I was committed to killing two birds with one computer. Abuse my work place rights and complete set university work. Oh what high hopes. So, my second attempt combined a weekend of displeasure (after the removal of two teeth) and to my dismay a freak storm cutting of Telstra phone/internet connections. BOTH these examples were failures in the technology I use, abuse and put my faith in.
Work: due to Melbourne Weather at its best last week my office resorted to using its back up power supply at which point I decided to save what entry I had began (on Microsoft Word as attempts to hack in to a blog network failed after an hours waste of valuable work time) and hold it for a more appropriate time and use what valuable power resources we had left to complete my actual job, the one i get paid for, not the degree earning kind.
Home: (Melbourne Weather at its best once more and the over load of trees in my area) Telstra has once again proven how it can take us to all corners of the world without much effort (or result) at all, and with multiple phone calls. One week later and I am in touch with the world again (at least the one real enough for now).
Let me get to my point. I am aware of the growing concern as to whether I have a point, but I assure you, I think I do.
I received - over the course of this nearly one week - FIFTEEN SMS MESSAGES relating to my absence from Facebook. FIFTEEN voices of concern, from across the globe too, questioning my whereabouts on the planet and whether I had fallen of it or fallen in a hole, died, travelled abroad or crawled in to a cave. My only concerns -of course - were with my lack of ability to communicate tutors and prepare class work. Due to my isolation this weekend, I disregarded attempts to leave the warmth of my home (perhaps not wise to share). So yes, alternatives were available in dire desperation.
However, at what point in the deranged world my fellow generation and I live in, do we start questioning each others whereabouts when we notice no recent updates have appeared on Facebook? (I am disregarding the special people I PHYSICALLY update on my life, they are only partly not accounted for.) Must we be concerned when we have an absence of detail from the lives we follow, when we notice that there IS nothing to follow, when we notice there is nothing new to notice? Where is my right for a week with NO Facebook? Last year I disabled my account for ONE hour, just ONE, and five minutes later the SMS messages flooded in (yes, we now have mobile phones, who would have gathered.) Around that moment did I begin to sense the disappointment in my self, that I let it lead on this far and at which point that I decided a cut back was necessary. We all need to calm down and breath offline every now and then. Just don't be thrown in to a frenzy when your weekend photos aren't posted up right on Sunday night. That is just ridiculous. Even I can honestly admit I am no avid junky - I do not own an Iphone.*
*I do not aim to offend those who carry such, but honestly, do you ALL have to follow the herd?
