Lollygaggin or just Dilly-dallying – my life

Lollygag. The origin of this word is unknown, but it first surfaced around 1868. The definition of “lollygag” is someone who is messing around or wasting time. It also refers to someone who is doing something that isn’t serious or useful.

Dilly-Dally.  The base word “dally” came in from Old French hundreds of years ago and meant to chat idly. Over time “dally” picked up other meanings such as to toy with things or spend time idly. By the 19th century we get “dilly dally.”

What is the difference between lollygagging and dilly dallying?

Lollygagging meant wasting time, lazing around with someone else, when there was work to do or duties to perform. Dilly dallying would indicate a trite waste of time while lolly gagging, a more old fashioned expression, was synonymous with elicit relationships and an inappropriate waste of time.

One of the biggest reasons I love to work with children is they are renowned dilly dallying lollygaggers.

Grandkids playing in Spokane

Child playing on the beach in Venezuela

Visiting neighbors, Delta Orinoco, Venezuela

Playing on a log – Cambodia

Rainy day play – Caracas

Kids at play with very big knife – Cambodia

Bridge for fun in Cambodia

 “Even though you’re growing up, you should never stop having fun.”  ~~ Nina Dobrev

“Enjoy life. Have fun. Be kind. Have worth. Have friends. Be honest. Laugh. Die with dignity. Make the most of it. It’s all we’ve got.”  ~~Ricky Gervais

Many folks feel that to be a skylarking, dilly-dallier, of a lollygagging variety means that you have no use or value.  I completely disagree with this.  I have discovered the most profound answers to many of life’s toughest questions by randomizing the manner of which I get through each day.  On top of that, I am more productive and get quite a bit more done than many of my diligent and incredibly focused colleagues.

“Life is too short to not have fun; we are only here for a short time compared to the sun and the moon and all that.”  ~~Coolio

I also do not associate dilly dallying or lollygagging with procrastination.  I realize that this a common definition or interpretation of the word.  I am NOT a procrastinator.  I just interject confident fun into my work day.  It frees the mind, allows you to breathe and re-evaluate where you are in relationship to where you should be.  It helps you assess if changes need to be made to the process or even the end goal.  In my opinion, sometimes people are so focused on what they think the main goal is that they actually lose site of process. Or the fact that not everyone gets to the ultimate design of it all in the same way. Sometimes, being strictly tied in and focused only on your own end game, you lose site of the fact that the goal post has been moved and your team actually left the field.

“When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.”  ~~Joe Namath

I once received an evaluation that I was not actually respected by many of my colleagues because I never seemed to take anything seriously.  Another comment I received by a well-intended mentor was that I completed things too quickly.  Every time I am confronted with this type of feedback, I ask the person, “Was it done incorrectly?”  or “Did i do something wrong?”  The answers is always, “No, of course not.”  All in all, these comments and judgement calls baffle me. If I do things quickly, correctly, and in a timely manner, while a the same time having fun through dallying and dillying and socializing and play.. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM??????  I think sometimes people make life way too difficult.  Life is not that hard. It’s not what happens but how you handle what happens.

“Life is easy. Just stay un-dead.”  ~~Fakeer Ishavardas

I believe that you need to input fun in your work, take mental breaks, dilly dally, lollygag around, listen to the music, dance to the tunes in your head and enjoy the process.  In the end, that is what you are going to remember.  The work you did is only as important as the next job that comes along, the next crisis, the next pandemic or war.  I could be sad, frustrated, or angry because I am not ever taken very seriously.  The truth is, I am smarter than I act, prettier than I feel, harder than I want to be, and I have been told that I am a diamond in the rough and that God is not finished with me.  I am Sam.  Sam I am. That’s basically all I am… well, that and a bag of chips.

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”  ~~Dr. Seuss

“I am going to keep having fun every day I have left, because there is no other way of life. You just have to decide whether you are a Tigger or an Eeyore.”  ~~Randy Pausch.

dillyingdallyingloggygaggingstars – It’s a 3-Hump Wednesday; Just Passing Time; Today is a good day for a good day!;  Waiting in the airport; # Celebration of Happiness#; Passing Time; Playing activities; It’s a 3-Hump Wednesday; Spending & Passing Time; Passing Canadian time; Passing Time; The Passing Time;  Wacky Whimsy; Untitled

Xertz

Xertz. –   Great Scrabble word. ‘Xertz’ is a verb with unknown origins, although it is likely derived from slang term. Pronounced ‘zerts’, it means ‘to gulp something down quickly and/or in a greedy fashion’. In most cases, it is used to describe drinking, but it may also describe someone eating quickly.

