The Necessary Evil of Small Talk

Sometimes I dread going to the salon to get my haircut.  You're in there for a good hour and a half, and its understood by all parties involved that you will make the necessary small talk the entire time as to eliminate any awkward silences.

So, I prep myself ahead of time.  I think of things to talk about with the lady who washes my hair.  The weather, my new house, and oh, how is her boyfriend doing?  My hair stylist, luckily, cuts the hair of a dozen people in my family, so family news updates are encouraged.  I can talk about my grandma and my sisters and my mom, and she'll be in the "know" already.

Still, there are times I run out of things to say, and I'll sit there awkwardly as the music is pumping and the scissors snip to the beat.  Then, my stylists will say, "So, how's work?"

Why You Need to Pause Before Posting

 We live in a different age.  Having been born on the tail end of the "Gen Y" group, just missing being stuck in "Gen Tech" by a few years,  I was able to see the world before and after the invasion of the Internet.

They define the Gen Tech generation as those who do not remember life before Internet.  They may have been born before Internet was widely available in the common American home, but they weren't old enough to remember those times.

Me?  I remember playing in the mud, walking up to my neighbor's house and asking if Katie could come out and play, and rollerblading and biking until the sun went down.

I don't want to sound old and "bash" on technology.  This digital age is both exciting and frightening, and while most youth toot how awesome all of these fast-paced technological advances are for mankind, I'd like to offer the alternate view.

Top Posts of 2013

In my high school yearbook, someone wrote:

"Life is like a roll of toilet paper.  The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes."

The metaphor is scarily accurate.  Everyone tells you that the older you get, the faster time flies. 

And 2013 has flown by.  Way. Too. Fast.  

I hope that doesn't mean I'm nearing the end of my roll.  Haha. 

Thank you for taking the time to read some of my ramblings this past year.  Having decided in 2012 to make a more concentrated effort toward my blog, I have spit out some things this year a number of people have read. Thank you for that.  Its humbling to say the least that people are even taking the time to click on my links, much less read my stuff. 

Grace Starts Now

Someone I know well, whom I will call Meryl, has more than once said mean, hurtful things to me.  She's the type of person who, when stressed and under pressure, buckles and starts lashing out because it feels like everything is falling down around her.

Recently, Meryl assumed I had done something to hurt her when it was in fact an oversight.  Well, regardless of what it was, she told me this, and I was angry.  It was an honest mistake.  I wasn't trying to do any harm or disrespect.

So, I got mad. I vented to my husband via text.  I start thinking of all the things I wanted to say but hadn't out of restraint.  I thought of all the ways I was right and all of the ways she was wrong.

The next day, she apologized, saying that she was wrong, that she knew I had just made an honest mistake, and it was poor character for her to say those things.

Ouch.

Everyone Should Work in Retail

You know what the solution is for world peace?  Have everyone work for at least 6 months at a retail or customer service position.

Because there is something powerful that happens when you're paid to serve people.

Oh, the stories I have...

I worked at Mervyn's shoe department for about a year and a half while in college.  I enjoyed my job, but boy, did I encounter some annoying people!  And now I have a bunch of funny stories to tell.

Why Manners Matter

Don't chew with your mouth open.

Don't put your elbows on the table.

Don't belch in public.  If you do burp, say, "Excuse me."  

Bring the food to your mouth, not your mouth to the food.

Don't pick your nose.


Have you ever asked yourself what is the point of manners?

They don't really do anything.  Not anything important anyway.  It's not like The Ten Commandments or the Amendments of the Constitution.  No one is going to get hurt or die if you put your elbows on the table.  Is there really a point to knowing which side of the plate the fork goes on?

I Started a Facebook Page!

I feel a little presumptuous starting my own Facebook page.  I'm not a celebrity.  I'm no one "special."  But like all good marketing strategies, you have to be excited about your product and you have to want to tell people about it.

I took some photos this weekend to flesh out my blog, my Twitter, my Facebook page, my Google+ page, etc.  So, I'm going to be tweaking those bit by bit to make it all uniform.

Anyway, I would be most honored if you would "like" me on Facebook.  It doesn't mean the world to me, but it does mean something to know people support an overly self confident person like me who just likes to write whatever is on her mind and publish it on the Internet.

I'm working on my novel, still, which as you all know about my life, is slow in coming.  But its coming!  It will get here someday.  It will.  And then you guys can all read it and let me know what you think.

Anyway, here is the special link: https://www.facebook.com/writercherylchen

I'll be looking forward to our continuing conversations together!

It Takes Two

As an English major, writer, and human being, I am acutely aware that what you say usually isn't what is heard.

That's usually a problem.

Anyone who's dated know this firsthand.  You say one thing, he hears another.  That's the issue with communication is that there are TWO people involved.  Two very different people with different sets of vocabulary, connotations, backgrounds, upbringings, and slang.

We're not even getting into body language here, just words for the moment.

My belief is that it is the responsibility of the communicator to do their best to ensure that the listener is understanding what is being communicated in the intended way.