There has been plenty written about the dangers of online bullying and internet anonymity which encourages people to act like total ass hole fools who fulfill their dreams of being more confrontational through their alter ego online. This is a well documented phenomenon, most notably visible on forums such as the comment trail underneath CNN’s articles.
I try so very hard not to read these comments because most of them are left by so called “trolls” who make statements which may or may not be in keeping with their own beliefs and then wait for people to go all ape shit crazy on each other. All while the troll giggles from behind the computer in their mom’s basement, proud as a papa of the madness they created.
Again, I try to avoid reading the comments of bored morons, but what I am bothered with today is the non-anonymous meanness left on sites like Facebook or through Twitter. I wonder if people realize that we can see them? You do know that if you post something in your status, then all 500 or however many friends you have will be able to view it? See how it works is, not just the ones you want to see it will, but like, EVERYONE will see it.
A secret no longer is a secret when it is right there on Facebook for all to see. Today I saw someone belittle a common topic they noticed amongst their friends’ status updates. See, all your friends who posted about that subject can read about the fact that you think their posts are stupid!! Did you not know that? I felt like saying “that was way harsh, Tai.”
Now, this is not to say that I agree with everything everyone states or that I don’t think that some statuses are inane or repetitive. But I do try to think through every status I post so as not to insult or belittle my friends. Yes statuses can get ridiculous or flat out pointless, however when I choose to “friend” someone it means that I will be seeing what THEY want to post, not what I would like for them to post. I do have the choice to block them, unfriend them, or God forbid….Leave Facebook!! AAAHHHHHhhhhhhhhh!
I try very hard on a daily basis not to be mean. My advice is “don’t be a mean girl;” no one likes a mean girl after High School! I didn’t even like them IN High School. Maybe I would have if they were Lindsay Lohan but for the most part they are not likeable members of society/Facebook/twitter.
We all have the option to “like” a status or to leave it. I will continue to post about what I think is interesting and you do the same. If I post about something that you disagree with, think is dumb or just hate more than feet flavored ice cream, then please just make fun of me behind my back unless you plan to tell me straight to my face that you hate my favorite things. I bet you won’t…
By the way, Jo Calderone is the hottest piece of hotness to ever walk the hot earth. Disagree? I don’t care, I will post it anyway!!!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Don't be so mean, you mean old meanie
Monday, August 8, 2011
Shark Bait, Ooh Ha Ha
When Cristy and I first met, she was suspicious that I might be the kind of chick who during camping trips sits in the tent with a fan and a portable feather bed complaining about the ants and the heat. On the contrary I actually enjoy camping; I love packing all the essentials and arranging the camp site. I especially love sitting by a camp fire with friends and listening to music or catching up on all the things we forget to talk about during our crazy day to day lives.
That being said, when I am camping and a number of things are all going wrong at the same time, and those things are making me increasingly more uncomfortable, then I can get a little bit upset. Cristy might call it hysterical, I just say “upset.”
So, all was well with the world when we went to bed Friday night. No rain as predicted, air mattress had no leaks which meant I wouldn’t spend the night with my shoulder blade digging into the ground and Koda was only barking at every other person rather than all so that was impressive. Around 1:00am I woke up because my bug bites were starting to materialize on my feet and itched like crazy. Why bug bites on feet itch 20 times more than bug bites other places I might never know, but they were huge and itchy. The first solution I came up with to avoid sitting up (which as we all know makes you more awake and less likely to fall right back asleep) was to rub my feet on the sheets. This worked surprisingly well which then alerted me to the fact that half of the sand from the campsite was now inside our tent and in our sheets (thanks Koda.) The sand helped me scratch those bug bites (which I am now convinced were inflicted by those giant mosquitoes from Jumanji,) however sand in sheets is not conducive to sleeping.
After more feet rubbing and scratching my irritability level was reaching dangerous levels as I noticed not only the abundance of sand but the fact that I was sweating like a polar bear wearing fleece pajamas in the Sahara and I also now had to pee. Not the kind where you can ignore it, lay on your side and go back to sleep but the kind where your body is saying “get the hell up you idiot.”
