My computer died at the beginning of this month. Thanks to Hari Raya and my natural amazing timing, I sent it in to get fixed the week-end before the tech guys went on holiday and only got it back 2 weeks later. All the music, movies, books and TV shows I've been stockpiling on a hard drive for the last decade were basically useless. I never thought I'd be in a position where Seth Putnam would look like a genius, but that's what those two weeks were like.
The whole experience reminded me of when I first landed in Malaysia in 2003; I didn't know anyone, didn't have a computer, and the house I crashed at in Taiping only had three local channels on TV. At most, I was getting a few hours of English programming a week; for the first 6 months I was living in Malaysia, that was the only time I heard any English. [If you wonder how I know so much about the Gilmore Girls, there's your answer.]
These days I live alone and I work alone. The 6 hours or so I spend doing jiu jitsu per week are usually the only time spent around other people. I didn't need extra help pointing out that all my waking moments revolved around my computer.
It took being disconnected from my computer to show me how disconnected I've become from myself. When I get home, I head straight for the internet, or put on a podcast. I rarely do anything that requires me to sit upright, unless I'm working on something. In high school when I didn't have a computer or a TV, I spent all my free time reading, drawing, playing guitar. I tried my best to get back to that; I read some of the books that have been sitting in the corner of my bedroom (my copy of Greg Graffin's book hasn't even been removed from its wrapping). I played guitar and wrote 40% of a new song. I took a few long walks around my area and discovered a shortcut to the train station. But mostly I listened to whatever podcasts I had on my iPod and played the crappy game on my crappy phone compulsively and joylessly. I've just gotten too used to the instant gratification that comes with clicking a mouse over and over again. I promised myself that when I got my computer back I'd redouble my efforts to work on the blog, podcast, and record music.
Unfortunately, I got my computer back just after all the craziness with Stephen Colbert and Daft Punk happened and I had to be caught up on that, and watch his "Time To Dance" video over and over. Plus, Breaking Bad returned, and can you imagine missing the last season?
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| "OMG i need to post this on facebook lol xDDD" |
This respite from technology is probably the last one I'll get before the Singularity. And now, it's time to get to work on the next podcast...right after I watch this another 10,000 times:
