Facebook Rehab

I recently decided to "take a break" from Facebook, and deactivate my account. Deactivating one's account is perfect for commitment-phobes like myself since it retains information so when I decide to return (and I'm fairly certain I will) I will still have photos, friends, etc.

So yet again, I have begun the Facebook detox cycle. First, I became frustrated/disillusioned/bored/accomplished the highest level of my game-of-the-week and felt it would be a good time to detach myself from Facebook and spend my time more...intelligently.

Step 1: I deactivated my account on Sunday evening. I know myself well enough to realize this is likely a phase, so deleting my account would be obnoxious. Simply deactivating the account made more sense. I chose not to post a "warning" to friends since that seems melodramatic and narcissistic.

Step 2: Life without Facebook requires some adjustment.

1 hour Facebook-free: I just opened up my web browser and had to stop myself from automatically going to Facebook.

3 hours FF: I am ready for bed, and only feel slightly tempted to check the site.

12 hours FF: To make it easier to *not* log back in and reactivate my computer, I don't start my computer until later in the morning - and then I am making a conscious effort to focus solely on my email.

Throughout the day, I find myself thinking in "status update" mode...basically, what I would post to Twitter if I had access.

24 hours FF: My mother relays a message that someone thinks I have unfriended her. That was how my mother found out I was "off Facebook."

26 hours FF: Apparently feeling some sort of need to communicate with the outside world, I take to Twitter and tweet three times in an hour. It is the first time I have been on that site in about a month.

38 hours FF: I find myself wondering about the "need" to be on Facebook: like the page I was co-admin for, getting addresses, communicating to family about an upcoming gathering. Yet, I still feel I need to stay off the network.

43 hours FF: My mother asks, "Are you back on yet?!" She posts updates daily...and usually more than one.

47 hours FF: I have weeded through and "read" all of my email in my Gmail inbox. I still need to go through the "Promotions" box, and could clean up the "Social" section, but I've spent a big chunk of time on that today.

48 hours FF: Blogging for the first time in five months!

I'm curious to see how long I can go without logging on to Facebook, and if I do log on, can I limit the frequency and usage of it? We'll see what the next few days have in store.

Photographic Peace

Over the last couple months, I've been volunteering with the local high school softball program, working a bit, and trying not to get frustrated with Facebook.  Now that the regular softball season has come to a close and I am in a lull for work, it is time for me to focus more on employment, health and beef cattle. As I head into this transition phase, I've pulled out the camera and snapped pictures of the spring landscape.

Tonight, as I posted photos to Facebook, I realized that what I enjoy so much about photography is trying to capture more than just the object in a picture. When I do a portrait of a bearded iris, the purpose is more than recording the looks of the flower for posterity. It's gratifying to look at a photo and experience a feeling that is nearly inexplicable. I don't know if a photo affects others the way it affects me, but it the passion fueling the creativity is enough to make me continue to do it.