The Year Without – Update #8

Here’s What I Loved About A Month Without Facebook:

I was productive in a way I didn’t know I could be. I decided to block myself from Facebook at work months ago, so I haven’t had this problem there, but I spend at least 3 hours a week checking Facebook from home (and that’s probably a low estimate), and let’s face it, last month I had shit to do. I would probably still be moving things out of Jason’s house (and then updating my status about it every hour). I stopped wanting to impress people or out-socialize myself or chime in on every little thing that everyone was doing. It was a bit like graduating high school and going to college again. So many things stopped mattering, and so many doors opened up. Like I said before, you would not believe how much you can achieve in an hour. Put down the “Like” button for a day or two, y’all. It feels so damn good.

Here’s What I Missed:

I missed my friends! Perhaps more so because I’m back home and so busy, but I missed knowing what everyone was up to. I’ve always been the friend who updates people on the rest of the circle, and I hated wondering how everyone was (and more importantly, having no idea how to contact some people and find out).

I mean, a friend had her baby 10 weeks early and I had no idea until I saw her email. I almost forgot about few birthdays (and missed a couple that I didn’t even know about). I have no idea if my other pregnant friend has had her baby or not. Breakups happened. People have moved. And I was expected to know most of this stuff, because everyone else on Facebook did.

And here’s the beautiful thing about Facebook: it’s an ongoing conversation with every friend and fun person I’ve met, all in the same virtual room. I mean, I updated my status and heard from my cousin, my old roommate, a high school friend, my first boyfriend, a friend from the comedian crew, my boyfriend, a blog buddy, etc etc. As much as I love actual interaction, I’d never find a potpourri like that in real life. I’m glad to have that back.

I won’t have to worry about too much obsessive checking right now – my parents’ computer makes me homicidal – but once I’m back in Fast Connection Land, I’m going to work very hard to keep it in check. I might take another month off in 2011, or a week off here or there. Trust me, it felt so damn good and healthy to take a break.