Posted on by evamarasca · 3 Comments

[Z] is for Zero Tolerance to Autocorrect

Recognize. Organize. Deputize. My autocorrect keeps changing these and suggest they should be written with S and not Z. I  always (read – most of the times) change them back. Even if the ugly dotted red lines glaring at me are trying to make me bent to their will. No. It looks better with Z. Z is strong where S is smooth. I don’t care if it is American or British way of spelling. It is more aesthetically pleasing. So is colour to color btw. Could we please establish aesthetic English?

~

Autocorrect is not the only thing I have zero tolerance to (actually I seem to be dissatisfied with rather lot of things!) and  therefore I have decided to start my own A to Z challenge about things I am not happy about. So this post is not only the last one for the A to Z Challenge but is also the first one for my alphabetical Zero Tolerance series. I just simply can’t part with the beautiful perfection of ABC.

Every Wednesday, I will be publishing new post with a ‘serious’ issue I am faced with on daily basis. However as I feel this might get out of hand very quickly, I have decided to balance it out with a serious (without the apostrophes this time) issue starting with Zero tolerance to Animal cruelty.

I will also try to include a link to a charity or an organization that is helping with, fighting, or educating about the issue. For this week it is RSPCA.

 

Z in the A to Z Challenge.

A2Z-BADGE-0002014-small_zps8300775c

 

 

Posted on by evamarasca · 1 Comment

[Y] is for Yawning

because that is what I have been doing repeatedly while attempting to write today’s penultimate post. I am tired and sleepy and it doesn’t help that I am getting comfortable in my bed. I am also aching. I hit the gym, and the gym mercilessly hit back.

Tomorrow is the last day of this wonderful alphabetical experience and it makes me little sad. So I have decided that there will be a surprise with my Z post! Me excited – not only about the surprise but also because my sister is coming over for a visit.

Well, I’m going to sleep now.

Good night.

Y in the A to Z challenge.

A2Z-BADGE-0002014-small_zps8300775c

Posted on by evamarasca · 4 Comments

[X] is for Signature

I couldn’t think of a suitable word starting with X. And I became even more desperate after consulting my dictionary.

~ xerox ~ Xmas ~ x-ray ~ xylograph ~ xylophone ~

Instead of opening a bigger dictionary, I have started to think how and where are we using X. X marks a treasure on a map. We used X to sign documents in the dark ages of illiteracy. Now, in the age of text-language,  X stands for kiss and is often used as a substitute or abbreviation (as in the dictionary entry Xmas). And we are still happily making decisions by penning x inside neat boxes on ballot papers. In mathematics it represents the unknown value, although the Romans may argue that in fact the value is ten. It features in extremes and extras and its triple form advertises adult themes. It even has a chromosome and rays named after it. X is something special.

X in the A to Z challenge.

A2Z-BADGE-0002014-small_zps8300775c

 

Posted on by evamarasca · 1 Comment

[V] is for Valentine

I know the 14th February is long gone but you can actually still celebrate all the others St. Valentines. July will be full of them. 6th, 25th and 30th July are all dedicated to St. Valentines as is 3rd November and 7th January. Valentine was a popular name back in the day.

I think it would be nice to have a special day not on 14th February, no? Don’t get me wrong, flowers, champagne, chocolates and great food make me happy but I cringe at the social obligation we are force into coming up to the date in the middle of the second month.

We should be celebrating love and tell people we love them. And not because the calendar say it is time to do so.

20140424_213932

V in the A to Z challenge.

A2Z-BADGE-0002014-small_zps8300775c

Posted on by evamarasca · 1 Comment

[U] is for Upper Crust

Upper Crust, the saviour when

the train door closes on your drunken face,

another half an hour

waiting in the dark and rain

Saviour when you really shouldn’t be outside

or by yourself

The feeding hand that will ease your hangover

the supplier of stodge that

makes the next day little bit prettier.

Upper Crust, we (the insolent idiots who always miss the point where one more pint is a pint too much)

applaude you.

 

U in the A to Z challenge.

