Everywhere and Nowhere

is the title to a recent article in the Economist (http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10880936&CFID=16372671&CFTOKEN=2db6454d1e4410b6-E2749052-B27C-BB00-0129AE0EB9D19200) about the future ubiquity of online social life. I don't read the Economist often; however, I saw a link to this article in a daily post that I receive about youth and media usage. I wonder how our life will be different in 3, 5, and 10 years from now in terms of our use of online activities.

A year ago I didn't blog. My daughter already knows at some level what email is and she's only 2. What will individuals, particularly youth, be doing with online activities in the coming years? A researcher from Forrester Research quoted in the article in the Economist suggests that there won't be a variety of different social networking sites, groups, etc. that are hard to link together. They will be anywhere and everywhere and seamlessly integrated. That's a nice idea in many ways. A friend of mine (and a blogger who inspired me to start blogging) just had a baby. She sent out emails to different groups, posted some pix on her blog, and posted a lot more pix on her Facebook page. Now, if I didn't have access to the Facebook page, I'd never (well, not as quickly anyway : ) have seen the additional beautiful pix of her new baby and family (thanks R.!).

Perhaps in the future there'll be better linkages so that we don't have to be members of Facebook, Myspace, Bebo, Flickr, and/or other sites in order to obtain the latest news and notes on our network members. Will that be a good thing or a bad thing?

What do you think? Do you want more seamless integration and availability of information about members of your social networks? And, for others to have the availability of this information about you?

Rain, rain,

come and stay; make our grass green today... Just a little song I made up for Callen last fall. We were putting her in Bo's car this morning to go to her school, and she starts singing it. It was raining, which is what prompted it. She was so cute!

However, I don't know what got into her yesterday afternoon. When I picked her up at school, they were outside playing. It was just she and 2 little boys and one of her teachers. She was fine coming in to get ready to go, but then she pitched a royal fit! She wanted something but couldn't articulate it well enough for me or her teacher to understand. I end up having to carry her out, as she is screaming constantly. She lays down on the sidewalk outside her school and continues to pitch a fit, doesn't want to get in the car, fought me as I tried to put her in the car, etc. I finally get her in the car and then she screams the whole way home! When we got home, she didn't want to get out of the car. You'd think a kid that has as many toys and things as she does would prefer to get out of the car so she could play with them. Finally, after maybe 10 minutes, she decides she'll get out of the car.

Hmm, maybe that's why I woke up with a horrible headache this morning... Here's hoping that there are many more cute and well-behaved moments than there are tantrums from my almost 2.5 year old (although a friend with a 3.5 year old says the 3s are worse than the 2s!).

Slow Posts

I know I haven't been posting much lately, but the last month or so has been really busy at work! I had a big NIH grant that was resubmitted for the final time on March 5th. During the final days of it, I also had to reviews grants for an NSF panel I was on in DC - 12 grants! I always learn a lot but it is a lot of work too! I flew to DC last week, got stuck in Atlanta airport due to the plane we were about to get on being struck by lightening (I sure am glad we weren't on it yet!), did the review panel for 2 days, then went to MD for meetings on Friday. I finally got home Friday night around 9:30 (only 2 hours late, instead of the 5 going to DC!). I was exhausted after the last few weeks.

Then, what do we do on Saturday? We get up and start getting ready to head to NC! I had to go into work for a few hours before we left but we finally left around 3:00. Bo was such a good husband to drive us to NC! We made it to Raleigh around 2 AM (ouch!). He flew home on Sunday and then Callen and I headed to the beach for the week. We've had a great time so far. The weather is phenomenal and Callen loves the beach and the sand! My friend Michelle and her dog CK came last night and hung out with us. Callen loved the dog and even helped walk him some today. Well, I'm not sure who was walking whom given that CK weighs almost double what Callen ways : ). Another friend and her daughter are coming tomorrow. It will be good to see them.

Although we're having fun, I find that I can't do the things I used to before Callen was born. There are some neat art and pottery shops in Beaufort that I always like to go to. We tried going in them today but I didn't want to have to buy something that got broken because Callen wouldn't not touch all the pretty objects. Yep, maybe in another few years or so we can try it. Or, maybe Daddy will come with us next time and Mommy can get to go shopping : ).

Here's to hoping the next few months are not as busy as the past few, and I can post more often!

How I Wish

my mother was still alive! Monday made 8 years since she passed away. Oh, she would love to see Callen and watch her develop. I look at my daughter and wonder what I was like as a baby and child. Unfortunately I don't have anyone that can really tell me about my very young childhood anymore. Even more than knowing what I was like, I miss having Callen know her grandparents and see them experience the joy of knowing her. She constantly amazes me every day as she develops intellectually, emotionally, and physically. I feel so blessed to be her mother!