Lappy's Crappy Attitude

Hello, loyal fans and patrons of the L.* & T.** of m.j.p.

Please pardon my recent absence from the blog scene. SOMEONE (who shall remain nameless, though his initials are D.E.L.L.) came back from technology camp with quite the attitude.

We've been going round and round since his return-- he was lazy and extremely slow moving, but he wouldn't sleep (literally, he would stay awake for hours on end whether or not he was plugged in until I would have to shut him down)! He was making everything so difficult that I didn't even WANT to spend time on-line with him. I don't know what sort of hoodlums he spent his week at Camp Dell with, or what sort of herbal supplements they got into, but he came back a different computer-- like he was trying to reject his motherboard all together.

Last night we had to have an intervention. It got to the point where I had to say, "If you don't straighten up soon, young man, I will format you and reload your operating system faster that you can even THINK!" After some time spent in the care of one who is well trained in the re-direction of misguided youth ("Mitsi, there's not really anything WRONG with Lappy, but we'll see if we can't get some of his memory back.") he is acting much better and healthier. You've just got to be firm as a technology parent-- it's not easy raising computers these days.

Net Flix Fix

Hi, my name is Mitsi, and I'm an addict.

I'm addicted to the internet.

For real.

This realization was made complete today (day 4 without my laptop... ok maybe it's just 3 1/2, but I'm rounding up), after a generous friend* allowed me uninterrrupted internet usage at my leisure. The suspicion was already there (see previous post regarding my reluctance to send off my in-need-of-repair Lappy McLaptop) that I would have some separation anxiety. Sure enough, approximately 30 minutes after packing it up for "camp" last week, I had a mental list of all the millions of things I needed to do on-line: checking my e-mail, looking up the distance from my house to my grandparents', getting the details on the Dr. Pepper Birthday Party in Dublin; you know, basic things crucial to the continued spinning of the globe under my feet.

Thusly, I made an "internet to-do list" so I wouldn't forget to be sure to check Murphy's mySpace and other essential tasks (such as locating Ross Stores near my home and finding the perfect travel purse). Those things have been accomplished in my brief internet interludes over the past couple of days. However, it wasn't until spending 1 1/2 or so today on-line doing things of minimal importance that I felt better. I literarly got my internet fix today.

The signs of my addiction have been there all along... for years even. I take my computer to class daily. Every time I travel, the computer goes along. When I was at Jenny's, I spent time every night on-line before going to sleep. One of my main concerns about Taiwan was the availability/easy accessibility of wireless. A friend and I went out for drinks the other day, and I requested that she please bring her laptop along.

Maybe I have a problem. I'm sort of ok with that. Furthermore, if you're spending your precious time here reading about my problem, you are likely suffering from a similar affliction. When and if you're ready to deal with it is up to you.

*The author is most grateful to this same friend who has ever-so-generously allowed her to borrow his laptop while hers is away. May you be blessed to the highest of bandwidths and may your screen never go dim!