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While trudging through the marsh of e-mails, I realized that a week without being tethered to the computer can teach us a whole host of fascinating things.
Like how much spare time we really have.
Hours, if not days, can be spent e-mailing, Facebooking, My Spacing or otherwise posting or reading updates about kids who finally succumbed to potty training or people who hate Mondays.
To be fair, I really dig Facebook. It’s a great way to waste time and keep tabs on whose kid is finally potty trained.
“I’m giving up on Facebook,” one of my former bosses once declared. “It makes me feel connected when I’m really not.”
The scary part is, that is largely the extent of connection these days.
Computer connections are the only connections for some, especially those, like myself, who work from home. My face-to-face contact usually consists solely of my dogs, rats and lizard. Maybe a neighbor, albeit briefly, if we happen to go the mailbox at the same time.
Week after week of that tends to make folks loopy. Thus, I do try to grocery shop or something once in awhile so I can be around people. But then I choose the electronic self-checkout so I don’t have to deal with a cashier.
As society moves towards more and more towards virtual rather than personal connections, some folks may never learn vital social skills.
“I’ve met some engineers who work from home and never have to be around people,” a friend of mine told me when we were talking about dating. “Engineers are weird to begin with, but if they never get out of the house, it makes them even stranger. No wonder they are still single.”
What’s the longest you’ve gone without a computer connection?
Is your world turned asunder when your e-mail or Internet goes down?
Haha..welcome back Rynski!! I hope you enjoyed your time off! 😀
It’s sad but true…computers are my life, and being without one at my finger tips for longer than 8 hours drives me mad. For that reason, I bought a Blackberry so that I can have some type of computer connection at all times! Ridiculous? Maybe a little…haha. 😛
I chose many of those options on the poll…including “Other” because I consider Craigslist as it’s own category! Haha! It can be “shopping” since I found just about everything I own on good ol’ Craigslist–including the boyfriend, even though I don’t “own” him, he’s still mine. 😉
It can also be entertainment — I often read the “Best Of’s” which have me laughing! 😀
hiya jenna, thanks for the welcome back!
i, too, am a total computer junkie. it felt sooo weired to be without using it much for a week – but i’m already back in the swing.
yes – craigslist SHOULD be it’s own category – tell me more how you found your guy on it – personals? how cool. i never checked the personals section (and won’t now since i have a cool beau). i’ve only used craigslist to look for cool chairs. oh! and i did buy a lawn mower that way – it was listed as electric but the guy brought over this gas thing and three of the wheels fell off by the second time i used it. buyer beware everywhere, i guess. at least it was a good price (haha).
perhaps YouTube should have it’s own category, too. and maybe some of my fave sites like almanac.com, pawnation and etc. etc….
Yep, you got it Ryn! I was randomly browsing the personals, and came across an ad where the guy actually sounded like a decent guy. So, on a whim, I sent him a little email about myself and gave him a link to my myspace page. We emailed back and forth for a couple days, then exchanged numbers and began the neverending text-a-thon. It wasn’t long until we decided to meet up at the Reid Park Zoo. We met for the first time exactly 1 year ago, today! Things have been amazing ever since!! 😀
Thank you!! He spoiled me with lots of thoughtful gifts, lol. He gave me a photo album with lots of pages, with plans to fill them up over the coming years. The first couple pages are already filled with his favorite pictures of us. He also had 2 of my fav pictures blown up to 8×10 and framed them so I can hang them up. AND THEN, he gave me a beautiful necklace, with a heart pendant, with lots of little diamonds! 😀
Thank you Craigslist…hahaha 😀
Rynski on 12/21/2009 at 9:35 am
ahhhhh! how sweet – happy anniversary for sure!
so cool you have found happiness. hey! i met your beau at the street fair, very briefly, when i went in moon smoke shop.
he seems like a very fine fellow and i am so happy you are happy (and dante, i’m sure, is also happy…)
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Jennatoolz on 12/21/2009 at 9:55 am
That’s right! That was a rare day that he worked at that particular shop…and what a coincidence! He sent me a text soon after saying “Guess who I met!?” and when he said you, I was pleasantly surprised! Lol 😀
Rynski on 12/21/2009 at 9:36 am
p.s. i just read your gifts comments – what a sweetie pie!
crappy lawn mower aside, CRAIGSLIST rules! hahahah
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Andrew Ulanowski on 12/21/2009 at 9:38 am
Good day Ryn! Greetings Mouse, Jenna and Radmax!