I crawled over Cristy and the dog, searched for my flip flops for what felt like 20 minutes and limped (I am still recovering from a broken toe) out of the tent and over to a patch of grass to squat. As you may or may not know, toes are very important in balance. That combined with the dark, no glasses and the fact that I was slightly delirious from being woken up by the Jumanji Bug Bites all meant that what should have been a quick pee was anything but. It was 10 minutes of misery. Ready to fall back into my beachy bed and attempt to sleep, I limped and wobbled back to the tent, only to hear Cristy ask me to get the Oreos because her sugar was dropping.
This is where I started to loose it. It took me 10 minutes to pee right next to the tent (downhill away from the tent of course) so how long was it going to take me to get to the car and back!? I literally cried and whimpered the whole way to fetch the cookies and the whole way back to the tent. I knew it was irrational but hey, it was 1:30am and I was not quite myself, OK?
As we settled in and I waited for the crunch crunch of cookies to stop so we could go back to sleep, I started to hear noises. At first I figured it was just my delirious mind playing tricks on me. I mean, giant Jumanji Mosquitos don’t REALLY exist!? All of a sudden a large Beast started hurling it self against the window of our tent from the outside. I was prepared for the worst, I started trying to explain to Cristy what was happening as she was yelling at Koda. She assumed it was simply Koda bouncing off the tent walls on the inside like a pin ball. By the time she realized that there was a Beast trying to enter our tent by force head first like an Angry Bird, the Beast was trying to come through the door on her side of the tent now! She was literally pushing it away with her fist from inside the tent as I retreated to fetal position in the dead center of the air mattress. We felt like bait inside a shark cage at the bottom of the ocean, no where to hide as we awaited our gruesome fate. I call this animal the Beast because what turned out to be a dog reminded me of the Beast from the movie The Sandlot. Once Cristy was brave enough to go outside it turned out all this Pit Bull wanted was to play with us or Koda. Cristy returned the dog to its drunk and stoned owners who were confused how the dog could be attacking our tent while simultaneously sleeping in their tent. Cristy had to try to explain that the dog was NOT, in fact, sleeping in their tent.
Once the adrenaline wore off and our friends Sarah and Mel were convinced that we were not dead and the Beast was not going to be attacking either of our tents any time soon, we all drifted off to a sandy, itchy, hot sleep.
The next day arrived and proceeded without any more incidents. Lunch, drinks, dinner, wading in the river, reading, talking and relaxing. All the things camping is supposed to be. Cristy and I were tired early that night due to the previous night’s brush with doggie death so we retired at 10:00. I tell you it wasn’t 10 minutes after we laid down when I heard it. BOM bom bom bom, BOM bom bom bom. Tribal drums! Coming from the camp site next to us! Now, I don’t know if you have ever tried to sleep through tribal drums before, but it is simply impossible. I can only conclude that this drummer was the one who had summoned the Jumanji Mosquitoes because it was the very same drum beat from that movie. The VERY SAME!
I grabbed up the new lantern flashlight we had brought because it had the most light and stomped over to that campsite. I was prepared for the worst and figured Cristy, Mel and Sarah would have my back if it turned out to be a site full of drunken sumo wrestlers or something. On the contrary it was 4 or 5 middle aged ladies with a single drum.
I started mumbling at them about dogs and sleeping and drumming making me insane and I told those ladies that unless tribal drumming was part of their religion they better quit. They did quit so I must have looked pretty intense with my crazy bed hair and psycho eyes, shining that light in their startled faces.
The next morning all was quiet again just like the morning before. I would say I thought these events might have been dreams except for the fact that there were witnesses. Next camping trip I think I might step up the high maintenance factor (Cristy already assumed this to be the case so might as well give in) and bring a sound machine, a fan, citronella lamps, a dust buster, and I don’t know, steel plated walls for the tent?
