Wednesday List: New Year's resolutions

New Year's Eve At Gary Indiana Pubs. Photographer: Francis Miller. Google Life photo archive.

The matter at hand: with 2015 approaching, it seems a good time to put some thought into resolutions. I like making resolutions. In fact, I think the best thing about resolutions is making them. My 2015 resolutions are:

• Stay committed to my budget: bring my lunches to work, even if it means preparing lunches en masse; craft from my stash; op shop and check Trade Me before buying brand new. And - plan for any splurgy away-periods.
• Spend less time on social media: especially when I’m at work. Something about Twitter while I’m working makes me feel filled with ennui and a kind of mild horror, and I get so angry. It’s not good
• Make time for writing: it’s amazing how time doesn’t just magically fall into my lap and make itself available to me.
• Keep using all the techniques I learnt in 2014 to manage my worry and anxiety: especially “worry once, worry well” - that is, make a plan and refer back to it when worries intrude. That approach has served me pretty well so far and I’m quite proud of the things I’ve achieved while using it.
• Be kind to myself.

Over the next 12 months I’d also like to:

• Make a decision about my spinning wheel (which is looking at me reproachfully as I write this): to spin or not to spin? If I’m going to spin, I should probably work at getting better (classes?) and get myself something to card with; if not I should just sell the wheel and get it over and done with. Correspondence on this matter is invited.
• Finish Middlemarch.
• Have a good declutter. I haven’t moved house for over three years now and you can tell from the amount of crap I have acquired. I feel the urge to purge.

Do you have any suggestions or help for the spinning wheel situation? How do you feel about resolutions?

Social Networking I Have Known: Foursquare and Brightkite

Part two of an irregular series in which I talk (not particularly knowledgeably) about the Social Media things I've done. And usually withdrawn from at least once.

Could you imagine texting with these nails, on this? I can't. My mind is officially Sparkle-blown.
via We Heart It

I grouped these together, because my limited experience of Brightkite was as a kind of location based messaging service. Either I was using it all wrong or it turned on it's heel and became something entirely different, because it now seems to be some kind of group texting service? Anyways, for the purpose of this let us say: I am talking about location-based services.

Essentially, any opinion that I have on either service is preceded by the fact that I think that location-based services are a bit creepy. I don't want people to know where I am all the time,  especially if that place is my home, and given the fact that my "real life" and "online life" friends and acquaintances rarely co-incide. In the end it was this that ended my brief love affair with Brightkite - particularly a conversation in which Shannon was unimpressed that both Mark (Maetl) and I had listed his house on Brightkite. I think his hesitancy to have all and sundry find his house is pretty understandable, all things considered.

The Foursquare thing has been a more recent experience, and I confess that it was fun while I just checked into places around town. Eventually this became rather dull and repetitive and constantly logging on to the local 3G network with my phone was costing me money that I simply don't have. This problem is possibly greater for New Zealand users - here the Wi-Fi is pretty shite (not public at all, and not well established in most cafes etc), and I feel as thought the effectiveness of the service relies on the availability of free Wi-Fi networks (am happy to be proved wrong though).

New Zealand fails at Foursquare in another way too - that is, that as the population is fairly limited, there just isn't enough people to make playing Foursquare interesting or worthwhile except for a fairly short period of time. I guess it would be cool if you could find out that your bestie was in the coffee shop down the road and surprise them, but I didn't really know the people on my Foursquare radar that well. At any rate, I wouldn't surprise them with cat ears or cake. And maybe it's creepy to stalk people that way and follow them about? It will be interesting to see the wider implications of FB's adoption of location services as I think this is kind of likely to happen through that. Imagine all those people you've been avoiding in a low level way since high school finding you and coffeeshop-bombing your pre-caffeinated mornings? GROSS.

