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06/08/2004 Archived Entry: "Cloudy morning"

I AWOKE EARLY THIS MORNING TO A BROKEN NET CONNECTION. Turned out to be a dead ethernet card. But first, pre-tea (meaning without working gray cells), I spent a while checking out the DSL modem and cables. In the cloudy, soft pre-dawn, I put on my slippers and wandered outside to fetch a spare cable from the yurt. I love early mornings, especially ones like this, still and slightly cool but showing promise of morphing into beautiful warm days. But ever since I've had eternal connectedness, I've tended to spend the days' first hours huddled in bed with the laptop computer, surfing the news, reading e-mail, and making blog entries. I don't get outside until the day is really day, and no longer mysterious, promising morning. I often don't get to work until I'm already feeling glazed over from e-gazing, and because of that, I tend to be less productive.

Standing out on the hill, looking over the valley with the clouds turning pink overhead was a good reminder. There's still life beyond Totalitarian Information Awareness, beyond the NSA or DARPA, beyond the IRS, and beyond the netly lures of news and blogs. Beyond the endness effing "communication" we're so locked into these days.

If the news that TIA is alive and well turns out to be true, I'm considering severing most of my last remaining connections with the e-world. (I'd still access the net a few hours a week via public computers). I won't do it precipitously. And if I did it at all, I'd require a complete re-think about little matters like how to earn a living, since I currently live or die by Internet and telephone.

But if I did disconnect (and I'm by no means saying -- yet -- that I will), I'd also make time to reconnect with something more fundamental. Could be an interesting experiment. After 23 years on computer and more than 10 years on the Net, to pull that plug from the wall of Cabin Sweet Cabin and tune in better to earth, wind, fire, and water. And to my own earthly self.

A fantasy, probably. But one that feels very good this morning.

(I'm writing this from a backup computer. I haven't used it in months & it's not fully synched with the laptop. So if I owe you e-mail or anything, hang on. I'm relying on sneakernet at the moment for some things, and even sneakernet is compromised by an unreliable floppy drive on the backup machine.)

Posted by Claire @ 09:22 AM CST
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