Archive for December 27th, 2009

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Best of Blog 09: Social Web Moment – a Tweet-up


2009
12.27

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Gwen Bell poses this question for her Best of Blog challenge ’09: Did you meet someone you used to know only from her blog?  Did you discover Twitter?

Yes and yes.

I thought Twitter would be stupid but I didn’t want to get left behind, so I signed up.  I’m amazed!  First I was just following news, then news and Adam Lambert; then news, Adam Lambert and photography sites; then news, Adam Lambert, photography sites, and people involved with the Bakersfield art scene.  I’ve made friends.  One of my new friends, whollyjeanne, uses the word “tribe” for the friends she is making on Twitter. I love that term, tribe, because I feel like we are connecting in such a way with other people who share common interests that we will be honestly using the term friend – becoming part of an extended tribe.  Besides whollyjeanne, there is BeKatherine and daxtonsnini – geographically located all over the United States, but I feel like if one of these people put out a call for help, I’d be there.

So in 140 characters or less, it’s possible to get a real sense of a person.  And I do get updates from certain news sites so I can scan them and click on something that interests me.  I’ve followed people who end up tweeting too much and carry on conversations that could better be held on instant messenger or by texting, and that’s annoying so I drop them.  I’ve wanted to follow people but don’t like the language they use, so I drop them.  That sounds terrible, doesn’t it?  Dropping someone? But I guess that’s what it’s called.  I’ve learned that Adam Lambert’s fans are extremely intelligent, devoted and caring people, that LaVar Burton is a kind man without a mean bone in his body.  Someone named Ben Decker started following me and I gave him a follow back, and I really like this guy.  I’m not sure what he does, but I think he’s involved in events in Los Angeles, or a model, or something.  But he is a lovely person.

But to the main part of the question: did I meet anyone?  Yes.  A group of us Bakersfield tweeps had a tweet-up!

We met at Caffeine Supreme, a downtown business, on a First Friday.  It was really bizarre to walk up to someone, for example, the women in the chair, and say, “You must be glitzyorbit.” And it was.  Or, look, MySoulIsHome is here!  So instead of the web alienating us from real people and personal contact, we wanted to see each other in person.

We toasted marshmallows – that’s me in the hat. LissaFudge and prosejunkie are also in the photo.  Lissa – whose name is Terry – also goes by BacPage and she keeps up a blog that chronicles all events artistic in Bakersfield.  Prosejunkie has a blog and he’s reading and writing about the Best 100 books on the Modern Library list.  Such interesting people!

Dave runs trivia contests at Sandrini’s Bar, so he came and we had some trivia fun at the tweet-up.

I donated packets of greeting cards that I make so there would be prizes.

We even had a visit from the man in red.

It was fun – and we all want another tweet-up soon.  I may even organize it because so many people who wanted to come to this one weren’t able to.  It’s the first thing I’ve felt like organizing in a long, long time.  Twitter is good.

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#Best09 Dec. 26 – My Aha Moment of the Year – I’m Tired


2009
12.27

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It’s almost 11 p.m. and I sat down to write not realizing how late it was.  I’m morphing back into such a night person in the years since my retirement!  The main problem with that is – well, there are two. First, the world doesn’t run on my schedule – American life is a “day person.” And second, I may want to stay up but I don’t want to stay out.  There’s a certain time in the evening when I just have to get into my robe – usually hits by 8 p.m.  I guess I’m a day/night hybrid.

If I had an Aha! moment this year, it would come immediately to mind, right?  I’m glad the question gives me the option of an insight or epiphany.  I’m pretty sure I had some of both.  In fact, I know I did.  So I’ll talk about the one I remember which is the most recent.

I probably do twice as much as most people in a day.  I’m high energy and high speed (but not nearly like I used to be).  I’m saying this because it’s what I’ve been told over and over throughout my life.  I have to take this on the word of other people, because to me I’m me.  I have no idea what’s normal.  I just know me.  I’m getting more tired, however, and I knew I’d hit a new insight, or had an epiphany of some sort when my husband and I had this conversation a little while ago.

Me: Mark, I’ve been thinking about the trip we’re planning for next October.  After the wedding in Maui, I’m thinking we should just go to Thailand instead of trying to also fit in Viet Nam and Cambodia.  I’m just feeling like I don’t want to zoom around.

Mark: We’ve been spending too much money lately, so maybe we should skip Thailand and just go to Maui.

Me:  That sounds fine.

That sounds fine?  No argument?  You have no idea how unprecedented this is.  When we travel, which we both love to do, we are gone about three weeks at a time because we want to see as much as we can, knowing we won’t return.  We keep up a pretty fast pace – I mean, it works for us and we do rest in the afternoons and turn in early.  Or one of us does.  And I can’t stand not traveling.  We didn’t have any big trips this year – I had to cancel a trip to London thanks to Mr. Economy.  About drove me crazy.  I was in London last October and still had things I wanted to see and intended to this time around.

Next year we’re planning to drive Route 66 as far as Oklahoma and veer off to Florida for a soccer tournament a granddaughter is playing in.  Then we’re going to a wedding in Maui and my husband suggested since we were already part way that we should continue to Bangkok to visit friends.  Wow!  Yes, I jumped on that.  Can that much have changed in a few months?

Besides being fine with skipping Thailand, I want to go back to Costa Rica, Italy and France.  China would be good too. I want to go places I’ve been.  I’d even like to go on another cruise.  This is so unlike me – there’s a whole world out there and I’ve only seen a fraction!

It’s also possible that with the current situation of my parents, I’m just out of zip.  It’s so draining mentally.  We’re at a crossroads, and they can’t live independently but they refuse to go anywhere or have anyone in their home so we’re at a standstill.  Something has to give and probably that drains my zip so much that I’m zapped.  Maybe when that whole situation is resolved, I’ll feel like moving ahead again.

But for now, my insight of the year is I’m slowing down and ready to act accordingly. I’m tired.  And running out of money too.