Seriously.

What is it with oldies trying to be hip?? It's like, the older they get, they harder they try and be "down with it". Like iphones to ipads (mind you, they can barely see the text on "the jolly thing") to knowing who Lady Gaga is to having Facebook to using LOL (mum, dad - writing LOL on bills, catalogues and notes to us... well, lol but no).

No. Just no. It's not cool, it's alarming.

How about dad this morning in the car talking about a karaoke style music track having a "mean trumpet". Or last night, when something was "hardout"... I don't even talk like that. The only people I hear talk like that are a distinct 10 shades darker than him (not being racist, just realist) and about 40 years his junior. Clearly, he's been... well I don't know, I don't know where he's been or the crowd he's been hanging out with.. but a 62 yr old, balding man who wears his trousers above his belly button and can safely be called a dork.. well the imagery is a bit contradictory isn't it?

I'm not just taking a stab at poor ol' pops though, it seems to be an upward trend in the older generations. I saw a granny on her iphone on Facebook on the train a few months ago.. reading her news feed like it was the newspaper. I don't even have an iphone. I barely use Facebook these days. Hellooooo, isn't it her responsibility to be the cuddly-gran-in-her-apron-and-hair-rollers-baking-cookies-and-knitting-beanies-for-her-grandkids community representative? Instead of posting "lol @ ur bday pics dear" on walls?

Have we reached the age where oldies conform to the newest trend quicker than young ones?

When I grow old, just sayin', I'll be demanding my rights to finding the news out from the newspaper rather than my newsfeed. Imma take full pleasure in using phrases like "Jiminy Crickets!" and "Heaven forbid"... I'll probably insist on wearing slippers all day too instead of chucks.. but most likely because I'll have bunions by then and a tendency to stay indoors...

Starting to feel the itch again.. it's been exactly a week and a half since iv'e been on facebook. Not the biggest achievement to some but a trillion years for me. I found myself tempted to sneak on last night (who would know?)... and just before I even went to the home page and put in my login details. It would have been so easy to just press Login.

But I told myself that I'd lose all my self-respect if I gave in!

Dammit.

The challenge.

I de-activated my facebook account yesterday. I feel so disconnected with the world now, how sad is that? I already find myself tempted to log back in, what on earth did I do with myself before facebook came along? oh, myspace. A general observation here but isn't it tragic how people's lives have become accustomed to being centred around cyber space and trivial things like who is connected with who and what they plan to eat for dinner... I say as I sit here blogging into cyber space.

So anyway, a challenge has been put to me - a one month ban of facebook. If I break I owe my good friend Ray Muliaga $100 (and vice versa if he breaks). Not loose change in my back pocket.

Now alls I have to do is figure out a way to have my small victories over my boss now that constant login on to fb is out of the question... pilfering of office stationary? hiding his numerous pairs of sunglasses every now and then? questions, questions. But obviously I have to be a lot more creative.