Under the Facebook Spell

"Confessions of a Facebook Bejeweled junkie Or how to spend time on useless pursuits"

Back in the day, about 6 or so years ago, I installed a "purchased from a retail store" version of Bejeweled. I had played it online when I needed a distraction from work (since I was ever so busy) but the online games are just a big tease. They let you play a few times on a trial basis but then they want you to purchase it. So, I did but not from an online source. I was then able to install it on mine and a coworkers' computer as well as the one at home. I was hooked. I played it alot and got excited with each new level. But after a period of time, I lost interest. My main hobby is genealogy and it requires a considerable amount of time on the computer but when you hit brick walls and it gets frustrating, you temporarily move on to other things. (We won't even talk about my secret addiction to spider solitaire). So, recently I joined Linkedin which is a good professional contact/networking site and then very reluctantly joined Facebook. I once had a Myspace account but got really bored with that. I did not want to take the time to set up my profile and it seemed a bit cumbersome. In addition to that I found out that someone was trying to use my hotmail account as their myspace name. A couple of years went by and along came Facebook which I discovered already had a ton of people I knew in the FB community. So I took the plunge. Well, checking the daily posts from my group of friends and reading emails got to be a bit boring so I looked around to see what kind of games were out there. I saw that some of my friends were on Farmville, alot, and some were on Yoville, alot, and some were on Mafia Wars, alot. Since those activities didn't interest me and I had already spent time taking about 20 totally useless quizzes, I found a 1 minute bejeweled that kept track of your score as well as your friends. Now, let's consider this for a minute. My husband is in bed pretty early 2 nights a week, works the night shift 2 nights a week and sleeps during the day during 3 of the 7 days of the week. My son is in school, the house is clean and totally organized, the laundry is done, it's raining outside or at least very cold and I don't watch soaps or game shows. I spent my alotted amount of time working out, I read the books that I checked out from the library and I am at a standstill on my current family tree search. So, here is where the Facebook game and quiz people prey on the bored and vulnerable. They put out the hook, wait for you to bite, then start reeling you in. It becomes a challenge to try to get that high score in just a minute. That isn't much time but it also makes it so it's not much time to click on "begin again" and keep trying. Over and over again. I don't know what games may be lurking on Twitter or Myspace and I really don't want to find out however, I do know that it is easy to get hooked on one of the Facebook games. My weakness is Bejeweled but my friends are on Farmville, Yoville, Mafia Wars, etc. DURING WORKING HOURS and sometimes after work. Judging from the amount of time that they spend on those apps, I can see that they really enjoy doing it but have to wonder if they are as out of control addicted as I am. Some of them, in addition to the Facebook apps, play Worlds of Warcraft online AND manage to fit in scrapbooking and other hobbies. Perhaps an intervention is in order. I can just see someone saying that playing bejeweled or selling produce on farmville is very "Therapeutic". Honestly, I only click on the red squares to improve my dexterity. No, really. It is therapeutic and is increasing my ability to use the mouse so much faster than I had previously. Yeah, that's it. And why is my wrist hurting so much at 1:30 in the morning?

My most favorite Nintendo game in the past was Tetris. I am so glad that Facebook doesn't have an app for that. If they did, I would be in big trouble. Now, should I play single suit or two suited spider solitaire?

A busy month and a time to reflect, December 2009

Here we are again, on December 1st. There's shopping to do, Fawn's birthday is this month, Christmas is almost here. It is looking like busy should be the word for Decmber.

Well, I have to say what a year it's been! I had a terrific trip to England and Wales with my good friend Rhonda in March/April, then went to Oahu in June with my son and husband, and then on a cruise to Alaska in August for a week with just my husband. In the midst of all of that I was laid off from my job at the end of May. Having the time off has been huge for me. I completed numerous landscape projects, helped clear out some trees and used the wood chipper to make a great mulch for my gardens, and organized most of the interior of my house. The most signigicant benefit has been not having to stress or worry about going back to work. That alone has resulted in a more rested, relaxed, and contented me. I made homemade jam, started sewing, and started baking and cooking things that I have not attempted in the past. I spent time working out, shopping, making trips to the library, and going out to lunch with friends. I was basically doing all of the things that I normally would only have had time to do on the weekends and even then would have felt rushed. So, while the unemployment dollars are not what I was used to making, the fact is it helps and we're doing ok enough for hubby to tell me that he really doesn't want me to go back to work until after Christmas. And that is ok by me. I do still have to look every week, which I am doing, but since I'm not finding anything it does give me time to do other things. Which will bring me to my next post about how when you have the time, you can find yourself getting wrapped up in unproductive and nearly addictive computer programs. See you on the next post!