What would we do without the Internet? I had to find out yesterday. The rain storm in California knocked out our phone line and the next day, we lost our DSL. For about 12 waking hours, I was without Internet. <\/p>\n
Do you know what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like to be without your computer, water, a washing machine or something else that you take for granted? It requires a whole new mindset to get through the day. Oh sure, you could throw a fit, swear, blame everyone from the rain gods to the president, but that will only put you in a bad mood. Or you can do what you can to repair the problem and then change your attitude. How? Accept, Trust and Change. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s my mantra when things in my life go temporarily awry\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwell, if I can calm down and relax enough to remember it.<\/p>\n
It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tough being without that lifeline to the Internet\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwell it is for me, anyway. Everything I attempted to do after our DSL went down was automatically thwarted because I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have Internet access. Do you know how, when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re without water (during a move or a plumbing project, for example) and you keep turning on the water faucets expecting water to flow out. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an automatic, conditioned action. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re used to having water anytime you want it. <\/p>\n
I use Internet access like water. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the lifeblood of my business. Mine is running all the time and I am constantly referring to a site, checking on a resource, contacting someone, conducting research, looking up something and, of course, checking my mail. I communicate with clients through email. I receive orders for books via email. SPAWN members and others with questions contact me regularly through email. This is also how I stay in touch with publishers, editors, writers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 conference organizers, Expedia (with regard to changes in airline reservations, etc.), colleagues and, sure, friends.<\/p>\n
The Internet has become vital to my business. So, to be without it is a challenge that I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t relish anymore than I would enjoy being without running water in my home. Yesterday, when we lost our DSL, I knew I had choices. I could complain and pout or I could find something else to do. After all, it was Saturday. People aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t supposed to work on the weekend, anyway. At first, I tried working on projects that I thought wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t rely on Internet access. In my office, there is no such animal, unless I wanted to do some filing\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Nah!<\/p>\n
And so it came to pass that I left my computer chair, turned out the light and closed the door to my office at 2:00 on a Saturday afternoon. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s when I discovered that there is life outside of my office. I found all kinds of interesting things to do\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthings I used to do before I became a WRITE-a-holic. There were kitchen cabinets to organize (when you get new kitchen gadgets for Christmas, you have to re-organize in order to fit them in), and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been getting requests for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153some of that homemade bread we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t had in three years.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d The cats and the African violets all need grooming, the furniture could use a polishing and what about that mending that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been hanging around for months? <\/p>\n
Hey, if this is life away from work, no wonder I choose work. <\/p>\n
So what did I do with my free Saturday afternoon? I read a few magazines from my growing stack (some of them dated 2004) while trying out my new bubbling, heated, massage footbath (another Christmas gift, obviously from someone who doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see me relax enough).<\/p>\n
Are you prepared for the next time your Internet fails? What projects do you have pending outside the comfort zone of your home office? This is a good time to catch up on your most important reading, such as: The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book<\/em>. http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/rightway.html<\/a> And you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d better order it now, so you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be prepared when storms knock out your Internet connection. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean to frighten you, but you know it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just a matter of time. <\/p>\n I have another book that might pique your interest. It’s a spiritual\/metaphysical memoir. Quest For Truth, A Journey of the Soul<\/em> is a fascinating account of my past-life regression and healing work with a hypnotherapist. http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/questpage.html<\/a><\/p>\n An author or freelance writer without Internet is like a rider without a horse, a kitten with no one to pet her, a great photo opportunity and no camera in sight, a wonderful wall hanging without a wall to hang it on and a bunch of ingredients and no recipe to bring them together. But this temporary loss can be a blessing if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll just Accept, Trust and Change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What would we do without the Internet? I had to find out yesterday. The rain storm in California knocked out our phone line and the next day, we lost our DSL. For about 12 waking hours, I was without Internet. Do you know what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like to be without your computer, water, a washing machine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t