Tweet, Tweet, BAM!!

On a recent visit to a friends house here in Korea I met a foreigner who caused me to think a lot about Twitter, and what the implications are of people who 'tweet' are. I have never understood this phenomenon and really couldn't get why people would do it. A few of my friends seem to occasionally indulge but no one could tell me why. I even started my own account to try and figure it out; but found myself with more important things to do then share what I was doing at that moment with the world. So this particular weekend, as we sat drinking our delicious 9,000 won wine from the grocery store, and chatting about life here and there, politics, religion, happiness, travel, meditation, health and everything else you could think of I became a bit more enlightened. Every once in a while the conversation was interrupted by a comment that just didn't flow with the type of nonchalant open air conversation we were having. When we would get to talking about something, sharing our experiences, the newcomer would butt in with "YEAH, well, my last post on twitter...." and finish with something that was somehow related to our topic but not really. He would then continue to regail us with all of his different extraneous 'tweets' that he posted in response to comments made by other people. Each time he would finish he would smile a self-important smile to himself as though he had just made the most profound statment known to man. It was then I realised what twitter is...

Twitter is for people who think that their every thought is so important, that people actually really care.

I mean... do I really care where you are every single moment of every single day? do i need to see a picture of your brother eating a ham sandwich in front of you, or the dairy you are about to purchase? or every 5 mi nutes after you finish another drink/dance/drive etc...  Is it really necessary to share every innane thought that goes through your tiny head? You are a group of people who spend more time twittering about your life than actually living it...

Now I know im saying these things in a blog, which is a public domain in and of itself. But, I don't find myself saying to people "oh man, you should have SEEN what I wrote on my blog the other day... it was like, so sweet" like, no. I write for myself, not for others, if no one reads it. I dont really care. I blog so that I can vent frustrations and share thoughts and ideas with whoever cares to read. Im not putting out random tidbits of information,and sharing them with people in conversations as though they are profound and important thoughts. If someone reads what I have wrote and wants to have a conversation regarding the topic im all for it.

But twitter. my goodness, what a waste of time. So people, if you feel like twittering, go for it- just leave your self important speech out of daily talk for fear of looking like a total moronic, asinine, self righteous  imbecile to those of us who don't really care about your tweet.
tweet, BAM!

update

So, its been a while since i have posted. i have about 4 posts started that i will have to finish this week. and post. perhaps ill amalgamate them into one, since they mostly deal with the idea of the holiday season.
I have been faced with a few challenges over the past couple of weeks. getting through the holidays without my family and friends was probably the hardest thing i have had to do in a while.However, i did have a very memorable and wonderful Christmas. 
I have now entered into the 'extra classes' phase of the year. This is the time of year when students are 'off school' for the month of January. This however does not mean that they do not come to school or continue with their lessons. No, in fact it seems as though the students have a more rigorous schedule; moving from place to place starting at 9am and finishing god knows when! I suppose its to prepare them for the level up they are about to embark on (in march). But classes are on. students are able to sign up for classes specific to what they would like to improve on. Every week there are different classes, and some are for 3-4 hours per day. I find it absolutly amazing that these children are in school rather than enjoying their time off, as many north americans would be doing. Its great but at the same time, there are a lot of reasons why continual school isn't the best thing. 
I have been struggling with the childrens inability to imagine things since i arrived. i have attempted to challenge them to 'create.' to make something of their own that may be new and original. Yet, time after time, this fails. they are strictly regimented and without rigid structure are completly lost. They have no idea where to go. In a recent class i had set up a project for the students to 'create their own superhero.' I thought they might enjoy this; seeing as how these types of charachters are often popular. I explained to them what a superhero was, and how, for our case, they didn't necessarily have to be a masked character. Twilight, a popular phenomenon world round, can see Edward and Jacob as hero's for our case. I then challenged them to come up with a name and a special trait that their hero had.  This took  45 minutes.Their creativity and ability to think 'outside the box' is simply not there. It seems to be stripped away at a young age. They are forced into these molds and unable to escape from them for fear of standing out.

So for two weeks i teach two classes, each is two hours long. its not too bad. the first is the 3rd grade middle school. they have yet to show up for class, there are only 5 studnets signed up for classes. but they just haven't shown up. fine with me, only i spent a whole week coming up with a lesson plan for them. oh well...