Hey everyone! First of, I want to thank all of those who submitted to the “Share Your Story” tab! It is beyond helpful for me in composing my book and I hope you too can read through the responses and find support and comfort.
And speaking of thanks….
I’m continuing my week of thank you letters. You may remember my last thank you letters to Trader Joe’s and Anthony Bourdain.
But today, I’m writing a letter to the Internet.
Boy the internet has done a lot to me throughout my life. Its crazy to think that I applied to college, got an apartment, sold my matress, scored a handful of dates, and actually made some great friends on it! The internet has done me lots of good, but there are some crappy stuff that comes out of it. Naturally, nobody is perfect, and neither is the internet. But all in all, I have a lot to be greatful for from the interent, so here’s my thank you:
Dear Internet,
This is going to sound awful but boy am I glad I wasn’t here in those so-called good old days. Damn, that’s progress. How did people pass the time in their cubes back in the day? I can’t even imagine it.The ease of communication afforded by the internet is astonishing. I can email, I can instant message, I can do my banking and shopping and I can even call Australia without taking out a small loan.
You make planning vacations is a million times easier. Every available flight is mine for the finding. I can take a virtual tour of a hotel, check out the menu at a new restaurant, order tickets to a show and not mention, check out the yelp reviews to see if its even worth my time.
And then there is the blog. Through my blog and blog surfing, I’ve made some incredible friends. Yes, they are friends, even if I haven’t met some of them face to face. If I have a bad day, I just check the kind comments they leave me. They have yet to stab me in the back. A big thank you for that.
And thanks to you, cookbooks are a thing of the past. Why would I need to waste paper and space when I have a bajillion and one recipes at my finger tips?
And of course, you satisfy that inner frugal jew in me. You tell me when things I need go on sale, you allow me to print coupons, and even show me a map of the cheapest gas stations in my area.
Of course, like every highway, the information highway you have a few pot holes and sleazy hotels.
My junk box is filled with sexual enhancers and “amazing new offers” on a daily basis, and there are, sadly, those people I call indiscriminant forwarders, who forward every sugary poem or cutesy puppy photo that comes their way.
Recently I’ve had a lot of emails from people wanting to give me money – a lot of money! And all I have to do is give them my bank account information! And there was Jdate. What a mess that was. But at least I scored a few free drinks out of it.
All in all, you have done me much good. Sure privacy is laughable because of you and your twitter, facebook, and other stalkerish outlets.
Basically, from charities making money (like the over $155 million raised for US nonprofits by eBay’s Giving Works) to keeping in touch with Grandma, you have really has made our lives easier and allowed us to do more good things with our time. (Naked!)
-Eden
What would you like to thank the internet for? What has it ruined for you?
I really need to start menu planning my thanksgiving dinner that I’m hosting. So this week I’m testing new recipes and today I was inspired by Mark Bittman’s raw butternut squash salad. I changed up a few of the ingredients:
- 2 T. fresh lemon juice
- 2T organge juice
- 1 T. apple cider vinegar
- 1 T. water
- Freshly ground pepper
- 3-4 T canola oil or other neutral oil
- 1 meaty winter squash (butternut or acorn, etc.), about 1/2 whole, grated
- 1 tbs cinnamon
- 1 apple peeled and grated
- 2 T. walnuts
Whisk dressing ingredients together to make a vinaigrette.
Seed, peel and grate the winter squash
. Seed and grate the apple (about 1 cup grated). You may peel the apple, if you wish.
Toss the squash and apple with the salad dressing. Sprinkle cinnamon and walnuts.
looks cooked, right? nope, its raw and honest
Eden's Eats 
I actually miss the times of going to the travel angent and getting a brochure. I would spend so long flipping through the pages. I also wanted to be a travel agent when I grew up. But that career has been phased out. I do enjoy having a blog and meeting cool people on the internet. I do not enjoy how dependent I am on my computer and everything it can do for me. Convenience is great, but it comes at the expense of of hadnwriting, travel agents, and good old fashioned play. God I sound like an old lady!!
