Posts Tagged ‘FriendFeed’
Regaining Some Sanity
Yesterday I did something I never thought I’d do.
I walked away from FriendFeed.
I know, it’s such a small thing. It’s not like I discovered the cure for cancer or established a singing career. But there you have it. I got tired of the backbiting and egos and constant stream of passive-aggressive attacks. I used to enjoy conversing with people there. Now it makes me cringe.
It’s been suggested that I just need to step away and take a short break. I am hoping I never have to go back. I am not currently planning on going back. It’s my hope that by doing so, I’ll trick myself into not feeling the draw of that godforsaken place. I can’t even log in right now because I know I’ll get itchy fingers to comment or Like something. I don’t want that. I want a clean break.
The final straw for me was being name-called and then blocked by someone I thought I was cool with because I dared to have a bit of a spleen-venting on my own feed. A spleen-venting that was the result of being ridiculed on another thread for apparently having poor taste in literature. After being needlessly snapped at several weeks ago when trying to cheer up a bummed-out FF’er (something that I’d seen other FF’ers do countless times), I decided that this was just ridiculous. It makes no sense to invest myself into a service that just opens me up to disappointment and hurt feelings at the hands of others. I’m not thin-skinned. I absorb far more abuse than you’ll ever know. I just know my limits and I’m thinking I’ve reached mine with FriendFeed.
I wonder how long it will take for people to realize that I’m not feeding my stuff there anymore and they’ll have to actually check me out on Twitter or here to keep up? I wonder how many people actually care? I know I really don’t. I prefer my faceless audience of random IP addresses and lengthy page views without comments. I know I have regular readers, and I’m good with that.
At least now I’ll have (relatively) more time to focus on opening my brain on this site, as I found I was doing that more on FF than I was doing here. I’m like a neglectful parent who’s spent one too many nights at the local bar while her kids are at home playing with matches and watching Beavis & Butthead. SHAMEFUL.
Back to the grind
Being back at my normal comfy office job after spending two weeks doing honest, dirty, sweaty manual labor feels like cheating somehow. Which is probably why I’m itching to get into my yard this weekend and plant the new crop of yarrow, lavender, and pink spirea that I picked up yesterday at our plant sale. (I was very good; there were three homeless 15gal redwood trees going for $25 bucks a pop – normally they sell for $90 apiece – and I walked away knowing I would have to baby the crap out of them to maximize survival through their first in-ground summer)
The best thing in my inbox this morning was an e-mail forwarded to me by Coworker Tom wherein my former boss in my old department outright admitted that I “ran the team” when I was still a part of it. I wouldn’t say I ran it, but I’ll be very forthright and say that I was often the glue that held all that shit together. Not because I wanted to be but because someone had to be. Otherwise things just got left to rot. And one thing I cannot stand is work being left undone when it will cause more work down the road. Work is like coathangers and rabbits; you leave it alone long enough and it multiplies to the point of unmanageability.
But anyway…it was a nice thing to hear my former boss admit considering that it was his decision to axe me and my job from the team in the first place. He’s unfortunately learned his lesson the hard way, as yet another one of his employees has gone out on indefinite stress leave, and there’s a lot of really important work that is completely undone at this point. Stuff that wouldn’t have happened had I been there. I’m not saying I’m superwoman. I am saying that I take care of business. I’m worth every penny I’m paid and then some.
One thing I definitely didn’t miss while I was on vacation…the crap coffee. I’m starting to wonder if perhaps investing in a new French press for the office might not be a bad idea after all…
FriendFeed backlash?
Yeah, so, after last night’s mini rant, it seems I’ve raised some hackles on FriendFeed. Oh well. I’m sure I scored a few unsubs and maybe even a block. *shrug* Used to it by now. I have to say, I have immense amounts of respect for the people on FF that I regularly interact with. It’s pretty much those on the fringe of my FoaF feed that have managed to irritate me. Not that it’s very difficult to irritate me at the moment. Too much to do, not much time to do it all in, and a lot of stupidity standing between me and my goal of complete sanity.
Speaking of which, I finally broke down today and bought all new therapeutic-grade essential oils, since the ones I use in my soaps and stuff aren’t therapeutic-grade and aren’t in the scents I personally would like. I did this today because I really need some assistance in helping me to regain concentration and mental clarity, as I feel like my brain is rapidly slipping away from me. I switched one of my classes to credit/no credit grading today because I started to neglect it a bit and now it’s slipping dangerously close to A-minus/B-plus territory, and that’s unacceptable. I’ve had a tough time really focusing on the work this term and I’ve noticed a general decline in the quality of my schoolwork in the last six months, stemming from focus issues, bringing me very close to the brink of losing my 4.0. I’m not one to medicate (hello, made it through clinical depression without any medical aid whatsoever) so instead I reach for the homeopathic remedy of aromatherapy and ginkgo supplements. Yes, I’m a hippie nut but I’m very endearing.
Other Things
Acquired a new piercing last Thursday at the fair. I fibbed on the release form when it asked if I was making this decision while intoxicated. I mean, I wasn’t stumbling drunk, but I was a couple glasses of wine into a state of happiness, so.
And no, I didn’t get it in any place “interesting.” I had a second ring installed just below the first one in my upper right ear. Since this one is through a considerably thicker amount of cartilage this time, it’s hurting like a bitch. It’s going to take anywhere from three to five months to heal, depending on how much I irritate it as well as how closely I stick to the sea salt cleansing method the piercing lady prescribes. Last time I chucked it after a week and my ear took almost five months to heal proper. Since sea salt promotes healing faster than soap or Bactine, I’m definitely going to work this one out to the end. I want this one done before I’m pushed to the point of removing it entirely for the relief.
This weekend I’m heading out into the field to finally perform my riparian evaluation data collection. I’ve pretty much spent the better part of this term mapping my grid and sourcing information from the web, the local agencies, and from past photos I’ve taken of the area I’m studying. Here’s to hoping things go smoothly. I want to be in and out before the heat of the day rains down upon us with great vengeance. (current forecast: high of 95, no wind) My plan is to arrive at the north end of the site by 7am and be done by noon at the latest. Knock on wood and all. I’m sure there will be a ridiculous photo of me in my boonie hat and field vest to follow.