Okay, so I haven’t posted anything new in forever… But I bought a new car. Nothing that I had been considering, but I’ve had it a week now and I couldn’t be happier.
I am the proud owner of a 2007 Saturn Ion. Bought all on my own. AHHHH!!!!!
I also changed my insurance to Flo… It’s been a week of being slapped in the face with the fact that I’m an adult… Crazy.
Type “Social Networking Sites” into wikipedia and you’ll find a whole list of different sites… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites
I belong to three of these although I only really am active on two. Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter.
The basic idea here is that you can connect to people… Anywhere. Share notes with friends, let everyone know what you’re up too. You create a profile that has as little or as much information about you that you want, and you have the option of making that profile public or private. The main differences being…. Public: anyone can read your profile and see you wall, Private: people can find you by searching and see your name and the area you live in but you have to approve them before they can see your profile or wall. My profile is private. I don’t want just anyone being able to get all up in my business. Once you’ve made some friends… You have the option of talking to them in private messages or on their public wall (just be warned that EVERYONE who is a friend with you friend can see the wall, so don’t say anything you don’t want others to know). I broke down and got a Facebook because some people at work wanted to be my “friend”. I created an account and “friended” a select few people but then… Didn’t really touch it much. That is until the Facebook iPhone app was released. It just made it so easy to see what all my friends were up to. Open the app and I can see a list of what all my friends have posted as their status (a sentence or few of… whatever you like, mostly moods and what you are up to), plus all the rest of the facebook stuff through I’ll admit I rarely post on anyone’s wall. It’s one of the few apps I open every single day and allows me to keep in touch with people that I don’t get to see all that often. I’ve even re-connected with a friend that I had when I was 5, as well as people I knew when I was 9, 13, 16…. I’ve had people request to be my friend just because they have my last name, and in theory you can find people with similar interest, though… I don’t really go searching for random friends (that’s just a little too creepy for me). Companies and musicians make sites, and you can sign up to be their fan (I haven’t found much use for this however, I am a fan of Mike Doughty, Jonathan Coulton, Sweeny Todd, Rock Band, Portal and others). I really love Facebook, for no other reason but that I can see what all my friends and family have been doing without them having to remember to tell me (and visa versa).
So this is the network I belong to because… It’s supposed to be good for business networking. I belong so that if and when I need to continue on from my current job I have an easy way of getting in touch with the people I’ve met there who aren’t on Facebook. But really… Aside from visiting the site to take the picture above. I haven’t opened it in months. But I belong!
Something I just started using last night, but I’m kind of hooked. It’s kind of like the status updates on Facebook and… Nothing else. The main draw here is that on top of people that you choose to follow (you don’t friend people on Twitter, you follow them, like a stalker, only… NICER???) you can also read the “TWEETS” of random people that you would have otherwise never seen. Celebrities, companies and Websites also Tweet, but unlike on Facebook where you can become a fan and then have to visit their page to see their thoughts, twitter just requires you to open it up and see what their doing. People you may know that I’m currently following on Twitter include: Rainn Wilson (from The Office), Adam Savage (from Myth Busters), Penn Jillete (Bullshit/Penn & Teller), Ira Glass (This American Life on NPR). Unlike Facebook, it’s not uncommon for normal people to Tweet 20 times a day, using it as an update for everything (where as on Facebook it seems to me that the average person updates their status 1-3 times a day). Twitter also has an iPhone app that allows you to Tweet and look at others Tweets, and really the only flaw is that it doesn’t allow you to add someone to your list of people you follow (you hear that Twitter? Add the function and you’ll be perfect! We all want perfection right???).
Side Note: While I was writing this post I realized that I don’t know how to be an adult without the internet (and yes, I Tweeted that). Yet again I am so glad that I was born during the time that I was. E-mail connected us faster, Facebook and Twitter have made that easier. Google is my quick source to find information and I use it to find everything from recipies to cheap flights. I love being around as these programs and sites are made. Being in the middle of this technology revolution. The economy may suck right now, our contry is at war, yet I still feel lucky to be in the midst of all of this. Do you think there are people that are born in every time period that feel like that? I hope so.Chris and I sat on our couch last night and watched Barack’s acceptance speech. Pillow in hand I hung on his words, inspired by his message and in complete awe at what I was witnessing. I never thought that I would care about politics. I never thought that I would be as (and please pardon the clique) proud to be an American as I am today.
