by stacy on November 26, 2011
I’m not sure that I’m cut out for blogging. As a writer, I write daily. I write about things that matter deeply to me. It may be my guilt over eating chocolate that’s not Fair Trade. I write about my relationships and problems that I encounter. I write essays on Breast Cancer, depression, cooking, my family, and walking my dog. But, when it comes to writing for this blog, I never know if people are interested. How many blogs do we need? Do we need more blogs? So, I’ve decided to make formal my decision. I’ll write when I have something to say. In this way, I’m not searching for things to say to stay in touch. I consider this to be the equivalent of my social policy. I aim to not say things that I do not mean. If I say, let’s have coffee, it’s because I mean let’s have coffee. For years I had a friend who whenever we ran into each other would say, “Let’s get together.” It took me years to realize that it was a social nicety, and I need not try to arrange anything. I’ getting comfortable with greeting someone in the moment and not promising anything for the future. Not promising because I don’t have the time, don’t want to make the time, don’t have much interest, and/or need to be protective of my time. Yoga, writing, knitting, and felting are my creative outlets. I get cranky when I give all of my time away and don’t have space to go inwards. And, these are my thoughts on this day.
by stacy on February 15, 2011
I suppose it’s no surprise to any of you who know me that I don’t mind change. In fact, I kind of like it once I get over the initial shock of the shift. As I’ve watched Egypt for the last few weeks, I can’t help but think of the Tianamen Square Demonstration of twenty-one years ago. I remember working at a booth at the Fremont Fair when I heard the news that the Chinese government had stopped the demonstration by use of force. There was a sense of paralysis. How could we help to put pressure on a regime that had no interest in what we thought. Where would the energy of the rebellion go after it was abruptly halted? How many people would be jailed or killed as a result of their involvement? Here’s where change comes in to play…
The 24/7 media and the internet would not allow the Egyptian rebellion to be hidden. There were reporters and cell phone users who caught the different angles of the days and weeks from deep within. They’d text videos and pictures abroad. Reporters established makeshift connections when channels were shut down to stop the flow of information to the outside world. I kept hearing about how important Twitter is to get the word out.
People talk about Twitter all of the time, and I have very little idea of what Twitter is. I do have a Twitter account, and I tweeted once or twice a few years ago, but I really have no understanding of this particular aspect of social media. I don’t think that I should resist it because I don’t have time for it, anymore than I think that I need to embrace it because it’s out there.
I think it’s important to understand what you are using if you use it, or what you are passing up if you elect not to use it. Just today, my writing teacher said that she thought Twitter was more important than Facebook. I still didn’t know what it is. I pledge to do my homework on Twitter to see what it is. I pledge to stay flexible in thinking and action. I pledge to never reject something because I don’t understand it. I pledge to use Twitter for at least a week, before I make a pronouncement of whether or not I will use it.
Just a few weeks ago, I moved from keeping my calendar in a book to keeping my calendar on my phone using ICal. The first few days were ridiculously tough. I kept reaching for my calendar to see how my classes, appointments, writing, studio work, pick-ups and drop-offs were spread through the week. Then, one day, I stopped reaching for my calendar. I figured out how to have my ICal calendar display in list form. From then on, I have had no problems.
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