Friday, January 24, 2014

It is freakin COOOOOOLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDDDD!

 I awoke this morning to a temperature of 26 outside. I live in the Houston area, and it doesn't get that cold very often. I moved south because I hate the cold. I don't mind the heat, but cry like a baby when the temp gets below about 50. Yeah, I know some who live north of me are rolling their eyes, but that is the way I am. That being said, I am still consider myself a rather reasonable person. 
 It began yesterday. We were having rain and sleet combined with below freezing temps. The "dire warnings" coming from city and county officials started flowing from the news reports. Schools announced closings ahead of the "ice" because of road conditions that may or may not happen. It was, as always, completely exaggerated. It had been raining since early yesterday evening. Like I said it was 26 when I woke up this morning. Yes, my car was covered in a thin sheet of ice, but letting it warm up melted the ice off the windows. I live way out in the country north of Houston. Nobody ever does anything to combat ice on my road. SO, when there was no ice on the roads around my home, I knew that it would be a safe, albeit cold drive in.
 Yes there was some ice on bridges and overpasses, but most ground roads were simply wet. In spite of this fact, most schools and many businesses closed for the day. I just know there is a guy somewhere in Wisconsin laughing at us down here as he tees off for a round of golf in the snow....

Monday, January 20, 2014

Unplugged Over The Weekend

 I made it through the weekend without any social media. Several friends have asked what happened, and as I explained a few were baffled saying they could not do that. I find that kind of telling of today's society. People cannot fathom not accessing the internet or social media for even a few days. It was not all that long ago that we were not connected to anything. Parents did not have instant access to their children when they were at the movies or the mall. Ironically it is those who were children and teenagers before internet and cellphones who seem the most confused at my decision. My children and their friends seem to understand, but their parents are baffled. 
 I have found a reasonably priced flip phone on ebay that I have ordered and should be here in a few days. The more I think about it the more I am enjoying the idea of not being constantly teathered to all things digital

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Day One

This is the first day I have not checked my facebook first thing after my eyes are open. This is the first morning since I deactivated all my social media and my first day of my "digital vacation", such as it is..So far, so good. The question is, can one really take a complete leave of absence from our digital world? Or has it become so ingrained that living "off the grid" is more troublesome than it is worth. 
 It feels a bit hypocritical to keep a blog while on my break from the internet. I have been looking at getting a new cell phone that is free from some of the things that are keeping most tied to them 24/7. It is an old school flip phone with no camera, cannot download any apps and has very limited internet access. I am seriously getting this simple phone and giving up my Iphone...we shall see, there is a financial aspect that may keep me from doing so..

Friday, January 17, 2014

Unplugging

This is going to sound a little weird, but I think I am going to unplug for a while. Meaning that I have shuttered my social media pages and will stay off from the internet unless work or Church takes me there. This blog will be the sole exception. I will use this to chronicle my journey. I will not make any public announcements about this blog. I do it for myself. I take that back, I have a daughter living in Mexico that I will use Skype to connect with a few times a week.
 I am, for all intents and purposes, going off the grid. I am looking to trade my Iphone in for a basic old school flip-phone. No camera, no internet. I want a phone that will.....wait for it...make phone calls. I do not need a micro-super computer in my pocket. My life is a little confusing and I need to step back and do some soul searching. |
 I have absolutely no clue as to the content of this blog in the future. Not sure where this will end up. I am tired of seeing everyone with their faces in their phones all the time and realized that I am the same. So I decided to make a change and pull away from being so "connected" all the damn time. I also noted that I am a little clueless as to what is happening in the lives of my daughters. On one hand what father of teenagers isn't a little lost. On the other hand, we spend most of our time at home on our phones, Ipad, computers, and the television. We need to connect more as a family, and I am the one that needs to set that example. So here I am. I deactivated my twitter and facebook accounts. Will I reopen them? I do not know.
 Ok, let me back up. I am assuming that whomever is reading this already knows who I am. My name is Wayne. I am 45 years old. I am married to a wonderful, beautiful woman named Lilly and we have 5 daughters. There is one daughter from my first wife, my wife has three daughters with her first husband, then we have one together. They are 22, 19, 19, 18, and 10 years old. Yup, you read that right..4 girls in their late teens and early twenties.
 In summary, I am attempting to unplug from the digital world. Ironically I will be blogging about it as I go forward. I find it rather difficult to completely unplug, as my job and resposiblities at Church require me to use the internet. But I am unplugging on a personal level. To be honest, if I had thefinancial resources, I would love to go to some isolated place for about a month or so with nothing. No phone, no computer, just relax and unwind without the worlds distractions..that is what I need....