I would like to make a quick disclaimer about this blog, if you have never seen The Sandlot, Finding Nemo or Jumanji then this was probably not very funny, my apologies.
That being said, when I am camping and a number of things are all going wrong at the same time, and those things are making me increasingly more uncomfortable, then I can get a little bit upset. Cristy might call it hysterical, I just say “upset.”
So, all was well with the world when we went to bed Friday night. No rain as predicted, air mattress had no leaks which meant I wouldn’t spend the night with my shoulder blade digging into the ground and Koda was only barking at every other person rather than all so that was impressive. Around 1:00am I woke up because my bug bites were starting to materialize on my feet and itched like crazy. Why bug bites on feet itch 20 times more than bug bites other places I might never know, but they were huge and itchy. The first solution I came up with to avoid sitting up (which as we all know makes you more awake and less likely to fall right back asleep) was to rub my feet on the sheets. This worked surprisingly well which then alerted me to the fact that half of the sand from the campsite was now inside our tent and in our sheets (thanks Koda.) The sand helped me scratch those bug bites (which I am now convinced were inflicted by those giant mosquitoes from Jumanji,) however sand in sheets is not conducive to sleeping.
After more feet rubbing and scratching my irritability level was reaching dangerous levels as I noticed not only the abundance of sand but the fact that I was sweating like a polar bear wearing fleece pajamas in the Sahara and I also now had to pee. Not the kind where you can ignore it, lay on your side and go back to sleep but the kind where your body is saying “get the hell up you idiot.”
I crawled over Cristy and the dog, searched for my flip flops for what felt like 20 minutes and limped (I am still recovering from a broken toe) out of the tent and over to a patch of grass to squat. As you may or may not know, toes are very important in balance. That combined with the dark, no glasses and the fact that I was slightly delirious from being woken up by the Jumanji Bug Bites all meant that what should have been a quick pee was anything but. It was 10 minutes of misery. Ready to fall back into my beachy bed and attempt to sleep, I limped and wobbled back to the tent, only to hear Cristy ask me to get the Oreos because her sugar was dropping.
This is where I started to loose it. It took me 10 minutes to pee right next to the tent (downhill away from the tent of course) so how long was it going to take me to get to the car and back!? I literally cried and whimpered the whole way to fetch the cookies and the whole way back to the tent. I knew it was irrational but hey, it was 1:30am and I was not quite myself, OK?
As we settled in and I waited for the crunch crunch of cookies to stop so we could go back to sleep, I started to hear noises. At first I figured it was just my delirious mind playing tricks on me. I mean, giant Jumanji Mosquitos don’t REALLY exist!? All of a sudden a large Beast started hurling it self against the window of our tent from the outside. I was prepared for the worst, I started trying to explain to Cristy what was happening as she was yelling at Koda. She assumed it was simply Koda bouncing off the tent walls on the inside like a pin ball. By the time she realized that there was a Beast trying to enter our tent by force head first like an Angry Bird, the Beast was trying to come through the door on her side of the tent now! She was literally pushing it away with her fist from inside the tent as I retreated to fetal position in the dead center of the air mattress. We felt like bait inside a shark cage at the bottom of the ocean, no where to hide as we awaited our gruesome fate. I call this animal the Beast because what turned out to be a dog reminded me of the Beast from the movie The Sandlot. Once Cristy was brave enough to go outside it turned out all this Pit Bull wanted was to play with us or Koda. Cristy returned the dog to its drunk and stoned owners who were confused how the dog could be attacking our tent while simultaneously sleeping in their tent. Cristy had to try to explain that the dog was NOT, in fact, sleeping in their tent.
Once the adrenaline wore off and our friends Sarah and Mel were convinced that we were not dead and the Beast was not going to be attacking either of our tents any time soon, we all drifted off to a sandy, itchy, hot sleep.
