(the) Jebbica

I am on a number of social networking sites, from Facebook to Twitter to MySpace to LinkedIn.  And then there’s the sites like Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, and the like.  Then there are the blogging platforms, like WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, Live Journal, all of which I am a part of.  And forums! I don’t even want to get started on forums.  So basically, I am not a stranger to having an online presence.  If anyone ever decides to go looking for me, they’re not going to have to look very hard.  Google “Jessica P. Wallin“, and you will come across my Flickr photo stream, my former blog,  my MySpace, my Amazon profile, and some articles I’ve written for Idol Mania. And that’s just on the first page.  If you Google “Jebbica”, you will find this blog, my profiles on Backseat Cuddler, MyBlogLog, and The Insider.  Now, I am aware that I may be a bit more internet-friendly than most.  It has been a wonderful way for a shy girl like me to feel connected with the world and share what I have to say and meet people like me who aren’t limited to my small Southern town.

Facebook, especially, has been a great place to stay in contact with people, meet new people, and manage the various business contacts I have or could potentially have.  I have quite a few “friends”, all of whom generally fit into the following categories:

• Family:  my own flesh and blood, people I generally see on a regular basis, but thanks to Facebook, I can now get to know them even better because it gives more insight into who these people really are outside of family gatherings.
• Friends:  my real friends, the people I hang out with on weekends.
• Coworkers:  I see them all the time at work, but hey! Sometimes the verbal banter only goes so far.  Aww, isn’t that a cute picture of your kid!
• Former coworkers: People I used to work with and might not get to see as much as I’d like anymore, and it’s nice to stay in touch.
• People I went to high school/college with:  Oh, we once stood in line at the same water fountain? You dated so-and-so, a friend of a friend, and I don’t really know you. But I know your face, and this is a small town, after all. We’re probably related.  We’re not the same people we were then, so why not? Let’s get to know each other. You never know what might come out of it, or what kind of friendship might evolve because you were bold enough to say on Facebook what you might never get a chance to in Real Life.  This includes teachers, too.
• Blogging buddies:  Hey, your blog is awesome! You like my blog, too? Cool! Let’s be friends!  Wouldn’t it be so cool if we knew each other in the Real World?
• Modeling/Photographer contacts: Because generally, these are a great group of people, and you never know when there might be a photo shoot that interests you or when you could use or give professional advice.
• Musicians/fellow critics:  This allows me to stay up-to-date on what’s happening, and in the event there’s something going on I’d like to cover, I have an “in”. And chances are, I will return the favor.
• Friends of friends: Oh, so you’re friends with this person? Well then chances are, you’ll like me, too!
• People I went to church with:  Wow, I can’t believe you have a Facebook!  You know what The Internet is? That is so cool!
• General people I admire:  I think you’re great.  I wanted you to know.

This adds up to quite a lot of people, and it has allowed me to peer into other people’s lives (un-stalker-ish-ly, I’d hope) and expand my horizons to the ways in which people completely different from me think.  I rarely have anyone on my friends list that I never talk to, because almost everyone has something to say that interests me.  And you might think that keeping up with that many people would consume a lot of time, but it really doesn’t.  In fact, once I eliminated all of the Farmville, Yoville (what the heck is a Yo-ville, anyway?!), Sorority Life, and Mafia Wars junk from showing up on my home page, I have a pretty easy time figuring out what it is people have to say, and I like what I see.  And people don’t generally update their thoughts that often, so even among having so many contacts, it’s easy to run out of things to do in a small amount of time.

So, what I don’t get, are social networking snobs.  For one, it’s called a SOCIAL NETWORK for a reason. One, so you can be social.  Two, so you can network. See how that works? One of the things that irks me so much is when someone says, “Do I know you?” Like, if you did, is your memory so limited that you have to ask? Seriously. I’m sure in all likelihood you aren’t so great that I am a little peon with hopes of feeding you grapes and washing your feet. Get over yourself. If someone sends me a friend request, I assume it is because they already know me, or they would like to get to know me. Are you going to shun someone who comes up to you on the street and introduces themselves? “Hi! My name is PokemonLuver48! What’s your name?” “Uh, do I know you?” I don’t know about you, but I would never say something like that. I would be flattered that someone was making the effort. Maybe I will be granted access into this person’s psyche and learn that there is much more to this person than Pokemon. And maybe there isn’t. But I gave it a try, didn’t I?

