Assalamualaikum/Peace be unto you;
Recall quietly asking yourself this..? Yeah, something along the line of.. ‘I spend too much time on Facebook’ a.k.a I waste too much precious time on social media. There is a plenty.. ! I was at an ENT clinic recently. There were about 11 patients waiting for their turn to see the specialist. All necks were stretched, eyes looking down, fingers flickin’ and NOT A SINGLE warm body engaged with a one-on-one conversation with the person next on them.. as in 11 necks, 22 eyeballs and 11-22 fingers (depending on how many are used for the phone!).
Back in the conversational a plenty 1990s before the www (no actually, before the arrival of smart phones AND social media apps), people just had to converse! No Waze…we had to call the houses direct line to get directions !! No Facebook… we did have autograph and name books where we could record friends’ names, addresses and phone numbers to be in touch, and exchange greeting cards ! No mobile phone. We’re physically hooked on the public phone or the home telephones (sorry, not MUCH multitasking back then!).Oh yes, plenty of coins for those at the boarding school to ‘bergayut’ at night..haha… recall that? or..reverse dialing the home (my mom would ask me where’s my money??).. and yes… before email… the handwritten letters exchanged with mom ! Girl/boy fans from other boarding schools.. and mixed-tape/cassettes. Those were the days ! It all was real, and I felt growing up, there was no need to rush for anything.
Maybe because I had no commitment back then except for being an obedient daughter. Focused on friends at school, staying back just because I can play with my friends, enjoying every bit of extra curricular activities, ENJOYing math class with Ms Ng Ah Lan (Ms Angie) in my school on Pineapple Hill..hahh..what else? oh yes, became an incidental victim of StJohnians throwing stones.. 2 landed on my forehead (or was it 1..) and I had to use ‘Vicks’ to cover it up over dinner. Obvs mumsie didn’t take long to uncover that !! Lolz.. Fast forward to 2018, as an adult, I can see that the kids now are exposed to different things, brought up somewhat in a different fashion compared to 20-30 years ago all thanks to technology. While not all about technology is bad, I think it is taking its toll on family communication/relationships , spouses too. Even within the extended family hierarchy. Like I said, its a double-edged sword.. it can either protect you (strengthen relationship), or break you — all line of real communication are shattered just because everyone is busy in their online lives.
I am on a 2 months break (from my postgrad studies), and really hope I can make the best of it. My eldest will be in primary school next year insyaAllah, and this is the ONLY time I can be present for them, for myself, for my cluttered and chaotic home ! Its been almost a week now of de-cluttering, and taking control back of my life..slowly but surely, hopefully.
So part of this de-cluttering, minimising and simplifying, is…. to be OFF social media for a while. Average.. (I won’t reveal here..but you can estimate your own !) time I go online , Facebook and Instagram especially per day…is X times.. morning, branch time, noon…late noon..at night after the kids go to bed.. hah…so many times.. it is becoming my lifeline just tad too much that I am losing precious time which could have been of more beneficial use.. see… the thing is, when something is free, and which we take granted for…WE CARE LESS. Friendship, relationships, TIME, the air.. what else…? Those who truly and genuinely care for us.. we take them for granted.. Same goes with time.. it just goes by, and we’re on gear 5 on social media, but chooses the back sit when it comes to more important things.
For starters, my kids are no on any gadgets. TV time is controlled, and recently for the past 2-3 weeks the kids have picked up the habit of fetching a couple of books from the shelves before they sleep. My elder daughter, alhamdulillah is reading, mostly unassisted in both Bahasa and English. The lil one is building up on the vocab side (similar to how I managed to train the eldest..). Vocab first. Sentence ensemble next.. Grammar later ! The issue now is not with the kids.. but the kids’ mummy ! Yuppp, that’s me. Phew… I wrote in my ‘last’ Facebook posting that I will be OFF Facebook and Instagram for a week. I just thank God that I don’t really know what Snapchat is all about, and not motivated to use.. as I think Facebook and Instagram is more than enough. Plus, my friends and family will know where to find me should they need me for anything !
Anyway, please wish me luck on my 1 week journey. There is a 98% chance that this post will be auto updated on Facebook, well, consider that ‘auto’ and not me Going on those platforms manually. Uhmm, I will be there running later with a friend. Whether I choose to update or not (of today and yesterday’s workout), just watch this space. I am on a 2 month break AND i truly hope to get the best out of it ! I have seen YouTube videos of people going off social media for a year. One up for going back to normal !!
Over&Out,
missjewelz
p.s. just received email from Borneo Ultra Marathon organisers. They will be back in September. Do you guys think I should participate ?? The one and only time was I ran at their events was in 2011 at the Sabah Adventure Challenge.
missJewelz 
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