Finally, I'd like to imagine that I was tarred with the brush of the early adopter. People who don't do social networky things would nod and smile when I mentioned my Foursquare obsession - I told the people who ran the local cafe that I was the Mayor there and their response was (and I quote) "*crickets*". I know that in the US various schemes have been set up where Foursquare Mayors are given discounts on meals and free coffees and free entry into the Brooklyn Museum, but I guess that there has to be some sort of critical mass reached before it's worthwhile for a business to offer these kind of promotional whatnots. I think that it's probably a while off here, and for the time being I'm more than happy to withdraw and rejoin later if things develop. Yes, I'm that flakey.

Social Networking I Have Known: Myspace

Part One of an Irregular Series

Tom's still on Myspace. He says hi.

Myspace was my first foray into the world of social networking. And what a foray it was, eventually leading me to LOVE and ROMANCE! The memories! Despite the bad graphics and sifty sex predators, I would never change those Myspace days. It was through Myspace that I rediscovered myself post-Andy-break up. So much music to be found and loudly and obnoxiously blare at people! So many lurid colours and flashy sparkly gifs! I think building myself a social presence online helped give me the enthusiasm to maintain my social presence in real life (as oppose to hiding in bed for weeks at time).

However, all good things must come to an end, including this wonderful (‽) episode in human communication. Myspace has run its course. But why?* I'm guessing that the kind of limitations I found in the medium were the same limitiations found by others: it was far too similar to what I used my blog for at the time, it wasn't easily customisable, it was too easy for creepy people to find and follow you, and actually quite hard to get good information out of the format. And lets face it, Facebook ran Myspace into the ground. The best thing that can be said for Myspace these days is that it offers a pretty good cheap format for low budget bands to get their music out and publicise tour dates and album releases. The changes that were designed to make Myspace more relevant in a post-Facebook-world made the format even more unwieldy, and every time I checked into my account I just found myself inundated with crappy updates.

All in all, I think that the best thing that can be said for Myspace is that it gave people who weren't prepared to invest in blogging time an opportunity to create and maintain an online presence. I grew out of it pretty quickly, as did most people I think. In the meantime though, I had a lot of fun getting my flatmate to make me tea through Myspace wall posts.

Were you/are you on Myspace? How do you feel about it? Spill, y'all.



Note: During the process of researching this I discovered that I'm still on Myspace - I tried to quit it but apparently it's like, really hard to leave. Also, I found all the little love notes between Shannon and I. Oh, young romantic times!

* not intended to be a authoritative view on the demise of Myspace.

Today, Wednesday, Bullet Points

o yo yo! What the fuck is up, y'all? Nothing much is up here. Today is pay day so Unicorn is all like "DAMN STRAIGHT BITCHES". He does need filling in though, so don't look just yet because you'll be v. disappointed.

I am in a good mood, but I do wish that I was frolicking in the sun and perhaps sipping chilled cider and reading my Agatha Christie biography instead of being a productive member of society. Life's so hard *woe*.

♥ This morning, I bought another Keep Cup for no good reason. It's a large one which is good, and is some kind of reason I guess as my other one is small. But I don't really drink large coffees. Mostly I bought it because I liked the colour. Drat you whimsical nature.

♥ I just want to say that since quitting Facebook I've made more contact with people that I actually want to talk to. Quitting Facebook rules.

♥ Webstock Mini tonight! I think it looks as though it might be a good time. I hope there is cider for me to drink.

♥ Social Media Club Wellington is hosting a "Social Media and the Media" talk next Monday. I'm going! It could be interesting. It's at Betty's where I previously drank this weird creamy warm cocktail thing and became quite drunk. Also there were lots of suits there that night and I remember wondering why on earth my little brother had recommended that I go there.

♥ The lovely Megan of Craft is the New Black is proposing a meetup of Wellington blogger feministy (rhymes with yeasty) types. I'm very excited about the prospect of this.

♥ I had this dream last night about getting tattoos on the palms of my hands. In purple sparkle paint. I woke up incredibly relieved that it was a dream because OMG so tacky. Also, tattoos on the palms of the hands? Is this even possible?