And honestly, what’s the harm in that? I’m not a “friend-whore”, by any means. But I’m not a snob. I don’t see any harm in being friendly. Who wants to live in a cave and be a hermit? And if that is the case and you do, then why do you have a Facebook page at all?

Well, here it is, January 4, and I’m still not any closer to knocking my cold than I was the day after Christmas.  I have taken everything I know to take, slept myself into oblivion, and even tried chugging colloidal silver. No. Still snotty, still sore throat, still coughing.  I generally can knock a cold in about two days, so this is extremely annoying.  On the plus side, I should be losing some weight, since all I eat is soup and green tea (with honey, lemon juice, chili powder, and cinnamon. Mmmmm.).  The one day I started to feel better was New Year’s Eve, when our neighbor invited us to come over and have a drink with him and his wife. And the whiskey felt SO GOOD on my throat, so I just kept drinking it.

You can imagine, New Year’s Day, I felt even worse.

So, I haven’t gotten around to posting what I’ve been wanting to post (like the A-Z guide to marital aids? Can’t wait to embarrass the people I know with that post!). And when I HAVE been on the computer, the only thing I’ve wanted to do is enter contests. The catalyst for my new time-wasting hobby was when I received a package the other day, and in it was $136 worth of sunless tanning products.  Including Fake Bake, which I keep meaning to buy because my trendy grandmother used to use it, and I always loved how real the tan looked after using it. Now that I have a whole plethora of products to try, I’m finding Fake Bake to not be as great as I remembered (still great tan, just MES-SY).  I received these products as part of a panel of consumers who will test and find out the best one for a certain magazine’s beauty awards.  I guess I really have an addiction to getting free stuff in the mail.  Even if it’s nothing I’ll use personally and can give to someone, just seeing that little brown box or yellow envelope in my mailbox gets me excited.  And I am a strong proponent of one making his/her own luck. After all, you’ll never win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket!

Which brings me to my friend, the one who has been staying with us, aka the one with the perpetual bad luck.  The longer he stays with us, the more I am realizing that he alone is the key to his own misfortune.  He’s always moping about how the girls he dates turn out to be whores.  Well, the good girls he dates, he winds up throwing away for a skankier one, so I wonder why they turn out to be whores?  I have been waiting to write this, because I didn’t want to write in anger. Because this is someone I’ve grown to really care about, and when he disappears for days on end, all of his friends and family members are out searching for him, worried sick if he’s in a ditch or somewhere.  Okay, so I guess I am still a little upset about this.  The Boyfriend and I are 32 (in 3 weeks!) and 25 years old.  We don’t have children; we have dogs. And yet, it’s as if we have adopted a son over the past few months. We have taken this kid in under our wing, fed him, clothed him, made sure he had a place to bathe and a bed to sleep in.  Assuming that one is staying with two struggling people like us rent-free, you would think that he/she would try his/her best to help out around the house, and make sure he/she was up every morning looking for a job.  But is this ever the case? Of course not. I just don’t understand how someone can take advantage of people like that.  And until now, it honestly hasn’t really bothered me. We offered, and he was depressed, so we wanted to take him under our wing. We don’t want anymore episodes like this one!  So, the staying up all night on MySpace and Plenty of Fish talking to girls, sleeping all day, that was okay. As long as he was safe. And when he got together with my sister at Christmas. That was awkward, but good. At least I know she’s a good girl, and he’s a good person.

But telling one friend you’re with the other one, and telling the other one you’re with another one, and getting us all mixed up and worried, when in actuality, you’re at a friend’s ex-girlfriend’s house and don’t want to tell anyone?  Well, you are just making your own luck.  Soon, you are going to be moping about why you have no friends, and this will be why.