My Love/Hate Relationship with Google.

Recently I was invited to check out the beta of Google+. I decided to give it a try mainly because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, if all the buzz being generated really amounted to anything. While 20 million users is an impressive number, compared to Facebook's 750 million members Google+ feels practically vacant. Being invite-only, I feel like I was let into one of those exclusive clubs that has a really long line on the outside that's almost completely empty once you get in, just to make those outside all the anxious to get in.

If  Google can continue to be Google, g+ is going to be a major player in the future of what I believe is going to become an essential part of digital human culture. Just as email is now a completely accepted and relied upon way of communication around the developed and in many parts of the developing world, social networking is bound to become a mainstay in our society.


So far my experience has been mostly positive, G+ has all the things in a social network that I'm looking for. It's the first social network I've joined where I feel completely in control of what I put into it and what I'm getting into. I'm also pretty confident that Google had all my personal info on the internet before I even signed up; it's refreshing to not have to give all my user data to yet another giant internet company.

-----:EDIT:-----

I started writing this post just over a year ago, and as I stopped updating this thing around that time that explains why I never finished it. Still, it's interesting to see my thoughts a year ago and compare them to what I feel now.

Though G+'s user base has expanded quite a bit since I last wrote, no one really uses it. That being said, I've made it a point to actually attempt to update mine on a semi-regular basis because I think while Facebook has shown us that social networking is more than a mere fad, Google+ will show us how ubiquitous it can become to our everyday lives. Having Google+ already integrated into every other feature owned by Google just makes me want to use it all the more, and also brilliantly makes me want to use more Google products for ease of usage. Hell, this blog was forgotten by me until Google reminded me it existed and allowed me to immediately sync it with my other Google services.

For awhile I was a little intimidated by using all of these Google products as I didn't want one company to have that much control over me, but now I've taken the opposite view. I've given a snippet of personal data to so many countless websites out there that I have no clue who has what the fuck ever on me. With Google, i'm at least aware of the fact that they have all this data clumped together, and with that knowledge I have complete control over all future data they get from me. I am in control. They have to keep me satisfied or I'll stop using their products, because that's internet capitalism. Anything I really value can be saved to my physical hard drive, all the rest can be dropped like a bad habit.

I really just wanted to finish this post and need to get ready for work anyways, so I guess that's all I have to say on the subject.

I bought a scooter!

I have really wanted to update this thing but also really haven't had the time. Very intense past few days.

The biggest thing is I'm now the owner of a 50cc Roketa Scooter, and can get around pretty much anywhere at glorious 90+mpg! The downside is my top speed is between 35 and 40mph, so no interstate traveling for me for now. I had been using my father's car to get around, but he was beginning to fear his truck was about to break down, so the scooter is a temporary fix for me until I can find either a really cheap car or save up enough to afford something decent. The only way that'll happen though, is if it's a very dry, warm winter. Still, I've always dreamed of living car free and still getting around, so hopefully it'll be as great as I've imagined. Pros so far: less than 4 dollars to fill my tank, and really beautiful rides on back roads with the freshest air ever.


Also, I'm now living in Radford full-time, about a half a month sooner than I'd anticipated. Most of the reasons are too personal to go into on such a public blog, so in short I'll just say I love my dad, but man is he getting irrational and controlling ever more so in his old age. Or maybe he's always been that way, I was just too young to see it. Regardless, it's an incredibly liberating feeling standing on my own two feet and getting around by myself with assistance from no one, even if it does take me an hour to get from Radford to Christiansburg.


Lastly, needing funds to buy a car, I've decided to give up my weekends that I currently have off in order to find a second part time job. Hopefully it won't be forever, but in the immediate future comfort and leisure shall be sacrificed for productivity and prudence. I still hope to at least manage one day a week off, which I'd like to devote to writing. I'll still be updating this on a regular basis whenever I can though :)

Lethargy turns to Lucidity

Looks like I'm about 22 days shy of not having touched this blog for a full year. What happened, you ask? A combination of life, laziness, and lack of inspiration. All my creativity was being dulled out by the fact that work was making me so stressed that I'd simply just go home, do something to make me feel relaxed (drinks, smoking, what have you), and then pass out on the couch.

My body full of energy but my mind too tired to do anything about it, I started staying up later and later until complete insomnia set in and I'd have to chug numerous energy drinks just to stay alert and focused at work, less they listen in on my calls and chastise me for not paying attention to the customer. Excessive consumption of energy drinks is surely no way to help someone with insomnia, which led to me lasting only about 5 more months at the call center.

I learned that I'm not someone who can simply spew horseshit out of his mouth in order to make people smile. While I definitely have the ability to do so, apparently I also have a conscience that gives me stomach ulcers if I continually do something I find to be unconscionable. This really worries me as most of the world is built on bullshit, but then again I suppose it's no virtue to be a well-adjusted member of a fucked up society.

In-between jobs from April to the beginning of June this year, I had a lot of time to collect my thoughts and think about what I really want to do with my life. I'll be 25 this coming October, and If I can't make a living selling bull like the rest of the world, then I better either skiddle my butt back to school or figure out how to make an honest days dollar for an honest days work. 

I managed to land a job bussing tables at Kabuki steakhouse in Christiansburg which is paying the bills for now. I've found a house in Radford with good friends that's secured my living situation for the indefinite future, and for the most part I'm content with my lot in life. Now all that's left is to figure out what to do for the future.

I want to be a writer, which is the real reason I started this blog back up again (that, and Google made it really easy to combine my Google+ account with everything else owned by Google which makes me more likely to use their products (excellent marketing, Google!)). Practice makes perfect, so I figure what better way to prepare myself for pages upon pages of story ideas that will eventually flow from my fingers than attempting to tell the story of my life, little by little, day by day?

In short, I'm back again and have no intention of leaving this time.