The next day arrived and proceeded without any more incidents. Lunch, drinks, dinner, wading in the river, reading, talking and relaxing. All the things camping is supposed to be. Cristy and I were tired early that night due to the previous night’s brush with doggie death so we retired at 10:00. I tell you it wasn’t 10 minutes after we laid down when I heard it. BOM bom bom bom, BOM bom bom bom. Tribal drums! Coming from the camp site next to us! Now, I don’t know if you have ever tried to sleep through tribal drums before, but it is simply impossible. I can only conclude that this drummer was the one who had summoned the Jumanji Mosquitoes because it was the very same drum beat from that movie. The VERY SAME!
I grabbed up the new lantern flashlight we had brought because it had the most light and stomped over to that campsite. I was prepared for the worst and figured Cristy, Mel and Sarah would have my back if it turned out to be a site full of drunken sumo wrestlers or something. On the contrary it was 4 or 5 middle aged ladies with a single drum.
I started mumbling at them about dogs and sleeping and drumming making me insane and I told those ladies that unless tribal drumming was part of their religion they better quit. They did quit so I must have looked pretty intense with my crazy bed hair and psycho eyes, shining that light in their startled faces.
The next morning all was quiet again just like the morning before. I would say I thought these events might have been dreams except for the fact that there were witnesses. Next camping trip I think I might step up the high maintenance factor (Cristy already assumed this to be the case so might as well give in) and bring a sound machine, a fan, citronella lamps, a dust buster, and I don’t know, steel plated walls for the tent?
I would like to make a quick disclaimer about this blog, if you have never seen The Sandlot, Finding Nemo or Jumanji then this was probably not very funny, my apologies.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Memories
Left and then a right, right at the dead end, turn onto Arbor Ct. As the car carried me through the physical directions to arrive at my childhood home last weekend, it also moved me through a collection of memories. Like a ride vehicle through my life at a different time, my car seemed to know where to go so that I could participate in the scenes.
There in Louisville, in Anchorage, at my Church and all the places where a younger me visited so often with people who were also younger then; it was all slightly overwhelming for an extra emotionally able person like myself. Emotionally able – this is the PC term I have coined for people such as myself, don’t make fun.
Haven moved away from my hometown years ago and since my parents have moved as well, coming home to Louisville is a bizarre and unique experience for me. Things have changed and new people have moved in, all while I was living life somewhere not too far away, but not close enough. It is a home in which I have no specific place. Like visiting an old job and expecting your cubicle to be the way you left it, people shouldn’t have aged, married, moved or changed things from the way they were.
I usually get that tight chested feeling of avoiding tears as I get closer to familiar areas and it all culminates with some weeping on Arbor Ct. In the past I always assumed these emotions were due to the inevitable onset of happy memories and friendly sights. This past visit I realized an additional reason for the tears is a bit darker. Seeing my childhood home and the homes of my friends is a terrifying reminder of how fast life passes by. I don’t feel 32, I feel that it was not long ago at all when I was playing freeze tag in that front yard. My memories feel fresh and awakened on my cul-de-sac in Anchorage. If they are so easily accessed and poignantly recent then how quickly will the next 20 years pass by!?
Kids that were my friends have their own kids now, an entire generation has evolved while I was living my life in another place.
Melancholy as it sounds; I feel this duplicitous sense of emotional attack every time I go home to Louisville. However it would never stop me from visiting and I cherish every memory of my safe and happy childhood. Those people and places that bring a tear and a smile are those that shape my feelings, my past and my sense of self.
Watching Paul McCartney in concert last night I began to notice this sentiment in many faces of fans who were likely wondering how time had passed so quickly from when they were watching Paul and the rest of the Beatles on their first Black and White TV. Luckily for everyone this expression morphed into joy for the fans as the concert powered on. Perhaps this is why Paul plays for 3 hours (he is a machine, I tell you!) 2 hours for reflections on time and life and a final hour for giving into the memory and embodying your younger self. Heck, Paul was rocking it out at almost 70 years old so maybe we don’t really need to worry about time at all!
