{The Facebook Fast}

For the month of October, I took a fast from Facebook.  I found myself completely addicted and spending hours upon hours on Facebook when I should be doing more productive things like study or write in this here blog, so I thought I would challenge myself to stay completely off of Facebook for the entire month.  So far, I've only been tricked a couple of times into opening up the webpage due to a link on Twitter or by searching for a business on Google and only coming up with their Facebook page.  

I've been tagged in posts, tagged in pictures, and have multiple new friend requests that I can't see.  It was frustrating not being able to see what people wanted with me, what event invitations I was missing out on, and of course, what everyone else was up to.  I became more active on Twitter, but it isn't the same.  What I miss most about Facebook is the interaction.  I can change my status and get a whole conversation going.  Additionally, most of my "friend" friends are not on Twitter.  My Twitter feed is mostly comprised of industry peeps, industry celebs (why yes, Duff Goldman from the show Ace of Cakes DID give me a shout out!), and news organizations.  While it provides me lots of useful information to follow these fine people, I think most of them don't know or care about what is going on with my life.  Some Facebook friends, on the other hand, really do seem to care.  

There are loads of people I consider "friends" due to the amount of online interaction between us who, turns out, were really only Facebook friends.  During this month, I've not spoken to many of them out here in the real world.  I honestly feel some relationships may have been set back due to my being "offline" FB.  My closest friends have said they can't wait until November so they can know what the heck I'm up to these days.  

And yeah, they don't really like it when I say "you can follow me @GreenGalTX on Twitter."  

My Addiction

I do pride myself on the fact that I always checked my email BEFORE checking Facebook first thing in the morning.  75% of Facebook users log on there first before checking their email and spend 6 hours a day browsing the site according to a survey I made up for the purposes of this blog post.  I am in front of a computer for at least 10 hours of every day and a tab with Facebook open was always my default webpage. To exemplify the extent of my addiction to Facebook, let me tell you about a dream I had about a week into my fast:

I'm planning a wedding...in Switzerland.  The bride's name is Greta and I'm on my way to the venue, riding in the back of a horse-drawn wagon full of hay.  However, I realize that I need to get some important information from my email, so I pull out an iPad and turn it on.  Lo and behold, Facebook was already open! Being that I am in the middle of Switzerland in a wagon and no one is around, I stealthily sneak a peek at my newsfeed.  

Yes, I really had that dream.  It was a scene much like the one to the right, but it was me instead of that shaggy dog in the back.  And an iPad.  Sigh.

Anyway, my point is that the Fast did nothing but prove to myself that I have some self control and I can avoid Facebook if I want to (knowing is half the battle), but it really has not made me feel like I could do without it or afford to be on it less often.  I would miss so much in my friends' lives if I were to log off permanently.  Old friendships that were re-forged through the miracle of Facebook would be lost again.  I'd never be "in the know" on cool events.

My online life is an open book.  Read my info page and flip through some of my photos and you can pretty much know everything there is about me in 5-10 minutes.  This is both a good and a bad thing.  My long lost friends could catch up, but new friends gained an almost instantaneous intimacy that might have taken months or even years to cultivate.  I recently started dating someone this month and guess what?  We're not Facebook friends, at least not for another few days.  He's had to get to know me the old fashioned way...through Google chat and texting.  All joking aside, it's nice to be able to share facts about myself in the right circumstances and have him be continually surprised at my varied interests.  In a few days, all the mystery goes away when I get back on Facebook.  That is, unless I decide not to accept his friend request.  {mischievous grin}

{Falling Leaves}

No, this post is not about my favorite season, but about a lesson I learned yesterday during yoga.  The teacher read a quote from the Buddha.  I couldn't find it online, but it goes something like this:

Buddha says that life is like a tree with many colored leaves.  Each one is at a different stage of maturity.  As leaves die and fall off, they become compost that nourish the tree and help it to keep growing.  So, you see, it is necessary for some parts of your life to die in order for new growth to occur.  What activity or obligation is sucking the life out of your tree?  Perhaps it is time to let it die so you can move on and grow from the nourishment it will provide as it composts into the ground.  

We were asked to make an intention around this quote.  I had to think about a part of me I am holding onto to, but should let die.  The first thing that came to mind was my wedding planning business in Wisconsin, but I am already letting it go by selling it.  But is that all?  No, I still have memorabilia on the walls of my office and I have files and files of past clients' weddings.  So, this is what I chose to focus on.  It's time to purge the stuff that went with Top Shelf Weddings & Events (of course, I won't do this until the sale is final, but you get the idea).  

I am at a standstill with my new venture and I need motivation to move forward.  Perhaps by purging this old life, I can begin the new one.  And the experience of those leaves will nourish me as new buds sprout.  Or some some such other metaphor.  

{Fried Bubblegum}

If you live in North Texas, then you know exactly what the title is all about.  It's an award-winning new item sold at the State Fair of Texas.  It is an annual tradition for most North Texans to go to the fair every October from childhood to retirement.  Every year it's the same thing, with perhaps one or two vendors or bands switched out.  What makes this tradition so appealing and full of nostalgia?  I'll tell you a little bit of my favorite things divided into four distinct categories.

People watching

It's like "People of Walmart" meets the Failblog.  I saw so many teeny tiny shorts worn with knee high boots (cowboy, most often) that I almost got whiplash.  I saw tons of people who could have weighed tons (not really, but you get my point).  Children running everywhere or strapped to a leash or stroller.  Most often, people were walking and eating, eating and walking...which leads to my next subject...

Food

The whole point of the fair is to eat all the crap they serve.  Where else can you get this stuff unless you make it at home in your industrial deep fryer?  Between my parents and myself, we had the following:

 - Fried Bubblegum (really a bubblegum flavored marshmallow fried with a sticky sugary sauce on top)

 - 3 shots of wine ("tasting")

 - one veggie street taco

 - two Fletcher's corn dogs

 - fried shrimp basket with fries

 - two free Borden's ice cream cones  

 - one nutty bar 

 - three Shiner Bock beers

Exhibits

Typically we'd go through the automobile building, but none of us were particularly interested in new cars.  Plus, that always takes forever to walk through.  We did, however, participate in a Chevy exhibit outside where we got to test drive the new Sonic and then test drive any other vehicle they own (I took the Volt for a spin, it was cool!).  My dad had to drive a Camaro.  It was the first car he owned, and first one he wrecked as a teenager, so it will always hold a special place in his heart.

Dad talked us out of seeing all the arts and crafts that people submit for ribbons.  I did manage to convince them to see the large butter sculpture.  It's never usually that interesting, but it's, you know, a tradition.  In that strain, I got to see Elise and little Beauregard in the dairy area as well.  

In walking through the marketplace areas, we sampled chips and salsas, told a bunch of people "we aren't interested" and acquired very little in the way of random brochures and flyers.  An amazing feat!  Honestly, there are some things in the general store that I'd probably purchase and take home, but who wants to carry that stuff around or make a trip back there to get it at the end of the day when all you want to do is get in the car and take off your shoes?  

Of course, we paid our respects to Big Tex.  Boy, has he gotten chatty!  All he did was spout out advertisements and "thank yous" to sponsors while we were in his presence.  I don't think I even got a "Howdy, folks!"  He reminds me of my grandfather in the way he wears his jeans and boots, the shape of his face.

Rides

Immediately after we parked, we saw this ride that has the swinging seats and it goes in a circle.  But this ride goes up high in the air and spins!  My dad and I both agreed that we would ride this ride at the end of the day.  After we watched the parade, we made our way to the Midway.  Carnivals are typically high on sensory overload, but when it's on the scale of the State Fair, well, it's downright mesmerizing.  Blinking, blurry lights, "chingy" sounds, loud announcers, bustling kids, suspicious teenagers, sticky concrete.  

Many of the rides and attractions (like fun houses) have been there forever.  My dad pointed out several that my granddad always made a point to ride when they would go back in the 50s.  Can you imagine?  When I was younger, I did quite enjoy the fun houses.  Who were they kidding?  I can totally walk up this zig zag walkway and find my way through a series of mirrors.  It's not that hard!  Plus, it reminded me of Grease.  

We finally arrived at the ride, aptly named "Vertigo," ready for our maiden voyage on her dizzying swings.  Crap!  It's 12 coupons instead of 10.  Anyway, we got the one 50 cent coupon we needed and Dad and I boarded.  It was nothing crazy, but I have realized that in my older age, I have become more sensitive to motion sickness.  I got dizzy in the head, even when trying to find a focal point at each spin.  The moon was full and we got a view of it and the rest of the Midway, Fair Park, and Dallas.  Texas Star, the infamous Ferris wheel, shown bright.  

When we got down, we both admitted to feeling woozy and imbalanced.  I'm surprised my dad drove home because I don't think I could have.  After a quick pit stop at my parents' house in Grand Prairie, I headed home.  I still felt light headed from the effects of the Vertigo.  I just knew I'd have crazy dreams about the food, the lights, the experience; but I think I was just too worn out to dream!  So concludes another year of State Fair excitement.  Until next year!

