S.O.S. Internet Down

So my internet has been down off and on since Sunday. It really annoys me. I feel isolated without checking my email, oh, 400 times an hour. I feel lost without reading my usual blogs, then emailing the authors with sarcastic comments. In fact, I felt so down right cut off from the world that I actually - gasp - called a few of my old friends on the phone.

It felt odd, fumbling around for my now-unused-cellphone at the bottom of my purse, pushing tiny buttons on the contacts list and then having to leave a message for everyone but Sage Grayson, who was trying to talk to me and have two IM conversations at the same time. (Bet she regrets giving me her cell number at the last writer's conference we went to - heh.)

So over the last few days, all the cats I called on Sunday and Monday were calling me back. Which meant I had to talk to them. Not that I didn't enjoy it, and it allowed me to wander around the house and clean, but...

I have this weird relationship with the phone, left over from when I worked in the real world. I got to the point where if I was home, I didn't like to talk on the phone. Working for CapitalOne (the credit card guys), I was in an environment where voicemail ruled your life. Email was for Cover Your Ass purposes, but almost all work came through the phone. I began to think of the phone as the ringing harbinger of crisis. To this day, the phone rings and I jump. Not that I don't enjoy a good crisis every now and again, but my nerves are shot from finishing up this last book.

Anyway, so I was talking to my friend Ashley last night. She's single now and dating. It's been a long time since I was single and dating, and even back in 'Nam, I didn't really DATE, as much as engage in serial monogamy. In collage, I tried the dating thing and found juggling a bunch of guys around was too hard for me. I'm kind of a possessive person anyway, not really into sharing.

So Ashley was telling me all about her men -- The Neighbor, The Band Guy, The Ex, The Guy She Works With, The Guy She Met At the Bar, etc etc -- and I thought, "If I tried to keep up with all these guys, I'd have to call them "Buddy" so I wouldn't accidentally call them by the wrong name." I was exhausted just listening to it all. Her other line rang in about 20 times during our conversation.

After I got off the phone, I went back downstairs to hang out with my guy and watch Big Brother 6 (yes, we're Reality TV hags). As boring as my life might be, I appreciate it. Although, talking to Ashley reminded me of this book I was thinking about writing... it's about four girlfriends who dare each other to do all kinds of things, like see who can date the most men at one time. I scribbled some notes this morning. Who knows? I might just write it one day. Of course, that would require more phone calls to Ashley, since obviously I am not an expert on How To Juggle Multiple Men At One Time. But the internet connection came back up again and so all that's on hold. Thank God.