Tales from Meetup

My experience with Meetup.com – AKA: the adventures of being ostracized in a public gathering.

First, a little bit of back story… Meetup.com is a site where people in a certain spot on this vast planet can decide to make a virtual group – usually themed – which allows any other person in the area to join up. Once a group has formed, this themed group of humans makes plans to meet in person. Thus, the premise being, that you get to meet people with similar interests, and you get to do something you enjoy in the process.

I had first heard of group meet ups from my lovely friends Kim and Edicson, both of whom had moved to a new area, didn’t know that many people, then ended up having some pretty good success in making local friends. Similarly, Luuk used meetup.com and was able to hangout with people all the way in the Netherlands, by joining a themeless group of meetup.com people.

So, last summer I decided to try and meet some people. I’d follow the formula that seemed to be working for my comrades:

Sounded simple enough. It had fewer steps than making a frozen pizza. I thought I had this one in the bag; if there were an election for person-who-could-make-most-best-friends I would have been president. Or at the very least…prime minister.

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THE SUPERMAN EFFECT

Alright, so I’m sure I’m not the first person that this has happened  to, but I thought I’d rant about it anyway.

Actually, this is going to be a two part rant. Part 1 is about my lack of eyesight abilities, part 2 about the superman effect.

PART 1 – I CAN’T SEE

As a kid, I don’t remember gradually losing my eye sight… even though it probably was gradual. According to my memory, it happened in the matter of a week.

First I recall my teacher coming up to me and asking me if I was having a lot of trouble looking at the board, cause apparently I was squinting my eyes. Then in my phys. ed. class the following day we had like some eye vision test thing. It wasn’t random, they did it every year, but this year they sent me home with a note. Then I remember my dad driving me to the optometrist and telling me that I needed glasses.

Now, my dad has worn glasses since the beginning of dad history. So, it was explained to me that crap eyesight was passed down to me by the biological miracle that is genetics. So, I was kind of always destined to wear glasses. At some point, one way or another, my vision would start to deteriorate, and I’d have to get glasses. There’s no way to out run fate kids…especially when you can’t see where you’re going.

After the eye exam, I waited patiently with my dad in this museum of glasses. They came in all shapes, sizes, colors, it was crazy overwhelming. I have always been very indecisive, so my dad helped pick out my first pair. They were this kind of light brown, very circular shaped, pair of glasses. I was excited to try them on.

Okay, so here’s the thing. Before I got glasses, I had no idea that I had crooked ears. SURPRISE – I know now.

Even worse, because I had never had glasses before, I wasn’t used to having to keep tabs on their location all the time.  So one day I accidentally sat on them…and made them even more crooked.

Yeah. I had to go to school looking like that.

These glasses weren’t doing me any favors man, my nerd factor just exponentially skyrocketed.  Silver-lining – I could see with crystal clarity the looks of pity on the faces of my peers.

It’s the little things in life…

Anyway, as my eyes slowly started to decompose in my skull, my eye sight started getting progressively worse. I’d go back and get new pairs of glasses over the course of my life. Here’s a quick recap of the pairs I’ve owned:

I guess I was never really into loud or bright colors. Also, I didn’t discover contact lenses until I was like…17, so until then I had to always choose colors that would match the majority of my wardrobe.

These days glasses are cool and hip. I see kids running around with frames that don’t even have lenses. ARE YOU MOCKING ME CHILDREN? Why couldn’t glasses have been cool when I was growing up?

Anyway, I complain some more about being blind in one of my previous posts.  But what I really want to get to, is part 2 of this post, because I’ve got some rants to unleash.

PART 2: SUPERMAN EFFECT

I think I’ve had this conversation with a couple of people who wear glasses before. It’s the Superman effect.

Okay so everyone knows (the audience) that Superman is Clark Kent; but no one in Metropolis would ever be able to finish that puzzle. Makes you wonder, like, they could have done anything to Superman – ANYTHING – and these Metropolites would totally buy it.

The thing is that, in the real world, this happens all the time.

