Disconnected

This morning started out as one of those mornings.... I was walking to work (BTW, that is the best part of being in Iraq is the fact that my commute consists of a 5 minute walk-not through the prettiest area in the world, and not without the danger of things falling from the sky, but a walk instead of a drive nonetheless) and thinking that I had just about a month left here and thinking about all the work that I needed (wanted may be a better word here--they should let me come home whether I get it done or not!) to get done prior to leaving. And, then, because I have been in the military too long, thinking of all the ways that getting home in a month could get changed "for the needs of the Army/Navy/DoD"... Anyway, as the Poi Dog Pondering song says, "I feel so detached today", that's how it was...
And then I get into work and the internet is down! Talk about being detached! The internet is our lifeline, our umbilical cord, source of information and succor--e-mail, news, weather, even (for some--not me though, honest!?!?) celebrity gossip. After about two hours the internet came up for everyone else on base, but my computer seemed to have taken it hard. It never came back--it was unconnectable and unusable for anything! I, who strive to keep my life digital, to do lists, projects, e-mails past and present all reside on my computer... I was truly disconnected. And, my phone is a voip phone so it was out too!
I was able to take pen to paper and make progress on a number of projects, but the progress is limited until I can type and share the things I have written.
Luckily, over the weekend Apple unleashed the new iPhone operating system and the Application store with plenty of free things, including games! I was connected over the weekend. Take a new video game on your iPhone, a computer that doesn't work, a phone that won't ring and you have yourself very non-productive day! Sure is fun though!
At least until later in the afternoon when the hordes realize that the phone across the way does work and they start calling you through that line--damn! (I don't want to tell you how many calls--and I cannot tell you how many e-mails, for obvious reasons--I got this afternoon about chicken pox--my, oh, my--people get excited about the strangest things!
Tomorrow they are going to "re-image" my computer... that doesn't give me a warm-fuzzy... I may never get un-disconnected.