About Face

One of my fears about not working was that I would be completely unproductive spending most of my time checking Facebook or catching up on entertainment headlines, my achilles heel. Turns out I guess I was just bored because now the thought of going on Facebook sends little z’s sailing through my mind like a neverending freight train. It just seems like such a chore now; something I have to do rather than want to do.

Instead of starting the day checking the monkey that was once so proudly perched on my back, I am cuddling my babies a little more. Instead of checking to see if anyone’s life has drastically changed in the last hour since I last checked to see if anyone’s life has drastically changed in the last hour, I am changing my own life sweating through a hot yoga class. I am cleaning out decades worth of mementos and mement-no’s instead of finding out who in high school has gotten fat, gone bald or is still the biggest bitch on the planet.

The funny thing is, I spent more time on that site when I was working than when I stopped. That is probably in part due to the advent of iPhones and the like; but now with no firewalls or bored IT guys staring over everyone’s shoulder I am free to like, dislike, comment and poke all I want. So why is there no poking going on?

It sort of reminds me of when I was a kid and would go to a friend’s house after school. Their cupboards were filled with every imaginable, chocolatey, sweet, salty, greasy afternoon snack known to child. It was a treasure trove of taboo, and I wanted a piece of it; I wanted lots of pieces. And I never understood how my friends could not consume every ounce of every piece of forbidden goodies. The only thing to snack on at my house was cheese and crackers - not exactly my ticket to cool. To not want to obliterate a box of Oreos with a chocolate milk chaser was a concept foreign to me. It didn’t matter which friend you would ask, however; they would all basically say the same thing - it’s always around so I guess don’t want it all the time.

Maybe it’s the same with Facebook. It’s at my fingertips every second of everyday with no one pointing their finger telling me I am not utilizing company time wisely. It’s just not sexy and exciting anymore. It’s lost its appeal.

If only Oreos and chocolate milk would lose their appeal....