two weeks without the net

what would you do if you were offered $500 to live without the internet for two weeks? Lots of people wanted to return the money after only 5 days.

I have been thinking about it for a while, and I have come to the conclusion that after some preparation, I can not only live without the internet for two weeks, but I can do so many things that I always wanted to do but couldn’t because of my internet addiction, or dependence, if you will.

First of all, I would only go for something like that if I am offered a decent amount of money. $500 for two weeks, in my opnion, is not worth it. If they offered me double that amount then maybe I’ll give it a shot.

Here is how I’ll prepare for it. First things first, I’ll notify my family and friends with whom I am in touch through the net. I’ll either call them during those two weeks or send them a postcard from one of the places that i’ll be visiting during my internet-free time. Since I am still going to school, and most of my study material is posted online, I’ll have to ask some of my friends to download and printout the stuff for me. I’ll visit the professors in their office, instead of sending them email, in case I need to talk to them. And finally, I won’t blog for two weeks, or invite some guest bloggers to keep my blog occupied. As far as bill payment is concerned, there is no harm in mailing some checks once in a while. Also, though I wont access it, i’ll set up my emails to be downloaded from time to time otherwise my mailbox might overflow, ‘cuz you know, spammers never go on a vacation.

In an average weekday, I take classes for four hours, work for 10 hours and sleep for 6-8 hours. The remaining four hours or so I spend eating and using the internet. It’s not very hard to figure out something else to do during those four hours. I can get a healthy sleep for full 8 hours, since I wouldn’t have to check my emails and read other blogs 30 minutes before and after sleeping, and several times in between. In addition to that, I can eat more healthy since I will be having time to cook. Junk food will not be a part of my diet for two weeks. I’ll also be able to attend lectures with more concentration, as I won’t be allowed to have my laptop in the class and do instant messaging with buddies during the lecture. Come to think about it, two weeks without the internet might actually be good for my grades.

Weekends, however, would be a different problem to deal with. Normally, I spend most of the weekends at home, studying, sleeping, blogging, reading blogs and basically wasting time on the internet. Without the internet, I would be having plenty of time, so I have come up with many ideas to spend that time in a productive way.

There are dozens of places in Dallas that need to be explored. I always wanted to go to the Dallas Zoo, musieum of art, and many other places, but never did. Two weekends without the net will give me an opportunity to visit all those places. I’ll spend more time with my camera and quench my thirst for photography. I’ll read some books that i have been trying to read for a long time. I will go out and meet with charming ladies. Who knows, I might get to have something beyond cyber-sex on a saturday night.

I am sure I can survive the castaway. Now if only someone actually came forward and offered me a thousand bucks to do that.