Foibles & Filters in The Stuff That's Not Interesting But Is The Most Interesting Stuff I'll Write

I finally finished moving. I have so much space in my new place that I don’t quite know what to do with it all. Every shelf is empty and I finally see that I have not collected anything in my life. Well, I don’t really have trinkets. I still have a box of stuff in California that I meant to have shipped to me, but I don’t really see how my mother will send that to me, but I really should find a way to get it.

Anyone coming to Thailand from the West Coast of America with extra space in their luggage?

So many people are praising the fact that I didn’t have any alcohol during August, as if I did it as some kind of like moral reasons… I just didn’t feel like it. And people always say things that are kind of veiled comments about how I’m supposedly an alcoholic or that it’s nice of me to start down the road to sobriety or whatnot.

Whatever. I restarted my Facebook just to keep track of some of the drama surrounding my grandfather’s death. There really is nothing redeemable about Facebook. There’s absolutely no reason for its existence any longer. There is no communication on there, it’s all just total bullshit.

I don’t get it. I’m not even really on board with Instagram any longer. I know it’s just a matter of time before I let that go because it’s just not fun anymore. Isn’t that what it’s supposed to be?

You know, last month I posted seven entries. That’s the most I’ve posted in years, and that’s mainly because I had something to actually talk about and I had the desire to share it. But what exactly is Instagram for any longer? It’s becoming Facebook. Facebook isn’t about communication anymore. It’s like a newspaper advertisement page that’s a live and filled with comments about all the people you’re close enough with to see online but not close enough to actually have their phone numbers.

Instagram is becoming that. The whole Reels debacle that happened earlier this summer was very interesting. I automatically hide every video that pops up on Instagram because that’s not what I came to Instagram for. That’s what Tik Tok is for. I had a Tik Tok for about 3 months. I couldn’t really figure out what the point was, so I deleted it.

Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok all need to change what they’re really called. They’re not “Social Media”, they’re “Interactive Advertising”. Our company and people we trust are going to sell shit to you all the time. It’s going to promote brands, lifestyles and everything in between.

Do you realize how tired I am of being marketed to? I HATE it.

One of the reasons I like Thailand is because I don’t understand any of the advertising so I can basically just phase it out of my consciousness. That’s probably one of the main reasons I haven’t learned Thai. I don’t want to have to engage with the nonsense that is advertising in Thailand.

I went to a 90s night over the weekend and it was… meh. The one bright spot was that I ran into my old co-worker, Jack. Such a nice guy, genuinely happy to see him. It made me realize that as irritating as my last school had been, it really wasn’t my co-workers that were the problem, it was the management.

Here, some of the newer teachers complain about the management, and they’re far from perfect, but they are so much of an improvement over my last situation. And as I was walking to work this morning, I realized how much I really love my job here. It was such an unexpected situation because I genuinely don’t know how to explain this feeling or describe exactly what it means.

I’ve never felt satisfied before.

Now what?