Text messaging has been around for quite a while but it wasn't until now that I really realized the awkward relationships it creates. This may show my age but I remember a day when wooing (yes I just used the word woo so shoosh) a girl meant calling her on the phone for a flirtatious conversation that would last for hours on end if you liked her, or got really short if you didn't. But at the very least you knew if you had a connection with this person and they could carry a conversation. Now, not so much. You send text messages to each other constantly and try to figure out if you like one another on that basis first. It's complicated but yet easy at the same time.
Are we adding an extra step here or taking one away? Where’s the realness factor? I know it's convenient but are we trying to avoid the truth about how we or they might feel about us? How much information can you really get across in 160 characters? Not a whole lot.
Even the classic "Booty Call" has become the convenient "Booty Text." How simple right? And if you get turned down, no big deal. It's still only letters on a three inch screen. You could even try again next week and just give the, "Oh I didn't get your response so I thought I'd text you again." excuse. You never know she may have changed her mind. Or just simply move on to the next “Booty Contact” in your cell phone.
This whole new revolution (if you want to call it that) in communication has become pretty interesting to me; especially in relationships that I've been in over the past few years. I'm not just referring to romantic relationships but any kind of relationship or acquaintance you can imagine. What I don't know is if it's detaching true, real relationships or making communication easier and a little more, straight forward. Or, quite simply, maybe it's a lot of both. I mean, can you really get to know someone through a barrage of text messages? At the same time you can definitely get down to the point in your text conversation. No reason to beat around the bush. Say what you need to. They’re not there in front of you to show the disgust on their face anyway. But hey that’s all part of the human detachment.
I've had situations and even recently, where I haven't spoken a word with someone in ages but yet I'll send them a text message every so often just to say, "Hi! How are you?" I may have no personal relationship with that person or even know them anymore but it's convenient to give the quick hello. That's casual and convenient but what if that someone happens to be on a totally different level than when you knew them personally and spoke to them frequently? Maybe they turned into a complete idiot since you last really talked? It would seem like I'm avoiding knowing that person on an account of convenience or am I just half-assed keeping in touch. Is there anything wrong with that? I’m not sure but there’s a passive element in there that’s kind of awkward.
Let’s change this up a little. Let’s say it's a person you're involved with in a relationship. It's a casual thing. You know the two of you don't talk for a week or so but will text message the sweet little nothings like, "I'm thinking about you and I miss you." My question is do you really miss that person and if so wouldn't you be hanging out with that person a little more regularly if you did? Not just sending text messages. Having said that, where do you draw the line and finally have true face to face dialogue and interaction with this person so you can gauge if you actually do have the feelings you say you do. Is it just an excuse to avoid really knowing that person in hopes you won't discover something you don't like about them? I don’t know how many times I’ve had this situation where I’ve gone back and forth with a person through text messages only to finally realize through one on one interaction that I really have nothing in common with them. This always left me wondering why the hell I wasted my freakin time in the first place.
Something I've learned is it's easy to type a message to a person you hardly ever see filled with feelings you hardly even know you have. But lets be honest; it's not until you actually hang out with that person that you can understand who they are, what they're about and more importantly if they're really for you.
It seems to me we're detaching ourselves from true, personal relationships because of convenience. That's the excuse I've heard most of the time anyway. "Why would I call someone when I can get a short direct response that's easier to get across with a text message?" Sure it's convenient but is it a bad thing? Can you really gauge a person or their intentions over a few lines of text? Part of understanding communication and what someone is trying to say is eye contact, body language, the sound of their voice and their expression. With those three qualities missing in a conversation how can you tell if someone is being sincere, loving, friendly, sarcastic or even angry? It becomes a mystery and can lead to obvious miscommunications. It happens to me all the time. I’m naturally a sarcastic person but my messages may come across as mean or spiteful if you don’t understand my intention. That can be frustrating at times but I guess that’s my fault in a way.
