We’ve had some wild weather over the last few weeks. An ice storm started during the afternoon of December 11th and continued well into the next morning. Our power went out at about 10pm on the 11th and stayed out until mid-morning on the 13th. DH was out of town the night the power went out so I spent a sleepless night on the couch clutching my cell phone and a flashlight listening to the snap, crack, pop and crash of tree limbs falling. First I’d hear what sounded like a rifle shot and then the sound of crashing glass, which was all of the ice. We are very lucky because we didn’t have any damage to the house, cars or selves but we do have several neighbors who have slight damage to their houses and cars. A friend one street over had her car totalled by a huge branch. Some are still without power but we were lucky there, too.
We had back-to-back snow storms this weekend. Really, it started snowing Friday afternoon and didn’t stop until early last night. We must have at least two feet of snow. I am very thankful for DH and his snow blower. Today it’s sunny but extremely cold. When the wind gusts it feels like it’s about 0 degrees. BRRRRR. I’m a HUGE snow wuss so I’ve been hunkered down since Friday and grateful that I can do so. I’m starting to get a little stir crazy but a short walk with Ivy in this frigid air is enough to send me back inside.
I am also thankful that we’re pretty much ready for Christmas. As my SIL says, we’re concentrating on family and being together more than gifts this year. That works for me.
I reached out to two women with whom I’d been friends during my teens and into my twenties. With one, we kind of grew apart and with the other, she just stopped talking to me one day. I still don’t know why but at this point, I don’t really care. They’re both on FB so I figured why not. I sent them both messages telling them that I hoped they were doing well and would love to catch up with them. Haven’t heard back from either and it’s been a while. I don’t want to be best friends with these people again but it would be nice to hear how they’ve been doing over the last 20 years or so, etc. I’ve changed (and grown up) quite a bit since then and I’m sure that they both have as well.
There are people that have added me as friends on FB that I don’t want to spend a lot of time with but I don’t ignore them when they reach out. But I guess that’s because I’m not a cold-hearted bitch. I’m sure they both have their reasons and that’s absolutely fine and they certainly don’t owe me anything just as I don’t owe them. But it’s Christmas time and to me that means time for friends and family, old and new. It’s already cold enough out there. Do we have to be cold to each other, too?
Facebook is interesting in the respect that it’s more like people spying on you and your world. Some days I think that I’ll import my blog here (I do have a blog here, I forget my un/pw) from MySpace and set up the link from my FB profile because what do I have to hide, then I think about some of the people who have friended me and do i want to allow them that access to my head and heart…I just don’t know. All I know is that MS is dying a slow death, but there I can be The Lib, on FB I have to be more cautious of myself because of everyone who has access to it. Yeah, I know, I can set up parameters as to who has access to my info, but with 228 contacts, it’s hard to filter.
Then, you may ask, if you’re not friends with everyone, why did you accept their requests? Well, maybe because I’m just as curious about them as they were to me. One of my friends posted a thing on FB about how she hates when people friend you and don’t say hi, and I totally agree, it’s like admitting that you’re spying!
FB has been a wonderful tool for me to reconnect with some dear friends from yesteryear, and I do appreciate that gift.
One thing I’m often left to ponder is this: with myself, and some of my colleagues I’ve friended on FB, we do air on that side of caution as far as revealing too much information. I’ve gone so far as to untag some photos of myself just because I can’t imagine possible employers coming across drunken pictures of me and Peaches flashing unsavory hand signals (or me and Nikki, as is the case a lot of the time) or even friends’ parents (whom I do have on my list). So what about when it comes to today’s teens? Many on my list, both related and unrelated, have somewhere in the vacinity of 400+ tagged photos of themselves in their profiles. (Or if they don’t, or the account has little activity, I’m left to wonder if said ‘friend’ has a secondary account where they are exposing more of themselves to which my eyes aren’t privvy.) Either way, these people don’t know how this may impact them in the future; Hell, I don’t know how my 37 tagged photos may impact my future, but I have a better sense of how one careless confession or a unopportune photo op may mar the chance at a job or other life advancement. The less of me out there, the better.
OK, I blogged on your blog. Expect to see this on my CrackSpace later this evening LOL
You have a very good point. I also look at FB as a way to catch up with past friends without having to commit to spending time face to face…unless that is what you want. It’s a way to catch up without having to be “best friends” again.