Stephen Swann

Monday, 14 November 2011
Unfortunately, it's tragic consequences in recent days that bring depression to mind.

Personally, I believe that we are only given one gift - the gift of life. It's magical. Wonderful. Tremendous. Miraculous, if you like. Life is precious and I can't think of any circumstance that would make me question whether it was worth continuing on.

Not everyone feels that way, unfortunately.

It seems to me that those that are suffering have something in common. They lack a feeling of self-worth.

Me? I think I'm great. I'm probably not, to be fair. But that shan't stop me from thinking it. Those I know who are suffering from depression certainly do not think they are great. Far from it. Gandhi once said "a man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes." In short, those with a low sense of self-worth will ultimately become worthless just as those that think they are great are destined for better things.

But when someone loses their self-worth, what can be done to show them the light. This week, I've learnt that some people are potentially beyond help. Certainly the tragedy I've experienced recently would've been difficult to avoid. But there has got to be a way.

For me... I see joy all around me. I just have to look at the stars in the sky and I feel privileged. I look at what man has achieved and feel great satisfaction (despite our flaws as a race). And I look at my daughters and think to myself that life is truly wondrous.

So how do we instil that sense of joy in those who are suffering? I'd dearly love to know before I have to endure another tragedy.

Friday, 1 April 2011
Today is the last day of work for me before I turn 40 and to celebrate the event, my Project Manager bought some doughnuts and inserted a candle into one of them:

Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Suits? I wear them then I tear them. In fact, I'm prolific at the latter.

Suit 1: Five weeks ago, I tore the seam on my trousers running from the pocket down to the knee as I was getting into a car. I don't know how.

Suit 2: Three weeks ago, I tore the arm of my jacket while defending myself against a window with violent tendencies.

Suit 3: This week, I tore the seam on my trousers running from the pocket for about 2 inches when I put my mobile phone into the aforementioned pocket.

I had gone many years without tearing a suit. Admittedly, my suits only tend to last a maximum of six months before my girthy thighs take their toll on my trousers. But this new wave of destruction is proving to be quite disconcerting.

At any one point, I normally have three or four suits available for use and most of them have a couple of trousers available. By the time I get home from my travels this week, I believe I will have one complete suits without a tear in sight. I suspect this means shopping but if there is one thing that drives me nuts, it is shopping for suits!

Why can't our suit suppliers/manufacturers make a suit that actually last and what can I do to stop the perishing of my trousers due to "thigh rubbage"?

Saturday, 29 January 2011
I go away for a week and what happens?

I come home to find that my daughter's laptop has "died". Some lights are on, but there's nothing else happening. No spinning of disks, CDs or anything resembling power hitting the screen. Nothing. Nada. She claims she was in the middle of recording something using Audacity, when everything froze. One 13 month old Samsung R520 is now ornamental!

I also came home to find that the built-in DVD player in the television in our bedroom is making funny noises and refusing to recognise any disk. One 23 month old television which cannot play DVDs (which was one of the reasons it was bought).

What is it with manufacturers these days? Both of the aforementioned items are less than 24 months old. Both of them have failed spectacularly with very little use! And it would seem that "fixing" them will cost almost as much as replacing them completely.

What to do. What to do. I do wonder if the likes of Samsung can offer any advice as to what I should do!!!

Monday, 25 October 2010
I like social networking. At least... I used to like social networking. Facebook has turned into a means of declaring how "wonderful" we all are. I don't mind people telling me about their achievements but what really gets me annoyed are the statements about how their son or daughter is the most special person on Earth. THEY ARE NOT!!!! In fact, I resent the fact that these people think that their precious little Johnny and Jenny are SO much more important than my off-springs.

I want to hear about my friends; I want to hear about their children. But I don't want them to tell me about how their special little boy or girl is just the best little person on the entire planet. It's delusional. It's upsetting. It makes me want to "de-friend" you. After all, when you say... "my little child is the best child in the whole world".... you are actually telling me that my little child is in some way INFERIOR. Aren't you? How DARE you?

Tonight... I read the drivel that my so-called friends felt I needed to be made aware of and was disgusted. I sat and wrote the following status update, then didn't bother to post it. I feel ashamed at failing to tell these people that they should have a re-think about how they behave online. But, I didn't want to offend; I want to keep my friend numbers up? Why? Because I figured if I did do it, it would upset these people too much. I car about them and don't want them to feel hurt. But I still need a means of offloading my feelings on this subject.

"Dear friends.... I already think highly enough of you to have you in some way associated with me. I don't need you to re-inforce this by telling my how fantastic you are and how your offspring have managed to acquire unimaginable talents. In fact, your self-congratulation (and the unworthy praise you heap upon your FABULOUS children) is having a negative impact on how I feel about you. Please give it a rest... Your kids are only special TO YOU!!!!"

Thankfully... there's no chance of the "easily offended" finding this blog. They are, after all, Facebook through and through!

Social networking can be a very important tool in the future... but please, let's not abuse it!