Addicted

I'm not one who is normally prone to addictions, other than chocolate. But I've found a new one. I thought I had been doing okay, but today I found out how much going without makes you want something even more.

I picked up my computer around 1:30, brought it home, and have spent the past 6 hours on it. Some of that time involved uninstalling and reinstalling new antivirus software because my subscription was set to expire. Another part of that time was spent catching up on emails and blogs. And the last part was putting together the budget for June.

After being glued to this little black box for so many hours, I've come to grips with the fact that I am addicted to fast communication and keeping up-to-date on others' lives. This little tool has become so intertwined with my life in the year that I've had it that seldom does a day go by when I don't use it for at least a few minutes to see what friends have posted.

I'm not sure that surfing the internet is always the best use of my time. I had thought that the time away from the computer would have taught me to be a better steward of my time, but thus far, that hasn't been the case. I'm set to spend time on it tomorrow in preparation for my writers' group meeting. After that, maybe I'll try to evaluate whether I'm letting life slip away while staring at the screen or whether I'm actually participating in it more by capturing events and staying connected with others. There seems to be a fine line between the two.