On several different occasions, I have introduced myself to someone without my glasses and if I ran into them again with my glasses they would re-introduce themselves to me.

The other thing that happens to me is that people will call me another name. I’ll show up to class one day with my glasses off, the professor calls me by my given name, no problems. I show up the next day with my glasses on, suddenly I’m “Melissa.”

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THE GALAXIES IN THIS UNIVERSE, WHY AM I ALWAYS MELISSA? SERIOUSLY. Was there a memo that went out about how if you forget my name the automatic default is Melissa? Where did you even come up with that! Is everyone in on this? People who have never met each other, that I have met separately, have mistakenly called me Melissa.

YEAH I MAY LOOK DIFFERENT, CAUSE THERE’S AN OBJECT SITTING ON MY FACE – BUT NOT THAT DAMN DIFFERENT.

What is it about my glasses that makes people think I’m a completely different person?

I’ve heard of the Doorway Effect, where when you walk through a doorway you subconsciously forget about whatever it was that you were doing. Maybe glasses are the same way. Maybe when I put on my glasses, its like a reverse doorway effect – people who see me subconsciously forget who I am. My glasses open a realm of random forgetfulness.

The reverse doorway effect wipes away my identity when the glasses situate themselves on my face. To outsiders who may have known me, their memory of me becomes erased. This has to be the reason why people don’t recognize me…IT HAS TO BE.

What do you guys think about all this? Can you relate to any of it? Or is this just something I’m cursed with… TELL ME I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE.

15% of Adults are offline, bunch of hipsters

A new estimate reports that 15% of Americans, ages 18 and older, are “offline.” As in, no internets.

According to an article on Pew Internet, there are several reasons why these adults choose not to use the internet. There’s a whole list of reasons, ranging from not having a computer at all, to thinking its a waste of time. But the biggest reason that people don’t use the internet, “Just Not Interested.”

Dang. Shot down like a bad date.

But, the thing that I really didn’t understand was the statistic: 14% of these adults had used the internet (at least once) and decided to stop.

This got me thinking. What kind of circumstances would have to happen for me to never use the internet again? 

Scenario 1: If I lost access to the internet.

Let’s say that I could no longer afford to pay for the internet, or my computer exploded, or both. I still foresee myself going to the local library or my university library and hogging a computer for as many hours as  I need. So, nope, I still use the internet in this case.

Scenario 2: If I were stranded on a deserted island.

I’d be fucked. I have completely forgotten all the survival skills I learned in the Girl Scouts. Wait, did we learn those? Yeah, I’m super fucked. So, this would probably be the only scenario – that I can come up with – where I would be forced to stop using the internet.

But, if I survived, you know what I’d want to do when I came back in contact with civilization? Blog about it.

Scenario 3: If I died. 

Yes, being dead stops me from using a lot of things.

The problem with all 3 of these scenarios is that I can’t control them. Maybe I can try to work more to save money to buy a new computer or resume payments to my internet provider. But all of these situations were against my will. I can’t see myself willingly giving up the internet.

On a global scale, there’s a crazy number of people who don’t even have access to the internet. But if they were introduced to it, I wonder how many would chose to stop. Would it still be 14%?

I mean, I’m old enough to remember what it was like growing up without the internet. I still had fun. I may not be a fan of social media, but I mean, I have to admit I was excited to create my first email account. Even with youtube and Netflix feeding me all sorts of entertainment, I know it wouldn’t be impossible for me to go back to exclusively reading books/graphic novels/comics. I could do it. I just…choose the internet.

So, my friends, now I am curious…What kind of circumstances would have to happen for YOU to never use the internet again? 

 

 

 

 

 

            

One Lovely Blog Award!

So, I can’t even believe I’m saying this…but…I was nominated for an award.

I’m not making this shit up. Blame Michael Chaney. He did it.

So those of you who don’t know Michael, he’s got seven facts of his own over at his blog. He’s pretty cool too, he writes things that you should read. Thought provoking things. Next level shit. So, I would re-nominate him, but I don’t think that’s how this thing works.

