An Alternate View: Hang in there #GC78

Ok, So, I think that I hit some sort of slump today. It's been a solid week for me (and several days longer for many others) of constant activity and being "on" from 7:00 AM until late at night. It's a little unbelievable, but the House of Deputies session was supposed to end at 7:30 (we got our early) and some people had 10:00 meetings (and not the relaxed, debriefing kind)! The word going around is "Hang in there #GC78"
I went to the media room this morning after typing up a few things and then decided to go to the morning worship service a bit late. The gospel choir was excellent. I found myself not participating too much, and as I was sitting waaaaaaay in the back, I was rather distracted from the action so far away. Tired. This morning I also simply needed a hug (which my bishop and a deputation member provided), but in the wonderful session honoring our current presiding bishop, I became a bit weepy. I will truly miss Katharine Jefferts Schori. I believe that she came at just the right time for what the church needed and that she has been an astoundingly wonderful example of diplomacy, mission, pastoral care, and environmental stewardship. She is also a personal role model for me and I have enjoyed reading her books and occasionally meeting her and her husband Richard over the past nine years. 

Frank T. Griswold, previous presiding bishop, came onto the platform with newly-elected presiding bishop Michael Curry to form what he coined "A Jubilation of Primates" :-) That made me smile!

I found myself trying hard to concentrate and tweet the afternoon legislative session, but I was getting confused and the marriage debate was schedule for tomorrow. Then, things seemed to be stuck with constant amendments so I took a break and went into the exhibit area for an hour. The exhibits close tomorrow so today was pretty much my only time to go.

                   

I did take my selfie with St. Francis who won Lent Madness. Also, I bought myself a mouse pad and coaster and shirt from the Episcopal Marketplace! There, I talked with my friend Peter Wallace from Day1 who has been very influential in my discernment over the years and always wrote back to my questions and emails on Facebook. What an amazing, brilliant, and sweet person!

I had some great discussion with the folks at Episcopal Relief & Development, which I support, and then as I was about to leave, someone called my name and came running....
It was Rev'd Daniel Webster @revweb from twitter and instagram!!!!!! and then @velopriest as well!!!!! More twitter goodness!!!!!!! I LOVE meeting my twitter friends in person!!!!

After picking up a suitcase worth of brochures, speaking with Seminary folks, and taking pictures, I came back to the House of Deputies where they were having trouble. There were tons of amendments to Governance and Structure resolutions, but they had to postpone one and then stop altogether and adjourn for the day because Spanish translations were not yet available for several things. The House was apparently ahead of where they were at this time last General Convention! 
Instead of exploring various Seminary receptions which may or may not have been RSVP or open...I decided to walk back to my hotel, have an introvert night, dinner, and watch some TV to catch up with the outside world. It turned out well because I ended up having a phone conversation with Bishop Samuel Azariah, the primate of Pakistan (!!!!) Diocese of Raiwind in Pakistan First of all, WOW, I cannot actually believe that we talked and secondly, I did look into obtaining a VISA last year to travel there. I have always wanted to see several historic sites and I was going to be close enough since I was in India. Too many security reasons not to go, but looking ahead to the future and having some possible official security with me as well as a place to stay and a job to do - I WOULD LIKE TO GO! So, we will chat again relatively soon about it! #fingerscrossed 
That's it for me today! Check my #GC78 photos HERE and have a good night, folks :-)
Thank you for reading!
Caroline

On Being the Solar System ( @The_SolarSystem )

Hi, I'm your Solar System, it's very nice to meet you!

As I've just crossed the 20,000 follower mark on twitter, I wanted to say a few words about being space itself :-) That many followers is truly not a huge deal for a ton of people, but for me, it's cool. I've very carefully watched who follows me and taken care to note that, truly, most are genuine and active scientists, astronomers, science organizations, and space super fans. That's exciting! As a NASA Solar System Ambassador program volunteer, I have the opportunity to reach a great audience in person. It is such an honor! I've had several presentations this year and have some big ones in the works for next year (A big Music of the Spheres concert......then, a panel of guests to discuss science, faith, space exploration, and the big questions of life). On Twitter, I also get to talk to people about space and various missions. My account is not the NASA account (@NASASolarSystem - which you should definitely follow), but mine is also a space news service. It is both that and a personal account, as the 4.568 to 6 billion-year-old entity, the Solar System. Here are ten things about me. As space itself, I have a unique perspective :-)

                                  

It's been tremendously fun interacting with all of my followers over the two years of being spacey! Here are some of the highlights in screenshots and list!

