Life Online

The internet is good for so many things. The world wide web literally brings the world into your home. It opens the door to far away lands, new perspectives and innovative ideas. It introduces you to people whose paths you may have never crossed. Ideally, the internet expands your horizons, enlightens and educates you and makes life a little more fun.

Because it's so cool, the internet can suck you in and consume your time. In fact, in some instances it may consume your life. And after hours and hours online, meeting people and chatting and sharing ideas, the internet can become a big part of your life.

The beauty of the internet is that it's faceless. Of course, people post pictures and build profiles but the internet allows you to be anybody you want to be. Often it's easier to talk online too. It's sort of like going out for a night on the town in a foreign city that you'll probably never visit again. You let your guard down. You let your inner self come out without fear of judgment or repercussion. Online it's easier to piece together what you'll say because you get to type it and delete it and type it again before you hit send.

And because of the newness and the easiness, people are just more likable online. You get to know them quicker without all of the nonsense of every day getting in the way. Before you know it, your friend count has dramatically increased.

The problem is, that is just your life online. These are your online experiences with your online "friends." And it is real life... But real life also includes face to face, tactile experiences.

People will disagree with me but you cannot live your whole life online. You just can't. And I think doing so gives you a warped sense of reality, sometimes of what's appropriate and it bolsters your expectations sometimes making them quite unrealistic.

Life online is good. But it is not the only life. And it should not be your whole life.

Belly Bomber Birthday

Normally, I would bake cupcakes or cookies for an office birthday. But when the birthday boy or girl doesn't have a sweet tooth, one must find a suitable substitute. That was the situation at work today and  I thought a White Castle Crave CaseTM might hit the spot. 

When I was a little girl, White Castle burgers were a treat. Once every few Fridays, on our way home from a night with the family at my grandpa's, my dad would announce that we were stopping to pick up some "belly bombers." I loved the cheeseburgers with no onions which goes totally against the concept of the White Castle sliders. But dad would order them and we would wait for an eternity for my special order to come up.

Today's special treat took roughly 15 minutes and, as expected, it did hit the spot. I've heard it said that you don't have to tell people that you're cool if you're really cool. And now I know it's true. All you have to do is bring a Crave Case into work for some guy's birthday.

White Castle Crave Case is a trademark of the White Castle Management Company.

Deep Breaths

My chest tightens.
My heart pounds deeply.
Tension wraps around my neck.
Deep breaths.

Psychology and physiology
wage war on the battle ground
that is my body.
Deep breaths.

Deep breaths fail
to release me from the grips
of my own anxiety.
Deep breaths.

The more I think
the more desperate I feel.
Why can't I make it stop?
Deep breaths.

Deep breaths.
Deep breaths.
Deep breaths.
eventually help me escape.