So I figured I should make a post about my last post Why did I apparently lose my mind and delete all my social networking sites? Well I did much more than that, a bit on that near the end of this post though.

So why did I do it? To cut the IV that is the internet that has been keeping me alive for far too long now. Since around 1994 I have been way too connected to the internet. It started when I began my first webpages, the “Days” page and my old “Sega Saturn” page. I quickly found IRC and chatrooms and began nightly chats.

After the IRC died down, it was the chatroom on my site and later a forum I started. The forum quickly became a full time job though, trying to deal with and police fights, complaints, etc. I am not a bad cop, so I failed miserably at that. People walked all over me, and I idiotically let them because I didn’t want to be “the bad guy.”

After the page got sold though, the chatroom pretty much became a private room for the people who used it more as a social get-together space. It however is pretty much dead right now. Everyone went off and you know, got real lives I soon ended up becoming a Twitter and Facebook addict, and these took over. Twitter was so useful and easy that I started neglecting blogging because it just seemed like I was putting everything I had to say on Twitter.

Not only was I hooked into Twitter and Facebook, but I was told too many times that I whined, bitched and complained too much. Also I was always on my phone, at the dinner table, when out with people, even taking it to bed to check off and on. John nicknamed it the devil’s tool.

So I decided to pull the IV out. I deleted my MySpace, Facebook (they don’t let you delete it actually, they deactivate it) and my Twitter account. MySpace and Twitter are fully gone, deleted, dead. I can however re-activate my Facebook account, though I don’t know if I’ve lost all my friends, photos, posts or what not. So effectively this blog is now my only personal social outlet left really. From now on I’m also going to try and be positive and not bitch so much

With my social outlets gone, my iPhone basically is an expensive phone that has lost half of its use. Actually since I rarely even use my phone to talk, it’s pretty much lost all its use. I tried to see if I could drop my data plan and keep it as a phone only, but I couldn’t via the online account management. So I emailed AT&T asking if it was possible to do so. I’d still be able to use it as a phone, as well as use any apps that don’t require the internet. For those that do, I should be able to still do it through my wireless home network. Of course that means when I leave the house, it just becomes a plain old phone. I’m okay with that actually.

I need to get out more and meet real people and have real world friends. I love my online friends, but I need social interaction as well. I’ve already made plans to join a group that goes hiking every Sunday and will be going this weekend for the first time.

Oh as if all the above doesn’t seem insane as is, there is more. Because I’m now out of a job and don’t have one until I go looking for one, I need to be on a budget. I am not planning on looking till the end of June or July honestly, I don’t want to have the distractions of a job while trying to finish my dissertation. I’ve learned the long and hard way I’m not good at multi-tasking the dissertation and work So to keep me from spending money I shouldn’t be, and from borrowing too much from my savings to pay it off, I cut up every single one of my credit cards. No, I’m not kidding. I cut them up and put half in the garbage and half in the recycle bin (I hope they are recyclable). I am not someone who has their card numbers memorized either, so I’m shit out of luck if it can’t be paid via check or debit card. I still have a few things that I am billed for monthly or every few months, I’ll begin moving them over to my bank account soon enough.

Well I guess there you have it. I’ll probably be blogging a lot more now that Twitter and my other outlets are dead