Friends... How Many of Us Have Them?

According to Facebook, yours truly has currently has 395 friends... and counting. I'm baffled that I know that many people. Well, let's truly think about this. Of those 395 people, I REALLY know about 100 and of those 100, I'm close to about 50 and of those 50, I talk to about 10 of them on a consistent basis. So really, how many friends do I have? 10, 50, 100 or almost 400?

So who comprises this lovely 395 number.

1) Family - I have to say that I've gotten closer to some family members because of Facebook. It's a beautiful thing. Sure there was e-mail, but for some of these people, I didn't even know they had any way of getting in contact with them until Facebook came around. So, yes, I'm grateful for that.

2) My true friends - why not. just another way to keep in touch with them. I love them just like family, they keep me sane.

3) Co-workers - common courtesy. I see them everyday, I occasionally say HI to a few them, it would be weird to sit next to them after ignoring their friend request.

4) School friends - This is probably the largest of the group. I went to 8 different schools in my life. Wow. I just realized I went to 8 different schools! I'm surprised I ever graduated on time. It's a good thing I was/am smart. Well because of all the moving around I developed many friendships around the country. I actively sought out some of these people since I was the one that moved. They wouldn't even know where to begin to find me if it were up to them. Lucky for me, they all remembered me (including the ones from kindergarten!) and they were curious about my whereabouts as well. Reconnecting with them has been a joy. Now, you have the others (mainly from HS) that are adding me as a friend. My first inclination is to ignore them. I kept to a select group of friends. Yes, most people knew me or knew of me, but a passing smile or hi, doesn't make me a friend. However, it still makes me feel good that they want to add me as a friend, it means I'm remembered. Or they just want to be able to look at the HS photos that they may be in. Who knows.

5) Other - this is the group of people that you've randomly met throughout your life, but can't classify them in a particular group. Online acquaintances, friends of friends... of friends... of friends, random people you meet in the street, even the husband's ex-girlfriends, which ironically enough, I am better friends with than my husband. lol

I have considered going through the list and removing some people that I really barely know, but I don't. I don't know if it's because there is something in me that likes the fact that all of these people know me and/or remember me; or if it's that I'm afraid of losing touch with them again and I'll have to wait until the next social networking site to come around to reconnect.... again. I would prefer to just leave them. Also, Facebook has made me realize how many people have been in my life, affected it in some way, shape or form. Some people are blurs, others are clear, but either way they made a great impact and in my case. 395 impacts. WOW!

Kindles and Rokus and iPods, Oh my!!!

I like gadgets. I like electronics. I do not let my husband near any electronic without my supervision. I'm always afraid he's going to erase something or break something or connect something incorrectly. Should I trust him? I suppose, but when he keeps asking me how to copy and paste something... I'll keep everything to myself.

My husband jokes around with me though. When the latest toy arrives, I'm like a kid in a candy store, until I get bored with it. No, I don't get bored with it, I get used to it. The first few days are spent learning everything I can about the object in question. So here are a few things that I own or will soon come into my possession.

1) The Amazon Kindle 2. That's right 2. Amazon unveiled the new version of their kindle yesterday and it's a beautiful little thing. This was my mother's gift to me for Christmas (did I ever tell you I was spoiled rotten?) and of course it was back-ordered. Well with the new unveiling, they have since discontinued the old Kindle and will be automatically upgrading anyone that bought, but has not received, the old one. Yours truly is a lucky winner. Look at it... it's so sleek!!!!

I can't wait to get my little hands on that. I've already told my husband to be prepared, I'll be spending quite a bit loading it with books. wooohoooo!!!! I just have to wait until, at the earliest, February 24th. *sigh*

2) My other new toy we purchased was the Roku Netflix Player. At $99 and pretty much "umlimited" movies, that's a steal. It's so cute and small too. I thought it would be a bigger box, but no. Small and petite like me. It works pretty well too. My only complaint is that it is streaming so every once in a while it'll stop to re-stream. Sometimes when it does that, the sound gets whacky so the syncing is off. I'm hearing before seeing or vice versa. This corrects after a bit, but oh well. I'll deal. The best part though, it's wireless. I can move it around my apartment and put it on my other tv's if I need to. :o)

3) iPods.... well that's a given. I've had mine for a while, but I still wanted to list it. I, of course, have the old Special Edition U2 30GB iPod and it will be a sad day in hell when I have to upgrade (that time is coming soon), but I will never get rid of it. It's done me proud these last few years. I love it. You will usually always find me with my iPod on. I love my music too.

4) Nintendo Wii. Ok this isn't so much a gadget as a videogame, but to me anything electronic can be considered a gadget. I don't play it often, but when I do, I can't get enough of it. I had to get my sister one for X-mas as well. I needed her to feel my addiction when she started playing. :o) She's hooked.

So, I'll keep you posted when I get the Kindle and which books I buy first. I'm already thinking about the next piece of equipment I'm going to buy. It is true, I do like those first few days of getting something new. Maybe it's the fact that I like learning new things. I will actually sit and read the whole instruction manual so I know the machine/gadget inside and out. Yes, I'm a nerd, but you love me anyway!

In the words of Mork: Na-nu, Na-nu

Back to the Motherland

For those that know me, I am very proud to be of Cuban descent. So this year (or last year? I straddled years), I spent New Year's in Cuba. It was a great time and I wanted to share a little bit of Cuba with you all.

This was my 4th time going and my husband's first. He was scared!!! He thought he would either get stuck there or not be let back into the country . I told him he had nothing to worry about whatsoever. I forgot to mention to him, though, until the last minute, that we were going during the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. Talk about a great time to go!!!!

Needless to say, he only got more paranoid. Too funny. Well, as it turned out, he LOVED it and can't wait to go back. So were all the festivities up to par? I wouldn't really know. I pretty much stayed with my family and did sight-seeing with the husband, of course the signs were everywhere, flags were everywhere and there was a general sense of pride emanating from everyone.

So what did my husband think of Cuba? As I said, he loved it, but more than that he felt it was quite peaceful; a land of survivors. There's a certain mystique to the island that drives everyone there. You have the sounds, sights and smells of the streets that draws you in:

But the tranquility of the ocean to relax you:

Varadero Beach

Then of course there's the history of this magical island:

El Morro

We didn't even see the whole island. We were confined, due to time limitations, to Havana, Pinar Del Rio (we went to Viñales, where there are tobacco fields), and Matanzas (Varadero Beach). But as I said, we will be back soon and we'll see more of the island. I'll share some of those experiences as well.

Until the next post...

Oh, and yes, I brought back cigars and I've already smoked one. I don't smoke, but I'll always make an exception for the delicious cigars from my island.