Internet Abstinence

When I saw the assignment was that we had to not use the Internet for a 24-hour period, I immediately thought of the Facebook status updates and sports scores that I would be missing. I am a big sports fan, especially of auto racing and the Seattle Mariners. This would make things difficult since I am usually trying to catch up on the latest news and information regarding those subjects.
I started my time away from the computer by going outside and going on a "run". This involved a workout on my local high school track in my racing wheelchair. I have been competing in wheelchair racing for about 9 years now. I started in high school and have been to places such as Mesa, AZ and Tampa, FL for national competitions. On this night I pushed 5 miles around the track. I had not been in my racing chair for several years because it was broken until recently. It shows me by using that chair that I am more out of shape than I used to be when I competed.
After the workout I came home and had dinner and decided to watch a movie called “The Lucky Ones” about three soldiers on leave from Iraq on a cross-country tour of the U.S. after their plane is delayed.
When there is somewhere I need to go, I find that Mapquest or other map sites are generally the best way to find directions. My Mom was headed to Vancouver, Washington for work the next day. I would have normally logged onto Mapquest to find the directions but let her do it instead. I’m usually the one to print directions for her, so it felt weird not being able to do that.
When the movie was over, it was time for me to go to bed. I awoke the next morning later than usual. It seems that I normally wake on my own around 9 am during most times I’m able to sleep in. This morning however, I woke up and looked at the clock to see that it said 10:30 am. I don’t normally like to sleep in that late but it felt necessary since I was tired from the night before. What should I do today? I thought to myself, as I knew that I wasn’t able to use the Internet for most of Monday. Having been home since June 13 and not sorting through my belongings from school, it felt like a good time to organize my bedroom. It was something that I had procrastinated on for a while. It’s amazing to me how much junk a person can accumulate during the course of a single school year in their dorm room. When I was down at school, this amount of stuff didn’t seem to be occupying all that much space, or so I thought. After I had spent most of the afternoon cleaning my room I felt it was time for a break.
I pushed downtown to get a drink at the local mini-mart. It was a nice afternoon and I had stayed away from the computer knowing that I might be tempted to use the Internet.
Although there were times during the experiment that I wanted to use the web, I was able to find other more productive ways to spend my time. I didn’t realize how much I rely on the Internet and computers until I had the time period away from them. It was nice to have a break from one piece of technology and be able to enjoy the outdoors, my family, and a good movie. I will make times like this happen more often.