I would have to say my computer seems to be an indispensable tool and I am near it often. I find it crazy valuable to communicate with people through it HOWEVER, time spent with people outside the virtual world is much more valuable to me.
Going to a friend’s house, playing a board game and sharing good food would be my druthers . . . i do those sorts of things as often as I can and look to meet with people I know online.
Love to see the gingerbread house pics Mouse! I too, missed Ryn while she was gone. Perhaps that’s what some of us are addicted to . . . talking with Ryn online!
Jenna, coolio that you shop at Craig’s List for all your needs! Handy, huh?!? Boyfriend too! Amazing!
Hope everyone’s holidays are fun. I have been having a blast working on a volunteer project and visiting friends and family.
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azmouse on 12/21/2009 at 10:25 am
Trust me, you aren’t missing anything on the gingerbread house I made. I actually went to a Christmas party this weekend at Westward Look and the gingerbread house they made was huge!! The whole roof was covered with mini frosted shredded wheat…impressive.
I will get the picks on my computer and send them to Ryn. I hope someone else made one too. lol
Andrew Ulanowski on 12/21/2009 at 10:32 am
huh, Westward Look, I live very near to there- i saw a huge Gingerbread house in Phoenix last year- it was pretty neat!
I missed talking with you Mouse!
Off to do shopping! Boots on (check!), jacket on (check!), money i wallet (check!) Contact!
azmouse on 12/21/2009 at 10:38 am
Missed talking to you too!
Have fun shopping, and be careful out there!
Rynski on 12/21/2009 at 10:42 am
thanks, andrew! missed chit-chat, too.
thanks, also, for using the word:
Jennatoolz on 12/21/2009 at 10:43 am
Yes, be very careful! One of my co-workers 4 yr old nephews was run over and dragged under the vehicle while in a parking lot this past weekend in Colorado. They aren’t sure if he’s going to make it. 🙁
azmouse on 12/21/2009 at 11:25 am
Jeez Jenna, that is the worst thing I’ve heard all week.  Tell your coworker to keep us posted on the youngster, and I’ll be thinking about him and his loved ones.
Rynski on 12/21/2009 at 11:43 am
prayers for the 4-yr-old nephew.
Jennatoolz on 12/21/2009 at 12:03 pm
Thanks, I’ll let the family know that lots of thoughts and prayers are coming their way, and I’ll keep you updated if I hear anything new… and sorry to bring bad news to an otherwise good day, but it’s crazy out there and you just never know what can happen next.
Andrew Ulanowski on 12/21/2009 at 1:06 pm
sorry to hear about that little boy  Jenna . . .
I made it back without getting hurt. Not done ENTIRELY yet but close, mighty close.
i like druthers too
radmax on 12/21/2009 at 8:08 am
Mornin’ Rynski! Seasons Greetings, and welcome back. I hadn’t really thought about it ’til you brought it up…I’m addicted to my computer! Not so much for the likes of facebook or other socializing nonsense.(‘cept for little notes to my sweetie now and then) For paying bills, buying things cheap as possible and brushing up on things I’m curious about. It’s a goldmine of information.
I also hate spam, but this stuff is pretty easy to eliminate. You can block these guys pretty efficiently.
Maps from Google are pretty doggone helpful too, when you are trying to find job maps for Bowie or Jerome.
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Rynski on 12/21/2009 at 8:14 am
thanks for welcome back and seasons greetings to you, too.
yes! maps are awesome. i forgot about that. i remember people still not trusting them and poring over those old time atlas things (hahahah).
i also know someone who just can’t live without those aerial photo views – hahah. googlemaps are def. the way to go – i find mapquest to be quite temperamental.
the internet has also made research a total breeze. of course, we always have to check the source from whence the info comes, but at the very least it can always serve as a good start.
i need to def. upgrade my spam/junk mail filters on bus. and personal e-mails. i’m plagued, easily, by dozens or more daily.
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azmouse on 12/21/2009 at 8:33 am
I had the dullest week without you, Ryn! Since you weren’t around I was hardly on my computer…but I got allot accomplished! lol
I read news, news and more news on the computer, on top of socializing and keeping in touch, since I hate talking on the phone. Oh and tons of genealogy.
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Jennatoolz on 12/21/2009 at 8:39 am
Holy moly…I know exactly what you mean azmouse! I was sooo tired of reading news while at work by the time Friday rolled around haha.
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azmouse on 12/21/2009 at 8:47 am
I read news till my brain can’t take it anymore! lol
Oh, I finished my gingerbread house. Did you make one? I still have to send Ryn the pics.
