Lack of Signal

It’s a bit of irony that the day RIM’s service interruption caused angst across North America was the same day my former employer turned off my Blackberry service. It gave me a chance to reflect on just how life-changing pervasive connectivity was for me. I was an early adopter of both email and Blackberries, and I’m one for whom the ability to work away from the desk was in liberating. My work-life balance improved greatly by being able to communicate remotely. During 9/11 and the eastern seaboard blackout my Berry was the device that remained functional and allowed me to stay in touch with the people and things that needed me.

My initial discomfort at being untethered has resolved itself. I’ve stopped considering upgrading my personal service to cover it – it’s not too costly, but I’m not convinced that I need it as a mere mortal. Most of my family and friends are nowhere near as wired as I. It does have me thinking about how to best wrangle my multiple personal email accounts – I had everything forwarded to my Berry and I miss the convenience, I need to re-jigger that setup.

After next week my notice period ends and I begin collecting severance. Over the last month my days have established a new rhythm that I’m happy with. It begins early with the flurry of getting the kids up and out for school. I follow by reading the physical news while I eat and then I’m able to move to the online world for emails and feeds. Research follows and after that the day is mine.

When my daughter was born I took a three-month leave to stay with her after my wife returned to work. It was the first extended absence from my job I’d had in 15 years and it looked like an incredibly long time but it was over in an apparent instant. While I’m entertaining a certain low-level anxiety about my next career phase, I am aware of that reality and trying to savor this time. Maybe the lack of signal will help.