Well of COURSE I am.
But then I remembered that I'd temporarily deactivated my Facebook profile. Why? Simply because I found that I was spending way too much time than is healthy online reading about what my other friends are doing. You see, these online social networks bring out the worst of my obsessive compulsive tendencies. Once I get in front of the computer and go online, I could spend hours posting Youtube videos on people's walls or poking someone with Superpoke. Yeah, I know you know what I mean cuz YOU'RE guilty of the same thing too! :p
At one time, I had a profile on Facebook, Friendster, Hi5, Twitter and MySpace, and was logging into and spending hours and hours on them. I mean moss was growing around the chair where I sat. And cobwebs. In fact, I was spending so much time snuggled up to my laptop that my years worth of Asian sun tan literally faded. I could've spent all that time tending to the garden out back!
So that was when I took the decision to deactivate all my online networking accounts leaving just Facebook. Why? Well, because I find Facebook quite good when it comes to actually keeping touch with what your friends are doing, unlike the other sites. Of course, there are loads of social networking sites out there that I haven't explored, so I don't know if there IS another social networking site which is better than Facebook. If you do, I'd appreciate if you'd drop me a note so I can check it out. :)
But even with my Facebook account, I had to discipline myself and not be too attached to it (told yaI have obssessive compulsive tendencies, didn't I? >:) ). So where once I had 50 odd 'friends', I now have around 10. I mean, lets be honest... who REALLY has 284 FRIENDS? Acquaintances, maybe. People you know, certainly. But FRIENDS?? Well, maybe my definition of 'friends' is a bit old fashioned and boring. But if I have met a person or worked with a person once but had never had any contact with them again after that, then I'd consider them acquaintances. It would be a stretch for me, personally, to think of them as friends. Maybe I'm just a really private person (HAH! What about this blog where you air-your-dirty-secrets-hoping-a-complete-stranger-might-drop-a-comment??!) Well, there aren't any dirty secrets in this blog and I don't care if no one drops a comment or not. This blog exists purely to soothe the itch I get in my fingers to write, write, write.
Kinda like free therapy. :)
But I do acknowledge my social handicap in making new friends in the real world. More than once I've heard people describe me as 'stand-offish'. Well, we all know now that's it's nothing more than my own insecurities that's the problem (admission is half the problem solved, right?). And I would like to make more 'real life' friends... I think. I mean, there's absolutely no reason why I can't find a friend online who just HAPPENS to live right around here in Surrey, right? Provided I don't do something stupid like hook up with a guy/girl I've met online for two seconds. Axe murderers and schizo stalkers prey on the unsuspecting innocents online.
Of course I wouldn't make it a point to search for friends online. I can make friends with the owner of the Portuguese cafe up the street, or the lady shopkeeper who tends to the local Costcutters here. I wouldn't sit down and chat with them over coffee, but they're friendly enough and we say hello whenever we bump into each other. And that's alright by me. And in any case, for now, I'm happy to be spending a slow Saturday afternoon reading my book and admiring my beautiful poppys in bloom. :)
But then I remembered that I'd temporarily deactivated my Facebook profile. Why? Simply because I found that I was spending way too much time than is healthy online reading about what my other friends are doing. You see, these online social networks bring out the worst of my obsessive compulsive tendencies. Once I get in front of the computer and go online, I could spend hours posting Youtube videos on people's walls or poking someone with Superpoke. Yeah, I know you know what I mean cuz YOU'RE guilty of the same thing too! :p
At one time, I had a profile on Facebook, Friendster, Hi5, Twitter and MySpace, and was logging into and spending hours and hours on them. I mean moss was growing around the chair where I sat. And cobwebs. In fact, I was spending so much time snuggled up to my laptop that my years worth of Asian sun tan literally faded. I could've spent all that time tending to the garden out back!So that was when I took the decision to deactivate all my online networking accounts leaving just Facebook. Why? Well, because I find Facebook quite good when it comes to actually keeping touch with what your friends are doing, unlike the other sites. Of course, there are loads of social networking sites out there that I haven't explored, so I don't know if there IS another social networking site which is better than Facebook. If you do, I'd appreciate if you'd drop me a note so I can check it out. :)
But even with my Facebook account, I had to discipline myself and not be too attached to it (told yaI have obssessive compulsive tendencies, didn't I? >:) ). So where once I had 50 odd 'friends', I now have around 10. I mean, lets be honest... who REALLY has 284 FRIENDS? Acquaintances, maybe. People you know, certainly. But FRIENDS?? Well, maybe my definition of 'friends' is a bit old fashioned and boring. But if I have met a person or worked with a person once but had never had any contact with them again after that, then I'd consider them acquaintances. It would be a stretch for me, personally, to think of them as friends. Maybe I'm just a really private person (HAH! What about this blog where you air-your-dirty-secrets-hoping-a-complete-stranger-might-drop-a-comment??!) Well, there aren't any dirty secrets in this blog and I don't care if no one drops a comment or not. This blog exists purely to soothe the itch I get in my fingers to write, write, write.
Kinda like free therapy. :)
But I do acknowledge my social handicap in making new friends in the real world. More than once I've heard people describe me as 'stand-offish'. Well, we all know now that's it's nothing more than my own insecurities that's the problem (admission is half the problem solved, right?). And I would like to make more 'real life' friends... I think. I mean, there's absolutely no reason why I can't find a friend online who just HAPPENS to live right around here in Surrey, right? Provided I don't do something stupid like hook up with a guy/girl I've met online for two seconds. Axe murderers and schizo stalkers prey on the unsuspecting innocents online.
Of course I wouldn't make it a point to search for friends online. I can make friends with the owner of the Portuguese cafe up the street, or the lady shopkeeper who tends to the local Costcutters here. I wouldn't sit down and chat with them over coffee, but they're friendly enough and we say hello whenever we bump into each other. And that's alright by me. And in any case, for now, I'm happy to be spending a slow Saturday afternoon reading my book and admiring my beautiful poppys in bloom. :)
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