You've Got Mail...Enjoy it While it Lasts

The other night I was watching You've Got Mail with my roommates. It didn't occur to me how old the movie was until I saw the bulky laptop and heard the dial tone to connect to an AOL chat room. When i think of how much technology has evolved it amazes me, yet that movie wasn't made that long ago. You've Got Mail released in 1998, which means that twelve years ago email and chat rooms were a novelty. Excitement and frenzy were created over the three simple words(or four if you count the contraction), "You've Got Mail."

Now email seems laborious and clunky with Facebook, Twitter, and Google Wave. The whole world can know what you are thinking in a matter of seconds, so why wait minutes to send an email? I can access any information through the internet, yet I am impatient when my browser takes more than ten seconds to load. If I can't watch a video instantly on YouTube I wonder what's wrong with my connection. I don't think we take enough time to appreciate the progression of life. Consider the idea that you can find the answer to almost any question through Google, or ask yourself, "What would I do if didn't have internet access for a month?" Instead of constantly wondering what will come next, I think I will take a minute to appreciate everything that's around me because in a couple of years I might be mocking today's technology.

Making room for deep thought

I have been using this blog mostly to highlight my public relations work. However, I also want to use it for personal writing. My roommates and I are often having a conversation when someone says, "Hey guys so I was having this thought today..." That person will then go on to share their epiphany for the day. One of my friends has dubbed these times "deep thought" moments. Have you ever had a time during the day when you think about something on a deeper level? Instead of blindly fumbling through the day on autopilot, you find deeper meaning and purpose that motivates and enriches your life. As weird as this sounds I love these moments. They are so enlightening. Oddly enough I experienced such a moment the other day in the bookstore. I was buying a birthday card for my cousin, and I was at the cash register when one of the employees asked me, "What's the best thing that has happened to you today?" A blank stare of stupidity answered her question as I racked my brain for something to say. "Well let's see...I woke up late and then I went to work for four hours and now I am on lunch but I am about to go to work for another four or five hours; none of that sounds very exciting," I thought to myself. I then thought of the moment I had a couple minutes earlier when I found a card that reminded me of an inside joke with one of my best friends. I literally, and no not figuratively, laughed out loud in the card section and then picked up the card, bought it, and sent it to my friend. As I stood in the bookstore, I realized that I don't think of the "best things" in the day nearly enough. Usually I am too busy focusing on the everyday mundane things. After my short conversation with that bookstore employee, my afternoon was considerably better as I thought of the small things that were good that day. Now I try to ponder on that question when I think my day is awful, "What is the best thing that has happened to you today?"