When I tell some of my friend and acquaintances about someone I met on a blog or something I'm discussing, I often get strange looks or even a snide comment on why would I want to waste my time talking to people I don't know.
We all need our time for recreation. The Wiktionary defines recreation as any activity that diverts, amuses or stimulates. My time on the computer, reading and writing on blogs, certainly meets the criteria for recreation. I could understand the criticism if I were avoiding work or other important responsibilities that I needed to attend to.
I work 40 hours a week. I take care of two places, not really well but then I wouldn't do that even if I had nothing else to do. I spend time with family and friends, no less than usual. I cook for myself and my dog. Maggie gets special home cooked dog food ever since the dog food scare. I garden, sometimes not so well. I still fish and play outside. That is limited due to the heat index around here this summer. It is just too hot except for a few hours either in the morning or in the evening. I do everything that I used to do before finding blogs to hang out on.
I guess the only thing I may do less of is watching television and sleeping. I'm certainly not missing anything important on TV and sleep is something I can catch up on when I'm dead. I have stopped going to the casinos. We have many of those here and when I felt lonely or depressed I would go to one of our casinos and play the slot machines. When I left, I was still lonely and even more depressed because the odds of coming out with the money I brought in, much less taking any extra out, was slim to none. Don't need that anymore. What I have saved there more than pays for my computer and Internet service.
Blogs offer a community that is bigger and more diverse than what one can find in a small or even medium sized town. I like to learn about and discuss things that my friends aren't interested in. For one, I'm a very blue girl trapped in a very red community/state. When I want to discuss politics, not only are most of the people I'm around at the other end of the spectrum from my philosophy, they don't even want to talk about it.
Blogs offer people to communicate with throughout the day and night. Not many people want to talk early in the morning or very late at night when I may be in the mood to chat. After working in a very intense environment all day(at the prison) with many people, many of whom are distressed, I need some space and down time. Blogs offer that space and time without losing any connectivity.
Blogging goes well with my ADHD. Under what other circumstances can you chat with people, jump up and cook a meal, run out and make a few casts with the rod, water your plants, go feed the birds, and do it all at the same time without someone saying, why don't you just sit still for a while?
There are so many other great reasons to blog. What do you think? I'm still very much in awe of computers and the Internet and all the potential they both bring to our world.
To each his/her own.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
24 comments:
Carol, like my mom always says, what they don't know can't hurt them. We are all free to waste time in our own way. Keep blogging!
Carol,
Having intermittent difficulty with getting my posts on...my open id "credentials" are not consistently "verified." Hey, I do have a birth certificate from the United States of America. lol
(If duplicate posts show up, that's the reason...I keep hitting "post.")
Ivy, it's easy to get a google handle. If I can do it anyone can. I'm waiting for someone else to come with a blog post. I can't hold up this site all alone. You are spicy and you are a southern, it's your turn. Share your puppy stories. Maybe even a doggy psychology trick?? Maybe different one might work on Maggie??
And I don't see blogging as a waste of time. Every day I learn so much from so many.
What I can't figure out how to do is write my post on Word and then cut and paste. It won't let me do that. I have to edit all by myself and I read what I want to see not necessarily what I wrote. I end up with lots of goofs.
BTW, it does the same thing to me. I have to hit "post comment" a couple of times before it goes through. Maybe the cyber gobblins are checking us out for lice or something.
Some may think "blog people" are "kooks" or even "not real." But we are real, maybe more real because we have a kind of anonymity that permits free expression. Who would have thought that somebody like "Colorado Bob" of Hopi Blue Corn fame, and Solar Ovens, and Art Cars and nailing-jello-to-the-wall fame could be "real." But he's real alright...I met his friend Hank in Colorado who confirmed he's one of the best artists and best people evAR. Even my hubs is a believer now (not a blogger or a poster, but a believer.)
My dogs have done nothing noteworthy since coming home from "vacation." But you might get a chuckle to hear I've gotten my own little "payback" from the treat-trick. Now whenever there's thunder, I am charged by a pack of tail-waggers mugging me for treats.