Oh, but it gets better, there are some pass along rules associated with this pink, glorious jpeg!

“The One Lovely Blog Award requires that I give seven facts about myself and nominate another five recipients.”

So, here’s seven things about Super Saiyan M…

1. Guild Wars. I played it the most consistently and vigorously than any other game in my life. It’s also the first MMORPG I was introduced to.  I’ve actually made several friends through the game, I’ve met two of them in person.

2. I lived overseas for 11 years. I have been to 27 countries, but only 3 states. I wish to continue to travel; I have more places in mind! My dream is to end up in a cool big city for a while, with like coffee shops everywhere (not Starbucks, I’m talking hipster shit).

3. My biggest pet peeve is people being on their smart phones. I’d be more specific but really I think you know what I mean… When the person you are having a conversation with hasn’t looked up from their phone screen. The guy who bumps into you because he was on his phone. The person who interrupts you mid-sentence to show you a vine video…or a facebook status…or a tweet. Come on people, why do you do that??? Seriously.

4. The most liberating thing I have ever experienced, was losing my phone. I was no longer in charge of anything, I had an excuse for everything. And everyone  had zero expectations for me showing up or responding to anything. It was glorious. However, after this happened a second, third and fourth time, I have to say this feeling was quickly replaced with more darker emotions.

5. I have been reading comic books since I was a wee child (any Psylocke fans?), I collected trading cards, and I watched anything with superheros on television. I’ve been pretty obsessed with super hero and comic culture for the majority of my life.

6. Scent is like my favorite sense. I get it, hearing is cool and seeing is like super important. But smelling is where its at. The smell of food gets me every time. I have purchased more perfumes than I’d like to admit. Every gift I give to one of my girl friends is usually scented. I can identify every bath gel, shampoo or conditioner that I own by its scent. Since being in nursing school I’ve spent a shit ton of money on scented antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers. I crave certain smells, which is why I have a lot of candles as well. I also am keen on what my friends smell like. This may sound creepy, but its how I operate.  Equally strange, I suppose, is that I can block or minimize other scents. It’s a weird super power to have. The worst is when I have allergies (which happens far too often) and I can’t smell anything at all.

7.  I’m a bear. Evidence:

Ferocious clawing action going on! Hide yer kids, hide yer food!

Now, the nominations, cause I got to select la crème de la crème of wordpress writers…that I am subscribed to.

1. Miami Transit Rider: If you know Miami, then you know bad driving. If you know Miami driving , then you know frustration. But, if you take the public transportation in Miami, then you are Daniela. And I suggest reading along for a ride that you will surely be able to relate to. Her rants are awesome.

2. The Global Citizens Blog: I’m not sure if this kind of blog counts, but I’mma nominate it anyway. It’s a really interesting blog to follow, each post is by a different student who is partaking in the Victoria Overseas Exchange (Vic OE) exchange student program. I love reading about what each person is doing, their new experiences and what they’re learning along the way.

3. Keep Culture Weird; I like Dave’s posts. I’d say more, but really you should read it, cause its hard to sum up all of them. Several, several guest posts made on the blog are by his students, all good fun reading.

4. zi0otography: I’m obsessed with the photography that’s posted on this blog. It’s beautifully captured and captivating. :D Also there are pictures of the Netherlands right now, because I guess the photographer is passing through.

5. Museums Reviewed: This is the shit. It’s literally posts about museums – which are basically my favorite thing. A Polish guy in the Netherlands guides you through the good ones, the bad ones, all of them really. It’s the fucking best. I’m not sure why you’re still reading this…you should have clicked the link and investigated by now.

6. SaSa Stories: Sarah is studying marine biology in Groningen, cause she’s a bad ass. I love reading about her adventures, she is so adorable it hurts. Her blog still seems relatively new. But I’m not judging…I’ve only had this blog for a month lol.

7. Blogging Robin:  I have to support my fellow nursing students! Cassandra is a Canadian nursing student who I can closely relate to. She also feels that shopping is a disease… Once again, this is more of a new comer to the wordpress world.

My work here is done.