Online vs Real Life Friends

I've been on the Internet for a few years now. Let's just say it's been more than a decade! And I realized something yesterday - I still have trouble referring to my "internet friends" in real-life conversations.  I was talking about a recipe someone tweeted, but couldn't quite bring myself to say to my boss that I'd seen it on twitter, so I said I saw it in a magazine. Why? All I know is that I was afraid of a funny look, because I suspect that their online life extends to a bit of Facebook and the rest of the web is a dangerous and mysterious place to them. 

In previous years too, if I was chatting with someone and knew some tidbit of gossip about a current issue from livejournal (back in the day), I'd say that I heard it "somewhere". I wouldn't have said "my Internet friend who lives in America told me".

Then last year, I saw a tweet from a guy that said "Just so you know, I refer to all you twitter friends as just 'friends' when I talk about you. It's just easier." Oh my goodness. Lightbulb! 

So now I try and do that. In conversation, YOU - dear person I know from online - are my friend who made an interesting recipe last night, or saw the movie I want to see, or went to a cool place that I want to go to too. 

The great thing is knowing people from online is fast losing ita stigma. Ten years ago if you said you were meeting up with someone you met on the Internet, you'd be warned about axe murderers. Now, going to an Instagram meetup or tweetup is not unusual!

Do you call your internet friends your friends? Or do you still hesitate?

A new friend

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On Saturday night, reclining on the couch in my most slothful position and discussing tall building engineering, I realized I have a new friend.

It’s my mum.

It was a lightbulb moment. I went up to the farm this weekend to visit our wedding photographer and collect our proper photos (excitement! But that’s news for another post) and C then went back to Brisbane as he had to work. I spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday just hanging out with my mum.

I realized that I love doing just that – spending time with her. Not only is she nice and willing to pay for things (thanks mum!), she’s smart and interesting and we can talk for hours. We’re interested in the same things, so we always have something to talk about. In fact, hubby is convinced that we talk TOO MUCH.

We had a fab old time – watering the garden, BBQ dinner on the patio drinking wine and listening to the radio, Sunday breakfast at a café (The Engine Room in Railway St, Toowoomba – highly recommended!), markets then garage sales. I think she was delighted to go to the markets and garage sales too because dad always refuses to take her! My newly-minted hubby is the same, though he supports my thrifting habit, he draws the line at going with me a lot of the time!

The whole time I spent up there was not only fun and relaxing, the fact that I discovered a new friendship made it a golden weekend. I think now that I’m older I can appreciate my mum more as a person, not just the lady who raised me.

Are you friends with your mum?