Happy November! I got to see my former foster dog, Dakota, today! His new name is Yoda. No comment on that. But the handsome guy remembered me for sure and gave me lots of hugs and kisses, which I happily returned. His new mom is AWESOME; I can tell that she's taking great care of him and he is making new friends wherever he goes. So gratifying, to see him doing so well, and to know that I had a tiny part in his journey to his forever home.
After a short lapse in judgment, a fall off of the wagon, as it were, I am back to my self-imposed Myspace ban. No. Myspace. Whatsoever. That place is evil. Notice how I said "place," as though it were an actual physical, geographical area somewhere in real-people land, which it certainly is not. Once you've become hooked, it's a tough habit to break. Instant gratification, passive entertainment galore. No attention span is required! This is an attractive option when you've got critical analyses to write and you're tired and your fatigued little brain cells can't seem to absorb anything requiring intellectual focus. Further, on a site like Myspace you can interact socially without ever having to put on makeup or leave your house! You can pretend that you are using your creative talents by "pimping" your page and photoshopping amusing comments to send to your "friends," most of whom you've never met in person. I absolutely adore it. But we're no good for each other, Myspace and me... Myspace takes me away from my "real" friends and my children, it tricks me into thinking that because I've coordinated my html wallpaper with my table borders I am really "decorating." It lures me into believing that because people leave me "comments" that they actually like me or give a shit about my life. 
Quitting Myspace is not easy. It's like quitting any other habit that has taken up your time and attention and given you something resembling joy and social interaction; you need to replace it with something or you are going to backslide. I have fallen off the wagon myself. But I'm going to try again. This time, instead of cold turkey I am going to allow myself some other mindless distraction to wean myself off of it, much the way a smoker might use nicotine gum. I hate to replace one shitty habit with another, but frankly, if I spent even HALF the time I used to spend dicking around on Myspace on something more productive (studying, cleaning the house, playing a game with my kids, making art, reading a book, walking the dogs, talking to real live friends on the real live phone....) that still leaves me with hours of unclaimed time that I am accustomed to spending in a mindless html semi-coma. So, I have devised a step-down program involving Mah Jongg(1), Yahoo News, Etsy.com, and any of the groovy sites I've listed to the right. These distractions, in measured doses, should take the edge off just enough that I can get myself back on track with the life endeavors that I frequently claim are important to me. One day at a time. No peeking. 
ps. If you have not seen "Lars and the Real Girl" yet, hie thee to the video store and rent it. It is a gorgeous little film that surprised me with its depth and poignancy. It might have been the Vicodin talking but I cried through much of it. Totally worth the rental fee, thumbs up and all that.
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(1) In the spirit of sharing with anyone else who may need a step-down program from an evil social-networking site, this is my favorite version of mahjongg:
http://www.freegames.ws/games/boardgames/mahjong/freemahjong.htm
There are, of course, many others but none offer the tribal drum sound and the graphic of the spewing volcano when you "win." And, you know, that counts for something.
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