Hi friends! I wanted to let you know that today I am guest posting over at the Gumshoe blog. I featured them in my recent post 8 Blogs That Rock. These talented bloggers started a new monthly column called “FieldNotes” you can learn about here. The theme for this month is colors of our everyday world and I decided to write about the company Pantone. This was my first guest post and it was a lot of fun. Many thanks to Gumshoe for giving me the opportunity and the honor! Be sure to check out my post and take a look around Gumshoe blog by clicking the link below.
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This morning I read a great post by my new blogging friend Stacey over at Likes to Smile Blog that was a list of “Never Have I Evers.” Her post is part of a linkup by the lovely ladies of Back East Blond, Heavens to Meighan and Keeping Up With the Cyperts. I’ve never participated in a linkup before and I thought this one sounded like fun. You know, if I could come up with some PG rated experiences. The last time I played this game included lots of alcohol and no ring on my finger. My how times have changed. Here are 8 things you probably didn’t know about me.
- Watched an episode if American Idol. Sorry folks, I just don’t see the appeal. Plus, Ryan Seacrest drives me bananas.
- Liked watermelon. I try it at least once a year just to see if I change my mind. Something about the texture just doesn’t do it for me.
- Gotten a ticket. I have been pulled over 3 times and somehow weaseled by way out of getting a tickets. Most memorable would be the time the officer asked me if I knew why he pulled me over and I told him honestly that I didn’t. He said I made an illegal U-turn and I pointed out the sign actually stated “no left turn.” Mr. Police Man next asked me out may left turns make up a U-turn. Smart as I am I said “two”. This is about when he started to doubt himself and decided not to give me a ticket. To this day I’m still not entirely sure the legality of the situation.
- Seen The Notebook. I know. I have scolded for this before. Everyone I have ever talked to bawled their eyes out during this movie. Why would I inflict this upon myself?
- Dyed my hair. Here is a fun activity–Picture me with blond hair. Worst idea ever. I have thought about getting highlights but I’m way too cheap to keep up with that. I will be a brunette for life.
- Actually liked beer. This didn’t stop me from drinking it like water in college. I drank a lot of microbrews when I moved to Portland (we have one on almost every corner. Likely next to a thai food place) but I decided to finally be honest with myself. Wine, cider and Lillet for this girl!
- Worked the same job or lived in the same residence for longer than a year and a half since 2000. Hoping to fix that in 2013-14. Time to enjoy what I have.
- Enjoyed running. Many years of ballet left me with a mild case of duck-feet (pointed outwards). Ducks don’t run. Trust me.
Well that was fun. Not sure I have ever play this game sober before! What about you? What have you never done?
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Although it’s hard to believe, a whole year has passed since I was a member of the Facebook community. In case you need a refresher, I wrote about my decision to give up the “Book” here. I’ve been asked many times what life is like without Facebook so I thought I would dump some of my thoughts here.
Pros
- More time. Well, this isn’t entirely true. Since I have given up Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram have taken the world by storm. I’m not sure how I could fit all my Pinstagraming time in if I still had Facebook and work, eat, sleep, etc. I also found myself compulsively checking my account throughout the day afraid that I had missed something.
- Less drama. Seriously, this is the thing I enjoy most about not being on Facebook. Between politics, unfriending, drunken status updates and embarrassing photos there is a lot of drama to be had.
- Focus on my “real” friends. Before I closed down my account I was spending a fair amount of time stalking people I hadn’t seen in years just to stay in the loop. Don’t get me wrong, I miss this sometimes. But it prevented me from putting the effort into the relationships that were really important to me.
- I discovered Twitter. Yes, this seems hypocritical. I gave up Facebook only to replace it with Twitter? But I have created a Twitter feed that is pure entertainment for me. I like to follow people with funny, smart, entertaining, motivating tweets. Not to mention the occasional celebrity stalk, I mean follow. Most of the people in my life are Facebookers and not Twitterers, so this has eliminated most of the drama I ran into on Facebook.
Cons
- I am out of the loop. Facebook has become the way most people share about what is going on–good and bad. My Mom was talking to me about a family member’s recent surgery and then remembered I’m not on Facebook and no one had told me. I really miss seeing the photos of my friends. Especially now that they are having babies. I have even missed some socializing events where the invite was distributed via Facebook only. Totally sucky.
- Connecting with new people. Over the years Facebook did help me connect with new people and reconnect with old. I miss this. It is really hard to meet new people in your thirties and I know being a part of this network would simplify some aspects of socializing.
- Website sign-ins. There are a lot of sites these days that require a Facebook login to register or to access special features which is super annoying.
Confession
Even when you “delete” your account, Facebook saves all your information and you can reactivate it at any time. I have logged in maybe 3 or 4 times in the past year. Mostly to see photos from my family and friends that are only posted there. But also for the occasional stalk. Once to get someone’s contact information I couldn’t track down elsewhere. Yes, I totally feel like I cheated.
Verdict
For the time being I am going to continue to be Facebook-free. It is the best decision for me right now. Who knows, this may change in the future. To be honest, I lack the self-control to use Facebook in moderation so the best thing for me is to stay the hell away. My name is Rachael and I am a Facebookoholic. But I hope my friends realize this decision isn’t personal and continue to connect with me through phone calls, emails, this blog, Instagram and Twitter.
How do you feel about Facebook? Has it brought good to your life? Bad? What would your life be without it?
It’s Tuesday again so that must mean it’s time for another time-lapse video! You can see last Tuesday’s video here, along with some more information about time-lapse photography. Today we are going to take a tour of the amazing Pacific Northwest in a video by John Eklund, a photographer living in Portland, also known as the best city in the U.S. I guess I’m a little biased. John has done several amazing time-lapse films so you will probably be seeing more of his work featured here. Check out his website for more information. Watching this I was once again reminded how beautiful this part of the country is and how lucky I am to call this home. Not to mention I need to work on my Oregon-Washington bucket list ASAP. Hope you enjoy this 4-minute escape from reality!
Click here to view this video on Vimeo.
