A New Yellow Purse

Wow -- have not written since May. Just lazed around in Honduras and Belize. And everything else in between a big blur ... London, Mexico (2x), Nice, Dayton (2x) ... Got offered a job. Stressed over how to turn it down (not answering the phone did not work out so well).

Three things reminded me of my blog these last few days.

Number one was Thursday. At a meeting at work when I get a message asking me where I am at. Obviously I am at work. My friend Merrie says I am on Facebook chat. I remembered I had forgotten to logout of my iTouch Facebook. But Merrie says no -- you don't understand -- I am chatting with you RIGHT NOW. This person says you were robbed at gun point in London and need money. Oh, oh -- scam. But I can't do anything about it. I get other messages and calls -- Lisa goes on my page and that seems OK. Get home and check everything -- the scammer is gone. But I decide to report to Facebook. My account goes down immediately. And I go into major withdrawal. It was bizarre -- I really have never been addicted to anything -- this was different. I answer all the questions -- Lisa e-mails me to keep me "sane". Connects me with a friend this happened to -- took her 3 weeks to get her account back. My friend Rita contacts Mark on his account (that I set up and check ...) to see if I am all right. So I get the idea to use his account ... and start friending my friends ..... Waste all sorts of time. And get my account less than 48 hours later -- inducing all sorts of bizarre relief. I'm gonna think about that later.

Then my cousin Dolores posts her Dad's blog on her Facebook -- so I go in to follow it -- and have to log in to do so :-)

And the third is the yellow purse. I took my yellow purse from Lulu's to the Middle East. And in a classic you get what you pay for -- my $30 purse disintegrates. I had tried to find a new one at the DC Sample Sale. No luck -- so Melissa found me this one. And I used it for the first time to go to Dupont circle to meet a new friend for coffee. Funny how things just kind of combine and lead you to do something or other ....

That movie the Social Network was so true to life. Facebook is strangely addictive. And causes you to reveal all sorts of things. I have gotten more cautious though. Someone friended me -- they were in California and had no friends. I accepted and then deleted and blocked the person. And then the wife of a friend started e-mailing me. Just tearing into me about the drinking age -- and calling me a pinhead for thinking that if you can make someone go to war why block their drinking. I don't like confrontation -- so I politely apologize and remove the post from her son's account (who is a friend). I am wondering how she even knows because he is not her Facebook friend. But I don't really care -- I have apologized -- and think it is done as she accepts my apology. Go off to the movies to see Wall Street (which also reminded me of the blog because I started it in West Central Africa -- in October 2008 when the meltdown happened). Come back and I have another rant from her on how she disagrees with me and kids should go to war at 18. I don't want to engage with her -- she can barely spell and use proper grammar and English is her only language!!! So I blocked her. I guess I just "chose" to be cutoff from my friend (her husband) -- but I just don't need toxic people hassling me and calling me a pinhead.

This is the first time I've actually done it -- removed a toxic person from my life. She is kind of crazy -- I hope she does not report me to Facebook and get me banned -- but I just knew she would keep at it and at it. So goodbye trouble -- hello new yellow purse :-).