Oh my sweetums…Arty Life has joined the glitterati literati laptop latte set! Yes, indeed. I am sitting here writing this at a cafe, a CAFE, imagine that! token coffee and pastry by my side.
Like a writer, you know.
Does this mean I am coming up in the oh-so cool o’meter?
No, it means the DSL connection at the Porterosa is down. It means I am a blogging vagabond, seeking wi-fi access wherever I go. Even if it means I have to take one for the team and consume copious amounts of bakery fresh carbs. Carbs that were supposed to contain raspberries but turn out to be apricot instead.
Made with real butter and cream cheese.
My delight o’meter is groaning off the charts.
And the music isn’t bad either.
Lack of ready access has opened my eyes to how the interwebs have taken over my day to day existence. My multitasking e-mail checking-social media hopping-news reading EXISTENCE has come to a screeching halt. Now when I watch TV, I watch TV. Which means I’ve turned it off completely because there’s nothing there that can hold my undistracted attention. I’ve been reading instead. Books. Nearly two in the past two days, marketing books I’ve been meaning to read but why bother when there’s an interesting discussion on FaceBook.
Good reads. Shark Tales by Barbara Corcoran kept me up way past my bedtime. Today I’m reading POP by Sam Horn. Maybe tonight I’ll break out a novel. A who dunnit. Something I used to do every day.
Everyday before DSL and wi-fi and social media TOOK OVER MY LIFE!!!
AT&T, bless their sweet corporate heart, says my life, or at least my DSL line, will be restored by the 21st of this month. Probably not enough time to detox the web from my veins.
Not that I want to. In fact, tomorrow the library will be open. They have comfy chairs and wi-fi access. I know, I was there yesterday. Added bonus…no pastries.
And now a reality check. This short video from 1994 has the cast of the Today show pondering the future. Which is now…
Internet elves and high tech sprites are having their way with me tonight. Teasing. Tantalizing. Coming oh so close to a connection and then poof, just like that…or is it pffft?…they disappear.
Taking the internet with them.
Damn damn damn little cyber fairies!
I’m dashing this off while they’re out and about. Drinking a beer somewhere, no doubt. Laughing at my frustration. Letting me think I’m online. Until I go to leave the page and find myself adrift. Untethered to any strands of the web.
They’re flitting around the network, like a flashlight induced Tinkerbell bouncing off the ceiling. The way she did in my house when I was growing up.
And so I’m going to pack it in for the night. Bid you adieu and leave you with a little clip from Miss TBell herself. Although I have to confess I haven’t been able to watch this all the way through. Connection. So if it turns out to be something other than Disney, oh man…I’m sorry.
Last night I got an email notification from twitter. New follower. New follower??? NEW FOLLOWER!!! Backflip time. Handsprings even. Because I’m new to twitter. Don’t have a lot of followers. Umm…let’s put it this way, between my fingers and toes I can count them all. And I may not need both feet. So a new follower is a BIG DEAL. Like the new phone book. Or the UPS truck with a box of pigment sticks.
A BIG deal. And hey, if you want to follow me I’m slporterpaints.
So I checked out this new follower. Went to her blog. Her name is Tracy. She’s a mixed media kindred spirit artist from Australia. AUSTRALIA? Yes, that place. The one where things are backwards and it’s spring right now. Imagine that…spring. Lucky lucky them. And that’s not to say Aussies are backwards–although I’m sure some of them are (as everywhere else). I’m just saying their seasons are confusing to me. Especially when I’m huddling in front of the wood stove and she’s taking pictures of all the new plants in her garden.
But back to Tracy. I like what she had to say.And all the links that I don’t have time to follow right now. I did follow one though, to her Facebook group, Magically Mixed Art Community. Which I promptly joined. Check it out. There’s over 1,500 members. I scrolled through a bunch of posts, commented on a couple and then jumped in and introduced myself.
I felt that at home.
And people welcomed me like I was a long lost friend. Imagine that–total strangers from all over the planet welcoming me into their midst. Fellow artists. Turns out I recognized a few names from the hot wax class.
Just as I recognized some names in the hot wax class from the plaster class last summer.
I was thinking about this today. Thinking that as my contacts are expanding, the world is shrinking. What does it matter if someone is halfway across the planet when we can communicate in real time on-line.
