I laugh at people who are clearly addicted to caffeine; those who experience headaches and general feelings of unwellness when they skip their daily cup of coffee. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that I suffer the same way when I am deprived of regular access to the internet.
The usual scenario in which I experience internet deprivation tends to be while on vacation. Even in the midst of such rousing experiences, I feel the urge to type on a keyboard, check my email and read up on nothing important.
In the tradition of self-improvement through self-deprivation, I will be restricting my internet access to work related endeavors for the next week, starting at noon today. This may well be harder than my previous week-long foray into vegetarianism or even my kichadi diet. However, I feel that it is necessary to force myself to disconnect from the computer and reconnect with real life extracurricular activities.
Just as Renton prepared for his break from heroin in Trainspotting (bucket, beans, porno - check, check, check), I have bought some books from BMV to help me stay the course:
Slowness by Milan Kundera
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Naked by David Sedaris
I am a fan of both McEwan and Sedaris, and the Kundera book looks promising.
Here's hoping that the sweating and suffering can be kept to a minimum. Radio silence starts now.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Not that you'll get this message when you may need it, but good luck. I agree it is an addiction so hang on you masochist!
Finally! This is why I get annoyed when we go to Fi's Cottage or camping. People bring out their laptops and watch movies. We're out in the wilderness, getting back in touch with nature. LEAVE THE ELECTRONICS AT HOME!!!
It was cathartic and liberating to not be accessing email while on the coast, distracted by large quatities of beer and seafood it got easier as the week went on. But I did miss the xbox....the craving to cut down, shoot and electrocute zombies only increased.
I'm going camping this weekend, and I'll have a portable power supply with me. Maybe I can set up my Wii and play Wii Sports Resort while camping! (I'm only joking... because I don't have Wii Sports Resort.)
I can do without internet access, after all, I've spent the last year without a computer at home and now that I do have one, I've been without internet access (until sometime between the hours of 5-8pm tonight!). You can do it!
And Sedaris will make it that much easier. Let's hope you don't leave it on the hood of your car and drive off into the woods, like I did. Le sigh.
A great opportunity to "retrain" your mind...your mental habits and jerk knee reactions. Yes, it is more difficult when the carrot is still dangling in front of you...but a very worthy experiment. Try different ways of engaging not only your mind, but your body too...go to a dance class, a language class...try something that will completely absorb your concentration.
Personally, it is my favourite reason for leaving the city - no one can access me and I can't access anyone...ahhh...blissful technological darkness. AND - remember how wonderful it was to finally see and talk to your fellow humans during the blackout of 2003? Same thing.
Post a Comment