shawn farner|*feeding* the social web obsession

If you knew you could make someone’s day, would you do it?

I’m not even talking about someone you know.  It could be a complete stranger - someone you will meet once and then never see again.  Would you still do it?

It’s really easy.  All you have to do is the opposite of what they’re expecting.

I went through the Taco Bell drive-thru earlier today and, upon reaching the menu/speaker, I was greeted with this - “How are you?”  I know, no big deal.  Every Taco Bell employee asks this question when you pull up.  What usually happens, though, is I reply by saying, “I’m fine, how are you?” and receive an answer that consists of silence followed by “Order when you’re ready.”

Today, the answer I got was a real one.  I actually laughed a little bit because I was so surprised.  Upon hearing this, I immediately knew who was on the other end.  It was the manager of another Taco Bell in the area (Front St, Harrisburg, if you’re familiar) who had been transferred (to the Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg).  He had stuck out in my mind previously because he seemed to actually give a crap about the people on the other end of the speaker.  And now here he was, at a completely different store and still the only Taco Bell employee I’ve ever met who has answered the question, “How are you?”

After this, I went to Target to pick up a few items (a new whiteboard, printer ink amongst other things).  I chose to forego the use of a cart on this trip, since I was only picking up a few things.  After finding everything, it was clear I should have used a cart.  I walked up to the checkout and heaved my items onto the belt, looking quite dumb in the process.  “In hindsight, a cart would have been a really good idea,” I said.  The checkout girl, who was looking somewhat bored, laughed and agreed.  From then on, she seemed a bit more lifted, and all it required was a little bit of me picking on myself.

I know work and other routine tasks can seem a little bit monotonous, but they don’t have to be.  Imagine that every single person you interact with is having a bad day and it’s your job to cheer them up.  Even if they don’t make it obvious, you are probably making their day just a little bit better.

Can you believe that I graduated high school five years ago?  I can’t.

Though we’ve put this much time in between then and now, I’ve tried my hardest to stay true to myself.  According to my yearbook, that is what people wanted me to do.  I’ve taken a few excerpts of cool things people wrote - words that are still able to make me laugh, smile and remember some good times.  If you happen to read this and remember writing it, thank you.

—

“Hey!  Some days I hate you.” (LOL!  It was mutual.)

“It was fun having you listen to me bitch in English.” (You were VERY good at it!)

“You’re an awesome guy and a great friend.” (Thanks!)

“Don’t eat tooooo much cream cheese.  And vote Democrat.” (It’s like she knew the future…)

“You’ve stuck with me and have stood up for me so many times and I’m really grateful for all of it.” (Always will.)

“Well we never followed through with that ‘plan’ we always talked about! LOL!” (Never say never!)

“Thanks for being an awesome friend to me.” (You’re welcome.  Thank you.)

“Don’t ever change.”  (I’ve tried not to.)

“You are going to go far in the future because you’re so upbeat, friendly and just all around a great guy!” (I’m blushing.)

“And I am not a lesbian!” (Still waiting to be proven wrong on that.)

“We have to stay in touch, move out to Hollywood and start our own talk show.” (I’m ready when you are.)

“Cokeapookie.” (I wish I remembered what that means!)

“Maybe we could go out on a date sometime if Marie and I ever break up.” (Well?)

—

Thanks to everyone again.

Three years ago today, I lost a close friend in an automobile accident.  Two days later, I lost another as a result of that same accident.  Looking at the calendar and realizing the significance of the date, I decided I would write this post.

Today, I’d like to honor not only their lives, but the lives of everyone we’ve lost.  For those of us who attended East Pennsboro anytime recently, you’ve undoubtedly lost a friend.  If you aren’t from East Pennsboro, you may have too.  We always keep the spirit of these people alive through memories, but just for today, let’s put them in the front of our minds.

For one day, forfeit senseless battles.  Put silly disagreements to the side.  Spill your guts and tell your secrets.  Handle every situation and interact with every person as though tomorrow wasn’t coming.  Would you do things differently?  I would.

And if you can do it today, why can’t you do it tomorrow, too?

Almost every summer, we take a journey down the Susquehanna River on suspect rafts and camp on a random island.  Since we do this almost annually, I’ve decided it should have a name.  Islandcamp it is.

I’ve also decided that I should try to chronicle our little adventure this year.  While uploading pictures and videos after the fact is fun, I like the idea of updating real time much better.  I’ve started a Tumblog to do the job, but I’ll also use this post as a hub by embedding the Tumblr code into the post itself.  Check below for updates!  (hopefully it works)

Sometimes, we seem to think we know what life is. We try to encompass the vastness of it in inspirational quotes or in posters that we hang on our walls. We tag cute little sayings onto the ends of our emails or include them in our buddy info’s. Life is crazy. Life is beautiful. Life is good. Life is like a box of chocolates. Life is a highway. “Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.” (Danny Kaye) Life is a lot of things to a lot of people.

