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Archive for September, 2007

September 27th, 2007 No comments

Hi, my name is Matt, and I’m a Facebook addict. Here is my story.

A friend suggested I sign up, so I did so, back in August. I was immediately intrigued by the complete lack of all the annoying crap that makes MySpace suck donkey teat (ads, overwhelming page designs), but was frustrated by the fact that I couldn’t FIND anybody. I could only seem to search my own “network,” and only in a way that basically presented to me every Facebook account in the Greater Wilmington Area, which is several thousand people. Left with no option (I believed) but searching through poorly alphabetized lists of people I don’t know, I said “F This” and went back to my life of chasing my son and watching Doctor Who.

And then my boy Shaun TC added me as a friend; I got the notification email, and said to myself, “Meh. Let’s go see.” I confirmed his friendship, and then scanned his friends list for people I knew. Hm…there were many. I added them. Then I added their friends. Then I added my friend’s friends’ friends’ friends. Plus, I discovered that the way I had been searching was faulty; once corrected, I found even MORE people.

Now my social life has been quantified: I have 144 friends. The ramifications of this are as yet unclear. Also, I’m in touch with people I quite literally have not communicated with since 1994. And I refresh my Facebook homepage every 15 minutes, looking for new Wall posts and pictures.

When do I sleep? I don’t.

In an completely unrelated story, “Under African Skies” by Paul Simon just popped up in iTunes, so you’ll forgive me, I need to take a brief moment to bust it.

Bust what?

A move.

Categories: wtf Tags:

September 20th, 2007 No comments

Mmmm…autumn. The time of year when I leave my house in a heavy jacket and long pants because it’s 54 degrees at 9am, and end up having to strip to my knickers when I get out of work because it’s over 80 and the AC in the house isn’t on. I kid, because this is pretty much my favorite season. I love the leaves changing, I love the cooler temps, I love wearing layers, I love the smell of people getting their fireplaces going for the first time since March, I love the way my wife smells in the fall. (Musky.)

I’ve always been conflicted, though, because growing up I was not such a fan of school. And September was the beginning of it. I remember going to first grade on rainy Tuesdays and depressed all day, not least because I was a Talker, and was therefore usually on punishment. I think I spent the entirety of that year with my desk pushed far away from the rest of the class because I had problems “shutting the F up,” as Mrs. Morgan put it to my parents during parent-teacher conferences.

(Note: Mrs. Morgan probably never said that. I don’t know, I wasn’t there. But I wouldn’t be surprised if she had. I was . . . frustrating.)

Now, of course, I have to work my 8-9 hours a day year round, and I combat the depression with ill-gotten meds, but I look at Charles and think: dang, boyo. If you’re anything like me (and he’s almost identical to me, so far), in about 5 years you’re going to be sitting in first grade, talking a mile a minute, until your teacher throws a stapler at your head.

(Note: no teachers ever threw staplers at my head. Mr. Eshelman hit me in the eye with a piece of chalk once, but he assured me it was on accident. Though I did see him collecting a sawbuck from Ms. Shepard later, as if he had won some kind of bet.)

And as much as I enjoy cooler temperatures, the timing of them kinda sucked; it was warm most of last week, until I drove to the beach on Friday and the temps hovered in the high 60s all weekend. Not exactly “fling oneself into the surf” weather. Luckily, we (Sarah and I and her coworkers and friends) combatted this by drinking staggering amounts of red wine, and eating enough Mimolette that I still ain’t poopin’ right. (Which you totally needed to know.)

Categories: dear diary, weather report, wtf Tags:

September 12th, 2007 No comments

It amazes me how one can get trapped in an information hole and miss all kinds of important stuff. I’ve been working like a beaver on meth for the last week or so, and then today I casually went to Wikipedia, and found myself clicking on the recent deaths.

Remember last Wednesday how I mentioned I was thrilled to find three books by Madeleine L’Engle? She died on Thursday. I can’t help but feel responsible.

I scroll down a little further, and discover Pavarotti died! What in the holy hand grenade? How did I miss that? Something like that, you would think, would be SOMETHING THAT WOULD COME UP IN CONVERSATION WITH OTHER MUSICIANS. But nay.

Nay.

Categories: wtf Tags:

September 5th, 2007 1 comment

I dunno about you, but any time I go to the Arden Fair, I feel the need to document the goings-on. Unfortunately there’s only about 5 pictures, because I am a rank amateur, still learning how to use my tools, and a significant number of the pictures were blurry beyond belief. Arrrrrrrrrgh.

The weather for the Fair was perfect, though. Just warm enough to wear shorts, not quite warm enough that the moisture in my groin was a bother. We ate kettle corn, and I wandered into the book sale and started making selections. After I had tucked 10 or so books under my arm, a nice gentleman volunteer came over and asked if I would like a box.

“I would LOVE a box,” I replied, and he fetched me one. After 5 or so more minutes, I had completely filled the box and was balancing even more books on top.

“Sir, would you prefer a bigger box?”

I agreed, and he got me another one. I ended up taking away about 2 dozen books, including a host of fiction (Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Trilogy, consisting of A Wrinkle In Time, A Wind In The Door, and A Swiftly Tilting Planet, all of which I’d been planning to order from Amazon soon anyway, along with the Tripods Trilogy by John Christopher), poetry, books on photography, and a few medical textbooks. Total cost: $16. I love used books. I don’t understand how people can get rid of books; I have three 6′ bookshelves at home completely stocked, and dozens of books laying around my basement with no shelves on which to reside. When we get our new house, I’m going to try and reserve one room as my library, assuming my wife permits such a thing.

Sarah and her mom looked over some crafts, most of which were a tad overpriced, and little was bought. But the food was decent, like it is most years, and the Diamond State Concert Band played marches and things in the “Beer Garden,” and all was riotously fun.

Categories: artsy fartsy, dear diary Tags: