An Ode to Jo Kathleen

I over the wintertime started to read once again the Harry Potter series. That, my friends, is where the fun ends. For me, what destroyed my love of Harry Potter from the get-go was simple. Hype. It's what destroys many things I become fond of. Don't give me wrong, J.K. Rowling is a fantastic author who has an imagination I wish I had. She's turned a generation of kids into bookworms. But for me, the media hype ruined the imagination.

I don't know, maybe it's that people can take comfort in all the BS that Harry put up with living with his relatives. When you dig deeper, however, something just twists at your stomach. Voldermort (and yes, I'm not afraid to speak his name) is just like Hitler. He's got weaknesses. Just watch the movie Der Untergang (Downfall), which is one of my favorite movies. And no, I absolutely despise anything that resembles fascism. But I don't know, the whole Harry Potter hype is just something I'll have to live with.

And by the way, Steve Jobs is a f*ck*ng a**. Sorry. Steve Wozniak is the better man. I'll always have my opinions.

Um

I'll say something tomorrow.

From my SUNY Potsdam Admissions blog...

There's many signs that a school year is coming to an end at Potsdam. The traffic lightens up, thanks to Clarkson ending their year right before us, nicer weather returning, non-stop rain-about that! The rain combined with melting snow pushed the Raquette River to its highest level in ages. However, this past weekend and today have been much nicer. I know I become unhappy when the sun does not shine. There's more signs too. Summer can be such a tempting mistress, and as much as Potsdam is in many ways home, you just want to be free of academic concerns. The arrival of summer is bittersweet, but it makes me realize how much I've grown this school year. It also makes me realize how much more I need to grow up, and how I have one too many hypocrite moments.

Needless to say, I keep chugging along.

RE: And by the way....

Not anymore :(

And by the way....

Happiness anyone?

Zuckerberg's Denial

Wake up and smell the coffee Mark Zukerberg! I don't know how many relationships Facebook has destroyed, but it sure has for me.

And here's one for you:

From Facebook:

Adding / Removing Friends
People have disappeared from my friend list, but I did not remove them and they did not remove me.

Friend removals are not caused by a technical error on the site, as it is not possible for a friend to be removed without confirmation from one of the users involved. The issue you are experiencing is caused by one of the following reasons:

1. This person removed you from their friend list, either intentionally or accidentally.
2. This person has deactivated their account, causing them to disappear from all friend list. If they choose to reactivate their account, they will reappear on these lists.

If a large number of friends disappeared from your account in a short period of time, it is possible that the security of your account may have been compromised. Please select a unique and complex password that is different from other passwords that you use on the Internet, and keep this information completely to yourself. You can reset your password by using the "Change Password" field on the Account page.
You should also make sure that all email addresses associated with your account are secure. Remember that anyone who can read your email may be able to also access your Facebook account. Additionally, please make sure that you log out of your Facebook account after each use and "quit" your browser when you’re done using the site. Never check the "Keep me logged in" box when logging in from a public computer or someone else’s mobile device, as this will keep you logged in even after you close your browser window.
Finally, please make sure that when you access the site, you always log in from a legitimate Facebook page with "facebook.com" in the domain part of the URL (web address). For more information about protecting your account, please visit the Facebook Security Page.

And that's not even the least of it. According to norrina from Etiquette Hell:

Evidently, Facebook also will randomly defriend people for you, too. A few months ago a high school acquaintance found me and we exchanged messages for a while, catching up on old times, then we kind of faded apart again, he's overseas and I was starting an intense study program. I got a message from him today, checking in, he'd just noticed we weren't "friends" anymore. I haven't defriended anyone, so it wasn't done on my end, and if he didn't do it either...

Whoah, a pattern we're seeing here

And plus, no one wants to be rejected.

Here's the links I went to: http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf/index.php?action=printpage;topic=68519.0

http://articles.cnn.com/2009-10-30/tech/online.rejection.defriending_1_rejection-defriending-networking?_s=PM:TECH

I'm done. I've had my fill for the day. I'll see you all tomorrow.

Two Decades Later

Two decades after I was born, way too much has changed. And I don't want to call myself a conservative or a traditionalist, but it's like I'm a whole different person. And as much as that makes me happy, it scares me nonetheless. For me, I've somewhat come full circle and to add, those who I knew from my childhood have forgotten who I am, and for those who still remember, would be shocked to see that I am a totally different person in ways, but much of that Sasha-ness is still there. My autistic traits, my being able to relate to everyone as much as I can, my energetic spirit, my difficulties, etc; they all still live with me day after day.

First off, I no longer have much of a connection to my downstate roots. It's almost as if it was just a dream. Not so much however. Some of the faces and names are still there, and I try to keep a strong connection with my past as my past has helped to shape my present and will help (and/or hurt) to shape my future. I am surprised that I do not have an extreme fear of change, but I don't. It's inevitable. But that downstate connection I try to keep alive, as it's where I'm from

As the great philosopher and historian George Santayana said in his oft-misquoted remark:

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

And I try my hardest to live by that every day. It's not the easiest thing to do in the world, but I can say that I try, and that's what counts.

Sure, I've had some tragic and very upsetting things happen in my life, but I have every time risen above them. Here's to twenty great years and a kajillion more! It's been a fun and a wild ride.

(NOTE: Kajillion is defined by the Urban Dictionary as "A very large number [that is] usually an overexxageration.")