The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 10, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 8, 2006 Page: 4 of 6
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4November 8, 2006
Campus Life
The Rambler
* A* M' ..
Ginny
Thompson
OK, I'll admit it. 1 am 34 years old,
a senior in college, a full-time
single mom, and I maintain a 40-hour-
per-week internship (not to mention
that I also work for this newspaper).
You'd think after the description I just
gave you that I wouldn't have time
left for anything else, right? Wrong.
Did I mention that I am also a
full-time MySpace addict? Yep. Even
me. I, too, have fallen victim to its
pop culture lure and addictive capa-
bilities. I log on at least a few times a day, just to see if
maybe, just maybe, someone has left me a message, plas-
tered a comment, read my blog or perhaps even requested
to be my friend. Awwww!
It's a pretty crazy deal, really, and I recently found
myself contemplating just why myself, and more than 40
million others like me, can't seem to resist the urge to live
out a portion of our lives tangled up in a virtual world that
thrives mostly on ego. Well, I don't really have a complete
answer to that question, but here are some things that I
came up with.
Being that I'm one of the older students on campus, I
can easily recall the days when computers were NOT in
every household and e-mail ... well, it just didn't even
exist. None of my friends in high school had cell phones.
Those were something that only the wealthy could afford
to install in their cars, and they were far too big and bulky
to actually think about lugging around from place to place.
I remember my boyfriend's mom had one in her
BMW, and he called me once when he was about a block
away from my house to let me know that he was on his
way. Let me tell you, I was SOOOO impressed. I felt like
was dating some millionaire's son. I told all my friends
about il, and they were so jealous. Man, those were the
days!
Anyway, back to my point... times were very differ-
ent back then (the 80s, just in case you were wondering).
However, call me a nerd, but one of the things that I
remember most about my "teens" was decorating my bed-
room. OK, I know it sounds boring today, but let me
explain.
My bedroom was a reflection of my personality. It
was a way to express my identity, and I was free to
change it up with every mood swing and invite friends
over to hang out in my own personal space. A person
could literally walk into my bedroom and have a pretty
good idea of my personality.
My favorite music was plastered on my walls in the
form of posters. I had my albums (yes, real vinyl records)
displayed face up so that I could see my pop idols smiling
(or smirking) back at me when I danced to their music on
my bed. My bookshelves were lined with all of my
favorite books, and trinkets were everywhere that I found
amusing or baffling (like my Rubic's cube for instance).
Anyway, back then, this was my personal version of
MySpace.
Now, my teenage daughter, not
interested in making her room
reflect her personality, logs on to a
virtual place where she can design
her own page, post links to her
favorite music, chat with friends
and get help on homework. The
cool thing is that not just anyone
can go online and view her site.
With the site being set on private, a
person would have to know her last
name before even submitting a
request to be added to her list of
friends and even then, she'd have to approve that person.
Now, here's where I come in. Having full access to
her site, I can log in at any time of day and see every per-
son that she has talked to and everyone that has talked to
her. I do this not to invade her privacy but to protect her
and her vulnerability. That being said, 1 am glad that she
has a place where she can feel free to express herself. It's
fun and can be a great tool if used wisely and with cau-
tion.
Another really cool thing about MySpace is the recon-
nection value. I graduated from a high school in Georgia
more than 15 years ago. It wasn't very long after I gradu-
ated that I moved here to Texas and lost touch with every
single one of my friends.
I tried a few times to locate one or two but was, for
the most part, unsuccessful at establishing a connection. 1
had all but given up on the whole thing. That was until
one day when, on a whim, 1 opened up my free MySpace
account.
Three days later, I received a friend request from
someone named Janet. I thought that was odd because I
/, too, have fallen victim to its pop
culture lure and addictive capabili-
ties...! recently found myself contem-
plating why myself, and more than 40
million others like me, can't seem to
resist the urge to live out a portion of
our lives tangled up in a virtual world
that thrives on ego.
don't currently know anyone by that name. I clicked on it
anyway and quickly recognized the Web site of my best
friend from high school. Wow! Talk about exciting
Now we talk via MySpace on a daily basis. I've
learned that she is now a married mother of FIVE children
and, though she lives more than 800 miles away, she's vir-
tually so close now.
I really can't say enough about the possibilities of
MySpace. Do you want to get in touch with someone you
met here at Wesleyan but don't know their phone number?
