Two weeks ago, I moved house. It was a big undertaking, in which I had to move a chunk of my stuff by bus (nightmare), but that wasn't the biggest issue to me.
I was concerned about how long it would take to transfer our internet over to the new house. My housemate called UPC and they said the earliest they could come out would be Monday the 10th, a whole week after we moved in. Ehm, excuse me - what? A week without UPC?
A week without UPC meant a week without TV, internet, cat .gifs - basically, my life as I knew and loved it came to a halt.
Let me tell you a bit about me and the internet. We're...involved. You know those surveys when they ask you how often you check Facebook or Twitter a day? I never know how to answer those. Because there's never an option for "all the time".
Checking Facebook and Twitter is a reflex now - it is rare that an hour goes by where I don't have a look. I don't spend hours just staring at it (unless of course I have nothing else to do) but I'm always just a thumb swipe and a few taps away. What that says about me, I don't know, nor do I care. It's a fact of life these days.
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Let's be real here - I wasn't completely without. I had internet at work. I had Facebook and Twitter and the ability to Google on my iPhone (for most of the week, til my data allowance ran out - let me tell you, that tested my limits.) I wasn't completely cut off, but it got me thinking about how much I could cut myself off.
The first night, we read. Three of us, quiet as mice, curled in armchairs, reading. How quaint! We talked to each other, and paid proper attention to cooking and cleaning. Could it be that life is simply better, neater and more civilised when you don't have the internet getting in the way?
But soon pretending to be Victorian schoolchildren lost its fun. Our new house didn't feel like a proper home without the sound of the TV buzzing away downstairs. I was antsy for my Netflix and Tumblr account. I hadn't finished the new season of Arrested Development yet! I was missing out on all the cute pictures of dogs and babies! I missed sitting in my pyjamas having disjointed, rambling Facebook chat conversations with my friends!
That's why I left work at 3:30pm on Monday the 10th, got a bus from Westmoreland to Dorset Street (yep), then sprinted from the bus stop to my house to let in the UPC men. That's why I stood at the door, panting, fumbling with my keys while the men stared at me with faint amusement.
I need the internet. End of.
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Could you live happily without the internet, or are you just as involved as I am?