{How Time Flies}

The last post I made about school as in April as the first semester wrapped up.  Since then, I've survived Managerial Accounting, Managing the Entrepreneurial Business (I and II), and Marketing Strategy.  Additionally, I'm in finals week for Operations Management and Strategic Management.  Talk about time flying...where did this summer go?  I remember the heat, the drought, and one crazy conference in Reno, but other than that it seems like a blur.  

At this point, I am well over half way through with the program.  It's exciting and scary at the same time.  I have my business plan and my goals for opening an event venue, but I feel like I'm not making progress.  Will I be able to ramp it up as school winds down so that I have my career ahead of me when I graduate?  Only time will tell.  

At least I accomplished one of my educational goals: to be on the next SMU Master of Science in Entrepreneurship brochure.  I told many friends that I was totally going to be on it and I am!  Well, we've taken the headshots and I've seen the layout of the page.  I guess it has something to do with me being our class representative on the SAB, being the Director of Operations (i.e. Happy Hour Chair), and just trying to stay super involved in our program.  I do think it's a terrific program and plan on sticking around post-graduation to help it grow.  

As you can see, my progress along the "Road to Master" is coming along swimmingly.  However, I have not made any progress on the front of becoming a Master Bridal Consultant, but that's only because I feel I need to be running my own business and making my own successes to make a real claim at proving myself an influential leader in this industry.  I need to speak at conferences, make more meaningful blog posts that industry pros want to read, and get more involved in ABC (in the works, I will take over as the Texas state coordinator in March).  Tara Wilson repeated a quote to me that stuck with her and is now stuck with me..."you are either a consumer or a creator."  Let's create!

{Cupping}

I had a serious case of "crick in the neck" for about two weeks.  It was my left neck/shoulder area and I just could not get it to go away.  Some mornings were better, some were much worse.  In speaking about this with an acquaintance, she suggested I try an ancient Chinese therapy called "cupping."  I'd read about it before, and it looked like something out of a bad science fiction movie featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000.  

In any case, this great place called Center for the Healing Arts in Fort Worth offered the service and, honestly, I'd been looking for a reason to go there.  Earlier this year, I sought out the assistance of an acupuncturist for my sleep issues and went to a practitioner recommended by a friend.  Let's just say, the location and office of this practitioner was a little suspect.  I knew that the place in Fort Worth would be most costly, but now I know why.  You pay for what you get!  And when someone is sticking needles in your body, you want the utmost confidence in them.  

The frustration of the crick in the neck finally got to me and I scheduled an appointment for last Friday to get "cupped."  If you've never heard of this technique before, watch the video on CBS News here.  If you're too lazy to do that, I can briefly describe it.  Imagine a small glass globe.  The practitioner takes a ball of cotton soaked in alcohol and lights it on fire.  Then they briefly put the cotton ball into the glass globe, remove it, then immediately place the opening on your back.  As the fire burns off the oxygen, it sucks your skin up into the globe.  This causes blood to rush to the area. 

From a Chinese medicine standpoint, it is said to open the meridians allowing better flow of Qi (chi).  It causes toxins to be brought to the surface and released, which is said to be the cause of the lingering hickey like bruises all over your back.  From my standpoint, it's like a reverse deep tissue massage.  One deeper than you've ever felt, also because it's happening in reverse with a pull motion rather than a push.  

Ok, are you ready for the photographic evidence?  This is how I looked an hour after the therapy...  

These marks lingered for days and have only finally started to fade to a bruise-y yellow.  I have worn strategically high collared shirts and cardigans since then.  As far as how it felt, it felt like I had definitely had a rough massage even though the therapy itself is rather mild.  I was sore deep in the muscles and my skin felt sunburned.  How was the crick in my neck, you ask?  It, particularly, was better.  But the rest of my back was so sore it was hard to tell.  The practitioner had said that even though the pain was in my left shoulder, I was much more tense in the right side.  So after the therapy, my right side was in more discomfort.  

Though it's no miracle cure, it did help break the crick in the neck cycle, but I feel that more therapy will be done on me...soon.  Hopefully it's like waxing...the more you do it, the less it hurts and the less your body reacts to the pain. I wouldn't know, though, because after my first wax, I vowed never to do it again.  

So, there you have it ("a letter opener," for all your MST3K fans), cupping.  Weird, but kinda cool.  

{My bad}

Yeah, so...life is kinda crazy!  Remember how I had all of these grand hopes in maintaining a blog, chronicling my journey through grad school, my business ambitions, and life in general?  My bad.  

In an effort to redeem myself, I am taking a Facebook Fast for the month of October so that I can re-dedicate myself to the blog and to using Twitter as a social medium.  @GreenGalTx  Follow me!

So, look for new posts at least three times a week.  I'll try to make them worth your while.  I do have lots of exciting updates on school, my non-existent business, and...well, not so much on life because I seemingly do not have one.