For Summer I I had to take an introduction to computing course. The teacher wanted us to spend 24 hours without technology, then write a 3-4 page (single space : /) paper on it. It is important to note some of the rules.
1.) Driving is acceptable without any radio though;
2.) No oven or stovetop IF they are controlled with computers (as most are);
3.) Only use cash if you purchase something unless the store uses the old-school credit card swiper and you have to physically sign the receipt; and
4.) Basically just nothing that is run by a computer in ANY WAY (it's amazing how many items are on that list).
Here is the result:
My Saturday
began with the knowledge that I had about 24 hours to prepare myself for the
24-Hour Project. It was time to ready the supplies:
·
Reading material, because I’m pretty sure a Nook
is considered digital, and I refuse to read the only un-read “book” in the
house – Fifty Shades of Grey (on loan
from an aunt);
·
Cash – to buy a book worth reading;
·
Prep friends and family for the astonishing
one-day disappearance;
·
Get a good movie in with the husband; and
·
Figure out what to eat in lieu of our usual
“Spaghetti Sunday”.
It got underway
that afternoon. I’d say it really started with my reminder to my husband
(Sunil) that there would be no TV (he was happy on that one), no movies (a
little saddened there), no cell phones (“WHAT?! That’s crazy!”), no cooking in
the kitchen (“So, we’re grilling?”), and absolutely no computers (“Well, I
guess I’ll spend the day at a coffee shop then.”). Next up, I made my list. I knew I wanted to
use this time as an excuse to browse around the bookstore, something I really
miss doing now that I have a Nook. So, Barnes & Noble made the cut, first.
Dinner followed in importance. We were going to grill, so there were obvious
limitations to this area. Steak, potato, and stuffed mushrooms have always been
enjoyable. Done. Now, the hardest part. Explain to Mom why I won’t be calling
for our daily 1+ hour chat on Sunday. This was not easy. She was going to be
spending Saturday evening gaining crucial small town gossip at a martini party.
Oh, the Sunday gossip had such potential. But, it would just have to be
postponed until Monday after work. She ended up calling during said party to give me a little scoop to tide us both over
until Monday.
Evening came.
Movie time. Sunil and I got all caught up on a thriller – Apollo 18 – and ate heated-in-the-digital-oven pizza. It was tasty.
Unfortunately, I
realized the following morning that I had forgotten to do one thing – notify
FaceBook. Dang! The urge was strong. But I fought it off with a trip to one of
my favorite places – the bookstore.
I got dressed,
took a little Patel Petty Cash, and got in the car. The first thing I did was
reach for the radio. It was Sunday, and NPR has “Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me” and
“Car Talk” on, but I would just have to podcast those some other day. What to
do with no radio? Roll the windows down. Of course! I’m sure the world of Las
Colinas just loved my singing.
I pulled up to Barnes
& Noble, re-checked the cash in my back pocket, and strolled on in. Oh! The
books. So many new ones. I hadn’t been to a bookstore since December. I was
almost overwhelmed. “NEW IN PAPERBACK.” “NEW BESTSELLERS.” Too many to choose
from. I dove in at the first table. Paperback. My first selection, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of
Forgetfulness. About Africa. Reminded me of Poisonwood Bible, a favorite of mine. But no, I refuse to get the
first one. This is my day to just do what I
want to do. I was going to take my time. I kept finding more and more. Then I
realized I couldn’t take pictures of them with my phone to keep track of the
ones I wanted for the future. And I sure didn’t have enough money to buy them
all – cash flow problem, literally. Thankfully I found a pen and scrap of
paper. I wrote down several titles: An
Everlasting Meal, Blue Nights, Nightwoods, Please Look After Mom, The Sweet
Life in Paris, Wild. Now that I
had wandered and meandered and wondered, I had to make a choice – it had been almost two hours. I chose my
book – Wild. It was so pertinent to
the project too. A woman plucks herself out of her regular world and leaves
civilization to hike the 2,663-mile Pacific Coast Trail hoping to find
something in herself that was missing.
Next up,
groceries. And the best part – I was by Kroger! Not our boring old Tom Thumb.
Or maybe it was the worst part. I was on a budget, after all. That did not make
this mecca of produce, cheese, bread, and flowers easy to navigate. I had to be
careful in my choices and budget accordingly. I ended up scouring the mini
gourmet cheeses for a fun appetizer, I couldn’t resist. Add some crusty Italian
bread for $1.50, and voila, yumminess.
Now it was time
to head home. Back in the car I went, and my hand reached straight for the
radio again. I resisted. I rolled the windows back down. I then realized – when
I saw hallmark right in front of me – that my sister-in-law’s birthday is
Tuesday. I don’t have a card. I also don’t have any more cash. This is
frustrating.
