Tag: Facebook

The Thread Master

~ Lenore Diane ~ Leave a comment

There are pros and cons to joining and using Facebook. Though many use Facebook to shamelessly promote the wonderful accomplishments and adorable looks of two incredibly beautiful boys . . .er, um, I mean, many use Facebook to promote themselves and/or their family in some way, shape or form. Of course, I’ve merely observed this practice with Facebook. I would never use Facebook to do such a thing.

Then, there are others who use Facebook to entertain. One person steps up to the stand, hand selects others to join him in a quest for intelligent conversation, strange ideas, mind-bending questions, vanity tags, junk, bacon, cookies, euphemisms and a passion for Regretsy. Well, some folks and I have met this person. We call him: Thread Master.

Thread Master has stitched together a plethora of people, mingling within various Threads. The Thread Master’s accomplishment is no small feat, either. Others, myself included, have tried to create one’s own group of ‘threaders’, only to find the deafening sound of crickets.

Yes, I bow down to the Thread Master, who has managed countless threads for over a year. And, as I bow, I find it hard not to compare my Thread Master to ‘Toy Story’.

As a matter of fact, it is as if we (the Threadheads) are living a version of Toy Story. Our Thread Master is the Claw, and we are the Aliens.

Threadheads: “The Claw!”
Threadhead #1: “The Claw is our master.”
Threadhead #2: “The Claw chooses who will go and who will stay.”
Alien: “I have been chosen! Farewell, my friends. I go on to a better place.”

When a new Alien joins the thread:
Threadhead #1: “A Stranger.”
Threadhead #2: “From the outside.”
All Threadheads: “Oooooooooooooh.”

And like the Aliens, those within the Thread know Nirvana is found within the mystic portals.

The ‘Claw’ turned 40 this week. And, I am taking this opportunity to salute him and thank him for providing great fun and entertainment. I am honored to be an Alien, er Threadhead, and I am glad the Thread Master chose me. “Bawk! Bawk!”

Oh me, oh my! What alot of distractions go by!

~ Lenore Diane ~ Leave a comment

Dear Blogary,

My head is pounding, my body is tense and my mind is overwhelmed with random thoughts, anxieties and nonsense. I read a quote this morning, “Don’t tell me that worry doesn’t do any good. I know better. The things I worry about don’t happen.” I find that quote very funny, as I can relate to worrying. And really, I don’t think the quote has anything to do with this post. I’m not sure what my topic is for this post.

Blogary, according to my cycle calendar, I am in the two week crazy period. Perhaps the head is pounding due to PMS. Perhaps the head is pounding due to the overwhelming sense of stress I feel. Perhaps the head is pounding due to the tension. I haven’t a clue. And, when I try to sit in silence, my mind does not cooperate. I am trying to figure out what is getting to me so greatly, but seriously – the voices will not hush.

I had a moment of clarity, as I turned on Good Morning America to watch the cast of Modern Family. I love that show. The chemistry on that show resembles the chemistry of The Carol Burnett Show. Gosh – if Modern Family was a live show, it would be incredible! Perhaps Carol will guest star on Modern Family w/Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence. Oh, they could appear as the “Mama’s Family” characters. ACK. I must Tweet the cast and creators to share my idea.

[Note the sense of ‘urgency’ to share my Modern Family idea with the world. Much like the urge to Google something instantly, when you are curious about this or that thing.]

In other news, or simply because I find it hard to stay on any one thought for a prolonged period of time, I’ve received some feedback from my arguing post. It’s nice to know my posts are being read. In addition, it is nice when folks take the time to express their opinion. Thanks folks! I hope you’ll continue to check my blog and read a post or five. And as always, comments are welcome.

The radio is playing in the background, TweetDeck is open on my laptop and beeping every time a new Tweet is received, my instant messenger application is open and notifying me of instant messages and I have two email applications open and receiving emails. Distracted much? Stimulated much? Is it possible my multi-tasking is a source of the tension, headache and stress? Naaaaah.

Blogary, why do some people boast about the fact that they are able to multi-task? And, why do we feel the need to multi-task? I love writing, yet I find I become distracted by checking the blog stats to see if anyone is reading. I love reading Tweets, yet I find myself replying to tweets with utter nonsense, and then I find myself checking to see if I received a response from my response. My email is open all day – Monday through Friday, and I spend countless minutes/hours refreshing to see if I have received any emails. Multi-tasker or obsessed? Or obsessed with multi-tasking?

Blogary, keep in mind, I work from home. In a feeble attempt to rationalize my many open applications, I mention the fact that my boss frequently uses instant message and email to reach me. But, let’s be honest, the majority of the applications open on my laptop are used for personal reasons. The addiction and distraction is maddening. Happily, I am becoming less and less active on Facebook. I still update  my status, but I don’t actively participate in posts, etc. as much as I have in the past. (Well, not every hour of the day, anyway.)

While I believe the many computer applications I use create a bit of tension during my day, I am also feeling anxious about other things. We received Joe’s paperwork for the Montessori school. Woo hoo! As I type, I have butterflies of excitement in my belly. Then I immediately switch to tension, as I wonder what I will do to ensure we have the money needed to keep Joe enrolled in the private school. I will get a second job, that fact is for certain. But, until I focus on the job search, the anxiety comes and goes fairly regularly.

Much like my eating issues, I find when I panic about us not having enough money, I go through a spending splurge. It’s like the minute you start a diet and crave all the crap in the world. Well, we really need to watch our pennies, and finding restraint to buy the littlest thing is driving me bonkers! And, these are things I would have no interest in buying, if I were not stressed and anxious. Case in point? Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food ice cream. Ok. That’s not true. I’d buy that stressed or not stressed. Fortunately, Ben & Jerry’s was on sale today; not that I bought any – or did I?

