Reflections

"This is your time to tell us about your A to Z experience. 

Share your pleasures, your pains, your setbacks, your gains."

Those nice people over at the A to Z challenge would like us to write about our experience. I've been kind of lazy and have just picked out a few of the questions posed on the A to Z reflections page. Let's get reflecting!

Who did you meet along the way that you found to be especially helpful or inspiring?

Maryann and Shiela were helpful (and patient) in answering questions I had about their blogs.
Jessica and Lucy often taught me something new.
Sarah was, and continues to be, inspiringly nutty.

Did you have a favourite blog post*?

Kind of putting me on the spot there. No, it's too hard to choose. I can't pick one ... you can't make me! *sulk*

Or a favourite series?

Sweet Tea Reads, which I think I only discovered towards the end of the challenge but I like Danielle's style of writing and will definitely be going back to read more in the future.

Which blogs did you discover during April that you will be returning to in the future?

Lots. I will be quite happy to go back to any and all of the blogs I've started following. Go ahead and click on my profile (or here) to see a full list. (Quick side note: if you're following me and I haven't yet reciprocated it's because either I've been lazy, or I've been thick and am unable to find the 'follow' button on your blog.)

Would you do the challenge again? Why?

This was the first time I've attempted the challenge so I didn't really know what to expect when I started. What I discovered was a fantastic sense of camaraderie among those taking part and some brilliant blogs which I will definitely be visiting regularly from now on.

From a purely selfish point of view, the challenge was also responsible for my blog views going through the roof (they're still nothing to shout about, but I was amazed at the increase), and (miracle of miracles) people actually started commenting on my blog!

So, would I do the challenge again? Do you even have to ask? 

* When are we going to adopt the term 'bloglet' officially? It's way better than 'post'.

It feels weird

It definitely feels weird.

Not having to post a bloglet today is an odd feeling after four weeks of trying, sometimes desperately, (I'm talking to you, end of the alphabet letters) to think of a topic for the next day. I'm not really sure what it is I will continue blogging about now. I'm also a little worried that people won't come and read my little inane ramblings now that they don't really have to.

You see, my main concern is that, without the excitement of the A to Z challenge, people will begin to realise my secret: I'm not all that interesting. (I wrote it small so that if you haven't already realised it, I'm not just blurting it out).

I will, however, endeavour to hide this little secret of mine for as long as possible and will be back on 7th May with my reflections bloglet.

In the mean time, if you're feeling a little sad that all the A to Z stuff is over, then do not despair! My friend, Hannah, who didn't quite sign up in time, is now working her way backwards through the alphabet all by herself. It would be awesome if you could go and cheer her on - she's on X today so would probably appreciate the encouragement. Nasty little letter, x ... *grumble* ....*mumble* ...

Z is for ... Zorbing

Wikipedia defines zorbing as 'the recreation or sport of rolling downhill in an orb, generally made of transparent plastic.'

I would define it simply as 'bloody terrifying.'

Back in my final year at university one of my house-mates bought a joint zorbing experience for myself and another house-mate whose birthday was (and still is: it hasn't moved) close to mine.
So our birthdays were in February. In August, after six months of stalling (I won't lie: I was pretty nervous about it all), we eventually got round to Zorbing Day.
When we arrived at the field the weather was pretty good: cloudy but dry. (Curses, no rain - we were actually going to have to go ahead with it.) We made ourselves known to the people in charge and were quickly given a harness each.

So we're now waddling around in our harnesses and next up is the small task of actually getting into the zorb. For anyone who doesn't know, this involves taking a run up and hurling yourself (superman stylie) through a little hole on the side of the zorb. I wasn't very good at this: I got stuck halfway with my legs waggling around outside. I'm sure it looked hilarious but I don't think anyone has a picture of this moment, so here is an artist's interpretation.

Once we're both inside (a combination of shoving and tipping ensured that I got in) someone comes along and attaches our harnesses to hooks inside the zorb. We're now in a sort of star-jump position facing each other and all that's left to do is to be pushed down the hill.

I distinctly remember thinking a few things on our way down:
1. Wow, we really do scream pretty loudly.
2. Gee, this hill didn't look as steep as it now feels.
3. If my harness undoes itself I'm going to fall on her and squish her.
4. I might actually die in this thing. Has anyone ever died zorbing?
5. The hill didn't look this long. Clearly we have veered off course.
6. If one of us vomits now, the car journey home will be really awkward.
7. Seriously how have we not stopped yet?

Despite being a completely terrifying experience, zorbing was an excellent birthday present. I would probably never do it again, but I'm weirdly proud of myself for doing it once. Plus, my friend's face as we hurled down the hill was utterly priceless (as I'm sure mine was too).

Y is for ... You

Yesterday's bloglet was a bit like a teenager: kind of sulky and rubbish, and to be honest I'm not sure I'm making up for it with today's offering. Sorry about that.

I really liked the idea I had for my 'q' topic (here) where it wasn't really about what I'd written, but more about the comments that you left (feel free to go and answer the most recent question if you like - I'm hoping it'll be visited from time to time). So, with that in mind, today I'm asking ...

What is one interesting thing about you that people might not know?

Maybe it's something people wouldn't know by just visiting your blog/twitter feed/facebook page etc. but that you're really proud of, or slightly embarrassed about (but can laugh about now), or just something which might surprise people.

Mine is that I used to be afraid of Father Christmas and would insist that he leave presents outside my bedroom. And while we're on the topic of scary Christmas-related things, I was also afraid of the film The Snowman.

X is for ... X

Ugh. X.

Let's just get this over and done with, shall we? Because X in Roman numerals means 10, I found 10 'x' words which I didn't already know. Blah blah blah. Is it time for Y yet?

I. Xenopus - an African clawed frog.
II. Xeric - of, pertaining to, or adapted to a dry environment.
III. Xyloid - resembling wood (derived from the same Greek word as xylophone - xylos, meaning 'wood').
IV. Xiphoid - sword shaped (again from Greek - xyphos, meaning 'sword').

Did I promise that I wouldn't have any more Classics-related bloglets in this challenge? I have a feeling I did.

V. Xylocarp - a fruit, such as a coconut, having a hard woody pericarp.

Incidentally, I then had to look up pericarp - the walls of a ripened ovary or fruit, sometimes consisting of three layers, the epicarp, the mesocarp, and endocarp.

VI. Xyster - a surgical instrument for scraping bones.
VII. Xanthous - yellow or yellowish.
VIII. Xenogamy - pollination of the stigma of a flower by pollen from a flower on another plant.
IX. Xerus - an African ground squirrel, having spiny fur, very short ears and a long tail.
X. Xebec - a small, three-masted vessel of the Mediterranean.


I'm sorry. Tomorrow's bloglet will be better. And possibly not rainbow-coloured.

(All definitions pinched from Dictionary.com)