Signs of the Times, Issue No. 144 - 02/15/11

Let's see if people still remember what day it is.

Greetings to one and all. Yes, it's me. Aaron. And this, as you may recall, is my Newsletter. Oh, are there things to be discussed today?! Topics include: the greatest coach of all time and my subsequent resignation. On we go!

First and foremost, I must express my deepest regards to former Utah Jazz head coach, Jerry Sloan. Sloan unexpectedly resigned from his position on the Jazz staff last Thursday, much to my dismay. Sloan leaves the Jazz after 22 1/2 years as head coach - basically my entire lifetime - and, what's even more shocking is that he is leaving the team mid-season. We all knew the day was coming when Jerry would have to hang it up, but everyone just assumed that it would happen at the end of a year, not in the middle of it. After reading article after article about the bad break-up, I'm happy that he left when he did. One article (http://tinyurl.com/482rn3l) explained it well. The Jazz have always been able to keep the drama out of Utah. We've never had national attention drawn to internal strife, extended free agency talk, or whiny players (referred to as "basketball divas" in the article) - but the Jazz have been infiltrated this season by one particularly bratty point guard and, when Jerry felt like he no longer had control of the team, he decided to step down before anything got blown out of proportion. I say good for him. It's definitely not the way I wanted to see him go out (especially after losing a close game to Boozer, Korver, and Ronnie Brewer - at home), but, all things considered, he went out onhis terms, when he wanted to, and he went out with a winning record on the season. Could have been much worse. He could have gone out after the team had totally tanked it, missed the playoffs, or after management asked him to leave. So, I suppose this may have been the best time for Jerry to step down. Sadly, the coaching change hasn't improved my outlook on this season. I still think the Jazz are a six, seven, or eight seed in the Western Conference at this point and I don't expect us to make it past the first round of the playoffs. However, I say God bless Jerry Sloan... and thanks, Jerry, for all the good times.

Best coach ever.

Let's get the Shoutout of the Week out of the way. It was in high demand this week. A comment on the blog site said: "So, since I have referred people to your site, AND it was my birthday on [last] Sunday, can I get a Shoutout? Just wondering..." So yes, Suzy Petersen, you may have a Shoutout. Ask and ye shall receive. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.

Last week was a rough one for stock holders in Aaron Christensen's social media. I've grown increasingly frustrated with Facebook over the past couple months. I am pretty sure that some of my so-called "friends" cringe every time I post anything - from status updates to links to my Examiner reviews. Most people don't respond to instant messages, and, heck, if I can't quite bring myself to unfriend some of these people (I could name names), and they can't bring themselves to ignore me, I have just decided not to post anything at all. As of last Wednesday night, I decided to take a little vacation from the abomination known as Facebook for an undetermined amount of time. I had to get online on Thursday morning and post something about Jerry, but other than that (and a movie review I posted a link to last night), I have gone M.I.A. It has been really nice, actually. I haven't missed it, though I occasionally go "online" for my family group to chat with Austin or my EFY group to chat with Ed Rothlisberger, and, judging by the lack of notifications I've been receiving in the past week, nobody misses me, either. I'm sure it seems like I'm playing the martyr card or something, but I'm not trying to get pity from anybody and I am not expecting you to all go post on my wall begging me to come back. I just got sick of dealing with all the drama on Facebook and decided to try out a little experiment. Don't really miss it at all. One thing I do sort of regret is that today will be the first Tuesday since possibly 2008 when I first joined Facebook that I will not update my status on a Tuesday. I also refuse to post in the "Feel Good About Yourself Tuesday" group, which has over 100 members, but I'm the only one that ever posts anything there. I think it will be the first week since the group's creation that I will not have posted anything there. Oh well. Whatever.

So it was all about the Twitskis this week. One reason why I have become so converted to Twitter is that there is no drama. I can post whatever I want without feeling annoying. Or, well... I thought I could. Apparently even my Twitter followers have grown weary of the A-Town Mania lately. It all went down on Thursday and Friday when I was unfollowed by two extended family members (the third family member to do so since my joining). Even one of my closest friends unfollowed me last week. I reasoned that it was either because I allegedly tweet too much for their liking or that they just find me uninteresting in general. One source said that I went "tweet crazy" on Thursday, posting so much that I apparently took up 90% of his Twitter timeline. My advice to such people - if I truly am taking up 90% of all their posts, they should follow more people. If I tweet too much, they'd absolutely hate some of the people that I follow (mostly sports writers, athletes, or other miscellaneous celebrities). And if people truly find me so uninteresting that they don't want to hear anything I have to say, I'm glad they unfollowed me. It isn't my goal to annoy people or to fill their lives with unnecessary clutter. But, just for these people that think I tweet too much, I have significantly cut down the number of things I have said in the past three days. Just for them. Anyway... Like I've said all along, if you don't like what I have to say, whether it be on Twitter, Facebook, or the Newsletter, don't read it anymore.

Don't like it? Don't read it.

But you CAN'T! You all think I am incredibly interesting and no matter how tedious you find some of the things that I write, you all read it anyway... with the exception of the three relatives and my one close friend (who re-followed me about 12 hours later). My one explanation about my Twitter craze last week is that these people just don't understand. I've been a Jazz fan my entire life. Jerry Sloan is like royalty to me. And unlike John Stockton's retirement, which could have been telegraphed months in advance, losing Jerry overnight just weeks after he had supposedly signed a contract extension came as quite the shock to my family. Sure, I may have posted an astounding number of comments on Twitter last Thursday, but I don't regret it at all. I had a lot on my mind as I dealt with the aftermath of that press conference (which felt almost like a funeral) and I felt that Twitter was an appropriate place to let out my feelings. I retweeted a bunch of good articles, too, so if you're a sports fan - more particularly a Jazz fan, I'd recommend taking a look at the stuff I said. And if you're not, well, don't follow me if you don't want to hear what I have to say.

Now THIS is annoying!

Wow. Don't we all feel better now? I'm not depressed, I'm not fishing for compliments, I'm just justifying my tweets (how preposterous is that??) and explaining that I'm not as attached to social media as many of you undoubtedly think I am. Glad that's over with. I'll see you Facebookers sometime. Eventually. Maybe. But in the mean time, don't worry about me. And don't change for anybody. Be yourself, Feel Good About Yourself, and purge the "friends" list and go into hiding when necessary.

Also annoying.

Here's some good news! My brother Adam came over on Saturday and he, with all his technical expertise, helped me fix my previously inoperable podcasting equipment. You haven't heard the last of A-Town just yet... And I'm sure that's just what my social media peeps wanted to hear.

And finally, this brings me back to the mystery I unearthed last week. For those of you that are still reading and following, who are you?? There were four referrals last week from the Alta High School blog, but I have no idea who you people are. Again, if you still haven't introduced or reintroduced yourself to me, I invite you to comment on the blog site, find me on Facebook (I still check occasionally, I just don't post anymore), or email me or something. I promise I don't bite.

That's about it for this week. Here's hoping that you all have a fantastic week and a lovely Tuesday, regardless of what I do or don't say on Facebook.

Until next Time,

Move It! Sell It! And Leave the Door Open!

Aaron