On Facebook Reconnections

Many times I do see the cons of too much technology, your life gets sucked in, your eyesight gets worse, your forearms/wrist hurt from repetitive strain injury (I may be guilty to all of the above.) But there are also the wonderful pros to technology. And Facebook. One of the things I love about Facebook is that I get to get in touch with old friends and family from around the world.

Case in point:

Jennifer was our dear friend whose family migrated to Hawaii shortly before the sixth grade. Back then, we had no internet, no way of communicating, we didn't even get to say goodbye to her. We had no forwarding address, no number. My friends and I were very saddened at her departure and just hoped that we'd see her again someday.

Fast forward 17 years later and here I am, having lunch with Jennifer and our other classmate, Melissa, in San Francisco! We got to meet her husband and her two adorable kids, catch up on the last 17 years and talk about marriage! (Sometimes the fact of marriage still amazes me.) We had awesome time and lunch was over before we knew it.

L-R Melissa, Jennifer, Me

I've got other stories too and I do think that Facebook is awesome in the getting/keeping in touch aspect. Now if only we could get a whole class reunion organized!

P.S. This was the same day I went to Fabmo, this awesome organization that give fabric and all this other stuff away for free! See my FabMo post HERE.

High Tech Book Swapping

I love receiving packages in the mail. Don't you?

This is one of the great perks of living in the US, like having Netflix, Amazon, and today I bring you...

Swaptree!

So what is Swaptree, you ask me? Basically, it's a trading service that allows members to trade books, music, DVDs, and video games. You sign up for a membership, list the stuff you have trade, and choose what you'd like to receive. Then the website does some algorithm wherein you can trade what you have to get what you like. Users get sent trade offers and it's up to them to accept the trade or not. You can also see what stuff you can get in exchange for the stuff you've already listed.

Image taken from Swaptree.com

You can either print shipping labels off your own computer (you need to input a credit card for this) or you can take your item to the post office and mail it from there. The only thing you pay for, is shipping your item! Most items cost about $2.50 to ship. I like to print out my own labels cause it saves me a trip to the post office. If you print your own label, you can just drop off your package at a blue USPS collection box.

Occasionally, I end up with a book that doesn't quite deserve permanent space on my bookshelf and that's when I list it on Swaptree. It's a good way to get a lot of slightly older, popular books, but you might have to wait a bit for newer titles. Either way, it's a fun way to trade books without having to spend much.

I just accepted a trade for my copy of I see you everywhere by Julia Glass in exchange for The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. 

Sarah Edwards, I hope you enjoy your "new" book! In the meantime, I'm looking forward to getting my new book too!

Maggie the Magic Car!

Look what was waiting for me at our new home!

Isn't it awesome?! A Toyota Prius! My family named her MAGIC, short for Maita and Gerard's Intelligent Car. I just say Maggie for short.

Haha, no, it wasn't a surprise. We had already discussed it ahead of time that we were going to get a hybrid car because it has better gas mileage AND its better for the environment. But he did do the research and he found the car in great shape, at a second hand car dealer about two hours away. And you can actually get an air freshener with the new car smell so it smells brand new! 

So while Gerard is at work, I can actually go around doing errands and I'm not afraid of getting lost because... THE CAR HAS GPS! Honestly, if not for the GPS, I would probably be afraid to drive and go anywhere. Well, I'm honestly still a bit freaked out by the speed on the freeway but at least I'm not worried about getting lost. I now realize that GPS is such a wonderful invention! Because of it, I actually have the freedom to go around and do the things I need to do. (Like buy groceries, go to the bank, mail stuff, ah, the life of a housewife.)

Been super busy with more wedding stuff and unpacking. More about all of that later on. 

But I'm driving to San Francisco tomorrow to do some errands. I will get over my fear of freeways!

The New Dream

I think it's time to give up my big camera and get something that doesn't feel like it weighs ten pounds. I think one of the major reasons I don't take that many photos anymore is the fact that my Carrie Camera is big and heavy.

I think this is my new dream, the Canon Powershot G11.

Maybe after the wedding :)

Netbook Love

Photo courtesy of Asus EEE PC press release

Gerard and I are geeks. That has been a long established fact. And I think the ultimate sign of this geekiness... is the fact that we have matching netbooks! We both have the Asus EEE PC1000H netbooks with Intel Atom 1.6GHz CPUs, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, Intel UMA graphics, wifi capabilities, three USB slots, built in card read, audio jacks, and VGA out ports. Gerard's is black and mine is white. We've even gone so far as to get skins. I gave him the motherboard skin from GelaSkins and mine is a green flowered striped one from ProudSkin. (See previous post on Skins)

I've yet to take a photo of us with our matching netbooks side by side but believe me, I will eventually!

I do love my netbook though. Despite the fact that the motherboard crashed after seven months and it took two months for it to get repaired, I'm still very happy with it. (Thankfully it was still covered by the warranty.) And the price wasn't bad either! (Especially since we all know most netbooks are a lot cheaper than regular sized laptops.)

I know it may seem a little shallow but my netbook actually inspires me to write more. I love its portability and speed (no offense Macbook, you will always be my first love!) and that I can take it anywhere and write anywhere. It is now my main tool/outlet for creativity.

Sure the size took a little getting used to but the addition of a mouse really makes using it more comfortable because the trackpad IS a bit uncomfy.

I've also maximized the use of its smaller screen with several Firefox add-ons and by moving the task bar to the side. And at the epitome of my geekiness, I have also learned to install applications over our home network because I do not have an external DVD/CD drive for the netbook.

Sometimes I can't help but shake my head in wonder over how far technology has come. In a lot of ways, the world is getting smaller and smaller and technology has enabled us to establish many wonderful connections with family members, old friends, and loved ones. Of course technology may have its down side but I believe the benefits far outweigh the negative effects. As long as we do not lose control of ourselves to the internet and technology, we should be fine.

Then again, you're reading a blog by someone who has multiple back up methods of connecting to the internet SHOULD the main internet connection fail. Hmmm.... *Wink wink.*