“Work before eating, rest after eating. Eat not ravenously, filling the mouth gulp after gulp without breathing space.”   ~~ Maimonides

Example sentences:

“As soon as I finished the half marathon I needed to xertz a bottle of water.”           “After work, I xertzed about 9 cobble-lobbers at the libation emporium.”

“Some people immediately descend on the dishes the moment they have been set down. Wolves do that.”  ~~ Desiderius Erasmus

I am most definitely a xertzer.  I always have been and likely I always will be.  I have tried my entire life to slow my eating roll.. but to no avail.  I did ok for awhile when i first started using chopsticks, but once I mastered that, I was right back at full speed.  I think it is because I eat to live, have been a terrible cook, and I don’t often eat until I feel like I’m starving.

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“The Mouth Of A Perfectly Happy Man Is Filled With Beer.” — Ancient Egyptian Proverb

“Seize The Moment. Remember All Those Women On The “Titanic” Who Waved Off The Dessert Cart.” -Erma Bombeck

“I’m On A Seafood Diet. I See Food And I Eat It.” -Dolly Parton

“That’s What I Do, I Drink And I Know Things.”- Tyrion Lannister, Game Of Thrones

Foodyfoodfoodyfoodfoodyfood;  inert; On Zen, Freedom and Eating Quickly; Domineering and Stealing; (Junk Food); Carol Taylor’s Kitchen Hacks; Easy Tomato Soup; Best Eating Habits; Lox of Bagels; Winter Prep; The God of “Food and other” things; Intermittent Fasting

MeMaw / PaPaw

Not a difficult word or even an unknown word.  However, when I was going through some old photos I have today, I ran into some pictures of my own grandparents.  To me they were just grandma and grandpa.

The first records of the word grandparent come from the 1800.  In the U.S., National Grandparents Day is celebrated on the first Sunday after Labor Day.

When my daughters were born, I was lucky enough to have my grandmothers on both my mom’s side and my dad’s side.  They also had grandparents on their father’s side of the family.  To lessen the confusion, each had their own unique name.  My grandma on my dad’s side became “Old Grandma” as she was in fact very old.  On my mom’s side it was just grandma Barney.  

When my grandkids were born, I became Grammy Sami due to a friend/colleague naming me that and it just stuck. I have friends named MeMaw, PaPaw, Bushka, pops, and so on.  Where do these names come from?  Usually from the mouths of babes.  It’s likely the only way they could pronounce it.  It’s funny that no matter what you are called by the little uns, it sticks.  

Chinese: YéYé or YehYeh (paternal); Gōng Gong or Wàigōng (maternal)  Filipino: Lolo (most common), Ingkong, Lelong, AbweloFlemish: Bompa, Bompi, Opa, Opi  French: Grand-père, Grand-papa, Pépère, Papy, Papi  French Canadian: Pépé, Pépère, Papi   German: Opa  Greek: Pappoús, Pappoo, Papu, Papou  Hawaiian: Tutu kane, Kuku kane   Hebrew: Saba, Sabba   Italian: Nonno, Nonnuccio, Nonnino, Nonnetto   Irish: Seanathair, Daideó Japanese: Ojiisan, Sofu, Jiji   Korean: Haraboji, Harabeoji, Halaboji, Halabeoji  Polish: Dziadek, Dziadziu  Portuguese: Avô, Avozinho, Vovô,  Vo  Russian: Dedushka, Deda, Dedulya   Spanish: Abuelo, Abuelito, Lito  Yiddish: Zayde, Zaydee, Zaydeh

 

The Evolution of Grandparents

• People today typically live long enough to become grandparents, but this was not always the case.
• Recent analyses of fossil teeth indicate that grandparents were rare in ancient populations, such as those of the australopithecines and the Neandertals. They first became common around 30,000 years ago, as evidenced by remains of early modern Europeans.
• This surge in the number of seniors may have been a driving force for the explosion of new tool types and art forms that occurred in Europe at around the same time. It also may explain how modern humans outcompeted archaic groups such as the Neandertals.

