Me no Have Internet!

So I changed my gym/running routine to the mornings about a month ago. Now I update my Podcasts every morning so that I can listen to them in the gym/while running. (Bloomberg/BBC/PIMCO are my favorites so far). The other day there was this woman on a BBC Podcast who was talking about her experiment with avoiding email and the internet for one whole day at her workplace (she is a journalist for FT and BBC). Needless to say she could not get much done, in fact she used the phrase “…I felt like a waste of space without these technologies”. I, my usual critical self, smirked about this and dismissed it as typical journalist BS. Little did I know that the very next day I would end up being in a similar position at work.

So I show up at work the following morning and read an email (email worked) claiming that due to some equipment damage from an overnight storm we will not have access to the internet until late in the afternoon.

This is how I spent my day internet-less at work:

9:25 AM: (hey, I am quitting soon. I can come to work whenever I like!) Logged onto Novell email service. Mildly annoyed to find out that web access will not be available until the afternoon. Hmm….I tell myself this can’t be that bad right?

9:26 AM: Give up and call Help Desk to find out what the HECK is going on?! Randy, the IT manager, calmly answers the phone and tells me that they expect to be up and running by 1 pm. Waiting for a new part apparently.

9:27 AM: “I can do this, I can do this. Focus man, what the hell is wrong with you!”

9:27 AM (30 sec later): Clicked on Internet Explorer (yes, I am web browser illiterate) to check if the IT guys are lying about the access. They were NOT.

9:28 AM: Someone comes into my office to talk about work related stuff. Seizing this chance for ‘distraction’ I engage in extended conversation (mostly of the unnecessary kind) about a project. This takes me away from my office (yippie!) and into the plant and labs. See how time flies when you love what you are doing! I am back at my desk after 30 min.

10 AM: The initial paranoia having passed, I now do not even have the urge to look at my iPhone. Like a smoker who has maneuvered the first couple of days after quitting successfully I feel energized now to go internet-free for the rest of the day.

10:05 AM: Discover that I have yet to clear quite a few things in my office in preparation for my departure. Nothing like a little house-keeping to pass time at work. I discover that I used to use this rag of a bag as my shoulder bag for work. It was hidden in one of the file cabinets. Well, I could use that to carry some things back to my apt on my scooter. Loaded up my paychecks from the past 3 years in that bag. Found quite a few receipts from my work trips to London in my desk. And tickets to museums and places I visited in Ireland and Hungary. Gotto keep those. Threw the rest of the stuff away.

11:15 AM: Ooooh that was exhausting! Time for lunch. In my defense, I do eat an early lunch. Decided to take my scooter to Trader Joes and get their “Chicken w/black bean” Wrap. Has anyone tried it? It’s good and only $4. Those marketing freaks! Just as you are about to navigate the aisles they strategically position products to entice you! I spot this “Grain 8 Crisps” which promise a whole 20g of grain in a 100g pack (pack size is 2 times your small chips pack). I know how this is going to end up. I buy these sort of things promising myself that I would spread that pack out for 3 days. Of course in 2-3 hrs the entire pack disappears. Despite all this I buy the pack to ‘supplement’ by Wrap. Why? Well, on the aisle it says “Supplement this with a pack of chips for a hearty meal”. Hey, you gotto obey the Aisle Gods!

11:40 AM: Arrive back at the office. Start eating my wrap. Usually this is the time when I browse (ok, most of the time but this time is almost always reserved for web browsing). Putting up a brave front I decide to not even look at my iPhone. I read work material instead while eating. Spot a couple of mistakes in a presentation due to be sent out to Japan and correct it. Did you have any doubts? The “Crisps” pack is half empty within 15 min. What is with snacks that have Salt? Addictive!

12:10 PM: “Should I call IT to check?” The urge returns! It quickly passes as well.

12:11 PM: I discover that I have 368 emails that I have not opened. Uh uh 368! To be fair though, a majority of those are chain emails at work where people are replying to each other to point out worthless minutiae. I postpone looking at them until the next day. If any of them is that important they will call me no?

12:15 PM: Someone from work steps into my office about a project. This was legit. I needed to take care of this. I spent the next hour and 45 minutes solving this in the plant.
(I do work you know!)

2 PM: Upon returning to my office, I spot loads and loads of paper on my two desks. I had been collecting them for the past 2 years. They were neatly arranged mind you. Was lazy to shred them. Never a better time for shredding!

2:05 PM: Has anyone used the shredder extensively before? Well, let me tell you, the crisp sound of metal cutting against the soft paper, as pleasant as it can get on the ears. Seriously. I spent the next 45 min at the shredder. I had to stop ‘cause the bag filled up and I had no idea how to remove and put a new bag. I decided to shred the rest the next day.

3 PM: Only an hour and 15 min to go.

3:05 PM: My boss steps into my office. We discuss some work details. And then he talks to me about this guy who they were interviewing (on that very day) for a position in my group (kinda my replacement). I asked him about the candidate’s presentation and personal interview. My boss had yet to interview him but he thought the presentation was allrite. He also mentioned that the candidate’s English was not that great. Suddenly my previous boss, who just finished interviewing the candidate, steps into my office and tells my boss to ask the candidate his GPA (not mentioned on his resume apparently). In my opinion that is not a good sign. If you are impressed with the person who you are interviewing you don’t care about his/her GPA. Especially my former boss, he is cool. He must not have like this candidate dude. My boss asks me my preference for going away drinks. I tell him that I didn’t have any.

3:45 PM: Hunger pang! I hit up the vending machine for some Oreos. Not satisfied I re-open my “Crispies” bag and almost finish it. So much for spreading it for 3 days.

4 PM: At this point I am proud with myself that I’ve not had the urge to web browse on my iPhone. Not so bad then huh! Attended to some random work stuff and got ready to leave.

4:15 PM: Emboldened by this day I tell myself that I will not browse the web even at home tonite. This can’t be that bad right?

Of course as it had to be, there was a huge storm that evening and my train was stuck at the station for 2h. I had to cave in and listen to my friend Robert in the train to check the weather (we were thinking about driving our scooters into the city). So I caved in! But not a bad day at all w/o the internet.