Monday, May 24, 2010

On Being Unplugged (Or, She's Come Undone)

This is a transcription from a handwritten post...

I am hand writing this post from an airplane because I didn't bring my laptop on my New York journey (pleasure trip to visit brother). Yes, that means I am using a pen and pressing it against paper. Does anyone remember this sensation? I'm forming actual letters through this pen-to-paper process though I'm not sure my penmanship is worthy of being called legible. I'm using purple ink because, for me, writing by hand feels like an antiquated art form that deserves all the fanfare of preparing a beautiful painting. So I choose violet, my favorite color, followed closely by lavender and lilac. (See a pattern here?)

Anyway, I'm not sure how long this handwriting thing will last since one of the other charms of this art form includes hand cramps. I had forgotten. It's been so long.

Being unplugged is hard. It's like being deprived of chocolate, to which I am seriously addicted. Oh my, does this man I'm addicted to the Internet? Let's see...restlessness, irritability, headache (could be the cabin pressure), helplessness, anxiety, tension...Yep, the only things missing are the shakes and the sweating, which is only because this plane is so cold inside. I guess it's official. I'm addicted to the Internet. And more notably to blogging.

I mean look. I'm sitting here in the MIDDLE seat of a packed flight, HAND writing my Monday morning post in a travel journal! What other proof do you people need?

I hit 70 followers on Friday and I feel obligated to produce for every one of you all. But that's a good thing. Because I love the blogosphere and all the incredibly dedicated, creative, inventive, passionate, funny-as-hell, kind-hearted, motivating, encouraging, and similar-minded souls I've met here.

So as I hum The Guess Who tune, "She's Come Undone" in an attempt to drown out the deafening whir of the plane's engine and try to ignore the ringing in my ears and the near-arthritic pain in my right hand, I soldier on 'n on 'n on for you, my loyal followers, my blog buddies, my addiction enablers. Because you're worth it!

9 comments:

  1. It's a mistake to see your problems with lack of internet as showing that you're addicted. If you were without food and felt dizzy, unwell and craving calories would you think you were addicted? Or if you were going crazy for lack of sleep? The internet is essential so being without it is serious deprivation!

    Seriously, bloggie friends are some of the best in the world and I'm glad you're one!

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  2. I love writing things by hand! I think the most inspiring thing in the world is a new notebook (just the generic spiral kind...wide lined because I write big) and a found pen.

    Has to be a found pen...like someone else's genius will leak out the tip for me.

    Have fun in New York!

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  3. I love writing with pen, too, and have different journals I often turn to. A book journal, an itinerary journal, writing projects journals.

    Enjoy your trip!

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  4. I start every project with pen and paper. I love it when I get the perfect pen. You know what I mean; it has the right texture, it fits in your hand perfectly and, most importantly, the ink flows out smoothly in the exact right width. (What really stinks is when you lose your magic pen...or it runs out of ink and isn't refillable.)

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  5. I used to handwrite everything! I felt like if I give it up and simply start having an affair with my laptop I’d be less of a writer… But it is hard to ignore the time you save, that you can write more or read more with that time and it is handy! I still write by hand from time to time (like when I’m on a journey) and I still collect pens &notebooks from everywhere I go but I don’t miss the cramps! :)

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  6. I could never write longhand. I need the computer. It moves at the same speed as my thoughts. Or perhaps I'm just so in sync with it, writing in longhand seems like an outlandish proposition. I remember in grad school people said they only wrote in longhand and then transcribed everything. Really? It was like they were Amish or something. I just couldn't imagine it.

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  7. fairyhedgehog~ Thanks for the perspective. I completely buy it.

    KLM~ I'm right there with ya; hence, this post;-)

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  8. Ah, feeling the blog love! Thanks for roughing it and writing longhand for us! And in purple too. Very fancy. :)

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  9. I hate to admit it, but I think I may be addicted, too. I actually planned to take all of yesterday off everything except email (so not even a total unplug) and only made it to the afternoon!

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