Social Networking!

Wow, I can’t believe that there are so many social networking sites out there now. It’s hard to keep up. Some I like and some I just don’t feel comfortable with.

Let’s see…in my research I naturally found the most popular network site which is Facebook (www.Facebook.com) which gives you the opportunity to share and stay connected with friends and making new friends. Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school and region to connect and interact with others. Once you become a member you can add friends, send messages and upgrade your personal profile to notify friends about yourself. I personally don’t like this site for some reason. Maybe, it’s because I don’t care if someone is eating an apple right now or just got through brushing their teeth with sensitive toothpaste! I get many emails inviting me to join their Facebook and half these people, I don’t even know.

Then I found Eons (www.Eons.com) Eons is a social networking site for baby boomers. Once you become an Eons member, you’ll find like-minded people on the site and the Eons team is eager to answer questions, respond to comments and help you get started quickly. This site like all others, allow you to express yourself and share your life and your passions and interests, yes your photos and videos and play games to build your brain and challenge others. I think this site is for the real elderly that is just learning the computer world. A good place to start if you are new to the computer.

I also found another site called LinkedIn (www.LinkedIn.com) which is a business-oriented social networking site. It is mainly used for professional networking. When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional expertise and accomplishments. You can then invite trusted contacts to join and connect to you and I emphasize the word “trusted”. Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to a vast number of qualified professionals and experts. I personally think this site can be very useful if you are still employed or looking for employment.

I feel the older generation like myself who are past 60 use and enjoy the benefits of new technology. I find a lot of my friends get frustrated easily trying to learn how to navigate through our increasingly digital world. If it requires more than one click…….they will not step up to the challenge and will not make the effort. They are satisfied with just a simple email back and forth and will stop at that. They also refuse to read a manual to find out how something works or do some troubleshooting! Perhaps, just lazy or simply lack of interest????

Well, there are some high tech stuff that simply does not interest me either like an MP3 Player or Texting Messages. But I love my computer and graphics and writing and I do spend hours and hours per day on my computer which I am self taught because I had to learn it in order to survive in the world for my jobs that I had.

Just when I thought I was caught up with all the new digital devices…..up pops Twitter which is a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 bytes in length. Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. Do you believe I learned about this by watching the Dr. Phil Show.

How many devices do we need? So, what is your favorite high tech electronical digital device?

I’m happy with my Blogs and feel more comfortable with it than Facebook or any of the above listed sites. This electronical world is getting a tad complicated with way too many gadgets.

Don’t fret, I manage to get my exercise in during the day and clean my house and I still cook! Hey, I’m Italian….we all cook and partake of the vino!

Everybody's Irish on St.Paddy's Day!

I never downed a pint of green beer nor have I ever got pinched for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day! I'm Italian so I wore Orange! LOL P.S. I hate beer!

I have a friend that is from Ireland and she says it is a religious holiday and the first thing that the Irish do is go to church. She claims that here in America, March 17 is a day of beer-fueled frivolity for many, a secular holiday filled with visions of shamrocks and leprechauns more than penance and prayer. I personally think they are partaking of the green beer in Ireland and she is not admitting it! LOL

She said they never ate corned beef and cabbage on St. Paddy's day either. Really????? Nor is Dublin's River Liffey tinted green, she said, referring to Chicago's tradition of dying its river green.

This year, thousands will celebrate at Irish pubs and festivals throughout South Florida, including parades in Hollywood and Delray Beach as well as the Irish Fest on Flagler in West Palm Beach and the Irish Fest on Atlantic in Delray. And is there a more Irish city in the United States than South Boston?

The festivals are a way to celebrate Irish heritage, its music, food and dance.

"Everybody's Irish on St. Paddy's Day."

Daylight Savings Time

One of the biggest reasons we change our clocks to Daylight Saving Time (DST) is that it reportedly saves electricity. Newer studies are being done to see if that long-held reason is true.

Adjusting the Clock-shifts Affect Risk Of Heart Attack

Adjusting the clocks to summer time on the last Sunday in March increases the risk of myocardial infarction in the following week. In return, putting the clocks back in the autumn reduces the risk, albeit to a lesser extent, according to research in the New England Journal of Medicine.

So, why do we bother to switch the time back and forth every year if it even has a fraction of truth that it could cause a heart attack??????? dah!

Some states do not even change their clocks so what gives???????????????

Where Did I Put My Mind?

Did you ever feel like you are experiencing the “crazies” where you spend a maddening amount of time looking for things you had in your hand only minutes ago or had logically filed away for safe-keeping?

I know many of us multi-task and our minds are on overload. I know on one level I am doing and performing demanding tasks and making decisions and on the other level, I’m confused and upset that just because I’m a widow and alone now doesn’t mean that I cannot take on a challenging task without having to hire someone to do it for me, as I was always an independent woman even when my husband was alive.

I know it is very important to develop interests or hobbies and staying involved in activities that stimulate both the mind and body. I try giving careful attention to physical fitness and exercise as I know it will go a long way toward keeping a healthy state of mind.

I have a bad back now so; therefore, lifting heavy objects leaves me at the mercy of a neighbor or a handyman and having to pay a fee for all these things I used to do on my own in my earlier years. I used to paint and wallpaper….climb ladders, drive through blizzards when I lived in New England and now I turned into a wimp and terrified of driving on I-95 here in Florida. LOL

Yes, I guess I have reached that age where I have to write things down and create my own To Do List otherwise I surely would forget. My memory used to be perfect….now hmmmmmmmmm! Sigh! Gosh, I’m making myself sound ancient but when you feel your memory is starting to fail…….it certainly becomes a serious concern.

I know I have envy lurking in my bones when I see a married couple in a restaurant but at times like that I am better able to relish my unencumbered single-hood as many years has gone by now. I’ve noticed that a little reality goes along way toward restoring a balance between the poor me and the new me. I’ll look over at my girlfriend and realize we don’t have to rush home or be home at a special time after a day of shopping and stopping for a bite to eat.

This same particular day, I joined my friends for lunch and one of my friends who is also widowed looked at me from across the table after I was starring at the same couple I was admiring and she said: “You know, as much as I loved my husband I could not marry him today……not since I found that I have a mind of my own.” That coming out of her mouth took me back a bit. I guess if you were totally dependent upon your spouse and you grew to a new person, perhaps I can understand her feelings. I, on the other hand I had a career and was always capable to taking care of myself and raising my children and my house. I then realized that my friend and I were both missing two different things about being married. I was missing the love and affection and missing being a couple and my friend was cherishing the new found life she was deprived of as a married person by being so dependent upon her spouse. She said if her husband could come back to life, he would not recognize the woman she has become. Interesting how women take different paths after a life changing event.