♥ I'm super keen on yoga this week. I say "this week" advisedly, because my enthusiasm has a horrible habit of suddenly waning and I don't want to jinx myself too much. This morning I managed to convince myself that my stomach muscles had become TAUT after a week's worth of commitment. Instant toning!

♥ I wanted to clarify my Monday post - I don't normally bitch about flatmates here so I think my point might have dissolved a little. I'm so so so not a "Battle of the Sexes" person. Mostly I thought it was hilair that I'd washed James' spores down the sink. Most people don't get to say this particular phrase, and once I'd got over the anxiety I'd created for myself I must say I rather enjoyed the faux pas-ness of the situation. I am like Lizzie, who famously enjoys other people's faux pas. And I like to share.

So, in conclusion, I don't think that his actions really characterise guys' attitudes and my actions characterise girls' - it was just A Thing That Happened. Consider this blog a "Battle of the Sexes" free zone!

But thanks for the spore anger, y'all. I found it very insporing.

♥ I ate the best damn baguette sandwich just then with camembert and salami and cos. And now I shall eat a banana. Things are pretty good right now.

In which Ginger meditates upon the role of Facebook, wine and biltong in her life

I spent the first two days of this week at the National Digital Forum at Te Papa, soaking up the smart digital people rays and thinking very hard about the Future and the Sector. It was super inspiring y'all! The key note speakers were great - Michael Edson from the Smithsonian, Dan Hill and Nick Poole from the UK Collections Trust. I felt Inspired, verily. This inspiration has translated into

1. lots and lots of thinking about what I'm going to do after my course next year 
2. lots of thinking about who I need to talk to and how I need to talk when I'm talking to them
3. an increased desire to get off Facebook. FUCK THAT FUCKING PLACE.

I am so over Facebook. I've been thinking about leaving a lot lately and really I can't see that Facebook serves any real purpose in my life. If anything I find it a little depressing - like standing in the corner at a really crowded party full of terribly exciting people that I don't know very well. It makes me quite socially lazy. Examples: I have the strange idea that I'm keeping in touch with people when really all I'm doing is following their "public" comments; I find myself RSVPing yes to all sorts of things that I have absolutely no intention of attending; I keep in touch with people I met once and thought were kind of cool, but then never take it any further than a relationship of Facebook-stalking. You never have a true impression of the lives of the people you actually give a shit about either - nobody posts anything difficult, and to be frank I would be revolted if they did. It's just too public a forum for anything approaching real relationships.

And the fact is, I already keep in touch with the people that I genuinely want to be in contact with: I email, text, or Skype them. And if I'm not keeping in touch with them now it's because of Facebook. As I wrote above, it makes me socially lazy.

And so, I'm not doing it anymore. I thought that I would disconnect in six weeks but to be honest, I don't know if I can even be bothered waiting that long. It seems to far away! Two weeks seems about right. Will revise.

Similarly, I tweaked my Tumblr so it's a Ginger Hub. All my social media bits will feed into it, and then if you really care enough you can follow what I'm doing from there. It's bound to be as boring and as self obsessed as Facebook, but at least I'll be boring and self obsessed on my own terms. EAT THAT FACEBOOK DUDES.

(Similarly, the lovely Rebecca at Thrifty Chick has blogged about that new movie about Facebook, and it looks as though she's gone ahead and disconnected herself. JEALOUS).

And now, back to food: I'm so.into.biltong. at the moment. I periodically have these times where I'm more obsessed with eating delicious dried meat than others, and apparently I am crazy nuts about it at the moment. The main issue with this is that eating a lot of (especially garlic flavoured) biltong will upset your stomach, and make you rather unpleasant to be around. True story: I've eaten huge amounts of garlic biltong on two separate occasions with the same result. I find other flavours to have little or no effect.

Other foods I'm obsessing about: sesame crackers, tamari-flavoured almonds, baguettes. And cheese, of course. I made a lot of muesli for a couple of weeks, but it was for everyone else in the flat really and I ended up eating more of it then I'd initially intended too. Although having breakfast was so good...? I struggle with the whole breakfast thing, keeping enthused about eating in the mornings et al.

