Gonna go virtually "unplugged"

This doesn't mean I'm gonna become a hermit and go commune with the elk or get mauled by a grizzly bear for wandering around in their territory a-la Timothy Treadwell (I'd hot link that name but I don't know how :( ) but I've decided to give up on a few things because after contemplating it for a while I've found that they aren't good for me or my family life.

First off is facebook.  I am not deleting the account permanently as there are a few people on there that I have no other means of contact for.  I tried deleting it permanently but cold turkey wasn't feasible for that reason.  I suppose if I ever get those people's email addresses I will kick the habit but until then I've decided to just check in from time to time while leaving the occasional humorous status update.  Anybody that needs to reach me should already have my cell number.  I won't give it out to just anybody but if you think you'll want to reach me sooner and if you'd like my cell number send me a message and I'll decide whether you're worthy to have it :P  I'll be weaning myself off facebook but it'll be gradual and it won't actually be 'quitting', I'll just be seriously dialing it back a few notches.

I've also found a lot of hate over there.  Religious groups attacking atheists, straight people attacking gays, Democrats vs. Republicans, thin vs. fat, dog people vs. cat people, Ford vs. Chevy, Coke vs. Pepsi, etc...ok, so those last ones were made up but you get my point (and just so everybody knows the attacks go both ways).  Nobody seems to want to co-exist anymore.  I'm not saying I agree with everyone's choices but I keep my viewpoints to myself, at least in a worldwide setting like facebook.  The last thing I need is for somebody to say something hateful to me for my point-of-view.  I'll have a calm discussion or a healthy debate if it's warranted but I'm not going to open up myself for attack just because of my choice of political candidate.  My dad told me to vote my conscience even if it's not who he would vote for.  He wanted to teach me to think about the issues important to me.  I'm glad he taught me that before the Alzheimer's took over.  I admit I'm not always too bright though.  Sometimes I need my wife to explain stuff to me since I don't speak politician.

I also won't be accepting any game requests (unless you have a really good reason for it).  I actually haven't accepted any requests for a while now so that part isn't hard.  On a side note, some people need to know that Farmville, Farmtown, Vampire Wars, Mafia Wars, Superhero City, Cafe World, Tree World, Fish World, Geek World, Word World, Everything Awesome World, and any other "World" NEVER end.  I admit they are addicting but they'd have more staying power for me if there was some sort of closure.  I suppose the point is to show off your virtual goodies to others to prove how much time you waste.  I digress though, I have lots of facebook friends who love those games and they probably provide entertainment.  All I'm saying is that the games alone are a real time-drain and I need to focus my time elsewhere.  After 12 years of having no study habits I'm going back to educating myself so I can put something other than "knows how to drive a forklift" on my resume.  I'd like to say I could fall back on my previous study habits but those weren't so great either so this is really out of my comfort zone.  I'm knuckling down now though.

Secondly, the xbox 360.  I became an xbox guy for one reason and one reason only...it was what my close friends had at the time so we'd get together occasionally and play.  My friends all grew up and got real jobs and stuff but I decided to forge ahead on the same road and got the xbox 360 so I could get online with lots of [obscenity laced] trash talkers and  people who have found new ways to manipulate the network so they have an unfair advantage (see also:  cheaters).  What's the point?.....No, seriously, I'm asking you.  Are you that hard up for gamerscore points and rep that you have to cheat at a GAME?  I've heard lots of these people's vocabulary and if you took profanity out of their lexicon they'd have to revert to sign language.  I tried to find friendly games but they just don't exist anymore and the only people that play them are in private matches.  I have relatives that link up sometimes but it's few and far-between enough that paying for a monthly service just isn't worth it anymore.

I've also (hopefully) rented the last game I'll ever rent (unless there's a really good reason to rent again).  Not that I don't find fun games out there but if I'm worried about how to defeat Shao Kahn instead of helping with dinner, that's not healthy.  Honestly, I don't know how some people do it.  My thumb had a cramp in it after trying for three hours.  Shao Kahn is wicked hard to beat and that's three hours I'll never get back.  I just ended up going to YouTube and watching it.  You can find just about anything there.

I've actually contemplated getting rid of the console altogether but my son still uses it from time to time.  If it were just him I'd probably bite the bullet and let him ride out his frustration but my wife tells me it's a great distraction for him when she needs him to zone out so she can get other things done.

The computer will stay because that's what I'll be studying.  I'm not sure exactly what area I'll find interesting but I want to study I.T. stuff.  I'm sick of having other people screw my laptop up when I think I can screw it up by myself thankyouverymuch!   I actually already started a class but I was behind from the first day.  I'll have to pay to take the class again but I'm hoping it's worth it.  Say what you will about D.I. but I'd say the minimum-wage for education is a pretty good tradeoff.  The sucky part is always having to work Saturdays.  That's when my fellow geeks get together and entertain the masses.  I can still get the time off if the event is important enough to me and I give enough notice but I sure miss being able to just take off and go on the weekends.  I always looked forward to trooping.  Periodically my friends will get together out of the costumes (....okay, that came out wrong but you catch my drift) and just hang out but recent situations have made it so we can't do that as often anymore either.

This is not goodbye, this is just a longer version of 'catch you later', so.....'catch you later'.

-LG