1.13.2008

Email-Free: The Way to Be

Stace has sworn off Facebook for the '08. I'm swearin off email. Every.time. I check my inbox(es) I find another event I can't attend because of my jacked up work life. My line sister talks much trash because I have yahoo, gmail, hotmail, aol and myspace email addresses. This is not my fault. One is work-related (but not my actual work email address), one is blog-related. I got one when I moved to Pittsburgh because my dad had the highly over-priced AOL and I needed to be able to sign on. The other is my first email address ever where I get my Virginia SGRhos emails. I know I don't live in VA anymore and haven't for a while but that's where I started my Sigma journey and I won't let those sorors go! Lol. That's my Charlotte SGRhos email addy, too. Lol.

Back to the matter at hand. I got an evite for my homie's 26th birthday party in Philly-- quick $50 flight-- and guess who can't go because of the ratings period? We're not even allowed to switch days and have someone work for us that day. You can't exactly say I have this reeeeally important birthday party that all my homies are going to be at, even Stace who goes to nothing!! It sucks. A lot.


I have another inbox where I get all of my Hampton stuff. I contemplated finagling to get to a funeral to see people but that's just wrong. Particularly considering I had to rack my brain to figure out who the dead person was. When I saw the pic it was like oooh yeaaaah. But I don't remember having any interaction beyond a hello. Yeah you don't go to the funerals of strangers to socialize no matter how much you like funerals. Or how bangin the last Hampton funeral was that you attended. Save the funereal work skipping for that of a person you actually know, God forbid (though we all must die).

But the real Hampton events I'm sad about are the Charlotte alumni ones. I was in Charlotte back when my fun, fun friend ClassyJoJo was still in grad school at Columbia and K.D. was still teaching in Japan so all the fun, young, unattached (and therefore able to party hardy!) Hamptonians I knew while I was in school weren't there. Mike had just moved there less than a month before I moved. Now there are all sorts of people there. They're having events at Jillian's and chairing committees and hosting mixers and wine and cheeses. Tear! You should've seen me the last time I went home. Every time I turned around I saw another person I knew. I was literally turning in circles seeing familiar faces because someone would tap me on the shoulder and it was just like OMG! What are you doing here!? So fab.


May I take this opportunity to tell you how much I LOVE being recognized? It got a bit old at Hampton. Me and my line sister were horribly active and therefore went to EVERYONE'S events. Well she didn't do the super social night time events as regularly. You know your girl wasn't missing your cabaret or party (except the bruhs because by sophomore year we had learned they had the wackest parties. Isn't that horrid? They were really nice guys and we could pregame with them without being accosted but their (non-house) parties? Please let there be something else going on that night.) and I was dragging all my girls with me. Or they were dragging me. Lol. That's why I loved my crew. At least 2 people were always down. Usually me, CC, Stace, & Morg. The Jameil-spotting was most ridiculous in the union. It could take me an hour or more to get through there. 30 minutes was an excellent day. I couldn't not bless my loyal subjects with my presence!! I kid, I kid! But seriously, I love seeing people I know.


The last time I was home we went to this one spot we shall never go to again because although there is an upscale atmosphere, the service is not up to par ever from the door to the bar. This is not acceptable. However, every time I go there I see lots of people I know. It's insane. I know I grew up there but still. I'm in town for the weekend and seeing people everywhere including some who aren't from there but I just know from Hampton or wherever in life.


One of the most fab moments of my life to date along this vein was at H.2o in DC New Year's Day 2005. First, I just love that club. Second, I was there with my cousin and her friend (didn't have to drive and her friend is one of those people guys love to buy drinks for. She wasn't drinking like that so she continually handed them to me. I always manage to go out with people like this. It's a must.). Again, every time I turned around I saw someone I knew. It was extra weird, though because I'm not from there and I think that was the only time I'd been there as an adult. BUT it's where a ridiculous number of Hamptonians settle for at least some portion of their lives. My cousin said, "Jameil knows more people than me and I live here!" Sigh. Heaven. That's also where I discovered Tanqueray and tonic with a lime. SUCH a classic drink. Like a mojito, its gorgeous and matches almost any outfit. See-through and lime. So me. Get there.


So to minimize the heartache and pain since who knows when I'll get off of weekends, NO MORE EMAIL!!

17 comments:

proacTiff said...

"My line sister talks much trash..." A bit of your OWN medicine! Ha. You talk much trash to certain bloggers who shall remain nameless --and Facebookless. Ha. I'm on a roll. I'm swearing off email too. It used to be all the rage, now it's a pain in the rear. See how we do the things that are free? Blow them off, take them for granted. Blogger, email accounts, food, shelter. Wait. The ladder isn't free and right now that is what's important and going on with me. Ease up. I'm a big girl, going through major life-changes. The blog will be here, don't be try'na run me away with your little sidebars. Instead pray for those who are slacking. Ha ha ha...

