I had the building to myself at work after Monday. Everyone else was either still on break or at a conference. I thought I’d have time to watch the yearly mandated videos and do some filings. I only got to watch one video (one more to go!) and not any filing at all. Oi!
Sooo, I got called out on Spoutible. I liked and commented on a post then commented on another post that was opposite of what I had liked and commented previously. I don’t want to be specific because to do so will give more energy to a POS that doesn’t deserve it. Suffice to say calling me out was appropriate and I owned up to what I had done. I posted thusly on my profile and it’s currently the most liked of any of my Spoutible posts or comments. Go me?
Honestly, it feels performative. I posted because I wanted anyone who might read me there to understand that I meant no ill intent (because I did not) and I was glad to be called out. I felt so bad and embarrassed and a little horrified that my seemingly innocent like and comment might have brought hurt to someone. I wanted to lash out, to explain my intent, to get people to see my side, but I didn’t. I apologized and understood that what I had done had contributed to a negative vibe, which is something I never ever want to do. Still, I feel as if I was just saying words even though I meant them. I’m glad that the people there understood.
How exhausting must it be for people to find offense and expend the energy to try and correct someone. I have been online for a long time and I’ve learned to just move on if someone posts things I don’t like and I certainly am not compelled enough to try to correct them most of the time. I don’t take things personally unless it’s directly said to me. I might take the time to see what kind of person they are from their profiles. I didn’t want to reply to those who’d commented on my comment but I felt I needed to let them know that I understood and I was sorry. And I do and I am.
So now I understand that some of the people at Spoutible are willing to post deeper thoughts and they will call out what they believe is offensive. They are a serious bunch and for some, that’s a good thing. Part of me wants to write off the whole platform but I’m committed for now because I do want to see how far it goes. But it’s hard to find the joy there.
Then there’s Threads.
I really enjoy spending time on Threads and I shrug off the current annoyances because I see enough joy and curiosity and down right good feelings there. I feel good when I’m scrolling through there. I like posting my random stuff. I like that a lot of the people I like to follow are there and I see their posts. I don’t see as much as I could since it’s all about the algorithms for now but even so, I don’t mind. I have patience and I like the vibe there. I have giggled, I have learned, I have appreciated many different posts there and I am hoping very much it continues to grow and improve because it has brought me more joy than some of the other SM I’ve tried in recent days. I feel more balance there. It will hopefully get better, like with web access please!
As for the entity formerly known as Twitter (it’s going to be rebranded, maybe tomorrow?), I am still there, mostly to keep from someone using my twitter name. I post my Wordles there everyday and sometimes comment or post randomly. But that place has changed so much and it’s just not the same. I’m sad about it but most of the people I want to follow have other places online where I can find them, so when Twitter dies, it won’t feel like such a loss. I already miss the heyday of that platform…
I’m enjoying my new MacBook Air very much. I’m also taking advantage of the free year of ViX from T-Mobile. Miguel Ángel Silvestre has a few movies on that platform and I decided to do screenshots of La Boda de Mi Mejor Amigo. The movie, a Mexican adaptation of the 1997 film, My Best Friend’s Wedding, follows the same beats as the original and MAS plays the gay friend. I only skimmed through to his scenes but what I saw looks delightful. I’ll have to watch the movie properly even though my Spanish is definitely not good enough for that. Ha!
In brighter light, the MacBook Air definitely is NOT black but rather the darkest blue/gray can be (hence the “Midnight,” I’m sure). And lo, fingerprint prone indeed. I don’t care, I like it. As I’m typing this, I’ve got the laptop connected to my desktop monitor, keyboard, and mouse. This way I can still use my larger monitor, even though it’s not as nice on the eyes as the laptop. But at least I don’t have to wear my readers like this. Small blessings.
We visited my parents yesterday (Saturday) and took my dad to lunch at Harry’s Hofbrau. It’s been so long since we’ve been there! My mom didn’t go out with us but we brought her food when we went back to the house. San Leandro was much cooler than Brentwood, even at nearing 80F. My parents don’t even have air conditioning and most of the time they don’t need it. Their PG&E bill is so much less than ours, I’m quite sure. It was good to see them.
The Bay Area traffic is a bit crazy. First of all, why was there so much traffic before noon on a Saturday on 580? Where is everyone going? Second, where was everyone going later in the afternoon when we were going back home? SO MANY CARS! Even though it was hot as balls when we got home, I felt this wave of relief knowing the open spaces were within reach here as opposed to all the concrete and dense population closer to the Bay.
One more week of summer break (for the students out this way) and then the school year begins. Yes, we have a short summer break. Bummer for the kids and maybe for the staff too? August is the one month of the year where there are no built-in days off besides the weekends. No holidays, no short days, nothing. Every weekday is a day of work/school in August. Must brace myself for it but first, let’s enjoy this upcoming week, the last days of July…