It's the digital age and everything is about convenience and technology but my advise is the next time you're about to send off that text message. Stop for a second and ask yourself if this might be a person you want to have a real conversation with. Meet up with them. Have some face time and buy 'em a beer or a coffee. Put the phone down for a while. As my friend Mario once told me a long time ago while I was on the computer typing away on a web project, "Rob, pull the cord out of the wall. Let’s go out and do something." He's right. Sometimes you just got to step away from the PC or in this case, cell phone, and meet real people and have real conversations.
Okay, since it's been a couple weeks since I've written, I'll drop a couple lines here today.
I know I swore off relationships for a while but call me “crazy,” I've started dating someone again; exclusively. Yup, you heard me! I have a girlfriend. It's an interesting thing for me because it's summer. You know, the time to run around "play the field," and be single, so to speak. But something in me just said to give it a shot. She's very cool, down to earth and likes to have a good time. She has an amazing attitude and outlook on things. That's something I can appreciate. This girl has so much energy and a quirkiness about her that's fun. OH! Did I mention she's fucking hot?!?! Quite frankly, she's outta my league which I'm cool with. I'd rather her be hotter than I am anyway. Well, enough on that, I want to keep it private unlike my last fiasco.
So, I was supposed to move into a new place with a fuckin’ hot tub. It ended up not working out so I'm obviously looking again. And that sucks because I was pretty stoked on getting into this apartment. I won't really go into what happened because it’s a lame issue but in the end I lost out. No big deal I guess. Shit happens. It may be for the better since this place was a little overpriced.
So where's life for me? I don't know. I have a feeling I'm about to turn a new chapter. Change is good. I need a new direction right now. You can only do the same thing every weekend for a while and a while for me has been the past, like, four years. It all just becomes monotonous, right? But then I've said that before. I'll just have to wait and see.
Enough with the personal shit
Now, on a lighter note: word at Bronco camp is that Jay Cutler is dealing extremely well with his diabetes type one diagnosis. In fact he's back up to his normal 235lbs. and not as exhausted as he was before. During the end of the 2007 season Cutler had mysteriously dropped 35lbs. lowering his total weight to around 200lbs. That's a major drop for an athlete. He was obviously loosing muscle as his body ate away at itself because he's not a very chubby guy even for his 6'3" frame.
Now after seeing pictures of him he looks pretty thick again and you can see it in his chest and shoulders. Pictures of him after the season ended showed a thinning, pale quarterback that looked like he just went on a five day drinking binge. Even on the sidelines during games he looked pretty bad and was very antisocial. Now he' back to full force.
That's pretty exciting news considering the way he played vs. the way he felt. Imagine playing a sport professionally and at the same time you're shedding weight and constantly feel exhausted. His last game of the season against the Vikings he had a 106 passer rating yet felt like a slug. He complained of having absolutely no energy and after a play could hardly call the next play in the huddle. For me and a lot of Bronco fans alike, I'm excited to see what a 100% healthy Jay Cutler can do.
Holy crap some things you just cant help but throw on your blog. This is one of them. "The Beef Burrito!" I'm just crazy enough to try this shit but it's not the position that made me laugh so much, it's the commentary and illustrations of the video.
So if you're bored at home with your soul mate, wrap up in a Beef Burrito and don't forget to go south of the border.
Wow, I haven't blogged anything in quite a while. I've just be freakin busy with side work, regular work and a whole lotta play. Seems like the weekends are a freakin blur. BUT I'm having fun. When your driving down Cerrillos Rd. with half naked girls hanging out of the car, you better be having fun. I won't go into the situation but wow, what a night.
Anyway, I think things will start to slow down. I HAVE to save my cash up for an apartment within the next few weeks and I can't afford to blow anymore money. Work has been going well and we're about to launch an internal website using Joomla which is pretty cool.
Women status: I'm actually in a pretty good place being single right now. I'm just having way too much fun to be worrying about a significant other. That could be good or bad. Maybe I need someone to keep me in check. Nah, I don't need a nagging headache to bug me about spending too much time with my friends and not with her. That's just not a priority at this point in my life. I went through a strange phase for a while there with a girl but that was that and it ended up being a farce. Needless to say, I learned my lesson.
That's all I have for now. I kinda have to be short today cause I gotta get to the gym.