*Off to email you ... Giggle*

P.S. I'm first! And what?

Adei von K said...

awwwwww. my question is: what'll happen if you DO switch with somebody? i personally, am all for suffering the consequences if the event will be worth it.

I'm trying not to laugh at you wanting to go to a funeral to socialize. I KNOW you're not really going to socialize, but its still funny how you realllllly want to go cause of the LIVING people that will be there lol

Sparkling Red said...

I could never give up e-mail and Facebook. However, I'm not so wildly well-known that I get overwhelmed with invitations. That'd be the day!

Anonymous said...

mmmmm I have several emails as well ... some that are rarely used and yet I have this fear that as soon as I close it someone from long and ago is going to try and contact me... and then what ... I cant give up email ... plus my job revolves around it!

Jameil said...

pro... HATER!! act right!! i couldn't really give up email any more than i could give up blogger. and yes, i shall pray for thee.

stace... lmao!! we know! that is so your motto and you are adorable for it. you're such a jerk. that's why i'm not going! tho the hampton funerals are as much about the living as the dead if not more so. you can't do anything else for the one in the casket.

red... i couldn't give it up either. but myspace? i think i could give that up. i won't for boredom sake but i could.

cali... me too!!! that's exactly why i still have my first email addy either. i don't want to miss some email from some long lost whoever. lolol. hilarious.

GreatWhyte said...

1. What bruhs are you referring to?
2. And this "union" that you speak of? Wasn't that reduced to rubble by the time you got to Hampton? :)
3. Yeah... that's how my ex found me again after a three year hiatus. He dug up an old (and seldom used) email address. Ah, the resourcefulness.

Momisodes said...

Facebook, I could do...Email, no way. I too have a ba-zillion addresses, and sadly I have 5-6 windows open during the day to check them all *sigh*....Oh how I wish I could break the addiction.

Southerner in Suomi said...

Man! My college life was like class, track, part-tme job, study at the part-time job cause I needed good grades, but nobody cared about my grades.

*Rinse and repeat

Guess that's what happens when your school has 31,000 undergrads.

Anonymous said...

I'm starting to dislike e-mail, as well. It's a hassle. Every other week my mom is telling about some QT4 member that she met that has moved to Charlotte. Boo. When I was in the DC Area I was running into classmates in the grocery store, in the mall it was ridiculous

Rashan Jamal said...

This probably wont surprise you , but I abhor being recognized. There's always that uncomfortable moment when you have to lie like you are actually gonna keep in touch with each other...

I've never done the facebook thing, but I could easily swear off MySpace since I only log in when someone sends me a friends request anyway. I think I'm too old for MySpace anyway. LOL

p_nami said...

Damn homie...I HATE missing those events.

On another note, I was watching The Best Man last night and when they cut to Jordan/Nia Long doing her thing as a producer, I thought, "Hey...it's Jameil!"

:-)

CNEL said...

Can't do the e-mails tho sometimes when I check the college one, the high school one (cause some people refuse to use the college one), the association one, and the private ones I feel I have no control of my life.

Oh Facebook invites are what burn me up cause a) tells you what event you're missing b) tells you who will be there you can stand c) who will be there you can't stand and d) who will be there you feel indifferent about.

Jameil said...

X... what other bruhs are there? the ones who call themselves that. is there a reason you're always trying to prove you're more of a hamptonian than i? gross at the ex. get thee behind me!!

sandy... i wouldn't ever give up email either.

v... i didn't do sports or working so that left plenty of free time.

everything... i can't even imagine that. that's crazy.

rj... no that doesn't surprise me at all. i don't do facebook either and yes you are a bit elderly for myspace.

doll... yay! you thought of me! :) missing events is for the birds!!

cnel... wow that's dramatic! lol. facebook had a captive audience in me leading up to homecoming for just that reason.

Mau said...

Good People!

You have GOT to rid yourselves of these "many, many" e-mail addresses you have. Life is too short to check more than one or two email addresses per day.

The solution: G-Mail.

I run EIGHT different e-mail addresses out of my Gmail. The "reply to" address can be whichever address you want.

To boot, since Gmail offers IMAP support, you can continue to use Outlook if you want to. Or Thunderbird (which is both simpler, and free). And while I'm on the subject of Thunderbird, if you're STILL using Internet Explorer, then get with the program and switch to Firefox. You'll never look back.

I'm very serious about this people. If you need help, let me know.

The hardest one to transfer is Yahoo, but if you're willing to go the extra mile and spend a little $, that one is possible too.

I KNOW I'm rambling a bit here, but I spend too much time on the internet to be wasting it in clunky IE, or in 15 different e-mail programs.

Jameil said...

mau honey. is this dear to you? lmao!

Mau said...

Jameil:Project Runway::Mau:EMail Efficiency

'Nuf Said.

yet another black guy said...

i just got gig in DC sometime in October. i'm gonna shout your name at a couple bars and see what i get hahaha!