No internet

On Saturday my internet went out. Because our phone (vonage) is connected through the internet, our phone was also out. At first I was very frustrated. However, that evening Mandy and I both agreed that perhaps this would be good for us. It would in a way be like we were on vacation (Mandy believes that vacation is only vacation when computers are not part of the picture. I’m beginning to believe that). The hiatus from the internet has been good for us. It’s given us more time to talk, and it’s also given me more time to read.

I enjoy reading, but much of the time I get interrupted by the internet. I confess that I’m quite an information junkie, and I love research. I’ll be reading a book, when I come across something in the book that makes me want to know more. I’ll then go to the internet and begin researching that topic/author/idea. Before long, the book I was reading is no longer being thought about. Often, while I am watching a movie, I see an actor and cannot for the life of me remember where I’ve seen him before. So I go to the computer, log on to www.imdb.com, and find my answer. A bit more of my confession: last night I went to the library to send two emails. I returned with six books. I realize that’s a bit much.

However, one of those books is Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, by Robert Putnam. About a month ago I finished Mark Driscoll’s book The Radical Reformission. He quotes from Putnam’s book. Last night after returning from the library, I read a little over half of Bowling Alone. My pastor, “the artist formerly known as” Prince Altom, taught me his method of reading books. You read the first and last chapter of a book, as well as the first and last paragraph of each chapter. That’s what I did last night. I’ll be including some notes from this book, along with Driscoll’s, in this blog over the next few days.

I think I failed to mention that I’m typing this in Word right now, since I still don’t have internet access. The Comcast tech is coming by this afternoon, so I should have access tonight.