Facebook and Snooping

As I was reading through Newsweek the other day I came across a story about facebook/myspace and how these social networking tools are directing our social perceptions and interactions even moreso than face to face contact might. (Particularly when face to face contact is infrequent.) We judge people based on how many friends they have. For example, too few friends and you are a loser. Conversely, have too many friends and you are a needy computer geek who is probably online stalking everyone in the state. We judge our friends by what they list as favorite books, movies, quotes, etc. We keep up with their lives through status updates. Is this a sad thing or a miracle of modern technology? Six of my acquaintances were recently proposed to during Christmas break. SIX. Well, my shock is a different story. Suffice it to say that I would probably only know about half of these gossip tidbits were it not for facebook. But luckily, I found out and got to shoot of a couple of congratulatory wall posts, displaying my true and continued interest in their lives, via facebook.

It has its bad side too. Facebook/myspace definately lends itself to forming more shallow relationships. It is easy to get caught up in an online flirtation with someone and let things get out of hand. Also, do I really need an hourly news feed on what my friends and acquaintances are doing at every moment? I think not. Privacy has become a big issue as facebook and myspace both use demographic information to shoot ads (disguised as news feeds) to users.

Privacy and technology has become an increasingly difficult battle anyway. For example, I have been contemplating for awhile now: how wrong is it to snoop through someone's phone or email? I know in theory it is very wrong; you should trust people and respect their privacy. But what about when the snooper finds something? The other day I heard about a couple who have been trying to work out their relationship. It was going well until he found some questionable text messages on her phone. I also know tons of girls who peek into a boyfriends email or phone messages if given an easy opportunity. If a person discovers foul play while snooping, yes it is an invasion of privacy, but isn't it better to know the truth? How bad is snooping a little in comparison with lying and cheating?

I am not saying that we should completely disregard respect for privacy, and I am NOT advocating snooping. I felt bad for days after I changed my name in Jacson's phone (to Lindz Awesome) because I saw who some of his other contacts were. I think privacy should be respected and I am not a snoop by nature. My point is that as it gets easier to track people's communication through technology, who is to blame when secrets are uncovered, whether inadvertently or by minor snooping? If people want to safeguard their privacy, maybe they should take more precautions.

Anyway, that is what I am contemplating as I sit at my office desk and space out. Facebook and privacy and technology. I am lucky that I am dating someone I trust and don't need to snoop to reassure myself, but I can't say I blame those snoopers too much...

Christmas, etc.

Yay for Christmas!! I love Christmas and all the church carols and spirit! On Christmas morning Allison and I both opened our gifts. She: cooking aprons, knitting supplies, cookbooks and cookware. Me: A bottle of wine and a quesadilla maker. Surely you can see the difference in our personalities reflected in the gifts my parents (or Santa) chose to give us.

A couple things I love:
- Old friends coming to town
- New sweaters
- Starting to write PR for my job (yay)
- Reading Calvin and Hobbes with the boy over hot cocoa
- Wearing the boy's comfy socks (when he shares his stuff)


A couple big pet peeves:
- People bailing out for lame reasons
- When you call someone and they let other people answer their phone and you have to deal with five minutes of "but this is him/her"
- When people don't chip in gas money. I know gas is expensive right now, but that's the point. I don't have any money either, so chip in and share the load.


Back to Grey's. More to write later on Monday at the office.... such a boring day at work it always is.

not enough credit

Got a note from the boy on facebook asking why I only ever write about him if I have a complaint. That made me feel pretty bad because, although I don't write about him in every entry, I do tend to focus on the negative things that have happened when I do write about us. That's not very fair. Blogging, at least for me, can sometimes be a way to vent (to no one in general) and sort out my thoughts but it isn't good when you don't give the people in your life enough credit for putting up with your bullshit all the time. So here's how I really feel:

I think my boyfriend is quite possibly the best man I have ever met (with the sole competition from my dad). He is always slow to anger and quick to listen. When I have down times, like I did earlier this week, I know I can count on him for support. I really admire the optimism and compassion that he faces the world with every day. He is the ONLY person I know who always has something good to say about everyone, and does so often. He goes out of his way to do special things for me, like getting John Furtado to sing a song for our one year, or e-mailing me poems. When I got back from Europe he not only picked me up, but set up a special surprise for me at my house.

