ADDICTIONS

CHAPTER 113 :

                         
            

           

                        

Hello everybody,

I have three things for you this week . A story about addictions, a lesson that, I hope, will serve you well, and a quick request.

Are you hooked and ready to scroll down ?

Great !

Then, let's start with my story about addictions.

Come on, don't worry ! I won't harp on my sugar addiction again. You've had enough of it in last week post, and, anyway, my rehab is getting on smoothly. I guess by next summer I'll have tamed my tastebuds to clear any sugary attack !

No, the addiction I suffer from is far less dangerous for health, but yet to be taken seriously.

For, of course, to make things clear and to know how dependent I am, I have tested myself on the Net. The diagnosis is merciless : I am a genuine list addict ! But, to look on the bright side (as usual), I am borderline between being a master of time and a slave to time. Still a shade of hope for recovery, then !

Usually I don't trust psy tests and quizzes that much, but I must recognize that, for once, I got a very insightful analysis of my obsession.

Yes, quite true, it is not a passing fad, cause, as far as I can remember, I've always been a die-hard fan of lists whatever they are : shopping list, to-do list, wish list and so on ...

The list is endless and never leaves me listless (oops, sorry for that dumb pun !).

Being a list-maker helps me to keep on the straight and narrow and get stuff done.

Don't get me wrong ! I'm not priding myself in being efficient and making the world go round. Far from it !

. My sneaky shopping lists often manage to stay comfy at home , or to

  get lost on a display ! So, a lot of hand-to-the forehead moments !


                

. My to-do lists ? Full of no brainers, just for the pleasure to mark them

  off and see them dwindling. But more often than not, hard and tricky

  stuff left undone and postponed indefinitely. Then, a lot of

  " never in a month of Sundays ".

                         

. For my wish list, things are a wee bit different. First, because that list

  is so long that nine lives wouldn't be enough to make all my wishes

  come true. Then, because some are so wacky that achieving them is

  highly unlikely. Except if, within the next few years, time travel to past

  and future turns possible and ...affordable. Wishful thinking ? Well,

  perhaps, but miracles happen every day, don't they ?

  Don't laugh at me ! My list is not just made of La La Land wishes !

  Some of them are already checked off.

  For example, sharing a few heavenly hours with the Rolling Stones. To

  be honest, there were over 20.000 guests, but it was as if the boys

  were playing just for me.

  Other wishes are on the right track . The proof is right here on your

  screen. Yes, actually, writing a blog in English had ranked number one 

  on The Frenchy Perky Busy Bee 's wish list for long, till, two years ago,

  I decided it was high time to make things happen.

  113 blog posts later, have I made my wish come true ? I think so, but

  the adventure has turned out to be so thrilling that, now, posting once

  a week is a kind of addiction ( another one !). I just hope you are

  raring for more ...

                            

Now, you know about my addictions, so here comes the lesson I told you about at the very beginning of this post.

Come on, relax, I won't be the backseat driver ! Not savvy enough for that ! And not uppity, either ! But, Im quite sure you already know I'm far from being preachy. So, before getting sidetracked once more, let's get down to brass tacks, that is to say, the lesson you can learn from my ' list-making obsession '.

Here it is :

Whatever the smallest and loftiest thing you want to achieve, don't listen to nay-sayers, of course, but don't rush headlong into action, either ! Just take baby steps, and things will carry on their own sweet way.

Easier said than done for all the go-getters and gung-ho list makers like me. Let me tell you how I realized how the saying " Slow and steady wins the race " always proves true.

On my wish list, some years ago, 'Learning Spanish' was bullet point number two.

I had dodged it for too long, so one day I decided to take the bull by the horns.

Don't worry, nothing to do with bullfighting, one of the most controversial Spanish customs !

No, without asking for any Spanish teachers' advice, I just rushed to the local bookshop and bought ,on an impulse, a so-called miracle method to master basic communication skills in a wink.

Then, a few weeks later, Dearhubby and I went on a few days'trip to Barcelona : a good opportunity to check my " fluency " in Spanish !

That's  when I realized that I was so eager to speak Spanish like a Spaniard that I had put the cart before the horse...

Apart from greeting people, asking for directions and for prices, the only question I could use to start small talk was :

     " Donde esta Pepe ? ", that is to say, " Where is Pepe ? "

         ( lesson 4 of my wonder method )

Of course, nobody could answer, cause there are loads of people named Pepe in Spain, so looking for that Pepe was just like looking for a needle in a hay stack !

And, even worse, after all, I didn't care about that mysterious guy, either !

Jeez , I had been repeating that silly phrase day after day, doing my best to sound Spanish, and what for ??

Just to hear my children ask me with a gently mocking smile, as soon as I came back home :

     " Mum, were you lucky enough to meet Pepe ? ".

That's how I shelved my method for chumps with Pepe trapped in it, and never checked off " Learning Spanish " from my wish list.

So now, before parting till next week, here is my request :

Could you send me links* to good sites to learn Spanish online. Thanks in advance.
Links to be sent to : perkybusybee@gmail.com


Have a nice week and don't forget : BE PERKY



A special thanks to my daughter who, some years ago, offered me the book " my future listography " by Lisa Nola. It has been on my bedside table since then, and leafing through it and jotting things down in it helps me to get ahead and look on the bright side !