I have been thinking about stress a lot lately... that's probably because I've been feeling it. To relieve stress, I like to go on walks. On my walk today I'll give you two guesses what I was thinking about...Quantum physics is incorrect, nice try.Nope, sorry, wasn't thinking about rabbits in a Watership Down context either.
I was thinking about stress. I was thinking specifically about the different definitions of the word "stress". In English, to stress a word is to emphasize it. Likewise, to stress the point of a lecture is to emphasize it. Stress the noun, which I am most familiar with, and stress the verb, are they really so different?
Doesn't stress emphasize our true potential? Doesn't stress test our limits? And when our limits are tested, so we either pass or fail? 
So, in this time of stress, my goal is to embrace that without the test, we would never get the grade.

100 Random things about me:

1. I love rainy days more than I like sunny ones.
2. One of my life goals is to open my own used bookstore/coffee shop with a hostel connected to it.
3. I think that almost all religions have at least one good thing about them (a lot of qualifiers in that statement...)
4. I have three tattoos.
5. I've been to at least 15 countries (US not included)
6. I love writing, but am really bad at finishing stories.
7. I have a rather jagged 3-4in. scar on my left cheek.
8. All but two of my injuries involved winter sports (mainly sledding)
9. Korean food is quite possibly one of my favorite kinds of foods ever.
10. I mainly eat just fruits, vegetables, and nuts, not out of principle; I just don't really like meat.
11. I'm basically nocturnal.
12. I try to take one international trip each year.
13. I've seen well over 1,000 movies.
14. My sister is my best friend.
15. I have a very confusing family structure.
16. My favorite holiday is St. Patrick's Day, despite the fact that I'm not Irish.
17. I try to avoid full-time work, but am at work (my full-time job) as I write this.
18. I sleep on the floor because beds hurt my back.
19. My favorite author is Chaucer.
20. I think that one lifetime is not enough time to see everything I want to.
21. I hate it when I end sentences with prepositions, like I did the sentence above. Teehee... that one too.
22. I think that everyone should be passionate about something in their life.
23. My money goes four places: travel, craft supplies, books, and basic necessities to live.
24. I really hate talking on the phone, except to my mom or sister.
25. I hope to never have to go through pregnancy.
26. I hope to one day live in Scotland.
27. Wine makes me giggle.
28. I'm tempted to hire someone with a Scottish accent to talk to me, doesn't matter what they say, I just like to hear the accent.
29. I love word games, like cryptoquips and crosswords.
30. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in English (focusing on Literature) which basically means I'm qualified to read.
31. I love really cheesy ridiculous movies.
32. One of my pet peeves is when people are late and they don't tell you they are going to be.
33. I love the water, and I love wind.
34. I have naturally curly hair.
35. My eyes change color depending on the season and what I'm wearing.
36. Dairy and I are not good friends.
37. I have to say, I'm a Mac person.
38. Modern, folksie type music is fantastic. This includes Gaelic Storm, Flogging Molly, Pogues, The Devil Makes Three etc.
39. The Peace Corps is in my very near future.
40. I love yoga.
41. I still keep in contact with my friends from high school.
42. Tofu is delicious.
43. I love British humor!
44. I'm a very laid back person.
45. I've never fired a gun.
46. I've always wanted to learn to swordfight.
47. I love to act, but hate doing repeated performances.
48. I play a little game with myself: I quote movies in everyday conversation and see if anyone gets the quotes.
49. Another game I play is guessing what people look like based on the kind of shoes they are wearing.
50. I also make up lives for people I see at airports, on the street, on the bus etc.
51. Pomegranates are quite possibly my favorite food.
52. I don't cook often.
53. I don't like coffee, but I like espresso (not the espresso coffee roast, but espresso shots).
54. I like to think that instincts are generally right, unless they are clouded by extreme emotion. This is why, when I get in an argument, I like to address the issue the next day.
55. I have two rings that I wear all the time. One is a claddagh ring I got in the claddagh in Galway, Ireland.
56. One day, I would like to see all the continents.
57. The first mountains I ever saw were the Italian Alps.
58. I like to dabble in photography.
59. I am allergic to some sort of cheap metal... It might be nickel, it might not be.
60. I am horrible at card games.
61. I have no aptitude for musical instruments.
62. I've always wanted to go to the opera.
63. I can't walk in heels... it's a curse, or maybe a gift.
64. I love to write, but I really love the actual act of pen to paper.
65. I rather like the taste of Pepto Bismol
66. I have seen every episode of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis (movies too).
67. The BBC is, by far, my favorite broadcasting company.
68. I honestly can't choose a favorite book.
69. All of my fingers are double jointed (except thumbs, but I guess that depends on if you consider thumbs to be fingers).
70. My greatest fear is being forgotten.
71. I don't think I could live without a water source around me (river, lake, pond, sea etc).
72. If I could, I would live and die in the Scottish Highlands.
73. I am really horrible at meeting new people.
74. I love theme songs to shows.
75. If I could have a superpower, it would be something along the lines of the Babelfish from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (the ability to understand and communicate in any other language).
76. I love breakfast foods.
77. I've dyed my hair twice, once green and once red.
78. I hate having dirt under my nails, which is why my nails are almost always short.
79. I would love to become fluent in at least 2 other languages.
80. I love studying word origins.
81. I think Dali was a genius and Picasso was insane.
82. If I could travel back to medieval times, I would, but as a high class male.
83. With all that imagination has to offer, I find it odd that there isn't much more to it.
84. Street lights turn on and off when I'm around.
85. It always rains when I'm camping.
86. Technology always shuts down when I need it most.
87. I don't really like seafood, but I love sushi.
88. I have very little rhythm.
89. I watch movies and TV shows with captions on (preposition ending). The mind is more active while sleeping than it is while watching TV, so, if you're reading while watching TV, it's better, right?
90. I love using commas, and I definitely don't always using them correctly.
91. My favorite characters in TV and movies are always supporting roles.
92. I don't like crowds or loud noises. Concerts really aren't my thing.
93. I don't like milk, chocolate, or hot drinks. Hot chocolate really isn't my thing.
94. I love marshmallows, especially stale ones.
95. I see the sun rise and set almost everyday. That's because I usually go to bed after sunrise and wake up before sunset.
96. My feelings about relationships can best be summed up in a quote by Dr. Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory): "Human relationships will continue to baffle and repulse me."
97. I'm addicted to Bubble Bazinga.
98. I talk a lot more than I should.
99. I think word jokes are so punny! HAHAHA!! (Part of me wants to say I'm not laughing out loud at that, because it really is a bad joke... the honest part of me is definitely laughing at it!)
100. My video game abilities are limited by the amount of buttons I have to interact with. The original playstation was the stopping point, then they came out with the Wii... for people like me.

