i got mail

"The only interesting answers are
those which destroy the questions."
--Susan Sontag

i get mails. i always get mails. i get mails everyday. i get mails from my e-groups, from my friends in this and in that, and from my friends here, there and everywhere. i get mails from spammers, too. it has come to a point that i somehow worry if i happen to open any of my email accounts and there's no new mail to either read, read and reply to, or simply delete. (wait a minute, is it just me or something's really not quite right with the last sentence? bah.) i'm so used to getting new mails every day, it's not normal at all if, in a day, i don't have new mail. okay, enough of this. now, let me talk about friendster.

i'm well aware that friendster (yes, that friendster network) is quite a stalker's haven. nah, don't tell me that it's not because i know that it is. if not for my friends and the number of testimonials i already have in my account, i would have long given up on staying as a member -- i'm wary of being stalked (with those creepy val--- stalkers out there, who wouldn't be?). for quite a long time now, i've set the restrictions of my friendster account to the highest, that is, only my friends can view my full profile and pictures. anyone in the network can send me messages though. then, too, i've limited my log ons to the network. i only log in when i have new messages, new testimonial notifications, new friend requests, and/or alerts for submitted photos from friends.

the only friendster action i take on new testimonials and new friend requests is approval. if i don't like a submitted testimonial to appear in my profile, i don't press the reject button. i simply leave the testimonial as is and allow it to take its space in the new testimonials section for as long as friendster allows it. the same holds true for new friend requests: if i choose not to approve an 'add as a friend' request, i don't hit the reject button. i simply ignore the request and, like the 'cannot be approved' testimonial, it is allowed its space in the new friend requests section for as long as friendster allows it. in this way, i don't become guilty of rejecting testimonials or people. :P bwehehe.

now, having said that i'm wary of being stalked (in fact, i'm "allergic" to stalkers), it is not to be expected of me to approve new friend requests from friendster people whom i don't personally know. i have to see first how i'm connected to the person and i have to be somewhat assured that the same person is not of suspicious character. yes, i'm quite praning! naturally, if i cannot appreciate our connection in the network or if my gut feel tells me that i ought to be suspicious, i ignore the person's request.

recently, i received a new friend request in friendster. it came with a message and here it is:

From: ********
Date: Saturday, May 06, 2006 10:26:00 PM
Subject: please be my friend

Message:

hi val---!

my name is ******** and i want to add you to my
friends...please accept...

by the way, i'm an avid fan of yours...from IIT
CSM...your younger sister xx knows about me...

thanks in advance..

ahhhh... fan mail. i must be living an interesting life, i actually have fans. ha ha. ayyyyyy! sheeez. honestly, it's a little bit scary. it somehow makes me worry.

paranoid and ever suspicious being that i am, i checked ********'s friendster account and searched for my sister's 'footprints' on the profile page. based on the testimonial that my sister gave, they're good friends, ******** is not a suspicious character, and blah. so, uhm, okay, that bit relieved me.

******** is now my friend... in friendster.