Geek

Up goes my index finger to click on the "quit" button. "Goodbye" says my laptop, and then the little info that always pops up as it is winding down after a busy day: you have spent 277 minutes online, pricing plan is for unlimited use. Whoa! Okay, it takes me a little while to figure this out, but that is like, over 4 hours!

Yes, I turned my computer on after putting the kids to bed. Hubby is at work, so I am not neglecting him either. I even got up to take little "breaks", changing laundry and putting away dishes from the dishwasher, but still, that is 4 hours! That is half of a workday for a "normal" person. But I am not at work, and I am not getting paid.

I used to be one of "those" people who did not own a cell phone, have caller id, a car that talked to me or a computer. When I was younger (much) and the internet was gaining popularity I thought it was wonderful, but not a way to do everything! I could NEVER see myself "wtiting" on a keyboard let alone communicating regularly on one. I was of the school of thought that nothing will ever replace a pencil and paper. Those were tangible and all this techie stuff was not. How could it be the same?

Now I find that I can type way faster than I can write, and I have an outlet to let my crazy self vent, share and hopefully entertain in the process. Not to mention provide my family with conversation material at future gatherings! "Carrie, I read what you wrote on you blog and . . .". Well, obviously things have changed.

Since our laptops arrival about two years ago, I have, little by little, discovered all of the things it can do for me. It can help me order pizza (okay, not very relevant). It can help me organize all of my photos, play music, make travel reservations, download music, order dvd's (thank you Netflix), shop for hard to find items and keep in touch with far-away friends and family very easily. It can make me laugh with all of those joke emails I get, and it can make me cry with all of the advertising pop-ups and way too much information when I google a subject that I need to know about (like ganglion cysts, OUCH!). It has simplified my life in many ways and now, I feel like it is creeping into other areas as well, mainly, entertainment.

Who knew (not me) that I could have so much access to a virtually unending supply of reality? Because my favorite genre of tv entertainment is, after all, reality, I am now feeding this appetite by reading blogs. And since all the good reality tv shows (at least the ones I loved) aren't on, what better way to fill the void? So back we are again to the 277 minutes. I hardly ever would watch that much tv consecutively, but somehow the time just flies by as I read all of these fascinating blogs (much like when you're reading a good book and all of a sudden it's 2 am and you have to get up in 5 hours!). And the comments, well they are better than the letters to the editor in People magazine! I love it.

I shouldn't feel guilty, but I do. It is not mindless tv-watching, and I am doing a bit of blogging/writing myself, but I still feel like I am intruding on people's lives, lingering on the outskirts, following their funny stories (which crack me up most of the time) and actually learning a few things and interacting with people not in my little corner of the world. So feel guilty? I think not. Welcome to the 21st century, finally.

Now, off to read something "tangible" (so I don't feel guilty about blogging. Hee Hee).