response to krista's words...

krista over at big and little is one of my very first blog friends. she is amazing. i feel lucky to have found her so early because i so enjoy reading her words and looking at her images. her recent post titled technological dependency vs nature inspired me. my response was a bit too long to put in a comment so i wrote it out here.

this is a debate that is endlessly fascinating to me. i could argue both sides. thoroughly.
for me it boils down to focus. can i get what i need from this endless, vast, excessive source of information? what i need? need. not what i want. sure i want to know who opened a new etsy shop. i want to be the among the first to download underworld's new album. i want to be the only person in australia to use special japanese printed fabric. but do i need to do these things? not at all. what i need, and what i think you need as well, is a way to condense all of my free time into ten, fifteen, thirty minutes of researching and focusing on what is really important to me. recipes, quilting, getting the hours of operation for our local library, finding inspiration for my art and craft. no doubt in my mind i would achieve all of those things without my computer, though it would take much longer. so while the computer and internet are a potential time suck they also provide a method to accomplish greater education and inspiration in a condensed time frame. if you can focus. the temptation is that endless, vast, excessive source of information that is always just a click away. where do you stop? just today i looked at a hundred or so images of letterpress type. why? i am not going to do anything with the knowledge that i gained. i just think it is beautiful. and my boys just happened to be happy playing near me and my laptop.
i can picture you, dear krista, with your gorgeous children by your side (or on a boob), a pot of soup on the stove, searching the internet for ways to better homeschool your children, ways to prepare your garden for the upcoming chill, ways to connect to other mothers, all the while feeling a slight guilt for spending time online. because it is selfish? self indulgent? right. can i please come back as one of your children in the next lifetime?

subtleties

bin instead of trash
lift instead of elevator
aluminium instead of aluminum
drive on the left instead of the right
the sun in the north instead of the south
coriander instead of cilantro
get in the queue instead of the line
centimeters instead of inches
kilos instead of pounds
nappies instead of diapers
dummy instead of pacifier
pram instead of stroller
arvo instead of afternoon
nick-on instead of ny-con (the camera brand)
aussies understand me when i say all of the american words. it is weird being the one with an accent. every person i talk to when i am out and about asks where i am from. most people think i am canadian. one lady told me that i have the same accent as her friend who is from seattle. do i really have a seattle accent? what does a seattle accent even sound like? weird. for the most part people are super friendly toward americans. i have overheard some anti-american talk but both times were at a pub and involved very drunk blokes. blokes. i am really getting the hang of this aussie language.