Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Blogs | Writers | Paid | My Orble | Login

ZENtertainment - by Lisa Vankula Donovan

Today, I Lisa Donovan, in a show of fairness and an effort to save my marriage, vow to throw myself under the proverbial bus. After many talks with the previously written about bat-torturing (here),directionally-challenged hubby (and here), I’ve decided my time has come.


That’s right readers. Although shockingly witty and immensely humble, I am not without my share of faults. I have had a few moments where it may have appeared that I was a complete and utter buffoon.

I must preface this by saying I now have a greater appreciation for all of those tourists who visited America, and possibly because of a language barrier or cultural difference, I may have thought to be less intelligent than they perhaps were. In other words, please cut me some slack before placing judgment.

So, first there was the time after learning “tea” meant “dinner”, when my mother-in-law invited me to “morning tea” at her work. Believing tea was a large meal, I assumed having it in the morning must mean breakfast. So I informed my mother-in-law that I had only eaten one piece of toast because I didn’t want to “ruin my appetite”. Needless to say, a packet of bikkies, five cups of tea and a few strange looks later at morning tea, I was still craving a pancakes and bacon, but learned my lesson.


Or how about the times I excitedly told my husband about the baby emu I kept seeing on our property until finally, he was able to see if for himself, and informed me it was in fact a plain turkey.

And how stupid did I feel when I told my husband about the poor, unlucky gecko with no tail that kept getting caught by our cat. I knew it was the same gecko, of course, because he was missing a tail. You see the humour in this, I didn’t. I just thought the thing had nine lives.

And how about how every time I drove past the signs that say “speed cameras used in this area”, so I would slow down. I even thought the little white sticks on the side of the road may be where they were hiding the “speeding sensors”.

So laugh if you will (in fact, that’s the point), I can take it. But don’t think I didn’t laugh my own fool head off when an Aussie friend of mine pointed out the “baby emu” that was running around on our property. At least I have an excuse.

Now that's Zentertainment...

Zen thought for the day:
“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” -Buddha


photo credit: photobucket
205
Vote
   


So, days are passing without me realizing it when it comes to Facebook. I have broken my own rule a time or two, but for good reason.

No, I no longer cruise the site like a cop in a doughnut bar, I just got on to say Congrats to my sister-in-law who just had a baby boy. Other than that I have been completely unconcerned with the goings on of good ole FB.

I have so much more time on my hands. I don't think people realize how many minutes they spend doing things. If you added up the couple of hours a day/night you spend watching television, the couple of hours spaced out over a day we may spend on Facebook (I know, maybe a lot more for some of you) we really do have a lot of time on your hands.

For some of you that time may be spent clipping your nose hairs or making sure that your DVD collection is in alphabetical order. Either way, you will have the time to do those things!

Just today, I chatted with two friends I hadn't spoken to in a while. I cleaned the back patio, did tons of laundry and de-weeded the bathtub garden. Not exactly living life in the fast lane I know, but this is stuff I enjoy and my girls can do with me. I even got my column in a day early, which hasn't happened in months. You can find that HERE.

I know it must be hard for some to understand, this addiction to Facebook. But as a stay-at-home mum you have little bits of time during the day where you can vege out, so to speak. And I'm sure most mums would agree with me that after having multiple children, you sometimes completely lose who you were and end up finding relaxation in convenient ways. T.V., the internet, soap operas; all just ways to shut down for a minute and stop having to think of a million different things at once.

I even know of some full-time workers who were on Facebook twice as much as I was, so what does that tell you? We all need that escape.

But what we have forgotten, is what the world was like as short as 20 years ago. Television was practically the only thing that could lure us away from our lives...and it did. But we didn't have the multitude of distractions available at our fingertips today.

I sometimes feel sorry for the generations born in the 80's and 90's. They are almost predestined to be addicted to the computer, iPods, iPads, iPhones, and I'm sure there are things I don't even know about. And you know what? I don't care. I have found life again...and it's the best friendship I've made in a long time.


image credit: Really Long Link
149
Vote
   


.

Well, I did it. I made it one week without Facebook, woo. And if you read that "woo" with no exclamation point, that's the way it was meant.

So woopty-do, one week without Facebook. Looking back it was waaayyy easier than quitting smoking and way harder than sorting my sock drawer -- although both Facebook and sorting my sock drawer are neck and neck for their respective importance in solving the world's problems.

