Okay, it's true confession time.
I think I have computer addiction.
Is there a support group for this condition?
(Yeah cupcake, it's called Dear Diary and all of you are a bunch of freakin' blog heads)
Oh.
To elaborate. I have found myself in front of the computer
A LOT lately. Now it's true I have done nine weblog reviews so far this month, and began re-writing the novel in ernest this week and of course have also kept up with writing here and reading my favorite diarists. That right there, is a big chunk of "legitimate" time.
But what it doesn't include are the hours spent playing Bookworm, checking my Yahoo account, reading the blogger's reactions to their weblog reviews, checking the weather, renewing my books at the library, checking to see if our paycheck has arrived in our bank account, reading news, commentary on news, and parodies of news, reading regular email, sending email, checking for email, going onto Yahoo messenger to see if any of my friends are on line, chatting with friends if they are...... the list is endless. Or seemingly so.
None of the above things is what's really bothering me though. It's the times I sit down here and stare at the Google screen trying to think of somewhere ELSE to go check out.
Oh, I get things done in fits and starts in the really real world, but the default position ends up being in front of this computer. And I don't think it's doing anything for my attention span.
I mentioned this before, but I will bring it up again because it seems to be even worse than I thought. I watched a program the other evening on a channel that I don't usually watch because the subject matter was so bizarre. I won't go into the content right now, but what really has me worried are the flashing camera shots. I cannot keep up with them. And I don't think it's just me being an old prune who is out of touch. I read the same take on it on a movie review site that I read that I know is written by younger people than me. If this is the trend in television, I am going to go on strike.
Anyway, I am thinking about taking a week off from the computer. I'm going up to visit my parents this week and it seems like an auspicious time to do a little experiment. I am not going to write any weblog reviews. I am going to take a break from writing in my diary........ resists urge to hyperventilate...... not succeeding. Pant pant pant..... blow...... And if I want to work on my novel, I will scribble on the hard copy pages of the first draft to my heart's content. And there are my really real journals. (Three of them) that I can write in too. I want to see if there is a difference between that kind of writing and the kind I am doing now, which is typing this into Bloggar, sitting in an uncomfortable chair, listening to the whirrrrr of the CPU and getting a cramp in my left forearm, even though I have a natural keyboard.
I will have one more entry, tomorrow morning before starting on my experimental computer free week. I will be getting on a Greyhound Bus at O: dark thirty Tuesday morning. And will have 6 hours of enforced separation right off the bat. As I still don't have my imaginary ($2300.00,GASP!) tablet PC, I won't be able to cheat.
I have 24 hours left to taper off..... (ha!) and then I am going into "silent running".
I may take this all back tomorrow and curse myself for a grandiose fool. But at least for now, at 6:06 PM Sunday evening, this is my plan.
( This is going to be good.)
Oh stuff it, you old grump.