Our Hobbit Hole.Com

admin · Site Admin Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 42

Where do the days go? Where do the months go? How has another third of a year just slipped away from me since the last time I wrote a newsletter? My day job has prettymuch consumed all of my free time and energy and made me feel completely unmotivated to do any personal projects that could be seen as 'work' on the weekends since they're my only recovery period. I can only hope that all the time and basically large chunks of my life that I've given over to my day job will be worth it one day.

At times like these, I really wish I could just move away from my hectic schedule and expensive technologies and find a simpler way of life. Granted, I'm the guy that complains about the glare of the sun on my laptop when I'm sitting on a beach and searching for wireless signal, so you should probably take my whims with a grain of salt. But I do wonder if all of my gadgets to promote constant communication have really made me any happier or just more anxious and expectant of instant results.

I've been off all of this week from work. Technically it's a vacation, but since the primary purpose was to be with my wife through her wrist-replacement surgery and care for her as she recovers... well, it's no traditional vacation! Just getting my mind off of work for a week has been somewhat relaxing... but it would be better, if my coworkers would only stop calling and emailing! In a small company, when you become the go-to man for certain tasks and jobs, everyone else seems to turn to you even if you're on vacation.

My company-provided phone has rung with a few calls and chirped with a few text messages, and my company-provided laptop has faithfully delivered numerous inter-company emails. In theory they can just sit there until I'm 'working' again, but in reality I open them, read them, and worry about them just a little bit. Sometimes it feels as though my gadgets, which are supposed to be efficient tools, have become my jailors. No matter where I am, they bring little bits of stress to me, and if I turn them off, they happily store my voicemails, text messages and emails until I turn them on again.

Why can't we all just live in our Hobbit Holes, going on adventures and eating and drinking too much just like in Tolkien's world? Well in the American way of life, two out of four isn't bad . Is technology the enemy, or just the way our workplaces use it to reach us no matter where we go, no matter what the time? There has got to be a better way to switch off than making a clean break with society and living out in the middle of nowhere...or is there?

Signoff:

Sorry, just wanted to share some random thoughts I've been having this week. When I have time away from work it tends to make me more creative. Actually, this whole site started several years ago when I was between jobs, having scheduled my unemployment period to coincide with two weeks when I needed to be home helping my wife recover from surgery (whoa, deja vu). Perhaps I'd have more good ideas if only I could occasionally take a whole luxurious week off from work!

Rob Harrison