Foot In Blog Disease

Keeping it real 'ish on email and blogs is pretty difficult. Things can be misinterpreted, humour can be misgauged as sarcasm and caustic humour considered as rudeness. It's a real trick to get your personality across without voice or expression don't you think? That's also why I like talking to some of my bloggy pals on Skype, at least a little vocal intonation gives the game away. I don't take too much time over my posts . . . I work full time, raise two kids and do all the things that working mums do . . .and especially at the moment trying to fatten up the old fella, time is at a premium. I type pretty much in the same way I speak. I'm a fast typist so the verbosity just pours onto the page as the words form in my brain probably much quicker than I could ever say them - hence my restrictive vocabulary. Occasionally the words bypass my brain altogether and I just talk shit. (I can say that . . .you can't) Then again, sometimes I pour over the draft and edit it so that I'm sure that my message is understood, particularly if it's more than a blithering but most times, I just rant, joke, reminisce and vent and sometimes, just sometimes, it turns into something worth reading or hanging on to for my littlun's to read long after I've fed the worms - I hope. Although sometimes albeit rarely, I realise that what I've written isn't quite what I've meant, other times someone tells me what I've written isn't quite what I meant.

Not so long ago, I did the unthinkable and sent an email about someone to them. It was serious stuff and almost cost me my job . . .the only saving grace was that the remarks, whilst disparaging were absolutely true. Phew a close call.

I'm not overly guarded on the blog, but I'm very keen not to offend anyone. I don't delete comments unless they are derogatory to someone I know or another commenter. Say whatever you like about me, I have thick skin unless you go for the jugular and if you do, you'll know about it.

So for the record if you're referred to as a bugger, bastard, git, slut, boofhead, paduan, youngling, ratbag, redneck, twit, ginger, redhead, bluey, wingnut, ankle biter, bloke, dag or a dill . . . I really like you. Even if you come in as a drongo, dipshit, dipstick, jumped up moron old fella or a mongrel . . .I'm not really having a serious go. If I call you a racist, extremist, biggot or patronising asshole . . .then I'm probably not too happy with you but I will never call you a 'C'.

The long and the short of it, apologies to anyone I've stuck it to unintentionally. I will be more sensitive to transcultural interpretations of what I consider to be gentle pokes. Hey, I'm well known for foot-in-mouth-disease so what's so different about a blog. What you read is what you get. I do however, reserve the right to insult Il Diablo . . . but I don't think he'll mind . . . he doesn't read my blog!