The great culling
1/6 '22
Except for this and maybe one other post (?), my OPW entries are now locked to mutual followers who also post here from time to time. Sorry lurkers. I know you mean well, but I'm weary of the take-and-never-give aspect of our "relationship."
Also ditched my dopamine--I mean Twitter--account. No amount of curating the feed can make up for the level of poison. I've loved some of the connections I've made there but few (some, but not many) are local, which isn't a healthy balance, especially in the 'Rona Times.
MORE
When I can't even summon the commitment to thank someone who has been a friend for years and says "I see you" in response to a dithering update that necessarily lacks critical detail* I know I need something I'm not getting regular access to.
*I don't think I'm being actively stalked any more but stuff I learn about while within these concrete walls reminds me that people who may wish me harm are never far from being able to do so.
For me, this space is for staying in touch with people I already know, hopefully getting to know them better, and meeting new people I'd like to know better too. I was pretending that other outlets were providing the same benefit. In small ways, they have.
But in general, the rest of "social media" is one long, loud paid advertisement—in fact paid for with my valuable time/scrolling/clicks. I've grown tired of shouting over the noise just to say hi to folks; my time is more valuable to me than that. I've had a better time chatting with the pickle ball players who come to the tennis courts next door, even in the dead of winter. (It's quite a sight, people dashing back and forth on the shoveled courts in full winter gear; so cheerful and somehow hopeful as well, humans playing together despite the elements.)
Anyway, I ramble. I always look forward to your posts and enjoy reading them, however vague you need to make them for safety's sake.
I'm starting a new work assignment this month and the shift in social norms (more social loafing before getting down to meeting business, apparently email more strictly business, lots of immediate feedback) is a little jarring. Which it shouldn't be, but I get so little practice, as do we all.
I think after the plague, if there is an after, I will miss the fellow who lives in the same building as the local welfare offices spewing random comments about poop and farts whenever he sees someone on the street wearing a mask.
I culled my Twitter to people I know and People to whom I can remember what my professional relationship is a couple years ago but it’s time for another go.
I've thought from time to time about the question of /why/ I put the stuff on waider.ie; long ago, I started it because I was reading Alan Cox's (Big Linux Nerd) version of the same thing, and some days it was "wrote arcane kernel code" and other days it was "went to get icecream" and I think the whimsy of it struck a chord with me. I also harbour the occasional notion that something I write - of a nerdy nature, typically - might be of use to someone facing the same problem I've just solved. At this point, a lot of it is just a diary, but eviscerated of overly personal detail. I do periodically go back looking for something from an old entry and usually wind up reading through The Partial Story of My Life Circa 2006 and the like, which is often fun. But I can't say I've ever had a specific audience in mind, and I'd be hard pushed to explain exactly why I write about the stuff I write about. I mean, really, who cares that I just finished installing a new dishwasher, exactly?
Hmm. This comment is at this point long enough to be an entry on this site... sorry. Got carried away :-) As I said before, I love what you write here, and the sheer joy of your family life (with all the attendant bumps in the road) always shines through.
And good on ya for dumping Twitter. I similarly dumped Facebook and it has been so, so, so good for my mental health.
I've been away from OPW but am always glad for our interactions, so your content here is very much appreciated, love.
I hardly ever post here myself...not because I spend so much more time on Twitter (tho somehow I have over 1160 followers now {shock emoji}) or FB (which numerous friends of mine use as their sole mode of lengthy communication with numerous other friends, and asking them to communicate in other ways is Not Going To Happen). I stopped updating my blog a couple of years ago for lack of anything non-repetitive to say there, though I'm going to take a stab at it again this year. Perhaps if I do I'll cross-post here once in a while.
Throw me a bone, baby.