I just recently deactivated my Facebook account and I am feeling pretty good about it. I thought that I would feel some twinge of FOMA (Fear of Missing Out), but so far so good.

With that being said, here are some things that I will miss about Facebook.

Nothing.

I like the fact that I can talk to my friends, or not. See pictures of their kids and pets, or not. Get a “personal” invitation to the latest event, or not.

The way I figure it, my real-life friends matter to me the most, and, perchance some long lost high school or college friend wants to catch up, there are ways of getting in touch.

I have:

1. had the same home phone number for 15 years
2. had the same cell phone number for 16 years
3. lived in the same house for almost 17 years
4. used the same Gmail address when others people were still using AOL and Hotmail

By the way, if you want to catch me on other social networking sites, hit me up on:

• Google+
• Twitter
• Path
• LinkedIn

There are ways to reach me. If you really want me to be a part of your life and share you life with me, I would be more than honored to.

So, peace out Facebook, you won’t be selling my information to your advertisers. It was nice while it lasted, but I am O-U-T.

On the other hand, I will miss the “Happy Birthday’s.”

Tell it!

I remember exactly where I was on February 19, 1993 at 10:19 pm. I was giving birth to my first child, my only daughter. It was the happiest day of my life. I remember hearing her cry for the first, but not the last time. I remember looking down at her tiny little face and calling her by the name her father and I picked out for her. I remember the that we never considered picking out a boy’s name because we were so sure that we were having a girl. We were right.

There are so many little things that remember about her from her first 17 years that is hard to believe that my little girl, my baby, is growing up and going off to college next year.

On one hand, I can’t wait to see her go. We are constantly at odds. The only thing that we can agree on is the fact that neither one of us knows what we are talking about. I am so tired of squashing arguments between her and her little brother. I can’t wait to be able to see the floor in her bedroom. We already have plans for it. I believe that all of this strife is God’s way of helping and preparing us to let go.

On the other hand, I don’t want her to go away. I don’t want her to grow up and leave the nest. I will miss the arguing and fighting. I will miss the hugs, the kisses, the jokes, and the teasing. I will miss the comfort of knowing that she is safe and sound in the mess she calls a room. I will miss embarrassing her by showing up at school during the middle of the day.I will miss all of it.

So, I will spend the next couple of months in the bittersweet space of helping her decide on a college while wishing that she could stay. I can only hope that her father and I have done a good job raising her and given her a good foundation for making good decisions.

If you know my daughter, don’t tell her that I said any of this. I will just deny it. If you know me, a little sympathy and a shoulder to cry on would be greatly appreciated.

Tell it!

Don’t get me wrong, being unemployed and trying to live off of a tiny fraction of your former income sucks. It sucks big time! I hate not having somewhere to be every morning, even if the job was less than satisfying. It was nice being able to sleep in, the first couple of weeks, but even that gets old. Did I mention the lack of money?

Through it all, there were some positive things that have come from my untimely stint. I have had more time to spend with my husband and children. My daughter will be going away to school in a little more than a year and I appreciate having some extra time. This year, I have been able to become a more active parent at her school, Duke Ellington School of the Arts.  Also, I am glad that I have been able to spend time more time with my son. I have had to do battle with DC Public Schools in order to get him much needed educational support. I am glad that I have had the time to do it.

While I have been catching up on family time, I have not been sitting idly by waiting for that magical job offer. I decided to do something else. I organized UXCamp DC 2010 with the help of some friends. It was an awesome experience, I learned a lot, and, most importantly, I met expanded my networking circle. I would not have been able to accomplish this had I been working a full-time job.

Now that UXCamp is over, it’s back to the task of looking for work, but, I do it with an additional set of skills that I am sure I will get to use again soon.

So, my advice to you, if you are unemployed or underemployed, is to do something that you are passionate about. Take this time to relax, re-focus, and re-charge. Your next opportunity is waiting out there for you. Organize something, write something, do something.

Tell it!

UPDATE: Kevin and Thom read my email on-air. Thank you and I accept your apology.

The Sports Fix

Today, I am listening to the radio. I am listening to a ESPN 980′s The Sports Fix to be exact. The topic at the time is Gilbert Arenas and his stupidity for carrying a handgun into the locker room. So far, I am following along with the show and agreeing with most of the views and comments.

Then, all of a sudden, there is was…”Gilbert Arenas must be bipolar or something.” WHAT THE FUCK!!!

