noncommittal blogging alert

I decided to get a Tumblr.com account. My username is jannygirljr. Thanks, Lawson, for the inspiration.

There are often moments when I see things I want to share with people, but it's getting to the point where Facebook is rife (or overstuffed) with users' posts on TONS of stuff, so I'm discouraged from posting mine. I don't know why I resist--maybe I don't want people to see how much I am on Facebook wasting my life away.

The articles, photos, and slice o' life stories are often not substantial enough for a blog entry (in my strange rule system), so I usually end up not sharing. Tumblr has granted my wish to be able to have a thought occur to me and post it immediately. Today I remembered a funny photo of my dad and decided to post it along with a story. I guess I could've written about it in my blog, but it seemed more fun to post on my mini-blog. Ew. Mini-blog.

Adieu.

Marfan Syndrome

While perusing the facebook.com "Causes" application and signing up for all the things I believe in (anti-smoking, "let's stop drunk driving," etc.), I decided to do a quick search to find out if anyone had a Marfan's awareness group. Lo and behold, there were three.

One of my very best friends died from Marfan Syndrome on the first of October, 2001. The very day (or night? I'm not sure) of the Josh Joplin show I mentioned in my previous post. Jeffrey was already dead or was about to be dead while I sat in a room crowded with people listening to a song that, even then, made me disarmingly nostalgic about the past, especially my days growing up in Chamblee, GA.

In any case, one of the Marfan Syndrome Awareness groups had this youtube.com video posted. It's pretty interesting. Never before had I heard that Jonathan Larson, the creator and director of the smash hit Rent, was probably suffering from undiagnosed Marfan Syndrome. Assuming Larson did have the disease, he and Jeff were in the same boat: neither one of them had any idea of their condition while alive.

The quick video is informative and interesting. As Anthony Rapp says (in badly synced vocals, if your computer plays it the way mine did!), knowing the signs could help you save a life.

true love is...

...a shared myspace profile.

I know this guy who is in a couple, you see. And he and the now-wife have a COUPLE profile on myspace.com. Does anyone else find this to be strange? There are blog postings to each other on there. This is what the blog headline proclaims: "A diary for just us to share our thoughts and feelings with just us. So Honest, So Open, So Exposed. No Hiding, No Walls. Just us Free with each other."

What the hell...?

Here's one of the two blog entries that's not set to private. Perhaps you, like me, will wish instantly that it was while also feeling a strange sense of mysterious glee while reading it:

SUBJECT: whatever

I'm sorry baby..

There are just some things I cannot forgive nor should I forget. Vengeance. Retaliation. Retribution. Big words with a simple, common meaning -- that good will always prevail. She will pay.

Perhaps I'm just not hip to all that is cool for internet-savvy couples these days. I mean, Liz and I had to force our beaux to make myspace profiles after all--clearly my relationship is not ready for his-n-hers romantic profiles and utterly candid blogging.

Why did I go to this page in the first place, you ask? It has everything to do with the fact that I decided to log into my Friendster account for the first time in a month or three. If you so choose, you can turn off the "anonymously view profiles" function when on the Friendster site. I turned off this function long ago, which means everyone whose page I visit can see that I've visited; in turn, I know when people have seen my page, so long as they've not made it so their visits are anonymous. The wife in this hyper-web-love-dyad-delight has looked at my profile recently, so I looked at hers. There's a link to the myspace page there.

Anywho. The myspace page in and of itself is nothing to be that entertained by; the concept of it is really what I'm trying to wrap my head around.

Does anyone else have a couple's page out there? Am I crazy to think that this is freakin' nutso? A little invasive? When I'm on their page, I feel like I'm in the middle of a coffee shop, wedged immobile between couples whispering loudly in incessant babytalk. (Maybe that's because they repeatedly refer to each other as "my baby" on the page--it's mainly written in first person, but there's clearly a dialogue between Baby 1 and Baby 2 going on. Who's who? In love, it doesn't matter, don't you see??)

It's horrendous for me, yet I look anyway.

Luckily for us all, it's time to head out the door for more tutoring. Adieu.

young ones, beware!

