...cause that's what I felt like while I was trying to navigate through Facebook earlier today. And, you wanna watch me type a text message? Pull up a good thick cushion and get comfy. I'll have your 5 word sentence out before you can say, "I can't believe it's taking you so long to write such a tiny sentence. Your fingers look like they're full of lead, and you really should think about putting some lotion on them...they are UG-LY!!! Speaking of ugly, I saw this old, scraggly three-legged cat on the side of the road eating a mouse today. It was kind of weird, 'cause I had just watched this documentary about wild lions in Africa and, you know, since cats and lions are part of the same family and all, it totally made me think of that - though, I'm pretty sure a cat couldn't take down a zebra...especially if the cat only had three legs! Wouldn't it be weird if we had three legs? We could, like, invent so many awesome new sports! Soccer would be .... oh! You're finished!"
So, you may be wondering why I'm thinking so much about texting and facebook right now. Well, you see, I've been called to the Young Womens organization in our church, and that means I'll be working directly with a bunch of 12-18 year old girls. I was shocked when I saw that the four questions the Young Women secretary needed from me were:
1) When is your birthday?
2) What is your cell number?
3) Do you text?
4) Are you on Facebook?
Oh boy.
I fear that facebook will start consuming my life...poking and gifting and gaming, and what the devil is Farmville? Remember how I just posted about finally being able to let things go? I can't help but feel like I'm going in the opposite direction, here. And, what about pictures? It seems a little redundant to put pictures up on the blog AND on facebook...do you do that?
Keeping up with status updates alone is a little overwhelming to me. It seems like every time I refresh my browser there are 3 more on there. If I don't check it for *gasp* a whole day, I'm dead meat... Does anyone want to guess how long I was just parked here on the couch surfing through facebook? 2 hours. HOURS. TWO of them!!! Did I mention the fact that I am literally sitting on a pile of laundry? (The couch is covered so I would fold it before I sat. Guess it didn't work.) Am I doing something wrong? Facebook and I have never meshed well. I've tried it valiantly two different times, and it almost seemed like I was adding another child into my life. There are just too many people to keep up with...too many lives to keep track of.
I guess I'm just concerned I won't be able to do it all when I have this cute little guy to keep up with...
...and this sweet 6-year-olds birthday party to blog about...
...and when I have to convince this little guy that he's not actually a princess, even though he is wearing the lip-gloss...
This is my life! This is what I want to be my life! Hmmmm....sounds like I'm babbling and floundering a little here. (This is what I call brain-vomit. Spitting everything out without editing or much thinking. Good for you for keeping up with me to this point!)
I guess it means it's time to find a new balance.
Any facebook lovers who have some advice on how NOT to let it consume your life?
Well, it's about time I start getting into the here-and-now. I guess if I don't keep up, I'll never be able to catch-up when my kids are old enough to be going through it. I have a feeling facebook and texting are only the beginning......
The first couple of weeks on FB are always crazy. It will slow down. I don't have time for it either...but it is nice sometimes when I'm having a "day" to have people comment on my status and it makes me feel a little more human...sometimes.
ReplyDeleteMy dad just turned 60 and had to learn to text because it was the only way to get ahold of his institute students. (P.S. My dad didn't even know how to turn his cell phone OFF for the first year he had it.)
ReplyDeleteHolly is right, the first week of FB can be crazy because you are suddenly connecting with people you haven't heard from in forever. FB is just as consuming as you want it to be. I check it maybe every other day and only post status updates occasionally. I still keep up with my old YW that I taught and it's fun to see where they are in life now. Good luck on your new calling. You'll be great! Maybe you can teach them all some balance. :)
How about you facebook for both of us and I'll text? And THANKS ALOT for reminding me that one day my KIDS will be on facebook!
ReplyDeleteI never post status updates and never post pictures. That's what my blog is for to me! I do go on FB a couple of times a week and look at other people's statuses. (is that a word?)
ReplyDeleteMy recommendation is that you start "hiding" stuff. Sometimes it begins to show back up after a while, but you can hide it again. For example...I hid a distant relative that I don't even know who apparently has the need to update her FB status about every 3-4 minutes. You might decide for a while to hide some people while you try to get the hang of interacting with the YW on FB. good luck!
I was called in YW last summer. We had turned off texting from our phone months before because we never use it and just got "junk mail" texts that we had to pay 20 cents each for. I am not on facebook either and feel like it might consume my life if I tried (I already spend more time on the Internet than I feel like I should). So, the other leaders text the girlS, and I call them one at a time, old-fashioned (and after 7 when it's free minutes, if possible). I have thought of turning text back on and signing up for facebook, but I just can't cave yet for some reason...let me know how it goes, we'll have to compare notes.
