My computer came down with a nasty virus. I have been without a
computer for 9 days and counting. I took it to the 'doctor' and was told it
might be another week before I will get it back. I am now scouring the Black
Friday ads for great deals on laptops with a whole new vigor and sense of
purpose.
If the treatment went well, I will have what amounts to a newborn baby
with its memory erased, its hard drive reset at zero. I will have to teach it
all over again how to process my photos and store my life's work and how to
talk to the wireless printer and even how to connect to the internet. I will
have to reintroduce all the programs that I have come to depend on, but I will
likely weed out what is not necessary. My biggest fear is that I could
lose all of my stored memories on the second drive that I have in there. Keep
your fingers crossed for me that my baby will survive (or that Santa will send
me a laptop - tell him I have been extra good this year!).
I never knew how connected I was until I lost the ability to stay in
touch.
In this day and age when our gadgets are as dear to us as a limb and
sometimes replace some of our senses, it is strange to be without. I feel a bit
twitchy sometimes when I think of the things that I might be missing. I am not
talking about keeping up with the Kardashians, or watching the next YouTube
phenomenon. I long to get back online and reconnect with those friends far and
wide that I am missing, to write on my own blog, to resume business as usual.
It also makes me wonder if people miss me or maybe they have forgotten about me
in these few days of silence. That is the danger of this too-connected world.
Miss a day and it is like missing a month.
Despite the inconveniences, I have been grateful for this chance to
unplug, even if it was unplanned and uncomfortable at times. I have been
reading a book. I have spent time cuddling with my daughter. I have gone to bed
earlier.
I will be happy to have my computer back. And it will still take me time
to teach that old model new tricks. But it might make me rethink
how connected I really need to be to those that aren't right here in
front of me.
Maybe being unplugged is a good thing.
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You can learn more about Erin on her blog, Treasures Found
1 comment:
Nine days and counting without a computer would surely make me twitch too. I'm not one who runs out to buy the newest techy toys, but I do love my computer. When my computer was down for three days it forced me to do other things, like clean, read, take a walk. It's kind of like when the electricity goes out and we sit in the silent darkness, with only the glow of a candle. Without the hum of the TV or other machines our minds suddenly open up to begin some humming of their own. It's a good thing to be unplugged every once in a while.
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