Internet Addict

If you guys know anything about the Christian calendar, you'll know that we're currently in the season of Lent.  During this season we are meant to prepare for Easter by being mindful of our sins and actively working toward spiritual and personal betterment.  Most people give up something, like chocolate or swearing, and some take up a more positive activity instead, like smiling at everyone you see.

You're probably wondering what on earth this has to do with the Internet.  My answer for this is that for the past couple of years, I have given up the Internet for Lent.  I have noticed over the years that the time and energy I put into both my "Internet presence" and just browsing in general has kept increasing to the point that I can't imagine not having access to the Internet for a single day.  It doesn't interfere with my personal, "in real life" relationships or activities, but it is a major enough distraction that I will admit to being fairly addicted to the Internet.  And since the idea of Lent is to get rid of the distractions in our lives and simplify, it only makes sense that I give up some aspect of the Internet.

I think the reason I have actually managed to be successful with this over the past couple of years is that I haven't sworn off the Internet in general, opting instead to implement strict usage guidelines.  My guidelines for this year are:

1. I may only spend one hour a day on YouTube.  Yes, this does mean that I have been spending more than that watching videos recently.  This doesn't have to be one straight hour, but I need to keep track and if I go over, I must not go on YouTube at all for two days.
2. I may only use Tumblr for one hour a week.  I have recently started using Tumblr (and have a whole Friday Feature coming about it) and quickly came to understand why so many people find it addicting.  It's really easy to lose track of time as you continue down the never ending scroll.  If I go over this limit, I must not use Tumblr for two weeks.  Yes, that is very daunting and has been keeping me in check so far!

Seeing as these two sites are my biggest time sucks, they're the only ones I felt the need to restrict.  So far it's been going fairly well, which is especially surprising since I'm on spring break and would really love to spend the whole day on YouTube.

Happy Hump Day, everyone.  Are you a bit of an Internet addict?  Have you ever tried to "unplug" or restrict your usage time?

Orientation... The Beginning

So, after literally blowing chunks the first night, I am settling in quite well here at school. No, really; I'm starting to figure out who I don't want to go walking around town with at 10 o'clock at night and who is actually very nice. I'm valiantly struggling to remember everyone's names (God knows I'm terrible with names), and I'm actually eating regular meals again. Well, for the most part. I'm still terribly indebted to my stash or sourdough rolls.

The worst thing that has happened so far is that I can't get into the dorm's wireless network. Please allow me to repeat: I DO NOT HAVE AN INTERNET CONNECTION. For a self-professed Internet junkie, this is a fairly bad thing; kind of like going to the doctor for a routine check up and being told that they have to amputate an arm. Okay, that was a little overly dramatic, but hopefully you get what I mean.

So you may be wondering, how are you posting to your blog if you can't access the Internet? I'm using my roommate's computer, that's how.

Speaking of my roommate, she's actually quite nice. Her name's Ashlie, she's majoring in Advertising and she's actually from the Bay Area. This means she has a fairly good understanding of the city and talks a lot about all the cool places they hold concerts and the good record/poster stores and what not. She seems pretty clued in to that whole scene. Anyhoo, Ashlie's really nice and low key and I probably couldn't have asked for a better roommate.

That being said, I feel kind of bad because she likes to go places at night and has been inviting me along. Now, reader (if you're out there), please keep in mind that I am not a very adventurous person. Actually, I can be, but never at night. I'm kind of a grandma when it comes to having taken a shower by 10 and lounging around my room rather than going out. So I keep turning her down (nicely, of course), but I still feel bad. I probably shouldn't though, as she seems to understand. I just don't want to her to think it's because I don't want to hang out with her, it's just because I don't like walking around at night, especially if it's not necessary.

But back to orientation. I'm in a kind of honor's program, and everyone in it is super nice. I mean, there are a few exceptions, but I'm talking about one or two people out of like 50 or something like that. Not surprisingly, I've been hanging out with more boys and girls. We went out for ice cream last night at the famous Mel's Diner, did a community service project today, and I just got back from a semi formal dinner. Needless to say, they are keeping us very busy.

Tomorrow we are supposed to be going for a hike, and then the real freshman orientation starts. So I'm going to be busy through Monday. I don't know if I'll get up a post before then, but definitely by Tuesday! That's our first day of classes, and I'm sure I will have lots to report. Hopefully by then we will have gotten this Internet thing sorted out and I can post some pictures from my computer.

Until next time!