Monday, August 27, 2007

Cracktop

So at my job I have no time to check my personal email, websites, etc. Not to mention the lack of privacy when you do such things over your employer's network.

My job is stressful; I have to concede this, and whatever lessons I'm learning etc., I'm starting to realize I need to figure out how to stop being the middle man for freaking everything. I come home, stressed, and to relax I, among other things - reading, cleaning up -- surf the Net.

This has never been a big deal for me; I've never been a Net junkie. Lately, though, I've been killing hours each evening sitting at my laptop, and it's disturbing me. I'm going to have to limit my computer use, or have no life outside work. I have paintings in my head to sketch out, a series of ideas, and I haven't touched my pad. This is not good.

Many years ago I dated a guy who worked in IT. One annoying habit of his was to always be on his home computer, emailing and posting to groups and being generally addicted to cybergroupthink. Seriously, I'd be lying there naked in bed and he'd be playing a video game, because he "needed to unwind." (What was I waiting to do? Write a dissertation?)

Tonight, echoes of this came back to me as I sat at my machine, and I realize I am spending WAY too much time online. I've long had a rule when it comes to TV: Real Life Comes First. Never thought I'd have to resist the seduction of the Internet.I suspect a lot of this has to do with the illusion of interaction the Internet affords. Sure, I can quietly read and browse and explore, but at the end of the day I've simply followed nine hours of sitting in a cubicle with two hours sitting at my laptop.

Yech.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know, when I was working at Guehring, I ended up two months in some hideously finance-oriented department, which was run by what was universally conceded to be the most stylish woman in the building. She had seen all the good movies, threw several dinner parties a month, went to the theater, was widely read. One day, people were talking about some show that had aired the previous evening. She had not seen it (gasp!), and eventually gave the perfect reason for why I don't have a TV, rarely ever spend more than ten minutes on email / internet and am playing am playing with the thought of abandoning my cell phone for all but those trips (hiking in close proximity of dangerous precipices and the like): "I spend all day in front of the box, why would I want to do that at home?".

JC said...

Exactly.

Anonymous said...

Of course I learned nothing about finance or being a society hostess. That's what I got Indrew for.

JC said...

I'm happy you're back. :-)