Zero to Hero Day 1: Introduce Yourself

Posted in Challenges by angloswiss

Talking about myself is one of my favourite occupations, so why not blog about it.

I am slowly becoming a veteran blogger, not only in real life existing as a golden oldie, but when I started here I had more brown hair than grey. Things change and the grey is taking over slowly but surely.

So what is the essence of an Angloswiss? It lays in the name. After 46 years in the Kingdom of Helvetia (Switzerland) my ways and means have probably become more Swiss. Not that I only eat cheese fondue and have gold bars under my bed in the Swiss banking tradition, but I pay my bills in Swiss francs and speak Swiss German generally. I speak many languages, but none of them perfect. Even my English is suffering slowly and when writing a blog I often have to search for the English word in an online dictionary as my first thought seems to be in German. I even dream in Swiss German – just imagine a Swiss German nightmare where William Tell’s arrow does not pierce the apple on his son’s head and pierces something else.

Why do I blog – probably because I no longer like to knit. There are actually people that read my blogs, click a like and follow my written footsteps in the cyber world. If I kept my wise words to myself in a diary, or just a little private space in my Word files that would be a waste of talent. I am sure you agree. Those that read my works of literature may have noticed that modesty is not my thing. I exist, therefore I am, or something like that. Entering your blogging site there is a sense of waiting, expectation. You choose your first words and the rest just follow. Sometimes I do not know where I am going, but somehow I arrive. Whether the journey was successful or not, I leave you to decide.

You want some personal details – OK if you are sitting comfortably I will begin. I was born in the East End of London, my first language being cockney English. Growing up in a town still showing signs of damage from the second world war, my playgrounds were the bombed remains of various buildings. I fought my way through my school days and succeeded in attending a high school. After completing a commercial course with all the trimmings I was an office worker. Emmigration to Switzerland followed all on my own at the age of 20 and I .worked in various Swiss companies, eventually becoming an export clerk and learning fluent German/Swiss German on the way. Then a day arrived where a lightening blitz struck, there he was and there was I – that was around 44 years ago and two sons later Mr. Swiss and I still form an Angloswiss entente cordial. Now retired with Mr. Swiss, I just live my bilingual housewify life and in between write a blog. I blog because it is fun, there is no other reason. I read other blogs and my blogs are read.

I never know what topics I will write about, they just sort of happen, like when Archimedes sat in the bath and screamed Eureka and all came running. His wife was angry because of the mess on the floor from the water that had flowed out of the bath. I have no great wish to connect with anyone really, all are welcome. As far as accomplishments are concerned in 2014 I take things one at a time. I will breathe a sigh of relief if I conquer this zero to hero thing. I do daily prompt and two daily blogs are overdoing my time schedule, but I will survive (I hope):

So that’s me, all 1 meter 75, not such a hour glass figure, it seems to grow in width more than height these days.

Zero to Hero Day 1: Introduce Yourself

2Jan2014

Daily Prompt: Progress

Posted in Challenges by angloswiss

When you look back at your blog on January 2, 2015, what would you like to see?

Photographers, artists, poets: show us PROGRESS.

2000 followers

Yesterday I actually reached little over 2000 disciples on my prize suspected blog, so I now take the opportunity to thank all those that are watching my shaky golden oldie footsteps in this cyber world. I was going to put this badge on my page, but it was made with a little photo shopping in the Ribbit programme and the WordPress Lords may not agree to this infringement of their badging copyright,so it will only appear once. Unfortunately the WordPress achievement badges only show up to 1,337 followers. Why this magical number I do not know.

I will not and do not look back on happenings so much. I do not even look forward, but prefer to stay in the present with both feet on the ground. I wrote 365 daily prompts in 2013 plus a few other brainwaves I had for telling everyone what was happening in my little world. Now and again my work was invaded from another planet known as Blogger where I still entertain my backup blog and belong to a couple of groups that had migrated from the deceased Multiply blogging site.

A few blogging fingers also stretched out to Facebook formed groups. Here I am also to be found, but not regularly. I do not like the cheap copy Facebook groups, but now and again partake meeting old cyber colleagues from Multiply. WordPress advised to start my own page in Facebook which I did. A good public relations tip from WordPress recommending cross posting my WordPress blogs but also a way to reach out to contacts in another sphere. Now and again a lost soul finds its way to press a like in Facebook and perhaps even dare to place a comment.

No, I am not addicted to blogging, it just happened. I was running out of ideas and WordPress gave me a grip under the blogging arm. I am not sitting on my computer all day. Housework is not completed with a Word Programme and even my iPad is not yet equipped with a built in vacuum cleaner. I spend perhaps an hour or two in the afternoon on the computer (time flies when you are having fun) and a further hour in the early evening after the evening meal.

I just take life as it comes. Of course I have various important appointments during the year, to the docs, dentist, and my weekly Tai Chi course. My blogging is not set to a fixed plan. I am at home and no longer a working woman, so I do what I want to do and not what I have to. I also do not regard the daily prompt as a must. It just sort of happens. Perhaps one day/week my blog might be missing as I might be on a holiday or visiting my father, but I will be back (that is a promise not a threat).

WordPress have now started a new daily challenge for the month of January known as “Zero to Hero: 30 Days to a Better Blog” complete with a pledging form. This challenge will appear daily in my European evening at 7. Unfortunately I could not resist and entered my details in this form with the remark that I am not yet sure this pledge will be fulfilled. I generally do not like signing for something when I do not know how it looks. Perhaps this blog will now appear daily on my page for a month, perhaps not – who can tell. I do not really do pledges or promises, life is too short.

Summed up, there is nothing I would really like to see this year. Oh, of course, I almost forget – perhaps an announcement that the Pulitzer/Nobel/Man Booker prize has been awarded to Angloswiss for her fantastic, original, realistic, reality blogs conquering the 50 Shades of the Blogging World. As you can see, nothing has changed much here.

Daily Prompt: Progress

Progressive Pingbacks

Being honest the title is based on a remark made on one of my blogs by a supporter.
"You always turn a topic inside out and on its head" were words also applied by a visitor to one of my blogs. I think she hit the nail on the head.

Prompts are there to act on, not just tell everyone what you had for lunch or your likes and dislikes. I trust that on my blog you find something spiced with humour. Mr. Swiss, my other half, has been known to say that not everyone always understands my humour (I do not always understand his).

Blogging is for me coupled with having fun. I do what I want to and not what I have to.

Disclaimer: Not reponsible for any spelling or grammatical mistakes. I do my best, but having two langugages revolving in my brain (yes, I have one), sometimes the result is more bi- than unilingual.