I was looking at Christa's ceaselessly entertaining blog tonight and, as usual, felt as if I'd come across a little wonderland of treasures. Some websites I visit every day: gmail, myspace, facebook (gotta check those Scrabble games!), and the news. But people's blogs, especially the blogs I listed on the links to your left (look somewhere to your left now), are sites I go to every week or so. And by the time I do, I'm almost guaranteed to find something new and exciting. That is, of course, unless I've clicked on the pages belonging to Joe or Amy or Kate. In that case, one is almost always met with disappointment, as they NEVER (okay, rarely) update their pages.

Back to the illustrious Christa T. Look at her blog, and look also at the Atlanta ladies' blog she writes for, Pecanne Log. It, too, is really well-written and interesting.

This particular entry by Janet Geddis is not, so I'll stop.

I did click on a link to determine my website's reading level. That was pretty neat-o.

So beware, those of you who are under the age of 18! I may be confusing you with my multisyllabic words or my run-on paragraphs. I dare you to read on. Challenge yourself. Ha.

cursed internet!

My quality of life would be much improved without the internet.

I can no longer scoff in silent judgment at others who watch TV, for I am an active TV watcher. True that only a couple shows hold my true interest--this season, Grey's Anatomy, my old standby, is frustrating me with its plot lines while a newbie, Pushing Daisies, is charming me to death, so to speak. (Oh, I didn't mean to be punny! But surely my subconscious did.)

In my senior year high school English class, Mr. Friedman gave us daily allusions--references to literature, film, culture, etc. Once in awhile, someone in the class recognized the source, but usually he would have to tell us what it was from. We would have tests over our daily allusions and study so much for these tests that the allusions became ingrained in our day-to-day speech. Friedman scholars, as he liked to call us (but none of us called ourselves), took with us to our respective schools an army of allusions, ready to wow our professors in our papers and essay tests. And it worked. I understood references the most lofty thinkers made to ancient Roman history; I knew what a double-edged sword was and could quote from many of Shakespeare's speeches.

Back to the point. There was one afternoon when Mr. Friedman had an allusion that read, "Demon box! Thief of time! I forsake you!" It was from this comic, which I've also posted below.


This internet has become to me what the TV seems to be for many. I need to impose a time limit for myself. I use the excuses that I'm writing, or reading news, or catching up on this weekend's goings-on. But then, twenty minutes later, I find myself looking through the photo album of a high school friend I've not talked to (other than through facebook or myspace) since 1998 graduation. For no reason. I know what she looks like. Do I really need to see how her vacation to her the Bahamas with a bunch of friends I've never met went? NO!!!

Demon box! Thief of time!

Just now I played ANOTHER game of solitaire Scrabble, when what I really wanted to do was write a thank-you note to my neighbor, who made me some Halloween cookies the other day.

So I'm off to do just that. NOW.

No more excuses, you little thief.

Happy weekend!

Scrabbalicious

I've been a part of four Scrabble games in the last two days. Four. Two were with Jim. One was with two ten year olds when I was tutoring. Another was a virtual Scrabulous (<<---gross) game with Nina B. via facebook. She challenged me! I had to do it!

I LOVE Scrabble. Not in that obsessive, competitive, know-all-the-trick-words-that-not-even-English-professors-use-in-their-scholarly-papers way. But in the way that makes my heart race when I think I have the most incredible word ever, the same word that is suddenly rendered incomplete when a second glance at my letters reveals to me that I am missing a key vowel. That fleeting despair I face is known only known to people who love Scrabble in the way I do.

We forge forward. We find a new word, we hope for the triple letter score on a four-point W. A triple word score on a Q word is nearly unheard of, but it's one of my faint hopes, one I dare not speak aloud. Maybe...someday.

I seem to recall a move I made at my family reunion either this past summer or the one before when I extended a preexisting word all the way down to the triple word score, therefore garnering points from the other player's previous word, my new points, and of course the triple value of it all. One of my crowning moments.

Ooh, all this talk has me hot and bothered. Wonder if Nina B. has made her move yet in our online game. If so, it's my go...

