I just got an email that an old friend is blogging at quarterlifecrisis/vegan chai.
Welcome to blogging. I can't wait to see you "write yourself into existence on the web."
I love the phrase "quarterlife crisis." As someone who had a doozy of a time in life when I was about 25, it's a phrase I've thought about a lot. I still don't know why that was such a strange time of life for me. I know what led up to that point, but why did it reach a crescendo so suddenly?
People: February 2005 Archives
I feel like somehow humanity has failed Koko somewhere along the line.
If it was even close to the month of April, I would have never believed this.
[Courtesty of b^2]
In the last few years I've grow very accustomed to using IM for both work and personal communication. I'm generally online a majority of my waking hours. I recently read a post, by Danah Boyd on the different kind of IM usage that neatly framed up the usage patterns I have experienced.
"The problem with IM is that the always-on'rs have gotten far more comfortable with the technology than those who still see it as a communication tool, not just a desirable presence tool. The cultural divide is very much magnified by experience and time spent engaged in the technology. Of course, the split happens around those who recognize the value of presence and want to do what it takes culturally to retain that."
Danah Boyd, cultural divide in IM: presence vs. communication
My stance is that IM is a valuable presence tool. I am "on" all day long. I not available to have a day long conversation, any more than you can stop by my office and stay for an entire day. Being present to my colleagues in India makes a huge difference in my effectiveness. I have tried to explain this to people who are entering into software development that spans geographic boundaries. Some people just don't seem to get it; they can't handle the idea that someone might message them and they don't have time to respond at just that moment. The same person knows exactly how to send a caller away from the office door, or how to ignore a ringing phone.
The odd thing about me is that I have no desire to carry a cell phone. A cell phone is simply another tool for being always on, that isn't terribly different from an IM client. Somehow the cell phone feels like more of a burden to me. I suppose the price of IM also plays into this decision. Would I use IM if I had to spend an extra $40 per month to use it?
I was out for a walk around Langton Lake in Roseville over the lunch hour today. When I asked one of my co-workers for more detail about an interesting dream he happened to mention in passing, he responded with "No, you'll just blog about it."
Moi, I would never do that ... or would I.
Sometimes I get aggravated by the sheer amount of stuff I own.
I've been thinking about "stuff" lately as an old friend is moving this week and she has to pack and unpack it. When I move or even think about the effort involved in moving, I get aggravated thinking about all my stuff.
The same aggravation arises when I go camping and spend a few days existing with nothing more than what can fit in my pack or pockets, I am overcome by a desire to throw away everything I own when I get back home. All the stuff at home is weighed in my mind and registers as "too heavy". I think "Why do I have all these spoons, each person in the family only needs one?" Needless to say, I don't actually toss or burn everything, mostly because I am the only one in my household who really likes living out of a backpack.
On most days, I like my stuff right up until the point I have to maintain it, move it, feed it, care for it, and enslave myself to it.
So when I saw this, I was blown away. I can't even imagine living like this. I own nothing compared to this person.
Even though I can now smugly congratulate myself for not being "that bad" this house scares the pants off me. It makes me want to toss some stuff prophylactically.
Nothing I said about stuff applies to "my precious".
