I Can't Live Totally Offline

We had heavy rains last night and lightning struck one of the electric posts down the street. Our block was plunged into a four hour brownout before technicians from MERALCO were able to repair the damage.

When the lights came back on we realized that our modem had been zapped, as well. We called our DSL provider but it was almost midnight and they could only bring us a new modem the following day. Well it was afternoon by the time the new modem arrived and we had 15 hours of forced hiatus from the internet. We were all going nuts!

I realized that I was totally dependent on the internet for my livelihood and my sanity.

My main source of income is freelance writing. I do all of my research online and submit my articles by email.I also have internet marketing ventures through blogs and social networking. Again, these are online projects.

After - or in between - taking care of my projects, I surf to entertain myself and keep myself updated with what's happening around the world.Television does not cut it for me anymore. Although I still watch some telenovelas for fun, it's the control I have online plus the sheer breadth of data available that I crave.

I remember in college when I spent almost all my free time in the main library of UP Diliman. It was like a cave of treasures for me then. Now I have even more than that at my fingertips online. It's magical!

Of course, there's still books - books on real paper - to enjoy offline. I can turn to them when I'm shut out of the internet. But, hey, when I'm connected there are ebooks galore to browse online. I can even read all the classics I want for free.

It's amazing how the internet has invaded our lives and enriched it so much.