(Dear lord: an hour later, and I've found a site where you can play SOLITAIRE SCRABBLE. I played against a robot and he/she/it pulled all those tricky moves, using words that aren't even in Merriam-Webster's. I don't dig that. But here's my solo game. I love not having competition!

Stop me now. But first, try it yourself: http://www.scrabulous.com/solitaire_scrabble.php)

whew!

I just finished copying and pasting all of my blogs from myspace.com over to blogger. I didn't realize the venture would take hours to accomplish! In that time I got to reminisce, though, and lord knows I love to do that. It was a little different from going back through old journals in that I don't get too personal in terms of emotions and personal situations when I'm writing blog entries. I'm concerned for others' feelings as much as my own when I'm writing in a public forum, I think. I'd hate for my family, my dear friends, or my darling significant other to come across something that seemed to me inoffensive at the time I was writing but has inadvertently wounded them. That would be the worst.

In a sense, the fear of others' perceptions is one of the many things holding me back from writing. I in no way can blame this as the primary force, however. Still, though, that fear is present. I don't want my parents to be upset by ways in which my characters talk; I don't want old friends to be upset if I do what I'm often inclined to and write semi-autobiographically about my childhood home and neighborhood. I want to get some details right and want to deliberately mess with other ones. In screwing with the past I might forget it, and I don't want to. As the one who seems to remember those times the best, the memory-keeper, I don't want to let go of all that.

Ah, I'll be quiet about all that now.

My sister's birthday is today. She's 32! Rosa is thirty-two. Hard to believe. Each time she has a birthday I think of the year we tried to have an impromptu surprise party for her on Ensign Court. I'm sure that Mike, Jeff, Meghan, Merry, and I were involved. Perhaps David Wishen was there, too. In any case, little Merry (who was only a year younger than I but always seemed so much smaller and wiry) just couldn't hold in the secret. Julie was out on the street playing some game--who knows what?--when Merry skimmed by on her bike, whispering harshly and quickly, "Surprisepartyforyoutoday." And there went the surprise. Ha.

My sister didn't pick up when I called. I didn't send her a card in time for her birthday, either. No reason, no excuse. I wanted to get her a present in time to send with the card, but I've not found a good one yet. So instead of just sending a thoughtful card first and a gift later, I sent nothing. Not a sisterly thing to do. Oops. I feel bad.

Goodnight. I'm being a Saturday night hermit after a lazy day with Jim.

1/11/07 - Joe's words, not mine. But very funny!

January 11, 2007 - Thursday

10:50 AM - More evidence why you should love Joe Lennon. Read his responses to this pastie, as SB is wont to call the supa-popular bullitenized forwards sent out via myspace. She loves 'em, he masters 'em when he so chooses to complete 'em. Heeeere's Joe! ****** Obviously there are some things a man can't resist. This pastie is one of them. Courtesy of Sarah Beth, la reina de los pasties. All your answers have to be 3 words. Only 3. 1. Where is your cell phone? Brno, Ceska Republika 2. Boyfriend/girlfriend? slash suggests combo? 3. Your hair? cut it myself 4. Your mother? catholic farm girl 5. Your father?: catholic farm boy 6. Your favorite item? ex-catholic city girl 7. Your dream last night?: complicated sharecropping scheme 8. Your favorite drink?: vodka martini filthy 9. Your dream car? cart, empty supermarket 10. The room you are in? textbooks, drudgery, friends 11. Gimme your money. Gimme YOUR money. 12. Your fear?: computer will free 13. What do you want to be in 10 years?: ex-catholic suburban sharecropper 14. Where did you hang out last night? Amsterdam (a pub) 15. What you're not?: mary beth, sarah 16. Muffins?: pumpkin chocolate yes 17: One of your wish list items?: ex-catholic nuclear submarine 18. Pizza toppings. pepperoni happiness sausage 19. The last thing you did? type happiness sausage 20. What are you wearing? heart inside sleeve 21. When did you last change your oil?: question too personal 22. Your favorite book? changes with weather 23. The last thing you ate? muesli banana yogurt 24. Your life?: why sometimes colon?: 25. Your mood? ring says purplish 26. Your friends?: salmon, woodland creatures 27. What are you thinking about right now? sharecroppers and verbs 28. Your car:? now colon first:? 29. What are you doing at the moment?: three word pastie 30. Your summer?: cannot fucking wait 31. Your last movie?: I hope not 32. What is on your tv?: a trick question? 33. Last time you laughed? yes ter day 34. Last time you swam? pool, niece, nephew 35. School? horrible last question 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