- Meeting so many space science fans
- Interacting with space and science organizations
- Promoting STEM and STEAM education in a fun way
- It keeps me joyfully reading and on my toes with space science and launches!
- Humor! The interactions between real people can be very funny, but is almost always hilarious when inanimate objects, planets, nebulae, galaxies, spacecraft etc. start tweeting!

                                

- Occasionally, I live-tweet a launch or other NASA event. It is SO MUCH FUN to be online and part of the chatter that goes on and to feel the excitement of what's happening even if you're not actually there! MSL Curiosity's landing, ISS launches, and the Philae lander's release from the Rosetta spacecraft and landing on Comet #67P are examples.

                                 

                               

- Questions from people about space, science, and exploration: Fairly often, I am asked a question and I do take the time to answer. If I don't know the answer, I do some research and if I still can't find the answer, I point them to an expert! I always learn a bunch in the process.
- Conversations from young people around the world. One of my favorites was a conversation about how to be a scientist and how to stay in the know about space from a child in Pakistan. He asked me some great questions and I was able to share some online resources with him and give him some encouragement. Another time, it was a memorable conversation from someone in Japan who is very very ill and shares my same admiration for all things space.
- Astronomers share their photography with me. This is a special treat! Photographs they want to be seen, their amazing ongoing projects and photography work, and sometimes breaking photos of events such as the total solar eclipse that took place over a very thin line in remote locations. 
- Sometimes, someone asks me to say happy birthday to someone, from space :-) 

                               

- Sharing: I've been able to share content, photos, and space humor that I love! Plus seeing major organizations have fun exchanges is extra fabulous!

- The big guys interact sometimes! My personal favorites and the ones with whom I've interacted the most over time are The Canadian Space Agency, ESA's Rosetta spacecraft, NASA Dawn, and Astronaut Cady Coleman.

So, with all that said, if you follow @The_SolarSystem, 

THANK YOU and keep looking up!

To Tweet or Not to Tweet.....How Social Media Became My Friend

Tweet. Definitely Tweet....or Facebook....or Pin, Flickr, Instagram, Digg, Blog, or whatever you prefer from the wealth of options waiting to grab your registration, email, or address. It can be fun, helpful, and informative. As stated by its title....SOCIAL media is especially for the purpose of connecting with people, organizations, and/or content. Choose one (or two) and establish a comfort level. This is obviously just my opinion and one I have gathered from personal good experiences. There are plenty of reasons for using social media and plenty of reasons for avoiding it. I choose to use it daily and I'm excited about it! :-)

1. CHOOSE A SOCIAL NETWORK & ACHIEVE A COMFORT LEVEL USING IT

2. DON'T TRY TO READ OR DO EVERYTHING (CONTENT CHOICES)
        2a. STAND YOUR GROUND

But why???
You would not be alone in asking this question or perhaps in the eye-rolling I get when I talk about using Twitter or using some techno slang relevent only to Facebook. I learned quickly not to ask certain people about social media or to talk about things I find interesting - lest I risk the generalized and unfounded disdain of those who do not know how to use media properly. I remember someone asking "What's with all the science posts?" in a tone I'd rather not comment upon. It struck me that not only had I found content interesting and informative, but I had assumed others would be interested. Since the content was also on the evening network news, I considered it to be relatively the same value. Still, I became more conscious of the types of posts I used on various media systems after that comment. I decided to post the more understandable and "user-friendly" ones on Facebook whilst leaving the nitty gritty hard core science posts that were über-specfic onto my Twitter account. There is some crossover because I am finding that I do indeed have several colleagues who appreciate, want to read, and can understand scientific articles even though they are also non-scientists. It's all in the decisions of what to skip over and what to read.

3. CUSTOMIZE YOUR PRIVACY SETTINGS & LEARN TO USE LISTS

I have also experienced friends commenting that people using certain social media oulets need to "get a life". I find this particularly interesting because I actually do more, travel more, and read more than some of them ; ) One of my favorite things about the initiation of the Facebook ticker was to see other folks who professed not to use Facebook much or to play games, using it and playing games like mad. GOTCHA! One of the primary complaints that Facebook users have is that game players "spam" their feed or send them gifts. I am a Farmville nut myself, but I created lists specifically for my Farmville friends so most people do not realize I play the game. Most people now know how to block spammy posts or games, but they still do not have their privacy settings fully set. I recommend learning the system, even if it takes you days or even if you have to ask someone else for help. It will save lots of trouble in the long run.

