Twitterholics Anonymous

My name is Michelle and I'm a Twitterholic.

A couple of years ago I found Twitter and blogged about my love of it. I was torn between my need to 'share' and my husband's total lack of understanding of why I was doing it. I said, 'I will not be forsaking Twitter. I will continue to tweet because it makes me feel good and in feeling good I am a better wife, mother and person. I'll just keep it fairly low key for now until we're back at work and then BAM! I'll be tweeting insanely all day long! My followers won't know what's hit them.'

I lied.

The pressure of work, the business of being a mum and a wife, all contributed to Twitter being pushed aside and for a while I forgot how dependent I'd become on it for information, entertainment and affirmation. For a YEAR and a HALF I went cold turkey.

Most people would say, 'So what?' and to be honest with you, at first it didn't seem like such a big deal. I still had Facebook. I watched BBC Breakfast news. I surfed the internet and bought the 'i'. But gradually I came to realise that without Twitter I was out of touch and ill-informed. Whereas before I was genned-up on all the latest developments in technology and what was happening of interest around the world and what people's take on the news was, suddenly I felt like I was the last to know. Twitter Sing-ups took place, there were births, deaths and marriages and I just plodded along oblivious of it all until it was reported on TV or in the paper.

It was like living in the days before email. Remember when you had use a post box and send letters and wait a day before it arrived and then wait another day or two for a reply. Information took time to reach you and I felt the same without Twitter. The TV news reported what had happened but I came to realise that through Twitter I could find out about things as they were happening. Items of news which were of interest to me might not make it to the mainstream broadcast and I'd miss them completely or have to make an effort to find out what was happening by searching for it.

My return to Twitter was not an easy one. I was worried about what I might find there; a bit like leaving your house unattended for a year and finding that squatters have moved in, your neighbours have moved out and your garden's a meadow. I wasn't convinced that I'd be able to just pick up where I left off but luckily for me: I was! Now it's like I never left but now I'm more addicted than ever before.

I follow more people, comment more, click on more links... Yet again, Twitter has taken over my life but I'm embracing that. The feeling of being involved in things and being on the cutting edge of information is worth it! I feel more creative - I follow creative thinkers who inspire me to use my imagination and creativity. Hence the blogging.

Thank you Twitter and all the people whom I follow and who follow me. I promise not to forsake you again. Maybe.

The iPhone Dilemma

I've got a 25-minute blogging window. Husband is in the cellar playing ice hockey on the Xbox. (The cellar has been properly converted into a playroom, it's not like some dark dungeon that I banish him to to do his gaming!) Son #1 is with his dad playing on the Guitar Hero drumkit and talking his dad's ears off. Son #2 is asleep. (He's what the Baby Whisperer would call an 'Angel baby'.) So I have a little bit of bloggin time before I have to drag my boys to church.

So, I have a dilemma. As I mentioned at the end of my previous post, my son (age 3) likes to play on my iPhone. I've downloaded a few apps that are aimed at toddlers and he loves them. Some of them are quite educational too. But now he's progressed onto my other apps. Pocket God. Tiger Woods Golf. Cooking Mama. Koi Pond. He loves them all. I've also got a few movies on my phone for him. But now I'm wondering if we should just buy him his own iPod Touch. His dad thinks we should but I'm worried that we'll look like bad parents. He's 3, for God's sake! It would solve a lot of problems but part of my jsut balks at the idea of my child having such a major piece of technology at such a young age. I can hear parents saying, "What's wrong with playing I Spy." "Why doesn't she just give him some good old-fashioned paper and a pen and let him go wild with his creative genius?" "How sad it is that that little boy is playing on an iPod instead of being out playing football."

The last statement would be unfair. Son #1 LOVES being out in the garden running around and playing. He'd always choose a kickaround in the park over sitting playing TW Golf. But what about those rainy days (of which there are far too many at the moment) when he's played with his Play-doh, his Thomas trains, his Playmobil pirate ship etc. and just wants to play on my iPhone for a while?

My decision is made. When I get back from church I'm going on eBay and I'm going to find an iPod Touch and liberate my iPhone from sticky fingers and the inevitable 'drop and smash' moment.

Thanks for listening.
Much Love!

Brand new day - brand new blog

I'm already feeling beset by writer's block! It feels odd to commit to committing my thoughts on screen in this way but I've been inspired to blog by one of my students and I don't want to let her down. Come to think of it - surely I should be the one inspiring her?! But I guess that's the way of the world these days: everything gets turned on its head somehow.

So, what will I blog about? Well, the title I've chosen suggests that I intend to blog about absolutely anything and everything, I suppose. I have lots of opinions, I do lots of soul-searching and hypothesising, I think deeply and I care about stuff so I guess my blog will reflect all this. Even if it doesn't serve to entertain/amuse/inform/challenge/inspire followers it might at least help me get stuff sorted in my head!

I'm going to have to leave this first entry there because my youngest son is likely to wake up any minute wanting to be fed and my eldest son (who is currently playing on my iPhone - more about this state of affairs later) is desperate for me to 'play Play-Doh'.

Much love!