“I miss him still today: his long, whiskery eyebrows, his huge hands and hugs, his warmth, his prayers, his stories, but above all his shining example of how to live and how to die.”
― Bear Grylls

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“I’ll never forget today! I’ll always remember, I know!   Grandfather looked up through the cellar window at the late-summer trees stirring in a colder wind. “Of course you will, Tom,” he said. “Of course you will.”
― Ray Bradbury

Several funny grandparent nicknames.  calmkate; sadje; neotrinity; obbverse; abigail; lois; deemskye; dave; rose; amtolle 

 

neologism

neologism – early 19th century: from French néologisme . A newly coined word or expression. – Words or expressions used within a profession, industry or group.

Slang is a language that rolls up its sleeves, spits on its hands and goes to work. ~~Carl Sandburg

Slang – The subset of a language.  It’s a type of communication that includes words and phrases that are generally informal and usually restricted to the people of a specific age, group, gender, or location. Secret speak, private coms, military acronyms, etc.  Communications that no one understands but the people within that special group or clan.  It’s the mother tongue of an entire nation down to the the quiet understanding of family that grew up in the same house and often does not even involve words.  

“Hey, you sass that hoopy Ford Prefect? There’s a frood who really knows where his towel is.” (Sass: know, be aware of, meet, have sex with; hoopy: really together guy; frood: really amazingly together guy.)” ~~ Douglas Adams Hitchhiker’s Guide To the Galaxy

The language of sisters is even more private.  It’s a language that started straight out of the womb, through the good times, the bad hair, the break ups, and the births.  Through the rough spots where you stop talking completely to the devastating losses that bring you bring you back together.  From the beginning to the end.

“Sisters don’t need words. They have perfected their own secret language of smiles, sniffs, sighs, gasps, winks and eye rolls.” ~~ Unknown

My sisters

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“Sisters may drive you crazy, get into your stuff and irritate you.                        However, if anyone else dares say so, a sister will defend you to the death.”                      ~~ Unknown

Followed by my daughters – the apples do not fall far from the trees.  Nor, apparently, do the experiences!! 

“We are sisters. We will always be sisters. Our differences may never go away, but neither, for me, will our song.”- Elizabeth Fishel 

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“At this point, none of us are sure why we fight. We’re sisters. We need no good reason to fight, even though we have plenty of them.” ~~ Ken Wheaton 

Pidgin – An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utilitarian vocabulary and no native speakers. Restructured language.

Vernacular – Adjective: Used in or suitable for everyday conversation rather than formal or official contexts. Of, or pertaining to, everyday or colloquial language. Limited to a particular area. Of the indigenous inhabitants of a place. From or in a nearby location. Noun: The language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region. Commonly known term.

Argot – A secret language or conventional slang peculiar to thieves, tramps and vagabonds

“Well,’ said Can o’ Beans, a bit hesitantly,’ imprecise speech is one of the major causes of mental illness in human beings.’
Huh?’
Quite so. The inability to correctly perceive reality is often responsible for humans’ insane behavior. And every time they substitute an all-purpose, sloppy slang word for the words that would accurately describe an emotion or a situation, it lowers their reality orientations, pushes them farther from shore, out onto the foggy waters of alienation and confusion.’
The manner in which the other were regarding him/her made Can O’ Beans feel compelled to continue. ‘The word neat, for example, has precise connotations. Neat means tidy, orderly, well-groomed. It’s a valuable tool for describing the appearance of a room, a hairdo, or a manuscript. When it’s generically and inappropriately applied, though, as it is in the slang aspect, it only obscures the true nature of the thing or feeling that it’s supposed to be representing. It’s turned into a sponge word. You can wring meanings out of it by the bucketful–and never know which one is right. When a person says a movie is ‘neat,’ does he mean that it’s funny or tragic or thrilling or romantic, does he mean that the cinematography is beautiful, the acting heartfelt, the script intelligent, the direction deft, or the leading lady has cleavage to die for? Slang possesses an economy, an immediacy that’s attractive, all right, but it devalues experience by standardizing and fuzzing it. It hangs between humanity and the real world like a . . . a veil. Slang just makes people more stupid, that’s all, and stupidity eventually makes them crazy. I’d hate to ever see that kind of craziness rub off onto objects.”   ~~ Tom Robbins

