Notices by Sean Kleefeld (skleefeld@mastodon.social), page 2

@multiverseofbadness You've got wealthier Gen X friends than I do!

I'm starting to see nostalgia pieces from people still in their 20s, wistfully waxing on about how great things were in the early 2000s. I'm old enough that I don't care that there are generations (plural) younger than me who are adults now, but if you're already wallowing in nostalgia in your 20s..? Man, you're gonna have a bitch of a time as you keep getting older!

@multiverseofbadness Good!

Saw an advice piece this morning that pointed out several ways social media can hurt your financial life. Several elements centered around "keeping up with the Joneses" and FOMO type issues. Which totally make sense but I don't know that I've personally been very subject to such concerns. Not to say I'm not influenced by others, obviously, but I don't feel pangs of inadequacy because my social media feed makes someone else's highlight reel more attractive than mine. 1/

"Man, Sean, you missed out! Where were you anyway?"
"I had opening shifts at McD's on Saturday and Sunday; I was in bed by 9:00."
"Geez, you missed a great time!"
"You know, it wouldn't have mattered if I didn't have to work. You never called anyway."
5/

So I wonder if that's helped me navigate social media better than many others. I was so used to seeing/hearing other people's "highlight reels" before social media was even a thing that seeing them displayed on my computer didn't come across as any different than hearing them on Monday. They didn't have photo evidence most of the time, but I did have to witness the excitement on their faces and the animation in their bodies as they relayed their stories at the lunch table. 4/

At the time, it did indeed feel very isolating and often quite lonely. But by the time I got into my 20s, I'd become very used to that. I got to know myself very well as I had nothing to do but introspect; I had to become very aware of myself because I didn't really have a choice not to. 3/

I wonder how much of that stems from social ostracization in my youth. I was very far from being one of the "cool kids" to be sure, but even in my friend group, I always felt like I had an outsider status. On Monday at school, I'd hear about what they did over the weekend without me. So throughout my teens, I was very much forced to get used to spending time by myself without regard to what others were doing and with whom. 2/

Not sure it's an approach I would recommend anyone taking. As I said, I spent many of my formative years feeling very isolated and alone, and I didn't always handle it well. But it did force me to figure out how to handle it before I had to see it every time I logged onto my computer and fire up my phone.
/end

@multiverseofbadness Well, I'll definitely take solace in the fact that it's not a broad cultural shift I'll need to adjust to! Much easier to run with "Sean's just a grumpy old bastard!" I should be able to lean into that! 🙃

I'm not sure how to feel about this. I mean, I'm glad they all get along that well. Thrilled, in fact! But I learned very much the hard way that work friends, by and large, don't make for great friendships outside of work. The lines get too blurry and it's super easy to inadvertently let that casualness of friendship into the work setting.

Prior to COVID, my employer had two offices in N America: one in Chicago and one in Toronto. So even though the entire company has been officially remote since 2020, there's still significant worker representation in those two areas. This week, two of my Chicago-area colleagues elected to take a road trip to Toronto just to see folks. Nothing work related, just "Hey, let's meet up and hang for a few days."

I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm naturally more introverted to begin with. I've been perfectly content working from home the past four years with only VERY occasional in-person interactions with anyone besides my wife.

They've shared a few photos via our work chat. (Which several them willing set up on their phones.) Of the eight of them in the pictures, I've worked directly with and am friendly with all of them, but I've only met one in person... and that was at a work conference.

Don't get me wrong; I do like my co-workers. I think we've got a solid, friendly team. But I have no desire to just hang out with them outside of work. Is that a generational thing? Is that a brow-beaten-by-capitalism-for-the-past-30-years thing? Is that learned detachment from anything work related? I don't really know.

What I don't know is how much of my attitude there is from an additional 15+ years of real life experiences versus how much is tied to the specific eras those experiences were in. Is the nature of work and work-friendships fundamentally different now than it was 20 years ago?

Should I just chalk things up to "these kids today" or am I completely out of touch with whatever workplace mores are 'standard' now? Is that something I'll have to actively adjust in order to stay work-relevant for another decade and a half until I retire (or am forced out of the workplace because of thinly disguised ageism)?

Another article from the NYT talking about mass shootings: Colorado L.G.B.T.Q. Club Shooter Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crimes.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/18/us/club-q-shooter-federal-charges-guilty.html?partner=IFTTT
This is absurd. The only reason for guns is to kill. We need to ban ALL guns!
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org

@multiverseofbadness I want to say I've been in that very hotel room but honestly, I suspect a very high number of hotel rooms have that exact view.

Another article from the NYT talking about mass shootings: Sandy Hook Victims Are Remembered on Day They Would Have Graduated.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/13/nyregion/sandy-hook-survivors-graduation-newtown.html?partner=IFTTT
This is absurd. The only reason for guns is to kill. We need to ban ALL guns!
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org