It's done!.....Now what....?

I did it. It's done! D-week has come and gone. No more Facebook...at least not in the foreseeable future.

So far, so good. We'll see how things are in the morning. Will there be an uncontrollable itch in the fingertips? An overwhelming need to know what some of the friends I haven't talked to in a while are up to? Or if one friend has had her baby yet? She's so close!

We shall have to see.

Habits are hard to break. It's so very easy if there are ten minutes between classes to quick check my social life, just to be reassured that it still exists. It does; I checked :) Even without the need to network socially via Facebook or Skype or what have you.

I remember being very resistant to texting when it first become popular. I wanted nothing to do with it. I was appalled by it and how much farther personal connections were stretched. Why can't I just talk to someone over the phone or face to face???

One could argue, to an extent, that is exactly what I'm doing now, and I am. Writing this entry, the mass email I sent everyone to inform them of my plan. My hope is not to stretch those connections, but rather, sustain them in a similar way that Facebook did, and hopefully more regularly! Every now and then I would get a message from someone asking if I was still alive since I hadn't given a status update in a long time. Consider this blog an extended version of the status update :)

While I still prefer talking face to face or over the telephone, I see the genius--well maybe not the genius--but the usefulness of texting. It does provide ease in communication when you are not in a position to talk face to face or over the phone with someone. However it can be just as tiresome having a conversation through texting. It takes longer, for one, and words or tone of voice can be easily misconstrued.

And yet...I continue to use it. Why? Quite simply, it's convenient. With many aspects of life, I'm all about convenience. A one-stop shop to the grocery store (although it's usually two because I inevitably forget something), etc. The same applies for the opposite as well. Some things are just better done the long or the old-fashioned way...like writing letters and sending them through snail mail. I love writing letters. I'm horrible at doing so regularly, but I enjoy it. There is a personal flare that can be lost in email. I can't amuse myself by providing horribly drawn diagrams of something I'm trying to explain or little doodles illustrating inside jokes. It's much more fun to write hand-written letters, and even more fun to receive them...at least I think so.

I can't remember where I heard it...it might have been on NPR the other morning, but with the increased use of the Internet, other technologies, and poor economic conditions, there has been a decline in posted mail with businesses and everyday consumers, and ultimately revenue. As a result, there are proposals for changes within the postal system related to budget cuts, office closings, and losses of up to 35,000 jobs in order to reduce costs to maintain profitability.

I definitely understand the need for this to happen, but I do think it's unfortunate also. It's also interesting to think about (and I'm stretching this here, just because I'm one of those nuts who geek out about history) the symbol of the postal system in America and its progress in our history from its beginnings in 1775 with the Running Pony logo up until now with the head of an eagle stamped on mail trucks and envelopes.

We've come a long way since. It makes me wonder where we're headed now.