Chatting sucks

Or possibly I suck at chatting. Or maybe I’ve outgrown it. Either way, I don’t enjoy it.

I tried chatting the other night, and my first problem was that I had no idea where to go. Where do people chat? AOL? IRC? Yahoo? I tried Yahoo chat, and it completely sucked. It was infested by spambots, and the actual people there had nothing interesting to say. Add to that the fact that Yahoo has voice chat, which lets people say stupid things instead of type stupid things, and it’s a truly terrible situation.

I think back to my dark days as a 12 year-old addicted to IRC, and I remember how exciting it was to chat with random people on the Internet. Is anyone still excited by that? Seriously, who the hell wants to talk to a random person on the Internet?

My suspicion is that people today get their fix of superficial, bite-sized interactions via text messaging, Facebook and Myspace messages, and Twitter (guhhh). Have these similar superficial modes of interaction killed chat? If so, I can’t say I mind.

I talked it over with the Internet and we agreed that we should see other people

It’s true. Our relationship has lost the “magic.”

She used to impress me. She really did. I loved how she could always tell me something new. Our relationship was so exciting, so invigorating. She constantly introduced me to new people. She knew all the cool places, all the right people.

But let’s face it: she’s overrated. I overestimated her. For one, I know she’s been fooling around on me. I don’t think anyone could keep her attention for very long. But even worse, she’s just gotten sort of boring. I feel like we have the same conversation over and over and over again. Sometimes I think to myself, “is this the same woman I was infatuated with?”

Not to worry. All is not lost. I’ve struck up a promising new relationship with Television, and we’ve already enjoyed some great times together.

What is the world coming to…

…when this kind of shit actually has to be spelled out on a sign?

rules

(click for larger version)

25% of my life

I’ve noticed quite a few anniversaries and birthdays lately. Not sure what it is about May. Anyway, it made me think about how long I’ve been publishing this blog. It’s been over 6 years. And here’s the scarier part:

I’ve published this blog for nearly 25% of my life.

That’s strange, and a little scary, and a little depressing.

Costa Rica trip

Sunset at Playa HermosaI’m back, and it was lovely. My friend Ian turned 30, and we went to Playas del Coco for a week to celebrate. I’m way too lazy to give a detailed account, so I suggest you just peruse the pictures–they turned out well. Ka Wai also took some good pictures (especially the classic of the group all mudded-up at Hotel Borinquen).

A few key points I have to pass along:

  • Casa Holmes is stunning, and if you’ll be near Playas del Coco, you should look into staying there.
  • It takes forever to drive places in Costa Rica. If you think it’ll be 35 minutes, it’ll end up taking 90. If they say the roads are bad, they really mean it.
  • Costa Rica–at least Guanacaste–is not particularly cheap. Expect to pay near U.S. prices.
  • The money (dollars), electricity (American-style, 60 Hz), and location (3.5 hour flight from DFW) make it very convenient. And I love convenience.
  • And some quickie recommendations:
    • Hotel Borinquen is absolutely gorgeous. I highly recommend it. The spa treatment built around the volcanic springs is fantastically relaxing (and cheap, only $20).
    • In Guanacaste (northwest Costa Rica), one of the prettier and least-touristy beaches is Playa Ocotal.
    • Last but not least, drink lots of water. It’s easy to get dehydrated, and then you feel like crap.

A video of the beach at Parque Nacional Santa Rosa. (This is near the famous Witch’s Rock.)

And again, the pictures.

Revelation 8 years in the making

I don’t have to scrounge around in pants pockets and seat cushions. If I go to the bank with a $10 bill, they’ll gladly trade it for a $10 roll of quarters.

I am not kidding: My sister is impossible to contact.

My sister is astonishingly hard to get ahold of. Below is a list of communication attempts I’ve made or others have made in the last few years, and reasons why these attempts were unsuccessful.

Method Reason(s) for failure
Phone call to her house Phone was broken
Cordless phone had dead battery
My nephew picked up the phone and then hung it up
My nephew picked up the phone and refused to get my sister
Everyone in the family was asleep
Phone was off the hook
No one felt like picking up the phone
No one could hear the phone
Message left on home answering machine Machine was turned off
Memory was full
No one checked the machine
No one wanted to listen through the 47 existing messages to hear my message
Message left with another family member Forgot to tell her
Phone call to her cell phone Battery was dead
Phone number had changed
Carrying Tyson’s phone instead of her own
Couldn’t hear the phone (despite having the world’s loudest ringtone)
Couldn’t locate phone in purse
No cell service
Voicemail left on cell phone Didn’t check her voicemail
Phone call to her work In a meeting
Student answering the phone accidentally hangs up on me while transferring
On vacation
Office number has changed
Voicemail left at work Had too many other voicemails to worry about
Postal mail No one checked the mailbox
Mail was stopped and has been piling up at the post office
Moving houses and I can’t figure out where I should send it
In-person visit No one heard the doorbell
My sister was actually home but other family members didn’t realize it
Email to her work account Mailbox was full of spam and message got lost
Too busy to reply
On vacation and was not checking work email
Email to her personal account She told me to email her at work
Text message to her cell phone Impossible; she had Verizon turn off this feature
Commenting on her LiveJournal She’s written a total two entries and hasn’t updated it in years

Oh well. I still love you, sis.