The "only one" change in my drinking habits is working quite well. I forcibly gave my flatmates white wine last night because I thought that otherwise I would probably drink the whole bottle by myself which would be no good at all. I think I had two-ish glasses in the end, but it was rather delicious. There is just something about having a whole bottle open that makes me super keen to finish it off. I've decided the best answer to this age old problem is to only buy alcohol in separate vessels (i.e. six pack), drink at cafes and bars (where I can't afford to drink too much anyway), or forcibly share my wine bottles. I'm sure the people around me are most upset by the latter decision.

The Anxiety Meds thing is better now. I've changed my pattern of reduction so that it's less of a shock to the system and it seems to be working rather well - my seratonin levels are much better (thanks for asking). It also helps that I had some sleep, saw some sunshine and that my period finally arrived. The pre-period times are the worst aren't they? At any rate, they don't mix well with the non-seratonin times. Take my word for it.

Unfortunately, my Boy has been sick since Monday! Poor darling. I have been mopping his fevered brow and bringing him offerings of tea and water. The Gudwif indeed. There is nothing more miserable than a sick Boy.

Finally: Lizzie sent me this picture by Maira Kalman. I think it's pretty awesome.

Retwitterer, Unqwitterer, Deqwittered

Uh. Yeah. So sometime at the end of last year I decided that I was going to LEAVE TWITTER. I was over it! I was gone!

Dudes, I failed at being a qwitter. I am back at Twitter. You can follow me here @gingertonyx, if you so wish.

While gratuitously letting my social networking hang out, maybe now is a good time to mention that I am also all over a Facebook group?

Weather, the Achievement List, and some shameless trawling for favours

No sign of the weather improving, but I’m back on the bicycle nonetheless. I know it’s the most boring thing in the world to write but – THE WEATHER SUCKS THIS SUMMER. The last summer we had weather this bad was the summer that I was working at a clothing store called Plush (I think it was 2003?). I had the door closed and the heater on for the whole Christmas/New Year/summer period. I was the only person working there and it was hellishly boring and dull and I cleaned the floors/mirrors and rearranged the store about a thousand times. I think one day I counted just three people through the door – and it was so cold.

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My achievement list that I posted at the end of last year has been trundling along nicely; tickets and rides secured for my trip to Bulls for Camp A Low Hum. I’m very excited about it. The paying off my credit card goal is a struggle, but I think that I can make some headway pretty soon. Budgeting and paying off debts is hard work – BUT I’ve made the decision to sell off a bunch of clothes and books and I’m hoping that will give me a bit more money to play with. At the moment there are 7-8 plastic bags of books sitting by the front door and waiting to be dispatched to Arty Bee’s bookshop. Tonight I’m planning to go through my clothes, to be brutal, and add to the two bags of clothes that I sorted before the Pretty Pretty Pretty clothing swap and the last Big Shwop (I didn't go to either - a couple of bad days). I’m planning to take most of these delicious garments to the Recycle Boutique and to drop off the rest to some kind of op shop. Lovely workmate Katherine has offered to drive me around on Sunday morning. How lovely is she? So lovely. Also I am going to sell my knitting machine that I desperately hold on to and have never, ever used. Or indeed, ever taken out of the box. And I think I’m going to sell the few Royal Doulton Bamboo pattern plates that I started collecting before the Poverty really settled in. I’m going to sell the whole lot goddamn lot through Trade Me and I’ll post the link here. TAKE IT AWAY.

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Ravelry is my new obsession and where I’ve been spending all my spare internet time. I listed my Ravelry homepage in the side banner --> (and you can totally follow me. Please do). I’ve also just discovered Formspring and am whoring myself big time with it. You can ask me questions that I like to answer at http://formspring.me/gingertonyx, or use the widget direct from this page. It's surprisingly awesome fun! (Moments after writing this I think I inadvertently offended someone by being a dork in an anonymous question. Oops! Anonymity is a burden verily. Dorkness may come off as asshatness).

