Games - Free Online Games at Addicting Games!

Sometimes you will have those younger relatives who come to your home and look so bored they don't know what to do with themselves.  Usually I just find a site like the following and let them just pick any game that peaks their interest.  Before you know it, time has passed and they are grateful for the fun time they had--even if they spent the whole time in front of the computer screen!  Enjoy!

Games - Free Online Games at Addicting Games!

The Internet Can Be a Time Waster: Do Some House Cleaning

It's late at night and you can't sleep.  Most people turn on the TV or surf the Internet.  But that can get boring, surfing from site to site, and how many times does one have to check his or her email?  Meanwhile, there are some things around the household that need to be done.


1.  Clean off your dusty entertainment center and wipe off your TV screen.  While your at it, organize your videos and get rid of those you no longer watch.  Do you even have a VCR anymore?  Why save the VHS tapes?

2.  Upload all your photos from your digital camera.

3.  Organize your digital photos.

4.  Scan your photographs.

5.  Scan your awards, certificates and other keepsakes.

6.  Sort through your old stuff.  Bag the trash items.  Box the things that are in good condition and give them away to a local charity.  Get a receipt because your donations are tax deductible with certain establishments.

7.  Take pictures of items you want to sell online or offline.

8.  Create fliers.

9.  Manage your money.  Check out how much money you have been spending lately.  Create a budget.  Research ways to invest and save money.

10.  Write someone a letter you haven't contacted in awhile.  They will be glad to hear from you.  People get tired of looking at bills in the mail.

11. Catch up on some offline reading. Try reading the Bible and praying.  You never know what kind of wisdom you might find that may help you through one of your dilemmas.

12.  Organize your cell phone and other gadgets.  Delete old phone numbers, messages, etc. 

The Internet can take away from many duties you may have to complete offline.  Take advantage of your free time now before you get busy again.

Nicholl McGuire

What About that "To Do" List

So you find yourself bored with nothing to do, but you know you ought to find something to do if you are on paid time.  Why not, create a "to do" list for anything you ever felt like you needed to do or check the one you already wrote and hadn't got around to completing?

Ask yourself what keeps holding you back from accomplishing certain tasks.  If money is an issue, then find out how you can make extra cash.  Maybe you need to sell some things online, offer a service to your local area, or ask someone for money they borrowed from you.  Whatever your challenge, note a solution.

Don't allow yourself to not take advantage of valuable free time.  Find a way to get everything done that you always wanted to do and it always starts by creating a plan.

Nicholl McGuire is a writer and poet.  Feel free to check out some of her work on nmenterprise7 on YouTube.

You Need a Pick Me Up?

Sometimes life gets the best of us and we just need that pick me up!  We need someone or something to just say, "It's okay, I love you."  There is nothing wrong with wanting that!  You may be in a boring, humdrum relationship, in a boring job, or bored with your children.  Whatever is making you feel like you have no spark or no energy, just know that someone out here in the Internet world cares.

Some people simply don't understand, nor do they want to understand what makes us tick.  All some energy sappers want is what they can get out of us.  Once our energy is sapped, who is there to replenish us?  This is why the great teachers tell us to reflect inwardly.  To go some place and just meditate and reconnect with your spiritual self.  You may have reached this place of boredom in your life, because you allowed others, for so long, to dictate your time (and dare I say it your money too.)  Now you have nothing left for yourself!

Whatever you decide to do to get that pick me up, may it be worthwhile, inspiring, fresh and unique to you!  Most of all, don't wait for anyone to give you anything that you can get yourself!

Nicholl McGuire

Social Networking Anxiety

It’s a feeling of fear or nervousness that one gets similar to when he or she is preparing to make an important phone call.  They may rehearse what they are going to say over and over again until it comes out natural.  Their heart may be pounding, their breathing rapid, and body sweating before making phone calls.  For some people they get so nervous about it, that they leave it up to someone else to do it.  People who have social networking anxiety issues have the same problem.  They are stressed about the idea that they have to communicate thought via email or text.  They worry over whether their spelling and grammar is appropriate.  They wonder if the sound of their email will be positively or negatively received.

Networking online is not an easy task for those who are not use to communicating with people via email and text.  They may freeze up not knowing what to say or how to say it.  They may avoid providing details when asked a question for fear that they may not come across in their email as intelligent.  There are some things that you should consider doing that may help with your social networking anxiety.

Practice makes perfect.

The more you practice writing emails the better you will get at it.  There are plenty of online resources that explain the dos and don’ts of writing emails.  Some of the sites also offer samples of business emails you can use for various dilemmas.  Try doing a search under “email etiquette”, “how to write emails” or “how to text.”  Once you have a few you like, reword them, and save them as files on your computer.  Then when you are ready to make some online connections, have a dilemma, or some other need you can easily use your form letters without the worry of drafting up something new.

Maintain your internet relationships.

Often people will cramp up when trying to communicate with a friend because so much time has passed since they last talked so they don’t know what to say.  If you send an email to your friends at least once a week, it won’t be hard to send the next email.  Unlike a phone or in-person conversation, you can just say, “Hey just touching base.  You were on my mind.  How are things?”  You don’t need a lot of sentences to get your point across.

Avoid unnecessary worries and fears.

Some people become offended when they don’t receive an immediate response back from their email.  They may falsely assume that the person didn’t like what they said or is angry with them.  Most often people are communicating with many others and tend to forget to answer one another’s questions or respond to their comments.  It doesn’t hurt to send a follow-up email.  Now if you are rejected a few times than you can take that to mean that this person is trying to ignore you.

Don’t be anxious over responses.

You can easily stress yourself over waiting for an email response and you can turn someone off if you send too many follow-up emails as well.  To make your wait a little less stressful, keep yourself busy doing things offline rather than online.  It’s too simple to surf through sites and back to your email again.  If the response is taking a lot longer than you thought, follow-up with a phone call or email your phone number requesting that the person call you.

Check your insecurities.

Because email and texting tend to be impersonal and lacks the intimacy that an in-person meeting provides, you can become increasingly insecure about what a person is doing when they aren’t chatting with you.  You can curb your insecurities and keep anxiety issues at bay, if you would simply ask to meet with them in person.  Be honest and tell them you don’t enjoy emailing or texting and that you prefer a phone call. 

Social networking anxiety issues can easily be prevented if you just ease your mind of the worry and stress that tend to occur when using technology.  You can control how you communicate with others on a regular basis by simply telling them what kind of response you prefer.  Some people enjoy texting all their responses, others enjoy email, and then of course traditionalists love talking on the phone or going out together.  Tell those who you meet online from the beginning what kind of communication you enjoy and if they sincerely want to be a part of your world they will take into consideration how you like to communicate.

By Nicholl McGuire