Work is the reason why I am living by myself again.
In theory it will be like this for close to a year or so but you never know for certain.
Life has a way of making your well-laid plans look a little less well laid and well thought out so it is possible this could be shorter or longer.
Don’t mistake that for having been said with a frown or tears because it wasn’t, there is a lot of joy and optimism behind it all.
I worked my ass off to put myself in this position and I am thrilled that things are going as they are and my fingers are crossed that they continue because of the benefits it provides my family.
This is the first time in years I can say I feel like I am providing for my kids the way I want to and the first time I have had such optimism in far too long.
Why wouldn’t I be happy and or excited.
You Ought To Comment
Steiner the minor has developed a bad habit of not acknowledging the texts or emails he receives from people.
I told him I don’t like this habit because it is rude and obnoxious and it is a good way to lose friends.
He told me it is common behavior so I compared notes with some friends and discovered it seems to be the truth.
I shouldn’t be surprised because parents seem to have trouble RSVP’ing for parties so why should I expect different behavior from their children.
We have been building a world in which we live in electronic bubbles where we point, click, slide and text our way into and out of conversations with others.
I won’t say I am not part of this society or don’t share any responsibility for any of this.
Nor will I say this is the first time I have noticed this because it is not, but it feels different to me now.
Maybe it is because I am walking around a new city and I realize what impact technology has had on my life.
*****
Thanks to social media and texting I don’t talk to people with the same frequency I used to.
Why call when Facebook has shown me the latest moments in their lives and or a quick text lets me know they are thinking of me or me of them.
If I was in LA I’d think about getting together and maybe put it off because I figure it is easy for us to get together for a few.
Yeah we’re busy, but we can find time, if we chose to that is.
Now I am 1,500 miles away so the in person stuff isn’t so easy but social media and texting makes it feel like I am right there.
It is almost like nothing has changed, especially when you hit the same chain of markets and stores here as you’d find there.
Homogeneity at its finest.
Stupid is as stupid does unfortunately, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to follow along with it. As Dr. Phil says, “you teach people how to treat you”, and I’ll do it in a heartbeat back at people who don’t do right by me.
For instance, I have a 10-second rule for phone calls, especially cellphones; if we’re talking and I’m on hold for longer than 10 seconds, I hang up. That’s because I don’t ever, and I mean EVER, put anyone on hold to take another call… and that’s after more than 20 years.
Saying “because everyone else does it” is a copout; I gotta be me! 🙂
Hi Mitch,
I don’t know if I had ever heard that about Dr. Phil but I agree with it. We need to set standards and expectations.
I like your rule for putting people on hold. I can’t say I don’t do it but if I do it is because it is one of my kids on the other line and if they aren’t texting me, well I know it is important. 🙂
My students and I read a few articles on this subject at the start of school and each year I hear horror stories about them texting one another…while they are in the same place, perhaps even the same booth at a restaurant! It blows my mind.
Then, I think about how my mom text me a question the other night and I didn’t immediately respond to her. Not because I didn’t have an answer, but because I didn’t feel like messing with it at that moment. Well, that moment passed and I forget about it until the next day. Now, how much better am I than my students?
I forget about responding to some things too. I think the operative question here is can we communicate without our phones.
I hate that aspect of technology and how people don’t bother responding. Let’s start a petition!
Keep the optimism flowing.
We are on the same page here for certain.
Certainly something that I constantly think about. I want to remove myself from all of these social practices… though after years living abroad, it became second nature to contact friends this way, instead of by phone. In fact, I sometimes get scared when people contact me by phone, always assuming the bad news would be done there. I probably need some re-wiring!
Habits are hard to break and we don’t necessarily think of some as being bad. Heck, so much of it is subjective.