Medusa in the morning

I was really surprised, yesterday, to see that I hadn't posted here in 2 weeks. I think that's the longest I've gone. I don't know why, exactly; it wasn't a conscious decision. Am I busier? I'm always busy in some way or another.

I think my online behavior has changed, with the intrusion of Facebook into my life. Not that I've become a strict devotee, in the way that I've observed others use it to navigate their social interactions, but I've become - well, an observer of others who use it to navigate their social interactions. It surprises me how many people expose themselves every day, and I don't mean in blatant ways, but in subtle and mundane ones, commenting on their moods or what kind of day they had at work or what their weekend plans are. So I suddenly feel like I have windows into friends', colleagues', and acquaintances' lives in ways I never had before. (I also fall into the trap of being judgmental: why is the young woman who works for me, who happily "befriended" me despite my wondering if it were a good idea, has time to update her status so often?) It's hard not to want to look, though, especially when it's learning things about people I've not been in contact with in many years. (That guy from high school who was only a friend of a friend? He leads a really interesting life now - or so it sounds from his daily postings.)

I also have become addicted to word games on Facebook - not that they are any different than the word games I have on my own hard drive, but there I can challenge friends to play against me. (More palatable than playing strangers live on other sites.) So my morning routine has evolved - I now listen to NPR news radio in the morning as I play word games.

Does this make me any smarter? Ha.