Joe

Aw shucks. Posted by Joe on January 14, 2007 - Sunday at 10:40 AM

11/29/06 - ridiculous myspace survey (with comments outshining the blog)

November 29, 2006 - Wednesday

11:28 PM - A really f'ed up way of gauging your happiness, brought to you by a myspace survey... Taken from a myspace forward someone sent me. Look at the questions posed here. If we answer all of them, we are happy. Having a swimming pool in your backyard equals one nugget of happiness, as does having a boyfriend or girlfriend. Your parents' letting you keep a myspace profile holds the same weight as being happy with your appearance. This is very strange. And no, I'm not taking it too seriously. But it's still disturbing to me. (One gem = "You collect something normal." Ha.) ************* How happy are you?: [ ] You have a boyfriend/girlfriend [ ] You own a cell phone. [ ] You have an ipod/ mp3 player. [ ] Your parents are still married. [ ] You have more than 2 best friends. [ ] There is a swimming pool in your backyard. T 0 T A L: [ ] You dress how you want to. [ ] You hang out with friends more than once a week. [ ] There is a computer/ laptop in your room. [ ] You have never been beaten up [ ] You NEVER cry more than twice a month. [ ] You are allowed to listen to the music you want to. [ ] People don't use you for something you have. [ ] You have been to a concert. T 0 T A L: [ ] You have over 50 friends on myspace [ ] You have pictures on myspace. [ ] Your parents let you have a myspace [ ] You get allowance [ ] You collect something normal. [ ] You look forward to going to school. [ ] You don't wish you were someone else. [ ] You play a sport. [ ] You occasionally do something after school/work. T 0 T A L: [ ] You own a car. [ ] You usually don't fight with your parent(s). [ ] You are happy with your appearance [ ] You aren't self-consious [ ] You have never gotten a failing grade in your life [ ] You have friends T 0 T A L: [ ] You know what is going on in the world. [ ] You care about many people. [ ]You are happy with your life [ ] You know more than one language [ ] You have a screen name. [ ] own a pet. [ ] You know the words to more than 5 songs. [ ] You dont have any enemies [ ] You are a generally nice person. T O T A L: OVERALL T O t A L: Now count your numbers and multiply by three. Then title this "MY LIFE IS _.._% HAPPY Currently watching : Okie Noodling: A Documentary by Bradley Beesley Release date: By 03 February, 2004 4 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

	Joe	I propose these changes to the survey: How happy are you?: [ ] You have a boy gerbil/girl gerbil. [ ] You own a cellophane factory. [ ] You have an ulcer/ mp3 player. [ ] Your parents are still. [ ] You have more than 2 gerbils. [ ] There is a deep fat fryer in your bedroom. T 0 T A L: [ ] You dress where you want to. [ ] You hang out with gerbils more than once a week. [ ] There is a computer/ map of Yugoslavia in your room. [ ] You have never been up. [ ] You NEVER eat more than twice a month. [ ] You are allowed to listen to music. [ ] People don't use cars. [ ] You have been to a house. T 0 T A L: [ ] You have over 50 friends on myspace. [ ] You have pictures on myspace. [ ] You refuse to capitalize the M and the S in myspace. [ ] You get high. [ ] You collect something normal. [ ] You look forward to teaching young children about sex. [ ] You wish you were someone else. [ ] You play with gerbils. [ ] You occasionally do something. T 0 T A L: [ ] You own a gerbil. [ ] You usually don't fight with your parent(sausage). [ ] You are happy with your mullet. [ ] You aren't consious. [ ] You can't spell consious. [ ] You have never thrown a can of pineapple juice at a cat. [ ] You have X-ray vision. T 0 T A L: [ ] You know what is going on in your stomach. [ ] You care about useful people. [ ] You are happy. [ ] You can say "I've got a hankering for some Hardee's" in more than one language [ ] You have a screen name. [ ] I own a pet. [ ] You know the words to "It's a Small, Small World" and you sing them all the time [ ] You have many enemies in the insect world. [ ] You fuck gerbils. T O T A L: OVERALL T O t A L: Now count your fingers and multiply by three. Then title this "MY LIFE IS _.._% HAPPY Posted by Joe on November 30, 2006 - Thursday at 6:07 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	SUPER JAN!!	And I propose that Joe Lennon be declared the smartest and funniest human in all of Czechorepublica. Posted by SUPER JAN!! on November 30, 2006 - Thursday at 10:24 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	amysalley	i second that. and i have thrown a pineapple juice can at a cat. weird. my happiness score is two. Posted by amysalley on December 6, 2006 - Wednesday at 5:23 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