Others, like myself, are addicts of one or more sharing systems with the world and don't mind posting all kinds of things ranging from the trivial to the educational to the silly. There is literally a universe of information and interests out there. For me personally, I began with Blogger all the way back in 2002 and then didn't use it. I re-visited it again in 2007. I began in earnest by using Facebook while I was in Milledgeville, GA and had about 35 friends. Then, it may have gone up to 45. I hardly used it and did not really understand why I was using it. Then, the social media revolution happened at the same time I moved to New Orleans in 2006. I gained friends on Facebook, but I still had not given over to Twitter. Gradually, I began to use Facebook to create events, attend events, read articles, re-connect with friends, and vent. As someone who kept everything inside and rarely felt like talking about things, this was a stress reliever! Now I've used Twitter for a couple of years and it has also completely changed my reading habits. I read a LOT more now than just two years ago. In fact, the only time I read more was in Graduate School or when I was a child (making forts in my room and reading all day long!) Granted, most of my article is online, but it's complete with pictures and more links for further investigating. I can safely say that using Facebook has reunited me with family I've only seen at weddings and funerals. That has indeed been a blessing! I can say that it has made me braver. I am more confident knowing I have read the news and because I am interacting with people more. I grew up under the mantra: speak when spoken to. It was hard sometimes to know that things i wanted to say were valid. I am much more connected to other musicians, organzations, and friends than I ever have been before. I now run six Facebook pages and have a blast doing it. It hardly takes any time for me at all and I have discovered that my graphics, organization, and publicity skills have become fast and successful!

I am also less prone to sinking into a bout of lonely depression because I can always find items to read or interact with people if I want to - even late at night. I can clearly remember my annual Christmas card writing fest. I would send about 100 individually-written and beautifully chosen cards with pictures and more. NOT A SINGLE RESPONSE. It broke me after a few years of going to all of that effort. As a shy child and teen, I had struggled to make these friends and connections and yet....to no avail. I was deeply depressed and considered myself "forgotten" for several years. I eventually used Social media to find others like myself and then re-connect and re-establish friendships.

4. COMMIT: REAP THE BENEFITS OFFERED

I'm glad I made the commitment to using it. At first, I had the attitude, straight from the nay-sayers, that Twitter was stupid and all people did was post about their lunch or their pets. That may have been a phase and admittedly, I resembled that remark when I first began using the Twitter. Then, my posts matured and I began to learn how and why Twitter was so popular with academicians and scientists as well as famous folks. I began to follow NASA, its missions, conductors, symphonies, churches, and so much more. Then, I learned to retweet and to post links and pictures! It was a brave new world. Now, I'm still no expert, but I use Twitter more than ever before and I am interacting with interesting and wonderful people. I have also won contests and have been selected for two Tweetups (see posts below) so Twitter has been very good to me! "How did you get so lucky?" and my answer was "Twitter".

5. TO EACH HIS OWN

Also, each and every person on our planet is unique and all are worthy of dignity and peace. Try not to judge how others use or do not use social media. One person may have 3,000 contacts and they do not know them all, but they are using the site in a different way. One person may never use social media after they sign up and that is FINE, let them be! Another may post all of the time and that is also FINE, let them be! Find a way of dealing with it that does not involve criticism. Realize that for some people, social media has brought them out of introversion and into the light. Realize that others use it to cope, to rejoice, to mourn, to laugh, or to promote. Social media goes right along with our bulleted attention spans of today's global television, radio, and ad problems. At least it connects us even if it does distract us.

I would like to add that services such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+ are FREE. We choose to use them. I am guilty of complaining about changes etc. from time to time, but at least I catch myself in the act.

6. KNOW WHEN TO STOP FOR THE DAY

Lastly, once you begin using social networks, it can become addicting. Know when to turn it off  for the day. For me, I have my phone off a decent percentage of the time on weekends or times when I need some peace. I'd also advise not assuming that you know how much a person uses social media. It is their business and concern. There are some people who are as or more comfortable in the virtual and social media realm than with people in groups in person. I believe that is A-OK.

Be open, take risks, and I think you will find that it is worth it!