Gray. Rainy. So dark when I got up this morning I thought it was much earlier than it actually was.

Is anyone on LinkedIn? I am, and for the life of me, I can’t see that it has done or will do anything for my career. The same people link up with me there as do on Facebook. They already know about me. And why does anyone have to ‘endorse’ my skills? What is that all about? I’ve listed my skills on my profile, I’ve linked to my professional website, my resume speaks for itself. In fact, it looks to be just another thing in a series of things I have to maintain…this blog, my website, MHC’s Facebook Page, LinkedIn…Oy.

It reminds me of those assignments that teachers used to give us that we would call busywork. Remember? You knew it accomplished nothing and you certainly weren’t going to learn anything new – the teacher just wanted a time filler. Heck, I’ve done that as a teacher. LinkedIn seems like busywork that accomplishes nothing.

Another in a series of activities that can make us seem busy and productive but are really time suckers.

And what about this sort of thing: close family members informing you of life-changing news (like a pregnancy) or asking something very important of you via Facebook? I speak from experience on this one. It has happened to us. I love my nephew but the only way I found out that they were going to have another baby was because I happened to be on FB that day. My sister doesn’t go on Facebook very often, so she had no idea. What if you don’t follow Facebook every day?  What if you aren’t on Facebook at all – like my father? What ever happened to a personal phone call? Or a handwritten letter? Lord knows, I am not a great letter writer, so I would most likely use the phone, but if I was sharing BIG news with my immediate family, I sure as shootin’ wouldn’t do it via a status update on FB. Now, I’m talking about life changing news here – not everyday kind of news.

Emily Post would be rolling over in her grave.

I’m not a stickler for etiquette, by any means. But everything is getting so depersonalized in this world that I am getting increasingly more concerned about a younger generation who seemingly doesn’t get it. They are so attached to their cell phones and their texts and their hash tags that they know of no other way to communicate.

Am I the only one that finds hash tags (#) annoying and, frankly, silly? They look ridiculous to me.

Don’t get me started on those who must tweet throughout the experience they are having instead of actually having the experience. How can they possibly be in the moment? Please don’t write a status update about where you are, with all sorts of hash tags added for your tweet, and expect that to substitute for the real thing. And DO NOT TEXT DURING A LIVE PERFORMANCE. Beside the obvious fact that texting pulls you out of the moment, it is rude. When I’m standing in the back of the house and I see little blue screens lit up, you can guarantee that your fellow audience members can see them. As can the performers.There’s more than one theatergoer who has had to deal with me on that one. I will stop you.

There is so much that is valuable and wonderful about the Internet and cell phones and all that kind of thing. I wouldn’t have this blog without the Internet. I wouldn’t know all of you. I experience its value on a daily basis. But they cannot take up every waking moment of our lives or the lives of the younger generation. Lots of texts. Lots of tweets. Lots of FB Status Updates. It all equals a lot of “sound and fury, signifying nothing.” They are artificial ways of filling a day. Walking down a street with one’s head down, constantly checking the cell phone or texting – I see it all the time. It makes one seem to be important and busy and have a lot of friends. But if you can’t look up and meet someone’s eyes who’s passing you on the street, or notice a striking bit of architecture on the building you’re passing, or hear the sounds of the city or simply stop and have a conversation with someone face to face, you’re not really there. You’re in a bubble.

I’m convinced this is the reason there has been a resurgence in handcrafts of all kinds. Doing anything by hand requires time; time not tethered to a computer or a phone, time with one’s thoughts, time. You can’t rush it. You can’t really multi-task. You just have to work on your project and be. And lots and lots of younger-than-I-am people are doing it. Thank goodness. That gives me hope.

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Speaking of handwork, I’ve been quietly adding garlands to the Etsy shop. I don’t always have the opportunity to post about them, so if you’re at all interested, keep your eye on the Etsy widget in my sidebar. I’ve added 3 garlands in the past few days and two of them have already sold.

Happy Tuesday.