So you see, it is not very fair that I have only written about my passing irritations with him, which as we all probably know are due in large part to my moodiness. I will try to do better in the future to also write about all the awesome and sweet things he has done for me, a list which far outweighs any small complaints.

Love.

Snow (Hey Oh)

Yes I stole that from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but it was a fitting title. The show Grey's Anatomy steals all their episode title's from songs. So there.

My computer is doing a weird thing. It behaves as its normally fully functional self, when all of a sudden, Poof! It shuts off. This happens about every other day or so, but today it happened twice. If I weren't so poor I would take it in to the shop. But so it goes.

In studying for the GMAT's I have realized that nearly everthing that I learned in tenth grade geometry and algebra have left me, including the multiplication table for values higher than 5. Sad. So I am working on my second "GMAT study prep" math section book.

On Tuesday at work I am being job trained by the woman the company fired in order to make way for me... So that is a little intimidating. Last day at work at MBI (friday) was sad. They did bring me a delicious cake, which made me love them disproportionately more than normal, so that wasn't very fair.

I am feeling a little tempermental today and am chalking it up to PMS. Somedays people just get irritating, especially bossy people. The boy once told me that the deadly sin that would describe me best is wrath. This really hurt my feelings at the time and I'm still not happy about it, but I can see some truth in it. I am easily annoyed. I am seriously trying to work on that. What mostly ends up happening though is that I get silently easily annoyed. Still working...

I think I may go downstairs now to watch the Cutting Edge. Classic and perfect for a snowy snowy day. Hope it clears up for morning service at church, I will probably have to show up in a parka (I am always cold).

life as a bum

Pretty much every night when I go to sleep I hear a weird tapping sound outside my door. At first it was scary and I kept envisioning a gollum-like man crouched outside my bedroom door, sadistically tapping away. Now I'm pretty sure it is just the heater going on and off. I laid my seven-pound hand weights in front of my door to keep the bad men out, just in case.

I listened to Delilah on the way home from the gym and Jacson's tonight. I don't care what you say, cheesy love songs and personal accounts of blind amore make entertainment radio. Someday, I will ask for Delilah to pick me out a song. Or, you could dedicate one to me instead, just call in and tell her that I am your unrequited love.

I think I am going to be offered the marketing job in burlington. I actually am getting more excited about it. In the meantime, I have picked up a couple extra shifts at my old work. Even though I DREADED going back and have been complaining for the last few months about how MBI is the bane of my existence, something has changed. I didn't miss it at all before I went back. Now that I am back, I realize I missed it, or I do miss it. I like my coworkers, I like the little old patients, and I am really good at what I do. It will be weird to start a job where I don't know what's going on. Today I was thinking, MBI is like a second home for me in a way. I have spent nearly 6 years there. I know the ins and outs of that place. I know how everything works together and how to work with everyone. It might just be new job jitters, but I am finally experiencing that sadness-to-be-leaving that I didn't experience before heading to Europe. Weird.

I got a threatening text from KJW to write this blog. And I have to say, scary as that was, I am glad someone reads this thing... hahaha

One other thing. Even though I am excited to start a job and make some much needed money, I will miss my life as a bum. A typical day in bumdom consists of waking up around 10, watching tv while eating cereal in my pjs. Sometimes the gym fits in. Sometimes I go to the Woods and study for the GMAT (aka, put the study book on the table in front of me and instead read Infidel). And I do a lot of catching up with friends. I feel way more relaxed than I have in a long time. Hopefully some of that will pervade my "young working professional" life. If not, there is always time in Grad school haha.

I also used some free time this week to make myself a Christmas cd. Pretty sweet. If you are nice to me, maybe I'll burn you a copy of this fabulous mix.

Okay, I don't hear the tapping. I am heading back to bed before it starts again. Love Love Love

Back to the Lacuna

I have decided to continue writing in this blog, thanks to some inspiration from KJW. (Amazing I know). So even though I doubt that many people will read it, they may. I love blogs and wish more of my friends wrote them...