I hate sounding so "anti-Facebook" when it was such a good friend to me for so long. It enabled me to get back in contact with old friends from elementary to high school, old work mates, and those random people who remember your name and request friendship and instead of saying no, you say yes so said person whom you've talked to maybe once at an old job while on the way to the shitter <breathe> won't think you're an a-hole.

But I digress.

Did you know that the 400 million or so active Facebook users spend over 500 billion minutes per month on the social networking phenomenon? If you do the math, that's approximately 8.3 million hours spent every month poking people, inviting them to join your mafia, "liking" things, and thinking up a clever status that makes others see how smart, funny, sweet, cool or indifferent you are.

But it served a purpose for me. Yes, it allowed me to reconnect with some people I otherwise may have had to hire a private detective to find, but the pricipal purpose it served for me was to make me realize that age does not always come hand in hand with maturity.

Facebook was like one big high school. You still had your cool people that everyone would comment to, your partiers that were constantly talking about "gettin' stoopid" on the weekend, your know-it-alls, your nerds...the only difference was that instead of feeling left out, adored, ashamed or worshipped in person, you did it all online.

So I suppose asking me if I miss Facebook is a little like asking me if I miss root canals...but at least root canals solve a problem.

Needless to say I am happy with my decision so far. And considering I am an American living in Australia, Facebook was one of my few ways of communicating with people back home. BUT, even as short as five years ago, I wouldn't have even had that option. So I'm picking up the phone and actually talking to people now.

And in the long run, I feel I will have gained, and it will be Facebook that has lost

image credit:
Really Long Link
171
Vote
   


Muppets - Bohemian Rhapsody

November 29th 2009 10:16
Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody


I know its a few days late for the anniversary of the death of legendary frontman of Queen, Freddie Mercury, but I like to think he would have had a great old belly laugh at this


[ Click here to read more ]
73
Vote
   


For Linda

September 25th 2009 01:03
You were life and beauty and so much more to the people whose hearts you touched with your warmth. A light that shines in the hearts of those who love you. Even now, that love doesn’t diminish with time but grows stronger. You were the soul of a beautiful family.

You are missed every day but you remain a beacon in their hearts. A mother, a daughter, a sister and friend. Your loss was a deep pain but your life a beautiful memory


[ Click here to read more ]
81
Vote
   


A move is better than a holiday

August 25th 2009 12:47
Moving to Melbourne has been so much fun. The people, the arts, the entertainment – all of them make Sydney seem superficial and boring. There was a time I loved Sydney but it’s lost its shine for me. It's becoming more and more a city of ugliness and crime and a place where people put way too much thought into what people do for a living and wearing the right designer labels.

Melbourne is more earthy, cultural and fun


[ Click here to read more ]
121
Vote
   


Smile


Some people really restore my faith in the good in people. I work in a large office block and each evening a cleaning crew comes in to make the offices all shiny and clean for the following day


[ Click here to read more ]
151
Vote
   


Funny ads - giggle for the day.

July 10th 2009 12:41
I saw these and they gave me a giggle so I thought I'd share. Just a small collection of random advertising. One from the past, one from the present and one, methinks, was either done by by someone who did not have English as their first language...or perhaps someone just added their own funny to an existing ad. Gotta love creativity!

If only they knew then how funny this would be as the years passed


[ Click here to read more ]
148
Vote
   


Helping Hands Monkeys

May 9th 2009 04:54
Helping Hands is an organisation located in Boston Massachusetts in the US that trains, and provides, Capuchin Monkeys to care for and assist the physically disabled. As well as providing their mobility-impaired owners with day to day tasks, they also give the gift of love and companionship.

Helping Hands Monkey

[ Click here to read more ]
165
Vote
   


My Awakening

May 6th 2009 11:44
I have always wanted to write fiction but writing a book seems so unbelievably unattainable. I don't have the patience nor, most likely, the talent to pull it off. Very few people have the ability to write a good novel but oh how I love to read them.

I blog, I draw and I paint to give me a bit of a creative outlet as my job is not creative in the least. Even a short story seemed quite out of reach and then I remembered reading a post by Morgan Bell some time ago titled COUNTING WORDS that described the many types of writing by the length of the piece so I dropped by again to have a look. Until I read that piece I had no understanding of the many types of writing out there that is based purely on the number of words and I thought, maybe I could do one of these


[ Click here to read more ]
109
Vote
   


Lisa Vankula Donovan's Blogs

8940 Vote(s)
66 Comment(s)
98 Post(s)
Copyright © 2012 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]