Yes, I was pissed. Yes, I am pissed. I marched downstairs to ask my husband what radio station he was listening to and told him why I was so pissed. I told him that I am sick and tired of people saying, “they must be bipolar” every time some idiot celebrity does something stupid. How does being an asshole with a gun equal bipolar disorder?

Here is what I wrote to The Sports Fix:

I enjoy listening to your show, I am not a sports fan but, my husband is. However, I was appalled this afternoon when one of you referred to Gilbert Arenas as being Bipolar because of his recent behavior. As a person that suffers from this disease, I am disgusted by the overuse of the term whenever anyone displays some sort of schism in their personality. Bipolar disorder is not a personality disorder, it is a mood disorder that can cause great damage to a person’s life if not end it all entirely.

I would appreciate it if, in the future, you would refrain from using that term unless you actually know that the person has been diagnosed as such.

I am so sick and tired of the use of bipolar being the code word for crazy. Bipolar disorder is a very real mental illness that affects moods, not personalities. If you don’t know, ask about it.

Tell it!

I have never been one to set goals and stick to them. So, at 43, why start now, right? Wrong. On this New Year’s Eve, I am going to set one goal. One that I should be able to keep up with and fulfill.

My goal this year is to be good to me. Sounds selfish, well it is, kind of.

Being good to me means several things. It means losing those extra pounds, it means eating better, it means quitting smoking, it means keeping up with my medication, and it means being fearless. It also means being good to others because I am being good to me.

My philosophy is that people treat other people poorly because they treat themselves poorly. I don’t want to be that person. I believe that people treat others selfishly because they treat themselves selfishly. Are you following me? Every action that we project out into the world is one that we reflect upon ourselves.

I believe in karma-what goes around, comes around. I also believe in the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I am going to be good to me so that others can be good to themselves.

First thing on my list is to forgive myself for all of the bad things that I have done to myself. This is going to be hard because I have a lot to forgive. I am going to start by forgiving myself for being who I am…a woman with bipolar disorder. After all, it is not really my fault, but I still feel guilty about it. I forgive myself for not finding out about it sooner.

I also forgive myself for not being a good sister. How could I have known that we shared the same blood when no one told me? I also forgive myself for not being a good daughter. I think that I have the right to feel a sense of abandonment after being put up for adoption, even if it all worked out for the best. I also forgive myself for not being a good wife. It’s hard being the wife of a police officer when every phone call late at night could be the one. Like the late night phone call you received announcing your father’s death or your aunt’s death or even your mom’s. I forgive myself for being afraid of the late night phone call.

In 2010, I am only going to make one goal. That goal is to be good to me.

Tell it!

More than 10 years after this article (It’s All in the Process, by Ann Senechal) was originally published, clients and designers are still trying to work out that delicate balance between form and function, we’re still trying to get it right. Now, there is one more addition to the mix–the user. How will they all play together to bring about a web that is both useful for users and profitable for business? User experience design.

When one things about design, they often think about “look and feel” and aesthetics. Design is much more than that, it is about planning, strategy, and outcomes. It is all about the process.

I saw this one another blog (Paste Interactive) and I thought that it was a great idea. The premise is to help you to get to know our team better by the tools that we use in our daily work and personal lives. Also, a little bit about why we like these tools.

I have more than five tools in my toolbox, but this is just a start.

1. ActionMethod.com
   Aside from the fact that it looks cool. I love to use ActionMethod because of the way that it allows you to manage projects. It is a project management tool built for the creative mind. You can use it via online, desktop, or iPhone.
2. TweetDeck
   I like that I can now manage multiple accounts. This helps with my split personality. I also love that I can follow different topic side-by-side. For people who want to update their Facebook status as well, it’s in there.
3. PageOnce
   This Blackberry app does exactly what it says. It puts all of your accounts on one page so that you can keep up with them. Bank accounts, investment accounts, credit card accounts… keep track of everything.
4. Drop.io
   Quick and dirty file sharing application with the added benefit of an chat and conference calling.
5. Poynt
   This Blackberry application saved my family vacation this year. To make a long story short, our car broke down while out of town and we needed a place to get it fixed. We used the GPS-enabled features on this app to find a dealership close to where we were vacationing. We also used it to find the closest movie theater to go see Inglorious Basterds.

About five years ago, I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. It was the best day of my life because I could finally put a name to the thing that had been haunting me for so long. I could finally put a name to the thing that had almost ruined me–mentally, physically, and financially.

There is not a day when I don’t wake up wondering how I will feel today. Will I be zooming around like a bat out of hell? Will I be brimming over with new ideas and ways to re-invent myself? Will I get to bed at 11 pm or 3 am? Or, will I sleep all day or drag myself through the day?

