Spoiler alert: social media can ruin a wet dream.

Shortly after the premier of Episode VII, I started to avoid social media.  I remember I avoided most news outlets when Harry Potter Book 7 was just about to hit the streets… especially when someone created a t-shirt that gives all of the plot points away about a week before release day.  What was interesting with this is that I started my annual “December break” from work around the same time, which meant that I didn’t have to be attached to a screen as often as normal.

The oddity of this is that it wasn’t until my break was over that I realized just how successfully I had unplugged this year.  I gamed a bit but not that long into the night.  I traded texts but not many emails.  Took occasional looks at Facebook, but hardly left any snark in comments and certainly didn’t post much.  I read a lot and saw a movie or two.  Discovered that I’m not at all impressed with Raging Bull, more than likely because I saw Casino and Goodfellas first.  Spent a ton of time checking out how much room is left in a back seats of compact SUV’s Honda’s, Subaru’s, Toyota’s, Nissan’s, and Mazda’s when a car seat is installed.  Helped Jolene land on a new CR-V for her new ride.  Taught Kyle how to avoid finger injuries in air hockey.  Disassembled a crib and put a new mattress on the floor for the kid.  Caught a nasty cold.  Replaced the brakes on my Jeep for the first time, ever.  Got used to wearing a watch again.  Spent time staring at a bunch of Disney Infinity figures that I haven’t opened yet.  Replaced the SSDs in a MacBook Air and Yoga 700. Hovered over the buy button of Rock Band for days at a time, waiting in vain for a sale to hit.

And as part of avoiding Facebook and Twitter – to avoid spoilers – I was interested to discovered that while I welcomed the lack of reckless and widespread outrage that runs rampant or the narrow views of bumper sticker politics, I actually created a gap in my news consumption.  Like that massive fire on New Year’s Ever?  Not a clue.  Downton Abbey starting again?  Only because TiVo told me so. Anne Hathaway’s pregnant pictures?  I didn’t even know she was pregnant.  Guess I get more news off the socials than I realized… so much for it all being just a waste of time.

Also decided to give Open Live Writer a try, although I’m confused that there’s no spell checking going on… no way I’ve typed a perfect post.

Sadly, even though I had a bunch of days off, I still didn’t find time for a haircut.