Turn Off, Tune Out, Drop In

My lovely wife has tuned me into turnoff week, which, it turns out, has nothing to do with dutch ovens (a major turn-off as I understand it), but rather, is a campaign to turn off your electronic media for a week. At first, I was all on board for this, but then I realized that it wasn't just referring to the television. I'm a hundred percent behind everyone turning their televisions off for a week, but make no mistake: you'll pry my computing machines out of my kung fu grip only after defeating me upon the fields of battle, and even then I'll do my damnedest to come back as a zombie and continue computing in between servings of brain.

The thing is, I don't think that's wrong. I mean, my computers, including my phone, are so integrated into my life that I can't imagine just turning them off for a week. Ignoring the fact that I would have to take a week off of work (so it's not all bad), I use my computers to balance checkbooks, keep in contact with my friends and family, and keep track of damn near everything in my life. Could I go a week without it? Sure. Would it take a month to get caught up afterward? Possibly - we're not going to find out.

Okay, so let's compromise and say that for one week, I won't use my computers for entertainment purposes. Well, what do you mean by that? Don't watch television shows, funny videos or play video games? Okay, sure. Excepting of course playing the PSP while exercising, because that's pretty much the only thing that can get me on a stationary bike besides free pie, and then it has to have Cool Whip and all that and the whole thing turns counter productive. Not sure how beneficial it would be to give up playing video games only to simultaneously give up exercise as well.

So, that's it. I'll stop watching TV and movies for a week. I won't play video games unless they are fueling healthy exercise habits. That's as far as I'm willing to commit. I'm still going to Facebook, what with all my real life friends who are not part of my immediate family living in another location. I'm still tied to my email. I'm afraid that's just the reality of modern life. Asking some of us to go off the grid for a week is, to my mind anyway, a little unrealistic. Besides, if everyone committed to such a thing, no one would be reading Dangerously Low on Grog, and just thinking of the unmitigated joy and lightness that would be lost to such an action makes me sad inside.

You don't want me to be sad inside, do you?