Monday, January 29, 2018

1.9 - Online

I haven’t tweeted from my personal account for almost a month now. I did log in on my birthday, and in order to search for James Taylor presale tickets, but both times I didn’t stick around for long. I have used my work account to log in to Twitter. It isn’t the same, though.

I feel a lot better about the world around me. I’ve learned to moderate my anger towards most things in the world. I still get angry. (Trump is still president, after all.) But I no longer feel like I need to weigh in on everything. For example, I just couldn’t muster the energy to be #madonline about the Grammy’s. I don’t really care who got awarded something and who got snubbed. Most of the music I like isn’t really featured anyway. My Sunday night was spent at a dinner party with friends. I felt like I didn’t need much of anything else.

I just don’t think having instant access to an endless variety of opinions is healthy for anyone. I also don’t feel as much of a need to contribute my own two cents to the online conversation either. (Although I’ll admit that I still occasionally do post takes on my Facebook page.) Just because we have access to a microphone, it doesn’t mean we should use it.

Take for example an article I saw in the Star Tribune the other day. The article was about a lawyer who was opening a grilled cheese restaurant, which will be hiring ex-convicts in order to help get their lives back in order. I don’t know the woman who’s running it personally, but I know some people who do know her and everything I’ve heard about her has been amazing. Yet, people seemed eager to disparage the woman or tell her that they couldn’t wait to read about the closing of the restaurant in six months.

Why are people so quick to put out an opinion on someone they don’t know? And I’m presuming that most of those people had no experience in the restaurant industry. I think it’s fair to criticize lawmakers, but why do that to a private citizen who’s trying to make the world a better place? Just read the article and get on with your day.

I’ve also been slower to announce news via social media. I’ve wanted to tell more people things in person instead of just posting it and waiting for a reaction. For example, I didn’t really announce via social media that I’m going to Europe in the spring. I’ve either texted, called, or just talked to people directly. I’m an expressive person and that excitement showed in my announcements.

I’ll probably keep my twitter account around. I still won’t go on it very often though. I changed my password to something difficult so I won’t be tempted to go on every five minutes. Bits and pieces is probably best.

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Art Shanty Projects - I’m a big fan of things that are weird, but an inviting way. Kelley and I went to the art shanty projects on Lake Harriet. They consist of a few dozen art installations. Some are purely for art, others talk about scientific things, or have an art component to them. My personal favorite was the notary public shed. I got a decleration notarized. It said, “Nicholas Anthony Hansen and Kelley Lee Hemken are awesome.” And it was made official! It was also fun to see a bunch of people of all ages out enjoying the day. It’s always good to see lots of people having fun, together.

Grace and Frankie - This is my new favorite show. I spent a good chunk of my snow day last week binge watching this Netflix Comedy. It centers around two married couples in their 70s, played by Jane Fonda and Martin Sheen and Lily Tomlin and Sam Waterston. Sheen and Waterston’s characters leave Fonda and Tomlin for each other. The two women end up moving in together. It’s a modern twist on the Odd Couple along with a much more heartfelt and dramatic undertone to it. I love it because it tackles the frailties of human emotion while being absolutely hilarious.

Dinner Parties - My friend Ashleigh and her boyfriend invited Kelley and I over for dinner on Sunday night. We ate and talked for about three hours about every subject from music to politics to the #MeToo movement. We rarely checked our phones, and we just seemed to keep the conversation going throughout the night. I’m sure the bottles of wine we consumed didn’t hurt, but it was nice to just be in the presence of good people while consuming good food. It’s nice to be a grown up sometimes. Even in our interconnected world, it felt reassuring to just be in an apartment and enjoying a nice evening together.

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