A lovely Sunday in Summer

Today, Wellington is demonstrating it's amazing summer weather with the power of GALE FORCE WINDS, HUMIDITY and RAIN. So, when the Lovely Born Lippy invited me out to a movie I was like, fuck yeah! We saw Julie and Julia at the Penthouse and it was pretty much perfect for today, very light with historical French bits and food and other bits that make you feel a bit weepy with "being moved". Meryl Streep was great as the character of Julia Child and I think I've developed a crush on her - I've noticed in the past that she was awesome: especially in Angels in America (but it's such a fabulous play/screenplay that I mostly attributed the

awesomeness to that). Now I am whole heartedly pro-Streep and am thinking of having some kind of major Streep-watch.

I don't know anything really about Julia Child but I'm kind of a bit fascinated now. I looked on Youtube and she is kind of quite awesome really. I'd like to read a biography of hers now methinks.

In other news, I have discovered Ravelry and I am in love; I've stashed all my yarn and have been obsessively reading patterns and taking photos of my knitting projects and posting them on the site. Quelle geek. I am in the process of knitting many things including a green lace scarf and green roll top cotton socks and a chunky beret for Nat's cold winter head. The beret is just about done and I'm very excited about it because I've essentially created my own pattern by adapting a pattern I found through Ravelry so that it suited what I wanted, and then combining that adaptation with what I remembered of a completely different pattern that I knitted late last year. I haven't quite finished yet but if the whole thing works then I will publish what I've done and that will be the first pattern that I've written! I'm at the Boy's at the moment and I'm wishing that I'd remembered my double pointed needles so I could finish the damn thing... my fingers are ITCHING. I think that I shall go away and write some of it down now. For fun.

Qwitter

I'm totally resigning from Twitter because I often find that despite the increased "connectivity" I often end up feeling incredibly lonely whenever I drop by Facebook or Twitter. I don't deny that these things have a purpose and can be very useful in the right circumstances, and I shan't be quitting FB any time soon (and will still Twitter for derby and Spinsters' Knitting Club). But - sitting on my personal Twitter account, and reading the noise around me gives me the same feeling I sometimes get at parties when I'm surrounded by people and gossip and conversation and I feel unbelievably isolated from everyone around me. The difference being that at a party I normally can find at least one person I feel close to and have a cuddle until I'm feeling better.

In which Ginger finds a theme song

Check it: you can click on the image of my tumblr to go to my tumblr to hear my theme song!

I <3 the whole meta-ness on clicking on the image to go to the real thing. Or is it the real thing?

[for extra meta points - there is now an image of my tumblr on my tumblr].

Tasks Overdue: Everything. All of it.

Bleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggh.

No time to do, only to PROCRASTINATE.

Hence blogging.

Wednesday List

Attempting: Part 1 in a series. This weeks theme...

PROCRASTINATION AT THE ARCHIVES

Personal stuff: IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED that the slideshow of photos from the Road Trip moves too fast. Please follow the link here to see them as individual snaps.

Time Wasting: I never look at sites to waste time. Really.

If I wanted to tho', I could go to:

spacecollective.org which is where science and art and a bunch of people meet.

twistori.com which is clever and social and hours of time wasting in the most passive way possible.

Maketu Pies. Yummy who apparently make the best Smoked Fish Pies the Boy has ever tasted. I personally was very fond of Ruatoria Pie's Bacon and Mushroom Pie. Yum. Creamy, bacon, mushroom. Good good good good.

Hello, everyone. My name is Sarah, and I'm addicted to social networking.

Take for example, the fact that while walking around during my lunch break, I noticed this plaque on a park bench and photographed it using my phone, so I could make the comment: "Ida Kiss from whom?!?!" (Guffaws throughout the Archives reading room.)

