18 | December | 2013 | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss

In today’s challenge, you’ll turn your observational superpowers on high alert.

I saw him when I entered the supermarket. I wondered if he actually entered and became a customer. Was he only outside watching people entering and leaving. Perhaps he had lost his job and had nothing better to do. He was dressed in dark colours, nothing special: a black jacket, black woolly hat and jeans. His shoes the general trainers, a working man’s uniform, but he was not working. His job seemed to be an observer. Now and again he would nod to someone, but he was ignored. He might take a few steps to keep warmth circulating. It was a cold wintery day with frost on the trees. Was he a sympathetic type? Perhaps some found him interesting; others thought he was a threat, a person to be ignored as you walked past. The general impression was dark, a three day beard growing on his chin and a general air of negligence. Hands in his pockets, he sat on the edge of a wooden crate, a leftover of supermarket props and his head turned to watch the people like myself.

Weekly Writing Challenge: Collecting Detail

What is your least favorite personal quality in others? Extra points for sharing your least favorite personal quality in yourself.

Photographers, artists, poets: show us VICE.

Me Sunday afternoon writing a story

I am so perfect, that I do not have a least favourite personal quality. It looks like my extra points are again disappearing over the horizon. But just a minute, let us ask Mr. Swiss, whose opinion I always, almost, appreciate.

“What did you say? Temperamentvoll? That means full of temperament, bubbly, spirited. Aha, not quiet, you mean I could play it perhaps a little more cool sometimes and not explode.”

I do not think I will ask Mr. Swiss any more, He is probably prejudiced after spending more than half his life with me. Nobody’s perfect Mr. Swiss.

As you can see from the photo, taken by a local paparazzi (will not mention any names) I am the personification of calm, nothing excites me. At this moment in time, I was probably having leading a discussion on how to compose the perfect prize winning blog.

Things just happen. We have a new vacuum cleaner. It is one of those Dyson type new developments, you know, no bags for the trash. The trash seems to be digested in the insides of the machine and only fine dust is expelled. I think it might be bewitched, possessed, wondering where does the rubbish go. Being a housewife, it is part of my job to know how this machine works. It arrived yesterday. My first confrontation was the electric lead. I am used to pulling it out and pressing a lever with my foot for it to disappear again into the bowels of the machine. This new fantastic formula one machine had no lever. Admittedly I uttered a few words not for the ears of children. Mr. Swiss pointed out that I have to just pull the cord gently and it automatically reverses, disappearing again. Mr. Swiss is so clever and I am not so gifted with the gentle touch.

My second problem occurred today. I did not actually loose my temper, although Mr. Swiss said he heard me from another room and I was slightly strongly excited, quite loud. I wanted to detach the long sucking tube from the machine to deal manually with sucking dust in a corner with a shorter tube. I had to wait at least half a minute until he came to my rescue, but he came. Of course he knew the answer; just a calm squeezing movement on the hose and the tube was detached. He is so clever. Of course he studied the instruction book. We have an instruction book?

Do I have a least favourite personal quality in others. No, not really, perhaps those people who always know the answers, especially when I am lost in translation. I did have a disagreement with the Swiss Governernment in 1994 when the female pension age was increased from 62 to 64 years old. How dare they, two years of my golden oldie life sacrificed for a stupid law. However, it seems that it was put to the vote and the Swiss nation said “Yes please”. I did not say yes please. You see, the Swiss nation did not ask for my opinion.

Otherwise, I do not drink, do not smoke and …. isn’t life boring sometimes?

Daily Prompt: You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch

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