There in Louisville, in Anchorage, at my Church and all the places where a younger me visited so often with people who were also younger then; it was all slightly overwhelming for an extra emotionally able person like myself. Emotionally able – this is the PC term I have coined for people such as myself, don’t make fun.
Haven moved away from my hometown years ago and since my parents have moved as well, coming home to Louisville is a bizarre and unique experience for me. Things have changed and new people have moved in, all while I was living life somewhere not too far away, but not close enough. It is a home in which I have no specific place. Like visiting an old job and expecting your cubicle to be the way you left it, people shouldn’t have aged, married, moved or changed things from the way they were.
I usually get that tight chested feeling of avoiding tears as I get closer to familiar areas and it all culminates with some weeping on Arbor Ct. In the past I always assumed these emotions were due to the inevitable onset of happy memories and friendly sights. This past visit I realized an additional reason for the tears is a bit darker. Seeing my childhood home and the homes of my friends is a terrifying reminder of how fast life passes by. I don’t feel 32, I feel that it was not long ago at all when I was playing freeze tag in that front yard. My memories feel fresh and awakened on my cul-de-sac in Anchorage. If they are so easily accessed and poignantly recent then how quickly will the next 20 years pass by!?
Kids that were my friends have their own kids now, an entire generation has evolved while I was living my life in another place.
Melancholy as it sounds; I feel this duplicitous sense of emotional attack every time I go home to Louisville. However it would never stop me from visiting and I cherish every memory of my safe and happy childhood. Those people and places that bring a tear and a smile are those that shape my feelings, my past and my sense of self.
Watching Paul McCartney in concert last night I began to notice this sentiment in many faces of fans who were likely wondering how time had passed so quickly from when they were watching Paul and the rest of the Beatles on their first Black and White TV. Luckily for everyone this expression morphed into joy for the fans as the concert powered on. Perhaps this is why Paul plays for 3 hours (he is a machine, I tell you!) 2 hours for reflections on time and life and a final hour for giving into the memory and embodying your younger self. Heck, Paul was rocking it out at almost 70 years old so maybe we don’t really need to worry about time at all!
Paul McCartney Set List 8/4/11
Thursday 4th August 2011 - The Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, USA
1.Hello Goodbye
2.Juniors Farm
3.All My Loving
4.Jet
5.Drive My Car
6.Sing The Changes
7.Night Before
8.Let Me Roll It
9.Paperback Writer
10.Long And Winding Road
11.1985
12.Let 'Em In
13.Maybe I'm Amazed
14.I've Just Seen A Face
15.I Will
16.Blackbird
17.Here Today
18.Dance Tonight
19.Mrs Vanderbilt
20.Eleanor Rigby
21.Something
22.Band On The Run
23.Obla Di Obla Da
24.Back In The USSR
25.I've Gotta Feeling
26.A Day In The Life
27.Let It Be
28.Live And Let Die
29.Hey Jude
Encore
30.Lady Madonna
31.Day Tripper
32.Get Back
Second Encore
33.Yesterday
34.Helter Skelter
35.Golden Slumbers
1.Hello Goodbye
2.Juniors Farm
3.All My Loving
4.Jet
5.Drive My Car
6.Sing The Changes
7.Night Before
8.Let Me Roll It
9.Paperback Writer
10.Long And Winding Road
11.1985
12.Let 'Em In
13.Maybe I'm Amazed
14.I've Just Seen A Face
15.I Will
16.Blackbird
17.Here Today
18.Dance Tonight
19.Mrs Vanderbilt
20.Eleanor Rigby
21.Something
22.Band On The Run
23.Obla Di Obla Da
24.Back In The USSR
25.I've Gotta Feeling
26.A Day In The Life
27.Let It Be
28.Live And Let Die
29.Hey Jude
Encore
30.Lady Madonna
31.Day Tripper
32.Get Back
Second Encore
33.Yesterday
34.Helter Skelter
35.Golden Slumbers
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
