At 11:30, I promptly walked away from the computer, picked up my list of chores, and walked out of the house. According the new Master Plan, aka Life 2.0, I'm not allowed to spend more than three hours on the computer. The world won't end, if I miss out on the afternoon's chatfest on the blogs or a long list of snarky links on Twitter. It's better for me to write well for two hours, rather than crappy stuff all day. Besides I want to start doing other things in life.
I'm not done. Not done completely. (I am allowed to check the twitter feeds and blog comments on the iPhone at red lights.) But I'm certainly taking a large step back.
As part of chore list yesterday, I stopped by Barnes and Noble to do a little research and decided to pick up some grub at the cafe. They had perfectly nice turkey sandwiches, but I chose the personal pizza, because it was $5. The lean turkey sandwiches were $6. Yes, I still have scars from graduate school. Why do you ask?
Well, that personal pizza was dripping with cheese and pepperoni grease. It must have had 2,000 calories. I ate the whole thing, while skim reading books that I am too cheap to buy. I feel dirty. I need to repent. I'm going to the gym first thing this morning, which is going to throw off the beauty and simplicity of the Master Plan — work morning; get out afternoon. I'm slightly concerned that a change in the master plan is going to fuck up my recovery process.
Sigh. Well, let me quickly throw out a post of links of stuff that I've been compulsively reading on my iPhone at red lights.
Apt. 11d 
Bravo, Laura! I keep telling myself I’m going to do this–quit worrying about all the blog posts I’m not writing, spend more time working on the backyard and playing with the kids, stop saying “yes!” when some committee assignment or book review offer comes knocking. It hasn’t happened yet, though. Slowing down can be hard, sometimes.
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You saved a whole dollar. If you do that everyday you will be gaining $356 a year. Who cares about the calories.
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(I am allowed to check the twitter feeds and blog comments on the iPhone at red lights.)
No, you’re not! If you even have it on, you will check it when it beeps at you. Turn off the phone when you’re in the car. 😦
Sorry, this is a huge issue for me. A friend lost his daughter in a texting-while-driving accident. Also this:
http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/10/18/blackberry-outages-cut-abu-dhabi-traffic-accidents-by-40-percent/
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It probably wasn’t 2,000 calories. Probably more like 1,600. (Although sometimes I’m surprised by the results of the game of “find the thing with the most calories at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.” Who knew cake was healthier than some of those croissants or muffins?)
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Muffins are just cake in a different shape! Bagels, especially the ridiculous oversized ones, aren’t so pretty either in the calorie department.
Balance is good – everything in moderation, even the ‘net.
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Yeah. I have a junky’s personality and I feel like I was too sucked into the Internet last spring. I am trying to have a more balanced life. Be smarter about my work. Do more real stuff, less brain stuff.
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http://contemplativecomputing.com/
Laura: I am joining the ranks of people like you who want to be more intentional about their use of media every day.
The link above is part of a movement I heard about at an education conference I attended last week: contemplative computing. Learning to let technology inspire, not enslave us. I’m working on it! I am leaving this comment and then logging off to go finish some laundry and get back to my “real” vs. virtual life.
Patty
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Good blog! I truly love how it is simple on my eyes and the data are well written. I am wondering how I might be notified whenever a new post has been made.
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