Why don’t you like my new photos I asked my Occasionally Sleeping Friend in a well practised whiney voice that indicated hurt and wounded pride. What? he yelped indignantly I said they were quite good. Cue a dramatic lengthy conor rant on how quite good clearly means not all that great.
Sometimes I struggle to accept that words mean what they are supposed to mean. Maybe it’s because I hate life to be dull and jump at any chance of spicing up a conversation. Or maybe it’s because I suffer from sensitivitis.
Another example came last week when I met a friend who I hadn’t seen in about six months. You look very healthy he declared when he first saw me which I inexplicably decided meant I had put on weight.
In a new effort to just accept words at face value I’ve decided to share a warning to anyone venturing into Dutch forests. Keep your wits about you and stay alert – there are dangerous wild roosters about!
Yes. Wild roosters and a distinct lack of maps. But your sense of direction is ‘quite good’ so we didn’t get lost. At all. Did we?
well I always wanted to see the serengetti so I’d say we did just fine
lol. i’d pay for a ticket to see a wild rooster in action.
i get annoyed when people don’t say what i want them to say. i must grow out of that hehehe
sensitivitis – me too.
Maybe cos we like to think the worst? Very Oirish.
Carrot cake and wild roosters sounds like a easterfeaster.
towny – you’ve hit it on the head – it’s not me it’s them – they just refuse to say what I want them to say
sarah – start with low expectations and you can only be pleased hehe
The purpose of the wildrooster photo on your blog really puzzled me until you mentioned ‘wild roosters’… I hadn’t even noticed it means something in English as well… Sometimes I’m too Dutch for my own good.
Gawd, how we seek out those wildroosters of approval and then the level is never up to where we want it and when we look for more they turn on us and say: cluck, then why did you ask me then?
Gobble Gobble.
XO
WWW
marjolein – hehe you’ll never see that sign in the same light again
www – too true, too true…
Since it’s polite not to criticise, we always examine other people’s praise for hidden criticism. The answer would of course be to say exactly what we think, but I doubt if I for one could stand the regular humiliation and shock.
I see no wildrooster. Must be cunningly disguised as a tree.
nick – are you really just saying that my blog post is nonsense????
I saw a wild rooster sex show once in Tijuana – I didn’t realize they sourced their cocks in Holland!
Yes, absolutely, utter nonsense. Oops, I’m meant to be polite, aren’t I? No, I do the same thing all the time, examining other people’s remarks for the REAL meaning i.e. “You did really well, Nick” obviously means “If I hadn’t covered for you big-time, arsehole, you would have screwed up the whole department”.
Sourced their cocks in Holland? My God, I had no idea….
emmal – hehe now I wonder what THAT comment really means
nick – will that be under S for sensitive I wonder? (jut trying to encourage the series)
I have a friend who is engagingly unenthusiastic. Also Irish. If he says “I quite enjoyed that . . .” after doing a harbour bridge climb, or ‘that was grand’ after a three day jaunt in the country. . I know he absolutely was blown away . . .some people are so unenthusiastic with their praise! Personally I think your photos are absolutely stunning, I’m still reeling from my dream last night where I went to Samoa and forgot my camera . I was devastated! Hmmm Wildroosters with slippery gevar’s . . .best avoided at all costs!
sensitivitis – i like that! someone said “you look great today” and i knew instantly she meant i look shite majority of the time. “delicious” means it was alright but not divine – re. the food i cook.
i need to practice taking words at face value as well, lemme know how you go!
gx
baino – I think you are right – I’m definietly on the over excited side, if I liek something I’ll be bouncing up and down in enthusiasm hehe
gaye – if I learn any tips I’ll let you know
Wildrooster…
That reminds me of my English-speaking colleagues in Brussels sniggering about the Kunst Wet metro station…
they tend to find signs saying ‘U kunt hier….’ also rather hilarious
this reminds me of the first time we were in amsterdam with the coconut krewe. we were on one of the sight seeking boats and the boys noticed a sign over the door to the engine room (i guess) and were convinced it said “nodoitgang” i hve no idea how it was spelled, but to this day, they’ll say nodoitgang when they don’t want you to open something…*sigh*
(i really shouldn’t comment after a hard day working and then a bottle to the wind…)
xoxox
On this side of the pond, ‘quite’ is a superlative. So, I think I’m giving someone shit when I say their whatever is quite good, and they’re preening, and I’m thinking WTF? And someone else wonders why I’m crushed when they say something I’ve done is quite good. Two countries divided by a common language, indeed.