Dad Things (And Other Interesting Things) - Issue #8
Dad Things (And Other Interesting Things) - Issue #8
Hey everyone,
I've got some news.
First, I quit Instagram. I posted it on my IG story, but I know not everyone might have caught it. My feelings towards Facebook aside, Instagram has been increasingly sucking my time and distracting me from other, more important things. I mean, that's its job, right? To get me to look at things, and throw ads in my face. I'd rather spend my time being present with my family and productive with work. I've been wanting to quit for awhile, but something pushed me to finally do it.
I've been asked a handful of times if I'd be willing to part with my Instagram handle for a price. At first, I scoffed. This is my username I've had for years, sorry you were late to the game. But a few weeks ago, someone came along again and offered to pay me for my handle. I'd been contemplating quitting Instagram for a few weeks, and this guy finally got me to do it. So for an amount of money that was more than $100, but less than $500, I let him takeover my handle. I quit Instagram and got some money out of it. Not bad, right?
After a week, some quick observations: I've noticed I'm not instinctively going to the app or site. It was such a reaction to launch the app whenever I wasn't doing anything. There are a ton of other things I do now, like check email or Twitter, but it is one less thing to check.
I also find myself being more proactive with my friendships. Instagram, and Facebook, are great for passively keeping up with friends and family. Everyone posts what they're doing and you just sit and watch. It's great, or at least it was, until people started posting conspiracy theories, much like how Facebook devolved. I now find myself reaching out to friends since they no longer have a way to see what I'm up to. And guess what? That's what it was like before social media. We'd text, and even further back, we'd call each other just to catch up on what we've been up to. Sounds prehistoric doesn't it? Overall, I'm glad I deleted Instagram. I'm not about to push others to do it. I see the value of it, but I'm really enjoying this post IG life.
Second piece of news, and it's pretty substantial, my family are now residents of Southern California. After living in the Bay Area for many years, 8 years for myself and almost 12 years for my wife, we have moved back to Orange County. Laguna Beach to be exact. I what it sounds like, but we're not in THAT part of Laguna Beach. We are right on the border of Laguna Beach and Aliso Viejo, which is really nice since we aren't in the touristy part of Laguna, but we are still in their school district.
It still feels weird. We never thought we'd live here again, or at least not for years, but here we are. We are still getting used to being here but we are eternally grateful that the universe lined up the way it did and allowed us to be closer to our friends and family.
We hope to see everyone soon (after everyone starts wearing their damn masks consistently (not you, dear reader of course) and this COVID thing goes away).
Link
I only want to link to one thing on this issue's newsletter, and it's this week's episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. A LOT has happened in 2020 but we cannot forget what happened to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless others this year and beyond. One of the things we as a nation have to understand and get past is the history of racism and white supremacy in this country. It is our original sin. I'm a more recent fan and viewer of this show but this episode of LWT easily ranks as top two in my opinion.