Still crazy after all these years.
Miles run yesterday: 4.5
Hours spent in class today: 3
New tidbits gleaned from the class: 42
Our social media instructor finds my classmates and me very funny.
I’m taking a class to find out as much as possible about social media, and as it turns out, I came to the right place. My teacher adores all things technological, while many of us press errant buttons with confused expressions on our faces.
One student behind me asks, “Did I do this wrong?”
Our instructor giggles, “There is no wrong way!”
She is a little bit like Glinda the Good Witch. Sometimes when she stops by your desk, the problem sorts itself out magically.
She is likely to exclaim, “Oh! I love technology!” as she clicks on various tabs and explains shortcuts with her Good Witch wand.
Technology makes her smile.
Things that make me smile:
1. A hug.
2. A baby laughing.
3. Writing.
4. Boots.
When things go awry amidst clicks and tabs and tags, I look to my good friend beside me. She also giggles, but it is a giggle full of irony. She has no wand.
She and I met when we were in college classes the first time around; she looks exactly the same today, which is mildly annoying.
We were in journalism school together, and we both won a coveted (unpaid) internship at a local TV station.
Interns back then spent a lot of time “brainstorming story ideas,” and we did not have the benefit of an Internet to surf. My friend and I sat in cubicles and stared into space a fair amount. Sometimes this made us giggle.
We had a kind of Glinda the Good Witch boss while we were there, although we were never sure exactly what it was she did. One day that I remember in particular, we watched a full episode of Oprah’s “Good News.”
Today, as my friend and I stroll the community college hallways together at break time, she wonders at the youthful types with wires spouting from their ears that we share the space with.
“Did we really look this young when we went to college?”
“Absolutely. Maybe younger,” I say, as I think back to my long shorts and huge, untamed curls.
“Nah. I don’t believe it. That would mean we look old now.”
“Yeah. We do.” I nod and crunch on lightly salted almonds, a snack I would have pooh-poohed as too healthy as a 20-year-old.
“That stinks.”
As we head back into class, the teacher splits us up into groups, presumably so that my friend and I can’t giggle anymore.
I feel better, because even though Dropbox and Twitter and Google weren’t around 20 years ago, I guess we haven’t changed all that much.
Writing by the Numbers 
I spent some time on a campus not too long ago, and I was humbled by the, shall we say, ‘youthful’ appearance of those around me (I was getting my master’s in public health). The good thing was, there are plenty of SOTAs nowadays (Students Older Than Average, as I used to call them when I was a young, not older-than-average student…). But still, when some of your classmates have jeans that hang halfway down their butts, it’s hard to keep the mother in check and not say, “Pull up your pants, young man!”
I really want to tell several of them to put on a jacket… it’s freezing outside; don’t they notice?? And as Joyce notes (comment below yours), a girl in front of us did a loud, nasty spit thing that was quite shocking. ; )
Oh, now that’s just nasty. Wouldn’t you be proud if that was your daughter? Even my son better know better than that. Or at least I tell myself he does…
That’s EXACTLY what I thought when she separated us in class today. LOL. Did you notice how we never actually did anything with our new partners? 😉 Ha!
I was also thinking back today about our TV internship with Karen. You’re right, I still have no idea what she did. But I have lots of fun memories of Grant Hill and Charlie Rose and busy work and feeling semi-important. Remember getting credit as “producers” on “The Charlie Rose” show?
Can’t believe it has been 20-some years. You look exactly the same, too, except with shorter, less curly hair. Glad we’ve weathered all of these years together. Being in class is just like old times, and I love it!
You are an awesome, giggly friend.
By the way, that was a GIRL hocking spit across the yard yesterday. A girl!
Oh boy. I mean, girl.
Yowza. A girl?
So it wasn’t just my imagination that we got separated, huh? I thought we were behaving ourselves quite well!
BTW, I saved the paper “roses” we got as helpers at the Charlie Rose thing… for many years.
Actually, now that I think about it, I hope I didn’t look THIS old in college. Yikes!
You just still look young, that’s all. ; )
All four items on your list will make me smile, too. : ) Kudos to you for taking that social media course! I’m still mostly hopeless with all things like that. My husband and I are still trying to figure out all the bells and whistles on the iPad we got for Christmas. And I still do not have a smart phone.
A friend of mine is going back to grad school for a Master’s in technical writing, and she also comments on how young today’s students are. I suspect people said the same about us when we were all in college, too. Some things never change?
You’re right, JM. We all looked like babies at one time, too. But we felt so old and worldly!
Good luck with the iPad. I’m sure you’ll love it. I read Gone Girl on my husband’s iPad, and it was pretty fun.
I think taking a class like this at our age is a great idea. Nowadays they seem to offer a lot of social media classes at writing conferences. Guess we have to be as knowledgeable in Twitter and the like as we do in constructing plot triangles.
So true, Kate. I have taken a few of those courses at writing conferences… this one is much more in-depth as far as the nuts and bolts. Instead of just knowing things are available, we’re getting to give them a test-run. It’s definitely been good for me.
Well I hope you will do a post with the top 10 things you learned in social media class when you’re done!
That’s hilarious that the teacher split you up! Next time, I dare you to get a straw and shoot little balls of screwed up paper through it at the back of her head every time she turns around. Ooh ooh! Or every now and again make fart noises and then look around at some random person near you with a disapproving look on your face,
Oh, the trouble I could get into. ; ) I really thought we were doing a good job of being adults, so the splitting us up thing surprised me. No fart noises at all. ; )
I will have to make a list after the class is over and will make sure to share.
I was thirty when I was at uni, and my young uni friends asked me when my 21st birthday was. I was so flattered .lol
Wow! You must have a genetic gift of youth.
I am not fooling anyone. Forty is way too much older than 20 to pass.
You can’t have changed if you’re still giggling in class, having to be split up by the teacher. Loved this!
No, my personality is at least consistent, if not my eye twinkles, which are quite a bit more noticeable at 40 than they were at 20. ; )
Sounds like a fun and interesting class. Definitely something I should look into.
Now, Two girls giggling in class. That’s certainly something you don’t see everyday. 😉
What is that saying? Youth is wasted on the young, or some such thing. I would be a completely different college student if I went to school now instead of low those many years ago.
BTW, where is the photo of the 1 cent boots?
I’ll have to get a photo of the boots. They won’t be as great as my husband’s nature shots, but exciting nonetheless.
Yes, youth is wasted on the young, for sure.
I work at a high school, which always makes a person feel old-ish. But I’ve been really feeling my age these days now that I’m using a cane to nurse my broke toe.
I don’t like this newfound super old feeling. Not. At. All.
Today, my old (40) friend and I had to get all have-respect-for-your-elders on a couple of 18-year-olds who tried to cut in line at the parking decal office. In some cases, being super-old has its advantages. Even if you have a cane. ; )