There are so many bloggers out there, many of whom I’m familiar with, who put us to shame – they are productive and dedicated. Not us – we are badly behaved bloggers who spend time being distracted by all sorts of other activities. For example, Shirlene is making Megan learn to play the ukulele in case she ever needs this skill (not to mention badminton.) Also, the weather is getting better, so we have to catch up on our vitamin D requirement. But, no more excuses; this first Wednesday ramble will be about one of our most recent experiences – ‘the earworm’.
I’m sure that, at times, most folks have been troubled by this affliction. It’s not actually quite as gross as it sounds – for those who may be unfamiliar with the term, there is no creepy crawly wormy thing loitering in one’s eardrums; it simply refers to a pesky, usually goofy song or jingle that gets stuck in one’s head, and won’t go away, and even if it does, it often bursts into life again when you least expect it. It’s what cognitive scientists call a ‘cognitive itch’. It’s the kind of itch in your head that you can’t scratch away.
I often suffer from earworms. There’s hardly a day goes by when I don’t have one or more that I have to stop from emerging at inappropriate times. Yesterday, for example, I was walking into the supermarket really, really trying to stifle, suppress, subdue, obliterate, ‘Postman Pat’ (and his black and white cat) because I’m not quite ready to be categorized as the wacky old lady who sings children’s songs to herself! So there you have it – ‘Postman Pat’ is our latest and very infectious ear worm.
A couple of days before this, I had generously shared this particular earworm with Megan, who didn’t seem to appreciate it at all. (She still doesn’t!) I thought I might be able to dilute its effects if it were shared – but no – at the most inopportune times she would blast it back at me, and I was even worse off than before, especially as she embellished it with a ‘goofy’ voice so that that got stuck in my head too!
I’ve sometimes tried to kill off an earworm by forcing another song into its place. You’d think that might work, but there’s an inherent danger in it – you can replace one earworm by an even worse one. Oh well, I guess I have to learn to love and accept my inner earworm situation – after all, it does seem to fit well with my ever-so-slightly quirky nature.
Now, if you’re the brave type, and as I am a generous soul, I am happy to share ‘Postman Pat’ with you. Listen to it if you dare, but please don’t start sharing your own ear worms with me! (Well, okay, you can if you like – just this once). Have you had any really annoying ones?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WAYVfmSig0I