Once again, it's Friday and time for a blog. I've haven't had much to write lately or a whole lot of time to blog anyway. But today I said, "What the hell. I'm going to drop a couple words of 'Rob's ultimate and never-ending wisdom.'"
Life is good right now but a little confusing. It's more like an emotional roller coaster. As much negative stuff that's happening around me, I'm able to stay positive. That's hard. Actually it's hard not to just say, "fuck it" and give in to the situations, pout and feel sorry for myself. I really can't do that. It's something I used to do. It took a long time to realize that and tell myself not to do it. It's a conscience effort to not have that type of an attitude.
This previous Sunday my great grandmother, Alice Jaramillo, passed away. Although it's sad, it's a beautiful thing at the same time. What's beautiful about it, is she joins my great grandfather who passed months before her. You can pretty much say "she died of a broken heart" as my cousin Naomi put it. Now that's something to ponder. How many of us get to experience that type of love in our lives? 60 years of marriage and their bond wasn't severed for long. Her mortal being wasn't going to keep her from being with the person she loved so much and missed dearly. That's beautiful. (Wow, I kinda teared up when I wrote that!)
I didn't know great grandma Alice very well beyond the time my step-dad, John and my mom got married. She was my step great grandmother so I didn't know a whole lot about her life previous to my parents getting married. What I did know, she was a very gentle and kind heart. She was always very soft spoken and loving. Once and while she'd let out a wise-crack and make you laugh. That was something I appreciated about "Little Grandma."
Anyway, I guess life goes on for the rest of us. The sun will rise in the morning and we have to continue with life until, well... it ends. That sounds sort of morbid and depressing but three deaths in the previous six months is a little stressing. It's like a reoccurring theme as of late (no pun intended).
So a couple of days ago my dog, "Champ" disappeared. Well actually he managed to get out of my yard and get himself lost while the rest of my (GOOD) dogs stuck around and waited for me to realize the gate was open.
After searching for him for a few days and calling the animal shelter, I came to the conclusion he was lost for good and someone had him. For good reason too. He's a very beautiful, happy and adorable Labrador puppy. He also has a very light and almost white coat which is pretty rare. Most "yellow" labs are a little more yellowish than blond.
So, I posted his information on Pet Harbor and figured that was my best chance to see him again. Who knows, it just might work right? Well, after a couple days I had given up hope and was pretty upset about losing my puppy.
As I got up this morning and got ready for work I decided to check my email real quick before leaving the house (I never do that) and what do you know? There it was, an email from Pet Harbor that said a dog matching Champ's description was reported at the Santa Fe County Animal Shelter. Still being a little skeptical, I went to the website and looked up the listing. I freaked! There was the poor little guy in jail. His mugshot on the website like a little convict hoping someone would post bail or release him on parole.
I called the Shelter immediately and ran my ass over there to get the poor guy out. He was amazingly excited to see me and whimpered as I tried to get his harness on.
Anyway, I'd like to say thanks to the folks at the Santa Fe Animal Humane Society and the Santa Fe County Animal Shelter for taking care of my pup. There were very nice and even gave Champ some medication for his shoulder which he apparently hurt while he was on the run.
Text messaging has been around for quite a while but it wasn't until now that I really realized the awkward relationships it creates. This may show my age but I remember a day when wooing (yes I just used the word woo so shoosh) a girl meant calling her on the phone for a flirtatious conversation that would last for hours on end if you liked her, or got really short if you didn't. But at the very least you knew if you had a connection with this person and they could carry a conversation. Now, not so much. You send text messages to each other constantly and try to figure out if you like one another on that basis first. It's complicated but yet easy at the same time.
ount of convenience or am I just half-assed keeping in touch. Is there anything wrong with that? I’m not sure but there’s a passive element in there that’s kind of awkward.
Okay, since it's been a couple weeks since I've written, I'll drop a couple lines here today.
So a couple of days ago my dog, "Champ" disappeared. Well actually he managed to get out of my yard and get himself lost while the rest of my (GOOD) dogs stuck around and waited for me to realize the gate was open.