Unemployment is so discouraging. I am beginning to feel like the stereotypical lazy unemployed slob i.e., I sleep till 10, eat banana cream pie for breakfast and live in my sweatpants all day. It's not a very fulfilling lifestyle. The most exciting thing in my life this week is that I found my Daffy Duck socks from middle school.

At the gym today I wore a t-shirt that said "I heart Boston", a value village find. Three separate people came up to me and said "I heart Boston too!!" Because it would seem weird to stop and explain to them that I had never been to Boston, only to value village, I just smiled and said "yeah it's really great." Kind of lying, but way shorter than explaining something that they don't care about anyway right? Who knows, maybe I would love Boston.

Gosh this week and this part of life (post-college, pre-purpose/career)is so frustrating it makes me want to cry or move away to a place with opportunities. Blah, must snap out of it.

Two Tulips

Two little tulips have sprung up in our front yard, one white and one purple. Somehow, amidst all the choking moss and litter and snow, they survived and shot up right next to the walkway like little spring greeting cards. I love them, I have taken pictures.

So much to do, so little time. I am getting the travel bug that I always get every spring. I can feel it coming on and it makes me nervous. Part of me wants to just pick up and head to scenic lake powell for a summer spent in the sun away from the usual distractions. But there are so many other reasons to finish out the summer in bellingham before my europe trip. Money being a primary one but also relationships that I'm not ready to leave for four months.If I could take everyone important with me wherever I went, I would have an adventurous and happy life.

When will I ever grow out of this restlessness?

I think my Guatemala trip is coming at a perfect time, being away from bellingham and from everyone for ten days will give me a chance to think about things.

Have been so tired all the time lately, could probably spend thirteen hours a day sleeping peacefully if I had the time. Have a bunch of 'informational interviews' set up around town to find out what in the hell I am supposed to do with my degree. They want me to bring a resume, so that's intimidating. Mostly because I haven't done anything. The career center at school is showing me how to fluff myself up. Pretty exciting.

Anyway, got to shower from PE and head back up to campus in the rain. It's almost not even worth the shower at this point...

Ralph B. Stearns

Yeah, so the whole myspace blog abandonment hasn't gone so well. Have barely written anything in my other blog. If I weren't so busy writing for school it would be easier...
So I am back with myspace, at least for now.

Let's think what is new to update on. Have watched about 5 hours of Sex and the City in the last week or so. Finally watched the Newsies, a "must see" for all journalism students, so I am told. Went to the Lighthouse valentine cocktail party in a dress I could barely breath in, with the first v-day date I have had in years. Went ghost hunting behind Sycamour Square because one of my sources for my 'Haunted Bellingham' piece told me it was a hotbed of paranormal activity. Caught Abe Lincoln in a cuddly mood last night and we watched the end of a movie together, at least I watched and he purred and tried to nip my chin. Found out recently that in 1928 a person named Ralph B. Stearns died in my house, hopefully it was in Kelly's room.

Latest love: old men, specifically the man who runs the Up and my mailman, who wears a floppy, white, wide-brimmed hat and short little shorts that show off his bony knees. Also love Charlotte of S&C, and the little red haired boy on Love Actually. Have been going through a huge Tracy Chapman phase, folk music is most excellent. A little boy at Wiser Lake church today asked for my help finding a hymn in his hymn book.

Latest Gripe: Miscommunication, fact-checking on other reporters' drafts, cramps, the washer and dryer never being free because people forget to cycle their laundry, then it gets piled in the kitchen, expenses and poor money management on my part, vain Christian men who brag incessantly and act like they are God's gift - and the Christian women who are desperate enough to indulge this conceited behavior. Nauseating.

This is my last SERIOUS quarter at Western. Next quarter will be all 100-level lecture hall courses on British literature and art history and some afternoons spent kayaking on Lake Whatcom. I have been waiting for all that hard upper division, huge credit load crap I have done my whole college career to pay off, and now it finally is. Spring is all about sunshine, walks to boulevard, slacklining, frisbee, kayaking, hiking, staying out late and drinking good beer, bluegrass and reggae, roadtrips and sandals. I just have to make it through March first...

Love.