rivettingKateTaylor

The social networking site called Facebook has been a delightful time waster for me in the past few months and helps me follow the path to procrastination greatness.

Another old classmate from secondary school logged on this morning from the class ahead of me. Yesterday it was two from two classes younger than me. Back then, way back in the distant memory of the 1980s, two years was a huge gap.

It’s extremely weird to look at these faces now and see glimpses of the teenager you knew, but now they have children, jobs, other interests and lives so distant from the hometown ties.

And embarrassing too as photos appear of Brownies and Guides, trips to the fire station in the primmers, Standard One with major side parts and home made clothes (thanks for that white flowery thing, Mum).

There are people I have often thought of over the years and wondered where they were and what they were up to, there are others I haven’t paid even the passing thought to (but are thrilled to catch up with now) and there are those I still can’t remember.

The place I went to school was made up of half a dozen South Island farming communities – small primary schools converging on a college (form 1 to 7) that we thought was big at the time. About 300 students when I was in the seventh form (started with about 60 kids in form 1 and ended with about 25 in my 7th form – boarding school, moving towns and job leavers). When we were prefects we knew every kid in school by first name (as well as where they lived and what they had for breakfast probably, knowing small town NZ). It’s amazing now to look at schools with 300 in each form year. Students who don’t recognise the names of people who are the same age as them, let alone at the other end of the school.

Anyway, my skills at digression are almost as good as my skills at procrastination.

I talk to one of my bridesmaids now on an almost daily basis thanks to Facebook. I have caught up with many old friends on Facebook. I’m not making any new ones or forming unhealthy relationships with people in a foreign country. That’s not what I’m there for.

As for Bebo. I haven’t been back there for a while because I still want to think of my nieces and nephews as young and innocent, not what I see on their Bebo sites! (They said “omigod Aunty Kate’s on Bebo” like what am I? 90?)

I’m off to appreciate another beautiful, clear, sunny Hawke’s Bay winter day. Well, I would if a neighbouring farm hadn’t lit a fire and smoked the place out. Hopefully it will clear soon!

And then it can rain. I wish I was happy about the beautiful day but we desperately need rain.

More about that tomorrow.  It’s been at least five minutes since I looked at Facebook. 🙂