Female Technophile, unplugged.

One of the reasons I've been so apathetic about blogging is that I haven't had any internet for about a month now. There's several explanations for why I've been without, but the most obvious one (and the one I'm sure hits home for a lot of people out there) is the rising cost of just getting around these days. The price of gas is insane, and while the Puget Sound area is well equipped with mass transit solutions, you still have to GET to the station and find a parking space. We've streamlined our expenses however we can, and unfortunately, the internet and cable was the first to go. However, I digress....

It's been really, really strange living without the internet. There's a weird feeling of complete disconnect that strikes me as both sad and amusing, only because I can remember a time when there WAS no internet. We've all become so dependent on recieving information in real-time that it's kind of jarring to lose that interaction.

Of course, we've both lost the ability to play our MMORPGs as well, and it's made us realize just how many hours we spent during an average week online playing. I used to shun the computer quite a bit, since I work with them and on them every day, but now I'm seriously missing my online time. The ability to go kill some random stuff in an ever-evolving world online after a hard day was something I'd never thought I'd miss, but there you go.

As a result of this down time, I've been able to catch up on my book list--I'm rather avid about reading even when I have online access, so this has been nuts--and re-read a few things I'd not picked up for a while. I've watched plenty of public television and acquainted myself seriously with Jane Austen as interpreted by the BBC. I've been watching fuzzy epidodes of American Idol and Hell's Kitchen.

I have come to the conclusion that infomercials are entirely geared towards people like my Grandfather...who have no cable, and so are vulnerable to their silly claims of "rock hard abs" and "real estate success now". Can't I have both? And all for three payments of $99.95? Though, there's this pocket meal thing that looks alluring. I've watched that infomercial three times on a Sunday (look, this week the movie of the day on Fox was "Canadian Bacon", for God's sake) and wonder, idly, if it does what it claims. I'll never buy it, but...well...hm. I always wonder how much money they make off of those things. Apparently enough to keep producing these inane infomericals.

Though a little twitchy, I am surviving...unplugged. Who'd have thought? (Ok, so I'm not counting work access. I might not survive without that much.)

I thought about doing some serious commentary about how the internet controls us all, but in the end...eh, everyone knows that, so why blog it?