My friend Lisa is getting married tomorrow. I haven't seen Lisa for almost 20 years, but we reconnected last year via Facebook. We linked to each others' blogs and we leave comments when it's something we can say publicly but email when the conversation needs to be a little more private. Even though it's been ages since we've seen each other, I feel like she is a good friend and am all excited and thinking about her. Lisa, if you're reading this, have an outstanding day. Big hugs.
Facebook has also put me in touch with a huge number of people from both high school and college, including mutual friends that I share with Lisa. In fact, Nick, Lisa's fiance, is law partners with a guy who I was good friends with at UVa., and who is married to one of my sorority sisters with whom I am still in close contact. I discovered this connection when I was online researching DC law firms, came across Scott's law firm's website, and realized that Nick, one of the partners, was the same guy pictured on Lisa's blog in their "save the date" pictures.
Crazy small world. We are all getting together in DC in a couple of months, when Jason and Zeke and I go to DC to visit my family for Thanksgiving.
Susan, the sorority sister who is married to the guy who is law partners with Lisa's soon-to-be-husband, is part of a group of college friends that I continue to maintain contact with, largely via email (and also Christmas cards). A group of us is planning to go on a cruise next year. All of the planning has been done via email, and the reservations will be made and paid for online.
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Kathleen needed some help writing a brief that needed to be filed ASAP. We commenced finishing the brief together by emailing drafts back and forth. The legal research that I needed to do to finish certain sections was all done online.
My friend Elizabeth is currently living in Norway. We play Scrabble online via Facebook, communicate via email or Facebook message, and have video conferences via Skype.
My friend Kristin, who is also an old friend from school in India, is also good friends with Lisa, and is also on Facebook. We recently reconnected on Facebook, but now correspond regularly via email. She is writing a book, and emailed me a draft to read.
I have become cyber-friends, via this blog, with a number of wonderful people. Suz, HKW, moosie, Anne, Dawn and DCup are all people I have never met, but I nonetheless feel a connection with them. They have supported me from afar via their comments and emails, and when I could, I tried to do the same for them.
Etcetera.
I don't shop anywhere but online. I read my news online. I watch television shows online. I keep in touch with my family and friends online, through correspondence, exchanging photos, video conferencing, social networking sites, you name it. I run my businesses largely online or through email.
What blows my mind is that I've only been online for about the past 11 years or so, but now I can't even imagine how I ever lived without it.
Technology is amazing.
I'm definitely glad to have met you through your blog! Lots of laughs, enjoy hearing about your family and view on life and can relate to some of the work stress. The world seems to be getting smaller. So happy for Lisa and Nick as their wedding approaches and will be thinking of them all weekend (and hoping for sunshine in DC). Happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteI love technology, too, for all those reasons. I realize that because of your blog, I've watched Zeke grow better than I did my own nieces and nephews who lived far away. Since I'm bad about keeping up with my family, my sister reads the blog and then tells my mom what's going on (filtering, as appropriate).
ReplyDeleteThe nice thing about it, I think, the reason it works so well, is because I can be sitting in my office and read a post by you or Lisa or any of my other blog friends and feel connected. I just can't do that in person so much because of our crazy busy life.
I'm glad I've connected with you via Lisa. I'm so excited for Lisa and Nick, I can't wait to see pix!
Yay! It is awesome. I was just talking about you last night when I met another blogger for the first time. She lives here in town and we know a lot of the same people, AND her husband knows my boyfriend, so we decided it was ridiculous that we didn't hang out in real life! I told her how we went to the same law school with one overlapping year, both practiced special ed law, and were bloggers, but had never met. We marveled at this crazy wonderful internet thing!
ReplyDeleteThanks, lovey, for this. I didn't read it till now (wedding, honeymoon self-absorption). I'm so glad to have reconnected and I can't wait to see you in person at Thanksgiving. I'm reading back through your posts. I think you're in a good place right now, but I know you've got a big pile of stress on your plate. Big hugs to you. I know you will come through this fine but I also know it's so hard.
ReplyDeleteLisa, if there's ever a time for self absorption, it's when you're getting married. looking forward to seeing you and meeting Nick next month.
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