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Hopefully I’m Right

I’ve noticed a trend, and it’s been around a few years. Mostly I hear it on the radio, but there are people at work who also use one word an alarming amount of times in any given paragraph. The word? It’s “right.” Repeated over and over.

Now, I don’t mind hearing it sparsely in a conversation. Sometimes it’s put to good use, emphasizing a valid point. That’s not what I’m talking about. It’s the overuse that bothers me. Let me show you what I mean:

Now, I don’t mind hearing it sparsely in a conversation, right? Sometimes it’s put to good use, emphasizing a valid point, right? That’s not what I’m talking about, right? It’s the overuse that bothers me, right?

You get my point.

I tried to think what word it’s replacing as the one that’s overused most in society. Remember when “like” was repeated over and over? The two words are used differently, but I think both are akin to nervous tics. Another word that fits the bill? It’s “um.” Okay, we’ll maybe never get rid of that last one. Toastmasters graduates aside.

I sought an expert opinion on this. I looked up articles written by linguists, but they were mostly more esoteric. I found strings of thought on Reddit (I don’t know what the correct word is for Reddit–is it strings?), but they weren’t helpful. Just people griping about how annoyed they were by “right.”

Other overused words? “Basically” or “literally.” A co-worker of mine uses “literally” to punctuate nearly every thought. I’m sure she knows the actual meaning, but that doesn’t stop her from driving me batty with her conversational choice.

We all have our favorite words. One of mine is “hopefully.” I’m trying to stop using it so much, but it’s darn convenient!

Hopefully I can break that habit, right?

Image Credits: People Talking (header) © Oksana–stock.adobe.com; Girl talking © Dzianis Vasilyeu–stock.adobe.com

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Walter’s Pretty Comfortable These Days

Last time I posted a Caturday post, Walter had a big scratch on his nose. Okay, you can still kind of see it, being a big scratch and all, but it’s better. And he seems comfortable lounging on my sofa. As well as just plain pretty. So in case you worried he was getting wounded from too many scuffles, I wanted to show you he’s all right.

I’m just happy to be here

Image Credits: Cesar Cat © Belinda O; Paws in Heart © Bigstock Photo; Classic Cat © lily–stock.adobe.com

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Scams, Spam, and Phishing Oh My

Somehow, I’ve ended up on somebody’s business news email list. I’m not talking about just one publication here, I’m talking about dozens. And some of them send emails several times a day.

It’s ticked me off enough that I’m reporting them all as spam. My other option is to unsubscribe, but I know clicking on the “unsubscribe” option in the email can result in another deluge of emails. It’s telling them someone is there. Besides, Gmail tells me to report it as spam if I didn’t sign up for it. So spam it is.

In today’s world, these petty annoyances are commonplace. I’m not sure how I ended up on this email list, but I did. I’m not sure how long I’ll have to deal with it, but I expect for awhile. New publications pop up daily. It’s better than some of the other spam tricks I’ve seen, such as the email telling me my purchase has been confirmed and to “click here” for more information. In case you didn’t know, that’s a common spam trick.

My mom is susceptible to spam. Fortunately, while she has an email address, she doesn’t know what it is or how to access it. She also doesn’t text. So my only worry about her being taken in by some con is via phone, and she doesn’t typically answer her phone unless she knows who’s calling. She’s been a victim of fraud twice before, so hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

We get training on a regular basis at work about spam or phishing emails, and apparently I’ve fallen for a few of their test emails. I knew about one, but not the other. Regardless, I now have to go to an hour-long seminar about phishing. The one I fell for was clever. It looked like a real email from our HR department telling us we could no longer wear jeans to work. I panicked. I don’t even know what size I wear in regular slacks and I don’t own any (my wardrobe is pathetic, I know).

So beware of emails that play on your emotions. They may be phishing.

These days, despite what happened at work, I’m pretty aware of spam and phishing. But I worry that the day may come when I’m not, or technology has changed to a point that I don’t even know what the current scams are. At work, as I mentioned, we get a lot of training about this, but I won’t always be working. What happens if my mind starts to go, as my mom’s has, and I fall victim to some trick?

The Bible tells us not to worry about tomorrow because today has enough trouble of its own. I try to heed that, but late at night, when I can’t fall asleep, my mind goes spinning in its own direction and I don’t have the energy to stop it. I have to force myself to wake up enough that I can pray the worrisome thoughts away, but that’s difficult.

The only thing I can do is stay up-to-date with what’s happening now and trust that there will be others who will help take care of me when I’m no longer able to take care of myself. That one’s tough as well, but at least I pray about it when I’m wide awake.

Image Credits: Email © The 2R Artificiality–stock.adobe.com; Women in Jeans © Royal Ability–stock.adobe.com

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The Nature of Giving and Getting

I’ve been wanting to sell my dining table for some time now, but it’s buried in the spare bedroom in my apartment. I had a plan to clean up that room and make it presentable for showing the table, but eventually I had to acknowledge that that plan simply wasn’t going to work. I have too much stored in there.

Kind of what my spare room looks like.

Now my plan is to find someone–or a couple of someones–to move the table out to the living room. It’ll take up a lot of room, but the living room is generally pretty well cleaned up and I can keep it that way.

This plan requires me to be dependent on the kindness of others, something that can be difficult for me to do. I like to take care of things myself, and I’ve done well with that so far in my life. But as I get older there are more and more things with which I need to find help. It isn’t always easy.

It’s time to take my cats into the vet for their annual exam. They hate the carriers, as most cats do, and are like poppin’ hoppies when you try to drop them in one. So I need help with that. Last year one of my friends graciously offered to not only help get them in the carriers, but she came along with me to the vet and sat with the one who wasn’t being examined. Since she feeds and cares for them when I’m away, they know her and trust her. I’m hoping she’ll be able to help again this year. But it’s hard to ask since she refuses to let me pay her for the vet trip.

I think it’s in our nature to want to be independent. I’ve been buying books for my mom, something she really appreciates. She needs large print books and the library at her assisted living facility doesn’t have many (except for the ones she donates when she’s through reading them). But it bothers her that I’m spending my money on her. I get that. I’d have a hard time with it, too. I tell her I’m glad to do it, but she still struggles with it.

I even hate placing maintenance requests for my apartment, although obviously if something needs to be fixed I need to ask for help. It’s part of the reason why I rent.

But I know others want to help, and I want to help my friends when I can. I have one friend who’s on a tight budget and I do what I can to help her, like giving her a ride if she needs it (she doesn’t drive). As much as it’s in our nature to do what we can on our own, it’s also in our nature to help. I need to remember that.

So I’ll ask for help moving that table. I need to sell it and moving it to the living room is the only way that’s going to happen. But I’ll look for ways to help others as well. Hopefully, there’s a balance there, but if there’s not, so be it.

Image Credits: Neighbors Helping © armaya–stock.adobe.com; Cluttered room © Good Studio–stock.adobe.com; Cat Carrier © olllikeballoon–stock.adobe.com; Small Car © Doloves–stock.adobe.com

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Scratch on da Nose

Walter and Mimi got in a scuffle today, and Walter ended up with a scratch on his nose. Mimi came out unscathed. It was a friendly scuffle, just a couple of kids playing, but I would think that scratch might hurt. Not that Walter is showing any signs of pain–but then again, cats often don’t.

It’s all done in love

Image Credits: Cesar Cat © Belinda O, Paws in Heart © Bigstock Photo, Tuxedo Cats Playing © Ross-stock.adobe.com