Slave to 21st Century Technology or Maybe I should get an offline life...

You know how people ask, "If you could live in any other time, which would it be?"

In the past, I'd given this a lot of thought. I adore everything Tudor, homes, clothing of the era, the political and religious rammifications that surrounded one man's libido, among countless other things. I eat it up! Did a term paper on old Henry and his women in high school that was a hundred pages long and had almost 2000 note cards and a 30-page bibliography. I got a hundred on it, but I'm pretty sure my instructor didn't read all the way through it--I've since found dreadful grammatical errors. What can I say? Commas have always been my bane.

There are other eras in history I find roughly romantic and wouldn't mind spending an hour or two exploring: The Flapper Era,
Pioneer Era, the first Fashion Week, sometime during Roosevelt's presidency in order to meet Eleanor.

Okay, all that changed Wednesday. I've decided I am truly a 21st Century Woman. I'm chained here and it's not pretty. Seems the Southern United States has gotten so used to drought that when it finally rains any significant amount, the South shuts down. Rain, a little thunder and my internet went out. Other things went out too that kept me virtually cut off from civilization...trust me, I am not a woman who does quiet well. My kids go to school and the radio AND TV come on...but being without the internet was the worst.

I knew that I spent a lot of time online...I'm a writer, so that goes without saying...but until I couldn't get online, I'd not realized just how dependent I am on the internet. I research. I contact friends. I get recipes. I check weather (eye roll).

Okay, there are phones, TVs and cookbooks. There are days I don't sign on at all. Days when my needlework deadlines are stricter than my writing deadlines. It wasn't as if I had nothing else to do. Hey, I have a husband, two kids and two furry creatures all living in my house with me. There's ALWAYS something to do. I could have worked on my pending needlework restoration. I didn't HAVE to sign on. But I COULDN'T sign on. Enter anxiety attack.

Now, okay, granted, I'm a card carrying conspiracy theory member, but I never considered myself to be paranoid in any way. But I just knew something important was happening that I didn't have access to, something that was going to be life altering. There was some weather occurance that wasn't showing up on cable...which by the way, along with cell, phone and power took turns fritzing out on me. And the cable company chickie said the ENTIRE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES WAS WITHOUT INTERNET! Honey, that goes way beyond conspiracy! That's sabotage!

The cable company who shall from this moment forward be referred to as The Wicked and Uncaring A, couldn't tell me when it was going to be restored. "We hope sometime this week." Sometime this week, we HOPE??? No no no...not acceptable. Do you realize what's going on in my life?? I have a new crit group starting. I'm having a virtual Mary Kay online sleepover. I have two novellas coming out in the next month or so!!! I have to BLOG!!! I have my local news channel's weather radar on loop!!! I need my internet access, Cable Chickie! DO SOMETHING!!!!!

I was offered credit, and nothing more. How rude. How inconsiderate. I mean, come on, if it wasn't for me and others like me, they'd be working asking if I'd like fries! What has happened to human kindness?

But scarier....how did I survive prior and during the War Games era? Didn't Matthew Broderick teach me anything about life and computers?

I was so depressed. I took a nap.

Funny, I'd forgotten what sleep felt like.

Til next week....
hugs,
Sher