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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

NUMBERS






Our lives are filled with numbers. How old are you? How much do you weigh? How long have you worked there? How many years have you lived there? Children? How many, how old? What’s your house number? Social Security number? Phone number? And it goes on and on, doesn’t it?

How many FB friends do you have? How many followers on your blog? Or on your fan page? How many views did you get on the last blog? How many comments?

I know that some of you are all about your numbers and actually measure your success as a writer by them. I don’t. I don’t even know how many followers I have, without looking up there to see. I never know how many views I have or how many visitors I have had. I simply don’t care. I only care that someone, besides me, is reading my work. I care that now and then I actually touch someone with my humble words. I care that ONE person might find an answer to their query by reading something I felt strongly enough about to write a blog. I care if someone is offended by something I said. Unless I meant to offend. I care whether the writing helped to clear my mind or settle something that was rattling around between my ears. I care that what I write is what I meant to write. If it isn’t grammatically correct, it is because I am not a grammar expert. I write as I talk. I do make an effort to be reasonable correct, but it isn’t of paramount importance to my blogging. I try to write correctly mostly because I know it annoys people to read over glaring errors; and to a grammar student, any error is glaring. I apologize for torturing you and I am always trying to do better.

I’m one of those people who memorizes numbers quite easily. I can’t remember half of the things I’ve done in my life, but I remember numbers. I find that odd because I don’t try to remember them, I just remember them and can usually call them up at will. Wonder why that is? What is it that causes a brain to be wired to remember numbers and yet not care a whoot about the numbers most people find important? Like the numbers they use to measure their success.  How many customers? How many books were sold? How many followers? How much money do you make? Ah…money. The real measure of success to so many people. It is not my success indicator because it doesn’t make me better. I will feel success each and every time I do something well. When I complete something I have never done before and I feel like I have done it well, I am a success. When someone thanks me for something I have given or done, I am successful. For my life to be successful, I must accomplish things. I must try new things and even if I fail, I can be a success, if I did my best.

Numbers are important in some aspects of my life. I use my debit card all the time and I know the numbers; all of them. I know my SS, Roomy’s SS and Momma’s SS because as I take care of our business I often need to know those. I know our checking account number because I have to write it on every check I deposit. I know exactly how much we owe and to whom because those numbers matter to our future. I do not know how much I weigh because that doesn’t matter. I do not know how many fans I have nor do I know how many books I have sold, because it doesn’t matter. I sold some and I have some and that’s good enough. I’m not a number one best seller, so the numbers don’t matter.

Another number that matters is that I give you 100% when I sit to blog. I really pour my heart out or in this case I empty my brain for your entertainment. Hope it worked this time.

Maybe I’ll check my numbers when I actually post this.  Maybe…

Jo

PS   Total page views...27,783. Veteran's Day Posts (2) 810 views for the two.

14 comments:

  1. In your writing, it is plain to see, you give 100% in all you do. Nice perspective. It is how you and I will live to be 100 - we will refuse to follow "that" number and stumble upon our age when we have surpassed 100! Nice job.

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    1. That's it! I always know how old I am, but in the summer, I can so totally fool myself! Winter it's a little harder.

      Thanks, Buddy!

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  2. I am such a number person, not only are they easy for me to remember--but I love to toss numbers around in my head--think of all the patterns--all the different ways you can break numbers down, add them back together--and make them work. I love number problems--and arithmetic! I also easily memorize numbers. I don't know why.

    However-- like you-- I don't really look at numbers like the number of friends I have, followers, blog views, etc. I don't know why. It is uninteresting to me--BUT throw in some demographics (26% of viewers to your blog used Chrome, 38% use Internet Explorer, etc.) then I'm interested. I guess it tells me more of a story. Weird huh?

    Alright --enough numbers for one morning here! I don't want to blog on your blog for a comment. I have to get back to work--where I work with numbers in three dimensions!!

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    1. I have command over numbers I need to cook or take care of our finances, but I'm just not a good mathematician...not by anyone's standards.

      I can balance a checkbook and a ledger sheet, but really that's about all I can muster.

      I would have guessed you were a number girl, the job, the attention to detail and of course, the computer training.

      Thanks for taking time for me! ♥ it

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  3. I've always been terrible with math and numbers. Thank goodness for calculators now at hand, on my iphone etc. And I especially like to lose count of the number of years I've been on this earth, though hard to as I'm reaching that 50 milestone. My boys like to say "hey, just turn around Gramma's 94, and you get Mom's 49!"

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    1. My age is a number. Nothing more. I use it to may advantage and I ignore it when that is to my advantage. Inside, I am somewhere around 35, old enough and still young enough. Mirrors always ruin that feeling though.

      Here's to both of us seeing 94 in our rearview mirrors! Cheers!

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  4. It is amazing how dominant numbers are in our daily lives.

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

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    1. It really is, isn't it? You could make a much longer list with about 5 minutes of thought.

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  5. I too am a number rememberer....I know my driver's license #, my bank account #'s, my parents SS#'s, their bank account #'s, because I need them to help them out sometimes...I know their license plate #'s, etc. I do know my weight #....because I do care about that one and it is coming down...yay! I have been called anal retentive by some who think that it's ridiculous that I have a memory for certain things and I relish that because I am the one THEY come to for useless information that THEY need! Good post Jo. Love you!

    Chele

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    1. I know! You are for sure the go to person for all things obscure! I love that about you and many, many more things. Thanks for commenting and reading and for always knowing stuff...like I know a google personally. Other people google, I Chele! (damn I'm funny).

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  6. You're right! Numbers do rule our life, some in a good way, others not so good.Yet I'm still so bad at it. :(

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    1. They do! Thanks for comin' by! So nice to see you.

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  7. "I only care that someone, besides me, is reading my work. I care that now and then I actually touch someone with my humble words."

    I love that. That touched my heart. Thank you

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    1. Aww...thank you so much Tamara! That's what matters. Thank you, thank you.

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