How Not to Go Off the Grid

Re:How Not to Go Off the Grid by doublerabbit on Thursday October 13, 2022 @04:16PM (#33195962)

I laugh, but then again I recently lost my job a few weeks ago. Thought I would fly home to check-in with my mother and take a sabbatical holiday from the 15 years. I got out of the taxi, hadn't realised that my phone had fallen out of my pocket; ran for the taxi but was too late.

The first feeling was anxiety. After accepting that, it was jealously. Walking past all the strangers in the airport on their phone while I wait for my flight with no music proceeded to anger. I wanted to lash out at someone for my own mistake; delayed flight or something would of given me a perfect excuse. However everything went smoothly surprisingly as the flights home are normally delayed. And then after three hours of flight finally acceptance that for the next four weeks I won't have a phone.

In these four weeks, I've gotten a interview (tomorrow), surprised my mother as I've never been a museum fan and become really eager to wanting to visit more. So much I've missed. Found and finally resolved things about myself and been reading more books than I have ever of thought. Tonights book was on surrealism.

It does have it caveats which really it doesn't. I have gotten in contact with the taxi driver, they being scottish had their line of "enjoy your holiday without the pish of technology, let me know when your back". I wanted to be offgrid an I have been. And maybe this is the wine speaking, but back to my book on surrealism which I never ever thought I would be reading. But to do something simple living life for a bit without technology really does wonders, more good than bad. Sounds scary, but eh, I don't want it back. Would recommend.

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Re:How Not to Go Off the Grid by bee_rider on Thursday October 13, 2022 @04:47PM (#33196284)

I really enjoyed your comment. I feel like it is vaguely unusual in structure. Typically a story that is dominated by tangents like this will be wheeling off in random directions. This is instead one cohesive story -- a single long tangent -- which is continuously walking away from the original topic, but is somehow linked back by the occasional tenuous connection. That book must have put you in a good writing space.

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Re:How Not to Go Off the Grid by sixstringtheory on Thursday October 13, 2022 @04:59PM (#33196421)

I once flew to SF for a weeklong work onsite and realized as I was going through security that I'd left my phone on my bed at home.

People at work looked at me like I was an alien, but honestly I had a better time in SF than I ever had before, just organically discovering different things as I walked around (which I always do anyways when I visit cities, much prefer walking to trains, and prefer trains to taxis/cars).

Having a good book or two and journal helps alleviate the boredom in a much more fulfilling way. And then just allowing yourself to be bored and sit and think feels good too.

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Re:How Not to Go Off the Grid by robocat on Thursday October 13, 2022 @05:56PM (#33196975)

For those that have grown up with smartphones, they probably have never learnt the skills required to navigate the world without one. I am guessing you subconsciously fell back on your childhood skills, where you needed to be mostly independent. What happens when you don’t have those skills to fall back on?

Sort of like being with your older relatives and seeing them easily fix an engine, manage without power, garden, or apply so many skills learned through necessity. Some of that is an independent attitude, especially prevalent in anyone with a rural background, which appears less prevalent with modern devices and helicopter parenting styles.

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