Internet Addiction

I am not a technology person.

My first I-didn't-just-look-at-it-I-also-pressed-some-buttons contact with computers was at 17, when, once per week, I would go to a net cafe and chat, in an effort to practice english. It was fun, until someone I had already chatted a few times with, suddenly pretended he didn't know me and started swearing. Whatever.

I got my first computer at 19 and didn't really dare touch it. The first time I had a problem, I pressed Help and typed a well-structured, coherent question to the little devil that inhabited inside the machine and made it work. Then, a friend of mine -student of Informatics- informed me that there is no button one can press and make it explode. With that valuable piece of information, I started experimenting. Soon, not only did I get used to it, but my parents got the impression I am some kind of technology guru (I wasn't, it's just that they were even worse than me).

I knew the terms Computer Addiction and Internet Addiction, but never really cared, until my mother came to visit us about 2 weeks ago. She complained that I spend far too much time in front of the screen. I didn't believe her but I decided to check (online! - Info here, here, here and here) what the symptoms of Internet Addiction are. I share my new knowledge with you:

• Using online services everyday without any skipping.
• Increasing amount of time spent online.
• Losing track of time when online.
• Feeling happy when online, craving for more time, feeling restless when not online.
• Feeling guilty and lying about the amount of time spent online.
• Neglecting friends and family.
• Others complaining about the time spent online.
• Computer use interfering with job performance.
• Headaches, bachaches, changes of sleeping pattern.
  

Should I add that I had almost all of them? And that some of my friends had them too? Only thing left to do: Just log off. Real life is so much better.

Candy Cigarette

(c) Sally Mann

Likes and Dislikes

I like (in random order):

Children/Teens/YA books. Coincidences. Sparkling wine. Literature. Daydreaming. Balkans. Harry Potter. Walking barefoot. Making lists. Theatre. Traveling. Painting my toe nails. Linguistics. Sleeping. Tom Robbins. Tomatoes. Cats. Fresh squeezed orange juice. Cinema. Discussions. Comics. Laughing till my belly aches. Strawberries. Feminism. Looking in wikiquote.org for random quotes. Bowling. Woody Allen. Soups. Confessions and secrets. Flea markets. Translation. Rivers. Mojito. Animated films. Writing. Ladybugs. Grammar. Dancing. Second-hand shops. Cooking. Supermarkets. Languages. Crying at sad movies/books. Inventing new words. Shoes.

I don't like (random order again):

Cold. Racists-sexists-fascists. "Twilight". Broccoli. Rudeness. Pigeons. Paulo Coelho. Mosquito bites. Arrogance. Diets. Driving. Luis Bunuel. Grasshoppers. Melons. Washing the dishes. Pretention. Red wine. Grapefruits.

I don't understand:

Theoretical vegetarianism. Organized religion. Some forms of stupidity. People (sometimes). Technology.

Wisdom teeth!

A few months ago, I realized that something feels different in my mouth and, after a short visit to the mirror, I saw that one of my wisdom teeth is coming out. First, I started jumping all around like crazy, then I called my mother to tell her the big news. My sister didn't really share my joy - she rolled her eyes and said "What's the big deal, I had all four when I was 20", at which I happily answered "New tooth! New tooth!"

My joy was somehow shattered a couple of days later, when I discovered that my second wisdom tooth is also coming out and realized that maybe I should have them removed - after all, that's what almost all the people I know did. But, you know me, worry didn't send me to the dentist (it did make me though wash my teeth more often). Till now, I am fine, I sometimes feel a little bit of pain but I have found my medicine: chewing gums - don't know how or why, but it really works!

At some point, I also remembered that someone had once told me that, nowadays, wisdom teeth are totally useless to the human species and those who do not have them at all are more "evolved" than the rest of us common people. I tried to reconcile with this, but finally decided to google it and see if it's true. Here is what I found:

The third molars (=wisdom teeth) helped our ancestors chew hard food and also served as a backup when the rest of the teeth were lost. Yes, third molars are pretty much useless today, as our nutrition does not include tough roots/raw meat and dental care allows us preserve our teeth for a long-long time. Nevertheless, not having them probably does not signify any evolutionary step, since no-wisdom-teeth holders live/reproduce as much and are as strong as the rest of us, thus they do not have any evolutionary advantage. (More info here and here)

However, I can't help but think: if life becomes like those fantasy/sci-fi movies, when everything is destroyed and people have to survive like animals, then we'll see who is evolved and who is not!

