I have to start this out by stating I am not a racist. Never have been and can only hope I never will be. So, now that I put that out there...

Having free time during the day has exposed me to a lot of different things. For the past 22 years I was at my desk job using my stapler, then my stapler remover, then re-stapling the staple I just removed, calling my friends and using The Google to look up interesting factoids. Ok, that's not entirely true. I did work when I had a job. And most days I worked hard. So the fact that I am now roaming the streets during daylight hours has opened my ears to a whole new experience. 

I start my day with a walk on the lakefront. I'll be out there anywhere from an hour to 2 hours heading from Museum Park and walking north. And, I never wear headphones. I think the sounds of the city are fascinating and meant to be heard so I never understood why people want to block that noise with boom boom music. Plus, if you aren't wearing headphones you are open to lost tourists looking for directions to the Shed Aquarium or the nearest Corner Bakery. And, I must be an approachable person because at least 3 times a week I'm helping people find their way.

On my walk yesterday I not only gave directions, but also got an earful of language from 3 grown men heading south on their bikes. From about a block away I could hear them talking not to each other but AT each other.  The language was a little fuzzy but as they rode closer, the words became more clear. I'm not sure of the subject matter but it seemed like they were talking about installing a sound system. Now,  think I could probably hold my own in a conversation about aligning the colored wires with the colors in the back of the stereo. And I know I could do that without swearing once. The conversation coming out of these guys was really fast and very passionate. I couldn't understand everything they said but what I picked up went something like this "that lil' bitch put the mu-fukn' red one into the wrong mu-fukn' hole 'n shit an now ain't no sound comin' out...shit".  But, lucky for me, I was recently exposed to this dialect when I watched "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" last week. When those classy ladies get on a roll, they talk as fast and swear equally as much. I have to hand it to Bravo because they added subtitles for the dialogue on the show so the audience could follow along. It sure would be nice if there was a similar machine we could hook up to those bikes. Perhaps if I could read what the problem was I may be able to help. And then maybe they wouldn't feel the need to yell so loudly and swear so much. 

Later in the day I hopped on the Green Line to meet a friend for lunch. I haven't had much of an occasion to get on the trains during the day because, as stated above, I used to work and play with my stapler, etc. But I needed to get to lunch on time and the Green Line coming from the Southside was how I could reach my destination. 

I jumped on at Roosevelt Road and no sooner had I sat down when I heard almost the same conversation as the guys on the bikes. I took a quick look and saw a a couple of different guys screaming about something and using same words "mu-fukn' n' shit and lil' bitch".  It was uncanny. Those are the only words I could make out in the 9 minute ride I had on the train. And I have to wonder if we don't understand their English, do they understand ours? I mean the recording on the train that tells riders what stop is next is in the King's English so how do these guys know when to get off? Or do they just ride until they're tired of riding? I think maybe the CTA should follow Bravo's lead and add subtitles on the trains so everyone knows when they're stop is coming up. They could keep the English audio and add a scrollbar to interpret. So, the audio would remain "next stop, Clinton; doors open on the right at Clinton".  And, the scrollbar would read "this mu-fukn' Clinton n' shit so if this you, get off the train ya lil' bitch". 

Or, maybe I should start wearing headphones.

Today's EiPod: "In the Ghetto", Elvis Presley

I finally conceded to the masses this week and joined Facebook. Over the last year, friends have been trying to get me to join it because it's so much fun and you can see pictures of your friends and their kids and pets and blah blah blah. Yes, I was a naysayer to put it mildly. Even though I wasn't a subscriber, I'd been receiving e-mails requesting me to be someone's "friend".  My typical reply would be that I thought we were already friends so why do we need a website to solidify it. So, not only was I a naysayer, but I was a bit crotchety when it got right down to it.

The thing is, I have wonderful friends. If I was told I could choose anybody in the whole world to be friends with, I'd pick the same ones I have, no question. So, through the years I've had successful relationships because of what I call Face-to-Face Book. It's important that I spend time with everybody, both one-on-one and in groups. And, if you ask me, I think it's pretty easy to be friends with me. I like to think I have a reasonable set of  criteria for friendship; be kind, have a good sense of humor, and drink well with others. How hard can that be? So, I just didn't see any reason to join Facebook...until now. 

I am networking and in this month's Chicago Magazine there was an article about how people in my age group need to rethink how we network. It discussed how important the on-line sources are; LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. I'm on LinkedIn and it's been helpful getting in touch with former colleagues. I know enough about Twitter that you're allowed around 140 characters to get your message across. Well, there are many days I am a woman of few words but when it comes to writing, I can be a bit verbose. The only message I could think of to Tweet and not run over the character limit would read "WILL WORK FOR WINE". Then I thought of the type of job responses I may get and remembered that I prefer work vertically. Well,  that left me with Facebook so I started the journey on Sunday. And, I must say, it's been interesting. 

In the past 2 days I've added 30 friends; some I see regularly and others I haven't seen in 25 years. Lots of old college friends have turned up that I haven't talked to since 1984. We went to a small school in Iowa and many people have landed all over the world chasing their dreams and living a good life.  I found the whole Facebook world fascinating that one person connects with you and they tell two friends and so on and so on.  They even let your friends make recommendations for who should be your friend. And there's some kind of instant chat, a notification message button and e-mail. At one point, they were all were going off at once. And that's because I have a couple of smart-ass friends who knew I was new to this so they were trying to drive me crazy...and it worked. But yesterday alone, I was talking to Hawaii and NYC at the same time plus I had a threesome chat with a husband and wife and not one bit of that was illegal or dirty. 

So, now I'm sold on this whole Facebook concept. It's opened up a whole new world for me and I'm ready for it. It still makes me feel vulnerable but I think once I learn all the tools, it will serve its purpose. Those I've been in touch with know I'm looking for a job so the networking aspect is in play. The pictures are another story altogether. I've been "tagged" on some photos from the early '80s. Not particularly flattering but that's what I looked like back then. And, I get that it's funny to embarrass people by posting pictures on the Internet without their permission for the world to see. I just have to say now that I'm on, I can't wait to dig through my arsenal of pictures to see who I can "tag". But before I do that, I need someone to tell me what that means and how to do it.  This could be a fun game.  

Today's EiPod: "Waiting For My Real Life to Begin", Colin Hay