Phill Becker

March 19th, 2011

I did give facebook a good try. I set a rule that I would not “friend” or follow anyone I could actually spend face time with. So most of my contacts were from college or Helotes. It was nice to see how everyone is doing and what they’re up to, but I found myself checking up 2 or three times a day. Sometimes more. My original argument against facebook was that I don’t NEED to know what people across the country are having for lunch or reading/watching right now. That ended up being most of what my friends posted. New babies and birthdays and jobs and such are nice to know about, but not the majority of new content on fb.

Then I noticed it was changing the way I think. I started having thoughts like “I should video / photo this and post it so everyone can see how cute the kids are.” Instead of just enjoying the kids, I felt the need to share our experiences with people who have, mostly, never met the kids. This notion of “It’s not a real experience until I post it” is another trait I used to ridicule. It is, however, highly addictive. Maybe if feeds a need to be part of community or to prove my experiences are just as interesting as others’. The idea of a guaranteed audience fuels the desire for attention, I suppose. I knew that if I posted something, at least a few people would read it and – hopefully – comment or “like” it. That could be it too. Putting myself out for people to “like.” Who doesn’t like to be liked, right?

So I’ve cut myself off. I’ll keep the account so distant friends have a way to reach me if they need to. Even if it’s just through the email I listed . And I’ll check messages once in a while. But nothing good was coming from my time on facebook. Nothing bad, just nothing worth spending that much time on.

[That didn’t last long actually. Not sure when I gave in but I deleted my fb account for real earlier this year 2022]

January 1st, 2011

My friend gave us some passes / buttons to go downtown to State College First Night this year. Last year I mean. Last night? Anyhow, First Night has ice sculptures and performers and such, so we decided to go.
After about 10 minutes in traffic (that’s for 2 blocks), we found a garage with “1″ opening left according to the sign. As we pull the van in, the sign changes to “FULL” and the gate comes crashing down. Quick brake check and the gate stops inches from the hood. Now we wait for the gate to raise as someone else comes out and it’s our turn.
“CREEEAAKKCCSHHHKAPPEEE”
me: “what was tha…. oh shit! the luggage box!”
I completely forgot that I put a luggage box for the kids skis on top of the van a couple days ago. Now it’s wedged between the roof of the car and the concrete of the garage. And there’s people trying to get in behind us.
…
It’s not one of those new, fancy, click-and-go racks or a custom fit model. I had to drill holes and mount funny-shaped brackets to get it to sit on the roof the first time. Luckily it was easier to remove. I just had to hang half in the box to reach the thumb-screws (all 8) and hope to not drop the hardware, yank the box off the roof and toss it in the car, leaning against the kids.
Now we’re ready for the night to begin.