Seduced, un-plugged, and abandoned

I survived 48 hours without e-mail...

and lived to tell!  Due to a storm (some say a tornado), my server went down on Wednesday afternoon and didn't come back to life until Friday evening.  "Oh I'm so sorry!" my friends and colleagues said.  "I would die without e-mail!"  they exclaimed.  (I wondered if I should start wearing black and wailing.)  My Blackberry screen contained only a smattering of personal missives and AOL SPAM.  I eventually stopped peeking at the screen all together.

My team and I immediately set up our "emergency" e-mail addresses and work and called our clients to alert them.  Oddly, life went on without e-mail.  We got a lot accomplished and had personal interactions over the phone.  It was actually sort of fun.  Like when New York had its blackout in 1965 and my brothers and I (nerds that we were) did our homework by candlelight.

Yes, we all experienced a huge amount of anxiety, sadness, and frustration during these last two days without e-mail.  But I kept reminding myself that a mere three decades ago, I didn't even have a computer, a cell phone or a Blackberry.  And things happened that year.  New ideas were launched (like the first flight of the Concorde and the release of Talking Heads' first album). 

Yes, the business world moved slower and was limited to 9 to 5.  People had to "talk" to each other using primitive means of communications (like their mouths).  But a little taste of the '60s and '70s isn't a bad thing on occasion.  That said, I am switching to a new host.  They promise my e-mail will be up more than 99% of the time.  But I'll always remember the "Blackout of 2007."

Comments

[Wiki Girl Amanda]

Ah yes, the anxiety-ridden 48 hours that I could not access my e-mails or receive new ones was certainly traumatic. I never thought I was so technologically dependent until last week. Then again, I panic when the battery on my cell phone dies or I can't reach a friend on their phone.

I suppose this hightened level of comfort comes from ease of connecting that new technology provides us. Good thing I don't have a Blackberry or I would be an even bigger tech nerd.