day 40: detox

When I lived in the States I was online hours each day. Between work and home, research and play, I sat in front of the computer a lot. I also sat in front of the TV.

When we moved here we decided not to have a TV and while we do want internet, it's taking a long time to get it connected. So (as you've heard me complain before) I use the computer maybe 3 hours a week, mostly for email and writing here. I don't read the news (ok I check the headlines just to make sure Obama is still hanging in there and fighting) but otherwise I've divorced myself from all of it: crime and celebrity and reality and drama and news and gossip and world affairs. In some ways it's making me ignorant, and ignorance is never a good thing. But in a whole lot of other ways it's the best thing I've ever done.

I don't miss TV. I thought I might but I don't. At night we read or play games and M occasionally watches a DVD on our laptop. I am a kick ass Monopoly player now and not half bad at Scrabble. I've been forced to break the dependence on these two things and use the time instead for more useful things, cooking (recently attempting to bake bread), cleaning, reading, being outside. I honestly didn't know how I'd feel about it and I am not saying I don't cherish my brief moments online checking in with you because I absolutely do, but I am not the laptop warrior I used to be, I go for a couple days at a time without checking mail and I've seen a TV once in 5 weeks and the volume wasn't even on (but Obama looked good up there and I'm sure he was being thinky about a lot of important things). I am not saying this makes me happy all the time, at times I find myself restless and melancholy, but I am getting more in touch with these things instead of pushing it aside and mindlessly entertaining myself.

Besides, all the woes of the economy? Terrible crimes? Horrible accidents? All those things the media throws about you like verbal pukeage and leaves you sitting in it with no idea what to do except lock your doors and be afraid? It wasn't working for me and I just didn't know it. I know it now and for the first time I can understand why it matters, or better yet why NOT having it in my life to that degree matters. The sun feels better than puke any day of the week.