For me, something a little more quirky makes a lot more sense.  Life is weird.

Some you rely on will come and go.  Some will stay.  Friends and loved ones live and die.  Mortal enemies can become some of the coolest and nicest people you’ve ever known.  Best friends can vanish into thin air.  Plans change.  Life can drag you down deeper than you ever thought possible and then throw you a lifesaver.  It could rain on the day of your picnic or it could be the most beautiful day of the year.

I don’t know if it all evens out.  I’m not sure if I believe in karma.  What I do know is that, throughout life, you are dealt both.  When the good comes along, whether it was expected or totally out of nowhere, appreciate it.

I received an email earlier tonight from the IRS…

OR SO I THOUGHT.

It actually was not from the IRS, and I knew that almost immediately. However, there are some people out there who are pretty gullible and they might not pick up on the clues as easily. So I’ve cropped some images from my experience to help you out. (click to view full image)

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Guess who’s back?

I’ve scrapped my earlier plans of taking a course on campus at IUP in favor of taking an online class and coming home early.  Not only does this mean I get to enjoy nightly volleyball, I also get to start work immediately on my various projects.  I’ll get to start posting more heavily for WebpageFX and I’ll also get to work on (re)launching Be of Service.  Even more, I’ll get to roam about Harrisburg, eat sushi with cool people, Tweet-up with my fellow Central PA Twitterfolk and write more about this area.

Sweet.

By the way, is anyone looking to hit up Blogworld in September?  Las Vegas?  Let me know.

For my Major American Authors course (ENGL 436), our final exam format is this: we’ve been given a sheet with five questions on it and told to choose three. Today at 2:45 PM, we will walk into the classroom, sit down and write the answers. On top of that, we are allowed to use one page of notes and the actual books we’ll be writing about. Why was this not a take home exam?!

I could have this done already.  I could walk in today, hand it in and leave.  It would be so much easier.

On top of that, I also have a paper due tomorrow for the same class.  This paper was not anywhere to be found on the syllabus but made a surprise showing at the end of the semester.  It’s kind of like a large woman who’s pregnant but you can’t really tell, and then one day WHOA, she’s carrying a baby.  I also have to finish my story for Bible as Lit (an apocalyptic thriller, I’ll post it when I’m done) and also find some pictures for the rest of my scripture-folio.

I’ll end with this awesome paper I wish I could turn in.

So, I’m thinking tonight I’ll be pulling an all-nighter.

I want to get a quick update in here before I start researching and writing my first blog post for WebPageFX.  I got an email from the big cheese there asking me to write about a specific topic (social networking for traditional businesses), so there’s a sneak peek at what to look forward to.  It’ll actually be nice to get that written and posted since it’ll get me on payroll for the week.  Keep an eye out for that post to be published sometime tomorrow.

Now, to answer the question you’ve probably had since you started reading this post - why will this weekend own my soul?  I’m booked SOLID.  I have to write a paper for African American literature.  Unfortunately, my weekend is also jammed full of Alpha Phi Omega activities (a fundraising project, walkout, Relay for Life and the initiation of our pledges).  Next week I’ll get a bit of a breather (four days) until I have another final.  Not sure how my schedule worked out that way, it just did.

I hit the $10 mark on CashCrate for the month, which is sweet.  Next month I’ll get a check for whatever amount I end up making by April 30.  Right now it’s at $10.25.  Pretty cool for not really doing much.

I’m still trying to figure out what to do with a lot of the web property I’ve staked my claim to.  I suppose this summer I’ll have more time to figure that out, but I really feel like I’m neglecting a lot of sites I was really excited about when I first launched them.  I’m thinking I might just do complete relaunches and keep myself on a schedule to juggle them all - maybe two or three posts a week for each.  We’ll see.

Okay, I should get started on paid work! :-P  Until next time, keep your tech glasses on.

I feel like the majority of the world’s citizens care WAY too much about what other people think.  Worse yet, most of these people act like the most confident people in the world; that is, until things get a little rocky.  These are the people who go immediately on the defensive and attack, attack, attack.  To me, that is a sign of weakness.

Whatever happened to taking a joke?  If it’s at your expense, so what?  Laugh it off, or joke back, playfully.  Who cares if there are a ton of people around?  Make a fool of yourself.  Why anyone would want to go a day being anything but themselves totally eludes me.  Those worth knowing will accept you for who you are, and those who write you off don’t deserve a second of your time.

Surround yourself with like-minded people; people who know what it means to “chill out”.  If you can joke back and forth and still be friends at the end of the day, you’ve found the right type of person.  If you joke with someone and they retaliate with a remark that’s meant to cut you down or embarrass you, you and that person are not on the same page.  Chalk it up to a lack of confidence and move on.