Article 13 - Spread the Word to change the wording #SaveyourInternet

Posting too Much?

Lately I've become pretty active on Facebook.  It's my personal page, and when I browse Facebook, I tend to look at pictures from pages I like.  This then leads to my liking a bunch of pictures and sharing others.

This is where the problem lies.  I end up sharing posting too much.

Today my statues/shares totaled 31.  I'm not sure how that compares to other people, but according to my friends on Facebook I AM THE NEWSFEED.  So I guess I'm at least flooding that.  But it brings up a question:

How much is "Too Much" posting?

Before I begin dissecting my own actions, let me first explore my personal Rules of the Internet.  There's a couple rules that I believe you should abide by when posting on the internet.  (I'm only going to post a few here that are somewhat relevant. Maybe next blog I'll do a full one about all my rules...)

1. TMI - Too Much Information.  Pretty self explanatory. A good way to check this is to ask yourself one question: "If someone else was telling me the same thing- would I feel awkward?"  It's that status about how you feel sick, which goes into detail about exactly which part of you hurts, how, why, and the amount of vomit you've spewed compared to the diarrhea that's come out.  See?  You already feel awkward.  Keep that $#%* to yourself.
2. Memes and Reposting - This rule is something that happens mostly on sites like Reddit, Tumblr, or Imgur where people post many pictures or memes.  I'm sure you've already seen this, when people keep posting that same joke, that same picture, over and over and over.  It's funny once.  Maybe twice.  Not so much later.  On Facebook, the biggest culprit is memes. It's not terrible, but it's annoying.  Surely there's something else out there that's just as funny that we haven't already seen!  And these pictures aren't being posted to raise awareness, they're just funny.  The flip side of this problem is when people post other pictures or words without giving credit to the original creator.
3. Swearing - I don't like swearing. So I try not to use anything that would be censored on a PG movie.  However, I recognize that there are others who don't mind swearing. So I don't hold others to this rule unless every &$*#%( other &*#$%*+{? word is a $(#%+\#@!^ swear.  Don't go overboard.  There are kids on the internet.  As adults we should be able to recognize it.
4. Act Your Age in Real Life - Basically, if you're 20 something- you should act and behave like you are that age and the same as if you were real life.  There's that feeling on the internet where people think they can just do whatever they want without penalties.  But you are a person who can control your own actions, so you should.

My first thought is that I'm mostly sharing pictures.  It's not personal statuses, so I'm not crossing the TMI boundary.  And I'm not simply reposting silly pictures.  Most of the pictures I share come from Feminist pages, and have something to do with that movement and link right back to the page I got them from.  So that takes out.  There's not a lot of swearing in the posts... and they are valid discussions on the topic.  So what's the problem?

Rule #5.

You don't see a Rule #5 on my list?  That's because I don't have one.  But others seem to. But only on Facebook.

5.  Unless you're a page - don't post so much.

I've... never gotten that rule.  I still don't.  Part of the backlash I've received has something to do with the stuff I'm posting.  Either it's not funny, or not interesting, or not what they want to see.  But I have hundreds of friends.  I'm not on Facebook for 1 or 2.  In fact, my Facebook is mostly for me.  So when I'm posting stuff, I'm really just posting because I'm enjoying it.  It's like that tumblr you had where no one followed you, but you reblogged stuff anyways because you liked it?  It's that.

Except it's Facebook and I guess that's different.

So I'm not sure what to do about that...

What are your own guidelines for the internet?

-PimLp

I'm finally back HOME!

It's been a long summer since I last posted.  The semester ended and I landed my first big girl job!

This summer I got to be a camp counselor, and it was awesome!  Tiring, and I have no internet whatsoever... but it was fun.  I made fire, hiked around, rode horses and played in boats all summer.

I just wish I had been able to vlog more.  I barely made 3 minutes a day. 5 minutes on a super good day.  But I can't vlog the children so I had to work around it.  Oh well, at least I did something!

But now the summer is over, and I'm back home at SBU.  WOO!  We had our first football game/marching band performance yesterday.  We won. At both. :D  And I finally settled my room.  Well, almost, I still have a few school things that need to find a home.  However, overall my room is FANTASTIC!  The layout is awesome, I have my own cave thing with my desk and bed, and I even brought my own sewing machine.

That's right.  A sewing machine!

Over the summer I made 2 swimmable mermaid tails with my mother's machine.  And now, I'm free to create everything else I want... some more tails, maybe a quilt.

I've been wanting to make a big quilt out of all my old tshirts form high school.  I've already cut out all the sections that I want, so with luck I'll be able to figure out how to actually sew them together.

From what I can figure out, to make one, you just need to cut out the parts of the tshirts you want with enough edge around them for a hem (about a 1/4") and then piece them together.  Any extra fabric you need to even out the square or fill in space can double as your backing color.

