Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Another quickie

Still on dial-up. I hope my regular connection comes back soon; my Google Reader says I have 100+ new blog posts to read! I visit some sites now and then, but the thing is, pages take so long to load, it's frustrating...but I'm looking forward to reading each one soon.

Mimi (who, like Morgen, Rhys, and Gale, has multiple post daily disorder) asked me how I dealt with Internet withdrawal symptoms. I never did do away with them totally, Mims. During the day it was pretty easy. I have my family to lavish my attention on.

It was hardest at night, when everyone was snugly asleep in bed, and because I'm usually online during the nighttime. Wide awake in the wee hours of the mornings of those three days of darkness, what did I do to keep myself occupied? Much as I love books, I couldn't bring myself to read by candlelight; my vision is poor enough as it is already. I didn't want to make it any worse.

So, deprived of my usual Web wandering options, I turned to one of my favorite activities: self-stimulation.

No, wait. That didn't come out the way I meant it to.

Self-amusement? No, wrong term as well.

Mental meanderings, that's it.

In the dead of night, I closed my eyes...and I wasn't "power"-less and in the dark anymore. I was gazing at the weather-worn countenance of the Sphinx; I was visiting the rooms in the Tower of London where luminaries like Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, and Lady Jane Grey were imprisoned; I was walking the halls of the Prado Museum; I was seeing the Parthenon bathed in moonlight; I was looking at life as it was in samurai-era Japan; I was floating effortlessly in the Dead Sea; I was wading in the age-old waters of the Sea of Galilee; I was drinking beer on the white sands of a beach on a quiet island after a day of learning to surf and dive in the warm, blue ocean.

Plumbing the depths of imagination, scaling the heights of fantasy. Not a bad way to while away hours of solitude in the hours before the dawn. Even my dark Galadriel/Medusa gave me no grief during those hours.

I hope this post answers your question, Mimimimi.

20 comments:

Yaxlich said...

Yaxlich has recently started using Google Reader. He loves reading. He too regularly turns to self stimulation in terms of mental meanderings.

Yaxlich, however, has got a lightning fast connection speed :-P

Anonymous said...

Awww, it must be tough without electricity. That's my world. Brown-outs for the first 17 years of my life....and we're one of the very few houses in our neighborhood who does not have generator. What a pain that was.

Good think internet does not exist then, or It would have been worse!

Girlie said...

Awww, it must be tough without electricity. That's my world. Brown-outs for the first 17 years of my life....and we're one of the very few houses in our neighborhood who does not have generator. What a pain that was.

Good think internet does not exist then, or It would have been worse!

Anonymous said...

Hi Lizza,

That really was almost a week of mental stimulation. I was able to catch up on reading my much-neglected books.

Glad you're safe!

=)

Ian said...

What you REALLY need is a big... thick...
composition book. ;)

Ian

Anonymous said...

Hey, I used to self-stimulate when I was a kid, at night before falling asleep. I'd imagine my favorite TV shows, but change the storyline to suit my taste. Kind of like fan fiction.

Anonymous said...

Errr... I meant, engage in mental meanderings.

Terra Shield said...

Mental meanderings are fun... I do them on utterly hopeless sleepless nights :)

H said...

That. Was. Wonderful.

WoW.

wistful adulation in thundering waves.

Ah your Dark Galadriel/Medusa/monster twin sister... say hello to me.

Sony said...

Funny isn't it how things like dial-up seem archaic and we lump then into the same part of our brain that ponders life before modern conveniences like electricity and cable.

Yet there was a time when faxing something that took eighteen pages a minute was cutting edge, and dialing up to AOL on your friend's computer was exhilarating.

As our world progresses and the technology evolves faster than we do, I find it interesting how quick we are to latch onto the new and forget the old tech that got us here.

I'm the same way. I remember once when my microwave broke and I had to (gasp), cook something on the stove. That extra 40 minutes was torture. Or when my TiVo was on the fritz and I had to relearn how to program a VCR. More pain.

