I had to change my title page photo after reading somewhere that my sister just couldn't get into the Christmas spirit this year, even after admitting it has long been her favorite holiday of the year. I know what she means! Christmas has been my favorite holiday as well... Some of my fondest memories come from Christmas season. Some of those memories may lean toward the Christmas season because that is the time of year family photos are taken, family visitors arrive, and celebrations take place. Thus, the memories linger in the photos much longer than, say, even birthdays.
No doubt, this season for me will be the busiest ever. I will be traveling throughout the month of December, and even into January. Fortunately, I will be making a trip back home as well. It will be good to be in the U.S. during the holiday season this year. It seems like it has been forever!
Megan is really excited because she hopes to incorporate a trip to D.C. to see a friend when we get back to Mobile. My little girl is growing up.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Politics and Facebook Don't Mix
I guess different people manage their social media life in different ways. I am talking specifically about Facebook, though there are other social media applications out there that serve different purposes. For example, I have a Google + account that I like to follow what other people are "trending" about and I use Panoramio to geocache my photos and view some of the splendid photos other people post . I may have one or two other accounts out their, but I haven't used them in so long, it isn't likely I will return to them any time soon.
But back to Facebook, I imagine some people choose their friends on their like-mindedness while others chose their friends based on who they are related to, who they knew in high school, college, who they work with, who they play sports with, etc. And, sometimes that like-mindedness mixes in with the other categories; but, sometimes it doesn't.
I try to be liberal about the way I view other people's views. That is to say, I really don't care what people think, believe, adhere to, aspire to, compulse or obsess over as long as it doesn't affect me. Saying "I don't care" may sound like an exagerration, like maybe I really do care but I want to pretend I don't. In actuality, I don't care. That has put me in a bind of sorts, because now I have all of these friends from different walks of life, different sexual orientations, different beliefs and different politics. I thought it would be cool because, in my virtual world, I could learn about and impathize with other people.
Unfortunately, I find that I really don't want to impathize. Not in a malicious way, but more in an apathetical way. I think people expect so much out of life, in so many aspects of their life that they are very vocal - or whatever that is when you are typing instead of speaking - about what they think, believe, adhere to, etc. Also regrettably, some people tend to care what I think, believe, adhere to, etc, but in a way that wants to change my mind about something, or worse yet, in a way that I feel judged. Actually I don't feel judged because as I said before I really don't care. And, that is because I think I have thought my tenets in life through before going out to everyone in the virtual world and proclaiming things that BE. Actually, I thought it through so well that I will almost never spontaneously say something on FB that I think would make people disagree with me.
I keep it simple by posting pictures, and statuses - or is that stati for plural? - that are very finite, i.e. this is my family at this place, I am somewhere, I saw something - things that are very hard to dispute. I think people enjoy those posts and I know I like seeing that on other people's walls... no matter how boring those people may be.
I guess I am working something out in my own head right here on my blog. My dilemma is this: Though I try to respect everyone's opinion, I don't necessarily like to read it. Especially when that post makes me want to respond negatively - even when I don't care. So here I am trying to convince myself to ditch all of my "friends" who I consider to be the most politically vocal. Technically, I could just hide them and they would never be the wiser, but for whatever reason I really don't want to do that. And that is weird, because, with the innocuous posts that I put on, it is very unlikely that I would get any one of these people riled up enough to respond to one of my stati. Maybe it is because I feel my silence would be some sort of tacit approval to whatever it is they are posting, when in fact, on one hand I think it is distasteful to bait your friends with one-sided comments, reposts, shares, memes, etc, and on the other hand, I don't care. I was hoping the end of the election would be the end of all of these malicious posts, but it hasn't been. Not yet.
So all ultra-conservatives and liberals out there are on notice. My "friends" list may be getting smaller in the near future. Next on my list would be the people who post picture after picture of that cute dog or cat that needs a home. While I understand the sentiment, I just get tired of scrolling through them. My final goal is to cut my morning FB wake-up check down to around five minutes rather than the 20 it takes me to get through the night's updates at this time.
But back to Facebook, I imagine some people choose their friends on their like-mindedness while others chose their friends based on who they are related to, who they knew in high school, college, who they work with, who they play sports with, etc. And, sometimes that like-mindedness mixes in with the other categories; but, sometimes it doesn't.
I try to be liberal about the way I view other people's views. That is to say, I really don't care what people think, believe, adhere to, aspire to, compulse or obsess over as long as it doesn't affect me. Saying "I don't care" may sound like an exagerration, like maybe I really do care but I want to pretend I don't. In actuality, I don't care. That has put me in a bind of sorts, because now I have all of these friends from different walks of life, different sexual orientations, different beliefs and different politics. I thought it would be cool because, in my virtual world, I could learn about and impathize with other people.
Unfortunately, I find that I really don't want to impathize. Not in a malicious way, but more in an apathetical way. I think people expect so much out of life, in so many aspects of their life that they are very vocal - or whatever that is when you are typing instead of speaking - about what they think, believe, adhere to, etc. Also regrettably, some people tend to care what I think, believe, adhere to, etc, but in a way that wants to change my mind about something, or worse yet, in a way that I feel judged. Actually I don't feel judged because as I said before I really don't care. And, that is because I think I have thought my tenets in life through before going out to everyone in the virtual world and proclaiming things that BE. Actually, I thought it through so well that I will almost never spontaneously say something on FB that I think would make people disagree with me.
