I'm totally a full-blown addict. It gets in the way of my career, my love life, and I'm sure my personality has suffered. Has it? But how can you not be in these crazy-pants times with at least a minimum of twelve new (mostly Trump) outrages daily. Instead of writing prose, music, or making bad photoshopped promo posters, I spend my time reading news, blogs, and following my favorite witty Twitterers awaiting their latest updates, interrupting any calm or creative thinking.
Side note: my message and Twitter alert is the Samantha (from Bewitched) nose twitch. It's like a shot of morphine every time I hear it.
My best friend, Yves, decided to spend the last four months in Italy. Lucky guy. He bought me a ticket (for my birthday) to visit him. It was also an intervention. He told me he was going to confiscate all my devices. He tried, but I pleaded, begged, and mostly lied about work that I would lose if I went totally cold turkey. It actually was my first real non-work vacation in almost ten years.
I had a wonderful time. I read an actual book. I saw art, took pictures, walked for hours, met wonderful people, ate tons of pasta, and even contemplated. And I didn't really freak out as much as I thought. Well...I have to admit, like I said, it was "mostly" Internet-free - meaning that I maybe spent an average of, say, 45 minutes to an hour online...maybe a little more. That's huge considering...I'm not going to even tell you my normal average daily screen time. That newish update to the iPhone (the one that tells you just how much time you are online) is just so awful.
Well, I just got back and I feel great. I hope I can hold on to this calmness. I still have my Bewitched nose twitch ringtone off...for now.
Here are a few pictures. The last three days, we stayed with our friends, the amazing Wheeler and Charles. Above is a picture of their beautiful home, surrounded by vineyards and olive trees, in Umbria.
the view from Yves' place
flowers and leaves in metal trash bag after the rain
this dog is just watching the world go by (Yves' photo)
a tree, of course
part of my Yves in red beanie photo series
a curious cow (Yves Photo)
I got zillions more, but I won't bore you. Ciao