Who broke my internet?

There I was, happily emailing away, when poof, just like the series finale of The Sopranos, I was cut off in mid sentence! And that's the way it's remained for over two weeks. At first I was desperate to get back online: I had digital files to send and collect, emails and blog posts to write, and other really important stuff to do like reading celebrity gossip websites. So I begged and pleaded with Indian call centres and technical help desks, who could tell me little more than a local exchange was damaged and engineers were working to fix it.

I was stymied and my regular routine went out of the window, until a wonderful thing happened and I realised there was life, real life, beyond the internet. Instead of regularly checking the Mac for emails and internet activity, I'd do my work, switch off the computer then spend the rest of my time sewing. It really has been quite liberating. I've even sent letters - the old fashioned way - via Royal Mail, and because I haven't been able to email, I've picked up the phone and spoken to human beings, which really is a most pleasant experience.

Too much television is bad for you!

Of course, being out of the technological loop, has its downsides but who wants to be like Mike Teevee, the boy in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory who prefers virtual life to real life and ends up trapped inside a monitor? So, while I'm delighted to be back online, from now on I really am going to try to spend less time trawling the internet, and do something more productive instead.

I wonder how long it will last!

Elizabeth,
x.