So this semester, I'm going to try to utilize this blog as a "how-to" of sorts for all my projects.

To start with, a basic guide for swimmable mermaid tails.  You need a patter of you from about your belly button to your feet.  For the fin itself you need to have a mono fin.  So put it on and lay down, draw around your body and your fin.  Then cut out your pattern.

Once you have your pattern, you can pick out fabric.  You'll want fabric that won't weigh you down too much in the water.   The best would be swimming fabric (you can find it in most fabric stores if you look).  Then plan out how you're going to get your fin in and out.  I opted for a zipper on the bottom of the fin, so it can get in and out without stretching out the ankle area.  You can also use ribbon ties, or push it in from the opening at the top.

I use elastic for the top of the tail around the waist.

Basically, get your fin and think through how you want to remove it.  If you'd rather keep the fin in at all times, then just sew your fin inside the tail.  Look around online for swimmable mermaid tails to see different ways people have done it.

Until the next update!  I'll see you later!

-Pim

I feel like a failure. :(

Today was the finals for the SBU Idol singing competition.  I auditioned and made it all the way into the top 8.  And then we all performed.  Everyone was great!  And then I went up to sing.

I didn't do well.

The moment I hit the last note I knew I was terrible.  I didn't have enough air or the right support and the back of my throat was feeling fuzzy and crackling.  But I ended well and people were cheering and I felt like I had done really well.  That's when the announcer asked the judges what they thought.  Now, the judges hadn't given critiques on everyone, but I thought I would get rave reviews.  Instead they mentioned how I should have chosen a song more in my range and not be so pitchy.  As soon as I heard that I knew there was no way I was doing well in the competition.

And lo and behold I didn't place.  (They only announced the top 3.)

But the worst part about it is how people were reacting afterwards.  Everyone told me I was great, some people gave me advice on how I could have been better.  Honestly, I would have preferred people give me sympathy for not winning.  I did well yes, but it was the finals, everyone "did well".  And since I just lost, I wish I could have gotten advice on being better later.

I've been fighting tears ever since.

Don't get me wrong, I am so happy to have been able to even compete in the finals, and the people who won were amazing!  But that doesn't mean I didn't want to win.  I feel crushed.  I wasn't good enough and I don't know why.  And I may never know.  And I feel sad that I didn't do better.

I wanted to win, or at least dazzle the crowd.  Instead right after my performance I got to hear about how bad I was.  And by the end, it turns out I was somewhere between "the worst performer there" and "just missing the cut".  From my viewpoint, since I'm not singled out as good- I must be bad.

And that hurts.

So happy to be an RA!

I love my job.  I'm a resident assistant on the 3rd floor and I love it!  My residents are great, my staff is awesomely supportive, and even being on duty in the office is fun.

When I started this job I thought it would be boring and pointless (after all, who cares about RAs?)  But now, I'm getting noticed on campus as a helper, I have a great support group from people I would have never associated with otherwise, my references for summer jobs are amazing, and I'm just having fun!

In the office, when I sit on duty for 5 hours a night (not every night thank goodness!) I can do homework, have the TV on for background noise and greet everyone who comes in the building.  Residents wave hello and goodbye, some even stop by for a minute or two for a chat.  My fellow RAs pop in to see if I need any food or help, and I'm the person people come to for help. :)  That's a great feeling, to know that people need you and more importantly they are coming to you specifically.

Not to mention my bulletin boards and door decorations!  I was so psyched to make them this semester, it's a great perk of the job.  And now that the semester is starting I'm also doing programs.  (Gearing up for a Valentine's Day dinner date program, SO EXCITED)

Besides, I just like the job.  I enjoy being known on campus and having people want to ask me for help.  I love being an RA.  Best job in the world.

Rain!

Friday is going to be an interesting day.  I have to wake up early to do my PHY class, but then I'm free until 4:30 for band.  I wonder how I could fill the time?  I could:

• work out
• eat
• sleep
• do homework
• write
• read
• play music
• hang with friends
• cry
• wonder if I need something from my dorm
• walk
• do pottery
• play on Facebook
• change clothes
• make coffee
• make tea
• complain
• browse the inter webs
• sign petitions
• play a game
• not play a game
• imagine things
• plan my week
• clean my room
• take a shower
• do my hair
• make my bed
• watch TV
• do my nails
• text friends
• email people
• play the wii
• go to the gym
• play bagpipes
• play guitar
• practice yoga
• draw
• paint
• be funny

But instead I'll probably just be lazy... though I could do all of those... And really should do some of them...

Deliver it!

Hey guys!  I think I was just amazing.  Cause I found a way to link my blogger with my tumblr, Facebook and twitter!

Hee hee I feel so smart! :)

Want to give it a try?  Here's the link!