When I went to Radford University (see last week's entry) back in the mid-1990s, I was always the last one to find out about the neighborhood keg party. And, there were a lot of neighborhood keg parties at good ole RU.
Well, thanks to my good friend Nida Campbell, I have finally been invited to the internet cult that is sweeping the nation and the world_ Facebook. Yes, even my friend Ugur Celikkol of Bursa, Turkey, has a Facebook account! But, to my knowledge, Bursa still doesn't have a Starbucks.....at least, not yet.
One of the neat things about Facebook is that you get to find out things you didn't know about your friends. As someone who posted his own self-incriminating info for the world to see, I can feel (semi) comfortable about mentioning some unique things about dear old friends. And, at least, I didn't give out my mobile phone number.
For starters, I loved this bit from Chris Tilley, who I met in the Greensboro Playwrighters Forum, as he described his religious beliefs. Chris claims to be an 'orthodox agnostic!' Is that great or what? This is perhaps the most interesting spiritual disclosure since my friend Blake Lipscomb, a Southern Baptist by birth, became a Buddhist.
I took a chapter out of Chris' book by saying that my religion was worshiping Uma Thurman. It is a slight exagerration as I really prefer independent film actress Parker Posey, of "Waiting for Guffman" fame, but fewer people have heard of her.
Then, I found out that my friend Renee Yancey, a recent Virginia Tech alum who I met during a 2004 group trip to Belize, likes to sing in the shower! And, I thought some of the hobbies that I listed were too revealing!
I also have to mention Nicole Johnston. She went to Hollins, and by chance_ we were in the same German film class. Back story_I was a 32-year-old man in this class at Hollins University, an all-girls school in Roanoke, Va., with 19-year-old young ladies (Not as fun as it sounds, guys! And, yes, I am straight) back in the fall of 2002.
Nicole is a darling girl. Very intelligent, hip, etc. And, you just have to love someone who professes to loving both the Apu trilogy (a classic Indian film compilation by the late Satjayit Ray) and the recently-reunited A-ha.* They are the only band from Norway to top the Billboard charts. A-ha did this back in 1985 with "Take on Me," when Nicole was not even in pre-school.
(*-there was an entry about A-ha's reunion on this very blog. I'm not really sure why, even though I wrote it!)
Lastly, my friend Christopher Knight of Reidsville, NC, has a quaint photo of himself visiting Natural Bridge near Lexington, Va. I was shocked by the stunning simplicity of this photo because Knight became a virtual overnight household name in the Triad for his great over-the-top tv spots which spoofed "Star Wars." The ads were part of Knight's campaign for the Rockingham County school board last year. They were even featured in an article in "The New York Times!" Alas, he did not win the election, but no one outside of the county knows who Ron Price** is anyway.
(**-one of the election winners)
I was also able to reconnect with some long, lost friends upon joining Facebook. These included the most gorgeous woman I've ever met on an airplane, Seda Ertanis. This Turkish lady, who I met on a flight from Amsterdam to Istanbul in 2003, is now living in the United Arab Emirates. I sure hope she doesn't have to cover her head!
And, I also had a chance to get reacquainted with another Turkish woman Ece Cirnaz, who lives in Ankara. We met in the World Trade Center during a Turkish-American conference in 1992. Of course, back in '92, it was easier to go to New York because I had no concept of financial responsibility. Those were the days!
I also became friends again with Bahadir Acuner, which is quite amazing when you consider that he likes the Turkish soccer team Fenerbahce and I like their arch rival GalataSaray (for those unfamiliar with Turkish soccer, let's just say it's easier to get along with Armenians!).
And, as it turns out, my friend Kyle, who I went to grad school with at Hollins, has some sort of rock band in California. I don't know anything about them, but perhaps you will when you go to:
http://myspace.com/kylevanband/
I close with a quote I chose from my favorite comic strip character Zippy the Pinhead (http://www.zippythepinhead.com) for my FaceBook profile: "I'll show you my bypass, if you show me your's." Somehow, I don't think anyone in Istanbul will get that........
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