Whew! That was a link-heavy paragraph! You’re welcome.

And oh yes, I am officially a member of the SF Etsy Street Team. Hopefully this will lead to an exponential rise in AWESOME. Heyo! Check out the awesome blog, too, please.

But despite all this excitement, I’ve been having one of those weeks where I KNOW I have a lot to do and a lot coming up, but motivation is seriously lacking. I’ve been super tired from working closing shifts, and super distracted. In a positive bent on this lack of productivity, I always remember one of my favorite dance professors and choreographers at CU, Mr. David Capps, telling me that in order to be productive, your brain also needs time to wander. Sometimes, you just need time to stare into space, mull things over, plot and dream.

I’ve been thinking a lot about projects and priorities and ye olde social networking. In early June, I heard this interesting feature on NPR about “Dunbar’s Numbar” and the magical number 150. Then, I read this “Quit Your Day Job” Etsy blog post featuring the Vermont Branch Company. What struck me about this article?

When asked the question, “What advice would you give someone considering a similar path?”, one of their points was, “We…don’t use any social networking tools, which I imagine would take up much more of our time. We haven’t found it necessary.”

Blew. My. Mind.

Seriously.

One of the things that I’ve found really difficult about starting an Etsy shop and wanting to create products to sell online is a lot of the advice that pops up seems geared towards online social networking. “Tweet sales!” “You need a Facebook business page!” Now, there’s nothing wrong with these pieces of advice, and yes, I have tried some of them.

On a good day, I see the obvious advantages of networking and connecting with folks. And who doesn’t like discovering new online visual, informational deliciousness! I’m actually pretty into my Twitter account and who and what I’ve connected to using it. I’ve been online and exploring my love-hate relationship with the Internet for long enough that I know - one of the keys to online social networking is experimentation. Make it work for you, baby.

However, I also hate it some days. It drains my time and energy. It really sucks you in, and as a dancer, one thing I don’t want to be doing is sitting and staring at my computer for hours. If I’m going to be sitting at all, I need to be sitting and creating. Or not sitting at all. You know what I mean. For me, sometimes, online social networking can feel pointless and shallow and narcissistic.

And new social networking sites and “opportunities” pop up everyday, to cover every interest and function. (No thanks, Google+.) What to do?

Yesterday, I was talking to Mister Boyfriend about it, and we both said how much we barely use Facebook anymore. FB started when we were in college, and now we feel like we’ve grown out of it. But I actually like that my parents are on it, and friends from childhood, and that dancer I just met in class yesterday. I don’t want to call it quits. I enjoy seeing pictures from people who I no longer see everyday. The problem stems from too many “friends.” So we applied Dunbar’s number to FB.  And it was shockingly easy. Matt got down to 109 friends. I’m at 130. And Facebook feels… (dare I say it?) FUN, again. When I look at my newsfeed, it’s actually people I know and am interested in continuing to know! What an idea!

Here’s the thing. The great World Wide InterWebs, can be a tool, or an escape. It’s tricky and balance is necessary (if you care, I guess). For myself, I want to keep my life simple, balanced, and focused on people, things, and projects that truly matter to me. Like this website, for example. What do we really gain from spreading ourselves thin online and in life?

…says the lady who was just offered a new project and accepted!!!!!

I am very excited to announce that I am the new intern for the ODC Dance Jam, Fall 2011!

And on that note, I’m feeling more productive…

Hot diggity.

Now, almost August 2010 and a year anniversary with San Francisco fast approaching, I am in the midst of another transition. I’m on a break from dancing to heal a chronic lower back condition. I have quit one of my part time jobs to the tune:

“I am an artist! It’s time to LIVE it. BE what I am, what I feel I’ve been training for my whole life. No longer will I put art in the background as a ‘hobby,’ I want it to be my way of life. I want to be a professional artist.”

I have lots of ideas of how to make that happen, but I’m not going to lie: I’m a little nervous.

The week following my last day at the little shop where I was working has actually been incredibly stressful. This isn’t vacation. Now I start working for myself and that means working harder than ever. It’s a time of true dedication and discipline.

One of the tasks I’ve set up for myself is the reconstruction of this website, and in general my entire online presence. This too feels scarier than it should. I have to remind myself that it’s not complete reinvention, it’s the process of continuing to discover who I want to be, who I am, and how I present myself and interact with the world.

I’ve been online apart of various communities since high school, yet sometimes I feel very lost in a cloud of my own creation. But as I grow up, it’s important to remember that life, and the Internet, is an experiment. So my LiveJournal account is almost 9 years old – if it’s no longer really reflecting me, then it’s time to try something new! If I’m unhappy with Facebook, what I can I do to make it work for me? Online social etworks are a tool and they should work for me, not feel like they’re taking over my life. I want to present my creative life in a manner that is professional, focused, but still ME: down to earth, quirky, rambling, poetic, vibrant, dancing through life in various ways and mediums…

I’ve always loved writing, journaling, drawing, moving, photography, art, poetry… so many forms and ways of expressions. Instead of trying to define and categorize them, this next step in my Internet experiment is to simply showcase each project as they are born and develop. Blog and portfolio, growing together.

As always, this is first and foremost for my family and family of friends, to share my life with them across distances.