Computers, diets, and exercise

The newest trend here in PR is to cut the telephone wires for the copper inside. Copper is, apparently, a very hot commodity these days. With that said, I was left without phone and internet service for 2 days. I was beginning to go through withdrawals. I found a local restaurant with wireless access and was prepared to go there for dinner just so I could check my emails. But around 5:30 p.m., my service was reconnected and so was I. It got me to thinking though. How much time do I really spend on this thing and how dependent have I become on being connected? The answer to both of those questions is, way too much.

I realized that nowadays, I turn to the computer for everything. I come to the computer to pay bills from my checking account, check the weather forecast, for online shopping, food recipes, exercise planning, and even this blog has replaced my daily journal. How much is too much? In our daily lives of search and click, have we become a slave to the net? Has this caused us to become less social and spend more time at home with our online niches? In my case, definitely. I rarely venture out anymore. If I can do something online, I do it. It beats the daily hassles of traffic and interacting with a ton of people waiting in line to pay for things. If I could figure out how to go to the doctor online, I probably would. In this world of being able to access the information highway, why bother going out. I enjoy interaction with people, but on my terms. I don't like having to stand in long lines, I don't like crowds and I don't like sitting in traffic. So if those things can be avoided, can it be a bad thing? I hope not.

On another note, I need t o get back to the gym. My shoulder injury and a few other stressful things last year caused some serious weight gain. I received a call from an old friend back in Miami and she is getting married. I am so excited for her. She has asked me to be one of her bridesmaids and of course I said I would be honored until I hung up the phone and realized that that meant probably having to wear a strapless tight-fitting dress. I panicked. I am in no shape to wear anything that shows my arms or my shape. Fortunately, the wedding is not until Oct. so I have 7 months of grueling misery at the gym and dieting to whip myself back into shape. I guess this is a good thing. I really needed something to push me back into taking care of myself. This is the wake-up call.