I keep it simple by posting pictures, and statuses - or is that stati for plural? - that are very finite, i.e. this is my family at this place, I am somewhere, I saw something - things that are very hard to dispute. I think people enjoy those posts and I know I like seeing that on other people's walls... no matter how boring those people may be.
I guess I am working something out in my own head right here on my blog. My dilemma is this: Though I try to respect everyone's opinion, I don't necessarily like to read it. Especially when that post makes me want to respond negatively - even when I don't care. So here I am trying to convince myself to ditch all of my "friends" who I consider to be the most politically vocal. Technically, I could just hide them and they would never be the wiser, but for whatever reason I really don't want to do that. And that is weird, because, with the innocuous posts that I put on, it is very unlikely that I would get any one of these people riled up enough to respond to one of my stati. Maybe it is because I feel my silence would be some sort of tacit approval to whatever it is they are posting, when in fact, on one hand I think it is distasteful to bait your friends with one-sided comments, reposts, shares, memes, etc, and on the other hand, I don't care. I was hoping the end of the election would be the end of all of these malicious posts, but it hasn't been. Not yet.
So all ultra-conservatives and liberals out there are on notice. My "friends" list may be getting smaller in the near future. Next on my list would be the people who post picture after picture of that cute dog or cat that needs a home. While I understand the sentiment, I just get tired of scrolling through them. My final goal is to cut my morning FB wake-up check down to around five minutes rather than the 20 it takes me to get through the night's updates at this time.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Firsts
I have been gone since the beginning of November and thought it might be time for an update. For those who are paying attention, my job has changed a little bit and now I work in investigations. I am currently the team leader for a miniature investigation team scheduled to work until next week. The idea is to address some investigations off the beaten track so a larger, more expensive team doesn't have to go off the grid to do the same thing. The concept is to save money without sacrificing quality.
Anyway, because of what I just explained, I have spent more waking hours in a vehicle or airplane than I have in a hotel or on a site. That is just the nature of the game. Through the mission, however, I have done a few more firsts in a country I thought there weren't very many firsts left for me. For example, during this trip, it was the first time I ate a coconut grub... actually about four of them. Not sure I could have eaten them raw, but these babies were stir fried, and filled with tasty warm grub juice. Actually, "tasty" might be a deceptive word, because it does seem to imply "good" when I wouldn't want that impression to get out. During that meal, we also allegedly had liquor made from a distillation of stewed mouse marrow, "rượu cao chuột". To top it off, we had fresh durian (stinky) fruit. It was a little ripe and resembled in no distant manner baby puke on a large, smooth seed pit.
Other firsts include riding on National Highway 14 from Saigon to Pleiku. One of the most miserable rides in Vietnam I have yet to take. Expressway? Not! First time? Yes. And, I experienced a first when I stepped on a thorn - several, actually - that were long, strong, and sharp enough to go right through the sole of my Merrel hiking boots, barely penetrating the sole of my foot. After the first one, I felt like I was in a mine field, constantly afraid the next thorn was going to be a little bit longer.
We are on a timing break in Danang before heading to Dong Ha, Quang Tri Province tomorrow. Nice to have a break from the driving, even though it is catch up time on reporting.
Sorry I have no pictures to post. I only have my work computer and due to security, can't download pictures from the camera to the work station. Hopefully I will get time to post after I return to Hanoi.
Anyway, because of what I just explained, I have spent more waking hours in a vehicle or airplane than I have in a hotel or on a site. That is just the nature of the game. Through the mission, however, I have done a few more firsts in a country I thought there weren't very many firsts left for me. For example, during this trip, it was the first time I ate a coconut grub... actually about four of them. Not sure I could have eaten them raw, but these babies were stir fried, and filled with tasty warm grub juice. Actually, "tasty" might be a deceptive word, because it does seem to imply "good" when I wouldn't want that impression to get out. During that meal, we also allegedly had liquor made from a distillation of stewed mouse marrow, "rượu cao chuột". To top it off, we had fresh durian (stinky) fruit. It was a little ripe and resembled in no distant manner baby puke on a large, smooth seed pit.
Other firsts include riding on National Highway 14 from Saigon to Pleiku. One of the most miserable rides in Vietnam I have yet to take. Expressway? Not! First time? Yes. And, I experienced a first when I stepped on a thorn - several, actually - that were long, strong, and sharp enough to go right through the sole of my Merrel hiking boots, barely penetrating the sole of my foot. After the first one, I felt like I was in a mine field, constantly afraid the next thorn was going to be a little bit longer.
We are on a timing break in Danang before heading to Dong Ha, Quang Tri Province tomorrow. Nice to have a break from the driving, even though it is catch up time on reporting.
Sorry I have no pictures to post. I only have my work computer and due to security, can't download pictures from the camera to the work station. Hopefully I will get time to post after I return to Hanoi.
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