K

my mom tried to take down my myspace account because strange men were asking me to send them pictures of myself. luckily all the prescriptions she is on (add ten points of happiness) made her fall asleep and forget to get me removed. score. Posted by K on November 30, 2006 - Thursday at 2:16 PM

4/13/06 - a sure-fire way to impress a girl

April 13, 2006 - Thursday

3:48 PM - a sure-fire way to impress a girl Guys, if you're looking to meet a new friend on myspace.com, or if you think I'm worth messaging, here's a great example of what to say before we've even met. From: An Asshole I Don't Know Subject: random question "How come you girls are good at things like spelling and writing but always suck at things that take strategy and logic?" 2Comments - 2 Kudos

	amysalley	His chainmail and soulful gaze make me think he wants to know me know me, you know? What a winner. Posted by amysalley on April 13, 2006 - Thursday at 6:28 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

Siobhan

So his strategy to get you to talk to him was to insult you. Sounds pretty logical to me! Posted by Siobhan on April 14, 2006 - Friday at 8:03 AM

4/12/06 - myspace.com: the best and worst site for crushes, EVA

April 12, 2006 - Wednesday

10:45 AM - myspace.com: the best and worst site for crushes, EVA Category: MySpace Good things about crush(es) being on myspace: 1. Stalking people is seen as a relatively normal way to behave. 2. You can see what a boy's relationship status is. 3. You can scour the crush's/crushes' friend list(s) for potential competition. Bad things about crush(es) being on myspace: 1. Stalking people is seen as a relatively normal way to behave. 2. You can see what a boy's relationship status is. 3. You can scour the crush's/crushes' friend list(s) for potential competition. 1 Comment

.Robin

I could not agree more. However, I think instead of calling ourselves stalkers, we should say we are simply detail oriented and highly observant.

12/6/05 - love at last...

Dear god, I wish the link to the photo still worked! All the same, the come-on line is still great.

December 6, 2005 - Tuesday

12:43 PM - Love at last... I know that some of you have already heard about THE BEST myspace come-on line ever, but I thought I'd put in a link to my new internet lover and also copy his first missive to me in the body of this here entry. And speaking of BODY.... "lady your body are very very good" Currently listening : Keep It Like a Secret By Built to Spill Release date: By 28 January, 1997 1 Comments

Siobhan

He is smokin' hot! Way to go, you little vixen. Posted by Siobhan on December 7, 2005 - Wednesday at 8:58 AM

11/30/05 - intrigue...

November 30, 2005 - Wednesday

12:00 AM - intrigue... Current mood: curious ...okay, I admit it. I am quite interested to know who has been reading this. So far only three people have voluntarily outed themselves, but I don't know who the other mysterious readers are! Not that there are that many, but...you know...a girl can dream. To tell the truth, I don't really want to know. I have my dreams of who is keeping tabs on me, and when I find out that it's my loving friend Perry looking again and again and again upping the count, I'll be pleased but a bit disappointed that someone like Ben Covington (a la Felicity) isn't the culprit. Currently reading : The Bean Trees : A Novel By Barbara Kingsolver Release date: By 01 October, 1998 1 Comments

Christa

I read your blog, but let's not get started on who is dreamier, Ben or Noel. Clearly, it is Noel. You and I are both too smart for Ben. Posted by Christa on November 30, 2005 - Wednesday at 12:02 PM