Whatever Happened To That OWARI Thing?

It started, as momentous events often do, on a Wednesday.

I had treated my sister to Five Guys after we both got off work as a premature birthday present. Then, I made my way home. Right before the rains came. Great.

My internet is cranky and prone to not working when there is even a hint of rain. My frustration mounting after days of this, I finally just gave up and went to go read. This was a good thing.

Except I made a crucial mistake.

As the inoffensive rainstorm intensified dramatically into a raging thunderstorm, it occurred to me as I read my book that my laptop was still connected to my (non-functioning, you'll recall) Internet. This had the potential to be Not Good. Very Not Good, in fact. As I dashed out to turn everything off, I arrived just in time to see my computer turning itself off.

Oh boy.

The computer did come back on, and I miraculously didn't lose any files in this incident. However, my laptop's ability to actually find the Internet was officially history. Which wasn't as big a deal as it sounded, since the modem I had been using got fried anyway.

My sister Amy is largely a silent partner in my antics, but really, she rides to my rescue more often than not. She helped me place an order for a replacement laptop and then graciously allowed me time every day to check on my important matters. Without her, I'd be hopelessly behind on everything and possibly trying to warm myself by rubbing two sticks together.

Still, there were limits, and that included a distinct lack of internet at what I jokingly refer to as OWARI HQ. I did still have a computer that worked (albeit with a disturbing tendency to turn itself on), so I could still get some things accomplished. And in fact, I developed some stuff that should be going up in a day or two.

I finally got my new computer on Friday, and have slowly been trying to get my bearings with it. I'm still not there, but maybe in a couple of weeks, I'll be adjusted. However, I don't think things will ever be quite the same again. At least, that's my hope.

You see, I have been sans computer and/or Internet in the past, but the most recent bouts have been oddly brief. This was different. The delay in getting back up and running really highlighted for me some of the negative stuff that I had developed. Without the crutch of the Internet, I was forced to readjust into something that felt a little saner.

I think it doesn't become obvious just how MUCH time you waste on the Internet until you don't have the opportunity to waste it. Holy cow. I've found myself sleeping much better the last couple of weeks, and it's only been trying to get all my modifications made that has kept me up even semi-late. Even then, it's earlier than my evenings had been.

My ultimate goal is to make the time I spend on the Internet MOSTLY productive. There's always going to be some time wasting, but I want to cut down on the aimlessness that accomplished zero. So far, so good. Maybe I've trained myself to look at things differently. Or maybe this is just temporary. We'll see.

Related, I'm trying to be a little more zen about the lousy Internet I do have. Somehow, via some miracle, we got a modem that previously wouldn't work to work, and thus, I didn't have to wait an extra week to get back in the saddle. If I could have not been so peeved about my shoddy service, maybe I wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

So, I think I've learned some lessons. But they were expensive, and I can ill-afford them. Things are terribly unsettled for me, and while I've tried not to focus on it here, I just don't know where I'm going right now. When my last desktop contracted a virus last year, I wasn't upset because I had been intending to buy a new computer anyway. This was not part of my plans, and really sort of alters things.

The most practical application of this newfound money tightness is a scaling back of my hobby activities. This was already in place, but I guess it may have to extend further than I'd hoped. This likely means fewer commissioned art pieces in the near future, which is my single biggest disappointment. Never fear, though! I won't be discontinuing them entirely! In fact, I have something in mind right now...

You've probably also noticed this blog has been in a state of near-dormancy the last two weeks. This was also not part of my plans. I have a ridiculous number of planned entries that were supposed to be occupying the dead zone that was June 13 through June 22. Some of them may not end up happening at all. I need to go back to my list (yes, I keep one) and decide. In the meantime, I am temporarily suspending my unofficial rule of one post per day for the duration of June. I'm not even sure how much will even make it online for the rest of this month, but I don't want to limit myself.

Anyhoo, this was all a very wordy announcement that I am back. Miss me?