Written April 14

It is really amazing what happens when one’s Internet connection is cut off. Especially when one thought one would have several days to prepare herself…

We are switching providers for Internet, phone, and cable, and to make the switch, we had to remove the DSL connection from our phone line so our number could be transferred to the new provider…. Blah blah blah… So we were told it would take 3 to 5 days for our DSL to be removed from our line. OK – 3 to 5 days – plenty of time to send an email to people notifying them of upcoming changes, post in forums letting them know we’ll be gone for a while, and copy info out of our provider’s Webmail service that we would need.

30 minutes later, our connection is cut off.

First, panic sets in. WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I GOING TO DO FOR THE TWO WEEKS THAT I HAVE NO INTERNET?!?

Then, the flurry of activity: trying to find a connection to take care of some business, calling the new provider to see if our installation date can be moved up.

Next comes the resentment – of everyone who has access to the Internet whenever they want it. Including Hubby, who has 2 – count them, 2 – laptops for work, and who can even check email from his new company issued BlackJack. Company issued, meaning no personal use. Especially not for the wifey.

Resignation sets in. OK, so maybe I really didn’t need all that info that was in my Webmail. And I guess I’ll find something to do while I have no Internet.

Resignation turns to amazement when I realize how much I can get done without running to the computer every chance I get. Wow… tons of laundry, clean floors, a shower… and that’s just during naptime. When the boys are awake, a lot of quality playtime happens. Mmm… that’s nice! And after bedtime, I get a lot of crafting done.

It’s still hard… I am typically the one who pays our bills online. So now I have to remember to ask Hubby to do that while he’s at work. If I need a quick recipe, I can’t hop on Allrecipes.com to look something up. And I shudder to think what my blogroll will look like when everything gets hooked back up. But at our new blazing fast download speeds, I should be able to whip through my missed reading with no problem at all!

So writing this not even half-way through my Internet exile… things are going well. We’ll see how I’m doing at the end of the 2 weeks.