This is geeky on a number of levels, not least of which is my inner monologue's use of correct grammar. However it is also sadly indicative of the fact that even when not near a computer I'm thinking about tweets and blog posts and del.icio.us tag clouds and (...) I've developed this thing where I sometimes think in Facebook status updates. Sarah has just eaten a very strange lunch of sausage rolls, spirulina and plums. Sarah is suffering from achy teeth. Sarah is over the Archives. Sarah is not self obsessed. Sarah is suffering from delusions of grandeur. Sarah wonders where her last.fm updates have gone. Sarah *hearts* coffee, long time.

Just got a phone call from my mum and my aunt has found out that my little brother is in town and has suddenly got all "family orientated", suggesting a family afternoon tea in Waikanae *yawns and gags simultaneously - not an easy action to master*. Thank god I'm busy on Saturday. Which reminds me to remind y'all to come to the Roller Derby Bake Sale at the Gay and Lesbian fair in Civic Square, this Saturday. Buy My Delicious Cakes!

The strangest thing

is that despite the fact I'm also kind of relieved that I haven't heard from Shannon for over twenty four hours now, I'm still checking my myspace page religiously in the hope he'll send me a message. I'm a fucking freak. Hate being this stupid, girly, breaking up loser type... Determined to stop relentlessly mooning about the house. I've maintained hyper-gaiety for the last twenty four hours, I'm by myself for the first time over that period now but FUCK IT. I refuse to be prey to my churning, over analysing self.

I'm also watching the news and I have to say, just quietly, that I HATE Jim Hickey. Fucking stupid dithering man.

I swear a lot in this post.

Feel Weird

Social networking sites are beginning to ruin my life. How close am I to resigning completely and living a glorious Luddite Life? So close. I was on my ex's Facebook page - and not lurking because I left a comment - and there's all these comments and pictures from his new girlfriend... she's very pretty and seems rather sweet really. And now something is turning over and over in my stomach and I feel WEIRD. And given similar Facebook weirdness about a month ago with S... GROSS. I feel weird writing this too. And like a twelve year old. And like I want my therapist.

A Little Rant Before Bedtime

Numero Uno - I am now a myspace geek and I'm collecting friends like trading cards. Tragically, none of my friends are actually on myspace so all the people who I have listed as my friends are actually either Bex's friends or Josh's friends or Radio Stations. I've spent the entire evening with this dreadfully annoying man that I work with - everyday I work with him I promise myself that I will start afresh and try again to like him. And everyday his generally irritating behaviour pips me at the gate. His inability to drop his annoying mannerisms and conversation topics so that I can like him are yet another example of how freaking annoying he really is. His attitude towards women is so patronising it makes me want to vomit all over him. His aim in life is to be a National politician (ie centre right bigot). He reads Classical authors and makes the hugest big deal out of it to show us all that he's not merely a barista, but also highly intelligent and well read. And then I start panicking and worry that I'm like that too... Although he was talking about his mother's passion for polo today and I started raving on about Jilly Cooper novels and I think that perhaps I maybe provided enough of a foil in terms of reading material so that I didn't look like a complete wanker. Oh, and I'm trying so hard to like him and I know he's not a bad person and it annoys me that he won't allow me to like him by his being so awful. Jeebers, I feel bad bitching about him too. Why does he has to be mostly nice and annoying?! So freaking annoying. Now this post is annoying too.

Back from Drinks

so excuse any typos. I have to ask why it is that nearly everyone I know has had a shitty year... lots of awful things happening to them in terms of wombs and the male of the species and their general state of mental well being. With the exception of Anna and Alexis (who are about to get married- and are in Ak) and Fran (love!) most people in Welli seem to be experiencing a whole heap of shit. Bollocks if you will... I intended to go to what I assumed would be a raucous (sp?) and sceney kind of a party tonight but have chosen not to gate crash for various reasons. I wrote some angsty poetry, but really it's the kind of thing that you would maybe write in your diary with scented pens rather than share with innocent bystanders. Which leaves me with directing aforementioned innocent bystanders to my little brother's myspace page... The music is beyond appalling but he's a neat kid. I miss him.