Hi everyone,

I read this quote on my morning iGoogle page (LOVE this application), and wanted to share it with everyone.

The creator of the universe works in mysterious ways. But he uses a base ten counting system and likes round numbers.

Scott Adams

I have a lot going on right now.  I am trying to work a full time job, promote and run two websites (TheFatLossAuthority.com and HeartMyShoes.com), I start a web design class this Saturday for 10 weeks and I’m also fleshing out a couple of other personal projects I’d eventually like to move forward with.  So obviously, time is money.

I commute to and from work in the mornings, and the only thing the train has been good for lately is a series of half-satisfying naps. Any sort of commuting productivity quickly turns into an open mouth and a small piece of drool on the right side of my lip ala Homer Simpson (yes, I have dream of chocolate land, and it is indeed glorious)

With that being said, prime time for brain storming and forward movement on any project needs to take places between 7-11pm on weekdays, or anytime during the weekend.  Lately though, I’ve found my free time at my keyboard is sucked away from me by two devils of productivity, MSN Messenger and Facebook.

MSN Messenger I’ve boycotted before, even going so far as to uninstall the software in one instance following university.  But sure enough, two days later I was finding cognitive loopholes in my own rules.  I would sign on through www.ebuddy.com and then quickly just gave up and re-installed the program. Weak. Weak. Weak.

Last year around this time, during my final month in Barcelona I decided to give up Facebook until March 1st, and though I completed the challenge, the beginning was extremely difficult, as it is now.  And by difficult I don’t mean I’m shaking and ready to turn to a higher power, I just mean when I get an impulse to check a message I have to shake it off and keep working.   My graduation to today started a little while ago.

MSN was the first to go, a couple weeks ago.  It took me a week to get the boycott to stick, as I tried to quit twice and caved both times, and was rightfully ridiculed for my obvious weakness by a close friend of mine.  But it was his ridicule that inspired me to stick with it and so far so good.  I’ll make it to March 1st and beyond without a problem. 1 down, 1 to go.

When Messenger was gone, I looked at what else was sucking precious time out of my life.  Well, apparently a couple women I had been chatting with started subscribing to issues of Crazy Bitch Weekly so those connections were immediately severed and then I realized what was really holding me back, Facebook.

Now I will be the first to admit, I was lightly addicted to Facebook.  Always a message from someone to respond to, always a new photo to check out, and always a funny status update to give me a laugh.  There’s always SOMETHING to check out on Facebook, and that’s the problem.

Even if I go on Facebook to take a break from real work, thirty seconds turns into five minutes, and then five minutes the next time turns into thirty minutes, and before you know it…. its time for me to get back on the train and commute to work.  So as of two days ago, Facebook is gone until next weekend at the earliest, and then after that one time per week.  Even now I am thinking if just posting this blog post to my profile through the SHARE THIS button counts as signing on.  Hmmmm…. the jury is out on that one.

With this being my first full day without either msn messenger AND Facebook it feels amazing.  Its completely laughable how much extra time I appear to have.  I get more done, I can focus better on immediate tasks and most importantly, I’ve reconnected with the part of me that could give a shit about what other people I don’t give a shit about are doing.

Web 2.0 has made a lot of positive changes in society, and given all of us a certain feeling of connectivity and transparency that seemed to be lacking before. However, within that same breath I think it may have given us too much connectivity and choice, and successfully taken away yet another bit of precious time us humans devote to intelligent discussion and cognitive output.

The rise of the blogger and each of us being given more of a social voice, I think, has been the most positive change with web 2.0.  Its given the voice back to the people, and a rise of social conscious has certainly been blogging’s largest gift to all of us. Whereas if you take social networking, it seems to have captivated us in such ridiculous ways that somehow even television has managed to miss.   When you look at Facebook,  MySpace, or Twitter, etc. at its basic level its just a big online high school cafeteria, a local coffee shop, or a downtown hair salon.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I do, on the other side of the spectrum think Facebook has many positive and productive benefits as well, but are those positives enough to make up for its draw backs.

You tell me?

What do you think of Facebook and Social Media?  Would love to hear your comments and thoughts on this.

Below is a great video about social media, how society basically used to drink itself out of a recession, and how the human race is wasting its collective brain power on sit-coms and online websites.  Its a fun presentation, I highly recommend taking a look.

I love New Year’s Eve.  It never matters what country I am in, who I am with, or even my immediate surroundings but there’s always been something special to me about 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1…. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The beauty of December 31st or 11:59:50 is you can make the countdown whatever you like. It can be your very own reset button on a terrible twelve months, or a starter’s pistol propelling you into January with vigor.  Yet no matter what you decide, its important to take those memories with you.  Sure we can reset the score, but don’t forget the lessons you’ve learned from the game.

For yours truly, 2008 started in a different country (Barcelona) away from family and friends for my first time ever, and I recall January 1st being a day of triumph.  Moving across an ocean was a big leap of faith that thankfully paid off and I felt I had adapted well to my new surroundings. I was supremely proud of myself for  going away from my comfort zone and I was rewarded with the many experiences and memories that I cherish today.  But with this same triumph I also realized I would likely not fulfill my goal of living in Spain for a full year, the stakes had changed.

My job in Barcelona, though surrounded with amazing people began to wear thin, and the weekend nightlife was slowly killing me.  I arrived in the city as the pinnacle of health and wellness, but slowly was beginning to believe the diarrhea was quickly becoming a part of my new lifestyle.  Things had to change.  My decisions were to stay in Spain and live the life of a teenager and possibly travel throughout Europe a little more extensively (very tempting) or return to a Canadian winter and start making a move in a new direction.  I chose the latter.

By February 1st I was back in the white north, still employed by the Europeans and working from home but also learning as much as possible about internet marketing and how to make a living online.  With that plan in place I decided my goal would be to start 2 separate websites by March 2009 no matter what they might be.  I decided action was always better than deliberation.  My first site, www.thefatlossauthority.com in an ongoing learning experience, and though its never made even one penny, I’ve not yet given up hope.

My second site, www.HeartMyShoes.com is a venture I personally never thought I’d ever undertake, but its been a lot of fun so far and 2009 will be the test of its viability.  And though the investment was far larger than I had originally anticipated, I am very proud of myself for believing in an idea enough to put my money where my mouth is…because once again, action is always better than indifference.

In taking the macro approach to 2008 I think I can sum up my experience with one word: Growth. I am a better person now than I was January 1st, 2008.  Im healthier, stronger, wiser, smarter, and I like to think I’ve patched some holes in some gaping flaws, or perhaps just learned to keep them at bay.

Moving forward, my goals for the New Year have been written down and they`re mine and mine alone to accomplish or fail. I now step on the gas into 2009 as the landscape in the rear view mirror of `08 begins to fade into memories and all that remains is the promise of the future, and I’m alright with that.

Happy New Year to everyone and I wish you nothing but health, happiness, and success in 2009.