As I am getting o-l-d-e-r I have been noticing things that are not quite the way I like them...you know, how your body changes over time, new aches and pains, and my latest blurred vision.  For the last several days my left eye has been itching and feels like my the tears in my ducts have been replaced with sand.  I keep using drops which really hasn't helped and I am almost thinking the change is due to allergies.  At least in a few months that will be over but what about my sudden urges to use reading glasses ("readers" as I call them).  Yes, my vision has been changing (although according to my eye doctor, I am still 20/20) and the technician who did all my "pre-see the optomotrist" tests showed me something I had never seen in my last 25 years of having eye exams.  She took out a card with different font sizes and asked me which one I could see the best.  I think I told her 1.0 so she commented that I would need to pick up some reading glasses at the drug store.  Fortunately I don't need to wear them all of the time and I am hoping my focus issues will only be temporary or of no great concern.    But in the world of social media, is it our eyes that are out of focus or are we just ridiculous. Facebook is a wonderful place to catch up with friends from the past or present and even the future but what exactly does this "social" media mean to you?  To me, I want to see what my friends are up to.  Where they are going on vacation.  To see photos of their children and to be able to support them (as in prayer) or them for me when we need it.  I hear people all the time talk about how some "friend's" post irritates them.  That they don't care about the drama going on in that person's life.  That we don't care WHERE you ate dinner or WHAT you ate for dinner or WHO you ate dinner with.  Now I do have a couple of friends that some of their posts are on the ridiulous side but I am not walking in their shoes and it might be that facebook is their therapy.  It's inexpensive and there are many people out there that do care and want to help (I love those friends who are up to any task!!!)  And there are some of my friends who post things that I am not comfortable reading (sometimes REALLY uncomfortable) or sometimes the posts are out of line so yes, I occasionally block some status updates from showing up on my wall.  I don't "unfriend" them, I don't want to be mean...they haven't done anything to me and again, I am not living their life.  Plus, who am I to think I should be able to tell someone what they should or shouldn't write on FB.  We all know facebook is what you make it and if you want to talk about bunyons on your feet or extractring fat out of the dark meat of a chicken, have a go!!!  If I don't like it, I don't have to read it, right? I have one "friend" in particular that has taken a "holier than thou" stance (well, she is no longer a facebook friend but is my real life friend, in my opinion. NOTE: I may not be hers though) who slammed on so many posts by people on facebook (and a lot by me it seems) that I decided that this social network didn't have the same meaning to us so I ended our facebook friendship (which she also slammed.) It seemed she wanted me to stop posting about getting my nails done or what a crappy day at work I had and start sharing information that can educate others who read my (very trite and boring, according to her) posts with some pharmaceutical facts so that others can learn about the business I am in.  This is funny on so many levels...those of you who truly know me know that if I could do it over, I wouldn't have chosen the career I did.  This person is included in that list so why would she suggest that I start giving vitamin advice on facebook? HELLLLLLLOOOOO....THAT isn't going to happen.  I am on facebook to get away from work.  Do I often get questions inboxed to me about medicine or appropriate choices of meds for kids from my friends....of course I do and I enjoy answering them.  I have recieved requests to write recommendation letters, etc. and I love this about facebook.  It is a place where you can build professional bonds with some of your friends!!!  But I am not going to clog my "wall" with drug information or scientific facts (she'd probably then say I was being a know it all) as I would much rather have it full of all the farmville tasks I completed in a day.  (WOW, could you imagine how she feels about the games on facebook???) This friend even told me I complained all the time about work, health issues, etc and basically my posting was not up to her standards.  So tonight I am up at 3am (second night in a row) after dreaming my husband took off to Mexico (we've been discussing planning a fabulous vacation in Cancun...could this have triggered that dream?) and I was wide awake so I am now on the sofa watching my "insomnia movie" (You've Got Mail) and doing a little writing.  But I also have been reading the posts of my friends and reading about their crappy days at work and their headaches and aches and pains and I just smile (not at their woes) because they are like me...just writing to vent and to see what friend will come to the rescue.  I also appreciate when one of my friends post how they or someone they know need prayer.  I do say a prayer for them...it may not be a 10 minute articulate prayer but it is ususally on the lines of "God, I do not know what (insert facebook friend's name or the person my friend is lifting up) needs, but you do and I pray that you will help the person to get them thru this situation, whatever it is, you know and are capable..Amen"  Well, my friend (lets call her Angel to be a tad bit sarcastic) even told me that when people post prayer requests she doesn't like it (go figure, right?) It appears that Angel has BIG goals for her facebook account.  It is NOT to keep up with her friends but to make MORE AND MORE possible customers.  She wants numbers, the larger the better...and I respect that as she is trying to set up a fan base for her "business adventure" (I am not giving specifics, I'm in no way trying to out her as a Facebook Nazi---that's a joke, take it as it was meant) and that is fine but if you want to do that, maybe you should have a page for friends and family and then one for people- you- don't -know- you -just -want -them- to -support -you- in -your- business- adventure.  (NOTE: Angel does have two accounts...one for family and one for professional contacts...but not one for friends which she lumps together with all of those "people- you- don't- know- you- just -want -them- to -support - you-in -your- business- adventure...I find this intersting, do you?)  Not that advancing your dream of a career is wrong...I support that...but missing out on what your friends are doing because it is boring and you don't even pretend to hide your disgust for manicures, haircuts and headaches shows that this social network should be renamed a professional network, or at least for this one. I noticed many times (before I unfriended her) how when she would post about shopping for jewelry, planning a vacation or some trivial task which was totally ok for her to do but if a "friend" posted something she didn't like on her page (umm when one "said friend" challenged her argument about how boring peoples' posts are---pssst, I didn't know it was ME she was writing about) she WENT OFF (and thus I felt the need to end our facebook relationship.)  It seems, she could write about anything and everything she wanted but if you did not share HER opinion on HER wall, your comments were not welcome!!!  Well, my comments were not welcome because I was trying to give the "other side of the story" which I felt was responsible journalism.  I even asked her (still in a VERY friendly manner) why she felt it was ok to decide what someone could and could not write on THEIR OWN STATUS?  Honestly, I don't remember if she answered that or not or what ever happened there, but I'm pretty sure she would still to this day feel her opinion IS the correct one.  So those of you reading this blog, it is coming on spring, and I have begun the spring cleaning in our home....it could be time to clean out that "friend" closet.  I'm not trying to make enemies.  But if  you can't answer my question "why do you want to be my facebook friend if you never said a word to me in highschool?"  then maybe it's time to crunch numbers.  I use to think it would hurt my feelings if my friends were to unfriend me but I don't think it would.  If I am not "doing it" for you thru my status updates, you can (save my feelings) block my boring life tales from hitting your wall or just go ahead and call it quits and hit "unfriend." I read something the other day that reminded me of this not so angelic tale...."facebook makes you love people you don't know and hate those you do."  That makes me quite sad because I can remember how exciting it was to find someone you hadn't seen in years and got to catch up and be happy you had found a blast from your past.  I am still looking for some lost friends and am hoping to find them one day.  I am not here to be friends with just anyone (no, I am not trying to sound like a facebook snob) but with people whom I really want to know what is going on in their lives.  I do not want MY facebook to make me love people I don't know (although that is ok) and hate those I do know.    So now, after posting this, I might notice my friend number drop...that's ok.  I'm just me and I'm going to clean my "glasses" so I can see clearly!!!  Some people try to make their life sound perfect and everyone knows that the grass is NOT greener on the other side...there are weeds in every yard!!!

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