I salute you, social media.

Unemployment breeds knowledge...and a social life.

It's true. I've become a news, entertainment, & social media junkie! I wake up, open up ole Mable the MacBook, I gets on the interwebbies, and I shoot it up. A little bit of Huffington Post here, a little bit of Netflix there. Maybe a dose of my Brits on the BBC and a then some of Fox News just to get me good and riled up with their foolishness. I toss in a bit of Mormon mommy blog reading [their lives really can't be that adorable & "perfect". Right?], music blogs, fashion blogs, political blogs, save the world blogs, bitter blogs, not so bitter [but proudly promiscuous] blogs, and those crafty blogs that make me feel oh so inadequate and inspired to be all creative & DIY-ee at the same time. Of course, then there's that slight addiction I have to Facebook stalking [not your page, of course] and live for the moments when I get to check-in somewhere, in order to prove that I do, in fact, still have a life [holy pathetic, batman]. And how could I ever forget to mention my time spent tweeting about the most insightful of things [okay, so maybe that one about dropping my book in the tub wasn't exactly profound -- but I bet it did teach you to be more careful with paper products during bath time!].

But honestly, aside from the whole job hunting until I'm bloody blue in the face, what else am I suppose to do with my time? If I can't be contributing to society in some way, I should at least know what's going on out there and feel like I'm still a part of it. Which made me think, what in the hell would I have done if this happened to me before the days of social media? I know what. I would perish. PERISH, I tell you!...or maybe something less dramatic, since I wouldn't have known the joys and life-saving capabilities of it. But I am absolutely certain that I would not be handling this whole unemployed "lifestyle" nearly as well in some other day and age [and yes folks, this has been me handling it well. Trust me!]. As much as I love my me time, I equally love and thrive on social interaction. Social media has made it possible for me to still be a part of the dialogue and not feel like a complete waste of space. I feel connected. I feel understood [well...most of the time]. I am "in the know." I get to share in ways that I would have never thought possible, oh so many moons ago.

Now, I know there are plenty of haters out there that don't get/aren't into the whole social networking scene...they find it creepy or invasive of their privacy. That's fine. I get it. But that's the beauty of it -- you don't have to take part in it, if for some reason it just isn't your cuppa tea. I, on the other hand find it to be extremely comforting and a beautifully strange new way of living. I mean, I get to have interactions with friends, family, and strangers from all across the globe on any given day. As a girl who has always valued the art of staying in touch and jumps at the chance to meet [and learn from!] new & intriguing people, social media has done nothing but enrich my life...and perhaps cause the occasional distraction from things that I technically should be doing, but let's not get into that right now, shall we?

One thing is for certain - this sponge here is soakin' up everything social media has to offer and thanking those nerds that be for keeping me connected.


Peace, Love, & Chicken Grease,

Beks

yo. lissie be singin' my song.

This is basically what my life has consisted of tonight: The song plays, the song ends. I hit replay. The song plays, the song ends. I hit replay. The song plays, the song ends. I hit replay...etc. Now, either I truly love this song or I'm beginning to show signs of obsessive compulsive disorder!

Jokes aside folks, there is something truly extraordinary about it. I recall the first time it happened upon my ears and I distinctly remember saving it away in my brain under the tunes-to-look-up-and-forever-love-file. However, tonight, this song has set up camp in its very own corner of my heart. When I stumbled upon this version, something about the stripped down, raw emotion hit me like a punch to the gut. And if ever there were a song that could convey the lost, searching soul that I am, it is this very one. Music has a way of forcing you to feel every emotion and face yourself in the bleakest of times. The beautiful thing - there's hope. Hope in the words. Hope in her voice. Hope buried somewhere within me.

Sometimes I want to throw my hands up and surrender but this song reminded me that I have to have faith ---- faith that all of the struggles and broken moments in my life will eventually help me find my way and for blogs-sake, my place in this whacked out world!

Thank you, Lissie, for this godsend of a song. It will forever remain in its own special corner of my heart.

And...replay.



Peace, Love, & Chicken Grease,

Beks

2011, We need to talk.

Let me first say that yes, I do realize that I am writing my “New Year” related blog about 26 days into it and yes, I do realize that is a wee bit late but honestly, would you expect anything else from me? I didn’t think so – but allow me to explain regardless.

For friends and readers of this blog, it comes as no surprise that 2010 and I certainly had our ups and downs. We laughed…we cried…we shared countless anxiety attacks. As I look back on it, I would conclude that it was both a beautiful and disastrous year all rolled into one. On the one hand, I spent several life-changing months traveling throughout Greece and Italy. I can honestly say that I have never felt more alive, inspired, and completely at ease with myself as I did during that time. I was carefree and incandescently happy (further proof that traveling is absolutely vital to my existence and my sanity)! Truly, it was one of the most amazing experiences that my 27 years has ever known. I came home from that trip feeling hopeful and high on life! I just KNEW that things were going to work out exactly how I had dreamed up and planned out (Go ahead. Laugh. I know you want to). WRONG. Life, per usual, had other plans for me.

The real world happened. The soul-crushing, mind-numbing monotony of job hunting took over my life and hasn’t released its grip for the past five months (cue melodramatic theme music). Truly, some days are really hard. You feel beaten down, frustrated, and discouraged – but then I have to remember not to take it so personally. I have to remind myself that these employers aren’t actually picking up my resume and shouting, “Oh, she’s completely incompetent! What a fool! Why would she even bother?” Hell, most of them probably haven’t even actually LOOKED at my resume - At least that’s what I am going to keep telling myself in order to maintain a bit of dignity. What I do know is that this is a shoddy economy we currently live in and I am not the only victim of it. While I don’t particularly like to think about others feeling as crummy as I do about all of this, I also take comfort in knowing that I am not alone. It's a wretched situation and I am wishing all of you luck (but only after I have secured a job before you. Kidding. Kind of).

Needless to say, I had BIG hopes for the beginning of 2011. I don’t know why I thought that the changing of one digit was going to magically make life better (oh yes, I do – it’s because I am a delusional dreamer) but by golly gumdrops, I was convinced that number 1 was going to do it. I don’t think I need to state the obvious but just for good measure - it did not. Yes, yes, I know that we haven’t even finished out the first month of the year but you have to agree with me on one thing – being blind-sided with a break-up three days into the new year, followed by three more weeks of unemployment (with no real prospects) doesn’t exactly scream a promising fresh start, now does it?

So I am proposing that my new year start with the month of February instead. My logic for this: If they can change the bloody zodiac, then I can change when I want my new year to begin! That’s legit, right? I thought so, too. So this is what I propose. I am going to write January off as a practice month, a rehearsal if you will. This means that the beginning of “my new year” will involve a trip to Chicago and what better way to start my year than with a bit of adventure in a new city! Yes, I much prefer this as a start point.

So here is to the New Year – I am not asking for greedy specifics, just please be kind to me.

Peace, Love, & Chicken Grease

Beks