FAQ

TWITTER QUESTIONS:

Q: Where did you get the name @MissBeckala?
A: A lot of people call me other things than my actual name. Beckala (pronounced Beck – AHLA) was one of the names I was called, but it was already taken on Twitter when I joined in December 2008, so I just added the Miss to it.

Q: What is a #stinkytweet?
A: I get this question A LOT, since I use the hashtag #stinkytweet A LOT. When I first started using Twitter, I would tweet in the morning before I went to work. One of my tweeps, @thepicklebot, declared that I really should disclose it if I am tweeting while stinky. So he came up with #stinkytweet and it’s been used ever since.

Q: How did you get so many followers?
A: I follow anyone who follows me, as long as it doesn’t seem like they are trying to sell me something from their last tweet. I also follow people who have the same interests as me, or people that I find interesting. A lot of those people follow me back. It’s not about the numbers, but getting to know the people behind the numbers.

Q: @Larry_David tweeted you!! Do you know him?
A: After 9 months, @Twitter finally suspended that account. It was never him in the first place. @JGarlin confirmed on Twitter that LD does not tweet and that it was an imposter. I can’t tell you how many people followed me because they thought I was buddies with him. I wish.

FACEBOOK QUESTIONS:

Q: Why don’t you accept my invitations to play Yoville / Farmville / FarmTown / other random Facebook game?
A: I actually wrote a whole blog post about this subject: My Life Without Facebook Games. Basically, I decided I was spending too much valuable time playing these games and decided I needed a break. So, please don’t take it personally that I do not send or receive gifts on these apps. Just a personal decision.

Q: Why are you sending me an invitation to become a fan of Company A or Company B?
A: Most likely, this is a friend’s business or a client of mine. I don’t expect you to become a fan if you don’t know or like the company at all, but at least have a look, please?

LIFE QUESTIONS:

Q: What is the meaning of lmL on your tattoo?
A: Every morning, Harry and I would together walk Emily to the bus stop to send her off to school. One of our neighbor’s kids used to wave to her Mom from the bus, but not a normal wave, she would use the hand symbol for I love you and wave it until her Mom did it back. The first few times, I didn’t say anything and it was a few days later that Harry brought it up to me. He said “do you see that girl waving her hand like that all the time?” “Yes, I do, it’s funny but very cute.” So we started to do it with Emily on the bus and she loved it. It went from a goodbye on the bus to our goodbye all the time, no matter where we were. Anytime we were leaving each other, we would use that hand symbol instead of waving. Harry and Emily came up with these extensive handshakes that always included the hand symbol. We even laughed about how our neighbors were probably making fun of us now as we had of them, but we didn’t care. After a month or two, I realized that when you typed lmL it kind of looked like the hand symbol (the l was the pinky, the m was the middle fingers and the L was your pointy finger and thumb). So from then on, any text message, e-mail or Facebook comment ended with lmL, in addition to our daily hand gestures. Since Harry and I kept in contact via text messages all day, lmL was used quite often. After I spoke at Harry’s funeral, I gave his urn the lmL hand symbol for one last time. Emily and I still do it to this day.

Q: Did you ever find out how Harry passed away?
A. Yes. It took more than two months, but there was an official cause of death. Harry passed away of an accidental drug overdose. He had been on several pain killers for over 4 years for an injury that broke his foot. He had two surgeries in the time I was with him, in which they put 3 pins in his left foot, but he was still unable to walk without pain. One of the pins had broken and he was planning on a third surgery in 2009 to fix it. Unfortunately, he didn’t take the best care of himself, smoking over a pack of cigarettes a day and could not exercise because of his foot. This, in combination with taking the pain medications, took a fatal toll on his body.

Q: What happened to Emily?
A: Emily lives with her Mother and our cat Mitzie now. She also has a half-sister that she now shares a room with. She had to switch schools, but she likes her new school and made some new friends. I try to see her every weekend.