off the grid

Off the Grid, Just a Little

I spent the weekend without wifi.  Is this even possible you ask?  Well I was house sitting and had forgotten to get the password.  Rather then be a pest, calling to ask for the wifi password, I decided to go without, thinking it might help me write.  Which it did, sort of.  What I really did was:

  • Checked my phone every ten minutes out of habit, even though nothing had refreshed.
  • Had the constant feeling I was missing something important.  What if my friends were getting together and talking about it on facebook?  And I missed the whole thing because I couldn’t log on?  What if they didn’t think to text or call me but instead decided I didn’t want to be friends with them any longer?
  • I tried logging on every seemingly open network.  They were all password protected at some point or another.  What happened to the days when one could easily mooch wifi because no one thought to have a password?  Now everyone watches their broadband, not wanting anything to slow up their Netflix streaming.
  • I felt bored and a bit listless.  I couldn’t research anything.  I couldn’t post blogs entries or check my email or look for job postings.  I couldn’t sell clothes online or tweet or put filters on Instagram photos.
  • I read more, wrote more, went to bed earlier, and didn’t watch terrible TV.  I felt a refreshing distance from the outside world for the first time in a long time.  My phone sat quietly.  I left it out on the balcony and forgot about its existence for a couple of hours.  I was ok.