Thoughts from 30,000 feet

I didn't have a cell phone in college. I couldn't afford one, for starters, but I also didn't really see the need. I got where I was going without having to call from the road or google a map, I managed to make dates with friends and meet them on time, I found a phone when I absolutely needed to call. I spoke with people in person, or from the land line phone in my apartment. I checked my email from my computer. My room-mates knew my schedule well enough and I knew theirs, so someone could be tracked down physically if absolutely necessary. It wasn't hard, and it worked just fine.

I also didn't have facebook in college. I didn't know what my high school friends were up to, what states they were in, or who had married, had kids, etc. I didn't' know what my classmates were thinking after we split for the day. I didn't know any of this, and I was fine.

Now, I have both of these miraculous inventions and am far, far too plugged in. Don't get me wrong, my cell phone has been a life saver many times over, so much so that it's hard to remember those days without it. I also rather like Facebook, as I enjoy knowing what some long lost folks are up to (but I don't give a darn about those quizzes you all take). Yet here I sit, on a plane to Korea, hovering over the Sea of Okhotsk just off the Siberian cost, a mere 7 hours since I've turned off my phone and forgone internet connection, and I feel like a part of me is missing. More than once I've had the urge to text someone, to reach out and share what I'm experiencing and to see what they're up to. I want to call Jeff and tell him all about this cool plane ride I'm having. I'm so used to constant, at my fingertips any time I want, communication. I feel like an amputee, having lost a limb but still feeling it's presence. This ain't good folks.

So this is me, unplugging. Sure, there will be emails and this blog. I doubt I'll escape completely (there are some people out there who would probably hunt me down if I failed to communicate for long enough). That's not fair to those who care about me, anyway. Never the less, I'm about to leave the phone turned off for some time. The computer will stay in the bag for a few days on end. I'm going to speak to the people around me for a while, get some good face time in, if you will.

I've just met my seat mate, a very nice girl headed to Manila to visit her folks. There, I've started already.

Oh, if you're reading this, then I've arrived safely in South Korea and am probably at this time sleeping or searching out something yummy to eat. I hear Korean BBQ is quite tasty.

Later all.

Update: This was written some hours ago on the plane  With the 12 hour flight and the 16 hour time change, I'm not sure when. I did arrive safely to Korea, was placed in a very nice hotel by the airport, and promptly slept like the dead for 8 hours. It's 5:30 in the morning on Monday here. Think I'm gonna avail myself of my free breakfast voucher in an hour or so.