Dear Diary, where's my Internet?

So at this point, we are in the apartment. I admit that I am writing this entry simply for myself, but others might find it an interesting story as well.

The fact is that today’s society lives via ones Internet connection. In this apartment, as I write this, we have three computers. None of them is on the Internet right now. All of our neighbors have unfortunately heard the rule about securing a wireless network. We have zero televisions. We have two radios, one of which is a personal (pocket-sized) unit. The other is almost continuously playing.

We have no land-line telephone service, but we have two cell phones. One can accept calls and text messages; one can browse the Internet, and receive e-mail. We have an aircard that is for corporate use only.

All I hear on the radio is “visit this site”, and “click on this”. The radio is full of commercials prompting us to visit a site for more information or to redeem a coupon. We can do neither without leaving our “home” or violating business ethics (which I refuse to do). In short, we are tantalized with a wider world that we cannot touch.

I was one of the first to embrace broadband download speeds. We were early adopters of VO-IP home services. Now I find us dealing with a month with curtailed horizons. It is the second full day in the apartment, and I have no idea how I survived for years without the perspective and information access we now demand as a normal course of life.

I’m writing this entry from a laptop with no connection. I have no idea when I will post it. Additionally, I have spent the last two hours working on a website in its offline mode. I can see it, but no one else can.

Understand that our plight is only a reminder. On Monday, when I return to work, I will recover my access to the world. I will look at stock, news, and weather updates in real-time. Until then, we are experiencing disorientation and frustration. For goodness sakes, my wife went to the library today just to find entertainment!

Am I being melodramatic? Yes, but for a purpose. We rely on technology so much today, that its lack leaves us in a state of confusion. We look at the phonebook on our doorsteps and wonder “Why do they print this?” The reality of the fragility of our situation is apparent.

In a world in which I can realize Internet access from a plane, mountaintop, and campground, what is left for the disconnected? A lack of intelligence and comprehension?

Good song on the radio, I’ll sign off now.