I just never know. What I do know is that it’s not my fault.

Sometimes it sucks because, back in the day, I would spend money like crazy and not care about the consequences. I bought a car, a 2002 Volvo S40, purely because I wanted it and I felt that I deserved it. I didn’t care that I paid way too much for it and I could not afford it. I needed it and wanted it that day and the fact that I had several months left on a lease contract did not matter. They took the old car and I took the new car. Crazy right? Don’t mention the Volvo to my husband, it’s still a sore subject.

When I told my friends about my diagnosis, they all said, “Really, you don’t look crazy.” Well, that’s because I am not. I am just the life of the party. I am just the person who is not afraid to do anything. I am just the person who always says “I can do that.” I am also the person who does not want to go out. I am also the person who is anti-social. I am also the person who misses deadlines and is always late. I am just the person who turns down your invitations to hang out. That’s just who I am.

They forget and I do not remind them. Sometimes I forget but I remind myself. I just have to remember that it’s all a part of being me.

Tell it!

I don’t usually write about politically charged issues such as abortion, but, today I will make an exception. I want to ask the question, ” Are you really pro-life if you take a life?”

For the record, I am pro-choice. However, I am not pro-abortion. I believe that it is a woman’s right to chose. As a mother of two, I can attest to the stress and trauma that a woman’s body endures during pregnancy. Any woman who says that, at some point it wasn’t hard, is just trying to get you to join the club. Don’t get me wrong, I love my children and I would not trade the experience for anything in the world, but it was hard.

Back to my original question. How can someone who claims to be pro-life not respect the sanctity of life just because the person is outside of their mother’s womb? I do not follow the abortion rights issue and I have never heard of George Tiller before today. I was not aware of the work that he has been doing. I just know that he is dead. Someone gunned him down in church. IN CHURCH!

How can that happen? Is there no place that is safe anymore? I don’t know why Scott Roeder did what he did. It could have been something completely unrelated to Dr. Tiller’s practice. However, the fact still remains that a man was killed in church while serving God and his community. That disgusts me most of all.

I am Catholic, but I do not follow the party line of most Catholics who seem to be pro-life or else excommunication. I believe that it is a woman’s right to choose.

I have always found it interesting that there are so many protests against abortion and rallies to protect unborn children, but the same vigilance is not shown for the children who have already been born. According to the Administration for Children and Families, in 2007, there were approximately 3.2 million referrals of child abuse and neglect for approximately 5.8 million children were made to CPS agencies. The ACF also reported that in September of 2007, there were 493,000 children in the foster care system across the U.S. Where are the pro-lifers? What are they really doing to protect children? Does their care and concern for children end once they are born?

I don’t usually get up on my soapbox, but it really pisses me off when people try to impose their beliefs on others. I am pissed off by the hypocrisy of pro-lifers who only care about unborn children and do little or nothing to help the ones who are already hear. I am pissed off by the hypocrisy of pro-lifers who march and protest kill for unborn children, but continue to cut funding for health care and education for the children that are already here. I am pissed off by the hypocrisy of pro-lifers who disgust us with images of mangled fetuses but, they want to deny services to families struggling to feed and clothe their children. What about the children who are already here? What about the families? What about the single mothers?

I do not like the idea of abortion, but who am I to judge another for choices that they make? Just as Hamlet says, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

To me, the pro-lifers have done nothing but fortify my resolve to remain pro-choice. I am pro-choice, but most importantly, I am pro-child and pro-family.

Tell it!

Okay, here it is. After several fits and starts, here it is. My blog. I have never really thought about seriously blogging before, even though I have had a blog for a while. I have never thought of myself as a blogger either. On some level, it seemed to be the opposite of everything that I learned in journalism school–unsubstantiated opinions about questionable facts.

My rules for writing were to never write anything about anything that could not be verified and sourced. To that end, I never really got around to writing anything because I did not have the time to research and then write anything. I am too anal to blog. I am working on letting some of that training go and just write about what I know and like and find faster ways to verify and source my information.

Why the change of heart? Well, I owe it at to a brief conversation with Anil Dash at WordCamp Mid-Atlantic. Aside from the fact that he gave an awesome keynote, he was gracious enough to talk to be for a few minutes about blogging. I appreciated the fact that he also spent time working at newspapers so, he felt my pain about journalistic integrity. Basically, he said that I just had to start writing about the things that interest me. Thanks, Anil!

So, in the words of Jay-Z, Allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Glennette.

Tell it!