I honestly can't believe I finished the list! It only took me 7 hours. Woohoo! Time at work well spent.

Originally Posted December 5th, 2009

I don't know what made me think of it, but I couldn't honestly come up with a history for the word "cop". As a verb, I know that it means to steal or snatch, to nab or filch. I was a bit confused as to how it became a noun. From what I can figure based on the collections of several different sites, it originally started out as Scottish slang: caper. Which is, as slang, "a criminal or illegal act, as a burglury or robbery." (Thanks Dictionary.com!) What am I getting at?

Well, when the word entered English, the 'a' was changed to an 'o' (as time passes, languages evolve. At one point the 'a' sounded like our 'o' depending on where you lived.) The word 'cop' evolved from a verb to a noun. Around the 1700's a cop became someone who caught those who stole, snatched, nabbed, or filched. A hundred years later or so, people added (slang) an -er to the end. So a cop became a copper.

Some fun theories that amused me about this were COP stood for Constable on Patrol. Also British cops wore copper buttons... hence the name coppers. Who really knows for sure though?

Have you ever wondered where certain words come from? I recently encountered one. 

Bowl. Now the noun is understandable, its original meaning was something like a round vessel. Makes sense. It's the verb that confuses me. Where on earth did that one come from? 

How do you "bowl" someone over? Why is it called "bowling"? Dictionary.com seems to suggest that it can mean "to roll a bowl or ball". I want to know who's brilliant idea it was to start rolling bowls at things. If you have any ideas... let me know.


Here are two English words that are used wrong ALL THE TIME... and it irks me a bit.
1. Blasphemy - the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God. 

For some reason people say blasphemy when they mean sacrilege (the violation or profanation of anything sacred or held sacred). I don't know how that one started getting confused.

2. Irony - an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected

The song "Ironic" by Alannis Morisette is not ironic. Rain on your wedding day? That's not ironic. What would be ironic is if you were from Seattle and wanted to have a rainless outdoor wedding so you planned it in Las Vegas... and it rained. That's ironic. Traffic jam when you're already late? That's not ironic, that's poor planning or hitting the snooze button too much. I think what's ironic about her song is that its named "Ironic". Tricky. 

Well, those are my English musings. Besides reading, it's the only thing I'm qualified to do with my English degree.