where are you from?

speaking of words and online interactions and meeting people and such and such (were we really?), the question (see title) is so much a part of internet life (and I can proudly say I seldom hear/read it, though that might be because people are simply not interested, which isn't something to necessarily be proud of, but I prefer not to hear/read the question because it is so vague and superficial and relatively meaningless to me because it has so many potential answers in the physical world alone and nobody is really asking for an accurate or meaningful answer...

kinda like when people ask what do you do? online (or off)... offline, sometimes I just look at them and stare and if they ask again I say I stare at people who ask me that question...

and then there's a/s/l (if you don't know a/s/l then you haven't been wandering online chat rooms or used instant messaging to meet new people very much)... offline, I sometimes sign "yes" in American Sign Language and leave people wondering...

what?... you weren't asking me if I spoke asl?...

I appreciate people who understand the meaning of the words they use and want as little to do with those who don't, in case you haven't noticed, because misunderstanding is easy enough when we mean what we say, ya know?...

it's bad enough in everyday language, but it's so acceptable in human culture that our leaders kill our children by lying to us and get away with it by playing semantic game... and let's not even start exploring the religious abuse of language or somebody could be assassinated...

anyway, about from...

out in the wilds of myspace where newbies to the web sometimes surface for the very first time, the questions long laughed at by anyone with sense (and most often asked by everyone else) on the internet appear as if they are fresh and new and being asked for the very first time... this entry was mostly inspired (or at least fell right into the stream) by these questions and in particular, the title question as I was asked again as if for the first time this week...

and this is what I said:

thanks for adding me (I feel so much better about myself now... ok, I'm joking... mostly... I mean, being added to a stranger's list of myspace friends shouldn't mean all that much, right?... I mean, it's not like you know me, love me, respect me, think highly of me, worship the ground I walk on or anything, or even like me, but somehow being accepted, even like this, feels good... of course now it leaves me open for rejection if you ever decide I'm just too strange and must be deleted, but hopefully you will see that my irreverent sense of humor is as harmless as I say it is and maybe even be amused enough to enjoy keeping me around... there's always hope, after all)...

no wait, I can be serious if you want... just ask :)

meanwhile, catching up on myspace mail, I come across your question...

sometimes I think I'm from another planet, but them, just cuz I want to believe there's life elsewhere doesn't mean there is...

from is such a strange word...

you mean where am I now?... Orlando, FL, east side, near UCF

where was I born?... Paterson, NJ, a hospital, for a few days... I was then stolen by gypsies and whisked off to adventure...

where did I spend school years?... Brooklyn, NY, East New York, Canarsie, Flatlands...

where else did I live? (for more than a year)... Manhattan (NYC), Monterey (CA), Toronto (the other CA), Niagara Falls (NY), Buffalo (NY, Loughman (FL), Lake Buena Vista (FL)...

where else did I live? (for more than a few months, but less than a year)... San Antonio (TX), Ft. Lauderdale (FL), San Francisco (CA), Los Angeles (CA), Hopewell (VA), other places ... I'm getting bored, are you?...

I'm laughing at myself... I do that often... I am easily amused... the picture you have up amused me... it was enough for me to send you an add request... I could probably find other reasons if you'd like... Stewie definitely helped me like your page... not that I am into naked babies... would you like to know anything else? (feel free to ask... I may not be as strange as I seem :)

oh, and just in case I get kidnapped by gypsies again (or something) and disappear for a month, Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday, and Happy Bill Paying Days (odd thing to celebrate, but heck, it's your calendar :)

seriously, I hope your Anniversary and Birthday are the best ever (until next year)...

thanks for being there, hope you remain :)

ric

and that is by far the briefest accurate response to the query in the title (of this entry) pertaining to physical spaces that I've ever summarized in words to my momentary recollection at this time...

I mean, I could have gotten all metaphysical about it, after all... I am from where I am, where I was, and where I will be... or even get literal... I am from the womb of an unknown woman... or further ethereal, I am from where I want to be, a timeless space of infinite love and trust...

or something like that...

for the record, the person asking has a calendar on her myspace that has her anniversary, birthday (both within the next month), and bills due for next month listed on it... so the reference was not merely nonsense or an attempt at an amusing close and allusion to my inconsistent communicating... and there was a naked Stewie there too...

so use your words as if you mean what you are saying people, cuz there are children out there, naked children, and they want to understand...