Thoughts, Feelings, and What-have-yous

After two days of staying up late (first was last Saturday, when we watched Bianca’s concert with the Australian Girls Choir at The Hills Centre in Castle Hill. Alf, Amiel and me stayed until 2am talking and drinking. And then Sunday night, chatting online with the Manlulos), I felt I needed a well deserved extra time in bed.  (Besides the fact that is was a very wet 12 degrees winter day). But it was Alfie’s first day at his new job and Bianca has school. So early to rise, dragging feet and hands with drooped shoulders ala Frankenstein, breakfast was prepared. Alfie had to opt for a ham sandwich takeaway as he didn’t want to miss his bus - on his first day at work.  We (the girls and me) took Bianca to school, came back to finish off whatever was left of breakfast and then a light bulb struck me!  Ting!  A much needed lie in and a good book - two good enough reasons to invent a game of turtles!

And so I became a turtle on my tummy, and resting my eyes.  The girls decided they were whatever animal or thing they wanted - Julia said she’d be an elephant and was lying down beside me, pretending to splash in the water. Sofia was a hippo, playing games with the elephant.  Alex standing along side the bed said she’ll be horse, but later on decided to be a strawberry. (ridiculous choice, but kids are kids and we don’t want to argue with them, especially when I’m trying to rest my eyes and being the slowest turtle in the planet!).  The girls continued on with their charade while the slow turtle continued to hide her head in her shell, resting her eyes and listening to the sounds of the waves splashing onto the shore. Of course, I didn’t fall asleep. After a few minutes, we decided to do "four in the bed, and the little one said, roll over…. you all know how it goes…. about 12 times.  No grumbling here. I was enjoying my extra time in bed, and I’m guessing the girls did as well.  After an hour and a half, it was time for morning tea for the girls, and for me to take on the day - make up beds, clean up the breakfast table, dry the laundry clothes, etc. It was a great help and a big energizer!  I asked the girls if we can play turtles again tomorrow, and they all cheered "Hooray!!" Lucky me.

The web it seems, is now flooded with a host of sites connecting people from all over the world. In the techno biz world, it is coined "social networking".  I have never had so many invitations (not even to parties), in a span of just a year. Obviously, my social calendar isn’t that full, but that’s beside the point, really! Recently, I have been Tagged, Linked, Hi-5(ed), asked to see MySpace, invited to join Zeboshop. I’ve read about Facebook, Google’s ORKUT and a host of others ranging from specific interests, from writing to shopping. And that is only in addition to the existing Friendster, Multiply, Snapfish, Yahoo 360.   Its amazing how we can all be interconnected in the net - from long lost childhood playmates to long lost forgotten friends, even ex’s. I’d like to believe some spats must have been patched up through the net, but that is only a guess.  Why not? Its not impossible, is it?! This social web linking has led me to think back on what has been lost and forgotten.  I’ve read about it a long, long time ago - the paradox of our age.  In these times of high-tech-quick-fixes-broad-band-connections, a lot of us, or maybe a portion of the population fail in the area of genuine warm human connection. In this aspect I talk about the forgotten art of writing letters (not typing and emailing) and using the old fashioned post ( I know that that not all postal services are efficient, but what the heck!).  How about calling family members or friends to greet them on special ocassions instead of sending an sms/email?  Online chat has become more and more of an option for most families separated by continents because there is the technology of the webcam.  E-cards has been sent more and more each day, contributing to the lost market of Hallmark and old-fashioned cards. (Unbelievably though, Australia has maintained greeting card sales from previous years!)

I used to be able to write long letters, but lately, I stare at my grocery list and wonder what ever happened to my handwriting!  Either I’m on the verge of acquiring athritis (at a very young age), or I have lost the touch.  Despite the dynamics of the wide world of the web (yep, that isn’t an error - simply wanted to make a point how huge it is), I totally appreciate all of its advancements and features that makes life and communication easier these days.  I am guilty of all those acts - chat/email/e-card!!  Honestly, I’d doubt my sanity if it were not for the internet connection in my fingertips, for the past two years.  These days, you don’t just use the internet to do email anymore - practically anything can be done online.  So technology has actually made our lives greater.  But as is in all things, balance is of the essence.  Sure!  I’d love to be tagged, linked, multiply(ed), hi-5(ed) or whatever else is available now these days. But wouldn’t it also be great if we can all really communicate and not just be connected?  Now that is a thought to think about.