ReplyDeleteFacebook and texting may be an "easy" way of contacting your girls but it's doable without it. I called my girls and I didn't even have a cell phone. It was actually kind of funny to see the shock on their faces when I said I didn't have a cell. Granted I worked with the Beehives and most didn't have cell phones either. Facebook scares me because I don't know who will get my information. Call me nieve and I'll agree it still intimidates me though. Good luck with your calling and finding balance again. I think you will be amazing with those girls. I soooo miss being in young womens. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteI am still cracking up that those are requirements for YW!
ReplyDeleteAs you dip your toe into the water of FB, you could 'hide' all your friends except the YW so you can keep up with their lives and have the overwhelming amount of your other friends not show up until you are ready to go deeper into the water. (It sounds like you already have 'friended' a lot of people...that's why you could 'hide' them. If you haven't friended a lot wait and only friend your YW) Does this make any sense at all? I didn't think so...........
ReplyDeleteFB isn't thattough and you have quite a bit of control over what you do. I just "block" most game-related applications as they present themselves. I set up an application that imports my blog entries dirctly/automatically into facebook. I check status if/when I have time and I set up "groups" so I can check specific people. Those who live on FB and post stuff i'm not interested in following I "hide".
ReplyDeleteI think you'll appreciate FB if you use it like a tool. It obviously has multiple appeal factors but you don't have to try and use everything at one...or at all. But it should help you connect with your girls. Good luck with you calling.
Hmmmm... basic rules of facebook:
ReplyDelete1) You don't have to keep up with everyone in your friend list. They are there if you ever are curious about what is happening in their lives, but you don't need to know at all times.
2) Its ok to ignore page requests, the "Become a fan" invites, game or application invites, etc. 99% of the time, people just send the invites to everyone in their list because they get points for doing so. They won't even know if you reject it.
We'll have further "Facebook 101" lessons when you get here :)
Oh, and I really really hope that first picture is what you'll look like in your older years.
ReplyDeleteHey Linds. Looks like everyone already gave you the 101 on FB. I actually like it. It takes a lot less time than posting a blog cuz I view the status posts as mini-conversations. I never put up photos or play games. Then I save my photos and longer thoughts for my blog. You'll learn to like it, I think. Have fun! As for texting, have someone teach you how to use predictive text because it is SO much easier and way FASTER!!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Farmville is the devil :). Are you and Katie in YW together? Lucky you and lucky them. Facebook is a difficult dilemma. Let me know what you figure out. I am sad that many of my friends slack on their blogs because of FB. Lastly, that princess photo is priceless!
ReplyDeleteFunny post.....except I didn't give you permission to start the post with my picture! Don't sweat the Facebook thing...it only demands as much time as you are willing to give. I really am excited that you are in YW...I predict that you will have a great time there!! love you
ReplyDeleteK- don't keep up with the status updates. Really. When I get onto facebook I NEVER go and check the 300+ status updates that I have missed. When I look at my home page, I just glance through the ones that are actually ON the page and never go to the "see older posts" thing... That's really not worth it. Nobody posts a status update and expects everyone they know to have seen it. As for the farmville and other type things... I'm on facebook quite a bit and I still have no idea what those things are. Why? Cause I don't care to know. I block them all and that's the end of it. Wow... this is long. :) See you soon.
ReplyDeleteLooks like fun, you'll do great with the young women :) You'll figure out the balance thing, you only have to read the ones you want to, not required to play any games or anything,and you can just use it almost like email, to contact the girls with a message, instead of on their wall, then it's only between you and them, and you can even be notified in your email if you want, or have it sent to your *gasp* phone, and respond via text, then you can have all things combined! ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, and facebook is a great place to post pictures from activities where the youth are involved, and tag all the youth in the picture. They always like that :)
ReplyDeleteyou should brain vomit more often. :)
ReplyDeleteYW ran fine for years before Facebook. And texting is LAME!!! Your blog can hold all your pictures and the girls might actually enjoy you talking to them on the phone or in person. It is easy to get overwhelmed with FB, but I agree that you hide all the obnoxious things, try to keep up with a few people and let the rest go! But make sure you comment on all my updates... because I'm special! J/K
ReplyDeletePS I think the YW are lucky to have you that they'll be accepting of your technology flaws!