How did we ever survive without technology? I never realized how dependent on technology I had become until three days ago, when it was suddenly ripped away from me by a careless lawn man who sliced through my line to the world. At first, I felt like it was no big deal. I used to be Mr. Outdoors. I loved to go hardcore hiking and camping with nothing but a change of clothes, a small tent and a canteen. Of course a little food too, in case I didn’t find any fishing. Not sure when all that changed, but the last three days with the temperature rising as high as 102ᵒ Fahrenheit, outdoors was not looking all that exciting.
Instead, I just dove into my writing, which I had planned to do anyway, but I kept feeling like something was missing or lost. I felt like a caveman, despite sitting at a laptop writing my novel and using my kindle to finish book called Stop Me. I felt like such a relic, I even picked up the paperback copy of The Gathering Storm and read a little. My only connection to the universe was my Droid, but when I’m at home, I’m spoiled. I have issues with staring at that tiny little screen (it’s huge compared to most touch screens I’ve seen). I have a stinking 19” screen Alienware, so when I look at it, and then at the Droid, I get frazzled that I can’t log in. Couldn’t even watch Netflix! Still can’t, apparently, as soon as my cable was fixed, the Netflix server crashed. Happy Father’s Day, right?
Well, happy? That’s exactly what it turned out to be. Despite being grumpy and annoyed for the third day in a row, and today was worse than the others, because I was trapped in my house waiting on a tech for an all-day appointment, in which he didn’t show till almost 7pm. Rant!
All in all, I realize now how addicted I’ve become to the internet and my technology. I’m not going to some anonymous meeting to get over it though. Plug my brain into my computer please, but I’m getting away from my point here. The point is, that while I was offline, my kids had some of the best days they’ve had the entire vacation, because I wasn’t on the web. I thought I should share this with everyone out there, because if you’re anything like me, you can get carried away with something, and without realizing it, you aren’t paying attention to the one thing you are doing everything for, your family. Now let’s see if I can keep reminding myself to make more time for mine.
Maybe I will make some time after my book is published… or maybe after the second one… third? Guess I’ll just have to schedule the family in somewhere. Remember the caveman days. Go and be social!
Now I’m off to catch up on my Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads accounts… then finish the last few scenes in The Devil Dog.
I hate when technology screws with me either, but your point at the end is one I've been struggling with since summer began. Family is important. Yes, my kids drive me nuts. No, I don't have much time to write because they're home with me all day. BUT, I made the decision to become a parent. I must accept the responsibilities that come with it. So, I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I'm not gonna get much done on my books this summer. I don't like it, but I'll deal with it, and hopefully have fun with my kids in the process. :-)
ReplyDeleteI occasionally take breaks from technology and they always relax me. One thing I struggle with now is writing without an internet connection. I want everything I do to be backed up in 3 or 4 locations at all times. No internet connection limits the ease with which I can do that, and the more I type, the more nervous I get.
ReplyDelete@Scott: I use a flash drive to back up my stuff. I usually have to turn off the internet on my laptop or I'll be constantly distracted. Bad enough my phone talks to me when I have a message from any of the dozen social sites I'm on.
ReplyDelete@Kendall: I'm reaching that point myself. I was hoping for a writercation, but I've been stepping away to do things with the family on the days I was planning to write. Decided it's just going to have to be this way. Luckily, my kids will be going back to daycare next week, so my writing isn't going to go any slower in the summer than it would normally.
I struggle with the opposite. I'm willing to put off technology in favor of my loved ones; however, too often my loved ones are way more addicted to tech than I and aren't willing to do the same for me. It's frustrating to be the one who wants to disconnect and do something, only to be put on hold so someone can Skype with a buddy, send an e-mail to just one more friend, or text non-stop in front of me. I just want to take their face in my hands and say, "Look at me! I'm real and I'm here in front of you. I might not be tomorrow. We don't know what the future holds. Let's spend time together and enjoy this moment."
ReplyDeleteYou're one of the few. My wife is like that too. If not for her I would never do anything without technology involved.
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