On IM querying

I’ve gotten a couple of emails in the last few weeks asking why my IM status on google talk and yahoo are always set to “Sleeping”, “Working“, or “Invisible”. In fact, this very question was posed earlier by someone who just happened to google talk me even though my status was set to “Sleeping” and managed to catch me. So I figured I’d address it here rather than sending out a dozen emails since most of my IM buddies drop by occasionally.

The answer is 9 times out of 10 I forget to change my status; regardless of whether or not I’m actually online I leave my laptop on 24/7. So, all I can say is, if I appear offline (or don't respond when it says I'm online and you buzz me) it’s because of a few possibilities: I’m actually offline, I forgot to change my status, I’m bummed out and don’t feel like wearing the “happy mask”, it's before 7pm (I'm a night person- the best time to buzz me is late at night. Hence, the reason I usually post here after 10pm) or I’m avoiding someone creepy (present people who I IM with or visit my blog excluded). In fact, that “someone creepy” is why I no longer use and have permanently turned off my MSN messenger. Again, 9 times out of 10 I just forgot to change my status.