Christopher has a blog!

When I originally started this blog, I thought that Christopher and I would write together, thus his name is under the contributors up above (and thus "Brown Wall," our last names). He wrote two posts, probably in the first 2 weeks that I was blogging. And that was it.

Now he's just started his own blog, which is great because a) he's a writer and he's more articulate than me and b) he's able to express himself publicly, which I think is important for a writer to do.

So here it is: Half-Shell.

Ted

Have any of you heard of Ted?

My neighbor is hosting a Ted girls' night, and invited me. She has DVDs of some talks, and we're going to watch them and then discuss them.

I can't help wondering if this is some sort of brain washing-cult thing. The graphics on the website don't make me feel any more comfortable. And the fact that it costs $6,000 to attend one of their conferences makes me super wary.

I guess I'm just really hesitant to join groups. Am I the only one?

On another subject, I have a new nephew! He was born this morning at around 10am and weighs 8lbs 5 oz. (that's a big baby for my sister-in-law to carry. She's only 4'-11") That's really all I know about him. Hopefully he'll have a name before too long!

argh is for ebay

I love ebay. I really do. We bought our dining chairs there, with no problem. I've bought books, CDs, props, whatever there. I've only had one problem in the past, when a seller didn't sell me the flashlight I won. So then I lost $10.

We have been gearing up to tile our kitchen backsplash and (why not?) ordered our tile from a seller there. I felt like the design we chose was risky, something that not everyone would like. But we plan to stay in this apartment for a while and hopefully the tile would age with us. Here is what we decided on:We ordered 40 sheets of it. All in all, it wasn't that expensive (that's why we bought it on ebay) but we were excited and my father is actually coming up this weekend to help us get the tiling started.

You've probably guessed where I'm going with this. The tile arrived today. It isn't what we ordered. More like, it probably is what we ordered, but their photograph doesn't match what we received. Here's what we got: What do we do now? I wouldn't mind so much if the tile we received looked good in our kitchen. But it doesn't. The color nearly matches the wood of our counter top, and as Christopher says, it looks like fake wood. I've contacted the seller and hope that we can get this sorted out without getting ebay and Paypal involved. Argh. Argh.

Anyone want 40 square feet of caramel tile? (And honestly, does anyone think that these photos look alike? Is this just a problem of viewing them on different monitors or is their photograph really off?)

the internets

Something I've learned recently: I have been living in a cave when it comes to the internet.

Right now I feel like someone just opened a door and showed me where everyone has been playing. What am I talking about?

Chicklets. You thought that they were the original chewing gum, the type that is square and hard on the outside. But no. Chicklets are these little icons that are sometimes posted on blogs so you can link to them. I actually can't explain it to you, because I am still having trouble grasping what they are. Clearly I'm not alone (just follow this link.)

Facebook. I thought it was for college students to send each other dumb messages, but apparently it's the next new hot spot for networking. And who knew that networking was now on the internet? I thought I had to go to bars and talk to weird people I didn't know, but I can actually do it from the safety of my computer! ha!

Stumbleupon. On that link you may notice that there are chicklets for Stumbleupon. (See how I'm already using my new vocabulary?) Actually, I just downloaded a new version of Firefox and they suggested that I add on Stumbleupon. Not knowing what I was adding, I pressed "Yes" and now I am stumbling all across the internet. It is awesome. Ever wanted to waste time online and not know where to start? Stumbleupon is for you! You install it on your browser, answer a few questions about what sort of sites you like and voila! Clearly whatever answers I gave told them that I am one wacky girl (which I don't dispute), because it sends me to sites like this and this. But that's cool. I'd rather see photos of hotels made out of sewage pipes than someone's math calculations.

Lastly, though I actually discovered it first, is Flickr. I love Flickr. I've been using it since around the time that I started this blog. It's a site where you can upload and share your photos. You can keep certain pictures private, but others can be made public so other people can see them. I find that it's a fantastic resource for me as a designer. Right now I'm working on a play about homelessness and it's so easy to find thousands of very detailed pictures of exactly that. And then you can join groups-- for example I am a member of a Flickr group that is knitting shawls from a lace book that I own. So I can see what other people's projects are like, or if someone has made the same one that I'm making. It's very cool.

Anyway, I have to go work on my design.

Tell me what secrets you know about the internet! I feel like I need to catch up!

my virtual world

I spend a decent amount of time on the computer. One of my jobs involves quite a bit of wait time and so I have a bunch of websites where I pass the time. I found a wonderful wedding planning forum last year, and now that everyone has gotten married we've moved over to an unofficial newlywed forum.

I feel a special kinship to these women. I have seen photos of their weddings, their husbands, their pets and renovations. I've heard them complain about their mothers or their in-laws, ask for advice on parties they are planning and recipes. Often there is some drama to be reported: a stash of porn has been found or a couple's sex life has collapsed. There are daily polls on topics running the gamut from what nickname you call your husband/boyfriend to what food you would eat if you were trapped on a desert island. There is even a confession time when regulars write over their handles and anonymously tell their deepest secrets.

There is an intimacy to this world which is somehow made possible by being behind a computer. I don't know these women. I probably wouldn't recognize most of them if I passed them on the street and I don't know their real names, but I still care about them. We care about each other, so much so that virtual baby showers are being planned for several of them.

I'm shocked by how these people's lives touch me. One regular's fiance was recently diagnosed with leukemia, which really frightens me. And on another forum, one frequented by some of our regulars, a poster was killed by her boyfriend. Somehow the murder victim, who I never knew existed before I heard of her death, seemed so real and close to me. She could have been one of my "friends." And then I wondered what would happen if one of us were hit by a bus. How would any of us know?

I know these women are very supportive and giving (some of them have already offered to be tested as bone marrow donors for the boyfriend with cancer). But when I don't know someone's real name, and I don't know where they live, how would I know if they were missing or dead? Would they disappear as anonymously as they already exist on the internet? How real is our connection? Does it extend past the keyboard and monitor, into real life?