Languages:  Alexis; Secret Language of Winter; Misky; MjDixit; ContentCatnip; BHW; dragonflypoetry; MSnubutterflies; thoughtsmith; lacaschronicles; FamFriendDB; Family’s secret language; vox; storyreadingape

 

wacky

“I don’t understand your specific brand of crazy, but I do commend your devotion to it. -Truth to his ex”  ~~ Lani Lynn Vale

wacky – adj – “crazy, eccentric,” 1935, variant of whacky (n.) “fool,” late 1800s British slang, probably ultimately from whack “a blow, stroke,” from the notion of being whacked on the head one too many times.  Funny or amusing in a slightly odd or peculiar way.

“Sometimes it’s the crazy people that bring out the best in us”
~~ Aishabella Sheikh

wack (n.)  “crazy person,” 1938, back-formation from wacky. Adjective in slang sense of “worthless, stupid,” is attested from late 1990s.  Phrases Synonymous with wacky  *  out to lunch.

“My insane mind wants to create a world,
where craziness is treated normal.”
― Luffina Lourduraj

bonkers, zany, cracked, absurd, batty, dotty, screwy, preposterous, harebrained, quirky, bananas, cockeyed, softheaded, loopy, crazy, demented, foolish, peculiar, offbeat, etc

Funny or amusing in a slightly odd or peculiar way

Displaying a lack of sensibleness or judgment

Not having a sound state of mind

Causing laughter and providing entertainment

“I know you. Inside and out, Sara.

I know you, and I’ve accepted it all.

Every bit of the crazy.

And I love you anyway remember?” 

~~ Emme Rollins

I once had an anonymous evaluation completed on me and it went something like this.  “I don’t understand why someone “like Sami” who seems to love her job, loves to laugh and have fun, and works very hard, is not respected by any of her colleagues.”

I never set out to be weird. It was always the other people who called me weird. ~~Frank Zappa

At first I was a bit taken aback.  As anyone would be. What me?  Not respected?  I mean I sort of got it, but also wondered why my hard work was not very noticed. I tried changing my clothes, my attitude, my hair, my mind, my presentation, my everything about me that made me… well, me.

Over time, I have come to realize that no matter how much I change, I will always be essentially me.  I have long realized that this fact is something that will not please a lot of people or get me promoted.  I will never rise to the top of the pile.  I was sad for a minute.  I was frustrated for two minutes.  It took me several decades to understand this issue.

“Your importance can’t be measured by the normal things

that many others

achieved in their lives diplomas, job money… but by

the things they cannot ,

all the impossible dreams and hard getting goals which

often called the crazy thoughts can create the true meaning of

importance insanity always lead to miracles.”
~~ Marwa Zaghdoud

Now at 55, I realize how much time I wasted trying to be what I was never going to be able to be.  How much energy it took to try to change what I personally consider to be the best part of me.

“The pig was always there staring at me, as I took off my clothes, I wondered if he could be turned on by me. We live in such a crazy world, where people find themselves in the wrong body and they seek permanent change, I wonder if one day a pig woke up and realised he is in the wrong body. I think I was going crazy, I had a lot of thoughts and no one to talk to.”
~~ Lunga Noélia Izata 

Essentially, I am awkward, upbeat, zany, madcap, offbeat, outlandish, and absurd.  I have made friends, family, and strangers laugh.  Yes, I get a lot of eye rolls as well.  I drive my bosses crazy and many folks think I am just plain nuts.  I am no longer trying to deny or cover this up.  The advantage of being older and wiser, is you can melt down all that garbage and understand that us crazies are often healthier and more clear-headed than the “normal” ones.  Further, the normals are often just as crazy if not more so.  We are likely just more aware of it and able to go with the flow.

“Do you know what’s cheaper than therapy? Admitting you’re batshit crazy and running with it.”  ~~ Dan Pearce

“You look like a crazy person,” Adri said.
“You look boring and average,” Lily replied.”
~~ Jodi Lynn Anderson

“We must thank to the crazy people

because by looking

at their achievements

or the failures, we can decide whether we have to

inject some craziness

to our own lives or not!”
~~Mehmet Murat ildan

“Al final puede que la sociedad entera no sea más que una especie de congregación de lunáticos, formado por miles de chalados cada uno”
~~ Natsume Sōseki

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