I like blogging, because of what you mentioned Carol. It's available when you're in the mood. You can also scan the conversation, and then walk away if you're not interested or have nothing to add. It's personal, and yet private. I also agree with you, that there's a wider variety of people, then you'd normally find in one place.
One last thing, I kinda like communicating by writing sometimes, more than talking. It can be frustrating, trying to get things across and not having immediate response, but it does give you more of a chance to consider what you're going to say, too.
I would rather that Maggie beg for the treats than hide under the bed. I don't think it was the therapy that messed her up but rather the back to back noise trauma. She has gotten to be so neurotic. The Dog Whisperer would say she needs a lot more exercise, long walks at least twice a day. Until it got hot we did take walks at least once a day.
Does your hubs mind the time you spend on your computer? And yes I do think I share more of the real me with my computer friends than I do with my at home friends.
And with the help of the Internet, you have a big area to find people who share your interests. At home you are limited to mostly the people you come in contact with.
Ivy, That's funny about how smart those dogs are. Just like Pavlov's bell. How very cute that they waggle over and expect their treats, when they hear thunder. I guess you did succeed in turning those storms into something positive (for the dogs, that is):)
Chloe, yes, you always have time to think about what you want to say, even walk away for awhile to think about it before posting. It would be nice if I could do that before I communicate in person but then conversations would be very slow.
I agree that in the local world (I was going to say real world, but I think this internet is the real world too, you are limited to the people that you come in contact with. It's more interesting to choose from a larger group.
My hubby doesn't mind me being on the internet a lot. He is glad to see me have a place to go, that I enjoy so much. I have, I think, an exceptional husband, one that accepts me the way I am (and I don't think I'm always that easy to live with). Our relationship works. When we were younger, we worked on it, and now it fits just right. Hard work pays off. Love helps a lot too.
Exactly Carol. I can be very cool head, and other times be a hot head. It's nice to be able to walk away and think about things, before responding or not respond at all. I wish I did that more often though.
Carol, You're a lot more understanding of people than I am, sometimes. Emotion often gets in my way. It causes misunderstanding, even misinterpretation.
I do try to stop and ponder why people are behaving in a certain way but it doesn't keep my feelings from being hurt at times or keep me from reacting with anger.
I see ya'll haven't solved the health care problem yet. I keep watching and waiting and right now I don't have anything significant to offer.
I don't know what more can be said about health care. Obviously I would love to see single payer, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen yet. That doesn't surprise me so much, it's just pretty disgusting that our politicians are so calculating, and I don't mean in our favor, either. They give you just enough to keep you quiet. Although they aren't even doing that now.
Carol, Liked your blog on nurturing too, and left a comment there.
I need some sleep. See you tomorrow.
With the complexity involved in health care, and believe me I have been pondering on it for many years, I can't see this problem being solved overnight. I think they ought to have lots of nurses involved in coming up with the solutions. They are the workhorses of the industry and probably have the least to gain or lose from the changes.
Nite Chloe
Hey, I'm back, Carol. Hubs doesn't mind me on the computer because then I can't complain about him being on the guitar!
I once posted a joke on Trail Mix from the internet that hubs had thought was especially funny...a husband and wife discussing end-of-life wishes with her saying she didn't want to be hooked to a machine with fluids going into her. So he unplugged her computer and threw out her wine. He still laughs over that because it's true!
Darn, you get to play on the computer and listen to guitar music. That's special. I always wanted to be able to play the guitar but that wasn't in the cards for me.
It would fun if we had a day where we could talk to all the spouses. That might be enlightening. We could get some advice from Stinky about foraging for edible plants. Shopping in the woods might be just as much or more fun than going to Wal-Mart.
Hubs gets excited if I actually recognize a tune. If I recognize it IS a tune. That's progress.
(I have to do multiple words verifications to get my credentials verified, but the last "word" was a hoot...flabingle! Too bad flabingle didn't work.)
Don't be too hard on hubs. He's pursuing a dream.
If you use a google handle to sign in, you don't have to do that type the word stuff. Well at least not very often. I use typepad at Craig's place.
Post a Comment