Kidisms

My daughter says some pretty funny things. I'm sure most 4 year olds do.

Today, we are sharing one of her funny conversations.

Me: Why did you mark on your nose with a marker today?

L: I forgot my face wasn't the paper!

Lazy days

Looking forward to a lazy day and scrumptious evening out to dinner. KRLD Restaraunt Week is almost over. We are going to hit one of the nicest places that participates every year. I hear the coconut cream pie is to die for. I may have said that.

The Silent Bob Connection

Kevin Smith changed my life forever.

In October of 2000 I met someone in an MSN chat room that intrigued me. Their screen name was iluvsilentbob. For those that don't know, Silent Bob is a character that appeared in most of Kevin Smith's movies. I thought anyone with that screen name had to be cool.

After I talked to this person a few times I began to realize that she was really interesting. She was into a lot of the same films that I was. Even though she was into the mushy girl films too, I overlooked that. After a week or two, I began to realize that I was going to this chat room just to look for her every day. Eventually we agreed to start speaking over the phone to make things easier.

That first phone call sent me over the top. Her silky voice attracted me in a way I had never experienced before. I had been hooked and was on my way to being reeled in.

Over the next few weeks we talked often, and eventually decided to meet for a date. When I met her in person for the first time it was like I was a teenager all over again. Sweaty palms and shaky legs, however, couldn't keep me away.

That night we sat through what I consider one of the worst movies of my time, but it was the single best first date ever. Unbreakable stunk, but I spent an hour and a half holding hands with someone that I knew I wanted to spend a lot more time with.

That date set into motion the rest of my life. A whirlwind romance blossomed into a engagement less than a year later and a marriage in 2002.

In the end, I guess I should thank a rarely speaking character in Kevin Smith's movies for the love of my life.

Thanks, Silent Bob.

B. Stracener

It's Time to Move Forward

Today, I left Facebook.

Every day after July 1, 2012 is "A.FB." for me.

No, I wasn't really addicted to it.

No one pissed me off. (At least not enough to force me into this decision.)

No, I don't think everyone should follow me in leaving; that's your choice.

I finally decided that my interaction with Facebook had been trained by various updates to the site to encourage me to "Like", "Tag", and eventually even "Want" in an effort to only generate revenue for Facebook via apps and ads.

I'm sure that I have family that will want to keep their Facebook pages, and that is fine.  I just won't be visiting those pages anymore.

I have created this blog that I plan to update once a week with the various goings on that this Stracener family takes part in.

I will share pictures, videos, anecdotes, and updates on our lives here instead of There. I will share news stories that are meaningful to me/us and my/our ideals. (I will also share the occasional funny cat video too, I'm sure.)

I hope that my wife will also write here as well, so that all of our mutual and non-mutual friends can have a full picture of our lives together.

I have shared this page with my Facebook friends today via private message, and do hope that many of them subscribe to this blog, especially family and my old Wis.dm friends. (RIP Wis.dm) At least I would hope that if their friendship were sincere they would.  Please don't think of that as a guilt trip, either. I often pared down my friends list on Facebook to exclude those that I no longer found interesting or were just too negative. If you don't want to know anymore about me, that's OK.  We all have our choices to make; some are neither difficult nor offensive but are just choices. 

Whereas Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram give you very specific windows into what we like, dislike, and talk about, I feel that this format will allow others to gain a greater understanding of why we like, dislike, and talk about these things.  This format encourages story telling rather than punchlines. I hope that all involved get a little more satisfaction out of the experience. If no one ever visits this page, that's OK too. I plan for this to be a record of sort for my daughter to read some day. Maybe in her late teens or after college.  It's a glimpse into our daily lives that is often missing in this digital age.

I'm not reinventing blogging nor turning it into something radical and life altering; I know that. I am, however, changing the way I interact with people on the internet A.FB.

If you are going to come along for the ride with me, then I appreciate it; please subscribe. Please feel welcome to create your own blog about your life and family. If you do, or if you already do, I'd love to know about it and subscribe to it.

B. Stracener