I just enjoy the odd humor when we're placed in situations that make us feel like we're back in the dark ages when really we've only been taken back a decade or so.

Hope your high speed comes back soon!!

This was a nice post. The Parthnon by moonlight... I'll have to remember that one.

Anonymous said...

The human mind and imagination does most of the time doesn't it
Glad that things are returning to normal for all of you
:)
Imagination is the only thing I can do also when there's no current here...

Prometheus said...

Yeah, right. Everybody goes to London and Egypt. Ey, Greece is pretty too. Ya could've met Prometheus and other Titans, imagine. How's that for stimulation, eh?

Saint Prometheus is feeling apalled at man's (or woman's) dependance on toys. Now hold on one cotton pickin' minute.. He meant toys like DSL and blogs. You might want to undertake Vipassana. Erm.. one thing about this Wiki, it talks about Burma and other stuff. It was invented and is more commonly practiced in India, but they don't get no credit. Just like they got no credit for inventing the zero.

Jules said...

HA Gem is funny. Ditto.

Anonymous said...

Oh you poor thing! I hope you get ormal internet back soon. I hated being on dial up. I honestly don't think I'd be able to survive without the internet now! Well...no...i wouldn't die, but it would take a lot of getting used to - I mean what o earth would I do with all thoses extra hours??

I love mental meandering too! It's great to just lie there and see where you can go.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry. I'm sure things will normalize soon and you'll be back blogging with a vengeance!

And when that happens, know that you've just been tagged by me! Enjoy! c",)

INAMINI said...

Just to let you know I am thinking of you everyday, and I hope conditions there improve quickly! Take care.

Lizza said...

Yaxlich: Google reader is helpful ain't it? And haha, I may not have lightning-speed Internet access now, but at least I don't have mutant eyebrows, haha! ;-P

Shoshana: Thanks for visiting! Where did you grow up? I'll go visit your blog ASAP.

HB: Thanks, I'm glad you and D are okay, too.

H: Thank you. :-) You are such a sweet lady.

Ian: I used to do that, but my handwriting sucks. Sometimes even I can't read it. :-) I miss the little Lego superheroes. :-(

Aurea: Hahaha! Your comments made me laugh. Nice to learn what other people's mental meanderings are, though.

Terra: Oh, yesssssss.

Gale: Yes, we do get Seinfeld here (the reruns now, haha). I enjoy the Kramer character. :-)

Sony: Thanks for sharing. Good thing you still had those "archaic" skills and gadgets. :-D And yes, drinking in the sight of the Parthenon in moonlight is one of my dreams.

Zeroimpact: I hope you don't get too much power loss there. I'll be visiting your blog again soon.

Prometheus: Toys will be toys for different people, haha! I've heard great things about Vipassana. I have to work more at it, though. India invented the zero? Wonderful people, you Indians.

Julie: That she is, that she is. Her blog is wonderful.

Rose: Thank you. I hope to catch up on your blogs soon! I'm looking for another high-speed Internet provider. We'll see how it goes.

Irene: Thanks for the tag, you lovely vixen you. I'll go look at your post. And yes, once I get broadband Internet back, you can count on my blogging again with a vengeance!

inamini: Thank you very much, my Dutch-American muse! I appreciate your positive thinking and well-wishes very much. *hug*

Mimi Lenox said...

Lizza! I feel like it's been ages since I talked to you. Hope you're doing well. I LOVED this entry. Your meanderings and musings are intoxicatingly brilliant.
Isn't it nice to know so many people (see above list of cyber-lovelies) are thinking about you? We have missed your 'presence' online, you beautiful little soul and hope you'll be back soon with more offline insight to share.

Lizza said...

Mimi! Thank you. :-) The people I meet in the blogworld are awesome. I am honored and humbled by the outpouring of goodwill from you all.

I've missed you all too.

Prometheus said...

Of course India invented the Zero. Whadaya think Prometheus is living proof of? Chopped liver?