Collector of Identities

I'll admit it. I spend a lot of my time on the internet. Except for myUMBC and Facebook, however, my internet viewing habits are rather random and varied. I can't exactly say that I have one particular site I regularly check. Honestly, I think that says more about me than if I said that my favorite website was one devoted to some niche identity like poultry farmers or something.

The beauty of the democratic internet is that not only can I visit several different sites, but I can visit them all at once in separate tabs within the same window. So I can try on several identities at one time. What does that say about me? Well, it either says I'm cosmopolitan and wordly or a dilletante with only a passing knowledge of everything. Probably the latter.

I realize that the above was a rather noncomittal answer, so I'll list a few of the websites I often visit:

PNC.com--I love online banking. And when one is as broke as I am, one has to be constantly aware of how little money one actually has.

Specific YouTube users--I find that YouTube as a whole is filled with a lot of horribly-made videos not deserving of my time. However, if I receive a link to a YouTube (or Vimeo) from a reliable source, I am only too happy to view it. For example, I got a kick out of watching the lip dubs posted on Professor Regales's blog, but I never would have found them on my own because, in my experience, searching YouTube for random entertaining clips only results in a lot of trash I'd rather not see (connection to porn, anyone?). So I like to watch YouTubes from users like Lenayiskindofcool and Tubopopcorn. I don't really know why. It's still mindless and egotistical, but at least its wholesomely so.

Boundless Webzine--This is a Christian site that publishes daily articles about life in general. Although I often don't always agree with what the articles say, they are food for thought. So I read them (usually not the entire article--they're a little too long for internet reading in my opinion).

Oldnavy.com--I never buy things from Oldnavy.com. I just imagine what it would be like if I did. Old Navy has cute clothes, and I like keeping up with what is curently fashionable even if I'm not wearing it.

BBC.com--My print news source is always The New York Times. I like to supplement it with a little news from overseas, however. BBC is an excellent news source, and I especially like it because it is not U.S.-centric. Of course, it has its biases, but at least its biases don't reinforce the biases I'm receiving from popular American media.

Freerice.com--I like expanding my vocabulary. I like ending world hunger. It's really a win-win.

So, there you have it. My collection of identities. I'm a Christian, a news junkie, poor, a linguist, and a twenty-something who buys into pop culture (with my media choices and not usually with my actual dollars).