Soup

It has come to this. In order to find time to blog I have to get up at 5am. But I do it. I don't make excuses. I don't say "Oh I don't have time". I just sacrifice sleep. For you. This is how I love you.

Instead of a coherent piece, however, and probably because there is so much going on, this will be a collection of "shorts". Things that are too long for Facebook statuses, but not worthy of a whole blog to themselves.

1. That's it, I'm done selling Christian jewellery. You may well ask why I did in the first place. Well, despite my own Paganness, I actually do have a basic respect for all religions, yes, even though I'm rude about it in other ways. I've explained the difference, but it doesn't matter, the fact is that I was trying to offer religious jewellery for all. But no more Christian stuff. Sorry. It's the demographics of  the buyers. If I consider all of my customers over the years, and their issues and complaints, there is a disproportionate number of issues and complaints with the Christian jewellery. And when I say disproportionate, I mean it's not effing worth it. Not only are the vast majority of issues and complaints that I get from these sales, despite it being a very small part of my sales overall, I estimate that 3/4 of these customers are problem customers. Why would I bother selling something when I estimate 3/4 of its sales will be problematic?

I overlooked the appalling spelling in most of the emails I received, obviously. I overlooked the rude tone of the complaints I received, a tone I don't usually see, that seems to be exclusively from this demographic. I overlooked the complaint that the earrings called "Very Small Discreet Cross Earrings" were "very small". (NO, really?). I overlooked the complaint that several crosses sold for 99 cents were not sterling silver (I never said they were). I even overlooked the complaint that similarly priced items did not arrive in a box. I gritted my teeth and gave refunds when items had not arrived after 3 weeks during holiday mail delays. OK, it didn't arrive in time for Christmas, I get it, but you could have ordered earlier. But when I got a FURIOUS email this morning that an item shipped July 23rd has not arrived yet, I decided enough was enough. In future they can get their crosses from somebody else.

2. So, on a totally different topic, Here's a spelling/grammatical error that is easier to forgive than many, but I'd still like to teach you. Whose and who's are not the same thing, they are not interchangeable. Your confusion is understandable, sort of, but it's actually very simple.

Whose. This is a word used to show who something belongs to, and is used in questions more often than not, such as "Whose drink is this?". You also find it in phrases like "The driver whose car was hit...."

Who's. This simply means "Who is." It's a contraction. You wouldn't say "Who is drink is this?" so you don't write who's in that case. But if you say "Who's coming tonight?" it could also be said "Who is coming tonight?" so it is correct.

With all of these words that use an apostrophe to create a contraction, you can test them out by seeing if removing the contraction still works. This is how you remember its and it's.

It's not my hat. (It is not my hat). Correct. 
It's feet were covered by mud. (It is feet were covered by mud.) Wrong.

Unfortunately this doesn't work when you use the pronoun "one". This always uses an apostrophe to note possession, just as a name does. "If one has a mind of one's own." I don't think we need worry about it though, for two reasons.

1) Few people use it these days, more's the pity, and those who do tend to be more pedantic anyway, and will know about its quirk.
2) The word "ones" is obviously a plural. "Use the bigger ones". So long as you remember NEVER TO USE AN APOSTROPHE TO FORM A PLURAL, you'll be fine.

3. On a personal note, here's a curious one. What's the opposite of a nightmare? I'm known for my vivid dreams (bright colours, smells, tastes, long convoluted adventures, dreams with deep and obvious messages, etc). It's fair to say I live two lives, and the nocturnal one is fascinating.

But luckily for me, it's rarely scary. Just lately however, it's gone beyond just interesting into a realm of Ultra Positive. These are not lucid dreams you understand, because there's a surprise factor. Let me give you a couple of examples.

In one dream I was standing on a small island, the only way on or off was a bridge. Suddenly coming towards me on the bridge was a large fierce predatory animal, somewhere between a cougar and a wolf. Just as I was thinking "Well, this is a right pickle and no mistake" (i.e. not fear, none at all, but more trying to problem solve it completely rationally) I was aware that beside me was a cat, just a regular tabby cat, which then attacked the beast, fearlessly and effectively.

In another one I got out of bed (in my dream) feeling thirsty, and walked into the kitchen (which is on the same floor, i.e. it's not my real home) to go and get a drink. For some reason the water was in the fridge, again not how it is in reality. I was aware at how pleasant the water was as I drank it, and then just very aware of being happy, just standing there.

There are many other versions and variations but the running theme is:
a) A problem is solved.
b) This is unexpected.
c) I'm in a strange place but this doesn't bother me.
d) I am very happy.

This is actually reflected in my waking life, of course, so I don't even know why I BOTHER dreaming it. All in all we can say my contentment levels are maxed out. I am just grateful and enjoying the ride.

P.S. I do not believe Blogger stats. I do not believe 4 people had already read this 2 minutes after I posted it.