Be Careful What You Wish For

Once upon a long ago, I used to wish my real-time friends and acquaintances were online. I'd see youngsters social networking with each other and wish I could do the same with my peers. Sure, the young people were friendly and helpful and never made me feel excluded.  But there were times upon times when I longed for a little peer to peer online nostalgia time-out. My contemporaries however were least bothered about toeing the techno line.

Until recently when a handful of colleagues finally breached the Facebook divide. And sadly, I have to admit the old cliche is true: Be careful what you wish for - you just might get it. Having my old friends and workmates finally available online isn't at all what I'd once fondly cracked it out to be. Reason: we're just not on the same wavelength online. I probably come off sounding like a nasty diva but their rookie bumbling around blows my stress levels sky high. It's annoying and aggravating when they discuss my statuses at work, do steals on my friends or make clumsy newbie moves. One even "shared" a photo album with single shots of yours truly (something I don't often care to post online). I had to quickly text her that sharing entire albums was a big no-no. She apologized profusely and said she'd "hide or unshare it right away." Right away took some time but after a couple of days, phew, my album no longer featured on her timeline.

Sure, I know being new to anything, much less the mad, mad world of social networking, is tough nuts. But I've been there, done that, sport a few scars, and it's like I'm now on level 12 and way, way past level 1. Maybe soon the newbies will catch up and we will all coexist as happily online as off. But for now, excuse me while I tear my hair and climb the walls, grrrrrr.

Where Glam Goes

October already. My blog posts have become so sporadic, I surprise even myself.  It's partly because I've gotten so lazy about writing anything lengthy. Maybe I should just do extra-short posts so this place doesn't mildew too much.

Anyway, September was a busy month. The last couple of weeks were specially hectic with the annual inter-college sports which was uncutely followed right away by Internal tests. I don't know what the power-that-be was thinking when he decided on that particular pattern of action. Should've been the other way round definitely. Anyway, the whole sports shebang was great fun and we won. Again, ting! 

Back at work on Tuesday (Monday being a holiday to celebrate our championship), some of the kids who had been on the college teams came milling around the teachers' room to hand in slightly overdue home assignments. And looking at some of them, it struck me how different they seemed. In the courts and stadiums, fitted out in sporting gear, they had been all enviable, confident strut - steady eyed, cool, calm, collected, moving around with easy grace and self-assurance in the way that only sports people can, and displaying skill, tact and aggro with perfect timing. But out of their kits and off court in the teachers' common room, they looked bewilderingly out of sorts: gawky, gauche, tentative - just your regular awkward teenager with all the uncoordinated movements and fractured speech. I tried to put one at ease by asking what his height was and wondered if he was the tallest student we had in college - he'd been one of the volleyball players, and he nervously replied 6'1". Other teachers asked him other things but he didn't relax much. It was then I realised how different we all are when in our element and out of it. In the one, we ooze savvy, poise and confidence; in the other, all the glam just vanishes right back under our skins. Same persons, different people.