Status Updates

I left Facebook. Temporarily. I thought I would be gone, oh, maybe three weeks. Instead I was gone almost two months. It was so hard to return. But I did. When I returned, I decided to spend a couple of days catching up all who wanted to read about what went on while I was gone. Because I delete my Facebook wall every week, and because I want to keep the stories I wrote, I am transferring them here.

Status Update:

• Story #1: I deactivated my FB account. Why? I don't know. It was a gut feeling. The world has been spinning in wonderful ways since.


• Story #2: Last month I told my landlord that if he didn't fix this problem I would call the Board of Health. This photo was taken when the leak in the ceiling was small. (You should see it now)




• Story #3: I got my hair cut. Short. Why? I don't know. I was sitting at Great Clips waiting for my son to finish getting his hair cut when I thought, "Do it! If you don't like it, it will grow out." I love it. I can have happy hair, angry hair, calm hair,and bad-hair-days. Short hair is so versatile.




• Story #4: I announced to friends at a Sunday brunch that I was going to move out of the house by the end of September. I've had it! So what if the rent is cheap. I feel cheap. I also am afraid that some day a rodent will fall through the ceiling or that my tub will fall through to the living room.




• Story #5: The next day my landlord asked me to move out. ASAP. Like yesterday. The Board of Health threat did it. So I start looking for a place to move to.


• Story #6: Started reading Walden by Thoreau.


• Story #7: I wanted to live downtown Indianapolis. I love downtown. I love all the activity and how close it all is. So I started looking for a place downtown.




• Story #8: In preparation for the eventual move I decided to purge everything pre-2002. So I grabbed all my journals and diaries (from 6th grade on) and lit a fire in a cement flower pot and burned each page. THERAPY! Once that got started, everything else from my childhood was easily disposed. I only kept my baby pictures.


• Story #9: After 3 weeks of not being on FB I stopped thinking in Status Updates. After 4 weeks I stopped thinking of FB. After 5 weeks FB no longer existed for me. There was a huge liberation in not being on FB.


• Story #10: I disconnected the internet. Suddenly I felt more human than android. Odd. I didn't know I had become part android.


• Story #11: After 3 years working for the School Of Informatics I finally took a week off. I was possessed by the Purge Demon. I needed to get rid of excess crap. Also, I needed to find an apartment.


• Story #12: Trashed: two fully-loaded, body-sized trash cans. Goodwill: 14 boxes & 10 lawn-sized bags.Unwanted furniture piled in the livingroom waiting to be disposed (to various people...if you are looking for something, I may have it--just ask;free for the most part). My son's comment a week later: "I thought you were getting rid of things!"


• Story #13: I couldn't afford downtown living. I reassessed what was important for me in an apartment and after spending 3 years in a house that's rotting and a neighborhood that has seen its share of sirens and police, I opted for safety. I can't afford downtown safety.



• Story #14: An emotional weekend convinced me that I was in this alone. So on Labor Day I power-down my phone. Suddenly, my bones went silent. And for the first time I felt completely human. It was glorious.


• Story #15: when I disconnected the internet it only affected my son and me. I had my Droid so I still had access. When I disabled FB it affected some friends who didn't know I had disabled it. But when I powered down my phone all hell broke loose. I have been told that if I do that again Iam to check in frequently.


• Story #16: during all this I kept looking for an apt. I found it. I don't know if it's because the owner knows all his tenants, or if it's because his tenants make it a point to say hi to him or if it's because people will stay there for years. Or maybe it's his calm voice. I signed a lease.


• Story #17: I think I'm done with the stories. I'm all caught up. I'm packing. Will be taking possession on the 1st. North side of Indy. I have furniture I'm trying to give away. See my mobile photos for items, if you are interested.

What surprised me most were all the comments on my stories. I didn't include them here because this post then becomes cumbersome. But it was delightful hearing from friends and getting their thoughts and reactions.