Saturday, May 07, 2005

Computer Withdrawl

Having moved back "home" with my parents on Thursday, I have been separated from my personal computer for two full days now. I have unlimited access to the internet-equiped family computer, but that somehow doesn't seem to matter. I am experiencing quite a bit of separation anxiety.

I find myself longing for the comforts of my computer, which no other computer can provide. I go to peruse my usual websites, and all of my favorites aren't there. The desktop background is an ugly premade Windows XP creation, rather than beautiful scenery from my trip to Germany. And most importantly, my music is not here!! I currently have to scan the internet to find good music to listen to.

This withdrawl has made me realize just how much I depend on my computer. You don't really realize how much a part of your life something becomes until you go without it. The more I think about it, the more I become aware of its importance in my life. It's almost like an electronic pet--and no, I don't mean one of those terribly annoying Gigapets that were trendy in my junior high days. When I come back to my dorm room, I almost immediately go to my computer to check on things, just as someone would go to greet their dog when they come home. I even talk about it as if it were alive: "ugh, my computer is being such a bitch today" or "it's such a retarded when it comes to burning cds". Thankfully, I haven't taken to petting it...yet, anyways.

What I find more amusing is that I could easily set up my computer here at home, but I haven't bothered yet. The reason?: There's no way for me to connect it to the internet. Somehow, a computer without internet seems worthless. Aside from being able to access my music, movies, and files, there's nothing to do on an unconnected computer. This seems so silly to me. I can still remember in 8th grade when my cousin showed me and my sister "the internet" and the things you could do with it. I was slightly unimpressed; it seemed boring (granted, the presentation only involved a demonstration of how information on Brad Pitt could be easily found, so it is no surprise that I was not overwhelmed by the power of the internet). But now, about 5 years later, any computer without internet access might as well be dead to me!

I suppose one could try to extend this to a philosophical argument, how we are slowly becoming slaves to our electronics, or how we might be too busy with our computers to actually live real lives. But I think those are too dramatic of arguments to try and make out of this. I'm just a nerd who misses her computer.

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