Lost Connection

Last week I had Internet problems. Turned out to be a hardware problem, which has been fixed. But I was without for 2 days.

It was a shock. I couldn't get online! I suppose I could have gone to the library, but that wasn't the point. My personal access was denied. I couldn't sit at my desk and roam the globe.

How quickly we adapt and then become reliant on new technology. I sat there stunned, unable to think of what to do. When I should have been working in the garden, mowing the lawn, writing...any number of things that don't involve being online.

A little part of it was panic that I couldn't do my paying-the-bills job which is mostly online. But I think some of it was outrage that my comfortable routine had been disrupted. I couldn't do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it...like check TV Guide for my favorite shows.

I felt absurdly isolated. I could have turned on the TV or the radio for a connection to the outside...but that wasn't quite the same. I can pick and choose when I surf. This story here, this article there, pictures of the ocean, a galaxy, a celeb, a cute kitten video. Me, mine, my taste, my interest, my needs - NOW.

And I wonder why my attention span has shortened.