Last summer I did a major technological/connectedness overhaul. I condensed everything. I got rid of my cable, I cut off my landline and with it went my internet. What spurred such a decision? The desire to find more efficiencies in my life. You can read the details in “Oh No I Didn’t! (finger wag included).”
That was on August 19th, 2009. It’s now nearly 3/4 of a year later and here I am, on the internet in the comfort of my own home. I impressed myself with how long I held out. By bringing my laptop with me to work and visiting the Starbucks down the street whenever I needed wifi nearer to home, I made it with no internet in my home until December.
In early December, I was looking at my cell phone plan, my 6 GB data plan to be specific. I had only used 1.5 GB at that point since I first got my iPhone a year and a half earlier. Being that the experiment was about creating efficiencies (I will not admit defeat), I wanted a way to efficiently use up the rest of that data that was going to waste every month. It was time to tether my laptop.
I had internet back at home. It was great. In fact, it’s been even better than before, because now I have internet wherever my cell phone has a 3G or Edge signal. I’ve used at least 80% of my data plan in each of the previous 2 months. Last month I actually maxed it out a day before my billing cycle ended. Oddly enough, that feels like an accomplishment. Like unused minutes that don’t roll over, I feel like I’m wasting more by not using the data than by spending so much time online. But that’s okay, because I’ve built my life around the web. It’s my passion anyway, and anyone that follows my tweets or my posts over on The Muse and Views knows I’m all about living passionately.
I declare the experiment a success.
Outing My Inner Geek by Wendy Peters 