back online and feeling fine

lala, having a turn typing on "zebra"

i am reporting in from our new laptop, fully loaded with all the crazy features i have always wanted. (and then some. hey, just having a laptop is a thrill!) our home computer was an older desktop and it finally conked out last week. we were able to rescue the hard drive, and after some research, decided against simply installing our hard drive into a new or refurbished tower. the expense of that was enough to make us think about what we really want from a computer. we narrowed that down and still tried to buy a refurbished laptop. (remember, we are really trying to buy only used items!) no dice. the refurbished version of what we wanted was nearly $300 more than the new version! this was a time we decided that cost needed to outweigh the environmental aspects, particularly as this is such an important tool in our household. we need to be able to rely on it. (we also bought a new casing for our hard drive, so it can function as an external drive to our new laptop.)

finn, enjoying his view of the turtles, above

being back online is fabulous, but the past week has been an important lesson for me. after a 24-hour internet withdrawal period, i quite happily found myself relieved to have an excuse not to have to check in online, anywhere. i am not actually sure i got any more done during the day with no computer to distract me, but i know our days were far more peaceful with no computer on first thing in the morning. (hmmm....could i be contributing to the morning get-off-to-school-on-time-tension? never!) and i learned just how much i rely on the computer for photos, tracking expenses, for my trusty palm pilot calendar and lists, and for the little internet conveniences: looking up a recipe, finding directions, finding explanations for all of lala's little questions, etc.

lala (left) and friend, JGH, feeding sheep at a local farm. (finn in the background.)

so, here i go, to pick up where i left off with taxes, blogging, and that nagging "web search" list i keep next to the computer. but i hope this break has given me a lasting reminder of how pleasant our offline time is when there is less online time.