What would happen if...

...If I did not check email and Facebook 57 times a day? If I didn't spend more time than I care to admit banging out logic puzzles (aka bookkeeping exercises) on brainbashers.com?

I have a short attention span; we all know that. I'm the first to admit the interwebs is a wonderful toy for those of us who enjoy self-soothing with an infinite and constantly changing source of entertainment. But does being wonderful make it the right thing to do?

Time for baby to step away from the pacifier and see what happens.

I'm not talking about legitimate computer tasks. Hell, my entire work day is spent in front of a computer. I bank online. I still need to check email once or twice a day. Since I don't get a newspaper, I could probably even rationalize clearing my Google Reader feeds and checking the weather over my morning coffee.

It's the random, brain-sucking "gosh I'm bored... let's poke at the interwebs and see what falls out" kind of shit that's gotta cease, at least for awhile. In fact, instead of having four computers on 24/7 at home, I might even consider turning them off when I'm not actively using them. The temperature in my house would probably drop three degrees.

How does no Facebook, email only first thing in the morning and last thing at night (seriously, I only get about 5 emails a day) and (gulp) no computer games or blogging sound?

Sounds like it's going to suck, actually. But I am intrigued enough by what might happen when my brain doesn't have that digital sugar tit to latch on to to give it a go.

Obviously I'm not talking about a complete digital withdrawal here. I'm just wondering what would happen if I throttled my addiction to the interwebs back down to a more reasonable, 56K modem level. What kind of mental energy would that free up, and how would I choose to spend it, once I've gnawed the erasers off all my pencils?

February's short, and it's still far enough off to give me two weeks to invent reasons why I can't do it. Sounds like a plan!
 

Resolved!

Pal P, an avid and talented quilter, posted on FB that she is making a 'resolution quilt' of her goals for the new year. She listed a few of her resolutions,all very life- and health-affirming, and certainly suitable for quilting.

That got me to thinking, of course, about my own resolutions. I didn't make up a list this New Year's Eve but I do have a few life-tweaks I've been working on that I can lay down for you.

• No more deathbeds. 'Nuff said.


• Master the bass line of Llama by Phish (on medium, not expert!) in Rock Band 3. Have you heard that song?? Again, 'nuff said.


• Do poop patrol once a week. My lackadaisical attitude toward back yard sanitation is no big deal when it's cold, but that, ahem, shit gets problematic in the warmer weather.


• Do not tailgate. Yeah, I'm one of those, at least on 'my' stretch of highway between home and work. Historically, if you were driving one mph slower than I wanted to go in the fast lane, I would be all up in your ish, gar-on-teed. Sorry 'bout that. I'm working on it.


• Make my daily Diet Cokes mediums vs. larges. Gotta start with baby steps. I figure it will also aid in increasing the time between afternoon bathroom visits to something more than 15 minutes.


• Pare down to three computers at home (plus the iPad, of course.) Eventually I hope to get down to two, but again, baby steps.


• Clean out the purple room. This is the room in the basement where Mr. B and I threw all the stuff we didn't know what to do with when we combined households. I think there are enough office supplies alone in there to open a shop. Golly, we both loved us some office supplies... wonder what that means? Probably don't want to know.


• Reduce my max speed on the highway to 65 mph. I read/heard somewhere that reducing one's speed by 5 mph is equivalent to a price cut of thirty-seven-gobillionty dollars per gallon of gas. Or something like that. It also would keep me within ten percent of the speed limit, which seems prudent.


• Have fun once in awhile. Buying Rock Band (2, 3, and Beatles) for Chillaxmas this year was a start -- we had a blast playing it. Made me realize fun is something I could use more of.

Now wouldn't those make an awesomely-illustrated quilt?