Life on Facebook

For no reason at all, apart from my tendency to procrastination, I decided today to write down all the statuses I had posted on Facebook the previous months. Unfortunately, they don't have (yet) a "Show only status" button and I had to search my entire wall, pressing repeatedly "Older posts". It is a pity I couldn't go back more than March, because I discovered a new, interesting and original approach of seeing my life.

Till February 2009: I remember I was taking all kinds of stupid tests, who always gave me stupid results and I had to remove them afterwards one by one. Why would anyone make public that in their previous life they were blood-sucking mosquitoes or that their "Heroes" alter ego is Ando - no superpowers but, still, good sidekick? I also found all my lost classmates (though I am sure that if we ever meet in person, we won't even say "hi") and I played some games, which I got bored of soon.

March 2009 - June 2009: My Facebook activities consist of finding and being found by friends, tagging and being tagged in photos, joining groups, writing on friends' walls. Nothing special - all that Facebook has to offer has not been revealed to me yet.


July 2009: Sadness and disappointment. Status 1: Tired / Status 2: Sophia is a SuperGirl and SuperGirls don't cry / Status 3: Je ne veux pas travailler, je ne veux pas dejeuner, je veux seulement l'oublier et puis je fume. That month also appears the one and only test I publish and do not remove ("What work of literature you are?"), only because I am my all-time favorite "One Hundred Years of Solitude". Here it goes: Anything is possible, right? I mean ANYTHING! Hell, you might sprout wings and fly away or you might live to see seven generations of your own family carry your name, only to be wiped away in one fell swoop. You might conquer foreign lands, travel through time, see a ghost, be a ghost... it doesn't matter. If you can dream it, you can make it reality.

August 2009: Facebook's belief in me and my superpowers subconsciously influences me and a wind of change blows. My statuses spread waves of curiosity to my 340 friends. Status 1: Sophia is thinking of taking that big, huge, enormous step / Status 2: omg! / Status 3: Sophia will take that big, huge, enormous step. My social life also improves and photos proving my participation in several events are daily added. Moreover, I fill my Notes with poems I like. I also discover the "Like" button and press it like a maniac. What Facebook does not reveal is that, amid organizing my future, socializing, reading poetry and keeping my virtual company posted, I also find time to work.

September 2009: End of August, the Fortune Cookie advises me to "look for new outlets for my own creative abilities", so I abandon literature, I empty my LivingSocial bookshelf and, with some help from YouTube, I start posting songs I like. Facebook predicts that I will get married 3 Oct 2010, provoking feelings of disappointment to my sister who manages to hide her bitterness after taking revenge by tagging me as "political guru" and "phone bill: $647.39". Moreover, my friend connections reach a higher level and now we play with statuses and comments. Status 1: Η Βάσια δεν θυμάται πού έχει παρκάρει, αλλά εγώ που θα κοιμηθώ μόνη μου τι φταίω????????? / Status 2: Tomorrow at last ! (+ inspiring "At last or at lust?" comment) / Status 3: Sophia has no fucking idea.


October 2009: Status 1: Sophia n'a pas peur de la route, tout ira bien :) / Status 2: Sophia arrived in Bratislava / Status 3: Αύριο είναι η μέρα που ξεκινάει αφού κοιμηθείς και ξυπνήσεις / Status 4: Αυτό θα πει ολοκλήρωση! Επιτέλους απέκτησα νούμερο τηλ που ξεκινάει από 090 :p / Status 5: Μάνα (που έρχεται αύριο με το αεροπλάνο): Να φέρω κουραμπιέδες? Αδερφή: Όχι, θα τους περάσουν για άνθρακα. This month, it's my Facebook moment of glory, as I get quoted (status 3, followed by another quotation, in comment form this time: Ο βραδινός ύπνος είναι αυτός που πέφτεις και κλείνεις κεφάλαιο).

That's how it goes till now, more or less. I feel I have a long way ahead still, as I do not know yet what "poke" is, nor can I compete with some of my friends who have groups dedicated to them! However, for the time being, I am totally absorbed in my status frenzy. And, moments before posting it, I announce you what my next status will be:

Twitter, anyone?