Who would have thought that so many people would turn out to vote, not only for Obama, but just vote? Try to make a difference?
Who would have thought that with two states still uncounted that one man could get 349 of the electoral votes?
And I, certainly did not think I would see Florida and so many other “RED STATES” go to a Democrat.
I make a vow today to stay informed, to stay involved. Our country can only be for the people, if the people make their voices heard.
Yes We Can!
… I wasn’t going to post something like this ever… but…
I just finished watching Barack Obama give his acceptance speech as the Presidential Nominee for the Democratic Party… Words are hard to find.
Whichever side of the political map you are on, your can’t deny that we are witnessing history, we are living during something historic.
Right now I feel inspired. Right now, I am full of emotion.
Right now, I have no more words.
I’M ASKING YOU TO BELIEVE.
Not just in my ability to bring
about real change in Washington …
I’m asking you to believe in yours.
- Barack Obama
As I get older I’ve started to notice the things that make me a happier and better person. Like for instance, eating lunch outside on my own (without work people) helps me wind down and put work problems into perspective. I love the people I work with for the most part, and eating with them once in awhile is okay. But I’m much happier if I take some time to be by myself and just enjoy the breeze.
The more mature I get, the more I realize that spending time by myself doesn’t mean I don’t get along with people, or that I don’t have friends… Quite the opposet, of allows me to do those things.
Just some thoughts. But now, my lunch is over. I’ll return to work happy, refreshed, and happy that I’ve updated all of you. 
enjoy your day
Yes that’s right, I’m writing a post about Tamagotchis. Yes I know, I’m 23. Yes I know it’s a toy.
Don’t Judge Me.
Chris and I went to Target today and they had the newest Tomagotchis V5. Since I am a big nerd when it comes to new electronic toys and I’ve always loved Tomagotchis (I’ve owned three since they were introduced), I was of course drooling. Chris being the nice guy he is, bought me one (now I’ve owned four) Thanks Chris!
It’s a little weird that this particular case has the Tamagotchi poops on it.
But they’re charming.
With the V5 you get a whole family of Tomagotchis to play with (3 to raise at the same time) and as with the last three versions you can go onto Tamatown and play games to earn new items.
So yeah, that’s pretty much it. I haven’t pulled out the tab to start it yet because I’m to excited about the new family and since Chris is leaving for D.C. in 16 hours I don’t want to neglect him. But soon… I will be in Tamagotchi heaven.
I said… Don’t Judge me!
I was out with Chris the other day and we got on the topic of being grown ups, and whether we are ones. I realized that I don’t truly “feel” grown up. I feel a lot like how I did when I was 14 (although much less hormonal thank goodness for that) I just don’t feel like a grown up. But how can that be?
I’ve been out of my parents house for 8 months, I’ve had a full time job for the same amount of time. I’ve been to New York on my own, been a teacher since I was 16… I do my dishes, clean my house, pay all of my bills on time. So when do you become a grown up? When you act like one? Or is it when you feel like one?
If it’s the latter than I am certainly not a grown up…Hmmm… Let’s take a look at a few things I use most days to try and figure this out…
Car/house keys: Pretty Grown up
Winnie the Pooh Stuffed toy (that I still sleep with): Not grown up
Jewel Card: grown up
Glasses: Either/or
Book (not necessarily this one, which happens to be The Tipping Point): Either/or
iPhone: I think grown up?
Credit Card: Grown up. But wait… It has Tinkerbell on it… Less grown up?
Well… that didn’t help much.
Truly though, when do you become a grown up? When you turn 18? 21? When you move out? Get a job? Have kids? Is it when you act and think maturely? If so does that mean children who are very mature and make better decisions than some adults are “grown ups”?
If our actions dictate whether we are grown ups or not, than I suppose I am. But just because I am a grown up, doesn’t mean I have feel that way.
I fully intend to act like a kid whenever possible, playing in the rain, swinging at the playground, running through Disney World, watching movies over and over and over again.
This reminds me of when I turned 13 and became a teenager… Secretly I still played with Barbie’s, because, a teenager wouldn’t do that. But I would.
Maybe a grown up wouldn’t sleep with a Teddy Bear, and maybe she wouldn’t have a Tinkerbell Credit Card, and maybe she wouldn’t have to ask whether or not she was “grown up”…
Then again. Maybe most grown ups don’t feel “grown up”.
