in landscape, or in a well lit room with ZERO naked kids in the background. No, it’s portrait all the way and some more bonus points if you can get your kid to dig in their nappy in the background and yell “It stinks”.

• Do a lockdown challenge
  *cough-cough* There’s the egg challenge, the handstand challenge, the climbing Everest on your stairs challenge. Why stop there? Bring back the ice bucket challenge and the cinnamon challenge. Shit, while you are at it, do the Harlem shake all on your own, or follow the first bullet and ask your neighbour to join. And whatever challenge you decide on, don’t forget to nominate 50 friends to join in the “fun”.

BY FAR the best one out there. Is you good, is you kay? Cos I want ta know.

I hope these tips are helpful in keeping you and your loved ones together by staying apart.

If you have any more tips, please share them in the comments below. Or just say “hi” (PLEASE SAY HI… Extrovert here)

Lockdown challenge #2: Sugar and spice and all things nice

This Lockdown Challenge is a long term thing apparently, BUT lockdown got extended sooooo I get to make up for it.

Kim gave me this spark for the challenge:

Sugar and spice and all things nice…

…and the first thing that came to mind was The Powerpuff Girls.

The show starts off with the words SUGAR, SPICE and everything nice and them some stuff about professor Utonium adding an accidental extra ingredient… CHEMICAL X (I wonder if the creator of the show was/is a Marvel Comics fan…). Thus, the Powerpuff Girls were born (I won’t carry on reciting)

Why am I writing about the PP Girls? Good question (checks notes) It’s mostly because this points to a childhood pastime… CARTOON NETWORK. Not the CN that kids have now. Oh no no, I am talking about the CN that had shows like Ed, Edd and Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Dexter’s Laboratory, Cow and Chicken… those shows. Good wholesome shows.

• 

But I am also writing about the PP Girls because as a girl (I am a girl, yes) I used to want to be Buttercup so bad. She was always the rebel, the tougher one, the one who is always getting into trouble and the one who is always up for an ass whoopin. If there was ass to by whooped, Buttercup be yoh girl.

It made it difficult being blond and blue-eyed though (the only time that it was ever difficult), because as a girl you naturally want to chose the character that you look like (even if it is just 2 features, 2 of the most significant features). Bubbles had the blue and blonde… and the irritating voice and the emotions and the girliness that I just didn’t agree with.

On a different but related note, I know there are redheads in the world and I understand the demographic that Blossom is catering for, but who the heck has pink eyes? Seriously though, Blossom has pink eyes and no one is bothered by this? That’s that chemical X shit not washing out with the rinse cycle, Professor. She needs to be quarantined, that shit is contagious. Give the girl some eye drops, take her to see a doctor.

I digress, the whole sugar, spice thing did spark something other than nostalgia. What the PP Girls teaches us is, that it’s all about being sweet but being able to kick some ass too. Be spicy but help the helpless, stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. And always have that extra ingredient, that something that makes you different. (Not Arkham Asylum type different though… calm down Harley)

If that one thing that you have is that your eyes are pink, please see a doctor, get help, get an eye patch.

In closing, passing words to you are… Watch a bit of PP Girls. Be inspired to do some good. Even if it is liking, sharing and commenting on this post, you are the true hero here.

Lockdown Challenge #1: Disney taught me that…

This is my first instalment of this fun challenge I started with 2 friends. You can go read about it HERE if you wanted to (DO IT)

Disney taught me that…

Phoenix gave me this to spark my inspiration, to be honest she could not have chosen a better spark. (Granted she does know me pretty well and this was probably premeditated). If Disney was a love language it would be mine along with touch.
I love Disney movies, Pirates of the Caribbean, Flubber, Coyote Ugly, I mean can anyone listen to Pour Some Sugar On Me without wanting to dance on a burning bar?

Do we serve water in this bar?

Yes, these movies are amazing but most of all I LOVE LOVE animated movies.

The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King (of course), these movies are all filled with whimsy, fantasy and just enough reality to make you think about your own life in a certain way. Disney movies teach many lessons and not everyone has the same experience.

Kind of like Biology class in highschool, just after doing a lesson on the male reproductive organ (ahem… PENIS). The guys are 10/10 making jokes, the girls are blushing and there’s always one student who is aiming for an A that asks awkward questions about prostate examinations. Looking at you, Andrew.

Anyway I digress, let’s let that rabbit go.

Down the rabbit hole.

Little Disney reference there for you.

Lets get to it… I’ma share the lessons that Disney taught me (I bet it’s not what you think):

1. My memory is not as shit as I thought.

Anyone who knows me can attest to this next part: my life is a movie quote. I know so many movie quotes that sometimes I forget that what I am saying is a movie quote until I stumble upon it in a movie. It’s not just movies it’s series as well, but that’s not what we are talking about now. (focus, woman). Now if I could harness that brain power in my work and study life I would be a force to reckon with.

2. You are NEVER too old to watch animations

As I’ve mentioned I love animated movies (this included Pixar and Dreamworks… I don’t discriminate).
Animations carry you off to a land far far away. It takes you Under the Sea with only the Bear Necessities so that you can Let It Go, be Part of their World and Be Their Guest.
It’s A Whole New World where you can paint with all the Colours of the Wind.
You might have questions like “When will my Life Begin” or you might find yourself asking someone “Do you Wanna Build a Snowman” but you know in your heart that animations help you Go the Distance and that this is all part of the Circle of Life.
Not gonna lie, I’m rather proud of that, must be because I’ve got a Dream and A Dream is a Wish your Heart makes… okay I’ll stop.

