Pros and Cons

There are some things I love about Facebook. I like connecting with my family--aunts, uncles, cousins, sister, brother, mom and dad; it's like an online reunion sometimes. And since I have a pretty large extended family, and we live all over, it's nice to be able to know what's going on with them, seeing their kids grow, where their careers take them, and the general goings on in their lives.

And obviously, we all know Facebook is pretty handy when stalking that person you like. Is there a person of the opposite sex in their profile pic, are they listed as "Single" or "In a Relationship"? Do you both love Parks and Rec and The Shawshank Redemption? Handy....and also less handy when you learn a whole lot about them without ever having a real conversation with them. It makes the whole getting-to-know-you-phase sort of moot.

I also hate how it allows me to compare myself with tons of people that I would generally know very little about. They've traveled more than me. They have a better job than me. They have 3 kids and I'm still single. They went to that concert I wanted to go to. But the thing is, that's just their "online" life; real life is much more fun.

And comparing never got anyone anywhere.

My Nieces and Nephews

These are my nieces and nephews. I love them, even though they can't seem to make a normal face for a picture (mainly the boys!).

48 HRS and the Stolen Car

I love my car. Scratch that, I LOVE my car. I don't know if I ever shared the entire story about how I got it, but I know for sure that I was meant to have this car and that divine intervention was involved. So when I walked outside to head to church Sunday afternoon and saw it not sitting there, I was pretty devastated. After doing a mental check that I had left it there the night before, I went inside to call the police. I made it through that phone call, and the subsequent returned call of an officer, before I cried for about 5 minutes. Then I sat on my couch just staring at nothing, feeling numb and trying to comprehend.

It's not that my car is new and fancy and beautiful. But it is my car. It's paid for and it gets me around as I need. I was sad for the loss of the freedom that it gives me.

I scrambled around to get a bike from my sister to use the next day. And when the back tire was having an issue making it unrideable, I was bummed for most of the day. This morning I had a bike, took it on the bus, and rode from Primary Children's Hospital to my work in Research Park. It was sort of fun and exhilarating, if not a little tiring and sweat-inducing. But I kinda felt cool all day at work knowing that I had rode my bike!

Don't get me wrong though, I was still hoping my car would be found. Because even though I think public transportation is awesome, and I want to ride a bike more, it is sort of inconvenient and it is super cold outside. And when the call came that my car had been found, almost 48 hrs exactly after I called it in missing, I was overjoyed.

My car was found over on the west side, with the back tire propped up on the curb. It looked to be fully intact as my coworker and I drove up to it. Everything essential was there. It was stolen for its stereo (really?!! the thing's gotta be worth like $200 max!), which had my favorite Avett Brothers cd in it, and ended up taking an umbrella and my work ID card with it. Not too shabby.

I LOVE my car and I'm very grateful that she came back to me in one piece.