Jack of all trades, master of none - I will get there eventually!

Alright I admit, I am extremely lucky, as you may have noted from my post on Realities for students leaving University after a 2:2 I have had issues too. I do still seem to look for that bright light at the end of the tunnel.. more often than not hoping that it isn't the infamous "white light" of a choo-choo train!

I do see the funnier side to life.. the good side of something that is horribly wrong... In-fact as I have come to realize my defense in an awkward or uneasy situation is to Smile.. can you imagine .. SMILE.. ?? Yes I am bonkers. Don't get me wrong I am definitely not one of those blurry eyed optimists that  can't see a major issue if it hit them in the face. I am very pessimistic when it comes to planning something and make sure I have most bases covered.

So coming back to the lucky part, so I am lucky and fortunate. I grasp things quite well and understand people easier than most - (I would like to thank Draw Something - it's a game similar to Pictionary only Digital). One last thing to keep in mind is I do not follow a particular religion, I believe in a higher being or spirit, not specifically an embodiment of the same. Now I know I tend to blabber a lot, but I obviously think this is something a reader should know before they jump to their own conclusions.

A few months ago when I was struggling for a job (P.S. I am still on a temp job so please keep me posted about any permanent & interesting jobs). I was quite low.. not depressed or anything although I did cry a few times when I was getting really stressed about things. So one day I was sitting on my bed.. and I wondered.. why was it that I could do so many things very well, yet none as well as some of the people that I knew. you know how the saying goes "Jack of all trades, master of none" I somehow wondered if that was in relation to me. although I was quite good at most things I did.

I was kind of artistic, usually had my paintings on the class room wall. I Could explain most academic things to classmates or friends, although I didn't get the grades to reflect this it is true. I am pretty good at arithmetic, geometry and nature photography. Where I lack in spelling, I compensate with semi decent posts I would guess (not mentioning technical expertise to cover-up mistakes pretty darn nicely.  Speaking of which I am not too bad at mending and a few embroidery stitches. I do however lack patience to see through crotchet or knitting.

IT being my chosen field I do find solace in certain software packages and reading through a different computing language. Understanding a language you haven't read before is almost magical although I wasn't sure if I wanted to be in this field for a long period of time. I have had supervisory experience and management training... and there is so much more..

As promised, I will get there eventually...

Today as I looked at my emails in my temp job I noticed how different every request was.. each task called on a different skill. This was the plan, although I might not be in this office or in this organisation for long, this was it. Still don't get it?

A Jack of all trades and a Master of none is a very badly put phrase. It reflects the mentality of the good old days, days I'm sure none of us saw with our own eyes. I'm no philosopher or researcher, as mentioned earlier not even a literature student, I do however have a theory..

This phrase probably originated ages ago.. before technology.. when people usually had one trade and stuck to it. the barter system prevailed at that time I would imagine. Today however we have the means and methods to learn, understand and experience most methods used to do various things. There are classes and workshops for almost everything. Videos are posted on Youtube or skill specific websites and blogs. Libraries have books on almost all subjects. With so many streams of knowledge literally at our fingertips I find it difficult to think this phrase has much to offer. In a way it limits thinking when taken literally, I realize it is mostly used to get people to master one aspect of a task or skill. Even so, every individual today has the opportunity to learn new trades or skills, they can also learn about things like I could quite easily Google how to make a brick barbecue and given time I could understand how to do it.

I am not trying or meaning to disrespect or demean any individual or groups' efforts at specialism in their field. All I'm saying is that you can have a varied set of skills that can be useful.

Being a Jack of all trades can actually be useful,  if used correctly.

Etiquette Oh My!

Okay this post has taken a very sharp turn, so sharp in fact that I needed to wipe clean my slate and start off afresh.

I was about to write about how I wanted to get back to crafts and origami and studying just to learn newer stuff. Tell you how I wanted to start reading etiquette books and learning what the right way and the wrong way were.

So get this, I got a book online and tried to start reading it. I will not mention the book because that would be rude, but it is an ebook available freely online and it is mainly targeted at women or Ladies as they put it.

To be honest reading the first 18 paragraphs drove me to put the book aside, not just that but I felt the urgent compulsion to close the browser tab that had the book. Now don't take me to be someone that is really classy or really messed up. I believe that each one has their own mannerisms and knows how to behave in a proper manner, being stiff or conforming to a certain standard is ok in school but it is something that should be a choice. That is as long as it does not harm another being.

Most of what I read in the book, however sensible it might be is really degrading. Well the way in which the author talks of it at least. For one, according to the author anyone that does not follow their specific standards seem to be ill-bred. There are obviously the "excessively ill-bred", "very ill-bred" some that have "the mark of ill-breading" or even "the height of ill-breading"and also those of "ill-nature". I honestly wonder why the author uses such a derogatory word as all it does is insult ones upbringing. Although most of the instances spoken of by the author had no bearing on me personally I think it highly insulting to even think of others in that manner.

Whilst being a little snobbish, most of the etiquette in those 18 paragraphs was reasonable. The reason for reading those books was mainly to be a little more poised. The only thing I realized was that poise has nothing to do with it. If you write a book that is meant for general NORMAL people it would be much nicer not to call some of the habits that they have or that their friends might have a result of ill-breading.

Yes I want to know which glass is used for what and what is the correct way to place cutlery, but I will not read some pretentious book that is written only to boost the ego of someone that thinks that everyone else is beneath them and can be spoken about in a rude way. The author does say you should never speak ill of someone in their absence or talk down to them. But in my book thinking of "oneself" as a superior being is all but the same thing!

That will be my ranting for today, honestly I do not plan on going on about this kind of stuff, it just hits me out of no where!