My Online Brand Takes a Minor Hit

When you ask me how I'm doing and I answer "good" - it's almost always a relative answer.

For instance, I'll almost invariably answer that work is going well. I might say it's busy - but that's as far as I'll go in terms of complaining.  Having once gone a year without a job, and having seen people who I thought were set for life get laid off, I don't dare mess with the laws of karma and act like I don't have a pretty good situation at the GLIC.

If you had asked me how I was feeling in early November, I would have told you "good" even though I was having serious trouble making myself comfortable. However,  I wasn't in agonizing pain from the pancreatitis that I had been dealing with a few weeks prior. 

If you ask me how my son is doing I'll usually answer "good" even if he's failing 2 subjects because well...he's a good kid and I assume he'll get it together in  time for high school. (I really shouldn't have repeatedly told Jocelyn "I don't give a crap what you do until high school" as my son has taken it to heart...parenting is tricky). 

We all go around telling each other that things are "good" because, well, it's just simpler that way.  All of us struggle with something and there simply isn't enough time to bare our souls!

Nobody has approached me today and asked my how my week went. However,  if they were to do so I'd probably tell them it went "good."  I wouldn't necessarily be lying. I accomplished a bit at work, I had some good times with my kids. My daughter has announced she wants to try for the Coast Guard Academy - and while I know the odds  I also believe in the corny notion of aiming for the stars, as even if you miss you'll be among the clouds. She got elected band president. She seems happier than she has been lately...

And my son - he's starting to get some groove as well. He may even wind up with a report card devoid of C's this marking period - and it's not even high school! 

I made a new friend,  - and we all know it's not easy to make friends after 30 with kids! 

So yeah, it was a good week...With just a minor caveat:

I won't post the entire "review" as this is a PG-Rated blog, nor will I post any personal information about the writer as that would make me a part of the problem. I certainly don't want her kids to see hateful and false information about her. I don't think her friends want to know about any issues we may have had either. I will just say that the source of the woman's anger was that she was led to believe  I was married. Apparently - she was so emotionally scarred from this after she had invested ONE date in me that ruining my reputation was fair game. 

I don't feel the need to answer the post.  I'm not married. Apparently having a blog where I make no attempt to disguise who I am that goes into the details of my online dating experiences is not enough proof that I'm not married. So I put an end to it and sent a picture of my divorce decree to the reviewer.  FWIW - she feels horrible and is trying to rectify the situation. 

What's troubling to me is that sites like this are allowed to exist at all. 

This malicious - and false - information was posted within minutes for free. To get it removed costs hundreds of dollars - and takes time. I don't know how much time - the author began trying to make it right 5 days ago but  as of this writing I am still a "Dating Psycho." - Once my name is off the site I'll probably remove this blog as well. For right now I don't think they get much traffic. My blog has only received two hits from that URL and I think one of them was me! Either way - since the site LINKS to my blog I feel like I should say..something. 

While I would obviously have preferred the woman NOT have taken to the dregs of the internet world to get back at me for this perceived slight - I am honestly not upset with her anymore. I am much more angry at a site that allows you to post about people without any verification process whatsoever but requires PLENTY of information, and money, to get it removed. It's all perfectly legal as the website states in plain English that some of the information may not be accurate - and I guess that's good enough to withstand a class action suit. This site has somehow existed for over a decade. 

A couple of months ago the Peeple app  was introduced. The idea being it's "Yelp" for people. My first reaction to this is to cringe. However - Peeple is WAY ahead of this site - they actually have safeguards in place. Although frankly I don't know anyone who has downloaded it. 

I think I'll weather this one just fine - but the whole thing has been a lesson in just how low the internet can go!

UPDATE: IT LOOKS LIKE MY NAME HAS BEEN REMOVED! I will probably delete this blog in short order but for now it serves as a case study in what can be done! THANKS to the person who got it removed! (PM me if you're evil part is winning out and you HAVE to know what it said!)

To the High School Graduating Class of 2016....

In the spirit of the fabulous song Don’t Forget to Wear Sunscreen – I offer the following tidbits of advice to the high school graduatinng class of 2016.

•   For the next three years of your life you’re going to be old enough to die for your country but too young to drink a beer. This is not a sudden realization you came up with – and nobody cares.

• Look for the absolute best in everyone you meet. Sometimes you’ll have to look awfully hard.

• Cynicism is the easiest of school of thought to take – anyone can do it. Rise above it.

•  If you order a shake at an ice cream place – be extra good to the person who has to make it. Shakes really screw up the flow. The same rule applies to ordering anything that needs to be heated at Subway, anything that involves cooking an egg at Dunkin Donuts, or asking the bartender to make you a Long Island Iced Tea. Find the tip jar in all of these situations!

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   The first friends you need to make at college are the janitors and the cafeteria staff. You can worry about finding a BFF in the second semester.

•  You’re going to make some mistakes worthy of a Dr. Phil show in your life. Try and stay off Jerry Springer and Maury.

• Nobody has ever changed their mind about a political issue based on something posted on Facebook – for the love of God don’t add to the problem by commenting.

• Don’t believe that crap that our generation is somehow tougher, smarter or in any way better than yours. When I was in high school a select few seniors took calculus, gays were mocked and ridiculed openly and yes – we used snow days regularly. You guys are way the hell ahead of us.

•   Until you have a good explanation for a collective conscience, don’t mock anyone who believes in a loving God.

•   45% of America is always going to vote Republican, 45% is always going to vote Democrat. Be one of the 10% that don’t blindly follow what the memes from partisan websites are preaching.

•  Be wary whenever someone cites “States rights” as justification for their cause – they’re virtually always on the wrong side of history.

•   Find something to love – be it music, art, sports, gardening, or whatever – and do it whether or not the world thinks you’re good at it or not.

•  It is perfectly acceptable to cry when you’re favorite football team runs a draw on 3^rd and 12. Along those same lines, there’s no such thing as too much rage if your linebackers get sucked into chasing the quarterback on what is clearly a screen.

•  To the young men in the audience: Hair is important to women. Make mental notes of it every day and be quick to let them know if one strand is going in a different direction. I really can’t overstate the importance of this.

• Kids between 5 and 10 can spot phonies better than anybody. Trust their judgment.

•  Volunteers make the world go round. Everyone has a gift – use yours.

•  Becoming a teacher is an option available to virtually all of you right now. If that’s what you want to do – do it. If you choose not to do it, don’t spend the rest of your life bitching about how “easy” you think they have it. 

hHave I missed any life rules that you find equally - if not MORE important than these nuggets?! Drop me a line or comment below  - or on Facebook. Maybe I'll update!