Internet At Home.

I now have Internet access at home and another computer to replace the one which I left in San Francisco so I returned here to see whether this account was still here. 

I really want to find other blogs written by people with the same interests.

I remember a character in a movie saying that she really felt that co-workers filled the role that family once did.  She had a motive for saying so since she had no family to introduce her fiance to.  Yet we now spend more of our waking hours with our co-workers than we do with our families because we can go for months and years without seeing those who share our genes, even while we and they are alive.

I Wish I Had More Internet Time.

I feel a little strange admitting this since I prefer to deal with people face to face, but I am starting to wish that I had more time to be on the Internet.  It appears that the only way to learn about in-person meetups is on the Internet. 

I do not have Internet at home and have not since giving away a computer before moving from San Francisco to Orlando.  Well, it was an older computer, but one I would have gladly kept had we not been moving across the country.  It was not cost-effective to ship it due to how heavy it was compared to the little things that are the norm today.

I am old enough that a computer took up an entire room when I was a little girl.

Bowling Alone

I am not sure how to find like-minded people since a search of blogs did not show an immediate connection, but I am determined to do so.  I just have to find the right key words.

I remember reading a book called "Bowling Alone" about the loss of civic participation in this country so I am not the only one who has noticed it.  That book got a lot of media coverage as I recall. 

Theme Parks As Downtowns Inc.

I work in a theme park and, while I do find it a little disconcerting that hospitality is an industry instead of something which we show to our friends, I am wondering if the theme parks don't serve a certain desire for the Main-Street-style community that I am sure I am not alone in longing for.  Has anyone else gotten this sense, or would talking about this with me just give you a headache?

Universal Studios and Sea World etc. don't have the Main Street Disney feel to them, but people still pay dearly to enter them instead of going to a public park.  Public parks were a good idea, but most are too large with too much isolation.  I sure wish that we could have more urban parks that allowed people to be seen by passersby whom were going about their normal business.  I suspect that a majority percentage of all large urban parks go completely unused by a fearful public. 

Hostess For Hospitality.

I attended an open house for prospective students at the Rosen College of Hospitality last week.  I really enjoyed it and believe that I would enjoy attending the school.  However, I was a little saddened as well.  I find it rather sad that hospitality is an industry instead of something we show our friends.

Do Automobiles Destroy Community?

I have been reading a book by James Kunstler entitled "The Geography of Nowhere," in which he says that cars destroy community.  Even though I have a driver's license and used to have a car, I am inclined to agree.  I notice that people who live in the most pedestrian-friendly communities know each other the best.  I sure would like to know how many people agree with James's view.

Where Is Your "Third Place"?

I hear all of the time about the need for "third places," meaning a place other than one's home or workplace.  If you are reading this I would like to know, what is your third place?  I am doing a survey among all I meet anywhere.

Is Online The New Main Street?

I know that it is pretty common knowledge that people don't have the sense of community that most believe that we once did.  Are we just nostalgic for the way we NEVER were?  Shopping malls have tried to be the community gathering place.  That does create a little problem in that we are then in the position of either shopping or trespassing.  Hmmm....

I think maybe online is the new Main Street considering how many people ignore those around them in a coffee shop or other traditional neighborhood place to play on a computer or other electronic gadget.  Is the Internet the new neighborhood?

Mary, Homeless Wth An Address: I Am Homeless With An Address.

Mary, Homeless Wth An Address: I Am Homeless With An Address.: I realize that my current situation is very different from the homelessness which I experienced in the 1980's as the wife of an alcoholic wh...

I Am Homeless With An Address.

I realize that my current situation is very different from the homelessness which I experienced in the 1980's as the wife of an alcoholic who could not, or at least would not, think beyond his next drink.  However, I am wondering whether others out there feel the same way I do.  I work and pay rent but feel like I really don't have a home. 

Part of this is simply being new to Orlando after living in San Francisco for 23 years in the same apartment with the same landlord until he died in September of 2010.  However, I know that returning to San Francisco would not be returning home because I would be in a different neighborhood where I would know my way around perhaps no better than I know my way around Orlando. 

I am wondering how many people are homeless while paying for the dwellings they occupy in our ever-more mobile society.