I feel naked

Johannesburg, 19 Sept 2006

Not as naked as I felt a week ago, admittedly, but still out of touch with my world.

It was tough, for a while after being hijacked, not being able to swipe my bling card at a shop, and acquire whatever took my fancy. Instead, I toted my chequebook, much less flashy and far more inconvenient than the technology that allows us to swipe away at random.

Also disconcerting was not having my laptop at hand. The wireless-enabled-file-from-anywhere one that has often come to my aid when the power is off, as has been happening more often of late.

Now, instead of lying in bed with my laptop, typing away merrily as I watch a CSI DVD at night, I have to walk all the way down our 10-metre-long passage, and bring the desktop to life. Such hardship.

I must admit that, without these technology fixes in my life, I felt odd. Distant. Displaced.

Perhaps I should reconnect with my inner geek and get a PDA-enabled whatever that will beep to remind me to do something, half-an-hour before time.
Nicola Mawson

And, having my personal effects displayed around the notorious Alex township, for all I know, I felt invaded too.

So, I visited a psychologist to - as she put it - defrag my brain. While I am no longer scared to drive alone, I do keep misfiling pieces of information. Names, faces, deadlines and events.

Perhaps I should reconnect with my inner geek and get a PDA-enabled whatever that will beep to remind me to do something, half-an-hour before time.

This, I think, would be better than the FNB Incontact SMS that, according to the ad, will wake you up to be on time for work. Except that a close look at the alarm clock will show the viewer that the text only arrives at 10-to-eight. Most of us, and here I include the hapless guy in the advertisement, start work at eight.

My texts from the same bank tend to arrive days later, way after the transaction, and usually in the middle of the night. This results in me feeling depressed because, on waking, I discover just how little cash I have.

Anyway, I have taken positive steps towards reconnecting with the world. My bank issued new credit cards, and so I went out and replaced my laptop. Now that feels like being connected again.