Spent the day wandering thru Cardiff & mulling over essential, yet unanswered questions.. the true meaning of life.. what it's all about, and, to cut to the chase, why do I actually bother. Life is just so, so dull right now. I need a massive change, but not totally sure as to how to achieve this. Maybe Reggie Perrin had the best idea!
Feeling strangely negative - a combination of extreme boredom and purposelessness making life just too difficult to enjoy. Cardiff's often the essential answer to misery: lively shops, crowds of people, many of them basically friendly, loads of emos & other alternative types - and of course, fantastic shops - with more than enough on sale to bolster the most flagging of spirits!
Then, of course, there's the totally unexplained phenomenon: the mechanical, perhaps clockwork moving statue that stands silently in Queen Street, totally still, occasionally moving very slightly, to capture the interest of small crowds that gather & watch. The statue, appearing to be form the mid 17th Century is totally white, and wears breeches & a frilly-thing shirt. It has hair like Mozart, and oddly piercing, black eyes. It's always mysterious - and always good to watch.
Today, however, my illusions & sense of mystery was shattered. Whilst looking at jeans (black, ultra-skinny, naturally!) in a shop in Queen's Arcade, I suddenly felt the need to go for a pee. I entered the gents, and began the 'operation'.
I was slightly perturbed to hear an uncomfortable rustling behind me. I looked, casually. And there, as if by magic - WAS THE MOVING STATUE!! It had moved from its plinth in Queen Street, and had somehow gotten to the gents closet! Worse was to follow..
(Paragraph CENSORED!)
The Moving Statue had taken a leak!!!
I then found out that the moving statue was not actually an alien from Planet XL390-zeta, sent to spy on the shoppers of Cardiff, prior to an all-out invasion, timed to match exactly the appearance of the next Doctor Who Xmas Special.... but a guy from Caerffili, named Ben.
How disappointing. How disconcerting. Another myth shattered!
And life still sucks. Bigtime.
Chris, Torchwood Cardiff.
Have to admit I initially thought social networks, like this one, were a total waste of time. Having set them up, loads, to be honest - initially just to see what they were about, and also to improve my internet 'literacy', I intended to ditch them after a suitably experimental period.
Sure, you can over-use them - and some people have become addicted to them, and some people seem to waste many hours just bugging other people, but I've totally surprized myself by finding them actually quite useful... I am amazed to admit this!
Well, the 'chat' functions (including speech & video) on some - has saved me a total fortune in text messages and phone calls. I now contact friends & associates far more often - without worrying about gargantuan bills at thr end of the month.
It's also easy to keep and manage contact lists, which are constantly lost on 'Outlook', each time a laptop dies! It's also cool to keep separate profiles & accounts, for different types of groups of friends... works well!
It's a great way to have an on-line presence without being an expert in HTML or web design, and an awesome way of storing digital pictures, videos, etc, often without upload limits or controls. I love the fact that you can also choose your on-line persona, whether it be the 'real' me, or any other alternative version (perhaps from a parallel universe) I'd care to create!
There's also the fun & creativity aspect. You can design widgets, applications, slide shows, etc, and keep them private - or share them with the world. Groups are good too > great ways of picking up stories and eye-raising gossip, perhaps about TV celebrities & other personalities!
Beyond that, and perhaps most importantly - social networks have been a great way to keep in touch with people who'd otherwise just drift out of touch. Sad, and unnecessarily so.
Only this weekend, I randomly 'met up' online with people I knew over ten years ago... oddly, people who had been thinking of me - some thinking I'd actually left this universe - for good! Great to be in touch again - and without one social network or another - this would never have happened!
Memories are so important... Social networks can help you keep them!
Take care,
Chris@TW-CF
