Tuesday, March 15, 2011

lickety split

abuse. eat. eat.

This past Sunday I had to work at the Very Successful Coffeeshop. On my break, I ate my apple and peanut butter snack, and after I finished the apple, I started eating a fig, but I couldn't figure out where to put the fig while I checked my phone for new text messages, so I stacked it on top of the apple core. Look at that! A snack stack! With knee-jerk swiftness, I snapped a picture on my new pocket internet machine and uploaded the silliness to Facebook. It wasn't until the train ride home that I realized I had broken a cardinal screen free sunday rule: no Facebook allowed.

And that in a nutshell is how my screen free sundays have been going. It is incredible how much conscious effort it takes to stay away from the internet. I fared better that afternoon: we went for a run, and I kept my computer usage* to financial information only (I'm obsessed with Mint and keeping track of my bank account), but I did catch myself staring absentmindedly at Charrow's computer as she sat next to me scrolling through the cavernous time suck that is the Face. Does that count as cheating? It felt pretty wrong as my eyes continuously wandered back over to her screen.

This coming Sunday I don't have to work and I can't paint because the client will be home, so my willpower is definitely going to be put to the test. How will I resist the siren call of My So Called Life on netflix instant play?? I may have to lock myself in the bathroom with a toothbrush and some baking soda paste (it's magical for cleaning tile grout, fyi). Or I could do the sane thing and leave the apartment.


*yes, I'm still turning my computer on, so technically I'm not completely "free" of the screen. maybe at some point down the line I will wean myself off of even the non-media related screen gazing, but I wanted to be realistic about this and avoid bingeing, so I'm allowing myself to check things like bank accounts and to watch one tv show for dinner. judge me if you dare (or even care).

2 comments:

ester said...

i vote for "leave the apartment." by then maybe it'll be pretty out! we can devise some sort of fun outdoors thing to do, like wander around a neighborhood we've never been to. (Sunset Park, maybe? + dim sum?)

Steve Reed said...

It is INCREDIBLY hard to be screen free. I've tried it myself, and I wrestle with warring impulses: "computers waste my valuable time in the real world" vs. "computers keep me in touch and educated about news and the world." I have no answers!