A2Z-BADGE-0002014-small_zps8300775c

Posted on by evamarasca

[T] is for Tyranny

Joseph Andrew was born three weeks prematurely on a late summer day. The labour made Marika exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. The little bundle became the centre of her universe. Joe quietly suffered the change in hierarchy. He didn’t protest though and gave his son the privileges. They were a perfect happy family. Even Greta with her two sons visited few times, advising her, sharing secrets of parenting.

   Their daughter Samantha Jane joined them less then a year later and Joe gradually stopped enduring her indifference towards him.  She didn’t see the first slap coming. She felt alone and lost.

L O S T

T in the A to Z challenge.

A2Z-BADGE-0002014-small_zps8300775c

Posted on by evamarasca · 4 Comments

[S] is for Sacrifice

Marika took her parents to all the London attractions, Joe unhappily followed. They were not speaking English and he was left on the outskirts of their conversation. She tried to translate as much as was possible but Joe didn’t take the exclusion lightly and was turning grumpier every day. Towards the end, he spent most of his time in the office instead.

   Their visit was over too soon she felt, but Joe was relieved to be back in the normal state of affairs. In retrospect he disapproved of the amount of time she spent with them and the lack of attention to him, rebuked the negligence for the flat and her chores. She had to agree that her parents’ visit was an intrusion and caused disruptions to their life. It must had been so hard for Joe. He needed his regularity,  his routine to relax. He concentrated so hard on achieving continuous progress at work so they could afford a bigger place and their own family one day. She had jeopardized their future.

   They got married next month in a small ceremony. She announced her marital status to her parents over the phone. When she was five months pregnant, they moved to a four bedroom house in Hampstead. She couldn’t be happier. She was starting her own family in a perfect house with a perfect husband.

S in the A to Z challenge.

A2Z-BADGE-0002014-small_zps8300775c

Posted on by evamarasca · 4 Comments

[R] is for Reading, Rest and Robots

I have finally found some time to read (and I mean read, not skim) other posts in the A to Z challenge. There are so many! I have managed to go just through a minuscule fraction of them but I will persist, I promise.

Some of my favourite ones so far (but trust me it is difficult to choose):

http://chrismusgravewriter.com

http://wordsfromsonobe.wordpress.com

http://silviatomasvillalobos.wordpress.com

http://lynnelives.wordpress.com

http://damyantiwrites.wordpress.com

All of the above have a theme which I think is the reason that has made them so appealing. I think I might be theming next year too.  As this is my first year, I don’t really know what I am doing. Literally I’m just going from A to Z jumping of random thoughts. On one hand this gives me freedom to do whatever I feel like in the moment but also leaves me without any resemblance of a structure which I think could be quite helpful. Well, I have learned something.

Majority of us are enjoying the last day of a very long weekend so I will leave you to it. Read, rest and have a friendly robot help you with your domestic duties.

R in the A to Z challenge.

A2Z-BADGE-0002014-small_zps8300775c

 

Posted on by evamarasca · 1 Comment

[Q] is for Queues

20140419_114841I have come to the point where my drafts, ideas and notes are on so many different papers, in so many different places and in different forms that I am getting lost in them. For me to function, I need to stay organised however my strongly developed sense for neat piles and lists is being seriously challenged by this overflow of things that wants to be finished.

Pros: I have ideas.

Cons: The aforementioned ideas are in the queue waiting to be developed into meaningful or otherwise publishable pieces.

And queues are the thing I have a problem with. I am not patient. For me to join a queue means that whatever is at the end of the queue is life-and-death important. Otherwise I wouldn’t bother. Queues hinder progress. I live in the UK. The British citizens are very organised while queuing. I have never thought I will find a nation so immersed in the culture of queuing. Then I visited Brazil. Let’s just say that the conclusion of this trip in regards to the issue of queuing is that the United Kingdom has still a lot to learn.

My queues are based on tiredness, formed around lack of time, mixed with impatience and a dollop of laziness. They are flavoured with the fear of failure and soaked in the despair of self-doubt. No wonder I’m avoiding them. Please someone tell me to stop moaning and get over it. Please, I beg you.

Q in the A to Z challenge.

A2Z-BADGE-0002014-small_zps8300775c