People on the Move

The last few weeks have been very busy with going away parties for various friends. First, we had a "surprise" going away party for Simon on June 27. He left town this week to head back to the UK. For those who don't know Simon, he has been here teaching with the Visiting International Faculty program for the last 2 years. Unfortunately, the visa he had was only good for two years so he is off to find another job. He has a final interview in Switzerland this week, so my fingers are crossed that he gets that and I can go visit him after the first of the year!

Then, it was time for Angie and Shannon's going away party. They are leaving to teach in Shanghai for the next two years (you can check out Angie's blog about the experience in my blog list). I am sure they are going to have an unforgettable experience and my hope is to go visit them sometime next summer or shortly thereafter.

Finally. last Sunday we had a cookout here at the house for Esther. She is moving back to Virginia very soon to run several dining locations on the campus of JMU. I know we will still get to see her (and we've already told her we are going to swing by and say "hi" on our way back from New York.

This is a new experience for me. I've always been the one leaving and saying goodbye. Andy and I have never been afraid to start over in a new place, but we've been in and around Greensboro for 7 1/2 years now. That's the longest I've lived in one town since I was a small child. So, we have now officially lived in one location long enough for other people we've come to love to leave us. We are both feeling it, but I think it is also making us both feel a little restless. We're tied down here for at least another year or so while I wrap up grad school, but who knows where we might end up after that!

Facebook is a funny thing...

When I opened a facebook account in the fall I did because my friend Simon convinced me that it would be some amazing and fabulous thing...

I've never been much into MySpace, just have an account for my students to email me. It seems like too much work to keep up with a MySpace page and my blog. Plus, MySpace just doesn't seem as private or secure as Facebook, so I swung that direction.

I waited for something amazing and fabulous to happen. Simon and I convinced a few more people from Oak Hill to start accounts and my friend list grew slowly. Then, I found just a couple of people from college and high school that I had been good friends with. Next, it was people from the beach. Now I'm to the point that it seems I get a new friend request a couple of times a week. This week, I found out Eva had an account. Through her, I found Rita (who also found me on Skype). Next thing I knew, I had a friend request from Lois. You know what this means??? HOLLY- I KNOW YOU ARE READING THIS. IT IS TIME TO JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON. OPEN A FACEBOOK ACCOUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That being said, it is amazing what happens. In the last couple of weeks, two friends of Andy's from his time in New Jersey found him. They have been back in touch and Andy was so surprised to be back in touch with them. What do you think? Will the likes of MySpace and Facebook keep people from falling out of touch with others as they are apt to do? After all, once someone is your friend on one site or the other, they always know what you are up to. They get to see pictures of the things you are doing and if you are one of those obsessive status updaters like me, they will even know the mundane day to day things that you do. Will these sites change the way humans living away from each other communicate and keep in touch?