It’s not too late
2 01 2010*To enter the haiku contest (which I’ve decided will run until the 10th, for you procrastinators). There IS a prize.
*To get blogging again. Join NaBloPoMo. I already did NaBloWriMo, so I don’t feel obligated. Anyway - I’ve been blogging, semi regularly since, without the whole “accountability” thing that a contest entails, because it makes me feel creepily motivated in a religious way. I’d rather be motivated in a creepily unreligious way, like because I need to mock people who don’t read my blog but have access to my facebook.
I don’t like the direction that online communication has taken. Facebook isn’t a substitute for blogging - there just isn’t the room to get righteously indignant, plus, there is the whole “friends of friends” thing and having to sort of censor what you say, because it DOES have your name on it.
Last night, in response to something one of my daughters posted on facebook, I found myself in a war-of-words with a local bitch. Luckily my cooler head prevailed and I backed away. This is a small town. Full of very small minds.
And sometimes, I get TMI from facebook. And girl drama. Lots and lots of girl drama WITHOUT the TMI. Girls of a certain age (17-21) LOVE to facebook about every little thing that happens to them, without really giving the adults in their lives the juicy facts. I can’t tell you how much I hate reading an entry like this “I just don’t understand how people can be so mean. I’m crying!” I mean, come on. If you’re going to vent, spill the good stuff. Was it a boy? Did you wreck your car? Did someone steal your favorite mascara? It’s all equally as dramatic.
I have longer conversations with my kids via facebook than I do in real life. Well, except they’ve pushed all their parental units into the 21st century and we “text” like crazy. My new phone, now that we’re friends, is a big help.
But see, I have the blog, and if I wanted, I can mock all the things and people that bug the crap out of me and get that out of my system. My kids don’t read my blog because “it’s stupid and for old people” and casual friends don’t ever get the address, because, you know, I may need to use them as blog fodder too.
Facebook is jolly and light, but people you have to deal with everyday can read it. Twitter I don’t even get. I read one twitter-person, but he’s a celebrity and I find him pretty funny. Granted, if I couldn’t rss his tweets to my reader, I probably wouldn’t log into his site and read it everyday. I’m a lazy social networker. I’m only liking facebook because I can forward my updates to my phone. Now I can forward my google reader too, and blog from the phone, so honestly, I can be in touch all the time - just not while driving, because Oregon has a new law and everything. But once I figure out my bluetooth (and the stupid voice activation).. well, look out world, Doc’s connected.
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I was just searching for something on my blog, and started going through posts from 2009. One thing about a blog is that you end up with a pretty good timeline of events for your year.
2009 dawned horrible for us, digging out of a record snowfall, no internet, and fighting daughters (over a stupid boy, ugh). In January I traveled to Texas, found it ugly, found the people (I met) kind of pretentious and ignorant, and rejoiced in the new President with everyone else (with an IQ above 75).
February found me contemplating dogs. I adopted a coonhound (I love that big dumb dog to death!), and found out that another of our dogs, Sammy, had bone cancer. Less than a week later, we would discover that yet another of our dogs, Shiloh, had liver cancer. We settled in making both dogs comfortable and counting down the days until they left us, one by the end of the month, the other a few weeks later.
March was in like lion and out like a lamb. I was offered and accepted a job. My first “real” job in two decades. What a ride that’s been - if for no other reason than it has caused me to wear nicer clothes and get a haircut now and then. March brought babies to the farm and improved my outlook. Homeschoolers freaked out over a judge’s decision, but in the long run - LOOK - it’s still legal. The economy was still nose-diving and idiots were blaming the wrong guy.
April saw Doc turn 50 - quietly, without fanfare, too tired from WORKING to care.
May - the return of nice weather after what had to be the worst winter in history - at least MY history. I worked, and worked some more, and finally took a much needed vacation - driving in a circular pattern around the state, meeting nice folk and seeing a lot of pretty places I didn’t even know existed.
June - The posting I did was a recap of my trip. Either I didn’t do anything in June (except work), or I was too busy to write about anything I did (except work). I can’t remember now.
July - See June. What I didn’t write about - both of my daughters broke up with their respective long time boyfriends. The drama was intense. Kids moved in and out, spoke to each other, fought, made up, and finally settled down.
August - I never posted! It was hot. I was working and/or remodeling my house.
September to the beginning of November was a blur of activity. Working two jobs that finally merged into a new one, with less “away” hours. Getting the farm ready for winter. A little drama here and there but handled nicely by the young adults in question. November I blogged EVERY DAY. December, I took most of the month off, reconnected, adopted a dachshund, rested, ate a lot of crap food, and felt pretty friggin’ content with life.