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Jennatoolz on 12/21/2009 at 9:00 am
Oh I’ve failed you! No, I didn’t make a gingerbread house…I didn’t even decorate my own house for Xmas at all. How lame is that?? 🙁
Dante has been keeping me super busy but he’s doing really well! We’ve taken him to the dog park at Reid Park nearly every day this past week, and he absolutely LOVES it! We let him play on the “big boy” side, haha. We tried taking him to the Palo Verde dog park, but there just aren’t enough dogs that go there. So, Reid Park will be our usual spot! We take him in the afternoons usually around 4pm, so if any of you dog-owners want to bring your pooches to come say “Hi”, that’d be way awesome! 😀
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azmouse on 12/21/2009 at 9:14 am
No worries on the gingerbread house. They are a ridiculous amount of work. It took me many days to make and it’s only mediocre. It’s a huge accomplishment just to get the roof to stay on the dang thing. lol
Sounds like Dante found a great home. Lucky guy. I’ll have to try and bring my dogs over there one of these afternoons.
Jennatoolz on 12/21/2009 at 9:22 am
LOL, I was at Safeway the other day and noticed that they had pre-made gingerbread houses! All you had to do was decorate the heck out of it. I was going to get one and a bunch of decorations, but I just didn’t have the time. 😛
And yes, if you can make it to the dog park, that’d be way fun! 😀
Rynski on 12/21/2009 at 9:41 am
so cool on the dante update! and yes, i’ll keep 4 p.m.ish for reid park in mind – as long as it’s OK with sawyer and phoebe.
it’s also awesome you go to reid park – where you first met. it’s like a whole romantic family thing now – hahaha.
Jennatoolz on 12/21/2009 at 9:50 am
Hahah so true Ryn, gotta love Reid Park and all it’s wonders!
Rynski on 12/21/2009 at 9:39 am
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azmouse on 12/21/2009 at 10:26 am
I will, but nothing to get to excited about.
Rynski on 12/21/2009 at 9:38 am
so sorry you were subjected to plain ole news! glad to hear, however, you got a lot of stuff done. i know EXACTLY what you mean!
i made tons of art and finished my handcrafted xmas gifts…and watched 603 movies – not that that activity is much more productive than playing on the computer – hahah – but at least i didn’t have to think.
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azmouse on 12/21/2009 at 10:27 am
Hey, I hope you finally watched “A Christmas Story’!!!
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Rynski on 12/21/2009 at 10:40 am
saving christmas story for christmas day while we eat pizza – but yes, beau was reminding me to rent it rent it rent it!
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azmouse on 12/21/2009 at 11:26 am
Thank goodness! I’m sure you’ll be able to appreciate the dry wit and crazy antics.
tiponeill on 12/21/2009 at 9:05 am
Engineers aren’t weird – other people are.
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azmouse on 12/21/2009 at 9:15 am
The engineers I know are actually quite quirky and fun, in a little bit of a nerdy way. lol
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Rynski on 12/21/2009 at 9:39 am
engineers make the world go round.
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Andrew Ulanowski on 12/21/2009 at 9:56 am
I is a engineer
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Rynski on 12/21/2009 at 10:28 am
good for you, andrew – you make the world go round!
and with precision, to boot. are you weird? hahahhaha.
as far as making the world go round, folks can read more about andrew’s contribution to society LATER THIS WEEK!! on rynski’s blogski – shhh – don’t tell them yet, andrew.
Jennatoolz on 12/21/2009 at 10:41 am
Yay! Hi Andrew! I’m studying Computer and Electronics Engineering Technology at ITT Tech at the moment (almost done with my first year!)…so I’m a future engineer! At least, I hope so! Pretty tough stuff sometimes…especially when they throw you in an ONLINE Physics class. Makes no sense… (sorry, venting a little frustration there!) 😛
Anyway, I’m not that weird…at least I don’t think I am, lol. Nerdy, yep…but do I look nerdy? No way!! 😀
Andrew Ulanowski on 12/21/2009 at 10:59 am
coolio! and hella awesome (just thought I’d ‘slang out’ this morning) ok, i’m going now, really, i’m NOT addicted to my computer! hahahaha
leftfield on 12/21/2009 at 9:20 am
I finally went on facebook after years of people telling me it was great.  My “friends” consist mostly of my relatives living in the Great White North (Michigan).   Love them as I do, the conversation is mostly inane; cute things the pets did today,  stupid things the boss said today and complaints about the weather.
I am always skeptical when I hear about new technologies that are “going to make our lives so much better”.  They always end up being used to sell us more useless baloney and bad food or used to get more work out of us for the same pay.