This was my first breakup in a Facebook era, and I didn’t realize the whole new level it brought to navigating post-relationship etiquette…. and trauma!

What do you do with all the albums?
Anyone on facebook has at least one obnoxious album of them being lovey-dovey with their significant other. Maybe it was that trip you took together last year. Or that wedding, or whatever. After the breakup, it suddenly goes from adorable, to abhorable.

Do you just delete them all, as my friend did when he and his girlfriend split last month? Within a week, every trace of their existence together had vanished from his profile.

A girlfriend of mine chose to leave all the photos of her ex, but un-tagged herself. “So that if guys are interested and check out my pictures, they don’t come across me nuzzling with my ex.”

My feeling is that everyone has exes, and while I admit I did de-tag some of the more lovey shots, I think that was more for myself than for any future potential suitor. After all, at 29, everyone has exes, and anyone new in my life needs to acknowledge that I’ve not spent the last decade in a convent.

“In” a relationship
When we got together, and he asked me to “be in a relationship” on facebook, I thought it was cute. Three years later, I’m linked to this man, and de-tagging him as my significant other is broadcast across the network. C’mon Facebook, where’s the sympathy for the recently broken-up! What do you do in this sittuation?

Do you slash your status and just mark yourself as single (which is reported, via news feed, to everyone on your list, complete with a broken heart and the phrase “Lesley is no longer in a relationship” – seriously, could they be more dramatic?) or just remove your relationship status altogether? I opted for the latter. I still got an onslought of emails asking what happened.

The first outing
Getting single on Facebook is like that first real outing – It’s like going out with friends for the first time since a major split, as I did last week. My first outing was to a birthday with friends. 23 people asked some variation on the question “Hey, where’s your man?” TWENTY-THREE in one night!!!

While I cringed the first few times, by the end of the night I was totally desensitized, and was even able to joke “No worries, you’re the (insert #) person to ask that in the past hour!” The truth is, it wasn’t that traumatic at all – it was downright liberating!!!

Just do it!
Getting single on Facebook is like that first night out – it’s best to just get it out in the open – and get it over with. That way, you can move on.

I guess this is my last place to “out myself” – I’m single world!

Hey, that wasn’t so bad, was it?

Signing off,

Liberated Lesley

My friend and colleague has become a self described social media ninja, so it occurred to me that I could use his (now rather well known) image to get my point across. This is what our friend and designer and I came up with over breakfast.

The concept is simple: Mess with Bishin, and I’ll unleash the Bandito:



Not surprisingly, my colleagues have all been a lot more prompt recently.

It’s one of the things that led me to go back to full time work: I wanted to really be able to dedicate myself to something, without always thinking about the next paycheck, that other job, etc. There was a time when I thought creativity and success were mutually exclusive. I just hadn’t found the right job yet.

When I did find a place where I was happy, I thought I’d want to write less – I even considered relinquishing my hosting space. But something unexpected happened: The harder I worked, the more I learned, the more I wanted more. More intellectual stimulation. More banter. More to do.

I’ve never disliked bringing my work home. There’s something fun about curling up on my sofa with a cup of hot tea and a red pen. I’m a copywriter. I don’t stop being a copywriter just because I’m at home. My brain spins.

When I run out of work, and my world is quiet; Adam is asleep, I’m too tired to read, it’s too late to call my friends, and even the dogs are passed out- that’s when I start to write. Sometimes it’s on my laptop. Sometimes it’s on the paper towel I rescued from the dog’s mouth earlier. It doesn’t matter. I sit, I spin, and I think about the day. So, I’m going to try spinning here.

I’ve decided that the bloggers I like best – hell, the people I like best- are the most honest. So, I’m going to be honest to myself here. I thought a lot about the voice I should adopt for this blog, and I’m going to write the way I speak. If I’m going to be able to reach any body, it’ll be because I’m a genuinely interested person. I like other people. Meeting them, getting to know them, Learning about them. There isn’t really anything more enlightening than seeing the world through other people’s eyes.

The smartest people I know are those who admit they don’t know everything – because they’re the ones who keep striving for more knowledge. If you think you know everything, you won’t ever learn anything.

So, this blog is going to be about life. I’m not going to talk about work. This isn’t a marketing blog, or a copywriting blog. That being said, I am a digital marketing copywriter, and I’m sure to some extent my personal life and opinions reflect that.

This has been an awfully long post. But hey, it’s the first one. The first real one, anyway.

Welcome.

South Tea Lake, July 28, 1995–Being a Tamakwan is more than a 9 to 5 job. Some of the best moments come AFTER hours, or BEFORE.

Thursday, 9:30 p.m…. At the main camp Fireplace, all eyes are on junior counselors Zach Schram and Matt Leebove as they nurture a small flame with cedar shavings, piece by piece. Gradually they build up with larger splinters into a small log cabin shaped fire. Once it is hot enough, they crown it off with split maple that has been curing for months in the woodshed. Now it’s a roaring campfire, flickering bright hues of orange, red and — closer to the core — deep blue. Alex Orley and Michael Katchen — in true 7 year old fashion — are in the front row, not to miss any of the action before they march off to their cabin for a bedtime story by Junior Tamakwan Director Kristie Shane. In concentric circles around the fire pit is the rest of camp, standing cross-armed and singing taps: “Close beside Tamakwa’s waters, sloping hills of green….” And above them are eight schmillion stars, one of which streaks across the black sky.

Friday, 6:30 a.m…. For Lesley Bishin and Justin Singer, the scene is familiar: Canoe Bay in that early morning chill…. The mist on the water… the sound of wood against wood, paddle against canoe… and the jitters in their stomachs. This is not their first time testing for the coveted “Voyageur” canoeing award, but this time they feel more prepared than ever. As they lean in kneeling position on the canoe floor, their paddles are like extensions of their bodies. They control their canoes effortlessly across the glassy water, performing the prescribed strokes and patterns with the finesse of a figure skater. Only the judges know if the time has come for these two to join the “club” of Voyageur Canoeists, Tamakwa’s finest. Considering their talents, even if their time has not come today, it cannot be far off.

We keep busy BETWEEN morning and night, too. In fact, it has been non-stop since the wonderful Visiting Day last week. In this 60th year, we’re making more history with Tamakwa’s longest canoe trips ever. Three 15 Day trips have already left, with two 13 Day and to 10 Day trips to depart. Activities are running full steam, rehearsals for the upcoming production of “Oliver” resound around camp, and any homesickness has faded. By the time you read this, the Winter Olympics will have come to Tamakwa. Yes, WINTER. For details, tune into your kids’ letters and the stories after camp. One week into the new session, your kids are cheering, singing and laughing, as Tamakwa spirit soars.

Yours,

Vic Norris & Dave Bale
Senior Directors

Jeff Wilson
Camp Director

CLICK HERE TO VIEW “PROTEST SONGS” VIDEO