3. All characters in Disney can SING!

I wonder if all these Disney characters went to the Mickey Mouse Club with Britney, Christina and Justin. Look, it makes me want to sing too and for some reason these songs are dang catchy. Have you tried saying “you’re welcome” without a melody since you first watched Moana?

Erm… You are WELCOME. This song be stuck in your head now.

4. Your imagination is important and should be kept active

Ever watched a movie and thought “How cool would it be if that shit could really happen?” Mary Poppins for instance… click your fingers and your room tidies itself. Believe in fairies and you can fly. Carry a heart in a jar of dirt and you are safe from a water dwelling squidface. Disney movies take your imagination on a wild ride. I don’t know about you, but to me the world could use some magic, a little Spoon full of Sugar, a little fairy dust. It’s a bleak wild world out there and that world kills the child inside. As Walt Disney himself once said:

Too true Mr. Disney. Too true.

5. Finally, Disney taught me that your dream is stable if your foundation is stable.

I recently learnt that Walt Disney was a Christian and had a dream that the Magic Kingdom would be a place where people could feel God or encounter his presence. Now I have never been to the Magic Kingdom but I am sure it is amazing. Walt’s dream still lives years after he has passed away, I believe, because his foundation was solid. The Jesus kind of solid and that gives me hope.

What has Disney taught you?

The Lockdown Challenge

I am probably not the only blogger that had this idea, but I am the first amongst my blog friends.
What’s the idea you ask?
Well, it goes like this, you find some fellow bloggers or writers and you give them either a quote, a picture or a word to spark their inspiration to write. I have 2 close friends that enjoy recreational writing and on Saturday I put the challenge to them.

I got the idea when I spoke to one of these close friends about my previous blog post. This particular friend has her own brand spanking new blog, Wonder in the Wild, and I thought it would be a great place for her to start. The other challenger also has a blog, but for the time being she is going to just write for herself. Just to practice, exercise the ol’ writing brain.

To *Phoenix my spark was this:

Being an introvert during lockdown with a house full of extroverts

I gave her 48 hours to complete it and she did not disappoint.
You can go read her post here, she gives quite a few tips for introverts (or anyone actually) on how to deal with being in quarantine. Goodness knows we all need a few tips on how to get by so that we don’t go stir crazy.

Phoenix gave me this as a spark:

Disney taught me that…

Read my post about it here.

To *Kim (friend who will be doing some private writing) I gave this as a spark:

I am excited to read what she comes up with, I also gave her 48 hours to complete it.

Kim’s spark to me is:

Sugar and spice and all things nice

And THIS post will be here on Wednesday.

Any of you fellow bloggers that would like to get in on the challenge with me, I would LOVE to hear from you. Or you can always use one of the sparks I mentioned as your own inspiration. If you do, I would love to read your blog, please leave your link in the comments below.

I think this would be a great way to keep fellow bloggers inspired and spread positivity during this time of uncertainty.

*I changed their names… because I can.

Community living

We just went into lockdown for 21 days, days before lockdown I obtained 2 new housemates (and another one to join in a few weeks), I have decided to make a pros & cons list** of living with people who aren’t family (family is a whole different pressure cooker of fish, a post for a different day, I think)

Pros

Company
During this social distancing and lockdown period company is probably the best thing. Especially for my particular brand of extrovert.

The longest I can go without seeing another human being or speaking to one is a 2 day weekend… I am purposefully not saying 48 hours because that is a lie as well. These current memes are on point…

We really don’t

Shared workload
Look, tidying or cleaning a 5 bedroom house by yohself is no joke. It takes long, it’s tedious and you end up doing only the dishes and tidying the kitchen and the bathroom.

Having more people means more hands, means lighter load.

Different meals (Also see cons)
Having more people in the house also means we take turns cooking (or that’s the intention). I am looking forward to not having to cook each night (I still enjoy cooking and I intend to keep it that way).

Freedom
… to go housesit or sleep over at a friend (yes, adults still do sleepovers) or party till 4am. When you have pets you can’t just up and leave, BUT if you have pets AND live with other people, that sorts out the problem of animals being fed and not being alone at night.

Saving
Can you say CARPOOL? I freakin hope so, I mean you are reading this and if you are reading this you should be able to say what you read… basic early childhood development stuff. (I assume)

Yes, carpool. Carpool means saving on fuel costs and at a time where a litre of fuel costs more than a loaf of bread… you have to try and save as much as possible.

Cons

Different meals (Also see pros)
Living with 2 guys… so I am not exactly sure what to expect apart from a bowl of 2min noodles or some egg on toast. But, food is food. This is not a sexist statement… it is a factual statement based on what I know of these guys. So don’t @ me. The one guy is a typical bachelor who barely cooks for himself, the other is fresh out of school and his mom’s house. I know what to expect (hey, I am more than okay with being surprised)

People… ALWAYS
Even extroverts need some no-people time. Living with other people means that does not happen unless either you or they stay in the room the whole time. Thankfully this is a big house.

Different habits
Doesn’t matter who you are sometimes someone’s odd habit will irritate the crap out of you. You know people have different habits but that doesn’t make them leaving every light in the house on while they sit outside, easier to handle. Let’s be honest, it’s not difficult to handle either, if it is something like leaving lights on, then speak to the person. If it is dropping a nuclear bomb in the bathroom… well maybe learn what their bowel schedule is so you can time it.

No naked Thursdays

Yeaaaahhhh…

** This is not an exhaustive list nor is it set in stone and is subject to change as the tides change, as the moon changes and as the mood changes… after all I am a woman!