Nope!

               Well, i couldn't do it.  I just couldn't stay away for 5 days.  I gave it an honest try, and managed about 48 hours.  And it was difficult.  What was kind of creepy, was how mindlessly i reached for my phone.  I have never talked on the phone or texted while driving.  I draw the line there.  Those things are illegal, and with good reason.  I didn't text or talk in the car before there was a law against it.  I've always thought those who do are absolutely nuts.  I always thought.. really??  You can't wait until you GET somewhere??  Wow.  But i'm pretty 'bad.'  My phone?  Where's my phone?  Is it in my purse?  Where did i put it?  And my iPad.  Now there's a most excellent piece of electronics!  And i am surrounded by books, and many other things to do.  But so often, i choose to play with the gadgets.  I've accepted that i can never go back to the way i was 'before.'  lol.  Before i came over to the dark side.  I just love the dark side too much, i guess.  It's not facebook i miss when i'm offline.  It's the blogs i love.  The websites i like.  Open Culture.  Arts and Letters Daily.  Words Without Borders.  (Fiction and non-fiction translated to English from other languages.)  Beautiful writing from all over the world.  And there is no print version.  It's all on the web.  The world at my fingertips.  I don't want to be away from it.  For long, anyway.  I have; however, been able to cut back.  Going cold turkey won't work for me.  But i can set time limits.  No more looking up at the clock and realizing that a half hour or an hour has gone by whilst i've been busy scrolling.  No more disengaging from the world around me because i'm so enthralled by the words on the screens.  So this was an experiment that failed in some ways.  But i'm no longer going to beat myself up because i like to play on the gadgets.  Usually, i learn a lot while i play.  And there's so much good in being connected!  Well, there it is.  And with that, my time is almost up.  Almost time to put my pencil down on the desk and turn the test over.  But wait!  :)

I just want to leave you with this little rhyme before i retire for the evening...

                                                Watching Nova about being hacked!
                                                Online can be dangerous, that's a fact!
                                                But i love my iPad..
                                                It's so much more than just a passing fad!
                                                But i must make sure my minutes on the web are not
                                                       too stacked.  (Or something like that.  I sort of lost it at the end.  lol)

And just one pretty late springtime photo!

 
One day, in a few months, these will become apples!

                                    Have a beautiful Thursday.. i'll be back soon!

                                              Mary