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Don't expect words of wisdom or earth shattering revelations, just my thoughts and observations about living in Ottawa, being a public servant and trying to live life every day to its fullest

Monday, August 23, 2010

No car / No computer = no life? My first real post was about Web2 and my second post was about driving my car. This post is about living without either!

I am currently car-less; I lent it to a friend who currently needs it more than I do. The computer was not a choice thing, Microsoft Vista decided that it needed to prove itself as the most unstable platform currently in circulation and developed a "critical boot error" a week ago that I have been unable to rectify. Like the car, the computer is currently in other hands. For a week now I have had neither car nor computer and apart from the occasional bout of sheer panic and despair, I am doing just fine.

I am lucky as I live downtown and can easily access amenities without the car. Sure; I got stuck riding my bike in the rain on Saturday, but I had forgotten how nice it is to run errands without worrying about parking (and how nice it is to sometimes have to ride in the rain). I remembered how one doesn't buy as much at the grocery store if you are walking home with it and how part of the weekend adventure is the journey to where you are going. I discovered why the bottom of my bike-bag is stuffed with plastic bags and the Ottawa River Parkway Bike path.

As for the computer - well that is a different story! I can tweet and view most of my e-mail on the blackberry, so I confess that I am not completely out of the loop (You think I am out of the loop because I am not on FaceBook - but think of the withdrawal I would be going through) . I used to joke that I didn't have a TV so that I wouldn't get sucked into programs, but I realised that I had been. Sunday night, I wanted to watch "my programs" and I couldn't. There were a few hard minutes where I questioned what I would do without my computer or if I should give in and call the cable company to hook up a connection. The cat probably wondered what was going on when I turned up the stereo and danced around the living room with him (warning: crazy-cat lady alert) and then hung out with him while reading a book.

In reality I am not actually missing out on anything by not having a visual entertainment unit in my house, in fact, I probably am miss out by having access to it. Those perfect nights on my deck when the weather is warm and the stars are out; been curled up with the computer watching the pixels glimmer. Those miserable days perfect for sitting with a hot chocolate and catching up by phone with a long-distance friend; surfing the internet and reading their blog. Those days perfect for dancing in the rain; checking the weather online. 

The internet is forever ... it will all be there when (if) I get my computer back. In the meantime, I am going to log-off, walk home, sit in the sunshine on the deck, eat leftovers and read the end of the book I started yesterday. Tomorrow a friend will give me a lift to my game and we will spend the time in the car together catching up. 

Sometimes it is nice to remember life can be good without material / technological possessions.

1 comment:

  1. i have had a few days over the years without a computer and i panic every single time. i'll admit it, i'm addicted to it. which is strange, since i grew up without the internet (it must be even harder for kids born in the mid-90's), but i got my own computer sometime aroun 2006, and we have been inseperable ever since. so when my computer or internet are temporarily unavailable, sometimes i'll stand in the middle of my apartment panicking, wondering what the hell to do. i always find something, and it is always better then anything that i would have done with the internet, i just don't have the willpower to put it down on my own.

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