~Blink~

I wish I could just ~blink~ myself like Jeannie (yes, that Jeannie). Where would I go?

I don't think it would be so much a matter of where I went, but when how often I ~blinked~!

I would blink myself into southern Utah and walk that long, straight road that goes south into Monument Valley while the sun is coming up. Then I would ~blink~ myself to Paris and sit in the morning sun at a sidewalk cafe and have coffee and breakfast. Then I might want to ~blink~ myself to the island of Socotra to wander among the Baobab and the Dragons Blood trees. Perhaps a ~blink~ to Moscow's Red Square before lunch. Did someone say lunch? I think I'll go to Sicily for pizza and beer! I might sit upon a rocky spire in the of Huangshan Mountains of China and take an afternoon nap...

Oh, the possibilities...

'Ello there!

In the spring of 2015 I joined a new web presence called Ello. I joined partly because it was new (and I love to try new things), and partly because none of my friends or family knew I was there. It was as if I was hiding in plain sight. I got to re-tell all my stale jokes if I chose to. I could stand and scream like a mime, attracting no attention. I went to Ello largely not knowing why I went, but had to anyway, probably much like a moth to a porch light. I didn't know anybody on Ello but I liked it because of that. I gave me a safety buffer of anonymity that was comforting. The funny thing was, it was mildly empty-feeling at the same time. I knew if made new friends I would likely never meet them.

I find myself wondering how often it happens that people find new friends on the Internet and something happens to either of them. The people they interact with never find out what happened to the missing--only that they went silent. They check back often and send them messages, but hear nothing. After a time, they stop checking and move on. That's the tragic side of Internet anonymity: if you don't make noise you don't exist. The same things about Ello's anonymity that I liked also tended to create a feeling of being disconnected. It was like I was a bug bouncing along the outside of a window--seeing what's inside but not able to enter. There's a strange feeling I get about it that I can't quite put my finger on. Like if I did find my way into the room I would find that I didn't belong anyway.

Ello didn't have a true direction when it started, but it essentially morphed into an artists' showcase. I'm not an artist and never will be, and though I do have talents, just posting things for no reason other than to play show and tell feels like I'm tooting my own horn and thumping my chest. That's not my style.

I did find Ello to be a whirlwind of sensory input and I loved that. Actually, I still pop in and look at things from time to time though I no longer am a member. It is full of things that spark my imagination and pull dusty memories to the surface of my mind. The array of daily Ello posts pleases me. They make me think, they make me wish, and they make me wonder. Ello shows me the world through others' eyes. And there are a lot of others' eyes!

Traits

People I admire are unafraid. They proudly wear unnaturally-colored hair, have tattoos, and let their imaginations run wild. They are positive, unpredictable, and they recycle because they want to. They are equally at home in the city or the country. They know what's going on behind my eyes, know what to say at the right time, and can make me laugh when I need it. They love music and might play a cello or an acoustic guitar. They appreciate simplicity and shun the "new and improved" hype. They may not have one of their own, but they love animals--all animals. They have many stories to tell, and know when to tell them and when not to. They are social, and yet they appreciate solitude. They are happy with themselves and will never ridicule someone else.

No, this is not a tall order for the perfect mate. This is just a list I started jotting down one time for fun. Some of these are traits I possess, and others I do not. These are just things I admire in people. I find myself sometimes jealous of other people, but then I tell myself I have things they do not have, know things they don't know, and have had a lifetime of different experiences than the ones they have had. It's all good.

Still... I do admire...