On Status Updates and Tweets

I got onto Facebook because I was 'bullied' by The Oldest.  Basically, she told me that a super-geek SHOULD be on Facebook.  So, being the obedient person that I am, I promptly signed up for an account.  I go there daily--several times a day, actually--to see what is happening and that is pretty much it.  I do update, but not daily.  My main reason for being there is to try and keep up with The Oldest and her family.  Period.

A lot of people, when they first go on Facebook, 'friend' everyone they can.  I would believe that the majority of Facebook users have 'friends' in the three-digit range.  I have less than 40.  But, it ISN'T because I'm unpopular.  ;)  I don't 'friend' people--instead, I wait to be asked by someone else to be their 'friend.'  It is the same way I am whenever I'm in a room full of people:  I feel as if I am intruding on other's lives, so I wait for them to seek me out.  While some people see this as arrogance on my part, it really goes more toward my low self-esteem and basic shyness.  (I know some people would NEVER believe I am shy--I'm too loud for them to see I truly am--but I don't feel comfortable around people I don't know.  I never feel as if I have anything of interest to offer, so I wait for others to come to me.)  And so it is with my Facebook experience, as well.  And that is why I only have 35+ 'friends.'

Of those friends that I DO have, most are relatives--a lot of nieces, nephews, and sons/daughters of nieces and nephews.  I have cousins and their kids 'friending' me, also.  I have, however, gotten a couple of very surprising friend requests.  The first one occurred several months back. 

A person with the same last name as my maiden name--a Finland native--contacted me and wanted to know if I was a relative of (my grandfather) and (my great-grandfather.)  He was doing some genealogy work and asked if I had any information to share--and he would share what HE had.  As it turned out, he IS a cousin several times removed and his info went back to the 1500s.  Amazing!  My Youngest is the genealogist in our family, so she was very excited to have his info.  She was able to give him recent stats that he didn't have, so all are happy.  I still keep in contact with him, to a certain extent, but it is difficult, somewhat.  Contrary to what I was led to believe, he isn't as fluent with the English language as I thought the majority of Finns are--and MY Finnish is practically non-existent.  So, we communicate a lot less frequently than I would like.

About a month ago, I got a friend request from a voice out of the past that I NEVER thought I would ever hear from again.  This woman was the first 'Navy wife' that I met when we got to Charleston after we were married.  I almost plotzed when I got the request!  We exchanged a couple of emails and keep in touch through Facebook.  The thing that stood out about her, though, is that she seems to have the same personality that she did so many years ago:  she is perky.  I don't do perky.  While I think I could be happy getting together for a day or two--they live in Ohio--I could never stand to be around her for too long without wanting to bitch slap her.  Sorry, but happy, peppy, perky people drive me insane.  Now, HOW do I know she is happy, perky, peppy?  In the last email she sent, I believe the exclamation points were more prevalent than the letters she used.  You got that right, she's an exclamation point abuser.  Oooooh boy.

Shortly after 'M' contacted me, another voice from the past requested me as a friend.  And this one floored me even more than 'M.'  He is a guy that K and I graduated with--someone who I never really got along with--actually, we didn't interact hardly ever.  We never ran in the same circles nor had many classes together.  He also was a terrible bully when we were young and he picked on me quite a bit.  So, him 'friending' me was a shock.  We haven't communicated beyond becoming friends, but I'm still surprised.  There are several other people we graduated with who I would have expected to friend me before 'E' did.

And that is my Facebook experience.  ;)

**********

I don't 'follow' that many more people on Twitter--only 35+.  I actually have more people following me than I follow--go figure.  I don't follow everyone there, either, as I could never keep things straight if I did.  ;)  The closest I come to following celebrities are Conan O'Brien and Brendan Shanahan (a retired hockey player.)  (Neither guy tweets very often, but they are very interesting/funny when they do.)  I spend much more time with Twitter than with Facebook, simply because I get most of my hockey news through Twitter.  I don't have very many 'real' people that I interact with on Twitter.  By that, I mean, people who I know in real life.  Other than a close online friend, the only people that 'know' me on Twitter are my Oldest and The Youngest's husband--and they are hardly ever on Twitter.  Still, I would have to add an unlimited message package to my phone account in order to get all of my tweets daily without having to pay penalties.  I believe I get between 200 and 300 tweets a day--WAY over the 200 per month that I pay for right now.  ;)  

As I said, I get most of my hockey news from Twitter--and I do most of my interacting with Wing fans there.  During games, there will be a half-dozen or more fans--and myself--tweeting updates and comments.  It is a bit easier than some of the live blogs that run during games.  Still, with only 140 characters allowed, it sometimes is hard to express yourself fully.  And that pretty much is the biggest problem with Twitter.  Yes, I know there are programs that will let you tweet longer, I just try to stay in the parameters of Twitter--it keeps me from going off on tangents like I do way too often.  ;)

**********

WARNING!  SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION:

So, if any of you are on Facebook or Twitter and would like to have someone else as a friend or follower, just send me an email and we will get it done.  I am ALWAYS happy to 'friend' or 'follow' someone else!  My email is:  outofmymind.cmk@gmail.com