Just read the Rambling Librarian’s post about his “digital life”, and how he’s become dependent on and embraced so many aspects of technology.
I’m reliant on the Internet, computers and other technological equipment for work, and personal use. I’ve grown to depend on digital cameras, mobile phones and computers. Emails and blogs play a significant part in how I maintain personal contacts and relationships.
Me too! I can’t imagine my life without all the technology that Rambling Librarian mentions. Email, blogs (via RSS), all the “Web 2.0″ tools - they all help me learn and make connections with other people.
I’m sure I would be fine without these tools, but they’re fun, they make my life so much richer, more enjoyable and more interesting it makes sense to incorporate them into my daily routines. As Rambling Librarian says:
The things I do, the digital lifestyle that I lead — they just make sense to me; I find them balanced and productive; they don’t interfere with my job (and I try my darnest not to allow my job to interfere in them); I derive personal satisfaction from those activities.
On a different note, many people around me seem to think online interactions and friendships are somehow less real, or less valuable than Real Life friendships. My counter to that is that such interactions can be as real as any other - it depends what you put into them, just like any other friendship.
Categories: balance, blogging, Internet, technology
Spent yesterday afternoon in the park. One good thing about this current dry spell is that it’s really nice being outdoors in the sunshine. I read and wrote and pondered… and admired this fine fellow.
It sat in a tree not far from our rug, keeping an eye on the proceedings. A picnic group nearby managed to entice it down from the tree with scraps of food, and it actually sat on the grass waiting for morsels and eating whatever was offered.
Pity it was too busy eating, because we didn’t get to hear its unique signature call. The call of the kookaburra always makes me happy.
M rode around the park on his muni.
It’s just like riding a bicycle for him now.
He’s also trying to learn how to combine his other favourite activity, juggling, with unicycling.
I love how M is constantly challenging himself with his unicycling - and managing to have a great time doing it, too.
While M rode around I jotted down ideas and notes for a couple of projects I’m involved in (and hoping to be involved in) - and thought about what I/we can do and where I/we could go with it.
I was also thinking about what I want to do to keep myself engaged and constantly learning new things. Who’d have thought blogging would be so good for me on a professional and personal level? I’d like to keep challenging and exciting myself. The alternative is to inevitably become bored and burnt out doing the same old, same old.
It was really timely to read Liz Lane Lawley’s simple (but not easy) advice this morning. She suggests pushing yourself to do things that seem daunting and somewhat beyond your current capabilities: “This really isn’t unlike the advice I’ve seen given for any kind of sports or physical fitness activity—to push a little beyond what you think you can do, which will get you further than you expected every time.”
More pictures at Flickr: the unicyclist and the juggler.
Categories: meaning-of-life, challenge