I should probably hold off publishing this post until Friday, due to the randomness of my thoughts. Meh. I won’t wait. Goodness knows, I’ll have no problem being random come Friday. And, while I am being random . . .

Twitter is truly addicting. Addicting and amazing. I am amazed how celebrities will respond to the ‘Tweets’ from non-celebrities. I have received a few direct messages from folks who are in the public eye. And, I admit, I find getting a direct message from a celebrity is a pretty cool thing. Twitter has a way of bringing folks together and generating a sense of normalcy. Normalcy is not the right word, and really – I find Twitter encourages stalking, to a point. Still, having someone ‘famous’ respond to me about what I tweeted makes me think of them as just another person – no better, no worse. In addition, because I am able to reach out via Tweeting, I feel as though any pedestals I may have had them on are gone, because these folks are just normal folks. Well, Cher is still on a pedestal.

Anyway, I think I am done here. Perhaps I should try to ween myself off some of the open applications each day. Right. I’ll start that the day I give up Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. No worries, I’ll tweet, email, update my status and send out an IM when it happens! Stay tuned.

Love,
Me

Friday Fickle

~ Lenore Diane ~ Leave a comment

“Mom?” I hear through the locked bathroom door. I am in the shower, so I can barely make out what is being said. “Guys. I am in the shower, and I can’t hear you. Can’t you wait until I am done?” I yell in return. Ignoring my plea, Joe shouts, “Do I have to wear underwear today?” And so begins another morning . . .

***

Mother’s Day is this weekend. And, I will be spending Mother’s Day weekend heading to my Mom’s house on Saturday, tackling various chores around her house. Then, heading to my Mother-in-law’s house on Sunday, visiting with her, with the possibility of tackling chores around her house, too.

I watched The Middle this week, which is a comedy about a family of five. The episode surrounded Mother’s Day, and the Mom made the comment that Father’s Day is so successful because a Mom is in charge of it. Some Father’s don’t seem to grasp the concept of Mother’s Day, and/or they need the help of the Mom to pull it off successfully. That’s OK. Moms deserve to feel appreciated and loved more than one day a year, as do Dads. I must admit, the kids and Rob do a fine job of providing me with love and support. And, I don’t have a problem asking for a time-out when I need one. Sometimes, the guys even encourage it! (Go figure!)

***

So, it’s officially official. Joe was accepted into the Montessori school for Kindergarten. Rob and I met with the Director of the Montessori school this week. She reviewed Joe’s test and scores with us. And, she showed us a couple of projects he completed. In addition, she let us know how he responded to the following question:

“Joe, what is one thing you remember learning from Ms. Suzann [his day care provider]?” “Well,” Joe responds. “You should never say you don’t like God.”

Did I mention the Montessori school is a Christian school? Looks like Joe is getting a head start on the art of kissing up to the teacher. Good boy.

***

Not too long ago, the makers of the Baby Einstein videos were in the news. Apparently, parents were complaining because their kids weren’t becoming the geniuses the products claimed to create. Studies were done by – well, the folks that do studies. The conclusion was that kids who watched the videos did not speak or read any earlier than those that did not watch the videos.

Shocking, right? Kids do not become geniuses by watching videos. Who knew?

Though I make no claim that either Joe or Charlie are geniuses, I do claim that both Joe and Charlie know instruments because of Baby Einstein’s ‘Baby Meet the Orchestra’. We watched (and still watch) ‘Baby Meet the Orchestra’ frequently. Once, while driving in the car and listening to John Denver [hush], Joe said “Hey! I hear a French horn.” He was correct. And, to this day, both he and Charlie will request “the French horn song.”

Earlier this week, we drove by two water towers, similar to the one pictured. Joe said, “Look! That looks like a timpani.”

Is Joe a genius? I doubt it. But, I assure you, we didn’t teach him about the sound of  French horn or the Timpani drum. His musical knowledge (and strong interest) comes from Baby Einstein.

***

Facebook is a funny social network. Really. We’ve all seen the skits mocking Facebook, where some ‘stranger’ comes to your front door, barges in your house, hugs you and goes on and on about the good ol’days. ‘Friend requests’ pop up left and right. Friend requests are ignored, and friend requests are accepted. Names are entered in the ‘Search’ box on the off chance one might find a ghost of his/her past.

Well, after several failed attempts at searches, I finally found a long lost friend by snooping through friends of my sister’s friend’s friends. Seriously, there are several qualities about Facebook that make it a stalking network. Hello. My name is Lenore Diane, and I am a stalker. I think I have admitted that fact in previous posts.

This friend and I were in a movie back in 1979. When the movie was released in the United States the name was The Visitor. But, as I have since found, the movie was a foreign film with the name Stridulum. It’s a cult classic. Sadly, it is unavailable on DVD. I suppose I should say, it would be a cult classic. Amazingly enough, I found a clip on YouTube, and it is the clip that includes shots of my friend and me. My friend is more visible than me, but I see me (brown dress, blond hair.) Curious? Here you go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mi6PMFJyBo

***

Here’s hoping everyone has a nice day, night, weekend, etc. I am going to cut out of work early, pop in a movie and eat some Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food. Sure, I could spend my time doing something useful and perhaps meaningful. But, I like to remember an old Steve Winwood song, “While you see a chance take it”. I suppose I could see this as a chance to clean the house or do work-work. Meh. I like the ice cream/movie option best. Cheers!