While you were out . . . .

[Linney]

Have you ever had anything "exciting" happen while you were unconnected from the daily stream of news for a period of time?

Even while on vacation I'm usually connected by at least TV news or radio if not my usual internet access. But this time was different. I just returned from two weeks of dry camping at Yellowstone National Park and Lake Coeur d'Alene. Dry camping means we had no hookups -- no electricity, no water, and definitely no internet access. We took a break from the electronic world. We hiked, we biked and we enjoyed seeing herds of bison and elk, geysers and mud pots, moose tracks and gorgeous scenery. I caught some small snippets of information upon seeing a USA Today headline outside one of the markets we shopped at, but was otherwise pretty much oblivious to the financial turmoil going on last week.

It feels very strange to get back and read about the events of last week. They are like reading a history book -- something that happened but I wasn't a part of it. It's a rather strange feeling. I'm used to connecting events with my personal experience with them and that part is missing this time.

Of course things could still get even more "exciting" in this financial cycle which would give me the usual experiential context by which to remember them.

--Linney

 

[slouch]

I didn't realize there were any kinds of camping other than the "dry" kind.

Personally I love getting away and disconnecting from the world (and most importantly from the 24/7 work lifestyle). It gives me time to breath out and recalibrate my priorities to what is truly important, if even for just a little while before re-immersing and getting caught up in the race again.

 

[CuppaJoe]

Linney, thanks for letting us know what was going on in the real world while I paid way way too much attention to the news.

 

[Ronstar]

Not me personally, but my BIL was dropped off (by himself) by float plane in the middle of Alaska for a hunting trip one week before 9/11. The plane was to land on the river on 9/11 to pick him up. The plane didnt show up, and my BIL had no radio to know what was happening. He camped along the river for the next few days before the plane came to get him.

 

[hankster]

My father was once on a hunting trip with a high ranking officer in the state National Guard. They found out that the Cuban Missile Crisis was in full swing when a helicopter came in to find the guy.

 

[W2R]

The very first moonwalk back in 1969 caught me by surprise. I did not even know this had been planned prior to seeing it. I was a nerdy student at the time with no TV or radio and my nose in a book all the time.

I was at a study session at another student's apartment when someone switched the TV on and we saw it live. What an incredible experience!

 

[Nords]

We happened to be on cruise ships during the start of the Iraq War and again when Katrina hit.

It was a very good thing, too. I can only imagine how much more difficult my father-in-law would have been if he'd had 24/7 access to all the networks. As near as I could tell from his comments, he was forced to spend his time socializing with his granddaughter while he was privately convinced that the world was ending.

I'll alert the board before we take another cruise.

 

[Khan]

There was all this Market Hysteria this past week while I was mostly offline.

 

[mews]

IN the 1970's I was on vacation and missed most of one of the Arab-Israeli wars.

Want2retire - I was on an island in Canada, visiting relatives at the time of the moon landing - I remember bouncing down a dark country road to get to my uncle's house, in the middle of nowhere, to see that on TV. "Awesome" in the real sense of the word!


ta,
mews

 

[Bestwifeever]

I think if I were Linney I might want to turn around and go back to the wilderness for a few more weeks....

 

[Dawg52]

I caught some small snippets of information upon seeing a USA Today headline outside one of the markets we shopped at, but was otherwise pretty much oblivious to the financial turmoil going on last week.



--Linney

You missed a good week. Wish I had.

 

[ls99]

Don't know yet. 'been away boondocking. No TV, radio, newspaper or gossip. When I finish catching up on the news I'll have to decide.

 

[Linney]

I think if I were Linney I might want to turn around and go back to the wilderness for a few more weeks....

Don't I wish! Unfortunately I'm not FIRE'd yet. I'll get there in another year or two. Until then, it's back to work for me <sigh>

Linney, thanks for letting us know what was going on in the real world while I paid way way too much attention to the news.

Thanks, Joe, for this food for thought. I tend to think of my online, always-connected world as my "real" world --- between work during the day and internet roaming at night I spend the majority of my time in the online space. I spend so little time in nature that it starts to feel like a fantastic make-believe world out there. I'm hoping this will shift to a more balanced structure when I FIRE in the next year or two.

--Linney

 

[slouch]

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/09/what-did-you-mi.html

To put things in perspective

Hey, I took the week off -- what did I miss?
Well, by the numbers, not much -- essentially flat for the week

Index 9-12-08 CLOSE (9-19-08 AFT)

• S&P 1,252 (1,255.08)
• DOW 11,422 (11,388.44)
• Nasdaq 2,261.27 (2,273.90)
• 2YR 2.21% (2.10%)
• 10YR 3.72% (3.73%)
• 6MO BILLS 1.55% (1.51%)

 

[deserat]

I feel the same - I was 'working' this weekend, so didn't have access to TV, news, etc - too busy running down local 'fires' then too tired at the end of the day to 'tune-in' - just picked up the last weekend's edition of the WSJ....weird to read the stuff afterwards as you say. It's good to be disconnected at times - gives you another perspective and allows you to determine what you want to think about and do and not some other guy's agenda for you...but, hey, isn't that retirement?

 

[HFWR]

There'll be a lot of changes around here, but they won't [-]effect[/-] affect you. You won't be here...

 

[TromboneAl]

I was camping when Princess Diana died, and sitting in my office on 9/11 wondering why I wasn't getting any tech support calls.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

There was all this Market Hysteria this past week while I was mostly offline.

Make you want to go out to the power pole with a stick and knock the wires back off?

 

[Khan]

Make you want to go out to the power pole with a stick and knock the wires back off?

Only for the cable.