Friday, January 28, 2011

Lament of the Reluctant Computer Sharer

Sharing a computer with four other people is not all it's cracked up to be.

Now that I've written that, I'm thinking that I never really purported it to be a positive experience anyway, so I don't know what it was I was expecting. Every session on this family computer feels timed, with one or more people breathing down my neck, desperate for a turn.

And during this dark period of computer "sharing" I've learned a few new things. (When is this ever not the case?)

*There is only so much one can do on an iPod Touch. Sure, I can check Facebook, post an update to Twitter, listen to music, and even read a book, but I can't watch Flash videos, easily follow long threads on message boards, or enjoy Grooveshark. I didn't even attempt to post on here. These are just fine details, and for the most part, I can look past them. But after a few days, I was going through a withdrawal of sorts.

*Having the computer almost entirely in the hands of my daughters, has meant that I've been exposed to nearly every K-pop band (that's Korean Pop for the uninitiated) in existence. And guess what? I think I've gotten the bug. It was only a matter of time. I think They purposely conditioned me in this respect. I even caught my husband listening last night. Are we that malleable? Apparently, we are.

*I'm an over-achiever of the worst variety. When everyone else in the world is content with making just one New Year's Resolution, I've given myself FIVE. The problem is that I haven't developed the "stick-to-it-tiveness" required to make it all happen. I think I allow myself too many concessions. Well, there's that, and the fact that as I looked over my list, I just realized the other day that I really couldn't care less if I achieved most of them. My list is so vanilla. Had I written it today, it would look quite different I'm sure. Perhaps if I had had unfettered access to the computer, I would have come up with a mind-blowingly great list, what with all of the awesome suggestions out there, readily available at the click of the mouse! But seriously, my only real resolution is to lose weight and get fit, as dull and overdone as that is. And this brings me to my next and final point...

*Losing weight and getting fit at 38 is way tougher than it was at 25 or even 30. I feel like my metabolism has taken a major hit. I'm not suggesting here that achieving my goal weight and fitness level is a pipedream, only that it seems to be much tougher this time around. A few years ago, when I followed a vegan diet, and led a moderately active lifestyle, I lost about 36 lbs in about three months' time. I haven't made the switch back to veganism, but perhaps I should. Aside from the weight loss I experienced, while staying free of animal products, I also felt better than I had in years.

Okay, so this last realization wasn't directly related to my lack of access to the computer, but I thought it was relevant anyway, considering the above mentioning of resolutions.

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Now back to hitting the books.

Edited to add a video of my daughters' favorite Korean boy band, B2ST--pronounced "Beast." They insisted. They're very sweet boys, and talented dancers. Um, yeah, my daughters even got me watching their Korean MTV reality show. I infinitely prefer they listen to them than to some other teen artists that shall remain nameless. ;)