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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Electrocuted to Unplugged

First, I would like to say that my quality of life is made infinitely easier since my whole kitchen is unpacked and I know where everything is.  Even though I still have no heat, I do have a rocking electric stove that heats the house quite nicely and I will be getting a refrigerator today.  Also the gas guys are coming today so I will officially be able to take a shower tonight and I am pretty stinking excited about that.

I know soldiers live off of baby wipes, but I'm not a soldier and the sooner I can stand under some hot water the better!

Now for my challenge.  My blogging challenge asks how much time a day I stay "plugged in" and if I consciously set aside time to be unplugged or if it just happens whenever.

Up until this weekend I was pretty much plugged in 24 hours a day.  I always have my phone with me.  I am always listening to Pandora.  I'm always connected to Facebook.  Every night I watched a movie or stand up comedy on Netflix.  Usually I even went to sleep to the sound of Netflix.

But as of this weekend, I have moved WAY out into the country and it is just wonderful.

For one, they don't have an internet service that goes out that far that is fast enough to stream Netflix.  So that's gone.  I don't even own a TV.  I don't like using all of my data to stream Pandora at work AND at home, so for the most part I've just had my phone hooked up to the speakers to listen to music I already own.

I got a phone call from my internet provider at my old house yesterday.  They were calling to try to sell me on a cable package.  If you didn't know, sales people like that read off of scripts.  For whatever answer you may have, they always have a scripted answer provided by their employer to answer your every question and objection.  I was very pleased to hear the uncertainty and dumbfounded-ness in the lady's voice when she tried to sell me on a cable package and I told her that I had just moved and was about to have my internet cut off and that I didn't even own a TV so I am not interested in getting cable.  I could hear it in her voice that there was not a script for that.  She tried to ask me if I was going to at least have my internet service reconnected at my new house and I said no because I lived so far out that there was no internet out here.  (Not completely true, but so far out that they don't provide internet out there, so it got my point across.)  Again, obviously there was no script for that.  So she just said if I had any questions about the call to call some number she spouted off and then hung up.

Apparently I am a psycho for living in modern day America and not owning a TV.

I suppose I'm still connected to Facebook and email and such with my phone, but I don't really keep my phone with me as much now.  Frankly, I am so far out in the boonies that I don't really worry about missing a call from anyone who might want to hang out or need my help because I'm too far away for any of that.

So I guess I'm still pretty connected, but not nearly as much as I was and I see that connection getting smaller and smaller with each day, which is pretty exciting.

I've spent more time walking around my new property with my dogs admiring the absolutely GORGEOUS sunsets that happen every day at my new home and leaving my phone in the house.

Life out here is far slower than life "in town," even though the city I moved from isn't exactly some teeming metropolis.  I can slowly see myself slowing down to mach the pace out here and I have to say, it's wonderful. I was still up till about midnight last night unpacking and getting things more organized, but still I passed out and slept soundly with no movie, no music, no sound.  Just the soft and gentle snoring of my dogs.

So raise your glass (with whatever it might contain at this hour) to beautiful sunsets, no internet, no TV,  peaceful silence, and a sky as big and clear as the State of Texas.

 - Scarlett


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