No Cell Phone for 8 Days...5 things I learned

The day started out like any other...the alarm on my smart phone woke me up.  I took a shower and prepared for the day.  I checked my email accounts (plural), looked at Facebook, tried to clear a  board on Candy Crush (fail), and reviewed the calendars (plural) to make sure I hadn't missed too much since dozing off the prior evening.

This day was about to be dramatically different.  I was leaving my smart phone at home and would not have access to it for 8 days.  Yes.  8 full days.  No access to texts.  No access to emails.  No access to voice mail.  No access to Facebook.  No access to Candy Crush.

(pause while we wait for those that just fainted)

Many of you are just like me.  You've been connected since the dawn of the cell phone.  I have had a cell phone since 19** and have not left it behind ever.  Well, there was this one time (not at band camp) when I got a couple miles down the road in my car and realized it was not with me.  YIKES.  I turned that car around and went back to get it.  I have taken a mobile device with me everywhere since those days in the 90's and this was the FIRST time since I got my first mobile phone that I went somewhere without it.

Here are 5 things I learned:

1.  Turns out, it takes about 3 days (for me) to get over a Candy Crush addiction.  For the first 2 days, all I could think about during any down time was that I wanted to be clearing those little fruity squares and getting those cherries down to the bottom of the grid.  Upon return, I deleted all those games from my phone and have not indulged since.  (ie:  Candy Crush free since Aug 2, 2013).

2.  Books are still cool.  I left my kindle at home too (wanted to REALLY be off  the grid) so I brought a couple of puzzle books to keep me entertained on the plane and during down times.

3.  If I had to go on an old fashioned treasure hunt RIGHT NOW and follow a paper map, it would take me an embarrassing amount of time to figure it out.  I have traveled across the country using just an atlas and some state maps purchased at gas stations and now that Siri and Google have taken over telling me where to go, my map skills have waned.  Sigh.

4.  There are a lot of things to see when my head isn't bent down looking at my phone.  Not sure if you're all aware of this, but nature and people are fascinating!!  It was so nice to just be in the moment with my boyfriend and family and not distracted.  While the necessities of work deem that I pay attention to my phone at times, while off the clock I make a conscience effort to not be obsessed with the device.  Once I got past day 2 of reaching for my phone out of habit, it was so nice to be "unchained".  I was able to just relax and get the needed break that I've desperately needed.  There was much freedom that came with knowing that things would just have to wait for my return.

5.  The hardest part:  dealing with my own hurt ego.  I was able to go off the grid for 8 days and you know what?
    Nothing fell apart.
    The city remained standing.
    Things got done.
    Time went by.


Perhaps that's actually the blessing to be realized.  I work with amazing folks that kept my part of the business going and friends that were able to help with the dogs.  Everyone should take some time at least once per year to go "off the grid" and get some true rest and relaxation.

Break Up By PowerPoint

Break Up By PowerPoint is a speech I created for Toastmasters.  (When you watch the video...2 things:  1.  it's 7 min long so plan appropriately; 2.  you may have to adjust the volume at some points...my mic tended to go in and out).  Link is included below to the YouTube site where it's posted.  


Toastmasters is fantastic...this is where I really get to show my creativity. Especially in a world where sometimes our creativity gets stifled, Toastmasters, for me, is one of the places where I can share some of my adventures.  

The best part: sometimes I even win trophies. For those of you that know me well, you know that I will participate in just about anything if there is a possibility of winning a trophy at the end. Several of you may remember that I won 2 contests with another true story:  "Technology Can Burn You", where I wrote a true story of an employee that worked for me at a prior gig.  I discovered that he was going to resign via Facebook.  However, that is another story.

Break Up By PowerPoint allowed me to win 3 contests and take home 2 trophies.  


Here is how the speech evolved:

1:  I dated a guy many years ago that those of you in my inner circle know as "the devil". Most of you are probably not even aware of this, but the devil is a cute, blond haired, blue eyed musician. If you see him, I recommend you throw your drink at him and run.

2:  Fast forward a few years.   I helped a friend write a break up letter to a guy she needed to stop seeing. My letter was not very effective and he kept coming back!  This is where Break Up By PowerPoint was born.  It was suggested to me that perhaps I needed to be more clear and possibly utilize slides.  


BRILLIANT.


3:  Decide this will be my last speech out of the Toastmaster manual "Entertaining Speaking".  


4: Choose boy to write about.  No brainer.  The devil will work just fine.  I did not change his name in the speech to protect him.  Truth is usually better than fiction anyway.  :-)


5:  Write speech.  Practice.  Practice.  Practice.  


6:  Start live performance(s) at Toastmasters.  


Folks, sometimes there is no better way to get true closure than making a parody out of a relationship gone awry.  


I hope you all enjoy it...remember, it can be tailored for any type of breakup.  My next installment of the Break Up by PowerPoint series will be how to break up with an employer.  Stay tuned. 


Link: 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ0h-XwgQgA

Who Loves Dating?

Recently, I told a boy that I was not going to further invest any emotion into our relationship. I did that because his actions clearly told me that he was still tied (emotionally and a little bit financially) to his ex. They have been divorced for over two years.

Turns out, boys don't call you again after you say such things to them.

Since then, I have ruminated several times about this decision to be honest...started to second guess whether that was the right thing to do. Then it dawned on me: one of my favorite Deep
Thoughts by Jack Handey:



"If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let 'em go, because man, they're gone."



When relationships end, it's so easy to start thinking of the good times. This was my second go around with this particular boy. I had forgotten why we stopped seeing each other the first time. We allow ourselves to be swept away...until we are reminded of why it ended the first time. Oh. Right. Now I remember. Sigh.

The thought of having to start over yet again can seem so daunting. Dating is not for sissies, that's for sure. I'm totally looking forward to the next adventure though. In order to psych myself up for this, I put this in the google line: who loves dating?

The most interesting site (to me) that came back was this one: http://www.loveisgreat.com/. The guy that started the site did this because he needed to redirect his feelings in a positive way. It's actually a very touchy feely site...very positive. He posted a bunch of 'truisms' that relate to love. Here is my favorite...it's a quote from Helen Keller:

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens: but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us."

BAM.

Moral(s) of the story?

1. Stop looking at closed doors.
2. When things go the way of lava, let 'em go.