Unplugged

I am going to give fair warning: the next few posts will be Cruise-centric.  I would apologize for that, but in the end, this is my blog and the topics are my prerogative.  I appreciate your visits...I really do.  So, I will try to keep the extended versions offline and on paper only.

It has been a long time since I have been detached from some form of technology.  I work for The Company, after all.  I carry two Android devices, have Facebook and Twitter accounts, and text like a fiend.  I, like most people, enjoy the instant gratification that comes with connecting to others in an instant.   Recently, my BFF Rachel have decided to connect offline in an effort to bring that more personal touch to our communication.

This past week, Hubs and I made the decision to be as unplugged as possible.  Since Z stayed behind with Nana and Pap, we did need to have at least one voice device for emergencies.   So, I changed one of the Android phones to a really basic flip phone, its purpose only for calls and minimal text messaging.

I will tell you that this initially became the plan once we realized the cost of connecting when on the ship.  For the bargain price of $100, you can purchase 250 minutes of Wi-Fi time.

Yeah.  No.

Add in the cost of maintaining a global data plan (even with my discount) and it just didn't make fiscal sense.

More importantly, this trip's purpose was to reconnect, recharge, and rejuvenate.  We spend so much time moving in opposite directions that it was so wonderful to be moving in sync.  Hubs and I really had an opportunity to hang out together and just be us.

I do have to tell you that I also took this as an opportunity to really examine the hold all my connections have on me.  Every time Hubs asked me a question to which I didn't have the answer, I realized that my first instinct was to Google it on my Android browser.  Nearly every meal, I had an overwhelming desire to text either Rachel or Tom to figure out what in the world I was choosing for my dinner (more on the food in a later post).

And yet, I am still in no real hurry to reconnect completely.  Those blog posts might take some time, since Z is filling me in on his wonderful week.  I did want to make sure that my wonderfully supportive friends knew we were back safely (a priority only achieved by instant communication), but I still have tons of unread emails.

I know that I have to dive back in full force soon.  There are messages to answer and connections to be maintained.  Questions will arise that need research and conversations will occur online that I will just itch to join.

But I come back to it with a new perspective.  Unplugging is good.  Reconnecting, even better.  Technology has its place and purpose, but there is also a time to log off.

And that time is now.