Technology vs the Severed Hand
The heat index is 91 today. I don’t know what that means, but it’s really hot out there.
Yesterday The City set a new record for electricity usage in a single day as New Yorkers gathered around our air conditioners, leaning into the cool like pioneer families around the woodstove. At least today the humidity has let up; for the past four days a blanket of damp has laid heavily on the city. When I walked out of the office, the thick, gray air hit me like a bag of wet laundry- hot and suffocating. Everybody walks slow in this oppressive weather, trying in vain to preserve their dry clothes. I don’t need to sweat; the moisture just condenses on me like a bottle of beer. If only I could be so cold.
This summer I swing madly between manic bouts of creative energy, and absolute lethargy. In the air conditioned office, my mind skips out of my meetings into the chaos of the childrens’ story I’m working on.
“What things can a severed hand do?” I wonder, “scratch, snatch, slap, poke, pick, point, flick, grab, pinch, pry, shake, squeeze, KARATE CHOP!”
In the warmer, damper terrain of my apartment I fuss. Ideas buzz around my head like fireflies, but I can’t organize myself enought to swat them down and press them to the page. Instead kick myself later for letting them get away. I want to write, I want to go to the gym, I need to walk the dog… and find myself upgrading my blog to a new version of WordPress instead. I’m beginning to see my modern conveniences as annoying interruptions, instead of fun and useful gadgets.
I’ve lost interest in email entirely. In fact, I dread it. What I once adored- my miraculous convergence of socializing and writing- has devolved into a chore. It consumes too much time and creative energy.
My cell phone is out of favor as well. Last year I was a local fixture, walking my dog with my earbud in place, phoning home, organizing my wedding, making dinner dates. Now, you’d be well advised to send me a text message, because I can’t be bothered to check my voice mail.
I have a love/hate thing going with my laptop. I love it for writing, I hate it because that dratted Internet constantly distracts from my work. Blog updates, emails, Instant Messages, news… I’m not sure I was built to access so much communication in one location. Sometimes I pull out the network card, physically removing access to the Web, so that I can work on what really matters.
A trick I should employ right now.
