Facebook Chat

Facebook chat is the most marvelous invention. People I wouldn't normally talk to are just a click away. It's weird though, seeing a list comprised of people I knew from elementary school in Sacramento, working at Blockbuster in college, studying abroad in France, the plane ride from Sydney to Los Angeles. It's like all these people with nothing in common whatsoever except for me. I don't talk to most of them on a regular basis, but it's nice knowing what they're up to. It's like I'm reconnecting with the person I used to be when I knew them. I'm proud when the girl I was in a play with once gets an audition for some big regional show. I'm happy for my former co-worker who I always liked but never got to know when she goes off on a month-long trip to Brazil. I even like knowing that the guy I couldn't stand in middle school returned safely from Iraq. I know this is horribly sappy and trite, but it's nice knowing that we're all still connected long after our paths have crossed and will probably never cross again. A lot of people think that these relationships are superficial. If we weren't close enough to make the effort to meet for coffee or chat on the phone, maybe this person should be left behind with our memories and former selves. But just because I only leave a message with someone once a year on their birthday (thanks to a Facebook reminder), it doesn't mean I've stopped caring about them. We may meet up someday in the future and we'll still have some semblance of a relationship thanks to this marvelous little website.

And now Facebook should pay me for such a nice review and free advertising.