and what I learned.

Let me first say that for me Shutdown Day was not about anything more than a planned day off for me, a day where I would have an excuse to really shutdown and take a day off. No laptop, internet, not even a Blackberry.

What it turned into was a lesson. The internet whether good or bad is part of my life. The was a small time where we were on the couch Saturday night that I wanted to grab my laptop and check me rss feeds while watching tv, but for the most part I was ok with not getting online.

I did realize that the internet is here and for me I need it, no so much to play around but just for life. Starting in the morning I wanted to get some tickets to the upcoming TOOL concert and what do I know, I cannot use Ticketmaster.com. I thought to myself they still have a number to call…right? Well they do, but Ticketmaster.com would have been much easier.

Then we had a birthday party to go to and even though I was pretty sure I knew where it was I wanted to get directions, just so I would not get lost and be late, oops, I cannot use Google Maps. What now, they do not have a telephone number for that. I had to call a family member who was also going.

See that is how my day went, not so much me sitting around shaking with lack of connection, but just lack of normal conveniences. I normally clean my snake cages on Saturday morning and while doing that I listen to music, from the Mac Mini via iTunes. No go this day. Heck at this point I could not even buy a new “cd” that my wife asked me for because it’s all iTunes for us. Better grab (download) that now.

Again I did not miss the internet, just the daily convenience that it provides. So I can easily live without it for fun and time wasting, but day to day it’s here and it will need to stay. No more Shutdown Days for me.