2010 (Twenty ten) is going to be great. I can feel it.
There’s a reason we haven’t friended all our kids in Facebook, and I think you hit all the good ones.
I FB for my family! Or, so that is my excuse.. Now if you could devote a blog post to those that play that silly game farmvile. You know the peple that clog up your wall with all the crap they do on their farm.. Ian seems to think he has a REAL farm. Called me from work to farm his crops… Yeah, not gonna happen.
Doc, maybe it’s our ages being in the same decade now but I feel EXACTLY as you do about FaceBook and blogging. Also Twitter. Great idea to look back over the last year at Snook, which hadn’t occurred to me somehow (probably it’s politics mainly, given the change of 2009) but there’s a line Robin Williams has at the end of Garp, about looking back over the arc of your life.
I think I’d like to look back of the arc of my blog year — but I’ve only been on FB a couple of months and already I notice I don’t care to look back at any of it. The “notes” function is the only part that’s close to a real blogpost, but then, why put writing about anything meaningful there instead on the real blog??
In January I traveled to Texas, found it ugly, found the people (I met) kind of pretentious and ignorant, and rejoiced in the new President with everyone else (with an IQ above 75).
Funny how a simple paragraph can bring back decades worth of memories….
I, stupidly, joined the military when I was 18. Wasted four years of my life. Except, one thing I consider quite positive: I learned just how fucking stupid and asinine the vast majority of “redstate” Americans really are…
People from Vermont… Great. People from New York… Great. People from Oregon… Great. People from Washington… Great. People from Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, etc… Great… Not perfect, mind you; after they’re people for god’s sake.
But, by-and-large, decent hard-working folks that, even if you didn’t necessarily agree with them, their opinions weren’t from the ugly-side of willful ignorance and overweening hubris. And people that didn’t, by-and-large, live their lives based on their parochial hatreds.
Then there were the redstate clowns… Venal, ignorant-religio-tard hicks without a lick of understanding of just how ignorant, and wrong, they were about virtually everything. And constantly offering their ignorant, hateful, bigoted opinions on everything…
And worst of them were the Texans. Hands down. A lot of Southerners were bad. But no population was as bad as the Texans. They are so stupidly proud of their fucked up state, it boggles the mind.
It’s ugly. It’s people are poor. The population is ignorant. And the climate sucks most of the year — either too damn hot or too damn cold. It’s the colon of America and it’s people are the turds…
Anyway, I’m sure there are some decent Texans. I’ve met a lot of “EX-Texans” who had moved out of there for various non-economic reasons that have turned out just fine… But as a population… I remember those ass-clowns from my days in the military.
Moses - fixed yer up.
Not all Texans are bad.. I know a couple who are okay. They don’t still live in Texas though. And they aren’t all poor - I met a few insanely wealthy Texans, and I’m really glad my kid isn’t going to have to marry into that.
There are folks who would say what Moses said about Texans, about (for example) all military people, elected officials, women, etc.
I twitter only for a workgroup. I hate even that much, but I hope they’ll outgrow it. I don’t do Facebook. At. All.
Sure I could use a fake name and only “friend” family and insiders, but I don’t have the time to hand hold all those people every goddamn day. Because you know… if you don’t respond to their every. single. little. mindless. insignificant. note then all of a sudden they get so offended.
Whatthefuckever.
I’m on Facebook to keep an eye on my 13 year old, who managed to get “unfriended” twice in his first week. He didn’t get that it’s not a place to get righteously indignant, mock everything that bugs the crap out of him, etc.
I never understood the whole Twitter attraction. Do these people have lives outside the keyboard? Facebook I never got around to doing. Blogging is about as connected as I get. I’m such a cavewoman.
Love the recap of the year!
I just hate that you found Texas ugly and the people pretentious and ignorant. Hope you’ll give us another chance, ya’ll.
NPR is talking about one thing cooler about Texas than all that (we’re dancers and immigrant descendants so especially appreciated it) –
Saving Texas Dance Halls, One Two-Step At A Time
2009:
The year I barely blogged,
nor mentioned the frog.
The Cowgirls kept me sane.
Hey Doc,
I’m new to your blog. I agree on 2009–widely proclaimed as The AFU Year. I am praying that 2010 will not beat me upside the head like 2009 did. Sudden, unexpected deaths, diagnoses with chronic illnesses, family drama (gimme a ticket to the other side of the planet)…on and on.
Please 2010…be kind to all of fragile, hopeful beings!
I look forward to more of your words, Doc!