My windblown
hair and I finally arrived back at the house with groceries, book, and a
card-sized empty spot. I put everything away and began marinating the steaks. A
little dry rub, some cracked peppercorn, a little garlic, drowned in
Worcestershire sauce, back in the fridge. This will be tasty.
Speaking of
tasty. It was about time for lunch. Normally I prepare lunch with the news on
in the background. Then I typically eat lunch while watching recorded episodes
of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report
or some horrible guilty-pleasure Housewives
of ______. It spares Sunil from having to listen to them when he comes home.
But, not today. Today, I made a sandwich. A gourmet sandwich. I mean, I had a
lot of time on my hands. Bread, cheddar cheese, turkey, tarragon Russian
dressing, caramelized onions (made a few days earlier), and a side of sweet
potato chips. Oh, it was good. I devoured it while reading chapter one of my
new, hardback book. I washed the dishes. Then, I got on a roll and hand washed all our dishes. Then I actually dried
them and put them all away. Trust me, this is a dreaded chore, made all the
more so by doing it without even the radio on. My dogs and I had a long
one-sided conversation during my various chores on Sunday.
Now, some real
me time. I grabbed my book, removed some back cushions, and sprawled out on the
couch. Two hours of true quiet time later, Sunil walked in the door. He took a
few minutes before it registered why everything was so quiet. “Oh, yeah. This
is that 24-hour thing today.”
“Yep. Don’t even
talk to me about computers or phones or anything like that.”
“K.”
He didn’t really
know what to do with himself. He sat in the chair across from me. He stared at
me. He stared out the window. He sighed. “I think the yard needs to be mowed.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’ll be
outside.”
About fifteen
minutes later I joined him. I used our brand new Round-Up Ready-to-Use Extended
Control Weed & Grass Killer to commit a little herbicide. Then we started
pulling out the weeds that were mixed in with grass we didn’t want to murder.
After about an hour it started to rain. I think our neighbor decided we must be
nuts because he bailed on being outside. We kept pulling weeds. It was too much
fun getting drenched and digging in the mud. So much for that manicure.
After that was
done, I went inside and got showered and cleaned up. I folded laundry on the
dining table so I could watch Sunil mow outside the back windows. I talked to
the dogs. I reached for my phone to take a picture of my dogs when they did
something really cute. I sighed.
Now it was
getting later. Sunil came in from the yard work. He showered. We started prepping
dinner. Sunil went outside to get the grill ready. I worked on scraping the
inside of those mushrooms out. I chopped up five Serrano peppers. I got out the
cheese (yeah, if you haven’t noticed, I really
like cheese). I stuffed the mushrooms with the peppers and cheese and set them
on a plate.
About this time,
one of our friends came over. I suspect Sunil was going a little stir crazy
without excess sound and must have invited him to stop by, but I have no proof
of this. I had to explain the rules of the day to our friend. “So, what’s the
point?”
“To go without
all the ease of technology for a day and see what we can get from that.”
“Whatever.”
The three of us
had a nice time. We talked about work. We talked about his current
relationship. We planned out a late summer mini vacation. NOLA here we come! Once
the steaks were ready our friend headed home. He had more of a craving for
In-N-Out burger.
Sunil and I ate
dinner and talked. This was novel. Well, actually, it just reminded me of the
days when we were dating. I had a tiny apartment back then. But I didn’t have
cable. We talked about lots of things, personal things, so, sorry, you don’t
get the details. I proposed we do this once a month. Unplugged Sunday. To my
amazement, Sunil agreed.
To my further
amazement, Sunil then started rearranging the living room furniture! The
backstory here is that we’ve had a hand-me-down couch sitting in the middle of
the room for over a week now, waiting for the old couch to be moved so it could
take its place. We spent the remainder of our evening moving the old couch to a back room and
rearranging the rest of the living room furniture. It was a good day. And night.
I felt relieved
all day. I felt frustrated too. I wanted to listen to music but couldn’t. That
was my greatest complaint. Really, my only complaint. The relief came from
knowing that I had an excuse to ignore my phone all day. I did not have to feel
obliged to answer every phone call, every text. I could just ignore them and
keep on with my day. I enjoyed the solitude. It reminded me of the days when I
had no cable, no Internet, and no smart phone. During that time I read every
single book by Hemingway. I re-read East
of Eden. I relaxed. I was well rested. I may propose a cancellation of
cable soon. I’ll just have to get that one done before the new season of Dexter starts. If not, it’ll be at least
another year.
