Some days, I hate the internet. I hate that it fills my mind with passing images I can't quite grasp. I hate that it can occasionally pull me away from what I need to be doing. I hate that sometimes it's the sole reason I start comparing myself to someone else...
I hate that.
But other days...I am so grateful for this crazy invention that keeps changing and expanding and becoming a part of our lives...and I'll tell you why.
In case you were dying to know my whereabouts (yes, Mom, I'm talking to you,) I've been galavanting around the Illinois interstate the last few days for CHA, the Craft and Hobby Association trade show. The place where all the companies bring their goods and we drool and fill up our creative tanks.
For me, the highlight was getting to meet Brandin, the co-owner and designer of Webster's Pages. We talk multiple times every single day and yet, I've never met her.
Funny how that happens online, isn't it?
Sometimes when you've known someone online before meeting them in person, it can be a letdown when you actually meet. You think things like "Oh, they aren't what I thought they were..." or "She's not what I expected..." or "maybe we don't hit it off as well as I thought."
In this case, this couldn't be farther (further?) from the truth.
I was reminded once again why I am so thankful for my job with her amazing company. I am inspired by her authenticity, her goodness and her integrity. There is so much fake in the world, and I have pledged to get all of that out of my life...
Brandin is a keeper.
Before the show, she emailed me and said, "Ok, so what are the quirky, weird things about you that I need to know going in?"
I said:
1. I go to the bathroom all the time.
2. I don't eat until about 11:30 in the morning.
3. I apply deodorant about ten times a day.
None of this frightened her. Good thing because she was stuck with me for days. And we had so much fun.
Sometimes you really luck out...and in this case, I really lucked out.
Because not only is Brandin a biz-whiz who is eager to teach...she's also an artist who designs things like this:
So we 'get" each other.
And that's a very rare thing.
The other thing is that while we were at CHA, which, in a lot of ways is like a big celebration for all the work she's been doing over the last few months, the chance to let people swoon over her artwork... I got some really amazing news.
It has to do with this guy:
(Did you know it's 99 cents on Kindle and Nook right now? Did you know I have an author page on Facebook and I want you to be my friend? Did you know my next book comes out in just a couple of weeks?!) Ahhhhh!
Anyway, I told Brandin my news right at the end of the day Wednesday and even though we were in the middle of her big party...she took a moment to celebrate with me. As soon as I got the news I knew she would "get it."
Friends like that, genuine and authentic, who truly want what's best for you...that's rare. And I don't know about you, but I think when you find it, you hold on.
It's strange, isn't it, this internet thing? How it can bring you to people you may otherwise never know? How I can live in Colorado or Illinois and still work with someone who lives in North Carolina every single day...
So, some days I hate the internet. When it's misused, it does harm.
But today, I'm so thankful for it...because it's brought me genuine friendships, a job I love and it's opened my eyes to a world I never would've known otherwise...
How about you? Do you have a friend you've met online and it was like you've known each other your whole lives?
