I’ve got everything you can imagine: Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, email and other tools (like three cell phones). You might remember how much I like Fantasy sports, especially Fantasy Football, so you can only guess how I’m spending my “free time” in Paris. I’ve used more emoticons in the past month or so then I have in the past year. Feel free to let me know how pathetic I am. L
I can’t stay off the computer. My computer goes with me everywhere: coffee shops, the movies, the park, class, road trips/vacation, the bathroom, etc. You’ve seen me; the kid with all the gadgets and gizmos that make me look like a cyborg with overgrown facial hair. The need to “stay connected” is tougher than trying to get Kanye West to keep his mouth shut at an awards show. There are people who check their emails once a day, people who check their Facebook pages once a week, and then there’s me.
The Wi-Fi works pretty consistently and life without it would be pretty terrible. I’m constantly on my computer, checking my various email accounts, ESPN, The Washington Post and other websites for news back home and around the world. Usually, I’m scouring the Internet for anything useful and entertaining. My history makes it seem like I’m on Craigslist every day. Don’t judge me. I’m looking for part-time work or babysitting in Paris (not midgets or “someone to talk to”).
And Fantasy Football is too addictive to give up. Better than all the baguettes and croissants of Paris (in my humble opinion of course). In fact, I’ve joined three fantasy basketball leagues in the past week because the NFL season ends in January and I’ll need another sports addiction I can fuel online until I leave in June. Basketball is that drug. I have to check my lineups everyday to make sure I have the best players playing and the Free Agent pools provide nice pickups every now and then. It’s Sunday, so that means sitting in front of my computer screen watching my fantasy team and looking at the stats and the scores of today’s games.
This communication fix isn’t that pathetic though. I email my family especially my mother. I have to repeatedly email her in order to elicit a response (happy to 4000 miles away from me?). My girlfriend (Athena) requests that I talk to her and let her know how Paris is treating me. We chat and email each other via Gmail and we’re on Skype a lot. My iPhone doesn’t work here because it’s locked into AT&T (and because AT&T likes all the iPhone users in the U.S. crushing its network leading them to file complaints about even crappier service), so I only use it for the applications and to talk to my friends on Skype via Wi-Fi. I had my dad send me my old Razr but when it got here, I found out it was locked too. Guess what carrier I used for that phone. You’re right, it’s AT&T, providing the worst cell phone coverage and service to Americans everywhere! ISA set me up with a cell phone that’s as useful now as tape player. Of course, I didn’t pay the bill until fines were levied against me, but I paid it a few days ago. The phone still doesn’t work. Well, that’s not entirely true. All outgoing calls are barred and rejected, but I can still receive calls. Stupid. Now I have to get on Facebook and “poke” people and let them know that I want to be called if something’s going down. I have to pray that my friends will call me if they’re going out, so I can meet them and not stare into my screen all day and night like the zombies in True Blood.
Not only am I tweeting and posting everyday but I’m watching TV online as well. Weeds ended and Entourage ended weeks ago, but the new seasons of Californication, House, Grey’s Anatomy (yeah, I like that), Private Practice, Glee, and How I Met Your Mother are in full swing. Old episodes of ER fulfill my medical drama fix and I downloaded a ton of The West Wing episodes to my external hard drive before I got on the plane. I’m watching all these shows on Megavideo; the Internet has everything. Has to be one of the greatest inventions ever. EVER. I’m putting it up there with the steam engine, the automobile and the Snuggie.
I read the news everyday. I like checking and rechecking sites for the latest news. It keeps me in the loop and it’s free too. Maybe I am an addict, but I love the news and communication in general. Tomorrow I will talk to people, because that’s the best communication. Way too much time has been spent on this computer. Tomorrow I’ll bathe and get out of the house. But for today, it’s Sunday (“Dimanche” in French), and it’s raining and I can’t get up. I’m not a loser for being on the computer all day, am I? Tweet me your reply.