I added a story to the page, by the way!
Lovely letter! (And salad!)
I love the internet because it brought me into contact with so many awesome people. But yeah, the net has its dark side. Anyone with OCD tendencies (like me) must be on her guard. Lest she waste godawful amounts of time looking up stupid things that have no bearing on her everyday life.
Lovely letter! (And salad!)
I love the internet because it brought me into contact with so many awesome people. But yeah, the net has its dark side. Anyone with OCD tendencies (like me) must be on her guard. Lest she waste godawful amounts of time looking up stupid things that have no bearing on her everyday life.
Oh Eden. You are too cute. A thank-you letter to the internet!!!! Hehe!!! It was a great letter. Don’t you just love all those wonderful money offers.
Dear Friend,
I need your help. Please give me all of your personal information so I can scam you and take you for every penny.
Some Random Name
I don’t think I’ve ever thought to eat squash raw. While I wouldn’t be opposed.. the smell of it kind of grosses me out. It smells like melon, which I hate.
What do I love about the internet? Well, it has allowed me to be social for the last year or my life. I can’t imagine what kind of a recluse I would have been during my ED if I didn’t have my blog as some form of communication. It’s also helped me to keep my writing in check, because without being enrolled in school I don’t think I would have kept up writing if no one were out there reading 😛
What has it taken away from me? Lots and lots of time. Damn, the internet is my favourite way to procrastinate. Sometimes it swallows up hours without me even batting an eyelash. Not cool.
I have to thank the internet for my husband since that’s how we met (way back in the days of Mosaic & Netscape–And don’t worry if you have no idea what I’m talking about). I am mad at the internet for killing handwritten letters, though. I LOVE mail, I love writing letters, and I have scads of stationery that is now collecting dust, because who (besides me) wants to sit by the mailbox and wait for an envelope when you can hop online and just carry on a conversation with someone hundreds, even thousands of miles away!
I totally remember netscape! I remember when everyone had aol but me! now, I dont hear anybody being on aol.
I’d thank the internet for getting me into and staying in contact with so many great people, and providing (some useful) information and inspiration!
Yummy salad! 😀 I adore you can come up with something new almost every day!
Great post!! Very creative!!:)
Love the letter. I definitely must thank the internet for friends too!
hahaha could you IMAGINE life without internet! seriously though like i could never. that sounds so “generation now” of me but i really can’t. my favorite thing is that my grammy is always saying “google it” now. she really has no idea what google is but whenever she has questions about planting or whatever she’s like “well can’t you just get out your phone or computer and google it?” i’m like you go girl.
Remember when you had to go to the library every time you had a question? thank god for google!
I love the internet. Mostly for amazon.com, blogs and recipes. Online shopping is such a fun pasttime for me. I’m obsessed.
That salad looks really good. How did it taste raw? Is it hard to eat at all?
i’ve never had raw butternut squash before. but if you and bittman say it’s good, i’ll give it a whirl!
I know, bittman is a food genius. I was skeptical but I read his 101 thanksgiving dishes article and he made it sound so delicious, I had to try it.
Without the Internet, I would have never met you. Awww…
But in all seriousness, I hate that I’m about to say this, but I can’t IMAGINE not having the Internet now in my life. Maybe if I had never had it before I wouldn’t miss it now, but since I’m required to use it every single day (and then also in my personal time), I would flip out without it.
Then I wouldn’t have anywhere to bitch about it, seeing as I wouldn’t have access to my blog or Facebook. 🙂
I would die without the Internet. It’s saved my life. Literally through my blog, which gave me constant motivation to recover from my stupid ED, and metaphorically because I can’t imagine my life without it, without all the wonderful people I know, without the instant connection I get with distant friends, and holy crap it saves me a whole shitload of time and effort during research papers and writing articles.
When i visit a blog, chances are that I notice that most blogs are amateurish.On the other hand,I have to say that you have done a good job here.