As usual, I'm utilizing my time before/during Grammar to get a post up. Unfortunately it's starting to reflect in my grades, (got a D on my midterm...UGH). Did I mention I HAVE to get a B- or better in ALL my classes to complete Graduate school?...NBD.
In other news, at work I've noticed that our customers have turned into complete assholes overnight. It seems that the "Christmas Spirit" acts a lot like a deadly, zombie-like virus, spreading violently until everybody is furious at even the slightest price discrepancy or coupon debacle. Oh, did I mention we completely skipped Halloween altogether? Besides some shitty candy we have at the customer service desk, there's not even a remnant of Halloween having ever existed in our store. Fortunately, I'm not the Halloween type, so that's all well and good, but when you put Christmas music right in front of me at the beginning of October, I am NOT a happy person. I will feel Christmas-y after Thanksgiving, like everyone is supposed to. And Black Friday, which I am now dreading because people are ALREADY Christmas shopping...crazies...
What is wrong with you people?! I know you would love to get a head start on all your shopping needs for all two of the people you have in your life, but really? Before Columbus Day? It's not ok. Retail associates cringe at the thought of Christmas, Black Friday and the onslaught of what we affectionately call "shopping hell," where we go to die. No one likes it, the crowds are ridiculous and so are the people. Every little thing is a constant struggle and no one plays fair, so you have to literally grin and bare it until the day is over for you and you can go home, just to come back and do it all again the next day. If you know someone who absolutely HATES the holiday season and you can't figure out why they're such a Grinch, it's because they work in a retail environment. I send my love out to all my fellow customer service brothers and sisters as we make our way to the inferno of doom. Stay strong and classy my friends.
After that melodramatic speech, let's refocus onto something a little more upbeat! How about reminiscing? For my Digital Literacies class, we're reading about new media technologies and how students, (mainly teens), interact with each other through these technologies and how they're used in every day occurrences, (possibly more on that topic on Thursday when I do my educational bit). This reading caused me to look into my own practices as a 15-year-old rebel teen full of angst and anxiety and how I used to use social media, mainly in the sense of intimate relationships and how social media fueled them further and/or into ruin.
In order to engage more with the reading, I decided I needed to delve deeper into my own past and research how and when I used social media, what I used it for and which technologies I used the most when dealing with personal relationships. There were some things I already knew: that I met my first serious boyfriend through Instant Messenger, (and the casual suggestion of a mutual friend), and that's how we communicated for over a year before finally meeting in person. Even after we met in person, we used MySpace, AIM, Facebook, LiveJournal and cell phones to keep in contact with each other. Finding both of my old LiveJournal accounts, (and his), was not only embarrassing, but eye-opening. Unbeknownst to me, both LiveJournal and Facebook kept track of exact dates and time frames for when things happened during my personal relationships, (like when I got sick and had my first real flare since my hospitalization in 8th grade). It was interesting to see and remember how and when certain events in my life happened from my own point of view, and his.
It was also interesting to see how absolutely love-struck I was at that age. The beginning stages of high school are formative years for character and personal development, and love is one of the strongest emotions for teens. Apparently I felt it, and I can honestly say that it was real. Seeing how vulnerable I was then, now that I know how all of that panned out, made me realize how naive I was. I'm not saying I was wrong because the way I felt was natural and at the time I didn't know the future. I was perfectly happy staying in the unknown and playing things out for what they were, and I'd say we had a good run. Today I'm very much the opposite in the sense that I need to know everything and nothing can be unknown, which is a little sad at times. I miss the care-free side of me that I've lost over the years, but hopefully it's not too hard to retrieve. I'm thinking I haven't changed all that much; I just became a little more enlightened and fell in love with someone else again, this time for good.
Lastly, my friend Christin, (who also happens to be that mutual friend from above who introduced me to my past boyfriend), has been in town for a few weeks and is leaving on Friday to go back to Colorado. I only got to see her twice because of my work and school schedule, but I'm glad I got to see her. We were talking tonight, before I said goodbye, and I realized we've been best friends for 12 years. That's a long time to be friends with someone, and I'm really glad that she's mine because I don't know what I'd do without her. I went through a separation period with her for awhile and it wasn't fun, and now we're doing it again because she lives so far away. But when she's home, (because HERE is really home), it's like she never left, and we can go back to being our goofy selves:) I love her so much and sometimes I wish we talked more, but I'm thankful for whatever time I do get with her.
(courtesy of Freshman year us)
Alright, that's enough of that. I'm tired and still have reading to accomplish last minute, so I'll get right on that. I promise the St. Louis video will be up by the end of the week, but I've just been so behind on homework that I've had other priorities... I will let everyone know when I finally do post it. Now I have a date with the soft side of a pillow... Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.
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