Technology bound ~ by Kristine Raymond

Many a time I've said if time travel was possible, I'd go back to the late 1800s quicker than a horse can whinny.  Okay, maybe I've never expressed it that way, but you get the idea.  Wanna know a secret though?  Truth be told, I wouldn't last back there a hot minute!  While the untamed wilderness holds a certain appeal - okay, you got me; it's the cowboys - amenities like indoor plumbing, air conditioning, and WiFi captivate me more.

Case in point:

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An electrical storm such as I have never witnessed in my lifetime (and hope fervently to never witness again) took out my computer last week.  Fried it crispier than the Colonel's chicken.  Now, luckily - and, due to painstaking diligence on my part - all of my files, with the exception of the ones I was working on that day, were backed up, so the work I lost was minimal compared to what it could have been.  Being denied access to said files during the diagnosing, purchasing, setting up, uploading, and downloading process of installing a new computer system was torturous.  Nowhere near on the same scale as homelessness, unemployment, hunger, or any of the other atrocities our country faces on a daily basis, but devastating to me just the same.  It's one thing to voluntarily break away from the cord connecting me to the outside world.  It's another to have such a break foisted upon me while I'm shaking my head in denial.  

How did I become this person?

This is not me, but a darn close representation! @DP

 

 

Looking back in time - not as far back as the 1800s, but pretty darn close - I think of all the ways I entertained myself as a child and early teen growing up in the late 70s/early 80s.  20th century, to be clear.  I played outdoors, acting out exciting and magical scenarios (and I wonder where my talent for fiction comes from) or writing in my journal.  On rainy days, I read or put together jigsaw puzzles or listened to music.  I was active in ways that had nothing to do with computers.

Fast forward thirty-five to forty years.  Each day; every day - Sunday through Saturday - I'm on my computer.  Writing, creating book covers or promotional graphics, visiting with friends on social media, checking the news, the weather, the supermarket sales.  I open and close various folders dozens of times a day.  I search for new fonts and graphics to download, I research facts for my WIP, I write blog posts, I edit podcast episodes.  My life revolves around the life I've built using this machine.

Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm not plugged in 24/7.  Well, 7 maybe, but not 24.  I take time away from the computer to read, to watch movies, to play with my furbabies, spend time with my hubs, clean the house, mow the lawn, grocery shop, all the usual, but I feel secure in knowing I can 'pop back on' at a moment's notice.  And, most of my time spent online is driven by my work.  I use Photoshop to create graphics, Word to draft my stories, Facebook - Twitter - Instagram to connect to readers.  My job requires connection, electronic as is may be.

If I woke up tomorrow and found myself in a town like Hidden Springs (you'll have to read my series to understand this reference), would I get used to living without all of the conveniences that make my life what it is today?  Undoubtedly, though I'd probably complain a lot at first.  Good thing there'd be lots of cowboys around to take my mind off of my woes.
 

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