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Disconnecting From The Electronic Tether

Crackberry users got a bit of cold turkey last week, sending a shiver down the spines of many of us whose electronic umbilical cord is connected to the office.  As regular MIPTC readers know, I spent a bit of time in Australia recently, and discovered that Down Under has yet to enjoy the benefits of coast-to-coast broadband access. 

One of the high-end hotels we stayed at was proud to offer dial-up connectivity in an ante-room off the hotel office, but you had to use your own provider. 

Whoa, there cowboy.   Don't go into shock yet.

Being disconnected worked marvelously.  In fact, I highly recommend it.  I don't use a Blackberry, but I'm just as bad:  I use a global Samsung cell phone that gets my office email, telephone calls, spreadsheets and documents all in the palm of my hand, and my head is frequently buried in it when I'm away from the office.

In Australia, however, I had no choice:  while my cell phone worked there and occasionally got email, not everywhere in Austrialia is covered by the type of service I need to stay connected.  The first few hours of disconnectedness were awful.  One day into it, I was going through delirium tremens and feeling the shock of no email.

Withdrawal, in a word.

On the third day I was thinking about pyschological help, but by the end of the week, I discovered the freedom I had before cell phones with email were invented.  I think they call it relaxation.  It was great. 

You oughta try it, too.  Just don't take a week to get there.