Chances ate that person has a MySpace. You can log on to
the Web site, do a search for Texas Wesleyan students and
__________ find the person you are looking for.
You can then go to that person's site,
leave a message or request to be
added as a friend.
MySpace also has a great tool in
the form of professor grading.
MySpacers can log on and rate cer-
tain professors they have had in the
past. They can comment on what
they liked or disliked about certain
classes and leave the comments
there for potential students to read. If
—————— a professor is really good but gives
lots of time-consuming homework, then a student can plan
to take the professor with a smaller class load.
Students can give each other advice about the best
way to approach a particular class and can also warn each
other with facts such as: professor hard to understand, pro-
fessor doesn't show up for class, professor loves to assign
20-page essays....etc. Most of the comments that I have
found on the site are very positive, with students over-
whelmingly recommending certain professors for a variety
of reasons, and I've surprisingly found very few negative
comments.
If you're reading this article, chances are you already
have a MySpace account and very likely that you know
several others that also have one. There are many benefits
to the site, it can be a lot of fun, but BE WARE....it is
highly addictive!
Ginny Thompson is a senior English major and is campus life
editor for The Rambler.
Bailey s serves up ike sauce witkout making a mess of your budget
Situated in a small, shack looking
building nestled between the pro-
truding skyscrapers of downtown
Fort Worth lies Bailey's Bar-B-Q.
My friend and I went there on a
Friday afternoon to see what the buzz
from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
was all about.
Bailey's, a restaurant which made
it into the Star-Telegram .V "Hole-in-
the-Wall Hall of Fame," was nothing
like I had anticipated, at least speak-
ing in terms of size. The living room in my two-bedroom
apartment is much larger than the dining room in this
eateiy. Nonetheless, the size did not take away from the
ambiance I was expecting.
Upon walking through the screen door and taking a
few steps toward the counter, we were immediately greet-
Andrew
Carver
Cuisine On A Budget
ed by a server with
a smile. My friend
and I placed our
order, and, in less than McDonald's-style speed, we had
our food.
I honestly can't recall a time when I was served faster.
I thought they were very efficient, perhaps to accommo-
date the lunch rush, which I had incorrectly predicted prior
to arriving.
With only six tables, a condiment bar and a patio, we
thought we were lucky to be able to even sit down.
Considering it was about 12:30 p.m. in the afternoon, it
was not busy.
I took a moment to observe the Texas and western rus-
tic decor. This made me think of a slower time in down-
town Fort Worth long before the city gave-way to the Bass
brothers and corporate dollars. For a moment I forgot
exactly where I was.
The food is simple and inexpensive. I had a chopped
barbecue sandwich, potato salad, chips and a Dr Pepper.
My accompanying friend had a sausage sandwich, and for
two meals we only spent
$10.
The menu offers
chopped beef, smoked ham,
smoked turkey, smoked
bologna and pulled pork,
along with potato salad,
chips, coleslaw, beans and
pies. A large sandwich is
only $3.30 and a small is
$2.55 plus extra for any
sides and a beverage. The
Friday special offered dur-
ing our visit was a large
ham or turkey sandwich,
chips and a canned drink for
only $4.50.
It is obvious that
Bailey's is here to
__ serve the business
crowd either during
their lunch hour or before
heading home for the day.
Of the few other diners we
observed, most of them
came in, picked up their to-
go orders and left.
Bailey's is located at
826 Taylor St., across from
the federal building, just
minutes from Wesleyan.
This low-key restaurant is a
great place for a quick
lunch; we were in and out of there in 30 minutes.
Since Bailey's is only open until 5 p.m. Monday
through Thursday, until 4 p.m. on Fridays and closed on
the weekends, it is not the place to take a date before or
after a night on the town (sorry guys, you have take them
somewhere a little nicer and more expensive).
Photo by Andrew Carver
Bailey's Bar-B-Q is open until ? p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 4 p.m. on Friday.
It is located at 826 Taylor St. The low-key restaurant is a great place for a quick lunch.
Although I have had better barbecue, for the price,
service and atmosphere, it was time and money well spent.
I highly recommend Bailey's to anyone seeking a change
of pace for lunch.
Andrew Carver is a senior mass communication major and is
a staff writer for The Rambler.
Applying for a job
Need a resume?
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Wylie, Chad. The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 97, No. 10, Ed. 1 Wednesday, November 8, 2006, newspaper, November 8, 2006; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth253379/m1/4/: accessed April 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.