If you are the type to look past your shortcomings and always see the bright side of things then looking back can be beneficial. However if you are the sort to become completely depressed and miserable by what you see as failures, then reminiscing can be fraught with dangers.

In my journey of the anecdote, that has included encounters with both failings and success, I have fortunately been able to grow and learn from my mistakes. Whether or not 2012 will see me making some of the same errors remains to be seen. I am certain of one fact and that is I will always keep forging ahead and only look back with the full intention of moving forwards.

This “Word of the Week” is of course, anecdote!

I had felt slighted and a bit put off by the direction of the site that has been going downhill for a while. Forums are a dying breed and that, my dear, is a very sad thing indeed. Everyone just wants to “twitter” in short nonsensical bursts or “beat their chests” on other personal sites. Neither one tickles my fancy and both are rather off putting, in my view.

Once I hit the post button, I instantly regretted doing it. Rarely am I that impulsive but stress gets to us all occasionally. Luckily for me the few members left set me straight and I have to be grateful for that. It would have been easy for them to give it to me in the neck because I was acting like Shrek in a frock!

All is well now at etaBlog. Serenity has been restored.

By definition, the word “anecdote” means a funny or intriguing personal piece of narration. But the meaning has broadened to include tales of others with biographical elements and original anecdotes modified into more fictional stories. Humorous anecdotes are not intended to be funny but rather reveal some sort of truth that unveils the very essence of a subject matter.

At etaBlog, we believe that anecdotes are one of the best ways to peak a reader’s interests and express our true beliefs. At the same time, this blog is all about disseminating information in a way that is easy to understand and enjoyable.

So this week’s word is the “very essence” of etaBlog and we hope that you will be entertained by our little anecdotes.

After being a member for a couple of days I understand the allure but I am befuddled as to how the millions of participants keep up with all of the (trivial) information that courses through the veins of this internet monstrosity.

As one of my oldest friends on the site scribbled on my wall, “facebook, where life is a constant one liner”. One could not have said it any better. Since joining, I have been bombarded with a whole new dictionary of facebook euphemisms and acronyms. Sigh. It seems as if our communication skills are truly headed down a path of one liners and abbreviations.

Facebook makes it so easy to meet new people and find new relationships, it is a little unnerving. I had always felt that true friendships are like fine wine that take years to develop and mature. In this new world of fast paced meetings and convenient interactions, is there any room left for truly deep and meaningful human connections?

They can be serious, but are often told with a humorous twist. Writing great anecdotes is not easy, because of their sheer simplicity and wide scope of reference.

The best thing about anecdotes is that they are short and succinct, making them more exciting and straight forward. We encourage you to view some of the examples here and try your hand at developing your style.

There are some simple steps one can take to substantially reduce one’s risk of getting a heart attack or stroke. Here are the top three examples in my personal view: -

1. Regular Exercise
2. Eating a low fat and low sodium diet with loads of fresh vegetables and fruit.
3. Relaxation – Trying to reduce stress levels at work and at home by practising good relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation.

Check out the American Heart Association’s Life Check to see how you can make small changes that will have a huge impact on your health and quality of life.

After the horrific disaster in Haiti that has possibly billed thousands of people, you have to take a step back and think about what is really important. It is very easy to complain and whinge about the uncomfortable things in ones life.

So on this rather cold Thursday morning in Connecticut, I will not bemoan the weather or the remnants of snow outside my front door. I won’t groan when it takes five minutes for the heat to start working in the car or when it takes forever to defrost the windscreen.

I will be grateful.

The original Yule Log burning ceremony started on the winter solstice. At 5:47 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time Monday December 21, in the Northern Hemisphere marked the mid-point of the year. The winter solstice marks the day with the fewest hours of daylight and a Yule Log was ceremonially burned.

Because the burning of the Yule Log took place near Christmas people still practice the tradition today. This practice is one of the many pagan rituals absconded by Christianity as part of the Christmas celebration. Thank god for pagans!

So today I took it back in to have it run through the state emissions test again. Unfortunately the chap who had done the initial repairs was not in and would not be in until the afternoon. Also the usual receptionist behind the desk was missing in action. I approached the counter and was met by a deathly glance. The gentleman – well he really wasn’t a gentleman – stared back at his computer screen before mumbling something indicating he wanted to know why I was there.

I stated that I had just had some repairs done and asked for Willy. He again didn’t turn away from whatever he was doing and stated blankly that Willy wasn’t there and would be in later on. I kindly retorted that I would come back later on. To which I got no response and not even a glance as I headed quickly for the exit.

To any normal person this may seem trivial but I am a bit of a pain in the arse when it comes to customer service. In my view that’s where the sale begins and seeing as I had already given this shop $400 of my hard earned cash, I would have been grateful if the “gentleman” standing in behind the desk would have had the courtesy to address me directly by looking me in the eye.

Luckily for this company the rest of the staff have been very friendly and more than helpful so this one little faux pas will escape my wrath. However, if it comes down to good customer service over getting a bargain I will occasionally pick customer service and that is something all businesses should never consider skimping on.

However today’s “Word of the Week” portrays the more traditional and completely benign use of the word. This lowly bird is a focal point of the well-known American celebration called Thanksgiving. Next Thursday will be Thanksgiving Day and believe me it is a day-off to put in some serious eating.

This “holiday” dates back to the mid-19th Century and was originally celebrated to thank God and the Native Americans for helping the pilgrims to survive the harsh winter. Since then it has become more of a secular holiday and in 1941 it became a federal holiday.

Turkey is the prime meat at these family gatherings, however the original pilgrims used any fowl at the early celebrations. As a Brit and a vegetarian, I hadn’t ever celebrated this truly American holiday. However after living here for such a long time, I recently acquiesced and had a small little do last year and it went quite well – tofurky and all!

It’s not such a bad celebration and the fact that we can dedicate a day to giving thanks for all the good things in our lives, has got to do someone some good somewhere!

So to all my fellow Americans, eat up and be merry and remember as we moan about the weather or our jobs or our partners, that there’s always someone out there worse off than you.

Amen to that!