brother

To accept or not accept Facebook friends – that’s the question.

by Courtney on May 19, 2010

Cincopa video hosting solution for your website. Another great product from Cincopa Send Files.

I like Facebook. I mean, how cool is micro-blogging? It’s a fantastic idea. You can post interesting commentary about what you did each day, like going to the bank or the laundry mat. And you can cyber stalk people for hours and they’d never even know it! But mainly, it’s a nice little way to catch up with people so that you don’t have to worry about calling them anymore. I had a friend tell me once that although we hadn’t spoken over the phone in forever, she felt like she was up-to-date on my life because of my Facebook status updates. Fair enough. I’m lazy too.

But what’s interesting about Facebook is the abundance of high school people that come out of the woodworks and suddenly want to be “friends”. I would say a huge percentage of my Facebook friends are people that I haven’t actually seen since 1998. Hell, a few of them were probably former frenemies back in the day too! (But now they’re nice.) Half the time I just accept any old classmate that says Penn High School in their bio. I figure; if they want to glean about my “Twilight” and Adam Lambert obsessions and read my latest blog posts – they must be awesome. Click, Accept!

But what do you do when you get that random friend request from someone you really did not like, such as your class’ biggest bully? Do you take the high road and accept? Or do you ignore – no – DECLINE friendship? Today, this happened to me. This particular person was like, the biggest dickhead on the planet and super mean to me in high school, so why does he want to know what’s up with my life now? Is it because his went nowhere? (Oops!) I just don’t get it. I’m not holding grudges or anything. I could really care less to be honest. Just curious what others do in this type of sitch.

And what about the complete strangers that send you a friend request? At first, I never accepted anyone I didn’t know. I mean, I was guarded about who knew what TV shows I was watching and what books I was reading. But now, I’m kind of like, whatever. Do they look like an axe murderer? No? Click, accept. In my mind, more friends equal more potential blog readers! Yes, I’m a shameless self-promoter.

But I really think that anyone who has over 400 friends must be an “accepting whore” because nobody knows that many people. That’s the limit. And then there’re people like my brother who have over 700 Facebook friends. Impossible! But don’t think I haven’t asked him to pimp my blog linkies on his wall! Shameless, I know.

General thoughts

Aside from the odd friend requests, there are a few other things about Facebook that will cause an automatic eye roll. For example…

Whatever you do, don’t tag me in pictures when I look really drunk or chunky. I have one friend in particular that has been guilty of this on numerous occasions. (Ya, I’m lookin’ at you, Stuz!)

Absolutely under no circumstance should you post bikini pics of me! Unless it’s from 2006 and then it’s ok.

Truthfully, I’m not really a fan of the instant messaging. So no offense if I log off right when you IM me.

Farmville. Enough said.

Overall, Facebook is a glorious waste of time. When I come home from work I have a nightly online ritual. I check Facebook, Twitter, my blogs and other blogs I follow, and then Facebook again. Did anyone “like” my latest status update? Did anyone respond? No? Click, refresh – how about now? What a time suck.

So tell me; do you accept pretty much anyone on Facebook that seeks you out? Should I take the high road or smugly ignore the aforementioned dickhead? What else do you love/hate about The ‘Book? (Farmville, anyone?)

{ 9 comments }

My BIG Lent sacrifice…

by Courtney on February 18, 2010

Cincopa video hosting solution for your website. Another great product from Cincopa Send Files.

Being the good non-Catholic that I am, I’ve given something up for Lent every year since 2008. You see, my husband Jeff is a shopping cart strict Catholic and so I do this for him. Last year I even gave up chocolate and I only cheated a couple of times in 40 days, so that’s not bad for a non-Catholic. But this year I think that it’s time to step it up a notch. It’s time to give up something that’s seriously going to hurt.  After all, it’s not a sacrifice if I’m not bitching about it daily, right? Well my friends, I’m giving up Diet Pepsi. I should say Diet Coke too just to be clear.

This is going to be mucho difficult because I don’t drink coffee. And, I NEED THE CAFFEINE! Hell, I usually go to bed at midnight because I’m constantly up late blogging or screwin’ around online, so what else is going to get me through the AM? I’m just going to have to suck it up and get used to flavored water or something.

To lay it all out there; I have between three and four Diet Pepsis a day. I feel like a total sloth just admitting that. The facilities manager at work told me today that he’s thinking of signing me up for a 12-step program to wean me off of Diet Pepsi. Basically, he’s sick of calling the vending machine guy to refill the damn machine! Oh I’m so embarrassed!

It’s not my fault really. My mom put Pepsi in my baby bottle. JUST KIDDING, MOM! I know she’s going to call me as soon as she reads that. She didn’t put “Pesi” (what I used to call it as a baby!) in my bottle, but I believe I started drinking it around age 3! In fact, around that age I remember begging my Granny to let me have some Pepsi as she stood firm in front of the out-of-my-reach cabinet saying a definitive “N-O!” And then we heard my brother scream bloody murder from outside as he had just stabbed a giant tree trunk with a humongous construction nail causing a pack of bees to come out and swarm his head. Granny raced outside and I raced up the countertop to grab the Pesi. Hmm…victory never tasted so good!

And so the story goes; my name is Courtney Rice and I’ve been a Pepsi-holic my entire life. And I know it’s SO not good for me. I drink diet to avoid the calories but then there’s Aspartame which is supposed to suck for you. Of course we’re always hearing about how researchers are claiming that diet soda intake can be linked to cancer and stuff, etc. etc. But the most compelling reason to quit diet soda is that I hear you can actually lose weight! Imagine that! I guess you eat more when you’re drinking it and you also feel bloated from the carbonation.

So anyway, I’m blogging about this because I feel like if I say it to the world (or my three readers) then I’ll have to stick to it. I’m going to hate it and I might be pissy here and there, but I’ll deal. I like a challenge – never tell me I can’t do something because I’ll show you I can!

So alright all of you Catholics out there, whaddya giving up for Lent? Now come on, it’s got to be something good. No, it’s got be something that’s going to suuuuuuck for you! I don’t want to see anyone cheating and giving up something they never do/use/eat/drink. For example, Jeff told me he was giving up ice cream. He probably eats ice cream like once in a blue moon. What happened to his usual 40-day ban on hard booze? So c’mon, if this non-Catholic can do it, then surely the real ones can! But hey, I encourage all the other “nons” out there to do what I’m doing. Give something up that’s going to be a healthy change for you and just blame it on Lent! The good ‘ole Catholic guilt will pull you through!

It’s going to be a long 40 days and 40 nights, but we can do it people. I’d love to hear what you’re giving up if you are indeed participating in this annual sacrifice!

{ 9 comments }