this little life of mine

So, I mentioned last Friday about doing a Radical Sabbatical  (or RadSab) by going mostly offline for the month of September. I say "mostly" because I will have to occasionally go online for my work, and will also need access to a website or two due to my "second job" (i.e., selling stuff on eBay and possibly advertising an Estate Sale on our local Craigslist), plus there is the possibility of  my wanting needing to purchase some new fall fashions when they first hit the websites, but THAT'S IT! Other than those things, I'm out. Offline. Going dark.

For 30 days. *shudders*

The basic plan is to not access Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, this blog, any gossip sites or message boards for the entire month of September. That said I will still be accessing email (but only for absolutely necessary things like bank statements or bills), and text (to communicate with my coworkers and trainer when absolutely necessary) and, of course, receiving phone calls on my iPhone.

The hope is to wean myself off the instant gratification and connectivity of technology, and return to quieter, slower, simpler things like writing snail mail letters, keeping a paper journal and perhaps even taking some pictures using actual film. (Not 100% sure of that last one; it's just a thought right now.)

As with most things I try, I'm pretty confident I'll fail miserably at this, but I thought it would be fun to see just how long I can actually go without the company of my beloved internet. Wish me luck, or join me, if you dare!

Cheers!

1. OMG, I totally forgot about The August Break, a photo project I usually participate in. It's a bit late, but I'm going to try to catch up with it this weekend. I know, I know, trying to do TWO separate photo projects (I also try to doChantelle's monthly Photo a Day project)  in one month is pretty much setting myself up for absolute failure, but I feel like giving it a shot.
2. If you're a frequent reader of this blog, or follow me on any variety of social networking sites, then you're already aware that my grandpa died on Tuesday. It was not unexpected, and he was quite old (97!), and had had a great, long life, but it was still very sad, and I still cried my eyes out and am still doing so. For all that, I am glad my grandparents are together again. They were married 73 years on this earth before my grandma passed in 2011, and I'm sure they've missed each other.
3. I am contemplating going mostly off-line for the month of September. I was inspired to do this by Satya's recent entry about trying it herself, and also because of the cold shakes I got when I first thought about doing it. How much bigger a sign of addiction do I need??? I'm working on some general guidelines for my "Radical Sabbatical" (or RadSab, as I'm calling it), and will post them next week.
4. One week from today I will be on a brief vacation to Avila Beach, and I'm so excited I can't tell you! Despite being only 20 or so miles away, I rarely get to the beach, as much as I love it. I'm hoping my RadSab will get me out of my rut in that manner as well.
5. And, finally, here's a lovely picture of my grandparents on their 60th wedding anniversary. Cheers!