FRIEND ME, BABY!

I know. I know.

I didn't bash Barbie on her 50th birthday...an event like that SCREAMS for a blog post...

I mean I have ridiculed that pathetic plastic fashion doll diva off and on for almost 30 years...and then I go and MISS her 50th birthday? What was I thinking? I mean, people like my sister have come to rely on me to provide them with some sort of anti-Barbie humor on such special occasions. Admittedly,  I've let my sis and others down.

All I can say is, hey, I've been busy.

Well, not busy exactly.

I've been "friending".  You, know...on Facebook.

Yes, for six fun-filled hours Monday night, I  scoured Facebook, searching for just about everyone I used to know, work with, go to high school/college with, passed in a crosswalk at some point in my life who might have a Facebook account -- and then  I "requested" their friendship, and had to be "accepted" before officially "adding" them to my official list of friends.

I mean, I was obsessed!

(And that is sooooo unlike me, I know.)

The really cool thing is, without leaving my living room, I was successful in reconnecting with just about everyone I used to know,work with, go to high school/college with, passed in a crosswalk at some point in my life who has a Facebook account.

"Don't you dare friend me!" my now-16-year-old son verily hissed at me...

Oh, don't worry, darling...I realize that would not be cool. I'm also hip to the fact that Facebook isn't supposed to be for old farts like me and my 50-something friends. But guess what, dog? Facebook, I've discovered,  is up to its photo tags with folks my age...

And it's because it is so much fun!  In a matter of minutes, I can -- providing no one "ignores" my friendship request -- connect with old friends and co-workers I haven't talked to for two or three decades! How cool is that? And it's like once they confirm me as a friend, or vice versa, and we've posted comments  and pictures on each others "walls", well...heck schmeck, it's like they're right there in my living room with me!  And it feels as if  we just saw each other yesterday!

It's a virtual friend-in!

Let's face it: for a reunion addict like me, Facebook is  a dream come true!  And to think I used to scoff!

At one point, I had just about my whole ol' gang from my Waterloo Courier/Cedar Falls News Bureau days on Facebook at the same time...Saul, RC, R, A, PK, Raff...

And then there was my old college pal, Anne Kenney (not to be a name dropper, but she is an accomplished and very talented TV writer/executive producer in LA...) We dropped off each other's Christmas card list eons ago...but you would never have known it...

I, of course, asked my  25-year-old niece, Liz, to friend me, and we chatted (OK, I held her hostage) on Facebook till rather late....

"Step away from Facebook, Auntie Ann!" she coaxed, as the clock struck midnight. "And remember, Auntie Ann, do not update your status more than once -- at most, twice -- a day."

Okay, so maybe I was a tad giddy, typing out (what I thought were) witty  "Ann is blah, blah, blah" status updates like they were Morse Code...and yes, I changed my profile pic three times.

But I just could not help myself!  It was like one giant "This Is Your Life Meets Classmates.com" only better!  My gosh!  Imagine what MY teenage and college years might have been like had we had Facebook! And cell phones! And texting! 

Why, I -- and a couple of  guys I dated in high school, I am sure -- shudder to think!

The only bad thing to come of my new obsession with Facebook is that I have, apparently -- after spending six hours perched on the end of my chair,  shoulders hunkered over the computer -- strained muscles in my shoulder, neck and arms to the point where my entire upper torso is stiff and sore. And my tailbone is ready to pop...

A nominal price to pay, however, for reconnecting and reminiscing with all those folks who knew me when...and for  keeping in touch who those I know and love now...like my dear sister, who (hint, hint) has yet to confirm me as her friend....ahem.

Of course, nothing beats seeing my historical/lifelong compadres in real life, in real time. But I gotta tell ya, Facebook is the next best thing to actually being at a reunion.

Ann is way past her prime, er, bedtime but too excited to sleep.

I haven't had this much fun since my CB addiction days...breaker, breaker.  But that's fodder for another blog...

Nite.