I’m not actually sure how the Non November Nablopomo works. Do I have to follow the theme of “Swimâ€, respond to the prompts as in Reverb 10 or can I still write whatever on those days I need to write whatever?
Have you ever had one of those days where nothing you said came out right? Today was not a good internet day for me.
At various times in my life I’ve been a pretty decent communicator in different mediums. First I was good at public speaking, then interpersonal speaking, then writing and now back to interpersonal speaking again. Well kind of. After so many years in the computer industry and then ‘freelancing’ my communication style became too informal. I’ve had to work the last year on being less loose with my words. I’m improving, though I still need to sound more like a professional adult. It isn’t horrid mind you, but could be a bit more formal.
My written communication, while quite good in professional settings, has been somewhat lacking in other settings. I’m not sure when this became so. I think some of my writing here has improved –become more illustrative and descriptive, but it is also still less formal than my writing has been previously. Or in other settings. As it is on well—Facebook where today I got into two discussions today that for the life of me I could NOT make my points.
And I got, well offended, but I’d rather use the net vernacular and say butthurt because it seems more indicative of what happened.
I posted to a this article: Curb Your Brats and no matter what I did I could not get across the three points that I wanted to. 1) the article was written in an inflammatory tone because that’s just what some folks do to get a response 2) I agree with some of it 3)Some of it is off base.
Because yes—your children (and mine) are not unique snowflakes who are allowed to misbehave in public settings. But they ARE children and as a society we should be tolerant of children and not all places are. Heck I lived in SF for years and one of the reasons we moved (as much as I miss it) is, it is NOT a child friendly city and I didn’t want to search for the niches that were. Fayetteville is, even as much as it is a college town.
The article writer had a problem with misbehaving kids in a grocery store. He needs to unclench. It’s not like they are throwing bread like monkeys in The French Laundry. Being older parents we’re really aware of places where it makes sense to take your kids and places where it does not. But seriously, a grocery store—kids have every right to be there. Maybe LZ Granderson needs to shop elsewhere. I have a hard time believing he’s a parent.
But somehow I couldn’t get any of that across and the conversation went all over the place to the extent that I felt like I was defending the writer and I didn’t really want to do that. Le Sigh.
It seems like when I step out with an opinion recently I get strange blowback. I think because more of the time I’m showing opinions on Facebook, where (oh this is going to hurt) people that haven’t spent a lot of time on the net , spend a lot of time. I guess I expect a UseNet frontal assault instead of some passive aggressive commentary or folks getting butthurt at me.
But then, this is a problem with my expectation. And I should know better than to put forth a real opinion on Facebook…yes quite possibly. And I should not get butthurt either. I know better.
It’s also a problem with Facebook. I’ve really enjoyed it. I like the interaction, but I’ve been becoming less enamored of it—as always happens with internet hangouts. I loved UseNet then I hated it. I loved IRC then I couldn’t stand it. Livejournal likewise. It all becomes claustrophobic at some point and you have to adjust. It was time for that to happen with me and Facebook.
Additionally I made the seriously uncool move of mentioning the Casey Anthony trial and my feelings on it. Yes I followed it, not rabidly but I did pay some attention to it. Because that poor little girl was about the same age as my kid and the mother’s behavior was so bizarre. And yes I think she’s guilty, because you don’t NOT report a missing child unless you had something to do with it. And if your kid is missing you don’t go out dancing and drinking. You might drink heavily if you knew she was dead—but then she isn’t missing and you know something and you had something to do with it.
I’ve had a bit of experience with this. One time Em was several hours overdue. She was with trusted friends, but when I couldn’t reach them on their several phones starting at 45 minutes late—I can’t tell you how horrid that was. When they didn’t show up until three hours overdue, just as I sent James out to look for them…wow. She got home, we talked, I got her to bed. I went into the bathroom and cried and threw up.
Will every mother of a missing child react the same way, no– but I wouldn’t expect you to be able to think about anything other than your child for months and months. You certainly wouldn’t be drinking and dancing and getting tattooed (Beautiful life…REALLY?) when you couldn’t find your child. Something went very wrong here.
Are there more important issues? Of course. Are there things *I’m* more concerned about. Sure. But this is a TOPICAL conversation. And again folks I was trying to talk to about it today-
well some folks thought it a non issue and had to make sure that YOU KNEW they thought it was a non issue. Others stood up for our legal system –to which I wanted to just say OJ. Some folks were just annoyed with the whole thing.
I don’t get it. I guess I consume a lot of news every day. Ask my husband he’ll tell you that I read at an alarming rate. I’m seriously fast. While I can’t run my finger down the page like you see folks do when they are speed reading on TV, I’m nearly that fast. So I can keep up with a large amount of news, and read a fiction book every day or so, and a technical manual and various blogs. I read a lot and retain a lot and sometimes some of that has also grabbed the popular attention.
And yes everyone has a right to their feelings and responses and beliefs. But there were a lot of very tall horses being ridden around today. I’m no exception, I’m up on mine now.
It was a day though that I couldn’t laugh it off, blow it off, or not care.
And this whole thing comes down really to me and not to anyone else. They can say and do whatever they want however they want to. If I’m annoyed I need to move right on out of there, which I did. And I believe I’ll stay away for a bit. And begin limiting my time.
Because that what I always do, this is what always happens.
