It’s Tuesday night. 7:15 pm, San Diego time.
I haven’t opened my computer since Friday.
To be fair, I haven’t been completely unplugged. I’ve been Tweeting, texting, and responding to a few urgent emails from my phone.
But my computer has remained totally off.
Dead.
In my bag.
It’s not like it’s broken. Or even that I’m missing my power cord.
I just have left it off.
It’s been busy. After Catalyst West, I spent the weekend hanging out with some very good friends I don’t see nearly as much as I would like to.
And yesterday and today, I’ve been recording the audio book for Permission to Speak Freely.
(Which was a blast, by the way!)
I saw a Panera on my way out of San Diego and decided I might as well break the fast.
And so I’ve been here – for three hours – catching up on the “work” side of my job.
Last night, I went to the Sleeping at Last show in Hollywood. Sleeping at Last has been one of my favorite bands for the last few years, and I’ve had the chance to see them live a couple of times.
Each time has been a profound experience.
Each time has been uninterrupted.
But this time…
I let the phone vibrating in my pocket interrupt a few times.
And I couldn’t help but think about a million other things…in addition to the poetry and music happening in front of me.
It made me remember the days when computers weighed 25 pounds and had to sit on desks at home.
When mobile phones only made phone calls.
And for a moment, I missed the past.
I missed the lack of distraction.
Do you remember those days?