Monday, October 11, 2010

Detached from the World

I haven't blogged, emailed, texted, or made very many phone calls in the past month.  And I have come to learn how foreign a life like that is for most people.  I work outside and a lot of times that outside is a long way from civilization down dirt roads where there's no service for anything for miles around.  I have been camping and working in Nevada this month and its surprisingly been wonderful, if a bit frustrating, being completely detached.  I only used my phone as an alarm to wake me up and hadn't touched my fingers to a keyboard until yesterday.  I hiked up and down hills all day long and came home to a camp I shared with 6 other people.  I made all my meals which consisted of cereal or oatmeal for breakfast, PB & J and fruit for lunch and a dinner of burritos, jambalaya, or spaghetti, which i thought about eating all day long with so much excitement.  I took baths with a wet washcloth and Dr. Bronner's soap.  And when I couldn't take it anymore and needed to wash my hair it was a water bottle, shampoo, and leave-in-conditioner.  My camp overlooked a mountain range where we heard coyotes howling nightly.  I had a supply tent with my dry food and clothes, a kitchen area with a water cube and a cooler full of food, and my car which made a close quarters bedroom but comfy enough.  My front seat was the library, full of magazines and books to help me wind down for the night.  There was a roaring camp fire every evening for communal cooking and always sharing.  Sometimes there would be guitars brought out and concerts given, but mostly just hanging out after a long day of many miles of hiking or many hours of recording sites.  After 2 ten day sessions of this I emerged from the woods a bit apprehensive about checking my phone.  No matter how many times you tell people you won't be able to use a phone for awhile there will still be messages asking where you are and do you have service yet and why don't you have service yet.  After some phone calls to family members I come to terms with reemerging into the world of the civilized where walking around in black fleece pants, a pink shirt and cowboy boots may get you weird looks.  Back to the Internet where I'm greeted by why haven't you responded to my email emails.  I love computers, phones, and all the modern conveniences, but sometimes it's nice to be detached from the world for just a little while.